Miss Parloa's New Cook Book
by
Maria Parloa
Part 7 out of 9
Broiled Liver.
Cut in slices and dip in melted butter, and lightly in flour. Broil
over a bright fire eight or ten minutes.
Liver, Fried in Crumbs.
Season slices with salt and pepper. Dip in beaten egg and very fine
cracker crumbs. Fry six minutes in boiling lard.
Liver and Bacon.
Cut in slices, season with salt and pepper, and cut again into small
squares. Place on a skewer pieces of liver and bacon, alternating. Fry
five minutes in boiling fat. Slip off of the skewer on to toasted
bread, and serve immediately.
Liver, Sauté.
Cut the liver in _thin_ slices. Season with salt and pepper. Heat
together in a small frying-pan two table-spoonfuls of butter and a
large one of flour. Lay in the liver, and brown it on both sides. Add
a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, two table-spoonfuls of water and one
of wine. Taste to see if salt enough. Boil up once, and serve.
Liver, Sauté, with Piquant Sauce.
Cut the liver in slices about one-third of an inch thick, and if beef
liver, let it stand in warm water ten minutes (calves' livers will not
need this). Drain dry, and put in the frying-pan with enough beef or
pork drippings to prevent its sticking, and cook very slowly for eight
minutes, turning constantly. Take up on a hot dish and pour a piquant
sauce over it. Serve immediately.
Curry of Liver.
Cut the liver in small, thin pieces, and for every pound have four
table-spoonfuls of butter, two slices of onion, two table-spoonfuls of
flour, a speck of cayenne, salt, pepper, one teaspoonful of curry
powder. Let the butter get hot; then cook the liver in it slowly for
four minutes. Add the flour and other ingredients. Cook two minutes,
and add, slowly, one cupful of stock. Let this boil up. Dish, and
serve.
Chicken Livers, Sauté.
Wash and wipe six livers. Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in the
frying-pan, and when hot, add a large slice of onion, which cook
slowly ten minutes, and then take out. Dredge the livers with salt,
pepper and flour, and fry for ten minutes in the butter; add one
teaspoonful of flour, and cook a minute longer. Pour in half a cupful
of stock, one tea-spoonful of lemon juice, one of vinegar and one-
fourth of a spoonful of sugar, and boil up once. Serve with a garnish
of toasted bread.
Chicken Livers and Bacon.
Cut the livers in pieces the size of a half dollar, and have thin
slices of bacon of the same size. Nearly fill a small wire skewer with
these, alternating. Place in the frying basket and plunge into boiling
fat for about one minute. Serve on the skewers, or on toast, with thin
slices of lemon for a garnish. Or, the skewers can be rested on the
sides of a narrow baking pan and placed in a hot oven for five
minutes. Serve as before. The livers of all other kinds of poultry can
be cooked the same as chicken.
Chicken Livers in Papillotes.
Wash the livers and drop them into boiling water for one minute. Take
them up; and when drained, split them. For eight livers put two table-
spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add one table-
spoonful of flour. Stir until smooth; then gradually add half a cupful
of cold water. Stir into this two spoonfuls of glaze, if you have it.
Season with pepper and salt, and stir into the sauce half a cupful of
finely-chopped ham. Spread this mixture on the livers, place them in
_papillotes_ the same as cutlets, lay them in a pan, and put in a
slow oven for fifteen minutes. Have little squares of toast or of
fried brown bread. Heap these in the centre of a hot dish, and arrange
the livers around them. Serve very hot.
Stewed Kidneys.
Cut the kidneys in thin round slices. Cover them with cold water and
let them stand half an hour; then wash them clean, and put them in a
stew-pan with one quart of water or stock, a clove, two table-
spoonfuls of onion juice, and salt and pepper. Simmer two hours. Put
one table-spoonful of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add one
of flour. Stir until it is brown and smooth, and add to the kidneys.
Put a small bouquet of sweet herbs in the stew-pan, and simmer half an
hour longer. Taste to see if seasoned enough; if not, add more salt
and pepper, and, if you like, one table-spoonful of lemon juice. Take
out the bouquet, and serve. This dish can be prepared any time in the
day, as it is quite as good warmed over as when first prepared.
Kidneys, Sauté.
Skin, wash and wipe the kidneys, cut in thin, round slices, and season
with salt and pepper. Put one table-spoonful of butter and half a
table-spoonful of flour in the frying-pan, and when hot, put in the
kidneys. Stir two minutes, then add half a cupful of stock or water.
When the dish boils up, add half a table-spoonful of lemon juice.
Serve with a garnish of points of toast.
Broiled Kidneys.
Skin, wash, wipe and split sheep's or lambs' kidneys. Run a small
skewer through each, to keep it open. Season with salt and pepper, dip
in melted butter and in flour, place in the double broiler and cook
six minutes over a bright fire. Serve on a hot dish.
Kidneys à la Maître d'Hôtel.
Split and cut in two, lengthwise, lambs' or sheep's kidneys. Wash and
wipe them. Season with salt and pepper, and dip in melted butter and
fine bread crumbs. Run a small skewer through each, to keep it open.
Put them in the double broiler and cook about six minutes over a
bright fire. Serve on a hot dish with _maître d'hôtel_ butter.
Ham and Eggs on Toast.
Chop fine the trimmings from cold boiled or roasted ham. Toast and
butter slices of stale bread. Spread the ham on these, and place in
the oven for about three minutes. Beat six eggs with half a cupful of
milk, a little pepper and one teaspoonful of salt. Put this mixture in
a sauce-pan with two table-spoonfuls of butter, and stir over the fire
until it begins to thicken. Take off, and beat for a moment; then
spread on the ham and toast. Serve immediately.
Ham Croquettes.
One cupful of finely-chopped cooked ham, one of bread crumbs, two of
hot mashed potatoes, one large table-spoonful of butter, three eggs, a
speck of cayenne. Beat the ham, cayenne, butter, and two of the eggs
into the potato. Let the mixture cool slightly, and shape it like
croquettes. Roll in the bread crumbs, dip in beaten egg and again in
crumbs, put in the frying-basket and plunge into boiling fat. Cook two
minutes. Drain, and serve.
Canapees.
After cutting the crust from a loaf of stale bread, cut the loaf in
very thin slices, and toast to a delicate brown. Butter lightly, and
spread with any kind of potted meat or fish. Put two slices together,
and, with a sharp knife, cut them in long strips. Arrange these
tastefully on a dish and serve at tea or evening parties. Sardines may
be pounded to a paste and mixed with the yolks of hard-boiled eggs,
also pounded to a paste, and used instead of potted meats. In this
case, the slices of bread may be fried in salad oil.
Welsh Rare-Bit.
Half a pound of cheese, two eggs, a speck of cayenne, a table-spoonful
of butter, one teaspoonful of mustard, half a teaspoonful of salt,
half a cupful of cream. Break the cheese in small pieces and put it
and the other ingredients in a bright sauce-pan, which put over
boiling water. Stir until the cheese melts; then spread the mixture on
slices of crisp toast. Serve immediately. A cupful of ale or beer can
be used instead of the cream.
Welsh, Rare-Bit, No. 2.
Grate one pint of cheese. Sprinkle on it half a teaspoonful of
mustard, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt and a speck of cayenne.
Heap this on slices of buttered toast. Put in the hot oven for a few
moments, and when the cheese begins to melt, serve at once.
Corn Pie.
Four ears of cold boiled corn, two eggs, one table-spoonful of butter,
one of flour, half a cupful of milk, half a teaspoonful of salt, a
little pepper. Cut the corn from the cobs. Mix the milk, gradually,
with the flour. Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately, and
add them and the other ingredients to the flour and milk. The butter
should be melted. Bake twenty minutes in two squash pie plates. This
is a dish for breakfast.
Hominy.
Wash a cupful of hominy in two waters; then stir it into one quart of
boiling water, with a teaspoonful of salt, and boil from thirty to
sixty minutes. The latter time is the better. Be careful that the
hominy does not burn. It can be used more than oatmeal, as it is good
with any kind of meat. It is appropriate for any meal, and is nice
eaten warm or cold with milk.
Oatmeal.
Oatmeal, Indian meal and hominy an require two things for perfection--
plenty of water when put on to boil, and a long time for boiling. Have
about two quarts of boiling water in a large stew-pan, and into it
stir a cupful of oatmeal, which has been wet with cold water. Boil one
hour, stirring often, and then add half a spoonful of salt, and boil
an hour longer. If it should get too stiff, add more boiling water;
or, if too thin, boil a little longer. You cannot boil too much. The
only trouble in cooking oatmeal is that it takes a long time, but
surely this should not stand in the way when it is so much better for
having the extra time. If there is not an abundance of water at first
the oatmeal will not be very good, no matter how much maybe added
during the cooking. Cracked wheat is cooked in the same way.
Strawberry Short-Cake.
One pint of flour, measured before sifting; one teaspoonful of cream
of tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
salt, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, four of butter, one tea-cupful of
milk. Mix the other dry ingredients with the flour, and rub through a
sieve. Rub the butter into the mixture, and add the milk. Butter two
tin squash-pie plates. Spread the mixture in them, and bake in a quick
oven from eighteen to twenty minutes. Mash one quart of strawberries
with three-fourths of a cupful of sugar. When the cakes are taken from
the oven, split and butter them, and put half of the strawberries and
sugar in each cake. Serve immediately.
Sweet Strawberry Short-Cake.
Three eggs, one cupful of sugar, two of flour, one table-spoonful of
butter, one scant teaspoonful of cream of tartar, a small half
teaspoonful of soda. Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs,
well beaten. Mix the soda and cream of tartar with the flour, and rub
through a sieve. Stir into the beaten egg and sugar. Bake in deep tin
plates. Four can be filled with the quantities given. Have three pints
of strawberries mixed with a cupful of sugar. Spread a layer of
strawberries on one of the cakes, lay a second cake over this, and
cover with berries. Or, a mèringue, made with the white of an egg and
a table-spoonful of powdered sugar, may be spread over the top layer
of strawberries,
MUFFINS AND CAKES.
English Muffins.
One quart of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one-third of a cake of
compressed yeast, or one-third of a cupful of liquid yeast; one cupful
and a half of water. Have the water blood warm. Dissolve the yeast in
one-third of a cupful of cold water. Add it and the salt to the warm
water, and gradually stir into the flour. Beat the dough thoroughly;
cover, and let it rise in a warm place until it is spongy (about five
hours). Sprinkle the bread board with flour. Shape the dough into
balls about twice the size of an egg, and drop them on the floured
board. When all the dough has been shaped, roll the balls into cakes
about one-third of an inch thick. Lay these on a warm griddle, which
has been lightly greased, and put the griddle on the back of the
stove, where there is not much heat. When the cakes have risen a
little, draw the griddle forward and cook them slowly, turning often,
to keep the flat shape. It will take about twenty minutes for them to
rise on the griddle, and fifteen to cook. Tear them apart, butter
them, and serve.
Muffins, No. 1.
One quart of flour, two cupfuls of milk, half a cupful of sugar, two
eggs, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one of soda, half a
teaspoonful of salt, butter the size of an egg. Mix the other dry
ingredients with the flour, and rub through a sieve. Melt the butter
with four table-spoonfuls of boiling water. Beat the eggs light, and
add the milk. Stir into the flour, and add the butter. Beat
thoroughly. Bake in buttered muffin pans from twenty-five to thirty
minutes, in a quick oven.
Muffins, No. 2.
One cupful of milk, one of flour, one teaspoonful of sugar, a scant
half teaspoonful of salt, two eggs. Beat the eggs light, and add the
milk, salt and sugar. Pour gradually on the flour. Beat till light and
smooth. Pour into buttered muffin pans and bake in a _hot_ oven
for twenty minutes.
Raised Muffins.
One pint of warm milk, half a cake of compressed yeast, or half a
cupful of liquid yeast; one quart of flour, one table-spoonful of
butter. Beat two eggs well, and add them and the salt, butter and
yeast to the milk. Stir gradually into the flour. Beat until the
batter is light and smooth. Let it rise four hours in a warm place.
Fill buttered muffin pans two-thirds to the top with the batter, and
let them stand until the batter has risen to the brim. Bake half an
hour.
Graham Muffins.
Into a bowl put one and a half pints of Graham, half a cupful of
sugar, and a teaspoonful of salt. Into a sieve put half a pint of
flour, a teaspoonful of saleratus and two of cream of tartar. Mix
thoroughly with the flour, and sift on to the material in the bowl.
Mix all thoroughly while dry, and add two well-beaten eggs and a pint
of milk. Fill muffin cups about two-thirds to the top, and bake in a
quick oven.
Raised Graham Muffins.
These are made the same as Graham bread. Fill tin muffin pans two-
thirds to the brim and let the mixture rise to the top. This will take
an hour. Bake in a rather quick oven for twenty minutes.
Corn Muffins.
One pint of flour, one of Indian meal, one-third of a cupful of sugar,
one teaspoonful of soda, two of cream of tartar, two eggs, a pint of
milk, one table-spoonful of melted butter. Mix the dry ingredients
together, and sift them. Beat the eggs light, add the milk to them,
and stir into the dry ingredients. Bake twenty minutes in buttered
muffin pans. Two dozen muffins can be made with the quantities given.
Fried Indian Muffins.
One pint of Indian meal, one pint of _boiling_ water, two eggs,
one teaspoonful of salt, one table-spoonful of sugar, one heaping
table-spoonful of flour. Pour the boiling water gradually on the meal,
salt and sugar. Beat thoroughly, and set away in a cool place. In the
morning add the eggs, well beaten, and the flour. Dip a table-spoon in
cold milk, fill it with batter, and drop this into boiling fat Cook
ten minutes.
Corn Cake.
One quart of milk, one pint of Indian meal, two eggs, one teaspoonful
of salt, butter the size of an English walnut. Let the milk come to a
boil, and gradually pour it on the meal Add the butter and salt, and
beat well, and set away in a cool place. Do this at night. In the
morning beat thoroughly. Beat the eggs well, and add them. Pour the
mixture into buttered deep earthen plates. Bake from twenty to thirty
minutes. Success depends upon a good, beating of the cake in the
morning.
Corn Cake, No. 2.
Two tea-cupfuls of corn meal, one of flour, three of sour milk, two
eggs, one table-spoonful of sugar, or of molasses, if you prefer; one
teaspoonful of soda, one of salt. Mix together the sugar, salt, meal
and flour. Beat the eggs light. Dissolve the soda in two table-
spoonfuls of boiling water, and pour into the sour milk. Stir well,
and add to the other mixed ingredients. Add the eggs, and mix
thoroughly. Pour into buttered tins to the depth of about an inch and
a half. Bake twenty-five minutes in a quick oven.
Raised Corn Cake.
One pint of Indian meal, one pint and a half of boiling milk or water,
one table-spoonful of sugar, two of butter, an egg, one teaspoonful of
salt, one-fourth of a cake of compressed yeast or one-fourth of a
cupful of liquid yeast. Pour the boiling milk, gradually, on the meal;
then add the salt, sugar and butter, and beat well. Set away to cool.
When blood warm, add the compressed yeast, dissolved in two table-
spoonfuls of cold water, or the liquid yeast, and the egg, well
beaten. Let the batter rise five hours. Turn into buttered pans to the
depth of about two niches. Let it stand in a warm place for half an
hour, and then bake it from thirty-five to forty-five minutes.
Thin Corn Cake.
One cupful of Indian meal, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, butter
the size of an egg, one cupful and a half of boiling water, one
teaspoonful of sugar. Pour the boiling water on the meal, sugar and
salt. Beat thoroughly. Add the butter, and, when well mixed, spread
_very_ thin on buttered tin sheets. Bake slowly for about twenty
minutes.
Rye Muffins.
One pint of rye meal, not flour; one pint of wheat flour, one pint of
milk, half a cupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one of soda,
two of cream of tartar and two eggs. Put the meal in a mixing bowl.
Put the flour and other ingredients in a sieve, and mix thoroughly,
and sift. Beat the eggs light. Add the milk to them and pour on the
dry ingredients. Beat well. Butter the muffin tins and bake twenty
minutes is a quick oven. The quantities given will make twenty-four
muffins. To make a less quantity, divide the dry mixture after it is
prepared (it can be used whenever it may be wanted if it is kept dry);
then halve the other ingredients.
Fried Rye Muffin.
One cupful and a half of rye meal, one cupful and a half of flour, one
cupful of milk, two eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, two of cream of
tartar, two generous table-spoonfuls of sugar, half a teaspoonful of
salt. Put the meal in a large bowl. Put the flour, cream of tartar,
soda, sugar and salt in the sieve, and rub through on to the meal.
Beat the eggs well, add the milk to them, and stir into the dry
ingredients. Fry the same as Indian muffins.
Rice Muffins.
One pint of milk, one quart of flour, one pint of boiled rice, three
eggs, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one of
soda, two of cream of tartar. Mix the sugar, salt, soda and cream of
tartar with the flour, and rub through a sieve. Beat the eggs and add
to the milk. Stir gradually into the flour. When a smooth, light
paste, add the rice. Beat thoroughly. Bake thirty-five minutes in
buttered pans. Three dozen muffins can be made from the quantities
given.
Raised Rice Muffins.
One pint of warm milk, two cupfuls of warm boiled rice, one quart of
bread flour, one teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of butter,
one-third of a cake of compressed yeast. Mix the butter, rice and milk
together. Pour the mixture on the flour, and beat till a light batter
is formed. Mix the yeast with four table-spoonfuls of cold water, and
add it and the salt to the batter, which let rise over night in a cool
place. In the morning fill buttered muffin pans two-thirds to the top,
and set them in a warm place till the batter has so risen as to fill
the tins. Bake thirty-five minutes. One-third of a cupful of liquid
yeast may be substituted for the compressed yeast.
Hominy Muffins.
A pint of milk, a quart of Haxall flour, one teaspoonful of salt, two
table-spoonfuls of butter, one-third of a cake of compressed yeast, or
one-third of a cupful of liquid yeast; half a cupful of hominy,
measured before cooking. Wash the hominy, and add a pint of boiling
water. Boil one hour, stirring often. Then add the milk, salt, yeast
and butter. Pour this, gradually, on the flour, beating well. Let it
rise over night In the morning put in buttered muffin pans and let
rise from half to three-quarters of an hour. Bake thirty-five
minutes. The muffins may be put to rise in the morning for tea.
Gems.
One pint of flour, one of milk, an egg, half a teaspoonful of salt.
Beat the egg until light, add the milk and salt to it, and beat,
gradually, into the flour. Bake twenty minutes in hot gem pans. A
dozen cakes can be made with the quantities given.
Hominy Drop-Cakes.
One pint of fresh boiled hominy (or, cold hominy may be used; if the
latter, break into grains, as lightly as possible, with a fork, and
heat in a farina kettle without adding water), one table-spoonful of
water, two eggs--whites and yolks beaten separately. Stir the yolks
into the hominy first, then the whites, and a teaspoonful of salt, if
the hominy has not been salted in cooking; or, if it has, use half a
teaspoonful. Drop, in table-spoonfuls, on well-buttered tin sheets,
and bake to a good brown in a quick oven.
Squash Biscuit.
One cupful and a half of sifted squash, half a cupful of sugar, half a
cake of compressed yeast, or half a cupful of liquid yeast; one cupful
of milk, half a teaspoonful of salt, four table-spoonfuls of butter,
five cupfuls of flour. Dissolve the yeast in a scant half cupful of
cold water. Mix it and the milk, butter, sugar, salt and squash
together, and stir into the flour. Knead well, and let it rise over
night In the morning shape into biscuit. Let these rise an hour and a
half, and bake them half an hour.
Sally Lunn.
One quart of flour, one generous pint of milk, two table-spoonfuls of
sugar, two eggs, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of
salt, half a cake of compressed yeast. Have the milk blood warm, and
add the butter, melted; the eggs, well beaten; and the yeast,
dissolved in three table-spoonfuls of cold water. Pour, gradually, on
the flour, and beat into a smooth batter; then add the salt and sugar.
Butter baking pans, and pour in the batter to the depth of about two
inches. Let it rise two hours in a warm place. Bake half an hour.
Snow Pancakes.
Half a pint of milk, an egg, an apple, pared, quartered, and chopped
very fine; a cupful and a half of flour, one-fourth of a teaspoonful
of salt, a bowl of snow. Beat the egg light, and add the milk to it.
Pour gradually on the flour, and beat until smooth and light Add the
apple and salt, and at the last moment the snow. Drop by spoonfuls
into boiling fat, and cook until a rich brown.
Waffles.
One pint of sifted flour, milk enough to make a thin batter (about
two-thirds of a pint), two eggs, beaten very light; a table-spoonful
of melted butter, and a little salt. Gradually mix the milk with the
flour until there is a smooth paste; then add the salt and butter, and
lastly the eggs. Have waffle irons about as hot as a griddle for
cakes, and butter them well, or grease with pork as you would a
griddle. Pour in enough of the batter to cover an iron, and put the
other side gently down upon it. Keep over the fire about half a
minute; then turn over, and let the other side remain to the fire the
same time. Remove, and place the waffles where they will keep warm
until enough are cooked to serve.
Many people butter the waffles as they place them on the dish, and
others add sugar. This is very well if known to be to the taste of the
family, but it is always safe to let each suit himself at the table.
Waffles, No. 2.
One pint of milk, two eggs, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one
teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda, one scant
pint and a half of flour. Mix the other dry ingredients with the
flour, and rub through a sieve. Beat the eggs very light. Add the milk
and the butter, which should be melted with two table-spoonfuls of
boiling water. Stir into the flour.
Raised Waffles.
One pint of milk, one pint and a half of flour, an egg, a teaspoonful
of salt, one-fourth of a yeast cake, or one-fourth of a cupful of
liquid yeast. Dissolve the yeast in two table-spoonfuls of cold water.
Have the milk blood warm, and add to it the yeast, salt and the egg,
well beaten. Stir gradually into the flour. Cover, and let it rise
four hours. Cook as usual.
Indian Waffles.
Half a cupful of Indian meal, two cupfuls of boiling milk, two eggs,
one generous cupful of flour, one table-spoonful of butter, half a
teaspoonful of baking powder, half a teaspoonful of salt. Pour the
boiling milk on the meal and butter. Beat well, and set away to cool.
Mix the other dry ingredients with, the flour, and sift. Beat the
eggs, and add them and the flour to the cold mixture.
Rice Waffles.
Stir two cupfuls of boiled rice into the mixture for waffles, No. 2.
Hominy waffles can be made in the same way.
Flannel Cakes.
One cupful of Indian meal, two of flour, three of boiling milk, one-
fourth of a yeast cake, or one-fourth of a cupful of liquid yeast; one
teaspoonful of salt, one table-spoonful of sugar, two of butter. Have
the milk boiling, and pour it on the meal and butter. When cool, add
the flour, salt, sugar and the yeast, which has been dissolved in four
table-spoonfuls of cold water. Let the mixture rise over night. Fry
like griddle-cakes.
Graham Griddle-Cakes.
Two cupfuls of Graham, one of flour, two and a half of milk, one
table-spoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one of cream of
tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda, two eggs. Let half the milk come
to a boil. Pour it on the Graham, and stir until perfectly smooth;
then add the cold milk, and set away to cool. Mix the other dry
ingredients with the flour, and rub through a sieve. Add with the
eggs, well beaten, to the Graham and milk. Rye griddle-cakes are made
the same way.
Squash Griddle-Cakes.
One pint of flour, nearly a pint of milk, two eggs, one tea-spoonful
of cream of tartar, half as much soda, four table-spoonfuls of sugar,
one teaspoonful of salt, two cupfuls of sifted squash. Mix the flour
with the other dry ingredients, and rub through a sieve. Beat the eggs
well, add them and the milk to the squash, and pour on the flour. Beat
till smooth and light. This gives a thin batter. If the cakes are
liked thick a little more flour may be used. Fry as usual.
Indian Griddle-Oakes.
One cupful of Indian meal, one of flour, three of boiling milk, two
eggs, one teaspoonful of salt, one of cream of tartar, half a
teaspoonful of soda, two table-spoonfuls of sugar. Have the milk
boiling, and, gradually, pour it on the meal. Put the other dry
ingredients with the flour, and rub through a sieve. When the scalded
meal is cool, add to it the flour and the eggs, well beaten.
Hominy Griddle-Cakes.
To a pint of warm boiled hominy add a pint of milk or water and a pint
of flour. Beat two or three eggs and stir into the batter with a
little salt Fry as any other griddle-cakes. They are delicious.
EGGS.
Omelets.
There is no better form in which to serve eggs than as an omelet, but
so few people make a good omelet that that is one of the last things
the inexperienced housekeeper or cook will attempt. Yet the making is
a simple operation, the cause of failure usually being that the pan
for cooking is not hot enough, and too much egg is put in at one time.
When there is too much egg in the pan, one part will be cooked hard
before the other is heated through. A pan measuring eight inches in
diameter will cook an omelet made with four eggs; if more eggs are
used, a larger pan is necessary.
Plain Omelet.
Four eggs, one teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of milk, one
table-spoonful of butter. Beat the eggs with a Dover, or any other
good egg beater, and add the salt and milk. Have the pan _very
hot_. Put in the spoonful of butter and pour in the beaten egg.
Shake vigorously on the hottest part of the stove until the egg begins
to thicken; then let it stand a few seconds to brown. Run the knife
between the sides of the omelet and the pan, fold, and turn on a
_hot_ dish. Serve without delay.
Quaker Omelet.
A Quaker omelet is a handsome and sure dish when care is taken in the
preparation. Three eggs, half a cupful of milk, one and a half table-
spoonfuls of corn-starch, one tea-spoonful of salt, one table-
spoonful of butter. Put the omelet pan, and a cover that will fit
closely, on to heat. Beat well together the yolks of the eggs, the
corn-starch and the salt. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Add to the
well-beaten yolks and corn-starch. Stir all together very thoroughly,
and add the milk. Put the butter in the hot pan. When melted, pour in
the mixture. Cover, and place on the stove where it will brown, but
not burn. Cook about seven minutes. Fold, turn on a hot dish, and
serve with cream sauce poured around it. If the yolks and corn-starch
are thoroughly beaten, and if, when the stiff whites are added, they
are well mixed, and the pan and cover are very hot, there can hardly
be failure.
Cheese Omelet.
Make the same as plain omelet, and as soon as it begins to thicken,
sprinkle in three table-spoonfuls of grated cheese.
Ham Omelet.
The same as plain omelet, and add three tablespoonfuls of cooked ham,
chopped rather fine, as soon as it begins to thicken.
Chicken Omelet.
The same as plain omelet, and, just before folding, add one cupful of
cooked chicken, cut rather fine, and warmed in cream sauce.
Jelly Omelet.
A jelly omelet is made like the others, and, just before folding,
spread with any kind of jelly (currant or grape is the best, however).
Fold quickly, and serve.
Savory Omelet.
This is made like a plain omelet, with the addition of salt and one
table-spoonful of chopped parsley. A little grated onion may be used
also, if you like it.
Fish Omelet.
Boil a shad roe twenty minutes in salt and water. Chop it fine, and
add to it a cupful of any kind of cold fish, broken fine. Season with
salt and pepper, and warm in a cupful of cream sauce. Make a plain
omelet with six eggs. When ready to fold, spread the prepared fish on
it. Roll up, dish, and serve immediately.
Corn Omelet.
One pint of cold boiled corn, four eggs, half a cupful of milk, one
teaspoonful and a half of salt, a little pepper, three table-spoonfuls
of butter. Beat the eggs, and add to them the salt, pepper, milk and
corn. Fry like a plain omelet.
Baked Omelet.
One pint and a half of milk, four eggs, one table-spoonful of flour,
one of butter, one teaspoonful of salt. Let the milk come to a boil.
Mix the butter and flour together. Pour the boiling milk on the
mixture, which then cook five minutes, stirring all the while. Put
away to cool. When cooled, add the salt and the eggs, the yolks and
whites having been beaten separately. Pour into a buttered dish, and
bake twenty minutes in a quick oven. Serve at once. The dish should
hold a little more than a quart.
Dropped Eggs,
Have one quart of boiling water and one table-spoonful of salt in a
frying-pan. Break the eggs, one by one, into a saucer, and slide
carefully into the salted water. Cook until the white is firm, and
lift out with a griddle-cake turner and place on toasted bread. Serve
immediately.
Scrambled Eggs.
Four eggs, one table-spoonful of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt.
Beat the eggs, and add the salt to them. Melt the butter in a sauce-
pan. Turn in the beaten eggs, stir quickly over a hot fire for one
minute, and serve.
Poached Eggs.
Two eggs, two table-spoonfuls of milk, half a teaspoonful of salt,
half a teaspoonful of butter. Beat the eggs, and add the salt and
milk. Put the butter in a small sauce-pan, and when it melts, add the
eggs. Stir over the fire until the mixture thickens, being careful not
to let it cook hard. About two minutes will cook it. The eggs, when
done, should be soft and creamy. Serve immediately.
Soft-boiled Eggs.
Place the eggs in a warm saucepan, and cover with _boiling_
water. Let them stand where they will keep hot, but _not_ boil,
for ten minutes. This method will cook both whites and yolks.
Soft-boiled Eggs, No. 2.
Put the eggs in boiling water, and boil three minutes and a half. By
this method the white of the egg is hardened so quickly that the heat
does not penetrate to the yolk until the last minute, and consequently
the white is hard and the yolk hardly cooked enough. The first method
is, therefore, the more healthful.
Hard-boiled Eggs.
Put the eggs in hot water to cover, and boil twenty minutes. Ten
minutes will boil them hard, but they are not so digestible as when
boiled twenty. Ten minutes makes the yolks hard and soggy; twenty
makes them light and mealy.
Spanish Eggs.
Cook one cupful of rice thirty minutes in two quarts of boiling water,
to which has been added one table-spoonful of salt. Drain through a
colander, and add one table-spoonful of butter. Spread very lightly on
a hot platter. On the rice place six dropped eggs, and serve.
Eggs Sur Le Plat.
Little stone china dishes come expressly for this mode of serving
eggs. Heat and butter the dish, and break into it two eggs, being
careful not to break the yolks. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper,
and drop on them half a teaspoonful of butter, broken in small pieces.
Place in a moderately-hot oven until the white is set, which will be
in about five minutes. There should be a dish for each person. The
flavor can be changed by sprinkling a little finely-chopped ham or
parsley on the plate before putting in the eggs.
Creamed Eggs.
Boil six eggs twenty minutes. Make one pint of cream sauce. Have six
slices of toast on a hot dish. Put a layer of sauce on each one, and
then part of the whites of the eggs, cut in thin strips; and rub part
of the yolks through a sieve on to the toast. Repeat this, and finish
with a third layer of sauce. Place in the oven for about three
minutes. Garnish with parsley, and serve.
Stuffed Eggs.
Cut six hard-boiled eggs in two. Take out the yolks and mash them
fine. Add two teaspoonfuls of butter, one of cream, two or three drops
of onion juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix all thoroughly. Fill
the eggs from the mixture, and put them together. There will be a
little filling left, to which add a well-beaten egg. Cover the other
eggs with this last preparation, and roll in cracker crumbs. Fry in
_boiling_ lard till a light brown.
Scotch Eggs.
One cupful of cooked lean ham, chopped very fine; one-third of a
cupful of stale bread crumbs, one-third of a cupful of milk, half a
teaspoonful of mixed mustard, cayenne enough to cover a silver five-
cent piece, one raw egg, and six hard-boiled. Cook the bread and milk
together until a smooth paste. Add to the ham, and add the seasoning
and raw egg. Mix thoroughly. Break the shells from the hard-boiled
eggs, and cover with this mixture. Put in a frying basket, and plunge
into boiling fat for two minutes. These are nice for lunch, tea, or
picnics.
Eggs, Brouillé.
Six eggs, half a cupful of milk, or, better still, of cream; two
mushrooms, one teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, a slight grating of nutmeg. Cut the mushrooms
into dice, and fry them for one minute in one table-spoonful of the
butter. Beat the eggs, salt, pepper, and cream together, and put them
in a saucepan. Add the butter and mushrooms to these ingredients. Stir
over a moderate heat until the mixture begins to thicken. Take from
the fire and beat rapidly until the eggs become quite thick and
creamy. Have slices of toast on a hot dish. Heap the mixture on these,
and garnish with points of toast. Serve immediately.
ECONOMICAL DISHES.
Calf's Liver, Braised.
Wash and wipe a calf's liver. Lard one side of it. Cover the bottom of
the braising pan with slices of salt pork, using about a quarter of a
pound. Cut an onion and half a carrot in small pieces, and spread over
the pork. Lay the liver on this, and dredge thickly with salt, pepper
and flour. Cover the pan, and place where it will cook slowly for half
an hour. Add a bouquet of sweet herbs and three pints of stock or
water. Put the pan in a moderate oven and cook for two hours. Baste
frequently with the gravy in the pan, and salt, pepper and flour.
About twenty minutes before the liver is done, add one teaspoonful of
vinegar and one of lemon juice. Strain the gravy over the liver when
it is dished.
Beef Stew.
Take the bones and hard, tough parts left from a roast of beef. Remove
all the meat from the bones, and cut it in small pieces. Cut about a
quarter of a pound of the fat of the meat in very small pieces. Put it
in the stew-pan to fry. When it begins to brown, put in half a carrot,
one small turnip, and two onions, cut fine. Stir over the fire for ten
minutes. Take out the fat and vegetables, and put the bones in the
bottom of the kettle. Add the meat and the cooked vegetables, but not
the fat. Dredge well with salt, pepper, and flour, shaking in at least
half a cupful of flour. Add three pints of water, and simmer gently
one hour; then put in six potatoes, pared and cut in slices. Simmer
one hour longer. Taste to see if seasoned enough. Draw forward where
it will boil more rapidly. Stir the stew, and put in the dumplings.
Cook just ten minutes. The cover of the stew-pan must fit tightly.
There should be about two pounds of meat for this stew, not counting
the bones.
Cold Meat with Purée of Potato.
Six good-sized potatoes, one table-spoonful of butter, one cupful of
boiling milk, salt and pepper to taste. Pare and boil the potatoes,
and mash light and fine. Add the butter, seasoning and boiling milk.
Beat up light, and spread on a hot platter. Lay on this handsome
slices of any kind of cold meat, and on each slice put a table-
spoonful of hot gravy. Put a little gravy around the dish, and set in
the oven for five minutes. Garnish with parsley, and serve. If there
is no gravy left from the dinner of the day before, make a pint in the
following manner: Put a quart of water with some of the hard pieces
and bones of the meat, and boil down to one pint. Put one table-
spoonful of butter in a frying-pan, and, when hot, add one table-
spoonful of flour. Stir until dark brown, and strain the broth on
this. Season with salt, pepper and, if you please, one spoonful of
Halford sauce.
Shepherds' Pie.
One quart of any kind of cold meat, eight large potatoes, one small
onion, one cupful of boiling milk, salt, pepper, and nearly a pint of
gravy or stock, thickened with one table-spoonful of flour. Season the
meat and put in a deep earthen dish. Grate the onion into the gravy,
and pour over the meat. Pare, boil and mash the potatoes. Add the
salt, pepper and milk and one table-spoonful of butter. Cover the pie
with this, and bake gently half an hour.
Shepherds' Pie, No. 2.
Cut into dice one quart of any kind of cold meat. Mince very fine two
table-spoonfuls of salt pork, and add to the meat. Pare and cut into
dice four large uncooked potatoes; grate or chop fine one onion; chop
fine one table-spoonful of parsley. Mix, and season well with salt and
pepper, and add a large cupful of water. Put in a deep earthen dish.
Make a paste with four potatoes, two table-spoonfuls of butter, a
large cupful of boiling milk and a pint of flour. Pare, boil and mash
the potatoes; then add butter, salt and milk. When all is very light,
beat in the flour, gradually. Sprinkle the board with flour, and roll
the paste a little larger than the dish. Make a hole in the centre, to
let out the air. Cover the dish with the paste, being careful to have
the edge come inside the dish. Bake gently one hour.
Escaloped Meat.
Chop the meat rather coarse. Season with salt and pepper. For one pint
of meat use half a cupful of gravy and a heaping cupful of bread
crumbs. Put a layer of the meat in an escalop dish, then gravy, then a
thin layer of crumbs; and continue this until the dish is full. The
last layer should be a thick one of crumbs. Cook in a hot oven from
fifteen to twenty minutes. All kinds of cold meat can be escaloped,
but beef is so dry that it is not so good as mutton, veal, etc,
Curry of Cold Meat.
Three table-spoonfuls of butter, three teaspoonfuls of flour, one
onion, one teaspoonful of curry powder, salt, pepper, one generous
pint of stock or water, about two pounds of any kind of cold meat, cut
in thin slices. Put the butter in the frying-pan, and, when hot, add
the onion. When the onion turns yellow, add the flour and curry
powder. Stir two minutes, add the stock or water, simmer five minutes,
and strain on the meat. Simmer all together for ten minutes. Serve
with a border of rice or mashed potatoes.
Barley Stew.
About a quarter of a pound of cold roasted or broiled meat, two
onions, four potatoes, a quarter of a cupful of barley, one table-
spoonful of flour, one quart of water, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cut the meat into dice; wash the barley; cut the onions _very
fine_. Put all in a stew-pan, and dredge with the flour, half a
table-spoonful of salt, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Add
the water, and simmer two hours. Pare and slice the potatoes. Add them
to the stew, and simmer one hour longer. Taste to see if there is
enough, salt and pepper, and if there is not, add more.
Dumplings.
One pint of flour, measured before sifting; half a teaspoonful of
soda, a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one of sugar, half a
teaspoonful of salt. Mix all thoroughly and run through the sieve. Wet
with a small cupful of milk. Sprinkle a little flour on the board.
Turn the dough (which should have been stirred into a smooth ball with
a spoon) on it roll to the thickness of half an inch, cut into small
cakes, and cook ten minutes.
By remembering that the soup should be boiling rapidly when the
dumplings are put in; that they should not sink too deep in it; that
they should boil _just ten minutes_; that the cover should fit
tightly, so that the steam shall not escape; and that the pot boils
all the time, so that the steam is kept up; and by following the other
directions, success is insured.
BREAD.
When you put the bread on the board, pat it lightly. Do not _press
down_, but let all motions be as elastic as possible. Knead with
the _palm_ until the dough is a flat cake, and then fold. Keep
doing this until the dough is light and smooth and will not stick to
the board or hands. Use as little flour as possible in kneading. Do
not stop until you have fully finished, for bread that has "rested" is
not good. Milk can be used instead of water in mixing. It should
always be first scalded, and then allowed to cool to blood heat. One
table-spoonful of lard or butter makes the bread tenderer when water
is used.
In cold weather some kitchens grow cold very quickly after the fire is
out. In this case the bread should be made earlier in the evening, and
set in a warmer place (about eighty or ninety degrees); because if it
begins to rise within the first two hours, it will continue to rise,
unless the temperature falls to the freezing point. The reason for
letting the rolls rise longer than the loaves is that the former,
being smaller, are penetrated by heat much more quickly than the
loaves are, and, of course, fermentation is stopped sooner; therefore,
the rolls do not rise as much in the oven as the loaves.
Rolls should be made into smooth little balls, and should be placed in
even rows in a shallow pan. Breakfast rolls, are first made into
little balls and then rolled between the hands until three inches
long. They are placed close together in even rows in the pan. Dinner
and French rolls, after being made into little balls, are put on a
well-floured board, and a little, well-floured rolling-pin, two and a
half inches in diameter, is pressed nearly through their centre. The
rolls are to be so placed in pans as not to touch each other. Being so
small, and baking so quickly, they have a sweet taste of the wheat.
The best-sized pan for loaves is made of block tin; is eight and a
half inches long, four and a half wide, and three deep. Those for
wheat bread should be greased very slightly with either butter or
lard. For rye, Indian, or Graham, they must be greased thoroughly, as
the dough clings more to the tins. There are many kinds of bread that
can be made readily and safely after once learning to make good common
bread. It is difficult to give exact rules for flour, as it varies,
some kinds requiring much more water than others. The "new process"
flour has so much more starch, and packs so much more closely than the
"old process," that one-eighth less is required, or one-eighth more of
liquid; but if the flour is weighed, the same amount of water is taken
for a pound of flour made by either process. The best flour is always
the cheapest for bread. As there is no one article of food of so great
importance for the health and happiness of the family as bread, make
it as nearly perfect as possible.
Yeast.
Put two quarts of water and two table-spoonfuls of hops on to boil.
Pare and grate six large potatoes. When the hops and water
_boil_, strain the water on the grated potatoes, and stir well.
Place on the stove and boil up once. Add half a cupful of sugar and
one-fourth of a cupful of salt. Let the mixture get blood warm; then
add one cupful of yeast, or one cake of compressed yeast, and let it
rise in a warm place five or six hours. When well risen, turn into a
stone jug. Cork this tightly, and set in a cool place. As poor yeast
is the chief cause of poor bread, pains should be taken to make yeast
properly and to keep it well. It must never be allowed to stand in a
warm room after it has risen, and the jug in which it is kept should
be carefully washed and _scalded_ each time the yeast is renewed.
As much care must be taken with the stopper as with the jug. When it
is convenient to get fresh cakes of Fleischmann's compressed yeast, it
will be much better and cheaper to use them than to make your own.
This yeast is wholly free of any injurious substance, and with it good
bread can always be made, provided the flour is good and the rules are
followed.
Yeast Bread, No. 1.
With these materials two loaves can be made: Two quarts of flour, half
a cupful of yeast, nearly a pint and a half of water, half a table-
spoonful each of lard, sugar, and salt. Sift the flour into a bread-
pan, and, after taking out a cupful for use in kneading, add the salt,
sugar, yeast, and the water, which must be about blood warm (or, say
one hundred degrees, if in cold weather, and about eighty in the hot
season). Beat well with a strong spoon. When well mixed, sprinkle a
little flour on the board, turn out the dough on this, and knead from
twenty to thirty minutes. Put back in the pan. Hold the lard in the
hand long enough to have it very soft. Rub it over the dough. Cover
closely, that neither dust nor air can get in, and set in a warm
place. It will rise in eight or nine hours. In the morning shape into
loaves or rolls. If into loaves, let these rise an hour where the
temperature is between ninety and one hundred degrees; if into rolls,
let these rise an hour and a half. Bake in an oven that will brown a
teaspoonful of flour in five minutes. (The flour used for this test
should be put on a bit of crockery, as it will have a more even heat.)
The loaves will need from forty-five to sixty minutes to bake, but the
rolls will be done in half an hour if placed close together in the
pan; and if French rolls are made, they will bake in fifteen minutes.
As soon as baked, the bread should be taken out of the pans and placed
on a table where it can rest against something until cool. It should
then be put in a stone pot or tin box, which has been thoroughly
washed, scalded and dried, and be set away in a cool, dry place.
Yeast Bread, No. 2.
One cupful of Indian meal, two quarts of flour, one pint and a half of
boiling water, one table-spoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt,
half a cake of compressed yeast. Pour the boiling water on the Indian
meal. Stir well, and set away to cool. When blood warm, add the yeast,
salt and sugar to it. Stir this mixture into the flour, and proceed as
for yeast bread, No. I.
Bread Made with Dried Yeast.
Two quarts of flour, one yeast-cake, one generous pint of water, blood
warm; one table-spoonful of sugar, one of butter, one teaspoonful of
salt. Dissolve the yeast in the water, and stir gradually into one
pint of the flour. Set in a warm place for two hours. It will then be
risen to a sponge. Stir it into the remainder of the flour. Knead
well, and put in a warm place to rise. It will rise in about five
hours if the heat is about seventy-five or eighty degrees. Or, it will
rise during the night in a heat of sixty degrees. In the morning treat
like yeast bread, No. I.
Sticks.
Four cupfuls of flour, one table-spoonful of sugar, one-fourth of a
cupful of butter, one cupful of boiled milk, the white of an egg, one-
fourth of a cake of compressed yeast, one scant teaspoonful of salt.
Dissolve the butter in the milk, which have blood warm. Beat the white
of the egg to a stiff froth. Dissolve the yeast in three table-
spoonfuls of cold water. Add all the other ingredients to the flour,
and knead well. Let the dough rise over night, and in the morning make
into balls about the size of a large English walnut. Roll each of
these balls into a stick about a foot long. Use the moulding board.
Place the sticks about two inches apart in long pans. Let them rise
half an hour in a cool place, and bake twenty-five minutes in a very
moderate oven. Sticks should be quite dry and crisp. They cannot be if
baked rapidly.
Graham Bread.
With this material two loaves or two dozen muffins can be made: One
pint of water or milk, one of flour, one _large_ pint of Graham,
half a cupful of yeast, half a cupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of
salt. Have the milk or water blood warm, and add the yeast. Sift the
flour into a deep dish. Add the milk and yeast, gradually, and beat
until wholly smooth. Set in a rather cool place (about sixty degrees)
to rise over night. In the morning add the salt and sugar and then the
Graham, a little at a time, beating vigorously all the while. When
thoroughly beaten, turn into pans, and let it rise an hour in a
temperature of from 90° to 100°. Bake an hour.
Togus Bread.
Three cupfuls of sweet milk and one of sour, three cupfuls of Indian
meal and one of flour, half a cupful of molasses, one teaspoonful of
saleratus, one of salt. Steam three hours.
Brown Bread.
One cupful of rye meal, one of Indian meal, one of molasses, two of
flour, one pint and a half of sour milk, a teaspoonful of soda, an
egg, one teaspoonful of salt. Mix the dry ingredients together.
Dissolve the soda in two table-spoonfuls of boiling water. Add it and
the milk to the molasses. Stir well, and pour on the other mixed
ingredients. Beat the egg and add it. Mix thoroughly, and pour into a
well-buttered tin pan that holds two quarts. Steam four hours, and
then put in the oven for half an hour.
DRINKS.
Cocoa.
Cocoa is rich in nutritive elements. Like milk, it has all the
substances necessary for the growth and sustenance of the body. It is
the fruit of a small tree that grows in Mexico, Central America, the
West Indies and other islands. The fruit is in shape like a large,
thick cucumber, and contains from six to thirty beans. There is a
number of forms in which it is sold in the market, the most convenient
and nutritious being chocolate. Next comes cocoa, then cocoa nibs, and
lastly cocoa shells. The beans of the cocoa are roasted in the same
manner as coffee. The husks or shells are taken off and the beans then
ground between hot rollers. Sometimes the husks are not removed, but
ground with the bean. The ground bean is called cocoa; and mixed with
sugar, after being ground very fine, is termed chocolate. Vanilla is
often added as a flavor. Sometimes the cocoa is mixed with starch.
When the bean is broken in small pieces, these are called nibs.
To Make Cocoa.
Put a gill of the broken cocoa in a pot with two quarts of water, and
boil gently three hours. There should be a quart of liquid in the pot
when done. If the boiling has been so rapid that there is not this
quantity, add more water, and let it boil once again. Many people
prefer half broken cocoa and half shells. If the stomach is delicate,
this is better than all cocoa. Sugar and milk are used, as with
coffee.
Shells.
Use twice the quantity of shells that you would of broken cocoa, and
boil twice as long.
Chocolate.
Scrape fine an ounce (one of the small squares) of Baker's or any
other plain chocolate. Add two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and put in a
small saucepan with a table-spoonful of hot water. Stir over a hot
fire for a minute or two, until it is perfectly smooth and glossy, and
then stir it all into a quart of boiling milk, or half milk and half
water. Mix thoroughly, and serve at once. If the chocolate is wanted
richer, take twice as much chocolate, sugar, and water. Made in this
way, chocolate is perfectly smooth, and free of oily particles. If it
is allowed to boil after the chocolate is added to the milk, it
becomes oily and loses its fine flavor.
Coffee.
There is a variety of coffees; but, unlike the teas, they do not owe
their difference of flavor or color to the curing, but to the soil and
climate in which they grow. Coffee grows on small trees. The fruit is
something like the cherry, but there are two seeds in it. The beans
are separated by being bruised with a heavy roller, and are then
washed and dried. The longer the raw berry is kept the riper and
better flavored it becomes. In countries where coffee is grown the
leaves are used as much as the berry. Like tea, coffee must be
roasted, that the fine flavor shall be developed. There are large
establishments for roasting and grinding coffee. The work is done by
machinery; and nearly always the grains arc evenly roasted, and just
enough to give the right flavor. If the coffee, after roasting, is put
in close tin cans, it will retain its best qualities for a long time.
It can be ground when needed for use. Many persons think that heating
the dry coffee just before making improves the flavor. There are many
modes of making coffee, each having its advantages and disadvantages.
Some people think that by first wetting the coffee with cold water,
and letting it come to a boil, and by then adding the boiling water,
more of the strength of the coffee is extracted. When there is not
cream for coffee the milk should be boiled, as it makes the coffee
richer. As soon as the milk boils up it should be taken off of the
stove, since it grows strong and oily by much boiling. To many people
it is injurious to drink coffee; but physicians say that, taken
without milk, it is harmless. Some element of the coffee combines with
the milk to form a leathery coating on the stomach, which impairs
digestion. A great many substances are mixed with coffee, when sold,
to cheapen it,--chicory, beans, peas, rye, and wheat being the
commonest. To obtain it pure, the safest way is to buy it unground,
unless you purchase of a strictly honest dealer. Coffee drinkers, as a
rule, eat less than other people, though coffee, and also tea, have
little direct food value; but they retard the waste of the tissues,
and so take the place of food. The sugar and milk used with them give
some nutriment.
Boiled Coffee.
The old method of boiling coffee is still practised by at least one-
half the housekeepers in this country. The coffee is sometimes boiled
with an egg, which makes it perfectly clear, and also enriches it.
When an egg is not used a small piece of salt fish skin is boiled with
the coffee to clear it.
Directions for making: A small cupful of roasted and ground coffee,
one-third Mocha and two-thirds Java; a small egg, shell and all,
broken into the pot with the dry coffee. Stir veil with a spoon, and
then pour on three pints of boiling water. Let it boil from five to
ten minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. As soon as it
has boiled enough, pour in a cupful of cold water, and turn a little
of the coffee into a cup, to see that the nozzle of the pot is not
filled with grounds. Turn this back, and let the coffee stand a few
moments to settle, taking care that it does not boil again. The
advantages of boiled coffee are that when the egg is used the yolk
gives a very rich flavor, and when the milk or cream is added the
coffee has a rich, yellow look, which is pleasing. It has also a
peculiar flavor, which many people prefer to the flavor gained by any
other process. The disadvantages are that the egg coats the dry
coffee, and when the hot water is added the coating becomes hard, and
a great deal of the best of the coffee remains in the grounds after
boiling. Also, in boiling, much of the fine flavor is lost in the
steam that escapes from the pot.
Filtered Coffee.
Another--and really the most economical and the easiest--way of
making coffee is by filtering. The French coffee biggin is valuable
for this. It consists of two cylindrical tin vessels, one fitting into
another, and the bottom of the upper being a fine strainer. Another
coarser strainer, with a rod running from the centre, is placed upon
this. Then the coffee, which must be finely-ground, is put in, and
another strainer is placed at the top of the rod. The boiling water is
poured on, and the pot set where it will keep hot, but not boil, until
the water has gone through. This will make a clear, strong coffee,
with a rich, smooth flavor. The advantage of the two extra strainers
is that the one coming next to the fine strainer prevents the grounds
from filling up the fine holes, and so the coffee is clear, and made
more easily. The upper strainer causes the boiling water to fall on
the coffee like rain. In this way it is more evenly distributed, and
the fine coffee is not carried through the fine strainer, as it would
be if the water were poured directly on the dry coffee. When milk or
cream is added to filtered coffee it does not turn a rich yellow, as
in the case of that boiled with an egg. A few spoonfuls of this
coffee, without sugar or milk, taken after dinner, is said to help
digestion.
Vienna Coffee.
A quartet of a cupful of boiled milk. Add three table-spoonfuls of
whipped cream, and fill up with filtered coffee.
Café au Lait.
This is simply one pint of filtered coffee added to one pint of milk
that has come just to the boiling point.
Steamed Coffee.
Another mode of preparing coffee is to steam it. The coffee is put in
a pot and boiling water poured on it. This pot, which is made to fit
into a tea-kettle, is placed in the kettle, and the coffee is cooked
from ten to twenty minutes, the water in the kettle boiling all the
time. This will make a clear and delicious drink.
Tea.
There are three varieties of the tea plant; both black and green tea
can be prepared from them all. Green tea is made from leaves which are
dried quickly, and black from leaves which have first been allowed to
stand twelve hours or more before roasting. The leaves wilt and grow
moist in that time, and that is what gives the dark and peculiar
appearance to this tea. In making tea the pot should be earthen,
rinsed with boiling water and left to stand a few moments on the
stove, to dry. Put in the tea leaves, and let the pot stand a few
minutes longer. Pour on boiling water, leaving the pot standing where
it will be at the boiling point, yet will not boil, for from three to
five minutes. For moderate strength use one teaspoonful of tea to half
a pint of water. If the water is soft it should be used as soon as it
boils, for boiling causes all the gases which flavor the water to
escape; but if the water is hard it is best to boil from twenty to
thirty minutes. The gases escape from hard water also, but boiling
causes the mineral matter, which hardens the water, to settle on the
bottom of the kettle, and the water becomes softer.
Lemonade.
Good lemonade can be made with half a pint of lemon juice (extracted
with a squeezer, and strained), three pints of water and a generous
pint of sugar. Have the drink cold. Hot lemonade is highly recommended
for a cold. A glass can be made with the juice of a lemon, one large
table-spoonful of sugar and a cupful of boiling water. Drink it hot.
HOW--
To Blanch Almonds.
Shell the nuts, and pour boiling water over them. Let them stand in
the water a minute, and then throw them into cold water. Rub between
the hands.
To Corn Beef.
For fifty pounds of beef make a pickle with two gallons of water, four
pounds of salt, one and a half pounds of brown sugar, one and a half
ounces of saltpetre, half an ounce of saleratus. Put these ingredients
on to boil, and when they boil, skim, and put away to cool. When cold,
put the beef in it. Put weights on the meat, to keep it under the
brine.
To Scrape Chocolate.
If only one square of chocolate is needed, draw a line across the two
squares at the end, dividing them in halves. With a sharp knife, shave
off the chocolate until you come to the line. By this method there is
no waste of time or material. If you want two or more squares, all
that is necessary is, of course, to shave off until you come to the
dividing line already there. The pound packages of Baker's chocolate
consist of two cakes, each of which has eight squares; so one of these
squares is an ounce.
To Use the Salamander.
The salamander is a circular iron plate, to which is attached a long
handle. It is made red hot in the fire and held over the article to be
browned, being careful not to have it touch. If you have not a
salamander the fire shovel can be heated and used in the same way; but
the shovel is not improved by the operation.
To Clean English Currants.
Pick all the stones, bits of dirt and long stems from the currants.
Add one pint of flour to two quarts of currants, and rub well between
the hands. This starts the stems and dirt from the fruit. Put about a
pint of currants in the flour sieve and rub them until all the flour
has passed through; then put them in the colander and shake until the
stems have passed through. When all the fruit has been treated in this
manner, put it in a large pan of cold water. Wash thoroughly, and
drain in the colander. Repeat this operation three times. When the
fruit is well drained, spread it on boards or flat dishes and dry in a
warm place. Put away in jars.
To Remove Jellies and Creams from Moulds.
Have in a pan water enough (a little more than blood warm) to come to
the top of the mould. If the mould is tin, set it in this for about
half a minute; if earthen, keep it in long enough to have the heat
pass through the mould. Wipe the mould, place over it the dish into
which the jelly is to be turned, and turn both dish and mould
simultaneously. Let the mould rest a moment before lifting it gently
from the jelly.
To Whip Cream.
Very rich or _very_ poor cream will not whip well. When too rich
it turns to butter, and when too poor the froth becomes liquid almost
as soon as it has been skimmed. Thick cream, that will hardly pour,
should have an equal quantity of milk added to it before whipping.
Such cream as one gets from the milkman will rarely be found
_too_ rich for whipping. It is more likely to be the other way;
and one is often disappointed in finding it too poor to froth. The
cream should be ice cold.
Have a large bowl or tin pail, rather narrow at the bottom. Place this
in a pan of ice water. Have a bright tin pan in another of ice water.
Put the cream in the bowl and put the whip churn in this. Hold the
churn with the left hand, tipping it slightly, that the cream may flow
out at the bottom. With the right hand draw the dasher lightly about
half way up the cylinder; then press down hard. It must not be
forgotten that the _up_ stroke is _light_ and the _down_ stroke
is _hard_. When the bowl is full, skim the froth into a
tin pan. Continue this until nearly all the cream has been whipped.
Draw the froth in the pan to one side, and turn the liquid cream
at the bottom of the pan back into the bowl. Whip it again. A
little of the cream will always become liquid again.
When the cream is for whips, or for a garnish for frozen pudding or
Bavarian creams, sweeten it, and flavor with anything you please,
before whipping. If the cream is very rich a Dover beater will whip
it, but there is nothing that will whip cream so quickly and so well
as the whip churn described in the chapter on Kitchen Furnishing.
To Boil Sugar.
The degrees of boiling sugar are variously divided by different cooks.
Some give six and others as high as eight. The Stench boil sugar for
nearly all their desserts. For all practical purposes a cook need
understand only three stages. Put one cupful of granulated or loaf
sugar and half a cupful of water on to boil. When the mixture has
boiled fifteen minutes, dip the fore-finger and thumb in cold water
and take up a little of the syrup between them. If, upon drawing them
apart, the syrup forms a thread, it is at the second degree. This is
the best stage for frozen fruits, sherbets, and preserves.
If, a little later, when some syrup is taken up with a spoon and blown
hard, it flies off in tiny bubbles, it is at the fourth degree, called
the _soufflé_. It takes about twenty minutes' boiling for this.
The syrup is then used for _biscuit glacé_ and various kinds of
creams. At this stage it also gives sherbets and fruits a much richer
flavor than when used at the second degree.
If, when a little syrup is taken up on the point of a stick or skewer,
and dipped in cold water, it breaks off brittle, the sixth degree has
been reached. This is the stage where it is used for icing fruit and
cake, the dish being called fruit _glacé_ or _gâteau glacé_.
The syrup must _never_ be stirred, as this will cause it to
grain. Great care must be taken that it does not boil after coming to
the sixth degree, as it burns quickly after that point is reached.
To Make and Use a Pastry Bag.
Fold a piece of strong cotton cloth (perhaps a foot square) from the
opposite corners, so as to give it a triangular shape. On one side sew
together the two edges, thus making a bag shaped like a "dunce's cap."
Cut the cloth at the apex just enough to permit a short tin tube,
somewhat like a tailor's thimble, to be pushed through. The tube for
éclairs measures about three-fourths of an inch at the smallest
opening; that for lady-fingers is three-eighths of an inch, and that
for meringues and kisses, half an inch. The tubes for decorating with
frosting are very small.
Fill the bag with the mixture to be forced through, and gather the
cloth together at the top with the left hand. Hold the point of the
tube close to the pan on which the mixture is to be spread. Press the
mixture out with the right hand. If the cakes are to be large use a
good deal of pressure, but if to be small, very little will do. At
first, it will be hard to get the shapes, but with a little practice
it will seem comparatively easy.
To Make Paper Cases.
This is not difficult, if one will carefully study for a moment the
diagram below and the directions following:
[Illustration: diagram]
Cut the paper on the dark lines--(there are _eight_).
Crease on every dotted line.
At each end turn the parts lettered A over that lettered B, so that
the lines _c_ rest on the line _d_, and one A overlaps the other.
Fold the parts B up against the backs of the parts A.
Fold inward those parts of the edges which are lightly shaded, and
fold outward those which are heavily shaded.
Stick the parts of the box together with the white of an egg mixed
with a little flour.
Remember that it is a box that is to be made, and after the first two
steps it may be easy to guess how to complete the work. By tracing a
copy of the diagram one obtains a good model one quarter of the size
the case should be; that is, the square should be five inches on a
side instead of two and one-half. After experimenting with this the
shape may be varied to suit the taste. Stiff white paper should be
used. Cases can be bought of restaurateurs. They are used for
_biscuit glacé, biscuit soufflé,_ and other dainties.
To Lard.
Larding is a simple operation. The pork should be firm and young
(salt, of course). Cut thin, even slices parallel with the rind, and
cut these in long, narrow strips that will fit into the needle. For
beef, veal, turkey or chicken the strips should be about as large
round as a lead pencil, and about three and a half inches long; and
for birds, chops, and sweetbreads they should be about as large round
as a match. Three slices are all that can be cut from one piece of
pork, because when you get more than an inch away from the rind, the
pork is so tender that it will break when in the needle.
Put the strips in a bowl of broken ice, to harden. Have the meat, if
beef or veal, free of skin and gristle. Put a strip (also called a
lardoon) into the needle as far as it will go. With a skewer or knife
draw a line on both sides of the meat and along the upper part. Thrust
the needle into the meat at one of the side lines; and when it is
about half way through to the top of the piece, press the steel
slightly with the thumb and fore-finger, to hold the lardoon in place
until it has entered the meat. Now push the needle through to the top,
and gently draw it out, leaving about three-quarters of an inch of the
strip exposed at both the side and upper part of the meat That part of
the pork which is hidden should be half an inch under the surface. The
needle's course is as if it started under the eaves of a gable roof
and came out at the ridge-pole. Continue until all the rows are filled
with lardoons. Two rows are enough for a fillet of beef. If the strips
are too large for the needle they will be pressed out as soon as the
lower part of the needle enters the meat.
To Stew.
The meat and vegetables for stews should, when it is possible, be
browned in a little fat, and hot water should then be added. As soon
as the stew comes to the boiling point, skim it, and set back where it
will just simmer, not boil, the given time. The pieces of meat in a
stew should come to the table whole and tender and juicy, and they
will be in this condition only with _slow_ cooking.
To Braise.
Braising is one of the best modes of preparing meat. There are pans
expressly for braising; but any deep tin, sheet-iron, or granite-ware
pan, with a cover, will answer quite well. The meat to be cooked must
always be browned in some kind of fat, the vegetables fried in the
same fat, and enough stock (if possible) or water be added to half
cover the meat. The pan should then be covered and placed in the oven.
The meat must cook _slowly_ and thoroughly, and be basted
frequently. No matter how tough, if properly braised it will become
tender and juicy. If, however, the cooking is hurried the dish will be
spoiled.
To Fry.
There are two modes of frying. One is to have just enough fat to
prevent the article from burning or sticking; and the other is to have
enough not only to cover the food, but to float it. The latter is by
far the better way, as all the surface of the article is instantly
hardened, and, therefore, will not absorb fat. It is also the cheaper
way, because the fat can be used so many times. If the drippings saved
from meats, soups and gravies should not be enough for frying
purposes, buy pure lard to use with it. Many recommend buying beef
suet for this same purpose; but food fried in suet is more liable to
absorb fat than that fried in lard. The reason of this is that lard
can be heated to a higher temperature without burning than can beef or
any of the other fats. Butter is also often recommended for frying. If
used, it should be free of salt. But aside from being so expensive, it
is not so nice for frying purposes as fats, for it burns at a much
lower temperature than either beef fat or lard. The Scotch kettle is
the _best_ utensil for frying. It rests on a rim, which lifts the
bottom from the stove, and the inside surface is polished very smooth;
therefore, the fat is less liable to burn than if the surface were
rough and the bottom rested on the hot stove. The fat should heat
gradually; and when the food is plunged into it a slight smoke should
rise from the _centre._ It will smoke at the sides some time
before it has become hot enough for frying. After the food has been
put in, let the kettle stand on the hottest part of the stove until it
regains its former temperature, and then set it back where it is not
quite so hot. In frying fish-balls, doughnuts, etc., put only a few at
a time in the boiling fat; then wait a few moments for the fat to
regain its former temperature, and put in a few more. Fish-balls are
often spoiled by the putting of a great many in the kettle at once.
The temperature of the fat is instantly reduced, and the balls absorb
the fat. When an article of food is fried, drain the fat from it, and
lay it on a sheet of brown paper in a warm pan. The paper will absorb
any fat that may remain on the food. As soon as you are through
frying, take the fat from the fire, and when cooled a little, strain
it, (See the chapter on the Care of Food.) If the directions given are
followed, there will be no difficulty in having food fried without its
being saturated with grease.
To Serve.
The dishes on which meats, fish, jellies and creams are placed should
be large enough to leave a margin of an inch or so between the food
and the lower edge of the border of the dish.
It is well to pour the sauce for cold puddings around the pudding,
especially if there will be a contrast in color.
It is a great improvement to have the sauce poured around the article
instead of over it, and to have the border of the dish garnished with
bits of parsley, celery tops or carrot leaves.
When sauce is poured around meat or fish the dish must be quite hot,
or the sauce will cool quickly.
Small rolls or sticks of bread are served with soup. Potatoes and
bread are usually served with fish, but many people prefer to serve
only bread. Butter is not served at the more elegant dinners. Two
vegetables will be sufficient in any course. Cold dishes should be
very cold, and hot dishes _hot._
It is a good idea to have a dish of sliced lemons for any kind of
fish, and especially for those broiled or fried.
Melons, cantelopes, cucumbers and radishes, and tomatoes, when served
in slices, should all be chilled in the ice chest.
Be particular not to overdo the work of decorating. Even a simple
garnish adds much to the appearance of a dish, but too much decoration
only injures it. Garnishes should be so arranged as not to interfere
with serving.
Potato-balls and thin fried potatoes make a nice garnish for all kinds
of fried and broiled meats and fish.
Cold boiled beets, carrots and turnips, and the whites of hard-boiled
eggs, stamped out with a fancy vegetable cutter, make a pretty garnish
for cold or hot meats.
Thin slices of toast, cut into triangles, make a good garnish for many
dishes.
Whipped cream is a delicate garnish for all Bavarian dreams, blanc-
manges, frozen puddings and ice creams.
Arrange around jellies or creams a border of any kind of delicate
green, like smilax or parsley, or of rose leaves, and dot it with
bright colors--pinks, geraniums, verbenas or roses. Remember that the
green should be dark and the flowers small and bright. A bunch of
artificial rose leaves, for decorating dishes of fruit at evening
parties, lasts for years. Natural leaves are preferable when they can
be obtained.
Wild roses, buttercups and nasturtiums, if not used too freely, we
suitable for garnishing a salad.
BILLS OF FARE.
What to set before guests at the table, or, indeed, before one's own
family, is sometimes a perplexing matter for housekeepers to decide,
and a few bills of fare are given on the following pages as an aid.
The number of dishes can readily be increased or diminished. Any of
the company dinners can be prepared at home almost as easily as an
ordinary dinner, success depending not upon a great number of dishes,
but upon a few well cooked and well served, and a hostess apparently
free from care.
A great part of any company dinner can be prepared the day before. The
vegetables can be prepared and put in cold water, the game or meat be
larded, the meat or fish cooked for croquettes and salads, the salad
dressing made ready, and jellies, creams and cold puddings be made. If
a clear soup (and that is always best) is to be served, it also should
be made. In the morning the bread and cake can be baked, and the fish
and other dishes prepared. Early in the afternoon freeze the creams
and sherbets.
Make a list of the principal dishes. With each dish have a list of the
vegetables, sauces or other things to be served, and the time for
serving. This will insure the dishes being ready at the proper moment.
Have the plates and other dishes counted and ready to warm--and, by
the way, arrange to have these and the silver washed where the noise
cannot reach the guests.
Twelve seems to be a good number of people for a dinner party. But
very little increase in the quantity of material will be required if
the number should be as large as sixteen or eighteen. Fox six or eight
the quantity of soup, oysters, creams, sherbets and coffee, can be
diminished one-third, but that of meats and fish should not be much
smaller. It is supposed that the coffee will be served in small cups.
Although it is usually drunk clear, cream and sugar should be offered
with it.
People differ as to the kinds of breakfast required. Many believe in
the French custom of having only chocolate or coffee, rolls, and
perhaps eggs in some form. Again, others believe in and require a
substantial breakfast. There is no limit to the variety of dishes that
can be prepared for breakfast and tea if the cook has taste and
judgment in using the remains of meats, fish and vegetables left from
dinner. Either oatmeal or hominy should always be served at breakfast.
When it is possible, have fruit for the first course.
BREAKFAST.
Fruit.
Oatmeal and Cream.
Baked Potatoes.
Mutton Chops.
Rye Muffins.
Hominy Griddle-Cakes.
Coffee, Tea or Chocolate.
* * * * * * *
Fruit.
Oatmeal.
Broiled Ham. Omelet.
Graham Muffins. Toast.
Griddle-Cakes.
Coffee or Tea.
* * * * * * *
Fruit.
Escaloped Meat.
Dropped Eggs.
Raised Muffins.
Corn Cake.
Drinks.
* * * * * * *
DINNERS FOR TWELVE.
Clear Soup (five pints).
Fish (four or five pounds, baked, boiled, or escaloped).
Bread, and Potatoes if you like.
Chicken Croquettes, or any kind of Patties.
Fillet of Beef, Larded (two and a half to three pounds), with Mushroom
Sauce.
Potato Puffs.
Sweetbreads (six).
Green Peas (two quarts, if fresh, or two cans of French peas).
Lettuce Salad (French dressing; two large heads of lettuce).
A Cold Pudding. Ice Cream (one gallon). Cake.
Crackers.
Cheese.
Coffee.
The cost of a dinner like this, when prepared at home, depends
somewhat upon the market, but will rarely exceed twenty-five dollars.
* * * * * * *
Oysters on a Block of Ice (two quarts).
_Consommé à la Royale_ (five pints).
Baked Fish (five pounds), Hollandaise Sauce (double the rule).
Cheese _Soufflé_ (double the rule).
Roast Chicken (nine to twelve pounds).
Mashed Potatoes (twelve).
Green Peas (two quarts or two cans).
Celery. Cranberry Jelly.
Oyster Patties (fourteen).
Lettudfe Salad (two heads of lettuce with French dressing).
Water Crackers (a dozen and a half).
Neufchatel Cheese (two packages).
Orange Sherbet (three quarts).
Frozen Cabinet Pudding (the rule given), Apricot Sauce.
_Glacé Meringué_ (the rule given). Sponge Cake. Fruit.
Coffee (the rule for filtered coffee).
* * * * * * *
_Potage à la Reine_ (five pints).
Sardine Canapees (two dozen). Olives.
Roast Turkey (about eight pounds), Chestnut Stuffing and Sauce.
Macaroni, _à l'Italienne_ (twice the rule).
Cranberry Jelly.
Plain Boiled Potatoes.
Lettuce Salad (two large heads).
Custard _Soufflé_ (twice the rule), Creamy Sauce.
Frozen Pudding (the rule given).
Lemon Sherbet Cake.
Fruit.
Coffee (three pints of filtered).
Crackers and Cheese.
* * * * * * *
Oyster Soup (two quarts).
Smelts _à la Tartare_ (three dozen).
Chicken _Vol-au-Vent_ (a large one).
Rolled Rib Roast (about twelve pounds).
Polish Sauce. Grape Jelly.
Cauliflower, with Cream Sauce.
Potato _Soufflé_.
Rice Croquettes (two dozen).
Larded Grouse with Bread Sauce (three grouse).
Potatoes, _a la Parisienne._
Dressed Celery (two heads).
Royal Diplomatic Pudding (the rule given).
Raspberry Sherbet (three quarts).
Vanilla Ice Cream (three quarts).
Cake.
Fruit.
Coffee (three pints of the filtered).
Crackers and Cheese.
* * * * * * *
GAME DINNER.
Meg Merrilies' Soup.
Grouse Soup.
Stewed Terrapin.
Turtle Steak.
Larded Grouse, Bread Sauce and Crumbs.
Broiled Quail on Toast, Currant Jelly.
Potato Croquettes.
Escaloped Tomato.
Roast Loin of Venison, Game Sauce.
Potato Puffs.
Cauliflower, with Cream Sauce.
Roast Ducks, Olive Sauce.
Potatoes _à la Parisienne._
French Peas.
Dressed Celery.
Lemon Sherbet.
Charlotte Russe.
Nesselrode Pudding.
Crackers and Cheese.
Coffee.
Fruit.
* * * * * * *
SUPPER FOR FIFTY.
Boned Turkey (one).
Tongue in Jelly (two).
Chicken Salad (six quarts).
Escaloped Oysters (six quarts).
Two quarts of olives.
One hundred _small_ rolls, buttered.
Fifty Sardine Sandwiches.
Jelly (four moulds).
Orange Bavarian Cream (four moulds). Frozen Pudding (three gallons).
Chocolate Ice Cream (two gallons).
Vanilla (ten quarts).
Pistachio (ten quarts).
Mixed Cake (three baskets).
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