MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.
For those who still hesitate whether to adopt paper-bag cookery or not,
it may be as well to repeat the solid advantages of this method. For one
thing, it minimises labour and saves time, thus going far to solve the
servant problem. The cook who has not the never-ending labour of
cleaning saucepans and baking-tins, who has leisure for reasonable rest
and recreation, is a contented being, not likely to give notice at
awkward moments. The expense of most labour-saving domestic utensils
prevents their adoption in households where means are limited, but the
bags necessary for paper-bag cooking cost the merest trifle.
Only those who live in small houses or flats know the misery of having
each meal heralded by a violent smell of cooking, which invades every
room, and robs the average person of all appetite; the tenant of those
uncomfortable dwelling-places known as "Maisonettes" knows only too well
what it is to inhale the fragrance of the downstairs burned onion or
frying bloater; while the occupants of the lower maisonette suffer from
audible and pungent remarks upon the odours from their kitchen, remarks
which frequently lead to friction. Now, paper-bag cookery does not
smell.
Paper bags are cheap. The young couple setting up modestly in life are
spared the outlay of an expensive range of cooking utensils; the
occupant of cramped apartments has not to endure the obtrusive little
kitchen in bed-or sitting-room, and the thrifty housewife has not the
continual necessity of replacing a worn-out saucepan or burnt-out
frying-pan. And these things run into money. All that is necessary for
the equipment of the up-to-date paper-bag cook is, of course, a kettle
for boiling water, a conservative boilerette (Welbank) for the cooking
of these few dishes not amenable to paper-bag treatment, and an egg
saucepan. For though eggs are delicious cooked in a paper bag, it would
be an extravagance to light the oven up for that purpose alone. Perhaps
a frying-pan might also be included, but the rest of the kitchen outfit
may consist entirely of "Papakuk" bags.
DOING WITHOUT A KITCHEN.
With the aid of paper-bag cookery, the up-to-date householder may
eliminate the kitchen altogether, thus gaining another room. The small
flat at a moderate rent usually consists of one sitting-room, two
bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It is equally unpleasant to sit in
the room in which one has just dined, or to take meals in the room where
they have just been cooked. With a little contrivance and ingenuity, the
kitchen may be transformed into a neat little dining-room, a gas stove
erected in any convenient recess or in the bathroom, and with paper-bag
cookery, nothing more elaborate will be needed.
BEDROOM COOKERY.
For the business woman, living in one room, ordinary cooking is out of
the question, yet most landladies refuse to cook for their lodgers,
except at a high charge, and restaurant living is expensive. Ordinary
cooking, too, means more or less heat and odours, incompatible with
keeping the one room fresh and neat. In this case, too, paper-bag
cookery solves the difficulty.
"WILD WEST" COOKERY.
Paper-bag cookery has been seized upon with thankfulness by a girl who
went out to keep house for a brother in the "Wild West," and found the
toil of cooking with rough and old-fashioned utensils beyond her
capacity. So incessant were her labours, so unsatisfactory the results,
that she hailed with joy and gratitude a newspaper article and some bags
sent her by a compassionate relative, and now writes triumphantly that
all her cookery troubles are over.
INVALID DIET.
How weary invalids get of the eternal boiled whiting and boiled chicken
is well known. The poor invalid who besought his doctor's permission to
have his whiting fried, and who, receiving it with the proviso it should
be fried in water, burst into tears when the dish was set before him,
would have been charmed with the fish cooked in a paper bag. A whiting,
a chop, a fillet of chicken thus cooked are all as savoury as if fried,
yet as light and digestible as when boiled.
INVALID'S CHOPS.
Trim every morsel of fat from the chop, and put it without water or
seasoning into a very well greased bag. Cook it fifteen or twenty
minutes according to the thickness, and serve it with any seasoning or
sauce the doctor sanctions.
INVALID'S CHICKEN.
With a very sharp knife, cut neat fillets from the breast of a plump
chicken; brush each fillet over with oiled butter, put into a greased
bag, and cook fifteen minutes.
INVALID'S WHITING.
Choose a good-sized but not coarse whiting; have it filleted; roll up
each fillet and put them into a thickly buttered bag with one
tablespoonful of milk. Cook ten minutes.
INVALID'S PORRIDGE.
This may be cooked in a buttered bag alone, or cooked in a dish
enveloped in a bag. Both methods are excellent. For the first, take a
pint of milk and add when boiling enough rolled oats to make a batter;
add salt to taste, and put into a well buttered bag and cook twenty
minutes. If a dish be used, the porridge may be made thinner, and must
be cooked longer, about thirty minutes. If the ordinary medium oatmeal
be used, it must be soaked in cold water overnight, in a pie-dish. Next
morning, add as much more water as will be needed, add a little salt.
Put the dish into a greased bag and cook forty-five minutes. This
porridge is not suitable for invalids, but is excellent for children.
BREAKFAST DISHES.
There are a great many breakfast dishes, besides ham and eggs which are
very much nicer cooked in a paper bag.
LIVER AND BACON
is one. Cut a calf's or sheep's liver into thin slices, flour both
sides, sprinkle with salt and pepper; put into a thickly buttered bag
and cook for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, have ready as many thin
rashers of bacon as there are slices of liver and put them in a bag five
minutes before the liver is done. Dish both together on a very hot dish
and serve immediately.
BROILED KIDNEYS.
This is another very savoury breakfast dish. Foreign kidneys answer very
well; skin them, cut in halves, and wrap each half in a thin rasher of
fat bacon. Put them on a skewer to keep them in position, place in a
buttered bag, and cook fifteen minutes.
A GERMAN BEEFSTEAK
is very nice for a hearty breakfast eater. Mince finely half a pound of
steak, removing skin, gristle, and fat; mix well with a finely minced
onion, half a teaspoonful minced parsley, and pepper and salt to taste.
Flatten into an oblong shape, sprinkle on each side with flour, put into
a well greased bag, and cook twenty minutes. Then cut a hole in the bag,
drop in an egg, and cook three minutes longer.
SAUSAGE ROLLS
are also very good. Take four or five pork sausages, and wrap each when
skinned in an oblong piece of pastry, short crust or puff pastry
according to taste. Put into a well buttered bag and cook twenty
minutes.
RISSOLES
make a nice change for breakfast, and are easily and quickly made. Roll
out some light, shortcrust paste. Have ready some finely minced cooked
meat, nicely seasoned, and mixed to a thick paste with gravy which has
been thickened with flour. Put a little heap of this at regular
intervals on half the pastry, cover with the other half and cut out each
rissole with a pastry-cutter, pressing the edges well together. Put into
a well greased bag, and cook twenty minutes.
BACON AND MUSHROOMS
are a favourite country dish. Half a pound of freshly gathered mushrooms
should be trimmed, peeled, wiped, and put into a buttered bag with half
a dozen thinly cut rashers of bacon, and a piece of butter rubbed
together with a dessertspoonful of flour, a little salt and cayenne
pepper. Cook thirty minutes.
SURPRISE SAUSAGES.
Half a pound of sausage-meat is rolled into the shape of an egg, and a
cupful of cold mashed potato is mixed with a well beaten egg and a
little salt and pepper. Cover the sausage-meat completely with the
potato mixture, brush over with the beaten yolk of an egg, roll it in
fine bread-crumbs, highly seasoned; put the whole into a greased
"Papakuk" bag and cook fifteen minutes.
BAKED HAM
Take a corner or gammon of bacon, or a small picnic ham; make a paste of
flour and water and completely cover the ham with it, rolled out to
about half an inch in thickness. Put in a greased bag and cook in a
moderate oven, allowing thirty minutes to the pound. When done, paste
and skin come away easily and the flavour and aroma are exquisite.
COD'S ROE
makes a nice breakfast dish. It is first boiled or steamed until
thoroughly done. When quite cold, cut in thick, firm slices, brush over
with oiled butter, dredge thoroughly on both sides on flour, sprinkle
with salt and pepper, put into a well buttered "Papakuk" bag, and cook
twelve minutes.
EGG CUTLETS.
Chop rather finely three hard-boiled eggs, add two tablespoonfuls of
fine bread-crumbs, one of grated cheese and a little pepper and salt;
mix well and bind with the beaten yolk of two eggs. Shape into cutlets,
put into a thickly buttered "Papakuk" bag, and cook ten minutes.
EGG SAVOURY.
Chop four hard-boiled eggs, mix with two rashers of fat bacon cut in
dice, pepper, salt, and a sprinkle of sweet herbs; put a slice of butter
in a saucepan, add two tablespoonfuls of flour and stir together. Add
slowly a gill of milk and stir till it boils. Then add the eggs and
bacon and stir together till it is a thick mass. Turn out on a plate,
and when cold form into balls. Put these into a thickly buttered bag and
cook ten minutes.
CURRIED EGGS
are excellent, and very simply made. Hard-boiled eggs are cut in slices
and put into a well greased "Papakuk" bag; a thick white sauce is made,
and a dessertspoonful of curry powder is stirred in. This is added to
the eggs, and the bag put into a hot oven for six minutes.
CREAMED EGGS
are delicious. A shallow tin is well buttered, thickly sprinkled with
seasoned bread-crumbs, and two or three eggs carefully broken in. Cover
with more bread-crumbs, put bits of butter over the top, pour in a
tablespoonful of cream, or if cream cannot be afforded, a little milk
thickened with cornflour and a morsel of butter. Slide this into a well
greased bag and cook twenty minutes.
Cheese savouries are particularly good, cooked paper-bag fashion. One of
the most generally approved is
CHEESE STRAWS.
Mix together four ounces of butter, four ounces of self-raising flour,
four ounces of grated cheese, a little cayenne, a pinch of salt, and a
well-beaten egg. Roll out, cut into thin strips, and into one or two
rings. Put inside a buttered bag, cook fifteen minutes, and serve with
several straws inside each ring.
CHEESE _FONDUE_.
Well butter a dish, put into it half a pint of milk, half a cup of fine
bread-crumbs, quarter of a pound of dried cheese grated, one ounce of
butter, and one well beaten egg; season with salt and pepper, put into a
greased bag, and cook forty-five minutes.
CHEESE PASTRY
is a delicious morsel. Make a nice flaky paste crust, roll it out and
cut into two squares. Melt three ounces of grated cheese and one ounce
of butter with a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Spread this over one half
of the paste, cover with the other, brush over with milk, put into a
well greased bag, and cook fifteen minutes.
FRIED CHEESE.
Cut some slices of cheese, two inches long, one inch wide, and half an
inch thick. Dry cheese may be used up in this way. Pour over the slices
a little oiled butter, sprinkle with pepper, and leave for half an hour,
turning once during that time. Make a thick batter, dip each piece in
it; lay in a buttered "Papakuk" bag and cook fifteen minutes in a hot
oven.
CHEESE BISCUITS.
This is a very simple but a very nice savoury. Split open several of
Crawford's butter puffs, lay a slice of toasted cheese between the
halves, put into a greased bag, and cook for ten minutes.
CHEESE PUFFS.
Melt one ounce of butter in a small saucepan, add a tablespoonful of
water, and when it boils sift in gradually two tablespoonfuls of
self-raising flour, and three of grated cheese; season to taste. Stir
till the mixture leaves the saucepan, and then take off the fire. When
cool, stir in a well beaten egg and set aside till quite cold. Then
shape into balls, put into a buttered bag, and cook fifteen minutes in a
fairly hot oven.
MACARONI AND CHEESE.
Break half a pound of macaroni into small pieces; put into a greased bag
with half a cup of water, and cook for half an hour. Then put into
another bag which has been thickly buttered; add four ounces of grated
cheese and one ounce of butter, a little pepper and salt. Cook for ten
minutes.
Many people enjoy a little stewed fruit with breakfast, and all fruits
gain in flavour cooked in a "Papakuk" bag. Prunes, a recipe for which
has already been given, are particularly nice cooked in this way and so
are other dried fruits.
Put the fruit into a large basin, and pour boiling water over them,
covering them completely. This plumps them up nicely. Cover with a plate
and leave till cold. Then pour off the water, drain the fruit quite dry,
and just cover with fresh, cold water. Replace the plate and leave till
the morning. Then place in a large and very thoroughly greased bag, add
to each pound of fruit two ounces of sugar and any flavouring preferred,
a teaspoonful of lemon juice, one of sherry or of essence of vanilla or
almond. Cook for forty-five minutes.
BAKED APPLES
are unsurpassed cooked in a paper bag. Simply wash the apples, or pare
them if preferred, put into a greased bag with a gill of water, and bake
forty minutes. Add sugar to taste.
STEWED GOOSEBERRIES.
Put into a greased bag with sugar and a gill of water and cook thirty
minutes. Or they may be first put into a dish and the dish enclosed in
a bag. Currants and raspberries are best thus cooked. Fruit tarts and
meat pies when cooked in a dish which is afterwards put into a bag, must
have some holes pricked in the bag.
YORKSHIRE PUDDING
for eating with meat can be cooked in a "Papakuk" bag, but must first be
poured into a shallow round tin which has had a slice of roast-beef
dripping or of butter melted in it. Make the pudding in the usual way; 4
to 6 ozs. of self-raising flour, a pinch of salt, two well beaten eggs,
and enough milk or water mixed to make a batter about as thick as cream.
Put the tin into a bag and cook twenty-five minutes.
WARMING UP "LEFTOVERS."
Paper-bag cookery is invaluable as a means of warming up cold meats.
Apart from the various ways of serving up cold meat in hashes, stews,
and other dishes, recipes for which have already been given, it is an
excellent means of warming food which is required dished up in the same
form as before.
RE-HEATING ROAST LEG OF MUTTON.
This is merely put into a well-greased "Papakuk" bag and placed in the
oven to get thoroughly hot, the time depending on its weight; it will
then taste exactly as if it had been freshly roasted. If part of the leg
has been already consumed, cold mashed potatoes should be pressed into
the space left, and shaped so that when heated and browned the leg will
appear untouched.
DEVILLED MUTTON.
This is never so nice as when cooked in a "Papakuk" bag. A cold shoulder
of lamb is delicious when devilled. Cut over night large gashes in the
meat, and fill these gashes with dripping or butter, in which has been
mixed plenty of pepper, salt, dry mustard, and a few drops of lemon
juice if that flavour is liked. Leave the meat until it is nearly
dinner-time, then put into a "Papakuk" bag and cook fifteen minutes.
It is the same with other joints; simply putting them into a greased bag
and thoroughly heating them restores the flavour so completely that no
one can tell that the meat has been previously cooked and then
re-heated. This is possible only in paper-bag cookery; in ordinary
cooking reheated meat is always dry and flavourless. The exact time in
the oven cannot be given, as it depends on the weight; but as opening
the oven door does not injure paper-bag cookery, a watch can be kept.
Practice and experience are the safest guides, and the paper-bag cook
will soon learn the exact time each dish requires. There will not be
many failures, for a little too long will not dry up the food in the
bags, and if it be underdone, it may be turned into another bag and put
back into the oven. Always have the bags large enough; they may split
when the food is being put in if they are a tight fit. Also, unless the
bag is full large for the contents, it is somehow awkward in dishing up.
Some dexterity is required in freeing the food from the bag. If the
paper is very brown, it may fall to pieces before it can be removed and
bits of paper be found among the gravy. The bags should be intact and
scissors used to split them open. If there is any fear of some paper
remaining in the food, two hot dishes should be employed, one on which
to place the bag while it is being removed, the other into which to turn
the food when freed from the bag.
Many other recipes might be given, but the cook who is interested in
paper-bag cookery will be able to experiment for herself in fresh
directions. All the recipes in the best-known cookery-books may be
worked out in paper-bag cookery, for even those which cannot be put
straight into a bag without injuring their appearance--for instance,
cakes of the nature of plum cake, pound cake, seed, or Madeira--can be
put first into tins and then into a "Papakuk" bag with the certainty
that they will gain immensely in flavour and delicacy of taste.
INDEX OF RECIPES
PAGE
FISH--
Bloaters, 23
Bream (sea), 30
Brill, 28
Cod's head and shoulders, 30
Cod sounds, 28
Eels, 29
Eel Pasty, 29
Fish pudding, 23
" pie (Russian), 24
" salt, 28
" savoury, 24
" stew, 31
" tinned, 25
" cake, 29
Haddock, fresh, 22
" smoked, 23
Herrings (fresh), 30
Kedgeree, 28
Kippers, 23
Lobster, curried, 26
" cutlet, 26
" hot, 26
" patties, 27
Mackerel, 27
Plaice, 30
Salmon, croquettes, 25
" cutlets, 22
" tinned, 25
Sardines, 27
Skate, 21
Soles, 30
Turbot, 28
Whiting, 23
MEAT--
Beef, olives, 39
" roast, 34
Beefsteak pudding, 39
Carpet bag, 40
Chicken, roast, 35
Chops, 39
Gravy and dripping, 35
Hare, imitation, 40
Indian curry, 40
Irish stew, 38
Kidneys, 41
Kidney stew, 41
Lamb, loin, 33
" shoulder, 34
Liver and bacon, 41
Mutton, boiled, 38
Minced collops, 41
Pork, roast, 35
Rabbit, 40
Sausages, 41
Steak, grilled, 39
" haricot, 38
" minced, 36
Tinned, beef, 37
" chicken, 37
" mutton, 37
" rabbit, 37
" steak, 36
Veal, roast, 34
VEGETABLES AND CEREALS--
Beans, broad, 47
" butter, 52
" French, 48
Carrots, 48
Cauliflowers, 49
Cucumber, 52
" fritters, 52
" stuffed, 52
Lentils, 53
" cutlets, 55
Macaroni, savoury, 54
Marrow, vegetable, 50
" savoury, 51
" sliced, 51
Mushrooms, 48
" pudding, 54
Onions, 49
Onion dumpling, 55
" and tomato, 49
Parsnips, 49
Peas, green, 47
" " Duchess, 47
Potatoes, boiled, 46
" Duchess, 47
" sliced, 47
" stewed, 46
Rice, 53
" (ground) fritters, 54
" savoury, 53
Tomatoes, 49
" pie, 50
" stew, 50
" stuffed, 50
Turnips, 48
" cups, 54
Vegetable roll, 54
PUDDINGS AND SWEETS--
Apples, baked, 75
" dumpling, 57
" pudding, 56
" puffs, 56
" stewed, 57
Bread pudding, 58
" " economical, 57
Cabinet pudding, 60
Castle " , 63
Date " , 62
Fruit tarts, 59
Gooseberry pudding, 58
" " German, 61
Jam roly-poly, 58
Lancashire roly-poly, 62
Lemon dumplings, 58
Lemon puffs, 63
Palestine pudding, 62
Plum " , 61
" " sago, 63
Pineapple pudding, 62
Prunes, 63
Quinces, 64
Raisins, 63
Raisin Blanket, 59
Rice pudding, 59
Robin tartlets, 61
Sago plum pudding, 63
Strawberry _gâteau_, 60
Suet pudding, 61
Tapioca pudding, 59
CAKES--
American cookies, 66
Cherry cake, 66
Cocoanut buns, 65
Cropper cakes, 67
Dough cake, 65
Feather " , 67
Ginger " , 67
Golden " , 64
Ladies' fingers, 64
Lunch buns, 66
Nursery tea-cakes, 67
Shortbread, 64
Sponge roll, 66
Tea-cake, 65
" Yorkshire, 65
INVALID DISHES--
Invalid chicken, 70
" chops, 70
" porridge, 70
" whiting, 70
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.
Angels on horseback, 42
Bacon and mushrooms, 72
Cheese, biscuits, 74
" _fondue_, 74
" fried, 74
" and macaroni, 75
" pastry, 74
" puffs, 75
" straws, 74
Cod's roe, 73
Dresden patties, 42
Egg savoury, 73
Eggs, 40
" creamed, 73
" curried, 73
" cutlets, 73
" savoury, 42
" Scotch, 42
" epigrams, 43
German beefsteak, 71
Gooseberries (stewed), 75
Ham, baked, 72
" and eggs, 42
Left-overs (warmed-up dishes--devilled mutton,
roast leg of mutton, stews and hashes), 76
Liver and bacon, 71
Kidneys, 41
" broiled, 71
Potato surprise, 43
Rissoles, 72
Savoury eggs, 42
Scotch woodcock, 43
Sausages, rolls, 72
" surprise, 72
Yorkshire pudding, 76
PRINTED BY
WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD.
PLYMOUTH
PAPAKUK BAGS.
These bags, which are essential for the successful cooking of the dishes
mentioned in this volume, may be obtained at the following prices:--
Prices.
Sizes 25 50 100
1. 7 by 5 ins. 0s. 6d. 0s. 10d. 1s. 6d.
2. 9-1/2 " 7-1/2 " 0s. 7d. 1s. 1d. 2s. 0d.
3. 14-1/2 " 10-1/4 " 0s. 10d. 1s. 7d. 3s. 0d.
4. 20-1/2 " 11-1/4 " 1s. 3d. 2s. 4d. 4s. 6d.
5. 20-1/2 " 15-1/4 " 1s. 6d. 2s. 10d. 5s. 6d.
And twenty-five of any four different sizes will be supplied at the
hundred rate. The most useful sizes, however, are No. 2 and No. 4.
All applications for bags should _be accompanied by a remittance and
addressed envelope_.
These bags are exclusively made by Messrs. Lepard and Smiths after
careful experiments. The paper has been analysed by Messrs. Clayton,
Beadle, and Stevens, and pronounced to be perfectly pure and free from
injurious chemicals, and only white of egg and flour is used in pasting
the bags.
Suitable clips for fastening the bags can be supplied in boxes at 6d.
per hundred clips.
_Address application to_--
PAPAKUK BAG DEPARTMENT,
18 Henrietta Street, London, W.C.
"No Better Food."
Dr. ANDREW WILSON, F.R.S.E., &c.
_Fry's_
PURE CONCENTRATED
_Cocoa_
="I have never tasted Cocoa that I like so well.="--SIR CHAS. CAMERON,
C.B., M.D., Ex-President of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland.
--ASK FOR--
THE "FIVE BOYS" MILK CHOCOLATE.
"It is a pleasant and pure Food Confection, and can be consumed with
advantage and safety by young or old."--SCIENCE SIFTINGS.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Italics and underlining are indicated by _underscores_. Bold is
indicated by =equal-signs=. Small caps are indicated by ALL CAPS.
Variations in capitalization and hyphenation have been retained from the
original publication except as noted below.
Verso of title page: full stop removed (It is the Secret of Success for
all her Pastry and Cake making.)
Page 27 (LOBSTER PATTIES): mixed to minced (finely minced parsley)
Page 44: "paper-cooking" appears in the original and has been retained
Page 54 (MUSHROOM PUDDING): full stop added (cook fifteen minutes.)
Page 56: full stop added following CHAPTER V.
Page 56: Chapter V. is headed "PUDDINGS AND CAKES", and has not been
changed to "PUDDINGS AND SWEETS" as seen in the Table of Contents and
the Index.
Page 57 (ECONOMICAL BREAD PUDDING): over-night to overnight (overnight,
if more)
Page 58 (LEMON DUMPLINGS): "and the" substituted for "of a" (juice and
the grated rind)
Page 72 (SURPRISE SAUSAGES): sausage meat to sausage-meat
(the sausage-meat completely)
Page 79 (Potatoes): stoved to "stewed" (" stewed, 46)