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-Project Gutenberg's Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, by Eliza Leslie
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book
-
-Author: Eliza Leslie
-
-Release Date: October 5, 2012 [EBook #40943]
-
-Language: English
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK ***
-
-
-
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40943 ***
Produced by Julia Miller, fh and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
@@ -17852,362 +17833,4 @@ Variant spellings left unchanged:
End of Project Gutenberg's Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, by Eliza Leslie
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+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40943 ***
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-Project Gutenberg's Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, by Eliza Leslie
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book
-
-Author: Eliza Leslie
-
-Release Date: October 5, 2012 [EBook #40943]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Julia Miller, fh and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- MISS LESLIE'S
-
- NEW
-
- COOKERY BOOK.
-
- One Volume, 652 pages, bound. Price $1.25.
-
-
-T. B. Peterson, No. 102 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, has just
-published MISS LESLIE'S "NEW COOKERY BOOK." It comprises new and
-approved methods of preparing all kinds of Soups, Fish, Oysters, Beef,
-Mutton, Veal, Pork, Venison, Ham and Bacon, Poultry and Game, Terrapins,
-Turtle, Vegetables, Sauces, Bread, Pickles, Sweetmeats, Plain Cakes,
-Fine Cakes, Pies, Plain Desserts, Fine Desserts, Preparations for the
-Sick, Puddings, Confectionery, Rice, Indian Meal Preparations of all
-kinds, Miscellaneous Receipts, etc. etc. Also, lists of all articles in
-season suited to go together for breakfasts, dinners, and suppers, to
-suit large or small families, and much useful information and many
-miscellaneous subjects connected with general housewifery.
-
-This work will have a very extensive sale, and many thousand copies will
-be sold, as all persons that have had Miss Leslie's former works, should
-get this at once, as _all the receipts in this book are new_, and have
-been fully tried and tested by the author since the publication of her
-former books, _and none of them whatever are contained in any other work
-but this_. It is the most complete Cook Book published in the world; and
-also the latest and best, as in addition to Cookery of all kinds and
-descriptions, its receipts for making cakes and confectionery are
-unequalled by any other work extant.
-
-This new, excellent, and valuable Cook Book is published by T. B.
-Peterson, under the title of "MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK," and is
-entirely different from any other work on similar subjects, under any
-other names, by the same author. It is an elegantly printed duodecimo
-volume, of 652 pages; and in it there will be found _hundreds of
-Receipts_--all useful--some ornamental--and all invaluable to every
-lady, miss, or family in the world.
-
-
-Read what the Editors of the Leading Newspapers say of it.
-
-_From the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper._
-
- "This is a large, well-bound volume of near seven hundred
- pages, and includes in it hundreds of receipts never before
- published in any of Miss Leslie's other works, accompanied by a
- well-arranged index, by which any desired receipt may be turned
- to at once. The receipts are for cooking all kinds of meats,
- poultry, game, pies, &c., with directions for confectionery,
- ices, and preserves. It is entirely different from any former
- work by Miss Leslie, and contains new and fresh accessions of
- useful knowledge. The merit of these receipts is, that they
- have all been tried, and therefore can be recommended
- conscientiously. Miss Leslie has acquired great reputation
- among housekeepers for the excellence of her works on cookery,
- and this volume will doubtless enhance it. _It is the best book
- on cookery that we know of_, and while it will be useful to
- matrons, to young housewives we should think it quite
- indispensable. By the aid of this book, the young and
- inexperienced are brought nearly on a footing with those who
- have seen service in the culinary department, and by having it
- at hand are rendered tolerably independent of _help_, which
- sometimes becomes very refractory. The best regulated families
- are sometimes taken a little by surprise by the untimely
- stepping in of a friend to dinner--to such, Miss Leslie is the
- friend indeed, ready as her book is with instructions for the
- hasty production of various substitutes for meals requiring
- timely and elaborate preparation."
-
-
-_From the Philadelphia Daily News._
-
- "To the housekeeper, the name of Miss Leslie is a guaranty that
- what comes from her hand is not only orthodox, but good; and to
- the young wife about to enter upon the untried scenes of
- catering for a family, _Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_ may be
- termed a blessing. It presents receipts, (and practical ones
- too,) for preparing and cooking all kinds of soups, fish,
- oysters, meats, game, cakes, pastry, and indeed everything
- which enters into the economy of housekeeping. Their
- recommendations are that they are all practical, and the novice
- of the culinary art may enter upon her important duties with
- '_Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_' by her side, with perfect
- confidence that the 'soup' will not be spoiled, and that the
- dinner will be what is designed. How many disappointments could
- be avoided, how many domestic difficulties prevented, and how
- many husbands made happy, instead of miserable, by the use of
- this '_vade mecum_,' we shall not pretend to say; but as we
- have a sincere regard for every lady who reads the _News_, our
- advice to them all is, by all means to buy _Miss Leslie's New
- Cookery Book_. Mr. Peterson has done admirably in getting up
- this work: it is handsomely and substantially bound in cloth,
- gilt, and does credit to his business skill; the low price at
- which the work is sold, when we take the size of it into
- consideration, One Dollar and Twenty-five cents only, will
- doubtless give it an immense sale."
-
-
-_From the Philadelphia Saturday Courier._
-
- "With such a book as _Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_,
- published by Mr. Peterson, it is inconceivable what a vast
- extent of palate is destined to be astonished, and what a
- gastronomic multitude is to be made happy, by the delicious
- delicacies and substantial dishes so abundantly provided. Miss
- Leslie has in previous works shown how great an adept she has
- been in all culinary matters, and in all that relates to the
- comforts and the social enjoyment of the table around which
- cluster the good things of life. Literature is very good in its
- way; but such dishes as Miss Leslie gives a foretaste of, come
- up to a more delicious standard. Her authorship is exquisite,
- and is destined to diffuse the very essence of good taste among
- the fortunate people who sit down to good dinners and suppers,
- not one of whom will rise from the table without a blessing on
- _Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_. And every taste is sure to be
- pleased, for all the receipts in this book are new, and to be
- found nowhere else, _and it is the best Cook Book ever
- published_--one which, with its hundreds of receipts, ought to
- be in the hands of every woman who has the slightest
- appreciation of convenience, comfort and economy."
-
-
-_From the Philadelphia Daily Sun._
-
- "About one thousand new receipts, never before printed, appear
- in this work, all of which have been tried before they are
- recommended by the author. All kinds of cooking and pastry;
- rules for the preparation of dinners, breakfasts, and suppers;
- appropriate dishes for every meal; and a vast quantity of other
- useful information, are embraced in the book. It is very
- comprehensive, and is furnished with an index for the use of
- the housewife. By the aid of Miss Leslie's peculiar happy
- talent in giving culinary directions, our girls can acquire a
- branch of useful information which is generally sadly neglected
- in their education, and thus become fitted for their duties as
- wives. One great advantage in _Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_,
- is the economy which it teaches in the management of a
- household, as regards the preparations for the table. Peterson
- has done this book up in beautiful style, and it will be sent
- to any part of the Union, postage paid, upon the receipt of One
- Dollar and Twenty-five Cents. Those who know how much of the
- happiness of home depends upon well-cooked viands, neatly
- served up, will thank the accomplished authoress for this
- valuable contribution to domestic science."
-
-
-_From the Philadelphia Saturday Evening Gazette._
-
- "Miss Leslie's 'New Receipts for Cooking' is perhaps better
- known than any similar collection of receipts. The very elegant
- volume before us, entitled '_Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_,'
- is designed as a sequel and continuation to it, and should be
- its companion in every family, as the receipts are all new, and
- in no instance the same, even when their titles are similar. It
- contains directions for plain and fancy cooking, preserving,
- pickling; and commencing with soups, gives entirely new
- receipts for every course of an excellent dinner, to the
- jellies and confectionery of the dessert. Our readers are not
- strangers to the accuracy and minuteness of Miss Leslie's
- receipts, as, since the first number of the Gazette, she has
- contributed to our housekeepers' department. The new receipts
- in this volume are admirable. Many of them are modified from
- French sources, though foreign terms and designations are
- avoided. The publisher has brought it out in an extremely
- tasteful style, and no family in the world should be without
- it."
-
-
-_From the Pennsylvania Inquirer._
-
- "Mr. T. B. Peterson has just published '_Miss Leslie's New
- Cookery Book_.' This will be a truly popular work. Thousands of
- copies will very soon be disposed of, and other thousands will
- be needed. It contains directions for cooking, preserving,
- pickling, and preparing almost every description of dish: also
- receipts for preparing farina, Indian meal, fancy tea-cakes,
- marmalades, etc. We know of a no more useful work for
- families."
-
-
-_From the Public Ledger._
-
- "As every woman, whether wife or maid, should be qualified for
- the duties of a housekeeper, a work which gives the information
- which acquaints her with its most important duties, will no
- doubt be sought after by the fair sex. This work is '_Miss
- Leslie's New Cookery Book_.' Get it by all means."
-
-
-_From the Boston Evening Traveler._
-
- "We do not claim to be deeply versed in the art of cookery; but
- a lady, skilled in the art, to whom we have submitted this
- work, assures us that there is nothing like it within the
- circle of her knowledge; and that having this, a housekeeper
- would need no other written guide to the mysteries of
- housekeeping. It contains hundreds of new receipts, which the
- author has fully tried and tested; and they relate to almost
- every conceivable dish--flesh, fish, and fowl, soups, sauces,
- and sweetmeats; puddings, pies, and pickles; cakes and
- confectionery. There are, too, lists of articles suitable to go
- together for breakfasts, dinners and suppers, at different
- seasons of the year, for plain family meals, and elaborate
- company preparations; which must be of great convenience.
- Indeed, there appears to be, as our lady friend remarked,
- everything in this book that a housekeeper needs to know; and
- having this book she would seem to need no other to afford her
- instruction about housekeeping."
-
-
-
-
- MISS LESLIE'S
-
- NEW
-
- COOKERY
-
- BOOK.
-
- "As every woman, whether wife or maid, should be qualified for
- the duties of a housekeeper, a work which gives the information
- which acquaints her with its most important duties will no
- doubt be sought after by the fair sex. This work is '_Miss
- Leslie's New Cookery Book_.' Get it by all means."--_Public
- Ledger._
-
- PHILADELPHIA:
- T. B. PETERSON NO. 102 CHESTNUT STREET.
- 1857.
-
-
-
-
- Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
-
- ELIZA LESLIE,
-
- In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United
- States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-I have endeavored to render this work a complete manual of domestic
-cookery _in all its branches_. It comprises an unusual number of pages,
-and the receipts are all practical, and _practicable_--being so
-carefully and particularly explained as to be easily comprehended by the
-merest novice in the art. Also, I flatter myself that most of these
-preparations (if faithfully and liberally followed,) will be found very
-agreeable to the general taste; always, however, keeping in mind that
-every ingredient must be of unexceptionable quality, and that good
-cooking cannot be made out of bad marketing.
-
-I hope those who consult this book will find themselves at no loss,
-whether required to prepare sumptuous viands "for company," or to
-furnish a daily supply of nice dishes for an excellent family table; or
-plain, yet wholesome and palatable food where economy is very expedient.
-
- ELIZA LESLIE.
-
- _Philadelphia, March 28th, 1857._
-
-
-
-
-WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
-
-Tested and Arranged by Miss Leslie.
-
-
- Wheat flour one pound of 16 ounces is one quart.
- Indian meal one pound 2 ounces is one quart.
- Butter, when soft one pound 1 ounce is one quart.
- Loaf sugar, broken up, one pound is one quart.
- White sugar, powdered, one pound 1 ounce is one quart.
- Best brown sugar, one pound 2 ounces is one quart.
- Eggs ten eggs weigh one pound.
-
-
-LIQUID MEASURE.
-
- Four large table-spoonfuls are half a jill.
- Eight large table-spoonfuls are one jill.
- Two jills are half a pint.
- A common-sized tumbler holds half a pint.
- A common-sized wine-glass holds about half a jill.
- Two pints are one quart.
- Four quarts are one gallon.
-
- About twenty-five drops of any thin liquid will fill a
- common-sized tea-spoon.
-
- Four table-spoonfuls will generally fill a common-sized
- wine-glass.
-
- Four wine-glasses will fill a half pint tumbler, or a large
- coffee-cup.
-
- A quart black bottle holds in reality about a pint and a half;
- sometimes not so much.
-
- A table-spoonful of salt is about one ounce.
-
-
-DRY MEASURE.
-
- Half a gallon is a quarter of a peck.
- One gallon is half a peck.
- Two gallons are one peck.
- Four gallons are half a bushel.
- Eight gallons are one bushel.
-
- Throughout this book, the pound is avoirdupois weight--sixteen
- ounces.
-
-
-
-
-GENERAL CONTENTS.
-
-
- PAGE
-
- SOUPS, 33
-
- FISH, 77
-
- SHELL-FISH, 108
-
- BEEF, 138
-
- MUTTON, 173
-
- VEAL, 188
-
- PORK, 216
-
- HAM AND BACON, 235
-
- VENISON, 252
-
- POULTRY AND GAME, 265
-
- SAUCES, 309
-
- VEGETABLES, 343
-
- BREAD, PLAIN CAKES, ETC., 401
-
- PLAIN DESSERTS, 444
-
- FINE DESSERTS, 469
-
- FINE CAKES, 516
-
- SWEETMEATS, 543
-
- PICKLES, 568
-
- PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK, 581
-
- MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS, 595
-
- WORTH KNOWING, 645
-
-
-
-
-ANIMALS
-
-FIGURES EXPLANATORY OF THE PIECES INTO WHICH THE FIVE LARGE ANIMALS ARE
-DIVIDED BY THE BUTCHERS.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Beef._]
-
- 1. Sirloin.
- 2. Rump.
- 3. Edge Bone.
- 4. Buttock.
- 5. Mouse Buttock.
- 6. Leg.
- 7. Thick Flank.
- 8. Veiny Piece.
- 9. Thin Flank.
- 10. Fore Rib: 7 Ribs.
- 11. Middle Rib: 4 Ribs.
- 12. Chuck Rib: 2 Ribs.
- 13. Brisket.
- 14. Shoulder, or Leg of Mutton Piece.
- 15. Clod.
- 16. Neck, or Sticking Piece.
- 17. Shin.
- 18. Cheek.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Veal._]
-
- 1. Loin, Best End.
- 2. Fillet.
- 3. Loin, Chump End.
- 4. Hind Knuckle.
- 5. Neck, Best End.
- 6. Breast, Best End.
- 7. Blade Bone.
- 8. Fore Knuckle.
- 9. Breast, Brisket End.
- 10. Neck, Scrag End.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Mutton._]
-
- 1. Leg.
- 2. Shoulder.
- 3. Loin, Best End.
- 4. Loin, Chump End.
- 5. Neck, Best End.
- 6. Breast.
- 7. Neck, Scrag End.
-
- _Note._--A Chine is two Loins; and a Saddle is two Loins and two
- Necks of the Best End.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Pork._]
-
- 1. Leg.
- 2. Hind Loin.
- 3. Fore Loin.
- 4. Spare Rib.
- 5. Hand.
- 6. Spring.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Venison._]
-
- 1. Shoulder.
- 2. Neck.
- 3. Haunch.
- 4. Breast.
- 5. Scrag.
-
-
-
-
-
- MISS LESLIE'S
-
- NEW
-
- COOKERY BOOK.
-
-
-
-
-SOUPS.
-
-
-It is impossible to have good soup, without a sufficiency of good meat;
-thoroughly boiled, carefully skimmed, and moderately seasoned. Meat that
-is too bad for any thing else, is too bad for soup. Cold meat recooked,
-adds little to its taste or nourishment, and it is in vain to attempt to
-give poor soup a factitious flavor by the disguise of strong spices, or
-other substances which are disagreeable or unpalatable to at least one
-half the eaters, and frequently unwholesome. Rice and barley add to the
-insipidity of weak soups, having no taste of their own. And even if the
-meat is good, too large a proportion of water, and too small a quantity
-of animal substance will render it flat and vapid.
-
-Every family has, or ought to have, some personal knowledge of certain
-poor people--people to whom their broken victuals would be acceptable.
-Let then the most of their cold, fresh meat be set apart for those who
-can ill afford to buy meat in market. To them it will be an important
-acquisition; while those who indulge in fine clothes, fine furniture,
-&c., had best be consistent, and allow themselves the nourishment and
-enjoyment of freshly cooked food for each meal. Therefore where there is
-no absolute necessity of doing otherwise, let the soup always be made of
-meat bought expressly for the purpose, and of one sort only, except when
-the flavor is to be improved by the introduction of ham.
-
-In plain cooking, every dish should have a distinct taste of its natural
-flavor predominating. Let the soup, for instance, be of beef, mutton, or
-veal, but not of all three; and a chicken, being overpowered by the
-meat, adds nothing to the general flavor.
-
-Soup-meat that has been boiled long enough to extract the juices
-thoroughly, becomes too tasteless to furnish, afterwards, a good dish
-for the table; with the exception of mutton, which may be eaten very
-well after it has done duty in the soup-pot, when it is much liked by
-many persons of simple tastes. Few who are accustomed to living at
-hotels, can relish hotel soups, which (even in houses where most other
-things are unexceptionable), is seldom such as can be approved by
-persons who are familiar with good tables. Hotel soups and hotel hashes,
-(particularly those that are dignified with French names), are
-notoriously made of cold scraps, leavings, and in some houses, are the
-absolute refuse of the kitchen. In most cases, the sight of a hotel
-stock-pot would cause those who saw it, to forswear soup, &c.
-
-If the directions are _exactly_ followed, the soups contained in the
-following pages will be found palatable, nutritious, and easily made;
-but they require plenty of good ingredients.
-
-We have heard French cooks boast of their soup being "delicate." The
-English would call it "soup meagre." In such a country as America, where
-good things are abundant, there is no necessity of imbibing the
-flatulency of weak washy soups.
-
-All soups should be boiled slowly at first, that the essence of the meat
-may be thoroughly drawn forth. The lid of the pot should be kept close,
-unless when it is necessary to remove it for taking off the scum, which
-should be done frequently and carefully. If this is neglected, the scum
-will boil back again into the soup, spoil it, and make it impure or
-muddled. When no more scum arises, and the meat is all in rags, dropping
-from the bones, it is time to put in the vegetables, seasoning, &c., and
-not till then; and if it should have boiled away too much, then is the
-time to add a little _hot_ water from another kettle. Add also a large
-crust of bread or two. It may now be made to boil faster, and the
-thickening must be put in. This is a table-spoonful or more of flour
-mixed to a smooth paste with a little water, and enriched with a
-tea-spoonful of good butter, or beef-dripping. This thickening is
-indispensable to all soups. Let it be stirred in well. If making a rich
-soup that requires wine or catchup, let it be added the last thing, just
-before the soup is taken from the fire.
-
-When all is quite done and thoroughly boiled, cover the bottom of a
-tureen with small squares of bread or toast, and dip or pour the soup
-into it, leaving all the bones and shreds of meat in the pot. To let any
-of the sediment get into the tureen is slovenly and vulgar. Not a
-particle of this should ever be found in a soup-plate. There are cooks
-who, if not prevented, will put all the refuse into the tureen; so that,
-when helped, the plates are half full of shreds of meat and scraps of
-bone, while all the best of the soup is kept back for the kitchen. This
-should be looked to. Servants who cannot reconcile it to their
-conscience to steal money or any very valuable articles, have frequently
-no hesitation in purloining or keeping to themselves whatever they like
-in the way of food.
-
-Soup may be colored yellow with grated carrots, red with tomato juice,
-and green with the juice of pounded spinach--the coloring to be stirred
-in after the skimming is over. These colorings are improvements both to
-its look and flavor. It may be browned with scorched flour, kept ready
-always for the purpose. Never put cloves or allspice into soup--they
-give it a blackish ashy dirt color, and their taste is so strong as to
-overpower every thing else. Both these coarse spices are out of use at
-good tables, and none are introduced in nice cookery but mace, nutmeg,
-ginger, and cinnamon.
-
-The meat boiled in soup gives out more of its essence, when cut off the
-bone, and divided into small pieces, always removing the fat. The bones,
-however, should go in, as they contain much glutinous substance, adding
-to the strength and thickness of the soup, which cannot be palatable or
-wholesome unless all the grease is carefully skimmed off. Kitchen grease
-is used chiefly for soap-fat.
-
-In cold weather, good soup, if carefully covered and kept in a cool
-place, and boiled over again for half an hour _without_ any _additional
-water_, will be better on the second day than on the first.
-
-It is an excellent way in winter to boil the meat and bones on the first
-day, without any vegetables. Then, when very thick and rich, strain the
-liquid into a large pan; cover it, and set it away till next morning--it
-should then be found a thick jelly. Cut it in pieces, having scraped off
-the sediment from the bottom--then add the vegetables, and boil them in
-the soup.
-
-
-MUSHROOM SOUP.--Cut a knuckle of veal, or a neck of mutton, (or both, if
-they are small,) into large pieces, and remove the bones. Put it into a
-soup-pot with sufficient water to cover the whole, and season with a
-little salt and cayenne. Let it boil till the meat is in rags, skimming
-it well; then strain off the soup into another pot. Have ready a large
-quart, or a quart and a pint of freshly-gathered mushrooms--cut them
-into quarters, having removed the stalks. Put them into the soup, adding
-a quarter of a pound (or more) of fresh butter, divided into bits and
-rolled in flour. Boil the whole about half an hour longer--try if the
-mushrooms are tender, and do not take them up till they are perfectly
-so. Keep the pot lid closely covered, except when you remove the lid to
-try the mushrooms. Lay at the bottom of the tureen a large slice of
-buttered toast, (cut into small squares,) and pour the soup upon it.
-This is a company soup.
-
-
-SWEET CORN SOUP.--Take a knuckle of veal, and a set of calf's feet. Put
-them into a soup-pot with some cold boiled ham cut into pieces, and
-season them with pepper only. Having allowed a quart of water to each
-pound of meat, pour it on, and let it boil till the meat falls from the
-bone; strain it, and pour the liquid into a clean pot. If you live in
-the country, or where milk is plenty, make this soup of milk without any
-water. All white soups are best of milk. You may boil in this, with the
-veal and feet, an old fowl, (cut into pieces,) that is too tough for any
-other purpose. When the soup is well boiled, and the shreds all strained
-away, have ready (cooked by themselves in another pot) some ears of
-sweet corn, young and tender. Cut the grains from the cob, mix the corn
-with fresh butter, season it with pepper, and stir it in the strained
-soup. Give the whole a short boil, pour it into the tureen, and send it
-to table.
-
-
-VENISON SOUP.--Is excellent, made as above, with water instead of milk,
-and plenty of corn. And it is very convenient for a new settlement.
-
-
-TOMATO SOUP.--Take a shin or leg of beef, and cut off all the meat. Put
-it, with the bones, in a large soup-pot, and season it slightly with
-salt and pepper. Pour on a gallon of water. Boil and skim it well. Have
-ready half a peck of ripe tomatos, that have been quartered, and pressed
-or strained through a sieve, so as to be reduced to a pulp. Add half a
-dozen onions that have been sliced, and a table-spoonful of sugar to
-lessen a little the acid of the tomatos. When the meat is all to rags,
-and the whole thoroughly done, (which will not be in less than six hours
-from the commencement) strain it through a cullender, and thicken it a
-little with grated bread crumbs.
-
-This soup will be much improved by the addition of a half peck of
-ochras, peeled, sliced thin, and boiled with the tomatos till quite
-dissolved.
-
-Before it goes into the tureen, see that there are no shreds of meat or
-bits of bone left in the soup.
-
-
-FAMILY TOMATO SOUP.--Take four pounds of the lean of a good piece of
-fresh beef. The fat is of no use for soup, as it must be skimmed off
-when boiling. Cut the meat in pieces, season them with a little salt and
-pepper, and put them into a pot with three quarts of water. The tomatos
-will supply abundance of liquid. Of these you should have a large
-quarter of a peck. They should be full-grown, and quite ripe. Cut each
-tomato into four pieces, and put them into the soup; after it has come
-to a boil and been skimmed. It will be greatly improved by adding a
-quarter of a peck of ochras cut into thin round slices. Both tomatos and
-ochras require long and steady boiling with the meat. To lessen the
-extreme acid of the tomatos, stir in a heaped table-spoonful of sugar.
-Add also one large onion, peeled and minced small; and add two or three
-bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. The soup must boil till the meat
-is all to rags and the tomatos and ochras entirely dissolved, and their
-forms undistinguishable. Pour it off carefully from the sediment into
-the tureen, in the bottom of which have ready some toasted bread, cut
-into small squares.
-
-
-FINE TOMATO SOUP.--Take some nice fresh beef, and divest it of the bone
-and fat. Sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper, and pour on water,
-allowing to each pound of meat a pint and a half (not more) of water,
-and boil and skim it till it is very thick and clear, and all the
-essence seems to be drawn out of the meat. Scald and peel a large
-portion of ripe tomatos--cut them in quarters, and laying them in a
-stew-pan, let them cook in their own juice till they are entirely
-dissolved. When quite done, strain the tomato liquid, and stir into it a
-little sugar. In a third pan stew an equal quantity of sliced ochras
-with a very little water; they must be stewed till their shape can no
-longer be discerned. Strain separately the meat liquor, the tomatos, and
-the ochras. Mix butter and flour together into a lump; knead it a
-little, and when all the liquids are done and strained put them into a
-clean soup-pan, stir in the flour and butter, and give the soup one boil
-up. Transfer it to your tureen, and stir altogether. The soup made
-precisely as above will be perfectly smooth and nice. Have little rolls
-or milk biscuits to eat with it.
-
-This is a tomato soup for dinner company.
-
-
-GREEN PEA SOUP.--Make a nice soup, in the usual way, of beef, mutton, or
-knuckle of veal, cutting off all the fat, and using only the lean and
-the bones, allowing a quart of water to each pound of meat. If the meat
-is veal, add four or six calf's feet, which will greatly improve the
-soup. Boil it slowly, (having slightly seasoned it with pepper and
-salt,) and when it has boiled, and been well skimmed, and no more scum
-appears, then put in a quart or more of freshly-shelled green peas, with
-none among them that are old, hard, and yellow; and also a sprig or two
-of green mint, and a little loaf sugar. Boil the peas till they are
-entirely dissolved. Then (having removed all the meat and bones) strain
-the soup through a sieve, and return it to the soup-pot, (which, in the
-mean time, should have been washed clean,) and stir into it a tea-cupful
-of green spinach juice, (obtained by pounding some spinach.) Have ready
-(boiled, or rather stewed in another pot) a quart of young fresh peas,
-enriched with a piece of fresh butter. These last peas should be boiled
-tender, but not to a mash. After they are in, give the soup another boil
-up, and then pour it off into a tureen, in the bottom of which has been
-laid some toast cut into square bits, with the crust removed. This soup
-should be of a fine green color, and very thick.
-
-
-EXCELLENT BEAN SOUP.--Early in the evening of the day before you make
-the soup, wash clean a large quart of dried white beans in a pan of cold
-water, and about bedtime pour off that water, and replace it with a
-fresh panful. Next morning, put on the beans to boil, with only water
-enough to cook them well, and keep them boiling slowly till they have
-all bursted, stirring them up frequently from the bottom, lest they
-should burn. Meantime, prepare in a larger pot, a good soup made of a
-shin of beef cut into pieces, and the hock of a cold ham, allowing a
-large quart of water to each pound of meat.
-
-Season it with pepper only, (no salt,) and put in with it a head of
-celery, split and cut small. Boil the soup (skimming it well) till the
-meat is all in rags; then take it out, leaving not a morsel in the pot,
-and put in the boiled beans. Let them boil in the soup till they are
-undistinguishable, and the soup very thick. Put some small squares of
-toast in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the soup upon it.
-
-There is said to be nothing better for making soup than the camp-kettle
-of the army. Many of the common soldiers make their bean soup of
-surpassing excellence.
-
-
-SPLIT PEA SOUP.--In buying dried or split peas, see that they are not
-old and worm-eaten. Wash two quarts of them over night in two or three
-waters. In the morning make a rich soup of the lean of beef or mutton,
-and the hock of a ham. Season it with pepper, but no salt. When it has
-boiled, and been thoroughly skimmed, put in the split peas, with a head
-of celery cut into small pieces, or else two table-spoonfuls of celery
-seed. Let it boil till the peas are entirely dissolved and
-undistinguishable. When it is finished strain the soup through a sieve,
-divesting it of the thin shreds of meat and bits of bone. Then transfer
-it to a tureen, in which has been laid some square bits of toast. Stir
-it up to the bottom directly before it goes to table.
-
-You may boil in the soup (instead of the ham) a good piece (a rib
-piece, or a fillet) of corned pork, more lean than fat. When it is done,
-take the pork out of the soup, put it on a dish, and have ready to eat
-with it a pease pudding boiled by itself, cut in thick slices and laid
-round the pork. This pudding is made of a quart of split peas, soaked
-all night, mixed with four beaten eggs and a piece of fresh butter, and
-tied in a cloth and boiled three or four hours, or till the peas have
-become a mass.
-
-
-ASPARAGUS SOUP.--Make in the usual way a nice rich soup of beef or
-mutton, seasoned with salt and pepper. After it has been well boiled and
-skimmed, and the meat is all to pieces, strain the soup into another
-pot, or wash out the same, and return to it the liquid. Have ready a
-large quantity of fine fresh asparagus, with the stalks cut off close to
-the green tops or blossoms. It should have been lying in cold water all
-the time the meat was boiling. Put into the soup half of the asparagus
-tops, and boil them in it till entirely dissolved, adding a tea-cupful
-of spinach juice, obtained by pounding fresh spinach in a mortar. Stir
-the juice well in and it will give a fine green color. Then add the
-remaining half of the asparagus; having previously boiled them in a
-small pan by themselves, till they are quite tender, but not till they
-lose their shape. Give the whole one boil up together. Make some nice
-slices of toast, (having cut off the crust.) Dip them a minute in hot
-water. Butter them, lay them in the bottom of the tureen, and pour the
-soup upon them. This (like green peas) will do for company soup.
-
-
-CABBAGE SOUP.--Remove the fat and bone from a good piece of fresh beef,
-or mutton--season it with a little salt and pepper, put it into a
-soup-pot, with a quart of water allowed to each pound of meat. Boil, and
-skim it till no more scum is seen on the surface. Then strain it, and
-thicken it with flour and butter mixed. Have ready a fine fresh cabbage,
-(a young summer one is best) and after it is well washed through two
-cold waters, and all the leaves examined to see if any insects have
-crept between, quarter the cabbage, (removing the stalk) and with a
-cabbage-cutter, or a strong sharp knife, cut it into shreds. Or you may
-begin the cabbage whole and cut it into shreds, spirally, going round
-and round it with the knife. Put the cabbage into the clear soup, and
-boil it till, upon trial, by taking up a little on a fork, you find it
-quite tender and perfectly well cooked. Then serve it up in the tureen.
-This is a family soup.
-
-
-RED CABBAGE SOUP.--Red cabbages for soup should either be quartered, or
-cut into shreds; it is made as above, of beef or mutton, and seasoned
-with salt, pepper, and a jill of strong tarragon vinegar, or a
-table-spoonful of mixed tarragon leaves, if in summer.
-
-
-FINE CABBAGE SOUP.--Remove the outside leaves from a fine, fresh, large
-cabbage. Cut the stalk short, and split it half-way down so as to divide
-the cabbage into quarters, but do not separate it quite to the bottom.
-Wash the cabbage, and lay it in cold water for half an hour or more.
-Then set it over the fire in a pot full of water, adding a little salt,
-and let it boil slowly for an hour and a half, or more--skimming it
-well. Then take it out, drain it, and laying it in a deep pan, pour on
-_cold_ water, and let it remain till the cabbage is cold all through.
-Next, having drained it from the cold water, cut the cabbage in shreds,
-(as for cold-slaw,) and put it into a clean pot containing a quart and a
-pint of boiling milk into which you have stirred a quarter of a pound of
-nice fresh butter, divided into four bits and rolled in flour, adding a
-little pepper and a very little salt. Boil it in the milk till
-thoroughly done and quite tender. Then make some nice toast, cut it into
-squares, lay it in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the soup on it. This
-being made without meat is a good soup for Lent. It will be improved by
-stirring in, towards the last, two or three beaten eggs.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWER SOUP.--Put into a soup-pot a knuckle of veal, and allow to
-each pound a quart of water. Add a set of calf's feet that have been
-singed and scraped, but not skinned; and the hock of a cold boiled ham.
-Boil it till all the meat is in rags, and the soup very thick, seasoning
-with cayenne and a few blades of mace, and adding, towards the last,
-some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Boil in another pot, one or
-two fine cauliflowers. They are best boiled in milk. When quite done and
-very tender, drain them, cut off the largest stalks, and divide the
-blossoms into small pieces; put them into a deep covered dish, lay some
-fresh butter among them, and keep them hot till the veal soup is boiled
-to its utmost thickness. Then strain it into a soup-tureen, and put into
-it the cauliflower, grating some nutmeg upon it. This soup will be found
-very fine, and is an excellent white soup for company.
-
-For Lent this soup may be made without meat, substituting milk, butter,
-and flour, and eggs, as in the receipt for fine cabbage soup. Season it
-with mace and nutmeg. If made with milk, &c., put no water on it, but
-boil the cauliflower in milk from the beginning. This can easily be done
-where milk is plenty.
-
-
-FINE ONION SOUP.--Take a fine fresh neck of mutton, and to make a large
-tureen of soup, you must have a breast of mutton also. Let the meat be
-divided into chops, season it with a little salt, and put it in a
-soup-pot--allow a quart of water to each pound of mutton. Boil, and skim
-it till no more scum arises, and the meat drops in rags from the bones.
-In a small pot boil in milk a dozen large onions, (or more,) adding
-pepper, mace, nutmeg, and some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. The
-onions should previously be peeled and sliced. When they are quite soft,
-transfer them to the soup, with the milk, &c., in which they were
-cooked. Give them one boil in the soup. Then pour it off, or strain it
-into the tureen, omitting all the sediment, and bones, and shreds of
-meat. Make some nice slices of toast, dipping each in boiling water, and
-trimming off all the crust. Cut the toast into small squares, lay them
-in the bottom of the tureen, and pour the soup upon them. Where there is
-no objection to onions it will be much liked.
-
-If milk is plenty use it instead of water for onion soup. White soups
-are always best when made with milk.
-
-
-TURNIP SOUP.--For a very small family take a neck of mutton, and divide
-it into steaks, omitting all the fat. For a family of moderate size,
-take a breast as well as a neck. Put them into a soup-pot with
-sufficient water to cover them, and let them stew till well browned.
-Skim them carefully. Then pour on more water, in the proportion of a
-pint to each pound of meat, and add eight or ten turnips pared and
-sliced thin, with a very little pepper and salt. Let the soup boil till
-the turnips are all dissolved, and the meat in rags. Add, towards the
-last, some bits of butter rolled in flour, and in five minutes
-afterwards the soup will be done. Carefully remove all the bits of meat
-and bone before you send the soup to table. It will be found very good,
-and highly flavored with the turnips.
-
-Onion soup may be made in the same manner. Parsnip soup also, cutting
-the parsnips into small bits. Or all three--turnips, onions and
-parsnips, may be used together.
-
-
-PARSNIP SOUP.--The meat for this soup may either be fresh beef, mutton,
-or fresh venison. Remove the fat, cut the meat into pieces, add a little
-salt, and put it into a soup-pot, with an allowance of rather less than
-a quart of water to each pound. Prepare some fine large parsnips, by
-first scraping and splitting them, and cutting them into pieces; then
-putting them into a frying pan, and frying them brown, in fresh butter
-or nice drippings. When the soup has been boiled till the meat is all in
-rags, and well skimmed--put into it the fried parsnips and let them boil
-about ten minutes, but not till they break or go to pieces. Just before
-you put in the parsnips, stir in a table-spoonful of thickening made
-with butter and flour, mixed to a smooth paste. When you put it into the
-tureen to go to table, be sure to leave in the pot all the shreds of
-meat and bits of bone.
-
-
-CARROT SOUP.--Take a good piece of fresh beef that has not been
-previously cooked. Remove the fat. It is of no use in making soup; and
-as it must all be skimmed off when boiling, it is better to clear it
-away before the meat goes into the pot. Season the beef with a very
-little salt and pepper, and allow a small quart of water to each pound.
-Grate half a dozen or more large carrots on a coarse grater, and put
-them to boil in the soup with some other carrots; cut them into pieces
-about two inches long. When all the meat is boiled to rags, and has left
-the bone, pour off the soup from the sediment, transferring it to a
-tureen, and sending it to table with bread cut into it.
-
-
-POTATO SOUP.--Pare and slice thin half a dozen fine potatos and a small
-onion. Boil them in three large pints of water, till so soft that you
-can pulp them through a cullender. When returned to the pot add a very
-little salt and cayenne, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter,
-divided into bits, and boil it ten minutes longer. When you put it into
-the tureen, stir in two table-spoonfuls or more of good cream. This is a
-soup for fast-days, or for invalids.
-
-
-CHESTNUT SOUP.--Make, in the best manner, a soup of the lean of fresh
-beef, mutton, or venison, (seasoned with cayenne and a little salt,)
-allowing rather less than a quart of water to each pound of meat,
-skimming and boiling it well, till the meat is all in rags, and drops
-from the bone. Strain it, and put it into a clean pot. Have ready a
-quart or more of large chestnuts, boiled and peeled. If roasted, they
-will be still better. They should be the large Spanish chestnuts. Put
-the chestnuts into the soup, with some small bits of fresh butter rolled
-in flour. Boil the soup ten minutes longer, before it goes to table.
-
-
-PORTABLE SOUP.--This is a very good and nutritious soup, made first into
-a jelly, and then congealed into hard cakes, resembling glue. If well
-made, it will keep for many months in a cool, dry place, and when
-dissolved in hot water or gravy, will afford a fine liquid soup, very
-convenient to carry in a box on a journey or sea voyage, or to use in a
-remote place, where fresh meat for soup is not to be had. A piece of
-this glue, the size of a large walnut, will, when melted in water,
-become a pint bowl of soup; or by using less water, you may have it much
-richer. If there is time and opportunity, boil with the piece of soup a
-seasoning of sliced onion, sweet marjoram, sweet basil, or any herbs you
-choose. Also, a bit of butter rolled in flour.
-
-To make portable soup, take two shins or legs of beef, two knuckles of
-veal, and four unskinned calves' feet. Have the bones broken or cracked.
-Put the whole into a large clean pot that will hold four gallons of
-water. Pour in, at beginning, only as much water as will cover the meat
-well, and set it over the fire, to heat gradually till it almost boils.
-Watch and skim it carefully while any scum rises. Then pour in a quart
-of cold water to make it throw up all the remaining scum, and then let
-it come to a good boil, continuing to skim as long as the least scum
-appears. In this be particular. When the liquid appears perfectly clear
-and free from grease, pour in the remainder of the water, and let it
-boil very gently for eight hours. Strain it through a very clean hair
-sieve into a large stoneware pan, and set it where it will cool quickly.
-Next day, remove all the remaining grease, and pour the liquid, as
-quickly as possible, into a three-gallon stew-pan, taking care not to
-disturb the settlings at the bottom. Keep the pan uncovered, and let it
-boil as fast as possible over a quick fire. Next, transfer it to a
-three-quart stew-pan, and skim it again, if necessary. Watch it well,
-and see that it does not burn, as that would spoil the whole. Take out a
-little in a spoon, and hold it in the air, to see if it will jelly. If
-it will not, boil it a little longer. Till it jellies, it is not done.
-
-Have ready some small white ware preserve pots, clean, and quite dry.
-Fill them with the soup, and let them stand undisturbed till next day.
-Set, over a slow fire, a large flat-bottomed stew-pan, one-third filled
-with boiling water. Place in it the pots of soup, seeing it does not
-reach within two inches of their rims. Let the pots stand uncovered in
-this water, hot, but without boiling, for six or seven hours. This will
-bring the soup to a proper thickness, which should be that of a stiff
-jelly, when hot; and when cold, it should be like hard glue. When
-finished turn out the moulds of soup, and wrap them up separately in new
-brownish paper, and put them up in boxes, breaking off a piece when
-wanted to dissolve the soup.
-
-Portable soup may be improved by the addition of three pounds of nice
-lean beef, to the shins, knuckles, calves' feet, &c. The beef must be
-cut into bits.
-
-If you have any friends going the overland journey to the Pacific, a box
-of portable soup may be a most useful present to them.
-
-
-PEPPER-POT.--Have ready a small half pound of very nice white tripe,
-that has been thoroughly boiled and skinned, in a pot by itself, till
-quite soft and tender. It should be cut into very small strips or
-mouthfuls. Put into another pot a neck of mutton, and a pound of lean
-ham, and pour on it a large gallon of water. Boil it slowly, and skim
-it. When the scum has ceased to rise, put in two large onions sliced,
-four potatos quartered, and four sliced turnips. Season with a very
-small piece of red pepper or capsicum, taking care not to make it too
-hot. Then add the boiled tripe. Make a quart bowlful of small dumplings
-of butter and flour, mixed with a very little water; and throw them into
-the pepper-pot, which should afterwards boil about an hour. Then take
-it up, and remove the meat before it is put into the tureen. Leave in
-the bits of tripe.
-
-
-NOODLE SOUP.--This soup may be made with either beef or mutton, but the
-meat must be fresh for the purpose, and not cold meat, re-cooked. Cut
-off all the fat, and break the bones. If boiled in the soup they improve
-it. To each pound of meat allow a small quart of water. Boil and skim
-it, till the meat drops from the bone. Put in with the meat, after the
-scum has ceased to rise, some turnips, carrots and onions, cut in
-slices, and boil them till all to pieces. Strain the soup, and return
-the liquid to a clean pot. Have ready a large quantity of noodles, (in
-French _nouillés_,) and put them into the strained soup; let them boil
-in it ten minutes. The noodles are composed of beaten eggs, made into a
-paste or dough, with flour and a very little fresh butter. This paste is
-rolled out thin into a square sheet. This sheet is then closely rolled
-up like a scroll or quire of thick paper, and then with a sharp knife
-cut round into shreds, or shavings, as cabbage is cut for slaw. These
-cuttings must be dredged with flour to prevent their sticking. Throw
-them into the soup while boiling the second time, and let it boil for
-ten minutes longer.
-
-
-CHICKEN SOUP.--Cut up two large fine fowls, as if carving them for the
-table, and wash the pieces in cold water. Take half a dozen thin slices
-of cold ham, and lay them in a soup-pot, mixed among the pieces of
-chicken. Season them with a very little cayenne, a little nutmeg, and a
-few blades of mace, but no salt, as the ham will make it salt enough.
-Add a head of celery, split and cut into long bits, a quarter of a pound
-of butter, divided in two, and rolled in flour. Pour on three quarts of
-milk. Set the soup-pot over the fire, and let it boil rather slowly,
-skimming it well. When it has boiled an hour, put in some small round
-dumplings, made of half a pound of flour mixed with a quarter of a pound
-of butter; divide this dough into equal portions, and roll them in your
-hands into little balls about the size of a large hickory nut. The soup
-must boil till the flesh of the fowls is loose on the bones, but not
-till it drops off. Stir in, at the last, the beaten yolks of three or
-four eggs; and let the soup remain about five minutes longer over the
-fire. Then take it up. Cut off from the bones the flesh of the fowls,
-and divide it into mouthfuls. Cut up the slices of ham in the same
-manner. Mince the livers and gizzards. Put the bits of fowl and ham in
-the bottom of a large tureen, and pour the soup upon it.
-
-This soup will be found excellent, and may be made of large old fowls,
-that cannot be cooked in any other way. If they are so old that when
-the soup is finished they still continue tough, remove them entirely,
-and do not serve them up at all.
-
-Similar soup may be made of a large old turkey. Also, of four rabbits.
-
-
-DUCK SOUP.--Half roast a pair of fine large tame ducks, keeping them
-half an hour at the fire, and saving the gravy, the fat of which must be
-carefully skimmed off. Then cut them up; season them with black pepper;
-and put them into a soup-pot with four or five small onions sliced thin,
-a small bunch of sage, a thin slice of cold ham cut into pieces, a
-grated nutmeg, and the yellow rind of a lemon grated. Add the gravy of
-the ducks. Pour on, slowly, three quarts of boiling water from a kettle.
-Cover the soup-pot, and set it over a moderate fire. Simmer it slowly
-(skimming it well) for about four hours, or till the flesh of the ducks
-is dissolved into small shreds. When done, strain it through a tureen,
-the bottom of which is covered with toasted bread, cut into square dice
-about two inches in size.
-
-
-FRENCH WHITE SOUP.--Boil a knuckle of veal and four calves' feet in five
-quarts of water, with three onions sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs, four
-heads of white celery cut small, a table-spoonful of whole pepper, and a
-_small_ tea-spoonful of salt, adding five or six large blades of mace.
-Let it boil very slowly, till the meat is in rags and has dropped from
-the bone, and till the gristle has quite dissolved. Skim it well while
-boiling. When done, strain it through a sieve into a tureen, or a deep
-white-ware pan. Next day, take off all the fat, and put the jelly (for
-such it ought to be) into a clean soup-pot with two ounces of
-vermicelli, and set it over the fire. When the vermicelli is dissolved,
-stir in, gradually, a pint of thick cream, while the soup is quite hot;
-but do not let it come to a boil after the cream is in, lest it should
-curdle. Cut up one or two French rolls in the bottom of a tureen, pour
-in the soup, and send it to table.
-
-
-COCOA-NUT SOUP.--Take eight calves' feet (two sets) that have been
-scalded and scraped, but not skinned; and put them into a soup-kettle
-with six or seven blades of mace, and the yellow rind of a lemon grated.
-Pour on a gallon of water; cover the kettle, and let it boil very slowly
-(skimming it well) till the flesh is reduced to rags and has dropped
-entirely from the bones. Then strain it into a broad white-ware pan, and
-set it away to get cold. When it has congealed, scrape off the fat and
-sediment, cut up the cake of jelly, (or stock,) and put it into a clean
-porcelain or enameled kettle. Have ready half a pound of very finely
-grated cocoa-nut. Mix it with a pint of cream. If you cannot obtain
-cream, take rich unskimmed milk, and add to it three ounces of the best
-fresh butter divided into three parts, each bit rolled in arrow-root or
-rice-flour. Mix it, gradually, with the cocoa-nut, and add it to the
-calves-feet-stock in the kettle, seasoned with a small nutmeg grated.
-Set it over the fire, and boil it, slowly, about a quarter of an hour;
-stirring it well. Then transfer it to a tureen, and serve it up. Have
-ready small French rolls, or light milk biscuit to eat with it; also
-powdered sugar in case any of the company should wish to sweeten it.
-
-
-ALMOND SOUP is made in the above manner, substituting pounded almonds
-for the grated cocoa-nut. You must have half a pound of shelled sweet
-almonds, mixed with two ounces of shelled bitter almonds. After
-blanching them in hot water, they must be pounded to a smooth paste (one
-at a time) in a marble mortar; adding frequently a little rose-water to
-prevent their oiling, and becoming heavy. Or you may use peach-water for
-this purpose; in which case omit the bitter almonds, as the peach-water
-will give the desired flavor. When the pounded almonds are ready, mix
-them with the other ingredients, as above.
-
-The calves' feet for these soups should be boiled either very early in
-the morning, or the day before.
-
-
-SPRING SOUP.--Unless your dinner hour is very late, the stock for this
-soup should be made the day before it is wanted, and set away in a
-stone pan, closely covered. To make the stock take a knuckle of veal,
-break the bones, and cut it into several pieces. Allow a quart of water
-to each pound of veal. Put it into a soup-pot, with a set of calves'
-feet,[A] and some bits of cold ham, cut off near the hock. If you have
-no ham, sprinkle in a tea-spoonful of salt, and a salt-spoon of cayenne.
-Place the pot over a _moderate_ fire, and let it simmer slowly (skimming
-it well) for several hours, till the veal is all to rags and the flesh
-of the calves' feet has dropped in shreds from the bones. Then strain
-the soup; and if not wanted that day, set it away in a stone pan, as
-above mentioned.
-
- [A] In buying calves' feet always get those that are singed, not
- skinned. Much of the glutinous or jelly property resides in the skin.
-
-Next day have, ready boiled, two quarts or more of green peas, (they
-must on no account be old,) and a pint of the green tops cut off from
-asparagus boiled for the purpose. Pound a handful of raw spinach till
-you have extracted a tea-cupful of the juice. Set the soup or stock over
-the fire; add the peas, asparagus, and spinach juice, stirring them well
-in; also a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided into four bits,
-and rolled in flour. Let the whole come to a boil; and then take it off
-and transfer it to a tureen. It will be found excellent.
-
-In boiling the peas for this soup, you may put with them half a dozen
-sprigs of green mint, to be afterwards taken out.
-
-Late in the spring you may add to the other vegetables two cucumbers,
-pared and sliced, and the whitest part or heart of a lettuce, boiled
-together; then well drained, and put into the soup with the peas and
-asparagus. It must be very thick with vegetables.
-
-
-SUMMER SOUP.--Take a large neck of mutton, and hack it so as nearly to
-cut it apart, but not quite. Allow a small quart of water to each pound
-of meat, and sprinkle on a tea-spoonful of salt and a very little black
-pepper. Put it into a soup-pot, and boil it _slowly_ (skimming it well)
-till the meat is reduced to rags. Then strain the liquid, return it to
-the soup-pot, and carefully remove all the fat from the surface. Have
-ready half a dozen small turnips sliced thin, two young onions sliced, a
-table-spoonful of sweet marjoram leaves picked from the stalks, and a
-quart of shelled Lima beans. Put in the vegetables, and boil them in the
-soup till they are thoroughly done. You may add to them two
-table-spoonfuls of green nasturtion seeds, either fresh or pickled. Put
-in also some little dumplings, (made of flour and butter,) about ten
-minutes before the soup is done.
-
-Instead of Lima beans, you may divide a cauliflower or two broccolis
-into sprigs, and boil them in the soup with the other vegetables.
-
-This soup may be made of a shoulder of mutton, cut into pieces and the
-bones cracked. For a large potful add also the breast to the neck,
-cutting the bones apart.
-
-
-AUTUMN SOUP.--Begin this soup as early in the day as possible. Take six
-pounds of the lean of fine fresh beef; cut it into small pieces;
-sprinkle it with a tea-spoonful of salt, (not more); put it into a
-soup-pot, and pour on six quarts of water. The hock of a cold ham will
-greatly improve it. Set it over a moderate fire, and let it boil slowly.
-After it comes to a boil, skim it well. Have ready a quarter of a peck
-of ochras cut into very thin round slices, and a quarter of a peck of
-tomatos cut into pieces; also a quart of shelled Lima beans. Season them
-with pepper. Put them in; and after the whole has boiled three hours _at
-least_, take four ears of young Indian corn, and having grated off all
-the grains, add them to the soup and boil it an hour longer. Before you
-serve up the soup remove from it all the bits of meat, which, if the
-soup is sufficiently cooked, will be reduced to shreds.
-
-You may put in with the ochras and tomatos one or two sliced onions. The
-soup, when done, should be as thick as a jelly.
-
-Ochras for soup may be kept all winter, by tying them separately to a
-line stretched high across the store room.
-
-
-WINTER SOUP.--The day before you make the soup, get a leg or shin of
-beef. Have the bone sawed through in several places, and the meat
-notched or scored down to the bone. This will cause the juice or essence
-to come out more freely, when cooked. Rub it slightly with salt; cover
-it, and set it away. Next morning, early as possible, as soon as the
-fire is well made up, put the beef into a large soup-pot, allowing to
-each pound a small quart of water. Then taste the water, and if the salt
-that has been rubbed on the meat is not sufficient, add a very little
-more. Throw in also a tea-spoonful of whole pepper-corns; and you may
-add half a dozen blades of mace. Let it simmer slowly till it comes to a
-boil; then skim it well. After it boils, you may quicken the fire. At
-nine o'clock put in a large head of cabbage cut fine as for cold-slaw;
-six carrots grated; the leaves stripped from a bunch of sweet marjoram;
-and the leaves of a sprig of parsley. An hour afterwards, add six
-turnips, and three potatoes, all cut into four or eight pieces. Also two
-onions, which will be better if previously roasted brown, and then
-sliced. Keep the soup boiling steadily, but not hard, unless the dinner
-hour is very early. For a late dinner, there will be time to boil it
-slowly all the while; and all soups are the better for long and slow
-boiling. See that it is well skimmed, so that, when done, there will be
-not a particle of fat or scum on the surface. At dinner-time take it up
-with a large ladle, and transfer it to a tureen. In doing so, carefully
-avoid the shreds of meat and bone. Leave them all in the bottom of the
-pot, pressing them down with the ladle. A mass of shreds in the tureen
-or soup-plate looks slovenly and disgusting, and should never be seen at
-the table; also, they absorb too much of the liquid. Let the vegetables
-remain in the soup when it is served up, but pick out every shred of
-meat or bone that may be found in the tureen when ready to go to table.
-
-In very cold weather, what is left of this soup will keep till the
-second day; when it must be simmered again over the fire, till it just
-comes to a boil. Put it away in a tin or stone vessel. The lead which is
-used in glazing earthen jars frequently communicates its poison to
-liquids that are kept in them.
-
-
-VEGETABLE SOUP--(_very good_.)--Soak all night, in cold water, either
-two quarts of yellow split peas, or two quarts of dried white beans. In
-the morning drain them, and season them with a very little salt and
-cayenne, and a head of minced celery, or else a heaped table-spoonful of
-celery seed. Put them into a soup-pot with four quarts of water, and
-boil them slowly till they are all dissolved and undistinguishable. Stir
-them frequently. Have ready a profuse quantity of fresh vegetables, such
-as turnips, carrots, parsnips, potatos, onions, and cauliflowers; also,
-salsify, and asparagus tops. Put in, first, the vegetables that require
-the longest boiling. They should all be cut into small pieces. Enrich
-the whole with some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Boil these
-vegetables in the soup till they are all quite tender. Then transfer it
-to a tureen, and serve it up hot.
-
-The foundation being of dried peas or beans, makes it very thick and
-smooth, and the fresh vegetables improve its flavor. It is a good soup
-for Lent, or for any time, if properly and liberally made.
-
-All vegetable soups can be made in Lent without meat, if milk is
-substituted for water, and with butter, beaten eggs and spice, to flavor
-and enrich it.
-
-
-FRENCH POT AU FEU.--This is one of the national dishes of France. The
-following is a genuine French receipt, and it would be found very
-palatable and very convenient if tried in our own land of plenty. The
-true French way to cook it is in an earthen pipkin, such as can be had
-in any pottery shop. The French vessel has a wide mouth, and
-close-fitting lid, with a handle at each side, in the form of circular
-ears. It is large and swelling in the middle, and narrows down towards
-the bottom. The American pipkin has a short thick spout at one side, and
-stands on three or four low feet. No kitchen should be without these
-vessels, which are cheap, very strong, and easily kept clean. They can
-sit on a stove, or in the corner of the fire, and are excellent for slow
-cooking.
-
-The wife of a French artisan commences her pot au feu soon after
-breakfast, prepares the ingredients, puts them, by degrees, into the
-pot, attends to it during the day; and when her husband has done his
-work she has ready for him an excellent and substantial repast, far
-superior to what in our country is called a _tea-dinner_. Men frequently
-indemnify themselves for the poorness of a tea-dinner by taking a dram
-of whiskey afterwards. A Frenchman is satisfied with his excellent pot
-au feu and some fruit afterwards. The French are noted as a temperate
-nation. If they have eaten to their satisfaction they have little
-craving for drink. Yet there is no country in the world where so much
-good eating might be had as in America. But to live well, and
-wholesomely, there should also be good cooking, and the wives of our
-artisans must learn to think more of the comfort, health, and
-cheerfulness of him who in Scotland is called the _bread-winner_, than
-of their own finery, and their children's uncomfortable frippery.
-
-_Receipt._--For a large pot au feu, put into the pipkin six pounds of
-good fresh beef cut up, and pour on it four quarts of water. Set it near
-the fire, skim it when it simmers, and when nearly boiling, add a
-tea-spoonful of salt, half a pound of liver cut in pieces, and some
-black pepper. Then add two or three large carrots, sliced or grated on a
-coarse grater; four turnips, pared and quartered; eight young onions
-peeled and sliced thick, two of the onions roasted whole; a head of
-celery cut up; a parsnip split and cut up; and six potatos, pared,
-sliced, or quartered. In short any good vegetables now in season,
-including tomatos in summer and autumn. Also a bunch of sweet herbs,
-chopped small. Let the whole continue to boil slowly and _steadily_;
-remembering to skim well. Let it simmer slowly five or six hours. Then,
-having laid some large slices of bread in the bottom of a tureen, or a
-very large pan or bowl, pour the stew or soup upon it; all the meat, and
-all the vegetables. If you have any left, recook it the next morning for
-breakfast, and _that day_ you may prepare something else for dinner.
-
-For beef you may substitute mutton, or fresh venison, if you live in a
-venison country, and can get it newly killed.
-
-
-WILD DUCK SOUP.--This is a company soup. If you live where wild ducks
-are abundant, it will afford an agreeable variety occasionally to make
-soup of some of them. If you suspect them to be sedgy or fishy, (you can
-ascertain by the smell when drawing or cleaning them,) parboil each
-duck, with a carrot put into his body. Then take out the carrot and
-throw it away. You will find that the unpleasant flavor has left the
-ducks, and been entirely absorbed by the carrots. To make the soup--cut
-up the ducks, season the pieces with a little salt and pepper, and lay
-them in a soup-pot. For a good pot of soup you should have four wild
-ducks. Add two or three sliced onions, and a table-spoonful of minced
-sage. Also a quarter of a pound of butter divided into four, and each
-piece rolled in flour. Pour in water enough to make a rich soup, and
-let it boil slowly till all the flesh has left the bones,--skim it well.
-Thicken it with boiled or roasted chestnuts, peeled, and then mashed
-with a potato beetle. A glass of Madeira or sherry will be found an
-improvement, stirred in at the last, or the juice and grated peel of a
-lemon. In taking it up for the tureen, be careful to leave all the bones
-and bits of meat in the bottom of the pot.
-
-
-VENISON SOUP.--Take a large fine piece of freshly killed venison. It is
-best at the season when the deer are fat and juicy, from having plenty
-of wild berries to feed on. I do not consider winter-venison worth
-eating, when the meat is poor and hard, and affords no gravy, and also
-is black from being kept too long. When venison is fresh and in good
-order it yields a fine soup, allowing a small quart of water to each
-pound of meat. When it has boiled well, and been skimmed, put in some
-small dumplings made of flour and minced suet, or drippings. Also,
-boiled sweet potatos, cut into round thick slices. You may add boiled
-sweet corn cut off the cob; and, indeed, whatever vegetables are in
-season. The soup-meat should boil till all the flesh is loose on the
-bones, and the bits and shreds should not be served up.
-
-The best pieces of buffalo make good soup.
-
-
-GAME SOUP.--Take partridges, pheasants, grouse, quails, or any of the
-birds considered as game. You may put in here as many different sorts as
-you can procure. They must all be fresh killed. When they are cleaned
-and plucked, cut them in pieces as for carving, and put them into a
-soup-pot, with four calves' feet and some slices of ham, two sticks of
-celery, and a bundle of sweet herbs chopped small, and water enough to
-cover the whole well. Boil and skim well, till all the flesh is loose
-from the bones. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a clean pot, then
-thicken it with fresh butter rolled in flour. Add some force-meat balls
-that have been already fried; or else some hard-boiled yolks of eggs;
-some currant jelly, or some good wine into which a half-nutmeg has been
-grated; the juice of two oranges or lemons, and the grated yellow peel
-of one lemon. Give the soup another boil up, and then send it to table,
-having bread rolls to eat with it.
-
-This is a fine soup for company. Venison soup may be made in this
-manner. Hare soup also.
-
-
-SQUATTER'S SOUP.--Take plenty of _fresh-killed_ venison, as fat and
-juicy as you can get it. Cut the meat off the bones and put it (with the
-bones) into a large pot. Season it with pepper and salt, and pour on
-sufficient water to make a good rich soup. Boil it slowly (remembering
-to skim it well) till the meat is all in rags. Have ready some ears of
-young sweet corn. Boil them in a pot by themselves till they are quite
-soft. Cut the grains off the cob into a deep dish. Having cleared the
-soup from shreds and bits of bone left at the bottom of the pot, stir in
-a thickening made of indian meal mixed to a paste with a little fresh
-lard, or venison gravy. And afterwards throw in, by degrees, the cut
-corn. Let all boil together, till the corn is soft, or for about half an
-hour. Then take it up in a large pan. It will be found very good by
-persons who never were squatters. This soup, with a wild turkey or a
-buffalo hump roasted, and stewed grapes sweetened well with maple sugar,
-will make a good backwoods dinner.
-
-
-MOCK TURTLE SOUP.--Boil together a knuckle of veal (cut up) and a set of
-calves' feet, split. Also the hock of a cold boiled ham. Season it with
-cayenne pepper; but the ham will render it salt enough. You may add a
-smoked tongue. Allow, to each pound of meat, a small quart of water.
-After the meat has come to a boil and been well skimmed, add half a
-dozen sliced parsnips, three sliced onions, and a head of celery cut
-small, with a large bunch of sweet marjoram, and two large carrots
-sliced. Boil all together till the vegetables are nearly dissolved and
-the meat falls from the bone. Then strain the whole through a cullender,
-and transfer the liquid to a clean pot. Have ready some fine large
-sweetbreads that have been soaked in warm water for an hour till all
-the blood was disgorged; then transferred to boiling water for ten
-minutes, and then taken out and laid in very cold water. This will
-blanch them, and all sweetbreads should look white. Take them out; and
-remove carefully all the pipe or gristle. Cut the sweetbreads in pieces
-or mouthfuls, and put them into the pot of strained soup. Have ready
-about two or three dozen (or more) of force-meat balls, made of cold
-minced veal and ham seasoned with nutmeg and mace, enriched with butter,
-and mixed with grated lemon-peel, bread-crumbs, chopped marjoram and
-beaten eggs, to make the whole into smooth balls about the size of a
-hickory nut. Throw the balls into the soup, and add a fresh lemon,
-sliced thin, and a pint of Madeira wine. Give it one more boil up; then
-put it into a tureen and send it to table.
-
-This ought to be a rich soup, and is seldom made except for dinner
-company.
-
-If the above method is _exactly_ followed, there will be found no
-necessity for taking the trouble and enduring the disgust and
-tediousness of cleaning and preparing a calf's head for mock turtle
-soup--a very unpleasant process, which too much resembles the horrors of
-a dissecting room. And when all is done a calf's head is a very insipid
-article.
-
-It will be found that the above is superior to any mock turtle. Made of
-shin beef, with all these ingredients, it is very rich and fine.
-
-
-FISH SOUP.--All fish soups should be made with milk, (if unskimmed so
-much the better,) using no water whatever. The best fish for soup are
-the small sort of cat-fish; also tutaug, porgie, blue fish, white fish,
-black fish or sea-bass. Cut off their heads, tails, and fins, and remove
-the skin, and the backbone, and cut the fish into pieces. To each pound
-of fish allow a quart of rich milk. Put into the soup-pot some pieces of
-cold boiled ham. No salt will then be required; but season with cayenne
-pepper, and a few blades of mace and some grated nutmeg. Add a bunch of
-sweet marjoram, the leaves stripped from the stalks and chopped. Make
-some little dumplings of flour and butter, and put them in when the soup
-is about half done. Half an hour's steady boiling will be sufficient.
-Serve up in the tureen the pieces of fish and ham. Also some toast cut
-in dice.
-
-Soup may be made in this manner, of chickens or rabbits, using always
-milk enriched with bits of butter rolled in flour and flavored with bits
-of cold ham.
-
-
-LOBSTER SOUP.--This is a fine soup for company. Take two or three fine
-fresh lobsters, (the middle sized are the best.) Heat a large pot of
-water, throwing in a large handful of salt. When it is boiling hard put
-in the lobsters, head foremost, that they may die immediately. They will
-require at least half an hour's fast boiling; if large, three quarters.
-When done, take them out, wipe off the scum that has collected on the
-shell, and drain the lobster. First break off the large claws, and crack
-them, then split the body, and extract all the white meat, and the red
-coral--nothing else--and cut it into small pieces. Mash the coral into
-smooth bits with the back of a large spoon, mixing with it plenty of
-sweet oil; and, gradually, adding it to the bits of chopped lobster. Put
-into a clear soup-pot two quarts, or more, of good milk, and thicken it
-with half a dozen crackers or butter-biscuit, pounded fine; or the
-grated crumbs of two or three small rolls, and stir in a quarter of a
-pound of fresh butter made into a paste with two spoonfuls of flour. Put
-in the chopped lobster, seasoned with nutmeg, a few blades of mace
-powdered, and a little cayenne. Let all boil together, slowly, for half
-an hour, keeping it closely covered. Towards the last, stir in two
-beaten eggs. Lay some very small soda biscuit in the bottom of a tureen,
-and pour the soup upon them. Nasturtion flowers strewed at the last
-thickly over the surface of this soup, when in the tureen, are an
-improvement both to its appearance and flavor. So is peppergrass.
-
-
-CRAB SOUP.--Take the meat of two dozen boiled crabs, cut it small, and
-give it a boil in two quarts of milk. Season it with powdered mace,
-nutmeg, and a little cayenne, and thicken it with butter mixed in flour;
-or, make the flour and butter into little dumplings. Have ready half a
-dozen yolks of hard-boiled eggs, and crumble them into the soup just
-before you take it from the fire. Add the heart of a fresh green
-lettuce, cut small and strewed over the surface of the soup, after it is
-poured into the tureen.
-
-
-OYSTER SOUP.--Strain the liquor from one hundred oysters, and carefully
-remove any bits of shell or particles of sea-weed. To every pint of
-oyster liquor allow an equal quantity of rich milk. Season it with whole
-pepper and some blades of mace. Add a head of celery, washed, scraped,
-and minced small. Put the whole into a soup-pot, and boil and skim it
-well. When it boils put in the oysters. Also, a quarter of a pound of
-fresh butter; divide into four pieces, each piece rolled in flour. If
-you can procure cream, add a half-pint, otherwise boil some six eggs
-hard, and crumble the yolks into the soup. After the oysters are in give
-them but one boil up, just sufficient to plump them. If boiled longer
-they will shrink and shrivel and lose their taste. Take them all out and
-set them away to cool. When the soup is done, place in the bottom of the
-tureen some small square pieces of nicely toasted bread cut into dice,
-and pour on the soup; grate in a nutmeg and then add the oysters. Serve
-it up very hot.
-
-Another way is to chop or cut small the oysters, omitting the hard part.
-Make the soup as above, and put in the minced oysters at the last,
-letting them boil but five minutes. Mix the powdered nutmeg with them.
-This is a good way, if you make but a small quantity of soup.
-
-
-CLAM SOUP.--Having washed clean the outside shells of a hundred small
-sand clams, (or scrubbed them with a brush,) put them into a large pot
-of boiling water. When they open their shells take them out with a
-ladle, and as you do so, put them into a cullender to drain off the
-liquor. Then extract the clams from the shells with a knife. Save a
-quart of the liquor, putting the clams in a pitcher by themselves. Mix
-with the quart of liquor, in a clean pot, two quarts of rich milk. Put
-in the clams, and add some pepper-corns and some blades of mace. Also, a
-bunch of sweet marjoram, the leaves stripped off and minced. After all
-has boiled well for an hour, add half a pound, or more, of nice fresh
-butter, made into little dumplings with flour; also a pint of grated
-bread-crumbs. Let it boil a quarter of an hour longer. Then pour the
-soup off from the clams and leave them in the bottom of the pot. They
-will not now be worth eating. If you cannot obtain small clams, you may
-cut large ones in pieces, but they are very coarse and tough.
-
-
-FAST-DAY SOUP.--_For winter._--Having soaked all night two quarts of
-split peas, put them into a soup-pot, adding a sliced onion, two heads
-of celery, the stalks split and cut small; a table-spoonful of chopped
-mint, another of marjoram, and two beets, that have been previously
-boiled and sliced. Mix all these with half a pound of fresh butter cut
-into pieces and dredged with flour. Season with a little salt and
-pepper. Pour on rather more than water enough to cover the whole. Let
-them boil till all the things are quite tender, and the peas dissolved.
-When done, cover the bottom of a tureen with small square bits of toast,
-and pour in the contents of the soup-pot.
-
-It is a good way to boil the split peas in a pot by themselves, till
-they are quite dissolved, and then add them to the ingredients in the
-other pot.
-
-Vegetable soups require a large portion of vegetables, and butter
-always, as a substitute for meat.
-
-
-FRIDAY SOUP.--_For summer._--This is a fast-day soup. Pare and slice six
-cucumbers, and cut up the white part or heart of six lettuces; slice two
-onions, and cut small the leaves of six sprigs of fresh green mint,
-unless mint is disliked by the persons that are to eat the soup; in
-which case, substitute parsley. Add a quart of young green peas. Put the
-whole into a soup-pot, with as much water as will more than cover them
-well. Season slightly with salt and a little cayenne, and add half a
-pound of nice fresh butter, divided into six, each piece dredged well
-with flour. Boil the whole for an hour and a half. Then serve it up,
-without straining; having colored it green with a tea-cup of pounded
-spinach juice.
-
-When green peas are out of season, you may substitute tomatos peeled and
-quartered.
-
-This soup, having no meat, is chiefly for fast days, but will be found
-good at any time.
-
-
-BAKED SOUP.--On the days that you bake bread, you may have a dish of
-thick soup with very little trouble, by putting into a large earthen jug
-or pipkin, or covered pan, the following articles:--Two pounds of
-_fresh_ beef, or mutton, cut into small slices, having first removed the
-fat; two sliced onions and four carrots, and four parsnips cut in four;
-also, four turnips, six potatos pared and cut up, and half a dozen
-tomatos, peeled and quartered. Season the whole with a little salt and
-pepper. A large beet, scraped and cut up, will be an improvement. To
-these things pour on three quarts of water. Cover the earthen vessel,
-and set it in the oven with the bread, and let the soup bake at the same
-time.
-
-If the bread is done before the dinner hour, you must keep the soup
-still longer in the oven.
-
-Do not use _cold_ meat for this or any other soup, unless you are very
-poor.
-
-
-
-
-FISH.
-
-
-TO CLEAN FISH.--This must always be done with the greatest care and
-nicety. If sent to table imperfectly cleaned, they are disgraceful to
-the cook, and disgusting to the sight and taste. Handle the fish
-lightly; not roughly so as to bruise it. Wash it well, but do not leave
-it in the water longer than is needful. It will lose its flavor, and
-become insipid, if soaked. To scale it, lay the fish flat upon one side,
-holding it firmly in the left hand, and with the right taking off the
-scales by means of a knife. When both sides are done, pour sufficient
-cold water over it to float off all the loose scales that may have
-escaped your notice. It is best to pump on it. Then proceed to open and
-empty the fish. Be sure that not the smallest particle of the entrails
-is left in. Scrape all carefully from the backbone. Wash out all the
-blood from the inside. A dexterous cook can draw a fish without
-splitting it entirely down, all the way from head to tail. Smelts and
-other small fish are drawn or emptied at the gills.
-
-All fish should be cleaned or drawn as soon as they are brought in, and
-then kept on ice, till the moment for cooking.
-
-
-TO BOIL FISH.--No fish can be fit to eat unless the eyes are prominent
-and lively, the gills very red, and the body firm and stiff, springing
-back immediately when bent round to try them. Every scale must be
-carefully scraped off, and the entrails entirely extracted; not the
-smallest portion being carelessly left sticking to the backbone.
-Previous to cooking, fish of every kind should be laid in cold water,
-and the blood thoroughly washed from the inside. Few fish are not the
-better for being put on to boil in cold water, heating gradually with it
-till it comes to a boil. If you put it on in boiling water, the outside
-becomes boiling hot too soon; and is apt to break and come off in
-flakes, while the inside still remains hard and underdone: halibut,
-salmon, cod, and other large thick fish must be boiled slowly and
-thoroughly throughout, taking nearly as long as meat. Always put salt
-into the water at the commencement, and a little vinegar towards the
-last. In every kitchen should be a large oval kettle purposely for
-boiling fish. This kettle has a movable strainer inside. The fish lies
-on the strainer. To try if it is done, run a thin sharp knife in it,
-till it reaches the backbone; and see if the flesh will loosen or
-separate easily. If it adheres to the bone it requires more boiling.
-When quite done, leave it no longer in the kettle, or it will lose its
-flavor and get a woolly look. Take out the strainer with the fish upon
-it. Drain off the water through the strainer, cover the fish with a
-folded napkin or fine towel, doubled thick; transfer it to a heated
-dish, and keep it warm and dry till it goes to table, directly after the
-soup. In the mean time prepare the sauce to be served up along with the
-fish.
-
-
-FRYING FISH.--Fish should be fried in _very good_ fresh butter, or nice
-beef drippings; or else in lard, which last, is the most usual method. A
-large allowance of lard should be put into the pan, and held over a
-clear fire, till it becomes so hot as to boil fast in the pan. Till the
-lard hisses and bubbles do not put in the fish. They must first be dried
-separately in a clean cloth, and then scored on the back in deep
-incisions, or gashes, and slightly dredged with flour. Unless the lard
-is amply sufficient in quantity to cover the fish well, and bear them up
-towards the surface, they will sink heavily to the bottom of the pan,
-and perhaps stick there and burn. Also, if there is not fat enough, the
-fish will absorb the whole of what there is, and become dark-colored and
-greasy.
-
-
-BAKED FISH.--This is a dish for company. You may bake in the same manner
-a shad, a fresh codfish, a sheep's head, a white fish, or a blue fish,
-or a pair of large black fish. Trout also are considered fish for
-baking. Cut off the head, and split the fish nearly down to the tail.
-For a stuffing, cut two slices of nice light wheat bread, of shape and
-size to fit easily into the inside of the fish, and spread them thickly
-with very new fresh butter. Season them with cayenne and powdered mace,
-and moisten them with port wine or sherry. Add the juice and yellow rind
-of a lemon, grated; and sufficient powdered white sugar to take off the
-extreme acid of the last. Fill the body of the fish with this stuffing,
-kept in by tying round the fish, carefully, a white cotton cord, or
-tape, so as to confine it in several places. Lay bits of fresh butter
-over the outside, at equal distances. Place the fish on a trivet, in a
-bake pan, and pour round it a pint of wine and water mixed. Baste it
-with this frequently while baking. It will require at least an hour in a
-quick oven. If the basting does not leave sufficient gravy, add half a
-pint more of wine mixed with a little hot water.
-
-When you have taken up the fish, keep it hot while you are finishing the
-gravy, which you should thicken and enrich by stirring in smoothly a
-piece of butter mixed slightly into a paste with flour, and seasoned
-with grated nutmeg. Serve up the gravy in a sauce-boat, and lay slices
-of lemon along the back of the fish, having, of course, removed the
-string that was wound around it to confine the stuffing. Send to table
-with the baked fish, a dish of potatos mashed with milk and butter, and
-browned on the surface with a salamander, or a red hot shovel. Always
-remove the seeds of lemon slices. Fresh mackerel may be baked thus.
-
-Fish may be baked plainly, with a stuffing of sweet marjoram, minced
-sage, and onion, (previously boiled and drained,) a little butter, or
-finely chopped beef suet, and plenty of grated bread crumbs, seasoned
-with a little black pepper. Or instead of crumbs you may put in slices
-of bread and butter soaked in milk, and secured as above from falling
-out while the fish is baking.
-
-
-STEWED FISH.--Take any nice fresh fish of moderate size, and when it is
-drawn and washed, cut it into three or four pieces, and put them into a
-stew-pan with amply sufficient hot water to keep them from burning.
-Season them with a little salt and cayenne. After it has simmered
-steadily for half an hour, and been skimmed, have ready a quarter of a
-pound of fresh butter, mixed into a smooth paste with a heaped
-table-spoonful of flour. Add this to the stew, with a bunch of sweet
-marjoram chopped fine, and a sprig of chopped parsley. If approved, add
-a small onion pared and sliced very thin. Cover it closely, and let it
-stew another half hour. Then send it to table. This is a family dish.
-Any fresh fish may be stewed thus.
-
-
-SPICED FISH.--Cold fish that has been left at dinner is very nice to put
-away for the supper table. It should be fresh salmon, fresh cod,
-rock-fish, halibut, or the remains of any other large fine fish. Take
-out the back bone, and cut the flesh into moderate sized pieces. Lay it
-in a deep dish that has a cover. Season the fish with cayenne pepper, a
-little salt, some grated nutmeg, and some blades of mace; also some
-whole black pepper-corns, and pour over it plenty of good cider vinegar.
-Tarragon vinegar will be an improvement. Cover it closely, and set it in
-a cold place till wanted. If in spring or summer, set it in ice.
-
-We do not recommend cloves or allspice. The taste of those coarse spices
-is so overpowering, (and to many persons so unpleasant,) that they are
-now nearly out of use at good tables.
-
-Nutmeg, mace and ginger, will be found much better, and with cinnamon
-occasionally, are sufficient for all spice seasonings. Nevertheless, for
-those who like them, a few cloves will relieve the insipidity of
-halibut.
-
-
-FISH CAKES.--Take codfish (either fresh or salt) that has been boiled
-the day before. Carefully remove the bones, and mince the flesh. Mix
-with it a quantity of warm mashed potatos, (mashed with butter and milk)
-in the proportion of one third codfish, and two thirds mashed potatos.
-Add sufficient beaten egg to make the whole into a smooth paste. Season
-it with cayenne; and, if the mixture seems dry, moisten and enrich it
-with a little butter. Make it into cakes about an inch thick, and as
-large round as the top of a common sized tea-cup. Or into round balls.
-Sprinkle them well with flour.
-
-Fry them in lard, or beef-drippings. When one side is done turn them
-over. Drain them, and send them to the breakfast table. If approved, you
-may add to the mixture two or three onions boiled and minced. Any large
-cold fish may be dressed in this manner for next morning's breakfast.
-
-
-ROCK-FISH.--Rock-fish are generally plain boiled, (with the heads and
-tails left on,) and they are eaten with egg sauce, (hard boiled eggs
-chopped, and mixed with melted or drawn butter,) seasoned with a little
-cayenne. Put on the side of your plate, any nice fish sauce from the
-castors. Some serve up rock-fish with hard boiled eggs, cut into halves,
-and laid closely in a row along the back of the fish; half an egg being
-helped to each person. Cold butter is then eaten with it. We think this
-a very nice way.
-
-Blue fish, white fish, and black fish, may be drest in this manner.
-Also, sea-bass.
-
-
-BLACK FISH AND SEA-BASS--Are all boiled in the same manner, having first
-carefully scaled, and drawn, and well washed them. In drawing fish take
-care that the whole of the inside is nicely scraped from the back-bone,
-all along. When ready, dredge a clean soft cloth with flour, wrap the
-fish in it; lay it on the strainer of a fish-kettle, and put it in
-plenty of water, into which has been thrown a small table-spoonful of
-salt. Keep it steadily boiling near half an hour. Take it carefully out
-of the cloth, drain it on the strainer, and keep it warm. Send to table
-with it egg-sauce.
-
-Eat mashed potatos with it.
-
-_Frying._--To fry the above fish,--cut them in two or three pieces; wash
-them and wipe them dry; score them with deep cuts, and season with
-cayenne and a little salt--dredge them with flour, and fry them brown in
-a pan nearly full of boiling lard.
-
-Any fish may be fried in this manner.
-
-
-FRESH COD.--A fine codfish should be very thick about the neck; the eyes
-lively; the gills red; and the flesh firm and white. If flabby, it is
-not good. It is in season from October till May. After scaling,
-emptying, washing, and drying, cover it, and let it rest for an hour.
-Then put it on in a fish-kettle of _cold_ water, (hard water if you can
-procure it,) throw in a small handful of salt, and let the cod heat
-gradually, skimming it well. Boil it gently, but steadily, till
-thoroughly done. Then, take it out of the kettle, drain it, and keep it
-warm till ready to go to table. No fish should be allowed to remain in
-the water after the boiling is quite over. Serve it up with oyster or
-lobster sauce.
-
-You may broil fresh cod in steaks, or fry it in cutlets. For frying
-fish, you may use beef or veal drippings, with the fat skimmed off
-carefully. Mutton fat (which is tallow) is unfit for all cookery.
-
-
-TROUT.--Trout is considered a very nice fish, and is in season in the
-summer. When fresh it is a fine flesh color, and its spots are very
-bright. To fry trout, dry them in a cloth. Score them deeply, and touch
-each incision or cut with a little cayenne. Dredge them with flour.
-Grate some bread-crumbs very fine, and in another pan beat some eggs
-very light and thick. Dip each fish twice in the egg, and twice in the
-crumbs, and fry them in plenty of boiling lard, or in a mixture of lard
-and fresh butter. When done, drain them, and send them to table with a
-dish of cucumbers sliced and dressed in the usual way, with vinegar,
-pepper and salt.
-
-If boiled, serve them up with egg sauce. If broiled, eat them with cold
-butter and cayenne.
-
-
-STEWED TROUT.--This is a dish for company. Mix together as much cold
-water and sweet white wine, in equal quantities, as will well cover the
-fish. When done, take them out of the stew pan, drain them, and keep
-them hot while you prepare the gravy. For this, thicken the liquid with
-a piece of fresh butter divided into four, each bit rolled in flour; and
-add two or more well-beaten eggs, and season with powdered mace and
-nutmeg. Mix all this together, give it one boil up, and pour it over the
-trout, after they are dished for table.
-
-
-BAKED TROUT.--Having cleaned the trout, wrap each fish in a very thin
-slice of bacon, sprinkled with minced sweet marjoram, and seasoned with
-cayenne and mace. Inclose each fish in a white paper, cut larger than to
-fit exactly. Fasten the papers with strings or pins, to be removed
-before the fish goes to table. Lay the trout in a square tin pan, and
-bake them in the papers, which must be taken off when the fish are done;
-but serve them up with the bacon round them or not, as you please.
-
-
-SALT COD.--The afternoon before the fish is to be eaten, put it to soak
-in plenty of cold water. Cover it, and let it stand in a warm place all
-night. In the morning pour off that water, wash the fish clean, and
-scrub the outside with a brush. Put it into a kettle with cold water
-sufficient to cover it well; and let it boil fast till near dinner time,
-skimming it well. About half an hour before dinner, pour off this
-boiling water, and substitute a sufficiency of cold. In this last water
-give the fish one boil up. Send it to table with egg sauce, made with
-plenty of butter, and hard-boiled eggs cut in half, and laid closely
-along the back of the fish, to be helped with it. Accompany the cod with
-a plate of sliced beets drest with vinegar.
-
-Next morning you may take what is left, and having removed all the bone,
-mince the fish, and mix it with an equal quantity of mashed potatos,
-adding some butter, pepper, and raw egg. Make the whole into balls or
-flat cakes, and fry them in drippings or lard. They are good at
-breakfast. On every one put a small spot of pepper.
-
-
-FRIED SMELTS.--The smelt is a very nice little fish, which has a
-peculiarly sweet and delicate flavor of its own, that requires, to be
-tasted in perfection, no other cooking than plain broiling or frying in
-fresh lard. Do not wash them, but wipe them dry in a clean cloth; having
-opened and drawn them, (they should be drawn through the gills,) and cut
-off the heads and tails, dredge them with flour. The frying-pan must be
-more than two-thirds full of boiling lard; boiling hard when the smelts
-are put in, so as to float them on the surface. If there is not
-sufficient lard, or if it is not boiling, the fish will sink and be dark
-colored, and greasy. About ten minutes are sufficient for the small
-ones, and fifteen for those of a larger size. When done, drain off the
-lard and send them to the breakfast table on a hot dish.
-
-If you prefer retaining the heads and tails, dish them, alternately,
-with the heads up and tails down.
-
-
-FRIED CAT-FISH.--The best cat-fish are the small ones. If too large,
-they are generally coarse and strong. They must be cooked quite fresh;
-if possible, directly out of the water. They are very popular at fishing
-parties. Wash and clean them, cutting off their heads and tails, and
-removing the upper part of the back-bone, near the shoulders. Score them
-along the back, with deep gashes or incisions. Dredge them with flour,
-and fry them in plenty of lard, boiling fast when the cat-fish are put
-into the pan. Or, you may fry them in the drippings or gravy saved from
-roast beef, or veal. They are very nice dipped in a batter of beaten egg
-and grated bread-crumbs, or they may be done in a plain, though not so
-nice a way, with indian meal instead of bread-crumbs. Drain off the lard
-before you dish them. Touch each incision or cut, _very slightly_, with
-a little cayenne before they go to table.
-
-Cat-fish are a breakfast dish, and are also eaten at supper. Porgie and
-tutaug are cooked in this manner.
-
-Any fish may be fried as above, when not split open.
-
-
-FINE CHOWDER.--This is Commodore Stovens's receipt:--Take four
-table-spoonfuls of minced onions that have been fried with slices of
-salt pork; two pilot-biscuits broken up; one table-spoonful of minced
-sweet marjoram, and one of sweet basil; a quarter of a bottle of
-mushroom catchup; half a bottle of port wine; half a nutmeg grated; a
-few cloves, and mace, and pepper-corns; six pounds of fresh cod, and
-sea-bass, cut in slices. Put the whole into a pot, with water enough to
-cover it about an inch. Boil it steadily for an hour, carefully stirring
-it. Serve it up hot in a large deep dish.
-
-Chowder may be made as above, substituting clams for the cod. The clams
-must be chopped small. You may, for variety, make chowder with oysters,
-or with boiled lobsters, or crabs; always beginning the mixture with
-pork fried with onions.
-
-
-YANKEE CHOWDER.--Having sliced very thin some salt fat pork, season it
-with pepper, lay it in the bottom of a large iron pot, set it over the
-fire, and let it fry. When done, take out the pork, leaving the liquid
-fat in the bottom. Next, peel and slice some onions, and lay them on the
-fat. Pour in sufficient clam or oyster liquor to stew the onions. Have
-ready a sufficient quantity of sea-bass, black fish, tutaug, porgie,
-haddock, or fresh cod. Cut the fish in small pieces, and put it into the
-pot. Add plenty of potatos pared and quartered. Then some clam liquor;
-and lastly, some crackers, (soaked and split,) or some soda biscuit; the
-crackers to cover the top. If you wish to fill a large pot, repeat all
-these ingredients, arranging them in layers. If there is not gravy
-enough, add some boiling milk, poured in at the last, and enriched with
-bits of butter mixed with flour. Cover the pot closely, and let it stew
-half an hour, or more, till all the contents are thoroughly done. You
-may bake the chowder in an iron oven, over a wood fire, heaping live
-coals on the oven lid.
-
-
-CLAM CHOWDER.--Put into boiling water from fifty to a hundred of the
-small sand clams; and when all their shells have opened, take them out,
-as they are then sufficiently boiled. Extract all the hard, or tough,
-uneatable part, and throw it away. Slice thin as much salt pork as, when
-fried in the bottom of a large pot, will produce half a pint of liquid
-or gravy. Take out all the pork, leaving the liquid in the pot. Add to
-it a layer of clams. Then a layer of biscuit soaked in milk or warm
-water. Next another layer of clams; then another layer of soaked
-biscuit; then more clams. Season it with pepper and mace. If there is no
-objection to onions, add three or four boiled and sliced, and some
-minced marjoram. Also, some potatos, boiled, peeled, and quartered. Let
-the last layer be clams, and then cover the whole with a good paste, and
-bake it in an iron oven, or boil it in an iron pot.
-
-Chowder of fresh codfish, halibut, sea-bass, or any other good fish, is
-made as above. Halibut requires a much larger portion of seasoning, and
-a little more pork. Though very large and therefore very profitable, it
-is in itself the most tasteless of all fish. Plain boiled halibut is not
-worth eating.
-
-
-SALMON.--In choosing a salmon, see that the gills are a fine red, the
-eyes full, the scales clear, and the whole fish stiff; the flesh being
-of the peculiar red known as salmon-color. Between the flakes is a
-substance called the curd, which gives it firmness. By keeping, this
-substance melts down and the flesh becomes soft. A salmon can only be
-eaten in perfection on the sea-coast where it was caught, and on the
-same day. To transport it any distance, it must be enclosed in a box,
-and well packed in ice. In America, salmon is found in the greatest
-perfection on the coast of Maine, in the Kennebec. Very fine ones are
-brought to Boston market. They also abound on the coasts of California
-and Oregon. The American salmon is much larger than those of Europe. It
-is so fine a fish that its own flavor is better than any that can be
-communicated except by the most simple sauce. It requires as much
-boiling as meat, that is, a quarter of an hour for every pound. It is in
-season from May till August or September.
-
-The lake salmon is good, but inferior to that of the ocean, in size,
-richness, and color.
-
-In boiling a large fish, to judge if it is done, draw up the strainer or
-fish-plate, and with a thin knife try if the flesh separates easily from
-the bone. If you can loosen it immediately, it is cooked enough. It
-injures a fish to let it get cool in the water.
-
-
-BOILED SALMON.--After carefully emptying the salmon, wash it very clean
-from the blood inside, and remove the scales. To preserve the fine color
-of the salmon, or to set the curd or creamy substance between the
-flakes, it should be put into boiling water, allowing to a gallon of
-water a handful of salt. After the water has been boiling a few minutes,
-and has been skimmed, put in the fish, (laying it on the drainer,) and
-let it boil moderately fast, skimming it well. It must be thoroughly
-boiled. Underdone fish of every kind is disgusting and unwholesome.
-Before it is taken from the fish kettle ascertain if it is sufficiently
-cooked, by trying if the back-bone easily loosens from the flesh. A
-quarter of an hour may be allowed for each pound, for a large thick
-salmon requires as much cooking as meat. When you take it up, drain it
-well, and serve it up immediately. Have ready some lobster sauce, or
-shrimp, if more convenient. To make it, mince the meat of a boiled
-lobster, mashing the coral with it, and mix it with melted or drawn
-butter, made very thick, and having but a very small portion of water.
-For shrimp sauce, boil the shrimps, take off their heads, and squeeze
-out their bodies from the shells. Thicken with them the drawn butter.
-Nothing should go with salmon that will interfere with the flavor of
-this fine fish, or give it any taste that will overpower or weaken its
-own.
-
-Many prefer salmon with nothing more than cold butter spread on after it
-is helped. We think, ourselves, that when the butter is very good, it is
-not improved (for salmon) by the addition of flour and water; and a very
-little is sufficient. You need use nothing from the castors except
-cayenne.
-
-It is usual to eat cucumbers with salmon, and no other vegetables; the
-cucumbers to be pared, sliced, laid in cold water, and dressed, and
-served up by themselves, with a little plate for each person, that the
-vinegar, &c., of the cucumbers may not impart too much acid to the
-salmon.
-
-In places remote from the sea, a whole salmon is seldom seen at table
-but at dinner parties, or at good hotels. In a very hot climate it
-should not be seen at all. When in season, it can be bought in any
-quantity by the pound, for a small family. For a small dinner company,
-from four to six pounds will suffice.
-
-Cook salmon-trout in the same manner. Large fish should be helped with a
-silver fish trowel.
-
-
-ROASTED SALMON.--Take a large piece of fine fresh salmon, cut from the
-middle of the fish, well cleaned and carefully scaled. Wipe it dry in a
-clean coarse cloth. Then dredge it with flour, put it on the spit, and
-place it before a clear bright fire. Baste it with fresh butter, and
-roast it well; seeing that it is thoroughly done to the bone. Serve it
-up plain; garnishing the dish with slices of lemon, as many persons like
-a little lemon-juice with salmon. This mode of cooking salmon will be
-found excellent. A small one, or a salmon-trout, may be roasted whole.
-
-
-BAKED SALMON.--A small salmon may be baked whole. Stuff it with
-forcemeat made of bread-crumbs; chopped oysters, or minced lobster;
-butter, cayenne, a little salt, and powdered mace,--all mixed well, and
-moistened with beaten yolk of egg. Bend the salmon round, and put the
-tail into the mouth, fastening it with a skewer. Put it into a large
-deep dish; lay bits of butter on it at small intervals; and set it into
-the oven. While baking, look at it occasionally, and baste it with the
-butter. When one side is well browned, turn it carefully in the dish,
-and add more butter. Bake it till the other side is well browned. Then
-transfer it to another dish with the gravy that is about it, and send it
-to table.
-
-If you bake salmon in slices, reserve the forcemeat for the outside. Dip
-each slice first in beaten yolk of egg, and then in the forcemeat, till
-it is well coated.
-
-
-BROILED SALMON.--Wash carefully all traces of blood from the inside of
-the fish. Cut it into rather thick slices, or fillets. Dry them in a
-clean cloth, and dredge them with flour. Chalk the bars of the gridiron,
-or grease them with lard or suet, or the dripping of beef or veal, to
-prevent the fish from sticking. Let the fire be a bed of clear bright
-hot coals. Broil the slices well on both sides; and when done, transfer
-them to a hot dish, and lay a bit of fresh butter on each, and season
-them a little with cayenne.
-
-Fresh codfish may be cut into steaks, and broiled as above.
-
-Also halibut, or any other large fish.
-
-Serve up shrimp or lobster sauce, with all cutlets or steaks of large
-fish.
-
-
-FRIED SALMON CUTLETS.--Having washed, dried and floured the cutlets, put
-near a pound of fresh lard into a frying pan, set it over a clear brisk
-fire till it boils fast. Have ready a marinade or dressing made of
-grated bread-crumbs, chopped sweet-marjoram, beaten yolks of eggs, and
-powdered mace--all well mixed. Dip each cutlet into this marinade twice
-over, and fry them. There must be plenty of lard, so that the cutlets
-may float on its surface instead of sinking to the bottom, and becoming
-dark, heavy, and greasy. When they are done, take them up with a
-perforated skimmer, draining off the lard as you do so. Lay them on a
-hot dish, and keep them hot till wanted. Serve up with them mashed
-potatos made into flat cakes, and browned with a salamander or red hot
-shovel.
-
-Fresh codfish cutlets may be fried in this manner.
-
-You may broil halibut as above. Halibut is too insipid for boiling.
-
-
-PICKLED SALMON.--Clean a fine fresh salmon, and remove the bones. Cut
-off the head, fins, and tail. Fish, to be pickled, should (instead of
-washing) be wiped, and rubbed with a clean dry cloth. Cut it into steaks
-or cutlets. Put it into a stone-ware jar with a close cover. A broad low
-jar will be best. Sprinkle it with salt, and cayenne. Add some grains of
-whole black pepper, and some blades of mace, seasoning it highly to make
-it keep well. Fill up the jar with the best cider vinegar, set it in a
-moderate oven, and bake it till thoroughly done; adding more vinegar, if
-it seems too dry. Then cover the jar very closely, with the lid--if
-there is the smallest crack, paste all round a fillet of strong, white
-paper. Whenever you open the jar to take out some of the salmon for use,
-add some fresh vinegar. Keep the jar in a dry cool place. If properly
-done, and well seasoned, it will keep several months.
-
-
-BROILED FRESH MACKEREL.--Mackerel cannot be eaten too fresh, as no fish
-spoils so soon; for which reason in England mackerel is permitted to be
-sold on Sundays. We have heard in London the fishwomen crying it about
-the streets on Sunday morning before church time. And even then it is
-far inferior to mackerel taken immediately out of the sea, at the places
-on the coast. It is generally broiled, as no other cooking seems to suit
-it, and draw forth its true flavor. Split your mackerel, remove the
-bone, and cut off the heads and tails. Dredge them on both sides with
-flour, and sprinkle the inside with black pepper and a little salt. Have
-your gridiron very hot, over a clear fire, and grease the bars with
-lard, or chalk them to prevent the fish from sticking. Broil them well
-on both sides, and when they are done, and very hot, lay some bits of
-fresh butter upon them. Cover to keep them warm, and send them to table
-as soon as possible. They are a fine breakfast fish, and good at a plain
-dinner. For sauce, cold butter is all that is necessary, but you may mix
-with it, chopped parsley, or minced fennel. At the best English tables,
-stewed _gooseberries_, pulped through a sieve and sweetened, is the
-fashionable sauce for broiled mackerel, or lemon-juice is squeezed
-profusely over the fish. To this the lovers of fruit with every thing,
-will not object.
-
-If a mackerel is fresh, the eyes will be full and lively, the gills very
-red, and the stripes or bars on the back a very dark color, (nearly
-black,) and strongly marked; and the body thick. If thin and flat below
-the shoulders, the eyes sunk, the gills pale, and the dark stripes dull
-and indistinct, the fish is unfit to eat.
-
-
-FRIED MACKEREL.--For frying, take small mackerel, as fresh as possible.
-Wash them, dry them in a clean cloth, and score them deeply in the back,
-making several deep cuts. Season them with a little salt and pepper. Go
-over them with beaten egg, and then cover them thickly with grated
-bread-crumbs; which, for this purpose, are superior to indian meal or
-pounded crackers. Fry them in boiling lard, and dish them hot. Send them
-to table with a dish of potatos sliced and fried in butter.
-
-Any fish may be fried in this manner. If large, cut it into pieces.
-
-
-FRIED HALIBUT.--There is a great deal of eating in a halibut, as it is a
-fish of immense size, and has only the back bone. It is sold in pieces
-of any weight or quantity, and is exceedingly white and delicate in
-appearance. But it is so very insipid, that when _boiled_ it has no
-taste at all. Therefore it is always broiled or fried, except at tables
-where economy is the chief consideration. If broiled, it is done in the
-same manner as any other large fish, but to make it palatable requires
-something to give it a little taste.
-
-To fry halibut--take a piece from the middle of the fish, wash it very
-carefully, and dry it in a clean cloth. Then cut it into thick fillets,
-extracting the bone, which is easily done with a sharp knife, loosening
-the flesh from the bone, and raising it as you proceed. Remove the skin.
-You may also cut the fillets into slices about an inch thick. Season
-with cayenne, and a very little salt. Cover them slightly with nice
-butter. Have ready in one pan plenty of grated bread-crumbs; in another
-a sufficiency of beaten yolk of egg, seasoned with powdered mace and
-nutmeg. Dip the slices first into the egg, then into the pan of
-bread-crumbs. Do this twice over, to every slice. Have ready over the
-fire a hot frying pan full of _boiling_ lard. Put in the slices and fry
-them well. When one side is done, turn the other. When all are done,
-take them from the frying pan with a perforated skimmer, and drain them.
-Keep them hot between two heated dishes.
-
-Cooked in this manner, the halibut will be sufficiently flavored and is
-a profitable fish.
-
-Instead of frying, the halibut steaks may be broiled over a clear fire,
-on a grooved gridiron. Having first buttered it, dip each steak, as
-above, in bread-crumbs and egg, and lay upon each steak a large tomato
-opened, and stuffed with a forcemeat of bread-crumbs seasoned with
-butter, pepper, and mace. This will be found a very nice way of cooking
-halibut. Fresh cod may be done in the same manner.
-
-Cold halibut is sometimes drest as salad for the tea-table.
-
-
-BOILED TURBOT OR SHEEP'S-HEAD FISH.--Having cleaned and washed the fish,
-soak it an hour or two in salt and water to draw off the slime. Then let
-it lie half an hour or more in cold water. Afterwards drain, and wipe it
-dry. Score the back deeply with a knife. The whiteness of the fish will
-be improved by rubbing it over with a cut lemon. The fish kettle must be
-large, and nicely clean. Lay the fish with its back downward, on the
-strainer of the kettle. Cover it well with cold water, (milk and water
-in equal portions will be better still,) and add a small spoonful of
-salt. Do not let it come to a boil too fast, and skim it carefully. When
-the scum has ceased to rise, diminish the heat under the kettle, and let
-it simmer for about half an hour or more; not allowing it to boil hard.
-When the fish is done, take it up carefully with a fish-slice; and
-having prepared the sauce, pour it over the fish and send it to table
-hot.
-
-For the sauce, mix together very smoothly, with a broad-bladed knife, a
-quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and two table-spoonfuls of flour.
-Put them into a clean sauce-pan, and hold it over the fire, and stir
-them till melted. Then add a large salt-spoonful of powdered mace, and
-as much cayenne as will lie on a sixpence. It will be much improved by
-the addition of some boiled lobster, chopped small. When the sauce has
-simmered five minutes, add very gradually half a pint of rich cream, and
-let it come almost to a boil, stirring all the time. After the fish is
-taken up, pour the sauce over it hot. Or you may send it to table in a
-sauce-boat. In this case ornament the fish with the coral of the lobster
-put on in a handsome figure.
-
-Another way of dressing this fish is, after it has been boiled, to set
-it on ice to get cold; and then, having carefully removed the bones, cut
-the flesh into small squares, put it into a stew-pan, and having mixed
-the above sauce, add it to the fish, and let it stew slowly in the
-sauce; but do not let it come to a boil. When thoroughly hot, take it
-up, and send it to table in a deep dish.
-
-
-BAKED TURBOT OR SHEEP'S-HEAD FISH.--Having cleaned the fish, soak it an
-hour or two in salt and water, and afterwards wash it well through two
-or three fresh waters. Then dry it in a clean towel. Score it deeply
-across the back; and then lay it in a deep white baking-dish. Mix
-together a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg; add a
-salt-spoon of cayenne; a few sprigs of sweet marjoram and sweet basil,
-finely minced; two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter; and two
-table-spoonfuls of grated bread-crumbs. Stir this mixture into a pint of
-rich cream. Pour this marinade over the fish, cover it, and let it stand
-half an hour. Then bake it in the marinade; and send it hot to table.
-
-If the fish is too large to be baked whole, cut it into fillets,
-extracting the bone.
-
-Salmon-trout may be baked in this manner.
-
-
-SEA BASS WITH TOMATOS.--Take three large fine sea-bass, or black-fish.
-Cut off their heads and tails, and fry the fish in plenty of lard till
-about half done. Have ready a pint of tomatos, that have been pickled
-cold in vinegar flavored with a muslin bag of mixed spices. Drain the
-tomatos well from the vinegar; skin them, and mash them in a pan;
-dredging them with about as much flour as would fill a large table-spoon
-heaped up. Pour the mixture over the fish while in the frying pan; and
-continue frying till they are thoroughly done.
-
-Cutlets of halibut may be fried in this manner with tomatos: also, any
-other pan-fish.
-
-Beef-steaks or lamb-chops are excellent fried thus with tomatos.
-
-
-BAKED SALMON-TROUT.--Having cleaned the fish, and laid it two hours in
-weak salt and water, dry it in a cloth, and then rub both the inside and
-outside with a seasoning of cayenne pepper, powdered mace, nutmeg, and
-a little salt, mixed well together. Then lay it in a deep baking-pan,
-turn the tail round into the mouth, and stick bits of fresh butter
-thickly over the fish. Put it into an oven, and bake it well; basting it
-frequently with the liquid that will soon surround it. When you suppose
-it to be nearly done, try it by sticking down to the backbone a
-thin-bladed knife. When you find that the flesh separates immediately
-from the bone, it is done sufficiently. Serve it up with lobster-sauce.
-
-Any large fresh fish may be baked in this way.
-
-
-CREAM TROUT.--Having prepared the trout very nicely, and cut off the
-heads and tails, put the fish into boiling water that has been slightly
-salted, and simmer them for five minutes. Then take them out, and lay
-them to drain. Put them into a stew-pan, and season them well with
-powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little cayenne, all mixed together. Put in
-as much rich cream as will cover the fish, adding the fresh yellow rind
-of a small lemon, grated. Keep the pan covered, and let the fish stew
-for about ten minutes after it has begun to simmer. Then dish the fish,
-and keep them hot till you have finished the sauce. Mix, very smoothly,
-a small table-spoonful of arrow-root, the juice of the lemon, and two
-table-spoonfuls of sugar, and stir it into the cream. Pour the sauce
-over the fish, and then send them to table.
-
-Turbot or sheep's-head fish may be dressed as above; of course it will
-require a larger proportion of seasoning, &c., and longer time to cook.
-
-Carp is very nice stewed in this manner.
-
-
-STEWED CODFISH.--Take fine _fresh_ cod, and cut it into slices an inch
-thick, separated from the bones. Lay the pieces of fish in the bottom of
-a stew-pan: season them with grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace;
-a salt-spoonful of cayenne pepper; and a small saucer full of chopped
-celery; or a bunch of sweet herbs tied together. Add a pint of oyster
-liquor, and the juice of a lemon. Cover it close, and let it stew gently
-till the fish is almost done, shaking the pan frequently. Then take a
-piece of fresh butter the size of an egg; roll it in flour, and add it
-to the stew. Also, put in two dozen large fine oysters, with what liquor
-there is about them. Cover it again; quicken the fire a little, and let
-the whole continue to stew five minutes longer. Before you send it to
-table, remove the bunch of sweet herbs.
-
-Rock-fish may be stewed in this manner. Fresh salmon also.
-
-
-FRIED CODFISH.--Take the middle or tail part of a fresh codfish, and cut
-it into slices not quite an inch thick, first removing the skin. Season
-them with a little salt and cayenne pepper. Have ready in one dish some
-beaten yolk of egg, and in another some grated bread-crumbs. Dip each
-slice of fish twice into the egg, and then twice into the crumbs. Fry
-them in fresh butter, and serve them up with the gravy about them.
-
-Halibut may be fried as above.
-
-
-STEWED HALIBUT.--Cut the fish into pieces about four inches square, of
-course omitting the bone. Season it very slightly with salt, and let it
-rest for half an hour. Then take it out of the salt, put it into a large
-deep dish, and strew over it a mixture of cayenne pepper, ground white
-ginger, and grated nutmeg. Lay among it some small bits of fresh butter
-rolled in grated bread. Add half a pint of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar if
-you have it.) Place the dish in a slow oven, and let the halibut cook
-till thoroughly done, basting it very _frequently_ with the liquid. When
-nearly done, add a large table-spoonful or more of capers, or pickled
-nasturtions.
-
-Halibut is a very insipid fish; but this mode of cooking will give it
-taste.
-
-
-STEWED ROCK-FISH.--Take a large rock-fish, and cut it in slices near an
-inch thick. Sprinkle it _very slightly_ with salt, and let it remain for
-half an hour. Slice very thin half a dozen large onions. Put them into a
-stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut into bits. Set
-them over a slow fire, and stir them continually till they are quite
-soft, taking care not to let them become brown. Then put in the sliced
-fish in layers; seasoning each layer with a mixture of white ground
-ginger, cayenne pepper, and grated nutmeg; add some chopped parsley, and
-some bits of butter rolled in flour. Pour in a pint of water, and, if
-you choose, a wine-glass of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar will be best.[B])
-Set it over a good fire and let it cook about an hour. When done, take
-out the fish carefully, to avoid breaking the slices. Lay it in a deep
-dish that has been made hot, and cover it immediately. Have ready the
-beaten yolks of two eggs. Stir them into the gravy. Give it one boil up;
-and then either pour it over the fish, or serve it up in a sauce-boat.
-
- [B] To make this vinegar--half fill a bottle with tarragon leaves, and
- fill it quite up with the best cider vinegar. Cork it tightly, and do
- not remove the tarragon, but let it remain always at the bottom. The
- flavor is very fine.
-
-Halibut, fresh cod, or any other large fish may be stewed in this
-manner.
-
-
-TO KEEP A SHAD FRESH.--By the following process, (which we can highly
-recommend from experience,) a shad may be kept twenty-four hours, or
-indeed longer, so as to be perfectly fresh in taste and appearance. For
-instance, if brought _fresh_ from market on Saturday morning, it may be
-broiled for breakfast on Sunday, and will seem like a fresh shad just
-from the water. Immediately on bringing it in, let it be scaled,
-cleaned, washed, split, and wiped dry; cutting off the head and tail.
-Spread the shad open on a large flat dish. Mix well together in a cup, a
-heaped table-spoonful of brown sugar; a heaped tea-spoonful of cayenne
-pepper, and a tea-spoonful of fine salt; and then rub the mixture,
-thoroughly and evenly, all over the inside of the fish; which, of
-course, must be spread with the skin or outside downward. Cover it
-closely with a large tin cover or with another dish, and set it
-immediately on ice or in a very cold place, and let it rest till next
-morning, or till it is wanted for cooking. Immediately before you put it
-on the gridiron, take a clean towel and carefully wipe off the _whole of
-the seasoning_, not letting a particle of it remain round the edges, or
-anywhere else. Then put the shad on a previously heated gridiron, over
-hot coals, and broil it well. Butter it, and send it hot to table, where
-every one can season it again, according to their taste.
-
-
-PLANKED SHAD.--This is the best way of cooking shad when in perfection,
-just out of the river; and it is much in use at fishing party dinners. A
-board or plank, about three inches thick and two feet square, must be
-provided for the purpose. This plank should be of well-seasoned oak or
-hickory, and very clean. A pine board will very soon catch fire and
-burn; besides communicating to the fish a taste of turpentine or rosin.
-Take a very fine shad, and (having cut off the head and tail,) split it
-down the back, clean it, wash it well, and wipe it dry. Sprinkle it
-with salt, and cayenne. Stand up the board before the fire till it
-becomes very hot, and almost begins to char. Then nail to the hot board
-the spread-open shad, with the back or skin-side next to the plank,
-securing it with a few nails, not driven in so hard that they cannot
-easily be drawn out. Begin to roast it with the head downward. After a
-while turn the other end of the plank, so as to place the tail downward.
-Turn it frequently up or down, that the juices of the fish may be
-equally dispersed throughout. When done, butter it with fresh butter,
-and send it to table on the board; under which, place a large dish or
-tray. Help it to the company off the plank. This mode of cooking a shad
-will be found superior to all others; and is so generally liked, that
-two at least will be required, one at each end of the table. It is much
-enjoyed by parties who have dinners on the banks of the river, and
-bespeak of the fishermen shad just out of the water.
-
-Lake salmon may be cooked in this manner on a plank. Also, blue fish,
-and the lake white fish.
-
-At the principal household stores, shad-boards of oak are now to be
-purchased ready made. The cost is from a dollar to seventy-five cents.
-They are very strong and smooth, and furnished with thick wires crossing
-the board diagonally. Behind these the fish is to slip in without
-nailing. They are much used, and we advise every house-keeper to get
-one. We see very nice ones at Carryl's Furnishing Store, Chestnut
-street, Philadelphia.
-
-
-
-
-SHELL FISH.
-
-
-TO CHOOSE OYSTERS.--Insert a knife, and if the shell instantly closes
-firmly on the knife, the oysters are fresh. If it shuts slowly and
-faintly, or not at all, they are dying, or dead. When the shells of raw
-oysters are found gaping open they are fit for nothing but to throw
-away, and should not have been seen in the market, as they are quite
-dead and decomposition has commenced. Clams the same.
-
-
-TO FEED OYSTERS.--When it is necessary to keep oysters a day or two
-before they are cooked, they must be kept clean and fed, otherwise they
-will die and spoil. Put them into a large tub of clean water; wash from
-them the mud and sand, and scrub them with a birch broom. Then pour off
-_that_ water, and give them a clean tubful, placing the oysters with the
-deep or large side downward, and sprinkling them well, with salt mixed
-with it, allowing about a pint of salt to every two gallons of water.
-But if you have a very large quantity of oysters, add to the salt and
-water several handfuls of indian meal. Repeat this every twelve hours,
-with fresh water and meal. Always at the time of high water, oysters may
-be seen to open their shells, as if in expectation of their accustomed
-food. If this is carefully continued, they will remain plump and
-healthy for two days.
-
-Terrapins also, and other shell fish, should have the salt and water
-changed every twelve hours, and be fed with corn meal.
-
-Turtle must also be well fed, and allowed salted water to swim in.
-
-
-STEWED OYSTERS.--Get two hundred or more fine large fresh oysters. Drain
-them from their liquor, (saving it in a pitcher,) and put them into a
-stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and set them over
-the fire. When they have simmered, and have almost come to a boil,
-remove them from the fire; and have ready a pan of very cold water. Take
-out the oysters, (one at a time, on a fork,) and put them into the cold
-water. This will plump them, and render them firm. Having saved about
-half their liquor, put it into the stew-pan, seasoned well with blades
-of mace, grated nutmeg, whole pepper-corns, and a little cayenne. Stir
-in half a pint or more of thick rich cream; and if you cannot procure
-cream, an equal quantity of nice fresh butter divided into bits,
-slightly dredged with a very little flour. Boil the liquor by itself,
-and when it comes to a boil, take the oysters out of the cold water, and
-put them into the boiling liquor. In five minutes remove the pan from
-the fire, (the oysters having simmered,) and transfer them to a tureen
-or deep dish, in the bottom of which has been laid a buttered toast,
-that has previously been dipped a minute in hot water or milk.
-
-
-FRENCH STEWED OYSTERS.--Wash fifty fine large oysters in their own
-liquor, then strain it into a stew-pan, putting the oysters in a pan of
-cold water. Season the liquor with a large glass or half a pint of white
-wine, (sherry or Madeira,) the juice of two lemons, six or seven blades
-of mace, and a small grated nutmeg. Boil the seasoned liquor; and skim,
-and stir it well. When it comes to a boil, put in the oysters. Give them
-one good stir, and then immediately take them from the fire, transfer
-them to a deep dish, and send them to table. They are not to boil.
-
-Many persons consider this the finest way of cooking oysters for
-company. Try it. The oysters must be of the very best.
-
-
-FRIED OYSTERS.--For frying, take only the largest and finest oysters.
-They should be as fresh as you can get them. Salt oysters are not good
-for frying. Take them out of their liquor, carefully, with a fork,
-picking off whatever bits of shell may be about them. Dry them in a
-clean napkin. Prepare some grated bread-crumbs, or pounded cracker, or
-soda biscuit, seasoned with cayenne pepper. Have ready plenty of yolk of
-egg beaten till very light; and to each egg allow a large tea-spoonful
-of rich cream, or of the best fresh butter. Beat the egg and cream
-together. Dip each oyster first into the egg, &c., and then into the
-crumbs. Repeat this twice till the oysters are well-coated all over.
-Have ready boiling, in a frying-pan, an equal mixture of fresh butter
-and lard. It must come nearly to the edge or top of the frying-pan, and
-be boiling fast when the oysters go in; otherwise they will be heavy and
-greasy, and sink to the bottom. Fry them of a yellow brown on both
-sides. Send them to table very hot.
-
-Oysters will be found much the best when fried in grated bread-crumbs.
-Cracker-crumbs form a hard, tough coating that is very indigestible, and
-also impairs the flavor. Use no salt in making the batter. Omit it
-entirely. It overpowers the taste of the oysters.
-
-
-OYSTER FRITTERS.--Allow to each egg a heaped table-spoonful of flour,
-and a jill or small tea-cupful of milk. Beat the eggs till very light
-and thick; then stir them, gradually, into the pan of milk, in turn with
-the flour, a little at a time. Beat the whole very hard. Have ready the
-oysters, that you may proceed immediately to baking the fritters. The
-oysters should be fresh, and of the largest size. Having drained them
-from their liquor, and dried them separately in a cloth, and dredged
-them with flour, set over the fire a frying-pan nearly full of lard.
-When it boils fast, put in a large spoonful of the batter. Then lay an
-oyster upon it, and cover the oyster with another spoonful of batter.
-Fry the fritters of a nice yellow. As they are done, take them up, drain
-off the lard from the oysters, and keep them hot till they go to table.
-This will be found a very fine receipt if _exactly_ followed.
-
-
-CLAM FRITTERS.--Put a sufficient quantity of clams into a pot of boiling
-water. The small sand-clam will be best. When the shells open wide, take
-them out, extract the clams from the shells, and put them into a
-stew-pan. Strain their liquor, and pour about half of it over the clams;
-adding a little black pepper. They will require no salt. Let them stew,
-slowly, for half an hour; then take them out; drain off all the liquor;
-and mince the clams as fine as possible, omitting the hardest parts. You
-should have as many clams as will make a large pint when minced. Make a
-batter of seven eggs, beaten till very thick and light, and then mixed
-gradually with a quart of milk, and a pint of sifted flour, stirred in
-by degrees, and made perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Then,
-gradually, mix the minced clams with the batter, and stir the whole very
-hard. Have ready in a frying-pan over the fire, a sufficiency of boiling
-lard. Put in, with a spoon, the batter so as to form fritters, and fry
-them light brown. Drain them well when done and serve them up hot.
-
-Oyster fritters may be made as above: except that the oysters must be
-minced raw, and mixed into the batter without having been stewed.
-
-_Soft-crab Fritters._--Use only the bodies of the crabs, and proceed as
-above.
-
-
-SCOLLOPED CLAMS.--Having boiled a quantity of small sand-clams till they
-open of themselves, remove them from the shells. Drain away the liquor,
-and chop them small, omitting the hardest parts. Season them with black
-pepper and powdered mace, and mix them with grated bread-crumbs and
-fresh butter. Get some large clean clam-shells, and fill them to the
-edge with the above mixture, moistened with _a very little_ of the
-liquor. Cover the surface with grated crumbs, and add to each one a
-small bit of butter. Set them in an oven, and bake them light brown.
-Send them to table in the shells they were baked in, arranged on large
-dishes. They are eaten at breakfast and supper. Clams must always have
-the shells washed before they are boiled.
-
-Oysters are frequently scolloped in this manner, minced, and served up
-in large _clam_ shells.
-
-Boiled crabs, also, are cooked, minced, and prepared in this way, and
-sent to table in the back-shell of the crab.
-
-All these scollops are improved by mixing among them some hard-boiled
-eggs, minced or chopped; or some raw egg beaten.
-
-
-ROASTED OYSTERS.--The old-fashioned way of roasting oysters is to lay
-them on a hot hearth, and cover them in hot cinders or ashes, (taking
-them out with tongs when done,) or to put them into a moderate fire.
-When done, their shells will begin to open. The usual way now is to
-broil them on large gridirons of strong wire. Serve them up in their
-shells on large dishes, or on trays, at oyster suppers. At every plate
-lay an oyster knife and a clean coarse towel, and between every two
-chairs set a bucket to receive the empty shells. The gentlemen generally
-save the ladies the trouble of opening the oysters, by performing that
-office for them.
-
-Have on the table, to eat with the oysters, bread-rolls, biscuits,
-butter, and glasses with sticks of celery scraped, and divested of the
-green leaves at the top. Have also ale or porter.
-
-Or, you may take large oysters out of their shells, dredge them lightly
-with flour, lay them separately on a wire gridiron, and broil them.
-Serve them up on large dishes, with a morsel of fresh butter laid on
-each oyster.
-
-
-SCOLLOPED OYSTERS.--Drain the liquor from a sufficient quantity of fine
-fresh oysters; and season them with blades of mace, grated nutmeg, and a
-little cayenne. Lay about a dozen of them in the bottom of a deep dish.
-Cut some slices of wheat bread, and put them to soak in a pan of the
-oyster liquor (previously strained.)
-
-Soak the bread till it is soft throughout, but not dissolved. Cover the
-oysters in the bottom of the dish, with some slices of the soaked bread,
-(drained from the liquor,) and lay upon the bread a few small bits of
-nice fresh butter. Then put in another layer of seasoned oysters; then
-another layer of soaked bread with bits of butter dispersed upon it.
-Repeat this with more layers of oysters, soaked bread, and bits of
-butter, till the dish is full, finishing with a close layer of bread on
-the top. Set this into a hot oven, and bake it, a short time only, or
-till it is well browned on the surface. Oysters require but little
-cooking, and this bread has had one baking already. The liquid that is
-about the bread is sufficient. It requires no more.
-
-Scolloped oysters may be cooked in large, clean, clam-shells and served
-up on great dishes.
-
-
-PICKLED OYSTERS.--Take a hundred fine large oysters--set them over the
-fire in their own liquor--add two ounces of nice fresh butter, and
-simmer them slowly for ten minutes; skimming them well. If they boil
-fast and long, they will become hard and shrivelled. Take them off the
-fire and strain from them their liquor; spread the oysters out on large
-dishes, and place them in the air to cool fast, or lay them in a broad
-pan of cold water. This renders them firm. Strain the liquor, and then
-mix with it an equal quantity of the best and purest clear
-cider-vinegar. Season (if the oysters are fresh,) with a small
-tea-spoonful of salt, two dozen whole pepper-corns, and a
-table-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg, mixed. Let the liquor boil
-till it is reduced to little more than enough to cover the oysters well.
-Put the oysters into a tureen, or a broad stone jar. Pour the hot liquor
-over them, and let them grow quite cold before they are eaten. You may
-give them a fine tinge of pale pink color by adding to the liquor (while
-boiling,) a little prepared cochineal.
-
-
-PICKLED OYSTERS.--_For keeping._--Have five or six hundred oysters of
-the finest sort and largest size. Proceed as in the foregoing receipt,
-but increase, proportionately, the quantity of spice and vinegar. Put
-them in stone-ware jars, securing the covers by pasting all round, bands
-or strips of thick white paper; and place on each jar, on the top of the
-liquor, a table-spoonful of salad oil.
-
-Use no other than _genuine cider-vinegar_. Much that is sold for the
-best white-wine vinegar is in reality a deleterious compound of
-pernicious drugs, that will eat up or dissolve the oysters entirely,
-leaving nothing but a sickening whitish fluid. This vinegar is at first
-so overpoweringly sharp and pungent, as to destroy, entirely, the taste
-of the spices; and, while cooking, emits a disagreeable smell. The
-oysters immediately become ragged, and in less than an hour are entirely
-destroyed. This vinegar acts in the same manner on all other pickles,
-and the use of it should always be shunned.
-
-_Drugs_ should not be employed in any sort of cookery, though their
-introduction is now most lamentably frequent. They ruin the flavor and
-are injurious to health.
-
-
-OYSTER PATTIES.--Make sufficient puff-paste for at least a dozen small
-patties. Roll it out thick, and line with it twelve small tin
-patty-pans. Bake them brown in a brisk oven; and when done set them to
-cool. Have ready two or three dozen large, fine, fresh oysters. Wash and
-drain them, and put them into a stew-pan with no other liquid than just
-enough of their own liquor to keep them from burning. Season them with
-cayenne, nutmeg, and mace, and a few of the green tops or leaves of
-celery sprigs minced small. Add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter,
-divided into bits, and laid among the oysters. To enrich the gravy, stir
-in, at the last, the beaten yolks of three or four eggs, or some thick
-cream or butter. Let the oysters stew in this gravy about five minutes.
-When the patties are beginning to cool, fill each with one or two large
-oysters. If you choose, you can bake for every patty a small round lid
-of pastry, to be laid lightly on the top, so as to cover the oysters
-when they go to table. For company, make a large quantity of oyster
-patties, as they are much liked.
-
-
-OYSTER LOAVES.--Take some tall fresh rolls, or small loaves. Cut nicely
-a round or oval hole in the top of each, saving the pieces that come
-off. Then carefully scoop out most of the crumb from the inside, leaving
-the crust standing. Have ready a sufficient quantity of large fresh
-oysters. Put the oysters with one-fourth of their liquor into a
-stew-pan; adding the bread-crumbs, a large piece of fresh butter, some
-powdered nutmeg, and mace. Stew them about ten minutes. Then stir in two
-or three large table-spoonfuls of cream; take them off just as they are
-coming to a boil. If cooked too long the oysters will become tough and
-shriveled, and the cream will curdle. Fill the inside of your scooped
-loaves with the oysters, reserving as many large oysters as you have
-loaves. Place the bit of upper-crust carefully on the top of each, so as
-to cover the whole. Arrange them on a dish, and lay on each lid one of
-the large oysters kept out for the purpose. These ornamental oysters
-must be well drained from any liquid that is about them.
-
-
-OYSTER OMELET.--Having strained the liquor from twenty-five oysters of
-the largest size, mince them small; omitting the hard part or gristle.
-If you cannot get large oysters, you should have forty or fifty small
-ones. Break into a shallow pan six, seven, or eight eggs, according to
-the quantity of minced oysters. Omit half the whites, and, (having
-beaten the eggs till very light, thick, and smooth,) mix the oysters
-gradually into them, adding a little cayenne pepper, and some powdered
-nutmeg. Put three ounces or more of the best fresh butter into a small
-frying-pan, if you have no pan especially for omelets. Place it over a
-clear fire, and when the butter, (which should be previously cut up,)
-has come to a boil, put in the omelet-mixture; stir it till it begins to
-set; and fry it light brown, lifting the edge several times by slipping
-a knife under it, and taking care not to cook it too much or it will
-shrivel and become tough. When done, clap a large hot plate or dish on
-the top of the omelet, and turn it quickly and carefully out of the pan.
-Serve it up immediately. It is a fine breakfast dish. This quantity will
-make one large or two small omelets.
-
-Clam omelets may be made as above.
-
-An omelet pan should be smaller than a common frying-pan, and lined with
-tin. In a large pan the omelet will spread too much, and become thin
-like a pancake.
-
-Never turn an omelet while frying, as that will make it heavy and tough.
-When done, brown it by holding a red-hot shovel or salamander close
-above the top.
-
-Excellent omelets may be made of cold boiled ham, or smoked tongue;
-grated or minced small, mixed with a sufficiency of beaten eggs, and
-fried in butter.
-
-
-BROILED OYSTERS.--Take the largest and finest oysters. See that your
-gridiron is very clean. Rub the bars with fresh butter, and set it over
-a clear steady fire, entirely free from smoke; or on a bed of bright hot
-wood coals. Place the oysters on the gridiron, and when done on one
-side, take a fork and turn them on the other; being careful not to let
-them burn. Put some fresh butter in the bottom of a dish. Lay the
-oysters on it, and season them with pepper and grated nutmeg. Send them
-to table hot.
-
-
-OYSTER PIE.--Having buttered the inside of a deep dish, line it with
-puff-paste rolled out rather thick; and prepare another sheet of paste
-for the lid. Pat a clean towel into the dish (folded so as to support
-the lid) and then put on the lid; set it into the oven, and bake the
-paste well. When done, remove the lid, and take out the folded towel.
-While the paste is baking, prepare the oysters. Having picked off
-carefully any bits of shell that may be found about them, lay them in a
-sieve and drain off the liquor into a pan. Put the oysters into a
-skillet or stew-pan, with barely enough of the liquor to keep them from
-burning. Season them with whole pepper, blades of mace, some grated
-nutmeg, and some grated lemon-peel, (the yellow rind only,) and a little
-finely minced celery. Then add a large portion of fresh butter, divided
-into bits, and very slightly dredged with flour. Let the oysters simmer
-over the fire, but do not allow them to come to a boil, as that will
-shrivel them. Next beat the yolks only, of three, four, or five eggs,
-(in proportion to the size of the pie,) and stir the beaten egg into
-the stew a few minutes before you take it from the fire. Keep it warm
-till the paste is baked. Then carefully remove the lid of the pie; and
-replace it, after you have filled the dish with the oysters and gravy.
-
-The lid of the pie may be ornamented with a wreath of leaves cut out of
-paste, and put on before baking. In the centre, place a paste-knot or
-flower.
-
-Oyster pies are generally eaten warm; but they are very good cold.
-
-
-CLAM PIE.--Take a sufficient number of clams to fill a large pie-dish
-when opened. Make a nice paste in the proportion of a pound of fresh
-butter to two quarts of flour. Paste for shell fish, or meat, or chicken
-pies, should be rolled out double the thickness of that intended for
-fruit pies. Line the sides and bottom of your pie-dish with paste. Then
-cover the bottom with a thin beef steak, divested of bone and fat. Put
-in the clams, and season them with mace, nutmeg, and a few whole
-pepper-corns. No salt. Add a spoonful of butter rolled in flour, and
-some hard-boiled yolks of eggs crumbled fine. Then put in enough of the
-clam liquor to make sufficient gravy. Put on the lid of the pie, (which,
-like the bottom crust, should be rolled out thick,) notch it handsomely,
-and bake it well. It should be eaten warm.
-
-
-SOFT CRABS.--These are crabs that, having cast their old shells, have
-not yet assumed the new ones. In this, the transition state, they are
-considered delicacies. Put them into fast-boiling water, and boil them
-for ten minutes. Then take them out, drain them, wipe them very clean,
-and prepare them for frying by removing the spongy part inside and the
-sand-bag. Put plenty of fresh lard into a pan; and when it boils fast,
-lay in the crabs, and fry them well, seasoning them with cayenne. As
-soon as they are done of a nice golden color, take them out, drain off
-the lard back into the pan, and lay them on a large _hot_ dish. Cover
-them to keep warm while you fry, in the same lard, all the best part of
-a fresh lettuce, chopped small. Let it fry only long enough to become
-hot throughout. When you serve up the crabs cover them with the fried
-lettuce. Stir into the gravy some cream, or a piece of nice fresh butter
-rolled in flour; and send it to table in a sauce-boat, seasoned with a
-little cayenne.
-
-Soft crabs require no other flavoring. They make a nice breakfast-dish
-for company. Only the large claws are eaten, therefore break off as
-useless the small ones.
-
-Instead of lettuce, you may fry the crabs with parsley--removed from the
-pan before it becomes brown. Pepper-grass is still better.
-
-
-TERRAPINS.--In buying terrapins select the largest and thickest. Like
-all other delicacies, the best are the cheapest in the end. Small poor
-terrapins are not worth the cost of the seasoning. A poor terrapin,
-poorly dressed, is indeed a poor thing, and is always recognized as
-such, by those who are expected to eat it. _Get fine terrapins only._
-Put them into a pot of water that is boiling very hard at the time, and
-let them boil for about ten minutes. Immediately on taking them out,
-proceed to rub, with a coarse clean cloth, all the skin from the head,
-neck, and claws--also, the thin shell, as it comes loose. Having washed
-them in warm water, put the terrapins into a clean pot with fresh water,
-and a table-spoonful of salt, and boil them again till they are
-thoroughly done, and the paws are perfectly soft. Remove the toe-nails.
-Some terrapins require three hours. When they are quite soft, open them
-carefully, remove the spongy part, the sand-bag, the gall, and the
-entrails--it being now the custom to throw away the whole of the
-disgusting garbage, always tasteless, tough, and disagreeable to look
-at. Be careful not to break the gall, as it will give an unpleasant
-bitter taste to the whole. Cut into small pieces all the meat of the
-terrapins, put them into a stew-pan, (adding the juice they have yielded
-in cutting up, _but no water_,) and proceed to season them, beginning
-with cayenne and black pepper, to your taste; also, a handful of flour
-for the thickening. Stir all well together, and in a short time add four
-table-spoonfuls of cream, or fresh butter, and a half pint of Madeira or
-sherry to every four terrapins. If they have no eggs, make up some
-artificially; crumbling the yolks of hard-boiled common eggs, mashed to
-a paste with a little nice butter, and then made into balls with beaten
-raw egg. Add plenty of these to the stew, and let the whole cook
-together for a quarter of an hour longer. Serve it up hot, in a well
-heated covered dish.
-
-Four fine large terrapins generally make one dish; and the above is the
-usual quantity of seasoning for them.
-
-
-NEW WAY OF DRESSING TERRAPINS.--In buying terrapins, select those only
-that are large, fat, and thick-bodied. Put them whole into water that is
-boiling hard at the time, and (adding a little salt) boil them till
-thoroughly done throughout. Then, taking off the shell, extract the
-meat, and remove carefully the sand-bag and gall; also, _all the
-entrails_,--they are disgusting, unfit to eat, and are no longer served
-up in cooking terrapin for the best tables. Cut the meat into pieces,
-and put it into a stew-pan with its eggs, and sufficient fresh butter to
-stew it well. Let it stew till quite hot throughout, keeping the pan
-carefully covered that none of the flavor may escape; but shake it over
-the fire while stewing. In another pan, make a sauce of beaten yolk of
-egg, highly flavored with Madeira or sherry, and powdered nutmeg and
-mace, and enriched with a large lump of fresh butter. Stir this sauce
-well over the fire, and when it has _almost_ come to a boil, take it
-off. Send the terrapin to table hot in a covered dish, and the sauce
-_separately_ in a sauce-tureen, to be used by those who like it, and
-omitted by those who prefer the genuine flavor of the terrapin when
-simply stewed with butter.
-
-This is now the usual mode of dressing terrapins in Maryland and
-Virginia, and will be found superior to any other.
-
-No dish of terrapins can be good unless the terrapins themselves are of
-the best quality. It is mistaken economy to buy poor ones. Besides being
-insipid and tasteless, it takes more in number to fill a dish. The
-females are the best.
-
-
-A TERRAPIN POT-PIE.--Take several fine large terrapins, the fattest and
-thickest you can get. Put them into a large pot of water that is boiling
-hard; and boil them half an hour or more. Then take them out of the
-shell, pulling off the outer skin and the toe-nails. Remove the sand-bag
-and the gall, taking care not to break it, or it will render the whole
-too bitter to be eaten. Take out also the entrails, and throw them away;
-as the custom of cooking them is now, very properly, exploded. Then cut
-up all the meat of the terrapins, taking care to save all the liquid
-that exudes in cutting up, and also the eggs. Season the whole with
-pepper, mace, and nutmeg, adding a little salt; and lay among it pieces
-of fresh butter slightly rolled in flour.
-
-Have ready an ample quantity of paste, made in the proportion of a pound
-of butter to two large quarts (or pounds) of flour, or a pound and a
-half of butter to three quarts of flour, and rolled out thick. Butter
-the inside of an iron pot, and line the sides with paste, till it
-reaches within one-third of the top. Then put in the pieces of terrapin,
-with the eggs, butter, &c., and with all the liquid. Lay among the
-terrapin, square pieces of paste. Then pour in sufficient water to stew
-the whole properly. Next, cover all with a circular lid, or top-crust of
-paste, but do not fit it so closely that the gravy cannot bubble up over
-the edges while cooking. Cut a small cross slit in the top crust. Place
-the pot, with the pie, over a good fire, and boil it till the whole is
-thoroughly done, which will be in from three quarters to an hour after
-it comes to a boil. Take care not to let it get too dry, but keep at
-hand a kettle of boiling water to replenish the pot when necessary. To
-ascertain if the pie is done, lift up with a fork a little of the paste,
-at one side, and try it low down in the pot.
-
-It may be much improved, by mixing among the pieces of terrapins,
-(before putting them into the pie,) some yolks of hard-boiled eggs,
-grated or minced. They will enrich the gravy.
-
-A pot-pie may be made, (a very fine one too,) of some of the best pieces
-of a green turtle.
-
-
-A SEA-COAST PIE.--Having boiled a sufficient number of crabs and
-lobsters, extract all the meat from the shells, and cut it into
-mouthfuls. Have ready some fine large oysters drained from the liquor.
-Cover the bottom and sides of a deep dish with puff-paste; and put in a
-thick layer of crab or lobster, seasoned with a little cayenne pepper,
-and a grated lemon-peel. Mix it with some hard-boiled yolk of egg,
-crumbled fine, and moistened with fresh butter. Next, put a close layer
-of oysters, seasoned with pounded mace and grated nutmeg. Put some bits
-of butter rolled in flour on the top of the layer. Proceed in this
-manner with alternate layers of crab or lobster, and of oysters, till
-the dish is nearly full. Then pour in, at the last, a tea-cupful or more
-of the oyster liquor, with an equal quantity of rich cream. Have ready a
-thick lid of puff-paste. Put it on the pie, pressing the edges closely,
-so as to unite them all round; and notch them handsomely. Make a wreath
-of leaves cut out of paste, and a flower or knot for the centre; place
-them on the top-crust; and bake the pie well. While it is baking,
-prepare some balls made of chopped oysters; grated bread-crumbs;
-powdered nutmeg, or mace; and grated lemon-peel; also, some hard-boiled
-yolks of eggs, grated. Having fried these balls in butter, drain them,
-and when the pie is baked, lay a circle of them round the top, between
-the border of paste-leaves and the centre-knot.
-
-This pie will be found so fine that it ought to be baked in a dish
-which will contain a large quantity.
-
-
-TO DRESS A TURTLE.--The turtle should be taken out of water, and killed
-over night in winter, and early in the morning in summer. Hang it up by
-the hind fins, and before it has had time to draw in its neck, cut off
-its head with a very sharp knife, and leave the turtle suspended. It
-should bleed two or three hours or more, before you begin to cut it up.
-Then lay it on its back upon a table: have at hand several vessels of
-cold water, in which to throw the most important parts as you separate
-them; also a large boiler of hot water. Take off the fins at the joint,
-and lay them by themselves in cold water; next divide the back-shell
-from the under-shell. The upper part of the turtle is called the
-calipash--the under part the calipee. In cutting open the turtle, be
-very careful not to break the gall, which should be taken out and thrown
-away; if broken, its bitterness will spoil all around it. Take out the
-entrails and throw them away. The practice of cooking them is now
-obsolete. So it is with the entrails of terrapins. Using a sharp knife,
-cut off the fins carefully, also the liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, &c.
-Wash them well, and lay them in a pan of cold water, the liver in a pan
-by itself. If there are eggs, put them also into cold water. Having
-extracted the intestines, stand up the turtle on end, to let the blood
-run out. Afterwards cut out all the flesh from the upper and under
-shells, and remove the bones. Cut the calipee (or meat belonging to the
-under-shell) into pieces about as large as the palm of your hand, and
-break the shell. The calipash, or meat next the back-shell, may be cut
-smaller--the green fat into pieces about two inches square. Put all the
-meat into a large pan, sprinkle it slightly with salt, and cover it up.
-Lay the shells and fins in a tub of boiling water, and scald them till
-the scales can be scraped off with a knife, and all the meat that still
-adheres to the shells easily removed, as it is worth saving. Clean the
-fins nicely, (taking off the dark skin,) and lay them in cold water.
-Wipe the back-shell dry, and set it aside. Then proceed to make the
-soup. For this purpose, take the coarser pieces of flesh with the bone
-likewise. Put them into a pot with a pound of cold ham cut into pieces,
-and eight large calves'-feet (two sets) that have been singed and
-scraped, but not skinned. If you cannot conveniently obtain
-calves'-feet, substitute a large fore-leg or knuckle of veal. Add four
-onions, sliced thin; two tablespoonfuls of sweet-marjoram leaves; a
-large bunch of basil; a dozen blades of mace; and a salt-spoon of
-cayenne. The ham will make any other salt unnecessary. Pour on as much
-water as will completely cover the whole, and let it simmer slowly over
-a steady fire during five hours, skimming it well. If after a while the
-soup seems to be boiling away too much, replenish it with a little hot
-water from a kettle, kept boiling hard for the purpose. When it has
-simmered five hours, take up the whole, and strain the soup through a
-sieve into a deep pan. Wash out the soup-pot with hot water, and return
-the strained soup to it, with the liver, &c., cut in small pieces, and
-some of the best of the meat, and a portion of the green fat. Have ready
-two or three dozen force-meat balls, the size of a hickory nut, and made
-of the usual proportions of minced veal, bread-crumbs, butter, grated
-lemon-peel, mace, nutmeg, and beaten yolk of egg. Put them into the
-soup, and let it boil an hour longer; also the eggs of the turtle, or
-some hard-boiled yolks of eggs. After it has thus boiled another hour,
-add the juice and grated yellow rinds of two lemons, and a pint of
-Madeira. Boil the soup a quarter of an hour longer, and it will then be
-ready for the tureen. It must never boil hard.
-
-In the mean time, stew in another pot the finest of the turtle-meat,
-seasoned with a little salt and cayenne, and a liberal allowance of
-sweet-marjoram leaves rubbed fine, and mixed with powdered mace and
-nutmeg. Add a pound of fresh butter, cut into pieces and rolled in
-flour. When the turtle-meat has stewed an hour, put in the green fat,
-and add the juice and grated yellow rinds of two lemons, and a pint or
-more of Madeira, and let the whole stew slowly an hour longer. While the
-meat is stewing, take the shell of the back; wash it clean, and wipe it
-dry; lay a band of puff-paste all round the inside of the shell, two
-inches below the edge, and two inches above it. Notch the paste
-handsomely, and fill the shell with the stewed turtle. Have ready the
-oven, heated as if for bread. Lay a large iron baking-sheet or a square
-pan upon four bricks (one at each corner) to elevate the turtle-shell
-from the floor of the oven. Place on it the shell with its contents, and
-let it bake till well browned on the surface. Send it to table with the
-shell placed on a large dish. At the other end set the tureen of soup.
-Have ready (on two side dishes) the fins stewed tender in a little of
-the soup, and the liver fried in butter.
-
-This receipt is for a turtle of moderate size. A large one will, of
-course, require an increased proportion of all the articles used in
-seasoning it--more wine, &c. In serving up turtle at a dinner-party, let
-it constitute the first course, and have nothing else on the table while
-the turtle is there.
-
-We have seen elegant silver turtle-dishes, representing the back-shell
-of the animal, superbly chased and engraved, the feet for it to stand on
-being paws of silver; and the fins having hollow places to hold the
-sauce. This was for the stew; making a dish separate from the soup,
-which is always sent to table in a tureen.
-
-
-TURTLE PASTY.--When the meat has been all extracted, scrape and wash the
-large back shell of the turtle till it is perfectly clean. Make a rich
-puff-paste. Roll it out thin, and line with it the bottom and sides, in
-fact the whole of the back-shell. Having prepared and seasoned the best
-pieces of the turtle-meat, as in the preceding receipt, stew them till
-thoroughly done, and very tender, and when cool, fill the shell with
-them. Have ready an upper lid of the same puff-paste, rolled out rather
-_thick_. Cover the pie with it. Unite the edges of the upper and under
-crusts, very neatly, wetting your fingers with water. Then notch them
-handsomely all round, and cut a cross slit in the centre of the top or
-cover. Set it directly into a rather quick oven. Bake the crust of a
-light brown, and send it to table hot.
-
-
-LOBSTERS.--If you buy a lobster ready boiled, see that his tail is stiff
-and elastic, so that when you bend it under, it springs back
-immediately; otherwise he is not fresh. If alive or unboiled, he will be
-lively and brisk in his motion when newly caught. The same with prawns,
-and crabs.
-
-The heaviest lobsters are the best.
-
-To boil a lobster, have ready a pot of fast-boiling water, very strongly
-salted. Put in the lobster head downward; and if the water is really hot
-(it is cruel to have it otherwise,) he will be dead in a moment. Crabs,
-of course, the same. A moderate sized lobster (and they are the best,)
-will be done in half an hour. A large one requires from three-quarters
-to an hour. Before it is sent to table, the large claws should be taken
-off, and laid beside it. The head also should be separated from the
-body, but laid so near it that the division is nearly imperceptible. The
-head is never eaten. Split the body, and lay it open all the way down,
-including the tail. If there is a good dresser of salads in the house,
-the lobster may be served up ready dressed, in a deep dish, seasoned
-with the proper condiments, after being cut small or minced, heaped up
-towards the centre of the dish, and decorated with the small claws laid
-across on the top, with the addition of green celery leaves, or parsley
-sprigs.
-
-
-LOBSTER SALAD--(_plain_.)--Take a well boiled lobster. Extract all the
-meat from the body and claws, cut it up small, and mash the coral with
-the back of a spoon or a broad knife. Wash the best part of a fresh
-lettuce, and cut that up also, omitting all the stalk. Mix together the
-chopped lobster and the lettuce, and put them into a salad bowl. Make
-the dressing in a deep plate, allowing for one lobster a salt-spoon of
-salt, half as much of cayenne, a tea-spoonful of made mustard, (tarragon
-mustard is best,) four table-spoonfuls (or more) of sweet oil, and three
-table-spoonfuls of the best cider vinegar. Mix all these together, with
-the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs, mashed to a soft moist paste with
-the other ingredients, adding the coral of the lobster. When they are
-all mixed smoothly, add them to the lobster and lettuce. If the mixture
-seems too dry, add more sweet oil. Toss and stir the salad with a
-box-wood fork. Also, the things should be mashed with a box-wood spoon.
-Cover, and set it in a cool place till wanted. It should be eaten as
-soon as possible after mixing, as it becomes flat by standing.
-
-Plenty of sweet oil renders a lobster wholesome. Still, persons who are
-not in good health, had best abstain from lobster.
-
-You may add to the dressing, one or two raw yolks of eggs, beaten well.
-
-
-FINE LOBSTER SALAD--(_This is for company._)--Boil eight eggs for ten
-minutes, or till quite hard. Lay them in cold water, or cool them by
-laying bits of ice among them. When quite cold, cut each egg lengthways
-into four or six pieces, taking a bit off one end of each piece or
-slice. Cut up into long pieces the best part of a fresh lettuce, that
-has just been washed in a pan of cold water. Lay the lettuce in a dish,
-and surround it closely with the pieces of egg standing up on their
-blunted ends, with the yolk side outward, and forming a handsome wall
-all round the bed of lettuce. Upon this, pile neatly the bits of chopped
-lobster, finishing with the small claws stuck into the top. Have ready
-the dressing in a sauce-tureen. Make it of the beaten yolks of two raw
-eggs, and four table-spoonfuls of sweet oil, thickened with the mashed
-coral of the lobster, and the crumbled yolks of two hard-boiled eggs,
-and season slightly with a little salt, cayenne, and a spoonful of
-tarragon mustard. Finish with two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, and stir
-the whole hard with a box-wood spoon or fork. Send it to table with the
-sauce-tureen, along with the dish of lobster, &c. Pour on each plate of
-lobster a portion of this dressing. Or, if you can obtain no lettuce,
-mix this dressing at once with the chopped meat of the lobster. Smooth
-it in a pile on the dish, (keeping it towards the centre) and stand up
-the slips of hard egg handsomely surrounding it--the small claws
-decorating the top.
-
-
-LOBSTER RISSOLES.--Extract all the meat from the shells of one or two
-boiled lobsters. Mince it very fine; the coral also. Season it with a
-little salt and cayenne, and some powdered mace and nutmeg. Add about a
-fourth part of finely grated bread-crumbs; and with a sufficiency of
-fresh butter or a little finely-minced veal suet, or some sweet oil,
-make it up into balls or cones. Brush them over with yolk of egg, dredge
-them lightly with flour, and fry them in lard. Introduce them as a side
-dish at a dinner party, or as an accompaniment to salmon.
-
-This mixture may be baked in puff-paste as little patties, or you may
-bake in a soup-plate an empty shell of paste, and when done, (having
-stewed the rissole mixture made moist) fill the cold paste with it, and
-serve it up as a lobster pie.
-
-In buying lobsters, choose those that are the heaviest and liveliest, or
-quickest in their motions when touched. They are then fresh. The hen has
-the broadest tail and the softest fins.
-
-
-LOBSTER PUDDING.--Take the empty back shell of one large boiled lobster,
-and all the best meat of two. Clean out the shell very nicely; washing
-it, and wiping it dry. Mince the meat, and mash the coral with it;
-adding half a dozen yolks of hard-boiled eggs crumbled among it, and
-season it well with powdered mace and nutmeg, and a little cayenne.
-Moisten it all through with plenty of sweet oil, and the raw yolks of
-one or two eggs, well beaten. Fill the shell with this pudding, and
-cover the surface of the mixture with a coating of finely-grated
-bread-crumbs. Brown it by holding over it a salamander, or a red hot
-fire-shovel. Send it to table in the shell, laid on a china dish.
-
-Small puddings may be made as above, of crab-meat put into several large
-crab-shells, and placed side by side on a dish.
-
-They may be eaten either warm or cold; and they look well with green
-lettuce or pepper-grass, disposed fancifully among them.
-
-
-CRABS.--Crabs are seldom eaten except at the sea-shore, where there is a
-certainty of their being fresh from the water. They are very abundant,
-but so little is in them, that when better things are to be had, they
-are scarcely worth the trouble of boiling and picking out the shell.
-They are cooked like lobsters, in boiling salt and water, and brought to
-table piled on large dishes, and are eaten with salt, pepper, sweet oil,
-and vinegar. The meat of two dozen crabs, when all is extracted, will
-make but a small dish. Season it with cayenne, mustard, oil, vinegar,
-and eat it cold; or stew it with fresh butter, powdered mace, and
-nutmeg, and serve it up hot.
-
-_Prawns._--The same.
-
-
-SHRIMPS.--Of all fish belonging to the lobster species, shrimps are the
-smallest. In England, where they abound, they are sold by the quart,
-ready boiled. The way to eat them is to pull off the head, and squeeze
-the body out of the shell by pressing it between your fore-finger and
-thumb. At good tables they are only used as sauce for large fish,
-squeezed out of the shell, and stirred into melted butter.
-
-
-LOBSTER SAUCE.--Take a small hen lobster that has been well boiled.
-Extract all the meat, and chop it large. Take out the coral, and pound
-it smooth in a marble mortar, adding, as you proceed, sufficient sweet
-oil. Make some nice drawn butter, allowing half a pound of nice fresh
-butter to two heaped table-spoonfuls of flour, and a pint of hot water.
-Mix the butter and flour thoroughly, and then gradually add to them the
-coral, so as to give a fine color. Then mix this with a small pint of
-boiling water. Hold the saucepan over the fire, (shaking it about till
-it simmers) but do not let it quite boil. Put in the chopped lobster,
-and let that simmer in the sauce, till well heated. To allow it to boil
-will spoil the color, (which should be pale pink,) and may be improved
-by a little prepared cochineal. Or, you may tie, in a small bit of thin
-muslin, a few chips of alkanet, and put it into the sauce, (taking it
-out, of course, before it goes to table.) Alkanet communicates a
-beautiful pink color, and has no taste in itself.
-
-This quantity of sauce is for a large fish--salmon, cod, turbot, or
-sheep's head. There should always be an ample supply of sauce. It is
-very awkward for the sauce to give out, before it has gone round the
-company.
-
-
-
-
-BEEF.
-
-
-ROASTING BEEF.--The prime piece of beef for roasting is the sirloin; but
-being too large for a small family, the ribs are generally preferred,
-when there are but few persons to eat of it. So also is the baron, or
-double sirloin, undivided along the back. It is chiefly seen at great
-dinners. Except the sirloin and ribs, there are no very good roasting
-pieces, all the rest being generally used for stews, soups, &c., and for
-corning or salting. Unless the animal is a very fine one, the inferior
-pieces are apt to be tough, hard, and coarse. The round is the best
-piece for corning or salting, and for cooking, as beef _a-la-mode_, or
-converting into what, in England, is called rump-steaks. These steaks
-require a rolling-pin, before they can be made tender enough for good
-eating, or good digestion. The finest and tenderest steaks are those cut
-from the sirloin. The meat of a young well-fed heifer is very good; and
-that of an old ox, (that has done working, and afterwards been fattened
-well on plenty of wholesome food,) may be made of superior excellence.
-The lean of good fresh beef is of a bright red color, a fine close
-grain, and feels tender to the touch on pinching it between your thumb
-and finger. The fat is firm and very nearly white. The suet about the
-kidney, firm and quite white. If, on the contrary, the lean is coarse,
-tough, and of a dull color, and the fat scanty, yellow, and moist, do
-not buy that meat for any purpose. The same rules will apply to mutton.
-If the weather is so cold that the meat is frozen, thaw it by lying it
-all night or early in the morning in a tub of _cold_ water. If thawed in
-water the least warm, the meat will spoil, and be rendered unfit to eat.
-Meat that has been frozen, requires a much longer time to cook, than if
-that accident had not happened. _All_ frozen animals must be thawed in
-cold water previous to cooking. Cold roast-beef is much liked in
-England. In America, where meat is more abundant, and therefore less
-costly, it is not considered a proper dish to place before a visitor;
-therefore, in our country, a large piece is seldom cooked with a view to
-next day's dinner. We prefer smaller pieces, always served up fresh and
-hot. Beef for roasting, should be well washed in plenty of cold water;
-then dried with a clean cloth. Prepare the fire, in time to be burning
-well, when the meat is put down. It should have plenty of hot coals, and
-no part of the fire black, ashy, or smoky, and the hearth swept very
-clean: _for no sweeping must go on while the meat (or any thing else) is
-cooking_. The spit should always be kept perfectly clean, when not in
-use; and well washed, wiped, and rubbed immediately after using. Run it
-evenly into the meat, which will hang crooked if not well balanced. When
-first put down, take care not to set it at once too close to the fire,
-but place it rather more than two feet distant, that the meat may heat
-gradually. If too near the fire at first, the outside will scorch, and
-leave the inside red and bloody. Underdone meat (foolishly called
-_rare_) is getting quite out of fashion, being unwholesome and
-indigestible, and to most Americans its savour is disgusting. To ladies
-and children it is always so, and even the English have ceased to like
-it. It is now seldom seen but at those public tables, where they
-consider it an object to have as little meat as possible eaten on the
-first day, that more may be left for the second day, to be made into
-indescribable messes, with ridiculous French names, and passed off as
-French dishes, by the so-called French cook, who is frequently an
-Irishman.
-
-At first, baste the meat as soon as it begins to roast, with a little
-fresh butter, or fresh dripping saved from yesterday's beef. Then, when
-its own fat begins to drip, baste it with that, all the while it is
-cooking. Gradually move it nearer to the fire, turning the spit round
-frequently, so that the meat may be cooked equally on all sides. When it
-is nearly done, sprinkle it slightly, with a little salt. When it is
-quite done, and you take it from the spit, put it on a large hot dish,
-and keep it warm while you skim the gravy, thoroughly, so as to remove
-_all_ the fat. Then mix in the gravy a small tea-cup full of hot water,
-and thicken it with a very little browned flour. Send it to table very
-hot.
-
-As a general rule, a sirloin, weighing fifteen pounds, will require
-about four hours (or more) before a good steady fire. If it has been
-frozen, it will take much longer. The fatter it is the more cooking it
-will require. When sent to table, place near it, a small sauce-shell of
-horse-radish, washed, scraped fine, and moistened with the best vinegar.
-Put a tea-spoon on the top to take it with. Pickles, and a bottle of
-French mustard, at good tables, are generally accompaniments to beef or
-mutton, whether roasted or boiled.
-
-The dripping of roast beef, after all the fat has been removed, and the
-basting of the meat is over, should be strained into a pan, and kept in
-a cold place, with a cover; and next day, when it is congealed into a
-cake, scrape off whatever impurities may still adhere to the bottom,
-transfer it to a covered jar, and set it in the refrigerator, or where
-it will be cold. The dripping of roast beef is excellent for frying, for
-plain pie-crust, or for many other purposes. The dripping of mutton
-(being tallow) is only fit for soap-fat, and will spoil any dish
-whatever.
-
-
-BROILED BEEF STEAKS.--The best steaks are those from the tender-loin.
-Those from the round or rump require beating with a rolling-pin. A
-steak-mallet tears them and destroys the juices of the meat. Without
-beating they will generally be found too tough or hard for an American
-taste, though much liked in Europe, where tender-loin steaks are
-considered too expensive. But they are here so much preferred, that, on
-good tables, any others are seldom seen. Have all the steaks nearly of a
-size and shape, and about half an inch thick. Trim off the fat, and cut
-short the bone, or remove it altogether. Season them with black pepper,
-but sprinkle on no salt till they have done cooking; as salt, if put on
-at first, hardens them. Set your gridiron over a bed of bright clear
-coals, having first rubbed the bars with a very little beef suet, or
-dripping. Not mutton fat, as it will give the taste of tallow.
-
-A beef steak cannot be cooked in perfection unless over wood coals. To
-cook them before an anthracite fire, on an upright gridiron, is more
-like toasting than broiling, and much impairs the true flavor. A
-gridiron of the usual shape, with grooved or hollow bars to catch the
-gravy, is best of all. Broil the steaks well; and when done on one side,
-turn each steak with steak tongs; or a knife and fork, and an inverted
-plate.
-
-If onions are liked, peel and boil a few; drain and mince them, and
-sprinkle them thickly over the surface of each steak. When they are
-well done, take them off the gridiron, and transfer them to a heated
-dish, laying a small bit of butter upon it; and put another bit of
-butter on the surface of each steak, having first sprinkled them with a
-very little fine salt. What there is of their own gravy, pour round them
-on the dish. Send it to table as hot as possible.
-
-The English custom of eating what is called _rare_ or underdone beef or
-mutton, is now becoming obsolete. To ladies, especially, all food is
-disgusting that is red and bloody-looking--and physicians have
-discovered, that nothing is wholesome unless well cooked. The
-introduction of French cookery has done that much good.
-
-The onions may be stewed in butter or gravy, and served up in a
-sauce-boat, seasoned with nutmeg. At the famous beef-steak club of
-London, each guest is furnished with a small raw onion, to take on his
-fork, and rub over his empty plate, just before the steaks are served
-up, which is done one at a time, and as hot as possible, being cooked in
-the room.
-
-
-FRIED BEEF STEAKS.--Sirloin steaks should be tender enough without
-beating. Rump steaks will require some; but do not beat them so much as
-to tear the meat and exhaust all its juices. We have seen them pounded
-almost into a mass of dry shreds, scarcely adhering together. Remove the
-fat and bone. Lay them in a frying-pan, with a little fresh butter
-dredged with flour, and season them with pepper. Fry them brown,
-turning them on both sides. Have ready some onions, peeled, washed, and
-sliced. After you have turned the steaks, cover them with the sliced
-onions, and then finish the frying, till all is thoroughly done, meat
-and onions, slightly sprinkling them with salt. The onions had best be
-boiled in a small sauce-pan by themselves, before they are sliced and
-fried.
-
-Put the whole on one dish, the onions covering the meat.
-
-Mutton chops, or veal cutlets, or pork steaks, may be fried in this
-manner with onions, adding to them some minced sweet marjoram, or if
-pork, some sage.
-
-
-BEEF STEAK WITH OYSTERS.--Take very fine tender sirloin steak, divested
-of fat and bone; cut them not larger than the palm of your hand; lay
-them in a stew-pan with some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour.
-Strain over them sufficient oyster-liquor to cook them well, and to keep
-them from burning, and to make a gravy so as to stew, but not to boil
-them. Season them with some blades of mace, some grated nutmeg, and a
-few whole pepper-corns. Let them cook till they are thoroughly done, and
-not the least red. Then put in some fine large oysters. Set the stew-pan
-again over the fire till the oysters are plump, which should be in about
-five or six minutes. If cooked too much, the oysters will toughen and
-shrink. When done, transfer the whole to a deep dish, mixing the oysters
-evenly among the meat. Before you take them up, make some sippet or
-thin toast, in triangular or pointed slices, with the crust cut off. Dip
-the slices (for a minute) in boiling water; then take them out, and
-stand them in a circle all round the inside of the dish, the points of
-the sippets upwards.
-
-
-CORNED OR SALTED BEEF.--For boiling, there is no piece of corned beef so
-good, and so profitable, as the round. A large round is always better
-and more tender than a small one, if the ox has been well fed. A small
-round of beef is generally tough. In buying it, see that it looks and
-smells well, as sometimes beef is not salted till it begins to taint;
-and then it is done, with a view of disguising its unwholesome and
-disgusting condition, which, however, will immediately be manifest as
-soon as it is put on to boil, if not before. Every sort of food, the
-least verging on decomposition, is unfit for any thing but to throw away
-or bury. It is not necessary to buy always a whole round of beef. You
-can have it cut into a half, third part, quarter, or into as many pounds
-as you want. If very salt, lay it to soak in cold water the night
-before, or early in the morning. Half a round (weighing about fifteen
-pounds) will require about four hours to boil sufficiently. A whole
-round, double that time. It must boil very slowly. If it boils too fast
-at first, nothing will afterwards make it tender. The fire must be
-steady, and moderate, that the heat may penetrate all through, slowly
-and equally. The pot must be kept closely covered, unless for a minute
-when the scum is taken off, and that must be done frequently. The beef
-should, while boiling, be turned several times in the pot. It is much
-the best way to boil it without any vegetables in the same pot; they
-imbibe too much of the fat, particularly cabbage. Boil the cabbage by
-itself in plenty of water, having first washed it well, laid it a while
-in cold water, with the head downwards, and examined it well to see if
-there are no insects between the leaves. The leaves on the very outside,
-should be removed, and the stalk cut short. Tie a string round the
-cabbage to keep it from falling apart. Put it into a pot with plenty of
-cold water, and boil it an hour. Then take it out, drain it, and lay it
-in a pan of cold water, or place it under the hydrant, for the hydrant
-water to run copiously upon it.
-
-When the cabbage is perfectly cold, wash out the pot in which it was
-parboiled, or put it into another quite clean one, and boil it another
-hour. Then take it up, and keep it warm till wanted. Before you send it
-to table, lay some bits of nice fresh butter between the inside leaves,
-and sprinkle on a little pepper. This is much nicer than preparing what
-is called drawn or melted butter to pour over the cabbage, and far more
-wholesome. Drawn butter is seldom well made, being frequently little
-more than a small morsel of butter, deluged with greasy water; and
-sometimes it is nearly all flour and water. Cabbage cooked as above will
-be found excellent, and be divested of the cabbage smell which is to
-many persons disagreeable.
-
-Carrots are also an usual accompaniment to corned beef. They should be
-washed, scraped, cut into pieces, and split, if very large; put into
-boiling water, and cooked, according to their size, from one hour to two
-hours. Before taking them up, try with a fork if they are tender
-throughout. When done, they are best cut into slices, a little cold
-butter mixed with them, and put into a deep dish, to be helped with a
-spoon.
-
-Parsnips may be dressed in the same manner.
-
-For a plain family dinner, corned beef, cabbage, and carrots, cooked
-_exactly_ as above, with, of course, the addition of potatos, will, on
-trial, be found excellent.
-
-Corned beef _stewed_ very slowly, in a small quantity of water, (barely
-sufficient to cover the meat,) well skimmed, and with the vegetables
-done separately, is still better than when _boiled_. Mustard is a good
-condiment for corned beef--so is vinegar to the cabbage. Pickles, also;
-French mustard is very fine with it.
-
-Next to the round, the edgebone is the best piece for boiling. The
-brisket or plate is too fat, and should only be eaten by persons in
-strong health, and who take a great deal of exercise. No fat meat should
-be given to children. Indeed there is generally great difficulty in
-making them eat it. They are right, as it is very unwholesome for them,
-unless the very leanest bits are selected from among the mass of fat.
-
-Have tarragon vinegar on the table to eat with corned beef and cabbage.
-
-
-FRIED CORNED BEEF.--This is a very homely and economical dish, but it is
-liked by many persons. Cut thin slices from a cold round of beef, and
-season them with pepper. Fry them brown over a quick fire, and put them
-in a covered dish to keep hot. Then wash the frying-pan, cleaning it
-well from the fat, and put into it plenty of cold boiled cabbage, cut
-small, and some cold carrots, sliced thin, adding some thin sliced suet,
-or beef dripping to fry them in. When done, dish the meat with the
-vegetables laid around it; adding the gravy. This is the dish called in
-England, Bubble-and-Squeak, perhaps from the noise it makes when frying.
-It is only designed for strong healthy people with good appetites.
-
-It is sometimes made of salt pork or bacon; sliced potatos being added
-to the cabbage.
-
-
-DRIED AND SMOKED BEEF.--For this purpose have as much as you want cut
-off from a fine round. Mix together two ounces of saltpetre, (finely
-pounded) rub it into the meat, cover it, and let it stand a day. Then
-mix together half a pound of bay-salt, an ounce of black pepper, half an
-ounce of ground ginger, and an ounce of pounded mace, and a quarter of
-an ounce of powdered cloves. Rub this mixture well into the beef, put it
-into a deep pan, and let it lie in this pickle two weeks, turning it
-every day. Then hang it up in a smoke-house, and smoke it over a fire
-made of corn-cobs, or maple chips. Never use pine for smoking.
-
-It may be eaten chipped at tea, or what is much better, stewed and
-warmed in a skillet. Venison may be spiced, dried, and smoked in the
-same manner.
-
-
-TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.--Having chipped it thin, put it into a skillet,
-with fresh butter, pepper, and two or three beaten yolks of eggs. Let it
-stew till the beef is crisp and curled up.
-
-Never allow yourself to be persuaded to use pyroligneous acid in curing
-dried beef or ham--instead of the real smoke of a wood fire. It
-communicates a taste and smell of kreosote, and is a detestable
-substitute, detected in a moment.
-
-
-A SPICED ROUND OF BEEF.--Take a large prime round of beef; extract the
-bone, and close the hole. Tie a tape all round it to keep it firm. Take
-four ounces of finely powdered saltpetre, and rub it well into the beef.
-Put the meat into a very clean pickling-tub that has a close-fitting
-cover, and let it rest for two days. Next rub it thoroughly with salt,
-and return it to the tub for eight days. Then take an ounce of powdered
-mace, a large nutmeg powdered, a half-ounce of pepper, and a quarter of
-an ounce of powdered cloves, (not more.) Mix these spices well
-together, and then mix them with a pound of fine brown sugar. Rub the
-spices and sugar thoroughly all over the beef, which will be ready to
-cook next day. Then fill the opening with minced sweet herbs, sweet
-basil, and sweet marjoram, laid in loosely and lightly. Take half a
-pound of nice beef-suet. Divide it in two, and flatten each half of the
-suet by beating it with a rolling-pin. Lay it in a broad earthen pan,
-with one sheet of suet under the meat, and the other pressed over it.
-Above this place a sheet of clean white paper, and over all put a large
-plate. Set it in a hot oven, and bake it five hours or more, till by
-probing it to the bottom, with a sharp knife, you find it thoroughly
-cooked. It is excellent as a cold standing dish, for a large family.
-When it is to be eaten cold, boil fresh cabbage to go with it. Also
-parsnips and carrots.
-
-_Cabbage._--For this beef, red cabbage is very nice, cut small, and
-stewed with butter and tarragon vinegar.
-
-
-A-LA-MODE BEEF.--Remove the bone from a fine round of fresh beef, and
-also take off the fat. For a round that weighs ten pounds, make
-seasoning or stuffing in the following proportions. Half a pound of beef
-suet; half a pound of grated bread-crumbs; the crumbled yolks of three
-hard-boiled eggs; a large bundle of sweet marjoram, the leaves chopped;
-another of sweet basil; four onions minced small, a large table-spoonful
-of mixed mace and nutmeg, powdered. Season slightly with salt and
-cayenne. Stuff this mixture into the place from whence you took out the
-bone. Make numerous deep cuts or incisions about the meat, and stuff
-them also. Skewer the meat into a proper shape, and secure its form by
-tying it round with tape. Put it into a clean iron oven or bake-pan, and
-pour over it a pint of port wine. Put on the lid, and bake the beef
-slowly for five or six hours, or till it is thoroughly done all through.
-
-If the meat is to be eaten hot, skim all the fat from the gravy; into
-which, after it is taken off the fire, stir in the beaten yolks of two
-eggs.
-
-If onions are disliked you can omit them, and substitute minced oysters.
-
-
-BEEF A-LA-MODE--(_Another way._)--Take a fine round of fresh beef,
-extract the bone, and fill the place from whence it was taken with a
-stuffing made of bread soaked in milk and then mashed up, butter, and
-some yolks of hard-boiled eggs crumbled fine, the yellow rind and juice
-of a large grated lemon, sweet marjoram and sweet basil chopped small,
-with some powdered nutmeg and mace. Make deep cuts or incisions all over
-the outside of the meat, and in every cut stick firmly a slip of bacon
-or salt pork put in with a larding-pin. Bring round the flap and skewer
-to the side of the round, filling in between with some of the stuffing.
-And pour round it a pint or more of port wine. Lay it in an oven, and
-bake it slowly till it is well done all through, which will require
-some hours. Serve it up with its own gravy under it. It is more
-generally eaten cold, at a supper party. In this case, cover it thickly
-all over with double parsley or pepper grass, so as to resemble a green
-bank. In the centre place a bouquet of natural flowers, rising from the
-green bank.
-
-French a-la-mode beef, or beef _a-la-daube_, is prepared as above, but
-stewed slowly all night in lard.
-
-
-BEEF BOUILLI.--Take from six to eight pounds of a fine round of _fresh_
-beef. Put it into a soup-pot, with the remains of a piece of cold roast
-beef (bones and all) to enrich the gravy, but use no other cold meat
-than beef. Season it slightly with salt and pepper, and pour on just
-sufficient water to cover it well. Boil it slowly, and skim it well.
-When the scum ceases to rise, have ready half a dozen large carrots, cut
-into pieces, and put _them_ in first. Afterwards add six turnips,
-quartered; a head of celery, cut small; half a dozen parsnips, cut in
-pieces; and six whole onions. Let it boil slowly till all the vegetables
-are done, and very tender.
-
-Send it to table with the beef in the middle of a large dish; the
-vegetables laid all around it; and the gravy (thickened with fine grated
-bread-crumbs) in a sauce-boat. Serve up with it, white potatos, boiled
-whole; and mashed pumpkin, or winter squash.
-
-This is a good dinner for a plain family.
-
-Those who like tarragon mustard, or tarragon vinegar, may add it on
-their plates.
-
-Tomatos may be skinned and stewed with it.
-
-
-TO STEW COLD CORNED BEEF.--Cut about four pounds of lean from a cold
-round of beef, that tastes but little of the salt. Lay it in a stew-pan,
-with a quarter of a peck of tomatos quartered, and the same quantity of
-ochras sliced; also, two small onions peeled and sliced, and two ounces
-of fresh butter rolled in flour. Add a tea-spoonful of whole
-pepper-corns, (_no salt_,) and four or five blades of mace. Place it
-over a steady but moderate fire. Cover it closely, and let it stew three
-or four hours. The vegetables should be entirely dissolved. Serve it up
-hot.
-
-This is an excellent way of using up the remains of a cold round of beef
-at the season of tomatos and ochras, particularly when the meat has been
-rather under-boiled the first day of cooking it.
-
-A few pounds of the lean of a _fresh_ round of beef, will be still
-better, cooked in this manner, increasing the quantity of ochras and
-tomatos, and stewing it six hours.
-
-Cold fillet of veal is very good stewed with tomatos, ochras, and an
-onion or two. Also, the thick or upper part of a cold leg of mutton; or
-of pork, either fresh or corned.
-
-
-TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.--The dried beef, for this purpose, must be fresh
-and of the very best quality. Cut it (or rather shave it) into very
-thin, small slices, with as little fat as possible. Put the beef into a
-skillet, and fill up with boiling water. Cover it, and let it soak or
-steep till the water is cold. Then drain off that water, and pour on
-some more; but merely enough to cover the chipped beef, which you may
-season with a little pepper. Set it over the fire, and (keeping on the
-cover) let it stew for a quarter of an hour. Then roll a few bits of
-butter in a little flour, and add it to the beef, with the yolk of one
-or two beaten eggs. Let it stew five minutes longer. Take it up on a hot
-dish, and send it to the breakfast or tea-table.
-
-Cold ham may be sliced thin, and stewed in the same manner. Dried
-venison also.
-
-
-FRENCH BEEF.--Take a circular piece from the round, (having removed the
-bone,) and trim it nicely from the fat, skin, &c. Then lard it all over
-with long slips of fat pork or bacon. The place from whence the bone was
-taken must be filled with a forcemeat, made of minced suet, grated
-bread-crumbs, sweet marjoram rubbed fine, and grated lemon-peel; add a
-little salt and pepper. Tie a tape closely round the outside of the
-beef, to keep it compact, and in shape. Put it into a broad earthen jar
-with a cover; or into an iron bake-oven. Add some whole pepper, a large
-onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, three bay-leaves, a quarter of a pound of
-butter, divided into small bits, (each piece rolled in flour,) and half
-a pint of claret, or port wine. Bake or stew it thus in its own liquor,
-for five, six, or seven hours, (in proportion to its size,) for it must
-be thoroughly done, quite tender, and brown all through the inside.
-
-
-STEWED FRESH BEEF.--Cut a square thick piece of beef from the round or
-sirloin, and trim off the fat. Put it into a stew-pan with just water
-enough to cover it, and season it slightly with salt and pepper. Let it
-stew slowly, till tender all through. Then add potatos pared and
-quartered, turnips the same; and also, parsnips split and cut short, and
-(if approved) a few sliced onions. Stew altogether till the vegetables
-are thoroughly cooked, and then serve up the whole on one large dish.
-
-Mutton, veal, and fresh pork, may be stewed in the same manner. Sweet
-potatos, scraped and split, are excellent served with fresh meat. There
-should be a great plenty of vegetables, as they are much liked in stews.
-What is called an Irish stew is fresh beef stewed with potatos only--the
-potatos being first pared, and cut in quarters.
-
-For economy, cold roast beef may be stewed next day with fresh potatos
-cut up, and as little water as possible. Cold potatos, if re-cooked, are
-always hard, tough, and unwholesome.
-
-
-STEWED BEEFSTEAKS WITH OYSTERS.--Take some fine tender beef-steaks cut
-from the sirloin. If they are taken from the round they should be beaten
-with a rolling-pin to make them tender. Put them into a close stew-pan,
-with barely sufficient water to prevent their burning, and set them over
-the fire to brown. When they are browned, add sufficient oyster-liquor
-to cook them, and some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Let them
-stew slowly for an hour, or till they are thoroughly done. Then add
-three or four dozen of fine large fresh oysters, in proportion to the
-quantity of meat, seasoning them well with nutmeg, a few blades of mace,
-and a little cayenne. Cover the pan, and simmer them till the oysters
-are well plumped, but not till they come to a boil. When all is properly
-cooked, transfer the whole to a deep dish, and send it to table hot.
-
-The meat, when preparing, should be cut into pieces about as large as
-the palm of your hand, and an inch thick, omitting the fat. Small clams
-may be substituted for oysters.
-
-
-TOMATO STEWED BEEF.--Take large ripe tomatos, and scald them, to make
-the skins peel off easily. Pare, quarter them, and sprinkle them with a
-little salt and pepper. Lay in a stew-pan some thin tender beef-steaks,
-lamb, mutton-chops, or cutlets of fresh pork. Bury the meat in the
-tomatos, and add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour and a little
-sugar to take off the extreme acid of the tomatos; also, an onion or
-two, very finely minced. Let the whole cook slowly till the meat is
-thoroughly done, and the tomatos dissolved to a pulp. Send it to table
-all on the same dish.
-
-A rabbit or chicken, (cut apart as for carving,) is very good stewed
-with tomatos. Freshly killed venison is excellent for this stew.
-
-Many persons mix grated bread with tomato stew. We think it weakens the
-taste--a thing not desirable in any cooking.
-
-This stew must not have a drop of water in it; the tomatos will give out
-sufficient liquid to cook the meat. There is not a more wholesome dish.
-
-
-BEEF STEWED WITH ONIONS.--Take a square piece of beef from the sirloin,
-where there is no bone or fat. With a sharp knife make very deep
-incisions all over it, but not quite so deep as to cut it through to the
-bottom. Prepare a forcemeat by peeling and boiling some onions. Then
-drain and mince them. Mix in with the onions some fine bread-crumbs, and
-some chopped sweet-marjoram, (seasoning with powdered nutmeg and mace,)
-and fill tightly all the incisions. Put into the bottom of a stew-pan
-some drippings of roast-beef, or else a piece of fresh butter rolled in
-flour. Lay the seasoned meat upon it. Let it stew till completely
-cooked, and no redness to be found in any part of it. Serve it up hot,
-and send it to table in its own gravy.
-
-A round or fillet of fresh pork may be cooked as above, putting into the
-incisions, or holes, powdered sage instead of sweet marjoram, with the
-onions and crumbs; and using lard instead of beef-drippings. Eat apple
-sauce with it.
-
-
-BEEF STEWED WITH OYSTERS.--Prepare two or three pounds of the best beef,
-by trimming off all the fat, and removing the bone. Lay in the bottom of
-the stew-pan a few bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Then put in the
-meat, and sprinkle a little pepper over each piece. Have ready a quart
-of large fresh oysters. Strain the liquor to clear it from bits of the
-shell, and pour it over the meat in the stew-pan. Stew the meat in the
-oyster liquor till it is thoroughly cooked, skimming it well, and
-keeping it covered, except when skimming. Then add grated nutmeg, and a
-few blades of mace. Lastly, put in the oysters, and let them remain in
-just long enough to plump, which will be in a few minutes. If cooked too
-much oysters always shrivel, and become hard and tough. When all is
-done, serve up the whole in one dish.
-
-In the same manner clams may be stewed with beef. Never put any salt
-where there are clams. They are quite salt enough in themselves.
-
-
-FRENCH STEW.--Cut into pieces two or three pounds of the lean of fresh
-tender beef, mutton, veal, or pork, and peel and slice a quarter of a
-peck or more of ripe tomatos. Season the whole with a little pepper and
-salt. Add, if you choose, a tea-spoonful of sugar to moderate the
-extreme acid of the tomatos. Put the whole together into a stew-pot, and
-cover it closely, opening it occasionally to see how it is doing. Put no
-water to this stew, the juice of the tomatos will cook it thoroughly.
-Add a large table-spoonful of minced tarragon leaves. When the tomatos
-are all dissolved, stir in a piece of fresh butter, dredged with flour.
-Let it stew about a quarter of an hour longer. When the meat is quite
-tender all through, and every thing well done, make some sippets of
-triangular shaped toast, with the crust trimmed off. Dip the toast, for
-a moment, in hot water; butter and stand it up all round the inside of a
-deep dish. Then fill it with the stew, and serve it hot. Any meat may be
-stewed thus with tomatos.
-
-
-POTATO BEEF.--This is an excellent family dish. Boil some potatos till
-well done, all through. Peel them, put them into a large pan, and mash
-them smoothly, adding, as you proceed, some milk, and one or more beaten
-eggs, well mixed into the potatos. Rub the bottom of a white ware
-pudding dish with nice butter, or some drippings of cold beef, and cover
-it with a thick layer of mashed potatos. Next, put in thin slices of
-beef, (omitting the fat,) enough to cover the potatos. Next, add
-another layer of mashed potatos, evenly and thickly spread. Then, more
-thin slices of beef, and then more potatos. Do this, till the dish is
-full; finishing it with potatos, on the top, heaping them up in the
-centre. Bake it in an oven. There must be plenty of potatos, as they
-will be much liked.
-
-
-BEEF AND MUSHROOMS.--Take three pounds of the best sirloin steaks.
-Season them with black pepper and a very little salt, having removed the
-fat and bone. Put a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter into a
-frying-pan, and set it over the fire. When it is boiling hot, put in the
-steaks, and fry them brown. Have ready a quart of very fresh mushrooms,
-peeled and stemmed. If large, cut them in four. Season them with a
-little pepper and salt, and dredge them lightly with flour, and add a
-few bits of butter. Stew them in a separate pan kept closely covered.
-When the steaks are done, pour the mushrooms over them with all their
-juice. Put them all (steaks and mushrooms) into a dish with a cover, and
-serve them up hot.
-
-This is a breakfast dish, or a side dish for dinner. Unless the company
-is very small, four pounds of beef steaks, at least, and three pints of
-mushrooms, (with butter in proportion) will be required at dinner, as it
-will be much liked.
-
-
-BEEF'S HEART.--Wash the heart well, and soak it in a pan of tepid water
-till all the blood is drawn out of the ventricles, and it is made very
-clean and dry. Next par-boil it a quarter of an hour. Then stuff the
-cavities with a forcemeat made of minced veal, bread-crumbs, butter or
-minced suet, and sweet herbs, seasoned with a little pepper and nutmeg;
-or it may be stuffed simply with sage and onions. Sew up the openings
-with coarse brown thread, lest the forcemeat should fall out. Put the
-heart on a spit, and roast it before a clear fire, for near two hours;
-basting it well with nice fresh butter. Thicken the gravy with a little
-flour, and stir into it a glass of port wine, or of tarragon vinegar.
-Have ready a hot dish and a heated cover. Serve up the heart as hot as
-possible, for it soon chills, and pour the gravy around it. The gravy
-should be heated to a boil in a small sauce-pan.
-
-_Calves' Hearts_ are cooked in the same manner. As they are small, it
-takes four calves' hearts to make a dish.
-
-Hearts may be sliced and stewed with onions and sweet herbs, adding to
-the stew a little salad oil.
-
-
-BEEF PATTIES.--A nice way of disposing of underdone roast beef, is to
-mince fine all the lean, and a _very little_ of the fat. Season it with
-cayenne, and powdered nutmeg, or mace, or else chopped sweet herbs. If
-you have any stewed mushroom-gravy, moisten the meat with that. Make a
-nice paste, and cut it into small circular sheets, rolled out not very
-thin. Cover one half of each sheet of paste with the minced beef (not
-too near the edge) and fold over the other half, so as to form a half
-moon. Wet your fingers with cold water, and pinch together the two edges
-of the half moon. Then crimp them with a sharp knife. Lay the patties in
-square baking pans, prick them with a fork, and bake them brown. Or you
-may fry them in lard. Serve them up hot, as side dishes.
-
-Cold veal, minced with cold ham, or tongue, makes very nice patties;
-also cold chicken or turkey.
-
-
-A BEEF STEAK PIE.--Stew two pounds or more, of fine tender sirloin
-steaks, divested of fat and bone, and cut rather thin. Season them with
-a very little salt and pepper; and, when about half done, remove them
-from the fire, and keep them warm, saving all the gravy. Make a nice
-paste, allowing to two quarts of flour one pound and a quarter of fresh
-butter. Divide the butter into four quarters. Rub one half into the pan
-of flour, and make it into a dough with, a very little cold water. Roll
-it out into a large sheet, and with a broad knife stick over it, at
-equal distances, one of the remaining divisions of butter. Then sprinkle
-it with more flour, fold it, and roll it out again into a large sheet.
-Put on the remainder of the butter in bits, as before. Then fold it
-again. Cut the paste into equal halves, and roll them out into two
-sheets, trimmed into round or oval forms. With one sheet line a
-pie-dish, and fill it with your meat, adding, if convenient, some
-mushrooms, or some fresh oysters, or the soft part of a few clams, and
-some blades of mace. Use the other sheet of paste as a cover for the
-pie, uniting the edges with the under crust by crimping it nicely. Of
-the trimmings of the paste, make an ornament or tulip, and stick it into
-the slit at the top of the pie.
-
-
-MEAT PIES--May be made in the above manner of lamb, veal, or pork. Also
-of venison or any sort of fresh meat. Pie crust for baking should be
-shortened with butter, or with the dripping of roast beef, veal, or
-_fresh_ pork. Mutton or lamb dripping are unfit for pie crust, as they
-make it taste of tallow. Suet will not do at all for _baked_ paste,
-though very good if the paste is to be boiled. Butter and lard will make
-a nice plain paste for pies, if both are fresh and good; the butter to
-be rubbed into the flour, mixed with a little cold water, and rolled
-out; the lard to be spread evenly all over the sheet; then folded and
-rolled out again. Meat pies should always have a bottom crust, as the
-gravy it imbibes makes it very relishing. Veal pies are insipid without
-the addition of some cold ham.
-
-Pies made of game should have a puff-paste, as they are generally for
-company.
-
-On the shores of the Chesapeake, very fine pies are made of canvas-back,
-or red-neck ducks, when in season. They require puff-paste to be made
-in perfection. Pot-pies of these ducks are, of course, excellent.
-
-
-A BEEF STEAK POT-PIE.--Take two pounds or more of tender beef steaks,
-exclusive of the fat and bone, which must be omitted; the steaks from
-the sirloin end, cut less than an inch thick, and not larger than four
-or five inches square. Put them into a pot with enough water to cover
-them, and season them slightly with pepper and salt. Dredge them with a
-little flour, and lay on each a morsel of nice fresh butter. Stew the
-steaks for half an hour. Meanwhile make a large portion of paste;
-allowing to every quart or pound of flour, a small half pound of nice
-beef-suet, entirely freed from all its skin and strings, and minced with
-a chopper as finely as possible. To three pounds of beef allow four
-quarts of flour and not quite two pounds of suet. A pot-pie with but
-little paste in proportion to the meat, is no better than a stew. The
-paste, if good, is always much liked. Divide the minced suet into two
-halves. Rub or crumble one half the suet into the pan of flour; adding
-by degrees a little _cold_ water, barely enough to make a stiff dough;
-first mixing in a small tea-spoonful of salt. Roll out the lump of dough
-into a large sheet, and spread it all over with the remainder of the
-minced suet, laid on with a broad knife. Then fold it up, and set it on
-a dish in a cool place, to get quite cold. Take a large iron pot, made
-very clean. Lay in the bottom the largest pieces of beef steak, and
-line round the sides with pieces of the paste, cut to fit. Next put in
-the remainder of the meat, interspersed with raw potatos sliced, (either
-white or sweet potatos,) and also pieces of the paste cut into squares,
-and laid among the meat, to which must be added the gravy saved from the
-stew. When the pot is nearly full, cover its contents with a large round
-or circular piece of paste. This must not fit _quite closely_, but a
-little space or crack must be left all around for the gravy to bubble up
-as it boils. Before you put on the lid pour in half a pint, or more, of
-water. Cut a cross-slit in the centre of the top-crust. Set the pot over
-a good fire, and let it boil steadily, till all is done, meat and paste.
-The upper-crust should be well-browned. When cooked, serve the whole
-upon one large dish, laying the brown upper-crust on the top of all. If
-there is too much gravy, send some of it to table in a sauce-boat, first
-skimming it.
-
-It will be improved by adding to the seasoning some nutmeg or powdered
-mace. These are the only spices that accord well with meat or poultry.
-
-
-POT-PIES.--The preceding receipt is good for any sort of pot-pie. They
-are all on the same principle. The meat to be divested of the fat, and
-stewed first in a pot by itself, saving the gravy. The paste (of which
-there should always be an ample allowance) sufficient to line the sides
-of the pot all round, and reaching up nearly to the top, besides plenty
-of small square pieces to intersperse with the meat, and an upper crust
-to cover the whole. At the very bottom the meat and gravy only, as there
-the paste might burn. Pot-pies may be made of any sort of fresh meat, or
-of fowls or any sort of poultry (cut up, as if for carving,) and
-previously stewed. If made of chickens or pigeons or rabbits, add a few
-slices of cold ham and put no other salt. For want of suet you may make
-the paste with butter, but it must be fresh and good. Allow half a pound
-of butter to a large quart of flour. Potato paste is tolerable for
-shortening pot-pies, if you make it half mashed potato and half lard. We
-do not recommend bread dough or any thing raised with yeast or soda for
-boiled paste; when there is no shortening, boiled paste is always tough
-and unwholesome.
-
-Pot-pies may be made of apples pared, cored, and quartered; of peaches
-quartered and stoned, or of any nice fruit. Fruit pot-pies should have
-butter paste, and be well sweetened with brown sugar.
-
-All boiled dough should be eaten warm. It falls and becomes heavy as
-soon as cold.
-
-
-BEEF-STEAK PUDDING.--After clearing it from the skin and strings, mince
-as fine as possible three quarters of a pound of nice beef suet. Sift
-into a pan two small quarts of flour. Rub half the suet into the flour,
-and make it into a paste with a little cold water, (as little as
-possible.) Roll it out into a large sheet, and spread over it, evenly,
-the other half of the minced suet. Fold it, flour it, roll it again,
-and divide it unequally into two pieces, one nearly three times larger
-than the other. Roll them out, rather thick than thin. Have ready a
-large pound and a quarter of tender-loin beef steak, that has been cut
-into thin pieces (without fat or bone, seasoned with a very little salt
-and pepper, and some nutmeg) and half-stewed, saving its gravy. Lay this
-meat upon the large thick sheet of crust; pour the stewed gravy among
-it, and add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Cover it with the
-small round of paste, cut to fit, only allowing the lid large enough to
-project a little over, so as to be joined firmly by pressing it all
-round with your fingers. Do it well and securely, that it may not come
-apart while boiling. Dip a large square pudding-cloth in hot
-water--shake it out--lay it in a deep pan, dredge it with flour, lay the
-pudding into it and tie it firmly, leaving room for swelling. Put it
-into a large pot of boiling water, and boil it till, on probing with a
-fork, you find the meat quite tender.
-
-Or you may boil it in a large bowl with a rim, tying the cloth carefully
-all over the top. Set the bowl in a pot of boiling water.
-
-
-TO BOIL TRIPE.--Clean the tripe very carefully, giving it a thorough
-scraping, and washing in warm water, and trim off the superfluous fat.
-Lay it all night in weak salt and water. Then wash it again. Let it lie
-an hour or two in milk and water, and then boil it five hours or more,
-putting it on in cold water. It must be perfectly tender throughout.
-This should be done the day _before_ it is to be cooked for dinner. On
-that day, cut it into strips or bands, roll them with the fat side
-inwards. Tie the rolls round with small white twine, and boil them two
-hours longer; or till they are _perfectly tender throughout, and incline
-to look transparent near the edges_. Have ready in a saucepan, some
-onions peeled; and boil in milk and water, till soft enough to mash.
-Then take them out; drain them; mix with the onion-water some nice fresh
-butter divided into pieces and rolled in flour. When this has come to a
-boil, return the onions to the liquor; season them with pepper, and give
-them one boil up. When the tripe is done, transfer it to a deep dish,
-and pour the onion sauce over it. When on your plate, add to it some
-tarragon vinegar or mustard. Take the strings off before the tripe goes
-to table.
-
-
-TRIPE CURRY.--Having boiled two pounds of double tripe, cut it into
-slips, peel two large onions, cut them also into dice, and put them into
-a stew-pan, with three ounces, or three table-spoonfuls of fresh butter.
-Let them stew till brown, stirring frequently, and mixing in a
-table-spoonful of curry-powder. Add a pint of milk, and the cut-up
-tripe. Let all stew together for an hour or more, skimming it well.
-Serve it up in a tureen or deep dish, with a dish of boiled rice to eat
-with it.
-
-A good East India receipt for curry-powder, is to pound, very fine, in
-a marble mortar, (made very clean,) six ounces of coriander seed, three
-quarters of an ounce of cayenne, one ounce and a half of foenugreek
-seed; one ounce of cummin seed, and three ounces of turmeric. These
-articles (all of which can be obtained at a druggist's,) being pounded
-extremely fine, must be sifted through clean thin muslin, and spread on
-a dish, and laid before the fire for three hours, stirring them
-frequently. Keep this powder in a bottle with a glass stopper. It is
-used for giving an East Indian flavor to stews. The turmeric
-communicates a fine yellow color.
-
-Boiled rice is always eaten with curry dishes.
-
-Curry balls for Mock Turtle, &c., are made of bread-crumbs, fresh
-butter, hard-boiled yolk of egg, chopped fine, a seasoning of curry
-powder, and some beaten raw egg, to make the mixture into balls, about
-the size of a hickory-nut.
-
-
-FRIED TRIPE.--Having boiled the tripe till perfectly tender all through;
-cut it into pieces three or four inches square. Make a batter of four
-beaten eggs, four table-spoonfuls of flour, and a pint of milk, seasoned
-with powdered nutmeg or mace. Have boiling in the frying-pan an ample
-quantity of the drippings of roast veal, or beef. Dip each piece of
-tripe twice into the batter; then lay it in the pan, and fry it brown.
-Send it to table hot.
-
-Tripe was long considered very indigestible. This, it is now found, was
-a mistake; physicians having discovered that it is quite the contrary,
-the gastric juice that it contained, as the stomach of the animal,
-rendering it singularly fitted for digestion, provided that it is
-thoroughly cooked; so that on trial, a fork can easily penetrate every
-part of it.
-
-
-TONGUES.--Corned or salted tongues are very little in use now. They
-spoil so soon, that it is scarcely possible to obtain one that has not
-been salted too late; and when quite fresh, they have a faint,
-sickening, doubtful taste. It is best always to buy them dried and
-smoked. Choose the largest and plumpest, and with as smooth an outside
-or skin as you can. Put a tongue into soak the evening before it is to
-be cooked; changing the water at bed-time. In the morning wash it in
-fresh water. Trim off the root, which is an unsightly object, and never
-carved at table. But it may be cut into pieces, and added to pea-soup,
-or bean-soup, or pepper-pot. Put on the tongue in a large pot of cold
-water, and boil it steadily for five or six hours, till it is so tender
-that a straw, or a twig from a corn-broom, will easily penetrate it.
-When you find that it is thoroughly done (and not till then) take it up.
-A smoked tongue requires more boiling than a ham, and therefore is
-seldom sufficiently cooked. When quite done, peel it carefully, and keep
-it warm till dinner. If well-boiled, it will seem almost to melt in your
-mouth. When you dish it do not split it. The flavor is much injured by
-carving it lengthways, or in long pieces. It should be cut in round
-slices, not too thin.
-
-For a large party we have seen two cold tongues on one dish. One of them
-whole--the root concealed entirely with double parsley, cut paper, or a
-bunch of flowers cut out of vegetables, very ingeniously, with a sharp
-penknife--the vegetables raw, of course not to be eaten. Red roses made
-of beets, white roses or camellias of turnips, marigolds of carrots, &c.
-The stems are short wooden skewers, stuck into the flowers, and
-concealed by double parsley. These vegetable bouquets can be made to
-look very well, as ornaments to cold tongue, or to the end of the shank
-of a ham, or to stick into the centre of a cold round of a-la-mode beef.
-
-Where there are two cold tongues on one dish, it is usual to split one
-to be helped lengthways, and garnish it with the other, cut into
-circular pieces, and laid handsomely round.
-
-Cold tongue sliced is a great improvement to a chicken pie, or to any
-bird pie.
-
-
-BAKED TONGUE.--Having soaked a fine large smoked tongue all night, in
-the morning trim it nicely, and if it still seems hard, soak it again in
-fresh cold water till it is time to cook it. Then put it into a deep
-dish, (having trimmed off the root,) and make a coarse paste of flour
-and water. Cut up the roots into little bits, and lay them round and
-about the tongue, to enrich the gravy. Lay all along the surface some
-bits of butter rolled in flour, and season with a little pepper--no
-salt. Pour in a very little water, and cover the dish with the coarse
-paste. Bake it till the tongue is very tender. This you may ascertain by
-raising up with a knife one corner of the paste and trying the tongue.
-When done, peel it, dish it, strain the gravy over the tongue, and send
-it to table. Garnish with baked tomatos, or mushrooms, or large roasted
-chestnuts peeled.
-
-For a large company have two baked tongues, one at each end of the
-table. Eat them warm.
-
-
-LARDED TONGUE.--Take a large cold tongue, that has been well boiled.
-Trim off the roots. Have ready some slips of the fat of cold boiled ham,
-cut into long thin pieces, about as thick as straws. With a larding
-needle, draw them through the outside of the tongue, and leave them
-there. Arrange the borders in rows, or handsome regular forms, leaving
-about an inch standing up on the surface.
-
-Cold meat or poultry is far better for larding than that which is yet to
-cook.
-
-
-TONGUE TOAST.--Make some slices of nice toast, not very thick, but
-browned evenly all over, on both sides. Trim off the whole of the crust.
-Butter the toast slightly. Grate, with a large grater plenty of cold
-tongue, and spread it thickly over the toast. Lay the slices side by
-side, on a large dish--not one slice on the top of another.
-
-Serve them up at breakfast, luncheon, or supper.
-
-
-HAM TOAST--Is prepared in the same manner, of grated cold ham spread on
-slices of buttered toast.
-
-
-SANDWICHES--Are slices of cold ham, or tongue, _cut very thin_, and laid
-between thin slices of buttered bread. The meat may be seasoned with
-French mustard. Roll them up nicely. There are silver cases made to
-contain sandwiches to eat on the road when traveling.
-
-Sandwiches for traveling may be made of the _lean_ of cold beef, (roast
-or boiled,) cut very thin, seasoned with French mustard, and laid
-between two slices of bread and butter.
-
-
-
-
-MUTTON.
-
-
-MUTTON.--If mutton is good it is of a fine grain; the lean is of a
-bright red color, and the fat firm and white. Unless there is plenty of
-fat the lean will not be good; and so it is with all meat. If the lean
-is of a very dark red, and coarse and hard, and the fat yellowish and
-spongy, the mutton is old, tough, and strong. Therefore, do not buy it.
-If there is any dark or blackish tint about the meat, it is tainted, and
-of course unwholesome. If kept till it acquires what the English call
-venison taste, Americans will very properly refuse to eat it.
-
-We give no directions for disguising spoilt meat. It should be thrown
-away. Nothing is fit to eat in which decomposition is commencing.
-
-
-BOILED LOIN OF MUTTON.--A good loin of mutton is always very fat, so
-that in cooking it is well to remove or pare off a portion of the
-outside fat. Unlike most other meats, mutton is the better for being
-boiled in soup. Put it into a large pot; allow to every pound a quart of
-water. Boil it slowly and skim it well, adding the vegetables when the
-scum has done rising. The vegetables should be sliced turnips, potatos,
-and grated carrots. Have ready plenty of suet dumplings, in the
-proportion of half a pound of finely minced suet to a pound and a
-quarter of flour. Rub the suet into the pan of flour, and use as little
-water as possible in mixing the dough. Make it into thick dumplings,
-rather larger round than a dollar. Boil them in a pot by themselves,
-till thoroughly done. Serve up the meat with the dumplings round it. Or
-put the dumplings in a dish by themselves, and surround the meat with
-whole turnips. This is an excellent plain dish for a private family.
-Serve up pickles with it.
-
-
-SAUCE FOR BOILED MUTTON.--This particularly applies to mutton that has
-been boiled in soup, and which is so very generally liked, that it is
-served up on tables where soup-meat of beef and veal is considered
-inadmissible. To make a suitable sauce to eat with it--take two or three
-large boiled onions; slice them and put them into a sauce-pan, with a
-piece of fresh butter slightly rolled in flour, a table-spoonful of
-_made_ mustard. French mustard will be best; or, for want of that, two
-table-spoonfuls of strong tarragon vinegar, and a half-salt-spoon of
-cayenne, and some pickled cucumbers chopped, but not minced. Green
-nasturtion seeds will be still better than cucumbers. Put these
-ingredients into a small sauce-pan, adding to them a little of the
-mutton soup. Set this sauce over the fire, and when it simmers well,
-take it off, put into a sauce-boat, and keep it hot till the mutton goes
-to table.
-
-To keep nasturtions--take the full-grown green seeds, and put them into
-a large bottle of the best _cider_ vinegar, corking them closely. They
-require nothing more, and are far superior to capers.
-
-
-BOILED LEG OF MUTTON.--After nicely trimming a middle-sized leg of
-mutton, wash, but do not soak it. Put it into a pot that will hold it
-well, and pour on rather more water than is sufficient to cover it. Set
-it over a good fire, and skim it as soon as it begins to boil, and
-continue till no more scum appears; having thrown in a small
-table-spoonful of salt after the first skimming. After the liquid is
-clear, put in some turnips, pared, and, if large, divided into four
-pieces. Afterwards it should boil slowly, or simmer gently for about two
-hours or more. Send to table with it caper sauce; or nasturtion, which
-is still better. Eat it with any sort of green pickles. Pickles and
-turnips seem indispensable to boiled mutton. Do not mash the turnips,
-but let them be well drained.
-
-Setting boiled turnips in the sun will give them an unpleasant taste.
-
-Tarragon sauce is excellent with boiled mutton.
-
-
-MUTTON STEAKS STEWED.--Take some tender mutton steaks, cut from the leg.
-Beat them a little with a rolling pin, and season them with pepper and
-salt. Put them into a stew-pan with sliced potatos, sliced turnips,
-sliced onions, sliced or grated carrots, and sweet marjoram leaves
-stripped from the stalks. Pour in just sufficient water to cover the
-stew, and let it cook slowly till it is tender and well done. Serve it
-up hot in a deep dish, with a cover. A table-spoonful of tarragon
-mustard will improve the stew.
-
-When tomatos are in season, you can stew mutton or any other meat with
-tomatos only--no water. Having prepared the meat, and laid it in the
-stew-pan, cover it with tomatos, peeled and quartered. Add some sugar to
-take off a portion of their acid, and a chopped onion. No water, as the
-meat will cook in the liquid of the tomatos. They must stew till
-thoroughly dissolved.
-
-Tender-loin beef steaks--or veal cutlets, may be stewed as above.
-
-
-MUTTON CHOPS BROILED.--The best steaks are those cut from the loin,
-about half an inch thick. Divest them of the bone, and remove the skin
-and fat. Then butter them slightly all over, before cooking. This will
-be found an improvement. The French go over them with salad oil, which
-is still better. Sprinkle on them a little pepper and salt. Having
-heated the gridiron well over a bed of very hot live coals, place it
-somewhat aslant, grease its bars with a little of the mutton suet, and
-lay on the steaks and broil them well; turning them three or four times,
-and seeing that they are not scorched or burnt on the outside, and red
-or raw when cut. Turn them with a knife and fork, or with steak-tongs,
-an instrument with which every kitchen should be furnished. To cook them
-well requires a clear glowing fire, without blaze or smoke. They should
-be done in about a quarter of an hour. When you take them up, turn them
-on a well-heated dish, and pour their gravy over them.
-
-If onions are liked, mince one as fine as possible, and strew it over
-the steaks while broiling; or, boil and slice some onions, mix some
-butter among them, season them with pepper, and a little powdered mace
-or nutmeg, and serve them up with the meat on the same dish, or in a
-sauce-boat.
-
-
-MUTTON CHOPS WITH TOMATOS.--Broil some mutton steaks in the above
-manner, and have ready some baked tomatos. When the steaks are dished,
-lay on each a large baked tomato with the face downward, or cover each
-steak with stewed tomato sauce. For baking, take fine ripe tomatos of
-the largest size. Cut out a piece from the stem end, and extract the
-seeds. Then stuff each tomato with grated bread-crumbs, butter, and
-minced sweet marjoram, or finely minced onion. If you have any cold veal
-or chicken, add a little of that to the stuffing, mincing it, of course.
-Bake them in a dish by themselves.
-
-Or, you may send the steaks to table with a slice of fried egg-plant
-laid upon each; buttered, and sprinkled with bread-crumbs.
-
-
-MUTTON STEAKS FRIED.--Make a nice batter of grated bread-crumbs, milk
-and beaten egg, and put it in a shallow pan. Prepare some fine steaks
-cut from the loin, divested of fat, and with the bone cut short. Have
-ready, in a hot frying-pan, some fresh butter or drippings. Dip each
-steak twice over in the batter, then fry them brown. Send them to table
-very hot.
-
-You may fry mutton chops like beef steaks, covered with onions, boiled,
-drained, and sliced.
-
-
-POTATO MUTTON CHOPS.--Cut some nice chops or steaks from the best end of
-a neck of mutton. The loin will be still better. Trim off all the fat,
-but leave a small part of the bone visible, nicely scraped. Season them
-with pepper and salt, and fry them in butter or drippings. Have ready
-plenty of mashed potatos with which cover the chops all over separately,
-so as to wrap them up in the mashed potatos. Glaze them with beaten egg,
-and brown them with a salamander or a red-hot shovel. This is a nice
-breakfast dish.
-
-
-KEBOBBED MUTTON.--This is an Asiatic dish, much approved by those who
-have eaten it in Turkey or India, and it is certainly very good. Remove
-the skin from a loin of mutton, and also the whole of the fat. Divide it
-at every joint, cutting all the steaks apart, and making separate steaks
-of the whole loin. Make a mixture of grated bread-crumbs, minced
-sweet-herbs, a little salt and pepper, and some powdered nutmeg. Have
-ready some beaten yolk of egg. Dip each steak into the egg then; twice
-into the seasoning. Roll up each steak round a wooden skewer, and tie
-them on a spit with packthread. Roast them before a clear fire, with a
-dripping-pan under them to catch the gravy, which must be skimmed
-frequently. They must be roasted slowly and carefully, taking care to
-have them thoroughly cooked, even to the inmost of every roll. Baste
-them with just butter enough to keep them moist. When done, carefully
-take the kebobs from the skewers, and send them to table hot. Eat with
-them large Spanish chestnuts, roasted and peeled; or else sweet potatos,
-split, boiled, and cut into short pieces. Pour the gravy into the dish
-under the kebobs.
-
-Instead of rolling up the kebobs, you may fasten them flat (after
-seasoning,) with the same spit going through them all, and roast them in
-that manner. They should all be of the same size and shape. To dish
-them, lay them one upon another in an even pile. Eat mushroom sauce with
-them, or any other sort that is very nice.
-
-Venison steaks are very good kebobbed in this manner, at the season when
-venison can be had fresh, tender, and juicy. For sauce have stewed wild
-grapes, mashed and made very sweet with brown sugar, or grape jelly,
-which is still better; or, sauce made of fine cranberries, such as
-abound in the north-west.
-
-
-AN IRISH STEW.--Take three pounds of thick mutton cutlets from the loin,
-and remove the fat. Slice thick five pounds of fine potatos that have
-been previously pared. Place a layer of meat in the bottom of a
-stew-pan, or an iron pot, and lay some of the potatos upon it. Season
-all with salt and pepper. Upon this another layer of meat--then some
-potatos again, then meat, and so on till all is in, finishing with
-potatos at the top. Pour in a pint of cold water. Let it simmer gently
-for two hours or more, till the meat and potatos are thoroughly done.
-Serve it up very hot, meat and potatos, on the same dish. If approved,
-you may add, from the beginning, one or two sliced onions.
-
-A similar stew may be made of beef steaks and potatos.
-
-You may stew pork cutlets in the same manner, but with _sweet_ potatos,
-split and cut in long pieces, or with yams. The seasoning for the pork
-should be minced sage.
-
-This is a very plain, but very good dish, if made of nice fresh meat and
-good potatos, and well cooked.
-
-
-LAMB.--The vein in the neck of the fore-quarter should be blueish, and
-firm--otherwise do not buy it. If greenish or yellowish, it is tainted,
-and fit only for manure. Never buy any thing that has been kept too
-long. The worst may, by some process, be a little disguised, but nothing
-can render wholesome any article of food in which decomposition has
-commenced, even in the slightest degree. The fat should be quite white.
-If there is but little meat on the shoulder it has not been a good lamb.
-In America, where food is abundant, there is no occasion to eat any
-thing, that has the flavor in the least changed by keeping.
-
-A fore-quarter of lamb comprises the shoulder, the neck, and the breast
-together. The hind-quarter is the loin and leg. Lamb comes in season in
-the beginning of April, if the spring is not unusually backward.
-
-Jersey lamb is sometimes garlicky early in the season. Avoid buying it;
-you can easily tell it by the garlicky smell. It can only be rendered
-eatable by stewing, or frying it with plenty of onions. To plain roast
-or boil garlicky meat is in vain. Beef, also, is sometimes garlicky.
-
-Lamb may be cooked in every way that is proper for mutton.
-
-
-ROAST LAMB.--The roasting pieces for lamb are the fore-quarter, and
-hind-quarter; and the saddle, or both hind-quarters together, not having
-been cut apart. If the saddle is cooked whole, it should be of a small
-delicate lamb, nice and fat, and is then a fashionable dish at company
-dinners. Like all other young meat lamb should always be thoroughly
-done, not the least redness being left perceptible any where about it. A
-hind-quarter of eight pounds will require at least two hours--a
-fore-quarter, rather longer. It should be placed before a clear brisk
-fire, but not very near at first. Put a little water in the
-dripping-pan, and baste it with that till it begins to cook, adding a
-little nice fresh butter. Then place it nearer the fire, and when the
-gravy begins to fall, baste it with that, and repeat the basting very
-frequently. When the lamb drops white gravy it is nearly done, and you
-may prepare for taking it up. Skim the gravy that is in the dripping-pan
-till all the fat is taken off. Then dredge over it a little flour, and
-send it to table in a gravy boat, having stirred in one or two
-table-spoonfuls of currant jelly. Lettuce is always an accompaniment to
-cold lamb.
-
-In carving a fore-quarter of lamb it is usual to take off the shoulder
-from the ribs, put in a slice of fresh butter, sprinkle it with a little
-cayenne, and squeeze over the divided parts a fresh lemon cut in half;
-and put, for that purpose, on a small plate beside the carver.
-
-The vegetables to be eaten with lamb are, new potatos, asparagus, green
-peas, and spinach. Mint sauce is indispensable. French cooks seldom
-understand how to make it. To do it properly, take a large bunch of
-fresh green mint, wash it, and when you have shaken the wet from them,
-mince the leaves very fine, omitting the stems. Put the leaves, when
-chopped, into a small tureen or sauce-boat, and pour on a sufficient
-quantity of the best cider vinegar to moisten the mint thoroughly, but
-not to render it the least liquid or thin. It should be as thick as
-horse-radish, prepared to eat with roast beef. Mix in sufficient sugar
-to make it very sweet. Good brown sugar will do. At table put a
-tea-spoonful on the side of your plate. Those who make mint sauce thin
-and weak, and pour it over the meat like gravy, know nothing about it.
-
-
-LAMB STEAKS.--Cut some nice cutlets or steaks (without any bone) from a
-hind-quarter of lamb. Lay them in a stew pan, and season them with a
-little salt and cayenne, adding some butter rolled in flour. Wash
-carefully two fine fresh lettuces. Remove the outside leaves, quarter
-the lettuces, and cut off all the stalks. Set the stew-pan, with the
-meat, over a clear fire; and let it stew slowly till about half done.
-Then put in the lettuce, covering the meat with it, and let them all
-stew about half an hour longer. When done, take out the lettuces first.
-Put them into a sieve or cullender, press out the water, and chop them
-_large_. See if the meat is done all through. If it is, return the
-stewed lettuce to the pot, season it with a little cayenne and some
-salad oil, and add to it two or three hard-boiled eggs, chopped large.
-Cover it, and let it stew five minutes longer. Serve it up on the same
-dish.
-
-
-LAMB CUTLETS.--Cut the cutlets from the loin and trim them nicely,
-removing the skin, and most of the fat. Scrape the bone, and cut it
-short. Grate plenty of stale bread, and mix it with some minced sweet
-marjoram, seasoned with salt and pepper. Have ready a small deep dish of
-light beaten egg, flavored with grated nutmeg and fresh lemon-peel,
-grated fine, the thin yellow rind only. Put some nice lard or
-beef-dripping into a hot frying-pan, and when the lard boils is the time
-to put in the cutlets. Dip every cutlet separately into the beaten egg.
-Then into the bread-crumbs, &c. Repeat this a second time both with the
-egg and bread. The cutlets will be found much better for the double
-immersion. Then lay them separately in the boiling lard, and fry them
-well. One cutlet must not be laid on the top of another. When done, dish
-them and send them to table very hot, with some currant jelly to mix
-with the gravy. This is a fine breakfast dish or for a small dinner.
-
-Instead of frying, you may broil them. Dip each cutlet twice into the
-egg and twice into the crumbs, and cover each with clean writing paper,
-cut of a convenient shape, and secured with pins or packthread, the
-paper being twisted round the end of the bone. Broil them in the papers,
-which must be taken off before the cutlets go to table.
-
-
-LAMB CHOPS, STEWED.--Cut a loin of lamb into chops or steaks, removing
-the bone, or else sawing it very short. Trim off the skin and part of
-the fat. Season the chops with a little pepper and salt, and fry them in
-fresh butter till they are of a pale brown color. Then pour off the fat
-and transfer the steaks to a stew-pan. Add enough boiling water to cover
-them; and having seasoned them with some powdered nutmeg or some blades
-of mace, add a pint of shelled green peas that have been already
-parboiled, or a pint of the green tops of asparagus cut off after
-boiling, and a fresh lettuce stripped of its outside leaves and stalks
-and quartered. Finish with a small quarter of a pound of fresh butter
-cut in pieces and rolled in flour, and laid among the vegetables. Let
-them all stew together with the meat, for half an hour rather slowly.
-Serve up all upon one large dish. It will make an excellent plain dinner
-for a small family, with the addition of a dish or two of new potatos,
-if they are in season.
-
-You may omit the lettuce, and add more peas and asparagus tops.
-
-
-LARDED LAMB.--Cut off the fillet or round from a nice hind-quarter of
-lamb, and remove the bone from the centre. Make a stuffing or forcemeat
-of bread-crumbs, fresh butter, sweet marjoram, and sweet basil, minced
-finely; the yellow rind of a fresh lemon, grated; and a tea-spoonful of
-mixed nutmeg and mace, powdered. Fill with this stuffing the hole from
-whence the bone was taken, and secure the flap round the side of the
-meat, putting plenty of stuffing between. Then proceed to lard it. Cut a
-number of long thin slips of the fat of ham, bacon, or corned pork. All
-these slips must be of the same size. Take one at a time between the
-points of the larding-needle, and draw it through the flat surface of
-the top, or upper side of the meat, so as to leave one end of the ham
-in, as you slip the other end out of the needle. Do this nicely,
-arranging the slips of ham in regular form, and very near together. Put
-the lamb into an iron oven, or bake-pan, with a small portion of lard or
-fresh butter under it, and bake it thoroughly. When the meat is about
-half done, put in a quart or more of nice green peas with sufficient
-butter to cook them well. Serve up the lamb with the peas round it, on
-the same dish.
-
-This is a dish for company.
-
-
-LAMB PIE.--Remove the fat and bone from two pounds or more of nice lamb
-steaks, or take some cutlets from the upper end of a leg of lamb, and
-cut them into pieces about as large as the palm of your hand. Season
-them with pepper and salt very slightly. Put them into a stew pot with a
-_very little water_, and let them stew for half an hour or more. In the
-mean time, make a nice paste, allowing half a pound of fresh butter to a
-pound of flour. Mix with a broad knife half the butter with the flour,
-adding gradually enough of cold water to make a dough. Roll out the
-dough into a large thin sheet, and spread all over it with the knife the
-remainder of the butter. Fold it, sprinkle it with a little flour, and
-then divide it into two sheets, and roll out each of them. That intended
-for the upper crust to be the thickest. Line with the under crust the
-bottom and sides of a pie-dish. Put in the stewed lamb with its gravy.
-Intersperse some blades of mace. Add some potatos, sliced, and some
-sliced boiled turnips. Cover the meat thick with the green tops of
-boiled asparagus, and lay among it a few bits of fresh butter. For
-asparagus tops you may substitute boiled cauliflower seasoned with
-nutmeg. Put on the paste-lid, closing the edges with crimping them
-nicely. Cut a cross-slit on the top. Put the pie directly into the
-oven, and bake it of a light brown. Serve it up hot.
-
-
-
-
-VEAL.
-
-
-VEAL.--Do not buy veal unless the vein in the shoulder looks blue or
-bright red. If of any other color, the veal is not fresh. A calf's head
-should have the eyes full and prominent. If they are dull and sunken,
-the head is stale. The kidney should be well covered with firm white
-fat. All the fat must be firm, dry, and white, and the lean fine in the
-grain, and light colored. If any part is found clammy or discolored, do
-not buy that veal. The best pieces of the calf are the loin and the
-fillet. The loin consists of the best and the chump end; the hind
-knuckle, and the fore knuckle. The inferior pieces are the neck,
-blade-bone, and breast. The brisket end of a breast of veal is very
-coarse, hard, and tough; the best end is rather better, having
-sweet-bread belonging to it.
-
-Veal, like all other meat, should be well washed in cold water before
-cooking. Being naturally the most tasteless and insipid of all meat, it
-requires the assistance of certain articles to give it flavor. It is too
-weak to make rich soup without various additions. But well cooked, it is
-very nice as roasted loin, fillet, or fried cutlets.
-
-
-ROAST LOIN OF VEAL.--Wash the meat well in cold water, wipe it dry, and
-rub it slightly with mixed pepper and salt. Make a stuffing of bread
-soaked in milk, or grated bread-crumbs, cold ham minced, sweet marjoram
-minced, and the juice and yellow grated rind of a lemon; also, a little
-fresh butter. Loosen with a sharp knife the skin, and put the stuffing
-under it, skewering down the flap to keep it in. Put the veal to roast
-before a strong clear fire, and pour a little water in the bottom of the
-roaster. Baste it with this till the gravy begins to run. Then baste it
-with that. Set the spit at first not very close to the fire, but bring
-it nearer as the roasting proceeds.
-
-Send it to table with its own gravy, well skimmed and slightly thickened
-with a little flour.
-
-Always choose a fine fresh loin of veal with plenty of fat about the
-kidney. No meat spoils so soon.
-
-The breast and shoulder are roasted in the same manner as the loin, of
-which two dishes may be made, the kidney end, and the chump end.
-
-
-FILLET OF VEAL.--When a fillet is to be roasted or baked, let it be well
-washed, and then dried in a clean towel. Take out the bone, fold the
-flap round, and skewer it to the meat. Make plenty of forcemeat or
-stuffing, of bread soaked in milk, or grated dry and mixed with plenty
-of fresh butter, or some of the fat or suet finely minced. Season with
-pepper, grated nutmeg, powdered mace, fresh lemon peel grated, and sweet
-marjoram and sweet basil minced fine. The hole that contained the bone
-must be stuffed full, and also the space between the flap and the side
-of the meat. This should be secured by three skewers. Dredge the meat
-all over lightly with flour before you put it down. At first, place the
-spit at a distance from the fire, which should be strong and clear.
-Then, as the meat begins to roast, set it nearer, and till the gravy
-begins to fall, baste it with fresh butter, or lard. Just before it is
-finished, (it will take about four hours,) dredge it with flour, and
-baste it well with its own gravy. When the meat is dished, skim the
-gravy, thicken it with a little flour, and pour it round the veal in the
-dish, or serve it in a sauce-boat.
-
-A ham is the usual accompaniment to roast veal, whether fillet or loin.
-
-
-ROAST VEAL HASHED.--Take whatever cold roast veal was left from
-yesterday. To prepare it for a breakfast dish, cut it into small bits,
-and put it (without any water) into a stew-pan, adding to it the veal
-gravy that was left from yesterday, and a table-spoonful of fresh butter
-or lard, dredged with flour. Cover it, and after stewing it half an hour
-by itself, put in two large table-spoonfuls of well spiced tomato
-catchup, an article no family should be without. After the catchup is
-in, cover the hash again, and let it stew half an hour longer. If you
-have no catchup, put in with the cold veal at the beginning, two or
-three large ripe tomatos, peeled and quartered, or sliced, and seasoned
-with powdered mace, nutmeg, and ginger; and let all stew together in
-gravy or butter. Mushroom catchup is a good substitute for tomato in
-hashing cold meat. If you have neither, put in a large table-spoonful of
-tarragon or French mustard, to be bought in bottles at all the best
-groceries.
-
-Cold roast venison is very good hashed as above.
-
-
-VEAL A-LA-MODE.--Remove the bone from a fillet of veal, and make a large
-quantity of forcemeat or stuffing of grated bread-crumbs; beef-suet or
-veal-suet minced fine, the grated yellow rind and juice of a ripe lemon
-or orange, or some chopped mushrooms that have been previously stewed,
-some grated yolk of hard-boiled eggs, and some sweet marjoram. Press in
-the stuffing, till the hole left by the bone is well filled; and also,
-put stuffing between the flap and the side of the meat, before you
-skewer the flap. Have ready some lardons or slips of cold ham, or
-tongue, and with a larding pin draw them all through the surface of the
-veal. Or else, make deep cuts or incisions throughout the meat, and
-press down into each a small thin square bit of bacon-fat, seasoning
-every one with a little of the stuffing. Lay the veal in a deep
-baking-pan, or iron bake-oven. Surround it with nice lard, and bake it
-till thoroughly done all through. Then take it out, skim the gravy, and
-transfer it to a small sauce-pan. Stir in a dessert-spoonful of flour;
-add a glass of white wine to the gravy, and give it one boil up. Send it
-to table in a sauce-tureen, accompanying the veal.
-
-
-TERRAPIN VEAL.--Take some nice veal, (from the fillet, or the loin) and
-cut it into very small mouthfuls. Put it into a stew-pan. Have ready a
-dressing made of six or seven hard-boiled eggs, minced fine, a small
-tea-spoonful of made mustard, (tarragon or French mustard will be best,)
-a salt-spoon of salt, and the same of cayenne; two glasses of sherry or
-Madeira, and half a pint of rich cream. If you cannot conveniently
-obtain cream, substitute a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided
-into four pieces, and each piece dredged with flour. All the ingredients
-for this dressing must be thoroughly mixed. Then, pour it over the veal,
-and give the whole a hard stir. Cover it, and let it stew over the fire
-for about ten minutes. Fresh venison is excellent, cooked in this
-manner. So, also, are ducks, pheasants, partridges, or grouse, making a
-fine side dish for company.
-
-
-TO HASH COLD MEAT.--The best way of re-cooking cold roast meat, (veal,
-beef, or pork,) is to hash it, cutting it into mouthfuls, and stewing
-it in its own gravy, without a drop of water. For this purpose, save as
-much as you can of the dripping or gravy that fell from it when
-roasting. When you have done basting the roast meat, skim off all the
-fat from the surface, and strain the gravy through a small sieve. What
-is left of it, should be carefully set away in a cold place. Next day,
-when it has congealed into a cake, scrape it with a knife on both sides.
-If not wanted for immediate use, cut it in pieces, and put it up in a
-jar well covered. Use it (instead of water) for stews and hashes; and if
-well seasoned the meat will be found nearly as good (for a breakfast
-dish,) as if not previously cooked. Whenever it is possible, make your
-hashes without any water; and if you have saved no gravy, substitute
-lard, or fresh butter. But gravy or drippings of the same meat is best.
-A hash of cold meat, stewed merely in water, and with no seasoning but
-salt and pepper, is a poor thing. Cold potatos, when re-cooked, always
-remain hard and indigestible. In all cookery it is best to use _fresh
-vegetables_, even if the _meat_ has been previously drest. Cold meat is
-of no use for soups or pies. It is better to slice it, and eat it
-cold--or, better still to give it the poor. Roast beef or mutton, if
-very much underdone, may be sliced and broiled on a gridiron, and well
-seasoned with pepper. Cold roast pork is best sliced plain, and eaten
-cold. Ham also.
-
-
-VEAL CUTLETS IN PAPERS (_en papillotes_.)--Make a nice sauce of sweet
-herbs, bread-crumbs, powdered mace and nutmeg, butter and beaten egg.
-Lay the cutlets in a deep dish, (having first broiled them and saved the
-gravy,) pour the sauce over them, with the veal gravy added to it. Cover
-them, and let them rest till cold. Allow, for each cutlet, a sheet of
-foolscap paper, cut it into the shape of a heart, and go over it with
-sweet oil, or fresh butter or lard. Lay a cutlet with a little of the
-sauce upon it, on one-half of each sheet of paper; turn the other half
-over the meat. Fold a narrow rim all round, so as to unite both edges.
-Begin at the top of the heart, and pleat both edges together so as to
-form a good shape without puckering. When you come to the bottom, where
-the paper is to cover the bone, give it a few extra twists. Broil the
-cutlets slowly on a gridiron for half an hour, seeing that no blaze
-catches the papers--or put them in the oven for half an hour. If the
-papers are not too much burnt or disfigured, dish the cutlets still
-wrapped in them, to be removed by those who eat them. If the covers are
-scorched black, and ragged, take out the cutlets and lay them on a hot
-dish. Serve up with them a dish of mashed potatos or potatoe cake,
-browned on the surface with a salamander. _Côtelettes à la Maintenon_,
-are mutton or lamb steaks cooked in papers, in the above manner.
-
-
-VEAL STEAKS.--Cut the steaks from the neck, leaving the bone very short,
-and polishing what there is of it. Make a seasoning of boiled onions
-minced, and sage or sweet marjoram leaves, or of chopped parsley. Lay on
-each steak a bit of fresh butter, spread the seasoning thickly over
-each, and fry them in the gravy or drippings of cold roast veal or beef.
-They will be the better for beating them slightly with a rolling pin.
-Put into the frying-pan three or four table-spoonfuls of mushroom or
-tomato catchup; or, fry them with fresh mushrooms or fresh tomatos,
-sliced.
-
-
-VEAL CUTLETS.--Cut your veal cutlets from the fillet or round about half
-an inch thick. Season them slightly with a little salt and cayenne. Have
-ready a pan with grated bread-crumbs, and another with beaten egg. Have
-ready, in a frying pan, plenty of boiling lard, or drippings of cold
-veal. Dredge each cutlet slightly with flour; then dip it twice in the
-pan of beaten egg, and then twice also in the bread-crumbs. Fry them
-well, and send them to table in their own gravy. Saffron, scattered
-thickly over them while frying, is an improvement much relished by the
-eaters.
-
-Veal is too insipid to be fried or broiled plain.
-
-If you live where cream is plenty, add to this fry two or three
-spoonfuls.
-
-Minced veal, cold, is an excellent ingredient for forcemeats.
-
-
-KNUCKLE OF VEAL AND BACON.--Unless your family is very small, get two
-knuckles of veal, and have them sawed into three pieces each. Put them
-into a pot with two pounds of ham or bacon; cover them with water, and
-stew them slowly, skimming them well. Season them with a little pepper,
-but no salt, as the bacon will be salt enough. When the scum ceases to
-rise, put in four onions and four turnips, and six potatos pared, and
-quartered; also, a carrot and two parsnips, scraped and cut into pieces.
-Let the whole boil till all the meat and all the vegetables are
-thoroughly done, and very tender. Drain them well, and serve up the
-whole on one large dish, having other vegetables served separately.
-
-If you wish to have green vegetables, such as greens, young sprouts,
-poke, or string beans, flavored with bacon, put them to boil in a pot
-with the bacon only, and take another pot for the veal, and white
-vegetables, such as onions, turnips, &c. You may put the veal and bacon
-on the same dish.
-
-
-SOUTHERN STEW (_of veal_.)--Peel and boil a half dozen fresh spring
-onions, and then drain them well and slice them thin. Have ready two
-pounds or more of nice veal, sliced very thin, small, and evenly. Lay
-the veal in a stew-pan, and season it slightly with salt, and _a very
-little_ cayenne. Cover the veal with the sliced onions, and lay upon
-them some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. If you cannot obtain
-very excellent fresh butter, substitute lard, or cold gravy, or
-dripping of roast veal, which last will be best if you have enough of
-it. Finish with a flavoring of powdered nutmeg or mace, and the grated
-yellow rind of a fresh lemon.
-
-This stew is very nice. It may be made with lamb or chicken, cut very
-small.
-
-
-VEAL KEBOBBED, (_or kibaubed_.)--Cut into small thin slices some lean
-veal from the loin, chump end, or fillet. Trim them into a round or
-circular form. Season them with pepper, salt, and turmeric or curry
-powder. If onions are liked, slice some large ones, and lay them on the
-pieces of veal. Cover them with slices of ham, cut round like the veal,
-but a little smaller. Roll up the slices, (the ham inside,) and tie them
-on skewers. Then roast or bake them. When done, take them off the
-skewers, and send them to table in the gravy that has fallen from them.
-This is a Turkish dish, and is much liked.
-
-
-VEAL FRITTERS.--Take some thin slices of cold roast veal, and trim them
-round or circular. Beat them with a rolling-pin, to make them very
-tender, and season them with a little salt and pepper and some powdered
-nutmeg. Also some grated fresh yellow rind of lemon-peel. Make a very
-light batter, of eggs, milk, and flour; in the proportion of four
-well-beaten eggs to a pint of milk; and a large half pint of sifted
-flour: the eggs beaten first, and then stirred gradually into the milk
-in turn with the flour. Have ready a frying-pan, nearly full of boiling
-lard. Drop into it two large spoonfuls of the batter. Then put in a
-slice of the veal, and cover it with two more large spoonfuls of the
-batter. As the fritters are fried, take them up with a perforated
-skimmer, and drain them.
-
-
-VEAL PATTIES.--Mince very fine, some cold roast veal, or some cold
-chicken, mixing with it some cold minced ham, or cold smoked tongue. Add
-some yolk of hard-boiled eggs, crumbled or minced. Season the mixture
-with powdered mace and nutmeg, moistened with cream or soft fresh
-butter. Have ready some nice puff-paste, rolled out thin, and cut into
-oval or circular pieces. Cover the half of each with the mixture, spread
-on evenly and thickly. Then, upon that, fold over the other half,
-(uniting both,) and crimp them together, in very small notches. Brush
-their outsides all over with some raw egg, slightly beaten, and lay them
-in large square tin pans to bake. Send them to table on china dishes.
-
-These patties are excellent made of cold game. The green tops of boiled
-asparagus will improve the mixture.
-
-
-FRIED LIVER.--Put into a frying-pan some nice thin slices of ham or
-bacon, that have soaked all night, and fry them in their own fat. Have
-ready your calf's liver, cut into slices not too thin, as that will
-render them hard. Take out the ham as soon as it is done, put it into a
-hot dish, and cover it closely. Lay the slices of liver into the gravy
-of the bacon that is left in the frying-pan, sprinkling it well with
-chopped parsley. It must be thoroughly done. Then dish with the bacon.
-
-To those who like them, some onions will be thought an improvement to
-fried liver. First parboil the onions: then slice them, season them with
-a little salt and pepper, and fry them with the liver.
-
-If lettuces are in season, quarter a fresh one, and lay it under the
-liver when you dish it, having previously removed the thickest part of
-the stalk. The liver of beef or sheep is not seen at good tables. It is
-very inferior to that of calf's, being hard and coarse.
-
-
-LARDED LIVER.--Wash and drain a nice fat calf's liver. Liver of beef or
-mutton is never seen at a good table; they are hard, coarse, and
-tasteless, and only eaten by the poor, while the livers of veal and
-poultry are considered very nice. Divide it into equal portions. Lard
-them thickly with small slips of fat bacon, inserted at regular
-distances with a larding-needle, and very near each other. Season the
-liver with powdered nutmeg and mace. Put into a stew-pan, in the bottom
-of which you have laid a large slice or two of fat bacon. Let it stew
-gently, till thoroughly done and tender throughout. When you take the
-liver out of the stew-pan, stir into the gravy left at the bottom, some
-thick catchup, either mushroom or tomato. Do not send the slices of
-bacon to table with the liver.
-
-If liked, surround the liver while cooking, with small button onions,
-(peeled and washed,) and see that they are well done. Serve them up on
-the same dish. It is best always to boil onions before frying them.
-
-
-STEWED LIVER.--Having soaked a fine calf's liver for two hours in cold
-water, cut it into thick slices, and then cut the slices into mouthfuls.
-Chop fine a small bunch of sweet marjoram, and sprinkle it among the
-liver, seasoning with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and powdered mace. Put it
-into a stew-pan, and cook it in lard or fresh butter. Make some nice
-toast, and dip it for a minute in hot water, having pared off all the
-crust. Lay the toast in the bottom of a deep dish, after covering it all
-over with the stewed liver.
-
-
-LIVER RISSOLES.--Take a calf's liver, and remove carefully all the
-veins. Weigh a pound of it, boil it, and when cold, mince it very finely
-with a quarter of a pound of suet, either of beef or veal. Add a quarter
-of a pound of finely grated bread-crumbs. Season it with cayenne,
-powdered mace, and nutmeg, and a very little salt. Mix in two
-well-beaten eggs. Shape them into oval forms, about the size of large
-walnuts, and fry them in plenty of boiling hot lard, draining them all
-on a perforated skimmer, before they go to table.
-
-
-LIVER PIE.--Prepare a fine fresh calf's liver. Split it in long pieces.
-Lay it in a pan of cold water for an hour or two. Afterwards take it out
-and wipe it dry, and boil it till tender. Drain it when done, and chop
-it large with a slice of cold ham. Season it with pepper and nutmeg, (no
-salt for any thing that has ham in it,) and add some minced sweet
-marjoram and sweet basil, and two yolks of hard-boiled eggs, grated or
-minced. The grated yellow rind of a fresh lemon will be an improvement.
-Make a very nice light paste, and line a pie dish with it. Then fill it
-high with the mixture, laying on the top several pieces of fine fresh
-butter. Cover it with a lid of paste, notching the edges handsomely, and
-cutting a cross-slit on the top. Bake it light brown, and serve it up,
-either hot or cold. It will be found very nice.
-
-With the same mixture you may make liver dumplings, enclosing them in a
-nice paste, and boiling them; or a liver pudding, boiling the mixture in
-one large paste, and tying it in a cloth, leaving room for it to swell.
-
-
-CHITTERLINGS OR CALF'S TRIPE.--This is very delicate and digestible, and
-is nice at breakfast, or as a side dish at dinner. To prepare it for
-cooking, it should be cut open with scissors, emptied, and thoroughly
-cleaned, and then laid all night, or for several hours, in cold water,
-_slightly_ salted. It can be bought of the veal butchers ready prepared,
-and run on a wooden skewer. Wash it again just before cooking. Cut it
-into small pieces, and boil it slowly till _quite_ tender, in water
-enough to keep it well covered. When entirely done, take it up, drain
-it, and keep it warm. Have ready some onions boiled in milk till quite
-soft, and sliced thin. Melt some excellent fresh butter, in milk
-thickened with flour. Make a round of very nice toast, with the crust
-pared off. Dip it for a minute in hot water; lay it in the bottom of a
-deep dish. Cover it thickly with the onion sauce, and place the
-chitterlings upon it, seasoning them with pepper and vinegar. It will be
-an improvement to boil with them four or five blades of mace. Eat
-vinegar with it, always. Tarragon vinegar is best. This dish deserves to
-be more in use. Try it.
-
-
-FRIED CHITTERLINGS.--Get chitterlings ready prepared by the butcher.
-Wash them, and let them lie an hour or two in weak salt and water. Then
-drain them, cut them in pieces, and parboil them. Dry them in a clean
-cloth. Make a batter of two or three beaten eggs, and a pint of milk,
-with a heaped table-spoonful of flour. Put into a frying-pan an ample
-portion of the dripping of roast veal or pork, and when it boils,
-(having first dipped each piece of the chitterling into the batter,) fry
-them in the dripping. They must be thoroughly done. You may fry them in
-lard, or fresh butter.
-
-This is a nice breakfast dish.
-
-
-BAKED CHITTERLINGS.--Having first parboiled the chitterlings, lay among
-them some bits of fresh butter, season them with powdered nutmeg, put
-them into a deep dish, set it into an oven, and bake them brown.
-
-This is a side dish at dinner.
-
-
-FINE VEAL PIE.--Boil, in two quarts of water, two unskinned calf's feet,
-adding the yellow rind of a large lemon, pared as thin as possible, or
-grated, and its squeezed juice. Also, two broken-up sticks of cinnamon,
-half a dozen blades of mace, and two glasses of sweet wine. Boil all
-these together (skimming well,) till the calf's feet are in rags, and
-all their flesh has dropped from the bone. Then put the whole into a
-jelly-bag and let it drip into a broad bowl. Set it away closely
-covered. Have ready two pounds of the parboiled chump end of a loin of
-veal cut into square pieces. Make a nice puff paste, and line with it a
-deep pie-dish. Put the pieces of veal into it, (all the fat cut off,)
-and intersperse them with a dozen or more forcemeat balls, each about as
-large as an English walnut. The balls may be made of cold minced chicken
-and ham, minced suet, bread-crumbs, and hard-boiled yolk of egg grated
-or crumbled fine; seasoned with sweet herbs, and grated lemon rind. Or
-they may be sweet balls of bread-crumbs, butter, chopped sultana
-raisins, and chopped citron, seasoned with nutmeg. Having dispersed them
-among the pieces of veal, put in the jelly made from the calf's feet.
-Cover the pie with a lid of puff-paste, cut a cross slit in the centre;
-notch the edges, and bake it brown. This pie is for a company dish.
-
-
-A PLAIN VEAL PIE.--Cut the meat from an uncooked breast of veal, and
-stew it in a very little water. Have ready a pie dish lined with a nice
-paste. Put in a layer of stewed veal, with its gravy, and cover it with
-a layer of sausage meat; then veal again, and then sausage meat. Repeat
-this till the dish is full, finishing with the sausage. Cover it with a
-lid of paste, and bake it brown. This is a cheap and easy family pie.
-
-
-VEAL LOAF.--Take a cold fillet of veal, and (omitting the fat and skin)
-mince the meat as fine as possible. Mix with it a quarter of a pound of
-the fattest part of a cold ham, also chopped small. Add a tea-cupful of
-grated bread-crumbs; a grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace,
-powdered; the grated yellow rind of a lemon; and two beaten eggs. Season
-with a salt-spoon of salt, and half a salt-spoon of cayenne. Mix the
-whole well together, and make it into the form of a loaf. Then glaze it
-over with beaten yolk of egg; and strew the surface evenly, all over,
-with bread raspings, or with pounded cracker. Set the dish into a
-dutch-oven, and bake it half an hour, or till hot all through. Have
-ready a gravy made of the trimmings of the veal, stewed in some of the
-gravy that was left when the fillet was roasted the day before. When
-sufficiently cooked, take out the meat, and thicken the gravy with
-beaten yolk of egg, stirred in about three minutes before you take it
-from the fire.
-
-Send the veal loaf to table, in a deep dish, with the gravy poured round
-it.
-
-Chicken loaf, or turkey loaf, may be made in this manner.
-
-
-STEWED CALF'S HEAD.--Take a fine, large calf's head; empty it; wash it
-clean, and boil it till it is quite tender, in just water enough to
-cover it. Then carefully take out the bones, without spoiling the
-appearance of the head. Season it with a little salt and cayenne, and a
-grated nutmeg. Pour over it the liquor in which it has been boiled,
-adding a jill of vinegar, and two table-spoonfuls of capers, or of green
-nasturtion seeds, that have been pickled. Let it stew very slowly for
-half an hour. Have ready some forcemeat balls made of minced veal-suet,
-grated bread-crumbs, grated lemon-peel, and sweet marjoram,--adding
-beaten yolk of egg to bind the other ingredients together. Put in the
-forcemeat balls, and stew it slowly a quarter of an hour longer, adding
-some bits of butter rolled in flour to enrich the gravy. Send it to
-table hot.
-
-
-EXCELLENT MINCED VEAL.--Take three or four pounds of the lean only of a
-fillet or loin of veal, and mince it very finely, adding a slice or two
-of cold ham, minced also. Add two or three small young onions, chopped
-small, a tea-spoonful of sweet marjoram leaves rubbed from the stalks,
-the yellow rind of a small lemon grated, and a tea-spoonful of mixed
-mace and nutmeg powdered. Mix all well together, and dredge it with a
-little flour. Put it into a stew-pan, with sufficient gravy of cold
-roast veal to moisten it, and a large table-spoonful or more of fresh
-butter. Stir it well, and let it stew till thoroughly done. If the veal
-has been previously cooked, a quarter of an hour will be sufficient. It
-will be much improved by adding a pint or more of small button
-mushrooms, cut from the stems, and then chopped small. Also, by stirring
-in two table-spoonfuls of cream about five minutes before it is taken
-from the fire.
-
-
-VEAL WITH OYSTERS.--Take two fine cutlets of about a pound each. Divide
-them into several pieces, cut thin. Put them into a frying-pan, with
-boiling lard, and let them fry awhile. When the veal is almost done, add
-to it a pint of large, fine oysters,--their liquor thickened with a few
-grated bread-crumbs, and seasoned with mace and nutmeg powdered.
-Continue the frying till the veal and oysters are thoroughly done. Send
-it to table in a covered dish.
-
-
-TERRAPIN VEAL.--Take some cold roast veal, (the fillet or the loin) and
-cut it into mouthfuls. Put it in a skillet or stew-pan. Have ready a
-dressing made of six or seven hard-boiled eggs, minced fine; a small
-tea-spoonful of tarragon mustard; a salt-spoonful of salt; and the same
-of cayenne pepper; a large tea-cupful (half a pint) of cream, and two
-glasses of sherry or Madeira wine. The dressing must be thoroughly
-mixed. Pour it over the veal, and then give the whole a hard stir. Cover
-it, and let it stew over the fire for ten minutes. Then transfer it to a
-deep dish, and send it to table hot.
-
-Cold roast duck or fowl may be drest as above. Also, venison.
-
-
-VEAL OLIVES.--Take some cold fillet of veal and cold ham, and cut them
-into thin square slices of the same size and shape, trimming the edges
-evenly. Lay a slice of veal on every slice of ham, and spread some
-beaten yolk of egg over the veal. Have ready a thin forcemeat, made of
-grated bread-crumbs, sweet marjoram rubbed fine, fresh butter, and
-grated lemon-peel, seasoned with nutmeg and a little cayenne pepper.
-Spread this over the veal, and then roll up each slice tightly with the
-ham. Tie them round securely with coarse thread or fine twine; run a
-bird-spit through them, and roast them well. For sauce, simmer in a
-small sauce-pan, some cold veal gravy with two spoonfuls of cream, and
-some mushroom catchup.
-
-
-VEAL RISSOLES.--Take as much fine wheat bread as will weigh one pound,
-after all the crust is cut off. Slice it; put it into a pan and pour
-over it as much rich milk as will soak it thoroughly. After it has
-soaked a quarter of an hour, lay it in a sieve and press it dry. Mince
-as finely as possible a pound of veal cutlet with six ounces of veal
-suet; then mix in gradually the bread; adding a salt-spoonful of salt, a
-slight sprinkling of cayenne, and a small tea-spoonful of powdered mace
-and nutmeg mixed; also the yellow rind of a lemon grated. Beat two eggs,
-and moisten the mixture with them. Then divide it into equal portions,
-and with a little flour on your hands roll it into oval balls rather
-smaller than an egg. Strew over them some dry bread-crumbs; then fry
-them in lard or fresh butter--drain them well, and send them to table
-hot. For gravy (which should be commenced before the rissoles) put some
-bits and trimmings of veal into a small sauce-pan, with as much water as
-will cover them; a very little pepper and salt; and three or four blades
-of mace. Cover the sauce-pan closely, and let the meat stew till all the
-strength is extracted; skimming it well. Then strain it; return the
-liquor to the sauce-pan; add a bit of butter rolled in flour; and
-squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Give it a boil up, and then, at the
-last, stir in the beaten yolk of an egg. Serve up this gravy in a
-sauce-boat, to eat with the rissoles.
-
-Instead of stewing meat for the purpose, you may make this gravy with
-the drippings of roast veal saved from the day before. You have then
-only to melt it over the fire; adding the seasoning; and giving it one
-boil.
-
-Similar rissoles may be made of minced chicken or turkey.
-
-
-TO PREPARE SWEETBREADS.--The sweetbread belonging to the breast of the
-calf is far superior to that which is found about the throat, being
-larger, whiter, more tender, and more delicate. Always buy them in
-preference. They should be set immediately on ice, and prepared for
-cooking as speedily as possible, for they spoil very soon. Soak them in
-warm water till all the blood is discharged. Then put them into boiling
-water, and boil them five minutes. After this, lay them immediately in a
-pan of very cold water. This sudden transition from hot water to cold,
-will blanch or whiten them. Dark-colored sweetbreads make a very bad
-appearance. Four are generally sufficient for a small dish. But as, if
-well cooked, they are much liked, it is best to have six; or else eight
-upon two dishes. If the sweetbreads are to be cut up before cooking,
-remove and throw away the gristle or pipe that pervades every one. If
-they are to be cooked whole, you may leave the pipe in, to be taken out
-by the eaters.
-
-For company, it is usual to lard sweetbreads with slips of fat ham or
-bacon, or of cold smoked tongue.
-
-Sweetbreads are used as side-dishes at dinners, or at nice breakfasts.
-
-
-SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES.--Having trimmed some sweetbreads nicely, and
-removed the gristle, parboil them, and then mince them very fine. Add
-grated bread, and season with a very little salt and pepper; some
-powdered mace and nutmeg; and some grated lemon-rind. Moisten the whole
-with cream, and make them up into small cones or sugar-loaves; forming
-and smoothing them nicely. Have ready some beaten egg, mixed with grated
-bread-crumbs. Dip into it each croquette, and fry them slowly in fresh
-butter. Serve them hot; standing up on the dish, and with a sprig of
-parsley in the top of each.
-
-Sweetbreads should never be used unless perfectly fresh. They spoil very
-rapidly. As soon as they are brought from market they should be split
-open, and laid in cold water. Never attempt to keep sweetbreads till
-next day, except in cold weather; and then on ice.
-
-Similar croquettes may be made of cold boiled chicken; or cold roast
-veal; or of oysters, minced raw, and seasoned and mixed as above.
-
-
-FRICASSEED SWEETBREADS.--Take half a dozen sweetbreads; clean them
-thoroughly, and lay them for an hour or two in a pan of water, having
-first removed the strings and gristle. Then put them into a stew-pan
-with as much rich milk or cream as will cover them well, and a very
-little salt. Stew them slowly, till tender throughout, and thoroughly
-done, saving the liquid. Then take them up; cover them; and set them
-near the fire to keep warm. Prepare a quarter of a pound of butter,
-divided into four pieces, and rolled in flour. Put the butter into the
-milk in which the sweetbreads were boiled, and add a few sprigs of
-parsley cut small; five or six blades of mace; half a nutmeg grated; and
-a very little cayenne pepper. Have ready the yolks of three eggs
-well-beaten. Return the sweetbreads to the gravy; let it just come to a
-boil; and then stir in the beaten egg _immediately before_ you take the
-fricassee from the fire, otherwise it will curdle. Serve it up in a deep
-dish with a cover.
-
-Chickens, cut up, may be fricasseed in this manner.
-
-
-TOMATO SWEETBREADS.--Cut up a quarter of a peck (or more) of fine ripe
-tomatos; set them over the fire, and let them stew with nothing but
-their own juice, till they go entirely to pieces. Then press them
-through a sieve, to clear the liquid from the seeds and skins. Have
-ready four or five sweetbreads that have been trimmed nicely, cleared
-from the gristle, and laid open to soak in warm water. Put them into a
-stew-pan with the tomato-juice, seasoned with a little salt and cayenne.
-Add two or three table-spoonfuls of butter rolled in flour. Set the
-sauce-pan over the fire, and stew the sweetbreads in the tomato-juice
-till they are thoroughly done. A few minutes before you take them off,
-stir in two beaten yolks of eggs Serve up the sweetbreads in a deep
-dish, with the tomato poured over them.
-
-
-SWEETBREADS AND CAULIFLOWERS.--Take four large sweetbreads, and two fine
-cauliflowers. Split open the sweetbreads and remove the gristle. Soak
-them awhile in lukewarm water. Then put them into a sauce-pan of boiling
-water, and let them boil ten minutes over the fire. Afterwards, lay them
-in a pan of very cold water. The parboiling will render them white; and
-putting them directly from the hot water into the cold will give them
-firmness. Having washed and drained the cauliflowers, quarter them, and
-lay them in a broad stew-pan with the sweetbreads upon them, seasoned
-with a very little cayenne, four or five blades of mace, and some
-nutmeg. Add as much water as will cover them; put on closely the lid of
-the pan, and let the whole stew for about an hour. Then take a quarter
-of a pound of fresh butter, and roll it in two table-spoonfuls of flour.
-Add it to the stew with a tea-cupful of rich milk or cream, and give it
-one boil up, not more, or the milk may curdle. Serve it hot in a deep
-dish; the sweetbreads in the middle with the gravy poured over them, and
-the quartered cauliflowers laid handsomely round. This stew will be
-found delicious.
-
-Broccoli may be thus stewed with sweetbreads.
-
-
-SWEETBREAD OMELET.--For an omelet of six or seven eggs, take two fine
-sweetbreads. Split them, take out the gristle, and soak them in two
-lukewarm waters, to extract all the blood. Then put them into very hot
-water, boil them ten minutes, take them out, set them away to cool, and
-afterwards mince them small, and season them with _a very little salt_
-and cayenne pepper, and some grated nutmeg. Beat the eggs (omitting the
-whites of two) till very light. Then mix in the chopped sweetbreads. Put
-three ounces or more of fresh butter into a small frying-pan, and place
-it over the fire. Stir the butter with a spoon, as it melts, and when it
-comes to a boil put in the mixture, stirring it awhile after it is all
-in. Fry it a rich brown. Heat the plate or dish in which you turn it out
-of the pan. An omelet should never be turned while frying. The top may
-be well browned by holding above it a salamander or red-hot shovel.
-
-If you wish it very thick, have _three_ sweetbreads.
-
-While frying the omelet, lift the edge occasionally by slipping a
-knife-blade under it, that the butter may get well underneath.
-
-If omelets are cooked too much they will become tough, and leather-like.
-Many persons prefer having them sent to table as _soft omelets_, before
-they have set, or taken the form of a cake. In this case, serve up the
-omelet in a deep dish, and help it with a spoon.
-
-
-SWEETBREADS AND OYSTERS.--Take four sweetbreads, and when they have been
-soaked and blanched, quarter them, and remove the pipe. Strain the
-liquor from three dozen large fresh oysters, season it with powdered
-nutmeg and mace, and a little cayenne. Put the quartered sweetbreads
-into a stew-pan, and pour over them enough of the oyster-liquor to cover
-them well, adding, if you have it, three large spoonfuls of the gravy of
-roast veal, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut into four
-bits; each bit rolled or dredged in flour. When the sweetbreads are
-done, put in the oysters, (first removing their gristle or hard part,)
-and take them out again as soon as they are plumped, which should be in
-five minutes. If allowed to boil, the oysters will shrivel, and become
-hard and tasteless. Add, at the last, two wine-glasses of cream, and
-shake the pan about, for a few minutes. Serve up in a deep dish.
-
-
-SWEETBREAD PIES.--Make shells of puff-paste, and bake them empty. When
-done, fill them to the top with the above mixture. Have ready a lid for
-each pie, baked on a flat plate, and lay it on the top of the filling.
-
-
-STEWED SWEETBREADS.--After blanching them, extract the pipe very
-carefully, and fill its place with a stuffing made of cold minced
-chicken or veal, minced ham or tongue sweet marjoram, nutmeg, grated
-lemon-peel, and the crumbled yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Fasten the
-openings with small wooden skewers, and put the sweetbreads into a broad
-stew-pan with a thin slice of ham under each, and another on the top of
-each, kept in place by a splinter-skewer. Stew the sweetbreads in the
-gravy of roast veal, and before you send them to table take out the
-skewers.
-
-Or make a gravy of uncooked trimmings of veal or beef, stewed slowly in
-as much water as will cover them well, and seasoned with pepper and
-salt--or, stew with the fresh meat, as much ham or bacon as will flavor
-the gravy, (using no other salt.) When all the essence is extracted from
-the meat, stir in a bit of butter dredged with flour. The flour for
-gravies should be browned. Strain the gravy, and add any other flavoring
-you like.
-
-To brown flour, spread it evenly on a large dish or flat tin, and place
-it before the fire, or in a rather cool oven. Scrape it up from the
-edges where it will get the brownest. Take care it burns or blackens
-nowhere. Keep it for use in a dry tin box.
-
-
-BAKED SWEETBREADS.--Parboil four large sweetbreads, having first
-blanched them. When cold, lard them all over the surface, with slips of
-bacon the size of small straws. Lay them in a shallow pan, putting under
-each sweetbread a piece of nice fresh butter with a very little flour
-mixed into it. Pour into the pan a glass of nice white wine, mixed with
-the juice and grated yellow rind of a lemon. Season also with grated
-nutmeg. Or for sauce, you may use mushroom catchup, with a little salad
-oil stirred into it.
-
-If you do not live in a place where nice fresh butter is to be obtained,
-endeavor to do without butter at all, rather than use that which is
-strong, rancid, or too salt. Bad butter tastes through every
-thing--spoils every thing, and is also extremely unwholesome, as
-decomposition (or in plain terms _putrefaction_,) has already commenced.
-Rather than use what makes all your food taste worse instead of better,
-try to substitute something else--such as beef or fresh pork drippings,
-suet, lard, or olive oil; or, molasses, honey, or stewed fruit. _We
-know_ that with these it is possible to live in health for years,
-without tasting butter. Nevertheless, good butter is a good thing, and
-an improvement to all sorts of cookery.
-
-
-
-
-PORK.
-
-
-PORK.--Young pork has a thin rind or skin, easily indented by pressing
-with the finger, and the lean will break by pinching. If fresh, the meat
-is smooth and dry; but if damp and clammy, it is tainted. If the fat is
-rough with little kernels, the pig has had a disease resembling the
-measles, and to eat it is poisonous. Pigs that have short legs, and
-thick necks, are the best. Pigs fed entirely on slop make very bad pork.
-They should be kept up for at least two months, fed with corn, and not
-allowed during the time of fattening to eat any sort of trash. No animal
-tastes more of its food than a pig. If allowed to eat the garbage of
-fish, they will not only have a fishy taste, but a smell of fish so
-intolerable, when cooking, that such pork cannot be endured in the
-house. During the two months that they are kept up to fatten, all their
-food must be wholesome as well as abundant, and it does them much good
-to have soap-suds given to them occasionally. Let them have plenty of
-corn, and plenty of fresh water. They will thrive better and make finer
-pork, if their pens are not allowed to be dirty. No animal actually
-likes dirt, and even pigs would be clean if they knew how. It is very
-beneficial to young pigs to wash them well in soap and water. We have
-seen this often done with great care.
-
-The pork in Spain and Portugal is delicious, from being fed chiefly on
-the large chestnuts, of which there is great abundance in those
-countries. These pigs are short-legged and thick-bodied--a profitable
-species. The best pieces of a pig are the hind-leg and loin; the next is
-the shoulder, or fore-leg. The spare-rib, (pronounced sparrib by the
-English,) affords so little meat, and the bones are so tedious to pick,
-that it is seldom seen on good American tables, nothing being popular
-with us that cannot be eaten fast or fastish.
-
-Pork must be thoroughly cooked; done well, and completely to the very
-bone. Who ever asked for a slice of pork _done rare_? Who could eat pork
-with the blood appearing, when served? So it is with veal. Underdone
-veal, or underdone chicken, is not to be thought of without disgust.
-
-Pork, for boiling, is always previously salted or corned. Fresh pork,
-however, is very good _stewed_ or cooked slowly in a very little water,
-and with plenty of vegetables in the same pot. The vegetables should be
-potatos, (either sweet or white,) pared and cut into pieces--parsnips
-the same, or yams in thick slices. For corned pork cook the vegetables
-separately from the meat, or they will taste too salt and fat. They
-should be cabbage, or green sprouts, green beans or peas, green corn,
-young poke, squash, pumpkin, or cashaw, (winter squash,) boiled, mashed,
-and squeezed.
-
-For salt pork, in winter, have dried beans or dried peas; first boiled,
-and then baked.
-
-
-TO ROAST PORK.--The roasting pieces are the loin, the leg, the saddle,
-the fillet, the shoulder and the spare-rib, (which last is found between
-the shoulder or fore-leg,) and the griskin or back-bone. All roast pork
-should be well seasoned; rubbed with pepper, salt, or powdered sage or
-marjoram. Score the skin with a sharp knife, making deep lines at
-regular distances, about an inch apart. Cross these lines with others,
-so as to form squares or diamonds. Make a stuffing of minced sage or
-marjoram leaves; bread-crumbs; if liked, a very little minced onion
-previously boiled; and some powdered mace. Introduce this stuffing
-profusely wherever it can be inserted, loosening a piece of the skin,
-and fastening it down again with a small skewer. In a leg or shoulder
-you can put in a great deal at the knuckle. In a fillet or large end of
-the leg, stuff the place from whence you have taken the bone. Put the
-pork down to roast not very close to the fire, but place it nearer when
-the skin begins to brown. You can soon baste it with its own gravy; and
-see that it is thoroughly cooked, before removing it from the spit.
-After taking up the meat, skim the fat from the gravy, and stir in a
-little flour to thicken it.
-
-The crackling or skin will be much more crisp and tender if you go all
-over it with sweet oil, or lard, before you put it to the fire.
-
-Always accompany roast pork with apple sauce, served in a deep dish or a
-sauce-tureen.
-
-Cold roast pork is very good sliced at tea or breakfast.
-
-
-SWEET POTATO PORK.--Boil, peel, and mash a sufficiency of sweet potatos,
-moistened with butter and egg. Cover with them the bottom of a deep
-dish; then put on a layer of slices of fresh pork, sprinkled with minced
-sage or marjoram. Next, another thick layer of mashed sweet potatos;
-then another layer of pork cutlets, and so on till the dish is full,
-finishing with mashed sweet potatos. Bake it brown on the surface.
-
-
-CHESTNUT PORK.--Where the large Spanish chestnuts abound, a similar dish
-may be made of layers of chestnuts boiled, peeled, and mashed, and
-layers of fresh pork in thin slices.
-
-
-ROASTED SPARE-RIB.--This will do for a second dish at the table of a
-very small family. Rub it all over with powdered sage, pepper, and salt,
-and having put it on the spit, lay the thickest end to the fire. Dredge
-it with powdered sage and baste it with a little butter. When dished,
-have ready some mashed potatos made into flat cakes, and browned on the
-top, and laid all round the pork, with some in another dish. Send to
-table apple sauce also.
-
-When apples are difficult to procure, substitute dried peaches, stewed
-very soft, and in no more water than remains about them after being
-washed. Sweeten them while hot, as soon as you take them from the fire,
-mashing them smoothly.
-
-
-TO DRESS A YOUNG PIG.--The pig should not be more than three weeks old.
-If not fat, it is unfit to eat. To be in perfection, a sucking pig
-should be eaten the day it is killed, or its goodness and tenderness is
-impaired every hour. It requires great care in roasting, and constant
-watching. The custom of _roasting_ a very young pig has now gone much,
-into disuse, it being found that baking answers the purpose equally
-well or better, and is far less troublesome.
-
-The pig should be washed perfectly clean, inside and out, and wiped very
-dry. Have ready a stuffing made of slices of bread, thickly buttered and
-soaked in milk, seasoned with powdered nutmeg and mace, and the grated
-yellow rind of a lemon, with the _hard-boiled_ yolk of an egg, crumbled,
-and a large handful, or more, of fine bloom raisins, seeded and cut in
-half, mix all these ingredients well, and fill with them the body of the
-pig, sewing it up afterwards. Or you may make a plain stuffing of
-chopped sage and onions, boiled together, with marjoram; and mixed with
-bread-crumbs and butter. Having trussed the pig, with the fore-legs bent
-back, and the hind-legs forward, rub it _all over_ with sweet oil, or
-with fresh butter tied in a rag. Lay it in a baking-pan, with a little
-water in the bottom. Then set it in an oven, not too hot, and bake it
-well, basting it frequently with butter. When done, dish it whole. Skim
-the gravy in the pan, and mix in some flour. Give it one boil up, having
-first put into it the chopped liver and heart of the pig, taken out
-after it was cooked, and stir in the beaten yolk of an egg.
-
-The practice is now obsolete of dissecting a pig before it goes to
-table, splitting it down the back, and down the front, and laying the
-two halves in reverse positions, or back to back, with one half the
-split head at each side, and one ear at each end, the brains being taken
-out to enrich the gravy. All these disgusting things have been discarded
-by the better taste of modern epicures. And the pig is baked and comes
-to table whole. We have always thought it a most unfeminine fancy for a
-lady to enjoy eating the head of any thing, and the brain particularly.
-
-
-PORK STEAKS, STEWED.--Take some nice fresh pork steaks, cut either from
-the leg or the loin. Trim off the superfluous fat. Season them with a
-little salt and pepper, and plenty of minced sage. Put in with them,
-minced onions, sliced sweet potatos, parsnips, and white potatos cut
-into pieces, also some lima beans. Pour in barely sufficient water to
-cover them; or else stew the pork in a very little lard. Apples cored,
-pared, and baked whole; the core-place filled with sugar, moistened with
-a very little water, to put in the bottom of the baking-dish, are a very
-nice accompaniment to pork steaks.
-
-
-PORK AND APPLES.--Take nice steaks, or cutlets, of fresh pork. Season
-them with a little pepper, and a very little salt. Pare, core, and
-quarter some fine juicy apples. Flavor them with the grated yellow rind
-and the juice of one or two lemons, and strew among them plenty of
-sugar. Stew them with merely sufficient water to prevent their burning;
-or else a little lard without water. When thoroughly done, serve all up
-in the same dish. If you cannot procure lemons, flavor the apple with
-rose-water, or nutmeg, _after_ it is cooked. Rose-water evaporates much
-in cooking.
-
-
-PORK STEAKS, FRIED.--Cut them thin, but do not trim off the fat.
-Sprinkle them well all over with finely minced sage or sweet marjoram.
-Lay them in a frying-pan, and fry them well on both sides, keeping them
-very hot after they are done. Wash out the frying-pan, (or have another
-one ready, which is better,) and put it over the fire with plenty of
-lard, or fresh butter. Have ready plenty of slices of large juicy
-apples, pared, cored, and cut into round pieces. Fry them well, and when
-done, take them up on a perforated skimmer, to drain the lard from them.
-Sprinkle them with powdered sugar, and pile them on a dish to eat with
-the pork.
-
-Otherwise, send to table with the pork, a dish of apple sauce made in
-the usual manner, or a dish of dried peaches, stewed, mashed, and
-sweetened.
-
-
-PORK APPLE POT-PIE.--Make a plentiful quantity of nice paste. With some
-of it line the sides (but not the bottom) of a large pot. At the very
-bottom lay a slice of _fresh_ pork, with most of the fat trimmed off.
-Season it with a very little salt and pepper, and add some pieces of
-paste. Next put in a thick layer of juicy apples, cut in slices, strewed
-with brown sugar. Add another layer of pork, and another of sliced
-apples. Proceed thus till the pot is nearly full, finishing with a lid
-of paste, not fitting quite closely. Cut a cross-slit in the top,
-through which pour in some sweet cider to moisten it, and set it to
-cooking. Keep the pot covered; set it at once over a good fire, but not
-so hot as to burn the pie. See that it is well done before you take it
-up. It is a convenient dish in the country at the season of apple
-picking, cider making, and pork killing.
-
-Stewed or baked apples are always greatly improved by a flavoring of
-lemon, rose-water, or nutmeg.
-
-
-APPLE PORK PIE.--Core, peel, and quarter some fine juicy baking-apples.
-Make a nice paste with fresh butter and sifted flour, and line with it
-the bottom and sides of a deep dish. Put in the apples, and strew among
-them sufficient brown sugar to make them very sweet. If you can obtain a
-fresh lemon, pare off very thin the yellow rind, and squeeze the juice
-to flavor the apples. Prepare some fresh pork steaks, cut thin, and
-divested of all the fat except a little at the edge; removing the bone.
-Cover the apples with a layer of meat, and pour in a tea-cup of _sweet_
-cider. The contents of the pie should be heaped up in the centre. Have
-ready a nice lid of paste, and cover the pie with it, closing and
-crimping the edge. In the centre of the lid cut a cross-slit. Put it
-into a hot oven and bake it well. This is a farm-house dish, and very
-good. Try it.
-
-Apples have always been considered a suitable accompaniment to fresh
-pork.
-
-
-FILLET OF PORK.--Cut a fillet or round, handsomely and evenly, from a
-fine leg of fresh pork. Remove the bone. Make a stuffing or forcemeat of
-grated bread-crumbs; butter; a tea-spoonful of sweet marjoram, or
-tarragon leaves; and sage leaves enough to make a small table-spoonful,
-when minced or rubbed fine; all well mixed, and slightly seasoned with
-pepper and salt. Then stuff it closely into the hole from whence the
-bone was taken. Score the skin of the pork in circles to go all round
-the fillet. These circles should be very close together, or about half
-an inch apart. Rub into them, slightly, a little powdered sage. Put it
-on the spit, and roast it well, till it is thoroughly done throughout;
-as pork, if the least underdone, is not fit to eat. Place it, for the
-first hour, not very close to the fire, that the meat may get well
-heated all through, before the skin begins to harden so as to prevent
-the heat from penetrating sufficiently. Then set it as near the fire as
-it can be placed without danger of scorching. Keep it roasting steadily
-with a bright, good, regular fire, for two or three hours, or longer
-still if it is a large fillet. It may require near four hours. Baste it
-at the beginning with sweet oil (which will make the skin very crisp) or
-with lard. Afterwards, baste it with its own gravy. When done, skim the
-fat from the gravy, and then dredge in a little flour to thicken it.
-Send the pork to table with the gravy in a boat; and a deep dish of
-apple sauce, made very thick, flavored with lemon, and sweetened well.
-
-A fillet of pork is excellent stewed slowly in a very little water,
-having in the same stew-pot some sweet potatos, peeled, split, and cut
-into long pieces. If stewed, put _no sage_ in the stuffing; and remove
-the skin of the pork. This is an excellent family dish in the autumn.
-
-
-ITALIAN PORK.--Take a nice leg of fresh pork; rub it well with fine salt
-and let it lie in the salt for a week or ten days. When you wish to cook
-it, put the pork into a large pot, with just sufficient water to cover
-it; and let it simmer, slowly, during four hours; skimming it well. Then
-take it out, and lay it on a large dish. Pour the water from the pot
-into an earthen pan; skim it, and let it cool while you are skinning the
-pork. Then put into a pot, a pint of good cider vinegar, mixed with half
-a pound of brown sugar, and a pint of the water in which the pork has
-been boiled, and from which all the fat has been carefully skimmed off.
-Put in the pork with the upper side towards the bottom of the pot. Set
-it again over the fire, (which must first be increased,) and heat the
-inside of the pot-lid by standing it upright against the front of the
-fire. Then cover the pot closely, and let the pork stew for an hour and
-a half longer; basting it frequently with the liquid around it, and
-keeping the pot-lid as hot as possible that the meat may be well
-browned. When done, the pork will have somewhat the appearance of being
-coated with molasses. Serve up the gravy with it. What is left of the
-meat may be sliced cold for breakfast or luncheon.
-
-You may stew with it, when the pork is put into the pot a second time,
-some large chestnuts, previously boiled and peeled. Or, instead of
-chestnuts, sweet potatos, scraped, split, and cut into small pieces.
-
-
-PORK OLIVES.--Cut slices from a fillet or leg of cold fresh pork. Make a
-forcemeat in the usual manner, only substituting for sweet herbs some
-sage-leaves, chopped fine. When the slices are covered with the
-forcemeat, and rolled up and tied round, stew them slowly either in cold
-gravy left of the pork, or in fresh lard. Drain them well before they go
-to table. Serve them up on a bed of mashed turnips, or potatos, or of
-mashed sweet potatos, if in season.
-
-
-PIGS' FEET, FRIED.--Pigs' feet are frequently used for jelly, instead of
-calves' feet. They are very good for this purpose, but a larger number
-is required (from eight to ten or twelve) to make the jelly sufficiently
-firm. After they have been boiled for jelly, extract the bones, and put
-the meat into a deep dish: cover it with some good cider vinegar,
-seasoned with sugar and a little salt and cayenne. Then cover the dish,
-and set it away for the night. Next morning, take out the meat, and
-having drained it well from the vinegar, put it into a frying-pan, in
-which some lard has just come to a boil, and fry it for a breakfast
-dish.
-
-
-PORK AND BEANS.--Take a good piece of pickled pork, (not very fat,) and
-to each pound of pork allow a quart of dried white beans. The bone
-should be removed from the pork, and the beans well picked and washed.
-The evening before they are wanted for cooking, put the beans and pork
-to soak in _separate pans_; and just before bed-time, drain off the
-water, and replace it with fresh. Let them soak all night. Early in the
-morning, drain them well from the water, and wash first the beans, and
-then the pork in a cullender. Having scored the skin in stripes, or
-diamonds, put the pork into a pot with fresh cold water, and the beans
-into another pot with sufficient cold water to cook them well. Season
-the pork with a little pepper, but, of course, no salt. Boil them
-separately and slowly till the pork is thoroughly done (skimming it
-well) and till the beans have all burst open. Afterwards take them out,
-and drain them well from the water. Then lay the pork in the middle of a
-tin pan, (there must be no liquid fat about it) and the beans round it,
-and over it, so as nearly to bury it from sight. Pour in a very little
-water, and set the dish into a hot oven, to bake or brown for half an
-hour. If kept too long in the oven the beans will become dry and hard.
-If sufficiently boiled when separate, half an hour will be long enough
-for the pork and beans to bake together. Carefully skim off any liquid
-fat that may rise to the surface. Cover the dish, and send it to table
-hot.
-
-For a small dish, two quarts of beans and two pounds of pork will be
-enough. To this quantity, when put to bake in the oven, you may allow a
-pint of water.
-
-This is a good plain dish, very popular in New England, and generally
-liked in other parts of the country, if properly done.
-
-
-PORK WITH CORN AND BEANS.--Boil a nice small leg of corned pork, skim it
-well, and boil it thoroughly. Then have ready a quart, or more, of fresh
-string-beans, each bean cut into only three pieces. Boil the beans for
-an hour in a separate pot. In another pot boil four ears of young sweet
-corn, and when soft and tender, cut it down from the cob, with a sharp
-knife, and mix it with the boiled beans, having drained them, through a
-cullender, from all the water that is about them. Having mixed them well
-together, in a deep dish, season them with pepper, (no salt,) and add a
-large lump of fresh butter.
-
-For green beans you may substitute dried white ones, boiled by
-themselves, well drained, and seasoned with pepper and butter, and mixed
-in the same dish before they are sent to table. Or the mixed corn and
-beans may be heaped round the pork upon the same dish.
-
-To eat with them make some indian dumplings of corn meal and water,
-mixed into a stiff dough, formed into thick dumplings, about as large
-round as the top of a tea-cup, and boiled in a pot by themselves.
-
-
-PORK WITH PEAS PUDDING.--Boil a nice piece of pickled or corned pork,
-(the leg is the best,) and let it be well skinned, and thoroughly
-cooked. To make the pudding, pick over and wash through cold water, a
-quart of yellow split peas, and tie them in a square cloth, leaving
-barely sufficient room for them to swell; but if too much space is
-allowed for swelling, they will be weak and washy. When the peas are all
-dissolved into a mass, turn them out of the cloth, and rub them through
-a coarse sieve into a pan. Then add a quarter of a pound of fresh
-butter, mixed well into the peas, and a very little pepper. Beat light,
-three yolks and one whole egg, and stir them into the peas a little at a
-time. Then beat the whole very hard. Dip your pudding-cloth into hot
-water; spread it out in a pan, and pour the mixture into it. Tie up the
-cloth, and put the pudding into a pot of boiling water. Let it boil
-steadily for at least an hour. When done, send it to table, and eat it
-with the pork.
-
-Next day, if there is much left, boil both the pork and the pudding over
-again, (the remains of the pudding tied in the cloth.) Let them boil
-till thoroughly warmed throughout. Cut them in slices. Place them on the
-same dish, the pork in the middle, with slices of pudding laid round,
-and send them to the breakfast table, for strong healthy eaters.
-
-
-SAUSAGE-MEAT.--To fifteen pounds of the lean of fresh pork, allow five
-pounds of the fat. Having removed the skin, sinews, and gristle, chop
-both the fat and lean as fine as possible, and mix them well together.
-Rub to a powder sufficient sage-leaves to make four ounces when done.
-Mix the sage with two ounces of fine salt, two ounces of brown sugar, an
-ounce of powdered black pepper, and a quarter of an ounce of cayenne.
-Add this seasoning to the chopped pork, and mix it thoroughly. Pack the
-sausage-meat down, hard and closely, into stone jars, which must be kept
-in a cool place, and well covered. When wanted for use, make some of it
-into small flat cakes, dredge them with flour, and fry them well. The
-fat that exudes from the sausage-cakes, while frying, will be sufficient
-to cook them in.
-
-
-SAUSAGE DUMPLING.--Make a good paste in the proportion of three mashed
-potatos, and a quarter of a pound of finely minced suet to a quart of
-flour. Roll it out into a thick sheet. Fill it with the best home-made
-sausage meat. Lay the sausage meat in an even heap on the sheet of
-dough, and close it up so as to form a large round dumpling. Dip a
-square cloth in boiling water, shake it out, dredge it with flour, and
-tie the dumpling in it, leaving room for it to swell. Put it into a pot
-of boiling water, and keep it boiling hard till thoroughly done. Do not
-turn it till immediately before it goes to table. It requires no sauce
-but a little cold butter. It may be made into several small dumplings.
-
-
-VEAL AND SAUSAGE PIE.--Line a deep oval dish with a very nice paste. Lay
-at the bottom a thin veal cutlet, seasoned with powdered mace. Place
-upon it some of the best sausage meat, spread thin; then another veal
-cutlet, and then more sausage. Repeat this till the dish is full,
-finishing with sausage meat on the top. Then cover the pie with a rather
-thick lid or upper crust, uniting the two edges at the rim, by crimping
-or notching them neatly. Make a cross slit in the centre of the lid.
-Bake the pie well, and serve it up hot.
-
-Put no water into this pie, as the veal and the sausage will give out
-sufficient gravy. We recommend this pie.
-
-If you live where veal cannot always be procured, substitute chicken or
-turkey, boiled and cut up, and covered with layers of sausage; or else
-thin slices of venison; or else, the best part of a pair of boiled or
-roasted rabbits.
-
-
-BOLOGNA SAUSAGES.--Take three pounds of the lean of a round of corned or
-salted beef, and three pounds of the lean of corned or salted pork.
-Boil them for an hour in separate pots. Take them up, let them grow
-cold, and chop them separately. Chop also, very fine, two pounds of the
-fat of bacon, and one pound of beef suet. When these things are all
-separately minced, mix them well together, seasoning them well with
-chopped sage, sweet marjoram, black pepper, and powdered mace. Also, if
-liked, two or three boiled onions minced very small. Have ready some of
-the large skins commonly used for these sausages. The skins must have
-been carefully emptied, washed, and scraped till quite transparent. Fill
-them with the above mixture, stuffing it in hard and evenly with a
-sausage-stuffer, sewing and tying both ends securely. Put the sausages
-into a brine or pickle, such as is made for ham, of salt, brown sugar,
-and molasses mixed with water, and strong enough to bear up an egg. Let
-the sausages remain a week in this pickle, turning them every day, and
-keeping it closely covered. Then take them out and hang them up to dry,
-tied in strings or links. Smoke them for a week over a fire of oak
-sticks or corn-cobs. Afterwards, rub them over with salad oil, which is
-much the better for being mixed with ashes of vine twigs.
-
-Sausages made faithfully as above, will be found equal to the real
-Bologna, by the lovers of this sort of relish. When it is eaten they are
-sliced very thin. Few ladies eat them.
-
-
-HOG'S HEAD CHEESE.--Hog's head cheese is always made at what is called
-"killing time." To make four cheeses of moderate size, take two large
-hog's heads; two sets, (that is eight feet,) and the noses of all the
-pigs that have been killed that day. Clean all these things well, and
-then boil them to rags. Having drained off the liquid through a
-cullender, spread out the things in large dishes, and carefully remove
-all the bones, even to the smallest bits. With a chopper mince the meat
-as fine as possible, and season it well with pepper, salt, sage, and
-sweet marjoram, adding some powdered mace. Having divided the prepared
-meats into four equal parts, tie up each portion tightly in a clean
-coarse cloth, and press it into a compact cake, by putting on heavy
-weights. It will be fit for use next day. In a cool dry place it will
-keep all winter. It requires no farther cooking, and is eaten sliced at
-breakfast, luncheon, or supper. If well made, and well seasoned with the
-herbs and spices, it will be found very nice for a relish.
-
-
-LIVER PUDDINGS.--Boil some pigs' livers, and when cold mince them,
-adding some cold ham or bacon, in the proportion of a pound of liver to
-a quarter of a pound of fat bacon. Add also some boiled pigs' feet,
-allowing to each pound of liver four pigs' feet boiled, skinned, boned,
-and chopped. Season with pepper, powdered mace or nutmeg, and sweet
-herbs, (sweet basil and marjoram.) Put the mixture (packed hard,) into
-straight-sided tin or white ware pans, and cover them with a clean
-cloth. Put heavy weights on the top. Cover them also with folded brown
-paper, and set them in a cool dry place. They will be fit to eat next
-day. Slice them thick, and send them to the tea or breakfast table. Or
-you may fill with the mixture, some nicely cleaned and very transparent
-sausage skins, (of a large size,) and tie up the ends with coarse brown
-thread, to be removed before going to table.
-
-You may cut them into large pieces, and broil them, or fry them in lard.
-
-Calves' liver makes still nicer puddings.
-
-Keep liver puddings in flat stone jars.
-
-Never use newspaper to cover or wrap up any thing eatable. The black
-always rubs off, and the copperas in the printing ink is very poisonous.
-
-
-
-
-HAM, etc.
-
-
-BRINE FOR PICKLING MEAT.--To every four gallons of water allow four
-pounds of fine salt, two ounces of saltpetre, three pounds of brown
-sugar, and two quarts of West India molasses. Boil the whole together,
-stirring it well, and skimming it after stirring. When clear, let it
-cool. The meat being clean and dry, rub it all over with ground red
-pepper. Then put as much meat into the pickling-tub as can be very well
-covered by the brine, which must be poured on cold. Let it remain six
-weeks in the pickle, (carefully taking off the scum,) and turning each
-piece every day. Afterwards, hang it till it is dry outside, and then
-smoke it well for a fortnight, hanging it high above the fire with the
-large end downward. The fire in the smoke-house should be steadily kept
-up all the time. Hickory or oak is the best wood for this purpose. On no
-account use pine, cedar, spruce, or hemlock. They will communicate to
-the meat a strong taste of turpentine, and render it uneatable. A fire
-made of corn-cobs is excellent for smoking meat, and they should be
-saved for that purpose. When the meat is smoked, rub it all over with
-ground pepper to prevent insects, and sew up all the pieces in new
-cotton cloths, coarse and thick, and then white-wash them. We have seen
-ham-covers, painted with flowers and gilded. Since California, gilding
-pervades the land.
-
-This pickle will be found excellent for hams, bacon, tongues, or beef.
-Meat for pickling must be very fresh, and of excellent quality. Before
-sewing it up in covers see that it is free from insects. If to go to
-sea, pack in boxes of powdered charcoal for a long voyage. For a short
-one, barrels of wood-ashes will do.
-
-
-TO CURE HAMS.--To make good hams the pork must be of the best quality.
-No animal tastes so much of its food as the pig. In America, we
-consider a pig "killed off the slop" as unfit to eat; and so he is. All
-our pigs are kept up in a pen, and fattened with Indian corn, or corn
-meal, for several weeks previous to killing. A hundred pounds of corn
-meal, (mixed with water to about the consistency of very thick mush,) is
-said to be equal in fattening pigs to two hundred pounds of dry-shelled
-corn. They should be kept up, and well fed for eight weeks; and
-occasionally, in the country, where such fruits are superabundant, the
-pigs should have a regale of melons, peaches, &c. This we have seen, and
-the pork was, of course, very fine. The hams or hind-quarters are
-considered the most valuable part of the animal. They are cured in
-various modes. But the Newbold receipt has hitherto been the most
-popular. Mr. Newbold was a Pennsylvania farmer. The following
-directions, we believe, are authentic.
-
-For one hundred pounds of fine pork, take seven pounds of coarse salt,
-five pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of saltpetre, half an ounce of
-pearlash, and four gallons of water. Boil all together, and skim the
-pickle when cold. Pour it on the meat. Let hams or tongues remain in the
-pickling-tub eight weeks. Before it is smoked, hang it up and dry it two
-or three days. Three weeks will be sufficient for pickling beef.
-Previous to sewing the hams in cases, rub them all over with ground
-black pepper.
-
-Soap-suds given frequently to pigs, when kept up to fatten, will greatly
-promote their health.
-
-
-BOILED HAM.--Having soaked a fine ham from early in the evening till
-near bed-time, putting it into warm water, and changing that water about
-ten or eleven o'clock--wash and brush it well in the morning, and trim
-it so as to look nicely all over. Lay at the bottom of the ham-boiler a
-bed of nice fresh hay, which will greatly improve the flavor. Let the
-hock bone be sawed off short. A long shank bone looks very awkward.
-Place the ham upon the hay--pour in plenty of cold water, and keep it
-simmering very slowly an hour before you allow it to boil. Then increase
-the heat gradually, and keep the ham boiling steadily for four, five, or
-six hours, according to its size and age. An old ham requires more
-soaking and boiling than a new one. Skim it frequently after the boiling
-begins. It will be much improved by transferring it to a spit, (having
-taken off the whole skin,) and roasting the ham, for the last two or
-three hours, basting it with its own essence. Save the skin to cover the
-cold ham, and keep it fresh. Before it goes to table cover the ham with
-grated bread-crumbs, sifted on so as to form a slight crust.
-
-If the ham is to be eaten cold, and is intended for company, brush it
-all over with beaten yolk of egg. Then dredge on sufficient grated
-crumbs to form a crust half an inch thick, and finish by going all over
-it with cream. Set it to brown in an oven, or put it on the spit of a
-roaster. When cold, this glazing will be found surpassingly fine.
-Decorate the hock with white paper, handsomely cut, or with a bunch of
-flowers cut out of vegetables.
-
-Carve a ham in very thin slices--if cut thick, they have not the same
-taste, besides looking ungenteelly.
-
-
-BAKED HAM.--For baking, take a small ham, or part of a large one,
-trimmed and made of good shape, cutting away whatever looks unsightly.
-Have the bone sawed off at the knuckle, or end of the hock. The evening
-previous to cooking, lay the ham in soak in a large pan of hot water. At
-bed-time pour off the water, and renew it. Keep it closely covered all
-night. In the morning wash and brush it well. Make a coarse paste of
-coarse flour mixed with water only, and roll it out about an inch thick.
-Line a clean iron bake-oven with this, and put in the ham, reserving
-enough of paste to cover the top. Pour in a very little water, merely
-sufficient to keep the ham from burning. Put on the lid of paste, and
-having wet the edges slightly press them together, so as to unite
-closely the top and bottom crust. Bake it over a steady fire, from four
-to five or six hours, or more, according to its size. When done, skim
-the gravy, remove the paste, (which is of no farther use,) and take off
-the skin of the ham. Dredge it all over with finely grated bread-crumbs,
-before it goes to table. A ham can scarcely be cooked too much, and too
-slow. The general fault is in cooking them too little, and too fast. A
-ham of the smallest size will require at least four hours baking or
-boiling, even after it has been all night in soak. Save the skin whole,
-to cover the cold ham when it is put away in the pantry.
-
-When a cooked ham is nearly all used up, take what remains, cut it all
-off from the bone, and stew the bits in a little water, till they are
-all to rags. You will find the essence an improvement to gravies,
-strained from the fragments.
-
-
-MADEIRA HAM.--This is a dish only seen at dinner parties. No one can
-believe, for a moment, that hams really cooked in Madeira wine are
-served up every week at hotels, particularly at those houses where there
-is no other superfluity, and where most of the great dishes exist only
-in the bill of fare. A genuine Madeira ham is cooked as follows:--Take a
-ham of the very finest sort; should be a Westphalia one. Lay it in hot
-water, and soak it all day and all night, changing the water several
-times, and every time washing out the pan. Early in the morning of the
-second day, put the ham into a large pot of cold water, and boil it
-slowly during four hours, skimming it well. Then take it out, remove the
-skin entirely, and put the ham into a clean boiler, with sufficient
-Madeira wine to cover it well. Boil, or rather stew it, an hour longer,
-keeping the pot covered except when you remove the lid to turn the ham.
-When well stewed take it up, drain it, and strain the liquor into a
-porcelain-lined saucepan. Have ready a sufficiency of powdered white
-sugar. Cover the ham all over with a thick coating of the sugar, and set
-it into a hot oven to bake for an hour.
-
-Mix some orange or lemon-juice with the liquor adding plenty of sugar
-and nutmeg. Give it one boil up over the fire, and serve it up in a
-tureen, as sauce to the ham.
-
-What is left of the ham may be cut next day into small pieces, put into
-a stew-pan, with the remains of the liquor or sauce poured over it, and
-stewed for a quarter of an hour or more. Serve it up all together in the
-same dish. While it is on the fire, add a little butter to the stew.
-
-
-BROILED HAM.--Ham for broiling or frying should be cut into thin slices
-the evening before, trimmed, and laid in a pan of boiling water, which,
-near bed-time, should be changed for cold water, and very early in the
-morning for boiling water, in which it should lie half an hour to soak
-still longer. If ham is not well soaked previously, it will, when
-broiled or fried, be disagreeably hard and salt; the salt frying out to
-the surface and forming a rough unpleasant crust, which will create
-thirst in the eaters for hours after. Much of the salt of a ham goes off
-in boiling, but if it is _not_ boiled or soaked, the salt comes out to
-the surface and there it sticks. The slices being cut thin and nicely
-trimmed, they should be broiled on a very clean gridiron over a clear
-fire, and so well done that they incline to curl up at the edges. Dish
-them hot, and lay on every slice a very small bit of fresh butter, and
-sprinkle them with pepper.
-
-
-FRIED HAM.--Ham for frying need not be _quite_ so thin as for broiling.
-Put but little butter in the frying-pan, as their own fat is generally
-sufficient to cook them. Break an egg over the middle of each slice, and
-let it cook till the white is set, and the yolk appears round and yellow
-through it. Before it goes to table trim off nicely the discolored and
-ragged edges of the fried eggs. They look disgusting when left on.
-
-Cold ham is excellent for broiling or frying, and very nice without any
-further cooking. Send it to table strewed with either nasturtion
-flowers, pepper-grass, or parsley. All these things have a fine flavor
-of their own, especially nasturtions.
-
-
-NICE FRIED HAM.--Having scalded and soaked some nice ham, cut it into
-rather thick slices, and then cut these slices into mouthfuls or little
-narrow slips. Put them into a hot frying-pan, and fry them well. When
-done, season them with pepper and nutmeg, and serve them up in their own
-gravy. It will be an improvement to add a beaten egg just before they go
-to table.
-
-You may add to the ham some bits of cold boiled chicken, pulled in
-little slips, from the breast, and fried with the ham, adding a little
-fresh butter.
-
-
-SLICED HAM.--Slice very thin some cold boiled ham, and let the slices be
-nearly of the same size and appearance, making them look as handsome as
-you can. Cover them with fresh green pepper-grass at a summer breakfast
-or tea-table; and decorate the pepper-grass by interspersing with it
-some nasturtion flowers, which are very nice to eat, having a taste
-agreeably and slightly pungent. Pepper-grass and nasturtions, are very
-appetizing accompaniments to nice bread and butter.
-
-
-DISGUISED HAM.--Scrape or grate a pound of cold boiled ham, twice as
-much lean as fat. Season it slightly with pepper and a little powdered
-mace or nutmeg. Beat the yolks only, of three eggs, and mix with them
-the ham. Spread the mixture thickly over slices of very nice toast, with
-the crust pared off, and the toast buttered while hot. Brush it slightly
-on the surface with white of egg, and then brown it with a red hot
-shovel or salamander. This is a nice breakfast dish.
-
-
-HAM CAKE.--This should be made the day before it is wanted. Take the
-remains of a cold ham. Cut it into small bits, and pound it well (fat
-and lean together) in a marble mortar, adding some butter and grated
-nutmeg; or a little cream, sufficient to moisten it throughout. Fill a
-mould with the mixture, and set it for half an hour into a moderate
-oven. When ready for use, set the mould for a few minutes into hot
-water, and then turn out the ham cake on a dish. Cover the surface all
-over with a coating of beaten white of egg. And before it is quite dry,
-decorate it with capers, or pickled nasturtion seeds, arranged in a
-pattern.
-
-Send small bread rolls to the supper table with the ham cake.
-
-
-HAM OMELET.--Mince very fine some cold boiled ham, (twice as much lean
-as fat,) till you have a half pint. Break six eggs, and strain them into
-a shallow pan. Beat them till very light and thick, and then stir in
-gradually the minced ham. Have ready, in a hot omelet pan, three
-table-spoonfuls of lard. When the lard boils, put in the omelet mixture
-and fry it. Occasionally slip a knife under the edge to keep it loose
-from the pan. It should be near an inch thick, as a ham omelet is best
-not to fold over. Make it a good even shape; and when one side is done,
-turn the other and brown it. You can turn it easily with a knife and
-fork, holding carefully, close to the omelet, the hot dish on which it
-is to go to table. Dredge the surface with a little cayenne.
-
-Omelets may be made in this manner, of smoked tongue, or oysters
-chopped, cold sweetbread, asparagus minced, boiled onions, mushrooms,
-&c. A good allowance for a small omelet is the above proportion of eggs
-and lard, or fresh butter; and a large tea-cup of the seasoning article,
-which must always have been previously cooked.
-
-They are much lighter when served up of their full size, and not folded
-over in halfs. A large omelet must have from eight to ten, or a dozen
-eggs. It is best to bake all omelets of the six egg size, and have more
-in number if required.
-
-
-HAM TOAST.--Make some very nice slices of toast, with all the crust
-trimmed off; and dip each toast for an instant into a bowl of hot water,
-then butter it slightly. Have ready some grated cold ham, and spread it
-thick over each slice of toast. Tongue toast is made in the same manner.
-
-
-SANDWICHES.--Spread some thin slices of bread very thinly with nice
-fresh butter, and lay a thin slice of cold ham (the edges neatly
-trimmed) between every two slices of bread and butter. You may make them
-so thin, as to roll up--a number being piled on a plate.
-
-
-BISCUIT SANDWICHES.--This is a very nice and very pretty dish for a
-supper table. Have ready one or two dozen of fresh soft milk biscuit.
-Split them, and take a very little of the soft crumb out of each
-biscuit, so as to make a slight hollow. Butter the biscuits with very
-nice fresh butter, and fill them liberally with grated ham or tongue.
-Stick round the inside of the edges, full sprigs of pepper-grass, or
-curled parsley, or the green tops of celery. Arrange the sprigs closely
-and handsomely, so as to project out all round the sides, forming a
-green border or fringe. We highly recommend biscuit sandwiches.
-
-
-POTTED HAM.--Take some cold ham, slice it, and mince it small, fat and
-lean together. Then pound it in a mortar; seasoning it as you proceed
-with cayenne pepper, powdered mace, and powdered nutmeg. Then fill with
-it a large deep pan, and set it in an oven for half an hour. Afterwards
-pack it down hard in a stone jar, and fill up the jar with lard. Cover
-it closely, and paste down a thick paper over the jar. If sufficiently
-seasoned, it will keep well in winter; and is convenient for sandwiches,
-or on the tea-table. A jar of this will be found useful to travelers in
-remote places.
-
-Tongue may be potted as above.
-
-
-TO PREPARE BACON.--All pieces of pork that, after pickling, are dried
-and smoked, come under the denomination of bacon; except the
-hind-quarters or legs, and they are always called ham, and are justly
-considered superior to any other part of the animal, and bring a higher
-price. The shoulders or fore-quarters, the sides or flitches, the jowl
-or head, and all the other parts, are designated as bacon; and in some
-places they erroneously give that name to the whole animal, if cured, or
-preserved by the process of smoking.
-
-To prepare bacon for being cooked, examine it well, and scrape it
-carefully, and trim off all unsightly parts. If the fat is yellow, the
-meat is rusty or tainted, and not fit to eat. So, also, if on the lean
-there are brownish or blackish spots. All sorts of food, if kept too
-long, should be thrown away at once.
-
-If perfectly good, prepare the bacon for cooking, by washing it well,
-and then soaking it for several hours in a pan full of cold water,
-removing the water once or twice during the process. If the bacon is
-salt and hard, soak it all night, changing the water at bed-time, and
-early in the morning.
-
-Ham should also be soaked before cooking.
-
-A dish of broiled ham is a nice accompaniment to one of calves'
-chitterlings, at breakfast.
-
-
-TO BOIL BACON.--Put two or three pounds of nice bacon into a pot with
-plenty of cold water, and let it simmer slowly for an hour before it
-begins to boil. Skim it well, and when no more scum rises, put in the
-vegetables which are usually eaten with bacon, and which taste better
-for boiling with the meat. These are young greens, or sprouts, very
-young roots and leaves of the poke plant, and green beans--strung and
-cut in half--not smaller. On no account should any other vegetables be
-boiled with bacon. When the bacon is so tender as to be easily pierced
-through with a fork, even in the thickest places, take it up and drain
-it well in a cullender or sieve. Remove the skin. Then take up the
-vegetables and drain them also, pressing out _all_ the liquid. Season
-them with pepper only. Send the meat to table with the vegetables heaped
-round it, on the same large dish, (the cabbage being chopped, but not
-minced fine.) Potatos, squashes, peas, asparagus, &c., should never be
-boiled in the same pot, or served up in the same dish with bacon, which
-is too plain a dish for any but a country table; while a ham is a
-delicacy for the city, or for any place.
-
-
-BACON AND BEANS.--Scrape and trim a nice piece of bacon, (not too fat,)
-and see that no part of it looks yellow or rusty, or shows any
-appearance of being too old. If so, do not cook it, as it is
-unwholesome, unpalatable, and unfit to eat. A shoulder is a good piece
-to boil. The best of the animal, when smoked, is, of course, the ham or
-leg. We are now speaking of the other pieces that, when cured, are
-properly called bacon, and are eaten at plain tables only.
-
-The meat, if very salt, is the better for being put in soak early in the
-morning, or the night before. Afterwards put it into a pot, and boil and
-skim it till tender. Have ready a quart or two of fresh green string
-beans, cut into three pieces, (not more); put them into the pot in which
-the bacon is boiling, and let them cook with the meat for an hour or
-more. When done, take them out, drain them well; season them well with
-pepper, and send them to table on a separate dish from the bacon.
-
-Many persons like so well this bacon flavor, that they _always_, when
-boiling string-beans, put a small piece of bacon in the pot, removing it
-before the beans are sent to table.
-
-With bacon and beans, serve up whole potatos boiled and peeled--and in
-the country, where cream is plenty, they boil some with butter, and pour
-it over the potatos, touching each one with pepper.
-
-
-BROILED HAM OR BACON.--Wash and trim a nice piece of bacon; soak it all
-night, or for several hours, in cold water. In the morning scald it with
-boiling water. Let it lie till cool, then throw away the water, and
-scald it again. Cut it into thin slices, very smooth and even; the rind
-being previously pared off. Curl up the slices, rolling them round, and
-securing them with wooden skewers. Broil them on a gridiron, or bake
-them in a Dutch oven. If cut properly thin, they will cook in a quarter
-of an hour. They must not be allowed to burn or blacken. Before you send
-them to table, take out the skewers. They may be cooked in flat slices,
-without curling, but they must be cut always very thin. Slice some
-hard-boiled eggs, and lay them on the meat. Season with black pepper.
-
-_Cold_ boiled ham cooked as above, will require no soaking, and can be
-speedily prepared for a breakfast dish. Lay sprigs of parsley on the
-ham.
-
-Serve up with them mashed potatos made into balls, or thick flat cakes,
-and browned on the surface with a red-hot shovel.
-
-
-STEWED HAM.--Cut some thin slices of cold boiled ham. Season them
-slightly with pepper. No salt. Lay them in a stew pan with plenty of
-green peas or lima beans, or else cauliflowers, or young summer cabbage,
-quartered, and the thick stalk omitted. Add a piece of fresh butter, or
-_a very little lard_. Put in just water enough to keep the things from
-burning. When the vegetables are quite done, add a beaten egg or two,
-and in five minutes, take up the stew and send it to table.
-
-
-STEWED BACON.--Take a small piece of bacon, not too fat or salt. It had
-best be soaked in cold water the night before. Put it into a pot, with a
-large portion of string beans, each cut into three pieces, (not more,)
-or else some cabbage, or young cabbage sprouts. Early in the spring, the
-young stalks of the pokeberry plant will be found excellent with stewed
-bacon. Stew the bacon and vegetables in just water enough to cover them
-all; skimming frequently. Drain all, through a cullender, when done.
-Have a dish of boiled potatos also. A molasses indian pudding is a good
-conclusion to this homely dinner.
-
-
-PREPARED LARD.--As soon as it is cut off from the newly killed pork, put
-the fat into a crock, or deep earthen pot. Cover the crock with its own
-lid, and let it stand all night in a cool place. Next day, cut it into
-small bits, (carefully removing all the fleshy particles of lean); and
-then put the fat into a _very clean_ pot, without either water or salt.
-The pot should not be more than half full of pork-fat. Let it boil
-_slowly_, (stirring it frequently from the bottom, lest it burn,) till
-it becomes quite clear and transparent. Then ladle it into clean pans.
-When almost cold, put it into stoneware jars, which must be closely
-covered, and kept in a cool place. If it is to go to a distance, tie it
-up in new bladders.
-
-There are two sorts of pork-fat for lard. The leaf-fat, which is best;
-and the fat that adheres to the entrails. These two fats should be
-boiled separately.
-
-The large entrails, whose skins are to be used for sausages, must be
-cleaned out carefully, well scraped, and thrown into strong salt and
-water for two days, (changing the brine the second day,) and afterwards
-into strong lye for twenty-four hours. Lastly, wash them in fresh water.
-We think it much better to dispense with the skins altogether; keeping
-your sausage meat in jars, and frying it in cakes when wanted for use.
-Its own fat (as it exudes) will cook it.
-
-Never use bad butter when you can obtain good lard, for frying, and
-other purposes.
-
-
-
-
-VENISON.
-
-
-You may judge of the age of venison by looking at the hoof, which is
-always left on the leg. The deer is young if the cleft of the hoof is
-small and smooth; but large and rough, if he is old. Buck venison is
-considered better than the meat of the doe. The haunch, or hind-quarter,
-is the best part, and the fat upon it should, be thick and white. The
-shoulder, or fore-quarter, is the next best piece. The saddle comprises
-both hind-quarters; and these, for a large company, are always cooked
-together.
-
-To eat venison in perfection, it should be killed when the deer can find
-plenty of fresh food in the forest, and when they have fattened on the
-abundance of wild berries, which they can obtain during the autumn. In
-winter, they are brought into the cities, lean, hard, dry, and black,
-and the meat infested all through with small threadlike white worms;
-showing that decomposition has commenced, and requiring the disguise of
-spices, wine, currant jelly, &c., to render it _eatable_, not
-_wholesome_, for every sort of food in the slightest degree tainted is
-utterly injurious to health, and cannot often be eaten with impunity.
-
-It never was very fashionable, in America, to eat spoiled victuals, and
-it is now less so than ever. Fortunately, in our land of abundance, "we
-do not see the necessity".
-
-
-HAUNCH OF VENISON.--To prepare a haunch of venison for roasting (we will
-suppose it to be _perfectly_ good and well kept,) wipe it thoroughly all
-over with clean cloths, dipped in lukewarm water, and then go over it
-with clean dry cloths. Trim off all unsightly parts. Lay over the fat a
-large sheet of thick brown paper, well buttered, and securely tied on
-with twine. Or else make a coarse paste of brown meal, and cover it with
-that. Place it before a good steady fire, and let it roast from three to
-four hours, according to its size. After roasting well for three hours,
-remove the covering of paper or paste, and baste the meat well all over;
-first with dripping or butter, and then with its own gravy, dredging it
-very slightly with browned flour. Skim the fat off the gravy, and send
-the venison to table plain, with sweet sauce of black currant jelly, or
-raspberry jam, in a glass dish with a spoon in it.
-
-
-VENISON STEAKS, BROILED.--Cut the steaks not quite an inch thick. Trim
-them nicely, and season them with a little black pepper and salt. Have
-ready, over a bed of clear bright hot coals from a wood fire, a gridiron
-with grooved bars to catch the gravy. Put down the steaks, and when one
-side is quite done turn the other, and broil that. Venison should always
-be very thoroughly done. Before you take up the steaks, lay a bit of
-nice fresh butter upon each. Take them up on a hot dish, and keep them
-warm. Pour off the gravy into a small saucepan. Give it a boil over the
-fire, and skim off all the fat from the surface. Stir into it some nice
-wine, and serve up with the steaks a deep dish of cranberry, or peach
-sauce, or a large cup of grape jelly.
-
-
-STEWED VENISON STEAKS.--Take some fine steaks of _freshly killed_
-venison. Cut them from the upper part of the leg. Make a forcemeat, or
-stuffing, with bread soaked in milk, mixed with fresh butter, with
-chopped sweet marjoram and sweet basil; or some boiled onions, minced
-small, and mixed with chopped sage, which may be boiled _with_ the
-onion, and seasoned with a very little salt and pepper. Spread the
-stuffing thickly over the inside of the steaks. Then roll them up, and
-tie them round with packthread, or secure them at the ends with wooden
-skewers. Put the steaks into a stewpan with some fresh butter or lard,
-or some drippings that have been left of roast venison--the day before.
-Let them stew (keeping the pan covered) till thoroughly done. Then dish
-them with the gravy round them. Serve up with them a sauce of stewed
-cranberries, or stewed dried peaches.
-
-You may stew lamb or mutton cutlets in the same manner, but do not use
-mutton dripping. Water (a very small quantity) is best for them. Veal
-cutlets may be stewed exactly like venison.
-
-
-HASHED VENISON.--Take the remains of cold roast venison, from which
-sufficient gravy or dripping has been saved to cook the meat again,
-without any water at all. It would be well if this were done in all
-hashes made from cold meat. For want of drippings, use butter or lard.
-Cold meat stewed in water is weak and unpalatable.
-
-Two or three large spoonfuls of mushroom, or tomato catchup, are
-improvements to all hashes. If nothing better can be obtained use
-onions, always previously boiled to render them less strong.
-
-Minced sweet herbs are excellent seasoning for hashes. Also minced
-tarragon leaves; they give a peculiar flavor that is very generally
-liked. Fresh tarragon is in season in July, August, and September.
-
-French mustard (to be obtained at all the best grocery stores) is a
-great improvement to hashes and stews. Stir in at the last, one or two
-large table-spoonfuls. The chief ingredient of French mustard is
-tarragon.
-
-
-A FINE VENISON PIE.--Cut steaks from a loin or haunch of venison, which
-should be as freshly killed as you can get it. The strange and absurd
-prejudice in favor of hard black-looking venison, (that has been kept
-till the juices are all dried up,) is fast subsiding; and no one now
-eats any sort of food in which decomposition has commenced. Those who
-have eaten venison fresh from the forest, when the deer have fattened
-on wild grapes, huckleberries, blackberries, cranberries, &c., will
-never again be able to relish such as is brought in wagon loads to the
-Atlantic cities, and which has been kept till full of those fine threads
-that are in reality long thin whitish worms, and which are often seen in
-very old hams.
-
-Having removed the bones and cut the meat into steaks, and seasoned it
-with salt and pepper, put the venison into a pot, with merely as much
-water as will cover it well. Let it stew till perfectly tender, skimming
-it occasionally. Then take it out, and set it to cool, saving the gravy
-in a bowl. Make a nice puff paste; divide the paste into two equal
-portions, and roll it out rather thick. Butter a deep dish, and line it
-with one of the sheets of paste, rolled thin at the bottom. Then put in
-the stewed venison. Season the gravy with a glass of _very good_ wine,
-(either port or sherry,) a few blades of mace, and a powdered nutmeg.
-Stir into it the crumbled yolks of some hard-boiled eggs. Pour the gravy
-over the meat, and put on the other sheet of paste, as the lid of the
-pie. Bring the two edges close together, so as to unite evenly, and
-notch them handsomely. Set it immediately into the oven, and bake it
-well. If a steady heat is kept up, it will be done in an hour. Send it
-to table hot.
-
-Instead of wine, you may put into the gravy half a pint of _black_
-currant jelly, which, for venison, is thought preferable to red. Either
-will do.
-
-Any sort of game, partridges, pheasants, grouse, wild ducks, &c., may
-be made into a fine pie, exactly as above.
-
-
-VERY PLAIN VENISON PIE.--Cut from the bone some good pieces of fine
-_fresh_ venison, season them slightly with salt and pepper, and put them
-into a pot with plenty of potatos, (either sweet or white,) split and
-quartered, and only as much water as will cover the whole. Set it over
-the fire, cover it, and let it stew slowly and steadily, till all is
-tender, skimming it several times. Meanwhile, make a nice paste of flour
-shortened with cold gravy, or drippings saved from roast venison, or of
-nice lard. Allow half a pint of shortening to each quart of flour. Put
-the flour into a pan, and rub the shortening into it as quickly as
-possible, adding a _very little_ cold water, to make it into a lump of
-paste. Then roll it out into a sheet, and spread over it with a broad
-knife the remaining half of the shortening. Dredge lightly with flour,
-fold it up, and roll it out in two sheets. With one of them line your
-pie-dish, and put into it the stewed venison and potatos. Pour in the
-gravy of the stew. The filling of this pie should be piled high in the
-centre. Lay on, as a lid, the other sheet of paste, which should be
-rather the largest. Pare off smoothly the edges of the two crusts, and
-crimp them nicely. Set the pie in the oven, and bake it well. It may be
-eaten either hot or cold, but is best hot.
-
-The above quantity of paste is only sufficient for a very small pie.
-For one of moderate size allow two quarts of flour, and a pound of
-shortening.
-
-
-VENISON POT-PIE.--Remove the bone from some fine venison steaks, cut
-near an inch thick. Season them lightly with pepper and salt, and score
-them each in several places. Stew them in a very little water till
-tender. Have ready an ample portion of nice suet paste. If you cannot
-obtain beef suet use cold venison fat, minced fine and made into a paste
-with double its quantity in flour, and as little water as possible. Lay
-some stewed venison at the bottom of the pot, and line the sides with
-paste almost up to the top. Put in the meat, adding among it boiled
-sweet potatos cut into pieces, or (if they are to be had in plenty,)
-chestnuts, boiled and peeled. Mushrooms will be a great improvement.
-Onion also, (if liked,) boiled and cut up. Intersperse the whole with
-square pieces of paste. Fill the pot almost to the top with the meat and
-other ingredients. Lay a thick paste over the whole, cut round to fit,
-but not too closely. Pour in a pint of warm water to increase the gravy.
-Make a cross slit in the middle of the upper crust. Cook the pie till
-all is well done. Serve it up with the brown crust in pieces, and laid
-on the top.
-
-This pie, if well made, and with plenty of paste, will be thought
-excellent whenever fresh venison is to be had.
-
-
-VENISON HAM.--Take fine freshly-killed venison. Mix together an ounce of
-saltpetre, a pound of coarse brown sugar, and a pound of salt. Let them
-be very thoroughly mixed and pounded. Rub this well into the meat, and
-continue rubbing hard till it froths. Keep the meat in the pickle for
-two weeks, turning it every day. Then take it out, and roll it in
-saw-dust, (which, on no account, must be the saw-dust of any species of
-pine.) Hang it for two weeks longer in the smoke of oak wood or of corn
-cobs. All hams, when being smoked, must be hung very high, and have the
-large end downwards. If hung too low, the heat softens or melts the fat.
-
-Venison hams, if well cured, require no boiling. They are always eaten
-chipped or shaved like smoked beef, to which they are very superior. It
-may be stewed in a skillet with fresh butter and beaten egg, and cut
-into thin shavings, or very thin small slices--or, instead of butter,
-with the drippings of cold roast venison. Season with pepper only.
-
-
-RABBITS.--Rabbits should be young and tender, but full-grown and fat.
-Two are required to make a dish. One rabbit, except for an invalid, is
-scarcely worth the trouble of cooking; and, being naturally insipid, it
-must have certain seasoning to make it taste well. The hare, so much
-prized in England, owes its reputation entirely to their mode of
-dressing it, which is troublesome, expensive, and in our country would
-never become popular, unless the animal had in itself more to recommend
-it. With all that can be done for a hare, it is, when cooked, black,
-dry, hard; and if it has been kept long enough to acquire what they call
-the "true game flavor," so much the worse. A fine fat well-fed tame
-rabbit is much better. In Virginia, the negroes frequently call a large
-rabbit "a hare"--or rather "a yar;" and though they know it to be young,
-they generally term it "that old yar." We opine that _with them_ "yars"
-are not admired. If a rabbit is really old his ears are tough, and his
-claws blunt and rough with coarse hairs growing between them. A young
-rabbit has short sharp claws, and ears so tender that on trying you can
-easily tear them. Rabbits should be cooked the day they are killed.
-Always cut off the head. A rabbit dished whole, with its head on, is, to
-most persons, a disgusting sight. The head of no small animal is worth
-eating, and always looks disagreeable when cooked.
-
-The livers of rabbits should be added to the gravy.
-
-
-ROASTED RABBITS.--Take a pair of fine well-fed young rabbits, and having
-drawn or emptied them, lay them, for about ten minutes, in a pan of warm
-water. Then dry them inside with a clean cloth, carefully wiping them
-out. Truss them short, and neatly, having removed the heads. Line the
-inside with very thin slices of fat bacon that has had most of the salt
-soaked out. Make a plentiful stuffing or forcemeat of bread steeped in
-milk, some fresh butter mixed with a very little flour; or, instead of
-butter, some beef suet finely minced; some chopped sweet herbs; and some
-crumbled yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Season with mace and nutmeg, and
-grated lemon rind. Fill the rabbits well with this--or, you may stuff
-them entirely with boiled potatos, mashed with plenty of nice butter, or
-the drippings of roast veal or pork. Or (if liked) you may make the
-stuffing entirely of minced onion, (previously boiled,) and minced sage
-leaves, moistened with a very little lard or sweet oil, and seasoned
-with powdered mace, nutmeg, and pepper. Having put in plenty of
-stuffing, sew up the bodies of the rabbits, flour them well, and put
-them on the spit and set them before a clear fire. Baste them with milk,
-or with fresh butter, tied up in thin muslin. They will be done in an
-hour or more. Thicken the gravy with flour, and pour it over them in the
-dish. Roasted rabbits make a good second dish at a small dinner. Take
-the livers of the rabbits, and chop them, to put into the gravy.
-
-
-RABBITS WITH ONIONS.--Peel, boil, and slice six (or more) large onions,
-and season them with nutmeg, and a very little cayenne. Cover them, and
-set them aside till wanted. Cut two fine rabbits into pieces, and fry
-them in fresh butter or lard. When browned, and nearly done, cover them
-with the sliced onions, and brown _them_, having laid among them some
-bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Dish the rabbits, with the pieces
-entirely hidden under the onions.
-
-A plainer, and not so good a way, is to put the pieces of rabbit, and
-the sliced onions, into a stew-pan with a little water, and stew the
-whole together.
-
-
-RABBIT POT-PIE.--Cut up the rabbits, and stew them in a little water.
-When nearly done, put the pieces into a pot and intersperse them with
-bits of cold ham. Add the gravy left from the stew. Season with pepper
-and mace. Have ready sufficient paste, (made with minced suet, and
-rather more than twice its quantity of flour.) There must be enough of
-paste to line the sides of the pot all round, nearly up to the top, and
-enough to make a thick lid, besides having plenty of extra pieces to lay
-among the other contents. Also have ready a few onions boiled and
-sliced. Cover the pie with the lid of paste, not fitting very closely.
-Make a cross slit in the top, and pour in a little water. When done,
-serve all up on one large dish.
-
-This pie will be much improved by stewing with the rabbits a fresh beef
-steak. A beef steak in any pot-pie thickens and enriches the gravy.
-
-
-PULLED RABBITS.--Boil, very tender, a fine pair of nice young rabbits.
-When cold, cut them in pieces as for carving, and peel off the skin.
-Then with a fork pull all the meat from the bones, first loosening it
-with a knife. Put it into a stew-pan with plenty of cream, or some bits
-of fresh butter rolled in flour; some minced sweet herbs, some grated
-fresh lemon rind, and some hard-boiled yolks of eggs crumbled. Season
-with cayenne and nutmeg. Cover it, and let it simmer till it comes to a
-boil. Then immediately take it off the fire, and transfer it to a deep
-dish. Serve it up hot. This is a side dish at dinner.
-
-
-FRICASSEED RABBITS.--Cut up the rabbits as for carving, and go over
-every piece with lard or sweet oil. Lay them in a frying pan, and fry
-them in nice fresh butter. If you cannot procure this, use lard. Season
-them with a very little salt and cayenne, dredge them well with flour,
-and sprinkle them thickly with parsley, or sweet marjoram. When they are
-fried brown, take them up. Keep them warm in a heated dish with a cover.
-Skim the gravy that remains in the pan, and add to it some cream, or
-rich milk thickened with flour, enriched with the beaten yolk of an egg,
-and flavored with nutmeg.
-
-Rabbits may be cut up, and fried in batter made of bread-crumbs and
-beaten egg. Dip every piece of rabbit twice into the batter.
-
-
-A COATED HARE, OR LARGE RABBIT.--The hare, or rabbit, should be large
-and fat. Save the liver and heart to assist in the gravy, which ought to
-be made of some pieces of the lean of good fresh beef, seasoned with
-pepper, salt, and nutmeg, stewed in a small sauce-pan, till all the
-essence is extracted, adding the chopped liver and heart, and a bit of
-fresh butter, rolled in flour. Cold fresh meat, or meat that has to be
-recooked, is unfit for gravy, and so it is for soup. Line the inside of
-the hare with small thin slices of fat ham, or bacon, and then fill the
-cavity with a stuffing made of grated bread-crumbs, the grated yellow
-rind and juice of a lemon, or orange, a piece of fresh butter, some
-minced sweet marjoram, and the crumbled yolk of one or two hard-boiled
-eggs. Season the stuffing with a little pepper and salt, and some
-powdered nutmeg and mace. Fill the body of the hare with this mixture,
-and sew it up, to keep in the stuffing. Spit the hare, and roast it
-well, keeping it for a while at a moderate distance from the fire. To
-baste it, while roasting, make a dressing of the beaten yolks of four
-eggs, four spoonfuls of flour, a pint of milk, and three table-spoonfuls
-of salad oil, all well-beaten together. Baste the hare with this till it
-is thickly coated all over with the batter, taking care it does not
-burn. Send the gravy to table in a sauce-boat, accompanied by currant,
-or cranberry jelly.
-
-A very young fawn, or a kid, may be drest in a similar manner. Kids are
-not eaten after three months old. Till that age their meat is white and
-delicate. Their flesh, _after_ that time, gradually becomes coarse and
-dark-colored. A very young kid, before it is weaned, is very delicious;
-but no longer. In the oriental countries, young kids are stuffed with
-chopped raisins and almonds, or pistachio nuts, previous to roasting;
-and basted with rich milk, or cream.
-
-For sauce to a kid or fawn, use orange marmalade, or grape jelly.
-
-
-
-
-POULTRY AND GAME.
-
-
-Spring chickens bring a high price, and are considered delicacies, but
-they are so insipid, and have so little on them, that we think the
-purchase of them, when very young, a mere fashionable extravagance, and
-a waste of money that might be better employed in something that had
-really a fine flavor, and that when divided was more than a morsel for
-each person. We wonder that any but invalids should care for spring
-chickens. It is better to wait till the young chickens grow into nice
-plump fowls, that were well fed, and have lived long enough to show it.
-A fine full-grown young fowl, has a clear white skin, that tears easily
-when tried with a pin. It has a broad fleshy breast, the legs are
-smooth, and the toes easily broken when bent back. Fowls with whitish
-legs are considered the best for boiling; those with dark legs the best
-for roasting. The finest of all fowls are capons. They grow very large
-and fat, and yet are as tender as young chickens, have a fine delicate
-rich flavor of their own, and are well worth their cost. The great Bucks
-county fowls are profitable because they are large; but they are never
-very plenty in market, being difficult to raise. The best poultry feels
-heavy in proportion to its size. Hen turkeys are best for boiling.
-
-Ducks and geese (particularly the latter) are so tough when old, that it
-is often impossible to eat them; therefore buy none that are not young.
-Geese are generally kept alive too long, for the sake of their feathers,
-which they always shed in August, and for which there is always a
-demand. And geese are not expensive to keep, as in summer they feed on
-grass, and will graze in a field like sheep. The feet and legs of an old
-goose are red and hard. So is her bill. The skin is rough, coarse, and
-tough, and full of hairs. Let nothing induce you to buy an old goose.
-You would find it too tough to carve, and too tough to eat. And no
-cooking can make her tender.
-
-Poultry should be drawn, or emptied (taking care not to break the gall)
-as soon almost as killed. Then let it be well washed, inside and out,
-and wiped dry. In picking it, carefully remove every plug or vestige of
-feathers, and singe off the hairs, by holding the bird to the fire, with
-a lighted piece of writing paper. Brown paper will give it something of
-an unpleasant taste. Newspaper is worse, on account of the printing-ink.
-
-If poultry is brought from market frozen, you need not hasten to thaw
-it, before it is actually wanted for use. Till then, put it in a cold
-place, and let it remain frozen. It will keep the better. When you thaw
-it, by all means use only _cold_ water. Any frozen poultry, or meat,
-thawed in warm water, will most certainly spoil. Let it be remembered
-that any food which has been frozen requires a much longer time to cook.
-
-
-BOILED TURKEY.--For boiling, choose a fine fat hen turkey. In drawing
-it, be careful not to break the gall, or a bitter taste will be
-communicated to the whole bird. In picking, remove every plug and hair,
-and then singe it with _writing-paper_. Wash it very clean, and then
-wipe it dry, inside and out. In trussing, draw the legs into the body,
-having cut them off at the first joint. Let the turkey look as round and
-plump as possible. Fill the breast with a very nice forcemeat, or
-stuffing, made of a quarter of a pound of grated bread-crumbs, mixed
-with two large table-spoonfuls or two ounces of fresh butter, or finely
-minced suet, seasoned with a little pepper and salt, a heaped
-tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and mace mixed together, a
-table-spoonful of sweet herbs[C] (sweet basil and sweet marjoram)
-chopped small if green, and powdered if dry; and the crumbled yolks of
-two hard-boiled eggs. Add the grated yellow rind, and the juice of a
-fresh lemon, and mix the whole very well. Skewer the liver and gizzard
-under the pinions, having first cut open the gizzard and cleared it of
-sand or gravel.
-
- [C] The herbs summer savory and thyme (like the spices cloves and
- allspice) are now seldom used in good cookery.
-
-It is no longer customary to mix stuffing or forcemeat with beaten raw
-egg for the purpose of binding the ingredients together. Leave them
-loose, without this binding, and the forcemeat will be much lighter,
-better flavored, and more abundant. It will not fall out if a
-packthread, or very _small_ twine is wound carefully round the body, (to
-be removed before serving up,) and it may be secured by sewing it with a
-needle and thread.
-
-Put the turkey into a large pot with plenty of cold water, and boil it
-gently, for two hours or more, in proportion to its size; carefully
-removing all the scum as it rises. It will be whiter if boiled in a
-large clean cloth, or in a coarse paste, (the paste to be thrown away
-afterwards,) and take care that it is thoroughly done. Serve up boiled
-turkey with oyster sauce, celery sauce, or cauliflower sauce. Sweet
-sauce is rarely eaten with boiled things--unless with puddings.
-
-Boiled turkey should be accompanied by a ham or tongue.
-
-To ascertain if boiled poultry is done, try the thickest parts with a
-large needle. If the needle goes through, and in and out easily, it is
-sufficient.
-
-A turkey (boiled or roast) for a family dish, may be stuffed with nice
-sausage meat, in which case it requires no other stuffing. Surround it
-on a dish with fried sausage cakes, about the size of a dollar, but
-near an inch thick.
-
-It is very convenient to keep always in the house, during the winter
-months, one or two large jars of nice home-made sausage-meat, well
-covered. The best time for making sausage-meat is in November. After
-March, sausages are seldom eaten.
-
-
-OYSTER TURKEY.--(_French dish._)--Prepare a fine young hen turkey, for
-boiling; skewering the liver and gizzard under the pinions. Fill the
-body well with fine large fresh oysters, having removed their hard part
-or gristle. Add to the oysters a tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and
-mace, and a tea-spoonful of celery seed or minced celery, and a piece of
-fresh butter dredged with flour. With this, stuff the turkey very full;
-securing the stuffing with packthread. Put the turkey into a large
-block-tin kettle, and let it stew in the oyster liquor only, without any
-water. Strain the oyster liquor before you put it in. Set the kettle
-into an outer kettle full of boiling water. This will cook the turkey
-very nicely. For such purposes, nothing is so convenient as the utensil
-called in French a _bain marie_, (pronounced _bine marée_.) This is a
-permanent double kettle with two covers, and a large tube or spout
-outside, for pouring in fresh hot water, without opening the lid and
-letting out the steam. They are to be had of all sizes at the furnishing
-stores in New York and Philadelphia, and are so excellent for stewing
-without water, that no family should be without them.
-
-When the turkey is well boiled and quite done, keep it warm by wrapping
-it closely in a cloth, putting a dish cover over it, and placing it near
-the fire. A fine oyster gravy will be found in the kettle. Add to it
-some fresh butter, dredged with flour, and some mace and nutmeg, and
-some celery seed. Give it one boil up, and send it to table as sauce for
-the turkey. This is a very nice way of cooking a small turkey.
-
-A pair of oyster chickens may be thus prepared, and stewed in the above
-manner in a _bain marie_, or double kettle.
-
-
-ROAST TURKEY.--Take a fine large turkey, full-grown and fat, draw and
-singe him carefully, saving the giblets (neck, heart, gizzard, and
-liver,) for the gravy. After he is drawn, wash the inside well, wipe it
-dry, and sprinkle it with black pepper. Make a large quantity of
-stuffing or forcemeat. It increases his apparent size, and besides is
-generally liked. Mince small some cold boiled ham, in equal portions of
-fat and lean: grated lemon rind, minced sweet herbs, fresh butter, or
-finely minced suet. Add plenty of grated bread-crumbs or crumbled rusk;
-also, hard-boiled yolk of egg crumbled. Moisten the mixture with lemon
-juice and some good white wine. Stuff the turkey well with this
-forcemeat, sewing it up, or winding a small cord round the body to
-secure the filling. Roast it before a clear and substantial fire,
-basting it well with fresh butter. When done, take it up and keep it
-hot.
-
-Cut up the giblets and put them into a small sauce-pan, with a very
-little water, and stew them while the turkey is roasting; adding a piece
-of fresh butter dredged with flour. When done, remove the pieces of
-neck, &c., retaining those of the heart, liver, and gizzard. Stir into
-the gravy, after it comes from the fire, the yolk of a beaten egg.
-Having skimmed the gravy in the dripping-pan, add it to the gravy that
-has been made of the giblets, and send it to table in a sauce-boat.
-Accompany the turkey with an oval dish, or tureen of cranberry sauce,
-made very sweet.
-
-A roast turkey may be stuffed with oysters, or with chestnuts boiled,
-peeled, and mashed with butter. If with chestnuts, thicken the gravy
-with whole boiled chestnuts. If with oysters, send oyster-sauce to table
-with the turkey. If chestnuts cannot be obtained, any roasted poultry is
-good stuffed with well-boiled sweet potatos, mashed with plenty of
-butter or meat drippings.
-
-The legs of turkeys are never helped to any one at table. They are
-always sent away on the dish.
-
-
-A BONED TURKEY.--For this purpose you must have a fine, large, tender
-turkey; and after it is drawn, and washed, and wiped dry, lay it on a
-clean table, and take a very sharp knife, with a narrow blade and point.
-Begin at the neck; then go round to the shoulders and wings, and
-carefully separate the flesh from the bone, scraping it down as you
-proceed. Next loosen the flesh from the breast, and back, and body; and
-then from the thighs. It requires care and patience to do it nicely, and
-to avoid tearing or breaking the skin. The knife should always penetrate
-quite to the bone; scraping loose the flesh rather than cutting it. When
-all the flesh has been completely loosened, take the turkey by the neck,
-give it a pull, and the whole skeleton will come out entirely from the
-flesh, as easily as you draw your hand out of a glove. The flesh will
-then fall down, a flat and shapeless mass. With a small needle and
-thread, carefully sew up any holes that have accidentally been torn in
-the skin.
-
-Have ready a large quantity of stuffing, made as follows:--Take three
-sixpenny loaves of stale bread; grate the crumb; and put the crust in
-water to soak. When quite soft, break them up small into the pan of
-grated bread-crumbs, and mix in a pound of fresh butter, cut into little
-pieces. Take two large bunches of sweet marjoram; the same of sweet
-basil; and one bunch of parsley. Mince the parsley very fine, and rub to
-a powder the leaves of the marjoram and basil. You should have two large
-heaping table-spoonfuls of each. Chop, also, two very small onions or
-shalots, and mix them with the herbs. Pound to powder a quarter of an
-ounce of mace; and two large nutmegs. Mix the spices together, and add a
-tea-spoonful of salt, and a tea-spoonful of ground black pepper. Then
-mix the herbs, spices, &c., thoroughly into the bread-crumbs, and add,
-by degrees, four hard-boiled eggs crumbled fine.
-
-Take up a handful of this filling; squeeze it hard, and proceed to stuff
-the turkey with it--beginning at the wings; next do the body; and then
-the thighs. Stuff it very hard; and, as you proceed, form the turkey
-into its natural shape, by filling out, properly, the wings, breast,
-body, &c. When all the stuffing is in, sew up the body and skewer the
-turkey into the usual shape in which they are trussed; so that, if
-skillfully done, it will look almost as if it had not been boned. Tie it
-round with tape, and bake it three hours or more; basting it
-occasionally with fresh butter. Make a gravy of the giblets, chopped,
-and stewed slowly in a little water. When done, add to it the gravy that
-is in the dish about the turkey, (having first skimmed off the fat,) and
-enrich it with a glass of white wine, and two beaten yolks of eggs,
-stirred in just before you take it from the fire.
-
-If the turkey is to be eaten cold at the supper-table, drop
-table-spoonfuls of currant or cranberry jelly all over it at small
-distances, and in the dish round it.
-
-A very handsome way of serving it up cold is, after making a sufficiency
-of nice clear calves'-foot jelly, (seasoned, as usual, with wine, lemon,
-cinnamon, &c.,) to lay the turkey in the dish in which it is to go to
-table, and setting it under the jelly-bag, let the jelly drip upon it,
-so as to form a transparent coating all over it; smoothing the jelly
-evenly with the back of a spoon, as it congeals on the turkey. Apple
-jelly may be substituted.
-
-Large fowls may be boned and stuffed in the above manner: also, a young
-roasting pig.
-
-
-ROAST GOOSE.--A goose for roasting should be young, tender, and fat; so
-tender, that the skin can easily be torn by a pin; the bill and legs
-smooth and of a light yellow color, and the toes breaking when bent
-under. If the skin is thick and tough, and the bill and legs a dark
-reddish yellow, rough and hairy, do not buy the goose. It is old, and no
-cooking can make it eatable. A goose, from its profusion of feathers,
-looks like a large bird when walking about; but when plucked and
-prepared for the spit, it will be found very deceptive. It is much more
-hollow than a turkey; and, except the breast, there is but little eating
-on it. In large families it is usual to have a pair of roast geese, one
-not being sufficient. Geese are not good except for roasting, or in a
-pie.
-
-In preparing a goose for cooking, save the giblets for the gravy. After
-the goose has been drawn, singed well, washed and wiped, inside and out;
-trussed so as to look round and short; make a quantity of stuffing, (as
-its hollow body will require a great deal.) For this purpose, parboil
-two good sized onions, and a large bunch of green sage. Mince both the
-sage and onions, seasoning them with a small salt-spoon of salt, half as
-much black pepper, and still less cayenne. Add a hard-boiled egg finely
-minced (yolk and white;) the chopped egg giving a nice smoothness to the
-sage and onion. If your goose is large, take two chopped eggs.
-
-To make the stuffing very mild, (if preferred so,) add a handful of
-finely grated bread-crumbs; or two or three fine juicy chopped apples.
-Fill the body and craw with this stuffing, and secure it with a needle
-and thread from falling out. Set the goose before a clear, steady
-fire--having a little warm water in the dripping-pan to baste it till
-the gravy begins to fall. Keep it well basted all the time it is
-roasting. It must be thoroughly done all through. Roast it according to
-its size, from an hour and a half to two hours or more.
-
-Boil the giblets in a sauce-pan by themselves, seasoned with a little
-salt and pepper, and having among them a bit of butter dredged with
-flour. When done, remove the neck, and retain the heart, liver, and
-gizzard, cut into pieces, and served in the gravy, which should be well
-skimmed. Also, skim carefully the fat off the gravy in the bottom of the
-dripping-pan. Put the two gravies together, and serve them up in a gravy
-tureen. To eat with the goose, have plenty of apple-sauce, made of fine
-juicy apples, stewed very dry, well sweetened, and flavored with the
-grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon; or with some rose-water and
-nutmeg stirred in after the sauce is taken from the fire. Rose-water
-evaporates in cooking, and should never boil or be kept on the fire. A
-_bain marie_, or double kettle, is excellent for stewing fruit; putting
-the fruit inside, and the water outside.
-
-For a family dinner a goose is very good stuffed with well-boiled
-potatos, mashed smooth, with plenty of fresh butter or gravy. Sweet
-potatos make an excellent stuffing. So do boiled chestnuts, mashed with
-butter or gravy.
-
-
-GOOSE PIE.--The old fashioned goose pie made with a standing crust, (the
-flour being mixed with boiling water, and therefore unfit for eating,)
-is now obsolete. They were generally sent as Christmas presents. Besides
-the goose, they contained chickens, pigeons, (all boned,) and various
-other things. They had standing sides like an oval wall, covered with a
-lid of the same paste, having, on the top, a knob, by which to lift off.
-These pies were expected to remain good a week; but generally the gravy
-became sour in a few days, even in winter, and however carefully kept
-from the air. The following is a receipt to make a fine goose pie for
-immediate use, and with a nice eatable paste.
-
-Take a fine plump young goose, and parboil it, (in as little water as
-will cover it,) saving the gravy. Having removed the skin, cut all the
-flesh from the bones. Make a nice light short paste, allowing a large
-half pound of fresh butter to each quart of flour. For a goose pie you
-will require two quarts of flour and one pound of butter. Line a deep
-pie-dish with one sheet of paste, reserving the other sheet for the lid,
-which should be rolled out thick. Put in the pieces of goose, seasoned
-with pepper only, interspersing among it the best part of a smoked
-tongue, cut in thick round slices. Make a nice forcemeat into balls,
-about the size of a hickory nut, and add them to the filling of the pie;
-and some chestnuts boiled and peeled; or some round slices of boiled
-sweet potato. Having made a gravy of the giblets stewed, pour that over
-the other ingredients, filling the pie well, and heaping it high in the
-middle. Add a few bits of fresh butter dredged in flour. Pour in the
-gravy, and lay on the top the lid of the pie rolled out thick,
-ornamenting the edges handsomely. Cut a cross slit in the top, and fit
-into it a flower, or tulip cut out of paste. This pie is for dinner
-company, and to be eaten warm.
-
-You may make a similar pie of a pair of fine ducks, either tame or wild.
-Canvas-backs and red necks are excellent for this purpose. To eat with
-it, have mashed potato, browned all over with a salamander.
-
-On the shores of our southern rivers, where canvas-backs and other fine
-wild ducks are abundant, a pie affords an agreeable variety to the usual
-modes of cooking them.
-
-
-A GIBLET PIE.--Clean, very nicely, the giblets of two geese or four
-ducks. Put them into a stew-pan, with a sliced onion; a bunch of
-tarragon, or sweet marjoram and sage; half a dozen pepper-corns; and
-four or five blades of mace. Add a very little water; cover the pan
-closely, and let them stew till the giblets are tender. Then take them
-out, and save all the gravy; having strained it from the seasoning
-articles. Make a rich paste, and roll it out into two sheets. With one
-sheet cover the bottom and sides of a deep dish. Put in the
-giblets--mixing among them a few raw potatos sliced very thin, the
-chopped yolks of some hard-boiled eggs, and some bits of butter rolled
-in flour. Pour the gravy over the giblets, &c. Cover the pie with the
-other sheet of paste, and notch the edges. Bake it brown, and send it to
-table hot.
-
-A pigeon pie may be made in a similar manner: also, a rabbit pie.
-
-
-ROAST DUCKS.--Take a pair of fine fat ducks, and having prepared them
-nicely for the spit, put them, for a few minutes, into boiling water to
-loosen the skin, which must be peeled entirely off, to have them very
-nice and tender. Wash their insides by pouring water through them, and
-wipe the outside all over with a dry cloth. Fill the body and craw of
-one duck with a seasoning of sage and onion, as for a goose. In case
-some of the company should have a dislike to onion, fill the other duck
-with a forcemeat of bread-crumbs, sweet herbs, &c., as for turkey. Place
-them before a quick fire, but not so near as to scorch. Roast them well,
-basting them all the time. Skim the fat off, and pour over the ducks
-their own gravy, mixed with what has been made of the necks, livers,
-hearts, and gizzards, stewed in a small sauce-pan with some butter
-dredged with flour. Send to table with the ducks either cranberry or
-apple sauce, made thick and sweet.
-
-Let them be thoroughly roasted, which will require from an hour to an
-hour and a quarter.
-
-
-WILD DUCKS.--To remove the fishy or sedgy taste so often found in wild
-ducks, parboil them with a large carrot, cut in pieces, and placed in
-the body of each. When the ducks are half boiled, take out the carrot
-and throw it away. It will have imbibed all the unpleasant taste, and
-taken it away from the ducks. Then cook them as you please.
-
-
-BOILED DUCK.--Prepare for cooking a fine plump tame duck, and lay it
-five or six minutes in warm water. Then put it into a clean large bowl
-or deep dish, and pour over it a pint of rich boiling milk, in which has
-been melted two table-spoonfuls of nice fresh butter. Let the duck soak
-in the milk three hours, or till it has absorbed nearly all the liquid.
-Next, dredge the duck well with flour. Boil it in cold water for half an
-hour, till tender all through. Have ready a quantity of onion sauce made
-with milk and butter, and flavored with powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover
-the duck all over with the onion sauce, so as to smother it entirely.
-Then send it to table hot. This is a French dish, (_canard bouilli_.)
-
-
-DUCKS AND PEAS.--Stuff a fine plump pair of ducks with potato stuffing,
-made of boiled potatos mashed very smooth with fresh butter; or, if for
-company, make a fine forcemeat stuffing, as for a turkey. Bake the ducks
-in an iron oven or bake-pan; and when nearly done, put in with them a
-quart of very young green peas, and a few bits of fresh butter,
-seasoning slightly with black pepper. When the peas and ducks are all
-quite done, serve them all up on one large dish.
-
-
-FRICASSEED DUCKS.--Half roast a pair of ducks. Then cut them apart, as
-for carving. If they are _wild_ ducks, parboil them with a large carrot
-(cut to pieces) inside of each, to draw out the fishy or sedgy taste.
-Having thrown away the carrot, cut the ducks into pieces, as for
-carving. Put them into a clean stew-pan, and season them with pepper and
-salt. Mix in a deep dish a very small onion minced fine, a
-table-spoonful of minced or powdered tarragon leaves, (for which you may
-substitute sage and sweet marjoram, if you cannot procure tarragon,) and
-two or three large tomatos, scalded, peeled, and quartered, or two large
-table-spoonfuls of thick tomato catchup. Put in, also, two
-table-spoonfuls of fresh butter rolled in grated bread-crumbs, and a
-glass of port wine, claret, or brandy, with a small tea-spoonful of
-powdered mace. Cover the pieces of duck with this mixture, and then add
-barely as much water as will keep the whole from burning. Cover the pan
-closely, and let the fricassee stew slowly for an hour, or till the
-duck, &c., are thoroughly done.
-
-Venison or lamb cutlets may be fricasseed in this manner. Likewise, tame
-fat pigeons, which must previously be split in two. This, also, is a
-very nice way of dressing hares or rabbits.
-
-
-TO ROAST CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.--Having trussed the ducks, put into each a
-thick piece of soft bread that has been soaked in port wine. Place them
-before a quick fire and roast them from three quarters to an hour.
-Before they go to table, squeeze over each the juice of a lemon or
-orange, and serve them up very hot with their own gravy about them. Eat
-them with currant jelly. Have ready also, a gravy made by stewing slowly
-in a sauce-pan the giblets of the ducks in butter rolled in flour, and
-as little water as possible. Serve up this additional gravy in a boat.
-
-
-CANVAS-BACK DUCKS DRESSED PLAIN.--Truss the ducks without washing, but
-wipe them inside and out with a clean dry cloth. Roast them before a
-rather quick fire for half an hour. Then send them to table hot, upon a
-large dish placed on a heater. There must also be heaters under each
-plate, and currant jelly on both sides of the table, to mix with the
-gravy, on your plate; claret or port wine also, for those who prefer it
-as an improvement to the gravy.
-
-
-TO STEW CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.--Put the giblets into a sauce-pan with a very
-little water, and a piece of butter rolled in flour, and a very little
-salt and cayenne. Let them stew gently to make a gravy, keeping the
-sauce-pan covered. In the mean time, half roast the ducks, saving the
-gravy that falls from them. Then cut them up, put them into a large
-stew-pan, with the gravy (having first skimmed off the fat,) and merely
-water enough to keep them from burning. Set the pan over a moderate
-fire, and let them stew gently till done. Towards the last, (having
-removed the giblets) pour over the ducks the gravy from the small
-sauce-pan, and stir in a large glass of port wine, and a glass of
-currant jelly. Send them to table as hot as possible.
-
-Any ducks may be stewed as above. The common wild duck, teal, &c.,
-should always be parboiled with a large carrot in the body to extract
-the fishy or sedgy taste. On tasting this carrot before it is thrown
-away, it will be found to have imbibed strongly that disagreeable
-flavor.
-
-
-BROILED CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.--To eat these ducks with their flavor and
-juices in perfection, they should be cooked immediately after killing.
-If shot early in the morning, they will be found delicious, if broiled
-for breakfast. If killed in the forenoon, let them be on that day's
-dinner table. When they can be obtained quite fresh they want nothing to
-improve the flavor. Neither do red-necks, or the other water fowl that
-are found in such abundance on the shores of the Chesapeake.
-
-As soon as the ducks have been plucked, singed, drawn, and washed, split
-them down the back, (their heads, necks, and legs having been cut off,)
-rub with chalk the bars of a very clean gridiron, and set it over a bed
-of bright lively wood-coals. This gridiron (and all others) should have
-grooved bars, so as to save as much of the gravy as possible. Broil the
-ducks well and thoroughly, turning them on both sides. They will
-generally be done in half an hour. Dish them in their own gravy. The
-flesh should have no redness about it when dished. To half broil them on
-the gridiron, and to finish the cooking on a hot plate, set over a
-heater on the table, renders the ducks tough, and deadens the natural
-taste, for which no made-up sauce can atone. You may lay a few bits of
-nice butter on them after they are dished.
-
-
-TERRAPIN DUCKS.--Take a fine large plump duck. Cut it in small pieces,
-and stew it in merely as much water as will cover it well, and keep it
-from burning. Let it stew gently, and skim it well. When it is done take
-it out, and cut all the meat off the bones in little bits. Return the
-meat to the stew-pan, and lay it in its own gravy. Add the yolks of half
-a dozen hard-boiled eggs, and make them into little balls with beaten
-white of egg, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter divided into eight
-bits, each bit dredged with flour, the grated yellow rind and juice of a
-lemon or orange, and a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg.
-Let it stew or simmer gently till it comes to a boil, keeping it
-covered. When it has boiled, stir in while hot two beaten yolks of raw
-egg, and two large wine glasses of sherry or Madeira. Set it over the
-fire again for two or three minutes, keeping it covered. Then serve it
-up in a deep dish with a cover.
-
-For company, you must have two ducks, and a double portion of all the
-above ingredients.
-
-
-ROAST FOWLS.--Stuff two fowls with a nice forcemeat, made in the best
-manner, or with good sausage meat, if in haste. Another nice stuffing
-for roast fowls is boiled chestnuts, stewed in butter, or in nice
-drippings. Mushrooms cut up and stewed in a very little butter, make a
-fine stuffing for roasted fowls. Secure the stuffing from falling out by
-winding a twine or tape round the body of the fowl, or sewing it. Roast
-the fowls before a very clear fire, basting them with butter. When the
-fowls are done, set them away to be kept warm, while you finish the
-gravy, having saved the heart, gizzard, and liver, to enrich it. Skim it
-well from the fat and thicken it with a very little browned flour. Send
-it to table in a sauce-boat. Serve up with roast fowls, dried peach
-sauce, or cranberry. Make all fruit sauces very thick and sweet. If
-watery and sour, they seem poor and mean.
-
-Full-grown fowls require, (at least,) an hour for roasting. If very
-large, from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half.
-
-Nothing can be done with old tough fowls but to boil them in soup, till
-they are reduced to rags. The soup, of course, should be made chiefly of
-meat. The fowls will add nothing to its flavor but something to its
-consistence.
-
-Capons are cooked in the same manner as other fowls. They are well worth
-their cost.
-
-
-BOILED FOWLS.--Take a fine plump pair of young (but full-grown) fowls,
-and prepare them for boiling. Those with white or light yellow legs are
-considered the best. Make a nice forcemeat stuffing, and fill their
-bodies with it, and fasten the livers and gizzards under the pinions.
-For boiled poultry they are not wanted in the gravy. Having trussed the
-fowls, and picked and singed them carefully, put them into a large pot
-containing equal quantities of boiling water and cold water. This will
-make it lukewarm. Let them boil steadily for an hour after the simmering
-has commenced, carefully removing the scum.
-
-Serve them up with egg sauce, celery sauce, parsley sauce, or oyster
-sauce--or, with cauliflower or broccoli sauce.
-
-For boiled fowls, you may make a nice stuffing of fresh oysters, cut in
-small pieces, but not minced. Omit the gristle. Mix them with an equal
-portion of hard-boiled eggs chopped, but not minced fine. Add plenty of
-grated bread-crumbs, and season with powdered mace. Mix in, also, some
-bits of fresh butter. Where onions are liked, you may substitute for the
-oysters some onions boiled and minced.
-
-Fowls boil very nicely in a _bain marie_, or double kettle, with the
-water outside. They require a longer time, but are excellent when done.
-To quicken the boiling of a double kettle, put a handful of salt in the
-outside water.
-
-Small chickens, of course, require a shorter time to cook.
-
-
-PULLED FOWL.--This is a side dish for company. Select a fine tender
-fowl, young, fat, full-grown, and of a large kind. When quite done take
-it out of the pot, cover it, and set it away till wanted. Then, with a
-fork, pull off in flakes all the flesh, (first removing the skin,) and
-with a chopper break all the bones, and put them into a stew-pan, adding
-two calves' feet split, and the hock of a cold ham, a small bunch of
-parsley and sweet marjoram, and a quart of water. Let it boil gently
-till reduced to a pint. Then take it out. Have ready, in another
-stew-pan, the bits of pulled fowl. Strain the liquor from the bones,
-&c., over the fowl, and add a piece of fresh butter, (the size of a
-small egg,) rolled in flour, and a tea-spoonful of powdered mace and
-nutmeg, mixed. Mix the whole together, and let the pulled fowl stew in
-gravy for ten minutes. Serve it hot.
-
-A turkey may be cooked in this manner, and will make a fine dish. For a
-turkey allow four calves' feet.
-
-
-FRIED CHICKENS.--Cut up a pair of nice young fowls, flatten and quarter
-them, and season them with cayenne and powdered mace, rubbing it in
-well. Put some lard into a heated frying pan over the fire, or if you
-have plenty of nice fresh butter use that in preference. When the lard
-or butter boils, and has been skimmed, put in the pieces of chicken, and
-fry them brown on one side. Then turn them, and sprinkle them thickly
-all over with chopped parsley, or sweet marjoram, and fry them brown on
-the other side. You may fry with them a few thin slices of cold ham.
-Before serving them up drain off the lard you have used for frying.
-
-When there is no dislike to onions, they may be fried nicely with boiled
-onions cut in rings, and laid over the pieces of chicken.
-
-
-BROILED CHICKENS.--These are very dry and tasteless if merely split and
-broiled plain, which is the usual way. It seems to be supposed by many
-that no chicken is too poor for broiling, and therefore it is often
-difficult to get more than two or three small mouthfuls of flesh off
-their bones. On the contrary, poor chickens are not worth broiling or
-cooking in any way. To have broiled chickens good, choose those that are
-fat and fleshy. Having cleaned them well, and washed them, and wiped
-them dry, split and divide them into four quarters; flattening the bones
-with a steak mallet. They will be much improved by stewing or boiling in
-a little water for ten minutes. Then draining them and saving the liquor
-for gravy. Boil in this the neck, feet, heart, gizzard and liver. Strain
-it after boiling, and save the liver to mash into the gravy. Season the
-gravy with grated carrot and minced parsley, or sweet marjoram, and a
-little cayenne, adding a small piece of fresh butter dredged in flour.
-Have ready plenty of fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with nutmeg, and in
-another pan four yolks of eggs well beaten. The quarters of the chickens
-having become quite cold, dip each one first into the egg, and then into
-the crumbs. Set the gridiron over a clear fire, and broil the chicken
-well, first laying down the inside. Having prepared the gravy as above,
-give it a short boil, then send it to table in a sauce-boat with the
-chickens.
-
-The excellence of chickens broiled in this way amply repays the trouble.
-This is a breakfast dish.
-
-Serve up with the broiled chicken a dish of mashed potato cakes, browned
-with a salamander or red-hot shovel.
-
-
-FRICASSEED CHICKEN.--Have ready a pair of fine plump full-grown fowls
-nicely prepared for cooking. Strip off all the skin, and carve the fowls
-neatly. Reserve all the white meat and best pieces for the fricassee,
-putting them in a dish by themselves, and save all the inferior pieces
-or black meat to make the gravy. Season with pepper and salt slightly,
-and add a bunch of sweet herbs cut small, and four small bits of fresh
-butter dredged with flour. Put the black meat, herbs, &c., into a
-stew-pan. Pour in a pint and a half of water, and stew it gently,
-skimming off every particle of fat. When reduced to less than one half,
-strain the gravy. Arrange the pieces of white meat in a very clean
-stew-pan, and pour over them the gravy of the inferior parts; add mace,
-nutmeg, and a little cayenne. Mix into half a pint of boiling cream, a
-large tea-spoonful of arrow-root, and shake the pan briskly round, while
-adding the beaten yolks of two fresh eggs, mixed with more cream, (two
-table-spoonfuls.) Shake it gently over the fire till it begins to simmer
-again, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle in an instant.
-Watch it carefully.
-
-This is a fine side-dish for company. There is no better way of
-fricasseeing fowls. A fricassee is not a fry, but a stew.
-
-Accompany this fricassee with a dish of asparagus tops, green peas, or
-lima beans. Also, mashed potatos.
-
-
-CHICKENS STEWED WHOLE.--Having trussed a pair of fine fat young fowls or
-chickens, (with the liver under one wing, and the gizzard under the
-other,) fill the inside with large oysters, secured from falling out by
-fastening tape round the bodies of the fowls. Put them into a tin butter
-kettle with a close cover. Set the kettle into a larger pot or saucepan
-of boiling water, (which must not reach quite to the top of the kettle,)
-and place it over the fire. Keep it boiling till the fowls are well
-done, which they should be in about an hour after they begin to simmer.
-Occasionally take off the lid to remove the scum, and be sure to put it
-on again closely. As the water in the outside pot boils away, replenish
-it with more _hot_ water from a tea-kettle that is kept boiling hard.
-When the fowls are stewed quite tender, remove them from the fire; take
-from them all the gravy that is about them, and put it into a small
-sauce-pan, covering closely the kettle in which they were stewed, and
-leaving the fowls in it to keep warm. Then add to the gravy two
-table-spoonfuls of butter rolled in flour, two table-spoonfuls of
-chopped oysters, the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs minced fine, half a
-grated nutmeg, four blades of mace, and a small tea-cup of cream. Boil
-this gravy about five minutes. Put the fowls on a dish and send them to
-table, accompanied by the gravy in a sauce-boat. This is an excellent
-way of cooking chickens. They do well in large _bain marie_.
-
-
-FOWL AND OYSTERS.--Take a fine fat young fowl, and having trussed it for
-boiling, fill the body and craw with oysters, seasoned with a few blades
-of mace, tying it round with twine to keep them in. Put the fowl into a
-tall strait-sided jar, and cover it closely. Then place the jar in a
-kettle of water, set it over the fire, and let it boil at least an hour
-and a half after the water has come to a hard boil. When it is done take
-out the fowl, and keep it hot while you prepare the gravy, of which you
-will find a quantity in the jar. Transfer this gravy to a saucepan,
-enrich it with the beaten yolks of two eggs mixed with three
-table-spoonfuls of cream, and add a large table-spoonful of fresh butter
-rolled in flour. If you cannot get cream, you must have a double portion
-of butter. Set this sauce over the fire, stirring it well, and when it
-comes to a boil, add twenty-five oysters. In five minutes take it off,
-put it into a sauce-boat, and serve it up with the fowl, which cooked in
-this manner will be found excellent.
-
-Clams may be substituted for oysters, but they should be removed from
-the fowl before it is sent to table. Their flavor being drawn out in the
-gravy, the clams themselves will be found tough, tasteless, and not
-proper to be eaten.
-
-
-FRENCH CHICKEN PIE.--Parboil a pair of full-grown, but fat and tender
-chickens. Then take the giblets, and put them into a small sauce-pan
-with as much of the water in which the chickens were parboiled as will
-cover them well, and stew them for gravy; add a bunch of sweet herbs and
-a few blades of mace. When the chickens are cold, dissect them as for
-carving. Line a deep dish with thick puff paste, and put in the pieces
-of chicken. Take a nice thin slice of cold ham, or two slices of smoked
-tongue, and pound them one at a time in a marble mortar, pounding also
-the livers of the chickens, and the yolks of half a dozen hard-boiled
-eggs. Make this forcemeat into balls, and intersperse them among the
-pieces of chicken. Add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour, and
-then (having removed the giblets) pour on the gravy. Cover the pie with
-a lid of puff-paste, rolled out thick; and notch the edges handsomely;
-placing a knot or ornament of paste on the centre of the top. Set it
-directly into a well-heated oven, and bake it brown. It should be eaten
-warm.
-
-This pie will be greatly improved by a pint of mushrooms, cut into
-pieces. Also by a small tea-cup of cream.
-
-Any pie of poultry, pigeons, or game may be made in this manner.
-
-
-CHICKEN GUMBO.--Cut up a young fowl as if for a fricassee. Put into a
-stew-pan a large table-spoonful of fresh butter, mixed with a
-tea-spoonful of flour, and an onion finely minced. Brown them over the
-fire, and then add a quart of water, and the pieces of chicken, with a
-large quarter of a peck of ochras, (first sliced thin, and then
-chopped,) and a salt-spoon of salt. Cover the pan, and let the whole
-stew together, till the ochras are entirely dissolved, and the fowl
-thoroughly done. If it is a very young chicken, do not put it in at
-first; as half an hour will be sufficient to cook it. Serve it up hot in
-a deep dish.
-
-You may add to the ochras an equal quantity of tomatos cut small. If you
-use tomatos, no water will be necessary, as their juice will supply a
-sufficient liquid.
-
-
-[D]FILET GUMBO.--Cut up a pair of fine plump fowls into pieces, as when
-carving. Lay them in a pan of cold water, till all the blood is drawn
-out. Put into a pot, two large table-spoonfuls of lard, and set it over
-the fire. When the lard has come to a boil, put in the chickens with an
-onion finely minced. Dredge them well with flour, and season slightly
-with salt and pepper; and, if you like it, a little chopped marjoram.
-Pour on it two quarts of boiling water. Cover it, and let it simmer
-slowly for three hours. Then stir into it two heaped tea-spoonfuls of
-sassafras powder. Afterwards, let it stew five or six minutes longer,
-and then send it to table in a deep dish; having a dish of boiled rice
-to be eaten with it by those who like rice.
-
- [D] Pronounced Fee_lay_.
-
-This gumbo will be much improved by stewing with it three or four thin
-slices of cold boiled ham, in which case omit the salt in the seasoning.
-Whenever cold ham is an ingredient in any dish, no other salt is
-required.
-
-A dozen fresh oysters and their liquor, added to the stew about half an
-hour before it is taken up, will also be an improvement.
-
-If you cannot conveniently obtain sassafras-powder, stir the gumbo
-frequently with a stick of sassafras root.
-
-This is a genuine southern receipt. Filet gumbo may be made of any sort
-of poultry, or of veal, lamb, venison, or kid.
-
-
-TOMATO CHICKEN.--Take four small chickens or two large ones, and cut
-them up as for carving. Put them into a stew-pan, with one or two large
-slices of cold boiled ham cut into little bits; eight or ten large
-tomatos; an onion sliced; a bunch of pot-herbs,(cut up;) a small green
-pepper, (the seeds and veins first extracted;) half a dozen blades of
-mace; a table-spoonful of lard or of fresh butter, rolled in flour; or a
-handful of grated bread-crumbs. Add a tumbler or half a pint of water.
-Cover the sauce-pan closely with a cloth beneath the lid; set it on hot
-coals, or over a moderate fire; and let it stew slowly till the chickens
-are thoroughly done, and the tomatos entirely dissolved. Turn it out
-into a deep dish.
-
-Rabbits may be stewed in this manner. Also, veal steaks, cut thin and
-small.
-
-
-TURKEY AND CHICKEN PATTIES.--Take the white part of some cold turkey or
-chicken, and mince it very fine. Mince also some cold boiled ham or
-smoked tongue, and then mix the turkey and ham together. Add the yolks
-of some hard-boiled eggs, grated or minced; a very little cayenne; and
-some powdered mace and nutmeg. Moisten the whole with cream or fresh
-butter. Have ready some puff-paste shells, that have been baked empty in
-patty-pans. Place them on a large dish, and fill them with the mixture.
-
-Cold fillet of veal minced, and mixed with chopped ham, and grated yolk
-of egg, and seasoned as above will make very good patties.
-
-
-CHICKEN RICE PUDDING.--Parboil a fine fowl, and cut it up. Boil, till
-soft and dry, a pint of rice; and while warm, mix with it a large
-table-spoonful of fresh butter. Beat four eggs very light; and then mix
-them, gradually, with the rice. Spread a coating of the fresh butter,
-&c., over the bottom and sides of a deep dish. Place on it the pieces of
-the parboiled fowl, with a little of the liquid in which it was
-boiled--seasoned with powdered mace and nutmeg. Add some bits of fresh
-butter rolled in flour and a little cream. Cover the dish closely with
-the remainder of the rice; set the pudding immediately into the oven and
-bake it brown.
-
-Cold chicken or turkey, cooked the day before, may be used for this
-purpose. The pudding may be improved by the addition of a few very
-thin, small slices of cold ham, or smoked tongue.
-
-
-RICE CROQUETTES.--Boil half a pound of rice till it becomes quite soft
-and dry. Then mix with it two table spoonfuls of rich (but not strong)
-grated cheese, a small tea-spoonful of powdered mace, and sufficient
-fresh butter to moisten it. Mince very fine, six table-spoonfuls of the
-white part of cold chicken or turkey, the soft parts of six large
-oysters, and a few sprigs of tarragon or parsley; add a grated nutmeg,
-and the yellow rind of a lemon. Mix the whole well, moistening it with
-cream or white wine. Take of the prepared rice, a portion about the size
-of an egg, flatten it, and put into the centre a dessert-spoonful of the
-mixture; close the rice round it as you would the paste round a
-dumpling-apple. Then form it into the shape of an egg. Brush it over
-with some beaten yolk of egg and then dredge it with pounded crackers.
-In this way make up the whole into oval balls. Have ready, in a
-sauce-pan over the fire, a pound of boiling lard. Into this throw the
-croquettes, two at a time, so as to brown them. Let them brown for a few
-minutes; then take them out with a perforated skimmer. Drain them from
-the lard, and serve them up hot, garnished with curled parsley.
-
-
-CHICKEN POT-PIE.--Cut up and parboil a pair of large fowls, seasoning
-them with pepper, salt, and nutmeg. You may add some small slices of
-cold ham; in which case use _no salt_, as the ham will make it salt
-enough. Or you may put in some pieces of the lean of fresh pork. You may
-prepare a suet-paste; but for a chicken pot-pie it is best to make the
-paste of butter, which should be fresh, and of the best quality. Allow
-to each quart of flour, a small half-pound of butter. There should be
-enough for a great deal of paste. Line the sides of the pot, two-thirds
-up, with paste. Put in the chickens, with the liquor in which they were
-parboiled. You may add some sliced potatos. Intersperse the pieces of
-chicken with layers of paste in square slices. Then cover the whole with
-a lid of paste, not fitting very closely. Make a cross-slit in the top,
-and boil the pie about an hour or more.
-
-Instead of ham, you may add some clams to the chicken, omitting salt in
-the seasoning, as the clams will salt it quite enough.
-
-
-CHICKEN CURRY.--Having skinned a pair of fine chickens, cut them into
-six pieces each, that is, two wings, two pieces of the breast, and two
-legs cut off at the joint. Put into a stew-pan two boiled onions
-chopped, and four ounces or four table-spoonfuls of fresh butter. Shake
-the pan till the contents begin to simmer; then add four table-spoonfuls
-of curry-powder and mix it well in; also, four table-spoonfuls of
-grated cocoa-nut. Mix all well in the stew-pan, and then put in the
-pieces of chicken. Cover the pan, and let all stew moderately for half
-an hour, stirring it round occasionally; and, if getting too dry, add a
-little hot water. Also, towards the last, the grated yellow rind of a
-lemon and the juice. It should stew till the chicken is quite tender,
-and till the flesh parts easily from the bones. Serve it up hot, in a
-covered dish, and send half a pound of boiled rice in a separate dish,
-_uncovered_. This is a dish for company.
-
-Young ducks, or a young hen turkey, or a pair of rabbits, may be cooked
-in the same manner. Also, lamb or veal.
-
-For curried oysters, take a hundred large fresh ones, and proceed as
-above.
-
-
-RICE PIE.--Pick clean a quart of rice, and wash it well through two or
-three waters. Tie it in a cloth, put it into a pot of boiled milk, and
-boil it till perfectly soft. Then drain and press it till as dry as
-possible, and mix with it two ounces of fresh butter. Take a small tin
-butter-kettle; wet the inside, put in the rice, and stand it in a cool
-place till quite cold. Then turn it carefully out of the kettle, (of
-which it will retain the form,) rub it over with the beaten yolk of an
-egg, and set it in an oven till lightly browned. Cut out from the top of
-the mass of rice an oval lid, about two inches from the edge, so as to
-leave a flat rim or border all round. Then excavate the mould of rice,
-leaving a standing crust all round and at the bottom, about two inches
-thick. Have ready some hot stewed oysters or birds, or brown or white
-fricassee. Fill up the pie with it, adding the gravy. Lay on the lid,
-and decorate it with sprigs of green curled parsley, stuck in all round
-the crack where the lid is put on.
-
-This pie may be filled with curried chicken.
-
-
-COUNTRY CAPTAIN.--This is an East India dish, and a very easy
-preparation of curry. The term "country captain," signifies a captain of
-the native troops, (or Sepoys,) in the pay of England; their own country
-being India, they are there called generally the country troops.
-Probably this dish was first introduced at English tables by a Sepoy
-officer.
-
-Having well boiled a fine full-grown fowl, cut it up as for carving.
-Have ready two large onions boiled and sliced. Season the pieces of
-chicken with curry powder or turmeric; rubbed well into them, all over.
-Fry them with the onion, in plenty of lard or fresh butter, and when
-well-browned they are done enough. Take them up with a perforated
-skimmer, and drain through its holes. It will be a great improvement to
-put in, at the beginning, three or four table-spoonfuls of finely grated
-cocoa-nut. This will be found an advantage to any curry.
-
-Serve up, in another dish, a pint of rice, well picked, and washed
-clean in two or three cold waters. Boil the rice in plenty of water,
-(leaving the skillet or sauce-pan uncovered;) and when it is done, drain
-it very dry, and set it on a dish before the fire, tossing it up with
-two forks, one in each hand, so as to separate all the grains, leaving
-each one to stand for itself. All rice for the dinner table should be
-cooked in this manner. Persons accustomed to rice never eat it watery or
-clammy, or lying in a moist mass. Rice should never be covered, either
-while boiling, or when dished.
-
-We recommend this "country captain."
-
-
-CURRIED EGGS.--Boil six fresh eggs till they are hard enough for salad,
-and then set them away to get cold. Mix together, in a stew-pan, three
-ounces (or three large table-spoonfuls) of nice fresh butter, and three
-dessert-spoonfuls of curry powder. Shake them together for five minutes
-over a clear but moderate fire. Then throw in two boiled onions finely
-minced, and let them cook, gently, till quite soft, adding three ounces
-or three large spoonfuls of grated cocoa-nut. Cut the eggs into rather
-thick slices. Put them into the mixture, with a small tea-cupful of
-thick cream, or if you cannot obtain cream, with two more spoonfuls of
-butter dredged with flour. Let the whole simmer together, but when it
-approaches coming to a boil, take it immediately off the fire and serve
-it up hot. This is a nice side-dish for company.
-
-
-PARTRIDGES PEAR FASHION--(_French dish._)--Your partridges should be
-fine and fat, and of the same size. For a large dish have three or four.
-Truss them tight and round, and rub over them a little salt and cayenne,
-mixed. Cut off one of the legs and leave the other on, fill them with a
-nice forcemeat. Make a rich paste of flour, butter, and beaten egg,
-using as little water as possible. Be sure to make enough of paste to
-cover each partridge entirely over, and roll it out evenly, and rather
-thick than thin. Put a sufficient portion of paste nicely round each
-partridge, pressing it closely and smoothly with your hand, and forming
-it into the shape of a large pear. Leave one leg sticking out at the top
-to resemble the stem, having cut off the foot. Set them in a pan, and
-bake them in a dutch oven. In the mean time, make in a small sauce-pan,
-a rich brown gravy of the livers, and other trimmings of the partridges,
-and some drippings of roast veal or roasted poultry. It will be better
-still if you reserve one or two small partridges to cut up, and stew for
-the gravy. Season it with a little salt and cayenne. When it has boiled
-long enough to be very thick and rich, take it off, strain it, and put
-the liquid into a clean sauce-pan. Add the juice of a large orange, made
-very sweet with powdered white sugar. Set it over the fire, and when it
-comes to a boil, stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs. Let it boil two
-or three minutes longer; then take it off, and keep it hot till the
-partridges and their paste are thoroughly well baked. When done, stand
-up the partridges in a deep dish, and serve up the gravy in a
-sauce-boat. Ornament the partridge-pears by sticking some orange leaves
-into the end that represents the stalk. This is a nice and handsome side
-dish, of French origin.
-
-Pigeons and quails may be dressed in this manner.
-
-
-SALMI OF PARTRIDGES--(_French dish._)--Having covered two large or four
-small partridges with very thin slices of fat cold ham, secured with
-twine, roast them; but see that they are not too much done. Remove the
-ham, skin the partridges, cut them into pieces, and let them get quite
-cold. Partridges that have been roasted the preceding day are good for
-this purpose. Cut off all the meat from the bones, season it with a
-little cayenne, and put it into a stew-pan. Mix together three
-table-spoonfuls of sweet oil, a glass of excellent wine, (either red or
-white,) and the grated peel and juice of an orange. Pour this gravy over
-the partridges, and let them stew in it during ten minutes; then add the
-beaten yolk of an egg, and stew it about three or four minutes longer.
-All the time it is stewing, continue to shake or move the pan over the
-fire. Serve it up hot.
-
-
-ROASTED PARTRIDGES, PHEASANTS, AND QUAILS.--Make a stuffing of fat bacon
-finely minced, and boiled chestnuts or grated sweet potatoe boiled,
-mashed, and seasoned with pepper only. Fill the birds with this. Cover
-them with thin slices of bacon, and wrap them well in young vine leaves.
-Roast them well, and serve them up in the bacon and vine leaves, to be
-taken off when they come to table. For company, have orange sauce to eat
-with them. If you roast pigeons, &c., without a covering of bacon and
-vine leaves, do them with egg and bread-crumbs all over.
-
-If these birds have a bitter taste when cooked, do not eat them. It is
-produced by their feeding on laurel berries in winter, when their food
-is scarce. Laural berries are poisonous, and people have died from
-eating birds that have fed on them.
-
-
-BIRDS WITH MUSHROOMS.--Take two dozen reed-birds, (or other nice small
-birds,) and truss them as if for roasting. Put into each a button
-mushroom, of which you should have a heaping pint after the stalks are
-all removed. Put the birds and the remaining mushrooms into a stew-pan.
-Season them with a very little salt and pepper, and add either a quarter
-of a pound of fresh butter (divided into four, and slightly rolled in
-flour,) or a pint of rich cream. If cream is not plenty, you may use
-half butter and half cream, well mixed together. Cover the stew-pan
-closely, and set it over a moderate fire, to stew gently till the birds
-and mushrooms are thoroughly done and tender all through. Do not open
-the lid to stir the stew, but give the pan, occasionally, a hard shake.
-Dip in hot water a large slice of toast with the crust trimmed off.
-When the birds are done lay them on the toast with the mushrooms around.
-
-If you cannot get button-mushrooms, divide large ones into quarters.
-
-Plovers are very nice stewed with mushrooms.
-
-
-BIRDS IN A GROVE--(_French dish._)--Having roasted some reed-birds,
-larks, plovers, or any other small birds, such as are usually eaten,
-mash some potatos with butter and cream. Spread the mashed potato
-thickly over the bottom, sides, and edges of a deep dish. Nick or crimp
-the border of potatoe that goes round the edge, or scollop it with a tin
-cutter. You may, if you choose, brown it by holding over it a
-salamander, or a red-hot shovel. Then lay the roasted birds in the
-middle of the dish, and stick round them and among them, very thickly, a
-sufficient number of sprigs of curled or double parsley.
-
-
-THATCHED HOUSE PIE--(_French dish._)--Rub the inside of a deep dish with
-two ounces of fresh butter, and spread over it two ounces of vermicelli.
-Then line the dish with puff-paste. Have ready some birds seasoned with
-powdered nutmeg, and a very little salt and pepper. Place them with the
-breast downward. They will be much improved by putting into each a
-mushroom or an oyster chopped fine. Lay them on the paste. Add some
-gravy of roast veal, (cold gravy saved from veal roasted the preceding
-day will do very well,) and cover the pie with a lid of puff-paste. Bake
-it in a moderate oven, and when done, turn it out _carefully_ upon a
-flat dish, and send it to table. The vermicelli, which was originally at
-the bottom, will now be at the top, covering the paste like thatch upon
-a roof. Trim off the edge, so as to look nicely. You may, if you choose,
-use a larger quantity of vermicelli. The yellow sort will be best for
-this purpose.
-
-
-BIRDS PREPARED FOR LARDING.--Cut a thin slice of fresh veal, and fill
-the bird with it, adding a bit of fat bacon. Tie a string round the body
-to keep in the stuffing, and roast the bird head downward. The gravy of
-the meat will diffuse a pleasant taste all through the bird.
-
-After being well roasted, let it get cold, and then lard it all over the
-breast with lardons or regular slips of fat bacon, put in with a larding
-needle, and left standing in rows. It is more easy to lard poultry or
-game when cold, rather than warm. Lardons should be set very close and
-evenly.
-
-
-BIRD DUMPLINGS.--Take a large tender beef steak, trim off all the fat,
-and remove the bone. Make a large sheet of nice suet paste. Lay the beef
-steak upon it, seasoned with pepper and a very little salt. In the
-centre of the meat place either a partridge, a quail, a plover, or any
-nice game, or three or four reed-birds--season with powdered mace and
-nutmeg. Add some bits of excellent fresh butter, dredged with flour.
-Inclose the birds completely in the steak, so that the game flavor may
-pervade the whole. Close the crust over all, so as to form a large
-dumpling. Tie it in a cloth. Put it into a pot of fast-boiling water,
-and boil it well, turning it several times with a fork. Dish it very
-hot.
-
-If game is not convenient, a fine tame fat pigeon may be substituted.
-
-
-TO ROAST WOODCOCKS OR SNIPES.--Be very careful in plucking these to pull
-out the feathers as carefully and handle them as lightly as possible;
-for the skin is very easily torn or broken. Do not draw them, for
-epicures have decided, that the trail, (as they call the intestines,) is
-the most delicious part of the bird, and should by all means be saved
-for eating. Having wiped the outside carefully with a soft cloth, truss
-them with the head under the wing, and the bill laid along upon the
-breast. Keep the legs bent from the knees, retaining that posture by
-means of a splinter skewer. Suspend the birds to a bird-spit, with their
-feet downward. Melt some fresh butter in the dripping-pan, and baste
-them with it, having first dredged the birds with flour. Before the
-trail begins to drop, (which it will do as soon as they are well
-heated,) lay a thick round of very nice toast, (with the crust pared
-off,) buttered on both sides, and placed in the dripping-pan beneath, so
-as to catch the trail as it falls; allowing a slice of toast to each
-bird, with the trail spread equally over it. Continue the basting,
-letting the butter fall back from them into the basting spoon. When the
-birds are done, which will be in less than half an hour at a brisk
-fire--carefully transfer the toasts to a very hot dish; place the birds
-upon them, and pour some gravy round the toast.
-
-Snipes require less cooking than woodcocks. These birds are very
-fashionable; but we do not think either of them superlative. They seldom
-appear except at supper parties.
-
-
-PLOVERS.--This is a very nice bird, with a peculiar and pleasant flavor.
-They abound near our large bays and estuaries in the vicinity of the
-ocean. There are two sorts, the green plover and the gray. Roast them
-plain; basting them only with butter. Or fill them with a forcemeat, and
-go entirely over the outside, first with beaten egg, and then roll each
-plover in finely grated bread-crumbs.
-
-If very fat, stew them plain in butter rolled in flour. Then serve them
-up in their own gravy, enriched with a beaten egg. They make a nice
-breakfast dish, either roasted or stewed. And are excellent in pies.
-
-
-REED BIRDS.--Reed birds and rice birds are the same. They are very
-small, (only a mouthful on each side of the breast,) but very delicious,
-and _immensely fat_ in the summer and autumn. They are brought to market
-with a lump of fat skewered on the outside, and are sold by the dozen
-strung on a stick like cherries.
-
-To cook them, roast them on a bird-spit, basting with their own fat, as
-it drips. A nice way for retaining the whole flavor is to tie each bird
-closely in a vine leaf, and bake them in a dutch oven. Or wrap them in
-double vine leaves, and roast them in the ashes of a wood fire. Remove
-the vine leaves before the birds are dished.
-
-
-ROASTED PIGEONS.--Take fine fat _tame_ pigeons, and clean and truss them
-nicely. Four pigeons, at least, are requisite to make a dish. Prepare a
-stuffing or forcemeat of finely minced veal, and an equal quantity of
-cold-boiled ham, seasoned with powdered mace and a very little cayenne.
-Also, two slices of bread and butter soaked in as much milk as they will
-absorb. Fill their bodies with this, (tying a string round to keep it
-in,) and roast the pigeons till thoroughly done; basting with fresh
-butter or lard.
-
-Or you may stuff the pigeons with chopped mushrooms, seasoned with a
-little cayenne, and putting into each a piece of fresh butter rolled in
-flour.
-
-Or you may stuff them with sweet potatos, boiled well, and mashed with
-plenty of fresh butter. Or with chestnuts, boiled, peeled, and mashed
-with butter.
-
-Wild pigeons are generally too poor to roast. In places where they
-abound, it has been found very profitable to catch them in nets, clip
-their wings, and put them into inclosures, feeding them well with corn
-so as to make them fat. They will then bring as high a price as tame
-pigeons.
-
-
-
-
-SAUCES.
-
-
-MELTED BUTTER.--_For Sauces._--This is frequently called Drawn Butter.
-For this purpose none should be used but fresh butter of the very best
-quality. It is usually sent to table with boiled fish and boiled
-poultry. Also, with boiled mutton, lamb, and veal. It is never served up
-with any thing roasted, fried or broiled. Numerous sauces are made with
-melted butter. If mixed with too much flour and water, and not enough of
-butter, it will be very poor, particularly if the water is in too large
-proportions. To prepare it properly, allow a quarter of a pound of nice
-butter, to a heaped table-spoonful of flour. Mix the butter and flour
-thoroughly, _before_ it goes on the fire. Then add to it four large
-table-spoonfuls of milk, or hot water, well mixed in. Hold it over the
-fire in a small sauce-pan, kept for the purpose. One lined with what is
-called porcelain or enamel is best. Take care there is no blaze where
-the sauce-pan is held. Cover it, and shake it over the fire till it
-boils. Then having skimmed it, add three or four hard-boiled eggs
-chopped small, and give it one more boil up; or season it with any other
-ingredient with which you wish to distinguish the sauce.
-
-
-CLARIFIED BUTTER.--For this purpose use none but the very best fresh
-butter, such as is made in summer, when the cows are well pastured. Cut
-up the butter, put it into an enameled or porcelain stew-pan, and melt
-it gently over a clear and moderate fire. When it simmers, skim it
-thoroughly, draw it from the fire, and let it stand five minutes, that
-the milk or sediment may sink to the bottom. Then pour it clear from the
-sediment through a muslin strainer, or a fine clean hair sieve. Transfer
-to jars with close covers, and keep them in a cool dry place. If well
-prepared, and originally very good, this butter will answer for sauces,
-stews, &c., and continue good a long time. In France, where they do not
-_salt_ any butter, large quantities are melted in this way for winter
-use.
-
-
-COLORING FOR SAUCES.--_For Pink Sauce._ Take a few chips of red alkanet
-root, (to be had at the druggist's.) Pick it clean, and tie it in a very
-thin muslin bag. Put the alkanet into the mixture, and let it infuse in
-the boiling drawn butter. It will communicate a beautiful pink color,
-which you may heighten, by pressing the bag a little. When done, take
-out the bag, and stir the alkanet color evenly through the sauce. The
-alkanet has no taste, and is very cheap. Beet juice will color a
-tolerable red.
-
-_For Green Sauce._--Pound some fresh spinach leaves, till you extract a
-tea-cup or more of the clear green juice. Stir it into the melted butter
-while boiling.
-
-_For Yellow Sauce._--Tie up a very little turmeric powder in a muslin
-bag. Let it boil in the butter. When done, take it out of the sauce-pan,
-and stir the yellow coloring evenly through the sauce.
-
-_For White Sauce._--Make this with cream instead of milk.
-
-_For Brown Sauce._--Stir in plenty of French mustard.
-
-_For Wine Sauce._--Stir in, just before you take the sauce from the
-fire, a large wine-glass or more of _very good_ white wine, and grate in
-half a large nutmeg, adding the grated yellow rind, and the juice of a
-lemon. The wine must be of excellent quality, otherwise it will give a
-bad taste to the sauce.
-
-
-WHITE THICKENING--(_French Roux._)--Cut up a quarter of a pound of the
-best fresh butter, and put it into a well tinned or enameled sauce-pan.
-Set it over a moderate fire, and melt it slowly, shaking it round
-frequently, and taking care to skim it well. When no more scum appears
-on the surface, let it settle a few minutes; then pour it off from the
-sediment at the bottom. Wash the sauce-pan or get another clean one.
-Return the melted butter to it, and set it again over the fire. Then
-dredge in gradually sufficient sifted flour to make it very thick and
-smooth, stirring it well after each addition of flour. Do not allow it
-to brown in the slightest degree, but keep it perfectly white to the
-last; simmering, but not actually boiling, and take care that there is
-no smoke about the fire.
-
-To thicken white sauces, or soups, stir in a table-spoonful or two of
-this roux, pronounced _roo_. In French cooking it passes for cream.
-
-Browned thickening is made in the same manner; but with butter and
-browned flour, and is used for brown soups and gravies.
-
-
-BROWNING.--This is to enrich the taste and improve the color of gravies,
-stews, and soups. Mix a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar with
-two ounces of fine fresh butter; and, having stirred them well together,
-put them into a sauce-pan over the fire, and simmer till it begins to
-froth; then diminish the heat a little. When its color becomes a fine
-dark brown, add two glasses of port wine, and three or four blades of
-mace, powdered. When it comes to a boil, take it off, and stir it into
-whatever you intend to color.
-
-Another browning is mushroom catchup, or walnut catchup. They
-communicate a slightly acid taste. So also does French mustard. Stir it
-in at the last. Its tarragon flavor is very generally liked.
-
-
-BROWNED FLOUR.--Sift some fine flour, spread it on a large dish, or
-clean tin-pan. Place it before the fire, so as to brown but not to
-scorch or burn. It will color first at the edges; therefore watch it,
-and keep it evenly mixed with the white flour from the centre. When all
-is nicely browned, set it to cool, and then put it away for use in a
-large clean bottle or jar, well corked. Flour may be browned in an oven,
-after baking is over, taking care to stir it well.--Have two dredging
-boxes. One for browned flour and one for white. It is convenient also to
-have dredging-boxes for powdered herbs. The cost of these boxes is very
-trifling, and it saves time and trouble to have things ready when
-wanted. A small sieve for powdered white sugar is indispensable.
-
-
-LOBSTER SAUCE.--This sauce is for fresh salmon or turbot, or
-sheep's-head fish. Also for salmon-trout, blue-fish, or the lake
-white-fish.
-
-Put a large hen lobster into a hard-boiling pot of highly-salted water,
-that the animal may die immediately. Continue the boiling with a steady
-heat, and in about three quarters, or an hour, the lobster will be done.
-When cold, extract all the meat from the shell, and cut it into small
-bits. Pound the coral, or red substance, in a marble mortar, with some
-fresh butter, or plenty of salad oil; and a little cayenne. Add the
-coral to the cut-up lobster, and put the whole into a stew-pan, with
-some powdered mace and nutmeg, and a large table-spoonful of sweet oil.
-Divide into four bits a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, each bit
-rolled in flour. If your butter is not fresh and very good, omit it
-entirely and substitute a larger quantity of oil. As bad butter spoils
-every thing, never on any account, use it. Set the sauce-pan over the
-fire, and let it boil up once. Then take it off, and while very hot,
-stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs.
-
-Crab sauce is made in the same manner. Prawn sauce also.
-
-
-SHRIMP SAUCE.--Shrimps are the smallest shell-fish of the lobster
-species. Put them into salted boiling water. They are done when they
-have turned entirely red. When cold, pull off the heads, and peel off
-the shells from the bodies; or _squeeze_ out the meat with your fingers.
-Have ready some nice drawn butter, and thicken it with the shrimps,
-either chopped or whole. Season the sauce with mace or nutmeg powdered,
-and give it one boil up. Shrimp sauce is eaten with salmon and other
-fine fish.
-
-
-PICKLED SHRIMPS.--Having boiled, in salted water, three quarts or more
-of shrimps, and taken them from the shells, boil two quarts of the best
-cider vinegar, and season it well with blades of mace and pepper-corns,
-and pour it hot on the shrimps, in a stone jar. Cork the jar, and seal
-the cork with the usual red cement for pickle jars: a mixture of
-one-third beeswax with two-thirds powdered rosin, and some fine
-brickdust, all melted together.
-
-
-OYSTER SAUCE.--Take a pint of the liquor of _fresh_ oysters, and strain
-it into a sauce-pan. If your oysters are salt, and you can get no
-others, boil a pint of milk instead of the oyster liquor, seasoning with
-powdered nutmeg and mace, and enriching it with fresh butter dredged
-with flour. When it has come to a boil, put in the oysters (having
-removed from each the gristle, or hard part.) Let them simmer, but take
-them from the fire without letting them come to a boil, which will
-shrivel them, and render them tough and tasteless. A new fashion is to
-season oyster sauce with the grated yellow rind and juice of a fresh
-lemon. Others stir in a glass of sherry or Madeira. If you use wine or
-lemon, you must not make the sauce with milk, as it will curdle. Use in
-this case the oyster liquor, if it is fresh, thickened well with finely
-grated bread-crumbs. The small, highly-flavored oysters, abounding on
-the coast of New England, are excellent for sauce, or soups.
-
-
-CLAM SAUCE.--Make this of half milk and half clam liquor, seasoned with
-whole mace, and whole pepper. Use only the soft part of the clams, cut
-up small, and simmer them from the beginning; adding bits of butter
-dredged all over with flour Clams require longer cooking than oysters.
-
-
-EGG SAUCE.--Boil four eggs from eight to twelve minutes. Then lay them
-in a pan of fresh water, and let them remain till quite cold. Peel off
-the shells, and take out the eggs. Chop the yolks and whites separately;
-mix them, lightly, into half a pint of melted fresh butter, made in the
-proportion of a quarter of a pound of butter to two large
-table-spoonfuls of flour, and four of milk and hot water. Add some
-powdered mace, or nutmeg. Egg sauce is eaten with boiled fish and
-poultry.
-
-Instead of milk or water, you can use for melted butter, some of the
-water in which chicken or turkey was boiled, or some veal gravy.
-
-
-CELERY SAUCE.--Split and cut up into short slips a bunch of celery,
-having taken off the green leaves from the tops. The celery must have
-been well washed, and laid an hour in cold water. Take a pint of milk,
-and cut up in it a quarter of a pound of fresh butter that has been well
-dredged with flour. Set it over the fire in a sauce-pan, and add the
-celery gradually; also three or four blades of mace broken up. Boil all
-slowly together, till the celery is quite soft and tender, but not
-dissolved. The green tops of the celery, (strewed in, when it begins to
-simmer,) will improve the flavor. Celery sauce is served up with boiled
-turkey, boiled fowls, and with any sort of fresh fish, boiled or fried.
-
-
-MINT SAUCE.--This is only used for roast lamb in the spring. When the
-lambs are grown into sheep, the mint is too old for sauce. But they
-harmonize very pleasantly when both are young.
-
-Take a large bunch of fine fresh green mint, that has been washed well.
-Strip the leaves from the stems, and mince them small. Put it into a
-pint bowl, and mix with it gradually some of the best cider vinegar.
-This sauce must not be the least liquid, but as thick as horse-radish
-sauce or thicker. Make it very sweet, with the best brown sugar. Mix it
-well, and transfer to a small tureen, or a little deep dish with a
-tea-spoon in it. Serve it up always with roast lamb, putting a
-tea-spoonful on the rim of your plate.
-
-A quart or more of mint sauce, made as above, but with a larger
-proportion of sugar and vinegar, will keep very well for several weeks,
-in a jar well corked.
-
-
-HORSE-RADISH.--Wash clean some roots of horse-radish, wipe them dry, and
-scrape off the outside. Then grate the sticks of horse-radish with a
-large grater. Put some of the grated horse-radish into a large saucer,
-or small deep plate, and moisten it with good cider vinegar, but do not
-put so much vinegar as will render it liquid. Send it to table with
-roast beef or mutton.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWER SAUCE.--Have ready some very rich good melted or drawn
-butter, made with milk and flavored with nutmeg. Thicken it with plenty
-of ready-boiled cauliflower, cut into little sprigs or blossoms. Give it
-one boil up after the cauliflower is in, and send it to table with any
-sort of boiled poultry. It will be found very nice. For a boiled turkey
-it is far superior to celery sauce, and well suited to dinner company.
-
-
-BROCCOLI SAUCE.--Make some nice drawn butter with milk. Flavor it with
-powdered mace. Pound some spinach in a mortar to extract the juice.
-Strain the spinach juice, and stir a small tea-cupful into the butter to
-give it a fine green color. Have ready some well-boiled broccoli. Divide
-one or two heads of the broccoli into tufts or sprigs. Put them into the
-melted butter, and when it comes to a boil, take it off, and transfer it
-to a sauce-boat. Serve it up with boiled poultry or fresh fish.
-
-
-PARSLEY SAUCE.--Strip from the stalks the leaves of some fresh green
-parsley; allow plenty of it. Chop it slightly; and while the drawn
-butter is hot, stir into it the parsley, till the butter looks very
-green. Serve it up with boiled fowls, rabbits, or boiled fish. The
-appearance of parsley sauce will be much improved by stirring in some
-spinach juice. The whole will be then a fine green.
-
-
-CRIMPED PARSLEY.--Pick the small sprigs of parsley from the large
-stalks. Wash it, and then throw it into clean cold water. After the meat
-or fish that it is to accompany has been fried and taken out of the pan,
-give the fat that remains a boil up, and lay the parsley into it. It
-will crimp and still continue green, if not kept frying too long. Take
-it out, drain it, and place it before the fire a few minutes, to dry it
-from the fat. Dish it laid on the top of the fish or steaks.
-
-
-FENNEL SAUCE.--The fennel should be young and fresh. Take a large
-handful, or more, and having washed it clean, strip the leaves from the
-stems, and boil it till quite tender. Put it into a sieve, and press the
-water well from it. Mince it very small, and stir it into drawn butter.
-
-It is served up with boiled fish.
-
-Instead of melted butter, you may put the fennel into veal gravy,
-thickened with butter dredged with flour.
-
-
-SAGE AND ONION SAUCE.--Take a bunch of fresh sage leaves. Wash and drain
-them. Pick them from the stems, and put them to boil in a small
-sauce-pan, with just water enough to cover them. Boil them fast about
-ten minutes. Take them out, and press them in a sieve to drain them dry.
-Then mince or chop them small. Have ready two onions, boiled tender in
-another sauce-pan; chop them also, and mix them well with the minced
-sage. While warm, mix in a small bit of nice butter--season with pepper.
-Put this sauce into a little tureen, and serve it up with roast goose,
-roast duck, or roast pork, that has been stuffed with potato, bread, or
-other stuffing. The sage and onion sauce is for those who prefer their
-flavor to any other seasoning for those dishes.
-
-This sauce will be greatly improved if moistened with some of the gravy
-of the duck or goose.
-
-
-FINE ONION SAUCE.--Peel some nice mild onions, and boil them in plenty
-of milk, skimming them well. When done, take them out of the milk,
-(saving it,) and slice them very thin, cutting the slices across, so as
-to make the pieces of onion very small. Return them to the sauce-pan of
-milk, (adding some fresh butter dredged with flour;) season them with
-powdered mace or nutmeg, and give the onions another boil, till they are
-soft enough to mash, and to thicken the milk all through. Eat this sauce
-with steaks, cutlets, rabbits, or chickens.
-
-
-PLAIN ONION SAUCE.--Peel some very small onions, and boil them whole in
-milk, (seasoned slightly with pepper and salt,) and put in some bits of
-butter rolled in flour. Let them boil till tender all through, but not
-till they loose their shape. Eat them with any sort of boiled meat.
-
-
-NASTURTION SAUCE.--This is eaten with boiled mutton; is superior to
-caper sauce, and costs almost nothing, if you have nasturtions in your
-garden. Gather the green seeds as soon as they are full grown, and throw
-them (without the stems) into a jar of cider vinegar. They require no
-cooking, but keep a muslin bag of spice in the jar, (mace and nutmeg
-broken small, and a little piece of root ginger.) To use them for sauce,
-make some nice drawn butter, and as it simmers throw in plenty of
-nasturtions from the jar. The seeds, when gathered, should be full
-grown, but by no means hard; and the color a fine green. If there is the
-slightest brown tinge, the nasturtion seeds are too old, and should be
-kept for planting.
-
-
-MUSHROOM SAUCE.--Have ready some excellent drawn butter, and thicken it
-with small button mushrooms that have been pickled. Or, take
-freshly-gathered mushrooms of good size, rub off the outer skin with a
-clean flannel, and cut off the stems close to the flaps. Wash the
-mushrooms in a cullender. Have ready some bits of fresh butter dredged
-all over with flour. Lay them among the mushrooms, (which, if very
-large, should be quartered,) and put them into a stew-pan. Cover the
-pan, and let them stew till the mushrooms are all tender. When you take
-off the lid to try them, replace it immediately, keeping in as much of
-the aroma as possible. If fresh, they will yield a great deal of juice.
-When done, transfer them to a sauce-tureen, and serve them up with any
-nice dish of meat or poultry.
-
-The best mushrooms are found in pure open air or rather high ground, and
-where there is no swamp or woodland. On the upper side of their top they
-are not white, but of a pale grayish tint; the under side is invariably
-light red, pinkish, or pale salmon color, which in a few hours, or after
-being gathered, turns brown. The false mushrooms are poisonous. They are
-entirely white above and below. The fungi that grow in forests or
-marshes can never be mistaken for real mushrooms. They are of various
-colors, chiefly bright yellow and red, and originate in foul air. By
-boiling a silver tea-spoon with your mushrooms, you may test their
-goodness. If the silver turns black, throw the mushrooms away. An onion
-will also blacken from the same cause. Mushrooms should be cooked as
-soon as possible. If kept two or three days, worms will be found in
-them. Never give mushrooms to children. Even in their best state they
-are not wholesome. The taste for mushrooms is an acquired one, and it is
-best not to acquire it.
-
-
-TOMATO SAUCE.--Scald some large ripe tomatos, to make them peel easily.
-Then quarter them, and press them through a sieve to divest them of
-their seeds. Put the juice into a stew-pan, adding some bits of fresh
-butter dredged with flour; add finely grated bread-crumbs, and season
-with a little pepper, and, if liked, a little onion boiled and minced.
-Set the pan over a moderate fire, and let the tomatos simmer slowly till
-it comes to a boil. Continue the boiling ten minutes longer. Serve it up
-in a sauce-tureen. It will be mellowed and improved by stirring in (as
-soon as it comes to a boil) a table-spoonful or a lump of white sugar.
-
-
-TARRAGON SAUCE.--Put into a sauce-pan a large half pint of any nice
-gravy that is at hand. After it has boiled five minutes, have ready a
-handful of fresh green tarragon leaves, minced, and moistened with
-plenty of cider vinegar. Add this to the gravy, and let it simmer five
-minutes. Then take it out, and serve it up with any kind of boiled
-poultry.
-
-
-TO MAKE GRAVY.--Take two pounds of the lean of veal, or of very nice
-beef. Cut it into small bits, and lay it in a sauce-pan with only as
-much water as will cover it. Stew it slowly, (skimming it well) till the
-meat is all rags. Then strain the gravy, and thicken it with some bits
-of fresh butter dredged all over with browned flour, and give it
-another simmer. You may flavor it with any seasoning you like.
-
-For made gravies, you can use any small pieces of fresh meat that has
-never been cooked, and the feet of calves and pigs. Boil in it also such
-vegetables as you like, cut small. Strain out every thing before it goes
-to table. For gravies, use nothing that has been cooked before. They
-will not add to its goodness, but only render it flat and washy.
-
-White gravy is made with fresh veal boiled in milk; and after straining,
-thickened arrow-root, or rice flour, mixed with fresh butter, if real
-cream cannot be obtained.
-
-
-MUSHROOM CATCHUP.--Let the mushrooms be large and freshly-gathered, for
-they soon become worm-eaten if not speedily salted. They should be well
-examined. Cut off the stalks of four quarts of nice mushrooms. Put the
-flaps into a deep earthen pan, and break them up with your hands. Strew
-among them half a pound of salt, reserving the largest portion of it for
-the top. Let them stand for three days, stirring them gently every
-morning. The fourth day, put them into a sieve, and draw off the liquor
-without pressing the mushrooms. When all the liquor has drained through,
-measure it, allowing to each quart a tea-spoon of cayenne, a dozen
-blades of mace, and a nutmeg broken up. Put the whole into a porcelain
-kettle, and boil it slowly till reduced one half. Then pour it into a
-clean white-ware pitcher, cover it with a folded napkin, and keep it in
-a cool dry place till next day. Then, through a funnel, pour it gently
-from the sediment into small bottles. Finish with a tea-spoonful of
-sweet oil on the top of each. Cork the bottles tightly, and seal the
-corks.
-
-The next time you make catchup, proceed as above with the new mushrooms,
-and other ingredients; and, when it is done, strain it, and put it into
-a clean kettle. Then add to it a quart of _last year's_ mushroom
-catchup, and boil it a quarter of an hour. Then bottle it as above.
-
-This double catchup is very fine.
-
-
-WALNUT CATCHUP.--Take two hundred walnuts or butter-nuts, while the
-green shell is still so soft that you can pierce it with the head of a
-pin. Bruise them to small pieces, in a marble mortar. Transfer them to a
-broad stone-ware pan, and stew among them six handfuls of salt. Stir
-them three times a day, for ten days or two weeks. Then squeeze and
-strain them through a cloth, pressing them very dry, till no more juice
-comes out. Boil up the liquor with two quarts of cider vinegar, half an
-ounce of mace, half an ounce of whole pepper, half an ounce of nutmegs
-broken up, and two roots of ginger cut small, and half a dozen shalots
-or small onions, peeled and cut up, and a large bunch of sweet herbs.
-Let the whole boil for half an hour. Then pour off the liquor into a
-large pitcher, leaving out the bunch of sweet herbs. Pour off the liquor
-(through a funnel,) into small bottles, having first put into the bottom
-of each bottle a portion of the spice. Fill the bottle up to the top
-with the catchup, finishing with a tea-spoonful of salad oil, which will
-greatly assist in keeping the catchup good. Cork the bottles very
-closely, and seal the corks.
-
-
-TOMATO CATCHUP.--Take a peck of large ripe tomatos. In the middle States
-they are in perfection the last of August. Late in the autumn they are
-comparatively insipid and watery. Cut a slit down the side of every
-tomato. Put them into a large preserving kettle without any water. Their
-own juice is sufficient. On no account boil tomatos in brass or copper,
-their acid acting on those metals produces verdigris, and renders them
-poisonous. Boil them till they are quite soft, and easily mashed,
-stirring them up frequently from the bottom. Press and mash them through
-a hair sieve, till all the pulp has run out into the pan below, leaving
-in the sieve only the skins and seeds. Season the liquid with a little
-salt, some cayenne, and plenty of powdered nutmeg and mace. Mix it well,
-and when cold put up the catchup in small jars, the covers pasted all
-round with bands of white paper. This catchup, when done, should be very
-thick and smooth.
-
-
-LEMON CATCHUP.--Take six fine large ripe lemons, and roll them under
-your hand to increase the quantity of juice. Grate off all the yellow
-rind, and squeeze the juice into a pitcher, removing all the seeds.
-Prepare two ounces of finely scraped horse-radish, and two ounces of
-minced shalots, or very small onions. Put them into a pint of boiling
-vinegar, in which half an ounce of bruised ginger and a quarter of an
-ounce of mace have been simmered for five minutes. Add to this the
-lemon-juice and the grated peel, and two grated nutmegs. Boil all
-together for half an hour, and then transfer it with all the ingredients
-to a glass jar with a lid. Paste a band of strong white paper round the
-lower part of the lid. Set it in a dry cool place, and leave it
-undisturbed for three months. Then, through a funnel, pour off the
-liquid into small bottles, putting a tea-spoonful of salad oil at the
-top of each. Cork and seal them.
-
-
-CUCUMBER CATCHUP.--For a small quantity of this catchup, take twelve
-fine full-grown cucumbers, and lay them an hour in cold water. Then pare
-them, and grate them down into a deep dish. Grate also two small onions,
-and mix them with the grated cucumber. Season the mixture to your taste
-with pepper, salt, and vinegar, making it of the consistence of very
-thick marmalade or jam. When thoroughly amalgamated, transfer it to a
-glass jar. Cover it closely, tying over it a piece of bladder, so as to
-render it perfectly air-tight.
-
-It will be found very nice, (when fresh cucumbers are not in season,) to
-eat with beef or mutton. And if properly made, and securely covered,
-will keep well. It should be grated very fine, and the vinegar must be
-of very excellent quality--real cider vinegar.
-
-
-CAMP CATCHUP.--Take a pint or quart of strong ale or porter, and a pint
-of white wine; half a dozen shalots, or very small onions, peeled and
-minced; half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of nutmeg, broken up; and
-two large roots or races of ginger, sliced. Put all together, over a
-moderate fire, into a porcelain-lined kettle, and boil it slowly till
-one-third of the liquid is wasted. Next day transfer it to small
-bottles, putting a portion of the seasoning in the bottom of each, and
-filling them to the top with the liquid. Finish with a tea-spoonful of
-salad oil at the top. Cork the bottles with good corks, and seal them.
-In a dry place this catchup will keep for years.
-
-
-TARRAGON VINEGAR.--The fresh leaves of the tarragon plant are in
-perfection in July and August, and impart a new and pleasant taste to
-soups, hashes, gravies, &c. To use it fresh, wash a bunch of tarragon in
-cold water. Afterwards strip off the green leaves, chop or mince them,
-and boil a tea-spoonful or more in the dish you intend to flavor. The
-best way of keeping tarragon is to strip off as many fresh leaves as
-will half fill a glass jar that holds a quart. Pour on as much _real_
-cider vinegar as will fill up the jar. Cover it closely, and let the
-tarragon infuse in it for a week, shaking the jar every day. Then pour
-off that vinegar carefully, and throw away the tarragon leaves that have
-been steeping in it. Wash that jar, or take another clean one, put into
-it the same quantity of fresh tarragon leaves, and fill up with the same
-vinegar in which you have infused the first supply. Let the second
-leaves remain in the jar of vinegar. A tarragon bush is well worth
-planting; even in a small city garden.
-
-Tarragon is the chief ingredient of French mustard.
-
-
-FINE FRENCH MUSTARD.--Take a jill or two large wine-glasses of tarragon
-vinegar, (strained from the leaves,) and mix with it an equal quantity
-of salad oil, stirring them well together. Pound in a mortar, two ounces
-of mustard seed till it becomes a fine smooth powder, and mix it
-thoroughly. Add to it one clove of garlic (not more) peeled, minced and
-pounded. Make the mixture in a deep white-ware dish. If the mustard
-affects your eyes, put on glasses till you have finished the mixture.
-When done, put it up in white bottles, or gallipots. Cork them tightly,
-and seal the corks. Send it to table in those bottles.
-
-This mustard is far superior to any other, the tarragon imparting a
-peculiar and pleasant flavor.
-
-It is excellent to eat with any sort of roast meat, particularly beef or
-mutton, and an improvement to almost all plain sauces, stews, soups, &c.
-
-French mustard is to be purchased very good, at all the best grocery
-stores.
-
-
-SAUCE ROBERT.--Peel five large onions, and parboil them to take off some
-of the strength. Cut them into small dice, and put them into a stew-pan
-with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided into four, and
-dredged with flour. When they are well browned, pour on them half a pint
-of beef or veal gravy, and let it simmer for a quarter of an hour.
-Season it slightly with cayenne. Just before it goes to table, stir in a
-table-spoonful of French mustard.
-
-This is a good sauce for any sort of roast meat, or poultry.
-
-
-GREEN MAYONNAISE.--This is a fine accompaniment to cold poultry, which
-must be cut into small pieces as for chicken salad, using only the white
-meat. To begin the mayonnaise. Put into a shallow pan the yolks only of
-three fresh eggs, having strained out the specks. Having beaten them
-till light and thick, add, by degrees, a half pint of salad oil,
-stirring it in gradually, so that no oil whatever is to be seen on the
-surface. Then add two table-spoonfuls of tarragon vinegar. Next a few
-drops of shalot vinegar, or a _very small_ onion minced as finely as
-possible. If you have at hand any clear meat gravy (for instance,
-veal,) stir in two or three table-spoonsful. Add the grated yellow rind,
-and the juice of a lemon. Pound as much spinach as will yield a small
-tea-cupful of green juice. Give it a short boil up, to take off the
-rawness, and mix it with the mayonnaise. When cool, pour it over the
-dish of cold poultry.
-
-
-EPICUREAN SAUCE.--Pound in a mortar five or six anchovies; a heaped
-table-spoonful of minced tarragon leaves; a shalot, or very small onion,
-two or three pickled gherkins, finely minced; the yolks of four
-hard-boiled eggs, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a large
-table-spoonful of French mustard. If you have no good butter, mix a
-sufficient portion of olive oil to moisten it well. Let the whole be
-thoroughly mixed. Put it into a bowl, and set it on ice till wanted.
-Then mould it into pats of equal size. Arrange them on small glass or
-china plates, and send them to table for dinner company, to eat with the
-cheese.
-
-
-EAST INDIA SAUCE FOR FISH.--Mix well together a jill of India soy; a
-jill of chili vinegar; half a pint of walnut catchup, and a pint of
-mushroom-catchup. Shake the whole hard, and transfer it to small green
-bottles, putting a tea-spoonful of sweet oil at the top of each, and
-keep the sauce in a cool dry place. If you have not a fish castor, bring
-the store sauces to table in the small bottles they are kept in. When
-eating fish, mix a little of this with the melted butter on your plate.
-
-
-CURRY POWDER.--Curry powder originates in India, where it is much used
-as a peculiar flavoring for soups, stews, and hashes. With curry dishes,
-boiled rice is always served up, not only in a separate dish, but also
-heaped round the stew in a thick even border. To make curry powder,
-pound in a marble mortar three ounces of turmeric, three ounces of
-coriander seed, and a quarter of an ounce of cayenne; one ounce of
-mustard, one ounce of cardamoms, a half ounce of cummin seed, and half
-an ounce of mace. Let all these ingredients be thoroughly mixed in the
-mortar, and then sift it through a fine sieve, dry it for an hour before
-the fire, and put it into clean bottles, securing the corks well. Use
-from two to three table-spoonfuls at a time, in proportion to the size
-of the dish you intend to curry.
-
-It may be mixed into the gravy of any of the preceding receipts for
-stews. Two ounces of finely grated cocoa-nut is a pleasant improvement
-to curried dishes, and is universally liked.
-
-The curry powder you buy is frequently much adulterated with inferior
-articles. The best curry powder imported from India is of a dark green
-color, and not yellow or red. It has among its ingredients, tamarinds,
-_not_ preserved, as we always get them--but raw in the shell. These
-tamarinds impart a pleasant acid to the mixture. For want of them use a
-lemon.
-
-
-MADRAS CURRY POWDER.--Pound separately, and sift, six ounces of
-coriander seed, three of turmeric, one of black pepper, two of cummin,
-one of fennel seed, and half an ounce of cayenne. Mix all together, put
-them into a glass jar or bottle, and seal the cover.
-
-With less turmeric, you may use ginger or sassafras.
-
-Curry powder may be added to any stew of meat, poultry, or game. Boiled
-rice must always accompany a dish of curry.
-
-The ingredients indispensable to all curries (and you may make a curry
-of any nice meat, or poultry, or even of oysters) is a very pungent
-powder, prepared for the purpose with turmeric. Also onions and boiled
-rice. In India there is always something acid in the mixture, as lemons,
-sour apple juice, or green tamarinds. The turmeric has a peculiar flavor
-of its own.
-
-
-STORE SAUCES.--The celebrated English sauces, for fish and game,
-Harvey's sauce, (which is the best,) Quin's, Reading's, Kitchener's,
-Soyer's, &c., are all very good, and keep well, if genuine. They are
-imported in small sealed bottles, and are to be had of all the best
-grocers. To make them at home, is so troublesome and expensive, that it
-is better to buy them. They are, however, very nice, and are generally
-introduced at dinner parties; a little being mixed on your plate with
-the melted butter. If you have no fish castors, bring these sauces to
-table in their own bottles, to be carried round by a servant.
-
-
-FINE PINK SAUCE.--Take a pint of excellent port wine, the juice and
-grated yellow rinds of four large lemons, two dozen blades of mace and a
-large nutmeg, broken up; with a quarter of an ounce of prepared
-cochineal, or a small tea-spoonful of alkanet chips. Add a
-table-spoonful of fresh salad oil. Mix the whole well in a wide-mouthed
-glass jar with a lid. Let the ingredients infuse a fortnight; stirring
-it several times a day. Then strain it, pour it through a funnel into
-small bottles, and seal the corks. It will give a fine pink color to
-drawn butter. Eat it with any sort of fish or game.
-
-Alkanet produces a much finer color than cochineal, but it must unite
-with some substance of an oily nature to give out its color to
-advantage. It is very cheap, and very beautiful, and to be had at the
-druggist's. Infuse it tied in a thin muslin bag.
-
-
-WINE SAUCE FOR VENISON OR GAME.--Take the half of a sixpenny loaf of
-bread. Cut off all the crust. Put the crumb (or soft part) into a bowl,
-and pour on sufficient good port wine to steep it. Soak the bread in the
-wine till dissolved. Then add two heaped table-spoonsful of fresh
-butter, and two heaped spoonsful of sugar; seasoning with powdered mace
-and nutmeg, and the grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon. Beat all
-together till very smooth. Put it into a sauce-pan, and give it one boil
-up; taking it off as soon as it comes to a boil. Send it to table hot.
-It is a fine company sauce for venison, or hare, or any sort of game.
-
-
-FINE PUDDING SAUCE.--Take a large half-pint cup of the best fresh
-butter, and the same quantity of powdered loaf-sugar. Put them together
-in an earthen pan, and beat them to a light thick cream. Then mix a jill
-or wine-glass of boiling water, and a large wine-glass of the best
-brandy, with the grated yellow rind and juice of a large lemon or
-orange; and a small nutmeg, grated. Mix these ingredients, gradually,
-with the beaten butter and sugar; and transfer the sauce to a small
-tureen, putting a spoon or ladle into it.
-
-If designed for sauce to a plum-pudding or any other large one, you will
-require a pint of butter, a pint of sugar, half a pint of boiling water
-with half a pint of brandy, two lemons or oranges, and a _large_ nutmeg,
-or two small ones. Divide the sauce in two tureens. A boiled pudding for
-company requires no finer sauce than this.
-
-Where _real_ cream is plenty, a bowl of it well sweetened with sugar,
-and flavored with nutmeg, is nice for any boiled pudding. If you add
-wine or lemon juice to cream sauce, previously mix the acid with the
-sugar, and make it very sweet before you put them to the cream, lest it
-should curdle.
-
-
-VANILLA SAUCE.--Split and break up a small stick of vanilla, and boil it
-in a very little milk, till all the vanilla flavor is extracted. Then
-strain it through very fine muslin, and stir it into the cream. Give it
-one boil up in a small porcelain sauce-pan; and sweeten it well with
-white sugar.
-
-
-PLAIN SAUCE FOR PUDDING.--Stir together (as in making pound cake) equal
-quantities of fresh butter and white sugar. This is the usual
-proportion; but if you can stir or beat it easily, try a little less
-butter, and a little more of the sugar. Grate in some nutmeg, and the
-yellow rind of a fresh lemon, and send it to table heaped on a small
-plate, with a tea-spoon near it.[E]
-
- [E] The butter and sugar sauce is very nice flavored and colored with
- the juice of strawberries or raspberries.
-
-Many persons prefer, with plain puddings, cold butter on a butter plate,
-and sugar from the sugar-bowl; mixing it for themselves on their own
-plate. This is best for boiled fruit pudding or dumplings; and for egg
-or batter puddings, molasses or syrup is very good; and costs but
-little.
-
-
-CRANBERRY SAUCE.--Pick the cranberries clean, seeing that no stems,
-sticks, or dead leaves are left among them. Put them into a cullender,
-or sieve, and wash them through two waters. Cook them in a
-porcelain-lined, or enameled stew-pan, without any additional water. The
-water that remains about them after washing is quite sufficient for
-stewing them properly. No stewed fruit should be too thin or liquid.
-Keep a steady heat under the cranberries, stirring them up from the
-bottom frequently: and when they are soft, mash them with the back of
-the spoon. When they are quite shapeless, take them off the fire, and
-while they are very hot, stir in, gradually, an ample quantity of nice
-_brown_ sugar. They require much sweetening. Season them with nothing
-else. Their natural flavor is sufficient (if well sweetened) and cannot
-be improved by spice, lemon, or any of the usual condiments. Always buy
-the largest and ripest cranberries. The best things are cheapest in the
-end.
-
-In stewing any sort of fruit, do not add the sugar till the fruit is
-done, and taken from the fire. If sweetened at the beginning, much of
-the strength of the sugar evaporates in cooking; besides rendering the
-fruit tough and hard, and retarding the progress of the stew.
-
-In America, sweet sauce is eaten with any sort of roast meat. Send it to
-table cold. For company, put it into a blanc-mange mould, and turn it
-out in a shape, first dipping the mould, for a minute, in warm water to
-loosen it.
-
-
-APPLE SAUCE.--Get fine juicy apples--bellflowers are the best for
-cooking. Sweet apples cook very badly--becoming tough, dry and
-tasteless. Green apples, if full grown, cook well, and have a pleasant
-acid.
-
-For sauce, pare, core, and quarter or slice the apples. Wash the pieces
-in a cullender, and put them to stew, with only water enough to wet them
-a little. Apple stews that are thin and watery are disgraceful to the
-cook, or to the cook's mistress. Let them stew till you can mash them
-easily all through. Then take them off the fire, and sweeten them,
-adding the seasoning while the apples are warm. Season with rose-water,
-lemon juice, nutmeg; or with all these if for company. If you can get
-fresh lemon-peel, cut it into very thin slips, and put it in to stew
-with the apples at first. It is still better, and little more trouble,
-to grate the lemon-peel.
-
-Fruit for pies should be stewed in the same manner as for sauce, and not
-sweetened till taken from the fire. Let the paste be baked empty in
-large deep plates, and when cool, filled to the brim with stewed fruit.
-A pie, (as we have seen them,) only half or one third full, looks very
-meanly--and tastes so.
-
-All these fruit-sauces are good receipts for stewing fruit for pies or
-any other purpose.
-
-We advise all families to have, among their kitchen utensils, _bain
-maries_, or double-kettles, putting the article to be stewed in the
-inner kettle, and the boiling water in the outside one. They are to be
-had of all sizes at the furnishing stores. They are also excellent for
-custards and boiled puddings.
-
-
-BAKED APPLE SAUCE.--Core very nicely as many fine juicy apples as will
-fill a large baking-pan. All coring of apples should be done with a tin
-cover. This you can buy at a tinman's for a quarter dollar, and it is
-invaluable for the purpose. After coring the apples, pare them smooth
-and evenly. Put a large table-spoonful of cold water in the bottom of
-the baking-pan, and then put in the apples first, filling, with fine
-brown sugar, the hole from whence the core was taken out. To have them
-very nice, add some grated lemon-peel, or some rose-water. Set the pan
-into an oven, (not too hot,) close the oven, and bake till the apples
-are all broken and can be easily mashed. This way of making apple sauce,
-by baking in a close oven, will be found far superior to boiling or
-stewing them. They require no more water than is barely sufficient to
-give them a start at the bottom.
-
-The flavoring (sugar, lemon, or rose,) may be deferred till the apples
-are baked, taken out of the oven and mashed. Then mix it in while hot.
-
-Boiled apple sauce is usually spoiled with too much water, rendering it
-the consistence of thin pap, weak, washy, and mean.
-
-
-GOOSEBERRY SAUCE.--Get fine full-grown green gooseberries. Pick them
-over, and top and tail them. Wash them in a cullender or sieve through
-two waters. Put them into an enameled stew-pan, with only the water
-remaining on them after washing, and no sugar till after they are stewed
-to a mash, and taken from the fire. Then while hot, stir in brown sugar
-enough to make them very sweet. Serve them up cold. For company, before
-they are sweetened, press them through a sieve, using only the pulp.
-Then add the sugar; and mould the whole in a form.
-
-
-CURRANT SAUCE.--Take fine ripe currants, and strip them from the stems.
-Put them into a pan, and mash them with a large spoon, or a wooden
-beetle. Stew them in their own juice (no water,) and sweeten them when
-they are taken from the fire. For company, press the fruit through a
-sieve before you add the sugar, and shape it in a mould.
-
-It will answer every purpose of regular currant jelly, to eat with game,
-venison, &c.
-
-
-RIPE PEACH SAUCE.--Take juicy freestone peaches; pare and stone them,
-and cut them up. Save all the juice, and stew them in it. When quite
-soft, take them off the fire, and sweeten them. The flavor will be much
-improved by stewing with them a bunch of fresh peach leaves, to be taken
-out when the peaches are done. Or, if you cannot readily obtain the
-leaves, a handful of the fresh peach kernels, stewed with the fruit,
-(and to be taken out afterwards,) will answer the purpose.
-
-It is well, even in the sunny side of a city garden, to plant two peach
-stones; so that when they grow into trees, you may have peach leaves at
-hand for improving the flavor of custards, and other things. Unless the
-trees are perfectly healthy, and the leaves green, do not use them.
-
-
-DRIED PEACH SAUCE.--The richest and best dried peaches, are those that
-are dried with the skins on. The skins (however thick,) entirely
-dissolve in cooking, and become imperceptible when the fruit is well
-stewed. It is a great error to pare peaches for drying. Apples _must_ be
-pared, for the skin is tougher than that of peaches, and does not
-dissolve in cooking.
-
-To prepare dried peaches for stewing, pick them over carefully, throwing
-away all the imperfect pieces. Wash them in two cold waters, and then
-put them into a stew-pan, (_adding no water_,) and stew them till they
-are quite soft, and shapeless, and mash easily and smoothly in the pan.
-Sweeten them with plenty of brown sugar, as soon as they come off the
-fire.
-
-
-DRIED APPLE SAUCE.--Wash the dried apples through a cullender, and put
-_a very little water_ with them in the stew-pan. Being rather insipid,
-they require some additional flavor. Add cinnamon, or other spice of
-any sort you like, and the yellow rind of a fresh lemon or orange, pared
-very thin and cut into slips. When these apples are well stewed and
-mashed, sweeten them.
-
-We believe, that when dried peaches can be procured, few will buy dried
-apples; they are so far inferior; being the poorest of dried fruit.
-
-Dried cherries also are scarcely worth cooking, even if they _have_ been
-stoned. Being tough and indigestible, they are very unwholesome, except
-for rough, hard-working people. If the stones are left in, dried
-cherries are fit for nothing.
-
-
-DAMSON SAUCE.--Having stewed the damsons in their own juice, till all
-the stones slip out, (and can be easily removed with a spoon, when taken
-from the fire,) make them very sweet by stirring in a large portion of
-brown sugar.
-
-Damsons, cranberries, and gooseberries require more sugar than any other
-fruit.
-
-
-FINE PRUNE SAUCE.--Wash a pound of prunes, and stew them in orange
-juice, adding the yellow rind of an orange, pared so fine as to be
-transparent--or grate it. Stir them up frequently, and when quite done,
-and the stones are all loose, sweeten the prunes with plenty of sugar.
-
-Prune sauce is eaten with venison, or any sort of game; or with roast
-kid or fawn--or with roast pig.
-
-
-CHESTNUT SAUCE.--Take the large Spanish chestnuts. Cut a slit in the
-side of each, and roast them well. Peel them, and put them into a
-saucepan of very rich melted butter. If you use American chestnuts, boil
-them till quite soft, (trying two or three to ascertain,) then peel, and
-thicken your melted butter with them. American chestnuts are too small
-to roast.
-
-
-PEA-NUT SAUCE.--Having roasted and shelled a pint of pea-nuts, or
-ground-nuts, remove the thin brown skin, and simmer the nuts in melted
-or drawn butter; adding some fine fresh oysters, omitting the gristle.
-
-
-
-
-VEGETABLES.
-
-
-All vegetables are best when fresh, as can easily be discovered by the
-difference between those newly brought from the garden, and those that
-have been kept in a provision shop till next day, (and perhaps longer,)
-imbibing the atmosphere of meat, fish, poultry, and a variety of things,
-each becoming impure from the same causes; not to mention the rats,
-mice, and insects which run over them at night. You cannot have
-vegetables in perfection without a country garden. But if obliged to
-depend upon the market or the provision shops, always have your
-vegetables washed and laid in cold water before cooking. Some are best
-when put on to boil in cold water; others require boiling water at the
-beginning, to give them what the cooks call a quick start. All should be
-thoroughly done throughout. If hard in the centre they are unpalatable,
-and very unwholesome; even worse than underdone meat. Use but very
-little salt in cooking vegetables; too much renders them hard, and
-overpowers their real taste. Also, it is easy for the lovers of salt to
-add more when at table. When vegetables are done, and taken out the pot,
-drain them well through a cullender or sieve, carefully pressing out all
-the water that is about them. There is generally, in our country, too
-much water allowed to the vegetables. Merely enough to cover them well,
-and keep them from burning, is in most cases sufficient. In France, so
-little water is used in cooking vegetables, that they are rather stewed
-than boiled, and are the better for it. A puddle of greasy water in the
-bottom of every vegetable dish is a disgusting sight; and yet how
-frequently it is seen. If of every-day occurrence, it is a certain
-indication of a bad cook, or an inefficient mistress, or both.
-
-Almost all green vegetables should be thrown into fast-boiling water,
-and cooked rapidly; first washing them carefully, and laying them for
-half an hour in a large pan of cold water. If found frozen in the
-winter, be sure to thaw them in cold water. Continue the boiling till
-they are thoroughly done, and with a steady heat, taking off the scum
-as it rises.
-
-It is very usual in the spring to bring early vegetables from the south,
-for the markets of Philadelphia and New York. By the time they reach us
-they are faded, withered, tough and unwholesome. It is better to wait a
-week or two longer till the season is a little more advanced, and the
-farms and gardens of our neighborhood can supply our own markets, at a
-far less cost, and with fresher and better vegetables.
-
-The water in which vegetables have been boiled becomes very unwholesome,
-and should be thrown out immediately.
-
-
-BOILED POTATOS.--To have boiled potatos in perfection they should all be
-of a good sort and as nearly as possible of the same size. Till it is
-time to cook them, let the slight mould or earth that has adhered to the
-potatos in digging, be carefully washed off, even scrubbing them with a
-hard brush. This can be done very conveniently, by laying them under the
-hydrant or pump, washing them there with a broom, and letting the water
-run on them.
-
-An iron pot is the best of all things for boiling potatos, as it retains
-the heat longer than any other utensil. Lay them in it, closely and
-compactly, and pour in barely sufficient cold water to cover them well,
-adding a tea-spoonful of salt. Simmer them till nearly done, which you
-may ascertain by probing all through with a fork. You may quicken the
-fire for the last five minutes. Pour off all the water from them as soon
-as they are tender all through. Lift the lid of the pot at one side to
-allow the steam to pass off, and set them beside the fire, or on a
-trevet far above it, till the moisture has escaped; the potatos will
-then be dry and mealy. Then peel them; or if preferred, send them to
-table with the skin on, which will keep them hot longer.
-
-If the potatos are old, cut a piece of skin (about the size of a
-sixpence) from the top and bottom before boiling; or, take off a long
-slip from each side. In the spring, when quite old, cut out all the
-blemishes, pare the potatos, and always boil them for mashing.
-
-
-ROAST POTATOS.--Potatos for roasting should always be large and fine. If
-small, "they go all to skin." Select those that are nearest of a size,
-and wash them very clean, and wipe every one with a cloth. Put them into
-an oven, and let them roast or bake for more than two hours, turning
-them with a fork. Dish them in the skins, and send only cold butter to
-table with them. Bake sweet potatos in the same manner, but much longer.
-Small sweet potatos should be boiled; as, when small, they are not worth
-cooking in any other way; and when roasted there is scarcely any thing
-of them, but tough shriveled skin.
-
-
-BAKED POTATOS.--Pare some fine potatos all about the same size, and
-cover with them the whole bottom of a large deep earthen dish; lay them
-close together so that they all touch. Bake them under a nice piece of
-beef, veal, or pork, raised above them on a trivet. The gravy from the
-meat will drip upon them as soon as it begins to bake. They must bake
-till they are nicely browned, and till a fork will easily go through
-them. Have a smaller dish of potatos baked without meat, in a dish by
-themselves, as potatos pared before baking are much liked. Lay some bits
-of fresh butter among those that are cooked without any meat.
-
-
-TO BOIL NEW POTATOS.--Rub each one with a coarse cloth to clear off the
-skin, it being too thin for paring. Wash them well, and cut a small
-piece off the top and bottom of each potato, to make them boil tender
-all through. Put no salt in the water, and boil them till soft. Serve
-them plain, and eat them with cold butter--or, put them into a
-sauce-pan, and stew them in butter.
-
-
-MASHED POTATOS.--Having boiled the potatos till tender all through,
-drain them very dry in a cullender, and mash them smoothly with a potato
-beetle, a large wooden spoon, or a short-handled wooden ladle. When all
-are nicely mashed, add gradually plenty of fresh butter, and some cream
-or rich milk. On no account spoil the potatos by putting any water to
-them, when mashing. Put them into a deep dish or mould, and brown them
-with a salamander.
-
-
-POTATO CAKES.--After the mashed potatos are mixed with butter in a deep
-earthen pan, beat them with a wooden spoon to render them very light.
-Then make them up into thick flat cakes, about the size of a muffin, and
-brown each with a salamander.
-
-
-COUNTRY POTATOS.--Having boiled and peeled some fine newly-dug potatos,
-melt some butter in a sauce-pan, with cream, instead of flour and water,
-and pour it plentifully into the dish of potatos; seasoning with black
-pepper and sweet marjoram leaves. Where cream is plenty, this is a very
-nice way of cooking. Serve them up with the sauce poured over them, and
-around them. They must be well boiled, and tender all through.
-
-
-FRIED POTATOS.--The potatos must be raw, large, unblemished, and of a
-good round shape. First take off a thin paring of the skin. Then, pare
-the whole potato round and round, (not too thin,) till you have gone
-through it all, and nothing is left unpared but a little lump in the
-centre. Then put these continuous rings of potato into a frying-pan, in
-which is boiling plenty of fresh butter, or butter and lard mixed. Fry
-them brown and tender, and arrange them handsomely in a dish for
-breakfast.
-
-_Another Way._--Slice thin a sufficiency of fine raw potatos, and lay
-them in a pan of cold water to soak for an hour or more. Then pour off
-that water entirely, and replace it with fresh. Let them remain in this
-for another hour, or till it is time to cook them. Put them into a
-frying-pan that has in it plenty of fresh butter or lard, enough, while
-frying, to keep the potatos near the surface. Fry them till perfectly
-well done and tender.
-
-Attempting to re-cook cold potatos renders them more hard and tough.
-
-When once cold, potatos always remain indigestible, cook them as you
-will.
-
-
-STEWED POTATOS.--Having pared some fine raw potatos, quarter them, and
-put them into a stew-pan with a little salt, pepper, and some green
-sweet marjoram stripped from the stalks, and scattered among the
-potatos. Put them into a stew-pan with milk enough to prevent their
-burning, and some fresh butter--no water. If you can get cream
-conveniently, add some to the milk. Cover the pan, and let the potatos
-stew, till, on trying them with a fork, you find them thoroughly cooked,
-and soft and tender all through. If not sufficiently done, they are
-hard, tough, leathery, and unfit to eat.
-
-They are very good stewed entirely in the dripping of cold gravy of
-roast beef, veal, or pork--but not mutton, as that will give them the
-taste of tallow. This is a nice breakfast dish. Cold potatos re-cooked
-never again become good. After potatos once become cold, no cooking can
-restore them.
-
-
-STEWED SWEET POTATOS.--These should first be scraped or pared. Then cut
-into pieces, and stewed as above.
-
-
-BOILED CABBAGE.--All cabbage should be well washed, and boiled in a
-large quantity of water with a little salt; the loose or faded leaves
-being stripped from the outside. They should always be cut or split in
-two, or in four pieces if very large. Cut the stalk short, and split it
-up to where the leaves begin. Put it on in boiling water, and keep it
-boiling steadily till quite done, which will not be till the stalk is
-tender throughout. If a young summer cabbage, split it in half, and when
-well boiled, and drained and pressed in a cullender, serve it up with a
-few bits of cold fresh butter, laid inside among the leaves. Season it
-with pepper. This is a much nicer and easier way, than to make drawn
-butter, and pour over the outside of the cabbage.
-
-Sprouts and very young greens, require nothing more than to be well
-washed, boiled and drained. In the country, cabbage sprouts are commonly
-boiled with bacon.
-
-Savoy cabbage is considered the finest sort. It is a late autumn and
-winter cabbage. If very large, split it in four. Do not boil it with
-meat. The fat will render it strong and unwholesome. Still worse, when
-melted butter is added to a cabbage already saturated with the fat of
-corned beef.
-
-
-AN EXCELLENT WAY OF BOILING CABBAGE.--Having trimmed the cabbage, and
-washed it well in cold water, (examining the leaves to see that no
-insects are lurking among them,) cut it almost into quarters, but do not
-divide it entirely down at the stem, which should be cut off just below
-the termination of the leaves. Let it lie an hour in a pan of cold
-water. Have ready a pot _full_ of boiling water, seasoned with a small
-tea-spoonful of salt. Put the cabbage into it, and let it boil for an
-hour and a half, skimming it occasionally. Then take it out; put it into
-a cullender to drain, and when all the hot water has drained off; set it
-under the hydrant. Let the hydrant run on it, till the cabbage has
-become perfectly cold all through. If you have no hydrant, set it under
-a pump, or keep pouring cold water on it from a pitcher. Then, having
-thrown out all the first water, and washed the pot, fill it again, and
-let the second water boil. During this time the cabbage under the
-hydrant will be growing cold. Then put it on again in the second water,
-and boil it two hours, or two and a half. Even the thickest part of the
-stalk must be perfectly tender all through. When thoroughly done, take
-up the cabbage, drain it well through the cullender, pressing it down
-with a broad ladle to squeeze out all the moisture; lay it in a deep
-dish, and cut it _entirely_ apart, dividing it into quarters. Lay some
-bits of fresh butter among the leaves, add a little pepper, cover the
-dish, and send it to table hot.
-
-Cooked in this manner it will be made perfectly wholesome, and the
-usually unpleasant cabbage smell will be rendered imperceptible. We
-recommend it highly.
-
-
-CALE CANNON.--Boil in one pot a fine large cabbage, and when done, drain
-and press it in a cullender till all the water is squeezed out. Have
-boiled in another, four or five large mealy potatos. Peel and mash the
-potatos, and chop the cabbage small. Mix the cabbage and the potatos
-evenly, in one large dish, and season them with black pepper; adding
-some bits of nice butter. Cale cannon is a plain family dish, but is
-very good, when all the dinner corresponds.
-
-
-FRIED CABBAGE.--Parboil a fine cabbage. When half-boiled, take it out,
-drain it, and lay it awhile in cold water, to remove the cabbage smell.
-Next put it into a clean pot of fresh water, and boil it again till
-thoroughly done. Afterwards, chop it small, season it with pepper and
-salt, and fry it in fresh butter.
-
-A less delicate way is to fry it in boiling lard, taking care to drain
-it well. It should be eaten only by people in good health.
-
-
-FORCED CABBAGE--(_Choux farcie._)--This is for dinner company. Take two
-fine fresh cabbages, and examine them well to see that there are no
-insects hidden among the leaves. Wash the cabbages in cold water, and
-drain them. Take out the heart or inside cluster of leaves in the centre
-of each cabbage, leaving a circle of them standing. Cut off the stalk
-near the bottom, but not so close as to cause the cabbage to fall apart.
-You may leave a double circle of leaves. Have ready plenty of stuffing,
-or forcemeat, made of veal or fresh pork minced finely, cold ham or
-smoked tongue minced also, grated bread-crumbs, fresh butter, powdered
-mace, sweet marjoram and sweet basil, grated lemon-peel, and two
-hard-boiled yolks of egg, crumbled fine. Fill the cabbages full with
-this stuffing, and to keep them in shape, tie them firmly round in
-several places, with strings of twine or bass. They must be tied in the
-form of a round ball. Put them into a stew-pot, with water enough to
-cover them well, and let them stew till thoroughly done. Take them up
-immediately before they are wanted, and remove the strings that have
-kept them in shape while cooking. Red cabbages may be done in this way.
-
-
-FRENCH SOUR CROUT.--This may be made fresh every day, and has none of
-the objections generally alleged against the German saur-kraut. Having
-taken out the stalks or cores, split into quarters, four large
-white-heart cabbages. Shred them fine with a cabbage-cutter. Wash them
-well in two waters, and drain them in a cullender. Next lay the shred
-cabbages in a large earthen pan, add a table-spoonful of salt, and a
-pint of the best cider vinegar. Stir and toss the cabbage in this, and
-let it steep for three hours. Then wash and drain it, and put it into a
-large stew-pan, with half a pound of nice sweet butter, or a quarter of
-a pound of lard. Season it with a little black pepper, and three
-table-spoonfuls of French mustard, or a jill of tarragon vinegar. Cover
-the whole with a buttered white paper, and stew it slowly for two hours
-longer. Take off the paper, and send the sour crout to table in a
-covered dish.
-
-You may lay on the top of the stew, a pound of sausage meat, or of
-sausage cakes. Or a thin slice or two of cold ham.
-
-
-DRESSING FOR SLAW.--Mix a small pint of real cider vinegar with four
-large table-spoonfuls of nice fresh butter, divided into four bits, and
-each bit rolled in flour; a tea-spoon of salt, and a salt-spoon of
-cayenne. Being well stirred, and mixed thoroughly, boil this in a
-porcelain-lined sauce-pan; and, as soon as it has come to a fast boil,
-remove it from the fire, and stir in the beaten yolk of four eggs. Have
-ready a nice fresh white cabbage, that has been washed, drained, and
-cut, or shaved, into small shreds with a cabbage cutter. Lay the shred
-cabbage in a deep dish or bowl, while you prepare the above dressing.
-Having taken it from the fire, and stirred in, gradually, the beaten
-yolk of egg, pour the dressing hot over the cabbage: mixing it all with
-a large boxwood salad-spoon or fork. Set it out of doors to cool; or
-cool it quickly on ice or snow.
-
-Or if preferred warm, place it on the top of a stove, and cover it
-closely till wanted. It may be made of red cabbage.
-
-This slaw (either cold or warm) will be found very superior to all
-others, if this receipt is exactly followed.
-
-
-SALSIFY FRITTERS.--Having washed and scraped the salsify roots, and cut
-off the extreme joints, stand them up and grate them. Beat three eggs
-very light, and stir them gradually into a pint of milk, with sufficient
-flour to make a stiff batter. Instead of grating the salsify you may cut
-it into pieces, and boil it till quite soft, so that you can mash it
-easily. Add a little pepper. Have ready over the fire a deep frying-pan
-or skillet, with plenty of boiling lard. Put in a large spoonful of the
-batter, and into the middle of each drop a spoonful of the mashed
-salsify. Fry these fritters of a light brown on both sides, and take
-them out with a perforated skimmer, draining off the lard through its
-holes.
-
-You may fry the mashed salsify without the batter, taking large
-spoonfuls, and dipping each in beaten egg first, and afterward twice
-over in grated bread-crumbs, so as to resemble fried oysters.
-
-Or you may first boil the roots merely split in two, and then fry them
-in fresh butter, or bake them brown in an oven.
-
-
-SALSIFY OYSTERS.--Get some fine salsify roots, (called also
-oyster-plant,) and wash and scrape them well. Boil them in sufficient
-fresh oyster liquor to cover them well, and when they are soft take them
-out, split them, and cut them into pieces about two inches long. Then
-put them into a stew-pan, with the oyster liquor, some pieces of fresh
-butter rolled in flour, and some blades of mace and some grated nutmeg,
-with a few whole pepper-corns. Let them cook between five and ten
-minutes, having stirred among them the beaten yolks of two or three
-eggs. Serve them up hot, as a side dish.
-
-
-MELONGINA OR EGG-PLANT.--Take a large fine egg-plant, and see that there
-are no blemishes about it. Having cut it into thin round slices,
-(without paring off the skin,) sprinkle between the slices a very little
-salt and pepper, cover them with a plate, and let them rest an hour
-more. Then wipe the pieces dry. Have some beaten egg in one deep plate,
-and some bread-crumbs, finely grated, in another. Dip each slice of
-egg-plant first into the beaten egg, and then into the bread-crumbs, and
-fry them brown in a pan full of boiling lard, or else lard and fresh
-butter mixed in equal quantities. Take them out with a perforated
-skimmer, and drain them well.
-
-They will be much better if each slice is dipped _twice_ in the egg, and
-twice in the crumbs.
-
-They may be fried very plainly, simply dredged with flour, and then put
-into a pan with plenty of boiling lard, the lard drained well from each
-slice when it is done. They should be fried brown on both sides. If
-underdone, and left greenish or whitish, they have a raw bitter taste.
-
-
-BAKED EGG-PLANTS.--Prepare several fine large unblemished egg-plants, by
-scooping out the inside or pulp with a spoon, leaving the rind standing.
-To do this you must cut off very nicely and evenly a round piece from
-the top, (afterwards to be tied on again.) Make a sufficient quantity of
-forcemeat or stuffing of soaked bread, pressed and dried slightly; fresh
-butter; minced sweet marjoram leaves; a little pepper and salt; and some
-powdered mace, and the yellow rind of a lemon grated off very fine. Mix
-all these with the pulp or inside of the egg-plant. When thoroughly
-mixed, stuff with it the rind or outside into a perfectly round shape,
-and with a packthread tie on the top-piece which was cut off. Put the
-egg-plants into a dish, the bottom covered with thin slices of cold ham.
-Bake them for an hour or more, and then send them to table whole, with
-the slices of ham laid round on the dish. Remove the strings.
-
-
-FRIED BANANAS.--The bananas should be perfectly ripe and yellow all
-over. Peel them, split them into long slips, and dredge them slightly
-with flour. Have ready a frying pan filled with boiling lard. Put in the
-bananas, and fry them well. When done, take them up on a perforated
-skimmer, and drain back the lard into the frying pan. Dish, and send
-them to table with powdered sugar to eat with them.
-
-In the West Indies, the large green bananas that are exported from
-thence, are by no means in favor, compared with a _very small_ yellow
-sort, the only banana eaten at the best tables. The little ones are
-fried in the above manner.
-
-
-ONION CUSTARD.--Peel and slice ten or twelve mild onions, and fry them
-in fresh butter, draining them well when you take them up. Then mince
-them as fine as possible. Beat four eggs till very thick and light, and
-stir them gradually into a pint of milk, in turn with the minced onion.
-Season the whole with plenty of grated nutmeg, and stir it very hard.
-Then put it into a deep white dish, and bake it about a quarter of an
-hour. Send it to table as a side dish, to be eaten with poultry. It is a
-French preparation, and will be found very nice, by those who have no
-dislike to onions.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWERS.--Choose large fine white cauliflowers. Wash them well, and
-lay them in a pan of cold water, having divided each cauliflower into
-quarters. Trim off the outside green leaves. Put on the cauliflowers in
-boiling water with a little salt in it. It is still better to boil them
-in milk. Let them cook till tender throughout, flower and stalk. When
-quite done, put some bits of fresh butter among the flowers, or pour
-over them drawn butter sauce, made with milk and seasoned with powdered
-nutmeg or mace. Serve them up hot, and covered.
-
-
-BROCCOLI--Is drest in the same manner. It is very good with toast under,
-though inferior to cauliflower.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWER OMELET.--Take the white part of a boiled cauliflower after
-it is cold; chop it very small, and mix with it a sufficient quantity of
-well beaten-egg, to make a very thick batter. Then fry it in fresh
-butter in a small pan, and send it hot to table.
-
-
-FRIED CAULIFLOWER.--Having laid a fine cauliflower in cold water for an
-hour, put it into a pot of boiling water that has been slightly salted,
-(milk and water will be still better,) and boil it twenty-five minutes,
-or till the large stalk is perfectly tender. Then divide it, equally,
-into small tufts, and spread it on a dish to cool. Prepare a sufficient
-quantity of batter made in the proportion of a table-spoonful of flour,
-and two table-spoonfuls of milk to each egg. Beat the eggs very light,
-then stir into them the flour and milk alternately; a spoonful of flour,
-and two spoonfuls of milk at a time. When the cauliflower is cold, have
-ready some fresh butter in a frying-pan over a clear fire. When it has
-come to a boil and has done bubbling, dip each tuft of cauliflower twice
-into the pan of batter, and fry them a light brown. Send them to table
-hot.
-
-Broccoli may be fried in this manner.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWER MACCARONI.--Having removed the outside leaves, and cut off
-the stalk, wash the cauliflower, and examine it thoroughly to see if
-there are any insects about it. Next lay it for an hour in a pan of cold
-water. Then put it into a pot of boiling milk and water that has had a
-little fresh butter melted in it. Whatever scum may float on the top of
-the water must be removed before the cauliflower goes in. Boil it
-steadily half an hour, or till it is quite tender. Then take it out,
-drain it, and cut it into short sprigs. Have ready three ounces of
-rich, but not strong cheese, grated fine. Put into a stew-pan a quarter
-of a pound of fresh butter, nearly half of the grated cheese, two large
-table-spoonfuls of cream or rich milk, and a very little salt and
-cayenne. Toss or shake it over the fire till it is well mixed and has
-come to a boil. Then add the tufts of cauliflower, and let the whole
-stew together about five minutes. When done put it into a deep dish,
-strew over the top the remaining half of the grated cheese, and brown it
-with a salamander or a red-hot shovel held above the surface.
-
-This will be found very superior to real maccaroni. It is a company
-dish.
-
-
-BROCCOLI AND EGGS.--Take several heads of broccoli and cut the stalks
-short, paring off from the stalks the tough outside skin. Trim off the
-small outside shoots or blossoms, and tie them together in bunches.
-After all the broccoli has been washed, and lain half an hour or more in
-a pan of fresh cold water, put the large heads, with a salt-spoonful of
-salt, into a pot of boiling water, and let them boil till thoroughly
-done, and the stalk perfectly tender. When the large heads have boiled
-about a quarter of an hour, put in the small tufts, which of course
-require less time to cook. In the meanwhile have ready six beaten eggs.
-Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a sauce-pan, and stir it over
-the fire till it is all melted; then add gradually the beaten eggs, and
-stir the mixture, or shake it over the fire till it becomes very thick.
-Toast sufficient bread to cover entirely the bottom of a deep dish,
-cutting it to fit exactly, having removed the crust. Dip the toast for a
-minute in hot water. Pour the egg and butter over the hot toast. Then
-place upon it the broccoli; the largest and finest head in the middle,
-the lesser ones round it, and having untied the small sprigs, lay them
-in a circle close to the edge.
-
-
-FRIED CELERY.--Take fine large celery, cut it into pieces three or four
-inches in length, and boil it tender, having seasoned the water with a
-very little salt. Then drain the pieces well, and lay them, separately,
-to cool on a large dish. Make a batter in the proportion of three
-well-beaten eggs stirred into a pint of rich milk, alternately with half
-a pint of grated bread-crumbs, or of sifted flour. Beat the batter very
-hard after it is all mixed. Put into a hot frying-pan a sufficiency of
-fresh lard; melt it over the fire, and when it comes to a boil, dip each
-piece of celery _twice_ into the batter, put them into the pan, and fry
-them a light brown. When done, lay them to drain on an inverted sieve
-with a broad pan placed beneath it. Then dish the fried celery, and send
-it to table hot.
-
-Parsnips, and salsify, (or oyster plant) may be fried in butter
-according to the above directions. Also the tops of asparagus cut off
-from the stalk, and the white part or blossom of cauliflower. Cold
-sweet potatos are very nice, peeled, cut into long slips, and fried in
-this way.
-
-
-FRIED ARTICHOKES.--The artichokes must be young and tender. Cut them
-into quarters, remove the choke part, and strip off the leaves. Having
-washed the artichokes well and laid them an hour in cold water, put them
-into a pot of boiling water, and keep them boiling steadily for a long
-time, till you find by trying them with a a fork that they are tender
-all through. Then take them out immediately, and drain them. Have ready
-a sufficiency of batter, made in the proportion of the yolk of one egg
-to a large table-spoonful of milk, and a tea-spoonful of flour. The eggs
-must be well beaten before they are mixed with the milk; then beat in
-the flour a spoonful at a time. Have ready over the fire some fresh
-butter, or lard, in a frying-pan. When it has boiled hard, dip the
-artichokes into the butter, (each piece should be twice dipped,) and fry
-them brown. Then drain them well, and send them to table hot.
-
-Parsnips may be fried as above. Salsify also.
-
-Another way of frying artichokes, parsnips, and salsify, is, after they
-have been boiled tender, to dip each piece first in beaten yolk of egg,
-(without milk or flour,) and then roll it in finely grated bread-crumbs.
-Then put them into the pan and fry them in butter or lard, or a mixture
-of both.
-
-In boiling artichokes, observe to take them out as soon as they are
-tender. If they remain in the water after they are done, they turn
-blackish and lose their flavor.
-
-
-MUSHROOM OMELET.--Take some fresh-gathered mushrooms; remove the stalks,
-and rub the flaps or heads very slightly with a little salt, mixed with
-cayenne. Then stew the mushrooms in a small sauce-pan, with barely
-sufficient cream or rich milk to cover them. Put in with them a small
-onion; and if the onion is found to turn blackish, throw away the whole;
-it being proof that there is among them a false or poisonous mushroom.
-Stir them with a silver spoon, and keep on the lid of the pan closely,
-unless when you are stirring. If the spoon turns black, the mushrooms
-should not be eaten.
-
-After they have come to a boil, take them off the fire; drain them, and
-when cool, chop them small. To a pint or more of the minced mushrooms,
-allow six or seven eggs. Beat the eggs till very light and thick,
-(omitting the whites of two,) and then mix in, gradually, the mushrooms,
-stirring the whole very hard. Put three ounces of fresh butter into a
-hot omelet pan, or a _small_ frying-pan; place it over the fire and stir
-the butter as it melts. When it has boiled hard, put in the omelet
-mixture, and as it fries, stir it till it begins to set. Do not turn the
-omelet; but brown the top by holding close above it a red-hot shovel.
-When done, drain off the butter, fold over or double the omelet, and
-serve it up immediately on a hot dish.
-
-In gathering mushrooms, those that are fit to eat may be known by their
-being of a pale pearl color, or of a grayish white, instead of what is
-called a dead white; and the underside of the flap or head (if good) is
-of a light pink, or a pinkish salmon color. The best mushrooms grow on
-uplands, or in high open fields where the air is pure and good, and they
-should be gathered early in the morning before the dew is off. All that
-are found in low swampy ground, or in the woods, or under large trees,
-are poisonous.
-
-
-SCOLLOPED TOMATOS.--Take fine large tomatos, perfectly ripe. Scald them
-to loosen the skins, and then peel them. Cover the bottom of a deep dish
-thickly with grated bread-crumbs, adding a few bits of fresh butter.
-Then put in a layer of tomatos, seasoned slightly with a little salt and
-cayenne, and some powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover them with another layer
-of bread-crumbs and butter; then another layer of seasoned tomatos; and
-proceed thus until the dish is full, finishing at the top with
-bread-crumbs. Set the dish into a moderate oven, and bake it near three
-hours. Tomatos require long cooking, otherwise they will have a raw
-taste, that to most persons is unpleasant.
-
-
-ASPARAGUS OMELET.--Take two bunches of the largest and finest asparagus.
-Put it into a pot of boiling water, with a salt-spoonful of salt, and
-boil it about twenty-five minutes, or till perfectly tender. Then drain
-it, and chop small all the green part. Beat four eggs very light, and
-add to them a wine-glass of cream. Mix the chopped asparagus thoroughly
-with the egg and cream, adding a salt-spoon of salt, and a very little
-cayenne. Melt a large slice of fresh butter in a frying-pan over the
-fire; and when it has boiled, and the bubbling has ceased, put in the
-mixture, and fry it till light and firm. Then slip it from the
-frying-pan to a hot dish, and fold it over.
-
-For a soft omelet, put the mixture into a skillet with a piece of fresh
-butter. Let it stew slowly for ten minutes. Lay a thin slice of buttered
-toast in the bottom of a hot dish, and cut the toast into small squares,
-but let them remain close together. With a spoon heap the soft omelet
-upon the toast, and serve it up.
-
-Any omelet mixture may be kept soft by stewing instead of frying it, and
-it will be found more wholesome.
-
-Before buttering the toast dip it a minute in hot water.
-
-
-STEWED PEAS.--Take young, tender, green peas, wash them, and put them
-into a stew-pan, with sufficient fresh butter to keep them from burning,
-_but no water_. Season them with a little black pepper, and a very
-little salt. Set them over a moderate fire, and stir them about till the
-butter is well mixed through them. Let them simmer till quite soft and
-slightly broken; take off the lid occasionally, and give them a stir up
-from the bottom. If you find them becoming too dry, add some more
-butter. When done, drain off what superfluous butter may be about the
-peas, and send them to table hot. They will be found excellent.
-
-To the taste of many persons, they will be improved by a lump or two of
-loaf-sugar put in with the butter, and also by a few sprigs of mint, to
-be removed before the peas go to table.
-
-Lima beans may be stewed in butter, as above; also, asparagus tops, cut
-off from the white stalk.
-
-
-LETTUCE PEAS.--Having washed four lettuces, and stripped off the outside
-leaves, take their hearts, and (having chopped them well) put them into
-a stew-pan with two quarts of young green peas, freshly shelled; a lump
-or two of loaf-sugar; and three or four leaves of green mint minced as
-finely as possible. Then put in four slices of cold ham, and a quarter
-of a pound of butter divided into four bits, and rolled in flour; and
-two table-spoonfuls of water. Add a little cayenne, and let the whole
-stew for about twenty-five minutes, or till the peas are thoroughly
-done. Next take out the ham, and add to the stew half a pint of cream.
-Let it continue stewing five minutes longer. Then send it to table.
-
-
-PLAIN LETTUCE PEAS.--Cover the bottom and sides of a stew-pan with large
-fresh leaves taken from lettuces. Have ready the peas, which should be
-young and green. To each quart of shelled peas allow two table-spoonfuls
-of fresh butter, and a lump of loaf sugar. Add a very little pepper and
-salt, and a sprig of green mint. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew
-for half an hour, or till the peas are thoroughly done. Then take them
-out from the lettuce leaves, and send only the peas to table.
-
-
-TO STEW CARROTS.--Half-boil the carrots; then scrape them nicely, and
-cut them into thick slices. Put them into a stew-pan with as much milk
-as will barely cover them; a very little salt and pepper; and a sprig or
-two of chopped parsley. Simmer them till they are perfectly tender. When
-nearly done, add a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour. Send them to
-table hot. Carrots require long cooking; longer than any other
-vegetable.
-
-Parsnips and salsify may be stewed in the above manner, substituting a
-little chopped celery for the parsley.
-
-
-SPINACH.--Having peeled and washed the spinach very nicely, put it into
-a _bain marie_, or inside kettle, without any water, and cover it
-closely. Pour the water into the outside kettle, and you may hurry the
-boiling by throwing a handful of salt in the outside tin, taking care
-that none of the salt gets into the inside. When the spinach is well
-stewed, take it up and drain it without squeezing or pressing, as that
-will make it tough and dry. Then chop it small, and add some hard-boiled
-eggs, also chopped. Season it with pepper and fresh butter, stir it well
-together, return it to the kettle, and let it stew a quarter of an hour
-or more. Serve it up with buttered toast and poached eggs laid upon it.
-
-Spinach being very watery, should always be _stewed_ rather than boiled.
-If you have no _bain marie_, the water that remains about the spinach,
-after it has been washed, will suffice to stew it slowly.
-
-Spinach juice, for coloring green, must be strained, and boiled
-slightly. You can obtain plenty of juice by pounding the leaves.
-
-
-TO PREPARE CUCUMBERS.--Let the cucumbers be full-grown, but not in the
-least yellow or hard. They are then only fit to be saved for seed. Lay
-the cucumbers in a pan of cold water for an hour or more, or till it is
-nearly time to send them to table, being careful not to set them in the
-sun. Have ready another pan of fresh water, (very cold) and having
-pared the cucumbers, slice them into it. Transfer them to a deep china
-or white-ware dish. Season them with vinegar, pepper, salt, and a little
-salad oil, taking care not to use too much salt. When there is no
-dislike to onions, peel and slice a few that are mild, and mix them with
-the cucumbers. It is usual now, at the best tables, to have the onions
-in a small separate dish, (sliced with vinegar and pepper) to be eaten
-by those that like them, and omitted by those who do not. Onions, (and
-also salad oil) are said to render cucumbers more wholesome.
-
-Tomatos (raw) are frequently sliced, seasoned, and sent to table in the
-manner of cucumbers. Tomatos are always wholesome.
-
-
-STEWED CUCUMBERS.--Pare six fine fresh cucumbers. Cut each of them
-lengthways into four pieces; lay them for an hour in a pan of cold
-water. Take a clean stew-pan, and place in its bottom two
-table-spoonfuls of good fresh butter. Then put in the slices of
-cucumber, and sprinkle them slightly with a very little pepper. Add two
-table-spoonfuls of cold water. Set the pan over a moderate fire, and let
-the cucumbers stew slowly for half an hour or more, till they are well
-cooked. Keep the pan closely covered, except when you have to remove the
-lid to stir the stew. Serve them up hot, at breakfast, or as a side
-dish, at dinner.
-
-Persons who have no objection to the taste of onions, will think the
-cucumbers improved by the addition of the half of a moderate sized
-onion, sliced thin and stewed with them.
-
-
-A NICE WAY OF COOKING ASPARAGUS.--Where asparagus is plenty, there is no
-better way of cooking it than the following. Take it as nearly of a size
-as possible, wash it, and cut off the stalks very short, leaving them
-not more than half an inch in length. Two quarts of water will be
-sufficient to boil one quart of asparagus tops; allow a tea-spoonful of
-salt to this quantity of water, and set it over the fire to boil. When
-the water is boiling hard, put in the asparagus, and boil it fast for at
-least half an hour. To see if it is done, take up two or three of the
-largest pieces and taste them. While it is boiling, prepare two slices
-of bread cut half an inch thick, and (having removed the crust) toast
-the bread brown on both sides. Have ready a large jill of melted (or
-drawn) fresh butter. When the asparagus is done, take it up with a
-perforated skimmer, and lay it on a sieve to drain. Dip the slices of
-toast (one at a time) first in the hot asparagus liquor, and then in the
-melted butter. Lay the slices, side by side, in a deep dish, and cover
-it with the asparagus, laid evenly over and round the toast. Then add
-the remainder of the drawn butter, and send the asparagus to table hot,
-in a covered dish.
-
-This is a much nicer way than that of boiling and serving it up with the
-long stalks left on. And where you have asparagus in abundance, (for
-instance in a country garden,) it may always be cooked in this manner.
-
-This is from the receipt of Mr. N. Darling, of New Haven.
-
-
-ASPARAGUS OYSTERS.--Take two bundles of fine full-grown asparagus. Cut
-off the green tops or points as far down as the white stalk. Take a
-sufficient quantity of fresh oysters, the finest you can get at that
-season. Put the asparagus tops into a stew-pan, with enough of oyster
-liquor (previously strained) to stew them quite tender. Stew the oysters
-themselves in another pan with some more of their liquor, seasoned with
-pepper, mace, and nutmeg, adding a large piece of fresh butter, divided
-into four, and each part rolled in flour. Do not let the oysters stew
-more than five minutes, or they will become tough and shriveled. When
-they are merely plumped, take them out and cut them up small, omitting
-the gristle or hard part. Set the mixture over the fire for about five
-minutes, stirring all the time. Have ready some slices of nice toast,
-with all the crust pared off; the slices dipped for a minute in hot
-water. Butter the toast, and cover with it the bottom of a deep dish,
-and fill it with the mixture of asparagus and oysters.
-
-
-ONION EGGS.--Boil a dozen eggs quite hard. Slice and fry in fresh butter
-five or six onions. Slice (whites and yolks together) ten of the eggs,
-reserving two for the seasoning. Drain the sliced onions, and lay them
-on a dish with the sliced eggs placed upon them. Cover the dish, and
-keep it hot. Take the two remaining eggs, grate the yolks, and mix them
-with cream and grated nutmeg, and a very little cayenne. Put this
-mixture into a very small sauce-pan, give it one boil up, pour it over
-the eggs and onions, and send it to table hot. For those who have no
-objection to onions this is a nice side dish.
-
-
-EGG BALLS.--Boil eight eggs till quite hard, and when done, throw them
-directly into cold water. Then put the yolks into a mortar, and pound
-them to a paste, moistening them as you proceed with the beaten yolks of
-three _raw_ eggs, seasoned with as much salt as will lie _flat_ upon a
-shilling, and a little cayenne, and powdered nutmeg and mace. Mix the
-whole well together, and make it up into small round balls. Throw them
-into mock-turtle soup, or into stewed terrapin, about two minutes before
-you take it up.
-
-
-CURRY BALLS.--Take a sufficiency of finely-grated bread-crumbs;
-hard-boiled yolk of egg, grated; fresh butter, and a little curry
-powder. Pound the whole in a mortar, moistening it with raw yolk of egg
-(well-beaten) as you proceed. Make it into small balls, and add them to
-stewed chicken or rabbit, about five minutes before you take it up.
-
-
-TOMATO PASTE.--Scald and peel as many ripe tomatos as will fill a large,
-deep, stone jar. Set them into a warm oven for an hour. Then skim off
-the watery liquid that has risen to the top, and press and squeeze the
-tomatos in a sieve. Afterwards add salt, cayenne, pounded mace, and
-powdered nutmeg, to your taste; and to every quart of tomatos allow a
-half a pint of cider vinegar. Stew the whole slowly in a porcelain
-kettle for three hours, (stirring it frequently from the bottom,) till
-it becomes a smooth, thick paste. Then put it into small jars or
-glasses, and cover it closely, pasting paper over each. It is an
-excellent sauce, at the season when fresh tomatos are not to be had, and
-is very good to thicken soup.
-
-
-DRIED OCHRAS.--Take fine large fresh ochras; cut them into thin, round
-slices; string them on threads, and hang them up in festoons to dry in
-the store-room. Before using, they must be soaked in water during
-twenty-four hours. They will then be good (with the addition of tomato
-paste) to boil in soup or gumbo.
-
-
-BEEF GUMBO.--Put into a large stew-pan some pieces of the lean of fresh
-beef, cut up into small bits, and seasoned with a little pepper and
-salt. Add sliced ochras and tomatos, (either fresh or dried ochras and
-tomato paste.) You may put in some sliced onions. Pour on water enough
-to cover it well. Let it boil slowly, (skimming it well,) till
-everything is reduced to rags. Then strain and press it through a
-cullender. Have ready a sufficiency of toasted bread, cut into dice. Lay
-it in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the strained gumbo upon it.
-
-
-TO BOIL OCHRAS.--For boiling, the ochras should be young and small. Wash
-them, and cut off a small piece from each end. Boil them till very
-tender throughout. Then drain them well, and transfer them to a deep
-dish. Lay among them some bits of fresh butter, and season them with
-pepper. Cover the dish, that the butter may be warm and melt the sooner.
-Or you may make a sauce of half a pint of milk boiled, and when it has
-come to a boil enrich with a quarter of a pound of very good fresh
-butter, divided into four pieces; each piece rolled in a little flour,
-the butter stirred in gradually and smoothly, as soon as the milk is
-taken off the fire. Pour this sauce over the dish of ochras, and keep it
-covered till it has gone to table.
-
-We prefer the first way, putting the bit of butter cold into the hot
-ochras, with either milk or flour, and letting the butter melt
-gradually, in the manner of green beans. You may boil with them a small
-piece of very good bacon, removing when the ochras are taken off the
-fire. Season with pepper.
-
-
-ONIONS.--The best onions for cooking are the white or silver-skinned.
-The red-skinned are generally strong and coarse. Shalots are very small
-and delicate. Some sorts of large onions are milder and nicer than those
-of middle size, and some that are very small have a powerful taste and
-smell. The outer skin of most onions should be peeled entirely, and the
-ends cut off. All onions are the better for boiling, before they are
-cooked for any other purpose. Put them into a stew-pan with cold water,
-and when they have come to a boil pour off that water, and replace it
-with fresh cold also. Boil them slowly till quite tender all through,
-which will not be in less than half an hour; more, if they are large.
-When done, drain them well, dish them, and pour over them some nice
-melted butter.
-
-_To Stew Onions._--Peel, slice them, and stew them in milk, enriched
-with butter rolled in flour, and seasoned with a little cayenne and a
-few blades of mace.
-
-_To Roast Onions._--Select fine large onions; do not peel them, but
-place them in a bake-pan, and set them in an oven. Bake them slowly till
-tender all through. When done, peel off the outer skin, and send them
-hot to table, to eat with pepper and cold butter.
-
-They are very good when covered up and roasted under hot ashes, taking
-care that they are done quite through to the heart.
-
-
-TO BOIL GREEN PEAS.--When the peas are shelled, wash them in a pan of
-cold water. Put on the peas in cold water, (a little salted) and let
-them boil very fast. If nice peas, they will generally be done in a
-quarter of an hour after beginning to boil. When simmering, add to them
-a lump or a spoonful of loaf-sugar, and a sprig of fresh green mint,
-(half a dozen leaves) having first ascertained if mint is not disliked
-by any person who is to eat of the peas. To some the taste and odor of
-mint is very agreeable, to others very disgusting, as is the case with
-onions, and many other things that are liked by the majority.
-
-When the peas are all soft or tender, take out the mint, drain the peas
-through a cullender till not a drop of water is left among them;
-transfer them to a deep dish, mix into them some of the best fresh
-butter, and sprinkle them with pepper. Cover them immediately, and send
-them to table hot.
-
-
-STEWED PEAS.--Having prepared the peas as above, put them into a
-stew-pan without any water. Mix among them plenty of bits of nice fresh
-butter, sufficient to cook them. Let them stew slowly in the butter till
-they are quite soft, stirring them up from the bottom frequently. Drain
-and dish them. They will be found very fine--better than if boiled in
-water. Peas should not be stewed this way, except in places where plenty
-of good _fresh_ butter is to be easily obtained.
-
-
-GREEN PEAS.--The largest and finest peas are what the English call
-marrowfat. The sugar pea is next. All green peas for boiling should be
-young and tender, but not so young as to be tasteless or insipid. As a
-general rule, nearly every article of food is best when it has just
-attained its full growth and ripeness; after that period the older it is
-the worse. Peas, so old as to be hard and yellow, are unfit to eat. In
-some ultra economical houses, good peas are things unknown. They are not
-bought in spring or early summer while young and fresh, but are never
-thought cheap enough till they become hard and yellow. Afterwards, when
-they reach the cheap state, a quantity are bought low, and put into jars
-not to be touched till next spring, when they are boiled, (with great
-difficulty, for they never become soft,) and _attempted_ to be passed
-off "as this year's fresh peas"--and by the time the family have gotten
-through with _them_, "this year's young peas" have become old. Do not
-believe (for it is untrue,) that any eatable can be kept in _all_ its
-genuine freshness and original flavor, by merely secluding them
-entirely from air. They will not spoil or decompose if skillfully
-managed; but they _have not exactly_ their natural taste and
-consistence. It is better for those who _never make pickles or
-preserves_, to wait for fresh vegetables or fruit, till they are
-actually in market--or, if put up in jars, to add something more than
-parboiling and seclusion from the air. Vinegar, salt, sugar, spice and
-alcohol, will be found the grand and universal articles for securing the
-goodness of nearly all eatables. Without some of these along with them,
-things that have not spoiled while secluded from air, will surely spoil
-almost as soon as the jars are opened, and the external air admitted to
-them.
-
-
-GREEN OR STRING BEANS.--Take young and tender beans, the seeds just
-forming in the pods. Take off the string with a knife, leaving no bits
-of string adhering to the beans, either at top or bottom. Do not split
-them. Cut each bean into three pieces, _not more_, and as you cut them
-throw them into a pan of cold water, kept beside you for the purpose.
-The old-fashioned way is now obsolete of cutting them into dice or
-diamonds, or of splitting them. The more they are cut up (beside the
-trouble and time wasted,) the more the water gets through them when
-cooking; the more tasteless they become, and the more difficult they are
-to drain. We have never met with beans that, when cut small, had not a
-puddle of greasy water in the bottom of the dish, and sometimes the
-water was all through the dish, and the beans floating in it. Shame on
-such bean-cooking! When the beans are all ready for the pot, throw them
-into boiling water very slightly salted, and they will generally be done
-in half an hour after they have come to a boil. Transfer them to a
-sieve; and press, and drain them well, till no water is left about them.
-Then put them into a deep dish, mix them with fresh butter, and dredge
-them with black pepper.
-
-
-LIMA BEANS.--Shell the lima beans into a pan of cold water. Let them lie
-in it an hour. Put them in boiling water, little more than enough to
-cover them, and boil them till soft and tender. When done, drain and
-serve them up in a deep dish, adding among them a good piece of butter.
-The Lima beans now raised in North America have become coarse and white,
-requiring a renewal of fresh stock or new seeds from Peru. They will
-then be green and delicate again, as formerly.
-
-
-SWEET POTATOS.--Choose the sweet potatos large, and nearly of the same
-size, then you can either boil or roast them. When small they should
-always be boiled; as, when baked or roasted, the skin becomes so thick
-and hard, that it takes up nearly the whole potato. Wash them very
-clean, and cut off a bit from each end. Put them into a large pot of
-boiling water without salt, and boil them steadily for at least an
-hour. Probe them with a narrow-bladed sharp knife, and if it does not
-easily penetrate all through the largest potato, (in at one side and out
-at the other) continue the boiling till all are soft throughout. Then
-take them up, peel them, and keep them warm till sent to table.
-
-_To Bake Sweet Potatos_ they should all be large. Wash them, dry them,
-and cut off the ends. Then bake them in an oven, lying side by side, not
-piling one on another. Or else (which is better) roast them in hot
-ashes. They will not be done in less than an hour and a half, perhaps
-longer. Then wipe them clean, and serve them up in the skins. Eat them
-from the skins, with cold butter and a tea-spoon.
-
-_To Stew Sweet Potatos._--Wash and wipe them. Then scrape off the skins
-with a sharp knife. Split them, and cut them into long pieces. Stew them
-with fresh pork, veal, or beef; first putting at the bottom a very
-little butter or water to start them, and then the gravy of the meat
-will suffice for cooking them--skimming it well. Water to stew should be
-hot.
-
-_Mashed Sweet Potatos_ are very nice. When well boiled, mash them
-smoothly with a potato beetle. Mix them with fresh butter, and then stir
-them well, or beat them with a large wooden spoon to render them light.
-Afterwards, you may make them into round thick cakes, and touch the
-surface of every one with pepper--red or black. This is a breakfast dish
-for company.
-
-
-BOILED TURNIPS.--Have all your turnips nearly of the same size. Pare
-them; and if large cut them in half. Put them into boiling water, very
-slightly salted, and keep them closely covered. Twenty minutes will boil
-them if very small and young; their flavor is then very fine.
-Afterwards, according to their size, they will require of gentle
-boiling, from three-quarters to a full hour. Keep them boiling till, on
-trying them with a fork, you find them perfectly tender all through.
-Then take them up, drain them well, and pour melted butter over them;
-touch the top of each with a spot of black pepper. If very old and
-spongy, they are only fit for the pig barrel. It is said that if boiled
-in their skins, (though requiring a much longer time to cook well) they
-have a fine flavor, and are less watery. You can try it.
-
-If the turnips are to be mashed, cut them into small pieces, boil them
-very soft, and drain and squeeze them till all the water is pressed out.
-Then mash them very smooth. Transfer them to a deep dish, and mix them
-with a _moderate portion_ of fresh butter. Turnips are generally served
-with too much butter. Season them with pepper. When sent to table take
-care not to set them in a sunny place, as it will give them a bad taste.
-
-Turnips, baked in an oven, are very good--for a change.
-
-
-SYDNEY SMITH'S SALAD-DRESSING.--Have ready two well-boiled potatos,
-peeled and rubbed through a sieve; they will give peculiar smoothness
-to the mixture. Also, a very small portion of raw onion, not more than a
-_quarter_ of a tea-spoonful, (as the presence of the onion is to be
-scarcely hinted,) and the pounded yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Mix
-these ingredients on a deep plate with one tea-spoonful of salt, one of
-made mustard, three table-spoonfuls of olive oil, and one table-spoonful
-of vinegar. Add, lastly, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy; mash, and
-mix the whole together, (using a boxwood spoon) and see that all the
-articles are thoroughly amalgamated. Having cut up a sufficiency of
-lettuce, that has been well washed in cold water, and drained, add to it
-the dressing immediately before dinner, mixing the lettuce through it
-with a boxwood fork.
-
-This salad dressing was invented by the Rev. Sydney Smith, whose genius
-as a writer and a wit is well known on both sides the Atlantic. If
-_exactly_ followed, it will be found very fine on trial; no peculiar
-flavor predominating, but excellent as a whole. The above directions are
-taken from a manuscript receipt given by Mr. Smith to an American
-gentleman then in London.
-
-In preparing this, or any other salad-dressing, take care not to use
-that excessively pungent and deleterious combination of drugs which is
-now so frequently imposed upon the public, as _the best white wine
-vinegar_. In reality, it has no vinous material about it; and it may be
-known by its violent and disagreeable sharpness, which overpowers and
-destroys the taste (and also the substance) of whatever it is mixed
-with. It is also very unwholesome. Its color is always pale, and it is
-nearly as clear as water. No one should buy or use it. The first quality
-of _real_ cider vinegar is good for all purposes.
-
-The above receipt may be tried for lobster dressing.
-
-A Spanish proverb says, that for compounding a _good_ salad, four
-persons are required--a spend-thrift for oil; a miser for vinegar; a man
-of judgment for salt; and a madman for stirring the dressing.
-
-
-FINE CHICKEN SALAD.--Having skinned a pair of cold fowls, remove the
-fat, and carve them as if for eating; cut all the flesh entirely from
-the bones, and either mince it or divide it into small shreds. Mix with
-it a little smoked tongue or cold ham, grated rather than chopped. Have
-ready one or two fine fresh lettuces, picked, washed, drained, and cut
-small. Put the cut lettuce on a dish, (spreading it evenly,) or into a
-large bowl, and place upon it the minced chicken in a close heap in the
-centre. For the dressing, mix together the following ingredients, in the
-proportion of the yolks of four eggs well beaten, a tea-spoonful of
-powdered white sugar, a salt-spoon of cayenne; (no salt if you have ham
-or tongue with the chicken,) two tea-spoonfuls of made mustard, six
-table-spoonfuls of salad oil, and five of celery vinegar. Stir this
-mixture well: put it into a small sauce-pan, set it over the fire, and
-let it boil three minutes,(not more,) stirring it all the time. Then set
-it to cool. When quite cold, cover with it thickly, the heap of chicken
-in the centre of the salad. To ornament it, have ready half a dozen or
-more, hard-boiled eggs, which, after the shell is peeled off, must be
-thrown directly into a pan of cold water to prevent them from turning
-blue. Cut each egg (white and yolk together) lengthways into four long
-pieces of equal size and shape; lay the pieces upon the salad all round
-the heap of chicken, and close to it; placing them so as to follow each
-other round in a slanting direction, something in the form of a circular
-wreath of leaves. Have ready, also, some very red cold beet, cut into
-small cones or points all of equal size; arrange them in a circle upon
-the lettuce, outside of the circle of cut egg. To be decorated in this
-manner, the salad should be placed in a dish rather than a bowl. In
-helping it, give each person a portion of every thing, and they will mix
-them together on their plates.
-
-This salad should be prepared immediately before dinner or supper; as
-standing long will injure it. The colder it is the better.
-
-
-CARROTS.--Having washed the carrots, and scraped off the outer skin with
-a sharp knife, or taken off a very thin paring, split them a few inches
-down, leaving a long cleft in the upper half only, and put them on to
-cook in plenty of boiling water, with a little salt in it. There is no
-table vegetable that needs more boiling than a carrot. Small young
-carrots require at least half an hour. If large, they must boil from one
-to two hours, according to their size. When you find them tender
-throughout, dish them, with melted butter poured round them. They are
-eaten plain, only with boiled beef or boiled mutton. They are often
-added to soups and stews, when they must be put in long before the other
-vegetables. For soups and stews the nicest way is to grate them (before
-boiling,) on a coarse grater. This way they improve both the taste and
-color.
-
-Carrots are very nice, sliced thin after boiling, put into a sauce-pan,
-with bits of butter dredged with flour, seasoned with pepper, and stewed
-soft without any water.
-
-
-PARSNIPS.--Scrape the parsnips, and split them half way down. Put them
-into boiling water with a little salt. Parsnips require less boiling
-than carrots; and, according to their size, will take from half an hour
-to an hour. Skim the water while they are boiling. When quite tender
-take them up, drain them, dish them, and pour melted butter over them.
-They are especially eaten with corned pork, or salted cod; but are good
-with various things. They are excellent stewed with fresh beef, or fresh
-pork, for a plain dinner.
-
-_Fried Parsnips_ make a nice breakfast dish. They must first be
-parboiled; then split, and cut into long pieces, and fried brown in
-fresh butter, or in nice dripping of veal or beef.
-
-_Baked Parsnips._--Split and parboil them. Then place them in a large
-dish. Lay among them some bits of fresh butter, and bake them brown. Eat
-them with any sort of roast meat.
-
-_Parsnip Fritters._--Boil and peel half a dozen large parsnips, and then
-split and cut them in pieces. Make a nice batter, allowing four beaten
-eggs to a pint of milk, and four table-spoonfuls of flour. Have ready
-over the fire, a frying-pan with boiling lard. Put in a large spoonful
-of batter; upon that a piece of parsnip, and cover it with another
-spoonful of batter. Proceed thus till you have used up the parsnips.
-When done, drain them from the lard, and serve them hot at breakfast or
-dinner.
-
-
-BEETS.--Beets must be washed very clean, but not scraped, trimmed, or
-cut till after they are boiled. Put them on in boiling water; and,
-according to their size, boil them steadily from one hour and a half, to
-two hours and a half, but they must not be probed (to ascertain if they
-are tender all through,) but pinched with the fingers. Then peel off the
-skins, and trim them neatly. Hold the beet in a pan of cold water while
-you peel it. Do it quickly. Serve them up either split or sliced, with
-melted butter poured over them, and seasoned with pepper. Or else they
-may be sliced thick, (allowing them to get cold,) and spiced vinegar
-poured over them. Red beets are usually dressed with vinegar; the white
-or pale ones with melted butter.
-
-_Baked Beets_ have a finer flavor, and are more nutritious than when
-boiled. Wash and wipe them dry, but do not skin or cut them till after
-cooking. They must be thoroughly done before they are taken out of the
-oven, and then pared and trimmed. According to their size they will
-require from four to six hours baking. Their blood-red color makes them
-ornamental to the table; but when cooked in soups or stews they add
-little to the taste, which is overpowered by that of other ingredients.
-
-
-SQUASHES OR CYMLINGS.--See that the squashes are not turning old, and
-hardening. Wash them, and cut them into four pieces each; but do not
-split them. Put them on in boiling water, with a little salt. Boil them
-steadily till quite tender throughout. Then take them up, and mash or
-drain them through a cullender, pressing them with a broad short-handled
-wooden ladle. All the water (of which there will be a profusion,) must
-be entirely squeezed out. Serve them up very dry, and smoothly and
-evenly mashed, having first mixed with them a _very little butter_; and
-season them with very little pepper. Much butter gives them a
-disagreeable taste and consistence, and the butter should be fresh and
-good. It is better to mash squashes, turnips, pumpkins, &c., without any
-butter, than to use that which is salt and bad. The flat white ones are
-the best summer squashes; the striped green are more watery; the cashaw,
-or yellow winter squash, is best of all, and grows well in the New
-England states, from whence, as it keeps well all winter, it is often
-brought in barrels. Every family should get a barrel of winter squashes
-from Boston. They do not thrive in the middle States. In New Jersey and
-Pennsylvania, they cannot be raised even from the best yankee seed,
-turning pumpkinish the next year, and afterwards becoming quite
-pumpkins, and very bad ones too. But when raised in their native soil
-and climate nothing of the squash kind is equal to them. They are very
-dry and sweet, and of a rich yellow color. Take them out of the barrel,
-and keep them far apart on the shelves or floor of a dry pantry.
-
-
-STEWED PUMPKIN.--No pumpkin is too large to be good, but they may be too
-old. Cut a good deep-colored pumpkin in half, and empty out all the
-seeds, &c. Then cut it into pieces, and pare them. Put the pieces of
-pumpkin into a pot with barely sufficient water to keep them from
-burning. When they are thoroughly done or soft all through, take them
-up; drain, mash, and press them through a cullender. They must be _very_
-dry. Put the stewed pumpkin into a dish, and mix it with a small portion
-of butter. Season it with black pepper, and eat it with boiled corned
-beef, or corned pork, or bacon.
-
-Stewed pumpkin is chiefly used for pies and puddings.
-
-
-YANKEE PUMPKIN PUDDING.--Take a pint of stewed pumpkin. Mix together a
-pint of _West India_ molasses and a pint of milk, adding two large
-table-spoonfuls of brown sugar, and two table-spoonfuls of ground
-ginger. Beat three eggs very light, and stir them, gradually, into the
-milk and molasses. Then, by degrees, stir in the stewed pumpkin. Put it
-into a deep dish, and bake it without a crust. This is a good farm-house
-pudding, and _equally_ good for any healthy children.
-
-For a large family, double the quantities of ingredients--that is, take
-a quart of milk, a quart of molasses, four spoonfuls of brown sugar,
-four spoonfuls of ginger, six eggs, and a quart of stewed pumpkin.
-
-You had best have at hand _more than a quart_ of pumpkin, lest when
-mixed it should not hold out. This pudding is excellent made of winter
-squash.
-
-
-STEWED MUSHROOMS.--Peel and wash a quart of very fresh mushrooms, and
-cut off all the stems. Button mushrooms are best; but if you can only
-procure large ones, quarter them. Sprinkle them slightly with salt and
-pepper, and put them into a stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of nice
-fresh butter, cut in pieces and slightly dredged with flour. Keep the
-lid closely covered all the time. When quite tender, put the mushrooms
-into a deep dish, in the bottom of which is laid a nice toast that has
-had all the crust pared off, and been dipped for a minute in hot water,
-and slightly buttered. Serve up the mushrooms closely covered. They
-require no seasoning.
-
-
-BAKED MUSHROOMS.--Take large fine fresh mushrooms. Peel them and remove
-the stems. Lay them on their backs in a large dish, (not letting them
-touch each other) and put into each mushroom, (as in a cup) a bit of the
-best fresh butter. Set the dish in an oven and bake them. Send them to
-table in the same dish; or transfer them to another, with a large toast
-at the bottom. There is no better way of cooking mushrooms than this.
-
-If you cannot procure good butter, cook them in nice olive oil.
-
-
-TO BOIL INDIAN CORN.--Corn for boiling should be full grown, but young
-and tender, and the grains soft and milky. If its grains are becoming
-hard and yellow, it is too old for cooking. Strip the ears of their
-leaves and the silk. Put them into a large pot of boiling water, and
-boil it rather fast for half an hour or more, in proportion to its size
-and age. When done, take it up, drain it, dish it under a cover, or
-napkin, and serve it up hot. Before eating it, rub each ear with salt
-and pepper, and then spread it with butter. Epicures in corn consider it
-sweetest when eaten off the cob. And so it is; but _before company_ few
-persons like to hold an ear of indian corn in their hands, and bite the
-grains off the cob with their teeth. Therefore, it is more frequently
-cut off the cob into a dish; mixed with salt, pepper, and butter, and
-helped with a spoon.
-
-It is said that young green corn will boil sufficiently in ten minutes,
-(putting it, _of course_, into a pot of boiling water.) Try it.
-
-_Another way._--Having pulled off the silk, boil the corn without
-removing any but the outside leaves. With the leaves or husk on, it will
-require a longer time to cook, but is sweeter and more nutritious.
-
-
-HOMINY.--Hominy is white indian corn, shelled from the cob, divested of
-the outer skin by scalding in hot lye, and then winnowed and dried. It
-is perfectly white. Having washed it through two or three waters, pour
-boiling water on it; cover it, and let it soak all night, or for several
-hours. Then put it into a pot or sauce-pan, allow two quarts of water to
-each quart of hominy, and boil it till perfectly soft. Then drain it,
-put it into a deep dish, add some butter to it, and send it to table
-hot, (and _uncovered_,) to eat with any sort of meat; but particularly
-with corned beef or pork. What is left may be made next day into thick
-cakes, and fried in butter. To be _very good_, hominy should boil four
-or five hours.
-
-
-CAROLINA GRITS OR SMALL HOMINY.--The small-grained hominy must be washed
-and boiled in the same manner as the large, only allow rather less water
-for boiling. For instance, put a pint and a half of water to a quart of
-small hominy. Drain it well, send it to table in a deep dish _without a
-cover_, and eat it with butter and sugar, or molasses. If covered after
-boiling, the vapor will condense within the lid, and make the hominy
-thin and watery.
-
-
-SAMP.--This is indian corn skinned, and then pounded or ground till it
-is still smaller and finer than the Carolina grits. It must be cooked
-and used in the same manner. It is very nice eaten with cream and sugar.
-
-For invalids it may be made thin, and eaten as gruel.
-
-
-HOMINY CAKES.--A pint of small hominy, or Carolina grits; a pint of
-white indian meal, sifted; a salt-spoonful of salt, three large
-table-spoonfuls of fresh butter; three eggs or three table-spoonfuls of
-strong yeast; a quart of milk. Having washed the small hominy, and left
-it soaking all night, boil it soft, drain it, and while hot mix it with
-the indian meal; adding the salt, and the butter. Then mix it gradually
-with the milk, and set it away to cool. Beat the eggs very light, and
-add them gradually to the mixture. The whole should make a thick batter.
-Then bake them on a griddle, in the manner of buckwheat cakes, rubbing
-or scraping the griddle always before you put on a fresh cake. Trim off
-their edges nicely, and send them to table hot. Eat them with butter.
-
-Or you may bake them in muffin rings.
-
-If you prefer making these cakes with yeast, you must begin them
-earlier, as they will require time to rise. The yeast should be strong
-and fresh. If _not_ very strong, use four table-spoonfuls instead of
-two. Cover the pan, set it in a warm place; and do not begin to bake
-till it is well risen, and the surface of the mixture is covered with
-bubbles.
-
-
-CORN PORRIDGE.--Take young corn, and cut the grains from the cob.
-Measure it, and to each heaping pint of corn allow not quite a quart of
-milk. Put the corn and milk into a pot, stir them well together, and
-boil them till the corn is perfectly soft. Then add some bits of fresh
-butter dredged with flour, and let it boil five minutes longer. Stir in
-at the last, four beaten yolks of eggs, and in three minutes remove it
-from the fire. Take up the porridge and send it to table hot, and stir
-some fresh butter into it. You may add sugar and nutmeg.
-
-
-CORN OYSTERS.--Three dozen ears of large young indian corn, six eggs;
-lard and butter in equal portions for frying. The corn must be young and
-soft. Grate it from the cob as fine as possible, and dredge it with
-wheat flour. Beat very light the six eggs, and mix them gradually with
-the corn. Then let the whole be well incorporated by hard beating. Add a
-salt-spoon of salt.
-
-Have ready, in a frying pan, a sufficient quantity of lard and fresh
-butter mixed together. Set it over the fire till it is boiling hot, and
-then put in portions of the corn mixture, so as to form oval cakes about
-three inches long, and nearly an inch thick. Fry them brown, and send
-them to table hot. In taste they will be found to have a singular
-resemblance to fried oysters, and are universally liked if properly
-done. They make nice side-dishes at dinner, and are very good at
-breakfast.
-
-
-SUMMER SACCATASH.--String a quarter of a peck of young green beans, and
-cut each bean into three pieces, (not more,) and do not split them. Have
-by you a pan of cold water, and throw the beans into it as you cut them.
-Have ready over the fire a pot or sauce-pan of boiling water; put in the
-beans, and boil them hard near twenty minutes. Afterwards take them up,
-and drain them well through a cullender. Take half a dozen ears of young
-but full-grown indian corn, (or eight or nine if they are not all large)
-and cut the grains down from the cob. Mix together the corn and the
-beans, adding a very small tea-spoonful of salt, and boil them about
-twenty minutes. Then take up the saccatash, drain it well through a
-sieve, put it into a deep dish, and while hot mix in a large piece of
-butter, (at least the size of an egg,) add some pepper, and send it to
-table. It is generally eaten with salted or smoked meat.
-
-Fresh Lima beans are excellent cooked in this manner, with green corn.
-They must be boiled for half an hour or more, before they are cooked
-with the corn.
-
-Dried beans and dried corn will do very well for saccatash, but they
-must be soaked all night before boiling. The water poured on them for
-soaking should be hot.
-
-
-WINTER SACCATASH.--This is made of dried shelled beans and hard corn,
-soaked over night in separate pans, and boiling water poured over them
-in the morning, after pouring off the first water. Then boil both
-together till they are _quite soft_. Drain them dry in a sieve, put them
-into a deep dish, and mix in a large piece of butter, seasoned with
-pepper. This is a good accompaniment to corned pork or beef. The meat
-must be boiled in a separate pot.
-
-
-CAROLINA WAY OF BOILING RICE.--Pick the rice carefully, and wash it
-through two or three cold waters till it is quite clean. Then (having
-drained off all the water through a cullender,) put the rice into a pot
-of boiling water, with a very little salt, allowing as much as a quart
-of water to half a pint of rice. Boil it twenty minutes or more. Then
-pour off the water, draining the rice as dry as possible. Lastly, set it
-on hot coals with the lid off, that the steam may not condense upon it
-and render the rice watery. Keep it drying thus for a quarter of an
-hour. Put it into a deep dish, and loosen and toss it up from the bottom
-with two forks, one in each hand, so that the grains may appear to stand
-alone.
-
-
-TOMATOS.--Tomatos require long cooking; otherwise they will have a raw
-taste, and be quite too acid. Take fine tomatos that are quite ripe, put
-them into a pan, and scald them in very hot water. Let them remain for
-ten minutes, or till you can peel them without scalding your hands.
-Drain them through a sieve. You may either press out all the seeds,
-(retaining only the pulp or liquid,) or leave the seeds in, squeezing
-the tomatos slightly. Put them into a stew-pan, which must on no account
-be of copper, as the acid of the tomatos will render it poisonous. We
-knew a lady who died in agonies from eating tomatos cooked in a copper
-vessel that had the tinning partly worn off. If the tin inside is
-indispensable, (which it is) why have any copper about it? A vessel of
-_double_ block tin only, will last as long, and stand the fire as well
-as if there was copper inside. For all stews, an iron pan, lined with
-delft (or what is called porcelain or enamel) is excellent. Best of all
-for stewing tomatos, and many other things, is a _bain marie_, or double
-kettle, with the water outside, in the outer kettle.
-
-Having nearly filled the stew-pan with the tomatos, (cut up, if they are
-large) add a little salt and pepper, a piece of fresh butter dredged
-with flour, and (if approved) a very little chopped onion. If you have
-ready-boiled onions at hand, take one or two of them and mince it fine.
-Add to the tomatos some powdered white sugar to lessen the excessive
-acid. Put but very few bread-crumbs--if too many, they will weaken the
-taste. Tomatos are an improvement to every kind of plain soups, and may
-be added, with advantage, after the soup is in the tureen. The cooking
-of tomatos should be commenced at least three hours before dinner. Put
-no water with them--their own juice is sufficient.
-
-Many persons like tomatos raw, sliced like cucumbers, and seasoned with
-vinegar and pepper.
-
-
-TO KEEP TOMATO PULP.--Having boiled them till entirely dissolved,
-(adding a little salt and pepper) press and strain them through a sieve,
-pour the liquor into pint or half-pint bottles, (which must be perfectly
-clean) and stand the bottles up in a large iron pot or oven, with a
-layer of straw in the bottom. Fill up the pot with cold water, cork
-them tightly, and let the water boil round the bottles for five hours.
-As it boils away, fill up with more hot water. When you take them out,
-put a spoonful of salad oil at the top of each bottle; seal the bottles
-with rosin cement. This pulp will be good for tomato purposes till next
-summer, if kept in a cool dry place. When you open a bottle use it fast,
-or cork it again immediately.
-
-
-BROILED TOMATOS.--Take the very largest and ripest tomatos. Wash, but do
-not scald or peel them. Cut the tomatos _half_ apart on four sides,
-extract the seeds, and fill each tomato with a nice forcemeat of
-stuffing, made of bread-crumbs, butter, minced veal or pork, mace,
-nutmeg, and sweet marjoram. Having stewed this stuffing in a sauce-pan,
-(moistening it with tomato juice, or gravy) fill all the tomatos with
-it, opening them out a little like the leaves of a tulip. Butter
-slightly a heated gridiron, and broil them on it. Or, they may be baked
-in an oven.
-
-This is a dish for company, either at dinner or breakfast.
-
-
-BUTTON TOMATOS.--These are the very smallest tomatos, and are excellent
-for pickling and preserving. If quite ripe, and free from blemishes,
-they will keep very well in cold vinegar, and are the easiest done of
-all pickles. There are two sorts of button tomatos, the red and the
-yellow, both equally good. Wipe every tomato clean and dry, and put
-them into small glass jars that have a cover. Fill the jars two-thirds
-with the tomatos, and then fill up to the top with the best cider
-vinegar. On the top put a table-spoonful of salad oil, and cover them
-closely. They require nothing to secure their keeping well. But the
-taste will be improved, by putting in with them, three very small thin
-muslin bags, each containing mace, nutmeg, and ginger, broken small, but
-not powdered. Lay one bag of spice at the bottom of the jar; one about
-the middle, and one near the top. If done without spice, they are the
-cheapest of all pickles. Do not put them into soups or stews; but eat
-them cold with meat, like other pickles.
-
-If kegs of these tomatos were carried to sea, and liberally served out
-to the crew, the scurvy would be less frequent, even on long voyages.
-
-Large whole tomatos would do for this purpose. We wish it were the
-universal custom in ships to take out with them plenty of tomatos kept
-in this way in vinegar. Tomato catchup is now much used for the army--so
-it should be for the navy; not only for the sick, but for the well; to
-keep them well.
-
-
-
-
-BREAD, PLAIN CAKES, etc.
-
-
-HINTS ON HEATING OVENS AND BAKING.--Brick ovens are generally heated
-with dry fagots or small branches, or with light split wood. For baking
-bread, the oven-wood must be heavier than for pies. A heap of wood
-should be placed in the centre of the oven on the brick floor, and then
-set on fire. While the wood is burning, the door of the oven must be
-left open. When the wood is all burnt down, and reduced to a mass of
-small red coals, the oven will be very hot. Then shovel out all the
-coals and sweep the oven floor with a broom, till it is perfectly clean,
-and entirely free from ashes. Try the heat within. For baking bread, the
-floor of the oven should look red, and a little flour thrown in should
-burn brown immediately. If you can hold your hand within the mouth of
-the oven as long as you can distinctly count twenty, the heat is about
-right. Pies, puddings, &c., require less heat. When a brick oven is
-used, a peel, or large broad-bladed long-handled wooden shovel is
-necessary for putting in the bread, pies, &c., placing them on the broad
-or shovel-end of the peel, and slipping them off on the oven floor. Then
-close up the door of the oven, and leave the things to bake. When done,
-slip the peel beneath them, and hand them out on it.
-
-To bake in an Iron Dutch oven, (a large deep, cast-iron pan, with a
-handle, a close-fitting lid, and standing on three or four feet,) you
-must first stand the lid upright before a clear fire to heat the inside;
-and it will be best if the oven itself is also stood up before the fire
-for the same purpose. This should be done while the article to be baked
-is preparing, that it may be put in as soon as it is ready. The oven may
-be suspended to the crane, and hung over the fire, or it may be set on a
-bed of hot wood coals in the corner of the hearth. As soon as the loaf
-or pie is in, put on the lid of the oven, and cover it all over with hot
-coals, replenishing it with more live coals as the baking proceeds. If
-you find it too hot on the top, deaden it with ashes. If the oven stands
-on the hearth, keep up the heat at the bottom, by additional live coals
-placed beneath it. Whether the oven is hung over the fire, or stood on
-the hearth, there must always be hot coals all over the lid, the hottest
-near the edge.
-
-To bake on a griddle, you may either hang it over the fire, or set it
-over hot coals on the hearth. Most griddles have feet. The fire must be
-quite clear and bright, and free from smoke, or the cakes will be
-blackened, and have a disagreeable taste. The griddle must be perfectly
-clean; and while you are baking, it will require frequent scraping, with
-a broad knife. If it is well scraped after every cake is taken off, it
-will not want greasing, as there will be no stickiness. Otherwise, some
-butter tied up in a clean rag and laid on a saucer, must be kept at hand
-all the time, to rub over the griddle between the baking of each cake;
-for butter, lard, or nice beef or veal dripping may be substituted, but
-it will not be so fine. Never grease with mutton fat, as it will
-communicate the taste of tallow. A bit of the fat of _fresh_ pork may
-do, (stuck on a fork,) but salt pork will give the outside of the cakes
-a disagreeable saltness, and therefore should not be used.
-
-A griddle may be placed in the oven of a hot stove. Some close stoves
-have a hole in the top with a flat lid or cover, which lid can be used
-as a griddle.
-
-The tin-reflecting ovens (with shelves for the pies and cakes) that are
-used for baking in the summer, and that, having a furnace beneath, and a
-chimney-pipe, can be set out of doors, so that the kitchen may not be
-kept hot, are very good for things that will bake soon, and that do not
-require what is called a strong, solid heat. But they are not effective
-unless the inside is kept _very bright_; otherwise it will not reflect
-the heat. The tin ovens should (as well as tin roasters) be cleaned
-thoroughly and scoured bright with sand every time they are used.
-
-The art of baking with anthracite, (or any other mineral coal,) can only
-be acquired by practice. The above hints on baking, refer exclusively to
-wood fires.
-
-When a charcoal furnace is used for baking, stewing, or any sort of
-cooking, it should either be set out in the open air, or the door of the
-kitchen must be kept open all the time. The vapor of charcoal in a
-close room is so deleterious as to cause death.
-
-
-DRIED CORN MEAL YEAST CAKES.--Half a pound of fresh hops, four quarts of
-water, a pint of wheat or rye flour, half a pint of strong fresh yeast
-from the brewer or baker, three pints or more of indian meal. Boil half
-a pound of fresh hops in four quarts of water, till the liquid is
-reduced to two quarts. Strain it into a pan, and mix in sufficient wheat
-flour to make a thin batter, adding half a pint of the best yeast you
-can procure. Leave it to ferment; and when the fermentation is over,
-stir in sufficient indian meal to make a moderately stiff dough. Cover
-it, and set in a warm place to rise. When it has become very light, roll
-it out into a square sheet an inch thick, and cut it into flat cakes,
-about four inches square. Spread them out separately, on a large dish,
-and let them dry slowly in a cool place where there is no sun. While
-drying, turn them five or six times a day. When they are quite dry and
-hard, put them, separately, into brown paper bags, and keep them in a
-box closely covered, and in a place not the least damp.
-
-When you want them to use for yeast, dissolve in a little warm water one
-or more of the cakes, in proportion to the quantity of bread you intend
-making. When it is quite dissolved, stir it hard, thicken it with a
-little wheat flour, cover it, and place it near the fire to rise, before
-you use it. Then mix it with the flour, according to the usual manner
-of making bread. One yeast cake is enough for two quarts of meal or
-flour.
-
-This way of preserving yeast is very convenient for keeping through the
-summer, or for conveying to a distance.
-
-
-EXCELLENT HOME-MADE YEAST.--Yeast should always be kept in a glass
-bottle or a stone jug, and never in earthen or metal. Before you make
-fresh yeast, empty entirely the vessel that has contained the last; and
-if of stone, scald it twice with boiling water, in which it will be well
-to mix a little clear lye. Then rince it with cold water, till perfectly
-clean. If you have not used lye in scalding it, dissolve some potash or
-pearlash in the rinsing water, to remove any acidity that may linger
-about the vessel, and may therefore spoil the new yeast. If you keep
-your yeast in glass bottles, the water must be warm, but not hot; as
-scalding water may crack them: also, melt some potash or pearlash in
-this water. The vessel for keeping it being purified, proceed to make
-your yeast. Have ready, in a kettle over the fire, two quarts of boiling
-water; put into it a very large handful of hops, (as fine and fresh as
-possible,) and let the water boil again with the hops in it for twenty
-minutes more. Sift into a pan three pints of wheat flour. Strain the
-liquor from the hops into a large bowl, and pour half of it hot over the
-flour. Stir it well, and press out all the lumps till it is quite
-smooth. Let the other half of the liquid stand till it is cool, and then
-pour it gradually to the rest; mixing it well, by stirring as you
-proceed. Then take half a pint of good strong yeast--brewer's or baker's
-yeast, if you can get it fresh; if not, you must use some that has been
-left from your last making, provided it is not the least sour; stir this
-yeast into the mixture of hop water and flour, put it immediately into
-your jug or bottles, and cork it loosely till the fermentation is over,
-(which should be in an hour,) and it will then be fit for use.
-Afterwards cork it tightly. It will keep better if you put a raisin or
-two into the bottom of each bottle, before you pour in the fresh yeast.
-Into a stone jug put half a dozen raisins.
-
-All yeast is better and more powerful for being fresh. It is better to
-make it frequently, (the trouble being little,) than to risk its
-becoming sour by endeavoring to keep it too long. When sour it becomes
-weak and watery, and tastes and smells disagreeably, and will never make
-light bread; besides, being very unwholesome. The acidity may be
-somewhat corrected by stirring in some dissolved pearlash, saleratus, or
-soda, immediately before the yeast is used; but it is better to have it
-good and fresh, without the necessity of any corrective. Yeast should
-always be kept in a cool place.
-
-Those who live in towns where there are breweries have no occasion to
-make their own yeast during the brewing season, and in summer they can
-every day supply themselves with fresh yeast from the baker's. It is
-only in country places where there are neither brewers or bakers that it
-is expedient to make it at home. For home-made yeast, we know the above
-receipt to be excellent.
-
-Sweet cakes, buns, rusks, &c., require stronger and fresher yeast than
-bread; the sugar will otherwise retard their rising.
-
-
-INDIAN BREAD OR PONE.--Four quarts of indian meal sifted, a large half
-pint of wheat flour, a table-spoonful of salt, half a pint of strong
-fresh yeast, a quart of warm water. Sift into a large deep pan the
-indian meal and the wheat flour, mixing them well. Make a hole in the
-centre. The water must be warm, but not hot. Mix it with the yeast, and
-pour them into the hole in the midst of the meal. Take a spoon, and with
-it mix into the liquid enough of the surrounding meal to make a thin
-batter, which you must stir till it is quite smooth, and free from
-lumps. Then strew a handful of wheat flour over the surface, scattering
-it thinly, so as to cover the whole. Warm a clean cloth, and lay it
-folded over the top of the pan. Then set it in a warm place to rise,
-nearer the fire in winter than in summer. When it is quite light, and
-has risen so that the flour on the surface is cracked, strew on the
-salt, and begin to form the whole mass into a dough; commencing round
-the hole that contains the batter, and adding, gradually, sufficient
-lukewarm water (which you must have ready for the purpose,) to mix it of
-the proper consistence. When the whole is completely mixed, and the
-batter in the centre is thoroughly incorporated with the dough, knead it
-hard for at least half an hour. Then, having formed the dough into a
-round lump in the middle of the pan, strew a little more flour thinly
-over it. Cover it, and set it again in a warm place for half an hour.
-Then flour your pasteboard, divide the dough equally, and make it into
-two loaves. Have the oven ready. Put in the loaves directly, and bake
-them about two hours or more. Indian meal requires always more baking
-than wheat. When you take them out, it is well to wrap each loaf in a
-clean, coarse towel, well sprinkled with cold water, and rolled up damp
-till the bread is baked. Having thus wrapped up the loaves, stand them
-on end to cool slowly. The damp cloths will prevent the crust from
-hardening too much while the loaves are cooling.
-
-All indian bread, and every sort of indian cake, is best when quite
-fresh.
-
-Excellent bread may be made of equal proportions of wheat, rye flour,
-and indian corn; or of three parts wheat and one part indian. All bread
-should be kept closely secluded from the air, wrapped in cloths, and put
-away in boxes or baskets with tightly-fitting lids.
-
-Should you find the dough sour, (either from the heat of the weather, or
-from standing too long,) you may recover it, by dissolving in a little
-lukewarm water a tea-spoonful of pearlash, saleratus, or soda. Sprinkle
-this water all over the dough. Then knead it in, so that it may be
-dispersed throughout. Then put it into the oven as soon as possible;
-first tasting the dough, to discover if the sourness is entirely
-removed. If not, mix in a little more pearlash, and then taste it again.
-Take care not to put in too much of any of these alkaline substances,
-lest they communicate a disagreeable, soapy taste to the bread.
-
-When you buy corn meal, it will keep better if the whole is sifted as
-soon as you get it. Avoid buying much at a time, unless you can keep it
-in a very cool place. When sour, it is unfit to eat. Common indian meal
-is much the best for use.
-
-
-INDIAN RYE BREAD.--Two quarts of indian meal, two quarts of rye meal,
-three pints of milk or water, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, half a pint of
-strong fresh yeast. Having sifted the rye and indian meal in a large
-pan, mix them well together, adding the salt. Boil the milk or water in
-a sauce-pan, and when scalding hot pour it on the meal, and stir the
-whole very hard. If too stiff, add a little more warm water. Let it
-stand till it becomes only of a lukewarm heat, and then stir in the
-yeast. Knead the mixture into a stiff dough, and knead it long and hard
-for at least half an hour. Then cover the pan with a thick cloth that
-has been previously warmed, and set it near the fire to rise. When the
-dough is quite light, and cracked all over the top, take it out of the
-pan; divide the mass in half, make it into two loaves, knead each loaf
-well for ten minutes or more, and then cover and set them again near the
-fire for about half an hour. By this time have the oven ready, put in
-the loaves directly, and bake them at least an hour and a half. This
-bread is considered very wholesome.
-
-Should you find the dough sour, you may rectify it by kneading in a
-tea-spoonful of soda or pearlash, dissolved in a little warm water.
-
-
-INDIAN WHEAT BREAD.--This is made in the above manner, substituting
-wheat for rye flour.
-
-In any sort of home-made bread, (either white or brown) a handful or
-more of indian meal will be found an improvement, rendering it moist and
-sweet.
-
-
-BOSTON RYE AND INDIAN BREAD.--Two quarts of indian meal, two quarts of
-rye meal, half a pint of strong fresh yeast, half a pint of West India
-molasses, a small table-spoonful of salt. Sift the rye and indian meal
-into a large pan or wooden bowl; and mix them well together, adding a
-little salt. Have ready half a pint of water, warm but not hot. Mix with
-it the molasses, and then stir into it the yeast. Make a hole in the
-middle of the pan of meal, pour in the liquid, and then with a spoon
-work into it a portion of the flour that surrounds the hole, till the
-liquid in the centre becomes a thick batter. Sprinkle the top with rye
-meal, lay a thick cloth over the pan, and set it in a warm place to
-rise. In three or four hours it should be light enough to appear cracked
-all over the surface. Then pour into the middle (by degrees) about a
-pint of warm water, (it must not be hot,) and as you pour mix it well
-all through the dough, till the whole becomes a round mass. Sprinkle
-some rye flour on the dough, and having floured your hands, knead it
-long and hard, (at least half an hour, and after it ceases to stick to
-your hands,) turning it over as you proceed. Then sprinkle the dough
-again with flour, cover it, and again set it in a warm place to rise.
-Have the oven ready, and of the proper heat, so that the bread may be
-put in as soon as it has completely risen the second time. When
-perfectly light, the dough will stand high, and the surface will be
-cracked all over. This quantity will be sufficient for a common-sized
-loaf. Set it directly into the oven, and bake it about two hours. When
-bread has done rising, it will fall again if not put into the oven. As
-soon as it is done, wrap it immediately in a clean coarse towel wet with
-cold water, and stand it up on end till it is cool.
-
-This is a palatable, cheap, and wholesome bread. It may be baked in a
-deep tin or iron pan.
-
-If the dough should have stood so long as to become sour, (which it
-will, if mixed over night,) restore it by kneading in a small
-tea-spoonful of pearlash or saleratus melted in a little warm water.
-
-
-EGG PONE.--Three eggs, a quart of indian meal, a large table-spoonful of
-fresh butter, a small tea-spoonful of salt, a half pint (or more) of
-milk. Beat the eggs very light, and mix them with the milk. Then stir
-in, gradually, the indian meal, adding the salt and butter. It must not
-be a batter, but a soft dough, just thick enough to be stirred well with
-a spoon. If too thin, add more indian meal; if too stiff, thin it with a
-little more milk. Beat or stir it _long and hard_. Butter a tin or iron
-pan. Put the mixture into it, and set the pan immediately into an oven,
-which must be moderately hot at first, and the heat increased afterward.
-A Dutch oven is best for this purpose. It should bake an hour and a half
-or two hours, in proportion to its thickness. Send it to table hot, and
-cut into slices. Eat it with butter, or molasses.
-
-
-INDIAN MUSH.--Have ready on a clear fire a pot of boiling water. Stir
-into it, by degrees, (a handful at a time,) sufficient indian meal to
-make a very thick porridge, and then add a very small portion of salt,
-allowing not more than a level tea-spoonful to a quart of meal. You must
-keep the pot boiling all the time you are stirring in the meal; and
-between every handful stir hard with the mush-stick, (a round stick
-about half a yard long, flattened at the lower end,) as, if not well
-stirred, the mush will be lumpy. After it is sufficiently thick and
-smooth, keep it boiling an hour longer, stirring it occasionally. Then
-cover the pot closely, and hang it higher up the chimney, or set it on
-hot coals on the hearth, so as to simmer it slowly for another hour. The
-goodness and wholesomeness of mush depends greatly on its being long and
-thoroughly boiled. It should also be made very thick. If well made, and
-well cooked, it is wholesome and nutritious; but the contrary, if thin,
-and not sufficiently boiled. It is not too long to have it three or four
-hours over the fire, first boiling, then simmering. On the contrary, it
-will be better for it. The coarser the corn meal the less cooking it
-requires. Send it to table hot, and in a deep dish. Eat it with sweet
-milk, buttermilk, or cream, or with butter and sugar, or with butter and
-molasses; making a hole in the middle of your plate of mush, putting
-some butter into the hole, and then adding the sugar or molasses.
-
-Cold mush that has been left may be cut into slices, or mouthfuls, and
-fried next day, in butter, or in nice dripping of veal, beef, or pork;
-but not mutton or lamb.
-
-
-INDIAN HASTY PUDDING.--Put two quarts of milk into a clean pot or
-sauce-pan. Set it over the fire, adding a level tea-spoonful of salt,
-and, when it comes to a boil, stir in a lump of fresh butter about the
-size of a goose egg. Then add (a handful at a time) sufficient indian
-meal to make it very thick, stirring it all the while with a mush stick.
-Keep it boiling well, and continue to throw in indian meal till it is so
-thick that the stick stands upright in it. Then send it to table hot,
-and eat it with milk, cream, or molasses and butter. What is left may be
-cut into slices, and fried next day, or boiled in a bag.
-
-
-INDIAN MEAL GRUEL.--This is an excellent food for the sick. Having
-sifted some indian meal, mix in a quart bowl three table-spoonfuls of
-the meal with six of cold water. Stir it smooth, and press out the lumps
-against the side of the bowl. Have ready a very clean sauce-pan,
-entirely free from grease, with a pint of boiling water. Pour this,
-scalding hot, on the mixture in the bowl, a little at a time, and stir
-it well, adding a pinch of salt. Then put the whole back into the
-sauce-pan. Set it on hot coals and stir it till it boils, making the
-spoon go down to the bottom to prevent the gruel from burning. After it
-has come to a boil, let it continue boiling half an hour, stirring it
-frequently, and skimming it. Give it to the invalid warm, in a bowl or
-tumbler, to be eaten with a tea-spoon. It may be sweetened with a little
-sugar. When the physician permits, some grated nutmeg may be added;
-also, a very little wine.
-
-
-RYE MUSH.--To make smooth rye mush, sift a quart or more of rye meal
-into a pan, and gradually pour in sufficient cold water to make a very
-thick batter, stirring it hard with a spoon as you proceed, and
-carefully pressing out all the lumps against the side of the pan. Add a
-very little salt. The batter must be so thick at the last that you can
-scarcely stir it. Then thin it with a little more water, and see that it
-is quite smooth. Rye, and also wheat flour, have a disposition to be
-more lumpy than corn meal, when made into mush. When thoroughly mixed
-and stirred, put it into a pot, place it over the fire and boil it well,
-stirring it with a mush-stick till it comes to a hard boil; then place
-it in a diminished heat, and simmer it slowly till you want to dish it
-up. Eat it warm, with butter and molasses, or with sweet milk, or fresh
-buttermilk. Rye mush is considered very wholesome, particularly in cases
-of dyspepsia.
-
-
-COMMON HOE-CAKE.--Take an earthen or tin pan, and half fill it with
-coarse indian meal, which had best be sifted in. Add a little salt. Have
-ready a kettle of boiling water. Pour into the indian meal sufficient
-hot water (a little at a time,) to make a stiff dough, stirring it with
-a spoon as you proceed. It must be thoroughly mixed, and stirred hard.
-If you want the cakes for breakfast, mix this dough over night; cover
-the pan, and set it in a _cool_ place till morning. If kept warm, it
-may turn sour. Early next morning, as soon as the fire is burning well,
-set the griddle over it, and take out the dough, a handful at a time.
-Flatten and shape it by patting it with your hands, till you form it
-into cakes about the size of a common saucer, and half an inch thick.
-When the griddle is quite hot, lay on it as many cakes as it will hold,
-and bake them brown. When the upper side is done, slip a broad knife
-beneath and turn them over. They must be baked brown on both sides. Eat
-them warm, with buttermilk, sweet milk, butter, molasses, or whatever is
-most convenient. If you intend these cakes for dinner or supper, mix
-them as early in the day as you can, and (covering the pan) let them
-stand in a cool place till wanted for baking. In cold weather you may
-save trouble by mixing over night enough to last the next day for
-breakfast, dinner, and supper; baking them as they are wanted for each
-meal. Or they may be all baked in the morning, and eaten cold; but they
-are then not so palatable as when warm. They will be less liable to
-stick, if before each baking the griddle is dredged with wheat flour, or
-greased with a bit of fat pork stuck on a fork. You may cover it all
-over with one large cake, instead of several small ones.
-
-This cake is so called, because in some parts of America it was
-customary to bake it on the iron of a hoe, stood up before the fire. It
-is better known by that name than by any other.
-
-
-COMMON GRIDDLE CAKE.--A quart of indian meal, sufficient warm water to
-make a soft dough, a small tea-spoonful of salt. Put the indian meal
-into a pan, and add the salt. Make a hole in the centre of the meal, and
-pour in a little warm water. Then mix it with a large, strong spoon,
-adding, by degrees, water enough to make a soft dough. Flour your hands,
-and knead it into a large lump--divide it into two equal portions. Flour
-your pasteboard, lay on it the first lump of dough, and roll it out
-about an inch thick. Then, (having already heated your griddle,) lay the
-cake upon it, spreading it evenly, and make it a good round shape. It
-should cover the whole surface of the griddle, which must first be
-greased, either with butter or lard tied in a rag, or with a bit of fat
-fresh pork. Bake it well; and when one side is well browned, turn it on
-the other, taking care not to break it. Send it to table hot, cut into
-three-cornered pieces--split and butter them. As soon as the first cake
-is sent in, put on the other to bake.
-
-This is one of the plainest and simplest preparations of indian cake;
-and is very good when warm.
-
-
-PLAIN JOHNNY CAKE.--A quart of indian meal, a pint of warm water, a
-level tea-spoonful of salt. Sift a quart of indian meal into a pan. Make
-a hole in the middle, and pour in a pint of warm water, adding the salt.
-With a spoon mix the meal and water gradually into a soft dough. Stir
-it very hard for a quarter of an hour or more, till it becomes light and
-spongy. Then spread the dough, smooth and evenly, on a stout, flat
-board. A piece of the head of a flour barrel will serve for this
-purpose. Place the board nearly (but not quite) upright, and set a
-smoothing-iron or a stone against the back to support it. Bake it well.
-When done, cut it into squares, and send it hot to table, split and
-buttered. You may eat molasses with it.
-
-
-VERY PLAIN INDIAN DUMPLINGS.--Sift some indian meal into a pan; add
-about a salt-spoon of salt to each quart of meal, and scald it with
-sufficient boiling water to make a stiff dough. Pour in the water
-gradually, stirring as you pour. When the dough becomes a stiff lump
-divide it into equal portions; flour your hands, and make it into thick
-flat dumplings, about as large round as the top of a glass tumbler, or a
-breakfast cup. Dredge the dumplings on all sides with flour, put them
-into a pot of boiling water, (if made sufficiently stiff they need not
-be tied in cloths,) and keep them boiling hard till thoroughly done. Try
-them with a fork, which must come out quite clean, and with no
-clamminess sticking to it. They are an excellent appendage to salt pork
-or bacon, serving them up with the meat; or they may be eaten afterwards
-with butter and molasses, or with milk sweetened well with brown sugar,
-and flavored with a little ground cinnamon. On no account boil them with
-meat.
-
-
-INDIAN MUFFINS.--A pint and a half of yellow indian meal, sifted; a
-handful of wheat flour; a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; a quart of
-milk; four eggs; a very small tea-spoonful of salt. Put the milk into a
-sauce-pan. Cut the butter into it. Set it over the fire and warm it till
-the butter is very soft, but not till it melts. Then take it off, stir
-it well till all mixed, and set it away to cool. Beat four eggs very
-light, and when the milk is cold, stir them into it alternately with the
-meal, a little at a time, of each. Add the salt. Beat the whole very
-hard after it is all mixed. Then butter some muffin-rings on the inside.
-Set them in a hot oven, or on a heated griddle; pour some of the batter
-into each, and bake the muffins well. Send them hot to table, continuing
-to bake while a fresh supply is wanted. Pull them open with your
-fingers, and eat them with butter, to which you may add molasses or
-honey. These muffins will be found excellent, and can be prepared in a
-very short time; for instance, in three quarters or half an hour before
-breakfast or tea.
-
-This mixture may be baked in waffle-irons, as waffles. Butter them, and
-have on the table a glass bowl with powdered sugar and powdered
-cinnamon, to eat with these waffles.
-
-
-CORN MEAL BREAKFAST CAKES.--A quart of indian meal; a handful or more of
-wheat flour; a large salt-spoon of salt; a quart of warm water; an
-additional pint of lukewarm water; a bit of pearlash the size of a
-hazle-nut, or the same quantity of soda or saleratus. Mix over night, in
-a large pan, the indian meal, the wheat flour and salt. Pour on
-gradually a quart of warm water, (warm but not hot,) and stir it in with
-a large wooden or iron spoon, so as to form a very soft dough. Cover the
-pan, and set it on the dresser till morning. In the morning thin the
-dough with another pint of warm water, so as to make it into a batter,
-having first dissolved in the water a salt-spoonful of powdered pearlash
-or saleratus, or a bit the size of a hazle-nut. Beat the mixture hard.
-Then cover it, and let it stand near the fire for a quarter of an hour
-before you begin to bake it. Bake it in thin cakes on a griddle. Send
-them to table hot, and eat them with butter and molasses, or honey.
-
-
-INDIAN RICE CAKES.--Take equal quantities of yellow indian meal and well
-boiled rice. Mix them together in a pan, the meal and rice alternately,
-a little at a time of each. The boiled rice may be either hot or cold;
-but it will be rather best to mix it hot. Having first mixed it with a
-spoon, knead it well with your hands; moistening it with a little milk
-or water, if you find it too stiff. Have ready, over the fire, a heated
-griddle. Grease it with fresh butter tied in a clean rag; and having
-made the mixture into flat round cakes, bake them well on both sides.
-Eat them with butter and sugar, or butter and molasses, or with butter
-alone.
-
-
-PUMPKIN INDIAN CAKES.--Take equal portions of indian meal, and stewed
-pumpkin that has been well mashed and _drained very dry_ in a sieve or
-cullender. Put the stewed pumpkin in a pan, and stir the meal gradually
-into it, a spoonful at a time, adding a little butter as you proceed.
-Mix the whole thoroughly, stirring it very hard. If not thick enough to
-form a stiff dough, add a little more indian meal. Make it into round,
-flat cakes, about the size of a muffin, and bake them over the fire on a
-hot griddle greased with butter. Or lay them in a square iron pan, and
-bake them in an oven.
-
-Send them to table hot, and eat them with butter.
-
-
-EXCELLENT BUCKWHEAT CAKES.--A quart of buckwheat meal, sifted; a level
-tea-spoonful of salt; a small half pint or a large handful of indian
-meal; two large table-spoonfuls of strong fresh brewer's yeast or four
-table-spoonfuls of home-made yeast; sufficient lukewarm water to make a
-moderate batter. Mix together the buckwheat and indian meal, and add the
-salt. Make a hole in the centre of the meal, and pour in the yeast. Then
-stir in gradually, from a kettle, sufficient tepid or lukewarm water to
-make a moderately thick batter when united with the yeast. Cover the
-pan, set it in a warm place, and leave it to rise. It should be light in
-about three hours. When it has risen high, and is covered with bubbles,
-it is fit to bake. Have ready a clean griddle well heated over the fire.
-Grease it well with a bit of fresh butter tied in a clean white rag, and
-kept on a saucer near you. Then dip out a large ladleful of the batter,
-and bake it on the griddle; turning it when brown, with the cake-turner,
-and baking it brown on the other side. Grease the griddle slightly
-between baking each cake, or scrape it smooth with a broad knife. As
-fast as you bake the cakes, lay them, several in a pile, on a hot plate.
-Butter them, and if of large size cut them across into four pieces. Or
-send them to table to be buttered there. Trim off the edges before they
-go in.
-
-If your batter has been mixed over night, and is found sour in the
-morning, dissolve a salt-spoon of pearlash or saleratus in a little
-lukewarm water, stir it into the batter, let it stand a quarter of an
-hour, and then bake it. The alkali will remove the acidity, and increase
-the lightness of the batter. If you use soda for this purpose it will
-require a tea-spoonful.
-
-If the batter is kept at night in so cold a place as to freeze, it will
-be unfit for use. Do not grease the griddle with meat-fat of any sort.
-
-
-NICE RYE BATTER CAKES.--A quart of lukewarm milk, two eggs, a large
-table-spoonful of fresh, brewer's yeast or two of home-made yeast;
-sufficient sifted rye meal to make a moderate batter; a salt-spoon of
-salt; having warmed the milk, beat the eggs very light, and stir them
-gradually into it, alternately with the rye meal, adding the salt. Put
-in the meal, a handful at a time, till you have the batter about as
-thick as for buckwheat cakes. Then stir in the yeast, and give the
-batter a hard beating, seeing that it is smooth and free from lumps.
-Cover the pan, and set it in a warm place to rise. When risen high, and
-covered with bubbles, the batter is fit to bake. Have ready over the
-fire a hot griddle, and bake the cakes in the manner of buckwheat. Send
-them to table hot, and eat them with butter, molasses, or honey.
-
-Yeast powders, used according to the directions that accompany them, and
-put in at the last, just before baking, are an improvement to the
-lightness of all batter cakes, provided that real yeast or eggs are also
-in the mixture. But it is not well to depend on the powders exclusively;
-particularly when real yeast is to be had. The lightness produced by
-yeast powders alone, is not the right sort; and though the cakes are
-eatable, they are too tough and leathery to be wholesome. As
-_auxiliaries_ to genuine yeast, and to beaten eggs, yeast powders are
-excellent. But not as the sole dependence.
-
-Indian batter cakes may be made as above; or rye and indian meal be
-mixed in equal proportions.
-
-
-INDIAN CUP CAKES.--A pint and a half of yellow Indian meal; half a pint
-of wheat flour; a pint and a half of _sour_ milk; (buttermilk is best;)
-a small tea-spoonful of saleratus or soda dissolved in warm water; two
-eggs; a level tea-spoonful of salt. Sift the indian and wheat meal into
-a pan and mix them well, adding the salt. If you have no buttermilk or
-other sour milk at hand, turn some sweet milk sour by setting a pan of
-it in the sun, or stirring in a spoonful of vinegar. Take out a small
-tea-cupful of the sour milk, and reserve it to be put in at the last.
-Beat the eggs very light, and then stir them, gradually, into the milk,
-alternately with the meal, a little at a time of each. Lastly, dissolve
-the soda or saleratus, and stir it into the cup of sour milk that has
-been reserved for the purpose. It will effervesce; stir it while foaming
-into the mixture, which should be a thick batter. Have ready some
-tea-cups, or little deep tins. Butter them well; nearly fill them with
-the batter, and set them immediately into a rather brisk oven. The cakes
-must be thoroughly baked all through. When done, turn them out on large
-plates, and send them hot to the breakfast or tea-table. Split them into
-three pieces, and eat them with butter.
-
-The soda will entirely remove the acidity of the milk, which will
-effervesce the better for being sour at first, adding therefore to the
-lightness of the cake. Taste the milk, and if you find that the
-slightest sourness remains, add a little more dissolved soda.
-
-All the alkalies, pearlash, saleratus, soda, and sal-volatile, will
-remove acidity, and increase lightness; but if too much is used, they
-will impart a disagreeable taste. It is useless to put lemon or orange
-juice into any mixture that is afterwards to have one of these alkalies,
-as they will entirely destroy the flavor of the fruit.
-
-
-CAROLINA RICE CAKES.--Having picked and washed half a pint of rice, boil
-it by itself till the grains lose all form, and are dissolved into a
-thick mass or jelly. While warm, mix into it a large lump of the best
-fresh butter, and a salt-spoonful of salt. Pour into a bowl a moderate
-sized tea-cupful of ground rice flour, and add to it as much milk as
-will make a tolerably stiff batter. Stir it till it is quite smooth, and
-free from lumps. Then mix it thoroughly with the boiled rice. Beat six
-eggs as light as possible, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture.
-Bake it on a griddle, in cakes about as large round as a saucer. Eat
-them warm with butter; and have on the table, in a small bowl, some
-powdered white sugar and nutmeg, for those who like it.
-
-
-AUNT LYDIA'S CORN CAKE.--Sift into a large pan a quart of yellow corn
-meal, and add a level tea-spoonful of salt, (not more.) Have ready a
-pint of boiling milk, sufficient to make a soft dough. Mix the milk hot
-into the corn meal, and add about a quarter of a pound, or half a pint
-of nice fresh butter. Having beaten five eggs till very light and thick,
-stir them gradually into the mixture, and set it to cool. All
-preparations of corn meal require much beating and stirring. Have ready
-some small tin pans, about four or five inches square, and two or three
-inches deep. They are especially good for baking such cakes, (far better
-than patty-pans,) and are made by any tinsmith. Grease the pans with the
-same butter you have used in mixing the cakes. _Fill the pans to the
-top_ with the above mixture, that the heat may immediately catch the
-surface, and cause it to puff up high above the edges of the pan. If
-properly mixed, and well beaten, there is no danger of it running over.
-If only half filled, and not very light, the mixture when baking will
-sink down, and become heavy and tough. Set these cakes immediately into
-a moderate oven. Bake them brown, and send them to the breakfast table
-hot. Split and butter them.
-
-They may be baked in muffin rings, but the small square pans are best.
-
-This is the very best preparation of Indian cakes. If _exactly
-followed_, we believe there is none superior; as is the opinion of all
-persons who have eaten them. The cook from whom this receipt was
-obtained, is a Southern colored woman, called Aunt Lydia.
-
-The above quantities will furnish cakes only for a small family. If the
-family is of tolerable size, double the proportions of each article--as
-for instance, two quarts of Indian meal, one quart of milk, half a pound
-of butter, and ten eggs, with a level table-spoonful of salt. Let them
-be well baked; not scorched on the top, and raw at the bottom.
-
-We recommend them highly as the perfection of corn cakes, if well made,
-well baked, and with all the ingredients of the best quality.
-
-Use yellow indian meal in preference to white. The yellow is sweeter,
-has more of the true corn taste, and its color shows at once what it is.
-The white has less flavor, and may be mistaken for very coarse wheat. It
-is difficult to keep corn meal good for the whole year. Before the new
-corn meal is in market, the old is apt to become musty. If you live in a
-city it is best to buy it as you want it; a few pecks at a time. If in
-the country, sift your barrel of corn meal soon after it is brought;
-divide it, and keep it in several different vessels, always well
-covered.
-
-
-SHORT CAKE.--As this requires no rising, it may be mixed and prepared at
-half an hour's notice. Take a quart and a pint of wheat flour, sift it
-into a pan, and divide into three parts three quarters of a pound of
-nice fresh butter. Cut up one piece into the pan of flour, and mix it
-into a dough with a broad knife, adding, as you proceed, as little water
-as will be barely sufficient. The water must be very cold. Roll out this
-lump of paste, dredge it slightly with flour, fold it up, and roll it
-out again. Then cover it with a second division of the butter, put on
-the sheet of paste with the knife, and dispersed at equal distances.
-Sprinkle it with flour, fold it, and roll out the sheet again. Put on
-the remainder of the butter as before, in bits equally dispersed. Fold,
-dredge, and roll out the dough into a rather thin sheet. Cut it into
-small round cakes with the edge of a tumbler, or something like it,
-using up the clippings of paste left at the last to make one more cake.
-Have ready a hot griddle or oven. Put on the cakes so as not to touch
-each other, and bake them light brown on both sides. Send them to table
-hot, to be split and buttered. Mix and roll out these cakes as fast as
-possible, and avoid handling them more than you need. Paste made
-_slowly_ is never light or flakey. Mix quick and roll quick. This is a
-good plain paste for fruit pot-pies or dumplings.
-
-You may make common short cake for very healthy people, with two quarts
-of flour, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a pound
-of lard, mixed into the pan of meal with a very little cold water, and a
-second quarter of lard spread all over the sheet of paste, after rolling
-it out. Fold, sprinkle, and roll it out again into one round griddle
-cake, or two if you have enough of dough. Take care, in baking, not to
-have it smoked or blackened at the edge. When done, cut it into "pie
-pieces," and send it to table to be split and buttered.
-
-
-HALF MOONS.--Of this paste you may make half-moon pies. Cut the paste
-into round cakes. On half the circle, lay plenty of stewed fruit well
-sweetened, (for instance, stewed dried peach,) fold over it the other
-half, pinch the two edges together, and crimp them. Bake them in an
-oven, and eat them fresh. If you have fruit in the house ready stewed,
-half-moon pies can be got up for a plain dessert on an emergency. Either
-mince meat, or sausage meat, may be baked in half-moons. They will bake
-very nicely, laid side by side, in large square tin pans, first dredged
-slightly with flour.
-
-
-SOFT MUFFINS.--Warm a quart of milk, and melt in it a quarter of a pound
-of the best fresh butter, cut into bits. When melted, stir it about, and
-set it away to cool. Beat four eggs till very thick and light, and stir
-them gradually into a pan of milk, and butter when it is quite cold.
-Then, by degrees, stir in enough of sifted flour to make a batter as
-thick as you can well beat it. Then, at the last, stir in three
-table-spoonfuls of baker's or brewer's yeast. Cover the pan of batter
-with a double cloth, and set it on the hearth (or some other warm place)
-to rise, but it must not be allowed to get hot. It should have risen
-nearly to the top of the pan, and be covered with bubbles in about three
-hours. The griddle being heated, grease it with nice butter tied in a
-rag; take a ladleful of batter out of the pan, pour it into the ring,
-and bake the muffins. Send them hot to table, and split and butter them.
-These are superior to all muffins. Those who have eaten them will never
-desire any others, if this receipt has been faithfully followed. Try it.
-
-
-SALLY LUNN CAKE.--This is a favorite tea cake, and so universally liked
-that it is well to make a liberal quantity of the mixture, and bake it
-in two loaves. Sift into a large pan three pounds of fine flour. Warm in
-a quart of milk half a pound of fresh butter, and add a small
-tea-spoonful of salt, six eggs well beaten, and add, gradually, two wine
-glasses of excellent fresh yeast. Mix the flour well into the pan, (a
-little at a time) and beat the whole very hard. Divide this quantity
-into two equal portions, and set it to rise in two pans. Cover it with
-thick cloths, and set it on the hearth to rise. When quite light, grease
-two loaf-pans with the same butter used for the cakes, and bake it in a
-moderate oven, keeping up the heat steadily to the last. It should be
-thoroughly done all through. Send it to table hot, cut in slices, but
-the slices left standing as in a pound cake at a party.
-
-The Sally Lunn mixture may be baked on a griddle, as muffins in muffin
-rings, and split and buttered at table.
-
-In mixing this cake, add neither sugar nor spice. They do not improve,
-but spoil it, as would be found on trial. It is the best of plain tea
-cakes, if properly made and baked.
-
-
-DELAWARE CAKES.--This is a plain tea cake. Sift into a pan two quarts of
-flour. Cut up half a pound of fresh butter, and rub it into the flour
-with your hands. Beat five eggs very light and thick; make a hole in the
-centre of the flour, and gradually stir the beaten eggs, in turn with a
-pint of milk. Then add a jill of fine fresh yeast. Mix the whole
-thoroughly with a broad knife. Transfer it to large square tin pans.
-Cover it with a clean flannel, and set it on the hearth to rise. When it
-is quite light, and cracked all over the surface, divide the dough into
-cakes and bake them in muffin rings, on a griddle or in a stove. If
-baked in one large cake, there is a risk of their being made heavy, by
-cutting them when hot.
-
-To make sweet cakes with the above mixture, add gradually to the flour
-in the pan, half a pound of powdered sugar before you rub in the butter,
-and after the eggs and milk. Stir in a wineglass of rosewater, or less,
-if it is very strong, (which rosewater seldom is) and also it loses much
-of its strength in cooking. Or, substitute the yellow rind and juice of
-a lemon, and some powdered nutmeg. They will then be a cake for company;
-otherwise, they will be for family teas.
-
-Either plain or sweet they are very good. We rather prefer them plain.
-If plain, omit even sugar. Sugar, without other flavoring, gives plain
-tea cakes a faint sickly taste, and is better left out entirely, except
-for children--and they like any kind of sweetness, however little.
-
-
-MARYLAND BISCUIT.--Take two quarts of sifted wheat flour, and add a
-small tea-spoonful of salt. Rub into the pan of flour a large quarter of
-a pound of lard, and add, gradually, warm milk enough to make a very
-stiff dough. Knead the lump of dough long and hard, and pound it on all
-sides with a rolling-pin. Divide the dough into several pieces, and
-knead and pound each piece separately. This must go on for two or three
-hours, continually kneading and pounding, otherwise it will be hard,
-tough, and indigestible. Then make it into small round thick biscuits,
-prick them with a fork, and bake them a pale brown.
-
-This is the most laborious of cakes, and also the most unwholesome, even
-when made in the best manner. We do not recommend it; but there is no
-accounting for tastes. Children should not eat these biscuits--nor grown
-persons either, if they can get any other sort of bread.
-
-When living in a town where there are bakers, there is no excuse for
-making Maryland biscuit. Believe nobody that says they are not
-unwholesome. Yet we have heard of families, in country places, where
-neither the mistress nor the cook knew any other preparation of wheat
-bread. Better to live on indian cakes.
-
-
-HOME-MADE BREAD.--You cannot have good bread without good flour, good
-yeast, good kneading, and good baking, all united. Like many other
-things, the best flour is always the cheapest in the end. There is none
-better than that which comes from the mills of Hiram Smith, Rochester,
-New York. All flour should be kept in a dry place, damp being always
-injurious to it. Good flour goes farther than that of inferior quality,
-and is both whiter and lighter. No skill will avail either in making or
-baking bread, if the flour is of bad quality. Flour will keep much
-better if, as soon as a new barrel is brought in, the whole of it is
-sifted, and divided in several buckets. Flour buckets, made for the
-purpose, are short and wide, are broader at the bottom than the top, and
-have handles and lids. They are to be had of all coopers. Yeast must
-always be of the best quality, strong and fresh. With too much yeast the
-bread will be bitter; with too little it will be heavy; with stale yeast
-it will be heavy, sour, and dark-colored. If baked too little, it
-becomes tough and clammy. We deprecate the practice of putting hartshorn
-in bread. It gives it a bad taste; and even if it produces a sort of
-factitious lightness, it also renders it tough and difficult to
-masticate, however nice it may look. Also, it is very unwholesome.
-
-The oven should be heated in time, to set in the bread as soon as ready.
-When once it has risen to its utmost lightness, it will fall and turn
-sour if permitted to stand. The only remedy for sour bread is, to melt
-a table-spoonful of soda or pearlash in tepid water, and sprinkle it
-over the dough, which must then be kneaded again, after it has rested
-half an hour. In summer, do not begin your bread over night; it will
-certainly be sour before morning. In winter you may do so, but keep it
-all night in a warm (though not a hot) place. If the dough freezes, you
-may throw it away at once.
-
-To knead, double up your hands, put them deep into the dough, and work
-it with your knuckles, exerting all your strength. When the dough sticks
-to them no longer, but leaves your bent fingers clean and clear, it is
-time to cease kneading, for you have done enough for that time.
-
-Sift into a deep pan, or large wooden bowl, a peck of fine wheat flour,
-(adding a large table-spoonful of salt,) and mix the water with half a
-pint of strong fresh brewer's yeast, or near a whole pint if the yeast
-is home-made. Pour this into the hole, in the middle of the heap of
-flour. Mix in with a wooden spoon, a portion of the flour from the
-surrounding edges of the hole so as to make a thick batter, and having
-sprinkled dry flour over the top, let it rest for near an hour. This is
-called "_setting the sponge_," or "_making the leaven_." When it has
-swelled up to the surface, and burst through the coating of flour that
-covered the hole, pour in as much more lukewarm water as will suffice to
-mix the whole gradually into a dough. Knead it hard and thoroughly,
-leaving no lumps in it, and continue to knead till the dough leaves
-your hands. Throw over it a clean thick cloth, and set it in a warm
-place to rise again. When it is quite light and cracked all over the
-surface, divide it into loaves, and give each loaf a little more
-kneading, and let it rest till it has risen as high as it will. Have
-your oven quite ready, and (having transferred the loaves to pans,
-sprinkled with flour,) bake them well. Try the heat of the oven by
-previously throwing in a little flour. If it browns well, and you can
-hold your hand in the heat while you count twenty, it is a good
-temperature for bread. If the flour scorches black the oven is too hot,
-so leave the oven open a little while till it becomes cooler. As soon as
-the bread is quite done, take out the loaves, wrap each tightly in a
-clean coarse cloth, damped by sprinkling it with water, and stand them
-up on their edges. This will prevent the crust from becoming too hard.
-Keep the loaves wrapped up after they are deposited in the bread box.
-
-
-ROLLS--Are made as above, except that they are mixed with warm milk
-instead of water, and a little fresh butter rubbed into the dough.
-
-
-TWIST BREAD.--Before you put the dough into the baking pans, divide it
-equally into long thick rolls, (smaller at the ends) and plait or twist
-three together.
-
-
-BRAN BREAD--Is made like any other, only of bran meal; and in setting
-the sponge, put _wheat_ flour into the hole, and add to the liquid half
-a tea-cupful of nice brown sugar. Bran bread should look very brown. It
-should be eaten fresh. When stale, it is too dry and hard. Bran batter
-cakes are made and baked like buckwheat.
-
-
-RYE BREAD.--Is made like wheat bread, but that it requires more kneading
-and baking. Rye batter cakes, made like buckwheat, should have one half
-corn meal.
-
-
-BREAD BISCUITS.--When making bread after the dough has risen very light,
-take from it a quart or more; knead into it a quarter of a pound of
-fresh butter, and form it into tall rolls. Bake them in an oven, and
-when done break them apart, but do not cut them with a knife--or, bake
-them in flat biscuits, to be split and buttered. Bread dough, with some
-butter added to the mixture, will make plain cakes for children, with
-the addition of white sugar, powdered cinnamon, some good raisins,
-(stoned,) cut in half, and dredged well with flour, to prevent their
-clodding or sinking. A beaten egg mixed into the dough is an
-improvement. Children, (accustomed only to plain living,) like these
-cakes very well, but they must be light and well baked.
-
-
-BREAD CAKES.--Take slices of stale wheat bread, that has been well made
-and light. There should be enough to fill a pint bowl, closely packed.
-Put the bread into a deep dish, and pour boiling water upon it. While
-the bread is soaking, mix in a crock or jar a pint of milk, and a pint
-of wheat flour. Put the soaked bread into a cullender, and let the water
-drain off. When the water is drained away, beat the bread _lightly_ with
-a fork, but do not press or mash it. Beat two eggs very light and thick,
-and gradually stir them into the flour and milk. Then stir in the bread.
-Bake the mixture on a griddle in the manner of buckwheat cakes, and eat
-them hot with butter. This quantity is for a small family of four
-persons.
-
-For a family of moderate size, take a quart of stale bread, a quart of
-milk, a quart of flour, and four eggs.
-
-For a large family, two quarts of bread, two quarts of milk, two quarts
-of flour, and eight eggs. This quantity will not be more than sufficient
-for a large family, as they will all like these cakes.
-
-If you have not enough of stale bread in the house, send for a stale
-loaf, rather than not have the proper proportion for the cakes.
-
-
-MILK BISCUIT.--Warm a pint of milk on the top of the stove, and cut up
-in it half a pound of fresh butter, to soften, but not to melt. Sift
-into a pan two quarts of flour; make a hole in the middle of the flour,
-and pour into it the milk and butter. Beat two eggs till very thick and
-smooth, and pour them in also. Lastly, pour into the hole two
-wine-glasses of strong fresh brewer's or baker's yeast; or, three of
-good home-made yeast. Mix altogether with a broad knife, till it becomes
-a lump of soft dough. Then knead it well on your pasteboard, and make it
-into round rolls or balls. Knead every ball separately. Flatten them
-with your hand into thick biscuits, and prick every one with a fork. Lay
-them separately in buttered square pans, and set them to rise. If all is
-right, they will be light in little more than an hour. When quite light,
-(risen high and cracked all over) set them in a moderate oven, and bake
-them a light brown. They should be eaten quite fresh.
-
-
-RUSK.--Sift a quart of flour into a pan. Make a hole in the centre, and
-pour in a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut up and softened in
-half a pint of milk warmed on the stove. Beat two eggs very light, and
-mix them gradually into the hole in the pan of flour, in turn with a
-small wine-glass of rose water; or a table-spoonful of the rose water if
-as strong as it should be, adding a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace,
-nutmeg, and cinnamon. Lastly, a wine-glass and a half of fresh brewer's
-yeast. Mix those articles well into the flour, till it becomes a lump of
-soft dough. Knead it well on your pasteboard, and divide it into pieces
-of equal size. Knead each piece separately. Form them so as to be tall
-and high, when finished. Butter an iron pan, lay the rusks in it side by
-side, and set them in a warm place to rise again. When quite light, bake
-them in a moderate oven, and sift sugar over them when cool.
-
-
-DRY RUSKS.--Dry rusks are used for infant's food, and for invalids. They
-are made plain, without any butter, spice, or rose water, and after
-being once baked are split, and baked over till they are all crisp and
-browned on the inside. Use them dissolved, by pouring on a little warm
-water or milk, and beat them with a spoon to a thick pap.
-
-
-CROSS BUNS.--Pick clean a pound and a half of dried or Zante currants;
-wash, drain, and dry them on a large flat dish placed in a slanting
-position near the fire, or in the sun. It will be still better to
-substitute for the currants a pound of Sultana (or seedless) raisins,
-each raisin cut in half. When quite dry, dredge the fruit _thickly_ with
-flour to prevent their sinking or clodding in the cake. Sift into a deep
-pan two quarts of flour, and mix thoroughly with it a table-spoonful of
-powdered cinnamon, and three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar. Cut
-up three-quarters of a pound of fresh butter, into a large half pint of
-rich milk. Warm it till the butter is quite soft, but not till it melts.
-Make a hole in the centre of the pan of flour, and pour in the mixed
-liquid, adding a jill (or two wine-glasses) of strong fresh yeast. Mix
-in the flour by degrees, beginning round the edge of the hole, and
-proceed gradually till you have the whole mass of ingredients well
-incorporated. Cover the pan with a clean thick towel, and set it in a
-warm place to rise. When it has risen high, and is cracked all over, mix
-in a small tea-spoonful of dissolved soda. Flour your pasteboard, divide
-the dough into equal portions, mix in the plums, and _slightly_ knead it
-into round cakes the size of a small saucer. Place them on a large dish,
-cover them, and set them again to rise in a warm place for half an hour.
-Mark every one deeply with a cross, bake them brown, and when done brush
-each bun lightly over with a glazing of white of egg, sweetened with
-sugar.
-
-
-CINNAMON BREAD.--On a bread-baking day, (having made more than your
-usual quantity of wheat bread,) when the dough has risen quite light,
-and is cracked all over the surface, take out as much as will weigh two
-pounds. Mix into it a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, that has been
-cut up and melted in a half pint of milk; and also, three beaten eggs.
-Incorporate the butter, milk, and egg, thoroughly with the dough, and
-then add (dissolved in a little tepid water,) a salt-spoonful (_not
-more_) of soda. Have ready mixed in a bowl a pint of _brown_ sugar,
-moistened with fresh butter, so as to make a stiff paste, and flavor it
-with two heaped table-spoonfuls of powdered cinnamon. Form the cake into
-the shape of a round loaf, and make deep incisions or cuts all over its
-surface; filling them up with the cinnamon mixture pressed hard into the
-cuts, pinching and closing the dough over them with your thumb and
-finger to prevent the seasoning running out. Put the loaf into a round
-pan, and set it into the oven to bake with the other bread. When cool,
-glaze it over with white of egg, in which some powdered sugar has been
-dissolved. Send it to table whole in form, but cut into loose slices.
-Eat it fresh. All yeast cakes become dry and hard the next day.
-
-This mixture may be baked in a square iron pan, and cut into square
-cakes when cool.
-
-
-WAFFLES.--We are indebted to the Germans for this cake, which, if this
-receipt is exactly followed, will be found excellent. Warm a quart of
-milk, and cut up in it a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter,
-and stir it about to soften in the warm milk. Beat eight eggs till very
-thick and smooth, and stir them gradually into the milk and butter, in
-turn with half a pound of sifted flour. Then add two table-spoonfuls of
-strong fresh brewer's or baker's yeast. Cover the pan with a clean thick
-cloth, and set it in a warm place to rise. When the batter has risen
-nearly to the top, and is covered with bubbles, it is time to bake;
-first stirring in a wine-glass of rose-water. Having heated your
-waffle-iron in a good fire, grease it inside with the fresh butter used
-for the waffle mixture, or with fresh lard; fill it, and shut the iron
-closely. Turn it on the fire, that both sides of the cake may be equally
-well done. Each side will require about three minutes baking. Take them
-out of the iron by slipping a knife underneath. Then grease and prepare
-the iron for another waffle. Butter them, and send them to the tea-table
-"hot and hot;" and, to eat with this, a bowl or glass dish of sugar
-flavored with powdered cinnamon.
-
-In buying waffle irons choose them _very deep_, so as to make a good
-impression when baked--if shallow, the waffle will look thin and poor.
-Those that bake one waffle at a time are the handsomest and most
-manageable.
-
-
-SOFT CRULLERS.--Sift a pound and a half of flour, and have ready a pound
-of powdered sugar. Heat in a round-bottomed sauce-pan a quart of water;
-and when quite warm, stir the flour gradually into the water. In another
-vessel set a pound of nice fresh butter over the fire, and when it
-begins to melt, stir it, by degrees, into the flour and water. Then add,
-gradually, the powdered sugar, and a grated nutmeg. Take the sauce-pan
-off the fire, and beat the contents with a wooden spaddle, (which is far
-better than a spoon) till they are thoroughly mixed. Next, having
-beaten six eggs till very thick and light, stir them, gradually, into
-the mixture, and then beat the whole very hard till it becomes a thick
-batter. Add rose-water or lemon juice. Flour a pasteboard, and lay out
-the batter upon it in the form of rings. The best and easiest way is to
-pass it through a screw funnel.
-
-Have ready on the fire a pot of boiling lard. Put in the crullers,
-taking them off the board one at a time, on a broad-bladed knife. Boil
-but a few at a time. They must be of a fine brown. Lift them out with a
-perforated skimmer, draining back the lard into the pot. Lay them on a
-large dish, and dredge them with sugar.
-
-These, if properly managed, are far superior to all other crullers, but
-they cannot be made in warm weather.
-
-
-DOUGH-NUTS.--On baking day, take two pounds of very light bread dough
-that has been made in the usual manner. Put it into a broad pan. Rub
-into it half a pound of fresh butter, and half a pound of powdered
-sugar, and a table-spoonful of mixed nutmeg and cinnamon. Wet it with
-half a pint of milk, and mix in three well beaten eggs. Cover it, and
-set by the fire to rise again. When quite light, flour your pasteboard,
-and make the dough into oval balls; or, you may cut it into diamond
-shapes, (handling it as little as possible.) Have ready, over the fire,
-a pot of boiling lard. Drop the dough-nuts into it, and boil them; or
-fry them brown in a frying-pan. Take them out one by one in a
-perforated skimmer, draining back the lard into the pan. Spread them on
-a large dish, and sift sugar over them. Eat them fresh; when heavy and
-stale they are not fit. This is a German cake.
-
-
-COMMON CRULLERS.--The above mixture for dough-nuts will make good
-crullers. Flour your pasteboard, lay the dough upon it, roll it very
-thick, and cut it into strips with a jagging iron. Take off short
-pieces, and twist them into various forms. Throw them into a pot of
-boiling lard. When done, drain the lard from them, spread them on a
-large dish, and dredge them with powdered white sugar.
-
-The Alpistera is a Spanish cruller, shaped like the five fingers united
-at the wrist.
-
-
-
-
-PLAIN DESSERTS.
-
-
-MOLASSES PUDDING.--Sift into a pan a large quart of yellow indian meal.
-Simmer over the fire a quart of milk, a pint of _West India molasses_,
-stirred in while the milk is hot. Put the milk and molasses into a large
-pan, and mix gradually into them the corn meal while they are quite
-warm. Add a large table-spoonful of ground ginger, and a heaped
-tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Beat the whole mixture long and
-hard, for on that will chiefly depend the lightness of the pudding, as
-it has neither eggs, butter, nor yeast. If your batter seems too thin,
-add, gradually, a little more corn meal; if too thick, a little more
-milk and molasses.
-
-Dip in hot water a large square pudding cloth. Spread it out in a pan,
-dredge it well with flour, and then pour the pudding-mixture into it.
-Tie it up, making the string very secure, but leave plenty of room
-between the batter and the tying place, for the pudding to swell in
-boiling, at least one-third. Put the pudding, directly, into a large
-pot, and keep it steadily boiling for about three hours. Corn meal
-requires long cooking. Turn the pudding twice with a fork. If the water
-boils away too much, replenish it from a tea-kettle of hot water, kept
-boiling for the purpose. If you pour in _cold_ water the pudding will
-become hard and heavy, and be totally spoiled. Do not turn it out and
-send it to table till wanted at dinner. Then dip it for a moment in cold
-water, untie the string, and transfer it to a dish with a cover. Eat it
-with molasses and butter; or make a sauce of drawn butter, flavored with
-wine and nutmeg.
-
-This pudding, if properly mixed, well beaten, and well boiled, will be
-as light as if made with eggs, (the _West India_ molasses having that
-property) and it will cut down rough or open grained, like a very light
-sponge cake, unless the batter has been made too thick and stiff, and
-not sufficiently beaten, and not allowed space enough to swell in
-boiling. If made _too thin_, or not boiled well, the pudding will come
-out a soft, shapeless mass. But if all is carefully managed, this (the
-least costly of American puddings) will be found excellent for a plain
-table, and perfectly wholesome. The flavor will be much improved by
-adding to the cinnamon and ginger the grated yellow rind and juice of an
-orange or lemon. If your first attempt at this pudding is a failure, try
-it again--practice makes perfect.
-
-For a large family, have two quarts of corn meal, two quarts of milk,
-and one quart of _West India_ molasses; two table-spoonfuls of ginger,
-and one of cinnamon.
-
-What is left may be tied in a cloth, and boiled over again next day, for
-half an hour or longer.
-
-
-MOLASSES PIE.--Make a plain paste, allowing a quart of flour to a
-quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a pound of lard.
-Cut up the butter into the pan of flour, and rub it into a dough, with a
-half tumbler of cold water. Too much water is injurious to any paste,
-rendering it tough and hard. Roll out the paste into a sheet, and with a
-broad knife spread all over it one-half of the lard. Sprinkle it with
-flour, fold it, and roll it out again. Spread on the remainder of the
-lard, dredge it slightly, fold it again, and then divide it into two
-sheets. Line with one sheet the inside of a pie-dish, and fill it with
-molasses, mixed with butter, and flavored with ginger and cinnamon, or
-lemon or orange. Put on the other sheet of paste as a lid to the pie.
-Crimp or notch the edges. Bake it of a pale brown, and send it to table
-fresh, but not hot.
-
-
-MOLASSES POT-PIE.--Make plenty of paste, allowing to _each quart_ of
-flour a small half pound of finely minced suet. Line the pot
-three-quarters up the sides with paste, and put in a quart of West India
-molasses, flavored with ginger and cinnamon, lemon or orange grating,
-and juice. Cover it with a lid of paste, _not fitting closely_ round its
-edges, and cut a cross slit in the top. Have ready six or eight extra
-pieces of suet paste, cut into squares, and boiled by themselves. When
-the pie is done, put these little cakes (ready boiled) into the
-molasses, having removed the lid or cover of the pie, and cut it up.
-Take out the inside paste, and cut it in pieces also. Serve up the whole
-in one large dish.
-
-
-BATTER PUDDING.--Having beaten eight eggs till very thick and smooth,
-stir them gradually into a pan of milk, in turn with eight
-table-spoonfuls of flour, added by degrees. Give the whole a hard
-stirring at last. Dip a square pudding cloth into hot water, shake it
-out, dredge it with flour, and spread it over the inside of an empty
-pan. Pour the pudding mixture into it. Gather up the cloth, leaving
-ample space for the pudding to swell in boiling, and securing the
-string tightly. Put the pudding into a large pot of boiling water, and
-boil it fast and steadily for two hours. Turn it with a large fork once
-or twice while boiling. When done, dip it for a moment in cold water,
-that you may turn it out easily. Send it to table hot, and eat it with
-any sauce you like, from molasses, or butter and sugar, to wine sauce.
-This, if exactly followed, is the very best receipt for a plain batter
-pudding. It may be made of corn meal, or wheat bread-crumbs, (eight
-table-spoonfuls to eight eggs, and one quart of milk.) Corn meal
-requires with it one or two spoonfuls of wheat flour for this pudding.
-
-We cannot approve of boiling batter puddings in moulds, as they are
-rarely allowed sufficient space for swelling, and are therefore tough
-and solid. Also, it is frequently very difficult to get a hot pudding
-out of a mould.
-
-The above pudding is very nice baked in the dripping pan under a piece
-of roast beef or veal.
-
-
-FRITTERS.--Make the same mixture as for batter pudding. Eight eggs
-beaten very light and thick, and stirred gradually into a quart of milk,
-in turn with eight spoonfuls of flour; and, when all are united, beat
-the whole very hard. In a large frying-pan melt a pound of lard, and
-when it comes to a boil, put in with a large spoon a half tea-cupful of
-batter. Fry them fast, a panful at a time, and as they require no
-stirring they will soon be done. For the next panful, add half a pound
-more of lard, and see that it is boiling well all the time. If there is
-not enough of lard, or if it only simmers, the fritters will stick to
-the bottom, and be heavy, dark, and greasy. Send them to table "hot and
-hot," sprinkled with sugar. Eat them with sugar, cinnamon, and white
-wine. This is the best possible receipt for plain fritters.
-
-
-ORANGE FRITTERS.--For frying fruit fritters use nice fresh butter. Peel,
-and cut into round slices (not very thin) some fine oranges, removing
-the seeds carefully. Put into each fritter (while frying) a slice of
-orange, and dredge with sugar. Eat them with sweetened orange juice.
-These are fritters for company.
-
-
-PEACH FRITTERS.--Take large ripe free-stone peaches, the best you can
-get. Peel them, cut them in half, remove the stones, and put some loaf
-sugar into the cavities from whence you took them. Have ready, in a
-large frying-pan over the fire, an ample quantity of nice fresh butter,
-boiling fast. Put in the batter, and to every spoonful allow half a
-peach, laid on its back. When done take them up separately, and drain
-the butter back into the pan. Serve up the fritters dredged with white
-sugar. You may color these fritters pink by mixing in the batter a
-little prepared alkanet, the chips tied up in a thin muslin bag, and
-laid in a small saucer of sweet oil. Stir the colored oil into the
-batter; it has no taste, but the color is beautiful. Fritters may be
-colored green by mixing in the batter some of the juice obtained from
-pounded spinach leaves.
-
-
-APPLE OR QUINCE FRITTERS.--Pare and core some pippin or bell-flower
-apples, or ripe quinces. Cut them into round slices, and fry one in
-every fritter. Eat them with sweetened lemon juice. You may make
-fritters with a large table-spoonful of any thick marmalade in the
-centre. Or, with a large fresh oyster in the middle of each. Or, with a
-table-spoonful of minced meat. These, also, are company fritters.
-
-
-PANCAKES--Are very inferior to good fritters, and much more troublesome
-to bake. They are the same ingredients mixed thinner; are also fried in
-lard, and must be turned by tossing them over (one at a time) in the
-frying-pan.
-
-
-JUNKET.--Having turned a quart of rich milk, by stirring into it a half
-tea-cupful of the water in which two or three square inches of rennet
-has been soaked for several hours, set the milk in a covered pitcher, in
-a warm place, till it becomes a firm curd, the whey separating from it,
-and looking thin and greenish. Keep it on ice till just before it is
-wanted for table. Then transfer it to a large bowl, and sweeten it well
-with white sugar. Mix in two glasses of sweet wine, and grate over it a
-nutmeg. It is very nice with extract of vanilla added to the wine, &c.
-
-It is not a good way to preserve a rennet by cutting it into little
-pieces, and keeping it in wine, stirring the wine into milk when you
-wish to form a curd. If turned with rennet wine, the curd will never
-separate completely from the whey, which will therefore be always thick
-and whitish. By using rennet water, the whey will be pure, thin, and of
-a light green, and the curd very white and firm. In Philadelphia market,
-dried rennets (which will keep a year or two hanging up in a cool dry
-closet) are universally used to make curds, and are always to be bought
-at small prices. They are cured by salting them, and stretching on a
-bent rod. To use this rennet, cut off a small bit, and soak it several
-hours, or over night, in a cup of lukewarm water. Then stir this water
-into the milk.
-
-
-MILK POTTAGE OR FARMER'S RICE.--Take some rich milk, and put it on to
-boil in a pot of sufficient size. When it has begun to boil, stir in, by
-degrees, enough of wheat flour to make it about as thick as the general
-consistence of rice milk, and boil it well, stirring it frequently down
-to the bottom. Add a few blades of mace, or some powdered cinnamon.
-Knead together some flour and fresh butter, forming a lump of white
-paste. Divide the paste into small round dumplings about the size of a
-cent, and put them to boil with the milk. When the pottage is well
-boiled, take it up, and transfer it to a tureen or deep white-ware dish,
-and make it very sweet with good brown sugar. Grate some nutmeg over the
-surface.
-
-This is an excellent addition to a winter supper-table, and is much
-liked by children, for whom it is also good at the end of a plain
-dinner. As a substitute for rice milk, it is better and more wholesome
-than rice itself.
-
-
-PLAIN RICE PUDDING.--Pick some rice, carefully removing from it the
-husks, and all impurities; and if you find it the least sour or musty,
-throw it away, and get some that is perfectly good. Wash it through two
-or three waters, till it drains off quite clean. Stir a quarter of a
-pound of this rice into a quart of good rich milk. If the milk is poor
-and thin, and has been skimmed till it is blue, or mixed with water, the
-pudding will be poor accordingly. In the country where cream is easily
-to be obtained, add some to the milk which you use for the rice pudding.
-Stir in also a quarter of a pound of good brown sugar, and a
-tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Set the pudding into an oven, and
-bake till a brown skin covers the surface, and the rice is quite soft,
-which you may ascertain by lifting a bit of the brown skin from the edge
-and trying the rice. Eat it warm or cold. It is usual in the country to
-put several of these rice puddings into the oven on baking days.
-
-They will be greatly improved by the addition of two or three beaten
-eggs, and a few bits of fresh butter, stirred in with the rice and
-sugar. Also powdered cinnamon. Rice is in itself so tasteless, that it
-requires good flavoring.
-
-
-PLAIN BOILED RICE PUDDING.--Pick, wash, and drain a pound of rice.
-Moisten it with a quart of milk. Have ready a pound of seedless raisins.
-Dredge them well all over with flour to prevent their sinking. Stir them
-gradually into the rice and milk. Boil it in a cloth, leaving ample
-space for it to swell. Keep the water very hot all the time. Eat it with
-butter and sugar, seasoned with ground cinnamon.
-
-
-RICE CUPS.--Boil in water, in the usual manner, a pound or more of
-cleaned rice till it is perfectly soft. Drain it well, and mix it with a
-quart of milk, seasoned with a mixed table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon
-and nutmeg or mace. Boil it a second time till all the grains are
-dissolved into a smooth mass, and their form cannot be distinguished.
-Mould it in large tea-cups, pint bowls, or blanc-mange moulds; and when
-it has taken the desired form, turn it out on dishes, and serve up with
-it a small tureen of wine sauce, or of boiled custard made very sweet,
-and seasoned, by boiling in the milk of which the custard was made a
-few peach leaves, or some bitter almonds broken up, or a broken-up stick
-of cinnamon, to be taken out when it is done.
-
-
-BREAD PUDDING.--Grate or crumble as much stale wheat bread (omitting the
-crust) as will fill a pint bowl when done. Boil a pint of good milk with
-a broken-up stick of cinnamon in it. Strain the milk, and pour it
-(boiling) over the bread. Sweeten it with three large table-spoonfuls of
-sugar. Stir in one or two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter. Beat
-four eggs till very thick and smooth, and add them, gradually, to the
-mixture, when it is lukewarm. It will be much improved by the grated
-peel and juice of a lemon or orange. Bake it in a deep dish or mould;
-sift white sugar over it. Eat it warm, with sweet sauce flavored with
-nutmeg.
-
-
-BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.--Cut large even slices of yesterday's bread,
-(_leaving on_ the crust) and spread them well with fresh butter. Strew
-over them thickly half a pound of Zante currants, picked and washed.
-Make a batter of four beaten eggs and a large pint of milk, seasoned
-with powdered nutmeg or mace. Pour some of this batter into the bottom
-of a deep white dish. Then put on as many slices of bread and currants
-as will cover the bottom. Next, add the remainder of the batter, and
-finish with slices of bread and butter strewed with currants. Bake till
-the batter is set and firm. When done, serve it up warm.
-
-
-A BROWN BETTY.--Pare, core, and slice thin some fine _juicy_ apples.
-Cover with the apples the bottom of a large deep white-ware dish.
-Sweeten them well with plenty of brown sugar; adding grated lemon or
-orange peel. Strew over them a thick layer of bread-crumbs, and add to
-the crumbs a _very few_ bits of fresh butter. Then put in another layer
-of cut apples and sugar, followed by a second layer of bread-crumbs and
-butter. Next more apples and sugar; then more bread-crumbs and butter;
-repeat this till the dish is full, finishing it with bread-crumbs. Bake
-it till the apples are entirely done and quite soft. Send it to table
-hot. It will be improved (if in the country at cider-making season) by
-adding to each layer of apples a very little sweet unfermented cider,
-fresh from the press.
-
-This pudding is in some places called an Apple Pandowdy. We believe it
-is Brown Betty in the South; Pandowdy in the North. It is a good plain
-pudding if the butter is fresh and sweet, and not too much of it. The
-apples must be _juicy_ and _not_ sweet. Sweet apples never cook well.
-
-
-SWEETENED SWEET POTATOS.--The sweet potatos should be all about the same
-size, or else so large as to require splitting. Boil them till, on
-probing them with a fork, you find them soft all through. Peel off the
-skin, and trim off the sharp points of each end. Place them in a large
-baking dish, and lay among them some pieces of fresh butter; sprinkle
-powdered sugar _profusely_ over them and among them, especially in the
-vacancies between the potatos. Set the dish into a moderate oven, and
-bake slowly till the butter and sugar are all melted and blended
-together, forming a nice crust. They should be eaten not with the meat,
-but _after_ it. They make a good supper or luncheon dish, and a plain
-dessert at dinner for plain-living people.
-
-Sufficient butter and sugar will make the crust like a thick syrup, when
-broken. They should be cooked this way only when in the height of their
-season, and perfectly fresh and nice. When sweet potatos are old enough
-to decay at the ends, give them up. Large sweet potatos may be first
-boiled; then peeled and sliced thick, sprinkled thick with sugar, and
-fried in fresh butter or lard; the lard well drained from them as they
-are taken up. Eat _them_ with meat.
-
-They are good boiled very soft, peeled and sent to table mashed, (while
-hot) with fresh butter--or made into thick flat cakes, and browned on
-the top.
-
-It is a great waste to bake sweet potatos whole. If baked enough, (as
-they seldom are) they "go all to skin."
-
-
-APPLE DUMPLINGS.--For dumplings the apples should be large and
-juicy--pippins, bellflowers, or the best you can get. Small sweet apples
-make very poor dumplings. Having pared the apples, extract the cores
-with a tin apple-corer, so as to leave them smooth and whole. Why is it
-that so many families "have never had an apple corer in their house?"
-They cost, at the utmost, but twenty-five cents, are to be had at all
-the tinsmiths' and furnishing stores; and they screw out an apple core
-in a minute; saving time and trouble. The apples being ready, make a
-nice paste in the proportion of a small pint of finely-minced suet, to a
-large quart of flour; one-half of the suet rubbed into the pan of flour,
-(adding _a very little_ water) the other half sliced thin, and spread
-all over the sheet of dough after it is rolled out; then folding it, and
-rolling it out again. Cut the sheet of dough in as many circular pieces
-as you have apples, allowing them large enough to close entirely over
-the top, and rolling it thick enough to hold the apple securely without
-danger of its breaking through. Put an apple on every piece of paste,
-and fill with brown sugar the hole from whence the core was taken.
-Squeeze on the sugar some fresh lemon juice, with the grated yellow
-rind; or, add some powdered nutmeg or mace, or some rose-water. This
-will make them very nice. They should be boiled in small cloths kept
-clean for the purpose, dipped in hot water, and sprinkled with flour,
-and room left for the dumpling to swell. Put them into a pot of boiling
-water, and boil them steadily for near an hour. Serve them up very hot,
-as they become heavy when cold. Eat with them butter and sugar, or cream
-sauce.
-
-
-PEACH DUMPLINGS.--Take large fine free-stone peaches. Peel them, cut
-them in half, and extract the stones; fill the sockets with white sugar,
-and put the two halves together. Make a nice suet paste, or, if more
-convenient, of butter, but it must be quite fresh, and very nice. Allow
-half a pound of butter to a large quart (or a pound) of sifted flour.
-Rub half the butter into the pan of flour, and make it into a dough,
-with a very little cold water. Too much water always makes tough heavy
-paste. Then roll the paste into a sheet, and put on it with a knife the
-remainder of the butter in regular bits. Fold it, roll it out again, and
-divide it into circular pieces. Lay a peach on each. Gather up the dough
-over the top, so as to form a well-shaped dumpling. Boil them in cloths
-for full three-quarters of an hour or more. Eat them with cream sauce.
-
-Dumplings of raspberries, or blackberries, may be made as above. Also,
-of gooseberries or currants, made very sweet. Quinces preserved whole
-make excellent dumplings.
-
-
-APPLE PUDDINGS--Are made like large dumplings, with suet paste, and
-flavored with lemon, or rose, or nutmeg. The apples must be sliced. The
-pudding should be tied in a cloth; put into a pot of fast-boiling water,
-kept steadily boiling for two hours or more, and sweetened with brown
-sugar as soon as it is taken up, cutting a round piece of paste out of
-the top, and putting in with the sugar a small piece of fresh butter.
-
-Large puddings may be made in this manner of stoned cherries, damsons,
-or plums, or of gooseberries, or currants--allowing plenty of fruit, and
-making it very sweet; besides sending sugar to table with it.
-
-
-ROLLED PUDDING.--Have ready a quart or more of apples stewed with _very
-little_ water, sweetened with brown sugar, and flavored with lemon or
-rose. Prepare a nice suet paste. Roll it out, and cut it into a square
-sheet. Spread it _thickly_ with the stewed fruit, (not extending the
-fruit quite to the edges of the dough) and roll it up as far as it will
-go. Close it nicely at each end. Tie it in a cloth, dipped in hot water
-and floured, and put it into a fast-boiling pot. Boil it well. Cut it
-down in round slices. Eat it with butter and sugar beaten together, or
-with cream sauce. You may make this pudding of any sort of thick
-marmalade, spread over the sheet of paste; or, with ripe uncooked
-currants, raspberries, or blackberries, mashed raw, sweetened, and
-spread on thickly. This pudding is the same that common English people
-call a "Jack in a blanket;" and sometimes "a Dog in a blanket." The
-_blanket_ is supposed to mean the paste; the _dog_ is probably the
-fruit.
-
-
-FRUIT POT-PIES.--These are made in a pot lined with paste, interspersed
-with small squares of the same dough, and covered with a paste lid. The
-filling is of dried apples, peaches quartered, blackberries,
-raspberries, ripe currants, or gooseberries; all well sweetened, and
-cooked in their own juice, with a small tea-cupful of water at the
-bottom to "start them." Both fruit and paste must be perfectly well
-done.
-
-Fruit pot-pies are easier made and cooked, than fruit puddings or
-dumplings. We recommend them highly for plain tables. They require more
-sugar when they are dished. A large _bain-marie_ is excellent for
-cooking any sort of pot-pie, the water being all in the outside kettle.
-
-
-PLAIN BAKED CUSTARD.--Boil a quart of milk, with a small bunch of green
-peach leaves in it, or a half dozen of peach kernels broken up. When the
-milk has boiled well strain it into a broad pan, and set it away to
-cool. In a shallow pan beat six eggs till very light, thick, and smooth.
-Stir them, gradually, into the milk, in turn with a tea-cup of white
-sugar, and a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon or mace. Transfer the
-mixture to a deep white dish, set it into the oven, and bake it till
-the top is well browned, but not scorched. When done, set it away to
-cool, and grate nutmeg over the surface.
-
-
-BOILED CUSTARD.--Make exactly the above mixture; but instead of baking,
-boil it in a porcelain lined sauce-pan, stirring it all the time. As
-soon as it comes to a boil, take it immediately from the fire, or it
-will curdle. Put it into a glass or china pitcher, and set it to cool. A
-_bain-marie_ is excellent for boiled custard.
-
-If custards are baked in cups, set them in an iron pan half full of warm
-water. If too hot, or kept baking too long, they will be tough and
-porous, and have whey at the bottom. So they will if the milk is warm
-when the eggs are added. Good custards will cut down to the very bottom
-as smooth and firm as the best blanc-mange.
-
-
-APPLES BAKED WHOLE.--Never bake apples without paring and coring. They
-will be found nearly all skin and core, and are troublesome and
-inconvenient to eat. Have fine large apples; take off a thin paring, and
-extract the core with a tin corer. Fill up the holes with brown sugar.
-Place the apples, side by side, in a square tin pan, set them in an
-oven, and bake them till, when tried with a fork, you find them soft all
-through. Send them to table warm, but not burning hot. If you have
-country cream to eat with them, so much the better.
-
-
-BAKED PEARS.--Take good-sized pears. Small ones are not worth the
-trouble of cooking. Peel them, split them in half, and remove the core,
-the stem, and the blossom end. Strew them well with brown sugar, and lay
-them on their backs in a large baking dish. A narrow slip of the yellow
-rind of lemon or orange, (cut so thin as to look transparent,) will be a
-great improvement, laid in the hollow of each pear. Also the juice
-squeezed. Put into the dish sufficient molasses or steam-syrup to well
-cover the pears. Place them in an oven, and bake them till they are
-soft, but not till they break. If you have no lemon or orange, season
-them with ground ginger or cinnamon.
-
-The great pound pears are baked as above, with the addition of port wine
-and a few cloves, and colored red with a little cochineal.
-
-
-COUNTRY CHARLOTTE.--Slice or quarter some fine juicy apples, having
-pared and cored them. Put them on a large dish, sweeten them well with
-brown sugar, set them in the oven, and bake them till soft enough to
-mash smoothly. Then cut some slices of bread, butter them slightly, and
-dip every one in sweet cider fresh from the press. Let them soak in the
-cider a short time, but not till they break. Take them out of the
-cider, spread every one thickly with the mashed apple, (sprinkling on
-more sugar) and send them to the dinner table in a deep dish or pan.
-
-
-A PLAIN CHARLOTTE.--Stew very nicely any sort of ripe fruit, (currants,
-gooseberries, blackberries, stoned cherries, or stoned plums,) and as
-soon as you take them from the fire make them very sweet with brown
-sugar. Prepare some large slices of buttered bread, with the crust pared
-off. Cover each slice thickly with the stewed fruit. Lay some in the
-bottom of a deep dish, and stand up others all round its sides. Fill up
-the dish with the same, and sift white sugar over the surface.
-
-It may be made of sliced sponge-cake, spread thickly with stewed dried
-peaches.
-
-
-GOOSEBERRY FOOL.--This foolish name signifies an excellent preparation
-of gooseberries; stewed, mashed, and made very sweet with brown sugar.
-Have ready in another dish a good boiled custard. When all has become
-cool, mix well together in a large bowl the stewed gooseberries and the
-custard, and season the mixture well with nutmeg. It will be found very
-good.
-
-Any other "fool" may be made in the same manner, of stewed fruit and
-boiled custard. It saves the trouble and expense of making paste, or
-can be prepared at a shorter notice. It is good either at dinner or
-tea.
-
-We hope somebody will think of a better name for it.
-
-
-POTATO PASTE.--Boil three moderate-sized potatos till very soft. Then
-peel and mash them fine and smooth. Put them into a deep pan, and mix
-them well with a quart of flour and a half pint of lard; or what is
-better, with that quantity of beef dripping, or the dripping of fresh
-roast pork. Never for any sort of crust use mutton dripping. Having
-mixed the mashed potato, dripping, and flour into a lump, roll it out
-into a thick sheet. Sprinkle it with flour, and spread over it evenly a
-thin layer of dripping or lard. Fold it again, and set it in a cool
-place till wanted. It is good for meat pies, and for boiled meat
-pudding, or any sort of dumplings.
-
-
-VERY PLAIN PIE-CRUST.--Sift a quart of flour into a pan. Mix together,
-with a knife, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a
-pound of lard, and when they are well blended mix them with the flour,
-and form them into a dough with as little water as possible--the water
-being very cold. Use ice water in summer. Avoid touching the paste with
-your hands, but use a knife almost entirely. If your hand is warm, do
-not rub butter into flour with it, but manage all the mixing with a
-knife. If you have a cool hand, you may rub the butter into the flour,
-and reserve the lard to spread all over the sheet of dough. Roll it out
-lightly. Dredge with flour, fold it, spread on the lard, and roll it
-again. Divide it into two pieces, and roll out each of them. Trim the
-edges nicely, and make them to fit your pie-dish. If one is for bottom
-crust, roll it out thinnest towards the centre, having for this part of
-the process a very small rolling-pin, but a finger long. Grease with
-lard a deep dish, or soup plate, and line it with the bottom crust. Fill
-it up with the fruit you intend for the pie, sweetened well with brown
-sugar, and heaping the fruit high in the centre. Cover it with a lid of
-paste, trim, and notch the edges neatly, and make a cross slit in the
-top; set it in the oven, and bake it steadily till it is a light brown.
-When it seems to be done, lift up a small piece at one side to try if
-the fruit is soft. Apples for pies should be pared, cored, and sliced
-very thin. If green, stew them before they are baked.
-
-If you have saved enough of the dripping of roast beef, veal, or pork,
-(skimmed and put away in a covered crock) it will be good shortening for
-common pies--far superior to salt butter, and much lighter. Salt renders
-pastry hard and heavy.
-
-Never use suet for _baked_ paste. It is only for dumplings and pot-pies.
-Bread dough, or any dough made with yeast, is not good when boiled,
-becoming tough and leathery, and being very unwholesome.
-
-Except in very plain country places a fruit pie, with two crusts,
-(under and upper) is now seen but rarely. _Meat_ pies, or birds,
-however, should have two crusts. The gravy is a great improvement to the
-under one. English people usually make their fruit pies with a top-crust
-only, putting a turned down tea-cup under the centre of the lid to
-collect the juice, (of course removing the cup when the pie is cut.) It
-is a good method in a country where the cost of flour is high.
-
-Too much economy in the shortening will infallibly make the crust very
-poor, hard, heavy, and unwholesome. If you cannot afford dessert paste,
-do not attempt pies at all; but substitute a plain charlotte, or slices
-of bread and butter, covered with stewed fruit, sweetened, and laid in a
-deep dish.
-
-
-COMMON FRUIT PIES.--Make the paste as above. For baking, use only apples
-that are juicy, and rather sour. If green, stew them before they are put
-in the pie, and make them very sweet with brown sugar. Peaches should be
-peeled and quartered, leaving out the stones. Of cherries, take the
-large red juicy pie cherries. Black cherries, (when baked) go all to
-stones, and they are not worth the trouble of cooking, though very good
-when eaten from the trees. Currants must be carefully stripped from the
-stems, and made very sweet. Gooseberries must be "top and tailed," and
-require great sweetening; so do cranberries. Blackberries make good
-plain pies, and are very juicy if ripe. All pies should be well filled.
-
-Pies may be made of ripe wild grapes, stewed in molasses or maple sugar.
-
-
-EXCELLENT PLAIN PASTE.--Sift into a deep pan a quart and a pint of the
-best superfine flour. Have ready (set on ice, and covered with a thick
-double cloth) a pound of the very best fresh butter. When you want to
-use it, cut it into four quarters. Cut one quarter into very little
-bits, and with a broad knife mix it well into the flour, adding, by
-degrees, a very little water, no more than half a tumbler. Some flour,
-however, requires more water than others. Avoid touching the dough with
-your hands, in case they should be warm. Take out the lump of dough,
-dredge it with flour, and lay it on your pasteboard. Keep on a plate
-near you a little extra flour for sprinkling and rolling. Roll out the
-sheet of dough very thin, having floured the rolling-pin to prevent its
-sticking. Place, with a knife, the second quarter of butter in little
-bits all over the sheet of paste, at equal distances. Then fold it
-square, (covering the butter with the corners of paste) dredge it, and
-roll it out again to receive the third quarter of butter. Repeat this
-again, till all the butter is in; always rolling very fast, and pressing
-on _lightly_. You will see, towards the last, the paste puffing into
-little blisters all over the surface; a sign of success. When the last
-layer of butter is all in, roll the whole into a large sheet; roll it
-round like a scroll, and put it away in a cold place, but not so cold
-as to freeze it, for it will then be spoiled. When you are ready for it
-bring it out, cut it down, and roll out each piece ready for use. There
-is no better family paste than this, for all sorts of pies; meat or bird
-pies, especially.
-
-
-LEMON BREAD PUDDING.--Mince very fine a quarter of a pound of beef suet.
-Have ready a pint and a half of finely-grated bread-crumbs. Prepare the
-yellow rind of a large lemon, grated off from the white skin beneath,
-and squeeze the juice among it. Mix together in a deep pan the
-bread-crumbs and suet, adding four or five table-spoonfuls of powdered
-sugar, and a tea-spoonful of mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and mace.
-Beat in a broad shallow pan five eggs till very smooth and thick. Add
-them gradually to the other ingredients, a little at a time. Have ready
-a square pudding-cloth, scalded and floured. Pour in the mixture, and
-tie the cloth tightly, but not closely, as room must be left for the
-pudding to swell in boiling. Put it into a pot of hot water, and boil it
-steadily for two hours. Send wine sauce to table with it--or cold sauce,
-of beaten butter, and sugar, and nutmeg.
-
-If you use butter instead of suet, you can bake this pudding.
-
-
-PLAIN PLUM PUDDING.--This is for a small plain-living family. Chop very
-fine half a pound of nice fresh beef suet. Stone a half pound of very
-good raisins, or use the sultana or seedless sort. Dredge them well on
-all sides with flour to prevent their sinking to the bottom. Grate the
-yellow rind of a large fresh lemon, and strain the juice into the saucer
-on which you have grated the rind. It will be still better if you use
-the rind and juice of an orange as well as of a lemon. Put into a bowl
-half a pint of grated bread-crumbs, and a heaped table-spoonful of
-flour, and pour on them a half pint of boiling milk. Beat in a shallow
-pan four eggs till very thick and light. Mix the suet gradually into the
-bread, adding alternately the beaten egg, (a little at a time) the lemon
-and orange, and four heaped table-spoonfuls of sugar. Lastly, stir in by
-degrees, the raisins, well floured. Put the mixture into a square
-pudding-cloth spread out into a deep pan, and dipped in boiling water.
-Tie it securely, leaving room to swell. Boil it three hours.
-
-Eat with it a sauce of butter, sugar, and nutmeg, beaten together.
-
-
-
-
-FINE DESSERTS.
-
-
-THE BEST PUFF-PASTE.--To a pound of the best fresh butter allow a pound
-of the finest flour, sifted into a deep pan. Have on a plate some
-additional sifted flour for sprinkling and rolling in. Divide the pound
-of butter into four equal parts, and three of those parts divide again
-into two portions. Mix the first quarter of butter into the mass of
-flour, cutting it with a broad-bladed knife. If your hands are naturally
-warm, avoid touching the dough with them, as their heat will render it
-heavy. Paste, to be very good, should be made on a marble slab. All
-well-furnished kitchens or pastry rooms should be provided with
-marble-topped tables, and marble mortars. Add gradually to the lump of
-dough a _very little cold_ water, barely sufficient to moisten it with
-the first quarter of butter, and mix it well with the aid of the broad
-knife; but proceed as fast as you can, and do not work with it too long.
-Too much water will render it tough, and too much working will make it
-heavy. Then sprinkle the marble slab with some of the spare flour, take
-the lump of paste from the pan, and roll it out into a sheet. Divide one
-of the portions of butter into little bits, and with the knife disperse
-them equally all over the sheet of paste. Then sprinkle it again with
-flour, fold it up so as to cover the butter, and roll it out again.
-Proceed in this manner till you have got in all the butter, rolling
-always lightly, and you will soon see the surface of the dough puffing
-up in little blisters, a sign that it is becoming light. Besides the
-first mixing in the lump, the butter will then be put in with what are
-called six turns. When baked, you will see that every turn makes a layer
-or sheet. If you choose to multiply them, you may make nine sheets. We
-have seen twelve. All this must be done fast and lightly. Then put away
-the paste to cool for ten minutes before arranging it in the dishes.
-This quantity will make two pies or four tarts. In baking, let the oven
-be hot, and keep up a steady heat, so the paste may not fall after it
-has first risen. When pale brown, it is done.
-
-
-SHELLS.--For shells take the best puff paste, and line with it large
-deep plates, the size of a soup-plate. They should have broad rims.
-Notch the edges of the paste handsomely with a sharp penknife, and be
-careful not to plaster on, afterwards, any bits by way of mending or
-rectifying an error. When baked, every patch in the border will show
-itself plainly. Bake the shells entirely empty, till pale brown all
-over. When cool fill them, _quite up the top_, with whatever marmalade
-or stewed fruit you have prepared for the purpose. In this way (baking
-them empty,) the shells are thoroughly done, and not clammy and heavy at
-the bottom, as they always are when filled _before_ baking. The fruit
-requires no other cooking, having been done once already. Sift white
-sugar over the surface. If for company whip some cream, sweeten it, and
-flavor it with lemon, orange, pine-apple, strawberry or vanilla, and
-pile it on the surface of the shell before it goes to table.
-
-Small tarts may, in this way, be baked empty, for patty-pans, and filled
-with ripe fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, or grated
-pine-apple, made very sweet, and creamed on the top--or you may fill the
-shells with any sort of sweetmeats, either preserves or marmalade, or
-with mince-meat. Shells may be made thus, and filled with stewed
-oysters, or reed-birds, cooked previously, and served up warm; or with
-nicely-dressed lobster. You may make lids for them of the same paste
-baked by itself on a shallow plate, and when taken off fitting well as a
-cover to put on afterwards before sending to table.
-
-
-BORDERS OF PASTE.--These are made of fine puff-paste cut into handsome
-patterns, or wreaths of leaves or flowers. They are laid round the broad
-edge of the deep plate that contains a rich pudding, such as lemon,
-orange, almond, cocoa-nut, pine-apple, &c.; the dish being full down to
-the bottom and up to the top, and having no paste but the border round
-the edge. They must be baked in the dish on which they come to table,
-and not in tin or iron, as the pudding cannot be transferred. At
-handsome tables, a pudding baked with a paste _under_ it (lining the
-dish,) is now seen but seldom.
-
-Instead of wreaths, you may make a puff-paste border by laying a thick
-evenly cut band of paste round the flat rim of the dish, and notching
-it, forming with a penknife small squares about an inch wide, and
-turning one square up and one square down alternately, _cheveux de
-frize_ fashion. Or you may make the squares near two inches wide and
-turn over one corner sharp, leaving the other flat. This looks pretty
-when baked, if the paste is _very puff_.
-
-
-LEMON PUDDING.--To make two puddings take two fine large ripe lemons,
-and rub them under your hand on a table. Grate off the thin yellow rind
-upon a large lump of loaf sugar. Cut the lemon, and squeeze the juice
-into a saucer through a strainer, to avoid the seeds. Put half a pound
-of powdered white sugar into a deep earthen pan, (including the sugar on
-which you have rubbed the lemons) and cut up in it half a pound of the
-best fresh butter, adding the juice. Stir them to a light cream with a
-wooden spaddle, which is shorter than a mush-stick, and flattened at one
-end; that end rather thin, and rather broad. Beat in a shallow pan,
-(with hickory rods) six eggs, till very thick and smooth, and stir them
-gradually into the mixture. Have ready some of the best puff-paste, made
-in the proportion of a pint or half a pound of very nice fresh butter to
-a pint or half a pound of sifted flour. Take china or white-ware dishes
-with broad rims. Butter the rim, and lay round it neatly a border of the
-paste. _Put no paste inside the dish beneath the mixture._ Fill each
-dish to the top with the pudding mixture, and set it immediately into
-the oven. It will bake in about half an hour When done, and browned on
-the surface, set it to cool, and send it to table in the dish it was
-baked in.
-
-Fine puddings are now made without an under crust, but merely a handsome
-border of puff-paste laid round the edge, and helped with the pudding.
-Sift sugar over the surface. This quantity will make one large pudding,
-or two small ones.
-
-To almost all puddings the flavor of lemon or orange is an improvement.
-A genuine _baked_ lemon pudding, (such as was introduced by the justly
-celebrated Mrs. Goodfellow,) and is well known at Philadelphia dinner
-parties, must have _no flour_ or bread whatever. The mixture only of
-butter, sugar, and eggs, (with the proper flavoring) and when baked it
-cuts down smooth and shining, like a nice custard. Made this way, they
-are among the most delicious of puddings; but, of course, are not
-intended for children or invalids. We have already given numerous
-receipts for _plain_ family desserts. In this _chapter_ the receipts are
-"for company." The author was _really_ a pupil of Mrs. Goodfellow's, and
-for double the usual term, and while there took notes of every thing
-that was made, it being the desire of the liberal and honest
-instructress that her scholars _should learn in reality_.
-
-
-ALMOND PUDDING.--Blanch in hot water a quarter of a pound of shelled
-sweet and two ounces of bitter almonds, and as you blanch them throw
-them into a bowl of cold water. When all are thus peeled, take them out
-singly, wipe them dry in a clean napkin, and lay them on a plate. Pound
-them one at a time in a marble mortar till they become a smooth paste,
-adding frequently a few drops of rose-water to make them light and
-preserve their whiteness, mixing the bitter almonds with the sweet. As
-you pound them, take out the paste and lay it in a saucer with a
-tea-spoon. Without the rose-water they will become oily and
-dark-colored. Without a few bitter almonds the others will be insipid.
-The almonds may be thus prepared a day before they are wanted for use.
-Cut up a large quarter of a pound of fresh butter in a large quarter of
-a pound of powdered sugar, and stir them together with a spaddle till
-very light and creamy. Add a large wine-glass of mixed wine and brandy,
-and half a grated nutmeg. Beat, till they stand alone, the whites only
-of six eggs, and stir them gradually into the butter and sugar, in turn
-with the pounded almonds. Stir the whole very hard at the last. Put the
-mixture into a deep dish with a broad rim, and fill it up to the top,
-laying a border of puff-paste all round the rim. Serve up the pudding
-cool, having sifted sugar over it.
-
-_Boiled Almond Pudding_--Is made as above; only with whole eggs, both
-yolks and whites beaten together. Boil it in a _bain-marie_ or in a
-thick square cloth, in a pot of boiling water. When done, turn it out
-and send it to table warm. Eat it with sugar, wet with rose-water.
-
-_Orange Pudding_--Is made exactly like lemon pudding; the ingredients
-in the same proportion, and baked without an under crust, having a
-border of puff-paste all round the edge, and sent to table in the dish
-it was baked in. These fine-baked puddings should have no addition
-whatever of bread-crumbs or flour. They should cut down smooth and
-glassy.
-
-_Boiled Lemon or Orange Pudding_--Make the foregoing mixture either with
-two lemons or two oranges, adding to the other ingredients a half pint
-finely-crumbled sponge cake. Boil the mixture either in a _bain-marie_
-or a thick pudding cloth, and serve it up warm. For sauce, have ready
-butter and sugar beaten to a cream, and flavored well with lemon or
-orange, and grated nutmeg.
-
-
-COCOA-NUT PUDDING.--Break up a ripe cocoa-nut. Having peeled off the
-brown skin, wash all the pieces of nut in cold water, and wipe them dry
-on a clean napkin. Then grate the cocoa-nut _very fine_ into a pan, till
-you have a quart. In a deep pan cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh
-butter, and add a very light quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
-Stir together (with a spaddle,) the butter and sugar till they are very
-light and creamy, and add a grated nutmeg. Beat, (till they stand alone)
-the _whites only_ of six eggs; the yolks may be reserved for soft
-custards. Stir the beaten white of egg gradually into the pan of butter
-and sugar, alternately with the grated cocoa-nut, a little at a time of
-each, and a glass of mixed brandy and white wine. Stir the whole very
-hard. Fill with it a broad-edged deep white dish, and lay a puff-paste
-border all round the rim. Bake it light brown, and when cool sift white
-sugar over it, serving it up in the dish it was baked in.
-
-_Boiled Cocoa-nut Pudding._--For this make the above mixture, and boil
-it in a mould, or in a _bain-marie_, with the water in the outside
-kettle. Eat it either warm or cold.
-
-
-SWEET POTATO PUDDING.--Wash, boil, and peel some fine sweet potatos.
-Mash them, and rub them through a coarse sieve--this will make them
-loose and light. If merely _mashed_ the pudding will clod and be heavy.
-In a deep pan stir to a cream a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and
-a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar; adding a grated nutmeg, a
-tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, a half glass of white wine, and a
-half glass of brandy. Beat in a shallow pan three eggs, till very thick
-and smooth, and stir them into the mixture of butter and sugar,
-alternately with the sweet potato. At the last mix all thoroughly with a
-very hard stirring. Put the mixture into a deep dish, and lay a border
-of puff-paste all round the rim. Set the pudding immediately into a
-rather brisk oven, and when cool sift white sugar over it. For two of
-these puddings _double_ the quantities of all the ingredients.
-
-_White Potato Pudding_--Is made exactly as above. Chestnut pudding
-also--the large Spanish chestnuts, boiled, peeled, and mashed.
-
-_Fine Pumpkin Pudding_--Also, allowing to the above ingredients a half
-pint of stewed pumpkins, squeezed dry and rubbed through a sieve.
-
-_Cashaw Pudding._--A similar pudding may be made of stewed cashaw, or
-winter squash.
-
-
-PINE-APPLE TART.--Take a fine large ripe pine-apple. Remove the leaves,
-and quarter it without paring, standing up each quarter in a deep plate,
-and grating it down till you come to the rind. Strew plenty of powdered
-sugar over the grated fruit. Cover it, and let it rest for an hour. Then
-put it into a porcelain kettle, and steam it in its own syrup till
-perfectly soft. Have ready some empty shells of puff-paste, baked either
-in patty-pans or in soup plates. When they are cool, fill them full with
-the grated pine-apple; add more sugar, and lay round the rim a border of
-puff-paste.
-
-
-QUINCE PIES.--Wash well, pare, and core some fine ripe quinces, having
-cut out all the blemishes. Put the cores and parings into a small
-sauce-pan, and stew them in a little water, till all broken to pieces.
-Then strain and save the quince water. Having quartered the quinces, or
-sliced them in round slices, transfer them to a porcelain stew-pan, and
-pour over the quinces water extracted from boiling the cores and
-parings. Let them cook in this till quite soft all through. Make them
-very sweet with powdered sugar, and fill with them two deep soup plates
-that have been baked empty, with a puff paste border round the rims.
-Fill them up to the top, (they are already cooked) and sift sugar over
-them--or, you may pile on the surface of each some ice-cream. You may
-cook the quinces whole, and lay one on each tart.
-
-
-FINE APPLE PIES--May be made in the same manner, flavored with the
-grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon. The apples should be fine juicy
-pippins. If done whole, lay one on each patty-pan tart, and stick into
-the core hole a slip of the yellow rind of lemon, pared so thin as to be
-nearly transparent.
-
-
-A MERINGUE PUDDING.--Rub off upon a large lump of _sugar_ the yellow
-rind of two fine ripe lemons, and mix it with a pound of powdered loaf
-sugar, adding the juice. Whip, to a stiff froth, the _whites only_ of
-eight eggs; and then, gradually, beat in the sugar and lemon, adding a
-heaped table-spoonful of the finest flour. Spread part of the mixture
-thickly over the bottom of a deep dish, the rim of which has been
-bordered with a handsome wreath of puff-paste, and baked. Lay upon it a
-thick layer of stiff currant or strawberry jelly. Then fill up the
-dish, and set it, a few minutes in a rather cool oven to brown slightly.
-This pudding is for dinner company. If you use oranges, omit half the
-grated peel.
-
-You may flavor the meringue with vanilla. Split, and break up a small
-vanilla bean, and boil it in a _very little_ cream till all the vanilla
-flavor is extracted, the cream tasting of it strongly. Then strain it
-well, and mix the vanilla cream with the white of egg. Or, a little
-_home-made_ extract of vanilla will be still better. This is obtained by
-splitting and breaking up some vanilla beans, and steeping them for a
-week or two in a bottle of _absolute_ alcohol; then straining the
-liquid, transferring it to a clean bottle, and keeping it closely
-corked. Very little of what is called "Extract of Vanilla" is good, and
-it is more expensive than to make it yourself. Also, what is generally
-sold for essence of lemon is very inferior to real lemon juice.
-
-
-JELLY OR MARMALADE PUDDING.--Divide the paste equally and line two
-puff-paste shells. Bake them empty; and while baking, beat till very
-light and thick, the yolks of six eggs. Mix the beaten egg with a
-liberal portion of any nice kind of fruit, jelly or marmalade, and boil
-it ten minutes in a sauce-pan, stirring it well. Take it up and set it
-away to cool. When cold, fill with it the baked shells. Fill them up to
-the top with the mixture, and before they go to table sift powdered
-white sugar over the surface of the puddings.
-
-
-CHEESE PUDDING.--Take a quarter of a pound of excellent cheese; rich,
-but not strong or old. Cut it in small bits, and then beat it (a little
-at a time) in a marble mortar. Add a quarter of a pound of the best
-fresh butter. Cut it up, and pound it in the mortar with the cheese,
-till perfectly smooth and well mixed. Beat five eggs till very thick and
-smooth. Mix them, gradually, with the cheese and butter. Put the mixture
-into a deep dish with a rim. Have ready some puff-paste, and lay a broad
-border of it all round the edge, ornamenting it handsomely. Set it
-immediately into a moderate oven, and bake it till the paste is browned,
-and has risen very high all round the edge of the dish. Sift white sugar
-over it before it goes to table.
-
-It is intended that the cheese taste shall predominate. But, if
-preferred, you may make the mixture very sweet by adding powdered sugar;
-it may be seasoned with nutmeg and mace. Either way is good.
-
-It may be baked in small patty-pans, lined at the bottom and sides with
-puff-paste. Remove them from the tins as soon as they come out of the
-oven, and place them on a large dish.
-
-This pudding is very nice made of rich fresh cream cheese; the rind, of
-course, being pared off. Cream cheese pudding will require sugar and
-spice--that is, a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg, mace, and
-cinnamon, all mixed; two ounces of fresh butter, and six eggs.
-
-
-FLORENDINES.--These are made of any sort of fruit, stewed in its own
-juice or in sweetmeat syrup, but when practicable, without any water. A
-pint of this fruit is mixed with half a pint of fresh butter, and half a
-pint of powdered sugar stirred together to a light cream, and then mixed
-with three well-beaten eggs, and the fruit stirred in alternately with
-the beaten butter and sugar. Have ready baked shells of puff-paste,
-ready to be filled with the mixture. The fruit may be apples, quinces,
-peaches, gooseberries, currants, raspberries. Cranberries, gooseberries,
-and currants, require additional sugar, as they are naturally very sour.
-If you use plums or cherries for any sort of cooking, stone them first.
-
-
-PEACH PIES.--Take a sufficient number of fine juicy freestone peaches.
-Clingstones are very hard and insipid when raw, and still more tasteless
-when cooked. Peel the peaches and quarter them, having removed the
-stones. Stew them in their own juice, and while hot make them very sweet
-with white sugar. When you put them to stew, place among them a bunch of
-fresh green peach leaves, to be removed when the peaches are done. Or,
-cook with them some peach kernels, blanched in hot water, to be picked
-out when the stewing is finished. Peach leaves or kernels communicate a
-flavor which to most persons is pleasant. Have ready some puff-paste
-shells; baked, and beginning to cool. Fill them to the top with the
-stewed peaches, and pile on them some whipped cream sweetened, and
-flavored with noyau or rose-water.
-
-
-A FRUIT CHARLOTTE.--Have ready a large fresh almond sponge cake, or lady
-cake. Cut a round or circular piece to fit the bottom of a great glass
-bowl. Also, about twelve or fourteen oblong slices, to stand up all
-round to line the sides. Have ready two quarts or more of ripe
-strawberries or raspberries. Mash the fruit to a jam, and having made it
-very sweet with white sugar, spread it thickly over the pieces of cake.
-Lay the circular piece of cake in the bottom of the bowl and stand up
-the others all round the sides, all close to each other or wrapping over
-a little. Proceed to fill the bowl with the fruit; and when half way up,
-put on another layer of sliced cake spread with fruit. Then fill up with
-fruit to the top. Have ready a quart of whipped cream flavored with
-vanilla or bitter almonds. Heap it high on the bowl, and set it in a
-cool place till it goes to table. This is a very fine article for a nice
-dessert, and can be prepared at a short notice, and without going down
-stairs, as it requires no cooking.
-
-For the whipped cream, you may pile the bowl with any sort of white
-ice-cream ready made, and if there is no fresh fruit in season,
-substitute marmalade or fruit jelly.
-
-If you have no large bowl you may serve up this charlotte in glass or
-china saucers, laying in the bottom of each a circular slice of cake
-spread over with ripe fruit or marmalade. Fill up with the same, and
-finish with whipped cream, or ice-cream heaped on the top.
-
-
-VANILLA CUSTARDS.--Split a vanilla bean, break it into small bits, and
-boil it in a half pint of milk, till all the flavor of the vanilla is
-extracted. Strain it through a very fine strainer, cover it, and set it
-aside. Boil a quart of rich milk, and when it comes to a boil set it
-away to cool. Beat eight eggs till very thick and smooth, (and when the
-milk is cold) add that which is flavored with vanilla, and stir it in
-gradually with a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar. Divide the
-mixture in custard cups, (filling them to the top) and set them into an
-iron bake-pan filled with boiling water, reaching nearly to the the rim
-of the cups. Put them into a moderate oven, and bake them a pale brown.
-When cool, grate nutmeg, or lay a maccaroon on the top over each. Never
-send custards warm to table. If well made, and baked not too much, there
-will be no whey at the bottom of the cups, and the custards will be
-smooth and firm all through, and have no spongy holes in them.
-
-To make soft custards, omit the whites of all the eggs, and have a
-double quantity of yolks. The whites may be used for almond or cocoa-nut
-pudding, for lady cake, for meringue or icing, and for kisses or
-maccaroons.
-
-_Orange Custards._--Prepare four large ripe oranges, by rolling them
-under your hand on a table to increase the juice. Use none of the peel
-for these custards, but reserve it for something else. Beat in a shallow
-pan twelve eggs till thick and smooth. Mix the orange juice with a
-wineglass of cold water, and stir it gradually into the beaten egg, with
-a small tumblerful of powdered sugar. There is no milk in these
-custards. Divide them into custard cups, and beat them ten minutes. When
-cold, grate nutmeg over them.
-
-_Lemon Custard_--Is made in the above manner, with the juice of four
-large lemons, (omitting the rind) a small wineglass of cold water,
-twelve beaten eggs, and a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar. Any of
-these fine custards may be boiled in a _bain-marie_, with water in the
-outside kettle, and there is no way better. When boiled and cool, grate
-in some nutmeg, and serve up the custard in a glass or china pitcher,
-with saucers of the same to eat it from, or divide it in small glass
-cups with handles to them.
-
-Lemon or orange custards are very fine. They are made without milk.
-
-_Chocolate Custard._--Make some strong chocolate, allowing a quarter of
-a pound of the best, (which is Baker's prepared cocoa) to a quart of
-rich milk; first mixing the milk and scraped chocolate to a smooth
-paste. Boil them together a quarter of an hour. While warm, stir in two
-or three table-spoonfuls of loaf sugar. Then set it away to cool. Have
-ready eight well-beaten eggs, and stir them gradually into the
-chocolate. Bake the mixture in cups, and serve them up with a chocolate
-maccaroon laid on the top of each.
-
-_Almond and Maccaroon Custard._--Boil in half a pint of rich milk a
-handful of _bitter_ almonds, blanched and broken up. When highly
-flavored, strain that milk and set it aside. Boil a quart of milk by
-itself, and when cold stir in, gradually, eight well beaten eggs, adding
-the flavored milk, and half a pint of powdered sugar. Stir the whole
-very hard at the last. Bake it in cups, and when done and cold, lay on
-the top of each a maccaroon with four others placed around it; five
-maccaroons to each custard. Or, if the maccaroons are made in the house,
-let every one be large enough to cover the top of the custard like a
-lid.
-
-
-FINE PLUM PUDDING.--This pudding is best when prepared, (all but the
-milk and eggs,) the day before it is wanted. Seed and cut in half one
-pound of the best bloom raisins; and pick, wash, and dry before the
-fire, a pound of Zante currants, (commonly called plums.) Dredge the
-fruit well with flour, to prevent its sinking or clogging. Take one
-pound of fresh beef suet, freed from the skin and strings, and chopped
-_very fine_; a pint of grated bread-crumbs, and half a pint of sifted
-flour; a large quarter of a pound of the best sugar, a large
-table-spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon mixed, and two powdered
-nutmegs--all the spice steeped in a half pint of mixed wine and brandy.
-Put away these ingredients separately, closely covered, and let them
-stand undisturbed all night. Next morning proceed to finish the pudding,
-which requires at least six hours boiling. Beat nine eggs till very
-thick and smooth, then add gradually a pint of rich milk, in turn with
-the bread-crumbs and flour. Mix with the sugar the grated yellow rind
-and juice of two large lemons or two oranges, and add gradually to the
-mixture all the ingredients, stirring very hard. If you find it too
-thick, add by degrees some more milk; if too thin, some more
-bread-crumbs. But take care not to have too much bread or flour, or the
-pudding will be solid and heavy. Dip a large strong cloth in boiling
-water; shake it out, and spread it in a large pan. Dredge it lightly
-with flour, and pour in the mixture. Tie it tightly, but leave
-sufficient space for the pudding to swell in boiling. Put it into a pot
-of fast-boiling water, and boil it steadily six hours or more, not
-taking it up till wanted for table. Before turning it, dip the cloth for
-a moment in cold water to make the pudding come out easily. Have ready
-some slips of citron or of blanched sweet almonds, or both, and stick
-them, liberally, all over the surface of the pudding after you have
-dished it. Serve it up with wine sauce highly flavored, or with butter
-and sugar beaten to a cream, and seasoned with nutmeg and rose. Do not
-set the pudding on fire to burn out the liquor; that practice has had
-its day, and is over. It was always foolish.
-
-If you wish to send it to a distant place, (for instance, to some part
-of the world where plum puddings are not known or not made) you may
-preserve it, (after boiling it well,) by leaving it tied up in the cloth
-it was cooked in; hanging it up in a cool dry place, and then packing it
-well in a tin vessel having a close fitting cover. Paste a band of thick
-white paper all around the place where the lid shuts down, and put into
-a tight box the vessel that contains the pudding. When it arrives at its
-destination, the friend who receives it will pare off thinly the
-outside, and tying up the pudding in a fresh clean cloth, will boil it
-over again for an hour or more; and when done the surface may be then
-decorated with slips of citron or almond. It has been said that in this
-way a plum pudding can be kept for _six_ months, as good as ever. It
-cannot. But it may keep six _weeks_. Do not _fry_ or _broil_ plum
-pudding that is left at dinner. The slices will be greasy and heavy. But
-tie the piece that remains in a small cloth, and _boil_ it over again
-for an hour. It will then be nearly as good as on the first day. Believe
-in no wonders that you hear, of the long keeping of either plum pudding,
-plum cake, or mince meat, which are all of the same family. However long
-they may be preserved from absolute decomposition, these things are
-always best when fresh.
-
-
-MINCE PIES.--The best mince meat is made of fresh beef's tongue boiled,
-peeled, and when quite cold, chopped very fine. The next best is of
-beef's heart boiled and chopped. The next of cold roast beef. And the
-next, of the lean of cold boiled beef, quite fresh, and cooked
-especially for the purpose. All the meat must be fresh, and not minced
-till entirely cold. To two large pounds of lean meat allow two small
-pounds of nice kidney suet, cleared from skin and strings, and chopped
-very small; two pounds of fine juicy apples, pared, cored, and minced;
-two pounds of Zante currants, washed, and picked clean; two pounds of
-fine bloom raisins, seeded and chopped, or of seedless sultana raisins
-cut in half; two pounds of the best sugar; two large nutmegs, powdered;
-a table-spoonful of ground cinnamon; the same quantity of ground ginger,
-with the juice and grated yellow rind of six large lemons, or the juice
-of six oranges, and their grated rind; a pint of Madeira or sherry, and
-half a pint of brandy; lastly, half a pound of citron cut into slips,
-rather large. If the citron is chopped small it cannot be distinguished
-among the other ingredients, and its flavor is lost. When all is
-prepared, mix well in a large pan the chopped meat, suet, and fruit.
-Then, gradually add the spice, having steeped it in the liquor all the
-preceding night, mixing the whole thoroughly, and putting in the citron
-at the last. Line with fine puff-paste deep pie-dishes, or patty-pans.
-Fill them, quite full of the mince, heaping it higher towards the
-centre; and put on a lid, handsomely decorated with puff-paste
-ornaments, and having a cross slit in the centre surrounded with paste
-leaves or flowers. Set the pies immediately into a moderately brisk
-oven, and bake them a light brown. Eat them warm. If baked the preceding
-day, heat them again before they go to table. The foolish custom of
-setting the pies on fire after they come to table, and causing a blue
-blaze to issue from the liquor that is in them, is now obsolete, and
-considered ungenteel and tavern-like. If this practice originated in a
-polite desire to _frighten the ladies_, its purpose is already a
-failure, for the ladies are not frightened; that is, not really.
-
-Mincemeat will taste more fresh and pleasant if the apples are not added
-till the day the pies are made. It should be kept well-secured from air
-and damp, in stone jars closely covered. Whenever a jar is opened to
-take out some for immediate use, pour in a large glass or two of brandy,
-and stir it about. It is not true that mincemeat will keep all winter,
-even by this preservative. It is sure to become musty (or worse,) before
-two months. It is best to make fresh mincemeat at least three times
-during the season. When the cold weather is over, do not attempt it,
-unless a little for immediate use.
-
-Mincemeat, with a double portion of excellent raisins, (cut in half,)
-will do very well without currants, which are very troublesome to
-prepare; and those imported of late years are rarely of good quality.
-
-We have heard of West India mincemeat made with cold roast turkey;
-chopped pine-apple; grated cocoa-nut; preserved ginger chopped, and
-moistened with its own syrup; and seasoned with nutmeg and noyau.
-
-The above mince pies are for company.
-
-
-CALF'S FEET JELLY.--Select the largest and best calf's feet. Four is
-called a set. Choose those that, after the hair has been well scalded
-and scraped off, are prepared with the skins left on. There is much
-glutinous substance in the skin itself, therefore it adds to the
-strength and firmness of the jelly. The feet being made perfectly clean,
-split them upwards as far as you can, and put them to boil in a gallon
-of _very clear_ soft water. Boil them till they have all gone to pieces,
-and the flesh is reduced to rags, and the liquid to one half. Strain the
-liquid through a fine sieve into a white-ware pan, and set it away to
-cool. When quite cold, it should be a cake of firm jelly. Take it out,
-and scrape from it all the fat at the top and sediment at the bottom.
-Press on the surface, some clean blotting paper, to remove any grease
-that may yet remain about it. Cut the cake of jelly into pieces, and put
-it into a _very clean_ porcelain kettle, with a large pint of sherry,
-(inferior wine will spoil it,) a pound of the best loaf sugar, broken
-small; the yellow rind of six lemons, pared so thin as to be
-transparent, and their juice squeezed over the sugar through a strainer;
-the _whites_ of six or seven eggs, with their shells mashed small. If
-the jelly is to be moulded, add a quarter ounce of the best Russia
-isinglass. Boil together all these ingredients for near twenty minutes.
-Then take it off the fire, and let it stand undisturbed for about five
-minutes, to settle. Next, have ready a pointed jelly bag, made of clean
-white flannel. Spread it open, suspended by strings to a table edge. Set
-a large tureen or white-ware pan beneath it, and let the jelly drip as
-long as it will; but on no account squeeze or press the bag, as that
-will spoil all, rendering the whole jelly cloudy or streaked. If it is
-not quite clear at the first straining, empty the contents of the bag
-into a basin, wash the bag clean, hang it up again, pour the jelly back,
-wash the tureen or pan, and let the jelly pass into it again. Repeat
-this straining if necessary. When quite clear, shape the jelly in
-white-ware moulds, which have been setting two hours in cold water. When
-the jelly is wanted, wrap round the moulds for a moment, a cloth dipped
-in warm water, and turn it out on glass dishes. The ingredients that are
-left in the bag may be boiled and strained over again for children. If
-the jelly is _not_ to be moulded, you may omit the isinglass. In that
-case break it up, and serve it in a glass bowl. It is now the general
-opinion that jellies have a more lively taste when broken up, from the
-numerous acute angles they present to the tongue and palate. We think
-this opinion correct; and also they look brighter and more glittering,
-and _go farther_.
-
-_Apple Jelly_--Is far less expensive than that of calf's feet, and if
-well made looks beautifully. It requires the very best and most juicy
-apples, (for instance, two dozen large pippins or bell-flowers.) Wash
-and wipe them well, (removing all blemishes,) pare, core, and slice or
-quarter them. Put them into a _bain-marie_ or double kettle, with the
-water outside, and let them boil till broken and dissolved, putting in
-with them the grated yellow rind of four large lemons. Press and mash
-the stewed apples through a very clean sieve, till you have extracted
-all the juice. Measure it while warm, and allow to each quart a pound of
-the finest powdered and sifted loaf sugar well mixed in, and the juice
-of the lemons. Transfer it to a clean white flannel jelly bag, and let
-it drip into a large white-ware pan. When quite clear, put it into
-moulds, and set it on ice to congeal. When wanted, turn it out of the
-moulds, (loosened by wrapping round their outsides cloths dipped a
-minute in warm water) and serve it up in glass dishes.
-
-_Siberian Jelly._--A fine pink-colored jelly may be made in the above
-manner, of the red Siberian crab-apple, but it requires an _additional_
-quarter of a pound of sugar to a pint of juice. Instead of lemon you may
-flavor it, (after all the juice has done dripping) by mixing with
-extract of rose, or strong rose-water, allowing a wine-glassful to each
-quart of jelly. Rose-water, or extract of rose, evaporates so speedily
-when over the fire, that it should never be added till the very last.
-
-_Orange Jelly_--Is made in the proportion of a pint of strained orange
-juice to a pound of loaf sugar, boiled with an ounce of isinglass, that
-has first been melted over the fire by itself in a very little water.
-Add the _yellow_ rind of the oranges pared from the white as thin as
-possible. Give it one boil up, and strain it into the jelly-bag. When
-clear, transfer it to moulds. Twelve large oranges will generally yield
-a pint of juice. Lemon jelly is made in the same manner, but with more
-sugar.
-
-
-CURRANT JELLY.--The currants should be large, fine, and fully ripe. The
-best and sweetest currants grow in the shade; and the largest, also. If
-exposed to the full heat of our American sun, it turns them sour, dries
-up the juice, and withers their growth. Gather them when fully ripe,
-strip them from the stems into a cullender, and wash and drain them.
-Transfer them to a large pan, and mash them well with a wooden beetle.
-Then put the currants, with their juice, into a _bain-marie_ or double
-kettle, and cook them with the water outside, stirring them hard to
-bring out the juice. Simmer them for a quarter of an hour, and then
-transfer them to a very clean sieve, and press them over a pan till no
-more juice appears. Measure the juice, and to each pint allow a pound of
-broken-up loaf sugar. Mix the sugar with the juice, put all into a
-porcelain kettle, and boil it till the scum ceases to rise. If the sugar
-is of excellent quality, (the best double-refined should be used for all
-nice sweetmeats) it will need but little skimming, and leave no sediment
-when poured off. Boil it twenty minutes with the sugar. To try if it is
-done, take up a spoonful and hold it out in the open air. If it congeals
-very soon, it is cooked enough. Put it warm into glass tumblers. Cut out
-some white tissue paper into double rounds, exactly fitting the glasses.
-Press these papers lightly on the surface of the jelly; and, next day,
-tie over the top thick papers dipped in brandy, and set them in the sun
-all that day if the weather is bright and warm.
-
-All jellies of small fruit may be made in a similar manner; first
-boiling the fruit by itself, and mashing it to get out all the juice.
-Then boiling the berries again, _with the sugar_, for about twenty
-minutes. The above receipt is equally good for grapes, blackberries, and
-gooseberries. Black currant jelly (excellent for sore throats,) requires
-but three quarters of a pound of sugar, the juice being very thick of
-itself. Peaches, plums, damsons, and green gages, must be scalded,
-peeled, and stoned, before boiling for jelly, and they require, at
-least, a pound and a half of sugar to a pint of juice. It is better to
-preserve them as marmalade than as jelly. Strawberries and raspberries
-require no previous cooking; mash out the juice, strain it, allow a
-pound of sugar to every pint of juice, and then boil them together
-(skimming carefully) for about a quarter of an hour, or till they
-congeal on being tried in the air.
-
-
-WINE JELLY.--Wine jellies are seldom made except for company. The wine
-must be of excellent quality; either port, madeira, or champagne. To a
-quart of wine allow a pound of the best double-refined loaf sugar, and
-an ounce of the best Russian isinglass. Melt the sugar (broken small) in
-the wine. Melt the isinglass by itself in as much warm water as will
-just cover it, and when quite dissolved, stir it into the mixed wine and
-sugar. Boil all together, till on trial it becomes a firm jelly, which
-will be very soon. If it does not congeal well, add some more dissolved
-isinglass, and more sugar. Serve in moulds, and eat it on saucers. Jelly
-is made in this manner of any nice sort of _liqueur_ or cordial. Also of
-strong green tea, or very strong coffee; first made as usual, and then
-boiled with loaf sugar and isinglass till they congeal. We do not
-recommend them, except as some exhilaration to the fatigue of a party.
-
-
-TRIFLE.--This is a very nice and very elegant party dish, and is served
-in a large glass bowl. Put into the bottom of the bowl a pound of bitter
-almond maccaroons. Pour on sufficient madeira or sherry to dissolve
-them. Let them soak in it till soft and broken. Have ready a very rich
-custard, flavored with vanilla bean (broken up and boiled by itself in a
-little milk), and then strained into the quart of milk prepared for the
-custard, which should be of ten eggs, (_using only the yolks_) and
-sweetened with a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf sugar. It is best
-and easiest to _bake_ the custard. It will be very rich and soft with
-yolk of egg only. When the custard is cold lay it on the dissolved
-maccaroons. Then add a thick layer of very nice marmalade. Rub off the
-yellow rind of a large lemon or two on some pieces of loaf sugar, and
-add to it some powdered sugar mixed with the lemon juice. Whip to a
-strong froth a large quart (or more) of rich cream, gradually mixing
-with it the lemon and sugar. Lastly, pile up the frothed cream high on
-the glass bowl, and keep it on ice till it is sent to table. Instead of
-lemon you may flavor the whipt cream with rose-water; it will require,
-if not very strong, a wine-glassful. To give the cream a fine pink
-color, tie up some alkanet chips in a thin muslin bag; lay the bag to
-infuse in a tea-cup of plain cream, and then add the pink infusion to
-the quart of cream as you froth it.
-
-
-BLANCMANGE.--The best and finest blancmange is made with a set of
-calves' feet, (singed but not skinned) boiled slowly in a gallon of
-water till the meat drops from the bone; then strain it, and set it away
-till next day, in a broad white-ware pan. Skim it well while boiling.
-Next day it should be a solid cake of clear jelly. Scrape off all the
-fat and sediment from the outside, cut the jelly into small bits, and
-melt it over again. Boil in a porcelain kettle a pint of cream, and
-when it has come to a boil, stir in six ounces of loaf sugar, and
-whatever you intend for flavoring; either the milk, in which a handful
-of bitter almonds has been boiled, (first being blanched and broken up)
-or a vanilla bean split and cut to pieces, and boiled in a little milk
-and strained. Or, it may be mixed with three ounces of chocolate,
-(Baker's prepared cocoa is the best) scraped fine. When the flavoring
-has had a boil with the sugar, stir into it, gradually, the melted
-jelly, and transfer it to white-ware moulds that have set in cold water,
-and are still damp. Stir it well, and when the blancmange is thickening,
-and becoming hard to stir, set the moulds on ice, or in pans of cold
-water in the cellar, and cease stirring. When quite congealed, dip the
-moulds in lukewarm water, and turn out the blancmange on glass dishes.
-You may color almond or vanilla blancmange a fine pink, by putting into
-the cream chips of alkanet root tied in a small thin muslin bag, to be
-removed as soon as the cream is highly colored. Or, it may be made green
-by the infusion of spinach juice, obtained by pounding in a marble
-mortar, and then boiling and straining.
-
-Gelatine is now frequently used for blancmange and jelly, instead of
-calves' feet or isinglass. It has no advantage but that of being more
-speedily prepared than calves' feet, which must be boiled the day
-before. Four cakes of gelatine are equal to four calves' feet. Before
-using, they must be soaked for an hour or more in a pan of cold water,
-then boiled with the other ingredients. Some persons think they
-perceive an unpleasant taste in gelatine; perhaps they have heard of
-what it is made.
-
-When calves' feet cannot be obtained, pigs' feet will do very well, if
-nobody knows it. Four feet of calves are equal to eight of pigs. They
-are very glutinous, and have no perceptible taste.
-
-
-FINEST BLANCMANGE.--Break up a half pound of the best double-refined
-loaf sugar. On some of the pieces rub off the yellow rind of two large
-lemons, having rolled them under your hand to increase the juice. Then
-powder all the sugar, and mix with it, gradually, the juice of the
-lemons, a pint of rich cream, and a large half pint (not less) of sherry
-or madeira. Stir the mixture very hard till all the articles are
-thoroughly amalgamated. Then stir in, gradually, a _second_ pint of
-cream. Put into a small sauce-pan an ounce of the best Russia isinglass,
-with one jill (or two common-sized wineglasses) of cold water. Boil it
-till the isinglass is completely dissolved, stirring it several times
-down to the bottom. When the melted isinglass has become lukewarm, stir
-it gradually into the mixture, and then give the whole a hard stirring.
-Have ready some white-ware moulds that have just been dipped and rinsed
-in cold water. Fill them with the mixture, set them on ice, and in two
-or three hours the blancmange will be congealed. When it is perfectly
-firm, dip the moulds for a minute in lukewarm water, and turn out the
-blancmange on glass dishes. This, if accurately made, is the finest of
-blancmange. For company, you must have double, or treble, or four times
-the quantity of ingredients; each article in due proportion.
-
-
-FARINA.--Farina is a very fine and delicate preparation, made from the
-inner part of the grain of new wheat. It is exceedingly nutritious, and
-excellent either for invalids or for persons in health. It is now much
-in use, and is to be had, in packages of a pound or half a pound, of the
-best grocers and druggists, and is highly recommended by physicians for
-gruel and panade. It also makes an excellent pudding, either boiled or
-baked, prepared in the same manner as any flour pudding. For boiling
-farina, nothing is so good as a _bain-marie_ or double kettle.
-
-_For Farina Blancmange._--From a quart of rich milk take out a half
-pint. Put the half pint into a small sauce-pan, and add to it a handful
-of bitter almonds broken up; or a bunch of fresh peach leaves, or a
-vanilla bean split, cut up, and tied in a thin muslin bag. When this
-milk has boiled till very highly flavored, strain it into the pint and a
-half, and set it over the fire in a porcelain kettle or a _bain-marie_.
-When the milk has come to a boil, sprinkle in, gradually, a large half
-pint or more (or four large heaping table-spoonfuls) of farina, stirring
-it well--also sprinkling in and stirring, as if making thick mush. Let
-it boil slowly a quarter of an hour after the farina is all in. When
-done, remove it from the fire, and stir in two large table-spoonfuls of
-sugar, and a wineglass of rose-water, or one of white wine. Transfer it
-to a blancmange mould, (previously wet with cold water,) set it on ice,
-and turn it out when ready for dinner. Eat it with sauce of wine, sugar,
-and nutmeg.
-
-
-FINE MARROW PUDDING.--Mince very small a quarter of a pound of nice beef
-marrow, and grate or crumble half a pound of almond sponge cake. Cut in
-half, a quarter of a pound of sultana or seedless raisins, chop two
-peels of candied citron, mix them with the raisins, and dredge both
-thickly with flour. Add a large heaped table-spoonful of loaf sugar, a
-small nutmeg grated, and a wineglass of mixed wine and brandy. Mix all
-these ingredients well, put them into a deep dish, lay a border of
-puff-paste all round the rim, and fill the dish up to the top with a
-nice custard made in the proportion of four eggs to a pint of
-well-sweetened milk, flavored with either bitter almonds, rose-water,
-peach-water, or vanilla. Bake this pudding half an hour. When cool, sift
-sugar over it.
-
-
-OMELETTE SOUFFLÉ.--Break six eggs, separating the yolks and whites. Give
-them a slight stir, and strain the whites into one pan and the yolks
-into another. Add to the yolks three large table-spoonfuls of powdered
-loaf sugar, a heaped tea-spoonful of arrow-root flour, and twelve drops
-of strong orange-flower water, and beat it till very thick and smooth.
-Then beat the whites to a stiff froth, beginning slowly at first, but
-gradually beating faster. Then add the beaten yolk very gently to the
-whites. Have ready a silver or plated dish well-buttered. Use tin for
-want of better, but it will not look well, as the omelette has to be
-served up in the dish it was baked in. Place the dish with the mixture
-in a hot oven, and watch it while baking. When it has well risen, and
-seems very light, take it out of the oven for a moment; run a knife
-round it, sift some sugar over it, set it again in the oven, and when
-raised to its utmost take it out again, and serve it up as hot as
-possible, with a spoon on the plate beside it. When once broken, it will
-sink immediately. It is usual to send round the omelette soufflé at the
-very last of the pastry course; the cook not beginning to make it till
-the dinner has commenced. If not light when baked, give it up, and do
-not send it to table at all. It is safest for an inexperienced housewife
-to engage a French cook to come to the house with his own ingredients
-and utensils, and make and bake the omelette soufflé while there. Still
-though very fashionable, it is less delicious than many other desserts.
-
-
-SUNDERLANDS.--Warm a quart of rich milk, and cut up in it half a pound
-of the best fresh butter to soften in the milk, but not to oil. Beat
-eight eggs till very light and thick, and then stir them gradually into
-the pan of milk and butter, in turn with eight large table-spoonfuls of
-sifted flour. Beat all very hard together, and then transfer the batter
-to white tea-cups, slightly buttered, not filling them quite full. Set
-them immediately into a brisk oven, and bake them about twenty minutes,
-or till they are slightly browned, and have puffed up very light. As
-soon as they are cool enough to handle without burning your fingers,
-turn them out of the cups on a dish, cut a slit in the top of each, and,
-taking a tea-spoon, fill them quite full of any sort of jelly or
-marmalade; or if more convenient, with ripe strawberries or raspberries,
-sweetened with powdered sugar, and mashed smoothly. When filled with
-fruit, close the slit neatly with your fingers; and on the top of each
-lay a large strawberry or raspberry, having first dredged the sunderland
-with sugar.
-
-_Cream Cakes_--Are made in the above manner, but baked in patty-pans.
-When baked take them out, cut a slit in the _side_ of each; and having
-prepared an ample quantity of rich boiled custard, made with yolk of
-egg, and highly flavored (_after it has boiled_,) with lemon, orange,
-vanilla, rose-water or peach-water, fill the cakes full of the custard,
-closing the opening well by pinching it together. Sift powdered sugar
-over them, and send them to table on a large china dish.
-
-
-CREAM TART.--Make a fine puff-paste of equal quantities of fresh butter
-and sifted flour; mixing into the pan of flour a heaped table-spoonful
-of powdered sugar, and wetting it with a beaten egg. Rub one quarter of
-the butter into the pan of flour. Divide the remainder of butter into
-six, and roll it into the flour at six turns till it is all in. Have,
-ready grated, the yellow rind and the juice of a large lemon or orange
-mixed with a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf sugar; or a flavoring
-of a split-up vanilla bean; or a dozen bitter almonds broken up, and
-boiled in a very little milk. Mix the flavoring with a pint of rich
-cream, and the well-beaten whites of three eggs. Take small deep pans,
-line them all through with the paste rolled out very thin, and cut
-square. Fill them with the cream, and turn the square pieces of paste a
-little over it at the top, so as to form corners. Bake the tarts in a
-brisk oven, and when cold, grate nutmeg over the surface.
-
-Are these the cream tarts of the Arabian Nights?
-
-
-ORANGE COCOA-NUT.--Break up a fine ripe cocoa-nut, and after peeling off
-the brown skin, lay the pieces in cold water for a while. Then wipe them
-dry with a clean towel, and grate them into a deep dish. Mix in, plenty
-of powdered white sugar. Take some fine large oranges, very ripe and
-juicy. Peel off all the rind, and slice the oranges rather thick. Cover
-the bottom of a large glass bowl with sliced orange, (the first layer
-being double, where the bowl is small) and strew among the slices
-sufficient sugar. Then put in a thick layer of the grated cocoa-nut,
-next another layer of orange--again a layer of cocoa-nut, and so on,
-alternately, till the bowl is filled, finishing with cocoa-nut heaped
-high. This is a handsome and delicious article for a supper-table, and a
-nice _impromptu_ addition to the dessert at a dinner; and soon prepared,
-as it requires no cooking. When the fruit is in season, a dessert for a
-small company may consist entirely of orange cocoa-nut, raspberry
-charlotte, and cream strawberries.
-
-Never send oranges whole to table. To ladies they are unmanageable in
-company.
-
-_Creamed Strawberries._--Take fine large ripe strawberries. Hull or stem
-them, and set them on ice till just before they are wanted. Divide them
-into saucerfulls. If you have glass saucers, they will make a better
-show than china. Put some powdered white sugar in the bottom of each
-saucer. Fill them with strawberries, and then strew on a liberal
-allowance of sugar, for American strawberries (however fine in
-appearance) are seldom sweet. Have ready sufficient whipped cream, that
-has been frothed with rods or with a tin cream-churn. Pile high a
-portion of the whipt cream on each saucer of strawberries.
-
-Strawberries are sometimes eaten with wine and sugar, when cream is not
-convenient. With _milk_ they curdle, and are unwholesome--besides
-tasting poorly.
-
-_Creamed Pine-apple._--Cut into four pieces two large ripe pine-apples.
-Stand them up successively in a deep dish, and grate them from the rind.
-When all is grated, transfer it to a large glass bowl, and make it very
-sweet by mixing in powdered white loaf sugar. Whip to a stiff froth a
-sufficiency of rich cream, adding to it some sugar, and heap it high
-upon the grated pine-apple.
-
-_Peaches and Cream._--Take fine juicy freestone peaches. Pare them, and
-cut them in slices. Put them, with their juice, into a large bowl, and
-make them very sweet with powdered loaf sugar. Set them on ice, and let
-them remain in the juice till wanted. Then send them to table with fresh
-sugar sifted over the top. Set near them pitchers of plain cream, not
-frothed.
-
-If you cannot obtain cream, it is better to be satisfied with sugar
-alone, than to substitute milk, with peaches, or any other fruit.
-
-
-LEMON TAFFY.--Put into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle three pounds
-of the best loaf sugar, and pour on it a pint and a half of very clear
-water. When it has entirely dissolved, set it over the fire, and add a
-table spoonful of fine cider vinegar to assist in clearing it as it
-boils. Boil and skim it well, and when no more scum rises add the juice
-of four large lemons or oranges. Let it boil till it will boil no
-longer, stirring it well. When done transfer it to square tin pans, that
-have been made very clean and bright, and that are slightly greased with
-sweet oil. Set the taffy away to cool, first marking it with a knife,
-while soft. Mark it in straight lines the broad or crossway of the pans.
-If marked lengthways, the pieces will be too long. When the taffy is
-cold, cut it according to the lines, in regular slips, like cocoa-nut
-candy. It is for a handsome supper party. Serve it up in glass dishes.
-
-Orange taffy is made in the same manner. These candies should be kept in
-tin boxes.
-
-_Cocoa-nut Candy_--Is made in the manner of taffy, using finely grated
-cocoa-nut, instead of lemon or orange.
-
-
-CHARLOTTE RUSSE.--Split, cut up, and boil a large vanilla bean in half a
-pint of rich milk, till it is highly flavored, and reduced to one-half.
-Then strain out the vanilla through a strainer so fine as to avoid all
-the seeds. Mix the strained milk with half a pint of rich cream. Beat
-five eggs till very smooth and thick. Strain them, and add them
-gradually to the cream when it is entirely cold, to make a rich custard.
-Set this custard over the fire (stirring it all the time) till it
-simmers; but take it off before it comes to a boil, or it will curdle.
-Set it on ice. Have ready in another sauce-pan an ounce of the best
-Russia isinglass, boiled in half a pint of water, till it is all
-dissolved into a thick jelly. When both are cold, (but not hard) mix the
-custard and the isinglass together, and add four table-spoonfuls of
-powdered loaf sugar. Then take a large lump of loaf sugar, and rub off
-on it the yellow rind of two large lemons. Scrape off the lemon-grate
-with a tea-spoon, and add it to the mixture, with the lump of sugar
-powdered and crushed fine. Mix together the strained juice of the
-lemons, and two glasses of madeira; dissolve in them the lemon-flavored
-sugar, and mix it with a pint of rich cream that has been whipped with a
-whisk to a strong froth. Add the whipped cream gradually to the custard,
-starring very hard at the time, and also after the whole is mixed. Then
-set it on ice.
-
-Cover the bottom of a flat oval dish with a slice of almond sponge cake,
-cut to fit. Prepare a sufficient number of oblong slices of the cake,
-(all of the same size and shape) to go all round; with one extra slice,
-in case they should not quite hold out. Dip every one in a plate of
-beaten white of egg to make them adhere. Stand each of them up on one
-end, round the large oval slice that lies at the bottom. Make them
-follow each other evenly and neatly, (every one lapping a little way
-over its predecessor) till you have a handsome wall of slices, cemented
-all round by the white of egg. Fill it quite full with the custard
-mixture. Cover the top with another oval slice of cake, cemented with a
-little white of egg to the upper edge of the wall. Make a nice icing in
-the usual way, of powdered sugar beaten into frothed white of egg, and
-flavored with lemon, orange, or rose. Spread this icing thickly and
-smoothly over the cake that covers the top of the charlotte, and
-ornament it with a handsome pattern of sugar flowers. There is no
-charlotte russe superior to this.
-
-_Another Charlotte Russe._--Have a very nice circular lady cake. It
-should be iced all over, and ornamented with sugar flowers. Take off the
-top nicely, and without breaking or defacing, and hollow out the inside,
-leaving the sides and bottom standing. The cake taken from the inside
-may be cut in regular pieces and used at tea, or for other purposes.
-Make a very fine boiled custard, according to the preceding receipt.
-Fill with it the empty cake, as if filling a mould. Then put on the lid,
-set the whole on ice, and when wanted serve it up on a glass or china
-dish.
-
-A charlotte that requires no cooking may be very easily made by
-hollowing a nice circular almond sponge cake, and filling it with layers
-of small preserves, and piling on the top whipped cream finely flavored.
-
-For the walls of a charlotte russe you may use the oblong sponge cakes,
-called Naples biscuits, or those denominated lady fingers, dipping them
-first in beaten white of egg, standing them on end, and arranging them
-so as to lap over each other in forming the wall. Arrange some of them
-handsomely to cover the top of the custard.
-
-
-ICE CREAM.--Pewter freezers for ice cream are better than those of block
-tin; as in them the freezing goes on more gradually and thoroughly, and
-it does not melt so soon, besides being smoother when done. The ice tub
-should be large enough to allow ample space all round (six inches, at
-least,) the freezer as it stands in the centre, and should have a plug
-at the bottom (beneath the freezer) for letting out the water that drips
-from the ice; that a large coarse woolen cloth should be folded, and
-laid under it and around it. The ice should be broken up into small
-bits, and mixed with coarse salt, in the proportion of a pound of salt
-to five pounds of ice. Fill the tub within three inches of the top;
-pounding and pressing down hard the mixed ice and salt. Have ready all
-the ingredients. To every quart of _real_ rich cream mix in a pint of
-milk, (not more) and half a pound of fine loaf sugar. The following are
-the most usual flavorings, all the fruit being made very sweet. Ripe
-strawberries or raspberries, mashed through a sieve till all the juice
-is extracted; ripe juicy freestone peaches, pared, and cut in half, the
-kernels being taken from the stones, are pounded, and mashed with the
-fruit through a cullender; all the juice that can be mashed out of a
-sliced pine-apple, the grated yellow rind and the juice of lemons or
-oranges, allowing two to each quart of cream, and mixing the juice with
-plenty of sugar before it is put to the cream. A handful of shelled
-bitter almonds blanched, broken, and boiled by themselves in half a
-pint of milk till all the almond flavor is extracted, and then strain
-the bitter almond milk into the cream. For vanilla flavor, split and cut
-up a vanilla bean, boil it by itself in a half pint of milk, and when
-highly flavored, strain the vanilla milk into the cream. For chocolate
-ice cream, scrape down a quarter of a pound of Baker's prepared cocoa,
-and melt it in just water enough to cover it; then sweeten and mix it
-gradually into a quart of rich milk, (boiling at the time) and then boil
-and stir it till strong and smooth. Ice cream is spoiled by the addition
-of eggs. Besides giving it a yellowish color, eggs convert it into mere
-frozen custard, particularly if instead of using real cream, it is made
-of milk thickened with arrow-root or flour. For company at least, ice
-cream should be made in the best and most liberal manner, or else do not
-attempt it. Mean ice cream is a very mean thing.
-
-When all the ingredients are prepared and mixed, put the whole into the
-freezer, and set it in the ice tub; and having put on the lid tightly,
-take the freezer by the handle and turn it about very fast for five or
-six minutes. Then remove the lid carefully, and scrape down the cream
-from the sides with a spaddle or long-handled spoon. Repeat this
-frequently while it is freezing, taking care to keep the sides clear,
-stirring it well to the bottom, and keeping the tub well filled with
-salt and ice outside the freezer.
-
-After the cream has been well frozen in the freezer, transfer it to
-moulds, pressing it in hard, so as to fill every part of the mould.
-Then set the mould in a fresh tub of ice and salt, (using as before the
-proportion of a pound of salt to five pounds of ice) and let it remain
-undisturbed in the mould for an hour, not turning it out till it is time
-to serve it up to the company. Then wrap a cloth, dipped in warm water,
-round the outside of the moulds, open them, and turn out the frozen
-cream on glass or china dishes, and serve it up immediately.
-
-Unless ice cream is very highly flavored at the beginning, its taste
-will be much weakened in the process of freezing.
-
-The most usual form of ice cream moulds are pyramids, dolphins, doves,
-and baskets of fruit. We have seen ice cream in the shape of a curly
-lap-dog, and very well represented.
-
-If you eat what is called strawberry ice cream looking of an exquisite
-rose-pink color, there is no strawberry about it, either in tint or
-taste. It is produced by alkanet or cochineal. Real strawberries do not
-color so beautifully; neither do raspberries, or any other sort of red
-fruit. But genuine fruit syrups may be employed for this purpose, having
-at least the true taste. To make strawberry or raspberry syrup, prepare
-first what is called simple syrup, by melting a pound of the best
-double-refined loaf sugar in half a pint of cold water; and when melted,
-boiling them together, and skimming it perfectly clean. Then stir in as
-much fruit juice (mashed and strained,) as will give it a fine tinge,
-and let it have one more boiling up.
-
-_Vanilla Syrup._--Take six fine fresh vanilla beans. Split, and cut them
-in pieces. Scrape the seeds loose in the pods with your finger nail, and
-bruise and mash the shells. All this will increase the vanilla flavor.
-Put all you can get of the vanilla into a small quart of what is called
-by the druggist "absolute alcohol." Cork the bottle closely, and let the
-vanilla infuse in it a week. Then strain it through a very fine strainer
-that will not let out a single seed. Have ready half a dozen pint
-bottles of simple syrup. Put into every bottle of the simple syrup a
-portion of the strained infusion of vanilla. Cork it tightly and use it
-for vanilla flavoring in ice creams, custards, blancmange, &c.
-
-_Orange or Lemon Syrups_--Are made by paring off the yellow rind very
-thin (after the fruit has been rolled under your hand on a table to
-increase the juice,) then boiling the rind till the water is highly
-flavored. Strain this water over the best loaf sugar, allowing two
-pounds of sugar to a pint of juice. The sugar being melted, mix it with
-the juice.
-
-
-WATER ICES OR SHERBET.--Water ices are made of the juice of fruits, very
-well sweetened, mixed with a little water, and frozen in the manner of
-ice cream, to which they are by many persons preferred. They are all
-prepared nearly in the same manner, allowing a pint of juice to a pint
-of water, and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Mix it well, and then
-freeze it in the manner of ice cream, and serve it up in glass bowls.
-For lemon and orange sherbet, first roll the fruit on a table under your
-hand; then take off a very thin paring of the yellow rind, and boil it
-slowly in a very little water, till all the flavor is extracted. Next,
-strain the flavored water into the cold water you intend to mix with the
-juice, and make it very sweet with loaf sugar. Squeeze the juice into it
-through a tin strainer to avoid the seeds. Stir the whole very hard, and
-transfer it to a freezer. Orange water-ice is considered the best, if
-well made. For pine-apple water-ice, pare, core, and slice fine _ripe_
-apples very thin. Put them into a dish with thick layers of powdered
-loaf sugar; cover the dish, and let them lie several hours in the sugar.
-Then press out all the juice you can, from the pine-apple; mix it with a
-little water, and freeze it. To two large pine-apples allow a half pound
-of sugar, which has been melted in a quart of boiling water. This looks
-very well frozen in a mould shaped like a pine-apple. _Orange_ sherbet
-may be frozen in a pine-apple mould. It can be made so rich with orange
-juice as to perfume the whole table.
-
-_Roman Punch_--Is made of strong lemonade or orangeade, adding to every
-quart a pint of brandy or rum. Then freeze it, and serve in saucers or a
-large glass bowl. Put it into a porcelain kettle, and boil and skim it
-till the scum ceases to rise. When cold, bottle it, seal the corks and
-keep it in a cool place.
-
-Syrup of strawberries, raspberries, currants and blackberries, is made
-in a similar manner.
-
-
-FLOATING ISLAND.--For one common-sized floating island have a round
-thick jelly cake, lady cake, or almond sponge cake, that will weigh a
-pound and a half, or two pounds. Slice it downwards, almost to the
-bottom, but do not take the slices apart. Stand up the cake in the
-centre of a glass bowl or a deep dish. Have ready a pint and a half of
-rich cream, make it very sweet with sugar, and color it a fine green
-with a tea-cupful of the juice of pounded spinach, boiled five minutes
-by itself; strained, and made very sweet. Or for coloring pink you may
-use currant jelly, or the juice of preserved strawberries. Whip to a
-stiff froth another pint and a half of sweetened cream, and flavor it
-with a large glass of mixed wine and brandy. Pour round the cake, as it
-stands in the dish or bowl, the colored unfrothed cream, and pile the
-whipped white cream all over the cake, highest on the top.
-
-
-
-
-FINE CAKES.
-
-
-PLUM CAKE.--In making very fine plum cake first prepare the fruit and
-spice, and sift the flour (which must be the very best superfine,) into
-a large flat dish, and dry it before the fire. Use none but the very
-best fresh butter; if of inferior quality, the butter will taste through
-every thing, and spoil the cake. In fact, all the ingredients should be
-excellent, and liberally allowed. Take the best bloom or muscatel
-raisins, seeded and cut in half. Pick and wash the currants or plums
-through two waters, and dry them well. Powder the spice, and let it
-infuse over night in the wine and brandy. Cut the citron into slips, mix
-it with the raisins and currants, and dredge all the fruit very thickly,
-on both sides, with flour. This will prevent its sinking or clodding in
-the cake, while baking. Eggs should always be beaten till the frothing
-is over, and till they become thick and smooth, as thick as a good
-boiled custard, and quite smooth on the surface. If you can obtain
-hickory-rods as egg-beaters, there is nothing so good; but if you cannot
-get _them_, use the common egg-beaters, of thin fine wire. For stirring
-butter and sugar you should have a spaddle, which resembles a short
-mush-stick flattened at one end. Stir the butter and sugar in a deep
-earthen pan, and continue till it is light, thick, and creamy. Beat eggs
-always in a broad shallow earthen pan, and with a short quick stroke,
-keeping your right elbow close to your side, and moving only your wrist.
-In this way you may beat for an hour without fatigue. But to stir butter
-and sugar is the hardest part of cake making. Have this done by a man
-servant. His strength will accomplish it in a short time--also, let him
-give the final stirring to the cake. If the ingredients are prepared as
-far as practicable on the preceding day, the cake may be in the oven by
-ten or eleven o'clock in the forenoon.
-
-For a large plum cake allow one pound, (or a quart) of sifted flour; one
-pound of fresh butter cut up in a pound of powdered loaf sugar, in a
-deep pan; twelve eggs; two pounds of bloom raisins; two pounds of Zante
-currants; half a pound of citron, either cut into slips or chopped
-small; a table-spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon, mixed; two grated
-nutmegs; a large wine-glass of madeira (or more), a wine-glass of French
-brandy, mixed together, and the spice steeped in it.
-
-First stir the butter and sugar to a light cream, and add to them the
-spice and liquor. Then beat the eggs in a shallow pan till very thick
-and smooth, breaking them one at a time into a saucer to ascertain if
-there is a bad one among them. One stale egg will spoil the whole cake.
-When the eggs are very light, stir them gradually into the large pan of
-butter and sugar in turn with the flour, that being the mixing pan.
-Lastly, add the fruit and citron, a little at a time of each, and give
-the whole a hard stirring. If the fruit is well floured it will not
-sink, but it will be seen evenly dispersed all over the cake when baked.
-Take a large straight-sided block tin pan, grease it inside with the
-same butter used for the cake, and put the mixture carefully into it.
-Set it immediately into a well-heated oven, and keep up a steady heat
-while it is baking. When nearly done, the cake will shrink a little from
-the sides of the pan; and on probing it to the bottom with a sprig from
-a corn broom, or a splinter-skewer, the probe will come out clean.
-Otherwise, keep the cake in the oven a little longer. If it cracks on
-the top, it is a proof of its being very light. When quite done, take it
-out. It will become hard if left to grow cold with the oven. Set it to
-cool on an inverted sieve.
-
-
-ICING.--Allow to the white of each egg a quarter of a pound of the best
-loaf sugar, finely powdered; but if you find the mixture too thin, you
-must add still more sugar. Put the white of egg into a shallow pan, and
-beat it with small rods or a large silver fork, till it becomes a stiff
-froth, and stands alone without falling. Then beat in the powdered
-sugar, a tea-spoonful at a time. As you proceed, flavor it with lemon
-juice. This will render the icing whiter and smoother, also improving
-the taste. You may ice the cake as soon as it becomes lukewarm, without
-waiting till it is quite cold. Dredge it lightly with flour to absorb
-the grease from the outside; then wipe off the flour. With a broad knife
-put some icing on the middle of the cake, and then spread it down,
-thickly and evenly, all over the top and sides, smoothing it with
-another knife dipped in cold water. When this is quite dry, spread on a
-second coat of icing rather thinner than the first, and flavored with
-rose. Set it a few minutes in the oven to harden the icing, leaving the
-oven-door open; or place it beneath the stove. When the icing is quite
-dry, you may ornament it with sugar borders and flowers; having ready,
-for that purpose, some additional icing. By means of a syringe, (made
-for the purpose, and to be obtained at the best furnishing stores) you
-can decorate the surface of the cake very handsomely; but it requires
-taste, skill, and practice. You may first cover the cake with pink,
-brown, green, or other colored icing, and then take white icing to
-decorate it, forming the pattern by moving your hand skilfully and
-steadily over it, and pressing it out of the syringe as you go. An
-easier way is to ornament the cake (when the top-icing is nearly dry,
-but not quite,) with large strawberries or raspberries, or purple grapes
-placed very near each other, and arranged in circles or patterns. Be
-careful not to mash the berries.
-
-_Warm Icing._--This is made in the usual proportion of the whites of
-four eggs, beaten to stiff froth, and a pound of finely powdered loaf
-sugar afterwards added to it, gradually. Then boil the egg and sugar in
-a porcelain kettle, and skim it till the scum ceases to rise. Take it
-off the fire, and stir into it sufficient orange juice, lemon juice, or
-rose-water, to flavor it highly. Flour your cake--wipe off the flour,
-put on the icing with a broad knife, and then smooth it with another
-knife dipped in cold water. For this icing the cake should be warm from
-the oven, and dried slowly and gradually afterwards. Warm icing is much
-liked. It is very light; rises thick and high in cooling, and has a fine
-gloss. Try it. The mixture called by the French a _meringue_, and used
-for macaroons, kisses, and other nice articles, is made in the same
-manner as icing for cakes, allowing a quarter of a pound of powdered
-loaf sugar to every beaten white of egg.
-
-
-POUND CAKE.--One of Mrs. Goodfellow's maxims was, "up-weight of flour,
-and down-weight of every thing else"--and she was right, as the
-excellence of her cakes sufficiently proved, during the thirty years
-that she taught her art in Philadelphia, with unexampled success.
-Therefore, allow for a pound cake a rather small pound of sifted flour;
-a large pound of the best fresh butter, a large pound of powdered loaf
-sugar, ten eggs, or eleven if they are small; a large glass of mixed
-wine and brandy; a glass of rose-water; a grated nutmeg, and a heaped
-tea-spoonful of mixed spice, powdered mace, and cinnamon. Put the sugar
-into a _deep_ earthen pan, and cut up the butter among it. In cold
-weather place it near the fire a few minutes, till the butter softens.
-Next, stir it very hard with a spaddle till the mixture becomes very
-light. Next, stir in, gradually, the spice, liquor, &c. Then beat the
-eggs in a shallow pan with rods or a whisk, till light, thick, and
-smooth. Add them gradually to the beaten batter and sugar, in turn with
-the flour; and give the whole a hard stirring at the last. Have the oven
-ready with a moderate heat. Transfer the mixture to a thick
-straight-sided tin pan well greased with the best fresh butter, and
-smooth the butter on the surface. Set it immediately into the oven, and
-bake it with a steady heat two hours and a half, or more. Probe it to
-the bottom with a twig from a corn broom. When it shrinks a little from
-the pan it is done. When taken out, set it to cool on an inverted sieve.
-When you ice it, flavor the icing with lemon or rose.
-
-It should be eaten fresh, as it soon becomes very dry.
-
-Pound cake is not so much in use as formerly, particularly for weddings
-and large parties; lady cake and plum cake being now substituted. A
-pound cake may be much improved by the addition of a pound of citron,
-sliced, chopped well, dredged with flour to prevent its sinking, and
-stirred gradually into the batter, in turn with the sifted flour and
-beaten egg.
-
-
-QUEEN CAKE--Is made in the same manner as pound cake, only with a less
-proportion of flour, (fourteen ounces, or two ounces less than a pound)
-as it must be baked in little tins; and small cakes require less flour
-than large ones. Also, (besides a somewhat larger allowance of spice,
-liquor, &c.) add the juice and grated yellow rind of a lemon or two, and
-half a pound of sultana or seedless raisins, cut in half and dredged
-with flour. Butter your small cake tins, and fill to the edge with the
-batter. They will not run over the edge if well made, and baked with a
-proper fire, but they will rise high and fine in the centre. Ice them
-when beginning to cool, flavoring the icing with lemon or rose. Queen
-cakes made _exactly_ as above are superlative.
-
-
-ORANGE CAKES.--Make a mixture precisely as for queen cake, only omit the
-wine, brandy, and rose-water, and substitute the grated yellow rind and
-the juice of four large ripe oranges, stirred into the batter in turn
-with the egg and flour. Flavor the icing with orange juice.
-
-
-LEMON CAKES--Are also made as above, substituting for the oranges the
-grated rind and juice of three lemons. To give a full taste, less lemon
-is required than orange.
-
-
-SPONGE CAKE.--Many persons suppose that sponge cake must be very easy to
-make, because there is no butter in it. On the contrary, the want of
-butter renders it difficult to get light. A really good sponge cake is a
-very different thing from those numerous tough leathery compositions
-that go by that name, and being flavored with nothing, are not worthy of
-eating _as cake_, and are neither palatable nor wholesome as diet,
-unless too fresh to have grown dry and hard. The best sponge cake we
-know of is made as follows, and even that should be eaten the day it is
-baked. Sift half a pound of flour, (arrow-root is still better,) in a
-shallow pan; beat twelve eggs till very thick, light, and smooth. You
-need not separate the yolks and whites, if you know the true way of
-adding the flour. Beat a pound of powdered loaf sugar, gradually, (a
-little at a time) into the beaten eggs, and add the juice and grated
-yellow rinds of two large lemons or oranges. Lastly stir in the flour or
-arrow root. It is all important that this should be done slowly and
-lightly, and without stirring down to the bottom of the pan. Hold the
-egg-beater perpendicularly or quite upright in one hand, and move it
-round on the surface of the beaten egg, while with the other hand you
-lightly and gradually sprinkle in the flour till all is in. If stirred
-in hard and fast it will render the cake porous and tough, and dry and
-hard when cold. Have ready either a large turban mould, or some small
-oblong or square tins. Butter them nicely, transfer to them the cake
-mixture, grate powdered sugar profusely over the surface to give it a
-gloss like a very thin crust, and set it immediately into a brisk oven.
-The small oblong cakes are called Naples biscuits, and require no icing.
-A large turban cake may be iced plain, without ornament.
-
-A _very light_ sponge cake, when sliced, will cut down rough and coarse
-grained, and it is desirable to have it so.
-
-_Lady Fingers_--Are mixed in the same manner, and of the same
-ingredients as the foregoing receipt for the best sponge cake. When the
-mixture is finished, form the cakes by shaping the batter with a
-tea-spoon, upon sheets of soft white paper slightly damped, forming them
-like double ovals joined in the centre. Sift powdered sugar over them,
-and bake them in a quick oven till slightly browned. When cool, take
-them off the papers. They are sometimes iced.
-
-
-ALMOND SPONGE CAKE.--The addition of almonds makes this cake very
-superior to the usual sponge cake. Sift half a pound of fine flour or
-arrow root. Blanch in scalding water two ounces of shelled sweet
-almonds, and two ounces of bitter ones, renewing the hot water when
-expedient. When the skins are all off, wash the almonds in cold water,
-(mixing the sweet and bitter) and wipe them dry. Pound them to a fine
-smooth paste, (one at a time,) in a very clean marble mortar, adding, as
-you proceed, plenty of rose-water to prevent their oiling. Then set them
-in a cool place. Beat twelve eggs till very smooth and thick, and then
-beat into them, gradually, a pound of powdered loaf sugar, in turn with
-the pounded almonds. Lastly, add the flour, stirring it round slowly and
-lightly on the surface of the mixture, as in common sponge cake. Have
-ready a _deep_ square pan. Butter it nicely. Put the mixture carefully
-into it, set it into the oven, and bake it till thoroughly done and
-risen very high. When cool, cover it with plain white icing, flavored
-with rose-water. With sweet almonds, always use a small portion of
-bitter ones. Without them, _sweet_ almonds have little or no taste,
-though they add to the richness of the cake.
-
-
-SPANISH BUNS.--In a shallow pan put a half pint of rich unskimmed milk,
-and cut up in it a half pound of the best fresh butter. Set it on the
-stove, or near the fire, to warm and soften, but do not let it melt or
-oil. When soft, stir it all through the milk with a broad knife, and
-then set it away to cool. Sift into a broad pan half a pound of the
-finest flour, and an additional quarter of a pound put on a plate by
-itself. Beat four eggs in a shallow pan till very thick and smooth, and
-mix them at once into the butter and sugar, adding the half pound of
-flour. Stir in a powdered nutmeg, and two wine-glasses of strong yeast,
-fresh from the brewer's, first removing the thin liquid or beer from the
-top. Stir the mixture very hard with a knife, and then add,
-_gradually_, half a pound of powdered white sugar. The buns will become
-heavy if the sugar is thrown in all at once. It is important that it
-should be added a little at a time. Then sprinkle in, by degrees, the
-extra quarter of a pound of sifted flour, and lastly add a wine-glass of
-strong rose-water. When all has been well stirred, butter (with fine
-fresh butter,) an oblong iron or block-tin pan, and carefully put the
-bun mixture into it. Cover it with a clean cloth, and set it near the
-fire to rise. It may require five hours; therefore buns wanted for tea
-should be made in the forenoon. When the batter has risen very high, and
-is covered with bubbles, put the pan immediately into a moderate but
-steady oven, and bake it. When cool, cut the buns into squares, and ice
-each one separately, if for company; the icing being flavored with lemon
-or orange juice. Otherwise, you may simply sift sugar over them. These
-buns were first introduced by Mrs. Goodfellow; and in her school were
-always excellently made, nothing being spared that was good, and the use
-of soda and other alkalis being unknown in the establishment--hartshorn
-in cakes would have horrified her.
-
-
-LADY CAKE.--This cake must be flavored highly with bitter almonds;
-without them, sweet almonds have little or no taste, and are useless in
-lady cake. Blanch, in scalding water, three small ounces of shelled
-bitter almonds, and then lay them in a bowl of very cold water.
-Afterwards wipe them dry, and pound them (one at a time,) to a smooth
-paste in a clean marble mortar; adding, as you proceed, a wine-glass of
-rose-water to improve the flavor, and prevent their oiling, and becoming
-heavy and dark. When done, set them away in a cool place, on a saucer.
-Almonds are always lighter and better when blanched and pounded the day
-before. Cut up three quarters of a pound of the best fresh butter in a
-pound of powdered loaf sugar. Mix it in a deep earthen pan, and stir and
-beat it with a spaddle till it becomes very light and creamy. Then,
-gradually, stir in the pounded almonds. Take the _whites only_ of
-seventeen or eighteen fresh eggs, and beat them in a shallow pan to a
-stiff froth, till they stand alone. Then stir the beaten white of egg,
-gradually, into the pan of creamed butter and sugar, in turn with three
-small quarters of a pound (or a pint and a half,) of sifted flour of the
-very best quality. Stir the whole very hard at the last, and transfer it
-to a straight-sided tin pan, well greased with excellent fresh butter.
-Set the pan immediately into an oven, and bake it with a moderate but
-steady heat. When it has been baking rather more than two hours, probe
-it by sticking down to the bottom a twig from a corn broom, or a very
-narrow knife. If it comes out clean the cake is done; if clammy or
-daubed, keep it longer in the oven. A cake when quite done generally
-shrinks a little. When you take it out, set it to cool on an inverted
-sieve. Ice a lady cake entirely with white, and ornament it with white
-flowers. It is now much in use at weddings, and if well made, and quite
-fresh, there is no cake better liked.
-
-
-CINNAMON CAKE.--Cut up half a pound of fine fresh butter, and warm it
-till soft in half a pint of rich milk. Sift a pound of fine flour into a
-broad pan; make a hole in the centre, and pour into it the milk and
-butter, having stirred them well together. Then, gradually, add a large
-quarter of a pound of powdered sugar, and a heaped tea-spoonful of
-powdered cinnamon. Beat three eggs very smooth and thick, and stir them
-in, also a wine-glass and a half of strong fresh brewer's yeast, or two
-glasses of fresh baker's yeast. Then mix, (having sprinkled some over
-the top,) all the flour into the hole in the centre, so as to make a
-soft dough. When all is well mixed cover it, and set it to rise in a
-round straight-sided tin pan. Place it near the fire, and when quite
-light and cracked all over the surface, flour your pasteboard well,
-place the loaf upon it, and having prepared in a pint bowl a stiff
-mixture of ground cinnamon, fresh butter, and brown sugar, beaten
-together so as to stand alone, make numerous deep cuts or incisions all
-over the surface on the sides and top of the cake; fill them with the
-cinnamon mixture, and pinch each together so as to keep the seasoning
-from coming out. Glaze it all over with beaten white of egg a little
-sweetened. Then return the loaf to the pan, and bake it in a moderate
-oven till thoroughly done. When cool, cut it down in slices like a pound
-cake.
-
-This dough may be divided into small round cakes, the size of a muffin,
-and baked on tin or iron sheets, sifting sugar over them when cool. It
-must have a high flavor of cinnamon.
-
-
-WEST INDIA COCOA-NUT CAKE.--Cut up and peel some pieces of very ripe
-cocoa-nut. Lay them for a while in cold water. Then take them out and
-wipe them dry, and grate very fine as much as will weigh half a pound.
-Beat eight eggs till very light, thick, and smooth. Have ready half a
-pound of powdered loaf sugar, and stir it into the pan of beaten egg,
-alternately with the grated cocoa-nut; adding a handful of sifted flour,
-a powdered nutmeg, and a large glass of madeira or sherry, stirring the
-whole very hard. Butter an oblong tin pan. Put in the mixture, set it
-immediately into a quick oven, and bake it well. Set it to cool on an
-inverted sieve; cut it into squares, and ice each square, flavoring the
-icing with rose.
-
-You may bake it in a large loaf; adding double portions of all the
-ingredients, and ornamenting the icing handsomely.
-
-_Sweet Potato Cake_--Is made like the above cocoa-nut cake. The sweet
-potatos must be pared and grated _raw_, till you have as much as weighs
-half a pound. Then proceed as above, and with the same ingredients and
-proportions. You may boil and mash the sweet potatos; but be sure,
-afterwards, to pass them through a coarse sieve, or they may chance to
-clod and become heavy. If well made, and well flavored, this cake is
-very nice.
-
-
-GOLDEN CAKE.--The best time for making this cake is when ripe oranges
-are plenty. For one cake select four large deep-colored oranges, and
-roll each one under your hand upon a table to soften them, and increase
-the juice. Weigh a pound of the best loaf sugar. On some of the largest
-pieces rub off the yellow or outer rind of the oranges, omitting the
-white entirely. The white or inner rind of oranges or lemons should
-never be used for any thing. Cut the oranges, and squeeze their juice
-through a strainer into a large saucer or a small deep plate. Powder all
-the sugar, including that which has the orange zest upon it, and put it
-into a deep earthen pan, with a pound of the best fresh butter cut up
-among it. With a wooden spaddle stir the butter and sugar together, till
-very light and creamy. In a shallow pan beat twelve eggs, omitting the
-_whites_ of three. Sift into a dish a small quart of the best and finest
-flour, and stir it gradually into the pan of butter and sugar and
-orange, in turn with the beaten egg, a little at a time of each. Stir
-the whole very hard; and when done, immediately transfer the batter to
-square tin pans, greased with the same fresh butter that was used for
-the cake. Many a fine cake has been spoiled, at last, by the poor
-economy of greasing the pans with salt butter. Fill the pans to the top.
-If the cake has been well made, and well beaten, there is no danger of
-the batter running over the edges. Put it, immediately, into a quick
-oven and bake it well, not allowing the heat to be lessened till the
-cake is quite done. When cool, cut it into squares. If you ice it,
-flavor the icing with orange juice.
-
-Do not attempt to make this cake with yolk of egg only, by way of
-improving the yellow color. Without any whites, it will assuredly be
-tough and heavy. Cakes may be made light with white of egg only, but
-never with yellow of egg only.
-
-If you use soda, saleratus, hartshorn, or any of the alkalis, they will
-entirely destroy the orange flavor, and communicate a bad taste of their
-own.
-
-
-SILVER CAKE.--Scald in a bowl of boiling water two ounces of shelled
-bitter almonds. As you peel off the skins throw each almond into a bowl
-of ice-cold water. When all are blanched, take them out, and wipe them
-dry on a clean napkin. Put them, one at a time, into a very clean marble
-mortar, and pound each one separately to a smooth paste, adding, as you
-pound them, a few drops of strong rose-water, till you have used up a
-large wine-glass full. As you remove the pounded almonds from the
-water, lay them lightly and loosely on a plate. When all are done, put
-them into a very cool place. In a deep earthen pan cut up a pound of
-fresh butter into a pound of powdered sugar, and with a wooden spaddle
-stir the butter and sugar together till perfectly light. Into another
-pan sift three quarters of a pound of fine flour, and in a broad shallow
-pan beat with small rods the whites only of eighteen eggs till they are
-stiff enough to stand alone. Then, gradually, and alternately, stir into
-the pan of beaten butter and sugar the flour, the beaten white of eggs,
-and the pounded almonds. Give the whole a hard stirring at the last.
-Transfer it to square tin pans greased with the same butter, and bake it
-well. When cool, cut it into square cakes, and send it to table on china
-plates, piled alternately with pieces of golden cake, handsomely
-arranged. If you ice silver cake, flavor the icing with strong
-rose-water.
-
-These cakes, (gold or silver) if made as above, will be found delicious.
-The yolk of egg left from the silver cake may be used for soft custards.
-But yolk of egg alone, will not raise a cake; though white of egg will.
-
-
-APEES.--Cut up a pound of fresh butter into two pounds of sifted flour,
-and rubbing the butter very fine, and mixing in a pound of powdered
-sugar, with a heaped tea-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace, and
-cinnamon, and four tea-spoonfuls of carraway seeds. Moisten the whole
-with a large glass of white wine; and barely sufficient cold water to
-make a stiff dough. Mix it well with a broad knife, and roll it out into
-a sheet less than half an inch thick; then with the edge of a tumbler,
-or a tin cake-cutter, divide it into round small cakes. Bake them in
-oblong pans, (tin or iron) slightly buttered; and do not place them so
-closely as to touch. Bake them in a quick oven, till they are of a pale
-brown. These cakes are soon prepared, requiring neither eggs nor yeast.
-
-
-MARMALADE MERINGUES.--Make a mixture as for apees, omitting only the
-carraway seeds. Roll out the sheet of dough quite thin; cut it into
-round flat cakes with the edge of a tumbler, and bake them a few
-minutes, till lightly colored. Take them out of the oven and spread them
-thickly with very nice marmalade, or with ripe strawberries or
-raspberries, sweetened, and mashed without cooking. Have ready a stiff
-meringue of beaten white of egg and sugar. Pile it high over the
-marmalade on each cake. Heap it on with a spoon, so as quite to conceal
-the marmalade, and do not smooth it on the top. It should stand up
-_uneven_ as the spoon left it. Set it again in the oven for a minute or
-two, to harden it.
-
-
-JUMBLES.--Mix together, all at once, in a deep pan, a pound of butter
-cut up in a pound of powdered sugar, a pound of sifted flour, and six
-eggs, previously beaten very light in a pan by themselves. Add a
-table-spoonful of powdered spice, (mixed nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon) and
-a glass of mixed wine and brandy; or else a glass of rose water; or the
-juice and grated yellow rind of a large lemon. Stir the whole very hard
-till all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, and become a soft dough.
-Flour your hands and your pasteboard, and lay the dough upon it. Take
-off equal portions from the lump, and with your hands form them into
-round rolls, and make them into rings by joining together the two ends
-of each. Place the jumbles (not so near as to touch,) in tin pans
-slightly buttered, and bake them in a very brisk oven little more than
-five or six minutes, or enough to color them a light brown. If the oven
-is too cool, the jumbles will spread and run into each other. When cold,
-sift sugar over them. _Jumbles_ may be made with yolks of eggs only, if
-the whites are wanted for something else.
-
-_Cocoa-nut Jumbles_--Are made as above, only with finely grated
-cocoa-nut instead of flour, and with white of egg instead of yolk.
-
-_Cocoa-nut Puffs._--Grate any quantity of cocoa-nut. Mix it with
-powdered sugar and a little beaten white of egg, and lay it in small
-heaps of equal size. On the top of each place a ripe strawberry,
-raspberry, or any small preserved fruit, flattening a slight hollow, to
-hold it without its rolling off.
-
-
-SCOTCH CAKE.--Take a pound of fresh butter, a pound of powdered white
-sugar, and two pounds of sifted flour. Mix the sugar with the flour, and
-rub the butter into it, crumbled fine. Add a heaped table-spoonful of
-mixed nutmeg and cinnamon. Put _no water_, but moisten it entirely with
-butter. A small glass of brandy is an improvement. Roll it out into a
-large thick sheet, and cut it into round cakes about the size of
-saucers. Bake them on flat tins, slightly buttered. This cake is very
-crumbly but very good, and of Scottish origin. It keeps well, and is
-often sent from thence, packed in boxes.
-
-
-JELLY CAKE.--For baking jelly cake you must have large flat tin pans
-rather larger than a dinner plate. But a very clean soap-stone griddle
-may be substituted, though more troublesome. Make a rich batter as for
-pound cake, and bake it in single cakes, (in the manner of buckwheat, or
-thicker) taking care to grease the tin or soap-stone with _excellent_
-fresh butter. Have ready, enough of fruit jelly or marmalade, to spread
-a thick layer all over each cake when it cools. Pile one on another very
-evenly, till you have four, five, or half a dozen; and ice the surface
-of the whole. Cut it down in triangular pieces like a pie. Jelly cake
-is no longer made of sponge cake, which is going out of use for all
-purposes, as being too often dry, tough, and insipid, and frequently not
-so good as plain bread.
-
-
-ALMOND MACAROONS.--The day before they are wanted, prepare three
-quarters of a pound of shelled sweet almonds, and a quarter of a pound
-of shelled bitter almonds; by scalding, blanching, and pounding them to
-a smooth paste in a marble mortar, (one or two at a time) adding, as you
-proceed, rose-water to prevent their oiling, and becoming dark and
-heavy. Having beaten to a stiff froth the whites of six eggs, and
-prepared a pound of powdered loaf sugar, beat the sugar into the egg a
-spoonful at a time. Then mix in gradually the pounded almonds, and add a
-grated nutmeg. Stir the whole very hard, and form the mixture into small
-round balls. Then flatten slightly the surface of each. Butter slightly
-some shallow tin pans. Place the macaroons not so close as to be in
-danger of touching; and glaze them lightly with a little beaten white of
-egg. Put them into a brisk oven, and bake them a light brown.
-
-Ground-nut macaroons are made in the same manner.
-
-_Chocolate Macaroons._--Scrape down, very fine, half a pound of Baker's
-prepared cocoa. Beat to a stiff froth the white of four eggs, and beat
-into the white of egg a pound of powdered loaf sugar, in turn with the
-chocolate, adding a little sifted flour if the mixture appears too thin.
-Grease the bottom of some oblong tin pans, very slightly, with sweet
-oil. Having formed the mixture into small thick cakes, lay them (not
-close,) in the pan, and bake them a few minutes. Sift sugar over them
-while warm.
-
-
-KISSES.--Having beaten to a stiff froth, till it stands alone, the
-whites of eight eggs, mix with it, gradually, three quarters of a pound
-of finely powdered loaf sugar, beating it in very hard, a spoonful at a
-time, and as you proceed flavoring it with extract of vanilla, rose, or
-lemon juice. If the meringue is not thoroughly beaten and very stiff,
-the kisses will lose their shape and run in baking. Try one first, and
-if that runs, beat a while longer before you bake the whole. Pile
-portions of the meringue on sheets of letter paper, placing each heap
-far apart. Smooth and shape them with a broad knife dipped in cold
-water. Make them about the size and form of half eggs, with the flat
-part downwards. Arrange them on a smooth hickory board, and set it in a
-quick oven, (leaving the door open) and watch them well. A few minutes
-will color them a pale brown, and that is all they require. Then take
-them out, and set them to cool. When cool, slip a knife carefully under
-each, and remove them from the paper. Then with your knife hollow the
-meringue from the base of each kiss and scrape upwards toward the top,
-being careful not to break through the outside or crust. Fill up this
-vacancy with any sort of stiff jelly. Then clap two halves together, and
-unite them at the base, by moistening the edges with a little of the
-meringue that was left. Handle them very carefully throughout.
-
-Large kisses, of twice or thrice the usual size, are introduced at
-parties, filled with ice cream, or flavored calf's foot jelly.
-
-It is very customary now to finish a fine charlotte russe with a thick
-layer of this jelly at the top.
-
-
-LAFAYETTE GINGERBREAD.--Cut up in a deep pan half a pound of the best
-fresh butter, with a half pound of excellent brown sugar; and stir it to
-cream with a spaddle. Add a pint of West India molasses, mixed with half
-a pint of warm milk; four table-spoonfuls of ginger; a heaped
-table-spoonful of mixed powdered cinnamon and powdered mace and nutmeg;
-and a glass of brandy. Sift in a pound and a half of fine flour. Beat
-six eggs till very light and thick, and mix them, alternately, into the
-pan of butter, sugar, molasses, &c. At the last, mix in the yellow rind
-(grated fine) of two large oranges and the juice. Stir the whole very
-hard. Melt in one cup a very small level tea-spoonful of soda, and in
-another a small level salt-spoon of tartaric acid. Dissolve them both in
-lukewarm water, and see that both are quite melted. First stir the soda
-into the mixture, and then put in the tartaric acid. On no account
-exceed the quantity of the two alkalis, as if too much is used, they
-will destroy entirely the flavoring, and communicate a very disagreeable
-taste instead. Few cakes are the better for any of the alkaline powders,
-and many sorts are entirely spoiled by them. Even in gingerbread they
-should be used very sparingly, rather less than more of the prescribed
-quantity. Having buttered, (with the same butter) a large round or
-oblong pan, put in the mixture, and bake it in a moderate oven till
-thoroughly done, keeping up a steady heat, but watching that it does not
-burn. There is no gingerbread superior to this, if well made. Instead of
-lemon or orange, cut in half a pound of seedless raisins, dredge them
-well with flour, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture.
-
-This is also called Franklin gingerbread.
-
-
-GINGER NUTS.--Cut a pound of the best fresh butter into two pounds or
-two quarts of sifted flour, and half a pound of fine brown sugar. Add
-four heaped table-spoonfuls of ground ginger; a heaped table-spoonful of
-powdered cinnamon, and the same quantity of mixed nutmeg and mace. Mix
-all the ingredients thoroughly together; adding, gradually, a large pint
-of West India molasses, and the grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon
-or orange. Stir it very hard with a spaddle. Flour your hands, break
-off pieces of the dough, and knead each piece a little; then flatten
-them on the top. Make them the size of a quarter dollar. Or, (flouring
-your pasteboard) roll out the dough, and cut out the ginger-nuts with
-the edge of a small wine-glass. Bake them on buttered tins, having first
-glazed them with a thin mixture of molasses and water. The same dough
-may be baked in long straight sticks, divided by lines deeply marked
-with a knife.
-
-There are many other gingerbreads; but any of the soft sorts may be made
-with little variation from the foregoing directions for Lafayette
-gingerbread; and of the hard sort of ginger-nut preparation, the above
-is the basis of the rest. If the receipts are liberally and exactly
-followed, it will be found that to those two none are superior.
-
-
-PIGEON PIE.--For this pie take six fine fat tame pigeons, carefully
-cleaned and picked. Lay them in cold water for an hour, changing the
-water twice during that time. This is to remove what is called "the
-taste of the nest." Have ready the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs,
-seasoned with powdered nutmeg. Place a bit of fresh butter rolled in
-flour, in the inside of each pigeon, with its liver cut up, and with a
-yolk of egg seasoned with powdered mace. Lay a nice tender beef steak,
-or thin veal cutlet, in the bottom of a large deep dish, that has been
-lined with puff-paste. Butter the steak, and dredge it with flour.
-There must be meat enough to cover well the bottom of the pie dish. Lay
-the pigeons upon it, with the breast downward, (their heads and feet cut
-off, and their livers cut up, and put inside with the stuffing.) Fill up
-the dish with water. Roll out and put on the lid of the pie, which you
-may ornament with paste leaves or flowers, according to your taste. For
-company, pigeon pies are expected to look handsome. It is no longer
-fashionable to have the feet of the pigeons sticking out of the slit in
-the top of the paste.
-
-Moorfowl, pheasants, partridges, or quails, may be made into pies in the
-above manner. It is usual, for partridge pies, to peel two fine sweet
-oranges; and having divided them into quarters, carefully remove the
-strings and seeds, and put the oranges into the birds without any other
-stuffing. Instead of beef steak or veal cutlet, lay a thin slice of cold
-ham in the bottom of the pie-dish.
-
-This receipt, and the following, were accidentally omitted in their
-proper places.
-
-
-CHICKEN PIE.--Skin a pair of fine fowls, and cut them up. Save out the
-necks, backs, feet, livers, and gizzards, and the ends of the pinions;
-and seasoning them with a little pepper and salt add some trimmings or
-spare bits of fresh beef or veal, and stew them in a small sauce-pan
-with a little water, to make the gravy. Let them stew till all to rags,
-and then strain off the liquid; and while hot, stir into it a beaten
-egg and a bit of fresh butter, dredged with flour. In the mean time make
-a nice puff-paste, and roll it out rather thick; divide it in two
-circular sheets. Line with one sheet the bottom and sides of a deep pie
-dish, and put in the best pieces of chicken. Lay among them four
-hard-boiled eggs, sliced or quartered. Season well with powdered mace or
-nutmeg. The gravy being strained, pour that into the pie, and finish at
-the top with a layer of butter divided into small pieces, and dredge
-with flour. This is what the old English cookery books mean when they
-say--"Close the pie with a _lear_."
-
-A chicken pie will be improved by the addition of a dozen or more large
-fresh oysters, stewed. If you add oysters, take off the lid or upper
-crust as soon as the pie is baked, and put in the oysters _then_; if put
-in at the beginning, they will bake too long. Replace the lid nicely,
-and send the pie to table hot.
-
-The lid should have in the top a cross slit with a nice paste flower in
-it. To make a paste flower roll out a straight narrow slip of paste,
-about four or five inches wide. Roll it up with your fingers as if you
-were rolling up a ribbon. Then with a sharp knife cut four clefts in the
-upper half, and when baked, it will spread apart as like the leaves of a
-flower.
-
-
-
-
-SWEETMEATS.
-
-
-No sweetmeats can either look well or taste well unless the fruit and
-the sugar are of the best quality. As in all other branches of cookery,
-it is false economy to provide bad or low-priced ingredients. It has of
-late years been difficult to obtain _very_ good sugar at any price, so
-much is adulterated with flour or ground starch. In the common powdered
-sugar the flour is so palpable that we are surprised at its having any
-sale at all; and the large quantity required to produce any perceptible
-sweetness renders it totally unfit for sweetmeats, or indeed for any
-thing else. The best brown sugar is better than this, having clarified
-it with white of egg. To do this, allow to every pound of sugar the
-beaten white of an egg, and a half pint of clear cold water. Having
-poured the water on the sugar, let it stand to melt before it goes on
-the fire. Then add the white of egg and put in on to boil. When it
-boils, carefully take off the scum as it rises, and add when it is
-boiling hard another jill or quarter pint of water for each pound of
-sugar. Remove it from the fire when the scum ceases to rise, and let it
-stand for a quarter of an hour to settle. Strain, and bottle it for use.
-The best brown sugar _thus prepared_ will make a good syrup; and good
-marmalade, when white sugar of the best quality is not to be obtained.
-But for the nicest sweetmeats use always, if you can, the best
-double-refined loaf.
-
-In warm weather there is nothing better for a preserving fire than a
-portable charcoal furnace placed out in the open air; as in a room with
-the doors or windows shut the vapor of charcoal is deadly, and never
-fails to produce suffocation. Of whatever the fire is made, it should be
-clear and steady without smoke or blaze. Never use copper or bell-metal
-for either preserving or pickling. For all such purposes employ only
-iron, lined with what is called porcelain or enamel, but is in reality a
-thick strong white earthen, first made at Delft, in Holland. This lining
-will crack if the kettle is placed over a blaze, which it should never
-be. All sweetmeats should be boiled with the lid off. If covered, the
-steam having no means of escaping, returns upon them, and causes them to
-look dark and unsightly. When done, put the sweetmeats warm into jars or
-glasses, and leave them open a few hours that the watery particles may
-evaporate, but have them all pasted and closely covered before night. Do
-nothing to render your preserves hard, or firm, as it is called. It is
-better to have them soft and tender. The old custom of steeping them for
-days in salt and water, and then boiling them in something else to
-remove the salt, is now considered foolish, and is seldom practised.
-
-Put up jellies and small sweetmeats in common tumblers, laying on the
-surface of each a double cover of white tissue paper cut exactly to fit,
-and then put on another cover of thick white paper pleated and notched
-where it descends below the edge, using always gum tragacanth paste,
-which you should keep always in the house, as it requires no boiling;
-and if in making it, a bit of corrosive sublimate (not larger than a
-cherry-stone) is dissolved with the ounce of gum tragacanth and the half
-pint of warm water, in a yellow or white-ware mug, and _stirred only
-with a stick_, the paste will never spoil, and if kept covered, will be
-found superior to all others. No metal must touch this cement, as it
-will then turn black and spoil.
-
-Keep your sweetmeats always in a dry place. But if after a while you see
-a coat of mould on the surface, you need not throw them away, till you
-have tried to recover them by carefully removing every particle of
-mould, filling up the jars with fresh sugar, and setting them, one by
-one, in a bottle of water, and in this way boiling them over again. But
-if they have an unpleasant smell, and you see insects about them, of
-course they must be thrown away. To purify jars, clean and scrape them,
-and wash them thoroughly with ley and water, or with a solution of
-soda--afterwards exposing them to the sun and air for a week or more.
-
-_Jellies._--We have already given directions for various fruit jellies
-in the chapter on Fine Desserts. They are all made nearly in the same
-manner, using the juice of the fruit, and sufficient sugar to make it
-congeal and to keep it. Jellies should always be bright and transparent,
-and therefore require the best and ripest of fruit and the finest of
-loaf sugar.
-
-
-MARMALADE OR JAMS.--Marmalade or jams are the easiest sweetmeats to
-make, and are useful for all sweetmeat purposes. They are all made
-nearly in the same manner; and to be very good, and to keep well, at
-least a pound of fine sugar should be allowed to every pound of
-fruit--the fruit being quite ripe, freshly gathered, and of the best
-kind.
-
-_For Peach Marmalade_--Take fine, juicy free-stone peaches. Pare them;
-cut them in half; remove the stones, and let them be saved and the
-kernels extracted to use as bitter almonds. Cut up the peaches, and
-allow for each pound a pound of sugar. Lay the peaches (with all the
-sugar among them,) in a large pan or tureen, and let them rest for three
-or four hours. Boil the peaches and sugar together in a porcelain kettle
-(without a cover) for half an hour, skimming and stirring well. When it
-becomes a thick smooth mass it is finished. Put it up in glass jars, and
-leave it uncovered till cool; but not longer. The flavor will be much
-improved by boiling with the peaches and sugar one or two handfuls of
-the kernels, blanched and pounded; or else a bunch of fresh peach
-leaves, to be removed afterward.
-
-_Quince Marmalade_ is made in the same manner--first carefully removing
-all the blemishes. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of quinces. They
-must boil longer than peaches. All marmalades must be cooked till the
-form of the fruit is quite indistinguishable, and till it mashes into a
-thick smooth mass. Quinces should be allowed to remain on the trees till
-after the first frost, which greatly improves them. Persimmons and wild
-grapes are not eatable till they are touched by the frost.
-
-_Tomato Marmalade._--Make this when lemons are ripe and plenty. To every
-two pounds of tomatos allow two pounds of sugar, and the grated yellow
-rind and the juice of one lemon. The worst way of using lemons for any
-purpose is to merely slice them. Depend on the slices for flavoring, and
-they are wasted; the taste being scarcely perceptible. They should
-always be first rolled under your hand, which increases the yield of
-juice. Then grate off from the outside the _yellow_ rind only (the white
-part of the rind is worse than useless,) and having cut the lemon,
-squeeze the juice through a tin strainer to exclude the seeds, which
-otherwise would be troublesome to pick out. The yellow rind and the
-juice are all you need want of a lemon for any purpose of flavoring.
-Scald the tomatos to make them peel easily, and mix the sugar thoroughly
-with them. Boil them slowly for an hour in a porcelain kettle, skimming
-carefully, and stirring well after each skimming. Then add the lemon
-grate and the juice, and boil the marmalade another half hour, or till
-it is a thick smooth mass.
-
-_Pumpkin Marmalade._--Take a fine ripe high-colored pumpkin. Cut it up.
-Empty it very clean of the seeds and strings; take off a thick paring.
-Slice the pieces small and thin, and weigh them. To each pound of
-pumpkin allow a pound of powdered sugar, and the grated peel and the
-juice of one large lemon. Pumpkin sweetmeats require a high lemon
-flavoring. Boil the pumpkin alone, till quite soft. Then mash it in a
-cullender till the water is pressed out, and the pumpkin left dry.
-Afterwards put it into a porcelain kettle, mix with it the sugar and
-lemon, and boil it again till it becomes a thick jam. Cantaloupe
-marmalade is made in the same way with lemon and sugar--also marmalade
-of ripe figs.
-
-_Plum Marmalade._--Choose plums that are fully ripe. Allow to each pound
-a pound and a half of sugar. Scald them till the skins peel off easily,
-and extract all the stones. Lay them in the sugar for two or three hours
-or more, and then boil them till they become a thick smooth mass.
-Green-gages the same.
-
-_Raspberry Jam._--To every quart of fine ripe raspberries allow a pound
-of best loaf sugar, powdered. Put them together into a broad white-ware
-pan, and let them rest for two or three hours. Then boil them in an
-uncovered porcelain kettle, taking off the scum carefully. When no more
-scum rises, mash them, and boil them to a smooth thick marmalade. When
-cold, put it up in half pint tumblers, and cover them with rounds of
-double tissue paper, cut exactly to fit, and then with thick white
-paper dipped in brandy.
-
-_Strawberry Jam._--The strawberries must be quite ripe, and very fine.
-Allow to each quart a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Put them into a
-large white-ware pan; a layer of sugar and a layer of strawberries
-alternately, finishing with strawberries on the top. Let them rest in
-the sugar and juice three or four hours. Then boil and skim them till
-they become very thick and smooth. When cold, put them up in tumblers,
-with double tissue paper over the top. Blackberry jam is made in the
-same manner.
-
-_Gooseberry Jam._--Top and tail the gooseberries, which must be
-thoroughly ripe, and with thin skins. They require to every pound of
-fruit a pound and a half of sugar of the best sort. Mash them with a
-wooden beetle, and put them with all the sugar into an uncovered
-porcelain kettle, and boil and skim them. When half done add more sugar,
-and continue boiling till they are a very thick marmalade. When cold,
-cover the tumblers with brandy paper.
-
-_Pine-apple Marmalade._--Take the best and ripest pine-apples; remove
-the leaves, and split each pine-apple into four pieces, and cut out the
-core from the centre. Stand the pieces upright in a deep dish, and, with
-a large coarse grater grate down all the _flesh_ of the fruit, as it is
-called. To every pint of grated pine-apple allow a pound of powdered
-loaf sugar, and put them together in a large tureen. Let them rest two
-hours. Then transfer the whole to a porcelain kettle. Leave it
-uncovered; and boil, skim, and stir, till it becomes a very thick
-marmalade. When cool, put it up in glass jars. It is a very nice
-sweetmeat, particularly for shells or tarts.
-
-_Grape Marmalade._--Take a sufficiency of fine grapes, thoroughly ripe.
-Having picked them from the stems, mash them with a wooden beetle, and
-then press them through a sieve. To every pint of the pulp allow a pound
-of powdered sugar, well mixed in; let it stand an hour or two. Then boil
-it, uncovered, in a porcelain kettle, skimming and stirring well, till
-it is very thick and smooth. When cool, put it up in small marmalade
-pots of white-ware with lids, and paste a band of thick white paper
-round each, at the small crack where the cover fits on. A good marmalade
-for the backwoods may be made of wild grapes and maple sugar.
-
-_Cherry Marmalade._--If you cannot procure morellas, (the best of all
-cherries for sweetmeats) use the large Virginia or carnation cherries.
-Black cherries are unfit for cooking. Stem and stone your cherries,
-saving all the juice you can. Allow a pound of powdered loaf sugar to
-every pint of cherries. Boil the fruit and the sugar together,
-uncovered, for an hour, skimming and stirring. When cool, put it in
-white-ware marmalade pots and paste the lids.
-
-_Orange Marmalade._--Quarter some large ripe oranges, and remove the
-rind, the seeds, and the strings or filaments, taking care to save all
-the juice. Put the pulp, with the juice, into a porcelain kettle, and
-mix with it an equal quantity of strained honey, adding sufficient
-powdered loaf sugar to render it very thick and sweet. The honey alone
-will not make it sweet enough. Boil it uncovered, and skim it till very
-thick, smooth, and clear. Taste it, and if necessary add more sugar, and
-boil it longer. When cold, put it up in tumblers or white-ware marmalade
-pots, and cover it securely. This marmalade is exquisite, and very
-superior to any other.
-
-_Orange Milk._--Take four dozen large ripe juicy oranges, and roll them
-under your hand. Cut them in two; remove the seeds, and squeeze the
-juice into a large clean stone jar. Have ready four pounds of the best
-double-refined loaf sugar, dissolved in a gallon of French brandy. Pour
-it into the jar that contains the orange juice; stir the mixture well,
-and add the yellow rind of the oranges, pared so thin from the white as
-to be transparent, and divide it into bits. Cover the jar, and let it
-stand four days, stirring it frequently. Then take a gallon of new
-unskimmed milk, (the morning's milk of that day,) boil it alone, and
-when it comes to a hard boil pour it into the mixture of orange, sugar,
-and brandy. Cover it closely, and let it stand till quite cold. Then
-strain it into another vessel through a linen jelly bag. Bottle it
-immediately, and seal the corks. It improves by keeping. To use it, pour
-it out in half tumblers, and fill up with ice water, or serve it round
-undiluted in small cordial glasses, after ice-cream. It is much
-admired, and in orange countries may be made in large quantities. Lemon
-milk is made in the same manner, having a larger proportion of sugar.
-
-_Fruit in Syrups._--Make a syrup in the proportion of half a pint of
-water to every pound of sugar, and a pint of the juice of any sort of
-fine ripe fruit. Boil and skim it till very clear, but not till it
-congeals or jellies. Then bottle it, and cork the bottles. As the fresh
-fruit comes again into season, select the finest, largest, and ripest.
-For instance, half fill a white-ware preserve jar with fine fresh
-strawberries, and fill up from a bottle of strawberry syrup; or ripe
-raspberries with raspberry syrup; currants, with currant syrup, &c.
-Cover them closely till wanted for immediate use.
-
-
-PRESERVED CITRON MELONS.--Take some fine citron melons; pare, core, and
-cut them into slices. Then weigh them; and, to every six pounds of
-melon, allow six pounds of the best double refined loaf sugar, and the
-juice and yellow rind (grated very fine,) of four large fresh lemons,
-and _a quarter_ of a pound of root ginger.
-
-Put the slices of lemon into a preserving kettle, and boil them half an
-hour or more, till they look _quite_ clear, and are so tender that a
-broom twig will pierce through them. Then drain them; lay them in a
-broad pan of cold water, cover them, and let them stand all night. In
-the morning tie the root ginger in a thin muslin cloth, and boil it in
-three pints of clear spring or pump water till the water is highly
-flavored. Then take out the bag of ginger. Having broken up the sugar
-put it into a clean preserving kettle, and pour the ginger water over
-it. When the sugar is all melted set it over the fire, put in the grated
-yellow peel of the lemons, and boil and skim it till no more scum rises.
-Then put in the sliced citrons, and the juice of the lemons; and boil
-them in the syrup till all the slices are quite transparent, and so soft
-that a straw will go through them; but do not allow them to break. When
-quite done, put the slices (while still warm,) into wide-mouthed glass
-or white-ware jars, and gently pour on the syrup. Lay inside of each
-jar, upon the top of the syrup, a round of white paper dipped in brandy.
-Put on the lids of the jars, and tie leather over them.
-
-This will be found a delicious sweetmeat; equal to any imported from the
-West Indies, and far less expensive.
-
-
-PINE-APPLES PRESERVED.--Take six fine large pine-apples, as ripe as you
-can get them. Make them very clean, but do not, at first, pare off the
-rind or cut off the leaves. The rind and leaves being left on while
-boiling will _keep in_ the flavor of the fruit. Put the pine-apples
-whole into a very large and very clean iron pot. Fill it up with cold
-water, and boil the pine-apples till they are so tender that you can
-pierce them through the rind to the core, with a splinter skewer or a
-twig from a corn broom. Then take them out of the pot, and drain them.
-When they are so cool as to be handled without inconvenience, remove the
-leaves, and pare off the rind. Cut then into round slices about half an
-inch thick, extracting the core from the centre as to leave a small
-round hole in every slice. Weigh them, and to each pound of fruit allow
-a pound of double refined loaf sugar, broken up and powdered. Cover the
-bottom of a large dish or dishes with a thick layer of the sugar. On
-this place a layer of pine-apple slices; then a layer of sugar; then a
-layer of fruit, and so on till the slices are all thickly covered,
-finishing with a layer of sugar at the top. Let them stand twenty-four
-hours. Then drain the slices from the syrup, and lay them in wide jars.
-Put all the syrup into a clear porcelain kettle, and boil and skim it
-till the scum ceases to rise. Then pour it hot upon the pine-apple.
-While warm, cover the jars closely with white paper cut to fit, and
-dipped in brandy; and then tie on a piece of bladder. There is no better
-way of preserving pine-apples, or that retains the flavor so well.
-
-Quinces may be preserved in the same manner.
-
-
-PRESERVED LEMONS OR ORANGES.--The fruit must be perfectly ripe, of the
-best quality, with a smooth rind and fine color. Cut out from the stem
-end of each, a piece not quite the size of a quarter dollar, and with a
-small knife scoop out all the inside, keeping the rind as whole as
-possible. Put the pulp and juice into a large bowl, and clear it from
-the strings and seeds. Lay the skins in a tureen of cold ice water, and
-change it twice during the day, (fresh water and fresh ice); and at
-bedtime put ice only. Next morning boil the skins slowly in a porcelain
-kettle with plenty of water, keeping them well covered. Continue to boil
-till they are tender all through, and can easily be pierced with a
-splinter skewer. Then drain them, and lay them in cold water
-immediately. Take care to boil with them the small round pieces that
-come out of the top. Make a thick jelly or marmalade of the pulp and
-juice of these, and some additional fruit, allowing to a pint of juice a
-pound of loaf sugar. When the jelly has been boiled till clear and firm
-when held in the air, fill with it the skins so as to swell them out
-into a good shape. Replace the small circular pieces that have been cut
-off the top of the fruit, and tie them on securely with packthread, so
-as to keep in the jelly. Next make a thin syrup, allowing to a pound of
-broken-up loaf sugar half a pint of fresh juice, and the beaten white of
-an egg. Boil and skim it till no more scum rises. Then having put the
-oranges into large glass jars rather more than half full, pour the syrup
-on them, filling up to the top.
-
-_To Green Small Lemons or Limes._--Boil them first in a little hard
-water, placing them in a porcelain kettle with a thick bed of fresh vine
-leaves under them and a thick cover of vine leaves over them. Boil them
-till green and tender in two or three waters, putting entirely fresh
-vine leaves whenever you change the water, and persisting till they are
-well greened. Then make holes in the stem end, and extract the pulp,
-strings, and seeds, and proceed as directed in the last receipt. The
-skins, as soon as empty, being laid in cold water, and then filled and
-shaped out with lemon jelly, and the jars filled up warm with lemon
-syrup. Or by putting a larger portion of sugar, and boiling the syrup
-longer, you may candy it all over the surface of the fruit.
-
-Green limes are preserved in the above manner, filling the skins with
-lemon jelly. To candy the syrup use a double portion of sugar, and boil
-it till it bubbles and sparkles in the kettle.
-
-
-PEACHES PRESERVED.--Take the finest ripe free-stone peaches. Pare them,
-cut them in half, and remove the stones. To every pound of peaches allow
-a pound of double refined loaf sugar, and half the white of an egg
-(slightly beaten) with half a pint of very clear soft water. Put the
-sugar into a porcelain preserving kettle, mix it with the water and
-white of egg, and when it has entirely dissolved, set it over the fire,
-and boil and skim it till the scum ceases to rise, which will be very
-soon, if the sugar is as good as it should be. There is no economy in
-using inferior sugar for sweetmeats, as much of it will be lost in
-skimming and sediment. In the mean time, boil in a little sauce-pan a
-bunch of fresh green peach leaves that have been cleared from all dust;
-or a handful of broken-up peach kernels. When the flavor is well
-extracted, strain this water and mix it with the syrup. Then put in the
-halved peaches, and boil them (uncovered) till quite clear and soft, but
-not till they break. While warm, put them up with the syrup in glass or
-white-ware jars.
-
-Apricots are preserved in the same way.
-
-_Preserved Green Gages._--Get the largest and ripest green gages, or egg
-plums. Scald them in boiling water to make them peel easily; the skins
-of all sorts of plums becoming very hard and tough when preserved.
-Remove the stems; they are no ornament, and render them troublesome to
-eat. Make a syrup in the usual way, allowing to each pound of plums a
-pound of the finest loaf sugar, half a pint of water, and half a white
-of egg. When well skimmed and boiled put in the plums, and boil them
-gently till quite clear and soft, but not till broken. All plums may be
-done in this manner. If not as ripe as possible, they will require to
-each pound of fruit a pound and a half of the best sugar.
-
-
-BRANDY PEACHES.--Take large juicy _free-stone_ peaches, not so ripe as
-to burst or mash on being handled. Rub off the down from every one with
-a clean thick flannel. Prick every peach down to the stone with a large
-silver fork, and score them all along the seam or cleft. To _each_ pound
-of peaches allow a pound of double-refined loaf sugar, broken-up small,
-and a half pint of water mixed with half a white of egg, slightly
-beaten. Put the sugar into a porcelain kettle, and pour the water upon
-it. When it is quite melted give it a stirring, set it over the fire,
-and boil and skim it till no more scum rises. Next put in the peaches,
-and let them cook (uncovered) in the syrup till they look clear, or for
-about half an hour, or till a straw will penetrate them. Then take the
-kettle off the fire. Having allotted a pint of the very best white
-brandy to each pound of peaches, mix it with the syrup, after taking out
-the fruit with a wooden spoon, and draining it over the kettle. Put the
-peaches into a large tureen. Let the syrup remain in the kettle a little
-longer. Mix the brandy with it, and boil them together ten minutes, or
-more. Transfer the peaches to large glass jars, (two thirds full,) and
-pour the brandy and syrup over them, filling quite up to the top. When
-cool, cover them closely, and tie some bladder over the lids.
-
-_Green Gages_--Are brandied in the same manner. Also, large egg-plums.
-Pears also, having first peeled them. To pear sweetmeats always add
-lemon rind grated, and lemon juice.
-
-
-PRESERVED TOMATOS.--This is an excellent and popular sweetmeat, when
-flavored well with lemon, which is indispensable to making it palatable.
-Also, it should be well penetrated with sugar, therefore it is best not
-to attempt preserving tomatos whole. The best time for doing them is in
-the height of the lemon season. The most convenient for preserving are
-those with smooth even surfaces. If fluted or cleft they are difficult
-to peel when scalded, as the skins do not strip off so easily. Having
-weighed the tomatos, (which must be full-grown and quite ripe) allow to
-every two pounds, two pounds of the best _brown_ sugar, a large spoonful
-of ground ginger, and the juice and grated yellow rind of one large ripe
-lemon, rolled awhile under your hand. Having scalded and peeled all the
-tomatos, and mixed with the sugar a little beaten white of egg, put them
-into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle, (uncovered,) and add,
-gradually, the sugar. Boil the tomatos and sugar _slowly_ together, till
-the scum ceases to appear. Then add, gradually, the lemons, (peel and
-juice,) and boil slowly for an hour or more. The tomatos must all have
-bursted, otherwise they will not keep, from the sugar not getting
-sufficiently into them. When done, take them off the fire, and transfer
-to glass jars the tomatos with their syrup.
-
-For yellow preserves take yellow tomatos, scald and peel them, and prick
-each with a silver fork. Lay them in a porcelain preserving kettle with
-plenty of fresh vine leaves under and over them. Boil them with the vine
-leaves till they become a finer yellow. Then wash out the kettle and
-boil the tomatos, as above, with the _white_ sugar, and add the lemon.
-
-_Green Tomatos Preserved._--Take green tomatos when they are full grown,
-but have not yet begun to turn in the least red. Scald and peel them,
-and lay them in a porcelain kettle with plenty of fresh vine leaves at
-the bottom. Cover them thickly with another layer of vine leaves at the
-top. Boil them very slowly with the vine leaves till they have all
-turned yellow. Then take them out, and spread them on large dishes. Wash
-the kettle, put in fresh vine leaves under and over the tomatos. They
-should become a fine green with the second boiling in vine leaves;
-otherwise repeat the greening. Then take them out, wash the kettle
-again, and return the tomatos to it with _a pound and a half of white
-sugar_ to each pound of tomatos. Boil and skim, till all is clear and
-nice. Then add the grated yellow rind and the juice of one large lemon
-to every pound of tomatos, and boil slowly an hour longer. All the
-tomatos should burst, that the sugar may thoroughly enter the inside.
-Before you cover the jars, stir into each an additional quarter or half
-pound of powdered sugar. Green tomatos require a high flavoring of
-lemon, as they have no peculiar taste of their own.
-
-
-PRESERVED QUINCES.--Take the largest and ripest yellow quinces; after
-they have remained on the trees till the first frost. Wipe them clean,
-and boil them whole till they are tender all through, and can be easily
-penetrated with a splinter skewer. Save and strain the water in which
-they were boiled. When cool, pare and core the quinces, and carefully
-remove the blemishes. To every pound of fruit allow a pound of the best
-double-refined loaf sugar. Make a syrup of the water in which the
-quinces were boiled, allowing half a pint of this water to every pound
-of sugar. When melted, set it in a porcelain kettle over a moderate
-fire, and boil and skim it till no more scum appears. Then put in the
-fruit, either whole or quartered, or cut into circular slices about half
-an inch thick; and boil it uncovered. When the quinces are quite clear
-and soft, (but not the least broken) take them out, and spread them on
-large flat dishes. Afterwards transfer them to large glass jars, rather
-more than half filled; pour the syrup warm over them; and when cool
-cover the jars, and tie pieces of bladder over the covers. You may boil,
-by themselves, the cores and parings, in as much water as will cover
-them well, till they are entirely dissolved. Then strain them through a
-linen bag, and while hot stir in as much powdered loaf sugar as will
-form a thick jelly. If the quinces have been preserved whole, fill up
-with this jelly the holes left by the cores; or if sliced, spread the
-jelly over the slices. Quinces soon become very hard and tough, unless
-they have been well boiled by themselves, before putting them into the
-sugar. Merely scalding or coddling them is not sufficient. If you have
-not jelly for filling up the holes, substitute marmalade. To keep
-quinces well, requires plenty of rich syrup.
-
-
-PRESERVED CRAB-APPLES.--Take the finest Siberian crab-apples, which
-being always red, and having a pleasant acid, are the only sort now used
-for preserving. Rub each crab-apple with a dry clean flannel, and then
-prick every one in several places with a large needle to prevent their
-bursting. To every pound of fruit allow a pound and a half of
-double-refined loaf sugar, and a pint of water. First make a syrup of
-the sugar and water, boiling it in a porcelain kettle, and skimming it
-till perfectly clear. Put in the crab-apples, adding for each pound the
-juice and grated yellow rind of a large lemon. The lemon is
-indispensable to this sweetmeat. Simmer them slowly in this syrup till
-tender all through, so that they can be pierced with a twig of
-broom-corn; but do not allow them to break. When done, put them up warm
-in glass jars more than half full, and the syrup over them. You may
-heighten the fine red color with a little prepared cochineal--that is,
-cochineal powder kept in a bottle after being boiled with alum and cream
-of tartar.
-
-_Bellflower Apples or Large Pippins_--May be preserved whole in the
-above manner. They look handsomely on a supper table, covered all over
-with a thick meringue or icing flavored with lemon or rose, and spread
-smoothly over every apple with a real rose-bud stuck in the top of each.
-You may color the icing a beautiful pink, by mixing with it a little
-prepared cochineal.
-
-
-PRESERVED CHERRIES.--No cherries are worth preserving except morellas,
-or the large Virginia red, or carnation cherries. Stem and stone them
-carefully, saving the juice; and strew them thickly with powdered white
-sugar. To a quart of cherries allow a pound of the best loaf sugar. Make
-a syrup, allowing half a pint of water to a pound of sugar. Boil and
-skim it, and when the scum has ceased to rise put in the cherries and
-their juice, and give them a slow boil up. Put them up warm in glass or
-white-ware jars, and tie bladder over the lids.
-
-
-FINE PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES.--Have ready two sorts of strawberries, one
-half being of the largest and finest scarlet sort, (not too ripe,) the
-other smaller and less expensive, but quite ripe and perfectly fresh and
-nice. Put the smaller ones into a porcelain kettle, having allowed three
-quarters of a pound of double-refined loaf sugar to every quart of
-fruit. Boil the sugar and small strawberries together; skimming well,
-and stirring down to the bottom after every skimming, and mashing it to
-a jam. When done, set it to cool in a large pan; wash the kettle clean,
-or take another one, and make in it a clear syrup, allowing to each
-pound of the best loaf sugar a _small_ half pint of water. When melted
-set it over the fire, and boil and skim till the scum ceases to rise.
-Put the large strawberries in this, and give them one boil up. If boiled
-too long they will break. As soon as they have come to a boil take them
-(one at a time,) with a silver tea-spoon, and lay them separately on
-large flat dishes. Then mix the syrup with the jam thoroughly together,
-and boil it a quarter of an hour. Put the large strawberries, one at a
-time, into glass jars, (more than half full,) and fill up to the top
-with the hot jam. When cool lay a round of brandy paper on the surface,
-and secure the lids by tying pieces of bladder over them.
-
-
-STRAWBERRIES IN WINE.--Put a small quart of fine large scarlet
-strawberries into a glass jar, having sprinkled among them a quarter of
-a pound of the best loaf sugar. Fill up the jar with madeira or sherry.
-They are served at parties in small glass saucers, heaped on the top
-with whipped cream, or with white ice cream. What is sold by many
-confectioners as strawberry ice cream, has in reality no strawberries
-about it; as may be known by its beautiful rose color, such as
-strawberry juice never produces, particularly after being preserved with
-sugar. This fine delicate pink tinge comes in reality from alkanet. Most
-of what is called strawberry cordial, is in reality alcohol colored with
-that elegant dye.
-
-
-STRAWBERRY WINE.--Fill four glass jars holding each a quart, with fine
-ripe strawberries that have been hulled or picked clean. Cover them;
-set them in a large kettle of cold water, and place it in a moderate
-heat till it gradually comes to a boil. Then let it boil but five
-minutes. Cork the jars, and seal them closely before you take them out
-of the water. Use the cement of two-thirds resin and one-third beeswax.
-Keep the jar for four weeks in a dry cool place. By that time you will
-find the strawberries with a thick white scum at the top, and a clear
-juice at the bottom. Pour it into clean bottles, through a funnel with a
-fine straining cloth. Cork the bottles, but do not drive the corks hard
-down, lest the bottles should burst if too tight. Arrange the bottles on
-the kitchen mantleshelf, where they may have some heat from the fire.
-You will see when a vinous fermentation takes place. It may continue a
-week. When it has entirely subsided, and is very clear, strain off the
-liquid from the sediment into fresh bottles, and cork them tightly. When
-you put them away, lay the bottles on their sides. This is a delicious
-cordial, and requires no brandy in it.
-
-_Preserved Gooseberries._--Top and tail the gooseberries, which should
-be of two sorts, and as ripe as you can get. The best kind quite ripe,
-large, and of a light amber color. Wash the others, and boil them in a
-porcelain kettle with barely water enough to keep them from burning.
-When they are soft and broken, mash the pulp through a sieve, or squeeze
-it through a linen bag. Measure it, and to each pint allow a large pound
-of powdered loaf sugar. Boil the sugar with the pulp, skimming and
-stirring it till it begins to jelly. Then put in the large gooseberries,
-and give them one boil up. When done take them out separately, and
-spread them on a large flat dish. Continue to boil the syrup a while
-longer, till you find it congeals well on holding out a spoonful in the
-open air. Then put the large gooseberries into jars, and pour the syrup
-over them while still hot and liquid. Put them up warm.
-
-_Raspberries_--May be preserved as above, reserving the finest for
-putting whole into the jelly. The large white raspberries make a fine
-sweetmeat, done whole in jelly or jam of white currants.
-
-Black currants should always be made into jelly or jam. They require
-less sugar than other sweetmeats, (a quarter of a pound less) their
-juice being naturally very thick.
-
-
-COUNTRY PLUMS.--Gather your plums when perfectly ripe, and ready to fall
-from the trees. Split them with a knife, and remove the stones. Spread
-them out on large dishes, so as not to touch, and set them in the hot
-sun on a sunny roof or balcony; taking them in every evening before
-dark, and not putting them out till after the dew is off in the morning.
-Repeat this for three or four days. Then pack them down in stone jars
-with a large quantity of the best brown sugar, a layer of plums and a
-layer of sugar alternately, (sugar being at the bottom and top) and
-cover the jars closely. Let them remain undisturbed till February or
-March. When opened, you will have plenty of rich syrup among them. They
-make good spring pies, and will be prized for family use at that season.
-
-_Country Grapes._--The little wild grapes have a very pleasant taste
-after the first frost in the autumn, and should not be gathered till
-that time. Until frosted, they are too sour to eat. To keep them all
-winter, strip them from the stems and put them in stone jars with layers
-of good brown sugar, till the jars are three parts full. Then fill up to
-the top with West India molasses. They will make good winter pies, when
-cranberries, dried peaches, and dried apples are scarce.
-
-_Persimmon Jam._--Do not gather persimmons till late in the fall, when
-they are well sweetened with the frost. They are unfit to eat till all
-the leaves are off the trees, and till they are ripe enough to mash.
-Then pack them in jars with plenty of brown sugar. Maple sugar will do.
-In the back-woods they will be valued. When cooked they will be improved
-by the addition of a little _sweet_ cider.
-
-
-
-
-PICKLES.
-
-
-For pickles the articles should all be fine and freshly gathered. They
-are generally too hard to be cut or eaten conveniently, and there is too
-much unnecessary fear of pickles proving soft. It is not now customary
-to keep them for weeks in salt and water; two or three days will be
-sufficient for this part of the process, and some kinds do not require
-it at all. The arts of both preserving and pickling are of late years
-much simplified. All pickles have nearly the same taste, and there is no
-use (and much trouble) in multiplying varieties, when a few sorts of the
-very best will be found amply sufficient for any table. One important
-point to be always observed, is to use none but the most wholesome
-vinegar, (the genuine cider,) as all that is made of drugs is
-unwholesome to the eater and destructive to the pickles. On no
-consideration boil them in brass, copper, or bell-metal--things which
-fortunately are now nearly exploded from all kitchens; iron lined with
-Delft, (called porcelain,) being universally substituted.
-
-To green pickles boil them with a thick bed of fresh vine leaves, both
-under and over them. This will first render them yellow; then boil them
-again in a clean kettle with fresh vine leaves. If not green enough when
-you think they are done, repeat the boiling again, with fresh vine
-leaves and fresh water. Avoid eating pickles that are of a fine
-verdigris green. They are greened with copper, and are poisonous.
-
-If you cannot obtain vine leaves, you may green pickles by boiling them
-with fresh cabbage leaves under and over. The first boiling will turn
-them yellow, the second with new leaves should render them green. But
-vine leaves are better and more certain. Put them up warm in stone or,
-glass jars with broad flat corks; and tie kid leather over them.
-
-
-INDIA PICKLE.--For this pickle you may use a variety of _young_ fruits
-and vegetables. For instance, red cherries, grapes, plums, apricots,
-young peaches, or lemons, limes, button-tomatos, cauliflowers sliced,
-white cabbage sliced, hard-boiled eggs sliced, little onions,
-nasturtions, small cucumbers, &c. Having nicely prepared these things,
-put them all together into a large porcelain kettle, and scald them in a
-strong brine made in the proportion of a quarter of a pound of fine salt
-to a quart of boiling water. Pour it hot over the pickles, and let them
-remain in it till next day. Then take them out, and drain off all the
-brine through a sieve. Spread them out (so as not to touch,) on large
-flat dishes or old japan servers, and set them in the hot sun for three
-or four days; carefully taking them in at evening, and if the weather
-becomes damp or cloudy. Afterwards put them into a cullender or sieve,
-wash them well through cold water, and then wipe them all dry with a
-coarse cloth. Put them into a large pan. Mix together a quarter pound of
-grated horse-radish, sliced; two cloves of garlic; half a hundred small
-white onions; two ounces of mace; a quarter of a pound of ground ginger;
-two nutmegs, powdered; two pounds of powdered loaf sugar; half a bottle
-of the best ground mustard; half a pound of yellow mustard seed, and an
-ounce of turmeric powder, which must on no account be omitted, as a
-yellow tinge is indispensable to this pickle. Mix all the seasoning with
-sufficient excellent cider vinegar to render it liquid, and pour it over
-the pickles in the pan, and then stir them up from the bottom. Let the
-whole rest till cold. Then transfer it to stone jars. Have ready some
-more vinegar, pour it boiling hot on the pickles, &c., but do not fill
-up to the top, as they expand and rise.
-
-
-PICKLED PEACHES.--Take eight fine large free-stone peaches, (white or
-yellow,) when nearly but not quite ripe. Wipe off the down with a clean
-flannel, and put them into a brine strong enough to bear up an egg. In
-two days take them out, and drain them for several hours on an inverted
-sieve. Tie in a piece of thin muslin one ounce of whole white pepper;
-one of broken-up ginger; eight blades of mace, and two ounces of mustard
-seed. Boil this seasoning for ten minutes in a quart of the best cider
-vinegar. Lay the peaches in a broad-mouthed stone jar, with the bag of
-spice at the bottom, and pour the vinegar boiling hot upon them. At the
-top add a table-spoonful of salad oil. Put them up warm, and secure them
-with broad flat corks, and rounds of leather tied on carefully.
-
-_Peach Mangoes._--The above sort of peaches are best for mangoes. Steep
-them in brine for two days. Cut a small piece out of each, and carefully
-loose the stones from the inside with a small sharp knife. It will then
-be easy to thrust them out of free-stone peaches, and none others should
-be used, either for pickling or preserving. Make a filling for the
-places that were occupied by the stones. For this purpose, use fresh
-mustard seed moistened with vinegar; scraped horse-radish, powdered
-ginger, a clove of garlic, or a minced shalot or very small onion, and a
-very little chilli or red pepper minced very small. Also a little
-powdered mace, and a little chopped peach. With this mixture stuff the
-peaches hard. Replace the bits that were cut off, and tie them on firmly
-with fine packthread, crossing the peach. Boil a quart of the best
-vinegar, seasoned with white spices and mustard seed, tied up in muslin;
-and when it has boiled ten minutes, pour it hot over the peach mangoes
-in a stone jar. Add at the top a table-spoonful of salad oil; cork the
-jar immediately, and tie leather over it. Where there is no dislike to
-cloves, you may stick half a dozen into the outside of each peach; but
-we think a few small bits of mace will be preferable, as the clove
-taste will overpower every thing else.
-
-
-MELON MANGOES.--Take the small green melons, used only for this purpose,
-and let them lie in a strong brine for two days. Take them out and drain
-them well. Cut a small square bit out of one side, and through this hole
-extract all the seeds and filaments. Have ready a stuffing made of
-grated horse-radish, white mustard seed, minced shalot, or a clove of
-garlic chopped fine; a very little chilli or red pepper, and a little
-powdered mace. Wet this stuffing well with vinegar, and then fill with
-it the cavity of the mango. Replace the bit that was cut out, and tie it
-in with packthread, crossing all over the melon. Then place the mangoes
-in a stone jar. Have ready a sufficiency of the best vinegar, (a large
-quart or more, for eight or ten mangoes,) boiled ten minutes, with a
-seasoning of mustard seed, ginger, mace, grated horse-radish, and
-chopped shalot or little onion, or a clove of garlic minced very
-small--all tied in a bit of muslin. Pour the vinegar boiling hot over
-the mangoes, having placed among them the bag of seasoning. Finish with
-sweet oil at the top of the jar.
-
-
-MUSHROOMS PICKLED.--For pickling, the small button mushrooms are best.
-After cutting off the stalk closely, and with a sharp penknife peeling
-off carefully their thin outside skin, measure two quarts, taking care
-that they are all of the right sort, and freshly gathered; the outside
-of a dull whitish color, and the underside of a fine pinkish salmon
-tinge. If very white above and below, or if bright yellow, they are
-poisonous. _Good_ mushrooms grow always in open fields or airy places;
-never in woods or marshes. To pickle two quarts, prepare eight little
-bags of very clear muslin; and tie up in each bag six blades of mace,
-six slices of root ginger, and half a nutmeg broken up. Have ready four
-glass jars, such as are considered to hold a quart. Lay a bag of spice
-in the bottom of each. Having sprinkled the mushrooms well with salt,
-let them rest till next day. Then divide the mushrooms and their liquor
-into four pints. Put one pint into each jar, with a bag of spice at the
-bottom, and another at the top. Pour on boiling cider vinegar of the
-best quality, and finish with a table-spoonful of salad oil. Cork the
-jars immediately, and tie leather carefully over the top. All mushrooms
-turn brown on the under-side the day after they are gathered, and
-sometimes sooner.
-
-Boiling the spice in the vinegar will weaken the mushroom flavor. When
-you open a jar of pickled mushrooms, immediately cork it again; tie on
-the leather cover, and use it up as soon as possible. Therefore, pint
-jars, with half a pint of mushrooms in each, are convenient.
-
-
-BELL-PEPPERS PICKLED.--Take fine full-grown bell-peppers. Make a brine
-in a stone jar of salt and water, strong enough to float an egg, and let
-the peppers remain in it two days, putting a weight on the cover to keep
-it down. Then take them out, wash them well in cold water, drain them,
-and wipe them dry. Cut a slit in the side of each, and extract all the
-seeds, as if left in, they will be entirely too hot. Through these slits
-let all the water run out. Put them into a clean stone jar. Boil
-sufficient of the best cider vinegar, interspersed with the muslin bags
-of broken-up cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg. Pour it, boiling hot, on the
-peppers in the jar. Distribute the bags of spice among the peppers, and
-cork the jar warm. You may stuff the peppers in the manner of mangoes,
-with pickled red cabbage finely shred, minced onions and minced
-cucumbers pickled, and seasoned with a little mustard seed, ginger, and
-mace. Tie up the slit with packthread, crossing all round. Fill up the
-jars with vinegar, putting sweet oil on the top.
-
-Your may green bell-peppers in the usual way, with vine leaves or
-cabbage leaves.
-
-All pickles should be kept in a dry place. If you find them mouldy they
-are not always spoiled. Take them out of the jar, wipe off all the mould
-carefully, and throw away the vinegar. Wash the jar very clean, scald
-it, and set it in the sun to purify still more. Make a new pickle with
-fresh seasoning, and put them into that.
-
-
-PICKLED CAULIFLOWERS.--Take large, ripe, full-blown cauliflowers. Remove
-the leaves and stalk, and divide the blossom into pieces or clusters of
-equal size. Throw them into a porcelain kettle of boiling water, (adding
-a little salt,) let them simmer, and skim them well. When they come to a
-boil, take them up with a perforated skimmer, and lay them on a sieve to
-drain. Put them into stone jars, (three parts full.) Season with mace
-and nutmeg infused in sufficient of the best cider vinegar, and simmer
-it for a quarter of an hour. When it comes to a boil take it off the
-fire, and pour it hot over the cauliflower in the jar, filling quite up
-to the top, and adding sweet oil at the last. Cover it while warm, and
-tie leather over the top. If you wish to have the cauliflowers yellow,
-boil with the vinegar some turmeric powder tied up in thin muslin. This
-is a very nice pickle.
-
-Broccoli is done in the same manner, but should be previously greened by
-boiling it with vine leaves.
-
-
-PICKLED BEETS WITH CABBAGE.--Take a large fine _red_ cabbage, wash it
-well, and drain it. Quarter it, (having removed the stalk) and slice it
-with a cabbage-cutter as for coldslaw. Boil some beets in the usual way
-till quite tender, (they require a very long time) and while warm peel
-and slice them in round pieces, or split them down, and cut them into
-long bits. Lay them in a large stone jar, alternately with layers of
-the shred cabbage, till the jar is more than half full. Have ready some
-scalding vinegar that has been boiled with a seasoning of blades of mace
-and sliced ginger root, and some nutmeg. Pour the vinegar, boiling hot,
-upon the cabbage and beet, till you have the jars quite full. Finish
-with a large table-spoonful of sweet oil. Cover the jar with leather,
-and put it away warm.
-
-
-PICKLED CUCUMBERS.--Take small young cucumbers, freshly gathered, and
-free from blemishes. Make a brine strong enough to float an egg, and let
-the cucumbers lie in it till they become yellow, stirring them down to
-the bottom twice a day. Then pour off all the brine, wash the cucumbers
-in cold water, and drain them. Lay a thick bed of fresh green vine
-leaves in the bottom and sides of a porcelain kettle. Put in the
-cucumbers, and pour on sufficient cold water to wet them all
-plentifully. Then cover them, closely, with more vine leaves, and pour
-on more water, packing the leaves well and pressing them down. Fill up
-to the top with water and vine leaves, and cover the kettle closely to
-keep in the steam. Hang it over a slow fire where there is no blaze, and
-keep it _warm_ all night, but not _hot_. In the morning if the pickles
-are not a fine deep green, remove the vine leaves and replace them with
-a fresh supply. After this, they will be generally green enough; but if
-not, continue till they are. Then drain the cucumbers on a sieve, and
-transfer them to a very clean stone jar. To fifty cucumbers allow four
-quarts of excellent vinegar, and a bit of alum about the size of a large
-grain of corn, with half an ounce of mustard seed, half an ounce of
-mace, a broken-up nutmeg, and half an ounce of root ginger, sliced. Tie
-up the spice in three muslin bags, and boil them ten minutes in the
-vinegar. Then take out and lay them among the cucumbers in the jar; one
-to the bottom, one in the middle, and one at the top. Pour over them the
-vinegar boiling hot; add a table-spoonful of sweet oil, and cork the jar
-immediately, tying a leather over it. Keep wooden pickle spoons in the
-pantry for taking out pickles, and always be careful to close the jar
-immediately after.
-
-You need not keep the bags of spice in the jars more than two or three
-weeks.
-
-
-PICKLED ONIONS.--Take the small silver-skinned white onions. Peel off
-the outer skin. Make a brine strong enough to float an egg, skim it
-well, and when it begins to cool pour it upon the onions. Let them stand
-in it (closely covered,) till quite cold. Then take them out, peel off
-another skin, and wash them through a cullender in cold water. Next,
-boil them in milk till tender all through, so that you can easily pierce
-them with a needle. Then drain off the milk. Measure them, and to a
-quart of onions allow a quart of the best cider vinegar. Boil in the
-vinegar two muslin bags tied up with broken-up nutmeg and mace. When it
-has boiled, pour it hot over the onions in the jar; having laid one bag
-of spice at the bottom, and one in the middle. The onions should fill
-two thirds of the jar, and the vinegar the remainder. Finish with a
-table-spoonful of salad oil, and cork the jar immediately, and tie on
-the leather cover.
-
-As onions pickled this way are generally much liked, it is well, when
-doing them, to make several jars full.
-
-_Cucumber and Onion Pickle._--To a dozen fine cucumbers allow three
-large onions. Pare the cucumbers and peel the onions, and cut both into
-thick slices. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them, and let them rest till
-next day. Then drain them well, and put them into a stone jar. Pour
-boiling vinegar over them. Close the jar, and set it in a warm place.
-Next day repeat the boiling vinegar, and cork the jar. Next day repeat
-it again, with a bag of mace, nutmeg, and ginger, boiled in the vinegar.
-Then cork the jar, and tie it up. When the pickle is finished, divide it
-in small stone jars, with sweet oil on the top of each.
-
-
-WALNUTS OR BUTTERNUTS PICKLED--Gather them in early summer, when they
-are full-grown, but so tender that a large needle will easily pierce
-them all through. Rub off the outer skin with a coarse cloth, and then
-lay them in salt and water for a week, changing the brine every other
-day. Allow for this brine a small quarter of a pound of salt to a large
-quart of water. Make enough to cover all the nuts well. Place a large
-lid over the pan, and keep them closely from the air. The last day take
-them out of the brine, drain them, and prick every one quite through in
-several places with a large needle. Drain them again, spread them out on
-large flat dishes, and set them to blacken for two days in the hot sun.
-For a hundred nuts, allow a gallon of excellent cider vinegar, half an
-ounce of black pepper-corns, half an ounce of cloves, half an ounce of
-allspice, an ounce of root ginger, and an ounce of mace. Boil the spice
-in the vinegar for ten minutes, tied up in eight small muslin bags. Then
-take them out, and having divided the nuts in four stone jars,
-distribute among them, equally, the bags of spice, and pour on the
-vinegar hot, an equal portion in each jar. While warm, secure them with
-flat corks, and tie leather over them. Done this way, you may begin to
-use them in a week. If you have not enough of vinegar to fill the jars
-up to the top, add some cold, and strew among the nuts some blades of
-mace. Finish with a large spoonful of salad oil at the top of each jar.
-
-
-PICKLED PLUMS.--Take large fine plums; perfect, and quite ripe. To every
-quart of plums allow half a pound of the best white sugar powdered, and
-a large pint of the best cider vinegar. Melt the sugar in the vinegar,
-and put it with the fruit into a porcelain kettle; all the plums having
-been previously pricked to the stone with a large needle. Lay among them
-some small muslin bags filled with broken nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon;
-and if you choose, a few cloves. Give them one boil up, skimming them
-well. Put them warm into stone jars, with the bags interspersed, and
-cork them immediately. Green gages may be done in this manner, first
-rendering them greener by boiling with vine leaves in the usual way.
-
-_Damsons Pickled._--Do these in the same manner as plums; but as they
-are much more acid, allow brown sugar of the best kind. Plums or damsons
-may be pickled plain, and with little trouble if full ripe, pricked with
-a needle, and packed down in a stone jar with profuse layers of brown
-sugar between the layers of fruit; the jars filled up with cold cider
-vinegar, and putting sweet oil at the top.
-
-
-_Pickled Cherries._--Take the largest and finest red cherries, fully
-ripe. Morellas are the best. Either remove the stems entirely, or cut
-them short, within two inches of the fruit. Have ready a large glass
-jar. Fill it two thirds with fresh newly-gathered cherries, and then
-fill up to the top with the best vinegar. Keep it well covered, and if
-both fruit and vinegar are of excellent quality, no boiling is
-necessary, and no spice, as the cherry flavor will be retained, and they
-will not shrivel.
-
-_Button Tomatos._--The small round tomatos, either red or yellow, will
-keep perfectly, if put whole into cold vinegar of the _really_ best
-quality. You may add a bag of spice if you choose.
-
-_Nasturtion Seeds._--Keep a large glass jar of cold cider vinegar, and
-put in the green seeds of nasturtions after the flowers are off, and the
-seeds full-grown, but not hard. Remove the stalks. In this simple way
-nasturtions will keep perfectly well, and are an excellent substitute
-for capers with boiled mutton. They can be raised profusely, even in a
-city garden, and the blossoms are very beautiful. With pepper-grass and
-nasturtion flowers from your own garden, you can have a nice salad for a
-summer evening tea-table.
-
-The three pickles above (cherries, button tomatos, and nasturtion
-seeds,) are cheap, easy, and palatable. Try them. To flavor them with
-spice, boil the vinegar with a bag of spice in it, and pour it on hot,
-leaving the bag among them in the jar.
-
-
-
-
-PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK.
-
-
-CHICKEN BROTH.--Skin and cut up a fine full-grown fowl. If but little is
-wanted, take only the dark meat for the broth, and put it into a pot
-with a small quart of water, and slowly boil it to rags. Strain the
-liquid and return it to the pot, and thicken it with two spoonfuls of
-arrow root, if no vegetables are permitted. Otherwise, you may boil with
-the chicken some sliced onion and sliced turnip, with a grated parsnip
-and a sliced potato, straining out the vegetables with the shreds of
-fowl. You may reserve the white meat of the breast and wings to make
-another dish, if the patient is permitted to take it. This is the white
-meat cut off the bones, and stewed slowly in fresh oyster liquid, with a
-bit of nice butter. If the patient is well enough, stir in a beaten egg
-just before the stew is taken from the fire.
-
-_Oyster Soup for Invalids._--Remove the gristle from a dozen fine large
-fresh oysters. Take half their liquor and mix it with an equal portion
-of very good milk, seasoning it with three or four blades of mace, and a
-stalk of celery scraped and cut into pieces. When it has boiled and been
-skimmed well, strain it over the oysters, and let all simmer together
-till the oysters are plumped, but do not let them come to a boil. Serve
-it up in a bowl, with some milk biscuit to eat with it.
-
-_Clam Soup for Invalids._--Where salt is permitted, cut up and boil
-slowly in their own liquor a dozen or more small sand clams. When well
-boiled and skimmed, strain the liquor into a clean sauce-pan, and
-thicken it with bread crumbs, and a small bit of nice fresh butter. The
-clams are of no further use. Throw them away.
-
-
-MUTTON BROTH FOR THE SICK.--Take two pounds from a nice neck of mutton,
-and leave out some of the fat if there seems too much. Cut the meat from
-the bones, and put it into a pot with a large quart of water, and no
-seasoning. Boil it till the meat is all in rags. Do not skim it, as the
-fat on the surface is very healing, if without salt or pepper. When
-done, strain it into a bowl. Let the patient eat with it a slice of very
-light wheat bread, having the crust cut off. It is excellent for the
-dysentery. When the patient is convalescent, a little seasoning may be
-allowed, and some well-boiled mashed turnips stirred into the bowl of
-soup with a boiled onion sliced, and a thickening of arrow-root or
-farina, stirred in about half an hour before the soup is taken up. Pour
-it off clear from the shreds of meat at the bottom.
-
-_Veal Broth for Invalids._--Take a pound of knuckle of veal cut in
-pieces, four calf's feet, split up. Boil them in a large quart of water,
-till they are all reduced to rags. Then strain the liquid, and add to it
-the soft part, only, of half a dozen fine oysters, and three or four
-blades of mace. Set it again on the fire, and as soon as it simmers
-well, take it off, and serve it up with very light milk biscuit, or
-little bread rolls, to eat with it. Veal broth may be made with a piece
-of knuckle of veal cut small, and boiled in the liquor of clams instead
-of water. The clams themselves must be omitted, as they are always tough
-and indigestible for an invalid, but their liquor adds a pleasant
-relish to the insipidity of the veal. As the strength of the patient
-improves, a grated carrot, a sliced onion, and some sliced turnip, may
-be added to the veal from the beginning.
-
-_Raw Oysters for the Sick._--Take large fine fresh oysters, and
-carefully cut out the hard part or gristle. They are considered very
-good for convalescents, being, when raw, cooling, refreshing, and
-nutritious. Drain them well from the liquor, making them as dry as you
-can; and if permitted, accompany the oysters with black pepper and
-vinegar, and a plate of bread and butter.
-
-_Birds._--Convalescents, not yet allowed to eat meat, can generally
-relish birds nicely broiled, or stewed in their own gravy, with any
-appropriate seasoning, and a little _fresh_ butter, if they are not very
-fat. When dished, lay under each a piece of nice toast, dipped for a
-minute in hot water.
-
-_Beefsteak for Invalids._--When this can be eaten with an appetite,
-there is no greater promoter of returning health; but it must be of the
-best sirloin steak, very tender, well broiled, and thoroughly done on
-both sides, the gravy being carefully saved to serve up with it, a
-little fresh butter being added after the meat comes off the gridiron.
-If the taste of onion is desired, merely rub the plate with a peeled
-onion. A very tender lamb-chop well broiled may be eaten by way of
-change; but a tenderloin steak is better. Avoid pork, or veal cutlets.
-
-_Gravy Sippets._--For invalids who cannot yet eat meat, a light and
-relishing preparation may be made with one or two slices of the best
-wheat bread, divested of the crust, and spread on a hot plate, while
-some nice well-skimmed gravy is poured over them; the gravy of roast
-beef, veal, or mutton, that has had no butter about it. Gravy sippets
-will form a variety to the usual broths, and other beginnings for the
-resumption of animal food.
-
-
-HERB TEAS.--Have one or more china or white-ware pots for the purpose of
-making herb teas; and see that, after using, they are well washed, well
-scalded and dried, and set open in the sun till wanted again. The herbs,
-whether green or dried, should be of excellent quality, and picked very
-clean from dust and stems. Having well-scalded the pot, take the
-allotted quantity of the herb and put it in; then pour on the water,
-which must be actually boiling at the time, and press the herbs down at
-the bottom with a silver spoon. Then put on the lid closely, and
-immediately stop up the spout with a small cork, or a wad of soft white
-paper rolled tightly. This is to keep in the steam, and prevent the
-strength of the herb from escaping. When sufficiently boiled, pour into
-a pitcher with a lid, and through a strainer, as much of the tea as is
-wanted. Strainers of block tin, with a handle and _very fine_ close
-holes, are excellent for this and other purposes.
-
-_Herb Candies._--Hoarhound candy, and many others, may be made of a
-strong decoction or tea of the herb, thickened with loaf sugar, and
-boiled, skimmed, and stirred till very thick and stiff. Then pour it
-smoothly into a square tin pan and set it in a cool place to congeal.
-While still soft, mark it in even squares with a knife. When quite cold
-and hard, loosen it from the pan with a knife, and take it out. It is
-good for coughs.
-
-Peppermint candy is made in the same way, and is used for flatulence.
-
-
-GRUEL.--Gruels, for patients who are unable to take any thing more
-substantial, may be made of ground rice flour, arrow root, indian meal,
-oatmeal grits, or farina. Mix to a paste, with water, two large
-table-spoonfuls of any of the above articles; then stir the paste,
-gradually, into a pint of water boiling on the fire, making it very
-smooth and pressing out all the lumps. To prevent it boiling over, when
-it has risen nearly to the top of the pan, remove it from the fire.
-Sweeten it while hot, and, if permitted, add a little white wine with
-nutmeg, and a small bit of fresh butter.
-
-_Toast and Water._--Cut a large slice or two of the best wheat bread;
-pare off all the crust; and with a long-handled toasting fork toast it
-evenly on both sides, not allowing it to blacken or burn in any part.
-While hot from the fire, plunge the toast immediately into a quart
-pitcher of clear cold water. Cover the pitcher instantly, and let it
-infuse for half an hour or more, without leaving off the cover. When
-done, it should be of a very pale brown color.
-
-
-JELLY WATER.--Stir a table-spoonful of currant jelly into a half pint
-tumbler of ice water, if the patient is feverish. The jelly may be of
-other fruit, and if not sweet enough add some loaf sugar. The juice of
-any ripe fruit, made sweet and mixed with cold water, is a good
-substitute when sweetmeats are not at hand. Warm drinks are now seldom
-used, but to promote perspiration and carry off a cold. Tamarinds are in
-themselves very cooling and pleasant, and make an agreeable drink
-infused in water, either warm or cold.
-
-
-CARRAGEEN BLANCMANGE.--Carrageen is a species of sea moss which becomes
-glutinous when boiled, and is considered remarkably nutritious and
-strengthening. It can also be rendered very palatable. It is found
-abundantly on some parts of our sea-coast, and may be obtained of the
-best druggists, very nicely cleaned and pressed. To a small loose
-handful of carrageen allow a small quart of rich unskimmed milk, half a
-pound of powdered white sugar, a stick of the best cinnamon broken-up,
-six or seven blades of mace, and half a nutmeg, powdered. Having washed
-the carrageen through two or three cold waters, and shaken it out to
-remove the drops that hang about it, put it to a pint and a half of the
-cold milk. Boil it half an hour in a covered porcelain kettle. Then take
-it out, for if it boils too long the carrageen will taste too strongly.
-In another vessel boil the remaining half pint of milk with the spices,
-till very highly flavored. Then strain it into the carrageen milk, and
-stir in, gradually, the half pound of powdered loaf sugar. Set the
-porcelain kettle again over the fire, and let it boil fast for five
-minutes longer. Then strain it into moulds or bowls previously wet with
-cold water; and when it has well congealed, turn it out, and serve it up
-with sweetened cream, flavored with rose-water or peach-water. If for an
-invalid, who is not allowed spices, flavor it with rose-water only,
-stirred in after the blancmange has been taken from the fire.
-
-
-FARINA BLANCMANGE.--From a quart of rich milk take out half a pint. Put
-the half pint into a small sauce-pan, and add (if permitted) sufficient
-mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon to flavor it well; the spices being tied up
-in a very thin muslin bag. Then add the flavored milk to the remainder,
-having stirred in two heaped table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar. Set
-it over the fire in a porcelain kettle, and when it has come to a boil
-sprinkle in, gradually, four large heaping table-spoonfuls of farina,
-stirring it well. Keep it boiling a quarter of an hour after all the
-farina is in. When done, strain it into blancmange moulds, and set it on
-ice to congeal. If for an invalid not allowed spice, boil it plain, and
-when taken from the fire stir in a wine-glass of rose-water. If
-rose-water is boiled with it from the beginning, the strength and flavor
-will evaporate.
-
-_Farina Flummery._--Mix with a small pint of water a large pint of the
-juice of ripe currants, or strawberries, or of stewed cranberries in
-winter, made very sweet with white sugar. Boil the water and juice
-together, and stir in gradually a quarter pound of farina, and then boil
-it fifteen minutes longer. Afterwards transfer it to moulds, and set it
-on ice till congealed.
-
-_Farina Gruel._--Have some water boiling on the fire, and when it boils
-fast, sprinkle in sufficient farina to make it moderately thick. Then
-sweeten it with white sugar. If permitted, stir in some white wine, and
-nutmeg grated.
-
-
-BEEF TEA.--Take a pound of fine fresh beefsteak cut from the round,
-without any fat. Chop it into small bits, and season it with a level
-salt-spoon of salt. Put it into a wide-mouthed bottle, cork it closely,
-and set it into a kettle of cold water, which must reach to the neck of
-the bottle. Let it boil steadily for three hours, by which time the
-essence will be all extracted from the beef. Then remove the cork, and
-strain the liquid into a bowl, and skim it. It can be made still more
-conveniently in a _bain-marie_ or double kettle; an article useful for
-many purposes, particular in cookery for an invalid. Mutton or veal tea
-are made in the same manner. Also chicken tea, or essence of any sort of
-poultry or game.
-
-_Chicken Panada._--Having skinned and cut up a fine full-grown chicken,
-take the white meat from the breast and wings, and mince it small for
-panada. The dark meat will do for chicken tea. Add to the panada a slice
-of wheat bread crumbled and mixed in, and boil it in a _bain-marie_ with
-the water outside; seasoning it (if permitted) with powdered mace or
-nutmeg.
-
-_Sweet Panada._--Mix with a pint of water a glass of madeira or sherry;
-a heaped table-spoonful of powdered loaf sugar, half the yellow rind of
-a lemon grated, and half the juice; and a half tea-spoonful of powdered
-nutmeg or mace. Set the mixture over the fire, and as soon as it boils
-add crumbled milk biscuit, or a rusk. Then give it another boil up.
-
-
-BARLEY WATER.--Having washed clean two ounces of pearl barley, put it
-into a sauce-pan with a quart of water, the grated rind and the juice of
-a lemon, and two ounces of seeded raisins. Boil it slowly till the
-liquid is reduced one half. Then strain it, and sweeten it, while warm,
-with loaf sugar.
-
-_Gum Arabic Water._--Take an ounce of the best and cleanest gum arabic.
-Put it into a pitcher, and pour on a pint of boiling water, and stir
-while dissolving. When cool, squeeze in (if permitted) the juice of a
-lemon, and add loaf sugar enough to make it pleasantly sweet. Gum arabic
-water, alone, is sometimes given to a patient, whom it is expedient to
-keep very low as a preventive to inflammation.
-
-_Tamarind Water._--This is a pleasant and cooling drink in fevers,
-allowing half a pint of cold water to as many tamarinds as you can take
-up with a table-spoon. Cover it, and let it stand for a few minutes.
-
-_Apple Water._--Take four fine large juicy apples, (pippins or
-bellflowers,) core and pare them, and bake them side by side in a tin
-pan. When well done and quite soft all through, put them into a pitcher
-and fill up with warm water. Simmer them over the fire, and when quite
-soft mash them; and, if necessary, add more water till they become a
-thick liquid that can be drank. Sweeten well with loaf sugar, and if
-permitted, add some lemon juice or rose-water. Drink it cool.
-
-_Egg Wine._--Break a nice fresh egg into a tumbler, and beat it till
-smooth and thick. Add a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered loaf sugar, and
-stir in a glass of the best port wine. This, when permitted, is very
-strengthening and cheering for an invalid, to take about the hour of
-noon or earlier. When wine is not allowed, you may beat the egg into a
-glass of new unskimmed milk.
-
-
-WHEY.--Milk can be converted into a curd by the infusion of rennet
-water, white wine, lemon juice, tamarind juice, or vinegar, stirred into
-good milk, covered and set in a warm place till the curd has formed, and
-has separated from the whey which remains beneath it. Take off the curd
-carefully, breaking it as little as possible, and put it into a deep
-dish. Pour the whey into a pitcher. It should look clear, and greenish
-rather than white, and have none of the milk curd remaining about it.
-Set the pitcher on ice. It is an excellent drink in fevers. When
-approved, the curd may be eaten in a saucer with sugar. For rennet whey,
-cut a piece of dried rennet about two inches square, and wipe all the
-salt from the outside, but do not wash it. Soak the bit of rennet for
-several hours (or all night) in a small tea-cup of lukewarm water. Then
-pour the rennet water into the milk. For wine whey, boil a jill of
-sherry in a pint of milk, without stirring it.
-
-
-TAPIOCA.--Having washed in cold water three heaped table-spoonfuls of
-tapioca; drain it, put it into a clean quart bowl, pour on water enough
-to cover it well, and soak it four hours. Then pour on as much more
-water, transfer the whole to a porcelain skillet, in the bottom of which
-you have laid the yellow peel of a fresh lemon, pared so thin as to be
-transparent, and boil the tapioca gently till it looks quite clear. Then
-take out the lemon peel, and stir in sufficient loaf sugar to make it
-very sweet. If approved, flavor it with some madeira or sherry, and some
-grated nutmeg. Tapioca may be boiled in plain milk, with no seasoning
-but the sugar to sweeten it.
-
-_Sago._--Pick and wash clean, in two cold waters, a half pint of sago.
-Put it into a porcelain skillet, with the yellow rind of a lemon pared
-transparent. Pour on it a quart of water, and let it all soak for two
-hours. Then set it over the fire, and boil it, gently, till the lemon is
-all to pieces and nearly dissolved, and the sago looks clear. Take out
-the lemon peel, and stir in, if permitted, some sherry wine, sugar, and
-grated nutmeg, and give it another boil.
-
-If the above seasoning is not allowed, boil the sago in milk only, or
-water only, till the liquid becomes thick and like a jelly.
-
-_Sago Pudding for an invalid._--Boil three table-spoonfuls of _soaked_
-sago in a pint of milk till quite soft. Add gradually three ounces of
-white sugar, and set it away to cool. Beat three eggs till thick and
-smooth, and stir them by degrees into the sago and milk. Grate in some
-nutmeg, and bake the pudding in a deep dish. Tapioca pudding is made in
-the same manner.
-
-
-SWEETBREADS FOR INVALIDS.--Cut open two fine fresh sweetbreads, and lay
-them in warm water till all the blood is discharged. Then transfer them
-to a pan of cold water to blanch or whiten. Stew them in the strained
-liquid of fresh oysters, till quite tender. When done, take out the
-sweetbreads, remove the gristle or pipe, and serve them up warm, having
-laid in the bottom of the dish a slice of nice toast that has been
-dipped for a minute in hot water. If permitted, the oysters may be
-cooked with the sweetbread, first removing the hard part.
-
-
-STEWED SMELTS.--Smelts are considered a delicate and nutritious fish for
-invalids. They are in season in winter, and early in the spring. Choose
-them as large as you can find them. Having drawn and cleaned them, cut
-off their heads and tails. Put sufficient water to cover them in a small
-stew-pan, adding a very little powdered white sugar, and a few small
-sprigs of parsley, or sweet marjoram. When the water boils lay in the
-fish, and simmer them five minutes. Then stir in a very little arrow
-root, mixed with a few drops of cold water, and let it stew ten minutes
-longer. Serve up the stew in a small deep dish with a cover, and eat
-with it some very light bread-roll. It will be a pleasant change from
-the usual broths and infusions prepared for the sick.
-
-_A Molasses Supper._--Make a thick slice of very nice toast, evenly
-browned on both sides, but not the least burnt. Lay it in a pint bowl,
-and pour over it a small half pint of the best _West India_ molasses,
-having stirred into the molasses a heaped table-spoonful of ground
-ginger. Mix the molasses with half a pint of hot water, and pour the
-whole over the toast. Cover it with a plate for a few minutes, and eat
-it while warm, previous to going to bed. This is a wholesome
-strengthening palatable supper for an invalid, (as we know by
-experience) and may be continued as long as the patient continues to
-like it. It is always a good winter supper for children. The ginger must
-on no account be omitted. If the molasses has turned a little sour, stir
-in a salt-spoonful of soda.
-
-To prevent a jug of molasses from running over when kept in a warm
-place, pour out a little into another vessel, and leave the molasses jug
-uncorked for two days. Then cork it tightly.
-
-
-
-
-MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS.
-
-
-TEA.--No metal (not even silver,) is good for tea-pots. All tea should
-be made in china or queensware. Wedgewood (whether black or white)
-imbibes much of the essence of the tea, and from constant use soon
-becomes unpleasant. Britannia ware is exceedingly unwholesome for any
-sort of cooking, as one fourth of the composition is copper. Block tin
-for a common tea-pot is less objectionable, and much cheaper. All
-tea-pots should, after using, be thoroughly emptied of the old leaves,
-and washed very clean in warm water, and set open in the sun and air for
-several hours. To make good tea, the tea itself, whether black or green,
-must be of excellent quality. There is no economy in buying that which
-is low-priced. Green tea, if fresh and good, and not adulterated will
-look green in the cup, and have a fragrant odor. If it draws red, or
-brown, or blackish, it is old or mixed with something wrong. Begin to
-make your tea about a quarter of an hour before it is wanted. Scald the
-tea-pot (twice over) with boiling water. Then put in the tea, allowing
-three heaping table-spoonfuls to each person, and a pint of water,
-actually boiling, when put in. Cover it closely with the lid, and set it
-by the fire for ten or fifteen minutes to infuse. After the first cups
-have gone round, put some fresh tea into the pot, and pour on it some
-more boiling water, that the second cups may be as strong as the first,
-having time to infuse. Weak tea for company is very mean. For those that
-like it so, have a small pot of water on the server. If the water is not
-boiling fast when poured on the tea, and is beginning to cool, the tea
-will be flat and insipid, and the leaves will float on the surface of
-the cups. There is then no remedy but to make some fresh.
-
-
-COFFEE.--To drink coffee in perfection, a sufficient quantity for
-breakfast should be roasted every morning, and ground hot, as it loses
-much of its strength by keeping even for a few hours. The best coffee
-roasters are iron cylinders, (standing on feet) with a door in one side,
-and a handle that turns the cylinder round towards the fire or from it,
-that the coffee may be equally done throughout. It must be roasted a
-bright brown color, and on no account black or burnt. When about half
-done, put in bits of fresh butter, allowing a table-spoonful to a pound
-of coffee. Previous to roasting pick the coffee carefully, throwing away
-the defective grains, and the stones or sand. Coffee should be ground
-while warm in a mill kept solely for that purpose, and fastened up
-against the kitchen wall.
-
-For boiled coffee allow four ounces of ground coffee (or a quarter of a
-pound) to a quart of water. When the water boils, stir in the coffee.
-Give it one hard boil up. Then set it farther from the fire, and simmer
-it for ten minutes, adding the white of an egg, (including the egg
-shell,) or a small strip of isinglass. Pour out a large cup of the
-coffee, and then (holding it high above the coffee-pot,) pour it back
-again. Repeat this till wanted, and then set the coffee-pot beside the
-fire, (but not over it.) For company, allow six ounces of coffee to a
-quart of water. Keep the lid always on, but if when boiling hard it
-rises and seems inclined to run over, remove it instantly from the fire
-and set it back. Cream is indispensable to first-rate coffee; if not to
-be obtained sweet, substitute rich milk boiling hot. On no consideration
-fill up the coffee-pot with water. A percolator (to be had at the best
-tin stores) makes excellent coffee without boiling, if properly managed.
-
-
-CHOCOLATE.--There is no plain chocolate better than Baker's prepared
-cacao, and none has so much of the true chocolate flavor. The foreign
-chocolate is generally mixed with sugar, spice, and milk. It cannot be
-made thick and strong, and therefore to many tastes is not agreeable. To
-make a pint (or two large cupfuls of chocolate,) scrape down two ounces
-on a plate, and moisten the chocolate with a jill of water, rubbing it
-on the plate till quite smooth. Then boil it five minutes, and add a
-small pint of water. When it has been well stirred with a wooden spoon,
-and has come again to a boil, serve it as hot as possible, accompanied
-by a saucer of fine loaf sugar, and a small jug of rich hot cream and a
-plate of nice dry toast, or some milk biscuits or sponge cake. Milled
-chocolate is made with rich unskimmed milk instead of water. The
-chocolate mill is a deep pot, belonging to which is a stick with a broad
-wheel-shaped bottom, the other end coming up through a hole in the lid.
-Take this between your hands, and turn it round fast till the chocolate
-is finely frothed. Then transfer it to large cups. Chocolate, after it
-becomes cold, is unfit to drink. But if made with milk, you can convert
-what is left into a custard or pudding, with the addition of more sugar
-and some beaten egg. The low-priced chocolate is both unpalatable and
-unwholesome, being adulterated with animal fat or lard, and made with
-_old_ cacao beans.
-
-
-MILK TOAST.--To a pint of nice rich milk allow a quarter of a pound of
-excellent _fresh_ butter. Boil the milk, and as soon as it boils take it
-off, and stir in the butter cut into pieces. When the butter has melted,
-give it another boil up Have ready a deep plate with four rather thick
-slices of bread, nicely and evenly toasted on both sides. Pour the milk
-hot over the toast, and keep it covered till it goes to the breakfast
-table. Send a spoon with it. Bread should always be toasted by a
-long-handled fork, such as are made for the purpose. They cost but
-twenty-five cents, and no kitchen should be without one.
-
-
-BUTTERED TOAST.--Cut even slices of bread all of the same thickness, and
-pare off the whole of the crust. With a long-handled toasting fork toast
-it evenly on both sides, taking care that no part of it is burnt or
-blackened. Butter the slices hot, as you take them off the fork, (using
-none but nice fresh butter) and lay them evenly on a heated plate. Cover
-them till they go to table.
-
-All toast prepared for cookery, (to lay in the bottom of dishes,) should
-have the crust pared off, and be dipped in hot water after toasting.
-
-
-RASPBERRY VINEGAR.--Take a gallon of fine ripe raspberries. Put them
-into a large deep earthen pan, and mash them well with a wooden beetle.
-Then pour them with all their juice into a large and very clean linen
-bag, and squeeze and press out their liquid into a vessel beneath.
-Measure it, and to each pint of juice allow half a pint of the best and
-clearest cider vinegar, and half a pound of fine loaf sugar, powdered.
-First mix the juice and the vinegar, and give them a boil in a porcelain
-kettle. Then stir in the sugar, gradually, adding to every two pounds
-of sugar a beaten white of egg. Boil and skim till the scum ceases to
-rise. When it is done, bottle it cold, cork it tightly, and seal the
-corks. To use it, pour out half a tumbler of raspberry vinegar, and fill
-up with ice water. It is a pleasant and cooling beverage in warm
-weather, and for invalids who are feverish. Mixed with hot water, and
-taken at bed-time, it is good for a cold.
-
-_Strawberry Vinegar_--Is made in the above manner, carefully hulling
-them. The strawberries must be of the finest kind, and fully ripe. These
-vinegars are made with much less trouble than the usual way; and are
-quite as good, if not better.
-
-
-MACARONI.--In buying macaroni, choose that of a large pipe; see that it
-is clean and white and that it has not been touched by insects. Half a
-pound makes one dish. If _soaked_ before boiling it is apt to dissolve
-or go to pieces, but wash and drain it through cold water in a sieve.
-Have over the fire a large pan of boiling water, in which has been
-melted a piece of fresh butter the size of an egg. If boiled steadily,
-it will be quite tender in less than an hour; but do not boil it so long
-that the pipes break up and lose their shape. Having drained it well
-through a clean sieve, transfer it to a deep dish, dividing it into four
-layers, having first cut it into even lengths of two or three inches.
-Between the layers place on it seasoning of grated cheese of the very
-best quality, and bits of fresh butter, with some powdered mace. On the
-top layer, add to the covering of cheese and butter sufficient
-bread-crumbs to form a slight crust all over the surface. Brown it with
-a salamander or a red hot shovel. Or (omitting the cheese) you may dress
-it with rich gravy of roast meat.
-
-_For Sweet Macaroni._--Having boiled it in milk instead of water, drain
-it, and mix with it powdered mace and nutmeg, with butter, sugar, and
-rose or peach-water. Macaroni (like vermicelli) has in itself no taste,
-but is only made palatable by the manner of dressing it. Good soup is
-rather weakened than improved by the addition of macaroni.
-
-
-COMMON OMELET.--Beat five eggs till very light and thick. Stir gradually
-into the pan of eggs four table-spoonfuls of sifted flour. Thin the
-batter with a large tea-cup of milk. Take a yeast powder; dissolve the
-soda (from the blue paper) in a small quantity of tepid or lukewarm
-water, and stir it into the batter. In another cup melt the tartaric
-acid, (from the white paper;) stir that into the mixture, and stir the
-whole very hard. Have ready in a frying-pan a large portion of lard,
-boiling hot. Put in the omelet mixture, and fry it well. When one side
-is done turn it, and fry the other. To flavor this omelet, mix gradually
-into the batter either grated ham or smoked tongue; minced oysters;
-minced onion; mixed with sweet marjoram, or else some mushrooms chopped
-very fine.
-
-_For a Sweet Omelet_, add to the above batter powdered sugar, nutmeg,
-mace, and powdered cinnamon.
-
-The custom is now to dish omelets without folding them over, it being
-found that folding renders them heavy. Spread them out at full length on
-a very hot dish. The batter for omelets should always be made in
-sufficient quantity to allow them very thick.
-
-There is no use in attempting to flavor an omelet, or any thing else,
-with marmalade or lemon, if you put in soda. The alkalies destroy the
-taste of every sort of fruit.
-
-
-A PLAIN POTATO PUDDING.--Having pared a pound of fine large potatos, put
-them into a pot, cover them well with cold water, and boil them gently
-till tender all through. When done, lay each potato (one at a time,) in
-a clean warm napkin, and press and wring it till all the moisture is
-squeezed out, and the potato becomes a round, dry lump. Mince as fine as
-possible a quarter of a pound of fresh beef suet, (divested of skin, and
-strings.) Crumble the potato, and mix it well with the suet, adding a
-small salt-spoon of salt. Add sufficient milk to make a thick batter,
-and beat it well. Dip a strong square cloth in hot water, shake it out,
-and dredge it well with flour. Tie the pudding in, leaving room for it
-to swell, and put it into a large pot of hot water and boil it steady
-for an hour. This is a good and economical family pudding.
-
-
-ELLEN CLARK'S PUDDING.--Slice, rather thick, some fresh bread. Pare off
-all the crust. Butter the bread on both sides, and lay it in a deep
-dish. Fill up with molasses very profusely, having first seasoned the
-molasses with ginger, ground cinnamon, and powdered mace or nutmeg. It
-will be much improved by adding the grated yellow rind and the juice of
-a large lemon or orange. Bake it till brown all over the top, and till
-the bread and butter has absorbed the molasses; taking care not to let
-it burn.
-
-
-ARROW-ROOT BISCUIT.--Mix in a pan half a pint of arrow-root, and half a
-pint of sifted wheat flour. Cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh butter,
-and rub it into the pan of flour, crumbling the bits of butter so small
-as to be scarcely visible. Mix a quarter of a pound of powdered white
-sugar, and wet it with a beaten egg. Add gradually a very little cream,
-just enough to make it into a stiff dough. Flavor it with the grated
-yellow rind and juice of a lemon, and half a nutmeg grated. Roll out the
-dough into thin sheets, and cut it out into biscuits with the edge of a
-tumbler. Prick every biscuit all over with a fork. Lay them in square
-pans slightly floured, and bake them immediately. They will be improved
-by adding (at the last of the mixture) a table-spoonful of the best
-rose-water. If rose-water is put into cakes _early_ in the mixing, much
-of its strength will evaporate before baking. It should always be
-deferred to the last. These are very nice tea biscuits.
-
-
-ONTARIO CAKE.--Take a pint and a half (or three large breakfast cups,)
-of sifted flour, and the same quantity of powdered white sugar, and half
-a pint of milk; a quarter of a pint or half a cup of the best fresh
-butter, and the grated yellow rind and juice of a large lemon. Have
-ready four well-beaten eggs, and two table-spoonfuls of strong fresh
-yeast.
-
-Cut up the butter into the pan of flour. Add the milk and sugar
-gradually, and then the beaten egg, and then the lemon; next the yeast.
-Stir the whole very well, and set it to rise in a buttered pan. Place it
-near the fire, and cover it with a clean flannel or a double cloth. When
-it has risen and is quite light, and is cracked all over the surface,
-transfer it to a square baking pan, put it immediately into the oven,
-and bake it well. When cool, either ice it or sift white sugar over it,
-and cut it into squares. Or, you may bake it in a round loaf, or in
-small round cakes.
-
-
-NEW-YEAR'S CAKE.--Stir together a pound of nice fresh butter, and a
-pound of powdered white sugar, till they become a light thick cream.
-Then stir in, gradually, three pounds of sifted flour. Add, by degrees,
-a tea-spoonful of soda dissolved in a small tea-cup of milk, and then a
-half salt-spoonful of tartaric acid, melted in a large table-spoonful of
-warm water. Then mix in, gradually, three table-spoonfuls of fine
-carraway seeds. Roll out the dough into sheets half an inch thick, and
-cut it with a jagging iron into oval or oblong cakes, pricked with a
-fork. Bake them immediately in shallow iron pans, slightly greased with
-fresh butter. The bakers in New York ornament these cakes, with devices
-or pictures raised by a wooden stamp. They are good plain cakes for
-children.
-
-
-GOOD YEAST.--Take two handfuls of hops. The best hops have a fresh light
-green color, and a pleasant, lively smell. Pour on them two quarts of
-boiling water, and let them boil five minutes after they have come to a
-boil; not longer, for it makes them bitter. Then strain the liquid into
-a pan, and add a table-spoonful of brown sugar and one of salt. When
-lukewarm, stir in flour enough to make a thick batter. Add a jill and a
-half of fresh baker's yeast. Set it in a warm place till it begins to
-ferment; then keep it in the cellar well corked.
-
-This yeast will continue good two weeks. When you open the jug to take
-out some yeast, put in always a table-spoonful of flour before you cork
-it up again.
-
-A stone jug or pitcher is a good vessel for yeast. Wash it very clean in
-hot water, always before you put in fresh yeast, and then rinse the jug
-with water in which a spoonful of pearlash has been melted, letting the
-pearlash water remain in it five or six minutes, and shaking it round
-hard. Then rinse it with plain cold water.
-
-All vessels that have contained acids should have pearlash or soda in
-the rinsing water, and then be finished with plain water.
-
-Never clean a bottle by rinsing it with shot. The lead is poisonous, and
-has caused death. Some bits of raw potato chopped, and put in the water,
-will clean the inside of bottles or jugs, and brighten decanters.
-
-
-YEAST POWDERS.--Get two ounces of bicarbonate of soda, and one ounce of
-tartaric acid. Divide the soda into equal portions, about a level
-tea-spoonful in each, and the tartaric acid into level salt-spoonfuls.
-By _level_ we mean that the article is not to be heaped in the least,
-not rising above the edge of the spoon. Cut some papers of regular and
-sufficient size, and fold them nicely. Put the soda into white papers,
-and the tartaric acid into blue papers. Place an equal number of each in
-a little square or oblong box, standing up the papers on their folded
-edges. Dissolve them in two separate cups, in as much tepid water as
-will cover the powder. They must be entirely melted before using. Stir
-in the soda at the beginning, and the tartaric acid at the conclusion of
-the batter or cake mixture.
-
-We do not approve of the introduction of these substances into cakes.
-They give a sort of factitious lightness very different from that
-honestly produced by a liberal allowance of egg and butter, genuine
-yeast, and good beating and stirring--but they destroy the taste of the
-seasoning, and are certain destruction to the taste of lemon, orange,
-strawberry, pine-apple, and every kind of fruit flavoring. The justly
-celebrated Mrs. Goodfellow never used any of them in her school, and the
-articles made there by her pupils, (of whom the author was one) were
-such as no money can purchase in the present times. Any confectioner who
-would _faithfully_ revive them could make a fortune by doing so.
-
-The present introduction of hartshorn into bread and cakes is an
-abomination, rendering the articles equally unpalatable and unwholesome.
-Cannot the use of hartshorn in food be put down? Which of our _American_
-doctors will write a book on "culinary poisons."
-
-
-VINEGAR.--Mix together in a clean keg three gallons of clear rain water,
-(that has been caught in a clean tub without running over the roof of a
-house,) one quart of _West India_ molasses, and one pint of baker's
-yeast. Cover it, and set it in a warm place where it will be exposed to
-the summer sun. Remember to shake the cask every day. In three months it
-will be excellent vinegar. Then transfer it to stone jugs, and keep it
-closely corked. Begin it in May.
-
-So much of the vinegar sold in stores is concocted of pernicious drugs,
-that we recommend all families to make their own, or to buy it from a
-cider farmer. Good cider, set in the sun, will after a while become good
-vinegar.
-
-What is shamefully called the best white wine vinegar is frequently a
-slow poison, as may be known by its action upon oysters, pickles, &c. It
-is quite clear and well to look at. Its taste is very sharp and pungent,
-as to overpower and render every thing that is with it painfully sour,
-and it has a singular and disagreeable smell when boiling. Oysters
-cooked with this vinegar go immediately into rags, and are soon entirely
-eaten up, or dissolved into a thin whitish liquid, fit for nothing but
-to throw away.
-
-Pickles the same. A punishment should be provided by law for persons who
-manufacture and sell these deleterious compounds, of which we have now
-so many, that it would indeed be well if we could make at home, as far
-as possible, every thing we eat and drink.
-
-
-PINK CHAMPAGNE--(_Domestic._)--Pick from the stems three quarts of fine
-ripe red currants, and mix with them three quarts of ripe white
-currants. Bruise them all. Put nine pounds of loaf sugar to melt in
-three gallons of very clear soft water. Boil the water and sugar
-together for half an hour, skimming carefully, and pour the liquid
-boiling hot over the currants. When it is nearly cold, add a small
-tea-cupful of excellent strong fresh yeast. Let it ferment for two days,
-and then strain it into a small cask through a very clean hair sieve.
-Put into the cask half an ounce of finely-chipped isinglass. Have rather
-more liquor than will fill the cask at first, and keep it to fill up as
-it works over. In about a fortnight bung it up. Let it remain in the
-cask till April. Then transfer it to bottles, (putting into each a lump
-of double-refined loaf sugar,) and letting them remain one day uncorked.
-Then cork and wire them. They must stand upright in the cellar; but when
-likely to be wanted, lay a few of them on their sides for a week.
-
-
-SHERRY COBBLER.--Lay in the bottom of a large tumbler, two
-table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar, and squeeze over it (through a
-strainer) the juice of a large lemon that has been softened by rolling
-under your hand. Then half fill the tumbler with ice, broken very small.
-Add a large glass of very good sherry wine. Take another tumbler, and
-pour the liquid back and forward from glass to glass, till completely
-mixed without stirring. Sip it through a clean straw, or one of the
-tubes made on purpose.
-
-
-MINT JULEP.--Cut two or three round slices from a fine ripe pine-apple
-that has been pared; and take out the core or hard part from the centre
-of each slice. A still better way is to split down the pine-apple into
-four pieces, and grate two of the quarters with a coarse grater,
-standing it upright while doing so. Put it into a large tumbler, and
-cover the fruit with two or three heaped table-spoonfuls of powdered
-loaf sugar. Add a large glass of the best brandy, and pour on cold water
-till the tumbler is two-thirds full. Then put in a thick layer of finely
-broken ice, till it almost reaches the top. Finish by sticking in a full
-bunch of fresh green mint in handsome sprigs, that rise far above one
-side of the tumbler; and at the other side place a clean straw, or one
-of the tubes used for the same purpose.
-
-
-CAROLINA PUNCH.--Mix together a tumbler of peach brandy and a tumbler of
-water, the juice of two lemons, the yellow rinds of four, pared to
-transparent thinness, and four large juicy free-stone peaches cut in
-half, and the kernels of their stones blanched and broken up. If you
-cannot obtain peaches, quarter and grate down a ripe pine-apple. Let all
-these ingredients infuse with a quart of Jamaica spirits in a bowl for
-two days before the punch is wanted. Keep it carefully covered with a
-cloth. Then pour on sufficient cold water to make the punch of the
-desired strength; and strain the liquid into another bowl, and put in a
-large lump of ice. Serve it out in small glasses.
-
-
-NECTAR.--Take two pounds of _the best_ raisins, seeded and chopped; the
-grated yellow rind and the juice of four fine lemons, and two pounds of
-loaf sugar, powdered. Put the sugar into a large porcelain kettle, and
-melt it in a gallon of water. Boil and skim it for half an hour, and
-while it is boiling hard, put in by degrees the raisins and lemons.
-Continue the boiling about ten minutes. Put the mixture into a stoneware
-crock, and cover it closely. Let it stand three days, stirring it down
-to the bottom twice every day. Then strain it through a linen bag, and
-bottle it, sealing the corks. It will be fit for use in a fortnight.
-Take it in wine-glasses, with a bit of ice in each. This is a nice
-temperance drink.
-
-
-CHOCOLATE CARAMEL.--Take half a pint of rich milk, and put it to boil in
-a porcelain kettle; scrape down a square and a half of Baker's
-chocolate, put it into a very clean tin cup, and set on the top of a
-stove till it becomes soft. Let the milk boil up _twice_. Then add,
-gradually, the chocolate, and stir both over the fire till thoroughly
-mixed and free from lumps. Stir in a half pint of the best white sugar
-powdered, and half a jill (or four large table-spoonfuls,) of molasses.
-Let the whole boil fast and constantly (so as to bubble,) for at least
-one hour or more, till it is nearly as stiff as good mush. When all is
-done add a small tea-spoonful of essence of vanilla, and transfer the
-mixture to shallow tin pans, slightly greased with very nice sweet oil.
-Set it on ice, or in a very cool place, and while yet soft mark it
-deeply in squares with a very sharp knife. When quite hard, cut the
-squares apart. If it does not harden well it has not been boiled long
-enough, or fast enough.
-
-
-EGGS TO BOIL.--The water must be boiling fast when the eggs are put in.
-First wipe them clean all over, with a wet cloth. It is true that the
-shells are never eaten, but still, if brought to table dirty and
-discolored, they look slovenly, disgusting, and vulgar, such as are
-never seen in good houses. Put them into water that is boiling fast; and
-if desired very soft, four minutes will be sufficient. Six or eight
-minutes will barely set the whites and yolks, and ten or twelve minutes
-(in water that is really boiling,) will render them hard enough for
-salad. In the egg-boilers that are set on the table no egg will ever
-boil hard, as the water cools too soon. A _stale_ egg never boils hard.
-
-Except in the spring, and late in the winter, there is often much
-difficulty in obtaining good eggs, unless you have fowls of your own. If
-an egg is really fresh, when held up against the light, the yolk looks
-round and compact and the white clear and transparent; you may then
-trust it. But if the yolk is thick, broken, and mixed among the white,
-and the white is cloudy and muddled, it is certainly bad, and should be
-thrown away. When tried in a pan of cold water the freshest will sink,
-and the stale ones float on the surface. It requires strong brine to
-bear up a good egg. Eggs may be preserved for keeping a few months, by
-putting every one in fast boiling water for _one minute_. Then grease
-them all over the outside with good melted fat, and wedge down close
-together (layer above layer,) in a box of powdered charcoal. This
-preserves them for a sea voyage of several weeks. The charcoal box must
-be kept closely covered, and closed immediately whenever opened. Pack
-the eggs with the small end downwards.
-
-
-POACHED EGGS.--See that the eggs are quite fresh. Pour from a kettle of
-boiling water enough to fill a broad shallow stew-pan. Break the eggs
-into a saucer, (one at a time,) slip them carefully into the hot water,
-and let them stand in it till the whites are set. Then put the pan over
-a moderate fire; and, as soon as the water boils again, the eggs are
-ready. The whites should be firm, and the yolks should appear in the
-centre looking yellow through a thin transparent coating of the white.
-Take them out carefully (one by one,) with an egg-slice. Have ready, for
-each egg, a nice slice of toast of a light brown or yellow all over.
-Trim off all the crust, and dip the toast for a minute in hot water.
-Then butter it _slightly_ with fresh butter. Trim off neatly the ragged
-and discolored white from the edge of each egg. Lay a poached egg in the
-middle of every toast, and serve them up warm.
-
-Instead of toast, you may lay beneath every egg a thin slice of ham,
-that has been soaked, and nicely broiled and trimmed. Or, large thin
-slices from the breast of a cold roast turkey, or cold fillet of roast
-pork or veal. These are nice breakfast dishes.
-
-_Scrambled Eggs._--Make a mixture as for an omelet, but instead of
-frying put it into a sauce-pan, and when it has boiled five minutes take
-it off, and chop and mix all the ingredients into confusion. Serve it up
-hot in a deep dish. It is eaten at breakfast, and is by many preferred
-to a fried omelet. You may season it with grated ham, tongue, or sweet
-herbs.
-
-
-EGG-NOGG.--Beat, till very light and thick, the yolks only of six eggs.
-Stir the eggs, gradually, into a quart of rich unskimmed milk, and add
-half a pound of powdered loaf sugar, a half pint of brandy, and a grated
-nutmeg. Next beat three whites of the eggs by themselves, and stir them
-quickly into the mixture. Divide it into two pitchers, and pour it back
-and forward from one pitcher to the other till it has a fine froth. Then
-serve it in a large china bowl, with a silver ladle in it, and
-distribute it in glasses with handles.
-
-_To Beat Eggs._--For beating eggs have a broad shallow earthen pan. If
-beaten in tin, the coldness of the metal retards their lightness; for
-the same reason, hickory rods are better than tin wire. Beat with a
-short quick stroke, holding the egg rods in your right hand close to
-your side, and do not exert your elbow, or use your arm violently with a
-hard sweeping stroke; of this there is no necessity. If beaten in a
-proper manner, (moving your hand _only_ at the wrist) the eggs will be
-light long before you are fatigued. But you must continue beating till
-after the froth has subsided, and the pan of eggs presents a smooth
-thick surface, like a nice boiled custard. White of egg is done if it
-stands stiff alone, and will not fall from the beater when held upon it.
-
-Butter and sugar should always be stirred with a strong hickory spaddle,
-which resembles a short mush stick, rather broad and flattened at one
-end.
-
-
-BRAN MUFFINS.--Take three quarts of bran, (unbolted wheat flour) and
-sift it into a large pan. Warm three half pints of rich milk, mixing
-with it half a common tumbler of _West India_ molasses. Cut up in the
-warm milk and molasses two ounces or two large heaped table-spoonfuls of
-fresh butter, and stir it about till well mixed all through. Then stir
-all the liquid into the flour. Beat in a shallow pan three eggs till
-very thick and light, and then stir them gradually into the pan of
-flour, &c. Lastly, add two table-spoonfuls of strong fresh yeast. Cover
-the mixture and set it to rise. When risen very light heat a griddle on
-the oven of a stove, set muffin rings upon it, fill the rings nearly to
-the top, and bake the muffins. Send them to table hot, pull them open
-with your fingers, and butter them. They will be much liked if properly
-made and baked.
-
-
-COTTAGE CHEESE.--This is a good way of using up a pan of milk that is
-found to be turning sour. Or you may turn it, on purpose, by stirring in
-a spoonful of cider vinegar. Having covered it, set it in a warm place
-till it becomes a curd. Then pour off the liquid, and tie up the curd in
-a clean linen bag with a pointed end, and set a bowl under it to catch
-the droppings; but do not squeeze it. After it has drained ten or twelve
-hours, transfer the curd to a deep dish, enrich it with some cream, and
-press and chop it with a large spoon till it is a soft mass; adding, as
-you proceed, an ounce or more of nice fresh butter. Then set it on ice
-till tea-time.
-
-
-FRENCH HAM PIE.--Having soaked, boiled, and skinned a small ham of the
-best quality, and taken out the bone, trim it into a handsome oval
-shape. Of the trimmings make a rich gravy by stewing them in a sauce-pan
-with a little water, and four pigs feet, (split up.) Have ready a
-plentiful sufficiency of nice forcemeat made of cold roast chicken or
-veal, minced suet, and grated bread-crumbs, butter, minced sweet
-marjoram or tarragon, and some hard-boiled yolk of egg crumbled. Have
-ready, prepared, a very nice puff paste; line with it the bottom and
-sides of a large deep dish, and lay in it the oval ham, filling up at
-the corners and all round with the forcemeat, and spreading a layer of
-it on the top. Pour on gravy to moisten the whole, and put on the paste
-intended for the lid. Notch the edges handsomely, and stick a flower or
-tulip of paste in the cross slit at the top, and place a wreath of paste
-leaves all round. Bake it light brown, and eat it warm or cold. It is a
-fine dish for a dinner or supper party, or for a handsome luncheon or
-breakfast.
-
-_A Tongue Pie_--Is made in a similar manner of a boiled smoked tongue,
-peeled and trimmed, and filled in with forcemeat. For a large company
-have _two_ tongue pies, as it will be much liked, if made as above.
-
-
-FIG PUDDING.--Take a pint of very ripe figs, (peeled,) cut them up and
-mash them smooth with the grated yellow rind of a large ripe lemon or
-orange, and the juice of two. Mix together a large spoonful of fresh
-butter, and two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and stir the whole very hard.
-Bake it in a deep dish, and eat it fresh, but not warm. Grate sugar over
-the surface. When _ripe_ figs can be obtained, this pudding is much
-liked.
-
-
-POKE PLANT.--Early in the spring, the young green stalks of the
-pokeberry plant, (when they are still mild and tender, and have not yet
-acquired a reddish tinge or a strong unpleasant taste,) are generally
-much liked as a vegetable, and are by many persons considered equal to
-asparagus. They are brought in bundles to Philadelphia market. Wash and
-drain them, and put them on to boil in a pot of cold water. When _quite
-tender_ all through they are done. Dish them in the manner of asparagus,
-laid on a toast dipped for a minute in hot water, and then buttered.
-
-You may pour a very little drawn or melted butter over the poke.
-
-
-RHUBARB TARTS.--Take large fresh stalks of the rapontica plant, such as
-are full-grown and reddish. Peel off the thin skin, and cut them into
-bits all of the same size, either one inch or two inches long. Wash them
-in cold water through a cullender, (but do not drain them much,) and put
-them into a stew-pan without any more water. Mix with them plenty of
-good sugar, in the proportion of half a pound of sugar to a pint of
-cut-up rhubarb stalks. Cover it, and stew it slowly till quite soft.
-Then mash it into a smooth mass. Have some puff-paste shells baked
-empty; and when cool, fill them to the top, and grate nutmeg and
-powdered sugar thickly over them. The juice and grated yellow rind of a
-lemon (added when the rhubarb is half stewed,) will be a pleasant
-flavoring. This is sometimes called "spring-fruit" and "pie-plant." It
-comes earlier, but is by no means so good as gooseberries. We do not
-think it worth preserving, or making into a sweetmeat.
-
-
-VOL-AU-VENT.--Have ready a large quantity of the best and lightest puff
-paste. Roll it an inch thick, and then cut it neatly into shapes, either
-square or circular. Bake every one separately on a flat tin pan, cutting
-a round hole in the centre of each, and fitting in pieces of stale bread
-to keep the holes open while baking. The cakes of paste should diminish
-in size as they ascend to the top, but the holes should all be of
-exactly the same dimensions. The lower cake, which goes at the bottom,
-should be solid and not perforated at all. The small cake which finishes
-the top of the pyramid must also be left solid, for a lid. When all the
-cakes are baked and risen high, (as good puff-paste always does) take
-them carefully off the baking plates; remove the bread that has kept the
-centres open and in shape; brush over every cake, separately, with
-beaten white of egg, and pile one upon another nicely and evenly so as
-to form a pyramid. Have ready a very nice stew of oysters or game cut
-small, and cooked with cream, &c. Fill the pyramid with this, and then
-put on the top or lid, which may terminate in a flower of baked paste.
-
-_A Sweet Vol-au-Vent_--May be filled with small preserves, or with ripe
-strawberries or raspberries, made very sweet. Vol-au-vents are for
-dinner, or supper parties. The paste should be peculiarly light. The
-name _Vol-au-vent_ signifies, in French, something that will fly away in
-the wind; which, however, it never does.
-
-
-A SOUFFLÉ PUDDING.--Take eight rusks, or soft sugar-biscuits, or plain
-buns. Lay them in a large deep dish, and pour on a pint of milk,
-sufficient to soak them thoroughly. Cover the dish, and let them stand
-undisturbed for about an hour and a half before dinner. In the mean
-time, boil half a pint of milk in a small sauce-pan with a handful of
-bitter almonds or peach kernels broken small, or a small bunch of fresh
-peach-leaves, with two large sticks of cinnamon, broken up. Boil this
-milk slowly, (keeping it covered,) and when it tastes strongly of the
-flavoring articles, strain it, and set it away to cool. When cold, mix
-it into another pint of milk, and stir in a quarter of a pound of
-powdered loaf sugar. Beat eight eggs very light, and add them gradually
-to the milk, so as to make a rich custard. After dinner has commenced,
-beat and stir the soaked rusk very hard till it becomes a smooth mass,
-and then, by degrees, add to it the custard. Stir the whole till
-thoroughly amalgamated. Set the dish into a brisk oven, and bake the
-pudding rather more than ten minutes. The yeast, &c., in the rusk, will
-cause it to puff up very light. When done, send it to table warm, with
-white sugar sifted over it. You may serve up with it as sauce sweetened
-thick cream flavored with rose-water, and grated nutmeg, or powdered
-loaf sugar and fresh butter stirred together in equal portions, and
-seasoned with lemon or nutmeg.
-
-
-ICED PLUM PUDDING.--Take two dozen sweet and half a dozen bitter
-almonds. Blanch them in scalding water, and then throw them into a bowl
-of cold water. Pound them one at a time in a mortar, till they become a
-smooth paste, free from the smallest lumps. As you proceed, add
-frequently a few drops of rose-water or lemon juice to make them light,
-and prevent their oiling. Seed and cut in half a quarter of a pound of
-the best bloom raisins. Mix with them a quarter of a pound of Zante
-currants, picked, washed, and dried; and add to the raisins and currants
-three ounces of citron, chopped. Mix the citron with the raisins and
-currants, and dredge them all with flour to prevent their sinking or
-clodding. Take a half pint of very rich milk; split a vanilla bean, and
-cut it into pieces two or three inches long, and boil it in the milk
-till the flavor of the vanilla is well extracted; then strain it out,
-and mix the vanilla milk with a pint of rich cream, and stir in,
-gradually, a half pound of powdered loaf sugar, and a nutmeg grated.
-Then add the pounded almonds, and a large wine-glass of either
-marasquino, noyau, curaçoa, or the very best brandy. Beat, in a shallow
-pan, the yolks of eight eggs till very light, thick, and smooth, and
-stir them gradually into the mixture. Simmer it over the fire, (stirring
-it all the time,) but take it off just as it is about to come to a boil,
-otherwise it will curdle. Then, while the mixture is hot, stir in the
-raisins, currants, and citron. Set it to cool, and then add a large
-tea-cupful of preserved strawberries or raspberries, half a dozen
-preserved apricots or peaches; half a dozen preserved green limes; and
-any other very nice and delicate sweetmeats. Then whip to a stiff froth
-another pint of cream, and add it lightly to the mixture. Put the whole
-into a large melon-mould that opens in the middle, and freeze it in the
-usual way. It will take four hours to freeze it well. Do not turn it out
-till just before it is wanted. Then send it to table on a glass dish. It
-will be found delicious. Iced puddings are now considered indispensable
-on fashionable supper tables or at dinner parties. There is no flour in
-this pudding. The freezing will keep it together.
-
-
-RENNETS.--Milk turned into a curd with wine is by no means so good as
-that which is done with rennet-water alone. The curd and whey do not
-separate so completely; the curd is less firm, and the whey less clear;
-the latter being thick and white, instead of thin and greenish, as it
-ought to be. Neither is it so light and wholesome as when turned with
-rennet.
-
-Rennets of the best quality can be had at all seasons in the
-Philadelphia market; particularly in the lower part, called the Jersey
-market. They are sold at twelve, eighteen, or twenty-five cents,
-according to their size, and will keep a year or two; but have most
-strength when fresh. You may prepare excellent rennets yourself at a
-very trifling expense, by previously bespeaking them of a veal butcher;
-a rennet being the stomach of a calf. Its form is a bag. As soon as you
-get the rennet, empty out all its contents, and wipe it very clean,
-inside and out; then rince it with cold water, but do not wash it much,
-as washing will weaken its power of turning milk into curd. When you
-have made it quite clean, lay the rennet in a broad pan, strew it over
-on both sides with plenty of fine salt; cover it, and let it rest five
-days. When you take it out of the pan, do not wipe or wash it, for it
-must be stretched and dried with the salt on. For this purpose hold it
-open like a bag, and slip within it a long, thick, smooth rod, bent into
-the form of a large loop wide at the top, and so narrow at the bottom as
-to meet together. Stretch the rennet tightly and smoothly over this bent
-rod, on which it will be double, and when you have brought the two ends
-of the rod together at the bottom, and tied them fast, the form will
-somewhat resemble that of a boy's kite. Hang it up in a dry place, and
-cut out a bit as you want it. A piece about two inches square will turn
-one quart of milk; a piece of four inches, two quarts. Having first
-washed off all the salt in several cold waters, and wiped the bit of
-rennet dry, pour on it sufficient _lukewarm_ water to cover it well. Let
-it stand several hours; then pour the rennet-water into the milk you
-intend for the curd, and set it in a warm place. When the curd is
-entirely formed, set the vessel on ice.
-
-Rennet may be used with good effect before it has _quite_ dried.
-
-
-AN EASY WAY OF MAKING BUTTER IN WINTER.--The following will be found an
-excellent method of making butter in cold weather for family use. We
-recommend its trial. Take, in the morning, the unskimmed milk of the
-preceding evening, (after it has stood all night in a _tin_ pan,) and
-set it over a furnace of hot coals, or in a stove; being careful not to
-disturb the cream that has risen to the surface. Let it remain over the
-fire till it simmers, and begins to bubble round the edges; but on no
-account let it come to a boil. Then take the pan carefully off, (without
-disturbing the cream) and carry it to a cool place, but not where it is
-cold enough to freeze. In the evening take a spoon, and loosen the cream
-round the sides of the pan. If very rich, it will be almost a solid
-cake. Slip off the sheet of cream into another and larger pan, letting
-as little milk go with it as possible. Cover it, and set it away. Repeat
-the process for several days, till you have thus collected a sufficiency
-of clotted cream to fill the pan. Then scald a wooden ladle, and beat
-the cream hard with it during ten minutes. You will then have excellent
-butter. Take it out of the pan, lay it on a flat dish, and with the
-ladle squeeze and press it hard, till all the buttermilk is entirely
-extracted and drained off. Then wash the butter in cold water, and work
-a very little salt into it. Set it away in a cool place for three hours.
-Then squeeze and press it again; also washing it a second time in cold
-water. Make it up into pats, and keep it in a cool place.
-
-The unskimmed morning's milk, of course, may also be used for this
-purpose, after it has stood twelve hours. The simmering over the fire
-adds greatly to the quantity of cream, by throwing all the oily part of
-the milk to the surface; but if allowed to boil, this oleaginous matter
-will again descend, and mix with the rest, so as not to be separated.
-
-This is the usual method of making winter butter in the south of
-England; and it is very customary in the British provinces of America.
-Try it.
-
-
-SWEET POTATO PONE.--Stir together till very light and white, three
-quarters of a pound of fresh butter, and three quarters of a pound of
-powdered white sugar, adding two table-spoonfuls of ginger. Grate a
-pound and a half of sweet potato. Beat eight eggs very light, and stir
-them gradually into the butter and sugar, in turn with the grated sweet
-potato. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus or soda in a jill of sour
-milk, and stir it in at the last, beating the whole very hard. Butter
-the inside of a tin pan. Put in the mixture, and bake it four hours or
-more. It should be eaten fresh, cut into slices.
-
-
-RICE BREAD.--To a pint of well boiled rice add half a pint of wheat
-flour, mixing them well together. Take six eggs, and beat the whites and
-yolks separately. Having beaten the whites to a stiff froth, mix them
-gradually with a pint of rich milk, and two large table-spoonfuls of
-fresh butter, softened at the fire. Mix, by degrees, the yolks of the
-eggs with the rice and flour. Then add the white-of-egg mixture, a
-little at a time. Stir the whole very hard. Put it into a buttered tin
-pan with straight or upright sides. Set it in a moderate oven, and bake
-it an hour or more. Then turn it out of the pan, put it on a dish, and
-send it warm to the breakfast table, and eat it with butter.
-
-This cake may be baked, by setting the pan that contains it into an iron
-dutch-oven, placed over hot coals. Heat the lid of the oven on the
-inside, by standing it up before the fire while the rice-bread is
-preparing; and, after you put it on, keep the lid covered with hot
-coals.
-
-Rice-bread may be made of ground rice flour, instead of whole rice.
-
-
-RICE FLOUR BREAD.--Sift into a pan a pint and a half of rice flour, and
-a pint and a half of fine wheat flour. Add two large table-spoonfuls of
-fresh butter or lard, and mix in a pint and a half of milk. Beat four
-eggs very light; then stir them gradually into the mixture. When the
-whole has been well mixed, add, at the last, a small tea-spoonful of
-soda or saleratus, dissolved in as much warm water as will cover it. Put
-the whole into a buttered tin pan, set it immediately into a quick oven,
-and bake it well. It is best when eaten fresh. Slice and butter it.
-
-
-RICE FLOUR BATTER CAKES.--Melt a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, or
-lard, in a quart of milk; but be careful not to let it begin to boil.
-Divide the milk equally, by putting it into two pans. Beat three eggs
-very light, and stir them into one half of the milk with the addition of
-a large table-spoonful of wheat flour. Stir in as much ground rice flour
-as will make a thick batter. Then put in a _small_ tea-cupful of strong
-fresh yeast, and thin the batter with the remainder of the milk. Cover
-it, and set it to rise. When it has risen high, and is covered with
-bubbles, bake it on a griddle in the manner of buckwheat cakes. Send
-them to table hot, and butter them.
-
-Similar cakes may be made with indian meal instead of rice flour.
-
-
-GROUND-NUT MACAROONS.--Take a sufficiency of ground-nuts, or pea-nuts,
-that have been roasted in an iron pot over the fire; remove the shells,
-and weigh a pound of the nuts. Put them into a pan of cold water, and
-wash off the skins. Have ready some beaten white of egg. Pound the
-ground-nuts (two or three at a time,) in a marble mortar, adding
-frequently a little cold water to prevent their oiling. They must be
-pounded to a smooth light paste; and, as you proceed, remove the paste
-to a saucer or a plate. Beat, to a stiff froth, the whites of four eggs,
-and then beat into it gradually a pound of powdered loaf sugar, and a
-large tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg mixed. Then stir in, by
-degrees, the pounded ground-nuts, till the mixture becomes very thick.
-Flour your hands, and roll between them portions of the mixture, forming
-each portion into a little ball. Lay sheets of white paper on flat
-baking tins, and place on them the macaroons at equal distances,
-flattening them all a little, so as to press down the balls into cakes.
-Then sift powdered sugar over each. Place them in a brisk oven, with
-more heat at the top than in the bottom. Bake them brown.
-
-Almond macaroons may be made as above, mixing one quarter of a pound of
-shelled bitter almonds, with three quarters of shelled sweet almonds.
-For almond macaroons, instead of flouring your hands, you may dip them
-in cold water; and when the macaroons are formed on the papers, go
-slightly over every one with your fingers wet with cold water.
-
-Macaroons may be made, also, of grated cocoa-nut mixed with beaten white
-of egg and powdered sugar.
-
-
-COLUMBIAN PUDDING.--Tie up closely in a bit of very thin muslin a split
-vanilla bean, cut into pieces, and a broken-up stick of cinnamon. Put
-this bag, with its contents, into half a pint of rich milk, and boil it
-a long time till very highly flavored. Then take out the bag; set the
-milk near the fire to keep warm in the pan in which it was boiled,
-covering it closely. Slice thin a pound of almond sponge cake, and lay
-it in a deep dish. Pour over it a quart of rich cream, with which you
-must mix the vanilla-flavored milk, and leave the cake to dissolve in
-it. Blanch, in scalding water, two ounces of shelled bitter almonds or
-peach kernels, and pound them (one at a time,) to a smooth paste in a
-marble mortar, pouring on each a few drops of rose-water or peach-water
-to prevent their oiling. When the almonds are done, set them away in a
-cold place till wanted. Beat eight eggs till very light and thick; and
-having stirred together hard the dissolved cake and the cream, add them
-gradually to the mixture in turn with the almond, and half a pound of
-powdered loaf sugar, a little at a time of each. Butter a deep dish,
-and put in the mixture. Set the pudding into a brisk oven and bake it
-well. Have ready a star nicely cut out of a large piece of candied
-citron, a number of small stars, all of equal size, as many as there are
-States in the Union, and a sufficiency of rays or long strips also cut
-out of citron. The rays should be wide at the bottom and run to a point
-at the top. As soon as the pudding comes out of the oven, while it is
-smoking, arrange these decorations. Put the large star in the centre,
-then the rays so that they will diverge from it, narrowing off towards
-the edge of the pudding. Near the edge place the small stars in a
-circle.
-
-Preserved citron-melon will be still better for this purpose than the
-dry candied citron.
-
-This is a very fine pudding; suitable for a dinner party, or a Fourth of
-July dinner.
-
-
-A WASHINGTON PUDDING.--Pick, and wash clean half a pound of Zante
-currants; drain them, and wipe them in a towel, and then spread them out
-on a flat dish, and place them before the fire to dry thoroughly.
-Prepare about a quarter of a pound or half a pint of finely-grated
-bread-crumbs. Have ready a heaping tea-spoonful of powdered mace,
-cinnamon, and nutmeg mixed. When the currants are dry, dredge them
-thickly on all sides with flour, to prevent their sinking or clodding in
-the pudding while baking. Cut up in a deep pan half a pound of the best
-fresh butter, and add to it half a pound of fine white sugar, powdered.
-Stir the butter and sugar together with a wooden spaddle, till they are
-very light and creamy. Then add a table-spoonful of wine, and a
-table-spoonful of brandy. Beat in a shallow pan, eight eggs till
-perfectly light, and as thick as a good boiled custard. Afterwards, mix
-with them, gradually, a pint of rich milk and the grated bread-crumbs,
-stirred in alternately. Next, stir this mixture, by degrees, into the
-pan of beaten butter and sugar, and add the currants a few at a time.
-Finish with a table-spoonful of strong rose-water; or a wine-glass full,
-if it is not very strong. Stir the whole very hard. Butter a large deep
-white dish, or two of soup-plate size. Put in the batter. Set it
-directly into a brisk oven, and bake it well. When cold, dredge the
-surface with powdered sugar. Serve it up in the dish in which it was
-baked. You may ornament the tops with bits of citron cut into leaves and
-forming a wreath; or with circles of preserved strawberries.
-
-This will be found a very fine pudding. It must be baked in time to
-become quite cold before dinner.
-
-For currants, you may substitute raisins of the best quality; seeded,
-cut in half, and well dredged with flour.
-
-Instead of rose-water you may stir in the yellow rind (finely grated) of
-one large lemon, or two small ones, and their juice also.
-
-
-A COTTAGE PUDDING.--Take ripe currants, and having stripped them from
-the stalks, measure as many as will make a heaping quart. Cover the
-bottom of a deep dish with slices of bread, slightly buttered, and with
-the crust cut off. Put a thick layer of currants on the bread, and then
-a layer of sugar. Then other layers of bread, currants, and sugar, till
-the dish is full; finishing at the top with very thin slices of bread.
-Set it into the oven, and bake it half an hour. Serve it either warm or
-cold; and eat it with sweetened cream.
-
-Instead of currants you may take cherries, (first stoning them all,)
-raspberries, ripe blackberries, or barberries, plums, (first extracting
-the stones,) stewed cranberries, or stewed gooseberries. If the fruit is
-previously stewed, the pudding will require but ten minutes' baking.
-When it is sent to table, have sugar at hand in case it should not be
-sweet enough.
-
-
-ICE-CREAM CAKES.--Stir together, till very light, a quarter of a pound
-of powdered sugar and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Beat six
-eggs very light, and stir into them a half pint of rich milk. Add,
-gradually, the eggs and milk to the butter and sugar, alternately with a
-half pound of sifted flour. Add a glass of sweet wine and some grated
-nutmeg. When all the ingredients are mixed, stir the batter very hard.
-Then put it into small deep pans, or cups that have been well buttered,
-filling them about two thirds with the batter. Set them immediately into
-a brisk oven, and bake them brown. When done, remove them from the cups,
-and place them to cool on an inverted sieve. When quite cold make a slit
-or incision in the side of each cake. If very light, and properly baked,
-they will be hollow in the middle. Fill up this cavity with ice cream,
-carefully put in with a spoon, and then close the slit with your fingers
-to prevent the cream running out. Spread them on a large dish. Either
-send them to table immediately before the ice-cream melts or keep them
-on ice till wanted.
-
-
-WHIPPED CREAM MERINGUES.--Take the whites of eight eggs, and beat them
-to a stiff froth that will stand alone. Then beat into them, gradually,
-(a tea-spoonful at a time,) two pounds or more of finely-powdered loaf
-sugar; continuing to add sugar till the mixture is very thick, and
-finishing with lemon juice or extract of rose. Have ready some sheets of
-white paper laid on a baking board, and with a spoon drop the mixture on
-it in long oval heaps, about four inches in length. Smooth and shape
-them with a broad-bladed knife, dipped occasionally in cold water. The
-baking board used for this purpose should be an inch thick, and must
-have a slip of iron beneath each end to elevate it from the floor of the
-oven, so that it may not scorch, nor the bottoms of the meringues be
-baked too hard. This baking-board must not be of pine wood, as a pine
-board will communicate a disagreeable taste of turpentine. The oven must
-be moderate. Bake the meringues of a light brown. When cool, take them
-off the paper by slipping a knife nicely beneath the bottom of each.
-Then push back or scoop out carefully a portion of the inside of each
-meringue, taking care not to break them. Have ready some nice whipped
-cream, made in the following proportion:--Take a quarter of a pound of
-broken-up loaf sugar, and on some of the lumps rub off the yellow rind
-of two large lemons. Powder the sugar, and then mix with it the juice of
-the lemons, and grate in some nutmeg. Mix the sugar with a half pint of
-sweet white wine. Put into a pan a pint of rich cream, and whip it with
-rods or a wooden whisk, or mill it with a chocolate mill till it is a
-stiff froth. Then mix in, gradually, the other ingredients; continuing
-to whip it hard a while after they are all in. As you proceed, lay the
-froth on an inverted sieve, with a dish underneath to catch the
-droppings; which droppings must afterwards be whipped and added to the
-rest. Fill the inside of each meringue with a portion of the whipped
-cream. Then put two together, so as to form one long oval cake, joining
-them nicely, so as to unite the flat parts that were next the paper,
-leaving the inside filled with the whipped cream. Set them again in the
-oven for a few minutes. They must be done with great care and nicety, so
-as not to break. Each meringue should be about the usual length of a
-middle finger. In dropping them on the paper, take care to shape the
-oval ends handsomely and smoothly. They should look like very long
-kisses.
-
-
-CHOCOLATE PUFFS.--Beat very stiff the whites of three eggs, and then
-beat in gradually half a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Scrape down very
-fine three ounces of the best chocolate, (prepared cocoa is better
-still,) and dredge it with flour to prevent its oiling; mixing the flour
-well among it. Then add it gradually to the mixture of white of egg and
-sugar, and stir the whole very hard. Cover the bottom of a square tin
-pan with a sheet of fine white paper, cut to fit exactly. Place upon it
-thin spots of powdered loaf sugar about the size of a half dollar. Pile
-a portion of the mixture on each spot, smoothing it with the back of a
-spoon or a broad knife, dipped in cold water. Sift white sugar over the
-top of each. Set the pan into a brisk oven, and bake them a few minutes.
-When cold, loosen them from the paper with a broad knife.
-
-
-COCOA-NUT PUFFS.--Break up a large ripe cocoa-nut. Pare the pieces, and
-lay them awhile in cold water. Then wipe them dry, and grate them as
-finely as possible. Lay the grated cocoa-nut in well-formed heaps on a
-large handsome dish. It will require no cooking. The heaps should be
-about the circumference of a half dollar, and must not touch each other.
-Flatten them down in the middle, so as to make a hollow in the centre of
-each heap; and upon this pile some very nice sweetmeat. Make an
-excellent whipped cream, well sweetened and flavored with lemon and
-wine, and beat it to a stiff froth. Pile some of this cream high upon
-each cake over the sweetmeats. If on a supper-table, you may arrange
-them in circles round a glass stand.
-
-
-FIG MARMALADE.--Take fine fresh figs that are perfectly ripe, such as
-can only be obtained in countries where they are cultivated in
-abundance. Weigh them, and to every two pounds of figs allow a pound and
-a half of sugar, and the grated yellow rind of a large orange or lemon.
-Cut up the figs, and put them into a preserving kettle with the sugar,
-and orange or lemon rind, adding the juice. Boil them till the whole is
-reduced to a thick smooth mass, frequently stirring it up from the
-bottom. When done, put it warm into jars, and cover it closely.
-
-
-CARRAWAY GINGERBREAD.--Cut up half a pound of fresh butter in a pint of
-_West India_ molasses, and warm them together slightly till the butter
-is quite soft. Then stir them well, and add gradually a half pound of
-good brown sugar, a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, and two heaped
-table-spoonfuls of ground ginger, or three, if the ginger is not very
-strong. Sift two pounds or two quarts of flour. Beat four eggs till very
-thick and light, and stir them gradually into the mixture, in turn with
-the flour, and five or six large table-spoonfuls of carraway seeds, a
-little at a time. Dissolve a very small tea-spoonful of pearlash or soda
-in as much lukewarm water as will cover it. Then stir it in at the last.
-Stir all very hard. Transfer it to a buttered tin pan with straight
-sides, and bake it in a loaf in a moderate oven. It will require a great
-deal of baking.
-
-
-SEA-VOYAGE GINGERBREAD.--Sift two pounds of flour into a pan, and cut up
-in it a pound and a quarter of fresh butter; rub the butter well into
-the flour, and then mix in a pint of _West India_ molasses and a pound
-of the best brown sugar. Beat eight eggs till very light. Stir into the
-beaten egg two glasses or a jill of brandy. Add also to the egg a
-tea-cupful of ground ginger, and a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon,
-with a tea-spoonful of soda melted in a little warm water. Wet the
-flour, &c., with this mixture till it becomes a soft dough. Sprinkle a
-little flour on your pasteboard, and with a broad knife spread portions
-of the mixture thickly and smoothly upon it. The thickness must be equal
-all through; therefore spread it carefully and evenly, as the dough will
-be too soft to roll out. Then with the edge of a tumbler dipped in
-flour, cut it out into round cakes. Have ready square pans, slightly
-buttered; lay the cakes in them sufficiently far apart to prevent their
-running into each other when baked. Set the pans into a brisk oven, and
-bake the cakes well, seeing that they do not burn.
-
-You may cut them out small with the lid of a cannister (or something
-similar) the usual size of gingerbread nuts.
-
-These cakes will keep during a long voyage, and are frequently carried
-to sea. Many persons find highly-spiced gingerbread a preventive to
-sea-sickness.
-
-
-EXCELLENT GROUND RICE PUDDING.--Take half a pint from a quart of rich
-milk, and boil in it a large handful of bitter almonds or peach kernels,
-blanched and broken up; also half a dozen blades of mace, keeping the
-sauce-pan closely covered. When the milk is highly flavored and reduced
-to one half the quantity, take it off and strain it. Stir, gradually,
-into the remaining pint and a half of milk, five heaping table-spoonfuls
-of ground rice; set it over the fire in a sauce-pan, and let it come to
-a boil. Then take it off, and while it is warm, mix in gradually a
-quarter of a pound of fresh butter and a quarter of a pound of white
-sugar. Afterwards, beat eight eggs as light as possible, and stir them
-gradually into the mixture. Add some grated nutmeg. Stir the whole very
-hard; put it into a deep dish, and set it immediately into the oven.
-Keep it baking steadily for an hour. It should then be done. Eat it
-cool, having sifted sugar over it.
-
-
-CHOCOLATE MACAROONS.--Blanch half a pound of shelled sweet almonds, by
-scalding them with boiling water, till the skins peel off easily. Then
-throw them into a bowl of cold water, and let them stand awhile. Take
-them out and wipe them separately. Afterwards set them in a warm place
-to dry thoroughly. Put them, one at a time, into a marble mortar, and
-pound them to a smooth paste, moistening them, as you proceed, with a
-few drops of rose-water to prevent their oiling. When you have pounded
-one or two, take them out of the mortar with a tea-spoon, and put them
-into a deep plate beside you, and continue removing the almonds to the
-plate till they are all done. Scrape down, as fine as possible, half a
-pound of the best chocolate, or of Baker's prepared cocoa, and mix it
-thoroughly with the pounded almonds. Then set the plate in a cool place.
-Put the whites of eight eggs into a shallow pan, and beat them to a
-stiff froth that will stand alone. Have ready a pound and a half of
-finely-powdered loaf sugar. Stir it hard into the beaten white-of-egg, a
-spoonful at a time. Then stir in, gradually, the mixture of almond and
-chocolate, and beat the whole very hard. Drop the mixture in equal
-portions upon thin white paper, laid on square tin pans; smoothing them
-with a spoon into round cakes about the size of a half dollar. Dredge
-the top of each lightly with powdered sugar. Set them into a quick
-oven, and bake them a light brown. When done, take them off the paper.
-
-
-BREAD FRITTERS.--Pick, wash, and dry half a pound of Zante currants, and
-having spread them out on a flat dish, dredge them well with flour.
-Grate some bread into a pan, till you have a pint of crumbs. Pour over
-the grated bread a pint of boiling milk, into which you have stirred,
-(as soon as taken from the fire,) a piece of fresh butter the size of an
-egg. Cover the pan and let it stand an hour. Then beat it hard, and add
-nutmeg, and a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar, stirred in
-gradually, and two table-spoonfuls of the best brandy. Beat six eggs
-till very light, and then stir them by degrees into the mixture. Lastly,
-add the currants a few at a time, and beat the whole very hard. It
-should be a thick batter. If you find it too thin, add a little flour.
-Have ready, over the fire, a hot frying-pan with boiling lard. Put in
-the batter in large spoonfuls, (so as not to touch,) and fry the
-fritters a light brown. Drain them on a perforated skimmer, or an
-inverted sieve placed in a deep pan, and send them to table hot. Eat
-them with wine, and powdered sugar.
-
-
-TO KEEP FRESH BUTTER FOR FRYING STEWING, &c.--Take several pounds of
-the _very best_ fresh butter. Cut it up in a large tin sauce-pan, or in
-any clean cooking vessel lined with tin. Set it over the fire, and boil
-and skim it during half an hour. Then pour it off, carefully, through a
-funnel into a stone jar, and cover it closely with a bladder or leather
-tied down over the lid. The butter having thus been separated from the
-salt and sediment, (which will be found remaining at the bottom of the
-boiling vessel,) if kept closely covered and set in a cool place, will
-continue good for a month, and be found excellent for frying and
-stewing, and other culinary purposes. Prepare it thus in May or June,
-and you may use it in winter, if living in a place where fresh butter is
-scarce at that season.
-
-
-EXCELLENT MUTTON SOUP.--Having been accidentally omitted in its proper
-place, we here insert a receipt for very fine mutton soup. Try it. If
-for a large family, take two necks of mutton of the best quality, and
-let the butcher disjoint it. To each pound of meat allow a quart of
-water. Put it into a soup-pot, with a slice of ham, which will render
-the soup sufficiently salt. Boil it slowly, and skim it well, till the
-scum ceases to appear. If you have no ham, season the meat, when you
-first put it in, with a tea-spoonful of salt. In the mean time prepare
-the vegetables, but do not put them in till the meat has boiled to rags,
-and all the scum has risen to the surface and been carefully removed. It
-is then time to strain out the shreds of meat and bone, return the soup
-to the pot, and add the vegetables. First, have ready the deep yellow
-_outsides_ of three or four carrots grated, and stir them into the soup
-to enrich it, and give it a fine color. Next, add turnips, potatos,
-parsnips, salsify, celery, (including its green leaves from the top) and
-onions that have been already peeled and boiled by themselves to render
-them less strong. All the vegetables should be cut nicely into small
-pieces of equal size, (as for Soup à la Julienne.) You may add some
-boiled beets, handsomely sliced. And (if approved) strew in at the last
-a handful of fresh leaves of the marygold flower, which adds a flavor to
-some persons very agreeable. Put all these vegetables gradually into the
-soup, (those first that require the longest boiling,) and when they are
-all _quite done_ the soup is finished. If well made, with a liberal
-allowance of meat and vegetables, and well boiled, it will be much
-liked--particularly if served as Julienne soup, for company.
-
-
-NEW ENGLAND CREAM CHEESE.--Take a large pan of rich unskimmed milk that
-has set in the dairy all night, and is from pasture-fed cows in the
-summer. Have ready a small tea-cup of rennet-water, in which a piece of
-rennet, from four to six inches square, has been steeping several hours.
-Stir the rennet-water into the pan of milk, and set it in a warm place
-till it forms a firm curd. Tie up the curd in a clean linen bag, and
-hang it up in the dairy with a pan under it to receive the droppings,
-till it drips no longer. Then transfer the curd to a small cheese mould.
-Cover it all over with a clean linen cloth, folded over the sides, and
-well secured. Put a heavy weight on the top, so as to press it hard. The
-wooden vessel in which you mould cream cheeses, should be a bottomless,
-broad hoop, about the circumference of a dinner plate. Set it (before
-you fill it with the curd) on a very clean table or large flat dish.
-Turn it every day for four days, keeping it covered thickly all over
-with fresh green grass, frequently renewed. When done, keep it in a dry
-cool place, first rubbing the outside with fresh butter. When _once
-cut_, use the whole cheese on that day, as it may spoil before the next.
-Send it to the tea-table cut across in triangular or pie pieces.
-
-
-MOLASSES CANDY.--Take three quarts of the best _West India_ molasses--no
-other will do. Put it into a thick block-tin kettle, (or a _bain-marie_)
-and stir in a pound and a half of the best and cleanest brown sugar.
-Boil slowly and skim it well, (stirring it always after skimming,) and
-taking care that it does not burn. Prepare the grated rind and the juice
-of three large lemons or oranges, and stir them in after the molasses
-and sugar have boiled long enough to become very thick. Continue to boil
-and stir till it will boil no longer, and the spoon will no longer move.
-Try some in a saucer, and let it get cold. If it is brittle, it is
-done. Then take it from the fire, and transfer it immediately to shallow
-square tin pans, that have been well greased with nice fresh butter or
-sweet oil. Spread it evenly, and set it to cool.
-
-While boiling, you may add three or four spoonfuls of shell-barks,
-cracked clean from their shells, and divided into halves. Or the same
-quantity of roasted pea-nuts or ground-nuts. With both nuts and lemon it
-will be very good.
-
-
-
-
-WORTH KNOWING.
-
-
-THE BEST CEMENT FOR JARS.--Before preserving and pickling time, buy at a
-druggist's, two ounces of the clearest and whitest gum tragacanth.
-Obtain also two grains of corrosive sublimate, (indispensable to this
-cement), and having picked the gum tragacanth clean, and free from dust
-and dark or discolored particles, put it with the sublimate into a very
-clean yellow or white-ware mug that holds a small quart and has a
-close-fitting lid belonging to it. Then fill the vessel more than
-two-thirds with very clean water, either warm or cold; and put on the
-lid. Let it rest till next morning. Then stir it with an _unpainted_
-stick, that will reach quite down to the bottom. Repeat the stirring
-frequently through the day, always replacing the lid. In a few days the
-cement will have risen to the top of the mug, and have become a fine,
-clear, smooth paste, _far superior to any other_; and, by means of the
-corrosive sublimate, it will keep perfectly well to an indefinite
-period, if always closely covered, and having no sort of metal dipped
-into it. On no account attempt to keep this paste in tin, or even in
-silver. Both paste and metal will turn black and become spotted.
-Remember this.
-
-When going to put away your sweetmeats or pickles, this paste will come
-into use, and be found invaluable. It is best to keep all these things
-in small jars, as opening a large jar frequently, may injure its
-contents by letting in the air. In a large family, or where many pickles
-are eaten, those in most frequent use may be kept in stone-ware jars,
-with a wooden spoon always at hand for taking them out when wanted. On
-the surface of every jar of pickles, put one or two table-spoonfuls of
-salad oil, and then cover the top of the jar closely with a circular
-piece of bladder or thin leather. Next cut out a narrow band of the
-same, and cement it on with gum tragacanth paste, (made as above), and
-let it remain till you open the jar for use.
-
-For sweetmeats, have glass or white-ware jars. Lay on the surface of
-each a circular paper, cut to fit and dipped in brandy. Next, put on an
-outside cover of bladder or thick white paper secured with a band of the
-same, coated with tragacanth paste. When this cement is used, the jars
-will not be infested with ants or other insects, the corrosive sublimate
-keeping them out.
-
-This paste should be at hand in every library or office, when wanted for
-papers or books. It requires no boiling when made, and is always ready,
-and never spoils. For a small quantity, take an ounce of the best gum
-tragacanth and a grain of corrosive sublimate. Get a covered white or
-yellow-ware mug that holds a pint; such a mug will cost but twelve
-cents. Dissolve in less than a pint of water.
-
-
-A BAIN-MARIE; OR, DOUBLE KETTLE.--These are most useful and satisfactory
-utensils, as all who have tried them can certify. They are to be had of
-various sizes at the best household furniture stores, and are made to
-order by the chief tinsmiths. The French make great use of the
-Bain-Marie; which, in some measure, accounts for the general superiority
-of their cookery.
-
-This utensil, as made in America, is a double kettle of the strongest
-and best block-tin. The bottom of the outside kettle is of strong copper
-or iron, well tinned, and _kept so_. The food, however, is all contained
-in the inner kettle, which is of tin entirely. After the food is in,
-(having with it no water whatever), put on the lid tightly, and through
-the tube on the outside, pour into the outer kettle the water that is to
-cook it. If it boils away too fast, replenish it with more water poured
-in at the tube.
-
-If it boils too slowly, quicken it by adding some salt put in at the
-tube. Keep the kettle closely covered, except when removing the lid to
-take off the scum; and do this quick and seldom. The superfluous steam
-is all the time escaping through the top of the tube and through a very
-small hole in the lid. Nothing cooked in this manner (with all the water
-outside) can possibly burn or scorch. After every skimming, stir the
-stew down to the bottom before you replace the lid. To cook in a
-Bain-Marie, requires a strong, steady heat, well kept up; and you must
-begin earlier than in the common way of stewing. This is an excellent
-vessel for boiling custards, blancmanges, marmalades, and many other
-nice things; as a good housewife will soon discover. Also, for making
-beef tea and other preparations for invalids. It is well to keep a small
-one purposely for a sick room.
-
-If from deficiency of sugar, or being kept too warm, or not closely
-covered, any of your sweetmeats turn sour, do not hastily throw them
-away, but carefully remove the surface, (even if coated with blue
-mould), add an additional portion of sugar so as to make them very
-sweet, and put them into a Bain-Marie. Fill the outer kettle with _hot_
-water, and boil it till you find the preserves restored to their proper
-taste. Then put them up again in jars that have been well scalded,
-rinsed, and sunned, and lay brandied paper on the surface of each.
-
-Mouldy pickles may be recovered in a similar manner, adding fresh spices
-and vinegar before you put them up again.
-
-[Illustration: Bain-Marie; or, Double Kettle. (Pronounced _Bine
-Maree_.)]
-
-
-
-
-INDEX.
-
-
- A.
-
- A-la-mode beef, 150.
-
- Almond and macaroon custards, 486.
-
- Almond macaroons, 536.
-
- Almond pudding, baked, 474.
-
- Almond pudding, boiled, 475.
-
- Almond sponge cake, 524.
-
- Almond soup, 58.
-
- Apees, 532.
-
- Apple dumplings, 457.
-
- Apples, baked whole, 461.
-
- Apples, bellflower or pippins, 562.
-
- Apple fritters or quince, 450.
-
- Apple jelly, 492.
-
- Apple pies, (fine) 479.
-
- Apple pork pie, 224.
-
- Apple sauce, 338.
-
- Apple sauce, baked, 339.
-
- Apple pudding, 458.
-
- Apple water, 591.
-
- Arrow-root biscuit, 603.
-
- Artichokes, fried, 363.
-
- Asparagus, new way, 371
-
- Asparagus omelet, 366.
-
- Asparagus oysters, 372.
-
- Asparagus soup, 44.
-
- Autumn soup, 61.
-
- Aunt Lydia's corn cake, 425.
-
-
- B.
-
- Bacon, to prepare, 246.
-
- Bacon, to boil, 247.
-
- Bacon and beans, 248.
-
- Bacon, broiled, 249.
-
- Bacon, stewed, 250.
-
- Baked fish, 79.
-
- Baked soup, 76.
-
- Baked tongue, 171.
-
- Barley water, 590.
-
- Bananas, fried, 358.
-
- Batter pudding, 447.
-
- Bean soup, 42.
-
- Beans, (green,) 379.
-
- Beef-a-la-mode, 151.
-
- Beef bouilli, 152.
-
- Beef, corned, 145.
-
- Beef, corned, fried, 148.
-
- Beef, (French,) 154.
-
- Beef, corned, stewed, 153.
-
- Beef, fresh, stewed, 155.
-
- Beef, dried and smoked, 148.
-
- Beefs heart, 161.
-
- Beef with mushrooms, 160.
-
- Beef with onions, 157.
-
- Beef with oysters, 158.
-
- Beef gumbo, 375.
-
- Beef patties, 161.
-
- Beef, spiced, 149.
-
- Beef with potatoes, 159.
-
- Beef, fresh, (stewed,) 155.
-
- Beef, roasted, 138.
-
- Beef, (smoked,) stewed, 154.
-
- Beefsteaks, 141.
-
- Beefsteaks, broiled, 142.
-
- Beefsteaks, fried, 143.
-
- Beefsteaks, stewed, 144.
-
- Beefsteak with oysters, 156.
-
- Beefsteak pie, 162.
-
- Beefsteak pot-pie, 164.
-
- Beefsteak pudding, 166.
-
- Beefsteaks for invalids, 584.
-
- Beef tea, 589.
-
- Beef with tomatos, 156.
-
- Beets, 387.
-
- Beets, baked, 388.
-
- Bell-peppers, pickled, 574.
-
- Bird dumplings, 305.
-
- Birds for larding, 305.
-
- Birds for invalids, 584.
-
- Birds in a grove, 304.
-
- Birds with mushrooms, 303.
-
- Biscuit sandwiches, 245.
-
- Bologna sausages, 232.
-
- Borders of paste, 472.
-
- Boned turkey, 271.
-
- Blackfish, and sea-bass, 83.
-
- Blancmange, 497.
-
- Blancmange, carrageen, 587.
-
- Blancmange, finest, 499.
-
- Bran muffins, 615.
-
- Brandy green gages, 557.
-
- Brandy peaches, 557.
-
- Bread, 433.
-
- Bran bread, 436.
-
- Bread biscuit, 436.
-
- Bread cakes, 437.
-
- Bread, rye, 436.
-
- Bread, home-made, 433.
-
- Bread pudding, 454.
-
- Bread-and-butter pudding, 454.
-
- Bread, (twist,) 435.
-
- Buckwheat cakes, 421.
-
- Brine for pickling meat, 235.
-
- Broccoli, 359.
-
- Broccoli and eggs, 361.
-
- Brown Betty, 455.
-
- Browning for soups, 312.
-
- Browned flour, 313.
-
- Buns, (Spanish,) 525.
-
- Butter, (clarified,) 310.
-
- Butter, (melted,) 309.
-
- Buttered toast, 599.
-
- Butternuts to pickle, 578.
-
-
- C.
-
- Cabbage, boiled, 350.
-
- Cabbage boiled an excellent way, 351.
-
- Cabbage, forced, 353.
-
- Cabbage, fried, 352.
-
- Cabbage soup, 45.
-
- Cabbage, red, 45.
-
- Cale cannon, 352.
-
- Catchup, (mushroom,) 324.
-
- Catchup, (tomato,) 326.
-
- Catchup, (walnut,) 325.
-
- Calf's head, stewed, 205.
-
- Calf's feet jelly, 491.
-
- Camp catchup, 328.
-
- Canvass-back ducks, 281.
-
- Canvass-backs, broiled, 282.
-
- Canvass-backs, (stewed,) 282.
-
- Canvass-backs, (roasted,) 281.
-
- Carolina punch, 610.
-
- Carrots, 385.
-
- Carrot soup, 50.
-
- Carrots, stewed, 368.
-
- Carrageen blancmange, 587.
-
- Cashaw pudding, 478.
-
- Catfish, fried, 87.
-
- Cauliflower, boiled, 359.
-
- Cauliflower, fried, 360.
-
- Cauliflower macaroni, 360.
-
- Cauliflower omelet, 359.
-
- Cauliflowers, pickled, 575.
-
- Celery, fried, 362.
-
- Charlotte, (country,) 462.
-
- Charlotte, plain, 463.
-
- Charlotte russe, 507.
-
- Champagne, (pink,) 608.
-
- Cheese pudding, 481.
-
- Chestnut soup, 50.
-
- Chestnut pork, 220.
-
- Cherry marmalade, 550.
-
- Cherries, preserved, 563.
-
- Cherries, pickled, 580.
-
- Chicken salad, 384.
-
- Chicken curry, 297.
-
- Chickens, fricasseed, 289.
-
- Chickens, stewed whole, 290.
-
- Chicken broth for the sick, 581.
-
- Chicken gumbo, 292.
-
- Chicken-pie, 541.
-
- Chicken pot-pie, 297.
-
- Chicken soup, 55.
-
- Chicken, (tomato,) 294.
-
- Chicken and turkey patties, 295.
-
- Chicken rice pudding, 295.
-
- Chickens, fried, 287.
-
- Chickens, broiled, 287.
-
- Chitterlings, 201.
-
- Chitterlings, baked, 203.
-
- Chitterlings, fried, 202.
-
- Chocolate, 597.
-
- Chocolate caramel, 611.
-
- Chocolate custards, 484.
-
- Chocolate macaroons, 536.
-
- Chowder, fine, 88.
-
- Chowder, (Yankee,) 88.
-
- Cinnamon bread, 440.
-
- Cinnamon cake, 528.
-
- Citron melons, preserved, 552.
-
- Clam chowder, 89.
-
- Clam fritters, 112.
-
- Clam pie, 121.
-
- Clams, scolloped, 113.
-
- Clam soup, 74.
-
- Clam soup for invalids, 582.
-
- Cocoa-nut cake, 528.
-
- Cocoa-nut jumbles, 534.
-
- Cocoa-nut, (orange,) 504.
-
- Cocoa-nut pudding, baked, 476.
-
- Cocoa-nut pudding, boiled, 477.
-
- Cocoa-nut puffs, 534.
-
- Cocoa-nut soup, 57.
-
- Codfish, (stewed,) 103.
-
- Codfish, (boiled,) 84.
-
- Codfish, (fried,) 103.
-
- Codfish, salt, 86.
-
- Coffee, 596.
-
- Coloring for sauces, 310.
-
- Corn cake, (Aunt Lydia's,) 426.
-
- Corn soup, 38.
-
- Cottage cheese, 616.
-
- Country captain, 299.
-
- Country grapes, 567.
-
- Country plums, 566.
-
- Country potatos, 348.
-
- Crab-apples, preserved, 562.
-
- Crabs, 136.
-
- Crabs, (soft,) 122.
-
- Crab fritters, soft, 113.
-
- Cranberry sauce, 337.
-
- Cream cakes, 503.
-
- Creamed pine-apple, 506.
-
- Cream and peaches, 506.
-
- Creamed strawberries, 505.
-
- Cream tarts, 504.
-
- Cross buns, 439.
-
- Crullers, (common,) 444.
-
- Crullers, (soft,) 442.
-
- Croquettes, (rice,) 296.
-
- Cucumbers, (to prepare,) 369.
-
- Cucumbers, stewed, 370.
-
- Cucumbers, pickled, 576.
-
- Cucumber catchup, 327.
-
- Curry balls, 373.
-
- Curried eggs, 300.
-
- Curried chicken, 297.
-
- Curry powder, 332.
-
- Curry powder, (Madras,) 333.
-
- Custards, baked, 460.
-
- Custard, boiled, 461.
-
-
- D.
-
- Damson pickles, 580.
-
- Damson sauce, 342.
-
- Dressing for slaw, 354.
-
- Dried apple sauce, 341.
-
- Dried peach sauce, 341.
-
- Dried and smoked beef, 148.
-
- Doughnuts, 443.
-
- Dumplings, (apple,) 457.
-
- Dumplings, (peach,) 458.
-
- Dumplings, (bird,) 305.
-
- Dumpling, (sausage,) 231.
-
- Ducks, boiled, 279.
-
- Ducks, fricasseed, 280.
-
- Ducks with peas, 280.
-
- Ducks, roasted, 278.
-
- Duck soup, 56.
-
- Ducks, (terrapin,) 283.
-
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) broiled, 282.
-
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) plain, 281.
-
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) roasted, 281.
-
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) stewed, 282.
-
-
- E.
-
- East indian pickle, 569.
-
- East India sauce for fish, 331.
-
- Egg balls, 373.
-
- Egg-plants, baked, 357.
-
- Eggs, to beat, 615.
-
- Eggs, to boil, 612.
-
- Egg-nogg, 614.
-
- Egg sauce, 316.
-
- Eggs, poached, 613.
-
- Eggs, scrambled, 614.
-
- Egg wine, 591.
-
- Ellen Clarke's pudding, 603.
-
- Epicurean sauce, 331.
-
-
- F.
-
- Farina, 500.
-
- Farina blancmange, 588.
-
- Farina flummery, 589.
-
- Farina gruel, 589.
-
- Fast-day soup, 74.
-
- Farmer's rice, 451.
-
- Fennel sauce, 319.
-
- Fig pudding, 617.
-
- Filet gumbo, 293.
-
- Fish, to clean, 77.
-
- Fish, to bake, 79.
-
- Fish cakes, 82.
-
- Fish, to boil, 77.
-
- Fish, to fry, 79.
-
- Fish, spiced, 81.
-
- Fish soup, 71.
-
- Fish, to stew, 81.
-
- Floating island, 515.
-
- Florendines, 482.
-
- Fillet of pork, 225.
-
- Fillet of veal, 189.
-
- Fowls, boiled, 285.
-
- Fowls, pulled, 286.
-
- Fowls, roasted, 284.
-
- Fowl and oysters, 291.
-
- French chicken pie, 291.
-
- French ham pie, 616.
-
- French pot-au-feu, 64.
-
- French sour crout, 354.
-
- French stew, 158.
-
- French white soup, 56.
-
- Friday soup, 75.
-
- Fried oysters, 110.
-
- Fritters, 448.
-
- Fritters, (orange,) 449.
-
- Fritters, (peach,) 449.
-
- Fruit charlotte, 483.
-
- Fruit pies, (common,) 466.
-
- Fruit pot-pies, 460.
-
- Fruit in syrups, 552.
-
-
- G.
-
- Game soup, 68.
-
- Giblet pie, 277.
-
- Gingerbread, (Lafayette,) 538.
-
- Gingernuts, 539.
-
- Golden cake, 530.
-
- Gooseberry fool, 463.
-
- Gooseberries preserved, 565.
-
- Gooseberry sauce, 339.
-
- Goose pie, 276.
-
- Goose, to roast, 274.
-
- Gravy sippets, 584.
-
- Gravy, to make, 323.
-
- Green beans, to boil, 379.
-
- Green gages, to preserve, 557.
-
- Green lemons or limes, 555.
-
- Green Mayonnaise, 330.
-
- Green peas, to boil, 378.
-
- Green pea soup, 41.
-
- Gruel, 586.
-
- Gumbo, (beef,) 375.
-
- Gumbo, (filet,) 293.
-
- Gumbo, (chicken,) 292.
-
- Gum arabic water, 590.
-
-
- H.
-
- Halibut, fried, 97.
-
- Halibut, stewed, 104.
-
- Hams, to cure, 236.
-
- Ham, baked, 239.
-
- Ham, boiled, 238.
-
- Ham, brine for pickling, 235.
-
- Ham, broiled, 241.
-
- Ham, disguised, 243.
-
- Ham, fried, 242.
-
- Ham, fried, (nice,) 242.
-
- Ham cake, 243.
-
- Ham, (madeira,) 240.
-
- Ham toast, 173.
-
- Ham omelet, 244.
-
- Ham, potted, 246.
-
- Ham pie, (French,) 616.
-
- Ham, sliced, 243.
-
- Hashed cold meat, 193.
-
- Hare, coated, 264
-
- Herb teas, 585.
-
- Herb candies, 585.
-
- Hog's head cheese, 234.
-
- Hominy, 392.
-
- Horse-radish, 317.
-
-
- I.
-
- Ice cream, 510.
-
- Icing, (warm,) 519.
-
- Icing, 518.
-
- Ice cream cakes, 632.
-
- Ice water, (or sherbet,) 513.
-
- Iced plum pudding, 621.
-
- Indian corn, to boil, 391.
-
- Indian mush, 412.
-
- India pickle, 569.
-
- Indian pudding, (fine,) 428.
-
- Italian pork, 226.
-
- Irish stew, 180.
-
-
- J.
-
- Jams or marmalade, 546.
-
- Jam, strawberry, 549.
-
- Jam, raspberry, 548.
-
- Jellies, 545.
-
- Jelly, apple, 492.
-
- Jelly, calf's feet, 491.
-
- Jelly cake, 535.
-
- Jelly, currant, 494.
-
- Jelly, (or marmalade,) pudding, 480.
-
- Jelly, orange, 493.
-
- Jelly, Siberian, 493.
-
- Jelly, (Wine,) 496.
-
- Jelly water, 587.
-
- Jumbles, 534.
-
- Jumbles, (cocoa-nut,) 534.
-
- Junket, 450.
-
-
- K.
-
- Kebobbed mutton, 179.
-
- Kebobbed veal, 197.
-
- Kisses, 537.
-
- Knuckle of veal and bacon, 196.
-
-
- L.
-
- Lady cake, 526.
-
- Lady fingers, 524.
-
- Lafayette gingerbread, 538.
-
- Lamb, 181.
-
- Lamb, larded, 186.
-
- Larded tongue, 172.
-
- Lamb chops, stewed, 185.
-
- Lamb cutlets, 184.
-
- Lamb pie, 187.
-
- Lamb, roast, 182.
-
- Lamb steaks, 183.
-
- Lard, to prepare, 250.
-
- Larded liver, 199.
-
- Lemon cakes, 522.
-
- Lemon catchup, 327.
-
- Lemon custards, 485.
-
- Lemon pudding, 473.
-
- Lemon bread pudding, 468.
-
- Lemons or limes, to preserve green, 555.
-
- Lemon syrups, 513.
-
- Lemon taffy, 506.
-
- Lemons or oranges, preserved, 554.
-
- Lettuce peas, 367.
-
- Lettuce peas, plain, 368.
-
- Lima beans, 380.
-
- Liver, fried, 198.
-
- Liver pie, 201.
-
- Liver pudding, 234.
-
- Liver rissoles, 200.
-
- Liver, stewed, 200.
-
- Lobsters, 132.
-
- Lobster pudding, 136.
-
- Lobster salad, (plain,) 133.
-
- Lobster sauce, 137.
-
- Lobster rissoles, 135.
-
- Lobster salad, (fine,) 134.
-
- Lobster soup, 71.
-
-
- M.
-
- Macaroni, 600.
-
- Macaroni, (sweet,) 601.
-
- Macaroons, (almond,) 536.
-
- Macaroons, (ground-nut,) 628.
-
- Macaroons, (chocolate,) 536.
-
- Mackerel, broiled, 96.
-
- Mackerel, fried, 97.
-
- Madras curry powder, 333.
-
- Mangoes, (peach,) 571.
-
- Mangoes, (melon,) 572.
-
- Marmalade meringues, 533.
-
- Marmalade, (grape,) 550.
-
- Marmalade, (cherry,) 550.
-
- Marmalade, (orange,) 550.
-
- Marmalade, (peach,) 546.
-
- Marmalade, (plum,) 548.
-
- Marmalade, (pumpkin,) 547.
-
- Marmalade, (quince,) 546.
-
- Marmalade, (pine-apple,) 549.
-
- Marmalade, (tomato,) 547.
-
- Maryland biscuit, 432.
-
- Marrow pudding, 501.
-
- Mayonnaise, (green,) 330.
-
- Melongina or Egg-plant, 356.
-
- Meringue pudding, 479.
-
- Meringues, (whipped cream,) 633.
-
- Meat pies, 163.
-
- Milk biscuit, 437.
-
- Milk pottage, 451.
-
- Milk toast, 598.
-
- Mince pies, 488.
-
- Mint julep, 610.
-
- Mint sauce, 317.
-
- Mock turtle soup, 69.
-
- Molasses pie, 446.
-
- Molasses pot-pie, 447.
-
- Molasses pudding, 444.
-
- Molasses supper, 594.
-
- Muffins, (soft,) 429.
-
- Mush, 412.
-
- Mushrooms with beef, 160.
-
- Mushrooms, baked, 391.
-
- Mushroom catchup, 324.
-
- Mushroom omelet, 364.
-
- Mushroom sauce, 321.
-
- Mushrooms, pickled, 572.
-
- Mushrooms, stewed, 390.
-
- Mustard, (French,) 329.
-
- Mutton, 173.
-
- Mutton broth for invalids, 583.
-
- Mutton, (boiled leg of,) 175.
-
- Mutton, (boiled loin of,) 174.
-
- Mutton chops, (broiled,) 177.
-
- Mutton steaks, (fried,) 178.
-
- Mutton chops with potatos, 179.
-
- Mutton chops with tomatos, 178.
-
- Mutton, (boiled,) (sauce for,) 175.
-
- Mutton steaks, (stewed,) 176.
-
- Mutton, kebobbed, 179.
-
-
- N.
-
- Nasturtions, pickled, 581.
-
- Nectar, 611.
-
- Noodle soup, 54.
-
- New Year's cake, 605.
-
-
- O.
-
- Ochras, to boil, 375.
-
- Ochras, dried, 374.
-
- Omelet, (common,) 601.
-
- Omelet soufflé, 501.
-
- Omelet of sweetbreads, 213.
-
- Onion custard, 358.
-
- Onions, 376.
-
- Onion eggs, 373.
-
- Onions, pickled, 577.
-
- Onion sauce, (fine,) 320.
-
- Onion sauce, (plain,) 321.
-
- Onions, (to roast,) 376.
-
- Onions, (to stew,) 376.
-
- Onion soup, 47.
-
- Ontario cake, 604.
-
- Orange cake, 522.
-
- Orange or lemon custards, 484.
-
- Orange cocoa-nut, 504.
-
- Orange fritters, 449.
-
- Orange jelly, 493.
-
- Orange marmalade, 550.
-
- Orange milk, 551.
-
- Orange pudding, baked, 476.
-
- Orange pudding, boiled, 476.
-
- Oranges (or lemons,) preserved, 554.
-
- Orange or lemon syrup, 513.
-
- Oysters, broiled, 119.
-
- Oysters, to choose, 108.
-
- Oysters, to feed, 108.
-
- Oysters, fried, 110.
-
- Oyster fritters, 111.
-
- Oysters, (French,) 110.
-
- Oyster loaves, 117.
-
- Oyster omelet, 118.
-
- Oyster patties, 117.
-
- Oysters, pickled, 115.
-
- Oysters, pickled for keeping, 116.
-
- Oyster pie, 120.
-
- Oysters, roasted, 114.
-
- Oysters, scolloped, 114.
-
- Oysters, raw, for the sick, 584.
-
- Oyster soup, 73.
-
- Oyster soup, for invalids, 582.
-
- Oysters, stewed, 109.
-
-
- P.
-
- Panada, (chicken,) 589.
-
- Panada, (sweet,) 590.
-
- Pancakes, 450.
-
- Parsley, crimped, 319.
-
- Parsley sauce, 318.
-
- Parsnips, baked, 387.
-
- Parsnips, boiled, 386.
-
- Parsnips, fried, 386.
-
- Parsnip fritters, 387.
-
- Parsnip soup, 49.
-
- Partridges, (pear fashion,) 301.
-
- Partridges, roasted, 302.
-
- Partridge, plain, 302.
-
- Paste, (excellent plain,) 467.
-
- Paste, (potato,) 464.
-
- Paste puff, (the best,) 469.
-
- Paste borders, 472.
-
- Peas, to boil, 377.
-
- Peas, stewed, 377.
-
- Pea soup, (green,) 41.
-
- Pea soup, (split,) 43.
-
- Peas with lettuce, 367.
-
- Peas, plain lettuce, 368.
-
- Peaches and cream, 506.
-
- Peach dumplings, 458.
-
- Peach mangoes, 571.
-
- Peach marmalade, 546.
-
- Peaches, (brandied,) 557.
-
- Peaches, pickled, 570.
-
- Peaches, preserved, 556.
-
- Pears, baked, 462.
-
- Pepper-pot, 53.
-
- Peppers, (bell,) pickled, 574.
-
- Persimmon jam, 567.
-
- Pheasants, roasted, 302.
-
- Pickles, 568.
-
- Pickled beets with cabbage, 575.
-
- Pickled bell-peppers, 574.
-
- Pickled button tomatos, 581.
-
- Pickled butternuts, 578.
-
- Pickled cauliflowers, 575.
-
- Pickled cherries, 580.
-
- Pickled cucumbers, 576.
-
- Pickled cucumbers with onions, 578.
-
- Pickled damsons, 580.
-
- Pickles, East India, 569.
-
- Pickled melon mangoes, 572.
-
- Pickled mushrooms, 572.
-
- Pickled nasturtions, 581.
-
- Pickled onions, 577.
-
- Pickled peaches, 570.
-
- Pickled peach mangoes, 571.
-
- Pickled plums, 579.
-
- Pickled shrimps, 314.
-
- Pickled walnuts, 578.
-
- Pie, (crust,) very plain, 464.
-
- Pigeon pie, 540.
-
- Pigeons, roasted, 308.
-
- Pig, to dress, 220.
-
- Pig's feet, fried, 227.
-
- Pine-apple marmalade, 549.
-
- Pine-apples, preserved, 553.
-
- Pine-apple tart, 478.
-
- Pink champagne, 608.
-
- Pink sauce, 334.
-
- Planked shad, 106.
-
- Plovers, roasted, 307.
-
- Plum cake, 516.
-
- Plums, preserved, 557.
-
- Plums, pickled, 579.
-
- Plum pudding, (plain,) 468.
-
- Plum pudding, (fine,) 486.
-
- Poke plant, 618.
-
- Pot-au-feu, (French,) 64.
-
- Pot-pies, 165.
-
- Pot-pie, (terrapin,) 125.
-
- Pumpkin, stewed, 389.
-
- Pork, 216.
-
- Pork and apples, 222.
-
- Pork and beans, 228.
-
- Pork with corn and beans, 229.
-
- Pork with pea pudding, 230.
-
- Pork, (Italian,) 226.
-
- Pork, fillet, 225.
-
- Pork olives, 227.
-
- Pork pie, (apple,) 224.
-
- Pork, (apple pot-pie,) 223.
-
- Pork, to roast, 218.
-
- Pork spare-ribs, roasted, 220.
-
- Pork steaks, stewed, 222.
-
- Pork steaks, fried, 223.
-
- Pork, (sweet potato,) 219.
-
- Portable soup, 51.
-
- Potatos, boiled, 345.
-
- Potatos, roasted, 346.
-
- Potatos, baked, 347.
-
- Potato cakes, 348.
-
- Potatos, (country,) 348.
-
- Potatos, fried, 348.
-
- Potatos, (new,) 347.
-
- Potatos, mashed, 347.
-
- Potato paste, 464.
-
- Potato pudding, (plain,) 602.
-
- Potatos, stewed, 349.
-
- Potato beef, 159.
-
- Potato mutton chops, 179.
-
- Potato soup, 50.
-
- Pot-pie, (beefsteak,) 164.
-
- Pot-pie, (chicken,) 297.
-
- Poultry and game, 265.
-
- Pound cake, 520.
-
- Pudding, (almond,) baked, 474.
-
- Pudding, (almond,) boiled, 475.
-
- Pudding, (apple,) 458.
-
- Pudding, (batter,) 447.
-
- Pudding, (bread,) 454.
-
- Pudding, bread and butter, 454.
-
- Pudding, Brown Betty, 455.
-
- Pudding, (cashaw,) 478.
-
- Pudding, (cheese,) 481.
-
- Pudding, (cocoa-nut,) 476.
-
- Pudding, (cocoa-nut,) boiled, 477.
-
- Pudding, (cottage,) 632.
-
- Pudding, iced plum, 621.
-
- Pudding, (Columbian,) 629.
-
- Pudding, (Ellen Clarke's,) 603.
-
- Pudding, lemon bread, 468.
-
- Pudding, marrow, 501.
-
- Pudding, plum, 486.
-
- Pudding, plum, (plain,) 468.
-
- Pudding, molasses, 444.
-
- Pudding, rice, (baked,) 452.
-
- Pudding, rice, (boiled,) 453.
-
- Pudding, orange, 476.
-
- Pudding, lemon or orange, (boiled,) 476.
-
- Pudding, sweet potato, 477.
-
- Pudding, white potato, 478.
-
- Pudding, meringue, 479.
-
- Pudding, marmalade or jelly, 480.
-
- Pudding, pumpkin, (fine,) 478.
-
- Pudding, pumpkin, (Yankee,) 390.
-
- Pudding, rolled, 459.
-
- Pumpkin, stewed, 389.
-
-
- Q.
-
- Quails, roasted, 302.
-
- Queen cake, 522.
-
- Quince marmalade, 546.
-
- Quince pies, 478.
-
- Quinces, preserved, 560.
-
-
- R.
-
- Rabbits, 259.
-
- Rabbits, coated, 264.
-
- Rabbits, fricasseed, 263.
-
- Rabbits with onions, 261.
-
- Rabbit pot-pie, 262.
-
- Rabbits, pulled, 263.
-
- Rabbits, roasted, 260.
-
- Raspberry jam, 548.
-
- Raspberries, preserved, 566.
-
- Raspberry vinegar, 599.
-
- Rhubarb tarts, 618.
-
- Rice cups, 453.
-
- Rice pie, 298.
-
- Rice pudding, baked, 452.
-
- Rice pudding, boiled, 453.
-
- Rennets, 622.
-
- Ripe peach sauce, 340.
-
- Rissole patties, 198.
-
- Rockfish, 82.
-
- Reed birds, 308.
-
- Rolls, 435.
-
- Rolled pudding, 459.
-
- Roman punch, 514.
-
- Rusk, 438.
-
- Rusks, (dry,) 439.
-
-
- S.
-
- Sage and onion sauce, 319.
-
- Sago, 592.
-
- Sago pudding, 593.
-
- Salad, (chicken,) 384.
-
- Sally Lunn, 430.
-
- Salsify fritters, 355.
-
- Salsify oysters, 356.
-
- Salmi of partridges, 302.
-
- Salmon, 90.
-
- Salmon, baked, 93.
-
- Salmon, boiled, 91.
-
- Salmon, broiled, 94.
-
- Salmon cutlets, 94.
-
- Salmon, pickled, 95.
-
- Salmon, roasted, 93.
-
- Salmon trout, 101.
-
- Sandwiches, 173.
-
- Sausages, (Bologna,) 232.
-
- Sausage meat, 231.
-
- Sausage dumplings, 231.
-
- Sauce, apple, 338.
-
- Sauce, apple, baked, 339.
-
- Sauce, apple, dried, 341.
-
- Sauce, dried peach, 341.
-
- Sauce, (broccoli,) 318.
-
- Sauce, (cauliflower,) 318.
-
- Sauce, chestnut, 343.
-
- Sauce, (celery,) 316.
-
- Sauce, (clam,) 315.
-
- Sauce, (cranberry,) 337.
-
- Sauce, (damson,) 342.
-
- Sauce, (egg,) 316.
-
- Sauce, (fennel,) 319.
-
- Sauce, (gooseberry,) 339.
-
- Sauce, (lobster,) 137, 313.
-
- Sauce, mint, 317.
-
- Sauce, mushroom, 321.
-
- Sauce, (nasturtion,) 321.
-
- Sauce, (onion,) plain, 321.
-
- Sauce, (onion,) fine, 320.
-
- Sauce, (onion and sage,) 319.
-
- Sauce, (oyster,) 315.
-
- Sauce, (parsley,) 318.
-
- Sauce, pea-nut, 343.
-
- Sauce, (peach,) ripe, 340.
-
- Sauce, (prune,) 342.
-
- Sauce, (pink,) 334.
-
- Sauce, (pudding,) fine, 335.
-
- Sauce, (pudding,) plain, 336.
-
- Sauce, Robert, 330.
-
- Sauce, (shrimp,) 314.
-
- Sauce, (vanilla,) 336.
-
- Sauce, (wine,) 334.
-
- Sausage dumplings, 231.
-
- Sausage and veal pie, 232.
-
- Scolloped tomatos, 365.
-
- Scotch cake, 535.
-
- Seabass with tomatos, 101.
-
- Sea-coast pie, 127.
-
- Shad, to keep without corning, 105.
-
- Shad, planked, 106.
-
- Shells, 471.
-
- Sherry cobbler, 609.
-
- Short cake, 427.
-
- Shrimps, 137.
-
- Siberian jelly, 493.
-
- Silver cake, 531.
-
- Smelts, fried, 86.
-
- Smelts for invalids, 594.
-
- Soft crabs, 122.
-
- Soft crullers, 442.
-
- Soft muffins, 429.
-
- Soufflé, (omelet,) 501.
-
- Soups, 33.
-
- Soup, almond, 58.
-
- Soup, asparagus, 44.
-
- Soup, autumn, 61.
-
- Soup, baked, 76.
-
- Soup, bean, 42.
-
- Soup, (cabbage,) 45.
-
- Soup, red cabbage, 45.
-
- Soup, fine cabbage, 46.
-
- Soup, cauliflower, 47.
-
- Soup, clam, 74.
-
- Soup, cocoa-nut, 57.
-
- Soup, crab, 72.
-
- Soup, corn, 38.
-
- Soup, carrot, 50.
-
- Soup, chestnut, 50.
-
- Soup, chicken, 55.
-
- Soup, duck, 56.
-
- Soup, fast-day, 74.
-
- Soup, fish, 71.
-
- Soup, French white, 56.
-
- Soup, Friday, 75.
-
- Soup, game, 68.
-
- Soup, green peas, 41.
-
- Soup, lobster, 71.
-
- Soup, mock turtle, 69.
-
- Soup, mushroom, 37.
-
- Soup, noodle, 54.
-
- Soup, onion, 47.
-
- Soup, oyster, 73.
-
- Soup, parsnip, 49.
-
- Soup, pea, green, 41.
-
- Soup, peas, split, 43.
-
- Soup, pepper-pot, 53.
-
- Soup, portable, 51.
-
- Soup, pot-au-feu, 64.
-
- Soup, potato, 50.
-
- Soup, spring, 59.
-
- Soup, summer, 60.
-
- Soup, squatters, 68.
-
- Soup, tomato, 39.
-
- Soup, family tomato, 40.
-
- Soup, fine tomato, 40.
-
- Soup, turnip, 48.
-
- Soup, vegetable, 63.
-
- Soup, venison, 39.
-
- Soup, winter, 62.
-
- Soup, wild duck, 66.
-
- Southern stew, 196.
-
- Sour crout, (French,) 354.
-
- Soufflé pudding, 620.
-
- Spanish buns, 525.
-
- Spinach, 369.
-
- Sponge cake, 523.
-
- Squashes or cymlings, 388.
-
- Stewed smoked beef, 149.
-
- Stewed calf's head, 205.
-
- Stewed peas, 366.
-
- Stewed pumpkin, 389.
-
- Store sauces, 333.
-
- Strawberry jam, 549.
-
- Strawberries, preserved, 563.
-
- Strawberries in wine, 564.
-
- Strawberry wine, 564.
-
- Sweetbreads, baked, 215.
-
- Sweetbread croquettes, 210.
-
- Sweetbreads, fricasseed, 210.
-
- Sweetbreads with cauliflower, 212.
-
- Sweetbread omelet, 213.
-
- Sweetbreads with oysters, 214.
-
- Sweetbreads, to prepare, 209.
-
- Sweetbreads for invalids, 593.
-
- Sweetbread pies, 214.
-
- Sweetbreads, stewed, 214.
-
- Sweetbreads with tomatos, 211.
-
- Sweetmeats, 543.
-
- Sweet potatos, boiled, 380.
-
- Sweet potatos, baked, 381.
-
- Sweet potatos, mashed, 381.
-
- Sweet potatos, stewed, 381.
-
- Sweet potato pudding, 477.
-
- Sweet potato cake, 529.
-
- Sweet potatos, sweetened, 455.
-
- Sunderlands, 503.
-
- Sydney Smith's salad dressing, 382.
-
-
- T.
-
- Taffy, (lemon,) 506.
-
- Tamarind-water, 591.
-
- Tapioca, 592.
-
- Tarragon sauce, 323.
-
- Tarragon vinegar, 328.
-
- Tea, 595.
-
- Thatched house pie, 304.
-
- Terrapins, 122.
-
- Terrapins, dressed a new way, 124.
-
- Terrapin pot-pie, 125.
-
- Toast and water, 586.
-
- Toast, buttered, 599.
-
- Toast, (milk,) 598.
-
- Tomato catchup, 326.
-
- Tomato paste, 374.
-
- Tomatos, pickled, 581.
-
- Tomatos, preserved green, 559.
-
- Tomatos, preserved, 558.
-
- Tomatos with sea-bass, 101.
-
- Tomato soup, 39.
-
- Tomato soup, (fine,) 40.
-
- Tomato soup, (family,) 40.
-
- Tomato sweetbreads, 211.
-
- Tongues, 170.
-
- Tongue, baked, 171.
-
- Tongue, larded, 172.
-
- Tongue toast, 172.
-
- Trifle, 496.
-
- Tripe, to boil, 167.
-
- Tripe, to fry, 169.
-
- Tripe curry, 168.
-
- Trout, 84.
-
- Trout, baked, 85.
-
- Trout, stewed, 85.
-
- Trout with cream, 102.
-
- Turbot, baked, 100.
-
- Turbot, boiled, 99.
-
- Turkey, boiled, 267.
-
- Turkey, roasted, 270.
-
- Turkey with oysters, 269.
-
- Turkey, boned, 271.
-
- Turnips, boiled, 382.
-
- Turnip soup, 48.
-
- Turtle, to dress, 128.
-
- Turtle pastry, 131.
-
-
- V.
-
- Vanilla custards, 484.
-
- Vanilla sauce, 336.
-
- Vanilla syrup, 513.
-
- Veal, 188.
-
- Veal a-la-mode, 191.
-
- Veal and bacon, 196.
-
- Veal broth for the sick, 583.
-
- Veal cutlets, 195.
-
- Veal cutlets, in papers, 194.
-
- Veal fillet, 189.
-
- Veal fritters, 197.
-
- Veal kebobbed, 197.
-
- Veal, (knuckle,) with bacon, 196.
-
- Veal, hashed, 190.
-
- Veal loaf, 204.
-
- Veal, minced, 205.
-
- Veal pie, 204.
-
- Veal olives, 207.
-
- Veal with oysters, 206.
-
- Veal rissoles, 208.
-
- Veal steaks, 195.
-
- Veal and sausage pie, 232.
-
- Veal, (loin of,) roast, 189.
-
- Veal, southern stew, 196.
-
- Veal, (terrapin,) 192.
-
- Vegetables, 343.
-
- Vegetable soup, 63.
-
- Venison, 252.
-
- Venison ham, 259.
-
- Venison, hashed, 255.
-
- Venison pie, (fine,) 255.
-
- Venison pie, (plain,) 257.
-
- Venison pot-pie, 258.
-
- Venison steaks, (broiled,) 253.
-
- Venison, stewed, 254.
-
- Venison haunch, (roasted,) 253.
-
- Venison soup, 39.
-
- Vinegar, 607.
-
- Vinegar, (raspberry,) 599.
-
- Vol-au-vent, 619.
-
- Vol-au-vent, (sweet,) 620.
-
-
- W.
-
- Waffles, 441.
-
- Walnut catchup, 325.
-
- Walnuts, pickled, 578.
-
- Washington pudding, 630.
-
- Warm icing, 519.
-
- West India cake, 529.
-
- Whey, 591.
-
- White thickening, 311.
-
- White potato pudding, 478.
-
- Wine jelly, 496.
-
- Wine sauce, 334.
-
- Wine, (strawberry,) 564.
-
- Winter butter, (to make,) 624.
-
- Winter soup, 62.
-
- Woodcocks or snipes, to roast, 306.
-
-
- Y.
-
- Yankee chowder, 88.
-
- Yankee pumpkin pudding, 390.
-
- Yeast, (good,) 605.
-
- Yeast powders, 606.
-
-
-THE END.
-
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-Transcriber's Notes
-
- Some minor obvious typographical errors have been corrected
- silently.
-
- Footnotes have been moved to underneath the paragraph they refer
- to so as to not disrupt the flow of the text.
-
- Missing page numbers are attributed to blank pages in the
- original text.
-
-
-Corrections made:
-
- Pg. 20: "From the Pennslyvania [replaced with Pennsylvania]"
-
- Pg. 65: "his excellent pot a [replaced with "au"] feu"
-
- Pg. 146: "aid [replaced with "laid"] it a while in cold"
-
- Pg. 201: "for any thing that has ham [added "in"] it,"
-
- Pg. 202: "Taragon [replaced with "Tarragon"] vinegar is best."
-
- Pg. 293: "a dish of beiled [replaced with "boiled"] rice to be
- eaten"
-
- Pg. 338: "looks very meanly--and thstes [replaced with "tastes"]
- so."
-
- Pg. 348: "beat them with a wooden spoon to reder [replaced with
- "render"] them very light."
-
- Pg. 464: "If you have a coo [last letter cut off, replaced with
- "cool"] hand,"
-
- Pg. 493: "loosened by wrapping round their ousides [replaced
- with "outsides"] cloths"
-
- Pg. 496: "either port, madeira, or chamaigne [replaced with
- "champagne"]"
-
- Pg. 496: "except as some exhiliration [replaced with
- "exhilaration"]"
-
- Pg. 536: "Ground-nut macaroon [replaced with "macaroons"] are made
- in the same manner."
-
- Pg. 563: "stirring down to the bottom after evey [replaced with
- "every"] skimming,"
-
- Pg. 575: "Brocoli [replaced with "Broccoli"] is done in the same
- manner"
-
- Pg. 583: "as soon as it simmers, [deleted comma] well [added
- comma] take it off"
-
- Pg. 620: "beat and stir the soaked rusk very had [replaced with
- "hard"]"
-
- Marjoram, marjoran (Pg. 357) and majoram (Pp. 90, 95, 602) are
- used in the text, these have all been standardised to "marjoram"
- as it was used in the majority.
-
-
-The following index entries were corrected (corrections listed below in
-square brackets):
-
- Almond and macaroon custards, 484 [486]
- Almond soup, 53 [58]
- Arrow-root biscuit, 303. [603]
- Beef, corned, fried, 143. [148]
- Bird dumplings, 505. [305]
- Birds for invalids, 384. [584]
- Boned turkey, 279. [271]
- Cheese pudding, 431. [481]
- Chocolate, 527. [597]
- Cinnamon cake, 440. [528]
- Crab fritters, soft, 213. [113]
- Crullers, (soft,) 422. [442]
- Curry balls, 273. [373]
- Doughnuts, 442. [443]
- Eggs, scrambled, 612. [614]
- Ellen Clarke's pudding, 303. [603]
- Farino [Farina] flummery, 589.
- French ham pie, 516. [616]
- Gravy sippets, 584. [put in correct alphabetical order]
- Gravy, to make, 223. [323]
- Halibut, fried, 98. [97]
- Ham, broiled, 243. [241]
- Ice water, (or sherbet,) 523. [513]
- Indian corn, to boil, 321. [391]
- India pickle, 269. [569]
- Indian pudding, (fine,) 428. [incorrect page number, unable to
- locate]
- Jam, raspberry, 549. [548]
- Jelly, (or marmalade,) pudding, 431. [480]
- Lamb pie, 189. [187]
- Lemon custards, 484. [485]
- Lemon syrups, 522. [513]
- Meringue pudding, 480. [479]
- Mint julep, 608. [610]
- Mutton chops, (broiled,) 171. [177]
- Orange or lemon syrup, 523. [513]
- Pea soup, (green,) 42. [41]
- Pork with pea pudding, 280. [230]
- Pork steaks, fried, 228. [223]
- Pudding, (apple,) 558. [458]
- Pudding, (cottage,) 582. [632]
- Pudding, (Ellen Clarke's,) 303. [603]
- Pudding, lemon or orange, (boiled,) 426. [476]
- Pudding, meringue, 480. [479]
- Pudding, plum, (plain,) 469. [468]
- Pudding, white potato, 476. [478]
- Pudding, marmalade or jelly, 431. [480]
- Quince pies, 479. [478]
- Raspberry vinegar, 509. [599]
- Rice pudding, baked, 442. [452]
- Rice pudding, boiled, 443. [453]
- Rissole patties, 198. [incorrect page number, unable to locate]
- Sauce, chestnut, 348. [343]
- Sauce, (gooseberry,) 389. [339]
- Sauce, (lobster,) 187 [137], 313.
- Sauce, pea-nut, 348. [343]
- Sausage and veal pie, 282. [232]
- Soufflé, (omelet,) 591. [501]
- Soup, red cabbage, 46. [45]
- Soup, corn, 88. [38]
- Soup, oyster, 78. [73]
- Soup, pea, green, 42. [41]
- Soup, peas, split, 48. [43]
- Soup, pepper-pot, 58. [53]
- Soup, vegetable, 68. [63]
- Stewed smoked beef, 145. [149]
- Stewed calf's head, 206. [205]
- Sweetbreads for invalids, 598. [593]
- Sweet potatos, stewed, 358. [381]
- Sweet potato cake, 528. [529]
- Tarragon sauce, 223. [323]
- Tomatos, pickled, 211. [581]
- Tomatos with sea-bass, 365. [101]
- Tomato soup, 89. [39]
- Tongue toast, 178. [172]
- Turtle, to dress, 628. [128]
- Vanilla custards, 485. [484]
- Vanilla syrup, 523. [513]
- Vinegar, (raspberry,) 509. [599]
- White potato pudding, 78. [478]
- Yankee pumpkin pudding, [390].
-
-
-Not changed:
-
- Some entries in the index are not in alphabetical order.
-
- Inconsistencies in word hyphenation, for example: backbone and
- back-bone, table-spoonful and tablespoonful.
-
- Inconsistencies in section title punctuation.
-
- All French spelling.
-
- Pg. 574: "Your may green bell-peppers in the usual way, with
- vine leaves or cabbage leaves." [unsure as to the true meaning]
-
-
-Variant spellings left unchanged:
-
- canvas-back, canvass-back
- Ellen Clarke's pudding, Ellen Clark's pudding
- inclose, enclose
- Indian meal, indian meal
- macaroni, maccaroni
- marigold, marygold
- panada, panade
- potato, potatoe
- rince, rinse
- trevet, trivet
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, by Eliza Leslie
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK ***
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-
-Project Gutenberg's Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, by Eliza Leslie
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book
-
-Author: Eliza Leslie
-
-Release Date: October 5, 2012 [EBook #40943]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Julia Miller, fh and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
- </p>
- <h1 class="fwnorm">
- MISS LESLIE'S<br /> <span class="fs80c">NEW</span><br /> <span class="fs150c">COOKERY
- BOOK.</span>
- </h1>
- <p class="center">
- <b>One Volume, 652 pages, bound. Price $1.25.</b>
- </p>
- <p>
- T. B. Peterson, No. 102 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, has just published
- MISS LESLIE'S "NEW COOKERY BOOK." It comprises new and approved methods of
- preparing all kinds of Soups, Fish, Oysters, Beef, Mutton, Veal, Pork,
- Venison, Ham and Bacon, Poultry and Game, Terrapins, Turtle, Vegetables,
- Sauces, Bread, Pickles, Sweetmeats, Plain Cakes, Fine Cakes, Pies, Plain
- Desserts, Fine Desserts, Preparations for the Sick, Puddings,
- Confectionery, Rice, Indian Meal Preparations of all kinds, Miscellaneous
- Receipts, etc. etc. Also, lists of all articles in season suited to go
- together for breakfasts, dinners, and suppers, to suit large or small
- families, and much useful information and many miscellaneous subjects
- connected with general housewifery.
- </p>
- <p>
- This work will have a very extensive sale, and many thousand copies will
- be sold, as all persons that have had Miss Leslie's former works, should
- get this at once, as <i>all the receipts in this book are new</i>, and
- have been fully tried and tested by the author since the publication of
- her former books, <i>and none of them whatever are contained in any other
- work but this</i>. It is the most complete Cook Book published in the
- world; and also the latest and best, as in addition to Cookery of all
- kinds and descriptions, its receipts for making cakes and confectionery
- are unequalled by any other work extant.
- </p>
- <p>
- This new, excellent, and valuable Cook Book is published by T. B.
- Peterson, under the title of "MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK," and is
- entirely different from any other work on similar subjects, under any
- other names, by the same author. It is an elegantly printed duodecimo
- volume, of 652 pages; and in it there will be found <i>hundreds of
- Receipts</i>&mdash;all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
- useful&mdash;some ornamental&mdash;and all invaluable to every lady, miss,
- or family in the world.
- </p>
- <p class="center">
- <b>Read what the Editors of the Leading Newspapers say of it.</b>
- </p>
- <p class="center">
- <i>From the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper.</i>
- </p>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "This is a large, well-bound volume of near seven hundred pages, and
- includes in it hundreds of receipts never before published in any of
- Miss Leslie's other works, accompanied by a well-arranged index, by
- which any desired receipt may be turned to at once. The receipts are for
- cooking all kinds of meats, poultry, game, pies, &amp;c., with
- directions for confectionery, ices, and preserves. It is entirely
- different from any former work by Miss Leslie, and contains new and
- fresh accessions of useful knowledge. The merit of these receipts is,
- that they have all been tried, and therefore can be recommended
- conscientiously. Miss Leslie has acquired great reputation among
- housekeepers for the excellence of her works on cookery, and this volume
- will doubtless enhance it. <i>It is the best book on cookery that we
- know of</i>, and while it will be useful to matrons, to young housewives
- we should think it quite indispensable. By the aid of this book, the
- young and inexperienced are brought nearly on a footing with those who
- have seen service in the culinary department, and by having it at hand
- are rendered tolerably independent of <i>help</i>, which sometimes
- becomes very refractory. The best regulated families are sometimes taken
- a little by surprise by the untimely stepping in of a friend to dinner&mdash;to
- such, Miss Leslie is the friend indeed, ready as her book is with
- instructions for the hasty production of various substitutes for meals
- requiring timely and elaborate preparation."
- </p>
- </div>
- <p class="center">
- <i>From the Philadelphia Daily News.</i>
- </p>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "To the housekeeper, the name of Miss Leslie is a guaranty that what
- comes from her hand is not only orthodox, but good; and to the young
- wife about to enter upon the untried scenes of catering for a family, <i>Miss
- Leslie's New Cookery Book</i> may be termed a blessing. It presents
- receipts, (and practical ones too,) for preparing and cooking all kinds
- of soups, fish, oysters, meats, game, cakes, pastry, and indeed
- everything which enters into the economy of housekeeping. Their
- recommendations are that they are all practical, and the novice of the
- culinary art may enter upon her important duties with '<i>Miss Leslie's
- New Cookery Book</i>' by her side, with perfect confidence that the
- 'soup' will not be spoiled, and that the dinner will be what is
- designed. How many disappointments could be avoided, how many domestic
- difficulties prevented, and how many husbands made happy, instead of
- miserable, by the use of this '<i>vade mecum</i>,' we shall not pretend
- to say; but as we have a sincere regard for every lady who reads the <i>News</i>,
- our advice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
- to them all is, by all means to buy <i>Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book</i>.
- Mr. Peterson has done admirably in getting up this work: it is
- handsomely and substantially bound in cloth, gilt, and does credit to
- his business skill; the low price at which the work is sold, when we
- take the size of it into consideration, One Dollar and Twenty-five cents
- only, will doubtless give it an immense sale."
- </p>
- </div>
- <p class="center">
- <i>From the Philadelphia Saturday Courier.</i>
- </p>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "With such a book as <i>Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book</i>, published by
- Mr. Peterson, it is inconceivable what a vast extent of palate is
- destined to be astonished, and what a gastronomic multitude is to be
- made happy, by the delicious delicacies and substantial dishes so
- abundantly provided. Miss Leslie has in previous works shown how great
- an adept she has been in all culinary matters, and in all that relates
- to the comforts and the social enjoyment of the table around which
- cluster the good things of life. Literature is very good in its way; but
- such dishes as Miss Leslie gives a foretaste of, come up to a more
- delicious standard. Her authorship is exquisite, and is destined to
- diffuse the very essence of good taste among the fortunate people who
- sit down to good dinners and suppers, not one of whom will rise from the
- table without a blessing on <i>Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book</i>. And
- every taste is sure to be pleased, for all the receipts in this book are
- new, and to be found nowhere else, <i>and it is the best Cook Book ever
- published</i>&mdash;one which, with its hundreds of receipts, ought to
- be in the hands of every woman who has the slightest appreciation of
- convenience, comfort and economy."
- </p>
- </div>
- <p class="center">
- <i>From the Philadelphia Daily Sun.</i>
- </p>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "About one thousand new receipts, never before printed, appear in this
- work, all of which have been tried before they are recommended by the
- author. All kinds of cooking and pastry; rules for the preparation of
- dinners, breakfasts, and suppers; appropriate dishes for every meal; and
- a vast quantity of other useful information, are embraced in the book.
- It is very comprehensive, and is furnished with an index for the use of
- the housewife. By the aid of Miss Leslie's peculiar happy talent in
- giving culinary directions, our girls can acquire a branch of useful
- information which is generally sadly neglected in their education, and
- thus become fitted for their duties as wives. One great advantage in <i>Miss
- Leslie's New Cookery Book</i>, is the economy which it teaches in the
- management of a household, as regards the preparations for the table.
- Peterson has done this book up in beautiful style, and it will be sent
- to any part of the Union, postage paid, upon the receipt of One Dollar
- and Twenty-five Cents. Those who know how much of the happiness of home
- depends upon well-cooked viands, neatly served up, will thank the
- accomplished authoress for this valuable contribution to domestic
- science."
- </p>
- </div>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p class="center">
- <i>From the Philadelphia Saturday Evening Gazette.</i>
- </p>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "Miss Leslie's 'New Receipts for Cooking' is perhaps better known than
- any similar collection of receipts. The very elegant volume before us,
- entitled '<i>Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book</i>,' is designed as a
- sequel and continuation to it, and should be its companion in every
- family, as the receipts are all new, and in no instance the same, even
- when their titles are similar. It contains directions for plain and
- fancy cooking, preserving, pickling; and commencing with soups, gives
- entirely new receipts for every course of an excellent dinner, to the
- jellies and confectionery of the dessert. Our readers are not strangers
- to the accuracy and minuteness of Miss Leslie's receipts, as, since the
- first number of the Gazette, she has contributed to our housekeepers'
- department. The new receipts in this volume are admirable. Many of them
- are modified from French sources, though foreign terms and designations
- are avoided. The publisher has brought it out in an extremely tasteful
- style, and no family in the world should be without it."
- </p>
- </div>
- <p class="center">
- <i>From the Pennsylvania Inquirer.</i>
- </p>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "Mr. T. B. Peterson has just published '<i>Miss Leslie's New Cookery
- Book</i>.' This will be a truly popular work. Thousands of copies will
- very soon be disposed of, and other thousands will be needed. It
- contains directions for cooking, preserving, pickling, and preparing
- almost every description of dish: also receipts for preparing farina,
- Indian meal, fancy tea-cakes, marmalades, etc. We know of a no more
- useful work for families."
- </p>
- </div>
- <p class="center">
- <i>From the Public Ledger.</i>
- </p>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "As every woman, whether wife or maid, should be qualified for the
- duties of a housekeeper, a work which gives the information which
- acquaints her with its most important duties, will no doubt be sought
- after by the fair sex. This work is '<i>Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book</i>.'
- Get it by all means."
- </p>
- </div>
- <p class="center">
- <i>From the Boston Evening Traveler.</i>
- </p>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "We do not claim to be deeply versed in the art of cookery; but a lady,
- skilled in the art, to whom we have submitted this work, assures us that
- there is nothing like it within the circle of her knowledge; and that
- having this, a housekeeper would need no other written guide to the
- mysteries of housekeeping. It contains hundreds of new receipts, which
- the author has fully tried and tested; and they relate to almost every
- conceivable dish&mdash;flesh, fish, and fowl, soups, sauces, and
- sweetmeats; puddings, pies, and pickles; cakes and confectionery. There
- are, too, lists of articles suitable to go together for breakfasts,
- dinners and suppers, at different seasons of the year, for plain family
- meals, and elaborate company preparations; which must be of great
- convenience. Indeed, there appears to be, as our lady friend remarked,
- everything in this book that a housekeeper needs to know; and having
- this book she would seem to need no other to afford her instruction
- about housekeeping."
- </p>
- </div>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
- </p>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <h1 class="disnone">
- MISS LESLIE'S<br /> NEW<br /> COOKERY<br /> BOOK.
- </h1>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/005.jpg" width="500" height="517"
- alt="MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK."
- title="MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK." />
- </div>
- <div class="blockquot">
- <p>
- "As every woman, whether wife or maid, should be qualified for the
- duties of a housekeeper, a work which gives the information which
- acquaints her with its most important duties will no doubt be sought
- after by the fair sex. This work is '<i>Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book</i>.'
- Get it by all means."&mdash;<i>Public Ledger.</i>
- </p>
- </div>
- <p class="center mt4 disnone">
- PHILADELPHIA:<br /> T. B. PETERSON NO. 102 CHESTNUT STREET.<br /> 1857.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/005ii.jpg" width="400" height="77"
- alt="Publisher's address." title="Publisher's address." />
- </div>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <p class="center">
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
- Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by<br /> <br />
- ELIZA LESLIE,<br /> <br /> In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of
- the United States, in and for the<br /> Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
- </p>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <h2>
- <a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.
- </h2>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <p>
- I have endeavored to render this work a complete manual of domestic
- cookery <i>in all its branches</i>. It comprises an unusual number of
- pages, and the receipts are all practical, and <i>practicable</i>&mdash;being
- so carefully and particularly explained as to be easily comprehended by
- the merest novice in the art. Also, I flatter myself that most of these
- preparations (if faithfully and liberally followed,) will be found very
- agreeable to the general taste; always, however, keeping in mind that
- every ingredient must be of unexceptionable quality, and that good cooking
- cannot be made out of bad marketing.
- </p>
- <p>
- I hope those who consult this book will find themselves at no loss,
- whether required to prepare<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24"
- id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> sumptuous viands "for company," or to furnish
- a daily supply of nice dishes for an excellent family table; or plain, yet
- wholesome and palatable food where economy is very expedient.
- </p>
- <p class="right">
- <span class="smcap">Eliza Leslie.</span>
- </p>
- <p class="ml2">
- <i>Philadelphia, March 28th, 1857.</i> <span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
- </p>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <h2>
- WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
- </h2>
- <p class="center">
- <b>Tested and Arranged by Miss Leslie.</b>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <div class="center">
- <table class="wandm" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="WEIGHTS AND MEASURES">
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Wheat flour
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- one pound of 16 ounces
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- is one quart.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Indian meal
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- one pound 2 ounces
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- is one quart.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Butter, when soft
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- one pound 1 ounce
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- is one quart.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Loaf sugar, broken up,
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- one pound
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- is one quart.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- White sugar, powdered,
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- one pound 1 ounce
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- is one quart.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Best brown sugar,
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- one pound 2 ounces
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- is one quart.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Eggs
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- ten eggs
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- weigh one pound.
- </td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- <h3 class="wama">
- LIQUID MEASURE.
- </h3>
- <div class="center">
- <table class="wandm" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="LIQUID MEASURE">
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Four large table-spoonfuls
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- are
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- half a jill.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Eight large table-spoonfuls
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- are
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- one jill.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Two jills
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- are
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- half a pint.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- A common-sized tumbler
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- holds
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- half a pint.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- A common-sized wine-glass
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- holds about
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- half a jill.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Two pints
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- are
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- one quart.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Four quarts
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- are
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- one gallon.
- </td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- <div class="center">
- <table class="wandm mt1" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="LIQUID MEASURE">
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- About twenty-five drops of any thin liquid will fill a common-sized
- tea-spoon.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Four table-spoonfuls will generally fill a common-sized wine-glass.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Four wine-glasses will fill a half pint tumbler, or a large
- coffee-cup.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- A quart black bottle holds in reality about a pint and a half;
- sometimes not so much.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- A table-spoonful of salt is about one ounce.
- </td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- <h3 class="wama">
- DRY MEASURE.
- </h3>
- <div class="center">
- <table class="wandm" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="DRY MEASURE">
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Half a gallon
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- is
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- a quarter of a peck.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- One gallon
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- is
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- half a peck.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Two gallons
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- are
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- one peck.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Four gallons
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- are
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- half a bushel.
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- Eight gallons
- </td>
- <td class="left">
- are
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- one bushel.
- </td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- <p class="fs80c ml25c">
- Throughout this book, the pound is avoirdupois weight&mdash;sixteen
- ounces.
- </p>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum hidp"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
- </p>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <h2>
- <a name="GENERAL_CONTENTS" id="GENERAL_CONTENTS"></a>GENERAL CONTENTS.
- </h2>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <div class="center">
- <table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="GENERAL CONTENTS">
- <tr>
- <th class="left">
- &nbsp;
- </th>
- <th class="right fs80c">
- PAGE
- </th>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#SOUPS"><span class="smcap">Soups</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 33
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#FISH"><span class="smcap">Fish</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 77
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#SHELL_FISH"><span class="smcap">Shell-Fish</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 108
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#BEEF"><span class="smcap">Beef</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 138
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#MUTTON"><span class="smcap">Mutton</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 173
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#VEAL"><span class="smcap">Veal</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 188
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#PORK"><span class="smcap">Pork</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 216
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#HAM_etc"><span class="smcap">Ham and Bacon</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 235
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#VENISON"><span class="smcap">Venison</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 252
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#POULTRY_AND_GAME"><span class="smcap">Poultry and Game</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 265
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#SAUCES"><span class="smcap">Sauces</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 309
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#VEGETABLES"><span class="smcap">Vegetables</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 343
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#BREAD_PLAIN_CAKES_etc"><span class="smcap">Bread, Plain
- Cakes, etc.</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 401
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#PLAIN_DESSERTS"><span class="smcap">Plain Desserts</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 444
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#FINE_DESSERTS"><span class="smcap">Fine Desserts</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 469
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#FINE_CAKES"><span class="smcap">Fine Cakes</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 516
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#SWEETMEATS"><span class="smcap">Sweetmeats</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 543
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#PICKLES"><span class="smcap">Pickles</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 568
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#PREPARATIONS_FOR_THE_SICK"><span class="smcap">Preparations
- for the Sick</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 581
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#MISCELLANEOUS_RECEIPTS"><span class="smcap">Miscellaneous
- Receipts</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 595
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td class="left">
- <a href="#WORTH_KNOWING"><span class="smcap">Worth Knowing</span>,</a>
- </td>
- <td class="right">
- 645
- </td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum hidp"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>
- </p>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <h2>
- <a name="ANIMALS" id="ANIMALS"></a>ANIMALS
- </h2>
- <p class="center">
- FIGURES EXPLANATORY OF THE PIECES INTO WHICH THE FIVE LARGE ANIMALS ARE
- DIVIDED BY THE BUTCHERS.
- </p>
- <h3 class="hnmls">
- <i>Beef.</i>
- </h3>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/illus-013.jpg" width="406" height="277" alt="Beef."
- title="Beef." />
- </div>
- <ul>
- <li>
- 1. Sirloin.
- </li>
- <li>
- 2. Rump.
- </li>
- <li>
- 3. Edge Bone.
- </li>
- <li>
- 4. Buttock.
- </li>
- <li>
- 5. Mouse Buttock.
- </li>
- <li>
- 6. Leg.
- </li>
- <li>
- 7. Thick Flank.
- </li>
- <li>
- 8. Veiny Piece.
- </li>
- <li>
- 9. Thin Flank.
- </li>
- <li>
- 10. Fore Rib: 7 Ribs.
- </li>
- <li>
- 11. Middle Rib: 4 Ribs.
- </li>
- <li>
- 12. Chuck Rib: 2 Ribs.
- </li>
- <li>
- 13. Brisket.
- </li>
- <li>
- 14. Shoulder, or Leg of Mutton Piece.
- </li>
- <li>
- 15. Clod.
- </li>
- <li>
- 16. Neck, or Sticking Piece.
- </li>
- <li>
- 17. Shin.
- </li>
- <li>
- 18. Cheek.
- </li>
- </ul>
- <h3 class="hnmls">
- <i>Veal.</i>
- </h3>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/illus-013ii.jpg" width="308" height="217" alt="Veal."
- title="Veal." />
- </div>
- <ul>
- <li>
- 1. Loin, Best End.
- </li>
- <li>
- 2. Fillet.
- </li>
- <li>
- 3. Loin, Chump End.
- </li>
- <li>
- 4. Hind Knuckle.
- </li>
- <li>
- 5. Neck, Best End.
- </li>
- <li>
- 6. Breast, Best End.
- </li>
- <li>
- 7. Blade Bone.
- </li>
- <li>
- 8. Fore Knuckle.
- </li>
- <li>
- 9. Breast, Brisket End.
- </li>
- <li>
- 10. Neck, Scrag End.
- </li>
- </ul>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
- </p>
- <h3 class="hnmls">
- <i>Mutton.</i>
- </h3>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/illus-014.jpg" width="315" height="212" alt="Mutton."
- title="Mutton." />
- </div>
- <ul>
- <li>
- 1. Leg.
- </li>
- <li>
- 2. Shoulder.
- </li>
- <li>
- 3. Loin, Best End.
- </li>
- <li>
- 4. Loin, Chump End.
- </li>
- <li>
- 5. Neck, Best End.
- </li>
- <li>
- 6. Breast.
- </li>
- <li>
- 7. Neck, Scrag End.
- </li>
- <li>
- <i>Note.</i>&mdash;A Chine is two Loins; and a Saddle is two Loins and
- two Necks of the Best End.
- </li>
- </ul>
- <h3 class="hnmls">
- <i>Pork.</i>
- </h3>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/illus-014ii.jpg" width="268" height="168" alt="Pork."
- title="Pork." />
- </div>
- <ul>
- <li>
- 1. Leg.
- </li>
- <li>
- 2. Hind Loin.
- </li>
- <li>
- 3. Fore Loin.
- </li>
- <li>
- 4. Spare Rib.
- </li>
- <li>
- 5. Hand.
- </li>
- <li>
- 6. Spring.
- </li>
- </ul>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
- </p>
- <h3 class="hnmls">
- <i>Venison.</i>
- </h3>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/illus-015.jpg" width="361" height="371" alt="Venison."
- title="Venison." />
- </div>
- <ul>
- <li>
- 1. Shoulder.
- </li>
- <li>
- 2. Neck.
- </li>
- <li>
- 3. Haunch.
- </li>
- <li>
- 4. Breast.
- </li>
- <li>
- 5. Scrag.
- </li>
- </ul>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum hidp"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
- </p>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <h1>
- MISS LESLIE'S<br /> NEW<br /> COOKERY BOOK.
- </h1>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="SOUPS" id="SOUPS"></a>SOUPS.
- </h2>
- <p>
- It is impossible to have good soup, without a sufficiency of good meat;
- thoroughly boiled, carefully skimmed, and moderately seasoned. Meat that
- is too bad for any thing else, is too bad for soup. Cold meat recooked,
- adds little to its taste or nourishment, and it is in vain to attempt to
- give poor soup a factitious flavor by the disguise of strong spices, or
- other substances which are disagreeable or unpalatable to at least one
- half the eaters, and frequently unwholesome. Rice and barley add to the
- insipidity of weak soups, having no taste of their own. And even if the
- meat is good, too large a proportion of water, and too small a quantity of
- animal substance will render it flat and vapid.
- </p>
- <p>
- Every family has, or ought to have, some personal knowledge of certain
- poor people&mdash;people to whom their broken victuals would be
- acceptable. Let then the most of their cold, fresh meat be set<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> apart for
- those who can ill afford to buy meat in market. To them it will be an
- important acquisition; while those who indulge in fine clothes, fine
- furniture, &amp;c., had best be consistent, and allow themselves the
- nourishment and enjoyment of freshly cooked food for each meal. Therefore
- where there is no absolute necessity of doing otherwise, let the soup
- always be made of meat bought expressly for the purpose, and of one sort
- only, except when the flavor is to be improved by the introduction of ham.
- </p>
- <p>
- In plain cooking, every dish should have a distinct taste of its natural
- flavor predominating. Let the soup, for instance, be of beef, mutton, or
- veal, but not of all three; and a chicken, being overpowered by the meat,
- adds nothing to the general flavor.
- </p>
- <p>
- Soup-meat that has been boiled long enough to extract the juices
- thoroughly, becomes too tasteless to furnish, afterwards, a good dish for
- the table; with the exception of mutton, which may be eaten very well
- after it has done duty in the soup-pot, when it is much liked by many
- persons of simple tastes. Few who are accustomed to living at hotels, can
- relish hotel soups, which (even in houses where most other things are
- unexceptionable), is seldom such as can be approved by persons who are
- familiar with good tables. Hotel soups and hotel hashes, (particularly
- those that are dignified with French names), are notoriously made of cold
- scraps, leavings, and in some houses, are the absolute refuse of the
- kitchen. In most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
- cases, the sight of a hotel stock-pot would cause those who saw it, to
- forswear soup, &amp;c.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the directions are <i>exactly</i> followed, the soups contained in the
- following pages will be found palatable, nutritious, and easily made; but
- they require plenty of good ingredients.
- </p>
- <p>
- We have heard French cooks boast of their soup being "delicate." The
- English would call it "soup meagre." In such a country as America, where
- good things are abundant, there is no necessity of imbibing the flatulency
- of weak washy soups.
- </p>
- <p>
- All soups should be boiled slowly at first, that the essence of the meat
- may be thoroughly drawn forth. The lid of the pot should be kept close,
- unless when it is necessary to remove it for taking off the scum, which
- should be done frequently and carefully. If this is neglected, the scum
- will boil back again into the soup, spoil it, and make it impure or
- muddled. When no more scum arises, and the meat is all in rags, dropping
- from the bones, it is time to put in the vegetables, seasoning, &amp;c.,
- and not till then; and if it should have boiled away too much, then is the
- time to add a little <i>hot</i> water from another kettle. Add also a
- large crust of bread or two. It may now be made to boil faster, and the
- thickening must be put in. This is a table-spoonful or more of flour mixed
- to a smooth paste with a little water, and enriched with a tea-spoonful of
- good butter, or beef-dripping. This thickening is indispensable to all
- soups. Let it be stirred in well. If making<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> a rich soup that requires wine
- or catchup, let it be added the last thing, just before the soup is taken
- from the fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- When all is quite done and thoroughly boiled, cover the bottom of a tureen
- with small squares of bread or toast, and dip or pour the soup into it,
- leaving all the bones and shreds of meat in the pot. To let any of the
- sediment get into the tureen is slovenly and vulgar. Not a particle of
- this should ever be found in a soup-plate. There are cooks who, if not
- prevented, will put all the refuse into the tureen; so that, when helped,
- the plates are half full of shreds of meat and scraps of bone, while all
- the best of the soup is kept back for the kitchen. This should be looked
- to. Servants who cannot reconcile it to their conscience to steal money or
- any very valuable articles, have frequently no hesitation in purloining or
- keeping to themselves whatever they like in the way of food.
- </p>
- <p>
- Soup may be colored yellow with grated carrots, red with tomato juice, and
- green with the juice of pounded spinach&mdash;the coloring to be stirred
- in after the skimming is over. These colorings are improvements both to
- its look and flavor. It may be browned with scorched flour, kept ready
- always for the purpose. Never put cloves or allspice into soup&mdash;they
- give it a blackish ashy dirt color, and their taste is so strong as to
- overpower every thing else. Both these coarse spices are out of use at
- good tables, and none are introduced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37"
- id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> in nice cookery but mace, nutmeg, ginger, and
- cinnamon.
- </p>
- <p>
- The meat boiled in soup gives out more of its essence, when cut off the
- bone, and divided into small pieces, always removing the fat. The bones,
- however, should go in, as they contain much glutinous substance, adding to
- the strength and thickness of the soup, which cannot be palatable or
- wholesome unless all the grease is carefully skimmed off. Kitchen grease
- is used chiefly for soap-fat.
- </p>
- <p>
- In cold weather, good soup, if carefully covered and kept in a cool place,
- and boiled over again for half an hour <i>without</i> any <i>additional
- water</i>, will be better on the second day than on the first.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is an excellent way in winter to boil the meat and bones on the first
- day, without any vegetables. Then, when very thick and rich, strain the
- liquid into a large pan; cover it, and set it away till next morning&mdash;it
- should then be found a thick jelly. Cut it in pieces, having scraped off
- the sediment from the bottom&mdash;then add the vegetables, and boil them
- in the soup.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUSHROOM SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut a knuckle of veal, or a neck of mutton, (or both, if they are small,)
- into large pieces, and remove the bones. Put it into a soup-pot with
- sufficient water to cover the whole, and season with a little salt and
- cayenne. Let it boil till the meat is in rags, skimming it well; then
- strain off the soup into another pot.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> Have ready a large quart, or a
- quart and a pint of freshly-gathered mushrooms&mdash;cut them into
- quarters, having removed the stalks. Put them into the soup, adding a
- quarter of a pound (or more) of fresh butter, divided into bits and rolled
- in flour. Boil the whole about half an hour longer&mdash;try if the
- mushrooms are tender, and do not take them up till they are perfectly so.
- Keep the pot lid closely covered, except when you remove the lid to try
- the mushrooms. Lay at the bottom of the tureen a large slice of buttered
- toast, (cut into small squares,) and pour the soup upon it. This is a
- company soup.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEET CORN SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a knuckle of veal, and a set of calf's feet. Put them into a soup-pot
- with some cold boiled ham cut into pieces, and season them with pepper
- only. Having allowed a quart of water to each pound of meat, pour it on,
- and let it boil till the meat falls from the bone; strain it, and pour the
- liquid into a clean pot. If you live in the country, or where milk is
- plenty, make this soup of milk without any water. All white soups are best
- of milk. You may boil in this, with the veal and feet, an old fowl, (cut
- into pieces,) that is too tough for any other purpose. When the soup is
- well boiled, and the shreds all strained away, have ready (cooked by
- themselves in another pot) some ears of sweet corn, young and tender. Cut
- the grains from the cob, mix the corn with fresh butter, sea<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>son it with
- pepper, and stir it in the strained soup. Give the whole a short boil,
- pour it into the tureen, and send it to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VENISON SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Is excellent, made as above, with water instead of milk, and plenty of
- corn. And it is very convenient for a new settlement.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TOMATO SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a shin or leg of beef, and cut off all the meat. Put it, with the
- bones, in a large soup-pot, and season it slightly with salt and pepper.
- Pour on a gallon of water. Boil and skim it well. Have ready half a peck
- of ripe tomatos, that have been quartered, and pressed or strained through
- a sieve, so as to be reduced to a pulp. Add half a dozen onions that have
- been sliced, and a table-spoonful of sugar to lessen a little the acid of
- the tomatos. When the meat is all to rags, and the whole thoroughly done,
- (which will not be in less than six hours from the commencement) strain it
- through a cullender, and thicken it a little with grated bread crumbs.
- </p>
- <p>
- This soup will be much improved by the addition of a half peck of ochras,
- peeled, sliced thin, and boiled with the tomatos till quite dissolved.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before it goes into the tureen, see that there are no shreds of meat or
- bits of bone left in the soup.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40"
- id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FAMILY TOMATO SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take four pounds of the lean of a good piece of fresh beef. The fat is of
- no use for soup, as it must be skimmed off when boiling. Cut the meat in
- pieces, season them with a little salt and pepper, and put them into a pot
- with three quarts of water. The tomatos will supply abundance of liquid.
- Of these you should have a large quarter of a peck. They should be
- full-grown, and quite ripe. Cut each tomato into four pieces, and put them
- into the soup; after it has come to a boil and been skimmed. It will be
- greatly improved by adding a quarter of a peck of ochras cut into thin
- round slices. Both tomatos and ochras require long and steady boiling with
- the meat. To lessen the extreme acid of the tomatos, stir in a heaped
- table-spoonful of sugar. Add also one large onion, peeled and minced
- small; and add two or three bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. The soup
- must boil till the meat is all to rags and the tomatos and ochras entirely
- dissolved, and their forms undistinguishable. Pour it off carefully from
- the sediment into the tureen, in the bottom of which have ready some
- toasted bread, cut into small squares.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE TOMATO SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some nice fresh beef, and divest it of the bone and fat. Sprinkle it
- with a little salt and pepper, and pour on water, allowing to each pound
- of meat a pint and a half (not more) of water, and boil and skim it till
- it is very thick and clear, and all the essence seems to<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> be drawn
- out of the meat. Scald and peel a large portion of ripe tomatos&mdash;cut
- them in quarters, and laying them in a stew-pan, let them cook in their
- own juice till they are entirely dissolved. When quite done, strain the
- tomato liquid, and stir into it a little sugar. In a third pan stew an
- equal quantity of sliced ochras with a very little water; they must be
- stewed till their shape can no longer be discerned. Strain separately the
- meat liquor, the tomatos, and the ochras. Mix butter and flour together
- into a lump; knead it a little, and when all the liquids are done and
- strained put them into a clean soup-pan, stir in the flour and butter, and
- give the soup one boil up. Transfer it to your tureen, and stir
- altogether. The soup made precisely as above will be perfectly smooth and
- nice. Have little rolls or milk biscuits to eat with it.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a tomato soup for dinner company.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GREEN PEA SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a nice soup, in the usual way, of beef, mutton, or knuckle of veal,
- cutting off all the fat, and using only the lean and the bones, allowing a
- quart of water to each pound of meat. If the meat is veal, add four or six
- calf's feet, which will greatly improve the soup. Boil it slowly, (having
- slightly seasoned it with pepper and salt,) and when it has boiled, and
- been well skimmed, and no more scum appears, then put in a quart or more
- of freshly-shelled green peas, with none among them that are old,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> hard, and
- yellow; and also a sprig or two of green mint, and a little loaf sugar.
- Boil the peas till they are entirely dissolved. Then (having removed all
- the meat and bones) strain the soup through a sieve, and return it to the
- soup-pot, (which, in the mean time, should have been washed clean,) and
- stir into it a tea-cupful of green spinach juice, (obtained by pounding
- some spinach.) Have ready (boiled, or rather stewed in another pot) a
- quart of young fresh peas, enriched with a piece of fresh butter. These
- last peas should be boiled tender, but not to a mash. After they are in,
- give the soup another boil up, and then pour it off into a tureen, in the
- bottom of which has been laid some toast cut into square bits, with the
- crust removed. This soup should be of a fine green color, and very thick.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EXCELLENT BEAN SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Early in the evening of the day before you make the soup, wash clean a
- large quart of dried white beans in a pan of cold water, and about bedtime
- pour off that water, and replace it with a fresh panful. Next morning, put
- on the beans to boil, with only water enough to cook them well, and keep
- them boiling slowly till they have all bursted, stirring them up
- frequently from the bottom, lest they should burn. Meantime, prepare in a
- larger pot, a good soup made of a shin of beef cut into pieces, and the
- hock of a cold ham, allowing a large quart of water to each pound of meat.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Season it with pepper only, (no salt,) and put in with it a head of
- celery, split and cut small. Boil the soup (skimming it well) till the
- meat is all in rags; then take it out, leaving not a morsel in the pot,
- and put in the boiled beans. Let them boil in the soup till they are
- undistinguishable, and the soup very thick. Put some small squares of
- toast in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the soup upon it.
- </p>
- <p>
- There is said to be nothing better for making soup than the camp-kettle of
- the army. Many of the common soldiers make their bean soup of surpassing
- excellence.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SPLIT PEA SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- In buying dried or split peas, see that they are not old and worm-eaten.
- Wash two quarts of them over night in two or three waters. In the morning
- make a rich soup of the lean of beef or mutton, and the hock of a ham.
- Season it with pepper, but no salt. When it has boiled, and been
- thoroughly skimmed, put in the split peas, with a head of celery cut into
- small pieces, or else two table-spoonfuls of celery seed. Let it boil till
- the peas are entirely dissolved and undistinguishable. When it is finished
- strain the soup through a sieve, divesting it of the thin shreds of meat
- and bits of bone. Then transfer it to a tureen, in which has been laid
- some square bits of toast. Stir it up to the bottom directly before it
- goes to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may boil in the soup (instead of the ham) a<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> good piece (a rib piece, or a
- fillet) of corned pork, more lean than fat. When it is done, take the pork
- out of the soup, put it on a dish, and have ready to eat with it a pease
- pudding boiled by itself, cut in thick slices and laid round the pork.
- This pudding is made of a quart of split peas, soaked all night, mixed
- with four beaten eggs and a piece of fresh butter, and tied in a cloth and
- boiled three or four hours, or till the peas have become a mass.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ASPARAGUS SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make in the usual way a nice rich soup of beef or mutton, seasoned with
- salt and pepper. After it has been well boiled and skimmed, and the meat
- is all to pieces, strain the soup into another pot, or wash out the same,
- and return to it the liquid. Have ready a large quantity of fine fresh
- asparagus, with the stalks cut off close to the green tops or blossoms. It
- should have been lying in cold water all the time the meat was boiling.
- Put into the soup half of the asparagus tops, and boil them in it till
- entirely dissolved, adding a tea-cupful of spinach juice, obtained by
- pounding fresh spinach in a mortar. Stir the juice well in and it will
- give a fine green color. Then add the remaining half of the asparagus;
- having previously boiled them in a small pan by themselves, till they are
- quite tender, but not till they lose their shape. Give the whole one boil
- up together. Make some nice slices of toast, (having cut off the crust.)
- Dip<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
- them a minute in hot water. Butter them, lay them in the bottom of the
- tureen, and pour the soup upon them. This (like green peas) will do for
- company soup.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CABBAGE SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Remove the fat and bone from a good piece of fresh beef, or mutton&mdash;season
- it with a little salt and pepper, put it into a soup-pot, with a quart of
- water allowed to each pound of meat. Boil, and skim it till no more scum
- is seen on the surface. Then strain it, and thicken it with flour and
- butter mixed. Have ready a fine fresh cabbage, (a young summer one is
- best) and after it is well washed through two cold waters, and all the
- leaves examined to see if any insects have crept between, quarter the
- cabbage, (removing the stalk) and with a cabbage-cutter, or a strong sharp
- knife, cut it into shreds. Or you may begin the cabbage whole and cut it
- into shreds, spirally, going round and round it with the knife. Put the
- cabbage into the clear soup, and boil it till, upon trial, by taking up a
- little on a fork, you find it quite tender and perfectly well cooked. Then
- serve it up in the tureen. This is a family soup.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RED CABBAGE SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Red cabbages for soup should either be quartered, or cut into shreds; it
- is made as above, of beef or mutton, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a
- jill of strong tarra<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>gon
- vinegar, or a table-spoonful of mixed tarragon leaves, if in summer.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE CABBAGE SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Remove the outside leaves from a fine, fresh, large cabbage. Cut the stalk
- short, and split it half-way down so as to divide the cabbage into
- quarters, but do not separate it quite to the bottom. Wash the cabbage,
- and lay it in cold water for half an hour or more. Then set it over the
- fire in a pot full of water, adding a little salt, and let it boil slowly
- for an hour and a half, or more&mdash;skimming it well. Then take it out,
- drain it, and laying it in a deep pan, pour on <i>cold</i> water, and let
- it remain till the cabbage is cold all through. Next, having drained it
- from the cold water, cut the cabbage in shreds, (as for cold-slaw,) and
- put it into a clean pot containing a quart and a pint of boiling milk into
- which you have stirred a quarter of a pound of nice fresh butter, divided
- into four bits and rolled in flour, adding a little pepper and a very
- little salt. Boil it in the milk till thoroughly done and quite tender.
- Then make some nice toast, cut it into squares, lay it in the bottom of a
- tureen, and pour the soup on it. This being made without meat is a good
- soup for Lent. It will be improved by stirring in, towards the last, two
- or three beaten eggs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAULIFLOWER SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put into a soup-pot a knuckle of veal, and allow to each pound a quart of
- water. Add a set of calf's feet that have been singed and scraped, but not
- skinned; and the hock of a cold boiled ham. Boil it till all the meat is
- in rags, and the soup very thick, seasoning with cayenne and a few blades
- of mace, and adding, towards the last, some bits of fresh butter rolled in
- flour. Boil in another pot, one or two fine cauliflowers. They are best
- boiled in milk. When quite done and very tender, drain them, cut off the
- largest stalks, and divide the blossoms into small pieces; put them into a
- deep covered dish, lay some fresh butter among them, and keep them hot
- till the veal soup is boiled to its utmost thickness. Then strain it into
- a soup-tureen, and put into it the cauliflower, grating some nutmeg upon
- it. This soup will be found very fine, and is an excellent white soup for
- company.
- </p>
- <p>
- For Lent this soup may be made without meat, substituting milk, butter,
- and flour, and eggs, as in the receipt for fine cabbage soup. Season it
- with mace and nutmeg. If made with milk, &amp;c., put no water on it, but
- boil the cauliflower in milk from the beginning. This can easily be done
- where milk is plenty.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE ONION SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a fine fresh neck of mutton, and to make a large tureen of soup, you
- must have a breast of mutton also. Let the meat be divided into chops,
- season it with a little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
- salt, and put it in a soup-pot&mdash;allow a quart of water to each pound
- of mutton. Boil, and skim it till no more scum arises, and the meat drops
- in rags from the bones. In a small pot boil in milk a dozen large onions,
- (or more,) adding pepper, mace, nutmeg, and some bits of fresh butter
- rolled in flour. The onions should previously be peeled and sliced. When
- they are quite soft, transfer them to the soup, with the milk, &amp;c., in
- which they were cooked. Give them one boil in the soup. Then pour it off,
- or strain it into the tureen, omitting all the sediment, and bones, and
- shreds of meat. Make some nice slices of toast, dipping each in boiling
- water, and trimming off all the crust. Cut the toast into small squares,
- lay them in the bottom of the tureen, and pour the soup upon them. Where
- there is no objection to onions it will be much liked.
- </p>
- <p>
- If milk is plenty use it instead of water for onion soup. White soups are
- always best when made with milk.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TURNIP SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For a very small family take a neck of mutton, and divide it into steaks,
- omitting all the fat. For a family of moderate size, take a breast as well
- as a neck. Put them into a soup-pot with sufficient water to cover them,
- and let them stew till well browned. Skim them carefully. Then pour on
- more water, in the proportion of a pint to each pound of meat, and add
- eight or ten turnips pared and sliced thin, with a<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> very little pepper and salt.
- Let the soup boil till the turnips are all dissolved, and the meat in
- rags. Add, towards the last, some bits of butter rolled in flour, and in
- five minutes afterwards the soup will be done. Carefully remove all the
- bits of meat and bone before you send the soup to table. It will be found
- very good, and highly flavored with the turnips.
- </p>
- <p>
- Onion soup may be made in the same manner. Parsnip soup also, cutting the
- parsnips into small bits. Or all three&mdash;turnips, onions and parsnips,
- may be used together.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PARSNIP SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The meat for this soup may either be fresh beef, mutton, or fresh venison.
- Remove the fat, cut the meat into pieces, add a little salt, and put it
- into a soup-pot, with an allowance of rather less than a quart of water to
- each pound. Prepare some fine large parsnips, by first scraping and
- splitting them, and cutting them into pieces; then putting them into a
- frying pan, and frying them brown, in fresh butter or nice drippings. When
- the soup has been boiled till the meat is all in rags, and well skimmed&mdash;put
- into it the fried parsnips and let them boil about ten minutes, but not
- till they break or go to pieces. Just before you put in the parsnips, stir
- in a table-spoonful of thickening made with butter and flour, mixed to a
- smooth paste. When you put it into the tureen to go to table, be sure to
- leave in the pot all the shreds of meat and bits of bone.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CARROT SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a good piece of fresh beef that has not been previously cooked.
- Remove the fat. It is of no use in making soup; and as it must all be
- skimmed off when boiling, it is better to clear it away before the meat
- goes into the pot. Season the beef with a very little salt and pepper, and
- allow a small quart of water to each pound. Grate half a dozen or more
- large carrots on a coarse grater, and put them to boil in the soup with
- some other carrots; cut them into pieces about two inches long. When all
- the meat is boiled to rags, and has left the bone, pour off the soup from
- the sediment, transferring it to a tureen, and sending it to table with
- bread cut into it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POTATO SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pare and slice thin half a dozen fine potatos and a small onion. Boil them
- in three large pints of water, till so soft that you can pulp them through
- a cullender. When returned to the pot add a very little salt and cayenne,
- and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided into bits, and boil it
- ten minutes longer. When you put it into the tureen, stir in two
- table-spoonfuls or more of good cream. This is a soup for fast-days, or
- for invalids.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHESTNUT SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make, in the best manner, a soup of the lean of fresh beef, mutton, or
- venison, (seasoned with cayenne and a little salt,) allowing rather less
- than a quart of water to each<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51"
- id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> pound of meat, skimming and boiling it well,
- till the meat is all in rags, and drops from the bone. Strain it, and put
- it into a clean pot. Have ready a quart or more of large chestnuts, boiled
- and peeled. If roasted, they will be still better. They should be the
- large Spanish chestnuts. Put the chestnuts into the soup, with some small
- bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Boil the soup ten minutes longer,
- before it goes to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORTABLE SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a very good and nutritious soup, made first into a jelly, and then
- congealed into hard cakes, resembling glue. If well made, it will keep for
- many months in a cool, dry place, and when dissolved in hot water or
- gravy, will afford a fine liquid soup, very convenient to carry in a box
- on a journey or sea voyage, or to use in a remote place, where fresh meat
- for soup is not to be had. A piece of this glue, the size of a large
- walnut, will, when melted in water, become a pint bowl of soup; or by
- using less water, you may have it much richer. If there is time and
- opportunity, boil with the piece of soup a seasoning of sliced onion,
- sweet marjoram, sweet basil, or any herbs you choose. Also, a bit of
- butter rolled in flour.
- </p>
- <p>
- To make portable soup, take two shins or legs of beef, two knuckles of
- veal, and four unskinned calves' feet. Have the bones broken or cracked.
- Put the whole into a large clean pot that will hold four gallons of water.
- Pour in, at beginning,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
- only as much water as will cover the meat well, and set it over the fire,
- to heat gradually till it almost boils. Watch and skim it carefully while
- any scum rises. Then pour in a quart of cold water to make it throw up all
- the remaining scum, and then let it come to a good boil, continuing to
- skim as long as the least scum appears. In this be particular. When the
- liquid appears perfectly clear and free from grease, pour in the remainder
- of the water, and let it boil very gently for eight hours. Strain it
- through a very clean hair sieve into a large stoneware pan, and set it
- where it will cool quickly. Next day, remove all the remaining grease, and
- pour the liquid, as quickly as possible, into a three-gallon stew-pan,
- taking care not to disturb the settlings at the bottom. Keep the pan
- uncovered, and let it boil as fast as possible over a quick fire. Next,
- transfer it to a three-quart stew-pan, and skim it again, if necessary.
- Watch it well, and see that it does not burn, as that would spoil the
- whole. Take out a little in a spoon, and hold it in the air, to see if it
- will jelly. If it will not, boil it a little longer. Till it jellies, it
- is not done.
- </p>
- <p>
- Have ready some small white ware preserve pots, clean, and quite dry. Fill
- them with the soup, and let them stand undisturbed till next day. Set,
- over a slow fire, a large flat-bottomed stew-pan, one-third filled with
- boiling water. Place in it the pots of soup, seeing it does not reach
- within two inches of their rims. Let the pots stand uncovered in this
- water, hot, but without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
- boiling, for six or seven hours. This will bring the soup to a proper
- thickness, which should be that of a stiff jelly, when hot; and when cold,
- it should be like hard glue. When finished turn out the moulds of soup,
- and wrap them up separately in new brownish paper, and put them up in
- boxes, breaking off a piece when wanted to dissolve the soup.
- </p>
- <p>
- Portable soup may be improved by the addition of three pounds of nice lean
- beef, to the shins, knuckles, calves' feet, &amp;c. The beef must be cut
- into bits.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you have any friends going the overland journey to the Pacific, a box
- of portable soup may be a most useful present to them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PEPPER-POT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready a small half pound of very nice white tripe, that has been
- thoroughly boiled and skinned, in a pot by itself, till quite soft and
- tender. It should be cut into very small strips or mouthfuls. Put into
- another pot a neck of mutton, and a pound of lean ham, and pour on it a
- large gallon of water. Boil it slowly, and skim it. When the scum has
- ceased to rise, put in two large onions sliced, four potatos quartered,
- and four sliced turnips. Season with a very small piece of red pepper or
- capsicum, taking care not to make it too hot. Then add the boiled tripe.
- Make a quart bowlful of small dumplings of butter and flour, mixed with a
- very little water; and throw them into the pepper-pot,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> which should afterwards boil
- about an hour. Then take it up, and remove the meat before it is put into
- the tureen. Leave in the bits of tripe.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- NOODLE SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This soup may be made with either beef or mutton, but the meat must be
- fresh for the purpose, and not cold meat, re-cooked. Cut off all the fat,
- and break the bones. If boiled in the soup they improve it. To each pound
- of meat allow a small quart of water. Boil and skim it, till the meat
- drops from the bone. Put in with the meat, after the scum has ceased to
- rise, some turnips, carrots and onions, cut in slices, and boil them till
- all to pieces. Strain the soup, and return the liquid to a clean pot. Have
- ready a large quantity of noodles, (in French <i>nouillés</i>,) and put
- them into the strained soup; let them boil in it ten minutes. The noodles
- are composed of beaten eggs, made into a paste or dough, with flour and a
- very little fresh butter. This paste is rolled out thin into a square
- sheet. This sheet is then closely rolled up like a scroll or quire of
- thick paper, and then with a sharp knife cut round into shreds, or
- shavings, as cabbage is cut for slaw. These cuttings must be dredged with
- flour to prevent their sticking. Throw them into the soup while boiling
- the second time, and let it boil for ten minutes longer.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHICKEN SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up two large fine fowls, as if carving them for the table, and wash
- the pieces in cold water. Take half a dozen thin slices of cold ham, and
- lay them in a soup-pot, mixed among the pieces of chicken. Season them
- with a very little cayenne, a little nutmeg, and a few blades of mace, but
- no salt, as the ham will make it salt enough. Add a head of celery, split
- and cut into long bits, a quarter of a pound of butter, divided in two,
- and rolled in flour. Pour on three quarts of milk. Set the soup-pot over
- the fire, and let it boil rather slowly, skimming it well. When it has
- boiled an hour, put in some small round dumplings, made of half a pound of
- flour mixed with a quarter of a pound of butter; divide this dough into
- equal portions, and roll them in your hands into little balls about the
- size of a large hickory nut. The soup must boil till the flesh of the
- fowls is loose on the bones, but not till it drops off. Stir in, at the
- last, the beaten yolks of three or four eggs; and let the soup remain
- about five minutes longer over the fire. Then take it up. Cut off from the
- bones the flesh of the fowls, and divide it into mouthfuls. Cut up the
- slices of ham in the same manner. Mince the livers and gizzards. Put the
- bits of fowl and ham in the bottom of a large tureen, and pour the soup
- upon it.
- </p>
- <p>
- This soup will be found excellent, and may be made of large old fowls,
- that cannot be cooked in any other way. If they are so old that when the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> soup is
- finished they still continue tough, remove them entirely, and do not serve
- them up at all.
- </p>
- <p>
- Similar soup may be made of a large old turkey. Also, of four rabbits.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DUCK SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Half roast a pair of fine large tame ducks, keeping them half an hour at
- the fire, and saving the gravy, the fat of which must be carefully skimmed
- off. Then cut them up; season them with black pepper; and put them into a
- soup-pot with four or five small onions sliced thin, a small bunch of
- sage, a thin slice of cold ham cut into pieces, a grated nutmeg, and the
- yellow rind of a lemon grated. Add the gravy of the ducks. Pour on,
- slowly, three quarts of boiling water from a kettle. Cover the soup-pot,
- and set it over a moderate fire. Simmer it slowly (skimming it well) for
- about four hours, or till the flesh of the ducks is dissolved into small
- shreds. When done, strain it through a tureen, the bottom of which is
- covered with toasted bread, cut into square dice about two inches in size.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRENCH WHITE SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil a knuckle of veal and four calves' feet in five quarts of water, with
- three onions sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs, four heads of white celery
- cut small, a table-spoonful of whole pepper, and a <i>small</i>
- tea-spoonful of salt, adding five or six large blades of mace. Let it boil
- very slowly, till the meat is in rags and<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> has dropped from the bone, and
- till the gristle has quite dissolved. Skim it well while boiling. When
- done, strain it through a sieve into a tureen, or a deep white-ware pan.
- Next day, take off all the fat, and put the jelly (for such it ought to
- be) into a clean soup-pot with two ounces of vermicelli, and set it over
- the fire. When the vermicelli is dissolved, stir in, gradually, a pint of
- thick cream, while the soup is quite hot; but do not let it come to a boil
- after the cream is in, lest it should curdle. Cut up one or two French
- rolls in the bottom of a tureen, pour in the soup, and send it to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COCOA-NUT SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take eight calves' feet (two sets) that have been scalded and scraped, but
- not skinned; and put them into a soup-kettle with six or seven blades of
- mace, and the yellow rind of a lemon grated. Pour on a gallon of water;
- cover the kettle, and let it boil very slowly (skimming it well) till the
- flesh is reduced to rags and has dropped entirely from the bones. Then
- strain it into a broad white-ware pan, and set it away to get cold. When
- it has congealed, scrape off the fat and sediment, cut up the cake of
- jelly, (or stock,) and put it into a clean porcelain or enameled kettle.
- Have ready half a pound of very finely grated cocoa-nut. Mix it with a
- pint of cream. If you cannot obtain cream, take rich unskimmed milk, and
- add to it three ounces of the best fresh butter divided into three parts,
- each<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
- bit rolled in arrow-root or rice-flour. Mix it, gradually, with the
- cocoa-nut, and add it to the calves-feet-stock in the kettle, seasoned
- with a small nutmeg grated. Set it over the fire, and boil it, slowly,
- about a quarter of an hour; stirring it well. Then transfer it to a
- tureen, and serve it up. Have ready small French rolls, or light milk
- biscuit to eat with it; also powdered sugar in case any of the company
- should wish to sweeten it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ALMOND SOUP
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- is made in the above manner, substituting pounded almonds for the grated
- cocoa-nut. You must have half a pound of shelled sweet almonds, mixed with
- two ounces of shelled bitter almonds. After blanching them in hot water,
- they must be pounded to a smooth paste (one at a time) in a marble mortar;
- adding frequently a little rose-water to prevent their oiling, and
- becoming heavy. Or you may use peach-water for this purpose; in which case
- omit the bitter almonds, as the peach-water will give the desired flavor.
- When the pounded almonds are ready, mix them with the other ingredients,
- as above.
- </p>
- <p>
- The calves' feet for these soups should be boiled either very early in the
- morning, or the day before.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SPRING SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Unless your dinner hour is very late, the stock for this soup should be
- made the day before it is wanted, and set away in a<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> stone pan, closely covered. To
- make the stock take a knuckle of veal, break the bones, and cut it into
- several pieces. Allow a quart of water to each pound of veal. Put it into
- a soup-pot, with a set of calves' feet,<a name="FNanchor_A" id="FNanchor_A"></a><a
- href="#Footnote_A" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> and some bits of cold ham, cut
- off near the hock. If you have no ham, sprinkle in a tea-spoonful of salt,
- and a salt-spoon of cayenne. Place the pot over a <i>moderate</i> fire,
- and let it simmer slowly (skimming it well) for several hours, till the
- veal is all to rags and the flesh of the calves' feet has dropped in
- shreds from the bones. Then strain the soup; and if not wanted that day,
- set it away in a stone pan, as above mentioned.
- </p>
- <p>
- Next day have, ready boiled, two quarts or more of green peas, (they must
- on no account be old,) and a pint of the green tops cut off from asparagus
- boiled for the purpose. Pound a handful of raw spinach till you have
- extracted a tea-cupful of the juice. Set the soup or stock over the fire;
- add the peas, asparagus, and spinach juice, stirring them well in; also a
- quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided into four bits, and rolled in
- flour. Let the whole come to a boil; and then take it off and transfer it
- to a tureen. It will be found excellent.
- </p>
- <p>
- In boiling the peas for this soup, you may put with them half a dozen
- sprigs of green mint, to be afterwards taken out.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Late in the spring you may add to the other vegetables two cucumbers,
- pared and sliced, and the whitest part or heart of a lettuce, boiled
- together; then well drained, and put into the soup with the peas and
- asparagus. It must be very thick with vegetables.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SUMMER SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large neck of mutton, and hack it so as nearly to cut it apart, but
- not quite. Allow a small quart of water to each pound of meat, and
- sprinkle on a tea-spoonful of salt and a very little black pepper. Put it
- into a soup-pot, and boil it <i>slowly</i> (skimming it well) till the
- meat is reduced to rags. Then strain the liquid, return it to the
- soup-pot, and carefully remove all the fat from the surface. Have ready
- half a dozen small turnips sliced thin, two young onions sliced, a
- table-spoonful of sweet marjoram leaves picked from the stalks, and a
- quart of shelled Lima beans. Put in the vegetables, and boil them in the
- soup till they are thoroughly done. You may add to them two
- table-spoonfuls of green nasturtion seeds, either fresh or pickled. Put in
- also some little dumplings, (made of flour and butter,) about ten minutes
- before the soup is done.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of Lima beans, you may divide a cauliflower or two broccolis into
- sprigs, and boil them in the soup with the other vegetables.
- </p>
- <p>
- This soup may be made of a shoulder of mutton, cut into pieces and the
- bones cracked. For a large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61"
- id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> potful add also the breast to the neck,
- cutting the bones apart.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- AUTUMN SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Begin this soup as early in the day as possible. Take six pounds of the
- lean of fine fresh beef; cut it into small pieces; sprinkle it with a
- tea-spoonful of salt, (not more); put it into a soup-pot, and pour on six
- quarts of water. The hock of a cold ham will greatly improve it. Set it
- over a moderate fire, and let it boil slowly. After it comes to a boil,
- skim it well. Have ready a quarter of a peck of ochras cut into very thin
- round slices, and a quarter of a peck of tomatos cut into pieces; also a
- quart of shelled Lima beans. Season them with pepper. Put them in; and
- after the whole has boiled three hours <i>at least</i>, take four ears of
- young Indian corn, and having grated off all the grains, add them to the
- soup and boil it an hour longer. Before you serve up the soup remove from
- it all the bits of meat, which, if the soup is sufficiently cooked, will
- be reduced to shreds.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may put in with the ochras and tomatos one or two sliced onions. The
- soup, when done, should be as thick as a jelly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ochras for soup may be kept all winter, by tying them separately to a line
- stretched high across the store room.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WINTER SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The day before you make the soup, get a leg or shin of beef. Have the bone
- sawed through in several places, and the meat notched or scored down to
- the bone. This will cause the juice or essence to come out more freely,
- when cooked. Rub it slightly with salt; cover it, and set it away. Next
- morning, early as possible, as soon as the fire is well made up, put the
- beef into a large soup-pot, allowing to each pound a small quart of water.
- Then taste the water, and if the salt that has been rubbed on the meat is
- not sufficient, add a very little more. Throw in also a tea-spoonful of
- whole pepper-corns; and you may add half a dozen blades of mace. Let it
- simmer slowly till it comes to a boil; then skim it well. After it boils,
- you may quicken the fire. At nine o'clock put in a large head of cabbage
- cut fine as for cold-slaw; six carrots grated; the leaves stripped from a
- bunch of sweet marjoram; and the leaves of a sprig of parsley. An hour
- afterwards, add six turnips, and three potatoes, all cut into four or
- eight pieces. Also two onions, which will be better if previously roasted
- brown, and then sliced. Keep the soup boiling steadily, but not hard,
- unless the dinner hour is very early. For a late dinner, there will be
- time to boil it slowly all the while; and all soups are the better for
- long and slow boiling. See that it is well skimmed, so that, when done,
- there will be not a particle of fat or scum on the surface. At dinner-time
- take it up with a large ladle, and transfer it to a tureen. In doing so,
- carefully avoid the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
- shreds of meat and bone. Leave them all in the bottom of the pot, pressing
- them down with the ladle. A mass of shreds in the tureen or soup-plate
- looks slovenly and disgusting, and should never be seen at the table;
- also, they absorb too much of the liquid. Let the vegetables remain in the
- soup when it is served up, but pick out every shred of meat or bone that
- may be found in the tureen when ready to go to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- In very cold weather, what is left of this soup will keep till the second
- day; when it must be simmered again over the fire, till it just comes to a
- boil. Put it away in a tin or stone vessel. The lead which is used in
- glazing earthen jars frequently communicates its poison to liquids that
- are kept in them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEGETABLE SOUP&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>very good</i>.)&mdash;Soak all night, in cold water, either two quarts
- of yellow split peas, or two quarts of dried white beans. In the morning
- drain them, and season them with a very little salt and cayenne, and a
- head of minced celery, or else a heaped table-spoonful of celery seed. Put
- them into a soup-pot with four quarts of water, and boil them slowly till
- they are all dissolved and undistinguishable. Stir them frequently. Have
- ready a profuse quantity of fresh vegetables, such as turnips, carrots,
- parsnips, potatos, onions, and cauliflowers; also, salsify, and asparagus
- tops. Put in, first, the vegetables that require the longest boiling. They
- should all be cut<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
- into small pieces. Enrich the whole with some bits of fresh butter rolled
- in flour. Boil these vegetables in the soup till they are all quite
- tender. Then transfer it to a tureen, and serve it up hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- The foundation being of dried peas or beans, makes it very thick and
- smooth, and the fresh vegetables improve its flavor. It is a good soup for
- Lent, or for any time, if properly and liberally made.
- </p>
- <p>
- All vegetable soups can be made in Lent without meat, if milk is
- substituted for water, and with butter, beaten eggs and spice, to flavor
- and enrich it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRENCH POT AU FEU.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is one of the national dishes of France. The following is a genuine
- French receipt, and it would be found very palatable and very convenient
- if tried in our own land of plenty. The true French way to cook it is in
- an earthen pipkin, such as can be had in any pottery shop. The French
- vessel has a wide mouth, and close-fitting lid, with a handle at each
- side, in the form of circular ears. It is large and swelling in the
- middle, and narrows down towards the bottom. The American pipkin has a
- short thick spout at one side, and stands on three or four low feet. No
- kitchen should be without these vessels, which are cheap, very strong, and
- easily kept clean. They can sit on a stove, or in the corner of the fire,
- and are excellent for slow cooking.
- </p>
- <p>
- The wife of a French artisan commences her pot au feu soon after
- breakfast, prepares the ingre<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65"
- id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>dients, puts them, by degrees, into the pot,
- attends to it during the day; and when her husband has done his work she
- has ready for him an excellent and substantial repast, far superior to
- what in our country is called a <i>tea-dinner</i>. Men frequently
- indemnify themselves for the poorness of a tea-dinner by taking a dram of
- whiskey afterwards. A Frenchman is satisfied with his excellent pot au feu
- and some fruit afterwards. The French are noted as a temperate nation. If
- they have eaten to their satisfaction they have little craving for drink.
- Yet there is no country in the world where so much good eating might be
- had as in America. But to live well, and wholesomely, there should also be
- good cooking, and the wives of our artisans must learn to think more of
- the comfort, health, and cheerfulness of him who in Scotland is called the
- <i>bread-winner</i>, than of their own finery, and their children's
- uncomfortable frippery.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Receipt.</i>&mdash;For a large pot au feu, put into the pipkin six
- pounds of good fresh beef cut up, and pour on it four quarts of water. Set
- it near the fire, skim it when it simmers, and when nearly boiling, add a
- tea-spoonful of salt, half a pound of liver cut in pieces, and some black
- pepper. Then add two or three large carrots, sliced or grated on a coarse
- grater; four turnips, pared and quartered; eight young onions peeled and
- sliced thick, two of the onions roasted whole; a head of celery cut up; a
- parsnip split and cut up; and six potatos, pared, sliced, or quartered. In
- short any good vegetables now in season, including tomatos in sum<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>mer and
- autumn. Also a bunch of sweet herbs, chopped small. Let the whole continue
- to boil slowly and <i>steadily</i>; remembering to skim well. Let it
- simmer slowly five or six hours. Then, having laid some large slices of
- bread in the bottom of a tureen, or a very large pan or bowl, pour the
- stew or soup upon it; all the meat, and all the vegetables. If you have
- any left, recook it the next morning for breakfast, and <i>that day</i>
- you may prepare something else for dinner.
- </p>
- <p>
- For beef you may substitute mutton, or fresh venison, if you live in a
- venison country, and can get it newly killed.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WILD DUCK SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a company soup. If you live where wild ducks are abundant, it will
- afford an agreeable variety occasionally to make soup of some of them. If
- you suspect them to be sedgy or fishy, (you can ascertain by the smell
- when drawing or cleaning them,) parboil each duck, with a carrot put into
- his body. Then take out the carrot and throw it away. You will find that
- the unpleasant flavor has left the ducks, and been entirely absorbed by
- the carrots. To make the soup&mdash;cut up the ducks, season the pieces
- with a little salt and pepper, and lay them in a soup-pot. For a good pot
- of soup you should have four wild ducks. Add two or three sliced onions,
- and a table-spoonful of minced sage. Also a quarter of a pound of butter
- divided into four, and each piece rolled in flour. Pour in water enough to
- make a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
- rich soup, and let it boil slowly till all the flesh has left the bones,&mdash;skim
- it well. Thicken it with boiled or roasted chestnuts, peeled, and then
- mashed with a potato beetle. A glass of Madeira or sherry will be found an
- improvement, stirred in at the last, or the juice and grated peel of a
- lemon. In taking it up for the tureen, be careful to leave all the bones
- and bits of meat in the bottom of the pot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VENISON SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large fine piece of freshly killed venison. It is best at the
- season when the deer are fat and juicy, from having plenty of wild berries
- to feed on. I do not consider winter-venison worth eating, when the meat
- is poor and hard, and affords no gravy, and also is black from being kept
- too long. When venison is fresh and in good order it yields a fine soup,
- allowing a small quart of water to each pound of meat. When it has boiled
- well, and been skimmed, put in some small dumplings made of flour and
- minced suet, or drippings. Also, boiled sweet potatos, cut into round
- thick slices. You may add boiled sweet corn cut off the cob; and, indeed,
- whatever vegetables are in season. The soup-meat should boil till all the
- flesh is loose on the bones, and the bits and shreds should not be served
- up.
- </p>
- <p>
- The best pieces of buffalo make good soup.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GAME SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take partridges, pheasants, grouse, quails, or any of the birds considered
- as game. You may put in here as many different sorts as you can procure.
- They must all be fresh killed. When they are cleaned and plucked, cut them
- in pieces as for carving, and put them into a soup-pot, with four calves'
- feet and some slices of ham, two sticks of celery, and a bundle of sweet
- herbs chopped small, and water enough to cover the whole well. Boil and
- skim well, till all the flesh is loose from the bones. Strain the liquid
- through a sieve into a clean pot, then thicken it with fresh butter rolled
- in flour. Add some force-meat balls that have been already fried; or else
- some hard-boiled yolks of eggs; some currant jelly, or some good wine into
- which a half-nutmeg has been grated; the juice of two oranges or lemons,
- and the grated yellow peel of one lemon. Give the soup another boil up,
- and then send it to table, having bread rolls to eat with it.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a fine soup for company. Venison soup may be made in this manner.
- Hare soup also.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SQUATTER'S SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take plenty of <i>fresh-killed</i> venison, as fat and juicy as you can
- get it. Cut the meat off the bones and put it (with the bones) into a
- large pot. Season it with pepper and salt, and pour on sufficient water to
- make a good rich soup. Boil it slowly (remembering to skim it well) till
- the meat is all in rags. Have ready some ears of young sweet corn. Boil
- them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
- in a pot by themselves till they are quite soft. Cut the grains off the
- cob into a deep dish. Having cleared the soup from shreds and bits of bone
- left at the bottom of the pot, stir in a thickening made of indian meal
- mixed to a paste with a little fresh lard, or venison gravy. And
- afterwards throw in, by degrees, the cut corn. Let all boil together, till
- the corn is soft, or for about half an hour. Then take it up in a large
- pan. It will be found very good by persons who never were squatters. This
- soup, with a wild turkey or a buffalo hump roasted, and stewed grapes
- sweetened well with maple sugar, will make a good backwoods dinner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MOCK TURTLE SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil together a knuckle of veal (cut up) and a set of calves' feet, split.
- Also the hock of a cold boiled ham. Season it with cayenne pepper; but the
- ham will render it salt enough. You may add a smoked tongue. Allow, to
- each pound of meat, a small quart of water. After the meat has come to a
- boil and been well skimmed, add half a dozen sliced parsnips, three sliced
- onions, and a head of celery cut small, with a large bunch of sweet
- marjoram, and two large carrots sliced. Boil all together till the
- vegetables are nearly dissolved and the meat falls from the bone. Then
- strain the whole through a cullender, and transfer the liquid to a clean
- pot. Have ready some fine large sweetbreads that have been soaked in warm
- water for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
- an hour till all the blood was disgorged; then transferred to boiling
- water for ten minutes, and then taken out and laid in very cold water.
- This will blanch them, and all sweetbreads should look white. Take them
- out; and remove carefully all the pipe or gristle. Cut the sweetbreads in
- pieces or mouthfuls, and put them into the pot of strained soup. Have
- ready about two or three dozen (or more) of force-meat balls, made of cold
- minced veal and ham seasoned with nutmeg and mace, enriched with butter,
- and mixed with grated lemon-peel, bread-crumbs, chopped marjoram and
- beaten eggs, to make the whole into smooth balls about the size of a
- hickory nut. Throw the balls into the soup, and add a fresh lemon, sliced
- thin, and a pint of Madeira wine. Give it one more boil up; then put it
- into a tureen and send it to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- This ought to be a rich soup, and is seldom made except for dinner
- company.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the above method is <i>exactly</i> followed, there will be found no
- necessity for taking the trouble and enduring the disgust and tediousness
- of cleaning and preparing a calf's head for mock turtle soup&mdash;a very
- unpleasant process, which too much resembles the horrors of a dissecting
- room. And when all is done a calf's head is a very insipid article.
- </p>
- <p>
- It will be found that the above is superior to any mock turtle. Made of
- shin beef, with all these ingredients, it is very rich and fine.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FISH SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- All fish soups should be made with milk, (if unskimmed so much the
- better,) using no water whatever. The best fish for soup are the small
- sort of cat-fish; also tutaug, porgie, blue fish, white fish, black fish
- or sea-bass. Cut off their heads, tails, and fins, and remove the skin,
- and the backbone, and cut the fish into pieces. To each pound of fish
- allow a quart of rich milk. Put into the soup-pot some pieces of cold
- boiled ham. No salt will then be required; but season with cayenne pepper,
- and a few blades of mace and some grated nutmeg. Add a bunch of sweet
- marjoram, the leaves stripped from the stalks and chopped. Make some
- little dumplings of flour and butter, and put them in when the soup is
- about half done. Half an hour's steady boiling will be sufficient. Serve
- up in the tureen the pieces of fish and ham. Also some toast cut in dice.
- </p>
- <p>
- Soup may be made in this manner, of chickens or rabbits, using always milk
- enriched with bits of butter rolled in flour and flavored with bits of
- cold ham.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LOBSTER SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a fine soup for company. Take two or three fine fresh lobsters,
- (the middle sized are the best.) Heat a large pot of water, throwing in a
- large handful of salt. When it is boiling hard put in the lobsters, head
- foremost, that they may die immediately. They will require at least half
- an hour's fast boiling; if large, three quarters. When done, take<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> them out,
- wipe off the scum that has collected on the shell, and drain the lobster.
- First break off the large claws, and crack them, then split the body, and
- extract all the white meat, and the red coral&mdash;nothing else&mdash;and
- cut it into small pieces. Mash the coral into smooth bits with the back of
- a large spoon, mixing with it plenty of sweet oil; and, gradually, adding
- it to the bits of chopped lobster. Put into a clear soup-pot two quarts,
- or more, of good milk, and thicken it with half a dozen crackers or
- butter-biscuit, pounded fine; or the grated crumbs of two or three small
- rolls, and stir in a quarter of a pound of fresh butter made into a paste
- with two spoonfuls of flour. Put in the chopped lobster, seasoned with
- nutmeg, a few blades of mace powdered, and a little cayenne. Let all boil
- together, slowly, for half an hour, keeping it closely covered. Towards
- the last, stir in two beaten eggs. Lay some very small soda biscuit in the
- bottom of a tureen, and pour the soup upon them. Nasturtion flowers
- strewed at the last thickly over the surface of this soup, when in the
- tureen, are an improvement both to its appearance and flavor. So is
- peppergrass.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CRAB SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the meat of two dozen boiled crabs, cut it small, and give it a boil
- in two quarts of milk. Season it with powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little
- cayenne, and thicken it with butter mixed in flour; or, make the flour and
- butter into little dumplings. Have ready half a dozen<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> yolks of hard-boiled eggs, and
- crumble them into the soup just before you take it from the fire. Add the
- heart of a fresh green lettuce, cut small and strewed over the surface of
- the soup, after it is poured into the tureen.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OYSTER SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Strain the liquor from one hundred oysters, and carefully remove any bits
- of shell or particles of sea-weed. To every pint of oyster liquor allow an
- equal quantity of rich milk. Season it with whole pepper and some blades
- of mace. Add a head of celery, washed, scraped, and minced small. Put the
- whole into a soup-pot, and boil and skim it well. When it boils put in the
- oysters. Also, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; divide into four
- pieces, each piece rolled in flour. If you can procure cream, add a
- half-pint, otherwise boil some six eggs hard, and crumble the yolks into
- the soup. After the oysters are in give them but one boil up, just
- sufficient to plump them. If boiled longer they will shrink and shrivel
- and lose their taste. Take them all out and set them away to cool. When
- the soup is done, place in the bottom of the tureen some small square
- pieces of nicely toasted bread cut into dice, and pour on the soup; grate
- in a nutmeg and then add the oysters. Serve it up very hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Another way is to chop or cut small the oysters, omitting the hard part.
- Make the soup as above, and put in the minced oysters at the last, letting
- them boil but five minutes. Mix the powdered<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> nutmeg with them. This is a
- good way, if you make but a small quantity of soup.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CLAM SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having washed clean the outside shells of a hundred small sand clams, (or
- scrubbed them with a brush,) put them into a large pot of boiling water.
- When they open their shells take them out with a ladle, and as you do so,
- put them into a cullender to drain off the liquor. Then extract the clams
- from the shells with a knife. Save a quart of the liquor, putting the
- clams in a pitcher by themselves. Mix with the quart of liquor, in a clean
- pot, two quarts of rich milk. Put in the clams, and add some pepper-corns
- and some blades of mace. Also, a bunch of sweet marjoram, the leaves
- stripped off and minced. After all has boiled well for an hour, add half a
- pound, or more, of nice fresh butter, made into little dumplings with
- flour; also a pint of grated bread-crumbs. Let it boil a quarter of an
- hour longer. Then pour the soup off from the clams and leave them in the
- bottom of the pot. They will not now be worth eating. If you cannot obtain
- small clams, you may cut large ones in pieces, but they are very coarse
- and tough.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FAST-DAY SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- <i>For winter.</i>&mdash;Having soaked all night two quarts of split peas,
- put them into a soup-pot, adding a sliced onion, two heads of celery, the
- stalks split and cut small; a table<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75"
- id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>-spoonful of chopped mint, another of
- marjoram, and two beets, that have been previously boiled and sliced. Mix
- all these with half a pound of fresh butter cut into pieces and dredged
- with flour. Season with a little salt and pepper. Pour on rather more than
- water enough to cover the whole. Let them boil till all the things are
- quite tender, and the peas dissolved. When done, cover the bottom of a
- tureen with small square bits of toast, and pour in the contents of the
- soup-pot.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a good way to boil the split peas in a pot by themselves, till they
- are quite dissolved, and then add them to the ingredients in the other
- pot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Vegetable soups require a large portion of vegetables, and butter always,
- as a substitute for meat.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIDAY SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- <i>For summer.</i>&mdash;This is a fast-day soup. Pare and slice six
- cucumbers, and cut up the white part or heart of six lettuces; slice two
- onions, and cut small the leaves of six sprigs of fresh green mint, unless
- mint is disliked by the persons that are to eat the soup; in which case,
- substitute parsley. Add a quart of young green peas. Put the whole into a
- soup-pot, with as much water as will more than cover them well. Season
- slightly with salt and a little cayenne, and add half a pound of nice
- fresh butter, divided into six, each piece dredged well with flour. Boil
- the whole for an hour and a half. Then serve it up, without straining;
- having colored it green with a tea-cup of pounded spinach juice.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- When green peas are out of season, you may substitute tomatos peeled and
- quartered.
- </p>
- <p>
- This soup, having no meat, is chiefly for fast days, but will be found
- good at any time.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- On the days that you bake bread, you may have a dish of thick soup with
- very little trouble, by putting into a large earthen jug or pipkin, or
- covered pan, the following articles:&mdash;Two pounds of <i>fresh</i>
- beef, or mutton, cut into small slices, having first removed the fat; two
- sliced onions and four carrots, and four parsnips cut in four; also, four
- turnips, six potatos pared and cut up, and half a dozen tomatos, peeled
- and quartered. Season the whole with a little salt and pepper. A large
- beet, scraped and cut up, will be an improvement. To these things pour on
- three quarts of water. Cover the earthen vessel, and set it in the oven
- with the bread, and let the soup bake at the same time.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the bread is done before the dinner hour, you must keep the soup still
- longer in the oven.
- </p>
- <p>
- Do not use <i>cold</i> meat for this or any other soup, unless you are
- very poor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="FISH" id="FISH"></a>FISH.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO CLEAN FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This must always be done with the greatest care and nicety. If sent to
- table imperfectly cleaned, they are disgraceful to the cook, and
- disgusting to the sight and taste. Handle the fish lightly; not roughly so
- as to bruise it. Wash it well, but do not leave it in the water longer
- than is needful. It will lose its flavor, and become insipid, if soaked.
- To scale it, lay the fish flat upon one side, holding it firmly in the
- left hand, and with the right taking off the scales by means of a knife.
- When both sides are done, pour sufficient cold water over it to float off
- all the loose scales that may have escaped your notice. It is best to pump
- on it. Then proceed to open and empty the fish. Be sure that not the
- smallest particle of the entrails is left in. Scrape all carefully from
- the backbone. Wash out all the blood from the inside. A dexterous cook can
- draw a fish without splitting it entirely down, all the way from head to
- tail. Smelts and other small fish are drawn or emptied at the gills.
- </p>
- <p>
- All fish should be cleaned or drawn as soon as they are brought in, and
- then kept on ice, till the moment for cooking.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO BOIL FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- No fish can be fit to eat unless the eyes are prominent and lively, the
- gills very red, and the body firm and stiff, springing back<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> immediately
- when bent round to try them. Every scale must be carefully scraped off,
- and the entrails entirely extracted; not the smallest portion being
- carelessly left sticking to the backbone. Previous to cooking, fish of
- every kind should be laid in cold water, and the blood thoroughly washed
- from the inside. Few fish are not the better for being put on to boil in
- cold water, heating gradually with it till it comes to a boil. If you put
- it on in boiling water, the outside becomes boiling hot too soon; and is
- apt to break and come off in flakes, while the inside still remains hard
- and underdone: halibut, salmon, cod, and other large thick fish must be
- boiled slowly and thoroughly throughout, taking nearly as long as meat.
- Always put salt into the water at the commencement, and a little vinegar
- towards the last. In every kitchen should be a large oval kettle purposely
- for boiling fish. This kettle has a movable strainer inside. The fish lies
- on the strainer. To try if it is done, run a thin sharp knife in it, till
- it reaches the backbone; and see if the flesh will loosen or separate
- easily. If it adheres to the bone it requires more boiling. When quite
- done, leave it no longer in the kettle, or it will lose its flavor and get
- a woolly look. Take out the strainer with the fish upon it. Drain off the
- water through the strainer, cover the fish with a folded napkin or fine
- towel, doubled thick; transfer it to a heated dish, and keep it warm and
- dry till it goes to table, directly after the soup. In the mean time
- prepare the sauce to be served up along with the fish.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRYING FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Fish should be fried in <i>very good</i> fresh butter, or nice beef
- drippings; or else in lard, which last, is the most usual method. A large
- allowance of lard should be put into the pan, and held over a clear fire,
- till it becomes so hot as to boil fast in the pan. Till the lard hisses
- and bubbles do not put in the fish. They must first be dried separately in
- a clean cloth, and then scored on the back in deep incisions, or gashes,
- and slightly dredged with flour. Unless the lard is amply sufficient in
- quantity to cover the fish well, and bear them up towards the surface,
- they will sink heavily to the bottom of the pan, and perhaps stick there
- and burn. Also, if there is not fat enough, the fish will absorb the whole
- of what there is, and become dark-colored and greasy.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a dish for company. You may bake in the same manner a shad, a
- fresh codfish, a sheep's head, a white fish, or a blue fish, or a pair of
- large black fish. Trout also are considered fish for baking. Cut off the
- head, and split the fish nearly down to the tail. For a stuffing, cut two
- slices of nice light wheat bread, of shape and size to fit easily into the
- inside of the fish, and spread them thickly with very new fresh butter.
- Season them with cayenne and powdered mace, and moisten them with port
- wine or sherry. Add the juice and yellow rind of a lemon, grated; and
- sufficient powdered white sugar to take off the extreme acid of the last.
- Fill the body of the fish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80"
- id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> with this stuffing, kept in by tying round
- the fish, carefully, a white cotton cord, or tape, so as to confine it in
- several places. Lay bits of fresh butter over the outside, at equal
- distances. Place the fish on a trivet, in a bake pan, and pour round it a
- pint of wine and water mixed. Baste it with this frequently while baking.
- It will require at least an hour in a quick oven. If the basting does not
- leave sufficient gravy, add half a pint more of wine mixed with a little
- hot water.
- </p>
- <p>
- When you have taken up the fish, keep it hot while you are finishing the
- gravy, which you should thicken and enrich by stirring in smoothly a piece
- of butter mixed slightly into a paste with flour, and seasoned with grated
- nutmeg. Serve up the gravy in a sauce-boat, and lay slices of lemon along
- the back of the fish, having, of course, removed the string that was wound
- around it to confine the stuffing. Send to table with the baked fish, a
- dish of potatos mashed with milk and butter, and browned on the surface
- with a salamander, or a red hot shovel. Always remove the seeds of lemon
- slices. Fresh mackerel may be baked thus.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fish may be baked plainly, with a stuffing of sweet marjoram, minced sage,
- and onion, (previously boiled and drained,) a little butter, or finely
- chopped beef suet, and plenty of grated bread crumbs, seasoned with a
- little black pepper. Or instead of crumbs you may put in slices of bread
- and butter soaked in milk, and secured as above from falling out while the
- fish is baking.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take any nice fresh fish of moderate size, and when it is drawn and
- washed, cut it into three or four pieces, and put them into a stew-pan
- with amply sufficient hot water to keep them from burning. Season them
- with a little salt and cayenne. After it has simmered steadily for half an
- hour, and been skimmed, have ready a quarter of a pound of fresh butter,
- mixed into a smooth paste with a heaped table-spoonful of flour. Add this
- to the stew, with a bunch of sweet marjoram chopped fine, and a sprig of
- chopped parsley. If approved, add a small onion pared and sliced very
- thin. Cover it closely, and let it stew another half hour. Then send it to
- table. This is a family dish. Any fresh fish may be stewed thus.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SPICED FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cold fish that has been left at dinner is very nice to put away for the
- supper table. It should be fresh salmon, fresh cod, rock-fish, halibut, or
- the remains of any other large fine fish. Take out the back bone, and cut
- the flesh into moderate sized pieces. Lay it in a deep dish that has a
- cover. Season the fish with cayenne pepper, a little salt, some grated
- nutmeg, and some blades of mace; also some whole black pepper-corns, and
- pour over it plenty of good cider vinegar. Tarragon vinegar will be an
- improvement. Cover it closely, and set it in a cold place till wanted. If
- in spring or summer, set it in ice.
- </p>
- <p>
- We do not recommend cloves or allspice. The taste of those coarse spices
- is so overpowering,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
- (and to many persons so unpleasant,) that they are now nearly out of use
- at good tables.
- </p>
- <p>
- Nutmeg, mace and ginger, will be found much better, and with cinnamon
- occasionally, are sufficient for all spice seasonings. Nevertheless, for
- those who like them, a few cloves will relieve the insipidity of halibut.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FISH CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take codfish (either fresh or salt) that has been boiled the day before.
- Carefully remove the bones, and mince the flesh. Mix with it a quantity of
- warm mashed potatos, (mashed with butter and milk) in the proportion of
- one third codfish, and two thirds mashed potatos. Add sufficient beaten
- egg to make the whole into a smooth paste. Season it with cayenne; and, if
- the mixture seems dry, moisten and enrich it with a little butter. Make it
- into cakes about an inch thick, and as large round as the top of a common
- sized tea-cup. Or into round balls. Sprinkle them well with flour.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fry them in lard, or beef-drippings. When one side is done turn them over.
- Drain them, and send them to the breakfast table. If approved, you may add
- to the mixture two or three onions boiled and minced. Any large cold fish
- may be dressed in this manner for next morning's breakfast.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROCK-FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Rock-fish are generally plain boiled, (with the heads and tails left on,)
- and they are eaten with egg sauce, (hard boiled eggs chopped,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> and mixed
- with melted or drawn butter,) seasoned with a little cayenne. Put on the
- side of your plate, any nice fish sauce from the castors. Some serve up
- rock-fish with hard boiled eggs, cut into halves, and laid closely in a
- row along the back of the fish; half an egg being helped to each person.
- Cold butter is then eaten with it. We think this a very nice way.
- </p>
- <p>
- Blue fish, white fish, and black fish, may be drest in this manner. Also,
- sea-bass.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BLACK FISH AND SEA-BASS&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Are all boiled in the same manner, having first carefully scaled, and
- drawn, and well washed them. In drawing fish take care that the whole of
- the inside is nicely scraped from the back-bone, all along. When ready,
- dredge a clean soft cloth with flour, wrap the fish in it; lay it on the
- strainer of a fish-kettle, and put it in plenty of water, into which has
- been thrown a small table-spoonful of salt. Keep it steadily boiling near
- half an hour. Take it carefully out of the cloth, drain it on the
- strainer, and keep it warm. Send to table with it egg-sauce.
- </p>
- <p>
- Eat mashed potatos with it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Frying.</i>&mdash;To fry the above fish,&mdash;cut them in two or three
- pieces; wash them and wipe them dry; score them with deep cuts, and season
- with cayenne and a little salt&mdash;dredge them with flour, and fry them
- brown in a pan nearly full of boiling lard.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any fish may be fried in this manner.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRESH COD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A fine codfish should be very thick about the neck; the eyes lively; the
- gills red; and the flesh firm and white. If flabby, it is not good. It is
- in season from October till May. After scaling, emptying, washing, and
- drying, cover it, and let it rest for an hour. Then put it on in a
- fish-kettle of <i>cold</i> water, (hard water if you can procure it,)
- throw in a small handful of salt, and let the cod heat gradually, skimming
- it well. Boil it gently, but steadily, till thoroughly done. Then, take it
- out of the kettle, drain it, and keep it warm till ready to go to table.
- No fish should be allowed to remain in the water after the boiling is
- quite over. Serve it up with oyster or lobster sauce.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may broil fresh cod in steaks, or fry it in cutlets. For frying fish,
- you may use beef or veal drippings, with the fat skimmed off carefully.
- Mutton fat (which is tallow) is unfit for all cookery.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TROUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Trout is considered a very nice fish, and is in season in the summer. When
- fresh it is a fine flesh color, and its spots are very bright. To fry
- trout, dry them in a cloth. Score them deeply, and touch each incision or
- cut with a little cayenne. Dredge them with flour. Grate some bread-crumbs
- very fine, and in another pan beat some eggs very light and thick. Dip
- each fish twice in the egg, and twice in the crumbs, and fry them in
- plenty of boiling lard, or in a mixture of lard and fresh butter. When
- done, drain them, and send them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85"
- id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> to table with a dish of cucumbers sliced and
- dressed in the usual way, with vinegar, pepper and salt.
- </p>
- <p>
- If boiled, serve them up with egg sauce. If broiled, eat them with cold
- butter and cayenne.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED TROUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a dish for company. Mix together as much cold water and sweet
- white wine, in equal quantities, as will well cover the fish. When done,
- take them out of the stew pan, drain them, and keep them hot while you
- prepare the gravy. For this, thicken the liquid with a piece of fresh
- butter divided into four, each bit rolled in flour; and add two or more
- well-beaten eggs, and season with powdered mace and nutmeg. Mix all this
- together, give it one boil up, and pour it over the trout, after they are
- dished for table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED TROUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having cleaned the trout, wrap each fish in a very thin slice of bacon,
- sprinkled with minced sweet marjoram, and seasoned with cayenne and mace.
- Inclose each fish in a white paper, cut larger than to fit exactly. Fasten
- the papers with strings or pins, to be removed before the fish goes to
- table. Lay the trout in a square tin pan, and bake them in the papers,
- which must be taken off when the fish are done; but serve them up with the
- bacon round them or not, as you please.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SALT COD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The afternoon before the fish is to be eaten, put it to soak in plenty of
- cold water. Cover it, and let it stand in a warm place all night. In the
- morning pour off that water, wash the fish clean, and scrub the outside
- with a brush. Put it into a kettle with cold water sufficient to cover it
- well; and let it boil fast till near dinner time, skimming it well. About
- half an hour before dinner, pour off this boiling water, and substitute a
- sufficiency of cold. In this last water give the fish one boil up. Send it
- to table with egg sauce, made with plenty of butter, and hard-boiled eggs
- cut in half, and laid closely along the back of the fish, to be helped
- with it. Accompany the cod with a plate of sliced beets drest with
- vinegar.
- </p>
- <p>
- Next morning you may take what is left, and having removed all the bone,
- mince the fish, and mix it with an equal quantity of mashed potatos,
- adding some butter, pepper, and raw egg. Make the whole into balls or flat
- cakes, and fry them in drippings or lard. They are good at breakfast. On
- every one put a small spot of pepper.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED SMELTS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The smelt is a very nice little fish, which has a peculiarly sweet and
- delicate flavor of its own, that requires, to be tasted in perfection, no
- other cooking than plain broiling or frying in fresh lard. Do not wash
- them, but wipe them dry in a clean cloth; having opened and drawn them,
- (they should be drawn through the gills,) and cut off the heads and tails,
- dredge them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
- with flour. The frying-pan must be more than two-thirds full of boiling
- lard; boiling hard when the smelts are put in, so as to float them on the
- surface. If there is not sufficient lard, or if it is not boiling, the
- fish will sink and be dark colored, and greasy. About ten minutes are
- sufficient for the small ones, and fifteen for those of a larger size.
- When done, drain off the lard and send them to the breakfast table on a
- hot dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you prefer retaining the heads and tails, dish them, alternately, with
- the heads up and tails down.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED CAT-FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The best cat-fish are the small ones. If too large, they are generally
- coarse and strong. They must be cooked quite fresh; if possible, directly
- out of the water. They are very popular at fishing parties. Wash and clean
- them, cutting off their heads and tails, and removing the upper part of
- the back-bone, near the shoulders. Score them along the back, with deep
- gashes or incisions. Dredge them with flour, and fry them in plenty of
- lard, boiling fast when the cat-fish are put into the pan. Or, you may fry
- them in the drippings or gravy saved from roast beef, or veal. They are
- very nice dipped in a batter of beaten egg and grated bread-crumbs, or
- they may be done in a plain, though not so nice a way, with indian meal
- instead of bread-crumbs. Drain off the lard before you dish them. Touch
- each incision or cut,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
- <i>very slightly</i>, with a little cayenne before they go to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cat-fish are a breakfast dish, and are also eaten at supper. Porgie and
- tutaug are cooked in this manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any fish may be fried as above, when not split open.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE CHOWDER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is Commodore Stovens's receipt:&mdash;Take four table-spoonfuls of
- minced onions that have been fried with slices of salt pork; two
- pilot-biscuits broken up; one table-spoonful of minced sweet marjoram, and
- one of sweet basil; a quarter of a bottle of mushroom catchup; half a
- bottle of port wine; half a nutmeg grated; a few cloves, and mace, and
- pepper-corns; six pounds of fresh cod, and sea-bass, cut in slices. Put
- the whole into a pot, with water enough to cover it about an inch. Boil it
- steadily for an hour, carefully stirring it. Serve it up hot in a large
- deep dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Chowder may be made as above, substituting clams for the cod. The clams
- must be chopped small. You may, for variety, make chowder with oysters, or
- with boiled lobsters, or crabs; always beginning the mixture with pork
- fried with onions.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- YANKEE CHOWDER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having sliced very thin some salt fat pork, season it with pepper, lay it
- in the bottom of a large iron pot, set it over the<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> fire, and let it fry. When
- done, take out the pork, leaving the liquid fat in the bottom. Next, peel
- and slice some onions, and lay them on the fat. Pour in sufficient clam or
- oyster liquor to stew the onions. Have ready a sufficient quantity of
- sea-bass, black fish, tutaug, porgie, haddock, or fresh cod. Cut the fish
- in small pieces, and put it into the pot. Add plenty of potatos pared and
- quartered. Then some clam liquor; and lastly, some crackers, (soaked and
- split,) or some soda biscuit; the crackers to cover the top. If you wish
- to fill a large pot, repeat all these ingredients, arranging them in
- layers. If there is not gravy enough, add some boiling milk, poured in at
- the last, and enriched with bits of butter mixed with flour. Cover the pot
- closely, and let it stew half an hour, or more, till all the contents are
- thoroughly done. You may bake the chowder in an iron oven, over a wood
- fire, heaping live coals on the oven lid.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CLAM CHOWDER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put into boiling water from fifty to a hundred of the small sand clams;
- and when all their shells have opened, take them out, as they are then
- sufficiently boiled. Extract all the hard, or tough, uneatable part, and
- throw it away. Slice thin as much salt pork as, when fried in the bottom
- of a large pot, will produce half a pint of liquid or gravy. Take out all
- the pork, leaving the liquid in the pot. Add to it a layer of clams. Then
- a layer of biscuit soaked in milk or warm water. Next another layer of
- clams; then an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>other
- layer of soaked biscuit; then more clams. Season it with pepper and mace.
- If there is no objection to onions, add three or four boiled and sliced,
- and some minced marjoram. Also, some potatos, boiled, peeled, and
- quartered. Let the last layer be clams, and then cover the whole with a
- good paste, and bake it in an iron oven, or boil it in an iron pot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Chowder of fresh codfish, halibut, sea-bass, or any other good fish, is
- made as above. Halibut requires a much larger portion of seasoning, and a
- little more pork. Though very large and therefore very profitable, it is
- in itself the most tasteless of all fish. Plain boiled halibut is not
- worth eating.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SALMON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- In choosing a salmon, see that the gills are a fine red, the eyes full,
- the scales clear, and the whole fish stiff; the flesh being of the
- peculiar red known as salmon-color. Between the flakes is a substance
- called the curd, which gives it firmness. By keeping, this substance melts
- down and the flesh becomes soft. A salmon can only be eaten in perfection
- on the sea-coast where it was caught, and on the same day. To transport it
- any distance, it must be enclosed in a box, and well packed in ice. In
- America, salmon is found in the greatest perfection on the coast of Maine,
- in the Kennebec. Very fine ones are brought to Boston market. They also
- abound on the coasts of California and Oregon. The American salmon is much
- larger than those of Europe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91"
- id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> It is so fine a fish that its own flavor is
- better than any that can be communicated except by the most simple sauce.
- It requires as much boiling as meat, that is, a quarter of an hour for
- every pound. It is in season from May till August or September.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lake salmon is good, but inferior to that of the ocean, in size,
- richness, and color.
- </p>
- <p>
- In boiling a large fish, to judge if it is done, draw up the strainer or
- fish-plate, and with a thin knife try if the flesh separates easily from
- the bone. If you can loosen it immediately, it is cooked enough. It
- injures a fish to let it get cool in the water.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED SALMON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- After carefully emptying the salmon, wash it very clean from the blood
- inside, and remove the scales. To preserve the fine color of the salmon,
- or to set the curd or creamy substance between the flakes, it should be
- put into boiling water, allowing to a gallon of water a handful of salt.
- After the water has been boiling a few minutes, and has been skimmed, put
- in the fish, (laying it on the drainer,) and let it boil moderately fast,
- skimming it well. It must be thoroughly boiled. Underdone fish of every
- kind is disgusting and unwholesome. Before it is taken from the fish
- kettle ascertain if it is sufficiently cooked, by trying if the back-bone
- easily loosens from the flesh. A quarter of an hour may be allowed for
- each pound, for a large thick salmon requires as much cooking as meat.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> When you
- take it up, drain it well, and serve it up immediately. Have ready some
- lobster sauce, or shrimp, if more convenient. To make it, mince the meat
- of a boiled lobster, mashing the coral with it, and mix it with melted or
- drawn butter, made very thick, and having but a very small portion of
- water. For shrimp sauce, boil the shrimps, take off their heads, and
- squeeze out their bodies from the shells. Thicken with them the drawn
- butter. Nothing should go with salmon that will interfere with the flavor
- of this fine fish, or give it any taste that will overpower or weaken its
- own.
- </p>
- <p>
- Many prefer salmon with nothing more than cold butter spread on after it
- is helped. We think, ourselves, that when the butter is very good, it is
- not improved (for salmon) by the addition of flour and water; and a very
- little is sufficient. You need use nothing from the castors except
- cayenne.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is usual to eat cucumbers with salmon, and no other vegetables; the
- cucumbers to be pared, sliced, laid in cold water, and dressed, and served
- up by themselves, with a little plate for each person, that the vinegar,
- &amp;c., of the cucumbers may not impart too much acid to the salmon.
- </p>
- <p>
- In places remote from the sea, a whole salmon is seldom seen at table but
- at dinner parties, or at good hotels. In a very hot climate it should not
- be seen at all. When in season, it can be bought in any quantity by the
- pound, for a small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
- family. For a small dinner company, from four to six pounds will suffice.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cook salmon-trout in the same manner. Large fish should be helped with a
- silver fish trowel.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROASTED SALMON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large piece of fine fresh salmon, cut from the middle of the fish,
- well cleaned and carefully scaled. Wipe it dry in a clean coarse cloth.
- Then dredge it with flour, put it on the spit, and place it before a clear
- bright fire. Baste it with fresh butter, and roast it well; seeing that it
- is thoroughly done to the bone. Serve it up plain; garnishing the dish
- with slices of lemon, as many persons like a little lemon-juice with
- salmon. This mode of cooking salmon will be found excellent. A small one,
- or a salmon-trout, may be roasted whole.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED SALMON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A small salmon may be baked whole. Stuff it with forcemeat made of
- bread-crumbs; chopped oysters, or minced lobster; butter, cayenne, a
- little salt, and powdered mace,&mdash;all mixed well, and moistened with
- beaten yolk of egg. Bend the salmon round, and put the tail into the
- mouth, fastening it with a skewer. Put it into a large deep dish; lay bits
- of butter on it at small intervals; and set it into the oven. While
- baking, look at it occasionally, and baste it with the butter. When one
- side is well browned, turn it carefully in the dish, and add<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> more
- butter. Bake it till the other side is well browned. Then transfer it to
- another dish with the gravy that is about it, and send it to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you bake salmon in slices, reserve the forcemeat for the outside. Dip
- each slice first in beaten yolk of egg, and then in the forcemeat, till it
- is well coated.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED SALMON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash carefully all traces of blood from the inside of the fish. Cut it
- into rather thick slices, or fillets. Dry them in a clean cloth, and
- dredge them with flour. Chalk the bars of the gridiron, or grease them
- with lard or suet, or the dripping of beef or veal, to prevent the fish
- from sticking. Let the fire be a bed of clear bright hot coals. Broil the
- slices well on both sides; and when done, transfer them to a hot dish, and
- lay a bit of fresh butter on each, and season them a little with cayenne.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fresh codfish may be cut into steaks, and broiled as above.
- </p>
- <p>
- Also halibut, or any other large fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Serve up shrimp or lobster sauce, with all cutlets or steaks of large
- fish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED SALMON CUTLETS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having washed, dried and floured the cutlets, put near a pound of fresh
- lard into a frying pan, set it over a clear brisk fire till it boils fast.
- Have ready a marinade or dressing made of grated bread-crumbs,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> chopped
- sweet-marjoram, beaten yolks of eggs, and powdered mace&mdash;all well
- mixed. Dip each cutlet into this marinade twice over, and fry them. There
- must be plenty of lard, so that the cutlets may float on its surface
- instead of sinking to the bottom, and becoming dark, heavy, and greasy.
- When they are done, take them up with a perforated skimmer, draining off
- the lard as you do so. Lay them on a hot dish, and keep them hot till
- wanted. Serve up with them mashed potatos made into flat cakes, and
- browned with a salamander or red hot shovel.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fresh codfish cutlets may be fried in this manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may broil halibut as above. Halibut is too insipid for boiling.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED SALMON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Clean a fine fresh salmon, and remove the bones. Cut off the head, fins,
- and tail. Fish, to be pickled, should (instead of washing) be wiped, and
- rubbed with a clean dry cloth. Cut it into steaks or cutlets. Put it into
- a stone-ware jar with a close cover. A broad low jar will be best.
- Sprinkle it with salt, and cayenne. Add some grains of whole black pepper,
- and some blades of mace, seasoning it highly to make it keep well. Fill up
- the jar with the best cider vinegar, set it in a moderate oven, and bake
- it till thoroughly done; adding more vinegar, if it seems too dry. Then
- cover the jar very closely, with the lid&mdash;if there is the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> smallest
- crack, paste all round a fillet of strong, white paper. Whenever you open
- the jar to take out some of the salmon for use, add some fresh vinegar.
- Keep the jar in a dry cool place. If properly done, and well seasoned, it
- will keep several months.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED FRESH MACKEREL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mackerel cannot be eaten too fresh, as no fish spoils so soon; for which
- reason in England mackerel is permitted to be sold on Sundays. We have
- heard in London the fishwomen crying it about the streets on Sunday
- morning before church time. And even then it is far inferior to mackerel
- taken immediately out of the sea, at the places on the coast. It is
- generally broiled, as no other cooking seems to suit it, and draw forth
- its true flavor. Split your mackerel, remove the bone, and cut off the
- heads and tails. Dredge them on both sides with flour, and sprinkle the
- inside with black pepper and a little salt. Have your gridiron very hot,
- over a clear fire, and grease the bars with lard, or chalk them to prevent
- the fish from sticking. Broil them well on both sides, and when they are
- done, and very hot, lay some bits of fresh butter upon them. Cover to keep
- them warm, and send them to table as soon as possible. They are a fine
- breakfast fish, and good at a plain dinner. For sauce, cold butter is all
- that is necessary, but you may mix with it, chopped parsley, or minced
- fennel. At the best English tables, stewed <i>gooseberries</i>, pulped
- through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
- a sieve and sweetened, is the fashionable sauce for broiled mackerel, or
- lemon-juice is squeezed profusely over the fish. To this the lovers of
- fruit with every thing, will not object.
- </p>
- <p>
- If a mackerel is fresh, the eyes will be full and lively, the gills very
- red, and the stripes or bars on the back a very dark color, (nearly
- black,) and strongly marked; and the body thick. If thin and flat below
- the shoulders, the eyes sunk, the gills pale, and the dark stripes dull
- and indistinct, the fish is unfit to eat.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED MACKEREL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For frying, take small mackerel, as fresh as possible. Wash them, dry them
- in a clean cloth, and score them deeply in the back, making several deep
- cuts. Season them with a little salt and pepper. Go over them with beaten
- egg, and then cover them thickly with grated bread-crumbs; which, for this
- purpose, are superior to indian meal or pounded crackers. Fry them in
- boiling lard, and dish them hot. Send them to table with a dish of potatos
- sliced and fried in butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any fish may be fried in this manner. If large, cut it into pieces.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED HALIBUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- There is a great deal of eating in a halibut, as it is a fish of immense
- size, and has only the back bone. It is sold in pieces of any weight or
- quantity, and is exceedingly white<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98"
- id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> and delicate in appearance. But it is so very
- insipid, that when <i>boiled</i> it has no taste at all. Therefore it is
- always broiled or fried, except at tables where economy is the chief
- consideration. If broiled, it is done in the same manner as any other
- large fish, but to make it palatable requires something to give it a
- little taste.
- </p>
- <p>
- To fry halibut&mdash;take a piece from the middle of the fish, wash it
- very carefully, and dry it in a clean cloth. Then cut it into thick
- fillets, extracting the bone, which is easily done with a sharp knife,
- loosening the flesh from the bone, and raising it as you proceed. Remove
- the skin. You may also cut the fillets into slices about an inch thick.
- Season with cayenne, and a very little salt. Cover them slightly with nice
- butter. Have ready in one pan plenty of grated bread-crumbs; in another a
- sufficiency of beaten yolk of egg, seasoned with powdered mace and nutmeg.
- Dip the slices first into the egg, then into the pan of bread-crumbs. Do
- this twice over, to every slice. Have ready over the fire a hot frying pan
- full of <i>boiling</i> lard. Put in the slices and fry them well. When one
- side is done, turn the other. When all are done, take them from the frying
- pan with a perforated skimmer, and drain them. Keep them hot between two
- heated dishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cooked in this manner, the halibut will be sufficiently flavored and is a
- profitable fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of frying, the halibut steaks may be broiled over a clear fire, on
- a grooved gridiron. Having first buttered it, dip each steak, as above<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>, in
- bread-crumbs and egg, and lay upon each steak a large tomato opened, and
- stuffed with a forcemeat of bread-crumbs seasoned with butter, pepper, and
- mace. This will be found a very nice way of cooking halibut. Fresh cod may
- be done in the same manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold halibut is sometimes drest as salad for the tea-table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED TURBOT OR SHEEP'S-HEAD FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having cleaned and washed the fish, soak it an hour or two in salt and
- water to draw off the slime. Then let it lie half an hour or more in cold
- water. Afterwards drain, and wipe it dry. Score the back deeply with a
- knife. The whiteness of the fish will be improved by rubbing it over with
- a cut lemon. The fish kettle must be large, and nicely clean. Lay the fish
- with its back downward, on the strainer of the kettle. Cover it well with
- cold water, (milk and water in equal portions will be better still,) and
- add a small spoonful of salt. Do not let it come to a boil too fast, and
- skim it carefully. When the scum has ceased to rise, diminish the heat
- under the kettle, and let it simmer for about half an hour or more; not
- allowing it to boil hard. When the fish is done, take it up carefully with
- a fish-slice; and having prepared the sauce, pour it over the fish and
- send it to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- For the sauce, mix together very smoothly, with a broad-bladed knife, a
- quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and two table-spoonfuls of flour. Put
- them into a clean sauce-pan, and hold it over the fire,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> and stir
- them till melted. Then add a large salt-spoonful of powdered mace, and as
- much cayenne as will lie on a sixpence. It will be much improved by the
- addition of some boiled lobster, chopped small. When the sauce has
- simmered five minutes, add very gradually half a pint of rich cream, and
- let it come almost to a boil, stirring all the time. After the fish is
- taken up, pour the sauce over it hot. Or you may send it to table in a
- sauce-boat. In this case ornament the fish with the coral of the lobster
- put on in a handsome figure.
- </p>
- <p>
- Another way of dressing this fish is, after it has been boiled, to set it
- on ice to get cold; and then, having carefully removed the bones, cut the
- flesh into small squares, put it into a stew-pan, and having mixed the
- above sauce, add it to the fish, and let it stew slowly in the sauce; but
- do not let it come to a boil. When thoroughly hot, take it up, and send it
- to table in a deep dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED TURBOT OR SHEEP'S-HEAD FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having cleaned the fish, soak it an hour or two in salt and water, and
- afterwards wash it well through two or three fresh waters. Then dry it in
- a clean towel. Score it deeply across the back; and then lay it in a deep
- white baking-dish. Mix together a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace and
- nutmeg; add a salt-spoon of cayenne; a few sprigs of sweet marjoram and
- sweet basil, finely minced; two large table-spoonfuls of fresh<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> butter;
- and two table-spoonfuls of grated bread-crumbs. Stir this mixture into a
- pint of rich cream. Pour this marinade over the fish, cover it, and let it
- stand half an hour. Then bake it in the marinade; and send it hot to
- table.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the fish is too large to be baked whole, cut it into fillets,
- extracting the bone.
- </p>
- <p>
- Salmon-trout may be baked in this manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SEA BASS WITH TOMATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take three large fine sea-bass, or black-fish. Cut off their heads and
- tails, and fry the fish in plenty of lard till about half done. Have ready
- a pint of tomatos, that have been pickled cold in vinegar flavored with a
- muslin bag of mixed spices. Drain the tomatos well from the vinegar; skin
- them, and mash them in a pan; dredging them with about as much flour as
- would fill a large table-spoon heaped up. Pour the mixture over the fish
- while in the frying pan; and continue frying till they are thoroughly
- done.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cutlets of halibut may be fried in this manner with tomatos: also, any
- other pan-fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Beef-steaks or lamb-chops are excellent fried thus with tomatos.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED SALMON-TROUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having cleaned the fish, and laid it two hours in weak salt and water, dry
- it in a cloth, and then rub both the inside and outside with a seasoning
- of cayenne<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
- pepper, powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little salt, mixed well together.
- Then lay it in a deep baking-pan, turn the tail round into the mouth, and
- stick bits of fresh butter thickly over the fish. Put it into an oven, and
- bake it well; basting it frequently with the liquid that will soon
- surround it. When you suppose it to be nearly done, try it by sticking
- down to the backbone a thin-bladed knife. When you find that the flesh
- separates immediately from the bone, it is done sufficiently. Serve it up
- with lobster-sauce.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any large fresh fish may be baked in this way.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CREAM TROUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having prepared the trout very nicely, and cut off the heads and tails,
- put the fish into boiling water that has been slightly salted, and simmer
- them for five minutes. Then take them out, and lay them to drain. Put them
- into a stew-pan, and season them well with powdered mace, nutmeg, and a
- little cayenne, all mixed together. Put in as much rich cream as will
- cover the fish, adding the fresh yellow rind of a small lemon, grated.
- Keep the pan covered, and let the fish stew for about ten minutes after it
- has begun to simmer. Then dish the fish, and keep them hot till you have
- finished the sauce. Mix, very smoothly, a small table-spoonful of
- arrow-root, the juice of the lemon, and two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and
- stir it into the cream. Pour the sauce over the fish, and then send them
- to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- Turbot or sheep's-head fish may be dressed as<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> above; of course it will
- require a larger proportion of seasoning, &amp;c., and longer time to
- cook.
- </p>
- <p>
- Carp is very nice stewed in this manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED CODFISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine <i>fresh</i> cod, and cut it into slices an inch thick,
- separated from the bones. Lay the pieces of fish in the bottom of a
- stew-pan: season them with grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace; a
- salt-spoonful of cayenne pepper; and a small saucer full of chopped
- celery; or a bunch of sweet herbs tied together. Add a pint of oyster
- liquor, and the juice of a lemon. Cover it close, and let it stew gently
- till the fish is almost done, shaking the pan frequently. Then take a
- piece of fresh butter the size of an egg; roll it in flour, and add it to
- the stew. Also, put in two dozen large fine oysters, with what liquor
- there is about them. Cover it again; quicken the fire a little, and let
- the whole continue to stew five minutes longer. Before you send it to
- table, remove the bunch of sweet herbs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rock-fish may be stewed in this manner. Fresh salmon also.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED CODFISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the middle or tail part of a fresh codfish, and cut it into slices
- not quite an inch thick, first removing the skin. Season them with a
- little salt and cayenne pepper. Have ready in one dish some beaten yolk of
- egg, and in another some grated bread-crumbs. Dip each slice of fish twice
- into the egg, and then twice<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104"
- id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> into the crumbs. Fry them in fresh butter,
- and serve them up with the gravy about them.
- </p>
- <p>
- Halibut may be fried as above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED HALIBUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut the fish into pieces about four inches square, of course omitting the
- bone. Season it very slightly with salt, and let it rest for half an hour.
- Then take it out of the salt, put it into a large deep dish, and strew
- over it a mixture of cayenne pepper, ground white ginger, and grated
- nutmeg. Lay among it some small bits of fresh butter rolled in grated
- bread. Add half a pint of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar if you have it.)
- Place the dish in a slow oven, and let the halibut cook till thoroughly
- done, basting it very <i>frequently</i> with the liquid. When nearly done,
- add a large table-spoonful or more of capers, or pickled nasturtions.
- </p>
- <p>
- Halibut is a very insipid fish; but this mode of cooking will give it
- taste.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED ROCK-FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large rock-fish, and cut it in slices near an inch thick. Sprinkle
- it <i>very slightly</i> with salt, and let it remain for half an hour.
- Slice very thin half a dozen large onions. Put them into a stew-pan with a
- quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut into bits. Set them over a slow
- fire, and stir them continually till they are quite soft, taking care not
- to let them become brown. Then put in the sliced fish<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> in layers; seasoning each
- layer with a mixture of white ground ginger, cayenne pepper, and grated
- nutmeg; add some chopped parsley, and some bits of butter rolled in flour.
- Pour in a pint of water, and, if you choose, a wine-glass of vinegar,
- (tarragon vinegar will be best.<a name="FNanchor_B" id="FNanchor_B"></a><a
- href="#Footnote_B" class="fnanchor">[B]</a>) Set it over a good fire and
- let it cook about an hour. When done, take out the fish carefully, to
- avoid breaking the slices. Lay it in a deep dish that has been made hot,
- and cover it immediately. Have ready the beaten yolks of two eggs. Stir
- them into the gravy. Give it one boil up; and then either pour it over the
- fish, or serve it up in a sauce-boat.
- </p>
- <p>
- Halibut, fresh cod, or any other large fish may be stewed in this manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO KEEP A SHAD FRESH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- By the following process, (which we can highly recommend from experience,)
- a shad may be kept twenty-four hours, or indeed longer, so as to be
- perfectly fresh in taste and appearance. For instance, if brought <i>fresh</i>
- from market on Saturday morning, it may be broiled for breakfast on
- Sunday, and will seem like a fresh shad just from the water. Immediately
- on bringing it in, let it be scaled, cleaned, washed, split, and wiped
- dry; cutting off the head<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106"
- id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> and tail. Spread the shad open on a large
- flat dish. Mix well together in a cup, a heaped table-spoonful of brown
- sugar; a heaped tea-spoonful of cayenne pepper, and a tea-spoonful of fine
- salt; and then rub the mixture, thoroughly and evenly, all over the inside
- of the fish; which, of course, must be spread with the skin or outside
- downward. Cover it closely with a large tin cover or with another dish,
- and set it immediately on ice or in a very cold place, and let it rest
- till next morning, or till it is wanted for cooking. Immediately before
- you put it on the gridiron, take a clean towel and carefully wipe off the
- <i>whole of the seasoning</i>, not letting a particle of it remain round
- the edges, or anywhere else. Then put the shad on a previously heated
- gridiron, over hot coals, and broil it well. Butter it, and send it hot to
- table, where every one can season it again, according to their taste.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLANKED SHAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is the best way of cooking shad when in perfection, just out of the
- river; and it is much in use at fishing party dinners. A board or plank,
- about three inches thick and two feet square, must be provided for the
- purpose. This plank should be of well-seasoned oak or hickory, and very
- clean. A pine board will very soon catch fire and burn; besides
- communicating to the fish a taste of turpentine or rosin. Take a very fine
- shad, and (having cut off the head and tail,) split it down the back,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> clean
- it, wash it well, and wipe it dry. Sprinkle it with salt, and cayenne.
- Stand up the board before the fire till it becomes very hot, and almost
- begins to char. Then nail to the hot board the spread-open shad, with the
- back or skin-side next to the plank, securing it with a few nails, not
- driven in so hard that they cannot easily be drawn out. Begin to roast it
- with the head downward. After a while turn the other end of the plank, so
- as to place the tail downward. Turn it frequently up or down, that the
- juices of the fish may be equally dispersed throughout. When done, butter
- it with fresh butter, and send it to table on the board; under which,
- place a large dish or tray. Help it to the company off the plank. This
- mode of cooking a shad will be found superior to all others; and is so
- generally liked, that two at least will be required, one at each end of
- the table. It is much enjoyed by parties who have dinners on the banks of
- the river, and bespeak of the fishermen shad just out of the water.
- </p>
- <p>
- Lake salmon may be cooked in this manner on a plank. Also, blue fish, and
- the lake white fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- At the principal household stores, shad-boards of oak are now to be
- purchased ready made. The cost is from a dollar to seventy-five cents.
- They are very strong and smooth, and furnished with thick wires crossing
- the board diagonally. Behind these the fish is to slip in without nailing.
- They are much used, and we advise every house-keeper to get one. We see
- very nice ones at Carryl's Furnishing Store, Chestnut street,
- Philadelphia.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="SHELL_FISH" id="SHELL_FISH"></a>SHELL FISH.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO CHOOSE OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Insert a knife, and if the shell instantly closes firmly on the knife, the
- oysters are fresh. If it shuts slowly and faintly, or not at all, they are
- dying, or dead. When the shells of raw oysters are found gaping open they
- are fit for nothing but to throw away, and should not have been seen in
- the market, as they are quite dead and decomposition has commenced. Clams
- the same.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO FEED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- When it is necessary to keep oysters a day or two before they are cooked,
- they must be kept clean and fed, otherwise they will die and spoil. Put
- them into a large tub of clean water; wash from them the mud and sand, and
- scrub them with a birch broom. Then pour off <i>that</i> water, and give
- them a clean tubful, placing the oysters with the deep or large side
- downward, and sprinkling them well, with salt mixed with it, allowing
- about a pint of salt to every two gallons of water. But if you have a very
- large quantity of oysters, add to the salt and water several handfuls of
- indian meal. Repeat this every twelve hours, with fresh water and meal.
- Always at the time of high water, oysters may be seen to open their
- shells, as if in expectation of their accustomed food. If this is<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
- carefully continued, they will remain plump and healthy for two days.
- </p>
- <p>
- Terrapins also, and other shell fish, should have the salt and water
- changed every twelve hours, and be fed with corn meal.
- </p>
- <p>
- Turtle must also be well fed, and allowed salted water to swim in.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Get two hundred or more fine large fresh oysters. Drain them from their
- liquor, (saving it in a pitcher,) and put them into a stew-pan with a
- quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and set them over the fire. When they
- have simmered, and have almost come to a boil, remove them from the fire;
- and have ready a pan of very cold water. Take out the oysters, (one at a
- time, on a fork,) and put them into the cold water. This will plump them,
- and render them firm. Having saved about half their liquor, put it into
- the stew-pan, seasoned well with blades of mace, grated nutmeg, whole
- pepper-corns, and a little cayenne. Stir in half a pint or more of thick
- rich cream; and if you cannot procure cream, an equal quantity of nice
- fresh butter divided into bits, slightly dredged with a very little flour.
- Boil the liquor by itself, and when it comes to a boil, take the oysters
- out of the cold water, and put them into the boiling liquor. In five
- minutes remove the pan from the fire, (the oysters having simmered,) and
- transfer them to a tureen or deep dish, in the bottom of which has<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> been
- laid a buttered toast, that has previously been dipped a minute in hot
- water or milk.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRENCH STEWED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash fifty fine large oysters in their own liquor, then strain it into a
- stew-pan, putting the oysters in a pan of cold water. Season the liquor
- with a large glass or half a pint of white wine, (sherry or Madeira,) the
- juice of two lemons, six or seven blades of mace, and a small grated
- nutmeg. Boil the seasoned liquor; and skim, and stir it well. When it
- comes to a boil, put in the oysters. Give them one good stir, and then
- immediately take them from the fire, transfer them to a deep dish, and
- send them to table. They are not to boil.
- </p>
- <p>
- Many persons consider this the finest way of cooking oysters for company.
- Try it. The oysters must be of the very best.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For frying, take only the largest and finest oysters. They should be as
- fresh as you can get them. Salt oysters are not good for frying. Take them
- out of their liquor, carefully, with a fork, picking off whatever bits of
- shell may be about them. Dry them in a clean napkin. Prepare some grated
- bread-crumbs, or pounded cracker, or soda biscuit, seasoned with cayenne
- pepper. Have ready plenty of yolk of egg beaten till very light; and to
- each egg allow a large tea-spoonful of rich cream, or of the best<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> fresh
- butter. Beat the egg and cream together. Dip each oyster first into the
- egg, &amp;c., and then into the crumbs. Repeat this twice till the oysters
- are well-coated all over. Have ready boiling, in a frying-pan, an equal
- mixture of fresh butter and lard. It must come nearly to the edge or top
- of the frying-pan, and be boiling fast when the oysters go in; otherwise
- they will be heavy and greasy, and sink to the bottom. Fry them of a
- yellow brown on both sides. Send them to table very hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Oysters will be found much the best when fried in grated bread-crumbs.
- Cracker-crumbs form a hard, tough coating that is very indigestible, and
- also impairs the flavor. Use no salt in making the batter. Omit it
- entirely. It overpowers the taste of the oysters.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OYSTER FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Allow to each egg a heaped table-spoonful of flour, and a jill or small
- tea-cupful of milk. Beat the eggs till very light and thick; then stir
- them, gradually, into the pan of milk, in turn with the flour, a little at
- a time. Beat the whole very hard. Have ready the oysters, that you may
- proceed immediately to baking the fritters. The oysters should be fresh,
- and of the largest size. Having drained them from their liquor, and dried
- them separately in a cloth, and dredged them with flour, set over the fire
- a frying-pan nearly full of lard. When it boils fast, put in a large
- spoonful of the batter. Then lay an oyster<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> upon it, and cover the
- oyster with another spoonful of batter. Fry the fritters of a nice yellow.
- As they are done, take them up, drain off the lard from the oysters, and
- keep them hot till they go to table. This will be found a very fine
- receipt if <i>exactly</i> followed.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CLAM FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put a sufficient quantity of clams into a pot of boiling water. The small
- sand-clam will be best. When the shells open wide, take them out, extract
- the clams from the shells, and put them into a stew-pan. Strain their
- liquor, and pour about half of it over the clams; adding a little black
- pepper. They will require no salt. Let them stew, slowly, for half an
- hour; then take them out; drain off all the liquor; and mince the clams as
- fine as possible, omitting the hardest parts. You should have as many
- clams as will make a large pint when minced. Make a batter of seven eggs,
- beaten till very thick and light, and then mixed gradually with a quart of
- milk, and a pint of sifted flour, stirred in by degrees, and made
- perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Then, gradually, mix the minced
- clams with the batter, and stir the whole very hard. Have ready in a
- frying-pan over the fire, a sufficiency of boiling lard. Put in, with a
- spoon, the batter so as to form fritters, and fry them light brown. Drain
- them well when done and serve them up hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Oyster fritters may be made as above: except<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> that the oysters must be
- minced raw, and mixed into the batter without having been stewed.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Soft-crab Fritters.</i>&mdash;Use only the bodies of the crabs, and
- proceed as above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SCOLLOPED CLAMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having boiled a quantity of small sand-clams till they open of themselves,
- remove them from the shells. Drain away the liquor, and chop them small,
- omitting the hardest parts. Season them with black pepper and powdered
- mace, and mix them with grated bread-crumbs and fresh butter. Get some
- large clean clam-shells, and fill them to the edge with the above mixture,
- moistened with <i>a very little</i> of the liquor. Cover the surface with
- grated crumbs, and add to each one a small bit of butter. Set them in an
- oven, and bake them light brown. Send them to table in the shells they
- were baked in, arranged on large dishes. They are eaten at breakfast and
- supper. Clams must always have the shells washed before they are boiled.
- </p>
- <p>
- Oysters are frequently scolloped in this manner, minced, and served up in
- large <i>clam</i> shells.
- </p>
- <p>
- Boiled crabs, also, are cooked, minced, and prepared in this way, and sent
- to table in the back-shell of the crab.
- </p>
- <p>
- All these scollops are improved by mixing among them some hard-boiled
- eggs, minced or chopped; or some raw egg beaten.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROASTED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The old-fashioned way of roasting oysters is to lay them on a hot hearth,
- and cover them in hot cinders or ashes, (taking them out with tongs when
- done,) or to put them into a moderate fire. When done, their shells will
- begin to open. The usual way now is to broil them on large gridirons of
- strong wire. Serve them up in their shells on large dishes, or on trays,
- at oyster suppers. At every plate lay an oyster knife and a clean coarse
- towel, and between every two chairs set a bucket to receive the empty
- shells. The gentlemen generally save the ladies the trouble of opening the
- oysters, by performing that office for them.
- </p>
- <p>
- Have on the table, to eat with the oysters, bread-rolls, biscuits, butter,
- and glasses with sticks of celery scraped, and divested of the green
- leaves at the top. Have also ale or porter.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or, you may take large oysters out of their shells, dredge them lightly
- with flour, lay them separately on a wire gridiron, and broil them. Serve
- them up on large dishes, with a morsel of fresh butter laid on each
- oyster.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SCOLLOPED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Drain the liquor from a sufficient quantity of fine fresh oysters; and
- season them with blades of mace, grated nutmeg, and a little cayenne. Lay
- about a dozen of them in the bottom of a deep dish. Cut some slices of
- wheat bread, and put them to soak in a pan of the oyster liquor
- (previously strained.)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115"
- id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Soak the bread till it is soft throughout, but not dissolved. Cover the
- oysters in the bottom of the dish, with some slices of the soaked bread,
- (drained from the liquor,) and lay upon the bread a few small bits of nice
- fresh butter. Then put in another layer of seasoned oysters; then another
- layer of soaked bread with bits of butter dispersed upon it. Repeat this
- with more layers of oysters, soaked bread, and bits of butter, till the
- dish is full, finishing with a close layer of bread on the top. Set this
- into a hot oven, and bake it, a short time only, or till it is well
- browned on the surface. Oysters require but little cooking, and this bread
- has had one baking already. The liquid that is about the bread is
- sufficient. It requires no more.
- </p>
- <p>
- Scolloped oysters may be cooked in large, clean, clam-shells and served up
- on great dishes.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a hundred fine large oysters&mdash;set them over the fire in their
- own liquor&mdash;add two ounces of nice fresh butter, and simmer them
- slowly for ten minutes; skimming them well. If they boil fast and long,
- they will become hard and shrivelled. Take them off the fire and strain
- from them their liquor; spread the oysters out on large dishes, and place
- them in the air to cool fast, or lay them in a broad pan of cold water.
- This renders them firm. Strain the liquor, and then mix with it an equal
- quantity of the best and purest clear cider-vinegar. Season (if the
- oysters are fresh,) with a small tea-spoonful of<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> salt, two dozen whole
- pepper-corns, and a table-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg, mixed. Let
- the liquor boil till it is reduced to little more than enough to cover the
- oysters well. Put the oysters into a tureen, or a broad stone jar. Pour
- the hot liquor over them, and let them grow quite cold before they are
- eaten. You may give them a fine tinge of pale pink color by adding to the
- liquor (while boiling,) a little prepared cochineal.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- <i>For keeping.</i>&mdash;Have five or six hundred oysters of the finest
- sort and largest size. Proceed as in the foregoing receipt, but increase,
- proportionately, the quantity of spice and vinegar. Put them in stone-ware
- jars, securing the covers by pasting all round, bands or strips of thick
- white paper; and place on each jar, on the top of the liquor, a
- table-spoonful of salad oil.
- </p>
- <p>
- Use no other than <i>genuine cider-vinegar</i>. Much that is sold for the
- best white-wine vinegar is in reality a deleterious compound of pernicious
- drugs, that will eat up or dissolve the oysters entirely, leaving nothing
- but a sickening whitish fluid. This vinegar is at first so overpoweringly
- sharp and pungent, as to destroy, entirely, the taste of the spices; and,
- while cooking, emits a disagreeable smell. The oysters immediately become
- ragged, and in less than an hour are entirely destroyed. This vinegar acts
- in the same manner on all other pickles, and the use of it should always
- be shunned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Drugs</i> should not be employed in any sort of cookery, though their
- introduction is now most lamentably frequent. They ruin the flavor and are
- injurious to health.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OYSTER PATTIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make sufficient puff-paste for at least a dozen small patties. Roll it out
- thick, and line with it twelve small tin patty-pans. Bake them brown in a
- brisk oven; and when done set them to cool. Have ready two or three dozen
- large, fine, fresh oysters. Wash and drain them, and put them into a
- stew-pan with no other liquid than just enough of their own liquor to keep
- them from burning. Season them with cayenne, nutmeg, and mace, and a few
- of the green tops or leaves of celery sprigs minced small. Add a quarter
- of a pound of fresh butter, divided into bits, and laid among the oysters.
- To enrich the gravy, stir in, at the last, the beaten yolks of three or
- four eggs, or some thick cream or butter. Let the oysters stew in this
- gravy about five minutes. When the patties are beginning to cool, fill
- each with one or two large oysters. If you choose, you can bake for every
- patty a small round lid of pastry, to be laid lightly on the top, so as to
- cover the oysters when they go to table. For company, make a large
- quantity of oyster patties, as they are much liked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OYSTER LOAVES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some tall fresh rolls, or small loaves. Cut nicely a round or oval<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> hole in
- the top of each, saving the pieces that come off. Then carefully scoop out
- most of the crumb from the inside, leaving the crust standing. Have ready
- a sufficient quantity of large fresh oysters. Put the oysters with
- one-fourth of their liquor into a stew-pan; adding the bread-crumbs, a
- large piece of fresh butter, some powdered nutmeg, and mace. Stew them
- about ten minutes. Then stir in two or three large table-spoonfuls of
- cream; take them off just as they are coming to a boil. If cooked too long
- the oysters will become tough and shriveled, and the cream will curdle.
- Fill the inside of your scooped loaves with the oysters, reserving as many
- large oysters as you have loaves. Place the bit of upper-crust carefully
- on the top of each, so as to cover the whole. Arrange them on a dish, and
- lay on each lid one of the large oysters kept out for the purpose. These
- ornamental oysters must be well drained from any liquid that is about
- them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OYSTER OMELET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having strained the liquor from twenty-five oysters of the largest size,
- mince them small; omitting the hard part or gristle. If you cannot get
- large oysters, you should have forty or fifty small ones. Break into a
- shallow pan six, seven, or eight eggs, according to the quantity of minced
- oysters. Omit half the whites, and, (having beaten the eggs till very
- light, thick, and smooth,) mix the oysters gradually into them, adding a
- little cayenne pepper,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119"
- id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> and some powdered nutmeg. Put three ounces
- or more of the best fresh butter into a small frying-pan, if you have no
- pan especially for omelets. Place it over a clear fire, and when the
- butter, (which should be previously cut up,) has come to a boil, put in
- the omelet-mixture; stir it till it begins to set; and fry it light brown,
- lifting the edge several times by slipping a knife under it, and taking
- care not to cook it too much or it will shrivel and become tough. When
- done, clap a large hot plate or dish on the top of the omelet, and turn it
- quickly and carefully out of the pan. Serve it up immediately. It is a
- fine breakfast dish. This quantity will make one large or two small
- omelets.
- </p>
- <p>
- Clam omelets may be made as above.
- </p>
- <p>
- An omelet pan should be smaller than a common frying-pan, and lined with
- tin. In a large pan the omelet will spread too much, and become thin like
- a pancake.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never turn an omelet while frying, as that will make it heavy and tough.
- When done, brown it by holding a red-hot shovel or salamander close above
- the top.
- </p>
- <p>
- Excellent omelets may be made of cold boiled ham, or smoked tongue; grated
- or minced small, mixed with a sufficiency of beaten eggs, and fried in
- butter.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the largest and finest oysters. See that your gridiron is very clean.
- Rub the bars with fresh butter, and set it<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> over a clear steady fire,
- entirely free from smoke; or on a bed of bright hot wood coals. Place the
- oysters on the gridiron, and when done on one side, take a fork and turn
- them on the other; being careful not to let them burn. Put some fresh
- butter in the bottom of a dish. Lay the oysters on it, and season them
- with pepper and grated nutmeg. Send them to table hot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OYSTER PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having buttered the inside of a deep dish, line it with puff-paste rolled
- out rather thick; and prepare another sheet of paste for the lid. Pat a
- clean towel into the dish (folded so as to support the lid) and then put
- on the lid; set it into the oven, and bake the paste well. When done,
- remove the lid, and take out the folded towel. While the paste is baking,
- prepare the oysters. Having picked off carefully any bits of shell that
- may be found about them, lay them in a sieve and drain off the liquor into
- a pan. Put the oysters into a skillet or stew-pan, with barely enough of
- the liquor to keep them from burning. Season them with whole pepper,
- blades of mace, some grated nutmeg, and some grated lemon-peel, (the
- yellow rind only,) and a little finely minced celery. Then add a large
- portion of fresh butter, divided into bits, and very slightly dredged with
- flour. Let the oysters simmer over the fire, but do not allow them to come
- to a boil, as that will shrivel them. Next beat the yolks only, of three,
- four, or five eggs, (in pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121"
- id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>portion to the size of the pie,) and stir
- the beaten egg into the stew a few minutes before you take it from the
- fire. Keep it warm till the paste is baked. Then carefully remove the lid
- of the pie; and replace it, after you have filled the dish with the
- oysters and gravy.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lid of the pie may be ornamented with a wreath of leaves cut out of
- paste, and put on before baking. In the centre, place a paste-knot or
- flower.
- </p>
- <p>
- Oyster pies are generally eaten warm; but they are very good cold.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CLAM PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a sufficient number of clams to fill a large pie-dish when opened.
- Make a nice paste in the proportion of a pound of fresh butter to two
- quarts of flour. Paste for shell fish, or meat, or chicken pies, should be
- rolled out double the thickness of that intended for fruit pies. Line the
- sides and bottom of your pie-dish with paste. Then cover the bottom with a
- thin beef steak, divested of bone and fat. Put in the clams, and season
- them with mace, nutmeg, and a few whole pepper-corns. No salt. Add a
- spoonful of butter rolled in flour, and some hard-boiled yolks of eggs
- crumbled fine. Then put in enough of the clam liquor to make sufficient
- gravy. Put on the lid of the pie, (which, like the bottom crust, should be
- rolled out thick,) notch it handsomely, and bake it well. It should be
- eaten warm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SOFT CRABS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- These are crabs that, having cast their old shells, have not yet assumed
- the new ones. In this, the transition state, they are considered
- delicacies. Put them into fast-boiling water, and boil them for ten
- minutes. Then take them out, drain them, wipe them very clean, and prepare
- them for frying by removing the spongy part inside and the sand-bag. Put
- plenty of fresh lard into a pan; and when it boils fast, lay in the crabs,
- and fry them well, seasoning them with cayenne. As soon as they are done
- of a nice golden color, take them out, drain off the lard back into the
- pan, and lay them on a large <i>hot</i> dish. Cover them to keep warm
- while you fry, in the same lard, all the best part of a fresh lettuce,
- chopped small. Let it fry only long enough to become hot throughout. When
- you serve up the crabs cover them with the fried lettuce. Stir into the
- gravy some cream, or a piece of nice fresh butter rolled in flour; and
- send it to table in a sauce-boat, seasoned with a little cayenne.
- </p>
- <p>
- Soft crabs require no other flavoring. They make a nice breakfast-dish for
- company. Only the large claws are eaten, therefore break off as useless
- the small ones.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of lettuce, you may fry the crabs with parsley&mdash;removed from
- the pan before it becomes brown. Pepper-grass is still better.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TERRAPINS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- In buying terrapins select the largest and thickest. Like all other
- delicacies,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
- the best are the cheapest in the end. Small poor terrapins are not worth
- the cost of the seasoning. A poor terrapin, poorly dressed, is indeed a
- poor thing, and is always recognized as such, by those who are expected to
- eat it. <i>Get fine terrapins only.</i> Put them into a pot of water that
- is boiling very hard at the time, and let them boil for about ten minutes.
- Immediately on taking them out, proceed to rub, with a coarse clean cloth,
- all the skin from the head, neck, and claws&mdash;also, the thin shell, as
- it comes loose. Having washed them in warm water, put the terrapins into a
- clean pot with fresh water, and a table-spoonful of salt, and boil them
- again till they are thoroughly done, and the paws are perfectly soft.
- Remove the toe-nails. Some terrapins require three hours. When they are
- quite soft, open them carefully, remove the spongy part, the sand-bag, the
- gall, and the entrails&mdash;it being now the custom to throw away the
- whole of the disgusting garbage, always tasteless, tough, and disagreeable
- to look at. Be careful not to break the gall, as it will give an
- unpleasant bitter taste to the whole. Cut into small pieces all the meat
- of the terrapins, put them into a stew-pan, (adding the juice they have
- yielded in cutting up, <i>but no water</i>,) and proceed to season them,
- beginning with cayenne and black pepper, to your taste; also, a handful of
- flour for the thickening. Stir all well together, and in a short time add
- four table-spoonfuls of cream, or fresh butter, and a half pint of Madeira
- or sherry to every four terrapins. If they have no eggs, make up some<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
- artificially; crumbling the yolks of hard-boiled common eggs, mashed to a
- paste with a little nice butter, and then made into balls with beaten raw
- egg. Add plenty of these to the stew, and let the whole cook together for
- a quarter of an hour longer. Serve it up hot, in a well heated covered
- dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Four fine large terrapins generally make one dish; and the above is the
- usual quantity of seasoning for them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- NEW WAY OF DRESSING TERRAPINS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- In buying terrapins, select those only that are large, fat, and
- thick-bodied. Put them whole into water that is boiling hard at the time,
- and (adding a little salt) boil them till thoroughly done throughout.
- Then, taking off the shell, extract the meat, and remove carefully the
- sand-bag and gall; also, <i>all the entrails</i>,&mdash;they are
- disgusting, unfit to eat, and are no longer served up in cooking terrapin
- for the best tables. Cut the meat into pieces, and put it into a stew-pan
- with its eggs, and sufficient fresh butter to stew it well. Let it stew
- till quite hot throughout, keeping the pan carefully covered that none of
- the flavor may escape; but shake it over the fire while stewing. In
- another pan, make a sauce of beaten yolk of egg, highly flavored with
- Madeira or sherry, and powdered nutmeg and mace, and enriched with a large
- lump of fresh butter. Stir this sauce well over the fire, and when it has<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> <i>almost</i>
- come to a boil, take it off. Send the terrapin to table hot in a covered
- dish, and the sauce <i>separately</i> in a sauce-tureen, to be used by
- those who like it, and omitted by those who prefer the genuine flavor of
- the terrapin when simply stewed with butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is now the usual mode of dressing terrapins in Maryland and Virginia,
- and will be found superior to any other.
- </p>
- <p>
- No dish of terrapins can be good unless the terrapins themselves are of
- the best quality. It is mistaken economy to buy poor ones. Besides being
- insipid and tasteless, it takes more in number to fill a dish. The females
- are the best.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A TERRAPIN POT-PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take several fine large terrapins, the fattest and thickest you can get.
- Put them into a large pot of water that is boiling hard; and boil them
- half an hour or more. Then take them out of the shell, pulling off the
- outer skin and the toe-nails. Remove the sand-bag and the gall, taking
- care not to break it, or it will render the whole too bitter to be eaten.
- Take out also the entrails, and throw them away; as the custom of cooking
- them is now, very properly, exploded. Then cut up all the meat of the
- terrapins, taking care to save all the liquid that exudes in cutting up,
- and also the eggs. Season the whole with pepper, mace, and nutmeg, adding
- a little salt; and lay among it pieces of fresh butter slightly rolled in
- flour.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Have ready an ample quantity of paste, made in the proportion of a pound
- of butter to two large quarts (or pounds) of flour, or a pound and a half
- of butter to three quarts of flour, and rolled out thick. Butter the
- inside of an iron pot, and line the sides with paste, till it reaches
- within one-third of the top. Then put in the pieces of terrapin, with the
- eggs, butter, &amp;c., and with all the liquid. Lay among the terrapin,
- square pieces of paste. Then pour in sufficient water to stew the whole
- properly. Next, cover all with a circular lid, or top-crust of paste, but
- do not fit it so closely that the gravy cannot bubble up over the edges
- while cooking. Cut a small cross slit in the top crust. Place the pot,
- with the pie, over a good fire, and boil it till the whole is thoroughly
- done, which will be in from three quarters to an hour after it comes to a
- boil. Take care not to let it get too dry, but keep at hand a kettle of
- boiling water to replenish the pot when necessary. To ascertain if the pie
- is done, lift up with a fork a little of the paste, at one side, and try
- it low down in the pot.
- </p>
- <p>
- It may be much improved, by mixing among the pieces of terrapins, (before
- putting them into the pie,) some yolks of hard-boiled eggs, grated or
- minced. They will enrich the gravy.
- </p>
- <p>
- A pot-pie may be made, (a very fine one too,) of some of the best pieces
- of a green turtle.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A SEA-COAST PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having boiled a sufficient number of crabs and lobsters, extract all the
- meat from the shells, and cut it into mouthfuls. Have ready some fine
- large oysters drained from the liquor. Cover the bottom and sides of a
- deep dish with puff-paste; and put in a thick layer of crab or lobster,
- seasoned with a little cayenne pepper, and a grated lemon-peel. Mix it
- with some hard-boiled yolk of egg, crumbled fine, and moistened with fresh
- butter. Next, put a close layer of oysters, seasoned with pounded mace and
- grated nutmeg. Put some bits of butter rolled in flour on the top of the
- layer. Proceed in this manner with alternate layers of crab or lobster,
- and of oysters, till the dish is nearly full. Then pour in, at the last, a
- tea-cupful or more of the oyster liquor, with an equal quantity of rich
- cream. Have ready a thick lid of puff-paste. Put it on the pie, pressing
- the edges closely, so as to unite them all round; and notch them
- handsomely. Make a wreath of leaves cut out of paste, and a flower or knot
- for the centre; place them on the top-crust; and bake the pie well. While
- it is baking, prepare some balls made of chopped oysters; grated
- bread-crumbs; powdered nutmeg, or mace; and grated lemon-peel; also, some
- hard-boiled yolks of eggs, grated. Having fried these balls in butter,
- drain them, and when the pie is baked, lay a circle of them round the top,
- between the border of paste-leaves and the centre-knot.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pie will be found so fine that it ought to<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> be baked in a dish which
- will contain a large quantity.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO DRESS A TURTLE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The turtle should be taken out of water, and killed over night in winter,
- and early in the morning in summer. Hang it up by the hind fins, and
- before it has had time to draw in its neck, cut off its head with a very
- sharp knife, and leave the turtle suspended. It should bleed two or three
- hours or more, before you begin to cut it up. Then lay it on its back upon
- a table: have at hand several vessels of cold water, in which to throw the
- most important parts as you separate them; also a large boiler of hot
- water. Take off the fins at the joint, and lay them by themselves in cold
- water; next divide the back-shell from the under-shell. The upper part of
- the turtle is called the calipash&mdash;the under part the calipee. In
- cutting open the turtle, be very careful not to break the gall, which
- should be taken out and thrown away; if broken, its bitterness will spoil
- all around it. Take out the entrails and throw them away. The practice of
- cooking them is now obsolete. So it is with the entrails of terrapins.
- Using a sharp knife, cut off the fins carefully, also the liver, lungs,
- heart, kidneys, &amp;c. Wash them well, and lay them in a pan of cold
- water, the liver in a pan by itself. If there are eggs, put them also into
- cold water. Having extracted the intestines, stand up the turtle on end,
- to let the blood run out. Afterwards cut out all<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> the flesh from the upper
- and under shells, and remove the bones. Cut the calipee (or meat belonging
- to the under-shell) into pieces about as large as the palm of your hand,
- and break the shell. The calipash, or meat next the back-shell, may be cut
- smaller&mdash;the green fat into pieces about two inches square. Put all
- the meat into a large pan, sprinkle it slightly with salt, and cover it
- up. Lay the shells and fins in a tub of boiling water, and scald them till
- the scales can be scraped off with a knife, and all the meat that still
- adheres to the shells easily removed, as it is worth saving. Clean the
- fins nicely, (taking off the dark skin,) and lay them in cold water. Wipe
- the back-shell dry, and set it aside. Then proceed to make the soup. For
- this purpose, take the coarser pieces of flesh with the bone likewise. Put
- them into a pot with a pound of cold ham cut into pieces, and eight large
- calves'-feet (two sets) that have been singed and scraped, but not
- skinned. If you cannot conveniently obtain calves'-feet, substitute a
- large fore-leg or knuckle of veal. Add four onions, sliced thin; two
- tablespoonfuls of sweet-marjoram leaves; a large bunch of basil; a dozen
- blades of mace; and a salt-spoon of cayenne. The ham will make any other
- salt unnecessary. Pour on as much water as will completely cover the
- whole, and let it simmer slowly over a steady fire during five hours,
- skimming it well. If after a while the soup seems to be boiling away too
- much, replenish it with a little hot water from a kettle, kept boiling
- hard for the purpose. When it has simmered five hours, take<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> up the
- whole, and strain the soup through a sieve into a deep pan. Wash out the
- soup-pot with hot water, and return the strained soup to it, with the
- liver, &amp;c., cut in small pieces, and some of the best of the meat, and
- a portion of the green fat. Have ready two or three dozen force-meat
- balls, the size of a hickory nut, and made of the usual proportions of
- minced veal, bread-crumbs, butter, grated lemon-peel, mace, nutmeg, and
- beaten yolk of egg. Put them into the soup, and let it boil an hour
- longer; also the eggs of the turtle, or some hard-boiled yolks of eggs.
- After it has thus boiled another hour, add the juice and grated yellow
- rinds of two lemons, and a pint of Madeira. Boil the soup a quarter of an
- hour longer, and it will then be ready for the tureen. It must never boil
- hard.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the mean time, stew in another pot the finest of the turtle-meat,
- seasoned with a little salt and cayenne, and a liberal allowance of
- sweet-marjoram leaves rubbed fine, and mixed with powdered mace and
- nutmeg. Add a pound of fresh butter, cut into pieces and rolled in flour.
- When the turtle-meat has stewed an hour, put in the green fat, and add the
- juice and grated yellow rinds of two lemons, and a pint or more of
- Madeira, and let the whole stew slowly an hour longer. While the meat is
- stewing, take the shell of the back; wash it clean, and wipe it dry; lay a
- band of puff-paste all round the inside of the shell, two inches below the
- edge, and two inches above it. Notch the paste handsomely, and fill the
- shell with the stewed turtle. Have ready the oven, heated as if<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> for
- bread. Lay a large iron baking-sheet or a square pan upon four bricks (one
- at each corner) to elevate the turtle-shell from the floor of the oven.
- Place on it the shell with its contents, and let it bake till well browned
- on the surface. Send it to table with the shell placed on a large dish. At
- the other end set the tureen of soup. Have ready (on two side dishes) the
- fins stewed tender in a little of the soup, and the liver fried in butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- This receipt is for a turtle of moderate size. A large one will, of
- course, require an increased proportion of all the articles used in
- seasoning it&mdash;more wine, &amp;c. In serving up turtle at a
- dinner-party, let it constitute the first course, and have nothing else on
- the table while the turtle is there.
- </p>
- <p>
- We have seen elegant silver turtle-dishes, representing the back-shell of
- the animal, superbly chased and engraved, the feet for it to stand on
- being paws of silver; and the fins having hollow places to hold the sauce.
- This was for the stew; making a dish separate from the soup, which is
- always sent to table in a tureen.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TURTLE PASTY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- When the meat has been all extracted, scrape and wash the large back shell
- of the turtle till it is perfectly clean. Make a rich puff-paste. Roll it
- out thin, and line with it the bottom and sides, in fact the whole of the
- back-shell. Having prepared and seasoned the best pieces of the
- turtle-meat, as in the preceding receipt, stew them till thoroughly done,
- and very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
- tender, and when cool, fill the shell with them. Have ready an upper lid
- of the same puff-paste, rolled out rather <i>thick</i>. Cover the pie with
- it. Unite the edges of the upper and under crusts, very neatly, wetting
- your fingers with water. Then notch them handsomely all round, and cut a
- cross slit in the centre of the top or cover. Set it directly into a
- rather quick oven. Bake the crust of a light brown, and send it to table
- hot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LOBSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- If you buy a lobster ready boiled, see that his tail is stiff and elastic,
- so that when you bend it under, it springs back immediately; otherwise he
- is not fresh. If alive or unboiled, he will be lively and brisk in his
- motion when newly caught. The same with prawns, and crabs.
- </p>
- <p>
- The heaviest lobsters are the best.
- </p>
- <p>
- To boil a lobster, have ready a pot of fast-boiling water, very strongly
- salted. Put in the lobster head downward; and if the water is really hot
- (it is cruel to have it otherwise,) he will be dead in a moment. Crabs, of
- course, the same. A moderate sized lobster (and they are the best,) will
- be done in half an hour. A large one requires from three-quarters to an
- hour. Before it is sent to table, the large claws should be taken off, and
- laid beside it. The head also should be separated from the body, but laid
- so near it that the division is nearly imperceptible. The head is never
- eaten. Split the body, and lay it open all<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> the way down, including the
- tail. If there is a good dresser of salads in the house, the lobster may
- be served up ready dressed, in a deep dish, seasoned with the proper
- condiments, after being cut small or minced, heaped up towards the centre
- of the dish, and decorated with the small claws laid across on the top,
- with the addition of green celery leaves, or parsley sprigs.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LOBSTER SALAD&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>plain</i>.)&mdash;Take a well boiled lobster. Extract all the meat
- from the body and claws, cut it up small, and mash the coral with the back
- of a spoon or a broad knife. Wash the best part of a fresh lettuce, and
- cut that up also, omitting all the stalk. Mix together the chopped lobster
- and the lettuce, and put them into a salad bowl. Make the dressing in a
- deep plate, allowing for one lobster a salt-spoon of salt, half as much of
- cayenne, a tea-spoonful of made mustard, (tarragon mustard is best,) four
- table-spoonfuls (or more) of sweet oil, and three table-spoonfuls of the
- best cider vinegar. Mix all these together, with the yolks of three
- hard-boiled eggs, mashed to a soft moist paste with the other ingredients,
- adding the coral of the lobster. When they are all mixed smoothly, add
- them to the lobster and lettuce. If the mixture seems too dry, add more
- sweet oil. Toss and stir the salad with a box-wood fork. Also, the things
- should be mashed with a box-wood spoon. Cover, and set it in a cool place
- till wanted. It should be eaten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134"
- id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> as soon as possible after mixing, as it
- becomes flat by standing.
- </p>
- <p>
- Plenty of sweet oil renders a lobster wholesome. Still, persons who are
- not in good health, had best abstain from lobster.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may add to the dressing, one or two raw yolks of eggs, beaten well.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE LOBSTER SALAD&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>This is for company.</i>)&mdash;Boil eight eggs for ten minutes, or
- till quite hard. Lay them in cold water, or cool them by laying bits of
- ice among them. When quite cold, cut each egg lengthways into four or six
- pieces, taking a bit off one end of each piece or slice. Cut up into long
- pieces the best part of a fresh lettuce, that has just been washed in a
- pan of cold water. Lay the lettuce in a dish, and surround it closely with
- the pieces of egg standing up on their blunted ends, with the yolk side
- outward, and forming a handsome wall all round the bed of lettuce. Upon
- this, pile neatly the bits of chopped lobster, finishing with the small
- claws stuck into the top. Have ready the dressing in a sauce-tureen. Make
- it of the beaten yolks of two raw eggs, and four table-spoonfuls of sweet
- oil, thickened with the mashed coral of the lobster, and the crumbled
- yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, and season slightly with a little salt,
- cayenne, and a spoonful of tarragon mustard. Finish with two
- table-spoonfuls of vinegar, and stir the whole hard with a box-wood spoon
- or fork.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
- Send it to table with the sauce-tureen, along with the dish of lobster,
- &amp;c. Pour on each plate of lobster a portion of this dressing. Or, if
- you can obtain no lettuce, mix this dressing at once with the chopped meat
- of the lobster. Smooth it in a pile on the dish, (keeping it towards the
- centre) and stand up the slips of hard egg handsomely surrounding it&mdash;the
- small claws decorating the top.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LOBSTER RISSOLES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Extract all the meat from the shells of one or two boiled lobsters. Mince
- it very fine; the coral also. Season it with a little salt and cayenne,
- and some powdered mace and nutmeg. Add about a fourth part of finely
- grated bread-crumbs; and with a sufficiency of fresh butter or a little
- finely-minced veal suet, or some sweet oil, make it up into balls or
- cones. Brush them over with yolk of egg, dredge them lightly with flour,
- and fry them in lard. Introduce them as a side dish at a dinner party, or
- as an accompaniment to salmon.
- </p>
- <p>
- This mixture may be baked in puff-paste as little patties, or you may bake
- in a soup-plate an empty shell of paste, and when done, (having stewed the
- rissole mixture made moist) fill the cold paste with it, and serve it up
- as a lobster pie.
- </p>
- <p>
- In buying lobsters, choose those that are the heaviest and liveliest, or
- quickest in their motions when touched. They are then fresh. The hen has
- the broadest tail and the softest fins.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LOBSTER PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the empty back shell of one large boiled lobster, and all the best
- meat of two. Clean out the shell very nicely; washing it, and wiping it
- dry. Mince the meat, and mash the coral with it; adding half a dozen yolks
- of hard-boiled eggs crumbled among it, and season it well with powdered
- mace and nutmeg, and a little cayenne. Moisten it all through with plenty
- of sweet oil, and the raw yolks of one or two eggs, well beaten. Fill the
- shell with this pudding, and cover the surface of the mixture with a
- coating of finely-grated bread-crumbs. Brown it by holding over it a
- salamander, or a red hot fire-shovel. Send it to table in the shell, laid
- on a china dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Small puddings may be made as above, of crab-meat put into several large
- crab-shells, and placed side by side on a dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- They may be eaten either warm or cold; and they look well with green
- lettuce or pepper-grass, disposed fancifully among them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CRABS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Crabs are seldom eaten except at the sea-shore, where there is a certainty
- of their being fresh from the water. They are very abundant, but so little
- is in them, that when better things are to be had, they are scarcely worth
- the trouble of boiling and picking out the shell. They are cooked like
- lobsters, in boiling salt and water, and brought to table piled on large
- dishes, and are eaten with salt, pepper, sweet oil, and<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> vinegar.
- The meat of two dozen crabs, when all is extracted, will make but a small
- dish. Season it with cayenne, mustard, oil, vinegar, and eat it cold; or
- stew it with fresh butter, powdered mace, and nutmeg, and serve it up hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Prawns.</i>&mdash;The same.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SHRIMPS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Of all fish belonging to the lobster species, shrimps are the smallest. In
- England, where they abound, they are sold by the quart, ready boiled. The
- way to eat them is to pull off the head, and squeeze the body out of the
- shell by pressing it between your fore-finger and thumb. At good tables
- they are only used as sauce for large fish, squeezed out of the shell, and
- stirred into melted butter.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LOBSTER SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a small hen lobster that has been well boiled. Extract all the meat,
- and chop it large. Take out the coral, and pound it smooth in a marble
- mortar, adding, as you proceed, sufficient sweet oil. Make some nice drawn
- butter, allowing half a pound of nice fresh butter to two heaped
- table-spoonfuls of flour, and a pint of hot water. Mix the butter and
- flour thoroughly, and then gradually add to them the coral, so as to give
- a fine color. Then mix this with a small pint of boiling water. Hold the
- saucepan over the fire, (shaking it about till it simmers) but do not let
- it quite boil. Put in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138"
- id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> chopped lobster, and let that simmer in the
- sauce, till well heated. To allow it to boil will spoil the color, (which
- should be pale pink,) and may be improved by a little prepared cochineal.
- Or, you may tie, in a small bit of thin muslin, a few chips of alkanet,
- and put it into the sauce, (taking it out, of course, before it goes to
- table.) Alkanet communicates a beautiful pink color, and has no taste in
- itself.
- </p>
- <p>
- This quantity of sauce is for a large fish&mdash;salmon, cod, turbot, or
- sheep's head. There should always be an ample supply of sauce. It is very
- awkward for the sauce to give out, before it has gone round the company.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="BEEF" id="BEEF"></a>BEEF.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROASTING BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The prime piece of beef for roasting is the sirloin; but being too large
- for a small family, the ribs are generally preferred, when there are but
- few persons to eat of it. So also is the baron, or double sirloin,
- undivided along the back. It is chiefly seen at great dinners. Except the
- sirloin and ribs, there are no very good roasting pieces, all the rest
- being generally used for stews, soups, &amp;c., and for corning or
- salting. Unless the animal is a very fine one, the inferior pieces are apt
- to be tough, hard, and coarse. The round is the best piece for corning or
- salting, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
- for cooking, as beef <i>a-la-mode</i>, or converting into what, in
- England, is called rump-steaks. These steaks require a rolling-pin, before
- they can be made tender enough for good eating, or good digestion. The
- finest and tenderest steaks are those cut from the sirloin. The meat of a
- young well-fed heifer is very good; and that of an old ox, (that has done
- working, and afterwards been fattened well on plenty of wholesome food,)
- may be made of superior excellence. The lean of good fresh beef is of a
- bright red color, a fine close grain, and feels tender to the touch on
- pinching it between your thumb and finger. The fat is firm and very nearly
- white. The suet about the kidney, firm and quite white. If, on the
- contrary, the lean is coarse, tough, and of a dull color, and the fat
- scanty, yellow, and moist, do not buy that meat for any purpose. The same
- rules will apply to mutton. If the weather is so cold that the meat is
- frozen, thaw it by lying it all night or early in the morning in a tub of
- <i>cold</i> water. If thawed in water the least warm, the meat will spoil,
- and be rendered unfit to eat. Meat that has been frozen, requires a much
- longer time to cook, than if that accident had not happened. <i>All</i>
- frozen animals must be thawed in cold water previous to cooking. Cold
- roast-beef is much liked in England. In America, where meat is more
- abundant, and therefore less costly, it is not considered a proper dish to
- place before a visitor; therefore, in our country, a large piece is seldom
- cooked with a view to next day's dinner. We prefer smaller pieces,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> always
- served up fresh and hot. Beef for roasting, should be well washed in
- plenty of cold water; then dried with a clean cloth. Prepare the fire, in
- time to be burning well, when the meat is put down. It should have plenty
- of hot coals, and no part of the fire black, ashy, or smoky, and the
- hearth swept very clean: <i>for no sweeping must go on while the meat (or
- any thing else) is cooking</i>. The spit should always be kept perfectly
- clean, when not in use; and well washed, wiped, and rubbed immediately
- after using. Run it evenly into the meat, which will hang crooked if not
- well balanced. When first put down, take care not to set it at once too
- close to the fire, but place it rather more than two feet distant, that
- the meat may heat gradually. If too near the fire at first, the outside
- will scorch, and leave the inside red and bloody. Underdone meat
- (foolishly called <i>rare</i>) is getting quite out of fashion, being
- unwholesome and indigestible, and to most Americans its savour is
- disgusting. To ladies and children it is always so, and even the English
- have ceased to like it. It is now seldom seen but at those public tables,
- where they consider it an object to have as little meat as possible eaten
- on the first day, that more may be left for the second day, to be made
- into indescribable messes, with ridiculous French names, and passed off as
- French dishes, by the so-called French cook, who is frequently an
- Irishman.
- </p>
- <p>
- At first, baste the meat as soon as it begins to roast, with a little
- fresh butter, or fresh dripping saved from yesterday's beef. Then, when
- its own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
- fat begins to drip, baste it with that, all the while it is cooking.
- Gradually move it nearer to the fire, turning the spit round frequently,
- so that the meat may be cooked equally on all sides. When it is nearly
- done, sprinkle it slightly, with a little salt. When it is quite done, and
- you take it from the spit, put it on a large hot dish, and keep it warm
- while you skim the gravy, thoroughly, so as to remove <i>all</i> the fat.
- Then mix in the gravy a small tea-cup full of hot water, and thicken it
- with a very little browned flour. Send it to table very hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- As a general rule, a sirloin, weighing fifteen pounds, will require about
- four hours (or more) before a good steady fire. If it has been frozen, it
- will take much longer. The fatter it is the more cooking it will require.
- When sent to table, place near it, a small sauce-shell of horse-radish,
- washed, scraped fine, and moistened with the best vinegar. Put a tea-spoon
- on the top to take it with. Pickles, and a bottle of French mustard, at
- good tables, are generally accompaniments to beef or mutton, whether
- roasted or boiled.
- </p>
- <p>
- The dripping of roast beef, after all the fat has been removed, and the
- basting of the meat is over, should be strained into a pan, and kept in a
- cold place, with a cover; and next day, when it is congealed into a cake,
- scrape off whatever impurities may still adhere to the bottom, transfer it
- to a covered jar, and set it in the refrigerator, or where it will be
- cold. The dripping of roast beef is excellent for frying, for plain
- pie-crust, or for many other purposes. The dripping of mutton (being
- tallow)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
- is only fit for soap-fat, and will spoil any dish whatever.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED BEEF STEAKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The best steaks are those from the tender-loin. Those from the round or
- rump require beating with a rolling-pin. A steak-mallet tears them and
- destroys the juices of the meat. Without beating they will generally be
- found too tough or hard for an American taste, though much liked in
- Europe, where tender-loin steaks are considered too expensive. But they
- are here so much preferred, that, on good tables, any others are seldom
- seen. Have all the steaks nearly of a size and shape, and about half an
- inch thick. Trim off the fat, and cut short the bone, or remove it
- altogether. Season them with black pepper, but sprinkle on no salt till
- they have done cooking; as salt, if put on at first, hardens them. Set
- your gridiron over a bed of bright clear coals, having first rubbed the
- bars with a very little beef suet, or dripping. Not mutton fat, as it will
- give the taste of tallow.
- </p>
- <p>
- A beef steak cannot be cooked in perfection unless over wood coals. To
- cook them before an anthracite fire, on an upright gridiron, is more like
- toasting than broiling, and much impairs the true flavor. A gridiron of
- the usual shape, with grooved or hollow bars to catch the gravy, is best
- of all. Broil the steaks well; and when done on one side, turn each steak
- with steak tongs; or a knife and fork, and an inverted plate.
- </p>
- <p>
- If onions are liked, peel and boil a few; drain and mince them, and
- sprinkle them thickly over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143"
- id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> the surface of each steak. When they are
- well done, take them off the gridiron, and transfer them to a heated dish,
- laying a small bit of butter upon it; and put another bit of butter on the
- surface of each steak, having first sprinkled them with a very little fine
- salt. What there is of their own gravy, pour round them on the dish. Send
- it to table as hot as possible.
- </p>
- <p>
- The English custom of eating what is called <i>rare</i> or underdone beef
- or mutton, is now becoming obsolete. To ladies, especially, all food is
- disgusting that is red and bloody-looking&mdash;and physicians have
- discovered, that nothing is wholesome unless well cooked. The introduction
- of French cookery has done that much good.
- </p>
- <p>
- The onions may be stewed in butter or gravy, and served up in a
- sauce-boat, seasoned with nutmeg. At the famous beef-steak club of London,
- each guest is furnished with a small raw onion, to take on his fork, and
- rub over his empty plate, just before the steaks are served up, which is
- done one at a time, and as hot as possible, being cooked in the room.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED BEEF STEAKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sirloin steaks should be tender enough without beating. Rump steaks will
- require some; but do not beat them so much as to tear the meat and exhaust
- all its juices. We have seen them pounded almost into a mass of dry
- shreds, scarcely adhering together. Remove the fat and bone. Lay them in a
- frying-pan, with a little fresh butter dredged with flour, and season<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> them
- with pepper. Fry them brown, turning them on both sides. Have ready some
- onions, peeled, washed, and sliced. After you have turned the steaks,
- cover them with the sliced onions, and then finish the frying, till all is
- thoroughly done, meat and onions, slightly sprinkling them with salt. The
- onions had best be boiled in a small sauce-pan by themselves, before they
- are sliced and fried.
- </p>
- <p>
- Put the whole on one dish, the onions covering the meat.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mutton chops, or veal cutlets, or pork steaks, may be fried in this manner
- with onions, adding to them some minced sweet marjoram, or if pork, some
- sage.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF STEAK WITH OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take very fine tender sirloin steak, divested of fat and bone; cut them
- not larger than the palm of your hand; lay them in a stew-pan with some
- bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Strain over them sufficient
- oyster-liquor to cook them well, and to keep them from burning, and to
- make a gravy so as to stew, but not to boil them. Season them with some
- blades of mace, some grated nutmeg, and a few whole pepper-corns. Let them
- cook till they are thoroughly done, and not the least red. Then put in
- some fine large oysters. Set the stew-pan again over the fire till the
- oysters are plump, which should be in about five or six minutes. If cooked
- too much, the oysters will toughen and shrink. When done, transfer the
- whole to a deep dish, mixing the oysters evenly among the meat. Before you<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> take
- them up, make some sippet or thin toast, in triangular or pointed slices,
- with the crust cut off. Dip the slices (for a minute) in boiling water;
- then take them out, and stand them in a circle all round the inside of the
- dish, the points of the sippets upwards.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CORNED OR SALTED BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For boiling, there is no piece of corned beef so good, and so profitable,
- as the round. A large round is always better and more tender than a small
- one, if the ox has been well fed. A small round of beef is generally
- tough. In buying it, see that it looks and smells well, as sometimes beef
- is not salted till it begins to taint; and then it is done, with a view of
- disguising its unwholesome and disgusting condition, which, however, will
- immediately be manifest as soon as it is put on to boil, if not before.
- Every sort of food, the least verging on decomposition, is unfit for any
- thing but to throw away or bury. It is not necessary to buy always a whole
- round of beef. You can have it cut into a half, third part, quarter, or
- into as many pounds as you want. If very salt, lay it to soak in cold
- water the night before, or early in the morning. Half a round (weighing
- about fifteen pounds) will require about four hours to boil sufficiently.
- A whole round, double that time. It must boil very slowly. If it boils too
- fast at first, nothing will afterwards make it tender. The fire must be
- steady, and moderate, that the heat may penetrate all through, slowly and
- equally. The pot must be kept closely<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> covered, unless for a
- minute when the scum is taken off, and that must be done frequently. The
- beef should, while boiling, be turned several times in the pot. It is much
- the best way to boil it without any vegetables in the same pot; they
- imbibe too much of the fat, particularly cabbage. Boil the cabbage by
- itself in plenty of water, having first washed it well, laid it a while in
- cold water, with the head downwards, and examined it well to see if there
- are no insects between the leaves. The leaves on the very outside, should
- be removed, and the stalk cut short. Tie a string round the cabbage to
- keep it from falling apart. Put it into a pot with plenty of cold water,
- and boil it an hour. Then take it out, drain it, and lay it in a pan of
- cold water, or place it under the hydrant, for the hydrant water to run
- copiously upon it.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the cabbage is perfectly cold, wash out the pot in which it was
- parboiled, or put it into another quite clean one, and boil it another
- hour. Then take it up, and keep it warm till wanted. Before you send it to
- table, lay some bits of nice fresh butter between the inside leaves, and
- sprinkle on a little pepper. This is much nicer than preparing what is
- called drawn or melted butter to pour over the cabbage, and far more
- wholesome. Drawn butter is seldom well made, being frequently little more
- than a small morsel of butter, deluged with greasy water; and sometimes it
- is nearly all flour and water. Cabbage cooked as above will be found
- excellent, and be divested of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147"
- id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> cabbage smell which is to many persons
- disagreeable.
- </p>
- <p>
- Carrots are also an usual accompaniment to corned beef. They should be
- washed, scraped, cut into pieces, and split, if very large; put into
- boiling water, and cooked, according to their size, from one hour to two
- hours. Before taking them up, try with a fork if they are tender
- throughout. When done, they are best cut into slices, a little cold butter
- mixed with them, and put into a deep dish, to be helped with a spoon.
- </p>
- <p>
- Parsnips may be dressed in the same manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a plain family dinner, corned beef, cabbage, and carrots, cooked <i>exactly</i>
- as above, with, of course, the addition of potatos, will, on trial, be
- found excellent.
- </p>
- <p>
- Corned beef <i>stewed</i> very slowly, in a small quantity of water,
- (barely sufficient to cover the meat,) well skimmed, and with the
- vegetables done separately, is still better than when <i>boiled</i>.
- Mustard is a good condiment for corned beef&mdash;so is vinegar to the
- cabbage. Pickles, also; French mustard is very fine with it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Next to the round, the edgebone is the best piece for boiling. The brisket
- or plate is too fat, and should only be eaten by persons in strong health,
- and who take a great deal of exercise. No fat meat should be given to
- children. Indeed there is generally great difficulty in making them eat
- it. They are right, as it is very unwholesome for them, unless the very
- leanest bits are selected from among the mass of fat.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Have tarragon vinegar on the table to eat with corned beef and cabbage.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED CORNED BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a very homely and economical dish, but it is liked by many
- persons. Cut thin slices from a cold round of beef, and season them with
- pepper. Fry them brown over a quick fire, and put them in a covered dish
- to keep hot. Then wash the frying-pan, cleaning it well from the fat, and
- put into it plenty of cold boiled cabbage, cut small, and some cold
- carrots, sliced thin, adding some thin sliced suet, or beef dripping to
- fry them in. When done, dish the meat with the vegetables laid around it;
- adding the gravy. This is the dish called in England, Bubble-and-Squeak,
- perhaps from the noise it makes when frying. It is only designed for
- strong healthy people with good appetites.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is sometimes made of salt pork or bacon; sliced potatos being added to
- the cabbage.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DRIED AND SMOKED BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For this purpose have as much as you want cut off from a fine round. Mix
- together two ounces of saltpetre, (finely pounded) rub it into the meat,
- cover it, and let it stand a day. Then mix together half a pound of
- bay-salt, an ounce of black pepper, half an ounce of ground ginger, and an
- ounce of pounded mace, and a quarter of an ounce of powdered cloves. Rub
- this mixture well into the beef, put it into a deep<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> pan, and let it lie in this
- pickle two weeks, turning it every day. Then hang it up in a smoke-house,
- and smoke it over a fire made of corn-cobs, or maple chips. Never use pine
- for smoking.
- </p>
- <p>
- It may be eaten chipped at tea, or what is much better, stewed and warmed
- in a skillet. Venison may be spiced, dried, and smoked in the same manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having chipped it thin, put it into a skillet, with fresh butter, pepper,
- and two or three beaten yolks of eggs. Let it stew till the beef is crisp
- and curled up.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never allow yourself to be persuaded to use pyroligneous acid in curing
- dried beef or ham&mdash;instead of the real smoke of a wood fire. It
- communicates a taste and smell of kreosote, and is a detestable
- substitute, detected in a moment.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A SPICED ROUND OF BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large prime round of beef; extract the bone, and close the hole.
- Tie a tape all round it to keep it firm. Take four ounces of finely
- powdered saltpetre, and rub it well into the beef. Put the meat into a
- very clean pickling-tub that has a close-fitting cover, and let it rest
- for two days. Next rub it thoroughly with salt, and return it to the tub
- for eight days. Then take an ounce of powdered mace, a large nutmeg
- powdered, a half-ounce of pepper, and a quarter of an ounce of powdered
- cloves, (not more.)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
- Mix these spices well together, and then mix them with a pound of fine
- brown sugar. Rub the spices and sugar thoroughly all over the beef, which
- will be ready to cook next day. Then fill the opening with minced sweet
- herbs, sweet basil, and sweet marjoram, laid in loosely and lightly. Take
- half a pound of nice beef-suet. Divide it in two, and flatten each half of
- the suet by beating it with a rolling-pin. Lay it in a broad earthen pan,
- with one sheet of suet under the meat, and the other pressed over it.
- Above this place a sheet of clean white paper, and over all put a large
- plate. Set it in a hot oven, and bake it five hours or more, till by
- probing it to the bottom, with a sharp knife, you find it thoroughly
- cooked. It is excellent as a cold standing dish, for a large family. When
- it is to be eaten cold, boil fresh cabbage to go with it. Also parsnips
- and carrots.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cabbage.</i>&mdash;For this beef, red cabbage is very nice, cut small,
- and stewed with butter and tarragon vinegar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A-LA-MODE BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Remove the bone from a fine round of fresh beef, and also take off the
- fat. For a round that weighs ten pounds, make seasoning or stuffing in the
- following proportions. Half a pound of beef suet; half a pound of grated
- bread-crumbs; the crumbled yolks of three hard-boiled eggs; a large bundle
- of sweet marjoram, the leaves chopped; another of sweet basil; four onions
- minced small, a large table-spoonful of mixed mace and nutmeg, powdered.
- Season slightly with salt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151"
- id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> and cayenne. Stuff this mixture into the
- place from whence you took out the bone. Make numerous deep cuts or
- incisions about the meat, and stuff them also. Skewer the meat into a
- proper shape, and secure its form by tying it round with tape. Put it into
- a clean iron oven or bake-pan, and pour over it a pint of port wine. Put
- on the lid, and bake the beef slowly for five or six hours, or till it is
- thoroughly done all through.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the meat is to be eaten hot, skim all the fat from the gravy; into
- which, after it is taken off the fire, stir in the beaten yolks of two
- eggs.
- </p>
- <p>
- If onions are disliked you can omit them, and substitute minced oysters.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF A-LA-MODE&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>Another way.</i>)&mdash;Take a fine round of fresh beef, extract the
- bone, and fill the place from whence it was taken with a stuffing made of
- bread soaked in milk and then mashed up, butter, and some yolks of
- hard-boiled eggs crumbled fine, the yellow rind and juice of a large
- grated lemon, sweet marjoram and sweet basil chopped small, with some
- powdered nutmeg and mace. Make deep cuts or incisions all over the outside
- of the meat, and in every cut stick firmly a slip of bacon or salt pork
- put in with a larding-pin. Bring round the flap and skewer to the side of
- the round, filling in between with some of the stuffing. And pour round it
- a pint or more of port wine. Lay it in an oven, and bake it slowly till it
- is well done all through, which will require<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> some hours. Serve it up
- with its own gravy under it. It is more generally eaten cold, at a supper
- party. In this case, cover it thickly all over with double parsley or
- pepper grass, so as to resemble a green bank. In the centre place a
- bouquet of natural flowers, rising from the green bank.
- </p>
- <p>
- French a-la-mode beef, or beef <i>a-la-daube</i>, is prepared as above,
- but stewed slowly all night in lard.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF BOUILLI.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take from six to eight pounds of a fine round of <i>fresh</i> beef. Put it
- into a soup-pot, with the remains of a piece of cold roast beef (bones and
- all) to enrich the gravy, but use no other cold meat than beef. Season it
- slightly with salt and pepper, and pour on just sufficient water to cover
- it well. Boil it slowly, and skim it well. When the scum ceases to rise,
- have ready half a dozen large carrots, cut into pieces, and put <i>them</i>
- in first. Afterwards add six turnips, quartered; a head of celery, cut
- small; half a dozen parsnips, cut in pieces; and six whole onions. Let it
- boil slowly till all the vegetables are done, and very tender.
- </p>
- <p>
- Send it to table with the beef in the middle of a large dish; the
- vegetables laid all around it; and the gravy (thickened with fine grated
- bread-crumbs) in a sauce-boat. Serve up with it, white potatos, boiled
- whole; and mashed pumpkin, or winter squash.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a good dinner for a plain family.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Those who like tarragon mustard, or tarragon vinegar, may add it on their
- plates.
- </p>
- <p>
- Tomatos may be skinned and stewed with it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO STEW COLD CORNED BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut about four pounds of lean from a cold round of beef, that tastes but
- little of the salt. Lay it in a stew-pan, with a quarter of a peck of
- tomatos quartered, and the same quantity of ochras sliced; also, two small
- onions peeled and sliced, and two ounces of fresh butter rolled in flour.
- Add a tea-spoonful of whole pepper-corns, (<i>no salt</i>,) and four or
- five blades of mace. Place it over a steady but moderate fire. Cover it
- closely, and let it stew three or four hours. The vegetables should be
- entirely dissolved. Serve it up hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is an excellent way of using up the remains of a cold round of beef
- at the season of tomatos and ochras, particularly when the meat has been
- rather under-boiled the first day of cooking it.
- </p>
- <p>
- A few pounds of the lean of a <i>fresh</i> round of beef, will be still
- better, cooked in this manner, increasing the quantity of ochras and
- tomatos, and stewing it six hours.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold fillet of veal is very good stewed with tomatos, ochras, and an onion
- or two. Also, the thick or upper part of a cold leg of mutton; or of pork,
- either fresh or corned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154"
- id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The dried beef, for this purpose, must be fresh and of the very best
- quality. Cut it (or rather shave it) into very thin, small slices, with as
- little fat as possible. Put the beef into a skillet, and fill up with
- boiling water. Cover it, and let it soak or steep till the water is cold.
- Then drain off that water, and pour on some more; but merely enough to
- cover the chipped beef, which you may season with a little pepper. Set it
- over the fire, and (keeping on the cover) let it stew for a quarter of an
- hour. Then roll a few bits of butter in a little flour, and add it to the
- beef, with the yolk of one or two beaten eggs. Let it stew five minutes
- longer. Take it up on a hot dish, and send it to the breakfast or
- tea-table.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold ham may be sliced thin, and stewed in the same manner. Dried venison
- also.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRENCH BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a circular piece from the round, (having removed the bone,) and trim
- it nicely from the fat, skin, &amp;c. Then lard it all over with long
- slips of fat pork or bacon. The place from whence the bone was taken must
- be filled with a forcemeat, made of minced suet, grated bread-crumbs,
- sweet marjoram rubbed fine, and grated lemon-peel; add a little salt and
- pepper. Tie a tape closely round the outside of the beef, to keep it
- compact, and in shape. Put it into a broad earthen jar with a cover; or
- into an iron bake-oven. Add some whole pepper, a large<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> onion, a bunch of sweet
- herbs, three bay-leaves, a quarter of a pound of butter, divided into
- small bits, (each piece rolled in flour,) and half a pint of claret, or
- port wine. Bake or stew it thus in its own liquor, for five, six, or seven
- hours, (in proportion to its size,) for it must be thoroughly done, quite
- tender, and brown all through the inside.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED FRESH BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut a square thick piece of beef from the round or sirloin, and trim off
- the fat. Put it into a stew-pan with just water enough to cover it, and
- season it slightly with salt and pepper. Let it stew slowly, till tender
- all through. Then add potatos pared and quartered, turnips the same; and
- also, parsnips split and cut short, and (if approved) a few sliced onions.
- Stew altogether till the vegetables are thoroughly cooked, and then serve
- up the whole on one large dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mutton, veal, and fresh pork, may be stewed in the same manner. Sweet
- potatos, scraped and split, are excellent served with fresh meat. There
- should be a great plenty of vegetables, as they are much liked in stews.
- What is called an Irish stew is fresh beef stewed with potatos only&mdash;the
- potatos being first pared, and cut in quarters.
- </p>
- <p>
- For economy, cold roast beef may be stewed next day with fresh potatos cut
- up, and as little water as possible. Cold potatos, if re-cooked, are
- always hard, tough, and unwholesome.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED BEEFSTEAKS WITH OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some fine tender beef-steaks cut from the sirloin. If they are taken
- from the round they should be beaten with a rolling-pin to make them
- tender. Put them into a close stew-pan, with barely sufficient water to
- prevent their burning, and set them over the fire to brown. When they are
- browned, add sufficient oyster-liquor to cook them, and some bits of fresh
- butter rolled in flour. Let them stew slowly for an hour, or till they are
- thoroughly done. Then add three or four dozen of fine large fresh oysters,
- in proportion to the quantity of meat, seasoning them well with nutmeg, a
- few blades of mace, and a little cayenne. Cover the pan, and simmer them
- till the oysters are well plumped, but not till they come to a boil. When
- all is properly cooked, transfer the whole to a deep dish, and send it to
- table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- The meat, when preparing, should be cut into pieces about as large as the
- palm of your hand, and an inch thick, omitting the fat. Small clams may be
- substituted for oysters.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TOMATO STEWED BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take large ripe tomatos, and scald them, to make the skins peel off
- easily. Pare, quarter them, and sprinkle them with a little salt and
- pepper. Lay in a stew-pan some thin tender beef-steaks, lamb,
- mutton-chops, or cutlets of fresh pork. Bury the meat in the tomatos, and
- add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour and a little sugar to take
- off the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
- extreme acid of the tomatos; also, an onion or two, very finely minced.
- Let the whole cook slowly till the meat is thoroughly done, and the
- tomatos dissolved to a pulp. Send it to table all on the same dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- A rabbit or chicken, (cut apart as for carving,) is very good stewed with
- tomatos. Freshly killed venison is excellent for this stew.
- </p>
- <p>
- Many persons mix grated bread with tomato stew. We think it weakens the
- taste&mdash;a thing not desirable in any cooking.
- </p>
- <p>
- This stew must not have a drop of water in it; the tomatos will give out
- sufficient liquid to cook the meat. There is not a more wholesome dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF STEWED WITH ONIONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a square piece of beef from the sirloin, where there is no bone or
- fat. With a sharp knife make very deep incisions all over it, but not
- quite so deep as to cut it through to the bottom. Prepare a forcemeat by
- peeling and boiling some onions. Then drain and mince them. Mix in with
- the onions some fine bread-crumbs, and some chopped sweet-marjoram,
- (seasoning with powdered nutmeg and mace,) and fill tightly all the
- incisions. Put into the bottom of a stew-pan some drippings of roast-beef,
- or else a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour. Lay the seasoned meat
- upon it. Let it stew till completely cooked, and no redness to be found in
- any part of it. Serve it up hot, and send it to table in its own gravy.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- A round or fillet of fresh pork may be cooked as above, putting into the
- incisions, or holes, powdered sage instead of sweet marjoram, with the
- onions and crumbs; and using lard instead of beef-drippings. Eat apple
- sauce with it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF STEWED WITH OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Prepare two or three pounds of the best beef, by trimming off all the fat,
- and removing the bone. Lay in the bottom of the stew-pan a few bits of
- fresh butter rolled in flour. Then put in the meat, and sprinkle a little
- pepper over each piece. Have ready a quart of large fresh oysters. Strain
- the liquor to clear it from bits of the shell, and pour it over the meat
- in the stew-pan. Stew the meat in the oyster liquor till it is thoroughly
- cooked, skimming it well, and keeping it covered, except when skimming.
- Then add grated nutmeg, and a few blades of mace. Lastly, put in the
- oysters, and let them remain in just long enough to plump, which will be
- in a few minutes. If cooked too much oysters always shrivel, and become
- hard and tough. When all is done, serve up the whole in one dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the same manner clams may be stewed with beef. Never put any salt where
- there are clams. They are quite salt enough in themselves.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRENCH STEW.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut into pieces two or three pounds of the lean of fresh tender beef,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> mutton,
- veal, or pork, and peel and slice a quarter of a peck or more of ripe
- tomatos. Season the whole with a little pepper and salt. Add, if you
- choose, a tea-spoonful of sugar to moderate the extreme acid of the
- tomatos. Put the whole together into a stew-pot, and cover it closely,
- opening it occasionally to see how it is doing. Put no water to this stew,
- the juice of the tomatos will cook it thoroughly. Add a large
- table-spoonful of minced tarragon leaves. When the tomatos are all
- dissolved, stir in a piece of fresh butter, dredged with flour. Let it
- stew about a quarter of an hour longer. When the meat is quite tender all
- through, and every thing well done, make some sippets of triangular shaped
- toast, with the crust trimmed off. Dip the toast, for a moment, in hot
- water; butter and stand it up all round the inside of a deep dish. Then
- fill it with the stew, and serve it hot. Any meat may be stewed thus with
- tomatos.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POTATO BEEF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is an excellent family dish. Boil some potatos till well done, all
- through. Peel them, put them into a large pan, and mash them smoothly,
- adding, as you proceed, some milk, and one or more beaten eggs, well mixed
- into the potatos. Rub the bottom of a white ware pudding dish with nice
- butter, or some drippings of cold beef, and cover it with a thick layer of
- mashed potatos. Next, put in thin slices of beef, (omitting the fat,)
- enough to cover<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
- the potatos. Next, add another layer of mashed potatos, evenly and thickly
- spread. Then, more thin slices of beef, and then more potatos. Do this,
- till the dish is full; finishing it with potatos, on the top, heaping them
- up in the centre. Bake it in an oven. There must be plenty of potatos, as
- they will be much liked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF AND MUSHROOMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take three pounds of the best sirloin steaks. Season them with black
- pepper and a very little salt, having removed the fat and bone. Put a
- quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter into a frying-pan, and set it
- over the fire. When it is boiling hot, put in the steaks, and fry them
- brown. Have ready a quart of very fresh mushrooms, peeled and stemmed. If
- large, cut them in four. Season them with a little pepper and salt, and
- dredge them lightly with flour, and add a few bits of butter. Stew them in
- a separate pan kept closely covered. When the steaks are done, pour the
- mushrooms over them with all their juice. Put them all (steaks and
- mushrooms) into a dish with a cover, and serve them up hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a breakfast dish, or a side dish for dinner. Unless the company is
- very small, four pounds of beef steaks, at least, and three pints of
- mushrooms, (with butter in proportion) will be required at dinner, as it
- will be much liked.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF'S HEART.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash the heart well, and soak it in a pan of tepid water till all the
- blood is drawn out of the ventricles, and it is made very clean and dry.
- Next par-boil it a quarter of an hour. Then stuff the cavities with a
- forcemeat made of minced veal, bread-crumbs, butter or minced suet, and
- sweet herbs, seasoned with a little pepper and nutmeg; or it may be
- stuffed simply with sage and onions. Sew up the openings with coarse brown
- thread, lest the forcemeat should fall out. Put the heart on a spit, and
- roast it before a clear fire, for near two hours; basting it well with
- nice fresh butter. Thicken the gravy with a little flour, and stir into it
- a glass of port wine, or of tarragon vinegar. Have ready a hot dish and a
- heated cover. Serve up the heart as hot as possible, for it soon chills,
- and pour the gravy around it. The gravy should be heated to a boil in a
- small sauce-pan.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Calves' Hearts</i> are cooked in the same manner. As they are small, it
- takes four calves' hearts to make a dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Hearts may be sliced and stewed with onions and sweet herbs, adding to the
- stew a little salad oil.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF PATTIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A nice way of disposing of underdone roast beef, is to mince fine all the
- lean, and a <i>very little</i> of the fat. Season it with cayenne, and
- powdered nutmeg, or mace, or else chopped sweet herbs. If you have any
- stewed mushroom-gravy, moisten the meat with that.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> Make a nice paste, and cut
- it into small circular sheets, rolled out not very thin. Cover one half of
- each sheet of paste with the minced beef (not too near the edge) and fold
- over the other half, so as to form a half moon. Wet your fingers with cold
- water, and pinch together the two edges of the half moon. Then crimp them
- with a sharp knife. Lay the patties in square baking pans, prick them with
- a fork, and bake them brown. Or you may fry them in lard. Serve them up
- hot, as side dishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold veal, minced with cold ham, or tongue, makes very nice patties; also
- cold chicken or turkey.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A BEEF STEAK PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stew two pounds or more, of fine tender sirloin steaks, divested of fat
- and bone, and cut rather thin. Season them with a very little salt and
- pepper; and, when about half done, remove them from the fire, and keep
- them warm, saving all the gravy. Make a nice paste, allowing to two quarts
- of flour one pound and a quarter of fresh butter. Divide the butter into
- four quarters. Rub one half into the pan of flour, and make it into a
- dough with, a very little cold water. Roll it out into a large sheet, and
- with a broad knife stick over it, at equal distances, one of the remaining
- divisions of butter. Then sprinkle it with more flour, fold it, and roll
- it out again into a large sheet. Put on the remainder of the butter in
- bits, as before. Then fold it again. Cut the paste into equal halves, and
- roll them out into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
- two sheets, trimmed into round or oval forms. With one sheet line a
- pie-dish, and fill it with your meat, adding, if convenient, some
- mushrooms, or some fresh oysters, or the soft part of a few clams, and
- some blades of mace. Use the other sheet of paste as a cover for the pie,
- uniting the edges with the under crust by crimping it nicely. Of the
- trimmings of the paste, make an ornament or tulip, and stick it into the
- slit at the top of the pie.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MEAT PIES&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- May be made in the above manner of lamb, veal, or pork. Also of venison or
- any sort of fresh meat. Pie crust for baking should be shortened with
- butter, or with the dripping of roast beef, veal, or <i>fresh</i> pork.
- Mutton or lamb dripping are unfit for pie crust, as they make it taste of
- tallow. Suet will not do at all for <i>baked</i> paste, though very good
- if the paste is to be boiled. Butter and lard will make a nice plain paste
- for pies, if both are fresh and good; the butter to be rubbed into the
- flour, mixed with a little cold water, and rolled out; the lard to be
- spread evenly all over the sheet; then folded and rolled out again. Meat
- pies should always have a bottom crust, as the gravy it imbibes makes it
- very relishing. Veal pies are insipid without the addition of some cold
- ham.
- </p>
- <p>
- Pies made of game should have a puff-paste, as they are generally for
- company.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the shores of the Chesapeake, very fine pies are made of canvas-back,
- or red-neck ducks, when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164"
- id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> in season. They require puff-paste to be
- made in perfection. Pot-pies of these ducks are, of course, excellent.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A BEEF STEAK POT-PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two pounds or more of tender beef steaks, exclusive of the fat and
- bone, which must be omitted; the steaks from the sirloin end, cut less
- than an inch thick, and not larger than four or five inches square. Put
- them into a pot with enough water to cover them, and season them slightly
- with pepper and salt. Dredge them with a little flour, and lay on each a
- morsel of nice fresh butter. Stew the steaks for half an hour. Meanwhile
- make a large portion of paste; allowing to every quart or pound of flour,
- a small half pound of nice beef-suet, entirely freed from all its skin and
- strings, and minced with a chopper as finely as possible. To three pounds
- of beef allow four quarts of flour and not quite two pounds of suet. A
- pot-pie with but little paste in proportion to the meat, is no better than
- a stew. The paste, if good, is always much liked. Divide the minced suet
- into two halves. Rub or crumble one half the suet into the pan of flour;
- adding by degrees a little <i>cold</i> water, barely enough to make a
- stiff dough; first mixing in a small tea-spoonful of salt. Roll out the
- lump of dough into a large sheet, and spread it all over with the
- remainder of the minced suet, laid on with a broad knife. Then fold it up,
- and set it on a dish in a cool place, to get quite cold. Take a large iron
- pot, made very clean. Lay in the bottom the largest pieces of beef steak,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> and line
- round the sides with pieces of the paste, cut to fit. Next put in the
- remainder of the meat, interspersed with raw potatos sliced, (either white
- or sweet potatos,) and also pieces of the paste cut into squares, and laid
- among the meat, to which must be added the gravy saved from the stew. When
- the pot is nearly full, cover its contents with a large round or circular
- piece of paste. This must not fit <i>quite closely</i>, but a little space
- or crack must be left all around for the gravy to bubble up as it boils.
- Before you put on the lid pour in half a pint, or more, of water. Cut a
- cross-slit in the centre of the top-crust. Set the pot over a good fire,
- and let it boil steadily, till all is done, meat and paste. The
- upper-crust should be well-browned. When cooked, serve the whole upon one
- large dish, laying the brown upper-crust on the top of all. If there is
- too much gravy, send some of it to table in a sauce-boat, first skimming
- it.
- </p>
- <p>
- It will be improved by adding to the seasoning some nutmeg or powdered
- mace. These are the only spices that accord well with meat or poultry.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POT-PIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The preceding receipt is good for any sort of pot-pie. They are all on the
- same principle. The meat to be divested of the fat, and stewed first in a
- pot by itself, saving the gravy. The paste (of which there should always
- be an ample allowance) sufficient to line the sides of the pot all round,
- and reaching up nearly to the top, besides plenty of small square pieces
- to intersperse<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
- with the meat, and an upper crust to cover the whole. At the very bottom
- the meat and gravy only, as there the paste might burn. Pot-pies may be
- made of any sort of fresh meat, or of fowls or any sort of poultry (cut
- up, as if for carving,) and previously stewed. If made of chickens or
- pigeons or rabbits, add a few slices of cold ham and put no other salt.
- For want of suet you may make the paste with butter, but it must be fresh
- and good. Allow half a pound of butter to a large quart of flour. Potato
- paste is tolerable for shortening pot-pies, if you make it half mashed
- potato and half lard. We do not recommend bread dough or any thing raised
- with yeast or soda for boiled paste; when there is no shortening, boiled
- paste is always tough and unwholesome.
- </p>
- <p>
- Pot-pies may be made of apples pared, cored, and quartered; of peaches
- quartered and stoned, or of any nice fruit. Fruit pot-pies should have
- butter paste, and be well sweetened with brown sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- All boiled dough should be eaten warm. It falls and becomes heavy as soon
- as cold.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF-STEAK PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- After clearing it from the skin and strings, mince as fine as possible
- three quarters of a pound of nice beef suet. Sift into a pan two small
- quarts of flour. Rub half the suet into the flour, and make it into a
- paste with a little cold water, (as little as possible.) Roll it out into
- a large sheet, and spread over it, evenly, the other half of the minced
- suet. Fold it,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>
- flour it, roll it again, and divide it unequally into two pieces, one
- nearly three times larger than the other. Roll them out, rather thick than
- thin. Have ready a large pound and a quarter of tender-loin beef steak,
- that has been cut into thin pieces (without fat or bone, seasoned with a
- very little salt and pepper, and some nutmeg) and half-stewed, saving its
- gravy. Lay this meat upon the large thick sheet of crust; pour the stewed
- gravy among it, and add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Cover
- it with the small round of paste, cut to fit, only allowing the lid large
- enough to project a little over, so as to be joined firmly by pressing it
- all round with your fingers. Do it well and securely, that it may not come
- apart while boiling. Dip a large square pudding-cloth in hot water&mdash;shake
- it out&mdash;lay it in a deep pan, dredge it with flour, lay the pudding
- into it and tie it firmly, leaving room for swelling. Put it into a large
- pot of boiling water, and boil it till, on probing with a fork, you find
- the meat quite tender.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or you may boil it in a large bowl with a rim, tying the cloth carefully
- all over the top. Set the bowl in a pot of boiling water.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO BOIL TRIPE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Clean the tripe very carefully, giving it a thorough scraping, and washing
- in warm water, and trim off the superfluous fat. Lay it all night in weak
- salt and water. Then wash it again. Let it lie an hour or two in milk and
- water, and then boil it five hours or more,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> putting it on in cold
- water. It must be perfectly tender throughout. This should be done the day
- <i>before</i> it is to be cooked for dinner. On that day, cut it into
- strips or bands, roll them with the fat side inwards. Tie the rolls round
- with small white twine, and boil them two hours longer; or till they are
- <i>perfectly tender throughout, and incline to look transparent near the
- edges</i>. Have ready in a saucepan, some onions peeled; and boil in milk
- and water, till soft enough to mash. Then take them out; drain them; mix
- with the onion-water some nice fresh butter divided into pieces and rolled
- in flour. When this has come to a boil, return the onions to the liquor;
- season them with pepper, and give them one boil up. When the tripe is
- done, transfer it to a deep dish, and pour the onion sauce over it. When
- on your plate, add to it some tarragon vinegar or mustard. Take the
- strings off before the tripe goes to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TRIPE CURRY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having boiled two pounds of double tripe, cut it into slips, peel two
- large onions, cut them also into dice, and put them into a stew-pan, with
- three ounces, or three table-spoonfuls of fresh butter. Let them stew till
- brown, stirring frequently, and mixing in a table-spoonful of
- curry-powder. Add a pint of milk, and the cut-up tripe. Let all stew
- together for an hour or more, skimming it well. Serve it up in a tureen or
- deep dish, with a dish of boiled rice to eat with it.
- </p>
- <p>
- A good East India receipt for curry-powder, is<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> to pound, very fine, in a
- marble mortar, (made very clean,) six ounces of coriander seed, three
- quarters of an ounce of cayenne, one ounce and a half of f&oelig;nugreek
- seed; one ounce of cummin seed, and three ounces of turmeric. These
- articles (all of which can be obtained at a druggist's,) being pounded
- extremely fine, must be sifted through clean thin muslin, and spread on a
- dish, and laid before the fire for three hours, stirring them frequently.
- Keep this powder in a bottle with a glass stopper. It is used for giving
- an East Indian flavor to stews. The turmeric communicates a fine yellow
- color.
- </p>
- <p>
- Boiled rice is always eaten with curry dishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Curry balls for Mock Turtle, &amp;c., are made of bread-crumbs, fresh
- butter, hard-boiled yolk of egg, chopped fine, a seasoning of curry
- powder, and some beaten raw egg, to make the mixture into balls, about the
- size of a hickory-nut.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED TRIPE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having boiled the tripe till perfectly tender all through; cut it into
- pieces three or four inches square. Make a batter of four beaten eggs,
- four table-spoonfuls of flour, and a pint of milk, seasoned with powdered
- nutmeg or mace. Have boiling in the frying-pan an ample quantity of the
- drippings of roast veal, or beef. Dip each piece of tripe twice into the
- batter; then lay it in the pan, and fry it brown. Send it to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Tripe was long considered very indigestible. This, it is now found, was a
- mistake; physicians<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
- having discovered that it is quite the contrary, the gastric juice that it
- contained, as the stomach of the animal, rendering it singularly fitted
- for digestion, provided that it is thoroughly cooked; so that on trial, a
- fork can easily penetrate every part of it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TONGUES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Corned or salted tongues are very little in use now. They spoil so soon,
- that it is scarcely possible to obtain one that has not been salted too
- late; and when quite fresh, they have a faint, sickening, doubtful taste.
- It is best always to buy them dried and smoked. Choose the largest and
- plumpest, and with as smooth an outside or skin as you can. Put a tongue
- into soak the evening before it is to be cooked; changing the water at
- bed-time. In the morning wash it in fresh water. Trim off the root, which
- is an unsightly object, and never carved at table. But it may be cut into
- pieces, and added to pea-soup, or bean-soup, or pepper-pot. Put on the
- tongue in a large pot of cold water, and boil it steadily for five or six
- hours, till it is so tender that a straw, or a twig from a corn-broom,
- will easily penetrate it. When you find that it is thoroughly done (and
- not till then) take it up. A smoked tongue requires more boiling than a
- ham, and therefore is seldom sufficiently cooked. When quite done, peel it
- carefully, and keep it warm till dinner. If well-boiled, it will seem
- almost to melt in your mouth. When you dish it do not split it. The flavor
- is much injured<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>
- by carving it lengthways, or in long pieces. It should be cut in round
- slices, not too thin.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a large party we have seen two cold tongues on one dish. One of them
- whole&mdash;the root concealed entirely with double parsley, cut paper, or
- a bunch of flowers cut out of vegetables, very ingeniously, with a sharp
- penknife&mdash;the vegetables raw, of course not to be eaten. Red roses
- made of beets, white roses or camellias of turnips, marigolds of carrots,
- &amp;c. The stems are short wooden skewers, stuck into the flowers, and
- concealed by double parsley. These vegetable bouquets can be made to look
- very well, as ornaments to cold tongue, or to the end of the shank of a
- ham, or to stick into the centre of a cold round of a-la-mode beef.
- </p>
- <p>
- Where there are two cold tongues on one dish, it is usual to split one to
- be helped lengthways, and garnish it with the other, cut into circular
- pieces, and laid handsomely round.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold tongue sliced is a great improvement to a chicken pie, or to any bird
- pie.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED TONGUE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having soaked a fine large smoked tongue all night, in the morning trim it
- nicely, and if it still seems hard, soak it again in fresh cold water till
- it is time to cook it. Then put it into a deep dish, (having trimmed off
- the root,) and make a coarse paste of flour and water. Cut up the roots
- into little bits, and lay them round and about the tongue, to enrich the
- gravy.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
- Lay all along the surface some bits of butter rolled in flour, and season
- with a little pepper&mdash;no salt. Pour in a very little water, and cover
- the dish with the coarse paste. Bake it till the tongue is very tender.
- This you may ascertain by raising up with a knife one corner of the paste
- and trying the tongue. When done, peel it, dish it, strain the gravy over
- the tongue, and send it to table. Garnish with baked tomatos, or
- mushrooms, or large roasted chestnuts peeled.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a large company have two baked tongues, one at each end of the table.
- Eat them warm.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LARDED TONGUE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large cold tongue, that has been well boiled. Trim off the roots.
- Have ready some slips of the fat of cold boiled ham, cut into long thin
- pieces, about as thick as straws. With a larding needle, draw them through
- the outside of the tongue, and leave them there. Arrange the borders in
- rows, or handsome regular forms, leaving about an inch standing up on the
- surface.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold meat or poultry is far better for larding than that which is yet to
- cook.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TONGUE TOAST.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make some slices of nice toast, not very thick, but browned evenly all
- over, on both sides. Trim off the whole of the crust. Butter the toast
- slightly. Grate, with a large grater plenty of cold tongue, and spread it
- thickly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
- over the toast. Lay the slices side by side, on a large dish&mdash;not one
- slice on the top of another.
- </p>
- <p>
- Serve them up at breakfast, luncheon, or supper.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HAM TOAST&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Is prepared in the same manner, of grated cold ham spread on slices of
- buttered toast.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SANDWICHES&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Are slices of cold ham, or tongue, <i>cut very thin</i>, and laid between
- thin slices of buttered bread. The meat may be seasoned with French
- mustard. Roll them up nicely. There are silver cases made to contain
- sandwiches to eat on the road when traveling.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sandwiches for traveling may be made of the <i>lean</i> of cold beef,
- (roast or boiled,) cut very thin, seasoned with French mustard, and laid
- between two slices of bread and butter.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="MUTTON" id="MUTTON"></a>MUTTON.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUTTON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- If mutton is good it is of a fine grain; the lean is of a bright red
- color, and the fat firm and white. Unless there is plenty of fat the lean
- will not be good; and so it is with all meat. If the lean is of a very
- dark red, and coarse and hard, and the fat yellowish and spongy, the
- mutton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
- is old, tough, and strong. Therefore, do not buy it. If there is any dark
- or blackish tint about the meat, it is tainted, and of course unwholesome.
- If kept till it acquires what the English call venison taste, Americans
- will very properly refuse to eat it.
- </p>
- <p>
- We give no directions for disguising spoilt meat. It should be thrown
- away. Nothing is fit to eat in which decomposition is commencing.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED LOIN OF MUTTON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A good loin of mutton is always very fat, so that in cooking it is well to
- remove or pare off a portion of the outside fat. Unlike most other meats,
- mutton is the better for being boiled in soup. Put it into a large pot;
- allow to every pound a quart of water. Boil it slowly and skim it well,
- adding the vegetables when the scum has done rising. The vegetables should
- be sliced turnips, potatos, and grated carrots. Have ready plenty of suet
- dumplings, in the proportion of half a pound of finely minced suet to a
- pound and a quarter of flour. Rub the suet into the pan of flour, and use
- as little water as possible in mixing the dough. Make it into thick
- dumplings, rather larger round than a dollar. Boil them in a pot by
- themselves, till thoroughly done. Serve up the meat with the dumplings
- round it. Or put the dumplings in a dish by themselves, and surround the
- meat with whole turnips. This is an excellent plain dish for a private
- family. Serve up pickles with it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175"
- id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SAUCE FOR BOILED MUTTON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This particularly applies to mutton that has been boiled in soup, and
- which is so very generally liked, that it is served up on tables where
- soup-meat of beef and veal is considered inadmissible. To make a suitable
- sauce to eat with it&mdash;take two or three large boiled onions; slice
- them and put them into a sauce-pan, with a piece of fresh butter slightly
- rolled in flour, a table-spoonful of <i>made</i> mustard. French mustard
- will be best; or, for want of that, two table-spoonfuls of strong tarragon
- vinegar, and a half-salt-spoon of cayenne, and some pickled cucumbers
- chopped, but not minced. Green nasturtion seeds will be still better than
- cucumbers. Put these ingredients into a small sauce-pan, adding to them a
- little of the mutton soup. Set this sauce over the fire, and when it
- simmers well, take it off, put into a sauce-boat, and keep it hot till the
- mutton goes to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- To keep nasturtions&mdash;take the full-grown green seeds, and put them
- into a large bottle of the best <i>cider</i> vinegar, corking them
- closely. They require nothing more, and are far superior to capers.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED LEG OF MUTTON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- After nicely trimming a middle-sized leg of mutton, wash, but do not soak
- it. Put it into a pot that will hold it well, and pour on rather more
- water than is sufficient to cover it. Set it over a good fire, and skim it
- as soon as it begins to boil, and continue till no more scum appears;
- having thrown in a small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176"
- id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> table-spoonful of salt after the first
- skimming. After the liquid is clear, put in some turnips, pared, and, if
- large, divided into four pieces. Afterwards it should boil slowly, or
- simmer gently for about two hours or more. Send to table with it caper
- sauce; or nasturtion, which is still better. Eat it with any sort of green
- pickles. Pickles and turnips seem indispensable to boiled mutton. Do not
- mash the turnips, but let them be well drained.
- </p>
- <p>
- Setting boiled turnips in the sun will give them an unpleasant taste.
- </p>
- <p>
- Tarragon sauce is excellent with boiled mutton.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUTTON STEAKS STEWED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some tender mutton steaks, cut from the leg. Beat them a little with
- a rolling pin, and season them with pepper and salt. Put them into a
- stew-pan with sliced potatos, sliced turnips, sliced onions, sliced or
- grated carrots, and sweet marjoram leaves stripped from the stalks. Pour
- in just sufficient water to cover the stew, and let it cook slowly till it
- is tender and well done. Serve it up hot in a deep dish, with a cover. A
- table-spoonful of tarragon mustard will improve the stew.
- </p>
- <p>
- When tomatos are in season, you can stew mutton or any other meat with
- tomatos only&mdash;no water. Having prepared the meat, and laid it in the
- stew-pan, cover it with tomatos, peeled and quartered. Add some sugar to
- take off a portion of their acid, and a chopped onion. No water, as<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> the meat
- will cook in the liquid of the tomatos. They must stew till thoroughly
- dissolved.
- </p>
- <p>
- Tender-loin beef steaks&mdash;or veal cutlets, may be stewed as above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUTTON CHOPS BROILED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The best steaks are those cut from the loin, about half an inch thick.
- Divest them of the bone, and remove the skin and fat. Then butter them
- slightly all over, before cooking. This will be found an improvement. The
- French go over them with salad oil, which is still better. Sprinkle on
- them a little pepper and salt. Having heated the gridiron well over a bed
- of very hot live coals, place it somewhat aslant, grease its bars with a
- little of the mutton suet, and lay on the steaks and broil them well;
- turning them three or four times, and seeing that they are not scorched or
- burnt on the outside, and red or raw when cut. Turn them with a knife and
- fork, or with steak-tongs, an instrument with which every kitchen should
- be furnished. To cook them well requires a clear glowing fire, without
- blaze or smoke. They should be done in about a quarter of an hour. When
- you take them up, turn them on a well-heated dish, and pour their gravy
- over them.
- </p>
- <p>
- If onions are liked, mince one as fine as possible, and strew it over the
- steaks while broiling; or, boil and slice some onions, mix some butter
- among them, season them with pepper, and a little<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> powdered mace or nutmeg,
- and serve them up with the meat on the same dish, or in a sauce-boat.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUTTON CHOPS WITH TOMATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Broil some mutton steaks in the above manner, and have ready some baked
- tomatos. When the steaks are dished, lay on each a large baked tomato with
- the face downward, or cover each steak with stewed tomato sauce. For
- baking, take fine ripe tomatos of the largest size. Cut out a piece from
- the stem end, and extract the seeds. Then stuff each tomato with grated
- bread-crumbs, butter, and minced sweet marjoram, or finely minced onion.
- If you have any cold veal or chicken, add a little of that to the
- stuffing, mincing it, of course. Bake them in a dish by themselves.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or, you may send the steaks to table with a slice of fried egg-plant laid
- upon each; buttered, and sprinkled with bread-crumbs.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUTTON STEAKS FRIED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a nice batter of grated bread-crumbs, milk and beaten egg, and put it
- in a shallow pan. Prepare some fine steaks cut from the loin, divested of
- fat, and with the bone cut short. Have ready, in a hot frying-pan, some
- fresh butter or drippings. Dip each steak twice over in the batter, then
- fry them brown. Send them to table very hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may fry mutton chops like beef steaks, covered with onions, boiled,
- drained, and sliced.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POTATO MUTTON CHOPS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut some nice chops or steaks from the best end of a neck of mutton. The
- loin will be still better. Trim off all the fat, but leave a small part of
- the bone visible, nicely scraped. Season them with pepper and salt, and
- fry them in butter or drippings. Have ready plenty of mashed potatos with
- which cover the chops all over separately, so as to wrap them up in the
- mashed potatos. Glaze them with beaten egg, and brown them with a
- salamander or a red-hot shovel. This is a nice breakfast dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- KEBOBBED MUTTON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is an Asiatic dish, much approved by those who have eaten it in
- Turkey or India, and it is certainly very good. Remove the skin from a
- loin of mutton, and also the whole of the fat. Divide it at every joint,
- cutting all the steaks apart, and making separate steaks of the whole
- loin. Make a mixture of grated bread-crumbs, minced sweet-herbs, a little
- salt and pepper, and some powdered nutmeg. Have ready some beaten yolk of
- egg. Dip each steak into the egg then; twice into the seasoning. Roll up
- each steak round a wooden skewer, and tie them on a spit with packthread.
- Roast them before a clear fire, with a dripping-pan under them to catch
- the gravy, which must be skimmed frequently. They must be roasted slowly
- and carefully, taking care to have them thoroughly cooked, even to the
- inmost of every roll. Baste them with just butter enough to keep<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> them
- moist. When done, carefully take the kebobs from the skewers, and send
- them to table hot. Eat with them large Spanish chestnuts, roasted and
- peeled; or else sweet potatos, split, boiled, and cut into short pieces.
- Pour the gravy into the dish under the kebobs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of rolling up the kebobs, you may fasten them flat (after
- seasoning,) with the same spit going through them all, and roast them in
- that manner. They should all be of the same size and shape. To dish them,
- lay them one upon another in an even pile. Eat mushroom sauce with them,
- or any other sort that is very nice.
- </p>
- <p>
- Venison steaks are very good kebobbed in this manner, at the season when
- venison can be had fresh, tender, and juicy. For sauce have stewed wild
- grapes, mashed and made very sweet with brown sugar, or grape jelly, which
- is still better; or, sauce made of fine cranberries, such as abound in the
- north-west.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- AN IRISH STEW.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take three pounds of thick mutton cutlets from the loin, and remove the
- fat. Slice thick five pounds of fine potatos that have been previously
- pared. Place a layer of meat in the bottom of a stew-pan, or an iron pot,
- and lay some of the potatos upon it. Season all with salt and pepper. Upon
- this another layer of meat&mdash;then some potatos again, then meat, and
- so on till all is in, finishing with potatos at the top. Pour in a pint of
- cold water. Let it sim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181"
- id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>mer gently for two hours or more, till the
- meat and potatos are thoroughly done. Serve it up very hot, meat and
- potatos, on the same dish. If approved, you may add, from the beginning,
- one or two sliced onions.
- </p>
- <p>
- A similar stew may be made of beef steaks and potatos.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may stew pork cutlets in the same manner, but with <i>sweet</i>
- potatos, split and cut in long pieces, or with yams. The seasoning for the
- pork should be minced sage.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a very plain, but very good dish, if made of nice fresh meat and
- good potatos, and well cooked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LAMB.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The vein in the neck of the fore-quarter should be blueish, and firm&mdash;otherwise
- do not buy it. If greenish or yellowish, it is tainted, and fit only for
- manure. Never buy any thing that has been kept too long. The worst may, by
- some process, be a little disguised, but nothing can render wholesome any
- article of food in which decomposition has commenced, even in the
- slightest degree. The fat should be quite white. If there is but little
- meat on the shoulder it has not been a good lamb. In America, where food
- is abundant, there is no occasion to eat any thing, that has the flavor in
- the least changed by keeping.
- </p>
- <p>
- A fore-quarter of lamb comprises the shoulder, the neck, and the breast
- together. The hind-quarter is the loin and leg. Lamb comes in<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> season
- in the beginning of April, if the spring is not unusually backward.
- </p>
- <p>
- Jersey lamb is sometimes garlicky early in the season. Avoid buying it;
- you can easily tell it by the garlicky smell. It can only be rendered
- eatable by stewing, or frying it with plenty of onions. To plain roast or
- boil garlicky meat is in vain. Beef, also, is sometimes garlicky.
- </p>
- <p>
- Lamb may be cooked in every way that is proper for mutton.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROAST LAMB.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The roasting pieces for lamb are the fore-quarter, and hind-quarter; and
- the saddle, or both hind-quarters together, not having been cut apart. If
- the saddle is cooked whole, it should be of a small delicate lamb, nice
- and fat, and is then a fashionable dish at company dinners. Like all other
- young meat lamb should always be thoroughly done, not the least redness
- being left perceptible any where about it. A hind-quarter of eight pounds
- will require at least two hours&mdash;a fore-quarter, rather longer. It
- should be placed before a clear brisk fire, but not very near at first.
- Put a little water in the dripping-pan, and baste it with that till it
- begins to cook, adding a little nice fresh butter. Then place it nearer
- the fire, and when the gravy begins to fall, baste it with that, and
- repeat the basting very frequently. When the lamb drops white gravy it is
- nearly done, and you may prepare for taking it up. Skim the gravy that is
- in the dripping-pan till all the fat is taken<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> off. Then dredge over it a
- little flour, and send it to table in a gravy boat, having stirred in one
- or two table-spoonfuls of currant jelly. Lettuce is always an
- accompaniment to cold lamb.
- </p>
- <p>
- In carving a fore-quarter of lamb it is usual to take off the shoulder
- from the ribs, put in a slice of fresh butter, sprinkle it with a little
- cayenne, and squeeze over the divided parts a fresh lemon cut in half; and
- put, for that purpose, on a small plate beside the carver.
- </p>
- <p>
- The vegetables to be eaten with lamb are, new potatos, asparagus, green
- peas, and spinach. Mint sauce is indispensable. French cooks seldom
- understand how to make it. To do it properly, take a large bunch of fresh
- green mint, wash it, and when you have shaken the wet from them, mince the
- leaves very fine, omitting the stems. Put the leaves, when chopped, into a
- small tureen or sauce-boat, and pour on a sufficient quantity of the best
- cider vinegar to moisten the mint thoroughly, but not to render it the
- least liquid or thin. It should be as thick as horse-radish, prepared to
- eat with roast beef. Mix in sufficient sugar to make it very sweet. Good
- brown sugar will do. At table put a tea-spoonful on the side of your
- plate. Those who make mint sauce thin and weak, and pour it over the meat
- like gravy, know nothing about it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LAMB STEAKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut some nice cutlets or steaks (without any bone) from a hind-quarter of
- lamb. Lay them in a stew pan, and season them<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> with a little salt and
- cayenne, adding some butter rolled in flour. Wash carefully two fine fresh
- lettuces. Remove the outside leaves, quarter the lettuces, and cut off all
- the stalks. Set the stew-pan, with the meat, over a clear fire; and let it
- stew slowly till about half done. Then put in the lettuce, covering the
- meat with it, and let them all stew about half an hour longer. When done,
- take out the lettuces first. Put them into a sieve or cullender, press out
- the water, and chop them <i>large</i>. See if the meat is done all
- through. If it is, return the stewed lettuce to the pot, season it with a
- little cayenne and some salad oil, and add to it two or three hard-boiled
- eggs, chopped large. Cover it, and let it stew five minutes longer. Serve
- it up on the same dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LAMB CUTLETS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut the cutlets from the loin and trim them nicely, removing the skin, and
- most of the fat. Scrape the bone, and cut it short. Grate plenty of stale
- bread, and mix it with some minced sweet marjoram, seasoned with salt and
- pepper. Have ready a small deep dish of light beaten egg, flavored with
- grated nutmeg and fresh lemon-peel, grated fine, the thin yellow rind
- only. Put some nice lard or beef-dripping into a hot frying-pan, and when
- the lard boils is the time to put in the cutlets. Dip every cutlet
- separately into the beaten egg. Then into the bread-crumbs, &amp;c. Repeat
- this a second time both with the egg and bread. The cutlets will be found
- much better for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
- the double immersion. Then lay them separately in the boiling lard, and
- fry them well. One cutlet must not be laid on the top of another. When
- done, dish them and send them to table very hot, with some currant jelly
- to mix with the gravy. This is a fine breakfast dish or for a small
- dinner.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of frying, you may broil them. Dip each cutlet twice into the egg
- and twice into the crumbs, and cover each with clean writing paper, cut of
- a convenient shape, and secured with pins or packthread, the paper being
- twisted round the end of the bone. Broil them in the papers, which must be
- taken off before the cutlets go to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LAMB CHOPS, STEWED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut a loin of lamb into chops or steaks, removing the bone, or else sawing
- it very short. Trim off the skin and part of the fat. Season the chops
- with a little pepper and salt, and fry them in fresh butter till they are
- of a pale brown color. Then pour off the fat and transfer the steaks to a
- stew-pan. Add enough boiling water to cover them; and having seasoned them
- with some powdered nutmeg or some blades of mace, add a pint of shelled
- green peas that have been already parboiled, or a pint of the green tops
- of asparagus cut off after boiling, and a fresh lettuce stripped of its
- outside leaves and stalks and quartered. Finish with a small quarter of a
- pound of fresh butter cut in pieces and rolled in flour, and laid among
- the vegetables. Let them all stew together with the meat, for half an hour
- rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
- slowly. Serve up all upon one large dish. It will make an excellent plain
- dinner for a small family, with the addition of a dish or two of new
- potatos, if they are in season.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may omit the lettuce, and add more peas and asparagus tops.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LARDED LAMB.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut off the fillet or round from a nice hind-quarter of lamb, and remove
- the bone from the centre. Make a stuffing or forcemeat of bread-crumbs,
- fresh butter, sweet marjoram, and sweet basil, minced finely; the yellow
- rind of a fresh lemon, grated; and a tea-spoonful of mixed nutmeg and
- mace, powdered. Fill with this stuffing the hole from whence the bone was
- taken, and secure the flap round the side of the meat, putting plenty of
- stuffing between. Then proceed to lard it. Cut a number of long thin slips
- of the fat of ham, bacon, or corned pork. All these slips must be of the
- same size. Take one at a time between the points of the larding-needle,
- and draw it through the flat surface of the top, or upper side of the
- meat, so as to leave one end of the ham in, as you slip the other end out
- of the needle. Do this nicely, arranging the slips of ham in regular form,
- and very near together. Put the lamb into an iron oven, or bake-pan, with
- a small portion of lard or fresh butter under it, and bake it thoroughly.
- When the meat is about half done, put in a quart or more of nice green
- peas with sufficient butter to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187"
- id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> cook them well. Serve up the lamb with the
- peas round it, on the same dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a dish for company.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LAMB PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Remove the fat and bone from two pounds or more of nice lamb steaks, or
- take some cutlets from the upper end of a leg of lamb, and cut them into
- pieces about as large as the palm of your hand. Season them with pepper
- and salt very slightly. Put them into a stew pot with a <i>very little
- water</i>, and let them stew for half an hour or more. In the mean time,
- make a nice paste, allowing half a pound of fresh butter to a pound of
- flour. Mix with a broad knife half the butter with the flour, adding
- gradually enough of cold water to make a dough. Roll out the dough into a
- large thin sheet, and spread all over it with the knife the remainder of
- the butter. Fold it, sprinkle it with a little flour, and then divide it
- into two sheets, and roll out each of them. That intended for the upper
- crust to be the thickest. Line with the under crust the bottom and sides
- of a pie-dish. Put in the stewed lamb with its gravy. Intersperse some
- blades of mace. Add some potatos, sliced, and some sliced boiled turnips.
- Cover the meat thick with the green tops of boiled asparagus, and lay
- among it a few bits of fresh butter. For asparagus tops you may substitute
- boiled cauliflower seasoned with nutmeg. Put on the paste-lid, closing the
- edges with crimping them nicely. Cut a cross-slit on the top. Put the pie
- directly into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
- the oven, and bake it of a light brown. Serve it up hot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="VEAL" id="VEAL"></a>VEAL.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Do not buy veal unless the vein in the shoulder looks blue or bright red.
- If of any other color, the veal is not fresh. A calf's head should have
- the eyes full and prominent. If they are dull and sunken, the head is
- stale. The kidney should be well covered with firm white fat. All the fat
- must be firm, dry, and white, and the lean fine in the grain, and light
- colored. If any part is found clammy or discolored, do not buy that veal.
- The best pieces of the calf are the loin and the fillet. The loin consists
- of the best and the chump end; the hind knuckle, and the fore knuckle. The
- inferior pieces are the neck, blade-bone, and breast. The brisket end of a
- breast of veal is very coarse, hard, and tough; the best end is rather
- better, having sweet-bread belonging to it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Veal, like all other meat, should be well washed in cold water before
- cooking. Being naturally the most tasteless and insipid of all meat, it
- requires the assistance of certain articles to give it flavor. It is too
- weak to make rich soup without various additions. But well cooked, it is
- very nice as roasted loin, fillet, or fried cutlets.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROAST LOIN OF VEAL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash the meat well in cold water, wipe it dry, and rub it slightly with
- mixed pepper and salt. Make a stuffing of bread soaked in milk, or grated
- bread-crumbs, cold ham minced, sweet marjoram minced, and the juice and
- yellow grated rind of a lemon; also, a little fresh butter. Loosen with a
- sharp knife the skin, and put the stuffing under it, skewering down the
- flap to keep it in. Put the veal to roast before a strong clear fire, and
- pour a little water in the bottom of the roaster. Baste it with this till
- the gravy begins to run. Then baste it with that. Set the spit at first
- not very close to the fire, but bring it nearer as the roasting proceeds.
- </p>
- <p>
- Send it to table with its own gravy, well skimmed and slightly thickened
- with a little flour.
- </p>
- <p>
- Always choose a fine fresh loin of veal with plenty of fat about the
- kidney. No meat spoils so soon.
- </p>
- <p>
- The breast and shoulder are roasted in the same manner as the loin, of
- which two dishes may be made, the kidney end, and the chump end.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FILLET OF VEAL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- When a fillet is to be roasted or baked, let it be well washed, and then
- dried in a clean towel. Take out the bone, fold the flap round, and skewer
- it to the meat. Make plenty of forcemeat or stuffing, of bread soaked in
- milk, or grated dry and mixed with plenty of fresh butter, or some of the
- fat or suet finely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>
- minced. Season with pepper, grated nutmeg, powdered mace, fresh lemon peel
- grated, and sweet marjoram and sweet basil minced fine. The hole that
- contained the bone must be stuffed full, and also the space between the
- flap and the side of the meat. This should be secured by three skewers.
- Dredge the meat all over lightly with flour before you put it down. At
- first, place the spit at a distance from the fire, which should be strong
- and clear. Then, as the meat begins to roast, set it nearer, and till the
- gravy begins to fall, baste it with fresh butter, or lard. Just before it
- is finished, (it will take about four hours,) dredge it with flour, and
- baste it well with its own gravy. When the meat is dished, skim the gravy,
- thicken it with a little flour, and pour it round the veal in the dish, or
- serve it in a sauce-boat.
- </p>
- <p>
- A ham is the usual accompaniment to roast veal, whether fillet or loin.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROAST VEAL HASHED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take whatever cold roast veal was left from yesterday. To prepare it for a
- breakfast dish, cut it into small bits, and put it (without any water)
- into a stew-pan, adding to it the veal gravy that was left from yesterday,
- and a table-spoonful of fresh butter or lard, dredged with flour. Cover
- it, and after stewing it half an hour by itself, put in two large
- table-spoonfuls of well spiced tomato catchup, an article no family should
- be without. After the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>
- catchup is in, cover the hash again, and let it stew half an hour longer.
- If you have no catchup, put in with the cold veal at the beginning, two or
- three large ripe tomatos, peeled and quartered, or sliced, and seasoned
- with powdered mace, nutmeg, and ginger; and let all stew together in gravy
- or butter. Mushroom catchup is a good substitute for tomato in hashing
- cold meat. If you have neither, put in a large table-spoonful of tarragon
- or French mustard, to be bought in bottles at all the best groceries.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold roast venison is very good hashed as above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL A-LA-MODE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Remove the bone from a fillet of veal, and make a large quantity of
- forcemeat or stuffing of grated bread-crumbs; beef-suet or veal-suet
- minced fine, the grated yellow rind and juice of a ripe lemon or orange,
- or some chopped mushrooms that have been previously stewed, some grated
- yolk of hard-boiled eggs, and some sweet marjoram. Press in the stuffing,
- till the hole left by the bone is well filled; and also, put stuffing
- between the flap and the side of the meat, before you skewer the flap.
- Have ready some lardons or slips of cold ham, or tongue, and with a
- larding pin draw them all through the surface of the veal. Or else, make
- deep cuts or incisions throughout the meat, and press down into each a
- small thin square bit of bacon-fat, seasoning every one with a little of
- the stuffing. Lay the veal in a deep baking-pan, or iron bake<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>-oven.
- Surround it with nice lard, and bake it till thoroughly done all through.
- Then take it out, skim the gravy, and transfer it to a small sauce-pan.
- Stir in a dessert-spoonful of flour; add a glass of white wine to the
- gravy, and give it one boil up. Send it to table in a sauce-tureen,
- accompanying the veal.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TERRAPIN VEAL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some nice veal, (from the fillet, or the loin) and cut it into very
- small mouthfuls. Put it into a stew-pan. Have ready a dressing made of six
- or seven hard-boiled eggs, minced fine, a small tea-spoonful of made
- mustard, (tarragon or French mustard will be best,) a salt-spoon of salt,
- and the same of cayenne; two glasses of sherry or Madeira, and half a pint
- of rich cream. If you cannot conveniently obtain cream, substitute a
- quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided into four pieces, and each
- piece dredged with flour. All the ingredients for this dressing must be
- thoroughly mixed. Then, pour it over the veal, and give the whole a hard
- stir. Cover it, and let it stew over the fire for about ten minutes. Fresh
- venison is excellent, cooked in this manner. So, also, are ducks,
- pheasants, partridges, or grouse, making a fine side dish for company.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO HASH COLD MEAT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The best way of re-cooking cold roast meat, (veal, beef, or pork,) is to
- hash it, cutting it into mouthfuls, and stew<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>ing it in its own gravy,
- without a drop of water. For this purpose, save as much as you can of the
- dripping or gravy that fell from it when roasting. When you have done
- basting the roast meat, skim off all the fat from the surface, and strain
- the gravy through a small sieve. What is left of it, should be carefully
- set away in a cold place. Next day, when it has congealed into a cake,
- scrape it with a knife on both sides. If not wanted for immediate use, cut
- it in pieces, and put it up in a jar well covered. Use it (instead of
- water) for stews and hashes; and if well seasoned the meat will be found
- nearly as good (for a breakfast dish,) as if not previously cooked.
- Whenever it is possible, make your hashes without any water; and if you
- have saved no gravy, substitute lard, or fresh butter. But gravy or
- drippings of the same meat is best. A hash of cold meat, stewed merely in
- water, and with no seasoning but salt and pepper, is a poor thing. Cold
- potatos, when re-cooked, always remain hard and indigestible. In all
- cookery it is best to use <i>fresh vegetables</i>, even if the <i>meat</i>
- has been previously drest. Cold meat is of no use for soups or pies. It is
- better to slice it, and eat it cold&mdash;or, better still to give it the
- poor. Roast beef or mutton, if very much underdone, may be sliced and
- broiled on a gridiron, and well seasoned with pepper. Cold roast pork is
- best sliced plain, and eaten cold. Ham also.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL CUTLETS IN PAPERS (<i>en papillotes</i>.)&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a nice sauce of sweet herbs, bread-crumbs, powdered mace and nutmeg,
- butter and beaten egg. Lay the cutlets in a deep dish, (having first
- broiled them and saved the gravy,) pour the sauce over them, with the veal
- gravy added to it. Cover them, and let them rest till cold. Allow, for
- each cutlet, a sheet of foolscap paper, cut it into the shape of a heart,
- and go over it with sweet oil, or fresh butter or lard. Lay a cutlet with
- a little of the sauce upon it, on one-half of each sheet of paper; turn
- the other half over the meat. Fold a narrow rim all round, so as to unite
- both edges. Begin at the top of the heart, and pleat both edges together
- so as to form a good shape without puckering. When you come to the bottom,
- where the paper is to cover the bone, give it a few extra twists. Broil
- the cutlets slowly on a gridiron for half an hour, seeing that no blaze
- catches the papers&mdash;or put them in the oven for half an hour. If the
- papers are not too much burnt or disfigured, dish the cutlets still
- wrapped in them, to be removed by those who eat them. If the covers are
- scorched black, and ragged, take out the cutlets and lay them on a hot
- dish. Serve up with them a dish of mashed potatos or potatoe cake, browned
- on the surface with a salamander. <i>Côtelettes à la Maintenon</i>, are
- mutton or lamb steaks cooked in papers, in the above manner.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL STEAKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut the steaks from the neck, leaving the bone very short, and polishing
- what there is of it. Make a seasoning of boiled onions minced, and sage or
- sweet marjoram leaves, or of chopped parsley. Lay on each steak a bit of
- fresh butter, spread the seasoning thickly over each, and fry them in the
- gravy or drippings of cold roast veal or beef. They will be the better for
- beating them slightly with a rolling pin. Put into the frying-pan three or
- four table-spoonfuls of mushroom or tomato catchup; or, fry them with
- fresh mushrooms or fresh tomatos, sliced.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL CUTLETS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut your veal cutlets from the fillet or round about half an inch thick.
- Season them slightly with a little salt and cayenne. Have ready a pan with
- grated bread-crumbs, and another with beaten egg. Have ready, in a frying
- pan, plenty of boiling lard, or drippings of cold veal. Dredge each cutlet
- slightly with flour; then dip it twice in the pan of beaten egg, and then
- twice also in the bread-crumbs. Fry them well, and send them to table in
- their own gravy. Saffron, scattered thickly over them while frying, is an
- improvement much relished by the eaters.
- </p>
- <p>
- Veal is too insipid to be fried or broiled plain.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you live where cream is plenty, add to this fry two or three spoonfuls.
- </p>
- <p>
- Minced veal, cold, is an excellent ingredient for forcemeats.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- KNUCKLE OF VEAL AND BACON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Unless your family is very small, get two knuckles of veal, and have them
- sawed into three pieces each. Put them into a pot with two pounds of ham
- or bacon; cover them with water, and stew them slowly, skimming them well.
- Season them with a little pepper, but no salt, as the bacon will be salt
- enough. When the scum ceases to rise, put in four onions and four turnips,
- and six potatos pared, and quartered; also, a carrot and two parsnips,
- scraped and cut into pieces. Let the whole boil till all the meat and all
- the vegetables are thoroughly done, and very tender. Drain them well, and
- serve up the whole on one large dish, having other vegetables served
- separately.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you wish to have green vegetables, such as greens, young sprouts, poke,
- or string beans, flavored with bacon, put them to boil in a pot with the
- bacon only, and take another pot for the veal, and white vegetables, such
- as onions, turnips, &amp;c. You may put the veal and bacon on the same
- dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SOUTHERN STEW (<i>of veal</i>.)&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Peel and boil a half dozen fresh spring onions, and then drain them well
- and slice them thin. Have ready two pounds or more of nice veal, sliced
- very thin, small, and evenly. Lay the veal in a stew-pan, and season it
- slightly with salt, and <i>a very little</i> cayenne. Cover the veal with
- the sliced onions, and lay upon them some bits of fresh butter rolled in
- flour. If you cannot obtain very excellent<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> fresh butter, substitute
- lard, or cold gravy, or dripping of roast veal, which last will be best if
- you have enough of it. Finish with a flavoring of powdered nutmeg or mace,
- and the grated yellow rind of a fresh lemon.
- </p>
- <p>
- This stew is very nice. It may be made with lamb or chicken, cut very
- small.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL KEBOBBED, (<i>or kibaubed</i>.)&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut into small thin slices some lean veal from the loin, chump end, or
- fillet. Trim them into a round or circular form. Season them with pepper,
- salt, and turmeric or curry powder. If onions are liked, slice some large
- ones, and lay them on the pieces of veal. Cover them with slices of ham,
- cut round like the veal, but a little smaller. Roll up the slices, (the
- ham inside,) and tie them on skewers. Then roast or bake them. When done,
- take them off the skewers, and send them to table in the gravy that has
- fallen from them. This is a Turkish dish, and is much liked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some thin slices of cold roast veal, and trim them round or circular.
- Beat them with a rolling-pin, to make them very tender, and season them
- with a little salt and pepper and some powdered nutmeg. Also some grated
- fresh yellow rind of lemon-peel. Make a very light batter, of eggs, milk,
- and flour; in the proportion of four well-beaten eggs to a pint of milk;
- and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
- large half pint of sifted flour: the eggs beaten first, and then stirred
- gradually into the milk in turn with the flour. Have ready a frying-pan,
- nearly full of boiling lard. Drop into it two large spoonfuls of the
- batter. Then put in a slice of the veal, and cover it with two more large
- spoonfuls of the batter. As the fritters are fried, take them up with a
- perforated skimmer, and drain them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL PATTIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mince very fine, some cold roast veal, or some cold chicken, mixing with
- it some cold minced ham, or cold smoked tongue. Add some yolk of
- hard-boiled eggs, crumbled or minced. Season the mixture with powdered
- mace and nutmeg, moistened with cream or soft fresh butter. Have ready
- some nice puff-paste, rolled out thin, and cut into oval or circular
- pieces. Cover the half of each with the mixture, spread on evenly and
- thickly. Then, upon that, fold over the other half, (uniting both,) and
- crimp them together, in very small notches. Brush their outsides all over
- with some raw egg, slightly beaten, and lay them in large square tin pans
- to bake. Send them to table on china dishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- These patties are excellent made of cold game. The green tops of boiled
- asparagus will improve the mixture.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED LIVER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put into a frying-pan some nice thin slices of ham or bacon, that have
- soaked all night, and fry them in their own fat. Have<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> ready your calf's liver,
- cut into slices not too thin, as that will render them hard. Take out the
- ham as soon as it is done, put it into a hot dish, and cover it closely.
- Lay the slices of liver into the gravy of the bacon that is left in the
- frying-pan, sprinkling it well with chopped parsley. It must be thoroughly
- done. Then dish with the bacon.
- </p>
- <p>
- To those who like them, some onions will be thought an improvement to
- fried liver. First parboil the onions: then slice them, season them with a
- little salt and pepper, and fry them with the liver.
- </p>
- <p>
- If lettuces are in season, quarter a fresh one, and lay it under the liver
- when you dish it, having previously removed the thickest part of the
- stalk. The liver of beef or sheep is not seen at good tables. It is very
- inferior to that of calf's, being hard and coarse.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LARDED LIVER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash and drain a nice fat calf's liver. Liver of beef or mutton is never
- seen at a good table; they are hard, coarse, and tasteless, and only eaten
- by the poor, while the livers of veal and poultry are considered very
- nice. Divide it into equal portions. Lard them thickly with small slips of
- fat bacon, inserted at regular distances with a larding-needle, and very
- near each other. Season the liver with powdered nutmeg and mace. Put into
- a stew-pan, in the bottom of which you have laid a large slice or two of
- fat bacon. Let it stew gently, till thoroughly done and tender throughout.
- When you take the liver out of the stew-pan, stir into the gravy left at
- the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
- bottom, some thick catchup, either mushroom or tomato. Do not send the
- slices of bacon to table with the liver.
- </p>
- <p>
- If liked, surround the liver while cooking, with small button onions,
- (peeled and washed,) and see that they are well done. Serve them up on the
- same dish. It is best always to boil onions before frying them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED LIVER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having soaked a fine calf's liver for two hours in cold water, cut it into
- thick slices, and then cut the slices into mouthfuls. Chop fine a small
- bunch of sweet marjoram, and sprinkle it among the liver, seasoning with
- pepper, salt, nutmeg, and powdered mace. Put it into a stew-pan, and cook
- it in lard or fresh butter. Make some nice toast, and dip it for a minute
- in hot water, having pared off all the crust. Lay the toast in the bottom
- of a deep dish, after covering it all over with the stewed liver.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LIVER RISSOLES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a calf's liver, and remove carefully all the veins. Weigh a pound of
- it, boil it, and when cold, mince it very finely with a quarter of a pound
- of suet, either of beef or veal. Add a quarter of a pound of finely grated
- bread-crumbs. Season it with cayenne, powdered mace, and nutmeg, and a
- very little salt. Mix in two well-beaten eggs. Shape them into oval forms,
- about the size of large walnuts, and fry them in plenty of boiling hot
- lard, draining them all on a perforated skimmer, before they go to table.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LIVER PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Prepare a fine fresh calf's liver. Split it in long pieces. Lay it in a
- pan of cold water for an hour or two. Afterwards take it out and wipe it
- dry, and boil it till tender. Drain it when done, and chop it large with a
- slice of cold ham. Season it with pepper and nutmeg, (no salt for any
- thing that has ham in it,) and add some minced sweet marjoram and sweet
- basil, and two yolks of hard-boiled eggs, grated or minced. The grated
- yellow rind of a fresh lemon will be an improvement. Make a very nice
- light paste, and line a pie dish with it. Then fill it high with the
- mixture, laying on the top several pieces of fine fresh butter. Cover it
- with a lid of paste, notching the edges handsomely, and cutting a
- cross-slit on the top. Bake it light brown, and serve it up, either hot or
- cold. It will be found very nice.
- </p>
- <p>
- With the same mixture you may make liver dumplings, enclosing them in a
- nice paste, and boiling them; or a liver pudding, boiling the mixture in
- one large paste, and tying it in a cloth, leaving room for it to swell.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHITTERLINGS OR CALF'S TRIPE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is very delicate and digestible, and is nice at breakfast, or as a
- side dish at dinner. To prepare it for cooking, it should be cut open with
- scissors, emptied, and thoroughly cleaned, and then laid all night, or for
- several hours, in cold water, <i>slightly</i> salted. It can be bought of
- the veal butchers ready prepared, and run on a wooden skewer.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> Wash it
- again just before cooking. Cut it into small pieces, and boil it slowly
- till <i>quite</i> tender, in water enough to keep it well covered. When
- entirely done, take it up, drain it, and keep it warm. Have ready some
- onions boiled in milk till quite soft, and sliced thin. Melt some
- excellent fresh butter, in milk thickened with flour. Make a round of very
- nice toast, with the crust pared off. Dip it for a minute in hot water;
- lay it in the bottom of a deep dish. Cover it thickly with the onion
- sauce, and place the chitterlings upon it, seasoning them with pepper and
- vinegar. It will be an improvement to boil with them four or five blades
- of mace. Eat vinegar with it, always. Tarragon vinegar is best. This dish
- deserves to be more in use. Try it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED CHITTERLINGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Get chitterlings ready prepared by the butcher. Wash them, and let them
- lie an hour or two in weak salt and water. Then drain them, cut them in
- pieces, and parboil them. Dry them in a clean cloth. Make a batter of two
- or three beaten eggs, and a pint of milk, with a heaped table-spoonful of
- flour. Put into a frying-pan an ample portion of the dripping of roast
- veal or pork, and when it boils, (having first dipped each piece of the
- chitterling into the batter,) fry them in the dripping. They must be
- thoroughly done. You may fry them in lard, or fresh butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a nice breakfast dish.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203"
- id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED CHITTERLINGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having first parboiled the chitterlings, lay among them some bits of fresh
- butter, season them with powdered nutmeg, put them into a deep dish, set
- it into an oven, and bake them brown.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a side dish at dinner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE VEAL PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil, in two quarts of water, two unskinned calf's feet, adding the yellow
- rind of a large lemon, pared as thin as possible, or grated, and its
- squeezed juice. Also, two broken-up sticks of cinnamon, half a dozen
- blades of mace, and two glasses of sweet wine. Boil all these together
- (skimming well,) till the calf's feet are in rags, and all their flesh has
- dropped from the bone. Then put the whole into a jelly-bag and let it drip
- into a broad bowl. Set it away closely covered. Have ready two pounds of
- the parboiled chump end of a loin of veal cut into square pieces. Make a
- nice puff paste, and line with it a deep pie-dish. Put the pieces of veal
- into it, (all the fat cut off,) and intersperse them with a dozen or more
- forcemeat balls, each about as large as an English walnut. The balls may
- be made of cold minced chicken and ham, minced suet, bread-crumbs, and
- hard-boiled yolk of egg grated or crumbled fine; seasoned with sweet
- herbs, and grated lemon rind. Or they may be sweet balls of bread-crumbs,
- butter, chopped sultana raisins, and chopped citron, seasoned with nutmeg.
- Having dispersed them among the pieces of veal, put in the jelly made from
- the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>
- calf's feet. Cover the pie with a lid of puff-paste, cut a cross slit in
- the centre; notch the edges, and bake it brown. This pie is for a company
- dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A PLAIN VEAL PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut the meat from an uncooked breast of veal, and stew it in a very little
- water. Have ready a pie dish lined with a nice paste. Put in a layer of
- stewed veal, with its gravy, and cover it with a layer of sausage meat;
- then veal again, and then sausage meat. Repeat this till the dish is full,
- finishing with the sausage. Cover it with a lid of paste, and bake it
- brown. This is a cheap and easy family pie.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL LOAF.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a cold fillet of veal, and (omitting the fat and skin) mince the meat
- as fine as possible. Mix with it a quarter of a pound of the fattest part
- of a cold ham, also chopped small. Add a tea-cupful of grated
- bread-crumbs; a grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace, powdered; the
- grated yellow rind of a lemon; and two beaten eggs. Season with a
- salt-spoon of salt, and half a salt-spoon of cayenne. Mix the whole well
- together, and make it into the form of a loaf. Then glaze it over with
- beaten yolk of egg; and strew the surface evenly, all over, with bread
- raspings, or with pounded cracker. Set the dish into a dutch-oven, and
- bake it half an hour, or till hot all through. Have ready a gravy made of
- the trimmings of the veal, stewed in some of the gravy<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> that was left when the
- fillet was roasted the day before. When sufficiently cooked, take out the
- meat, and thicken the gravy with beaten yolk of egg, stirred in about
- three minutes before you take it from the fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- Send the veal loaf to table, in a deep dish, with the gravy poured round
- it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Chicken loaf, or turkey loaf, may be made in this manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED CALF'S HEAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a fine, large calf's head; empty it; wash it clean, and boil it till
- it is quite tender, in just water enough to cover it. Then carefully take
- out the bones, without spoiling the appearance of the head. Season it with
- a little salt and cayenne, and a grated nutmeg. Pour over it the liquor in
- which it has been boiled, adding a jill of vinegar, and two
- table-spoonfuls of capers, or of green nasturtion seeds, that have been
- pickled. Let it stew very slowly for half an hour. Have ready some
- forcemeat balls made of minced veal-suet, grated bread-crumbs, grated
- lemon-peel, and sweet marjoram,&mdash;adding beaten yolk of egg to bind
- the other ingredients together. Put in the forcemeat balls, and stew it
- slowly a quarter of an hour longer, adding some bits of butter rolled in
- flour to enrich the gravy. Send it to table hot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EXCELLENT MINCED VEAL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take three or four pounds of the lean only of a fillet or loin of veal,
- and mince it very finely, adding a slice or<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> two of cold ham, minced
- also. Add two or three small young onions, chopped small, a tea-spoonful
- of sweet marjoram leaves rubbed from the stalks, the yellow rind of a
- small lemon grated, and a tea-spoonful of mixed mace and nutmeg powdered.
- Mix all well together, and dredge it with a little flour. Put it into a
- stew-pan, with sufficient gravy of cold roast veal to moisten it, and a
- large table-spoonful or more of fresh butter. Stir it well, and let it
- stew till thoroughly done. If the veal has been previously cooked, a
- quarter of an hour will be sufficient. It will be much improved by adding
- a pint or more of small button mushrooms, cut from the stems, and then
- chopped small. Also, by stirring in two table-spoonfuls of cream about
- five minutes before it is taken from the fire.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL WITH OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two fine cutlets of about a pound each. Divide them into several
- pieces, cut thin. Put them into a frying-pan, with boiling lard, and let
- them fry awhile. When the veal is almost done, add to it a pint of large,
- fine oysters,&mdash;their liquor thickened with a few grated bread-crumbs,
- and seasoned with mace and nutmeg powdered. Continue the frying till the
- veal and oysters are thoroughly done. Send it to table in a covered dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TERRAPIN VEAL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some cold roast veal, (the fillet or the loin) and cut it into mouth<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>fuls. Put
- it in a skillet or stew-pan. Have ready a dressing made of six or seven
- hard-boiled eggs, minced fine; a small tea-spoonful of tarragon mustard; a
- salt-spoonful of salt; and the same of cayenne pepper; a large tea-cupful
- (half a pint) of cream, and two glasses of sherry or Madeira wine. The
- dressing must be thoroughly mixed. Pour it over the veal, and then give
- the whole a hard stir. Cover it, and let it stew over the fire for ten
- minutes. Then transfer it to a deep dish, and send it to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold roast duck or fowl may be drest as above. Also, venison.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL OLIVES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some cold fillet of veal and cold ham, and cut them into thin square
- slices of the same size and shape, trimming the edges evenly. Lay a slice
- of veal on every slice of ham, and spread some beaten yolk of egg over the
- veal. Have ready a thin forcemeat, made of grated bread-crumbs, sweet
- marjoram rubbed fine, fresh butter, and grated lemon-peel, seasoned with
- nutmeg and a little cayenne pepper. Spread this over the veal, and then
- roll up each slice tightly with the ham. Tie them round securely with
- coarse thread or fine twine; run a bird-spit through them, and roast them
- well. For sauce, simmer in a small sauce-pan, some cold veal gravy with
- two spoonfuls of cream, and some mushroom catchup.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL RISSOLES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take as much fine wheat bread as will weigh one pound, after all the crust
- is cut off. Slice it; put it into a pan and pour over it as much rich milk
- as will soak it thoroughly. After it has soaked a quarter of an hour, lay
- it in a sieve and press it dry. Mince as finely as possible a pound of
- veal cutlet with six ounces of veal suet; then mix in gradually the bread;
- adding a salt-spoonful of salt, a slight sprinkling of cayenne, and a
- small tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg mixed; also the yellow rind
- of a lemon grated. Beat two eggs, and moisten the mixture with them. Then
- divide it into equal portions, and with a little flour on your hands roll
- it into oval balls rather smaller than an egg. Strew over them some dry
- bread-crumbs; then fry them in lard or fresh butter&mdash;drain them well,
- and send them to table hot. For gravy (which should be commenced before
- the rissoles) put some bits and trimmings of veal into a small sauce-pan,
- with as much water as will cover them; a very little pepper and salt; and
- three or four blades of mace. Cover the sauce-pan closely, and let the
- meat stew till all the strength is extracted; skimming it well. Then
- strain it; return the liquor to the sauce-pan; add a bit of butter rolled
- in flour; and squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Give it a boil up, and
- then, at the last, stir in the beaten yolk of an egg. Serve up this gravy
- in a sauce-boat, to eat with the rissoles.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of stewing meat for the purpose, you may make this gravy with the
- drippings of roast<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>
- veal saved from the day before. You have then only to melt it over the
- fire; adding the seasoning; and giving it one boil.
- </p>
- <p>
- Similar rissoles may be made of minced chicken or turkey.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO PREPARE SWEETBREADS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The sweetbread belonging to the breast of the calf is far superior to that
- which is found about the throat, being larger, whiter, more tender, and
- more delicate. Always buy them in preference. They should be set
- immediately on ice, and prepared for cooking as speedily as possible, for
- they spoil very soon. Soak them in warm water till all the blood is
- discharged. Then put them into boiling water, and boil them five minutes.
- After this, lay them immediately in a pan of very cold water. This sudden
- transition from hot water to cold, will blanch or whiten them.
- Dark-colored sweetbreads make a very bad appearance. Four are generally
- sufficient for a small dish. But as, if well cooked, they are much liked,
- it is best to have six; or else eight upon two dishes. If the sweetbreads
- are to be cut up before cooking, remove and throw away the gristle or pipe
- that pervades every one. If they are to be cooked whole, you may leave the
- pipe in, to be taken out by the eaters.
- </p>
- <p>
- For company, it is usual to lard sweetbreads with slips of fat ham or
- bacon, or of cold smoked tongue.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sweetbreads are used as side-dishes at dinners, or at nice breakfasts.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having trimmed some sweetbreads nicely, and removed the gristle, parboil
- them, and then mince them very fine. Add grated bread, and season with a
- very little salt and pepper; some powdered mace and nutmeg; and some
- grated lemon-rind. Moisten the whole with cream, and make them up into
- small cones or sugar-loaves; forming and smoothing them nicely. Have ready
- some beaten egg, mixed with grated bread-crumbs. Dip into it each
- croquette, and fry them slowly in fresh butter. Serve them hot; standing
- up on the dish, and with a sprig of parsley in the top of each.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sweetbreads should never be used unless perfectly fresh. They spoil very
- rapidly. As soon as they are brought from market they should be split
- open, and laid in cold water. Never attempt to keep sweetbreads till next
- day, except in cold weather; and then on ice.
- </p>
- <p>
- Similar croquettes may be made of cold boiled chicken; or cold roast veal;
- or of oysters, minced raw, and seasoned and mixed as above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRICASSEED SWEETBREADS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take half a dozen sweetbreads; clean them thoroughly, and lay them for an
- hour or two in a pan of water, having first removed the strings and
- gristle. Then put them into a stew-pan with as much rich milk or cream as
- will cover them well, and a very little salt. Stew them slowly, till
- tender throughout, and thoroughly done, saving the liquid. Then<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> take
- them up; cover them; and set them near the fire to keep warm. Prepare a
- quarter of a pound of butter, divided into four pieces, and rolled in
- flour. Put the butter into the milk in which the sweetbreads were boiled,
- and add a few sprigs of parsley cut small; five or six blades of mace;
- half a nutmeg grated; and a very little cayenne pepper. Have ready the
- yolks of three eggs well-beaten. Return the sweetbreads to the gravy; let
- it just come to a boil; and then stir in the beaten egg <i>immediately
- before</i> you take the fricassee from the fire, otherwise it will curdle.
- Serve it up in a deep dish with a cover.
- </p>
- <p>
- Chickens, cut up, may be fricasseed in this manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TOMATO SWEETBREADS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up a quarter of a peck (or more) of fine ripe tomatos; set them over
- the fire, and let them stew with nothing but their own juice, till they go
- entirely to pieces. Then press them through a sieve, to clear the liquid
- from the seeds and skins. Have ready four or five sweetbreads that have
- been trimmed nicely, cleared from the gristle, and laid open to soak in
- warm water. Put them into a stew-pan with the tomato-juice, seasoned with
- a little salt and cayenne. Add two or three table-spoonfuls of butter
- rolled in flour. Set the sauce-pan over the fire, and stew the sweetbreads
- in the tomato-juice till they are thoroughly done. A few minutes before
- you take them off, stir in two beaten yolks of eggs<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> Serve up the sweetbreads in
- a deep dish, with the tomato poured over them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEETBREADS AND CAULIFLOWERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take four large sweetbreads, and two fine cauliflowers. Split open the
- sweetbreads and remove the gristle. Soak them awhile in lukewarm water.
- Then put them into a sauce-pan of boiling water, and let them boil ten
- minutes over the fire. Afterwards, lay them in a pan of very cold water.
- The parboiling will render them white; and putting them directly from the
- hot water into the cold will give them firmness. Having washed and drained
- the cauliflowers, quarter them, and lay them in a broad stew-pan with the
- sweetbreads upon them, seasoned with a very little cayenne, four or five
- blades of mace, and some nutmeg. Add as much water as will cover them; put
- on closely the lid of the pan, and let the whole stew for about an hour.
- Then take a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and roll it in two
- table-spoonfuls of flour. Add it to the stew with a tea-cupful of rich
- milk or cream, and give it one boil up, not more, or the milk may curdle.
- Serve it hot in a deep dish; the sweetbreads in the middle with the gravy
- poured over them, and the quartered cauliflowers laid handsomely round.
- This stew will be found delicious.
- </p>
- <p>
- Broccoli may be thus stewed with sweetbreads.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEETBREAD OMELET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For an omelet of six or seven eggs, take two fine sweetbreads. Split them,
- take out the gristle, and soak them in two lukewarm waters, to extract all
- the blood. Then put them into very hot water, boil them ten minutes, take
- them out, set them away to cool, and afterwards mince them small, and
- season them with <i>a very little salt</i> and cayenne pepper, and some
- grated nutmeg. Beat the eggs (omitting the whites of two) till very light.
- Then mix in the chopped sweetbreads. Put three ounces or more of fresh
- butter into a small frying-pan, and place it over the fire. Stir the
- butter with a spoon, as it melts, and when it comes to a boil put in the
- mixture, stirring it awhile after it is all in. Fry it a rich brown. Heat
- the plate or dish in which you turn it out of the pan. An omelet should
- never be turned while frying. The top may be well browned by holding above
- it a salamander or red-hot shovel.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you wish it very thick, have <i>three</i> sweetbreads.
- </p>
- <p>
- While frying the omelet, lift the edge occasionally by slipping a
- knife-blade under it, that the butter may get well underneath.
- </p>
- <p>
- If omelets are cooked too much they will become tough, and leather-like.
- Many persons prefer having them sent to table as <i>soft omelets</i>,
- before they have set, or taken the form of a cake. In this case, serve up
- the omelet in a deep dish, and help it with a spoon.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEETBREADS AND OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take four sweetbreads, and when they have been soaked and blanched,
- quarter them, and remove the pipe. Strain the liquor from three dozen
- large fresh oysters, season it with powdered nutmeg and mace, and a little
- cayenne. Put the quartered sweetbreads into a stew-pan, and pour over them
- enough of the oyster-liquor to cover them well, adding, if you have it,
- three large spoonfuls of the gravy of roast veal, and a quarter of a pound
- of fresh butter, cut into four bits; each bit rolled or dredged in flour.
- When the sweetbreads are done, put in the oysters, (first removing their
- gristle or hard part,) and take them out again as soon as they are
- plumped, which should be in five minutes. If allowed to boil, the oysters
- will shrivel, and become hard and tasteless. Add, at the last, two
- wine-glasses of cream, and shake the pan about, for a few minutes. Serve
- up in a deep dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEETBREAD PIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make shells of puff-paste, and bake them empty. When done, fill them to
- the top with the above mixture. Have ready a lid for each pie, baked on a
- flat plate, and lay it on the top of the filling.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED SWEETBREADS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- After blanching them, extract the pipe very carefully, and fill its place
- with a stuffing made of cold minced chicken or veal, minced ham or tongue
- sweet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>
- marjoram, nutmeg, grated lemon-peel, and the crumbled yolks of hard-boiled
- eggs. Fasten the openings with small wooden skewers, and put the
- sweetbreads into a broad stew-pan with a thin slice of ham under each, and
- another on the top of each, kept in place by a splinter-skewer. Stew the
- sweetbreads in the gravy of roast veal, and before you send them to table
- take out the skewers.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or make a gravy of uncooked trimmings of veal or beef, stewed slowly in as
- much water as will cover them well, and seasoned with pepper and salt&mdash;or,
- stew with the fresh meat, as much ham or bacon as will flavor the gravy,
- (using no other salt.) When all the essence is extracted from the meat,
- stir in a bit of butter dredged with flour. The flour for gravies should
- be browned. Strain the gravy, and add any other flavoring you like.
- </p>
- <p>
- To brown flour, spread it evenly on a large dish or flat tin, and place it
- before the fire, or in a rather cool oven. Scrape it up from the edges
- where it will get the brownest. Take care it burns or blackens nowhere.
- Keep it for use in a dry tin box.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED SWEETBREADS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Parboil four large sweetbreads, having first blanched them. When cold,
- lard them all over the surface, with slips of bacon the size of small
- straws. Lay them in a shallow pan, putting under each sweetbread a piece
- of nice fresh butter with a very little flour<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> mixed into it. Pour into
- the pan a glass of nice white wine, mixed with the juice and grated yellow
- rind of a lemon. Season also with grated nutmeg. Or for sauce, you may use
- mushroom catchup, with a little salad oil stirred into it.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you do not live in a place where nice fresh butter is to be obtained,
- endeavor to do without butter at all, rather than use that which is
- strong, rancid, or too salt. Bad butter tastes through every thing&mdash;spoils
- every thing, and is also extremely unwholesome, as decomposition (or in
- plain terms <i>putrefaction</i>,) has already commenced. Rather than use
- what makes all your food taste worse instead of better, try to substitute
- something else&mdash;such as beef or fresh pork drippings, suet, lard, or
- olive oil; or, molasses, honey, or stewed fruit. <i>We know</i> that with
- these it is possible to live in health for years, without tasting butter.
- Nevertheless, good butter is a good thing, and an improvement to all sorts
- of cookery.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="PORK" id="PORK"></a>PORK.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Young pork has a thin rind or skin, easily indented by pressing with the
- finger, and the lean will break by pinching. If fresh, the meat is smooth
- and dry; but if damp and clammy, it is tainted. If the fat is rough with
- little kernels, the pig has had a disease resembling the measles, and to
- eat it is poisonous. Pigs that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217"
- id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> have short legs, and thick necks, are the
- best. Pigs fed entirely on slop make very bad pork. They should be kept up
- for at least two months, fed with corn, and not allowed during the time of
- fattening to eat any sort of trash. No animal tastes more of its food than
- a pig. If allowed to eat the garbage of fish, they will not only have a
- fishy taste, but a smell of fish so intolerable, when cooking, that such
- pork cannot be endured in the house. During the two months that they are
- kept up to fatten, all their food must be wholesome as well as abundant,
- and it does them much good to have soap-suds given to them occasionally.
- Let them have plenty of corn, and plenty of fresh water. They will thrive
- better and make finer pork, if their pens are not allowed to be dirty. No
- animal actually likes dirt, and even pigs would be clean if they knew how.
- It is very beneficial to young pigs to wash them well in soap and water.
- We have seen this often done with great care.
- </p>
- <p>
- The pork in Spain and Portugal is delicious, from being fed chiefly on the
- large chestnuts, of which there is great abundance in those countries.
- These pigs are short-legged and thick-bodied&mdash;a profitable species.
- The best pieces of a pig are the hind-leg and loin; the next is the
- shoulder, or fore-leg. The spare-rib, (pronounced sparrib by the English,)
- affords so little meat, and the bones are so tedious to pick, that it is
- seldom seen on good American tables, nothing being popular with us that
- cannot be eaten fast or fastish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Pork must be thoroughly cooked; done well,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> and completely to the very
- bone. Who ever asked for a slice of pork <i>done rare</i>? Who could eat
- pork with the blood appearing, when served? So it is with veal. Underdone
- veal, or underdone chicken, is not to be thought of without disgust.
- </p>
- <p>
- Pork, for boiling, is always previously salted or corned. Fresh pork,
- however, is very good <i>stewed</i> or cooked slowly in a very little
- water, and with plenty of vegetables in the same pot. The vegetables
- should be potatos, (either sweet or white,) pared and cut into pieces&mdash;parsnips
- the same, or yams in thick slices. For corned pork cook the vegetables
- separately from the meat, or they will taste too salt and fat. They should
- be cabbage, or green sprouts, green beans or peas, green corn, young poke,
- squash, pumpkin, or cashaw, (winter squash,) boiled, mashed, and squeezed.
- </p>
- <p>
- For salt pork, in winter, have dried beans or dried peas; first boiled,
- and then baked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO ROAST PORK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The roasting pieces are the loin, the leg, the saddle, the fillet, the
- shoulder and the spare-rib, (which last is found between the shoulder or
- fore-leg,) and the griskin or back-bone. All roast pork should be well
- seasoned; rubbed with pepper, salt, or powdered sage or marjoram. Score
- the skin with a sharp knife, making deep lines at regular distances, about
- an inch apart. Cross these lines with others, so as to form squares or
- diamonds. Make a stuffing of minced sage or marjoram leaves; bread-crumbs;
- if liked, a very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>
- little minced onion previously boiled; and some powdered mace. Introduce
- this stuffing profusely wherever it can be inserted, loosening a piece of
- the skin, and fastening it down again with a small skewer. In a leg or
- shoulder you can put in a great deal at the knuckle. In a fillet or large
- end of the leg, stuff the place from whence you have taken the bone. Put
- the pork down to roast not very close to the fire, but place it nearer
- when the skin begins to brown. You can soon baste it with its own gravy;
- and see that it is thoroughly cooked, before removing it from the spit.
- After taking up the meat, skim the fat from the gravy, and stir in a
- little flour to thicken it.
- </p>
- <p>
- The crackling or skin will be much more crisp and tender if you go all
- over it with sweet oil, or lard, before you put it to the fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- Always accompany roast pork with apple sauce, served in a deep dish or a
- sauce-tureen.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold roast pork is very good sliced at tea or breakfast.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEET POTATO PORK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil, peel, and mash a sufficiency of sweet potatos, moistened with butter
- and egg. Cover with them the bottom of a deep dish; then put on a layer of
- slices of fresh pork, sprinkled with minced sage or marjoram. Next,
- another thick layer of mashed sweet potatos; then another layer of pork
- cutlets, and so on till the dish is full, finishing with mashed sweet
- potatos. Bake it brown on the surface.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHESTNUT PORK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Where the large Spanish chestnuts abound, a similar dish may be made of
- layers of chestnuts boiled, peeled, and mashed, and layers of fresh pork
- in thin slices.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROASTED SPARE-RIB.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This will do for a second dish at the table of a very small family. Rub it
- all over with powdered sage, pepper, and salt, and having put it on the
- spit, lay the thickest end to the fire. Dredge it with powdered sage and
- baste it with a little butter. When dished, have ready some mashed potatos
- made into flat cakes, and browned on the top, and laid all round the pork,
- with some in another dish. Send to table apple sauce also.
- </p>
- <p>
- When apples are difficult to procure, substitute dried peaches, stewed
- very soft, and in no more water than remains about them after being
- washed. Sweeten them while hot, as soon as you take them from the fire,
- mashing them smoothly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO DRESS A YOUNG PIG.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The pig should not be more than three weeks old. If not fat, it is unfit
- to eat. To be in perfection, a sucking pig should be eaten the day it is
- killed, or its goodness and tenderness is impaired every hour. It requires
- great care in roasting, and constant watching. The custom of <i>roasting</i>
- a very young pig has now gone much, into disuse, it being found that<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> baking
- answers the purpose equally well or better, and is far less troublesome.
- </p>
- <p>
- The pig should be washed perfectly clean, inside and out, and wiped very
- dry. Have ready a stuffing made of slices of bread, thickly buttered and
- soaked in milk, seasoned with powdered nutmeg and mace, and the grated
- yellow rind of a lemon, with the <i>hard-boiled</i> yolk of an egg,
- crumbled, and a large handful, or more, of fine bloom raisins, seeded and
- cut in half, mix all these ingredients well, and fill with them the body
- of the pig, sewing it up afterwards. Or you may make a plain stuffing of
- chopped sage and onions, boiled together, with marjoram; and mixed with
- bread-crumbs and butter. Having trussed the pig, with the fore-legs bent
- back, and the hind-legs forward, rub it <i>all over</i> with sweet oil, or
- with fresh butter tied in a rag. Lay it in a baking-pan, with a little
- water in the bottom. Then set it in an oven, not too hot, and bake it
- well, basting it frequently with butter. When done, dish it whole. Skim
- the gravy in the pan, and mix in some flour. Give it one boil up, having
- first put into it the chopped liver and heart of the pig, taken out after
- it was cooked, and stir in the beaten yolk of an egg.
- </p>
- <p>
- The practice is now obsolete of dissecting a pig before it goes to table,
- splitting it down the back, and down the front, and laying the two halves
- in reverse positions, or back to back, with one half the split head at
- each side, and one ear at each end, the brains being taken out to enrich
- the gravy. All these disgusting things have been discarded by the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> better
- taste of modern epicures. And the pig is baked and comes to table whole.
- We have always thought it a most unfeminine fancy for a lady to enjoy
- eating the head of any thing, and the brain particularly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK STEAKS, STEWED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some nice fresh pork steaks, cut either from the leg or the loin.
- Trim off the superfluous fat. Season them with a little salt and pepper,
- and plenty of minced sage. Put in with them, minced onions, sliced sweet
- potatos, parsnips, and white potatos cut into pieces, also some lima
- beans. Pour in barely sufficient water to cover them; or else stew the
- pork in a very little lard. Apples cored, pared, and baked whole; the
- core-place filled with sugar, moistened with a very little water, to put
- in the bottom of the baking-dish, are a very nice accompaniment to pork
- steaks.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK AND APPLES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take nice steaks, or cutlets, of fresh pork. Season them with a little
- pepper, and a very little salt. Pare, core, and quarter some fine juicy
- apples. Flavor them with the grated yellow rind and the juice of one or
- two lemons, and strew among them plenty of sugar. Stew them with merely
- sufficient water to prevent their burning; or else a little lard without
- water. When thoroughly done, serve all up in the same dish. If you cannot
- procure lemons, flavor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223"
- id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> the apple with rose-water, or nutmeg, <i>after</i>
- it is cooked. Rose-water evaporates much in cooking.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK STEAKS, FRIED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut them thin, but do not trim off the fat. Sprinkle them well all over
- with finely minced sage or sweet marjoram. Lay them in a frying-pan, and
- fry them well on both sides, keeping them very hot after they are done.
- Wash out the frying-pan, (or have another one ready, which is better,) and
- put it over the fire with plenty of lard, or fresh butter. Have ready
- plenty of slices of large juicy apples, pared, cored, and cut into round
- pieces. Fry them well, and when done, take them up on a perforated
- skimmer, to drain the lard from them. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar,
- and pile them on a dish to eat with the pork.
- </p>
- <p>
- Otherwise, send to table with the pork, a dish of apple sauce made in the
- usual manner, or a dish of dried peaches, stewed, mashed, and sweetened.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK APPLE POT-PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a plentiful quantity of nice paste. With some of it line the sides
- (but not the bottom) of a large pot. At the very bottom lay a slice of <i>fresh</i>
- pork, with most of the fat trimmed off. Season it with a very little salt
- and pepper, and add some pieces of paste. Next put in a thick layer of
- juicy apples, cut in slices, strewed with brown sugar. Add another layer
- of pork, and another of sliced apples. Proceed thus<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> till the pot is nearly
- full, finishing with a lid of paste, not fitting quite closely. Cut a
- cross-slit in the top, through which pour in some sweet cider to moisten
- it, and set it to cooking. Keep the pot covered; set it at once over a
- good fire, but not so hot as to burn the pie. See that it is well done
- before you take it up. It is a convenient dish in the country at the
- season of apple picking, cider making, and pork killing.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stewed or baked apples are always greatly improved by a flavoring of
- lemon, rose-water, or nutmeg.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- APPLE PORK PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Core, peel, and quarter some fine juicy baking-apples. Make a nice paste
- with fresh butter and sifted flour, and line with it the bottom and sides
- of a deep dish. Put in the apples, and strew among them sufficient brown
- sugar to make them very sweet. If you can obtain a fresh lemon, pare off
- very thin the yellow rind, and squeeze the juice to flavor the apples.
- Prepare some fresh pork steaks, cut thin, and divested of all the fat
- except a little at the edge; removing the bone. Cover the apples with a
- layer of meat, and pour in a tea-cup of <i>sweet</i> cider. The contents
- of the pie should be heaped up in the centre. Have ready a nice lid of
- paste, and cover the pie with it, closing and crimping the edge. In the
- centre of the lid cut a cross-slit. Put it into a hot oven and bake it
- well. This is a farm-house dish, and very good. Try it.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Apples have always been considered a suitable accompaniment to fresh pork.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FILLET OF PORK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut a fillet or round, handsomely and evenly, from a fine leg of fresh
- pork. Remove the bone. Make a stuffing or forcemeat of grated
- bread-crumbs; butter; a tea-spoonful of sweet marjoram, or tarragon
- leaves; and sage leaves enough to make a small table-spoonful, when minced
- or rubbed fine; all well mixed, and slightly seasoned with pepper and
- salt. Then stuff it closely into the hole from whence the bone was taken.
- Score the skin of the pork in circles to go all round the fillet. These
- circles should be very close together, or about half an inch apart. Rub
- into them, slightly, a little powdered sage. Put it on the spit, and roast
- it well, till it is thoroughly done throughout; as pork, if the least
- underdone, is not fit to eat. Place it, for the first hour, not very close
- to the fire, that the meat may get well heated all through, before the
- skin begins to harden so as to prevent the heat from penetrating
- sufficiently. Then set it as near the fire as it can be placed without
- danger of scorching. Keep it roasting steadily with a bright, good,
- regular fire, for two or three hours, or longer still if it is a large
- fillet. It may require near four hours. Baste it at the beginning with
- sweet oil (which will make the skin very crisp) or with lard. Afterwards,
- baste it with its own gravy. When done, skim the fat from the gravy, and
- then dredge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
- in a little flour to thicken it. Send the pork to table with the gravy in
- a boat; and a deep dish of apple sauce, made very thick, flavored with
- lemon, and sweetened well.
- </p>
- <p>
- A fillet of pork is excellent stewed slowly in a very little water, having
- in the same stew-pot some sweet potatos, peeled, split, and cut into long
- pieces. If stewed, put <i>no sage</i> in the stuffing; and remove the skin
- of the pork. This is an excellent family dish in the autumn.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ITALIAN PORK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a nice leg of fresh pork; rub it well with fine salt and let it lie
- in the salt for a week or ten days. When you wish to cook it, put the pork
- into a large pot, with just sufficient water to cover it; and let it
- simmer, slowly, during four hours; skimming it well. Then take it out, and
- lay it on a large dish. Pour the water from the pot into an earthen pan;
- skim it, and let it cool while you are skinning the pork. Then put into a
- pot, a pint of good cider vinegar, mixed with half a pound of brown sugar,
- and a pint of the water in which the pork has been boiled, and from which
- all the fat has been carefully skimmed off. Put in the pork with the upper
- side towards the bottom of the pot. Set it again over the fire, (which
- must first be increased,) and heat the inside of the pot-lid by standing
- it upright against the front of the fire. Then cover the pot closely, and
- let the pork stew for an hour and a half longer; basting it frequently
- with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>
- liquid around it, and keeping the pot-lid as hot as possible that the meat
- may be well browned. When done, the pork will have somewhat the appearance
- of being coated with molasses. Serve up the gravy with it. What is left of
- the meat may be sliced cold for breakfast or luncheon.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may stew with it, when the pork is put into the pot a second time,
- some large chestnuts, previously boiled and peeled. Or, instead of
- chestnuts, sweet potatos, scraped, split, and cut into small pieces.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK OLIVES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut slices from a fillet or leg of cold fresh pork. Make a forcemeat in
- the usual manner, only substituting for sweet herbs some sage-leaves,
- chopped fine. When the slices are covered with the forcemeat, and rolled
- up and tied round, stew them slowly either in cold gravy left of the pork,
- or in fresh lard. Drain them well before they go to table. Serve them up
- on a bed of mashed turnips, or potatos, or of mashed sweet potatos, if in
- season.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PIGS' FEET, FRIED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pigs' feet are frequently used for jelly, instead of calves' feet. They
- are very good for this purpose, but a larger number is required (from
- eight to ten or twelve) to make the jelly sufficiently firm. After they
- have been boiled for jelly, extract the bones, and put the meat into a
- deep dish: cover it with some good cider vinegar, seasoned with sugar and
- a little salt and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>
- cayenne. Then cover the dish, and set it away for the night. Next morning,
- take out the meat, and having drained it well from the vinegar, put it
- into a frying-pan, in which some lard has just come to a boil, and fry it
- for a breakfast dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK AND BEANS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a good piece of pickled pork, (not very fat,) and to each pound of
- pork allow a quart of dried white beans. The bone should be removed from
- the pork, and the beans well picked and washed. The evening before they
- are wanted for cooking, put the beans and pork to soak in <i>separate pans</i>;
- and just before bed-time, drain off the water, and replace it with fresh.
- Let them soak all night. Early in the morning, drain them well from the
- water, and wash first the beans, and then the pork in a cullender. Having
- scored the skin in stripes, or diamonds, put the pork into a pot with
- fresh cold water, and the beans into another pot with sufficient cold
- water to cook them well. Season the pork with a little pepper, but, of
- course, no salt. Boil them separately and slowly till the pork is
- thoroughly done (skimming it well) and till the beans have all burst open.
- Afterwards take them out, and drain them well from the water. Then lay the
- pork in the middle of a tin pan, (there must be no liquid fat about it)
- and the beans round it, and over it, so as nearly to bury it from sight.
- Pour in a very little water, and set the dish into a hot oven, to bake or
- brown for half an hour. If kept too long in the oven the beans will<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> become
- dry and hard. If sufficiently boiled when separate, half an hour will be
- long enough for the pork and beans to bake together. Carefully skim off
- any liquid fat that may rise to the surface. Cover the dish, and send it
- to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a small dish, two quarts of beans and two pounds of pork will be
- enough. To this quantity, when put to bake in the oven, you may allow a
- pint of water.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a good plain dish, very popular in New England, and generally
- liked in other parts of the country, if properly done.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK WITH CORN AND BEANS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil a nice small leg of corned pork, skim it well, and boil it
- thoroughly. Then have ready a quart, or more, of fresh string-beans, each
- bean cut into only three pieces. Boil the beans for an hour in a separate
- pot. In another pot boil four ears of young sweet corn, and when soft and
- tender, cut it down from the cob, with a sharp knife, and mix it with the
- boiled beans, having drained them, through a cullender, from all the water
- that is about them. Having mixed them well together, in a deep dish,
- season them with pepper, (no salt,) and add a large lump of fresh butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- For green beans you may substitute dried white ones, boiled by themselves,
- well drained, and seasoned with pepper and butter, and mixed in the same
- dish before they are sent to table. Or the mixed corn and beans may be
- heaped round the pork upon the same dish.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- To eat with them make some indian dumplings of corn meal and water, mixed
- into a stiff dough, formed into thick dumplings, about as large round as
- the top of a tea-cup, and boiled in a pot by themselves.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PORK WITH PEAS PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil a nice piece of pickled or corned pork, (the leg is the best,) and
- let it be well skinned, and thoroughly cooked. To make the pudding, pick
- over and wash through cold water, a quart of yellow split peas, and tie
- them in a square cloth, leaving barely sufficient room for them to swell;
- but if too much space is allowed for swelling, they will be weak and
- washy. When the peas are all dissolved into a mass, turn them out of the
- cloth, and rub them through a coarse sieve into a pan. Then add a quarter
- of a pound of fresh butter, mixed well into the peas, and a very little
- pepper. Beat light, three yolks and one whole egg, and stir them into the
- peas a little at a time. Then beat the whole very hard. Dip your
- pudding-cloth into hot water; spread it out in a pan, and pour the mixture
- into it. Tie up the cloth, and put the pudding into a pot of boiling
- water. Let it boil steadily for at least an hour. When done, send it to
- table, and eat it with the pork.
- </p>
- <p>
- Next day, if there is much left, boil both the pork and the pudding over
- again, (the remains of the pudding tied in the cloth.) Let them boil till
- thoroughly warmed throughout. Cut them in slices. Place them on the same
- dish, the pork in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>
- middle, with slices of pudding laid round, and send them to the breakfast
- table, for strong healthy eaters.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SAUSAGE-MEAT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To fifteen pounds of the lean of fresh pork, allow five pounds of the fat.
- Having removed the skin, sinews, and gristle, chop both the fat and lean
- as fine as possible, and mix them well together. Rub to a powder
- sufficient sage-leaves to make four ounces when done. Mix the sage with
- two ounces of fine salt, two ounces of brown sugar, an ounce of powdered
- black pepper, and a quarter of an ounce of cayenne. Add this seasoning to
- the chopped pork, and mix it thoroughly. Pack the sausage-meat down, hard
- and closely, into stone jars, which must be kept in a cool place, and well
- covered. When wanted for use, make some of it into small flat cakes,
- dredge them with flour, and fry them well. The fat that exudes from the
- sausage-cakes, while frying, will be sufficient to cook them in.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SAUSAGE DUMPLING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a good paste in the proportion of three mashed potatos, and a quarter
- of a pound of finely minced suet to a quart of flour. Roll it out into a
- thick sheet. Fill it with the best home-made sausage meat. Lay the sausage
- meat in an even heap on the sheet of dough, and close it up so as to form
- a large round dumpling. Dip a square cloth in boiling water, shake it out,
- dredge it with flour, and tie the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232"
- id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> dumpling in it, leaving room for it to
- swell. Put it into a pot of boiling water, and keep it boiling hard till
- thoroughly done. Do not turn it till immediately before it goes to table.
- It requires no sauce but a little cold butter. It may be made into several
- small dumplings.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VEAL AND SAUSAGE PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Line a deep oval dish with a very nice paste. Lay at the bottom a thin
- veal cutlet, seasoned with powdered mace. Place upon it some of the best
- sausage meat, spread thin; then another veal cutlet, and then more
- sausage. Repeat this till the dish is full, finishing with sausage meat on
- the top. Then cover the pie with a rather thick lid or upper crust,
- uniting the two edges at the rim, by crimping or notching them neatly.
- Make a cross slit in the centre of the lid. Bake the pie well, and serve
- it up hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Put no water into this pie, as the veal and the sausage will give out
- sufficient gravy. We recommend this pie.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you live where veal cannot always be procured, substitute chicken or
- turkey, boiled and cut up, and covered with layers of sausage; or else
- thin slices of venison; or else, the best part of a pair of boiled or
- roasted rabbits.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOLOGNA SAUSAGES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take three pounds of the lean of a round of corned or salted beef,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> and
- three pounds of the lean of corned or salted pork. Boil them for an hour
- in separate pots. Take them up, let them grow cold, and chop them
- separately. Chop also, very fine, two pounds of the fat of bacon, and one
- pound of beef suet. When these things are all separately minced, mix them
- well together, seasoning them well with chopped sage, sweet marjoram,
- black pepper, and powdered mace. Also, if liked, two or three boiled
- onions minced very small. Have ready some of the large skins commonly used
- for these sausages. The skins must have been carefully emptied, washed,
- and scraped till quite transparent. Fill them with the above mixture,
- stuffing it in hard and evenly with a sausage-stuffer, sewing and tying
- both ends securely. Put the sausages into a brine or pickle, such as is
- made for ham, of salt, brown sugar, and molasses mixed with water, and
- strong enough to bear up an egg. Let the sausages remain a week in this
- pickle, turning them every day, and keeping it closely covered. Then take
- them out and hang them up to dry, tied in strings or links. Smoke them for
- a week over a fire of oak sticks or corn-cobs. Afterwards, rub them over
- with salad oil, which is much the better for being mixed with ashes of
- vine twigs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sausages made faithfully as above, will be found equal to the real
- Bologna, by the lovers of this sort of relish. When it is eaten they are
- sliced very thin. Few ladies eat them.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HOG'S HEAD CHEESE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Hog's head cheese is always made at what is called "killing time." To make
- four cheeses of moderate size, take two large hog's heads; two sets, (that
- is eight feet,) and the noses of all the pigs that have been killed that
- day. Clean all these things well, and then boil them to rags. Having
- drained off the liquid through a cullender, spread out the things in large
- dishes, and carefully remove all the bones, even to the smallest bits.
- With a chopper mince the meat as fine as possible, and season it well with
- pepper, salt, sage, and sweet marjoram, adding some powdered mace. Having
- divided the prepared meats into four equal parts, tie up each portion
- tightly in a clean coarse cloth, and press it into a compact cake, by
- putting on heavy weights. It will be fit for use next day. In a cool dry
- place it will keep all winter. It requires no farther cooking, and is
- eaten sliced at breakfast, luncheon, or supper. If well made, and well
- seasoned with the herbs and spices, it will be found very nice for a
- relish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LIVER PUDDINGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil some pigs' livers, and when cold mince them, adding some cold ham or
- bacon, in the proportion of a pound of liver to a quarter of a pound of
- fat bacon. Add also some boiled pigs' feet, allowing to each pound of
- liver four pigs' feet boiled, skinned, boned, and chopped. Season with
- pepper, powdered mace or nutmeg, and sweet herbs, (sweet basil and marjo<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>ram.) Put
- the mixture (packed hard,) into straight-sided tin or white ware pans, and
- cover them with a clean cloth. Put heavy weights on the top. Cover them
- also with folded brown paper, and set them in a cool dry place. They will
- be fit to eat next day. Slice them thick, and send them to the tea or
- breakfast table. Or you may fill with the mixture, some nicely cleaned and
- very transparent sausage skins, (of a large size,) and tie up the ends
- with coarse brown thread, to be removed before going to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may cut them into large pieces, and broil them, or fry them in lard.
- </p>
- <p>
- Calves' liver makes still nicer puddings.
- </p>
- <p>
- Keep liver puddings in flat stone jars.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never use newspaper to cover or wrap up any thing eatable. The black
- always rubs off, and the copperas in the printing ink is very poisonous.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="HAM_etc" id="HAM_etc"></a>HAM, etc.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BRINE FOR PICKLING MEAT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To every four gallons of water allow four pounds of fine salt, two ounces
- of saltpetre, three pounds of brown sugar, and two quarts of West India
- molasses. Boil the whole together, stirring it well, and skimming it after
- stirring. When clear, let it cool. The meat being clean and dry, rub it
- all over with ground red pepper. Then put as much meat<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> into the pickling-tub as
- can be very well covered by the brine, which must be poured on cold. Let
- it remain six weeks in the pickle, (carefully taking off the scum,) and
- turning each piece every day. Afterwards, hang it till it is dry outside,
- and then smoke it well for a fortnight, hanging it high above the fire
- with the large end downward. The fire in the smoke-house should be
- steadily kept up all the time. Hickory or oak is the best wood for this
- purpose. On no account use pine, cedar, spruce, or hemlock. They will
- communicate to the meat a strong taste of turpentine, and render it
- uneatable. A fire made of corn-cobs is excellent for smoking meat, and
- they should be saved for that purpose. When the meat is smoked, rub it all
- over with ground pepper to prevent insects, and sew up all the pieces in
- new cotton cloths, coarse and thick, and then white-wash them. We have
- seen ham-covers, painted with flowers and gilded. Since California,
- gilding pervades the land.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pickle will be found excellent for hams, bacon, tongues, or beef.
- Meat for pickling must be very fresh, and of excellent quality. Before
- sewing it up in covers see that it is free from insects. If to go to sea,
- pack in boxes of powdered charcoal for a long voyage. For a short one,
- barrels of wood-ashes will do.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO CURE HAMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To make good hams the pork must be of the best quality. No animal tastes<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> so much
- of its food as the pig. In America, we consider a pig "killed off the
- slop" as unfit to eat; and so he is. All our pigs are kept up in a pen,
- and fattened with Indian corn, or corn meal, for several weeks previous to
- killing. A hundred pounds of corn meal, (mixed with water to about the
- consistency of very thick mush,) is said to be equal in fattening pigs to
- two hundred pounds of dry-shelled corn. They should be kept up, and well
- fed for eight weeks; and occasionally, in the country, where such fruits
- are superabundant, the pigs should have a regale of melons, peaches, &amp;c.
- This we have seen, and the pork was, of course, very fine. The hams or
- hind-quarters are considered the most valuable part of the animal. They
- are cured in various modes. But the Newbold receipt has hitherto been the
- most popular. Mr. Newbold was a Pennsylvania farmer. The following
- directions, we believe, are authentic.
- </p>
- <p>
- For one hundred pounds of fine pork, take seven pounds of coarse salt,
- five pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of saltpetre, half an ounce of
- pearlash, and four gallons of water. Boil all together, and skim the
- pickle when cold. Pour it on the meat. Let hams or tongues remain in the
- pickling-tub eight weeks. Before it is smoked, hang it up and dry it two
- or three days. Three weeks will be sufficient for pickling beef. Previous
- to sewing the hams in cases, rub them all over with ground black pepper.
- </p>
- <p>
- Soap-suds given frequently to pigs, when kept up to fatten, will greatly
- promote their health.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having soaked a fine ham from early in the evening till near bed-time,
- putting it into warm water, and changing that water about ten or eleven
- o'clock&mdash;wash and brush it well in the morning, and trim it so as to
- look nicely all over. Lay at the bottom of the ham-boiler a bed of nice
- fresh hay, which will greatly improve the flavor. Let the hock bone be
- sawed off short. A long shank bone looks very awkward. Place the ham upon
- the hay&mdash;pour in plenty of cold water, and keep it simmering very
- slowly an hour before you allow it to boil. Then increase the heat
- gradually, and keep the ham boiling steadily for four, five, or six hours,
- according to its size and age. An old ham requires more soaking and
- boiling than a new one. Skim it frequently after the boiling begins. It
- will be much improved by transferring it to a spit, (having taken off the
- whole skin,) and roasting the ham, for the last two or three hours,
- basting it with its own essence. Save the skin to cover the cold ham, and
- keep it fresh. Before it goes to table cover the ham with grated
- bread-crumbs, sifted on so as to form a slight crust.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the ham is to be eaten cold, and is intended for company, brush it all
- over with beaten yolk of egg. Then dredge on sufficient grated crumbs to
- form a crust half an inch thick, and finish by going all over it with
- cream. Set it to brown in an oven, or put it on the spit of a roaster.
- When cold, this glazing will be found surpassingly fine. Decorate the hock
- with white paper, handsomely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239"
- id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> cut, or with a bunch of flowers cut out of
- vegetables.
- </p>
- <p>
- Carve a ham in very thin slices&mdash;if cut thick, they have not the same
- taste, besides looking ungenteelly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For baking, take a small ham, or part of a large one, trimmed and made of
- good shape, cutting away whatever looks unsightly. Have the bone sawed off
- at the knuckle, or end of the hock. The evening previous to cooking, lay
- the ham in soak in a large pan of hot water. At bed-time pour off the
- water, and renew it. Keep it closely covered all night. In the morning
- wash and brush it well. Make a coarse paste of coarse flour mixed with
- water only, and roll it out about an inch thick. Line a clean iron
- bake-oven with this, and put in the ham, reserving enough of paste to
- cover the top. Pour in a very little water, merely sufficient to keep the
- ham from burning. Put on the lid of paste, and having wet the edges
- slightly press them together, so as to unite closely the top and bottom
- crust. Bake it over a steady fire, from four to five or six hours, or
- more, according to its size. When done, skim the gravy, remove the paste,
- (which is of no farther use,) and take off the skin of the ham. Dredge it
- all over with finely grated bread-crumbs, before it goes to table. A ham
- can scarcely be cooked too much, and too slow. The general fault is in
- cooking them too little, and too fast. A ham of the smallest size will
- require at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>
- least four hours baking or boiling, even after it has been all night in
- soak. Save the skin whole, to cover the cold ham when it is put away in
- the pantry.
- </p>
- <p>
- When a cooked ham is nearly all used up, take what remains, cut it all off
- from the bone, and stew the bits in a little water, till they are all to
- rags. You will find the essence an improvement to gravies, strained from
- the fragments.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MADEIRA HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a dish only seen at dinner parties. No one can believe, for a
- moment, that hams really cooked in Madeira wine are served up every week
- at hotels, particularly at those houses where there is no other
- superfluity, and where most of the great dishes exist only in the bill of
- fare. A genuine Madeira ham is cooked as follows:&mdash;Take a ham of the
- very finest sort; should be a Westphalia one. Lay it in hot water, and
- soak it all day and all night, changing the water several times, and every
- time washing out the pan. Early in the morning of the second day, put the
- ham into a large pot of cold water, and boil it slowly during four hours,
- skimming it well. Then take it out, remove the skin entirely, and put the
- ham into a clean boiler, with sufficient Madeira wine to cover it well.
- Boil, or rather stew it, an hour longer, keeping the pot covered except
- when you remove the lid to turn the ham. When well stewed take it up,
- drain it, and strain the liquor into a porcelain-lined saucepan. Have<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> ready a
- sufficiency of powdered white sugar. Cover the ham all over with a thick
- coating of the sugar, and set it into a hot oven to bake for an hour.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mix some orange or lemon-juice with the liquor adding plenty of sugar and
- nutmeg. Give it one boil up over the fire, and serve it up in a tureen, as
- sauce to the ham.
- </p>
- <p>
- What is left of the ham may be cut next day into small pieces, put into a
- stew-pan, with the remains of the liquor or sauce poured over it, and
- stewed for a quarter of an hour or more. Serve it up all together in the
- same dish. While it is on the fire, add a little butter to the stew.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Ham for broiling or frying should be cut into thin slices the evening
- before, trimmed, and laid in a pan of boiling water, which, near bed-time,
- should be changed for cold water, and very early in the morning for
- boiling water, in which it should lie half an hour to soak still longer.
- If ham is not well soaked previously, it will, when broiled or fried, be
- disagreeably hard and salt; the salt frying out to the surface and forming
- a rough unpleasant crust, which will create thirst in the eaters for hours
- after. Much of the salt of a ham goes off in boiling, but if it is <i>not</i>
- boiled or soaked, the salt comes out to the surface and there it sticks.
- The slices being cut thin and nicely trimmed, they should be broiled on a
- very clean gridiron over a clear fire, and so<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> well done that they incline
- to curl up at the edges. Dish them hot, and lay on every slice a very
- small bit of fresh butter, and sprinkle them with pepper.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Ham for frying need not be <i>quite</i> so thin as for broiling. Put but
- little butter in the frying-pan, as their own fat is generally sufficient
- to cook them. Break an egg over the middle of each slice, and let it cook
- till the white is set, and the yolk appears round and yellow through it.
- Before it goes to table trim off nicely the discolored and ragged edges of
- the fried eggs. They look disgusting when left on.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold ham is excellent for broiling or frying, and very nice without any
- further cooking. Send it to table strewed with either nasturtion flowers,
- pepper-grass, or parsley. All these things have a fine flavor of their
- own, especially nasturtions.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- NICE FRIED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having scalded and soaked some nice ham, cut it into rather thick slices,
- and then cut these slices into mouthfuls or little narrow slips. Put them
- into a hot frying-pan, and fry them well. When done, season them with
- pepper and nutmeg, and serve them up in their own gravy. It will be an
- improvement to add a beaten egg just before they go to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may add to the ham some bits of cold boiled chicken, pulled in little
- slips, from the breast, and fried with the ham, adding a little fresh
- butter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SLICED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Slice very thin some cold boiled ham, and let the slices be nearly of the
- same size and appearance, making them look as handsome as you can. Cover
- them with fresh green pepper-grass at a summer breakfast or tea-table; and
- decorate the pepper-grass by interspersing with it some nasturtion
- flowers, which are very nice to eat, having a taste agreeably and slightly
- pungent. Pepper-grass and nasturtions, are very appetizing accompaniments
- to nice bread and butter.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DISGUISED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Scrape or grate a pound of cold boiled ham, twice as much lean as fat.
- Season it slightly with pepper and a little powdered mace or nutmeg. Beat
- the yolks only, of three eggs, and mix with them the ham. Spread the
- mixture thickly over slices of very nice toast, with the crust pared off,
- and the toast buttered while hot. Brush it slightly on the surface with
- white of egg, and then brown it with a red hot shovel or salamander. This
- is a nice breakfast dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HAM CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This should be made the day before it is wanted. Take the remains of a
- cold ham. Cut it into small bits, and pound it well (fat and lean
- together) in a marble mortar, adding some butter and grated nutmeg; or a
- little cream, sufficient to moisten it throughout. Fill a mould with the
- mixture, and set it for half an hour into a moderate oven. When ready for
- use, set the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>
- mould for a few minutes into hot water, and then turn out the ham cake on
- a dish. Cover the surface all over with a coating of beaten white of egg.
- And before it is quite dry, decorate it with capers, or pickled nasturtion
- seeds, arranged in a pattern.
- </p>
- <p>
- Send small bread rolls to the supper table with the ham cake.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HAM OMELET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mince very fine some cold boiled ham, (twice as much lean as fat,) till
- you have a half pint. Break six eggs, and strain them into a shallow pan.
- Beat them till very light and thick, and then stir in gradually the minced
- ham. Have ready, in a hot omelet pan, three table-spoonfuls of lard. When
- the lard boils, put in the omelet mixture and fry it. Occasionally slip a
- knife under the edge to keep it loose from the pan. It should be near an
- inch thick, as a ham omelet is best not to fold over. Make it a good even
- shape; and when one side is done, turn the other and brown it. You can
- turn it easily with a knife and fork, holding carefully, close to the
- omelet, the hot dish on which it is to go to table. Dredge the surface
- with a little cayenne.
- </p>
- <p>
- Omelets may be made in this manner, of smoked tongue, or oysters chopped,
- cold sweetbread, asparagus minced, boiled onions, mushrooms, &amp;c. A
- good allowance for a small omelet is the above proportion of eggs and
- lard, or fresh butter; and a large tea-cup of the seasoning article, which
- must always have been previously cooked.
- </p>
- <p>
- They are much lighter when served up of their<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> full size, and not folded
- over in halfs. A large omelet must have from eight to ten, or a dozen
- eggs. It is best to bake all omelets of the six egg size, and have more in
- number if required.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HAM TOAST.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make some very nice slices of toast, with all the crust trimmed off; and
- dip each toast for an instant into a bowl of hot water, then butter it
- slightly. Have ready some grated cold ham, and spread it thick over each
- slice of toast. Tongue toast is made in the same manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SANDWICHES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Spread some thin slices of bread very thinly with nice fresh butter, and
- lay a thin slice of cold ham (the edges neatly trimmed) between every two
- slices of bread and butter. You may make them so thin, as to roll up&mdash;a
- number being piled on a plate.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BISCUIT SANDWICHES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a very nice and very pretty dish for a supper table. Have ready
- one or two dozen of fresh soft milk biscuit. Split them, and take a very
- little of the soft crumb out of each biscuit, so as to make a slight
- hollow. Butter the biscuits with very nice fresh butter, and fill them
- liberally with grated ham or tongue. Stick round the inside of the edges,
- full sprigs of pepper-grass, or curled parsley, or the green tops of
- celery. Arrange the sprigs closely and<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> handsomely, so as to
- project out all round the sides, forming a green border or fringe. We
- highly recommend biscuit sandwiches.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POTTED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some cold ham, slice it, and mince it small, fat and lean together.
- Then pound it in a mortar; seasoning it as you proceed with cayenne
- pepper, powdered mace, and powdered nutmeg. Then fill with it a large deep
- pan, and set it in an oven for half an hour. Afterwards pack it down hard
- in a stone jar, and fill up the jar with lard. Cover it closely, and paste
- down a thick paper over the jar. If sufficiently seasoned, it will keep
- well in winter; and is convenient for sandwiches, or on the tea-table. A
- jar of this will be found useful to travelers in remote places.
- </p>
- <p>
- Tongue may be potted as above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO PREPARE BACON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- All pieces of pork that, after pickling, are dried and smoked, come under
- the denomination of bacon; except the hind-quarters or legs, and they are
- always called ham, and are justly considered superior to any other part of
- the animal, and bring a higher price. The shoulders or fore-quarters, the
- sides or flitches, the jowl or head, and all the other parts, are
- designated as bacon; and in some places they erroneously give that name to
- the whole animal, if cured, or preserved by the process of smoking.
- </p>
- <p>
- To prepare bacon for being cooked, examine it<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> well, and scrape it
- carefully, and trim off all unsightly parts. If the fat is yellow, the
- meat is rusty or tainted, and not fit to eat. So, also, if on the lean
- there are brownish or blackish spots. All sorts of food, if kept too long,
- should be thrown away at once.
- </p>
- <p>
- If perfectly good, prepare the bacon for cooking, by washing it well, and
- then soaking it for several hours in a pan full of cold water, removing
- the water once or twice during the process. If the bacon is salt and hard,
- soak it all night, changing the water at bed-time, and early in the
- morning.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ham should also be soaked before cooking.
- </p>
- <p>
- A dish of broiled ham is a nice accompaniment to one of calves'
- chitterlings, at breakfast.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO BOIL BACON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put two or three pounds of nice bacon into a pot with plenty of cold
- water, and let it simmer slowly for an hour before it begins to boil. Skim
- it well, and when no more scum rises, put in the vegetables which are
- usually eaten with bacon, and which taste better for boiling with the
- meat. These are young greens, or sprouts, very young roots and leaves of
- the poke plant, and green beans&mdash;strung and cut in half&mdash;not
- smaller. On no account should any other vegetables be boiled with bacon.
- When the bacon is so tender as to be easily pierced through with a fork,
- even in the thickest places, take it up and drain it well in a cullender
- or sieve. Remove the skin. Then take up the vegetables and drain them<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> also,
- pressing out <i>all</i> the liquid. Season them with pepper only. Send the
- meat to table with the vegetables heaped round it, on the same large dish,
- (the cabbage being chopped, but not minced fine.) Potatos, squashes, peas,
- asparagus, &amp;c., should never be boiled in the same pot, or served up
- in the same dish with bacon, which is too plain a dish for any but a
- country table; while a ham is a delicacy for the city, or for any place.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BACON AND BEANS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Scrape and trim a nice piece of bacon, (not too fat,) and see that no part
- of it looks yellow or rusty, or shows any appearance of being too old. If
- so, do not cook it, as it is unwholesome, unpalatable, and unfit to eat. A
- shoulder is a good piece to boil. The best of the animal, when smoked, is,
- of course, the ham or leg. We are now speaking of the other pieces that,
- when cured, are properly called bacon, and are eaten at plain tables only.
- </p>
- <p>
- The meat, if very salt, is the better for being put in soak early in the
- morning, or the night before. Afterwards put it into a pot, and boil and
- skim it till tender. Have ready a quart or two of fresh green string
- beans, cut into three pieces, (not more); put them into the pot in which
- the bacon is boiling, and let them cook with the meat for an hour or more.
- When done, take them out, drain them well; season them well with pepper,
- and send them to table on a separate dish from the bacon.
- </p>
- <p>
- Many persons like so well this bacon flavor, that<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> they <i>always</i>, when
- boiling string-beans, put a small piece of bacon in the pot, removing it
- before the beans are sent to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- With bacon and beans, serve up whole potatos boiled and peeled&mdash;and
- in the country, where cream is plenty, they boil some with butter, and
- pour it over the potatos, touching each one with pepper.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED HAM OR BACON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash and trim a nice piece of bacon; soak it all night, or for several
- hours, in cold water. In the morning scald it with boiling water. Let it
- lie till cool, then throw away the water, and scald it again. Cut it into
- thin slices, very smooth and even; the rind being previously pared off.
- Curl up the slices, rolling them round, and securing them with wooden
- skewers. Broil them on a gridiron, or bake them in a Dutch oven. If cut
- properly thin, they will cook in a quarter of an hour. They must not be
- allowed to burn or blacken. Before you send them to table, take out the
- skewers. They may be cooked in flat slices, without curling, but they must
- be cut always very thin. Slice some hard-boiled eggs, and lay them on the
- meat. Season with black pepper.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cold</i> boiled ham cooked as above, will require no soaking, and can
- be speedily prepared for a breakfast dish. Lay sprigs of parsley on the
- ham.
- </p>
- <p>
- Serve up with them mashed potatos made into balls, or thick flat cakes,
- and browned on the surface with a red-hot shovel.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut some thin slices of cold boiled ham. Season them slightly with pepper.
- No salt. Lay them in a stew pan with plenty of green peas or lima beans,
- or else cauliflowers, or young summer cabbage, quartered, and the thick
- stalk omitted. Add a piece of fresh butter, or <i>a very little lard</i>.
- Put in just water enough to keep the things from burning. When the
- vegetables are quite done, add a beaten egg or two, and in five minutes,
- take up the stew and send it to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED BACON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a small piece of bacon, not too fat or salt. It had best be soaked in
- cold water the night before. Put it into a pot, with a large portion of
- string beans, each cut into three pieces, (not more,) or else some
- cabbage, or young cabbage sprouts. Early in the spring, the young stalks
- of the pokeberry plant will be found excellent with stewed bacon. Stew the
- bacon and vegetables in just water enough to cover them all; skimming
- frequently. Drain all, through a cullender, when done. Have a dish of
- boiled potatos also. A molasses indian pudding is a good conclusion to
- this homely dinner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PREPARED LARD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- As soon as it is cut off from the newly killed pork, put the fat into a
- crock, or deep earthen pot. Cover the crock with its own lid, and let it
- stand all night in a cool place. Next day, cut it into small bits,
- (carefully removing all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251"
- id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> the fleshy particles of lean); and then put
- the fat into a <i>very clean</i> pot, without either water or salt. The
- pot should not be more than half full of pork-fat. Let it boil <i>slowly</i>,
- (stirring it frequently from the bottom, lest it burn,) till it becomes
- quite clear and transparent. Then ladle it into clean pans. When almost
- cold, put it into stoneware jars, which must be closely covered, and kept
- in a cool place. If it is to go to a distance, tie it up in new bladders.
- </p>
- <p>
- There are two sorts of pork-fat for lard. The leaf-fat, which is best; and
- the fat that adheres to the entrails. These two fats should be boiled
- separately.
- </p>
- <p>
- The large entrails, whose skins are to be used for sausages, must be
- cleaned out carefully, well scraped, and thrown into strong salt and water
- for two days, (changing the brine the second day,) and afterwards into
- strong lye for twenty-four hours. Lastly, wash them in fresh water. We
- think it much better to dispense with the skins altogether; keeping your
- sausage meat in jars, and frying it in cakes when wanted for use. Its own
- fat (as it exudes) will cook it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never use bad butter when you can obtain good lard, for frying, and other
- purposes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="VENISON" id="VENISON"></a>VENISON.
- </h2>
- <p>
- You may judge of the age of venison by looking at the hoof, which is
- always left on the leg. The deer is young if the cleft of the hoof is
- small and smooth; but large and rough, if he is old. Buck venison is
- considered better than the meat of the doe. The haunch, or hind-quarter,
- is the best part, and the fat upon it should, be thick and white. The
- shoulder, or fore-quarter, is the next best piece. The saddle comprises
- both hind-quarters; and these, for a large company, are always cooked
- together.
- </p>
- <p>
- To eat venison in perfection, it should be killed when the deer can find
- plenty of fresh food in the forest, and when they have fattened on the
- abundance of wild berries, which they can obtain during the autumn. In
- winter, they are brought into the cities, lean, hard, dry, and black, and
- the meat infested all through with small threadlike white worms; showing
- that decomposition has commenced, and requiring the disguise of spices,
- wine, currant jelly, &amp;c., to render it <i>eatable</i>, not <i>wholesome</i>,
- for every sort of food in the slightest degree tainted is utterly
- injurious to health, and cannot often be eaten with impunity.
- </p>
- <p>
- It never was very fashionable, in America, to eat spoiled victuals, and it
- is now less so than ever. Fortunately, in our land of abundance, "we do
- not see the necessity"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253"
- id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HAUNCH OF VENISON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To prepare a haunch of venison for roasting (we will suppose it to be <i>perfectly</i>
- good and well kept,) wipe it thoroughly all over with clean cloths, dipped
- in lukewarm water, and then go over it with clean dry cloths. Trim off all
- unsightly parts. Lay over the fat a large sheet of thick brown paper, well
- buttered, and securely tied on with twine. Or else make a coarse paste of
- brown meal, and cover it with that. Place it before a good steady fire,
- and let it roast from three to four hours, according to its size. After
- roasting well for three hours, remove the covering of paper or paste, and
- baste the meat well all over; first with dripping or butter, and then with
- its own gravy, dredging it very slightly with browned flour. Skim the fat
- off the gravy, and send the venison to table plain, with sweet sauce of
- black currant jelly, or raspberry jam, in a glass dish with a spoon in it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VENISON STEAKS, BROILED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut the steaks not quite an inch thick. Trim them nicely, and season them
- with a little black pepper and salt. Have ready, over a bed of clear
- bright hot coals from a wood fire, a gridiron with grooved bars to catch
- the gravy. Put down the steaks, and when one side is quite done turn the
- other, and broil that. Venison should always be very thoroughly done.
- Before you take up the steaks, lay a bit of nice fresh butter upon each.
- Take them up on a hot dish, and keep them warm. Pour off the gravy into<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> a small
- saucepan. Give it a boil over the fire, and skim off all the fat from the
- surface. Stir into it some nice wine, and serve up with the steaks a deep
- dish of cranberry, or peach sauce, or a large cup of grape jelly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED VENISON STEAKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some fine steaks of <i>freshly killed</i> venison. Cut them from the
- upper part of the leg. Make a forcemeat, or stuffing, with bread soaked in
- milk, mixed with fresh butter, with chopped sweet marjoram and sweet
- basil; or some boiled onions, minced small, and mixed with chopped sage,
- which may be boiled <i>with</i> the onion, and seasoned with a very little
- salt and pepper. Spread the stuffing thickly over the inside of the
- steaks. Then roll them up, and tie them round with packthread, or secure
- them at the ends with wooden skewers. Put the steaks into a stewpan with
- some fresh butter or lard, or some drippings that have been left of roast
- venison&mdash;the day before. Let them stew (keeping the pan covered) till
- thoroughly done. Then dish them with the gravy round them. Serve up with
- them a sauce of stewed cranberries, or stewed dried peaches.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may stew lamb or mutton cutlets in the same manner, but do not use
- mutton dripping. Water (a very small quantity) is best for them. Veal
- cutlets may be stewed exactly like venison.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HASHED VENISON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the remains of cold roast venison, from which sufficient gravy or
- dripping has been saved to cook the meat again, without any water at all.
- It would be well if this were done in all hashes made from cold meat. For
- want of drippings, use butter or lard. Cold meat stewed in water is weak
- and unpalatable.
- </p>
- <p>
- Two or three large spoonfuls of mushroom, or tomato catchup, are
- improvements to all hashes. If nothing better can be obtained use onions,
- always previously boiled to render them less strong.
- </p>
- <p>
- Minced sweet herbs are excellent seasoning for hashes. Also minced
- tarragon leaves; they give a peculiar flavor that is very generally liked.
- Fresh tarragon is in season in July, August, and September.
- </p>
- <p>
- French mustard (to be obtained at all the best grocery stores) is a great
- improvement to hashes and stews. Stir in at the last, one or two large
- table-spoonfuls. The chief ingredient of French mustard is tarragon.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A FINE VENISON PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut steaks from a loin or haunch of venison, which should be as freshly
- killed as you can get it. The strange and absurd prejudice in favor of
- hard black-looking venison, (that has been kept till the juices are all
- dried up,) is fast subsiding; and no one now eats any sort of food in
- which decomposition has commenced. Those who have eaten venison fresh from
- the forest, when the deer have fattened on<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> wild grapes, huckleberries,
- blackberries, cranberries, &amp;c., will never again be able to relish
- such as is brought in wagon loads to the Atlantic cities, and which has
- been kept till full of those fine threads that are in reality long thin
- whitish worms, and which are often seen in very old hams.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having removed the bones and cut the meat into steaks, and seasoned it
- with salt and pepper, put the venison into a pot, with merely as much
- water as will cover it well. Let it stew till perfectly tender, skimming
- it occasionally. Then take it out, and set it to cool, saving the gravy in
- a bowl. Make a nice puff paste; divide the paste into two equal portions,
- and roll it out rather thick. Butter a deep dish, and line it with one of
- the sheets of paste, rolled thin at the bottom. Then put in the stewed
- venison. Season the gravy with a glass of <i>very good</i> wine, (either
- port or sherry,) a few blades of mace, and a powdered nutmeg. Stir into it
- the crumbled yolks of some hard-boiled eggs. Pour the gravy over the meat,
- and put on the other sheet of paste, as the lid of the pie. Bring the two
- edges close together, so as to unite evenly, and notch them handsomely.
- Set it immediately into the oven, and bake it well. If a steady heat is
- kept up, it will be done in an hour. Send it to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of wine, you may put into the gravy half a pint of <i>black</i>
- currant jelly, which, for venison, is thought preferable to red. Either
- will do.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any sort of game, partridges, pheasants, grouse,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> wild ducks, &amp;c., may be
- made into a fine pie, exactly as above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VERY PLAIN VENISON PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut from the bone some good pieces of fine <i>fresh</i> venison, season
- them slightly with salt and pepper, and put them into a pot with plenty of
- potatos, (either sweet or white,) split and quartered, and only as much
- water as will cover the whole. Set it over the fire, cover it, and let it
- stew slowly and steadily, till all is tender, skimming it several times.
- Meanwhile, make a nice paste of flour shortened with cold gravy, or
- drippings saved from roast venison, or of nice lard. Allow half a pint of
- shortening to each quart of flour. Put the flour into a pan, and rub the
- shortening into it as quickly as possible, adding a <i>very little</i>
- cold water, to make it into a lump of paste. Then roll it out into a
- sheet, and spread over it with a broad knife the remaining half of the
- shortening. Dredge lightly with flour, fold it up, and roll it out in two
- sheets. With one of them line your pie-dish, and put into it the stewed
- venison and potatos. Pour in the gravy of the stew. The filling of this
- pie should be piled high in the centre. Lay on, as a lid, the other sheet
- of paste, which should be rather the largest. Pare off smoothly the edges
- of the two crusts, and crimp them nicely. Set the pie in the oven, and
- bake it well. It may be eaten either hot or cold, but is best hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- The above quantity of paste is only sufficient<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> for a very small pie. For
- one of moderate size allow two quarts of flour, and a pound of shortening.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VENISON POT-PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Remove the bone from some fine venison steaks, cut near an inch thick.
- Season them lightly with pepper and salt, and score them each in several
- places. Stew them in a very little water till tender. Have ready an ample
- portion of nice suet paste. If you cannot obtain beef suet use cold
- venison fat, minced fine and made into a paste with double its quantity in
- flour, and as little water as possible. Lay some stewed venison at the
- bottom of the pot, and line the sides with paste almost up to the top. Put
- in the meat, adding among it boiled sweet potatos cut into pieces, or (if
- they are to be had in plenty,) chestnuts, boiled and peeled. Mushrooms
- will be a great improvement. Onion also, (if liked,) boiled and cut up.
- Intersperse the whole with square pieces of paste. Fill the pot almost to
- the top with the meat and other ingredients. Lay a thick paste over the
- whole, cut round to fit, but not too closely. Pour in a pint of warm water
- to increase the gravy. Make a cross slit in the middle of the upper crust.
- Cook the pie till all is well done. Serve it up with the brown crust in
- pieces, and laid on the top.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pie, if well made, and with plenty of paste, will be thought
- excellent whenever fresh venison is to be had.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VENISON HAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine freshly-killed venison. Mix together an ounce of saltpetre, a
- pound of coarse brown sugar, and a pound of salt. Let them be very
- thoroughly mixed and pounded. Rub this well into the meat, and continue
- rubbing hard till it froths. Keep the meat in the pickle for two weeks,
- turning it every day. Then take it out, and roll it in saw-dust, (which,
- on no account, must be the saw-dust of any species of pine.) Hang it for
- two weeks longer in the smoke of oak wood or of corn cobs. All hams, when
- being smoked, must be hung very high, and have the large end downwards. If
- hung too low, the heat softens or melts the fat.
- </p>
- <p>
- Venison hams, if well cured, require no boiling. They are always eaten
- chipped or shaved like smoked beef, to which they are very superior. It
- may be stewed in a skillet with fresh butter and beaten egg, and cut into
- thin shavings, or very thin small slices&mdash;or, instead of butter, with
- the drippings of cold roast venison. Season with pepper only.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RABBITS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Rabbits should be young and tender, but full-grown and fat. Two are
- required to make a dish. One rabbit, except for an invalid, is scarcely
- worth the trouble of cooking; and, being naturally insipid, it must have
- certain seasoning to make it taste well. The hare, so much prized in
- England, owes its reputation entirely to their mode of dressing it, which
- is troublesome,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>
- expensive, and in our country would never become popular, unless the
- animal had in itself more to recommend it. With all that can be done for a
- hare, it is, when cooked, black, dry, hard; and if it has been kept long
- enough to acquire what they call the "true game flavor," so much the
- worse. A fine fat well-fed tame rabbit is much better. In Virginia, the
- negroes frequently call a large rabbit "a hare"&mdash;or rather "a yar;"
- and though they know it to be young, they generally term it "that old
- yar." We opine that <i>with them</i> "yars" are not admired. If a rabbit
- is really old his ears are tough, and his claws blunt and rough with
- coarse hairs growing between them. A young rabbit has short sharp claws,
- and ears so tender that on trying you can easily tear them. Rabbits should
- be cooked the day they are killed. Always cut off the head. A rabbit
- dished whole, with its head on, is, to most persons, a disgusting sight.
- The head of no small animal is worth eating, and always looks disagreeable
- when cooked.
- </p>
- <p>
- The livers of rabbits should be added to the gravy.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROASTED RABBITS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pair of fine well-fed young rabbits, and having drawn or emptied
- them, lay them, for about ten minutes, in a pan of warm water. Then dry
- them inside with a clean cloth, carefully wiping them out. Truss them
- short, and neatly, having removed the heads. Line the inside with very
- thin slices of fat bacon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261"
- id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> that has had most of the salt soaked out.
- Make a plentiful stuffing or forcemeat of bread steeped in milk, some
- fresh butter mixed with a very little flour; or, instead of butter, some
- beef suet finely minced; some chopped sweet herbs; and some crumbled yolks
- of hard-boiled eggs. Season with mace and nutmeg, and grated lemon rind.
- Fill the rabbits well with this&mdash;or, you may stuff them entirely with
- boiled potatos, mashed with plenty of nice butter, or the drippings of
- roast veal or pork. Or (if liked) you may make the stuffing entirely of
- minced onion, (previously boiled,) and minced sage leaves, moistened with
- a very little lard or sweet oil, and seasoned with powdered mace, nutmeg,
- and pepper. Having put in plenty of stuffing, sew up the bodies of the
- rabbits, flour them well, and put them on the spit and set them before a
- clear fire. Baste them with milk, or with fresh butter, tied up in thin
- muslin. They will be done in an hour or more. Thicken the gravy with
- flour, and pour it over them in the dish. Roasted rabbits make a good
- second dish at a small dinner. Take the livers of the rabbits, and chop
- them, to put into the gravy.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RABBITS WITH ONIONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Peel, boil, and slice six (or more) large onions, and season them with
- nutmeg, and a very little cayenne. Cover them, and set them aside till
- wanted. Cut two fine rabbits into pieces, and fry them in fresh butter or
- lard. When browned, and nearly done, cover<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> them with the sliced
- onions, and brown <i>them</i>, having laid among them some bits of fresh
- butter rolled in flour. Dish the rabbits, with the pieces entirely hidden
- under the onions.
- </p>
- <p>
- A plainer, and not so good a way, is to put the pieces of rabbit, and the
- sliced onions, into a stew-pan with a little water, and stew the whole
- together.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RABBIT POT-PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up the rabbits, and stew them in a little water. When nearly done, put
- the pieces into a pot and intersperse them with bits of cold ham. Add the
- gravy left from the stew. Season with pepper and mace. Have ready
- sufficient paste, (made with minced suet, and rather more than twice its
- quantity of flour.) There must be enough of paste to line the sides of the
- pot all round, nearly up to the top, and enough to make a thick lid,
- besides having plenty of extra pieces to lay among the other contents.
- Also have ready a few onions boiled and sliced. Cover the pie with the lid
- of paste, not fitting very closely. Make a cross slit in the top, and pour
- in a little water. When done, serve all up on one large dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pie will be much improved by stewing with the rabbits a fresh beef
- steak. A beef steak in any pot-pie thickens and enriches the gravy.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PULLED RABBITS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil, very tender, a fine pair of nice young rabbits. When cold, cut them
- in pieces as for carving, and peel off the skin. Then with a fork pull all
- the meat from the bones, first loosening it with a knife. Put it into a
- stew-pan with plenty of cream, or some bits of fresh butter rolled in
- flour; some minced sweet herbs, some grated fresh lemon rind, and some
- hard-boiled yolks of eggs crumbled. Season with cayenne and nutmeg. Cover
- it, and let it simmer till it comes to a boil. Then immediately take it
- off the fire, and transfer it to a deep dish. Serve it up hot. This is a
- side dish at dinner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRICASSEED RABBITS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up the rabbits as for carving, and go over every piece with lard or
- sweet oil. Lay them in a frying pan, and fry them in nice fresh butter. If
- you cannot procure this, use lard. Season them with a very little salt and
- cayenne, dredge them well with flour, and sprinkle them thickly with
- parsley, or sweet marjoram. When they are fried brown, take them up. Keep
- them warm in a heated dish with a cover. Skim the gravy that remains in
- the pan, and add to it some cream, or rich milk thickened with flour,
- enriched with the beaten yolk of an egg, and flavored with nutmeg.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rabbits may be cut up, and fried in batter made of bread-crumbs and beaten
- egg. Dip every piece of rabbit twice into the batter.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A COATED HARE, OR LARGE RABBIT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The hare, or rabbit, should be large and fat. Save the liver and heart to
- assist in the gravy, which ought to be made of some pieces of the lean of
- good fresh beef, seasoned with pepper, salt, and nutmeg, stewed in a small
- sauce-pan, till all the essence is extracted, adding the chopped liver and
- heart, and a bit of fresh butter, rolled in flour. Cold fresh meat, or
- meat that has to be recooked, is unfit for gravy, and so it is for soup.
- Line the inside of the hare with small thin slices of fat ham, or bacon,
- and then fill the cavity with a stuffing made of grated bread-crumbs, the
- grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon, or orange, a piece of fresh
- butter, some minced sweet marjoram, and the crumbled yolk of one or two
- hard-boiled eggs. Season the stuffing with a little pepper and salt, and
- some powdered nutmeg and mace. Fill the body of the hare with this
- mixture, and sew it up, to keep in the stuffing. Spit the hare, and roast
- it well, keeping it for a while at a moderate distance from the fire. To
- baste it, while roasting, make a dressing of the beaten yolks of four
- eggs, four spoonfuls of flour, a pint of milk, and three table-spoonfuls
- of salad oil, all well-beaten together. Baste the hare with this till it
- is thickly coated all over with the batter, taking care it does not burn.
- Send the gravy to table in a sauce-boat, accompanied by currant, or
- cranberry jelly.
- </p>
- <p>
- A very young fawn, or a kid, may be drest in a similar manner. Kids are
- not eaten after three months old. Till that age their meat is white and<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>
- delicate. Their flesh, <i>after</i> that time, gradually becomes coarse
- and dark-colored. A very young kid, before it is weaned, is very
- delicious; but no longer. In the oriental countries, young kids are
- stuffed with chopped raisins and almonds, or pistachio nuts, previous to
- roasting; and basted with rich milk, or cream.
- </p>
- <p>
- For sauce to a kid or fawn, use orange marmalade, or grape jelly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="POULTRY_AND_GAME" id="POULTRY_AND_GAME"></a>POULTRY AND GAME.
- </h2>
- <p>
- Spring chickens bring a high price, and are considered delicacies, but
- they are so insipid, and have so little on them, that we think the
- purchase of them, when very young, a mere fashionable extravagance, and a
- waste of money that might be better employed in something that had really
- a fine flavor, and that when divided was more than a morsel for each
- person. We wonder that any but invalids should care for spring chickens.
- It is better to wait till the young chickens grow into nice plump fowls,
- that were well fed, and have lived long enough to show it. A fine
- full-grown young fowl, has a clear white skin, that tears easily when
- tried with a pin. It has a broad fleshy breast, the legs are smooth, and
- the toes easily broken when bent back. Fowls with whitish legs are
- considered the best for boiling; those with dark legs the best for
- roasting. The finest of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266"
- id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> fowls are capons. They grow very large and
- fat, and yet are as tender as young chickens, have a fine delicate rich
- flavor of their own, and are well worth their cost. The great Bucks county
- fowls are profitable because they are large; but they are never very
- plenty in market, being difficult to raise. The best poultry feels heavy
- in proportion to its size. Hen turkeys are best for boiling.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ducks and geese (particularly the latter) are so tough when old, that it
- is often impossible to eat them; therefore buy none that are not young.
- Geese are generally kept alive too long, for the sake of their feathers,
- which they always shed in August, and for which there is always a demand.
- And geese are not expensive to keep, as in summer they feed on grass, and
- will graze in a field like sheep. The feet and legs of an old goose are
- red and hard. So is her bill. The skin is rough, coarse, and tough, and
- full of hairs. Let nothing induce you to buy an old goose. You would find
- it too tough to carve, and too tough to eat. And no cooking can make her
- tender.
- </p>
- <p>
- Poultry should be drawn, or emptied (taking care not to break the gall) as
- soon almost as killed. Then let it be well washed, inside and out, and
- wiped dry. In picking it, carefully remove every plug or vestige of
- feathers, and singe off the hairs, by holding the bird to the fire, with a
- lighted piece of writing paper. Brown paper will give it something of an
- unpleasant taste. Newspaper is worse, on account of the printing-ink.
- </p>
- <p>
- If poultry is brought from market frozen, you<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> need not hasten to thaw it,
- before it is actually wanted for use. Till then, put it in a cold place,
- and let it remain frozen. It will keep the better. When you thaw it, by
- all means use only <i>cold</i> water. Any frozen poultry, or meat, thawed
- in warm water, will most certainly spoil. Let it be remembered that any
- food which has been frozen requires a much longer time to cook.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED TURKEY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For boiling, choose a fine fat hen turkey. In drawing it, be careful not
- to break the gall, or a bitter taste will be communicated to the whole
- bird. In picking, remove every plug and hair, and then singe it with <i>writing-paper</i>.
- Wash it very clean, and then wipe it dry, inside and out. In trussing,
- draw the legs into the body, having cut them off at the first joint. Let
- the turkey look as round and plump as possible. Fill the breast with a
- very nice forcemeat, or stuffing, made of a quarter of a pound of grated
- bread-crumbs, mixed with two large table-spoonfuls or two ounces of fresh
- butter, or finely minced suet, seasoned with a little pepper and salt, a
- heaped tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and mace mixed together, a
- table-spoonful of sweet herbs<a name="FNanchor_C" id="FNanchor_C"></a><a
- href="#Footnote_C" class="fnanchor">[C]</a> (sweet basil and sweet
- marjoram) chopped small if green, and powdered if dry; and the crumbled
- yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Add the grated yellow rind,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> and the
- juice of a fresh lemon, and mix the whole very well. Skewer the liver and
- gizzard under the pinions, having first cut open the gizzard and cleared
- it of sand or gravel.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is no longer customary to mix stuffing or forcemeat with beaten raw egg
- for the purpose of binding the ingredients together. Leave them loose,
- without this binding, and the forcemeat will be much lighter, better
- flavored, and more abundant. It will not fall out if a packthread, or very
- <i>small</i> twine is wound carefully round the body, (to be removed
- before serving up,) and it may be secured by sewing it with a needle and
- thread.
- </p>
- <p>
- Put the turkey into a large pot with plenty of cold water, and boil it
- gently, for two hours or more, in proportion to its size; carefully
- removing all the scum as it rises. It will be whiter if boiled in a large
- clean cloth, or in a coarse paste, (the paste to be thrown away
- afterwards,) and take care that it is thoroughly done. Serve up boiled
- turkey with oyster sauce, celery sauce, or cauliflower sauce. Sweet sauce
- is rarely eaten with boiled things&mdash;unless with puddings.
- </p>
- <p>
- Boiled turkey should be accompanied by a ham or tongue.
- </p>
- <p>
- To ascertain if boiled poultry is done, try the thickest parts with a
- large needle. If the needle goes through, and in and out easily, it is
- sufficient.
- </p>
- <p>
- A turkey (boiled or roast) for a family dish, may be stuffed with nice
- sausage meat, in which case it requires no other stuffing. Surround it on
- a dish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>
- with fried sausage cakes, about the size of a dollar, but near an inch
- thick.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is very convenient to keep always in the house, during the winter
- months, one or two large jars of nice home-made sausage-meat, well
- covered. The best time for making sausage-meat is in November. After
- March, sausages are seldom eaten.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OYSTER TURKEY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>French dish.</i>)&mdash;Prepare a fine young hen turkey, for boiling;
- skewering the liver and gizzard under the pinions. Fill the body well with
- fine large fresh oysters, having removed their hard part or gristle. Add
- to the oysters a tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and mace, and a
- tea-spoonful of celery seed or minced celery, and a piece of fresh butter
- dredged with flour. With this, stuff the turkey very full; securing the
- stuffing with packthread. Put the turkey into a large block-tin kettle,
- and let it stew in the oyster liquor only, without any water. Strain the
- oyster liquor before you put it in. Set the kettle into an outer kettle
- full of boiling water. This will cook the turkey very nicely. For such
- purposes, nothing is so convenient as the utensil called in French a <i>bain
- marie</i>, (pronounced <i>bine marée</i>.) This is a permanent double
- kettle with two covers, and a large tube or spout outside, for pouring in
- fresh hot water, without opening the lid and letting out the steam. They
- are to be had of all sizes at the furnishing stores in New York and
- Philadel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>phia,
- and are so excellent for stewing without water, that no family should be
- without them.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the turkey is well boiled and quite done, keep it warm by wrapping it
- closely in a cloth, putting a dish cover over it, and placing it near the
- fire. A fine oyster gravy will be found in the kettle. Add to it some
- fresh butter, dredged with flour, and some mace and nutmeg, and some
- celery seed. Give it one boil up, and send it to table as sauce for the
- turkey. This is a very nice way of cooking a small turkey.
- </p>
- <p>
- A pair of oyster chickens may be thus prepared, and stewed in the above
- manner in a <i>bain marie</i>, or double kettle.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROAST TURKEY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a fine large turkey, full-grown and fat, draw and singe him
- carefully, saving the giblets (neck, heart, gizzard, and liver,) for the
- gravy. After he is drawn, wash the inside well, wipe it dry, and sprinkle
- it with black pepper. Make a large quantity of stuffing or forcemeat. It
- increases his apparent size, and besides is generally liked. Mince small
- some cold boiled ham, in equal portions of fat and lean: grated lemon
- rind, minced sweet herbs, fresh butter, or finely minced suet. Add plenty
- of grated bread-crumbs or crumbled rusk; also, hard-boiled yolk of egg
- crumbled. Moisten the mixture with lemon juice and some good white wine.
- Stuff the turkey well with this forcemeat, sewing it up, or winding a
- small cord round the body to secure the filling.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> Roast it before a clear and
- substantial fire, basting it well with fresh butter. When done, take it up
- and keep it hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cut up the giblets and put them into a small sauce-pan, with a very little
- water, and stew them while the turkey is roasting; adding a piece of fresh
- butter dredged with flour. When done, remove the pieces of neck, &amp;c.,
- retaining those of the heart, liver, and gizzard. Stir into the gravy,
- after it comes from the fire, the yolk of a beaten egg. Having skimmed the
- gravy in the dripping-pan, add it to the gravy that has been made of the
- giblets, and send it to table in a sauce-boat. Accompany the turkey with
- an oval dish, or tureen of cranberry sauce, made very sweet.
- </p>
- <p>
- A roast turkey may be stuffed with oysters, or with chestnuts boiled,
- peeled, and mashed with butter. If with chestnuts, thicken the gravy with
- whole boiled chestnuts. If with oysters, send oyster-sauce to table with
- the turkey. If chestnuts cannot be obtained, any roasted poultry is good
- stuffed with well-boiled sweet potatos, mashed with plenty of butter or
- meat drippings.
- </p>
- <p>
- The legs of turkeys are never helped to any one at table. They are always
- sent away on the dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A BONED TURKEY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For this purpose you must have a fine, large, tender turkey; and after it
- is drawn, and washed, and wiped dry, lay it on a clean table, and take a
- very sharp knife, with a narrow blade and point. Begin at the neck; then<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> go round
- to the shoulders and wings, and carefully separate the flesh from the
- bone, scraping it down as you proceed. Next loosen the flesh from the
- breast, and back, and body; and then from the thighs. It requires care and
- patience to do it nicely, and to avoid tearing or breaking the skin. The
- knife should always penetrate quite to the bone; scraping loose the flesh
- rather than cutting it. When all the flesh has been completely loosened,
- take the turkey by the neck, give it a pull, and the whole skeleton will
- come out entirely from the flesh, as easily as you draw your hand out of a
- glove. The flesh will then fall down, a flat and shapeless mass. With a
- small needle and thread, carefully sew up any holes that have accidentally
- been torn in the skin.
- </p>
- <p>
- Have ready a large quantity of stuffing, made as follows:&mdash;Take three
- sixpenny loaves of stale bread; grate the crumb; and put the crust in
- water to soak. When quite soft, break them up small into the pan of grated
- bread-crumbs, and mix in a pound of fresh butter, cut into little pieces.
- Take two large bunches of sweet marjoram; the same of sweet basil; and one
- bunch of parsley. Mince the parsley very fine, and rub to a powder the
- leaves of the marjoram and basil. You should have two large heaping
- table-spoonfuls of each. Chop, also, two very small onions or shalots, and
- mix them with the herbs. Pound to powder a quarter of an ounce of mace;
- and two large nutmegs. Mix the spices together, and add a tea-spoonful of
- salt, and a tea-spoonful of ground black pepper. Then mix<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> the
- herbs, spices, &amp;c., thoroughly into the bread-crumbs, and add, by
- degrees, four hard-boiled eggs crumbled fine.
- </p>
- <p>
- Take up a handful of this filling; squeeze it hard, and proceed to stuff
- the turkey with it&mdash;beginning at the wings; next do the body; and
- then the thighs. Stuff it very hard; and, as you proceed, form the turkey
- into its natural shape, by filling out, properly, the wings, breast, body,
- &amp;c. When all the stuffing is in, sew up the body and skewer the turkey
- into the usual shape in which they are trussed; so that, if skillfully
- done, it will look almost as if it had not been boned. Tie it round with
- tape, and bake it three hours or more; basting it occasionally with fresh
- butter. Make a gravy of the giblets, chopped, and stewed slowly in a
- little water. When done, add to it the gravy that is in the dish about the
- turkey, (having first skimmed off the fat,) and enrich it with a glass of
- white wine, and two beaten yolks of eggs, stirred in just before you take
- it from the fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the turkey is to be eaten cold at the supper-table, drop
- table-spoonfuls of currant or cranberry jelly all over it at small
- distances, and in the dish round it.
- </p>
- <p>
- A very handsome way of serving it up cold is, after making a sufficiency
- of nice clear calves'-foot jelly, (seasoned, as usual, with wine, lemon,
- cinnamon, &amp;c.,) to lay the turkey in the dish in which it is to go to
- table, and setting it under the jelly-bag, let the jelly drip upon it, so
- as to form a transparent coating all over it; smoothing the jelly<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> evenly
- with the back of a spoon, as it congeals on the turkey. Apple jelly may be
- substituted.
- </p>
- <p>
- Large fowls may be boned and stuffed in the above manner: also, a young
- roasting pig.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROAST GOOSE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A goose for roasting should be young, tender, and fat; so tender, that the
- skin can easily be torn by a pin; the bill and legs smooth and of a light
- yellow color, and the toes breaking when bent under. If the skin is thick
- and tough, and the bill and legs a dark reddish yellow, rough and hairy,
- do not buy the goose. It is old, and no cooking can make it eatable. A
- goose, from its profusion of feathers, looks like a large bird when
- walking about; but when plucked and prepared for the spit, it will be
- found very deceptive. It is much more hollow than a turkey; and, except
- the breast, there is but little eating on it. In large families it is
- usual to have a pair of roast geese, one not being sufficient. Geese are
- not good except for roasting, or in a pie.
- </p>
- <p>
- In preparing a goose for cooking, save the giblets for the gravy. After
- the goose has been drawn, singed well, washed and wiped, inside and out;
- trussed so as to look round and short; make a quantity of stuffing, (as
- its hollow body will require a great deal.) For this purpose, parboil two
- good sized onions, and a large bunch of green sage. Mince both the sage
- and onions, seasoning them with a small salt-spoon of salt, half as much
- black pepper, and still less cayenne. Add a hard-boiled<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> egg
- finely minced (yolk and white;) the chopped egg giving a nice smoothness
- to the sage and onion. If your goose is large, take two chopped eggs.
- </p>
- <p>
- To make the stuffing very mild, (if preferred so,) add a handful of finely
- grated bread-crumbs; or two or three fine juicy chopped apples. Fill the
- body and craw with this stuffing, and secure it with a needle and thread
- from falling out. Set the goose before a clear, steady fire&mdash;having a
- little warm water in the dripping-pan to baste it till the gravy begins to
- fall. Keep it well basted all the time it is roasting. It must be
- thoroughly done all through. Roast it according to its size, from an hour
- and a half to two hours or more.
- </p>
- <p>
- Boil the giblets in a sauce-pan by themselves, seasoned with a little salt
- and pepper, and having among them a bit of butter dredged with flour. When
- done, remove the neck, and retain the heart, liver, and gizzard, cut into
- pieces, and served in the gravy, which should be well skimmed. Also, skim
- carefully the fat off the gravy in the bottom of the dripping-pan. Put the
- two gravies together, and serve them up in a gravy tureen. To eat with the
- goose, have plenty of apple-sauce, made of fine juicy apples, stewed very
- dry, well sweetened, and flavored with the grated yellow rind and juice of
- a lemon; or with some rose-water and nutmeg stirred in after the sauce is
- taken from the fire. Rose-water evaporates in cooking, and should never
- boil or be kept on the fire. A <i>bain marie</i>, or double kettle, is
- excellent for stewing fruit; putting the fruit inside, and the water
- outside.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- For a family dinner a goose is very good stuffed with well-boiled potatos,
- mashed smooth, with plenty of fresh butter or gravy. Sweet potatos make an
- excellent stuffing. So do boiled chestnuts, mashed with butter or gravy.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GOOSE PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The old fashioned goose pie made with a standing crust, (the flour being
- mixed with boiling water, and therefore unfit for eating,) is now
- obsolete. They were generally sent as Christmas presents. Besides the
- goose, they contained chickens, pigeons, (all boned,) and various other
- things. They had standing sides like an oval wall, covered with a lid of
- the same paste, having, on the top, a knob, by which to lift off. These
- pies were expected to remain good a week; but generally the gravy became
- sour in a few days, even in winter, and however carefully kept from the
- air. The following is a receipt to make a fine goose pie for immediate
- use, and with a nice eatable paste.
- </p>
- <p>
- Take a fine plump young goose, and parboil it, (in as little water as will
- cover it,) saving the gravy. Having removed the skin, cut all the flesh
- from the bones. Make a nice light short paste, allowing a large half pound
- of fresh butter to each quart of flour. For a goose pie you will require
- two quarts of flour and one pound of butter. Line a deep pie-dish with one
- sheet of paste, reserving the other sheet for the lid, which should be
- rolled out thick. Put in the pieces of<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> goose, seasoned with pepper
- only, interspersing among it the best part of a smoked tongue, cut in
- thick round slices. Make a nice forcemeat into balls, about the size of a
- hickory nut, and add them to the filling of the pie; and some chestnuts
- boiled and peeled; or some round slices of boiled sweet potato. Having
- made a gravy of the giblets stewed, pour that over the other ingredients,
- filling the pie well, and heaping it high in the middle. Add a few bits of
- fresh butter dredged in flour. Pour in the gravy, and lay on the top the
- lid of the pie rolled out thick, ornamenting the edges handsomely. Cut a
- cross slit in the top, and fit into it a flower, or tulip cut out of
- paste. This pie is for dinner company, and to be eaten warm.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may make a similar pie of a pair of fine ducks, either tame or wild.
- Canvas-backs and red necks are excellent for this purpose. To eat with it,
- have mashed potato, browned all over with a salamander.
- </p>
- <p>
- On the shores of our southern rivers, where canvas-backs and other fine
- wild ducks are abundant, a pie affords an agreeable variety to the usual
- modes of cooking them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A GIBLET PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Clean, very nicely, the giblets of two geese or four ducks. Put them into
- a stew-pan, with a sliced onion; a bunch of tarragon, or sweet marjoram
- and sage; half a dozen pepper-corns; and four or five blades of mace. Add
- a very little water; cover the pan closely, and let<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> them stew till the giblets
- are tender. Then take them out, and save all the gravy; having strained it
- from the seasoning articles. Make a rich paste, and roll it out into two
- sheets. With one sheet cover the bottom and sides of a deep dish. Put in
- the giblets&mdash;mixing among them a few raw potatos sliced very thin,
- the chopped yolks of some hard-boiled eggs, and some bits of butter rolled
- in flour. Pour the gravy over the giblets, &amp;c. Cover the pie with the
- other sheet of paste, and notch the edges. Bake it brown, and send it to
- table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- A pigeon pie may be made in a similar manner: also, a rabbit pie.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROAST DUCKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pair of fine fat ducks, and having prepared them nicely for the
- spit, put them, for a few minutes, into boiling water to loosen the skin,
- which must be peeled entirely off, to have them very nice and tender. Wash
- their insides by pouring water through them, and wipe the outside all over
- with a dry cloth. Fill the body and craw of one duck with a seasoning of
- sage and onion, as for a goose. In case some of the company should have a
- dislike to onion, fill the other duck with a forcemeat of bread-crumbs,
- sweet herbs, &amp;c., as for turkey. Place them before a quick fire, but
- not so near as to scorch. Roast them well, basting them all the time. Skim
- the fat off, and pour over the ducks their own gravy, mixed with what has
- been made of the necks, livers, hearts, and gizzards, stewed<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> in a
- small sauce-pan with some butter dredged with flour. Send to table with
- the ducks either cranberry or apple sauce, made thick and sweet.
- </p>
- <p>
- Let them be thoroughly roasted, which will require from an hour to an hour
- and a quarter.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WILD DUCKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To remove the fishy or sedgy taste so often found in wild ducks, parboil
- them with a large carrot, cut in pieces, and placed in the body of each.
- When the ducks are half boiled, take out the carrot and throw it away. It
- will have imbibed all the unpleasant taste, and taken it away from the
- ducks. Then cook them as you please.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED DUCK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Prepare for cooking a fine plump tame duck, and lay it five or six minutes
- in warm water. Then put it into a clean large bowl or deep dish, and pour
- over it a pint of rich boiling milk, in which has been melted two
- table-spoonfuls of nice fresh butter. Let the duck soak in the milk three
- hours, or till it has absorbed nearly all the liquid. Next, dredge the
- duck well with flour. Boil it in cold water for half an hour, till tender
- all through. Have ready a quantity of onion sauce made with milk and
- butter, and flavored with powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover the duck all over
- with the onion sauce, so as to smother it entirely. Then send it to table
- hot. This is a French dish, (<i>canard bouilli</i>.)<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DUCKS AND PEAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stuff a fine plump pair of ducks with potato stuffing, made of boiled
- potatos mashed very smooth with fresh butter; or, if for company, make a
- fine forcemeat stuffing, as for a turkey. Bake the ducks in an iron oven
- or bake-pan; and when nearly done, put in with them a quart of very young
- green peas, and a few bits of fresh butter, seasoning slightly with black
- pepper. When the peas and ducks are all quite done, serve them all up on
- one large dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRICASSEED DUCKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Half roast a pair of ducks. Then cut them apart, as for carving. If they
- are <i>wild</i> ducks, parboil them with a large carrot (cut to pieces)
- inside of each, to draw out the fishy or sedgy taste. Having thrown away
- the carrot, cut the ducks into pieces, as for carving. Put them into a
- clean stew-pan, and season them with pepper and salt. Mix in a deep dish a
- very small onion minced fine, a table-spoonful of minced or powdered
- tarragon leaves, (for which you may substitute sage and sweet marjoram, if
- you cannot procure tarragon,) and two or three large tomatos, scalded,
- peeled, and quartered, or two large table-spoonfuls of thick tomato
- catchup. Put in, also, two table-spoonfuls of fresh butter rolled in
- grated bread-crumbs, and a glass of port wine, claret, or brandy, with a
- small tea-spoonful of powdered mace. Cover the pieces of duck with this
- mixture, and then add barely as much water as will keep the whole from
- burning. Cover<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>
- the pan closely, and let the fricassee stew slowly for an hour, or till
- the duck, &amp;c., are thoroughly done.
- </p>
- <p>
- Venison or lamb cutlets may be fricasseed in this manner. Likewise, tame
- fat pigeons, which must previously be split in two. This, also, is a very
- nice way of dressing hares or rabbits.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO ROAST CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having trussed the ducks, put into each a thick piece of soft bread that
- has been soaked in port wine. Place them before a quick fire and roast
- them from three quarters to an hour. Before they go to table, squeeze over
- each the juice of a lemon or orange, and serve them up very hot with their
- own gravy about them. Eat them with currant jelly. Have ready also, a
- gravy made by stewing slowly in a sauce-pan the giblets of the ducks in
- butter rolled in flour, and as little water as possible. Serve up this
- additional gravy in a boat.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CANVAS-BACK DUCKS DRESSED PLAIN.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Truss the ducks without washing, but wipe them inside and out with a clean
- dry cloth. Roast them before a rather quick fire for half an hour. Then
- send them to table hot, upon a large dish placed on a heater. There must
- also be heaters under each plate, and currant jelly on both sides of the
- table, to mix with the gravy, on your<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> plate; claret or port wine
- also, for those who prefer it as an improvement to the gravy.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO STEW CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put the giblets into a sauce-pan with a very little water, and a piece of
- butter rolled in flour, and a very little salt and cayenne. Let them stew
- gently to make a gravy, keeping the sauce-pan covered. In the mean time,
- half roast the ducks, saving the gravy that falls from them. Then cut them
- up, put them into a large stew-pan, with the gravy (having first skimmed
- off the fat,) and merely water enough to keep them from burning. Set the
- pan over a moderate fire, and let them stew gently till done. Towards the
- last, (having removed the giblets) pour over the ducks the gravy from the
- small sauce-pan, and stir in a large glass of port wine, and a glass of
- currant jelly. Send them to table as hot as possible.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any ducks may be stewed as above. The common wild duck, teal, &amp;c.,
- should always be parboiled with a large carrot in the body to extract the
- fishy or sedgy taste. On tasting this carrot before it is thrown away, it
- will be found to have imbibed strongly that disagreeable flavor.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To eat these ducks with their flavor and juices in perfection, they should
- be cooked immediately after killing. If shot early in the morning, they
- will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>
- be found delicious, if broiled for breakfast. If killed in the forenoon,
- let them be on that day's dinner table. When they can be obtained quite
- fresh they want nothing to improve the flavor. Neither do red-necks, or
- the other water fowl that are found in such abundance on the shores of the
- Chesapeake.
- </p>
- <p>
- As soon as the ducks have been plucked, singed, drawn, and washed, split
- them down the back, (their heads, necks, and legs having been cut off,)
- rub with chalk the bars of a very clean gridiron, and set it over a bed of
- bright lively wood-coals. This gridiron (and all others) should have
- grooved bars, so as to save as much of the gravy as possible. Broil the
- ducks well and thoroughly, turning them on both sides. They will generally
- be done in half an hour. Dish them in their own gravy. The flesh should
- have no redness about it when dished. To half broil them on the gridiron,
- and to finish the cooking on a hot plate, set over a heater on the table,
- renders the ducks tough, and deadens the natural taste, for which no
- made-up sauce can atone. You may lay a few bits of nice butter on them
- after they are dished.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TERRAPIN DUCKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a fine large plump duck. Cut it in small pieces, and stew it in
- merely as much water as will cover it well, and keep it from burning. Let
- it stew gently, and skim it well. When it is done take it out, and cut all
- the meat off the bones in little bits. Return the<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> meat to the stew-pan, and
- lay it in its own gravy. Add the yolks of half a dozen hard-boiled eggs,
- and make them into little balls with beaten white of egg, a quarter of a
- pound of fresh butter divided into eight bits, each bit dredged with
- flour, the grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon or orange, and a heaped
- tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg. Let it stew or simmer gently
- till it comes to a boil, keeping it covered. When it has boiled, stir in
- while hot two beaten yolks of raw egg, and two large wine glasses of
- sherry or Madeira. Set it over the fire again for two or three minutes,
- keeping it covered. Then serve it up in a deep dish with a cover.
- </p>
- <p>
- For company, you must have two ducks, and a double portion of all the
- above ingredients.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROAST FOWLS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stuff two fowls with a nice forcemeat, made in the best manner, or with
- good sausage meat, if in haste. Another nice stuffing for roast fowls is
- boiled chestnuts, stewed in butter, or in nice drippings. Mushrooms cut up
- and stewed in a very little butter, make a fine stuffing for roasted
- fowls. Secure the stuffing from falling out by winding a twine or tape
- round the body of the fowl, or sewing it. Roast the fowls before a very
- clear fire, basting them with butter. When the fowls are done, set them
- away to be kept warm, while you finish the gravy, having saved the heart,
- gizzard, and liver, to enrich it. Skim it well from the fat and thicken it
- with a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>
- very little browned flour. Send it to table in a sauce-boat. Serve up with
- roast fowls, dried peach sauce, or cranberry. Make all fruit sauces very
- thick and sweet. If watery and sour, they seem poor and mean.
- </p>
- <p>
- Full-grown fowls require, (at least,) an hour for roasting. If very large,
- from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half.
- </p>
- <p>
- Nothing can be done with old tough fowls but to boil them in soup, till
- they are reduced to rags. The soup, of course, should be made chiefly of
- meat. The fowls will add nothing to its flavor but something to its
- consistence.
- </p>
- <p>
- Capons are cooked in the same manner as other fowls. They are well worth
- their cost.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED FOWLS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a fine plump pair of young (but full-grown) fowls, and prepare them
- for boiling. Those with white or light yellow legs are considered the
- best. Make a nice forcemeat stuffing, and fill their bodies with it, and
- fasten the livers and gizzards under the pinions. For boiled poultry they
- are not wanted in the gravy. Having trussed the fowls, and picked and
- singed them carefully, put them into a large pot containing equal
- quantities of boiling water and cold water. This will make it lukewarm.
- Let them boil steadily for an hour after the simmering has commenced,
- carefully removing the scum.
- </p>
- <p>
- Serve them up with egg sauce, celery sauce,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> parsley sauce, or oyster
- sauce&mdash;or, with cauliflower or broccoli sauce.
- </p>
- <p>
- For boiled fowls, you may make a nice stuffing of fresh oysters, cut in
- small pieces, but not minced. Omit the gristle. Mix them with an equal
- portion of hard-boiled eggs chopped, but not minced fine. Add plenty of
- grated bread-crumbs, and season with powdered mace. Mix in, also, some
- bits of fresh butter. Where onions are liked, you may substitute for the
- oysters some onions boiled and minced.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fowls boil very nicely in a <i>bain marie</i>, or double kettle, with the
- water outside. They require a longer time, but are excellent when done. To
- quicken the boiling of a double kettle, put a handful of salt in the
- outside water.
- </p>
- <p>
- Small chickens, of course, require a shorter time to cook.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PULLED FOWL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a side dish for company. Select a fine tender fowl, young, fat,
- full-grown, and of a large kind. When quite done take it out of the pot,
- cover it, and set it away till wanted. Then, with a fork, pull off in
- flakes all the flesh, (first removing the skin,) and with a chopper break
- all the bones, and put them into a stew-pan, adding two calves' feet
- split, and the hock of a cold ham, a small bunch of parsley and sweet
- marjoram, and a quart of water. Let it boil gently till reduced to a pint.
- Then take it out. Have ready, in another stew-pan, the bits of pulled
- fowl. Strain the liquor from the bones,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> &amp;c., over the fowl, and
- add a piece of fresh butter, (the size of a small egg,) rolled in flour,
- and a tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg, mixed. Mix the whole
- together, and let the pulled fowl stew in gravy for ten minutes. Serve it
- hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- A turkey may be cooked in this manner, and will make a fine dish. For a
- turkey allow four calves' feet.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED CHICKENS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up a pair of nice young fowls, flatten and quarter them, and season
- them with cayenne and powdered mace, rubbing it in well. Put some lard
- into a heated frying pan over the fire, or if you have plenty of nice
- fresh butter use that in preference. When the lard or butter boils, and
- has been skimmed, put in the pieces of chicken, and fry them brown on one
- side. Then turn them, and sprinkle them thickly all over with chopped
- parsley, or sweet marjoram, and fry them brown on the other side. You may
- fry with them a few thin slices of cold ham. Before serving them up drain
- off the lard you have used for frying.
- </p>
- <p>
- When there is no dislike to onions, they may be fried nicely with boiled
- onions cut in rings, and laid over the pieces of chicken.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED CHICKENS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- These are very dry and tasteless if merely split and broiled plain, which
- is the usual way. It seems to be supposed by many that no chicken is too
- poor for broiling,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span>
- and therefore it is often difficult to get more than two or three small
- mouthfuls of flesh off their bones. On the contrary, poor chickens are not
- worth broiling or cooking in any way. To have broiled chickens good,
- choose those that are fat and fleshy. Having cleaned them well, and washed
- them, and wiped them dry, split and divide them into four quarters;
- flattening the bones with a steak mallet. They will be much improved by
- stewing or boiling in a little water for ten minutes. Then draining them
- and saving the liquor for gravy. Boil in this the neck, feet, heart,
- gizzard and liver. Strain it after boiling, and save the liver to mash
- into the gravy. Season the gravy with grated carrot and minced parsley, or
- sweet marjoram, and a little cayenne, adding a small piece of fresh butter
- dredged in flour. Have ready plenty of fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with
- nutmeg, and in another pan four yolks of eggs well beaten. The quarters of
- the chickens having become quite cold, dip each one first into the egg,
- and then into the crumbs. Set the gridiron over a clear fire, and broil
- the chicken well, first laying down the inside. Having prepared the gravy
- as above, give it a short boil, then send it to table in a sauce-boat with
- the chickens.
- </p>
- <p>
- The excellence of chickens broiled in this way amply repays the trouble.
- This is a breakfast dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Serve up with the broiled chicken a dish of mashed potato cakes, browned
- with a salamander or red-hot shovel.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRICASSEED CHICKEN.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready a pair of fine plump full-grown fowls nicely prepared for
- cooking. Strip off all the skin, and carve the fowls neatly. Reserve all
- the white meat and best pieces for the fricassee, putting them in a dish
- by themselves, and save all the inferior pieces or black meat to make the
- gravy. Season with pepper and salt slightly, and add a bunch of sweet
- herbs cut small, and four small bits of fresh butter dredged with flour.
- Put the black meat, herbs, &amp;c., into a stew-pan. Pour in a pint and a
- half of water, and stew it gently, skimming off every particle of fat.
- When reduced to less than one half, strain the gravy. Arrange the pieces
- of white meat in a very clean stew-pan, and pour over them the gravy of
- the inferior parts; add mace, nutmeg, and a little cayenne. Mix into half
- a pint of boiling cream, a large tea-spoonful of arrow-root, and shake the
- pan briskly round, while adding the beaten yolks of two fresh eggs, mixed
- with more cream, (two table-spoonfuls.) Shake it gently over the fire till
- it begins to simmer again, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle
- in an instant. Watch it carefully.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a fine side-dish for company. There is no better way of
- fricasseeing fowls. A fricassee is not a fry, but a stew.
- </p>
- <p>
- Accompany this fricassee with a dish of asparagus tops, green peas, or
- lima beans. Also, mashed potatos.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290"
- id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHICKENS STEWED WHOLE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having trussed a pair of fine fat young fowls or chickens, (with the liver
- under one wing, and the gizzard under the other,) fill the inside with
- large oysters, secured from falling out by fastening tape round the bodies
- of the fowls. Put them into a tin butter kettle with a close cover. Set
- the kettle into a larger pot or saucepan of boiling water, (which must not
- reach quite to the top of the kettle,) and place it over the fire. Keep it
- boiling till the fowls are well done, which they should be in about an
- hour after they begin to simmer. Occasionally take off the lid to remove
- the scum, and be sure to put it on again closely. As the water in the
- outside pot boils away, replenish it with more <i>hot</i> water from a
- tea-kettle that is kept boiling hard. When the fowls are stewed quite
- tender, remove them from the fire; take from them all the gravy that is
- about them, and put it into a small sauce-pan, covering closely the kettle
- in which they were stewed, and leaving the fowls in it to keep warm. Then
- add to the gravy two table-spoonfuls of butter rolled in flour, two
- table-spoonfuls of chopped oysters, the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs
- minced fine, half a grated nutmeg, four blades of mace, and a small
- tea-cup of cream. Boil this gravy about five minutes. Put the fowls on a
- dish and send them to table, accompanied by the gravy in a sauce-boat.
- This is an excellent way of cooking chickens. They do well in large <i>bain
- marie</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FOWL AND OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a fine fat young fowl, and having trussed it for boiling, fill the
- body and craw with oysters, seasoned with a few blades of mace, tying it
- round with twine to keep them in. Put the fowl into a tall strait-sided
- jar, and cover it closely. Then place the jar in a kettle of water, set it
- over the fire, and let it boil at least an hour and a half after the water
- has come to a hard boil. When it is done take out the fowl, and keep it
- hot while you prepare the gravy, of which you will find a quantity in the
- jar. Transfer this gravy to a saucepan, enrich it with the beaten yolks of
- two eggs mixed with three table-spoonfuls of cream, and add a large
- table-spoonful of fresh butter rolled in flour. If you cannot get cream,
- you must have a double portion of butter. Set this sauce over the fire,
- stirring it well, and when it comes to a boil, add twenty-five oysters. In
- five minutes take it off, put it into a sauce-boat, and serve it up with
- the fowl, which cooked in this manner will be found excellent.
- </p>
- <p>
- Clams may be substituted for oysters, but they should be removed from the
- fowl before it is sent to table. Their flavor being drawn out in the
- gravy, the clams themselves will be found tough, tasteless, and not proper
- to be eaten.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRENCH CHICKEN PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Parboil a pair of full-grown, but fat and tender chickens. Then take the
- giblets, and put them into a small sauce-pan with<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> as much of the water in
- which the chickens were parboiled as will cover them well, and stew them
- for gravy; add a bunch of sweet herbs and a few blades of mace. When the
- chickens are cold, dissect them as for carving. Line a deep dish with
- thick puff paste, and put in the pieces of chicken. Take a nice thin slice
- of cold ham, or two slices of smoked tongue, and pound them one at a time
- in a marble mortar, pounding also the livers of the chickens, and the
- yolks of half a dozen hard-boiled eggs. Make this forcemeat into balls,
- and intersperse them among the pieces of chicken. Add some bits of fresh
- butter rolled in flour, and then (having removed the giblets) pour on the
- gravy. Cover the pie with a lid of puff-paste, rolled out thick; and notch
- the edges handsomely; placing a knot or ornament of paste on the centre of
- the top. Set it directly into a well-heated oven, and bake it brown. It
- should be eaten warm.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pie will be greatly improved by a pint of mushrooms, cut into pieces.
- Also by a small tea-cup of cream.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any pie of poultry, pigeons, or game may be made in this manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHICKEN GUMBO.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up a young fowl as if for a fricassee. Put into a stew-pan a large
- table-spoonful of fresh butter, mixed with a tea-spoonful of flour, and an
- onion finely minced. Brown them over the fire, and then add a quart of
- water, and the pieces of chicken, with a large quarter of a<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> peck of
- ochras, (first sliced thin, and then chopped,) and a salt-spoon of salt.
- Cover the pan, and let the whole stew together, till the ochras are
- entirely dissolved, and the fowl thoroughly done. If it is a very young
- chicken, do not put it in at first; as half an hour will be sufficient to
- cook it. Serve it up hot in a deep dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may add to the ochras an equal quantity of tomatos cut small. If you
- use tomatos, no water will be necessary, as their juice will supply a
- sufficient liquid.
- </p>
- <p>
- <a name="FNanchor_D" id="FNanchor_D"></a><a href="#Footnote_D"
- class="fnanchor">[D]</a> FILET GUMBO.&mdash;Cut up a pair of fine plump
- fowls into pieces, as when carving. Lay them in a pan of cold water, till
- all the blood is drawn out. Put into a pot, two large table-spoonfuls of
- lard, and set it over the fire. When the lard has come to a boil, put in
- the chickens with an onion finely minced. Dredge them well with flour, and
- season slightly with salt and pepper; and, if you like it, a little
- chopped marjoram. Pour on it two quarts of boiling water. Cover it, and
- let it simmer slowly for three hours. Then stir into it two heaped
- tea-spoonfuls of sassafras powder. Afterwards, let it stew five or six
- minutes longer, and then send it to table in a deep dish; having a dish of
- boiled rice to be eaten with it by those who like rice.
- </p>
- <p>
- This gumbo will be much improved by stewing with it three or four thin
- slices of cold boiled ham, in which case omit the salt in the seasoning.
- When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>ever
- cold ham is an ingredient in any dish, no other salt is required.
- </p>
- <p>
- A dozen fresh oysters and their liquor, added to the stew about half an
- hour before it is taken up, will also be an improvement.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you cannot conveniently obtain sassafras-powder, stir the gumbo
- frequently with a stick of sassafras root.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a genuine southern receipt. Filet gumbo may be made of any sort of
- poultry, or of veal, lamb, venison, or kid.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TOMATO CHICKEN.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take four small chickens or two large ones, and cut them up as for
- carving. Put them into a stew-pan, with one or two large slices of cold
- boiled ham cut into little bits; eight or ten large tomatos; an onion
- sliced; a bunch of pot-herbs,(cut up;) a small green pepper, (the seeds
- and veins first extracted;) half a dozen blades of mace; a table-spoonful
- of lard or of fresh butter, rolled in flour; or a handful of grated
- bread-crumbs. Add a tumbler or half a pint of water. Cover the sauce-pan
- closely with a cloth beneath the lid; set it on hot coals, or over a
- moderate fire; and let it stew slowly till the chickens are thoroughly
- done, and the tomatos entirely dissolved. Turn it out into a deep dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rabbits may be stewed in this manner. Also, veal steaks, cut thin and
- small.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TURKEY AND CHICKEN PATTIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the white part of some cold turkey or chicken, and mince it very
- fine. Mince also some cold boiled ham or smoked tongue, and then mix the
- turkey and ham together. Add the yolks of some hard-boiled eggs, grated or
- minced; a very little cayenne; and some powdered mace and nutmeg. Moisten
- the whole with cream or fresh butter. Have ready some puff-paste shells,
- that have been baked empty in patty-pans. Place them on a large dish, and
- fill them with the mixture.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold fillet of veal minced, and mixed with chopped ham, and grated yolk of
- egg, and seasoned as above will make very good patties.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHICKEN RICE PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Parboil a fine fowl, and cut it up. Boil, till soft and dry, a pint of
- rice; and while warm, mix with it a large table-spoonful of fresh butter.
- Beat four eggs very light; and then mix them, gradually, with the rice.
- Spread a coating of the fresh butter, &amp;c., over the bottom and sides
- of a deep dish. Place on it the pieces of the parboiled fowl, with a
- little of the liquid in which it was boiled&mdash;seasoned with powdered
- mace and nutmeg. Add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour and a
- little cream. Cover the dish closely with the remainder of the rice; set
- the pudding immediately into the oven and bake it brown.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold chicken or turkey, cooked the day before, may be used for this
- purpose. The pudding may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296"
- id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> be improved by the addition of a few very
- thin, small slices of cold ham, or smoked tongue.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RICE CROQUETTES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil half a pound of rice till it becomes quite soft and dry. Then mix
- with it two table spoonfuls of rich (but not strong) grated cheese, a
- small tea-spoonful of powdered mace, and sufficient fresh butter to
- moisten it. Mince very fine, six table-spoonfuls of the white part of cold
- chicken or turkey, the soft parts of six large oysters, and a few sprigs
- of tarragon or parsley; add a grated nutmeg, and the yellow rind of a
- lemon. Mix the whole well, moistening it with cream or white wine. Take of
- the prepared rice, a portion about the size of an egg, flatten it, and put
- into the centre a dessert-spoonful of the mixture; close the rice round it
- as you would the paste round a dumpling-apple. Then form it into the shape
- of an egg. Brush it over with some beaten yolk of egg and then dredge it
- with pounded crackers. In this way make up the whole into oval balls. Have
- ready, in a sauce-pan over the fire, a pound of boiling lard. Into this
- throw the croquettes, two at a time, so as to brown them. Let them brown
- for a few minutes; then take them out with a perforated skimmer. Drain
- them from the lard, and serve them up hot, garnished with curled parsley.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHICKEN POT-PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up and parboil a pair of large fowls, seasoning them with pepper,
- salt, and nutmeg. You may add some small slices of cold ham; in which case
- use <i>no salt</i>, as the ham will make it salt enough. Or you may put in
- some pieces of the lean of fresh pork. You may prepare a suet-paste; but
- for a chicken pot-pie it is best to make the paste of butter, which should
- be fresh, and of the best quality. Allow to each quart of flour, a small
- half-pound of butter. There should be enough for a great deal of paste.
- Line the sides of the pot, two-thirds up, with paste. Put in the chickens,
- with the liquor in which they were parboiled. You may add some sliced
- potatos. Intersperse the pieces of chicken with layers of paste in square
- slices. Then cover the whole with a lid of paste, not fitting very
- closely. Make a cross-slit in the top, and boil the pie about an hour or
- more.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of ham, you may add some clams to the chicken, omitting salt in
- the seasoning, as the clams will salt it quite enough.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHICKEN CURRY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having skinned a pair of fine chickens, cut them into six pieces each,
- that is, two wings, two pieces of the breast, and two legs cut off at the
- joint. Put into a stew-pan two boiled onions chopped, and four ounces or
- four table-spoonfuls of fresh butter. Shake the pan till the contents
- begin to simmer; then add four table-spoonfuls of curry-powder and mix it<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> well in;
- also, four table-spoonfuls of grated cocoa-nut. Mix all well in the
- stew-pan, and then put in the pieces of chicken. Cover the pan, and let
- all stew moderately for half an hour, stirring it round occasionally; and,
- if getting too dry, add a little hot water. Also, towards the last, the
- grated yellow rind of a lemon and the juice. It should stew till the
- chicken is quite tender, and till the flesh parts easily from the bones.
- Serve it up hot, in a covered dish, and send half a pound of boiled rice
- in a separate dish, <i>uncovered</i>. This is a dish for company.
- </p>
- <p>
- Young ducks, or a young hen turkey, or a pair of rabbits, may be cooked in
- the same manner. Also, lamb or veal.
- </p>
- <p>
- For curried oysters, take a hundred large fresh ones, and proceed as
- above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RICE PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick clean a quart of rice, and wash it well through two or three waters.
- Tie it in a cloth, put it into a pot of boiled milk, and boil it till
- perfectly soft. Then drain and press it till as dry as possible, and mix
- with it two ounces of fresh butter. Take a small tin butter-kettle; wet
- the inside, put in the rice, and stand it in a cool place till quite cold.
- Then turn it carefully out of the kettle, (of which it will retain the
- form,) rub it over with the beaten yolk of an egg, and set it in an oven
- till lightly browned. Cut out from the top of the mass of rice an oval
- lid, about two inches from the edge,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> so as to leave a flat rim
- or border all round. Then excavate the mould of rice, leaving a standing
- crust all round and at the bottom, about two inches thick. Have ready some
- hot stewed oysters or birds, or brown or white fricassee. Fill up the pie
- with it, adding the gravy. Lay on the lid, and decorate it with sprigs of
- green curled parsley, stuck in all round the crack where the lid is put
- on.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pie may be filled with curried chicken.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COUNTRY CAPTAIN.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is an East India dish, and a very easy preparation of curry. The term
- "country captain," signifies a captain of the native troops, (or Sepoys,)
- in the pay of England; their own country being India, they are there
- called generally the country troops. Probably this dish was first
- introduced at English tables by a Sepoy officer.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having well boiled a fine full-grown fowl, cut it up as for carving. Have
- ready two large onions boiled and sliced. Season the pieces of chicken
- with curry powder or turmeric; rubbed well into them, all over. Fry them
- with the onion, in plenty of lard or fresh butter, and when well-browned
- they are done enough. Take them up with a perforated skimmer, and drain
- through its holes. It will be a great improvement to put in, at the
- beginning, three or four table-spoonfuls of finely grated cocoa-nut. This
- will be found an advantage to any curry.
- </p>
- <p>
- Serve up, in another dish, a pint of rice, well<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> picked, and washed clean in
- two or three cold waters. Boil the rice in plenty of water, (leaving the
- skillet or sauce-pan uncovered;) and when it is done, drain it very dry,
- and set it on a dish before the fire, tossing it up with two forks, one in
- each hand, so as to separate all the grains, leaving each one to stand for
- itself. All rice for the dinner table should be cooked in this manner.
- Persons accustomed to rice never eat it watery or clammy, or lying in a
- moist mass. Rice should never be covered, either while boiling, or when
- dished.
- </p>
- <p>
- We recommend this "country captain."
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CURRIED EGGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil six fresh eggs till they are hard enough for salad, and then set them
- away to get cold. Mix together, in a stew-pan, three ounces (or three
- large table-spoonfuls) of nice fresh butter, and three dessert-spoonfuls
- of curry powder. Shake them together for five minutes over a clear but
- moderate fire. Then throw in two boiled onions finely minced, and let them
- cook, gently, till quite soft, adding three ounces or three large
- spoonfuls of grated cocoa-nut. Cut the eggs into rather thick slices. Put
- them into the mixture, with a small tea-cupful of thick cream, or if you
- cannot obtain cream, with two more spoonfuls of butter dredged with flour.
- Let the whole simmer together, but when it approaches coming to a boil,
- take it immediately off the fire and serve it up hot. This is a nice
- side-dish for company.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301"
- id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PARTRIDGES PEAR FASHION&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>French dish.</i>)&mdash;Your partridges should be fine and fat, and of
- the same size. For a large dish have three or four. Truss them tight and
- round, and rub over them a little salt and cayenne, mixed. Cut off one of
- the legs and leave the other on, fill them with a nice forcemeat. Make a
- rich paste of flour, butter, and beaten egg, using as little water as
- possible. Be sure to make enough of paste to cover each partridge entirely
- over, and roll it out evenly, and rather thick than thin. Put a sufficient
- portion of paste nicely round each partridge, pressing it closely and
- smoothly with your hand, and forming it into the shape of a large pear.
- Leave one leg sticking out at the top to resemble the stem, having cut off
- the foot. Set them in a pan, and bake them in a dutch oven. In the mean
- time, make in a small sauce-pan, a rich brown gravy of the livers, and
- other trimmings of the partridges, and some drippings of roast veal or
- roasted poultry. It will be better still if you reserve one or two small
- partridges to cut up, and stew for the gravy. Season it with a little salt
- and cayenne. When it has boiled long enough to be very thick and rich,
- take it off, strain it, and put the liquid into a clean sauce-pan. Add the
- juice of a large orange, made very sweet with powdered white sugar. Set it
- over the fire, and when it comes to a boil, stir in the beaten yolks of
- two eggs. Let it boil two or three minutes longer; then take it off, and
- keep it hot till the partridges and their paste are thoroughly well baked.
- When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>
- done, stand up the partridges in a deep dish, and serve up the gravy in a
- sauce-boat. Ornament the partridge-pears by sticking some orange leaves
- into the end that represents the stalk. This is a nice and handsome side
- dish, of French origin.
- </p>
- <p>
- Pigeons and quails may be dressed in this manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SALMI OF PARTRIDGES&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>French dish.</i>)&mdash;Having covered two large or four small
- partridges with very thin slices of fat cold ham, secured with twine,
- roast them; but see that they are not too much done. Remove the ham, skin
- the partridges, cut them into pieces, and let them get quite cold.
- Partridges that have been roasted the preceding day are good for this
- purpose. Cut off all the meat from the bones, season it with a little
- cayenne, and put it into a stew-pan. Mix together three table-spoonfuls of
- sweet oil, a glass of excellent wine, (either red or white,) and the
- grated peel and juice of an orange. Pour this gravy over the partridges,
- and let them stew in it during ten minutes; then add the beaten yolk of an
- egg, and stew it about three or four minutes longer. All the time it is
- stewing, continue to shake or move the pan over the fire. Serve it up hot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROASTED PARTRIDGES, PHEASANTS, AND QUAILS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a stuffing of fat bacon finely minced, and boiled chestnuts or grated
- sweet potatoe boiled, mashed, and seasoned with pepper<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> only. Fill the birds with
- this. Cover them with thin slices of bacon, and wrap them well in young
- vine leaves. Roast them well, and serve them up in the bacon and vine
- leaves, to be taken off when they come to table. For company, have orange
- sauce to eat with them. If you roast pigeons, &amp;c., without a covering
- of bacon and vine leaves, do them with egg and bread-crumbs all over.
- </p>
- <p>
- If these birds have a bitter taste when cooked, do not eat them. It is
- produced by their feeding on laurel berries in winter, when their food is
- scarce. Laural berries are poisonous, and people have died from eating
- birds that have fed on them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BIRDS WITH MUSHROOMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two dozen reed-birds, (or other nice small birds,) and truss them as
- if for roasting. Put into each a button mushroom, of which you should have
- a heaping pint after the stalks are all removed. Put the birds and the
- remaining mushrooms into a stew-pan. Season them with a very little salt
- and pepper, and add either a quarter of a pound of fresh butter (divided
- into four, and slightly rolled in flour,) or a pint of rich cream. If
- cream is not plenty, you may use half butter and half cream, well mixed
- together. Cover the stew-pan closely, and set it over a moderate fire, to
- stew gently till the birds and mushrooms are thoroughly done and tender
- all through. Do not open the lid to stir the stew, but give the pan,
- occasionally, a hard shake. Dip in hot water a large slice of<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> toast
- with the crust trimmed off. When the birds are done lay them on the toast
- with the mushrooms around.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you cannot get button-mushrooms, divide large ones into quarters.
- </p>
- <p>
- Plovers are very nice stewed with mushrooms.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BIRDS IN A GROVE&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>French dish.</i>)&mdash;Having roasted some reed-birds, larks,
- plovers, or any other small birds, such as are usually eaten, mash some
- potatos with butter and cream. Spread the mashed potato thickly over the
- bottom, sides, and edges of a deep dish. Nick or crimp the border of
- potatoe that goes round the edge, or scollop it with a tin cutter. You
- may, if you choose, brown it by holding over it a salamander, or a red-hot
- shovel. Then lay the roasted birds in the middle of the dish, and stick
- round them and among them, very thickly, a sufficient number of sprigs of
- curled or double parsley.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- THATCHED HOUSE PIE&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>French dish.</i>)&mdash;Rub the inside of a deep dish with two ounces
- of fresh butter, and spread over it two ounces of vermicelli. Then line
- the dish with puff-paste. Have ready some birds seasoned with powdered
- nutmeg, and a very little salt and pepper. Place them with the breast
- downward. They will be much improved by putting into each a mushroom or an
- oyster chopped fine. Lay them on the paste.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> Add some gravy of roast
- veal, (cold gravy saved from veal roasted the preceding day will do very
- well,) and cover the pie with a lid of puff-paste. Bake it in a moderate
- oven, and when done, turn it out <i>carefully</i> upon a flat dish, and
- send it to table. The vermicelli, which was originally at the bottom, will
- now be at the top, covering the paste like thatch upon a roof. Trim off
- the edge, so as to look nicely. You may, if you choose, use a larger
- quantity of vermicelli. The yellow sort will be best for this purpose.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BIRDS PREPARED FOR LARDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut a thin slice of fresh veal, and fill the bird with it, adding a bit of
- fat bacon. Tie a string round the body to keep in the stuffing, and roast
- the bird head downward. The gravy of the meat will diffuse a pleasant
- taste all through the bird.
- </p>
- <p>
- After being well roasted, let it get cold, and then lard it all over the
- breast with lardons or regular slips of fat bacon, put in with a larding
- needle, and left standing in rows. It is more easy to lard poultry or game
- when cold, rather than warm. Lardons should be set very close and evenly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BIRD DUMPLINGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large tender beef steak, trim off all the fat, and remove the bone.
- Make a large sheet of nice suet paste. Lay the beef steak upon it,
- seasoned with pepper and a very little salt. In the centre of the meat<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> place
- either a partridge, a quail, a plover, or any nice game, or three or four
- reed-birds&mdash;season with powdered mace and nutmeg. Add some bits of
- excellent fresh butter, dredged with flour. Inclose the birds completely
- in the steak, so that the game flavor may pervade the whole. Close the
- crust over all, so as to form a large dumpling. Tie it in a cloth. Put it
- into a pot of fast-boiling water, and boil it well, turning it several
- times with a fork. Dish it very hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- If game is not convenient, a fine tame fat pigeon may be substituted.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO ROAST WOODCOCKS OR SNIPES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Be very careful in plucking these to pull out the feathers as carefully
- and handle them as lightly as possible; for the skin is very easily torn
- or broken. Do not draw them, for epicures have decided, that the trail,
- (as they call the intestines,) is the most delicious part of the bird, and
- should by all means be saved for eating. Having wiped the outside
- carefully with a soft cloth, truss them with the head under the wing, and
- the bill laid along upon the breast. Keep the legs bent from the knees,
- retaining that posture by means of a splinter skewer. Suspend the birds to
- a bird-spit, with their feet downward. Melt some fresh butter in the
- dripping-pan, and baste them with it, having first dredged the birds with
- flour. Before the trail begins to drop, (which it will do as soon as they
- are well heated,) lay a thick round of very nice<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> toast, (with the crust
- pared off,) buttered on both sides, and placed in the dripping-pan
- beneath, so as to catch the trail as it falls; allowing a slice of toast
- to each bird, with the trail spread equally over it. Continue the basting,
- letting the butter fall back from them into the basting spoon. When the
- birds are done, which will be in less than half an hour at a brisk fire&mdash;carefully
- transfer the toasts to a very hot dish; place the birds upon them, and
- pour some gravy round the toast.
- </p>
- <p>
- Snipes require less cooking than woodcocks. These birds are very
- fashionable; but we do not think either of them superlative. They seldom
- appear except at supper parties.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLOVERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a very nice bird, with a peculiar and pleasant flavor. They abound
- near our large bays and estuaries in the vicinity of the ocean. There are
- two sorts, the green plover and the gray. Roast them plain; basting them
- only with butter. Or fill them with a forcemeat, and go entirely over the
- outside, first with beaten egg, and then roll each plover in finely grated
- bread-crumbs.
- </p>
- <p>
- If very fat, stew them plain in butter rolled in flour. Then serve them up
- in their own gravy, enriched with a beaten egg. They make a nice breakfast
- dish, either roasted or stewed. And are excellent in pies.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- REED BIRDS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Reed birds and rice birds are the same. They are very small, (only a
- mouthful on each side of the breast,) but very delicious, and <i>immensely
- fat</i> in the summer and autumn. They are brought to market with a lump
- of fat skewered on the outside, and are sold by the dozen strung on a
- stick like cherries.
- </p>
- <p>
- To cook them, roast them on a bird-spit, basting with their own fat, as it
- drips. A nice way for retaining the whole flavor is to tie each bird
- closely in a vine leaf, and bake them in a dutch oven. Or wrap them in
- double vine leaves, and roast them in the ashes of a wood fire. Remove the
- vine leaves before the birds are dished.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROASTED PIGEONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine fat <i>tame</i> pigeons, and clean and truss them nicely. Four
- pigeons, at least, are requisite to make a dish. Prepare a stuffing or
- forcemeat of finely minced veal, and an equal quantity of cold-boiled ham,
- seasoned with powdered mace and a very little cayenne. Also, two slices of
- bread and butter soaked in as much milk as they will absorb. Fill their
- bodies with this, (tying a string round to keep it in,) and roast the
- pigeons till thoroughly done; basting with fresh butter or lard.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or you may stuff the pigeons with chopped mushrooms, seasoned with a
- little cayenne, and putting into each a piece of fresh butter rolled in
- flour.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or you may stuff them with sweet potatos,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> boiled well, and mashed
- with plenty of fresh butter. Or with chestnuts, boiled, peeled, and mashed
- with butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- Wild pigeons are generally too poor to roast. In places where they abound,
- it has been found very profitable to catch them in nets, clip their wings,
- and put them into inclosures, feeding them well with corn so as to make
- them fat. They will then bring as high a price as tame pigeons.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="SAUCES" id="SAUCES"></a>SAUCES.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MELTED BUTTER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- <i>For Sauces.</i>&mdash;This is frequently called Drawn Butter. For this
- purpose none should be used but fresh butter of the very best quality. It
- is usually sent to table with boiled fish and boiled poultry. Also, with
- boiled mutton, lamb, and veal. It is never served up with any thing
- roasted, fried or broiled. Numerous sauces are made with melted butter. If
- mixed with too much flour and water, and not enough of butter, it will be
- very poor, particularly if the water is in too large proportions. To
- prepare it properly, allow a quarter of a pound of nice butter, to a
- heaped table-spoonful of flour. Mix the butter and flour thoroughly, <i>before</i>
- it goes on the fire. Then add to it four large table-spoonfuls of milk, or
- hot water, well mixed in. Hold it over the fire in a small sauce-pan, kept
- for the purpose. One<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>
- lined with what is called porcelain or enamel is best. Take care there is
- no blaze where the sauce-pan is held. Cover it, and shake it over the fire
- till it boils. Then having skimmed it, add three or four hard-boiled eggs
- chopped small, and give it one more boil up; or season it with any other
- ingredient with which you wish to distinguish the sauce.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CLARIFIED BUTTER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For this purpose use none but the very best fresh butter, such as is made
- in summer, when the cows are well pastured. Cut up the butter, put it into
- an enameled or porcelain stew-pan, and melt it gently over a clear and
- moderate fire. When it simmers, skim it thoroughly, draw it from the fire,
- and let it stand five minutes, that the milk or sediment may sink to the
- bottom. Then pour it clear from the sediment through a muslin strainer, or
- a fine clean hair sieve. Transfer to jars with close covers, and keep them
- in a cool dry place. If well prepared, and originally very good, this
- butter will answer for sauces, stews, &amp;c., and continue good a long
- time. In France, where they do not <i>salt</i> any butter, large
- quantities are melted in this way for winter use.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COLORING FOR SAUCES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- <i>For Pink Sauce.</i> Take a few chips of red alkanet root, (to be had at
- the druggist's.) Pick it clean, and tie it in a very thin muslin bag. Put
- the alkanet into the mixture, and let it infuse in the boiling drawn but<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>ter. It
- will communicate a beautiful pink color, which you may heighten, by
- pressing the bag a little. When done, take out the bag, and stir the
- alkanet color evenly through the sauce. The alkanet has no taste, and is
- very cheap. Beet juice will color a tolerable red.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For Green Sauce.</i>&mdash;Pound some fresh spinach leaves, till you
- extract a tea-cup or more of the clear green juice. Stir it into the
- melted butter while boiling.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For Yellow Sauce.</i>&mdash;Tie up a very little turmeric powder in a
- muslin bag. Let it boil in the butter. When done, take it out of the
- sauce-pan, and stir the yellow coloring evenly through the sauce.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For White Sauce.</i>&mdash;Make this with cream instead of milk.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For Brown Sauce.</i>&mdash;Stir in plenty of French mustard.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For Wine Sauce.</i>&mdash;Stir in, just before you take the sauce from
- the fire, a large wine-glass or more of <i>very good</i> white wine, and
- grate in half a large nutmeg, adding the grated yellow rind, and the juice
- of a lemon. The wine must be of excellent quality, otherwise it will give
- a bad taste to the sauce.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WHITE THICKENING&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>French Roux.</i>)&mdash;Cut up a quarter of a pound of the best fresh
- butter, and put it into a well tinned or enameled sauce-pan. Set it over a
- moderate fire, and melt it slowly, shaking it round frequently, and taking
- care to skim it well. When no more scum appears<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> on the surface, let it
- settle a few minutes; then pour it off from the sediment at the bottom.
- Wash the sauce-pan or get another clean one. Return the melted butter to
- it, and set it again over the fire. Then dredge in gradually sufficient
- sifted flour to make it very thick and smooth, stirring it well after each
- addition of flour. Do not allow it to brown in the slightest degree, but
- keep it perfectly white to the last; simmering, but not actually boiling,
- and take care that there is no smoke about the fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- To thicken white sauces, or soups, stir in a table-spoonful or two of this
- roux, pronounced <i>roo</i>. In French cooking it passes for cream.
- </p>
- <p>
- Browned thickening is made in the same manner; but with butter and browned
- flour, and is used for brown soups and gravies.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROWNING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is to enrich the taste and improve the color of gravies, stews, and
- soups. Mix a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar with two ounces of
- fine fresh butter; and, having stirred them well together, put them into a
- sauce-pan over the fire, and simmer till it begins to froth; then diminish
- the heat a little. When its color becomes a fine dark brown, add two
- glasses of port wine, and three or four blades of mace, powdered. When it
- comes to a boil, take it off, and stir it into whatever you intend to
- color.
- </p>
- <p>
- Another browning is mushroom catchup, or walnut catchup. They communicate
- a slightly acid taste. So also does French mustard. Stir it in<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> at the
- last. Its tarragon flavor is very generally liked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROWNED FLOUR.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift some fine flour, spread it on a large dish, or clean tin-pan. Place
- it before the fire, so as to brown but not to scorch or burn. It will
- color first at the edges; therefore watch it, and keep it evenly mixed
- with the white flour from the centre. When all is nicely browned, set it
- to cool, and then put it away for use in a large clean bottle or jar, well
- corked. Flour may be browned in an oven, after baking is over, taking care
- to stir it well.&mdash;Have two dredging boxes. One for browned flour and
- one for white. It is convenient also to have dredging-boxes for powdered
- herbs. The cost of these boxes is very trifling, and it saves time and
- trouble to have things ready when wanted. A small sieve for powdered white
- sugar is indispensable.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LOBSTER SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This sauce is for fresh salmon or turbot, or sheep's-head fish. Also for
- salmon-trout, blue-fish, or the lake white-fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Put a large hen lobster into a hard-boiling pot of highly-salted water,
- that the animal may die immediately. Continue the boiling with a steady
- heat, and in about three quarters, or an hour, the lobster will be done.
- When cold, extract all the meat from the shell, and cut it into small
- bits. Pound the coral, or red substance, in a marble mor<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>tar, with
- some fresh butter, or plenty of salad oil; and a little cayenne. Add the
- coral to the cut-up lobster, and put the whole into a stew-pan, with some
- powdered mace and nutmeg, and a large table-spoonful of sweet oil. Divide
- into four bits a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, each bit rolled in
- flour. If your butter is not fresh and very good, omit it entirely and
- substitute a larger quantity of oil. As bad butter spoils every thing,
- never on any account, use it. Set the sauce-pan over the fire, and let it
- boil up once. Then take it off, and while very hot, stir in the beaten
- yolks of two eggs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Crab sauce is made in the same manner. Prawn sauce also.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SHRIMP SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Shrimps are the smallest shell-fish of the lobster species. Put them into
- salted boiling water. They are done when they have turned entirely red.
- When cold, pull off the heads, and peel off the shells from the bodies; or
- <i>squeeze</i> out the meat with your fingers. Have ready some nice drawn
- butter, and thicken it with the shrimps, either chopped or whole. Season
- the sauce with mace or nutmeg powdered, and give it one boil up. Shrimp
- sauce is eaten with salmon and other fine fish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED SHRIMPS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having boiled, in salted water, three quarts or more of shrimps, and taken
- them from the shells, boil two quarts of the<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> best cider vinegar, and
- season it well with blades of mace and pepper-corns, and pour it hot on
- the shrimps, in a stone jar. Cork the jar, and seal the cork with the
- usual red cement for pickle jars: a mixture of one-third beeswax with
- two-thirds powdered rosin, and some fine brickdust, all melted together.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OYSTER SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pint of the liquor of <i>fresh</i> oysters, and strain it into a
- sauce-pan. If your oysters are salt, and you can get no others, boil a
- pint of milk instead of the oyster liquor, seasoning with powdered nutmeg
- and mace, and enriching it with fresh butter dredged with flour. When it
- has come to a boil, put in the oysters (having removed from each the
- gristle, or hard part.) Let them simmer, but take them from the fire
- without letting them come to a boil, which will shrivel them, and render
- them tough and tasteless. A new fashion is to season oyster sauce with the
- grated yellow rind and juice of a fresh lemon. Others stir in a glass of
- sherry or Madeira. If you use wine or lemon, you must not make the sauce
- with milk, as it will curdle. Use in this case the oyster liquor, if it is
- fresh, thickened well with finely grated bread-crumbs. The small,
- highly-flavored oysters, abounding on the coast of New England, are
- excellent for sauce, or soups.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CLAM SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make this of half milk and half clam liquor, seasoned with whole mace, and<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> whole
- pepper. Use only the soft part of the clams, cut up small, and simmer them
- from the beginning; adding bits of butter dredged all over with flour
- Clams require longer cooking than oysters.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EGG SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil four eggs from eight to twelve minutes. Then lay them in a pan of
- fresh water, and let them remain till quite cold. Peel off the shells, and
- take out the eggs. Chop the yolks and whites separately; mix them,
- lightly, into half a pint of melted fresh butter, made in the proportion
- of a quarter of a pound of butter to two large table-spoonfuls of flour,
- and four of milk and hot water. Add some powdered mace, or nutmeg. Egg
- sauce is eaten with boiled fish and poultry.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of milk or water, you can use for melted butter, some of the water
- in which chicken or turkey was boiled, or some veal gravy.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CELERY SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Split and cut up into short slips a bunch of celery, having taken off the
- green leaves from the tops. The celery must have been well washed, and
- laid an hour in cold water. Take a pint of milk, and cut up in it a
- quarter of a pound of fresh butter that has been well dredged with flour.
- Set it over the fire in a sauce-pan, and add the celery gradually; also
- three or four blades of mace broken up. Boil all slowly together, till the
- celery is quite soft and tender, but not dissolved. The green tops of the
- celery, (strewed in, when it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317"
- id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> begins to simmer,) will improve the flavor.
- Celery sauce is served up with boiled turkey, boiled fowls, and with any
- sort of fresh fish, boiled or fried.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MINT SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is only used for roast lamb in the spring. When the lambs are grown
- into sheep, the mint is too old for sauce. But they harmonize very
- pleasantly when both are young.
- </p>
- <p>
- Take a large bunch of fine fresh green mint, that has been washed well.
- Strip the leaves from the stems, and mince them small. Put it into a pint
- bowl, and mix with it gradually some of the best cider vinegar. This sauce
- must not be the least liquid, but as thick as horse-radish sauce or
- thicker. Make it very sweet, with the best brown sugar. Mix it well, and
- transfer to a small tureen, or a little deep dish with a tea-spoon in it.
- Serve it up always with roast lamb, putting a tea-spoonful on the rim of
- your plate.
- </p>
- <p>
- A quart or more of mint sauce, made as above, but with a larger proportion
- of sugar and vinegar, will keep very well for several weeks, in a jar well
- corked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HORSE-RADISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash clean some roots of horse-radish, wipe them dry, and scrape off the
- outside. Then grate the sticks of horse-radish with a large grater. Put
- some of the grated horse-radish into a large saucer, or small deep plate,
- and moisten it with good cider vinegar, but do not put so much<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> vinegar
- as will render it liquid. Send it to table with roast beef or mutton.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAULIFLOWER SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready some very rich good melted or drawn butter, made with milk and
- flavored with nutmeg. Thicken it with plenty of ready-boiled cauliflower,
- cut into little sprigs or blossoms. Give it one boil up after the
- cauliflower is in, and send it to table with any sort of boiled poultry.
- It will be found very nice. For a boiled turkey it is far superior to
- celery sauce, and well suited to dinner company.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROCCOLI SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make some nice drawn butter with milk. Flavor it with powdered mace. Pound
- some spinach in a mortar to extract the juice. Strain the spinach juice,
- and stir a small tea-cupful into the butter to give it a fine green color.
- Have ready some well-boiled broccoli. Divide one or two heads of the
- broccoli into tufts or sprigs. Put them into the melted butter, and when
- it comes to a boil, take it off, and transfer it to a sauce-boat. Serve it
- up with boiled poultry or fresh fish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PARSLEY SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Strip from the stalks the leaves of some fresh green parsley; allow plenty
- of it. Chop it slightly; and while the drawn butter is hot, stir into it
- the parsley, till the butter looks very green. Serve it up with boiled<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> fowls,
- rabbits, or boiled fish. The appearance of parsley sauce will be much
- improved by stirring in some spinach juice. The whole will be then a fine
- green.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CRIMPED PARSLEY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick the small sprigs of parsley from the large stalks. Wash it, and then
- throw it into clean cold water. After the meat or fish that it is to
- accompany has been fried and taken out of the pan, give the fat that
- remains a boil up, and lay the parsley into it. It will crimp and still
- continue green, if not kept frying too long. Take it out, drain it, and
- place it before the fire a few minutes, to dry it from the fat. Dish it
- laid on the top of the fish or steaks.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FENNEL SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The fennel should be young and fresh. Take a large handful, or more, and
- having washed it clean, strip the leaves from the stems, and boil it till
- quite tender. Put it into a sieve, and press the water well from it. Mince
- it very small, and stir it into drawn butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is served up with boiled fish.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of melted butter, you may put the fennel into veal gravy,
- thickened with butter dredged with flour.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SAGE AND ONION SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a bunch of fresh sage leaves. Wash and drain them. Pick them from the
- stems, and put them to boil in a small sauce-pan, with just water enough
- to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>
- cover them. Boil them fast about ten minutes. Take them out, and press
- them in a sieve to drain them dry. Then mince or chop them small. Have
- ready two onions, boiled tender in another sauce-pan; chop them also, and
- mix them well with the minced sage. While warm, mix in a small bit of nice
- butter&mdash;season with pepper. Put this sauce into a little tureen, and
- serve it up with roast goose, roast duck, or roast pork, that has been
- stuffed with potato, bread, or other stuffing. The sage and onion sauce is
- for those who prefer their flavor to any other seasoning for those dishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- This sauce will be greatly improved if moistened with some of the gravy of
- the duck or goose.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE ONION SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Peel some nice mild onions, and boil them in plenty of milk, skimming them
- well. When done, take them out of the milk, (saving it,) and slice them
- very thin, cutting the slices across, so as to make the pieces of onion
- very small. Return them to the sauce-pan of milk, (adding some fresh
- butter dredged with flour;) season them with powdered mace or nutmeg, and
- give the onions another boil, till they are soft enough to mash, and to
- thicken the milk all through. Eat this sauce with steaks, cutlets,
- rabbits, or chickens.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLAIN ONION SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Peel some very small onions, and boil them whole in milk, (seasoned
- slightly with pepper and salt,) and put in some bits of butter rolled in
- flour. Let them boil till tender all through, but not till they loose
- their shape. Eat them with any sort of boiled meat.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- NASTURTION SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is eaten with boiled mutton; is superior to caper sauce, and costs
- almost nothing, if you have nasturtions in your garden. Gather the green
- seeds as soon as they are full grown, and throw them (without the stems)
- into a jar of cider vinegar. They require no cooking, but keep a muslin
- bag of spice in the jar, (mace and nutmeg broken small, and a little piece
- of root ginger.) To use them for sauce, make some nice drawn butter, and
- as it simmers throw in plenty of nasturtions from the jar. The seeds, when
- gathered, should be full grown, but by no means hard; and the color a fine
- green. If there is the slightest brown tinge, the nasturtion seeds are too
- old, and should be kept for planting.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUSHROOM SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready some excellent drawn butter, and thicken it with small button
- mushrooms that have been pickled. Or, take freshly-gathered mushrooms of
- good size, rub off the outer skin with a clean flannel, and cut off the
- stems close to the flaps. Wash the mushrooms in a cullender. Have ready
- some bits of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span>
- fresh butter dredged all over with flour. Lay them among the mushrooms,
- (which, if very large, should be quartered,) and put them into a stew-pan.
- Cover the pan, and let them stew till the mushrooms are all tender. When
- you take off the lid to try them, replace it immediately, keeping in as
- much of the aroma as possible. If fresh, they will yield a great deal of
- juice. When done, transfer them to a sauce-tureen, and serve them up with
- any nice dish of meat or poultry.
- </p>
- <p>
- The best mushrooms are found in pure open air or rather high ground, and
- where there is no swamp or woodland. On the upper side of their top they
- are not white, but of a pale grayish tint; the under side is invariably
- light red, pinkish, or pale salmon color, which in a few hours, or after
- being gathered, turns brown. The false mushrooms are poisonous. They are
- entirely white above and below. The fungi that grow in forests or marshes
- can never be mistaken for real mushrooms. They are of various colors,
- chiefly bright yellow and red, and originate in foul air. By boiling a
- silver tea-spoon with your mushrooms, you may test their goodness. If the
- silver turns black, throw the mushrooms away. An onion will also blacken
- from the same cause. Mushrooms should be cooked as soon as possible. If
- kept two or three days, worms will be found in them. Never give mushrooms
- to children. Even in their best state they are not wholesome. The taste
- for mushrooms is an acquired one, and it is best not to acquire it.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TOMATO SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Scald some large ripe tomatos, to make them peel easily. Then quarter
- them, and press them through a sieve to divest them of their seeds. Put
- the juice into a stew-pan, adding some bits of fresh butter dredged with
- flour; add finely grated bread-crumbs, and season with a little pepper,
- and, if liked, a little onion boiled and minced. Set the pan over a
- moderate fire, and let the tomatos simmer slowly till it comes to a boil.
- Continue the boiling ten minutes longer. Serve it up in a sauce-tureen. It
- will be mellowed and improved by stirring in (as soon as it comes to a
- boil) a table-spoonful or a lump of white sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TARRAGON SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put into a sauce-pan a large half pint of any nice gravy that is at hand.
- After it has boiled five minutes, have ready a handful of fresh green
- tarragon leaves, minced, and moistened with plenty of cider vinegar. Add
- this to the gravy, and let it simmer five minutes. Then take it out, and
- serve it up with any kind of boiled poultry.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO MAKE GRAVY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two pounds of the lean of veal, or of very nice beef. Cut it into
- small bits, and lay it in a sauce-pan with only as much water as will
- cover it. Stew it slowly, (skimming it well) till the meat is all rags.
- Then strain the gravy, and thicken it with some bits of fresh butter
- dredged all over with browned flour,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span> and give it another simmer.
- You may flavor it with any seasoning you like.
- </p>
- <p>
- For made gravies, you can use any small pieces of fresh meat that has
- never been cooked, and the feet of calves and pigs. Boil in it also such
- vegetables as you like, cut small. Strain out every thing before it goes
- to table. For gravies, use nothing that has been cooked before. They will
- not add to its goodness, but only render it flat and washy.
- </p>
- <p>
- White gravy is made with fresh veal boiled in milk; and after straining,
- thickened arrow-root, or rice flour, mixed with fresh butter, if real
- cream cannot be obtained.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUSHROOM CATCHUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Let the mushrooms be large and freshly-gathered, for they soon become
- worm-eaten if not speedily salted. They should be well examined. Cut off
- the stalks of four quarts of nice mushrooms. Put the flaps into a deep
- earthen pan, and break them up with your hands. Strew among them half a
- pound of salt, reserving the largest portion of it for the top. Let them
- stand for three days, stirring them gently every morning. The fourth day,
- put them into a sieve, and draw off the liquor without pressing the
- mushrooms. When all the liquor has drained through, measure it, allowing
- to each quart a tea-spoon of cayenne, a dozen blades of mace, and a nutmeg
- broken up. Put the whole into a porcelain kettle, and boil it slowly till
- re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>duced
- one half. Then pour it into a clean white-ware pitcher, cover it with a
- folded napkin, and keep it in a cool dry place till next day. Then,
- through a funnel, pour it gently from the sediment into small bottles.
- Finish with a tea-spoonful of sweet oil on the top of each. Cork the
- bottles tightly, and seal the corks.
- </p>
- <p>
- The next time you make catchup, proceed as above with the new mushrooms,
- and other ingredients; and, when it is done, strain it, and put it into a
- clean kettle. Then add to it a quart of <i>last year's</i> mushroom
- catchup, and boil it a quarter of an hour. Then bottle it as above.
- </p>
- <p>
- This double catchup is very fine.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WALNUT CATCHUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two hundred walnuts or butter-nuts, while the green shell is still so
- soft that you can pierce it with the head of a pin. Bruise them to small
- pieces, in a marble mortar. Transfer them to a broad stone-ware pan, and
- stew among them six handfuls of salt. Stir them three times a day, for ten
- days or two weeks. Then squeeze and strain them through a cloth, pressing
- them very dry, till no more juice comes out. Boil up the liquor with two
- quarts of cider vinegar, half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of whole
- pepper, half an ounce of nutmegs broken up, and two roots of ginger cut
- small, and half a dozen shalots or small onions, peeled and cut up, and a
- large bunch of sweet herbs. Let the whole boil for half an hour. Then pour
- off<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>
- the liquor into a large pitcher, leaving out the bunch of sweet herbs.
- Pour off the liquor (through a funnel,) into small bottles, having first
- put into the bottom of each bottle a portion of the spice. Fill the bottle
- up to the top with the catchup, finishing with a tea-spoonful of salad
- oil, which will greatly assist in keeping the catchup good. Cork the
- bottles very closely, and seal the corks.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TOMATO CATCHUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a peck of large ripe tomatos. In the middle States they are in
- perfection the last of August. Late in the autumn they are comparatively
- insipid and watery. Cut a slit down the side of every tomato. Put them
- into a large preserving kettle without any water. Their own juice is
- sufficient. On no account boil tomatos in brass or copper, their acid
- acting on those metals produces verdigris, and renders them poisonous.
- Boil them till they are quite soft, and easily mashed, stirring them up
- frequently from the bottom. Press and mash them through a hair sieve, till
- all the pulp has run out into the pan below, leaving in the sieve only the
- skins and seeds. Season the liquid with a little salt, some cayenne, and
- plenty of powdered nutmeg and mace. Mix it well, and when cold put up the
- catchup in small jars, the covers pasted all round with bands of white
- paper. This catchup, when done, should be very thick and smooth.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LEMON CATCHUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take six fine large ripe lemons, and roll them under your hand to increase
- the quantity of juice. Grate off all the yellow rind, and squeeze the
- juice into a pitcher, removing all the seeds. Prepare two ounces of finely
- scraped horse-radish, and two ounces of minced shalots, or very small
- onions. Put them into a pint of boiling vinegar, in which half an ounce of
- bruised ginger and a quarter of an ounce of mace have been simmered for
- five minutes. Add to this the lemon-juice and the grated peel, and two
- grated nutmegs. Boil all together for half an hour, and then transfer it
- with all the ingredients to a glass jar with a lid. Paste a band of strong
- white paper round the lower part of the lid. Set it in a dry cool place,
- and leave it undisturbed for three months. Then, through a funnel, pour
- off the liquid into small bottles, putting a tea-spoonful of salad oil at
- the top of each. Cork and seal them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CUCUMBER CATCHUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For a small quantity of this catchup, take twelve fine full-grown
- cucumbers, and lay them an hour in cold water. Then pare them, and grate
- them down into a deep dish. Grate also two small onions, and mix them with
- the grated cucumber. Season the mixture to your taste with pepper, salt,
- and vinegar, making it of the consistence of very thick marmalade or jam.
- When thoroughly amalgamated, transfer it to a glass jar. Cover it closely,
- tying over it a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>
- piece of bladder, so as to render it perfectly air-tight.
- </p>
- <p>
- It will be found very nice, (when fresh cucumbers are not in season,) to
- eat with beef or mutton. And if properly made, and securely covered, will
- keep well. It should be grated very fine, and the vinegar must be of very
- excellent quality&mdash;real cider vinegar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAMP CATCHUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pint or quart of strong ale or porter, and a pint of white wine;
- half a dozen shalots, or very small onions, peeled and minced; half an
- ounce of mace, half an ounce of nutmeg, broken up; and two large roots or
- races of ginger, sliced. Put all together, over a moderate fire, into a
- porcelain-lined kettle, and boil it slowly till one-third of the liquid is
- wasted. Next day transfer it to small bottles, putting a portion of the
- seasoning in the bottom of each, and filling them to the top with the
- liquid. Finish with a tea-spoonful of salad oil at the top. Cork the
- bottles with good corks, and seal them. In a dry place this catchup will
- keep for years.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TARRAGON VINEGAR.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The fresh leaves of the tarragon plant are in perfection in July and
- August, and impart a new and pleasant taste to soups, hashes, gravies,
- &amp;c. To use it fresh, wash a bunch of tarragon in cold water.
- Afterwards strip off the green leaves, chop or mince them, and boil a
- tea-spoonful or more in the dish you intend<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span> to flavor. The best way of
- keeping tarragon is to strip off as many fresh leaves as will half fill a
- glass jar that holds a quart. Pour on as much <i>real</i> cider vinegar as
- will fill up the jar. Cover it closely, and let the tarragon infuse in it
- for a week, shaking the jar every day. Then pour off that vinegar
- carefully, and throw away the tarragon leaves that have been steeping in
- it. Wash that jar, or take another clean one, put into it the same
- quantity of fresh tarragon leaves, and fill up with the same vinegar in
- which you have infused the first supply. Let the second leaves remain in
- the jar of vinegar. A tarragon bush is well worth planting; even in a
- small city garden.
- </p>
- <p>
- Tarragon is the chief ingredient of French mustard.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE FRENCH MUSTARD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a jill or two large wine-glasses of tarragon vinegar, (strained from
- the leaves,) and mix with it an equal quantity of salad oil, stirring them
- well together. Pound in a mortar, two ounces of mustard seed till it
- becomes a fine smooth powder, and mix it thoroughly. Add to it one clove
- of garlic (not more) peeled, minced and pounded. Make the mixture in a
- deep white-ware dish. If the mustard affects your eyes, put on glasses
- till you have finished the mixture. When done, put it up in white bottles,
- or gallipots. Cork them tightly, and seal the corks. Send it to table in
- those bottles.
- </p>
- <p>
- This mustard is far superior to any other, the tarragon imparting a
- peculiar and pleasant flavor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330"
- id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- It is excellent to eat with any sort of roast meat, particularly beef or
- mutton, and an improvement to almost all plain sauces, stews, soups, &amp;c.
- </p>
- <p>
- French mustard is to be purchased very good, at all the best grocery
- stores.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SAUCE ROBERT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Peel five large onions, and parboil them to take off some of the strength.
- Cut them into small dice, and put them into a stew-pan with a quarter of a
- pound of fresh butter, divided into four, and dredged with flour. When
- they are well browned, pour on them half a pint of beef or veal gravy, and
- let it simmer for a quarter of an hour. Season it slightly with cayenne.
- Just before it goes to table, stir in a table-spoonful of French mustard.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a good sauce for any sort of roast meat, or poultry.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GREEN MAYONNAISE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a fine accompaniment to cold poultry, which must be cut into small
- pieces as for chicken salad, using only the white meat. To begin the
- mayonnaise. Put into a shallow pan the yolks only of three fresh eggs,
- having strained out the specks. Having beaten them till light and thick,
- add, by degrees, a half pint of salad oil, stirring it in gradually, so
- that no oil whatever is to be seen on the surface. Then add two
- table-spoonfuls of tarragon vinegar. Next a few drops of shalot vinegar,
- or a <i>very small</i> onion minced as finely as possible. If you have at
- hand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span>
- any clear meat gravy (for instance, veal,) stir in two or three
- table-spoonsful. Add the grated yellow rind, and the juice of a lemon.
- Pound as much spinach as will yield a small tea-cupful of green juice.
- Give it a short boil up, to take off the rawness, and mix it with the
- mayonnaise. When cool, pour it over the dish of cold poultry.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EPICUREAN SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pound in a mortar five or six anchovies; a heaped table-spoonful of minced
- tarragon leaves; a shalot, or very small onion, two or three pickled
- gherkins, finely minced; the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs, a quarter of
- a pound of fresh butter, and a large table-spoonful of French mustard. If
- you have no good butter, mix a sufficient portion of olive oil to moisten
- it well. Let the whole be thoroughly mixed. Put it into a bowl, and set it
- on ice till wanted. Then mould it into pats of equal size. Arrange them on
- small glass or china plates, and send them to table for dinner company, to
- eat with the cheese.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EAST INDIA SAUCE FOR FISH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mix well together a jill of India soy; a jill of chili vinegar; half a
- pint of walnut catchup, and a pint of mushroom-catchup. Shake the whole
- hard, and transfer it to small green bottles, putting a tea-spoonful of
- sweet oil at the top of each, and keep the sauce in a cool dry place. If
- you have not a fish castor, bring the store sauces to table in the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span> small
- bottles they are kept in. When eating fish, mix a little of this with the
- melted butter on your plate.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CURRY POWDER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Curry powder originates in India, where it is much used as a peculiar
- flavoring for soups, stews, and hashes. With curry dishes, boiled rice is
- always served up, not only in a separate dish, but also heaped round the
- stew in a thick even border. To make curry powder, pound in a marble
- mortar three ounces of turmeric, three ounces of coriander seed, and a
- quarter of an ounce of cayenne; one ounce of mustard, one ounce of
- cardamoms, a half ounce of cummin seed, and half an ounce of mace. Let all
- these ingredients be thoroughly mixed in the mortar, and then sift it
- through a fine sieve, dry it for an hour before the fire, and put it into
- clean bottles, securing the corks well. Use from two to three
- table-spoonfuls at a time, in proportion to the size of the dish you
- intend to curry.
- </p>
- <p>
- It may be mixed into the gravy of any of the preceding receipts for stews.
- Two ounces of finely grated cocoa-nut is a pleasant improvement to curried
- dishes, and is universally liked.
- </p>
- <p>
- The curry powder you buy is frequently much adulterated with inferior
- articles. The best curry powder imported from India is of a dark green
- color, and not yellow or red. It has among its ingredients, tamarinds, <i>not</i>
- preserved, as we always get them&mdash;but raw in the shell. These
- tamarinds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>
- impart a pleasant acid to the mixture. For want of them use a lemon.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MADRAS CURRY POWDER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pound separately, and sift, six ounces of coriander seed, three of
- turmeric, one of black pepper, two of cummin, one of fennel seed, and half
- an ounce of cayenne. Mix all together, put them into a glass jar or
- bottle, and seal the cover.
- </p>
- <p>
- With less turmeric, you may use ginger or sassafras.
- </p>
- <p>
- Curry powder may be added to any stew of meat, poultry, or game. Boiled
- rice must always accompany a dish of curry.
- </p>
- <p>
- The ingredients indispensable to all curries (and you may make a curry of
- any nice meat, or poultry, or even of oysters) is a very pungent powder,
- prepared for the purpose with turmeric. Also onions and boiled rice. In
- India there is always something acid in the mixture, as lemons, sour apple
- juice, or green tamarinds. The turmeric has a peculiar flavor of its own.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STORE SAUCES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The celebrated English sauces, for fish and game, Harvey's sauce, (which
- is the best,) Quin's, Reading's, Kitchener's, Soyer's, &amp;c., are all
- very good, and keep well, if genuine. They are imported in small sealed
- bottles, and are to be had of all the best grocers. To make them at home,
- is so troublesome and expensive, that it is<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span> better to buy them. They
- are, however, very nice, and are generally introduced at dinner parties; a
- little being mixed on your plate with the melted butter. If you have no
- fish castors, bring these sauces to table in their own bottles, to be
- carried round by a servant.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE PINK SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pint of excellent port wine, the juice and grated yellow rinds of
- four large lemons, two dozen blades of mace and a large nutmeg, broken up;
- with a quarter of an ounce of prepared cochineal, or a small tea-spoonful
- of alkanet chips. Add a table-spoonful of fresh salad oil. Mix the whole
- well in a wide-mouthed glass jar with a lid. Let the ingredients infuse a
- fortnight; stirring it several times a day. Then strain it, pour it
- through a funnel into small bottles, and seal the corks. It will give a
- fine pink color to drawn butter. Eat it with any sort of fish or game.
- </p>
- <p>
- Alkanet produces a much finer color than cochineal, but it must unite with
- some substance of an oily nature to give out its color to advantage. It is
- very cheap, and very beautiful, and to be had at the druggist's. Infuse it
- tied in a thin muslin bag.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WINE SAUCE FOR VENISON OR GAME.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the half of a sixpenny loaf of bread. Cut off all the crust. Put the
- crumb (or soft part) into a bowl, and pour on sufficient good port wine to
- steep it. Soak the bread in the wine till dissolved.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> Then add two heaped
- table-spoonsful of fresh butter, and two heaped spoonsful of sugar;
- seasoning with powdered mace and nutmeg, and the grated yellow rind and
- juice of a lemon. Beat all together till very smooth. Put it into a
- sauce-pan, and give it one boil up; taking it off as soon as it comes to a
- boil. Send it to table hot. It is a fine company sauce for venison, or
- hare, or any sort of game.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE PUDDING SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large half-pint cup of the best fresh butter, and the same quantity
- of powdered loaf-sugar. Put them together in an earthen pan, and beat them
- to a light thick cream. Then mix a jill or wine-glass of boiling water,
- and a large wine-glass of the best brandy, with the grated yellow rind and
- juice of a large lemon or orange; and a small nutmeg, grated. Mix these
- ingredients, gradually, with the beaten butter and sugar; and transfer the
- sauce to a small tureen, putting a spoon or ladle into it.
- </p>
- <p>
- If designed for sauce to a plum-pudding or any other large one, you will
- require a pint of butter, a pint of sugar, half a pint of boiling water
- with half a pint of brandy, two lemons or oranges, and a <i>large</i>
- nutmeg, or two small ones. Divide the sauce in two tureens. A boiled
- pudding for company requires no finer sauce than this.
- </p>
- <p>
- Where <i>real</i> cream is plenty, a bowl of it well sweetened with sugar,
- and flavored with nutmeg, is nice for any boiled pudding. If you add wine
- or lemon juice to cream sauce, previously mix the<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> acid with the sugar, and
- make it very sweet before you put them to the cream, lest it should
- curdle.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VANILLA SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Split and break up a small stick of vanilla, and boil it in a very little
- milk, till all the vanilla flavor is extracted. Then strain it through
- very fine muslin, and stir it into the cream. Give it one boil up in a
- small porcelain sauce-pan; and sweeten it well with white sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLAIN SAUCE FOR PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stir together (as in making pound cake) equal quantities of fresh butter
- and white sugar. This is the usual proportion; but if you can stir or beat
- it easily, try a little less butter, and a little more of the sugar. Grate
- in some nutmeg, and the yellow rind of a fresh lemon, and send it to table
- heaped on a small plate, with a tea-spoon near it.<a name="FNanchor_E"
- id="FNanchor_E"></a><a href="#Footnote_E" class="fnanchor">[E]</a>
- </p>
- <p>
- Many persons prefer, with plain puddings, cold butter on a butter plate,
- and sugar from the sugar-bowl; mixing it for themselves on their own
- plate. This is best for boiled fruit pudding or dumplings; and for egg or
- batter puddings, molasses or syrup is very good; and costs but little.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CRANBERRY SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick the cranberries clean, seeing that no stems, sticks, or dead leaves
- are left among them. Put them into a cullender, or sieve, and wash them
- through two waters. Cook them in a porcelain-lined, or enameled stew-pan,
- without any additional water. The water that remains about them after
- washing is quite sufficient for stewing them properly. No stewed fruit
- should be too thin or liquid. Keep a steady heat under the cranberries,
- stirring them up from the bottom frequently: and when they are soft, mash
- them with the back of the spoon. When they are quite shapeless, take them
- off the fire, and while they are very hot, stir in, gradually, an ample
- quantity of nice <i>brown</i> sugar. They require much sweetening. Season
- them with nothing else. Their natural flavor is sufficient (if well
- sweetened) and cannot be improved by spice, lemon, or any of the usual
- condiments. Always buy the largest and ripest cranberries. The best things
- are cheapest in the end.
- </p>
- <p>
- In stewing any sort of fruit, do not add the sugar till the fruit is done,
- and taken from the fire. If sweetened at the beginning, much of the
- strength of the sugar evaporates in cooking; besides rendering the fruit
- tough and hard, and retarding the progress of the stew.
- </p>
- <p>
- In America, sweet sauce is eaten with any sort of roast meat. Send it to
- table cold. For company, put it into a blanc-mange mould, and turn it out
- in a shape, first dipping the mould, for a minute, in warm water to loosen
- it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- APPLE SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Get fine juicy apples&mdash;bellflowers are the best for cooking. Sweet
- apples cook very badly&mdash;becoming tough, dry and tasteless. Green
- apples, if full grown, cook well, and have a pleasant acid.
- </p>
- <p>
- For sauce, pare, core, and quarter or slice the apples. Wash the pieces in
- a cullender, and put them to stew, with only water enough to wet them a
- little. Apple stews that are thin and watery are disgraceful to the cook,
- or to the cook's mistress. Let them stew till you can mash them easily all
- through. Then take them off the fire, and sweeten them, adding the
- seasoning while the apples are warm. Season with rose-water, lemon juice,
- nutmeg; or with all these if for company. If you can get fresh lemon-peel,
- cut it into very thin slips, and put it in to stew with the apples at
- first. It is still better, and little more trouble, to grate the
- lemon-peel.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fruit for pies should be stewed in the same manner as for sauce, and not
- sweetened till taken from the fire. Let the paste be baked empty in large
- deep plates, and when cool, filled to the brim with stewed fruit. A pie,
- (as we have seen them,) only half or one third full, looks very meanly&mdash;and
- tastes so.
- </p>
- <p>
- All these fruit-sauces are good receipts for stewing fruit for pies or any
- other purpose.
- </p>
- <p>
- We advise all families to have, among their kitchen utensils, <i>bain
- maries</i>, or double-kettles, putting the article to be stewed in the
- inner kettle, and the boiling water in the outside one. They are to be had
- of all sizes at the furnishing stores.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> They are also excellent for
- custards and boiled puddings.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED APPLE SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Core very nicely as many fine juicy apples as will fill a large
- baking-pan. All coring of apples should be done with a tin cover. This you
- can buy at a tinman's for a quarter dollar, and it is invaluable for the
- purpose. After coring the apples, pare them smooth and evenly. Put a large
- table-spoonful of cold water in the bottom of the baking-pan, and then put
- in the apples first, filling, with fine brown sugar, the hole from whence
- the core was taken out. To have them very nice, add some grated
- lemon-peel, or some rose-water. Set the pan into an oven, (not too hot,)
- close the oven, and bake till the apples are all broken and can be easily
- mashed. This way of making apple sauce, by baking in a close oven, will be
- found far superior to boiling or stewing them. They require no more water
- than is barely sufficient to give them a start at the bottom.
- </p>
- <p>
- The flavoring (sugar, lemon, or rose,) may be deferred till the apples are
- baked, taken out of the oven and mashed. Then mix it in while hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Boiled apple sauce is usually spoiled with too much water, rendering it
- the consistence of thin pap, weak, washy, and mean.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GOOSEBERRY SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Get fine full-grown green gooseberries. Pick them over, and top and<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> tail
- them. Wash them in a cullender or sieve through two waters. Put them into
- an enameled stew-pan, with only the water remaining on them after washing,
- and no sugar till after they are stewed to a mash, and taken from the
- fire. Then while hot, stir in brown sugar enough to make them very sweet.
- Serve them up cold. For company, before they are sweetened, press them
- through a sieve, using only the pulp. Then add the sugar; and mould the
- whole in a form.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CURRANT SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine ripe currants, and strip them from the stems. Put them into a
- pan, and mash them with a large spoon, or a wooden beetle. Stew them in
- their own juice (no water,) and sweeten them when they are taken from the
- fire. For company, press the fruit through a sieve before you add the
- sugar, and shape it in a mould.
- </p>
- <p>
- It will answer every purpose of regular currant jelly, to eat with game,
- venison, &amp;c.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RIPE PEACH SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take juicy freestone peaches; pare and stone them, and cut them up. Save
- all the juice, and stew them in it. When quite soft, take them off the
- fire, and sweeten them. The flavor will be much improved by stewing with
- them a bunch of fresh peach leaves, to be taken out when the peaches are
- done. Or, if you cannot readily obtain the leaves, a handful of the fresh<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span> peach
- kernels, stewed with the fruit, (and to be taken out afterwards,) will
- answer the purpose.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is well, even in the sunny side of a city garden, to plant two peach
- stones; so that when they grow into trees, you may have peach leaves at
- hand for improving the flavor of custards, and other things. Unless the
- trees are perfectly healthy, and the leaves green, do not use them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DRIED PEACH SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The richest and best dried peaches, are those that are dried with the
- skins on. The skins (however thick,) entirely dissolve in cooking, and
- become imperceptible when the fruit is well stewed. It is a great error to
- pare peaches for drying. Apples <i>must</i> be pared, for the skin is
- tougher than that of peaches, and does not dissolve in cooking.
- </p>
- <p>
- To prepare dried peaches for stewing, pick them over carefully, throwing
- away all the imperfect pieces. Wash them in two cold waters, and then put
- them into a stew-pan, (<i>adding no water</i>,) and stew them till they
- are quite soft, and shapeless, and mash easily and smoothly in the pan.
- Sweeten them with plenty of brown sugar, as soon as they come off the
- fire.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DRIED APPLE SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash the dried apples through a cullender, and put <i>a very little water</i>
- with them in the stew-pan. Being rather insipid, they require some
- additional flavor. Add cinna<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342"
- id="Page_342">[342]</a></span>mon, or other spice of any sort you like,
- and the yellow rind of a fresh lemon or orange, pared very thin and cut
- into slips. When these apples are well stewed and mashed, sweeten them.
- </p>
- <p>
- We believe, that when dried peaches can be procured, few will buy dried
- apples; they are so far inferior; being the poorest of dried fruit.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dried cherries also are scarcely worth cooking, even if they <i>have</i>
- been stoned. Being tough and indigestible, they are very unwholesome,
- except for rough, hard-working people. If the stones are left in, dried
- cherries are fit for nothing.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DAMSON SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having stewed the damsons in their own juice, till all the stones slip
- out, (and can be easily removed with a spoon, when taken from the fire,)
- make them very sweet by stirring in a large portion of brown sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- Damsons, cranberries, and gooseberries require more sugar than any other
- fruit.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE PRUNE SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash a pound of prunes, and stew them in orange juice, adding the yellow
- rind of an orange, pared so fine as to be transparent&mdash;or grate it.
- Stir them up frequently, and when quite done, and the stones are all
- loose, sweeten the prunes with plenty of sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- Prune sauce is eaten with venison, or any sort of game; or with roast kid
- or fawn&mdash;or with roast pig.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343"
- id="Page_343">[343]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHESTNUT SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the large Spanish chestnuts. Cut a slit in the side of each, and
- roast them well. Peel them, and put them into a saucepan of very rich
- melted butter. If you use American chestnuts, boil them till quite soft,
- (trying two or three to ascertain,) then peel, and thicken your melted
- butter with them. American chestnuts are too small to roast.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PEA-NUT SAUCE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having roasted and shelled a pint of pea-nuts, or ground-nuts, remove the
- thin brown skin, and simmer the nuts in melted or drawn butter; adding
- some fine fresh oysters, omitting the gristle.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="VEGETABLES" id="VEGETABLES"></a>VEGETABLES.
- </h2>
- <p>
- All vegetables are best when fresh, as can easily be discovered by the
- difference between those newly brought from the garden, and those that
- have been kept in a provision shop till next day, (and perhaps longer,)
- imbibing the atmosphere of meat, fish, poultry, and a variety of things,
- each becoming impure from the same causes; not to mention the rats, mice,
- and insects which run over them at night. You cannot have vegetables in
- perfection without a country garden. But if obliged to depend upon the
- market or the provi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span>sion
- shops, always have your vegetables washed and laid in cold water before
- cooking. Some are best when put on to boil in cold water; others require
- boiling water at the beginning, to give them what the cooks call a quick
- start. All should be thoroughly done throughout. If hard in the centre
- they are unpalatable, and very unwholesome; even worse than underdone
- meat. Use but very little salt in cooking vegetables; too much renders
- them hard, and overpowers their real taste. Also, it is easy for the
- lovers of salt to add more when at table. When vegetables are done, and
- taken out the pot, drain them well through a cullender or sieve, carefully
- pressing out all the water that is about them. There is generally, in our
- country, too much water allowed to the vegetables. Merely enough to cover
- them well, and keep them from burning, is in most cases sufficient. In
- France, so little water is used in cooking vegetables, that they are
- rather stewed than boiled, and are the better for it. A puddle of greasy
- water in the bottom of every vegetable dish is a disgusting sight; and yet
- how frequently it is seen. If of every-day occurrence, it is a certain
- indication of a bad cook, or an inefficient mistress, or both.
- </p>
- <p>
- Almost all green vegetables should be thrown into fast-boiling water, and
- cooked rapidly; first washing them carefully, and laying them for half an
- hour in a large pan of cold water. If found frozen in the winter, be sure
- to thaw them in cold water. Continue the boiling till they are<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span>
- thoroughly done, and with a steady heat, taking off the scum as it rises.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is very usual in the spring to bring early vegetables from the south,
- for the markets of Philadelphia and New York. By the time they reach us
- they are faded, withered, tough and unwholesome. It is better to wait a
- week or two longer till the season is a little more advanced, and the
- farms and gardens of our neighborhood can supply our own markets, at a far
- less cost, and with fresher and better vegetables.
- </p>
- <p>
- The water in which vegetables have been boiled becomes very unwholesome,
- and should be thrown out immediately.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To have boiled potatos in perfection they should all be of a good sort and
- as nearly as possible of the same size. Till it is time to cook them, let
- the slight mould or earth that has adhered to the potatos in digging, be
- carefully washed off, even scrubbing them with a hard brush. This can be
- done very conveniently, by laying them under the hydrant or pump, washing
- them there with a broom, and letting the water run on them.
- </p>
- <p>
- An iron pot is the best of all things for boiling potatos, as it retains
- the heat longer than any other utensil. Lay them in it, closely and
- compactly, and pour in barely sufficient cold water to cover them well,
- adding a tea-spoonful of salt. Simmer them till nearly done, which you may<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span>
- ascertain by probing all through with a fork. You may quicken the fire for
- the last five minutes. Pour off all the water from them as soon as they
- are tender all through. Lift the lid of the pot at one side to allow the
- steam to pass off, and set them beside the fire, or on a trevet far above
- it, till the moisture has escaped; the potatos will then be dry and mealy.
- Then peel them; or if preferred, send them to table with the skin on,
- which will keep them hot longer.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the potatos are old, cut a piece of skin (about the size of a sixpence)
- from the top and bottom before boiling; or, take off a long slip from each
- side. In the spring, when quite old, cut out all the blemishes, pare the
- potatos, and always boil them for mashing.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROAST POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Potatos for roasting should always be large and fine. If small, "they go
- all to skin." Select those that are nearest of a size, and wash them very
- clean, and wipe every one with a cloth. Put them into an oven, and let
- them roast or bake for more than two hours, turning them with a fork. Dish
- them in the skins, and send only cold butter to table with them. Bake
- sweet potatos in the same manner, but much longer. Small sweet potatos
- should be boiled; as, when small, they are not worth cooking in any other
- way; and when roasted there is scarcely any thing of them, but tough
- shriveled skin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span>.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pare some fine potatos all about the same size, and cover with them the
- whole bottom of a large deep earthen dish; lay them close together so that
- they all touch. Bake them under a nice piece of beef, veal, or pork,
- raised above them on a trivet. The gravy from the meat will drip upon them
- as soon as it begins to bake. They must bake till they are nicely browned,
- and till a fork will easily go through them. Have a smaller dish of
- potatos baked without meat, in a dish by themselves, as potatos pared
- before baking are much liked. Lay some bits of fresh butter among those
- that are cooked without any meat.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO BOIL NEW POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Rub each one with a coarse cloth to clear off the skin, it being too thin
- for paring. Wash them well, and cut a small piece off the top and bottom
- of each potato, to make them boil tender all through. Put no salt in the
- water, and boil them till soft. Serve them plain, and eat them with cold
- butter&mdash;or, put them into a sauce-pan, and stew them in butter.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MASHED POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having boiled the potatos till tender all through, drain them very dry in
- a cullender, and mash them smoothly with a potato beetle, a large wooden
- spoon, or a short-handled wooden ladle. When all are nicely mashed, add
- gradually plenty of fresh butter, and some cream or rich milk. On no
- account spoil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span>
- the potatos by putting any water to them, when mashing. Put them into a
- deep dish or mould, and brown them with a salamander.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POTATO CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- After the mashed potatos are mixed with butter in a deep earthen pan, beat
- them with a wooden spoon to render them very light. Then make them up into
- thick flat cakes, about the size of a muffin, and brown each with a
- salamander.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COUNTRY POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having boiled and peeled some fine newly-dug potatos, melt some butter in
- a sauce-pan, with cream, instead of flour and water, and pour it
- plentifully into the dish of potatos; seasoning with black pepper and
- sweet marjoram leaves. Where cream is plenty, this is a very nice way of
- cooking. Serve them up with the sauce poured over them, and around them.
- They must be well boiled, and tender all through.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The potatos must be raw, large, unblemished, and of a good round shape.
- First take off a thin paring of the skin. Then, pare the whole potato
- round and round, (not too thin,) till you have gone through it all, and
- nothing is left unpared but a little lump in the centre. Then put these
- continuous rings of potato into a frying-pan, in which is boiling plenty
- of fresh butter, or butter and lard mixed. Fry them<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> brown and tender, and
- arrange them handsomely in a dish for breakfast.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Another Way.</i>&mdash;Slice thin a sufficiency of fine raw potatos,
- and lay them in a pan of cold water to soak for an hour or more. Then pour
- off that water entirely, and replace it with fresh. Let them remain in
- this for another hour, or till it is time to cook them. Put them into a
- frying-pan that has in it plenty of fresh butter or lard, enough, while
- frying, to keep the potatos near the surface. Fry them till perfectly well
- done and tender.
- </p>
- <p>
- Attempting to re-cook cold potatos renders them more hard and tough.
- </p>
- <p>
- When once cold, potatos always remain indigestible, cook them as you will.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having pared some fine raw potatos, quarter them, and put them into a
- stew-pan with a little salt, pepper, and some green sweet marjoram
- stripped from the stalks, and scattered among the potatos. Put them into a
- stew-pan with milk enough to prevent their burning, and some fresh butter&mdash;no
- water. If you can get cream conveniently, add some to the milk. Cover the
- pan, and let the potatos stew, till, on trying them with a fork, you find
- them thoroughly cooked, and soft and tender all through. If not
- sufficiently done, they are hard, tough, leathery, and unfit to eat.
- </p>
- <p>
- They are very good stewed entirely in the dripping of cold gravy of roast
- beef, veal, or pork<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span>&mdash;but
- not mutton, as that will give them the taste of tallow. This is a nice
- breakfast dish. Cold potatos re-cooked never again become good. After
- potatos once become cold, no cooking can restore them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED SWEET POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- These should first be scraped or pared. Then cut into pieces, and stewed
- as above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED CABBAGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- All cabbage should be well washed, and boiled in a large quantity of water
- with a little salt; the loose or faded leaves being stripped from the
- outside. They should always be cut or split in two, or in four pieces if
- very large. Cut the stalk short, and split it up to where the leaves
- begin. Put it on in boiling water, and keep it boiling steadily till quite
- done, which will not be till the stalk is tender throughout. If a young
- summer cabbage, split it in half, and when well boiled, and drained and
- pressed in a cullender, serve it up with a few bits of cold fresh butter,
- laid inside among the leaves. Season it with pepper. This is a much nicer
- and easier way, than to make drawn butter, and pour over the outside of
- the cabbage.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sprouts and very young greens, require nothing more than to be well
- washed, boiled and drained. In the country, cabbage sprouts are commonly
- boiled with bacon.
- </p>
- <p>
- Savoy cabbage is considered the finest sort. It<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> is a late autumn and winter
- cabbage. If very large, split it in four. Do not boil it with meat. The
- fat will render it strong and unwholesome. Still worse, when melted butter
- is added to a cabbage already saturated with the fat of corned beef.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- AN EXCELLENT WAY OF BOILING CABBAGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having trimmed the cabbage, and washed it well in cold water, (examining
- the leaves to see that no insects are lurking among them,) cut it almost
- into quarters, but do not divide it entirely down at the stem, which
- should be cut off just below the termination of the leaves. Let it lie an
- hour in a pan of cold water. Have ready a pot <i>full</i> of boiling
- water, seasoned with a small tea-spoonful of salt. Put the cabbage into
- it, and let it boil for an hour and a half, skimming it occasionally. Then
- take it out; put it into a cullender to drain, and when all the hot water
- has drained off; set it under the hydrant. Let the hydrant run on it, till
- the cabbage has become perfectly cold all through. If you have no hydrant,
- set it under a pump, or keep pouring cold water on it from a pitcher.
- Then, having thrown out all the first water, and washed the pot, fill it
- again, and let the second water boil. During this time the cabbage under
- the hydrant will be growing cold. Then put it on again in the second
- water, and boil it two hours, or two and a half. Even the thickest part of
- the stalk must be perfectly tender all through. When thoroughly done, take
- up the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span>
- cabbage, drain it well through the cullender, pressing it down with a
- broad ladle to squeeze out all the moisture; lay it in a deep dish, and
- cut it <i>entirely</i> apart, dividing it into quarters. Lay some bits of
- fresh butter among the leaves, add a little pepper, cover the dish, and
- send it to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cooked in this manner it will be made perfectly wholesome, and the usually
- unpleasant cabbage smell will be rendered imperceptible. We recommend it
- highly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CALE CANNON.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil in one pot a fine large cabbage, and when done, drain and press it in
- a cullender till all the water is squeezed out. Have boiled in another,
- four or five large mealy potatos. Peel and mash the potatos, and chop the
- cabbage small. Mix the cabbage and the potatos evenly, in one large dish,
- and season them with black pepper; adding some bits of nice butter. Cale
- cannon is a plain family dish, but is very good, when all the dinner
- corresponds.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED CABBAGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Parboil a fine cabbage. When half-boiled, take it out, drain it, and lay
- it awhile in cold water, to remove the cabbage smell. Next put it into a
- clean pot of fresh water, and boil it again till thoroughly done.
- Afterwards, chop it small, season it with pepper and salt, and fry it in
- fresh butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- A less delicate way is to fry it in boiling lard,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span> taking care to drain it
- well. It should be eaten only by people in good health.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FORCED CABBAGE&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>Choux farcie.</i>)&mdash;This is for dinner company. Take two fine
- fresh cabbages, and examine them well to see that there are no insects
- hidden among the leaves. Wash the cabbages in cold water, and drain them.
- Take out the heart or inside cluster of leaves in the centre of each
- cabbage, leaving a circle of them standing. Cut off the stalk near the
- bottom, but not so close as to cause the cabbage to fall apart. You may
- leave a double circle of leaves. Have ready plenty of stuffing, or
- forcemeat, made of veal or fresh pork minced finely, cold ham or smoked
- tongue minced also, grated bread-crumbs, fresh butter, powdered mace,
- sweet marjoram and sweet basil, grated lemon-peel, and two hard-boiled
- yolks of egg, crumbled fine. Fill the cabbages full with this stuffing,
- and to keep them in shape, tie them firmly round in several places, with
- strings of twine or bass. They must be tied in the form of a round ball.
- Put them into a stew-pot, with water enough to cover them well, and let
- them stew till thoroughly done. Take them up immediately before they are
- wanted, and remove the strings that have kept them in shape while cooking.
- Red cabbages may be done in this way.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRENCH SOUR CROUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This may be made fresh every day, and has none of the objections generally
- alleged against the German saur-kraut. Having taken out the stalks or
- cores, split into quarters, four large white-heart cabbages. Shred them
- fine with a cabbage-cutter. Wash them well in two waters, and drain them
- in a cullender. Next lay the shred cabbages in a large earthen pan, add a
- table-spoonful of salt, and a pint of the best cider vinegar. Stir and
- toss the cabbage in this, and let it steep for three hours. Then wash and
- drain it, and put it into a large stew-pan, with half a pound of nice
- sweet butter, or a quarter of a pound of lard. Season it with a little
- black pepper, and three table-spoonfuls of French mustard, or a jill of
- tarragon vinegar. Cover the whole with a buttered white paper, and stew it
- slowly for two hours longer. Take off the paper, and send the sour crout
- to table in a covered dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may lay on the top of the stew, a pound of sausage meat, or of sausage
- cakes. Or a thin slice or two of cold ham.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DRESSING FOR SLAW.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mix a small pint of real cider vinegar with four large table-spoonfuls of
- nice fresh butter, divided into four bits, and each bit rolled in flour; a
- tea-spoon of salt, and a salt-spoon of cayenne. Being well stirred, and
- mixed thoroughly, boil this in a porcelain-lined sauce-pan; and, as soon
- as it has come to a fast boil, remove it from the fire, and stir in<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> the
- beaten yolk of four eggs. Have ready a nice fresh white cabbage, that has
- been washed, drained, and cut, or shaved, into small shreds with a cabbage
- cutter. Lay the shred cabbage in a deep dish or bowl, while you prepare
- the above dressing. Having taken it from the fire, and stirred in,
- gradually, the beaten yolk of egg, pour the dressing hot over the cabbage:
- mixing it all with a large boxwood salad-spoon or fork. Set it out of
- doors to cool; or cool it quickly on ice or snow.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or if preferred warm, place it on the top of a stove, and cover it closely
- till wanted. It may be made of red cabbage.
- </p>
- <p>
- This slaw (either cold or warm) will be found very superior to all others,
- if this receipt is exactly followed.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SALSIFY FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having washed and scraped the salsify roots, and cut off the extreme
- joints, stand them up and grate them. Beat three eggs very light, and stir
- them gradually into a pint of milk, with sufficient flour to make a stiff
- batter. Instead of grating the salsify you may cut it into pieces, and
- boil it till quite soft, so that you can mash it easily. Add a little
- pepper. Have ready over the fire a deep frying-pan or skillet, with plenty
- of boiling lard. Put in a large spoonful of the batter, and into the
- middle of each drop a spoonful of the mashed salsify. Fry these fritters
- of a light brown on both sides, and take them out with a perforated
- skimmer, draining off the lard through its holes.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- You may fry the mashed salsify without the batter, taking large spoonfuls,
- and dipping each in beaten egg first, and afterward twice over in grated
- bread-crumbs, so as to resemble fried oysters.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or you may first boil the roots merely split in two, and then fry them in
- fresh butter, or bake them brown in an oven.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SALSIFY OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Get some fine salsify roots, (called also oyster-plant,) and wash and
- scrape them well. Boil them in sufficient fresh oyster liquor to cover
- them well, and when they are soft take them out, split them, and cut them
- into pieces about two inches long. Then put them into a stew-pan, with the
- oyster liquor, some pieces of fresh butter rolled in flour, and some
- blades of mace and some grated nutmeg, with a few whole pepper-corns. Let
- them cook between five and ten minutes, having stirred among them the
- beaten yolks of two or three eggs. Serve them up hot, as a side dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MELONGINA OR EGG-PLANT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large fine egg-plant, and see that there are no blemishes about it.
- Having cut it into thin round slices, (without paring off the skin,)
- sprinkle between the slices a very little salt and pepper, cover them with
- a plate, and let them rest an hour more. Then wipe the pieces dry. Have
- some beaten egg<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span>
- in one deep plate, and some bread-crumbs, finely grated, in another. Dip
- each slice of egg-plant first into the beaten egg, and then into the
- bread-crumbs, and fry them brown in a pan full of boiling lard, or else
- lard and fresh butter mixed in equal quantities. Take them out with a
- perforated skimmer, and drain them well.
- </p>
- <p>
- They will be much better if each slice is dipped <i>twice</i> in the egg,
- and twice in the crumbs.
- </p>
- <p>
- They may be fried very plainly, simply dredged with flour, and then put
- into a pan with plenty of boiling lard, the lard drained well from each
- slice when it is done. They should be fried brown on both sides. If
- underdone, and left greenish or whitish, they have a raw bitter taste.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED EGG-PLANTS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Prepare several fine large unblemished egg-plants, by scooping out the
- inside or pulp with a spoon, leaving the rind standing. To do this you
- must cut off very nicely and evenly a round piece from the top,
- (afterwards to be tied on again.) Make a sufficient quantity of forcemeat
- or stuffing of soaked bread, pressed and dried slightly; fresh butter;
- minced sweet marjoram leaves; a little pepper and salt; and some powdered
- mace, and the yellow rind of a lemon grated off very fine. Mix all these
- with the pulp or inside of the egg-plant. When thoroughly mixed, stuff
- with it the rind or outside into a perfectly round shape, and with a
- packthread tie on the top-piece which<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span> was cut off. Put the
- egg-plants into a dish, the bottom covered with thin slices of cold ham.
- Bake them for an hour or more, and then send them to table whole, with the
- slices of ham laid round on the dish. Remove the strings.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED BANANAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The bananas should be perfectly ripe and yellow all over. Peel them, split
- them into long slips, and dredge them slightly with flour. Have ready a
- frying pan filled with boiling lard. Put in the bananas, and fry them
- well. When done, take them up on a perforated skimmer, and drain back the
- lard into the frying pan. Dish, and send them to table with powdered sugar
- to eat with them.
- </p>
- <p>
- In the West Indies, the large green bananas that are exported from thence,
- are by no means in favor, compared with a <i>very small</i> yellow sort,
- the only banana eaten at the best tables. The little ones are fried in the
- above manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ONION CUSTARD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Peel and slice ten or twelve mild onions, and fry them in fresh butter,
- draining them well when you take them up. Then mince them as fine as
- possible. Beat four eggs till very thick and light, and stir them
- gradually into a pint of milk, in turn with the minced onion. Season the
- whole with plenty of grated nutmeg, and stir it very hard. Then put it
- into a deep white dish, and bake it about a quar<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span>ter of an hour. Send it to
- table as a side dish, to be eaten with poultry. It is a French
- preparation, and will be found very nice, by those who have no dislike to
- onions.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAULIFLOWERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Choose large fine white cauliflowers. Wash them well, and lay them in a
- pan of cold water, having divided each cauliflower into quarters. Trim off
- the outside green leaves. Put on the cauliflowers in boiling water with a
- little salt in it. It is still better to boil them in milk. Let them cook
- till tender throughout, flower and stalk. When quite done, put some bits
- of fresh butter among the flowers, or pour over them drawn butter sauce,
- made with milk and seasoned with powdered nutmeg or mace. Serve them up
- hot, and covered.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROCCOLI&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Is drest in the same manner. It is very good with toast under, though
- inferior to cauliflower.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAULIFLOWER OMELET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the white part of a boiled cauliflower after it is cold; chop it very
- small, and mix with it a sufficient quantity of well beaten-egg, to make a
- very thick batter. Then fry it in fresh butter in a small pan, and send it
- hot to table.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED CAULIFLOWER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having laid a fine cauliflower in cold water for an hour, put it into a
- pot of boiling water that has been slightly salted, (milk and water will
- be still better,) and boil it twenty-five minutes, or till the large stalk
- is perfectly tender. Then divide it, equally, into small tufts, and spread
- it on a dish to cool. Prepare a sufficient quantity of batter made in the
- proportion of a table-spoonful of flour, and two table-spoonfuls of milk
- to each egg. Beat the eggs very light, then stir into them the flour and
- milk alternately; a spoonful of flour, and two spoonfuls of milk at a
- time. When the cauliflower is cold, have ready some fresh butter in a
- frying-pan over a clear fire. When it has come to a boil and has done
- bubbling, dip each tuft of cauliflower twice into the pan of batter, and
- fry them a light brown. Send them to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Broccoli may be fried in this manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAULIFLOWER MACCARONI.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having removed the outside leaves, and cut off the stalk, wash the
- cauliflower, and examine it thoroughly to see if there are any insects
- about it. Next lay it for an hour in a pan of cold water. Then put it into
- a pot of boiling milk and water that has had a little fresh butter melted
- in it. Whatever scum may float on the top of the water must be removed
- before the cauliflower goes in. Boil it steadily half an hour, or till it
- is quite tender. Then take it out, drain it, and cut it into short<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> sprigs.
- Have ready three ounces of rich, but not strong cheese, grated fine. Put
- into a stew-pan a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, nearly half of the
- grated cheese, two large table-spoonfuls of cream or rich milk, and a very
- little salt and cayenne. Toss or shake it over the fire till it is well
- mixed and has come to a boil. Then add the tufts of cauliflower, and let
- the whole stew together about five minutes. When done put it into a deep
- dish, strew over the top the remaining half of the grated cheese, and
- brown it with a salamander or a red-hot shovel held above the surface.
- </p>
- <p>
- This will be found very superior to real maccaroni. It is a company dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROCCOLI AND EGGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take several heads of broccoli and cut the stalks short, paring off from
- the stalks the tough outside skin. Trim off the small outside shoots or
- blossoms, and tie them together in bunches. After all the broccoli has
- been washed, and lain half an hour or more in a pan of fresh cold water,
- put the large heads, with a salt-spoonful of salt, into a pot of boiling
- water, and let them boil till thoroughly done, and the stalk perfectly
- tender. When the large heads have boiled about a quarter of an hour, put
- in the small tufts, which of course require less time to cook. In the
- meanwhile have ready six beaten eggs. Put a quarter of a pound of butter
- into a sauce-pan, and stir it over the fire till it is all melted; then
- add gradually the beaten eggs, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362"
- id="Page_362">[362]</a></span> stir the mixture, or shake it over the fire
- till it becomes very thick. Toast sufficient bread to cover entirely the
- bottom of a deep dish, cutting it to fit exactly, having removed the
- crust. Dip the toast for a minute in hot water. Pour the egg and butter
- over the hot toast. Then place upon it the broccoli; the largest and
- finest head in the middle, the lesser ones round it, and having untied the
- small sprigs, lay them in a circle close to the edge.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED CELERY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine large celery, cut it into pieces three or four inches in length,
- and boil it tender, having seasoned the water with a very little salt.
- Then drain the pieces well, and lay them, separately, to cool on a large
- dish. Make a batter in the proportion of three well-beaten eggs stirred
- into a pint of rich milk, alternately with half a pint of grated
- bread-crumbs, or of sifted flour. Beat the batter very hard after it is
- all mixed. Put into a hot frying-pan a sufficiency of fresh lard; melt it
- over the fire, and when it comes to a boil, dip each piece of celery <i>twice</i>
- into the batter, put them into the pan, and fry them a light brown. When
- done, lay them to drain on an inverted sieve with a broad pan placed
- beneath it. Then dish the fried celery, and send it to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Parsnips, and salsify, (or oyster plant) may be fried in butter according
- to the above directions. Also the tops of asparagus cut off from the
- stalk, and the white part or blossom of cauliflower.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> Cold sweet potatos are very
- nice, peeled, cut into long slips, and fried in this way.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRIED ARTICHOKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The artichokes must be young and tender. Cut them into quarters, remove
- the choke part, and strip off the leaves. Having washed the artichokes
- well and laid them an hour in cold water, put them into a pot of boiling
- water, and keep them boiling steadily for a long time, till you find by
- trying them with a a fork that they are tender all through. Then take them
- out immediately, and drain them. Have ready a sufficiency of batter, made
- in the proportion of the yolk of one egg to a large table-spoonful of
- milk, and a tea-spoonful of flour. The eggs must be well beaten before
- they are mixed with the milk; then beat in the flour a spoonful at a time.
- Have ready over the fire some fresh butter, or lard, in a frying-pan. When
- it has boiled hard, dip the artichokes into the butter, (each piece should
- be twice dipped,) and fry them brown. Then drain them well, and send them
- to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- Parsnips may be fried as above. Salsify also.
- </p>
- <p>
- Another way of frying artichokes, parsnips, and salsify, is, after they
- have been boiled tender, to dip each piece first in beaten yolk of egg,
- (without milk or flour,) and then roll it in finely grated bread-crumbs.
- Then put them into the pan and fry them in butter or lard, or a mixture of
- both.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- In boiling artichokes, observe to take them out as soon as they are
- tender. If they remain in the water after they are done, they turn
- blackish and lose their flavor.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUSHROOM OMELET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some fresh-gathered mushrooms; remove the stalks, and rub the flaps
- or heads very slightly with a little salt, mixed with cayenne. Then stew
- the mushrooms in a small sauce-pan, with barely sufficient cream or rich
- milk to cover them. Put in with them a small onion; and if the onion is
- found to turn blackish, throw away the whole; it being proof that there is
- among them a false or poisonous mushroom. Stir them with a silver spoon,
- and keep on the lid of the pan closely, unless when you are stirring. If
- the spoon turns black, the mushrooms should not be eaten.
- </p>
- <p>
- After they have come to a boil, take them off the fire; drain them, and
- when cool, chop them small. To a pint or more of the minced mushrooms,
- allow six or seven eggs. Beat the eggs till very light and thick,
- (omitting the whites of two,) and then mix in, gradually, the mushrooms,
- stirring the whole very hard. Put three ounces of fresh butter into a hot
- omelet pan, or a <i>small</i> frying-pan; place it over the fire and stir
- the butter as it melts. When it has boiled hard, put in the omelet
- mixture, and as it fries, stir it till it begins to set. Do not turn the
- omelet; but brown the top by holding close above it a red-hot<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span> shovel.
- When done, drain off the butter, fold over or double the omelet, and serve
- it up immediately on a hot dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- In gathering mushrooms, those that are fit to eat may be known by their
- being of a pale pearl color, or of a grayish white, instead of what is
- called a dead white; and the underside of the flap or head (if good) is of
- a light pink, or a pinkish salmon color. The best mushrooms grow on
- uplands, or in high open fields where the air is pure and good, and they
- should be gathered early in the morning before the dew is off. All that
- are found in low swampy ground, or in the woods, or under large trees, are
- poisonous.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SCOLLOPED TOMATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine large tomatos, perfectly ripe. Scald them to loosen the skins,
- and then peel them. Cover the bottom of a deep dish thickly with grated
- bread-crumbs, adding a few bits of fresh butter. Then put in a layer of
- tomatos, seasoned slightly with a little salt and cayenne, and some
- powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover them with another layer of bread-crumbs and
- butter; then another layer of seasoned tomatos; and proceed thus until the
- dish is full, finishing at the top with bread-crumbs. Set the dish into a
- moderate oven, and bake it near three hours. Tomatos require long cooking,
- otherwise they will have a raw taste, that to most persons is unpleasant.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ASPARAGUS OMELET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two bunches of the largest and finest asparagus. Put it into a pot of
- boiling water, with a salt-spoonful of salt, and boil it about twenty-five
- minutes, or till perfectly tender. Then drain it, and chop small all the
- green part. Beat four eggs very light, and add to them a wine-glass of
- cream. Mix the chopped asparagus thoroughly with the egg and cream, adding
- a salt-spoon of salt, and a very little cayenne. Melt a large slice of
- fresh butter in a frying-pan over the fire; and when it has boiled, and
- the bubbling has ceased, put in the mixture, and fry it till light and
- firm. Then slip it from the frying-pan to a hot dish, and fold it over.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a soft omelet, put the mixture into a skillet with a piece of fresh
- butter. Let it stew slowly for ten minutes. Lay a thin slice of buttered
- toast in the bottom of a hot dish, and cut the toast into small squares,
- but let them remain close together. With a spoon heap the soft omelet upon
- the toast, and serve it up.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any omelet mixture may be kept soft by stewing instead of frying it, and
- it will be found more wholesome.
- </p>
- <p>
- Before buttering the toast dip it a minute in hot water.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED PEAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take young, tender, green peas, wash them, and put them into a stew-pan,
- with sufficient fresh butter to keep them from burning, <i>but no water</i>.
- Season them with a little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367"
- id="Page_367">[367]</a></span> black pepper, and a very little salt. Set
- them over a moderate fire, and stir them about till the butter is well
- mixed through them. Let them simmer till quite soft and slightly broken;
- take off the lid occasionally, and give them a stir up from the bottom. If
- you find them becoming too dry, add some more butter. When done, drain off
- what superfluous butter may be about the peas, and send them to table hot.
- They will be found excellent.
- </p>
- <p>
- To the taste of many persons, they will be improved by a lump or two of
- loaf-sugar put in with the butter, and also by a few sprigs of mint, to be
- removed before the peas go to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- Lima beans may be stewed in butter, as above; also, asparagus tops, cut
- off from the white stalk.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LETTUCE PEAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having washed four lettuces, and stripped off the outside leaves, take
- their hearts, and (having chopped them well) put them into a stew-pan with
- two quarts of young green peas, freshly shelled; a lump or two of
- loaf-sugar; and three or four leaves of green mint minced as finely as
- possible. Then put in four slices of cold ham, and a quarter of a pound of
- butter divided into four bits, and rolled in flour; and two
- table-spoonfuls of water. Add a little cayenne, and let the whole stew for
- about twenty-five minutes, or till the peas are thoroughly done. Next take
- out the ham, and add to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368"
- id="Page_368">[368]</a></span> stew half a pint of cream. Let it continue
- stewing five minutes longer. Then send it to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLAIN LETTUCE PEAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cover the bottom and sides of a stew-pan with large fresh leaves taken
- from lettuces. Have ready the peas, which should be young and green. To
- each quart of shelled peas allow two table-spoonfuls of fresh butter, and
- a lump of loaf sugar. Add a very little pepper and salt, and a sprig of
- green mint. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew for half an hour, or
- till the peas are thoroughly done. Then take them out from the lettuce
- leaves, and send only the peas to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO STEW CARROTS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Half-boil the carrots; then scrape them nicely, and cut them into thick
- slices. Put them into a stew-pan with as much milk as will barely cover
- them; a very little salt and pepper; and a sprig or two of chopped
- parsley. Simmer them till they are perfectly tender. When nearly done, add
- a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour. Send them to table hot. Carrots
- require long cooking; longer than any other vegetable.
- </p>
- <p>
- Parsnips and salsify may be stewed in the above manner, substituting a
- little chopped celery for the parsley.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SPINACH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having peeled and washed the spinach very nicely, put it into a <i>bain
- marie</i>, or inside kettle, without any water, and cover it closely. Pour
- the water into the outside kettle, and you may hurry the boiling by
- throwing a handful of salt in the outside tin, taking care that none of
- the salt gets into the inside. When the spinach is well stewed, take it up
- and drain it without squeezing or pressing, as that will make it tough and
- dry. Then chop it small, and add some hard-boiled eggs, also chopped.
- Season it with pepper and fresh butter, stir it well together, return it
- to the kettle, and let it stew a quarter of an hour or more. Serve it up
- with buttered toast and poached eggs laid upon it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Spinach being very watery, should always be <i>stewed</i> rather than
- boiled. If you have no <i>bain marie</i>, the water that remains about the
- spinach, after it has been washed, will suffice to stew it slowly.
- </p>
- <p>
- Spinach juice, for coloring green, must be strained, and boiled slightly.
- You can obtain plenty of juice by pounding the leaves.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO PREPARE CUCUMBERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Let the cucumbers be full-grown, but not in the least yellow or hard. They
- are then only fit to be saved for seed. Lay the cucumbers in a pan of cold
- water for an hour or more, or till it is nearly time to send them to
- table, being careful not to set them in the sun. Have ready another pan of
- fresh<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span>
- water, (very cold) and having pared the cucumbers, slice them into it.
- Transfer them to a deep china or white-ware dish. Season them with
- vinegar, pepper, salt, and a little salad oil, taking care not to use too
- much salt. When there is no dislike to onions, peel and slice a few that
- are mild, and mix them with the cucumbers. It is usual now, at the best
- tables, to have the onions in a small separate dish, (sliced with vinegar
- and pepper) to be eaten by those that like them, and omitted by those who
- do not. Onions, (and also salad oil) are said to render cucumbers more
- wholesome.
- </p>
- <p>
- Tomatos (raw) are frequently sliced, seasoned, and sent to table in the
- manner of cucumbers. Tomatos are always wholesome.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED CUCUMBERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pare six fine fresh cucumbers. Cut each of them lengthways into four
- pieces; lay them for an hour in a pan of cold water. Take a clean
- stew-pan, and place in its bottom two table-spoonfuls of good fresh
- butter. Then put in the slices of cucumber, and sprinkle them slightly
- with a very little pepper. Add two table-spoonfuls of cold water. Set the
- pan over a moderate fire, and let the cucumbers stew slowly for half an
- hour or more, till they are well cooked. Keep the pan closely covered,
- except when you have to remove the lid to stir the stew. Serve them up
- hot, at breakfast, or as a side dish, at dinner.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Persons who have no objection to the taste of onions, will think the
- cucumbers improved by the addition of the half of a moderate sized onion,
- sliced thin and stewed with them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A NICE WAY OF COOKING ASPARAGUS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Where asparagus is plenty, there is no better way of cooking it than the
- following. Take it as nearly of a size as possible, wash it, and cut off
- the stalks very short, leaving them not more than half an inch in length.
- Two quarts of water will be sufficient to boil one quart of asparagus
- tops; allow a tea-spoonful of salt to this quantity of water, and set it
- over the fire to boil. When the water is boiling hard, put in the
- asparagus, and boil it fast for at least half an hour. To see if it is
- done, take up two or three of the largest pieces and taste them. While it
- is boiling, prepare two slices of bread cut half an inch thick, and
- (having removed the crust) toast the bread brown on both sides. Have ready
- a large jill of melted (or drawn) fresh butter. When the asparagus is
- done, take it up with a perforated skimmer, and lay it on a sieve to
- drain. Dip the slices of toast (one at a time) first in the hot asparagus
- liquor, and then in the melted butter. Lay the slices, side by side, in a
- deep dish, and cover it with the asparagus, laid evenly over and round the
- toast. Then add the remainder of the drawn butter, and send the asparagus
- to table hot, in a covered dish.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372"
- id="Page_372">[372]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a much nicer way than that of boiling and serving it up with the
- long stalks left on. And where you have asparagus in abundance, (for
- instance in a country garden,) it may always be cooked in this manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is from the receipt of Mr. N. Darling, of New Haven.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ASPARAGUS OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two bundles of fine full-grown asparagus. Cut off the green tops or
- points as far down as the white stalk. Take a sufficient quantity of fresh
- oysters, the finest you can get at that season. Put the asparagus tops
- into a stew-pan, with enough of oyster liquor (previously strained) to
- stew them quite tender. Stew the oysters themselves in another pan with
- some more of their liquor, seasoned with pepper, mace, and nutmeg, adding
- a large piece of fresh butter, divided into four, and each part rolled in
- flour. Do not let the oysters stew more than five minutes, or they will
- become tough and shriveled. When they are merely plumped, take them out
- and cut them up small, omitting the gristle or hard part. Set the mixture
- over the fire for about five minutes, stirring all the time. Have ready
- some slices of nice toast, with all the crust pared off; the slices dipped
- for a minute in hot water. Butter the toast, and cover with it the bottom
- of a deep dish, and fill it with the mixture of asparagus and oysters.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ONION EGGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil a dozen eggs quite hard. Slice and fry in fresh butter five or six
- onions. Slice (whites and yolks together) ten of the eggs, reserving two
- for the seasoning. Drain the sliced onions, and lay them on a dish with
- the sliced eggs placed upon them. Cover the dish, and keep it hot. Take
- the two remaining eggs, grate the yolks, and mix them with cream and
- grated nutmeg, and a very little cayenne. Put this mixture into a very
- small sauce-pan, give it one boil up, pour it over the eggs and onions,
- and send it to table hot. For those who have no objection to onions this
- is a nice side dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EGG BALLS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil eight eggs till quite hard, and when done, throw them directly into
- cold water. Then put the yolks into a mortar, and pound them to a paste,
- moistening them as you proceed with the beaten yolks of three <i>raw</i>
- eggs, seasoned with as much salt as will lie <i>flat</i> upon a shilling,
- and a little cayenne, and powdered nutmeg and mace. Mix the whole well
- together, and make it up into small round balls. Throw them into
- mock-turtle soup, or into stewed terrapin, about two minutes before you
- take it up.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CURRY BALLS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a sufficiency of finely-grated bread-crumbs; hard-boiled yolk of egg,
- grated; fresh butter, and a little curry powder. Pound the whole in a
- mortar, moistening it with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374"
- id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> raw yolk of egg (well-beaten) as you
- proceed. Make it into small balls, and add them to stewed chicken or
- rabbit, about five minutes before you take it up.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TOMATO PASTE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Scald and peel as many ripe tomatos as will fill a large, deep, stone jar.
- Set them into a warm oven for an hour. Then skim off the watery liquid
- that has risen to the top, and press and squeeze the tomatos in a sieve.
- Afterwards add salt, cayenne, pounded mace, and powdered nutmeg, to your
- taste; and to every quart of tomatos allow a half a pint of cider vinegar.
- Stew the whole slowly in a porcelain kettle for three hours, (stirring it
- frequently from the bottom,) till it becomes a smooth, thick paste. Then
- put it into small jars or glasses, and cover it closely, pasting paper
- over each. It is an excellent sauce, at the season when fresh tomatos are
- not to be had, and is very good to thicken soup.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DRIED OCHRAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine large fresh ochras; cut them into thin, round slices; string
- them on threads, and hang them up in festoons to dry in the store-room.
- Before using, they must be soaked in water during twenty-four hours. They
- will then be good (with the addition of tomato paste) to boil in soup or
- gumbo.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF GUMBO.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put into a large stew-pan some pieces of the lean of fresh beef, cut up
- into small bits, and seasoned with a little pepper and salt. Add sliced
- ochras and tomatos, (either fresh or dried ochras and tomato paste.) You
- may put in some sliced onions. Pour on water enough to cover it well. Let
- it boil slowly, (skimming it well,) till everything is reduced to rags.
- Then strain and press it through a cullender. Have ready a sufficiency of
- toasted bread, cut into dice. Lay it in the bottom of a tureen, and pour
- the strained gumbo upon it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO BOIL OCHRAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For boiling, the ochras should be young and small. Wash them, and cut off
- a small piece from each end. Boil them till very tender throughout. Then
- drain them well, and transfer them to a deep dish. Lay among them some
- bits of fresh butter, and season them with pepper. Cover the dish, that
- the butter may be warm and melt the sooner. Or you may make a sauce of
- half a pint of milk boiled, and when it has come to a boil enrich with a
- quarter of a pound of very good fresh butter, divided into four pieces;
- each piece rolled in a little flour, the butter stirred in gradually and
- smoothly, as soon as the milk is taken off the fire. Pour this sauce over
- the dish of ochras, and keep it covered till it has gone to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- We prefer the first way, putting the bit of butter cold into the hot
- ochras, with either milk or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376"
- id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> flour, and letting the butter melt
- gradually, in the manner of green beans. You may boil with them a small
- piece of very good bacon, removing when the ochras are taken off the fire.
- Season with pepper.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ONIONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The best onions for cooking are the white or silver-skinned. The
- red-skinned are generally strong and coarse. Shalots are very small and
- delicate. Some sorts of large onions are milder and nicer than those of
- middle size, and some that are very small have a powerful taste and smell.
- The outer skin of most onions should be peeled entirely, and the ends cut
- off. All onions are the better for boiling, before they are cooked for any
- other purpose. Put them into a stew-pan with cold water, and when they
- have come to a boil pour off that water, and replace it with fresh cold
- also. Boil them slowly till quite tender all through, which will not be in
- less than half an hour; more, if they are large. When done, drain them
- well, dish them, and pour over them some nice melted butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>To Stew Onions.</i>&mdash;Peel, slice them, and stew them in milk,
- enriched with butter rolled in flour, and seasoned with a little cayenne
- and a few blades of mace.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>To Roast Onions.</i>&mdash;Select fine large onions; do not peel them,
- but place them in a bake-pan, and set them in an oven. Bake them slowly
- till tender all through. When done, peel off the outer skin,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span> and send
- them hot to table, to eat with pepper and cold butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- They are very good when covered up and roasted under hot ashes, taking
- care that they are done quite through to the heart.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO BOIL GREEN PEAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- When the peas are shelled, wash them in a pan of cold water. Put on the
- peas in cold water, (a little salted) and let them boil very fast. If nice
- peas, they will generally be done in a quarter of an hour after beginning
- to boil. When simmering, add to them a lump or a spoonful of loaf-sugar,
- and a sprig of fresh green mint, (half a dozen leaves) having first
- ascertained if mint is not disliked by any person who is to eat of the
- peas. To some the taste and odor of mint is very agreeable, to others very
- disgusting, as is the case with onions, and many other things that are
- liked by the majority.
- </p>
- <p>
- When the peas are all soft or tender, take out the mint, drain the peas
- through a cullender till not a drop of water is left among them; transfer
- them to a deep dish, mix into them some of the best fresh butter, and
- sprinkle them with pepper. Cover them immediately, and send them to table
- hot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED PEAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having prepared the peas as above, put them into a stew-pan without any
- water. Mix among them plenty of bits of nice<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span> fresh butter, sufficient to
- cook them. Let them stew slowly in the butter till they are quite soft,
- stirring them up from the bottom frequently. Drain and dish them. They
- will be found very fine&mdash;better than if boiled in water. Peas should
- not be stewed this way, except in places where plenty of good <i>fresh</i>
- butter is to be easily obtained.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GREEN PEAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The largest and finest peas are what the English call marrowfat. The sugar
- pea is next. All green peas for boiling should be young and tender, but
- not so young as to be tasteless or insipid. As a general rule, nearly
- every article of food is best when it has just attained its full growth
- and ripeness; after that period the older it is the worse. Peas, so old as
- to be hard and yellow, are unfit to eat. In some ultra economical houses,
- good peas are things unknown. They are not bought in spring or early
- summer while young and fresh, but are never thought cheap enough till they
- become hard and yellow. Afterwards, when they reach the cheap state, a
- quantity are bought low, and put into jars not to be touched till next
- spring, when they are boiled, (with great difficulty, for they never
- become soft,) and <i>attempted</i> to be passed off "as this year's fresh
- peas"&mdash;and by the time the family have gotten through with <i>them</i>,
- "this year's young peas" have become old. Do not believe (for it is
- untrue,) that any eatable can be kept in <i>all</i> its genuine freshness
- and original flavor, by merely secluding them<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span> entirely from air. They
- will not spoil or decompose if skillfully managed; but they <i>have not
- exactly</i> their natural taste and consistence. It is better for those
- who <i>never make pickles or preserves</i>, to wait for fresh vegetables
- or fruit, till they are actually in market&mdash;or, if put up in jars, to
- add something more than parboiling and seclusion from the air. Vinegar,
- salt, sugar, spice and alcohol, will be found the grand and universal
- articles for securing the goodness of nearly all eatables. Without some of
- these along with them, things that have not spoiled while secluded from
- air, will surely spoil almost as soon as the jars are opened, and the
- external air admitted to them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GREEN OR STRING BEANS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take young and tender beans, the seeds just forming in the pods. Take off
- the string with a knife, leaving no bits of string adhering to the beans,
- either at top or bottom. Do not split them. Cut each bean into three
- pieces, <i>not more</i>, and as you cut them throw them into a pan of cold
- water, kept beside you for the purpose. The old-fashioned way is now
- obsolete of cutting them into dice or diamonds, or of splitting them. The
- more they are cut up (beside the trouble and time wasted,) the more the
- water gets through them when cooking; the more tasteless they become, and
- the more difficult they are to drain. We have never met with beans that,
- when cut small, had not a puddle of greasy water in the bottom of the
- dish, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span>
- sometimes the water was all through the dish, and the beans floating in
- it. Shame on such bean-cooking! When the beans are all ready for the pot,
- throw them into boiling water very slightly salted, and they will
- generally be done in half an hour after they have come to a boil. Transfer
- them to a sieve; and press, and drain them well, till no water is left
- about them. Then put them into a deep dish, mix them with fresh butter,
- and dredge them with black pepper.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LIMA BEANS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Shell the lima beans into a pan of cold water. Let them lie in it an hour.
- Put them in boiling water, little more than enough to cover them, and boil
- them till soft and tender. When done, drain and serve them up in a deep
- dish, adding among them a good piece of butter. The Lima beans now raised
- in North America have become coarse and white, requiring a renewal of
- fresh stock or new seeds from Peru. They will then be green and delicate
- again, as formerly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEET POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Choose the sweet potatos large, and nearly of the same size, then you can
- either boil or roast them. When small they should always be boiled; as,
- when baked or roasted, the skin becomes so thick and hard, that it takes
- up nearly the whole potato. Wash them very clean, and cut off a bit from
- each end. Put them into a large pot of boiling water without<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span> salt,
- and boil them steadily for at least an hour. Probe them with a
- narrow-bladed sharp knife, and if it does not easily penetrate all through
- the largest potato, (in at one side and out at the other) continue the
- boiling till all are soft throughout. Then take them up, peel them, and
- keep them warm till sent to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>To Bake Sweet Potatos</i> they should all be large. Wash them, dry
- them, and cut off the ends. Then bake them in an oven, lying side by side,
- not piling one on another. Or else (which is better) roast them in hot
- ashes. They will not be done in less than an hour and a half, perhaps
- longer. Then wipe them clean, and serve them up in the skins. Eat them
- from the skins, with cold butter and a tea-spoon.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>To Stew Sweet Potatos.</i>&mdash;Wash and wipe them. Then scrape off
- the skins with a sharp knife. Split them, and cut them into long pieces.
- Stew them with fresh pork, veal, or beef; first putting at the bottom a
- very little butter or water to start them, and then the gravy of the meat
- will suffice for cooking them&mdash;skimming it well. Water to stew should
- be hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Mashed Sweet Potatos</i> are very nice. When well boiled, mash them
- smoothly with a potato beetle. Mix them with fresh butter, and then stir
- them well, or beat them with a large wooden spoon to render them light.
- Afterwards, you may make them into round thick cakes, and touch the
- surface of every one with pepper&mdash;red or black. This is a breakfast
- dish for company.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED TURNIPS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have all your turnips nearly of the same size. Pare them; and if large cut
- them in half. Put them into boiling water, very slightly salted, and keep
- them closely covered. Twenty minutes will boil them if very small and
- young; their flavor is then very fine. Afterwards, according to their
- size, they will require of gentle boiling, from three-quarters to a full
- hour. Keep them boiling till, on trying them with a fork, you find them
- perfectly tender all through. Then take them up, drain them well, and pour
- melted butter over them; touch the top of each with a spot of black
- pepper. If very old and spongy, they are only fit for the pig barrel. It
- is said that if boiled in their skins, (though requiring a much longer
- time to cook well) they have a fine flavor, and are less watery. You can
- try it.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the turnips are to be mashed, cut them into small pieces, boil them
- very soft, and drain and squeeze them till all the water is pressed out.
- Then mash them very smooth. Transfer them to a deep dish, and mix them
- with a <i>moderate portion</i> of fresh butter. Turnips are generally
- served with too much butter. Season them with pepper. When sent to table
- take care not to set them in a sunny place, as it will give them a bad
- taste.
- </p>
- <p>
- Turnips, baked in an oven, are very good&mdash;for a change.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SYDNEY SMITH'S SALAD-DRESSING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready two well-boiled potatos, peeled and<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span> rubbed through a sieve;
- they will give peculiar smoothness to the mixture. Also, a very small
- portion of raw onion, not more than a <i>quarter</i> of a tea-spoonful,
- (as the presence of the onion is to be scarcely hinted,) and the pounded
- yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Mix these ingredients on a deep plate with
- one tea-spoonful of salt, one of made mustard, three table-spoonfuls of
- olive oil, and one table-spoonful of vinegar. Add, lastly, a tea-spoonful
- of essence of anchovy; mash, and mix the whole together, (using a boxwood
- spoon) and see that all the articles are thoroughly amalgamated. Having
- cut up a sufficiency of lettuce, that has been well washed in cold water,
- and drained, add to it the dressing immediately before dinner, mixing the
- lettuce through it with a boxwood fork.
- </p>
- <p>
- This salad dressing was invented by the Rev. Sydney Smith, whose genius as
- a writer and a wit is well known on both sides the Atlantic. If <i>exactly</i>
- followed, it will be found very fine on trial; no peculiar flavor
- predominating, but excellent as a whole. The above directions are taken
- from a manuscript receipt given by Mr. Smith to an American gentleman then
- in London.
- </p>
- <p>
- In preparing this, or any other salad-dressing, take care not to use that
- excessively pungent and deleterious combination of drugs which is now so
- frequently imposed upon the public, as <i>the best white wine vinegar</i>.
- In reality, it has no vinous material about it; and it may be known by its
- violent and disagreeable sharpness, which overpowers<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span> and destroys the taste (and
- also the substance) of whatever it is mixed with. It is also very
- unwholesome. Its color is always pale, and it is nearly as clear as water.
- No one should buy or use it. The first quality of <i>real</i> cider
- vinegar is good for all purposes.
- </p>
- <p>
- The above receipt may be tried for lobster dressing.
- </p>
- <p>
- A Spanish proverb says, that for compounding a <i>good</i> salad, four
- persons are required&mdash;a spend-thrift for oil; a miser for vinegar; a
- man of judgment for salt; and a madman for stirring the dressing.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE CHICKEN SALAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having skinned a pair of cold fowls, remove the fat, and carve them as if
- for eating; cut all the flesh entirely from the bones, and either mince it
- or divide it into small shreds. Mix with it a little smoked tongue or cold
- ham, grated rather than chopped. Have ready one or two fine fresh
- lettuces, picked, washed, drained, and cut small. Put the cut lettuce on a
- dish, (spreading it evenly,) or into a large bowl, and place upon it the
- minced chicken in a close heap in the centre. For the dressing, mix
- together the following ingredients, in the proportion of the yolks of four
- eggs well beaten, a tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar, a salt-spoon of
- cayenne; (no salt if you have ham or tongue with the chicken,) two
- tea-spoonfuls of made mustard, six table-spoonfuls of salad oil, and five
- of celery vinegar. Stir this mixture well: put it into a small<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span>
- sauce-pan, set it over the fire, and let it boil three minutes,(not more,)
- stirring it all the time. Then set it to cool. When quite cold, cover with
- it thickly, the heap of chicken in the centre of the salad. To ornament
- it, have ready half a dozen or more, hard-boiled eggs, which, after the
- shell is peeled off, must be thrown directly into a pan of cold water to
- prevent them from turning blue. Cut each egg (white and yolk together)
- lengthways into four long pieces of equal size and shape; lay the pieces
- upon the salad all round the heap of chicken, and close to it; placing
- them so as to follow each other round in a slanting direction, something
- in the form of a circular wreath of leaves. Have ready, also, some very
- red cold beet, cut into small cones or points all of equal size; arrange
- them in a circle upon the lettuce, outside of the circle of cut egg. To be
- decorated in this manner, the salad should be placed in a dish rather than
- a bowl. In helping it, give each person a portion of every thing, and they
- will mix them together on their plates.
- </p>
- <p>
- This salad should be prepared immediately before dinner or supper; as
- standing long will injure it. The colder it is the better.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CARROTS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having washed the carrots, and scraped off the outer skin with a sharp
- knife, or taken off a very thin paring, split them a few inches down,
- leaving a long cleft in the upper half only, and put them on to cook in
- plenty of boiling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span>
- water, with a little salt in it. There is no table vegetable that needs
- more boiling than a carrot. Small young carrots require at least half an
- hour. If large, they must boil from one to two hours, according to their
- size. When you find them tender throughout, dish them, with melted butter
- poured round them. They are eaten plain, only with boiled beef or boiled
- mutton. They are often added to soups and stews, when they must be put in
- long before the other vegetables. For soups and stews the nicest way is to
- grate them (before boiling,) on a coarse grater. This way they improve
- both the taste and color.
- </p>
- <p>
- Carrots are very nice, sliced thin after boiling, put into a sauce-pan,
- with bits of butter dredged with flour, seasoned with pepper, and stewed
- soft without any water.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PARSNIPS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Scrape the parsnips, and split them half way down. Put them into boiling
- water with a little salt. Parsnips require less boiling than carrots; and,
- according to their size, will take from half an hour to an hour. Skim the
- water while they are boiling. When quite tender take them up, drain them,
- dish them, and pour melted butter over them. They are especially eaten
- with corned pork, or salted cod; but are good with various things. They
- are excellent stewed with fresh beef, or fresh pork, for a plain dinner.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Fried Parsnips</i> make a nice breakfast dish.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span> They must first be
- parboiled; then split, and cut into long pieces, and fried brown in fresh
- butter, or in nice dripping of veal or beef.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Baked Parsnips.</i>&mdash;Split and parboil them. Then place them in a
- large dish. Lay among them some bits of fresh butter, and bake them brown.
- Eat them with any sort of roast meat.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Parsnip Fritters.</i>&mdash;Boil and peel half a dozen large parsnips,
- and then split and cut them in pieces. Make a nice batter, allowing four
- beaten eggs to a pint of milk, and four table-spoonfuls of flour. Have
- ready over the fire, a frying-pan with boiling lard. Put in a large
- spoonful of batter; upon that a piece of parsnip, and cover it with
- another spoonful of batter. Proceed thus till you have used up the
- parsnips. When done, drain them from the lard, and serve them hot at
- breakfast or dinner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEETS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Beets must be washed very clean, but not scraped, trimmed, or cut till
- after they are boiled. Put them on in boiling water; and, according to
- their size, boil them steadily from one hour and a half, to two hours and
- a half, but they must not be probed (to ascertain if they are tender all
- through,) but pinched with the fingers. Then peel off the skins, and trim
- them neatly. Hold the beet in a pan of cold water while you peel it. Do it
- quickly. Serve them up either split or sliced, with melted butter poured
- over them, and seasoned with pepper. Or else they<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span> may be sliced thick,
- (allowing them to get cold,) and spiced vinegar poured over them. Red
- beets are usually dressed with vinegar; the white or pale ones with melted
- butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Baked Beets</i> have a finer flavor, and are more nutritious than when
- boiled. Wash and wipe them dry, but do not skin or cut them till after
- cooking. They must be thoroughly done before they are taken out of the
- oven, and then pared and trimmed. According to their size they will
- require from four to six hours baking. Their blood-red color makes them
- ornamental to the table; but when cooked in soups or stews they add little
- to the taste, which is overpowered by that of other ingredients.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SQUASHES OR CYMLINGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- See that the squashes are not turning old, and hardening. Wash them, and
- cut them into four pieces each; but do not split them. Put them on in
- boiling water, with a little salt. Boil them steadily till quite tender
- throughout. Then take them up, and mash or drain them through a cullender,
- pressing them with a broad short-handled wooden ladle. All the water (of
- which there will be a profusion,) must be entirely squeezed out. Serve
- them up very dry, and smoothly and evenly mashed, having first mixed with
- them a <i>very little butter</i>; and season them with very little pepper.
- Much butter gives them a disagreeable taste and consistence, and the
- butter should be fresh and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389"
- id="Page_389">[389]</a></span> good. It is better to mash squashes,
- turnips, pumpkins, &amp;c., without any butter, than to use that which is
- salt and bad. The flat white ones are the best summer squashes; the
- striped green are more watery; the cashaw, or yellow winter squash, is
- best of all, and grows well in the New England states, from whence, as it
- keeps well all winter, it is often brought in barrels. Every family should
- get a barrel of winter squashes from Boston. They do not thrive in the
- middle States. In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, they cannot be raised even
- from the best yankee seed, turning pumpkinish the next year, and
- afterwards becoming quite pumpkins, and very bad ones too. But when raised
- in their native soil and climate nothing of the squash kind is equal to
- them. They are very dry and sweet, and of a rich yellow color. Take them
- out of the barrel, and keep them far apart on the shelves or floor of a
- dry pantry.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED PUMPKIN.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- No pumpkin is too large to be good, but they may be too old. Cut a good
- deep-colored pumpkin in half, and empty out all the seeds, &amp;c. Then
- cut it into pieces, and pare them. Put the pieces of pumpkin into a pot
- with barely sufficient water to keep them from burning. When they are
- thoroughly done or soft all through, take them up; drain, mash, and press
- them through a cullender. They must be <i>very</i> dry. Put the stewed
- pumpkin into a dish, and mix it with a small portion of butter. Season it<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span> with
- black pepper, and eat it with boiled corned beef, or corned pork, or
- bacon.
- </p>
- <p>
- Stewed pumpkin is chiefly used for pies and puddings.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- YANKEE PUMPKIN PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pint of stewed pumpkin. Mix together a pint of <i>West India</i>
- molasses and a pint of milk, adding two large table-spoonfuls of brown
- sugar, and two table-spoonfuls of ground ginger. Beat three eggs very
- light, and stir them, gradually, into the milk and molasses. Then, by
- degrees, stir in the stewed pumpkin. Put it into a deep dish, and bake it
- without a crust. This is a good farm-house pudding, and <i>equally</i>
- good for any healthy children.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a large family, double the quantities of ingredients&mdash;that is,
- take a quart of milk, a quart of molasses, four spoonfuls of brown sugar,
- four spoonfuls of ginger, six eggs, and a quart of stewed pumpkin.
- </p>
- <p>
- You had best have at hand <i>more than a quart</i> of pumpkin, lest when
- mixed it should not hold out. This pudding is excellent made of winter
- squash.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED MUSHROOMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Peel and wash a quart of very fresh mushrooms, and cut off all the stems.
- Button mushrooms are best; but if you can only procure large ones, quarter
- them. Sprinkle them slightly with salt and pepper, and put them into a
- stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of nice fresh butter, cut in pieces and<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span> slightly
- dredged with flour. Keep the lid closely covered all the time. When quite
- tender, put the mushrooms into a deep dish, in the bottom of which is laid
- a nice toast that has had all the crust pared off, and been dipped for a
- minute in hot water, and slightly buttered. Serve up the mushrooms closely
- covered. They require no seasoning.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED MUSHROOMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take large fine fresh mushrooms. Peel them and remove the stems. Lay them
- on their backs in a large dish, (not letting them touch each other) and
- put into each mushroom, (as in a cup) a bit of the best fresh butter. Set
- the dish in an oven and bake them. Send them to table in the same dish; or
- transfer them to another, with a large toast at the bottom. There is no
- better way of cooking mushrooms than this.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you cannot procure good butter, cook them in nice olive oil.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO BOIL INDIAN CORN.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Corn for boiling should be full grown, but young and tender, and the
- grains soft and milky. If its grains are becoming hard and yellow, it is
- too old for cooking. Strip the ears of their leaves and the silk. Put them
- into a large pot of boiling water, and boil it rather fast for half an
- hour or more, in proportion to its size and age. When done, take it up,
- drain it, dish it under a cover, or napkin,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span> and serve it up hot. Before
- eating it, rub each ear with salt and pepper, and then spread it with
- butter. Epicures in corn consider it sweetest when eaten off the cob. And
- so it is; but <i>before company</i> few persons like to hold an ear of
- indian corn in their hands, and bite the grains off the cob with their
- teeth. Therefore, it is more frequently cut off the cob into a dish; mixed
- with salt, pepper, and butter, and helped with a spoon.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is said that young green corn will boil sufficiently in ten minutes,
- (putting it, <i>of course</i>, into a pot of boiling water.) Try it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Another way.</i>&mdash;Having pulled off the silk, boil the corn
- without removing any but the outside leaves. With the leaves or husk on,
- it will require a longer time to cook, but is sweeter and more nutritious.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HOMINY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Hominy is white indian corn, shelled from the cob, divested of the outer
- skin by scalding in hot lye, and then winnowed and dried. It is perfectly
- white. Having washed it through two or three waters, pour boiling water on
- it; cover it, and let it soak all night, or for several hours. Then put it
- into a pot or sauce-pan, allow two quarts of water to each quart of
- hominy, and boil it till perfectly soft. Then drain it, put it into a deep
- dish, add some butter to it, and send it to table hot, (and <i>uncovered</i>,)
- to eat with any sort of meat; but particularly with corned beef or pork.
- What is left may be made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393"
- id="Page_393">[393]</a></span> next day into thick cakes, and fried in
- butter. To be <i>very good</i>, hominy should boil four or five hours.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAROLINA GRITS OR SMALL HOMINY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The small-grained hominy must be washed and boiled in the same manner as
- the large, only allow rather less water for boiling. For instance, put a
- pint and a half of water to a quart of small hominy. Drain it well, send
- it to table in a deep dish <i>without a cover</i>, and eat it with butter
- and sugar, or molasses. If covered after boiling, the vapor will condense
- within the lid, and make the hominy thin and watery.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SAMP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is indian corn skinned, and then pounded or ground till it is still
- smaller and finer than the Carolina grits. It must be cooked and used in
- the same manner. It is very nice eaten with cream and sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- For invalids it may be made thin, and eaten as gruel.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HOMINY CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A pint of small hominy, or Carolina grits; a pint of white indian meal,
- sifted; a salt-spoonful of salt, three large table-spoonfuls of fresh
- butter; three eggs or three table-spoonfuls of strong yeast; a quart of
- milk. Having washed the small hominy, and left it soaking all night, boil
- it soft, drain it, and while hot mix it with the indian meal; adding<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span> the
- salt, and the butter. Then mix it gradually with the milk, and set it away
- to cool. Beat the eggs very light, and add them gradually to the mixture.
- The whole should make a thick batter. Then bake them on a griddle, in the
- manner of buckwheat cakes, rubbing or scraping the griddle always before
- you put on a fresh cake. Trim off their edges nicely, and send them to
- table hot. Eat them with butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- Or you may bake them in muffin rings.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you prefer making these cakes with yeast, you must begin them earlier,
- as they will require time to rise. The yeast should be strong and fresh.
- If <i>not</i> very strong, use four table-spoonfuls instead of two. Cover
- the pan, set it in a warm place; and do not begin to bake till it is well
- risen, and the surface of the mixture is covered with bubbles.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CORN PORRIDGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take young corn, and cut the grains from the cob. Measure it, and to each
- heaping pint of corn allow not quite a quart of milk. Put the corn and
- milk into a pot, stir them well together, and boil them till the corn is
- perfectly soft. Then add some bits of fresh butter dredged with flour, and
- let it boil five minutes longer. Stir in at the last, four beaten yolks of
- eggs, and in three minutes remove it from the fire. Take up the porridge
- and send it to table hot, and stir some fresh butter into it. You may add
- sugar and nutmeg.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CORN OYSTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Three dozen ears of large young indian corn, six eggs; lard and butter in
- equal portions for frying. The corn must be young and soft. Grate it from
- the cob as fine as possible, and dredge it with wheat flour. Beat very
- light the six eggs, and mix them gradually with the corn. Then let the
- whole be well incorporated by hard beating. Add a salt-spoon of salt.
- </p>
- <p>
- Have ready, in a frying pan, a sufficient quantity of lard and fresh
- butter mixed together. Set it over the fire till it is boiling hot, and
- then put in portions of the corn mixture, so as to form oval cakes about
- three inches long, and nearly an inch thick. Fry them brown, and send them
- to table hot. In taste they will be found to have a singular resemblance
- to fried oysters, and are universally liked if properly done. They make
- nice side-dishes at dinner, and are very good at breakfast.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SUMMER SACCATASH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- String a quarter of a peck of young green beans, and cut each bean into
- three pieces, (not more,) and do not split them. Have by you a pan of cold
- water, and throw the beans into it as you cut them. Have ready over the
- fire a pot or sauce-pan of boiling water; put in the beans, and boil them
- hard near twenty minutes. Afterwards take them up, and drain them well
- through a cullender. Take half a dozen ears of young but full-grown indian
- corn, (or eight or nine if they are not all large) and cut<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span> the
- grains down from the cob. Mix together the corn and the beans, adding a
- very small tea-spoonful of salt, and boil them about twenty minutes. Then
- take up the saccatash, drain it well through a sieve, put it into a deep
- dish, and while hot mix in a large piece of butter, (at least the size of
- an egg,) add some pepper, and send it to table. It is generally eaten with
- salted or smoked meat.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fresh Lima beans are excellent cooked in this manner, with green corn.
- They must be boiled for half an hour or more, before they are cooked with
- the corn.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dried beans and dried corn will do very well for saccatash, but they must
- be soaked all night before boiling. The water poured on them for soaking
- should be hot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WINTER SACCATASH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is made of dried shelled beans and hard corn, soaked over night in
- separate pans, and boiling water poured over them in the morning, after
- pouring off the first water. Then boil both together till they are <i>quite
- soft</i>. Drain them dry in a sieve, put them into a deep dish, and mix in
- a large piece of butter, seasoned with pepper. This is a good
- accompaniment to corned pork or beef. The meat must be boiled in a
- separate pot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAROLINA WAY OF BOILING RICE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick the rice carefully, and wash it through two<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span> or three cold waters till
- it is quite clean. Then (having drained off all the water through a
- cullender,) put the rice into a pot of boiling water, with a very little
- salt, allowing as much as a quart of water to half a pint of rice. Boil it
- twenty minutes or more. Then pour off the water, draining the rice as dry
- as possible. Lastly, set it on hot coals with the lid off, that the steam
- may not condense upon it and render the rice watery. Keep it drying thus
- for a quarter of an hour. Put it into a deep dish, and loosen and toss it
- up from the bottom with two forks, one in each hand, so that the grains
- may appear to stand alone.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TOMATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Tomatos require long cooking; otherwise they will have a raw taste, and be
- quite too acid. Take fine tomatos that are quite ripe, put them into a
- pan, and scald them in very hot water. Let them remain for ten minutes, or
- till you can peel them without scalding your hands. Drain them through a
- sieve. You may either press out all the seeds, (retaining only the pulp or
- liquid,) or leave the seeds in, squeezing the tomatos slightly. Put them
- into a stew-pan, which must on no account be of copper, as the acid of the
- tomatos will render it poisonous. We knew a lady who died in agonies from
- eating tomatos cooked in a copper vessel that had the tinning partly worn
- off. If the tin inside is indispensable, (which it is) why have any copper
- about it? A vessel of <i>double</i> block tin only, will last as long,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span> and
- stand the fire as well as if there was copper inside. For all stews, an
- iron pan, lined with delft (or what is called porcelain or enamel) is
- excellent. Best of all for stewing tomatos, and many other things, is a <i>bain
- marie</i>, or double kettle, with the water outside, in the outer kettle.
- </p>
- <p>
- Having nearly filled the stew-pan with the tomatos, (cut up, if they are
- large) add a little salt and pepper, a piece of fresh butter dredged with
- flour, and (if approved) a very little chopped onion. If you have
- ready-boiled onions at hand, take one or two of them and mince it fine.
- Add to the tomatos some powdered white sugar to lessen the excessive acid.
- Put but very few bread-crumbs&mdash;if too many, they will weaken the
- taste. Tomatos are an improvement to every kind of plain soups, and may be
- added, with advantage, after the soup is in the tureen. The cooking of
- tomatos should be commenced at least three hours before dinner. Put no
- water with them&mdash;their own juice is sufficient.
- </p>
- <p>
- Many persons like tomatos raw, sliced like cucumbers, and seasoned with
- vinegar and pepper.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO KEEP TOMATO PULP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having boiled them till entirely dissolved, (adding a little salt and
- pepper) press and strain them through a sieve, pour the liquor into pint
- or half-pint bottles, (which must be perfectly clean) and stand the
- bottles up in a large iron pot or oven, with a layer of straw in the
- bottom. Fill up the pot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399"
- id="Page_399">[399]</a></span> with cold water, cork them tightly, and let
- the water boil round the bottles for five hours. As it boils away, fill up
- with more hot water. When you take them out, put a spoonful of salad oil
- at the top of each bottle; seal the bottles with rosin cement. This pulp
- will be good for tomato purposes till next summer, if kept in a cool dry
- place. When you open a bottle use it fast, or cork it again immediately.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BROILED TOMATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the very largest and ripest tomatos. Wash, but do not scald or peel
- them. Cut the tomatos <i>half</i> apart on four sides, extract the seeds,
- and fill each tomato with a nice forcemeat of stuffing, made of
- bread-crumbs, butter, minced veal or pork, mace, nutmeg, and sweet
- marjoram. Having stewed this stuffing in a sauce-pan, (moistening it with
- tomato juice, or gravy) fill all the tomatos with it, opening them out a
- little like the leaves of a tulip. Butter slightly a heated gridiron, and
- broil them on it. Or, they may be baked in an oven.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a dish for company, either at dinner or breakfast.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BUTTON TOMATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- These are the very smallest tomatos, and are excellent for pickling and
- preserving. If quite ripe, and free from blemishes, they will keep very
- well in cold vinegar, and are the easiest done of all pickles. There are
- two sorts of button tomatos, the red and the yel<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[400]</a></span>low, both equally good. Wipe
- every tomato clean and dry, and put them into small glass jars that have a
- cover. Fill the jars two-thirds with the tomatos, and then fill up to the
- top with the best cider vinegar. On the top put a table-spoonful of salad
- oil, and cover them closely. They require nothing to secure their keeping
- well. But the taste will be improved, by putting in with them, three very
- small thin muslin bags, each containing mace, nutmeg, and ginger, broken
- small, but not powdered. Lay one bag of spice at the bottom of the jar;
- one about the middle, and one near the top. If done without spice, they
- are the cheapest of all pickles. Do not put them into soups or stews; but
- eat them cold with meat, like other pickles.
- </p>
- <p>
- If kegs of these tomatos were carried to sea, and liberally served out to
- the crew, the scurvy would be less frequent, even on long voyages.
- </p>
- <p>
- Large whole tomatos would do for this purpose. We wish it were the
- universal custom in ships to take out with them plenty of tomatos kept in
- this way in vinegar. Tomato catchup is now much used for the army&mdash;so
- it should be for the navy; not only for the sick, but for the well; to
- keep them well.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[401]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="BREAD_PLAIN_CAKES_etc" id="BREAD_PLAIN_CAKES_etc"></a>BREAD,
- PLAIN CAKES, etc.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HINTS ON HEATING OVENS AND BAKING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Brick ovens are generally heated with dry fagots or small branches, or
- with light split wood. For baking bread, the oven-wood must be heavier
- than for pies. A heap of wood should be placed in the centre of the oven
- on the brick floor, and then set on fire. While the wood is burning, the
- door of the oven must be left open. When the wood is all burnt down, and
- reduced to a mass of small red coals, the oven will be very hot. Then
- shovel out all the coals and sweep the oven floor with a broom, till it is
- perfectly clean, and entirely free from ashes. Try the heat within. For
- baking bread, the floor of the oven should look red, and a little flour
- thrown in should burn brown immediately. If you can hold your hand within
- the mouth of the oven as long as you can distinctly count twenty, the heat
- is about right. Pies, puddings, &amp;c., require less heat. When a brick
- oven is used, a peel, or large broad-bladed long-handled wooden shovel is
- necessary for putting in the bread, pies, &amp;c., placing them on the
- broad or shovel-end of the peel, and slipping them off on the oven floor.
- Then close up the door of the oven, and leave the things to bake. When
- done, slip the peel beneath them, and hand them out on it.
- </p>
- <p>
- To bake in an Iron Dutch oven, (a large deep, cast-iron pan, with a
- handle, a close-fitting lid, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402"
- id="Page_402">[402]</a></span> standing on three or four feet,) you must
- first stand the lid upright before a clear fire to heat the inside; and it
- will be best if the oven itself is also stood up before the fire for the
- same purpose. This should be done while the article to be baked is
- preparing, that it may be put in as soon as it is ready. The oven may be
- suspended to the crane, and hung over the fire, or it may be set on a bed
- of hot wood coals in the corner of the hearth. As soon as the loaf or pie
- is in, put on the lid of the oven, and cover it all over with hot coals,
- replenishing it with more live coals as the baking proceeds. If you find
- it too hot on the top, deaden it with ashes. If the oven stands on the
- hearth, keep up the heat at the bottom, by additional live coals placed
- beneath it. Whether the oven is hung over the fire, or stood on the
- hearth, there must always be hot coals all over the lid, the hottest near
- the edge.
- </p>
- <p>
- To bake on a griddle, you may either hang it over the fire, or set it over
- hot coals on the hearth. Most griddles have feet. The fire must be quite
- clear and bright, and free from smoke, or the cakes will be blackened, and
- have a disagreeable taste. The griddle must be perfectly clean; and while
- you are baking, it will require frequent scraping, with a broad knife. If
- it is well scraped after every cake is taken off, it will not want
- greasing, as there will be no stickiness. Otherwise, some butter tied up
- in a clean rag and laid on a saucer, must be kept at hand all the time, to
- rub over the griddle between the baking of each<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[403]</a></span> cake; for butter, lard, or
- nice beef or veal dripping may be substituted, but it will not be so fine.
- Never grease with mutton fat, as it will communicate the taste of tallow.
- A bit of the fat of <i>fresh</i> pork may do, (stuck on a fork,) but salt
- pork will give the outside of the cakes a disagreeable saltness, and
- therefore should not be used.
- </p>
- <p>
- A griddle may be placed in the oven of a hot stove. Some close stoves have
- a hole in the top with a flat lid or cover, which lid can be used as a
- griddle.
- </p>
- <p>
- The tin-reflecting ovens (with shelves for the pies and cakes) that are
- used for baking in the summer, and that, having a furnace beneath, and a
- chimney-pipe, can be set out of doors, so that the kitchen may not be kept
- hot, are very good for things that will bake soon, and that do not require
- what is called a strong, solid heat. But they are not effective unless the
- inside is kept <i>very bright</i>; otherwise it will not reflect the heat.
- The tin ovens should (as well as tin roasters) be cleaned thoroughly and
- scoured bright with sand every time they are used.
- </p>
- <p>
- The art of baking with anthracite, (or any other mineral coal,) can only
- be acquired by practice. The above hints on baking, refer exclusively to
- wood fires.
- </p>
- <p>
- When a charcoal furnace is used for baking, stewing, or any sort of
- cooking, it should either be set out in the open air, or the door of the
- kitchen must be kept open all the time. The<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[404]</a></span> vapor of charcoal in a
- close room is so deleterious as to cause death.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DRIED CORN MEAL YEAST CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Half a pound of fresh hops, four quarts of water, a pint of wheat or rye
- flour, half a pint of strong fresh yeast from the brewer or baker, three
- pints or more of indian meal. Boil half a pound of fresh hops in four
- quarts of water, till the liquid is reduced to two quarts. Strain it into
- a pan, and mix in sufficient wheat flour to make a thin batter, adding
- half a pint of the best yeast you can procure. Leave it to ferment; and
- when the fermentation is over, stir in sufficient indian meal to make a
- moderately stiff dough. Cover it, and set in a warm place to rise. When it
- has become very light, roll it out into a square sheet an inch thick, and
- cut it into flat cakes, about four inches square. Spread them out
- separately, on a large dish, and let them dry slowly in a cool place where
- there is no sun. While drying, turn them five or six times a day. When
- they are quite dry and hard, put them, separately, into brown paper bags,
- and keep them in a box closely covered, and in a place not the least damp.
- </p>
- <p>
- When you want them to use for yeast, dissolve in a little warm water one
- or more of the cakes, in proportion to the quantity of bread you intend
- making. When it is quite dissolved, stir it hard, thicken it with a little
- wheat flour, cover it, and place it near the fire to rise, before you use
- it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[405]</a></span>.
- Then mix it with the flour, according to the usual manner of making bread.
- One yeast cake is enough for two quarts of meal or flour.
- </p>
- <p>
- This way of preserving yeast is very convenient for keeping through the
- summer, or for conveying to a distance.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EXCELLENT HOME-MADE YEAST.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Yeast should always be kept in a glass bottle or a stone jug, and never in
- earthen or metal. Before you make fresh yeast, empty entirely the vessel
- that has contained the last; and if of stone, scald it twice with boiling
- water, in which it will be well to mix a little clear lye. Then rince it
- with cold water, till perfectly clean. If you have not used lye in
- scalding it, dissolve some potash or pearlash in the rinsing water, to
- remove any acidity that may linger about the vessel, and may therefore
- spoil the new yeast. If you keep your yeast in glass bottles, the water
- must be warm, but not hot; as scalding water may crack them: also, melt
- some potash or pearlash in this water. The vessel for keeping it being
- purified, proceed to make your yeast. Have ready, in a kettle over the
- fire, two quarts of boiling water; put into it a very large handful of
- hops, (as fine and fresh as possible,) and let the water boil again with
- the hops in it for twenty minutes more. Sift into a pan three pints of
- wheat flour. Strain the liquor from the hops into a large bowl, and pour
- half of it hot over the flour. Stir it well, and press out all the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[406]</a></span> lumps
- till it is quite smooth. Let the other half of the liquid stand till it is
- cool, and then pour it gradually to the rest; mixing it well, by stirring
- as you proceed. Then take half a pint of good strong yeast&mdash;brewer's
- or baker's yeast, if you can get it fresh; if not, you must use some that
- has been left from your last making, provided it is not the least sour;
- stir this yeast into the mixture of hop water and flour, put it
- immediately into your jug or bottles, and cork it loosely till the
- fermentation is over, (which should be in an hour,) and it will then be
- fit for use. Afterwards cork it tightly. It will keep better if you put a
- raisin or two into the bottom of each bottle, before you pour in the fresh
- yeast. Into a stone jug put half a dozen raisins.
- </p>
- <p>
- All yeast is better and more powerful for being fresh. It is better to
- make it frequently, (the trouble being little,) than to risk its becoming
- sour by endeavoring to keep it too long. When sour it becomes weak and
- watery, and tastes and smells disagreeably, and will never make light
- bread; besides, being very unwholesome. The acidity may be somewhat
- corrected by stirring in some dissolved pearlash, saleratus, or soda,
- immediately before the yeast is used; but it is better to have it good and
- fresh, without the necessity of any corrective. Yeast should always be
- kept in a cool place.
- </p>
- <p>
- Those who live in towns where there are breweries have no occasion to make
- their own yeast during the brewing season, and in summer they<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[407]</a></span> can
- every day supply themselves with fresh yeast from the baker's. It is only
- in country places where there are neither brewers or bakers that it is
- expedient to make it at home. For home-made yeast, we know the above
- receipt to be excellent.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sweet cakes, buns, rusks, &amp;c., require stronger and fresher yeast than
- bread; the sugar will otherwise retard their rising.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN BREAD OR PONE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Four quarts of indian meal sifted, a large half pint of wheat flour, a
- table-spoonful of salt, half a pint of strong fresh yeast, a quart of warm
- water. Sift into a large deep pan the indian meal and the wheat flour,
- mixing them well. Make a hole in the centre. The water must be warm, but
- not hot. Mix it with the yeast, and pour them into the hole in the midst
- of the meal. Take a spoon, and with it mix into the liquid enough of the
- surrounding meal to make a thin batter, which you must stir till it is
- quite smooth, and free from lumps. Then strew a handful of wheat flour
- over the surface, scattering it thinly, so as to cover the whole. Warm a
- clean cloth, and lay it folded over the top of the pan. Then set it in a
- warm place to rise, nearer the fire in winter than in summer. When it is
- quite light, and has risen so that the flour on the surface is cracked,
- strew on the salt, and begin to form the whole mass into a dough;
- commencing round the hole that contains the batter, and adding, gradually,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[408]</a></span>
- sufficient lukewarm water (which you must have ready for the purpose,) to
- mix it of the proper consistence. When the whole is completely mixed, and
- the batter in the centre is thoroughly incorporated with the dough, knead
- it hard for at least half an hour. Then, having formed the dough into a
- round lump in the middle of the pan, strew a little more flour thinly over
- it. Cover it, and set it again in a warm place for half an hour. Then
- flour your pasteboard, divide the dough equally, and make it into two
- loaves. Have the oven ready. Put in the loaves directly, and bake them
- about two hours or more. Indian meal requires always more baking than
- wheat. When you take them out, it is well to wrap each loaf in a clean,
- coarse towel, well sprinkled with cold water, and rolled up damp till the
- bread is baked. Having thus wrapped up the loaves, stand them on end to
- cool slowly. The damp cloths will prevent the crust from hardening too
- much while the loaves are cooling.
- </p>
- <p>
- All indian bread, and every sort of indian cake, is best when quite fresh.
- </p>
- <p>
- Excellent bread may be made of equal proportions of wheat, rye flour, and
- indian corn; or of three parts wheat and one part indian. All bread should
- be kept closely secluded from the air, wrapped in cloths, and put away in
- boxes or baskets with tightly-fitting lids.
- </p>
- <p>
- Should you find the dough sour, (either from the heat of the weather, or
- from standing too long,) you may recover it, by dissolving in a little<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[409]</a></span> lukewarm
- water a tea-spoonful of pearlash, saleratus, or soda. Sprinkle this water
- all over the dough. Then knead it in, so that it may be dispersed
- throughout. Then put it into the oven as soon as possible; first tasting
- the dough, to discover if the sourness is entirely removed. If not, mix in
- a little more pearlash, and then taste it again. Take care not to put in
- too much of any of these alkaline substances, lest they communicate a
- disagreeable, soapy taste to the bread.
- </p>
- <p>
- When you buy corn meal, it will keep better if the whole is sifted as soon
- as you get it. Avoid buying much at a time, unless you can keep it in a
- very cool place. When sour, it is unfit to eat. Common indian meal is much
- the best for use.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN RYE BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Two quarts of indian meal, two quarts of rye meal, three pints of milk or
- water, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, half a pint of strong fresh yeast.
- Having sifted the rye and indian meal in a large pan, mix them well
- together, adding the salt. Boil the milk or water in a sauce-pan, and when
- scalding hot pour it on the meal, and stir the whole very hard. If too
- stiff, add a little more warm water. Let it stand till it becomes only of
- a lukewarm heat, and then stir in the yeast. Knead the mixture into a
- stiff dough, and knead it long and hard for at least half an hour. Then
- cover the pan with a thick cloth that has been previously warmed, and set
- it near the fire to rise. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410"
- id="Page_410">[410]</a></span> the dough is quite light, and cracked all
- over the top, take it out of the pan; divide the mass in half, make it
- into two loaves, knead each loaf well for ten minutes or more, and then
- cover and set them again near the fire for about half an hour. By this
- time have the oven ready, put in the loaves directly, and bake them at
- least an hour and a half. This bread is considered very wholesome.
- </p>
- <p>
- Should you find the dough sour, you may rectify it by kneading in a
- tea-spoonful of soda or pearlash, dissolved in a little warm water.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN WHEAT BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is made in the above manner, substituting wheat for rye flour.
- </p>
- <p>
- In any sort of home-made bread, (either white or brown) a handful or more
- of indian meal will be found an improvement, rendering it moist and sweet.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOSTON RYE AND INDIAN BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Two quarts of indian meal, two quarts of rye meal, half a pint of strong
- fresh yeast, half a pint of West India molasses, a small table-spoonful of
- salt. Sift the rye and indian meal into a large pan or wooden bowl; and
- mix them well together, adding a little salt. Have ready half a pint of
- water, warm but not hot. Mix with it the molasses, and then stir into it
- the yeast. Make a hole in the middle of the pan of meal, pour in<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[411]</a></span> the
- liquid, and then with a spoon work into it a portion of the flour that
- surrounds the hole, till the liquid in the centre becomes a thick batter.
- Sprinkle the top with rye meal, lay a thick cloth over the pan, and set it
- in a warm place to rise. In three or four hours it should be light enough
- to appear cracked all over the surface. Then pour into the middle (by
- degrees) about a pint of warm water, (it must not be hot,) and as you pour
- mix it well all through the dough, till the whole becomes a round mass.
- Sprinkle some rye flour on the dough, and having floured your hands, knead
- it long and hard, (at least half an hour, and after it ceases to stick to
- your hands,) turning it over as you proceed. Then sprinkle the dough again
- with flour, cover it, and again set it in a warm place to rise. Have the
- oven ready, and of the proper heat, so that the bread may be put in as
- soon as it has completely risen the second time. When perfectly light, the
- dough will stand high, and the surface will be cracked all over. This
- quantity will be sufficient for a common-sized loaf. Set it directly into
- the oven, and bake it about two hours. When bread has done rising, it will
- fall again if not put into the oven. As soon as it is done, wrap it
- immediately in a clean coarse towel wet with cold water, and stand it up
- on end till it is cool.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a palatable, cheap, and wholesome bread. It may be baked in a deep
- tin or iron pan.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the dough should have stood so long as to become sour, (which it will,
- if mixed over night,)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[412]</a></span>
- restore it by kneading in a small tea-spoonful of pearlash or saleratus
- melted in a little warm water.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EGG PONE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Three eggs, a quart of indian meal, a large table-spoonful of fresh
- butter, a small tea-spoonful of salt, a half pint (or more) of milk. Beat
- the eggs very light, and mix them with the milk. Then stir in, gradually,
- the indian meal, adding the salt and butter. It must not be a batter, but
- a soft dough, just thick enough to be stirred well with a spoon. If too
- thin, add more indian meal; if too stiff, thin it with a little more milk.
- Beat or stir it <i>long and hard</i>. Butter a tin or iron pan. Put the
- mixture into it, and set the pan immediately into an oven, which must be
- moderately hot at first, and the heat increased afterward. A Dutch oven is
- best for this purpose. It should bake an hour and a half or two hours, in
- proportion to its thickness. Send it to table hot, and cut into slices.
- Eat it with butter, or molasses.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN MUSH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready on a clear fire a pot of boiling water. Stir into it, by
- degrees, (a handful at a time,) sufficient indian meal to make a very
- thick porridge, and then add a very small portion of salt, allowing not
- more than a level tea-spoonful to a quart of meal. You must keep the pot
- boiling all the time you are stirring in the meal; and between every
- handful stir hard with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413"
- id="Page_413">[413]</a></span> mush-stick, (a round stick about half a
- yard long, flattened at the lower end,) as, if not well stirred, the mush
- will be lumpy. After it is sufficiently thick and smooth, keep it boiling
- an hour longer, stirring it occasionally. Then cover the pot closely, and
- hang it higher up the chimney, or set it on hot coals on the hearth, so as
- to simmer it slowly for another hour. The goodness and wholesomeness of
- mush depends greatly on its being long and thoroughly boiled. It should
- also be made very thick. If well made, and well cooked, it is wholesome
- and nutritious; but the contrary, if thin, and not sufficiently boiled. It
- is not too long to have it three or four hours over the fire, first
- boiling, then simmering. On the contrary, it will be better for it. The
- coarser the corn meal the less cooking it requires. Send it to table hot,
- and in a deep dish. Eat it with sweet milk, buttermilk, or cream, or with
- butter and sugar, or with butter and molasses; making a hole in the middle
- of your plate of mush, putting some butter into the hole, and then adding
- the sugar or molasses.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cold mush that has been left may be cut into slices, or mouthfuls, and
- fried next day, in butter, or in nice dripping of veal, beef, or pork; but
- not mutton or lamb.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN HASTY PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put two quarts of milk into a clean pot or sauce-pan. Set it over the
- fire, adding a level tea-spoonful of salt,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[414]</a></span> and, when it comes to a
- boil, stir in a lump of fresh butter about the size of a goose egg. Then
- add (a handful at a time) sufficient indian meal to make it very thick,
- stirring it all the while with a mush stick. Keep it boiling well, and
- continue to throw in indian meal till it is so thick that the stick stands
- upright in it. Then send it to table hot, and eat it with milk, cream, or
- molasses and butter. What is left may be cut into slices, and fried next
- day, or boiled in a bag.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN MEAL GRUEL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is an excellent food for the sick. Having sifted some indian meal,
- mix in a quart bowl three table-spoonfuls of the meal with six of cold
- water. Stir it smooth, and press out the lumps against the side of the
- bowl. Have ready a very clean sauce-pan, entirely free from grease, with a
- pint of boiling water. Pour this, scalding hot, on the mixture in the
- bowl, a little at a time, and stir it well, adding a pinch of salt. Then
- put the whole back into the sauce-pan. Set it on hot coals and stir it
- till it boils, making the spoon go down to the bottom to prevent the gruel
- from burning. After it has come to a boil, let it continue boiling half an
- hour, stirring it frequently, and skimming it. Give it to the invalid
- warm, in a bowl or tumbler, to be eaten with a tea-spoon. It may be
- sweetened with a little sugar. When the physician permits, some grated
- nutmeg may be added; also, a very little wine.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[415]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RYE MUSH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To make smooth rye mush, sift a quart or more of rye meal into a pan, and
- gradually pour in sufficient cold water to make a very thick batter,
- stirring it hard with a spoon as you proceed, and carefully pressing out
- all the lumps against the side of the pan. Add a very little salt. The
- batter must be so thick at the last that you can scarcely stir it. Then
- thin it with a little more water, and see that it is quite smooth. Rye,
- and also wheat flour, have a disposition to be more lumpy than corn meal,
- when made into mush. When thoroughly mixed and stirred, put it into a pot,
- place it over the fire and boil it well, stirring it with a mush-stick
- till it comes to a hard boil; then place it in a diminished heat, and
- simmer it slowly till you want to dish it up. Eat it warm, with butter and
- molasses, or with sweet milk, or fresh buttermilk. Rye mush is considered
- very wholesome, particularly in cases of dyspepsia.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COMMON HOE-CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take an earthen or tin pan, and half fill it with coarse indian meal,
- which had best be sifted in. Add a little salt. Have ready a kettle of
- boiling water. Pour into the indian meal sufficient hot water (a little at
- a time,) to make a stiff dough, stirring it with a spoon as you proceed.
- It must be thoroughly mixed, and stirred hard. If you want the cakes for
- breakfast, mix this dough over night; cover the pan, and set it in a <i>cool</i>
- place till morning.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[416]</a></span>
- If kept warm, it may turn sour. Early next morning, as soon as the fire is
- burning well, set the griddle over it, and take out the dough, a handful
- at a time. Flatten and shape it by patting it with your hands, till you
- form it into cakes about the size of a common saucer, and half an inch
- thick. When the griddle is quite hot, lay on it as many cakes as it will
- hold, and bake them brown. When the upper side is done, slip a broad knife
- beneath and turn them over. They must be baked brown on both sides. Eat
- them warm, with buttermilk, sweet milk, butter, molasses, or whatever is
- most convenient. If you intend these cakes for dinner or supper, mix them
- as early in the day as you can, and (covering the pan) let them stand in a
- cool place till wanted for baking. In cold weather you may save trouble by
- mixing over night enough to last the next day for breakfast, dinner, and
- supper; baking them as they are wanted for each meal. Or they may be all
- baked in the morning, and eaten cold; but they are then not so palatable
- as when warm. They will be less liable to stick, if before each baking the
- griddle is dredged with wheat flour, or greased with a bit of fat pork
- stuck on a fork. You may cover it all over with one large cake, instead of
- several small ones.
- </p>
- <p>
- This cake is so called, because in some parts of America it was customary
- to bake it on the iron of a hoe, stood up before the fire. It is better
- known by that name than by any other.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[417]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COMMON GRIDDLE CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A quart of indian meal, sufficient warm water to make a soft dough, a
- small tea-spoonful of salt. Put the indian meal into a pan, and add the
- salt. Make a hole in the centre of the meal, and pour in a little warm
- water. Then mix it with a large, strong spoon, adding, by degrees, water
- enough to make a soft dough. Flour your hands, and knead it into a large
- lump&mdash;divide it into two equal portions. Flour your pasteboard, lay
- on it the first lump of dough, and roll it out about an inch thick. Then,
- (having already heated your griddle,) lay the cake upon it, spreading it
- evenly, and make it a good round shape. It should cover the whole surface
- of the griddle, which must first be greased, either with butter or lard
- tied in a rag, or with a bit of fat fresh pork. Bake it well; and when one
- side is well browned, turn it on the other, taking care not to break it.
- Send it to table hot, cut into three-cornered pieces&mdash;split and
- butter them. As soon as the first cake is sent in, put on the other to
- bake.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is one of the plainest and simplest preparations of indian cake; and
- is very good when warm.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLAIN JOHNNY CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A quart of indian meal, a pint of warm water, a level tea-spoonful of
- salt. Sift a quart of indian meal into a pan. Make a hole in the middle,
- and pour in a pint of warm water, adding the salt. With a spoon mix the
- meal and water gradually into a soft dough. Stir<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[418]</a></span> it very hard for a quarter
- of an hour or more, till it becomes light and spongy. Then spread the
- dough, smooth and evenly, on a stout, flat board. A piece of the head of a
- flour barrel will serve for this purpose. Place the board nearly (but not
- quite) upright, and set a smoothing-iron or a stone against the back to
- support it. Bake it well. When done, cut it into squares, and send it hot
- to table, split and buttered. You may eat molasses with it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VERY PLAIN INDIAN DUMPLINGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift some indian meal into a pan; add about a salt-spoon of salt to each
- quart of meal, and scald it with sufficient boiling water to make a stiff
- dough. Pour in the water gradually, stirring as you pour. When the dough
- becomes a stiff lump divide it into equal portions; flour your hands, and
- make it into thick flat dumplings, about as large round as the top of a
- glass tumbler, or a breakfast cup. Dredge the dumplings on all sides with
- flour, put them into a pot of boiling water, (if made sufficiently stiff
- they need not be tied in cloths,) and keep them boiling hard till
- thoroughly done. Try them with a fork, which must come out quite clean,
- and with no clamminess sticking to it. They are an excellent appendage to
- salt pork or bacon, serving them up with the meat; or they may be eaten
- afterwards with butter and molasses, or with milk sweetened well with
- brown sugar, and flavored with a little ground cinnamon. On no account
- boil them with meat.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[419]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN MUFFINS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A pint and a half of yellow indian meal, sifted; a handful of wheat flour;
- a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; a quart of milk; four eggs; a very
- small tea-spoonful of salt. Put the milk into a sauce-pan. Cut the butter
- into it. Set it over the fire and warm it till the butter is very soft,
- but not till it melts. Then take it off, stir it well till all mixed, and
- set it away to cool. Beat four eggs very light, and when the milk is cold,
- stir them into it alternately with the meal, a little at a time, of each.
- Add the salt. Beat the whole very hard after it is all mixed. Then butter
- some muffin-rings on the inside. Set them in a hot oven, or on a heated
- griddle; pour some of the batter into each, and bake the muffins well.
- Send them hot to table, continuing to bake while a fresh supply is wanted.
- Pull them open with your fingers, and eat them with butter, to which you
- may add molasses or honey. These muffins will be found excellent, and can
- be prepared in a very short time; for instance, in three quarters or half
- an hour before breakfast or tea.
- </p>
- <p>
- This mixture may be baked in waffle-irons, as waffles. Butter them, and
- have on the table a glass bowl with powdered sugar and powdered cinnamon,
- to eat with these waffles.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CORN MEAL BREAKFAST CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A quart of indian meal; a handful or more of wheat flour; a large
- salt-spoon of salt; a quart of warm water; an additional pint of lukewarm
- water; a bit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[420]</a></span>
- of pearlash the size of a hazle-nut, or the same quantity of soda or
- saleratus. Mix over night, in a large pan, the indian meal, the wheat
- flour and salt. Pour on gradually a quart of warm water, (warm but not
- hot,) and stir it in with a large wooden or iron spoon, so as to form a
- very soft dough. Cover the pan, and set it on the dresser till morning. In
- the morning thin the dough with another pint of warm water, so as to make
- it into a batter, having first dissolved in the water a salt-spoonful of
- powdered pearlash or saleratus, or a bit the size of a hazle-nut. Beat the
- mixture hard. Then cover it, and let it stand near the fire for a quarter
- of an hour before you begin to bake it. Bake it in thin cakes on a
- griddle. Send them to table hot, and eat them with butter and molasses, or
- honey.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN RICE CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take equal quantities of yellow indian meal and well boiled rice. Mix them
- together in a pan, the meal and rice alternately, a little at a time of
- each. The boiled rice may be either hot or cold; but it will be rather
- best to mix it hot. Having first mixed it with a spoon, knead it well with
- your hands; moistening it with a little milk or water, if you find it too
- stiff. Have ready, over the fire, a heated griddle. Grease it with fresh
- butter tied in a clean rag; and having made the mixture into flat round
- cakes, bake them well on both sides. Eat them<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[421]</a></span> with butter and sugar, or
- butter and molasses, or with butter alone.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PUMPKIN INDIAN CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take equal portions of indian meal, and stewed pumpkin that has been well
- mashed and <i>drained very dry</i> in a sieve or cullender. Put the stewed
- pumpkin in a pan, and stir the meal gradually into it, a spoonful at a
- time, adding a little butter as you proceed. Mix the whole thoroughly,
- stirring it very hard. If not thick enough to form a stiff dough, add a
- little more indian meal. Make it into round, flat cakes, about the size of
- a muffin, and bake them over the fire on a hot griddle greased with
- butter. Or lay them in a square iron pan, and bake them in an oven.
- </p>
- <p>
- Send them to table hot, and eat them with butter.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EXCELLENT BUCKWHEAT CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A quart of buckwheat meal, sifted; a level tea-spoonful of salt; a small
- half pint or a large handful of indian meal; two large table-spoonfuls of
- strong fresh brewer's yeast or four table-spoonfuls of home-made yeast;
- sufficient lukewarm water to make a moderate batter. Mix together the
- buckwheat and indian meal, and add the salt. Make a hole in the centre of
- the meal, and pour in the yeast. Then stir in gradually, from a kettle,
- sufficient tepid or lukewarm water to make a moderately thick batter when
- united with the yeast.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422"
- id="Page_422">[422]</a></span> Cover the pan, set it in a warm place, and
- leave it to rise. It should be light in about three hours. When it has
- risen high, and is covered with bubbles, it is fit to bake. Have ready a
- clean griddle well heated over the fire. Grease it well with a bit of
- fresh butter tied in a clean white rag, and kept on a saucer near you.
- Then dip out a large ladleful of the batter, and bake it on the griddle;
- turning it when brown, with the cake-turner, and baking it brown on the
- other side. Grease the griddle slightly between baking each cake, or
- scrape it smooth with a broad knife. As fast as you bake the cakes, lay
- them, several in a pile, on a hot plate. Butter them, and if of large size
- cut them across into four pieces. Or send them to table to be buttered
- there. Trim off the edges before they go in.
- </p>
- <p>
- If your batter has been mixed over night, and is found sour in the
- morning, dissolve a salt-spoon of pearlash or saleratus in a little
- lukewarm water, stir it into the batter, let it stand a quarter of an
- hour, and then bake it. The alkali will remove the acidity, and increase
- the lightness of the batter. If you use soda for this purpose it will
- require a tea-spoonful.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the batter is kept at night in so cold a place as to freeze, it will be
- unfit for use. Do not grease the griddle with meat-fat of any sort.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- NICE RYE BATTER CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A quart of lukewarm milk, two eggs, a large table-spoonful<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[423]</a></span> of
- fresh, brewer's yeast or two of home-made yeast; sufficient sifted rye
- meal to make a moderate batter; a salt-spoon of salt; having warmed the
- milk, beat the eggs very light, and stir them gradually into it,
- alternately with the rye meal, adding the salt. Put in the meal, a handful
- at a time, till you have the batter about as thick as for buckwheat cakes.
- Then stir in the yeast, and give the batter a hard beating, seeing that it
- is smooth and free from lumps. Cover the pan, and set it in a warm place
- to rise. When risen high, and covered with bubbles, the batter is fit to
- bake. Have ready over the fire a hot griddle, and bake the cakes in the
- manner of buckwheat. Send them to table hot, and eat them with butter,
- molasses, or honey.
- </p>
- <p>
- Yeast powders, used according to the directions that accompany them, and
- put in at the last, just before baking, are an improvement to the
- lightness of all batter cakes, provided that real yeast or eggs are also
- in the mixture. But it is not well to depend on the powders exclusively;
- particularly when real yeast is to be had. The lightness produced by yeast
- powders alone, is not the right sort; and though the cakes are eatable,
- they are too tough and leathery to be wholesome. As <i>auxiliaries</i> to
- genuine yeast, and to beaten eggs, yeast powders are excellent. But not as
- the sole dependence.
- </p>
- <p>
- Indian batter cakes may be made as above; or rye and indian meal be mixed
- in equal proportions.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[424]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIAN CUP CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- A pint and a half of yellow Indian meal; half a pint of wheat flour; a
- pint and a half of <i>sour</i> milk; (buttermilk is best;) a small
- tea-spoonful of saleratus or soda dissolved in warm water; two eggs; a
- level tea-spoonful of salt. Sift the indian and wheat meal into a pan and
- mix them well, adding the salt. If you have no buttermilk or other sour
- milk at hand, turn some sweet milk sour by setting a pan of it in the sun,
- or stirring in a spoonful of vinegar. Take out a small tea-cupful of the
- sour milk, and reserve it to be put in at the last. Beat the eggs very
- light, and then stir them, gradually, into the milk, alternately with the
- meal, a little at a time of each. Lastly, dissolve the soda or saleratus,
- and stir it into the cup of sour milk that has been reserved for the
- purpose. It will effervesce; stir it while foaming into the mixture, which
- should be a thick batter. Have ready some tea-cups, or little deep tins.
- Butter them well; nearly fill them with the batter, and set them
- immediately into a rather brisk oven. The cakes must be thoroughly baked
- all through. When done, turn them out on large plates, and send them hot
- to the breakfast or tea-table. Split them into three pieces, and eat them
- with butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- The soda will entirely remove the acidity of the milk, which will
- effervesce the better for being sour at first, adding therefore to the
- lightness of the cake. Taste the milk, and if you find that the slightest
- sourness remains, add a little more dissolved soda.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[425]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- All the alkalies, pearlash, saleratus, soda, and sal-volatile, will remove
- acidity, and increase lightness; but if too much is used, they will impart
- a disagreeable taste. It is useless to put lemon or orange juice into any
- mixture that is afterwards to have one of these alkalies, as they will
- entirely destroy the flavor of the fruit.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAROLINA RICE CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having picked and washed half a pint of rice, boil it by itself till the
- grains lose all form, and are dissolved into a thick mass or jelly. While
- warm, mix into it a large lump of the best fresh butter, and a
- salt-spoonful of salt. Pour into a bowl a moderate sized tea-cupful of
- ground rice flour, and add to it as much milk as will make a tolerably
- stiff batter. Stir it till it is quite smooth, and free from lumps. Then
- mix it thoroughly with the boiled rice. Beat six eggs as light as
- possible, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture. Bake it on a
- griddle, in cakes about as large round as a saucer. Eat them warm with
- butter; and have on the table, in a small bowl, some powdered white sugar
- and nutmeg, for those who like it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- AUNT LYDIA'S CORN CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift into a large pan a quart of yellow corn meal, and add a level
- tea-spoonful of salt, (not more.) Have ready a pint of boiling milk,
- sufficient to make a soft dough. Mix the milk hot into the corn meal,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[426]</a></span> and add
- about a quarter of a pound, or half a pint of nice fresh butter. Having
- beaten five eggs till very light and thick, stir them gradually into the
- mixture, and set it to cool. All preparations of corn meal require much
- beating and stirring. Have ready some small tin pans, about four or five
- inches square, and two or three inches deep. They are especially good for
- baking such cakes, (far better than patty-pans,) and are made by any
- tinsmith. Grease the pans with the same butter you have used in mixing the
- cakes. <i>Fill the pans to the top</i> with the above mixture, that the
- heat may immediately catch the surface, and cause it to puff up high above
- the edges of the pan. If properly mixed, and well beaten, there is no
- danger of it running over. If only half filled, and not very light, the
- mixture when baking will sink down, and become heavy and tough. Set these
- cakes immediately into a moderate oven. Bake them brown, and send them to
- the breakfast table hot. Split and butter them.
- </p>
- <p>
- They may be baked in muffin rings, but the small square pans are best.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is the very best preparation of Indian cakes. If <i>exactly followed</i>,
- we believe there is none superior; as is the opinion of all persons who
- have eaten them. The cook from whom this receipt was obtained, is a
- Southern colored woman, called Aunt Lydia.
- </p>
- <p>
- The above quantities will furnish cakes only for a small family. If the
- family is of tolerable size, double the proportions of each article&mdash;as<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[427]</a></span> for
- instance, two quarts of Indian meal, one quart of milk, half a pound of
- butter, and ten eggs, with a level table-spoonful of salt. Let them be
- well baked; not scorched on the top, and raw at the bottom.
- </p>
- <p>
- We recommend them highly as the perfection of corn cakes, if well made,
- well baked, and with all the ingredients of the best quality.
- </p>
- <p>
- Use yellow indian meal in preference to white. The yellow is sweeter, has
- more of the true corn taste, and its color shows at once what it is. The
- white has less flavor, and may be mistaken for very coarse wheat. It is
- difficult to keep corn meal good for the whole year. Before the new corn
- meal is in market, the old is apt to become musty. If you live in a city
- it is best to buy it as you want it; a few pecks at a time. If in the
- country, sift your barrel of corn meal soon after it is brought; divide
- it, and keep it in several different vessels, always well covered.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SHORT CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- As this requires no rising, it may be mixed and prepared at half an hour's
- notice. Take a quart and a pint of wheat flour, sift it into a pan, and
- divide into three parts three quarters of a pound of nice fresh butter.
- Cut up one piece into the pan of flour, and mix it into a dough with a
- broad knife, adding, as you proceed, as little water as will be barely
- sufficient. The water must be very cold. Roll out this lump of paste,
- dredge it slightly with flour, fold it up, and<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[428]</a></span> roll it out again. Then
- cover it with a second division of the butter, put on the sheet of paste
- with the knife, and dispersed at equal distances. Sprinkle it with flour,
- fold it, and roll out the sheet again. Put on the remainder of the butter
- as before, in bits equally dispersed. Fold, dredge, and roll out the dough
- into a rather thin sheet. Cut it into small round cakes with the edge of a
- tumbler, or something like it, using up the clippings of paste left at the
- last to make one more cake. Have ready a hot griddle or oven. Put on the
- cakes so as not to touch each other, and bake them light brown on both
- sides. Send them to table hot, to be split and buttered. Mix and roll out
- these cakes as fast as possible, and avoid handling them more than you
- need. Paste made <i>slowly</i> is never light or flakey. Mix quick and
- roll quick. This is a good plain paste for fruit pot-pies or dumplings.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may make common short cake for very healthy people, with two quarts of
- flour, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a pound of
- lard, mixed into the pan of meal with a very little cold water, and a
- second quarter of lard spread all over the sheet of paste, after rolling
- it out. Fold, sprinkle, and roll it out again into one round griddle cake,
- or two if you have enough of dough. Take care, in baking, not to have it
- smoked or blackened at the edge. When done, cut it into "pie pieces," and
- send it to table to be split and buttered.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[429]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HALF MOONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Of this paste you may make half-moon pies. Cut the paste into round cakes.
- On half the circle, lay plenty of stewed fruit well sweetened, (for
- instance, stewed dried peach,) fold over it the other half, pinch the two
- edges together, and crimp them. Bake them in an oven, and eat them fresh.
- If you have fruit in the house ready stewed, half-moon pies can be got up
- for a plain dessert on an emergency. Either mince meat, or sausage meat,
- may be baked in half-moons. They will bake very nicely, laid side by side,
- in large square tin pans, first dredged slightly with flour.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SOFT MUFFINS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Warm a quart of milk, and melt in it a quarter of a pound of the best
- fresh butter, cut into bits. When melted, stir it about, and set it away
- to cool. Beat four eggs till very thick and light, and stir them gradually
- into a pan of milk, and butter when it is quite cold. Then, by degrees,
- stir in enough of sifted flour to make a batter as thick as you can well
- beat it. Then, at the last, stir in three table-spoonfuls of baker's or
- brewer's yeast. Cover the pan of batter with a double cloth, and set it on
- the hearth (or some other warm place) to rise, but it must not be allowed
- to get hot. It should have risen nearly to the top of the pan, and be
- covered with bubbles in about three hours. The griddle being heated,
- grease it with nice butter tied in a rag; take a ladleful of batter out of
- the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[430]</a></span>
- pan, pour it into the ring, and bake the muffins. Send them hot to table,
- and split and butter them. These are superior to all muffins. Those who
- have eaten them will never desire any others, if this receipt has been
- faithfully followed. Try it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SALLY LUNN CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a favorite tea cake, and so universally liked that it is well to
- make a liberal quantity of the mixture, and bake it in two loaves. Sift
- into a large pan three pounds of fine flour. Warm in a quart of milk half
- a pound of fresh butter, and add a small tea-spoonful of salt, six eggs
- well beaten, and add, gradually, two wine glasses of excellent fresh
- yeast. Mix the flour well into the pan, (a little at a time) and beat the
- whole very hard. Divide this quantity into two equal portions, and set it
- to rise in two pans. Cover it with thick cloths, and set it on the hearth
- to rise. When quite light, grease two loaf-pans with the same butter used
- for the cakes, and bake it in a moderate oven, keeping up the heat
- steadily to the last. It should be thoroughly done all through. Send it to
- table hot, cut in slices, but the slices left standing as in a pound cake
- at a party.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Sally Lunn mixture may be baked on a griddle, as muffins in muffin
- rings, and split and buttered at table.
- </p>
- <p>
- In mixing this cake, add neither sugar nor spice. They do not improve, but
- spoil it, as would be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[431]</a></span>
- found on trial. It is the best of plain tea cakes, if properly made and
- baked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DELAWARE CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a plain tea cake. Sift into a pan two quarts of flour. Cut up half
- a pound of fresh butter, and rub it into the flour with your hands. Beat
- five eggs very light and thick; make a hole in the centre of the flour,
- and gradually stir the beaten eggs, in turn with a pint of milk. Then add
- a jill of fine fresh yeast. Mix the whole thoroughly with a broad knife.
- Transfer it to large square tin pans. Cover it with a clean flannel, and
- set it on the hearth to rise. When it is quite light, and cracked all over
- the surface, divide the dough into cakes and bake them in muffin rings, on
- a griddle or in a stove. If baked in one large cake, there is a risk of
- their being made heavy, by cutting them when hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- To make sweet cakes with the above mixture, add gradually to the flour in
- the pan, half a pound of powdered sugar before you rub in the butter, and
- after the eggs and milk. Stir in a wineglass of rosewater, or less, if it
- is very strong, (which rosewater seldom is) and also it loses much of its
- strength in cooking. Or, substitute the yellow rind and juice of a lemon,
- and some powdered nutmeg. They will then be a cake for company; otherwise,
- they will be for family teas.
- </p>
- <p>
- Either plain or sweet they are very good. We rather prefer them plain. If
- plain, omit even<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[432]</a></span>
- sugar. Sugar, without other flavoring, gives plain tea cakes a faint
- sickly taste, and is better left out entirely, except for children&mdash;and
- they like any kind of sweetness, however little.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MARYLAND BISCUIT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two quarts of sifted wheat flour, and add a small tea-spoonful of
- salt. Rub into the pan of flour a large quarter of a pound of lard, and
- add, gradually, warm milk enough to make a very stiff dough. Knead the
- lump of dough long and hard, and pound it on all sides with a rolling-pin.
- Divide the dough into several pieces, and knead and pound each piece
- separately. This must go on for two or three hours, continually kneading
- and pounding, otherwise it will be hard, tough, and indigestible. Then
- make it into small round thick biscuits, prick them with a fork, and bake
- them a pale brown.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is the most laborious of cakes, and also the most unwholesome, even
- when made in the best manner. We do not recommend it; but there is no
- accounting for tastes. Children should not eat these biscuits&mdash;nor
- grown persons either, if they can get any other sort of bread.
- </p>
- <p>
- When living in a town where there are bakers, there is no excuse for
- making Maryland biscuit. Believe nobody that says they are not
- unwholesome. Yet we have heard of families, in country places, where
- neither the mistress nor the cook knew any other preparation of wheat
- bread. Better to live on indian cakes<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[433]</a></span>.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HOME-MADE BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- You cannot have good bread without good flour, good yeast, good kneading,
- and good baking, all united. Like many other things, the best flour is
- always the cheapest in the end. There is none better than that which comes
- from the mills of Hiram Smith, Rochester, New York. All flour should be
- kept in a dry place, damp being always injurious to it. Good flour goes
- farther than that of inferior quality, and is both whiter and lighter. No
- skill will avail either in making or baking bread, if the flour is of bad
- quality. Flour will keep much better if, as soon as a new barrel is
- brought in, the whole of it is sifted, and divided in several buckets.
- Flour buckets, made for the purpose, are short and wide, are broader at
- the bottom than the top, and have handles and lids. They are to be had of
- all coopers. Yeast must always be of the best quality, strong and fresh.
- With too much yeast the bread will be bitter; with too little it will be
- heavy; with stale yeast it will be heavy, sour, and dark-colored. If baked
- too little, it becomes tough and clammy. We deprecate the practice of
- putting hartshorn in bread. It gives it a bad taste; and even if it
- produces a sort of factitious lightness, it also renders it tough and
- difficult to masticate, however nice it may look. Also, it is very
- unwholesome.
- </p>
- <p>
- The oven should be heated in time, to set in the bread as soon as ready.
- When once it has risen to its utmost lightness, it will fall and turn sour
- if permitted to stand. The only remedy for sour<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[434]</a></span> bread is, to melt a
- table-spoonful of soda or pearlash in tepid water, and sprinkle it over
- the dough, which must then be kneaded again, after it has rested half an
- hour. In summer, do not begin your bread over night; it will certainly be
- sour before morning. In winter you may do so, but keep it all night in a
- warm (though not a hot) place. If the dough freezes, you may throw it away
- at once.
- </p>
- <p>
- To knead, double up your hands, put them deep into the dough, and work it
- with your knuckles, exerting all your strength. When the dough sticks to
- them no longer, but leaves your bent fingers clean and clear, it is time
- to cease kneading, for you have done enough for that time.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sift into a deep pan, or large wooden bowl, a peck of fine wheat flour,
- (adding a large table-spoonful of salt,) and mix the water with half a
- pint of strong fresh brewer's yeast, or near a whole pint if the yeast is
- home-made. Pour this into the hole, in the middle of the heap of flour.
- Mix in with a wooden spoon, a portion of the flour from the surrounding
- edges of the hole so as to make a thick batter, and having sprinkled dry
- flour over the top, let it rest for near an hour. This is called "<i>setting
- the sponge</i>," or "<i>making the leaven</i>." When it has swelled up to
- the surface, and burst through the coating of flour that covered the hole,
- pour in as much more lukewarm water as will suffice to mix the whole
- gradually into a dough. Knead it hard and thoroughly, leaving no lumps in
- it, and continue to knead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435"
- id="Page_435">[435]</a></span> till the dough leaves your hands. Throw
- over it a clean thick cloth, and set it in a warm place to rise again.
- When it is quite light and cracked all over the surface, divide it into
- loaves, and give each loaf a little more kneading, and let it rest till it
- has risen as high as it will. Have your oven quite ready, and (having
- transferred the loaves to pans, sprinkled with flour,) bake them well. Try
- the heat of the oven by previously throwing in a little flour. If it
- browns well, and you can hold your hand in the heat while you count
- twenty, it is a good temperature for bread. If the flour scorches black
- the oven is too hot, so leave the oven open a little while till it becomes
- cooler. As soon as the bread is quite done, take out the loaves, wrap each
- tightly in a clean coarse cloth, damped by sprinkling it with water, and
- stand them up on their edges. This will prevent the crust from becoming
- too hard. Keep the loaves wrapped up after they are deposited in the bread
- box.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROLLS&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Are made as above, except that they are mixed with warm milk instead of
- water, and a little fresh butter rubbed into the dough.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TWIST BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Before you put the dough into the baking pans, divide it equally into long
- thick rolls, (smaller at the ends) and plait or twist three together.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[436]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BRAN BREAD&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Is made like any other, only of bran meal; and in setting the sponge, put
- <i>wheat</i> flour into the hole, and add to the liquid half a tea-cupful
- of nice brown sugar. Bran bread should look very brown. It should be eaten
- fresh. When stale, it is too dry and hard. Bran batter cakes are made and
- baked like buckwheat.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RYE BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Is made like wheat bread, but that it requires more kneading and baking.
- Rye batter cakes, made like buckwheat, should have one half corn meal.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BREAD BISCUITS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- When making bread after the dough has risen very light, take from it a
- quart or more; knead into it a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and
- form it into tall rolls. Bake them in an oven, and when done break them
- apart, but do not cut them with a knife&mdash;or, bake them in flat
- biscuits, to be split and buttered. Bread dough, with some butter added to
- the mixture, will make plain cakes for children, with the addition of
- white sugar, powdered cinnamon, some good raisins, (stoned,) cut in half,
- and dredged well with flour, to prevent their clodding or sinking. A
- beaten egg mixed into the dough is an improvement. Children, (accustomed
- only to plain living,) like these cakes very well, but they must be light
- and well baked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[437]</a></span>.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BREAD CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take slices of stale wheat bread, that has been well made and light. There
- should be enough to fill a pint bowl, closely packed. Put the bread into a
- deep dish, and pour boiling water upon it. While the bread is soaking, mix
- in a crock or jar a pint of milk, and a pint of wheat flour. Put the
- soaked bread into a cullender, and let the water drain off. When the water
- is drained away, beat the bread <i>lightly</i> with a fork, but do not
- press or mash it. Beat two eggs very light and thick, and gradually stir
- them into the flour and milk. Then stir in the bread. Bake the mixture on
- a griddle in the manner of buckwheat cakes, and eat them hot with butter.
- This quantity is for a small family of four persons.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a family of moderate size, take a quart of stale bread, a quart of
- milk, a quart of flour, and four eggs.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a large family, two quarts of bread, two quarts of milk, two quarts of
- flour, and eight eggs. This quantity will not be more than sufficient for
- a large family, as they will all like these cakes.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you have not enough of stale bread in the house, send for a stale loaf,
- rather than not have the proper proportion for the cakes.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MILK BISCUIT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Warm a pint of milk on the top of the stove, and cut up in it half a pound
- of fresh butter, to soften, but not to melt. Sift into a pan two quarts of
- flour; make a hole in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[438]</a></span>
- the middle of the flour, and pour into it the milk and butter. Beat two
- eggs till very thick and smooth, and pour them in also. Lastly, pour into
- the hole two wine-glasses of strong fresh brewer's or baker's yeast; or,
- three of good home-made yeast. Mix altogether with a broad knife, till it
- becomes a lump of soft dough. Then knead it well on your pasteboard, and
- make it into round rolls or balls. Knead every ball separately. Flatten
- them with your hand into thick biscuits, and prick every one with a fork.
- Lay them separately in buttered square pans, and set them to rise. If all
- is right, they will be light in little more than an hour. When quite
- light, (risen high and cracked all over) set them in a moderate oven, and
- bake them a light brown. They should be eaten quite fresh.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RUSK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift a quart of flour into a pan. Make a hole in the centre, and pour in a
- quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut up and softened in half a pint of
- milk warmed on the stove. Beat two eggs very light, and mix them gradually
- into the hole in the pan of flour, in turn with a small wine-glass of rose
- water; or a table-spoonful of the rose water if as strong as it should be,
- adding a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- Lastly, a wine-glass and a half of fresh brewer's yeast. Mix those
- articles well into the flour, till it becomes a lump of soft dough. Knead
- it well on your pasteboard, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439"
- id="Page_439">[439]</a></span> divide it into pieces of equal size. Knead
- each piece separately. Form them so as to be tall and high, when finished.
- Butter an iron pan, lay the rusks in it side by side, and set them in a
- warm place to rise again. When quite light, bake them in a moderate oven,
- and sift sugar over them when cool.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DRY RUSKS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Dry rusks are used for infant's food, and for invalids. They are made
- plain, without any butter, spice, or rose water, and after being once
- baked are split, and baked over till they are all crisp and browned on the
- inside. Use them dissolved, by pouring on a little warm water or milk, and
- beat them with a spoon to a thick pap.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CROSS BUNS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick clean a pound and a half of dried or Zante currants; wash, drain, and
- dry them on a large flat dish placed in a slanting position near the fire,
- or in the sun. It will be still better to substitute for the currants a
- pound of Sultana (or seedless) raisins, each raisin cut in half. When
- quite dry, dredge the fruit <i>thickly</i> with flour to prevent their
- sinking or clodding in the cake. Sift into a deep pan two quarts of flour,
- and mix thoroughly with it a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, and
- three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar. Cut up three-quarters of a
- pound of fresh butter, into a large half pint of rich milk. Warm it till
- the butter is quite soft, but not till it melts. Make a hole in the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[440]</a></span> centre
- of the pan of flour, and pour in the mixed liquid, adding a jill (or two
- wine-glasses) of strong fresh yeast. Mix in the flour by degrees,
- beginning round the edge of the hole, and proceed gradually till you have
- the whole mass of ingredients well incorporated. Cover the pan with a
- clean thick towel, and set it in a warm place to rise. When it has risen
- high, and is cracked all over, mix in a small tea-spoonful of dissolved
- soda. Flour your pasteboard, divide the dough into equal portions, mix in
- the plums, and <i>slightly</i> knead it into round cakes the size of a
- small saucer. Place them on a large dish, cover them, and set them again
- to rise in a warm place for half an hour. Mark every one deeply with a
- cross, bake them brown, and when done brush each bun lightly over with a
- glazing of white of egg, sweetened with sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CINNAMON BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- On a bread-baking day, (having made more than your usual quantity of wheat
- bread,) when the dough has risen quite light, and is cracked all over the
- surface, take out as much as will weigh two pounds. Mix into it a quarter
- of a pound of fresh butter, that has been cut up and melted in a half pint
- of milk; and also, three beaten eggs. Incorporate the butter, milk, and
- egg, thoroughly with the dough, and then add (dissolved in a little tepid
- water,) a salt-spoonful (<i>not more</i>) of soda. Have ready mixed in a
- bowl a pint of <i>brown</i> sugar, moistened<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[441]</a></span> with fresh butter, so as to
- make a stiff paste, and flavor it with two heaped table-spoonfuls of
- powdered cinnamon. Form the cake into the shape of a round loaf, and make
- deep incisions or cuts all over its surface; filling them up with the
- cinnamon mixture pressed hard into the cuts, pinching and closing the
- dough over them with your thumb and finger to prevent the seasoning
- running out. Put the loaf into a round pan, and set it into the oven to
- bake with the other bread. When cool, glaze it over with white of egg, in
- which some powdered sugar has been dissolved. Send it to table whole in
- form, but cut into loose slices. Eat it fresh. All yeast cakes become dry
- and hard the next day.
- </p>
- <p>
- This mixture may be baked in a square iron pan, and cut into square cakes
- when cool.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WAFFLES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- We are indebted to the Germans for this cake, which, if this receipt is
- exactly followed, will be found excellent. Warm a quart of milk, and cut
- up in it a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter, and stir it about
- to soften in the warm milk. Beat eight eggs till very thick and smooth,
- and stir them gradually into the milk and butter, in turn with half a
- pound of sifted flour. Then add two table-spoonfuls of strong fresh
- brewer's or baker's yeast. Cover the pan with a clean thick cloth, and set
- it in a warm place to rise. When the batter has risen nearly to the top,
- and is covered with bubbles, it is time<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[442]</a></span> to bake; first stirring in
- a wine-glass of rose-water. Having heated your waffle-iron in a good fire,
- grease it inside with the fresh butter used for the waffle mixture, or
- with fresh lard; fill it, and shut the iron closely. Turn it on the fire,
- that both sides of the cake may be equally well done. Each side will
- require about three minutes baking. Take them out of the iron by slipping
- a knife underneath. Then grease and prepare the iron for another waffle.
- Butter them, and send them to the tea-table "hot and hot;" and, to eat
- with this, a bowl or glass dish of sugar flavored with powdered cinnamon.
- </p>
- <p>
- In buying waffle irons choose them <i>very deep</i>, so as to make a good
- impression when baked&mdash;if shallow, the waffle will look thin and
- poor. Those that bake one waffle at a time are the handsomest and most
- manageable.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SOFT CRULLERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift a pound and a half of flour, and have ready a pound of powdered
- sugar. Heat in a round-bottomed sauce-pan a quart of water; and when quite
- warm, stir the flour gradually into the water. In another vessel set a
- pound of nice fresh butter over the fire, and when it begins to melt, stir
- it, by degrees, into the flour and water. Then add, gradually, the
- powdered sugar, and a grated nutmeg. Take the sauce-pan off the fire, and
- beat the contents with a wooden spaddle, (which is far better than a
- spoon) till they are thoroughly mixed. Next,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[443]</a></span> having beaten six eggs till
- very thick and light, stir them, gradually, into the mixture, and then
- beat the whole very hard till it becomes a thick batter. Add rose-water or
- lemon juice. Flour a pasteboard, and lay out the batter upon it in the
- form of rings. The best and easiest way is to pass it through a screw
- funnel.
- </p>
- <p>
- Have ready on the fire a pot of boiling lard. Put in the crullers, taking
- them off the board one at a time, on a broad-bladed knife. Boil but a few
- at a time. They must be of a fine brown. Lift them out with a perforated
- skimmer, draining back the lard into the pot. Lay them on a large dish,
- and dredge them with sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- These, if properly managed, are far superior to all other crullers, but
- they cannot be made in warm weather.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- DOUGH-NUTS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- On baking day, take two pounds of very light bread dough that has been
- made in the usual manner. Put it into a broad pan. Rub into it half a
- pound of fresh butter, and half a pound of powdered sugar, and a
- table-spoonful of mixed nutmeg and cinnamon. Wet it with half a pint of
- milk, and mix in three well beaten eggs. Cover it, and set by the fire to
- rise again. When quite light, flour your pasteboard, and make the dough
- into oval balls; or, you may cut it into diamond shapes, (handling it as
- little as possible.) Have ready, over the fire, a pot of boiling lard.
- Drop the dough-nuts into it, and boil them; or fry them brown in a
- frying-pan.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[444]</a></span>
- Take them out one by one in a perforated skimmer, draining back the lard
- into the pan. Spread them on a large dish, and sift sugar over them. Eat
- them fresh; when heavy and stale they are not fit. This is a German cake.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COMMON CRULLERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The above mixture for dough-nuts will make good crullers. Flour your
- pasteboard, lay the dough upon it, roll it very thick, and cut it into
- strips with a jagging iron. Take off short pieces, and twist them into
- various forms. Throw them into a pot of boiling lard. When done, drain the
- lard from them, spread them on a large dish, and dredge them with powdered
- white sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- The Alpistera is a Spanish cruller, shaped like the five fingers united at
- the wrist.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="PLAIN_DESSERTS" id="PLAIN_DESSERTS"></a>PLAIN DESSERTS.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MOLASSES PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift into a pan a large quart of yellow indian meal. Simmer over the fire
- a quart of milk, a pint of <i>West India molasses</i>, stirred in while
- the milk is hot. Put the milk and molasses into a large pan, and mix
- gradually into them the corn meal while they are quite warm. Add a large
- table-spoonful of ground ginger, and a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[445]</a></span>
- cinnamon. Beat the whole mixture long and hard, for on that will chiefly
- depend the lightness of the pudding, as it has neither eggs, butter, nor
- yeast. If your batter seems too thin, add, gradually, a little more corn
- meal; if too thick, a little more milk and molasses.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dip in hot water a large square pudding cloth. Spread it out in a pan,
- dredge it well with flour, and then pour the pudding-mixture into it. Tie
- it up, making the string very secure, but leave plenty of room between the
- batter and the tying place, for the pudding to swell in boiling, at least
- one-third. Put the pudding, directly, into a large pot, and keep it
- steadily boiling for about three hours. Corn meal requires long cooking.
- Turn the pudding twice with a fork. If the water boils away too much,
- replenish it from a tea-kettle of hot water, kept boiling for the purpose.
- If you pour in <i>cold</i> water the pudding will become hard and heavy,
- and be totally spoiled. Do not turn it out and send it to table till
- wanted at dinner. Then dip it for a moment in cold water, untie the
- string, and transfer it to a dish with a cover. Eat it with molasses and
- butter; or make a sauce of drawn butter, flavored with wine and nutmeg.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pudding, if properly mixed, well beaten, and well boiled, will be as
- light as if made with eggs, (the <i>West India</i> molasses having that
- property) and it will cut down rough or open grained, like a very light
- sponge cake, unless the batter has been made too thick and stiff, and not
- sufficiently beaten, and not allowed space enough to swell in<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[446]</a></span> boiling.
- If made <i>too thin</i>, or not boiled well, the pudding will come out a
- soft, shapeless mass. But if all is carefully managed, this (the least
- costly of American puddings) will be found excellent for a plain table,
- and perfectly wholesome. The flavor will be much improved by adding to the
- cinnamon and ginger the grated yellow rind and juice of an orange or
- lemon. If your first attempt at this pudding is a failure, try it again&mdash;practice
- makes perfect.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a large family, have two quarts of corn meal, two quarts of milk, and
- one quart of <i>West India</i> molasses; two table-spoonfuls of ginger,
- and one of cinnamon.
- </p>
- <p>
- What is left may be tied in a cloth, and boiled over again next day, for
- half an hour or longer.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MOLASSES PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a plain paste, allowing a quart of flour to a quarter of a pound of
- fresh butter, and a quarter of a pound of lard. Cut up the butter into the
- pan of flour, and rub it into a dough, with a half tumbler of cold water.
- Too much water is injurious to any paste, rendering it tough and hard.
- Roll out the paste into a sheet, and with a broad knife spread all over it
- one-half of the lard. Sprinkle it with flour, fold it, and roll it out
- again. Spread on the remainder of the lard, dredge it slightly, fold it
- again, and then divide it into two sheets. Line with one sheet the inside
- of a pie-dish, and fill it with molasses, mixed with butter, and flavored
- with ginger and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[447]</a></span>
- cinnamon, or lemon or orange. Put on the other sheet of paste as a lid to
- the pie. Crimp or notch the edges. Bake it of a pale brown, and send it to
- table fresh, but not hot.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MOLASSES POT-PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make plenty of paste, allowing to <i>each quart</i> of flour a small half
- pound of finely minced suet. Line the pot three-quarters up the sides with
- paste, and put in a quart of West India molasses, flavored with ginger and
- cinnamon, lemon or orange grating, and juice. Cover it with a lid of
- paste, <i>not fitting closely</i> round its edges, and cut a cross slit in
- the top. Have ready six or eight extra pieces of suet paste, cut into
- squares, and boiled by themselves. When the pie is done, put these little
- cakes (ready boiled) into the molasses, having removed the lid or cover of
- the pie, and cut it up. Take out the inside paste, and cut it in pieces
- also. Serve up the whole in one large dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BATTER PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having beaten eight eggs till very thick and smooth, stir them gradually
- into a pan of milk, in turn with eight table-spoonfuls of flour, added by
- degrees. Give the whole a hard stirring at last. Dip a square pudding
- cloth into hot water, shake it out, dredge it with flour, and spread it
- over the inside of an empty pan. Pour the pudding mixture into it. Gather
- up the cloth, leaving ample space for the pudding to swell in boiling, and
- securing the string<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[448]</a></span>
- tightly. Put the pudding into a large pot of boiling water, and boil it
- fast and steadily for two hours. Turn it with a large fork once or twice
- while boiling. When done, dip it for a moment in cold water, that you may
- turn it out easily. Send it to table hot, and eat it with any sauce you
- like, from molasses, or butter and sugar, to wine sauce. This, if exactly
- followed, is the very best receipt for a plain batter pudding. It may be
- made of corn meal, or wheat bread-crumbs, (eight table-spoonfuls to eight
- eggs, and one quart of milk.) Corn meal requires with it one or two
- spoonfuls of wheat flour for this pudding.
- </p>
- <p>
- We cannot approve of boiling batter puddings in moulds, as they are rarely
- allowed sufficient space for swelling, and are therefore tough and solid.
- Also, it is frequently very difficult to get a hot pudding out of a mould.
- </p>
- <p>
- The above pudding is very nice baked in the dripping pan under a piece of
- roast beef or veal.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make the same mixture as for batter pudding. Eight eggs beaten very light
- and thick, and stirred gradually into a quart of milk, in turn with eight
- spoonfuls of flour; and, when all are united, beat the whole very hard. In
- a large frying-pan melt a pound of lard, and when it comes to a boil, put
- in with a large spoon a half tea-cupful of batter. Fry them fast, a panful
- at a time, and as they require no stirring they will soon be done. For the
- next panful, add half a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449"
- id="Page_449">[449]</a></span> pound more of lard, and see that it is
- boiling well all the time. If there is not enough of lard, or if it only
- simmers, the fritters will stick to the bottom, and be heavy, dark, and
- greasy. Send them to table "hot and hot," sprinkled with sugar. Eat them
- with sugar, cinnamon, and white wine. This is the best possible receipt
- for plain fritters.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ORANGE FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For frying fruit fritters use nice fresh butter. Peel, and cut into round
- slices (not very thin) some fine oranges, removing the seeds carefully.
- Put into each fritter (while frying) a slice of orange, and dredge with
- sugar. Eat them with sweetened orange juice. These are fritters for
- company.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PEACH FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take large ripe free-stone peaches, the best you can get. Peel them, cut
- them in half, remove the stones, and put some loaf sugar into the cavities
- from whence you took them. Have ready, in a large frying-pan over the
- fire, an ample quantity of nice fresh butter, boiling fast. Put in the
- batter, and to every spoonful allow half a peach, laid on its back. When
- done take them up separately, and drain the butter back into the pan.
- Serve up the fritters dredged with white sugar. You may color these
- fritters pink by mixing in the batter a little prepared alkanet, the chips
- tied up in a thin muslin bag, and laid in a small saucer of sweet oil.
- Stir the co<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[450]</a></span>lored
- oil into the batter; it has no taste, but the color is beautiful. Fritters
- may be colored green by mixing in the batter some of the juice obtained
- from pounded spinach leaves.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- APPLE OR QUINCE FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pare and core some pippin or bell-flower apples, or ripe quinces. Cut them
- into round slices, and fry one in every fritter. Eat them with sweetened
- lemon juice. You may make fritters with a large table-spoonful of any
- thick marmalade in the centre. Or, with a large fresh oyster in the middle
- of each. Or, with a table-spoonful of minced meat. These, also, are
- company fritters.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PANCAKES&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Are very inferior to good fritters, and much more troublesome to bake.
- They are the same ingredients mixed thinner; are also fried in lard, and
- must be turned by tossing them over (one at a time) in the frying-pan.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- JUNKET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having turned a quart of rich milk, by stirring into it a half tea-cupful
- of the water in which two or three square inches of rennet has been soaked
- for several hours, set the milk in a covered pitcher, in a warm place,
- till it becomes a firm curd, the whey separating from it, and looking thin
- and greenish. Keep it on ice till just before it is wanted for table. Then
- transfer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[451]</a></span>
- it to a large bowl, and sweeten it well with white sugar. Mix in two
- glasses of sweet wine, and grate over it a nutmeg. It is very nice with
- extract of vanilla added to the wine, &amp;c.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is not a good way to preserve a rennet by cutting it into little
- pieces, and keeping it in wine, stirring the wine into milk when you wish
- to form a curd. If turned with rennet wine, the curd will never separate
- completely from the whey, which will therefore be always thick and
- whitish. By using rennet water, the whey will be pure, thin, and of a
- light green, and the curd very white and firm. In Philadelphia market,
- dried rennets (which will keep a year or two hanging up in a cool dry
- closet) are universally used to make curds, and are always to be bought at
- small prices. They are cured by salting them, and stretching on a bent
- rod. To use this rennet, cut off a small bit, and soak it several hours,
- or over night, in a cup of lukewarm water. Then stir this water into the
- milk.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MILK POTTAGE OR FARMER'S RICE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some rich milk, and put it on to boil in a pot of sufficient size.
- When it has begun to boil, stir in, by degrees, enough of wheat flour to
- make it about as thick as the general consistence of rice milk, and boil
- it well, stirring it frequently down to the bottom. Add a few blades of
- mace, or some powdered cinnamon. Knead together some flour and fresh
- butter, forming a lump of white paste. Divide the paste into small round
- dumplings about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[452]</a></span>
- the size of a cent, and put them to boil with the milk. When the pottage
- is well boiled, take it up, and transfer it to a tureen or deep white-ware
- dish, and make it very sweet with good brown sugar. Grate some nutmeg over
- the surface.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is an excellent addition to a winter supper-table, and is much liked
- by children, for whom it is also good at the end of a plain dinner. As a
- substitute for rice milk, it is better and more wholesome than rice
- itself.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLAIN RICE PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick some rice, carefully removing from it the husks, and all impurities;
- and if you find it the least sour or musty, throw it away, and get some
- that is perfectly good. Wash it through two or three waters, till it
- drains off quite clean. Stir a quarter of a pound of this rice into a
- quart of good rich milk. If the milk is poor and thin, and has been
- skimmed till it is blue, or mixed with water, the pudding will be poor
- accordingly. In the country where cream is easily to be obtained, add some
- to the milk which you use for the rice pudding. Stir in also a quarter of
- a pound of good brown sugar, and a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Set
- the pudding into an oven, and bake till a brown skin covers the surface,
- and the rice is quite soft, which you may ascertain by lifting a bit of
- the brown skin from the edge and trying the rice. Eat it warm or cold. It
- is usual in the country to put<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453"
- id="Page_453">[453]</a></span> several of these rice puddings into the
- oven on baking days.
- </p>
- <p>
- They will be greatly improved by the addition of two or three beaten eggs,
- and a few bits of fresh butter, stirred in with the rice and sugar. Also
- powdered cinnamon. Rice is in itself so tasteless, that it requires good
- flavoring.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLAIN BOILED RICE PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick, wash, and drain a pound of rice. Moisten it with a quart of milk.
- Have ready a pound of seedless raisins. Dredge them well all over with
- flour to prevent their sinking. Stir them gradually into the rice and
- milk. Boil it in a cloth, leaving ample space for it to swell. Keep the
- water very hot all the time. Eat it with butter and sugar, seasoned with
- ground cinnamon.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RICE CUPS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil in water, in the usual manner, a pound or more of cleaned rice till
- it is perfectly soft. Drain it well, and mix it with a quart of milk,
- seasoned with a mixed table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon and nutmeg or
- mace. Boil it a second time till all the grains are dissolved into a
- smooth mass, and their form cannot be distinguished. Mould it in large
- tea-cups, pint bowls, or blanc-mange moulds; and when it has taken the
- desired form, turn it out on dishes, and serve up with it a small tureen
- of wine sauce, or of boiled custard made very sweet, and seasoned, by<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[454]</a></span> boiling
- in the milk of which the custard was made a few peach leaves, or some
- bitter almonds broken up, or a broken-up stick of cinnamon, to be taken
- out when it is done.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BREAD PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Grate or crumble as much stale wheat bread (omitting the crust) as will
- fill a pint bowl when done. Boil a pint of good milk with a broken-up
- stick of cinnamon in it. Strain the milk, and pour it (boiling) over the
- bread. Sweeten it with three large table-spoonfuls of sugar. Stir in one
- or two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter. Beat four eggs till very
- thick and smooth, and add them, gradually, to the mixture, when it is
- lukewarm. It will be much improved by the grated peel and juice of a lemon
- or orange. Bake it in a deep dish or mould; sift white sugar over it. Eat
- it warm, with sweet sauce flavored with nutmeg.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut large even slices of yesterday's bread, (<i>leaving on</i> the crust)
- and spread them well with fresh butter. Strew over them thickly half a
- pound of Zante currants, picked and washed. Make a batter of four beaten
- eggs and a large pint of milk, seasoned with powdered nutmeg or mace. Pour
- some of this batter into the bottom of a deep white dish. Then put on as
- many slices of bread and currants as will cover the bottom. Next, add the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[455]</a></span>
- remainder of the batter, and finish with slices of bread and butter
- strewed with currants. Bake till the batter is set and firm. When done,
- serve it up warm.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A BROWN BETTY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pare, core, and slice thin some fine <i>juicy</i> apples. Cover with the
- apples the bottom of a large deep white-ware dish. Sweeten them well with
- plenty of brown sugar; adding grated lemon or orange peel. Strew over them
- a thick layer of bread-crumbs, and add to the crumbs a <i>very few</i>
- bits of fresh butter. Then put in another layer of cut apples and sugar,
- followed by a second layer of bread-crumbs and butter. Next more apples
- and sugar; then more bread-crumbs and butter; repeat this till the dish is
- full, finishing it with bread-crumbs. Bake it till the apples are entirely
- done and quite soft. Send it to table hot. It will be improved (if in the
- country at cider-making season) by adding to each layer of apples a very
- little sweet unfermented cider, fresh from the press.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pudding is in some places called an Apple Pandowdy. We believe it is
- Brown Betty in the South; Pandowdy in the North. It is a good plain
- pudding if the butter is fresh and sweet, and not too much of it. The
- apples must be <i>juicy</i> and <i>not</i> sweet. Sweet apples never cook
- well.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEETENED SWEET POTATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The sweet potatos should be all about the same size,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[456]</a></span> or else so large as to
- require splitting. Boil them till, on probing them with a fork, you find
- them soft all through. Peel off the skin, and trim off the sharp points of
- each end. Place them in a large baking dish, and lay among them some
- pieces of fresh butter; sprinkle powdered sugar <i>profusely</i> over them
- and among them, especially in the vacancies between the potatos. Set the
- dish into a moderate oven, and bake slowly till the butter and sugar are
- all melted and blended together, forming a nice crust. They should be
- eaten not with the meat, but <i>after</i> it. They make a good supper or
- luncheon dish, and a plain dessert at dinner for plain-living people.
- </p>
- <p>
- Sufficient butter and sugar will make the crust like a thick syrup, when
- broken. They should be cooked this way only when in the height of their
- season, and perfectly fresh and nice. When sweet potatos are old enough to
- decay at the ends, give them up. Large sweet potatos may be first boiled;
- then peeled and sliced thick, sprinkled thick with sugar, and fried in
- fresh butter or lard; the lard well drained from them as they are taken
- up. Eat <i>them</i> with meat.
- </p>
- <p>
- They are good boiled very soft, peeled and sent to table mashed, (while
- hot) with fresh butter&mdash;or made into thick flat cakes, and browned on
- the top.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is a great waste to bake sweet potatos whole. If baked enough, (as they
- seldom are) they "go all to skin."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457"
- id="Page_457">[457]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- APPLE DUMPLINGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For dumplings the apples should be large and juicy&mdash;pippins,
- bellflowers, or the best you can get. Small sweet apples make very poor
- dumplings. Having pared the apples, extract the cores with a tin
- apple-corer, so as to leave them smooth and whole. Why is it that so many
- families "have never had an apple corer in their house?" They cost, at the
- utmost, but twenty-five cents, are to be had at all the tinsmiths' and
- furnishing stores; and they screw out an apple core in a minute; saving
- time and trouble. The apples being ready, make a nice paste in the
- proportion of a small pint of finely-minced suet, to a large quart of
- flour; one-half of the suet rubbed into the pan of flour, (adding <i>a
- very little</i> water) the other half sliced thin, and spread all over the
- sheet of dough after it is rolled out; then folding it, and rolling it out
- again. Cut the sheet of dough in as many circular pieces as you have
- apples, allowing them large enough to close entirely over the top, and
- rolling it thick enough to hold the apple securely without danger of its
- breaking through. Put an apple on every piece of paste, and fill with
- brown sugar the hole from whence the core was taken. Squeeze on the sugar
- some fresh lemon juice, with the grated yellow rind; or, add some powdered
- nutmeg or mace, or some rose-water. This will make them very nice. They
- should be boiled in small cloths kept clean for the purpose, dipped in hot
- water, and sprinkled with flour, and room left for the dumpling to swell.
- Put them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[458]</a></span>
- into a pot of boiling water, and boil them steadily for near an hour.
- Serve them up very hot, as they become heavy when cold. Eat with them
- butter and sugar, or cream sauce.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PEACH DUMPLINGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take large fine free-stone peaches. Peel them, cut them in half, and
- extract the stones; fill the sockets with white sugar, and put the two
- halves together. Make a nice suet paste, or, if more convenient, of
- butter, but it must be quite fresh, and very nice. Allow half a pound of
- butter to a large quart (or a pound) of sifted flour. Rub half the butter
- into the pan of flour, and make it into a dough, with a very little cold
- water. Too much water always makes tough heavy paste. Then roll the paste
- into a sheet, and put on it with a knife the remainder of the butter in
- regular bits. Fold it, roll it out again, and divide it into circular
- pieces. Lay a peach on each. Gather up the dough over the top, so as to
- form a well-shaped dumpling. Boil them in cloths for full three-quarters
- of an hour or more. Eat them with cream sauce.
- </p>
- <p>
- Dumplings of raspberries, or blackberries, may be made as above. Also, of
- gooseberries or currants, made very sweet. Quinces preserved whole make
- excellent dumplings.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- APPLE PUDDINGS&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Are made like large dumplings, with suet paste, and flavored with<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[459]</a></span> lemon,
- or rose, or nutmeg. The apples must be sliced. The pudding should be tied
- in a cloth; put into a pot of fast-boiling water, kept steadily boiling
- for two hours or more, and sweetened with brown sugar as soon as it is
- taken up, cutting a round piece of paste out of the top, and putting in
- with the sugar a small piece of fresh butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- Large puddings may be made in this manner of stoned cherries, damsons, or
- plums, or of gooseberries, or currants&mdash;allowing plenty of fruit, and
- making it very sweet; besides sending sugar to table with it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ROLLED PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready a quart or more of apples stewed with <i>very little</i> water,
- sweetened with brown sugar, and flavored with lemon or rose. Prepare a
- nice suet paste. Roll it out, and cut it into a square sheet. Spread it <i>thickly</i>
- with the stewed fruit, (not extending the fruit quite to the edges of the
- dough) and roll it up as far as it will go. Close it nicely at each end.
- Tie it in a cloth, dipped in hot water and floured, and put it into a
- fast-boiling pot. Boil it well. Cut it down in round slices. Eat it with
- butter and sugar beaten together, or with cream sauce. You may make this
- pudding of any sort of thick marmalade, spread over the sheet of paste;
- or, with ripe uncooked currants, raspberries, or blackberries, mashed raw,
- sweetened, and spread on thickly. This pudding is the same that common<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[460]</a></span> English
- people call a "Jack in a blanket;" and sometimes "a Dog in a blanket." The
- <i>blanket</i> is supposed to mean the paste; the <i>dog</i> is probably
- the fruit.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRUIT POT-PIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- These are made in a pot lined with paste, interspersed with small squares
- of the same dough, and covered with a paste lid. The filling is of dried
- apples, peaches quartered, blackberries, raspberries, ripe currants, or
- gooseberries; all well sweetened, and cooked in their own juice, with a
- small tea-cupful of water at the bottom to "start them." Both fruit and
- paste must be perfectly well done.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fruit pot-pies are easier made and cooked, than fruit puddings or
- dumplings. We recommend them highly for plain tables. They require more
- sugar when they are dished. A large <i>bain-marie</i> is excellent for
- cooking any sort of pot-pie, the water being all in the outside kettle.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLAIN BAKED CUSTARD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil a quart of milk, with a small bunch of green peach leaves in it, or a
- half dozen of peach kernels broken up. When the milk has boiled well
- strain it into a broad pan, and set it away to cool. In a shallow pan beat
- six eggs till very light, thick, and smooth. Stir them, gradually, into
- the milk, in turn with a tea-cup of white sugar, and a tea-spoonful of
- powdered cinnamon or mace. Transfer the mixture to a deep white dish, set
- it into the oven,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[461]</a></span>
- and bake it till the top is well browned, but not scorched. When done, set
- it away to cool, and grate nutmeg over the surface.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BOILED CUSTARD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make exactly the above mixture; but instead of baking, boil it in a
- porcelain lined sauce-pan, stirring it all the time. As soon as it comes
- to a boil, take it immediately from the fire, or it will curdle. Put it
- into a glass or china pitcher, and set it to cool. A <i>bain-marie</i> is
- excellent for boiled custard.
- </p>
- <p>
- If custards are baked in cups, set them in an iron pan half full of warm
- water. If too hot, or kept baking too long, they will be tough and porous,
- and have whey at the bottom. So they will if the milk is warm when the
- eggs are added. Good custards will cut down to the very bottom as smooth
- and firm as the best blanc-mange.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- APPLES BAKED WHOLE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Never bake apples without paring and coring. They will be found nearly all
- skin and core, and are troublesome and inconvenient to eat. Have fine
- large apples; take off a thin paring, and extract the core with a tin
- corer. Fill up the holes with brown sugar. Place the apples, side by side,
- in a square tin pan, set them in an oven, and bake them till, when tried
- with a fork, you find them soft all through. Send them to table warm, but<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[462]</a></span> not
- burning hot. If you have country cream to eat with them, so much the
- better.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BAKED PEARS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take good-sized pears. Small ones are not worth the trouble of cooking.
- Peel them, split them in half, and remove the core, the stem, and the
- blossom end. Strew them well with brown sugar, and lay them on their backs
- in a large baking dish. A narrow slip of the yellow rind of lemon or
- orange, (cut so thin as to look transparent,) will be a great improvement,
- laid in the hollow of each pear. Also the juice squeezed. Put into the
- dish sufficient molasses or steam-syrup to well cover the pears. Place
- them in an oven, and bake them till they are soft, but not till they
- break. If you have no lemon or orange, season them with ground ginger or
- cinnamon.
- </p>
- <p>
- The great pound pears are baked as above, with the addition of port wine
- and a few cloves, and colored red with a little cochineal.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COUNTRY CHARLOTTE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Slice or quarter some fine juicy apples, having pared and cored them. Put
- them on a large dish, sweeten them well with brown sugar, set them in the
- oven, and bake them till soft enough to mash smoothly. Then cut some
- slices of bread, butter them slightly, and dip every one in sweet cider
- fresh from the press. Let them soak in the cider a<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[463]</a></span> short time, but not till
- they break. Take them out of the cider, spread every one thickly with the
- mashed apple, (sprinkling on more sugar) and send them to the dinner table
- in a deep dish or pan.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A PLAIN CHARLOTTE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stew very nicely any sort of ripe fruit, (currants, gooseberries,
- blackberries, stoned cherries, or stoned plums,) and as soon as you take
- them from the fire make them very sweet with brown sugar. Prepare some
- large slices of buttered bread, with the crust pared off. Cover each slice
- thickly with the stewed fruit. Lay some in the bottom of a deep dish, and
- stand up others all round its sides. Fill up the dish with the same, and
- sift white sugar over the surface.
- </p>
- <p>
- It may be made of sliced sponge-cake, spread thickly with stewed dried
- peaches.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GOOSEBERRY FOOL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This foolish name signifies an excellent preparation of gooseberries;
- stewed, mashed, and made very sweet with brown sugar. Have ready in
- another dish a good boiled custard. When all has become cool, mix well
- together in a large bowl the stewed gooseberries and the custard, and
- season the mixture well with nutmeg. It will be found very good.
- </p>
- <p>
- Any other "fool" may be made in the same manner, of stewed fruit and
- boiled custard. It saves the trouble and expense of making paste, or can<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[464]</a></span> be
- prepared at a shorter notice. It is good either at dinner or tea.
- </p>
- <p>
- We hope somebody will think of a better name for it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POTATO PASTE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Boil three moderate-sized potatos till very soft. Then peel and mash them
- fine and smooth. Put them into a deep pan, and mix them well with a quart
- of flour and a half pint of lard; or what is better, with that quantity of
- beef dripping, or the dripping of fresh roast pork. Never for any sort of
- crust use mutton dripping. Having mixed the mashed potato, dripping, and
- flour into a lump, roll it out into a thick sheet. Sprinkle it with flour,
- and spread over it evenly a thin layer of dripping or lard. Fold it again,
- and set it in a cool place till wanted. It is good for meat pies, and for
- boiled meat pudding, or any sort of dumplings.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VERY PLAIN PIE-CRUST.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift a quart of flour into a pan. Mix together, with a knife, a quarter of
- a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a pound of lard, and when they
- are well blended mix them with the flour, and form them into a dough with
- as little water as possible&mdash;the water being very cold. Use ice water
- in summer. Avoid touching the paste with your hands, but use a knife
- almost entirely. If your hand is warm, do not rub butter into flour with
- it, but manage all the mixing with a knife. If you have a cool<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[465]</a></span> hand,
- you may rub the butter into the flour, and reserve the lard to spread all
- over the sheet of dough. Roll it out lightly. Dredge with flour, fold it,
- spread on the lard, and roll it again. Divide it into two pieces, and roll
- out each of them. Trim the edges nicely, and make them to fit your
- pie-dish. If one is for bottom crust, roll it out thinnest towards the
- centre, having for this part of the process a very small rolling-pin, but
- a finger long. Grease with lard a deep dish, or soup plate, and line it
- with the bottom crust. Fill it up with the fruit you intend for the pie,
- sweetened well with brown sugar, and heaping the fruit high in the centre.
- Cover it with a lid of paste, trim, and notch the edges neatly, and make a
- cross slit in the top; set it in the oven, and bake it steadily till it is
- a light brown. When it seems to be done, lift up a small piece at one side
- to try if the fruit is soft. Apples for pies should be pared, cored, and
- sliced very thin. If green, stew them before they are baked.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you have saved enough of the dripping of roast beef, veal, or pork,
- (skimmed and put away in a covered crock) it will be good shortening for
- common pies&mdash;far superior to salt butter, and much lighter. Salt
- renders pastry hard and heavy.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never use suet for <i>baked</i> paste. It is only for dumplings and
- pot-pies. Bread dough, or any dough made with yeast, is not good when
- boiled, becoming tough and leathery, and being very unwholesome.
- </p>
- <p>
- Except in very plain country places a fruit pie,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[466]</a></span> with two crusts, (under and
- upper) is now seen but rarely. <i>Meat</i> pies, or birds, however, should
- have two crusts. The gravy is a great improvement to the under one.
- English people usually make their fruit pies with a top-crust only,
- putting a turned down tea-cup under the centre of the lid to collect the
- juice, (of course removing the cup when the pie is cut.) It is a good
- method in a country where the cost of flour is high.
- </p>
- <p>
- Too much economy in the shortening will infallibly make the crust very
- poor, hard, heavy, and unwholesome. If you cannot afford dessert paste, do
- not attempt pies at all; but substitute a plain charlotte, or slices of
- bread and butter, covered with stewed fruit, sweetened, and laid in a deep
- dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COMMON FRUIT PIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make the paste as above. For baking, use only apples that are juicy, and
- rather sour. If green, stew them before they are put in the pie, and make
- them very sweet with brown sugar. Peaches should be peeled and quartered,
- leaving out the stones. Of cherries, take the large red juicy pie
- cherries. Black cherries, (when baked) go all to stones, and they are not
- worth the trouble of cooking, though very good when eaten from the trees.
- Currants must be carefully stripped from the stems, and made very sweet.
- Gooseberries must be "top and tailed," and require great sweetening; so do
- cranberries. Blackberries make good plain pies, and are very juicy if
- ripe. All pies should be well filled.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[467]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Pies may be made of ripe wild grapes, stewed in molasses or maple sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EXCELLENT PLAIN PASTE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift into a deep pan a quart and a pint of the best superfine flour. Have
- ready (set on ice, and covered with a thick double cloth) a pound of the
- very best fresh butter. When you want to use it, cut it into four
- quarters. Cut one quarter into very little bits, and with a broad knife
- mix it well into the flour, adding, by degrees, a very little water, no
- more than half a tumbler. Some flour, however, requires more water than
- others. Avoid touching the dough with your hands, in case they should be
- warm. Take out the lump of dough, dredge it with flour, and lay it on your
- pasteboard. Keep on a plate near you a little extra flour for sprinkling
- and rolling. Roll out the sheet of dough very thin, having floured the
- rolling-pin to prevent its sticking. Place, with a knife, the second
- quarter of butter in little bits all over the sheet of paste, at equal
- distances. Then fold it square, (covering the butter with the corners of
- paste) dredge it, and roll it out again to receive the third quarter of
- butter. Repeat this again, till all the butter is in; always rolling very
- fast, and pressing on <i>lightly</i>. You will see, towards the last, the
- paste puffing into little blisters all over the surface; a sign of
- success. When the last layer of butter is all in, roll the whole into a
- large sheet; roll it round like a scroll, and put it<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[468]</a></span> away in a cold place, but
- not so cold as to freeze it, for it will then be spoiled. When you are
- ready for it bring it out, cut it down, and roll out each piece ready for
- use. There is no better family paste than this, for all sorts of pies;
- meat or bird pies, especially.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LEMON BREAD PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mince very fine a quarter of a pound of beef suet. Have ready a pint and a
- half of finely-grated bread-crumbs. Prepare the yellow rind of a large
- lemon, grated off from the white skin beneath, and squeeze the juice among
- it. Mix together in a deep pan the bread-crumbs and suet, adding four or
- five table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, and a tea-spoonful of mixed spice,
- cinnamon, nutmeg and mace. Beat in a broad shallow pan five eggs till very
- smooth and thick. Add them gradually to the other ingredients, a little at
- a time. Have ready a square pudding-cloth, scalded and floured. Pour in
- the mixture, and tie the cloth tightly, but not closely, as room must be
- left for the pudding to swell in boiling. Put it into a pot of hot water,
- and boil it steadily for two hours. Send wine sauce to table with it&mdash;or
- cold sauce, of beaten butter, and sugar, and nutmeg.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you use butter instead of suet, you can bake this pudding.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLAIN PLUM PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is for a small plain-living family. Chop very fine half a<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[469]</a></span> pound of
- nice fresh beef suet. Stone a half pound of very good raisins, or use the
- sultana or seedless sort. Dredge them well on all sides with flour to
- prevent their sinking to the bottom. Grate the yellow rind of a large
- fresh lemon, and strain the juice into the saucer on which you have grated
- the rind. It will be still better if you use the rind and juice of an
- orange as well as of a lemon. Put into a bowl half a pint of grated
- bread-crumbs, and a heaped table-spoonful of flour, and pour on them a
- half pint of boiling milk. Beat in a shallow pan four eggs till very thick
- and light. Mix the suet gradually into the bread, adding alternately the
- beaten egg, (a little at a time) the lemon and orange, and four heaped
- table-spoonfuls of sugar. Lastly, stir in by degrees, the raisins, well
- floured. Put the mixture into a square pudding-cloth spread out into a
- deep pan, and dipped in boiling water. Tie it securely, leaving room to
- swell. Boil it three hours.
- </p>
- <p>
- Eat with it a sauce of butter, sugar, and nutmeg, beaten together.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="FINE_DESSERTS" id="FINE_DESSERTS"></a>FINE DESSERTS.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- THE BEST PUFF-PASTE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To a pound of the best fresh butter allow a pound of the finest flour,
- sifted into a deep pan. Have on a plate some additional sifted flour for
- sprinkling and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[470]</a></span>
- rolling in. Divide the pound of butter into four equal parts, and three of
- those parts divide again into two portions. Mix the first quarter of
- butter into the mass of flour, cutting it with a broad-bladed knife. If
- your hands are naturally warm, avoid touching the dough with them, as
- their heat will render it heavy. Paste, to be very good, should be made on
- a marble slab. All well-furnished kitchens or pastry rooms should be
- provided with marble-topped tables, and marble mortars. Add gradually to
- the lump of dough a <i>very little cold</i> water, barely sufficient to
- moisten it with the first quarter of butter, and mix it well with the aid
- of the broad knife; but proceed as fast as you can, and do not work with
- it too long. Too much water will render it tough, and too much working
- will make it heavy. Then sprinkle the marble slab with some of the spare
- flour, take the lump of paste from the pan, and roll it out into a sheet.
- Divide one of the portions of butter into little bits, and with the knife
- disperse them equally all over the sheet of paste. Then sprinkle it again
- with flour, fold it up so as to cover the butter, and roll it out again.
- Proceed in this manner till you have got in all the butter, rolling always
- lightly, and you will soon see the surface of the dough puffing up in
- little blisters, a sign that it is becoming light. Besides the first
- mixing in the lump, the butter will then be put in with what are called
- six turns. When baked, you will see that every turn makes a layer or
- sheet. If you choose to multiply them, you may make nine<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[471]</a></span> sheets.
- We have seen twelve. All this must be done fast and lightly. Then put away
- the paste to cool for ten minutes before arranging it in the dishes. This
- quantity will make two pies or four tarts. In baking, let the oven be hot,
- and keep up a steady heat, so the paste may not fall after it has first
- risen. When pale brown, it is done.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SHELLS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For shells take the best puff paste, and line with it large deep plates,
- the size of a soup-plate. They should have broad rims. Notch the edges of
- the paste handsomely with a sharp penknife, and be careful not to plaster
- on, afterwards, any bits by way of mending or rectifying an error. When
- baked, every patch in the border will show itself plainly. Bake the shells
- entirely empty, till pale brown all over. When cool fill them, <i>quite up
- the top</i>, with whatever marmalade or stewed fruit you have prepared for
- the purpose. In this way (baking them empty,) the shells are thoroughly
- done, and not clammy and heavy at the bottom, as they always are when
- filled <i>before</i> baking. The fruit requires no other cooking, having
- been done once already. Sift white sugar over the surface. If for company
- whip some cream, sweeten it, and flavor it with lemon, orange, pine-apple,
- strawberry or vanilla, and pile it on the surface of the shell before it
- goes to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- Small tarts may, in this way, be baked empty, for patty-pans, and filled
- with ripe fruit, such as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_472"
- id="Page_472">[472]</a></span> strawberries, raspberries, or grated
- pine-apple, made very sweet, and creamed on the top&mdash;or you may fill
- the shells with any sort of sweetmeats, either preserves or marmalade, or
- with mince-meat. Shells may be made thus, and filled with stewed oysters,
- or reed-birds, cooked previously, and served up warm; or with
- nicely-dressed lobster. You may make lids for them of the same paste baked
- by itself on a shallow plate, and when taken off fitting well as a cover
- to put on afterwards before sending to table.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BORDERS OF PASTE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- These are made of fine puff-paste cut into handsome patterns, or wreaths
- of leaves or flowers. They are laid round the broad edge of the deep plate
- that contains a rich pudding, such as lemon, orange, almond, cocoa-nut,
- pine-apple, &amp;c.; the dish being full down to the bottom and up to the
- top, and having no paste but the border round the edge. They must be baked
- in the dish on which they come to table, and not in tin or iron, as the
- pudding cannot be transferred. At handsome tables, a pudding baked with a
- paste <i>under</i> it (lining the dish,) is now seen but seldom.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of wreaths, you may make a puff-paste border by laying a thick
- evenly cut band of paste round the flat rim of the dish, and notching it,
- forming with a penknife small squares about an inch wide, and turning one
- square up and one square down alternately, <i>cheveux de frize</i>
- fashion. Or you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[473]</a></span>
- may make the squares near two inches wide and turn over one corner sharp,
- leaving the other flat. This looks pretty when baked, if the paste is <i>very
- puff</i>.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LEMON PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To make two puddings take two fine large ripe lemons, and rub them under
- your hand on a table. Grate off the thin yellow rind upon a large lump of
- loaf sugar. Cut the lemon, and squeeze the juice into a saucer through a
- strainer, to avoid the seeds. Put half a pound of powdered white sugar
- into a deep earthen pan, (including the sugar on which you have rubbed the
- lemons) and cut up in it half a pound of the best fresh butter, adding the
- juice. Stir them to a light cream with a wooden spaddle, which is shorter
- than a mush-stick, and flattened at one end; that end rather thin, and
- rather broad. Beat in a shallow pan, (with hickory rods) six eggs, till
- very thick and smooth, and stir them gradually into the mixture. Have
- ready some of the best puff-paste, made in the proportion of a pint or
- half a pound of very nice fresh butter to a pint or half a pound of sifted
- flour. Take china or white-ware dishes with broad rims. Butter the rim,
- and lay round it neatly a border of the paste. <i>Put no paste inside the
- dish beneath the mixture.</i> Fill each dish to the top with the pudding
- mixture, and set it immediately into the oven. It will bake in about half
- an hour When done, and browned on the surface, set it to<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[474]</a></span> cool,
- and send it to table in the dish it was baked in.
- </p>
- <p>
- Fine puddings are now made without an under crust, but merely a handsome
- border of puff-paste laid round the edge, and helped with the pudding.
- Sift sugar over the surface. This quantity will make one large pudding, or
- two small ones.
- </p>
- <p>
- To almost all puddings the flavor of lemon or orange is an improvement. A
- genuine <i>baked</i> lemon pudding, (such as was introduced by the justly
- celebrated Mrs. Goodfellow,) and is well known at Philadelphia dinner
- parties, must have <i>no flour</i> or bread whatever. The mixture only of
- butter, sugar, and eggs, (with the proper flavoring) and when baked it
- cuts down smooth and shining, like a nice custard. Made this way, they are
- among the most delicious of puddings; but, of course, are not intended for
- children or invalids. We have already given numerous receipts for <i>plain</i>
- family desserts. In this <i>chapter</i> the receipts are "for company."
- The author was <i>really</i> a pupil of Mrs. Goodfellow's, and for double
- the usual term, and while there took notes of every thing that was made,
- it being the desire of the liberal and honest instructress that her
- scholars <i>should learn in reality</i>.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ALMOND PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Blanch in hot water a quarter of a pound of shelled sweet and two ounces
- of bitter almonds, and as you blanch them throw them into a bowl of cold
- water. When all are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[475]</a></span>
- thus peeled, take them out singly, wipe them dry in a clean napkin, and
- lay them on a plate. Pound them one at a time in a marble mortar till they
- become a smooth paste, adding frequently a few drops of rose-water to make
- them light and preserve their whiteness, mixing the bitter almonds with
- the sweet. As you pound them, take out the paste and lay it in a saucer
- with a tea-spoon. Without the rose-water they will become oily and
- dark-colored. Without a few bitter almonds the others will be insipid. The
- almonds may be thus prepared a day before they are wanted for use. Cut up
- a large quarter of a pound of fresh butter in a large quarter of a pound
- of powdered sugar, and stir them together with a spaddle till very light
- and creamy. Add a large wine-glass of mixed wine and brandy, and half a
- grated nutmeg. Beat, till they stand alone, the whites only of six eggs,
- and stir them gradually into the butter and sugar, in turn with the
- pounded almonds. Stir the whole very hard at the last. Put the mixture
- into a deep dish with a broad rim, and fill it up to the top, laying a
- border of puff-paste all round the rim. Serve up the pudding cool, having
- sifted sugar over it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Boiled Almond Pudding</i>&mdash;Is made as above; only with whole eggs,
- both yolks and whites beaten together. Boil it in a <i>bain-marie</i> or
- in a thick square cloth, in a pot of boiling water. When done, turn it out
- and send it to table warm. Eat it with sugar, wet with rose-water.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Orange Pudding</i>&mdash;Is made exactly like lemon<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[476]</a></span> pudding; the ingredients in
- the same proportion, and baked without an under crust, having a border of
- puff-paste all round the edge, and sent to table in the dish it was baked
- in. These fine-baked puddings should have no addition whatever of
- bread-crumbs or flour. They should cut down smooth and glassy.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Boiled Lemon or Orange Pudding</i>&mdash;Make the foregoing mixture
- either with two lemons or two oranges, adding to the other ingredients a
- half pint finely-crumbled sponge cake. Boil the mixture either in a <i>bain-marie</i>
- or a thick pudding cloth, and serve it up warm. For sauce, have ready
- butter and sugar beaten to a cream, and flavored well with lemon or
- orange, and grated nutmeg.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COCOA-NUT PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Break up a ripe cocoa-nut. Having peeled off the brown skin, wash all the
- pieces of nut in cold water, and wipe them dry on a clean napkin. Then
- grate the cocoa-nut <i>very fine</i> into a pan, till you have a quart. In
- a deep pan cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and add a very
- light quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar. Stir together (with a
- spaddle,) the butter and sugar till they are very light and creamy, and
- add a grated nutmeg. Beat, (till they stand alone) the <i>whites only</i>
- of six eggs; the yolks may be reserved for soft custards. Stir the beaten
- white of egg gradually into the pan of butter and sugar,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[477]</a></span>
- alternately with the grated cocoa-nut, a little at a time of each, and a
- glass of mixed brandy and white wine. Stir the whole very hard. Fill with
- it a broad-edged deep white dish, and lay a puff-paste border all round
- the rim. Bake it light brown, and when cool sift white sugar over it,
- serving it up in the dish it was baked in.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Boiled Cocoa-nut Pudding.</i>&mdash;For this make the above mixture,
- and boil it in a mould, or in a <i>bain-marie</i>, with the water in the
- outside kettle. Eat it either warm or cold.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEET POTATO PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash, boil, and peel some fine sweet potatos. Mash them, and rub them
- through a coarse sieve&mdash;this will make them loose and light. If
- merely <i>mashed</i> the pudding will clod and be heavy. In a deep pan
- stir to a cream a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a
- pound of powdered sugar; adding a grated nutmeg, a tea-spoonful of
- powdered cinnamon, a half glass of white wine, and a half glass of brandy.
- Beat in a shallow pan three eggs, till very thick and smooth, and stir
- them into the mixture of butter and sugar, alternately with the sweet
- potato. At the last mix all thoroughly with a very hard stirring. Put the
- mixture into a deep dish, and lay a border of puff-paste all round the
- rim. Set the pudding immediately into a rather brisk oven, and when cool
- sift white sugar over it. For two of these puddings <i>double</i> the
- quantities of all the ingredients.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_478"
- id="Page_478">[478]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>White Potato Pudding</i>&mdash;Is made exactly as above. Chestnut
- pudding also&mdash;the large Spanish chestnuts, boiled, peeled, and
- mashed.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Fine Pumpkin Pudding</i>&mdash;Also, allowing to the above ingredients
- a half pint of stewed pumpkins, squeezed dry and rubbed through a sieve.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cashaw Pudding.</i>&mdash;A similar pudding may be made of stewed
- cashaw, or winter squash.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PINE-APPLE TART.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a fine large ripe pine-apple. Remove the leaves, and quarter it
- without paring, standing up each quarter in a deep plate, and grating it
- down till you come to the rind. Strew plenty of powdered sugar over the
- grated fruit. Cover it, and let it rest for an hour. Then put it into a
- porcelain kettle, and steam it in its own syrup till perfectly soft. Have
- ready some empty shells of puff-paste, baked either in patty-pans or in
- soup plates. When they are cool, fill them full with the grated
- pine-apple; add more sugar, and lay round the rim a border of puff-paste.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- QUINCE PIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wash well, pare, and core some fine ripe quinces, having cut out all the
- blemishes. Put the cores and parings into a small sauce-pan, and stew them
- in a little water, till all broken to pieces. Then strain and save the
- quince water. Having quartered the quinces, or sliced them in round
- slices, transfer them to a porcelain stew-pan, and pour over the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[479]</a></span> quinces
- water extracted from boiling the cores and parings. Let them cook in this
- till quite soft all through. Make them very sweet with powdered sugar, and
- fill with them two deep soup plates that have been baked empty, with a
- puff paste border round the rims. Fill them up to the top, (they are
- already cooked) and sift sugar over them&mdash;or, you may pile on the
- surface of each some ice-cream. You may cook the quinces whole, and lay
- one on each tart.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE APPLE PIES&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- May be made in the same manner, flavored with the grated yellow rind and
- juice of a lemon. The apples should be fine juicy pippins. If done whole,
- lay one on each patty-pan tart, and stick into the core hole a slip of the
- yellow rind of lemon, pared so thin as to be nearly transparent.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A MERINGUE PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Rub off upon a large lump of <i>sugar</i> the yellow rind of two fine ripe
- lemons, and mix it with a pound of powdered loaf sugar, adding the juice.
- Whip, to a stiff froth, the <i>whites only</i> of eight eggs; and then,
- gradually, beat in the sugar and lemon, adding a heaped table-spoonful of
- the finest flour. Spread part of the mixture thickly over the bottom of a
- deep dish, the rim of which has been bordered with a handsome wreath of
- puff-paste, and baked. Lay upon it a thick layer of stiff currant or
- strawberry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_480" id="Page_480">[480]</a></span>
- jelly. Then fill up the dish, and set it, a few minutes in a rather cool
- oven to brown slightly. This pudding is for dinner company. If you use
- oranges, omit half the grated peel.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may flavor the meringue with vanilla. Split, and break up a small
- vanilla bean, and boil it in a <i>very little</i> cream till all the
- vanilla flavor is extracted, the cream tasting of it strongly. Then strain
- it well, and mix the vanilla cream with the white of egg. Or, a little <i>home-made</i>
- extract of vanilla will be still better. This is obtained by splitting and
- breaking up some vanilla beans, and steeping them for a week or two in a
- bottle of <i>absolute</i> alcohol; then straining the liquid, transferring
- it to a clean bottle, and keeping it closely corked. Very little of what
- is called "Extract of Vanilla" is good, and it is more expensive than to
- make it yourself. Also, what is generally sold for essence of lemon is
- very inferior to real lemon juice.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- JELLY OR MARMALADE PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Divide the paste equally and line two puff-paste shells. Bake them empty;
- and while baking, beat till very light and thick, the yolks of six eggs.
- Mix the beaten egg with a liberal portion of any nice kind of fruit, jelly
- or marmalade, and boil it ten minutes in a sauce-pan, stirring it well.
- Take it up and set it away to cool. When cold, fill with it the baked
- shells. Fill them up to the top with the mixture, and before they go to
- table sift powdered white sugar over the surface of the puddings.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_481" id="Page_481">[481]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHEESE PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a quarter of a pound of excellent cheese; rich, but not strong or
- old. Cut it in small bits, and then beat it (a little at a time) in a
- marble mortar. Add a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter. Cut it
- up, and pound it in the mortar with the cheese, till perfectly smooth and
- well mixed. Beat five eggs till very thick and smooth. Mix them,
- gradually, with the cheese and butter. Put the mixture into a deep dish
- with a rim. Have ready some puff-paste, and lay a broad border of it all
- round the edge, ornamenting it handsomely. Set it immediately into a
- moderate oven, and bake it till the paste is browned, and has risen very
- high all round the edge of the dish. Sift white sugar over it before it
- goes to table.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is intended that the cheese taste shall predominate. But, if preferred,
- you may make the mixture very sweet by adding powdered sugar; it may be
- seasoned with nutmeg and mace. Either way is good.
- </p>
- <p>
- It may be baked in small patty-pans, lined at the bottom and sides with
- puff-paste. Remove them from the tins as soon as they come out of the
- oven, and place them on a large dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- This pudding is very nice made of rich fresh cream cheese; the rind, of
- course, being pared off. Cream cheese pudding will require sugar and spice&mdash;that
- is, a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon, all
- mixed; two ounces of fresh butter, and six eggs.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_482" id="Page_482">[482]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FLORENDINES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- These are made of any sort of fruit, stewed in its own juice or in
- sweetmeat syrup, but when practicable, without any water. A pint of this
- fruit is mixed with half a pint of fresh butter, and half a pint of
- powdered sugar stirred together to a light cream, and then mixed with
- three well-beaten eggs, and the fruit stirred in alternately with the
- beaten butter and sugar. Have ready baked shells of puff-paste, ready to
- be filled with the mixture. The fruit may be apples, quinces, peaches,
- gooseberries, currants, raspberries. Cranberries, gooseberries, and
- currants, require additional sugar, as they are naturally very sour. If
- you use plums or cherries for any sort of cooking, stone them first.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PEACH PIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a sufficient number of fine juicy freestone peaches. Clingstones are
- very hard and insipid when raw, and still more tasteless when cooked. Peel
- the peaches and quarter them, having removed the stones. Stew them in
- their own juice, and while hot make them very sweet with white sugar. When
- you put them to stew, place among them a bunch of fresh green peach
- leaves, to be removed when the peaches are done. Or, cook with them some
- peach kernels, blanched in hot water, to be picked out when the stewing is
- finished. Peach leaves or kernels communicate a flavor which to most
- persons is pleasant. Have ready some puff-paste shells; baked, and
- beginning to cool. Fill them to the top with<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[483]</a></span> the stewed peaches, and
- pile on them some whipped cream sweetened, and flavored with noyau or
- rose-water.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A FRUIT CHARLOTTE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready a large fresh almond sponge cake, or lady cake. Cut a round or
- circular piece to fit the bottom of a great glass bowl. Also, about twelve
- or fourteen oblong slices, to stand up all round to line the sides. Have
- ready two quarts or more of ripe strawberries or raspberries. Mash the
- fruit to a jam, and having made it very sweet with white sugar, spread it
- thickly over the pieces of cake. Lay the circular piece of cake in the
- bottom of the bowl and stand up the others all round the sides, all close
- to each other or wrapping over a little. Proceed to fill the bowl with the
- fruit; and when half way up, put on another layer of sliced cake spread
- with fruit. Then fill up with fruit to the top. Have ready a quart of
- whipped cream flavored with vanilla or bitter almonds. Heap it high on the
- bowl, and set it in a cool place till it goes to table. This is a very
- fine article for a nice dessert, and can be prepared at a short notice,
- and without going down stairs, as it requires no cooking.
- </p>
- <p>
- For the whipped cream, you may pile the bowl with any sort of white
- ice-cream ready made, and if there is no fresh fruit in season, substitute
- marmalade or fruit jelly.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you have no large bowl you may serve up this charlotte in glass or
- china saucers, laying in the bottom of each a circular slice of cake
- spread<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_484" id="Page_484">[484]</a></span>
- over with ripe fruit or marmalade. Fill up with the same, and finish with
- whipped cream, or ice-cream heaped on the top.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VANILLA CUSTARDS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Split a vanilla bean, break it into small bits, and boil it in a half pint
- of milk, till all the flavor of the vanilla is extracted. Strain it
- through a very fine strainer, cover it, and set it aside. Boil a quart of
- rich milk, and when it comes to a boil set it away to cool. Beat eight
- eggs till very thick and smooth, (and when the milk is cold) add that
- which is flavored with vanilla, and stir it in gradually with a quarter of
- a pound of powdered white sugar. Divide the mixture in custard cups,
- (filling them to the top) and set them into an iron bake-pan filled with
- boiling water, reaching nearly to the the rim of the cups. Put them into a
- moderate oven, and bake them a pale brown. When cool, grate nutmeg, or lay
- a maccaroon on the top over each. Never send custards warm to table. If
- well made, and baked not too much, there will be no whey at the bottom of
- the cups, and the custards will be smooth and firm all through, and have
- no spongy holes in them.
- </p>
- <p>
- To make soft custards, omit the whites of all the eggs, and have a double
- quantity of yolks. The whites may be used for almond or cocoa-nut pudding,
- for lady cake, for meringue or icing, and for kisses or maccaroons.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Orange Custards.</i>&mdash;Prepare four large ripe<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[485]</a></span> oranges, by rolling them
- under your hand on a table to increase the juice. Use none of the peel for
- these custards, but reserve it for something else. Beat in a shallow pan
- twelve eggs till thick and smooth. Mix the orange juice with a wineglass
- of cold water, and stir it gradually into the beaten egg, with a small
- tumblerful of powdered sugar. There is no milk in these custards. Divide
- them into custard cups, and beat them ten minutes. When cold, grate nutmeg
- over them.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Lemon Custard</i>&mdash;Is made in the above manner, with the juice of
- four large lemons, (omitting the rind) a small wineglass of cold water,
- twelve beaten eggs, and a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar. Any of
- these fine custards may be boiled in a <i>bain-marie</i>, with water in
- the outside kettle, and there is no way better. When boiled and cool,
- grate in some nutmeg, and serve up the custard in a glass or china
- pitcher, with saucers of the same to eat it from, or divide it in small
- glass cups with handles to them.
- </p>
- <p>
- Lemon or orange custards are very fine. They are made without milk.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Chocolate Custard.</i>&mdash;Make some strong chocolate, allowing a
- quarter of a pound of the best, (which is Baker's prepared cocoa) to a
- quart of rich milk; first mixing the milk and scraped chocolate to a
- smooth paste. Boil them together a quarter of an hour. While warm, stir in
- two or three table-spoonfuls of loaf sugar. Then set it away to cool. Have
- ready eight well-beaten eggs, and stir them gradually into the chocolate.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[486]</a></span> Bake the
- mixture in cups, and serve them up with a chocolate maccaroon laid on the
- top of each.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Almond and Maccaroon Custard.</i>&mdash;Boil in half a pint of rich
- milk a handful of <i>bitter</i> almonds, blanched and broken up. When
- highly flavored, strain that milk and set it aside. Boil a quart of milk
- by itself, and when cold stir in, gradually, eight well beaten eggs,
- adding the flavored milk, and half a pint of powdered sugar. Stir the
- whole very hard at the last. Bake it in cups, and when done and cold, lay
- on the top of each a maccaroon with four others placed around it; five
- maccaroons to each custard. Or, if the maccaroons are made in the house,
- let every one be large enough to cover the top of the custard like a lid.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE PLUM PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This pudding is best when prepared, (all but the milk and eggs,) the day
- before it is wanted. Seed and cut in half one pound of the best bloom
- raisins; and pick, wash, and dry before the fire, a pound of Zante
- currants, (commonly called plums.) Dredge the fruit well with flour, to
- prevent its sinking or clogging. Take one pound of fresh beef suet, freed
- from the skin and strings, and chopped <i>very fine</i>; a pint of grated
- bread-crumbs, and half a pint of sifted flour; a large quarter of a pound
- of the best sugar, a large table-spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon
- mixed, and two powdered nutmegs&mdash;all the spice steeped in a half pint
- of mixed wine and brandy. Put away these<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_487" id="Page_487">[487]</a></span> ingredients separately,
- closely covered, and let them stand undisturbed all night. Next morning
- proceed to finish the pudding, which requires at least six hours boiling.
- Beat nine eggs till very thick and smooth, then add gradually a pint of
- rich milk, in turn with the bread-crumbs and flour. Mix with the sugar the
- grated yellow rind and juice of two large lemons or two oranges, and add
- gradually to the mixture all the ingredients, stirring very hard. If you
- find it too thick, add by degrees some more milk; if too thin, some more
- bread-crumbs. But take care not to have too much bread or flour, or the
- pudding will be solid and heavy. Dip a large strong cloth in boiling
- water; shake it out, and spread it in a large pan. Dredge it lightly with
- flour, and pour in the mixture. Tie it tightly, but leave sufficient space
- for the pudding to swell in boiling. Put it into a pot of fast-boiling
- water, and boil it steadily six hours or more, not taking it up till
- wanted for table. Before turning it, dip the cloth for a moment in cold
- water to make the pudding come out easily. Have ready some slips of citron
- or of blanched sweet almonds, or both, and stick them, liberally, all over
- the surface of the pudding after you have dished it. Serve it up with wine
- sauce highly flavored, or with butter and sugar beaten to a cream, and
- seasoned with nutmeg and rose. Do not set the pudding on fire to burn out
- the liquor; that practice has had its day, and is over. It was always
- foolish.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you wish to send it to a distant place, (for<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_488" id="Page_488">[488]</a></span> instance, to some part of
- the world where plum puddings are not known or not made) you may preserve
- it, (after boiling it well,) by leaving it tied up in the cloth it was
- cooked in; hanging it up in a cool dry place, and then packing it well in
- a tin vessel having a close fitting cover. Paste a band of thick white
- paper all around the place where the lid shuts down, and put into a tight
- box the vessel that contains the pudding. When it arrives at its
- destination, the friend who receives it will pare off thinly the outside,
- and tying up the pudding in a fresh clean cloth, will boil it over again
- for an hour or more; and when done the surface may be then decorated with
- slips of citron or almond. It has been said that in this way a plum
- pudding can be kept for <i>six</i> months, as good as ever. It cannot. But
- it may keep six <i>weeks</i>. Do not <i>fry</i> or <i>broil</i> plum
- pudding that is left at dinner. The slices will be greasy and heavy. But
- tie the piece that remains in a small cloth, and <i>boil</i> it over again
- for an hour. It will then be nearly as good as on the first day. Believe
- in no wonders that you hear, of the long keeping of either plum pudding,
- plum cake, or mince meat, which are all of the same family. However long
- they may be preserved from absolute decomposition, these things are always
- best when fresh.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MINCE PIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The best mince meat is made of fresh beef's tongue boiled, peeled, and
- when quite cold, chopped very fine. The next best is<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_489" id="Page_489">[489]</a></span> of beef's heart boiled and
- chopped. The next of cold roast beef. And the next, of the lean of cold
- boiled beef, quite fresh, and cooked especially for the purpose. All the
- meat must be fresh, and not minced till entirely cold. To two large pounds
- of lean meat allow two small pounds of nice kidney suet, cleared from skin
- and strings, and chopped very small; two pounds of fine juicy apples,
- pared, cored, and minced; two pounds of Zante currants, washed, and picked
- clean; two pounds of fine bloom raisins, seeded and chopped, or of
- seedless sultana raisins cut in half; two pounds of the best sugar; two
- large nutmegs, powdered; a table-spoonful of ground cinnamon; the same
- quantity of ground ginger, with the juice and grated yellow rind of six
- large lemons, or the juice of six oranges, and their grated rind; a pint
- of Madeira or sherry, and half a pint of brandy; lastly, half a pound of
- citron cut into slips, rather large. If the citron is chopped small it
- cannot be distinguished among the other ingredients, and its flavor is
- lost. When all is prepared, mix well in a large pan the chopped meat,
- suet, and fruit. Then, gradually add the spice, having steeped it in the
- liquor all the preceding night, mixing the whole thoroughly, and putting
- in the citron at the last. Line with fine puff-paste deep pie-dishes, or
- patty-pans. Fill them, quite full of the mince, heaping it higher towards
- the centre; and put on a lid, handsomely decorated with puff-paste
- ornaments, and having a cross slit in the centre surrounded with paste
- leaves or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_490" id="Page_490">[490]</a></span>
- flowers. Set the pies immediately into a moderately brisk oven, and bake
- them a light brown. Eat them warm. If baked the preceding day, heat them
- again before they go to table. The foolish custom of setting the pies on
- fire after they come to table, and causing a blue blaze to issue from the
- liquor that is in them, is now obsolete, and considered ungenteel and
- tavern-like. If this practice originated in a polite desire to <i>frighten
- the ladies</i>, its purpose is already a failure, for the ladies are not
- frightened; that is, not really.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mincemeat will taste more fresh and pleasant if the apples are not added
- till the day the pies are made. It should be kept well-secured from air
- and damp, in stone jars closely covered. Whenever a jar is opened to take
- out some for immediate use, pour in a large glass or two of brandy, and
- stir it about. It is not true that mincemeat will keep all winter, even by
- this preservative. It is sure to become musty (or worse,) before two
- months. It is best to make fresh mincemeat at least three times during the
- season. When the cold weather is over, do not attempt it, unless a little
- for immediate use.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mincemeat, with a double portion of excellent raisins, (cut in half,) will
- do very well without currants, which are very troublesome to prepare; and
- those imported of late years are rarely of good quality.
- </p>
- <p>
- We have heard of West India mincemeat made with cold roast turkey; chopped
- pine-apple; grated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_491" id="Page_491">[491]</a></span>
- cocoa-nut; preserved ginger chopped, and moistened with its own syrup; and
- seasoned with nutmeg and noyau.
- </p>
- <p>
- The above mince pies are for company.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CALF'S FEET JELLY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Select the largest and best calf's feet. Four is called a set. Choose
- those that, after the hair has been well scalded and scraped off, are
- prepared with the skins left on. There is much glutinous substance in the
- skin itself, therefore it adds to the strength and firmness of the jelly.
- The feet being made perfectly clean, split them upwards as far as you can,
- and put them to boil in a gallon of <i>very clear</i> soft water. Boil
- them till they have all gone to pieces, and the flesh is reduced to rags,
- and the liquid to one half. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a
- white-ware pan, and set it away to cool. When quite cold, it should be a
- cake of firm jelly. Take it out, and scrape from it all the fat at the top
- and sediment at the bottom. Press on the surface, some clean blotting
- paper, to remove any grease that may yet remain about it. Cut the cake of
- jelly into pieces, and put it into a <i>very clean</i> porcelain kettle,
- with a large pint of sherry, (inferior wine will spoil it,) a pound of the
- best loaf sugar, broken small; the yellow rind of six lemons, pared so
- thin as to be transparent, and their juice squeezed over the sugar through
- a strainer; the <i>whites</i> of six or seven eggs, with their shells
- mashed small. If the jelly is to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_492"
- id="Page_492">[492]</a></span> moulded, add a quarter ounce of the best
- Russia isinglass. Boil together all these ingredients for near twenty
- minutes. Then take it off the fire, and let it stand undisturbed for about
- five minutes, to settle. Next, have ready a pointed jelly bag, made of
- clean white flannel. Spread it open, suspended by strings to a table edge.
- Set a large tureen or white-ware pan beneath it, and let the jelly drip as
- long as it will; but on no account squeeze or press the bag, as that will
- spoil all, rendering the whole jelly cloudy or streaked. If it is not
- quite clear at the first straining, empty the contents of the bag into a
- basin, wash the bag clean, hang it up again, pour the jelly back, wash the
- tureen or pan, and let the jelly pass into it again. Repeat this straining
- if necessary. When quite clear, shape the jelly in white-ware moulds,
- which have been setting two hours in cold water. When the jelly is wanted,
- wrap round the moulds for a moment, a cloth dipped in warm water, and turn
- it out on glass dishes. The ingredients that are left in the bag may be
- boiled and strained over again for children. If the jelly is <i>not</i> to
- be moulded, you may omit the isinglass. In that case break it up, and
- serve it in a glass bowl. It is now the general opinion that jellies have
- a more lively taste when broken up, from the numerous acute angles they
- present to the tongue and palate. We think this opinion correct; and also
- they look brighter and more glittering, and <i>go farther</i>.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Apple Jelly</i>&mdash;Is far less expensive than that of calf's feet,
- and if well made looks beautifully. It<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_493" id="Page_493">[493]</a></span> requires the very best and
- most juicy apples, (for instance, two dozen large pippins or
- bell-flowers.) Wash and wipe them well, (removing all blemishes,) pare,
- core, and slice or quarter them. Put them into a <i>bain-marie</i> or
- double kettle, with the water outside, and let them boil till broken and
- dissolved, putting in with them the grated yellow rind of four large
- lemons. Press and mash the stewed apples through a very clean sieve, till
- you have extracted all the juice. Measure it while warm, and allow to each
- quart a pound of the finest powdered and sifted loaf sugar well mixed in,
- and the juice of the lemons. Transfer it to a clean white flannel jelly
- bag, and let it drip into a large white-ware pan. When quite clear, put it
- into moulds, and set it on ice to congeal. When wanted, turn it out of the
- moulds, (loosened by wrapping round their outsides cloths dipped a minute
- in warm water) and serve it up in glass dishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Siberian Jelly.</i>&mdash;A fine pink-colored jelly may be made in the
- above manner, of the red Siberian crab-apple, but it requires an <i>additional</i>
- quarter of a pound of sugar to a pint of juice. Instead of lemon you may
- flavor it, (after all the juice has done dripping) by mixing with extract
- of rose, or strong rose-water, allowing a wine-glassful to each quart of
- jelly. Rose-water, or extract of rose, evaporates so speedily when over
- the fire, that it should never be added till the very last.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Orange Jelly</i>&mdash;Is made in the proportion of a pint of strained
- orange juice to a pound of loaf sugar, boiled with an ounce of isinglass,
- that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_494" id="Page_494">[494]</a></span>
- has first been melted over the fire by itself in a very little water. Add
- the <i>yellow</i> rind of the oranges pared from the white as thin as
- possible. Give it one boil up, and strain it into the jelly-bag. When
- clear, transfer it to moulds. Twelve large oranges will generally yield a
- pint of juice. Lemon jelly is made in the same manner, but with more
- sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CURRANT JELLY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The currants should be large, fine, and fully ripe. The best and sweetest
- currants grow in the shade; and the largest, also. If exposed to the full
- heat of our American sun, it turns them sour, dries up the juice, and
- withers their growth. Gather them when fully ripe, strip them from the
- stems into a cullender, and wash and drain them. Transfer them to a large
- pan, and mash them well with a wooden beetle. Then put the currants, with
- their juice, into a <i>bain-marie</i> or double kettle, and cook them with
- the water outside, stirring them hard to bring out the juice. Simmer them
- for a quarter of an hour, and then transfer them to a very clean sieve,
- and press them over a pan till no more juice appears. Measure the juice,
- and to each pint allow a pound of broken-up loaf sugar. Mix the sugar with
- the juice, put all into a porcelain kettle, and boil it till the scum
- ceases to rise. If the sugar is of excellent quality, (the best
- double-refined should be used for all nice sweetmeats) it will need but
- little skimming, and leave no sediment when poured off.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_495" id="Page_495">[495]</a></span> Boil it
- twenty minutes with the sugar. To try if it is done, take up a spoonful
- and hold it out in the open air. If it congeals very soon, it is cooked
- enough. Put it warm into glass tumblers. Cut out some white tissue paper
- into double rounds, exactly fitting the glasses. Press these papers
- lightly on the surface of the jelly; and, next day, tie over the top thick
- papers dipped in brandy, and set them in the sun all that day if the
- weather is bright and warm.
- </p>
- <p>
- All jellies of small fruit may be made in a similar manner; first boiling
- the fruit by itself, and mashing it to get out all the juice. Then boiling
- the berries again, <i>with the sugar</i>, for about twenty minutes. The
- above receipt is equally good for grapes, blackberries, and gooseberries.
- Black currant jelly (excellent for sore throats,) requires but three
- quarters of a pound of sugar, the juice being very thick of itself.
- Peaches, plums, damsons, and green gages, must be scalded, peeled, and
- stoned, before boiling for jelly, and they require, at least, a pound and
- a half of sugar to a pint of juice. It is better to preserve them as
- marmalade than as jelly. Strawberries and raspberries require no previous
- cooking; mash out the juice, strain it, allow a pound of sugar to every
- pint of juice, and then boil them together (skimming carefully) for about
- a quarter of an hour, or till they congeal on being tried in the air.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_496" id="Page_496">[496]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WINE JELLY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Wine jellies are seldom made except for company. The wine must be of
- excellent quality; either port, madeira, or champagne. To a quart of wine
- allow a pound of the best double-refined loaf sugar, and an ounce of the
- best Russian isinglass. Melt the sugar (broken small) in the wine. Melt
- the isinglass by itself in as much warm water as will just cover it, and
- when quite dissolved, stir it into the mixed wine and sugar. Boil all
- together, till on trial it becomes a firm jelly, which will be very soon.
- If it does not congeal well, add some more dissolved isinglass, and more
- sugar. Serve in moulds, and eat it on saucers. Jelly is made in this
- manner of any nice sort of <i>liqueur</i> or cordial. Also of strong green
- tea, or very strong coffee; first made as usual, and then boiled with loaf
- sugar and isinglass till they congeal. We do not recommend them, except as
- some exhilaration to the fatigue of a party.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TRIFLE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a very nice and very elegant party dish, and is served in a large
- glass bowl. Put into the bottom of the bowl a pound of bitter almond
- maccaroons. Pour on sufficient madeira or sherry to dissolve them. Let
- them soak in it till soft and broken. Have ready a very rich custard,
- flavored with vanilla bean (broken up and boiled by itself in a little
- milk), and then strained into the quart of milk prepared for the custard,
- which should be of ten eggs, (<i>using only the yolks</i>)<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_497" id="Page_497">[497]</a></span> and
- sweetened with a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf sugar. It is best and
- easiest to <i>bake</i> the custard. It will be very rich and soft with
- yolk of egg only. When the custard is cold lay it on the dissolved
- maccaroons. Then add a thick layer of very nice marmalade. Rub off the
- yellow rind of a large lemon or two on some pieces of loaf sugar, and add
- to it some powdered sugar mixed with the lemon juice. Whip to a strong
- froth a large quart (or more) of rich cream, gradually mixing with it the
- lemon and sugar. Lastly, pile up the frothed cream high on the glass bowl,
- and keep it on ice till it is sent to table. Instead of lemon you may
- flavor the whipt cream with rose-water; it will require, if not very
- strong, a wine-glassful. To give the cream a fine pink color, tie up some
- alkanet chips in a thin muslin bag; lay the bag to infuse in a tea-cup of
- plain cream, and then add the pink infusion to the quart of cream as you
- froth it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BLANCMANGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The best and finest blancmange is made with a set of calves' feet, (singed
- but not skinned) boiled slowly in a gallon of water till the meat drops
- from the bone; then strain it, and set it away till next day, in a broad
- white-ware pan. Skim it well while boiling. Next day it should be a solid
- cake of clear jelly. Scrape off all the fat and sediment from the outside,
- cut the jelly into small bits, and melt it over again. Boil in a porcelain
- kettle a pint of cream,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_498"
- id="Page_498">[498]</a></span> and when it has come to a boil, stir in six
- ounces of loaf sugar, and whatever you intend for flavoring; either the
- milk, in which a handful of bitter almonds has been boiled, (first being
- blanched and broken up) or a vanilla bean split and cut to pieces, and
- boiled in a little milk and strained. Or, it may be mixed with three
- ounces of chocolate, (Baker's prepared cocoa is the best) scraped fine.
- When the flavoring has had a boil with the sugar, stir into it, gradually,
- the melted jelly, and transfer it to white-ware moulds that have set in
- cold water, and are still damp. Stir it well, and when the blancmange is
- thickening, and becoming hard to stir, set the moulds on ice, or in pans
- of cold water in the cellar, and cease stirring. When quite congealed, dip
- the moulds in lukewarm water, and turn out the blancmange on glass dishes.
- You may color almond or vanilla blancmange a fine pink, by putting into
- the cream chips of alkanet root tied in a small thin muslin bag, to be
- removed as soon as the cream is highly colored. Or, it may be made green
- by the infusion of spinach juice, obtained by pounding in a marble mortar,
- and then boiling and straining.
- </p>
- <p>
- Gelatine is now frequently used for blancmange and jelly, instead of
- calves' feet or isinglass. It has no advantage but that of being more
- speedily prepared than calves' feet, which must be boiled the day before.
- Four cakes of gelatine are equal to four calves' feet. Before using, they
- must be soaked for an hour or more in a pan of cold water, then boiled
- with the other ingredients.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_499"
- id="Page_499">[499]</a></span> Some persons think they perceive an
- unpleasant taste in gelatine; perhaps they have heard of what it is made.
- </p>
- <p>
- When calves' feet cannot be obtained, pigs' feet will do very well, if
- nobody knows it. Four feet of calves are equal to eight of pigs. They are
- very glutinous, and have no perceptible taste.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINEST BLANCMANGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Break up a half pound of the best double-refined loaf sugar. On some of
- the pieces rub off the yellow rind of two large lemons, having rolled them
- under your hand to increase the juice. Then powder all the sugar, and mix
- with it, gradually, the juice of the lemons, a pint of rich cream, and a
- large half pint (not less) of sherry or madeira. Stir the mixture very
- hard till all the articles are thoroughly amalgamated. Then stir in,
- gradually, a <i>second</i> pint of cream. Put into a small sauce-pan an
- ounce of the best Russia isinglass, with one jill (or two common-sized
- wineglasses) of cold water. Boil it till the isinglass is completely
- dissolved, stirring it several times down to the bottom. When the melted
- isinglass has become lukewarm, stir it gradually into the mixture, and
- then give the whole a hard stirring. Have ready some white-ware moulds
- that have just been dipped and rinsed in cold water. Fill them with the
- mixture, set them on ice, and in two or three hours the blancmange will be
- congealed. When it is perfectly firm, dip the moulds for a minute in luke<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_500" id="Page_500">[500]</a></span>warm
- water, and turn out the blancmange on glass dishes. This, if accurately
- made, is the finest of blancmange. For company, you must have double, or
- treble, or four times the quantity of ingredients; each article in due
- proportion.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FARINA.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Farina is a very fine and delicate preparation, made from the inner part
- of the grain of new wheat. It is exceedingly nutritious, and excellent
- either for invalids or for persons in health. It is now much in use, and
- is to be had, in packages of a pound or half a pound, of the best grocers
- and druggists, and is highly recommended by physicians for gruel and
- panade. It also makes an excellent pudding, either boiled or baked,
- prepared in the same manner as any flour pudding. For boiling farina,
- nothing is so good as a <i>bain-marie</i> or double kettle.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For Farina Blancmange.</i>&mdash;From a quart of rich milk take out a
- half pint. Put the half pint into a small sauce-pan, and add to it a
- handful of bitter almonds broken up; or a bunch of fresh peach leaves, or
- a vanilla bean split, cut up, and tied in a thin muslin bag. When this
- milk has boiled till very highly flavored, strain it into the pint and a
- half, and set it over the fire in a porcelain kettle or a <i>bain-marie</i>.
- When the milk has come to a boil, sprinkle in, gradually, a large half
- pint or more (or four large heaping table-spoonfuls) of farina, stirring
- it well&mdash;also sprinkling in and stirring, as if making thick mush.
- Let it boil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_501" id="Page_501">[501]</a></span>
- slowly a quarter of an hour after the farina is all in. When done, remove
- it from the fire, and stir in two large table-spoonfuls of sugar, and a
- wineglass of rose-water, or one of white wine. Transfer it to a blancmange
- mould, (previously wet with cold water,) set it on ice, and turn it out
- when ready for dinner. Eat it with sauce of wine, sugar, and nutmeg.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE MARROW PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mince very small a quarter of a pound of nice beef marrow, and grate or
- crumble half a pound of almond sponge cake. Cut in half, a quarter of a
- pound of sultana or seedless raisins, chop two peels of candied citron,
- mix them with the raisins, and dredge both thickly with flour. Add a large
- heaped table-spoonful of loaf sugar, a small nutmeg grated, and a
- wineglass of mixed wine and brandy. Mix all these ingredients well, put
- them into a deep dish, lay a border of puff-paste all round the rim, and
- fill the dish up to the top with a nice custard made in the proportion of
- four eggs to a pint of well-sweetened milk, flavored with either bitter
- almonds, rose-water, peach-water, or vanilla. Bake this pudding half an
- hour. When cool, sift sugar over it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- OMELETTE SOUFFLÉ.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Break six eggs, separating the yolks and whites. Give them a slight stir,
- and strain the whites into one pan and<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_502" id="Page_502">[502]</a></span> the yolks into another. Add
- to the yolks three large table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar, a heaped
- tea-spoonful of arrow-root flour, and twelve drops of strong orange-flower
- water, and beat it till very thick and smooth. Then beat the whites to a
- stiff froth, beginning slowly at first, but gradually beating faster. Then
- add the beaten yolk very gently to the whites. Have ready a silver or
- plated dish well-buttered. Use tin for want of better, but it will not
- look well, as the omelette has to be served up in the dish it was baked
- in. Place the dish with the mixture in a hot oven, and watch it while
- baking. When it has well risen, and seems very light, take it out of the
- oven for a moment; run a knife round it, sift some sugar over it, set it
- again in the oven, and when raised to its utmost take it out again, and
- serve it up as hot as possible, with a spoon on the plate beside it. When
- once broken, it will sink immediately. It is usual to send round the
- omelette soufflé at the very last of the pastry course; the cook not
- beginning to make it till the dinner has commenced. If not light when
- baked, give it up, and do not send it to table at all. It is safest for an
- inexperienced housewife to engage a French cook to come to the house with
- his own ingredients and utensils, and make and bake the omelette soufflé
- while there. Still though very fashionable, it is less delicious than many
- other desserts.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_503" id="Page_503">[503]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SUNDERLANDS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Warm a quart of rich milk, and cut up in it half a pound of the best fresh
- butter to soften in the milk, but not to oil. Beat eight eggs till very
- light and thick, and then stir them gradually into the pan of milk and
- butter, in turn with eight large table-spoonfuls of sifted flour. Beat all
- very hard together, and then transfer the batter to white tea-cups,
- slightly buttered, not filling them quite full. Set them immediately into
- a brisk oven, and bake them about twenty minutes, or till they are
- slightly browned, and have puffed up very light. As soon as they are cool
- enough to handle without burning your fingers, turn them out of the cups
- on a dish, cut a slit in the top of each, and, taking a tea-spoon, fill
- them quite full of any sort of jelly or marmalade; or if more convenient,
- with ripe strawberries or raspberries, sweetened with powdered sugar, and
- mashed smoothly. When filled with fruit, close the slit neatly with your
- fingers; and on the top of each lay a large strawberry or raspberry,
- having first dredged the sunderland with sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cream Cakes</i>&mdash;Are made in the above manner, but baked in
- patty-pans. When baked take them out, cut a slit in the <i>side</i> of
- each; and having prepared an ample quantity of rich boiled custard, made
- with yolk of egg, and highly flavored (<i>after it has boiled</i>,) with
- lemon, orange, vanilla, rose-water or peach-water, fill the cakes full of
- the custard, closing the opening well by pinching<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_504" id="Page_504">[504]</a></span> it together. Sift powdered
- sugar over them, and send them to table on a large china dish.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CREAM TART.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a fine puff-paste of equal quantities of fresh butter and sifted
- flour; mixing into the pan of flour a heaped table-spoonful of powdered
- sugar, and wetting it with a beaten egg. Rub one quarter of the butter
- into the pan of flour. Divide the remainder of butter into six, and roll
- it into the flour at six turns till it is all in. Have, ready grated, the
- yellow rind and the juice of a large lemon or orange mixed with a quarter
- of a pound of powdered loaf sugar; or a flavoring of a split-up vanilla
- bean; or a dozen bitter almonds broken up, and boiled in a very little
- milk. Mix the flavoring with a pint of rich cream, and the well-beaten
- whites of three eggs. Take small deep pans, line them all through with the
- paste rolled out very thin, and cut square. Fill them with the cream, and
- turn the square pieces of paste a little over it at the top, so as to form
- corners. Bake the tarts in a brisk oven, and when cold, grate nutmeg over
- the surface.
- </p>
- <p>
- Are these the cream tarts of the Arabian Nights?
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ORANGE COCOA-NUT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Break up a fine ripe cocoa-nut, and after peeling off the brown skin, lay
- the pieces in cold water for a while. Then wipe them dry with a clean
- towel, and grate them into a deep dish. Mix in, plenty of pow<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_505" id="Page_505">[505]</a></span>dered
- white sugar. Take some fine large oranges, very ripe and juicy. Peel off
- all the rind, and slice the oranges rather thick. Cover the bottom of a
- large glass bowl with sliced orange, (the first layer being double, where
- the bowl is small) and strew among the slices sufficient sugar. Then put
- in a thick layer of the grated cocoa-nut, next another layer of orange&mdash;again
- a layer of cocoa-nut, and so on, alternately, till the bowl is filled,
- finishing with cocoa-nut heaped high. This is a handsome and delicious
- article for a supper-table, and a nice <i>impromptu</i> addition to the
- dessert at a dinner; and soon prepared, as it requires no cooking. When
- the fruit is in season, a dessert for a small company may consist entirely
- of orange cocoa-nut, raspberry charlotte, and cream strawberries.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never send oranges whole to table. To ladies they are unmanageable in
- company.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Creamed Strawberries.</i>&mdash;Take fine large ripe strawberries. Hull
- or stem them, and set them on ice till just before they are wanted. Divide
- them into saucerfulls. If you have glass saucers, they will make a better
- show than china. Put some powdered white sugar in the bottom of each
- saucer. Fill them with strawberries, and then strew on a liberal allowance
- of sugar, for American strawberries (however fine in appearance) are
- seldom sweet. Have ready sufficient whipped cream, that has been frothed
- with rods or with a tin cream-churn. Pile high a portion of the whipt
- cream on each saucer of strawberries.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_506" id="Page_506">[506]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Strawberries are sometimes eaten with wine and sugar, when cream is not
- convenient. With <i>milk</i> they curdle, and are unwholesome&mdash;besides
- tasting poorly.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Creamed Pine-apple.</i>&mdash;Cut into four pieces two large ripe
- pine-apples. Stand them up successively in a deep dish, and grate them
- from the rind. When all is grated, transfer it to a large glass bowl, and
- make it very sweet by mixing in powdered white loaf sugar. Whip to a stiff
- froth a sufficiency of rich cream, adding to it some sugar, and heap it
- high upon the grated pine-apple.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Peaches and Cream.</i>&mdash;Take fine juicy freestone peaches. Pare
- them, and cut them in slices. Put them, with their juice, into a large
- bowl, and make them very sweet with powdered loaf sugar. Set them on ice,
- and let them remain in the juice till wanted. Then send them to table with
- fresh sugar sifted over the top. Set near them pitchers of plain cream,
- not frothed.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you cannot obtain cream, it is better to be satisfied with sugar alone,
- than to substitute milk, with peaches, or any other fruit.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LEMON TAFFY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle three pounds of the best loaf
- sugar, and pour on it a pint and a half of very clear water. When it has
- entirely dissolved, set it over the fire, and add a table spoonful of fine
- cider vinegar to assist in clearing it as it boils. Boil and skim it well,
- and when no more scum rises<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_507"
- id="Page_507">[507]</a></span> add the juice of four large lemons or
- oranges. Let it boil till it will boil no longer, stirring it well. When
- done transfer it to square tin pans, that have been made very clean and
- bright, and that are slightly greased with sweet oil. Set the taffy away
- to cool, first marking it with a knife, while soft. Mark it in straight
- lines the broad or crossway of the pans. If marked lengthways, the pieces
- will be too long. When the taffy is cold, cut it according to the lines,
- in regular slips, like cocoa-nut candy. It is for a handsome supper party.
- Serve it up in glass dishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- Orange taffy is made in the same manner. These candies should be kept in
- tin boxes.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cocoa-nut Candy</i>&mdash;Is made in the manner of taffy, using finely
- grated cocoa-nut, instead of lemon or orange.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHARLOTTE RUSSE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Split, cut up, and boil a large vanilla bean in half a pint of rich milk,
- till it is highly flavored, and reduced to one-half. Then strain out the
- vanilla through a strainer so fine as to avoid all the seeds. Mix the
- strained milk with half a pint of rich cream. Beat five eggs till very
- smooth and thick. Strain them, and add them gradually to the cream when it
- is entirely cold, to make a rich custard. Set this custard over the fire
- (stirring it all the time) till it simmers; but take it off before it
- comes to a boil, or it will curdle. Set it on ice. Have ready in another
- sauce-pan an ounce of the best<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_508"
- id="Page_508">[508]</a></span> Russia isinglass, boiled in half a pint of
- water, till it is all dissolved into a thick jelly. When both are cold,
- (but not hard) mix the custard and the isinglass together, and add four
- table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar. Then take a large lump of loaf
- sugar, and rub off on it the yellow rind of two large lemons. Scrape off
- the lemon-grate with a tea-spoon, and add it to the mixture, with the lump
- of sugar powdered and crushed fine. Mix together the strained juice of the
- lemons, and two glasses of madeira; dissolve in them the lemon-flavored
- sugar, and mix it with a pint of rich cream that has been whipped with a
- whisk to a strong froth. Add the whipped cream gradually to the custard,
- starring very hard at the time, and also after the whole is mixed. Then
- set it on ice.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cover the bottom of a flat oval dish with a slice of almond sponge cake,
- cut to fit. Prepare a sufficient number of oblong slices of the cake, (all
- of the same size and shape) to go all round; with one extra slice, in case
- they should not quite hold out. Dip every one in a plate of beaten white
- of egg to make them adhere. Stand each of them up on one end, round the
- large oval slice that lies at the bottom. Make them follow each other
- evenly and neatly, (every one lapping a little way over its predecessor)
- till you have a handsome wall of slices, cemented all round by the white
- of egg. Fill it quite full with the custard mixture. Cover the top with
- another oval slice of cake, cemented with a little white of egg<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_509" id="Page_509">[509]</a></span> to the
- upper edge of the wall. Make a nice icing in the usual way, of powdered
- sugar beaten into frothed white of egg, and flavored with lemon, orange,
- or rose. Spread this icing thickly and smoothly over the cake that covers
- the top of the charlotte, and ornament it with a handsome pattern of sugar
- flowers. There is no charlotte russe superior to this.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Another Charlotte Russe.</i>&mdash;Have a very nice circular lady cake.
- It should be iced all over, and ornamented with sugar flowers. Take off
- the top nicely, and without breaking or defacing, and hollow out the
- inside, leaving the sides and bottom standing. The cake taken from the
- inside may be cut in regular pieces and used at tea, or for other
- purposes. Make a very fine boiled custard, according to the preceding
- receipt. Fill with it the empty cake, as if filling a mould. Then put on
- the lid, set the whole on ice, and when wanted serve it up on a glass or
- china dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- A charlotte that requires no cooking may be very easily made by hollowing
- a nice circular almond sponge cake, and filling it with layers of small
- preserves, and piling on the top whipped cream finely flavored.
- </p>
- <p>
- For the walls of a charlotte russe you may use the oblong sponge cakes,
- called Naples biscuits, or those denominated lady fingers, dipping them
- first in beaten white of egg, standing them on end, and arranging them so
- as to lap over each other in forming the wall. Arrange some of them
- handsomely to cover the top of the custard.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_510" id="Page_510">[510]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ICE CREAM.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pewter freezers for ice cream are better than those of block tin; as in
- them the freezing goes on more gradually and thoroughly, and it does not
- melt so soon, besides being smoother when done. The ice tub should be
- large enough to allow ample space all round (six inches, at least,) the
- freezer as it stands in the centre, and should have a plug at the bottom
- (beneath the freezer) for letting out the water that drips from the ice;
- that a large coarse woolen cloth should be folded, and laid under it and
- around it. The ice should be broken up into small bits, and mixed with
- coarse salt, in the proportion of a pound of salt to five pounds of ice.
- Fill the tub within three inches of the top; pounding and pressing down
- hard the mixed ice and salt. Have ready all the ingredients. To every
- quart of <i>real</i> rich cream mix in a pint of milk, (not more) and half
- a pound of fine loaf sugar. The following are the most usual flavorings,
- all the fruit being made very sweet. Ripe strawberries or raspberries,
- mashed through a sieve till all the juice is extracted; ripe juicy
- freestone peaches, pared, and cut in half, the kernels being taken from
- the stones, are pounded, and mashed with the fruit through a cullender;
- all the juice that can be mashed out of a sliced pine-apple, the grated
- yellow rind and the juice of lemons or oranges, allowing two to each quart
- of cream, and mixing the juice with plenty of sugar before it is put to
- the cream. A handful of shelled bitter almonds blanched, broken, and
- boiled by themselves in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_511"
- id="Page_511">[511]</a></span> half a pint of milk till all the almond
- flavor is extracted, and then strain the bitter almond milk into the
- cream. For vanilla flavor, split and cut up a vanilla bean, boil it by
- itself in a half pint of milk, and when highly flavored, strain the
- vanilla milk into the cream. For chocolate ice cream, scrape down a
- quarter of a pound of Baker's prepared cocoa, and melt it in just water
- enough to cover it; then sweeten and mix it gradually into a quart of rich
- milk, (boiling at the time) and then boil and stir it till strong and
- smooth. Ice cream is spoiled by the addition of eggs. Besides giving it a
- yellowish color, eggs convert it into mere frozen custard, particularly if
- instead of using real cream, it is made of milk thickened with arrow-root
- or flour. For company at least, ice cream should be made in the best and
- most liberal manner, or else do not attempt it. Mean ice cream is a very
- mean thing.
- </p>
- <p>
- When all the ingredients are prepared and mixed, put the whole into the
- freezer, and set it in the ice tub; and having put on the lid tightly,
- take the freezer by the handle and turn it about very fast for five or six
- minutes. Then remove the lid carefully, and scrape down the cream from the
- sides with a spaddle or long-handled spoon. Repeat this frequently while
- it is freezing, taking care to keep the sides clear, stirring it well to
- the bottom, and keeping the tub well filled with salt and ice outside the
- freezer.
- </p>
- <p>
- After the cream has been well frozen in the freezer, transfer it to
- moulds, pressing it in hard,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_512"
- id="Page_512">[512]</a></span> so as to fill every part of the mould. Then
- set the mould in a fresh tub of ice and salt, (using as before the
- proportion of a pound of salt to five pounds of ice) and let it remain
- undisturbed in the mould for an hour, not turning it out till it is time
- to serve it up to the company. Then wrap a cloth, dipped in warm water,
- round the outside of the moulds, open them, and turn out the frozen cream
- on glass or china dishes, and serve it up immediately.
- </p>
- <p>
- Unless ice cream is very highly flavored at the beginning, its taste will
- be much weakened in the process of freezing.
- </p>
- <p>
- The most usual form of ice cream moulds are pyramids, dolphins, doves, and
- baskets of fruit. We have seen ice cream in the shape of a curly lap-dog,
- and very well represented.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you eat what is called strawberry ice cream looking of an exquisite
- rose-pink color, there is no strawberry about it, either in tint or taste.
- It is produced by alkanet or cochineal. Real strawberries do not color so
- beautifully; neither do raspberries, or any other sort of red fruit. But
- genuine fruit syrups may be employed for this purpose, having at least the
- true taste. To make strawberry or raspberry syrup, prepare first what is
- called simple syrup, by melting a pound of the best double-refined loaf
- sugar in half a pint of cold water; and when melted, boiling them
- together, and skimming it perfectly clean. Then stir in as much fruit
- juice (mashed and strained,)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_513"
- id="Page_513">[513]</a></span> as will give it a fine tinge, and let it
- have one more boiling up.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Vanilla Syrup.</i>&mdash;Take six fine fresh vanilla beans. Split, and
- cut them in pieces. Scrape the seeds loose in the pods with your finger
- nail, and bruise and mash the shells. All this will increase the vanilla
- flavor. Put all you can get of the vanilla into a small quart of what is
- called by the druggist "absolute alcohol." Cork the bottle closely, and
- let the vanilla infuse in it a week. Then strain it through a very fine
- strainer that will not let out a single seed. Have ready half a dozen pint
- bottles of simple syrup. Put into every bottle of the simple syrup a
- portion of the strained infusion of vanilla. Cork it tightly and use it
- for vanilla flavoring in ice creams, custards, blancmange, &amp;c.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Orange or Lemon Syrups</i>&mdash;Are made by paring off the yellow rind
- very thin (after the fruit has been rolled under your hand on a table to
- increase the juice,) then boiling the rind till the water is highly
- flavored. Strain this water over the best loaf sugar, allowing two pounds
- of sugar to a pint of juice. The sugar being melted, mix it with the
- juice.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WATER ICES OR SHERBET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Water ices are made of the juice of fruits, very well sweetened, mixed
- with a little water, and frozen in the manner of ice cream, to which they
- are by many persons preferred. They are all prepared nearly<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_514" id="Page_514">[514]</a></span> in the
- same manner, allowing a pint of juice to a pint of water, and a quarter of
- a pound of sugar. Mix it well, and then freeze it in the manner of ice
- cream, and serve it up in glass bowls. For lemon and orange sherbet, first
- roll the fruit on a table under your hand; then take off a very thin
- paring of the yellow rind, and boil it slowly in a very little water, till
- all the flavor is extracted. Next, strain the flavored water into the cold
- water you intend to mix with the juice, and make it very sweet with loaf
- sugar. Squeeze the juice into it through a tin strainer to avoid the
- seeds. Stir the whole very hard, and transfer it to a freezer. Orange
- water-ice is considered the best, if well made. For pine-apple water-ice,
- pare, core, and slice fine <i>ripe</i> apples very thin. Put them into a
- dish with thick layers of powdered loaf sugar; cover the dish, and let
- them lie several hours in the sugar. Then press out all the juice you can,
- from the pine-apple; mix it with a little water, and freeze it. To two
- large pine-apples allow a half pound of sugar, which has been melted in a
- quart of boiling water. This looks very well frozen in a mould shaped like
- a pine-apple. <i>Orange</i> sherbet may be frozen in a pine-apple mould.
- It can be made so rich with orange juice as to perfume the whole table.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Roman Punch</i>&mdash;Is made of strong lemonade or orangeade, adding
- to every quart a pint of brandy or rum. Then freeze it, and serve in
- saucers or a large glass bowl. Put it into a porcelain kettle, and boil
- and skim it till the scum ceases to rise.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_515" id="Page_515">[515]</a></span> When cold, bottle it, seal
- the corks and keep it in a cool place.
- </p>
- <p>
- Syrup of strawberries, raspberries, currants and blackberries, is made in
- a similar manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FLOATING ISLAND.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For one common-sized floating island have a round thick jelly cake, lady
- cake, or almond sponge cake, that will weigh a pound and a half, or two
- pounds. Slice it downwards, almost to the bottom, but do not take the
- slices apart. Stand up the cake in the centre of a glass bowl or a deep
- dish. Have ready a pint and a half of rich cream, make it very sweet with
- sugar, and color it a fine green with a tea-cupful of the juice of pounded
- spinach, boiled five minutes by itself; strained, and made very sweet. Or
- for coloring pink you may use currant jelly, or the juice of preserved
- strawberries. Whip to a stiff froth another pint and a half of sweetened
- cream, and flavor it with a large glass of mixed wine and brandy. Pour
- round the cake, as it stands in the dish or bowl, the colored unfrothed
- cream, and pile the whipped white cream all over the cake, highest on the
- top<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_516" id="Page_516">[516]</a></span>.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="FINE_CAKES" id="FINE_CAKES"></a>FINE CAKES.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PLUM CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- In making very fine plum cake first prepare the fruit and spice, and sift
- the flour (which must be the very best superfine,) into a large flat dish,
- and dry it before the fire. Use none but the very best fresh butter; if of
- inferior quality, the butter will taste through every thing, and spoil the
- cake. In fact, all the ingredients should be excellent, and liberally
- allowed. Take the best bloom or muscatel raisins, seeded and cut in half.
- Pick and wash the currants or plums through two waters, and dry them well.
- Powder the spice, and let it infuse over night in the wine and brandy. Cut
- the citron into slips, mix it with the raisins and currants, and dredge
- all the fruit very thickly, on both sides, with flour. This will prevent
- its sinking or clodding in the cake, while baking. Eggs should always be
- beaten till the frothing is over, and till they become thick and smooth,
- as thick as a good boiled custard, and quite smooth on the surface. If you
- can obtain hickory-rods as egg-beaters, there is nothing so good; but if
- you cannot get <i>them</i>, use the common egg-beaters, of thin fine wire.
- For stirring butter and sugar you should have a spaddle, which resembles a
- short mush-stick flattened at one end. Stir the butter and sugar in a deep
- earthen pan, and continue till it is light, thick, and creamy. Beat eggs
- always in a broad shallow earthen pan, and with a short<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_517" id="Page_517">[517]</a></span> quick
- stroke, keeping your right elbow close to your side, and moving only your
- wrist. In this way you may beat for an hour without fatigue. But to stir
- butter and sugar is the hardest part of cake making. Have this done by a
- man servant. His strength will accomplish it in a short time&mdash;also,
- let him give the final stirring to the cake. If the ingredients are
- prepared as far as practicable on the preceding day, the cake may be in
- the oven by ten or eleven o'clock in the forenoon.
- </p>
- <p>
- For a large plum cake allow one pound, (or a quart) of sifted flour; one
- pound of fresh butter cut up in a pound of powdered loaf sugar, in a deep
- pan; twelve eggs; two pounds of bloom raisins; two pounds of Zante
- currants; half a pound of citron, either cut into slips or chopped small;
- a table-spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon, mixed; two grated nutmegs;
- a large wine-glass of madeira (or more), a wine-glass of French brandy,
- mixed together, and the spice steeped in it.
- </p>
- <p>
- First stir the butter and sugar to a light cream, and add to them the
- spice and liquor. Then beat the eggs in a shallow pan till very thick and
- smooth, breaking them one at a time into a saucer to ascertain if there is
- a bad one among them. One stale egg will spoil the whole cake. When the
- eggs are very light, stir them gradually into the large pan of butter and
- sugar in turn with the flour, that being the mixing pan. Lastly, add the
- fruit and citron, a little at a time of each,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_518" id="Page_518">[518]</a></span> and give the whole a hard
- stirring. If the fruit is well floured it will not sink, but it will be
- seen evenly dispersed all over the cake when baked. Take a large
- straight-sided block tin pan, grease it inside with the same butter used
- for the cake, and put the mixture carefully into it. Set it immediately
- into a well-heated oven, and keep up a steady heat while it is baking.
- When nearly done, the cake will shrink a little from the sides of the pan;
- and on probing it to the bottom with a sprig from a corn broom, or a
- splinter-skewer, the probe will come out clean. Otherwise, keep the cake
- in the oven a little longer. If it cracks on the top, it is a proof of its
- being very light. When quite done, take it out. It will become hard if
- left to grow cold with the oven. Set it to cool on an inverted sieve.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ICING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Allow to the white of each egg a quarter of a pound of the best loaf
- sugar, finely powdered; but if you find the mixture too thin, you must add
- still more sugar. Put the white of egg into a shallow pan, and beat it
- with small rods or a large silver fork, till it becomes a stiff froth, and
- stands alone without falling. Then beat in the powdered sugar, a
- tea-spoonful at a time. As you proceed, flavor it with lemon juice. This
- will render the icing whiter and smoother, also improving the taste. You
- may ice the cake as soon as it becomes lukewarm, without waiting till it
- is quite cold. Dredge it lightly with flour to<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_519" id="Page_519">[519]</a></span> absorb the grease from the
- outside; then wipe off the flour. With a broad knife put some icing on the
- middle of the cake, and then spread it down, thickly and evenly, all over
- the top and sides, smoothing it with another knife dipped in cold water.
- When this is quite dry, spread on a second coat of icing rather thinner
- than the first, and flavored with rose. Set it a few minutes in the oven
- to harden the icing, leaving the oven-door open; or place it beneath the
- stove. When the icing is quite dry, you may ornament it with sugar borders
- and flowers; having ready, for that purpose, some additional icing. By
- means of a syringe, (made for the purpose, and to be obtained at the best
- furnishing stores) you can decorate the surface of the cake very
- handsomely; but it requires taste, skill, and practice. You may first
- cover the cake with pink, brown, green, or other colored icing, and then
- take white icing to decorate it, forming the pattern by moving your hand
- skilfully and steadily over it, and pressing it out of the syringe as you
- go. An easier way is to ornament the cake (when the top-icing is nearly
- dry, but not quite,) with large strawberries or raspberries, or purple
- grapes placed very near each other, and arranged in circles or patterns.
- Be careful not to mash the berries.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Warm Icing.</i>&mdash;This is made in the usual proportion of the
- whites of four eggs, beaten to stiff froth, and a pound of finely powdered
- loaf sugar afterwards added to it, gradually. Then boil the egg and sugar
- in a porcelain kettle, and skim it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_520"
- id="Page_520">[520]</a></span> till the scum ceases to rise. Take it off
- the fire, and stir into it sufficient orange juice, lemon juice, or
- rose-water, to flavor it highly. Flour your cake&mdash;wipe off the flour,
- put on the icing with a broad knife, and then smooth it with another knife
- dipped in cold water. For this icing the cake should be warm from the
- oven, and dried slowly and gradually afterwards. Warm icing is much liked.
- It is very light; rises thick and high in cooling, and has a fine gloss.
- Try it. The mixture called by the French a <i>meringue</i>, and used for
- macaroons, kisses, and other nice articles, is made in the same manner as
- icing for cakes, allowing a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf sugar to
- every beaten white of egg.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POUND CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- One of Mrs. Goodfellow's maxims was, "up-weight of flour, and down-weight
- of every thing else"&mdash;and she was right, as the excellence of her
- cakes sufficiently proved, during the thirty years that she taught her art
- in Philadelphia, with unexampled success. Therefore, allow for a pound
- cake a rather small pound of sifted flour; a large pound of the best fresh
- butter, a large pound of powdered loaf sugar, ten eggs, or eleven if they
- are small; a large glass of mixed wine and brandy; a glass of rose-water;
- a grated nutmeg, and a heaped tea-spoonful of mixed spice, powdered mace,
- and cinnamon. Put the sugar into a <i>deep</i> earthen pan, and cut up the
- butter among it. In cold weather place it near<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_521" id="Page_521">[521]</a></span> the fire a few minutes,
- till the butter softens. Next, stir it very hard with a spaddle till the
- mixture becomes very light. Next, stir in, gradually, the spice, liquor,
- &amp;c. Then beat the eggs in a shallow pan with rods or a whisk, till
- light, thick, and smooth. Add them gradually to the beaten batter and
- sugar, in turn with the flour; and give the whole a hard stirring at the
- last. Have the oven ready with a moderate heat. Transfer the mixture to a
- thick straight-sided tin pan well greased with the best fresh butter, and
- smooth the butter on the surface. Set it immediately into the oven, and
- bake it with a steady heat two hours and a half, or more. Probe it to the
- bottom with a twig from a corn broom. When it shrinks a little from the
- pan it is done. When taken out, set it to cool on an inverted sieve. When
- you ice it, flavor the icing with lemon or rose.
- </p>
- <p>
- It should be eaten fresh, as it soon becomes very dry.
- </p>
- <p>
- Pound cake is not so much in use as formerly, particularly for weddings
- and large parties; lady cake and plum cake being now substituted. A pound
- cake may be much improved by the addition of a pound of citron, sliced,
- chopped well, dredged with flour to prevent its sinking, and stirred
- gradually into the batter, in turn with the sifted flour and beaten egg.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_522" id="Page_522">[522]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- QUEEN CAKE&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Is made in the same manner as pound cake, only with a less proportion of
- flour, (fourteen ounces, or two ounces less than a pound) as it must be
- baked in little tins; and small cakes require less flour than large ones.
- Also, (besides a somewhat larger allowance of spice, liquor, &amp;c.) add
- the juice and grated yellow rind of a lemon or two, and half a pound of
- sultana or seedless raisins, cut in half and dredged with flour. Butter
- your small cake tins, and fill to the edge with the batter. They will not
- run over the edge if well made, and baked with a proper fire, but they
- will rise high and fine in the centre. Ice them when beginning to cool,
- flavoring the icing with lemon or rose. Queen cakes made <i>exactly</i> as
- above are superlative.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ORANGE CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a mixture precisely as for queen cake, only omit the wine, brandy,
- and rose-water, and substitute the grated yellow rind and the juice of
- four large ripe oranges, stirred into the batter in turn with the egg and
- flour. Flavor the icing with orange juice.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LEMON CAKES&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Are also made as above, substituting for the oranges the grated rind and
- juice of three lemons. To give a full taste, less lemon is required than
- orange.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_523" id="Page_523">[523]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SPONGE CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Many persons suppose that sponge cake must be very easy to make, because
- there is no butter in it. On the contrary, the want of butter renders it
- difficult to get light. A really good sponge cake is a very different
- thing from those numerous tough leathery compositions that go by that
- name, and being flavored with nothing, are not worthy of eating <i>as cake</i>,
- and are neither palatable nor wholesome as diet, unless too fresh to have
- grown dry and hard. The best sponge cake we know of is made as follows,
- and even that should be eaten the day it is baked. Sift half a pound of
- flour, (arrow-root is still better,) in a shallow pan; beat twelve eggs
- till very thick, light, and smooth. You need not separate the yolks and
- whites, if you know the true way of adding the flour. Beat a pound of
- powdered loaf sugar, gradually, (a little at a time) into the beaten eggs,
- and add the juice and grated yellow rinds of two large lemons or oranges.
- Lastly stir in the flour or arrow root. It is all important that this
- should be done slowly and lightly, and without stirring down to the bottom
- of the pan. Hold the egg-beater perpendicularly or quite upright in one
- hand, and move it round on the surface of the beaten egg, while with the
- other hand you lightly and gradually sprinkle in the flour till all is in.
- If stirred in hard and fast it will render the cake porous and tough, and
- dry and hard when cold. Have ready either a large turban mould, or some
- small oblong or square tins. Butter them nicely, transfer to them the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_524" id="Page_524">[524]</a></span> cake
- mixture, grate powdered sugar profusely over the surface to give it a
- gloss like a very thin crust, and set it immediately into a brisk oven.
- The small oblong cakes are called Naples biscuits, and require no icing. A
- large turban cake may be iced plain, without ornament.
- </p>
- <p>
- A <i>very light</i> sponge cake, when sliced, will cut down rough and
- coarse grained, and it is desirable to have it so.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Lady Fingers</i>&mdash;Are mixed in the same manner, and of the same
- ingredients as the foregoing receipt for the best sponge cake. When the
- mixture is finished, form the cakes by shaping the batter with a
- tea-spoon, upon sheets of soft white paper slightly damped, forming them
- like double ovals joined in the centre. Sift powdered sugar over them, and
- bake them in a quick oven till slightly browned. When cool, take them off
- the papers. They are sometimes iced.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ALMOND SPONGE CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The addition of almonds makes this cake very superior to the usual sponge
- cake. Sift half a pound of fine flour or arrow root. Blanch in scalding
- water two ounces of shelled sweet almonds, and two ounces of bitter ones,
- renewing the hot water when expedient. When the skins are all off, wash
- the almonds in cold water, (mixing the sweet and bitter) and wipe them
- dry. Pound them to a fine smooth paste, (one at a time,) in a very clean
- marble mortar, adding, as you proceed, plenty of rose-water to prevent
- their oiling. Then set them in a cool place. Beat twelve<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_525" id="Page_525">[525]</a></span> eggs
- till very smooth and thick, and then beat into them, gradually, a pound of
- powdered loaf sugar, in turn with the pounded almonds. Lastly, add the
- flour, stirring it round slowly and lightly on the surface of the mixture,
- as in common sponge cake. Have ready a <i>deep</i> square pan. Butter it
- nicely. Put the mixture carefully into it, set it into the oven, and bake
- it till thoroughly done and risen very high. When cool, cover it with
- plain white icing, flavored with rose-water. With sweet almonds, always
- use a small portion of bitter ones. Without them, <i>sweet</i> almonds
- have little or no taste, though they add to the richness of the cake.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SPANISH BUNS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- In a shallow pan put a half pint of rich unskimmed milk, and cut up in it
- a half pound of the best fresh butter. Set it on the stove, or near the
- fire, to warm and soften, but do not let it melt or oil. When soft, stir
- it all through the milk with a broad knife, and then set it away to cool.
- Sift into a broad pan half a pound of the finest flour, and an additional
- quarter of a pound put on a plate by itself. Beat four eggs in a shallow
- pan till very thick and smooth, and mix them at once into the butter and
- sugar, adding the half pound of flour. Stir in a powdered nutmeg, and two
- wine-glasses of strong yeast, fresh from the brewer's, first removing the
- thin liquid or beer from the top. Stir the mixture very hard with a knife,
- and then add,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_526" id="Page_526">[526]</a></span>
- <i>gradually</i>, half a pound of powdered white sugar. The buns will
- become heavy if the sugar is thrown in all at once. It is important that
- it should be added a little at a time. Then sprinkle in, by degrees, the
- extra quarter of a pound of sifted flour, and lastly add a wine-glass of
- strong rose-water. When all has been well stirred, butter (with fine fresh
- butter,) an oblong iron or block-tin pan, and carefully put the bun
- mixture into it. Cover it with a clean cloth, and set it near the fire to
- rise. It may require five hours; therefore buns wanted for tea should be
- made in the forenoon. When the batter has risen very high, and is covered
- with bubbles, put the pan immediately into a moderate but steady oven, and
- bake it. When cool, cut the buns into squares, and ice each one
- separately, if for company; the icing being flavored with lemon or orange
- juice. Otherwise, you may simply sift sugar over them. These buns were
- first introduced by Mrs. Goodfellow; and in her school were always
- excellently made, nothing being spared that was good, and the use of soda
- and other alkalis being unknown in the establishment&mdash;hartshorn in
- cakes would have horrified her.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LADY CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This cake must be flavored highly with bitter almonds; without them, sweet
- almonds have little or no taste, and are useless in lady cake. Blanch, in
- scalding water, three small ounces of shelled bitter almonds, and then lay<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_527" id="Page_527">[527]</a></span> them in
- a bowl of very cold water. Afterwards wipe them dry, and pound them (one
- at a time,) to a smooth paste in a clean marble mortar; adding, as you
- proceed, a wine-glass of rose-water to improve the flavor, and prevent
- their oiling, and becoming heavy and dark. When done, set them away in a
- cool place, on a saucer. Almonds are always lighter and better when
- blanched and pounded the day before. Cut up three quarters of a pound of
- the best fresh butter in a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Mix it in a deep
- earthen pan, and stir and beat it with a spaddle till it becomes very
- light and creamy. Then, gradually, stir in the pounded almonds. Take the
- <i>whites only</i> of seventeen or eighteen fresh eggs, and beat them in a
- shallow pan to a stiff froth, till they stand alone. Then stir the beaten
- white of egg, gradually, into the pan of creamed butter and sugar, in turn
- with three small quarters of a pound (or a pint and a half,) of sifted
- flour of the very best quality. Stir the whole very hard at the last, and
- transfer it to a straight-sided tin pan, well greased with excellent fresh
- butter. Set the pan immediately into an oven, and bake it with a moderate
- but steady heat. When it has been baking rather more than two hours, probe
- it by sticking down to the bottom a twig from a corn broom, or a very
- narrow knife. If it comes out clean the cake is done; if clammy or daubed,
- keep it longer in the oven. A cake when quite done generally shrinks a
- little. When you take it out, set it to cool on an inverted sieve. Ice a<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_528" id="Page_528">[528]</a></span> lady
- cake entirely with white, and ornament it with white flowers. It is now
- much in use at weddings, and if well made, and quite fresh, there is no
- cake better liked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CINNAMON CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up half a pound of fine fresh butter, and warm it till soft in half a
- pint of rich milk. Sift a pound of fine flour into a broad pan; make a
- hole in the centre, and pour into it the milk and butter, having stirred
- them well together. Then, gradually, add a large quarter of a pound of
- powdered sugar, and a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Beat three
- eggs very smooth and thick, and stir them in, also a wine-glass and a half
- of strong fresh brewer's yeast, or two glasses of fresh baker's yeast.
- Then mix, (having sprinkled some over the top,) all the flour into the
- hole in the centre, so as to make a soft dough. When all is well mixed
- cover it, and set it to rise in a round straight-sided tin pan. Place it
- near the fire, and when quite light and cracked all over the surface,
- flour your pasteboard well, place the loaf upon it, and having prepared in
- a pint bowl a stiff mixture of ground cinnamon, fresh butter, and brown
- sugar, beaten together so as to stand alone, make numerous deep cuts or
- incisions all over the surface on the sides and top of the cake; fill them
- with the cinnamon mixture, and pinch each together so as to keep the
- seasoning from coming out. Glaze it all over with beaten<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_529" id="Page_529">[529]</a></span> white of
- egg a little sweetened. Then return the loaf to the pan, and bake it in a
- moderate oven till thoroughly done. When cool, cut it down in slices like
- a pound cake.
- </p>
- <p>
- This dough may be divided into small round cakes, the size of a muffin,
- and baked on tin or iron sheets, sifting sugar over them when cool. It
- must have a high flavor of cinnamon.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WEST INDIA COCOA-NUT CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up and peel some pieces of very ripe cocoa-nut. Lay them for a while
- in cold water. Then take them out and wipe them dry, and grate very fine
- as much as will weigh half a pound. Beat eight eggs till very light,
- thick, and smooth. Have ready half a pound of powdered loaf sugar, and
- stir it into the pan of beaten egg, alternately with the grated cocoa-nut;
- adding a handful of sifted flour, a powdered nutmeg, and a large glass of
- madeira or sherry, stirring the whole very hard. Butter an oblong tin pan.
- Put in the mixture, set it immediately into a quick oven, and bake it
- well. Set it to cool on an inverted sieve; cut it into squares, and ice
- each square, flavoring the icing with rose.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may bake it in a large loaf; adding double portions of all the
- ingredients, and ornamenting the icing handsomely.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Sweet Potato Cake</i>&mdash;Is made like the above cocoa-nut cake. The
- sweet potatos must be pared and grated <i>raw</i>, till you have as much
- as weighs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_530" id="Page_530">[530]</a></span>
- half a pound. Then proceed as above, and with the same ingredients and
- proportions. You may boil and mash the sweet potatos; but be sure,
- afterwards, to pass them through a coarse sieve, or they may chance to
- clod and become heavy. If well made, and well flavored, this cake is very
- nice.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GOLDEN CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The best time for making this cake is when ripe oranges are plenty. For
- one cake select four large deep-colored oranges, and roll each one under
- your hand upon a table to soften them, and increase the juice. Weigh a
- pound of the best loaf sugar. On some of the largest pieces rub off the
- yellow or outer rind of the oranges, omitting the white entirely. The
- white or inner rind of oranges or lemons should never be used for any
- thing. Cut the oranges, and squeeze their juice through a strainer into a
- large saucer or a small deep plate. Powder all the sugar, including that
- which has the orange zest upon it, and put it into a deep earthen pan,
- with a pound of the best fresh butter cut up among it. With a wooden
- spaddle stir the butter and sugar together, till very light and creamy. In
- a shallow pan beat twelve eggs, omitting the <i>whites</i> of three. Sift
- into a dish a small quart of the best and finest flour, and stir it
- gradually into the pan of butter and sugar and orange, in turn with the
- beaten egg, a little at a time of each. Stir the whole very hard; and when
- done, immediately transfer the batter to square tin pans,<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_531" id="Page_531">[531]</a></span> greased
- with the same fresh butter that was used for the cake. Many a fine cake
- has been spoiled, at last, by the poor economy of greasing the pans with
- salt butter. Fill the pans to the top. If the cake has been well made, and
- well beaten, there is no danger of the batter running over the edges. Put
- it, immediately, into a quick oven and bake it well, not allowing the heat
- to be lessened till the cake is quite done. When cool, cut it into
- squares. If you ice it, flavor the icing with orange juice.
- </p>
- <p>
- Do not attempt to make this cake with yolk of egg only, by way of
- improving the yellow color. Without any whites, it will assuredly be tough
- and heavy. Cakes may be made light with white of egg only, but never with
- yellow of egg only.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you use soda, saleratus, hartshorn, or any of the alkalis, they will
- entirely destroy the orange flavor, and communicate a bad taste of their
- own.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SILVER CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Scald in a bowl of boiling water two ounces of shelled bitter almonds. As
- you peel off the skins throw each almond into a bowl of ice-cold water.
- When all are blanched, take them out, and wipe them dry on a clean napkin.
- Put them, one at a time, into a very clean marble mortar, and pound each
- one separately to a smooth paste, adding, as you pound them, a few drops
- of strong rose-water, till you have used up a large wine-glass full. As
- you remove<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_532" id="Page_532">[532]</a></span>
- the pounded almonds from the water, lay them lightly and loosely on a
- plate. When all are done, put them into a very cool place. In a deep
- earthen pan cut up a pound of fresh butter into a pound of powdered sugar,
- and with a wooden spaddle stir the butter and sugar together till
- perfectly light. Into another pan sift three quarters of a pound of fine
- flour, and in a broad shallow pan beat with small rods the whites only of
- eighteen eggs till they are stiff enough to stand alone. Then, gradually,
- and alternately, stir into the pan of beaten butter and sugar the flour,
- the beaten white of eggs, and the pounded almonds. Give the whole a hard
- stirring at the last. Transfer it to square tin pans greased with the same
- butter, and bake it well. When cool, cut it into square cakes, and send it
- to table on china plates, piled alternately with pieces of golden cake,
- handsomely arranged. If you ice silver cake, flavor the icing with strong
- rose-water.
- </p>
- <p>
- These cakes, (gold or silver) if made as above, will be found delicious.
- The yolk of egg left from the silver cake may be used for soft custards.
- But yolk of egg alone, will not raise a cake; though white of egg will.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- APEES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up a pound of fresh butter into two pounds of sifted flour, and
- rubbing the butter very fine, and mixing in a pound of powdered sugar,
- with a heaped tea-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon, and
- four tea-spoon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_533" id="Page_533">[533]</a></span>fuls
- of carraway seeds. Moisten the whole with a large glass of white wine; and
- barely sufficient cold water to make a stiff dough. Mix it well with a
- broad knife, and roll it out into a sheet less than half an inch thick;
- then with the edge of a tumbler, or a tin cake-cutter, divide it into
- round small cakes. Bake them in oblong pans, (tin or iron) slightly
- buttered; and do not place them so closely as to touch. Bake them in a
- quick oven, till they are of a pale brown. These cakes are soon prepared,
- requiring neither eggs nor yeast.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MARMALADE MERINGUES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Make a mixture as for apees, omitting only the carraway seeds. Roll out
- the sheet of dough quite thin; cut it into round flat cakes with the edge
- of a tumbler, and bake them a few minutes, till lightly colored. Take them
- out of the oven and spread them thickly with very nice marmalade, or with
- ripe strawberries or raspberries, sweetened, and mashed without cooking.
- Have ready a stiff meringue of beaten white of egg and sugar. Pile it high
- over the marmalade on each cake. Heap it on with a spoon, so as quite to
- conceal the marmalade, and do not smooth it on the top. It should stand up
- <i>uneven</i> as the spoon left it. Set it again in the oven for a minute
- or two, to harden it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_534" id="Page_534">[534]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- JUMBLES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mix together, all at once, in a deep pan, a pound of butter cut up in a
- pound of powdered sugar, a pound of sifted flour, and six eggs, previously
- beaten very light in a pan by themselves. Add a table-spoonful of powdered
- spice, (mixed nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon) and a glass of mixed wine and
- brandy; or else a glass of rose water; or the juice and grated yellow rind
- of a large lemon. Stir the whole very hard till all the ingredients are
- thoroughly mixed, and become a soft dough. Flour your hands and your
- pasteboard, and lay the dough upon it. Take off equal portions from the
- lump, and with your hands form them into round rolls, and make them into
- rings by joining together the two ends of each. Place the jumbles (not so
- near as to touch,) in tin pans slightly buttered, and bake them in a very
- brisk oven little more than five or six minutes, or enough to color them a
- light brown. If the oven is too cool, the jumbles will spread and run into
- each other. When cold, sift sugar over them. <i>Jumbles</i> may be made
- with yolks of eggs only, if the whites are wanted for something else.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cocoa-nut Jumbles</i>&mdash;Are made as above, only with finely grated
- cocoa-nut instead of flour, and with white of egg instead of yolk.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cocoa-nut Puffs.</i>&mdash;Grate any quantity of cocoa-nut. Mix it with
- powdered sugar and a little beaten white of egg, and lay it in small heaps
- of equal size. On the top of each place a ripe strawberry, raspberry, or
- any small preserved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_535" id="Page_535">[535]</a></span>
- fruit, flattening a slight hollow, to hold it without its rolling off.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SCOTCH CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pound of fresh butter, a pound of powdered white sugar, and two
- pounds of sifted flour. Mix the sugar with the flour, and rub the butter
- into it, crumbled fine. Add a heaped table-spoonful of mixed nutmeg and
- cinnamon. Put <i>no water</i>, but moisten it entirely with butter. A
- small glass of brandy is an improvement. Roll it out into a large thick
- sheet, and cut it into round cakes about the size of saucers. Bake them on
- flat tins, slightly buttered. This cake is very crumbly but very good, and
- of Scottish origin. It keeps well, and is often sent from thence, packed
- in boxes.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- JELLY CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For baking jelly cake you must have large flat tin pans rather larger than
- a dinner plate. But a very clean soap-stone griddle may be substituted,
- though more troublesome. Make a rich batter as for pound cake, and bake it
- in single cakes, (in the manner of buckwheat, or thicker) taking care to
- grease the tin or soap-stone with <i>excellent</i> fresh butter. Have
- ready, enough of fruit jelly or marmalade, to spread a thick layer all
- over each cake when it cools. Pile one on another very evenly, till you
- have four, five, or half a dozen; and ice the surface of the whole. Cut it
- down in triangular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_536" id="Page_536">[536]</a></span>
- pieces like a pie. Jelly cake is no longer made of sponge cake, which is
- going out of use for all purposes, as being too often dry, tough, and
- insipid, and frequently not so good as plain bread.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ALMOND MACAROONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The day before they are wanted, prepare three quarters of a pound of
- shelled sweet almonds, and a quarter of a pound of shelled bitter almonds;
- by scalding, blanching, and pounding them to a smooth paste in a marble
- mortar, (one or two at a time) adding, as you proceed, rose-water to
- prevent their oiling, and becoming dark and heavy. Having beaten to a
- stiff froth the whites of six eggs, and prepared a pound of powdered loaf
- sugar, beat the sugar into the egg a spoonful at a time. Then mix in
- gradually the pounded almonds, and add a grated nutmeg. Stir the whole
- very hard, and form the mixture into small round balls. Then flatten
- slightly the surface of each. Butter slightly some shallow tin pans. Place
- the macaroons not so close as to be in danger of touching; and glaze them
- lightly with a little beaten white of egg. Put them into a brisk oven, and
- bake them a light brown.
- </p>
- <p>
- Ground-nut macaroons are made in the same manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Chocolate Macaroons.</i>&mdash;Scrape down, very fine, half a pound of
- Baker's prepared cocoa. Beat to a stiff froth the white of four eggs, and
- beat into the white of egg a pound of powdered loaf<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_537" id="Page_537">[537]</a></span> sugar, in turn with the
- chocolate, adding a little sifted flour if the mixture appears too thin.
- Grease the bottom of some oblong tin pans, very slightly, with sweet oil.
- Having formed the mixture into small thick cakes, lay them (not close,) in
- the pan, and bake them a few minutes. Sift sugar over them while warm.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- KISSES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having beaten to a stiff froth, till it stands alone, the whites of eight
- eggs, mix with it, gradually, three quarters of a pound of finely powdered
- loaf sugar, beating it in very hard, a spoonful at a time, and as you
- proceed flavoring it with extract of vanilla, rose, or lemon juice. If the
- meringue is not thoroughly beaten and very stiff, the kisses will lose
- their shape and run in baking. Try one first, and if that runs, beat a
- while longer before you bake the whole. Pile portions of the meringue on
- sheets of letter paper, placing each heap far apart. Smooth and shape them
- with a broad knife dipped in cold water. Make them about the size and form
- of half eggs, with the flat part downwards. Arrange them on a smooth
- hickory board, and set it in a quick oven, (leaving the door open) and
- watch them well. A few minutes will color them a pale brown, and that is
- all they require. Then take them out, and set them to cool. When cool,
- slip a knife carefully under each, and remove them from the paper. Then
- with your knife hollow the meringue from the base of each kis<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_538" id="Page_538">[538]</a></span>s and
- scrape upwards toward the top, being careful not to break through the
- outside or crust. Fill up this vacancy with any sort of stiff jelly. Then
- clap two halves together, and unite them at the base, by moistening the
- edges with a little of the meringue that was left. Handle them very
- carefully throughout.
- </p>
- <p>
- Large kisses, of twice or thrice the usual size, are introduced at
- parties, filled with ice cream, or flavored calf's foot jelly.
- </p>
- <p>
- It is very customary now to finish a fine charlotte russe with a thick
- layer of this jelly at the top.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- LAFAYETTE GINGERBREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up in a deep pan half a pound of the best fresh butter, with a half
- pound of excellent brown sugar; and stir it to cream with a spaddle. Add a
- pint of West India molasses, mixed with half a pint of warm milk; four
- table-spoonfuls of ginger; a heaped table-spoonful of mixed powdered
- cinnamon and powdered mace and nutmeg; and a glass of brandy. Sift in a
- pound and a half of fine flour. Beat six eggs till very light and thick,
- and mix them, alternately, into the pan of butter, sugar, molasses, &amp;c.
- At the last, mix in the yellow rind (grated fine) of two large oranges and
- the juice. Stir the whole very hard. Melt in one cup a very small level
- tea-spoonful of soda, and in another a small level salt-spoon of tartaric
- acid. Dissolve them both in lukewarm water, and see that both are quite
- melted. First stir the soda<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_539"
- id="Page_539">[539]</a></span> into the mixture, and then put in the
- tartaric acid. On no account exceed the quantity of the two alkalis, as if
- too much is used, they will destroy entirely the flavoring, and
- communicate a very disagreeable taste instead. Few cakes are the better
- for any of the alkaline powders, and many sorts are entirely spoiled by
- them. Even in gingerbread they should be used very sparingly, rather less
- than more of the prescribed quantity. Having buttered, (with the same
- butter) a large round or oblong pan, put in the mixture, and bake it in a
- moderate oven till thoroughly done, keeping up a steady heat, but watching
- that it does not burn. There is no gingerbread superior to this, if well
- made. Instead of lemon or orange, cut in half a pound of seedless raisins,
- dredge them well with flour, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is also called Franklin gingerbread.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GINGER NUTS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut a pound of the best fresh butter into two pounds or two quarts of
- sifted flour, and half a pound of fine brown sugar. Add four heaped
- table-spoonfuls of ground ginger; a heaped table-spoonful of powdered
- cinnamon, and the same quantity of mixed nutmeg and mace. Mix all the
- ingredients thoroughly together; adding, gradually, a large pint of West
- India molasses, and the grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon or orange.
- Stir it very hard with a spaddle. Flour your hands, break off<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_540" id="Page_540">[540]</a></span> pieces
- of the dough, and knead each piece a little; then flatten them on the top.
- Make them the size of a quarter dollar. Or, (flouring your pasteboard)
- roll out the dough, and cut out the ginger-nuts with the edge of a small
- wine-glass. Bake them on buttered tins, having first glazed them with a
- thin mixture of molasses and water. The same dough may be baked in long
- straight sticks, divided by lines deeply marked with a knife.
- </p>
- <p>
- There are many other gingerbreads; but any of the soft sorts may be made
- with little variation from the foregoing directions for Lafayette
- gingerbread; and of the hard sort of ginger-nut preparation, the above is
- the basis of the rest. If the receipts are liberally and exactly followed,
- it will be found that to those two none are superior.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PIGEON PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For this pie take six fine fat tame pigeons, carefully cleaned and picked.
- Lay them in cold water for an hour, changing the water twice during that
- time. This is to remove what is called "the taste of the nest." Have ready
- the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs, seasoned with powdered nutmeg. Place a
- bit of fresh butter rolled in flour, in the inside of each pigeon, with
- its liver cut up, and with a yolk of egg seasoned with powdered mace. Lay
- a nice tender beef steak, or thin veal cutlet, in the bottom of a large
- deep dish, that has been lined with puff-paste. Butter the steak, and
- dredge it with flour<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_541" id="Page_541">[541]</a></span>.
- There must be meat enough to cover well the bottom of the pie dish. Lay
- the pigeons upon it, with the breast downward, (their heads and feet cut
- off, and their livers cut up, and put inside with the stuffing.) Fill up
- the dish with water. Roll out and put on the lid of the pie, which you may
- ornament with paste leaves or flowers, according to your taste. For
- company, pigeon pies are expected to look handsome. It is no longer
- fashionable to have the feet of the pigeons sticking out of the slit in
- the top of the paste.
- </p>
- <p>
- Moorfowl, pheasants, partridges, or quails, may be made into pies in the
- above manner. It is usual, for partridge pies, to peel two fine sweet
- oranges; and having divided them into quarters, carefully remove the
- strings and seeds, and put the oranges into the birds without any other
- stuffing. Instead of beef steak or veal cutlet, lay a thin slice of cold
- ham in the bottom of the pie-dish.
- </p>
- <p>
- This receipt, and the following, were accidentally omitted in their proper
- places.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHICKEN PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Skin a pair of fine fowls, and cut them up. Save out the necks, backs,
- feet, livers, and gizzards, and the ends of the pinions; and seasoning
- them with a little pepper and salt add some trimmings or spare bits of
- fresh beef or veal, and stew them in a small sauce-pan with a little
- water, to make the gravy. Let them stew till all to rags, and then strain
- off<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_542" id="Page_542">[542]</a></span>
- the liquid; and while hot, stir into it a beaten egg and a bit of fresh
- butter, dredged with flour. In the mean time make a nice puff-paste, and
- roll it out rather thick; divide it in two circular sheets. Line with one
- sheet the bottom and sides of a deep pie dish, and put in the best pieces
- of chicken. Lay among them four hard-boiled eggs, sliced or quartered.
- Season well with powdered mace or nutmeg. The gravy being strained, pour
- that into the pie, and finish at the top with a layer of butter divided
- into small pieces, and dredge with flour. This is what the old English
- cookery books mean when they say&mdash;"Close the pie with a <i>lear</i>."
- </p>
- <p>
- A chicken pie will be improved by the addition of a dozen or more large
- fresh oysters, stewed. If you add oysters, take off the lid or upper crust
- as soon as the pie is baked, and put in the oysters <i>then</i>; if put in
- at the beginning, they will bake too long. Replace the lid nicely, and
- send the pie to table hot.
- </p>
- <p>
- The lid should have in the top a cross slit with a nice paste flower in
- it. To make a paste flower roll out a straight narrow slip of paste, about
- four or five inches wide. Roll it up with your fingers as if you were
- rolling up a ribbon. Then with a sharp knife cut four clefts in the upper
- half, and when baked, it will spread apart as like the leaves of a flower.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_543" id="Page_543">[543]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="SWEETMEATS" id="SWEETMEATS"></a>SWEETMEATS.
- </h2>
- <p>
- No sweetmeats can either look well or taste well unless the fruit and the
- sugar are of the best quality. As in all other branches of cookery, it is
- false economy to provide bad or low-priced ingredients. It has of late
- years been difficult to obtain <i>very</i> good sugar at any price, so
- much is adulterated with flour or ground starch. In the common powdered
- sugar the flour is so palpable that we are surprised at its having any
- sale at all; and the large quantity required to produce any perceptible
- sweetness renders it totally unfit for sweetmeats, or indeed for any thing
- else. The best brown sugar is better than this, having clarified it with
- white of egg. To do this, allow to every pound of sugar the beaten white
- of an egg, and a half pint of clear cold water. Having poured the water on
- the sugar, let it stand to melt before it goes on the fire. Then add the
- white of egg and put in on to boil. When it boils, carefully take off the
- scum as it rises, and add when it is boiling hard another jill or quarter
- pint of water for each pound of sugar. Remove it from the fire when the
- scum ceases to rise, and let it stand for a quarter of an hour to settle.
- Strain, and bottle it for use. The best brown sugar <i>thus prepared</i>
- will make a good syrup; and good marmalade, when white sugar of the best
- quality is not to be obtained. But for the nicest sweetmeats use always,
- if you can, the best double-refined loaf.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_544" id="Page_544">[544]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- In warm weather there is nothing better for a preserving fire than a
- portable charcoal furnace placed out in the open air; as in a room with
- the doors or windows shut the vapor of charcoal is deadly, and never fails
- to produce suffocation. Of whatever the fire is made, it should be clear
- and steady without smoke or blaze. Never use copper or bell-metal for
- either preserving or pickling. For all such purposes employ only iron,
- lined with what is called porcelain or enamel, but is in reality a thick
- strong white earthen, first made at Delft, in Holland. This lining will
- crack if the kettle is placed over a blaze, which it should never be. All
- sweetmeats should be boiled with the lid off. If covered, the steam having
- no means of escaping, returns upon them, and causes them to look dark and
- unsightly. When done, put the sweetmeats warm into jars or glasses, and
- leave them open a few hours that the watery particles may evaporate, but
- have them all pasted and closely covered before night. Do nothing to
- render your preserves hard, or firm, as it is called. It is better to have
- them soft and tender. The old custom of steeping them for days in salt and
- water, and then boiling them in something else to remove the salt, is now
- considered foolish, and is seldom practised.
- </p>
- <p>
- Put up jellies and small sweetmeats in common tumblers, laying on the
- surface of each a double cover of white tissue paper cut exactly to fit,
- and then put on another cover of thick white paper pleated and notched
- where it descends below the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_545"
- id="Page_545">[545]</a></span> edge, using always gum tragacanth paste,
- which you should keep always in the house, as it requires no boiling; and
- if in making it, a bit of corrosive sublimate (not larger than a
- cherry-stone) is dissolved with the ounce of gum tragacanth and the half
- pint of warm water, in a yellow or white-ware mug, and <i>stirred only
- with a stick</i>, the paste will never spoil, and if kept covered, will be
- found superior to all others. No metal must touch this cement, as it will
- then turn black and spoil.
- </p>
- <p>
- Keep your sweetmeats always in a dry place. But if after a while you see a
- coat of mould on the surface, you need not throw them away, till you have
- tried to recover them by carefully removing every particle of mould,
- filling up the jars with fresh sugar, and setting them, one by one, in a
- bottle of water, and in this way boiling them over again. But if they have
- an unpleasant smell, and you see insects about them, of course they must
- be thrown away. To purify jars, clean and scrape them, and wash them
- thoroughly with ley and water, or with a solution of soda&mdash;afterwards
- exposing them to the sun and air for a week or more.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Jellies.</i>&mdash;We have already given directions for various fruit
- jellies in the chapter on Fine Desserts. They are all made nearly in the
- same manner, using the juice of the fruit, and sufficient sugar to make it
- congeal and to keep it. Jellies should always be bright and transparent,
- and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_546" id="Page_546">[546]</a></span>
- therefore require the best and ripest of fruit and the finest of loaf
- sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MARMALADE OR JAMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Marmalade or jams are the easiest sweetmeats to make, and are useful for
- all sweetmeat purposes. They are all made nearly in the same manner; and
- to be very good, and to keep well, at least a pound of fine sugar should
- be allowed to every pound of fruit&mdash;the fruit being quite ripe,
- freshly gathered, and of the best kind.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For Peach Marmalade</i>&mdash;Take fine, juicy free-stone peaches. Pare
- them; cut them in half; remove the stones, and let them be saved and the
- kernels extracted to use as bitter almonds. Cut up the peaches, and allow
- for each pound a pound of sugar. Lay the peaches (with all the sugar among
- them,) in a large pan or tureen, and let them rest for three or four
- hours. Boil the peaches and sugar together in a porcelain kettle (without
- a cover) for half an hour, skimming and stirring well. When it becomes a
- thick smooth mass it is finished. Put it up in glass jars, and leave it
- uncovered till cool; but not longer. The flavor will be much improved by
- boiling with the peaches and sugar one or two handfuls of the kernels,
- blanched and pounded; or else a bunch of fresh peach leaves, to be removed
- afterward.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Quince Marmalade</i> is made in the same manner&mdash;first carefully
- removing all the blemishes. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of quinces.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_547" id="Page_547">[547]</a></span> They
- must boil longer than peaches. All marmalades must be cooked till the form
- of the fruit is quite indistinguishable, and till it mashes into a thick
- smooth mass. Quinces should be allowed to remain on the trees till after
- the first frost, which greatly improves them. Persimmons and wild grapes
- are not eatable till they are touched by the frost.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Tomato Marmalade.</i>&mdash;Make this when lemons are ripe and plenty.
- To every two pounds of tomatos allow two pounds of sugar, and the grated
- yellow rind and the juice of one lemon. The worst way of using lemons for
- any purpose is to merely slice them. Depend on the slices for flavoring,
- and they are wasted; the taste being scarcely perceptible. They should
- always be first rolled under your hand, which increases the yield of
- juice. Then grate off from the outside the <i>yellow</i> rind only (the
- white part of the rind is worse than useless,) and having cut the lemon,
- squeeze the juice through a tin strainer to exclude the seeds, which
- otherwise would be troublesome to pick out. The yellow rind and the juice
- are all you need want of a lemon for any purpose of flavoring. Scald the
- tomatos to make them peel easily, and mix the sugar thoroughly with them.
- Boil them slowly for an hour in a porcelain kettle, skimming carefully,
- and stirring well after each skimming. Then add the lemon grate and the
- juice, and boil the marmalade another half hour, or till it is a thick
- smooth mass.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Pumpkin Marmalade.</i>&mdash;Take a fine ripe high-<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_548" id="Page_548">[548]</a></span>colored pumpkin. Cut it up.
- Empty it very clean of the seeds and strings; take off a thick paring.
- Slice the pieces small and thin, and weigh them. To each pound of pumpkin
- allow a pound of powdered sugar, and the grated peel and the juice of one
- large lemon. Pumpkin sweetmeats require a high lemon flavoring. Boil the
- pumpkin alone, till quite soft. Then mash it in a cullender till the water
- is pressed out, and the pumpkin left dry. Afterwards put it into a
- porcelain kettle, mix with it the sugar and lemon, and boil it again till
- it becomes a thick jam. Cantaloupe marmalade is made in the same way with
- lemon and sugar&mdash;also marmalade of ripe figs.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Plum Marmalade.</i>&mdash;Choose plums that are fully ripe. Allow to
- each pound a pound and a half of sugar. Scald them till the skins peel off
- easily, and extract all the stones. Lay them in the sugar for two or three
- hours or more, and then boil them till they become a thick smooth mass.
- Green-gages the same.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Raspberry Jam.</i>&mdash;To every quart of fine ripe raspberries allow
- a pound of best loaf sugar, powdered. Put them together into a broad
- white-ware pan, and let them rest for two or three hours. Then boil them
- in an uncovered porcelain kettle, taking off the scum carefully. When no
- more scum rises, mash them, and boil them to a smooth thick marmalade.
- When cold, put it up in half pint tumblers, and cover them with rounds of
- double tissue<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_549" id="Page_549">[549]</a></span>
- paper, cut exactly to fit, and then with thick white paper dipped in
- brandy.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Strawberry Jam.</i>&mdash;The strawberries must be quite ripe, and very
- fine. Allow to each quart a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Put them into a
- large white-ware pan; a layer of sugar and a layer of strawberries
- alternately, finishing with strawberries on the top. Let them rest in the
- sugar and juice three or four hours. Then boil and skim them till they
- become very thick and smooth. When cold, put them up in tumblers, with
- double tissue paper over the top. Blackberry jam is made in the same
- manner.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Gooseberry Jam.</i>&mdash;Top and tail the gooseberries, which must be
- thoroughly ripe, and with thin skins. They require to every pound of fruit
- a pound and a half of sugar of the best sort. Mash them with a wooden
- beetle, and put them with all the sugar into an uncovered porcelain
- kettle, and boil and skim them. When half done add more sugar, and
- continue boiling till they are a very thick marmalade. When cold, cover
- the tumblers with brandy paper.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Pine-apple Marmalade.</i>&mdash;Take the best and ripest pine-apples;
- remove the leaves, and split each pine-apple into four pieces, and cut out
- the core from the centre. Stand the pieces upright in a deep dish, and,
- with a large coarse grater grate down all the <i>flesh</i> of the fruit,
- as it is called. To every pint of grated pine-apple allow a pound of
- powdered loaf sugar, and put them together in a large tureen. Let them
- rest two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_550" id="Page_550">[550]</a></span>
- hours. Then transfer the whole to a porcelain kettle. Leave it uncovered;
- and boil, skim, and stir, till it becomes a very thick marmalade. When
- cool, put it up in glass jars. It is a very nice sweetmeat, particularly
- for shells or tarts.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Grape Marmalade.</i>&mdash;Take a sufficiency of fine grapes,
- thoroughly ripe. Having picked them from the stems, mash them with a
- wooden beetle, and then press them through a sieve. To every pint of the
- pulp allow a pound of powdered sugar, well mixed in; let it stand an hour
- or two. Then boil it, uncovered, in a porcelain kettle, skimming and
- stirring well, till it is very thick and smooth. When cool, put it up in
- small marmalade pots of white-ware with lids, and paste a band of thick
- white paper round each, at the small crack where the cover fits on. A good
- marmalade for the backwoods may be made of wild grapes and maple sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cherry Marmalade.</i>&mdash;If you cannot procure morellas, (the best
- of all cherries for sweetmeats) use the large Virginia or carnation
- cherries. Black cherries are unfit for cooking. Stem and stone your
- cherries, saving all the juice you can. Allow a pound of powdered loaf
- sugar to every pint of cherries. Boil the fruit and the sugar together,
- uncovered, for an hour, skimming and stirring. When cool, put it in
- white-ware marmalade pots and paste the lids.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Orange Marmalade.</i>&mdash;Quarter some large ripe oranges, and remove
- the rind, the seeds, and the strings or filaments, taking care to save all<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_551" id="Page_551">[551]</a></span> the
- juice. Put the pulp, with the juice, into a porcelain kettle, and mix with
- it an equal quantity of strained honey, adding sufficient powdered loaf
- sugar to render it very thick and sweet. The honey alone will not make it
- sweet enough. Boil it uncovered, and skim it till very thick, smooth, and
- clear. Taste it, and if necessary add more sugar, and boil it longer. When
- cold, put it up in tumblers or white-ware marmalade pots, and cover it
- securely. This marmalade is exquisite, and very superior to any other.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Orange Milk.</i>&mdash;Take four dozen large ripe juicy oranges, and
- roll them under your hand. Cut them in two; remove the seeds, and squeeze
- the juice into a large clean stone jar. Have ready four pounds of the best
- double-refined loaf sugar, dissolved in a gallon of French brandy. Pour it
- into the jar that contains the orange juice; stir the mixture well, and
- add the yellow rind of the oranges, pared so thin from the white as to be
- transparent, and divide it into bits. Cover the jar, and let it stand four
- days, stirring it frequently. Then take a gallon of new unskimmed milk,
- (the morning's milk of that day,) boil it alone, and when it comes to a
- hard boil pour it into the mixture of orange, sugar, and brandy. Cover it
- closely, and let it stand till quite cold. Then strain it into another
- vessel through a linen jelly bag. Bottle it immediately, and seal the
- corks. It improves by keeping. To use it, pour it out in half tumblers,
- and fill up with ice water, or serve it round undiluted in small cordial<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_552" id="Page_552">[552]</a></span> glasses,
- after ice-cream. It is much admired, and in orange countries may be made
- in large quantities. Lemon milk is made in the same manner, having a
- larger proportion of sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Fruit in Syrups.</i>&mdash;Make a syrup in the proportion of half a
- pint of water to every pound of sugar, and a pint of the juice of any sort
- of fine ripe fruit. Boil and skim it till very clear, but not till it
- congeals or jellies. Then bottle it, and cork the bottles. As the fresh
- fruit comes again into season, select the finest, largest, and ripest. For
- instance, half fill a white-ware preserve jar with fine fresh
- strawberries, and fill up from a bottle of strawberry syrup; or ripe
- raspberries with raspberry syrup; currants, with currant syrup, &amp;c.
- Cover them closely till wanted for immediate use.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PRESERVED CITRON MELONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take some fine citron melons; pare, core, and cut them into slices. Then
- weigh them; and, to every six pounds of melon, allow six pounds of the
- best double refined loaf sugar, and the juice and yellow rind (grated very
- fine,) of four large fresh lemons, and <i>a quarter</i> of a pound of root
- ginger.
- </p>
- <p>
- Put the slices of lemon into a preserving kettle, and boil them half an
- hour or more, till they look <i>quite</i> clear, and are so tender that a
- broom twig will pierce through them. Then drain them; lay them in a broad
- pan of cold water, cover them, and let them stand all night. In the
- morning tie the root ginger in a thin muslin cloth, and boil<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_553" id="Page_553">[553]</a></span> it in
- three pints of clear spring or pump water till the water is highly
- flavored. Then take out the bag of ginger. Having broken up the sugar put
- it into a clean preserving kettle, and pour the ginger water over it. When
- the sugar is all melted set it over the fire, put in the grated yellow
- peel of the lemons, and boil and skim it till no more scum rises. Then put
- in the sliced citrons, and the juice of the lemons; and boil them in the
- syrup till all the slices are quite transparent, and so soft that a straw
- will go through them; but do not allow them to break. When quite done, put
- the slices (while still warm,) into wide-mouthed glass or white-ware jars,
- and gently pour on the syrup. Lay inside of each jar, upon the top of the
- syrup, a round of white paper dipped in brandy. Put on the lids of the
- jars, and tie leather over them.
- </p>
- <p>
- This will be found a delicious sweetmeat; equal to any imported from the
- West Indies, and far less expensive.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PINE-APPLES PRESERVED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take six fine large pine-apples, as ripe as you can get them. Make them
- very clean, but do not, at first, pare off the rind or cut off the leaves.
- The rind and leaves being left on while boiling will <i>keep in</i> the
- flavor of the fruit. Put the pine-apples whole into a very large and very
- clean iron pot. Fill it up with cold water, and boil the pine-apples till
- they are so tender that you can pierce them through the rind to the core,
- with a splinter skewer or a twig from a corn broom. Then take them out of
- the pot,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_554" id="Page_554">[554]</a></span>
- and drain them. When they are so cool as to be handled without
- inconvenience, remove the leaves, and pare off the rind. Cut then into
- round slices about half an inch thick, extracting the core from the centre
- as to leave a small round hole in every slice. Weigh them, and to each
- pound of fruit allow a pound of double refined loaf sugar, broken up and
- powdered. Cover the bottom of a large dish or dishes with a thick layer of
- the sugar. On this place a layer of pine-apple slices; then a layer of
- sugar; then a layer of fruit, and so on till the slices are all thickly
- covered, finishing with a layer of sugar at the top. Let them stand
- twenty-four hours. Then drain the slices from the syrup, and lay them in
- wide jars. Put all the syrup into a clear porcelain kettle, and boil and
- skim it till the scum ceases to rise. Then pour it hot upon the
- pine-apple. While warm, cover the jars closely with white paper cut to
- fit, and dipped in brandy; and then tie on a piece of bladder. There is no
- better way of preserving pine-apples, or that retains the flavor so well.
- </p>
- <p>
- Quinces may be preserved in the same manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PRESERVED LEMONS OR ORANGES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The fruit must be perfectly ripe, of the best quality, with a smooth rind
- and fine color. Cut out from the stem end of each, a piece not quite the
- size of a quarter dollar, and with a small knife scoop out all the inside,
- keeping the rind as whole as possible. Put the pulp and juice into a large<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_555" id="Page_555">[555]</a></span> bowl,
- and clear it from the strings and seeds. Lay the skins in a tureen of cold
- ice water, and change it twice during the day, (fresh water and fresh
- ice); and at bedtime put ice only. Next morning boil the skins slowly in a
- porcelain kettle with plenty of water, keeping them well covered. Continue
- to boil till they are tender all through, and can easily be pierced with a
- splinter skewer. Then drain them, and lay them in cold water immediately.
- Take care to boil with them the small round pieces that come out of the
- top. Make a thick jelly or marmalade of the pulp and juice of these, and
- some additional fruit, allowing to a pint of juice a pound of loaf sugar.
- When the jelly has been boiled till clear and firm when held in the air,
- fill with it the skins so as to swell them out into a good shape. Replace
- the small circular pieces that have been cut off the top of the fruit, and
- tie them on securely with packthread, so as to keep in the jelly. Next
- make a thin syrup, allowing to a pound of broken-up loaf sugar half a pint
- of fresh juice, and the beaten white of an egg. Boil and skim it till no
- more scum rises. Then having put the oranges into large glass jars rather
- more than half full, pour the syrup on them, filling up to the top.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>To Green Small Lemons or Limes.</i>&mdash;Boil them first in a little
- hard water, placing them in a porcelain kettle with a thick bed of fresh
- vine leaves under them and a thick cover of vine leaves over them. Boil
- them till green and tender in two or three waters, putting entirely fresh
- vine leaves whenever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_556" id="Page_556">[556]</a></span>
- you change the water, and persisting till they are well greened. Then make
- holes in the stem end, and extract the pulp, strings, and seeds, and
- proceed as directed in the last receipt. The skins, as soon as empty,
- being laid in cold water, and then filled and shaped out with lemon jelly,
- and the jars filled up warm with lemon syrup. Or by putting a larger
- portion of sugar, and boiling the syrup longer, you may candy it all over
- the surface of the fruit.
- </p>
- <p>
- Green limes are preserved in the above manner, filling the skins with
- lemon jelly. To candy the syrup use a double portion of sugar, and boil it
- till it bubbles and sparkles in the kettle.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PEACHES PRESERVED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the finest ripe free-stone peaches. Pare them, cut them in half, and
- remove the stones. To every pound of peaches allow a pound of double
- refined loaf sugar, and half the white of an egg (slightly beaten) with
- half a pint of very clear soft water. Put the sugar into a porcelain
- preserving kettle, mix it with the water and white of egg, and when it has
- entirely dissolved, set it over the fire, and boil and skim it till the
- scum ceases to rise, which will be very soon, if the sugar is as good as
- it should be. There is no economy in using inferior sugar for sweetmeats,
- as much of it will be lost in skimming and sediment. In the mean time,
- boil in a little sauce-pan a bunch of fresh green peach leaves that have
- been cleared from all dust; or a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_557"
- id="Page_557">[557]</a></span> handful of broken-up peach kernels. When
- the flavor is well extracted, strain this water and mix it with the syrup.
- Then put in the halved peaches, and boil them (uncovered) till quite clear
- and soft, but not till they break. While warm, put them up with the syrup
- in glass or white-ware jars.
- </p>
- <p>
- Apricots are preserved in the same way.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Preserved Green Gages.</i>&mdash;Get the largest and ripest green
- gages, or egg plums. Scald them in boiling water to make them peel easily;
- the skins of all sorts of plums becoming very hard and tough when
- preserved. Remove the stems; they are no ornament, and render them
- troublesome to eat. Make a syrup in the usual way, allowing to each pound
- of plums a pound of the finest loaf sugar, half a pint of water, and half
- a white of egg. When well skimmed and boiled put in the plums, and boil
- them gently till quite clear and soft, but not till broken. All plums may
- be done in this manner. If not as ripe as possible, they will require to
- each pound of fruit a pound and a half of the best sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BRANDY PEACHES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take large juicy <i>free-stone</i> peaches, not so ripe as to burst or
- mash on being handled. Rub off the down from every one with a clean thick
- flannel. Prick every peach down to the stone with a large silver fork, and
- score them all along the seam or cleft. To <i>each</i> pound of peaches
- allow a pound of double-refined loaf sugar, broken-up small, and a half
- pint of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_558" id="Page_558">[558]</a></span>
- water mixed with half a white of egg, slightly beaten. Put the sugar into
- a porcelain kettle, and pour the water upon it. When it is quite melted
- give it a stirring, set it over the fire, and boil and skim it till no
- more scum rises. Next put in the peaches, and let them cook (uncovered) in
- the syrup till they look clear, or for about half an hour, or till a straw
- will penetrate them. Then take the kettle off the fire. Having allotted a
- pint of the very best white brandy to each pound of peaches, mix it with
- the syrup, after taking out the fruit with a wooden spoon, and draining it
- over the kettle. Put the peaches into a large tureen. Let the syrup remain
- in the kettle a little longer. Mix the brandy with it, and boil them
- together ten minutes, or more. Transfer the peaches to large glass jars,
- (two thirds full,) and pour the brandy and syrup over them, filling quite
- up to the top. When cool, cover them closely, and tie some bladder over
- the lids.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Green Gages</i>&mdash;Are brandied in the same manner. Also, large
- egg-plums. Pears also, having first peeled them. To pear sweetmeats always
- add lemon rind grated, and lemon juice.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PRESERVED TOMATOS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is an excellent and popular sweetmeat, when flavored well with lemon,
- which is indispensable to making it palatable. Also, it should be well
- penetrated with sugar, therefore it is best not to attempt preserving
- tomatos whole. The best time for doing them<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_559" id="Page_559">[559]</a></span> is in the height of the
- lemon season. The most convenient for preserving are those with smooth
- even surfaces. If fluted or cleft they are difficult to peel when scalded,
- as the skins do not strip off so easily. Having weighed the tomatos,
- (which must be full-grown and quite ripe) allow to every two pounds, two
- pounds of the best <i>brown</i> sugar, a large spoonful of ground ginger,
- and the juice and grated yellow rind of one large ripe lemon, rolled
- awhile under your hand. Having scalded and peeled all the tomatos, and
- mixed with the sugar a little beaten white of egg, put them into a
- porcelain-lined preserving kettle, (uncovered,) and add, gradually, the
- sugar. Boil the tomatos and sugar <i>slowly</i> together, till the scum
- ceases to appear. Then add, gradually, the lemons, (peel and juice,) and
- boil slowly for an hour or more. The tomatos must all have bursted,
- otherwise they will not keep, from the sugar not getting sufficiently into
- them. When done, take them off the fire, and transfer to glass jars the
- tomatos with their syrup.
- </p>
- <p>
- For yellow preserves take yellow tomatos, scald and peel them, and prick
- each with a silver fork. Lay them in a porcelain preserving kettle with
- plenty of fresh vine leaves under and over them. Boil them with the vine
- leaves till they become a finer yellow. Then wash out the kettle and boil
- the tomatos, as above, with the <i>white</i> sugar, and add the lemon.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Green Tomatos Preserved.</i>&mdash;Take green tomatos when they are
- full grown, but have not yet begun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_560"
- id="Page_560">[560]</a></span> to turn in the least red. Scald and peel
- them, and lay them in a porcelain kettle with plenty of fresh vine leaves
- at the bottom. Cover them thickly with another layer of vine leaves at the
- top. Boil them very slowly with the vine leaves till they have all turned
- yellow. Then take them out, and spread them on large dishes. Wash the
- kettle, put in fresh vine leaves under and over the tomatos. They should
- become a fine green with the second boiling in vine leaves; otherwise
- repeat the greening. Then take them out, wash the kettle again, and return
- the tomatos to it with <i>a pound and a half of white sugar</i> to each
- pound of tomatos. Boil and skim, till all is clear and nice. Then add the
- grated yellow rind and the juice of one large lemon to every pound of
- tomatos, and boil slowly an hour longer. All the tomatos should burst,
- that the sugar may thoroughly enter the inside. Before you cover the jars,
- stir into each an additional quarter or half pound of powdered sugar.
- Green tomatos require a high flavoring of lemon, as they have no peculiar
- taste of their own.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PRESERVED QUINCES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the largest and ripest yellow quinces; after they have remained on
- the trees till the first frost. Wipe them clean, and boil them whole till
- they are tender all through, and can be easily penetrated with a splinter
- skewer. Save and strain the water in which they were boiled. When cool,
- pare and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_561" id="Page_561">[561]</a></span>
- core the quinces, and carefully remove the blemishes. To every pound of
- fruit allow a pound of the best double-refined loaf sugar. Make a syrup of
- the water in which the quinces were boiled, allowing half a pint of this
- water to every pound of sugar. When melted, set it in a porcelain kettle
- over a moderate fire, and boil and skim it till no more scum appears. Then
- put in the fruit, either whole or quartered, or cut into circular slices
- about half an inch thick; and boil it uncovered. When the quinces are
- quite clear and soft, (but not the least broken) take them out, and spread
- them on large flat dishes. Afterwards transfer them to large glass jars,
- rather more than half filled; pour the syrup warm over them; and when cool
- cover the jars, and tie pieces of bladder over the covers. You may boil,
- by themselves, the cores and parings, in as much water as will cover them
- well, till they are entirely dissolved. Then strain them through a linen
- bag, and while hot stir in as much powdered loaf sugar as will form a
- thick jelly. If the quinces have been preserved whole, fill up with this
- jelly the holes left by the cores; or if sliced, spread the jelly over the
- slices. Quinces soon become very hard and tough, unless they have been
- well boiled by themselves, before putting them into the sugar. Merely
- scalding or coddling them is not sufficient. If you have not jelly for
- filling up the holes, substitute marmalade. To keep quinces well, requires
- plenty of rich syrup.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_562" id="Page_562">[562]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PRESERVED CRAB-APPLES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the finest Siberian crab-apples, which being always red, and having a
- pleasant acid, are the only sort now used for preserving. Rub each
- crab-apple with a dry clean flannel, and then prick every one in several
- places with a large needle to prevent their bursting. To every pound of
- fruit allow a pound and a half of double-refined loaf sugar, and a pint of
- water. First make a syrup of the sugar and water, boiling it in a
- porcelain kettle, and skimming it till perfectly clear. Put in the
- crab-apples, adding for each pound the juice and grated yellow rind of a
- large lemon. The lemon is indispensable to this sweetmeat. Simmer them
- slowly in this syrup till tender all through, so that they can be pierced
- with a twig of broom-corn; but do not allow them to break. When done, put
- them up warm in glass jars more than half full, and the syrup over them.
- You may heighten the fine red color with a little prepared cochineal&mdash;that
- is, cochineal powder kept in a bottle after being boiled with alum and
- cream of tartar.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Bellflower Apples or Large Pippins</i>&mdash;May be preserved whole in
- the above manner. They look handsomely on a supper table, covered all over
- with a thick meringue or icing flavored with lemon or rose, and spread
- smoothly over every apple with a real rose-bud stuck in the top of each.
- You may color the icing a beautiful pink, by mixing with it a little
- prepared cochineal.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_563" id="Page_563">[563]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PRESERVED CHERRIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- No cherries are worth preserving except morellas, or the large Virginia
- red, or carnation cherries. Stem and stone them carefully, saving the
- juice; and strew them thickly with powdered white sugar. To a quart of
- cherries allow a pound of the best loaf sugar. Make a syrup, allowing half
- a pint of water to a pound of sugar. Boil and skim it, and when the scum
- has ceased to rise put in the cherries and their juice, and give them a
- slow boil up. Put them up warm in glass or white-ware jars, and tie
- bladder over the lids.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FINE PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready two sorts of strawberries, one half being of the largest and
- finest scarlet sort, (not too ripe,) the other smaller and less expensive,
- but quite ripe and perfectly fresh and nice. Put the smaller ones into a
- porcelain kettle, having allowed three quarters of a pound of
- double-refined loaf sugar to every quart of fruit. Boil the sugar and
- small strawberries together; skimming well, and stirring down to the
- bottom after every skimming, and mashing it to a jam. When done, set it to
- cool in a large pan; wash the kettle clean, or take another one, and make
- in it a clear syrup, allowing to each pound of the best loaf sugar a <i>small</i>
- half pint of water. When melted set it over the fire, and boil and skim
- till the scum ceases to rise. Put the large strawberries in this, and give
- them one boil up. If boiled too long they will<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_564" id="Page_564">[564]</a></span> break. As soon as they have
- come to a boil take them (one at a time,) with a silver tea-spoon, and lay
- them separately on large flat dishes. Then mix the syrup with the jam
- thoroughly together, and boil it a quarter of an hour. Put the large
- strawberries, one at a time, into glass jars, (more than half full,) and
- fill up to the top with the hot jam. When cool lay a round of brandy paper
- on the surface, and secure the lids by tying pieces of bladder over them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STRAWBERRIES IN WINE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Put a small quart of fine large scarlet strawberries into a glass jar,
- having sprinkled among them a quarter of a pound of the best loaf sugar.
- Fill up the jar with madeira or sherry. They are served at parties in
- small glass saucers, heaped on the top with whipped cream, or with white
- ice cream. What is sold by many confectioners as strawberry ice cream, has
- in reality no strawberries about it; as may be known by its beautiful rose
- color, such as strawberry juice never produces, particularly after being
- preserved with sugar. This fine delicate pink tinge comes in reality from
- alkanet. Most of what is called strawberry cordial, is in reality alcohol
- colored with that elegant dye.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STRAWBERRY WINE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Fill four glass jars holding each a quart, with fine ripe strawberries
- that have been hulled or picked clean. Cover<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_565" id="Page_565">[565]</a></span> them; set them in a large
- kettle of cold water, and place it in a moderate heat till it gradually
- comes to a boil. Then let it boil but five minutes. Cork the jars, and
- seal them closely before you take them out of the water. Use the cement of
- two-thirds resin and one-third beeswax. Keep the jar for four weeks in a
- dry cool place. By that time you will find the strawberries with a thick
- white scum at the top, and a clear juice at the bottom. Pour it into clean
- bottles, through a funnel with a fine straining cloth. Cork the bottles,
- but do not drive the corks hard down, lest the bottles should burst if too
- tight. Arrange the bottles on the kitchen mantleshelf, where they may have
- some heat from the fire. You will see when a vinous fermentation takes
- place. It may continue a week. When it has entirely subsided, and is very
- clear, strain off the liquid from the sediment into fresh bottles, and
- cork them tightly. When you put them away, lay the bottles on their sides.
- This is a delicious cordial, and requires no brandy in it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Preserved Gooseberries.</i>&mdash;Top and tail the gooseberries, which
- should be of two sorts, and as ripe as you can get. The best kind quite
- ripe, large, and of a light amber color. Wash the others, and boil them in
- a porcelain kettle with barely water enough to keep them from burning.
- When they are soft and broken, mash the pulp through a sieve, or squeeze
- it through a linen bag. Measure it, and to each pint allow a large pound
- of powdered loaf sugar. Boil the sugar with the<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_566" id="Page_566">[566]</a></span> pulp, skimming and stirring
- it till it begins to jelly. Then put in the large gooseberries, and give
- them one boil up. When done take them out separately, and spread them on a
- large flat dish. Continue to boil the syrup a while longer, till you find
- it congeals well on holding out a spoonful in the open air. Then put the
- large gooseberries into jars, and pour the syrup over them while still hot
- and liquid. Put them up warm.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Raspberries</i>&mdash;May be preserved as above, reserving the finest
- for putting whole into the jelly. The large white raspberries make a fine
- sweetmeat, done whole in jelly or jam of white currants.
- </p>
- <p>
- Black currants should always be made into jelly or jam. They require less
- sugar than other sweetmeats, (a quarter of a pound less) their juice being
- naturally very thick.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COUNTRY PLUMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Gather your plums when perfectly ripe, and ready to fall from the trees.
- Split them with a knife, and remove the stones. Spread them out on large
- dishes, so as not to touch, and set them in the hot sun on a sunny roof or
- balcony; taking them in every evening before dark, and not putting them
- out till after the dew is off in the morning. Repeat this for three or
- four days. Then pack them down in stone jars with a large quantity of the
- best brown sugar, a layer of plums and a layer of sugar alternately,
- (sugar being at the bottom and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_567"
- id="Page_567">[567]</a></span> top) and cover the jars closely. Let them
- remain undisturbed till February or March. When opened, you will have
- plenty of rich syrup among them. They make good spring pies, and will be
- prized for family use at that season.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Country Grapes.</i>&mdash;The little wild grapes have a very pleasant
- taste after the first frost in the autumn, and should not be gathered till
- that time. Until frosted, they are too sour to eat. To keep them all
- winter, strip them from the stems and put them in stone jars with layers
- of good brown sugar, till the jars are three parts full. Then fill up to
- the top with West India molasses. They will make good winter pies, when
- cranberries, dried peaches, and dried apples are scarce.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Persimmon Jam.</i>&mdash;Do not gather persimmons till late in the
- fall, when they are well sweetened with the frost. They are unfit to eat
- till all the leaves are off the trees, and till they are ripe enough to
- mash. Then pack them in jars with plenty of brown sugar. Maple sugar will
- do. In the back-woods they will be valued. When cooked they will be
- improved by the addition of a little <i>sweet</i> cider.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_568" id="Page_568">[568]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="PICKLES" id="PICKLES"></a>PICKLES.
- </h2>
- <p>
- For pickles the articles should all be fine and freshly gathered. They are
- generally too hard to be cut or eaten conveniently, and there is too much
- unnecessary fear of pickles proving soft. It is not now customary to keep
- them for weeks in salt and water; two or three days will be sufficient for
- this part of the process, and some kinds do not require it at all. The
- arts of both preserving and pickling are of late years much simplified.
- All pickles have nearly the same taste, and there is no use (and much
- trouble) in multiplying varieties, when a few sorts of the very best will
- be found amply sufficient for any table. One important point to be always
- observed, is to use none but the most wholesome vinegar, (the genuine
- cider,) as all that is made of drugs is unwholesome to the eater and
- destructive to the pickles. On no consideration boil them in brass,
- copper, or bell-metal&mdash;things which fortunately are now nearly
- exploded from all kitchens; iron lined with Delft, (called porcelain,)
- being universally substituted.
- </p>
- <p>
- To green pickles boil them with a thick bed of fresh vine leaves, both
- under and over them. This will first render them yellow; then boil them
- again in a clean kettle with fresh vine leaves. If not green enough when
- you think they are done, repeat the boiling again, with fresh vine<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_569" id="Page_569">[569]</a></span> leaves
- and fresh water. Avoid eating pickles that are of a fine verdigris green.
- They are greened with copper, and are poisonous.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you cannot obtain vine leaves, you may green pickles by boiling them
- with fresh cabbage leaves under and over. The first boiling will turn them
- yellow, the second with new leaves should render them green. But vine
- leaves are better and more certain. Put them up warm in stone or, glass
- jars with broad flat corks; and tie kid leather over them.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- INDIA PICKLE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For this pickle you may use a variety of <i>young</i> fruits and
- vegetables. For instance, red cherries, grapes, plums, apricots, young
- peaches, or lemons, limes, button-tomatos, cauliflowers sliced, white
- cabbage sliced, hard-boiled eggs sliced, little onions, nasturtions, small
- cucumbers, &amp;c. Having nicely prepared these things, put them all
- together into a large porcelain kettle, and scald them in a strong brine
- made in the proportion of a quarter of a pound of fine salt to a quart of
- boiling water. Pour it hot over the pickles, and let them remain in it
- till next day. Then take them out, and drain off all the brine through a
- sieve. Spread them out (so as not to touch,) on large flat dishes or old
- japan servers, and set them in the hot sun for three or four days;
- carefully taking them in at evening, and if the weather becomes damp or
- cloudy. Afterwards put them into a cullender or sieve,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_570" id="Page_570">[570]</a></span> wash them well through cold
- water, and then wipe them all dry with a coarse cloth. Put them into a
- large pan. Mix together a quarter pound of grated horse-radish, sliced;
- two cloves of garlic; half a hundred small white onions; two ounces of
- mace; a quarter of a pound of ground ginger; two nutmegs, powdered; two
- pounds of powdered loaf sugar; half a bottle of the best ground mustard;
- half a pound of yellow mustard seed, and an ounce of turmeric powder,
- which must on no account be omitted, as a yellow tinge is indispensable to
- this pickle. Mix all the seasoning with sufficient excellent cider vinegar
- to render it liquid, and pour it over the pickles in the pan, and then
- stir them up from the bottom. Let the whole rest till cold. Then transfer
- it to stone jars. Have ready some more vinegar, pour it boiling hot on the
- pickles, &amp;c., but do not fill up to the top, as they expand and rise.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED PEACHES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take eight fine large free-stone peaches, (white or yellow,) when nearly
- but not quite ripe. Wipe off the down with a clean flannel, and put them
- into a brine strong enough to bear up an egg. In two days take them out,
- and drain them for several hours on an inverted sieve. Tie in a piece of
- thin muslin one ounce of whole white pepper; one of broken-up ginger;
- eight blades of mace, and two ounces of mustard seed. Boil this seasoning
- for ten minutes in a quart of the best cider vinegar. Lay the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_571" id="Page_571">[571]</a></span> peaches
- in a broad-mouthed stone jar, with the bag of spice at the bottom, and
- pour the vinegar boiling hot upon them. At the top add a table-spoonful of
- salad oil. Put them up warm, and secure them with broad flat corks, and
- rounds of leather tied on carefully.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Peach Mangoes.</i>&mdash;The above sort of peaches are best for
- mangoes. Steep them in brine for two days. Cut a small piece out of each,
- and carefully loose the stones from the inside with a small sharp knife.
- It will then be easy to thrust them out of free-stone peaches, and none
- others should be used, either for pickling or preserving. Make a filling
- for the places that were occupied by the stones. For this purpose, use
- fresh mustard seed moistened with vinegar; scraped horse-radish, powdered
- ginger, a clove of garlic, or a minced shalot or very small onion, and a
- very little chilli or red pepper minced very small. Also a little powdered
- mace, and a little chopped peach. With this mixture stuff the peaches
- hard. Replace the bits that were cut off, and tie them on firmly with fine
- packthread, crossing the peach. Boil a quart of the best vinegar, seasoned
- with white spices and mustard seed, tied up in muslin; and when it has
- boiled ten minutes, pour it hot over the peach mangoes in a stone jar. Add
- at the top a table-spoonful of salad oil; cork the jar immediately, and
- tie leather over it. Where there is no dislike to cloves, you may stick
- half a dozen into the outside of each peach; but we think a<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_572" id="Page_572">[572]</a></span> few
- small bits of mace will be preferable, as the clove taste will overpower
- every thing else.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MELON MANGOES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the small green melons, used only for this purpose, and let them lie
- in a strong brine for two days. Take them out and drain them well. Cut a
- small square bit out of one side, and through this hole extract all the
- seeds and filaments. Have ready a stuffing made of grated horse-radish,
- white mustard seed, minced shalot, or a clove of garlic chopped fine; a
- very little chilli or red pepper, and a little powdered mace. Wet this
- stuffing well with vinegar, and then fill with it the cavity of the mango.
- Replace the bit that was cut out, and tie it in with packthread, crossing
- all over the melon. Then place the mangoes in a stone jar. Have ready a
- sufficiency of the best vinegar, (a large quart or more, for eight or ten
- mangoes,) boiled ten minutes, with a seasoning of mustard seed, ginger,
- mace, grated horse-radish, and chopped shalot or little onion, or a clove
- of garlic minced very small&mdash;all tied in a bit of muslin. Pour the
- vinegar boiling hot over the mangoes, having placed among them the bag of
- seasoning. Finish with sweet oil at the top of the jar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUSHROOMS PICKLED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- For pickling, the small button mushrooms are best. After cutting off the
- stalk closely, and with a sharp penknife<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_573" id="Page_573">[573]</a></span> peeling off carefully their
- thin outside skin, measure two quarts, taking care that they are all of
- the right sort, and freshly gathered; the outside of a dull whitish color,
- and the underside of a fine pinkish salmon tinge. If very white above and
- below, or if bright yellow, they are poisonous. <i>Good</i> mushrooms grow
- always in open fields or airy places; never in woods or marshes. To pickle
- two quarts, prepare eight little bags of very clear muslin; and tie up in
- each bag six blades of mace, six slices of root ginger, and half a nutmeg
- broken up. Have ready four glass jars, such as are considered to hold a
- quart. Lay a bag of spice in the bottom of each. Having sprinkled the
- mushrooms well with salt, let them rest till next day. Then divide the
- mushrooms and their liquor into four pints. Put one pint into each jar,
- with a bag of spice at the bottom, and another at the top. Pour on boiling
- cider vinegar of the best quality, and finish with a table-spoonful of
- salad oil. Cork the jars immediately, and tie leather carefully over the
- top. All mushrooms turn brown on the under-side the day after they are
- gathered, and sometimes sooner.
- </p>
- <p>
- Boiling the spice in the vinegar will weaken the mushroom flavor. When you
- open a jar of pickled mushrooms, immediately cork it again; tie on the
- leather cover, and use it up as soon as possible. Therefore, pint jars,
- with half a pint of mushrooms in each, are convenient.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_574" id="Page_574">[574]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BELL-PEPPERS PICKLED.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine full-grown bell-peppers. Make a brine in a stone jar of salt and
- water, strong enough to float an egg, and let the peppers remain in it two
- days, putting a weight on the cover to keep it down. Then take them out,
- wash them well in cold water, drain them, and wipe them dry. Cut a slit in
- the side of each, and extract all the seeds, as if left in, they will be
- entirely too hot. Through these slits let all the water run out. Put them
- into a clean stone jar. Boil sufficient of the best cider vinegar,
- interspersed with the muslin bags of broken-up cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg.
- Pour it, boiling hot, on the peppers in the jar. Distribute the bags of
- spice among the peppers, and cork the jar warm. You may stuff the peppers
- in the manner of mangoes, with pickled red cabbage finely shred, minced
- onions and minced cucumbers pickled, and seasoned with a little mustard
- seed, ginger, and mace. Tie up the slit with packthread, crossing all
- round. Fill up the jars with vinegar, putting sweet oil on the top.
- </p>
- <p>
- Your may green bell-peppers in the usual way, with vine leaves or cabbage
- leaves.
- </p>
- <p>
- All pickles should be kept in a dry place. If you find them mouldy they
- are not always spoiled. Take them out of the jar, wipe off all the mould
- carefully, and throw away the vinegar. Wash the jar very clean, scald it,
- and set it in the sun to purify still more. Make a new pickle with fresh
- seasoning, and put them into that.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_575"
- id="Page_575">[575]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED CAULIFLOWERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take large, ripe, full-blown cauliflowers. Remove the leaves and stalk,
- and divide the blossom into pieces or clusters of equal size. Throw them
- into a porcelain kettle of boiling water, (adding a little salt,) let them
- simmer, and skim them well. When they come to a boil, take them up with a
- perforated skimmer, and lay them on a sieve to drain. Put them into stone
- jars, (three parts full.) Season with mace and nutmeg infused in
- sufficient of the best cider vinegar, and simmer it for a quarter of an
- hour. When it comes to a boil take it off the fire, and pour it hot over
- the cauliflower in the jar, filling quite up to the top, and adding sweet
- oil at the last. Cover it while warm, and tie leather over the top. If you
- wish to have the cauliflowers yellow, boil with the vinegar some turmeric
- powder tied up in thin muslin. This is a very nice pickle.
- </p>
- <p>
- Broccoli is done in the same manner, but should be previously greened by
- boiling it with vine leaves.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED BEETS WITH CABBAGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large fine <i>red</i> cabbage, wash it well, and drain it. Quarter
- it, (having removed the stalk) and slice it with a cabbage-cutter as for
- coldslaw. Boil some beets in the usual way till quite tender, (they
- require a very long time) and while warm peel and slice them in round
- pieces, or split them down, and cut them into long bits. Lay them in a
- large stone jar, alternately with layers<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_576" id="Page_576">[576]</a></span> of the shred cabbage, till
- the jar is more than half full. Have ready some scalding vinegar that has
- been boiled with a seasoning of blades of mace and sliced ginger root, and
- some nutmeg. Pour the vinegar, boiling hot, upon the cabbage and beet,
- till you have the jars quite full. Finish with a large table-spoonful of
- sweet oil. Cover the jar with leather, and put it away warm.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED CUCUMBERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take small young cucumbers, freshly gathered, and free from blemishes.
- Make a brine strong enough to float an egg, and let the cucumbers lie in
- it till they become yellow, stirring them down to the bottom twice a day.
- Then pour off all the brine, wash the cucumbers in cold water, and drain
- them. Lay a thick bed of fresh green vine leaves in the bottom and sides
- of a porcelain kettle. Put in the cucumbers, and pour on sufficient cold
- water to wet them all plentifully. Then cover them, closely, with more
- vine leaves, and pour on more water, packing the leaves well and pressing
- them down. Fill up to the top with water and vine leaves, and cover the
- kettle closely to keep in the steam. Hang it over a slow fire where there
- is no blaze, and keep it <i>warm</i> all night, but not <i>hot</i>. In the
- morning if the pickles are not a fine deep green, remove the vine leaves
- and replace them with a fresh supply. After this, they will be generally
- green enough; but if not, continue till they are. Then drain the cucumbers
- on a sieve, and trans<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_577" id="Page_577">[577]</a></span>fer
- them to a very clean stone jar. To fifty cucumbers allow four quarts of
- excellent vinegar, and a bit of alum about the size of a large grain of
- corn, with half an ounce of mustard seed, half an ounce of mace, a
- broken-up nutmeg, and half an ounce of root ginger, sliced. Tie up the
- spice in three muslin bags, and boil them ten minutes in the vinegar. Then
- take out and lay them among the cucumbers in the jar; one to the bottom,
- one in the middle, and one at the top. Pour over them the vinegar boiling
- hot; add a table-spoonful of sweet oil, and cork the jar immediately,
- tying a leather over it. Keep wooden pickle spoons in the pantry for
- taking out pickles, and always be careful to close the jar immediately
- after.
- </p>
- <p>
- You need not keep the bags of spice in the jars more than two or three
- weeks.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED ONIONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the small silver-skinned white onions. Peel off the outer skin. Make
- a brine strong enough to float an egg, skim it well, and when it begins to
- cool pour it upon the onions. Let them stand in it (closely covered,) till
- quite cold. Then take them out, peel off another skin, and wash them
- through a cullender in cold water. Next, boil them in milk till tender all
- through, so that you can easily pierce them with a needle. Then drain off
- the milk. Measure them, and to a quart of onions allow a quart of the best
- cider vinegar. Boil in the vinegar two muslin bags tied up with broken-up<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_578" id="Page_578">[578]</a></span> nutmeg
- and mace. When it has boiled, pour it hot over the onions in the jar;
- having laid one bag of spice at the bottom, and one in the middle. The
- onions should fill two thirds of the jar, and the vinegar the remainder.
- Finish with a table-spoonful of salad oil, and cork the jar immediately,
- and tie on the leather cover.
- </p>
- <p>
- As onions pickled this way are generally much liked, it is well, when
- doing them, to make several jars full.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Cucumber and Onion Pickle.</i>&mdash;To a dozen fine cucumbers allow
- three large onions. Pare the cucumbers and peel the onions, and cut both
- into thick slices. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them, and let them rest
- till next day. Then drain them well, and put them into a stone jar. Pour
- boiling vinegar over them. Close the jar, and set it in a warm place. Next
- day repeat the boiling vinegar, and cork the jar. Next day repeat it
- again, with a bag of mace, nutmeg, and ginger, boiled in the vinegar. Then
- cork the jar, and tie it up. When the pickle is finished, divide it in
- small stone jars, with sweet oil on the top of each.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WALNUTS OR BUTTERNUTS PICKLED&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Gather them in early summer, when they are full-grown, but so tender that
- a large needle will easily pierce them all through. Rub off the outer skin
- with a coarse cloth, and then lay them in salt and water for a week,
- changing the brine every other day. Allow for this brine a small<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_579" id="Page_579">[579]</a></span> quarter
- of a pound of salt to a large quart of water. Make enough to cover all the
- nuts well. Place a large lid over the pan, and keep them closely from the
- air. The last day take them out of the brine, drain them, and prick every
- one quite through in several places with a large needle. Drain them again,
- spread them out on large flat dishes, and set them to blacken for two days
- in the hot sun. For a hundred nuts, allow a gallon of excellent cider
- vinegar, half an ounce of black pepper-corns, half an ounce of cloves,
- half an ounce of allspice, an ounce of root ginger, and an ounce of mace.
- Boil the spice in the vinegar for ten minutes, tied up in eight small
- muslin bags. Then take them out, and having divided the nuts in four stone
- jars, distribute among them, equally, the bags of spice, and pour on the
- vinegar hot, an equal portion in each jar. While warm, secure them with
- flat corks, and tie leather over them. Done this way, you may begin to use
- them in a week. If you have not enough of vinegar to fill the jars up to
- the top, add some cold, and strew among the nuts some blades of mace.
- Finish with a large spoonful of salad oil at the top of each jar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PICKLED PLUMS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take large fine plums; perfect, and quite ripe. To every quart of plums
- allow half a pound of the best white sugar powdered, and a large pint of
- the best cider vinegar. Melt the sugar in the vinegar, and put it with the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_580" id="Page_580">[580]</a></span> fruit
- into a porcelain kettle; all the plums having been previously pricked to
- the stone with a large needle. Lay among them some small muslin bags
- filled with broken nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon; and if you choose, a few
- cloves. Give them one boil up, skimming them well. Put them warm into
- stone jars, with the bags interspersed, and cork them immediately. Green
- gages may be done in this manner, first rendering them greener by boiling
- with vine leaves in the usual way.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Damsons Pickled.</i>&mdash;Do these in the same manner as plums; but as
- they are much more acid, allow brown sugar of the best kind. Plums or
- damsons may be pickled plain, and with little trouble if full ripe,
- pricked with a needle, and packed down in a stone jar with profuse layers
- of brown sugar between the layers of fruit; the jars filled up with cold
- cider vinegar, and putting sweet oil at the top.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <p>
- <i>Pickled Cherries.</i>&mdash;Take the largest and finest red cherries,
- fully ripe. Morellas are the best. Either remove the stems entirely, or
- cut them short, within two inches of the fruit. Have ready a large glass
- jar. Fill it two thirds with fresh newly-gathered cherries, and then fill
- up to the top with the best vinegar. Keep it well covered, and if both
- fruit and vinegar are of excellent quality, no boiling is necessary, and
- no spice, as the cherry flavor will be retained, and they will not
- shrivel.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_581" id="Page_581">[581]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Button Tomatos.</i>&mdash;The small round tomatos, either red or
- yellow, will keep perfectly, if put whole into cold vinegar of the <i>really</i>
- best quality. You may add a bag of spice if you choose.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Nasturtion Seeds.</i>&mdash;Keep a large glass jar of cold cider
- vinegar, and put in the green seeds of nasturtions after the flowers are
- off, and the seeds full-grown, but not hard. Remove the stalks. In this
- simple way nasturtions will keep perfectly well, and are an excellent
- substitute for capers with boiled mutton. They can be raised profusely,
- even in a city garden, and the blossoms are very beautiful. With
- pepper-grass and nasturtion flowers from your own garden, you can have a
- nice salad for a summer evening tea-table.
- </p>
- <p>
- The three pickles above (cherries, button tomatos, and nasturtion seeds,)
- are cheap, easy, and palatable. Try them. To flavor them with spice, boil
- the vinegar with a bag of spice in it, and pour it on hot, leaving the bag
- among them in the jar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="PREPARATIONS_FOR_THE_SICK" id="PREPARATIONS_FOR_THE_SICK"></a>PREPARATIONS
- FOR THE SICK.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHICKEN BROTH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Skin and cut up a fine full-grown fowl. If but little is wanted, take only
- the dark meat for the broth, and put it into a pot with a small quart of
- water, and slowly boil it to rags. Strain the liquid and return it to the<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_582" id="Page_582">[582]</a></span> pot, and
- thicken it with two spoonfuls of arrow root, if no vegetables are
- permitted. Otherwise, you may boil with the chicken some sliced onion and
- sliced turnip, with a grated parsnip and a sliced potato, straining out
- the vegetables with the shreds of fowl. You may reserve the white meat of
- the breast and wings to make another dish, if the patient is permitted to
- take it. This is the white meat cut off the bones, and stewed slowly in
- fresh oyster liquid, with a bit of nice butter. If the patient is well
- enough, stir in a beaten egg just before the stew is taken from the fire.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Oyster Soup for Invalids.</i>&mdash;Remove the gristle from a dozen
- fine large fresh oysters. Take half their liquor and mix it with an equal
- portion of very good milk, seasoning it with three or four blades of mace,
- and a stalk of celery scraped and cut into pieces. When it has boiled and
- been skimmed well, strain it over the oysters, and let all simmer together
- till the oysters are plumped, but do not let them come to a boil. Serve it
- up in a bowl, with some milk biscuit to eat with it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Clam Soup for Invalids.</i>&mdash;Where salt is permitted, cut up and
- boil slowly in their own liquor a dozen or more small sand clams. When
- well boiled and skimmed, strain the liquor into a clean sauce-pan, and
- thicken it with bread crumbs, and a small bit of nice fresh butter. The
- clams are of no further use. Throw them away.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_583" id="Page_583">[583]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MUTTON BROTH FOR THE SICK.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two pounds from a nice neck of mutton, and leave out some of the fat
- if there seems too much. Cut the meat from the bones, and put it into a
- pot with a large quart of water, and no seasoning. Boil it till the meat
- is all in rags. Do not skim it, as the fat on the surface is very healing,
- if without salt or pepper. When done, strain it into a bowl. Let the
- patient eat with it a slice of very light wheat bread, having the crust
- cut off. It is excellent for the dysentery. When the patient is
- convalescent, a little seasoning may be allowed, and some well-boiled
- mashed turnips stirred into the bowl of soup with a boiled onion sliced,
- and a thickening of arrow-root or farina, stirred in about half an hour
- before the soup is taken up. Pour it off clear from the shreds of meat at
- the bottom.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Veal Broth for Invalids.</i>&mdash;Take a pound of knuckle of veal cut
- in pieces, four calf's feet, split up. Boil them in a large quart of
- water, till they are all reduced to rags. Then strain the liquid, and add
- to it the soft part, only, of half a dozen fine oysters, and three or four
- blades of mace. Set it again on the fire, and as soon as it simmers well,
- take it off, and serve it up with very light milk biscuit, or little bread
- rolls, to eat with it. Veal broth may be made with a piece of knuckle of
- veal cut small, and boiled in the liquor of clams instead of water. The
- clams themselves must be omitted, as they are always tough and
- indigestible for an invalid, but their liquor adds a pleasant<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_584" id="Page_584">[584]</a></span> relish
- to the insipidity of the veal. As the strength of the patient improves, a
- grated carrot, a sliced onion, and some sliced turnip, may be added to the
- veal from the beginning.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Raw Oysters for the Sick.</i>&mdash;Take large fine fresh oysters, and
- carefully cut out the hard part or gristle. They are considered very good
- for convalescents, being, when raw, cooling, refreshing, and nutritious.
- Drain them well from the liquor, making them as dry as you can; and if
- permitted, accompany the oysters with black pepper and vinegar, and a
- plate of bread and butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Birds.</i>&mdash;Convalescents, not yet allowed to eat meat, can
- generally relish birds nicely broiled, or stewed in their own gravy, with
- any appropriate seasoning, and a little <i>fresh</i> butter, if they are
- not very fat. When dished, lay under each a piece of nice toast, dipped
- for a minute in hot water.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Beefsteak for Invalids.</i>&mdash;When this can be eaten with an
- appetite, there is no greater promoter of returning health; but it must be
- of the best sirloin steak, very tender, well broiled, and thoroughly done
- on both sides, the gravy being carefully saved to serve up with it, a
- little fresh butter being added after the meat comes off the gridiron. If
- the taste of onion is desired, merely rub the plate with a peeled onion. A
- very tender lamb-chop well broiled may be eaten by way of change; but a
- tenderloin steak is better. Avoid pork, or veal cutlets.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Gravy Sippets.</i>&mdash;For invalids who cannot yet eat meat, a light
- and relishing preparation may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_585"
- id="Page_585">[585]</a></span> made with one or two slices of the best
- wheat bread, divested of the crust, and spread on a hot plate, while some
- nice well-skimmed gravy is poured over them; the gravy of roast beef,
- veal, or mutton, that has had no butter about it. Gravy sippets will form
- a variety to the usual broths, and other beginnings for the resumption of
- animal food.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- HERB TEAS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have one or more china or white-ware pots for the purpose of making herb
- teas; and see that, after using, they are well washed, well scalded and
- dried, and set open in the sun till wanted again. The herbs, whether green
- or dried, should be of excellent quality, and picked very clean from dust
- and stems. Having well-scalded the pot, take the allotted quantity of the
- herb and put it in; then pour on the water, which must be actually boiling
- at the time, and press the herbs down at the bottom with a silver spoon.
- Then put on the lid closely, and immediately stop up the spout with a
- small cork, or a wad of soft white paper rolled tightly. This is to keep
- in the steam, and prevent the strength of the herb from escaping. When
- sufficiently boiled, pour into a pitcher with a lid, and through a
- strainer, as much of the tea as is wanted. Strainers of block tin, with a
- handle and <i>very fine</i> close holes, are excellent for this and other
- purposes.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Herb Candies.</i>&mdash;Hoarhound candy, and many others, may be made
- of a strong decoction or tea of the herb, thickened with loaf sugar, and
- boiled,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_586" id="Page_586">[586]</a></span>
- skimmed, and stirred till very thick and stiff. Then pour it smoothly into
- a square tin pan and set it in a cool place to congeal. While still soft,
- mark it in even squares with a knife. When quite cold and hard, loosen it
- from the pan with a knife, and take it out. It is good for coughs.
- </p>
- <p>
- Peppermint candy is made in the same way, and is used for flatulence.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GRUEL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Gruels, for patients who are unable to take any thing more substantial,
- may be made of ground rice flour, arrow root, indian meal, oatmeal grits,
- or farina. Mix to a paste, with water, two large table-spoonfuls of any of
- the above articles; then stir the paste, gradually, into a pint of water
- boiling on the fire, making it very smooth and pressing out all the lumps.
- To prevent it boiling over, when it has risen nearly to the top of the
- pan, remove it from the fire. Sweeten it while hot, and, if permitted, add
- a little white wine with nutmeg, and a small bit of fresh butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Toast and Water.</i>&mdash;Cut a large slice or two of the best wheat
- bread; pare off all the crust; and with a long-handled toasting fork toast
- it evenly on both sides, not allowing it to blacken or burn in any part.
- While hot from the fire, plunge the toast immediately into a quart pitcher
- of clear cold water. Cover the pitcher instantly, and let it infuse for
- half an hour or more, without leaving off the cover. When done, it should
- be of a very pale brown color.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_587"
- id="Page_587">[587]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- JELLY WATER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stir a table-spoonful of currant jelly into a half pint tumbler of ice
- water, if the patient is feverish. The jelly may be of other fruit, and if
- not sweet enough add some loaf sugar. The juice of any ripe fruit, made
- sweet and mixed with cold water, is a good substitute when sweetmeats are
- not at hand. Warm drinks are now seldom used, but to promote perspiration
- and carry off a cold. Tamarinds are in themselves very cooling and
- pleasant, and make an agreeable drink infused in water, either warm or
- cold.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CARRAGEEN BLANCMANGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Carrageen is a species of sea moss which becomes glutinous when boiled,
- and is considered remarkably nutritious and strengthening. It can also be
- rendered very palatable. It is found abundantly on some parts of our
- sea-coast, and may be obtained of the best druggists, very nicely cleaned
- and pressed. To a small loose handful of carrageen allow a small quart of
- rich unskimmed milk, half a pound of powdered white sugar, a stick of the
- best cinnamon broken-up, six or seven blades of mace, and half a nutmeg,
- powdered. Having washed the carrageen through two or three cold waters,
- and shaken it out to remove the drops that hang about it, put it to a pint
- and a half of the cold milk. Boil it half an hour in a covered porcelain
- kettle. Then take it out, for if it boils too long the carrageen will
- taste too strongly. In another vessel boil the remaining half pint of milk
- with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_588" id="Page_588">[588]</a></span>
- the spices, till very highly flavored. Then strain it into the carrageen
- milk, and stir in, gradually, the half pound of powdered loaf sugar. Set
- the porcelain kettle again over the fire, and let it boil fast for five
- minutes longer. Then strain it into moulds or bowls previously wet with
- cold water; and when it has well congealed, turn it out, and serve it up
- with sweetened cream, flavored with rose-water or peach-water. If for an
- invalid, who is not allowed spices, flavor it with rose-water only,
- stirred in after the blancmange has been taken from the fire.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FARINA BLANCMANGE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- From a quart of rich milk take out half a pint. Put the half pint into a
- small sauce-pan, and add (if permitted) sufficient mace, nutmeg, and
- cinnamon to flavor it well; the spices being tied up in a very thin muslin
- bag. Then add the flavored milk to the remainder, having stirred in two
- heaped table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar. Set it over the fire in a
- porcelain kettle, and when it has come to a boil sprinkle in, gradually,
- four large heaping table-spoonfuls of farina, stirring it well. Keep it
- boiling a quarter of an hour after all the farina is in. When done, strain
- it into blancmange moulds, and set it on ice to congeal. If for an invalid
- not allowed spice, boil it plain, and when taken from the fire stir in a
- wine-glass of rose-water. If rose-water is boiled with it from the
- beginning, the strength and flavor will evaporate.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_589" id="Page_589">[589]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Farina Flummery.</i>&mdash;Mix with a small pint of water a large pint
- of the juice of ripe currants, or strawberries, or of stewed cranberries
- in winter, made very sweet with white sugar. Boil the water and juice
- together, and stir in gradually a quarter pound of farina, and then boil
- it fifteen minutes longer. Afterwards transfer it to moulds, and set it on
- ice till congealed.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Farina Gruel.</i>&mdash;Have some water boiling on the fire, and when
- it boils fast, sprinkle in sufficient farina to make it moderately thick.
- Then sweeten it with white sugar. If permitted, stir in some white wine,
- and nutmeg grated.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BEEF TEA.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pound of fine fresh beefsteak cut from the round, without any fat.
- Chop it into small bits, and season it with a level salt-spoon of salt.
- Put it into a wide-mouthed bottle, cork it closely, and set it into a
- kettle of cold water, which must reach to the neck of the bottle. Let it
- boil steadily for three hours, by which time the essence will be all
- extracted from the beef. Then remove the cork, and strain the liquid into
- a bowl, and skim it. It can be made still more conveniently in a <i>bain-marie</i>
- or double kettle; an article useful for many purposes, particular in
- cookery for an invalid. Mutton or veal tea are made in the same manner.
- Also chicken tea, or essence of any sort of poultry or game.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Chicken Panada.</i>&mdash;Having skinned and cut up a fine full-grown
- chicken, take the white meat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_590"
- id="Page_590">[590]</a></span> from the breast and wings, and mince it
- small for panada. The dark meat will do for chicken tea. Add to the panada
- a slice of wheat bread crumbled and mixed in, and boil it in a <i>bain-marie</i>
- with the water outside; seasoning it (if permitted) with powdered mace or
- nutmeg.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Sweet Panada.</i>&mdash;Mix with a pint of water a glass of madeira or
- sherry; a heaped table-spoonful of powdered loaf sugar, half the yellow
- rind of a lemon grated, and half the juice; and a half tea-spoonful of
- powdered nutmeg or mace. Set the mixture over the fire, and as soon as it
- boils add crumbled milk biscuit, or a rusk. Then give it another boil up.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BARLEY WATER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having washed clean two ounces of pearl barley, put it into a sauce-pan
- with a quart of water, the grated rind and the juice of a lemon, and two
- ounces of seeded raisins. Boil it slowly till the liquid is reduced one
- half. Then strain it, and sweeten it, while warm, with loaf sugar.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Gum Arabic Water.</i>&mdash;Take an ounce of the best and cleanest gum
- arabic. Put it into a pitcher, and pour on a pint of boiling water, and
- stir while dissolving. When cool, squeeze in (if permitted) the juice of a
- lemon, and add loaf sugar enough to make it pleasantly sweet. Gum arabic
- water, alone, is sometimes given to a patient, whom it is expedient to
- keep very low as a preventive to inflammation.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_591" id="Page_591">[591]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Tamarind Water.</i>&mdash;This is a pleasant and cooling drink in
- fevers, allowing half a pint of cold water to as many tamarinds as you can
- take up with a table-spoon. Cover it, and let it stand for a few minutes.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Apple Water.</i>&mdash;Take four fine large juicy apples, (pippins or
- bellflowers,) core and pare them, and bake them side by side in a tin pan.
- When well done and quite soft all through, put them into a pitcher and
- fill up with warm water. Simmer them over the fire, and when quite soft
- mash them; and, if necessary, add more water till they become a thick
- liquid that can be drank. Sweeten well with loaf sugar, and if permitted,
- add some lemon juice or rose-water. Drink it cool.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Egg Wine.</i>&mdash;Break a nice fresh egg into a tumbler, and beat it
- till smooth and thick. Add a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered loaf sugar,
- and stir in a glass of the best port wine. This, when permitted, is very
- strengthening and cheering for an invalid, to take about the hour of noon
- or earlier. When wine is not allowed, you may beat the egg into a glass of
- new unskimmed milk.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WHEY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Milk can be converted into a curd by the infusion of rennet water, white
- wine, lemon juice, tamarind juice, or vinegar, stirred into good milk,
- covered and set in a warm place till the curd has formed, and has
- separated from the whey which remains beneath it. Take off the curd
- carefully, breaking it as little as possible,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_592" id="Page_592">[592]</a></span> and put it into a deep
- dish. Pour the whey into a pitcher. It should look clear, and greenish
- rather than white, and have none of the milk curd remaining about it. Set
- the pitcher on ice. It is an excellent drink in fevers. When approved, the
- curd may be eaten in a saucer with sugar. For rennet whey, cut a piece of
- dried rennet about two inches square, and wipe all the salt from the
- outside, but do not wash it. Soak the bit of rennet for several hours (or
- all night) in a small tea-cup of lukewarm water. Then pour the rennet
- water into the milk. For wine whey, boil a jill of sherry in a pint of
- milk, without stirring it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TAPIOCA.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having washed in cold water three heaped table-spoonfuls of tapioca; drain
- it, put it into a clean quart bowl, pour on water enough to cover it well,
- and soak it four hours. Then pour on as much more water, transfer the
- whole to a porcelain skillet, in the bottom of which you have laid the
- yellow peel of a fresh lemon, pared so thin as to be transparent, and boil
- the tapioca gently till it looks quite clear. Then take out the lemon
- peel, and stir in sufficient loaf sugar to make it very sweet. If
- approved, flavor it with some madeira or sherry, and some grated nutmeg.
- Tapioca may be boiled in plain milk, with no seasoning but the sugar to
- sweeten it.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Sago.</i>&mdash;Pick and wash clean, in two cold waters, a half pint of
- sago. Put it into a porcelain skillet, with the yellow rind of a lemon
- pared tran<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_593" id="Page_593">[593]</a></span>sparent.
- Pour on it a quart of water, and let it all soak for two hours. Then set
- it over the fire, and boil it, gently, till the lemon is all to pieces and
- nearly dissolved, and the sago looks clear. Take out the lemon peel, and
- stir in, if permitted, some sherry wine, sugar, and grated nutmeg, and
- give it another boil.
- </p>
- <p>
- If the above seasoning is not allowed, boil the sago in milk only, or
- water only, till the liquid becomes thick and like a jelly.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Sago Pudding for an invalid.</i>&mdash;Boil three table-spoonfuls of <i>soaked</i>
- sago in a pint of milk till quite soft. Add gradually three ounces of
- white sugar, and set it away to cool. Beat three eggs till thick and
- smooth, and stir them by degrees into the sago and milk. Grate in some
- nutmeg, and bake the pudding in a deep dish. Tapioca pudding is made in
- the same manner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEETBREADS FOR INVALIDS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut open two fine fresh sweetbreads, and lay them in warm water till all
- the blood is discharged. Then transfer them to a pan of cold water to
- blanch or whiten. Stew them in the strained liquid of fresh oysters, till
- quite tender. When done, take out the sweetbreads, remove the gristle or
- pipe, and serve them up warm, having laid in the bottom of the dish a
- slice of nice toast that has been dipped for a minute in hot water. If
- permitted, the oysters may be cooked with the sweetbread, first removing
- the hard part.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_594" id="Page_594">[594]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- STEWED SMELTS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Smelts are considered a delicate and nutritious fish for invalids. They
- are in season in winter, and early in the spring. Choose them as large as
- you can find them. Having drawn and cleaned them, cut off their heads and
- tails. Put sufficient water to cover them in a small stew-pan, adding a
- very little powdered white sugar, and a few small sprigs of parsley, or
- sweet marjoram. When the water boils lay in the fish, and simmer them five
- minutes. Then stir in a very little arrow root, mixed with a few drops of
- cold water, and let it stew ten minutes longer. Serve up the stew in a
- small deep dish with a cover, and eat with it some very light bread-roll.
- It will be a pleasant change from the usual broths and infusions prepared
- for the sick.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>A Molasses Supper.</i>&mdash;Make a thick slice of very nice toast,
- evenly browned on both sides, but not the least burnt. Lay it in a pint
- bowl, and pour over it a small half pint of the best <i>West India</i>
- molasses, having stirred into the molasses a heaped table-spoonful of
- ground ginger. Mix the molasses with half a pint of hot water, and pour
- the whole over the toast. Cover it with a plate for a few minutes, and eat
- it while warm, previous to going to bed. This is a wholesome strengthening
- palatable supper for an invalid, (as we know by experience) and may be
- continued as long as the patient continues to like it. It is always a good
- winter supper for children. The ginger must on no account be omitted. If
- the molasses has turned a little sour, stir in a salt-spoonful of soda.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_595" id="Page_595">[595]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- To prevent a jug of molasses from running over when kept in a warm place,
- pour out a little into another vessel, and leave the molasses jug uncorked
- for two days. Then cork it tightly.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="MISCELLANEOUS_RECEIPTS" id="MISCELLANEOUS_RECEIPTS"></a>MISCELLANEOUS
- RECEIPTS.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TEA.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- No metal (not even silver,) is good for tea-pots. All tea should be made
- in china or queensware. Wedgewood (whether black or white) imbibes much of
- the essence of the tea, and from constant use soon becomes unpleasant.
- Britannia ware is exceedingly unwholesome for any sort of cooking, as one
- fourth of the composition is copper. Block tin for a common tea-pot is
- less objectionable, and much cheaper. All tea-pots should, after using, be
- thoroughly emptied of the old leaves, and washed very clean in warm water,
- and set open in the sun and air for several hours. To make good tea, the
- tea itself, whether black or green, must be of excellent quality. There is
- no economy in buying that which is low-priced. Green tea, if fresh and
- good, and not adulterated will look green in the cup, and have a fragrant
- odor. If it draws red, or brown, or blackish, it is old or mixed with
- something wrong. Begin to make your tea about a quarter of an hour before
- it is wanted. Scald the tea-pot (twice over) with boiling water. Then put
- in the tea, allowing three heaping table-spoonfuls to each<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_596" id="Page_596">[596]</a></span> person,
- and a pint of water, actually boiling, when put in. Cover it closely with
- the lid, and set it by the fire for ten or fifteen minutes to infuse.
- After the first cups have gone round, put some fresh tea into the pot, and
- pour on it some more boiling water, that the second cups may be as strong
- as the first, having time to infuse. Weak tea for company is very mean.
- For those that like it so, have a small pot of water on the server. If the
- water is not boiling fast when poured on the tea, and is beginning to
- cool, the tea will be flat and insipid, and the leaves will float on the
- surface of the cups. There is then no remedy but to make some fresh.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COFFEE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To drink coffee in perfection, a sufficient quantity for breakfast should
- be roasted every morning, and ground hot, as it loses much of its strength
- by keeping even for a few hours. The best coffee roasters are iron
- cylinders, (standing on feet) with a door in one side, and a handle that
- turns the cylinder round towards the fire or from it, that the coffee may
- be equally done throughout. It must be roasted a bright brown color, and
- on no account black or burnt. When about half done, put in bits of fresh
- butter, allowing a table-spoonful to a pound of coffee. Previous to
- roasting pick the coffee carefully, throwing away the defective grains,
- and the stones or sand. Coffee should be ground while warm in a<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_597" id="Page_597">[597]</a></span> mill
- kept solely for that purpose, and fastened up against the kitchen wall.
- </p>
- <p>
- For boiled coffee allow four ounces of ground coffee (or a quarter of a
- pound) to a quart of water. When the water boils, stir in the coffee. Give
- it one hard boil up. Then set it farther from the fire, and simmer it for
- ten minutes, adding the white of an egg, (including the egg shell,) or a
- small strip of isinglass. Pour out a large cup of the coffee, and then
- (holding it high above the coffee-pot,) pour it back again. Repeat this
- till wanted, and then set the coffee-pot beside the fire, (but not over
- it.) For company, allow six ounces of coffee to a quart of water. Keep the
- lid always on, but if when boiling hard it rises and seems inclined to run
- over, remove it instantly from the fire and set it back. Cream is
- indispensable to first-rate coffee; if not to be obtained sweet,
- substitute rich milk boiling hot. On no consideration fill up the
- coffee-pot with water. A percolator (to be had at the best tin stores)
- makes excellent coffee without boiling, if properly managed.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHOCOLATE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- There is no plain chocolate better than Baker's prepared cacao, and none
- has so much of the true chocolate flavor. The foreign chocolate is
- generally mixed with sugar, spice, and milk. It cannot be made thick and
- strong, and therefore to many tastes is not agreeable. To make a pint (or
- two large cupfuls of chocolate,) scrape down two ounces on a plate, and
- moisten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_598" id="Page_598">[598]</a></span>
- the chocolate with a jill of water, rubbing it on the plate till quite
- smooth. Then boil it five minutes, and add a small pint of water. When it
- has been well stirred with a wooden spoon, and has come again to a boil,
- serve it as hot as possible, accompanied by a saucer of fine loaf sugar,
- and a small jug of rich hot cream and a plate of nice dry toast, or some
- milk biscuits or sponge cake. Milled chocolate is made with rich unskimmed
- milk instead of water. The chocolate mill is a deep pot, belonging to
- which is a stick with a broad wheel-shaped bottom, the other end coming up
- through a hole in the lid. Take this between your hands, and turn it round
- fast till the chocolate is finely frothed. Then transfer it to large cups.
- Chocolate, after it becomes cold, is unfit to drink. But if made with
- milk, you can convert what is left into a custard or pudding, with the
- addition of more sugar and some beaten egg. The low-priced chocolate is
- both unpalatable and unwholesome, being adulterated with animal fat or
- lard, and made with <i>old</i> cacao beans.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MILK TOAST.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To a pint of nice rich milk allow a quarter of a pound of excellent <i>fresh</i>
- butter. Boil the milk, and as soon as it boils take it off, and stir in
- the butter cut into pieces. When the butter has melted, give it another
- boil up Have ready a deep plate with four rather thick slices of bread,
- nicely and evenly toasted on both sides. Pour the milk hot over the toast,
- and keep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_599" id="Page_599">[599]</a></span>
- it covered till it goes to the breakfast table. Send a spoon with it.
- Bread should always be toasted by a long-handled fork, such as are made
- for the purpose. They cost but twenty-five cents, and no kitchen should be
- without one.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BUTTERED TOAST.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut even slices of bread all of the same thickness, and pare off the whole
- of the crust. With a long-handled toasting fork toast it evenly on both
- sides, taking care that no part of it is burnt or blackened. Butter the
- slices hot, as you take them off the fork, (using none but nice fresh
- butter) and lay them evenly on a heated plate. Cover them till they go to
- table.
- </p>
- <p>
- All toast prepared for cookery, (to lay in the bottom of dishes,) should
- have the crust pared off, and be dipped in hot water after toasting.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RASPBERRY VINEGAR.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a gallon of fine ripe raspberries. Put them into a large deep earthen
- pan, and mash them well with a wooden beetle. Then pour them with all
- their juice into a large and very clean linen bag, and squeeze and press
- out their liquid into a vessel beneath. Measure it, and to each pint of
- juice allow half a pint of the best and clearest cider vinegar, and half a
- pound of fine loaf sugar, powdered. First mix the juice and the vinegar,
- and give them a boil in a porcelain kettle. Then stir in the sugar, gra<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_600" id="Page_600">[600]</a></span>dually,
- adding to every two pounds of sugar a beaten white of egg. Boil and skim
- till the scum ceases to rise. When it is done, bottle it cold, cork it
- tightly, and seal the corks. To use it, pour out half a tumbler of
- raspberry vinegar, and fill up with ice water. It is a pleasant and
- cooling beverage in warm weather, and for invalids who are feverish. Mixed
- with hot water, and taken at bed-time, it is good for a cold.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Strawberry Vinegar</i>&mdash;Is made in the above manner, carefully
- hulling them. The strawberries must be of the finest kind, and fully ripe.
- These vinegars are made with much less trouble than the usual way; and are
- quite as good, if not better.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MACARONI.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- In buying macaroni, choose that of a large pipe; see that it is clean and
- white and that it has not been touched by insects. Half a pound makes one
- dish. If <i>soaked</i> before boiling it is apt to dissolve or go to
- pieces, but wash and drain it through cold water in a sieve. Have over the
- fire a large pan of boiling water, in which has been melted a piece of
- fresh butter the size of an egg. If boiled steadily, it will be quite
- tender in less than an hour; but do not boil it so long that the pipes
- break up and lose their shape. Having drained it well through a clean
- sieve, transfer it to a deep dish, dividing it into four layers, having
- first cut it into even lengths of two or three inches. Between the layers
- place on it seasoning of grated cheese of the very best qua<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_601" id="Page_601">[601]</a></span>lity, and
- bits of fresh butter, with some powdered mace. On the top layer, add to
- the covering of cheese and butter sufficient bread-crumbs to form a slight
- crust all over the surface. Brown it with a salamander or a red hot
- shovel. Or (omitting the cheese) you may dress it with rich gravy of roast
- meat.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For Sweet Macaroni.</i>&mdash;Having boiled it in milk instead of
- water, drain it, and mix with it powdered mace and nutmeg, with butter,
- sugar, and rose or peach-water. Macaroni (like vermicelli) has in itself
- no taste, but is only made palatable by the manner of dressing it. Good
- soup is rather weakened than improved by the addition of macaroni.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COMMON OMELET.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Beat five eggs till very light and thick. Stir gradually into the pan of
- eggs four table-spoonfuls of sifted flour. Thin the batter with a large
- tea-cup of milk. Take a yeast powder; dissolve the soda (from the blue
- paper) in a small quantity of tepid or lukewarm water, and stir it into
- the batter. In another cup melt the tartaric acid, (from the white paper;)
- stir that into the mixture, and stir the whole very hard. Have ready in a
- frying-pan a large portion of lard, boiling hot. Put in the omelet
- mixture, and fry it well. When one side is done turn it, and fry the
- other. To flavor this omelet, mix gradually into the batter either grated
- ham or smoked tongue; minced oysters; minced onion; mixed<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_602" id="Page_602">[602]</a></span> with
- sweet marjoram, or else some mushrooms chopped very fine.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>For a Sweet Omelet</i>, add to the above batter powdered sugar, nutmeg,
- mace, and powdered cinnamon.
- </p>
- <p>
- The custom is now to dish omelets without folding them over, it being
- found that folding renders them heavy. Spread them out at full length on a
- very hot dish. The batter for omelets should always be made in sufficient
- quantity to allow them very thick.
- </p>
- <p>
- There is no use in attempting to flavor an omelet, or any thing else, with
- marmalade or lemon, if you put in soda. The alkalies destroy the taste of
- every sort of fruit.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A PLAIN POTATO PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having pared a pound of fine large potatos, put them into a pot, cover
- them well with cold water, and boil them gently till tender all through.
- When done, lay each potato (one at a time,) in a clean warm napkin, and
- press and wring it till all the moisture is squeezed out, and the potato
- becomes a round, dry lump. Mince as fine as possible a quarter of a pound
- of fresh beef suet, (divested of skin, and strings.) Crumble the potato,
- and mix it well with the suet, adding a small salt-spoon of salt. Add
- sufficient milk to make a thick batter, and beat it well. Dip a strong
- square cloth in hot water, shake it out, and dredge it well with flour.
- Tie the pudding in, leaving room for it to swell,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_603" id="Page_603">[603]</a></span> and put it into a large pot
- of hot water and boil it steady for an hour. This is a good and economical
- family pudding.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ELLEN CLARK'S PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Slice, rather thick, some fresh bread. Pare off all the crust. Butter the
- bread on both sides, and lay it in a deep dish. Fill up with molasses very
- profusely, having first seasoned the molasses with ginger, ground
- cinnamon, and powdered mace or nutmeg. It will be much improved by adding
- the grated yellow rind and the juice of a large lemon or orange. Bake it
- till brown all over the top, and till the bread and butter has absorbed
- the molasses; taking care not to let it burn.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ARROW-ROOT BISCUIT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mix in a pan half a pint of arrow-root, and half a pint of sifted wheat
- flour. Cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and rub it into the
- pan of flour, crumbling the bits of butter so small as to be scarcely
- visible. Mix a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar, and wet it with
- a beaten egg. Add gradually a very little cream, just enough to make it
- into a stiff dough. Flavor it with the grated yellow rind and juice of a
- lemon, and half a nutmeg grated. Roll out the dough into thin sheets, and
- cut it out into biscuits with the edge of a tumbler. Prick every biscuit
- all over with a fork. Lay them in square pans<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_604" id="Page_604">[604]</a></span> slightly floured, and bake
- them immediately. They will be improved by adding (at the last of the
- mixture) a table-spoonful of the best rose-water. If rose-water is put
- into cakes <i>early</i> in the mixing, much of its strength will evaporate
- before baking. It should always be deferred to the last. These are very
- nice tea biscuits.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ONTARIO CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pint and a half (or three large breakfast cups,) of sifted flour,
- and the same quantity of powdered white sugar, and half a pint of milk; a
- quarter of a pint or half a cup of the best fresh butter, and the grated
- yellow rind and juice of a large lemon. Have ready four well-beaten eggs,
- and two table-spoonfuls of strong fresh yeast.
- </p>
- <p>
- Cut up the butter into the pan of flour. Add the milk and sugar gradually,
- and then the beaten egg, and then the lemon; next the yeast. Stir the
- whole very well, and set it to rise in a buttered pan. Place it near the
- fire, and cover it with a clean flannel or a double cloth. When it has
- risen and is quite light, and is cracked all over the surface, transfer it
- to a square baking pan, put it immediately into the oven, and bake it
- well. When cool, either ice it or sift white sugar over it, and cut it
- into squares. Or, you may bake it in a round loaf, or in small round
- cakes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_605" id="Page_605">[605]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- NEW-YEAR'S CAKE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stir together a pound of nice fresh butter, and a pound of powdered white
- sugar, till they become a light thick cream. Then stir in, gradually,
- three pounds of sifted flour. Add, by degrees, a tea-spoonful of soda
- dissolved in a small tea-cup of milk, and then a half salt-spoonful of
- tartaric acid, melted in a large table-spoonful of warm water. Then mix
- in, gradually, three table-spoonfuls of fine carraway seeds. Roll out the
- dough into sheets half an inch thick, and cut it with a jagging iron into
- oval or oblong cakes, pricked with a fork. Bake them immediately in
- shallow iron pans, slightly greased with fresh butter. The bakers in New
- York ornament these cakes, with devices or pictures raised by a wooden
- stamp. They are good plain cakes for children.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GOOD YEAST.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two handfuls of hops. The best hops have a fresh light green color,
- and a pleasant, lively smell. Pour on them two quarts of boiling water,
- and let them boil five minutes after they have come to a boil; not longer,
- for it makes them bitter. Then strain the liquid into a pan, and add a
- table-spoonful of brown sugar and one of salt. When lukewarm, stir in
- flour enough to make a thick batter. Add a jill and a half of fresh
- baker's yeast. Set it in a warm place till it begins to ferment; then keep
- it in the cellar well corked.
- </p>
- <p>
- This yeast will continue good two weeks. When<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_606" id="Page_606">[606]</a></span> you open the jug to take
- out some yeast, put in always a table-spoonful of flour before you cork it
- up again.
- </p>
- <p>
- A stone jug or pitcher is a good vessel for yeast. Wash it very clean in
- hot water, always before you put in fresh yeast, and then rinse the jug
- with water in which a spoonful of pearlash has been melted, letting the
- pearlash water remain in it five or six minutes, and shaking it round
- hard. Then rinse it with plain cold water.
- </p>
- <p>
- All vessels that have contained acids should have pearlash or soda in the
- rinsing water, and then be finished with plain water.
- </p>
- <p>
- Never clean a bottle by rinsing it with shot. The lead is poisonous, and
- has caused death. Some bits of raw potato chopped, and put in the water,
- will clean the inside of bottles or jugs, and brighten decanters.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- YEAST POWDERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Get two ounces of bicarbonate of soda, and one ounce of tartaric acid.
- Divide the soda into equal portions, about a level tea-spoonful in each,
- and the tartaric acid into level salt-spoonfuls. By <i>level</i> we mean
- that the article is not to be heaped in the least, not rising above the
- edge of the spoon. Cut some papers of regular and sufficient size, and
- fold them nicely. Put the soda into white papers, and the tartaric acid
- into blue papers. Place an equal number of each in a little square or
- oblong box, standing up the papers on their folded edges. Dissolve them<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_607" id="Page_607">[607]</a></span> in two
- separate cups, in as much tepid water as will cover the powder. They must
- be entirely melted before using. Stir in the soda at the beginning, and
- the tartaric acid at the conclusion of the batter or cake mixture.
- </p>
- <p>
- We do not approve of the introduction of these substances into cakes. They
- give a sort of factitious lightness very different from that honestly
- produced by a liberal allowance of egg and butter, genuine yeast, and good
- beating and stirring&mdash;but they destroy the taste of the seasoning,
- and are certain destruction to the taste of lemon, orange, strawberry,
- pine-apple, and every kind of fruit flavoring. The justly celebrated Mrs.
- Goodfellow never used any of them in her school, and the articles made
- there by her pupils, (of whom the author was one) were such as no money
- can purchase in the present times. Any confectioner who would <i>faithfully</i>
- revive them could make a fortune by doing so.
- </p>
- <p>
- The present introduction of hartshorn into bread and cakes is an
- abomination, rendering the articles equally unpalatable and unwholesome.
- Cannot the use of hartshorn in food be put down? Which of our <i>American</i>
- doctors will write a book on "culinary poisons."
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VINEGAR.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mix together in a clean keg three gallons of clear rain water, (that has
- been caught in a clean tub without running over the roof of a house,) one
- quart of <i>West India</i> molasses, and one<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_608" id="Page_608">[608]</a></span> pint of baker's yeast.
- Cover it, and set it in a warm place where it will be exposed to the
- summer sun. Remember to shake the cask every day. In three months it will
- be excellent vinegar. Then transfer it to stone jugs, and keep it closely
- corked. Begin it in May.
- </p>
- <p>
- So much of the vinegar sold in stores is concocted of pernicious drugs,
- that we recommend all families to make their own, or to buy it from a
- cider farmer. Good cider, set in the sun, will after a while become good
- vinegar.
- </p>
- <p>
- What is shamefully called the best white wine vinegar is frequently a slow
- poison, as may be known by its action upon oysters, pickles, &amp;c. It is
- quite clear and well to look at. Its taste is very sharp and pungent, as
- to overpower and render every thing that is with it painfully sour, and it
- has a singular and disagreeable smell when boiling. Oysters cooked with
- this vinegar go immediately into rags, and are soon entirely eaten up, or
- dissolved into a thin whitish liquid, fit for nothing but to throw away.
- </p>
- <p>
- Pickles the same. A punishment should be provided by law for persons who
- manufacture and sell these deleterious compounds, of which we have now so
- many, that it would indeed be well if we could make at home, as far as
- possible, every thing we eat and drink.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- PINK CHAMPAGNE&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- (<i>Domestic.</i>)&mdash;Pick from the stems three quarts of fine ripe red
- currants,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_609" id="Page_609">[609]</a></span>
- and mix with them three quarts of ripe white currants. Bruise them all.
- Put nine pounds of loaf sugar to melt in three gallons of very clear soft
- water. Boil the water and sugar together for half an hour, skimming
- carefully, and pour the liquid boiling hot over the currants. When it is
- nearly cold, add a small tea-cupful of excellent strong fresh yeast. Let
- it ferment for two days, and then strain it into a small cask through a
- very clean hair sieve. Put into the cask half an ounce of finely-chipped
- isinglass. Have rather more liquor than will fill the cask at first, and
- keep it to fill up as it works over. In about a fortnight bung it up. Let
- it remain in the cask till April. Then transfer it to bottles, (putting
- into each a lump of double-refined loaf sugar,) and letting them remain
- one day uncorked. Then cork and wire them. They must stand upright in the
- cellar; but when likely to be wanted, lay a few of them on their sides for
- a week.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SHERRY COBBLER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Lay in the bottom of a large tumbler, two table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf
- sugar, and squeeze over it (through a strainer) the juice of a large lemon
- that has been softened by rolling under your hand. Then half fill the
- tumbler with ice, broken very small. Add a large glass of very good sherry
- wine. Take another tumbler, and pour the liquid back and forward from
- glass to glass, till completely mixed without<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_610" id="Page_610">[610]</a></span> stirring. Sip it through a
- clean straw, or one of the tubes made on purpose.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MINT JULEP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut two or three round slices from a fine ripe pine-apple that has been
- pared; and take out the core or hard part from the centre of each slice. A
- still better way is to split down the pine-apple into four pieces, and
- grate two of the quarters with a coarse grater, standing it upright while
- doing so. Put it into a large tumbler, and cover the fruit with two or
- three heaped table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar. Add a large glass of
- the best brandy, and pour on cold water till the tumbler is two-thirds
- full. Then put in a thick layer of finely broken ice, till it almost
- reaches the top. Finish by sticking in a full bunch of fresh green mint in
- handsome sprigs, that rise far above one side of the tumbler; and at the
- other side place a clean straw, or one of the tubes used for the same
- purpose.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CAROLINA PUNCH.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Mix together a tumbler of peach brandy and a tumbler of water, the juice
- of two lemons, the yellow rinds of four, pared to transparent thinness,
- and four large juicy free-stone peaches cut in half, and the kernels of
- their stones blanched and broken up. If you cannot obtain peaches, quarter
- and grate down a ripe pine-apple. Let all these ingredients<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_611" id="Page_611">[611]</a></span> infuse
- with a quart of Jamaica spirits in a bowl for two days before the punch is
- wanted. Keep it carefully covered with a cloth. Then pour on sufficient
- cold water to make the punch of the desired strength; and strain the
- liquid into another bowl, and put in a large lump of ice. Serve it out in
- small glasses.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- NECTAR.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two pounds of <i>the best</i> raisins, seeded and chopped; the grated
- yellow rind and the juice of four fine lemons, and two pounds of loaf
- sugar, powdered. Put the sugar into a large porcelain kettle, and melt it
- in a gallon of water. Boil and skim it for half an hour, and while it is
- boiling hard, put in by degrees the raisins and lemons. Continue the
- boiling about ten minutes. Put the mixture into a stoneware crock, and
- cover it closely. Let it stand three days, stirring it down to the bottom
- twice every day. Then strain it through a linen bag, and bottle it,
- sealing the corks. It will be fit for use in a fortnight. Take it in
- wine-glasses, with a bit of ice in each. This is a nice temperance drink.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHOCOLATE CARAMEL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take half a pint of rich milk, and put it to boil in a porcelain kettle;
- scrape down a square and a half of Baker's chocolate, put it into a very
- clean tin cup, and set on the top of a stove till it becomes soft. Let the
- milk boil up <i>twice</i>. Then add, gradually,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_612" id="Page_612">[612]</a></span> the chocolate, and stir
- both over the fire till thoroughly mixed and free from lumps. Stir in a
- half pint of the best white sugar powdered, and half a jill (or four large
- table-spoonfuls,) of molasses. Let the whole boil fast and constantly (so
- as to bubble,) for at least one hour or more, till it is nearly as stiff
- as good mush. When all is done add a small tea-spoonful of essence of
- vanilla, and transfer the mixture to shallow tin pans, slightly greased
- with very nice sweet oil. Set it on ice, or in a very cool place, and
- while yet soft mark it deeply in squares with a very sharp knife. When
- quite hard, cut the squares apart. If it does not harden well it has not
- been boiled long enough, or fast enough.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EGGS TO BOIL.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The water must be boiling fast when the eggs are put in. First wipe them
- clean all over, with a wet cloth. It is true that the shells are never
- eaten, but still, if brought to table dirty and discolored, they look
- slovenly, disgusting, and vulgar, such as are never seen in good houses.
- Put them into water that is boiling fast; and if desired very soft, four
- minutes will be sufficient. Six or eight minutes will barely set the
- whites and yolks, and ten or twelve minutes (in water that is really
- boiling,) will render them hard enough for salad. In the egg-boilers that
- are set on the table no egg will ever boil hard, as the water cools too
- soon. A <i>stale</i> egg never boils hard.<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_613" id="Page_613">[613]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Except in the spring, and late in the winter, there is often much
- difficulty in obtaining good eggs, unless you have fowls of your own. If
- an egg is really fresh, when held up against the light, the yolk looks
- round and compact and the white clear and transparent; you may then trust
- it. But if the yolk is thick, broken, and mixed among the white, and the
- white is cloudy and muddled, it is certainly bad, and should be thrown
- away. When tried in a pan of cold water the freshest will sink, and the
- stale ones float on the surface. It requires strong brine to bear up a
- good egg. Eggs may be preserved for keeping a few months, by putting every
- one in fast boiling water for <i>one minute</i>. Then grease them all over
- the outside with good melted fat, and wedge down close together (layer
- above layer,) in a box of powdered charcoal. This preserves them for a sea
- voyage of several weeks. The charcoal box must be kept closely covered,
- and closed immediately whenever opened. Pack the eggs with the small end
- downwards.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POACHED EGGS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- See that the eggs are quite fresh. Pour from a kettle of boiling water
- enough to fill a broad shallow stew-pan. Break the eggs into a saucer,
- (one at a time,) slip them carefully into the hot water, and let them
- stand in it till the whites are set. Then put the pan over a moderate
- fire; and, as soon as the water boils again, the eggs are ready. The
- whites should be firm, and the yolks should appear in the centre<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_614" id="Page_614">[614]</a></span> looking
- yellow through a thin transparent coating of the white. Take them out
- carefully (one by one,) with an egg-slice. Have ready, for each egg, a
- nice slice of toast of a light brown or yellow all over. Trim off all the
- crust, and dip the toast for a minute in hot water. Then butter it <i>slightly</i>
- with fresh butter. Trim off neatly the ragged and discolored white from
- the edge of each egg. Lay a poached egg in the middle of every toast, and
- serve them up warm.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of toast, you may lay beneath every egg a thin slice of ham, that
- has been soaked, and nicely broiled and trimmed. Or, large thin slices
- from the breast of a cold roast turkey, or cold fillet of roast pork or
- veal. These are nice breakfast dishes.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>Scrambled Eggs.</i>&mdash;Make a mixture as for an omelet, but instead
- of frying put it into a sauce-pan, and when it has boiled five minutes
- take it off, and chop and mix all the ingredients into confusion. Serve it
- up hot in a deep dish. It is eaten at breakfast, and is by many preferred
- to a fried omelet. You may season it with grated ham, tongue, or sweet
- herbs.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EGG-NOGG.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Beat, till very light and thick, the yolks only of six eggs. Stir the
- eggs, gradually, into a quart of rich unskimmed milk, and add half a pound
- of powdered loaf sugar, a half pint of brandy, and a grated nutmeg. Next
- beat three whites of the eggs by themselves, and stir<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_615" id="Page_615">[615]</a></span> them quickly into the
- mixture. Divide it into two pitchers, and pour it back and forward from
- one pitcher to the other till it has a fine froth. Then serve it in a
- large china bowl, with a silver ladle in it, and distribute it in glasses
- with handles.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>To Beat Eggs.</i>&mdash;For beating eggs have a broad shallow earthen
- pan. If beaten in tin, the coldness of the metal retards their lightness;
- for the same reason, hickory rods are better than tin wire. Beat with a
- short quick stroke, holding the egg rods in your right hand close to your
- side, and do not exert your elbow, or use your arm violently with a hard
- sweeping stroke; of this there is no necessity. If beaten in a proper
- manner, (moving your hand <i>only</i> at the wrist) the eggs will be light
- long before you are fatigued. But you must continue beating till after the
- froth has subsided, and the pan of eggs presents a smooth thick surface,
- like a nice boiled custard. White of egg is done if it stands stiff alone,
- and will not fall from the beater when held upon it.
- </p>
- <p>
- Butter and sugar should always be stirred with a strong hickory spaddle,
- which resembles a short mush stick, rather broad and flattened at one end.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BRAN MUFFINS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take three quarts of bran, (unbolted wheat flour) and sift it into a large
- pan. Warm three half pints of rich milk, mixing with it half a common
- tumbler of <i>West India</i> molasses. Cut up in the warm milk and
- molasses two ounces or two large heaped table-spoonfuls of fresh but<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_616" id="Page_616">[616]</a></span>ter, and
- stir it about till well mixed all through. Then stir all the liquid into
- the flour. Beat in a shallow pan three eggs till very thick and light, and
- then stir them gradually into the pan of flour, &amp;c. Lastly, add two
- table-spoonfuls of strong fresh yeast. Cover the mixture and set it to
- rise. When risen very light heat a griddle on the oven of a stove, set
- muffin rings upon it, fill the rings nearly to the top, and bake the
- muffins. Send them to table hot, pull them open with your fingers, and
- butter them. They will be much liked if properly made and baked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COTTAGE CHEESE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- This is a good way of using up a pan of milk that is found to be turning
- sour. Or you may turn it, on purpose, by stirring in a spoonful of cider
- vinegar. Having covered it, set it in a warm place till it becomes a curd.
- Then pour off the liquid, and tie up the curd in a clean linen bag with a
- pointed end, and set a bowl under it to catch the droppings; but do not
- squeeze it. After it has drained ten or twelve hours, transfer the curd to
- a deep dish, enrich it with some cream, and press and chop it with a large
- spoon till it is a soft mass; adding, as you proceed, an ounce or more of
- nice fresh butter. Then set it on ice till tea-time.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FRENCH HAM PIE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having soaked, boiled, and skinned a small ham of the best quality, and<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_617" id="Page_617">[617]</a></span> taken
- out the bone, trim it into a handsome oval shape. Of the trimmings make a
- rich gravy by stewing them in a sauce-pan with a little water, and four
- pigs feet, (split up.) Have ready a plentiful sufficiency of nice
- forcemeat made of cold roast chicken or veal, minced suet, and grated
- bread-crumbs, butter, minced sweet marjoram or tarragon, and some
- hard-boiled yolk of egg crumbled. Have ready, prepared, a very nice puff
- paste; line with it the bottom and sides of a large deep dish, and lay in
- it the oval ham, filling up at the corners and all round with the
- forcemeat, and spreading a layer of it on the top. Pour on gravy to
- moisten the whole, and put on the paste intended for the lid. Notch the
- edges handsomely, and stick a flower or tulip of paste in the cross slit
- at the top, and place a wreath of paste leaves all round. Bake it light
- brown, and eat it warm or cold. It is a fine dish for a dinner or supper
- party, or for a handsome luncheon or breakfast.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>A Tongue Pie</i>&mdash;Is made in a similar manner of a boiled smoked
- tongue, peeled and trimmed, and filled in with forcemeat. For a large
- company have <i>two</i> tongue pies, as it will be much liked, if made as
- above.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FIG PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a pint of very ripe figs, (peeled,) cut them up and mash them smooth
- with the grated yellow rind of a large ripe lemon or orange, and the juice
- of two. Mix together a large spoonful of fresh butter, and two
- table-spoonfuls<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_618" id="Page_618">[618]</a></span>
- of sugar, and stir the whole very hard. Bake it in a deep dish, and eat it
- fresh, but not warm. Grate sugar over the surface. When <i>ripe</i> figs
- can be obtained, this pudding is much liked.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- POKE PLANT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Early in the spring, the young green stalks of the pokeberry plant, (when
- they are still mild and tender, and have not yet acquired a reddish tinge
- or a strong unpleasant taste,) are generally much liked as a vegetable,
- and are by many persons considered equal to asparagus. They are brought in
- bundles to Philadelphia market. Wash and drain them, and put them on to
- boil in a pot of cold water. When <i>quite tender</i> all through they are
- done. Dish them in the manner of asparagus, laid on a toast dipped for a
- minute in hot water, and then buttered.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may pour a very little drawn or melted butter over the poke.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RHUBARB TARTS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take large fresh stalks of the rapontica plant, such as are full-grown and
- reddish. Peel off the thin skin, and cut them into bits all of the same
- size, either one inch or two inches long. Wash them in cold water through
- a cullender, (but do not drain them much,) and put them into a stew-pan
- without any more water. Mix with them plenty of good sugar, in the
- proportion of half a pound of sugar to a pint of cut-up rhubarb stalks.
- Cover it, and stew it slowly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_619"
- id="Page_619">[619]</a></span> till quite soft. Then mash it into a smooth
- mass. Have some puff-paste shells baked empty; and when cool, fill them to
- the top, and grate nutmeg and powdered sugar thickly over them. The juice
- and grated yellow rind of a lemon (added when the rhubarb is half stewed,)
- will be a pleasant flavoring. This is sometimes called "spring-fruit" and
- "pie-plant." It comes earlier, but is by no means so good as gooseberries.
- We do not think it worth preserving, or making into a sweetmeat.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- VOL-AU-VENT.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Have ready a large quantity of the best and lightest puff paste. Roll it
- an inch thick, and then cut it neatly into shapes, either square or
- circular. Bake every one separately on a flat tin pan, cutting a round
- hole in the centre of each, and fitting in pieces of stale bread to keep
- the holes open while baking. The cakes of paste should diminish in size as
- they ascend to the top, but the holes should all be of exactly the same
- dimensions. The lower cake, which goes at the bottom, should be solid and
- not perforated at all. The small cake which finishes the top of the
- pyramid must also be left solid, for a lid. When all the cakes are baked
- and risen high, (as good puff-paste always does) take them carefully off
- the baking plates; remove the bread that has kept the centres open and in
- shape; brush over every cake, separately, with beaten white of egg, and
- pile one upon another nicely and evenly so as to form a pyramid. Have
- ready a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_620" id="Page_620">[620]</a></span>
- very nice stew of oysters or game cut small, and cooked with cream, &amp;c.
- Fill the pyramid with this, and then put on the top or lid, which may
- terminate in a flower of baked paste.
- </p>
- <p>
- <i>A Sweet Vol-au-Vent</i>&mdash;May be filled with small preserves, or
- with ripe strawberries or raspberries, made very sweet. Vol-au-vents are
- for dinner, or supper parties. The paste should be peculiarly light. The
- name <i>Vol-au-vent</i> signifies, in French, something that will fly away
- in the wind; which, however, it never does.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A SOUFFLÉ PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take eight rusks, or soft sugar-biscuits, or plain buns. Lay them in a
- large deep dish, and pour on a pint of milk, sufficient to soak them
- thoroughly. Cover the dish, and let them stand undisturbed for about an
- hour and a half before dinner. In the mean time, boil half a pint of milk
- in a small sauce-pan with a handful of bitter almonds or peach kernels
- broken small, or a small bunch of fresh peach-leaves, with two large
- sticks of cinnamon, broken up. Boil this milk slowly, (keeping it
- covered,) and when it tastes strongly of the flavoring articles, strain
- it, and set it away to cool. When cold, mix it into another pint of milk,
- and stir in a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Beat eight eggs
- very light, and add them gradually to the milk, so as to make a rich
- custard. After dinner has commenced, beat and stir the soaked rusk very
- hard till it becomes a smooth mass,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_621"
- id="Page_621">[621]</a></span> and then, by degrees, add to it the
- custard. Stir the whole till thoroughly amalgamated. Set the dish into a
- brisk oven, and bake the pudding rather more than ten minutes. The yeast,
- &amp;c., in the rusk, will cause it to puff up very light. When done, send
- it to table warm, with white sugar sifted over it. You may serve up with
- it as sauce sweetened thick cream flavored with rose-water, and grated
- nutmeg, or powdered loaf sugar and fresh butter stirred together in equal
- portions, and seasoned with lemon or nutmeg.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ICED PLUM PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take two dozen sweet and half a dozen bitter almonds. Blanch them in
- scalding water, and then throw them into a bowl of cold water. Pound them
- one at a time in a mortar, till they become a smooth paste, free from the
- smallest lumps. As you proceed, add frequently a few drops of rose-water
- or lemon juice to make them light, and prevent their oiling. Seed and cut
- in half a quarter of a pound of the best bloom raisins. Mix with them a
- quarter of a pound of Zante currants, picked, washed, and dried; and add
- to the raisins and currants three ounces of citron, chopped. Mix the
- citron with the raisins and currants, and dredge them all with flour to
- prevent their sinking or clodding. Take a half pint of very rich milk;
- split a vanilla bean, and cut it into pieces two or three inches long, and
- boil it in the milk till the flavor of the vanilla is well extracted; then
- strain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_622" id="Page_622">[622]</a></span>
- it out, and mix the vanilla milk with a pint of rich cream, and stir in,
- gradually, a half pound of powdered loaf sugar, and a nutmeg grated. Then
- add the pounded almonds, and a large wine-glass of either marasquino,
- noyau, curaçoa, or the very best brandy. Beat, in a shallow pan, the yolks
- of eight eggs till very light, thick, and smooth, and stir them gradually
- into the mixture. Simmer it over the fire, (stirring it all the time,) but
- take it off just as it is about to come to a boil, otherwise it will
- curdle. Then, while the mixture is hot, stir in the raisins, currants, and
- citron. Set it to cool, and then add a large tea-cupful of preserved
- strawberries or raspberries, half a dozen preserved apricots or peaches;
- half a dozen preserved green limes; and any other very nice and delicate
- sweetmeats. Then whip to a stiff froth another pint of cream, and add it
- lightly to the mixture. Put the whole into a large melon-mould that opens
- in the middle, and freeze it in the usual way. It will take four hours to
- freeze it well. Do not turn it out till just before it is wanted. Then
- send it to table on a glass dish. It will be found delicious. Iced
- puddings are now considered indispensable on fashionable supper tables or
- at dinner parties. There is no flour in this pudding. The freezing will
- keep it together.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RENNETS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Milk turned into a curd with wine is by no means so good as that which is
- done with rennet-water alone. The curd and<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_623" id="Page_623">[623]</a></span> whey do not separate so
- completely; the curd is less firm, and the whey less clear; the latter
- being thick and white, instead of thin and greenish, as it ought to be.
- Neither is it so light and wholesome as when turned with rennet.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rennets of the best quality can be had at all seasons in the Philadelphia
- market; particularly in the lower part, called the Jersey market. They are
- sold at twelve, eighteen, or twenty-five cents, according to their size,
- and will keep a year or two; but have most strength when fresh. You may
- prepare excellent rennets yourself at a very trifling expense, by
- previously bespeaking them of a veal butcher; a rennet being the stomach
- of a calf. Its form is a bag. As soon as you get the rennet, empty out all
- its contents, and wipe it very clean, inside and out; then rince it with
- cold water, but do not wash it much, as washing will weaken its power of
- turning milk into curd. When you have made it quite clean, lay the rennet
- in a broad pan, strew it over on both sides with plenty of fine salt;
- cover it, and let it rest five days. When you take it out of the pan, do
- not wipe or wash it, for it must be stretched and dried with the salt on.
- For this purpose hold it open like a bag, and slip within it a long,
- thick, smooth rod, bent into the form of a large loop wide at the top, and
- so narrow at the bottom as to meet together. Stretch the rennet tightly
- and smoothly over this bent rod, on which it will be double, and when you
- have brought the two ends of the rod together at the bottom, and tied them
- fast, the form<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_624" id="Page_624">[624]</a></span>
- will somewhat resemble that of a boy's kite. Hang it up in a dry place,
- and cut out a bit as you want it. A piece about two inches square will
- turn one quart of milk; a piece of four inches, two quarts. Having first
- washed off all the salt in several cold waters, and wiped the bit of
- rennet dry, pour on it sufficient <i>lukewarm</i> water to cover it well.
- Let it stand several hours; then pour the rennet-water into the milk you
- intend for the curd, and set it in a warm place. When the curd is entirely
- formed, set the vessel on ice.
- </p>
- <p>
- Rennet may be used with good effect before it has <i>quite</i> dried.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- AN EASY WAY OF MAKING BUTTER IN WINTER.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- The following will be found an excellent method of making butter in cold
- weather for family use. We recommend its trial. Take, in the morning, the
- unskimmed milk of the preceding evening, (after it has stood all night in
- a <i>tin</i> pan,) and set it over a furnace of hot coals, or in a stove;
- being careful not to disturb the cream that has risen to the surface. Let
- it remain over the fire till it simmers, and begins to bubble round the
- edges; but on no account let it come to a boil. Then take the pan
- carefully off, (without disturbing the cream) and carry it to a cool
- place, but not where it is cold enough to freeze. In the evening take a
- spoon, and loosen the cream round the sides of the pan. If very rich, it
- will be almost a solid cake. Slip off the sheet of cream<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_625" id="Page_625">[625]</a></span> into
- another and larger pan, letting as little milk go with it as possible.
- Cover it, and set it away. Repeat the process for several days, till you
- have thus collected a sufficiency of clotted cream to fill the pan. Then
- scald a wooden ladle, and beat the cream hard with it during ten minutes.
- You will then have excellent butter. Take it out of the pan, lay it on a
- flat dish, and with the ladle squeeze and press it hard, till all the
- buttermilk is entirely extracted and drained off. Then wash the butter in
- cold water, and work a very little salt into it. Set it away in a cool
- place for three hours. Then squeeze and press it again; also washing it a
- second time in cold water. Make it up into pats, and keep it in a cool
- place.
- </p>
- <p>
- The unskimmed morning's milk, of course, may also be used for this
- purpose, after it has stood twelve hours. The simmering over the fire adds
- greatly to the quantity of cream, by throwing all the oily part of the
- milk to the surface; but if allowed to boil, this oleaginous matter will
- again descend, and mix with the rest, so as not to be separated.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is the usual method of making winter butter in the south of England;
- and it is very customary in the British provinces of America. Try it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SWEET POTATO PONE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stir together till very light and white, three quarters of a pound of
- fresh butter, and three quarters of a pound of powdered white sugar,
- adding two table-spoonfuls<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_626"
- id="Page_626">[626]</a></span> of ginger. Grate a pound and a half of
- sweet potato. Beat eight eggs very light, and stir them gradually into the
- butter and sugar, in turn with the grated sweet potato. Dissolve a
- tea-spoonful of saleratus or soda in a jill of sour milk, and stir it in
- at the last, beating the whole very hard. Butter the inside of a tin pan.
- Put in the mixture, and bake it four hours or more. It should be eaten
- fresh, cut into slices.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RICE BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- To a pint of well boiled rice add half a pint of wheat flour, mixing them
- well together. Take six eggs, and beat the whites and yolks separately.
- Having beaten the whites to a stiff froth, mix them gradually with a pint
- of rich milk, and two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter, softened at
- the fire. Mix, by degrees, the yolks of the eggs with the rice and flour.
- Then add the white-of-egg mixture, a little at a time. Stir the whole very
- hard. Put it into a buttered tin pan with straight or upright sides. Set
- it in a moderate oven, and bake it an hour or more. Then turn it out of
- the pan, put it on a dish, and send it warm to the breakfast table, and
- eat it with butter.
- </p>
- <p>
- This cake may be baked, by setting the pan that contains it into an iron
- dutch-oven, placed over hot coals. Heat the lid of the oven on the inside,
- by standing it up before the fire while the rice-bread is preparing; and,
- after you put it on, keep the lid covered with hot coals.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_627" id="Page_627">[627]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Rice-bread may be made of ground rice flour, instead of whole rice.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RICE FLOUR BREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift into a pan a pint and a half of rice flour, and a pint and a half of
- fine wheat flour. Add two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter or lard,
- and mix in a pint and a half of milk. Beat four eggs very light; then stir
- them gradually into the mixture. When the whole has been well mixed, add,
- at the last, a small tea-spoonful of soda or saleratus, dissolved in as
- much warm water as will cover it. Put the whole into a buttered tin pan,
- set it immediately into a quick oven, and bake it well. It is best when
- eaten fresh. Slice and butter it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- RICE FLOUR BATTER CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Melt a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, or lard, in a quart of milk;
- but be careful not to let it begin to boil. Divide the milk equally, by
- putting it into two pans. Beat three eggs very light, and stir them into
- one half of the milk with the addition of a large table-spoonful of wheat
- flour. Stir in as much ground rice flour as will make a thick batter. Then
- put in a <i>small</i> tea-cupful of strong fresh yeast, and thin the
- batter with the remainder of the milk. Cover it, and set it to rise. When
- it has risen high, and is covered with bubbles, bake it on a griddle in
- the manner of buckwheat cakes. Send them to table hot, and butter them.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_628" id="Page_628">[628]</a></span>
- </p>
- <p>
- Similar cakes may be made with indian meal instead of rice flour.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- GROUND-NUT MACAROONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a sufficiency of ground-nuts, or pea-nuts, that have been roasted in
- an iron pot over the fire; remove the shells, and weigh a pound of the
- nuts. Put them into a pan of cold water, and wash off the skins. Have
- ready some beaten white of egg. Pound the ground-nuts (two or three at a
- time,) in a marble mortar, adding frequently a little cold water to
- prevent their oiling. They must be pounded to a smooth light paste; and,
- as you proceed, remove the paste to a saucer or a plate. Beat, to a stiff
- froth, the whites of four eggs, and then beat into it gradually a pound of
- powdered loaf sugar, and a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg
- mixed. Then stir in, by degrees, the pounded ground-nuts, till the mixture
- becomes very thick. Flour your hands, and roll between them portions of
- the mixture, forming each portion into a little ball. Lay sheets of white
- paper on flat baking tins, and place on them the macaroons at equal
- distances, flattening them all a little, so as to press down the balls
- into cakes. Then sift powdered sugar over each. Place them in a brisk
- oven, with more heat at the top than in the bottom. Bake them brown.
- </p>
- <p>
- Almond macaroons may be made as above, mixing one quarter of a pound of
- shelled bitter almonds, with three quarters of shelled sweet al<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_629" id="Page_629">[629]</a></span>monds.
- For almond macaroons, instead of flouring your hands, you may dip them in
- cold water; and when the macaroons are formed on the papers, go slightly
- over every one with your fingers wet with cold water.
- </p>
- <p>
- Macaroons may be made, also, of grated cocoa-nut mixed with beaten white
- of egg and powdered sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COLUMBIAN PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Tie up closely in a bit of very thin muslin a split vanilla bean, cut into
- pieces, and a broken-up stick of cinnamon. Put this bag, with its
- contents, into half a pint of rich milk, and boil it a long time till very
- highly flavored. Then take out the bag; set the milk near the fire to keep
- warm in the pan in which it was boiled, covering it closely. Slice thin a
- pound of almond sponge cake, and lay it in a deep dish. Pour over it a
- quart of rich cream, with which you must mix the vanilla-flavored milk,
- and leave the cake to dissolve in it. Blanch, in scalding water, two
- ounces of shelled bitter almonds or peach kernels, and pound them (one at
- a time,) to a smooth paste in a marble mortar, pouring on each a few drops
- of rose-water or peach-water to prevent their oiling. When the almonds are
- done, set them away in a cold place till wanted. Beat eight eggs till very
- light and thick; and having stirred together hard the dissolved cake and
- the cream, add them gradually to the mixture in turn with the almond, and
- half a pound of powdered loaf sugar, a little at a time of each. Butter a
- deep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_630" id="Page_630">[630]</a></span>
- dish, and put in the mixture. Set the pudding into a brisk oven and bake
- it well. Have ready a star nicely cut out of a large piece of candied
- citron, a number of small stars, all of equal size, as many as there are
- States in the Union, and a sufficiency of rays or long strips also cut out
- of citron. The rays should be wide at the bottom and run to a point at the
- top. As soon as the pudding comes out of the oven, while it is smoking,
- arrange these decorations. Put the large star in the centre, then the rays
- so that they will diverge from it, narrowing off towards the edge of the
- pudding. Near the edge place the small stars in a circle.
- </p>
- <p>
- Preserved citron-melon will be still better for this purpose than the dry
- candied citron.
- </p>
- <p>
- This is a very fine pudding; suitable for a dinner party, or a Fourth of
- July dinner.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A WASHINGTON PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick, and wash clean half a pound of Zante currants; drain them, and wipe
- them in a towel, and then spread them out on a flat dish, and place them
- before the fire to dry thoroughly. Prepare about a quarter of a pound or
- half a pint of finely-grated bread-crumbs. Have ready a heaping
- tea-spoonful of powdered mace, cinnamon, and nutmeg mixed. When the
- currants are dry, dredge them thickly on all sides with flour, to prevent
- their sinking or clodding in the pudding while baking. Cut up in a deep
- pan half a pound of the best<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_631"
- id="Page_631">[631]</a></span> fresh butter, and add to it half a pound of
- fine white sugar, powdered. Stir the butter and sugar together with a
- wooden spaddle, till they are very light and creamy. Then add a
- table-spoonful of wine, and a table-spoonful of brandy. Beat in a shallow
- pan, eight eggs till perfectly light, and as thick as a good boiled
- custard. Afterwards, mix with them, gradually, a pint of rich milk and the
- grated bread-crumbs, stirred in alternately. Next, stir this mixture, by
- degrees, into the pan of beaten butter and sugar, and add the currants a
- few at a time. Finish with a table-spoonful of strong rose-water; or a
- wine-glass full, if it is not very strong. Stir the whole very hard.
- Butter a large deep white dish, or two of soup-plate size. Put in the
- batter. Set it directly into a brisk oven, and bake it well. When cold,
- dredge the surface with powdered sugar. Serve it up in the dish in which
- it was baked. You may ornament the tops with bits of citron cut into
- leaves and forming a wreath; or with circles of preserved strawberries.
- </p>
- <p>
- This will be found a very fine pudding. It must be baked in time to become
- quite cold before dinner.
- </p>
- <p>
- For currants, you may substitute raisins of the best quality; seeded, cut
- in half, and well dredged with flour.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of rose-water you may stir in the yellow rind (finely grated) of
- one large lemon, or two small ones, and their juice also.<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_632" id="Page_632">[632]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A COTTAGE PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take ripe currants, and having stripped them from the stalks, measure as
- many as will make a heaping quart. Cover the bottom of a deep dish with
- slices of bread, slightly buttered, and with the crust cut off. Put a
- thick layer of currants on the bread, and then a layer of sugar. Then
- other layers of bread, currants, and sugar, till the dish is full;
- finishing at the top with very thin slices of bread. Set it into the oven,
- and bake it half an hour. Serve it either warm or cold; and eat it with
- sweetened cream.
- </p>
- <p>
- Instead of currants you may take cherries, (first stoning them all,)
- raspberries, ripe blackberries, or barberries, plums, (first extracting
- the stones,) stewed cranberries, or stewed gooseberries. If the fruit is
- previously stewed, the pudding will require but ten minutes' baking. When
- it is sent to table, have sugar at hand in case it should not be sweet
- enough.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- ICE-CREAM CAKES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Stir together, till very light, a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar and
- a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Beat six eggs very light, and stir
- into them a half pint of rich milk. Add, gradually, the eggs and milk to
- the butter and sugar, alternately with a half pound of sifted flour. Add a
- glass of sweet wine and some grated nutmeg. When all the ingredients are
- mixed, stir the batter very hard. Then put it into small deep pans, or
- cups that have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_633" id="Page_633">[633]</a></span>
- been well buttered, filling them about two thirds with the batter. Set
- them immediately into a brisk oven, and bake them brown. When done, remove
- them from the cups, and place them to cool on an inverted sieve. When
- quite cold make a slit or incision in the side of each cake. If very
- light, and properly baked, they will be hollow in the middle. Fill up this
- cavity with ice cream, carefully put in with a spoon, and then close the
- slit with your fingers to prevent the cream running out. Spread them on a
- large dish. Either send them to table immediately before the ice-cream
- melts or keep them on ice till wanted.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- WHIPPED CREAM MERINGUES.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take the whites of eight eggs, and beat them to a stiff froth that will
- stand alone. Then beat into them, gradually, (a tea-spoonful at a time,)
- two pounds or more of finely-powdered loaf sugar; continuing to add sugar
- till the mixture is very thick, and finishing with lemon juice or extract
- of rose. Have ready some sheets of white paper laid on a baking board, and
- with a spoon drop the mixture on it in long oval heaps, about four inches
- in length. Smooth and shape them with a broad-bladed knife, dipped
- occasionally in cold water. The baking board used for this purpose should
- be an inch thick, and must have a slip of iron beneath each end to elevate
- it from the floor of the oven, so that it may not scorch, nor the bottoms
- of the meringues be baked too hard. This baking-<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_634" id="Page_634">[634]</a></span>board must not be of pine
- wood, as a pine board will communicate a disagreeable taste of turpentine.
- The oven must be moderate. Bake the meringues of a light brown. When cool,
- take them off the paper by slipping a knife nicely beneath the bottom of
- each. Then push back or scoop out carefully a portion of the inside of
- each meringue, taking care not to break them. Have ready some nice whipped
- cream, made in the following proportion:&mdash;Take a quarter of a pound
- of broken-up loaf sugar, and on some of the lumps rub off the yellow rind
- of two large lemons. Powder the sugar, and then mix with it the juice of
- the lemons, and grate in some nutmeg. Mix the sugar with a half pint of
- sweet white wine. Put into a pan a pint of rich cream, and whip it with
- rods or a wooden whisk, or mill it with a chocolate mill till it is a
- stiff froth. Then mix in, gradually, the other ingredients; continuing to
- whip it hard a while after they are all in. As you proceed, lay the froth
- on an inverted sieve, with a dish underneath to catch the droppings; which
- droppings must afterwards be whipped and added to the rest. Fill the
- inside of each meringue with a portion of the whipped cream. Then put two
- together, so as to form one long oval cake, joining them nicely, so as to
- unite the flat parts that were next the paper, leaving the inside filled
- with the whipped cream. Set them again in the oven for a few minutes. They
- must be done with great care and nicety, so as not to break. Each meringue
- should be about the usual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_635"
- id="Page_635">[635]</a></span> length of a middle finger. In dropping them
- on the paper, take care to shape the oval ends handsomely and smoothly.
- They should look like very long kisses.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHOCOLATE PUFFS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Beat very stiff the whites of three eggs, and then beat in gradually half
- a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Scrape down very fine three ounces of the
- best chocolate, (prepared cocoa is better still,) and dredge it with flour
- to prevent its oiling; mixing the flour well among it. Then add it
- gradually to the mixture of white of egg and sugar, and stir the whole
- very hard. Cover the bottom of a square tin pan with a sheet of fine white
- paper, cut to fit exactly. Place upon it thin spots of powdered loaf sugar
- about the size of a half dollar. Pile a portion of the mixture on each
- spot, smoothing it with the back of a spoon or a broad knife, dipped in
- cold water. Sift white sugar over the top of each. Set the pan into a
- brisk oven, and bake them a few minutes. When cold, loosen them from the
- paper with a broad knife.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- COCOA-NUT PUFFS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Break up a large ripe cocoa-nut. Pare the pieces, and lay them awhile in
- cold water. Then wipe them dry, and grate them as finely as possible. Lay
- the grated cocoa-nut in well-formed heaps on a large handsome dish. It
- will require no cooking. The heaps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_636"
- id="Page_636">[636]</a></span> should be about the circumference of a half
- dollar, and must not touch each other. Flatten them down in the middle, so
- as to make a hollow in the centre of each heap; and upon this pile some
- very nice sweetmeat. Make an excellent whipped cream, well sweetened and
- flavored with lemon and wine, and beat it to a stiff froth. Pile some of
- this cream high upon each cake over the sweetmeats. If on a supper-table,
- you may arrange them in circles round a glass stand.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- FIG MARMALADE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take fine fresh figs that are perfectly ripe, such as can only be obtained
- in countries where they are cultivated in abundance. Weigh them, and to
- every two pounds of figs allow a pound and a half of sugar, and the grated
- yellow rind of a large orange or lemon. Cut up the figs, and put them into
- a preserving kettle with the sugar, and orange or lemon rind, adding the
- juice. Boil them till the whole is reduced to a thick smooth mass,
- frequently stirring it up from the bottom. When done, put it warm into
- jars, and cover it closely.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CARRAWAY GINGERBREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Cut up half a pound of fresh butter in a pint of <i>West India</i>
- molasses, and warm them together slightly till the butter is quite soft.
- Then stir them well, and add gradually a half pound of good brown sugar, a
- table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, and two<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_637" id="Page_637">[637]</a></span> heaped table-spoonfuls of
- ground ginger, or three, if the ginger is not very strong. Sift two pounds
- or two quarts of flour. Beat four eggs till very thick and light, and stir
- them gradually into the mixture, in turn with the flour, and five or six
- large table-spoonfuls of carraway seeds, a little at a time. Dissolve a
- very small tea-spoonful of pearlash or soda in as much lukewarm water as
- will cover it. Then stir it in at the last. Stir all very hard. Transfer
- it to a buttered tin pan with straight sides, and bake it in a loaf in a
- moderate oven. It will require a great deal of baking.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- SEA-VOYAGE GINGERBREAD.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Sift two pounds of flour into a pan, and cut up in it a pound and a
- quarter of fresh butter; rub the butter well into the flour, and then mix
- in a pint of <i>West India</i> molasses and a pound of the best brown
- sugar. Beat eight eggs till very light. Stir into the beaten egg two
- glasses or a jill of brandy. Add also to the egg a tea-cupful of ground
- ginger, and a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, with a tea-spoonful of
- soda melted in a little warm water. Wet the flour, &amp;c., with this
- mixture till it becomes a soft dough. Sprinkle a little flour on your
- pasteboard, and with a broad knife spread portions of the mixture thickly
- and smoothly upon it. The thickness must be equal all through; therefore
- spread it carefully and evenly, as the dough will be too soft to roll out.
- Then with the edge of a tumbler dipped in flour,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_638" id="Page_638">[638]</a></span> cut it out into round
- cakes. Have ready square pans, slightly buttered; lay the cakes in them
- sufficiently far apart to prevent their running into each other when
- baked. Set the pans into a brisk oven, and bake the cakes well, seeing
- that they do not burn.
- </p>
- <p>
- You may cut them out small with the lid of a cannister (or something
- similar) the usual size of gingerbread nuts.
- </p>
- <p>
- These cakes will keep during a long voyage, and are frequently carried to
- sea. Many persons find highly-spiced gingerbread a preventive to
- sea-sickness.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EXCELLENT GROUND RICE PUDDING.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take half a pint from a quart of rich milk, and boil in it a large handful
- of bitter almonds or peach kernels, blanched and broken up; also half a
- dozen blades of mace, keeping the sauce-pan closely covered. When the milk
- is highly flavored and reduced to one half the quantity, take it off and
- strain it. Stir, gradually, into the remaining pint and a half of milk,
- five heaping table-spoonfuls of ground rice; set it over the fire in a
- sauce-pan, and let it come to a boil. Then take it off, and while it is
- warm, mix in gradually a quarter of a pound of fresh butter and a quarter
- of a pound of white sugar. Afterwards, beat eight eggs as light as
- possible, and stir them gradually into the mixture. Add some grated
- nutmeg. Stir the whole very hard; put it into a deep dish, and set it
- immediately into the oven. Keep it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_639"
- id="Page_639">[639]</a></span> baking steadily for an hour. It should then
- be done. Eat it cool, having sifted sugar over it.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- CHOCOLATE MACAROONS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Blanch half a pound of shelled sweet almonds, by scalding them with
- boiling water, till the skins peel off easily. Then throw them into a bowl
- of cold water, and let them stand awhile. Take them out and wipe them
- separately. Afterwards set them in a warm place to dry thoroughly. Put
- them, one at a time, into a marble mortar, and pound them to a smooth
- paste, moistening them, as you proceed, with a few drops of rose-water to
- prevent their oiling. When you have pounded one or two, take them out of
- the mortar with a tea-spoon, and put them into a deep plate beside you,
- and continue removing the almonds to the plate till they are all done.
- Scrape down, as fine as possible, half a pound of the best chocolate, or
- of Baker's prepared cocoa, and mix it thoroughly with the pounded almonds.
- Then set the plate in a cool place. Put the whites of eight eggs into a
- shallow pan, and beat them to a stiff froth that will stand alone. Have
- ready a pound and a half of finely-powdered loaf sugar. Stir it hard into
- the beaten white-of-egg, a spoonful at a time. Then stir in, gradually,
- the mixture of almond and chocolate, and beat the whole very hard. Drop
- the mixture in equal portions upon thin white paper, laid on square tin
- pans; smoothing them with a spoon into round cakes about the size of a
- half dollar. Dredge the top of each<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_640"
- id="Page_640">[640]</a></span> lightly with powdered sugar. Set them into
- a quick oven, and bake them a light brown. When done, take them off the
- paper.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- BREAD FRITTERS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Pick, wash, and dry half a pound of Zante currants, and having spread them
- out on a flat dish, dredge them well with flour. Grate some bread into a
- pan, till you have a pint of crumbs. Pour over the grated bread a pint of
- boiling milk, into which you have stirred, (as soon as taken from the
- fire,) a piece of fresh butter the size of an egg. Cover the pan and let
- it stand an hour. Then beat it hard, and add nutmeg, and a quarter of a
- pound of powdered white sugar, stirred in gradually, and two
- table-spoonfuls of the best brandy. Beat six eggs till very light, and
- then stir them by degrees into the mixture. Lastly, add the currants a few
- at a time, and beat the whole very hard. It should be a thick batter. If
- you find it too thin, add a little flour. Have ready, over the fire, a hot
- frying-pan with boiling lard. Put in the batter in large spoonfuls, (so as
- not to touch,) and fry the fritters a light brown. Drain them on a
- perforated skimmer, or an inverted sieve placed in a deep pan, and send
- them to table hot. Eat them with wine, and powdered sugar.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- TO KEEP FRESH BUTTER FOR FRYING STEWING, &amp;c.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take several pounds of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_641"
- id="Page_641">[641]</a></span> <i>very best</i> fresh butter. Cut it up in
- a large tin sauce-pan, or in any clean cooking vessel lined with tin. Set
- it over the fire, and boil and skim it during half an hour. Then pour it
- off, carefully, through a funnel into a stone jar, and cover it closely
- with a bladder or leather tied down over the lid. The butter having thus
- been separated from the salt and sediment, (which will be found remaining
- at the bottom of the boiling vessel,) if kept closely covered and set in a
- cool place, will continue good for a month, and be found excellent for
- frying and stewing, and other culinary purposes. Prepare it thus in May or
- June, and you may use it in winter, if living in a place where fresh
- butter is scarce at that season.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- EXCELLENT MUTTON SOUP.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Having been accidentally omitted in its proper place, we here insert a
- receipt for very fine mutton soup. Try it. If for a large family, take two
- necks of mutton of the best quality, and let the butcher disjoint it. To
- each pound of meat allow a quart of water. Put it into a soup-pot, with a
- slice of ham, which will render the soup sufficiently salt. Boil it
- slowly, and skim it well, till the scum ceases to appear. If you have no
- ham, season the meat, when you first put it in, with a tea-spoonful of
- salt. In the mean time prepare the vegetables, but do not put them in till
- the meat has boiled to rags, and all the scum has risen to the surface and
- been carefully removed. It is then time to strain out<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_642" id="Page_642">[642]</a></span> the shreds of meat and
- bone, return the soup to the pot, and add the vegetables. First, have
- ready the deep yellow <i>outsides</i> of three or four carrots grated, and
- stir them into the soup to enrich it, and give it a fine color. Next, add
- turnips, potatos, parsnips, salsify, celery, (including its green leaves
- from the top) and onions that have been already peeled and boiled by
- themselves to render them less strong. All the vegetables should be cut
- nicely into small pieces of equal size, (as for Soup à la Julienne.) You
- may add some boiled beets, handsomely sliced. And (if approved) strew in
- at the last a handful of fresh leaves of the marygold flower, which adds a
- flavor to some persons very agreeable. Put all these vegetables gradually
- into the soup, (those first that require the longest boiling,) and when
- they are all <i>quite done</i> the soup is finished. If well made, with a
- liberal allowance of meat and vegetables, and well boiled, it will be much
- liked&mdash;particularly if served as Julienne soup, for company.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- NEW ENGLAND CREAM CHEESE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take a large pan of rich unskimmed milk that has set in the dairy all
- night, and is from pasture-fed cows in the summer. Have ready a small
- tea-cup of rennet-water, in which a piece of rennet, from four to six
- inches square, has been steeping several hours. Stir the rennet-water into
- the pan of milk, and set it in a warm place till it forms a firm curd. Tie
- up the curd in a clean linen bag, and<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_643" id="Page_643">[643]</a></span> hang it up in the dairy
- with a pan under it to receive the droppings, till it drips no longer.
- Then transfer the curd to a small cheese mould. Cover it all over with a
- clean linen cloth, folded over the sides, and well secured. Put a heavy
- weight on the top, so as to press it hard. The wooden vessel in which you
- mould cream cheeses, should be a bottomless, broad hoop, about the
- circumference of a dinner plate. Set it (before you fill it with the curd)
- on a very clean table or large flat dish. Turn it every day for four days,
- keeping it covered thickly all over with fresh green grass, frequently
- renewed. When done, keep it in a dry cool place, first rubbing the outside
- with fresh butter. When <i>once cut</i>, use the whole cheese on that day,
- as it may spoil before the next. Send it to the tea-table cut across in
- triangular or pie pieces.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- MOLASSES CANDY.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Take three quarts of the best <i>West India</i> molasses&mdash;no other
- will do. Put it into a thick block-tin kettle, (or a <i>bain-marie</i>)
- and stir in a pound and a half of the best and cleanest brown sugar. Boil
- slowly and skim it well, (stirring it always after skimming,) and taking
- care that it does not burn. Prepare the grated rind and the juice of three
- large lemons or oranges, and stir them in after the molasses and sugar
- have boiled long enough to become very thick. Continue to boil and stir
- till it will boil no longer, and the spoon will no longer move. Try some
- in a saucer, and let it get cold. If it is<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_644" id="Page_644">[644]</a></span> brittle, it is done. Then
- take it from the fire, and transfer it immediately to shallow square tin
- pans, that have been well greased with nice fresh butter or sweet oil.
- Spread it evenly, and set it to cool.
- </p>
- <p>
- While boiling, you may add three or four spoonfuls of shell-barks, cracked
- clean from their shells, and divided into halves. Or the same quantity of
- roasted pea-nuts or ground-nuts. With both nuts and lemon it will be very
- good.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_645" id="Page_645">[645]</a></span>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <h2>
- <a name="WORTH_KNOWING" id="WORTH_KNOWING"></a>WORTH KNOWING.
- </h2>
- <h3 class="subh">
- THE BEST CEMENT FOR JARS.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- Before preserving and pickling time, buy at a druggist's, two ounces of
- the clearest and whitest gum tragacanth. Obtain also two grains of
- corrosive sublimate, (indispensable to this cement), and having picked the
- gum tragacanth clean, and free from dust and dark or discolored particles,
- put it with the sublimate into a very clean yellow or white-ware mug that
- holds a small quart and has a close-fitting lid belonging to it. Then fill
- the vessel more than two-thirds with very clean water, either warm or
- cold; and put on the lid. Let it rest till next morning. Then stir it with
- an <i>unpainted</i> stick, that will reach quite down to the bottom.
- Repeat the stirring frequently through the day, always replacing the lid.
- In a few days the cement will have risen to the top of the mug, and have
- become a fine, clear, smooth paste, <i>far superior to any other</i>; and,
- by means of the corrosive sublimate, it will keep perfectly well to an
- indefinite period, if always closely covered, and having no sort of metal
- dipped into it. On no account attempt to keep this paste in tin, or even
- in silver. Both paste and metal will turn black and become spotted.
- Remember this.
- </p>
- <p>
- When going to put away your sweetmeats or pickles, this paste will come
- into use, and be found invaluable. It is best to keep all these things in
- small jars, as opening a large jar frequently, may<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_646" id="Page_646">[646]</a></span> injure its contents by
- letting in the air. In a large family, or where many pickles are eaten,
- those in most frequent use may be kept in stone-ware jars, with a wooden
- spoon always at hand for taking them out when wanted. On the surface of
- every jar of pickles, put one or two table-spoonfuls of salad oil, and
- then cover the top of the jar closely with a circular piece of bladder or
- thin leather. Next cut out a narrow band of the same, and cement it on
- with gum tragacanth paste, (made as above), and let it remain till you
- open the jar for use.
- </p>
- <p>
- For sweetmeats, have glass or white-ware jars. Lay on the surface of each
- a circular paper, cut to fit and dipped in brandy. Next, put on an outside
- cover of bladder or thick white paper secured with a band of the same,
- coated with tragacanth paste. When this cement is used, the jars will not
- be infested with ants or other insects, the corrosive sublimate keeping
- them out.
- </p>
- <p>
- This paste should be at hand in every library or office, when wanted for
- papers or books. It requires no boiling when made, and is always ready,
- and never spoils. For a small quantity, take an ounce of the best gum
- tragacanth and a grain of corrosive sublimate. Get a covered white or
- yellow-ware mug that holds a pint; such a mug will cost but twelve cents.
- Dissolve in less than a pint of water.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/squiggle.jpg" width="338" height="55"
- alt="decorative break" title="decorative break" />
- </div>
- <h3 class="subh">
- A BAIN-MARIE; OR, DOUBLE KETTLE.&mdash;
- </h3>
- <p class="hdin">
- These are most useful and satisfactory utensils,<span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_647" id="Page_647">[647]</a></span> as all who have tried them
- can certify. They are to be had of various sizes at the best household
- furniture stores, and are made to order by the chief tinsmiths. The French
- make great use of the Bain-Marie; which, in some measure, accounts for the
- general superiority of their cookery.
- </p>
- <p>
- This utensil, as made in America, is a double kettle of the strongest and
- best block-tin. The bottom of the outside kettle is of strong copper or
- iron, well tinned, and <i>kept so</i>. The food, however, is all contained
- in the inner kettle, which is of tin entirely. After the food is in,
- (having with it no water whatever), put on the lid tightly, and through
- the tube on the outside, pour into the outer kettle the water that is to
- cook it. If it boils away too fast, replenish it with more water poured in
- at the tube.
- </p>
- <p>
- If it boils too slowly, quicken it by adding some salt put in at the tube.
- Keep the kettle closely covered, except when removing the lid to take off
- the scum; and do this quick and seldom. The superfluous steam is all the
- time escaping through the top of the tube and through a very small hole in
- the lid. Nothing cooked in this manner (with all the water outside) can
- possibly burn or scorch. After every skimming, stir the stew down to the
- bottom before you replace the lid. To cook in a Bain-Marie, requires a
- strong, steady heat, well kept up; and you must begin earlier than in the
- common way of stewing. This is an excellent vessel for boiling custards,
- blancmanges, marmalades, and many other nice things; as a good<span
- class="pagenum"><a name="Page_648" id="Page_648">[648]</a></span>
- housewife will soon discover. Also, for making beef tea and other
- preparations for invalids. It is well to keep a small one purposely for a
- sick room.
- </p>
- <p>
- If from deficiency of sugar, or being kept too warm, or not closely
- covered, any of your sweetmeats turn sour, do not hastily throw them away,
- but carefully remove the surface, (even if coated with blue mould), add an
- additional portion of sugar so as to make them very sweet, and put them
- into a Bain-Marie. Fill the outer kettle with <i>hot</i> water, and boil
- it till you find the preserves restored to their proper taste. Then put
- them up again in jars that have been well scalded, rinsed, and sunned, and
- lay brandied paper on the surface of each.
- </p>
- <p>
- Mouldy pickles may be recovered in a similar manner, adding fresh spices
- and vinegar before you put them up again.
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter" style="width: 264px;">
- <img src="images/648.jpg" width="264" height="350"
- alt="Bain-Marie; or, Double Kettle. (Pronounced Bine Maree.)" title="" />
- <span class="caption">Bain-Marie; or, Double Kettle. (Pronounced <i>Bine
- Maree</i>.)</span>
- </div>
- <p>
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_649" id="Page_649">[649]</a></span>
- </p>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <h2>
- <a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.
- </h2>
- <div>
- <p class="indxh">
- A.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- A-la-mode beef, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.<br /> Almond and macaroon
- custards, <a href="#Page_486">486</a>.<br /> Almond macaroons, <a
- href="#Page_536">536</a>.<br /> Almond pudding, baked, <a href="#Page_474">474</a>.<br />
- Almond pudding, boiled, <a href="#Page_475">475</a>.<br /> Almond sponge
- cake, <a href="#Page_524">524</a>.<br /> Almond soup, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.<br />
- Apees, <a href="#Page_532">532</a>.<br /> Apple dumplings, <a
- href="#Page_457">457</a>.<br /> Apples, baked whole, <a href="#Page_461">461</a>.<br />
- Apples, bellflower or pippins, <a href="#Page_562">562</a>.<br /> Apple
- fritters or quince, <a href="#Page_450">450</a>.<br /> Apple jelly, <a
- href="#Page_492">492</a>.<br /> Apple pies, (fine) <a href="#Page_479">479</a>.<br />
- Apple pork pie, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.<br /> Apple sauce, <a
- href="#Page_338">338</a>.<br /> Apple sauce, baked, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.<br />
- Apple pudding, <a href="#Page_458">458</a>.<br /> Apple water, <a
- href="#Page_591">591</a>.<br /> Arrow-root biscuit, <a href="#Page_603">603</a>.<br />
- Artichokes, fried, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>.<br /> Asparagus, new way,
- <a href="#Page_371">371</a><br /> Asparagus omelet, <a href="#Page_366">366</a>.<br />
- Asparagus oysters, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.<br /> Asparagus soup, <a
- href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br /> Autumn soup, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br />
- Aunt Lydia's corn cake, <a href="#Page_425">425</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- B.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Bacon, to prepare, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.<br /> Bacon, to boil, <a
- href="#Page_247">247</a>.<br /> Bacon and beans, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>.<br />
- Bacon, broiled, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>.<br /> Bacon, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_250">250</a>.<br /> Baked fish, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br />
- Baked soup, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br /> Baked tongue, <a
- href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> Barley water, <a href="#Page_590">590</a>.<br />
- Bananas, fried, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.<br /> Batter pudding, <a
- href="#Page_447">447</a>.<br /> Bean soup, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.<br />
- Beans, (green,) <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.<br /> Beef-a-la-mode, <a
- href="#Page_151">151</a>.<br /> Beef bouilli, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.<br />
- Beef, corned, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.<br /> Beef, corned, fried, <a
- href="#Page_148">148</a>.<br /> Beef, (French,) <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.<br />
- Beef, corned, stewed, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.<br /> Beef, fresh,
- stewed, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> Beef, dried and smoked, <a
- href="#Page_148">148</a>.<br /> Beefs heart, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.<br />
- Beef with mushrooms, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.<br /> Beef with onions,
- <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.<br /> Beef with oysters, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br />
- Beef gumbo, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.<br /> Beef patties, <a
- href="#Page_161">161</a>.<br /> Beef, spiced, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br />
- Beef with potatoes, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_650" id="Page_650">[650]</a></span><br /> Beef, fresh,
- (stewed,) <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.<br /> Beef, roasted, <a
- href="#Page_138">138</a>.<br /> Beef, (smoked,) stewed, <a
- href="#Page_154">154</a>.<br /> Beefsteaks, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.<br />
- Beefsteaks, broiled, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.<br /> Beefsteaks,
- fried, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br /> Beefsteaks, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_144">144</a>.<br /> Beefsteak with oysters, <a
- href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> Beefsteak pie, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.<br />
- Beefsteak pot-pie, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> Beefsteak pudding,
- <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.<br /> Beefsteaks for invalids, <a
- href="#Page_584">584</a>.<br /> Beef tea, <a href="#Page_589">589</a>.<br />
- Beef with tomatos, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.<br /> Beets, <a
- href="#Page_387">387</a>.<br /> Beets, baked, <a href="#Page_388">388</a>.<br />
- Bell-peppers, pickled, <a href="#Page_574">574</a>.<br /> Bird dumplings,
- <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.<br /> Birds for larding, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.<br />
- Birds for invalids, <a href="#Page_584">584</a>.<br /> Birds in a grove,
- <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.<br /> Birds with mushrooms, <a
- href="#Page_303">303</a>.<br /> Biscuit sandwiches, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.<br />
- Bologna sausages, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.<br /> Borders of paste, <a
- href="#Page_472">472</a>.<br /> Boned turkey, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.<br />
- Blackfish, and sea-bass, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.<br /> Blancmange, <a
- href="#Page_497">497</a>.<br /> Blancmange, carrageen, <a href="#Page_587">587</a>.<br />
- Blancmange, finest, <a href="#Page_499">499</a>.<br /> Bran muffins, <a
- href="#Page_615">615</a>.<br /> Brandy green gages, <a href="#Page_557">557</a>.<br />
- Brandy peaches, <a href="#Page_557">557</a>.<br /> Bread, <a
- href="#Page_433">433</a>.<br /> Bran bread, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.<br />
- Bread biscuit, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.<br /> Bread cakes, <a
- href="#Page_437">437</a>.<br /> Bread, rye, <a href="#Page_436">436</a>.<br />
- Bread, home-made, <a href="#Page_433">433</a>.<br /> Bread pudding, <a
- href="#Page_454">454</a>.<br /> Bread-and-butter pudding, <a
- href="#Page_454">454</a>.<br /> Bread, (twist,) <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.<br />
- Buckwheat cakes, <a href="#Page_421">421</a>.<br /> Brine for pickling
- meat, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.<br /> Broccoli, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.<br />
- Broccoli and eggs, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.<br /> Brown Betty, <a
- href="#Page_455">455</a>.<br /> Browning for soups, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.<br />
- Browned flour, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.<br /> Buns, (Spanish,) <a
- href="#Page_525">525</a>.<br /> Butter, (clarified,) <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.<br />
- Butter, (melted,) <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.<br /> Buttered toast, <a
- href="#Page_599">599</a>.<br /> Butternuts to pickle, <a href="#Page_578">578</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- C.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Cabbage, boiled, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.<br /> Cabbage boiled an
- excellent way, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.<br /> Cabbage, forced, <a
- href="#Page_353">353</a>.<br /> Cabbage, fried, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.<br />
- Cabbage soup, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> Cabbage, red, <a
- href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> Cale cannon, <a href="#Page_352">352</a>.<br />
- Catchup, (mushroom,) <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.<br /> Catchup,
- (tomato,) <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.<br /> Catchup, (walnut,) <a
- href="#Page_325">325</a>.<br /> Calf's head, stewed, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.<br />
- Calf's feet jelly, <a href="#Page_491">491</a>.<br /> Camp catchup, <a
- href="#Page_328">328</a>.<br /> Canvass-back ducks, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.<br />
- Canvass-backs, broiled, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.<br /> Canvass-backs,
- (stewed,) <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.<br /> Canvass-backs, (roasted,) <a
- href="#Page_281">281</a>.<br /> Carolina punch, <a href="#Page_610">610</a>.<br />
- Carrots, <a href="#Page_385">385</a>.<br /> Carrot soup, <a
- href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br /> Carrots, stewed, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>.<br />
- Carrageen blancmange, <a href="#Page_587">587</a>.<br /> Cashaw pudding,
- <a href="#Page_478">478</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_651"
- id="Page_651">[651]</a></span><br /> Catfish, fried, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.<br />
- Cauliflower, boiled, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.<br /> Cauliflower,
- fried, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.<br /> Cauliflower macaroni, <a
- href="#Page_360">360</a>.<br /> Cauliflower omelet, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.<br />
- Cauliflowers, pickled, <a href="#Page_575">575</a>.<br /> Celery, fried,
- <a href="#Page_362">362</a>.<br /> Charlotte, (country,) <a
- href="#Page_462">462</a>.<br /> Charlotte, plain, <a href="#Page_463">463</a>.<br />
- Charlotte russe, <a href="#Page_507">507</a>.<br /> Champagne, (pink,) <a
- href="#Page_608">608</a>.<br /> Cheese pudding, <a href="#Page_481">481</a>.<br />
- Chestnut soup, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br /> Chestnut pork, <a
- href="#Page_220">220</a>.<br /> Cherry marmalade, <a href="#Page_550">550</a>.<br />
- Cherries, preserved, <a href="#Page_563">563</a>.<br /> Cherries,
- pickled, <a href="#Page_580">580</a>.<br /> Chicken salad, <a
- href="#Page_384">384</a>.<br /> Chicken curry, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.<br />
- Chickens, fricasseed, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.<br /> Chickens, stewed
- whole, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>.<br /> Chicken broth for the sick, <a
- href="#Page_581">581</a>.<br /> Chicken gumbo, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>.<br />
- Chicken-pie, <a href="#Page_541">541</a>.<br /> Chicken pot-pie, <a
- href="#Page_297">297</a>.<br /> Chicken soup, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
- Chicken, (tomato,) <a href="#Page_294">294</a>.<br /> Chicken and turkey
- patties, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>.<br /> Chicken rice pudding, <a
- href="#Page_295">295</a>.<br /> Chickens, fried, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.<br />
- Chickens, broiled, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.<br /> Chitterlings, <a
- href="#Page_201">201</a>.<br /> Chitterlings, baked, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.<br />
- Chitterlings, fried, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.<br /> Chocolate, <a
- href="#Page_597">597</a>.<br /> Chocolate caramel, <a href="#Page_611">611</a>.<br />
- Chocolate custards, <a href="#Page_484">484</a>.<br /> Chocolate
- macaroons, <a href="#Page_536">536</a>.<br /> Chowder, fine, <a
- href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br /> Chowder, (Yankee,) <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br />
- Cinnamon bread, <a href="#Page_440">440</a>.<br /> Cinnamon cake, <a
- href="#Page_528">528</a>.<br /> Citron melons, preserved, <a
- href="#Page_552">552</a>.<br /> Clam chowder, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.<br />
- Clam fritters, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.<br /> Clam pie, <a
- href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br /> Clams, scolloped, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>.<br />
- Clam soup, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br /> Clam soup for invalids, <a
- href="#Page_582">582</a>.<br /> Cocoa-nut cake, <a href="#Page_528">528</a>.<br />
- Cocoa-nut jumbles, <a href="#Page_534">534</a>.<br /> Cocoa-nut,
- (orange,) <a href="#Page_504">504</a>.<br /> Cocoa-nut pudding, baked, <a
- href="#Page_476">476</a>.<br /> Cocoa-nut pudding, boiled, <a
- href="#Page_477">477</a>.<br /> Cocoa-nut puffs, <a href="#Page_534">534</a>.<br />
- Cocoa-nut soup, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<br /> Codfish, (stewed,) <a
- href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br /> Codfish, (boiled,) <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.<br />
- Codfish, (fried,) <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.<br /> Codfish, salt, <a
- href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> Coffee, <a href="#Page_596">596</a>.<br />
- Coloring for sauces, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>.<br /> Corn cake, (Aunt
- Lydia's,) <a href="#Page_426">426</a>.<br /> Corn soup, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.<br />
- Cottage cheese, <a href="#Page_616">616</a>.<br /> Country captain, <a
- href="#Page_299">299</a>.<br /> Country grapes, <a href="#Page_567">567</a>.<br />
- Country plums, <a href="#Page_566">566</a>.<br /> Country potatos, <a
- href="#Page_348">348</a>.<br /> Crab-apples, preserved, <a
- href="#Page_562">562</a>.<br /> Crabs, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br />
- Crabs, (soft,) <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.<br /> Crab fritters, soft, <a
- href="#Page_113">113</a>.<br /> Cranberry sauce, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.<br />
- Cream cakes, <a href="#Page_503">503</a>.<br /> Creamed pine-apple, <a
- href="#Page_506">506</a>.<br /> Cream and peaches, <a href="#Page_506">506</a>.<br />
- Creamed strawberries, <a href="#Page_505">505</a>.<br /> Cream tarts, <a
- href="#Page_504">504</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_652"
- id="Page_652">[652]</a></span><br /> Cross buns, <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.<br />
- Crullers, (common,) <a href="#Page_444">444</a>.<br /> Crullers, (soft,)
- <a href="#Page_442">442</a>.<br /> Croquettes, (rice,) <a href="#Page_296">296</a>.<br />
- Cucumbers, (to prepare,) <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.<br /> Cucumbers,
- stewed, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.<br /> Cucumbers, pickled, <a
- href="#Page_576">576</a>.<br /> Cucumber catchup, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>.<br />
- Curry balls, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.<br /> Curried eggs, <a
- href="#Page_300">300</a>.<br /> Curried chicken, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.<br />
- Curry powder, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>.<br /> Curry powder, (Madras,)
- <a href="#Page_333">333</a>.<br /> Custards, baked, <a href="#Page_460">460</a>.<br />
- Custard, boiled, <a href="#Page_461">461</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- D.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Damson pickles, <a href="#Page_580">580</a>.<br /> Damson sauce, <a
- href="#Page_342">342</a>.<br /> Dressing for slaw, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.<br />
- Dried apple sauce, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.<br /> Dried peach sauce,
- <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.<br /> Dried and smoked beef, <a
- href="#Page_148">148</a>.<br /> Doughnuts, <a href="#Page_443">443</a>.<br />
- Dumplings, (apple,) <a href="#Page_457">457</a>.<br /> Dumplings,
- (peach,) <a href="#Page_458">458</a>.<br /> Dumplings, (bird,) <a
- href="#Page_305">305</a>.<br /> Dumpling, (sausage,) <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.<br />
- Ducks, boiled, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>.<br /> Ducks, fricasseed, <a
- href="#Page_280">280</a>.<br /> Ducks with peas, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>.<br />
- Ducks, roasted, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>.<br /> Duck soup, <a
- href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br /> Ducks, (terrapin,) <a href="#Page_283">283</a>.<br />
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) broiled, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.<br /> Ducks,
- (canvas-back,) plain, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.<br /> Ducks,
- (canvas-back,) roasted, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.<br /> Ducks,
- (canvas-back,) stewed, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- E.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- East indian pickle, <a href="#Page_569">569</a>.<br /> East India sauce
- for fish, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.<br /> Egg balls, <a
- href="#Page_373">373</a>.<br /> Egg-plants, baked, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>.<br />
- Eggs, to beat, <a href="#Page_615">615</a>.<br /> Eggs, to boil, <a
- href="#Page_612">612</a>.<br /> Egg-nogg, <a href="#Page_614">614</a>.<br />
- Egg sauce, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>.<br /> Eggs, poached, <a
- href="#Page_613">613</a>.<br /> Eggs, scrambled, <a href="#Page_614">614</a>.<br />
- Egg wine, <a href="#Page_591">591</a>.<br /> Ellen Clarke's pudding, <a
- href="#Page_603">603</a>.<br /> Epicurean sauce, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- F.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Farina, <a href="#Page_500">500</a>.<br /> Farina blancmange, <a
- href="#Page_588">588</a>.<br /> Farina flummery, <a href="#Page_589">589</a>.<br />
- Farina gruel, <a href="#Page_589">589</a>.<br /> Fast-day soup, <a
- href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br /> Farmer's rice, <a href="#Page_451">451</a>.<br />
- Fennel sauce, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.<br /> Fig pudding, <a
- href="#Page_617">617</a>.<br /> Filet gumbo, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>.<br />
- Fish, to clean, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.<br /> Fish, to bake, <a
- href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> Fish cakes, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
- Fish, to boil, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.<br /> Fish, to fry, <a
- href="#Page_79">79</a>.<br /> Fish, spiced, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.<br />
- Fish soup, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br /> Fish, to stew, <a
- href="#Page_81">81</a>.<br /> Floating island, <a href="#Page_515">515</a>.<br />
- Florendines, <a href="#Page_482">482</a>.<br /> Fillet of pork, <a
- href="#Page_225">225</a>.<br /> Fillet of veal, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_653" id="Page_653">[653]</a></span><br />
- Fowls, boiled, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>.<br /> Fowls, pulled, <a
- href="#Page_286">286</a>.<br /> Fowls, roasted, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>.<br />
- Fowl and oysters, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.<br /> French chicken pie,
- <a href="#Page_291">291</a>.<br /> French ham pie, <a href="#Page_616">616</a>.<br />
- French pot-au-feu, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br /> French sour crout, <a
- href="#Page_354">354</a>.<br /> French stew, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.<br />
- French white soup, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br /> Friday soup, <a
- href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br /> Fried oysters, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.<br />
- Fritters, <a href="#Page_448">448</a>.<br /> Fritters, (orange,) <a
- href="#Page_449">449</a>.<br /> Fritters, (peach,) <a href="#Page_449">449</a>.<br />
- Fruit charlotte, <a href="#Page_483">483</a>.<br /> Fruit pies, (common,)
- <a href="#Page_466">466</a>.<br /> Fruit pot-pies, <a href="#Page_460">460</a>.<br />
- Fruit in syrups, <a href="#Page_552">552</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- G.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Game soup, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br /> Giblet pie, <a
- href="#Page_277">277</a>.<br /> Gingerbread, (Lafayette,) <a
- href="#Page_538">538</a>.<br /> Gingernuts, <a href="#Page_539">539</a>.<br />
- Golden cake, <a href="#Page_530">530</a>.<br /> Gooseberry fool, <a
- href="#Page_463">463</a>.<br /> Gooseberries preserved, <a
- href="#Page_565">565</a>.<br /> Gooseberry sauce, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.<br />
- Goose pie, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>.<br /> Goose, to roast, <a
- href="#Page_274">274</a>.<br /> Gravy sippets, <a href="#Page_584">584</a>.<br />
- Gravy, to make, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.<br /> Green beans, to boil,
- <a href="#Page_379">379</a>.<br /> Green gages, to preserve, <a
- href="#Page_557">557</a>.<br /> Green lemons or limes, <a href="#Page_555">555</a>.<br />
- Green Mayonnaise, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.<br /> Green peas, to boil,
- <a href="#Page_378">378</a>.<br /> Green pea soup, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br />
- Gruel, <a href="#Page_586">586</a>.<br /> Gumbo, (beef,) <a
- href="#Page_375">375</a>.<br /> Gumbo, (filet,) <a href="#Page_293">293</a>.<br />
- Gumbo, (chicken,) <a href="#Page_292">292</a>.<br /> Gum arabic water, <a
- href="#Page_590">590</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- H.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Halibut, fried, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.<br /> Halibut, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_104">104</a>.<br /> Hams, to cure, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.<br />
- Ham, baked, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.<br /> Ham, boiled, <a
- href="#Page_238">238</a>.<br /> Ham, brine for pickling, <a
- href="#Page_235">235</a>.<br /> Ham, broiled, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.<br />
- Ham, disguised, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.<br /> Ham, fried, <a
- href="#Page_242">242</a>.<br /> Ham, fried, (nice,) <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.<br />
- Ham cake, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.<br /> Ham, (madeira,) <a
- href="#Page_240">240</a>.<br /> Ham toast, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br />
- Ham omelet, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.<br /> Ham, potted, <a
- href="#Page_246">246</a>.<br /> Ham pie, (French,) <a href="#Page_616">616</a>.<br />
- Ham, sliced, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>.<br /> Hashed cold meat, <a
- href="#Page_193">193</a>.<br /> Hare, coated, <a href="#Page_264">264</a><br />
- Herb teas, <a href="#Page_585">585</a>.<br /> Herb candies, <a
- href="#Page_585">585</a>.<br /> Hog's head cheese, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.<br />
- Hominy, <a href="#Page_392">392</a>.<br /> Horse-radish, <a
- href="#Page_317">317</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- I.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Ice cream, <a href="#Page_510">510</a>.<br /> Icing, (warm,) <a
- href="#Page_519">519</a>.<br /> Icing, <a href="#Page_518">518</a>.<br />
- Ice cream cakes, <a href="#Page_632">632</a>.<br /> Ice water, (or
- sherbet,) <a href="#Page_513">513</a>.<br /> Iced plum pudding, <a
- href="#Page_621">621</a>.<br /> Indian corn, to boil, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.<br />
- Indian mush, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_654" id="Page_654">[654]</a></span><br /> India pickle, <a
- href="#Page_569">569</a>.<br /> Indian pudding, (fine,) <a
- href="#Page_428">428</a>.<br /> Italian pork, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.<br />
- Irish stew, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- J.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Jams or marmalade, <a href="#Page_546">546</a>.<br /> Jam, strawberry, <a
- href="#Page_549">549</a>.<br /> Jam, raspberry, <a href="#Page_548">548</a>.<br />
- Jellies, <a href="#Page_545">545</a>.<br /> Jelly, apple, <a
- href="#Page_492">492</a>.<br /> Jelly, calf's feet, <a href="#Page_491">491</a>.<br />
- Jelly cake, <a href="#Page_535">535</a>.<br /> Jelly, currant, <a
- href="#Page_494">494</a>.<br /> Jelly, (or marmalade,) pudding, <a
- href="#Page_480">480</a>.<br /> Jelly, orange, <a href="#Page_493">493</a>.<br />
- Jelly, Siberian, <a href="#Page_493">493</a>.<br /> Jelly, (Wine,) <a
- href="#Page_496">496</a>.<br /> Jelly water, <a href="#Page_587">587</a>.<br />
- Jumbles, <a href="#Page_534">534</a>.<br /> Jumbles, (cocoa-nut,) <a
- href="#Page_534">534</a>.<br /> Junket, <a href="#Page_450">450</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- K.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Kebobbed mutton, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.<br /> Kebobbed veal, <a
- href="#Page_197">197</a>.<br /> Kisses, <a href="#Page_537">537</a>.<br />
- Knuckle of veal and bacon, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- L.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Lady cake, <a href="#Page_526">526</a>.<br /> Lady fingers, <a
- href="#Page_524">524</a>.<br /> Lafayette gingerbread, <a href="#Page_538">538</a>.<br />
- Lamb, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.<br /> Lamb, larded, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.<br />
- Larded tongue, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.<br /> Lamb chops, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_185">185</a>.<br /> Lamb cutlets, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>.<br />
- Lamb pie, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.<br /> Lamb, roast, <a
- href="#Page_182">182</a>.<br /> Lamb steaks, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.<br />
- Lard, to prepare, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.<br /> Larded liver, <a
- href="#Page_199">199</a>.<br /> Lemon cakes, <a href="#Page_522">522</a>.<br />
- Lemon catchup, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>.<br /> Lemon custards, <a
- href="#Page_485">485</a>.<br /> Lemon pudding, <a href="#Page_473">473</a>.<br />
- Lemon bread pudding, <a href="#Page_468">468</a>.<br /> Lemons or limes,
- to preserve green, <a href="#Page_555">555</a>.<br /> Lemon syrups, <a
- href="#Page_513">513</a>.<br /> Lemon taffy, <a href="#Page_506">506</a>.<br />
- Lemons or oranges, preserved, <a href="#Page_554">554</a>.<br /> Lettuce
- peas, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>.<br /> Lettuce peas, plain, <a
- href="#Page_368">368</a>.<br /> Lima beans, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>.<br />
- Liver, fried, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>.<br /> Liver pie, <a
- href="#Page_201">201</a>.<br /> Liver pudding, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.<br />
- Liver rissoles, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.<br /> Liver, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_200">200</a>.<br /> Lobsters, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.<br />
- Lobster pudding, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>.<br /> Lobster salad,
- (plain,) <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.<br /> Lobster sauce, <a
- href="#Page_137">137</a>.<br /> Lobster rissoles, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.<br />
- Lobster salad, (fine,) <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.<br /> Lobster soup,
- <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- M.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Macaroni, <a href="#Page_600">600</a>.<br /> Macaroni, (sweet,) <a
- href="#Page_601">601</a>.<br /> Macaroons, (almond,) <a href="#Page_536">536</a>.<br />
- Macaroons, (ground-nut,) <a href="#Page_628">628</a>.<br /> Macaroons,
- (chocolate,) <a href="#Page_536">536</a>.<br /> Mackerel, broiled, <a
- href="#Page_96">96</a>.<br /> Mackerel, fried, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.<br />
- Madras curry powder, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_655" id="Page_655">[655]</a></span><br /> Mangoes, (peach,) <a
- href="#Page_571">571</a>.<br /> Mangoes, (melon,) <a href="#Page_572">572</a>.<br />
- Marmalade meringues, <a href="#Page_533">533</a>.<br /> Marmalade,
- (grape,) <a href="#Page_550">550</a>.<br /> Marmalade, (cherry,) <a
- href="#Page_550">550</a>.<br /> Marmalade, (orange,) <a href="#Page_550">550</a>.<br />
- Marmalade, (peach,) <a href="#Page_546">546</a>.<br /> Marmalade, (plum,)
- <a href="#Page_548">548</a>.<br /> Marmalade, (pumpkin,) <a
- href="#Page_547">547</a>.<br /> Marmalade, (quince,) <a href="#Page_546">546</a>.<br />
- Marmalade, (pine-apple,) <a href="#Page_549">549</a>.<br /> Marmalade,
- (tomato,) <a href="#Page_547">547</a>.<br /> Maryland biscuit, <a
- href="#Page_432">432</a>.<br /> Marrow pudding, <a href="#Page_501">501</a>.<br />
- Mayonnaise, (green,) <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.<br /> Melongina or
- Egg-plant, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.<br /> Meringue pudding, <a
- href="#Page_479">479</a>.<br /> Meringues, (whipped cream,) <a
- href="#Page_633">633</a>.<br /> Meat pies, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.<br />
- Milk biscuit, <a href="#Page_437">437</a>.<br /> Milk pottage, <a
- href="#Page_451">451</a>.<br /> Milk toast, <a href="#Page_598">598</a>.<br />
- Mince pies, <a href="#Page_488">488</a>.<br /> Mint julep, <a
- href="#Page_610">610</a>.<br /> Mint sauce, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.<br />
- Mock turtle soup, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br /> Molasses pie, <a
- href="#Page_446">446</a>.<br /> Molasses pot-pie, <a href="#Page_447">447</a>.<br />
- Molasses pudding, <a href="#Page_444">444</a>.<br /> Molasses supper, <a
- href="#Page_594">594</a>.<br /> Muffins, (soft,) <a href="#Page_429">429</a>.<br />
- Mush, <a href="#Page_412">412</a>.<br /> Mushrooms with beef, <a
- href="#Page_160">160</a>.<br /> Mushrooms, baked, <a href="#Page_391">391</a>.<br />
- Mushroom catchup, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.<br /> Mushroom omelet, <a
- href="#Page_364">364</a>.<br /> Mushroom sauce, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.<br />
- Mushrooms, pickled, <a href="#Page_572">572</a>.<br /> Mushrooms, stewed,
- <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.<br /> Mustard, (French,) <a href="#Page_329">329</a>.<br />
- Mutton, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> Mutton broth for invalids, <a
- href="#Page_583">583</a>.<br /> Mutton, (boiled leg of,) <a
- href="#Page_175">175</a>.<br /> Mutton, (boiled loin of,) <a
- href="#Page_174">174</a>.<br /> Mutton chops, (broiled,) <a
- href="#Page_177">177</a>.<br /> Mutton steaks, (fried,) <a
- href="#Page_178">178</a>.<br /> Mutton chops with potatos, <a
- href="#Page_179">179</a>.<br /> Mutton chops with tomatos, <a
- href="#Page_178">178</a>.<br /> Mutton, (boiled,) (sauce for,) <a
- href="#Page_175">175</a>.<br /> Mutton steaks, (stewed,) <a
- href="#Page_176">176</a>.<br /> Mutton, kebobbed, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- N.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Nasturtions, pickled, <a href="#Page_581">581</a>.<br /> Nectar, <a
- href="#Page_611">611</a>.<br /> Noodle soup, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.<br />
- New Year's cake, <a href="#Page_605">605</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- O.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Ochras, to boil, <a href="#Page_375">375</a>.<br /> Ochras, dried, <a
- href="#Page_374">374</a>.<br /> Omelet, (common,) <a href="#Page_601">601</a>.<br />
- Omelet soufflé, <a href="#Page_501">501</a>.<br /> Omelet of sweetbreads,
- <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.<br /> Onion custard, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.<br />
- Onions, <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.<br /> Onion eggs, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>.<br />
- Onions, pickled, <a href="#Page_577">577</a>.<br /> Onion sauce, (fine,)
- <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.<br /> Onion sauce, (plain,) <a
- href="#Page_321">321</a>.<br /> Onions, (to roast,) <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.<br />
- Onions, (to stew,) <a href="#Page_376">376</a>.<br /> Onion soup, <a
- href="#Page_47">47</a>.<br /> Ontario cake, <a href="#Page_604">604</a>.<br />
- Orange cake, <a href="#Page_522">522</a>.<br /> Orange or lemon custards,
- <a href="#Page_484">484</a>.<br /> Orange cocoa-nut, <a href="#Page_504">504</a>.<br />
- Orange fritters, <a href="#Page_449">449</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_656" id="Page_656">[656]</a></span><br /> Orange jelly, <a
- href="#Page_493">493</a>.<br /> Orange marmalade, <a href="#Page_550">550</a>.<br />
- Orange milk, <a href="#Page_551">551</a>.<br /> Orange pudding, baked, <a
- href="#Page_476">476</a>.<br /> Orange pudding, boiled, <a
- href="#Page_476">476</a>.<br /> Oranges (or lemons,) preserved, <a
- href="#Page_554">554</a>.<br /> Orange or lemon syrup, <a href="#Page_513">513</a>.<br />
- Oysters, broiled, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>.<br /> Oysters, to choose,
- <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br /> Oysters, to feed, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.<br />
- Oysters, fried, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.<br /> Oyster fritters, <a
- href="#Page_111">111</a>.<br /> Oysters, (French,) <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.<br />
- Oyster loaves, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br /> Oyster omelet, <a
- href="#Page_118">118</a>.<br /> Oyster patties, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.<br />
- Oysters, pickled, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.<br /> Oysters, pickled for
- keeping, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.<br /> Oyster pie, <a
- href="#Page_120">120</a>.<br /> Oysters, roasted, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.<br />
- Oysters, scolloped, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>.<br /> Oysters, raw, for
- the sick, <a href="#Page_584">584</a>.<br /> Oyster soup, <a
- href="#Page_73">73</a>.<br /> Oyster soup, for invalids, <a
- href="#Page_582">582</a>.<br /> Oysters, stewed, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- P.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Panada, (chicken,) <a href="#Page_589">589</a>.<br /> Panada, (sweet,) <a
- href="#Page_590">590</a>.<br /> Pancakes, <a href="#Page_450">450</a>.<br />
- Parsley, crimped, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.<br /> Parsley sauce, <a
- href="#Page_318">318</a>.<br /> Parsnips, baked, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.<br />
- Parsnips, boiled, <a href="#Page_386">386</a>.<br /> Parsnips, fried, <a
- href="#Page_386">386</a>.<br /> Parsnip fritters, <a href="#Page_387">387</a>.<br />
- Parsnip soup, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.<br /> Partridges, (pear
- fashion,) <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.<br /> Partridges, roasted, <a
- href="#Page_302">302</a>.<br /> Partridge, plain, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>.<br />
- Paste, (excellent plain,) <a href="#Page_467">467</a>.<br /> Paste,
- (potato,) <a href="#Page_464">464</a>.<br /> Paste puff, (the best,) <a
- href="#Page_469">469</a>.<br /> Paste borders, <a href="#Page_472">472</a>.<br />
- Peas, to boil, <a href="#Page_377">377</a>.<br /> Peas, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_377">377</a>.<br /> Pea soup, (green,) <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br />
- Pea soup, (split,) <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.<br /> Peas with lettuce, <a
- href="#Page_367">367</a>.<br /> Peas, plain lettuce, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>.<br />
- Peaches and cream, <a href="#Page_506">506</a>.<br /> Peach dumplings, <a
- href="#Page_458">458</a>.<br /> Peach mangoes, <a href="#Page_571">571</a>.<br />
- Peach marmalade, <a href="#Page_546">546</a>.<br /> Peaches, (brandied,)
- <a href="#Page_557">557</a>.<br /> Peaches, pickled, <a href="#Page_570">570</a>.<br />
- Peaches, preserved, <a href="#Page_556">556</a>.<br /> Pears, baked, <a
- href="#Page_462">462</a>.<br /> Pepper-pot, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.<br />
- Peppers, (bell,) pickled, <a href="#Page_574">574</a>.<br /> Persimmon
- jam, <a href="#Page_567">567</a>.<br /> Pheasants, roasted, <a
- href="#Page_302">302</a>.<br /> Pickles, <a href="#Page_568">568</a>.<br />
- Pickled beets with cabbage, <a href="#Page_575">575</a>.<br /> Pickled
- bell-peppers, <a href="#Page_574">574</a>.<br /> Pickled button tomatos,
- <a href="#Page_581">581</a>.<br /> Pickled butternuts, <a href="#Page_578">578</a>.<br />
- Pickled cauliflowers, <a href="#Page_575">575</a>.<br /> Pickled
- cherries, <a href="#Page_580">580</a>.<br /> Pickled cucumbers, <a
- href="#Page_576">576</a>.<br /> Pickled cucumbers with onions, <a
- href="#Page_578">578</a>.<br /> Pickled damsons, <a href="#Page_580">580</a>.<br />
- Pickles, East India, <a href="#Page_569">569</a>.<br /> Pickled melon
- mangoes, <a href="#Page_572">572</a>.<br /> Pickled mushrooms, <a
- href="#Page_572">572</a>.<br /> Pickled nasturtions, <a href="#Page_581">581</a>.
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_657" id="Page_657">[657]</a></span><br />
- Pickled onions, <a href="#Page_577">577</a>.<br /> Pickled peaches, <a
- href="#Page_570">570</a>.<br /> Pickled peach mangoes, <a href="#Page_571">571</a>.<br />
- Pickled plums, <a href="#Page_579">579</a>.<br /> Pickled shrimps, <a
- href="#Page_314">314</a>.<br /> Pickled walnuts, <a href="#Page_578">578</a>.<br />
- Pie, (crust,) very plain, <a href="#Page_464">464</a>.<br /> Pigeon pie,
- <a href="#Page_540">540</a>.<br /> Pigeons, roasted, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>.<br />
- Pig, to dress, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.<br /> Pig's feet, fried, <a
- href="#Page_227">227</a>.<br /> Pine-apple marmalade, <a href="#Page_549">549</a>.<br />
- Pine-apples, preserved, <a href="#Page_553">553</a>.<br /> Pine-apple
- tart, <a href="#Page_478">478</a>.<br /> Pink champagne, <a
- href="#Page_608">608</a>.<br /> Pink sauce, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>.<br />
- Planked shad, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br /> Plovers, roasted, <a
- href="#Page_307">307</a>.<br /> Plum cake, <a href="#Page_516">516</a>.<br />
- Plums, preserved, <a href="#Page_557">557</a>.<br /> Plums, pickled, <a
- href="#Page_579">579</a>.<br /> Plum pudding, (plain,) <a href="#Page_468">468</a>.<br />
- Plum pudding, (fine,) <a href="#Page_486">486</a>.<br /> Poke plant, <a
- href="#Page_618">618</a>.<br /> Pot-au-feu, (French,) <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br />
- Pot-pies, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.<br /> Pot-pie, (terrapin,) <a
- href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br /> Pumpkin, stewed, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.<br />
- Pork, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.<br /> Pork and apples, <a
- href="#Page_222">222</a>.<br /> Pork and beans, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.<br />
- Pork with corn and beans, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.<br /> Pork with
- pea pudding, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.<br /> Pork, (Italian,) <a
- href="#Page_226">226</a>.<br /> Pork, fillet, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.<br />
- Pork olives, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.<br /> Pork pie, (apple,) <a
- href="#Page_224">224</a>.<br /> Pork, (apple pot-pie,) <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.<br />
- Pork, to roast, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.<br /> Pork spare-ribs,
- roasted, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.<br /> Pork steaks, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_222">222</a>.<br /> Pork steaks, fried, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.<br />
- Pork, (sweet potato,) <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.<br /> Portable soup,
- <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.<br /> Potatos, boiled, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.<br />
- Potatos, roasted, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>.<br /> Potatos, baked, <a
- href="#Page_347">347</a>.<br /> Potato cakes, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.<br />
- Potatos, (country,) <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.<br /> Potatos, fried, <a
- href="#Page_348">348</a>.<br /> Potatos, (new,) <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.<br />
- Potatos, mashed, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.<br /> Potato paste, <a
- href="#Page_464">464</a>.<br /> Potato pudding, (plain,) <a
- href="#Page_602">602</a>.<br /> Potatos, stewed, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>.<br />
- Potato beef, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.<br /> Potato mutton chops, <a
- href="#Page_179">179</a>.<br /> Potato soup, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br />
- Pot-pie, (beefsteak,) <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.<br /> Pot-pie,
- (chicken,) <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.<br /> Poultry and game, <a
- href="#Page_265">265</a>.<br /> Pound cake, <a href="#Page_520">520</a>.<br />
- Pudding, (almond,) baked, <a href="#Page_474">474</a>.<br /> Pudding,
- (almond,) boiled, <a href="#Page_475">475</a>.<br /> Pudding, (apple,) <a
- href="#Page_458">458</a>.<br /> Pudding, (batter,) <a href="#Page_447">447</a>.<br />
- Pudding, (bread,) <a href="#Page_454">454</a>.<br /> Pudding, bread and
- butter, <a href="#Page_454">454</a>.<br /> Pudding, Brown Betty, <a
- href="#Page_455">455</a>.<br /> Pudding, (cashaw,) <a href="#Page_478">478</a>.<br />
- Pudding, (cheese,) <a href="#Page_481">481</a>.<br /> Pudding,
- (cocoa-nut,) <a href="#Page_476">476</a>.<br /> Pudding, (cocoa-nut,)
- boiled, <a href="#Page_477">477</a>.<br /> Pudding, (cottage,) <a
- href="#Page_632">632</a>.<br /> Pudding, iced plum, <a href="#Page_621">621</a>.<br />
- Pudding, (Columbian,) <a href="#Page_629">629</a>.<br /> Pudding, (Ellen
- Clarke's,) <a href="#Page_603">603</a>.<br /> Pudding, lemon bread, <a
- href="#Page_468">468</a>.<br /> Pudding, marrow, <a href="#Page_501">501</a>.
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_658" id="Page_658">[658]</a></span><br />
- Pudding, plum, <a href="#Page_486">486</a>.<br /> Pudding, plum, (plain,)
- <a href="#Page_468">468</a>.<br /> Pudding, molasses, <a href="#Page_444">444</a>.<br />
- Pudding, rice, (baked,) <a href="#Page_452">452</a>.<br /> Pudding, rice,
- (boiled,) <a href="#Page_453">453</a>.<br /> Pudding, orange, <a
- href="#Page_476">476</a>.<br /> Pudding, lemon or orange, (boiled,) <a
- href="#Page_476">476</a>.<br /> Pudding, sweet potato, <a href="#Page_477">477</a>.<br />
- Pudding, white potato, <a href="#Page_478">478</a>.<br /> Pudding,
- meringue, <a href="#Page_479">479</a>.<br /> Pudding, marmalade or jelly,
- <a href="#Page_480">480</a>.<br /> Pudding, pumpkin, (fine,) <a
- href="#Page_478">478</a>.<br /> Pudding, pumpkin, (Yankee,) <a
- href="#Page_390">390</a>.<br /> Pudding, rolled, <a href="#Page_459">459</a>.<br />
- Pumpkin, stewed, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- Q.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Quails, roasted, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>.<br /> Queen cake, <a
- href="#Page_522">522</a>.<br /> Quince marmalade, <a href="#Page_546">546</a>.<br />
- Quince pies, <a href="#Page_478">478</a>.<br /> Quinces, preserved, <a
- href="#Page_560">560</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- R.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Rabbits, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>.<br /> Rabbits, coated, <a
- href="#Page_264">264</a>.<br /> Rabbits, fricasseed, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.<br />
- Rabbits with onions, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>.<br /> Rabbit pot-pie,
- <a href="#Page_262">262</a>.<br /> Rabbits, pulled, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>.<br />
- Rabbits, roasted, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.<br /> Raspberry jam, <a
- href="#Page_548">548</a>.<br /> Raspberries, preserved, <a
- href="#Page_566">566</a>.<br /> Raspberry vinegar, <a href="#Page_599">599</a>.<br />
- Rhubarb tarts, <a href="#Page_618">618</a>.<br /> Rice cups, <a
- href="#Page_453">453</a>.<br /> Rice pie, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.<br />
- Rice pudding, baked, <a href="#Page_452">452</a>.<br /> Rice pudding,
- boiled, <a href="#Page_453">453</a>.<br /> Rennets, <a href="#Page_622">622</a>.<br />
- Ripe peach sauce, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.<br /> Rissole patties, <a
- href="#Page_198">198</a>.<br /> Rockfish, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.<br />
- Reed birds, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>.<br /> Rolls, <a href="#Page_435">435</a>.<br />
- Rolled pudding, <a href="#Page_459">459</a>.<br /> Roman punch, <a
- href="#Page_514">514</a>.<br /> Rusk, <a href="#Page_438">438</a>.<br />
- Rusks, (dry,) <a href="#Page_439">439</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- S.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Sage and onion sauce, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.<br /> Sago, <a
- href="#Page_592">592</a>.<br /> Sago pudding, <a href="#Page_593">593</a>.<br />
- Salad, (chicken,) <a href="#Page_384">384</a>.<br /> Sally Lunn, <a
- href="#Page_430">430</a>.<br /> Salsify fritters, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>.<br />
- Salsify oysters, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.<br /> Salmi of partridges,
- <a href="#Page_302">302</a>.<br /> Salmon, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.<br />
- Salmon, baked, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br /> Salmon, boiled, <a
- href="#Page_91">91</a>.<br /> Salmon, broiled, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br />
- Salmon cutlets, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.<br /> Salmon, pickled, <a
- href="#Page_95">95</a>.<br /> Salmon, roasted, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.<br />
- Salmon trout, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.<br /> Sandwiches, <a
- href="#Page_173">173</a>.<br /> Sausages, (Bologna,) <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.<br />
- Sausage meat, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.<br /> Sausage dumplings, <a
- href="#Page_231">231</a>.<br /> Sauce, apple, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>.<br />
- Sauce, apple, baked, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.<br /> Sauce, apple,
- dried, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.<br /> Sauce, dried peach, <a
- href="#Page_341">341</a>.<br /> Sauce, (broccoli,) <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.<br />
- Sauce, (cauliflower,) <a href="#Page_318">318</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_659" id="Page_659">[659]</a></span><br /> Sauce, chestnut, <a
- href="#Page_343">343</a>.<br /> Sauce, (celery,) <a href="#Page_316">316</a>.<br />
- Sauce, (clam,) <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.<br /> Sauce, (cranberry,) <a
- href="#Page_337">337</a>.<br /> Sauce, (damson,) <a href="#Page_342">342</a>.<br />
- Sauce, (egg,) <a href="#Page_316">316</a>.<br /> Sauce, (fennel,) <a
- href="#Page_319">319</a>.<br /> Sauce, (gooseberry,) <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.<br />
- Sauce, (lobster,) <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.<br />
- Sauce, mint, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.<br /> Sauce, mushroom, <a
- href="#Page_321">321</a>.<br /> Sauce, (nasturtion,) <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.<br />
- Sauce, (onion,) plain, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.<br /> Sauce, (onion,)
- fine, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.<br /> Sauce, (onion and sage,) <a
- href="#Page_319">319</a>.<br /> Sauce, (oyster,) <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.<br />
- Sauce, (parsley,) <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.<br /> Sauce, pea-nut, <a
- href="#Page_343">343</a>.<br /> Sauce, (peach,) ripe, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>.<br />
- Sauce, (prune,) <a href="#Page_342">342</a>.<br /> Sauce, (pink,) <a
- href="#Page_334">334</a>.<br /> Sauce, (pudding,) fine, <a
- href="#Page_335">335</a>.<br /> Sauce, (pudding,) plain, <a
- href="#Page_336">336</a>.<br /> Sauce, Robert, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.<br />
- Sauce, (shrimp,) <a href="#Page_314">314</a>.<br /> Sauce, (vanilla,) <a
- href="#Page_336">336</a>.<br /> Sauce, (wine,) <a href="#Page_334">334</a>.<br />
- Sausage dumplings, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.<br /> Sausage and veal
- pie, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.<br /> Scolloped tomatos, <a
- href="#Page_365">365</a>.<br /> Scotch cake, <a href="#Page_535">535</a>.<br />
- Seabass with tomatos, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.<br /> Sea-coast pie,
- <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.<br /> Shad, to keep without corning, <a
- href="#Page_105">105</a>.<br /> Shad, planked, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.<br />
- Shells, <a href="#Page_471">471</a>.<br /> Sherry cobbler, <a
- href="#Page_609">609</a>.<br /> Short cake, <a href="#Page_427">427</a>.<br />
- Shrimps, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.<br /> Siberian jelly, <a
- href="#Page_493">493</a>.<br /> Silver cake, <a href="#Page_531">531</a>.<br />
- Smelts, fried, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.<br /> Smelts for invalids, <a
- href="#Page_594">594</a>.<br /> Soft crabs, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.<br />
- Soft crullers, <a href="#Page_442">442</a>.<br /> Soft muffins, <a
- href="#Page_429">429</a>.<br /> Soufflé, (omelet,) <a href="#Page_501">501</a>.<br />
- Soups, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.<br /> Soup, almond, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.<br />
- Soup, asparagus, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br /> Soup, autumn, <a
- href="#Page_61">61</a>.<br /> Soup, baked, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>.<br />
- Soup, bean, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.<br /> Soup, (cabbage,) <a
- href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br /> Soup, red cabbage, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.<br />
- Soup, fine cabbage, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.<br /> Soup, cauliflower,
- <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.<br /> Soup, clam, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br />
- Soup, cocoa-nut, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.<br /> Soup, crab, <a
- href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br /> Soup, corn, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.<br />
- Soup, carrot, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br /> Soup, chestnut, <a
- href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br /> Soup, chicken, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<br />
- Soup, duck, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br /> Soup, fast-day, <a
- href="#Page_74">74</a>.<br /> Soup, fish, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br />
- Soup, French white, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.<br /> Soup, Friday, <a
- href="#Page_75">75</a>.<br /> Soup, game, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br />
- Soup, green peas, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.<br /> Soup, lobster, <a
- href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br /> Soup, mock turtle, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.<br />
- Soup, mushroom, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.<br /> Soup, noodle, <a
- href="#Page_54">54</a>.<br /> Soup, onion, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.<br />
- Soup, oyster, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.<br /> Soup, parsnip, <a
- href="#Page_49">49</a>.<br /> Soup, pea, green, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.
- <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_660" id="Page_660">[660]</a></span><br />
- Soup, peas, split, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.<br /> Soup, pepper-pot, <a
- href="#Page_53">53</a>.<br /> Soup, portable, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.<br />
- Soup, pot-au-feu, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.<br /> Soup, potato, <a
- href="#Page_50">50</a>.<br /> Soup, spring, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.<br />
- Soup, summer, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.<br /> Soup, squatters, <a
- href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br /> Soup, tomato, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.<br />
- Soup, family tomato, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.<br /> Soup, fine tomato,
- <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.<br /> Soup, turnip, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.<br />
- Soup, vegetable, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.<br /> Soup, venison, <a
- href="#Page_39">39</a>.<br /> Soup, winter, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br />
- Soup, wild duck, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.<br /> Southern stew, <a
- href="#Page_196">196</a>.<br /> Sour crout, (French,) <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.<br />
- Soufflé pudding, <a href="#Page_620">620</a>.<br /> Spanish buns, <a
- href="#Page_525">525</a>.<br /> Spinach, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.<br />
- Sponge cake, <a href="#Page_523">523</a>.<br /> Squashes or cymlings, <a
- href="#Page_388">388</a>.<br /> Stewed smoked beef, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.<br />
- Stewed calf's head, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.<br /> Stewed peas, <a
- href="#Page_366">366</a>.<br /> Stewed pumpkin, <a href="#Page_389">389</a>.<br />
- Store sauces, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>.<br /> Strawberry jam, <a
- href="#Page_549">549</a>.<br /> Strawberries, preserved, <a
- href="#Page_563">563</a>.<br /> Strawberries in wine, <a href="#Page_564">564</a>.<br />
- Strawberry wine, <a href="#Page_564">564</a>.<br /> Sweetbreads, baked,
- <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.<br /> Sweetbread croquettes, <a
- href="#Page_210">210</a>.<br /> Sweetbreads, fricasseed, <a
- href="#Page_210">210</a>.<br /> Sweetbreads with cauliflower, <a
- href="#Page_212">212</a>.<br /> Sweetbread omelet, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.<br />
- Sweetbreads with oysters, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.<br /> Sweetbreads,
- to prepare, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.<br /> Sweetbreads for invalids,
- <a href="#Page_593">593</a>.<br /> Sweetbread pies, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.<br />
- Sweetbreads, stewed, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.<br /> Sweetbreads with
- tomatos, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.<br /> Sweetmeats, <a
- href="#Page_543">543</a>.<br /> Sweet potatos, boiled, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>.<br />
- Sweet potatos, baked, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.<br /> Sweet potatos,
- mashed, <a href="#Page_381">381</a>.<br /> Sweet potatos, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_381">381</a>.<br /> Sweet potato pudding, <a href="#Page_477">477</a>.<br />
- Sweet potato cake, <a href="#Page_529">529</a>.<br /> Sweet potatos,
- sweetened, <a href="#Page_455">455</a>.<br /> Sunderlands, <a
- href="#Page_503">503</a>.<br /> Sydney Smith's salad dressing, <a
- href="#Page_382">382</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- T.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Taffy, (lemon,) <a href="#Page_506">506</a>.<br /> Tamarind-water, <a
- href="#Page_591">591</a>.<br /> Tapioca, <a href="#Page_592">592</a>.<br />
- Tarragon sauce, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.<br /> Tarragon vinegar, <a
- href="#Page_328">328</a>.<br /> Tea, <a href="#Page_595">595</a>.<br />
- Thatched house pie, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.<br /> Terrapins, <a
- href="#Page_122">122</a>.<br /> Terrapins, dressed a new way, <a
- href="#Page_124">124</a>.<br /> Terrapin pot-pie, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br />
- Toast and water, <a href="#Page_586">586</a>.<br /> Toast, buttered, <a
- href="#Page_599">599</a>.<br /> Toast, (milk,) <a href="#Page_598">598</a>.<br />
- Tomato catchup, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.<br /> Tomato paste, <a
- href="#Page_374">374</a>.<br /> Tomatos, pickled, <a href="#Page_581">581</a>.<br />
- Tomatos, preserved green, <a href="#Page_559">559</a>.<br /> Tomatos,
- preserved, <a href="#Page_558">558</a>.<br /> Tomatos with sea-bass, <a
- href="#Page_101">101</a>.<br /> Tomato soup, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.<br />
- Tomato soup, (fine,) <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.<br /> Tomato soup,
- (family,) <a href="#Page_40">40</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a
- name="Page_661" id="Page_661">[661]</a></span><br /> Tomato sweetbreads,
- <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.<br /> Tongues, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.<br />
- Tongue, baked, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>.<br /> Tongue, larded, <a
- href="#Page_172">172</a>.<br /> Tongue toast, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.<br />
- Trifle, <a href="#Page_496">496</a>.<br /> Tripe, to boil, <a
- href="#Page_167">167</a>.<br /> Tripe, to fry, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.<br />
- Tripe curry, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.<br /> Trout, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.<br />
- Trout, baked, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br /> Trout, stewed, <a
- href="#Page_85">85</a>.<br /> Trout with cream, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.<br />
- Turbot, baked, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.<br /> Turbot, boiled, <a
- href="#Page_99">99</a>.<br /> Turkey, boiled, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>.<br />
- Turkey, roasted, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.<br /> Turkey with oysters,
- <a href="#Page_269">269</a>.<br /> Turkey, boned, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>.<br />
- Turnips, boiled, <a href="#Page_382">382</a>.<br /> Turnip soup, <a
- href="#Page_48">48</a>.<br /> Turtle, to dress, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<br />
- Turtle pastry, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- V.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Vanilla custards, <a href="#Page_484">484</a>.<br /> Vanilla sauce, <a
- href="#Page_336">336</a>.<br /> Vanilla syrup, <a href="#Page_513">513</a>.<br />
- Veal, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.<br /> Veal a-la-mode, <a
- href="#Page_191">191</a>.<br /> Veal and bacon, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.<br />
- Veal broth for the sick, <a href="#Page_583">583</a>.<br /> Veal cutlets,
- <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.<br /> Veal cutlets, in papers, <a
- href="#Page_194">194</a>.<br /> Veal fillet, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.<br />
- Veal fritters, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.<br /> Veal kebobbed, <a
- href="#Page_197">197</a>.<br /> Veal, (knuckle,) with bacon, <a
- href="#Page_196">196</a>.<br /> Veal, hashed, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>.<br />
- Veal loaf, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.<br /> Veal, minced, <a
- href="#Page_205">205</a>.<br /> Veal pie, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.<br />
- Veal olives, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.<br /> Veal with oysters, <a
- href="#Page_206">206</a>.<br /> Veal rissoles, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.<br />
- Veal steaks, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.<br /> Veal and sausage pie, <a
- href="#Page_232">232</a>.<br /> Veal, (loin of,) roast, <a
- href="#Page_189">189</a>.<br /> Veal, southern stew, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.<br />
- Veal, (terrapin,) <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.<br /> Vegetables, <a
- href="#Page_343">343</a>.<br /> Vegetable soup, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.<br />
- Venison, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>.<br /> Venison ham, <a
- href="#Page_259">259</a>.<br /> Venison, hashed, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.<br />
- Venison pie, (fine,) <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.<br /> Venison pie,
- (plain,) <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.<br /> Venison pot-pie, <a
- href="#Page_258">258</a>.<br /> Venison steaks, (broiled,) <a
- href="#Page_253">253</a>.<br /> Venison, stewed, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>.<br />
- Venison haunch, (roasted,) <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.<br /> Venison
- soup, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.<br /> Vinegar, <a href="#Page_607">607</a>.<br />
- Vinegar, (raspberry,) <a href="#Page_599">599</a>.<br /> Vol-au-vent, <a
- href="#Page_619">619</a>.<br /> Vol-au-vent, (sweet,) <a href="#Page_620">620</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- W.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Waffles, <a href="#Page_441">441</a>.<br /> Walnut catchup, <a
- href="#Page_325">325</a>.<br /> Walnuts, pickled, <a href="#Page_578">578</a>.<br />
- Washington pudding, <a href="#Page_630">630</a>.<br /> Warm icing, <a
- href="#Page_519">519</a>.<br /> West India cake, <a href="#Page_529">529</a>.<br />
- Whey, <a href="#Page_591">591</a>.<br /> White thickening, <a
- href="#Page_311">311</a>.<br /> White potato pudding, <a href="#Page_478">478</a>.<br />
- Wine jelly, <a href="#Page_496">496</a>.<br /> Wine sauce, <a
- href="#Page_334">334</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_662"
- id="Page_662">[662]</a></span><br /> Wine, (strawberry,) <a
- href="#Page_564">564</a>.<br /> Winter butter, (to make,) <a
- href="#Page_624">624</a>.<br /> Winter soup, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.<br />
- Woodcocks or snipes, to roast, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>.
- </p>
- <p class="indxh">
- Y.
- </p>
- <p class="indxe">
- Yankee chowder, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.<br /> Yankee pumpkin pudding,
- <a href="#Page_390">390</a>.<br /> Yeast, (good,) <a href="#Page_605">605</a>.<br />
- Yeast powders, <a href="#Page_606">606</a>.
- </p>
- </div>
- <p class="center">
- <b>THE END.</b>
- </p>
- <div class="figcenter1">
- <img src="images/chsquig.jpg" width="312" height="44"
- alt="decorative chapter break" title="decorative chapter break" />
- </div>
- <div class="footnotes">
- <h2 class="endt">
- <a name="FOOTNOTES" id="FOOTNOTES"></a>FOOTNOTES:
- </h2>
- <div class="footnote">
- <p class="noind">
- <a name="Footnote_A" id="Footnote_A"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A"><span
- class="label">[A]</span></a> In buying calves' feet always get those
- that are singed, not skinned. Much of the glutinous or jelly property
- resides in the skin.
- </p>
- </div>
- <div class="footnote">
- <p class="noind">
- <a name="Footnote_B" id="Footnote_B"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B"><span
- class="label">[B]</span></a> To make this vinegar&mdash;half fill a
- bottle with tarragon leaves, and fill it quite up with the best cider
- vinegar. Cork it tightly, and do not remove the tarragon, but let it
- remain always at the bottom. The flavor is very fine.
- </p>
- </div>
- <div class="footnote">
- <p class="noind">
- <a name="Footnote_C" id="Footnote_C"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C"><span
- class="label">[C]</span></a> The herbs summer savory and thyme (like
- the spices cloves and allspice) are now seldom used in good cookery.
- </p>
- </div>
- <div class="footnote">
- <p class="noind">
- <a name="Footnote_D" id="Footnote_D"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D"><span
- class="label">[D]</span></a> Pronounced Fee<i>lay</i>.
- </p>
- </div>
- <div class="footnote">
- <p class="noind">
- <a name="Footnote_E" id="Footnote_E"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E"><span
- class="label">[E]</span></a> The butter and sugar sauce is very nice
- flavored and colored with the juice of strawberries or raspberries.
- </p>
- </div>
- </div>
- <hr class="c65" />
- <div class="tnote">
- <h2 class="endt">
- Transcriber's Notes:
- </h2>
- <ul class="ulbullet">
- <li>
- Some minor obvious typographical errors have been corrected silently.
- </li>
- <li>
- Missing page numbers are attributed to blank pages in the original
- text.
- </li>
- </ul>
- <p class="tnh">
- Corrections made appear in [square brackets]:
- </p>
- <ul class="ulbullet">
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_20">Pg. 20:</a> "From the Pennslyvania [replaced with
- "Pennsylvania"]"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_65">Pg. 65:</a> "his excellent pot a [replaced with
- "au"] feu"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_146">Pg. 146:</a> "aid [replaced with "laid"] it a
- while in cold"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_201">Pg. 201:</a> "for any thing that has ham [added
- "in"] it,"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_202">Pg. 202:</a> "Taragon [replaced with "Tarragon"]
- vinegar is best."
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_293">Pg. 293:</a> "a dish of beiled [replaced with
- "boiled"] rice to be eaten"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_338">Pg. 338:</a> "looks very meanly--and thstes
- [replaced with "tastes"] so."
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_348">Pg. 348:</a> "beat them with a wooden spoon to
- reder [replaced with "render"] them very light."
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_464">Pg. 464:</a> "If you have a coo [last letter cut
- off, replaced with "cool"] hand,"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_493">Pg. 493:</a> "loosened by wrapping round their
- ousides [replaced with "outsides"] cloths"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_496">Pg. 496:</a> "either port, madeira, or chamaigne
- [replaced with "champagne"]"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_496">Pg. 496:</a> "except as some exhiliration
- [replaced with "exhilaration"]"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_536">Pg. 536:</a> "Ground-nut macaroon [replaced with
- "macaroons"] are made in the same manner."
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_563">Pg. 563:</a> "stirring down to the bottom after
- evey [replaced with "every"] skimming,"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_575">Pg. 575:</a> "Brocoli [replaced with "Broccoli"]
- is done in the same manner"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_583">Pg. 583:</a> "as soon as it simmers, [deleted
- comma] well [added comma] take it off"
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_620">Pg. 620:</a> "beat and stir the soaked rusk very
- had [replaced with "hard"]"
- </li>
- <li>
- Marjoram, marjoran (<a href="#Page_357">Pg. 357</a>) and majoram (Pp.
- <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a
- href="#Page_602">602</a>) are used in the text, these have all been
- standardised to "marjoram" as it was used in the majority.
- </li>
- </ul>
- <p class="tnh">
- The following <a href="#INDEX">index entries</a> were corrected
- (corrections listed below in square brackets):
- </p>
- <ul class="ulbullet">
- <li>
- Almond and macaroon custards, 484 [486]
- </li>
- <li>
- Almond soup, 53 [58]
- </li>
- <li>
- Arrow-root biscuit, 303. [603]
- </li>
- <li>
- Beef, corned, fried, 143. [148]
- </li>
- <li>
- Bird dumplings, 505. [305]
- </li>
- <li>
- Birds for invalids, 384. [584]
- </li>
- <li>
- Boned turkey, 279. [271]
- </li>
- <li>
- Cheese pudding, 431. [481]
- </li>
- <li>
- Chocolate, 527. [597]
- </li>
- <li>
- Cinnamon cake, 440. [528]
- </li>
- <li>
- Crab fritters, soft, 213. [113]
- </li>
- <li>
- Crullers, (soft,) 422. [442]
- </li>
- <li>
- Curry balls, 273. [373]
- </li>
- <li>
- Doughnuts, 442. [443]
- </li>
- <li>
- Eggs, scrambled, 612. [614]
- </li>
- <li>
- Ellen Clarke's pudding, 303. [603]
- </li>
- <li>
- Farino [Farina] flummery, 589.
- </li>
- <li>
- French ham pie, 516. [616]
- </li>
- <li>
- Gravy sippets, 584. [put in correct alphabetical order]
- </li>
- <li>
- Gravy, to make, 223. [323]
- </li>
- <li>
- Halibut, fried, 98. [97]
- </li>
- <li>
- Ham, broiled, 243. [241]
- </li>
- <li>
- Ice water, (or sherbet,) 523. [513]
- </li>
- <li>
- Indian corn, to boil, 321. [391]
- </li>
- <li>
- India pickle, 269. [569]
- </li>
- <li>
- Indian pudding, (fine,) 428. [incorrect page number, unable to locate]
- </li>
- <li>
- Jam, raspberry, 549. [548]
- </li>
- <li>
- Jelly, (or marmalade,) pudding, 431. [480]
- </li>
- <li>
- Lamb pie, 189. [187]
- </li>
- <li>
- Lemon custards, 484. [485]
- </li>
- <li>
- Lemon syrups, 522. [513]
- </li>
- <li>
- Meringue pudding, 480. [479]
- </li>
- <li>
- Mint julep, 608. [610]
- </li>
- <li>
- Mutton chops, (broiled,) 171. [177]
- </li>
- <li>
- Orange or lemon syrup, 523. [513]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pea soup, (green,) 42. [41]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pork with pea pudding, 280. [230]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pork steaks, fried, 228. [223]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pudding, (apple,) 558. [458]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pudding, (cottage,) 582. [632]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pudding, (Ellen Clarke's,) 303. [603]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pudding, lemon or orange, (boiled,) 426. [476]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pudding, meringue, 480. [479]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pudding, plum, (plain,) 469. [468]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pudding, white potato, 476. [478]
- </li>
- <li>
- Pudding, marmalade or jelly, 431. [480]
- </li>
- <li>
- Quince pies, 479. [478]
- </li>
- <li>
- Raspberry vinegar, 509. [599]
- </li>
- <li>
- Rice pudding, baked, 442. [452]
- </li>
- <li>
- Rice pudding, boiled, 443. [453]
- </li>
- <li>
- Rissole patties, 198. [incorrect page number, unable to locate]
- </li>
- <li>
- Sauce, chestnut, 348. [343]
- </li>
- <li>
- Sauce, (gooseberry,) 389. [339]
- </li>
- <li>
- Sauce, (lobster,) 187 [137], 313.
- </li>
- <li>
- Sauce, pea-nut, 348. [343]
- </li>
- <li>
- Sausage and veal pie, 282. [232]
- </li>
- <li>
- Soufflé, (omelet,) 591. [501]
- </li>
- <li>
- Soup, red cabbage, 46. [45]
- </li>
- <li>
- Soup, corn, 88. [38]
- </li>
- <li>
- Soup, oyster, 78. [73]
- </li>
- <li>
- Soup, pea, green, 42. [41]
- </li>
- <li>
- Soup, peas, split, 48. [43]
- </li>
- <li>
- Soup, pepper-pot, 58. [53]
- </li>
- <li>
- Soup, vegetable, 68. [63]
- </li>
- <li>
- Stewed smoked beef, 145. [149]
- </li>
- <li>
- Stewed calf's head, 206. [205]
- </li>
- <li>
- Sweetbreads for invalids, 598. [593]
- </li>
- <li>
- Sweet potatos, stewed, 358. [381]
- </li>
- <li>
- Sweet potato cake, 528. [529]
- </li>
- <li>
- Tarragon sauce, 223. [323]
- </li>
- <li>
- Tomatos, pickled, 211. [581]
- </li>
- <li>
- Tomatos with sea-bass, 365. [101]
- </li>
- <li>
- Tomato soup, 89. [39]
- </li>
- <li>
- Tongue toast, 178. [172]
- </li>
- <li>
- Turtle, to dress, 628. [128]
- </li>
- <li>
- Vanilla custards, 485. [484]
- </li>
- <li>
- Vanilla syrup, 523. [513]
- </li>
- <li>
- Vinegar, (raspberry,) 509. [599]
- </li>
- <li>
- White potato pudding, 78. [478]
- </li>
- <li>
- Yankee pumpkin pudding, [390].
- </li>
- </ul>
- <p class="tnh">
- Not changed:
- </p>
- <ul class="ulbullet">
- <li>
- Some entries in the index are not in alphabetical order.
- </li>
- <li>
- Inconsistencies in word hyphenation, for example: backbone and
- back-bone, table-spoonful and tablespoonful.
- </li>
- <li>
- Inconsistencies in section title punctuation.
- </li>
- <li>
- All French spelling.
- </li>
- <li>
- <a href="#Page_574">Pg. 574</a>: "Your may green bell-peppers in the
- usual way, with vine leaves or cabbage leaves." [unsure as to the true
- meaning]
- </li>
- </ul>
- <p class="tnh">
- Variant spellings left unchanged:
- </p>
- <ul class="ulbullet">
- <li>
- canvas-back, canvass-back
- </li>
- <li>
- Ellen Clarke's pudding, Ellen Clark's pudding
- </li>
- <li>
- inclose, enclose
- </li>
- <li>
- Indian meal, indian meal
- </li>
- <li>
- macaroni, maccaroni
- </li>
- <li>
- marigold, marygold
- </li>
- <li>
- panada, panade
- </li>
- <li>
- potato, potatoe
- </li>
- <li>
- rince, rinse
- </li>
- <li>
- trevet, trivet
- </li>
- </ul>
- </div>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, by Eliza Leslie
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- </body>
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-Project Gutenberg's Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, by Eliza Leslie
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book
-
-Author: Eliza Leslie
-
-Release Date: October 5, 2012 [EBook #40943]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Julia Miller, fh and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- MISS LESLIE'S
-
- NEW
-
- COOKERY BOOK.
-
- One Volume, 652 pages, bound. Price $1.25.
-
-
-T. B. Peterson, No. 102 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, has just
-published MISS LESLIE'S "NEW COOKERY BOOK." It comprises new and
-approved methods of preparing all kinds of Soups, Fish, Oysters, Beef,
-Mutton, Veal, Pork, Venison, Ham and Bacon, Poultry and Game, Terrapins,
-Turtle, Vegetables, Sauces, Bread, Pickles, Sweetmeats, Plain Cakes,
-Fine Cakes, Pies, Plain Desserts, Fine Desserts, Preparations for the
-Sick, Puddings, Confectionery, Rice, Indian Meal Preparations of all
-kinds, Miscellaneous Receipts, etc. etc. Also, lists of all articles in
-season suited to go together for breakfasts, dinners, and suppers, to
-suit large or small families, and much useful information and many
-miscellaneous subjects connected with general housewifery.
-
-This work will have a very extensive sale, and many thousand copies will
-be sold, as all persons that have had Miss Leslie's former works, should
-get this at once, as _all the receipts in this book are new_, and have
-been fully tried and tested by the author since the publication of her
-former books, _and none of them whatever are contained in any other work
-but this_. It is the most complete Cook Book published in the world; and
-also the latest and best, as in addition to Cookery of all kinds and
-descriptions, its receipts for making cakes and confectionery are
-unequalled by any other work extant.
-
-This new, excellent, and valuable Cook Book is published by T. B.
-Peterson, under the title of "MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK," and is
-entirely different from any other work on similar subjects, under any
-other names, by the same author. It is an elegantly printed duodecimo
-volume, of 652 pages; and in it there will be found _hundreds of
-Receipts_--all useful--some ornamental--and all invaluable to every
-lady, miss, or family in the world.
-
-
-Read what the Editors of the Leading Newspapers say of it.
-
-_From the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper._
-
- "This is a large, well-bound volume of near seven hundred
- pages, and includes in it hundreds of receipts never before
- published in any of Miss Leslie's other works, accompanied by a
- well-arranged index, by which any desired receipt may be turned
- to at once. The receipts are for cooking all kinds of meats,
- poultry, game, pies, &c., with directions for confectionery,
- ices, and preserves. It is entirely different from any former
- work by Miss Leslie, and contains new and fresh accessions of
- useful knowledge. The merit of these receipts is, that they
- have all been tried, and therefore can be recommended
- conscientiously. Miss Leslie has acquired great reputation
- among housekeepers for the excellence of her works on cookery,
- and this volume will doubtless enhance it. _It is the best book
- on cookery that we know of_, and while it will be useful to
- matrons, to young housewives we should think it quite
- indispensable. By the aid of this book, the young and
- inexperienced are brought nearly on a footing with those who
- have seen service in the culinary department, and by having it
- at hand are rendered tolerably independent of _help_, which
- sometimes becomes very refractory. The best regulated families
- are sometimes taken a little by surprise by the untimely
- stepping in of a friend to dinner--to such, Miss Leslie is the
- friend indeed, ready as her book is with instructions for the
- hasty production of various substitutes for meals requiring
- timely and elaborate preparation."
-
-
-_From the Philadelphia Daily News._
-
- "To the housekeeper, the name of Miss Leslie is a guaranty that
- what comes from her hand is not only orthodox, but good; and to
- the young wife about to enter upon the untried scenes of
- catering for a family, _Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_ may be
- termed a blessing. It presents receipts, (and practical ones
- too,) for preparing and cooking all kinds of soups, fish,
- oysters, meats, game, cakes, pastry, and indeed everything
- which enters into the economy of housekeeping. Their
- recommendations are that they are all practical, and the novice
- of the culinary art may enter upon her important duties with
- '_Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_' by her side, with perfect
- confidence that the 'soup' will not be spoiled, and that the
- dinner will be what is designed. How many disappointments could
- be avoided, how many domestic difficulties prevented, and how
- many husbands made happy, instead of miserable, by the use of
- this '_vade mecum_,' we shall not pretend to say; but as we
- have a sincere regard for every lady who reads the _News_, our
- advice to them all is, by all means to buy _Miss Leslie's New
- Cookery Book_. Mr. Peterson has done admirably in getting up
- this work: it is handsomely and substantially bound in cloth,
- gilt, and does credit to his business skill; the low price at
- which the work is sold, when we take the size of it into
- consideration, One Dollar and Twenty-five cents only, will
- doubtless give it an immense sale."
-
-
-_From the Philadelphia Saturday Courier._
-
- "With such a book as _Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_,
- published by Mr. Peterson, it is inconceivable what a vast
- extent of palate is destined to be astonished, and what a
- gastronomic multitude is to be made happy, by the delicious
- delicacies and substantial dishes so abundantly provided. Miss
- Leslie has in previous works shown how great an adept she has
- been in all culinary matters, and in all that relates to the
- comforts and the social enjoyment of the table around which
- cluster the good things of life. Literature is very good in its
- way; but such dishes as Miss Leslie gives a foretaste of, come
- up to a more delicious standard. Her authorship is exquisite,
- and is destined to diffuse the very essence of good taste among
- the fortunate people who sit down to good dinners and suppers,
- not one of whom will rise from the table without a blessing on
- _Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_. And every taste is sure to be
- pleased, for all the receipts in this book are new, and to be
- found nowhere else, _and it is the best Cook Book ever
- published_--one which, with its hundreds of receipts, ought to
- be in the hands of every woman who has the slightest
- appreciation of convenience, comfort and economy."
-
-
-_From the Philadelphia Daily Sun._
-
- "About one thousand new receipts, never before printed, appear
- in this work, all of which have been tried before they are
- recommended by the author. All kinds of cooking and pastry;
- rules for the preparation of dinners, breakfasts, and suppers;
- appropriate dishes for every meal; and a vast quantity of other
- useful information, are embraced in the book. It is very
- comprehensive, and is furnished with an index for the use of
- the housewife. By the aid of Miss Leslie's peculiar happy
- talent in giving culinary directions, our girls can acquire a
- branch of useful information which is generally sadly neglected
- in their education, and thus become fitted for their duties as
- wives. One great advantage in _Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_,
- is the economy which it teaches in the management of a
- household, as regards the preparations for the table. Peterson
- has done this book up in beautiful style, and it will be sent
- to any part of the Union, postage paid, upon the receipt of One
- Dollar and Twenty-five Cents. Those who know how much of the
- happiness of home depends upon well-cooked viands, neatly
- served up, will thank the accomplished authoress for this
- valuable contribution to domestic science."
-
-
-_From the Philadelphia Saturday Evening Gazette._
-
- "Miss Leslie's 'New Receipts for Cooking' is perhaps better
- known than any similar collection of receipts. The very elegant
- volume before us, entitled '_Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book_,'
- is designed as a sequel and continuation to it, and should be
- its companion in every family, as the receipts are all new, and
- in no instance the same, even when their titles are similar. It
- contains directions for plain and fancy cooking, preserving,
- pickling; and commencing with soups, gives entirely new
- receipts for every course of an excellent dinner, to the
- jellies and confectionery of the dessert. Our readers are not
- strangers to the accuracy and minuteness of Miss Leslie's
- receipts, as, since the first number of the Gazette, she has
- contributed to our housekeepers' department. The new receipts
- in this volume are admirable. Many of them are modified from
- French sources, though foreign terms and designations are
- avoided. The publisher has brought it out in an extremely
- tasteful style, and no family in the world should be without
- it."
-
-
-_From the Pennsylvania Inquirer._
-
- "Mr. T. B. Peterson has just published '_Miss Leslie's New
- Cookery Book_.' This will be a truly popular work. Thousands of
- copies will very soon be disposed of, and other thousands will
- be needed. It contains directions for cooking, preserving,
- pickling, and preparing almost every description of dish: also
- receipts for preparing farina, Indian meal, fancy tea-cakes,
- marmalades, etc. We know of a no more useful work for
- families."
-
-
-_From the Public Ledger._
-
- "As every woman, whether wife or maid, should be qualified for
- the duties of a housekeeper, a work which gives the information
- which acquaints her with its most important duties, will no
- doubt be sought after by the fair sex. This work is '_Miss
- Leslie's New Cookery Book_.' Get it by all means."
-
-
-_From the Boston Evening Traveler._
-
- "We do not claim to be deeply versed in the art of cookery; but
- a lady, skilled in the art, to whom we have submitted this
- work, assures us that there is nothing like it within the
- circle of her knowledge; and that having this, a housekeeper
- would need no other written guide to the mysteries of
- housekeeping. It contains hundreds of new receipts, which the
- author has fully tried and tested; and they relate to almost
- every conceivable dish--flesh, fish, and fowl, soups, sauces,
- and sweetmeats; puddings, pies, and pickles; cakes and
- confectionery. There are, too, lists of articles suitable to go
- together for breakfasts, dinners and suppers, at different
- seasons of the year, for plain family meals, and elaborate
- company preparations; which must be of great convenience.
- Indeed, there appears to be, as our lady friend remarked,
- everything in this book that a housekeeper needs to know; and
- having this book she would seem to need no other to afford her
- instruction about housekeeping."
-
-
-
-
- MISS LESLIE'S
-
- NEW
-
- COOKERY
-
- BOOK.
-
- "As every woman, whether wife or maid, should be qualified for
- the duties of a housekeeper, a work which gives the information
- which acquaints her with its most important duties will no
- doubt be sought after by the fair sex. This work is '_Miss
- Leslie's New Cookery Book_.' Get it by all means."--_Public
- Ledger._
-
- PHILADELPHIA:
- T. B. PETERSON NO. 102 CHESTNUT STREET.
- 1857.
-
-
-
-
- Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
-
- ELIZA LESLIE,
-
- In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United
- States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-I have endeavored to render this work a complete manual of domestic
-cookery _in all its branches_. It comprises an unusual number of pages,
-and the receipts are all practical, and _practicable_--being so
-carefully and particularly explained as to be easily comprehended by the
-merest novice in the art. Also, I flatter myself that most of these
-preparations (if faithfully and liberally followed,) will be found very
-agreeable to the general taste; always, however, keeping in mind that
-every ingredient must be of unexceptionable quality, and that good
-cooking cannot be made out of bad marketing.
-
-I hope those who consult this book will find themselves at no loss,
-whether required to prepare sumptuous viands "for company," or to
-furnish a daily supply of nice dishes for an excellent family table; or
-plain, yet wholesome and palatable food where economy is very expedient.
-
- ELIZA LESLIE.
-
- _Philadelphia, March 28th, 1857._
-
-
-
-
-WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
-
-Tested and Arranged by Miss Leslie.
-
-
- Wheat flour one pound of 16 ounces is one quart.
- Indian meal one pound 2 ounces is one quart.
- Butter, when soft one pound 1 ounce is one quart.
- Loaf sugar, broken up, one pound is one quart.
- White sugar, powdered, one pound 1 ounce is one quart.
- Best brown sugar, one pound 2 ounces is one quart.
- Eggs ten eggs weigh one pound.
-
-
-LIQUID MEASURE.
-
- Four large table-spoonfuls are half a jill.
- Eight large table-spoonfuls are one jill.
- Two jills are half a pint.
- A common-sized tumbler holds half a pint.
- A common-sized wine-glass holds about half a jill.
- Two pints are one quart.
- Four quarts are one gallon.
-
- About twenty-five drops of any thin liquid will fill a
- common-sized tea-spoon.
-
- Four table-spoonfuls will generally fill a common-sized
- wine-glass.
-
- Four wine-glasses will fill a half pint tumbler, or a large
- coffee-cup.
-
- A quart black bottle holds in reality about a pint and a half;
- sometimes not so much.
-
- A table-spoonful of salt is about one ounce.
-
-
-DRY MEASURE.
-
- Half a gallon is a quarter of a peck.
- One gallon is half a peck.
- Two gallons are one peck.
- Four gallons are half a bushel.
- Eight gallons are one bushel.
-
- Throughout this book, the pound is avoirdupois weight--sixteen
- ounces.
-
-
-
-
-GENERAL CONTENTS.
-
-
- PAGE
-
- SOUPS, 33
-
- FISH, 77
-
- SHELL-FISH, 108
-
- BEEF, 138
-
- MUTTON, 173
-
- VEAL, 188
-
- PORK, 216
-
- HAM AND BACON, 235
-
- VENISON, 252
-
- POULTRY AND GAME, 265
-
- SAUCES, 309
-
- VEGETABLES, 343
-
- BREAD, PLAIN CAKES, ETC., 401
-
- PLAIN DESSERTS, 444
-
- FINE DESSERTS, 469
-
- FINE CAKES, 516
-
- SWEETMEATS, 543
-
- PICKLES, 568
-
- PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK, 581
-
- MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS, 595
-
- WORTH KNOWING, 645
-
-
-
-
-ANIMALS
-
-FIGURES EXPLANATORY OF THE PIECES INTO WHICH THE FIVE LARGE ANIMALS ARE
-DIVIDED BY THE BUTCHERS.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Beef._]
-
- 1. Sirloin.
- 2. Rump.
- 3. Edge Bone.
- 4. Buttock.
- 5. Mouse Buttock.
- 6. Leg.
- 7. Thick Flank.
- 8. Veiny Piece.
- 9. Thin Flank.
- 10. Fore Rib: 7 Ribs.
- 11. Middle Rib: 4 Ribs.
- 12. Chuck Rib: 2 Ribs.
- 13. Brisket.
- 14. Shoulder, or Leg of Mutton Piece.
- 15. Clod.
- 16. Neck, or Sticking Piece.
- 17. Shin.
- 18. Cheek.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Veal._]
-
- 1. Loin, Best End.
- 2. Fillet.
- 3. Loin, Chump End.
- 4. Hind Knuckle.
- 5. Neck, Best End.
- 6. Breast, Best End.
- 7. Blade Bone.
- 8. Fore Knuckle.
- 9. Breast, Brisket End.
- 10. Neck, Scrag End.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Mutton._]
-
- 1. Leg.
- 2. Shoulder.
- 3. Loin, Best End.
- 4. Loin, Chump End.
- 5. Neck, Best End.
- 6. Breast.
- 7. Neck, Scrag End.
-
- _Note._--A Chine is two Loins; and a Saddle is two Loins and two
- Necks of the Best End.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Pork._]
-
- 1. Leg.
- 2. Hind Loin.
- 3. Fore Loin.
- 4. Spare Rib.
- 5. Hand.
- 6. Spring.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Venison._]
-
- 1. Shoulder.
- 2. Neck.
- 3. Haunch.
- 4. Breast.
- 5. Scrag.
-
-
-
-
-
- MISS LESLIE'S
-
- NEW
-
- COOKERY BOOK.
-
-
-
-
-SOUPS.
-
-
-It is impossible to have good soup, without a sufficiency of good meat;
-thoroughly boiled, carefully skimmed, and moderately seasoned. Meat that
-is too bad for any thing else, is too bad for soup. Cold meat recooked,
-adds little to its taste or nourishment, and it is in vain to attempt to
-give poor soup a factitious flavor by the disguise of strong spices, or
-other substances which are disagreeable or unpalatable to at least one
-half the eaters, and frequently unwholesome. Rice and barley add to the
-insipidity of weak soups, having no taste of their own. And even if the
-meat is good, too large a proportion of water, and too small a quantity
-of animal substance will render it flat and vapid.
-
-Every family has, or ought to have, some personal knowledge of certain
-poor people--people to whom their broken victuals would be acceptable.
-Let then the most of their cold, fresh meat be set apart for those who
-can ill afford to buy meat in market. To them it will be an important
-acquisition; while those who indulge in fine clothes, fine furniture,
-&c., had best be consistent, and allow themselves the nourishment and
-enjoyment of freshly cooked food for each meal. Therefore where there is
-no absolute necessity of doing otherwise, let the soup always be made of
-meat bought expressly for the purpose, and of one sort only, except when
-the flavor is to be improved by the introduction of ham.
-
-In plain cooking, every dish should have a distinct taste of its natural
-flavor predominating. Let the soup, for instance, be of beef, mutton, or
-veal, but not of all three; and a chicken, being overpowered by the
-meat, adds nothing to the general flavor.
-
-Soup-meat that has been boiled long enough to extract the juices
-thoroughly, becomes too tasteless to furnish, afterwards, a good dish
-for the table; with the exception of mutton, which may be eaten very
-well after it has done duty in the soup-pot, when it is much liked by
-many persons of simple tastes. Few who are accustomed to living at
-hotels, can relish hotel soups, which (even in houses where most other
-things are unexceptionable), is seldom such as can be approved by
-persons who are familiar with good tables. Hotel soups and hotel hashes,
-(particularly those that are dignified with French names), are
-notoriously made of cold scraps, leavings, and in some houses, are the
-absolute refuse of the kitchen. In most cases, the sight of a hotel
-stock-pot would cause those who saw it, to forswear soup, &c.
-
-If the directions are _exactly_ followed, the soups contained in the
-following pages will be found palatable, nutritious, and easily made;
-but they require plenty of good ingredients.
-
-We have heard French cooks boast of their soup being "delicate." The
-English would call it "soup meagre." In such a country as America, where
-good things are abundant, there is no necessity of imbibing the
-flatulency of weak washy soups.
-
-All soups should be boiled slowly at first, that the essence of the meat
-may be thoroughly drawn forth. The lid of the pot should be kept close,
-unless when it is necessary to remove it for taking off the scum, which
-should be done frequently and carefully. If this is neglected, the scum
-will boil back again into the soup, spoil it, and make it impure or
-muddled. When no more scum arises, and the meat is all in rags, dropping
-from the bones, it is time to put in the vegetables, seasoning, &c., and
-not till then; and if it should have boiled away too much, then is the
-time to add a little _hot_ water from another kettle. Add also a large
-crust of bread or two. It may now be made to boil faster, and the
-thickening must be put in. This is a table-spoonful or more of flour
-mixed to a smooth paste with a little water, and enriched with a
-tea-spoonful of good butter, or beef-dripping. This thickening is
-indispensable to all soups. Let it be stirred in well. If making a rich
-soup that requires wine or catchup, let it be added the last thing, just
-before the soup is taken from the fire.
-
-When all is quite done and thoroughly boiled, cover the bottom of a
-tureen with small squares of bread or toast, and dip or pour the soup
-into it, leaving all the bones and shreds of meat in the pot. To let any
-of the sediment get into the tureen is slovenly and vulgar. Not a
-particle of this should ever be found in a soup-plate. There are cooks
-who, if not prevented, will put all the refuse into the tureen; so that,
-when helped, the plates are half full of shreds of meat and scraps of
-bone, while all the best of the soup is kept back for the kitchen. This
-should be looked to. Servants who cannot reconcile it to their
-conscience to steal money or any very valuable articles, have frequently
-no hesitation in purloining or keeping to themselves whatever they like
-in the way of food.
-
-Soup may be colored yellow with grated carrots, red with tomato juice,
-and green with the juice of pounded spinach--the coloring to be stirred
-in after the skimming is over. These colorings are improvements both to
-its look and flavor. It may be browned with scorched flour, kept ready
-always for the purpose. Never put cloves or allspice into soup--they
-give it a blackish ashy dirt color, and their taste is so strong as to
-overpower every thing else. Both these coarse spices are out of use at
-good tables, and none are introduced in nice cookery but mace, nutmeg,
-ginger, and cinnamon.
-
-The meat boiled in soup gives out more of its essence, when cut off the
-bone, and divided into small pieces, always removing the fat. The bones,
-however, should go in, as they contain much glutinous substance, adding
-to the strength and thickness of the soup, which cannot be palatable or
-wholesome unless all the grease is carefully skimmed off. Kitchen grease
-is used chiefly for soap-fat.
-
-In cold weather, good soup, if carefully covered and kept in a cool
-place, and boiled over again for half an hour _without_ any _additional
-water_, will be better on the second day than on the first.
-
-It is an excellent way in winter to boil the meat and bones on the first
-day, without any vegetables. Then, when very thick and rich, strain the
-liquid into a large pan; cover it, and set it away till next morning--it
-should then be found a thick jelly. Cut it in pieces, having scraped off
-the sediment from the bottom--then add the vegetables, and boil them in
-the soup.
-
-
-MUSHROOM SOUP.--Cut a knuckle of veal, or a neck of mutton, (or both, if
-they are small,) into large pieces, and remove the bones. Put it into a
-soup-pot with sufficient water to cover the whole, and season with a
-little salt and cayenne. Let it boil till the meat is in rags, skimming
-it well; then strain off the soup into another pot. Have ready a large
-quart, or a quart and a pint of freshly-gathered mushrooms--cut them
-into quarters, having removed the stalks. Put them into the soup, adding
-a quarter of a pound (or more) of fresh butter, divided into bits and
-rolled in flour. Boil the whole about half an hour longer--try if the
-mushrooms are tender, and do not take them up till they are perfectly
-so. Keep the pot lid closely covered, except when you remove the lid to
-try the mushrooms. Lay at the bottom of the tureen a large slice of
-buttered toast, (cut into small squares,) and pour the soup upon it.
-This is a company soup.
-
-
-SWEET CORN SOUP.--Take a knuckle of veal, and a set of calf's feet. Put
-them into a soup-pot with some cold boiled ham cut into pieces, and
-season them with pepper only. Having allowed a quart of water to each
-pound of meat, pour it on, and let it boil till the meat falls from the
-bone; strain it, and pour the liquid into a clean pot. If you live in
-the country, or where milk is plenty, make this soup of milk without any
-water. All white soups are best of milk. You may boil in this, with the
-veal and feet, an old fowl, (cut into pieces,) that is too tough for any
-other purpose. When the soup is well boiled, and the shreds all strained
-away, have ready (cooked by themselves in another pot) some ears of
-sweet corn, young and tender. Cut the grains from the cob, mix the corn
-with fresh butter, season it with pepper, and stir it in the strained
-soup. Give the whole a short boil, pour it into the tureen, and send it
-to table.
-
-
-VENISON SOUP.--Is excellent, made as above, with water instead of milk,
-and plenty of corn. And it is very convenient for a new settlement.
-
-
-TOMATO SOUP.--Take a shin or leg of beef, and cut off all the meat. Put
-it, with the bones, in a large soup-pot, and season it slightly with
-salt and pepper. Pour on a gallon of water. Boil and skim it well. Have
-ready half a peck of ripe tomatos, that have been quartered, and pressed
-or strained through a sieve, so as to be reduced to a pulp. Add half a
-dozen onions that have been sliced, and a table-spoonful of sugar to
-lessen a little the acid of the tomatos. When the meat is all to rags,
-and the whole thoroughly done, (which will not be in less than six hours
-from the commencement) strain it through a cullender, and thicken it a
-little with grated bread crumbs.
-
-This soup will be much improved by the addition of a half peck of
-ochras, peeled, sliced thin, and boiled with the tomatos till quite
-dissolved.
-
-Before it goes into the tureen, see that there are no shreds of meat or
-bits of bone left in the soup.
-
-
-FAMILY TOMATO SOUP.--Take four pounds of the lean of a good piece of
-fresh beef. The fat is of no use for soup, as it must be skimmed off
-when boiling. Cut the meat in pieces, season them with a little salt and
-pepper, and put them into a pot with three quarts of water. The tomatos
-will supply abundance of liquid. Of these you should have a large
-quarter of a peck. They should be full-grown, and quite ripe. Cut each
-tomato into four pieces, and put them into the soup; after it has come
-to a boil and been skimmed. It will be greatly improved by adding a
-quarter of a peck of ochras cut into thin round slices. Both tomatos and
-ochras require long and steady boiling with the meat. To lessen the
-extreme acid of the tomatos, stir in a heaped table-spoonful of sugar.
-Add also one large onion, peeled and minced small; and add two or three
-bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. The soup must boil till the meat
-is all to rags and the tomatos and ochras entirely dissolved, and their
-forms undistinguishable. Pour it off carefully from the sediment into
-the tureen, in the bottom of which have ready some toasted bread, cut
-into small squares.
-
-
-FINE TOMATO SOUP.--Take some nice fresh beef, and divest it of the bone
-and fat. Sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper, and pour on water,
-allowing to each pound of meat a pint and a half (not more) of water,
-and boil and skim it till it is very thick and clear, and all the
-essence seems to be drawn out of the meat. Scald and peel a large
-portion of ripe tomatos--cut them in quarters, and laying them in a
-stew-pan, let them cook in their own juice till they are entirely
-dissolved. When quite done, strain the tomato liquid, and stir into it a
-little sugar. In a third pan stew an equal quantity of sliced ochras
-with a very little water; they must be stewed till their shape can no
-longer be discerned. Strain separately the meat liquor, the tomatos, and
-the ochras. Mix butter and flour together into a lump; knead it a
-little, and when all the liquids are done and strained put them into a
-clean soup-pan, stir in the flour and butter, and give the soup one boil
-up. Transfer it to your tureen, and stir altogether. The soup made
-precisely as above will be perfectly smooth and nice. Have little rolls
-or milk biscuits to eat with it.
-
-This is a tomato soup for dinner company.
-
-
-GREEN PEA SOUP.--Make a nice soup, in the usual way, of beef, mutton, or
-knuckle of veal, cutting off all the fat, and using only the lean and
-the bones, allowing a quart of water to each pound of meat. If the meat
-is veal, add four or six calf's feet, which will greatly improve the
-soup. Boil it slowly, (having slightly seasoned it with pepper and
-salt,) and when it has boiled, and been well skimmed, and no more scum
-appears, then put in a quart or more of freshly-shelled green peas, with
-none among them that are old, hard, and yellow; and also a sprig or two
-of green mint, and a little loaf sugar. Boil the peas till they are
-entirely dissolved. Then (having removed all the meat and bones) strain
-the soup through a sieve, and return it to the soup-pot, (which, in the
-mean time, should have been washed clean,) and stir into it a tea-cupful
-of green spinach juice, (obtained by pounding some spinach.) Have ready
-(boiled, or rather stewed in another pot) a quart of young fresh peas,
-enriched with a piece of fresh butter. These last peas should be boiled
-tender, but not to a mash. After they are in, give the soup another boil
-up, and then pour it off into a tureen, in the bottom of which has been
-laid some toast cut into square bits, with the crust removed. This soup
-should be of a fine green color, and very thick.
-
-
-EXCELLENT BEAN SOUP.--Early in the evening of the day before you make
-the soup, wash clean a large quart of dried white beans in a pan of cold
-water, and about bedtime pour off that water, and replace it with a
-fresh panful. Next morning, put on the beans to boil, with only water
-enough to cook them well, and keep them boiling slowly till they have
-all bursted, stirring them up frequently from the bottom, lest they
-should burn. Meantime, prepare in a larger pot, a good soup made of a
-shin of beef cut into pieces, and the hock of a cold ham, allowing a
-large quart of water to each pound of meat.
-
-Season it with pepper only, (no salt,) and put in with it a head of
-celery, split and cut small. Boil the soup (skimming it well) till the
-meat is all in rags; then take it out, leaving not a morsel in the pot,
-and put in the boiled beans. Let them boil in the soup till they are
-undistinguishable, and the soup very thick. Put some small squares of
-toast in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the soup upon it.
-
-There is said to be nothing better for making soup than the camp-kettle
-of the army. Many of the common soldiers make their bean soup of
-surpassing excellence.
-
-
-SPLIT PEA SOUP.--In buying dried or split peas, see that they are not
-old and worm-eaten. Wash two quarts of them over night in two or three
-waters. In the morning make a rich soup of the lean of beef or mutton,
-and the hock of a ham. Season it with pepper, but no salt. When it has
-boiled, and been thoroughly skimmed, put in the split peas, with a head
-of celery cut into small pieces, or else two table-spoonfuls of celery
-seed. Let it boil till the peas are entirely dissolved and
-undistinguishable. When it is finished strain the soup through a sieve,
-divesting it of the thin shreds of meat and bits of bone. Then transfer
-it to a tureen, in which has been laid some square bits of toast. Stir
-it up to the bottom directly before it goes to table.
-
-You may boil in the soup (instead of the ham) a good piece (a rib
-piece, or a fillet) of corned pork, more lean than fat. When it is done,
-take the pork out of the soup, put it on a dish, and have ready to eat
-with it a pease pudding boiled by itself, cut in thick slices and laid
-round the pork. This pudding is made of a quart of split peas, soaked
-all night, mixed with four beaten eggs and a piece of fresh butter, and
-tied in a cloth and boiled three or four hours, or till the peas have
-become a mass.
-
-
-ASPARAGUS SOUP.--Make in the usual way a nice rich soup of beef or
-mutton, seasoned with salt and pepper. After it has been well boiled and
-skimmed, and the meat is all to pieces, strain the soup into another
-pot, or wash out the same, and return to it the liquid. Have ready a
-large quantity of fine fresh asparagus, with the stalks cut off close to
-the green tops or blossoms. It should have been lying in cold water all
-the time the meat was boiling. Put into the soup half of the asparagus
-tops, and boil them in it till entirely dissolved, adding a tea-cupful
-of spinach juice, obtained by pounding fresh spinach in a mortar. Stir
-the juice well in and it will give a fine green color. Then add the
-remaining half of the asparagus; having previously boiled them in a
-small pan by themselves, till they are quite tender, but not till they
-lose their shape. Give the whole one boil up together. Make some nice
-slices of toast, (having cut off the crust.) Dip them a minute in hot
-water. Butter them, lay them in the bottom of the tureen, and pour the
-soup upon them. This (like green peas) will do for company soup.
-
-
-CABBAGE SOUP.--Remove the fat and bone from a good piece of fresh beef,
-or mutton--season it with a little salt and pepper, put it into a
-soup-pot, with a quart of water allowed to each pound of meat. Boil, and
-skim it till no more scum is seen on the surface. Then strain it, and
-thicken it with flour and butter mixed. Have ready a fine fresh cabbage,
-(a young summer one is best) and after it is well washed through two
-cold waters, and all the leaves examined to see if any insects have
-crept between, quarter the cabbage, (removing the stalk) and with a
-cabbage-cutter, or a strong sharp knife, cut it into shreds. Or you may
-begin the cabbage whole and cut it into shreds, spirally, going round
-and round it with the knife. Put the cabbage into the clear soup, and
-boil it till, upon trial, by taking up a little on a fork, you find it
-quite tender and perfectly well cooked. Then serve it up in the tureen.
-This is a family soup.
-
-
-RED CABBAGE SOUP.--Red cabbages for soup should either be quartered, or
-cut into shreds; it is made as above, of beef or mutton, and seasoned
-with salt, pepper, and a jill of strong tarragon vinegar, or a
-table-spoonful of mixed tarragon leaves, if in summer.
-
-
-FINE CABBAGE SOUP.--Remove the outside leaves from a fine, fresh, large
-cabbage. Cut the stalk short, and split it half-way down so as to divide
-the cabbage into quarters, but do not separate it quite to the bottom.
-Wash the cabbage, and lay it in cold water for half an hour or more.
-Then set it over the fire in a pot full of water, adding a little salt,
-and let it boil slowly for an hour and a half, or more--skimming it
-well. Then take it out, drain it, and laying it in a deep pan, pour on
-_cold_ water, and let it remain till the cabbage is cold all through.
-Next, having drained it from the cold water, cut the cabbage in shreds,
-(as for cold-slaw,) and put it into a clean pot containing a quart and a
-pint of boiling milk into which you have stirred a quarter of a pound of
-nice fresh butter, divided into four bits and rolled in flour, adding a
-little pepper and a very little salt. Boil it in the milk till
-thoroughly done and quite tender. Then make some nice toast, cut it into
-squares, lay it in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the soup on it. This
-being made without meat is a good soup for Lent. It will be improved by
-stirring in, towards the last, two or three beaten eggs.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWER SOUP.--Put into a soup-pot a knuckle of veal, and allow to
-each pound a quart of water. Add a set of calf's feet that have been
-singed and scraped, but not skinned; and the hock of a cold boiled ham.
-Boil it till all the meat is in rags, and the soup very thick, seasoning
-with cayenne and a few blades of mace, and adding, towards the last,
-some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Boil in another pot, one or
-two fine cauliflowers. They are best boiled in milk. When quite done and
-very tender, drain them, cut off the largest stalks, and divide the
-blossoms into small pieces; put them into a deep covered dish, lay some
-fresh butter among them, and keep them hot till the veal soup is boiled
-to its utmost thickness. Then strain it into a soup-tureen, and put into
-it the cauliflower, grating some nutmeg upon it. This soup will be found
-very fine, and is an excellent white soup for company.
-
-For Lent this soup may be made without meat, substituting milk, butter,
-and flour, and eggs, as in the receipt for fine cabbage soup. Season it
-with mace and nutmeg. If made with milk, &c., put no water on it, but
-boil the cauliflower in milk from the beginning. This can easily be done
-where milk is plenty.
-
-
-FINE ONION SOUP.--Take a fine fresh neck of mutton, and to make a large
-tureen of soup, you must have a breast of mutton also. Let the meat be
-divided into chops, season it with a little salt, and put it in a
-soup-pot--allow a quart of water to each pound of mutton. Boil, and skim
-it till no more scum arises, and the meat drops in rags from the bones.
-In a small pot boil in milk a dozen large onions, (or more,) adding
-pepper, mace, nutmeg, and some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. The
-onions should previously be peeled and sliced. When they are quite soft,
-transfer them to the soup, with the milk, &c., in which they were
-cooked. Give them one boil in the soup. Then pour it off, or strain it
-into the tureen, omitting all the sediment, and bones, and shreds of
-meat. Make some nice slices of toast, dipping each in boiling water, and
-trimming off all the crust. Cut the toast into small squares, lay them
-in the bottom of the tureen, and pour the soup upon them. Where there is
-no objection to onions it will be much liked.
-
-If milk is plenty use it instead of water for onion soup. White soups
-are always best when made with milk.
-
-
-TURNIP SOUP.--For a very small family take a neck of mutton, and divide
-it into steaks, omitting all the fat. For a family of moderate size,
-take a breast as well as a neck. Put them into a soup-pot with
-sufficient water to cover them, and let them stew till well browned.
-Skim them carefully. Then pour on more water, in the proportion of a
-pint to each pound of meat, and add eight or ten turnips pared and
-sliced thin, with a very little pepper and salt. Let the soup boil till
-the turnips are all dissolved, and the meat in rags. Add, towards the
-last, some bits of butter rolled in flour, and in five minutes
-afterwards the soup will be done. Carefully remove all the bits of meat
-and bone before you send the soup to table. It will be found very good,
-and highly flavored with the turnips.
-
-Onion soup may be made in the same manner. Parsnip soup also, cutting
-the parsnips into small bits. Or all three--turnips, onions and
-parsnips, may be used together.
-
-
-PARSNIP SOUP.--The meat for this soup may either be fresh beef, mutton,
-or fresh venison. Remove the fat, cut the meat into pieces, add a little
-salt, and put it into a soup-pot, with an allowance of rather less than
-a quart of water to each pound. Prepare some fine large parsnips, by
-first scraping and splitting them, and cutting them into pieces; then
-putting them into a frying pan, and frying them brown, in fresh butter
-or nice drippings. When the soup has been boiled till the meat is all in
-rags, and well skimmed--put into it the fried parsnips and let them boil
-about ten minutes, but not till they break or go to pieces. Just before
-you put in the parsnips, stir in a table-spoonful of thickening made
-with butter and flour, mixed to a smooth paste. When you put it into the
-tureen to go to table, be sure to leave in the pot all the shreds of
-meat and bits of bone.
-
-
-CARROT SOUP.--Take a good piece of fresh beef that has not been
-previously cooked. Remove the fat. It is of no use in making soup; and
-as it must all be skimmed off when boiling, it is better to clear it
-away before the meat goes into the pot. Season the beef with a very
-little salt and pepper, and allow a small quart of water to each pound.
-Grate half a dozen or more large carrots on a coarse grater, and put
-them to boil in the soup with some other carrots; cut them into pieces
-about two inches long. When all the meat is boiled to rags, and has left
-the bone, pour off the soup from the sediment, transferring it to a
-tureen, and sending it to table with bread cut into it.
-
-
-POTATO SOUP.--Pare and slice thin half a dozen fine potatos and a small
-onion. Boil them in three large pints of water, till so soft that you
-can pulp them through a cullender. When returned to the pot add a very
-little salt and cayenne, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter,
-divided into bits, and boil it ten minutes longer. When you put it into
-the tureen, stir in two table-spoonfuls or more of good cream. This is a
-soup for fast-days, or for invalids.
-
-
-CHESTNUT SOUP.--Make, in the best manner, a soup of the lean of fresh
-beef, mutton, or venison, (seasoned with cayenne and a little salt,)
-allowing rather less than a quart of water to each pound of meat,
-skimming and boiling it well, till the meat is all in rags, and drops
-from the bone. Strain it, and put it into a clean pot. Have ready a
-quart or more of large chestnuts, boiled and peeled. If roasted, they
-will be still better. They should be the large Spanish chestnuts. Put
-the chestnuts into the soup, with some small bits of fresh butter rolled
-in flour. Boil the soup ten minutes longer, before it goes to table.
-
-
-PORTABLE SOUP.--This is a very good and nutritious soup, made first into
-a jelly, and then congealed into hard cakes, resembling glue. If well
-made, it will keep for many months in a cool, dry place, and when
-dissolved in hot water or gravy, will afford a fine liquid soup, very
-convenient to carry in a box on a journey or sea voyage, or to use in a
-remote place, where fresh meat for soup is not to be had. A piece of
-this glue, the size of a large walnut, will, when melted in water,
-become a pint bowl of soup; or by using less water, you may have it much
-richer. If there is time and opportunity, boil with the piece of soup a
-seasoning of sliced onion, sweet marjoram, sweet basil, or any herbs you
-choose. Also, a bit of butter rolled in flour.
-
-To make portable soup, take two shins or legs of beef, two knuckles of
-veal, and four unskinned calves' feet. Have the bones broken or cracked.
-Put the whole into a large clean pot that will hold four gallons of
-water. Pour in, at beginning, only as much water as will cover the meat
-well, and set it over the fire, to heat gradually till it almost boils.
-Watch and skim it carefully while any scum rises. Then pour in a quart
-of cold water to make it throw up all the remaining scum, and then let
-it come to a good boil, continuing to skim as long as the least scum
-appears. In this be particular. When the liquid appears perfectly clear
-and free from grease, pour in the remainder of the water, and let it
-boil very gently for eight hours. Strain it through a very clean hair
-sieve into a large stoneware pan, and set it where it will cool quickly.
-Next day, remove all the remaining grease, and pour the liquid, as
-quickly as possible, into a three-gallon stew-pan, taking care not to
-disturb the settlings at the bottom. Keep the pan uncovered, and let it
-boil as fast as possible over a quick fire. Next, transfer it to a
-three-quart stew-pan, and skim it again, if necessary. Watch it well,
-and see that it does not burn, as that would spoil the whole. Take out a
-little in a spoon, and hold it in the air, to see if it will jelly. If
-it will not, boil it a little longer. Till it jellies, it is not done.
-
-Have ready some small white ware preserve pots, clean, and quite dry.
-Fill them with the soup, and let them stand undisturbed till next day.
-Set, over a slow fire, a large flat-bottomed stew-pan, one-third filled
-with boiling water. Place in it the pots of soup, seeing it does not
-reach within two inches of their rims. Let the pots stand uncovered in
-this water, hot, but without boiling, for six or seven hours. This will
-bring the soup to a proper thickness, which should be that of a stiff
-jelly, when hot; and when cold, it should be like hard glue. When
-finished turn out the moulds of soup, and wrap them up separately in new
-brownish paper, and put them up in boxes, breaking off a piece when
-wanted to dissolve the soup.
-
-Portable soup may be improved by the addition of three pounds of nice
-lean beef, to the shins, knuckles, calves' feet, &c. The beef must be
-cut into bits.
-
-If you have any friends going the overland journey to the Pacific, a box
-of portable soup may be a most useful present to them.
-
-
-PEPPER-POT.--Have ready a small half pound of very nice white tripe,
-that has been thoroughly boiled and skinned, in a pot by itself, till
-quite soft and tender. It should be cut into very small strips or
-mouthfuls. Put into another pot a neck of mutton, and a pound of lean
-ham, and pour on it a large gallon of water. Boil it slowly, and skim
-it. When the scum has ceased to rise, put in two large onions sliced,
-four potatos quartered, and four sliced turnips. Season with a very
-small piece of red pepper or capsicum, taking care not to make it too
-hot. Then add the boiled tripe. Make a quart bowlful of small dumplings
-of butter and flour, mixed with a very little water; and throw them into
-the pepper-pot, which should afterwards boil about an hour. Then take
-it up, and remove the meat before it is put into the tureen. Leave in
-the bits of tripe.
-
-
-NOODLE SOUP.--This soup may be made with either beef or mutton, but the
-meat must be fresh for the purpose, and not cold meat, re-cooked. Cut
-off all the fat, and break the bones. If boiled in the soup they improve
-it. To each pound of meat allow a small quart of water. Boil and skim
-it, till the meat drops from the bone. Put in with the meat, after the
-scum has ceased to rise, some turnips, carrots and onions, cut in
-slices, and boil them till all to pieces. Strain the soup, and return
-the liquid to a clean pot. Have ready a large quantity of noodles, (in
-French _nouilles_,) and put them into the strained soup; let them boil
-in it ten minutes. The noodles are composed of beaten eggs, made into a
-paste or dough, with flour and a very little fresh butter. This paste is
-rolled out thin into a square sheet. This sheet is then closely rolled
-up like a scroll or quire of thick paper, and then with a sharp knife
-cut round into shreds, or shavings, as cabbage is cut for slaw. These
-cuttings must be dredged with flour to prevent their sticking. Throw
-them into the soup while boiling the second time, and let it boil for
-ten minutes longer.
-
-
-CHICKEN SOUP.--Cut up two large fine fowls, as if carving them for the
-table, and wash the pieces in cold water. Take half a dozen thin slices
-of cold ham, and lay them in a soup-pot, mixed among the pieces of
-chicken. Season them with a very little cayenne, a little nutmeg, and a
-few blades of mace, but no salt, as the ham will make it salt enough.
-Add a head of celery, split and cut into long bits, a quarter of a pound
-of butter, divided in two, and rolled in flour. Pour on three quarts of
-milk. Set the soup-pot over the fire, and let it boil rather slowly,
-skimming it well. When it has boiled an hour, put in some small round
-dumplings, made of half a pound of flour mixed with a quarter of a pound
-of butter; divide this dough into equal portions, and roll them in your
-hands into little balls about the size of a large hickory nut. The soup
-must boil till the flesh of the fowls is loose on the bones, but not
-till it drops off. Stir in, at the last, the beaten yolks of three or
-four eggs; and let the soup remain about five minutes longer over the
-fire. Then take it up. Cut off from the bones the flesh of the fowls,
-and divide it into mouthfuls. Cut up the slices of ham in the same
-manner. Mince the livers and gizzards. Put the bits of fowl and ham in
-the bottom of a large tureen, and pour the soup upon it.
-
-This soup will be found excellent, and may be made of large old fowls,
-that cannot be cooked in any other way. If they are so old that when
-the soup is finished they still continue tough, remove them entirely,
-and do not serve them up at all.
-
-Similar soup may be made of a large old turkey. Also, of four rabbits.
-
-
-DUCK SOUP.--Half roast a pair of fine large tame ducks, keeping them
-half an hour at the fire, and saving the gravy, the fat of which must be
-carefully skimmed off. Then cut them up; season them with black pepper;
-and put them into a soup-pot with four or five small onions sliced thin,
-a small bunch of sage, a thin slice of cold ham cut into pieces, a
-grated nutmeg, and the yellow rind of a lemon grated. Add the gravy of
-the ducks. Pour on, slowly, three quarts of boiling water from a kettle.
-Cover the soup-pot, and set it over a moderate fire. Simmer it slowly
-(skimming it well) for about four hours, or till the flesh of the ducks
-is dissolved into small shreds. When done, strain it through a tureen,
-the bottom of which is covered with toasted bread, cut into square dice
-about two inches in size.
-
-
-FRENCH WHITE SOUP.--Boil a knuckle of veal and four calves' feet in five
-quarts of water, with three onions sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs, four
-heads of white celery cut small, a table-spoonful of whole pepper, and a
-_small_ tea-spoonful of salt, adding five or six large blades of mace.
-Let it boil very slowly, till the meat is in rags and has dropped from
-the bone, and till the gristle has quite dissolved. Skim it well while
-boiling. When done, strain it through a sieve into a tureen, or a deep
-white-ware pan. Next day, take off all the fat, and put the jelly (for
-such it ought to be) into a clean soup-pot with two ounces of
-vermicelli, and set it over the fire. When the vermicelli is dissolved,
-stir in, gradually, a pint of thick cream, while the soup is quite hot;
-but do not let it come to a boil after the cream is in, lest it should
-curdle. Cut up one or two French rolls in the bottom of a tureen, pour
-in the soup, and send it to table.
-
-
-COCOA-NUT SOUP.--Take eight calves' feet (two sets) that have been
-scalded and scraped, but not skinned; and put them into a soup-kettle
-with six or seven blades of mace, and the yellow rind of a lemon grated.
-Pour on a gallon of water; cover the kettle, and let it boil very slowly
-(skimming it well) till the flesh is reduced to rags and has dropped
-entirely from the bones. Then strain it into a broad white-ware pan, and
-set it away to get cold. When it has congealed, scrape off the fat and
-sediment, cut up the cake of jelly, (or stock,) and put it into a clean
-porcelain or enameled kettle. Have ready half a pound of very finely
-grated cocoa-nut. Mix it with a pint of cream. If you cannot obtain
-cream, take rich unskimmed milk, and add to it three ounces of the best
-fresh butter divided into three parts, each bit rolled in arrow-root or
-rice-flour. Mix it, gradually, with the cocoa-nut, and add it to the
-calves-feet-stock in the kettle, seasoned with a small nutmeg grated.
-Set it over the fire, and boil it, slowly, about a quarter of an hour;
-stirring it well. Then transfer it to a tureen, and serve it up. Have
-ready small French rolls, or light milk biscuit to eat with it; also
-powdered sugar in case any of the company should wish to sweeten it.
-
-
-ALMOND SOUP is made in the above manner, substituting pounded almonds
-for the grated cocoa-nut. You must have half a pound of shelled sweet
-almonds, mixed with two ounces of shelled bitter almonds. After
-blanching them in hot water, they must be pounded to a smooth paste (one
-at a time) in a marble mortar; adding frequently a little rose-water to
-prevent their oiling, and becoming heavy. Or you may use peach-water for
-this purpose; in which case omit the bitter almonds, as the peach-water
-will give the desired flavor. When the pounded almonds are ready, mix
-them with the other ingredients, as above.
-
-The calves' feet for these soups should be boiled either very early in
-the morning, or the day before.
-
-
-SPRING SOUP.--Unless your dinner hour is very late, the stock for this
-soup should be made the day before it is wanted, and set away in a
-stone pan, closely covered. To make the stock take a knuckle of veal,
-break the bones, and cut it into several pieces. Allow a quart of water
-to each pound of veal. Put it into a soup-pot, with a set of calves'
-feet,[A] and some bits of cold ham, cut off near the hock. If you have
-no ham, sprinkle in a tea-spoonful of salt, and a salt-spoon of cayenne.
-Place the pot over a _moderate_ fire, and let it simmer slowly (skimming
-it well) for several hours, till the veal is all to rags and the flesh
-of the calves' feet has dropped in shreds from the bones. Then strain
-the soup; and if not wanted that day, set it away in a stone pan, as
-above mentioned.
-
- [A] In buying calves' feet always get those that are singed, not
- skinned. Much of the glutinous or jelly property resides in the skin.
-
-Next day have, ready boiled, two quarts or more of green peas, (they
-must on no account be old,) and a pint of the green tops cut off from
-asparagus boiled for the purpose. Pound a handful of raw spinach till
-you have extracted a tea-cupful of the juice. Set the soup or stock over
-the fire; add the peas, asparagus, and spinach juice, stirring them well
-in; also a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided into four bits,
-and rolled in flour. Let the whole come to a boil; and then take it off
-and transfer it to a tureen. It will be found excellent.
-
-In boiling the peas for this soup, you may put with them half a dozen
-sprigs of green mint, to be afterwards taken out.
-
-Late in the spring you may add to the other vegetables two cucumbers,
-pared and sliced, and the whitest part or heart of a lettuce, boiled
-together; then well drained, and put into the soup with the peas and
-asparagus. It must be very thick with vegetables.
-
-
-SUMMER SOUP.--Take a large neck of mutton, and hack it so as nearly to
-cut it apart, but not quite. Allow a small quart of water to each pound
-of meat, and sprinkle on a tea-spoonful of salt and a very little black
-pepper. Put it into a soup-pot, and boil it _slowly_ (skimming it well)
-till the meat is reduced to rags. Then strain the liquid, return it to
-the soup-pot, and carefully remove all the fat from the surface. Have
-ready half a dozen small turnips sliced thin, two young onions sliced, a
-table-spoonful of sweet marjoram leaves picked from the stalks, and a
-quart of shelled Lima beans. Put in the vegetables, and boil them in the
-soup till they are thoroughly done. You may add to them two
-table-spoonfuls of green nasturtion seeds, either fresh or pickled. Put
-in also some little dumplings, (made of flour and butter,) about ten
-minutes before the soup is done.
-
-Instead of Lima beans, you may divide a cauliflower or two broccolis
-into sprigs, and boil them in the soup with the other vegetables.
-
-This soup may be made of a shoulder of mutton, cut into pieces and the
-bones cracked. For a large potful add also the breast to the neck,
-cutting the bones apart.
-
-
-AUTUMN SOUP.--Begin this soup as early in the day as possible. Take six
-pounds of the lean of fine fresh beef; cut it into small pieces;
-sprinkle it with a tea-spoonful of salt, (not more); put it into a
-soup-pot, and pour on six quarts of water. The hock of a cold ham will
-greatly improve it. Set it over a moderate fire, and let it boil slowly.
-After it comes to a boil, skim it well. Have ready a quarter of a peck
-of ochras cut into very thin round slices, and a quarter of a peck of
-tomatos cut into pieces; also a quart of shelled Lima beans. Season them
-with pepper. Put them in; and after the whole has boiled three hours _at
-least_, take four ears of young Indian corn, and having grated off all
-the grains, add them to the soup and boil it an hour longer. Before you
-serve up the soup remove from it all the bits of meat, which, if the
-soup is sufficiently cooked, will be reduced to shreds.
-
-You may put in with the ochras and tomatos one or two sliced onions. The
-soup, when done, should be as thick as a jelly.
-
-Ochras for soup may be kept all winter, by tying them separately to a
-line stretched high across the store room.
-
-
-WINTER SOUP.--The day before you make the soup, get a leg or shin of
-beef. Have the bone sawed through in several places, and the meat
-notched or scored down to the bone. This will cause the juice or essence
-to come out more freely, when cooked. Rub it slightly with salt; cover
-it, and set it away. Next morning, early as possible, as soon as the
-fire is well made up, put the beef into a large soup-pot, allowing to
-each pound a small quart of water. Then taste the water, and if the salt
-that has been rubbed on the meat is not sufficient, add a very little
-more. Throw in also a tea-spoonful of whole pepper-corns; and you may
-add half a dozen blades of mace. Let it simmer slowly till it comes to a
-boil; then skim it well. After it boils, you may quicken the fire. At
-nine o'clock put in a large head of cabbage cut fine as for cold-slaw;
-six carrots grated; the leaves stripped from a bunch of sweet marjoram;
-and the leaves of a sprig of parsley. An hour afterwards, add six
-turnips, and three potatoes, all cut into four or eight pieces. Also two
-onions, which will be better if previously roasted brown, and then
-sliced. Keep the soup boiling steadily, but not hard, unless the dinner
-hour is very early. For a late dinner, there will be time to boil it
-slowly all the while; and all soups are the better for long and slow
-boiling. See that it is well skimmed, so that, when done, there will be
-not a particle of fat or scum on the surface. At dinner-time take it up
-with a large ladle, and transfer it to a tureen. In doing so, carefully
-avoid the shreds of meat and bone. Leave them all in the bottom of the
-pot, pressing them down with the ladle. A mass of shreds in the tureen
-or soup-plate looks slovenly and disgusting, and should never be seen at
-the table; also, they absorb too much of the liquid. Let the vegetables
-remain in the soup when it is served up, but pick out every shred of
-meat or bone that may be found in the tureen when ready to go to table.
-
-In very cold weather, what is left of this soup will keep till the
-second day; when it must be simmered again over the fire, till it just
-comes to a boil. Put it away in a tin or stone vessel. The lead which is
-used in glazing earthen jars frequently communicates its poison to
-liquids that are kept in them.
-
-
-VEGETABLE SOUP--(_very good_.)--Soak all night, in cold water, either
-two quarts of yellow split peas, or two quarts of dried white beans. In
-the morning drain them, and season them with a very little salt and
-cayenne, and a head of minced celery, or else a heaped table-spoonful of
-celery seed. Put them into a soup-pot with four quarts of water, and
-boil them slowly till they are all dissolved and undistinguishable. Stir
-them frequently. Have ready a profuse quantity of fresh vegetables, such
-as turnips, carrots, parsnips, potatos, onions, and cauliflowers; also,
-salsify, and asparagus tops. Put in, first, the vegetables that require
-the longest boiling. They should all be cut into small pieces. Enrich
-the whole with some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Boil these
-vegetables in the soup till they are all quite tender. Then transfer it
-to a tureen, and serve it up hot.
-
-The foundation being of dried peas or beans, makes it very thick and
-smooth, and the fresh vegetables improve its flavor. It is a good soup
-for Lent, or for any time, if properly and liberally made.
-
-All vegetable soups can be made in Lent without meat, if milk is
-substituted for water, and with butter, beaten eggs and spice, to flavor
-and enrich it.
-
-
-FRENCH POT AU FEU.--This is one of the national dishes of France. The
-following is a genuine French receipt, and it would be found very
-palatable and very convenient if tried in our own land of plenty. The
-true French way to cook it is in an earthen pipkin, such as can be had
-in any pottery shop. The French vessel has a wide mouth, and
-close-fitting lid, with a handle at each side, in the form of circular
-ears. It is large and swelling in the middle, and narrows down towards
-the bottom. The American pipkin has a short thick spout at one side, and
-stands on three or four low feet. No kitchen should be without these
-vessels, which are cheap, very strong, and easily kept clean. They can
-sit on a stove, or in the corner of the fire, and are excellent for slow
-cooking.
-
-The wife of a French artisan commences her pot au feu soon after
-breakfast, prepares the ingredients, puts them, by degrees, into the
-pot, attends to it during the day; and when her husband has done his
-work she has ready for him an excellent and substantial repast, far
-superior to what in our country is called a _tea-dinner_. Men frequently
-indemnify themselves for the poorness of a tea-dinner by taking a dram
-of whiskey afterwards. A Frenchman is satisfied with his excellent pot
-au feu and some fruit afterwards. The French are noted as a temperate
-nation. If they have eaten to their satisfaction they have little
-craving for drink. Yet there is no country in the world where so much
-good eating might be had as in America. But to live well, and
-wholesomely, there should also be good cooking, and the wives of our
-artisans must learn to think more of the comfort, health, and
-cheerfulness of him who in Scotland is called the _bread-winner_, than
-of their own finery, and their children's uncomfortable frippery.
-
-_Receipt._--For a large pot au feu, put into the pipkin six pounds of
-good fresh beef cut up, and pour on it four quarts of water. Set it near
-the fire, skim it when it simmers, and when nearly boiling, add a
-tea-spoonful of salt, half a pound of liver cut in pieces, and some
-black pepper. Then add two or three large carrots, sliced or grated on a
-coarse grater; four turnips, pared and quartered; eight young onions
-peeled and sliced thick, two of the onions roasted whole; a head of
-celery cut up; a parsnip split and cut up; and six potatos, pared,
-sliced, or quartered. In short any good vegetables now in season,
-including tomatos in summer and autumn. Also a bunch of sweet herbs,
-chopped small. Let the whole continue to boil slowly and _steadily_;
-remembering to skim well. Let it simmer slowly five or six hours. Then,
-having laid some large slices of bread in the bottom of a tureen, or a
-very large pan or bowl, pour the stew or soup upon it; all the meat, and
-all the vegetables. If you have any left, recook it the next morning for
-breakfast, and _that day_ you may prepare something else for dinner.
-
-For beef you may substitute mutton, or fresh venison, if you live in a
-venison country, and can get it newly killed.
-
-
-WILD DUCK SOUP.--This is a company soup. If you live where wild ducks
-are abundant, it will afford an agreeable variety occasionally to make
-soup of some of them. If you suspect them to be sedgy or fishy, (you can
-ascertain by the smell when drawing or cleaning them,) parboil each
-duck, with a carrot put into his body. Then take out the carrot and
-throw it away. You will find that the unpleasant flavor has left the
-ducks, and been entirely absorbed by the carrots. To make the soup--cut
-up the ducks, season the pieces with a little salt and pepper, and lay
-them in a soup-pot. For a good pot of soup you should have four wild
-ducks. Add two or three sliced onions, and a table-spoonful of minced
-sage. Also a quarter of a pound of butter divided into four, and each
-piece rolled in flour. Pour in water enough to make a rich soup, and
-let it boil slowly till all the flesh has left the bones,--skim it well.
-Thicken it with boiled or roasted chestnuts, peeled, and then mashed
-with a potato beetle. A glass of Madeira or sherry will be found an
-improvement, stirred in at the last, or the juice and grated peel of a
-lemon. In taking it up for the tureen, be careful to leave all the bones
-and bits of meat in the bottom of the pot.
-
-
-VENISON SOUP.--Take a large fine piece of freshly killed venison. It is
-best at the season when the deer are fat and juicy, from having plenty
-of wild berries to feed on. I do not consider winter-venison worth
-eating, when the meat is poor and hard, and affords no gravy, and also
-is black from being kept too long. When venison is fresh and in good
-order it yields a fine soup, allowing a small quart of water to each
-pound of meat. When it has boiled well, and been skimmed, put in some
-small dumplings made of flour and minced suet, or drippings. Also,
-boiled sweet potatos, cut into round thick slices. You may add boiled
-sweet corn cut off the cob; and, indeed, whatever vegetables are in
-season. The soup-meat should boil till all the flesh is loose on the
-bones, and the bits and shreds should not be served up.
-
-The best pieces of buffalo make good soup.
-
-
-GAME SOUP.--Take partridges, pheasants, grouse, quails, or any of the
-birds considered as game. You may put in here as many different sorts as
-you can procure. They must all be fresh killed. When they are cleaned
-and plucked, cut them in pieces as for carving, and put them into a
-soup-pot, with four calves' feet and some slices of ham, two sticks of
-celery, and a bundle of sweet herbs chopped small, and water enough to
-cover the whole well. Boil and skim well, till all the flesh is loose
-from the bones. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a clean pot, then
-thicken it with fresh butter rolled in flour. Add some force-meat balls
-that have been already fried; or else some hard-boiled yolks of eggs;
-some currant jelly, or some good wine into which a half-nutmeg has been
-grated; the juice of two oranges or lemons, and the grated yellow peel
-of one lemon. Give the soup another boil up, and then send it to table,
-having bread rolls to eat with it.
-
-This is a fine soup for company. Venison soup may be made in this
-manner. Hare soup also.
-
-
-SQUATTER'S SOUP.--Take plenty of _fresh-killed_ venison, as fat and
-juicy as you can get it. Cut the meat off the bones and put it (with the
-bones) into a large pot. Season it with pepper and salt, and pour on
-sufficient water to make a good rich soup. Boil it slowly (remembering
-to skim it well) till the meat is all in rags. Have ready some ears of
-young sweet corn. Boil them in a pot by themselves till they are quite
-soft. Cut the grains off the cob into a deep dish. Having cleared the
-soup from shreds and bits of bone left at the bottom of the pot, stir in
-a thickening made of indian meal mixed to a paste with a little fresh
-lard, or venison gravy. And afterwards throw in, by degrees, the cut
-corn. Let all boil together, till the corn is soft, or for about half an
-hour. Then take it up in a large pan. It will be found very good by
-persons who never were squatters. This soup, with a wild turkey or a
-buffalo hump roasted, and stewed grapes sweetened well with maple sugar,
-will make a good backwoods dinner.
-
-
-MOCK TURTLE SOUP.--Boil together a knuckle of veal (cut up) and a set of
-calves' feet, split. Also the hock of a cold boiled ham. Season it with
-cayenne pepper; but the ham will render it salt enough. You may add a
-smoked tongue. Allow, to each pound of meat, a small quart of water.
-After the meat has come to a boil and been well skimmed, add half a
-dozen sliced parsnips, three sliced onions, and a head of celery cut
-small, with a large bunch of sweet marjoram, and two large carrots
-sliced. Boil all together till the vegetables are nearly dissolved and
-the meat falls from the bone. Then strain the whole through a cullender,
-and transfer the liquid to a clean pot. Have ready some fine large
-sweetbreads that have been soaked in warm water for an hour till all
-the blood was disgorged; then transferred to boiling water for ten
-minutes, and then taken out and laid in very cold water. This will
-blanch them, and all sweetbreads should look white. Take them out; and
-remove carefully all the pipe or gristle. Cut the sweetbreads in pieces
-or mouthfuls, and put them into the pot of strained soup. Have ready
-about two or three dozen (or more) of force-meat balls, made of cold
-minced veal and ham seasoned with nutmeg and mace, enriched with butter,
-and mixed with grated lemon-peel, bread-crumbs, chopped marjoram and
-beaten eggs, to make the whole into smooth balls about the size of a
-hickory nut. Throw the balls into the soup, and add a fresh lemon,
-sliced thin, and a pint of Madeira wine. Give it one more boil up; then
-put it into a tureen and send it to table.
-
-This ought to be a rich soup, and is seldom made except for dinner
-company.
-
-If the above method is _exactly_ followed, there will be found no
-necessity for taking the trouble and enduring the disgust and
-tediousness of cleaning and preparing a calf's head for mock turtle
-soup--a very unpleasant process, which too much resembles the horrors of
-a dissecting room. And when all is done a calf's head is a very insipid
-article.
-
-It will be found that the above is superior to any mock turtle. Made of
-shin beef, with all these ingredients, it is very rich and fine.
-
-
-FISH SOUP.--All fish soups should be made with milk, (if unskimmed so
-much the better,) using no water whatever. The best fish for soup are
-the small sort of cat-fish; also tutaug, porgie, blue fish, white fish,
-black fish or sea-bass. Cut off their heads, tails, and fins, and remove
-the skin, and the backbone, and cut the fish into pieces. To each pound
-of fish allow a quart of rich milk. Put into the soup-pot some pieces of
-cold boiled ham. No salt will then be required; but season with cayenne
-pepper, and a few blades of mace and some grated nutmeg. Add a bunch of
-sweet marjoram, the leaves stripped from the stalks and chopped. Make
-some little dumplings of flour and butter, and put them in when the soup
-is about half done. Half an hour's steady boiling will be sufficient.
-Serve up in the tureen the pieces of fish and ham. Also some toast cut
-in dice.
-
-Soup may be made in this manner, of chickens or rabbits, using always
-milk enriched with bits of butter rolled in flour and flavored with bits
-of cold ham.
-
-
-LOBSTER SOUP.--This is a fine soup for company. Take two or three fine
-fresh lobsters, (the middle sized are the best.) Heat a large pot of
-water, throwing in a large handful of salt. When it is boiling hard put
-in the lobsters, head foremost, that they may die immediately. They will
-require at least half an hour's fast boiling; if large, three quarters.
-When done, take them out, wipe off the scum that has collected on the
-shell, and drain the lobster. First break off the large claws, and crack
-them, then split the body, and extract all the white meat, and the red
-coral--nothing else--and cut it into small pieces. Mash the coral into
-smooth bits with the back of a large spoon, mixing with it plenty of
-sweet oil; and, gradually, adding it to the bits of chopped lobster. Put
-into a clear soup-pot two quarts, or more, of good milk, and thicken it
-with half a dozen crackers or butter-biscuit, pounded fine; or the
-grated crumbs of two or three small rolls, and stir in a quarter of a
-pound of fresh butter made into a paste with two spoonfuls of flour. Put
-in the chopped lobster, seasoned with nutmeg, a few blades of mace
-powdered, and a little cayenne. Let all boil together, slowly, for half
-an hour, keeping it closely covered. Towards the last, stir in two
-beaten eggs. Lay some very small soda biscuit in the bottom of a tureen,
-and pour the soup upon them. Nasturtion flowers strewed at the last
-thickly over the surface of this soup, when in the tureen, are an
-improvement both to its appearance and flavor. So is peppergrass.
-
-
-CRAB SOUP.--Take the meat of two dozen boiled crabs, cut it small, and
-give it a boil in two quarts of milk. Season it with powdered mace,
-nutmeg, and a little cayenne, and thicken it with butter mixed in flour;
-or, make the flour and butter into little dumplings. Have ready half a
-dozen yolks of hard-boiled eggs, and crumble them into the soup just
-before you take it from the fire. Add the heart of a fresh green
-lettuce, cut small and strewed over the surface of the soup, after it is
-poured into the tureen.
-
-
-OYSTER SOUP.--Strain the liquor from one hundred oysters, and carefully
-remove any bits of shell or particles of sea-weed. To every pint of
-oyster liquor allow an equal quantity of rich milk. Season it with whole
-pepper and some blades of mace. Add a head of celery, washed, scraped,
-and minced small. Put the whole into a soup-pot, and boil and skim it
-well. When it boils put in the oysters. Also, a quarter of a pound of
-fresh butter; divide into four pieces, each piece rolled in flour. If
-you can procure cream, add a half-pint, otherwise boil some six eggs
-hard, and crumble the yolks into the soup. After the oysters are in give
-them but one boil up, just sufficient to plump them. If boiled longer
-they will shrink and shrivel and lose their taste. Take them all out and
-set them away to cool. When the soup is done, place in the bottom of the
-tureen some small square pieces of nicely toasted bread cut into dice,
-and pour on the soup; grate in a nutmeg and then add the oysters. Serve
-it up very hot.
-
-Another way is to chop or cut small the oysters, omitting the hard part.
-Make the soup as above, and put in the minced oysters at the last,
-letting them boil but five minutes. Mix the powdered nutmeg with them.
-This is a good way, if you make but a small quantity of soup.
-
-
-CLAM SOUP.--Having washed clean the outside shells of a hundred small
-sand clams, (or scrubbed them with a brush,) put them into a large pot
-of boiling water. When they open their shells take them out with a
-ladle, and as you do so, put them into a cullender to drain off the
-liquor. Then extract the clams from the shells with a knife. Save a
-quart of the liquor, putting the clams in a pitcher by themselves. Mix
-with the quart of liquor, in a clean pot, two quarts of rich milk. Put
-in the clams, and add some pepper-corns and some blades of mace. Also, a
-bunch of sweet marjoram, the leaves stripped off and minced. After all
-has boiled well for an hour, add half a pound, or more, of nice fresh
-butter, made into little dumplings with flour; also a pint of grated
-bread-crumbs. Let it boil a quarter of an hour longer. Then pour the
-soup off from the clams and leave them in the bottom of the pot. They
-will not now be worth eating. If you cannot obtain small clams, you may
-cut large ones in pieces, but they are very coarse and tough.
-
-
-FAST-DAY SOUP.--_For winter._--Having soaked all night two quarts of
-split peas, put them into a soup-pot, adding a sliced onion, two heads
-of celery, the stalks split and cut small; a table-spoonful of chopped
-mint, another of marjoram, and two beets, that have been previously
-boiled and sliced. Mix all these with half a pound of fresh butter cut
-into pieces and dredged with flour. Season with a little salt and
-pepper. Pour on rather more than water enough to cover the whole. Let
-them boil till all the things are quite tender, and the peas dissolved.
-When done, cover the bottom of a tureen with small square bits of toast,
-and pour in the contents of the soup-pot.
-
-It is a good way to boil the split peas in a pot by themselves, till
-they are quite dissolved, and then add them to the ingredients in the
-other pot.
-
-Vegetable soups require a large portion of vegetables, and butter
-always, as a substitute for meat.
-
-
-FRIDAY SOUP.--_For summer._--This is a fast-day soup. Pare and slice six
-cucumbers, and cut up the white part or heart of six lettuces; slice two
-onions, and cut small the leaves of six sprigs of fresh green mint,
-unless mint is disliked by the persons that are to eat the soup; in
-which case, substitute parsley. Add a quart of young green peas. Put the
-whole into a soup-pot, with as much water as will more than cover them
-well. Season slightly with salt and a little cayenne, and add half a
-pound of nice fresh butter, divided into six, each piece dredged well
-with flour. Boil the whole for an hour and a half. Then serve it up,
-without straining; having colored it green with a tea-cup of pounded
-spinach juice.
-
-When green peas are out of season, you may substitute tomatos peeled and
-quartered.
-
-This soup, having no meat, is chiefly for fast days, but will be found
-good at any time.
-
-
-BAKED SOUP.--On the days that you bake bread, you may have a dish of
-thick soup with very little trouble, by putting into a large earthen jug
-or pipkin, or covered pan, the following articles:--Two pounds of
-_fresh_ beef, or mutton, cut into small slices, having first removed the
-fat; two sliced onions and four carrots, and four parsnips cut in four;
-also, four turnips, six potatos pared and cut up, and half a dozen
-tomatos, peeled and quartered. Season the whole with a little salt and
-pepper. A large beet, scraped and cut up, will be an improvement. To
-these things pour on three quarts of water. Cover the earthen vessel,
-and set it in the oven with the bread, and let the soup bake at the same
-time.
-
-If the bread is done before the dinner hour, you must keep the soup
-still longer in the oven.
-
-Do not use _cold_ meat for this or any other soup, unless you are very
-poor.
-
-
-
-
-FISH.
-
-
-TO CLEAN FISH.--This must always be done with the greatest care and
-nicety. If sent to table imperfectly cleaned, they are disgraceful to
-the cook, and disgusting to the sight and taste. Handle the fish
-lightly; not roughly so as to bruise it. Wash it well, but do not leave
-it in the water longer than is needful. It will lose its flavor, and
-become insipid, if soaked. To scale it, lay the fish flat upon one side,
-holding it firmly in the left hand, and with the right taking off the
-scales by means of a knife. When both sides are done, pour sufficient
-cold water over it to float off all the loose scales that may have
-escaped your notice. It is best to pump on it. Then proceed to open and
-empty the fish. Be sure that not the smallest particle of the entrails
-is left in. Scrape all carefully from the backbone. Wash out all the
-blood from the inside. A dexterous cook can draw a fish without
-splitting it entirely down, all the way from head to tail. Smelts and
-other small fish are drawn or emptied at the gills.
-
-All fish should be cleaned or drawn as soon as they are brought in, and
-then kept on ice, till the moment for cooking.
-
-
-TO BOIL FISH.--No fish can be fit to eat unless the eyes are prominent
-and lively, the gills very red, and the body firm and stiff, springing
-back immediately when bent round to try them. Every scale must be
-carefully scraped off, and the entrails entirely extracted; not the
-smallest portion being carelessly left sticking to the backbone.
-Previous to cooking, fish of every kind should be laid in cold water,
-and the blood thoroughly washed from the inside. Few fish are not the
-better for being put on to boil in cold water, heating gradually with it
-till it comes to a boil. If you put it on in boiling water, the outside
-becomes boiling hot too soon; and is apt to break and come off in
-flakes, while the inside still remains hard and underdone: halibut,
-salmon, cod, and other large thick fish must be boiled slowly and
-thoroughly throughout, taking nearly as long as meat. Always put salt
-into the water at the commencement, and a little vinegar towards the
-last. In every kitchen should be a large oval kettle purposely for
-boiling fish. This kettle has a movable strainer inside. The fish lies
-on the strainer. To try if it is done, run a thin sharp knife in it,
-till it reaches the backbone; and see if the flesh will loosen or
-separate easily. If it adheres to the bone it requires more boiling.
-When quite done, leave it no longer in the kettle, or it will lose its
-flavor and get a woolly look. Take out the strainer with the fish upon
-it. Drain off the water through the strainer, cover the fish with a
-folded napkin or fine towel, doubled thick; transfer it to a heated
-dish, and keep it warm and dry till it goes to table, directly after the
-soup. In the mean time prepare the sauce to be served up along with the
-fish.
-
-
-FRYING FISH.--Fish should be fried in _very good_ fresh butter, or nice
-beef drippings; or else in lard, which last, is the most usual method. A
-large allowance of lard should be put into the pan, and held over a
-clear fire, till it becomes so hot as to boil fast in the pan. Till the
-lard hisses and bubbles do not put in the fish. They must first be dried
-separately in a clean cloth, and then scored on the back in deep
-incisions, or gashes, and slightly dredged with flour. Unless the lard
-is amply sufficient in quantity to cover the fish well, and bear them up
-towards the surface, they will sink heavily to the bottom of the pan,
-and perhaps stick there and burn. Also, if there is not fat enough, the
-fish will absorb the whole of what there is, and become dark-colored and
-greasy.
-
-
-BAKED FISH.--This is a dish for company. You may bake in the same manner
-a shad, a fresh codfish, a sheep's head, a white fish, or a blue fish,
-or a pair of large black fish. Trout also are considered fish for
-baking. Cut off the head, and split the fish nearly down to the tail.
-For a stuffing, cut two slices of nice light wheat bread, of shape and
-size to fit easily into the inside of the fish, and spread them thickly
-with very new fresh butter. Season them with cayenne and powdered mace,
-and moisten them with port wine or sherry. Add the juice and yellow rind
-of a lemon, grated; and sufficient powdered white sugar to take off the
-extreme acid of the last. Fill the body of the fish with this stuffing,
-kept in by tying round the fish, carefully, a white cotton cord, or
-tape, so as to confine it in several places. Lay bits of fresh butter
-over the outside, at equal distances. Place the fish on a trivet, in a
-bake pan, and pour round it a pint of wine and water mixed. Baste it
-with this frequently while baking. It will require at least an hour in a
-quick oven. If the basting does not leave sufficient gravy, add half a
-pint more of wine mixed with a little hot water.
-
-When you have taken up the fish, keep it hot while you are finishing the
-gravy, which you should thicken and enrich by stirring in smoothly a
-piece of butter mixed slightly into a paste with flour, and seasoned
-with grated nutmeg. Serve up the gravy in a sauce-boat, and lay slices
-of lemon along the back of the fish, having, of course, removed the
-string that was wound around it to confine the stuffing. Send to table
-with the baked fish, a dish of potatos mashed with milk and butter, and
-browned on the surface with a salamander, or a red hot shovel. Always
-remove the seeds of lemon slices. Fresh mackerel may be baked thus.
-
-Fish may be baked plainly, with a stuffing of sweet marjoram, minced
-sage, and onion, (previously boiled and drained,) a little butter, or
-finely chopped beef suet, and plenty of grated bread crumbs, seasoned
-with a little black pepper. Or instead of crumbs you may put in slices
-of bread and butter soaked in milk, and secured as above from falling
-out while the fish is baking.
-
-
-STEWED FISH.--Take any nice fresh fish of moderate size, and when it is
-drawn and washed, cut it into three or four pieces, and put them into a
-stew-pan with amply sufficient hot water to keep them from burning.
-Season them with a little salt and cayenne. After it has simmered
-steadily for half an hour, and been skimmed, have ready a quarter of a
-pound of fresh butter, mixed into a smooth paste with a heaped
-table-spoonful of flour. Add this to the stew, with a bunch of sweet
-marjoram chopped fine, and a sprig of chopped parsley. If approved, add
-a small onion pared and sliced very thin. Cover it closely, and let it
-stew another half hour. Then send it to table. This is a family dish.
-Any fresh fish may be stewed thus.
-
-
-SPICED FISH.--Cold fish that has been left at dinner is very nice to put
-away for the supper table. It should be fresh salmon, fresh cod,
-rock-fish, halibut, or the remains of any other large fine fish. Take
-out the back bone, and cut the flesh into moderate sized pieces. Lay it
-in a deep dish that has a cover. Season the fish with cayenne pepper, a
-little salt, some grated nutmeg, and some blades of mace; also some
-whole black pepper-corns, and pour over it plenty of good cider vinegar.
-Tarragon vinegar will be an improvement. Cover it closely, and set it in
-a cold place till wanted. If in spring or summer, set it in ice.
-
-We do not recommend cloves or allspice. The taste of those coarse spices
-is so overpowering, (and to many persons so unpleasant,) that they are
-now nearly out of use at good tables.
-
-Nutmeg, mace and ginger, will be found much better, and with cinnamon
-occasionally, are sufficient for all spice seasonings. Nevertheless, for
-those who like them, a few cloves will relieve the insipidity of
-halibut.
-
-
-FISH CAKES.--Take codfish (either fresh or salt) that has been boiled
-the day before. Carefully remove the bones, and mince the flesh. Mix
-with it a quantity of warm mashed potatos, (mashed with butter and milk)
-in the proportion of one third codfish, and two thirds mashed potatos.
-Add sufficient beaten egg to make the whole into a smooth paste. Season
-it with cayenne; and, if the mixture seems dry, moisten and enrich it
-with a little butter. Make it into cakes about an inch thick, and as
-large round as the top of a common sized tea-cup. Or into round balls.
-Sprinkle them well with flour.
-
-Fry them in lard, or beef-drippings. When one side is done turn them
-over. Drain them, and send them to the breakfast table. If approved, you
-may add to the mixture two or three onions boiled and minced. Any large
-cold fish may be dressed in this manner for next morning's breakfast.
-
-
-ROCK-FISH.--Rock-fish are generally plain boiled, (with the heads and
-tails left on,) and they are eaten with egg sauce, (hard boiled eggs
-chopped, and mixed with melted or drawn butter,) seasoned with a little
-cayenne. Put on the side of your plate, any nice fish sauce from the
-castors. Some serve up rock-fish with hard boiled eggs, cut into halves,
-and laid closely in a row along the back of the fish; half an egg being
-helped to each person. Cold butter is then eaten with it. We think this
-a very nice way.
-
-Blue fish, white fish, and black fish, may be drest in this manner.
-Also, sea-bass.
-
-
-BLACK FISH AND SEA-BASS--Are all boiled in the same manner, having first
-carefully scaled, and drawn, and well washed them. In drawing fish take
-care that the whole of the inside is nicely scraped from the back-bone,
-all along. When ready, dredge a clean soft cloth with flour, wrap the
-fish in it; lay it on the strainer of a fish-kettle, and put it in
-plenty of water, into which has been thrown a small table-spoonful of
-salt. Keep it steadily boiling near half an hour. Take it carefully out
-of the cloth, drain it on the strainer, and keep it warm. Send to table
-with it egg-sauce.
-
-Eat mashed potatos with it.
-
-_Frying._--To fry the above fish,--cut them in two or three pieces; wash
-them and wipe them dry; score them with deep cuts, and season with
-cayenne and a little salt--dredge them with flour, and fry them brown in
-a pan nearly full of boiling lard.
-
-Any fish may be fried in this manner.
-
-
-FRESH COD.--A fine codfish should be very thick about the neck; the eyes
-lively; the gills red; and the flesh firm and white. If flabby, it is
-not good. It is in season from October till May. After scaling,
-emptying, washing, and drying, cover it, and let it rest for an hour.
-Then put it on in a fish-kettle of _cold_ water, (hard water if you can
-procure it,) throw in a small handful of salt, and let the cod heat
-gradually, skimming it well. Boil it gently, but steadily, till
-thoroughly done. Then, take it out of the kettle, drain it, and keep it
-warm till ready to go to table. No fish should be allowed to remain in
-the water after the boiling is quite over. Serve it up with oyster or
-lobster sauce.
-
-You may broil fresh cod in steaks, or fry it in cutlets. For frying
-fish, you may use beef or veal drippings, with the fat skimmed off
-carefully. Mutton fat (which is tallow) is unfit for all cookery.
-
-
-TROUT.--Trout is considered a very nice fish, and is in season in the
-summer. When fresh it is a fine flesh color, and its spots are very
-bright. To fry trout, dry them in a cloth. Score them deeply, and touch
-each incision or cut with a little cayenne. Dredge them with flour.
-Grate some bread-crumbs very fine, and in another pan beat some eggs
-very light and thick. Dip each fish twice in the egg, and twice in the
-crumbs, and fry them in plenty of boiling lard, or in a mixture of lard
-and fresh butter. When done, drain them, and send them to table with a
-dish of cucumbers sliced and dressed in the usual way, with vinegar,
-pepper and salt.
-
-If boiled, serve them up with egg sauce. If broiled, eat them with cold
-butter and cayenne.
-
-
-STEWED TROUT.--This is a dish for company. Mix together as much cold
-water and sweet white wine, in equal quantities, as will well cover the
-fish. When done, take them out of the stew pan, drain them, and keep
-them hot while you prepare the gravy. For this, thicken the liquid with
-a piece of fresh butter divided into four, each bit rolled in flour; and
-add two or more well-beaten eggs, and season with powdered mace and
-nutmeg. Mix all this together, give it one boil up, and pour it over the
-trout, after they are dished for table.
-
-
-BAKED TROUT.--Having cleaned the trout, wrap each fish in a very thin
-slice of bacon, sprinkled with minced sweet marjoram, and seasoned with
-cayenne and mace. Inclose each fish in a white paper, cut larger than to
-fit exactly. Fasten the papers with strings or pins, to be removed
-before the fish goes to table. Lay the trout in a square tin pan, and
-bake them in the papers, which must be taken off when the fish are done;
-but serve them up with the bacon round them or not, as you please.
-
-
-SALT COD.--The afternoon before the fish is to be eaten, put it to soak
-in plenty of cold water. Cover it, and let it stand in a warm place all
-night. In the morning pour off that water, wash the fish clean, and
-scrub the outside with a brush. Put it into a kettle with cold water
-sufficient to cover it well; and let it boil fast till near dinner time,
-skimming it well. About half an hour before dinner, pour off this
-boiling water, and substitute a sufficiency of cold. In this last water
-give the fish one boil up. Send it to table with egg sauce, made with
-plenty of butter, and hard-boiled eggs cut in half, and laid closely
-along the back of the fish, to be helped with it. Accompany the cod with
-a plate of sliced beets drest with vinegar.
-
-Next morning you may take what is left, and having removed all the bone,
-mince the fish, and mix it with an equal quantity of mashed potatos,
-adding some butter, pepper, and raw egg. Make the whole into balls or
-flat cakes, and fry them in drippings or lard. They are good at
-breakfast. On every one put a small spot of pepper.
-
-
-FRIED SMELTS.--The smelt is a very nice little fish, which has a
-peculiarly sweet and delicate flavor of its own, that requires, to be
-tasted in perfection, no other cooking than plain broiling or frying in
-fresh lard. Do not wash them, but wipe them dry in a clean cloth; having
-opened and drawn them, (they should be drawn through the gills,) and cut
-off the heads and tails, dredge them with flour. The frying-pan must be
-more than two-thirds full of boiling lard; boiling hard when the smelts
-are put in, so as to float them on the surface. If there is not
-sufficient lard, or if it is not boiling, the fish will sink and be dark
-colored, and greasy. About ten minutes are sufficient for the small
-ones, and fifteen for those of a larger size. When done, drain off the
-lard and send them to the breakfast table on a hot dish.
-
-If you prefer retaining the heads and tails, dish them, alternately,
-with the heads up and tails down.
-
-
-FRIED CAT-FISH.--The best cat-fish are the small ones. If too large,
-they are generally coarse and strong. They must be cooked quite fresh;
-if possible, directly out of the water. They are very popular at fishing
-parties. Wash and clean them, cutting off their heads and tails, and
-removing the upper part of the back-bone, near the shoulders. Score them
-along the back, with deep gashes or incisions. Dredge them with flour,
-and fry them in plenty of lard, boiling fast when the cat-fish are put
-into the pan. Or, you may fry them in the drippings or gravy saved from
-roast beef, or veal. They are very nice dipped in a batter of beaten egg
-and grated bread-crumbs, or they may be done in a plain, though not so
-nice a way, with indian meal instead of bread-crumbs. Drain off the lard
-before you dish them. Touch each incision or cut, _very slightly_, with
-a little cayenne before they go to table.
-
-Cat-fish are a breakfast dish, and are also eaten at supper. Porgie and
-tutaug are cooked in this manner.
-
-Any fish may be fried as above, when not split open.
-
-
-FINE CHOWDER.--This is Commodore Stovens's receipt:--Take four
-table-spoonfuls of minced onions that have been fried with slices of
-salt pork; two pilot-biscuits broken up; one table-spoonful of minced
-sweet marjoram, and one of sweet basil; a quarter of a bottle of
-mushroom catchup; half a bottle of port wine; half a nutmeg grated; a
-few cloves, and mace, and pepper-corns; six pounds of fresh cod, and
-sea-bass, cut in slices. Put the whole into a pot, with water enough to
-cover it about an inch. Boil it steadily for an hour, carefully stirring
-it. Serve it up hot in a large deep dish.
-
-Chowder may be made as above, substituting clams for the cod. The clams
-must be chopped small. You may, for variety, make chowder with oysters,
-or with boiled lobsters, or crabs; always beginning the mixture with
-pork fried with onions.
-
-
-YANKEE CHOWDER.--Having sliced very thin some salt fat pork, season it
-with pepper, lay it in the bottom of a large iron pot, set it over the
-fire, and let it fry. When done, take out the pork, leaving the liquid
-fat in the bottom. Next, peel and slice some onions, and lay them on the
-fat. Pour in sufficient clam or oyster liquor to stew the onions. Have
-ready a sufficient quantity of sea-bass, black fish, tutaug, porgie,
-haddock, or fresh cod. Cut the fish in small pieces, and put it into the
-pot. Add plenty of potatos pared and quartered. Then some clam liquor;
-and lastly, some crackers, (soaked and split,) or some soda biscuit; the
-crackers to cover the top. If you wish to fill a large pot, repeat all
-these ingredients, arranging them in layers. If there is not gravy
-enough, add some boiling milk, poured in at the last, and enriched with
-bits of butter mixed with flour. Cover the pot closely, and let it stew
-half an hour, or more, till all the contents are thoroughly done. You
-may bake the chowder in an iron oven, over a wood fire, heaping live
-coals on the oven lid.
-
-
-CLAM CHOWDER.--Put into boiling water from fifty to a hundred of the
-small sand clams; and when all their shells have opened, take them out,
-as they are then sufficiently boiled. Extract all the hard, or tough,
-uneatable part, and throw it away. Slice thin as much salt pork as, when
-fried in the bottom of a large pot, will produce half a pint of liquid
-or gravy. Take out all the pork, leaving the liquid in the pot. Add to
-it a layer of clams. Then a layer of biscuit soaked in milk or warm
-water. Next another layer of clams; then another layer of soaked
-biscuit; then more clams. Season it with pepper and mace. If there is no
-objection to onions, add three or four boiled and sliced, and some
-minced marjoram. Also, some potatos, boiled, peeled, and quartered. Let
-the last layer be clams, and then cover the whole with a good paste, and
-bake it in an iron oven, or boil it in an iron pot.
-
-Chowder of fresh codfish, halibut, sea-bass, or any other good fish, is
-made as above. Halibut requires a much larger portion of seasoning, and
-a little more pork. Though very large and therefore very profitable, it
-is in itself the most tasteless of all fish. Plain boiled halibut is not
-worth eating.
-
-
-SALMON.--In choosing a salmon, see that the gills are a fine red, the
-eyes full, the scales clear, and the whole fish stiff; the flesh being
-of the peculiar red known as salmon-color. Between the flakes is a
-substance called the curd, which gives it firmness. By keeping, this
-substance melts down and the flesh becomes soft. A salmon can only be
-eaten in perfection on the sea-coast where it was caught, and on the
-same day. To transport it any distance, it must be enclosed in a box,
-and well packed in ice. In America, salmon is found in the greatest
-perfection on the coast of Maine, in the Kennebec. Very fine ones are
-brought to Boston market. They also abound on the coasts of California
-and Oregon. The American salmon is much larger than those of Europe. It
-is so fine a fish that its own flavor is better than any that can be
-communicated except by the most simple sauce. It requires as much
-boiling as meat, that is, a quarter of an hour for every pound. It is in
-season from May till August or September.
-
-The lake salmon is good, but inferior to that of the ocean, in size,
-richness, and color.
-
-In boiling a large fish, to judge if it is done, draw up the strainer or
-fish-plate, and with a thin knife try if the flesh separates easily from
-the bone. If you can loosen it immediately, it is cooked enough. It
-injures a fish to let it get cool in the water.
-
-
-BOILED SALMON.--After carefully emptying the salmon, wash it very clean
-from the blood inside, and remove the scales. To preserve the fine color
-of the salmon, or to set the curd or creamy substance between the
-flakes, it should be put into boiling water, allowing to a gallon of
-water a handful of salt. After the water has been boiling a few minutes,
-and has been skimmed, put in the fish, (laying it on the drainer,) and
-let it boil moderately fast, skimming it well. It must be thoroughly
-boiled. Underdone fish of every kind is disgusting and unwholesome.
-Before it is taken from the fish kettle ascertain if it is sufficiently
-cooked, by trying if the back-bone easily loosens from the flesh. A
-quarter of an hour may be allowed for each pound, for a large thick
-salmon requires as much cooking as meat. When you take it up, drain it
-well, and serve it up immediately. Have ready some lobster sauce, or
-shrimp, if more convenient. To make it, mince the meat of a boiled
-lobster, mashing the coral with it, and mix it with melted or drawn
-butter, made very thick, and having but a very small portion of water.
-For shrimp sauce, boil the shrimps, take off their heads, and squeeze
-out their bodies from the shells. Thicken with them the drawn butter.
-Nothing should go with salmon that will interfere with the flavor of
-this fine fish, or give it any taste that will overpower or weaken its
-own.
-
-Many prefer salmon with nothing more than cold butter spread on after it
-is helped. We think, ourselves, that when the butter is very good, it is
-not improved (for salmon) by the addition of flour and water; and a very
-little is sufficient. You need use nothing from the castors except
-cayenne.
-
-It is usual to eat cucumbers with salmon, and no other vegetables; the
-cucumbers to be pared, sliced, laid in cold water, and dressed, and
-served up by themselves, with a little plate for each person, that the
-vinegar, &c., of the cucumbers may not impart too much acid to the
-salmon.
-
-In places remote from the sea, a whole salmon is seldom seen at table
-but at dinner parties, or at good hotels. In a very hot climate it
-should not be seen at all. When in season, it can be bought in any
-quantity by the pound, for a small family. For a small dinner company,
-from four to six pounds will suffice.
-
-Cook salmon-trout in the same manner. Large fish should be helped with a
-silver fish trowel.
-
-
-ROASTED SALMON.--Take a large piece of fine fresh salmon, cut from the
-middle of the fish, well cleaned and carefully scaled. Wipe it dry in a
-clean coarse cloth. Then dredge it with flour, put it on the spit, and
-place it before a clear bright fire. Baste it with fresh butter, and
-roast it well; seeing that it is thoroughly done to the bone. Serve it
-up plain; garnishing the dish with slices of lemon, as many persons like
-a little lemon-juice with salmon. This mode of cooking salmon will be
-found excellent. A small one, or a salmon-trout, may be roasted whole.
-
-
-BAKED SALMON.--A small salmon may be baked whole. Stuff it with
-forcemeat made of bread-crumbs; chopped oysters, or minced lobster;
-butter, cayenne, a little salt, and powdered mace,--all mixed well, and
-moistened with beaten yolk of egg. Bend the salmon round, and put the
-tail into the mouth, fastening it with a skewer. Put it into a large
-deep dish; lay bits of butter on it at small intervals; and set it into
-the oven. While baking, look at it occasionally, and baste it with the
-butter. When one side is well browned, turn it carefully in the dish,
-and add more butter. Bake it till the other side is well browned. Then
-transfer it to another dish with the gravy that is about it, and send it
-to table.
-
-If you bake salmon in slices, reserve the forcemeat for the outside. Dip
-each slice first in beaten yolk of egg, and then in the forcemeat, till
-it is well coated.
-
-
-BROILED SALMON.--Wash carefully all traces of blood from the inside of
-the fish. Cut it into rather thick slices, or fillets. Dry them in a
-clean cloth, and dredge them with flour. Chalk the bars of the gridiron,
-or grease them with lard or suet, or the dripping of beef or veal, to
-prevent the fish from sticking. Let the fire be a bed of clear bright
-hot coals. Broil the slices well on both sides; and when done, transfer
-them to a hot dish, and lay a bit of fresh butter on each, and season
-them a little with cayenne.
-
-Fresh codfish may be cut into steaks, and broiled as above.
-
-Also halibut, or any other large fish.
-
-Serve up shrimp or lobster sauce, with all cutlets or steaks of large
-fish.
-
-
-FRIED SALMON CUTLETS.--Having washed, dried and floured the cutlets, put
-near a pound of fresh lard into a frying pan, set it over a clear brisk
-fire till it boils fast. Have ready a marinade or dressing made of
-grated bread-crumbs, chopped sweet-marjoram, beaten yolks of eggs, and
-powdered mace--all well mixed. Dip each cutlet into this marinade twice
-over, and fry them. There must be plenty of lard, so that the cutlets
-may float on its surface instead of sinking to the bottom, and becoming
-dark, heavy, and greasy. When they are done, take them up with a
-perforated skimmer, draining off the lard as you do so. Lay them on a
-hot dish, and keep them hot till wanted. Serve up with them mashed
-potatos made into flat cakes, and browned with a salamander or red hot
-shovel.
-
-Fresh codfish cutlets may be fried in this manner.
-
-You may broil halibut as above. Halibut is too insipid for boiling.
-
-
-PICKLED SALMON.--Clean a fine fresh salmon, and remove the bones. Cut
-off the head, fins, and tail. Fish, to be pickled, should (instead of
-washing) be wiped, and rubbed with a clean dry cloth. Cut it into steaks
-or cutlets. Put it into a stone-ware jar with a close cover. A broad low
-jar will be best. Sprinkle it with salt, and cayenne. Add some grains of
-whole black pepper, and some blades of mace, seasoning it highly to make
-it keep well. Fill up the jar with the best cider vinegar, set it in a
-moderate oven, and bake it till thoroughly done; adding more vinegar, if
-it seems too dry. Then cover the jar very closely, with the lid--if
-there is the smallest crack, paste all round a fillet of strong, white
-paper. Whenever you open the jar to take out some of the salmon for use,
-add some fresh vinegar. Keep the jar in a dry cool place. If properly
-done, and well seasoned, it will keep several months.
-
-
-BROILED FRESH MACKEREL.--Mackerel cannot be eaten too fresh, as no fish
-spoils so soon; for which reason in England mackerel is permitted to be
-sold on Sundays. We have heard in London the fishwomen crying it about
-the streets on Sunday morning before church time. And even then it is
-far inferior to mackerel taken immediately out of the sea, at the places
-on the coast. It is generally broiled, as no other cooking seems to suit
-it, and draw forth its true flavor. Split your mackerel, remove the
-bone, and cut off the heads and tails. Dredge them on both sides with
-flour, and sprinkle the inside with black pepper and a little salt. Have
-your gridiron very hot, over a clear fire, and grease the bars with
-lard, or chalk them to prevent the fish from sticking. Broil them well
-on both sides, and when they are done, and very hot, lay some bits of
-fresh butter upon them. Cover to keep them warm, and send them to table
-as soon as possible. They are a fine breakfast fish, and good at a plain
-dinner. For sauce, cold butter is all that is necessary, but you may mix
-with it, chopped parsley, or minced fennel. At the best English tables,
-stewed _gooseberries_, pulped through a sieve and sweetened, is the
-fashionable sauce for broiled mackerel, or lemon-juice is squeezed
-profusely over the fish. To this the lovers of fruit with every thing,
-will not object.
-
-If a mackerel is fresh, the eyes will be full and lively, the gills very
-red, and the stripes or bars on the back a very dark color, (nearly
-black,) and strongly marked; and the body thick. If thin and flat below
-the shoulders, the eyes sunk, the gills pale, and the dark stripes dull
-and indistinct, the fish is unfit to eat.
-
-
-FRIED MACKEREL.--For frying, take small mackerel, as fresh as possible.
-Wash them, dry them in a clean cloth, and score them deeply in the back,
-making several deep cuts. Season them with a little salt and pepper. Go
-over them with beaten egg, and then cover them thickly with grated
-bread-crumbs; which, for this purpose, are superior to indian meal or
-pounded crackers. Fry them in boiling lard, and dish them hot. Send them
-to table with a dish of potatos sliced and fried in butter.
-
-Any fish may be fried in this manner. If large, cut it into pieces.
-
-
-FRIED HALIBUT.--There is a great deal of eating in a halibut, as it is a
-fish of immense size, and has only the back bone. It is sold in pieces
-of any weight or quantity, and is exceedingly white and delicate in
-appearance. But it is so very insipid, that when _boiled_ it has no
-taste at all. Therefore it is always broiled or fried, except at tables
-where economy is the chief consideration. If broiled, it is done in the
-same manner as any other large fish, but to make it palatable requires
-something to give it a little taste.
-
-To fry halibut--take a piece from the middle of the fish, wash it very
-carefully, and dry it in a clean cloth. Then cut it into thick fillets,
-extracting the bone, which is easily done with a sharp knife, loosening
-the flesh from the bone, and raising it as you proceed. Remove the skin.
-You may also cut the fillets into slices about an inch thick. Season
-with cayenne, and a very little salt. Cover them slightly with nice
-butter. Have ready in one pan plenty of grated bread-crumbs; in another
-a sufficiency of beaten yolk of egg, seasoned with powdered mace and
-nutmeg. Dip the slices first into the egg, then into the pan of
-bread-crumbs. Do this twice over, to every slice. Have ready over the
-fire a hot frying pan full of _boiling_ lard. Put in the slices and fry
-them well. When one side is done, turn the other. When all are done,
-take them from the frying pan with a perforated skimmer, and drain them.
-Keep them hot between two heated dishes.
-
-Cooked in this manner, the halibut will be sufficiently flavored and is
-a profitable fish.
-
-Instead of frying, the halibut steaks may be broiled over a clear fire,
-on a grooved gridiron. Having first buttered it, dip each steak, as
-above, in bread-crumbs and egg, and lay upon each steak a large tomato
-opened, and stuffed with a forcemeat of bread-crumbs seasoned with
-butter, pepper, and mace. This will be found a very nice way of cooking
-halibut. Fresh cod may be done in the same manner.
-
-Cold halibut is sometimes drest as salad for the tea-table.
-
-
-BOILED TURBOT OR SHEEP'S-HEAD FISH.--Having cleaned and washed the fish,
-soak it an hour or two in salt and water to draw off the slime. Then let
-it lie half an hour or more in cold water. Afterwards drain, and wipe it
-dry. Score the back deeply with a knife. The whiteness of the fish will
-be improved by rubbing it over with a cut lemon. The fish kettle must be
-large, and nicely clean. Lay the fish with its back downward, on the
-strainer of the kettle. Cover it well with cold water, (milk and water
-in equal portions will be better still,) and add a small spoonful of
-salt. Do not let it come to a boil too fast, and skim it carefully. When
-the scum has ceased to rise, diminish the heat under the kettle, and let
-it simmer for about half an hour or more; not allowing it to boil hard.
-When the fish is done, take it up carefully with a fish-slice; and
-having prepared the sauce, pour it over the fish and send it to table
-hot.
-
-For the sauce, mix together very smoothly, with a broad-bladed knife, a
-quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and two table-spoonfuls of flour.
-Put them into a clean sauce-pan, and hold it over the fire, and stir
-them till melted. Then add a large salt-spoonful of powdered mace, and
-as much cayenne as will lie on a sixpence. It will be much improved by
-the addition of some boiled lobster, chopped small. When the sauce has
-simmered five minutes, add very gradually half a pint of rich cream, and
-let it come almost to a boil, stirring all the time. After the fish is
-taken up, pour the sauce over it hot. Or you may send it to table in a
-sauce-boat. In this case ornament the fish with the coral of the lobster
-put on in a handsome figure.
-
-Another way of dressing this fish is, after it has been boiled, to set
-it on ice to get cold; and then, having carefully removed the bones, cut
-the flesh into small squares, put it into a stew-pan, and having mixed
-the above sauce, add it to the fish, and let it stew slowly in the
-sauce; but do not let it come to a boil. When thoroughly hot, take it
-up, and send it to table in a deep dish.
-
-
-BAKED TURBOT OR SHEEP'S-HEAD FISH.--Having cleaned the fish, soak it an
-hour or two in salt and water, and afterwards wash it well through two
-or three fresh waters. Then dry it in a clean towel. Score it deeply
-across the back; and then lay it in a deep white baking-dish. Mix
-together a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg; add a
-salt-spoon of cayenne; a few sprigs of sweet marjoram and sweet basil,
-finely minced; two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter; and two
-table-spoonfuls of grated bread-crumbs. Stir this mixture into a pint of
-rich cream. Pour this marinade over the fish, cover it, and let it stand
-half an hour. Then bake it in the marinade; and send it hot to table.
-
-If the fish is too large to be baked whole, cut it into fillets,
-extracting the bone.
-
-Salmon-trout may be baked in this manner.
-
-
-SEA BASS WITH TOMATOS.--Take three large fine sea-bass, or black-fish.
-Cut off their heads and tails, and fry the fish in plenty of lard till
-about half done. Have ready a pint of tomatos, that have been pickled
-cold in vinegar flavored with a muslin bag of mixed spices. Drain the
-tomatos well from the vinegar; skin them, and mash them in a pan;
-dredging them with about as much flour as would fill a large table-spoon
-heaped up. Pour the mixture over the fish while in the frying pan; and
-continue frying till they are thoroughly done.
-
-Cutlets of halibut may be fried in this manner with tomatos: also, any
-other pan-fish.
-
-Beef-steaks or lamb-chops are excellent fried thus with tomatos.
-
-
-BAKED SALMON-TROUT.--Having cleaned the fish, and laid it two hours in
-weak salt and water, dry it in a cloth, and then rub both the inside and
-outside with a seasoning of cayenne pepper, powdered mace, nutmeg, and
-a little salt, mixed well together. Then lay it in a deep baking-pan,
-turn the tail round into the mouth, and stick bits of fresh butter
-thickly over the fish. Put it into an oven, and bake it well; basting it
-frequently with the liquid that will soon surround it. When you suppose
-it to be nearly done, try it by sticking down to the backbone a
-thin-bladed knife. When you find that the flesh separates immediately
-from the bone, it is done sufficiently. Serve it up with lobster-sauce.
-
-Any large fresh fish may be baked in this way.
-
-
-CREAM TROUT.--Having prepared the trout very nicely, and cut off the
-heads and tails, put the fish into boiling water that has been slightly
-salted, and simmer them for five minutes. Then take them out, and lay
-them to drain. Put them into a stew-pan, and season them well with
-powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little cayenne, all mixed together. Put in
-as much rich cream as will cover the fish, adding the fresh yellow rind
-of a small lemon, grated. Keep the pan covered, and let the fish stew
-for about ten minutes after it has begun to simmer. Then dish the fish,
-and keep them hot till you have finished the sauce. Mix, very smoothly,
-a small table-spoonful of arrow-root, the juice of the lemon, and two
-table-spoonfuls of sugar, and stir it into the cream. Pour the sauce
-over the fish, and then send them to table.
-
-Turbot or sheep's-head fish may be dressed as above; of course it will
-require a larger proportion of seasoning, &c., and longer time to cook.
-
-Carp is very nice stewed in this manner.
-
-
-STEWED CODFISH.--Take fine _fresh_ cod, and cut it into slices an inch
-thick, separated from the bones. Lay the pieces of fish in the bottom of
-a stew-pan: season them with grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace;
-a salt-spoonful of cayenne pepper; and a small saucer full of chopped
-celery; or a bunch of sweet herbs tied together. Add a pint of oyster
-liquor, and the juice of a lemon. Cover it close, and let it stew gently
-till the fish is almost done, shaking the pan frequently. Then take a
-piece of fresh butter the size of an egg; roll it in flour, and add it
-to the stew. Also, put in two dozen large fine oysters, with what liquor
-there is about them. Cover it again; quicken the fire a little, and let
-the whole continue to stew five minutes longer. Before you send it to
-table, remove the bunch of sweet herbs.
-
-Rock-fish may be stewed in this manner. Fresh salmon also.
-
-
-FRIED CODFISH.--Take the middle or tail part of a fresh codfish, and cut
-it into slices not quite an inch thick, first removing the skin. Season
-them with a little salt and cayenne pepper. Have ready in one dish some
-beaten yolk of egg, and in another some grated bread-crumbs. Dip each
-slice of fish twice into the egg, and then twice into the crumbs. Fry
-them in fresh butter, and serve them up with the gravy about them.
-
-Halibut may be fried as above.
-
-
-STEWED HALIBUT.--Cut the fish into pieces about four inches square, of
-course omitting the bone. Season it very slightly with salt, and let it
-rest for half an hour. Then take it out of the salt, put it into a large
-deep dish, and strew over it a mixture of cayenne pepper, ground white
-ginger, and grated nutmeg. Lay among it some small bits of fresh butter
-rolled in grated bread. Add half a pint of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar if
-you have it.) Place the dish in a slow oven, and let the halibut cook
-till thoroughly done, basting it very _frequently_ with the liquid. When
-nearly done, add a large table-spoonful or more of capers, or pickled
-nasturtions.
-
-Halibut is a very insipid fish; but this mode of cooking will give it
-taste.
-
-
-STEWED ROCK-FISH.--Take a large rock-fish, and cut it in slices near an
-inch thick. Sprinkle it _very slightly_ with salt, and let it remain for
-half an hour. Slice very thin half a dozen large onions. Put them into a
-stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut into bits. Set
-them over a slow fire, and stir them continually till they are quite
-soft, taking care not to let them become brown. Then put in the sliced
-fish in layers; seasoning each layer with a mixture of white ground
-ginger, cayenne pepper, and grated nutmeg; add some chopped parsley, and
-some bits of butter rolled in flour. Pour in a pint of water, and, if
-you choose, a wine-glass of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar will be best.[B])
-Set it over a good fire and let it cook about an hour. When done, take
-out the fish carefully, to avoid breaking the slices. Lay it in a deep
-dish that has been made hot, and cover it immediately. Have ready the
-beaten yolks of two eggs. Stir them into the gravy. Give it one boil up;
-and then either pour it over the fish, or serve it up in a sauce-boat.
-
- [B] To make this vinegar--half fill a bottle with tarragon leaves, and
- fill it quite up with the best cider vinegar. Cork it tightly, and do
- not remove the tarragon, but let it remain always at the bottom. The
- flavor is very fine.
-
-Halibut, fresh cod, or any other large fish may be stewed in this
-manner.
-
-
-TO KEEP A SHAD FRESH.--By the following process, (which we can highly
-recommend from experience,) a shad may be kept twenty-four hours, or
-indeed longer, so as to be perfectly fresh in taste and appearance. For
-instance, if brought _fresh_ from market on Saturday morning, it may be
-broiled for breakfast on Sunday, and will seem like a fresh shad just
-from the water. Immediately on bringing it in, let it be scaled,
-cleaned, washed, split, and wiped dry; cutting off the head and tail.
-Spread the shad open on a large flat dish. Mix well together in a cup, a
-heaped table-spoonful of brown sugar; a heaped tea-spoonful of cayenne
-pepper, and a tea-spoonful of fine salt; and then rub the mixture,
-thoroughly and evenly, all over the inside of the fish; which, of
-course, must be spread with the skin or outside downward. Cover it
-closely with a large tin cover or with another dish, and set it
-immediately on ice or in a very cold place, and let it rest till next
-morning, or till it is wanted for cooking. Immediately before you put it
-on the gridiron, take a clean towel and carefully wipe off the _whole of
-the seasoning_, not letting a particle of it remain round the edges, or
-anywhere else. Then put the shad on a previously heated gridiron, over
-hot coals, and broil it well. Butter it, and send it hot to table, where
-every one can season it again, according to their taste.
-
-
-PLANKED SHAD.--This is the best way of cooking shad when in perfection,
-just out of the river; and it is much in use at fishing party dinners. A
-board or plank, about three inches thick and two feet square, must be
-provided for the purpose. This plank should be of well-seasoned oak or
-hickory, and very clean. A pine board will very soon catch fire and
-burn; besides communicating to the fish a taste of turpentine or rosin.
-Take a very fine shad, and (having cut off the head and tail,) split it
-down the back, clean it, wash it well, and wipe it dry. Sprinkle it
-with salt, and cayenne. Stand up the board before the fire till it
-becomes very hot, and almost begins to char. Then nail to the hot board
-the spread-open shad, with the back or skin-side next to the plank,
-securing it with a few nails, not driven in so hard that they cannot
-easily be drawn out. Begin to roast it with the head downward. After a
-while turn the other end of the plank, so as to place the tail downward.
-Turn it frequently up or down, that the juices of the fish may be
-equally dispersed throughout. When done, butter it with fresh butter,
-and send it to table on the board; under which, place a large dish or
-tray. Help it to the company off the plank. This mode of cooking a shad
-will be found superior to all others; and is so generally liked, that
-two at least will be required, one at each end of the table. It is much
-enjoyed by parties who have dinners on the banks of the river, and
-bespeak of the fishermen shad just out of the water.
-
-Lake salmon may be cooked in this manner on a plank. Also, blue fish,
-and the lake white fish.
-
-At the principal household stores, shad-boards of oak are now to be
-purchased ready made. The cost is from a dollar to seventy-five cents.
-They are very strong and smooth, and furnished with thick wires crossing
-the board diagonally. Behind these the fish is to slip in without
-nailing. They are much used, and we advise every house-keeper to get
-one. We see very nice ones at Carryl's Furnishing Store, Chestnut
-street, Philadelphia.
-
-
-
-
-SHELL FISH.
-
-
-TO CHOOSE OYSTERS.--Insert a knife, and if the shell instantly closes
-firmly on the knife, the oysters are fresh. If it shuts slowly and
-faintly, or not at all, they are dying, or dead. When the shells of raw
-oysters are found gaping open they are fit for nothing but to throw
-away, and should not have been seen in the market, as they are quite
-dead and decomposition has commenced. Clams the same.
-
-
-TO FEED OYSTERS.--When it is necessary to keep oysters a day or two
-before they are cooked, they must be kept clean and fed, otherwise they
-will die and spoil. Put them into a large tub of clean water; wash from
-them the mud and sand, and scrub them with a birch broom. Then pour off
-_that_ water, and give them a clean tubful, placing the oysters with the
-deep or large side downward, and sprinkling them well, with salt mixed
-with it, allowing about a pint of salt to every two gallons of water.
-But if you have a very large quantity of oysters, add to the salt and
-water several handfuls of indian meal. Repeat this every twelve hours,
-with fresh water and meal. Always at the time of high water, oysters may
-be seen to open their shells, as if in expectation of their accustomed
-food. If this is carefully continued, they will remain plump and
-healthy for two days.
-
-Terrapins also, and other shell fish, should have the salt and water
-changed every twelve hours, and be fed with corn meal.
-
-Turtle must also be well fed, and allowed salted water to swim in.
-
-
-STEWED OYSTERS.--Get two hundred or more fine large fresh oysters. Drain
-them from their liquor, (saving it in a pitcher,) and put them into a
-stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and set them over
-the fire. When they have simmered, and have almost come to a boil,
-remove them from the fire; and have ready a pan of very cold water. Take
-out the oysters, (one at a time, on a fork,) and put them into the cold
-water. This will plump them, and render them firm. Having saved about
-half their liquor, put it into the stew-pan, seasoned well with blades
-of mace, grated nutmeg, whole pepper-corns, and a little cayenne. Stir
-in half a pint or more of thick rich cream; and if you cannot procure
-cream, an equal quantity of nice fresh butter divided into bits,
-slightly dredged with a very little flour. Boil the liquor by itself,
-and when it comes to a boil, take the oysters out of the cold water, and
-put them into the boiling liquor. In five minutes remove the pan from
-the fire, (the oysters having simmered,) and transfer them to a tureen
-or deep dish, in the bottom of which has been laid a buttered toast,
-that has previously been dipped a minute in hot water or milk.
-
-
-FRENCH STEWED OYSTERS.--Wash fifty fine large oysters in their own
-liquor, then strain it into a stew-pan, putting the oysters in a pan of
-cold water. Season the liquor with a large glass or half a pint of white
-wine, (sherry or Madeira,) the juice of two lemons, six or seven blades
-of mace, and a small grated nutmeg. Boil the seasoned liquor; and skim,
-and stir it well. When it comes to a boil, put in the oysters. Give them
-one good stir, and then immediately take them from the fire, transfer
-them to a deep dish, and send them to table. They are not to boil.
-
-Many persons consider this the finest way of cooking oysters for
-company. Try it. The oysters must be of the very best.
-
-
-FRIED OYSTERS.--For frying, take only the largest and finest oysters.
-They should be as fresh as you can get them. Salt oysters are not good
-for frying. Take them out of their liquor, carefully, with a fork,
-picking off whatever bits of shell may be about them. Dry them in a
-clean napkin. Prepare some grated bread-crumbs, or pounded cracker, or
-soda biscuit, seasoned with cayenne pepper. Have ready plenty of yolk of
-egg beaten till very light; and to each egg allow a large tea-spoonful
-of rich cream, or of the best fresh butter. Beat the egg and cream
-together. Dip each oyster first into the egg, &c., and then into the
-crumbs. Repeat this twice till the oysters are well-coated all over.
-Have ready boiling, in a frying-pan, an equal mixture of fresh butter
-and lard. It must come nearly to the edge or top of the frying-pan, and
-be boiling fast when the oysters go in; otherwise they will be heavy and
-greasy, and sink to the bottom. Fry them of a yellow brown on both
-sides. Send them to table very hot.
-
-Oysters will be found much the best when fried in grated bread-crumbs.
-Cracker-crumbs form a hard, tough coating that is very indigestible, and
-also impairs the flavor. Use no salt in making the batter. Omit it
-entirely. It overpowers the taste of the oysters.
-
-
-OYSTER FRITTERS.--Allow to each egg a heaped table-spoonful of flour,
-and a jill or small tea-cupful of milk. Beat the eggs till very light
-and thick; then stir them, gradually, into the pan of milk, in turn with
-the flour, a little at a time. Beat the whole very hard. Have ready the
-oysters, that you may proceed immediately to baking the fritters. The
-oysters should be fresh, and of the largest size. Having drained them
-from their liquor, and dried them separately in a cloth, and dredged
-them with flour, set over the fire a frying-pan nearly full of lard.
-When it boils fast, put in a large spoonful of the batter. Then lay an
-oyster upon it, and cover the oyster with another spoonful of batter.
-Fry the fritters of a nice yellow. As they are done, take them up, drain
-off the lard from the oysters, and keep them hot till they go to table.
-This will be found a very fine receipt if _exactly_ followed.
-
-
-CLAM FRITTERS.--Put a sufficient quantity of clams into a pot of boiling
-water. The small sand-clam will be best. When the shells open wide, take
-them out, extract the clams from the shells, and put them into a
-stew-pan. Strain their liquor, and pour about half of it over the clams;
-adding a little black pepper. They will require no salt. Let them stew,
-slowly, for half an hour; then take them out; drain off all the liquor;
-and mince the clams as fine as possible, omitting the hardest parts. You
-should have as many clams as will make a large pint when minced. Make a
-batter of seven eggs, beaten till very thick and light, and then mixed
-gradually with a quart of milk, and a pint of sifted flour, stirred in
-by degrees, and made perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Then,
-gradually, mix the minced clams with the batter, and stir the whole very
-hard. Have ready in a frying-pan over the fire, a sufficiency of boiling
-lard. Put in, with a spoon, the batter so as to form fritters, and fry
-them light brown. Drain them well when done and serve them up hot.
-
-Oyster fritters may be made as above: except that the oysters must be
-minced raw, and mixed into the batter without having been stewed.
-
-_Soft-crab Fritters._--Use only the bodies of the crabs, and proceed as
-above.
-
-
-SCOLLOPED CLAMS.--Having boiled a quantity of small sand-clams till they
-open of themselves, remove them from the shells. Drain away the liquor,
-and chop them small, omitting the hardest parts. Season them with black
-pepper and powdered mace, and mix them with grated bread-crumbs and
-fresh butter. Get some large clean clam-shells, and fill them to the
-edge with the above mixture, moistened with _a very little_ of the
-liquor. Cover the surface with grated crumbs, and add to each one a
-small bit of butter. Set them in an oven, and bake them light brown.
-Send them to table in the shells they were baked in, arranged on large
-dishes. They are eaten at breakfast and supper. Clams must always have
-the shells washed before they are boiled.
-
-Oysters are frequently scolloped in this manner, minced, and served up
-in large _clam_ shells.
-
-Boiled crabs, also, are cooked, minced, and prepared in this way, and
-sent to table in the back-shell of the crab.
-
-All these scollops are improved by mixing among them some hard-boiled
-eggs, minced or chopped; or some raw egg beaten.
-
-
-ROASTED OYSTERS.--The old-fashioned way of roasting oysters is to lay
-them on a hot hearth, and cover them in hot cinders or ashes, (taking
-them out with tongs when done,) or to put them into a moderate fire.
-When done, their shells will begin to open. The usual way now is to
-broil them on large gridirons of strong wire. Serve them up in their
-shells on large dishes, or on trays, at oyster suppers. At every plate
-lay an oyster knife and a clean coarse towel, and between every two
-chairs set a bucket to receive the empty shells. The gentlemen generally
-save the ladies the trouble of opening the oysters, by performing that
-office for them.
-
-Have on the table, to eat with the oysters, bread-rolls, biscuits,
-butter, and glasses with sticks of celery scraped, and divested of the
-green leaves at the top. Have also ale or porter.
-
-Or, you may take large oysters out of their shells, dredge them lightly
-with flour, lay them separately on a wire gridiron, and broil them.
-Serve them up on large dishes, with a morsel of fresh butter laid on
-each oyster.
-
-
-SCOLLOPED OYSTERS.--Drain the liquor from a sufficient quantity of fine
-fresh oysters; and season them with blades of mace, grated nutmeg, and a
-little cayenne. Lay about a dozen of them in the bottom of a deep dish.
-Cut some slices of wheat bread, and put them to soak in a pan of the
-oyster liquor (previously strained.)
-
-Soak the bread till it is soft throughout, but not dissolved. Cover the
-oysters in the bottom of the dish, with some slices of the soaked bread,
-(drained from the liquor,) and lay upon the bread a few small bits of
-nice fresh butter. Then put in another layer of seasoned oysters; then
-another layer of soaked bread with bits of butter dispersed upon it.
-Repeat this with more layers of oysters, soaked bread, and bits of
-butter, till the dish is full, finishing with a close layer of bread on
-the top. Set this into a hot oven, and bake it, a short time only, or
-till it is well browned on the surface. Oysters require but little
-cooking, and this bread has had one baking already. The liquid that is
-about the bread is sufficient. It requires no more.
-
-Scolloped oysters may be cooked in large, clean, clam-shells and served
-up on great dishes.
-
-
-PICKLED OYSTERS.--Take a hundred fine large oysters--set them over the
-fire in their own liquor--add two ounces of nice fresh butter, and
-simmer them slowly for ten minutes; skimming them well. If they boil
-fast and long, they will become hard and shrivelled. Take them off the
-fire and strain from them their liquor; spread the oysters out on large
-dishes, and place them in the air to cool fast, or lay them in a broad
-pan of cold water. This renders them firm. Strain the liquor, and then
-mix with it an equal quantity of the best and purest clear
-cider-vinegar. Season (if the oysters are fresh,) with a small
-tea-spoonful of salt, two dozen whole pepper-corns, and a
-table-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg, mixed. Let the liquor boil
-till it is reduced to little more than enough to cover the oysters well.
-Put the oysters into a tureen, or a broad stone jar. Pour the hot liquor
-over them, and let them grow quite cold before they are eaten. You may
-give them a fine tinge of pale pink color by adding to the liquor (while
-boiling,) a little prepared cochineal.
-
-
-PICKLED OYSTERS.--_For keeping._--Have five or six hundred oysters of
-the finest sort and largest size. Proceed as in the foregoing receipt,
-but increase, proportionately, the quantity of spice and vinegar. Put
-them in stone-ware jars, securing the covers by pasting all round, bands
-or strips of thick white paper; and place on each jar, on the top of the
-liquor, a table-spoonful of salad oil.
-
-Use no other than _genuine cider-vinegar_. Much that is sold for the
-best white-wine vinegar is in reality a deleterious compound of
-pernicious drugs, that will eat up or dissolve the oysters entirely,
-leaving nothing but a sickening whitish fluid. This vinegar is at first
-so overpoweringly sharp and pungent, as to destroy, entirely, the taste
-of the spices; and, while cooking, emits a disagreeable smell. The
-oysters immediately become ragged, and in less than an hour are entirely
-destroyed. This vinegar acts in the same manner on all other pickles,
-and the use of it should always be shunned.
-
-_Drugs_ should not be employed in any sort of cookery, though their
-introduction is now most lamentably frequent. They ruin the flavor and
-are injurious to health.
-
-
-OYSTER PATTIES.--Make sufficient puff-paste for at least a dozen small
-patties. Roll it out thick, and line with it twelve small tin
-patty-pans. Bake them brown in a brisk oven; and when done set them to
-cool. Have ready two or three dozen large, fine, fresh oysters. Wash and
-drain them, and put them into a stew-pan with no other liquid than just
-enough of their own liquor to keep them from burning. Season them with
-cayenne, nutmeg, and mace, and a few of the green tops or leaves of
-celery sprigs minced small. Add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter,
-divided into bits, and laid among the oysters. To enrich the gravy, stir
-in, at the last, the beaten yolks of three or four eggs, or some thick
-cream or butter. Let the oysters stew in this gravy about five minutes.
-When the patties are beginning to cool, fill each with one or two large
-oysters. If you choose, you can bake for every patty a small round lid
-of pastry, to be laid lightly on the top, so as to cover the oysters
-when they go to table. For company, make a large quantity of oyster
-patties, as they are much liked.
-
-
-OYSTER LOAVES.--Take some tall fresh rolls, or small loaves. Cut nicely
-a round or oval hole in the top of each, saving the pieces that come
-off. Then carefully scoop out most of the crumb from the inside, leaving
-the crust standing. Have ready a sufficient quantity of large fresh
-oysters. Put the oysters with one-fourth of their liquor into a
-stew-pan; adding the bread-crumbs, a large piece of fresh butter, some
-powdered nutmeg, and mace. Stew them about ten minutes. Then stir in two
-or three large table-spoonfuls of cream; take them off just as they are
-coming to a boil. If cooked too long the oysters will become tough and
-shriveled, and the cream will curdle. Fill the inside of your scooped
-loaves with the oysters, reserving as many large oysters as you have
-loaves. Place the bit of upper-crust carefully on the top of each, so as
-to cover the whole. Arrange them on a dish, and lay on each lid one of
-the large oysters kept out for the purpose. These ornamental oysters
-must be well drained from any liquid that is about them.
-
-
-OYSTER OMELET.--Having strained the liquor from twenty-five oysters of
-the largest size, mince them small; omitting the hard part or gristle.
-If you cannot get large oysters, you should have forty or fifty small
-ones. Break into a shallow pan six, seven, or eight eggs, according to
-the quantity of minced oysters. Omit half the whites, and, (having
-beaten the eggs till very light, thick, and smooth,) mix the oysters
-gradually into them, adding a little cayenne pepper, and some powdered
-nutmeg. Put three ounces or more of the best fresh butter into a small
-frying-pan, if you have no pan especially for omelets. Place it over a
-clear fire, and when the butter, (which should be previously cut up,)
-has come to a boil, put in the omelet-mixture; stir it till it begins to
-set; and fry it light brown, lifting the edge several times by slipping
-a knife under it, and taking care not to cook it too much or it will
-shrivel and become tough. When done, clap a large hot plate or dish on
-the top of the omelet, and turn it quickly and carefully out of the pan.
-Serve it up immediately. It is a fine breakfast dish. This quantity will
-make one large or two small omelets.
-
-Clam omelets may be made as above.
-
-An omelet pan should be smaller than a common frying-pan, and lined with
-tin. In a large pan the omelet will spread too much, and become thin
-like a pancake.
-
-Never turn an omelet while frying, as that will make it heavy and tough.
-When done, brown it by holding a red-hot shovel or salamander close
-above the top.
-
-Excellent omelets may be made of cold boiled ham, or smoked tongue;
-grated or minced small, mixed with a sufficiency of beaten eggs, and
-fried in butter.
-
-
-BROILED OYSTERS.--Take the largest and finest oysters. See that your
-gridiron is very clean. Rub the bars with fresh butter, and set it over
-a clear steady fire, entirely free from smoke; or on a bed of bright hot
-wood coals. Place the oysters on the gridiron, and when done on one
-side, take a fork and turn them on the other; being careful not to let
-them burn. Put some fresh butter in the bottom of a dish. Lay the
-oysters on it, and season them with pepper and grated nutmeg. Send them
-to table hot.
-
-
-OYSTER PIE.--Having buttered the inside of a deep dish, line it with
-puff-paste rolled out rather thick; and prepare another sheet of paste
-for the lid. Pat a clean towel into the dish (folded so as to support
-the lid) and then put on the lid; set it into the oven, and bake the
-paste well. When done, remove the lid, and take out the folded towel.
-While the paste is baking, prepare the oysters. Having picked off
-carefully any bits of shell that may be found about them, lay them in a
-sieve and drain off the liquor into a pan. Put the oysters into a
-skillet or stew-pan, with barely enough of the liquor to keep them from
-burning. Season them with whole pepper, blades of mace, some grated
-nutmeg, and some grated lemon-peel, (the yellow rind only,) and a little
-finely minced celery. Then add a large portion of fresh butter, divided
-into bits, and very slightly dredged with flour. Let the oysters simmer
-over the fire, but do not allow them to come to a boil, as that will
-shrivel them. Next beat the yolks only, of three, four, or five eggs,
-(in proportion to the size of the pie,) and stir the beaten egg into
-the stew a few minutes before you take it from the fire. Keep it warm
-till the paste is baked. Then carefully remove the lid of the pie; and
-replace it, after you have filled the dish with the oysters and gravy.
-
-The lid of the pie may be ornamented with a wreath of leaves cut out of
-paste, and put on before baking. In the centre, place a paste-knot or
-flower.
-
-Oyster pies are generally eaten warm; but they are very good cold.
-
-
-CLAM PIE.--Take a sufficient number of clams to fill a large pie-dish
-when opened. Make a nice paste in the proportion of a pound of fresh
-butter to two quarts of flour. Paste for shell fish, or meat, or chicken
-pies, should be rolled out double the thickness of that intended for
-fruit pies. Line the sides and bottom of your pie-dish with paste. Then
-cover the bottom with a thin beef steak, divested of bone and fat. Put
-in the clams, and season them with mace, nutmeg, and a few whole
-pepper-corns. No salt. Add a spoonful of butter rolled in flour, and
-some hard-boiled yolks of eggs crumbled fine. Then put in enough of the
-clam liquor to make sufficient gravy. Put on the lid of the pie, (which,
-like the bottom crust, should be rolled out thick,) notch it handsomely,
-and bake it well. It should be eaten warm.
-
-
-SOFT CRABS.--These are crabs that, having cast their old shells, have
-not yet assumed the new ones. In this, the transition state, they are
-considered delicacies. Put them into fast-boiling water, and boil them
-for ten minutes. Then take them out, drain them, wipe them very clean,
-and prepare them for frying by removing the spongy part inside and the
-sand-bag. Put plenty of fresh lard into a pan; and when it boils fast,
-lay in the crabs, and fry them well, seasoning them with cayenne. As
-soon as they are done of a nice golden color, take them out, drain off
-the lard back into the pan, and lay them on a large _hot_ dish. Cover
-them to keep warm while you fry, in the same lard, all the best part of
-a fresh lettuce, chopped small. Let it fry only long enough to become
-hot throughout. When you serve up the crabs cover them with the fried
-lettuce. Stir into the gravy some cream, or a piece of nice fresh butter
-rolled in flour; and send it to table in a sauce-boat, seasoned with a
-little cayenne.
-
-Soft crabs require no other flavoring. They make a nice breakfast-dish
-for company. Only the large claws are eaten, therefore break off as
-useless the small ones.
-
-Instead of lettuce, you may fry the crabs with parsley--removed from the
-pan before it becomes brown. Pepper-grass is still better.
-
-
-TERRAPINS.--In buying terrapins select the largest and thickest. Like
-all other delicacies, the best are the cheapest in the end. Small poor
-terrapins are not worth the cost of the seasoning. A poor terrapin,
-poorly dressed, is indeed a poor thing, and is always recognized as
-such, by those who are expected to eat it. _Get fine terrapins only._
-Put them into a pot of water that is boiling very hard at the time, and
-let them boil for about ten minutes. Immediately on taking them out,
-proceed to rub, with a coarse clean cloth, all the skin from the head,
-neck, and claws--also, the thin shell, as it comes loose. Having washed
-them in warm water, put the terrapins into a clean pot with fresh water,
-and a table-spoonful of salt, and boil them again till they are
-thoroughly done, and the paws are perfectly soft. Remove the toe-nails.
-Some terrapins require three hours. When they are quite soft, open them
-carefully, remove the spongy part, the sand-bag, the gall, and the
-entrails--it being now the custom to throw away the whole of the
-disgusting garbage, always tasteless, tough, and disagreeable to look
-at. Be careful not to break the gall, as it will give an unpleasant
-bitter taste to the whole. Cut into small pieces all the meat of the
-terrapins, put them into a stew-pan, (adding the juice they have yielded
-in cutting up, _but no water_,) and proceed to season them, beginning
-with cayenne and black pepper, to your taste; also, a handful of flour
-for the thickening. Stir all well together, and in a short time add four
-table-spoonfuls of cream, or fresh butter, and a half pint of Madeira or
-sherry to every four terrapins. If they have no eggs, make up some
-artificially; crumbling the yolks of hard-boiled common eggs, mashed to
-a paste with a little nice butter, and then made into balls with beaten
-raw egg. Add plenty of these to the stew, and let the whole cook
-together for a quarter of an hour longer. Serve it up hot, in a well
-heated covered dish.
-
-Four fine large terrapins generally make one dish; and the above is the
-usual quantity of seasoning for them.
-
-
-NEW WAY OF DRESSING TERRAPINS.--In buying terrapins, select those only
-that are large, fat, and thick-bodied. Put them whole into water that is
-boiling hard at the time, and (adding a little salt) boil them till
-thoroughly done throughout. Then, taking off the shell, extract the
-meat, and remove carefully the sand-bag and gall; also, _all the
-entrails_,--they are disgusting, unfit to eat, and are no longer served
-up in cooking terrapin for the best tables. Cut the meat into pieces,
-and put it into a stew-pan with its eggs, and sufficient fresh butter to
-stew it well. Let it stew till quite hot throughout, keeping the pan
-carefully covered that none of the flavor may escape; but shake it over
-the fire while stewing. In another pan, make a sauce of beaten yolk of
-egg, highly flavored with Madeira or sherry, and powdered nutmeg and
-mace, and enriched with a large lump of fresh butter. Stir this sauce
-well over the fire, and when it has _almost_ come to a boil, take it
-off. Send the terrapin to table hot in a covered dish, and the sauce
-_separately_ in a sauce-tureen, to be used by those who like it, and
-omitted by those who prefer the genuine flavor of the terrapin when
-simply stewed with butter.
-
-This is now the usual mode of dressing terrapins in Maryland and
-Virginia, and will be found superior to any other.
-
-No dish of terrapins can be good unless the terrapins themselves are of
-the best quality. It is mistaken economy to buy poor ones. Besides being
-insipid and tasteless, it takes more in number to fill a dish. The
-females are the best.
-
-
-A TERRAPIN POT-PIE.--Take several fine large terrapins, the fattest and
-thickest you can get. Put them into a large pot of water that is boiling
-hard; and boil them half an hour or more. Then take them out of the
-shell, pulling off the outer skin and the toe-nails. Remove the sand-bag
-and the gall, taking care not to break it, or it will render the whole
-too bitter to be eaten. Take out also the entrails, and throw them away;
-as the custom of cooking them is now, very properly, exploded. Then cut
-up all the meat of the terrapins, taking care to save all the liquid
-that exudes in cutting up, and also the eggs. Season the whole with
-pepper, mace, and nutmeg, adding a little salt; and lay among it pieces
-of fresh butter slightly rolled in flour.
-
-Have ready an ample quantity of paste, made in the proportion of a pound
-of butter to two large quarts (or pounds) of flour, or a pound and a
-half of butter to three quarts of flour, and rolled out thick. Butter
-the inside of an iron pot, and line the sides with paste, till it
-reaches within one-third of the top. Then put in the pieces of terrapin,
-with the eggs, butter, &c., and with all the liquid. Lay among the
-terrapin, square pieces of paste. Then pour in sufficient water to stew
-the whole properly. Next, cover all with a circular lid, or top-crust of
-paste, but do not fit it so closely that the gravy cannot bubble up over
-the edges while cooking. Cut a small cross slit in the top crust. Place
-the pot, with the pie, over a good fire, and boil it till the whole is
-thoroughly done, which will be in from three quarters to an hour after
-it comes to a boil. Take care not to let it get too dry, but keep at
-hand a kettle of boiling water to replenish the pot when necessary. To
-ascertain if the pie is done, lift up with a fork a little of the paste,
-at one side, and try it low down in the pot.
-
-It may be much improved, by mixing among the pieces of terrapins,
-(before putting them into the pie,) some yolks of hard-boiled eggs,
-grated or minced. They will enrich the gravy.
-
-A pot-pie may be made, (a very fine one too,) of some of the best pieces
-of a green turtle.
-
-
-A SEA-COAST PIE.--Having boiled a sufficient number of crabs and
-lobsters, extract all the meat from the shells, and cut it into
-mouthfuls. Have ready some fine large oysters drained from the liquor.
-Cover the bottom and sides of a deep dish with puff-paste; and put in a
-thick layer of crab or lobster, seasoned with a little cayenne pepper,
-and a grated lemon-peel. Mix it with some hard-boiled yolk of egg,
-crumbled fine, and moistened with fresh butter. Next, put a close layer
-of oysters, seasoned with pounded mace and grated nutmeg. Put some bits
-of butter rolled in flour on the top of the layer. Proceed in this
-manner with alternate layers of crab or lobster, and of oysters, till
-the dish is nearly full. Then pour in, at the last, a tea-cupful or more
-of the oyster liquor, with an equal quantity of rich cream. Have ready a
-thick lid of puff-paste. Put it on the pie, pressing the edges closely,
-so as to unite them all round; and notch them handsomely. Make a wreath
-of leaves cut out of paste, and a flower or knot for the centre; place
-them on the top-crust; and bake the pie well. While it is baking,
-prepare some balls made of chopped oysters; grated bread-crumbs;
-powdered nutmeg, or mace; and grated lemon-peel; also, some hard-boiled
-yolks of eggs, grated. Having fried these balls in butter, drain them,
-and when the pie is baked, lay a circle of them round the top, between
-the border of paste-leaves and the centre-knot.
-
-This pie will be found so fine that it ought to be baked in a dish
-which will contain a large quantity.
-
-
-TO DRESS A TURTLE.--The turtle should be taken out of water, and killed
-over night in winter, and early in the morning in summer. Hang it up by
-the hind fins, and before it has had time to draw in its neck, cut off
-its head with a very sharp knife, and leave the turtle suspended. It
-should bleed two or three hours or more, before you begin to cut it up.
-Then lay it on its back upon a table: have at hand several vessels of
-cold water, in which to throw the most important parts as you separate
-them; also a large boiler of hot water. Take off the fins at the joint,
-and lay them by themselves in cold water; next divide the back-shell
-from the under-shell. The upper part of the turtle is called the
-calipash--the under part the calipee. In cutting open the turtle, be
-very careful not to break the gall, which should be taken out and thrown
-away; if broken, its bitterness will spoil all around it. Take out the
-entrails and throw them away. The practice of cooking them is now
-obsolete. So it is with the entrails of terrapins. Using a sharp knife,
-cut off the fins carefully, also the liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, &c.
-Wash them well, and lay them in a pan of cold water, the liver in a pan
-by itself. If there are eggs, put them also into cold water. Having
-extracted the intestines, stand up the turtle on end, to let the blood
-run out. Afterwards cut out all the flesh from the upper and under
-shells, and remove the bones. Cut the calipee (or meat belonging to the
-under-shell) into pieces about as large as the palm of your hand, and
-break the shell. The calipash, or meat next the back-shell, may be cut
-smaller--the green fat into pieces about two inches square. Put all the
-meat into a large pan, sprinkle it slightly with salt, and cover it up.
-Lay the shells and fins in a tub of boiling water, and scald them till
-the scales can be scraped off with a knife, and all the meat that still
-adheres to the shells easily removed, as it is worth saving. Clean the
-fins nicely, (taking off the dark skin,) and lay them in cold water.
-Wipe the back-shell dry, and set it aside. Then proceed to make the
-soup. For this purpose, take the coarser pieces of flesh with the bone
-likewise. Put them into a pot with a pound of cold ham cut into pieces,
-and eight large calves'-feet (two sets) that have been singed and
-scraped, but not skinned. If you cannot conveniently obtain
-calves'-feet, substitute a large fore-leg or knuckle of veal. Add four
-onions, sliced thin; two tablespoonfuls of sweet-marjoram leaves; a
-large bunch of basil; a dozen blades of mace; and a salt-spoon of
-cayenne. The ham will make any other salt unnecessary. Pour on as much
-water as will completely cover the whole, and let it simmer slowly over
-a steady fire during five hours, skimming it well. If after a while the
-soup seems to be boiling away too much, replenish it with a little hot
-water from a kettle, kept boiling hard for the purpose. When it has
-simmered five hours, take up the whole, and strain the soup through a
-sieve into a deep pan. Wash out the soup-pot with hot water, and return
-the strained soup to it, with the liver, &c., cut in small pieces, and
-some of the best of the meat, and a portion of the green fat. Have ready
-two or three dozen force-meat balls, the size of a hickory nut, and made
-of the usual proportions of minced veal, bread-crumbs, butter, grated
-lemon-peel, mace, nutmeg, and beaten yolk of egg. Put them into the
-soup, and let it boil an hour longer; also the eggs of the turtle, or
-some hard-boiled yolks of eggs. After it has thus boiled another hour,
-add the juice and grated yellow rinds of two lemons, and a pint of
-Madeira. Boil the soup a quarter of an hour longer, and it will then be
-ready for the tureen. It must never boil hard.
-
-In the mean time, stew in another pot the finest of the turtle-meat,
-seasoned with a little salt and cayenne, and a liberal allowance of
-sweet-marjoram leaves rubbed fine, and mixed with powdered mace and
-nutmeg. Add a pound of fresh butter, cut into pieces and rolled in
-flour. When the turtle-meat has stewed an hour, put in the green fat,
-and add the juice and grated yellow rinds of two lemons, and a pint or
-more of Madeira, and let the whole stew slowly an hour longer. While the
-meat is stewing, take the shell of the back; wash it clean, and wipe it
-dry; lay a band of puff-paste all round the inside of the shell, two
-inches below the edge, and two inches above it. Notch the paste
-handsomely, and fill the shell with the stewed turtle. Have ready the
-oven, heated as if for bread. Lay a large iron baking-sheet or a square
-pan upon four bricks (one at each corner) to elevate the turtle-shell
-from the floor of the oven. Place on it the shell with its contents, and
-let it bake till well browned on the surface. Send it to table with the
-shell placed on a large dish. At the other end set the tureen of soup.
-Have ready (on two side dishes) the fins stewed tender in a little of
-the soup, and the liver fried in butter.
-
-This receipt is for a turtle of moderate size. A large one will, of
-course, require an increased proportion of all the articles used in
-seasoning it--more wine, &c. In serving up turtle at a dinner-party, let
-it constitute the first course, and have nothing else on the table while
-the turtle is there.
-
-We have seen elegant silver turtle-dishes, representing the back-shell
-of the animal, superbly chased and engraved, the feet for it to stand on
-being paws of silver; and the fins having hollow places to hold the
-sauce. This was for the stew; making a dish separate from the soup,
-which is always sent to table in a tureen.
-
-
-TURTLE PASTY.--When the meat has been all extracted, scrape and wash the
-large back shell of the turtle till it is perfectly clean. Make a rich
-puff-paste. Roll it out thin, and line with it the bottom and sides, in
-fact the whole of the back-shell. Having prepared and seasoned the best
-pieces of the turtle-meat, as in the preceding receipt, stew them till
-thoroughly done, and very tender, and when cool, fill the shell with
-them. Have ready an upper lid of the same puff-paste, rolled out rather
-_thick_. Cover the pie with it. Unite the edges of the upper and under
-crusts, very neatly, wetting your fingers with water. Then notch them
-handsomely all round, and cut a cross slit in the centre of the top or
-cover. Set it directly into a rather quick oven. Bake the crust of a
-light brown, and send it to table hot.
-
-
-LOBSTERS.--If you buy a lobster ready boiled, see that his tail is stiff
-and elastic, so that when you bend it under, it springs back
-immediately; otherwise he is not fresh. If alive or unboiled, he will be
-lively and brisk in his motion when newly caught. The same with prawns,
-and crabs.
-
-The heaviest lobsters are the best.
-
-To boil a lobster, have ready a pot of fast-boiling water, very strongly
-salted. Put in the lobster head downward; and if the water is really hot
-(it is cruel to have it otherwise,) he will be dead in a moment. Crabs,
-of course, the same. A moderate sized lobster (and they are the best,)
-will be done in half an hour. A large one requires from three-quarters
-to an hour. Before it is sent to table, the large claws should be taken
-off, and laid beside it. The head also should be separated from the
-body, but laid so near it that the division is nearly imperceptible. The
-head is never eaten. Split the body, and lay it open all the way down,
-including the tail. If there is a good dresser of salads in the house,
-the lobster may be served up ready dressed, in a deep dish, seasoned
-with the proper condiments, after being cut small or minced, heaped up
-towards the centre of the dish, and decorated with the small claws laid
-across on the top, with the addition of green celery leaves, or parsley
-sprigs.
-
-
-LOBSTER SALAD--(_plain_.)--Take a well boiled lobster. Extract all the
-meat from the body and claws, cut it up small, and mash the coral with
-the back of a spoon or a broad knife. Wash the best part of a fresh
-lettuce, and cut that up also, omitting all the stalk. Mix together the
-chopped lobster and the lettuce, and put them into a salad bowl. Make
-the dressing in a deep plate, allowing for one lobster a salt-spoon of
-salt, half as much of cayenne, a tea-spoonful of made mustard, (tarragon
-mustard is best,) four table-spoonfuls (or more) of sweet oil, and three
-table-spoonfuls of the best cider vinegar. Mix all these together, with
-the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs, mashed to a soft moist paste with
-the other ingredients, adding the coral of the lobster. When they are
-all mixed smoothly, add them to the lobster and lettuce. If the mixture
-seems too dry, add more sweet oil. Toss and stir the salad with a
-box-wood fork. Also, the things should be mashed with a box-wood spoon.
-Cover, and set it in a cool place till wanted. It should be eaten as
-soon as possible after mixing, as it becomes flat by standing.
-
-Plenty of sweet oil renders a lobster wholesome. Still, persons who are
-not in good health, had best abstain from lobster.
-
-You may add to the dressing, one or two raw yolks of eggs, beaten well.
-
-
-FINE LOBSTER SALAD--(_This is for company._)--Boil eight eggs for ten
-minutes, or till quite hard. Lay them in cold water, or cool them by
-laying bits of ice among them. When quite cold, cut each egg lengthways
-into four or six pieces, taking a bit off one end of each piece or
-slice. Cut up into long pieces the best part of a fresh lettuce, that
-has just been washed in a pan of cold water. Lay the lettuce in a dish,
-and surround it closely with the pieces of egg standing up on their
-blunted ends, with the yolk side outward, and forming a handsome wall
-all round the bed of lettuce. Upon this, pile neatly the bits of chopped
-lobster, finishing with the small claws stuck into the top. Have ready
-the dressing in a sauce-tureen. Make it of the beaten yolks of two raw
-eggs, and four table-spoonfuls of sweet oil, thickened with the mashed
-coral of the lobster, and the crumbled yolks of two hard-boiled eggs,
-and season slightly with a little salt, cayenne, and a spoonful of
-tarragon mustard. Finish with two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, and stir
-the whole hard with a box-wood spoon or fork. Send it to table with the
-sauce-tureen, along with the dish of lobster, &c. Pour on each plate of
-lobster a portion of this dressing. Or, if you can obtain no lettuce,
-mix this dressing at once with the chopped meat of the lobster. Smooth
-it in a pile on the dish, (keeping it towards the centre) and stand up
-the slips of hard egg handsomely surrounding it--the small claws
-decorating the top.
-
-
-LOBSTER RISSOLES.--Extract all the meat from the shells of one or two
-boiled lobsters. Mince it very fine; the coral also. Season it with a
-little salt and cayenne, and some powdered mace and nutmeg. Add about a
-fourth part of finely grated bread-crumbs; and with a sufficiency of
-fresh butter or a little finely-minced veal suet, or some sweet oil,
-make it up into balls or cones. Brush them over with yolk of egg, dredge
-them lightly with flour, and fry them in lard. Introduce them as a side
-dish at a dinner party, or as an accompaniment to salmon.
-
-This mixture may be baked in puff-paste as little patties, or you may
-bake in a soup-plate an empty shell of paste, and when done, (having
-stewed the rissole mixture made moist) fill the cold paste with it, and
-serve it up as a lobster pie.
-
-In buying lobsters, choose those that are the heaviest and liveliest, or
-quickest in their motions when touched. They are then fresh. The hen has
-the broadest tail and the softest fins.
-
-
-LOBSTER PUDDING.--Take the empty back shell of one large boiled lobster,
-and all the best meat of two. Clean out the shell very nicely; washing
-it, and wiping it dry. Mince the meat, and mash the coral with it;
-adding half a dozen yolks of hard-boiled eggs crumbled among it, and
-season it well with powdered mace and nutmeg, and a little cayenne.
-Moisten it all through with plenty of sweet oil, and the raw yolks of
-one or two eggs, well beaten. Fill the shell with this pudding, and
-cover the surface of the mixture with a coating of finely-grated
-bread-crumbs. Brown it by holding over it a salamander, or a red hot
-fire-shovel. Send it to table in the shell, laid on a china dish.
-
-Small puddings may be made as above, of crab-meat put into several large
-crab-shells, and placed side by side on a dish.
-
-They may be eaten either warm or cold; and they look well with green
-lettuce or pepper-grass, disposed fancifully among them.
-
-
-CRABS.--Crabs are seldom eaten except at the sea-shore, where there is a
-certainty of their being fresh from the water. They are very abundant,
-but so little is in them, that when better things are to be had, they
-are scarcely worth the trouble of boiling and picking out the shell.
-They are cooked like lobsters, in boiling salt and water, and brought to
-table piled on large dishes, and are eaten with salt, pepper, sweet oil,
-and vinegar. The meat of two dozen crabs, when all is extracted, will
-make but a small dish. Season it with cayenne, mustard, oil, vinegar,
-and eat it cold; or stew it with fresh butter, powdered mace, and
-nutmeg, and serve it up hot.
-
-_Prawns._--The same.
-
-
-SHRIMPS.--Of all fish belonging to the lobster species, shrimps are the
-smallest. In England, where they abound, they are sold by the quart,
-ready boiled. The way to eat them is to pull off the head, and squeeze
-the body out of the shell by pressing it between your fore-finger and
-thumb. At good tables they are only used as sauce for large fish,
-squeezed out of the shell, and stirred into melted butter.
-
-
-LOBSTER SAUCE.--Take a small hen lobster that has been well boiled.
-Extract all the meat, and chop it large. Take out the coral, and pound
-it smooth in a marble mortar, adding, as you proceed, sufficient sweet
-oil. Make some nice drawn butter, allowing half a pound of nice fresh
-butter to two heaped table-spoonfuls of flour, and a pint of hot water.
-Mix the butter and flour thoroughly, and then gradually add to them the
-coral, so as to give a fine color. Then mix this with a small pint of
-boiling water. Hold the saucepan over the fire, (shaking it about till
-it simmers) but do not let it quite boil. Put in the chopped lobster,
-and let that simmer in the sauce, till well heated. To allow it to boil
-will spoil the color, (which should be pale pink,) and may be improved
-by a little prepared cochineal. Or, you may tie, in a small bit of thin
-muslin, a few chips of alkanet, and put it into the sauce, (taking it
-out, of course, before it goes to table.) Alkanet communicates a
-beautiful pink color, and has no taste in itself.
-
-This quantity of sauce is for a large fish--salmon, cod, turbot, or
-sheep's head. There should always be an ample supply of sauce. It is
-very awkward for the sauce to give out, before it has gone round the
-company.
-
-
-
-
-BEEF.
-
-
-ROASTING BEEF.--The prime piece of beef for roasting is the sirloin; but
-being too large for a small family, the ribs are generally preferred,
-when there are but few persons to eat of it. So also is the baron, or
-double sirloin, undivided along the back. It is chiefly seen at great
-dinners. Except the sirloin and ribs, there are no very good roasting
-pieces, all the rest being generally used for stews, soups, &c., and for
-corning or salting. Unless the animal is a very fine one, the inferior
-pieces are apt to be tough, hard, and coarse. The round is the best
-piece for corning or salting, and for cooking, as beef _a-la-mode_, or
-converting into what, in England, is called rump-steaks. These steaks
-require a rolling-pin, before they can be made tender enough for good
-eating, or good digestion. The finest and tenderest steaks are those cut
-from the sirloin. The meat of a young well-fed heifer is very good; and
-that of an old ox, (that has done working, and afterwards been fattened
-well on plenty of wholesome food,) may be made of superior excellence.
-The lean of good fresh beef is of a bright red color, a fine close
-grain, and feels tender to the touch on pinching it between your thumb
-and finger. The fat is firm and very nearly white. The suet about the
-kidney, firm and quite white. If, on the contrary, the lean is coarse,
-tough, and of a dull color, and the fat scanty, yellow, and moist, do
-not buy that meat for any purpose. The same rules will apply to mutton.
-If the weather is so cold that the meat is frozen, thaw it by lying it
-all night or early in the morning in a tub of _cold_ water. If thawed in
-water the least warm, the meat will spoil, and be rendered unfit to eat.
-Meat that has been frozen, requires a much longer time to cook, than if
-that accident had not happened. _All_ frozen animals must be thawed in
-cold water previous to cooking. Cold roast-beef is much liked in
-England. In America, where meat is more abundant, and therefore less
-costly, it is not considered a proper dish to place before a visitor;
-therefore, in our country, a large piece is seldom cooked with a view to
-next day's dinner. We prefer smaller pieces, always served up fresh and
-hot. Beef for roasting, should be well washed in plenty of cold water;
-then dried with a clean cloth. Prepare the fire, in time to be burning
-well, when the meat is put down. It should have plenty of hot coals, and
-no part of the fire black, ashy, or smoky, and the hearth swept very
-clean: _for no sweeping must go on while the meat (or any thing else) is
-cooking_. The spit should always be kept perfectly clean, when not in
-use; and well washed, wiped, and rubbed immediately after using. Run it
-evenly into the meat, which will hang crooked if not well balanced. When
-first put down, take care not to set it at once too close to the fire,
-but place it rather more than two feet distant, that the meat may heat
-gradually. If too near the fire at first, the outside will scorch, and
-leave the inside red and bloody. Underdone meat (foolishly called
-_rare_) is getting quite out of fashion, being unwholesome and
-indigestible, and to most Americans its savour is disgusting. To ladies
-and children it is always so, and even the English have ceased to like
-it. It is now seldom seen but at those public tables, where they
-consider it an object to have as little meat as possible eaten on the
-first day, that more may be left for the second day, to be made into
-indescribable messes, with ridiculous French names, and passed off as
-French dishes, by the so-called French cook, who is frequently an
-Irishman.
-
-At first, baste the meat as soon as it begins to roast, with a little
-fresh butter, or fresh dripping saved from yesterday's beef. Then, when
-its own fat begins to drip, baste it with that, all the while it is
-cooking. Gradually move it nearer to the fire, turning the spit round
-frequently, so that the meat may be cooked equally on all sides. When it
-is nearly done, sprinkle it slightly, with a little salt. When it is
-quite done, and you take it from the spit, put it on a large hot dish,
-and keep it warm while you skim the gravy, thoroughly, so as to remove
-_all_ the fat. Then mix in the gravy a small tea-cup full of hot water,
-and thicken it with a very little browned flour. Send it to table very
-hot.
-
-As a general rule, a sirloin, weighing fifteen pounds, will require
-about four hours (or more) before a good steady fire. If it has been
-frozen, it will take much longer. The fatter it is the more cooking it
-will require. When sent to table, place near it, a small sauce-shell of
-horse-radish, washed, scraped fine, and moistened with the best vinegar.
-Put a tea-spoon on the top to take it with. Pickles, and a bottle of
-French mustard, at good tables, are generally accompaniments to beef or
-mutton, whether roasted or boiled.
-
-The dripping of roast beef, after all the fat has been removed, and the
-basting of the meat is over, should be strained into a pan, and kept in
-a cold place, with a cover; and next day, when it is congealed into a
-cake, scrape off whatever impurities may still adhere to the bottom,
-transfer it to a covered jar, and set it in the refrigerator, or where
-it will be cold. The dripping of roast beef is excellent for frying, for
-plain pie-crust, or for many other purposes. The dripping of mutton
-(being tallow) is only fit for soap-fat, and will spoil any dish
-whatever.
-
-
-BROILED BEEF STEAKS.--The best steaks are those from the tender-loin.
-Those from the round or rump require beating with a rolling-pin. A
-steak-mallet tears them and destroys the juices of the meat. Without
-beating they will generally be found too tough or hard for an American
-taste, though much liked in Europe, where tender-loin steaks are
-considered too expensive. But they are here so much preferred, that, on
-good tables, any others are seldom seen. Have all the steaks nearly of a
-size and shape, and about half an inch thick. Trim off the fat, and cut
-short the bone, or remove it altogether. Season them with black pepper,
-but sprinkle on no salt till they have done cooking; as salt, if put on
-at first, hardens them. Set your gridiron over a bed of bright clear
-coals, having first rubbed the bars with a very little beef suet, or
-dripping. Not mutton fat, as it will give the taste of tallow.
-
-A beef steak cannot be cooked in perfection unless over wood coals. To
-cook them before an anthracite fire, on an upright gridiron, is more
-like toasting than broiling, and much impairs the true flavor. A
-gridiron of the usual shape, with grooved or hollow bars to catch the
-gravy, is best of all. Broil the steaks well; and when done on one side,
-turn each steak with steak tongs; or a knife and fork, and an inverted
-plate.
-
-If onions are liked, peel and boil a few; drain and mince them, and
-sprinkle them thickly over the surface of each steak. When they are
-well done, take them off the gridiron, and transfer them to a heated
-dish, laying a small bit of butter upon it; and put another bit of
-butter on the surface of each steak, having first sprinkled them with a
-very little fine salt. What there is of their own gravy, pour round them
-on the dish. Send it to table as hot as possible.
-
-The English custom of eating what is called _rare_ or underdone beef or
-mutton, is now becoming obsolete. To ladies, especially, all food is
-disgusting that is red and bloody-looking--and physicians have
-discovered, that nothing is wholesome unless well cooked. The
-introduction of French cookery has done that much good.
-
-The onions may be stewed in butter or gravy, and served up in a
-sauce-boat, seasoned with nutmeg. At the famous beef-steak club of
-London, each guest is furnished with a small raw onion, to take on his
-fork, and rub over his empty plate, just before the steaks are served
-up, which is done one at a time, and as hot as possible, being cooked in
-the room.
-
-
-FRIED BEEF STEAKS.--Sirloin steaks should be tender enough without
-beating. Rump steaks will require some; but do not beat them so much as
-to tear the meat and exhaust all its juices. We have seen them pounded
-almost into a mass of dry shreds, scarcely adhering together. Remove the
-fat and bone. Lay them in a frying-pan, with a little fresh butter
-dredged with flour, and season them with pepper. Fry them brown,
-turning them on both sides. Have ready some onions, peeled, washed, and
-sliced. After you have turned the steaks, cover them with the sliced
-onions, and then finish the frying, till all is thoroughly done, meat
-and onions, slightly sprinkling them with salt. The onions had best be
-boiled in a small sauce-pan by themselves, before they are sliced and
-fried.
-
-Put the whole on one dish, the onions covering the meat.
-
-Mutton chops, or veal cutlets, or pork steaks, may be fried in this
-manner with onions, adding to them some minced sweet marjoram, or if
-pork, some sage.
-
-
-BEEF STEAK WITH OYSTERS.--Take very fine tender sirloin steak, divested
-of fat and bone; cut them not larger than the palm of your hand; lay
-them in a stew-pan with some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour.
-Strain over them sufficient oyster-liquor to cook them well, and to keep
-them from burning, and to make a gravy so as to stew, but not to boil
-them. Season them with some blades of mace, some grated nutmeg, and a
-few whole pepper-corns. Let them cook till they are thoroughly done, and
-not the least red. Then put in some fine large oysters. Set the stew-pan
-again over the fire till the oysters are plump, which should be in about
-five or six minutes. If cooked too much, the oysters will toughen and
-shrink. When done, transfer the whole to a deep dish, mixing the oysters
-evenly among the meat. Before you take them up, make some sippet or
-thin toast, in triangular or pointed slices, with the crust cut off. Dip
-the slices (for a minute) in boiling water; then take them out, and
-stand them in a circle all round the inside of the dish, the points of
-the sippets upwards.
-
-
-CORNED OR SALTED BEEF.--For boiling, there is no piece of corned beef so
-good, and so profitable, as the round. A large round is always better
-and more tender than a small one, if the ox has been well fed. A small
-round of beef is generally tough. In buying it, see that it looks and
-smells well, as sometimes beef is not salted till it begins to taint;
-and then it is done, with a view of disguising its unwholesome and
-disgusting condition, which, however, will immediately be manifest as
-soon as it is put on to boil, if not before. Every sort of food, the
-least verging on decomposition, is unfit for any thing but to throw away
-or bury. It is not necessary to buy always a whole round of beef. You
-can have it cut into a half, third part, quarter, or into as many pounds
-as you want. If very salt, lay it to soak in cold water the night
-before, or early in the morning. Half a round (weighing about fifteen
-pounds) will require about four hours to boil sufficiently. A whole
-round, double that time. It must boil very slowly. If it boils too fast
-at first, nothing will afterwards make it tender. The fire must be
-steady, and moderate, that the heat may penetrate all through, slowly
-and equally. The pot must be kept closely covered, unless for a minute
-when the scum is taken off, and that must be done frequently. The beef
-should, while boiling, be turned several times in the pot. It is much
-the best way to boil it without any vegetables in the same pot; they
-imbibe too much of the fat, particularly cabbage. Boil the cabbage by
-itself in plenty of water, having first washed it well, laid it a while
-in cold water, with the head downwards, and examined it well to see if
-there are no insects between the leaves. The leaves on the very outside,
-should be removed, and the stalk cut short. Tie a string round the
-cabbage to keep it from falling apart. Put it into a pot with plenty of
-cold water, and boil it an hour. Then take it out, drain it, and lay it
-in a pan of cold water, or place it under the hydrant, for the hydrant
-water to run copiously upon it.
-
-When the cabbage is perfectly cold, wash out the pot in which it was
-parboiled, or put it into another quite clean one, and boil it another
-hour. Then take it up, and keep it warm till wanted. Before you send it
-to table, lay some bits of nice fresh butter between the inside leaves,
-and sprinkle on a little pepper. This is much nicer than preparing what
-is called drawn or melted butter to pour over the cabbage, and far more
-wholesome. Drawn butter is seldom well made, being frequently little
-more than a small morsel of butter, deluged with greasy water; and
-sometimes it is nearly all flour and water. Cabbage cooked as above will
-be found excellent, and be divested of the cabbage smell which is to
-many persons disagreeable.
-
-Carrots are also an usual accompaniment to corned beef. They should be
-washed, scraped, cut into pieces, and split, if very large; put into
-boiling water, and cooked, according to their size, from one hour to two
-hours. Before taking them up, try with a fork if they are tender
-throughout. When done, they are best cut into slices, a little cold
-butter mixed with them, and put into a deep dish, to be helped with a
-spoon.
-
-Parsnips may be dressed in the same manner.
-
-For a plain family dinner, corned beef, cabbage, and carrots, cooked
-_exactly_ as above, with, of course, the addition of potatos, will, on
-trial, be found excellent.
-
-Corned beef _stewed_ very slowly, in a small quantity of water, (barely
-sufficient to cover the meat,) well skimmed, and with the vegetables
-done separately, is still better than when _boiled_. Mustard is a good
-condiment for corned beef--so is vinegar to the cabbage. Pickles, also;
-French mustard is very fine with it.
-
-Next to the round, the edgebone is the best piece for boiling. The
-brisket or plate is too fat, and should only be eaten by persons in
-strong health, and who take a great deal of exercise. No fat meat should
-be given to children. Indeed there is generally great difficulty in
-making them eat it. They are right, as it is very unwholesome for them,
-unless the very leanest bits are selected from among the mass of fat.
-
-Have tarragon vinegar on the table to eat with corned beef and cabbage.
-
-
-FRIED CORNED BEEF.--This is a very homely and economical dish, but it is
-liked by many persons. Cut thin slices from a cold round of beef, and
-season them with pepper. Fry them brown over a quick fire, and put them
-in a covered dish to keep hot. Then wash the frying-pan, cleaning it
-well from the fat, and put into it plenty of cold boiled cabbage, cut
-small, and some cold carrots, sliced thin, adding some thin sliced suet,
-or beef dripping to fry them in. When done, dish the meat with the
-vegetables laid around it; adding the gravy. This is the dish called in
-England, Bubble-and-Squeak, perhaps from the noise it makes when frying.
-It is only designed for strong healthy people with good appetites.
-
-It is sometimes made of salt pork or bacon; sliced potatos being added
-to the cabbage.
-
-
-DRIED AND SMOKED BEEF.--For this purpose have as much as you want cut
-off from a fine round. Mix together two ounces of saltpetre, (finely
-pounded) rub it into the meat, cover it, and let it stand a day. Then
-mix together half a pound of bay-salt, an ounce of black pepper, half an
-ounce of ground ginger, and an ounce of pounded mace, and a quarter of
-an ounce of powdered cloves. Rub this mixture well into the beef, put it
-into a deep pan, and let it lie in this pickle two weeks, turning it
-every day. Then hang it up in a smoke-house, and smoke it over a fire
-made of corn-cobs, or maple chips. Never use pine for smoking.
-
-It may be eaten chipped at tea, or what is much better, stewed and
-warmed in a skillet. Venison may be spiced, dried, and smoked in the
-same manner.
-
-
-TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.--Having chipped it thin, put it into a skillet,
-with fresh butter, pepper, and two or three beaten yolks of eggs. Let it
-stew till the beef is crisp and curled up.
-
-Never allow yourself to be persuaded to use pyroligneous acid in curing
-dried beef or ham--instead of the real smoke of a wood fire. It
-communicates a taste and smell of kreosote, and is a detestable
-substitute, detected in a moment.
-
-
-A SPICED ROUND OF BEEF.--Take a large prime round of beef; extract the
-bone, and close the hole. Tie a tape all round it to keep it firm. Take
-four ounces of finely powdered saltpetre, and rub it well into the beef.
-Put the meat into a very clean pickling-tub that has a close-fitting
-cover, and let it rest for two days. Next rub it thoroughly with salt,
-and return it to the tub for eight days. Then take an ounce of powdered
-mace, a large nutmeg powdered, a half-ounce of pepper, and a quarter of
-an ounce of powdered cloves, (not more.) Mix these spices well
-together, and then mix them with a pound of fine brown sugar. Rub the
-spices and sugar thoroughly all over the beef, which will be ready to
-cook next day. Then fill the opening with minced sweet herbs, sweet
-basil, and sweet marjoram, laid in loosely and lightly. Take half a
-pound of nice beef-suet. Divide it in two, and flatten each half of the
-suet by beating it with a rolling-pin. Lay it in a broad earthen pan,
-with one sheet of suet under the meat, and the other pressed over it.
-Above this place a sheet of clean white paper, and over all put a large
-plate. Set it in a hot oven, and bake it five hours or more, till by
-probing it to the bottom, with a sharp knife, you find it thoroughly
-cooked. It is excellent as a cold standing dish, for a large family.
-When it is to be eaten cold, boil fresh cabbage to go with it. Also
-parsnips and carrots.
-
-_Cabbage._--For this beef, red cabbage is very nice, cut small, and
-stewed with butter and tarragon vinegar.
-
-
-A-LA-MODE BEEF.--Remove the bone from a fine round of fresh beef, and
-also take off the fat. For a round that weighs ten pounds, make
-seasoning or stuffing in the following proportions. Half a pound of beef
-suet; half a pound of grated bread-crumbs; the crumbled yolks of three
-hard-boiled eggs; a large bundle of sweet marjoram, the leaves chopped;
-another of sweet basil; four onions minced small, a large table-spoonful
-of mixed mace and nutmeg, powdered. Season slightly with salt and
-cayenne. Stuff this mixture into the place from whence you took out the
-bone. Make numerous deep cuts or incisions about the meat, and stuff
-them also. Skewer the meat into a proper shape, and secure its form by
-tying it round with tape. Put it into a clean iron oven or bake-pan, and
-pour over it a pint of port wine. Put on the lid, and bake the beef
-slowly for five or six hours, or till it is thoroughly done all through.
-
-If the meat is to be eaten hot, skim all the fat from the gravy; into
-which, after it is taken off the fire, stir in the beaten yolks of two
-eggs.
-
-If onions are disliked you can omit them, and substitute minced oysters.
-
-
-BEEF A-LA-MODE--(_Another way._)--Take a fine round of fresh beef,
-extract the bone, and fill the place from whence it was taken with a
-stuffing made of bread soaked in milk and then mashed up, butter, and
-some yolks of hard-boiled eggs crumbled fine, the yellow rind and juice
-of a large grated lemon, sweet marjoram and sweet basil chopped small,
-with some powdered nutmeg and mace. Make deep cuts or incisions all over
-the outside of the meat, and in every cut stick firmly a slip of bacon
-or salt pork put in with a larding-pin. Bring round the flap and skewer
-to the side of the round, filling in between with some of the stuffing.
-And pour round it a pint or more of port wine. Lay it in an oven, and
-bake it slowly till it is well done all through, which will require
-some hours. Serve it up with its own gravy under it. It is more
-generally eaten cold, at a supper party. In this case, cover it thickly
-all over with double parsley or pepper grass, so as to resemble a green
-bank. In the centre place a bouquet of natural flowers, rising from the
-green bank.
-
-French a-la-mode beef, or beef _a-la-daube_, is prepared as above, but
-stewed slowly all night in lard.
-
-
-BEEF BOUILLI.--Take from six to eight pounds of a fine round of _fresh_
-beef. Put it into a soup-pot, with the remains of a piece of cold roast
-beef (bones and all) to enrich the gravy, but use no other cold meat
-than beef. Season it slightly with salt and pepper, and pour on just
-sufficient water to cover it well. Boil it slowly, and skim it well.
-When the scum ceases to rise, have ready half a dozen large carrots, cut
-into pieces, and put _them_ in first. Afterwards add six turnips,
-quartered; a head of celery, cut small; half a dozen parsnips, cut in
-pieces; and six whole onions. Let it boil slowly till all the vegetables
-are done, and very tender.
-
-Send it to table with the beef in the middle of a large dish; the
-vegetables laid all around it; and the gravy (thickened with fine grated
-bread-crumbs) in a sauce-boat. Serve up with it, white potatos, boiled
-whole; and mashed pumpkin, or winter squash.
-
-This is a good dinner for a plain family.
-
-Those who like tarragon mustard, or tarragon vinegar, may add it on
-their plates.
-
-Tomatos may be skinned and stewed with it.
-
-
-TO STEW COLD CORNED BEEF.--Cut about four pounds of lean from a cold
-round of beef, that tastes but little of the salt. Lay it in a stew-pan,
-with a quarter of a peck of tomatos quartered, and the same quantity of
-ochras sliced; also, two small onions peeled and sliced, and two ounces
-of fresh butter rolled in flour. Add a tea-spoonful of whole
-pepper-corns, (_no salt_,) and four or five blades of mace. Place it
-over a steady but moderate fire. Cover it closely, and let it stew three
-or four hours. The vegetables should be entirely dissolved. Serve it up
-hot.
-
-This is an excellent way of using up the remains of a cold round of beef
-at the season of tomatos and ochras, particularly when the meat has been
-rather under-boiled the first day of cooking it.
-
-A few pounds of the lean of a _fresh_ round of beef, will be still
-better, cooked in this manner, increasing the quantity of ochras and
-tomatos, and stewing it six hours.
-
-Cold fillet of veal is very good stewed with tomatos, ochras, and an
-onion or two. Also, the thick or upper part of a cold leg of mutton; or
-of pork, either fresh or corned.
-
-
-TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.--The dried beef, for this purpose, must be fresh
-and of the very best quality. Cut it (or rather shave it) into very
-thin, small slices, with as little fat as possible. Put the beef into a
-skillet, and fill up with boiling water. Cover it, and let it soak or
-steep till the water is cold. Then drain off that water, and pour on
-some more; but merely enough to cover the chipped beef, which you may
-season with a little pepper. Set it over the fire, and (keeping on the
-cover) let it stew for a quarter of an hour. Then roll a few bits of
-butter in a little flour, and add it to the beef, with the yolk of one
-or two beaten eggs. Let it stew five minutes longer. Take it up on a hot
-dish, and send it to the breakfast or tea-table.
-
-Cold ham may be sliced thin, and stewed in the same manner. Dried
-venison also.
-
-
-FRENCH BEEF.--Take a circular piece from the round, (having removed the
-bone,) and trim it nicely from the fat, skin, &c. Then lard it all over
-with long slips of fat pork or bacon. The place from whence the bone was
-taken must be filled with a forcemeat, made of minced suet, grated
-bread-crumbs, sweet marjoram rubbed fine, and grated lemon-peel; add a
-little salt and pepper. Tie a tape closely round the outside of the
-beef, to keep it compact, and in shape. Put it into a broad earthen jar
-with a cover; or into an iron bake-oven. Add some whole pepper, a large
-onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, three bay-leaves, a quarter of a pound of
-butter, divided into small bits, (each piece rolled in flour,) and half
-a pint of claret, or port wine. Bake or stew it thus in its own liquor,
-for five, six, or seven hours, (in proportion to its size,) for it must
-be thoroughly done, quite tender, and brown all through the inside.
-
-
-STEWED FRESH BEEF.--Cut a square thick piece of beef from the round or
-sirloin, and trim off the fat. Put it into a stew-pan with just water
-enough to cover it, and season it slightly with salt and pepper. Let it
-stew slowly, till tender all through. Then add potatos pared and
-quartered, turnips the same; and also, parsnips split and cut short, and
-(if approved) a few sliced onions. Stew altogether till the vegetables
-are thoroughly cooked, and then serve up the whole on one large dish.
-
-Mutton, veal, and fresh pork, may be stewed in the same manner. Sweet
-potatos, scraped and split, are excellent served with fresh meat. There
-should be a great plenty of vegetables, as they are much liked in stews.
-What is called an Irish stew is fresh beef stewed with potatos only--the
-potatos being first pared, and cut in quarters.
-
-For economy, cold roast beef may be stewed next day with fresh potatos
-cut up, and as little water as possible. Cold potatos, if re-cooked, are
-always hard, tough, and unwholesome.
-
-
-STEWED BEEFSTEAKS WITH OYSTERS.--Take some fine tender beef-steaks cut
-from the sirloin. If they are taken from the round they should be beaten
-with a rolling-pin to make them tender. Put them into a close stew-pan,
-with barely sufficient water to prevent their burning, and set them over
-the fire to brown. When they are browned, add sufficient oyster-liquor
-to cook them, and some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Let them
-stew slowly for an hour, or till they are thoroughly done. Then add
-three or four dozen of fine large fresh oysters, in proportion to the
-quantity of meat, seasoning them well with nutmeg, a few blades of mace,
-and a little cayenne. Cover the pan, and simmer them till the oysters
-are well plumped, but not till they come to a boil. When all is properly
-cooked, transfer the whole to a deep dish, and send it to table hot.
-
-The meat, when preparing, should be cut into pieces about as large as
-the palm of your hand, and an inch thick, omitting the fat. Small clams
-may be substituted for oysters.
-
-
-TOMATO STEWED BEEF.--Take large ripe tomatos, and scald them, to make
-the skins peel off easily. Pare, quarter them, and sprinkle them with a
-little salt and pepper. Lay in a stew-pan some thin tender beef-steaks,
-lamb, mutton-chops, or cutlets of fresh pork. Bury the meat in the
-tomatos, and add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour and a little
-sugar to take off the extreme acid of the tomatos; also, an onion or
-two, very finely minced. Let the whole cook slowly till the meat is
-thoroughly done, and the tomatos dissolved to a pulp. Send it to table
-all on the same dish.
-
-A rabbit or chicken, (cut apart as for carving,) is very good stewed
-with tomatos. Freshly killed venison is excellent for this stew.
-
-Many persons mix grated bread with tomato stew. We think it weakens the
-taste--a thing not desirable in any cooking.
-
-This stew must not have a drop of water in it; the tomatos will give out
-sufficient liquid to cook the meat. There is not a more wholesome dish.
-
-
-BEEF STEWED WITH ONIONS.--Take a square piece of beef from the sirloin,
-where there is no bone or fat. With a sharp knife make very deep
-incisions all over it, but not quite so deep as to cut it through to the
-bottom. Prepare a forcemeat by peeling and boiling some onions. Then
-drain and mince them. Mix in with the onions some fine bread-crumbs, and
-some chopped sweet-marjoram, (seasoning with powdered nutmeg and mace,)
-and fill tightly all the incisions. Put into the bottom of a stew-pan
-some drippings of roast-beef, or else a piece of fresh butter rolled in
-flour. Lay the seasoned meat upon it. Let it stew till completely
-cooked, and no redness to be found in any part of it. Serve it up hot,
-and send it to table in its own gravy.
-
-A round or fillet of fresh pork may be cooked as above, putting into the
-incisions, or holes, powdered sage instead of sweet marjoram, with the
-onions and crumbs; and using lard instead of beef-drippings. Eat apple
-sauce with it.
-
-
-BEEF STEWED WITH OYSTERS.--Prepare two or three pounds of the best beef,
-by trimming off all the fat, and removing the bone. Lay in the bottom of
-the stew-pan a few bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Then put in the
-meat, and sprinkle a little pepper over each piece. Have ready a quart
-of large fresh oysters. Strain the liquor to clear it from bits of the
-shell, and pour it over the meat in the stew-pan. Stew the meat in the
-oyster liquor till it is thoroughly cooked, skimming it well, and
-keeping it covered, except when skimming. Then add grated nutmeg, and a
-few blades of mace. Lastly, put in the oysters, and let them remain in
-just long enough to plump, which will be in a few minutes. If cooked too
-much oysters always shrivel, and become hard and tough. When all is
-done, serve up the whole in one dish.
-
-In the same manner clams may be stewed with beef. Never put any salt
-where there are clams. They are quite salt enough in themselves.
-
-
-FRENCH STEW.--Cut into pieces two or three pounds of the lean of fresh
-tender beef, mutton, veal, or pork, and peel and slice a quarter of a
-peck or more of ripe tomatos. Season the whole with a little pepper and
-salt. Add, if you choose, a tea-spoonful of sugar to moderate the
-extreme acid of the tomatos. Put the whole together into a stew-pot, and
-cover it closely, opening it occasionally to see how it is doing. Put no
-water to this stew, the juice of the tomatos will cook it thoroughly.
-Add a large table-spoonful of minced tarragon leaves. When the tomatos
-are all dissolved, stir in a piece of fresh butter, dredged with flour.
-Let it stew about a quarter of an hour longer. When the meat is quite
-tender all through, and every thing well done, make some sippets of
-triangular shaped toast, with the crust trimmed off. Dip the toast, for
-a moment, in hot water; butter and stand it up all round the inside of a
-deep dish. Then fill it with the stew, and serve it hot. Any meat may be
-stewed thus with tomatos.
-
-
-POTATO BEEF.--This is an excellent family dish. Boil some potatos till
-well done, all through. Peel them, put them into a large pan, and mash
-them smoothly, adding, as you proceed, some milk, and one or more beaten
-eggs, well mixed into the potatos. Rub the bottom of a white ware
-pudding dish with nice butter, or some drippings of cold beef, and cover
-it with a thick layer of mashed potatos. Next, put in thin slices of
-beef, (omitting the fat,) enough to cover the potatos. Next, add
-another layer of mashed potatos, evenly and thickly spread. Then, more
-thin slices of beef, and then more potatos. Do this, till the dish is
-full; finishing it with potatos, on the top, heaping them up in the
-centre. Bake it in an oven. There must be plenty of potatos, as they
-will be much liked.
-
-
-BEEF AND MUSHROOMS.--Take three pounds of the best sirloin steaks.
-Season them with black pepper and a very little salt, having removed the
-fat and bone. Put a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter into a
-frying-pan, and set it over the fire. When it is boiling hot, put in the
-steaks, and fry them brown. Have ready a quart of very fresh mushrooms,
-peeled and stemmed. If large, cut them in four. Season them with a
-little pepper and salt, and dredge them lightly with flour, and add a
-few bits of butter. Stew them in a separate pan kept closely covered.
-When the steaks are done, pour the mushrooms over them with all their
-juice. Put them all (steaks and mushrooms) into a dish with a cover, and
-serve them up hot.
-
-This is a breakfast dish, or a side dish for dinner. Unless the company
-is very small, four pounds of beef steaks, at least, and three pints of
-mushrooms, (with butter in proportion) will be required at dinner, as it
-will be much liked.
-
-
-BEEF'S HEART.--Wash the heart well, and soak it in a pan of tepid water
-till all the blood is drawn out of the ventricles, and it is made very
-clean and dry. Next par-boil it a quarter of an hour. Then stuff the
-cavities with a forcemeat made of minced veal, bread-crumbs, butter or
-minced suet, and sweet herbs, seasoned with a little pepper and nutmeg;
-or it may be stuffed simply with sage and onions. Sew up the openings
-with coarse brown thread, lest the forcemeat should fall out. Put the
-heart on a spit, and roast it before a clear fire, for near two hours;
-basting it well with nice fresh butter. Thicken the gravy with a little
-flour, and stir into it a glass of port wine, or of tarragon vinegar.
-Have ready a hot dish and a heated cover. Serve up the heart as hot as
-possible, for it soon chills, and pour the gravy around it. The gravy
-should be heated to a boil in a small sauce-pan.
-
-_Calves' Hearts_ are cooked in the same manner. As they are small, it
-takes four calves' hearts to make a dish.
-
-Hearts may be sliced and stewed with onions and sweet herbs, adding to
-the stew a little salad oil.
-
-
-BEEF PATTIES.--A nice way of disposing of underdone roast beef, is to
-mince fine all the lean, and a _very little_ of the fat. Season it with
-cayenne, and powdered nutmeg, or mace, or else chopped sweet herbs. If
-you have any stewed mushroom-gravy, moisten the meat with that. Make a
-nice paste, and cut it into small circular sheets, rolled out not very
-thin. Cover one half of each sheet of paste with the minced beef (not
-too near the edge) and fold over the other half, so as to form a half
-moon. Wet your fingers with cold water, and pinch together the two edges
-of the half moon. Then crimp them with a sharp knife. Lay the patties in
-square baking pans, prick them with a fork, and bake them brown. Or you
-may fry them in lard. Serve them up hot, as side dishes.
-
-Cold veal, minced with cold ham, or tongue, makes very nice patties;
-also cold chicken or turkey.
-
-
-A BEEF STEAK PIE.--Stew two pounds or more, of fine tender sirloin
-steaks, divested of fat and bone, and cut rather thin. Season them with
-a very little salt and pepper; and, when about half done, remove them
-from the fire, and keep them warm, saving all the gravy. Make a nice
-paste, allowing to two quarts of flour one pound and a quarter of fresh
-butter. Divide the butter into four quarters. Rub one half into the pan
-of flour, and make it into a dough with, a very little cold water. Roll
-it out into a large sheet, and with a broad knife stick over it, at
-equal distances, one of the remaining divisions of butter. Then sprinkle
-it with more flour, fold it, and roll it out again into a large sheet.
-Put on the remainder of the butter in bits, as before. Then fold it
-again. Cut the paste into equal halves, and roll them out into two
-sheets, trimmed into round or oval forms. With one sheet line a
-pie-dish, and fill it with your meat, adding, if convenient, some
-mushrooms, or some fresh oysters, or the soft part of a few clams, and
-some blades of mace. Use the other sheet of paste as a cover for the
-pie, uniting the edges with the under crust by crimping it nicely. Of
-the trimmings of the paste, make an ornament or tulip, and stick it into
-the slit at the top of the pie.
-
-
-MEAT PIES--May be made in the above manner of lamb, veal, or pork. Also
-of venison or any sort of fresh meat. Pie crust for baking should be
-shortened with butter, or with the dripping of roast beef, veal, or
-_fresh_ pork. Mutton or lamb dripping are unfit for pie crust, as they
-make it taste of tallow. Suet will not do at all for _baked_ paste,
-though very good if the paste is to be boiled. Butter and lard will make
-a nice plain paste for pies, if both are fresh and good; the butter to
-be rubbed into the flour, mixed with a little cold water, and rolled
-out; the lard to be spread evenly all over the sheet; then folded and
-rolled out again. Meat pies should always have a bottom crust, as the
-gravy it imbibes makes it very relishing. Veal pies are insipid without
-the addition of some cold ham.
-
-Pies made of game should have a puff-paste, as they are generally for
-company.
-
-On the shores of the Chesapeake, very fine pies are made of canvas-back,
-or red-neck ducks, when in season. They require puff-paste to be made
-in perfection. Pot-pies of these ducks are, of course, excellent.
-
-
-A BEEF STEAK POT-PIE.--Take two pounds or more of tender beef steaks,
-exclusive of the fat and bone, which must be omitted; the steaks from
-the sirloin end, cut less than an inch thick, and not larger than four
-or five inches square. Put them into a pot with enough water to cover
-them, and season them slightly with pepper and salt. Dredge them with a
-little flour, and lay on each a morsel of nice fresh butter. Stew the
-steaks for half an hour. Meanwhile make a large portion of paste;
-allowing to every quart or pound of flour, a small half pound of nice
-beef-suet, entirely freed from all its skin and strings, and minced with
-a chopper as finely as possible. To three pounds of beef allow four
-quarts of flour and not quite two pounds of suet. A pot-pie with but
-little paste in proportion to the meat, is no better than a stew. The
-paste, if good, is always much liked. Divide the minced suet into two
-halves. Rub or crumble one half the suet into the pan of flour; adding
-by degrees a little _cold_ water, barely enough to make a stiff dough;
-first mixing in a small tea-spoonful of salt. Roll out the lump of dough
-into a large sheet, and spread it all over with the remainder of the
-minced suet, laid on with a broad knife. Then fold it up, and set it on
-a dish in a cool place, to get quite cold. Take a large iron pot, made
-very clean. Lay in the bottom the largest pieces of beef steak, and
-line round the sides with pieces of the paste, cut to fit. Next put in
-the remainder of the meat, interspersed with raw potatos sliced, (either
-white or sweet potatos,) and also pieces of the paste cut into squares,
-and laid among the meat, to which must be added the gravy saved from the
-stew. When the pot is nearly full, cover its contents with a large round
-or circular piece of paste. This must not fit _quite closely_, but a
-little space or crack must be left all around for the gravy to bubble up
-as it boils. Before you put on the lid pour in half a pint, or more, of
-water. Cut a cross-slit in the centre of the top-crust. Set the pot over
-a good fire, and let it boil steadily, till all is done, meat and paste.
-The upper-crust should be well-browned. When cooked, serve the whole
-upon one large dish, laying the brown upper-crust on the top of all. If
-there is too much gravy, send some of it to table in a sauce-boat, first
-skimming it.
-
-It will be improved by adding to the seasoning some nutmeg or powdered
-mace. These are the only spices that accord well with meat or poultry.
-
-
-POT-PIES.--The preceding receipt is good for any sort of pot-pie. They
-are all on the same principle. The meat to be divested of the fat, and
-stewed first in a pot by itself, saving the gravy. The paste (of which
-there should always be an ample allowance) sufficient to line the sides
-of the pot all round, and reaching up nearly to the top, besides plenty
-of small square pieces to intersperse with the meat, and an upper crust
-to cover the whole. At the very bottom the meat and gravy only, as there
-the paste might burn. Pot-pies may be made of any sort of fresh meat, or
-of fowls or any sort of poultry (cut up, as if for carving,) and
-previously stewed. If made of chickens or pigeons or rabbits, add a few
-slices of cold ham and put no other salt. For want of suet you may make
-the paste with butter, but it must be fresh and good. Allow half a pound
-of butter to a large quart of flour. Potato paste is tolerable for
-shortening pot-pies, if you make it half mashed potato and half lard. We
-do not recommend bread dough or any thing raised with yeast or soda for
-boiled paste; when there is no shortening, boiled paste is always tough
-and unwholesome.
-
-Pot-pies may be made of apples pared, cored, and quartered; of peaches
-quartered and stoned, or of any nice fruit. Fruit pot-pies should have
-butter paste, and be well sweetened with brown sugar.
-
-All boiled dough should be eaten warm. It falls and becomes heavy as
-soon as cold.
-
-
-BEEF-STEAK PUDDING.--After clearing it from the skin and strings, mince
-as fine as possible three quarters of a pound of nice beef suet. Sift
-into a pan two small quarts of flour. Rub half the suet into the flour,
-and make it into a paste with a little cold water, (as little as
-possible.) Roll it out into a large sheet, and spread over it, evenly,
-the other half of the minced suet. Fold it, flour it, roll it again,
-and divide it unequally into two pieces, one nearly three times larger
-than the other. Roll them out, rather thick than thin. Have ready a
-large pound and a quarter of tender-loin beef steak, that has been cut
-into thin pieces (without fat or bone, seasoned with a very little salt
-and pepper, and some nutmeg) and half-stewed, saving its gravy. Lay this
-meat upon the large thick sheet of crust; pour the stewed gravy among
-it, and add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Cover it with the
-small round of paste, cut to fit, only allowing the lid large enough to
-project a little over, so as to be joined firmly by pressing it all
-round with your fingers. Do it well and securely, that it may not come
-apart while boiling. Dip a large square pudding-cloth in hot
-water--shake it out--lay it in a deep pan, dredge it with flour, lay the
-pudding into it and tie it firmly, leaving room for swelling. Put it
-into a large pot of boiling water, and boil it till, on probing with a
-fork, you find the meat quite tender.
-
-Or you may boil it in a large bowl with a rim, tying the cloth carefully
-all over the top. Set the bowl in a pot of boiling water.
-
-
-TO BOIL TRIPE.--Clean the tripe very carefully, giving it a thorough
-scraping, and washing in warm water, and trim off the superfluous fat.
-Lay it all night in weak salt and water. Then wash it again. Let it lie
-an hour or two in milk and water, and then boil it five hours or more,
-putting it on in cold water. It must be perfectly tender throughout.
-This should be done the day _before_ it is to be cooked for dinner. On
-that day, cut it into strips or bands, roll them with the fat side
-inwards. Tie the rolls round with small white twine, and boil them two
-hours longer; or till they are _perfectly tender throughout, and incline
-to look transparent near the edges_. Have ready in a saucepan, some
-onions peeled; and boil in milk and water, till soft enough to mash.
-Then take them out; drain them; mix with the onion-water some nice fresh
-butter divided into pieces and rolled in flour. When this has come to a
-boil, return the onions to the liquor; season them with pepper, and give
-them one boil up. When the tripe is done, transfer it to a deep dish,
-and pour the onion sauce over it. When on your plate, add to it some
-tarragon vinegar or mustard. Take the strings off before the tripe goes
-to table.
-
-
-TRIPE CURRY.--Having boiled two pounds of double tripe, cut it into
-slips, peel two large onions, cut them also into dice, and put them into
-a stew-pan, with three ounces, or three table-spoonfuls of fresh butter.
-Let them stew till brown, stirring frequently, and mixing in a
-table-spoonful of curry-powder. Add a pint of milk, and the cut-up
-tripe. Let all stew together for an hour or more, skimming it well.
-Serve it up in a tureen or deep dish, with a dish of boiled rice to eat
-with it.
-
-A good East India receipt for curry-powder, is to pound, very fine, in
-a marble mortar, (made very clean,) six ounces of coriander seed, three
-quarters of an ounce of cayenne, one ounce and a half of foenugreek
-seed; one ounce of cummin seed, and three ounces of turmeric. These
-articles (all of which can be obtained at a druggist's,) being pounded
-extremely fine, must be sifted through clean thin muslin, and spread on
-a dish, and laid before the fire for three hours, stirring them
-frequently. Keep this powder in a bottle with a glass stopper. It is
-used for giving an East Indian flavor to stews. The turmeric
-communicates a fine yellow color.
-
-Boiled rice is always eaten with curry dishes.
-
-Curry balls for Mock Turtle, &c., are made of bread-crumbs, fresh
-butter, hard-boiled yolk of egg, chopped fine, a seasoning of curry
-powder, and some beaten raw egg, to make the mixture into balls, about
-the size of a hickory-nut.
-
-
-FRIED TRIPE.--Having boiled the tripe till perfectly tender all through;
-cut it into pieces three or four inches square. Make a batter of four
-beaten eggs, four table-spoonfuls of flour, and a pint of milk, seasoned
-with powdered nutmeg or mace. Have boiling in the frying-pan an ample
-quantity of the drippings of roast veal, or beef. Dip each piece of
-tripe twice into the batter; then lay it in the pan, and fry it brown.
-Send it to table hot.
-
-Tripe was long considered very indigestible. This, it is now found, was
-a mistake; physicians having discovered that it is quite the contrary,
-the gastric juice that it contained, as the stomach of the animal,
-rendering it singularly fitted for digestion, provided that it is
-thoroughly cooked; so that on trial, a fork can easily penetrate every
-part of it.
-
-
-TONGUES.--Corned or salted tongues are very little in use now. They
-spoil so soon, that it is scarcely possible to obtain one that has not
-been salted too late; and when quite fresh, they have a faint,
-sickening, doubtful taste. It is best always to buy them dried and
-smoked. Choose the largest and plumpest, and with as smooth an outside
-or skin as you can. Put a tongue into soak the evening before it is to
-be cooked; changing the water at bed-time. In the morning wash it in
-fresh water. Trim off the root, which is an unsightly object, and never
-carved at table. But it may be cut into pieces, and added to pea-soup,
-or bean-soup, or pepper-pot. Put on the tongue in a large pot of cold
-water, and boil it steadily for five or six hours, till it is so tender
-that a straw, or a twig from a corn-broom, will easily penetrate it.
-When you find that it is thoroughly done (and not till then) take it up.
-A smoked tongue requires more boiling than a ham, and therefore is
-seldom sufficiently cooked. When quite done, peel it carefully, and keep
-it warm till dinner. If well-boiled, it will seem almost to melt in your
-mouth. When you dish it do not split it. The flavor is much injured by
-carving it lengthways, or in long pieces. It should be cut in round
-slices, not too thin.
-
-For a large party we have seen two cold tongues on one dish. One of them
-whole--the root concealed entirely with double parsley, cut paper, or a
-bunch of flowers cut out of vegetables, very ingeniously, with a sharp
-penknife--the vegetables raw, of course not to be eaten. Red roses made
-of beets, white roses or camellias of turnips, marigolds of carrots, &c.
-The stems are short wooden skewers, stuck into the flowers, and
-concealed by double parsley. These vegetable bouquets can be made to
-look very well, as ornaments to cold tongue, or to the end of the shank
-of a ham, or to stick into the centre of a cold round of a-la-mode beef.
-
-Where there are two cold tongues on one dish, it is usual to split one
-to be helped lengthways, and garnish it with the other, cut into
-circular pieces, and laid handsomely round.
-
-Cold tongue sliced is a great improvement to a chicken pie, or to any
-bird pie.
-
-
-BAKED TONGUE.--Having soaked a fine large smoked tongue all night, in
-the morning trim it nicely, and if it still seems hard, soak it again in
-fresh cold water till it is time to cook it. Then put it into a deep
-dish, (having trimmed off the root,) and make a coarse paste of flour
-and water. Cut up the roots into little bits, and lay them round and
-about the tongue, to enrich the gravy. Lay all along the surface some
-bits of butter rolled in flour, and season with a little pepper--no
-salt. Pour in a very little water, and cover the dish with the coarse
-paste. Bake it till the tongue is very tender. This you may ascertain by
-raising up with a knife one corner of the paste and trying the tongue.
-When done, peel it, dish it, strain the gravy over the tongue, and send
-it to table. Garnish with baked tomatos, or mushrooms, or large roasted
-chestnuts peeled.
-
-For a large company have two baked tongues, one at each end of the
-table. Eat them warm.
-
-
-LARDED TONGUE.--Take a large cold tongue, that has been well boiled.
-Trim off the roots. Have ready some slips of the fat of cold boiled ham,
-cut into long thin pieces, about as thick as straws. With a larding
-needle, draw them through the outside of the tongue, and leave them
-there. Arrange the borders in rows, or handsome regular forms, leaving
-about an inch standing up on the surface.
-
-Cold meat or poultry is far better for larding than that which is yet to
-cook.
-
-
-TONGUE TOAST.--Make some slices of nice toast, not very thick, but
-browned evenly all over, on both sides. Trim off the whole of the crust.
-Butter the toast slightly. Grate, with a large grater plenty of cold
-tongue, and spread it thickly over the toast. Lay the slices side by
-side, on a large dish--not one slice on the top of another.
-
-Serve them up at breakfast, luncheon, or supper.
-
-
-HAM TOAST--Is prepared in the same manner, of grated cold ham spread on
-slices of buttered toast.
-
-
-SANDWICHES--Are slices of cold ham, or tongue, _cut very thin_, and laid
-between thin slices of buttered bread. The meat may be seasoned with
-French mustard. Roll them up nicely. There are silver cases made to
-contain sandwiches to eat on the road when traveling.
-
-Sandwiches for traveling may be made of the _lean_ of cold beef, (roast
-or boiled,) cut very thin, seasoned with French mustard, and laid
-between two slices of bread and butter.
-
-
-
-
-MUTTON.
-
-
-MUTTON.--If mutton is good it is of a fine grain; the lean is of a
-bright red color, and the fat firm and white. Unless there is plenty of
-fat the lean will not be good; and so it is with all meat. If the lean
-is of a very dark red, and coarse and hard, and the fat yellowish and
-spongy, the mutton is old, tough, and strong. Therefore, do not buy it.
-If there is any dark or blackish tint about the meat, it is tainted, and
-of course unwholesome. If kept till it acquires what the English call
-venison taste, Americans will very properly refuse to eat it.
-
-We give no directions for disguising spoilt meat. It should be thrown
-away. Nothing is fit to eat in which decomposition is commencing.
-
-
-BOILED LOIN OF MUTTON.--A good loin of mutton is always very fat, so
-that in cooking it is well to remove or pare off a portion of the
-outside fat. Unlike most other meats, mutton is the better for being
-boiled in soup. Put it into a large pot; allow to every pound a quart of
-water. Boil it slowly and skim it well, adding the vegetables when the
-scum has done rising. The vegetables should be sliced turnips, potatos,
-and grated carrots. Have ready plenty of suet dumplings, in the
-proportion of half a pound of finely minced suet to a pound and a
-quarter of flour. Rub the suet into the pan of flour, and use as little
-water as possible in mixing the dough. Make it into thick dumplings,
-rather larger round than a dollar. Boil them in a pot by themselves,
-till thoroughly done. Serve up the meat with the dumplings round it. Or
-put the dumplings in a dish by themselves, and surround the meat with
-whole turnips. This is an excellent plain dish for a private family.
-Serve up pickles with it.
-
-
-SAUCE FOR BOILED MUTTON.--This particularly applies to mutton that has
-been boiled in soup, and which is so very generally liked, that it is
-served up on tables where soup-meat of beef and veal is considered
-inadmissible. To make a suitable sauce to eat with it--take two or three
-large boiled onions; slice them and put them into a sauce-pan, with a
-piece of fresh butter slightly rolled in flour, a table-spoonful of
-_made_ mustard. French mustard will be best; or, for want of that, two
-table-spoonfuls of strong tarragon vinegar, and a half-salt-spoon of
-cayenne, and some pickled cucumbers chopped, but not minced. Green
-nasturtion seeds will be still better than cucumbers. Put these
-ingredients into a small sauce-pan, adding to them a little of the
-mutton soup. Set this sauce over the fire, and when it simmers well,
-take it off, put into a sauce-boat, and keep it hot till the mutton goes
-to table.
-
-To keep nasturtions--take the full-grown green seeds, and put them into
-a large bottle of the best _cider_ vinegar, corking them closely. They
-require nothing more, and are far superior to capers.
-
-
-BOILED LEG OF MUTTON.--After nicely trimming a middle-sized leg of
-mutton, wash, but do not soak it. Put it into a pot that will hold it
-well, and pour on rather more water than is sufficient to cover it. Set
-it over a good fire, and skim it as soon as it begins to boil, and
-continue till no more scum appears; having thrown in a small
-table-spoonful of salt after the first skimming. After the liquid is
-clear, put in some turnips, pared, and, if large, divided into four
-pieces. Afterwards it should boil slowly, or simmer gently for about two
-hours or more. Send to table with it caper sauce; or nasturtion, which
-is still better. Eat it with any sort of green pickles. Pickles and
-turnips seem indispensable to boiled mutton. Do not mash the turnips,
-but let them be well drained.
-
-Setting boiled turnips in the sun will give them an unpleasant taste.
-
-Tarragon sauce is excellent with boiled mutton.
-
-
-MUTTON STEAKS STEWED.--Take some tender mutton steaks, cut from the leg.
-Beat them a little with a rolling pin, and season them with pepper and
-salt. Put them into a stew-pan with sliced potatos, sliced turnips,
-sliced onions, sliced or grated carrots, and sweet marjoram leaves
-stripped from the stalks. Pour in just sufficient water to cover the
-stew, and let it cook slowly till it is tender and well done. Serve it
-up hot in a deep dish, with a cover. A table-spoonful of tarragon
-mustard will improve the stew.
-
-When tomatos are in season, you can stew mutton or any other meat with
-tomatos only--no water. Having prepared the meat, and laid it in the
-stew-pan, cover it with tomatos, peeled and quartered. Add some sugar to
-take off a portion of their acid, and a chopped onion. No water, as the
-meat will cook in the liquid of the tomatos. They must stew till
-thoroughly dissolved.
-
-Tender-loin beef steaks--or veal cutlets, may be stewed as above.
-
-
-MUTTON CHOPS BROILED.--The best steaks are those cut from the loin,
-about half an inch thick. Divest them of the bone, and remove the skin
-and fat. Then butter them slightly all over, before cooking. This will
-be found an improvement. The French go over them with salad oil, which
-is still better. Sprinkle on them a little pepper and salt. Having
-heated the gridiron well over a bed of very hot live coals, place it
-somewhat aslant, grease its bars with a little of the mutton suet, and
-lay on the steaks and broil them well; turning them three or four times,
-and seeing that they are not scorched or burnt on the outside, and red
-or raw when cut. Turn them with a knife and fork, or with steak-tongs,
-an instrument with which every kitchen should be furnished. To cook them
-well requires a clear glowing fire, without blaze or smoke. They should
-be done in about a quarter of an hour. When you take them up, turn them
-on a well-heated dish, and pour their gravy over them.
-
-If onions are liked, mince one as fine as possible, and strew it over
-the steaks while broiling; or, boil and slice some onions, mix some
-butter among them, season them with pepper, and a little powdered mace
-or nutmeg, and serve them up with the meat on the same dish, or in a
-sauce-boat.
-
-
-MUTTON CHOPS WITH TOMATOS.--Broil some mutton steaks in the above
-manner, and have ready some baked tomatos. When the steaks are dished,
-lay on each a large baked tomato with the face downward, or cover each
-steak with stewed tomato sauce. For baking, take fine ripe tomatos of
-the largest size. Cut out a piece from the stem end, and extract the
-seeds. Then stuff each tomato with grated bread-crumbs, butter, and
-minced sweet marjoram, or finely minced onion. If you have any cold veal
-or chicken, add a little of that to the stuffing, mincing it, of course.
-Bake them in a dish by themselves.
-
-Or, you may send the steaks to table with a slice of fried egg-plant
-laid upon each; buttered, and sprinkled with bread-crumbs.
-
-
-MUTTON STEAKS FRIED.--Make a nice batter of grated bread-crumbs, milk
-and beaten egg, and put it in a shallow pan. Prepare some fine steaks
-cut from the loin, divested of fat, and with the bone cut short. Have
-ready, in a hot frying-pan, some fresh butter or drippings. Dip each
-steak twice over in the batter, then fry them brown. Send them to table
-very hot.
-
-You may fry mutton chops like beef steaks, covered with onions, boiled,
-drained, and sliced.
-
-
-POTATO MUTTON CHOPS.--Cut some nice chops or steaks from the best end of
-a neck of mutton. The loin will be still better. Trim off all the fat,
-but leave a small part of the bone visible, nicely scraped. Season them
-with pepper and salt, and fry them in butter or drippings. Have ready
-plenty of mashed potatos with which cover the chops all over separately,
-so as to wrap them up in the mashed potatos. Glaze them with beaten egg,
-and brown them with a salamander or a red-hot shovel. This is a nice
-breakfast dish.
-
-
-KEBOBBED MUTTON.--This is an Asiatic dish, much approved by those who
-have eaten it in Turkey or India, and it is certainly very good. Remove
-the skin from a loin of mutton, and also the whole of the fat. Divide it
-at every joint, cutting all the steaks apart, and making separate steaks
-of the whole loin. Make a mixture of grated bread-crumbs, minced
-sweet-herbs, a little salt and pepper, and some powdered nutmeg. Have
-ready some beaten yolk of egg. Dip each steak into the egg then; twice
-into the seasoning. Roll up each steak round a wooden skewer, and tie
-them on a spit with packthread. Roast them before a clear fire, with a
-dripping-pan under them to catch the gravy, which must be skimmed
-frequently. They must be roasted slowly and carefully, taking care to
-have them thoroughly cooked, even to the inmost of every roll. Baste
-them with just butter enough to keep them moist. When done, carefully
-take the kebobs from the skewers, and send them to table hot. Eat with
-them large Spanish chestnuts, roasted and peeled; or else sweet potatos,
-split, boiled, and cut into short pieces. Pour the gravy into the dish
-under the kebobs.
-
-Instead of rolling up the kebobs, you may fasten them flat (after
-seasoning,) with the same spit going through them all, and roast them in
-that manner. They should all be of the same size and shape. To dish
-them, lay them one upon another in an even pile. Eat mushroom sauce with
-them, or any other sort that is very nice.
-
-Venison steaks are very good kebobbed in this manner, at the season when
-venison can be had fresh, tender, and juicy. For sauce have stewed wild
-grapes, mashed and made very sweet with brown sugar, or grape jelly,
-which is still better; or, sauce made of fine cranberries, such as
-abound in the north-west.
-
-
-AN IRISH STEW.--Take three pounds of thick mutton cutlets from the loin,
-and remove the fat. Slice thick five pounds of fine potatos that have
-been previously pared. Place a layer of meat in the bottom of a
-stew-pan, or an iron pot, and lay some of the potatos upon it. Season
-all with salt and pepper. Upon this another layer of meat--then some
-potatos again, then meat, and so on till all is in, finishing with
-potatos at the top. Pour in a pint of cold water. Let it simmer gently
-for two hours or more, till the meat and potatos are thoroughly done.
-Serve it up very hot, meat and potatos, on the same dish. If approved,
-you may add, from the beginning, one or two sliced onions.
-
-A similar stew may be made of beef steaks and potatos.
-
-You may stew pork cutlets in the same manner, but with _sweet_ potatos,
-split and cut in long pieces, or with yams. The seasoning for the pork
-should be minced sage.
-
-This is a very plain, but very good dish, if made of nice fresh meat and
-good potatos, and well cooked.
-
-
-LAMB.--The vein in the neck of the fore-quarter should be blueish, and
-firm--otherwise do not buy it. If greenish or yellowish, it is tainted,
-and fit only for manure. Never buy any thing that has been kept too
-long. The worst may, by some process, be a little disguised, but nothing
-can render wholesome any article of food in which decomposition has
-commenced, even in the slightest degree. The fat should be quite white.
-If there is but little meat on the shoulder it has not been a good lamb.
-In America, where food is abundant, there is no occasion to eat any
-thing, that has the flavor in the least changed by keeping.
-
-A fore-quarter of lamb comprises the shoulder, the neck, and the breast
-together. The hind-quarter is the loin and leg. Lamb comes in season in
-the beginning of April, if the spring is not unusually backward.
-
-Jersey lamb is sometimes garlicky early in the season. Avoid buying it;
-you can easily tell it by the garlicky smell. It can only be rendered
-eatable by stewing, or frying it with plenty of onions. To plain roast
-or boil garlicky meat is in vain. Beef, also, is sometimes garlicky.
-
-Lamb may be cooked in every way that is proper for mutton.
-
-
-ROAST LAMB.--The roasting pieces for lamb are the fore-quarter, and
-hind-quarter; and the saddle, or both hind-quarters together, not having
-been cut apart. If the saddle is cooked whole, it should be of a small
-delicate lamb, nice and fat, and is then a fashionable dish at company
-dinners. Like all other young meat lamb should always be thoroughly
-done, not the least redness being left perceptible any where about it. A
-hind-quarter of eight pounds will require at least two hours--a
-fore-quarter, rather longer. It should be placed before a clear brisk
-fire, but not very near at first. Put a little water in the
-dripping-pan, and baste it with that till it begins to cook, adding a
-little nice fresh butter. Then place it nearer the fire, and when the
-gravy begins to fall, baste it with that, and repeat the basting very
-frequently. When the lamb drops white gravy it is nearly done, and you
-may prepare for taking it up. Skim the gravy that is in the dripping-pan
-till all the fat is taken off. Then dredge over it a little flour, and
-send it to table in a gravy boat, having stirred in one or two
-table-spoonfuls of currant jelly. Lettuce is always an accompaniment to
-cold lamb.
-
-In carving a fore-quarter of lamb it is usual to take off the shoulder
-from the ribs, put in a slice of fresh butter, sprinkle it with a little
-cayenne, and squeeze over the divided parts a fresh lemon cut in half;
-and put, for that purpose, on a small plate beside the carver.
-
-The vegetables to be eaten with lamb are, new potatos, asparagus, green
-peas, and spinach. Mint sauce is indispensable. French cooks seldom
-understand how to make it. To do it properly, take a large bunch of
-fresh green mint, wash it, and when you have shaken the wet from them,
-mince the leaves very fine, omitting the stems. Put the leaves, when
-chopped, into a small tureen or sauce-boat, and pour on a sufficient
-quantity of the best cider vinegar to moisten the mint thoroughly, but
-not to render it the least liquid or thin. It should be as thick as
-horse-radish, prepared to eat with roast beef. Mix in sufficient sugar
-to make it very sweet. Good brown sugar will do. At table put a
-tea-spoonful on the side of your plate. Those who make mint sauce thin
-and weak, and pour it over the meat like gravy, know nothing about it.
-
-
-LAMB STEAKS.--Cut some nice cutlets or steaks (without any bone) from a
-hind-quarter of lamb. Lay them in a stew pan, and season them with a
-little salt and cayenne, adding some butter rolled in flour. Wash
-carefully two fine fresh lettuces. Remove the outside leaves, quarter
-the lettuces, and cut off all the stalks. Set the stew-pan, with the
-meat, over a clear fire; and let it stew slowly till about half done.
-Then put in the lettuce, covering the meat with it, and let them all
-stew about half an hour longer. When done, take out the lettuces first.
-Put them into a sieve or cullender, press out the water, and chop them
-_large_. See if the meat is done all through. If it is, return the
-stewed lettuce to the pot, season it with a little cayenne and some
-salad oil, and add to it two or three hard-boiled eggs, chopped large.
-Cover it, and let it stew five minutes longer. Serve it up on the same
-dish.
-
-
-LAMB CUTLETS.--Cut the cutlets from the loin and trim them nicely,
-removing the skin, and most of the fat. Scrape the bone, and cut it
-short. Grate plenty of stale bread, and mix it with some minced sweet
-marjoram, seasoned with salt and pepper. Have ready a small deep dish of
-light beaten egg, flavored with grated nutmeg and fresh lemon-peel,
-grated fine, the thin yellow rind only. Put some nice lard or
-beef-dripping into a hot frying-pan, and when the lard boils is the time
-to put in the cutlets. Dip every cutlet separately into the beaten egg.
-Then into the bread-crumbs, &c. Repeat this a second time both with the
-egg and bread. The cutlets will be found much better for the double
-immersion. Then lay them separately in the boiling lard, and fry them
-well. One cutlet must not be laid on the top of another. When done, dish
-them and send them to table very hot, with some currant jelly to mix
-with the gravy. This is a fine breakfast dish or for a small dinner.
-
-Instead of frying, you may broil them. Dip each cutlet twice into the
-egg and twice into the crumbs, and cover each with clean writing paper,
-cut of a convenient shape, and secured with pins or packthread, the
-paper being twisted round the end of the bone. Broil them in the papers,
-which must be taken off before the cutlets go to table.
-
-
-LAMB CHOPS, STEWED.--Cut a loin of lamb into chops or steaks, removing
-the bone, or else sawing it very short. Trim off the skin and part of
-the fat. Season the chops with a little pepper and salt, and fry them in
-fresh butter till they are of a pale brown color. Then pour off the fat
-and transfer the steaks to a stew-pan. Add enough boiling water to cover
-them; and having seasoned them with some powdered nutmeg or some blades
-of mace, add a pint of shelled green peas that have been already
-parboiled, or a pint of the green tops of asparagus cut off after
-boiling, and a fresh lettuce stripped of its outside leaves and stalks
-and quartered. Finish with a small quarter of a pound of fresh butter
-cut in pieces and rolled in flour, and laid among the vegetables. Let
-them all stew together with the meat, for half an hour rather slowly.
-Serve up all upon one large dish. It will make an excellent plain dinner
-for a small family, with the addition of a dish or two of new potatos,
-if they are in season.
-
-You may omit the lettuce, and add more peas and asparagus tops.
-
-
-LARDED LAMB.--Cut off the fillet or round from a nice hind-quarter of
-lamb, and remove the bone from the centre. Make a stuffing or forcemeat
-of bread-crumbs, fresh butter, sweet marjoram, and sweet basil, minced
-finely; the yellow rind of a fresh lemon, grated; and a tea-spoonful of
-mixed nutmeg and mace, powdered. Fill with this stuffing the hole from
-whence the bone was taken, and secure the flap round the side of the
-meat, putting plenty of stuffing between. Then proceed to lard it. Cut a
-number of long thin slips of the fat of ham, bacon, or corned pork. All
-these slips must be of the same size. Take one at a time between the
-points of the larding-needle, and draw it through the flat surface of
-the top, or upper side of the meat, so as to leave one end of the ham
-in, as you slip the other end out of the needle. Do this nicely,
-arranging the slips of ham in regular form, and very near together. Put
-the lamb into an iron oven, or bake-pan, with a small portion of lard or
-fresh butter under it, and bake it thoroughly. When the meat is about
-half done, put in a quart or more of nice green peas with sufficient
-butter to cook them well. Serve up the lamb with the peas round it, on
-the same dish.
-
-This is a dish for company.
-
-
-LAMB PIE.--Remove the fat and bone from two pounds or more of nice lamb
-steaks, or take some cutlets from the upper end of a leg of lamb, and
-cut them into pieces about as large as the palm of your hand. Season
-them with pepper and salt very slightly. Put them into a stew pot with a
-_very little water_, and let them stew for half an hour or more. In the
-mean time, make a nice paste, allowing half a pound of fresh butter to a
-pound of flour. Mix with a broad knife half the butter with the flour,
-adding gradually enough of cold water to make a dough. Roll out the
-dough into a large thin sheet, and spread all over it with the knife the
-remainder of the butter. Fold it, sprinkle it with a little flour, and
-then divide it into two sheets, and roll out each of them. That intended
-for the upper crust to be the thickest. Line with the under crust the
-bottom and sides of a pie-dish. Put in the stewed lamb with its gravy.
-Intersperse some blades of mace. Add some potatos, sliced, and some
-sliced boiled turnips. Cover the meat thick with the green tops of
-boiled asparagus, and lay among it a few bits of fresh butter. For
-asparagus tops you may substitute boiled cauliflower seasoned with
-nutmeg. Put on the paste-lid, closing the edges with crimping them
-nicely. Cut a cross-slit on the top. Put the pie directly into the
-oven, and bake it of a light brown. Serve it up hot.
-
-
-
-
-VEAL.
-
-
-VEAL.--Do not buy veal unless the vein in the shoulder looks blue or
-bright red. If of any other color, the veal is not fresh. A calf's head
-should have the eyes full and prominent. If they are dull and sunken,
-the head is stale. The kidney should be well covered with firm white
-fat. All the fat must be firm, dry, and white, and the lean fine in the
-grain, and light colored. If any part is found clammy or discolored, do
-not buy that veal. The best pieces of the calf are the loin and the
-fillet. The loin consists of the best and the chump end; the hind
-knuckle, and the fore knuckle. The inferior pieces are the neck,
-blade-bone, and breast. The brisket end of a breast of veal is very
-coarse, hard, and tough; the best end is rather better, having
-sweet-bread belonging to it.
-
-Veal, like all other meat, should be well washed in cold water before
-cooking. Being naturally the most tasteless and insipid of all meat, it
-requires the assistance of certain articles to give it flavor. It is too
-weak to make rich soup without various additions. But well cooked, it is
-very nice as roasted loin, fillet, or fried cutlets.
-
-
-ROAST LOIN OF VEAL.--Wash the meat well in cold water, wipe it dry, and
-rub it slightly with mixed pepper and salt. Make a stuffing of bread
-soaked in milk, or grated bread-crumbs, cold ham minced, sweet marjoram
-minced, and the juice and yellow grated rind of a lemon; also, a little
-fresh butter. Loosen with a sharp knife the skin, and put the stuffing
-under it, skewering down the flap to keep it in. Put the veal to roast
-before a strong clear fire, and pour a little water in the bottom of the
-roaster. Baste it with this till the gravy begins to run. Then baste it
-with that. Set the spit at first not very close to the fire, but bring
-it nearer as the roasting proceeds.
-
-Send it to table with its own gravy, well skimmed and slightly thickened
-with a little flour.
-
-Always choose a fine fresh loin of veal with plenty of fat about the
-kidney. No meat spoils so soon.
-
-The breast and shoulder are roasted in the same manner as the loin, of
-which two dishes may be made, the kidney end, and the chump end.
-
-
-FILLET OF VEAL.--When a fillet is to be roasted or baked, let it be well
-washed, and then dried in a clean towel. Take out the bone, fold the
-flap round, and skewer it to the meat. Make plenty of forcemeat or
-stuffing, of bread soaked in milk, or grated dry and mixed with plenty
-of fresh butter, or some of the fat or suet finely minced. Season with
-pepper, grated nutmeg, powdered mace, fresh lemon peel grated, and sweet
-marjoram and sweet basil minced fine. The hole that contained the bone
-must be stuffed full, and also the space between the flap and the side
-of the meat. This should be secured by three skewers. Dredge the meat
-all over lightly with flour before you put it down. At first, place the
-spit at a distance from the fire, which should be strong and clear.
-Then, as the meat begins to roast, set it nearer, and till the gravy
-begins to fall, baste it with fresh butter, or lard. Just before it is
-finished, (it will take about four hours,) dredge it with flour, and
-baste it well with its own gravy. When the meat is dished, skim the
-gravy, thicken it with a little flour, and pour it round the veal in the
-dish, or serve it in a sauce-boat.
-
-A ham is the usual accompaniment to roast veal, whether fillet or loin.
-
-
-ROAST VEAL HASHED.--Take whatever cold roast veal was left from
-yesterday. To prepare it for a breakfast dish, cut it into small bits,
-and put it (without any water) into a stew-pan, adding to it the veal
-gravy that was left from yesterday, and a table-spoonful of fresh butter
-or lard, dredged with flour. Cover it, and after stewing it half an hour
-by itself, put in two large table-spoonfuls of well spiced tomato
-catchup, an article no family should be without. After the catchup is
-in, cover the hash again, and let it stew half an hour longer. If you
-have no catchup, put in with the cold veal at the beginning, two or
-three large ripe tomatos, peeled and quartered, or sliced, and seasoned
-with powdered mace, nutmeg, and ginger; and let all stew together in
-gravy or butter. Mushroom catchup is a good substitute for tomato in
-hashing cold meat. If you have neither, put in a large table-spoonful of
-tarragon or French mustard, to be bought in bottles at all the best
-groceries.
-
-Cold roast venison is very good hashed as above.
-
-
-VEAL A-LA-MODE.--Remove the bone from a fillet of veal, and make a large
-quantity of forcemeat or stuffing of grated bread-crumbs; beef-suet or
-veal-suet minced fine, the grated yellow rind and juice of a ripe lemon
-or orange, or some chopped mushrooms that have been previously stewed,
-some grated yolk of hard-boiled eggs, and some sweet marjoram. Press in
-the stuffing, till the hole left by the bone is well filled; and also,
-put stuffing between the flap and the side of the meat, before you
-skewer the flap. Have ready some lardons or slips of cold ham, or
-tongue, and with a larding pin draw them all through the surface of the
-veal. Or else, make deep cuts or incisions throughout the meat, and
-press down into each a small thin square bit of bacon-fat, seasoning
-every one with a little of the stuffing. Lay the veal in a deep
-baking-pan, or iron bake-oven. Surround it with nice lard, and bake it
-till thoroughly done all through. Then take it out, skim the gravy, and
-transfer it to a small sauce-pan. Stir in a dessert-spoonful of flour;
-add a glass of white wine to the gravy, and give it one boil up. Send it
-to table in a sauce-tureen, accompanying the veal.
-
-
-TERRAPIN VEAL.--Take some nice veal, (from the fillet, or the loin) and
-cut it into very small mouthfuls. Put it into a stew-pan. Have ready a
-dressing made of six or seven hard-boiled eggs, minced fine, a small
-tea-spoonful of made mustard, (tarragon or French mustard will be best,)
-a salt-spoon of salt, and the same of cayenne; two glasses of sherry or
-Madeira, and half a pint of rich cream. If you cannot conveniently
-obtain cream, substitute a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided
-into four pieces, and each piece dredged with flour. All the ingredients
-for this dressing must be thoroughly mixed. Then, pour it over the veal,
-and give the whole a hard stir. Cover it, and let it stew over the fire
-for about ten minutes. Fresh venison is excellent, cooked in this
-manner. So, also, are ducks, pheasants, partridges, or grouse, making a
-fine side dish for company.
-
-
-TO HASH COLD MEAT.--The best way of re-cooking cold roast meat, (veal,
-beef, or pork,) is to hash it, cutting it into mouthfuls, and stewing
-it in its own gravy, without a drop of water. For this purpose, save as
-much as you can of the dripping or gravy that fell from it when
-roasting. When you have done basting the roast meat, skim off all the
-fat from the surface, and strain the gravy through a small sieve. What
-is left of it, should be carefully set away in a cold place. Next day,
-when it has congealed into a cake, scrape it with a knife on both sides.
-If not wanted for immediate use, cut it in pieces, and put it up in a
-jar well covered. Use it (instead of water) for stews and hashes; and if
-well seasoned the meat will be found nearly as good (for a breakfast
-dish,) as if not previously cooked. Whenever it is possible, make your
-hashes without any water; and if you have saved no gravy, substitute
-lard, or fresh butter. But gravy or drippings of the same meat is best.
-A hash of cold meat, stewed merely in water, and with no seasoning but
-salt and pepper, is a poor thing. Cold potatos, when re-cooked, always
-remain hard and indigestible. In all cookery it is best to use _fresh
-vegetables_, even if the _meat_ has been previously drest. Cold meat is
-of no use for soups or pies. It is better to slice it, and eat it
-cold--or, better still to give it the poor. Roast beef or mutton, if
-very much underdone, may be sliced and broiled on a gridiron, and well
-seasoned with pepper. Cold roast pork is best sliced plain, and eaten
-cold. Ham also.
-
-
-VEAL CUTLETS IN PAPERS (_en papillotes_.)--Make a nice sauce of sweet
-herbs, bread-crumbs, powdered mace and nutmeg, butter and beaten egg.
-Lay the cutlets in a deep dish, (having first broiled them and saved the
-gravy,) pour the sauce over them, with the veal gravy added to it. Cover
-them, and let them rest till cold. Allow, for each cutlet, a sheet of
-foolscap paper, cut it into the shape of a heart, and go over it with
-sweet oil, or fresh butter or lard. Lay a cutlet with a little of the
-sauce upon it, on one-half of each sheet of paper; turn the other half
-over the meat. Fold a narrow rim all round, so as to unite both edges.
-Begin at the top of the heart, and pleat both edges together so as to
-form a good shape without puckering. When you come to the bottom, where
-the paper is to cover the bone, give it a few extra twists. Broil the
-cutlets slowly on a gridiron for half an hour, seeing that no blaze
-catches the papers--or put them in the oven for half an hour. If the
-papers are not too much burnt or disfigured, dish the cutlets still
-wrapped in them, to be removed by those who eat them. If the covers are
-scorched black, and ragged, take out the cutlets and lay them on a hot
-dish. Serve up with them a dish of mashed potatos or potatoe cake,
-browned on the surface with a salamander. _Cotelettes a la Maintenon_,
-are mutton or lamb steaks cooked in papers, in the above manner.
-
-
-VEAL STEAKS.--Cut the steaks from the neck, leaving the bone very short,
-and polishing what there is of it. Make a seasoning of boiled onions
-minced, and sage or sweet marjoram leaves, or of chopped parsley. Lay on
-each steak a bit of fresh butter, spread the seasoning thickly over
-each, and fry them in the gravy or drippings of cold roast veal or beef.
-They will be the better for beating them slightly with a rolling pin.
-Put into the frying-pan three or four table-spoonfuls of mushroom or
-tomato catchup; or, fry them with fresh mushrooms or fresh tomatos,
-sliced.
-
-
-VEAL CUTLETS.--Cut your veal cutlets from the fillet or round about half
-an inch thick. Season them slightly with a little salt and cayenne. Have
-ready a pan with grated bread-crumbs, and another with beaten egg. Have
-ready, in a frying pan, plenty of boiling lard, or drippings of cold
-veal. Dredge each cutlet slightly with flour; then dip it twice in the
-pan of beaten egg, and then twice also in the bread-crumbs. Fry them
-well, and send them to table in their own gravy. Saffron, scattered
-thickly over them while frying, is an improvement much relished by the
-eaters.
-
-Veal is too insipid to be fried or broiled plain.
-
-If you live where cream is plenty, add to this fry two or three
-spoonfuls.
-
-Minced veal, cold, is an excellent ingredient for forcemeats.
-
-
-KNUCKLE OF VEAL AND BACON.--Unless your family is very small, get two
-knuckles of veal, and have them sawed into three pieces each. Put them
-into a pot with two pounds of ham or bacon; cover them with water, and
-stew them slowly, skimming them well. Season them with a little pepper,
-but no salt, as the bacon will be salt enough. When the scum ceases to
-rise, put in four onions and four turnips, and six potatos pared, and
-quartered; also, a carrot and two parsnips, scraped and cut into pieces.
-Let the whole boil till all the meat and all the vegetables are
-thoroughly done, and very tender. Drain them well, and serve up the
-whole on one large dish, having other vegetables served separately.
-
-If you wish to have green vegetables, such as greens, young sprouts,
-poke, or string beans, flavored with bacon, put them to boil in a pot
-with the bacon only, and take another pot for the veal, and white
-vegetables, such as onions, turnips, &c. You may put the veal and bacon
-on the same dish.
-
-
-SOUTHERN STEW (_of veal_.)--Peel and boil a half dozen fresh spring
-onions, and then drain them well and slice them thin. Have ready two
-pounds or more of nice veal, sliced very thin, small, and evenly. Lay
-the veal in a stew-pan, and season it slightly with salt, and _a very
-little_ cayenne. Cover the veal with the sliced onions, and lay upon
-them some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. If you cannot obtain
-very excellent fresh butter, substitute lard, or cold gravy, or
-dripping of roast veal, which last will be best if you have enough of
-it. Finish with a flavoring of powdered nutmeg or mace, and the grated
-yellow rind of a fresh lemon.
-
-This stew is very nice. It may be made with lamb or chicken, cut very
-small.
-
-
-VEAL KEBOBBED, (_or kibaubed_.)--Cut into small thin slices some lean
-veal from the loin, chump end, or fillet. Trim them into a round or
-circular form. Season them with pepper, salt, and turmeric or curry
-powder. If onions are liked, slice some large ones, and lay them on the
-pieces of veal. Cover them with slices of ham, cut round like the veal,
-but a little smaller. Roll up the slices, (the ham inside,) and tie them
-on skewers. Then roast or bake them. When done, take them off the
-skewers, and send them to table in the gravy that has fallen from them.
-This is a Turkish dish, and is much liked.
-
-
-VEAL FRITTERS.--Take some thin slices of cold roast veal, and trim them
-round or circular. Beat them with a rolling-pin, to make them very
-tender, and season them with a little salt and pepper and some powdered
-nutmeg. Also some grated fresh yellow rind of lemon-peel. Make a very
-light batter, of eggs, milk, and flour; in the proportion of four
-well-beaten eggs to a pint of milk; and a large half pint of sifted
-flour: the eggs beaten first, and then stirred gradually into the milk
-in turn with the flour. Have ready a frying-pan, nearly full of boiling
-lard. Drop into it two large spoonfuls of the batter. Then put in a
-slice of the veal, and cover it with two more large spoonfuls of the
-batter. As the fritters are fried, take them up with a perforated
-skimmer, and drain them.
-
-
-VEAL PATTIES.--Mince very fine, some cold roast veal, or some cold
-chicken, mixing with it some cold minced ham, or cold smoked tongue. Add
-some yolk of hard-boiled eggs, crumbled or minced. Season the mixture
-with powdered mace and nutmeg, moistened with cream or soft fresh
-butter. Have ready some nice puff-paste, rolled out thin, and cut into
-oval or circular pieces. Cover the half of each with the mixture, spread
-on evenly and thickly. Then, upon that, fold over the other half,
-(uniting both,) and crimp them together, in very small notches. Brush
-their outsides all over with some raw egg, slightly beaten, and lay them
-in large square tin pans to bake. Send them to table on china dishes.
-
-These patties are excellent made of cold game. The green tops of boiled
-asparagus will improve the mixture.
-
-
-FRIED LIVER.--Put into a frying-pan some nice thin slices of ham or
-bacon, that have soaked all night, and fry them in their own fat. Have
-ready your calf's liver, cut into slices not too thin, as that will
-render them hard. Take out the ham as soon as it is done, put it into a
-hot dish, and cover it closely. Lay the slices of liver into the gravy
-of the bacon that is left in the frying-pan, sprinkling it well with
-chopped parsley. It must be thoroughly done. Then dish with the bacon.
-
-To those who like them, some onions will be thought an improvement to
-fried liver. First parboil the onions: then slice them, season them with
-a little salt and pepper, and fry them with the liver.
-
-If lettuces are in season, quarter a fresh one, and lay it under the
-liver when you dish it, having previously removed the thickest part of
-the stalk. The liver of beef or sheep is not seen at good tables. It is
-very inferior to that of calf's, being hard and coarse.
-
-
-LARDED LIVER.--Wash and drain a nice fat calf's liver. Liver of beef or
-mutton is never seen at a good table; they are hard, coarse, and
-tasteless, and only eaten by the poor, while the livers of veal and
-poultry are considered very nice. Divide it into equal portions. Lard
-them thickly with small slips of fat bacon, inserted at regular
-distances with a larding-needle, and very near each other. Season the
-liver with powdered nutmeg and mace. Put into a stew-pan, in the bottom
-of which you have laid a large slice or two of fat bacon. Let it stew
-gently, till thoroughly done and tender throughout. When you take the
-liver out of the stew-pan, stir into the gravy left at the bottom, some
-thick catchup, either mushroom or tomato. Do not send the slices of
-bacon to table with the liver.
-
-If liked, surround the liver while cooking, with small button onions,
-(peeled and washed,) and see that they are well done. Serve them up on
-the same dish. It is best always to boil onions before frying them.
-
-
-STEWED LIVER.--Having soaked a fine calf's liver for two hours in cold
-water, cut it into thick slices, and then cut the slices into mouthfuls.
-Chop fine a small bunch of sweet marjoram, and sprinkle it among the
-liver, seasoning with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and powdered mace. Put it
-into a stew-pan, and cook it in lard or fresh butter. Make some nice
-toast, and dip it for a minute in hot water, having pared off all the
-crust. Lay the toast in the bottom of a deep dish, after covering it all
-over with the stewed liver.
-
-
-LIVER RISSOLES.--Take a calf's liver, and remove carefully all the
-veins. Weigh a pound of it, boil it, and when cold, mince it very finely
-with a quarter of a pound of suet, either of beef or veal. Add a quarter
-of a pound of finely grated bread-crumbs. Season it with cayenne,
-powdered mace, and nutmeg, and a very little salt. Mix in two
-well-beaten eggs. Shape them into oval forms, about the size of large
-walnuts, and fry them in plenty of boiling hot lard, draining them all
-on a perforated skimmer, before they go to table.
-
-
-LIVER PIE.--Prepare a fine fresh calf's liver. Split it in long pieces.
-Lay it in a pan of cold water for an hour or two. Afterwards take it out
-and wipe it dry, and boil it till tender. Drain it when done, and chop
-it large with a slice of cold ham. Season it with pepper and nutmeg, (no
-salt for any thing that has ham in it,) and add some minced sweet
-marjoram and sweet basil, and two yolks of hard-boiled eggs, grated or
-minced. The grated yellow rind of a fresh lemon will be an improvement.
-Make a very nice light paste, and line a pie dish with it. Then fill it
-high with the mixture, laying on the top several pieces of fine fresh
-butter. Cover it with a lid of paste, notching the edges handsomely, and
-cutting a cross-slit on the top. Bake it light brown, and serve it up,
-either hot or cold. It will be found very nice.
-
-With the same mixture you may make liver dumplings, enclosing them in a
-nice paste, and boiling them; or a liver pudding, boiling the mixture in
-one large paste, and tying it in a cloth, leaving room for it to swell.
-
-
-CHITTERLINGS OR CALF'S TRIPE.--This is very delicate and digestible, and
-is nice at breakfast, or as a side dish at dinner. To prepare it for
-cooking, it should be cut open with scissors, emptied, and thoroughly
-cleaned, and then laid all night, or for several hours, in cold water,
-_slightly_ salted. It can be bought of the veal butchers ready prepared,
-and run on a wooden skewer. Wash it again just before cooking. Cut it
-into small pieces, and boil it slowly till _quite_ tender, in water
-enough to keep it well covered. When entirely done, take it up, drain
-it, and keep it warm. Have ready some onions boiled in milk till quite
-soft, and sliced thin. Melt some excellent fresh butter, in milk
-thickened with flour. Make a round of very nice toast, with the crust
-pared off. Dip it for a minute in hot water; lay it in the bottom of a
-deep dish. Cover it thickly with the onion sauce, and place the
-chitterlings upon it, seasoning them with pepper and vinegar. It will be
-an improvement to boil with them four or five blades of mace. Eat
-vinegar with it, always. Tarragon vinegar is best. This dish deserves to
-be more in use. Try it.
-
-
-FRIED CHITTERLINGS.--Get chitterlings ready prepared by the butcher.
-Wash them, and let them lie an hour or two in weak salt and water. Then
-drain them, cut them in pieces, and parboil them. Dry them in a clean
-cloth. Make a batter of two or three beaten eggs, and a pint of milk,
-with a heaped table-spoonful of flour. Put into a frying-pan an ample
-portion of the dripping of roast veal or pork, and when it boils,
-(having first dipped each piece of the chitterling into the batter,) fry
-them in the dripping. They must be thoroughly done. You may fry them in
-lard, or fresh butter.
-
-This is a nice breakfast dish.
-
-
-BAKED CHITTERLINGS.--Having first parboiled the chitterlings, lay among
-them some bits of fresh butter, season them with powdered nutmeg, put
-them into a deep dish, set it into an oven, and bake them brown.
-
-This is a side dish at dinner.
-
-
-FINE VEAL PIE.--Boil, in two quarts of water, two unskinned calf's feet,
-adding the yellow rind of a large lemon, pared as thin as possible, or
-grated, and its squeezed juice. Also, two broken-up sticks of cinnamon,
-half a dozen blades of mace, and two glasses of sweet wine. Boil all
-these together (skimming well,) till the calf's feet are in rags, and
-all their flesh has dropped from the bone. Then put the whole into a
-jelly-bag and let it drip into a broad bowl. Set it away closely
-covered. Have ready two pounds of the parboiled chump end of a loin of
-veal cut into square pieces. Make a nice puff paste, and line with it a
-deep pie-dish. Put the pieces of veal into it, (all the fat cut off,)
-and intersperse them with a dozen or more forcemeat balls, each about as
-large as an English walnut. The balls may be made of cold minced chicken
-and ham, minced suet, bread-crumbs, and hard-boiled yolk of egg grated
-or crumbled fine; seasoned with sweet herbs, and grated lemon rind. Or
-they may be sweet balls of bread-crumbs, butter, chopped sultana
-raisins, and chopped citron, seasoned with nutmeg. Having dispersed them
-among the pieces of veal, put in the jelly made from the calf's feet.
-Cover the pie with a lid of puff-paste, cut a cross slit in the centre;
-notch the edges, and bake it brown. This pie is for a company dish.
-
-
-A PLAIN VEAL PIE.--Cut the meat from an uncooked breast of veal, and
-stew it in a very little water. Have ready a pie dish lined with a nice
-paste. Put in a layer of stewed veal, with its gravy, and cover it with
-a layer of sausage meat; then veal again, and then sausage meat. Repeat
-this till the dish is full, finishing with the sausage. Cover it with a
-lid of paste, and bake it brown. This is a cheap and easy family pie.
-
-
-VEAL LOAF.--Take a cold fillet of veal, and (omitting the fat and skin)
-mince the meat as fine as possible. Mix with it a quarter of a pound of
-the fattest part of a cold ham, also chopped small. Add a tea-cupful of
-grated bread-crumbs; a grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace,
-powdered; the grated yellow rind of a lemon; and two beaten eggs. Season
-with a salt-spoon of salt, and half a salt-spoon of cayenne. Mix the
-whole well together, and make it into the form of a loaf. Then glaze it
-over with beaten yolk of egg; and strew the surface evenly, all over,
-with bread raspings, or with pounded cracker. Set the dish into a
-dutch-oven, and bake it half an hour, or till hot all through. Have
-ready a gravy made of the trimmings of the veal, stewed in some of the
-gravy that was left when the fillet was roasted the day before. When
-sufficiently cooked, take out the meat, and thicken the gravy with
-beaten yolk of egg, stirred in about three minutes before you take it
-from the fire.
-
-Send the veal loaf to table, in a deep dish, with the gravy poured round
-it.
-
-Chicken loaf, or turkey loaf, may be made in this manner.
-
-
-STEWED CALF'S HEAD.--Take a fine, large calf's head; empty it; wash it
-clean, and boil it till it is quite tender, in just water enough to
-cover it. Then carefully take out the bones, without spoiling the
-appearance of the head. Season it with a little salt and cayenne, and a
-grated nutmeg. Pour over it the liquor in which it has been boiled,
-adding a jill of vinegar, and two table-spoonfuls of capers, or of green
-nasturtion seeds, that have been pickled. Let it stew very slowly for
-half an hour. Have ready some forcemeat balls made of minced veal-suet,
-grated bread-crumbs, grated lemon-peel, and sweet marjoram,--adding
-beaten yolk of egg to bind the other ingredients together. Put in the
-forcemeat balls, and stew it slowly a quarter of an hour longer, adding
-some bits of butter rolled in flour to enrich the gravy. Send it to
-table hot.
-
-
-EXCELLENT MINCED VEAL.--Take three or four pounds of the lean only of a
-fillet or loin of veal, and mince it very finely, adding a slice or two
-of cold ham, minced also. Add two or three small young onions, chopped
-small, a tea-spoonful of sweet marjoram leaves rubbed from the stalks,
-the yellow rind of a small lemon grated, and a tea-spoonful of mixed
-mace and nutmeg powdered. Mix all well together, and dredge it with a
-little flour. Put it into a stew-pan, with sufficient gravy of cold
-roast veal to moisten it, and a large table-spoonful or more of fresh
-butter. Stir it well, and let it stew till thoroughly done. If the veal
-has been previously cooked, a quarter of an hour will be sufficient. It
-will be much improved by adding a pint or more of small button
-mushrooms, cut from the stems, and then chopped small. Also, by stirring
-in two table-spoonfuls of cream about five minutes before it is taken
-from the fire.
-
-
-VEAL WITH OYSTERS.--Take two fine cutlets of about a pound each. Divide
-them into several pieces, cut thin. Put them into a frying-pan, with
-boiling lard, and let them fry awhile. When the veal is almost done, add
-to it a pint of large, fine oysters,--their liquor thickened with a few
-grated bread-crumbs, and seasoned with mace and nutmeg powdered.
-Continue the frying till the veal and oysters are thoroughly done. Send
-it to table in a covered dish.
-
-
-TERRAPIN VEAL.--Take some cold roast veal, (the fillet or the loin) and
-cut it into mouthfuls. Put it in a skillet or stew-pan. Have ready a
-dressing made of six or seven hard-boiled eggs, minced fine; a small
-tea-spoonful of tarragon mustard; a salt-spoonful of salt; and the same
-of cayenne pepper; a large tea-cupful (half a pint) of cream, and two
-glasses of sherry or Madeira wine. The dressing must be thoroughly
-mixed. Pour it over the veal, and then give the whole a hard stir. Cover
-it, and let it stew over the fire for ten minutes. Then transfer it to a
-deep dish, and send it to table hot.
-
-Cold roast duck or fowl may be drest as above. Also, venison.
-
-
-VEAL OLIVES.--Take some cold fillet of veal and cold ham, and cut them
-into thin square slices of the same size and shape, trimming the edges
-evenly. Lay a slice of veal on every slice of ham, and spread some
-beaten yolk of egg over the veal. Have ready a thin forcemeat, made of
-grated bread-crumbs, sweet marjoram rubbed fine, fresh butter, and
-grated lemon-peel, seasoned with nutmeg and a little cayenne pepper.
-Spread this over the veal, and then roll up each slice tightly with the
-ham. Tie them round securely with coarse thread or fine twine; run a
-bird-spit through them, and roast them well. For sauce, simmer in a
-small sauce-pan, some cold veal gravy with two spoonfuls of cream, and
-some mushroom catchup.
-
-
-VEAL RISSOLES.--Take as much fine wheat bread as will weigh one pound,
-after all the crust is cut off. Slice it; put it into a pan and pour
-over it as much rich milk as will soak it thoroughly. After it has
-soaked a quarter of an hour, lay it in a sieve and press it dry. Mince
-as finely as possible a pound of veal cutlet with six ounces of veal
-suet; then mix in gradually the bread; adding a salt-spoonful of salt, a
-slight sprinkling of cayenne, and a small tea-spoonful of powdered mace
-and nutmeg mixed; also the yellow rind of a lemon grated. Beat two eggs,
-and moisten the mixture with them. Then divide it into equal portions,
-and with a little flour on your hands roll it into oval balls rather
-smaller than an egg. Strew over them some dry bread-crumbs; then fry
-them in lard or fresh butter--drain them well, and send them to table
-hot. For gravy (which should be commenced before the rissoles) put some
-bits and trimmings of veal into a small sauce-pan, with as much water as
-will cover them; a very little pepper and salt; and three or four blades
-of mace. Cover the sauce-pan closely, and let the meat stew till all the
-strength is extracted; skimming it well. Then strain it; return the
-liquor to the sauce-pan; add a bit of butter rolled in flour; and
-squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Give it a boil up, and then, at the
-last, stir in the beaten yolk of an egg. Serve up this gravy in a
-sauce-boat, to eat with the rissoles.
-
-Instead of stewing meat for the purpose, you may make this gravy with
-the drippings of roast veal saved from the day before. You have then
-only to melt it over the fire; adding the seasoning; and giving it one
-boil.
-
-Similar rissoles may be made of minced chicken or turkey.
-
-
-TO PREPARE SWEETBREADS.--The sweetbread belonging to the breast of the
-calf is far superior to that which is found about the throat, being
-larger, whiter, more tender, and more delicate. Always buy them in
-preference. They should be set immediately on ice, and prepared for
-cooking as speedily as possible, for they spoil very soon. Soak them in
-warm water till all the blood is discharged. Then put them into boiling
-water, and boil them five minutes. After this, lay them immediately in a
-pan of very cold water. This sudden transition from hot water to cold,
-will blanch or whiten them. Dark-colored sweetbreads make a very bad
-appearance. Four are generally sufficient for a small dish. But as, if
-well cooked, they are much liked, it is best to have six; or else eight
-upon two dishes. If the sweetbreads are to be cut up before cooking,
-remove and throw away the gristle or pipe that pervades every one. If
-they are to be cooked whole, you may leave the pipe in, to be taken out
-by the eaters.
-
-For company, it is usual to lard sweetbreads with slips of fat ham or
-bacon, or of cold smoked tongue.
-
-Sweetbreads are used as side-dishes at dinners, or at nice breakfasts.
-
-
-SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES.--Having trimmed some sweetbreads nicely, and
-removed the gristle, parboil them, and then mince them very fine. Add
-grated bread, and season with a very little salt and pepper; some
-powdered mace and nutmeg; and some grated lemon-rind. Moisten the whole
-with cream, and make them up into small cones or sugar-loaves; forming
-and smoothing them nicely. Have ready some beaten egg, mixed with grated
-bread-crumbs. Dip into it each croquette, and fry them slowly in fresh
-butter. Serve them hot; standing up on the dish, and with a sprig of
-parsley in the top of each.
-
-Sweetbreads should never be used unless perfectly fresh. They spoil very
-rapidly. As soon as they are brought from market they should be split
-open, and laid in cold water. Never attempt to keep sweetbreads till
-next day, except in cold weather; and then on ice.
-
-Similar croquettes may be made of cold boiled chicken; or cold roast
-veal; or of oysters, minced raw, and seasoned and mixed as above.
-
-
-FRICASSEED SWEETBREADS.--Take half a dozen sweetbreads; clean them
-thoroughly, and lay them for an hour or two in a pan of water, having
-first removed the strings and gristle. Then put them into a stew-pan
-with as much rich milk or cream as will cover them well, and a very
-little salt. Stew them slowly, till tender throughout, and thoroughly
-done, saving the liquid. Then take them up; cover them; and set them
-near the fire to keep warm. Prepare a quarter of a pound of butter,
-divided into four pieces, and rolled in flour. Put the butter into the
-milk in which the sweetbreads were boiled, and add a few sprigs of
-parsley cut small; five or six blades of mace; half a nutmeg grated; and
-a very little cayenne pepper. Have ready the yolks of three eggs
-well-beaten. Return the sweetbreads to the gravy; let it just come to a
-boil; and then stir in the beaten egg _immediately before_ you take the
-fricassee from the fire, otherwise it will curdle. Serve it up in a deep
-dish with a cover.
-
-Chickens, cut up, may be fricasseed in this manner.
-
-
-TOMATO SWEETBREADS.--Cut up a quarter of a peck (or more) of fine ripe
-tomatos; set them over the fire, and let them stew with nothing but
-their own juice, till they go entirely to pieces. Then press them
-through a sieve, to clear the liquid from the seeds and skins. Have
-ready four or five sweetbreads that have been trimmed nicely, cleared
-from the gristle, and laid open to soak in warm water. Put them into a
-stew-pan with the tomato-juice, seasoned with a little salt and cayenne.
-Add two or three table-spoonfuls of butter rolled in flour. Set the
-sauce-pan over the fire, and stew the sweetbreads in the tomato-juice
-till they are thoroughly done. A few minutes before you take them off,
-stir in two beaten yolks of eggs Serve up the sweetbreads in a deep
-dish, with the tomato poured over them.
-
-
-SWEETBREADS AND CAULIFLOWERS.--Take four large sweetbreads, and two fine
-cauliflowers. Split open the sweetbreads and remove the gristle. Soak
-them awhile in lukewarm water. Then put them into a sauce-pan of boiling
-water, and let them boil ten minutes over the fire. Afterwards, lay them
-in a pan of very cold water. The parboiling will render them white; and
-putting them directly from the hot water into the cold will give them
-firmness. Having washed and drained the cauliflowers, quarter them, and
-lay them in a broad stew-pan with the sweetbreads upon them, seasoned
-with a very little cayenne, four or five blades of mace, and some
-nutmeg. Add as much water as will cover them; put on closely the lid of
-the pan, and let the whole stew for about an hour. Then take a quarter
-of a pound of fresh butter, and roll it in two table-spoonfuls of flour.
-Add it to the stew with a tea-cupful of rich milk or cream, and give it
-one boil up, not more, or the milk may curdle. Serve it hot in a deep
-dish; the sweetbreads in the middle with the gravy poured over them, and
-the quartered cauliflowers laid handsomely round. This stew will be
-found delicious.
-
-Broccoli may be thus stewed with sweetbreads.
-
-
-SWEETBREAD OMELET.--For an omelet of six or seven eggs, take two fine
-sweetbreads. Split them, take out the gristle, and soak them in two
-lukewarm waters, to extract all the blood. Then put them into very hot
-water, boil them ten minutes, take them out, set them away to cool, and
-afterwards mince them small, and season them with _a very little salt_
-and cayenne pepper, and some grated nutmeg. Beat the eggs (omitting the
-whites of two) till very light. Then mix in the chopped sweetbreads. Put
-three ounces or more of fresh butter into a small frying-pan, and place
-it over the fire. Stir the butter with a spoon, as it melts, and when it
-comes to a boil put in the mixture, stirring it awhile after it is all
-in. Fry it a rich brown. Heat the plate or dish in which you turn it out
-of the pan. An omelet should never be turned while frying. The top may
-be well browned by holding above it a salamander or red-hot shovel.
-
-If you wish it very thick, have _three_ sweetbreads.
-
-While frying the omelet, lift the edge occasionally by slipping a
-knife-blade under it, that the butter may get well underneath.
-
-If omelets are cooked too much they will become tough, and leather-like.
-Many persons prefer having them sent to table as _soft omelets_, before
-they have set, or taken the form of a cake. In this case, serve up the
-omelet in a deep dish, and help it with a spoon.
-
-
-SWEETBREADS AND OYSTERS.--Take four sweetbreads, and when they have been
-soaked and blanched, quarter them, and remove the pipe. Strain the
-liquor from three dozen large fresh oysters, season it with powdered
-nutmeg and mace, and a little cayenne. Put the quartered sweetbreads
-into a stew-pan, and pour over them enough of the oyster-liquor to cover
-them well, adding, if you have it, three large spoonfuls of the gravy of
-roast veal, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut into four
-bits; each bit rolled or dredged in flour. When the sweetbreads are
-done, put in the oysters, (first removing their gristle or hard part,)
-and take them out again as soon as they are plumped, which should be in
-five minutes. If allowed to boil, the oysters will shrivel, and become
-hard and tasteless. Add, at the last, two wine-glasses of cream, and
-shake the pan about, for a few minutes. Serve up in a deep dish.
-
-
-SWEETBREAD PIES.--Make shells of puff-paste, and bake them empty. When
-done, fill them to the top with the above mixture. Have ready a lid for
-each pie, baked on a flat plate, and lay it on the top of the filling.
-
-
-STEWED SWEETBREADS.--After blanching them, extract the pipe very
-carefully, and fill its place with a stuffing made of cold minced
-chicken or veal, minced ham or tongue sweet marjoram, nutmeg, grated
-lemon-peel, and the crumbled yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Fasten the
-openings with small wooden skewers, and put the sweetbreads into a broad
-stew-pan with a thin slice of ham under each, and another on the top of
-each, kept in place by a splinter-skewer. Stew the sweetbreads in the
-gravy of roast veal, and before you send them to table take out the
-skewers.
-
-Or make a gravy of uncooked trimmings of veal or beef, stewed slowly in
-as much water as will cover them well, and seasoned with pepper and
-salt--or, stew with the fresh meat, as much ham or bacon as will flavor
-the gravy, (using no other salt.) When all the essence is extracted from
-the meat, stir in a bit of butter dredged with flour. The flour for
-gravies should be browned. Strain the gravy, and add any other flavoring
-you like.
-
-To brown flour, spread it evenly on a large dish or flat tin, and place
-it before the fire, or in a rather cool oven. Scrape it up from the
-edges where it will get the brownest. Take care it burns or blackens
-nowhere. Keep it for use in a dry tin box.
-
-
-BAKED SWEETBREADS.--Parboil four large sweetbreads, having first
-blanched them. When cold, lard them all over the surface, with slips of
-bacon the size of small straws. Lay them in a shallow pan, putting under
-each sweetbread a piece of nice fresh butter with a very little flour
-mixed into it. Pour into the pan a glass of nice white wine, mixed with
-the juice and grated yellow rind of a lemon. Season also with grated
-nutmeg. Or for sauce, you may use mushroom catchup, with a little salad
-oil stirred into it.
-
-If you do not live in a place where nice fresh butter is to be obtained,
-endeavor to do without butter at all, rather than use that which is
-strong, rancid, or too salt. Bad butter tastes through every
-thing--spoils every thing, and is also extremely unwholesome, as
-decomposition (or in plain terms _putrefaction_,) has already commenced.
-Rather than use what makes all your food taste worse instead of better,
-try to substitute something else--such as beef or fresh pork drippings,
-suet, lard, or olive oil; or, molasses, honey, or stewed fruit. _We
-know_ that with these it is possible to live in health for years,
-without tasting butter. Nevertheless, good butter is a good thing, and
-an improvement to all sorts of cookery.
-
-
-
-
-PORK.
-
-
-PORK.--Young pork has a thin rind or skin, easily indented by pressing
-with the finger, and the lean will break by pinching. If fresh, the meat
-is smooth and dry; but if damp and clammy, it is tainted. If the fat is
-rough with little kernels, the pig has had a disease resembling the
-measles, and to eat it is poisonous. Pigs that have short legs, and
-thick necks, are the best. Pigs fed entirely on slop make very bad pork.
-They should be kept up for at least two months, fed with corn, and not
-allowed during the time of fattening to eat any sort of trash. No animal
-tastes more of its food than a pig. If allowed to eat the garbage of
-fish, they will not only have a fishy taste, but a smell of fish so
-intolerable, when cooking, that such pork cannot be endured in the
-house. During the two months that they are kept up to fatten, all their
-food must be wholesome as well as abundant, and it does them much good
-to have soap-suds given to them occasionally. Let them have plenty of
-corn, and plenty of fresh water. They will thrive better and make finer
-pork, if their pens are not allowed to be dirty. No animal actually
-likes dirt, and even pigs would be clean if they knew how. It is very
-beneficial to young pigs to wash them well in soap and water. We have
-seen this often done with great care.
-
-The pork in Spain and Portugal is delicious, from being fed chiefly on
-the large chestnuts, of which there is great abundance in those
-countries. These pigs are short-legged and thick-bodied--a profitable
-species. The best pieces of a pig are the hind-leg and loin; the next is
-the shoulder, or fore-leg. The spare-rib, (pronounced sparrib by the
-English,) affords so little meat, and the bones are so tedious to pick,
-that it is seldom seen on good American tables, nothing being popular
-with us that cannot be eaten fast or fastish.
-
-Pork must be thoroughly cooked; done well, and completely to the very
-bone. Who ever asked for a slice of pork _done rare_? Who could eat pork
-with the blood appearing, when served? So it is with veal. Underdone
-veal, or underdone chicken, is not to be thought of without disgust.
-
-Pork, for boiling, is always previously salted or corned. Fresh pork,
-however, is very good _stewed_ or cooked slowly in a very little water,
-and with plenty of vegetables in the same pot. The vegetables should be
-potatos, (either sweet or white,) pared and cut into pieces--parsnips
-the same, or yams in thick slices. For corned pork cook the vegetables
-separately from the meat, or they will taste too salt and fat. They
-should be cabbage, or green sprouts, green beans or peas, green corn,
-young poke, squash, pumpkin, or cashaw, (winter squash,) boiled, mashed,
-and squeezed.
-
-For salt pork, in winter, have dried beans or dried peas; first boiled,
-and then baked.
-
-
-TO ROAST PORK.--The roasting pieces are the loin, the leg, the saddle,
-the fillet, the shoulder and the spare-rib, (which last is found between
-the shoulder or fore-leg,) and the griskin or back-bone. All roast pork
-should be well seasoned; rubbed with pepper, salt, or powdered sage or
-marjoram. Score the skin with a sharp knife, making deep lines at
-regular distances, about an inch apart. Cross these lines with others,
-so as to form squares or diamonds. Make a stuffing of minced sage or
-marjoram leaves; bread-crumbs; if liked, a very little minced onion
-previously boiled; and some powdered mace. Introduce this stuffing
-profusely wherever it can be inserted, loosening a piece of the skin,
-and fastening it down again with a small skewer. In a leg or shoulder
-you can put in a great deal at the knuckle. In a fillet or large end of
-the leg, stuff the place from whence you have taken the bone. Put the
-pork down to roast not very close to the fire, but place it nearer when
-the skin begins to brown. You can soon baste it with its own gravy; and
-see that it is thoroughly cooked, before removing it from the spit.
-After taking up the meat, skim the fat from the gravy, and stir in a
-little flour to thicken it.
-
-The crackling or skin will be much more crisp and tender if you go all
-over it with sweet oil, or lard, before you put it to the fire.
-
-Always accompany roast pork with apple sauce, served in a deep dish or a
-sauce-tureen.
-
-Cold roast pork is very good sliced at tea or breakfast.
-
-
-SWEET POTATO PORK.--Boil, peel, and mash a sufficiency of sweet potatos,
-moistened with butter and egg. Cover with them the bottom of a deep
-dish; then put on a layer of slices of fresh pork, sprinkled with minced
-sage or marjoram. Next, another thick layer of mashed sweet potatos;
-then another layer of pork cutlets, and so on till the dish is full,
-finishing with mashed sweet potatos. Bake it brown on the surface.
-
-
-CHESTNUT PORK.--Where the large Spanish chestnuts abound, a similar dish
-may be made of layers of chestnuts boiled, peeled, and mashed, and
-layers of fresh pork in thin slices.
-
-
-ROASTED SPARE-RIB.--This will do for a second dish at the table of a
-very small family. Rub it all over with powdered sage, pepper, and salt,
-and having put it on the spit, lay the thickest end to the fire. Dredge
-it with powdered sage and baste it with a little butter. When dished,
-have ready some mashed potatos made into flat cakes, and browned on the
-top, and laid all round the pork, with some in another dish. Send to
-table apple sauce also.
-
-When apples are difficult to procure, substitute dried peaches, stewed
-very soft, and in no more water than remains about them after being
-washed. Sweeten them while hot, as soon as you take them from the fire,
-mashing them smoothly.
-
-
-TO DRESS A YOUNG PIG.--The pig should not be more than three weeks old.
-If not fat, it is unfit to eat. To be in perfection, a sucking pig
-should be eaten the day it is killed, or its goodness and tenderness is
-impaired every hour. It requires great care in roasting, and constant
-watching. The custom of _roasting_ a very young pig has now gone much,
-into disuse, it being found that baking answers the purpose equally
-well or better, and is far less troublesome.
-
-The pig should be washed perfectly clean, inside and out, and wiped very
-dry. Have ready a stuffing made of slices of bread, thickly buttered and
-soaked in milk, seasoned with powdered nutmeg and mace, and the grated
-yellow rind of a lemon, with the _hard-boiled_ yolk of an egg, crumbled,
-and a large handful, or more, of fine bloom raisins, seeded and cut in
-half, mix all these ingredients well, and fill with them the body of the
-pig, sewing it up afterwards. Or you may make a plain stuffing of
-chopped sage and onions, boiled together, with marjoram; and mixed with
-bread-crumbs and butter. Having trussed the pig, with the fore-legs bent
-back, and the hind-legs forward, rub it _all over_ with sweet oil, or
-with fresh butter tied in a rag. Lay it in a baking-pan, with a little
-water in the bottom. Then set it in an oven, not too hot, and bake it
-well, basting it frequently with butter. When done, dish it whole. Skim
-the gravy in the pan, and mix in some flour. Give it one boil up, having
-first put into it the chopped liver and heart of the pig, taken out
-after it was cooked, and stir in the beaten yolk of an egg.
-
-The practice is now obsolete of dissecting a pig before it goes to
-table, splitting it down the back, and down the front, and laying the
-two halves in reverse positions, or back to back, with one half the
-split head at each side, and one ear at each end, the brains being taken
-out to enrich the gravy. All these disgusting things have been discarded
-by the better taste of modern epicures. And the pig is baked and comes
-to table whole. We have always thought it a most unfeminine fancy for a
-lady to enjoy eating the head of any thing, and the brain particularly.
-
-
-PORK STEAKS, STEWED.--Take some nice fresh pork steaks, cut either from
-the leg or the loin. Trim off the superfluous fat. Season them with a
-little salt and pepper, and plenty of minced sage. Put in with them,
-minced onions, sliced sweet potatos, parsnips, and white potatos cut
-into pieces, also some lima beans. Pour in barely sufficient water to
-cover them; or else stew the pork in a very little lard. Apples cored,
-pared, and baked whole; the core-place filled with sugar, moistened with
-a very little water, to put in the bottom of the baking-dish, are a very
-nice accompaniment to pork steaks.
-
-
-PORK AND APPLES.--Take nice steaks, or cutlets, of fresh pork. Season
-them with a little pepper, and a very little salt. Pare, core, and
-quarter some fine juicy apples. Flavor them with the grated yellow rind
-and the juice of one or two lemons, and strew among them plenty of
-sugar. Stew them with merely sufficient water to prevent their burning;
-or else a little lard without water. When thoroughly done, serve all up
-in the same dish. If you cannot procure lemons, flavor the apple with
-rose-water, or nutmeg, _after_ it is cooked. Rose-water evaporates much
-in cooking.
-
-
-PORK STEAKS, FRIED.--Cut them thin, but do not trim off the fat.
-Sprinkle them well all over with finely minced sage or sweet marjoram.
-Lay them in a frying-pan, and fry them well on both sides, keeping them
-very hot after they are done. Wash out the frying-pan, (or have another
-one ready, which is better,) and put it over the fire with plenty of
-lard, or fresh butter. Have ready plenty of slices of large juicy
-apples, pared, cored, and cut into round pieces. Fry them well, and when
-done, take them up on a perforated skimmer, to drain the lard from them.
-Sprinkle them with powdered sugar, and pile them on a dish to eat with
-the pork.
-
-Otherwise, send to table with the pork, a dish of apple sauce made in
-the usual manner, or a dish of dried peaches, stewed, mashed, and
-sweetened.
-
-
-PORK APPLE POT-PIE.--Make a plentiful quantity of nice paste. With some
-of it line the sides (but not the bottom) of a large pot. At the very
-bottom lay a slice of _fresh_ pork, with most of the fat trimmed off.
-Season it with a very little salt and pepper, and add some pieces of
-paste. Next put in a thick layer of juicy apples, cut in slices, strewed
-with brown sugar. Add another layer of pork, and another of sliced
-apples. Proceed thus till the pot is nearly full, finishing with a lid
-of paste, not fitting quite closely. Cut a cross-slit in the top,
-through which pour in some sweet cider to moisten it, and set it to
-cooking. Keep the pot covered; set it at once over a good fire, but not
-so hot as to burn the pie. See that it is well done before you take it
-up. It is a convenient dish in the country at the season of apple
-picking, cider making, and pork killing.
-
-Stewed or baked apples are always greatly improved by a flavoring of
-lemon, rose-water, or nutmeg.
-
-
-APPLE PORK PIE.--Core, peel, and quarter some fine juicy baking-apples.
-Make a nice paste with fresh butter and sifted flour, and line with it
-the bottom and sides of a deep dish. Put in the apples, and strew among
-them sufficient brown sugar to make them very sweet. If you can obtain a
-fresh lemon, pare off very thin the yellow rind, and squeeze the juice
-to flavor the apples. Prepare some fresh pork steaks, cut thin, and
-divested of all the fat except a little at the edge; removing the bone.
-Cover the apples with a layer of meat, and pour in a tea-cup of _sweet_
-cider. The contents of the pie should be heaped up in the centre. Have
-ready a nice lid of paste, and cover the pie with it, closing and
-crimping the edge. In the centre of the lid cut a cross-slit. Put it
-into a hot oven and bake it well. This is a farm-house dish, and very
-good. Try it.
-
-Apples have always been considered a suitable accompaniment to fresh
-pork.
-
-
-FILLET OF PORK.--Cut a fillet or round, handsomely and evenly, from a
-fine leg of fresh pork. Remove the bone. Make a stuffing or forcemeat of
-grated bread-crumbs; butter; a tea-spoonful of sweet marjoram, or
-tarragon leaves; and sage leaves enough to make a small table-spoonful,
-when minced or rubbed fine; all well mixed, and slightly seasoned with
-pepper and salt. Then stuff it closely into the hole from whence the
-bone was taken. Score the skin of the pork in circles to go all round
-the fillet. These circles should be very close together, or about half
-an inch apart. Rub into them, slightly, a little powdered sage. Put it
-on the spit, and roast it well, till it is thoroughly done throughout;
-as pork, if the least underdone, is not fit to eat. Place it, for the
-first hour, not very close to the fire, that the meat may get well
-heated all through, before the skin begins to harden so as to prevent
-the heat from penetrating sufficiently. Then set it as near the fire as
-it can be placed without danger of scorching. Keep it roasting steadily
-with a bright, good, regular fire, for two or three hours, or longer
-still if it is a large fillet. It may require near four hours. Baste it
-at the beginning with sweet oil (which will make the skin very crisp) or
-with lard. Afterwards, baste it with its own gravy. When done, skim the
-fat from the gravy, and then dredge in a little flour to thicken it.
-Send the pork to table with the gravy in a boat; and a deep dish of
-apple sauce, made very thick, flavored with lemon, and sweetened well.
-
-A fillet of pork is excellent stewed slowly in a very little water,
-having in the same stew-pot some sweet potatos, peeled, split, and cut
-into long pieces. If stewed, put _no sage_ in the stuffing; and remove
-the skin of the pork. This is an excellent family dish in the autumn.
-
-
-ITALIAN PORK.--Take a nice leg of fresh pork; rub it well with fine salt
-and let it lie in the salt for a week or ten days. When you wish to cook
-it, put the pork into a large pot, with just sufficient water to cover
-it; and let it simmer, slowly, during four hours; skimming it well. Then
-take it out, and lay it on a large dish. Pour the water from the pot
-into an earthen pan; skim it, and let it cool while you are skinning the
-pork. Then put into a pot, a pint of good cider vinegar, mixed with half
-a pound of brown sugar, and a pint of the water in which the pork has
-been boiled, and from which all the fat has been carefully skimmed off.
-Put in the pork with the upper side towards the bottom of the pot. Set
-it again over the fire, (which must first be increased,) and heat the
-inside of the pot-lid by standing it upright against the front of the
-fire. Then cover the pot closely, and let the pork stew for an hour and
-a half longer; basting it frequently with the liquid around it, and
-keeping the pot-lid as hot as possible that the meat may be well
-browned. When done, the pork will have somewhat the appearance of being
-coated with molasses. Serve up the gravy with it. What is left of the
-meat may be sliced cold for breakfast or luncheon.
-
-You may stew with it, when the pork is put into the pot a second time,
-some large chestnuts, previously boiled and peeled. Or, instead of
-chestnuts, sweet potatos, scraped, split, and cut into small pieces.
-
-
-PORK OLIVES.--Cut slices from a fillet or leg of cold fresh pork. Make a
-forcemeat in the usual manner, only substituting for sweet herbs some
-sage-leaves, chopped fine. When the slices are covered with the
-forcemeat, and rolled up and tied round, stew them slowly either in cold
-gravy left of the pork, or in fresh lard. Drain them well before they go
-to table. Serve them up on a bed of mashed turnips, or potatos, or of
-mashed sweet potatos, if in season.
-
-
-PIGS' FEET, FRIED.--Pigs' feet are frequently used for jelly, instead of
-calves' feet. They are very good for this purpose, but a larger number
-is required (from eight to ten or twelve) to make the jelly sufficiently
-firm. After they have been boiled for jelly, extract the bones, and put
-the meat into a deep dish: cover it with some good cider vinegar,
-seasoned with sugar and a little salt and cayenne. Then cover the dish,
-and set it away for the night. Next morning, take out the meat, and
-having drained it well from the vinegar, put it into a frying-pan, in
-which some lard has just come to a boil, and fry it for a breakfast
-dish.
-
-
-PORK AND BEANS.--Take a good piece of pickled pork, (not very fat,) and
-to each pound of pork allow a quart of dried white beans. The bone
-should be removed from the pork, and the beans well picked and washed.
-The evening before they are wanted for cooking, put the beans and pork
-to soak in _separate pans_; and just before bed-time, drain off the
-water, and replace it with fresh. Let them soak all night. Early in the
-morning, drain them well from the water, and wash first the beans, and
-then the pork in a cullender. Having scored the skin in stripes, or
-diamonds, put the pork into a pot with fresh cold water, and the beans
-into another pot with sufficient cold water to cook them well. Season
-the pork with a little pepper, but, of course, no salt. Boil them
-separately and slowly till the pork is thoroughly done (skimming it
-well) and till the beans have all burst open. Afterwards take them out,
-and drain them well from the water. Then lay the pork in the middle of a
-tin pan, (there must be no liquid fat about it) and the beans round it,
-and over it, so as nearly to bury it from sight. Pour in a very little
-water, and set the dish into a hot oven, to bake or brown for half an
-hour. If kept too long in the oven the beans will become dry and hard.
-If sufficiently boiled when separate, half an hour will be long enough
-for the pork and beans to bake together. Carefully skim off any liquid
-fat that may rise to the surface. Cover the dish, and send it to table
-hot.
-
-For a small dish, two quarts of beans and two pounds of pork will be
-enough. To this quantity, when put to bake in the oven, you may allow a
-pint of water.
-
-This is a good plain dish, very popular in New England, and generally
-liked in other parts of the country, if properly done.
-
-
-PORK WITH CORN AND BEANS.--Boil a nice small leg of corned pork, skim it
-well, and boil it thoroughly. Then have ready a quart, or more, of fresh
-string-beans, each bean cut into only three pieces. Boil the beans for
-an hour in a separate pot. In another pot boil four ears of young sweet
-corn, and when soft and tender, cut it down from the cob, with a sharp
-knife, and mix it with the boiled beans, having drained them, through a
-cullender, from all the water that is about them. Having mixed them well
-together, in a deep dish, season them with pepper, (no salt,) and add a
-large lump of fresh butter.
-
-For green beans you may substitute dried white ones, boiled by
-themselves, well drained, and seasoned with pepper and butter, and mixed
-in the same dish before they are sent to table. Or the mixed corn and
-beans may be heaped round the pork upon the same dish.
-
-To eat with them make some indian dumplings of corn meal and water,
-mixed into a stiff dough, formed into thick dumplings, about as large
-round as the top of a tea-cup, and boiled in a pot by themselves.
-
-
-PORK WITH PEAS PUDDING.--Boil a nice piece of pickled or corned pork,
-(the leg is the best,) and let it be well skinned, and thoroughly
-cooked. To make the pudding, pick over and wash through cold water, a
-quart of yellow split peas, and tie them in a square cloth, leaving
-barely sufficient room for them to swell; but if too much space is
-allowed for swelling, they will be weak and washy. When the peas are all
-dissolved into a mass, turn them out of the cloth, and rub them through
-a coarse sieve into a pan. Then add a quarter of a pound of fresh
-butter, mixed well into the peas, and a very little pepper. Beat light,
-three yolks and one whole egg, and stir them into the peas a little at a
-time. Then beat the whole very hard. Dip your pudding-cloth into hot
-water; spread it out in a pan, and pour the mixture into it. Tie up the
-cloth, and put the pudding into a pot of boiling water. Let it boil
-steadily for at least an hour. When done, send it to table, and eat it
-with the pork.
-
-Next day, if there is much left, boil both the pork and the pudding over
-again, (the remains of the pudding tied in the cloth.) Let them boil
-till thoroughly warmed throughout. Cut them in slices. Place them on the
-same dish, the pork in the middle, with slices of pudding laid round,
-and send them to the breakfast table, for strong healthy eaters.
-
-
-SAUSAGE-MEAT.--To fifteen pounds of the lean of fresh pork, allow five
-pounds of the fat. Having removed the skin, sinews, and gristle, chop
-both the fat and lean as fine as possible, and mix them well together.
-Rub to a powder sufficient sage-leaves to make four ounces when done.
-Mix the sage with two ounces of fine salt, two ounces of brown sugar, an
-ounce of powdered black pepper, and a quarter of an ounce of cayenne.
-Add this seasoning to the chopped pork, and mix it thoroughly. Pack the
-sausage-meat down, hard and closely, into stone jars, which must be kept
-in a cool place, and well covered. When wanted for use, make some of it
-into small flat cakes, dredge them with flour, and fry them well. The
-fat that exudes from the sausage-cakes, while frying, will be sufficient
-to cook them in.
-
-
-SAUSAGE DUMPLING.--Make a good paste in the proportion of three mashed
-potatos, and a quarter of a pound of finely minced suet to a quart of
-flour. Roll it out into a thick sheet. Fill it with the best home-made
-sausage meat. Lay the sausage meat in an even heap on the sheet of
-dough, and close it up so as to form a large round dumpling. Dip a
-square cloth in boiling water, shake it out, dredge it with flour, and
-tie the dumpling in it, leaving room for it to swell. Put it into a pot
-of boiling water, and keep it boiling hard till thoroughly done. Do not
-turn it till immediately before it goes to table. It requires no sauce
-but a little cold butter. It may be made into several small dumplings.
-
-
-VEAL AND SAUSAGE PIE.--Line a deep oval dish with a very nice paste. Lay
-at the bottom a thin veal cutlet, seasoned with powdered mace. Place
-upon it some of the best sausage meat, spread thin; then another veal
-cutlet, and then more sausage. Repeat this till the dish is full,
-finishing with sausage meat on the top. Then cover the pie with a rather
-thick lid or upper crust, uniting the two edges at the rim, by crimping
-or notching them neatly. Make a cross slit in the centre of the lid.
-Bake the pie well, and serve it up hot.
-
-Put no water into this pie, as the veal and the sausage will give out
-sufficient gravy. We recommend this pie.
-
-If you live where veal cannot always be procured, substitute chicken or
-turkey, boiled and cut up, and covered with layers of sausage; or else
-thin slices of venison; or else, the best part of a pair of boiled or
-roasted rabbits.
-
-
-BOLOGNA SAUSAGES.--Take three pounds of the lean of a round of corned or
-salted beef, and three pounds of the lean of corned or salted pork.
-Boil them for an hour in separate pots. Take them up, let them grow
-cold, and chop them separately. Chop also, very fine, two pounds of the
-fat of bacon, and one pound of beef suet. When these things are all
-separately minced, mix them well together, seasoning them well with
-chopped sage, sweet marjoram, black pepper, and powdered mace. Also, if
-liked, two or three boiled onions minced very small. Have ready some of
-the large skins commonly used for these sausages. The skins must have
-been carefully emptied, washed, and scraped till quite transparent. Fill
-them with the above mixture, stuffing it in hard and evenly with a
-sausage-stuffer, sewing and tying both ends securely. Put the sausages
-into a brine or pickle, such as is made for ham, of salt, brown sugar,
-and molasses mixed with water, and strong enough to bear up an egg. Let
-the sausages remain a week in this pickle, turning them every day, and
-keeping it closely covered. Then take them out and hang them up to dry,
-tied in strings or links. Smoke them for a week over a fire of oak
-sticks or corn-cobs. Afterwards, rub them over with salad oil, which is
-much the better for being mixed with ashes of vine twigs.
-
-Sausages made faithfully as above, will be found equal to the real
-Bologna, by the lovers of this sort of relish. When it is eaten they are
-sliced very thin. Few ladies eat them.
-
-
-HOG'S HEAD CHEESE.--Hog's head cheese is always made at what is called
-"killing time." To make four cheeses of moderate size, take two large
-hog's heads; two sets, (that is eight feet,) and the noses of all the
-pigs that have been killed that day. Clean all these things well, and
-then boil them to rags. Having drained off the liquid through a
-cullender, spread out the things in large dishes, and carefully remove
-all the bones, even to the smallest bits. With a chopper mince the meat
-as fine as possible, and season it well with pepper, salt, sage, and
-sweet marjoram, adding some powdered mace. Having divided the prepared
-meats into four equal parts, tie up each portion tightly in a clean
-coarse cloth, and press it into a compact cake, by putting on heavy
-weights. It will be fit for use next day. In a cool dry place it will
-keep all winter. It requires no farther cooking, and is eaten sliced at
-breakfast, luncheon, or supper. If well made, and well seasoned with the
-herbs and spices, it will be found very nice for a relish.
-
-
-LIVER PUDDINGS.--Boil some pigs' livers, and when cold mince them,
-adding some cold ham or bacon, in the proportion of a pound of liver to
-a quarter of a pound of fat bacon. Add also some boiled pigs' feet,
-allowing to each pound of liver four pigs' feet boiled, skinned, boned,
-and chopped. Season with pepper, powdered mace or nutmeg, and sweet
-herbs, (sweet basil and marjoram.) Put the mixture (packed hard,) into
-straight-sided tin or white ware pans, and cover them with a clean
-cloth. Put heavy weights on the top. Cover them also with folded brown
-paper, and set them in a cool dry place. They will be fit to eat next
-day. Slice them thick, and send them to the tea or breakfast table. Or
-you may fill with the mixture, some nicely cleaned and very transparent
-sausage skins, (of a large size,) and tie up the ends with coarse brown
-thread, to be removed before going to table.
-
-You may cut them into large pieces, and broil them, or fry them in lard.
-
-Calves' liver makes still nicer puddings.
-
-Keep liver puddings in flat stone jars.
-
-Never use newspaper to cover or wrap up any thing eatable. The black
-always rubs off, and the copperas in the printing ink is very poisonous.
-
-
-
-
-HAM, etc.
-
-
-BRINE FOR PICKLING MEAT.--To every four gallons of water allow four
-pounds of fine salt, two ounces of saltpetre, three pounds of brown
-sugar, and two quarts of West India molasses. Boil the whole together,
-stirring it well, and skimming it after stirring. When clear, let it
-cool. The meat being clean and dry, rub it all over with ground red
-pepper. Then put as much meat into the pickling-tub as can be very well
-covered by the brine, which must be poured on cold. Let it remain six
-weeks in the pickle, (carefully taking off the scum,) and turning each
-piece every day. Afterwards, hang it till it is dry outside, and then
-smoke it well for a fortnight, hanging it high above the fire with the
-large end downward. The fire in the smoke-house should be steadily kept
-up all the time. Hickory or oak is the best wood for this purpose. On no
-account use pine, cedar, spruce, or hemlock. They will communicate to
-the meat a strong taste of turpentine, and render it uneatable. A fire
-made of corn-cobs is excellent for smoking meat, and they should be
-saved for that purpose. When the meat is smoked, rub it all over with
-ground pepper to prevent insects, and sew up all the pieces in new
-cotton cloths, coarse and thick, and then white-wash them. We have seen
-ham-covers, painted with flowers and gilded. Since California, gilding
-pervades the land.
-
-This pickle will be found excellent for hams, bacon, tongues, or beef.
-Meat for pickling must be very fresh, and of excellent quality. Before
-sewing it up in covers see that it is free from insects. If to go to
-sea, pack in boxes of powdered charcoal for a long voyage. For a short
-one, barrels of wood-ashes will do.
-
-
-TO CURE HAMS.--To make good hams the pork must be of the best quality.
-No animal tastes so much of its food as the pig. In America, we
-consider a pig "killed off the slop" as unfit to eat; and so he is. All
-our pigs are kept up in a pen, and fattened with Indian corn, or corn
-meal, for several weeks previous to killing. A hundred pounds of corn
-meal, (mixed with water to about the consistency of very thick mush,) is
-said to be equal in fattening pigs to two hundred pounds of dry-shelled
-corn. They should be kept up, and well fed for eight weeks; and
-occasionally, in the country, where such fruits are superabundant, the
-pigs should have a regale of melons, peaches, &c. This we have seen, and
-the pork was, of course, very fine. The hams or hind-quarters are
-considered the most valuable part of the animal. They are cured in
-various modes. But the Newbold receipt has hitherto been the most
-popular. Mr. Newbold was a Pennsylvania farmer. The following
-directions, we believe, are authentic.
-
-For one hundred pounds of fine pork, take seven pounds of coarse salt,
-five pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of saltpetre, half an ounce of
-pearlash, and four gallons of water. Boil all together, and skim the
-pickle when cold. Pour it on the meat. Let hams or tongues remain in the
-pickling-tub eight weeks. Before it is smoked, hang it up and dry it two
-or three days. Three weeks will be sufficient for pickling beef.
-Previous to sewing the hams in cases, rub them all over with ground
-black pepper.
-
-Soap-suds given frequently to pigs, when kept up to fatten, will greatly
-promote their health.
-
-
-BOILED HAM.--Having soaked a fine ham from early in the evening till
-near bed-time, putting it into warm water, and changing that water about
-ten or eleven o'clock--wash and brush it well in the morning, and trim
-it so as to look nicely all over. Lay at the bottom of the ham-boiler a
-bed of nice fresh hay, which will greatly improve the flavor. Let the
-hock bone be sawed off short. A long shank bone looks very awkward.
-Place the ham upon the hay--pour in plenty of cold water, and keep it
-simmering very slowly an hour before you allow it to boil. Then increase
-the heat gradually, and keep the ham boiling steadily for four, five, or
-six hours, according to its size and age. An old ham requires more
-soaking and boiling than a new one. Skim it frequently after the boiling
-begins. It will be much improved by transferring it to a spit, (having
-taken off the whole skin,) and roasting the ham, for the last two or
-three hours, basting it with its own essence. Save the skin to cover the
-cold ham, and keep it fresh. Before it goes to table cover the ham with
-grated bread-crumbs, sifted on so as to form a slight crust.
-
-If the ham is to be eaten cold, and is intended for company, brush it
-all over with beaten yolk of egg. Then dredge on sufficient grated
-crumbs to form a crust half an inch thick, and finish by going all over
-it with cream. Set it to brown in an oven, or put it on the spit of a
-roaster. When cold, this glazing will be found surpassingly fine.
-Decorate the hock with white paper, handsomely cut, or with a bunch of
-flowers cut out of vegetables.
-
-Carve a ham in very thin slices--if cut thick, they have not the same
-taste, besides looking ungenteelly.
-
-
-BAKED HAM.--For baking, take a small ham, or part of a large one,
-trimmed and made of good shape, cutting away whatever looks unsightly.
-Have the bone sawed off at the knuckle, or end of the hock. The evening
-previous to cooking, lay the ham in soak in a large pan of hot water. At
-bed-time pour off the water, and renew it. Keep it closely covered all
-night. In the morning wash and brush it well. Make a coarse paste of
-coarse flour mixed with water only, and roll it out about an inch thick.
-Line a clean iron bake-oven with this, and put in the ham, reserving
-enough of paste to cover the top. Pour in a very little water, merely
-sufficient to keep the ham from burning. Put on the lid of paste, and
-having wet the edges slightly press them together, so as to unite
-closely the top and bottom crust. Bake it over a steady fire, from four
-to five or six hours, or more, according to its size. When done, skim
-the gravy, remove the paste, (which is of no farther use,) and take off
-the skin of the ham. Dredge it all over with finely grated bread-crumbs,
-before it goes to table. A ham can scarcely be cooked too much, and too
-slow. The general fault is in cooking them too little, and too fast. A
-ham of the smallest size will require at least four hours baking or
-boiling, even after it has been all night in soak. Save the skin whole,
-to cover the cold ham when it is put away in the pantry.
-
-When a cooked ham is nearly all used up, take what remains, cut it all
-off from the bone, and stew the bits in a little water, till they are
-all to rags. You will find the essence an improvement to gravies,
-strained from the fragments.
-
-
-MADEIRA HAM.--This is a dish only seen at dinner parties. No one can
-believe, for a moment, that hams really cooked in Madeira wine are
-served up every week at hotels, particularly at those houses where there
-is no other superfluity, and where most of the great dishes exist only
-in the bill of fare. A genuine Madeira ham is cooked as follows:--Take a
-ham of the very finest sort; should be a Westphalia one. Lay it in hot
-water, and soak it all day and all night, changing the water several
-times, and every time washing out the pan. Early in the morning of the
-second day, put the ham into a large pot of cold water, and boil it
-slowly during four hours, skimming it well. Then take it out, remove the
-skin entirely, and put the ham into a clean boiler, with sufficient
-Madeira wine to cover it well. Boil, or rather stew it, an hour longer,
-keeping the pot covered except when you remove the lid to turn the ham.
-When well stewed take it up, drain it, and strain the liquor into a
-porcelain-lined saucepan. Have ready a sufficiency of powdered white
-sugar. Cover the ham all over with a thick coating of the sugar, and set
-it into a hot oven to bake for an hour.
-
-Mix some orange or lemon-juice with the liquor adding plenty of sugar
-and nutmeg. Give it one boil up over the fire, and serve it up in a
-tureen, as sauce to the ham.
-
-What is left of the ham may be cut next day into small pieces, put into
-a stew-pan, with the remains of the liquor or sauce poured over it, and
-stewed for a quarter of an hour or more. Serve it up all together in the
-same dish. While it is on the fire, add a little butter to the stew.
-
-
-BROILED HAM.--Ham for broiling or frying should be cut into thin slices
-the evening before, trimmed, and laid in a pan of boiling water, which,
-near bed-time, should be changed for cold water, and very early in the
-morning for boiling water, in which it should lie half an hour to soak
-still longer. If ham is not well soaked previously, it will, when
-broiled or fried, be disagreeably hard and salt; the salt frying out to
-the surface and forming a rough unpleasant crust, which will create
-thirst in the eaters for hours after. Much of the salt of a ham goes off
-in boiling, but if it is _not_ boiled or soaked, the salt comes out to
-the surface and there it sticks. The slices being cut thin and nicely
-trimmed, they should be broiled on a very clean gridiron over a clear
-fire, and so well done that they incline to curl up at the edges. Dish
-them hot, and lay on every slice a very small bit of fresh butter, and
-sprinkle them with pepper.
-
-
-FRIED HAM.--Ham for frying need not be _quite_ so thin as for broiling.
-Put but little butter in the frying-pan, as their own fat is generally
-sufficient to cook them. Break an egg over the middle of each slice, and
-let it cook till the white is set, and the yolk appears round and yellow
-through it. Before it goes to table trim off nicely the discolored and
-ragged edges of the fried eggs. They look disgusting when left on.
-
-Cold ham is excellent for broiling or frying, and very nice without any
-further cooking. Send it to table strewed with either nasturtion
-flowers, pepper-grass, or parsley. All these things have a fine flavor
-of their own, especially nasturtions.
-
-
-NICE FRIED HAM.--Having scalded and soaked some nice ham, cut it into
-rather thick slices, and then cut these slices into mouthfuls or little
-narrow slips. Put them into a hot frying-pan, and fry them well. When
-done, season them with pepper and nutmeg, and serve them up in their own
-gravy. It will be an improvement to add a beaten egg just before they go
-to table.
-
-You may add to the ham some bits of cold boiled chicken, pulled in
-little slips, from the breast, and fried with the ham, adding a little
-fresh butter.
-
-
-SLICED HAM.--Slice very thin some cold boiled ham, and let the slices be
-nearly of the same size and appearance, making them look as handsome as
-you can. Cover them with fresh green pepper-grass at a summer breakfast
-or tea-table; and decorate the pepper-grass by interspersing with it
-some nasturtion flowers, which are very nice to eat, having a taste
-agreeably and slightly pungent. Pepper-grass and nasturtions, are very
-appetizing accompaniments to nice bread and butter.
-
-
-DISGUISED HAM.--Scrape or grate a pound of cold boiled ham, twice as
-much lean as fat. Season it slightly with pepper and a little powdered
-mace or nutmeg. Beat the yolks only, of three eggs, and mix with them
-the ham. Spread the mixture thickly over slices of very nice toast, with
-the crust pared off, and the toast buttered while hot. Brush it slightly
-on the surface with white of egg, and then brown it with a red hot
-shovel or salamander. This is a nice breakfast dish.
-
-
-HAM CAKE.--This should be made the day before it is wanted. Take the
-remains of a cold ham. Cut it into small bits, and pound it well (fat
-and lean together) in a marble mortar, adding some butter and grated
-nutmeg; or a little cream, sufficient to moisten it throughout. Fill a
-mould with the mixture, and set it for half an hour into a moderate
-oven. When ready for use, set the mould for a few minutes into hot
-water, and then turn out the ham cake on a dish. Cover the surface all
-over with a coating of beaten white of egg. And before it is quite dry,
-decorate it with capers, or pickled nasturtion seeds, arranged in a
-pattern.
-
-Send small bread rolls to the supper table with the ham cake.
-
-
-HAM OMELET.--Mince very fine some cold boiled ham, (twice as much lean
-as fat,) till you have a half pint. Break six eggs, and strain them into
-a shallow pan. Beat them till very light and thick, and then stir in
-gradually the minced ham. Have ready, in a hot omelet pan, three
-table-spoonfuls of lard. When the lard boils, put in the omelet mixture
-and fry it. Occasionally slip a knife under the edge to keep it loose
-from the pan. It should be near an inch thick, as a ham omelet is best
-not to fold over. Make it a good even shape; and when one side is done,
-turn the other and brown it. You can turn it easily with a knife and
-fork, holding carefully, close to the omelet, the hot dish on which it
-is to go to table. Dredge the surface with a little cayenne.
-
-Omelets may be made in this manner, of smoked tongue, or oysters
-chopped, cold sweetbread, asparagus minced, boiled onions, mushrooms,
-&c. A good allowance for a small omelet is the above proportion of eggs
-and lard, or fresh butter; and a large tea-cup of the seasoning article,
-which must always have been previously cooked.
-
-They are much lighter when served up of their full size, and not folded
-over in halfs. A large omelet must have from eight to ten, or a dozen
-eggs. It is best to bake all omelets of the six egg size, and have more
-in number if required.
-
-
-HAM TOAST.--Make some very nice slices of toast, with all the crust
-trimmed off; and dip each toast for an instant into a bowl of hot water,
-then butter it slightly. Have ready some grated cold ham, and spread it
-thick over each slice of toast. Tongue toast is made in the same manner.
-
-
-SANDWICHES.--Spread some thin slices of bread very thinly with nice
-fresh butter, and lay a thin slice of cold ham (the edges neatly
-trimmed) between every two slices of bread and butter. You may make them
-so thin, as to roll up--a number being piled on a plate.
-
-
-BISCUIT SANDWICHES.--This is a very nice and very pretty dish for a
-supper table. Have ready one or two dozen of fresh soft milk biscuit.
-Split them, and take a very little of the soft crumb out of each
-biscuit, so as to make a slight hollow. Butter the biscuits with very
-nice fresh butter, and fill them liberally with grated ham or tongue.
-Stick round the inside of the edges, full sprigs of pepper-grass, or
-curled parsley, or the green tops of celery. Arrange the sprigs closely
-and handsomely, so as to project out all round the sides, forming a
-green border or fringe. We highly recommend biscuit sandwiches.
-
-
-POTTED HAM.--Take some cold ham, slice it, and mince it small, fat and
-lean together. Then pound it in a mortar; seasoning it as you proceed
-with cayenne pepper, powdered mace, and powdered nutmeg. Then fill with
-it a large deep pan, and set it in an oven for half an hour. Afterwards
-pack it down hard in a stone jar, and fill up the jar with lard. Cover
-it closely, and paste down a thick paper over the jar. If sufficiently
-seasoned, it will keep well in winter; and is convenient for sandwiches,
-or on the tea-table. A jar of this will be found useful to travelers in
-remote places.
-
-Tongue may be potted as above.
-
-
-TO PREPARE BACON.--All pieces of pork that, after pickling, are dried
-and smoked, come under the denomination of bacon; except the
-hind-quarters or legs, and they are always called ham, and are justly
-considered superior to any other part of the animal, and bring a higher
-price. The shoulders or fore-quarters, the sides or flitches, the jowl
-or head, and all the other parts, are designated as bacon; and in some
-places they erroneously give that name to the whole animal, if cured, or
-preserved by the process of smoking.
-
-To prepare bacon for being cooked, examine it well, and scrape it
-carefully, and trim off all unsightly parts. If the fat is yellow, the
-meat is rusty or tainted, and not fit to eat. So, also, if on the lean
-there are brownish or blackish spots. All sorts of food, if kept too
-long, should be thrown away at once.
-
-If perfectly good, prepare the bacon for cooking, by washing it well,
-and then soaking it for several hours in a pan full of cold water,
-removing the water once or twice during the process. If the bacon is
-salt and hard, soak it all night, changing the water at bed-time, and
-early in the morning.
-
-Ham should also be soaked before cooking.
-
-A dish of broiled ham is a nice accompaniment to one of calves'
-chitterlings, at breakfast.
-
-
-TO BOIL BACON.--Put two or three pounds of nice bacon into a pot with
-plenty of cold water, and let it simmer slowly for an hour before it
-begins to boil. Skim it well, and when no more scum rises, put in the
-vegetables which are usually eaten with bacon, and which taste better
-for boiling with the meat. These are young greens, or sprouts, very
-young roots and leaves of the poke plant, and green beans--strung and
-cut in half--not smaller. On no account should any other vegetables be
-boiled with bacon. When the bacon is so tender as to be easily pierced
-through with a fork, even in the thickest places, take it up and drain
-it well in a cullender or sieve. Remove the skin. Then take up the
-vegetables and drain them also, pressing out _all_ the liquid. Season
-them with pepper only. Send the meat to table with the vegetables heaped
-round it, on the same large dish, (the cabbage being chopped, but not
-minced fine.) Potatos, squashes, peas, asparagus, &c., should never be
-boiled in the same pot, or served up in the same dish with bacon, which
-is too plain a dish for any but a country table; while a ham is a
-delicacy for the city, or for any place.
-
-
-BACON AND BEANS.--Scrape and trim a nice piece of bacon, (not too fat,)
-and see that no part of it looks yellow or rusty, or shows any
-appearance of being too old. If so, do not cook it, as it is
-unwholesome, unpalatable, and unfit to eat. A shoulder is a good piece
-to boil. The best of the animal, when smoked, is, of course, the ham or
-leg. We are now speaking of the other pieces that, when cured, are
-properly called bacon, and are eaten at plain tables only.
-
-The meat, if very salt, is the better for being put in soak early in the
-morning, or the night before. Afterwards put it into a pot, and boil and
-skim it till tender. Have ready a quart or two of fresh green string
-beans, cut into three pieces, (not more); put them into the pot in which
-the bacon is boiling, and let them cook with the meat for an hour or
-more. When done, take them out, drain them well; season them well with
-pepper, and send them to table on a separate dish from the bacon.
-
-Many persons like so well this bacon flavor, that they _always_, when
-boiling string-beans, put a small piece of bacon in the pot, removing it
-before the beans are sent to table.
-
-With bacon and beans, serve up whole potatos boiled and peeled--and in
-the country, where cream is plenty, they boil some with butter, and pour
-it over the potatos, touching each one with pepper.
-
-
-BROILED HAM OR BACON.--Wash and trim a nice piece of bacon; soak it all
-night, or for several hours, in cold water. In the morning scald it with
-boiling water. Let it lie till cool, then throw away the water, and
-scald it again. Cut it into thin slices, very smooth and even; the rind
-being previously pared off. Curl up the slices, rolling them round, and
-securing them with wooden skewers. Broil them on a gridiron, or bake
-them in a Dutch oven. If cut properly thin, they will cook in a quarter
-of an hour. They must not be allowed to burn or blacken. Before you send
-them to table, take out the skewers. They may be cooked in flat slices,
-without curling, but they must be cut always very thin. Slice some
-hard-boiled eggs, and lay them on the meat. Season with black pepper.
-
-_Cold_ boiled ham cooked as above, will require no soaking, and can be
-speedily prepared for a breakfast dish. Lay sprigs of parsley on the
-ham.
-
-Serve up with them mashed potatos made into balls, or thick flat cakes,
-and browned on the surface with a red-hot shovel.
-
-
-STEWED HAM.--Cut some thin slices of cold boiled ham. Season them
-slightly with pepper. No salt. Lay them in a stew pan with plenty of
-green peas or lima beans, or else cauliflowers, or young summer cabbage,
-quartered, and the thick stalk omitted. Add a piece of fresh butter, or
-_a very little lard_. Put in just water enough to keep the things from
-burning. When the vegetables are quite done, add a beaten egg or two,
-and in five minutes, take up the stew and send it to table.
-
-
-STEWED BACON.--Take a small piece of bacon, not too fat or salt. It had
-best be soaked in cold water the night before. Put it into a pot, with a
-large portion of string beans, each cut into three pieces, (not more,)
-or else some cabbage, or young cabbage sprouts. Early in the spring, the
-young stalks of the pokeberry plant will be found excellent with stewed
-bacon. Stew the bacon and vegetables in just water enough to cover them
-all; skimming frequently. Drain all, through a cullender, when done.
-Have a dish of boiled potatos also. A molasses indian pudding is a good
-conclusion to this homely dinner.
-
-
-PREPARED LARD.--As soon as it is cut off from the newly killed pork, put
-the fat into a crock, or deep earthen pot. Cover the crock with its own
-lid, and let it stand all night in a cool place. Next day, cut it into
-small bits, (carefully removing all the fleshy particles of lean); and
-then put the fat into a _very clean_ pot, without either water or salt.
-The pot should not be more than half full of pork-fat. Let it boil
-_slowly_, (stirring it frequently from the bottom, lest it burn,) till
-it becomes quite clear and transparent. Then ladle it into clean pans.
-When almost cold, put it into stoneware jars, which must be closely
-covered, and kept in a cool place. If it is to go to a distance, tie it
-up in new bladders.
-
-There are two sorts of pork-fat for lard. The leaf-fat, which is best;
-and the fat that adheres to the entrails. These two fats should be
-boiled separately.
-
-The large entrails, whose skins are to be used for sausages, must be
-cleaned out carefully, well scraped, and thrown into strong salt and
-water for two days, (changing the brine the second day,) and afterwards
-into strong lye for twenty-four hours. Lastly, wash them in fresh water.
-We think it much better to dispense with the skins altogether; keeping
-your sausage meat in jars, and frying it in cakes when wanted for use.
-Its own fat (as it exudes) will cook it.
-
-Never use bad butter when you can obtain good lard, for frying, and
-other purposes.
-
-
-
-
-VENISON.
-
-
-You may judge of the age of venison by looking at the hoof, which is
-always left on the leg. The deer is young if the cleft of the hoof is
-small and smooth; but large and rough, if he is old. Buck venison is
-considered better than the meat of the doe. The haunch, or hind-quarter,
-is the best part, and the fat upon it should, be thick and white. The
-shoulder, or fore-quarter, is the next best piece. The saddle comprises
-both hind-quarters; and these, for a large company, are always cooked
-together.
-
-To eat venison in perfection, it should be killed when the deer can find
-plenty of fresh food in the forest, and when they have fattened on the
-abundance of wild berries, which they can obtain during the autumn. In
-winter, they are brought into the cities, lean, hard, dry, and black,
-and the meat infested all through with small threadlike white worms;
-showing that decomposition has commenced, and requiring the disguise of
-spices, wine, currant jelly, &c., to render it _eatable_, not
-_wholesome_, for every sort of food in the slightest degree tainted is
-utterly injurious to health, and cannot often be eaten with impunity.
-
-It never was very fashionable, in America, to eat spoiled victuals, and
-it is now less so than ever. Fortunately, in our land of abundance, "we
-do not see the necessity".
-
-
-HAUNCH OF VENISON.--To prepare a haunch of venison for roasting (we will
-suppose it to be _perfectly_ good and well kept,) wipe it thoroughly all
-over with clean cloths, dipped in lukewarm water, and then go over it
-with clean dry cloths. Trim off all unsightly parts. Lay over the fat a
-large sheet of thick brown paper, well buttered, and securely tied on
-with twine. Or else make a coarse paste of brown meal, and cover it with
-that. Place it before a good steady fire, and let it roast from three to
-four hours, according to its size. After roasting well for three hours,
-remove the covering of paper or paste, and baste the meat well all over;
-first with dripping or butter, and then with its own gravy, dredging it
-very slightly with browned flour. Skim the fat off the gravy, and send
-the venison to table plain, with sweet sauce of black currant jelly, or
-raspberry jam, in a glass dish with a spoon in it.
-
-
-VENISON STEAKS, BROILED.--Cut the steaks not quite an inch thick. Trim
-them nicely, and season them with a little black pepper and salt. Have
-ready, over a bed of clear bright hot coals from a wood fire, a gridiron
-with grooved bars to catch the gravy. Put down the steaks, and when one
-side is quite done turn the other, and broil that. Venison should always
-be very thoroughly done. Before you take up the steaks, lay a bit of
-nice fresh butter upon each. Take them up on a hot dish, and keep them
-warm. Pour off the gravy into a small saucepan. Give it a boil over the
-fire, and skim off all the fat from the surface. Stir into it some nice
-wine, and serve up with the steaks a deep dish of cranberry, or peach
-sauce, or a large cup of grape jelly.
-
-
-STEWED VENISON STEAKS.--Take some fine steaks of _freshly killed_
-venison. Cut them from the upper part of the leg. Make a forcemeat, or
-stuffing, with bread soaked in milk, mixed with fresh butter, with
-chopped sweet marjoram and sweet basil; or some boiled onions, minced
-small, and mixed with chopped sage, which may be boiled _with_ the
-onion, and seasoned with a very little salt and pepper. Spread the
-stuffing thickly over the inside of the steaks. Then roll them up, and
-tie them round with packthread, or secure them at the ends with wooden
-skewers. Put the steaks into a stewpan with some fresh butter or lard,
-or some drippings that have been left of roast venison--the day before.
-Let them stew (keeping the pan covered) till thoroughly done. Then dish
-them with the gravy round them. Serve up with them a sauce of stewed
-cranberries, or stewed dried peaches.
-
-You may stew lamb or mutton cutlets in the same manner, but do not use
-mutton dripping. Water (a very small quantity) is best for them. Veal
-cutlets may be stewed exactly like venison.
-
-
-HASHED VENISON.--Take the remains of cold roast venison, from which
-sufficient gravy or dripping has been saved to cook the meat again,
-without any water at all. It would be well if this were done in all
-hashes made from cold meat. For want of drippings, use butter or lard.
-Cold meat stewed in water is weak and unpalatable.
-
-Two or three large spoonfuls of mushroom, or tomato catchup, are
-improvements to all hashes. If nothing better can be obtained use
-onions, always previously boiled to render them less strong.
-
-Minced sweet herbs are excellent seasoning for hashes. Also minced
-tarragon leaves; they give a peculiar flavor that is very generally
-liked. Fresh tarragon is in season in July, August, and September.
-
-French mustard (to be obtained at all the best grocery stores) is a
-great improvement to hashes and stews. Stir in at the last, one or two
-large table-spoonfuls. The chief ingredient of French mustard is
-tarragon.
-
-
-A FINE VENISON PIE.--Cut steaks from a loin or haunch of venison, which
-should be as freshly killed as you can get it. The strange and absurd
-prejudice in favor of hard black-looking venison, (that has been kept
-till the juices are all dried up,) is fast subsiding; and no one now
-eats any sort of food in which decomposition has commenced. Those who
-have eaten venison fresh from the forest, when the deer have fattened
-on wild grapes, huckleberries, blackberries, cranberries, &c., will
-never again be able to relish such as is brought in wagon loads to the
-Atlantic cities, and which has been kept till full of those fine threads
-that are in reality long thin whitish worms, and which are often seen in
-very old hams.
-
-Having removed the bones and cut the meat into steaks, and seasoned it
-with salt and pepper, put the venison into a pot, with merely as much
-water as will cover it well. Let it stew till perfectly tender, skimming
-it occasionally. Then take it out, and set it to cool, saving the gravy
-in a bowl. Make a nice puff paste; divide the paste into two equal
-portions, and roll it out rather thick. Butter a deep dish, and line it
-with one of the sheets of paste, rolled thin at the bottom. Then put in
-the stewed venison. Season the gravy with a glass of _very good_ wine,
-(either port or sherry,) a few blades of mace, and a powdered nutmeg.
-Stir into it the crumbled yolks of some hard-boiled eggs. Pour the gravy
-over the meat, and put on the other sheet of paste, as the lid of the
-pie. Bring the two edges close together, so as to unite evenly, and
-notch them handsomely. Set it immediately into the oven, and bake it
-well. If a steady heat is kept up, it will be done in an hour. Send it
-to table hot.
-
-Instead of wine, you may put into the gravy half a pint of _black_
-currant jelly, which, for venison, is thought preferable to red. Either
-will do.
-
-Any sort of game, partridges, pheasants, grouse, wild ducks, &c., may
-be made into a fine pie, exactly as above.
-
-
-VERY PLAIN VENISON PIE.--Cut from the bone some good pieces of fine
-_fresh_ venison, season them slightly with salt and pepper, and put them
-into a pot with plenty of potatos, (either sweet or white,) split and
-quartered, and only as much water as will cover the whole. Set it over
-the fire, cover it, and let it stew slowly and steadily, till all is
-tender, skimming it several times. Meanwhile, make a nice paste of flour
-shortened with cold gravy, or drippings saved from roast venison, or of
-nice lard. Allow half a pint of shortening to each quart of flour. Put
-the flour into a pan, and rub the shortening into it as quickly as
-possible, adding a _very little_ cold water, to make it into a lump of
-paste. Then roll it out into a sheet, and spread over it with a broad
-knife the remaining half of the shortening. Dredge lightly with flour,
-fold it up, and roll it out in two sheets. With one of them line your
-pie-dish, and put into it the stewed venison and potatos. Pour in the
-gravy of the stew. The filling of this pie should be piled high in the
-centre. Lay on, as a lid, the other sheet of paste, which should be
-rather the largest. Pare off smoothly the edges of the two crusts, and
-crimp them nicely. Set the pie in the oven, and bake it well. It may be
-eaten either hot or cold, but is best hot.
-
-The above quantity of paste is only sufficient for a very small pie.
-For one of moderate size allow two quarts of flour, and a pound of
-shortening.
-
-
-VENISON POT-PIE.--Remove the bone from some fine venison steaks, cut
-near an inch thick. Season them lightly with pepper and salt, and score
-them each in several places. Stew them in a very little water till
-tender. Have ready an ample portion of nice suet paste. If you cannot
-obtain beef suet use cold venison fat, minced fine and made into a paste
-with double its quantity in flour, and as little water as possible. Lay
-some stewed venison at the bottom of the pot, and line the sides with
-paste almost up to the top. Put in the meat, adding among it boiled
-sweet potatos cut into pieces, or (if they are to be had in plenty,)
-chestnuts, boiled and peeled. Mushrooms will be a great improvement.
-Onion also, (if liked,) boiled and cut up. Intersperse the whole with
-square pieces of paste. Fill the pot almost to the top with the meat and
-other ingredients. Lay a thick paste over the whole, cut round to fit,
-but not too closely. Pour in a pint of warm water to increase the gravy.
-Make a cross slit in the middle of the upper crust. Cook the pie till
-all is well done. Serve it up with the brown crust in pieces, and laid
-on the top.
-
-This pie, if well made, and with plenty of paste, will be thought
-excellent whenever fresh venison is to be had.
-
-
-VENISON HAM.--Take fine freshly-killed venison. Mix together an ounce of
-saltpetre, a pound of coarse brown sugar, and a pound of salt. Let them
-be very thoroughly mixed and pounded. Rub this well into the meat, and
-continue rubbing hard till it froths. Keep the meat in the pickle for
-two weeks, turning it every day. Then take it out, and roll it in
-saw-dust, (which, on no account, must be the saw-dust of any species of
-pine.) Hang it for two weeks longer in the smoke of oak wood or of corn
-cobs. All hams, when being smoked, must be hung very high, and have the
-large end downwards. If hung too low, the heat softens or melts the fat.
-
-Venison hams, if well cured, require no boiling. They are always eaten
-chipped or shaved like smoked beef, to which they are very superior. It
-may be stewed in a skillet with fresh butter and beaten egg, and cut
-into thin shavings, or very thin small slices--or, instead of butter,
-with the drippings of cold roast venison. Season with pepper only.
-
-
-RABBITS.--Rabbits should be young and tender, but full-grown and fat.
-Two are required to make a dish. One rabbit, except for an invalid, is
-scarcely worth the trouble of cooking; and, being naturally insipid, it
-must have certain seasoning to make it taste well. The hare, so much
-prized in England, owes its reputation entirely to their mode of
-dressing it, which is troublesome, expensive, and in our country would
-never become popular, unless the animal had in itself more to recommend
-it. With all that can be done for a hare, it is, when cooked, black,
-dry, hard; and if it has been kept long enough to acquire what they call
-the "true game flavor," so much the worse. A fine fat well-fed tame
-rabbit is much better. In Virginia, the negroes frequently call a large
-rabbit "a hare"--or rather "a yar;" and though they know it to be young,
-they generally term it "that old yar." We opine that _with them_ "yars"
-are not admired. If a rabbit is really old his ears are tough, and his
-claws blunt and rough with coarse hairs growing between them. A young
-rabbit has short sharp claws, and ears so tender that on trying you can
-easily tear them. Rabbits should be cooked the day they are killed.
-Always cut off the head. A rabbit dished whole, with its head on, is, to
-most persons, a disgusting sight. The head of no small animal is worth
-eating, and always looks disagreeable when cooked.
-
-The livers of rabbits should be added to the gravy.
-
-
-ROASTED RABBITS.--Take a pair of fine well-fed young rabbits, and having
-drawn or emptied them, lay them, for about ten minutes, in a pan of warm
-water. Then dry them inside with a clean cloth, carefully wiping them
-out. Truss them short, and neatly, having removed the heads. Line the
-inside with very thin slices of fat bacon that has had most of the salt
-soaked out. Make a plentiful stuffing or forcemeat of bread steeped in
-milk, some fresh butter mixed with a very little flour; or, instead of
-butter, some beef suet finely minced; some chopped sweet herbs; and some
-crumbled yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Season with mace and nutmeg, and
-grated lemon rind. Fill the rabbits well with this--or, you may stuff
-them entirely with boiled potatos, mashed with plenty of nice butter, or
-the drippings of roast veal or pork. Or (if liked) you may make the
-stuffing entirely of minced onion, (previously boiled,) and minced sage
-leaves, moistened with a very little lard or sweet oil, and seasoned
-with powdered mace, nutmeg, and pepper. Having put in plenty of
-stuffing, sew up the bodies of the rabbits, flour them well, and put
-them on the spit and set them before a clear fire. Baste them with milk,
-or with fresh butter, tied up in thin muslin. They will be done in an
-hour or more. Thicken the gravy with flour, and pour it over them in the
-dish. Roasted rabbits make a good second dish at a small dinner. Take
-the livers of the rabbits, and chop them, to put into the gravy.
-
-
-RABBITS WITH ONIONS.--Peel, boil, and slice six (or more) large onions,
-and season them with nutmeg, and a very little cayenne. Cover them, and
-set them aside till wanted. Cut two fine rabbits into pieces, and fry
-them in fresh butter or lard. When browned, and nearly done, cover them
-with the sliced onions, and brown _them_, having laid among them some
-bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Dish the rabbits, with the pieces
-entirely hidden under the onions.
-
-A plainer, and not so good a way, is to put the pieces of rabbit, and
-the sliced onions, into a stew-pan with a little water, and stew the
-whole together.
-
-
-RABBIT POT-PIE.--Cut up the rabbits, and stew them in a little water.
-When nearly done, put the pieces into a pot and intersperse them with
-bits of cold ham. Add the gravy left from the stew. Season with pepper
-and mace. Have ready sufficient paste, (made with minced suet, and
-rather more than twice its quantity of flour.) There must be enough of
-paste to line the sides of the pot all round, nearly up to the top, and
-enough to make a thick lid, besides having plenty of extra pieces to lay
-among the other contents. Also have ready a few onions boiled and
-sliced. Cover the pie with the lid of paste, not fitting very closely.
-Make a cross slit in the top, and pour in a little water. When done,
-serve all up on one large dish.
-
-This pie will be much improved by stewing with the rabbits a fresh beef
-steak. A beef steak in any pot-pie thickens and enriches the gravy.
-
-
-PULLED RABBITS.--Boil, very tender, a fine pair of nice young rabbits.
-When cold, cut them in pieces as for carving, and peel off the skin.
-Then with a fork pull all the meat from the bones, first loosening it
-with a knife. Put it into a stew-pan with plenty of cream, or some bits
-of fresh butter rolled in flour; some minced sweet herbs, some grated
-fresh lemon rind, and some hard-boiled yolks of eggs crumbled. Season
-with cayenne and nutmeg. Cover it, and let it simmer till it comes to a
-boil. Then immediately take it off the fire, and transfer it to a deep
-dish. Serve it up hot. This is a side dish at dinner.
-
-
-FRICASSEED RABBITS.--Cut up the rabbits as for carving, and go over
-every piece with lard or sweet oil. Lay them in a frying pan, and fry
-them in nice fresh butter. If you cannot procure this, use lard. Season
-them with a very little salt and cayenne, dredge them well with flour,
-and sprinkle them thickly with parsley, or sweet marjoram. When they are
-fried brown, take them up. Keep them warm in a heated dish with a cover.
-Skim the gravy that remains in the pan, and add to it some cream, or
-rich milk thickened with flour, enriched with the beaten yolk of an egg,
-and flavored with nutmeg.
-
-Rabbits may be cut up, and fried in batter made of bread-crumbs and
-beaten egg. Dip every piece of rabbit twice into the batter.
-
-
-A COATED HARE, OR LARGE RABBIT.--The hare, or rabbit, should be large
-and fat. Save the liver and heart to assist in the gravy, which ought to
-be made of some pieces of the lean of good fresh beef, seasoned with
-pepper, salt, and nutmeg, stewed in a small sauce-pan, till all the
-essence is extracted, adding the chopped liver and heart, and a bit of
-fresh butter, rolled in flour. Cold fresh meat, or meat that has to be
-recooked, is unfit for gravy, and so it is for soup. Line the inside of
-the hare with small thin slices of fat ham, or bacon, and then fill the
-cavity with a stuffing made of grated bread-crumbs, the grated yellow
-rind and juice of a lemon, or orange, a piece of fresh butter, some
-minced sweet marjoram, and the crumbled yolk of one or two hard-boiled
-eggs. Season the stuffing with a little pepper and salt, and some
-powdered nutmeg and mace. Fill the body of the hare with this mixture,
-and sew it up, to keep in the stuffing. Spit the hare, and roast it
-well, keeping it for a while at a moderate distance from the fire. To
-baste it, while roasting, make a dressing of the beaten yolks of four
-eggs, four spoonfuls of flour, a pint of milk, and three table-spoonfuls
-of salad oil, all well-beaten together. Baste the hare with this till it
-is thickly coated all over with the batter, taking care it does not
-burn. Send the gravy to table in a sauce-boat, accompanied by currant,
-or cranberry jelly.
-
-A very young fawn, or a kid, may be drest in a similar manner. Kids are
-not eaten after three months old. Till that age their meat is white and
-delicate. Their flesh, _after_ that time, gradually becomes coarse and
-dark-colored. A very young kid, before it is weaned, is very delicious;
-but no longer. In the oriental countries, young kids are stuffed with
-chopped raisins and almonds, or pistachio nuts, previous to roasting;
-and basted with rich milk, or cream.
-
-For sauce to a kid or fawn, use orange marmalade, or grape jelly.
-
-
-
-
-POULTRY AND GAME.
-
-
-Spring chickens bring a high price, and are considered delicacies, but
-they are so insipid, and have so little on them, that we think the
-purchase of them, when very young, a mere fashionable extravagance, and
-a waste of money that might be better employed in something that had
-really a fine flavor, and that when divided was more than a morsel for
-each person. We wonder that any but invalids should care for spring
-chickens. It is better to wait till the young chickens grow into nice
-plump fowls, that were well fed, and have lived long enough to show it.
-A fine full-grown young fowl, has a clear white skin, that tears easily
-when tried with a pin. It has a broad fleshy breast, the legs are
-smooth, and the toes easily broken when bent back. Fowls with whitish
-legs are considered the best for boiling; those with dark legs the best
-for roasting. The finest of all fowls are capons. They grow very large
-and fat, and yet are as tender as young chickens, have a fine delicate
-rich flavor of their own, and are well worth their cost. The great Bucks
-county fowls are profitable because they are large; but they are never
-very plenty in market, being difficult to raise. The best poultry feels
-heavy in proportion to its size. Hen turkeys are best for boiling.
-
-Ducks and geese (particularly the latter) are so tough when old, that it
-is often impossible to eat them; therefore buy none that are not young.
-Geese are generally kept alive too long, for the sake of their feathers,
-which they always shed in August, and for which there is always a
-demand. And geese are not expensive to keep, as in summer they feed on
-grass, and will graze in a field like sheep. The feet and legs of an old
-goose are red and hard. So is her bill. The skin is rough, coarse, and
-tough, and full of hairs. Let nothing induce you to buy an old goose.
-You would find it too tough to carve, and too tough to eat. And no
-cooking can make her tender.
-
-Poultry should be drawn, or emptied (taking care not to break the gall)
-as soon almost as killed. Then let it be well washed, inside and out,
-and wiped dry. In picking it, carefully remove every plug or vestige of
-feathers, and singe off the hairs, by holding the bird to the fire, with
-a lighted piece of writing paper. Brown paper will give it something of
-an unpleasant taste. Newspaper is worse, on account of the printing-ink.
-
-If poultry is brought from market frozen, you need not hasten to thaw
-it, before it is actually wanted for use. Till then, put it in a cold
-place, and let it remain frozen. It will keep the better. When you thaw
-it, by all means use only _cold_ water. Any frozen poultry, or meat,
-thawed in warm water, will most certainly spoil. Let it be remembered
-that any food which has been frozen requires a much longer time to cook.
-
-
-BOILED TURKEY.--For boiling, choose a fine fat hen turkey. In drawing
-it, be careful not to break the gall, or a bitter taste will be
-communicated to the whole bird. In picking, remove every plug and hair,
-and then singe it with _writing-paper_. Wash it very clean, and then
-wipe it dry, inside and out. In trussing, draw the legs into the body,
-having cut them off at the first joint. Let the turkey look as round and
-plump as possible. Fill the breast with a very nice forcemeat, or
-stuffing, made of a quarter of a pound of grated bread-crumbs, mixed
-with two large table-spoonfuls or two ounces of fresh butter, or finely
-minced suet, seasoned with a little pepper and salt, a heaped
-tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and mace mixed together, a
-table-spoonful of sweet herbs[C] (sweet basil and sweet marjoram)
-chopped small if green, and powdered if dry; and the crumbled yolks of
-two hard-boiled eggs. Add the grated yellow rind, and the juice of a
-fresh lemon, and mix the whole very well. Skewer the liver and gizzard
-under the pinions, having first cut open the gizzard and cleared it of
-sand or gravel.
-
- [C] The herbs summer savory and thyme (like the spices cloves and
- allspice) are now seldom used in good cookery.
-
-It is no longer customary to mix stuffing or forcemeat with beaten raw
-egg for the purpose of binding the ingredients together. Leave them
-loose, without this binding, and the forcemeat will be much lighter,
-better flavored, and more abundant. It will not fall out if a
-packthread, or very _small_ twine is wound carefully round the body, (to
-be removed before serving up,) and it may be secured by sewing it with a
-needle and thread.
-
-Put the turkey into a large pot with plenty of cold water, and boil it
-gently, for two hours or more, in proportion to its size; carefully
-removing all the scum as it rises. It will be whiter if boiled in a
-large clean cloth, or in a coarse paste, (the paste to be thrown away
-afterwards,) and take care that it is thoroughly done. Serve up boiled
-turkey with oyster sauce, celery sauce, or cauliflower sauce. Sweet
-sauce is rarely eaten with boiled things--unless with puddings.
-
-Boiled turkey should be accompanied by a ham or tongue.
-
-To ascertain if boiled poultry is done, try the thickest parts with a
-large needle. If the needle goes through, and in and out easily, it is
-sufficient.
-
-A turkey (boiled or roast) for a family dish, may be stuffed with nice
-sausage meat, in which case it requires no other stuffing. Surround it
-on a dish with fried sausage cakes, about the size of a dollar, but
-near an inch thick.
-
-It is very convenient to keep always in the house, during the winter
-months, one or two large jars of nice home-made sausage-meat, well
-covered. The best time for making sausage-meat is in November. After
-March, sausages are seldom eaten.
-
-
-OYSTER TURKEY.--(_French dish._)--Prepare a fine young hen turkey, for
-boiling; skewering the liver and gizzard under the pinions. Fill the
-body well with fine large fresh oysters, having removed their hard part
-or gristle. Add to the oysters a tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and
-mace, and a tea-spoonful of celery seed or minced celery, and a piece of
-fresh butter dredged with flour. With this, stuff the turkey very full;
-securing the stuffing with packthread. Put the turkey into a large
-block-tin kettle, and let it stew in the oyster liquor only, without any
-water. Strain the oyster liquor before you put it in. Set the kettle
-into an outer kettle full of boiling water. This will cook the turkey
-very nicely. For such purposes, nothing is so convenient as the utensil
-called in French a _bain marie_, (pronounced _bine maree_.) This is a
-permanent double kettle with two covers, and a large tube or spout
-outside, for pouring in fresh hot water, without opening the lid and
-letting out the steam. They are to be had of all sizes at the furnishing
-stores in New York and Philadelphia, and are so excellent for stewing
-without water, that no family should be without them.
-
-When the turkey is well boiled and quite done, keep it warm by wrapping
-it closely in a cloth, putting a dish cover over it, and placing it near
-the fire. A fine oyster gravy will be found in the kettle. Add to it
-some fresh butter, dredged with flour, and some mace and nutmeg, and
-some celery seed. Give it one boil up, and send it to table as sauce for
-the turkey. This is a very nice way of cooking a small turkey.
-
-A pair of oyster chickens may be thus prepared, and stewed in the above
-manner in a _bain marie_, or double kettle.
-
-
-ROAST TURKEY.--Take a fine large turkey, full-grown and fat, draw and
-singe him carefully, saving the giblets (neck, heart, gizzard, and
-liver,) for the gravy. After he is drawn, wash the inside well, wipe it
-dry, and sprinkle it with black pepper. Make a large quantity of
-stuffing or forcemeat. It increases his apparent size, and besides is
-generally liked. Mince small some cold boiled ham, in equal portions of
-fat and lean: grated lemon rind, minced sweet herbs, fresh butter, or
-finely minced suet. Add plenty of grated bread-crumbs or crumbled rusk;
-also, hard-boiled yolk of egg crumbled. Moisten the mixture with lemon
-juice and some good white wine. Stuff the turkey well with this
-forcemeat, sewing it up, or winding a small cord round the body to
-secure the filling. Roast it before a clear and substantial fire,
-basting it well with fresh butter. When done, take it up and keep it
-hot.
-
-Cut up the giblets and put them into a small sauce-pan, with a very
-little water, and stew them while the turkey is roasting; adding a piece
-of fresh butter dredged with flour. When done, remove the pieces of
-neck, &c., retaining those of the heart, liver, and gizzard. Stir into
-the gravy, after it comes from the fire, the yolk of a beaten egg.
-Having skimmed the gravy in the dripping-pan, add it to the gravy that
-has been made of the giblets, and send it to table in a sauce-boat.
-Accompany the turkey with an oval dish, or tureen of cranberry sauce,
-made very sweet.
-
-A roast turkey may be stuffed with oysters, or with chestnuts boiled,
-peeled, and mashed with butter. If with chestnuts, thicken the gravy
-with whole boiled chestnuts. If with oysters, send oyster-sauce to table
-with the turkey. If chestnuts cannot be obtained, any roasted poultry is
-good stuffed with well-boiled sweet potatos, mashed with plenty of
-butter or meat drippings.
-
-The legs of turkeys are never helped to any one at table. They are
-always sent away on the dish.
-
-
-A BONED TURKEY.--For this purpose you must have a fine, large, tender
-turkey; and after it is drawn, and washed, and wiped dry, lay it on a
-clean table, and take a very sharp knife, with a narrow blade and point.
-Begin at the neck; then go round to the shoulders and wings, and
-carefully separate the flesh from the bone, scraping it down as you
-proceed. Next loosen the flesh from the breast, and back, and body; and
-then from the thighs. It requires care and patience to do it nicely, and
-to avoid tearing or breaking the skin. The knife should always penetrate
-quite to the bone; scraping loose the flesh rather than cutting it. When
-all the flesh has been completely loosened, take the turkey by the neck,
-give it a pull, and the whole skeleton will come out entirely from the
-flesh, as easily as you draw your hand out of a glove. The flesh will
-then fall down, a flat and shapeless mass. With a small needle and
-thread, carefully sew up any holes that have accidentally been torn in
-the skin.
-
-Have ready a large quantity of stuffing, made as follows:--Take three
-sixpenny loaves of stale bread; grate the crumb; and put the crust in
-water to soak. When quite soft, break them up small into the pan of
-grated bread-crumbs, and mix in a pound of fresh butter, cut into little
-pieces. Take two large bunches of sweet marjoram; the same of sweet
-basil; and one bunch of parsley. Mince the parsley very fine, and rub to
-a powder the leaves of the marjoram and basil. You should have two large
-heaping table-spoonfuls of each. Chop, also, two very small onions or
-shalots, and mix them with the herbs. Pound to powder a quarter of an
-ounce of mace; and two large nutmegs. Mix the spices together, and add a
-tea-spoonful of salt, and a tea-spoonful of ground black pepper. Then
-mix the herbs, spices, &c., thoroughly into the bread-crumbs, and add,
-by degrees, four hard-boiled eggs crumbled fine.
-
-Take up a handful of this filling; squeeze it hard, and proceed to stuff
-the turkey with it--beginning at the wings; next do the body; and then
-the thighs. Stuff it very hard; and, as you proceed, form the turkey
-into its natural shape, by filling out, properly, the wings, breast,
-body, &c. When all the stuffing is in, sew up the body and skewer the
-turkey into the usual shape in which they are trussed; so that, if
-skillfully done, it will look almost as if it had not been boned. Tie it
-round with tape, and bake it three hours or more; basting it
-occasionally with fresh butter. Make a gravy of the giblets, chopped,
-and stewed slowly in a little water. When done, add to it the gravy that
-is in the dish about the turkey, (having first skimmed off the fat,) and
-enrich it with a glass of white wine, and two beaten yolks of eggs,
-stirred in just before you take it from the fire.
-
-If the turkey is to be eaten cold at the supper-table, drop
-table-spoonfuls of currant or cranberry jelly all over it at small
-distances, and in the dish round it.
-
-A very handsome way of serving it up cold is, after making a sufficiency
-of nice clear calves'-foot jelly, (seasoned, as usual, with wine, lemon,
-cinnamon, &c.,) to lay the turkey in the dish in which it is to go to
-table, and setting it under the jelly-bag, let the jelly drip upon it,
-so as to form a transparent coating all over it; smoothing the jelly
-evenly with the back of a spoon, as it congeals on the turkey. Apple
-jelly may be substituted.
-
-Large fowls may be boned and stuffed in the above manner: also, a young
-roasting pig.
-
-
-ROAST GOOSE.--A goose for roasting should be young, tender, and fat; so
-tender, that the skin can easily be torn by a pin; the bill and legs
-smooth and of a light yellow color, and the toes breaking when bent
-under. If the skin is thick and tough, and the bill and legs a dark
-reddish yellow, rough and hairy, do not buy the goose. It is old, and no
-cooking can make it eatable. A goose, from its profusion of feathers,
-looks like a large bird when walking about; but when plucked and
-prepared for the spit, it will be found very deceptive. It is much more
-hollow than a turkey; and, except the breast, there is but little eating
-on it. In large families it is usual to have a pair of roast geese, one
-not being sufficient. Geese are not good except for roasting, or in a
-pie.
-
-In preparing a goose for cooking, save the giblets for the gravy. After
-the goose has been drawn, singed well, washed and wiped, inside and out;
-trussed so as to look round and short; make a quantity of stuffing, (as
-its hollow body will require a great deal.) For this purpose, parboil
-two good sized onions, and a large bunch of green sage. Mince both the
-sage and onions, seasoning them with a small salt-spoon of salt, half as
-much black pepper, and still less cayenne. Add a hard-boiled egg finely
-minced (yolk and white;) the chopped egg giving a nice smoothness to the
-sage and onion. If your goose is large, take two chopped eggs.
-
-To make the stuffing very mild, (if preferred so,) add a handful of
-finely grated bread-crumbs; or two or three fine juicy chopped apples.
-Fill the body and craw with this stuffing, and secure it with a needle
-and thread from falling out. Set the goose before a clear, steady
-fire--having a little warm water in the dripping-pan to baste it till
-the gravy begins to fall. Keep it well basted all the time it is
-roasting. It must be thoroughly done all through. Roast it according to
-its size, from an hour and a half to two hours or more.
-
-Boil the giblets in a sauce-pan by themselves, seasoned with a little
-salt and pepper, and having among them a bit of butter dredged with
-flour. When done, remove the neck, and retain the heart, liver, and
-gizzard, cut into pieces, and served in the gravy, which should be well
-skimmed. Also, skim carefully the fat off the gravy in the bottom of the
-dripping-pan. Put the two gravies together, and serve them up in a gravy
-tureen. To eat with the goose, have plenty of apple-sauce, made of fine
-juicy apples, stewed very dry, well sweetened, and flavored with the
-grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon; or with some rose-water and
-nutmeg stirred in after the sauce is taken from the fire. Rose-water
-evaporates in cooking, and should never boil or be kept on the fire. A
-_bain marie_, or double kettle, is excellent for stewing fruit; putting
-the fruit inside, and the water outside.
-
-For a family dinner a goose is very good stuffed with well-boiled
-potatos, mashed smooth, with plenty of fresh butter or gravy. Sweet
-potatos make an excellent stuffing. So do boiled chestnuts, mashed with
-butter or gravy.
-
-
-GOOSE PIE.--The old fashioned goose pie made with a standing crust, (the
-flour being mixed with boiling water, and therefore unfit for eating,)
-is now obsolete. They were generally sent as Christmas presents. Besides
-the goose, they contained chickens, pigeons, (all boned,) and various
-other things. They had standing sides like an oval wall, covered with a
-lid of the same paste, having, on the top, a knob, by which to lift off.
-These pies were expected to remain good a week; but generally the gravy
-became sour in a few days, even in winter, and however carefully kept
-from the air. The following is a receipt to make a fine goose pie for
-immediate use, and with a nice eatable paste.
-
-Take a fine plump young goose, and parboil it, (in as little water as
-will cover it,) saving the gravy. Having removed the skin, cut all the
-flesh from the bones. Make a nice light short paste, allowing a large
-half pound of fresh butter to each quart of flour. For a goose pie you
-will require two quarts of flour and one pound of butter. Line a deep
-pie-dish with one sheet of paste, reserving the other sheet for the lid,
-which should be rolled out thick. Put in the pieces of goose, seasoned
-with pepper only, interspersing among it the best part of a smoked
-tongue, cut in thick round slices. Make a nice forcemeat into balls,
-about the size of a hickory nut, and add them to the filling of the pie;
-and some chestnuts boiled and peeled; or some round slices of boiled
-sweet potato. Having made a gravy of the giblets stewed, pour that over
-the other ingredients, filling the pie well, and heaping it high in the
-middle. Add a few bits of fresh butter dredged in flour. Pour in the
-gravy, and lay on the top the lid of the pie rolled out thick,
-ornamenting the edges handsomely. Cut a cross slit in the top, and fit
-into it a flower, or tulip cut out of paste. This pie is for dinner
-company, and to be eaten warm.
-
-You may make a similar pie of a pair of fine ducks, either tame or wild.
-Canvas-backs and red necks are excellent for this purpose. To eat with
-it, have mashed potato, browned all over with a salamander.
-
-On the shores of our southern rivers, where canvas-backs and other fine
-wild ducks are abundant, a pie affords an agreeable variety to the usual
-modes of cooking them.
-
-
-A GIBLET PIE.--Clean, very nicely, the giblets of two geese or four
-ducks. Put them into a stew-pan, with a sliced onion; a bunch of
-tarragon, or sweet marjoram and sage; half a dozen pepper-corns; and
-four or five blades of mace. Add a very little water; cover the pan
-closely, and let them stew till the giblets are tender. Then take them
-out, and save all the gravy; having strained it from the seasoning
-articles. Make a rich paste, and roll it out into two sheets. With one
-sheet cover the bottom and sides of a deep dish. Put in the
-giblets--mixing among them a few raw potatos sliced very thin, the
-chopped yolks of some hard-boiled eggs, and some bits of butter rolled
-in flour. Pour the gravy over the giblets, &c. Cover the pie with the
-other sheet of paste, and notch the edges. Bake it brown, and send it to
-table hot.
-
-A pigeon pie may be made in a similar manner: also, a rabbit pie.
-
-
-ROAST DUCKS.--Take a pair of fine fat ducks, and having prepared them
-nicely for the spit, put them, for a few minutes, into boiling water to
-loosen the skin, which must be peeled entirely off, to have them very
-nice and tender. Wash their insides by pouring water through them, and
-wipe the outside all over with a dry cloth. Fill the body and craw of
-one duck with a seasoning of sage and onion, as for a goose. In case
-some of the company should have a dislike to onion, fill the other duck
-with a forcemeat of bread-crumbs, sweet herbs, &c., as for turkey. Place
-them before a quick fire, but not so near as to scorch. Roast them well,
-basting them all the time. Skim the fat off, and pour over the ducks
-their own gravy, mixed with what has been made of the necks, livers,
-hearts, and gizzards, stewed in a small sauce-pan with some butter
-dredged with flour. Send to table with the ducks either cranberry or
-apple sauce, made thick and sweet.
-
-Let them be thoroughly roasted, which will require from an hour to an
-hour and a quarter.
-
-
-WILD DUCKS.--To remove the fishy or sedgy taste so often found in wild
-ducks, parboil them with a large carrot, cut in pieces, and placed in
-the body of each. When the ducks are half boiled, take out the carrot
-and throw it away. It will have imbibed all the unpleasant taste, and
-taken it away from the ducks. Then cook them as you please.
-
-
-BOILED DUCK.--Prepare for cooking a fine plump tame duck, and lay it
-five or six minutes in warm water. Then put it into a clean large bowl
-or deep dish, and pour over it a pint of rich boiling milk, in which has
-been melted two table-spoonfuls of nice fresh butter. Let the duck soak
-in the milk three hours, or till it has absorbed nearly all the liquid.
-Next, dredge the duck well with flour. Boil it in cold water for half an
-hour, till tender all through. Have ready a quantity of onion sauce made
-with milk and butter, and flavored with powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover
-the duck all over with the onion sauce, so as to smother it entirely.
-Then send it to table hot. This is a French dish, (_canard bouilli_.)
-
-
-DUCKS AND PEAS.--Stuff a fine plump pair of ducks with potato stuffing,
-made of boiled potatos mashed very smooth with fresh butter; or, if for
-company, make a fine forcemeat stuffing, as for a turkey. Bake the ducks
-in an iron oven or bake-pan; and when nearly done, put in with them a
-quart of very young green peas, and a few bits of fresh butter,
-seasoning slightly with black pepper. When the peas and ducks are all
-quite done, serve them all up on one large dish.
-
-
-FRICASSEED DUCKS.--Half roast a pair of ducks. Then cut them apart, as
-for carving. If they are _wild_ ducks, parboil them with a large carrot
-(cut to pieces) inside of each, to draw out the fishy or sedgy taste.
-Having thrown away the carrot, cut the ducks into pieces, as for
-carving. Put them into a clean stew-pan, and season them with pepper and
-salt. Mix in a deep dish a very small onion minced fine, a
-table-spoonful of minced or powdered tarragon leaves, (for which you may
-substitute sage and sweet marjoram, if you cannot procure tarragon,) and
-two or three large tomatos, scalded, peeled, and quartered, or two large
-table-spoonfuls of thick tomato catchup. Put in, also, two
-table-spoonfuls of fresh butter rolled in grated bread-crumbs, and a
-glass of port wine, claret, or brandy, with a small tea-spoonful of
-powdered mace. Cover the pieces of duck with this mixture, and then add
-barely as much water as will keep the whole from burning. Cover the pan
-closely, and let the fricassee stew slowly for an hour, or till the
-duck, &c., are thoroughly done.
-
-Venison or lamb cutlets may be fricasseed in this manner. Likewise, tame
-fat pigeons, which must previously be split in two. This, also, is a
-very nice way of dressing hares or rabbits.
-
-
-TO ROAST CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.--Having trussed the ducks, put into each a
-thick piece of soft bread that has been soaked in port wine. Place them
-before a quick fire and roast them from three quarters to an hour.
-Before they go to table, squeeze over each the juice of a lemon or
-orange, and serve them up very hot with their own gravy about them. Eat
-them with currant jelly. Have ready also, a gravy made by stewing slowly
-in a sauce-pan the giblets of the ducks in butter rolled in flour, and
-as little water as possible. Serve up this additional gravy in a boat.
-
-
-CANVAS-BACK DUCKS DRESSED PLAIN.--Truss the ducks without washing, but
-wipe them inside and out with a clean dry cloth. Roast them before a
-rather quick fire for half an hour. Then send them to table hot, upon a
-large dish placed on a heater. There must also be heaters under each
-plate, and currant jelly on both sides of the table, to mix with the
-gravy, on your plate; claret or port wine also, for those who prefer it
-as an improvement to the gravy.
-
-
-TO STEW CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.--Put the giblets into a sauce-pan with a very
-little water, and a piece of butter rolled in flour, and a very little
-salt and cayenne. Let them stew gently to make a gravy, keeping the
-sauce-pan covered. In the mean time, half roast the ducks, saving the
-gravy that falls from them. Then cut them up, put them into a large
-stew-pan, with the gravy (having first skimmed off the fat,) and merely
-water enough to keep them from burning. Set the pan over a moderate
-fire, and let them stew gently till done. Towards the last, (having
-removed the giblets) pour over the ducks the gravy from the small
-sauce-pan, and stir in a large glass of port wine, and a glass of
-currant jelly. Send them to table as hot as possible.
-
-Any ducks may be stewed as above. The common wild duck, teal, &c.,
-should always be parboiled with a large carrot in the body to extract
-the fishy or sedgy taste. On tasting this carrot before it is thrown
-away, it will be found to have imbibed strongly that disagreeable
-flavor.
-
-
-BROILED CANVAS-BACK DUCKS.--To eat these ducks with their flavor and
-juices in perfection, they should be cooked immediately after killing.
-If shot early in the morning, they will be found delicious, if broiled
-for breakfast. If killed in the forenoon, let them be on that day's
-dinner table. When they can be obtained quite fresh they want nothing to
-improve the flavor. Neither do red-necks, or the other water fowl that
-are found in such abundance on the shores of the Chesapeake.
-
-As soon as the ducks have been plucked, singed, drawn, and washed, split
-them down the back, (their heads, necks, and legs having been cut off,)
-rub with chalk the bars of a very clean gridiron, and set it over a bed
-of bright lively wood-coals. This gridiron (and all others) should have
-grooved bars, so as to save as much of the gravy as possible. Broil the
-ducks well and thoroughly, turning them on both sides. They will
-generally be done in half an hour. Dish them in their own gravy. The
-flesh should have no redness about it when dished. To half broil them on
-the gridiron, and to finish the cooking on a hot plate, set over a
-heater on the table, renders the ducks tough, and deadens the natural
-taste, for which no made-up sauce can atone. You may lay a few bits of
-nice butter on them after they are dished.
-
-
-TERRAPIN DUCKS.--Take a fine large plump duck. Cut it in small pieces,
-and stew it in merely as much water as will cover it well, and keep it
-from burning. Let it stew gently, and skim it well. When it is done take
-it out, and cut all the meat off the bones in little bits. Return the
-meat to the stew-pan, and lay it in its own gravy. Add the yolks of half
-a dozen hard-boiled eggs, and make them into little balls with beaten
-white of egg, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter divided into eight
-bits, each bit dredged with flour, the grated yellow rind and juice of a
-lemon or orange, and a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg.
-Let it stew or simmer gently till it comes to a boil, keeping it
-covered. When it has boiled, stir in while hot two beaten yolks of raw
-egg, and two large wine glasses of sherry or Madeira. Set it over the
-fire again for two or three minutes, keeping it covered. Then serve it
-up in a deep dish with a cover.
-
-For company, you must have two ducks, and a double portion of all the
-above ingredients.
-
-
-ROAST FOWLS.--Stuff two fowls with a nice forcemeat, made in the best
-manner, or with good sausage meat, if in haste. Another nice stuffing
-for roast fowls is boiled chestnuts, stewed in butter, or in nice
-drippings. Mushrooms cut up and stewed in a very little butter, make a
-fine stuffing for roasted fowls. Secure the stuffing from falling out by
-winding a twine or tape round the body of the fowl, or sewing it. Roast
-the fowls before a very clear fire, basting them with butter. When the
-fowls are done, set them away to be kept warm, while you finish the
-gravy, having saved the heart, gizzard, and liver, to enrich it. Skim it
-well from the fat and thicken it with a very little browned flour. Send
-it to table in a sauce-boat. Serve up with roast fowls, dried peach
-sauce, or cranberry. Make all fruit sauces very thick and sweet. If
-watery and sour, they seem poor and mean.
-
-Full-grown fowls require, (at least,) an hour for roasting. If very
-large, from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half.
-
-Nothing can be done with old tough fowls but to boil them in soup, till
-they are reduced to rags. The soup, of course, should be made chiefly of
-meat. The fowls will add nothing to its flavor but something to its
-consistence.
-
-Capons are cooked in the same manner as other fowls. They are well worth
-their cost.
-
-
-BOILED FOWLS.--Take a fine plump pair of young (but full-grown) fowls,
-and prepare them for boiling. Those with white or light yellow legs are
-considered the best. Make a nice forcemeat stuffing, and fill their
-bodies with it, and fasten the livers and gizzards under the pinions.
-For boiled poultry they are not wanted in the gravy. Having trussed the
-fowls, and picked and singed them carefully, put them into a large pot
-containing equal quantities of boiling water and cold water. This will
-make it lukewarm. Let them boil steadily for an hour after the simmering
-has commenced, carefully removing the scum.
-
-Serve them up with egg sauce, celery sauce, parsley sauce, or oyster
-sauce--or, with cauliflower or broccoli sauce.
-
-For boiled fowls, you may make a nice stuffing of fresh oysters, cut in
-small pieces, but not minced. Omit the gristle. Mix them with an equal
-portion of hard-boiled eggs chopped, but not minced fine. Add plenty of
-grated bread-crumbs, and season with powdered mace. Mix in, also, some
-bits of fresh butter. Where onions are liked, you may substitute for the
-oysters some onions boiled and minced.
-
-Fowls boil very nicely in a _bain marie_, or double kettle, with the
-water outside. They require a longer time, but are excellent when done.
-To quicken the boiling of a double kettle, put a handful of salt in the
-outside water.
-
-Small chickens, of course, require a shorter time to cook.
-
-
-PULLED FOWL.--This is a side dish for company. Select a fine tender
-fowl, young, fat, full-grown, and of a large kind. When quite done take
-it out of the pot, cover it, and set it away till wanted. Then, with a
-fork, pull off in flakes all the flesh, (first removing the skin,) and
-with a chopper break all the bones, and put them into a stew-pan, adding
-two calves' feet split, and the hock of a cold ham, a small bunch of
-parsley and sweet marjoram, and a quart of water. Let it boil gently
-till reduced to a pint. Then take it out. Have ready, in another
-stew-pan, the bits of pulled fowl. Strain the liquor from the bones,
-&c., over the fowl, and add a piece of fresh butter, (the size of a
-small egg,) rolled in flour, and a tea-spoonful of powdered mace and
-nutmeg, mixed. Mix the whole together, and let the pulled fowl stew in
-gravy for ten minutes. Serve it hot.
-
-A turkey may be cooked in this manner, and will make a fine dish. For a
-turkey allow four calves' feet.
-
-
-FRIED CHICKENS.--Cut up a pair of nice young fowls, flatten and quarter
-them, and season them with cayenne and powdered mace, rubbing it in
-well. Put some lard into a heated frying pan over the fire, or if you
-have plenty of nice fresh butter use that in preference. When the lard
-or butter boils, and has been skimmed, put in the pieces of chicken, and
-fry them brown on one side. Then turn them, and sprinkle them thickly
-all over with chopped parsley, or sweet marjoram, and fry them brown on
-the other side. You may fry with them a few thin slices of cold ham.
-Before serving them up drain off the lard you have used for frying.
-
-When there is no dislike to onions, they may be fried nicely with boiled
-onions cut in rings, and laid over the pieces of chicken.
-
-
-BROILED CHICKENS.--These are very dry and tasteless if merely split and
-broiled plain, which is the usual way. It seems to be supposed by many
-that no chicken is too poor for broiling, and therefore it is often
-difficult to get more than two or three small mouthfuls of flesh off
-their bones. On the contrary, poor chickens are not worth broiling or
-cooking in any way. To have broiled chickens good, choose those that are
-fat and fleshy. Having cleaned them well, and washed them, and wiped
-them dry, split and divide them into four quarters; flattening the bones
-with a steak mallet. They will be much improved by stewing or boiling in
-a little water for ten minutes. Then draining them and saving the liquor
-for gravy. Boil in this the neck, feet, heart, gizzard and liver. Strain
-it after boiling, and save the liver to mash into the gravy. Season the
-gravy with grated carrot and minced parsley, or sweet marjoram, and a
-little cayenne, adding a small piece of fresh butter dredged in flour.
-Have ready plenty of fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with nutmeg, and in
-another pan four yolks of eggs well beaten. The quarters of the chickens
-having become quite cold, dip each one first into the egg, and then into
-the crumbs. Set the gridiron over a clear fire, and broil the chicken
-well, first laying down the inside. Having prepared the gravy as above,
-give it a short boil, then send it to table in a sauce-boat with the
-chickens.
-
-The excellence of chickens broiled in this way amply repays the trouble.
-This is a breakfast dish.
-
-Serve up with the broiled chicken a dish of mashed potato cakes, browned
-with a salamander or red-hot shovel.
-
-
-FRICASSEED CHICKEN.--Have ready a pair of fine plump full-grown fowls
-nicely prepared for cooking. Strip off all the skin, and carve the fowls
-neatly. Reserve all the white meat and best pieces for the fricassee,
-putting them in a dish by themselves, and save all the inferior pieces
-or black meat to make the gravy. Season with pepper and salt slightly,
-and add a bunch of sweet herbs cut small, and four small bits of fresh
-butter dredged with flour. Put the black meat, herbs, &c., into a
-stew-pan. Pour in a pint and a half of water, and stew it gently,
-skimming off every particle of fat. When reduced to less than one half,
-strain the gravy. Arrange the pieces of white meat in a very clean
-stew-pan, and pour over them the gravy of the inferior parts; add mace,
-nutmeg, and a little cayenne. Mix into half a pint of boiling cream, a
-large tea-spoonful of arrow-root, and shake the pan briskly round, while
-adding the beaten yolks of two fresh eggs, mixed with more cream, (two
-table-spoonfuls.) Shake it gently over the fire till it begins to simmer
-again, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle in an instant.
-Watch it carefully.
-
-This is a fine side-dish for company. There is no better way of
-fricasseeing fowls. A fricassee is not a fry, but a stew.
-
-Accompany this fricassee with a dish of asparagus tops, green peas, or
-lima beans. Also, mashed potatos.
-
-
-CHICKENS STEWED WHOLE.--Having trussed a pair of fine fat young fowls or
-chickens, (with the liver under one wing, and the gizzard under the
-other,) fill the inside with large oysters, secured from falling out by
-fastening tape round the bodies of the fowls. Put them into a tin butter
-kettle with a close cover. Set the kettle into a larger pot or saucepan
-of boiling water, (which must not reach quite to the top of the kettle,)
-and place it over the fire. Keep it boiling till the fowls are well
-done, which they should be in about an hour after they begin to simmer.
-Occasionally take off the lid to remove the scum, and be sure to put it
-on again closely. As the water in the outside pot boils away, replenish
-it with more _hot_ water from a tea-kettle that is kept boiling hard.
-When the fowls are stewed quite tender, remove them from the fire; take
-from them all the gravy that is about them, and put it into a small
-sauce-pan, covering closely the kettle in which they were stewed, and
-leaving the fowls in it to keep warm. Then add to the gravy two
-table-spoonfuls of butter rolled in flour, two table-spoonfuls of
-chopped oysters, the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs minced fine, half a
-grated nutmeg, four blades of mace, and a small tea-cup of cream. Boil
-this gravy about five minutes. Put the fowls on a dish and send them to
-table, accompanied by the gravy in a sauce-boat. This is an excellent
-way of cooking chickens. They do well in large _bain marie_.
-
-
-FOWL AND OYSTERS.--Take a fine fat young fowl, and having trussed it for
-boiling, fill the body and craw with oysters, seasoned with a few blades
-of mace, tying it round with twine to keep them in. Put the fowl into a
-tall strait-sided jar, and cover it closely. Then place the jar in a
-kettle of water, set it over the fire, and let it boil at least an hour
-and a half after the water has come to a hard boil. When it is done take
-out the fowl, and keep it hot while you prepare the gravy, of which you
-will find a quantity in the jar. Transfer this gravy to a saucepan,
-enrich it with the beaten yolks of two eggs mixed with three
-table-spoonfuls of cream, and add a large table-spoonful of fresh butter
-rolled in flour. If you cannot get cream, you must have a double portion
-of butter. Set this sauce over the fire, stirring it well, and when it
-comes to a boil, add twenty-five oysters. In five minutes take it off,
-put it into a sauce-boat, and serve it up with the fowl, which cooked in
-this manner will be found excellent.
-
-Clams may be substituted for oysters, but they should be removed from
-the fowl before it is sent to table. Their flavor being drawn out in the
-gravy, the clams themselves will be found tough, tasteless, and not
-proper to be eaten.
-
-
-FRENCH CHICKEN PIE.--Parboil a pair of full-grown, but fat and tender
-chickens. Then take the giblets, and put them into a small sauce-pan
-with as much of the water in which the chickens were parboiled as will
-cover them well, and stew them for gravy; add a bunch of sweet herbs and
-a few blades of mace. When the chickens are cold, dissect them as for
-carving. Line a deep dish with thick puff paste, and put in the pieces
-of chicken. Take a nice thin slice of cold ham, or two slices of smoked
-tongue, and pound them one at a time in a marble mortar, pounding also
-the livers of the chickens, and the yolks of half a dozen hard-boiled
-eggs. Make this forcemeat into balls, and intersperse them among the
-pieces of chicken. Add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour, and
-then (having removed the giblets) pour on the gravy. Cover the pie with
-a lid of puff-paste, rolled out thick; and notch the edges handsomely;
-placing a knot or ornament of paste on the centre of the top. Set it
-directly into a well-heated oven, and bake it brown. It should be eaten
-warm.
-
-This pie will be greatly improved by a pint of mushrooms, cut into
-pieces. Also by a small tea-cup of cream.
-
-Any pie of poultry, pigeons, or game may be made in this manner.
-
-
-CHICKEN GUMBO.--Cut up a young fowl as if for a fricassee. Put into a
-stew-pan a large table-spoonful of fresh butter, mixed with a
-tea-spoonful of flour, and an onion finely minced. Brown them over the
-fire, and then add a quart of water, and the pieces of chicken, with a
-large quarter of a peck of ochras, (first sliced thin, and then
-chopped,) and a salt-spoon of salt. Cover the pan, and let the whole
-stew together, till the ochras are entirely dissolved, and the fowl
-thoroughly done. If it is a very young chicken, do not put it in at
-first; as half an hour will be sufficient to cook it. Serve it up hot in
-a deep dish.
-
-You may add to the ochras an equal quantity of tomatos cut small. If you
-use tomatos, no water will be necessary, as their juice will supply a
-sufficient liquid.
-
-
-[D]FILET GUMBO.--Cut up a pair of fine plump fowls into pieces, as when
-carving. Lay them in a pan of cold water, till all the blood is drawn
-out. Put into a pot, two large table-spoonfuls of lard, and set it over
-the fire. When the lard has come to a boil, put in the chickens with an
-onion finely minced. Dredge them well with flour, and season slightly
-with salt and pepper; and, if you like it, a little chopped marjoram.
-Pour on it two quarts of boiling water. Cover it, and let it simmer
-slowly for three hours. Then stir into it two heaped tea-spoonfuls of
-sassafras powder. Afterwards, let it stew five or six minutes longer,
-and then send it to table in a deep dish; having a dish of boiled rice
-to be eaten with it by those who like rice.
-
- [D] Pronounced Fee_lay_.
-
-This gumbo will be much improved by stewing with it three or four thin
-slices of cold boiled ham, in which case omit the salt in the seasoning.
-Whenever cold ham is an ingredient in any dish, no other salt is
-required.
-
-A dozen fresh oysters and their liquor, added to the stew about half an
-hour before it is taken up, will also be an improvement.
-
-If you cannot conveniently obtain sassafras-powder, stir the gumbo
-frequently with a stick of sassafras root.
-
-This is a genuine southern receipt. Filet gumbo may be made of any sort
-of poultry, or of veal, lamb, venison, or kid.
-
-
-TOMATO CHICKEN.--Take four small chickens or two large ones, and cut
-them up as for carving. Put them into a stew-pan, with one or two large
-slices of cold boiled ham cut into little bits; eight or ten large
-tomatos; an onion sliced; a bunch of pot-herbs,(cut up;) a small green
-pepper, (the seeds and veins first extracted;) half a dozen blades of
-mace; a table-spoonful of lard or of fresh butter, rolled in flour; or a
-handful of grated bread-crumbs. Add a tumbler or half a pint of water.
-Cover the sauce-pan closely with a cloth beneath the lid; set it on hot
-coals, or over a moderate fire; and let it stew slowly till the chickens
-are thoroughly done, and the tomatos entirely dissolved. Turn it out
-into a deep dish.
-
-Rabbits may be stewed in this manner. Also, veal steaks, cut thin and
-small.
-
-
-TURKEY AND CHICKEN PATTIES.--Take the white part of some cold turkey or
-chicken, and mince it very fine. Mince also some cold boiled ham or
-smoked tongue, and then mix the turkey and ham together. Add the yolks
-of some hard-boiled eggs, grated or minced; a very little cayenne; and
-some powdered mace and nutmeg. Moisten the whole with cream or fresh
-butter. Have ready some puff-paste shells, that have been baked empty in
-patty-pans. Place them on a large dish, and fill them with the mixture.
-
-Cold fillet of veal minced, and mixed with chopped ham, and grated yolk
-of egg, and seasoned as above will make very good patties.
-
-
-CHICKEN RICE PUDDING.--Parboil a fine fowl, and cut it up. Boil, till
-soft and dry, a pint of rice; and while warm, mix with it a large
-table-spoonful of fresh butter. Beat four eggs very light; and then mix
-them, gradually, with the rice. Spread a coating of the fresh butter,
-&c., over the bottom and sides of a deep dish. Place on it the pieces of
-the parboiled fowl, with a little of the liquid in which it was
-boiled--seasoned with powdered mace and nutmeg. Add some bits of fresh
-butter rolled in flour and a little cream. Cover the dish closely with
-the remainder of the rice; set the pudding immediately into the oven and
-bake it brown.
-
-Cold chicken or turkey, cooked the day before, may be used for this
-purpose. The pudding may be improved by the addition of a few very
-thin, small slices of cold ham, or smoked tongue.
-
-
-RICE CROQUETTES.--Boil half a pound of rice till it becomes quite soft
-and dry. Then mix with it two table spoonfuls of rich (but not strong)
-grated cheese, a small tea-spoonful of powdered mace, and sufficient
-fresh butter to moisten it. Mince very fine, six table-spoonfuls of the
-white part of cold chicken or turkey, the soft parts of six large
-oysters, and a few sprigs of tarragon or parsley; add a grated nutmeg,
-and the yellow rind of a lemon. Mix the whole well, moistening it with
-cream or white wine. Take of the prepared rice, a portion about the size
-of an egg, flatten it, and put into the centre a dessert-spoonful of the
-mixture; close the rice round it as you would the paste round a
-dumpling-apple. Then form it into the shape of an egg. Brush it over
-with some beaten yolk of egg and then dredge it with pounded crackers.
-In this way make up the whole into oval balls. Have ready, in a
-sauce-pan over the fire, a pound of boiling lard. Into this throw the
-croquettes, two at a time, so as to brown them. Let them brown for a few
-minutes; then take them out with a perforated skimmer. Drain them from
-the lard, and serve them up hot, garnished with curled parsley.
-
-
-CHICKEN POT-PIE.--Cut up and parboil a pair of large fowls, seasoning
-them with pepper, salt, and nutmeg. You may add some small slices of
-cold ham; in which case use _no salt_, as the ham will make it salt
-enough. Or you may put in some pieces of the lean of fresh pork. You may
-prepare a suet-paste; but for a chicken pot-pie it is best to make the
-paste of butter, which should be fresh, and of the best quality. Allow
-to each quart of flour, a small half-pound of butter. There should be
-enough for a great deal of paste. Line the sides of the pot, two-thirds
-up, with paste. Put in the chickens, with the liquor in which they were
-parboiled. You may add some sliced potatos. Intersperse the pieces of
-chicken with layers of paste in square slices. Then cover the whole with
-a lid of paste, not fitting very closely. Make a cross-slit in the top,
-and boil the pie about an hour or more.
-
-Instead of ham, you may add some clams to the chicken, omitting salt in
-the seasoning, as the clams will salt it quite enough.
-
-
-CHICKEN CURRY.--Having skinned a pair of fine chickens, cut them into
-six pieces each, that is, two wings, two pieces of the breast, and two
-legs cut off at the joint. Put into a stew-pan two boiled onions
-chopped, and four ounces or four table-spoonfuls of fresh butter. Shake
-the pan till the contents begin to simmer; then add four table-spoonfuls
-of curry-powder and mix it well in; also, four table-spoonfuls of
-grated cocoa-nut. Mix all well in the stew-pan, and then put in the
-pieces of chicken. Cover the pan, and let all stew moderately for half
-an hour, stirring it round occasionally; and, if getting too dry, add a
-little hot water. Also, towards the last, the grated yellow rind of a
-lemon and the juice. It should stew till the chicken is quite tender,
-and till the flesh parts easily from the bones. Serve it up hot, in a
-covered dish, and send half a pound of boiled rice in a separate dish,
-_uncovered_. This is a dish for company.
-
-Young ducks, or a young hen turkey, or a pair of rabbits, may be cooked
-in the same manner. Also, lamb or veal.
-
-For curried oysters, take a hundred large fresh ones, and proceed as
-above.
-
-
-RICE PIE.--Pick clean a quart of rice, and wash it well through two or
-three waters. Tie it in a cloth, put it into a pot of boiled milk, and
-boil it till perfectly soft. Then drain and press it till as dry as
-possible, and mix with it two ounces of fresh butter. Take a small tin
-butter-kettle; wet the inside, put in the rice, and stand it in a cool
-place till quite cold. Then turn it carefully out of the kettle, (of
-which it will retain the form,) rub it over with the beaten yolk of an
-egg, and set it in an oven till lightly browned. Cut out from the top of
-the mass of rice an oval lid, about two inches from the edge, so as to
-leave a flat rim or border all round. Then excavate the mould of rice,
-leaving a standing crust all round and at the bottom, about two inches
-thick. Have ready some hot stewed oysters or birds, or brown or white
-fricassee. Fill up the pie with it, adding the gravy. Lay on the lid,
-and decorate it with sprigs of green curled parsley, stuck in all round
-the crack where the lid is put on.
-
-This pie may be filled with curried chicken.
-
-
-COUNTRY CAPTAIN.--This is an East India dish, and a very easy
-preparation of curry. The term "country captain," signifies a captain of
-the native troops, (or Sepoys,) in the pay of England; their own country
-being India, they are there called generally the country troops.
-Probably this dish was first introduced at English tables by a Sepoy
-officer.
-
-Having well boiled a fine full-grown fowl, cut it up as for carving.
-Have ready two large onions boiled and sliced. Season the pieces of
-chicken with curry powder or turmeric; rubbed well into them, all over.
-Fry them with the onion, in plenty of lard or fresh butter, and when
-well-browned they are done enough. Take them up with a perforated
-skimmer, and drain through its holes. It will be a great improvement to
-put in, at the beginning, three or four table-spoonfuls of finely grated
-cocoa-nut. This will be found an advantage to any curry.
-
-Serve up, in another dish, a pint of rice, well picked, and washed
-clean in two or three cold waters. Boil the rice in plenty of water,
-(leaving the skillet or sauce-pan uncovered;) and when it is done, drain
-it very dry, and set it on a dish before the fire, tossing it up with
-two forks, one in each hand, so as to separate all the grains, leaving
-each one to stand for itself. All rice for the dinner table should be
-cooked in this manner. Persons accustomed to rice never eat it watery or
-clammy, or lying in a moist mass. Rice should never be covered, either
-while boiling, or when dished.
-
-We recommend this "country captain."
-
-
-CURRIED EGGS.--Boil six fresh eggs till they are hard enough for salad,
-and then set them away to get cold. Mix together, in a stew-pan, three
-ounces (or three large table-spoonfuls) of nice fresh butter, and three
-dessert-spoonfuls of curry powder. Shake them together for five minutes
-over a clear but moderate fire. Then throw in two boiled onions finely
-minced, and let them cook, gently, till quite soft, adding three ounces
-or three large spoonfuls of grated cocoa-nut. Cut the eggs into rather
-thick slices. Put them into the mixture, with a small tea-cupful of
-thick cream, or if you cannot obtain cream, with two more spoonfuls of
-butter dredged with flour. Let the whole simmer together, but when it
-approaches coming to a boil, take it immediately off the fire and serve
-it up hot. This is a nice side-dish for company.
-
-
-PARTRIDGES PEAR FASHION--(_French dish._)--Your partridges should be
-fine and fat, and of the same size. For a large dish have three or four.
-Truss them tight and round, and rub over them a little salt and cayenne,
-mixed. Cut off one of the legs and leave the other on, fill them with a
-nice forcemeat. Make a rich paste of flour, butter, and beaten egg,
-using as little water as possible. Be sure to make enough of paste to
-cover each partridge entirely over, and roll it out evenly, and rather
-thick than thin. Put a sufficient portion of paste nicely round each
-partridge, pressing it closely and smoothly with your hand, and forming
-it into the shape of a large pear. Leave one leg sticking out at the top
-to resemble the stem, having cut off the foot. Set them in a pan, and
-bake them in a dutch oven. In the mean time, make in a small sauce-pan,
-a rich brown gravy of the livers, and other trimmings of the partridges,
-and some drippings of roast veal or roasted poultry. It will be better
-still if you reserve one or two small partridges to cut up, and stew for
-the gravy. Season it with a little salt and cayenne. When it has boiled
-long enough to be very thick and rich, take it off, strain it, and put
-the liquid into a clean sauce-pan. Add the juice of a large orange, made
-very sweet with powdered white sugar. Set it over the fire, and when it
-comes to a boil, stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs. Let it boil two
-or three minutes longer; then take it off, and keep it hot till the
-partridges and their paste are thoroughly well baked. When done, stand
-up the partridges in a deep dish, and serve up the gravy in a
-sauce-boat. Ornament the partridge-pears by sticking some orange leaves
-into the end that represents the stalk. This is a nice and handsome side
-dish, of French origin.
-
-Pigeons and quails may be dressed in this manner.
-
-
-SALMI OF PARTRIDGES--(_French dish._)--Having covered two large or four
-small partridges with very thin slices of fat cold ham, secured with
-twine, roast them; but see that they are not too much done. Remove the
-ham, skin the partridges, cut them into pieces, and let them get quite
-cold. Partridges that have been roasted the preceding day are good for
-this purpose. Cut off all the meat from the bones, season it with a
-little cayenne, and put it into a stew-pan. Mix together three
-table-spoonfuls of sweet oil, a glass of excellent wine, (either red or
-white,) and the grated peel and juice of an orange. Pour this gravy over
-the partridges, and let them stew in it during ten minutes; then add the
-beaten yolk of an egg, and stew it about three or four minutes longer.
-All the time it is stewing, continue to shake or move the pan over the
-fire. Serve it up hot.
-
-
-ROASTED PARTRIDGES, PHEASANTS, AND QUAILS.--Make a stuffing of fat bacon
-finely minced, and boiled chestnuts or grated sweet potatoe boiled,
-mashed, and seasoned with pepper only. Fill the birds with this. Cover
-them with thin slices of bacon, and wrap them well in young vine leaves.
-Roast them well, and serve them up in the bacon and vine leaves, to be
-taken off when they come to table. For company, have orange sauce to eat
-with them. If you roast pigeons, &c., without a covering of bacon and
-vine leaves, do them with egg and bread-crumbs all over.
-
-If these birds have a bitter taste when cooked, do not eat them. It is
-produced by their feeding on laurel berries in winter, when their food
-is scarce. Laural berries are poisonous, and people have died from
-eating birds that have fed on them.
-
-
-BIRDS WITH MUSHROOMS.--Take two dozen reed-birds, (or other nice small
-birds,) and truss them as if for roasting. Put into each a button
-mushroom, of which you should have a heaping pint after the stalks are
-all removed. Put the birds and the remaining mushrooms into a stew-pan.
-Season them with a very little salt and pepper, and add either a quarter
-of a pound of fresh butter (divided into four, and slightly rolled in
-flour,) or a pint of rich cream. If cream is not plenty, you may use
-half butter and half cream, well mixed together. Cover the stew-pan
-closely, and set it over a moderate fire, to stew gently till the birds
-and mushrooms are thoroughly done and tender all through. Do not open
-the lid to stir the stew, but give the pan, occasionally, a hard shake.
-Dip in hot water a large slice of toast with the crust trimmed off.
-When the birds are done lay them on the toast with the mushrooms around.
-
-If you cannot get button-mushrooms, divide large ones into quarters.
-
-Plovers are very nice stewed with mushrooms.
-
-
-BIRDS IN A GROVE--(_French dish._)--Having roasted some reed-birds,
-larks, plovers, or any other small birds, such as are usually eaten,
-mash some potatos with butter and cream. Spread the mashed potato
-thickly over the bottom, sides, and edges of a deep dish. Nick or crimp
-the border of potatoe that goes round the edge, or scollop it with a tin
-cutter. You may, if you choose, brown it by holding over it a
-salamander, or a red-hot shovel. Then lay the roasted birds in the
-middle of the dish, and stick round them and among them, very thickly, a
-sufficient number of sprigs of curled or double parsley.
-
-
-THATCHED HOUSE PIE--(_French dish._)--Rub the inside of a deep dish with
-two ounces of fresh butter, and spread over it two ounces of vermicelli.
-Then line the dish with puff-paste. Have ready some birds seasoned with
-powdered nutmeg, and a very little salt and pepper. Place them with the
-breast downward. They will be much improved by putting into each a
-mushroom or an oyster chopped fine. Lay them on the paste. Add some
-gravy of roast veal, (cold gravy saved from veal roasted the preceding
-day will do very well,) and cover the pie with a lid of puff-paste. Bake
-it in a moderate oven, and when done, turn it out _carefully_ upon a
-flat dish, and send it to table. The vermicelli, which was originally at
-the bottom, will now be at the top, covering the paste like thatch upon
-a roof. Trim off the edge, so as to look nicely. You may, if you choose,
-use a larger quantity of vermicelli. The yellow sort will be best for
-this purpose.
-
-
-BIRDS PREPARED FOR LARDING.--Cut a thin slice of fresh veal, and fill
-the bird with it, adding a bit of fat bacon. Tie a string round the body
-to keep in the stuffing, and roast the bird head downward. The gravy of
-the meat will diffuse a pleasant taste all through the bird.
-
-After being well roasted, let it get cold, and then lard it all over the
-breast with lardons or regular slips of fat bacon, put in with a larding
-needle, and left standing in rows. It is more easy to lard poultry or
-game when cold, rather than warm. Lardons should be set very close and
-evenly.
-
-
-BIRD DUMPLINGS.--Take a large tender beef steak, trim off all the fat,
-and remove the bone. Make a large sheet of nice suet paste. Lay the beef
-steak upon it, seasoned with pepper and a very little salt. In the
-centre of the meat place either a partridge, a quail, a plover, or any
-nice game, or three or four reed-birds--season with powdered mace and
-nutmeg. Add some bits of excellent fresh butter, dredged with flour.
-Inclose the birds completely in the steak, so that the game flavor may
-pervade the whole. Close the crust over all, so as to form a large
-dumpling. Tie it in a cloth. Put it into a pot of fast-boiling water,
-and boil it well, turning it several times with a fork. Dish it very
-hot.
-
-If game is not convenient, a fine tame fat pigeon may be substituted.
-
-
-TO ROAST WOODCOCKS OR SNIPES.--Be very careful in plucking these to pull
-out the feathers as carefully and handle them as lightly as possible;
-for the skin is very easily torn or broken. Do not draw them, for
-epicures have decided, that the trail, (as they call the intestines,) is
-the most delicious part of the bird, and should by all means be saved
-for eating. Having wiped the outside carefully with a soft cloth, truss
-them with the head under the wing, and the bill laid along upon the
-breast. Keep the legs bent from the knees, retaining that posture by
-means of a splinter skewer. Suspend the birds to a bird-spit, with their
-feet downward. Melt some fresh butter in the dripping-pan, and baste
-them with it, having first dredged the birds with flour. Before the
-trail begins to drop, (which it will do as soon as they are well
-heated,) lay a thick round of very nice toast, (with the crust pared
-off,) buttered on both sides, and placed in the dripping-pan beneath, so
-as to catch the trail as it falls; allowing a slice of toast to each
-bird, with the trail spread equally over it. Continue the basting,
-letting the butter fall back from them into the basting spoon. When the
-birds are done, which will be in less than half an hour at a brisk
-fire--carefully transfer the toasts to a very hot dish; place the birds
-upon them, and pour some gravy round the toast.
-
-Snipes require less cooking than woodcocks. These birds are very
-fashionable; but we do not think either of them superlative. They seldom
-appear except at supper parties.
-
-
-PLOVERS.--This is a very nice bird, with a peculiar and pleasant flavor.
-They abound near our large bays and estuaries in the vicinity of the
-ocean. There are two sorts, the green plover and the gray. Roast them
-plain; basting them only with butter. Or fill them with a forcemeat, and
-go entirely over the outside, first with beaten egg, and then roll each
-plover in finely grated bread-crumbs.
-
-If very fat, stew them plain in butter rolled in flour. Then serve them
-up in their own gravy, enriched with a beaten egg. They make a nice
-breakfast dish, either roasted or stewed. And are excellent in pies.
-
-
-REED BIRDS.--Reed birds and rice birds are the same. They are very
-small, (only a mouthful on each side of the breast,) but very delicious,
-and _immensely fat_ in the summer and autumn. They are brought to market
-with a lump of fat skewered on the outside, and are sold by the dozen
-strung on a stick like cherries.
-
-To cook them, roast them on a bird-spit, basting with their own fat, as
-it drips. A nice way for retaining the whole flavor is to tie each bird
-closely in a vine leaf, and bake them in a dutch oven. Or wrap them in
-double vine leaves, and roast them in the ashes of a wood fire. Remove
-the vine leaves before the birds are dished.
-
-
-ROASTED PIGEONS.--Take fine fat _tame_ pigeons, and clean and truss them
-nicely. Four pigeons, at least, are requisite to make a dish. Prepare a
-stuffing or forcemeat of finely minced veal, and an equal quantity of
-cold-boiled ham, seasoned with powdered mace and a very little cayenne.
-Also, two slices of bread and butter soaked in as much milk as they will
-absorb. Fill their bodies with this, (tying a string round to keep it
-in,) and roast the pigeons till thoroughly done; basting with fresh
-butter or lard.
-
-Or you may stuff the pigeons with chopped mushrooms, seasoned with a
-little cayenne, and putting into each a piece of fresh butter rolled in
-flour.
-
-Or you may stuff them with sweet potatos, boiled well, and mashed with
-plenty of fresh butter. Or with chestnuts, boiled, peeled, and mashed
-with butter.
-
-Wild pigeons are generally too poor to roast. In places where they
-abound, it has been found very profitable to catch them in nets, clip
-their wings, and put them into inclosures, feeding them well with corn
-so as to make them fat. They will then bring as high a price as tame
-pigeons.
-
-
-
-
-SAUCES.
-
-
-MELTED BUTTER.--_For Sauces._--This is frequently called Drawn Butter.
-For this purpose none should be used but fresh butter of the very best
-quality. It is usually sent to table with boiled fish and boiled
-poultry. Also, with boiled mutton, lamb, and veal. It is never served up
-with any thing roasted, fried or broiled. Numerous sauces are made with
-melted butter. If mixed with too much flour and water, and not enough of
-butter, it will be very poor, particularly if the water is in too large
-proportions. To prepare it properly, allow a quarter of a pound of nice
-butter, to a heaped table-spoonful of flour. Mix the butter and flour
-thoroughly, _before_ it goes on the fire. Then add to it four large
-table-spoonfuls of milk, or hot water, well mixed in. Hold it over the
-fire in a small sauce-pan, kept for the purpose. One lined with what is
-called porcelain or enamel is best. Take care there is no blaze where
-the sauce-pan is held. Cover it, and shake it over the fire till it
-boils. Then having skimmed it, add three or four hard-boiled eggs
-chopped small, and give it one more boil up; or season it with any other
-ingredient with which you wish to distinguish the sauce.
-
-
-CLARIFIED BUTTER.--For this purpose use none but the very best fresh
-butter, such as is made in summer, when the cows are well pastured. Cut
-up the butter, put it into an enameled or porcelain stew-pan, and melt
-it gently over a clear and moderate fire. When it simmers, skim it
-thoroughly, draw it from the fire, and let it stand five minutes, that
-the milk or sediment may sink to the bottom. Then pour it clear from the
-sediment through a muslin strainer, or a fine clean hair sieve. Transfer
-to jars with close covers, and keep them in a cool dry place. If well
-prepared, and originally very good, this butter will answer for sauces,
-stews, &c., and continue good a long time. In France, where they do not
-_salt_ any butter, large quantities are melted in this way for winter
-use.
-
-
-COLORING FOR SAUCES.--_For Pink Sauce._ Take a few chips of red alkanet
-root, (to be had at the druggist's.) Pick it clean, and tie it in a very
-thin muslin bag. Put the alkanet into the mixture, and let it infuse in
-the boiling drawn butter. It will communicate a beautiful pink color,
-which you may heighten, by pressing the bag a little. When done, take
-out the bag, and stir the alkanet color evenly through the sauce. The
-alkanet has no taste, and is very cheap. Beet juice will color a
-tolerable red.
-
-_For Green Sauce._--Pound some fresh spinach leaves, till you extract a
-tea-cup or more of the clear green juice. Stir it into the melted butter
-while boiling.
-
-_For Yellow Sauce._--Tie up a very little turmeric powder in a muslin
-bag. Let it boil in the butter. When done, take it out of the sauce-pan,
-and stir the yellow coloring evenly through the sauce.
-
-_For White Sauce._--Make this with cream instead of milk.
-
-_For Brown Sauce._--Stir in plenty of French mustard.
-
-_For Wine Sauce._--Stir in, just before you take the sauce from the
-fire, a large wine-glass or more of _very good_ white wine, and grate in
-half a large nutmeg, adding the grated yellow rind, and the juice of a
-lemon. The wine must be of excellent quality, otherwise it will give a
-bad taste to the sauce.
-
-
-WHITE THICKENING--(_French Roux._)--Cut up a quarter of a pound of the
-best fresh butter, and put it into a well tinned or enameled sauce-pan.
-Set it over a moderate fire, and melt it slowly, shaking it round
-frequently, and taking care to skim it well. When no more scum appears
-on the surface, let it settle a few minutes; then pour it off from the
-sediment at the bottom. Wash the sauce-pan or get another clean one.
-Return the melted butter to it, and set it again over the fire. Then
-dredge in gradually sufficient sifted flour to make it very thick and
-smooth, stirring it well after each addition of flour. Do not allow it
-to brown in the slightest degree, but keep it perfectly white to the
-last; simmering, but not actually boiling, and take care that there is
-no smoke about the fire.
-
-To thicken white sauces, or soups, stir in a table-spoonful or two of
-this roux, pronounced _roo_. In French cooking it passes for cream.
-
-Browned thickening is made in the same manner; but with butter and
-browned flour, and is used for brown soups and gravies.
-
-
-BROWNING.--This is to enrich the taste and improve the color of gravies,
-stews, and soups. Mix a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar with
-two ounces of fine fresh butter; and, having stirred them well together,
-put them into a sauce-pan over the fire, and simmer till it begins to
-froth; then diminish the heat a little. When its color becomes a fine
-dark brown, add two glasses of port wine, and three or four blades of
-mace, powdered. When it comes to a boil, take it off, and stir it into
-whatever you intend to color.
-
-Another browning is mushroom catchup, or walnut catchup. They
-communicate a slightly acid taste. So also does French mustard. Stir it
-in at the last. Its tarragon flavor is very generally liked.
-
-
-BROWNED FLOUR.--Sift some fine flour, spread it on a large dish, or
-clean tin-pan. Place it before the fire, so as to brown but not to
-scorch or burn. It will color first at the edges; therefore watch it,
-and keep it evenly mixed with the white flour from the centre. When all
-is nicely browned, set it to cool, and then put it away for use in a
-large clean bottle or jar, well corked. Flour may be browned in an oven,
-after baking is over, taking care to stir it well.--Have two dredging
-boxes. One for browned flour and one for white. It is convenient also to
-have dredging-boxes for powdered herbs. The cost of these boxes is very
-trifling, and it saves time and trouble to have things ready when
-wanted. A small sieve for powdered white sugar is indispensable.
-
-
-LOBSTER SAUCE.--This sauce is for fresh salmon or turbot, or
-sheep's-head fish. Also for salmon-trout, blue-fish, or the lake
-white-fish.
-
-Put a large hen lobster into a hard-boiling pot of highly-salted water,
-that the animal may die immediately. Continue the boiling with a steady
-heat, and in about three quarters, or an hour, the lobster will be done.
-When cold, extract all the meat from the shell, and cut it into small
-bits. Pound the coral, or red substance, in a marble mortar, with some
-fresh butter, or plenty of salad oil; and a little cayenne. Add the
-coral to the cut-up lobster, and put the whole into a stew-pan, with
-some powdered mace and nutmeg, and a large table-spoonful of sweet oil.
-Divide into four bits a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, each bit
-rolled in flour. If your butter is not fresh and very good, omit it
-entirely and substitute a larger quantity of oil. As bad butter spoils
-every thing, never on any account, use it. Set the sauce-pan over the
-fire, and let it boil up once. Then take it off, and while very hot,
-stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs.
-
-Crab sauce is made in the same manner. Prawn sauce also.
-
-
-SHRIMP SAUCE.--Shrimps are the smallest shell-fish of the lobster
-species. Put them into salted boiling water. They are done when they
-have turned entirely red. When cold, pull off the heads, and peel off
-the shells from the bodies; or _squeeze_ out the meat with your fingers.
-Have ready some nice drawn butter, and thicken it with the shrimps,
-either chopped or whole. Season the sauce with mace or nutmeg powdered,
-and give it one boil up. Shrimp sauce is eaten with salmon and other
-fine fish.
-
-
-PICKLED SHRIMPS.--Having boiled, in salted water, three quarts or more
-of shrimps, and taken them from the shells, boil two quarts of the best
-cider vinegar, and season it well with blades of mace and pepper-corns,
-and pour it hot on the shrimps, in a stone jar. Cork the jar, and seal
-the cork with the usual red cement for pickle jars: a mixture of
-one-third beeswax with two-thirds powdered rosin, and some fine
-brickdust, all melted together.
-
-
-OYSTER SAUCE.--Take a pint of the liquor of _fresh_ oysters, and strain
-it into a sauce-pan. If your oysters are salt, and you can get no
-others, boil a pint of milk instead of the oyster liquor, seasoning with
-powdered nutmeg and mace, and enriching it with fresh butter dredged
-with flour. When it has come to a boil, put in the oysters (having
-removed from each the gristle, or hard part.) Let them simmer, but take
-them from the fire without letting them come to a boil, which will
-shrivel them, and render them tough and tasteless. A new fashion is to
-season oyster sauce with the grated yellow rind and juice of a fresh
-lemon. Others stir in a glass of sherry or Madeira. If you use wine or
-lemon, you must not make the sauce with milk, as it will curdle. Use in
-this case the oyster liquor, if it is fresh, thickened well with finely
-grated bread-crumbs. The small, highly-flavored oysters, abounding on
-the coast of New England, are excellent for sauce, or soups.
-
-
-CLAM SAUCE.--Make this of half milk and half clam liquor, seasoned with
-whole mace, and whole pepper. Use only the soft part of the clams, cut
-up small, and simmer them from the beginning; adding bits of butter
-dredged all over with flour Clams require longer cooking than oysters.
-
-
-EGG SAUCE.--Boil four eggs from eight to twelve minutes. Then lay them
-in a pan of fresh water, and let them remain till quite cold. Peel off
-the shells, and take out the eggs. Chop the yolks and whites separately;
-mix them, lightly, into half a pint of melted fresh butter, made in the
-proportion of a quarter of a pound of butter to two large
-table-spoonfuls of flour, and four of milk and hot water. Add some
-powdered mace, or nutmeg. Egg sauce is eaten with boiled fish and
-poultry.
-
-Instead of milk or water, you can use for melted butter, some of the
-water in which chicken or turkey was boiled, or some veal gravy.
-
-
-CELERY SAUCE.--Split and cut up into short slips a bunch of celery,
-having taken off the green leaves from the tops. The celery must have
-been well washed, and laid an hour in cold water. Take a pint of milk,
-and cut up in it a quarter of a pound of fresh butter that has been well
-dredged with flour. Set it over the fire in a sauce-pan, and add the
-celery gradually; also three or four blades of mace broken up. Boil all
-slowly together, till the celery is quite soft and tender, but not
-dissolved. The green tops of the celery, (strewed in, when it begins to
-simmer,) will improve the flavor. Celery sauce is served up with boiled
-turkey, boiled fowls, and with any sort of fresh fish, boiled or fried.
-
-
-MINT SAUCE.--This is only used for roast lamb in the spring. When the
-lambs are grown into sheep, the mint is too old for sauce. But they
-harmonize very pleasantly when both are young.
-
-Take a large bunch of fine fresh green mint, that has been washed well.
-Strip the leaves from the stems, and mince them small. Put it into a
-pint bowl, and mix with it gradually some of the best cider vinegar.
-This sauce must not be the least liquid, but as thick as horse-radish
-sauce or thicker. Make it very sweet, with the best brown sugar. Mix it
-well, and transfer to a small tureen, or a little deep dish with a
-tea-spoon in it. Serve it up always with roast lamb, putting a
-tea-spoonful on the rim of your plate.
-
-A quart or more of mint sauce, made as above, but with a larger
-proportion of sugar and vinegar, will keep very well for several weeks,
-in a jar well corked.
-
-
-HORSE-RADISH.--Wash clean some roots of horse-radish, wipe them dry, and
-scrape off the outside. Then grate the sticks of horse-radish with a
-large grater. Put some of the grated horse-radish into a large saucer,
-or small deep plate, and moisten it with good cider vinegar, but do not
-put so much vinegar as will render it liquid. Send it to table with
-roast beef or mutton.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWER SAUCE.--Have ready some very rich good melted or drawn
-butter, made with milk and flavored with nutmeg. Thicken it with plenty
-of ready-boiled cauliflower, cut into little sprigs or blossoms. Give it
-one boil up after the cauliflower is in, and send it to table with any
-sort of boiled poultry. It will be found very nice. For a boiled turkey
-it is far superior to celery sauce, and well suited to dinner company.
-
-
-BROCCOLI SAUCE.--Make some nice drawn butter with milk. Flavor it with
-powdered mace. Pound some spinach in a mortar to extract the juice.
-Strain the spinach juice, and stir a small tea-cupful into the butter to
-give it a fine green color. Have ready some well-boiled broccoli. Divide
-one or two heads of the broccoli into tufts or sprigs. Put them into the
-melted butter, and when it comes to a boil, take it off, and transfer it
-to a sauce-boat. Serve it up with boiled poultry or fresh fish.
-
-
-PARSLEY SAUCE.--Strip from the stalks the leaves of some fresh green
-parsley; allow plenty of it. Chop it slightly; and while the drawn
-butter is hot, stir into it the parsley, till the butter looks very
-green. Serve it up with boiled fowls, rabbits, or boiled fish. The
-appearance of parsley sauce will be much improved by stirring in some
-spinach juice. The whole will be then a fine green.
-
-
-CRIMPED PARSLEY.--Pick the small sprigs of parsley from the large
-stalks. Wash it, and then throw it into clean cold water. After the meat
-or fish that it is to accompany has been fried and taken out of the pan,
-give the fat that remains a boil up, and lay the parsley into it. It
-will crimp and still continue green, if not kept frying too long. Take
-it out, drain it, and place it before the fire a few minutes, to dry it
-from the fat. Dish it laid on the top of the fish or steaks.
-
-
-FENNEL SAUCE.--The fennel should be young and fresh. Take a large
-handful, or more, and having washed it clean, strip the leaves from the
-stems, and boil it till quite tender. Put it into a sieve, and press the
-water well from it. Mince it very small, and stir it into drawn butter.
-
-It is served up with boiled fish.
-
-Instead of melted butter, you may put the fennel into veal gravy,
-thickened with butter dredged with flour.
-
-
-SAGE AND ONION SAUCE.--Take a bunch of fresh sage leaves. Wash and drain
-them. Pick them from the stems, and put them to boil in a small
-sauce-pan, with just water enough to cover them. Boil them fast about
-ten minutes. Take them out, and press them in a sieve to drain them dry.
-Then mince or chop them small. Have ready two onions, boiled tender in
-another sauce-pan; chop them also, and mix them well with the minced
-sage. While warm, mix in a small bit of nice butter--season with pepper.
-Put this sauce into a little tureen, and serve it up with roast goose,
-roast duck, or roast pork, that has been stuffed with potato, bread, or
-other stuffing. The sage and onion sauce is for those who prefer their
-flavor to any other seasoning for those dishes.
-
-This sauce will be greatly improved if moistened with some of the gravy
-of the duck or goose.
-
-
-FINE ONION SAUCE.--Peel some nice mild onions, and boil them in plenty
-of milk, skimming them well. When done, take them out of the milk,
-(saving it,) and slice them very thin, cutting the slices across, so as
-to make the pieces of onion very small. Return them to the sauce-pan of
-milk, (adding some fresh butter dredged with flour;) season them with
-powdered mace or nutmeg, and give the onions another boil, till they are
-soft enough to mash, and to thicken the milk all through. Eat this sauce
-with steaks, cutlets, rabbits, or chickens.
-
-
-PLAIN ONION SAUCE.--Peel some very small onions, and boil them whole in
-milk, (seasoned slightly with pepper and salt,) and put in some bits of
-butter rolled in flour. Let them boil till tender all through, but not
-till they loose their shape. Eat them with any sort of boiled meat.
-
-
-NASTURTION SAUCE.--This is eaten with boiled mutton; is superior to
-caper sauce, and costs almost nothing, if you have nasturtions in your
-garden. Gather the green seeds as soon as they are full grown, and throw
-them (without the stems) into a jar of cider vinegar. They require no
-cooking, but keep a muslin bag of spice in the jar, (mace and nutmeg
-broken small, and a little piece of root ginger.) To use them for sauce,
-make some nice drawn butter, and as it simmers throw in plenty of
-nasturtions from the jar. The seeds, when gathered, should be full
-grown, but by no means hard; and the color a fine green. If there is the
-slightest brown tinge, the nasturtion seeds are too old, and should be
-kept for planting.
-
-
-MUSHROOM SAUCE.--Have ready some excellent drawn butter, and thicken it
-with small button mushrooms that have been pickled. Or, take
-freshly-gathered mushrooms of good size, rub off the outer skin with a
-clean flannel, and cut off the stems close to the flaps. Wash the
-mushrooms in a cullender. Have ready some bits of fresh butter dredged
-all over with flour. Lay them among the mushrooms, (which, if very
-large, should be quartered,) and put them into a stew-pan. Cover the
-pan, and let them stew till the mushrooms are all tender. When you take
-off the lid to try them, replace it immediately, keeping in as much of
-the aroma as possible. If fresh, they will yield a great deal of juice.
-When done, transfer them to a sauce-tureen, and serve them up with any
-nice dish of meat or poultry.
-
-The best mushrooms are found in pure open air or rather high ground, and
-where there is no swamp or woodland. On the upper side of their top they
-are not white, but of a pale grayish tint; the under side is invariably
-light red, pinkish, or pale salmon color, which in a few hours, or after
-being gathered, turns brown. The false mushrooms are poisonous. They are
-entirely white above and below. The fungi that grow in forests or
-marshes can never be mistaken for real mushrooms. They are of various
-colors, chiefly bright yellow and red, and originate in foul air. By
-boiling a silver tea-spoon with your mushrooms, you may test their
-goodness. If the silver turns black, throw the mushrooms away. An onion
-will also blacken from the same cause. Mushrooms should be cooked as
-soon as possible. If kept two or three days, worms will be found in
-them. Never give mushrooms to children. Even in their best state they
-are not wholesome. The taste for mushrooms is an acquired one, and it is
-best not to acquire it.
-
-
-TOMATO SAUCE.--Scald some large ripe tomatos, to make them peel easily.
-Then quarter them, and press them through a sieve to divest them of
-their seeds. Put the juice into a stew-pan, adding some bits of fresh
-butter dredged with flour; add finely grated bread-crumbs, and season
-with a little pepper, and, if liked, a little onion boiled and minced.
-Set the pan over a moderate fire, and let the tomatos simmer slowly till
-it comes to a boil. Continue the boiling ten minutes longer. Serve it up
-in a sauce-tureen. It will be mellowed and improved by stirring in (as
-soon as it comes to a boil) a table-spoonful or a lump of white sugar.
-
-
-TARRAGON SAUCE.--Put into a sauce-pan a large half pint of any nice
-gravy that is at hand. After it has boiled five minutes, have ready a
-handful of fresh green tarragon leaves, minced, and moistened with
-plenty of cider vinegar. Add this to the gravy, and let it simmer five
-minutes. Then take it out, and serve it up with any kind of boiled
-poultry.
-
-
-TO MAKE GRAVY.--Take two pounds of the lean of veal, or of very nice
-beef. Cut it into small bits, and lay it in a sauce-pan with only as
-much water as will cover it. Stew it slowly, (skimming it well) till the
-meat is all rags. Then strain the gravy, and thicken it with some bits
-of fresh butter dredged all over with browned flour, and give it
-another simmer. You may flavor it with any seasoning you like.
-
-For made gravies, you can use any small pieces of fresh meat that has
-never been cooked, and the feet of calves and pigs. Boil in it also such
-vegetables as you like, cut small. Strain out every thing before it goes
-to table. For gravies, use nothing that has been cooked before. They
-will not add to its goodness, but only render it flat and washy.
-
-White gravy is made with fresh veal boiled in milk; and after straining,
-thickened arrow-root, or rice flour, mixed with fresh butter, if real
-cream cannot be obtained.
-
-
-MUSHROOM CATCHUP.--Let the mushrooms be large and freshly-gathered, for
-they soon become worm-eaten if not speedily salted. They should be well
-examined. Cut off the stalks of four quarts of nice mushrooms. Put the
-flaps into a deep earthen pan, and break them up with your hands. Strew
-among them half a pound of salt, reserving the largest portion of it for
-the top. Let them stand for three days, stirring them gently every
-morning. The fourth day, put them into a sieve, and draw off the liquor
-without pressing the mushrooms. When all the liquor has drained through,
-measure it, allowing to each quart a tea-spoon of cayenne, a dozen
-blades of mace, and a nutmeg broken up. Put the whole into a porcelain
-kettle, and boil it slowly till reduced one half. Then pour it into a
-clean white-ware pitcher, cover it with a folded napkin, and keep it in
-a cool dry place till next day. Then, through a funnel, pour it gently
-from the sediment into small bottles. Finish with a tea-spoonful of
-sweet oil on the top of each. Cork the bottles tightly, and seal the
-corks.
-
-The next time you make catchup, proceed as above with the new mushrooms,
-and other ingredients; and, when it is done, strain it, and put it into
-a clean kettle. Then add to it a quart of _last year's_ mushroom
-catchup, and boil it a quarter of an hour. Then bottle it as above.
-
-This double catchup is very fine.
-
-
-WALNUT CATCHUP.--Take two hundred walnuts or butter-nuts, while the
-green shell is still so soft that you can pierce it with the head of a
-pin. Bruise them to small pieces, in a marble mortar. Transfer them to a
-broad stone-ware pan, and stew among them six handfuls of salt. Stir
-them three times a day, for ten days or two weeks. Then squeeze and
-strain them through a cloth, pressing them very dry, till no more juice
-comes out. Boil up the liquor with two quarts of cider vinegar, half an
-ounce of mace, half an ounce of whole pepper, half an ounce of nutmegs
-broken up, and two roots of ginger cut small, and half a dozen shalots
-or small onions, peeled and cut up, and a large bunch of sweet herbs.
-Let the whole boil for half an hour. Then pour off the liquor into a
-large pitcher, leaving out the bunch of sweet herbs. Pour off the liquor
-(through a funnel,) into small bottles, having first put into the bottom
-of each bottle a portion of the spice. Fill the bottle up to the top
-with the catchup, finishing with a tea-spoonful of salad oil, which will
-greatly assist in keeping the catchup good. Cork the bottles very
-closely, and seal the corks.
-
-
-TOMATO CATCHUP.--Take a peck of large ripe tomatos. In the middle States
-they are in perfection the last of August. Late in the autumn they are
-comparatively insipid and watery. Cut a slit down the side of every
-tomato. Put them into a large preserving kettle without any water. Their
-own juice is sufficient. On no account boil tomatos in brass or copper,
-their acid acting on those metals produces verdigris, and renders them
-poisonous. Boil them till they are quite soft, and easily mashed,
-stirring them up frequently from the bottom. Press and mash them through
-a hair sieve, till all the pulp has run out into the pan below, leaving
-in the sieve only the skins and seeds. Season the liquid with a little
-salt, some cayenne, and plenty of powdered nutmeg and mace. Mix it well,
-and when cold put up the catchup in small jars, the covers pasted all
-round with bands of white paper. This catchup, when done, should be very
-thick and smooth.
-
-
-LEMON CATCHUP.--Take six fine large ripe lemons, and roll them under
-your hand to increase the quantity of juice. Grate off all the yellow
-rind, and squeeze the juice into a pitcher, removing all the seeds.
-Prepare two ounces of finely scraped horse-radish, and two ounces of
-minced shalots, or very small onions. Put them into a pint of boiling
-vinegar, in which half an ounce of bruised ginger and a quarter of an
-ounce of mace have been simmered for five minutes. Add to this the
-lemon-juice and the grated peel, and two grated nutmegs. Boil all
-together for half an hour, and then transfer it with all the ingredients
-to a glass jar with a lid. Paste a band of strong white paper round the
-lower part of the lid. Set it in a dry cool place, and leave it
-undisturbed for three months. Then, through a funnel, pour off the
-liquid into small bottles, putting a tea-spoonful of salad oil at the
-top of each. Cork and seal them.
-
-
-CUCUMBER CATCHUP.--For a small quantity of this catchup, take twelve
-fine full-grown cucumbers, and lay them an hour in cold water. Then pare
-them, and grate them down into a deep dish. Grate also two small onions,
-and mix them with the grated cucumber. Season the mixture to your taste
-with pepper, salt, and vinegar, making it of the consistence of very
-thick marmalade or jam. When thoroughly amalgamated, transfer it to a
-glass jar. Cover it closely, tying over it a piece of bladder, so as to
-render it perfectly air-tight.
-
-It will be found very nice, (when fresh cucumbers are not in season,) to
-eat with beef or mutton. And if properly made, and securely covered,
-will keep well. It should be grated very fine, and the vinegar must be
-of very excellent quality--real cider vinegar.
-
-
-CAMP CATCHUP.--Take a pint or quart of strong ale or porter, and a pint
-of white wine; half a dozen shalots, or very small onions, peeled and
-minced; half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of nutmeg, broken up; and
-two large roots or races of ginger, sliced. Put all together, over a
-moderate fire, into a porcelain-lined kettle, and boil it slowly till
-one-third of the liquid is wasted. Next day transfer it to small
-bottles, putting a portion of the seasoning in the bottom of each, and
-filling them to the top with the liquid. Finish with a tea-spoonful of
-salad oil at the top. Cork the bottles with good corks, and seal them.
-In a dry place this catchup will keep for years.
-
-
-TARRAGON VINEGAR.--The fresh leaves of the tarragon plant are in
-perfection in July and August, and impart a new and pleasant taste to
-soups, hashes, gravies, &c. To use it fresh, wash a bunch of tarragon in
-cold water. Afterwards strip off the green leaves, chop or mince them,
-and boil a tea-spoonful or more in the dish you intend to flavor. The
-best way of keeping tarragon is to strip off as many fresh leaves as
-will half fill a glass jar that holds a quart. Pour on as much _real_
-cider vinegar as will fill up the jar. Cover it closely, and let the
-tarragon infuse in it for a week, shaking the jar every day. Then pour
-off that vinegar carefully, and throw away the tarragon leaves that have
-been steeping in it. Wash that jar, or take another clean one, put into
-it the same quantity of fresh tarragon leaves, and fill up with the same
-vinegar in which you have infused the first supply. Let the second
-leaves remain in the jar of vinegar. A tarragon bush is well worth
-planting; even in a small city garden.
-
-Tarragon is the chief ingredient of French mustard.
-
-
-FINE FRENCH MUSTARD.--Take a jill or two large wine-glasses of tarragon
-vinegar, (strained from the leaves,) and mix with it an equal quantity
-of salad oil, stirring them well together. Pound in a mortar, two ounces
-of mustard seed till it becomes a fine smooth powder, and mix it
-thoroughly. Add to it one clove of garlic (not more) peeled, minced and
-pounded. Make the mixture in a deep white-ware dish. If the mustard
-affects your eyes, put on glasses till you have finished the mixture.
-When done, put it up in white bottles, or gallipots. Cork them tightly,
-and seal the corks. Send it to table in those bottles.
-
-This mustard is far superior to any other, the tarragon imparting a
-peculiar and pleasant flavor.
-
-It is excellent to eat with any sort of roast meat, particularly beef or
-mutton, and an improvement to almost all plain sauces, stews, soups, &c.
-
-French mustard is to be purchased very good, at all the best grocery
-stores.
-
-
-SAUCE ROBERT.--Peel five large onions, and parboil them to take off some
-of the strength. Cut them into small dice, and put them into a stew-pan
-with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided into four, and
-dredged with flour. When they are well browned, pour on them half a pint
-of beef or veal gravy, and let it simmer for a quarter of an hour.
-Season it slightly with cayenne. Just before it goes to table, stir in a
-table-spoonful of French mustard.
-
-This is a good sauce for any sort of roast meat, or poultry.
-
-
-GREEN MAYONNAISE.--This is a fine accompaniment to cold poultry, which
-must be cut into small pieces as for chicken salad, using only the white
-meat. To begin the mayonnaise. Put into a shallow pan the yolks only of
-three fresh eggs, having strained out the specks. Having beaten them
-till light and thick, add, by degrees, a half pint of salad oil,
-stirring it in gradually, so that no oil whatever is to be seen on the
-surface. Then add two table-spoonfuls of tarragon vinegar. Next a few
-drops of shalot vinegar, or a _very small_ onion minced as finely as
-possible. If you have at hand any clear meat gravy (for instance,
-veal,) stir in two or three table-spoonsful. Add the grated yellow rind,
-and the juice of a lemon. Pound as much spinach as will yield a small
-tea-cupful of green juice. Give it a short boil up, to take off the
-rawness, and mix it with the mayonnaise. When cool, pour it over the
-dish of cold poultry.
-
-
-EPICUREAN SAUCE.--Pound in a mortar five or six anchovies; a heaped
-table-spoonful of minced tarragon leaves; a shalot, or very small onion,
-two or three pickled gherkins, finely minced; the yolks of four
-hard-boiled eggs, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a large
-table-spoonful of French mustard. If you have no good butter, mix a
-sufficient portion of olive oil to moisten it well. Let the whole be
-thoroughly mixed. Put it into a bowl, and set it on ice till wanted.
-Then mould it into pats of equal size. Arrange them on small glass or
-china plates, and send them to table for dinner company, to eat with the
-cheese.
-
-
-EAST INDIA SAUCE FOR FISH.--Mix well together a jill of India soy; a
-jill of chili vinegar; half a pint of walnut catchup, and a pint of
-mushroom-catchup. Shake the whole hard, and transfer it to small green
-bottles, putting a tea-spoonful of sweet oil at the top of each, and
-keep the sauce in a cool dry place. If you have not a fish castor, bring
-the store sauces to table in the small bottles they are kept in. When
-eating fish, mix a little of this with the melted butter on your plate.
-
-
-CURRY POWDER.--Curry powder originates in India, where it is much used
-as a peculiar flavoring for soups, stews, and hashes. With curry dishes,
-boiled rice is always served up, not only in a separate dish, but also
-heaped round the stew in a thick even border. To make curry powder,
-pound in a marble mortar three ounces of turmeric, three ounces of
-coriander seed, and a quarter of an ounce of cayenne; one ounce of
-mustard, one ounce of cardamoms, a half ounce of cummin seed, and half
-an ounce of mace. Let all these ingredients be thoroughly mixed in the
-mortar, and then sift it through a fine sieve, dry it for an hour before
-the fire, and put it into clean bottles, securing the corks well. Use
-from two to three table-spoonfuls at a time, in proportion to the size
-of the dish you intend to curry.
-
-It may be mixed into the gravy of any of the preceding receipts for
-stews. Two ounces of finely grated cocoa-nut is a pleasant improvement
-to curried dishes, and is universally liked.
-
-The curry powder you buy is frequently much adulterated with inferior
-articles. The best curry powder imported from India is of a dark green
-color, and not yellow or red. It has among its ingredients, tamarinds,
-_not_ preserved, as we always get them--but raw in the shell. These
-tamarinds impart a pleasant acid to the mixture. For want of them use a
-lemon.
-
-
-MADRAS CURRY POWDER.--Pound separately, and sift, six ounces of
-coriander seed, three of turmeric, one of black pepper, two of cummin,
-one of fennel seed, and half an ounce of cayenne. Mix all together, put
-them into a glass jar or bottle, and seal the cover.
-
-With less turmeric, you may use ginger or sassafras.
-
-Curry powder may be added to any stew of meat, poultry, or game. Boiled
-rice must always accompany a dish of curry.
-
-The ingredients indispensable to all curries (and you may make a curry
-of any nice meat, or poultry, or even of oysters) is a very pungent
-powder, prepared for the purpose with turmeric. Also onions and boiled
-rice. In India there is always something acid in the mixture, as lemons,
-sour apple juice, or green tamarinds. The turmeric has a peculiar flavor
-of its own.
-
-
-STORE SAUCES.--The celebrated English sauces, for fish and game,
-Harvey's sauce, (which is the best,) Quin's, Reading's, Kitchener's,
-Soyer's, &c., are all very good, and keep well, if genuine. They are
-imported in small sealed bottles, and are to be had of all the best
-grocers. To make them at home, is so troublesome and expensive, that it
-is better to buy them. They are, however, very nice, and are generally
-introduced at dinner parties; a little being mixed on your plate with
-the melted butter. If you have no fish castors, bring these sauces to
-table in their own bottles, to be carried round by a servant.
-
-
-FINE PINK SAUCE.--Take a pint of excellent port wine, the juice and
-grated yellow rinds of four large lemons, two dozen blades of mace and a
-large nutmeg, broken up; with a quarter of an ounce of prepared
-cochineal, or a small tea-spoonful of alkanet chips. Add a
-table-spoonful of fresh salad oil. Mix the whole well in a wide-mouthed
-glass jar with a lid. Let the ingredients infuse a fortnight; stirring
-it several times a day. Then strain it, pour it through a funnel into
-small bottles, and seal the corks. It will give a fine pink color to
-drawn butter. Eat it with any sort of fish or game.
-
-Alkanet produces a much finer color than cochineal, but it must unite
-with some substance of an oily nature to give out its color to
-advantage. It is very cheap, and very beautiful, and to be had at the
-druggist's. Infuse it tied in a thin muslin bag.
-
-
-WINE SAUCE FOR VENISON OR GAME.--Take the half of a sixpenny loaf of
-bread. Cut off all the crust. Put the crumb (or soft part) into a bowl,
-and pour on sufficient good port wine to steep it. Soak the bread in the
-wine till dissolved. Then add two heaped table-spoonsful of fresh
-butter, and two heaped spoonsful of sugar; seasoning with powdered mace
-and nutmeg, and the grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon. Beat all
-together till very smooth. Put it into a sauce-pan, and give it one boil
-up; taking it off as soon as it comes to a boil. Send it to table hot.
-It is a fine company sauce for venison, or hare, or any sort of game.
-
-
-FINE PUDDING SAUCE.--Take a large half-pint cup of the best fresh
-butter, and the same quantity of powdered loaf-sugar. Put them together
-in an earthen pan, and beat them to a light thick cream. Then mix a jill
-or wine-glass of boiling water, and a large wine-glass of the best
-brandy, with the grated yellow rind and juice of a large lemon or
-orange; and a small nutmeg, grated. Mix these ingredients, gradually,
-with the beaten butter and sugar; and transfer the sauce to a small
-tureen, putting a spoon or ladle into it.
-
-If designed for sauce to a plum-pudding or any other large one, you will
-require a pint of butter, a pint of sugar, half a pint of boiling water
-with half a pint of brandy, two lemons or oranges, and a _large_ nutmeg,
-or two small ones. Divide the sauce in two tureens. A boiled pudding for
-company requires no finer sauce than this.
-
-Where _real_ cream is plenty, a bowl of it well sweetened with sugar,
-and flavored with nutmeg, is nice for any boiled pudding. If you add
-wine or lemon juice to cream sauce, previously mix the acid with the
-sugar, and make it very sweet before you put them to the cream, lest it
-should curdle.
-
-
-VANILLA SAUCE.--Split and break up a small stick of vanilla, and boil it
-in a very little milk, till all the vanilla flavor is extracted. Then
-strain it through very fine muslin, and stir it into the cream. Give it
-one boil up in a small porcelain sauce-pan; and sweeten it well with
-white sugar.
-
-
-PLAIN SAUCE FOR PUDDING.--Stir together (as in making pound cake) equal
-quantities of fresh butter and white sugar. This is the usual
-proportion; but if you can stir or beat it easily, try a little less
-butter, and a little more of the sugar. Grate in some nutmeg, and the
-yellow rind of a fresh lemon, and send it to table heaped on a small
-plate, with a tea-spoon near it.[E]
-
- [E] The butter and sugar sauce is very nice flavored and colored with
- the juice of strawberries or raspberries.
-
-Many persons prefer, with plain puddings, cold butter on a butter plate,
-and sugar from the sugar-bowl; mixing it for themselves on their own
-plate. This is best for boiled fruit pudding or dumplings; and for egg
-or batter puddings, molasses or syrup is very good; and costs but
-little.
-
-
-CRANBERRY SAUCE.--Pick the cranberries clean, seeing that no stems,
-sticks, or dead leaves are left among them. Put them into a cullender,
-or sieve, and wash them through two waters. Cook them in a
-porcelain-lined, or enameled stew-pan, without any additional water. The
-water that remains about them after washing is quite sufficient for
-stewing them properly. No stewed fruit should be too thin or liquid.
-Keep a steady heat under the cranberries, stirring them up from the
-bottom frequently: and when they are soft, mash them with the back of
-the spoon. When they are quite shapeless, take them off the fire, and
-while they are very hot, stir in, gradually, an ample quantity of nice
-_brown_ sugar. They require much sweetening. Season them with nothing
-else. Their natural flavor is sufficient (if well sweetened) and cannot
-be improved by spice, lemon, or any of the usual condiments. Always buy
-the largest and ripest cranberries. The best things are cheapest in the
-end.
-
-In stewing any sort of fruit, do not add the sugar till the fruit is
-done, and taken from the fire. If sweetened at the beginning, much of
-the strength of the sugar evaporates in cooking; besides rendering the
-fruit tough and hard, and retarding the progress of the stew.
-
-In America, sweet sauce is eaten with any sort of roast meat. Send it to
-table cold. For company, put it into a blanc-mange mould, and turn it
-out in a shape, first dipping the mould, for a minute, in warm water to
-loosen it.
-
-
-APPLE SAUCE.--Get fine juicy apples--bellflowers are the best for
-cooking. Sweet apples cook very badly--becoming tough, dry and
-tasteless. Green apples, if full grown, cook well, and have a pleasant
-acid.
-
-For sauce, pare, core, and quarter or slice the apples. Wash the pieces
-in a cullender, and put them to stew, with only water enough to wet them
-a little. Apple stews that are thin and watery are disgraceful to the
-cook, or to the cook's mistress. Let them stew till you can mash them
-easily all through. Then take them off the fire, and sweeten them,
-adding the seasoning while the apples are warm. Season with rose-water,
-lemon juice, nutmeg; or with all these if for company. If you can get
-fresh lemon-peel, cut it into very thin slips, and put it in to stew
-with the apples at first. It is still better, and little more trouble,
-to grate the lemon-peel.
-
-Fruit for pies should be stewed in the same manner as for sauce, and not
-sweetened till taken from the fire. Let the paste be baked empty in
-large deep plates, and when cool, filled to the brim with stewed fruit.
-A pie, (as we have seen them,) only half or one third full, looks very
-meanly--and tastes so.
-
-All these fruit-sauces are good receipts for stewing fruit for pies or
-any other purpose.
-
-We advise all families to have, among their kitchen utensils, _bain
-maries_, or double-kettles, putting the article to be stewed in the
-inner kettle, and the boiling water in the outside one. They are to be
-had of all sizes at the furnishing stores. They are also excellent for
-custards and boiled puddings.
-
-
-BAKED APPLE SAUCE.--Core very nicely as many fine juicy apples as will
-fill a large baking-pan. All coring of apples should be done with a tin
-cover. This you can buy at a tinman's for a quarter dollar, and it is
-invaluable for the purpose. After coring the apples, pare them smooth
-and evenly. Put a large table-spoonful of cold water in the bottom of
-the baking-pan, and then put in the apples first, filling, with fine
-brown sugar, the hole from whence the core was taken out. To have them
-very nice, add some grated lemon-peel, or some rose-water. Set the pan
-into an oven, (not too hot,) close the oven, and bake till the apples
-are all broken and can be easily mashed. This way of making apple sauce,
-by baking in a close oven, will be found far superior to boiling or
-stewing them. They require no more water than is barely sufficient to
-give them a start at the bottom.
-
-The flavoring (sugar, lemon, or rose,) may be deferred till the apples
-are baked, taken out of the oven and mashed. Then mix it in while hot.
-
-Boiled apple sauce is usually spoiled with too much water, rendering it
-the consistence of thin pap, weak, washy, and mean.
-
-
-GOOSEBERRY SAUCE.--Get fine full-grown green gooseberries. Pick them
-over, and top and tail them. Wash them in a cullender or sieve through
-two waters. Put them into an enameled stew-pan, with only the water
-remaining on them after washing, and no sugar till after they are stewed
-to a mash, and taken from the fire. Then while hot, stir in brown sugar
-enough to make them very sweet. Serve them up cold. For company, before
-they are sweetened, press them through a sieve, using only the pulp.
-Then add the sugar; and mould the whole in a form.
-
-
-CURRANT SAUCE.--Take fine ripe currants, and strip them from the stems.
-Put them into a pan, and mash them with a large spoon, or a wooden
-beetle. Stew them in their own juice (no water,) and sweeten them when
-they are taken from the fire. For company, press the fruit through a
-sieve before you add the sugar, and shape it in a mould.
-
-It will answer every purpose of regular currant jelly, to eat with game,
-venison, &c.
-
-
-RIPE PEACH SAUCE.--Take juicy freestone peaches; pare and stone them,
-and cut them up. Save all the juice, and stew them in it. When quite
-soft, take them off the fire, and sweeten them. The flavor will be much
-improved by stewing with them a bunch of fresh peach leaves, to be taken
-out when the peaches are done. Or, if you cannot readily obtain the
-leaves, a handful of the fresh peach kernels, stewed with the fruit,
-(and to be taken out afterwards,) will answer the purpose.
-
-It is well, even in the sunny side of a city garden, to plant two peach
-stones; so that when they grow into trees, you may have peach leaves at
-hand for improving the flavor of custards, and other things. Unless the
-trees are perfectly healthy, and the leaves green, do not use them.
-
-
-DRIED PEACH SAUCE.--The richest and best dried peaches, are those that
-are dried with the skins on. The skins (however thick,) entirely
-dissolve in cooking, and become imperceptible when the fruit is well
-stewed. It is a great error to pare peaches for drying. Apples _must_ be
-pared, for the skin is tougher than that of peaches, and does not
-dissolve in cooking.
-
-To prepare dried peaches for stewing, pick them over carefully, throwing
-away all the imperfect pieces. Wash them in two cold waters, and then
-put them into a stew-pan, (_adding no water_,) and stew them till they
-are quite soft, and shapeless, and mash easily and smoothly in the pan.
-Sweeten them with plenty of brown sugar, as soon as they come off the
-fire.
-
-
-DRIED APPLE SAUCE.--Wash the dried apples through a cullender, and put
-_a very little water_ with them in the stew-pan. Being rather insipid,
-they require some additional flavor. Add cinnamon, or other spice of
-any sort you like, and the yellow rind of a fresh lemon or orange, pared
-very thin and cut into slips. When these apples are well stewed and
-mashed, sweeten them.
-
-We believe, that when dried peaches can be procured, few will buy dried
-apples; they are so far inferior; being the poorest of dried fruit.
-
-Dried cherries also are scarcely worth cooking, even if they _have_ been
-stoned. Being tough and indigestible, they are very unwholesome, except
-for rough, hard-working people. If the stones are left in, dried
-cherries are fit for nothing.
-
-
-DAMSON SAUCE.--Having stewed the damsons in their own juice, till all
-the stones slip out, (and can be easily removed with a spoon, when taken
-from the fire,) make them very sweet by stirring in a large portion of
-brown sugar.
-
-Damsons, cranberries, and gooseberries require more sugar than any other
-fruit.
-
-
-FINE PRUNE SAUCE.--Wash a pound of prunes, and stew them in orange
-juice, adding the yellow rind of an orange, pared so fine as to be
-transparent--or grate it. Stir them up frequently, and when quite done,
-and the stones are all loose, sweeten the prunes with plenty of sugar.
-
-Prune sauce is eaten with venison, or any sort of game; or with roast
-kid or fawn--or with roast pig.
-
-
-CHESTNUT SAUCE.--Take the large Spanish chestnuts. Cut a slit in the
-side of each, and roast them well. Peel them, and put them into a
-saucepan of very rich melted butter. If you use American chestnuts, boil
-them till quite soft, (trying two or three to ascertain,) then peel, and
-thicken your melted butter with them. American chestnuts are too small
-to roast.
-
-
-PEA-NUT SAUCE.--Having roasted and shelled a pint of pea-nuts, or
-ground-nuts, remove the thin brown skin, and simmer the nuts in melted
-or drawn butter; adding some fine fresh oysters, omitting the gristle.
-
-
-
-
-VEGETABLES.
-
-
-All vegetables are best when fresh, as can easily be discovered by the
-difference between those newly brought from the garden, and those that
-have been kept in a provision shop till next day, (and perhaps longer,)
-imbibing the atmosphere of meat, fish, poultry, and a variety of things,
-each becoming impure from the same causes; not to mention the rats,
-mice, and insects which run over them at night. You cannot have
-vegetables in perfection without a country garden. But if obliged to
-depend upon the market or the provision shops, always have your
-vegetables washed and laid in cold water before cooking. Some are best
-when put on to boil in cold water; others require boiling water at the
-beginning, to give them what the cooks call a quick start. All should be
-thoroughly done throughout. If hard in the centre they are unpalatable,
-and very unwholesome; even worse than underdone meat. Use but very
-little salt in cooking vegetables; too much renders them hard, and
-overpowers their real taste. Also, it is easy for the lovers of salt to
-add more when at table. When vegetables are done, and taken out the pot,
-drain them well through a cullender or sieve, carefully pressing out all
-the water that is about them. There is generally, in our country, too
-much water allowed to the vegetables. Merely enough to cover them well,
-and keep them from burning, is in most cases sufficient. In France, so
-little water is used in cooking vegetables, that they are rather stewed
-than boiled, and are the better for it. A puddle of greasy water in the
-bottom of every vegetable dish is a disgusting sight; and yet how
-frequently it is seen. If of every-day occurrence, it is a certain
-indication of a bad cook, or an inefficient mistress, or both.
-
-Almost all green vegetables should be thrown into fast-boiling water,
-and cooked rapidly; first washing them carefully, and laying them for
-half an hour in a large pan of cold water. If found frozen in the
-winter, be sure to thaw them in cold water. Continue the boiling till
-they are thoroughly done, and with a steady heat, taking off the scum
-as it rises.
-
-It is very usual in the spring to bring early vegetables from the south,
-for the markets of Philadelphia and New York. By the time they reach us
-they are faded, withered, tough and unwholesome. It is better to wait a
-week or two longer till the season is a little more advanced, and the
-farms and gardens of our neighborhood can supply our own markets, at a
-far less cost, and with fresher and better vegetables.
-
-The water in which vegetables have been boiled becomes very unwholesome,
-and should be thrown out immediately.
-
-
-BOILED POTATOS.--To have boiled potatos in perfection they should all be
-of a good sort and as nearly as possible of the same size. Till it is
-time to cook them, let the slight mould or earth that has adhered to the
-potatos in digging, be carefully washed off, even scrubbing them with a
-hard brush. This can be done very conveniently, by laying them under the
-hydrant or pump, washing them there with a broom, and letting the water
-run on them.
-
-An iron pot is the best of all things for boiling potatos, as it retains
-the heat longer than any other utensil. Lay them in it, closely and
-compactly, and pour in barely sufficient cold water to cover them well,
-adding a tea-spoonful of salt. Simmer them till nearly done, which you
-may ascertain by probing all through with a fork. You may quicken the
-fire for the last five minutes. Pour off all the water from them as soon
-as they are tender all through. Lift the lid of the pot at one side to
-allow the steam to pass off, and set them beside the fire, or on a
-trevet far above it, till the moisture has escaped; the potatos will
-then be dry and mealy. Then peel them; or if preferred, send them to
-table with the skin on, which will keep them hot longer.
-
-If the potatos are old, cut a piece of skin (about the size of a
-sixpence) from the top and bottom before boiling; or, take off a long
-slip from each side. In the spring, when quite old, cut out all the
-blemishes, pare the potatos, and always boil them for mashing.
-
-
-ROAST POTATOS.--Potatos for roasting should always be large and fine. If
-small, "they go all to skin." Select those that are nearest of a size,
-and wash them very clean, and wipe every one with a cloth. Put them into
-an oven, and let them roast or bake for more than two hours, turning
-them with a fork. Dish them in the skins, and send only cold butter to
-table with them. Bake sweet potatos in the same manner, but much longer.
-Small sweet potatos should be boiled; as, when small, they are not worth
-cooking in any other way; and when roasted there is scarcely any thing
-of them, but tough shriveled skin.
-
-
-BAKED POTATOS.--Pare some fine potatos all about the same size, and
-cover with them the whole bottom of a large deep earthen dish; lay them
-close together so that they all touch. Bake them under a nice piece of
-beef, veal, or pork, raised above them on a trivet. The gravy from the
-meat will drip upon them as soon as it begins to bake. They must bake
-till they are nicely browned, and till a fork will easily go through
-them. Have a smaller dish of potatos baked without meat, in a dish by
-themselves, as potatos pared before baking are much liked. Lay some bits
-of fresh butter among those that are cooked without any meat.
-
-
-TO BOIL NEW POTATOS.--Rub each one with a coarse cloth to clear off the
-skin, it being too thin for paring. Wash them well, and cut a small
-piece off the top and bottom of each potato, to make them boil tender
-all through. Put no salt in the water, and boil them till soft. Serve
-them plain, and eat them with cold butter--or, put them into a
-sauce-pan, and stew them in butter.
-
-
-MASHED POTATOS.--Having boiled the potatos till tender all through,
-drain them very dry in a cullender, and mash them smoothly with a potato
-beetle, a large wooden spoon, or a short-handled wooden ladle. When all
-are nicely mashed, add gradually plenty of fresh butter, and some cream
-or rich milk. On no account spoil the potatos by putting any water to
-them, when mashing. Put them into a deep dish or mould, and brown them
-with a salamander.
-
-
-POTATO CAKES.--After the mashed potatos are mixed with butter in a deep
-earthen pan, beat them with a wooden spoon to render them very light.
-Then make them up into thick flat cakes, about the size of a muffin, and
-brown each with a salamander.
-
-
-COUNTRY POTATOS.--Having boiled and peeled some fine newly-dug potatos,
-melt some butter in a sauce-pan, with cream, instead of flour and water,
-and pour it plentifully into the dish of potatos; seasoning with black
-pepper and sweet marjoram leaves. Where cream is plenty, this is a very
-nice way of cooking. Serve them up with the sauce poured over them, and
-around them. They must be well boiled, and tender all through.
-
-
-FRIED POTATOS.--The potatos must be raw, large, unblemished, and of a
-good round shape. First take off a thin paring of the skin. Then, pare
-the whole potato round and round, (not too thin,) till you have gone
-through it all, and nothing is left unpared but a little lump in the
-centre. Then put these continuous rings of potato into a frying-pan, in
-which is boiling plenty of fresh butter, or butter and lard mixed. Fry
-them brown and tender, and arrange them handsomely in a dish for
-breakfast.
-
-_Another Way._--Slice thin a sufficiency of fine raw potatos, and lay
-them in a pan of cold water to soak for an hour or more. Then pour off
-that water entirely, and replace it with fresh. Let them remain in this
-for another hour, or till it is time to cook them. Put them into a
-frying-pan that has in it plenty of fresh butter or lard, enough, while
-frying, to keep the potatos near the surface. Fry them till perfectly
-well done and tender.
-
-Attempting to re-cook cold potatos renders them more hard and tough.
-
-When once cold, potatos always remain indigestible, cook them as you
-will.
-
-
-STEWED POTATOS.--Having pared some fine raw potatos, quarter them, and
-put them into a stew-pan with a little salt, pepper, and some green
-sweet marjoram stripped from the stalks, and scattered among the
-potatos. Put them into a stew-pan with milk enough to prevent their
-burning, and some fresh butter--no water. If you can get cream
-conveniently, add some to the milk. Cover the pan, and let the potatos
-stew, till, on trying them with a fork, you find them thoroughly cooked,
-and soft and tender all through. If not sufficiently done, they are
-hard, tough, leathery, and unfit to eat.
-
-They are very good stewed entirely in the dripping of cold gravy of
-roast beef, veal, or pork--but not mutton, as that will give them the
-taste of tallow. This is a nice breakfast dish. Cold potatos re-cooked
-never again become good. After potatos once become cold, no cooking can
-restore them.
-
-
-STEWED SWEET POTATOS.--These should first be scraped or pared. Then cut
-into pieces, and stewed as above.
-
-
-BOILED CABBAGE.--All cabbage should be well washed, and boiled in a
-large quantity of water with a little salt; the loose or faded leaves
-being stripped from the outside. They should always be cut or split in
-two, or in four pieces if very large. Cut the stalk short, and split it
-up to where the leaves begin. Put it on in boiling water, and keep it
-boiling steadily till quite done, which will not be till the stalk is
-tender throughout. If a young summer cabbage, split it in half, and when
-well boiled, and drained and pressed in a cullender, serve it up with a
-few bits of cold fresh butter, laid inside among the leaves. Season it
-with pepper. This is a much nicer and easier way, than to make drawn
-butter, and pour over the outside of the cabbage.
-
-Sprouts and very young greens, require nothing more than to be well
-washed, boiled and drained. In the country, cabbage sprouts are commonly
-boiled with bacon.
-
-Savoy cabbage is considered the finest sort. It is a late autumn and
-winter cabbage. If very large, split it in four. Do not boil it with
-meat. The fat will render it strong and unwholesome. Still worse, when
-melted butter is added to a cabbage already saturated with the fat of
-corned beef.
-
-
-AN EXCELLENT WAY OF BOILING CABBAGE.--Having trimmed the cabbage, and
-washed it well in cold water, (examining the leaves to see that no
-insects are lurking among them,) cut it almost into quarters, but do not
-divide it entirely down at the stem, which should be cut off just below
-the termination of the leaves. Let it lie an hour in a pan of cold
-water. Have ready a pot _full_ of boiling water, seasoned with a small
-tea-spoonful of salt. Put the cabbage into it, and let it boil for an
-hour and a half, skimming it occasionally. Then take it out; put it into
-a cullender to drain, and when all the hot water has drained off; set it
-under the hydrant. Let the hydrant run on it, till the cabbage has
-become perfectly cold all through. If you have no hydrant, set it under
-a pump, or keep pouring cold water on it from a pitcher. Then, having
-thrown out all the first water, and washed the pot, fill it again, and
-let the second water boil. During this time the cabbage under the
-hydrant will be growing cold. Then put it on again in the second water,
-and boil it two hours, or two and a half. Even the thickest part of the
-stalk must be perfectly tender all through. When thoroughly done, take
-up the cabbage, drain it well through the cullender, pressing it down
-with a broad ladle to squeeze out all the moisture; lay it in a deep
-dish, and cut it _entirely_ apart, dividing it into quarters. Lay some
-bits of fresh butter among the leaves, add a little pepper, cover the
-dish, and send it to table hot.
-
-Cooked in this manner it will be made perfectly wholesome, and the
-usually unpleasant cabbage smell will be rendered imperceptible. We
-recommend it highly.
-
-
-CALE CANNON.--Boil in one pot a fine large cabbage, and when done, drain
-and press it in a cullender till all the water is squeezed out. Have
-boiled in another, four or five large mealy potatos. Peel and mash the
-potatos, and chop the cabbage small. Mix the cabbage and the potatos
-evenly, in one large dish, and season them with black pepper; adding
-some bits of nice butter. Cale cannon is a plain family dish, but is
-very good, when all the dinner corresponds.
-
-
-FRIED CABBAGE.--Parboil a fine cabbage. When half-boiled, take it out,
-drain it, and lay it awhile in cold water, to remove the cabbage smell.
-Next put it into a clean pot of fresh water, and boil it again till
-thoroughly done. Afterwards, chop it small, season it with pepper and
-salt, and fry it in fresh butter.
-
-A less delicate way is to fry it in boiling lard, taking care to drain
-it well. It should be eaten only by people in good health.
-
-
-FORCED CABBAGE--(_Choux farcie._)--This is for dinner company. Take two
-fine fresh cabbages, and examine them well to see that there are no
-insects hidden among the leaves. Wash the cabbages in cold water, and
-drain them. Take out the heart or inside cluster of leaves in the centre
-of each cabbage, leaving a circle of them standing. Cut off the stalk
-near the bottom, but not so close as to cause the cabbage to fall apart.
-You may leave a double circle of leaves. Have ready plenty of stuffing,
-or forcemeat, made of veal or fresh pork minced finely, cold ham or
-smoked tongue minced also, grated bread-crumbs, fresh butter, powdered
-mace, sweet marjoram and sweet basil, grated lemon-peel, and two
-hard-boiled yolks of egg, crumbled fine. Fill the cabbages full with
-this stuffing, and to keep them in shape, tie them firmly round in
-several places, with strings of twine or bass. They must be tied in the
-form of a round ball. Put them into a stew-pot, with water enough to
-cover them well, and let them stew till thoroughly done. Take them up
-immediately before they are wanted, and remove the strings that have
-kept them in shape while cooking. Red cabbages may be done in this way.
-
-
-FRENCH SOUR CROUT.--This may be made fresh every day, and has none of
-the objections generally alleged against the German saur-kraut. Having
-taken out the stalks or cores, split into quarters, four large
-white-heart cabbages. Shred them fine with a cabbage-cutter. Wash them
-well in two waters, and drain them in a cullender. Next lay the shred
-cabbages in a large earthen pan, add a table-spoonful of salt, and a
-pint of the best cider vinegar. Stir and toss the cabbage in this, and
-let it steep for three hours. Then wash and drain it, and put it into a
-large stew-pan, with half a pound of nice sweet butter, or a quarter of
-a pound of lard. Season it with a little black pepper, and three
-table-spoonfuls of French mustard, or a jill of tarragon vinegar. Cover
-the whole with a buttered white paper, and stew it slowly for two hours
-longer. Take off the paper, and send the sour crout to table in a
-covered dish.
-
-You may lay on the top of the stew, a pound of sausage meat, or of
-sausage cakes. Or a thin slice or two of cold ham.
-
-
-DRESSING FOR SLAW.--Mix a small pint of real cider vinegar with four
-large table-spoonfuls of nice fresh butter, divided into four bits, and
-each bit rolled in flour; a tea-spoon of salt, and a salt-spoon of
-cayenne. Being well stirred, and mixed thoroughly, boil this in a
-porcelain-lined sauce-pan; and, as soon as it has come to a fast boil,
-remove it from the fire, and stir in the beaten yolk of four eggs. Have
-ready a nice fresh white cabbage, that has been washed, drained, and
-cut, or shaved, into small shreds with a cabbage cutter. Lay the shred
-cabbage in a deep dish or bowl, while you prepare the above dressing.
-Having taken it from the fire, and stirred in, gradually, the beaten
-yolk of egg, pour the dressing hot over the cabbage: mixing it all with
-a large boxwood salad-spoon or fork. Set it out of doors to cool; or
-cool it quickly on ice or snow.
-
-Or if preferred warm, place it on the top of a stove, and cover it
-closely till wanted. It may be made of red cabbage.
-
-This slaw (either cold or warm) will be found very superior to all
-others, if this receipt is exactly followed.
-
-
-SALSIFY FRITTERS.--Having washed and scraped the salsify roots, and cut
-off the extreme joints, stand them up and grate them. Beat three eggs
-very light, and stir them gradually into a pint of milk, with sufficient
-flour to make a stiff batter. Instead of grating the salsify you may cut
-it into pieces, and boil it till quite soft, so that you can mash it
-easily. Add a little pepper. Have ready over the fire a deep frying-pan
-or skillet, with plenty of boiling lard. Put in a large spoonful of the
-batter, and into the middle of each drop a spoonful of the mashed
-salsify. Fry these fritters of a light brown on both sides, and take
-them out with a perforated skimmer, draining off the lard through its
-holes.
-
-You may fry the mashed salsify without the batter, taking large
-spoonfuls, and dipping each in beaten egg first, and afterward twice
-over in grated bread-crumbs, so as to resemble fried oysters.
-
-Or you may first boil the roots merely split in two, and then fry them
-in fresh butter, or bake them brown in an oven.
-
-
-SALSIFY OYSTERS.--Get some fine salsify roots, (called also
-oyster-plant,) and wash and scrape them well. Boil them in sufficient
-fresh oyster liquor to cover them well, and when they are soft take them
-out, split them, and cut them into pieces about two inches long. Then
-put them into a stew-pan, with the oyster liquor, some pieces of fresh
-butter rolled in flour, and some blades of mace and some grated nutmeg,
-with a few whole pepper-corns. Let them cook between five and ten
-minutes, having stirred among them the beaten yolks of two or three
-eggs. Serve them up hot, as a side dish.
-
-
-MELONGINA OR EGG-PLANT.--Take a large fine egg-plant, and see that there
-are no blemishes about it. Having cut it into thin round slices,
-(without paring off the skin,) sprinkle between the slices a very little
-salt and pepper, cover them with a plate, and let them rest an hour
-more. Then wipe the pieces dry. Have some beaten egg in one deep plate,
-and some bread-crumbs, finely grated, in another. Dip each slice of
-egg-plant first into the beaten egg, and then into the bread-crumbs, and
-fry them brown in a pan full of boiling lard, or else lard and fresh
-butter mixed in equal quantities. Take them out with a perforated
-skimmer, and drain them well.
-
-They will be much better if each slice is dipped _twice_ in the egg, and
-twice in the crumbs.
-
-They may be fried very plainly, simply dredged with flour, and then put
-into a pan with plenty of boiling lard, the lard drained well from each
-slice when it is done. They should be fried brown on both sides. If
-underdone, and left greenish or whitish, they have a raw bitter taste.
-
-
-BAKED EGG-PLANTS.--Prepare several fine large unblemished egg-plants, by
-scooping out the inside or pulp with a spoon, leaving the rind standing.
-To do this you must cut off very nicely and evenly a round piece from
-the top, (afterwards to be tied on again.) Make a sufficient quantity of
-forcemeat or stuffing of soaked bread, pressed and dried slightly; fresh
-butter; minced sweet marjoram leaves; a little pepper and salt; and some
-powdered mace, and the yellow rind of a lemon grated off very fine. Mix
-all these with the pulp or inside of the egg-plant. When thoroughly
-mixed, stuff with it the rind or outside into a perfectly round shape,
-and with a packthread tie on the top-piece which was cut off. Put the
-egg-plants into a dish, the bottom covered with thin slices of cold ham.
-Bake them for an hour or more, and then send them to table whole, with
-the slices of ham laid round on the dish. Remove the strings.
-
-
-FRIED BANANAS.--The bananas should be perfectly ripe and yellow all
-over. Peel them, split them into long slips, and dredge them slightly
-with flour. Have ready a frying pan filled with boiling lard. Put in the
-bananas, and fry them well. When done, take them up on a perforated
-skimmer, and drain back the lard into the frying pan. Dish, and send
-them to table with powdered sugar to eat with them.
-
-In the West Indies, the large green bananas that are exported from
-thence, are by no means in favor, compared with a _very small_ yellow
-sort, the only banana eaten at the best tables. The little ones are
-fried in the above manner.
-
-
-ONION CUSTARD.--Peel and slice ten or twelve mild onions, and fry them
-in fresh butter, draining them well when you take them up. Then mince
-them as fine as possible. Beat four eggs till very thick and light, and
-stir them gradually into a pint of milk, in turn with the minced onion.
-Season the whole with plenty of grated nutmeg, and stir it very hard.
-Then put it into a deep white dish, and bake it about a quarter of an
-hour. Send it to table as a side dish, to be eaten with poultry. It is a
-French preparation, and will be found very nice, by those who have no
-dislike to onions.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWERS.--Choose large fine white cauliflowers. Wash them well, and
-lay them in a pan of cold water, having divided each cauliflower into
-quarters. Trim off the outside green leaves. Put on the cauliflowers in
-boiling water with a little salt in it. It is still better to boil them
-in milk. Let them cook till tender throughout, flower and stalk. When
-quite done, put some bits of fresh butter among the flowers, or pour
-over them drawn butter sauce, made with milk and seasoned with powdered
-nutmeg or mace. Serve them up hot, and covered.
-
-
-BROCCOLI--Is drest in the same manner. It is very good with toast under,
-though inferior to cauliflower.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWER OMELET.--Take the white part of a boiled cauliflower after
-it is cold; chop it very small, and mix with it a sufficient quantity of
-well beaten-egg, to make a very thick batter. Then fry it in fresh
-butter in a small pan, and send it hot to table.
-
-
-FRIED CAULIFLOWER.--Having laid a fine cauliflower in cold water for an
-hour, put it into a pot of boiling water that has been slightly salted,
-(milk and water will be still better,) and boil it twenty-five minutes,
-or till the large stalk is perfectly tender. Then divide it, equally,
-into small tufts, and spread it on a dish to cool. Prepare a sufficient
-quantity of batter made in the proportion of a table-spoonful of flour,
-and two table-spoonfuls of milk to each egg. Beat the eggs very light,
-then stir into them the flour and milk alternately; a spoonful of flour,
-and two spoonfuls of milk at a time. When the cauliflower is cold, have
-ready some fresh butter in a frying-pan over a clear fire. When it has
-come to a boil and has done bubbling, dip each tuft of cauliflower twice
-into the pan of batter, and fry them a light brown. Send them to table
-hot.
-
-Broccoli may be fried in this manner.
-
-
-CAULIFLOWER MACCARONI.--Having removed the outside leaves, and cut off
-the stalk, wash the cauliflower, and examine it thoroughly to see if
-there are any insects about it. Next lay it for an hour in a pan of cold
-water. Then put it into a pot of boiling milk and water that has had a
-little fresh butter melted in it. Whatever scum may float on the top of
-the water must be removed before the cauliflower goes in. Boil it
-steadily half an hour, or till it is quite tender. Then take it out,
-drain it, and cut it into short sprigs. Have ready three ounces of
-rich, but not strong cheese, grated fine. Put into a stew-pan a quarter
-of a pound of fresh butter, nearly half of the grated cheese, two large
-table-spoonfuls of cream or rich milk, and a very little salt and
-cayenne. Toss or shake it over the fire till it is well mixed and has
-come to a boil. Then add the tufts of cauliflower, and let the whole
-stew together about five minutes. When done put it into a deep dish,
-strew over the top the remaining half of the grated cheese, and brown it
-with a salamander or a red-hot shovel held above the surface.
-
-This will be found very superior to real maccaroni. It is a company
-dish.
-
-
-BROCCOLI AND EGGS.--Take several heads of broccoli and cut the stalks
-short, paring off from the stalks the tough outside skin. Trim off the
-small outside shoots or blossoms, and tie them together in bunches.
-After all the broccoli has been washed, and lain half an hour or more in
-a pan of fresh cold water, put the large heads, with a salt-spoonful of
-salt, into a pot of boiling water, and let them boil till thoroughly
-done, and the stalk perfectly tender. When the large heads have boiled
-about a quarter of an hour, put in the small tufts, which of course
-require less time to cook. In the meanwhile have ready six beaten eggs.
-Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a sauce-pan, and stir it over
-the fire till it is all melted; then add gradually the beaten eggs, and
-stir the mixture, or shake it over the fire till it becomes very thick.
-Toast sufficient bread to cover entirely the bottom of a deep dish,
-cutting it to fit exactly, having removed the crust. Dip the toast for a
-minute in hot water. Pour the egg and butter over the hot toast. Then
-place upon it the broccoli; the largest and finest head in the middle,
-the lesser ones round it, and having untied the small sprigs, lay them
-in a circle close to the edge.
-
-
-FRIED CELERY.--Take fine large celery, cut it into pieces three or four
-inches in length, and boil it tender, having seasoned the water with a
-very little salt. Then drain the pieces well, and lay them, separately,
-to cool on a large dish. Make a batter in the proportion of three
-well-beaten eggs stirred into a pint of rich milk, alternately with half
-a pint of grated bread-crumbs, or of sifted flour. Beat the batter very
-hard after it is all mixed. Put into a hot frying-pan a sufficiency of
-fresh lard; melt it over the fire, and when it comes to a boil, dip each
-piece of celery _twice_ into the batter, put them into the pan, and fry
-them a light brown. When done, lay them to drain on an inverted sieve
-with a broad pan placed beneath it. Then dish the fried celery, and send
-it to table hot.
-
-Parsnips, and salsify, (or oyster plant) may be fried in butter
-according to the above directions. Also the tops of asparagus cut off
-from the stalk, and the white part or blossom of cauliflower. Cold
-sweet potatos are very nice, peeled, cut into long slips, and fried in
-this way.
-
-
-FRIED ARTICHOKES.--The artichokes must be young and tender. Cut them
-into quarters, remove the choke part, and strip off the leaves. Having
-washed the artichokes well and laid them an hour in cold water, put them
-into a pot of boiling water, and keep them boiling steadily for a long
-time, till you find by trying them with a a fork that they are tender
-all through. Then take them out immediately, and drain them. Have ready
-a sufficiency of batter, made in the proportion of the yolk of one egg
-to a large table-spoonful of milk, and a tea-spoonful of flour. The eggs
-must be well beaten before they are mixed with the milk; then beat in
-the flour a spoonful at a time. Have ready over the fire some fresh
-butter, or lard, in a frying-pan. When it has boiled hard, dip the
-artichokes into the butter, (each piece should be twice dipped,) and fry
-them brown. Then drain them well, and send them to table hot.
-
-Parsnips may be fried as above. Salsify also.
-
-Another way of frying artichokes, parsnips, and salsify, is, after they
-have been boiled tender, to dip each piece first in beaten yolk of egg,
-(without milk or flour,) and then roll it in finely grated bread-crumbs.
-Then put them into the pan and fry them in butter or lard, or a mixture
-of both.
-
-In boiling artichokes, observe to take them out as soon as they are
-tender. If they remain in the water after they are done, they turn
-blackish and lose their flavor.
-
-
-MUSHROOM OMELET.--Take some fresh-gathered mushrooms; remove the stalks,
-and rub the flaps or heads very slightly with a little salt, mixed with
-cayenne. Then stew the mushrooms in a small sauce-pan, with barely
-sufficient cream or rich milk to cover them. Put in with them a small
-onion; and if the onion is found to turn blackish, throw away the whole;
-it being proof that there is among them a false or poisonous mushroom.
-Stir them with a silver spoon, and keep on the lid of the pan closely,
-unless when you are stirring. If the spoon turns black, the mushrooms
-should not be eaten.
-
-After they have come to a boil, take them off the fire; drain them, and
-when cool, chop them small. To a pint or more of the minced mushrooms,
-allow six or seven eggs. Beat the eggs till very light and thick,
-(omitting the whites of two,) and then mix in, gradually, the mushrooms,
-stirring the whole very hard. Put three ounces of fresh butter into a
-hot omelet pan, or a _small_ frying-pan; place it over the fire and stir
-the butter as it melts. When it has boiled hard, put in the omelet
-mixture, and as it fries, stir it till it begins to set. Do not turn the
-omelet; but brown the top by holding close above it a red-hot shovel.
-When done, drain off the butter, fold over or double the omelet, and
-serve it up immediately on a hot dish.
-
-In gathering mushrooms, those that are fit to eat may be known by their
-being of a pale pearl color, or of a grayish white, instead of what is
-called a dead white; and the underside of the flap or head (if good) is
-of a light pink, or a pinkish salmon color. The best mushrooms grow on
-uplands, or in high open fields where the air is pure and good, and they
-should be gathered early in the morning before the dew is off. All that
-are found in low swampy ground, or in the woods, or under large trees,
-are poisonous.
-
-
-SCOLLOPED TOMATOS.--Take fine large tomatos, perfectly ripe. Scald them
-to loosen the skins, and then peel them. Cover the bottom of a deep dish
-thickly with grated bread-crumbs, adding a few bits of fresh butter.
-Then put in a layer of tomatos, seasoned slightly with a little salt and
-cayenne, and some powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover them with another layer
-of bread-crumbs and butter; then another layer of seasoned tomatos; and
-proceed thus until the dish is full, finishing at the top with
-bread-crumbs. Set the dish into a moderate oven, and bake it near three
-hours. Tomatos require long cooking, otherwise they will have a raw
-taste, that to most persons is unpleasant.
-
-
-ASPARAGUS OMELET.--Take two bunches of the largest and finest asparagus.
-Put it into a pot of boiling water, with a salt-spoonful of salt, and
-boil it about twenty-five minutes, or till perfectly tender. Then drain
-it, and chop small all the green part. Beat four eggs very light, and
-add to them a wine-glass of cream. Mix the chopped asparagus thoroughly
-with the egg and cream, adding a salt-spoon of salt, and a very little
-cayenne. Melt a large slice of fresh butter in a frying-pan over the
-fire; and when it has boiled, and the bubbling has ceased, put in the
-mixture, and fry it till light and firm. Then slip it from the
-frying-pan to a hot dish, and fold it over.
-
-For a soft omelet, put the mixture into a skillet with a piece of fresh
-butter. Let it stew slowly for ten minutes. Lay a thin slice of buttered
-toast in the bottom of a hot dish, and cut the toast into small squares,
-but let them remain close together. With a spoon heap the soft omelet
-upon the toast, and serve it up.
-
-Any omelet mixture may be kept soft by stewing instead of frying it, and
-it will be found more wholesome.
-
-Before buttering the toast dip it a minute in hot water.
-
-
-STEWED PEAS.--Take young, tender, green peas, wash them, and put them
-into a stew-pan, with sufficient fresh butter to keep them from burning,
-_but no water_. Season them with a little black pepper, and a very
-little salt. Set them over a moderate fire, and stir them about till the
-butter is well mixed through them. Let them simmer till quite soft and
-slightly broken; take off the lid occasionally, and give them a stir up
-from the bottom. If you find them becoming too dry, add some more
-butter. When done, drain off what superfluous butter may be about the
-peas, and send them to table hot. They will be found excellent.
-
-To the taste of many persons, they will be improved by a lump or two of
-loaf-sugar put in with the butter, and also by a few sprigs of mint, to
-be removed before the peas go to table.
-
-Lima beans may be stewed in butter, as above; also, asparagus tops, cut
-off from the white stalk.
-
-
-LETTUCE PEAS.--Having washed four lettuces, and stripped off the outside
-leaves, take their hearts, and (having chopped them well) put them into
-a stew-pan with two quarts of young green peas, freshly shelled; a lump
-or two of loaf-sugar; and three or four leaves of green mint minced as
-finely as possible. Then put in four slices of cold ham, and a quarter
-of a pound of butter divided into four bits, and rolled in flour; and
-two table-spoonfuls of water. Add a little cayenne, and let the whole
-stew for about twenty-five minutes, or till the peas are thoroughly
-done. Next take out the ham, and add to the stew half a pint of cream.
-Let it continue stewing five minutes longer. Then send it to table.
-
-
-PLAIN LETTUCE PEAS.--Cover the bottom and sides of a stew-pan with large
-fresh leaves taken from lettuces. Have ready the peas, which should be
-young and green. To each quart of shelled peas allow two table-spoonfuls
-of fresh butter, and a lump of loaf sugar. Add a very little pepper and
-salt, and a sprig of green mint. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew
-for half an hour, or till the peas are thoroughly done. Then take them
-out from the lettuce leaves, and send only the peas to table.
-
-
-TO STEW CARROTS.--Half-boil the carrots; then scrape them nicely, and
-cut them into thick slices. Put them into a stew-pan with as much milk
-as will barely cover them; a very little salt and pepper; and a sprig or
-two of chopped parsley. Simmer them till they are perfectly tender. When
-nearly done, add a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour. Send them to
-table hot. Carrots require long cooking; longer than any other
-vegetable.
-
-Parsnips and salsify may be stewed in the above manner, substituting a
-little chopped celery for the parsley.
-
-
-SPINACH.--Having peeled and washed the spinach very nicely, put it into
-a _bain marie_, or inside kettle, without any water, and cover it
-closely. Pour the water into the outside kettle, and you may hurry the
-boiling by throwing a handful of salt in the outside tin, taking care
-that none of the salt gets into the inside. When the spinach is well
-stewed, take it up and drain it without squeezing or pressing, as that
-will make it tough and dry. Then chop it small, and add some hard-boiled
-eggs, also chopped. Season it with pepper and fresh butter, stir it well
-together, return it to the kettle, and let it stew a quarter of an hour
-or more. Serve it up with buttered toast and poached eggs laid upon it.
-
-Spinach being very watery, should always be _stewed_ rather than boiled.
-If you have no _bain marie_, the water that remains about the spinach,
-after it has been washed, will suffice to stew it slowly.
-
-Spinach juice, for coloring green, must be strained, and boiled
-slightly. You can obtain plenty of juice by pounding the leaves.
-
-
-TO PREPARE CUCUMBERS.--Let the cucumbers be full-grown, but not in the
-least yellow or hard. They are then only fit to be saved for seed. Lay
-the cucumbers in a pan of cold water for an hour or more, or till it is
-nearly time to send them to table, being careful not to set them in the
-sun. Have ready another pan of fresh water, (very cold) and having
-pared the cucumbers, slice them into it. Transfer them to a deep china
-or white-ware dish. Season them with vinegar, pepper, salt, and a little
-salad oil, taking care not to use too much salt. When there is no
-dislike to onions, peel and slice a few that are mild, and mix them with
-the cucumbers. It is usual now, at the best tables, to have the onions
-in a small separate dish, (sliced with vinegar and pepper) to be eaten
-by those that like them, and omitted by those who do not. Onions, (and
-also salad oil) are said to render cucumbers more wholesome.
-
-Tomatos (raw) are frequently sliced, seasoned, and sent to table in the
-manner of cucumbers. Tomatos are always wholesome.
-
-
-STEWED CUCUMBERS.--Pare six fine fresh cucumbers. Cut each of them
-lengthways into four pieces; lay them for an hour in a pan of cold
-water. Take a clean stew-pan, and place in its bottom two
-table-spoonfuls of good fresh butter. Then put in the slices of
-cucumber, and sprinkle them slightly with a very little pepper. Add two
-table-spoonfuls of cold water. Set the pan over a moderate fire, and let
-the cucumbers stew slowly for half an hour or more, till they are well
-cooked. Keep the pan closely covered, except when you have to remove the
-lid to stir the stew. Serve them up hot, at breakfast, or as a side
-dish, at dinner.
-
-Persons who have no objection to the taste of onions, will think the
-cucumbers improved by the addition of the half of a moderate sized
-onion, sliced thin and stewed with them.
-
-
-A NICE WAY OF COOKING ASPARAGUS.--Where asparagus is plenty, there is no
-better way of cooking it than the following. Take it as nearly of a size
-as possible, wash it, and cut off the stalks very short, leaving them
-not more than half an inch in length. Two quarts of water will be
-sufficient to boil one quart of asparagus tops; allow a tea-spoonful of
-salt to this quantity of water, and set it over the fire to boil. When
-the water is boiling hard, put in the asparagus, and boil it fast for at
-least half an hour. To see if it is done, take up two or three of the
-largest pieces and taste them. While it is boiling, prepare two slices
-of bread cut half an inch thick, and (having removed the crust) toast
-the bread brown on both sides. Have ready a large jill of melted (or
-drawn) fresh butter. When the asparagus is done, take it up with a
-perforated skimmer, and lay it on a sieve to drain. Dip the slices of
-toast (one at a time) first in the hot asparagus liquor, and then in the
-melted butter. Lay the slices, side by side, in a deep dish, and cover
-it with the asparagus, laid evenly over and round the toast. Then add
-the remainder of the drawn butter, and send the asparagus to table hot,
-in a covered dish.
-
-This is a much nicer way than that of boiling and serving it up with the
-long stalks left on. And where you have asparagus in abundance, (for
-instance in a country garden,) it may always be cooked in this manner.
-
-This is from the receipt of Mr. N. Darling, of New Haven.
-
-
-ASPARAGUS OYSTERS.--Take two bundles of fine full-grown asparagus. Cut
-off the green tops or points as far down as the white stalk. Take a
-sufficient quantity of fresh oysters, the finest you can get at that
-season. Put the asparagus tops into a stew-pan, with enough of oyster
-liquor (previously strained) to stew them quite tender. Stew the oysters
-themselves in another pan with some more of their liquor, seasoned with
-pepper, mace, and nutmeg, adding a large piece of fresh butter, divided
-into four, and each part rolled in flour. Do not let the oysters stew
-more than five minutes, or they will become tough and shriveled. When
-they are merely plumped, take them out and cut them up small, omitting
-the gristle or hard part. Set the mixture over the fire for about five
-minutes, stirring all the time. Have ready some slices of nice toast,
-with all the crust pared off; the slices dipped for a minute in hot
-water. Butter the toast, and cover with it the bottom of a deep dish,
-and fill it with the mixture of asparagus and oysters.
-
-
-ONION EGGS.--Boil a dozen eggs quite hard. Slice and fry in fresh butter
-five or six onions. Slice (whites and yolks together) ten of the eggs,
-reserving two for the seasoning. Drain the sliced onions, and lay them
-on a dish with the sliced eggs placed upon them. Cover the dish, and
-keep it hot. Take the two remaining eggs, grate the yolks, and mix them
-with cream and grated nutmeg, and a very little cayenne. Put this
-mixture into a very small sauce-pan, give it one boil up, pour it over
-the eggs and onions, and send it to table hot. For those who have no
-objection to onions this is a nice side dish.
-
-
-EGG BALLS.--Boil eight eggs till quite hard, and when done, throw them
-directly into cold water. Then put the yolks into a mortar, and pound
-them to a paste, moistening them as you proceed with the beaten yolks of
-three _raw_ eggs, seasoned with as much salt as will lie _flat_ upon a
-shilling, and a little cayenne, and powdered nutmeg and mace. Mix the
-whole well together, and make it up into small round balls. Throw them
-into mock-turtle soup, or into stewed terrapin, about two minutes before
-you take it up.
-
-
-CURRY BALLS.--Take a sufficiency of finely-grated bread-crumbs;
-hard-boiled yolk of egg, grated; fresh butter, and a little curry
-powder. Pound the whole in a mortar, moistening it with raw yolk of egg
-(well-beaten) as you proceed. Make it into small balls, and add them to
-stewed chicken or rabbit, about five minutes before you take it up.
-
-
-TOMATO PASTE.--Scald and peel as many ripe tomatos as will fill a large,
-deep, stone jar. Set them into a warm oven for an hour. Then skim off
-the watery liquid that has risen to the top, and press and squeeze the
-tomatos in a sieve. Afterwards add salt, cayenne, pounded mace, and
-powdered nutmeg, to your taste; and to every quart of tomatos allow a
-half a pint of cider vinegar. Stew the whole slowly in a porcelain
-kettle for three hours, (stirring it frequently from the bottom,) till
-it becomes a smooth, thick paste. Then put it into small jars or
-glasses, and cover it closely, pasting paper over each. It is an
-excellent sauce, at the season when fresh tomatos are not to be had, and
-is very good to thicken soup.
-
-
-DRIED OCHRAS.--Take fine large fresh ochras; cut them into thin, round
-slices; string them on threads, and hang them up in festoons to dry in
-the store-room. Before using, they must be soaked in water during
-twenty-four hours. They will then be good (with the addition of tomato
-paste) to boil in soup or gumbo.
-
-
-BEEF GUMBO.--Put into a large stew-pan some pieces of the lean of fresh
-beef, cut up into small bits, and seasoned with a little pepper and
-salt. Add sliced ochras and tomatos, (either fresh or dried ochras and
-tomato paste.) You may put in some sliced onions. Pour on water enough
-to cover it well. Let it boil slowly, (skimming it well,) till
-everything is reduced to rags. Then strain and press it through a
-cullender. Have ready a sufficiency of toasted bread, cut into dice. Lay
-it in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the strained gumbo upon it.
-
-
-TO BOIL OCHRAS.--For boiling, the ochras should be young and small. Wash
-them, and cut off a small piece from each end. Boil them till very
-tender throughout. Then drain them well, and transfer them to a deep
-dish. Lay among them some bits of fresh butter, and season them with
-pepper. Cover the dish, that the butter may be warm and melt the sooner.
-Or you may make a sauce of half a pint of milk boiled, and when it has
-come to a boil enrich with a quarter of a pound of very good fresh
-butter, divided into four pieces; each piece rolled in a little flour,
-the butter stirred in gradually and smoothly, as soon as the milk is
-taken off the fire. Pour this sauce over the dish of ochras, and keep it
-covered till it has gone to table.
-
-We prefer the first way, putting the bit of butter cold into the hot
-ochras, with either milk or flour, and letting the butter melt
-gradually, in the manner of green beans. You may boil with them a small
-piece of very good bacon, removing when the ochras are taken off the
-fire. Season with pepper.
-
-
-ONIONS.--The best onions for cooking are the white or silver-skinned.
-The red-skinned are generally strong and coarse. Shalots are very small
-and delicate. Some sorts of large onions are milder and nicer than those
-of middle size, and some that are very small have a powerful taste and
-smell. The outer skin of most onions should be peeled entirely, and the
-ends cut off. All onions are the better for boiling, before they are
-cooked for any other purpose. Put them into a stew-pan with cold water,
-and when they have come to a boil pour off that water, and replace it
-with fresh cold also. Boil them slowly till quite tender all through,
-which will not be in less than half an hour; more, if they are large.
-When done, drain them well, dish them, and pour over them some nice
-melted butter.
-
-_To Stew Onions._--Peel, slice them, and stew them in milk, enriched
-with butter rolled in flour, and seasoned with a little cayenne and a
-few blades of mace.
-
-_To Roast Onions._--Select fine large onions; do not peel them, but
-place them in a bake-pan, and set them in an oven. Bake them slowly till
-tender all through. When done, peel off the outer skin, and send them
-hot to table, to eat with pepper and cold butter.
-
-They are very good when covered up and roasted under hot ashes, taking
-care that they are done quite through to the heart.
-
-
-TO BOIL GREEN PEAS.--When the peas are shelled, wash them in a pan of
-cold water. Put on the peas in cold water, (a little salted) and let
-them boil very fast. If nice peas, they will generally be done in a
-quarter of an hour after beginning to boil. When simmering, add to them
-a lump or a spoonful of loaf-sugar, and a sprig of fresh green mint,
-(half a dozen leaves) having first ascertained if mint is not disliked
-by any person who is to eat of the peas. To some the taste and odor of
-mint is very agreeable, to others very disgusting, as is the case with
-onions, and many other things that are liked by the majority.
-
-When the peas are all soft or tender, take out the mint, drain the peas
-through a cullender till not a drop of water is left among them;
-transfer them to a deep dish, mix into them some of the best fresh
-butter, and sprinkle them with pepper. Cover them immediately, and send
-them to table hot.
-
-
-STEWED PEAS.--Having prepared the peas as above, put them into a
-stew-pan without any water. Mix among them plenty of bits of nice fresh
-butter, sufficient to cook them. Let them stew slowly in the butter till
-they are quite soft, stirring them up from the bottom frequently. Drain
-and dish them. They will be found very fine--better than if boiled in
-water. Peas should not be stewed this way, except in places where plenty
-of good _fresh_ butter is to be easily obtained.
-
-
-GREEN PEAS.--The largest and finest peas are what the English call
-marrowfat. The sugar pea is next. All green peas for boiling should be
-young and tender, but not so young as to be tasteless or insipid. As a
-general rule, nearly every article of food is best when it has just
-attained its full growth and ripeness; after that period the older it is
-the worse. Peas, so old as to be hard and yellow, are unfit to eat. In
-some ultra economical houses, good peas are things unknown. They are not
-bought in spring or early summer while young and fresh, but are never
-thought cheap enough till they become hard and yellow. Afterwards, when
-they reach the cheap state, a quantity are bought low, and put into jars
-not to be touched till next spring, when they are boiled, (with great
-difficulty, for they never become soft,) and _attempted_ to be passed
-off "as this year's fresh peas"--and by the time the family have gotten
-through with _them_, "this year's young peas" have become old. Do not
-believe (for it is untrue,) that any eatable can be kept in _all_ its
-genuine freshness and original flavor, by merely secluding them
-entirely from air. They will not spoil or decompose if skillfully
-managed; but they _have not exactly_ their natural taste and
-consistence. It is better for those who _never make pickles or
-preserves_, to wait for fresh vegetables or fruit, till they are
-actually in market--or, if put up in jars, to add something more than
-parboiling and seclusion from the air. Vinegar, salt, sugar, spice and
-alcohol, will be found the grand and universal articles for securing the
-goodness of nearly all eatables. Without some of these along with them,
-things that have not spoiled while secluded from air, will surely spoil
-almost as soon as the jars are opened, and the external air admitted to
-them.
-
-
-GREEN OR STRING BEANS.--Take young and tender beans, the seeds just
-forming in the pods. Take off the string with a knife, leaving no bits
-of string adhering to the beans, either at top or bottom. Do not split
-them. Cut each bean into three pieces, _not more_, and as you cut them
-throw them into a pan of cold water, kept beside you for the purpose.
-The old-fashioned way is now obsolete of cutting them into dice or
-diamonds, or of splitting them. The more they are cut up (beside the
-trouble and time wasted,) the more the water gets through them when
-cooking; the more tasteless they become, and the more difficult they are
-to drain. We have never met with beans that, when cut small, had not a
-puddle of greasy water in the bottom of the dish, and sometimes the
-water was all through the dish, and the beans floating in it. Shame on
-such bean-cooking! When the beans are all ready for the pot, throw them
-into boiling water very slightly salted, and they will generally be done
-in half an hour after they have come to a boil. Transfer them to a
-sieve; and press, and drain them well, till no water is left about them.
-Then put them into a deep dish, mix them with fresh butter, and dredge
-them with black pepper.
-
-
-LIMA BEANS.--Shell the lima beans into a pan of cold water. Let them lie
-in it an hour. Put them in boiling water, little more than enough to
-cover them, and boil them till soft and tender. When done, drain and
-serve them up in a deep dish, adding among them a good piece of butter.
-The Lima beans now raised in North America have become coarse and white,
-requiring a renewal of fresh stock or new seeds from Peru. They will
-then be green and delicate again, as formerly.
-
-
-SWEET POTATOS.--Choose the sweet potatos large, and nearly of the same
-size, then you can either boil or roast them. When small they should
-always be boiled; as, when baked or roasted, the skin becomes so thick
-and hard, that it takes up nearly the whole potato. Wash them very
-clean, and cut off a bit from each end. Put them into a large pot of
-boiling water without salt, and boil them steadily for at least an
-hour. Probe them with a narrow-bladed sharp knife, and if it does not
-easily penetrate all through the largest potato, (in at one side and out
-at the other) continue the boiling till all are soft throughout. Then
-take them up, peel them, and keep them warm till sent to table.
-
-_To Bake Sweet Potatos_ they should all be large. Wash them, dry them,
-and cut off the ends. Then bake them in an oven, lying side by side, not
-piling one on another. Or else (which is better) roast them in hot
-ashes. They will not be done in less than an hour and a half, perhaps
-longer. Then wipe them clean, and serve them up in the skins. Eat them
-from the skins, with cold butter and a tea-spoon.
-
-_To Stew Sweet Potatos._--Wash and wipe them. Then scrape off the skins
-with a sharp knife. Split them, and cut them into long pieces. Stew them
-with fresh pork, veal, or beef; first putting at the bottom a very
-little butter or water to start them, and then the gravy of the meat
-will suffice for cooking them--skimming it well. Water to stew should be
-hot.
-
-_Mashed Sweet Potatos_ are very nice. When well boiled, mash them
-smoothly with a potato beetle. Mix them with fresh butter, and then stir
-them well, or beat them with a large wooden spoon to render them light.
-Afterwards, you may make them into round thick cakes, and touch the
-surface of every one with pepper--red or black. This is a breakfast dish
-for company.
-
-
-BOILED TURNIPS.--Have all your turnips nearly of the same size. Pare
-them; and if large cut them in half. Put them into boiling water, very
-slightly salted, and keep them closely covered. Twenty minutes will boil
-them if very small and young; their flavor is then very fine.
-Afterwards, according to their size, they will require of gentle
-boiling, from three-quarters to a full hour. Keep them boiling till, on
-trying them with a fork, you find them perfectly tender all through.
-Then take them up, drain them well, and pour melted butter over them;
-touch the top of each with a spot of black pepper. If very old and
-spongy, they are only fit for the pig barrel. It is said that if boiled
-in their skins, (though requiring a much longer time to cook well) they
-have a fine flavor, and are less watery. You can try it.
-
-If the turnips are to be mashed, cut them into small pieces, boil them
-very soft, and drain and squeeze them till all the water is pressed out.
-Then mash them very smooth. Transfer them to a deep dish, and mix them
-with a _moderate portion_ of fresh butter. Turnips are generally served
-with too much butter. Season them with pepper. When sent to table take
-care not to set them in a sunny place, as it will give them a bad taste.
-
-Turnips, baked in an oven, are very good--for a change.
-
-
-SYDNEY SMITH'S SALAD-DRESSING.--Have ready two well-boiled potatos,
-peeled and rubbed through a sieve; they will give peculiar smoothness
-to the mixture. Also, a very small portion of raw onion, not more than a
-_quarter_ of a tea-spoonful, (as the presence of the onion is to be
-scarcely hinted,) and the pounded yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Mix
-these ingredients on a deep plate with one tea-spoonful of salt, one of
-made mustard, three table-spoonfuls of olive oil, and one table-spoonful
-of vinegar. Add, lastly, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy; mash, and
-mix the whole together, (using a boxwood spoon) and see that all the
-articles are thoroughly amalgamated. Having cut up a sufficiency of
-lettuce, that has been well washed in cold water, and drained, add to it
-the dressing immediately before dinner, mixing the lettuce through it
-with a boxwood fork.
-
-This salad dressing was invented by the Rev. Sydney Smith, whose genius
-as a writer and a wit is well known on both sides the Atlantic. If
-_exactly_ followed, it will be found very fine on trial; no peculiar
-flavor predominating, but excellent as a whole. The above directions are
-taken from a manuscript receipt given by Mr. Smith to an American
-gentleman then in London.
-
-In preparing this, or any other salad-dressing, take care not to use
-that excessively pungent and deleterious combination of drugs which is
-now so frequently imposed upon the public, as _the best white wine
-vinegar_. In reality, it has no vinous material about it; and it may be
-known by its violent and disagreeable sharpness, which overpowers and
-destroys the taste (and also the substance) of whatever it is mixed
-with. It is also very unwholesome. Its color is always pale, and it is
-nearly as clear as water. No one should buy or use it. The first quality
-of _real_ cider vinegar is good for all purposes.
-
-The above receipt may be tried for lobster dressing.
-
-A Spanish proverb says, that for compounding a _good_ salad, four
-persons are required--a spend-thrift for oil; a miser for vinegar; a man
-of judgment for salt; and a madman for stirring the dressing.
-
-
-FINE CHICKEN SALAD.--Having skinned a pair of cold fowls, remove the
-fat, and carve them as if for eating; cut all the flesh entirely from
-the bones, and either mince it or divide it into small shreds. Mix with
-it a little smoked tongue or cold ham, grated rather than chopped. Have
-ready one or two fine fresh lettuces, picked, washed, drained, and cut
-small. Put the cut lettuce on a dish, (spreading it evenly,) or into a
-large bowl, and place upon it the minced chicken in a close heap in the
-centre. For the dressing, mix together the following ingredients, in the
-proportion of the yolks of four eggs well beaten, a tea-spoonful of
-powdered white sugar, a salt-spoon of cayenne; (no salt if you have ham
-or tongue with the chicken,) two tea-spoonfuls of made mustard, six
-table-spoonfuls of salad oil, and five of celery vinegar. Stir this
-mixture well: put it into a small sauce-pan, set it over the fire, and
-let it boil three minutes,(not more,) stirring it all the time. Then set
-it to cool. When quite cold, cover with it thickly, the heap of chicken
-in the centre of the salad. To ornament it, have ready half a dozen or
-more, hard-boiled eggs, which, after the shell is peeled off, must be
-thrown directly into a pan of cold water to prevent them from turning
-blue. Cut each egg (white and yolk together) lengthways into four long
-pieces of equal size and shape; lay the pieces upon the salad all round
-the heap of chicken, and close to it; placing them so as to follow each
-other round in a slanting direction, something in the form of a circular
-wreath of leaves. Have ready, also, some very red cold beet, cut into
-small cones or points all of equal size; arrange them in a circle upon
-the lettuce, outside of the circle of cut egg. To be decorated in this
-manner, the salad should be placed in a dish rather than a bowl. In
-helping it, give each person a portion of every thing, and they will mix
-them together on their plates.
-
-This salad should be prepared immediately before dinner or supper; as
-standing long will injure it. The colder it is the better.
-
-
-CARROTS.--Having washed the carrots, and scraped off the outer skin with
-a sharp knife, or taken off a very thin paring, split them a few inches
-down, leaving a long cleft in the upper half only, and put them on to
-cook in plenty of boiling water, with a little salt in it. There is no
-table vegetable that needs more boiling than a carrot. Small young
-carrots require at least half an hour. If large, they must boil from one
-to two hours, according to their size. When you find them tender
-throughout, dish them, with melted butter poured round them. They are
-eaten plain, only with boiled beef or boiled mutton. They are often
-added to soups and stews, when they must be put in long before the other
-vegetables. For soups and stews the nicest way is to grate them (before
-boiling,) on a coarse grater. This way they improve both the taste and
-color.
-
-Carrots are very nice, sliced thin after boiling, put into a sauce-pan,
-with bits of butter dredged with flour, seasoned with pepper, and stewed
-soft without any water.
-
-
-PARSNIPS.--Scrape the parsnips, and split them half way down. Put them
-into boiling water with a little salt. Parsnips require less boiling
-than carrots; and, according to their size, will take from half an hour
-to an hour. Skim the water while they are boiling. When quite tender
-take them up, drain them, dish them, and pour melted butter over them.
-They are especially eaten with corned pork, or salted cod; but are good
-with various things. They are excellent stewed with fresh beef, or fresh
-pork, for a plain dinner.
-
-_Fried Parsnips_ make a nice breakfast dish. They must first be
-parboiled; then split, and cut into long pieces, and fried brown in
-fresh butter, or in nice dripping of veal or beef.
-
-_Baked Parsnips._--Split and parboil them. Then place them in a large
-dish. Lay among them some bits of fresh butter, and bake them brown. Eat
-them with any sort of roast meat.
-
-_Parsnip Fritters._--Boil and peel half a dozen large parsnips, and then
-split and cut them in pieces. Make a nice batter, allowing four beaten
-eggs to a pint of milk, and four table-spoonfuls of flour. Have ready
-over the fire, a frying-pan with boiling lard. Put in a large spoonful
-of batter; upon that a piece of parsnip, and cover it with another
-spoonful of batter. Proceed thus till you have used up the parsnips.
-When done, drain them from the lard, and serve them hot at breakfast or
-dinner.
-
-
-BEETS.--Beets must be washed very clean, but not scraped, trimmed, or
-cut till after they are boiled. Put them on in boiling water; and,
-according to their size, boil them steadily from one hour and a half, to
-two hours and a half, but they must not be probed (to ascertain if they
-are tender all through,) but pinched with the fingers. Then peel off the
-skins, and trim them neatly. Hold the beet in a pan of cold water while
-you peel it. Do it quickly. Serve them up either split or sliced, with
-melted butter poured over them, and seasoned with pepper. Or else they
-may be sliced thick, (allowing them to get cold,) and spiced vinegar
-poured over them. Red beets are usually dressed with vinegar; the white
-or pale ones with melted butter.
-
-_Baked Beets_ have a finer flavor, and are more nutritious than when
-boiled. Wash and wipe them dry, but do not skin or cut them till after
-cooking. They must be thoroughly done before they are taken out of the
-oven, and then pared and trimmed. According to their size they will
-require from four to six hours baking. Their blood-red color makes them
-ornamental to the table; but when cooked in soups or stews they add
-little to the taste, which is overpowered by that of other ingredients.
-
-
-SQUASHES OR CYMLINGS.--See that the squashes are not turning old, and
-hardening. Wash them, and cut them into four pieces each; but do not
-split them. Put them on in boiling water, with a little salt. Boil them
-steadily till quite tender throughout. Then take them up, and mash or
-drain them through a cullender, pressing them with a broad short-handled
-wooden ladle. All the water (of which there will be a profusion,) must
-be entirely squeezed out. Serve them up very dry, and smoothly and
-evenly mashed, having first mixed with them a _very little butter_; and
-season them with very little pepper. Much butter gives them a
-disagreeable taste and consistence, and the butter should be fresh and
-good. It is better to mash squashes, turnips, pumpkins, &c., without any
-butter, than to use that which is salt and bad. The flat white ones are
-the best summer squashes; the striped green are more watery; the cashaw,
-or yellow winter squash, is best of all, and grows well in the New
-England states, from whence, as it keeps well all winter, it is often
-brought in barrels. Every family should get a barrel of winter squashes
-from Boston. They do not thrive in the middle States. In New Jersey and
-Pennsylvania, they cannot be raised even from the best yankee seed,
-turning pumpkinish the next year, and afterwards becoming quite
-pumpkins, and very bad ones too. But when raised in their native soil
-and climate nothing of the squash kind is equal to them. They are very
-dry and sweet, and of a rich yellow color. Take them out of the barrel,
-and keep them far apart on the shelves or floor of a dry pantry.
-
-
-STEWED PUMPKIN.--No pumpkin is too large to be good, but they may be too
-old. Cut a good deep-colored pumpkin in half, and empty out all the
-seeds, &c. Then cut it into pieces, and pare them. Put the pieces of
-pumpkin into a pot with barely sufficient water to keep them from
-burning. When they are thoroughly done or soft all through, take them
-up; drain, mash, and press them through a cullender. They must be _very_
-dry. Put the stewed pumpkin into a dish, and mix it with a small portion
-of butter. Season it with black pepper, and eat it with boiled corned
-beef, or corned pork, or bacon.
-
-Stewed pumpkin is chiefly used for pies and puddings.
-
-
-YANKEE PUMPKIN PUDDING.--Take a pint of stewed pumpkin. Mix together a
-pint of _West India_ molasses and a pint of milk, adding two large
-table-spoonfuls of brown sugar, and two table-spoonfuls of ground
-ginger. Beat three eggs very light, and stir them, gradually, into the
-milk and molasses. Then, by degrees, stir in the stewed pumpkin. Put it
-into a deep dish, and bake it without a crust. This is a good farm-house
-pudding, and _equally_ good for any healthy children.
-
-For a large family, double the quantities of ingredients--that is, take
-a quart of milk, a quart of molasses, four spoonfuls of brown sugar,
-four spoonfuls of ginger, six eggs, and a quart of stewed pumpkin.
-
-You had best have at hand _more than a quart_ of pumpkin, lest when
-mixed it should not hold out. This pudding is excellent made of winter
-squash.
-
-
-STEWED MUSHROOMS.--Peel and wash a quart of very fresh mushrooms, and
-cut off all the stems. Button mushrooms are best; but if you can only
-procure large ones, quarter them. Sprinkle them slightly with salt and
-pepper, and put them into a stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of nice
-fresh butter, cut in pieces and slightly dredged with flour. Keep the
-lid closely covered all the time. When quite tender, put the mushrooms
-into a deep dish, in the bottom of which is laid a nice toast that has
-had all the crust pared off, and been dipped for a minute in hot water,
-and slightly buttered. Serve up the mushrooms closely covered. They
-require no seasoning.
-
-
-BAKED MUSHROOMS.--Take large fine fresh mushrooms. Peel them and remove
-the stems. Lay them on their backs in a large dish, (not letting them
-touch each other) and put into each mushroom, (as in a cup) a bit of the
-best fresh butter. Set the dish in an oven and bake them. Send them to
-table in the same dish; or transfer them to another, with a large toast
-at the bottom. There is no better way of cooking mushrooms than this.
-
-If you cannot procure good butter, cook them in nice olive oil.
-
-
-TO BOIL INDIAN CORN.--Corn for boiling should be full grown, but young
-and tender, and the grains soft and milky. If its grains are becoming
-hard and yellow, it is too old for cooking. Strip the ears of their
-leaves and the silk. Put them into a large pot of boiling water, and
-boil it rather fast for half an hour or more, in proportion to its size
-and age. When done, take it up, drain it, dish it under a cover, or
-napkin, and serve it up hot. Before eating it, rub each ear with salt
-and pepper, and then spread it with butter. Epicures in corn consider it
-sweetest when eaten off the cob. And so it is; but _before company_ few
-persons like to hold an ear of indian corn in their hands, and bite the
-grains off the cob with their teeth. Therefore, it is more frequently
-cut off the cob into a dish; mixed with salt, pepper, and butter, and
-helped with a spoon.
-
-It is said that young green corn will boil sufficiently in ten minutes,
-(putting it, _of course_, into a pot of boiling water.) Try it.
-
-_Another way._--Having pulled off the silk, boil the corn without
-removing any but the outside leaves. With the leaves or husk on, it will
-require a longer time to cook, but is sweeter and more nutritious.
-
-
-HOMINY.--Hominy is white indian corn, shelled from the cob, divested of
-the outer skin by scalding in hot lye, and then winnowed and dried. It
-is perfectly white. Having washed it through two or three waters, pour
-boiling water on it; cover it, and let it soak all night, or for several
-hours. Then put it into a pot or sauce-pan, allow two quarts of water to
-each quart of hominy, and boil it till perfectly soft. Then drain it,
-put it into a deep dish, add some butter to it, and send it to table
-hot, (and _uncovered_,) to eat with any sort of meat; but particularly
-with corned beef or pork. What is left may be made next day into thick
-cakes, and fried in butter. To be _very good_, hominy should boil four
-or five hours.
-
-
-CAROLINA GRITS OR SMALL HOMINY.--The small-grained hominy must be washed
-and boiled in the same manner as the large, only allow rather less water
-for boiling. For instance, put a pint and a half of water to a quart of
-small hominy. Drain it well, send it to table in a deep dish _without a
-cover_, and eat it with butter and sugar, or molasses. If covered after
-boiling, the vapor will condense within the lid, and make the hominy
-thin and watery.
-
-
-SAMP.--This is indian corn skinned, and then pounded or ground till it
-is still smaller and finer than the Carolina grits. It must be cooked
-and used in the same manner. It is very nice eaten with cream and sugar.
-
-For invalids it may be made thin, and eaten as gruel.
-
-
-HOMINY CAKES.--A pint of small hominy, or Carolina grits; a pint of
-white indian meal, sifted; a salt-spoonful of salt, three large
-table-spoonfuls of fresh butter; three eggs or three table-spoonfuls of
-strong yeast; a quart of milk. Having washed the small hominy, and left
-it soaking all night, boil it soft, drain it, and while hot mix it with
-the indian meal; adding the salt, and the butter. Then mix it gradually
-with the milk, and set it away to cool. Beat the eggs very light, and
-add them gradually to the mixture. The whole should make a thick batter.
-Then bake them on a griddle, in the manner of buckwheat cakes, rubbing
-or scraping the griddle always before you put on a fresh cake. Trim off
-their edges nicely, and send them to table hot. Eat them with butter.
-
-Or you may bake them in muffin rings.
-
-If you prefer making these cakes with yeast, you must begin them
-earlier, as they will require time to rise. The yeast should be strong
-and fresh. If _not_ very strong, use four table-spoonfuls instead of
-two. Cover the pan, set it in a warm place; and do not begin to bake
-till it is well risen, and the surface of the mixture is covered with
-bubbles.
-
-
-CORN PORRIDGE.--Take young corn, and cut the grains from the cob.
-Measure it, and to each heaping pint of corn allow not quite a quart of
-milk. Put the corn and milk into a pot, stir them well together, and
-boil them till the corn is perfectly soft. Then add some bits of fresh
-butter dredged with flour, and let it boil five minutes longer. Stir in
-at the last, four beaten yolks of eggs, and in three minutes remove it
-from the fire. Take up the porridge and send it to table hot, and stir
-some fresh butter into it. You may add sugar and nutmeg.
-
-
-CORN OYSTERS.--Three dozen ears of large young indian corn, six eggs;
-lard and butter in equal portions for frying. The corn must be young and
-soft. Grate it from the cob as fine as possible, and dredge it with
-wheat flour. Beat very light the six eggs, and mix them gradually with
-the corn. Then let the whole be well incorporated by hard beating. Add a
-salt-spoon of salt.
-
-Have ready, in a frying pan, a sufficient quantity of lard and fresh
-butter mixed together. Set it over the fire till it is boiling hot, and
-then put in portions of the corn mixture, so as to form oval cakes about
-three inches long, and nearly an inch thick. Fry them brown, and send
-them to table hot. In taste they will be found to have a singular
-resemblance to fried oysters, and are universally liked if properly
-done. They make nice side-dishes at dinner, and are very good at
-breakfast.
-
-
-SUMMER SACCATASH.--String a quarter of a peck of young green beans, and
-cut each bean into three pieces, (not more,) and do not split them. Have
-by you a pan of cold water, and throw the beans into it as you cut them.
-Have ready over the fire a pot or sauce-pan of boiling water; put in the
-beans, and boil them hard near twenty minutes. Afterwards take them up,
-and drain them well through a cullender. Take half a dozen ears of young
-but full-grown indian corn, (or eight or nine if they are not all large)
-and cut the grains down from the cob. Mix together the corn and the
-beans, adding a very small tea-spoonful of salt, and boil them about
-twenty minutes. Then take up the saccatash, drain it well through a
-sieve, put it into a deep dish, and while hot mix in a large piece of
-butter, (at least the size of an egg,) add some pepper, and send it to
-table. It is generally eaten with salted or smoked meat.
-
-Fresh Lima beans are excellent cooked in this manner, with green corn.
-They must be boiled for half an hour or more, before they are cooked
-with the corn.
-
-Dried beans and dried corn will do very well for saccatash, but they
-must be soaked all night before boiling. The water poured on them for
-soaking should be hot.
-
-
-WINTER SACCATASH.--This is made of dried shelled beans and hard corn,
-soaked over night in separate pans, and boiling water poured over them
-in the morning, after pouring off the first water. Then boil both
-together till they are _quite soft_. Drain them dry in a sieve, put them
-into a deep dish, and mix in a large piece of butter, seasoned with
-pepper. This is a good accompaniment to corned pork or beef. The meat
-must be boiled in a separate pot.
-
-
-CAROLINA WAY OF BOILING RICE.--Pick the rice carefully, and wash it
-through two or three cold waters till it is quite clean. Then (having
-drained off all the water through a cullender,) put the rice into a pot
-of boiling water, with a very little salt, allowing as much as a quart
-of water to half a pint of rice. Boil it twenty minutes or more. Then
-pour off the water, draining the rice as dry as possible. Lastly, set it
-on hot coals with the lid off, that the steam may not condense upon it
-and render the rice watery. Keep it drying thus for a quarter of an
-hour. Put it into a deep dish, and loosen and toss it up from the bottom
-with two forks, one in each hand, so that the grains may appear to stand
-alone.
-
-
-TOMATOS.--Tomatos require long cooking; otherwise they will have a raw
-taste, and be quite too acid. Take fine tomatos that are quite ripe, put
-them into a pan, and scald them in very hot water. Let them remain for
-ten minutes, or till you can peel them without scalding your hands.
-Drain them through a sieve. You may either press out all the seeds,
-(retaining only the pulp or liquid,) or leave the seeds in, squeezing
-the tomatos slightly. Put them into a stew-pan, which must on no account
-be of copper, as the acid of the tomatos will render it poisonous. We
-knew a lady who died in agonies from eating tomatos cooked in a copper
-vessel that had the tinning partly worn off. If the tin inside is
-indispensable, (which it is) why have any copper about it? A vessel of
-_double_ block tin only, will last as long, and stand the fire as well
-as if there was copper inside. For all stews, an iron pan, lined with
-delft (or what is called porcelain or enamel) is excellent. Best of all
-for stewing tomatos, and many other things, is a _bain marie_, or double
-kettle, with the water outside, in the outer kettle.
-
-Having nearly filled the stew-pan with the tomatos, (cut up, if they are
-large) add a little salt and pepper, a piece of fresh butter dredged
-with flour, and (if approved) a very little chopped onion. If you have
-ready-boiled onions at hand, take one or two of them and mince it fine.
-Add to the tomatos some powdered white sugar to lessen the excessive
-acid. Put but very few bread-crumbs--if too many, they will weaken the
-taste. Tomatos are an improvement to every kind of plain soups, and may
-be added, with advantage, after the soup is in the tureen. The cooking
-of tomatos should be commenced at least three hours before dinner. Put
-no water with them--their own juice is sufficient.
-
-Many persons like tomatos raw, sliced like cucumbers, and seasoned with
-vinegar and pepper.
-
-
-TO KEEP TOMATO PULP.--Having boiled them till entirely dissolved,
-(adding a little salt and pepper) press and strain them through a sieve,
-pour the liquor into pint or half-pint bottles, (which must be perfectly
-clean) and stand the bottles up in a large iron pot or oven, with a
-layer of straw in the bottom. Fill up the pot with cold water, cork
-them tightly, and let the water boil round the bottles for five hours.
-As it boils away, fill up with more hot water. When you take them out,
-put a spoonful of salad oil at the top of each bottle; seal the bottles
-with rosin cement. This pulp will be good for tomato purposes till next
-summer, if kept in a cool dry place. When you open a bottle use it fast,
-or cork it again immediately.
-
-
-BROILED TOMATOS.--Take the very largest and ripest tomatos. Wash, but do
-not scald or peel them. Cut the tomatos _half_ apart on four sides,
-extract the seeds, and fill each tomato with a nice forcemeat of
-stuffing, made of bread-crumbs, butter, minced veal or pork, mace,
-nutmeg, and sweet marjoram. Having stewed this stuffing in a sauce-pan,
-(moistening it with tomato juice, or gravy) fill all the tomatos with
-it, opening them out a little like the leaves of a tulip. Butter
-slightly a heated gridiron, and broil them on it. Or, they may be baked
-in an oven.
-
-This is a dish for company, either at dinner or breakfast.
-
-
-BUTTON TOMATOS.--These are the very smallest tomatos, and are excellent
-for pickling and preserving. If quite ripe, and free from blemishes,
-they will keep very well in cold vinegar, and are the easiest done of
-all pickles. There are two sorts of button tomatos, the red and the
-yellow, both equally good. Wipe every tomato clean and dry, and put
-them into small glass jars that have a cover. Fill the jars two-thirds
-with the tomatos, and then fill up to the top with the best cider
-vinegar. On the top put a table-spoonful of salad oil, and cover them
-closely. They require nothing to secure their keeping well. But the
-taste will be improved, by putting in with them, three very small thin
-muslin bags, each containing mace, nutmeg, and ginger, broken small, but
-not powdered. Lay one bag of spice at the bottom of the jar; one about
-the middle, and one near the top. If done without spice, they are the
-cheapest of all pickles. Do not put them into soups or stews; but eat
-them cold with meat, like other pickles.
-
-If kegs of these tomatos were carried to sea, and liberally served out
-to the crew, the scurvy would be less frequent, even on long voyages.
-
-Large whole tomatos would do for this purpose. We wish it were the
-universal custom in ships to take out with them plenty of tomatos kept
-in this way in vinegar. Tomato catchup is now much used for the army--so
-it should be for the navy; not only for the sick, but for the well; to
-keep them well.
-
-
-
-
-BREAD, PLAIN CAKES, etc.
-
-
-HINTS ON HEATING OVENS AND BAKING.--Brick ovens are generally heated
-with dry fagots or small branches, or with light split wood. For baking
-bread, the oven-wood must be heavier than for pies. A heap of wood
-should be placed in the centre of the oven on the brick floor, and then
-set on fire. While the wood is burning, the door of the oven must be
-left open. When the wood is all burnt down, and reduced to a mass of
-small red coals, the oven will be very hot. Then shovel out all the
-coals and sweep the oven floor with a broom, till it is perfectly clean,
-and entirely free from ashes. Try the heat within. For baking bread, the
-floor of the oven should look red, and a little flour thrown in should
-burn brown immediately. If you can hold your hand within the mouth of
-the oven as long as you can distinctly count twenty, the heat is about
-right. Pies, puddings, &c., require less heat. When a brick oven is
-used, a peel, or large broad-bladed long-handled wooden shovel is
-necessary for putting in the bread, pies, &c., placing them on the broad
-or shovel-end of the peel, and slipping them off on the oven floor. Then
-close up the door of the oven, and leave the things to bake. When done,
-slip the peel beneath them, and hand them out on it.
-
-To bake in an Iron Dutch oven, (a large deep, cast-iron pan, with a
-handle, a close-fitting lid, and standing on three or four feet,) you
-must first stand the lid upright before a clear fire to heat the inside;
-and it will be best if the oven itself is also stood up before the fire
-for the same purpose. This should be done while the article to be baked
-is preparing, that it may be put in as soon as it is ready. The oven may
-be suspended to the crane, and hung over the fire, or it may be set on a
-bed of hot wood coals in the corner of the hearth. As soon as the loaf
-or pie is in, put on the lid of the oven, and cover it all over with hot
-coals, replenishing it with more live coals as the baking proceeds. If
-you find it too hot on the top, deaden it with ashes. If the oven stands
-on the hearth, keep up the heat at the bottom, by additional live coals
-placed beneath it. Whether the oven is hung over the fire, or stood on
-the hearth, there must always be hot coals all over the lid, the hottest
-near the edge.
-
-To bake on a griddle, you may either hang it over the fire, or set it
-over hot coals on the hearth. Most griddles have feet. The fire must be
-quite clear and bright, and free from smoke, or the cakes will be
-blackened, and have a disagreeable taste. The griddle must be perfectly
-clean; and while you are baking, it will require frequent scraping, with
-a broad knife. If it is well scraped after every cake is taken off, it
-will not want greasing, as there will be no stickiness. Otherwise, some
-butter tied up in a clean rag and laid on a saucer, must be kept at hand
-all the time, to rub over the griddle between the baking of each cake;
-for butter, lard, or nice beef or veal dripping may be substituted, but
-it will not be so fine. Never grease with mutton fat, as it will
-communicate the taste of tallow. A bit of the fat of _fresh_ pork may
-do, (stuck on a fork,) but salt pork will give the outside of the cakes
-a disagreeable saltness, and therefore should not be used.
-
-A griddle may be placed in the oven of a hot stove. Some close stoves
-have a hole in the top with a flat lid or cover, which lid can be used
-as a griddle.
-
-The tin-reflecting ovens (with shelves for the pies and cakes) that are
-used for baking in the summer, and that, having a furnace beneath, and a
-chimney-pipe, can be set out of doors, so that the kitchen may not be
-kept hot, are very good for things that will bake soon, and that do not
-require what is called a strong, solid heat. But they are not effective
-unless the inside is kept _very bright_; otherwise it will not reflect
-the heat. The tin ovens should (as well as tin roasters) be cleaned
-thoroughly and scoured bright with sand every time they are used.
-
-The art of baking with anthracite, (or any other mineral coal,) can only
-be acquired by practice. The above hints on baking, refer exclusively to
-wood fires.
-
-When a charcoal furnace is used for baking, stewing, or any sort of
-cooking, it should either be set out in the open air, or the door of the
-kitchen must be kept open all the time. The vapor of charcoal in a
-close room is so deleterious as to cause death.
-
-
-DRIED CORN MEAL YEAST CAKES.--Half a pound of fresh hops, four quarts of
-water, a pint of wheat or rye flour, half a pint of strong fresh yeast
-from the brewer or baker, three pints or more of indian meal. Boil half
-a pound of fresh hops in four quarts of water, till the liquid is
-reduced to two quarts. Strain it into a pan, and mix in sufficient wheat
-flour to make a thin batter, adding half a pint of the best yeast you
-can procure. Leave it to ferment; and when the fermentation is over,
-stir in sufficient indian meal to make a moderately stiff dough. Cover
-it, and set in a warm place to rise. When it has become very light, roll
-it out into a square sheet an inch thick, and cut it into flat cakes,
-about four inches square. Spread them out separately, on a large dish,
-and let them dry slowly in a cool place where there is no sun. While
-drying, turn them five or six times a day. When they are quite dry and
-hard, put them, separately, into brown paper bags, and keep them in a
-box closely covered, and in a place not the least damp.
-
-When you want them to use for yeast, dissolve in a little warm water one
-or more of the cakes, in proportion to the quantity of bread you intend
-making. When it is quite dissolved, stir it hard, thicken it with a
-little wheat flour, cover it, and place it near the fire to rise, before
-you use it. Then mix it with the flour, according to the usual manner
-of making bread. One yeast cake is enough for two quarts of meal or
-flour.
-
-This way of preserving yeast is very convenient for keeping through the
-summer, or for conveying to a distance.
-
-
-EXCELLENT HOME-MADE YEAST.--Yeast should always be kept in a glass
-bottle or a stone jug, and never in earthen or metal. Before you make
-fresh yeast, empty entirely the vessel that has contained the last; and
-if of stone, scald it twice with boiling water, in which it will be well
-to mix a little clear lye. Then rince it with cold water, till perfectly
-clean. If you have not used lye in scalding it, dissolve some potash or
-pearlash in the rinsing water, to remove any acidity that may linger
-about the vessel, and may therefore spoil the new yeast. If you keep
-your yeast in glass bottles, the water must be warm, but not hot; as
-scalding water may crack them: also, melt some potash or pearlash in
-this water. The vessel for keeping it being purified, proceed to make
-your yeast. Have ready, in a kettle over the fire, two quarts of boiling
-water; put into it a very large handful of hops, (as fine and fresh as
-possible,) and let the water boil again with the hops in it for twenty
-minutes more. Sift into a pan three pints of wheat flour. Strain the
-liquor from the hops into a large bowl, and pour half of it hot over the
-flour. Stir it well, and press out all the lumps till it is quite
-smooth. Let the other half of the liquid stand till it is cool, and then
-pour it gradually to the rest; mixing it well, by stirring as you
-proceed. Then take half a pint of good strong yeast--brewer's or baker's
-yeast, if you can get it fresh; if not, you must use some that has been
-left from your last making, provided it is not the least sour; stir this
-yeast into the mixture of hop water and flour, put it immediately into
-your jug or bottles, and cork it loosely till the fermentation is over,
-(which should be in an hour,) and it will then be fit for use.
-Afterwards cork it tightly. It will keep better if you put a raisin or
-two into the bottom of each bottle, before you pour in the fresh yeast.
-Into a stone jug put half a dozen raisins.
-
-All yeast is better and more powerful for being fresh. It is better to
-make it frequently, (the trouble being little,) than to risk its
-becoming sour by endeavoring to keep it too long. When sour it becomes
-weak and watery, and tastes and smells disagreeably, and will never make
-light bread; besides, being very unwholesome. The acidity may be
-somewhat corrected by stirring in some dissolved pearlash, saleratus, or
-soda, immediately before the yeast is used; but it is better to have it
-good and fresh, without the necessity of any corrective. Yeast should
-always be kept in a cool place.
-
-Those who live in towns where there are breweries have no occasion to
-make their own yeast during the brewing season, and in summer they can
-every day supply themselves with fresh yeast from the baker's. It is
-only in country places where there are neither brewers or bakers that it
-is expedient to make it at home. For home-made yeast, we know the above
-receipt to be excellent.
-
-Sweet cakes, buns, rusks, &c., require stronger and fresher yeast than
-bread; the sugar will otherwise retard their rising.
-
-
-INDIAN BREAD OR PONE.--Four quarts of indian meal sifted, a large half
-pint of wheat flour, a table-spoonful of salt, half a pint of strong
-fresh yeast, a quart of warm water. Sift into a large deep pan the
-indian meal and the wheat flour, mixing them well. Make a hole in the
-centre. The water must be warm, but not hot. Mix it with the yeast, and
-pour them into the hole in the midst of the meal. Take a spoon, and with
-it mix into the liquid enough of the surrounding meal to make a thin
-batter, which you must stir till it is quite smooth, and free from
-lumps. Then strew a handful of wheat flour over the surface, scattering
-it thinly, so as to cover the whole. Warm a clean cloth, and lay it
-folded over the top of the pan. Then set it in a warm place to rise,
-nearer the fire in winter than in summer. When it is quite light, and
-has risen so that the flour on the surface is cracked, strew on the
-salt, and begin to form the whole mass into a dough; commencing round
-the hole that contains the batter, and adding, gradually, sufficient
-lukewarm water (which you must have ready for the purpose,) to mix it of
-the proper consistence. When the whole is completely mixed, and the
-batter in the centre is thoroughly incorporated with the dough, knead it
-hard for at least half an hour. Then, having formed the dough into a
-round lump in the middle of the pan, strew a little more flour thinly
-over it. Cover it, and set it again in a warm place for half an hour.
-Then flour your pasteboard, divide the dough equally, and make it into
-two loaves. Have the oven ready. Put in the loaves directly, and bake
-them about two hours or more. Indian meal requires always more baking
-than wheat. When you take them out, it is well to wrap each loaf in a
-clean, coarse towel, well sprinkled with cold water, and rolled up damp
-till the bread is baked. Having thus wrapped up the loaves, stand them
-on end to cool slowly. The damp cloths will prevent the crust from
-hardening too much while the loaves are cooling.
-
-All indian bread, and every sort of indian cake, is best when quite
-fresh.
-
-Excellent bread may be made of equal proportions of wheat, rye flour,
-and indian corn; or of three parts wheat and one part indian. All bread
-should be kept closely secluded from the air, wrapped in cloths, and put
-away in boxes or baskets with tightly-fitting lids.
-
-Should you find the dough sour, (either from the heat of the weather, or
-from standing too long,) you may recover it, by dissolving in a little
-lukewarm water a tea-spoonful of pearlash, saleratus, or soda. Sprinkle
-this water all over the dough. Then knead it in, so that it may be
-dispersed throughout. Then put it into the oven as soon as possible;
-first tasting the dough, to discover if the sourness is entirely
-removed. If not, mix in a little more pearlash, and then taste it again.
-Take care not to put in too much of any of these alkaline substances,
-lest they communicate a disagreeable, soapy taste to the bread.
-
-When you buy corn meal, it will keep better if the whole is sifted as
-soon as you get it. Avoid buying much at a time, unless you can keep it
-in a very cool place. When sour, it is unfit to eat. Common indian meal
-is much the best for use.
-
-
-INDIAN RYE BREAD.--Two quarts of indian meal, two quarts of rye meal,
-three pints of milk or water, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, half a pint of
-strong fresh yeast. Having sifted the rye and indian meal in a large
-pan, mix them well together, adding the salt. Boil the milk or water in
-a sauce-pan, and when scalding hot pour it on the meal, and stir the
-whole very hard. If too stiff, add a little more warm water. Let it
-stand till it becomes only of a lukewarm heat, and then stir in the
-yeast. Knead the mixture into a stiff dough, and knead it long and hard
-for at least half an hour. Then cover the pan with a thick cloth that
-has been previously warmed, and set it near the fire to rise. When the
-dough is quite light, and cracked all over the top, take it out of the
-pan; divide the mass in half, make it into two loaves, knead each loaf
-well for ten minutes or more, and then cover and set them again near the
-fire for about half an hour. By this time have the oven ready, put in
-the loaves directly, and bake them at least an hour and a half. This
-bread is considered very wholesome.
-
-Should you find the dough sour, you may rectify it by kneading in a
-tea-spoonful of soda or pearlash, dissolved in a little warm water.
-
-
-INDIAN WHEAT BREAD.--This is made in the above manner, substituting
-wheat for rye flour.
-
-In any sort of home-made bread, (either white or brown) a handful or
-more of indian meal will be found an improvement, rendering it moist and
-sweet.
-
-
-BOSTON RYE AND INDIAN BREAD.--Two quarts of indian meal, two quarts of
-rye meal, half a pint of strong fresh yeast, half a pint of West India
-molasses, a small table-spoonful of salt. Sift the rye and indian meal
-into a large pan or wooden bowl; and mix them well together, adding a
-little salt. Have ready half a pint of water, warm but not hot. Mix with
-it the molasses, and then stir into it the yeast. Make a hole in the
-middle of the pan of meal, pour in the liquid, and then with a spoon
-work into it a portion of the flour that surrounds the hole, till the
-liquid in the centre becomes a thick batter. Sprinkle the top with rye
-meal, lay a thick cloth over the pan, and set it in a warm place to
-rise. In three or four hours it should be light enough to appear cracked
-all over the surface. Then pour into the middle (by degrees) about a
-pint of warm water, (it must not be hot,) and as you pour mix it well
-all through the dough, till the whole becomes a round mass. Sprinkle
-some rye flour on the dough, and having floured your hands, knead it
-long and hard, (at least half an hour, and after it ceases to stick to
-your hands,) turning it over as you proceed. Then sprinkle the dough
-again with flour, cover it, and again set it in a warm place to rise.
-Have the oven ready, and of the proper heat, so that the bread may be
-put in as soon as it has completely risen the second time. When
-perfectly light, the dough will stand high, and the surface will be
-cracked all over. This quantity will be sufficient for a common-sized
-loaf. Set it directly into the oven, and bake it about two hours. When
-bread has done rising, it will fall again if not put into the oven. As
-soon as it is done, wrap it immediately in a clean coarse towel wet with
-cold water, and stand it up on end till it is cool.
-
-This is a palatable, cheap, and wholesome bread. It may be baked in a
-deep tin or iron pan.
-
-If the dough should have stood so long as to become sour, (which it
-will, if mixed over night,) restore it by kneading in a small
-tea-spoonful of pearlash or saleratus melted in a little warm water.
-
-
-EGG PONE.--Three eggs, a quart of indian meal, a large table-spoonful of
-fresh butter, a small tea-spoonful of salt, a half pint (or more) of
-milk. Beat the eggs very light, and mix them with the milk. Then stir
-in, gradually, the indian meal, adding the salt and butter. It must not
-be a batter, but a soft dough, just thick enough to be stirred well with
-a spoon. If too thin, add more indian meal; if too stiff, thin it with a
-little more milk. Beat or stir it _long and hard_. Butter a tin or iron
-pan. Put the mixture into it, and set the pan immediately into an oven,
-which must be moderately hot at first, and the heat increased afterward.
-A Dutch oven is best for this purpose. It should bake an hour and a half
-or two hours, in proportion to its thickness. Send it to table hot, and
-cut into slices. Eat it with butter, or molasses.
-
-
-INDIAN MUSH.--Have ready on a clear fire a pot of boiling water. Stir
-into it, by degrees, (a handful at a time,) sufficient indian meal to
-make a very thick porridge, and then add a very small portion of salt,
-allowing not more than a level tea-spoonful to a quart of meal. You must
-keep the pot boiling all the time you are stirring in the meal; and
-between every handful stir hard with the mush-stick, (a round stick
-about half a yard long, flattened at the lower end,) as, if not well
-stirred, the mush will be lumpy. After it is sufficiently thick and
-smooth, keep it boiling an hour longer, stirring it occasionally. Then
-cover the pot closely, and hang it higher up the chimney, or set it on
-hot coals on the hearth, so as to simmer it slowly for another hour. The
-goodness and wholesomeness of mush depends greatly on its being long and
-thoroughly boiled. It should also be made very thick. If well made, and
-well cooked, it is wholesome and nutritious; but the contrary, if thin,
-and not sufficiently boiled. It is not too long to have it three or four
-hours over the fire, first boiling, then simmering. On the contrary, it
-will be better for it. The coarser the corn meal the less cooking it
-requires. Send it to table hot, and in a deep dish. Eat it with sweet
-milk, buttermilk, or cream, or with butter and sugar, or with butter and
-molasses; making a hole in the middle of your plate of mush, putting
-some butter into the hole, and then adding the sugar or molasses.
-
-Cold mush that has been left may be cut into slices, or mouthfuls, and
-fried next day, in butter, or in nice dripping of veal, beef, or pork;
-but not mutton or lamb.
-
-
-INDIAN HASTY PUDDING.--Put two quarts of milk into a clean pot or
-sauce-pan. Set it over the fire, adding a level tea-spoonful of salt,
-and, when it comes to a boil, stir in a lump of fresh butter about the
-size of a goose egg. Then add (a handful at a time) sufficient indian
-meal to make it very thick, stirring it all the while with a mush stick.
-Keep it boiling well, and continue to throw in indian meal till it is so
-thick that the stick stands upright in it. Then send it to table hot,
-and eat it with milk, cream, or molasses and butter. What is left may be
-cut into slices, and fried next day, or boiled in a bag.
-
-
-INDIAN MEAL GRUEL.--This is an excellent food for the sick. Having
-sifted some indian meal, mix in a quart bowl three table-spoonfuls of
-the meal with six of cold water. Stir it smooth, and press out the lumps
-against the side of the bowl. Have ready a very clean sauce-pan,
-entirely free from grease, with a pint of boiling water. Pour this,
-scalding hot, on the mixture in the bowl, a little at a time, and stir
-it well, adding a pinch of salt. Then put the whole back into the
-sauce-pan. Set it on hot coals and stir it till it boils, making the
-spoon go down to the bottom to prevent the gruel from burning. After it
-has come to a boil, let it continue boiling half an hour, stirring it
-frequently, and skimming it. Give it to the invalid warm, in a bowl or
-tumbler, to be eaten with a tea-spoon. It may be sweetened with a little
-sugar. When the physician permits, some grated nutmeg may be added;
-also, a very little wine.
-
-
-RYE MUSH.--To make smooth rye mush, sift a quart or more of rye meal
-into a pan, and gradually pour in sufficient cold water to make a very
-thick batter, stirring it hard with a spoon as you proceed, and
-carefully pressing out all the lumps against the side of the pan. Add a
-very little salt. The batter must be so thick at the last that you can
-scarcely stir it. Then thin it with a little more water, and see that it
-is quite smooth. Rye, and also wheat flour, have a disposition to be
-more lumpy than corn meal, when made into mush. When thoroughly mixed
-and stirred, put it into a pot, place it over the fire and boil it well,
-stirring it with a mush-stick till it comes to a hard boil; then place
-it in a diminished heat, and simmer it slowly till you want to dish it
-up. Eat it warm, with butter and molasses, or with sweet milk, or fresh
-buttermilk. Rye mush is considered very wholesome, particularly in cases
-of dyspepsia.
-
-
-COMMON HOE-CAKE.--Take an earthen or tin pan, and half fill it with
-coarse indian meal, which had best be sifted in. Add a little salt. Have
-ready a kettle of boiling water. Pour into the indian meal sufficient
-hot water (a little at a time,) to make a stiff dough, stirring it with
-a spoon as you proceed. It must be thoroughly mixed, and stirred hard.
-If you want the cakes for breakfast, mix this dough over night; cover
-the pan, and set it in a _cool_ place till morning. If kept warm, it
-may turn sour. Early next morning, as soon as the fire is burning well,
-set the griddle over it, and take out the dough, a handful at a time.
-Flatten and shape it by patting it with your hands, till you form it
-into cakes about the size of a common saucer, and half an inch thick.
-When the griddle is quite hot, lay on it as many cakes as it will hold,
-and bake them brown. When the upper side is done, slip a broad knife
-beneath and turn them over. They must be baked brown on both sides. Eat
-them warm, with buttermilk, sweet milk, butter, molasses, or whatever is
-most convenient. If you intend these cakes for dinner or supper, mix
-them as early in the day as you can, and (covering the pan) let them
-stand in a cool place till wanted for baking. In cold weather you may
-save trouble by mixing over night enough to last the next day for
-breakfast, dinner, and supper; baking them as they are wanted for each
-meal. Or they may be all baked in the morning, and eaten cold; but they
-are then not so palatable as when warm. They will be less liable to
-stick, if before each baking the griddle is dredged with wheat flour, or
-greased with a bit of fat pork stuck on a fork. You may cover it all
-over with one large cake, instead of several small ones.
-
-This cake is so called, because in some parts of America it was
-customary to bake it on the iron of a hoe, stood up before the fire. It
-is better known by that name than by any other.
-
-
-COMMON GRIDDLE CAKE.--A quart of indian meal, sufficient warm water to
-make a soft dough, a small tea-spoonful of salt. Put the indian meal
-into a pan, and add the salt. Make a hole in the centre of the meal, and
-pour in a little warm water. Then mix it with a large, strong spoon,
-adding, by degrees, water enough to make a soft dough. Flour your hands,
-and knead it into a large lump--divide it into two equal portions. Flour
-your pasteboard, lay on it the first lump of dough, and roll it out
-about an inch thick. Then, (having already heated your griddle,) lay the
-cake upon it, spreading it evenly, and make it a good round shape. It
-should cover the whole surface of the griddle, which must first be
-greased, either with butter or lard tied in a rag, or with a bit of fat
-fresh pork. Bake it well; and when one side is well browned, turn it on
-the other, taking care not to break it. Send it to table hot, cut into
-three-cornered pieces--split and butter them. As soon as the first cake
-is sent in, put on the other to bake.
-
-This is one of the plainest and simplest preparations of indian cake;
-and is very good when warm.
-
-
-PLAIN JOHNNY CAKE.--A quart of indian meal, a pint of warm water, a
-level tea-spoonful of salt. Sift a quart of indian meal into a pan. Make
-a hole in the middle, and pour in a pint of warm water, adding the salt.
-With a spoon mix the meal and water gradually into a soft dough. Stir
-it very hard for a quarter of an hour or more, till it becomes light and
-spongy. Then spread the dough, smooth and evenly, on a stout, flat
-board. A piece of the head of a flour barrel will serve for this
-purpose. Place the board nearly (but not quite) upright, and set a
-smoothing-iron or a stone against the back to support it. Bake it well.
-When done, cut it into squares, and send it hot to table, split and
-buttered. You may eat molasses with it.
-
-
-VERY PLAIN INDIAN DUMPLINGS.--Sift some indian meal into a pan; add
-about a salt-spoon of salt to each quart of meal, and scald it with
-sufficient boiling water to make a stiff dough. Pour in the water
-gradually, stirring as you pour. When the dough becomes a stiff lump
-divide it into equal portions; flour your hands, and make it into thick
-flat dumplings, about as large round as the top of a glass tumbler, or a
-breakfast cup. Dredge the dumplings on all sides with flour, put them
-into a pot of boiling water, (if made sufficiently stiff they need not
-be tied in cloths,) and keep them boiling hard till thoroughly done. Try
-them with a fork, which must come out quite clean, and with no
-clamminess sticking to it. They are an excellent appendage to salt pork
-or bacon, serving them up with the meat; or they may be eaten afterwards
-with butter and molasses, or with milk sweetened well with brown sugar,
-and flavored with a little ground cinnamon. On no account boil them with
-meat.
-
-
-INDIAN MUFFINS.--A pint and a half of yellow indian meal, sifted; a
-handful of wheat flour; a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; a quart of
-milk; four eggs; a very small tea-spoonful of salt. Put the milk into a
-sauce-pan. Cut the butter into it. Set it over the fire and warm it till
-the butter is very soft, but not till it melts. Then take it off, stir
-it well till all mixed, and set it away to cool. Beat four eggs very
-light, and when the milk is cold, stir them into it alternately with the
-meal, a little at a time, of each. Add the salt. Beat the whole very
-hard after it is all mixed. Then butter some muffin-rings on the inside.
-Set them in a hot oven, or on a heated griddle; pour some of the batter
-into each, and bake the muffins well. Send them hot to table, continuing
-to bake while a fresh supply is wanted. Pull them open with your
-fingers, and eat them with butter, to which you may add molasses or
-honey. These muffins will be found excellent, and can be prepared in a
-very short time; for instance, in three quarters or half an hour before
-breakfast or tea.
-
-This mixture may be baked in waffle-irons, as waffles. Butter them, and
-have on the table a glass bowl with powdered sugar and powdered
-cinnamon, to eat with these waffles.
-
-
-CORN MEAL BREAKFAST CAKES.--A quart of indian meal; a handful or more of
-wheat flour; a large salt-spoon of salt; a quart of warm water; an
-additional pint of lukewarm water; a bit of pearlash the size of a
-hazle-nut, or the same quantity of soda or saleratus. Mix over night, in
-a large pan, the indian meal, the wheat flour and salt. Pour on
-gradually a quart of warm water, (warm but not hot,) and stir it in with
-a large wooden or iron spoon, so as to form a very soft dough. Cover the
-pan, and set it on the dresser till morning. In the morning thin the
-dough with another pint of warm water, so as to make it into a batter,
-having first dissolved in the water a salt-spoonful of powdered pearlash
-or saleratus, or a bit the size of a hazle-nut. Beat the mixture hard.
-Then cover it, and let it stand near the fire for a quarter of an hour
-before you begin to bake it. Bake it in thin cakes on a griddle. Send
-them to table hot, and eat them with butter and molasses, or honey.
-
-
-INDIAN RICE CAKES.--Take equal quantities of yellow indian meal and well
-boiled rice. Mix them together in a pan, the meal and rice alternately,
-a little at a time of each. The boiled rice may be either hot or cold;
-but it will be rather best to mix it hot. Having first mixed it with a
-spoon, knead it well with your hands; moistening it with a little milk
-or water, if you find it too stiff. Have ready, over the fire, a heated
-griddle. Grease it with fresh butter tied in a clean rag; and having
-made the mixture into flat round cakes, bake them well on both sides.
-Eat them with butter and sugar, or butter and molasses, or with butter
-alone.
-
-
-PUMPKIN INDIAN CAKES.--Take equal portions of indian meal, and stewed
-pumpkin that has been well mashed and _drained very dry_ in a sieve or
-cullender. Put the stewed pumpkin in a pan, and stir the meal gradually
-into it, a spoonful at a time, adding a little butter as you proceed.
-Mix the whole thoroughly, stirring it very hard. If not thick enough to
-form a stiff dough, add a little more indian meal. Make it into round,
-flat cakes, about the size of a muffin, and bake them over the fire on a
-hot griddle greased with butter. Or lay them in a square iron pan, and
-bake them in an oven.
-
-Send them to table hot, and eat them with butter.
-
-
-EXCELLENT BUCKWHEAT CAKES.--A quart of buckwheat meal, sifted; a level
-tea-spoonful of salt; a small half pint or a large handful of indian
-meal; two large table-spoonfuls of strong fresh brewer's yeast or four
-table-spoonfuls of home-made yeast; sufficient lukewarm water to make a
-moderate batter. Mix together the buckwheat and indian meal, and add the
-salt. Make a hole in the centre of the meal, and pour in the yeast. Then
-stir in gradually, from a kettle, sufficient tepid or lukewarm water to
-make a moderately thick batter when united with the yeast. Cover the
-pan, set it in a warm place, and leave it to rise. It should be light in
-about three hours. When it has risen high, and is covered with bubbles,
-it is fit to bake. Have ready a clean griddle well heated over the fire.
-Grease it well with a bit of fresh butter tied in a clean white rag, and
-kept on a saucer near you. Then dip out a large ladleful of the batter,
-and bake it on the griddle; turning it when brown, with the cake-turner,
-and baking it brown on the other side. Grease the griddle slightly
-between baking each cake, or scrape it smooth with a broad knife. As
-fast as you bake the cakes, lay them, several in a pile, on a hot plate.
-Butter them, and if of large size cut them across into four pieces. Or
-send them to table to be buttered there. Trim off the edges before they
-go in.
-
-If your batter has been mixed over night, and is found sour in the
-morning, dissolve a salt-spoon of pearlash or saleratus in a little
-lukewarm water, stir it into the batter, let it stand a quarter of an
-hour, and then bake it. The alkali will remove the acidity, and increase
-the lightness of the batter. If you use soda for this purpose it will
-require a tea-spoonful.
-
-If the batter is kept at night in so cold a place as to freeze, it will
-be unfit for use. Do not grease the griddle with meat-fat of any sort.
-
-
-NICE RYE BATTER CAKES.--A quart of lukewarm milk, two eggs, a large
-table-spoonful of fresh, brewer's yeast or two of home-made yeast;
-sufficient sifted rye meal to make a moderate batter; a salt-spoon of
-salt; having warmed the milk, beat the eggs very light, and stir them
-gradually into it, alternately with the rye meal, adding the salt. Put
-in the meal, a handful at a time, till you have the batter about as
-thick as for buckwheat cakes. Then stir in the yeast, and give the
-batter a hard beating, seeing that it is smooth and free from lumps.
-Cover the pan, and set it in a warm place to rise. When risen high, and
-covered with bubbles, the batter is fit to bake. Have ready over the
-fire a hot griddle, and bake the cakes in the manner of buckwheat. Send
-them to table hot, and eat them with butter, molasses, or honey.
-
-Yeast powders, used according to the directions that accompany them, and
-put in at the last, just before baking, are an improvement to the
-lightness of all batter cakes, provided that real yeast or eggs are also
-in the mixture. But it is not well to depend on the powders exclusively;
-particularly when real yeast is to be had. The lightness produced by
-yeast powders alone, is not the right sort; and though the cakes are
-eatable, they are too tough and leathery to be wholesome. As
-_auxiliaries_ to genuine yeast, and to beaten eggs, yeast powders are
-excellent. But not as the sole dependence.
-
-Indian batter cakes may be made as above; or rye and indian meal be
-mixed in equal proportions.
-
-
-INDIAN CUP CAKES.--A pint and a half of yellow Indian meal; half a pint
-of wheat flour; a pint and a half of _sour_ milk; (buttermilk is best;)
-a small tea-spoonful of saleratus or soda dissolved in warm water; two
-eggs; a level tea-spoonful of salt. Sift the indian and wheat meal into
-a pan and mix them well, adding the salt. If you have no buttermilk or
-other sour milk at hand, turn some sweet milk sour by setting a pan of
-it in the sun, or stirring in a spoonful of vinegar. Take out a small
-tea-cupful of the sour milk, and reserve it to be put in at the last.
-Beat the eggs very light, and then stir them, gradually, into the milk,
-alternately with the meal, a little at a time of each. Lastly, dissolve
-the soda or saleratus, and stir it into the cup of sour milk that has
-been reserved for the purpose. It will effervesce; stir it while foaming
-into the mixture, which should be a thick batter. Have ready some
-tea-cups, or little deep tins. Butter them well; nearly fill them with
-the batter, and set them immediately into a rather brisk oven. The cakes
-must be thoroughly baked all through. When done, turn them out on large
-plates, and send them hot to the breakfast or tea-table. Split them into
-three pieces, and eat them with butter.
-
-The soda will entirely remove the acidity of the milk, which will
-effervesce the better for being sour at first, adding therefore to the
-lightness of the cake. Taste the milk, and if you find that the
-slightest sourness remains, add a little more dissolved soda.
-
-All the alkalies, pearlash, saleratus, soda, and sal-volatile, will
-remove acidity, and increase lightness; but if too much is used, they
-will impart a disagreeable taste. It is useless to put lemon or orange
-juice into any mixture that is afterwards to have one of these alkalies,
-as they will entirely destroy the flavor of the fruit.
-
-
-CAROLINA RICE CAKES.--Having picked and washed half a pint of rice, boil
-it by itself till the grains lose all form, and are dissolved into a
-thick mass or jelly. While warm, mix into it a large lump of the best
-fresh butter, and a salt-spoonful of salt. Pour into a bowl a moderate
-sized tea-cupful of ground rice flour, and add to it as much milk as
-will make a tolerably stiff batter. Stir it till it is quite smooth, and
-free from lumps. Then mix it thoroughly with the boiled rice. Beat six
-eggs as light as possible, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture.
-Bake it on a griddle, in cakes about as large round as a saucer. Eat
-them warm with butter; and have on the table, in a small bowl, some
-powdered white sugar and nutmeg, for those who like it.
-
-
-AUNT LYDIA'S CORN CAKE.--Sift into a large pan a quart of yellow corn
-meal, and add a level tea-spoonful of salt, (not more.) Have ready a
-pint of boiling milk, sufficient to make a soft dough. Mix the milk hot
-into the corn meal, and add about a quarter of a pound, or half a pint
-of nice fresh butter. Having beaten five eggs till very light and thick,
-stir them gradually into the mixture, and set it to cool. All
-preparations of corn meal require much beating and stirring. Have ready
-some small tin pans, about four or five inches square, and two or three
-inches deep. They are especially good for baking such cakes, (far better
-than patty-pans,) and are made by any tinsmith. Grease the pans with the
-same butter you have used in mixing the cakes. _Fill the pans to the
-top_ with the above mixture, that the heat may immediately catch the
-surface, and cause it to puff up high above the edges of the pan. If
-properly mixed, and well beaten, there is no danger of it running over.
-If only half filled, and not very light, the mixture when baking will
-sink down, and become heavy and tough. Set these cakes immediately into
-a moderate oven. Bake them brown, and send them to the breakfast table
-hot. Split and butter them.
-
-They may be baked in muffin rings, but the small square pans are best.
-
-This is the very best preparation of Indian cakes. If _exactly
-followed_, we believe there is none superior; as is the opinion of all
-persons who have eaten them. The cook from whom this receipt was
-obtained, is a Southern colored woman, called Aunt Lydia.
-
-The above quantities will furnish cakes only for a small family. If the
-family is of tolerable size, double the proportions of each article--as
-for instance, two quarts of Indian meal, one quart of milk, half a pound
-of butter, and ten eggs, with a level table-spoonful of salt. Let them
-be well baked; not scorched on the top, and raw at the bottom.
-
-We recommend them highly as the perfection of corn cakes, if well made,
-well baked, and with all the ingredients of the best quality.
-
-Use yellow indian meal in preference to white. The yellow is sweeter,
-has more of the true corn taste, and its color shows at once what it is.
-The white has less flavor, and may be mistaken for very coarse wheat. It
-is difficult to keep corn meal good for the whole year. Before the new
-corn meal is in market, the old is apt to become musty. If you live in a
-city it is best to buy it as you want it; a few pecks at a time. If in
-the country, sift your barrel of corn meal soon after it is brought;
-divide it, and keep it in several different vessels, always well
-covered.
-
-
-SHORT CAKE.--As this requires no rising, it may be mixed and prepared at
-half an hour's notice. Take a quart and a pint of wheat flour, sift it
-into a pan, and divide into three parts three quarters of a pound of
-nice fresh butter. Cut up one piece into the pan of flour, and mix it
-into a dough with a broad knife, adding, as you proceed, as little water
-as will be barely sufficient. The water must be very cold. Roll out this
-lump of paste, dredge it slightly with flour, fold it up, and roll it
-out again. Then cover it with a second division of the butter, put on
-the sheet of paste with the knife, and dispersed at equal distances.
-Sprinkle it with flour, fold it, and roll out the sheet again. Put on
-the remainder of the butter as before, in bits equally dispersed. Fold,
-dredge, and roll out the dough into a rather thin sheet. Cut it into
-small round cakes with the edge of a tumbler, or something like it,
-using up the clippings of paste left at the last to make one more cake.
-Have ready a hot griddle or oven. Put on the cakes so as not to touch
-each other, and bake them light brown on both sides. Send them to table
-hot, to be split and buttered. Mix and roll out these cakes as fast as
-possible, and avoid handling them more than you need. Paste made
-_slowly_ is never light or flakey. Mix quick and roll quick. This is a
-good plain paste for fruit pot-pies or dumplings.
-
-You may make common short cake for very healthy people, with two quarts
-of flour, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a pound
-of lard, mixed into the pan of meal with a very little cold water, and a
-second quarter of lard spread all over the sheet of paste, after rolling
-it out. Fold, sprinkle, and roll it out again into one round griddle
-cake, or two if you have enough of dough. Take care, in baking, not to
-have it smoked or blackened at the edge. When done, cut it into "pie
-pieces," and send it to table to be split and buttered.
-
-
-HALF MOONS.--Of this paste you may make half-moon pies. Cut the paste
-into round cakes. On half the circle, lay plenty of stewed fruit well
-sweetened, (for instance, stewed dried peach,) fold over it the other
-half, pinch the two edges together, and crimp them. Bake them in an
-oven, and eat them fresh. If you have fruit in the house ready stewed,
-half-moon pies can be got up for a plain dessert on an emergency. Either
-mince meat, or sausage meat, may be baked in half-moons. They will bake
-very nicely, laid side by side, in large square tin pans, first dredged
-slightly with flour.
-
-
-SOFT MUFFINS.--Warm a quart of milk, and melt in it a quarter of a pound
-of the best fresh butter, cut into bits. When melted, stir it about, and
-set it away to cool. Beat four eggs till very thick and light, and stir
-them gradually into a pan of milk, and butter when it is quite cold.
-Then, by degrees, stir in enough of sifted flour to make a batter as
-thick as you can well beat it. Then, at the last, stir in three
-table-spoonfuls of baker's or brewer's yeast. Cover the pan of batter
-with a double cloth, and set it on the hearth (or some other warm place)
-to rise, but it must not be allowed to get hot. It should have risen
-nearly to the top of the pan, and be covered with bubbles in about three
-hours. The griddle being heated, grease it with nice butter tied in a
-rag; take a ladleful of batter out of the pan, pour it into the ring,
-and bake the muffins. Send them hot to table, and split and butter them.
-These are superior to all muffins. Those who have eaten them will never
-desire any others, if this receipt has been faithfully followed. Try it.
-
-
-SALLY LUNN CAKE.--This is a favorite tea cake, and so universally liked
-that it is well to make a liberal quantity of the mixture, and bake it
-in two loaves. Sift into a large pan three pounds of fine flour. Warm in
-a quart of milk half a pound of fresh butter, and add a small
-tea-spoonful of salt, six eggs well beaten, and add, gradually, two wine
-glasses of excellent fresh yeast. Mix the flour well into the pan, (a
-little at a time) and beat the whole very hard. Divide this quantity
-into two equal portions, and set it to rise in two pans. Cover it with
-thick cloths, and set it on the hearth to rise. When quite light, grease
-two loaf-pans with the same butter used for the cakes, and bake it in a
-moderate oven, keeping up the heat steadily to the last. It should be
-thoroughly done all through. Send it to table hot, cut in slices, but
-the slices left standing as in a pound cake at a party.
-
-The Sally Lunn mixture may be baked on a griddle, as muffins in muffin
-rings, and split and buttered at table.
-
-In mixing this cake, add neither sugar nor spice. They do not improve,
-but spoil it, as would be found on trial. It is the best of plain tea
-cakes, if properly made and baked.
-
-
-DELAWARE CAKES.--This is a plain tea cake. Sift into a pan two quarts of
-flour. Cut up half a pound of fresh butter, and rub it into the flour
-with your hands. Beat five eggs very light and thick; make a hole in the
-centre of the flour, and gradually stir the beaten eggs, in turn with a
-pint of milk. Then add a jill of fine fresh yeast. Mix the whole
-thoroughly with a broad knife. Transfer it to large square tin pans.
-Cover it with a clean flannel, and set it on the hearth to rise. When it
-is quite light, and cracked all over the surface, divide the dough into
-cakes and bake them in muffin rings, on a griddle or in a stove. If
-baked in one large cake, there is a risk of their being made heavy, by
-cutting them when hot.
-
-To make sweet cakes with the above mixture, add gradually to the flour
-in the pan, half a pound of powdered sugar before you rub in the butter,
-and after the eggs and milk. Stir in a wineglass of rosewater, or less,
-if it is very strong, (which rosewater seldom is) and also it loses much
-of its strength in cooking. Or, substitute the yellow rind and juice of
-a lemon, and some powdered nutmeg. They will then be a cake for company;
-otherwise, they will be for family teas.
-
-Either plain or sweet they are very good. We rather prefer them plain.
-If plain, omit even sugar. Sugar, without other flavoring, gives plain
-tea cakes a faint sickly taste, and is better left out entirely, except
-for children--and they like any kind of sweetness, however little.
-
-
-MARYLAND BISCUIT.--Take two quarts of sifted wheat flour, and add a
-small tea-spoonful of salt. Rub into the pan of flour a large quarter of
-a pound of lard, and add, gradually, warm milk enough to make a very
-stiff dough. Knead the lump of dough long and hard, and pound it on all
-sides with a rolling-pin. Divide the dough into several pieces, and
-knead and pound each piece separately. This must go on for two or three
-hours, continually kneading and pounding, otherwise it will be hard,
-tough, and indigestible. Then make it into small round thick biscuits,
-prick them with a fork, and bake them a pale brown.
-
-This is the most laborious of cakes, and also the most unwholesome, even
-when made in the best manner. We do not recommend it; but there is no
-accounting for tastes. Children should not eat these biscuits--nor grown
-persons either, if they can get any other sort of bread.
-
-When living in a town where there are bakers, there is no excuse for
-making Maryland biscuit. Believe nobody that says they are not
-unwholesome. Yet we have heard of families, in country places, where
-neither the mistress nor the cook knew any other preparation of wheat
-bread. Better to live on indian cakes.
-
-
-HOME-MADE BREAD.--You cannot have good bread without good flour, good
-yeast, good kneading, and good baking, all united. Like many other
-things, the best flour is always the cheapest in the end. There is none
-better than that which comes from the mills of Hiram Smith, Rochester,
-New York. All flour should be kept in a dry place, damp being always
-injurious to it. Good flour goes farther than that of inferior quality,
-and is both whiter and lighter. No skill will avail either in making or
-baking bread, if the flour is of bad quality. Flour will keep much
-better if, as soon as a new barrel is brought in, the whole of it is
-sifted, and divided in several buckets. Flour buckets, made for the
-purpose, are short and wide, are broader at the bottom than the top, and
-have handles and lids. They are to be had of all coopers. Yeast must
-always be of the best quality, strong and fresh. With too much yeast the
-bread will be bitter; with too little it will be heavy; with stale yeast
-it will be heavy, sour, and dark-colored. If baked too little, it
-becomes tough and clammy. We deprecate the practice of putting hartshorn
-in bread. It gives it a bad taste; and even if it produces a sort of
-factitious lightness, it also renders it tough and difficult to
-masticate, however nice it may look. Also, it is very unwholesome.
-
-The oven should be heated in time, to set in the bread as soon as ready.
-When once it has risen to its utmost lightness, it will fall and turn
-sour if permitted to stand. The only remedy for sour bread is, to melt
-a table-spoonful of soda or pearlash in tepid water, and sprinkle it
-over the dough, which must then be kneaded again, after it has rested
-half an hour. In summer, do not begin your bread over night; it will
-certainly be sour before morning. In winter you may do so, but keep it
-all night in a warm (though not a hot) place. If the dough freezes, you
-may throw it away at once.
-
-To knead, double up your hands, put them deep into the dough, and work
-it with your knuckles, exerting all your strength. When the dough sticks
-to them no longer, but leaves your bent fingers clean and clear, it is
-time to cease kneading, for you have done enough for that time.
-
-Sift into a deep pan, or large wooden bowl, a peck of fine wheat flour,
-(adding a large table-spoonful of salt,) and mix the water with half a
-pint of strong fresh brewer's yeast, or near a whole pint if the yeast
-is home-made. Pour this into the hole, in the middle of the heap of
-flour. Mix in with a wooden spoon, a portion of the flour from the
-surrounding edges of the hole so as to make a thick batter, and having
-sprinkled dry flour over the top, let it rest for near an hour. This is
-called "_setting the sponge_," or "_making the leaven_." When it has
-swelled up to the surface, and burst through the coating of flour that
-covered the hole, pour in as much more lukewarm water as will suffice to
-mix the whole gradually into a dough. Knead it hard and thoroughly,
-leaving no lumps in it, and continue to knead till the dough leaves
-your hands. Throw over it a clean thick cloth, and set it in a warm
-place to rise again. When it is quite light and cracked all over the
-surface, divide it into loaves, and give each loaf a little more
-kneading, and let it rest till it has risen as high as it will. Have
-your oven quite ready, and (having transferred the loaves to pans,
-sprinkled with flour,) bake them well. Try the heat of the oven by
-previously throwing in a little flour. If it browns well, and you can
-hold your hand in the heat while you count twenty, it is a good
-temperature for bread. If the flour scorches black the oven is too hot,
-so leave the oven open a little while till it becomes cooler. As soon as
-the bread is quite done, take out the loaves, wrap each tightly in a
-clean coarse cloth, damped by sprinkling it with water, and stand them
-up on their edges. This will prevent the crust from becoming too hard.
-Keep the loaves wrapped up after they are deposited in the bread box.
-
-
-ROLLS--Are made as above, except that they are mixed with warm milk
-instead of water, and a little fresh butter rubbed into the dough.
-
-
-TWIST BREAD.--Before you put the dough into the baking pans, divide it
-equally into long thick rolls, (smaller at the ends) and plait or twist
-three together.
-
-
-BRAN BREAD--Is made like any other, only of bran meal; and in setting
-the sponge, put _wheat_ flour into the hole, and add to the liquid half
-a tea-cupful of nice brown sugar. Bran bread should look very brown. It
-should be eaten fresh. When stale, it is too dry and hard. Bran batter
-cakes are made and baked like buckwheat.
-
-
-RYE BREAD.--Is made like wheat bread, but that it requires more kneading
-and baking. Rye batter cakes, made like buckwheat, should have one half
-corn meal.
-
-
-BREAD BISCUITS.--When making bread after the dough has risen very light,
-take from it a quart or more; knead into it a quarter of a pound of
-fresh butter, and form it into tall rolls. Bake them in an oven, and
-when done break them apart, but do not cut them with a knife--or, bake
-them in flat biscuits, to be split and buttered. Bread dough, with some
-butter added to the mixture, will make plain cakes for children, with
-the addition of white sugar, powdered cinnamon, some good raisins,
-(stoned,) cut in half, and dredged well with flour, to prevent their
-clodding or sinking. A beaten egg mixed into the dough is an
-improvement. Children, (accustomed only to plain living,) like these
-cakes very well, but they must be light and well baked.
-
-
-BREAD CAKES.--Take slices of stale wheat bread, that has been well made
-and light. There should be enough to fill a pint bowl, closely packed.
-Put the bread into a deep dish, and pour boiling water upon it. While
-the bread is soaking, mix in a crock or jar a pint of milk, and a pint
-of wheat flour. Put the soaked bread into a cullender, and let the water
-drain off. When the water is drained away, beat the bread _lightly_ with
-a fork, but do not press or mash it. Beat two eggs very light and thick,
-and gradually stir them into the flour and milk. Then stir in the bread.
-Bake the mixture on a griddle in the manner of buckwheat cakes, and eat
-them hot with butter. This quantity is for a small family of four
-persons.
-
-For a family of moderate size, take a quart of stale bread, a quart of
-milk, a quart of flour, and four eggs.
-
-For a large family, two quarts of bread, two quarts of milk, two quarts
-of flour, and eight eggs. This quantity will not be more than sufficient
-for a large family, as they will all like these cakes.
-
-If you have not enough of stale bread in the house, send for a stale
-loaf, rather than not have the proper proportion for the cakes.
-
-
-MILK BISCUIT.--Warm a pint of milk on the top of the stove, and cut up
-in it half a pound of fresh butter, to soften, but not to melt. Sift
-into a pan two quarts of flour; make a hole in the middle of the flour,
-and pour into it the milk and butter. Beat two eggs till very thick and
-smooth, and pour them in also. Lastly, pour into the hole two
-wine-glasses of strong fresh brewer's or baker's yeast; or, three of
-good home-made yeast. Mix altogether with a broad knife, till it becomes
-a lump of soft dough. Then knead it well on your pasteboard, and make it
-into round rolls or balls. Knead every ball separately. Flatten them
-with your hand into thick biscuits, and prick every one with a fork. Lay
-them separately in buttered square pans, and set them to rise. If all is
-right, they will be light in little more than an hour. When quite light,
-(risen high and cracked all over) set them in a moderate oven, and bake
-them a light brown. They should be eaten quite fresh.
-
-
-RUSK.--Sift a quart of flour into a pan. Make a hole in the centre, and
-pour in a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut up and softened in
-half a pint of milk warmed on the stove. Beat two eggs very light, and
-mix them gradually into the hole in the pan of flour, in turn with a
-small wine-glass of rose water; or a table-spoonful of the rose water if
-as strong as it should be, adding a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace,
-nutmeg, and cinnamon. Lastly, a wine-glass and a half of fresh brewer's
-yeast. Mix those articles well into the flour, till it becomes a lump of
-soft dough. Knead it well on your pasteboard, and divide it into pieces
-of equal size. Knead each piece separately. Form them so as to be tall
-and high, when finished. Butter an iron pan, lay the rusks in it side by
-side, and set them in a warm place to rise again. When quite light, bake
-them in a moderate oven, and sift sugar over them when cool.
-
-
-DRY RUSKS.--Dry rusks are used for infant's food, and for invalids. They
-are made plain, without any butter, spice, or rose water, and after
-being once baked are split, and baked over till they are all crisp and
-browned on the inside. Use them dissolved, by pouring on a little warm
-water or milk, and beat them with a spoon to a thick pap.
-
-
-CROSS BUNS.--Pick clean a pound and a half of dried or Zante currants;
-wash, drain, and dry them on a large flat dish placed in a slanting
-position near the fire, or in the sun. It will be still better to
-substitute for the currants a pound of Sultana (or seedless) raisins,
-each raisin cut in half. When quite dry, dredge the fruit _thickly_ with
-flour to prevent their sinking or clodding in the cake. Sift into a deep
-pan two quarts of flour, and mix thoroughly with it a table-spoonful of
-powdered cinnamon, and three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar. Cut
-up three-quarters of a pound of fresh butter, into a large half pint of
-rich milk. Warm it till the butter is quite soft, but not till it melts.
-Make a hole in the centre of the pan of flour, and pour in the mixed
-liquid, adding a jill (or two wine-glasses) of strong fresh yeast. Mix
-in the flour by degrees, beginning round the edge of the hole, and
-proceed gradually till you have the whole mass of ingredients well
-incorporated. Cover the pan with a clean thick towel, and set it in a
-warm place to rise. When it has risen high, and is cracked all over, mix
-in a small tea-spoonful of dissolved soda. Flour your pasteboard, divide
-the dough into equal portions, mix in the plums, and _slightly_ knead it
-into round cakes the size of a small saucer. Place them on a large dish,
-cover them, and set them again to rise in a warm place for half an hour.
-Mark every one deeply with a cross, bake them brown, and when done brush
-each bun lightly over with a glazing of white of egg, sweetened with
-sugar.
-
-
-CINNAMON BREAD.--On a bread-baking day, (having made more than your
-usual quantity of wheat bread,) when the dough has risen quite light,
-and is cracked all over the surface, take out as much as will weigh two
-pounds. Mix into it a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, that has been
-cut up and melted in a half pint of milk; and also, three beaten eggs.
-Incorporate the butter, milk, and egg, thoroughly with the dough, and
-then add (dissolved in a little tepid water,) a salt-spoonful (_not
-more_) of soda. Have ready mixed in a bowl a pint of _brown_ sugar,
-moistened with fresh butter, so as to make a stiff paste, and flavor it
-with two heaped table-spoonfuls of powdered cinnamon. Form the cake into
-the shape of a round loaf, and make deep incisions or cuts all over its
-surface; filling them up with the cinnamon mixture pressed hard into the
-cuts, pinching and closing the dough over them with your thumb and
-finger to prevent the seasoning running out. Put the loaf into a round
-pan, and set it into the oven to bake with the other bread. When cool,
-glaze it over with white of egg, in which some powdered sugar has been
-dissolved. Send it to table whole in form, but cut into loose slices.
-Eat it fresh. All yeast cakes become dry and hard the next day.
-
-This mixture may be baked in a square iron pan, and cut into square
-cakes when cool.
-
-
-WAFFLES.--We are indebted to the Germans for this cake, which, if this
-receipt is exactly followed, will be found excellent. Warm a quart of
-milk, and cut up in it a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter,
-and stir it about to soften in the warm milk. Beat eight eggs till very
-thick and smooth, and stir them gradually into the milk and butter, in
-turn with half a pound of sifted flour. Then add two table-spoonfuls of
-strong fresh brewer's or baker's yeast. Cover the pan with a clean thick
-cloth, and set it in a warm place to rise. When the batter has risen
-nearly to the top, and is covered with bubbles, it is time to bake;
-first stirring in a wine-glass of rose-water. Having heated your
-waffle-iron in a good fire, grease it inside with the fresh butter used
-for the waffle mixture, or with fresh lard; fill it, and shut the iron
-closely. Turn it on the fire, that both sides of the cake may be equally
-well done. Each side will require about three minutes baking. Take them
-out of the iron by slipping a knife underneath. Then grease and prepare
-the iron for another waffle. Butter them, and send them to the tea-table
-"hot and hot;" and, to eat with this, a bowl or glass dish of sugar
-flavored with powdered cinnamon.
-
-In buying waffle irons choose them _very deep_, so as to make a good
-impression when baked--if shallow, the waffle will look thin and poor.
-Those that bake one waffle at a time are the handsomest and most
-manageable.
-
-
-SOFT CRULLERS.--Sift a pound and a half of flour, and have ready a pound
-of powdered sugar. Heat in a round-bottomed sauce-pan a quart of water;
-and when quite warm, stir the flour gradually into the water. In another
-vessel set a pound of nice fresh butter over the fire, and when it
-begins to melt, stir it, by degrees, into the flour and water. Then add,
-gradually, the powdered sugar, and a grated nutmeg. Take the sauce-pan
-off the fire, and beat the contents with a wooden spaddle, (which is far
-better than a spoon) till they are thoroughly mixed. Next, having
-beaten six eggs till very thick and light, stir them, gradually, into
-the mixture, and then beat the whole very hard till it becomes a thick
-batter. Add rose-water or lemon juice. Flour a pasteboard, and lay out
-the batter upon it in the form of rings. The best and easiest way is to
-pass it through a screw funnel.
-
-Have ready on the fire a pot of boiling lard. Put in the crullers,
-taking them off the board one at a time, on a broad-bladed knife. Boil
-but a few at a time. They must be of a fine brown. Lift them out with a
-perforated skimmer, draining back the lard into the pot. Lay them on a
-large dish, and dredge them with sugar.
-
-These, if properly managed, are far superior to all other crullers, but
-they cannot be made in warm weather.
-
-
-DOUGH-NUTS.--On baking day, take two pounds of very light bread dough
-that has been made in the usual manner. Put it into a broad pan. Rub
-into it half a pound of fresh butter, and half a pound of powdered
-sugar, and a table-spoonful of mixed nutmeg and cinnamon. Wet it with
-half a pint of milk, and mix in three well beaten eggs. Cover it, and
-set by the fire to rise again. When quite light, flour your pasteboard,
-and make the dough into oval balls; or, you may cut it into diamond
-shapes, (handling it as little as possible.) Have ready, over the fire,
-a pot of boiling lard. Drop the dough-nuts into it, and boil them; or
-fry them brown in a frying-pan. Take them out one by one in a
-perforated skimmer, draining back the lard into the pan. Spread them on
-a large dish, and sift sugar over them. Eat them fresh; when heavy and
-stale they are not fit. This is a German cake.
-
-
-COMMON CRULLERS.--The above mixture for dough-nuts will make good
-crullers. Flour your pasteboard, lay the dough upon it, roll it very
-thick, and cut it into strips with a jagging iron. Take off short
-pieces, and twist them into various forms. Throw them into a pot of
-boiling lard. When done, drain the lard from them, spread them on a
-large dish, and dredge them with powdered white sugar.
-
-The Alpistera is a Spanish cruller, shaped like the five fingers united
-at the wrist.
-
-
-
-
-PLAIN DESSERTS.
-
-
-MOLASSES PUDDING.--Sift into a pan a large quart of yellow indian meal.
-Simmer over the fire a quart of milk, a pint of _West India molasses_,
-stirred in while the milk is hot. Put the milk and molasses into a large
-pan, and mix gradually into them the corn meal while they are quite
-warm. Add a large table-spoonful of ground ginger, and a heaped
-tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Beat the whole mixture long and
-hard, for on that will chiefly depend the lightness of the pudding, as
-it has neither eggs, butter, nor yeast. If your batter seems too thin,
-add, gradually, a little more corn meal; if too thick, a little more
-milk and molasses.
-
-Dip in hot water a large square pudding cloth. Spread it out in a pan,
-dredge it well with flour, and then pour the pudding-mixture into it.
-Tie it up, making the string very secure, but leave plenty of room
-between the batter and the tying place, for the pudding to swell in
-boiling, at least one-third. Put the pudding, directly, into a large
-pot, and keep it steadily boiling for about three hours. Corn meal
-requires long cooking. Turn the pudding twice with a fork. If the water
-boils away too much, replenish it from a tea-kettle of hot water, kept
-boiling for the purpose. If you pour in _cold_ water the pudding will
-become hard and heavy, and be totally spoiled. Do not turn it out and
-send it to table till wanted at dinner. Then dip it for a moment in cold
-water, untie the string, and transfer it to a dish with a cover. Eat it
-with molasses and butter; or make a sauce of drawn butter, flavored with
-wine and nutmeg.
-
-This pudding, if properly mixed, well beaten, and well boiled, will be
-as light as if made with eggs, (the _West India_ molasses having that
-property) and it will cut down rough or open grained, like a very light
-sponge cake, unless the batter has been made too thick and stiff, and
-not sufficiently beaten, and not allowed space enough to swell in
-boiling. If made _too thin_, or not boiled well, the pudding will come
-out a soft, shapeless mass. But if all is carefully managed, this (the
-least costly of American puddings) will be found excellent for a plain
-table, and perfectly wholesome. The flavor will be much improved by
-adding to the cinnamon and ginger the grated yellow rind and juice of an
-orange or lemon. If your first attempt at this pudding is a failure, try
-it again--practice makes perfect.
-
-For a large family, have two quarts of corn meal, two quarts of milk,
-and one quart of _West India_ molasses; two table-spoonfuls of ginger,
-and one of cinnamon.
-
-What is left may be tied in a cloth, and boiled over again next day, for
-half an hour or longer.
-
-
-MOLASSES PIE.--Make a plain paste, allowing a quart of flour to a
-quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a pound of lard.
-Cut up the butter into the pan of flour, and rub it into a dough, with a
-half tumbler of cold water. Too much water is injurious to any paste,
-rendering it tough and hard. Roll out the paste into a sheet, and with a
-broad knife spread all over it one-half of the lard. Sprinkle it with
-flour, fold it, and roll it out again. Spread on the remainder of the
-lard, dredge it slightly, fold it again, and then divide it into two
-sheets. Line with one sheet the inside of a pie-dish, and fill it with
-molasses, mixed with butter, and flavored with ginger and cinnamon, or
-lemon or orange. Put on the other sheet of paste as a lid to the pie.
-Crimp or notch the edges. Bake it of a pale brown, and send it to table
-fresh, but not hot.
-
-
-MOLASSES POT-PIE.--Make plenty of paste, allowing to _each quart_ of
-flour a small half pound of finely minced suet. Line the pot
-three-quarters up the sides with paste, and put in a quart of West India
-molasses, flavored with ginger and cinnamon, lemon or orange grating,
-and juice. Cover it with a lid of paste, _not fitting closely_ round its
-edges, and cut a cross slit in the top. Have ready six or eight extra
-pieces of suet paste, cut into squares, and boiled by themselves. When
-the pie is done, put these little cakes (ready boiled) into the
-molasses, having removed the lid or cover of the pie, and cut it up.
-Take out the inside paste, and cut it in pieces also. Serve up the whole
-in one large dish.
-
-
-BATTER PUDDING.--Having beaten eight eggs till very thick and smooth,
-stir them gradually into a pan of milk, in turn with eight
-table-spoonfuls of flour, added by degrees. Give the whole a hard
-stirring at last. Dip a square pudding cloth into hot water, shake it
-out, dredge it with flour, and spread it over the inside of an empty
-pan. Pour the pudding mixture into it. Gather up the cloth, leaving
-ample space for the pudding to swell in boiling, and securing the
-string tightly. Put the pudding into a large pot of boiling water, and
-boil it fast and steadily for two hours. Turn it with a large fork once
-or twice while boiling. When done, dip it for a moment in cold water,
-that you may turn it out easily. Send it to table hot, and eat it with
-any sauce you like, from molasses, or butter and sugar, to wine sauce.
-This, if exactly followed, is the very best receipt for a plain batter
-pudding. It may be made of corn meal, or wheat bread-crumbs, (eight
-table-spoonfuls to eight eggs, and one quart of milk.) Corn meal
-requires with it one or two spoonfuls of wheat flour for this pudding.
-
-We cannot approve of boiling batter puddings in moulds, as they are
-rarely allowed sufficient space for swelling, and are therefore tough
-and solid. Also, it is frequently very difficult to get a hot pudding
-out of a mould.
-
-The above pudding is very nice baked in the dripping pan under a piece
-of roast beef or veal.
-
-
-FRITTERS.--Make the same mixture as for batter pudding. Eight eggs
-beaten very light and thick, and stirred gradually into a quart of milk,
-in turn with eight spoonfuls of flour; and, when all are united, beat
-the whole very hard. In a large frying-pan melt a pound of lard, and
-when it comes to a boil, put in with a large spoon a half tea-cupful of
-batter. Fry them fast, a panful at a time, and as they require no
-stirring they will soon be done. For the next panful, add half a pound
-more of lard, and see that it is boiling well all the time. If there is
-not enough of lard, or if it only simmers, the fritters will stick to
-the bottom, and be heavy, dark, and greasy. Send them to table "hot and
-hot," sprinkled with sugar. Eat them with sugar, cinnamon, and white
-wine. This is the best possible receipt for plain fritters.
-
-
-ORANGE FRITTERS.--For frying fruit fritters use nice fresh butter. Peel,
-and cut into round slices (not very thin) some fine oranges, removing
-the seeds carefully. Put into each fritter (while frying) a slice of
-orange, and dredge with sugar. Eat them with sweetened orange juice.
-These are fritters for company.
-
-
-PEACH FRITTERS.--Take large ripe free-stone peaches, the best you can
-get. Peel them, cut them in half, remove the stones, and put some loaf
-sugar into the cavities from whence you took them. Have ready, in a
-large frying-pan over the fire, an ample quantity of nice fresh butter,
-boiling fast. Put in the batter, and to every spoonful allow half a
-peach, laid on its back. When done take them up separately, and drain
-the butter back into the pan. Serve up the fritters dredged with white
-sugar. You may color these fritters pink by mixing in the batter a
-little prepared alkanet, the chips tied up in a thin muslin bag, and
-laid in a small saucer of sweet oil. Stir the colored oil into the
-batter; it has no taste, but the color is beautiful. Fritters may be
-colored green by mixing in the batter some of the juice obtained from
-pounded spinach leaves.
-
-
-APPLE OR QUINCE FRITTERS.--Pare and core some pippin or bell-flower
-apples, or ripe quinces. Cut them into round slices, and fry one in
-every fritter. Eat them with sweetened lemon juice. You may make
-fritters with a large table-spoonful of any thick marmalade in the
-centre. Or, with a large fresh oyster in the middle of each. Or, with a
-table-spoonful of minced meat. These, also, are company fritters.
-
-
-PANCAKES--Are very inferior to good fritters, and much more troublesome
-to bake. They are the same ingredients mixed thinner; are also fried in
-lard, and must be turned by tossing them over (one at a time) in the
-frying-pan.
-
-
-JUNKET.--Having turned a quart of rich milk, by stirring into it a half
-tea-cupful of the water in which two or three square inches of rennet
-has been soaked for several hours, set the milk in a covered pitcher, in
-a warm place, till it becomes a firm curd, the whey separating from it,
-and looking thin and greenish. Keep it on ice till just before it is
-wanted for table. Then transfer it to a large bowl, and sweeten it well
-with white sugar. Mix in two glasses of sweet wine, and grate over it a
-nutmeg. It is very nice with extract of vanilla added to the wine, &c.
-
-It is not a good way to preserve a rennet by cutting it into little
-pieces, and keeping it in wine, stirring the wine into milk when you
-wish to form a curd. If turned with rennet wine, the curd will never
-separate completely from the whey, which will therefore be always thick
-and whitish. By using rennet water, the whey will be pure, thin, and of
-a light green, and the curd very white and firm. In Philadelphia market,
-dried rennets (which will keep a year or two hanging up in a cool dry
-closet) are universally used to make curds, and are always to be bought
-at small prices. They are cured by salting them, and stretching on a
-bent rod. To use this rennet, cut off a small bit, and soak it several
-hours, or over night, in a cup of lukewarm water. Then stir this water
-into the milk.
-
-
-MILK POTTAGE OR FARMER'S RICE.--Take some rich milk, and put it on to
-boil in a pot of sufficient size. When it has begun to boil, stir in, by
-degrees, enough of wheat flour to make it about as thick as the general
-consistence of rice milk, and boil it well, stirring it frequently down
-to the bottom. Add a few blades of mace, or some powdered cinnamon.
-Knead together some flour and fresh butter, forming a lump of white
-paste. Divide the paste into small round dumplings about the size of a
-cent, and put them to boil with the milk. When the pottage is well
-boiled, take it up, and transfer it to a tureen or deep white-ware dish,
-and make it very sweet with good brown sugar. Grate some nutmeg over the
-surface.
-
-This is an excellent addition to a winter supper-table, and is much
-liked by children, for whom it is also good at the end of a plain
-dinner. As a substitute for rice milk, it is better and more wholesome
-than rice itself.
-
-
-PLAIN RICE PUDDING.--Pick some rice, carefully removing from it the
-husks, and all impurities; and if you find it the least sour or musty,
-throw it away, and get some that is perfectly good. Wash it through two
-or three waters, till it drains off quite clean. Stir a quarter of a
-pound of this rice into a quart of good rich milk. If the milk is poor
-and thin, and has been skimmed till it is blue, or mixed with water, the
-pudding will be poor accordingly. In the country where cream is easily
-to be obtained, add some to the milk which you use for the rice pudding.
-Stir in also a quarter of a pound of good brown sugar, and a
-tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Set the pudding into an oven, and
-bake till a brown skin covers the surface, and the rice is quite soft,
-which you may ascertain by lifting a bit of the brown skin from the edge
-and trying the rice. Eat it warm or cold. It is usual in the country to
-put several of these rice puddings into the oven on baking days.
-
-They will be greatly improved by the addition of two or three beaten
-eggs, and a few bits of fresh butter, stirred in with the rice and
-sugar. Also powdered cinnamon. Rice is in itself so tasteless, that it
-requires good flavoring.
-
-
-PLAIN BOILED RICE PUDDING.--Pick, wash, and drain a pound of rice.
-Moisten it with a quart of milk. Have ready a pound of seedless raisins.
-Dredge them well all over with flour to prevent their sinking. Stir them
-gradually into the rice and milk. Boil it in a cloth, leaving ample
-space for it to swell. Keep the water very hot all the time. Eat it with
-butter and sugar, seasoned with ground cinnamon.
-
-
-RICE CUPS.--Boil in water, in the usual manner, a pound or more of
-cleaned rice till it is perfectly soft. Drain it well, and mix it with a
-quart of milk, seasoned with a mixed table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon
-and nutmeg or mace. Boil it a second time till all the grains are
-dissolved into a smooth mass, and their form cannot be distinguished.
-Mould it in large tea-cups, pint bowls, or blanc-mange moulds; and when
-it has taken the desired form, turn it out on dishes, and serve up with
-it a small tureen of wine sauce, or of boiled custard made very sweet,
-and seasoned, by boiling in the milk of which the custard was made a
-few peach leaves, or some bitter almonds broken up, or a broken-up stick
-of cinnamon, to be taken out when it is done.
-
-
-BREAD PUDDING.--Grate or crumble as much stale wheat bread (omitting the
-crust) as will fill a pint bowl when done. Boil a pint of good milk with
-a broken-up stick of cinnamon in it. Strain the milk, and pour it
-(boiling) over the bread. Sweeten it with three large table-spoonfuls of
-sugar. Stir in one or two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter. Beat
-four eggs till very thick and smooth, and add them, gradually, to the
-mixture, when it is lukewarm. It will be much improved by the grated
-peel and juice of a lemon or orange. Bake it in a deep dish or mould;
-sift white sugar over it. Eat it warm, with sweet sauce flavored with
-nutmeg.
-
-
-BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.--Cut large even slices of yesterday's bread,
-(_leaving on_ the crust) and spread them well with fresh butter. Strew
-over them thickly half a pound of Zante currants, picked and washed.
-Make a batter of four beaten eggs and a large pint of milk, seasoned
-with powdered nutmeg or mace. Pour some of this batter into the bottom
-of a deep white dish. Then put on as many slices of bread and currants
-as will cover the bottom. Next, add the remainder of the batter, and
-finish with slices of bread and butter strewed with currants. Bake till
-the batter is set and firm. When done, serve it up warm.
-
-
-A BROWN BETTY.--Pare, core, and slice thin some fine _juicy_ apples.
-Cover with the apples the bottom of a large deep white-ware dish.
-Sweeten them well with plenty of brown sugar; adding grated lemon or
-orange peel. Strew over them a thick layer of bread-crumbs, and add to
-the crumbs a _very few_ bits of fresh butter. Then put in another layer
-of cut apples and sugar, followed by a second layer of bread-crumbs and
-butter. Next more apples and sugar; then more bread-crumbs and butter;
-repeat this till the dish is full, finishing it with bread-crumbs. Bake
-it till the apples are entirely done and quite soft. Send it to table
-hot. It will be improved (if in the country at cider-making season) by
-adding to each layer of apples a very little sweet unfermented cider,
-fresh from the press.
-
-This pudding is in some places called an Apple Pandowdy. We believe it
-is Brown Betty in the South; Pandowdy in the North. It is a good plain
-pudding if the butter is fresh and sweet, and not too much of it. The
-apples must be _juicy_ and _not_ sweet. Sweet apples never cook well.
-
-
-SWEETENED SWEET POTATOS.--The sweet potatos should be all about the same
-size, or else so large as to require splitting. Boil them till, on
-probing them with a fork, you find them soft all through. Peel off the
-skin, and trim off the sharp points of each end. Place them in a large
-baking dish, and lay among them some pieces of fresh butter; sprinkle
-powdered sugar _profusely_ over them and among them, especially in the
-vacancies between the potatos. Set the dish into a moderate oven, and
-bake slowly till the butter and sugar are all melted and blended
-together, forming a nice crust. They should be eaten not with the meat,
-but _after_ it. They make a good supper or luncheon dish, and a plain
-dessert at dinner for plain-living people.
-
-Sufficient butter and sugar will make the crust like a thick syrup, when
-broken. They should be cooked this way only when in the height of their
-season, and perfectly fresh and nice. When sweet potatos are old enough
-to decay at the ends, give them up. Large sweet potatos may be first
-boiled; then peeled and sliced thick, sprinkled thick with sugar, and
-fried in fresh butter or lard; the lard well drained from them as they
-are taken up. Eat _them_ with meat.
-
-They are good boiled very soft, peeled and sent to table mashed, (while
-hot) with fresh butter--or made into thick flat cakes, and browned on
-the top.
-
-It is a great waste to bake sweet potatos whole. If baked enough, (as
-they seldom are) they "go all to skin."
-
-
-APPLE DUMPLINGS.--For dumplings the apples should be large and
-juicy--pippins, bellflowers, or the best you can get. Small sweet apples
-make very poor dumplings. Having pared the apples, extract the cores
-with a tin apple-corer, so as to leave them smooth and whole. Why is it
-that so many families "have never had an apple corer in their house?"
-They cost, at the utmost, but twenty-five cents, are to be had at all
-the tinsmiths' and furnishing stores; and they screw out an apple core
-in a minute; saving time and trouble. The apples being ready, make a
-nice paste in the proportion of a small pint of finely-minced suet, to a
-large quart of flour; one-half of the suet rubbed into the pan of flour,
-(adding _a very little_ water) the other half sliced thin, and spread
-all over the sheet of dough after it is rolled out; then folding it, and
-rolling it out again. Cut the sheet of dough in as many circular pieces
-as you have apples, allowing them large enough to close entirely over
-the top, and rolling it thick enough to hold the apple securely without
-danger of its breaking through. Put an apple on every piece of paste,
-and fill with brown sugar the hole from whence the core was taken.
-Squeeze on the sugar some fresh lemon juice, with the grated yellow
-rind; or, add some powdered nutmeg or mace, or some rose-water. This
-will make them very nice. They should be boiled in small cloths kept
-clean for the purpose, dipped in hot water, and sprinkled with flour,
-and room left for the dumpling to swell. Put them into a pot of boiling
-water, and boil them steadily for near an hour. Serve them up very hot,
-as they become heavy when cold. Eat with them butter and sugar, or cream
-sauce.
-
-
-PEACH DUMPLINGS.--Take large fine free-stone peaches. Peel them, cut
-them in half, and extract the stones; fill the sockets with white sugar,
-and put the two halves together. Make a nice suet paste, or, if more
-convenient, of butter, but it must be quite fresh, and very nice. Allow
-half a pound of butter to a large quart (or a pound) of sifted flour.
-Rub half the butter into the pan of flour, and make it into a dough,
-with a very little cold water. Too much water always makes tough heavy
-paste. Then roll the paste into a sheet, and put on it with a knife the
-remainder of the butter in regular bits. Fold it, roll it out again, and
-divide it into circular pieces. Lay a peach on each. Gather up the dough
-over the top, so as to form a well-shaped dumpling. Boil them in cloths
-for full three-quarters of an hour or more. Eat them with cream sauce.
-
-Dumplings of raspberries, or blackberries, may be made as above. Also,
-of gooseberries or currants, made very sweet. Quinces preserved whole
-make excellent dumplings.
-
-
-APPLE PUDDINGS--Are made like large dumplings, with suet paste, and
-flavored with lemon, or rose, or nutmeg. The apples must be sliced. The
-pudding should be tied in a cloth; put into a pot of fast-boiling water,
-kept steadily boiling for two hours or more, and sweetened with brown
-sugar as soon as it is taken up, cutting a round piece of paste out of
-the top, and putting in with the sugar a small piece of fresh butter.
-
-Large puddings may be made in this manner of stoned cherries, damsons,
-or plums, or of gooseberries, or currants--allowing plenty of fruit, and
-making it very sweet; besides sending sugar to table with it.
-
-
-ROLLED PUDDING.--Have ready a quart or more of apples stewed with _very
-little_ water, sweetened with brown sugar, and flavored with lemon or
-rose. Prepare a nice suet paste. Roll it out, and cut it into a square
-sheet. Spread it _thickly_ with the stewed fruit, (not extending the
-fruit quite to the edges of the dough) and roll it up as far as it will
-go. Close it nicely at each end. Tie it in a cloth, dipped in hot water
-and floured, and put it into a fast-boiling pot. Boil it well. Cut it
-down in round slices. Eat it with butter and sugar beaten together, or
-with cream sauce. You may make this pudding of any sort of thick
-marmalade, spread over the sheet of paste; or, with ripe uncooked
-currants, raspberries, or blackberries, mashed raw, sweetened, and
-spread on thickly. This pudding is the same that common English people
-call a "Jack in a blanket;" and sometimes "a Dog in a blanket." The
-_blanket_ is supposed to mean the paste; the _dog_ is probably the
-fruit.
-
-
-FRUIT POT-PIES.--These are made in a pot lined with paste, interspersed
-with small squares of the same dough, and covered with a paste lid. The
-filling is of dried apples, peaches quartered, blackberries,
-raspberries, ripe currants, or gooseberries; all well sweetened, and
-cooked in their own juice, with a small tea-cupful of water at the
-bottom to "start them." Both fruit and paste must be perfectly well
-done.
-
-Fruit pot-pies are easier made and cooked, than fruit puddings or
-dumplings. We recommend them highly for plain tables. They require more
-sugar when they are dished. A large _bain-marie_ is excellent for
-cooking any sort of pot-pie, the water being all in the outside kettle.
-
-
-PLAIN BAKED CUSTARD.--Boil a quart of milk, with a small bunch of green
-peach leaves in it, or a half dozen of peach kernels broken up. When the
-milk has boiled well strain it into a broad pan, and set it away to
-cool. In a shallow pan beat six eggs till very light, thick, and smooth.
-Stir them, gradually, into the milk, in turn with a tea-cup of white
-sugar, and a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon or mace. Transfer the
-mixture to a deep white dish, set it into the oven, and bake it till
-the top is well browned, but not scorched. When done, set it away to
-cool, and grate nutmeg over the surface.
-
-
-BOILED CUSTARD.--Make exactly the above mixture; but instead of baking,
-boil it in a porcelain lined sauce-pan, stirring it all the time. As
-soon as it comes to a boil, take it immediately from the fire, or it
-will curdle. Put it into a glass or china pitcher, and set it to cool. A
-_bain-marie_ is excellent for boiled custard.
-
-If custards are baked in cups, set them in an iron pan half full of warm
-water. If too hot, or kept baking too long, they will be tough and
-porous, and have whey at the bottom. So they will if the milk is warm
-when the eggs are added. Good custards will cut down to the very bottom
-as smooth and firm as the best blanc-mange.
-
-
-APPLES BAKED WHOLE.--Never bake apples without paring and coring. They
-will be found nearly all skin and core, and are troublesome and
-inconvenient to eat. Have fine large apples; take off a thin paring, and
-extract the core with a tin corer. Fill up the holes with brown sugar.
-Place the apples, side by side, in a square tin pan, set them in an
-oven, and bake them till, when tried with a fork, you find them soft all
-through. Send them to table warm, but not burning hot. If you have
-country cream to eat with them, so much the better.
-
-
-BAKED PEARS.--Take good-sized pears. Small ones are not worth the
-trouble of cooking. Peel them, split them in half, and remove the core,
-the stem, and the blossom end. Strew them well with brown sugar, and lay
-them on their backs in a large baking dish. A narrow slip of the yellow
-rind of lemon or orange, (cut so thin as to look transparent,) will be a
-great improvement, laid in the hollow of each pear. Also the juice
-squeezed. Put into the dish sufficient molasses or steam-syrup to well
-cover the pears. Place them in an oven, and bake them till they are
-soft, but not till they break. If you have no lemon or orange, season
-them with ground ginger or cinnamon.
-
-The great pound pears are baked as above, with the addition of port wine
-and a few cloves, and colored red with a little cochineal.
-
-
-COUNTRY CHARLOTTE.--Slice or quarter some fine juicy apples, having
-pared and cored them. Put them on a large dish, sweeten them well with
-brown sugar, set them in the oven, and bake them till soft enough to
-mash smoothly. Then cut some slices of bread, butter them slightly, and
-dip every one in sweet cider fresh from the press. Let them soak in the
-cider a short time, but not till they break. Take them out of the
-cider, spread every one thickly with the mashed apple, (sprinkling on
-more sugar) and send them to the dinner table in a deep dish or pan.
-
-
-A PLAIN CHARLOTTE.--Stew very nicely any sort of ripe fruit, (currants,
-gooseberries, blackberries, stoned cherries, or stoned plums,) and as
-soon as you take them from the fire make them very sweet with brown
-sugar. Prepare some large slices of buttered bread, with the crust pared
-off. Cover each slice thickly with the stewed fruit. Lay some in the
-bottom of a deep dish, and stand up others all round its sides. Fill up
-the dish with the same, and sift white sugar over the surface.
-
-It may be made of sliced sponge-cake, spread thickly with stewed dried
-peaches.
-
-
-GOOSEBERRY FOOL.--This foolish name signifies an excellent preparation
-of gooseberries; stewed, mashed, and made very sweet with brown sugar.
-Have ready in another dish a good boiled custard. When all has become
-cool, mix well together in a large bowl the stewed gooseberries and the
-custard, and season the mixture well with nutmeg. It will be found very
-good.
-
-Any other "fool" may be made in the same manner, of stewed fruit and
-boiled custard. It saves the trouble and expense of making paste, or
-can be prepared at a shorter notice. It is good either at dinner or
-tea.
-
-We hope somebody will think of a better name for it.
-
-
-POTATO PASTE.--Boil three moderate-sized potatos till very soft. Then
-peel and mash them fine and smooth. Put them into a deep pan, and mix
-them well with a quart of flour and a half pint of lard; or what is
-better, with that quantity of beef dripping, or the dripping of fresh
-roast pork. Never for any sort of crust use mutton dripping. Having
-mixed the mashed potato, dripping, and flour into a lump, roll it out
-into a thick sheet. Sprinkle it with flour, and spread over it evenly a
-thin layer of dripping or lard. Fold it again, and set it in a cool
-place till wanted. It is good for meat pies, and for boiled meat
-pudding, or any sort of dumplings.
-
-
-VERY PLAIN PIE-CRUST.--Sift a quart of flour into a pan. Mix together,
-with a knife, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a
-pound of lard, and when they are well blended mix them with the flour,
-and form them into a dough with as little water as possible--the water
-being very cold. Use ice water in summer. Avoid touching the paste with
-your hands, but use a knife almost entirely. If your hand is warm, do
-not rub butter into flour with it, but manage all the mixing with a
-knife. If you have a cool hand, you may rub the butter into the flour,
-and reserve the lard to spread all over the sheet of dough. Roll it out
-lightly. Dredge with flour, fold it, spread on the lard, and roll it
-again. Divide it into two pieces, and roll out each of them. Trim the
-edges nicely, and make them to fit your pie-dish. If one is for bottom
-crust, roll it out thinnest towards the centre, having for this part of
-the process a very small rolling-pin, but a finger long. Grease with
-lard a deep dish, or soup plate, and line it with the bottom crust. Fill
-it up with the fruit you intend for the pie, sweetened well with brown
-sugar, and heaping the fruit high in the centre. Cover it with a lid of
-paste, trim, and notch the edges neatly, and make a cross slit in the
-top; set it in the oven, and bake it steadily till it is a light brown.
-When it seems to be done, lift up a small piece at one side to try if
-the fruit is soft. Apples for pies should be pared, cored, and sliced
-very thin. If green, stew them before they are baked.
-
-If you have saved enough of the dripping of roast beef, veal, or pork,
-(skimmed and put away in a covered crock) it will be good shortening for
-common pies--far superior to salt butter, and much lighter. Salt renders
-pastry hard and heavy.
-
-Never use suet for _baked_ paste. It is only for dumplings and pot-pies.
-Bread dough, or any dough made with yeast, is not good when boiled,
-becoming tough and leathery, and being very unwholesome.
-
-Except in very plain country places a fruit pie, with two crusts,
-(under and upper) is now seen but rarely. _Meat_ pies, or birds,
-however, should have two crusts. The gravy is a great improvement to the
-under one. English people usually make their fruit pies with a top-crust
-only, putting a turned down tea-cup under the centre of the lid to
-collect the juice, (of course removing the cup when the pie is cut.) It
-is a good method in a country where the cost of flour is high.
-
-Too much economy in the shortening will infallibly make the crust very
-poor, hard, heavy, and unwholesome. If you cannot afford dessert paste,
-do not attempt pies at all; but substitute a plain charlotte, or slices
-of bread and butter, covered with stewed fruit, sweetened, and laid in a
-deep dish.
-
-
-COMMON FRUIT PIES.--Make the paste as above. For baking, use only apples
-that are juicy, and rather sour. If green, stew them before they are put
-in the pie, and make them very sweet with brown sugar. Peaches should be
-peeled and quartered, leaving out the stones. Of cherries, take the
-large red juicy pie cherries. Black cherries, (when baked) go all to
-stones, and they are not worth the trouble of cooking, though very good
-when eaten from the trees. Currants must be carefully stripped from the
-stems, and made very sweet. Gooseberries must be "top and tailed," and
-require great sweetening; so do cranberries. Blackberries make good
-plain pies, and are very juicy if ripe. All pies should be well filled.
-
-Pies may be made of ripe wild grapes, stewed in molasses or maple sugar.
-
-
-EXCELLENT PLAIN PASTE.--Sift into a deep pan a quart and a pint of the
-best superfine flour. Have ready (set on ice, and covered with a thick
-double cloth) a pound of the very best fresh butter. When you want to
-use it, cut it into four quarters. Cut one quarter into very little
-bits, and with a broad knife mix it well into the flour, adding, by
-degrees, a very little water, no more than half a tumbler. Some flour,
-however, requires more water than others. Avoid touching the dough with
-your hands, in case they should be warm. Take out the lump of dough,
-dredge it with flour, and lay it on your pasteboard. Keep on a plate
-near you a little extra flour for sprinkling and rolling. Roll out the
-sheet of dough very thin, having floured the rolling-pin to prevent its
-sticking. Place, with a knife, the second quarter of butter in little
-bits all over the sheet of paste, at equal distances. Then fold it
-square, (covering the butter with the corners of paste) dredge it, and
-roll it out again to receive the third quarter of butter. Repeat this
-again, till all the butter is in; always rolling very fast, and pressing
-on _lightly_. You will see, towards the last, the paste puffing into
-little blisters all over the surface; a sign of success. When the last
-layer of butter is all in, roll the whole into a large sheet; roll it
-round like a scroll, and put it away in a cold place, but not so cold
-as to freeze it, for it will then be spoiled. When you are ready for it
-bring it out, cut it down, and roll out each piece ready for use. There
-is no better family paste than this, for all sorts of pies; meat or bird
-pies, especially.
-
-
-LEMON BREAD PUDDING.--Mince very fine a quarter of a pound of beef suet.
-Have ready a pint and a half of finely-grated bread-crumbs. Prepare the
-yellow rind of a large lemon, grated off from the white skin beneath,
-and squeeze the juice among it. Mix together in a deep pan the
-bread-crumbs and suet, adding four or five table-spoonfuls of powdered
-sugar, and a tea-spoonful of mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and mace.
-Beat in a broad shallow pan five eggs till very smooth and thick. Add
-them gradually to the other ingredients, a little at a time. Have ready
-a square pudding-cloth, scalded and floured. Pour in the mixture, and
-tie the cloth tightly, but not closely, as room must be left for the
-pudding to swell in boiling. Put it into a pot of hot water, and boil it
-steadily for two hours. Send wine sauce to table with it--or cold sauce,
-of beaten butter, and sugar, and nutmeg.
-
-If you use butter instead of suet, you can bake this pudding.
-
-
-PLAIN PLUM PUDDING.--This is for a small plain-living family. Chop very
-fine half a pound of nice fresh beef suet. Stone a half pound of very
-good raisins, or use the sultana or seedless sort. Dredge them well on
-all sides with flour to prevent their sinking to the bottom. Grate the
-yellow rind of a large fresh lemon, and strain the juice into the saucer
-on which you have grated the rind. It will be still better if you use
-the rind and juice of an orange as well as of a lemon. Put into a bowl
-half a pint of grated bread-crumbs, and a heaped table-spoonful of
-flour, and pour on them a half pint of boiling milk. Beat in a shallow
-pan four eggs till very thick and light. Mix the suet gradually into the
-bread, adding alternately the beaten egg, (a little at a time) the lemon
-and orange, and four heaped table-spoonfuls of sugar. Lastly, stir in by
-degrees, the raisins, well floured. Put the mixture into a square
-pudding-cloth spread out into a deep pan, and dipped in boiling water.
-Tie it securely, leaving room to swell. Boil it three hours.
-
-Eat with it a sauce of butter, sugar, and nutmeg, beaten together.
-
-
-
-
-FINE DESSERTS.
-
-
-THE BEST PUFF-PASTE.--To a pound of the best fresh butter allow a pound
-of the finest flour, sifted into a deep pan. Have on a plate some
-additional sifted flour for sprinkling and rolling in. Divide the pound
-of butter into four equal parts, and three of those parts divide again
-into two portions. Mix the first quarter of butter into the mass of
-flour, cutting it with a broad-bladed knife. If your hands are naturally
-warm, avoid touching the dough with them, as their heat will render it
-heavy. Paste, to be very good, should be made on a marble slab. All
-well-furnished kitchens or pastry rooms should be provided with
-marble-topped tables, and marble mortars. Add gradually to the lump of
-dough a _very little cold_ water, barely sufficient to moisten it with
-the first quarter of butter, and mix it well with the aid of the broad
-knife; but proceed as fast as you can, and do not work with it too long.
-Too much water will render it tough, and too much working will make it
-heavy. Then sprinkle the marble slab with some of the spare flour, take
-the lump of paste from the pan, and roll it out into a sheet. Divide one
-of the portions of butter into little bits, and with the knife disperse
-them equally all over the sheet of paste. Then sprinkle it again with
-flour, fold it up so as to cover the butter, and roll it out again.
-Proceed in this manner till you have got in all the butter, rolling
-always lightly, and you will soon see the surface of the dough puffing
-up in little blisters, a sign that it is becoming light. Besides the
-first mixing in the lump, the butter will then be put in with what are
-called six turns. When baked, you will see that every turn makes a layer
-or sheet. If you choose to multiply them, you may make nine sheets. We
-have seen twelve. All this must be done fast and lightly. Then put away
-the paste to cool for ten minutes before arranging it in the dishes.
-This quantity will make two pies or four tarts. In baking, let the oven
-be hot, and keep up a steady heat, so the paste may not fall after it
-has first risen. When pale brown, it is done.
-
-
-SHELLS.--For shells take the best puff paste, and line with it large
-deep plates, the size of a soup-plate. They should have broad rims.
-Notch the edges of the paste handsomely with a sharp penknife, and be
-careful not to plaster on, afterwards, any bits by way of mending or
-rectifying an error. When baked, every patch in the border will show
-itself plainly. Bake the shells entirely empty, till pale brown all
-over. When cool fill them, _quite up the top_, with whatever marmalade
-or stewed fruit you have prepared for the purpose. In this way (baking
-them empty,) the shells are thoroughly done, and not clammy and heavy at
-the bottom, as they always are when filled _before_ baking. The fruit
-requires no other cooking, having been done once already. Sift white
-sugar over the surface. If for company whip some cream, sweeten it, and
-flavor it with lemon, orange, pine-apple, strawberry or vanilla, and
-pile it on the surface of the shell before it goes to table.
-
-Small tarts may, in this way, be baked empty, for patty-pans, and filled
-with ripe fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, or grated
-pine-apple, made very sweet, and creamed on the top--or you may fill the
-shells with any sort of sweetmeats, either preserves or marmalade, or
-with mince-meat. Shells may be made thus, and filled with stewed
-oysters, or reed-birds, cooked previously, and served up warm; or with
-nicely-dressed lobster. You may make lids for them of the same paste
-baked by itself on a shallow plate, and when taken off fitting well as a
-cover to put on afterwards before sending to table.
-
-
-BORDERS OF PASTE.--These are made of fine puff-paste cut into handsome
-patterns, or wreaths of leaves or flowers. They are laid round the broad
-edge of the deep plate that contains a rich pudding, such as lemon,
-orange, almond, cocoa-nut, pine-apple, &c.; the dish being full down to
-the bottom and up to the top, and having no paste but the border round
-the edge. They must be baked in the dish on which they come to table,
-and not in tin or iron, as the pudding cannot be transferred. At
-handsome tables, a pudding baked with a paste _under_ it (lining the
-dish,) is now seen but seldom.
-
-Instead of wreaths, you may make a puff-paste border by laying a thick
-evenly cut band of paste round the flat rim of the dish, and notching
-it, forming with a penknife small squares about an inch wide, and
-turning one square up and one square down alternately, _cheveux de
-frize_ fashion. Or you may make the squares near two inches wide and
-turn over one corner sharp, leaving the other flat. This looks pretty
-when baked, if the paste is _very puff_.
-
-
-LEMON PUDDING.--To make two puddings take two fine large ripe lemons,
-and rub them under your hand on a table. Grate off the thin yellow rind
-upon a large lump of loaf sugar. Cut the lemon, and squeeze the juice
-into a saucer through a strainer, to avoid the seeds. Put half a pound
-of powdered white sugar into a deep earthen pan, (including the sugar on
-which you have rubbed the lemons) and cut up in it half a pound of the
-best fresh butter, adding the juice. Stir them to a light cream with a
-wooden spaddle, which is shorter than a mush-stick, and flattened at one
-end; that end rather thin, and rather broad. Beat in a shallow pan,
-(with hickory rods) six eggs, till very thick and smooth, and stir them
-gradually into the mixture. Have ready some of the best puff-paste, made
-in the proportion of a pint or half a pound of very nice fresh butter to
-a pint or half a pound of sifted flour. Take china or white-ware dishes
-with broad rims. Butter the rim, and lay round it neatly a border of the
-paste. _Put no paste inside the dish beneath the mixture._ Fill each
-dish to the top with the pudding mixture, and set it immediately into
-the oven. It will bake in about half an hour When done, and browned on
-the surface, set it to cool, and send it to table in the dish it was
-baked in.
-
-Fine puddings are now made without an under crust, but merely a handsome
-border of puff-paste laid round the edge, and helped with the pudding.
-Sift sugar over the surface. This quantity will make one large pudding,
-or two small ones.
-
-To almost all puddings the flavor of lemon or orange is an improvement.
-A genuine _baked_ lemon pudding, (such as was introduced by the justly
-celebrated Mrs. Goodfellow,) and is well known at Philadelphia dinner
-parties, must have _no flour_ or bread whatever. The mixture only of
-butter, sugar, and eggs, (with the proper flavoring) and when baked it
-cuts down smooth and shining, like a nice custard. Made this way, they
-are among the most delicious of puddings; but, of course, are not
-intended for children or invalids. We have already given numerous
-receipts for _plain_ family desserts. In this _chapter_ the receipts are
-"for company." The author was _really_ a pupil of Mrs. Goodfellow's, and
-for double the usual term, and while there took notes of every thing
-that was made, it being the desire of the liberal and honest
-instructress that her scholars _should learn in reality_.
-
-
-ALMOND PUDDING.--Blanch in hot water a quarter of a pound of shelled
-sweet and two ounces of bitter almonds, and as you blanch them throw
-them into a bowl of cold water. When all are thus peeled, take them out
-singly, wipe them dry in a clean napkin, and lay them on a plate. Pound
-them one at a time in a marble mortar till they become a smooth paste,
-adding frequently a few drops of rose-water to make them light and
-preserve their whiteness, mixing the bitter almonds with the sweet. As
-you pound them, take out the paste and lay it in a saucer with a
-tea-spoon. Without the rose-water they will become oily and
-dark-colored. Without a few bitter almonds the others will be insipid.
-The almonds may be thus prepared a day before they are wanted for use.
-Cut up a large quarter of a pound of fresh butter in a large quarter of
-a pound of powdered sugar, and stir them together with a spaddle till
-very light and creamy. Add a large wine-glass of mixed wine and brandy,
-and half a grated nutmeg. Beat, till they stand alone, the whites only
-of six eggs, and stir them gradually into the butter and sugar, in turn
-with the pounded almonds. Stir the whole very hard at the last. Put the
-mixture into a deep dish with a broad rim, and fill it up to the top,
-laying a border of puff-paste all round the rim. Serve up the pudding
-cool, having sifted sugar over it.
-
-_Boiled Almond Pudding_--Is made as above; only with whole eggs, both
-yolks and whites beaten together. Boil it in a _bain-marie_ or in a
-thick square cloth, in a pot of boiling water. When done, turn it out
-and send it to table warm. Eat it with sugar, wet with rose-water.
-
-_Orange Pudding_--Is made exactly like lemon pudding; the ingredients
-in the same proportion, and baked without an under crust, having a
-border of puff-paste all round the edge, and sent to table in the dish
-it was baked in. These fine-baked puddings should have no addition
-whatever of bread-crumbs or flour. They should cut down smooth and
-glassy.
-
-_Boiled Lemon or Orange Pudding_--Make the foregoing mixture either with
-two lemons or two oranges, adding to the other ingredients a half pint
-finely-crumbled sponge cake. Boil the mixture either in a _bain-marie_
-or a thick pudding cloth, and serve it up warm. For sauce, have ready
-butter and sugar beaten to a cream, and flavored well with lemon or
-orange, and grated nutmeg.
-
-
-COCOA-NUT PUDDING.--Break up a ripe cocoa-nut. Having peeled off the
-brown skin, wash all the pieces of nut in cold water, and wipe them dry
-on a clean napkin. Then grate the cocoa-nut _very fine_ into a pan, till
-you have a quart. In a deep pan cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh
-butter, and add a very light quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
-Stir together (with a spaddle,) the butter and sugar till they are very
-light and creamy, and add a grated nutmeg. Beat, (till they stand alone)
-the _whites only_ of six eggs; the yolks may be reserved for soft
-custards. Stir the beaten white of egg gradually into the pan of butter
-and sugar, alternately with the grated cocoa-nut, a little at a time of
-each, and a glass of mixed brandy and white wine. Stir the whole very
-hard. Fill with it a broad-edged deep white dish, and lay a puff-paste
-border all round the rim. Bake it light brown, and when cool sift white
-sugar over it, serving it up in the dish it was baked in.
-
-_Boiled Cocoa-nut Pudding._--For this make the above mixture, and boil
-it in a mould, or in a _bain-marie_, with the water in the outside
-kettle. Eat it either warm or cold.
-
-
-SWEET POTATO PUDDING.--Wash, boil, and peel some fine sweet potatos.
-Mash them, and rub them through a coarse sieve--this will make them
-loose and light. If merely _mashed_ the pudding will clod and be heavy.
-In a deep pan stir to a cream a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and
-a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar; adding a grated nutmeg, a
-tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, a half glass of white wine, and a
-half glass of brandy. Beat in a shallow pan three eggs, till very thick
-and smooth, and stir them into the mixture of butter and sugar,
-alternately with the sweet potato. At the last mix all thoroughly with a
-very hard stirring. Put the mixture into a deep dish, and lay a border
-of puff-paste all round the rim. Set the pudding immediately into a
-rather brisk oven, and when cool sift white sugar over it. For two of
-these puddings _double_ the quantities of all the ingredients.
-
-_White Potato Pudding_--Is made exactly as above. Chestnut pudding
-also--the large Spanish chestnuts, boiled, peeled, and mashed.
-
-_Fine Pumpkin Pudding_--Also, allowing to the above ingredients a half
-pint of stewed pumpkins, squeezed dry and rubbed through a sieve.
-
-_Cashaw Pudding._--A similar pudding may be made of stewed cashaw, or
-winter squash.
-
-
-PINE-APPLE TART.--Take a fine large ripe pine-apple. Remove the leaves,
-and quarter it without paring, standing up each quarter in a deep plate,
-and grating it down till you come to the rind. Strew plenty of powdered
-sugar over the grated fruit. Cover it, and let it rest for an hour. Then
-put it into a porcelain kettle, and steam it in its own syrup till
-perfectly soft. Have ready some empty shells of puff-paste, baked either
-in patty-pans or in soup plates. When they are cool, fill them full with
-the grated pine-apple; add more sugar, and lay round the rim a border of
-puff-paste.
-
-
-QUINCE PIES.--Wash well, pare, and core some fine ripe quinces, having
-cut out all the blemishes. Put the cores and parings into a small
-sauce-pan, and stew them in a little water, till all broken to pieces.
-Then strain and save the quince water. Having quartered the quinces, or
-sliced them in round slices, transfer them to a porcelain stew-pan, and
-pour over the quinces water extracted from boiling the cores and
-parings. Let them cook in this till quite soft all through. Make them
-very sweet with powdered sugar, and fill with them two deep soup plates
-that have been baked empty, with a puff paste border round the rims.
-Fill them up to the top, (they are already cooked) and sift sugar over
-them--or, you may pile on the surface of each some ice-cream. You may
-cook the quinces whole, and lay one on each tart.
-
-
-FINE APPLE PIES--May be made in the same manner, flavored with the
-grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon. The apples should be fine juicy
-pippins. If done whole, lay one on each patty-pan tart, and stick into
-the core hole a slip of the yellow rind of lemon, pared so thin as to be
-nearly transparent.
-
-
-A MERINGUE PUDDING.--Rub off upon a large lump of _sugar_ the yellow
-rind of two fine ripe lemons, and mix it with a pound of powdered loaf
-sugar, adding the juice. Whip, to a stiff froth, the _whites only_ of
-eight eggs; and then, gradually, beat in the sugar and lemon, adding a
-heaped table-spoonful of the finest flour. Spread part of the mixture
-thickly over the bottom of a deep dish, the rim of which has been
-bordered with a handsome wreath of puff-paste, and baked. Lay upon it a
-thick layer of stiff currant or strawberry jelly. Then fill up the
-dish, and set it, a few minutes in a rather cool oven to brown slightly.
-This pudding is for dinner company. If you use oranges, omit half the
-grated peel.
-
-You may flavor the meringue with vanilla. Split, and break up a small
-vanilla bean, and boil it in a _very little_ cream till all the vanilla
-flavor is extracted, the cream tasting of it strongly. Then strain it
-well, and mix the vanilla cream with the white of egg. Or, a little
-_home-made_ extract of vanilla will be still better. This is obtained by
-splitting and breaking up some vanilla beans, and steeping them for a
-week or two in a bottle of _absolute_ alcohol; then straining the
-liquid, transferring it to a clean bottle, and keeping it closely
-corked. Very little of what is called "Extract of Vanilla" is good, and
-it is more expensive than to make it yourself. Also, what is generally
-sold for essence of lemon is very inferior to real lemon juice.
-
-
-JELLY OR MARMALADE PUDDING.--Divide the paste equally and line two
-puff-paste shells. Bake them empty; and while baking, beat till very
-light and thick, the yolks of six eggs. Mix the beaten egg with a
-liberal portion of any nice kind of fruit, jelly or marmalade, and boil
-it ten minutes in a sauce-pan, stirring it well. Take it up and set it
-away to cool. When cold, fill with it the baked shells. Fill them up to
-the top with the mixture, and before they go to table sift powdered
-white sugar over the surface of the puddings.
-
-
-CHEESE PUDDING.--Take a quarter of a pound of excellent cheese; rich,
-but not strong or old. Cut it in small bits, and then beat it (a little
-at a time) in a marble mortar. Add a quarter of a pound of the best
-fresh butter. Cut it up, and pound it in the mortar with the cheese,
-till perfectly smooth and well mixed. Beat five eggs till very thick and
-smooth. Mix them, gradually, with the cheese and butter. Put the mixture
-into a deep dish with a rim. Have ready some puff-paste, and lay a broad
-border of it all round the edge, ornamenting it handsomely. Set it
-immediately into a moderate oven, and bake it till the paste is browned,
-and has risen very high all round the edge of the dish. Sift white sugar
-over it before it goes to table.
-
-It is intended that the cheese taste shall predominate. But, if
-preferred, you may make the mixture very sweet by adding powdered sugar;
-it may be seasoned with nutmeg and mace. Either way is good.
-
-It may be baked in small patty-pans, lined at the bottom and sides with
-puff-paste. Remove them from the tins as soon as they come out of the
-oven, and place them on a large dish.
-
-This pudding is very nice made of rich fresh cream cheese; the rind, of
-course, being pared off. Cream cheese pudding will require sugar and
-spice--that is, a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg, mace, and
-cinnamon, all mixed; two ounces of fresh butter, and six eggs.
-
-
-FLORENDINES.--These are made of any sort of fruit, stewed in its own
-juice or in sweetmeat syrup, but when practicable, without any water. A
-pint of this fruit is mixed with half a pint of fresh butter, and half a
-pint of powdered sugar stirred together to a light cream, and then mixed
-with three well-beaten eggs, and the fruit stirred in alternately with
-the beaten butter and sugar. Have ready baked shells of puff-paste,
-ready to be filled with the mixture. The fruit may be apples, quinces,
-peaches, gooseberries, currants, raspberries. Cranberries, gooseberries,
-and currants, require additional sugar, as they are naturally very sour.
-If you use plums or cherries for any sort of cooking, stone them first.
-
-
-PEACH PIES.--Take a sufficient number of fine juicy freestone peaches.
-Clingstones are very hard and insipid when raw, and still more tasteless
-when cooked. Peel the peaches and quarter them, having removed the
-stones. Stew them in their own juice, and while hot make them very sweet
-with white sugar. When you put them to stew, place among them a bunch of
-fresh green peach leaves, to be removed when the peaches are done. Or,
-cook with them some peach kernels, blanched in hot water, to be picked
-out when the stewing is finished. Peach leaves or kernels communicate a
-flavor which to most persons is pleasant. Have ready some puff-paste
-shells; baked, and beginning to cool. Fill them to the top with the
-stewed peaches, and pile on them some whipped cream sweetened, and
-flavored with noyau or rose-water.
-
-
-A FRUIT CHARLOTTE.--Have ready a large fresh almond sponge cake, or lady
-cake. Cut a round or circular piece to fit the bottom of a great glass
-bowl. Also, about twelve or fourteen oblong slices, to stand up all
-round to line the sides. Have ready two quarts or more of ripe
-strawberries or raspberries. Mash the fruit to a jam, and having made it
-very sweet with white sugar, spread it thickly over the pieces of cake.
-Lay the circular piece of cake in the bottom of the bowl and stand up
-the others all round the sides, all close to each other or wrapping over
-a little. Proceed to fill the bowl with the fruit; and when half way up,
-put on another layer of sliced cake spread with fruit. Then fill up with
-fruit to the top. Have ready a quart of whipped cream flavored with
-vanilla or bitter almonds. Heap it high on the bowl, and set it in a
-cool place till it goes to table. This is a very fine article for a nice
-dessert, and can be prepared at a short notice, and without going down
-stairs, as it requires no cooking.
-
-For the whipped cream, you may pile the bowl with any sort of white
-ice-cream ready made, and if there is no fresh fruit in season,
-substitute marmalade or fruit jelly.
-
-If you have no large bowl you may serve up this charlotte in glass or
-china saucers, laying in the bottom of each a circular slice of cake
-spread over with ripe fruit or marmalade. Fill up with the same, and
-finish with whipped cream, or ice-cream heaped on the top.
-
-
-VANILLA CUSTARDS.--Split a vanilla bean, break it into small bits, and
-boil it in a half pint of milk, till all the flavor of the vanilla is
-extracted. Strain it through a very fine strainer, cover it, and set it
-aside. Boil a quart of rich milk, and when it comes to a boil set it
-away to cool. Beat eight eggs till very thick and smooth, (and when the
-milk is cold) add that which is flavored with vanilla, and stir it in
-gradually with a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar. Divide the
-mixture in custard cups, (filling them to the top) and set them into an
-iron bake-pan filled with boiling water, reaching nearly to the the rim
-of the cups. Put them into a moderate oven, and bake them a pale brown.
-When cool, grate nutmeg, or lay a maccaroon on the top over each. Never
-send custards warm to table. If well made, and baked not too much, there
-will be no whey at the bottom of the cups, and the custards will be
-smooth and firm all through, and have no spongy holes in them.
-
-To make soft custards, omit the whites of all the eggs, and have a
-double quantity of yolks. The whites may be used for almond or cocoa-nut
-pudding, for lady cake, for meringue or icing, and for kisses or
-maccaroons.
-
-_Orange Custards._--Prepare four large ripe oranges, by rolling them
-under your hand on a table to increase the juice. Use none of the peel
-for these custards, but reserve it for something else. Beat in a shallow
-pan twelve eggs till thick and smooth. Mix the orange juice with a
-wineglass of cold water, and stir it gradually into the beaten egg, with
-a small tumblerful of powdered sugar. There is no milk in these
-custards. Divide them into custard cups, and beat them ten minutes. When
-cold, grate nutmeg over them.
-
-_Lemon Custard_--Is made in the above manner, with the juice of four
-large lemons, (omitting the rind) a small wineglass of cold water,
-twelve beaten eggs, and a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar. Any of
-these fine custards may be boiled in a _bain-marie_, with water in the
-outside kettle, and there is no way better. When boiled and cool, grate
-in some nutmeg, and serve up the custard in a glass or china pitcher,
-with saucers of the same to eat it from, or divide it in small glass
-cups with handles to them.
-
-Lemon or orange custards are very fine. They are made without milk.
-
-_Chocolate Custard._--Make some strong chocolate, allowing a quarter of
-a pound of the best, (which is Baker's prepared cocoa) to a quart of
-rich milk; first mixing the milk and scraped chocolate to a smooth
-paste. Boil them together a quarter of an hour. While warm, stir in two
-or three table-spoonfuls of loaf sugar. Then set it away to cool. Have
-ready eight well-beaten eggs, and stir them gradually into the
-chocolate. Bake the mixture in cups, and serve them up with a chocolate
-maccaroon laid on the top of each.
-
-_Almond and Maccaroon Custard._--Boil in half a pint of rich milk a
-handful of _bitter_ almonds, blanched and broken up. When highly
-flavored, strain that milk and set it aside. Boil a quart of milk by
-itself, and when cold stir in, gradually, eight well beaten eggs, adding
-the flavored milk, and half a pint of powdered sugar. Stir the whole
-very hard at the last. Bake it in cups, and when done and cold, lay on
-the top of each a maccaroon with four others placed around it; five
-maccaroons to each custard. Or, if the maccaroons are made in the house,
-let every one be large enough to cover the top of the custard like a
-lid.
-
-
-FINE PLUM PUDDING.--This pudding is best when prepared, (all but the
-milk and eggs,) the day before it is wanted. Seed and cut in half one
-pound of the best bloom raisins; and pick, wash, and dry before the
-fire, a pound of Zante currants, (commonly called plums.) Dredge the
-fruit well with flour, to prevent its sinking or clogging. Take one
-pound of fresh beef suet, freed from the skin and strings, and chopped
-_very fine_; a pint of grated bread-crumbs, and half a pint of sifted
-flour; a large quarter of a pound of the best sugar, a large
-table-spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon mixed, and two powdered
-nutmegs--all the spice steeped in a half pint of mixed wine and brandy.
-Put away these ingredients separately, closely covered, and let them
-stand undisturbed all night. Next morning proceed to finish the pudding,
-which requires at least six hours boiling. Beat nine eggs till very
-thick and smooth, then add gradually a pint of rich milk, in turn with
-the bread-crumbs and flour. Mix with the sugar the grated yellow rind
-and juice of two large lemons or two oranges, and add gradually to the
-mixture all the ingredients, stirring very hard. If you find it too
-thick, add by degrees some more milk; if too thin, some more
-bread-crumbs. But take care not to have too much bread or flour, or the
-pudding will be solid and heavy. Dip a large strong cloth in boiling
-water; shake it out, and spread it in a large pan. Dredge it lightly
-with flour, and pour in the mixture. Tie it tightly, but leave
-sufficient space for the pudding to swell in boiling. Put it into a pot
-of fast-boiling water, and boil it steadily six hours or more, not
-taking it up till wanted for table. Before turning it, dip the cloth for
-a moment in cold water to make the pudding come out easily. Have ready
-some slips of citron or of blanched sweet almonds, or both, and stick
-them, liberally, all over the surface of the pudding after you have
-dished it. Serve it up with wine sauce highly flavored, or with butter
-and sugar beaten to a cream, and seasoned with nutmeg and rose. Do not
-set the pudding on fire to burn out the liquor; that practice has had
-its day, and is over. It was always foolish.
-
-If you wish to send it to a distant place, (for instance, to some part
-of the world where plum puddings are not known or not made) you may
-preserve it, (after boiling it well,) by leaving it tied up in the cloth
-it was cooked in; hanging it up in a cool dry place, and then packing it
-well in a tin vessel having a close fitting cover. Paste a band of thick
-white paper all around the place where the lid shuts down, and put into
-a tight box the vessel that contains the pudding. When it arrives at its
-destination, the friend who receives it will pare off thinly the
-outside, and tying up the pudding in a fresh clean cloth, will boil it
-over again for an hour or more; and when done the surface may be then
-decorated with slips of citron or almond. It has been said that in this
-way a plum pudding can be kept for _six_ months, as good as ever. It
-cannot. But it may keep six _weeks_. Do not _fry_ or _broil_ plum
-pudding that is left at dinner. The slices will be greasy and heavy. But
-tie the piece that remains in a small cloth, and _boil_ it over again
-for an hour. It will then be nearly as good as on the first day. Believe
-in no wonders that you hear, of the long keeping of either plum pudding,
-plum cake, or mince meat, which are all of the same family. However long
-they may be preserved from absolute decomposition, these things are
-always best when fresh.
-
-
-MINCE PIES.--The best mince meat is made of fresh beef's tongue boiled,
-peeled, and when quite cold, chopped very fine. The next best is of
-beef's heart boiled and chopped. The next of cold roast beef. And the
-next, of the lean of cold boiled beef, quite fresh, and cooked
-especially for the purpose. All the meat must be fresh, and not minced
-till entirely cold. To two large pounds of lean meat allow two small
-pounds of nice kidney suet, cleared from skin and strings, and chopped
-very small; two pounds of fine juicy apples, pared, cored, and minced;
-two pounds of Zante currants, washed, and picked clean; two pounds of
-fine bloom raisins, seeded and chopped, or of seedless sultana raisins
-cut in half; two pounds of the best sugar; two large nutmegs, powdered;
-a table-spoonful of ground cinnamon; the same quantity of ground ginger,
-with the juice and grated yellow rind of six large lemons, or the juice
-of six oranges, and their grated rind; a pint of Madeira or sherry, and
-half a pint of brandy; lastly, half a pound of citron cut into slips,
-rather large. If the citron is chopped small it cannot be distinguished
-among the other ingredients, and its flavor is lost. When all is
-prepared, mix well in a large pan the chopped meat, suet, and fruit.
-Then, gradually add the spice, having steeped it in the liquor all the
-preceding night, mixing the whole thoroughly, and putting in the citron
-at the last. Line with fine puff-paste deep pie-dishes, or patty-pans.
-Fill them, quite full of the mince, heaping it higher towards the
-centre; and put on a lid, handsomely decorated with puff-paste
-ornaments, and having a cross slit in the centre surrounded with paste
-leaves or flowers. Set the pies immediately into a moderately brisk
-oven, and bake them a light brown. Eat them warm. If baked the preceding
-day, heat them again before they go to table. The foolish custom of
-setting the pies on fire after they come to table, and causing a blue
-blaze to issue from the liquor that is in them, is now obsolete, and
-considered ungenteel and tavern-like. If this practice originated in a
-polite desire to _frighten the ladies_, its purpose is already a
-failure, for the ladies are not frightened; that is, not really.
-
-Mincemeat will taste more fresh and pleasant if the apples are not added
-till the day the pies are made. It should be kept well-secured from air
-and damp, in stone jars closely covered. Whenever a jar is opened to
-take out some for immediate use, pour in a large glass or two of brandy,
-and stir it about. It is not true that mincemeat will keep all winter,
-even by this preservative. It is sure to become musty (or worse,) before
-two months. It is best to make fresh mincemeat at least three times
-during the season. When the cold weather is over, do not attempt it,
-unless a little for immediate use.
-
-Mincemeat, with a double portion of excellent raisins, (cut in half,)
-will do very well without currants, which are very troublesome to
-prepare; and those imported of late years are rarely of good quality.
-
-We have heard of West India mincemeat made with cold roast turkey;
-chopped pine-apple; grated cocoa-nut; preserved ginger chopped, and
-moistened with its own syrup; and seasoned with nutmeg and noyau.
-
-The above mince pies are for company.
-
-
-CALF'S FEET JELLY.--Select the largest and best calf's feet. Four is
-called a set. Choose those that, after the hair has been well scalded
-and scraped off, are prepared with the skins left on. There is much
-glutinous substance in the skin itself, therefore it adds to the
-strength and firmness of the jelly. The feet being made perfectly clean,
-split them upwards as far as you can, and put them to boil in a gallon
-of _very clear_ soft water. Boil them till they have all gone to pieces,
-and the flesh is reduced to rags, and the liquid to one half. Strain the
-liquid through a fine sieve into a white-ware pan, and set it away to
-cool. When quite cold, it should be a cake of firm jelly. Take it out,
-and scrape from it all the fat at the top and sediment at the bottom.
-Press on the surface, some clean blotting paper, to remove any grease
-that may yet remain about it. Cut the cake of jelly into pieces, and put
-it into a _very clean_ porcelain kettle, with a large pint of sherry,
-(inferior wine will spoil it,) a pound of the best loaf sugar, broken
-small; the yellow rind of six lemons, pared so thin as to be
-transparent, and their juice squeezed over the sugar through a strainer;
-the _whites_ of six or seven eggs, with their shells mashed small. If
-the jelly is to be moulded, add a quarter ounce of the best Russia
-isinglass. Boil together all these ingredients for near twenty minutes.
-Then take it off the fire, and let it stand undisturbed for about five
-minutes, to settle. Next, have ready a pointed jelly bag, made of clean
-white flannel. Spread it open, suspended by strings to a table edge. Set
-a large tureen or white-ware pan beneath it, and let the jelly drip as
-long as it will; but on no account squeeze or press the bag, as that
-will spoil all, rendering the whole jelly cloudy or streaked. If it is
-not quite clear at the first straining, empty the contents of the bag
-into a basin, wash the bag clean, hang it up again, pour the jelly back,
-wash the tureen or pan, and let the jelly pass into it again. Repeat
-this straining if necessary. When quite clear, shape the jelly in
-white-ware moulds, which have been setting two hours in cold water. When
-the jelly is wanted, wrap round the moulds for a moment, a cloth dipped
-in warm water, and turn it out on glass dishes. The ingredients that are
-left in the bag may be boiled and strained over again for children. If
-the jelly is _not_ to be moulded, you may omit the isinglass. In that
-case break it up, and serve it in a glass bowl. It is now the general
-opinion that jellies have a more lively taste when broken up, from the
-numerous acute angles they present to the tongue and palate. We think
-this opinion correct; and also they look brighter and more glittering,
-and _go farther_.
-
-_Apple Jelly_--Is far less expensive than that of calf's feet, and if
-well made looks beautifully. It requires the very best and most juicy
-apples, (for instance, two dozen large pippins or bell-flowers.) Wash
-and wipe them well, (removing all blemishes,) pare, core, and slice or
-quarter them. Put them into a _bain-marie_ or double kettle, with the
-water outside, and let them boil till broken and dissolved, putting in
-with them the grated yellow rind of four large lemons. Press and mash
-the stewed apples through a very clean sieve, till you have extracted
-all the juice. Measure it while warm, and allow to each quart a pound of
-the finest powdered and sifted loaf sugar well mixed in, and the juice
-of the lemons. Transfer it to a clean white flannel jelly bag, and let
-it drip into a large white-ware pan. When quite clear, put it into
-moulds, and set it on ice to congeal. When wanted, turn it out of the
-moulds, (loosened by wrapping round their outsides cloths dipped a
-minute in warm water) and serve it up in glass dishes.
-
-_Siberian Jelly._--A fine pink-colored jelly may be made in the above
-manner, of the red Siberian crab-apple, but it requires an _additional_
-quarter of a pound of sugar to a pint of juice. Instead of lemon you may
-flavor it, (after all the juice has done dripping) by mixing with
-extract of rose, or strong rose-water, allowing a wine-glassful to each
-quart of jelly. Rose-water, or extract of rose, evaporates so speedily
-when over the fire, that it should never be added till the very last.
-
-_Orange Jelly_--Is made in the proportion of a pint of strained orange
-juice to a pound of loaf sugar, boiled with an ounce of isinglass, that
-has first been melted over the fire by itself in a very little water.
-Add the _yellow_ rind of the oranges pared from the white as thin as
-possible. Give it one boil up, and strain it into the jelly-bag. When
-clear, transfer it to moulds. Twelve large oranges will generally yield
-a pint of juice. Lemon jelly is made in the same manner, but with more
-sugar.
-
-
-CURRANT JELLY.--The currants should be large, fine, and fully ripe. The
-best and sweetest currants grow in the shade; and the largest, also. If
-exposed to the full heat of our American sun, it turns them sour, dries
-up the juice, and withers their growth. Gather them when fully ripe,
-strip them from the stems into a cullender, and wash and drain them.
-Transfer them to a large pan, and mash them well with a wooden beetle.
-Then put the currants, with their juice, into a _bain-marie_ or double
-kettle, and cook them with the water outside, stirring them hard to
-bring out the juice. Simmer them for a quarter of an hour, and then
-transfer them to a very clean sieve, and press them over a pan till no
-more juice appears. Measure the juice, and to each pint allow a pound of
-broken-up loaf sugar. Mix the sugar with the juice, put all into a
-porcelain kettle, and boil it till the scum ceases to rise. If the sugar
-is of excellent quality, (the best double-refined should be used for all
-nice sweetmeats) it will need but little skimming, and leave no sediment
-when poured off. Boil it twenty minutes with the sugar. To try if it is
-done, take up a spoonful and hold it out in the open air. If it congeals
-very soon, it is cooked enough. Put it warm into glass tumblers. Cut out
-some white tissue paper into double rounds, exactly fitting the glasses.
-Press these papers lightly on the surface of the jelly; and, next day,
-tie over the top thick papers dipped in brandy, and set them in the sun
-all that day if the weather is bright and warm.
-
-All jellies of small fruit may be made in a similar manner; first
-boiling the fruit by itself, and mashing it to get out all the juice.
-Then boiling the berries again, _with the sugar_, for about twenty
-minutes. The above receipt is equally good for grapes, blackberries, and
-gooseberries. Black currant jelly (excellent for sore throats,) requires
-but three quarters of a pound of sugar, the juice being very thick of
-itself. Peaches, plums, damsons, and green gages, must be scalded,
-peeled, and stoned, before boiling for jelly, and they require, at
-least, a pound and a half of sugar to a pint of juice. It is better to
-preserve them as marmalade than as jelly. Strawberries and raspberries
-require no previous cooking; mash out the juice, strain it, allow a
-pound of sugar to every pint of juice, and then boil them together
-(skimming carefully) for about a quarter of an hour, or till they
-congeal on being tried in the air.
-
-
-WINE JELLY.--Wine jellies are seldom made except for company. The wine
-must be of excellent quality; either port, madeira, or champagne. To a
-quart of wine allow a pound of the best double-refined loaf sugar, and
-an ounce of the best Russian isinglass. Melt the sugar (broken small) in
-the wine. Melt the isinglass by itself in as much warm water as will
-just cover it, and when quite dissolved, stir it into the mixed wine and
-sugar. Boil all together, till on trial it becomes a firm jelly, which
-will be very soon. If it does not congeal well, add some more dissolved
-isinglass, and more sugar. Serve in moulds, and eat it on saucers. Jelly
-is made in this manner of any nice sort of _liqueur_ or cordial. Also of
-strong green tea, or very strong coffee; first made as usual, and then
-boiled with loaf sugar and isinglass till they congeal. We do not
-recommend them, except as some exhilaration to the fatigue of a party.
-
-
-TRIFLE.--This is a very nice and very elegant party dish, and is served
-in a large glass bowl. Put into the bottom of the bowl a pound of bitter
-almond maccaroons. Pour on sufficient madeira or sherry to dissolve
-them. Let them soak in it till soft and broken. Have ready a very rich
-custard, flavored with vanilla bean (broken up and boiled by itself in a
-little milk), and then strained into the quart of milk prepared for the
-custard, which should be of ten eggs, (_using only the yolks_) and
-sweetened with a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf sugar. It is best
-and easiest to _bake_ the custard. It will be very rich and soft with
-yolk of egg only. When the custard is cold lay it on the dissolved
-maccaroons. Then add a thick layer of very nice marmalade. Rub off the
-yellow rind of a large lemon or two on some pieces of loaf sugar, and
-add to it some powdered sugar mixed with the lemon juice. Whip to a
-strong froth a large quart (or more) of rich cream, gradually mixing
-with it the lemon and sugar. Lastly, pile up the frothed cream high on
-the glass bowl, and keep it on ice till it is sent to table. Instead of
-lemon you may flavor the whipt cream with rose-water; it will require,
-if not very strong, a wine-glassful. To give the cream a fine pink
-color, tie up some alkanet chips in a thin muslin bag; lay the bag to
-infuse in a tea-cup of plain cream, and then add the pink infusion to
-the quart of cream as you froth it.
-
-
-BLANCMANGE.--The best and finest blancmange is made with a set of
-calves' feet, (singed but not skinned) boiled slowly in a gallon of
-water till the meat drops from the bone; then strain it, and set it away
-till next day, in a broad white-ware pan. Skim it well while boiling.
-Next day it should be a solid cake of clear jelly. Scrape off all the
-fat and sediment from the outside, cut the jelly into small bits, and
-melt it over again. Boil in a porcelain kettle a pint of cream, and
-when it has come to a boil, stir in six ounces of loaf sugar, and
-whatever you intend for flavoring; either the milk, in which a handful
-of bitter almonds has been boiled, (first being blanched and broken up)
-or a vanilla bean split and cut to pieces, and boiled in a little milk
-and strained. Or, it may be mixed with three ounces of chocolate,
-(Baker's prepared cocoa is the best) scraped fine. When the flavoring
-has had a boil with the sugar, stir into it, gradually, the melted
-jelly, and transfer it to white-ware moulds that have set in cold water,
-and are still damp. Stir it well, and when the blancmange is thickening,
-and becoming hard to stir, set the moulds on ice, or in pans of cold
-water in the cellar, and cease stirring. When quite congealed, dip the
-moulds in lukewarm water, and turn out the blancmange on glass dishes.
-You may color almond or vanilla blancmange a fine pink, by putting into
-the cream chips of alkanet root tied in a small thin muslin bag, to be
-removed as soon as the cream is highly colored. Or, it may be made green
-by the infusion of spinach juice, obtained by pounding in a marble
-mortar, and then boiling and straining.
-
-Gelatine is now frequently used for blancmange and jelly, instead of
-calves' feet or isinglass. It has no advantage but that of being more
-speedily prepared than calves' feet, which must be boiled the day
-before. Four cakes of gelatine are equal to four calves' feet. Before
-using, they must be soaked for an hour or more in a pan of cold water,
-then boiled with the other ingredients. Some persons think they
-perceive an unpleasant taste in gelatine; perhaps they have heard of
-what it is made.
-
-When calves' feet cannot be obtained, pigs' feet will do very well, if
-nobody knows it. Four feet of calves are equal to eight of pigs. They
-are very glutinous, and have no perceptible taste.
-
-
-FINEST BLANCMANGE.--Break up a half pound of the best double-refined
-loaf sugar. On some of the pieces rub off the yellow rind of two large
-lemons, having rolled them under your hand to increase the juice. Then
-powder all the sugar, and mix with it, gradually, the juice of the
-lemons, a pint of rich cream, and a large half pint (not less) of sherry
-or madeira. Stir the mixture very hard till all the articles are
-thoroughly amalgamated. Then stir in, gradually, a _second_ pint of
-cream. Put into a small sauce-pan an ounce of the best Russia isinglass,
-with one jill (or two common-sized wineglasses) of cold water. Boil it
-till the isinglass is completely dissolved, stirring it several times
-down to the bottom. When the melted isinglass has become lukewarm, stir
-it gradually into the mixture, and then give the whole a hard stirring.
-Have ready some white-ware moulds that have just been dipped and rinsed
-in cold water. Fill them with the mixture, set them on ice, and in two
-or three hours the blancmange will be congealed. When it is perfectly
-firm, dip the moulds for a minute in lukewarm water, and turn out the
-blancmange on glass dishes. This, if accurately made, is the finest of
-blancmange. For company, you must have double, or treble, or four times
-the quantity of ingredients; each article in due proportion.
-
-
-FARINA.--Farina is a very fine and delicate preparation, made from the
-inner part of the grain of new wheat. It is exceedingly nutritious, and
-excellent either for invalids or for persons in health. It is now much
-in use, and is to be had, in packages of a pound or half a pound, of the
-best grocers and druggists, and is highly recommended by physicians for
-gruel and panade. It also makes an excellent pudding, either boiled or
-baked, prepared in the same manner as any flour pudding. For boiling
-farina, nothing is so good as a _bain-marie_ or double kettle.
-
-_For Farina Blancmange._--From a quart of rich milk take out a half
-pint. Put the half pint into a small sauce-pan, and add to it a handful
-of bitter almonds broken up; or a bunch of fresh peach leaves, or a
-vanilla bean split, cut up, and tied in a thin muslin bag. When this
-milk has boiled till very highly flavored, strain it into the pint and a
-half, and set it over the fire in a porcelain kettle or a _bain-marie_.
-When the milk has come to a boil, sprinkle in, gradually, a large half
-pint or more (or four large heaping table-spoonfuls) of farina, stirring
-it well--also sprinkling in and stirring, as if making thick mush. Let
-it boil slowly a quarter of an hour after the farina is all in. When
-done, remove it from the fire, and stir in two large table-spoonfuls of
-sugar, and a wineglass of rose-water, or one of white wine. Transfer it
-to a blancmange mould, (previously wet with cold water,) set it on ice,
-and turn it out when ready for dinner. Eat it with sauce of wine, sugar,
-and nutmeg.
-
-
-FINE MARROW PUDDING.--Mince very small a quarter of a pound of nice beef
-marrow, and grate or crumble half a pound of almond sponge cake. Cut in
-half, a quarter of a pound of sultana or seedless raisins, chop two
-peels of candied citron, mix them with the raisins, and dredge both
-thickly with flour. Add a large heaped table-spoonful of loaf sugar, a
-small nutmeg grated, and a wineglass of mixed wine and brandy. Mix all
-these ingredients well, put them into a deep dish, lay a border of
-puff-paste all round the rim, and fill the dish up to the top with a
-nice custard made in the proportion of four eggs to a pint of
-well-sweetened milk, flavored with either bitter almonds, rose-water,
-peach-water, or vanilla. Bake this pudding half an hour. When cool, sift
-sugar over it.
-
-
-OMELETTE SOUFFLE.--Break six eggs, separating the yolks and whites. Give
-them a slight stir, and strain the whites into one pan and the yolks
-into another. Add to the yolks three large table-spoonfuls of powdered
-loaf sugar, a heaped tea-spoonful of arrow-root flour, and twelve drops
-of strong orange-flower water, and beat it till very thick and smooth.
-Then beat the whites to a stiff froth, beginning slowly at first, but
-gradually beating faster. Then add the beaten yolk very gently to the
-whites. Have ready a silver or plated dish well-buttered. Use tin for
-want of better, but it will not look well, as the omelette has to be
-served up in the dish it was baked in. Place the dish with the mixture
-in a hot oven, and watch it while baking. When it has well risen, and
-seems very light, take it out of the oven for a moment; run a knife
-round it, sift some sugar over it, set it again in the oven, and when
-raised to its utmost take it out again, and serve it up as hot as
-possible, with a spoon on the plate beside it. When once broken, it will
-sink immediately. It is usual to send round the omelette souffle at the
-very last of the pastry course; the cook not beginning to make it till
-the dinner has commenced. If not light when baked, give it up, and do
-not send it to table at all. It is safest for an inexperienced housewife
-to engage a French cook to come to the house with his own ingredients
-and utensils, and make and bake the omelette souffle while there. Still
-though very fashionable, it is less delicious than many other desserts.
-
-
-SUNDERLANDS.--Warm a quart of rich milk, and cut up in it half a pound
-of the best fresh butter to soften in the milk, but not to oil. Beat
-eight eggs till very light and thick, and then stir them gradually into
-the pan of milk and butter, in turn with eight large table-spoonfuls of
-sifted flour. Beat all very hard together, and then transfer the batter
-to white tea-cups, slightly buttered, not filling them quite full. Set
-them immediately into a brisk oven, and bake them about twenty minutes,
-or till they are slightly browned, and have puffed up very light. As
-soon as they are cool enough to handle without burning your fingers,
-turn them out of the cups on a dish, cut a slit in the top of each, and,
-taking a tea-spoon, fill them quite full of any sort of jelly or
-marmalade; or if more convenient, with ripe strawberries or raspberries,
-sweetened with powdered sugar, and mashed smoothly. When filled with
-fruit, close the slit neatly with your fingers; and on the top of each
-lay a large strawberry or raspberry, having first dredged the sunderland
-with sugar.
-
-_Cream Cakes_--Are made in the above manner, but baked in patty-pans.
-When baked take them out, cut a slit in the _side_ of each; and having
-prepared an ample quantity of rich boiled custard, made with yolk of
-egg, and highly flavored (_after it has boiled_,) with lemon, orange,
-vanilla, rose-water or peach-water, fill the cakes full of the custard,
-closing the opening well by pinching it together. Sift powdered sugar
-over them, and send them to table on a large china dish.
-
-
-CREAM TART.--Make a fine puff-paste of equal quantities of fresh butter
-and sifted flour; mixing into the pan of flour a heaped table-spoonful
-of powdered sugar, and wetting it with a beaten egg. Rub one quarter of
-the butter into the pan of flour. Divide the remainder of butter into
-six, and roll it into the flour at six turns till it is all in. Have,
-ready grated, the yellow rind and the juice of a large lemon or orange
-mixed with a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf sugar; or a flavoring
-of a split-up vanilla bean; or a dozen bitter almonds broken up, and
-boiled in a very little milk. Mix the flavoring with a pint of rich
-cream, and the well-beaten whites of three eggs. Take small deep pans,
-line them all through with the paste rolled out very thin, and cut
-square. Fill them with the cream, and turn the square pieces of paste a
-little over it at the top, so as to form corners. Bake the tarts in a
-brisk oven, and when cold, grate nutmeg over the surface.
-
-Are these the cream tarts of the Arabian Nights?
-
-
-ORANGE COCOA-NUT.--Break up a fine ripe cocoa-nut, and after peeling off
-the brown skin, lay the pieces in cold water for a while. Then wipe them
-dry with a clean towel, and grate them into a deep dish. Mix in, plenty
-of powdered white sugar. Take some fine large oranges, very ripe and
-juicy. Peel off all the rind, and slice the oranges rather thick. Cover
-the bottom of a large glass bowl with sliced orange, (the first layer
-being double, where the bowl is small) and strew among the slices
-sufficient sugar. Then put in a thick layer of the grated cocoa-nut,
-next another layer of orange--again a layer of cocoa-nut, and so on,
-alternately, till the bowl is filled, finishing with cocoa-nut heaped
-high. This is a handsome and delicious article for a supper-table, and a
-nice _impromptu_ addition to the dessert at a dinner; and soon prepared,
-as it requires no cooking. When the fruit is in season, a dessert for a
-small company may consist entirely of orange cocoa-nut, raspberry
-charlotte, and cream strawberries.
-
-Never send oranges whole to table. To ladies they are unmanageable in
-company.
-
-_Creamed Strawberries._--Take fine large ripe strawberries. Hull or stem
-them, and set them on ice till just before they are wanted. Divide them
-into saucerfulls. If you have glass saucers, they will make a better
-show than china. Put some powdered white sugar in the bottom of each
-saucer. Fill them with strawberries, and then strew on a liberal
-allowance of sugar, for American strawberries (however fine in
-appearance) are seldom sweet. Have ready sufficient whipped cream, that
-has been frothed with rods or with a tin cream-churn. Pile high a
-portion of the whipt cream on each saucer of strawberries.
-
-Strawberries are sometimes eaten with wine and sugar, when cream is not
-convenient. With _milk_ they curdle, and are unwholesome--besides
-tasting poorly.
-
-_Creamed Pine-apple._--Cut into four pieces two large ripe pine-apples.
-Stand them up successively in a deep dish, and grate them from the rind.
-When all is grated, transfer it to a large glass bowl, and make it very
-sweet by mixing in powdered white loaf sugar. Whip to a stiff froth a
-sufficiency of rich cream, adding to it some sugar, and heap it high
-upon the grated pine-apple.
-
-_Peaches and Cream._--Take fine juicy freestone peaches. Pare them, and
-cut them in slices. Put them, with their juice, into a large bowl, and
-make them very sweet with powdered loaf sugar. Set them on ice, and let
-them remain in the juice till wanted. Then send them to table with fresh
-sugar sifted over the top. Set near them pitchers of plain cream, not
-frothed.
-
-If you cannot obtain cream, it is better to be satisfied with sugar
-alone, than to substitute milk, with peaches, or any other fruit.
-
-
-LEMON TAFFY.--Put into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle three pounds
-of the best loaf sugar, and pour on it a pint and a half of very clear
-water. When it has entirely dissolved, set it over the fire, and add a
-table spoonful of fine cider vinegar to assist in clearing it as it
-boils. Boil and skim it well, and when no more scum rises add the juice
-of four large lemons or oranges. Let it boil till it will boil no
-longer, stirring it well. When done transfer it to square tin pans, that
-have been made very clean and bright, and that are slightly greased with
-sweet oil. Set the taffy away to cool, first marking it with a knife,
-while soft. Mark it in straight lines the broad or crossway of the pans.
-If marked lengthways, the pieces will be too long. When the taffy is
-cold, cut it according to the lines, in regular slips, like cocoa-nut
-candy. It is for a handsome supper party. Serve it up in glass dishes.
-
-Orange taffy is made in the same manner. These candies should be kept in
-tin boxes.
-
-_Cocoa-nut Candy_--Is made in the manner of taffy, using finely grated
-cocoa-nut, instead of lemon or orange.
-
-
-CHARLOTTE RUSSE.--Split, cut up, and boil a large vanilla bean in half a
-pint of rich milk, till it is highly flavored, and reduced to one-half.
-Then strain out the vanilla through a strainer so fine as to avoid all
-the seeds. Mix the strained milk with half a pint of rich cream. Beat
-five eggs till very smooth and thick. Strain them, and add them
-gradually to the cream when it is entirely cold, to make a rich custard.
-Set this custard over the fire (stirring it all the time) till it
-simmers; but take it off before it comes to a boil, or it will curdle.
-Set it on ice. Have ready in another sauce-pan an ounce of the best
-Russia isinglass, boiled in half a pint of water, till it is all
-dissolved into a thick jelly. When both are cold, (but not hard) mix the
-custard and the isinglass together, and add four table-spoonfuls of
-powdered loaf sugar. Then take a large lump of loaf sugar, and rub off
-on it the yellow rind of two large lemons. Scrape off the lemon-grate
-with a tea-spoon, and add it to the mixture, with the lump of sugar
-powdered and crushed fine. Mix together the strained juice of the
-lemons, and two glasses of madeira; dissolve in them the lemon-flavored
-sugar, and mix it with a pint of rich cream that has been whipped with a
-whisk to a strong froth. Add the whipped cream gradually to the custard,
-starring very hard at the time, and also after the whole is mixed. Then
-set it on ice.
-
-Cover the bottom of a flat oval dish with a slice of almond sponge cake,
-cut to fit. Prepare a sufficient number of oblong slices of the cake,
-(all of the same size and shape) to go all round; with one extra slice,
-in case they should not quite hold out. Dip every one in a plate of
-beaten white of egg to make them adhere. Stand each of them up on one
-end, round the large oval slice that lies at the bottom. Make them
-follow each other evenly and neatly, (every one lapping a little way
-over its predecessor) till you have a handsome wall of slices, cemented
-all round by the white of egg. Fill it quite full with the custard
-mixture. Cover the top with another oval slice of cake, cemented with a
-little white of egg to the upper edge of the wall. Make a nice icing in
-the usual way, of powdered sugar beaten into frothed white of egg, and
-flavored with lemon, orange, or rose. Spread this icing thickly and
-smoothly over the cake that covers the top of the charlotte, and
-ornament it with a handsome pattern of sugar flowers. There is no
-charlotte russe superior to this.
-
-_Another Charlotte Russe._--Have a very nice circular lady cake. It
-should be iced all over, and ornamented with sugar flowers. Take off the
-top nicely, and without breaking or defacing, and hollow out the inside,
-leaving the sides and bottom standing. The cake taken from the inside
-may be cut in regular pieces and used at tea, or for other purposes.
-Make a very fine boiled custard, according to the preceding receipt.
-Fill with it the empty cake, as if filling a mould. Then put on the lid,
-set the whole on ice, and when wanted serve it up on a glass or china
-dish.
-
-A charlotte that requires no cooking may be very easily made by
-hollowing a nice circular almond sponge cake, and filling it with layers
-of small preserves, and piling on the top whipped cream finely flavored.
-
-For the walls of a charlotte russe you may use the oblong sponge cakes,
-called Naples biscuits, or those denominated lady fingers, dipping them
-first in beaten white of egg, standing them on end, and arranging them
-so as to lap over each other in forming the wall. Arrange some of them
-handsomely to cover the top of the custard.
-
-
-ICE CREAM.--Pewter freezers for ice cream are better than those of block
-tin; as in them the freezing goes on more gradually and thoroughly, and
-it does not melt so soon, besides being smoother when done. The ice tub
-should be large enough to allow ample space all round (six inches, at
-least,) the freezer as it stands in the centre, and should have a plug
-at the bottom (beneath the freezer) for letting out the water that drips
-from the ice; that a large coarse woolen cloth should be folded, and
-laid under it and around it. The ice should be broken up into small
-bits, and mixed with coarse salt, in the proportion of a pound of salt
-to five pounds of ice. Fill the tub within three inches of the top;
-pounding and pressing down hard the mixed ice and salt. Have ready all
-the ingredients. To every quart of _real_ rich cream mix in a pint of
-milk, (not more) and half a pound of fine loaf sugar. The following are
-the most usual flavorings, all the fruit being made very sweet. Ripe
-strawberries or raspberries, mashed through a sieve till all the juice
-is extracted; ripe juicy freestone peaches, pared, and cut in half, the
-kernels being taken from the stones, are pounded, and mashed with the
-fruit through a cullender; all the juice that can be mashed out of a
-sliced pine-apple, the grated yellow rind and the juice of lemons or
-oranges, allowing two to each quart of cream, and mixing the juice with
-plenty of sugar before it is put to the cream. A handful of shelled
-bitter almonds blanched, broken, and boiled by themselves in half a
-pint of milk till all the almond flavor is extracted, and then strain
-the bitter almond milk into the cream. For vanilla flavor, split and cut
-up a vanilla bean, boil it by itself in a half pint of milk, and when
-highly flavored, strain the vanilla milk into the cream. For chocolate
-ice cream, scrape down a quarter of a pound of Baker's prepared cocoa,
-and melt it in just water enough to cover it; then sweeten and mix it
-gradually into a quart of rich milk, (boiling at the time) and then boil
-and stir it till strong and smooth. Ice cream is spoiled by the addition
-of eggs. Besides giving it a yellowish color, eggs convert it into mere
-frozen custard, particularly if instead of using real cream, it is made
-of milk thickened with arrow-root or flour. For company at least, ice
-cream should be made in the best and most liberal manner, or else do not
-attempt it. Mean ice cream is a very mean thing.
-
-When all the ingredients are prepared and mixed, put the whole into the
-freezer, and set it in the ice tub; and having put on the lid tightly,
-take the freezer by the handle and turn it about very fast for five or
-six minutes. Then remove the lid carefully, and scrape down the cream
-from the sides with a spaddle or long-handled spoon. Repeat this
-frequently while it is freezing, taking care to keep the sides clear,
-stirring it well to the bottom, and keeping the tub well filled with
-salt and ice outside the freezer.
-
-After the cream has been well frozen in the freezer, transfer it to
-moulds, pressing it in hard, so as to fill every part of the mould.
-Then set the mould in a fresh tub of ice and salt, (using as before the
-proportion of a pound of salt to five pounds of ice) and let it remain
-undisturbed in the mould for an hour, not turning it out till it is time
-to serve it up to the company. Then wrap a cloth, dipped in warm water,
-round the outside of the moulds, open them, and turn out the frozen
-cream on glass or china dishes, and serve it up immediately.
-
-Unless ice cream is very highly flavored at the beginning, its taste
-will be much weakened in the process of freezing.
-
-The most usual form of ice cream moulds are pyramids, dolphins, doves,
-and baskets of fruit. We have seen ice cream in the shape of a curly
-lap-dog, and very well represented.
-
-If you eat what is called strawberry ice cream looking of an exquisite
-rose-pink color, there is no strawberry about it, either in tint or
-taste. It is produced by alkanet or cochineal. Real strawberries do not
-color so beautifully; neither do raspberries, or any other sort of red
-fruit. But genuine fruit syrups may be employed for this purpose, having
-at least the true taste. To make strawberry or raspberry syrup, prepare
-first what is called simple syrup, by melting a pound of the best
-double-refined loaf sugar in half a pint of cold water; and when melted,
-boiling them together, and skimming it perfectly clean. Then stir in as
-much fruit juice (mashed and strained,) as will give it a fine tinge,
-and let it have one more boiling up.
-
-_Vanilla Syrup._--Take six fine fresh vanilla beans. Split, and cut them
-in pieces. Scrape the seeds loose in the pods with your finger nail, and
-bruise and mash the shells. All this will increase the vanilla flavor.
-Put all you can get of the vanilla into a small quart of what is called
-by the druggist "absolute alcohol." Cork the bottle closely, and let the
-vanilla infuse in it a week. Then strain it through a very fine strainer
-that will not let out a single seed. Have ready half a dozen pint
-bottles of simple syrup. Put into every bottle of the simple syrup a
-portion of the strained infusion of vanilla. Cork it tightly and use it
-for vanilla flavoring in ice creams, custards, blancmange, &c.
-
-_Orange or Lemon Syrups_--Are made by paring off the yellow rind very
-thin (after the fruit has been rolled under your hand on a table to
-increase the juice,) then boiling the rind till the water is highly
-flavored. Strain this water over the best loaf sugar, allowing two
-pounds of sugar to a pint of juice. The sugar being melted, mix it with
-the juice.
-
-
-WATER ICES OR SHERBET.--Water ices are made of the juice of fruits, very
-well sweetened, mixed with a little water, and frozen in the manner of
-ice cream, to which they are by many persons preferred. They are all
-prepared nearly in the same manner, allowing a pint of juice to a pint
-of water, and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Mix it well, and then
-freeze it in the manner of ice cream, and serve it up in glass bowls.
-For lemon and orange sherbet, first roll the fruit on a table under your
-hand; then take off a very thin paring of the yellow rind, and boil it
-slowly in a very little water, till all the flavor is extracted. Next,
-strain the flavored water into the cold water you intend to mix with the
-juice, and make it very sweet with loaf sugar. Squeeze the juice into it
-through a tin strainer to avoid the seeds. Stir the whole very hard, and
-transfer it to a freezer. Orange water-ice is considered the best, if
-well made. For pine-apple water-ice, pare, core, and slice fine _ripe_
-apples very thin. Put them into a dish with thick layers of powdered
-loaf sugar; cover the dish, and let them lie several hours in the sugar.
-Then press out all the juice you can, from the pine-apple; mix it with a
-little water, and freeze it. To two large pine-apples allow a half pound
-of sugar, which has been melted in a quart of boiling water. This looks
-very well frozen in a mould shaped like a pine-apple. _Orange_ sherbet
-may be frozen in a pine-apple mould. It can be made so rich with orange
-juice as to perfume the whole table.
-
-_Roman Punch_--Is made of strong lemonade or orangeade, adding to every
-quart a pint of brandy or rum. Then freeze it, and serve in saucers or a
-large glass bowl. Put it into a porcelain kettle, and boil and skim it
-till the scum ceases to rise. When cold, bottle it, seal the corks and
-keep it in a cool place.
-
-Syrup of strawberries, raspberries, currants and blackberries, is made
-in a similar manner.
-
-
-FLOATING ISLAND.--For one common-sized floating island have a round
-thick jelly cake, lady cake, or almond sponge cake, that will weigh a
-pound and a half, or two pounds. Slice it downwards, almost to the
-bottom, but do not take the slices apart. Stand up the cake in the
-centre of a glass bowl or a deep dish. Have ready a pint and a half of
-rich cream, make it very sweet with sugar, and color it a fine green
-with a tea-cupful of the juice of pounded spinach, boiled five minutes
-by itself; strained, and made very sweet. Or for coloring pink you may
-use currant jelly, or the juice of preserved strawberries. Whip to a
-stiff froth another pint and a half of sweetened cream, and flavor it
-with a large glass of mixed wine and brandy. Pour round the cake, as it
-stands in the dish or bowl, the colored unfrothed cream, and pile the
-whipped white cream all over the cake, highest on the top.
-
-
-
-
-FINE CAKES.
-
-
-PLUM CAKE.--In making very fine plum cake first prepare the fruit and
-spice, and sift the flour (which must be the very best superfine,) into
-a large flat dish, and dry it before the fire. Use none but the very
-best fresh butter; if of inferior quality, the butter will taste through
-every thing, and spoil the cake. In fact, all the ingredients should be
-excellent, and liberally allowed. Take the best bloom or muscatel
-raisins, seeded and cut in half. Pick and wash the currants or plums
-through two waters, and dry them well. Powder the spice, and let it
-infuse over night in the wine and brandy. Cut the citron into slips, mix
-it with the raisins and currants, and dredge all the fruit very thickly,
-on both sides, with flour. This will prevent its sinking or clodding in
-the cake, while baking. Eggs should always be beaten till the frothing
-is over, and till they become thick and smooth, as thick as a good
-boiled custard, and quite smooth on the surface. If you can obtain
-hickory-rods as egg-beaters, there is nothing so good; but if you cannot
-get _them_, use the common egg-beaters, of thin fine wire. For stirring
-butter and sugar you should have a spaddle, which resembles a short
-mush-stick flattened at one end. Stir the butter and sugar in a deep
-earthen pan, and continue till it is light, thick, and creamy. Beat eggs
-always in a broad shallow earthen pan, and with a short quick stroke,
-keeping your right elbow close to your side, and moving only your wrist.
-In this way you may beat for an hour without fatigue. But to stir butter
-and sugar is the hardest part of cake making. Have this done by a man
-servant. His strength will accomplish it in a short time--also, let him
-give the final stirring to the cake. If the ingredients are prepared as
-far as practicable on the preceding day, the cake may be in the oven by
-ten or eleven o'clock in the forenoon.
-
-For a large plum cake allow one pound, (or a quart) of sifted flour; one
-pound of fresh butter cut up in a pound of powdered loaf sugar, in a
-deep pan; twelve eggs; two pounds of bloom raisins; two pounds of Zante
-currants; half a pound of citron, either cut into slips or chopped
-small; a table-spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon, mixed; two grated
-nutmegs; a large wine-glass of madeira (or more), a wine-glass of French
-brandy, mixed together, and the spice steeped in it.
-
-First stir the butter and sugar to a light cream, and add to them the
-spice and liquor. Then beat the eggs in a shallow pan till very thick
-and smooth, breaking them one at a time into a saucer to ascertain if
-there is a bad one among them. One stale egg will spoil the whole cake.
-When the eggs are very light, stir them gradually into the large pan of
-butter and sugar in turn with the flour, that being the mixing pan.
-Lastly, add the fruit and citron, a little at a time of each, and give
-the whole a hard stirring. If the fruit is well floured it will not
-sink, but it will be seen evenly dispersed all over the cake when baked.
-Take a large straight-sided block tin pan, grease it inside with the
-same butter used for the cake, and put the mixture carefully into it.
-Set it immediately into a well-heated oven, and keep up a steady heat
-while it is baking. When nearly done, the cake will shrink a little from
-the sides of the pan; and on probing it to the bottom with a sprig from
-a corn broom, or a splinter-skewer, the probe will come out clean.
-Otherwise, keep the cake in the oven a little longer. If it cracks on
-the top, it is a proof of its being very light. When quite done, take it
-out. It will become hard if left to grow cold with the oven. Set it to
-cool on an inverted sieve.
-
-
-ICING.--Allow to the white of each egg a quarter of a pound of the best
-loaf sugar, finely powdered; but if you find the mixture too thin, you
-must add still more sugar. Put the white of egg into a shallow pan, and
-beat it with small rods or a large silver fork, till it becomes a stiff
-froth, and stands alone without falling. Then beat in the powdered
-sugar, a tea-spoonful at a time. As you proceed, flavor it with lemon
-juice. This will render the icing whiter and smoother, also improving
-the taste. You may ice the cake as soon as it becomes lukewarm, without
-waiting till it is quite cold. Dredge it lightly with flour to absorb
-the grease from the outside; then wipe off the flour. With a broad knife
-put some icing on the middle of the cake, and then spread it down,
-thickly and evenly, all over the top and sides, smoothing it with
-another knife dipped in cold water. When this is quite dry, spread on a
-second coat of icing rather thinner than the first, and flavored with
-rose. Set it a few minutes in the oven to harden the icing, leaving the
-oven-door open; or place it beneath the stove. When the icing is quite
-dry, you may ornament it with sugar borders and flowers; having ready,
-for that purpose, some additional icing. By means of a syringe, (made
-for the purpose, and to be obtained at the best furnishing stores) you
-can decorate the surface of the cake very handsomely; but it requires
-taste, skill, and practice. You may first cover the cake with pink,
-brown, green, or other colored icing, and then take white icing to
-decorate it, forming the pattern by moving your hand skilfully and
-steadily over it, and pressing it out of the syringe as you go. An
-easier way is to ornament the cake (when the top-icing is nearly dry,
-but not quite,) with large strawberries or raspberries, or purple grapes
-placed very near each other, and arranged in circles or patterns. Be
-careful not to mash the berries.
-
-_Warm Icing._--This is made in the usual proportion of the whites of
-four eggs, beaten to stiff froth, and a pound of finely powdered loaf
-sugar afterwards added to it, gradually. Then boil the egg and sugar in
-a porcelain kettle, and skim it till the scum ceases to rise. Take it
-off the fire, and stir into it sufficient orange juice, lemon juice, or
-rose-water, to flavor it highly. Flour your cake--wipe off the flour,
-put on the icing with a broad knife, and then smooth it with another
-knife dipped in cold water. For this icing the cake should be warm from
-the oven, and dried slowly and gradually afterwards. Warm icing is much
-liked. It is very light; rises thick and high in cooling, and has a fine
-gloss. Try it. The mixture called by the French a _meringue_, and used
-for macaroons, kisses, and other nice articles, is made in the same
-manner as icing for cakes, allowing a quarter of a pound of powdered
-loaf sugar to every beaten white of egg.
-
-
-POUND CAKE.--One of Mrs. Goodfellow's maxims was, "up-weight of flour,
-and down-weight of every thing else"--and she was right, as the
-excellence of her cakes sufficiently proved, during the thirty years
-that she taught her art in Philadelphia, with unexampled success.
-Therefore, allow for a pound cake a rather small pound of sifted flour;
-a large pound of the best fresh butter, a large pound of powdered loaf
-sugar, ten eggs, or eleven if they are small; a large glass of mixed
-wine and brandy; a glass of rose-water; a grated nutmeg, and a heaped
-tea-spoonful of mixed spice, powdered mace, and cinnamon. Put the sugar
-into a _deep_ earthen pan, and cut up the butter among it. In cold
-weather place it near the fire a few minutes, till the butter softens.
-Next, stir it very hard with a spaddle till the mixture becomes very
-light. Next, stir in, gradually, the spice, liquor, &c. Then beat the
-eggs in a shallow pan with rods or a whisk, till light, thick, and
-smooth. Add them gradually to the beaten batter and sugar, in turn with
-the flour; and give the whole a hard stirring at the last. Have the oven
-ready with a moderate heat. Transfer the mixture to a thick
-straight-sided tin pan well greased with the best fresh butter, and
-smooth the butter on the surface. Set it immediately into the oven, and
-bake it with a steady heat two hours and a half, or more. Probe it to
-the bottom with a twig from a corn broom. When it shrinks a little from
-the pan it is done. When taken out, set it to cool on an inverted sieve.
-When you ice it, flavor the icing with lemon or rose.
-
-It should be eaten fresh, as it soon becomes very dry.
-
-Pound cake is not so much in use as formerly, particularly for weddings
-and large parties; lady cake and plum cake being now substituted. A
-pound cake may be much improved by the addition of a pound of citron,
-sliced, chopped well, dredged with flour to prevent its sinking, and
-stirred gradually into the batter, in turn with the sifted flour and
-beaten egg.
-
-
-QUEEN CAKE--Is made in the same manner as pound cake, only with a less
-proportion of flour, (fourteen ounces, or two ounces less than a pound)
-as it must be baked in little tins; and small cakes require less flour
-than large ones. Also, (besides a somewhat larger allowance of spice,
-liquor, &c.) add the juice and grated yellow rind of a lemon or two, and
-half a pound of sultana or seedless raisins, cut in half and dredged
-with flour. Butter your small cake tins, and fill to the edge with the
-batter. They will not run over the edge if well made, and baked with a
-proper fire, but they will rise high and fine in the centre. Ice them
-when beginning to cool, flavoring the icing with lemon or rose. Queen
-cakes made _exactly_ as above are superlative.
-
-
-ORANGE CAKES.--Make a mixture precisely as for queen cake, only omit the
-wine, brandy, and rose-water, and substitute the grated yellow rind and
-the juice of four large ripe oranges, stirred into the batter in turn
-with the egg and flour. Flavor the icing with orange juice.
-
-
-LEMON CAKES--Are also made as above, substituting for the oranges the
-grated rind and juice of three lemons. To give a full taste, less lemon
-is required than orange.
-
-
-SPONGE CAKE.--Many persons suppose that sponge cake must be very easy to
-make, because there is no butter in it. On the contrary, the want of
-butter renders it difficult to get light. A really good sponge cake is a
-very different thing from those numerous tough leathery compositions
-that go by that name, and being flavored with nothing, are not worthy of
-eating _as cake_, and are neither palatable nor wholesome as diet,
-unless too fresh to have grown dry and hard. The best sponge cake we
-know of is made as follows, and even that should be eaten the day it is
-baked. Sift half a pound of flour, (arrow-root is still better,) in a
-shallow pan; beat twelve eggs till very thick, light, and smooth. You
-need not separate the yolks and whites, if you know the true way of
-adding the flour. Beat a pound of powdered loaf sugar, gradually, (a
-little at a time) into the beaten eggs, and add the juice and grated
-yellow rinds of two large lemons or oranges. Lastly stir in the flour or
-arrow root. It is all important that this should be done slowly and
-lightly, and without stirring down to the bottom of the pan. Hold the
-egg-beater perpendicularly or quite upright in one hand, and move it
-round on the surface of the beaten egg, while with the other hand you
-lightly and gradually sprinkle in the flour till all is in. If stirred
-in hard and fast it will render the cake porous and tough, and dry and
-hard when cold. Have ready either a large turban mould, or some small
-oblong or square tins. Butter them nicely, transfer to them the cake
-mixture, grate powdered sugar profusely over the surface to give it a
-gloss like a very thin crust, and set it immediately into a brisk oven.
-The small oblong cakes are called Naples biscuits, and require no icing.
-A large turban cake may be iced plain, without ornament.
-
-A _very light_ sponge cake, when sliced, will cut down rough and coarse
-grained, and it is desirable to have it so.
-
-_Lady Fingers_--Are mixed in the same manner, and of the same
-ingredients as the foregoing receipt for the best sponge cake. When the
-mixture is finished, form the cakes by shaping the batter with a
-tea-spoon, upon sheets of soft white paper slightly damped, forming them
-like double ovals joined in the centre. Sift powdered sugar over them,
-and bake them in a quick oven till slightly browned. When cool, take
-them off the papers. They are sometimes iced.
-
-
-ALMOND SPONGE CAKE.--The addition of almonds makes this cake very
-superior to the usual sponge cake. Sift half a pound of fine flour or
-arrow root. Blanch in scalding water two ounces of shelled sweet
-almonds, and two ounces of bitter ones, renewing the hot water when
-expedient. When the skins are all off, wash the almonds in cold water,
-(mixing the sweet and bitter) and wipe them dry. Pound them to a fine
-smooth paste, (one at a time,) in a very clean marble mortar, adding, as
-you proceed, plenty of rose-water to prevent their oiling. Then set them
-in a cool place. Beat twelve eggs till very smooth and thick, and then
-beat into them, gradually, a pound of powdered loaf sugar, in turn with
-the pounded almonds. Lastly, add the flour, stirring it round slowly and
-lightly on the surface of the mixture, as in common sponge cake. Have
-ready a _deep_ square pan. Butter it nicely. Put the mixture carefully
-into it, set it into the oven, and bake it till thoroughly done and
-risen very high. When cool, cover it with plain white icing, flavored
-with rose-water. With sweet almonds, always use a small portion of
-bitter ones. Without them, _sweet_ almonds have little or no taste,
-though they add to the richness of the cake.
-
-
-SPANISH BUNS.--In a shallow pan put a half pint of rich unskimmed milk,
-and cut up in it a half pound of the best fresh butter. Set it on the
-stove, or near the fire, to warm and soften, but do not let it melt or
-oil. When soft, stir it all through the milk with a broad knife, and
-then set it away to cool. Sift into a broad pan half a pound of the
-finest flour, and an additional quarter of a pound put on a plate by
-itself. Beat four eggs in a shallow pan till very thick and smooth, and
-mix them at once into the butter and sugar, adding the half pound of
-flour. Stir in a powdered nutmeg, and two wine-glasses of strong yeast,
-fresh from the brewer's, first removing the thin liquid or beer from the
-top. Stir the mixture very hard with a knife, and then add,
-_gradually_, half a pound of powdered white sugar. The buns will become
-heavy if the sugar is thrown in all at once. It is important that it
-should be added a little at a time. Then sprinkle in, by degrees, the
-extra quarter of a pound of sifted flour, and lastly add a wine-glass of
-strong rose-water. When all has been well stirred, butter (with fine
-fresh butter,) an oblong iron or block-tin pan, and carefully put the
-bun mixture into it. Cover it with a clean cloth, and set it near the
-fire to rise. It may require five hours; therefore buns wanted for tea
-should be made in the forenoon. When the batter has risen very high, and
-is covered with bubbles, put the pan immediately into a moderate but
-steady oven, and bake it. When cool, cut the buns into squares, and ice
-each one separately, if for company; the icing being flavored with lemon
-or orange juice. Otherwise, you may simply sift sugar over them. These
-buns were first introduced by Mrs. Goodfellow; and in her school were
-always excellently made, nothing being spared that was good, and the use
-of soda and other alkalis being unknown in the establishment--hartshorn
-in cakes would have horrified her.
-
-
-LADY CAKE.--This cake must be flavored highly with bitter almonds;
-without them, sweet almonds have little or no taste, and are useless in
-lady cake. Blanch, in scalding water, three small ounces of shelled
-bitter almonds, and then lay them in a bowl of very cold water.
-Afterwards wipe them dry, and pound them (one at a time,) to a smooth
-paste in a clean marble mortar; adding, as you proceed, a wine-glass of
-rose-water to improve the flavor, and prevent their oiling, and becoming
-heavy and dark. When done, set them away in a cool place, on a saucer.
-Almonds are always lighter and better when blanched and pounded the day
-before. Cut up three quarters of a pound of the best fresh butter in a
-pound of powdered loaf sugar. Mix it in a deep earthen pan, and stir and
-beat it with a spaddle till it becomes very light and creamy. Then,
-gradually, stir in the pounded almonds. Take the _whites only_ of
-seventeen or eighteen fresh eggs, and beat them in a shallow pan to a
-stiff froth, till they stand alone. Then stir the beaten white of egg,
-gradually, into the pan of creamed butter and sugar, in turn with three
-small quarters of a pound (or a pint and a half,) of sifted flour of the
-very best quality. Stir the whole very hard at the last, and transfer it
-to a straight-sided tin pan, well greased with excellent fresh butter.
-Set the pan immediately into an oven, and bake it with a moderate but
-steady heat. When it has been baking rather more than two hours, probe
-it by sticking down to the bottom a twig from a corn broom, or a very
-narrow knife. If it comes out clean the cake is done; if clammy or
-daubed, keep it longer in the oven. A cake when quite done generally
-shrinks a little. When you take it out, set it to cool on an inverted
-sieve. Ice a lady cake entirely with white, and ornament it with white
-flowers. It is now much in use at weddings, and if well made, and quite
-fresh, there is no cake better liked.
-
-
-CINNAMON CAKE.--Cut up half a pound of fine fresh butter, and warm it
-till soft in half a pint of rich milk. Sift a pound of fine flour into a
-broad pan; make a hole in the centre, and pour into it the milk and
-butter, having stirred them well together. Then, gradually, add a large
-quarter of a pound of powdered sugar, and a heaped tea-spoonful of
-powdered cinnamon. Beat three eggs very smooth and thick, and stir them
-in, also a wine-glass and a half of strong fresh brewer's yeast, or two
-glasses of fresh baker's yeast. Then mix, (having sprinkled some over
-the top,) all the flour into the hole in the centre, so as to make a
-soft dough. When all is well mixed cover it, and set it to rise in a
-round straight-sided tin pan. Place it near the fire, and when quite
-light and cracked all over the surface, flour your pasteboard well,
-place the loaf upon it, and having prepared in a pint bowl a stiff
-mixture of ground cinnamon, fresh butter, and brown sugar, beaten
-together so as to stand alone, make numerous deep cuts or incisions all
-over the surface on the sides and top of the cake; fill them with the
-cinnamon mixture, and pinch each together so as to keep the seasoning
-from coming out. Glaze it all over with beaten white of egg a little
-sweetened. Then return the loaf to the pan, and bake it in a moderate
-oven till thoroughly done. When cool, cut it down in slices like a pound
-cake.
-
-This dough may be divided into small round cakes, the size of a muffin,
-and baked on tin or iron sheets, sifting sugar over them when cool. It
-must have a high flavor of cinnamon.
-
-
-WEST INDIA COCOA-NUT CAKE.--Cut up and peel some pieces of very ripe
-cocoa-nut. Lay them for a while in cold water. Then take them out and
-wipe them dry, and grate very fine as much as will weigh half a pound.
-Beat eight eggs till very light, thick, and smooth. Have ready half a
-pound of powdered loaf sugar, and stir it into the pan of beaten egg,
-alternately with the grated cocoa-nut; adding a handful of sifted flour,
-a powdered nutmeg, and a large glass of madeira or sherry, stirring the
-whole very hard. Butter an oblong tin pan. Put in the mixture, set it
-immediately into a quick oven, and bake it well. Set it to cool on an
-inverted sieve; cut it into squares, and ice each square, flavoring the
-icing with rose.
-
-You may bake it in a large loaf; adding double portions of all the
-ingredients, and ornamenting the icing handsomely.
-
-_Sweet Potato Cake_--Is made like the above cocoa-nut cake. The sweet
-potatos must be pared and grated _raw_, till you have as much as weighs
-half a pound. Then proceed as above, and with the same ingredients and
-proportions. You may boil and mash the sweet potatos; but be sure,
-afterwards, to pass them through a coarse sieve, or they may chance to
-clod and become heavy. If well made, and well flavored, this cake is
-very nice.
-
-
-GOLDEN CAKE.--The best time for making this cake is when ripe oranges
-are plenty. For one cake select four large deep-colored oranges, and
-roll each one under your hand upon a table to soften them, and increase
-the juice. Weigh a pound of the best loaf sugar. On some of the largest
-pieces rub off the yellow or outer rind of the oranges, omitting the
-white entirely. The white or inner rind of oranges or lemons should
-never be used for any thing. Cut the oranges, and squeeze their juice
-through a strainer into a large saucer or a small deep plate. Powder all
-the sugar, including that which has the orange zest upon it, and put it
-into a deep earthen pan, with a pound of the best fresh butter cut up
-among it. With a wooden spaddle stir the butter and sugar together, till
-very light and creamy. In a shallow pan beat twelve eggs, omitting the
-_whites_ of three. Sift into a dish a small quart of the best and finest
-flour, and stir it gradually into the pan of butter and sugar and
-orange, in turn with the beaten egg, a little at a time of each. Stir
-the whole very hard; and when done, immediately transfer the batter to
-square tin pans, greased with the same fresh butter that was used for
-the cake. Many a fine cake has been spoiled, at last, by the poor
-economy of greasing the pans with salt butter. Fill the pans to the top.
-If the cake has been well made, and well beaten, there is no danger of
-the batter running over the edges. Put it, immediately, into a quick
-oven and bake it well, not allowing the heat to be lessened till the
-cake is quite done. When cool, cut it into squares. If you ice it,
-flavor the icing with orange juice.
-
-Do not attempt to make this cake with yolk of egg only, by way of
-improving the yellow color. Without any whites, it will assuredly be
-tough and heavy. Cakes may be made light with white of egg only, but
-never with yellow of egg only.
-
-If you use soda, saleratus, hartshorn, or any of the alkalis, they will
-entirely destroy the orange flavor, and communicate a bad taste of their
-own.
-
-
-SILVER CAKE.--Scald in a bowl of boiling water two ounces of shelled
-bitter almonds. As you peel off the skins throw each almond into a bowl
-of ice-cold water. When all are blanched, take them out, and wipe them
-dry on a clean napkin. Put them, one at a time, into a very clean marble
-mortar, and pound each one separately to a smooth paste, adding, as you
-pound them, a few drops of strong rose-water, till you have used up a
-large wine-glass full. As you remove the pounded almonds from the
-water, lay them lightly and loosely on a plate. When all are done, put
-them into a very cool place. In a deep earthen pan cut up a pound of
-fresh butter into a pound of powdered sugar, and with a wooden spaddle
-stir the butter and sugar together till perfectly light. Into another
-pan sift three quarters of a pound of fine flour, and in a broad shallow
-pan beat with small rods the whites only of eighteen eggs till they are
-stiff enough to stand alone. Then, gradually, and alternately, stir into
-the pan of beaten butter and sugar the flour, the beaten white of eggs,
-and the pounded almonds. Give the whole a hard stirring at the last.
-Transfer it to square tin pans greased with the same butter, and bake it
-well. When cool, cut it into square cakes, and send it to table on china
-plates, piled alternately with pieces of golden cake, handsomely
-arranged. If you ice silver cake, flavor the icing with strong
-rose-water.
-
-These cakes, (gold or silver) if made as above, will be found delicious.
-The yolk of egg left from the silver cake may be used for soft custards.
-But yolk of egg alone, will not raise a cake; though white of egg will.
-
-
-APEES.--Cut up a pound of fresh butter into two pounds of sifted flour,
-and rubbing the butter very fine, and mixing in a pound of powdered
-sugar, with a heaped tea-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace, and
-cinnamon, and four tea-spoonfuls of carraway seeds. Moisten the whole
-with a large glass of white wine; and barely sufficient cold water to
-make a stiff dough. Mix it well with a broad knife, and roll it out into
-a sheet less than half an inch thick; then with the edge of a tumbler,
-or a tin cake-cutter, divide it into round small cakes. Bake them in
-oblong pans, (tin or iron) slightly buttered; and do not place them so
-closely as to touch. Bake them in a quick oven, till they are of a pale
-brown. These cakes are soon prepared, requiring neither eggs nor yeast.
-
-
-MARMALADE MERINGUES.--Make a mixture as for apees, omitting only the
-carraway seeds. Roll out the sheet of dough quite thin; cut it into
-round flat cakes with the edge of a tumbler, and bake them a few
-minutes, till lightly colored. Take them out of the oven and spread them
-thickly with very nice marmalade, or with ripe strawberries or
-raspberries, sweetened, and mashed without cooking. Have ready a stiff
-meringue of beaten white of egg and sugar. Pile it high over the
-marmalade on each cake. Heap it on with a spoon, so as quite to conceal
-the marmalade, and do not smooth it on the top. It should stand up
-_uneven_ as the spoon left it. Set it again in the oven for a minute or
-two, to harden it.
-
-
-JUMBLES.--Mix together, all at once, in a deep pan, a pound of butter
-cut up in a pound of powdered sugar, a pound of sifted flour, and six
-eggs, previously beaten very light in a pan by themselves. Add a
-table-spoonful of powdered spice, (mixed nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon) and
-a glass of mixed wine and brandy; or else a glass of rose water; or the
-juice and grated yellow rind of a large lemon. Stir the whole very hard
-till all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, and become a soft dough.
-Flour your hands and your pasteboard, and lay the dough upon it. Take
-off equal portions from the lump, and with your hands form them into
-round rolls, and make them into rings by joining together the two ends
-of each. Place the jumbles (not so near as to touch,) in tin pans
-slightly buttered, and bake them in a very brisk oven little more than
-five or six minutes, or enough to color them a light brown. If the oven
-is too cool, the jumbles will spread and run into each other. When cold,
-sift sugar over them. _Jumbles_ may be made with yolks of eggs only, if
-the whites are wanted for something else.
-
-_Cocoa-nut Jumbles_--Are made as above, only with finely grated
-cocoa-nut instead of flour, and with white of egg instead of yolk.
-
-_Cocoa-nut Puffs._--Grate any quantity of cocoa-nut. Mix it with
-powdered sugar and a little beaten white of egg, and lay it in small
-heaps of equal size. On the top of each place a ripe strawberry,
-raspberry, or any small preserved fruit, flattening a slight hollow, to
-hold it without its rolling off.
-
-
-SCOTCH CAKE.--Take a pound of fresh butter, a pound of powdered white
-sugar, and two pounds of sifted flour. Mix the sugar with the flour, and
-rub the butter into it, crumbled fine. Add a heaped table-spoonful of
-mixed nutmeg and cinnamon. Put _no water_, but moisten it entirely with
-butter. A small glass of brandy is an improvement. Roll it out into a
-large thick sheet, and cut it into round cakes about the size of
-saucers. Bake them on flat tins, slightly buttered. This cake is very
-crumbly but very good, and of Scottish origin. It keeps well, and is
-often sent from thence, packed in boxes.
-
-
-JELLY CAKE.--For baking jelly cake you must have large flat tin pans
-rather larger than a dinner plate. But a very clean soap-stone griddle
-may be substituted, though more troublesome. Make a rich batter as for
-pound cake, and bake it in single cakes, (in the manner of buckwheat, or
-thicker) taking care to grease the tin or soap-stone with _excellent_
-fresh butter. Have ready, enough of fruit jelly or marmalade, to spread
-a thick layer all over each cake when it cools. Pile one on another very
-evenly, till you have four, five, or half a dozen; and ice the surface
-of the whole. Cut it down in triangular pieces like a pie. Jelly cake
-is no longer made of sponge cake, which is going out of use for all
-purposes, as being too often dry, tough, and insipid, and frequently not
-so good as plain bread.
-
-
-ALMOND MACAROONS.--The day before they are wanted, prepare three
-quarters of a pound of shelled sweet almonds, and a quarter of a pound
-of shelled bitter almonds; by scalding, blanching, and pounding them to
-a smooth paste in a marble mortar, (one or two at a time) adding, as you
-proceed, rose-water to prevent their oiling, and becoming dark and
-heavy. Having beaten to a stiff froth the whites of six eggs, and
-prepared a pound of powdered loaf sugar, beat the sugar into the egg a
-spoonful at a time. Then mix in gradually the pounded almonds, and add a
-grated nutmeg. Stir the whole very hard, and form the mixture into small
-round balls. Then flatten slightly the surface of each. Butter slightly
-some shallow tin pans. Place the macaroons not so close as to be in
-danger of touching; and glaze them lightly with a little beaten white of
-egg. Put them into a brisk oven, and bake them a light brown.
-
-Ground-nut macaroons are made in the same manner.
-
-_Chocolate Macaroons._--Scrape down, very fine, half a pound of Baker's
-prepared cocoa. Beat to a stiff froth the white of four eggs, and beat
-into the white of egg a pound of powdered loaf sugar, in turn with the
-chocolate, adding a little sifted flour if the mixture appears too thin.
-Grease the bottom of some oblong tin pans, very slightly, with sweet
-oil. Having formed the mixture into small thick cakes, lay them (not
-close,) in the pan, and bake them a few minutes. Sift sugar over them
-while warm.
-
-
-KISSES.--Having beaten to a stiff froth, till it stands alone, the
-whites of eight eggs, mix with it, gradually, three quarters of a pound
-of finely powdered loaf sugar, beating it in very hard, a spoonful at a
-time, and as you proceed flavoring it with extract of vanilla, rose, or
-lemon juice. If the meringue is not thoroughly beaten and very stiff,
-the kisses will lose their shape and run in baking. Try one first, and
-if that runs, beat a while longer before you bake the whole. Pile
-portions of the meringue on sheets of letter paper, placing each heap
-far apart. Smooth and shape them with a broad knife dipped in cold
-water. Make them about the size and form of half eggs, with the flat
-part downwards. Arrange them on a smooth hickory board, and set it in a
-quick oven, (leaving the door open) and watch them well. A few minutes
-will color them a pale brown, and that is all they require. Then take
-them out, and set them to cool. When cool, slip a knife carefully under
-each, and remove them from the paper. Then with your knife hollow the
-meringue from the base of each kiss and scrape upwards toward the top,
-being careful not to break through the outside or crust. Fill up this
-vacancy with any sort of stiff jelly. Then clap two halves together, and
-unite them at the base, by moistening the edges with a little of the
-meringue that was left. Handle them very carefully throughout.
-
-Large kisses, of twice or thrice the usual size, are introduced at
-parties, filled with ice cream, or flavored calf's foot jelly.
-
-It is very customary now to finish a fine charlotte russe with a thick
-layer of this jelly at the top.
-
-
-LAFAYETTE GINGERBREAD.--Cut up in a deep pan half a pound of the best
-fresh butter, with a half pound of excellent brown sugar; and stir it to
-cream with a spaddle. Add a pint of West India molasses, mixed with half
-a pint of warm milk; four table-spoonfuls of ginger; a heaped
-table-spoonful of mixed powdered cinnamon and powdered mace and nutmeg;
-and a glass of brandy. Sift in a pound and a half of fine flour. Beat
-six eggs till very light and thick, and mix them, alternately, into the
-pan of butter, sugar, molasses, &c. At the last, mix in the yellow rind
-(grated fine) of two large oranges and the juice. Stir the whole very
-hard. Melt in one cup a very small level tea-spoonful of soda, and in
-another a small level salt-spoon of tartaric acid. Dissolve them both in
-lukewarm water, and see that both are quite melted. First stir the soda
-into the mixture, and then put in the tartaric acid. On no account
-exceed the quantity of the two alkalis, as if too much is used, they
-will destroy entirely the flavoring, and communicate a very disagreeable
-taste instead. Few cakes are the better for any of the alkaline powders,
-and many sorts are entirely spoiled by them. Even in gingerbread they
-should be used very sparingly, rather less than more of the prescribed
-quantity. Having buttered, (with the same butter) a large round or
-oblong pan, put in the mixture, and bake it in a moderate oven till
-thoroughly done, keeping up a steady heat, but watching that it does not
-burn. There is no gingerbread superior to this, if well made. Instead of
-lemon or orange, cut in half a pound of seedless raisins, dredge them
-well with flour, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture.
-
-This is also called Franklin gingerbread.
-
-
-GINGER NUTS.--Cut a pound of the best fresh butter into two pounds or
-two quarts of sifted flour, and half a pound of fine brown sugar. Add
-four heaped table-spoonfuls of ground ginger; a heaped table-spoonful of
-powdered cinnamon, and the same quantity of mixed nutmeg and mace. Mix
-all the ingredients thoroughly together; adding, gradually, a large pint
-of West India molasses, and the grated yellow rind and juice of a lemon
-or orange. Stir it very hard with a spaddle. Flour your hands, break
-off pieces of the dough, and knead each piece a little; then flatten
-them on the top. Make them the size of a quarter dollar. Or, (flouring
-your pasteboard) roll out the dough, and cut out the ginger-nuts with
-the edge of a small wine-glass. Bake them on buttered tins, having first
-glazed them with a thin mixture of molasses and water. The same dough
-may be baked in long straight sticks, divided by lines deeply marked
-with a knife.
-
-There are many other gingerbreads; but any of the soft sorts may be made
-with little variation from the foregoing directions for Lafayette
-gingerbread; and of the hard sort of ginger-nut preparation, the above
-is the basis of the rest. If the receipts are liberally and exactly
-followed, it will be found that to those two none are superior.
-
-
-PIGEON PIE.--For this pie take six fine fat tame pigeons, carefully
-cleaned and picked. Lay them in cold water for an hour, changing the
-water twice during that time. This is to remove what is called "the
-taste of the nest." Have ready the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs,
-seasoned with powdered nutmeg. Place a bit of fresh butter rolled in
-flour, in the inside of each pigeon, with its liver cut up, and with a
-yolk of egg seasoned with powdered mace. Lay a nice tender beef steak,
-or thin veal cutlet, in the bottom of a large deep dish, that has been
-lined with puff-paste. Butter the steak, and dredge it with flour.
-There must be meat enough to cover well the bottom of the pie dish. Lay
-the pigeons upon it, with the breast downward, (their heads and feet cut
-off, and their livers cut up, and put inside with the stuffing.) Fill up
-the dish with water. Roll out and put on the lid of the pie, which you
-may ornament with paste leaves or flowers, according to your taste. For
-company, pigeon pies are expected to look handsome. It is no longer
-fashionable to have the feet of the pigeons sticking out of the slit in
-the top of the paste.
-
-Moorfowl, pheasants, partridges, or quails, may be made into pies in the
-above manner. It is usual, for partridge pies, to peel two fine sweet
-oranges; and having divided them into quarters, carefully remove the
-strings and seeds, and put the oranges into the birds without any other
-stuffing. Instead of beef steak or veal cutlet, lay a thin slice of cold
-ham in the bottom of the pie-dish.
-
-This receipt, and the following, were accidentally omitted in their
-proper places.
-
-
-CHICKEN PIE.--Skin a pair of fine fowls, and cut them up. Save out the
-necks, backs, feet, livers, and gizzards, and the ends of the pinions;
-and seasoning them with a little pepper and salt add some trimmings or
-spare bits of fresh beef or veal, and stew them in a small sauce-pan
-with a little water, to make the gravy. Let them stew till all to rags,
-and then strain off the liquid; and while hot, stir into it a beaten
-egg and a bit of fresh butter, dredged with flour. In the mean time make
-a nice puff-paste, and roll it out rather thick; divide it in two
-circular sheets. Line with one sheet the bottom and sides of a deep pie
-dish, and put in the best pieces of chicken. Lay among them four
-hard-boiled eggs, sliced or quartered. Season well with powdered mace or
-nutmeg. The gravy being strained, pour that into the pie, and finish at
-the top with a layer of butter divided into small pieces, and dredge
-with flour. This is what the old English cookery books mean when they
-say--"Close the pie with a _lear_."
-
-A chicken pie will be improved by the addition of a dozen or more large
-fresh oysters, stewed. If you add oysters, take off the lid or upper
-crust as soon as the pie is baked, and put in the oysters _then_; if put
-in at the beginning, they will bake too long. Replace the lid nicely,
-and send the pie to table hot.
-
-The lid should have in the top a cross slit with a nice paste flower in
-it. To make a paste flower roll out a straight narrow slip of paste,
-about four or five inches wide. Roll it up with your fingers as if you
-were rolling up a ribbon. Then with a sharp knife cut four clefts in the
-upper half, and when baked, it will spread apart as like the leaves of a
-flower.
-
-
-
-
-SWEETMEATS.
-
-
-No sweetmeats can either look well or taste well unless the fruit and
-the sugar are of the best quality. As in all other branches of cookery,
-it is false economy to provide bad or low-priced ingredients. It has of
-late years been difficult to obtain _very_ good sugar at any price, so
-much is adulterated with flour or ground starch. In the common powdered
-sugar the flour is so palpable that we are surprised at its having any
-sale at all; and the large quantity required to produce any perceptible
-sweetness renders it totally unfit for sweetmeats, or indeed for any
-thing else. The best brown sugar is better than this, having clarified
-it with white of egg. To do this, allow to every pound of sugar the
-beaten white of an egg, and a half pint of clear cold water. Having
-poured the water on the sugar, let it stand to melt before it goes on
-the fire. Then add the white of egg and put in on to boil. When it
-boils, carefully take off the scum as it rises, and add when it is
-boiling hard another jill or quarter pint of water for each pound of
-sugar. Remove it from the fire when the scum ceases to rise, and let it
-stand for a quarter of an hour to settle. Strain, and bottle it for use.
-The best brown sugar _thus prepared_ will make a good syrup; and good
-marmalade, when white sugar of the best quality is not to be obtained.
-But for the nicest sweetmeats use always, if you can, the best
-double-refined loaf.
-
-In warm weather there is nothing better for a preserving fire than a
-portable charcoal furnace placed out in the open air; as in a room with
-the doors or windows shut the vapor of charcoal is deadly, and never
-fails to produce suffocation. Of whatever the fire is made, it should be
-clear and steady without smoke or blaze. Never use copper or bell-metal
-for either preserving or pickling. For all such purposes employ only
-iron, lined with what is called porcelain or enamel, but is in reality a
-thick strong white earthen, first made at Delft, in Holland. This lining
-will crack if the kettle is placed over a blaze, which it should never
-be. All sweetmeats should be boiled with the lid off. If covered, the
-steam having no means of escaping, returns upon them, and causes them to
-look dark and unsightly. When done, put the sweetmeats warm into jars or
-glasses, and leave them open a few hours that the watery particles may
-evaporate, but have them all pasted and closely covered before night. Do
-nothing to render your preserves hard, or firm, as it is called. It is
-better to have them soft and tender. The old custom of steeping them for
-days in salt and water, and then boiling them in something else to
-remove the salt, is now considered foolish, and is seldom practised.
-
-Put up jellies and small sweetmeats in common tumblers, laying on the
-surface of each a double cover of white tissue paper cut exactly to fit,
-and then put on another cover of thick white paper pleated and notched
-where it descends below the edge, using always gum tragacanth paste,
-which you should keep always in the house, as it requires no boiling;
-and if in making it, a bit of corrosive sublimate (not larger than a
-cherry-stone) is dissolved with the ounce of gum tragacanth and the half
-pint of warm water, in a yellow or white-ware mug, and _stirred only
-with a stick_, the paste will never spoil, and if kept covered, will be
-found superior to all others. No metal must touch this cement, as it
-will then turn black and spoil.
-
-Keep your sweetmeats always in a dry place. But if after a while you see
-a coat of mould on the surface, you need not throw them away, till you
-have tried to recover them by carefully removing every particle of
-mould, filling up the jars with fresh sugar, and setting them, one by
-one, in a bottle of water, and in this way boiling them over again. But
-if they have an unpleasant smell, and you see insects about them, of
-course they must be thrown away. To purify jars, clean and scrape them,
-and wash them thoroughly with ley and water, or with a solution of
-soda--afterwards exposing them to the sun and air for a week or more.
-
-_Jellies._--We have already given directions for various fruit jellies
-in the chapter on Fine Desserts. They are all made nearly in the same
-manner, using the juice of the fruit, and sufficient sugar to make it
-congeal and to keep it. Jellies should always be bright and transparent,
-and therefore require the best and ripest of fruit and the finest of
-loaf sugar.
-
-
-MARMALADE OR JAMS.--Marmalade or jams are the easiest sweetmeats to
-make, and are useful for all sweetmeat purposes. They are all made
-nearly in the same manner; and to be very good, and to keep well, at
-least a pound of fine sugar should be allowed to every pound of
-fruit--the fruit being quite ripe, freshly gathered, and of the best
-kind.
-
-_For Peach Marmalade_--Take fine, juicy free-stone peaches. Pare them;
-cut them in half; remove the stones, and let them be saved and the
-kernels extracted to use as bitter almonds. Cut up the peaches, and
-allow for each pound a pound of sugar. Lay the peaches (with all the
-sugar among them,) in a large pan or tureen, and let them rest for three
-or four hours. Boil the peaches and sugar together in a porcelain kettle
-(without a cover) for half an hour, skimming and stirring well. When it
-becomes a thick smooth mass it is finished. Put it up in glass jars, and
-leave it uncovered till cool; but not longer. The flavor will be much
-improved by boiling with the peaches and sugar one or two handfuls of
-the kernels, blanched and pounded; or else a bunch of fresh peach
-leaves, to be removed afterward.
-
-_Quince Marmalade_ is made in the same manner--first carefully removing
-all the blemishes. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of quinces. They
-must boil longer than peaches. All marmalades must be cooked till the
-form of the fruit is quite indistinguishable, and till it mashes into a
-thick smooth mass. Quinces should be allowed to remain on the trees till
-after the first frost, which greatly improves them. Persimmons and wild
-grapes are not eatable till they are touched by the frost.
-
-_Tomato Marmalade._--Make this when lemons are ripe and plenty. To every
-two pounds of tomatos allow two pounds of sugar, and the grated yellow
-rind and the juice of one lemon. The worst way of using lemons for any
-purpose is to merely slice them. Depend on the slices for flavoring, and
-they are wasted; the taste being scarcely perceptible. They should
-always be first rolled under your hand, which increases the yield of
-juice. Then grate off from the outside the _yellow_ rind only (the white
-part of the rind is worse than useless,) and having cut the lemon,
-squeeze the juice through a tin strainer to exclude the seeds, which
-otherwise would be troublesome to pick out. The yellow rind and the
-juice are all you need want of a lemon for any purpose of flavoring.
-Scald the tomatos to make them peel easily, and mix the sugar thoroughly
-with them. Boil them slowly for an hour in a porcelain kettle, skimming
-carefully, and stirring well after each skimming. Then add the lemon
-grate and the juice, and boil the marmalade another half hour, or till
-it is a thick smooth mass.
-
-_Pumpkin Marmalade._--Take a fine ripe high-colored pumpkin. Cut it up.
-Empty it very clean of the seeds and strings; take off a thick paring.
-Slice the pieces small and thin, and weigh them. To each pound of
-pumpkin allow a pound of powdered sugar, and the grated peel and the
-juice of one large lemon. Pumpkin sweetmeats require a high lemon
-flavoring. Boil the pumpkin alone, till quite soft. Then mash it in a
-cullender till the water is pressed out, and the pumpkin left dry.
-Afterwards put it into a porcelain kettle, mix with it the sugar and
-lemon, and boil it again till it becomes a thick jam. Cantaloupe
-marmalade is made in the same way with lemon and sugar--also marmalade
-of ripe figs.
-
-_Plum Marmalade._--Choose plums that are fully ripe. Allow to each pound
-a pound and a half of sugar. Scald them till the skins peel off easily,
-and extract all the stones. Lay them in the sugar for two or three hours
-or more, and then boil them till they become a thick smooth mass.
-Green-gages the same.
-
-_Raspberry Jam._--To every quart of fine ripe raspberries allow a pound
-of best loaf sugar, powdered. Put them together into a broad white-ware
-pan, and let them rest for two or three hours. Then boil them in an
-uncovered porcelain kettle, taking off the scum carefully. When no more
-scum rises, mash them, and boil them to a smooth thick marmalade. When
-cold, put it up in half pint tumblers, and cover them with rounds of
-double tissue paper, cut exactly to fit, and then with thick white
-paper dipped in brandy.
-
-_Strawberry Jam._--The strawberries must be quite ripe, and very fine.
-Allow to each quart a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Put them into a
-large white-ware pan; a layer of sugar and a layer of strawberries
-alternately, finishing with strawberries on the top. Let them rest in
-the sugar and juice three or four hours. Then boil and skim them till
-they become very thick and smooth. When cold, put them up in tumblers,
-with double tissue paper over the top. Blackberry jam is made in the
-same manner.
-
-_Gooseberry Jam._--Top and tail the gooseberries, which must be
-thoroughly ripe, and with thin skins. They require to every pound of
-fruit a pound and a half of sugar of the best sort. Mash them with a
-wooden beetle, and put them with all the sugar into an uncovered
-porcelain kettle, and boil and skim them. When half done add more sugar,
-and continue boiling till they are a very thick marmalade. When cold,
-cover the tumblers with brandy paper.
-
-_Pine-apple Marmalade._--Take the best and ripest pine-apples; remove
-the leaves, and split each pine-apple into four pieces, and cut out the
-core from the centre. Stand the pieces upright in a deep dish, and, with
-a large coarse grater grate down all the _flesh_ of the fruit, as it is
-called. To every pint of grated pine-apple allow a pound of powdered
-loaf sugar, and put them together in a large tureen. Let them rest two
-hours. Then transfer the whole to a porcelain kettle. Leave it
-uncovered; and boil, skim, and stir, till it becomes a very thick
-marmalade. When cool, put it up in glass jars. It is a very nice
-sweetmeat, particularly for shells or tarts.
-
-_Grape Marmalade._--Take a sufficiency of fine grapes, thoroughly ripe.
-Having picked them from the stems, mash them with a wooden beetle, and
-then press them through a sieve. To every pint of the pulp allow a pound
-of powdered sugar, well mixed in; let it stand an hour or two. Then boil
-it, uncovered, in a porcelain kettle, skimming and stirring well, till
-it is very thick and smooth. When cool, put it up in small marmalade
-pots of white-ware with lids, and paste a band of thick white paper
-round each, at the small crack where the cover fits on. A good marmalade
-for the backwoods may be made of wild grapes and maple sugar.
-
-_Cherry Marmalade._--If you cannot procure morellas, (the best of all
-cherries for sweetmeats) use the large Virginia or carnation cherries.
-Black cherries are unfit for cooking. Stem and stone your cherries,
-saving all the juice you can. Allow a pound of powdered loaf sugar to
-every pint of cherries. Boil the fruit and the sugar together,
-uncovered, for an hour, skimming and stirring. When cool, put it in
-white-ware marmalade pots and paste the lids.
-
-_Orange Marmalade._--Quarter some large ripe oranges, and remove the
-rind, the seeds, and the strings or filaments, taking care to save all
-the juice. Put the pulp, with the juice, into a porcelain kettle, and
-mix with it an equal quantity of strained honey, adding sufficient
-powdered loaf sugar to render it very thick and sweet. The honey alone
-will not make it sweet enough. Boil it uncovered, and skim it till very
-thick, smooth, and clear. Taste it, and if necessary add more sugar, and
-boil it longer. When cold, put it up in tumblers or white-ware marmalade
-pots, and cover it securely. This marmalade is exquisite, and very
-superior to any other.
-
-_Orange Milk._--Take four dozen large ripe juicy oranges, and roll them
-under your hand. Cut them in two; remove the seeds, and squeeze the
-juice into a large clean stone jar. Have ready four pounds of the best
-double-refined loaf sugar, dissolved in a gallon of French brandy. Pour
-it into the jar that contains the orange juice; stir the mixture well,
-and add the yellow rind of the oranges, pared so thin from the white as
-to be transparent, and divide it into bits. Cover the jar, and let it
-stand four days, stirring it frequently. Then take a gallon of new
-unskimmed milk, (the morning's milk of that day,) boil it alone, and
-when it comes to a hard boil pour it into the mixture of orange, sugar,
-and brandy. Cover it closely, and let it stand till quite cold. Then
-strain it into another vessel through a linen jelly bag. Bottle it
-immediately, and seal the corks. It improves by keeping. To use it, pour
-it out in half tumblers, and fill up with ice water, or serve it round
-undiluted in small cordial glasses, after ice-cream. It is much
-admired, and in orange countries may be made in large quantities. Lemon
-milk is made in the same manner, having a larger proportion of sugar.
-
-_Fruit in Syrups._--Make a syrup in the proportion of half a pint of
-water to every pound of sugar, and a pint of the juice of any sort of
-fine ripe fruit. Boil and skim it till very clear, but not till it
-congeals or jellies. Then bottle it, and cork the bottles. As the fresh
-fruit comes again into season, select the finest, largest, and ripest.
-For instance, half fill a white-ware preserve jar with fine fresh
-strawberries, and fill up from a bottle of strawberry syrup; or ripe
-raspberries with raspberry syrup; currants, with currant syrup, &c.
-Cover them closely till wanted for immediate use.
-
-
-PRESERVED CITRON MELONS.--Take some fine citron melons; pare, core, and
-cut them into slices. Then weigh them; and, to every six pounds of
-melon, allow six pounds of the best double refined loaf sugar, and the
-juice and yellow rind (grated very fine,) of four large fresh lemons,
-and _a quarter_ of a pound of root ginger.
-
-Put the slices of lemon into a preserving kettle, and boil them half an
-hour or more, till they look _quite_ clear, and are so tender that a
-broom twig will pierce through them. Then drain them; lay them in a
-broad pan of cold water, cover them, and let them stand all night. In
-the morning tie the root ginger in a thin muslin cloth, and boil it in
-three pints of clear spring or pump water till the water is highly
-flavored. Then take out the bag of ginger. Having broken up the sugar
-put it into a clean preserving kettle, and pour the ginger water over
-it. When the sugar is all melted set it over the fire, put in the grated
-yellow peel of the lemons, and boil and skim it till no more scum rises.
-Then put in the sliced citrons, and the juice of the lemons; and boil
-them in the syrup till all the slices are quite transparent, and so soft
-that a straw will go through them; but do not allow them to break. When
-quite done, put the slices (while still warm,) into wide-mouthed glass
-or white-ware jars, and gently pour on the syrup. Lay inside of each
-jar, upon the top of the syrup, a round of white paper dipped in brandy.
-Put on the lids of the jars, and tie leather over them.
-
-This will be found a delicious sweetmeat; equal to any imported from the
-West Indies, and far less expensive.
-
-
-PINE-APPLES PRESERVED.--Take six fine large pine-apples, as ripe as you
-can get them. Make them very clean, but do not, at first, pare off the
-rind or cut off the leaves. The rind and leaves being left on while
-boiling will _keep in_ the flavor of the fruit. Put the pine-apples
-whole into a very large and very clean iron pot. Fill it up with cold
-water, and boil the pine-apples till they are so tender that you can
-pierce them through the rind to the core, with a splinter skewer or a
-twig from a corn broom. Then take them out of the pot, and drain them.
-When they are so cool as to be handled without inconvenience, remove the
-leaves, and pare off the rind. Cut then into round slices about half an
-inch thick, extracting the core from the centre as to leave a small
-round hole in every slice. Weigh them, and to each pound of fruit allow
-a pound of double refined loaf sugar, broken up and powdered. Cover the
-bottom of a large dish or dishes with a thick layer of the sugar. On
-this place a layer of pine-apple slices; then a layer of sugar; then a
-layer of fruit, and so on till the slices are all thickly covered,
-finishing with a layer of sugar at the top. Let them stand twenty-four
-hours. Then drain the slices from the syrup, and lay them in wide jars.
-Put all the syrup into a clear porcelain kettle, and boil and skim it
-till the scum ceases to rise. Then pour it hot upon the pine-apple.
-While warm, cover the jars closely with white paper cut to fit, and
-dipped in brandy; and then tie on a piece of bladder. There is no better
-way of preserving pine-apples, or that retains the flavor so well.
-
-Quinces may be preserved in the same manner.
-
-
-PRESERVED LEMONS OR ORANGES.--The fruit must be perfectly ripe, of the
-best quality, with a smooth rind and fine color. Cut out from the stem
-end of each, a piece not quite the size of a quarter dollar, and with a
-small knife scoop out all the inside, keeping the rind as whole as
-possible. Put the pulp and juice into a large bowl, and clear it from
-the strings and seeds. Lay the skins in a tureen of cold ice water, and
-change it twice during the day, (fresh water and fresh ice); and at
-bedtime put ice only. Next morning boil the skins slowly in a porcelain
-kettle with plenty of water, keeping them well covered. Continue to boil
-till they are tender all through, and can easily be pierced with a
-splinter skewer. Then drain them, and lay them in cold water
-immediately. Take care to boil with them the small round pieces that
-come out of the top. Make a thick jelly or marmalade of the pulp and
-juice of these, and some additional fruit, allowing to a pint of juice a
-pound of loaf sugar. When the jelly has been boiled till clear and firm
-when held in the air, fill with it the skins so as to swell them out
-into a good shape. Replace the small circular pieces that have been cut
-off the top of the fruit, and tie them on securely with packthread, so
-as to keep in the jelly. Next make a thin syrup, allowing to a pound of
-broken-up loaf sugar half a pint of fresh juice, and the beaten white of
-an egg. Boil and skim it till no more scum rises. Then having put the
-oranges into large glass jars rather more than half full, pour the syrup
-on them, filling up to the top.
-
-_To Green Small Lemons or Limes._--Boil them first in a little hard
-water, placing them in a porcelain kettle with a thick bed of fresh vine
-leaves under them and a thick cover of vine leaves over them. Boil them
-till green and tender in two or three waters, putting entirely fresh
-vine leaves whenever you change the water, and persisting till they are
-well greened. Then make holes in the stem end, and extract the pulp,
-strings, and seeds, and proceed as directed in the last receipt. The
-skins, as soon as empty, being laid in cold water, and then filled and
-shaped out with lemon jelly, and the jars filled up warm with lemon
-syrup. Or by putting a larger portion of sugar, and boiling the syrup
-longer, you may candy it all over the surface of the fruit.
-
-Green limes are preserved in the above manner, filling the skins with
-lemon jelly. To candy the syrup use a double portion of sugar, and boil
-it till it bubbles and sparkles in the kettle.
-
-
-PEACHES PRESERVED.--Take the finest ripe free-stone peaches. Pare them,
-cut them in half, and remove the stones. To every pound of peaches allow
-a pound of double refined loaf sugar, and half the white of an egg
-(slightly beaten) with half a pint of very clear soft water. Put the
-sugar into a porcelain preserving kettle, mix it with the water and
-white of egg, and when it has entirely dissolved, set it over the fire,
-and boil and skim it till the scum ceases to rise, which will be very
-soon, if the sugar is as good as it should be. There is no economy in
-using inferior sugar for sweetmeats, as much of it will be lost in
-skimming and sediment. In the mean time, boil in a little sauce-pan a
-bunch of fresh green peach leaves that have been cleared from all dust;
-or a handful of broken-up peach kernels. When the flavor is well
-extracted, strain this water and mix it with the syrup. Then put in the
-halved peaches, and boil them (uncovered) till quite clear and soft, but
-not till they break. While warm, put them up with the syrup in glass or
-white-ware jars.
-
-Apricots are preserved in the same way.
-
-_Preserved Green Gages._--Get the largest and ripest green gages, or egg
-plums. Scald them in boiling water to make them peel easily; the skins
-of all sorts of plums becoming very hard and tough when preserved.
-Remove the stems; they are no ornament, and render them troublesome to
-eat. Make a syrup in the usual way, allowing to each pound of plums a
-pound of the finest loaf sugar, half a pint of water, and half a white
-of egg. When well skimmed and boiled put in the plums, and boil them
-gently till quite clear and soft, but not till broken. All plums may be
-done in this manner. If not as ripe as possible, they will require to
-each pound of fruit a pound and a half of the best sugar.
-
-
-BRANDY PEACHES.--Take large juicy _free-stone_ peaches, not so ripe as
-to burst or mash on being handled. Rub off the down from every one with
-a clean thick flannel. Prick every peach down to the stone with a large
-silver fork, and score them all along the seam or cleft. To _each_ pound
-of peaches allow a pound of double-refined loaf sugar, broken-up small,
-and a half pint of water mixed with half a white of egg, slightly
-beaten. Put the sugar into a porcelain kettle, and pour the water upon
-it. When it is quite melted give it a stirring, set it over the fire,
-and boil and skim it till no more scum rises. Next put in the peaches,
-and let them cook (uncovered) in the syrup till they look clear, or for
-about half an hour, or till a straw will penetrate them. Then take the
-kettle off the fire. Having allotted a pint of the very best white
-brandy to each pound of peaches, mix it with the syrup, after taking out
-the fruit with a wooden spoon, and draining it over the kettle. Put the
-peaches into a large tureen. Let the syrup remain in the kettle a little
-longer. Mix the brandy with it, and boil them together ten minutes, or
-more. Transfer the peaches to large glass jars, (two thirds full,) and
-pour the brandy and syrup over them, filling quite up to the top. When
-cool, cover them closely, and tie some bladder over the lids.
-
-_Green Gages_--Are brandied in the same manner. Also, large egg-plums.
-Pears also, having first peeled them. To pear sweetmeats always add
-lemon rind grated, and lemon juice.
-
-
-PRESERVED TOMATOS.--This is an excellent and popular sweetmeat, when
-flavored well with lemon, which is indispensable to making it palatable.
-Also, it should be well penetrated with sugar, therefore it is best not
-to attempt preserving tomatos whole. The best time for doing them is in
-the height of the lemon season. The most convenient for preserving are
-those with smooth even surfaces. If fluted or cleft they are difficult
-to peel when scalded, as the skins do not strip off so easily. Having
-weighed the tomatos, (which must be full-grown and quite ripe) allow to
-every two pounds, two pounds of the best _brown_ sugar, a large spoonful
-of ground ginger, and the juice and grated yellow rind of one large ripe
-lemon, rolled awhile under your hand. Having scalded and peeled all the
-tomatos, and mixed with the sugar a little beaten white of egg, put them
-into a porcelain-lined preserving kettle, (uncovered,) and add,
-gradually, the sugar. Boil the tomatos and sugar _slowly_ together, till
-the scum ceases to appear. Then add, gradually, the lemons, (peel and
-juice,) and boil slowly for an hour or more. The tomatos must all have
-bursted, otherwise they will not keep, from the sugar not getting
-sufficiently into them. When done, take them off the fire, and transfer
-to glass jars the tomatos with their syrup.
-
-For yellow preserves take yellow tomatos, scald and peel them, and prick
-each with a silver fork. Lay them in a porcelain preserving kettle with
-plenty of fresh vine leaves under and over them. Boil them with the vine
-leaves till they become a finer yellow. Then wash out the kettle and
-boil the tomatos, as above, with the _white_ sugar, and add the lemon.
-
-_Green Tomatos Preserved._--Take green tomatos when they are full grown,
-but have not yet begun to turn in the least red. Scald and peel them,
-and lay them in a porcelain kettle with plenty of fresh vine leaves at
-the bottom. Cover them thickly with another layer of vine leaves at the
-top. Boil them very slowly with the vine leaves till they have all
-turned yellow. Then take them out, and spread them on large dishes. Wash
-the kettle, put in fresh vine leaves under and over the tomatos. They
-should become a fine green with the second boiling in vine leaves;
-otherwise repeat the greening. Then take them out, wash the kettle
-again, and return the tomatos to it with _a pound and a half of white
-sugar_ to each pound of tomatos. Boil and skim, till all is clear and
-nice. Then add the grated yellow rind and the juice of one large lemon
-to every pound of tomatos, and boil slowly an hour longer. All the
-tomatos should burst, that the sugar may thoroughly enter the inside.
-Before you cover the jars, stir into each an additional quarter or half
-pound of powdered sugar. Green tomatos require a high flavoring of
-lemon, as they have no peculiar taste of their own.
-
-
-PRESERVED QUINCES.--Take the largest and ripest yellow quinces; after
-they have remained on the trees till the first frost. Wipe them clean,
-and boil them whole till they are tender all through, and can be easily
-penetrated with a splinter skewer. Save and strain the water in which
-they were boiled. When cool, pare and core the quinces, and carefully
-remove the blemishes. To every pound of fruit allow a pound of the best
-double-refined loaf sugar. Make a syrup of the water in which the
-quinces were boiled, allowing half a pint of this water to every pound
-of sugar. When melted, set it in a porcelain kettle over a moderate
-fire, and boil and skim it till no more scum appears. Then put in the
-fruit, either whole or quartered, or cut into circular slices about half
-an inch thick; and boil it uncovered. When the quinces are quite clear
-and soft, (but not the least broken) take them out, and spread them on
-large flat dishes. Afterwards transfer them to large glass jars, rather
-more than half filled; pour the syrup warm over them; and when cool
-cover the jars, and tie pieces of bladder over the covers. You may boil,
-by themselves, the cores and parings, in as much water as will cover
-them well, till they are entirely dissolved. Then strain them through a
-linen bag, and while hot stir in as much powdered loaf sugar as will
-form a thick jelly. If the quinces have been preserved whole, fill up
-with this jelly the holes left by the cores; or if sliced, spread the
-jelly over the slices. Quinces soon become very hard and tough, unless
-they have been well boiled by themselves, before putting them into the
-sugar. Merely scalding or coddling them is not sufficient. If you have
-not jelly for filling up the holes, substitute marmalade. To keep
-quinces well, requires plenty of rich syrup.
-
-
-PRESERVED CRAB-APPLES.--Take the finest Siberian crab-apples, which
-being always red, and having a pleasant acid, are the only sort now used
-for preserving. Rub each crab-apple with a dry clean flannel, and then
-prick every one in several places with a large needle to prevent their
-bursting. To every pound of fruit allow a pound and a half of
-double-refined loaf sugar, and a pint of water. First make a syrup of
-the sugar and water, boiling it in a porcelain kettle, and skimming it
-till perfectly clear. Put in the crab-apples, adding for each pound the
-juice and grated yellow rind of a large lemon. The lemon is
-indispensable to this sweetmeat. Simmer them slowly in this syrup till
-tender all through, so that they can be pierced with a twig of
-broom-corn; but do not allow them to break. When done, put them up warm
-in glass jars more than half full, and the syrup over them. You may
-heighten the fine red color with a little prepared cochineal--that is,
-cochineal powder kept in a bottle after being boiled with alum and cream
-of tartar.
-
-_Bellflower Apples or Large Pippins_--May be preserved whole in the
-above manner. They look handsomely on a supper table, covered all over
-with a thick meringue or icing flavored with lemon or rose, and spread
-smoothly over every apple with a real rose-bud stuck in the top of each.
-You may color the icing a beautiful pink, by mixing with it a little
-prepared cochineal.
-
-
-PRESERVED CHERRIES.--No cherries are worth preserving except morellas,
-or the large Virginia red, or carnation cherries. Stem and stone them
-carefully, saving the juice; and strew them thickly with powdered white
-sugar. To a quart of cherries allow a pound of the best loaf sugar. Make
-a syrup, allowing half a pint of water to a pound of sugar. Boil and
-skim it, and when the scum has ceased to rise put in the cherries and
-their juice, and give them a slow boil up. Put them up warm in glass or
-white-ware jars, and tie bladder over the lids.
-
-
-FINE PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES.--Have ready two sorts of strawberries, one
-half being of the largest and finest scarlet sort, (not too ripe,) the
-other smaller and less expensive, but quite ripe and perfectly fresh and
-nice. Put the smaller ones into a porcelain kettle, having allowed three
-quarters of a pound of double-refined loaf sugar to every quart of
-fruit. Boil the sugar and small strawberries together; skimming well,
-and stirring down to the bottom after every skimming, and mashing it to
-a jam. When done, set it to cool in a large pan; wash the kettle clean,
-or take another one, and make in it a clear syrup, allowing to each
-pound of the best loaf sugar a _small_ half pint of water. When melted
-set it over the fire, and boil and skim till the scum ceases to rise.
-Put the large strawberries in this, and give them one boil up. If boiled
-too long they will break. As soon as they have come to a boil take them
-(one at a time,) with a silver tea-spoon, and lay them separately on
-large flat dishes. Then mix the syrup with the jam thoroughly together,
-and boil it a quarter of an hour. Put the large strawberries, one at a
-time, into glass jars, (more than half full,) and fill up to the top
-with the hot jam. When cool lay a round of brandy paper on the surface,
-and secure the lids by tying pieces of bladder over them.
-
-
-STRAWBERRIES IN WINE.--Put a small quart of fine large scarlet
-strawberries into a glass jar, having sprinkled among them a quarter of
-a pound of the best loaf sugar. Fill up the jar with madeira or sherry.
-They are served at parties in small glass saucers, heaped on the top
-with whipped cream, or with white ice cream. What is sold by many
-confectioners as strawberry ice cream, has in reality no strawberries
-about it; as may be known by its beautiful rose color, such as
-strawberry juice never produces, particularly after being preserved with
-sugar. This fine delicate pink tinge comes in reality from alkanet. Most
-of what is called strawberry cordial, is in reality alcohol colored with
-that elegant dye.
-
-
-STRAWBERRY WINE.--Fill four glass jars holding each a quart, with fine
-ripe strawberries that have been hulled or picked clean. Cover them;
-set them in a large kettle of cold water, and place it in a moderate
-heat till it gradually comes to a boil. Then let it boil but five
-minutes. Cork the jars, and seal them closely before you take them out
-of the water. Use the cement of two-thirds resin and one-third beeswax.
-Keep the jar for four weeks in a dry cool place. By that time you will
-find the strawberries with a thick white scum at the top, and a clear
-juice at the bottom. Pour it into clean bottles, through a funnel with a
-fine straining cloth. Cork the bottles, but do not drive the corks hard
-down, lest the bottles should burst if too tight. Arrange the bottles on
-the kitchen mantleshelf, where they may have some heat from the fire.
-You will see when a vinous fermentation takes place. It may continue a
-week. When it has entirely subsided, and is very clear, strain off the
-liquid from the sediment into fresh bottles, and cork them tightly. When
-you put them away, lay the bottles on their sides. This is a delicious
-cordial, and requires no brandy in it.
-
-_Preserved Gooseberries._--Top and tail the gooseberries, which should
-be of two sorts, and as ripe as you can get. The best kind quite ripe,
-large, and of a light amber color. Wash the others, and boil them in a
-porcelain kettle with barely water enough to keep them from burning.
-When they are soft and broken, mash the pulp through a sieve, or squeeze
-it through a linen bag. Measure it, and to each pint allow a large pound
-of powdered loaf sugar. Boil the sugar with the pulp, skimming and
-stirring it till it begins to jelly. Then put in the large gooseberries,
-and give them one boil up. When done take them out separately, and
-spread them on a large flat dish. Continue to boil the syrup a while
-longer, till you find it congeals well on holding out a spoonful in the
-open air. Then put the large gooseberries into jars, and pour the syrup
-over them while still hot and liquid. Put them up warm.
-
-_Raspberries_--May be preserved as above, reserving the finest for
-putting whole into the jelly. The large white raspberries make a fine
-sweetmeat, done whole in jelly or jam of white currants.
-
-Black currants should always be made into jelly or jam. They require
-less sugar than other sweetmeats, (a quarter of a pound less) their
-juice being naturally very thick.
-
-
-COUNTRY PLUMS.--Gather your plums when perfectly ripe, and ready to fall
-from the trees. Split them with a knife, and remove the stones. Spread
-them out on large dishes, so as not to touch, and set them in the hot
-sun on a sunny roof or balcony; taking them in every evening before
-dark, and not putting them out till after the dew is off in the morning.
-Repeat this for three or four days. Then pack them down in stone jars
-with a large quantity of the best brown sugar, a layer of plums and a
-layer of sugar alternately, (sugar being at the bottom and top) and
-cover the jars closely. Let them remain undisturbed till February or
-March. When opened, you will have plenty of rich syrup among them. They
-make good spring pies, and will be prized for family use at that season.
-
-_Country Grapes._--The little wild grapes have a very pleasant taste
-after the first frost in the autumn, and should not be gathered till
-that time. Until frosted, they are too sour to eat. To keep them all
-winter, strip them from the stems and put them in stone jars with layers
-of good brown sugar, till the jars are three parts full. Then fill up to
-the top with West India molasses. They will make good winter pies, when
-cranberries, dried peaches, and dried apples are scarce.
-
-_Persimmon Jam._--Do not gather persimmons till late in the fall, when
-they are well sweetened with the frost. They are unfit to eat till all
-the leaves are off the trees, and till they are ripe enough to mash.
-Then pack them in jars with plenty of brown sugar. Maple sugar will do.
-In the back-woods they will be valued. When cooked they will be improved
-by the addition of a little _sweet_ cider.
-
-
-
-
-PICKLES.
-
-
-For pickles the articles should all be fine and freshly gathered. They
-are generally too hard to be cut or eaten conveniently, and there is too
-much unnecessary fear of pickles proving soft. It is not now customary
-to keep them for weeks in salt and water; two or three days will be
-sufficient for this part of the process, and some kinds do not require
-it at all. The arts of both preserving and pickling are of late years
-much simplified. All pickles have nearly the same taste, and there is no
-use (and much trouble) in multiplying varieties, when a few sorts of the
-very best will be found amply sufficient for any table. One important
-point to be always observed, is to use none but the most wholesome
-vinegar, (the genuine cider,) as all that is made of drugs is
-unwholesome to the eater and destructive to the pickles. On no
-consideration boil them in brass, copper, or bell-metal--things which
-fortunately are now nearly exploded from all kitchens; iron lined with
-Delft, (called porcelain,) being universally substituted.
-
-To green pickles boil them with a thick bed of fresh vine leaves, both
-under and over them. This will first render them yellow; then boil them
-again in a clean kettle with fresh vine leaves. If not green enough when
-you think they are done, repeat the boiling again, with fresh vine
-leaves and fresh water. Avoid eating pickles that are of a fine
-verdigris green. They are greened with copper, and are poisonous.
-
-If you cannot obtain vine leaves, you may green pickles by boiling them
-with fresh cabbage leaves under and over. The first boiling will turn
-them yellow, the second with new leaves should render them green. But
-vine leaves are better and more certain. Put them up warm in stone or,
-glass jars with broad flat corks; and tie kid leather over them.
-
-
-INDIA PICKLE.--For this pickle you may use a variety of _young_ fruits
-and vegetables. For instance, red cherries, grapes, plums, apricots,
-young peaches, or lemons, limes, button-tomatos, cauliflowers sliced,
-white cabbage sliced, hard-boiled eggs sliced, little onions,
-nasturtions, small cucumbers, &c. Having nicely prepared these things,
-put them all together into a large porcelain kettle, and scald them in a
-strong brine made in the proportion of a quarter of a pound of fine salt
-to a quart of boiling water. Pour it hot over the pickles, and let them
-remain in it till next day. Then take them out, and drain off all the
-brine through a sieve. Spread them out (so as not to touch,) on large
-flat dishes or old japan servers, and set them in the hot sun for three
-or four days; carefully taking them in at evening, and if the weather
-becomes damp or cloudy. Afterwards put them into a cullender or sieve,
-wash them well through cold water, and then wipe them all dry with a
-coarse cloth. Put them into a large pan. Mix together a quarter pound of
-grated horse-radish, sliced; two cloves of garlic; half a hundred small
-white onions; two ounces of mace; a quarter of a pound of ground ginger;
-two nutmegs, powdered; two pounds of powdered loaf sugar; half a bottle
-of the best ground mustard; half a pound of yellow mustard seed, and an
-ounce of turmeric powder, which must on no account be omitted, as a
-yellow tinge is indispensable to this pickle. Mix all the seasoning with
-sufficient excellent cider vinegar to render it liquid, and pour it over
-the pickles in the pan, and then stir them up from the bottom. Let the
-whole rest till cold. Then transfer it to stone jars. Have ready some
-more vinegar, pour it boiling hot on the pickles, &c., but do not fill
-up to the top, as they expand and rise.
-
-
-PICKLED PEACHES.--Take eight fine large free-stone peaches, (white or
-yellow,) when nearly but not quite ripe. Wipe off the down with a clean
-flannel, and put them into a brine strong enough to bear up an egg. In
-two days take them out, and drain them for several hours on an inverted
-sieve. Tie in a piece of thin muslin one ounce of whole white pepper;
-one of broken-up ginger; eight blades of mace, and two ounces of mustard
-seed. Boil this seasoning for ten minutes in a quart of the best cider
-vinegar. Lay the peaches in a broad-mouthed stone jar, with the bag of
-spice at the bottom, and pour the vinegar boiling hot upon them. At the
-top add a table-spoonful of salad oil. Put them up warm, and secure them
-with broad flat corks, and rounds of leather tied on carefully.
-
-_Peach Mangoes._--The above sort of peaches are best for mangoes. Steep
-them in brine for two days. Cut a small piece out of each, and carefully
-loose the stones from the inside with a small sharp knife. It will then
-be easy to thrust them out of free-stone peaches, and none others should
-be used, either for pickling or preserving. Make a filling for the
-places that were occupied by the stones. For this purpose, use fresh
-mustard seed moistened with vinegar; scraped horse-radish, powdered
-ginger, a clove of garlic, or a minced shalot or very small onion, and a
-very little chilli or red pepper minced very small. Also a little
-powdered mace, and a little chopped peach. With this mixture stuff the
-peaches hard. Replace the bits that were cut off, and tie them on firmly
-with fine packthread, crossing the peach. Boil a quart of the best
-vinegar, seasoned with white spices and mustard seed, tied up in muslin;
-and when it has boiled ten minutes, pour it hot over the peach mangoes
-in a stone jar. Add at the top a table-spoonful of salad oil; cork the
-jar immediately, and tie leather over it. Where there is no dislike to
-cloves, you may stick half a dozen into the outside of each peach; but
-we think a few small bits of mace will be preferable, as the clove
-taste will overpower every thing else.
-
-
-MELON MANGOES.--Take the small green melons, used only for this purpose,
-and let them lie in a strong brine for two days. Take them out and drain
-them well. Cut a small square bit out of one side, and through this hole
-extract all the seeds and filaments. Have ready a stuffing made of
-grated horse-radish, white mustard seed, minced shalot, or a clove of
-garlic chopped fine; a very little chilli or red pepper, and a little
-powdered mace. Wet this stuffing well with vinegar, and then fill with
-it the cavity of the mango. Replace the bit that was cut out, and tie it
-in with packthread, crossing all over the melon. Then place the mangoes
-in a stone jar. Have ready a sufficiency of the best vinegar, (a large
-quart or more, for eight or ten mangoes,) boiled ten minutes, with a
-seasoning of mustard seed, ginger, mace, grated horse-radish, and
-chopped shalot or little onion, or a clove of garlic minced very
-small--all tied in a bit of muslin. Pour the vinegar boiling hot over
-the mangoes, having placed among them the bag of seasoning. Finish with
-sweet oil at the top of the jar.
-
-
-MUSHROOMS PICKLED.--For pickling, the small button mushrooms are best.
-After cutting off the stalk closely, and with a sharp penknife peeling
-off carefully their thin outside skin, measure two quarts, taking care
-that they are all of the right sort, and freshly gathered; the outside
-of a dull whitish color, and the underside of a fine pinkish salmon
-tinge. If very white above and below, or if bright yellow, they are
-poisonous. _Good_ mushrooms grow always in open fields or airy places;
-never in woods or marshes. To pickle two quarts, prepare eight little
-bags of very clear muslin; and tie up in each bag six blades of mace,
-six slices of root ginger, and half a nutmeg broken up. Have ready four
-glass jars, such as are considered to hold a quart. Lay a bag of spice
-in the bottom of each. Having sprinkled the mushrooms well with salt,
-let them rest till next day. Then divide the mushrooms and their liquor
-into four pints. Put one pint into each jar, with a bag of spice at the
-bottom, and another at the top. Pour on boiling cider vinegar of the
-best quality, and finish with a table-spoonful of salad oil. Cork the
-jars immediately, and tie leather carefully over the top. All mushrooms
-turn brown on the under-side the day after they are gathered, and
-sometimes sooner.
-
-Boiling the spice in the vinegar will weaken the mushroom flavor. When
-you open a jar of pickled mushrooms, immediately cork it again; tie on
-the leather cover, and use it up as soon as possible. Therefore, pint
-jars, with half a pint of mushrooms in each, are convenient.
-
-
-BELL-PEPPERS PICKLED.--Take fine full-grown bell-peppers. Make a brine
-in a stone jar of salt and water, strong enough to float an egg, and let
-the peppers remain in it two days, putting a weight on the cover to keep
-it down. Then take them out, wash them well in cold water, drain them,
-and wipe them dry. Cut a slit in the side of each, and extract all the
-seeds, as if left in, they will be entirely too hot. Through these slits
-let all the water run out. Put them into a clean stone jar. Boil
-sufficient of the best cider vinegar, interspersed with the muslin bags
-of broken-up cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg. Pour it, boiling hot, on the
-peppers in the jar. Distribute the bags of spice among the peppers, and
-cork the jar warm. You may stuff the peppers in the manner of mangoes,
-with pickled red cabbage finely shred, minced onions and minced
-cucumbers pickled, and seasoned with a little mustard seed, ginger, and
-mace. Tie up the slit with packthread, crossing all round. Fill up the
-jars with vinegar, putting sweet oil on the top.
-
-Your may green bell-peppers in the usual way, with vine leaves or
-cabbage leaves.
-
-All pickles should be kept in a dry place. If you find them mouldy they
-are not always spoiled. Take them out of the jar, wipe off all the mould
-carefully, and throw away the vinegar. Wash the jar very clean, scald
-it, and set it in the sun to purify still more. Make a new pickle with
-fresh seasoning, and put them into that.
-
-
-PICKLED CAULIFLOWERS.--Take large, ripe, full-blown cauliflowers. Remove
-the leaves and stalk, and divide the blossom into pieces or clusters of
-equal size. Throw them into a porcelain kettle of boiling water, (adding
-a little salt,) let them simmer, and skim them well. When they come to a
-boil, take them up with a perforated skimmer, and lay them on a sieve to
-drain. Put them into stone jars, (three parts full.) Season with mace
-and nutmeg infused in sufficient of the best cider vinegar, and simmer
-it for a quarter of an hour. When it comes to a boil take it off the
-fire, and pour it hot over the cauliflower in the jar, filling quite up
-to the top, and adding sweet oil at the last. Cover it while warm, and
-tie leather over the top. If you wish to have the cauliflowers yellow,
-boil with the vinegar some turmeric powder tied up in thin muslin. This
-is a very nice pickle.
-
-Broccoli is done in the same manner, but should be previously greened by
-boiling it with vine leaves.
-
-
-PICKLED BEETS WITH CABBAGE.--Take a large fine _red_ cabbage, wash it
-well, and drain it. Quarter it, (having removed the stalk) and slice it
-with a cabbage-cutter as for coldslaw. Boil some beets in the usual way
-till quite tender, (they require a very long time) and while warm peel
-and slice them in round pieces, or split them down, and cut them into
-long bits. Lay them in a large stone jar, alternately with layers of
-the shred cabbage, till the jar is more than half full. Have ready some
-scalding vinegar that has been boiled with a seasoning of blades of mace
-and sliced ginger root, and some nutmeg. Pour the vinegar, boiling hot,
-upon the cabbage and beet, till you have the jars quite full. Finish
-with a large table-spoonful of sweet oil. Cover the jar with leather,
-and put it away warm.
-
-
-PICKLED CUCUMBERS.--Take small young cucumbers, freshly gathered, and
-free from blemishes. Make a brine strong enough to float an egg, and let
-the cucumbers lie in it till they become yellow, stirring them down to
-the bottom twice a day. Then pour off all the brine, wash the cucumbers
-in cold water, and drain them. Lay a thick bed of fresh green vine
-leaves in the bottom and sides of a porcelain kettle. Put in the
-cucumbers, and pour on sufficient cold water to wet them all
-plentifully. Then cover them, closely, with more vine leaves, and pour
-on more water, packing the leaves well and pressing them down. Fill up
-to the top with water and vine leaves, and cover the kettle closely to
-keep in the steam. Hang it over a slow fire where there is no blaze, and
-keep it _warm_ all night, but not _hot_. In the morning if the pickles
-are not a fine deep green, remove the vine leaves and replace them with
-a fresh supply. After this, they will be generally green enough; but if
-not, continue till they are. Then drain the cucumbers on a sieve, and
-transfer them to a very clean stone jar. To fifty cucumbers allow four
-quarts of excellent vinegar, and a bit of alum about the size of a large
-grain of corn, with half an ounce of mustard seed, half an ounce of
-mace, a broken-up nutmeg, and half an ounce of root ginger, sliced. Tie
-up the spice in three muslin bags, and boil them ten minutes in the
-vinegar. Then take out and lay them among the cucumbers in the jar; one
-to the bottom, one in the middle, and one at the top. Pour over them the
-vinegar boiling hot; add a table-spoonful of sweet oil, and cork the jar
-immediately, tying a leather over it. Keep wooden pickle spoons in the
-pantry for taking out pickles, and always be careful to close the jar
-immediately after.
-
-You need not keep the bags of spice in the jars more than two or three
-weeks.
-
-
-PICKLED ONIONS.--Take the small silver-skinned white onions. Peel off
-the outer skin. Make a brine strong enough to float an egg, skim it
-well, and when it begins to cool pour it upon the onions. Let them stand
-in it (closely covered,) till quite cold. Then take them out, peel off
-another skin, and wash them through a cullender in cold water. Next,
-boil them in milk till tender all through, so that you can easily pierce
-them with a needle. Then drain off the milk. Measure them, and to a
-quart of onions allow a quart of the best cider vinegar. Boil in the
-vinegar two muslin bags tied up with broken-up nutmeg and mace. When it
-has boiled, pour it hot over the onions in the jar; having laid one bag
-of spice at the bottom, and one in the middle. The onions should fill
-two thirds of the jar, and the vinegar the remainder. Finish with a
-table-spoonful of salad oil, and cork the jar immediately, and tie on
-the leather cover.
-
-As onions pickled this way are generally much liked, it is well, when
-doing them, to make several jars full.
-
-_Cucumber and Onion Pickle._--To a dozen fine cucumbers allow three
-large onions. Pare the cucumbers and peel the onions, and cut both into
-thick slices. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them, and let them rest till
-next day. Then drain them well, and put them into a stone jar. Pour
-boiling vinegar over them. Close the jar, and set it in a warm place.
-Next day repeat the boiling vinegar, and cork the jar. Next day repeat
-it again, with a bag of mace, nutmeg, and ginger, boiled in the vinegar.
-Then cork the jar, and tie it up. When the pickle is finished, divide it
-in small stone jars, with sweet oil on the top of each.
-
-
-WALNUTS OR BUTTERNUTS PICKLED--Gather them in early summer, when they
-are full-grown, but so tender that a large needle will easily pierce
-them all through. Rub off the outer skin with a coarse cloth, and then
-lay them in salt and water for a week, changing the brine every other
-day. Allow for this brine a small quarter of a pound of salt to a large
-quart of water. Make enough to cover all the nuts well. Place a large
-lid over the pan, and keep them closely from the air. The last day take
-them out of the brine, drain them, and prick every one quite through in
-several places with a large needle. Drain them again, spread them out on
-large flat dishes, and set them to blacken for two days in the hot sun.
-For a hundred nuts, allow a gallon of excellent cider vinegar, half an
-ounce of black pepper-corns, half an ounce of cloves, half an ounce of
-allspice, an ounce of root ginger, and an ounce of mace. Boil the spice
-in the vinegar for ten minutes, tied up in eight small muslin bags. Then
-take them out, and having divided the nuts in four stone jars,
-distribute among them, equally, the bags of spice, and pour on the
-vinegar hot, an equal portion in each jar. While warm, secure them with
-flat corks, and tie leather over them. Done this way, you may begin to
-use them in a week. If you have not enough of vinegar to fill the jars
-up to the top, add some cold, and strew among the nuts some blades of
-mace. Finish with a large spoonful of salad oil at the top of each jar.
-
-
-PICKLED PLUMS.--Take large fine plums; perfect, and quite ripe. To every
-quart of plums allow half a pound of the best white sugar powdered, and
-a large pint of the best cider vinegar. Melt the sugar in the vinegar,
-and put it with the fruit into a porcelain kettle; all the plums having
-been previously pricked to the stone with a large needle. Lay among them
-some small muslin bags filled with broken nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon;
-and if you choose, a few cloves. Give them one boil up, skimming them
-well. Put them warm into stone jars, with the bags interspersed, and
-cork them immediately. Green gages may be done in this manner, first
-rendering them greener by boiling with vine leaves in the usual way.
-
-_Damsons Pickled._--Do these in the same manner as plums; but as they
-are much more acid, allow brown sugar of the best kind. Plums or damsons
-may be pickled plain, and with little trouble if full ripe, pricked with
-a needle, and packed down in a stone jar with profuse layers of brown
-sugar between the layers of fruit; the jars filled up with cold cider
-vinegar, and putting sweet oil at the top.
-
-
-_Pickled Cherries._--Take the largest and finest red cherries, fully
-ripe. Morellas are the best. Either remove the stems entirely, or cut
-them short, within two inches of the fruit. Have ready a large glass
-jar. Fill it two thirds with fresh newly-gathered cherries, and then
-fill up to the top with the best vinegar. Keep it well covered, and if
-both fruit and vinegar are of excellent quality, no boiling is
-necessary, and no spice, as the cherry flavor will be retained, and they
-will not shrivel.
-
-_Button Tomatos._--The small round tomatos, either red or yellow, will
-keep perfectly, if put whole into cold vinegar of the _really_ best
-quality. You may add a bag of spice if you choose.
-
-_Nasturtion Seeds._--Keep a large glass jar of cold cider vinegar, and
-put in the green seeds of nasturtions after the flowers are off, and the
-seeds full-grown, but not hard. Remove the stalks. In this simple way
-nasturtions will keep perfectly well, and are an excellent substitute
-for capers with boiled mutton. They can be raised profusely, even in a
-city garden, and the blossoms are very beautiful. With pepper-grass and
-nasturtion flowers from your own garden, you can have a nice salad for a
-summer evening tea-table.
-
-The three pickles above (cherries, button tomatos, and nasturtion
-seeds,) are cheap, easy, and palatable. Try them. To flavor them with
-spice, boil the vinegar with a bag of spice in it, and pour it on hot,
-leaving the bag among them in the jar.
-
-
-
-
-PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK.
-
-
-CHICKEN BROTH.--Skin and cut up a fine full-grown fowl. If but little is
-wanted, take only the dark meat for the broth, and put it into a pot
-with a small quart of water, and slowly boil it to rags. Strain the
-liquid and return it to the pot, and thicken it with two spoonfuls of
-arrow root, if no vegetables are permitted. Otherwise, you may boil with
-the chicken some sliced onion and sliced turnip, with a grated parsnip
-and a sliced potato, straining out the vegetables with the shreds of
-fowl. You may reserve the white meat of the breast and wings to make
-another dish, if the patient is permitted to take it. This is the white
-meat cut off the bones, and stewed slowly in fresh oyster liquid, with a
-bit of nice butter. If the patient is well enough, stir in a beaten egg
-just before the stew is taken from the fire.
-
-_Oyster Soup for Invalids._--Remove the gristle from a dozen fine large
-fresh oysters. Take half their liquor and mix it with an equal portion
-of very good milk, seasoning it with three or four blades of mace, and a
-stalk of celery scraped and cut into pieces. When it has boiled and been
-skimmed well, strain it over the oysters, and let all simmer together
-till the oysters are plumped, but do not let them come to a boil. Serve
-it up in a bowl, with some milk biscuit to eat with it.
-
-_Clam Soup for Invalids._--Where salt is permitted, cut up and boil
-slowly in their own liquor a dozen or more small sand clams. When well
-boiled and skimmed, strain the liquor into a clean sauce-pan, and
-thicken it with bread crumbs, and a small bit of nice fresh butter. The
-clams are of no further use. Throw them away.
-
-
-MUTTON BROTH FOR THE SICK.--Take two pounds from a nice neck of mutton,
-and leave out some of the fat if there seems too much. Cut the meat from
-the bones, and put it into a pot with a large quart of water, and no
-seasoning. Boil it till the meat is all in rags. Do not skim it, as the
-fat on the surface is very healing, if without salt or pepper. When
-done, strain it into a bowl. Let the patient eat with it a slice of very
-light wheat bread, having the crust cut off. It is excellent for the
-dysentery. When the patient is convalescent, a little seasoning may be
-allowed, and some well-boiled mashed turnips stirred into the bowl of
-soup with a boiled onion sliced, and a thickening of arrow-root or
-farina, stirred in about half an hour before the soup is taken up. Pour
-it off clear from the shreds of meat at the bottom.
-
-_Veal Broth for Invalids._--Take a pound of knuckle of veal cut in
-pieces, four calf's feet, split up. Boil them in a large quart of water,
-till they are all reduced to rags. Then strain the liquid, and add to it
-the soft part, only, of half a dozen fine oysters, and three or four
-blades of mace. Set it again on the fire, and as soon as it simmers
-well, take it off, and serve it up with very light milk biscuit, or
-little bread rolls, to eat with it. Veal broth may be made with a piece
-of knuckle of veal cut small, and boiled in the liquor of clams instead
-of water. The clams themselves must be omitted, as they are always tough
-and indigestible for an invalid, but their liquor adds a pleasant
-relish to the insipidity of the veal. As the strength of the patient
-improves, a grated carrot, a sliced onion, and some sliced turnip, may
-be added to the veal from the beginning.
-
-_Raw Oysters for the Sick._--Take large fine fresh oysters, and
-carefully cut out the hard part or gristle. They are considered very
-good for convalescents, being, when raw, cooling, refreshing, and
-nutritious. Drain them well from the liquor, making them as dry as you
-can; and if permitted, accompany the oysters with black pepper and
-vinegar, and a plate of bread and butter.
-
-_Birds._--Convalescents, not yet allowed to eat meat, can generally
-relish birds nicely broiled, or stewed in their own gravy, with any
-appropriate seasoning, and a little _fresh_ butter, if they are not very
-fat. When dished, lay under each a piece of nice toast, dipped for a
-minute in hot water.
-
-_Beefsteak for Invalids._--When this can be eaten with an appetite,
-there is no greater promoter of returning health; but it must be of the
-best sirloin steak, very tender, well broiled, and thoroughly done on
-both sides, the gravy being carefully saved to serve up with it, a
-little fresh butter being added after the meat comes off the gridiron.
-If the taste of onion is desired, merely rub the plate with a peeled
-onion. A very tender lamb-chop well broiled may be eaten by way of
-change; but a tenderloin steak is better. Avoid pork, or veal cutlets.
-
-_Gravy Sippets._--For invalids who cannot yet eat meat, a light and
-relishing preparation may be made with one or two slices of the best
-wheat bread, divested of the crust, and spread on a hot plate, while
-some nice well-skimmed gravy is poured over them; the gravy of roast
-beef, veal, or mutton, that has had no butter about it. Gravy sippets
-will form a variety to the usual broths, and other beginnings for the
-resumption of animal food.
-
-
-HERB TEAS.--Have one or more china or white-ware pots for the purpose of
-making herb teas; and see that, after using, they are well washed, well
-scalded and dried, and set open in the sun till wanted again. The herbs,
-whether green or dried, should be of excellent quality, and picked very
-clean from dust and stems. Having well-scalded the pot, take the
-allotted quantity of the herb and put it in; then pour on the water,
-which must be actually boiling at the time, and press the herbs down at
-the bottom with a silver spoon. Then put on the lid closely, and
-immediately stop up the spout with a small cork, or a wad of soft white
-paper rolled tightly. This is to keep in the steam, and prevent the
-strength of the herb from escaping. When sufficiently boiled, pour into
-a pitcher with a lid, and through a strainer, as much of the tea as is
-wanted. Strainers of block tin, with a handle and _very fine_ close
-holes, are excellent for this and other purposes.
-
-_Herb Candies._--Hoarhound candy, and many others, may be made of a
-strong decoction or tea of the herb, thickened with loaf sugar, and
-boiled, skimmed, and stirred till very thick and stiff. Then pour it
-smoothly into a square tin pan and set it in a cool place to congeal.
-While still soft, mark it in even squares with a knife. When quite cold
-and hard, loosen it from the pan with a knife, and take it out. It is
-good for coughs.
-
-Peppermint candy is made in the same way, and is used for flatulence.
-
-
-GRUEL.--Gruels, for patients who are unable to take any thing more
-substantial, may be made of ground rice flour, arrow root, indian meal,
-oatmeal grits, or farina. Mix to a paste, with water, two large
-table-spoonfuls of any of the above articles; then stir the paste,
-gradually, into a pint of water boiling on the fire, making it very
-smooth and pressing out all the lumps. To prevent it boiling over, when
-it has risen nearly to the top of the pan, remove it from the fire.
-Sweeten it while hot, and, if permitted, add a little white wine with
-nutmeg, and a small bit of fresh butter.
-
-_Toast and Water._--Cut a large slice or two of the best wheat bread;
-pare off all the crust; and with a long-handled toasting fork toast it
-evenly on both sides, not allowing it to blacken or burn in any part.
-While hot from the fire, plunge the toast immediately into a quart
-pitcher of clear cold water. Cover the pitcher instantly, and let it
-infuse for half an hour or more, without leaving off the cover. When
-done, it should be of a very pale brown color.
-
-
-JELLY WATER.--Stir a table-spoonful of currant jelly into a half pint
-tumbler of ice water, if the patient is feverish. The jelly may be of
-other fruit, and if not sweet enough add some loaf sugar. The juice of
-any ripe fruit, made sweet and mixed with cold water, is a good
-substitute when sweetmeats are not at hand. Warm drinks are now seldom
-used, but to promote perspiration and carry off a cold. Tamarinds are in
-themselves very cooling and pleasant, and make an agreeable drink
-infused in water, either warm or cold.
-
-
-CARRAGEEN BLANCMANGE.--Carrageen is a species of sea moss which becomes
-glutinous when boiled, and is considered remarkably nutritious and
-strengthening. It can also be rendered very palatable. It is found
-abundantly on some parts of our sea-coast, and may be obtained of the
-best druggists, very nicely cleaned and pressed. To a small loose
-handful of carrageen allow a small quart of rich unskimmed milk, half a
-pound of powdered white sugar, a stick of the best cinnamon broken-up,
-six or seven blades of mace, and half a nutmeg, powdered. Having washed
-the carrageen through two or three cold waters, and shaken it out to
-remove the drops that hang about it, put it to a pint and a half of the
-cold milk. Boil it half an hour in a covered porcelain kettle. Then take
-it out, for if it boils too long the carrageen will taste too strongly.
-In another vessel boil the remaining half pint of milk with the spices,
-till very highly flavored. Then strain it into the carrageen milk, and
-stir in, gradually, the half pound of powdered loaf sugar. Set the
-porcelain kettle again over the fire, and let it boil fast for five
-minutes longer. Then strain it into moulds or bowls previously wet with
-cold water; and when it has well congealed, turn it out, and serve it up
-with sweetened cream, flavored with rose-water or peach-water. If for an
-invalid, who is not allowed spices, flavor it with rose-water only,
-stirred in after the blancmange has been taken from the fire.
-
-
-FARINA BLANCMANGE.--From a quart of rich milk take out half a pint. Put
-the half pint into a small sauce-pan, and add (if permitted) sufficient
-mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon to flavor it well; the spices being tied up
-in a very thin muslin bag. Then add the flavored milk to the remainder,
-having stirred in two heaped table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar. Set
-it over the fire in a porcelain kettle, and when it has come to a boil
-sprinkle in, gradually, four large heaping table-spoonfuls of farina,
-stirring it well. Keep it boiling a quarter of an hour after all the
-farina is in. When done, strain it into blancmange moulds, and set it on
-ice to congeal. If for an invalid not allowed spice, boil it plain, and
-when taken from the fire stir in a wine-glass of rose-water. If
-rose-water is boiled with it from the beginning, the strength and flavor
-will evaporate.
-
-_Farina Flummery._--Mix with a small pint of water a large pint of the
-juice of ripe currants, or strawberries, or of stewed cranberries in
-winter, made very sweet with white sugar. Boil the water and juice
-together, and stir in gradually a quarter pound of farina, and then boil
-it fifteen minutes longer. Afterwards transfer it to moulds, and set it
-on ice till congealed.
-
-_Farina Gruel._--Have some water boiling on the fire, and when it boils
-fast, sprinkle in sufficient farina to make it moderately thick. Then
-sweeten it with white sugar. If permitted, stir in some white wine, and
-nutmeg grated.
-
-
-BEEF TEA.--Take a pound of fine fresh beefsteak cut from the round,
-without any fat. Chop it into small bits, and season it with a level
-salt-spoon of salt. Put it into a wide-mouthed bottle, cork it closely,
-and set it into a kettle of cold water, which must reach to the neck of
-the bottle. Let it boil steadily for three hours, by which time the
-essence will be all extracted from the beef. Then remove the cork, and
-strain the liquid into a bowl, and skim it. It can be made still more
-conveniently in a _bain-marie_ or double kettle; an article useful for
-many purposes, particular in cookery for an invalid. Mutton or veal tea
-are made in the same manner. Also chicken tea, or essence of any sort of
-poultry or game.
-
-_Chicken Panada._--Having skinned and cut up a fine full-grown chicken,
-take the white meat from the breast and wings, and mince it small for
-panada. The dark meat will do for chicken tea. Add to the panada a slice
-of wheat bread crumbled and mixed in, and boil it in a _bain-marie_ with
-the water outside; seasoning it (if permitted) with powdered mace or
-nutmeg.
-
-_Sweet Panada._--Mix with a pint of water a glass of madeira or sherry;
-a heaped table-spoonful of powdered loaf sugar, half the yellow rind of
-a lemon grated, and half the juice; and a half tea-spoonful of powdered
-nutmeg or mace. Set the mixture over the fire, and as soon as it boils
-add crumbled milk biscuit, or a rusk. Then give it another boil up.
-
-
-BARLEY WATER.--Having washed clean two ounces of pearl barley, put it
-into a sauce-pan with a quart of water, the grated rind and the juice of
-a lemon, and two ounces of seeded raisins. Boil it slowly till the
-liquid is reduced one half. Then strain it, and sweeten it, while warm,
-with loaf sugar.
-
-_Gum Arabic Water._--Take an ounce of the best and cleanest gum arabic.
-Put it into a pitcher, and pour on a pint of boiling water, and stir
-while dissolving. When cool, squeeze in (if permitted) the juice of a
-lemon, and add loaf sugar enough to make it pleasantly sweet. Gum arabic
-water, alone, is sometimes given to a patient, whom it is expedient to
-keep very low as a preventive to inflammation.
-
-_Tamarind Water._--This is a pleasant and cooling drink in fevers,
-allowing half a pint of cold water to as many tamarinds as you can take
-up with a table-spoon. Cover it, and let it stand for a few minutes.
-
-_Apple Water._--Take four fine large juicy apples, (pippins or
-bellflowers,) core and pare them, and bake them side by side in a tin
-pan. When well done and quite soft all through, put them into a pitcher
-and fill up with warm water. Simmer them over the fire, and when quite
-soft mash them; and, if necessary, add more water till they become a
-thick liquid that can be drank. Sweeten well with loaf sugar, and if
-permitted, add some lemon juice or rose-water. Drink it cool.
-
-_Egg Wine._--Break a nice fresh egg into a tumbler, and beat it till
-smooth and thick. Add a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered loaf sugar, and
-stir in a glass of the best port wine. This, when permitted, is very
-strengthening and cheering for an invalid, to take about the hour of
-noon or earlier. When wine is not allowed, you may beat the egg into a
-glass of new unskimmed milk.
-
-
-WHEY.--Milk can be converted into a curd by the infusion of rennet
-water, white wine, lemon juice, tamarind juice, or vinegar, stirred into
-good milk, covered and set in a warm place till the curd has formed, and
-has separated from the whey which remains beneath it. Take off the curd
-carefully, breaking it as little as possible, and put it into a deep
-dish. Pour the whey into a pitcher. It should look clear, and greenish
-rather than white, and have none of the milk curd remaining about it.
-Set the pitcher on ice. It is an excellent drink in fevers. When
-approved, the curd may be eaten in a saucer with sugar. For rennet whey,
-cut a piece of dried rennet about two inches square, and wipe all the
-salt from the outside, but do not wash it. Soak the bit of rennet for
-several hours (or all night) in a small tea-cup of lukewarm water. Then
-pour the rennet water into the milk. For wine whey, boil a jill of
-sherry in a pint of milk, without stirring it.
-
-
-TAPIOCA.--Having washed in cold water three heaped table-spoonfuls of
-tapioca; drain it, put it into a clean quart bowl, pour on water enough
-to cover it well, and soak it four hours. Then pour on as much more
-water, transfer the whole to a porcelain skillet, in the bottom of which
-you have laid the yellow peel of a fresh lemon, pared so thin as to be
-transparent, and boil the tapioca gently till it looks quite clear. Then
-take out the lemon peel, and stir in sufficient loaf sugar to make it
-very sweet. If approved, flavor it with some madeira or sherry, and some
-grated nutmeg. Tapioca may be boiled in plain milk, with no seasoning
-but the sugar to sweeten it.
-
-_Sago._--Pick and wash clean, in two cold waters, a half pint of sago.
-Put it into a porcelain skillet, with the yellow rind of a lemon pared
-transparent. Pour on it a quart of water, and let it all soak for two
-hours. Then set it over the fire, and boil it, gently, till the lemon is
-all to pieces and nearly dissolved, and the sago looks clear. Take out
-the lemon peel, and stir in, if permitted, some sherry wine, sugar, and
-grated nutmeg, and give it another boil.
-
-If the above seasoning is not allowed, boil the sago in milk only, or
-water only, till the liquid becomes thick and like a jelly.
-
-_Sago Pudding for an invalid._--Boil three table-spoonfuls of _soaked_
-sago in a pint of milk till quite soft. Add gradually three ounces of
-white sugar, and set it away to cool. Beat three eggs till thick and
-smooth, and stir them by degrees into the sago and milk. Grate in some
-nutmeg, and bake the pudding in a deep dish. Tapioca pudding is made in
-the same manner.
-
-
-SWEETBREADS FOR INVALIDS.--Cut open two fine fresh sweetbreads, and lay
-them in warm water till all the blood is discharged. Then transfer them
-to a pan of cold water to blanch or whiten. Stew them in the strained
-liquid of fresh oysters, till quite tender. When done, take out the
-sweetbreads, remove the gristle or pipe, and serve them up warm, having
-laid in the bottom of the dish a slice of nice toast that has been
-dipped for a minute in hot water. If permitted, the oysters may be
-cooked with the sweetbread, first removing the hard part.
-
-
-STEWED SMELTS.--Smelts are considered a delicate and nutritious fish for
-invalids. They are in season in winter, and early in the spring. Choose
-them as large as you can find them. Having drawn and cleaned them, cut
-off their heads and tails. Put sufficient water to cover them in a small
-stew-pan, adding a very little powdered white sugar, and a few small
-sprigs of parsley, or sweet marjoram. When the water boils lay in the
-fish, and simmer them five minutes. Then stir in a very little arrow
-root, mixed with a few drops of cold water, and let it stew ten minutes
-longer. Serve up the stew in a small deep dish with a cover, and eat
-with it some very light bread-roll. It will be a pleasant change from
-the usual broths and infusions prepared for the sick.
-
-_A Molasses Supper._--Make a thick slice of very nice toast, evenly
-browned on both sides, but not the least burnt. Lay it in a pint bowl,
-and pour over it a small half pint of the best _West India_ molasses,
-having stirred into the molasses a heaped table-spoonful of ground
-ginger. Mix the molasses with half a pint of hot water, and pour the
-whole over the toast. Cover it with a plate for a few minutes, and eat
-it while warm, previous to going to bed. This is a wholesome
-strengthening palatable supper for an invalid, (as we know by
-experience) and may be continued as long as the patient continues to
-like it. It is always a good winter supper for children. The ginger must
-on no account be omitted. If the molasses has turned a little sour, stir
-in a salt-spoonful of soda.
-
-To prevent a jug of molasses from running over when kept in a warm
-place, pour out a little into another vessel, and leave the molasses jug
-uncorked for two days. Then cork it tightly.
-
-
-
-
-MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS.
-
-
-TEA.--No metal (not even silver,) is good for tea-pots. All tea should
-be made in china or queensware. Wedgewood (whether black or white)
-imbibes much of the essence of the tea, and from constant use soon
-becomes unpleasant. Britannia ware is exceedingly unwholesome for any
-sort of cooking, as one fourth of the composition is copper. Block tin
-for a common tea-pot is less objectionable, and much cheaper. All
-tea-pots should, after using, be thoroughly emptied of the old leaves,
-and washed very clean in warm water, and set open in the sun and air for
-several hours. To make good tea, the tea itself, whether black or green,
-must be of excellent quality. There is no economy in buying that which
-is low-priced. Green tea, if fresh and good, and not adulterated will
-look green in the cup, and have a fragrant odor. If it draws red, or
-brown, or blackish, it is old or mixed with something wrong. Begin to
-make your tea about a quarter of an hour before it is wanted. Scald the
-tea-pot (twice over) with boiling water. Then put in the tea, allowing
-three heaping table-spoonfuls to each person, and a pint of water,
-actually boiling, when put in. Cover it closely with the lid, and set it
-by the fire for ten or fifteen minutes to infuse. After the first cups
-have gone round, put some fresh tea into the pot, and pour on it some
-more boiling water, that the second cups may be as strong as the first,
-having time to infuse. Weak tea for company is very mean. For those that
-like it so, have a small pot of water on the server. If the water is not
-boiling fast when poured on the tea, and is beginning to cool, the tea
-will be flat and insipid, and the leaves will float on the surface of
-the cups. There is then no remedy but to make some fresh.
-
-
-COFFEE.--To drink coffee in perfection, a sufficient quantity for
-breakfast should be roasted every morning, and ground hot, as it loses
-much of its strength by keeping even for a few hours. The best coffee
-roasters are iron cylinders, (standing on feet) with a door in one side,
-and a handle that turns the cylinder round towards the fire or from it,
-that the coffee may be equally done throughout. It must be roasted a
-bright brown color, and on no account black or burnt. When about half
-done, put in bits of fresh butter, allowing a table-spoonful to a pound
-of coffee. Previous to roasting pick the coffee carefully, throwing away
-the defective grains, and the stones or sand. Coffee should be ground
-while warm in a mill kept solely for that purpose, and fastened up
-against the kitchen wall.
-
-For boiled coffee allow four ounces of ground coffee (or a quarter of a
-pound) to a quart of water. When the water boils, stir in the coffee.
-Give it one hard boil up. Then set it farther from the fire, and simmer
-it for ten minutes, adding the white of an egg, (including the egg
-shell,) or a small strip of isinglass. Pour out a large cup of the
-coffee, and then (holding it high above the coffee-pot,) pour it back
-again. Repeat this till wanted, and then set the coffee-pot beside the
-fire, (but not over it.) For company, allow six ounces of coffee to a
-quart of water. Keep the lid always on, but if when boiling hard it
-rises and seems inclined to run over, remove it instantly from the fire
-and set it back. Cream is indispensable to first-rate coffee; if not to
-be obtained sweet, substitute rich milk boiling hot. On no consideration
-fill up the coffee-pot with water. A percolator (to be had at the best
-tin stores) makes excellent coffee without boiling, if properly managed.
-
-
-CHOCOLATE.--There is no plain chocolate better than Baker's prepared
-cacao, and none has so much of the true chocolate flavor. The foreign
-chocolate is generally mixed with sugar, spice, and milk. It cannot be
-made thick and strong, and therefore to many tastes is not agreeable. To
-make a pint (or two large cupfuls of chocolate,) scrape down two ounces
-on a plate, and moisten the chocolate with a jill of water, rubbing it
-on the plate till quite smooth. Then boil it five minutes, and add a
-small pint of water. When it has been well stirred with a wooden spoon,
-and has come again to a boil, serve it as hot as possible, accompanied
-by a saucer of fine loaf sugar, and a small jug of rich hot cream and a
-plate of nice dry toast, or some milk biscuits or sponge cake. Milled
-chocolate is made with rich unskimmed milk instead of water. The
-chocolate mill is a deep pot, belonging to which is a stick with a broad
-wheel-shaped bottom, the other end coming up through a hole in the lid.
-Take this between your hands, and turn it round fast till the chocolate
-is finely frothed. Then transfer it to large cups. Chocolate, after it
-becomes cold, is unfit to drink. But if made with milk, you can convert
-what is left into a custard or pudding, with the addition of more sugar
-and some beaten egg. The low-priced chocolate is both unpalatable and
-unwholesome, being adulterated with animal fat or lard, and made with
-_old_ cacao beans.
-
-
-MILK TOAST.--To a pint of nice rich milk allow a quarter of a pound of
-excellent _fresh_ butter. Boil the milk, and as soon as it boils take it
-off, and stir in the butter cut into pieces. When the butter has melted,
-give it another boil up Have ready a deep plate with four rather thick
-slices of bread, nicely and evenly toasted on both sides. Pour the milk
-hot over the toast, and keep it covered till it goes to the breakfast
-table. Send a spoon with it. Bread should always be toasted by a
-long-handled fork, such as are made for the purpose. They cost but
-twenty-five cents, and no kitchen should be without one.
-
-
-BUTTERED TOAST.--Cut even slices of bread all of the same thickness, and
-pare off the whole of the crust. With a long-handled toasting fork toast
-it evenly on both sides, taking care that no part of it is burnt or
-blackened. Butter the slices hot, as you take them off the fork, (using
-none but nice fresh butter) and lay them evenly on a heated plate. Cover
-them till they go to table.
-
-All toast prepared for cookery, (to lay in the bottom of dishes,) should
-have the crust pared off, and be dipped in hot water after toasting.
-
-
-RASPBERRY VINEGAR.--Take a gallon of fine ripe raspberries. Put them
-into a large deep earthen pan, and mash them well with a wooden beetle.
-Then pour them with all their juice into a large and very clean linen
-bag, and squeeze and press out their liquid into a vessel beneath.
-Measure it, and to each pint of juice allow half a pint of the best and
-clearest cider vinegar, and half a pound of fine loaf sugar, powdered.
-First mix the juice and the vinegar, and give them a boil in a porcelain
-kettle. Then stir in the sugar, gradually, adding to every two pounds
-of sugar a beaten white of egg. Boil and skim till the scum ceases to
-rise. When it is done, bottle it cold, cork it tightly, and seal the
-corks. To use it, pour out half a tumbler of raspberry vinegar, and fill
-up with ice water. It is a pleasant and cooling beverage in warm
-weather, and for invalids who are feverish. Mixed with hot water, and
-taken at bed-time, it is good for a cold.
-
-_Strawberry Vinegar_--Is made in the above manner, carefully hulling
-them. The strawberries must be of the finest kind, and fully ripe. These
-vinegars are made with much less trouble than the usual way; and are
-quite as good, if not better.
-
-
-MACARONI.--In buying macaroni, choose that of a large pipe; see that it
-is clean and white and that it has not been touched by insects. Half a
-pound makes one dish. If _soaked_ before boiling it is apt to dissolve
-or go to pieces, but wash and drain it through cold water in a sieve.
-Have over the fire a large pan of boiling water, in which has been
-melted a piece of fresh butter the size of an egg. If boiled steadily,
-it will be quite tender in less than an hour; but do not boil it so long
-that the pipes break up and lose their shape. Having drained it well
-through a clean sieve, transfer it to a deep dish, dividing it into four
-layers, having first cut it into even lengths of two or three inches.
-Between the layers place on it seasoning of grated cheese of the very
-best quality, and bits of fresh butter, with some powdered mace. On the
-top layer, add to the covering of cheese and butter sufficient
-bread-crumbs to form a slight crust all over the surface. Brown it with
-a salamander or a red hot shovel. Or (omitting the cheese) you may dress
-it with rich gravy of roast meat.
-
-_For Sweet Macaroni._--Having boiled it in milk instead of water, drain
-it, and mix with it powdered mace and nutmeg, with butter, sugar, and
-rose or peach-water. Macaroni (like vermicelli) has in itself no taste,
-but is only made palatable by the manner of dressing it. Good soup is
-rather weakened than improved by the addition of macaroni.
-
-
-COMMON OMELET.--Beat five eggs till very light and thick. Stir gradually
-into the pan of eggs four table-spoonfuls of sifted flour. Thin the
-batter with a large tea-cup of milk. Take a yeast powder; dissolve the
-soda (from the blue paper) in a small quantity of tepid or lukewarm
-water, and stir it into the batter. In another cup melt the tartaric
-acid, (from the white paper;) stir that into the mixture, and stir the
-whole very hard. Have ready in a frying-pan a large portion of lard,
-boiling hot. Put in the omelet mixture, and fry it well. When one side
-is done turn it, and fry the other. To flavor this omelet, mix gradually
-into the batter either grated ham or smoked tongue; minced oysters;
-minced onion; mixed with sweet marjoram, or else some mushrooms chopped
-very fine.
-
-_For a Sweet Omelet_, add to the above batter powdered sugar, nutmeg,
-mace, and powdered cinnamon.
-
-The custom is now to dish omelets without folding them over, it being
-found that folding renders them heavy. Spread them out at full length on
-a very hot dish. The batter for omelets should always be made in
-sufficient quantity to allow them very thick.
-
-There is no use in attempting to flavor an omelet, or any thing else,
-with marmalade or lemon, if you put in soda. The alkalies destroy the
-taste of every sort of fruit.
-
-
-A PLAIN POTATO PUDDING.--Having pared a pound of fine large potatos, put
-them into a pot, cover them well with cold water, and boil them gently
-till tender all through. When done, lay each potato (one at a time,) in
-a clean warm napkin, and press and wring it till all the moisture is
-squeezed out, and the potato becomes a round, dry lump. Mince as fine as
-possible a quarter of a pound of fresh beef suet, (divested of skin, and
-strings.) Crumble the potato, and mix it well with the suet, adding a
-small salt-spoon of salt. Add sufficient milk to make a thick batter,
-and beat it well. Dip a strong square cloth in hot water, shake it out,
-and dredge it well with flour. Tie the pudding in, leaving room for it
-to swell, and put it into a large pot of hot water and boil it steady
-for an hour. This is a good and economical family pudding.
-
-
-ELLEN CLARK'S PUDDING.--Slice, rather thick, some fresh bread. Pare off
-all the crust. Butter the bread on both sides, and lay it in a deep
-dish. Fill up with molasses very profusely, having first seasoned the
-molasses with ginger, ground cinnamon, and powdered mace or nutmeg. It
-will be much improved by adding the grated yellow rind and the juice of
-a large lemon or orange. Bake it till brown all over the top, and till
-the bread and butter has absorbed the molasses; taking care not to let
-it burn.
-
-
-ARROW-ROOT BISCUIT.--Mix in a pan half a pint of arrow-root, and half a
-pint of sifted wheat flour. Cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh butter,
-and rub it into the pan of flour, crumbling the bits of butter so small
-as to be scarcely visible. Mix a quarter of a pound of powdered white
-sugar, and wet it with a beaten egg. Add gradually a very little cream,
-just enough to make it into a stiff dough. Flavor it with the grated
-yellow rind and juice of a lemon, and half a nutmeg grated. Roll out the
-dough into thin sheets, and cut it out into biscuits with the edge of a
-tumbler. Prick every biscuit all over with a fork. Lay them in square
-pans slightly floured, and bake them immediately. They will be improved
-by adding (at the last of the mixture) a table-spoonful of the best
-rose-water. If rose-water is put into cakes _early_ in the mixing, much
-of its strength will evaporate before baking. It should always be
-deferred to the last. These are very nice tea biscuits.
-
-
-ONTARIO CAKE.--Take a pint and a half (or three large breakfast cups,)
-of sifted flour, and the same quantity of powdered white sugar, and half
-a pint of milk; a quarter of a pint or half a cup of the best fresh
-butter, and the grated yellow rind and juice of a large lemon. Have
-ready four well-beaten eggs, and two table-spoonfuls of strong fresh
-yeast.
-
-Cut up the butter into the pan of flour. Add the milk and sugar
-gradually, and then the beaten egg, and then the lemon; next the yeast.
-Stir the whole very well, and set it to rise in a buttered pan. Place it
-near the fire, and cover it with a clean flannel or a double cloth. When
-it has risen and is quite light, and is cracked all over the surface,
-transfer it to a square baking pan, put it immediately into the oven,
-and bake it well. When cool, either ice it or sift white sugar over it,
-and cut it into squares. Or, you may bake it in a round loaf, or in
-small round cakes.
-
-
-NEW-YEAR'S CAKE.--Stir together a pound of nice fresh butter, and a
-pound of powdered white sugar, till they become a light thick cream.
-Then stir in, gradually, three pounds of sifted flour. Add, by degrees,
-a tea-spoonful of soda dissolved in a small tea-cup of milk, and then a
-half salt-spoonful of tartaric acid, melted in a large table-spoonful of
-warm water. Then mix in, gradually, three table-spoonfuls of fine
-carraway seeds. Roll out the dough into sheets half an inch thick, and
-cut it with a jagging iron into oval or oblong cakes, pricked with a
-fork. Bake them immediately in shallow iron pans, slightly greased with
-fresh butter. The bakers in New York ornament these cakes, with devices
-or pictures raised by a wooden stamp. They are good plain cakes for
-children.
-
-
-GOOD YEAST.--Take two handfuls of hops. The best hops have a fresh light
-green color, and a pleasant, lively smell. Pour on them two quarts of
-boiling water, and let them boil five minutes after they have come to a
-boil; not longer, for it makes them bitter. Then strain the liquid into
-a pan, and add a table-spoonful of brown sugar and one of salt. When
-lukewarm, stir in flour enough to make a thick batter. Add a jill and a
-half of fresh baker's yeast. Set it in a warm place till it begins to
-ferment; then keep it in the cellar well corked.
-
-This yeast will continue good two weeks. When you open the jug to take
-out some yeast, put in always a table-spoonful of flour before you cork
-it up again.
-
-A stone jug or pitcher is a good vessel for yeast. Wash it very clean in
-hot water, always before you put in fresh yeast, and then rinse the jug
-with water in which a spoonful of pearlash has been melted, letting the
-pearlash water remain in it five or six minutes, and shaking it round
-hard. Then rinse it with plain cold water.
-
-All vessels that have contained acids should have pearlash or soda in
-the rinsing water, and then be finished with plain water.
-
-Never clean a bottle by rinsing it with shot. The lead is poisonous, and
-has caused death. Some bits of raw potato chopped, and put in the water,
-will clean the inside of bottles or jugs, and brighten decanters.
-
-
-YEAST POWDERS.--Get two ounces of bicarbonate of soda, and one ounce of
-tartaric acid. Divide the soda into equal portions, about a level
-tea-spoonful in each, and the tartaric acid into level salt-spoonfuls.
-By _level_ we mean that the article is not to be heaped in the least,
-not rising above the edge of the spoon. Cut some papers of regular and
-sufficient size, and fold them nicely. Put the soda into white papers,
-and the tartaric acid into blue papers. Place an equal number of each in
-a little square or oblong box, standing up the papers on their folded
-edges. Dissolve them in two separate cups, in as much tepid water as
-will cover the powder. They must be entirely melted before using. Stir
-in the soda at the beginning, and the tartaric acid at the conclusion of
-the batter or cake mixture.
-
-We do not approve of the introduction of these substances into cakes.
-They give a sort of factitious lightness very different from that
-honestly produced by a liberal allowance of egg and butter, genuine
-yeast, and good beating and stirring--but they destroy the taste of the
-seasoning, and are certain destruction to the taste of lemon, orange,
-strawberry, pine-apple, and every kind of fruit flavoring. The justly
-celebrated Mrs. Goodfellow never used any of them in her school, and the
-articles made there by her pupils, (of whom the author was one) were
-such as no money can purchase in the present times. Any confectioner who
-would _faithfully_ revive them could make a fortune by doing so.
-
-The present introduction of hartshorn into bread and cakes is an
-abomination, rendering the articles equally unpalatable and unwholesome.
-Cannot the use of hartshorn in food be put down? Which of our _American_
-doctors will write a book on "culinary poisons."
-
-
-VINEGAR.--Mix together in a clean keg three gallons of clear rain water,
-(that has been caught in a clean tub without running over the roof of a
-house,) one quart of _West India_ molasses, and one pint of baker's
-yeast. Cover it, and set it in a warm place where it will be exposed to
-the summer sun. Remember to shake the cask every day. In three months it
-will be excellent vinegar. Then transfer it to stone jugs, and keep it
-closely corked. Begin it in May.
-
-So much of the vinegar sold in stores is concocted of pernicious drugs,
-that we recommend all families to make their own, or to buy it from a
-cider farmer. Good cider, set in the sun, will after a while become good
-vinegar.
-
-What is shamefully called the best white wine vinegar is frequently a
-slow poison, as may be known by its action upon oysters, pickles, &c. It
-is quite clear and well to look at. Its taste is very sharp and pungent,
-as to overpower and render every thing that is with it painfully sour,
-and it has a singular and disagreeable smell when boiling. Oysters
-cooked with this vinegar go immediately into rags, and are soon entirely
-eaten up, or dissolved into a thin whitish liquid, fit for nothing but
-to throw away.
-
-Pickles the same. A punishment should be provided by law for persons who
-manufacture and sell these deleterious compounds, of which we have now
-so many, that it would indeed be well if we could make at home, as far
-as possible, every thing we eat and drink.
-
-
-PINK CHAMPAGNE--(_Domestic._)--Pick from the stems three quarts of fine
-ripe red currants, and mix with them three quarts of ripe white
-currants. Bruise them all. Put nine pounds of loaf sugar to melt in
-three gallons of very clear soft water. Boil the water and sugar
-together for half an hour, skimming carefully, and pour the liquid
-boiling hot over the currants. When it is nearly cold, add a small
-tea-cupful of excellent strong fresh yeast. Let it ferment for two days,
-and then strain it into a small cask through a very clean hair sieve.
-Put into the cask half an ounce of finely-chipped isinglass. Have rather
-more liquor than will fill the cask at first, and keep it to fill up as
-it works over. In about a fortnight bung it up. Let it remain in the
-cask till April. Then transfer it to bottles, (putting into each a lump
-of double-refined loaf sugar,) and letting them remain one day uncorked.
-Then cork and wire them. They must stand upright in the cellar; but when
-likely to be wanted, lay a few of them on their sides for a week.
-
-
-SHERRY COBBLER.--Lay in the bottom of a large tumbler, two
-table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf sugar, and squeeze over it (through a
-strainer) the juice of a large lemon that has been softened by rolling
-under your hand. Then half fill the tumbler with ice, broken very small.
-Add a large glass of very good sherry wine. Take another tumbler, and
-pour the liquid back and forward from glass to glass, till completely
-mixed without stirring. Sip it through a clean straw, or one of the
-tubes made on purpose.
-
-
-MINT JULEP.--Cut two or three round slices from a fine ripe pine-apple
-that has been pared; and take out the core or hard part from the centre
-of each slice. A still better way is to split down the pine-apple into
-four pieces, and grate two of the quarters with a coarse grater,
-standing it upright while doing so. Put it into a large tumbler, and
-cover the fruit with two or three heaped table-spoonfuls of powdered
-loaf sugar. Add a large glass of the best brandy, and pour on cold water
-till the tumbler is two-thirds full. Then put in a thick layer of finely
-broken ice, till it almost reaches the top. Finish by sticking in a full
-bunch of fresh green mint in handsome sprigs, that rise far above one
-side of the tumbler; and at the other side place a clean straw, or one
-of the tubes used for the same purpose.
-
-
-CAROLINA PUNCH.--Mix together a tumbler of peach brandy and a tumbler of
-water, the juice of two lemons, the yellow rinds of four, pared to
-transparent thinness, and four large juicy free-stone peaches cut in
-half, and the kernels of their stones blanched and broken up. If you
-cannot obtain peaches, quarter and grate down a ripe pine-apple. Let all
-these ingredients infuse with a quart of Jamaica spirits in a bowl for
-two days before the punch is wanted. Keep it carefully covered with a
-cloth. Then pour on sufficient cold water to make the punch of the
-desired strength; and strain the liquid into another bowl, and put in a
-large lump of ice. Serve it out in small glasses.
-
-
-NECTAR.--Take two pounds of _the best_ raisins, seeded and chopped; the
-grated yellow rind and the juice of four fine lemons, and two pounds of
-loaf sugar, powdered. Put the sugar into a large porcelain kettle, and
-melt it in a gallon of water. Boil and skim it for half an hour, and
-while it is boiling hard, put in by degrees the raisins and lemons.
-Continue the boiling about ten minutes. Put the mixture into a stoneware
-crock, and cover it closely. Let it stand three days, stirring it down
-to the bottom twice every day. Then strain it through a linen bag, and
-bottle it, sealing the corks. It will be fit for use in a fortnight.
-Take it in wine-glasses, with a bit of ice in each. This is a nice
-temperance drink.
-
-
-CHOCOLATE CARAMEL.--Take half a pint of rich milk, and put it to boil in
-a porcelain kettle; scrape down a square and a half of Baker's
-chocolate, put it into a very clean tin cup, and set on the top of a
-stove till it becomes soft. Let the milk boil up _twice_. Then add,
-gradually, the chocolate, and stir both over the fire till thoroughly
-mixed and free from lumps. Stir in a half pint of the best white sugar
-powdered, and half a jill (or four large table-spoonfuls,) of molasses.
-Let the whole boil fast and constantly (so as to bubble,) for at least
-one hour or more, till it is nearly as stiff as good mush. When all is
-done add a small tea-spoonful of essence of vanilla, and transfer the
-mixture to shallow tin pans, slightly greased with very nice sweet oil.
-Set it on ice, or in a very cool place, and while yet soft mark it
-deeply in squares with a very sharp knife. When quite hard, cut the
-squares apart. If it does not harden well it has not been boiled long
-enough, or fast enough.
-
-
-EGGS TO BOIL.--The water must be boiling fast when the eggs are put in.
-First wipe them clean all over, with a wet cloth. It is true that the
-shells are never eaten, but still, if brought to table dirty and
-discolored, they look slovenly, disgusting, and vulgar, such as are
-never seen in good houses. Put them into water that is boiling fast; and
-if desired very soft, four minutes will be sufficient. Six or eight
-minutes will barely set the whites and yolks, and ten or twelve minutes
-(in water that is really boiling,) will render them hard enough for
-salad. In the egg-boilers that are set on the table no egg will ever
-boil hard, as the water cools too soon. A _stale_ egg never boils hard.
-
-Except in the spring, and late in the winter, there is often much
-difficulty in obtaining good eggs, unless you have fowls of your own. If
-an egg is really fresh, when held up against the light, the yolk looks
-round and compact and the white clear and transparent; you may then
-trust it. But if the yolk is thick, broken, and mixed among the white,
-and the white is cloudy and muddled, it is certainly bad, and should be
-thrown away. When tried in a pan of cold water the freshest will sink,
-and the stale ones float on the surface. It requires strong brine to
-bear up a good egg. Eggs may be preserved for keeping a few months, by
-putting every one in fast boiling water for _one minute_. Then grease
-them all over the outside with good melted fat, and wedge down close
-together (layer above layer,) in a box of powdered charcoal. This
-preserves them for a sea voyage of several weeks. The charcoal box must
-be kept closely covered, and closed immediately whenever opened. Pack
-the eggs with the small end downwards.
-
-
-POACHED EGGS.--See that the eggs are quite fresh. Pour from a kettle of
-boiling water enough to fill a broad shallow stew-pan. Break the eggs
-into a saucer, (one at a time,) slip them carefully into the hot water,
-and let them stand in it till the whites are set. Then put the pan over
-a moderate fire; and, as soon as the water boils again, the eggs are
-ready. The whites should be firm, and the yolks should appear in the
-centre looking yellow through a thin transparent coating of the white.
-Take them out carefully (one by one,) with an egg-slice. Have ready, for
-each egg, a nice slice of toast of a light brown or yellow all over.
-Trim off all the crust, and dip the toast for a minute in hot water.
-Then butter it _slightly_ with fresh butter. Trim off neatly the ragged
-and discolored white from the edge of each egg. Lay a poached egg in the
-middle of every toast, and serve them up warm.
-
-Instead of toast, you may lay beneath every egg a thin slice of ham,
-that has been soaked, and nicely broiled and trimmed. Or, large thin
-slices from the breast of a cold roast turkey, or cold fillet of roast
-pork or veal. These are nice breakfast dishes.
-
-_Scrambled Eggs._--Make a mixture as for an omelet, but instead of
-frying put it into a sauce-pan, and when it has boiled five minutes take
-it off, and chop and mix all the ingredients into confusion. Serve it up
-hot in a deep dish. It is eaten at breakfast, and is by many preferred
-to a fried omelet. You may season it with grated ham, tongue, or sweet
-herbs.
-
-
-EGG-NOGG.--Beat, till very light and thick, the yolks only of six eggs.
-Stir the eggs, gradually, into a quart of rich unskimmed milk, and add
-half a pound of powdered loaf sugar, a half pint of brandy, and a grated
-nutmeg. Next beat three whites of the eggs by themselves, and stir them
-quickly into the mixture. Divide it into two pitchers, and pour it back
-and forward from one pitcher to the other till it has a fine froth. Then
-serve it in a large china bowl, with a silver ladle in it, and
-distribute it in glasses with handles.
-
-_To Beat Eggs._--For beating eggs have a broad shallow earthen pan. If
-beaten in tin, the coldness of the metal retards their lightness; for
-the same reason, hickory rods are better than tin wire. Beat with a
-short quick stroke, holding the egg rods in your right hand close to
-your side, and do not exert your elbow, or use your arm violently with a
-hard sweeping stroke; of this there is no necessity. If beaten in a
-proper manner, (moving your hand _only_ at the wrist) the eggs will be
-light long before you are fatigued. But you must continue beating till
-after the froth has subsided, and the pan of eggs presents a smooth
-thick surface, like a nice boiled custard. White of egg is done if it
-stands stiff alone, and will not fall from the beater when held upon it.
-
-Butter and sugar should always be stirred with a strong hickory spaddle,
-which resembles a short mush stick, rather broad and flattened at one
-end.
-
-
-BRAN MUFFINS.--Take three quarts of bran, (unbolted wheat flour) and
-sift it into a large pan. Warm three half pints of rich milk, mixing
-with it half a common tumbler of _West India_ molasses. Cut up in the
-warm milk and molasses two ounces or two large heaped table-spoonfuls of
-fresh butter, and stir it about till well mixed all through. Then stir
-all the liquid into the flour. Beat in a shallow pan three eggs till
-very thick and light, and then stir them gradually into the pan of
-flour, &c. Lastly, add two table-spoonfuls of strong fresh yeast. Cover
-the mixture and set it to rise. When risen very light heat a griddle on
-the oven of a stove, set muffin rings upon it, fill the rings nearly to
-the top, and bake the muffins. Send them to table hot, pull them open
-with your fingers, and butter them. They will be much liked if properly
-made and baked.
-
-
-COTTAGE CHEESE.--This is a good way of using up a pan of milk that is
-found to be turning sour. Or you may turn it, on purpose, by stirring in
-a spoonful of cider vinegar. Having covered it, set it in a warm place
-till it becomes a curd. Then pour off the liquid, and tie up the curd in
-a clean linen bag with a pointed end, and set a bowl under it to catch
-the droppings; but do not squeeze it. After it has drained ten or twelve
-hours, transfer the curd to a deep dish, enrich it with some cream, and
-press and chop it with a large spoon till it is a soft mass; adding, as
-you proceed, an ounce or more of nice fresh butter. Then set it on ice
-till tea-time.
-
-
-FRENCH HAM PIE.--Having soaked, boiled, and skinned a small ham of the
-best quality, and taken out the bone, trim it into a handsome oval
-shape. Of the trimmings make a rich gravy by stewing them in a sauce-pan
-with a little water, and four pigs feet, (split up.) Have ready a
-plentiful sufficiency of nice forcemeat made of cold roast chicken or
-veal, minced suet, and grated bread-crumbs, butter, minced sweet
-marjoram or tarragon, and some hard-boiled yolk of egg crumbled. Have
-ready, prepared, a very nice puff paste; line with it the bottom and
-sides of a large deep dish, and lay in it the oval ham, filling up at
-the corners and all round with the forcemeat, and spreading a layer of
-it on the top. Pour on gravy to moisten the whole, and put on the paste
-intended for the lid. Notch the edges handsomely, and stick a flower or
-tulip of paste in the cross slit at the top, and place a wreath of paste
-leaves all round. Bake it light brown, and eat it warm or cold. It is a
-fine dish for a dinner or supper party, or for a handsome luncheon or
-breakfast.
-
-_A Tongue Pie_--Is made in a similar manner of a boiled smoked tongue,
-peeled and trimmed, and filled in with forcemeat. For a large company
-have _two_ tongue pies, as it will be much liked, if made as above.
-
-
-FIG PUDDING.--Take a pint of very ripe figs, (peeled,) cut them up and
-mash them smooth with the grated yellow rind of a large ripe lemon or
-orange, and the juice of two. Mix together a large spoonful of fresh
-butter, and two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and stir the whole very hard.
-Bake it in a deep dish, and eat it fresh, but not warm. Grate sugar over
-the surface. When _ripe_ figs can be obtained, this pudding is much
-liked.
-
-
-POKE PLANT.--Early in the spring, the young green stalks of the
-pokeberry plant, (when they are still mild and tender, and have not yet
-acquired a reddish tinge or a strong unpleasant taste,) are generally
-much liked as a vegetable, and are by many persons considered equal to
-asparagus. They are brought in bundles to Philadelphia market. Wash and
-drain them, and put them on to boil in a pot of cold water. When _quite
-tender_ all through they are done. Dish them in the manner of asparagus,
-laid on a toast dipped for a minute in hot water, and then buttered.
-
-You may pour a very little drawn or melted butter over the poke.
-
-
-RHUBARB TARTS.--Take large fresh stalks of the rapontica plant, such as
-are full-grown and reddish. Peel off the thin skin, and cut them into
-bits all of the same size, either one inch or two inches long. Wash them
-in cold water through a cullender, (but do not drain them much,) and put
-them into a stew-pan without any more water. Mix with them plenty of
-good sugar, in the proportion of half a pound of sugar to a pint of
-cut-up rhubarb stalks. Cover it, and stew it slowly till quite soft.
-Then mash it into a smooth mass. Have some puff-paste shells baked
-empty; and when cool, fill them to the top, and grate nutmeg and
-powdered sugar thickly over them. The juice and grated yellow rind of a
-lemon (added when the rhubarb is half stewed,) will be a pleasant
-flavoring. This is sometimes called "spring-fruit" and "pie-plant." It
-comes earlier, but is by no means so good as gooseberries. We do not
-think it worth preserving, or making into a sweetmeat.
-
-
-VOL-AU-VENT.--Have ready a large quantity of the best and lightest puff
-paste. Roll it an inch thick, and then cut it neatly into shapes, either
-square or circular. Bake every one separately on a flat tin pan, cutting
-a round hole in the centre of each, and fitting in pieces of stale bread
-to keep the holes open while baking. The cakes of paste should diminish
-in size as they ascend to the top, but the holes should all be of
-exactly the same dimensions. The lower cake, which goes at the bottom,
-should be solid and not perforated at all. The small cake which finishes
-the top of the pyramid must also be left solid, for a lid. When all the
-cakes are baked and risen high, (as good puff-paste always does) take
-them carefully off the baking plates; remove the bread that has kept the
-centres open and in shape; brush over every cake, separately, with
-beaten white of egg, and pile one upon another nicely and evenly so as
-to form a pyramid. Have ready a very nice stew of oysters or game cut
-small, and cooked with cream, &c. Fill the pyramid with this, and then
-put on the top or lid, which may terminate in a flower of baked paste.
-
-_A Sweet Vol-au-Vent_--May be filled with small preserves, or with ripe
-strawberries or raspberries, made very sweet. Vol-au-vents are for
-dinner, or supper parties. The paste should be peculiarly light. The
-name _Vol-au-vent_ signifies, in French, something that will fly away in
-the wind; which, however, it never does.
-
-
-A SOUFFLE PUDDING.--Take eight rusks, or soft sugar-biscuits, or plain
-buns. Lay them in a large deep dish, and pour on a pint of milk,
-sufficient to soak them thoroughly. Cover the dish, and let them stand
-undisturbed for about an hour and a half before dinner. In the mean
-time, boil half a pint of milk in a small sauce-pan with a handful of
-bitter almonds or peach kernels broken small, or a small bunch of fresh
-peach-leaves, with two large sticks of cinnamon, broken up. Boil this
-milk slowly, (keeping it covered,) and when it tastes strongly of the
-flavoring articles, strain it, and set it away to cool. When cold, mix
-it into another pint of milk, and stir in a quarter of a pound of
-powdered loaf sugar. Beat eight eggs very light, and add them gradually
-to the milk, so as to make a rich custard. After dinner has commenced,
-beat and stir the soaked rusk very hard till it becomes a smooth mass,
-and then, by degrees, add to it the custard. Stir the whole till
-thoroughly amalgamated. Set the dish into a brisk oven, and bake the
-pudding rather more than ten minutes. The yeast, &c., in the rusk, will
-cause it to puff up very light. When done, send it to table warm, with
-white sugar sifted over it. You may serve up with it as sauce sweetened
-thick cream flavored with rose-water, and grated nutmeg, or powdered
-loaf sugar and fresh butter stirred together in equal portions, and
-seasoned with lemon or nutmeg.
-
-
-ICED PLUM PUDDING.--Take two dozen sweet and half a dozen bitter
-almonds. Blanch them in scalding water, and then throw them into a bowl
-of cold water. Pound them one at a time in a mortar, till they become a
-smooth paste, free from the smallest lumps. As you proceed, add
-frequently a few drops of rose-water or lemon juice to make them light,
-and prevent their oiling. Seed and cut in half a quarter of a pound of
-the best bloom raisins. Mix with them a quarter of a pound of Zante
-currants, picked, washed, and dried; and add to the raisins and currants
-three ounces of citron, chopped. Mix the citron with the raisins and
-currants, and dredge them all with flour to prevent their sinking or
-clodding. Take a half pint of very rich milk; split a vanilla bean, and
-cut it into pieces two or three inches long, and boil it in the milk
-till the flavor of the vanilla is well extracted; then strain it out,
-and mix the vanilla milk with a pint of rich cream, and stir in,
-gradually, a half pound of powdered loaf sugar, and a nutmeg grated.
-Then add the pounded almonds, and a large wine-glass of either
-marasquino, noyau, curacoa, or the very best brandy. Beat, in a shallow
-pan, the yolks of eight eggs till very light, thick, and smooth, and
-stir them gradually into the mixture. Simmer it over the fire, (stirring
-it all the time,) but take it off just as it is about to come to a boil,
-otherwise it will curdle. Then, while the mixture is hot, stir in the
-raisins, currants, and citron. Set it to cool, and then add a large
-tea-cupful of preserved strawberries or raspberries, half a dozen
-preserved apricots or peaches; half a dozen preserved green limes; and
-any other very nice and delicate sweetmeats. Then whip to a stiff froth
-another pint of cream, and add it lightly to the mixture. Put the whole
-into a large melon-mould that opens in the middle, and freeze it in the
-usual way. It will take four hours to freeze it well. Do not turn it out
-till just before it is wanted. Then send it to table on a glass dish. It
-will be found delicious. Iced puddings are now considered indispensable
-on fashionable supper tables or at dinner parties. There is no flour in
-this pudding. The freezing will keep it together.
-
-
-RENNETS.--Milk turned into a curd with wine is by no means so good as
-that which is done with rennet-water alone. The curd and whey do not
-separate so completely; the curd is less firm, and the whey less clear;
-the latter being thick and white, instead of thin and greenish, as it
-ought to be. Neither is it so light and wholesome as when turned with
-rennet.
-
-Rennets of the best quality can be had at all seasons in the
-Philadelphia market; particularly in the lower part, called the Jersey
-market. They are sold at twelve, eighteen, or twenty-five cents,
-according to their size, and will keep a year or two; but have most
-strength when fresh. You may prepare excellent rennets yourself at a
-very trifling expense, by previously bespeaking them of a veal butcher;
-a rennet being the stomach of a calf. Its form is a bag. As soon as you
-get the rennet, empty out all its contents, and wipe it very clean,
-inside and out; then rince it with cold water, but do not wash it much,
-as washing will weaken its power of turning milk into curd. When you
-have made it quite clean, lay the rennet in a broad pan, strew it over
-on both sides with plenty of fine salt; cover it, and let it rest five
-days. When you take it out of the pan, do not wipe or wash it, for it
-must be stretched and dried with the salt on. For this purpose hold it
-open like a bag, and slip within it a long, thick, smooth rod, bent into
-the form of a large loop wide at the top, and so narrow at the bottom as
-to meet together. Stretch the rennet tightly and smoothly over this bent
-rod, on which it will be double, and when you have brought the two ends
-of the rod together at the bottom, and tied them fast, the form will
-somewhat resemble that of a boy's kite. Hang it up in a dry place, and
-cut out a bit as you want it. A piece about two inches square will turn
-one quart of milk; a piece of four inches, two quarts. Having first
-washed off all the salt in several cold waters, and wiped the bit of
-rennet dry, pour on it sufficient _lukewarm_ water to cover it well. Let
-it stand several hours; then pour the rennet-water into the milk you
-intend for the curd, and set it in a warm place. When the curd is
-entirely formed, set the vessel on ice.
-
-Rennet may be used with good effect before it has _quite_ dried.
-
-
-AN EASY WAY OF MAKING BUTTER IN WINTER.--The following will be found an
-excellent method of making butter in cold weather for family use. We
-recommend its trial. Take, in the morning, the unskimmed milk of the
-preceding evening, (after it has stood all night in a _tin_ pan,) and
-set it over a furnace of hot coals, or in a stove; being careful not to
-disturb the cream that has risen to the surface. Let it remain over the
-fire till it simmers, and begins to bubble round the edges; but on no
-account let it come to a boil. Then take the pan carefully off, (without
-disturbing the cream) and carry it to a cool place, but not where it is
-cold enough to freeze. In the evening take a spoon, and loosen the cream
-round the sides of the pan. If very rich, it will be almost a solid
-cake. Slip off the sheet of cream into another and larger pan, letting
-as little milk go with it as possible. Cover it, and set it away. Repeat
-the process for several days, till you have thus collected a sufficiency
-of clotted cream to fill the pan. Then scald a wooden ladle, and beat
-the cream hard with it during ten minutes. You will then have excellent
-butter. Take it out of the pan, lay it on a flat dish, and with the
-ladle squeeze and press it hard, till all the buttermilk is entirely
-extracted and drained off. Then wash the butter in cold water, and work
-a very little salt into it. Set it away in a cool place for three hours.
-Then squeeze and press it again; also washing it a second time in cold
-water. Make it up into pats, and keep it in a cool place.
-
-The unskimmed morning's milk, of course, may also be used for this
-purpose, after it has stood twelve hours. The simmering over the fire
-adds greatly to the quantity of cream, by throwing all the oily part of
-the milk to the surface; but if allowed to boil, this oleaginous matter
-will again descend, and mix with the rest, so as not to be separated.
-
-This is the usual method of making winter butter in the south of
-England; and it is very customary in the British provinces of America.
-Try it.
-
-
-SWEET POTATO PONE.--Stir together till very light and white, three
-quarters of a pound of fresh butter, and three quarters of a pound of
-powdered white sugar, adding two table-spoonfuls of ginger. Grate a
-pound and a half of sweet potato. Beat eight eggs very light, and stir
-them gradually into the butter and sugar, in turn with the grated sweet
-potato. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of saleratus or soda in a jill of sour
-milk, and stir it in at the last, beating the whole very hard. Butter
-the inside of a tin pan. Put in the mixture, and bake it four hours or
-more. It should be eaten fresh, cut into slices.
-
-
-RICE BREAD.--To a pint of well boiled rice add half a pint of wheat
-flour, mixing them well together. Take six eggs, and beat the whites and
-yolks separately. Having beaten the whites to a stiff froth, mix them
-gradually with a pint of rich milk, and two large table-spoonfuls of
-fresh butter, softened at the fire. Mix, by degrees, the yolks of the
-eggs with the rice and flour. Then add the white-of-egg mixture, a
-little at a time. Stir the whole very hard. Put it into a buttered tin
-pan with straight or upright sides. Set it in a moderate oven, and bake
-it an hour or more. Then turn it out of the pan, put it on a dish, and
-send it warm to the breakfast table, and eat it with butter.
-
-This cake may be baked, by setting the pan that contains it into an iron
-dutch-oven, placed over hot coals. Heat the lid of the oven on the
-inside, by standing it up before the fire while the rice-bread is
-preparing; and, after you put it on, keep the lid covered with hot
-coals.
-
-Rice-bread may be made of ground rice flour, instead of whole rice.
-
-
-RICE FLOUR BREAD.--Sift into a pan a pint and a half of rice flour, and
-a pint and a half of fine wheat flour. Add two large table-spoonfuls of
-fresh butter or lard, and mix in a pint and a half of milk. Beat four
-eggs very light; then stir them gradually into the mixture. When the
-whole has been well mixed, add, at the last, a small tea-spoonful of
-soda or saleratus, dissolved in as much warm water as will cover it. Put
-the whole into a buttered tin pan, set it immediately into a quick oven,
-and bake it well. It is best when eaten fresh. Slice and butter it.
-
-
-RICE FLOUR BATTER CAKES.--Melt a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, or
-lard, in a quart of milk; but be careful not to let it begin to boil.
-Divide the milk equally, by putting it into two pans. Beat three eggs
-very light, and stir them into one half of the milk with the addition of
-a large table-spoonful of wheat flour. Stir in as much ground rice flour
-as will make a thick batter. Then put in a _small_ tea-cupful of strong
-fresh yeast, and thin the batter with the remainder of the milk. Cover
-it, and set it to rise. When it has risen high, and is covered with
-bubbles, bake it on a griddle in the manner of buckwheat cakes. Send
-them to table hot, and butter them.
-
-Similar cakes may be made with indian meal instead of rice flour.
-
-
-GROUND-NUT MACAROONS.--Take a sufficiency of ground-nuts, or pea-nuts,
-that have been roasted in an iron pot over the fire; remove the shells,
-and weigh a pound of the nuts. Put them into a pan of cold water, and
-wash off the skins. Have ready some beaten white of egg. Pound the
-ground-nuts (two or three at a time,) in a marble mortar, adding
-frequently a little cold water to prevent their oiling. They must be
-pounded to a smooth light paste; and, as you proceed, remove the paste
-to a saucer or a plate. Beat, to a stiff froth, the whites of four eggs,
-and then beat into it gradually a pound of powdered loaf sugar, and a
-large tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg mixed. Then stir in, by
-degrees, the pounded ground-nuts, till the mixture becomes very thick.
-Flour your hands, and roll between them portions of the mixture, forming
-each portion into a little ball. Lay sheets of white paper on flat
-baking tins, and place on them the macaroons at equal distances,
-flattening them all a little, so as to press down the balls into cakes.
-Then sift powdered sugar over each. Place them in a brisk oven, with
-more heat at the top than in the bottom. Bake them brown.
-
-Almond macaroons may be made as above, mixing one quarter of a pound of
-shelled bitter almonds, with three quarters of shelled sweet almonds.
-For almond macaroons, instead of flouring your hands, you may dip them
-in cold water; and when the macaroons are formed on the papers, go
-slightly over every one with your fingers wet with cold water.
-
-Macaroons may be made, also, of grated cocoa-nut mixed with beaten white
-of egg and powdered sugar.
-
-
-COLUMBIAN PUDDING.--Tie up closely in a bit of very thin muslin a split
-vanilla bean, cut into pieces, and a broken-up stick of cinnamon. Put
-this bag, with its contents, into half a pint of rich milk, and boil it
-a long time till very highly flavored. Then take out the bag; set the
-milk near the fire to keep warm in the pan in which it was boiled,
-covering it closely. Slice thin a pound of almond sponge cake, and lay
-it in a deep dish. Pour over it a quart of rich cream, with which you
-must mix the vanilla-flavored milk, and leave the cake to dissolve in
-it. Blanch, in scalding water, two ounces of shelled bitter almonds or
-peach kernels, and pound them (one at a time,) to a smooth paste in a
-marble mortar, pouring on each a few drops of rose-water or peach-water
-to prevent their oiling. When the almonds are done, set them away in a
-cold place till wanted. Beat eight eggs till very light and thick; and
-having stirred together hard the dissolved cake and the cream, add them
-gradually to the mixture in turn with the almond, and half a pound of
-powdered loaf sugar, a little at a time of each. Butter a deep dish,
-and put in the mixture. Set the pudding into a brisk oven and bake it
-well. Have ready a star nicely cut out of a large piece of candied
-citron, a number of small stars, all of equal size, as many as there are
-States in the Union, and a sufficiency of rays or long strips also cut
-out of citron. The rays should be wide at the bottom and run to a point
-at the top. As soon as the pudding comes out of the oven, while it is
-smoking, arrange these decorations. Put the large star in the centre,
-then the rays so that they will diverge from it, narrowing off towards
-the edge of the pudding. Near the edge place the small stars in a
-circle.
-
-Preserved citron-melon will be still better for this purpose than the
-dry candied citron.
-
-This is a very fine pudding; suitable for a dinner party, or a Fourth of
-July dinner.
-
-
-A WASHINGTON PUDDING.--Pick, and wash clean half a pound of Zante
-currants; drain them, and wipe them in a towel, and then spread them out
-on a flat dish, and place them before the fire to dry thoroughly.
-Prepare about a quarter of a pound or half a pint of finely-grated
-bread-crumbs. Have ready a heaping tea-spoonful of powdered mace,
-cinnamon, and nutmeg mixed. When the currants are dry, dredge them
-thickly on all sides with flour, to prevent their sinking or clodding in
-the pudding while baking. Cut up in a deep pan half a pound of the best
-fresh butter, and add to it half a pound of fine white sugar, powdered.
-Stir the butter and sugar together with a wooden spaddle, till they are
-very light and creamy. Then add a table-spoonful of wine, and a
-table-spoonful of brandy. Beat in a shallow pan, eight eggs till
-perfectly light, and as thick as a good boiled custard. Afterwards, mix
-with them, gradually, a pint of rich milk and the grated bread-crumbs,
-stirred in alternately. Next, stir this mixture, by degrees, into the
-pan of beaten butter and sugar, and add the currants a few at a time.
-Finish with a table-spoonful of strong rose-water; or a wine-glass full,
-if it is not very strong. Stir the whole very hard. Butter a large deep
-white dish, or two of soup-plate size. Put in the batter. Set it
-directly into a brisk oven, and bake it well. When cold, dredge the
-surface with powdered sugar. Serve it up in the dish in which it was
-baked. You may ornament the tops with bits of citron cut into leaves and
-forming a wreath; or with circles of preserved strawberries.
-
-This will be found a very fine pudding. It must be baked in time to
-become quite cold before dinner.
-
-For currants, you may substitute raisins of the best quality; seeded,
-cut in half, and well dredged with flour.
-
-Instead of rose-water you may stir in the yellow rind (finely grated) of
-one large lemon, or two small ones, and their juice also.
-
-
-A COTTAGE PUDDING.--Take ripe currants, and having stripped them from
-the stalks, measure as many as will make a heaping quart. Cover the
-bottom of a deep dish with slices of bread, slightly buttered, and with
-the crust cut off. Put a thick layer of currants on the bread, and then
-a layer of sugar. Then other layers of bread, currants, and sugar, till
-the dish is full; finishing at the top with very thin slices of bread.
-Set it into the oven, and bake it half an hour. Serve it either warm or
-cold; and eat it with sweetened cream.
-
-Instead of currants you may take cherries, (first stoning them all,)
-raspberries, ripe blackberries, or barberries, plums, (first extracting
-the stones,) stewed cranberries, or stewed gooseberries. If the fruit is
-previously stewed, the pudding will require but ten minutes' baking.
-When it is sent to table, have sugar at hand in case it should not be
-sweet enough.
-
-
-ICE-CREAM CAKES.--Stir together, till very light, a quarter of a pound
-of powdered sugar and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Beat six
-eggs very light, and stir into them a half pint of rich milk. Add,
-gradually, the eggs and milk to the butter and sugar, alternately with a
-half pound of sifted flour. Add a glass of sweet wine and some grated
-nutmeg. When all the ingredients are mixed, stir the batter very hard.
-Then put it into small deep pans, or cups that have been well buttered,
-filling them about two thirds with the batter. Set them immediately into
-a brisk oven, and bake them brown. When done, remove them from the cups,
-and place them to cool on an inverted sieve. When quite cold make a slit
-or incision in the side of each cake. If very light, and properly baked,
-they will be hollow in the middle. Fill up this cavity with ice cream,
-carefully put in with a spoon, and then close the slit with your fingers
-to prevent the cream running out. Spread them on a large dish. Either
-send them to table immediately before the ice-cream melts or keep them
-on ice till wanted.
-
-
-WHIPPED CREAM MERINGUES.--Take the whites of eight eggs, and beat them
-to a stiff froth that will stand alone. Then beat into them, gradually,
-(a tea-spoonful at a time,) two pounds or more of finely-powdered loaf
-sugar; continuing to add sugar till the mixture is very thick, and
-finishing with lemon juice or extract of rose. Have ready some sheets of
-white paper laid on a baking board, and with a spoon drop the mixture on
-it in long oval heaps, about four inches in length. Smooth and shape
-them with a broad-bladed knife, dipped occasionally in cold water. The
-baking board used for this purpose should be an inch thick, and must
-have a slip of iron beneath each end to elevate it from the floor of the
-oven, so that it may not scorch, nor the bottoms of the meringues be
-baked too hard. This baking-board must not be of pine wood, as a pine
-board will communicate a disagreeable taste of turpentine. The oven must
-be moderate. Bake the meringues of a light brown. When cool, take them
-off the paper by slipping a knife nicely beneath the bottom of each.
-Then push back or scoop out carefully a portion of the inside of each
-meringue, taking care not to break them. Have ready some nice whipped
-cream, made in the following proportion:--Take a quarter of a pound of
-broken-up loaf sugar, and on some of the lumps rub off the yellow rind
-of two large lemons. Powder the sugar, and then mix with it the juice of
-the lemons, and grate in some nutmeg. Mix the sugar with a half pint of
-sweet white wine. Put into a pan a pint of rich cream, and whip it with
-rods or a wooden whisk, or mill it with a chocolate mill till it is a
-stiff froth. Then mix in, gradually, the other ingredients; continuing
-to whip it hard a while after they are all in. As you proceed, lay the
-froth on an inverted sieve, with a dish underneath to catch the
-droppings; which droppings must afterwards be whipped and added to the
-rest. Fill the inside of each meringue with a portion of the whipped
-cream. Then put two together, so as to form one long oval cake, joining
-them nicely, so as to unite the flat parts that were next the paper,
-leaving the inside filled with the whipped cream. Set them again in the
-oven for a few minutes. They must be done with great care and nicety, so
-as not to break. Each meringue should be about the usual length of a
-middle finger. In dropping them on the paper, take care to shape the
-oval ends handsomely and smoothly. They should look like very long
-kisses.
-
-
-CHOCOLATE PUFFS.--Beat very stiff the whites of three eggs, and then
-beat in gradually half a pound of powdered loaf sugar. Scrape down very
-fine three ounces of the best chocolate, (prepared cocoa is better
-still,) and dredge it with flour to prevent its oiling; mixing the flour
-well among it. Then add it gradually to the mixture of white of egg and
-sugar, and stir the whole very hard. Cover the bottom of a square tin
-pan with a sheet of fine white paper, cut to fit exactly. Place upon it
-thin spots of powdered loaf sugar about the size of a half dollar. Pile
-a portion of the mixture on each spot, smoothing it with the back of a
-spoon or a broad knife, dipped in cold water. Sift white sugar over the
-top of each. Set the pan into a brisk oven, and bake them a few minutes.
-When cold, loosen them from the paper with a broad knife.
-
-
-COCOA-NUT PUFFS.--Break up a large ripe cocoa-nut. Pare the pieces, and
-lay them awhile in cold water. Then wipe them dry, and grate them as
-finely as possible. Lay the grated cocoa-nut in well-formed heaps on a
-large handsome dish. It will require no cooking. The heaps should be
-about the circumference of a half dollar, and must not touch each other.
-Flatten them down in the middle, so as to make a hollow in the centre of
-each heap; and upon this pile some very nice sweetmeat. Make an
-excellent whipped cream, well sweetened and flavored with lemon and
-wine, and beat it to a stiff froth. Pile some of this cream high upon
-each cake over the sweetmeats. If on a supper-table, you may arrange
-them in circles round a glass stand.
-
-
-FIG MARMALADE.--Take fine fresh figs that are perfectly ripe, such as
-can only be obtained in countries where they are cultivated in
-abundance. Weigh them, and to every two pounds of figs allow a pound and
-a half of sugar, and the grated yellow rind of a large orange or lemon.
-Cut up the figs, and put them into a preserving kettle with the sugar,
-and orange or lemon rind, adding the juice. Boil them till the whole is
-reduced to a thick smooth mass, frequently stirring it up from the
-bottom. When done, put it warm into jars, and cover it closely.
-
-
-CARRAWAY GINGERBREAD.--Cut up half a pound of fresh butter in a pint of
-_West India_ molasses, and warm them together slightly till the butter
-is quite soft. Then stir them well, and add gradually a half pound of
-good brown sugar, a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, and two heaped
-table-spoonfuls of ground ginger, or three, if the ginger is not very
-strong. Sift two pounds or two quarts of flour. Beat four eggs till very
-thick and light, and stir them gradually into the mixture, in turn with
-the flour, and five or six large table-spoonfuls of carraway seeds, a
-little at a time. Dissolve a very small tea-spoonful of pearlash or soda
-in as much lukewarm water as will cover it. Then stir it in at the last.
-Stir all very hard. Transfer it to a buttered tin pan with straight
-sides, and bake it in a loaf in a moderate oven. It will require a great
-deal of baking.
-
-
-SEA-VOYAGE GINGERBREAD.--Sift two pounds of flour into a pan, and cut up
-in it a pound and a quarter of fresh butter; rub the butter well into
-the flour, and then mix in a pint of _West India_ molasses and a pound
-of the best brown sugar. Beat eight eggs till very light. Stir into the
-beaten egg two glasses or a jill of brandy. Add also to the egg a
-tea-cupful of ground ginger, and a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon,
-with a tea-spoonful of soda melted in a little warm water. Wet the
-flour, &c., with this mixture till it becomes a soft dough. Sprinkle a
-little flour on your pasteboard, and with a broad knife spread portions
-of the mixture thickly and smoothly upon it. The thickness must be equal
-all through; therefore spread it carefully and evenly, as the dough will
-be too soft to roll out. Then with the edge of a tumbler dipped in
-flour, cut it out into round cakes. Have ready square pans, slightly
-buttered; lay the cakes in them sufficiently far apart to prevent their
-running into each other when baked. Set the pans into a brisk oven, and
-bake the cakes well, seeing that they do not burn.
-
-You may cut them out small with the lid of a cannister (or something
-similar) the usual size of gingerbread nuts.
-
-These cakes will keep during a long voyage, and are frequently carried
-to sea. Many persons find highly-spiced gingerbread a preventive to
-sea-sickness.
-
-
-EXCELLENT GROUND RICE PUDDING.--Take half a pint from a quart of rich
-milk, and boil in it a large handful of bitter almonds or peach kernels,
-blanched and broken up; also half a dozen blades of mace, keeping the
-sauce-pan closely covered. When the milk is highly flavored and reduced
-to one half the quantity, take it off and strain it. Stir, gradually,
-into the remaining pint and a half of milk, five heaping table-spoonfuls
-of ground rice; set it over the fire in a sauce-pan, and let it come to
-a boil. Then take it off, and while it is warm, mix in gradually a
-quarter of a pound of fresh butter and a quarter of a pound of white
-sugar. Afterwards, beat eight eggs as light as possible, and stir them
-gradually into the mixture. Add some grated nutmeg. Stir the whole very
-hard; put it into a deep dish, and set it immediately into the oven.
-Keep it baking steadily for an hour. It should then be done. Eat it
-cool, having sifted sugar over it.
-
-
-CHOCOLATE MACAROONS.--Blanch half a pound of shelled sweet almonds, by
-scalding them with boiling water, till the skins peel off easily. Then
-throw them into a bowl of cold water, and let them stand awhile. Take
-them out and wipe them separately. Afterwards set them in a warm place
-to dry thoroughly. Put them, one at a time, into a marble mortar, and
-pound them to a smooth paste, moistening them, as you proceed, with a
-few drops of rose-water to prevent their oiling. When you have pounded
-one or two, take them out of the mortar with a tea-spoon, and put them
-into a deep plate beside you, and continue removing the almonds to the
-plate till they are all done. Scrape down, as fine as possible, half a
-pound of the best chocolate, or of Baker's prepared cocoa, and mix it
-thoroughly with the pounded almonds. Then set the plate in a cool place.
-Put the whites of eight eggs into a shallow pan, and beat them to a
-stiff froth that will stand alone. Have ready a pound and a half of
-finely-powdered loaf sugar. Stir it hard into the beaten white-of-egg, a
-spoonful at a time. Then stir in, gradually, the mixture of almond and
-chocolate, and beat the whole very hard. Drop the mixture in equal
-portions upon thin white paper, laid on square tin pans; smoothing them
-with a spoon into round cakes about the size of a half dollar. Dredge
-the top of each lightly with powdered sugar. Set them into a quick
-oven, and bake them a light brown. When done, take them off the paper.
-
-
-BREAD FRITTERS.--Pick, wash, and dry half a pound of Zante currants, and
-having spread them out on a flat dish, dredge them well with flour.
-Grate some bread into a pan, till you have a pint of crumbs. Pour over
-the grated bread a pint of boiling milk, into which you have stirred,
-(as soon as taken from the fire,) a piece of fresh butter the size of an
-egg. Cover the pan and let it stand an hour. Then beat it hard, and add
-nutmeg, and a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar, stirred in
-gradually, and two table-spoonfuls of the best brandy. Beat six eggs
-till very light, and then stir them by degrees into the mixture. Lastly,
-add the currants a few at a time, and beat the whole very hard. It
-should be a thick batter. If you find it too thin, add a little flour.
-Have ready, over the fire, a hot frying-pan with boiling lard. Put in
-the batter in large spoonfuls, (so as not to touch,) and fry the
-fritters a light brown. Drain them on a perforated skimmer, or an
-inverted sieve placed in a deep pan, and send them to table hot. Eat
-them with wine, and powdered sugar.
-
-
-TO KEEP FRESH BUTTER FOR FRYING STEWING, &c.--Take several pounds of
-the _very best_ fresh butter. Cut it up in a large tin sauce-pan, or in
-any clean cooking vessel lined with tin. Set it over the fire, and boil
-and skim it during half an hour. Then pour it off, carefully, through a
-funnel into a stone jar, and cover it closely with a bladder or leather
-tied down over the lid. The butter having thus been separated from the
-salt and sediment, (which will be found remaining at the bottom of the
-boiling vessel,) if kept closely covered and set in a cool place, will
-continue good for a month, and be found excellent for frying and
-stewing, and other culinary purposes. Prepare it thus in May or June,
-and you may use it in winter, if living in a place where fresh butter is
-scarce at that season.
-
-
-EXCELLENT MUTTON SOUP.--Having been accidentally omitted in its proper
-place, we here insert a receipt for very fine mutton soup. Try it. If
-for a large family, take two necks of mutton of the best quality, and
-let the butcher disjoint it. To each pound of meat allow a quart of
-water. Put it into a soup-pot, with a slice of ham, which will render
-the soup sufficiently salt. Boil it slowly, and skim it well, till the
-scum ceases to appear. If you have no ham, season the meat, when you
-first put it in, with a tea-spoonful of salt. In the mean time prepare
-the vegetables, but do not put them in till the meat has boiled to rags,
-and all the scum has risen to the surface and been carefully removed. It
-is then time to strain out the shreds of meat and bone, return the soup
-to the pot, and add the vegetables. First, have ready the deep yellow
-_outsides_ of three or four carrots grated, and stir them into the soup
-to enrich it, and give it a fine color. Next, add turnips, potatos,
-parsnips, salsify, celery, (including its green leaves from the top) and
-onions that have been already peeled and boiled by themselves to render
-them less strong. All the vegetables should be cut nicely into small
-pieces of equal size, (as for Soup a la Julienne.) You may add some
-boiled beets, handsomely sliced. And (if approved) strew in at the last
-a handful of fresh leaves of the marygold flower, which adds a flavor to
-some persons very agreeable. Put all these vegetables gradually into the
-soup, (those first that require the longest boiling,) and when they are
-all _quite done_ the soup is finished. If well made, with a liberal
-allowance of meat and vegetables, and well boiled, it will be much
-liked--particularly if served as Julienne soup, for company.
-
-
-NEW ENGLAND CREAM CHEESE.--Take a large pan of rich unskimmed milk that
-has set in the dairy all night, and is from pasture-fed cows in the
-summer. Have ready a small tea-cup of rennet-water, in which a piece of
-rennet, from four to six inches square, has been steeping several hours.
-Stir the rennet-water into the pan of milk, and set it in a warm place
-till it forms a firm curd. Tie up the curd in a clean linen bag, and
-hang it up in the dairy with a pan under it to receive the droppings,
-till it drips no longer. Then transfer the curd to a small cheese mould.
-Cover it all over with a clean linen cloth, folded over the sides, and
-well secured. Put a heavy weight on the top, so as to press it hard. The
-wooden vessel in which you mould cream cheeses, should be a bottomless,
-broad hoop, about the circumference of a dinner plate. Set it (before
-you fill it with the curd) on a very clean table or large flat dish.
-Turn it every day for four days, keeping it covered thickly all over
-with fresh green grass, frequently renewed. When done, keep it in a dry
-cool place, first rubbing the outside with fresh butter. When _once
-cut_, use the whole cheese on that day, as it may spoil before the next.
-Send it to the tea-table cut across in triangular or pie pieces.
-
-
-MOLASSES CANDY.--Take three quarts of the best _West India_ molasses--no
-other will do. Put it into a thick block-tin kettle, (or a _bain-marie_)
-and stir in a pound and a half of the best and cleanest brown sugar.
-Boil slowly and skim it well, (stirring it always after skimming,) and
-taking care that it does not burn. Prepare the grated rind and the juice
-of three large lemons or oranges, and stir them in after the molasses
-and sugar have boiled long enough to become very thick. Continue to boil
-and stir till it will boil no longer, and the spoon will no longer move.
-Try some in a saucer, and let it get cold. If it is brittle, it is
-done. Then take it from the fire, and transfer it immediately to shallow
-square tin pans, that have been well greased with nice fresh butter or
-sweet oil. Spread it evenly, and set it to cool.
-
-While boiling, you may add three or four spoonfuls of shell-barks,
-cracked clean from their shells, and divided into halves. Or the same
-quantity of roasted pea-nuts or ground-nuts. With both nuts and lemon it
-will be very good.
-
-
-
-
-WORTH KNOWING.
-
-
-THE BEST CEMENT FOR JARS.--Before preserving and pickling time, buy at a
-druggist's, two ounces of the clearest and whitest gum tragacanth.
-Obtain also two grains of corrosive sublimate, (indispensable to this
-cement), and having picked the gum tragacanth clean, and free from dust
-and dark or discolored particles, put it with the sublimate into a very
-clean yellow or white-ware mug that holds a small quart and has a
-close-fitting lid belonging to it. Then fill the vessel more than
-two-thirds with very clean water, either warm or cold; and put on the
-lid. Let it rest till next morning. Then stir it with an _unpainted_
-stick, that will reach quite down to the bottom. Repeat the stirring
-frequently through the day, always replacing the lid. In a few days the
-cement will have risen to the top of the mug, and have become a fine,
-clear, smooth paste, _far superior to any other_; and, by means of the
-corrosive sublimate, it will keep perfectly well to an indefinite
-period, if always closely covered, and having no sort of metal dipped
-into it. On no account attempt to keep this paste in tin, or even in
-silver. Both paste and metal will turn black and become spotted.
-Remember this.
-
-When going to put away your sweetmeats or pickles, this paste will come
-into use, and be found invaluable. It is best to keep all these things
-in small jars, as opening a large jar frequently, may injure its
-contents by letting in the air. In a large family, or where many pickles
-are eaten, those in most frequent use may be kept in stone-ware jars,
-with a wooden spoon always at hand for taking them out when wanted. On
-the surface of every jar of pickles, put one or two table-spoonfuls of
-salad oil, and then cover the top of the jar closely with a circular
-piece of bladder or thin leather. Next cut out a narrow band of the
-same, and cement it on with gum tragacanth paste, (made as above), and
-let it remain till you open the jar for use.
-
-For sweetmeats, have glass or white-ware jars. Lay on the surface of
-each a circular paper, cut to fit and dipped in brandy. Next, put on an
-outside cover of bladder or thick white paper secured with a band of the
-same, coated with tragacanth paste. When this cement is used, the jars
-will not be infested with ants or other insects, the corrosive sublimate
-keeping them out.
-
-This paste should be at hand in every library or office, when wanted for
-papers or books. It requires no boiling when made, and is always ready,
-and never spoils. For a small quantity, take an ounce of the best gum
-tragacanth and a grain of corrosive sublimate. Get a covered white or
-yellow-ware mug that holds a pint; such a mug will cost but twelve
-cents. Dissolve in less than a pint of water.
-
-
-A BAIN-MARIE; OR, DOUBLE KETTLE.--These are most useful and satisfactory
-utensils, as all who have tried them can certify. They are to be had of
-various sizes at the best household furniture stores, and are made to
-order by the chief tinsmiths. The French make great use of the
-Bain-Marie; which, in some measure, accounts for the general superiority
-of their cookery.
-
-This utensil, as made in America, is a double kettle of the strongest
-and best block-tin. The bottom of the outside kettle is of strong copper
-or iron, well tinned, and _kept so_. The food, however, is all contained
-in the inner kettle, which is of tin entirely. After the food is in,
-(having with it no water whatever), put on the lid tightly, and through
-the tube on the outside, pour into the outer kettle the water that is to
-cook it. If it boils away too fast, replenish it with more water poured
-in at the tube.
-
-If it boils too slowly, quicken it by adding some salt put in at the
-tube. Keep the kettle closely covered, except when removing the lid to
-take off the scum; and do this quick and seldom. The superfluous steam
-is all the time escaping through the top of the tube and through a very
-small hole in the lid. Nothing cooked in this manner (with all the water
-outside) can possibly burn or scorch. After every skimming, stir the
-stew down to the bottom before you replace the lid. To cook in a
-Bain-Marie, requires a strong, steady heat, well kept up; and you must
-begin earlier than in the common way of stewing. This is an excellent
-vessel for boiling custards, blancmanges, marmalades, and many other
-nice things; as a good housewife will soon discover. Also, for making
-beef tea and other preparations for invalids. It is well to keep a small
-one purposely for a sick room.
-
-If from deficiency of sugar, or being kept too warm, or not closely
-covered, any of your sweetmeats turn sour, do not hastily throw them
-away, but carefully remove the surface, (even if coated with blue
-mould), add an additional portion of sugar so as to make them very
-sweet, and put them into a Bain-Marie. Fill the outer kettle with _hot_
-water, and boil it till you find the preserves restored to their proper
-taste. Then put them up again in jars that have been well scalded,
-rinsed, and sunned, and lay brandied paper on the surface of each.
-
-Mouldy pickles may be recovered in a similar manner, adding fresh spices
-and vinegar before you put them up again.
-
-[Illustration: Bain-Marie; or, Double Kettle. (Pronounced _Bine
-Maree_.)]
-
-
-
-
-INDEX.
-
-
- A.
-
- A-la-mode beef, 150.
-
- Almond and macaroon custards, 486.
-
- Almond macaroons, 536.
-
- Almond pudding, baked, 474.
-
- Almond pudding, boiled, 475.
-
- Almond sponge cake, 524.
-
- Almond soup, 58.
-
- Apees, 532.
-
- Apple dumplings, 457.
-
- Apples, baked whole, 461.
-
- Apples, bellflower or pippins, 562.
-
- Apple fritters or quince, 450.
-
- Apple jelly, 492.
-
- Apple pies, (fine) 479.
-
- Apple pork pie, 224.
-
- Apple sauce, 338.
-
- Apple sauce, baked, 339.
-
- Apple pudding, 458.
-
- Apple water, 591.
-
- Arrow-root biscuit, 603.
-
- Artichokes, fried, 363.
-
- Asparagus, new way, 371
-
- Asparagus omelet, 366.
-
- Asparagus oysters, 372.
-
- Asparagus soup, 44.
-
- Autumn soup, 61.
-
- Aunt Lydia's corn cake, 425.
-
-
- B.
-
- Bacon, to prepare, 246.
-
- Bacon, to boil, 247.
-
- Bacon and beans, 248.
-
- Bacon, broiled, 249.
-
- Bacon, stewed, 250.
-
- Baked fish, 79.
-
- Baked soup, 76.
-
- Baked tongue, 171.
-
- Barley water, 590.
-
- Bananas, fried, 358.
-
- Batter pudding, 447.
-
- Bean soup, 42.
-
- Beans, (green,) 379.
-
- Beef-a-la-mode, 151.
-
- Beef bouilli, 152.
-
- Beef, corned, 145.
-
- Beef, corned, fried, 148.
-
- Beef, (French,) 154.
-
- Beef, corned, stewed, 153.
-
- Beef, fresh, stewed, 155.
-
- Beef, dried and smoked, 148.
-
- Beefs heart, 161.
-
- Beef with mushrooms, 160.
-
- Beef with onions, 157.
-
- Beef with oysters, 158.
-
- Beef gumbo, 375.
-
- Beef patties, 161.
-
- Beef, spiced, 149.
-
- Beef with potatoes, 159.
-
- Beef, fresh, (stewed,) 155.
-
- Beef, roasted, 138.
-
- Beef, (smoked,) stewed, 154.
-
- Beefsteaks, 141.
-
- Beefsteaks, broiled, 142.
-
- Beefsteaks, fried, 143.
-
- Beefsteaks, stewed, 144.
-
- Beefsteak with oysters, 156.
-
- Beefsteak pie, 162.
-
- Beefsteak pot-pie, 164.
-
- Beefsteak pudding, 166.
-
- Beefsteaks for invalids, 584.
-
- Beef tea, 589.
-
- Beef with tomatos, 156.
-
- Beets, 387.
-
- Beets, baked, 388.
-
- Bell-peppers, pickled, 574.
-
- Bird dumplings, 305.
-
- Birds for larding, 305.
-
- Birds for invalids, 584.
-
- Birds in a grove, 304.
-
- Birds with mushrooms, 303.
-
- Biscuit sandwiches, 245.
-
- Bologna sausages, 232.
-
- Borders of paste, 472.
-
- Boned turkey, 271.
-
- Blackfish, and sea-bass, 83.
-
- Blancmange, 497.
-
- Blancmange, carrageen, 587.
-
- Blancmange, finest, 499.
-
- Bran muffins, 615.
-
- Brandy green gages, 557.
-
- Brandy peaches, 557.
-
- Bread, 433.
-
- Bran bread, 436.
-
- Bread biscuit, 436.
-
- Bread cakes, 437.
-
- Bread, rye, 436.
-
- Bread, home-made, 433.
-
- Bread pudding, 454.
-
- Bread-and-butter pudding, 454.
-
- Bread, (twist,) 435.
-
- Buckwheat cakes, 421.
-
- Brine for pickling meat, 235.
-
- Broccoli, 359.
-
- Broccoli and eggs, 361.
-
- Brown Betty, 455.
-
- Browning for soups, 312.
-
- Browned flour, 313.
-
- Buns, (Spanish,) 525.
-
- Butter, (clarified,) 310.
-
- Butter, (melted,) 309.
-
- Buttered toast, 599.
-
- Butternuts to pickle, 578.
-
-
- C.
-
- Cabbage, boiled, 350.
-
- Cabbage boiled an excellent way, 351.
-
- Cabbage, forced, 353.
-
- Cabbage, fried, 352.
-
- Cabbage soup, 45.
-
- Cabbage, red, 45.
-
- Cale cannon, 352.
-
- Catchup, (mushroom,) 324.
-
- Catchup, (tomato,) 326.
-
- Catchup, (walnut,) 325.
-
- Calf's head, stewed, 205.
-
- Calf's feet jelly, 491.
-
- Camp catchup, 328.
-
- Canvass-back ducks, 281.
-
- Canvass-backs, broiled, 282.
-
- Canvass-backs, (stewed,) 282.
-
- Canvass-backs, (roasted,) 281.
-
- Carolina punch, 610.
-
- Carrots, 385.
-
- Carrot soup, 50.
-
- Carrots, stewed, 368.
-
- Carrageen blancmange, 587.
-
- Cashaw pudding, 478.
-
- Catfish, fried, 87.
-
- Cauliflower, boiled, 359.
-
- Cauliflower, fried, 360.
-
- Cauliflower macaroni, 360.
-
- Cauliflower omelet, 359.
-
- Cauliflowers, pickled, 575.
-
- Celery, fried, 362.
-
- Charlotte, (country,) 462.
-
- Charlotte, plain, 463.
-
- Charlotte russe, 507.
-
- Champagne, (pink,) 608.
-
- Cheese pudding, 481.
-
- Chestnut soup, 50.
-
- Chestnut pork, 220.
-
- Cherry marmalade, 550.
-
- Cherries, preserved, 563.
-
- Cherries, pickled, 580.
-
- Chicken salad, 384.
-
- Chicken curry, 297.
-
- Chickens, fricasseed, 289.
-
- Chickens, stewed whole, 290.
-
- Chicken broth for the sick, 581.
-
- Chicken gumbo, 292.
-
- Chicken-pie, 541.
-
- Chicken pot-pie, 297.
-
- Chicken soup, 55.
-
- Chicken, (tomato,) 294.
-
- Chicken and turkey patties, 295.
-
- Chicken rice pudding, 295.
-
- Chickens, fried, 287.
-
- Chickens, broiled, 287.
-
- Chitterlings, 201.
-
- Chitterlings, baked, 203.
-
- Chitterlings, fried, 202.
-
- Chocolate, 597.
-
- Chocolate caramel, 611.
-
- Chocolate custards, 484.
-
- Chocolate macaroons, 536.
-
- Chowder, fine, 88.
-
- Chowder, (Yankee,) 88.
-
- Cinnamon bread, 440.
-
- Cinnamon cake, 528.
-
- Citron melons, preserved, 552.
-
- Clam chowder, 89.
-
- Clam fritters, 112.
-
- Clam pie, 121.
-
- Clams, scolloped, 113.
-
- Clam soup, 74.
-
- Clam soup for invalids, 582.
-
- Cocoa-nut cake, 528.
-
- Cocoa-nut jumbles, 534.
-
- Cocoa-nut, (orange,) 504.
-
- Cocoa-nut pudding, baked, 476.
-
- Cocoa-nut pudding, boiled, 477.
-
- Cocoa-nut puffs, 534.
-
- Cocoa-nut soup, 57.
-
- Codfish, (stewed,) 103.
-
- Codfish, (boiled,) 84.
-
- Codfish, (fried,) 103.
-
- Codfish, salt, 86.
-
- Coffee, 596.
-
- Coloring for sauces, 310.
-
- Corn cake, (Aunt Lydia's,) 426.
-
- Corn soup, 38.
-
- Cottage cheese, 616.
-
- Country captain, 299.
-
- Country grapes, 567.
-
- Country plums, 566.
-
- Country potatos, 348.
-
- Crab-apples, preserved, 562.
-
- Crabs, 136.
-
- Crabs, (soft,) 122.
-
- Crab fritters, soft, 113.
-
- Cranberry sauce, 337.
-
- Cream cakes, 503.
-
- Creamed pine-apple, 506.
-
- Cream and peaches, 506.
-
- Creamed strawberries, 505.
-
- Cream tarts, 504.
-
- Cross buns, 439.
-
- Crullers, (common,) 444.
-
- Crullers, (soft,) 442.
-
- Croquettes, (rice,) 296.
-
- Cucumbers, (to prepare,) 369.
-
- Cucumbers, stewed, 370.
-
- Cucumbers, pickled, 576.
-
- Cucumber catchup, 327.
-
- Curry balls, 373.
-
- Curried eggs, 300.
-
- Curried chicken, 297.
-
- Curry powder, 332.
-
- Curry powder, (Madras,) 333.
-
- Custards, baked, 460.
-
- Custard, boiled, 461.
-
-
- D.
-
- Damson pickles, 580.
-
- Damson sauce, 342.
-
- Dressing for slaw, 354.
-
- Dried apple sauce, 341.
-
- Dried peach sauce, 341.
-
- Dried and smoked beef, 148.
-
- Doughnuts, 443.
-
- Dumplings, (apple,) 457.
-
- Dumplings, (peach,) 458.
-
- Dumplings, (bird,) 305.
-
- Dumpling, (sausage,) 231.
-
- Ducks, boiled, 279.
-
- Ducks, fricasseed, 280.
-
- Ducks with peas, 280.
-
- Ducks, roasted, 278.
-
- Duck soup, 56.
-
- Ducks, (terrapin,) 283.
-
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) broiled, 282.
-
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) plain, 281.
-
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) roasted, 281.
-
- Ducks, (canvas-back,) stewed, 282.
-
-
- E.
-
- East indian pickle, 569.
-
- East India sauce for fish, 331.
-
- Egg balls, 373.
-
- Egg-plants, baked, 357.
-
- Eggs, to beat, 615.
-
- Eggs, to boil, 612.
-
- Egg-nogg, 614.
-
- Egg sauce, 316.
-
- Eggs, poached, 613.
-
- Eggs, scrambled, 614.
-
- Egg wine, 591.
-
- Ellen Clarke's pudding, 603.
-
- Epicurean sauce, 331.
-
-
- F.
-
- Farina, 500.
-
- Farina blancmange, 588.
-
- Farina flummery, 589.
-
- Farina gruel, 589.
-
- Fast-day soup, 74.
-
- Farmer's rice, 451.
-
- Fennel sauce, 319.
-
- Fig pudding, 617.
-
- Filet gumbo, 293.
-
- Fish, to clean, 77.
-
- Fish, to bake, 79.
-
- Fish cakes, 82.
-
- Fish, to boil, 77.
-
- Fish, to fry, 79.
-
- Fish, spiced, 81.
-
- Fish soup, 71.
-
- Fish, to stew, 81.
-
- Floating island, 515.
-
- Florendines, 482.
-
- Fillet of pork, 225.
-
- Fillet of veal, 189.
-
- Fowls, boiled, 285.
-
- Fowls, pulled, 286.
-
- Fowls, roasted, 284.
-
- Fowl and oysters, 291.
-
- French chicken pie, 291.
-
- French ham pie, 616.
-
- French pot-au-feu, 64.
-
- French sour crout, 354.
-
- French stew, 158.
-
- French white soup, 56.
-
- Friday soup, 75.
-
- Fried oysters, 110.
-
- Fritters, 448.
-
- Fritters, (orange,) 449.
-
- Fritters, (peach,) 449.
-
- Fruit charlotte, 483.
-
- Fruit pies, (common,) 466.
-
- Fruit pot-pies, 460.
-
- Fruit in syrups, 552.
-
-
- G.
-
- Game soup, 68.
-
- Giblet pie, 277.
-
- Gingerbread, (Lafayette,) 538.
-
- Gingernuts, 539.
-
- Golden cake, 530.
-
- Gooseberry fool, 463.
-
- Gooseberries preserved, 565.
-
- Gooseberry sauce, 339.
-
- Goose pie, 276.
-
- Goose, to roast, 274.
-
- Gravy sippets, 584.
-
- Gravy, to make, 323.
-
- Green beans, to boil, 379.
-
- Green gages, to preserve, 557.
-
- Green lemons or limes, 555.
-
- Green Mayonnaise, 330.
-
- Green peas, to boil, 378.
-
- Green pea soup, 41.
-
- Gruel, 586.
-
- Gumbo, (beef,) 375.
-
- Gumbo, (filet,) 293.
-
- Gumbo, (chicken,) 292.
-
- Gum arabic water, 590.
-
-
- H.
-
- Halibut, fried, 97.
-
- Halibut, stewed, 104.
-
- Hams, to cure, 236.
-
- Ham, baked, 239.
-
- Ham, boiled, 238.
-
- Ham, brine for pickling, 235.
-
- Ham, broiled, 241.
-
- Ham, disguised, 243.
-
- Ham, fried, 242.
-
- Ham, fried, (nice,) 242.
-
- Ham cake, 243.
-
- Ham, (madeira,) 240.
-
- Ham toast, 173.
-
- Ham omelet, 244.
-
- Ham, potted, 246.
-
- Ham pie, (French,) 616.
-
- Ham, sliced, 243.
-
- Hashed cold meat, 193.
-
- Hare, coated, 264
-
- Herb teas, 585.
-
- Herb candies, 585.
-
- Hog's head cheese, 234.
-
- Hominy, 392.
-
- Horse-radish, 317.
-
-
- I.
-
- Ice cream, 510.
-
- Icing, (warm,) 519.
-
- Icing, 518.
-
- Ice cream cakes, 632.
-
- Ice water, (or sherbet,) 513.
-
- Iced plum pudding, 621.
-
- Indian corn, to boil, 391.
-
- Indian mush, 412.
-
- India pickle, 569.
-
- Indian pudding, (fine,) 428.
-
- Italian pork, 226.
-
- Irish stew, 180.
-
-
- J.
-
- Jams or marmalade, 546.
-
- Jam, strawberry, 549.
-
- Jam, raspberry, 548.
-
- Jellies, 545.
-
- Jelly, apple, 492.
-
- Jelly, calf's feet, 491.
-
- Jelly cake, 535.
-
- Jelly, currant, 494.
-
- Jelly, (or marmalade,) pudding, 480.
-
- Jelly, orange, 493.
-
- Jelly, Siberian, 493.
-
- Jelly, (Wine,) 496.
-
- Jelly water, 587.
-
- Jumbles, 534.
-
- Jumbles, (cocoa-nut,) 534.
-
- Junket, 450.
-
-
- K.
-
- Kebobbed mutton, 179.
-
- Kebobbed veal, 197.
-
- Kisses, 537.
-
- Knuckle of veal and bacon, 196.
-
-
- L.
-
- Lady cake, 526.
-
- Lady fingers, 524.
-
- Lafayette gingerbread, 538.
-
- Lamb, 181.
-
- Lamb, larded, 186.
-
- Larded tongue, 172.
-
- Lamb chops, stewed, 185.
-
- Lamb cutlets, 184.
-
- Lamb pie, 187.
-
- Lamb, roast, 182.
-
- Lamb steaks, 183.
-
- Lard, to prepare, 250.
-
- Larded liver, 199.
-
- Lemon cakes, 522.
-
- Lemon catchup, 327.
-
- Lemon custards, 485.
-
- Lemon pudding, 473.
-
- Lemon bread pudding, 468.
-
- Lemons or limes, to preserve green, 555.
-
- Lemon syrups, 513.
-
- Lemon taffy, 506.
-
- Lemons or oranges, preserved, 554.
-
- Lettuce peas, 367.
-
- Lettuce peas, plain, 368.
-
- Lima beans, 380.
-
- Liver, fried, 198.
-
- Liver pie, 201.
-
- Liver pudding, 234.
-
- Liver rissoles, 200.
-
- Liver, stewed, 200.
-
- Lobsters, 132.
-
- Lobster pudding, 136.
-
- Lobster salad, (plain,) 133.
-
- Lobster sauce, 137.
-
- Lobster rissoles, 135.
-
- Lobster salad, (fine,) 134.
-
- Lobster soup, 71.
-
-
- M.
-
- Macaroni, 600.
-
- Macaroni, (sweet,) 601.
-
- Macaroons, (almond,) 536.
-
- Macaroons, (ground-nut,) 628.
-
- Macaroons, (chocolate,) 536.
-
- Mackerel, broiled, 96.
-
- Mackerel, fried, 97.
-
- Madras curry powder, 333.
-
- Mangoes, (peach,) 571.
-
- Mangoes, (melon,) 572.
-
- Marmalade meringues, 533.
-
- Marmalade, (grape,) 550.
-
- Marmalade, (cherry,) 550.
-
- Marmalade, (orange,) 550.
-
- Marmalade, (peach,) 546.
-
- Marmalade, (plum,) 548.
-
- Marmalade, (pumpkin,) 547.
-
- Marmalade, (quince,) 546.
-
- Marmalade, (pine-apple,) 549.
-
- Marmalade, (tomato,) 547.
-
- Maryland biscuit, 432.
-
- Marrow pudding, 501.
-
- Mayonnaise, (green,) 330.
-
- Melongina or Egg-plant, 356.
-
- Meringue pudding, 479.
-
- Meringues, (whipped cream,) 633.
-
- Meat pies, 163.
-
- Milk biscuit, 437.
-
- Milk pottage, 451.
-
- Milk toast, 598.
-
- Mince pies, 488.
-
- Mint julep, 610.
-
- Mint sauce, 317.
-
- Mock turtle soup, 69.
-
- Molasses pie, 446.
-
- Molasses pot-pie, 447.
-
- Molasses pudding, 444.
-
- Molasses supper, 594.
-
- Muffins, (soft,) 429.
-
- Mush, 412.
-
- Mushrooms with beef, 160.
-
- Mushrooms, baked, 391.
-
- Mushroom catchup, 324.
-
- Mushroom omelet, 364.
-
- Mushroom sauce, 321.
-
- Mushrooms, pickled, 572.
-
- Mushrooms, stewed, 390.
-
- Mustard, (French,) 329.
-
- Mutton, 173.
-
- Mutton broth for invalids, 583.
-
- Mutton, (boiled leg of,) 175.
-
- Mutton, (boiled loin of,) 174.
-
- Mutton chops, (broiled,) 177.
-
- Mutton steaks, (fried,) 178.
-
- Mutton chops with potatos, 179.
-
- Mutton chops with tomatos, 178.
-
- Mutton, (boiled,) (sauce for,) 175.
-
- Mutton steaks, (stewed,) 176.
-
- Mutton, kebobbed, 179.
-
-
- N.
-
- Nasturtions, pickled, 581.
-
- Nectar, 611.
-
- Noodle soup, 54.
-
- New Year's cake, 605.
-
-
- O.
-
- Ochras, to boil, 375.
-
- Ochras, dried, 374.
-
- Omelet, (common,) 601.
-
- Omelet souffle, 501.
-
- Omelet of sweetbreads, 213.
-
- Onion custard, 358.
-
- Onions, 376.
-
- Onion eggs, 373.
-
- Onions, pickled, 577.
-
- Onion sauce, (fine,) 320.
-
- Onion sauce, (plain,) 321.
-
- Onions, (to roast,) 376.
-
- Onions, (to stew,) 376.
-
- Onion soup, 47.
-
- Ontario cake, 604.
-
- Orange cake, 522.
-
- Orange or lemon custards, 484.
-
- Orange cocoa-nut, 504.
-
- Orange fritters, 449.
-
- Orange jelly, 493.
-
- Orange marmalade, 550.
-
- Orange milk, 551.
-
- Orange pudding, baked, 476.
-
- Orange pudding, boiled, 476.
-
- Oranges (or lemons,) preserved, 554.
-
- Orange or lemon syrup, 513.
-
- Oysters, broiled, 119.
-
- Oysters, to choose, 108.
-
- Oysters, to feed, 108.
-
- Oysters, fried, 110.
-
- Oyster fritters, 111.
-
- Oysters, (French,) 110.
-
- Oyster loaves, 117.
-
- Oyster omelet, 118.
-
- Oyster patties, 117.
-
- Oysters, pickled, 115.
-
- Oysters, pickled for keeping, 116.
-
- Oyster pie, 120.
-
- Oysters, roasted, 114.
-
- Oysters, scolloped, 114.
-
- Oysters, raw, for the sick, 584.
-
- Oyster soup, 73.
-
- Oyster soup, for invalids, 582.
-
- Oysters, stewed, 109.
-
-
- P.
-
- Panada, (chicken,) 589.
-
- Panada, (sweet,) 590.
-
- Pancakes, 450.
-
- Parsley, crimped, 319.
-
- Parsley sauce, 318.
-
- Parsnips, baked, 387.
-
- Parsnips, boiled, 386.
-
- Parsnips, fried, 386.
-
- Parsnip fritters, 387.
-
- Parsnip soup, 49.
-
- Partridges, (pear fashion,) 301.
-
- Partridges, roasted, 302.
-
- Partridge, plain, 302.
-
- Paste, (excellent plain,) 467.
-
- Paste, (potato,) 464.
-
- Paste puff, (the best,) 469.
-
- Paste borders, 472.
-
- Peas, to boil, 377.
-
- Peas, stewed, 377.
-
- Pea soup, (green,) 41.
-
- Pea soup, (split,) 43.
-
- Peas with lettuce, 367.
-
- Peas, plain lettuce, 368.
-
- Peaches and cream, 506.
-
- Peach dumplings, 458.
-
- Peach mangoes, 571.
-
- Peach marmalade, 546.
-
- Peaches, (brandied,) 557.
-
- Peaches, pickled, 570.
-
- Peaches, preserved, 556.
-
- Pears, baked, 462.
-
- Pepper-pot, 53.
-
- Peppers, (bell,) pickled, 574.
-
- Persimmon jam, 567.
-
- Pheasants, roasted, 302.
-
- Pickles, 568.
-
- Pickled beets with cabbage, 575.
-
- Pickled bell-peppers, 574.
-
- Pickled button tomatos, 581.
-
- Pickled butternuts, 578.
-
- Pickled cauliflowers, 575.
-
- Pickled cherries, 580.
-
- Pickled cucumbers, 576.
-
- Pickled cucumbers with onions, 578.
-
- Pickled damsons, 580.
-
- Pickles, East India, 569.
-
- Pickled melon mangoes, 572.
-
- Pickled mushrooms, 572.
-
- Pickled nasturtions, 581.
-
- Pickled onions, 577.
-
- Pickled peaches, 570.
-
- Pickled peach mangoes, 571.
-
- Pickled plums, 579.
-
- Pickled shrimps, 314.
-
- Pickled walnuts, 578.
-
- Pie, (crust,) very plain, 464.
-
- Pigeon pie, 540.
-
- Pigeons, roasted, 308.
-
- Pig, to dress, 220.
-
- Pig's feet, fried, 227.
-
- Pine-apple marmalade, 549.
-
- Pine-apples, preserved, 553.
-
- Pine-apple tart, 478.
-
- Pink champagne, 608.
-
- Pink sauce, 334.
-
- Planked shad, 106.
-
- Plovers, roasted, 307.
-
- Plum cake, 516.
-
- Plums, preserved, 557.
-
- Plums, pickled, 579.
-
- Plum pudding, (plain,) 468.
-
- Plum pudding, (fine,) 486.
-
- Poke plant, 618.
-
- Pot-au-feu, (French,) 64.
-
- Pot-pies, 165.
-
- Pot-pie, (terrapin,) 125.
-
- Pumpkin, stewed, 389.
-
- Pork, 216.
-
- Pork and apples, 222.
-
- Pork and beans, 228.
-
- Pork with corn and beans, 229.
-
- Pork with pea pudding, 230.
-
- Pork, (Italian,) 226.
-
- Pork, fillet, 225.
-
- Pork olives, 227.
-
- Pork pie, (apple,) 224.
-
- Pork, (apple pot-pie,) 223.
-
- Pork, to roast, 218.
-
- Pork spare-ribs, roasted, 220.
-
- Pork steaks, stewed, 222.
-
- Pork steaks, fried, 223.
-
- Pork, (sweet potato,) 219.
-
- Portable soup, 51.
-
- Potatos, boiled, 345.
-
- Potatos, roasted, 346.
-
- Potatos, baked, 347.
-
- Potato cakes, 348.
-
- Potatos, (country,) 348.
-
- Potatos, fried, 348.
-
- Potatos, (new,) 347.
-
- Potatos, mashed, 347.
-
- Potato paste, 464.
-
- Potato pudding, (plain,) 602.
-
- Potatos, stewed, 349.
-
- Potato beef, 159.
-
- Potato mutton chops, 179.
-
- Potato soup, 50.
-
- Pot-pie, (beefsteak,) 164.
-
- Pot-pie, (chicken,) 297.
-
- Poultry and game, 265.
-
- Pound cake, 520.
-
- Pudding, (almond,) baked, 474.
-
- Pudding, (almond,) boiled, 475.
-
- Pudding, (apple,) 458.
-
- Pudding, (batter,) 447.
-
- Pudding, (bread,) 454.
-
- Pudding, bread and butter, 454.
-
- Pudding, Brown Betty, 455.
-
- Pudding, (cashaw,) 478.
-
- Pudding, (cheese,) 481.
-
- Pudding, (cocoa-nut,) 476.
-
- Pudding, (cocoa-nut,) boiled, 477.
-
- Pudding, (cottage,) 632.
-
- Pudding, iced plum, 621.
-
- Pudding, (Columbian,) 629.
-
- Pudding, (Ellen Clarke's,) 603.
-
- Pudding, lemon bread, 468.
-
- Pudding, marrow, 501.
-
- Pudding, plum, 486.
-
- Pudding, plum, (plain,) 468.
-
- Pudding, molasses, 444.
-
- Pudding, rice, (baked,) 452.
-
- Pudding, rice, (boiled,) 453.
-
- Pudding, orange, 476.
-
- Pudding, lemon or orange, (boiled,) 476.
-
- Pudding, sweet potato, 477.
-
- Pudding, white potato, 478.
-
- Pudding, meringue, 479.
-
- Pudding, marmalade or jelly, 480.
-
- Pudding, pumpkin, (fine,) 478.
-
- Pudding, pumpkin, (Yankee,) 390.
-
- Pudding, rolled, 459.
-
- Pumpkin, stewed, 389.
-
-
- Q.
-
- Quails, roasted, 302.
-
- Queen cake, 522.
-
- Quince marmalade, 546.
-
- Quince pies, 478.
-
- Quinces, preserved, 560.
-
-
- R.
-
- Rabbits, 259.
-
- Rabbits, coated, 264.
-
- Rabbits, fricasseed, 263.
-
- Rabbits with onions, 261.
-
- Rabbit pot-pie, 262.
-
- Rabbits, pulled, 263.
-
- Rabbits, roasted, 260.
-
- Raspberry jam, 548.
-
- Raspberries, preserved, 566.
-
- Raspberry vinegar, 599.
-
- Rhubarb tarts, 618.
-
- Rice cups, 453.
-
- Rice pie, 298.
-
- Rice pudding, baked, 452.
-
- Rice pudding, boiled, 453.
-
- Rennets, 622.
-
- Ripe peach sauce, 340.
-
- Rissole patties, 198.
-
- Rockfish, 82.
-
- Reed birds, 308.
-
- Rolls, 435.
-
- Rolled pudding, 459.
-
- Roman punch, 514.
-
- Rusk, 438.
-
- Rusks, (dry,) 439.
-
-
- S.
-
- Sage and onion sauce, 319.
-
- Sago, 592.
-
- Sago pudding, 593.
-
- Salad, (chicken,) 384.
-
- Sally Lunn, 430.
-
- Salsify fritters, 355.
-
- Salsify oysters, 356.
-
- Salmi of partridges, 302.
-
- Salmon, 90.
-
- Salmon, baked, 93.
-
- Salmon, boiled, 91.
-
- Salmon, broiled, 94.
-
- Salmon cutlets, 94.
-
- Salmon, pickled, 95.
-
- Salmon, roasted, 93.
-
- Salmon trout, 101.
-
- Sandwiches, 173.
-
- Sausages, (Bologna,) 232.
-
- Sausage meat, 231.
-
- Sausage dumplings, 231.
-
- Sauce, apple, 338.
-
- Sauce, apple, baked, 339.
-
- Sauce, apple, dried, 341.
-
- Sauce, dried peach, 341.
-
- Sauce, (broccoli,) 318.
-
- Sauce, (cauliflower,) 318.
-
- Sauce, chestnut, 343.
-
- Sauce, (celery,) 316.
-
- Sauce, (clam,) 315.
-
- Sauce, (cranberry,) 337.
-
- Sauce, (damson,) 342.
-
- Sauce, (egg,) 316.
-
- Sauce, (fennel,) 319.
-
- Sauce, (gooseberry,) 339.
-
- Sauce, (lobster,) 137, 313.
-
- Sauce, mint, 317.
-
- Sauce, mushroom, 321.
-
- Sauce, (nasturtion,) 321.
-
- Sauce, (onion,) plain, 321.
-
- Sauce, (onion,) fine, 320.
-
- Sauce, (onion and sage,) 319.
-
- Sauce, (oyster,) 315.
-
- Sauce, (parsley,) 318.
-
- Sauce, pea-nut, 343.
-
- Sauce, (peach,) ripe, 340.
-
- Sauce, (prune,) 342.
-
- Sauce, (pink,) 334.
-
- Sauce, (pudding,) fine, 335.
-
- Sauce, (pudding,) plain, 336.
-
- Sauce, Robert, 330.
-
- Sauce, (shrimp,) 314.
-
- Sauce, (vanilla,) 336.
-
- Sauce, (wine,) 334.
-
- Sausage dumplings, 231.
-
- Sausage and veal pie, 232.
-
- Scolloped tomatos, 365.
-
- Scotch cake, 535.
-
- Seabass with tomatos, 101.
-
- Sea-coast pie, 127.
-
- Shad, to keep without corning, 105.
-
- Shad, planked, 106.
-
- Shells, 471.
-
- Sherry cobbler, 609.
-
- Short cake, 427.
-
- Shrimps, 137.
-
- Siberian jelly, 493.
-
- Silver cake, 531.
-
- Smelts, fried, 86.
-
- Smelts for invalids, 594.
-
- Soft crabs, 122.
-
- Soft crullers, 442.
-
- Soft muffins, 429.
-
- Souffle, (omelet,) 501.
-
- Soups, 33.
-
- Soup, almond, 58.
-
- Soup, asparagus, 44.
-
- Soup, autumn, 61.
-
- Soup, baked, 76.
-
- Soup, bean, 42.
-
- Soup, (cabbage,) 45.
-
- Soup, red cabbage, 45.
-
- Soup, fine cabbage, 46.
-
- Soup, cauliflower, 47.
-
- Soup, clam, 74.
-
- Soup, cocoa-nut, 57.
-
- Soup, crab, 72.
-
- Soup, corn, 38.
-
- Soup, carrot, 50.
-
- Soup, chestnut, 50.
-
- Soup, chicken, 55.
-
- Soup, duck, 56.
-
- Soup, fast-day, 74.
-
- Soup, fish, 71.
-
- Soup, French white, 56.
-
- Soup, Friday, 75.
-
- Soup, game, 68.
-
- Soup, green peas, 41.
-
- Soup, lobster, 71.
-
- Soup, mock turtle, 69.
-
- Soup, mushroom, 37.
-
- Soup, noodle, 54.
-
- Soup, onion, 47.
-
- Soup, oyster, 73.
-
- Soup, parsnip, 49.
-
- Soup, pea, green, 41.
-
- Soup, peas, split, 43.
-
- Soup, pepper-pot, 53.
-
- Soup, portable, 51.
-
- Soup, pot-au-feu, 64.
-
- Soup, potato, 50.
-
- Soup, spring, 59.
-
- Soup, summer, 60.
-
- Soup, squatters, 68.
-
- Soup, tomato, 39.
-
- Soup, family tomato, 40.
-
- Soup, fine tomato, 40.
-
- Soup, turnip, 48.
-
- Soup, vegetable, 63.
-
- Soup, venison, 39.
-
- Soup, winter, 62.
-
- Soup, wild duck, 66.
-
- Southern stew, 196.
-
- Sour crout, (French,) 354.
-
- Souffle pudding, 620.
-
- Spanish buns, 525.
-
- Spinach, 369.
-
- Sponge cake, 523.
-
- Squashes or cymlings, 388.
-
- Stewed smoked beef, 149.
-
- Stewed calf's head, 205.
-
- Stewed peas, 366.
-
- Stewed pumpkin, 389.
-
- Store sauces, 333.
-
- Strawberry jam, 549.
-
- Strawberries, preserved, 563.
-
- Strawberries in wine, 564.
-
- Strawberry wine, 564.
-
- Sweetbreads, baked, 215.
-
- Sweetbread croquettes, 210.
-
- Sweetbreads, fricasseed, 210.
-
- Sweetbreads with cauliflower, 212.
-
- Sweetbread omelet, 213.
-
- Sweetbreads with oysters, 214.
-
- Sweetbreads, to prepare, 209.
-
- Sweetbreads for invalids, 593.
-
- Sweetbread pies, 214.
-
- Sweetbreads, stewed, 214.
-
- Sweetbreads with tomatos, 211.
-
- Sweetmeats, 543.
-
- Sweet potatos, boiled, 380.
-
- Sweet potatos, baked, 381.
-
- Sweet potatos, mashed, 381.
-
- Sweet potatos, stewed, 381.
-
- Sweet potato pudding, 477.
-
- Sweet potato cake, 529.
-
- Sweet potatos, sweetened, 455.
-
- Sunderlands, 503.
-
- Sydney Smith's salad dressing, 382.
-
-
- T.
-
- Taffy, (lemon,) 506.
-
- Tamarind-water, 591.
-
- Tapioca, 592.
-
- Tarragon sauce, 323.
-
- Tarragon vinegar, 328.
-
- Tea, 595.
-
- Thatched house pie, 304.
-
- Terrapins, 122.
-
- Terrapins, dressed a new way, 124.
-
- Terrapin pot-pie, 125.
-
- Toast and water, 586.
-
- Toast, buttered, 599.
-
- Toast, (milk,) 598.
-
- Tomato catchup, 326.
-
- Tomato paste, 374.
-
- Tomatos, pickled, 581.
-
- Tomatos, preserved green, 559.
-
- Tomatos, preserved, 558.
-
- Tomatos with sea-bass, 101.
-
- Tomato soup, 39.
-
- Tomato soup, (fine,) 40.
-
- Tomato soup, (family,) 40.
-
- Tomato sweetbreads, 211.
-
- Tongues, 170.
-
- Tongue, baked, 171.
-
- Tongue, larded, 172.
-
- Tongue toast, 172.
-
- Trifle, 496.
-
- Tripe, to boil, 167.
-
- Tripe, to fry, 169.
-
- Tripe curry, 168.
-
- Trout, 84.
-
- Trout, baked, 85.
-
- Trout, stewed, 85.
-
- Trout with cream, 102.
-
- Turbot, baked, 100.
-
- Turbot, boiled, 99.
-
- Turkey, boiled, 267.
-
- Turkey, roasted, 270.
-
- Turkey with oysters, 269.
-
- Turkey, boned, 271.
-
- Turnips, boiled, 382.
-
- Turnip soup, 48.
-
- Turtle, to dress, 128.
-
- Turtle pastry, 131.
-
-
- V.
-
- Vanilla custards, 484.
-
- Vanilla sauce, 336.
-
- Vanilla syrup, 513.
-
- Veal, 188.
-
- Veal a-la-mode, 191.
-
- Veal and bacon, 196.
-
- Veal broth for the sick, 583.
-
- Veal cutlets, 195.
-
- Veal cutlets, in papers, 194.
-
- Veal fillet, 189.
-
- Veal fritters, 197.
-
- Veal kebobbed, 197.
-
- Veal, (knuckle,) with bacon, 196.
-
- Veal, hashed, 190.
-
- Veal loaf, 204.
-
- Veal, minced, 205.
-
- Veal pie, 204.
-
- Veal olives, 207.
-
- Veal with oysters, 206.
-
- Veal rissoles, 208.
-
- Veal steaks, 195.
-
- Veal and sausage pie, 232.
-
- Veal, (loin of,) roast, 189.
-
- Veal, southern stew, 196.
-
- Veal, (terrapin,) 192.
-
- Vegetables, 343.
-
- Vegetable soup, 63.
-
- Venison, 252.
-
- Venison ham, 259.
-
- Venison, hashed, 255.
-
- Venison pie, (fine,) 255.
-
- Venison pie, (plain,) 257.
-
- Venison pot-pie, 258.
-
- Venison steaks, (broiled,) 253.
-
- Venison, stewed, 254.
-
- Venison haunch, (roasted,) 253.
-
- Venison soup, 39.
-
- Vinegar, 607.
-
- Vinegar, (raspberry,) 599.
-
- Vol-au-vent, 619.
-
- Vol-au-vent, (sweet,) 620.
-
-
- W.
-
- Waffles, 441.
-
- Walnut catchup, 325.
-
- Walnuts, pickled, 578.
-
- Washington pudding, 630.
-
- Warm icing, 519.
-
- West India cake, 529.
-
- Whey, 591.
-
- White thickening, 311.
-
- White potato pudding, 478.
-
- Wine jelly, 496.
-
- Wine sauce, 334.
-
- Wine, (strawberry,) 564.
-
- Winter butter, (to make,) 624.
-
- Winter soup, 62.
-
- Woodcocks or snipes, to roast, 306.
-
-
- Y.
-
- Yankee chowder, 88.
-
- Yankee pumpkin pudding, 390.
-
- Yeast, (good,) 605.
-
- Yeast powders, 606.
-
-
-THE END.
-
-
- * * * * *
-
-
-Transcriber's Notes
-
- Some minor obvious typographical errors have been corrected
- silently.
-
- Footnotes have been moved to underneath the paragraph they refer
- to so as to not disrupt the flow of the text.
-
- Missing page numbers are attributed to blank pages in the
- original text.
-
-
-Corrections made:
-
- Pg. 20: "From the Pennslyvania [replaced with Pennsylvania]"
-
- Pg. 65: "his excellent pot a [replaced with "au"] feu"
-
- Pg. 146: "aid [replaced with "laid"] it a while in cold"
-
- Pg. 201: "for any thing that has ham [added "in"] it,"
-
- Pg. 202: "Taragon [replaced with "Tarragon"] vinegar is best."
-
- Pg. 293: "a dish of beiled [replaced with "boiled"] rice to be
- eaten"
-
- Pg. 338: "looks very meanly--and thstes [replaced with "tastes"]
- so."
-
- Pg. 348: "beat them with a wooden spoon to reder [replaced with
- "render"] them very light."
-
- Pg. 464: "If you have a coo [last letter cut off, replaced with
- "cool"] hand,"
-
- Pg. 493: "loosened by wrapping round their ousides [replaced
- with "outsides"] cloths"
-
- Pg. 496: "either port, madeira, or chamaigne [replaced with
- "champagne"]"
-
- Pg. 496: "except as some exhiliration [replaced with
- "exhilaration"]"
-
- Pg. 536: "Ground-nut macaroon [replaced with "macaroons"] are made
- in the same manner."
-
- Pg. 563: "stirring down to the bottom after evey [replaced with
- "every"] skimming,"
-
- Pg. 575: "Brocoli [replaced with "Broccoli"] is done in the same
- manner"
-
- Pg. 583: "as soon as it simmers, [deleted comma] well [added
- comma] take it off"
-
- Pg. 620: "beat and stir the soaked rusk very had [replaced with
- "hard"]"
-
- Marjoram, marjoran (Pg. 357) and majoram (Pp. 90, 95, 602) are
- used in the text, these have all been standardised to "marjoram"
- as it was used in the majority.
-
-
-The following index entries were corrected (corrections listed below in
-square brackets):
-
- Almond and macaroon custards, 484 [486]
- Almond soup, 53 [58]
- Arrow-root biscuit, 303. [603]
- Beef, corned, fried, 143. [148]
- Bird dumplings, 505. [305]
- Birds for invalids, 384. [584]
- Boned turkey, 279. [271]
- Cheese pudding, 431. [481]
- Chocolate, 527. [597]
- Cinnamon cake, 440. [528]
- Crab fritters, soft, 213. [113]
- Crullers, (soft,) 422. [442]
- Curry balls, 273. [373]
- Doughnuts, 442. [443]
- Eggs, scrambled, 612. [614]
- Ellen Clarke's pudding, 303. [603]
- Farino [Farina] flummery, 589.
- French ham pie, 516. [616]
- Gravy sippets, 584. [put in correct alphabetical order]
- Gravy, to make, 223. [323]
- Halibut, fried, 98. [97]
- Ham, broiled, 243. [241]
- Ice water, (or sherbet,) 523. [513]
- Indian corn, to boil, 321. [391]
- India pickle, 269. [569]
- Indian pudding, (fine,) 428. [incorrect page number, unable to
- locate]
- Jam, raspberry, 549. [548]
- Jelly, (or marmalade,) pudding, 431. [480]
- Lamb pie, 189. [187]
- Lemon custards, 484. [485]
- Lemon syrups, 522. [513]
- Meringue pudding, 480. [479]
- Mint julep, 608. [610]
- Mutton chops, (broiled,) 171. [177]
- Orange or lemon syrup, 523. [513]
- Pea soup, (green,) 42. [41]
- Pork with pea pudding, 280. [230]
- Pork steaks, fried, 228. [223]
- Pudding, (apple,) 558. [458]
- Pudding, (cottage,) 582. [632]
- Pudding, (Ellen Clarke's,) 303. [603]
- Pudding, lemon or orange, (boiled,) 426. [476]
- Pudding, meringue, 480. [479]
- Pudding, plum, (plain,) 469. [468]
- Pudding, white potato, 476. [478]
- Pudding, marmalade or jelly, 431. [480]
- Quince pies, 479. [478]
- Raspberry vinegar, 509. [599]
- Rice pudding, baked, 442. [452]
- Rice pudding, boiled, 443. [453]
- Rissole patties, 198. [incorrect page number, unable to locate]
- Sauce, chestnut, 348. [343]
- Sauce, (gooseberry,) 389. [339]
- Sauce, (lobster,) 187 [137], 313.
- Sauce, pea-nut, 348. [343]
- Sausage and veal pie, 282. [232]
- Souffle, (omelet,) 591. [501]
- Soup, red cabbage, 46. [45]
- Soup, corn, 88. [38]
- Soup, oyster, 78. [73]
- Soup, pea, green, 42. [41]
- Soup, peas, split, 48. [43]
- Soup, pepper-pot, 58. [53]
- Soup, vegetable, 68. [63]
- Stewed smoked beef, 145. [149]
- Stewed calf's head, 206. [205]
- Sweetbreads for invalids, 598. [593]
- Sweet potatos, stewed, 358. [381]
- Sweet potato cake, 528. [529]
- Tarragon sauce, 223. [323]
- Tomatos, pickled, 211. [581]
- Tomatos with sea-bass, 365. [101]
- Tomato soup, 89. [39]
- Tongue toast, 178. [172]
- Turtle, to dress, 628. [128]
- Vanilla custards, 485. [484]
- Vanilla syrup, 523. [513]
- Vinegar, (raspberry,) 509. [599]
- White potato pudding, 78. [478]
- Yankee pumpkin pudding, [390].
-
-
-Not changed:
-
- Some entries in the index are not in alphabetical order.
-
- Inconsistencies in word hyphenation, for example: backbone and
- back-bone, table-spoonful and tablespoonful.
-
- Inconsistencies in section title punctuation.
-
- All French spelling.
-
- Pg. 574: "Your may green bell-peppers in the usual way, with
- vine leaves or cabbage leaves." [unsure as to the true meaning]
-
-
-Variant spellings left unchanged:
-
- canvas-back, canvass-back
- Ellen Clarke's pudding, Ellen Clark's pudding
- inclose, enclose
- Indian meal, indian meal
- macaroni, maccaroni
- marigold, marygold
- panada, panade
- potato, potatoe
- rince, rinse
- trevet, trivet
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book, by Eliza Leslie
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISS LESLIE'S NEW COOKERY BOOK ***
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