spoonful of butter; pour the mixture into a rich crust, and bake.
A RICHER MOLASSES PIE
One cup of molasses, one cup of sugar, four eggs, and four
tablespoonfuls of butter. Mix together the sugar, butter and eggs,
then stir in the molasses. Bake in a rich crust.
HUCKLE OR WHORTLEBERRY PIE
Put a quart of picked huckleberries into a basin of water, take off
whatever floats; take up the berries by the handful; pick out all
the stems and unripe berries, and put the rest into a dish; line a
buttered pie dish with a pie paste; put in the berries half an inch
deep, and to a quart of berries put a teacupful of brown sugar, and
half a teacupful of water; dredge a teaspoonful of flour over; throw
in a saltspoonful of salt, and half a nutmeg grated; cover the pie,
cut a slit in the centre, or make several incisions on either side of
it; press the two crusts together around the edge, trim it off neatly
with a sharp knife, and bake in a quick oven for three-quarters of an
hour.
BLACKBERRY PIE
Pick the berries clean; rinse them in cold water, and finish as
directed for huckleberries.
BOILED PLUM PUDDING. VERY FINE
Prepare all the ingredients except the beating of the eggs, the day
before making the pudding. Take one pound of grated bread crumbs,
pour over them a pint of boiling milk; add a pound of chopped suet,
half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, half a pound of sifted
flour, one dozen eggs, one pound of raisins, one pound of currants,
half a pound of citron, one tablespoonful of ground cinnamon, one of
cloves and allspice, also one grated nutmeg, a glass of brandy, the
rind and juice of two lemons. Tie it in a piece of thick, unbleached
cotton, allowing room for the pudding to swell. Boil five hours.
Serve with butter and sugar sauce. This can be steamed over, and be
as nice as it was at first.
SIX-OUNCE PLUM PUDDING
Six ounces of stoned raisins, six ounces washed and dried currants,
six ounces of bread crumbs, six ounces of suet and six eggs. Flavor
with half a nutmeg, half a lemon and half a glass of brandy. Mix all
these ingredients together, and put the pudding into a mould, or
floured cloth, and boil three hours.
CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING
One pound and a half of raisins, half a pound of currants,
three-quarters of a pound of bread-crumbs, half a pound of flour,
three-quarters of a pound of beef-suet, nine eggs, one wineglassful
of brandy, half a pound of citron and orange-peel, half a nutmeg, and
a little ground ginger. Chop the suet as fine as possible, and mix it
with the bread-crumbs and flour, add the currants washed and dried,
the citron and orange-peel cut into thin slices, and the raisins
stoned and divided. Mix it all well together with the grated nutmeg
and ginger, then stir in nine eggs well beaten, and the brandy,
and again mix it thoroughly together, that every ingredient may be
moistened; put it into a buttered mould, tie it over tightly, and
boil it for six hours. This pudding may be made a week before using,
boiled in a cloth, and hung up in a dry place, and when required put
into a saucepan of boiling water and boiled for two hours or two
hours and a half, then turned out, and served with sauce as above.
ANOTHER CHRISTMAS PUDDING
One pound of raisins, one pound of currants, one pound of suet,
three-quarters of a pound of bread-crumbs, one pint of milk, ten
eggs, three-quarters of a pound of citron and orange-peel mixed, one
small nutmeg, one glass of brandy. Stone the raisins and divide them,
wash and dry the currants, and cut the peel into slices. Mix all
these with the bread-crumbs, flour and suet chopped very fine, add
the grated nutmeg, and then stir in the eggs well-beaten, the brandy,
and the milk. When the ingredients are well blended, put it into a
mould, tie a floured cloth over it, and boil it six hours. When done
turn it out, and serve with brandy and arrowroot sauce.
RICH PLUM PUDDING WITHOUT FLOUR
One pound and a half of grated bread, one pound and a half of
raisins, one pound and a half of currants, one pound of beef-suet,
peel of one large lemon, three ounces of almonds, a little nutmeg or
mixed spice, sugar to taste, three quarters of a pound of candied
orange, lemon and citron, eight or nine eggs, half a pint of milk,
two wineglassfuls of brandy. Stone the raisins, wash and pick the
currants, chop the suet very fine, and mix with them a pound and
a half of grated bread; add the candied peel cut into shreds, the
almonds blanched and minced, and the mixed spice and sugar to taste.
When all are thoroughly blended, stir it well together with eight or
nine well-beaten eggs, two glassfuls of brandy, and half a pint of
milk, tie it in a cloth, and boil it for five hours or five hours
and a half, or divide it into equal parts, and boil it in moulds or
basins for half the time.
COTTAGE PLUM PUDDING
One pound and a half of flour, four or five eggs, a pinch of salt,
a little nutmeg, one pound of raisins, half a pound of currants,
sugar to taste, and a little milk. Make a thick batter with five
well-beaten eggs, one pound and a half of flour, and a sufficient
quantity of milk. Then add the currants washed and picked, the
raisins stoned, a little nutmeg and sugar to taste. Mix all well
together, and boil it in a basin or floured cloth for quite five
hours. The peel of a lemon grated, and a few pieces of citron cut
thin may be added.
CHEAP PLUM PUDDING
Take a cup of chopped suet, a cup of raisins, a cup of currants and
citron mixed, a cup of sweet milk, two eggs, a cup of molasses, and
a teaspoonful of soda; add to this three and a half cups of sifted
flour or bread crumbs, and a little salt. Boil three or four hours.
Serve with hard sauce of beaten butter, sugar and nutmeg; or with
butter, sugar and wine sauce. This is inexpensive, but is modeled
after the most excellent recipes. The quantity suits a small company.
PLAIN PUDDING WITHOUT EGGS OR WINE
One pound of chopped and stoned raisins, half a pound of suet,
one pound of flour, a cup of bread crumbs, two tablespoonfuls of
molasses, a pint of milk or nutmeg grated, and a lemon peel chopped.
Cut the suet very fine and mix it with the flour; add the bread
crumbs, lemon and nutmeg, with the stoned raisins, to a pint of milk;
mix all together and put in the molasses; keep it closely covered in
a cool place. When it is wanted, pour it in a floured cloth and boil
it five hours. Serve with rich sauce.
PLAIN PLUM PUDDING FOR CHILDREN
One pound of flour, one pound of bread crumbs, three quarters of a
pound of stoned raisins, three quarters of a pound of currants, three
quarters of a pound of suet, four eggs, and milk to moisten, say
about one pint. Let the suet be finely chopped, the raisins stoned,
the currants well washed, picked and dried. Mix them with the other
dry ingredients, stir all well together; beat and strain in the eggs,
and add just enough of the milk to make it mix properly. Tie it up in
a well floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil for five
hours. Serve with butter and sugar sauce, or wine sauce.
SWEET POTATO PUDDING
Take one pound or a pint of hot boiled sweet potato, pass it hot
through a sieve--the finer the better. To this add six eggs well
beaten, three-fourths of a pound of butter, and a pound of sugar;
flavor with grated lemon rind, and a little brandy. Make a paste
around the dish, pour in the sweet potato mixture, and bake. Sprinkle
finely pulverized sugar over the surface of the pudding. This is a
Southern dish, and fit to grace the table of an epicure.
BAKED SUET PUDDING. ECONOMICAL AND WHOLESOME
To a pound of flour, add by degrees six ounces of finely chopped
suet, four eggs, together with as much milk as will make a firm
batter. Beat all together hard, until the last moment before placing
it in the oven. Pour it into a buttered dish, and bake. Serve as soon
as done, with plain syrup, or butter and sugar sauce.
LEMON PUDDING. VERY NICE
Six eggs, three lemons, six tablespoonfuls of corn starch, and one
large spoonful of butter. Cook the corn starch in a pint and a half
of water, and stir in the butter. Let it get cool, and then stir in
the yolks of the eggs, the juice of the lemons, and the grated rind;
also one cup of sugar. Bake this lightly in a pudding dish, and when
cold pour it over a meringue, or icing, made with the whites of the
eggs, and sufficient sugar to make a thick icing. Put it back in the
oven, and let it brown lightly.
TEMPERANCE ICED CABINET PUDDING FOR SUMMER
This is usually made in oval tin moulds, with a tight-fitting cover.
Small moulds are the best. Cut some sponge cake about half an inch
thick; shape it nearly to the mould; dilute a tablespoonful of any
favorite extract, and pour it on to the cake. Then commence to fill
up the mould in layers of currants, seedless raisins, sliced citron,
and chopped almonds, then a layer of cake, until it is full. Make
ready a custard of one pint of milk, the yolks of two eggs, a quarter
of a pound of sugar, and half a teaspoonful of extract of lemon,
rose, or almonds; let it simmer a little, but not enough to curdle,
as it will certainly do if allowed to stay too long on the fire. When
it simmers, take it off, and let it cool a little. When only lukewarm
pour it over the fruit and cake in the mould. Cover tightly, and bury
it in ice and salt. It is, when well made, a most exquisite dessert.
SOUFFLE PUDDING
Take a pint of milk, a cup of flour, one spoonful of sugar, and a
piece of butter as large as an egg. Scald the milk, flour, and butter
together. After the batter becomes cold, stir in the yolks of five
eggs, and just before baking, stir in the whites. Bake in a quick
oven, and serve with sauce.
OMELET SOUFFLE PUDDING
Beat the whites of ten eggs to a stiff froth. Beat the yolks with
three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, and the juice and grated
rind of a lemon. Mix all together lightly. Butter a thick-bottomed
dish which will just hold the pudding; put it immediately in the
oven, and bake it fifteen or twenty minutes. Serve it just as it
comes from the oven. It should quiver like a golden jelly when
served. If baked too long, it will be spoiled. The oven must not be
too hot, or it will scorch; the heat should be as usual to bake pies.
VERY RICH PUDDING
Line a deep pie dish with puff paste, having first buttered it
thoroughly; place on this a layer of jam, then a layer of custard,
then jam, then custard, until the dish is nearly full, leaving the
custard layer at the top. Bake for twenty minutes in a moderate oven,
let the pudding cool, beat up the whites of the eggs that were used
for the custard into a stiff whip with a little powdered sugar, pile
the whip on as high as possible, and serve.
PARISIAN PUDDING
Lay slices of sponge cake at the bottom of a glass dish, spread over
them a layer of preserve (red or black currant is very good for the
purpose), place over that more slices of sponge cake, then another
layer of jam. Do this until you have filled the dish. Pour over it
sufficient sherry to soak the cake properly, then beat up the whites
of four eggs with sufficient powdered loaf sugar to make it a very
stiff froth, with which to cover the top of the cake completely, and
bake.
BIRD’S NEST PUDDING
Take half a package of gelatine, using a little more than half the
quantity of water given in the recipe for making jelly; in all other
respects use the same proportions. When ready to strain put it into
a large oval dish (a meat dish is nice); fill it nearly to the edge;
then set it away to harden. Take some egg-shells that you have broken
just the end off in getting out the egg; make a blanc-mange of corn
starch; flavor it with vanilla, and sweeten; put this into the
shells before it cools and hardens at all; set the eggs on end in a
vegetable-dish so that they will stand top up, being careful not to
let the blanc-mange run out. Cut some very thin yellow parings off
the lemon rind, stew them in a little sugar and water; when cold lay
each piece separately in a circle on the jelly, making two or three
nests. Break open the egg-shells, take out the blanc-mange, and lay
it in groups like eggs inside the nest. This makes a very pretty
dish, and is very good. Ivy sprays or myrtle wound around the edge of
the dish improves the appearance.
BIRD’S NEST PUDDING
Peel and core six mellow apples; line a pudding dish with pastry; lay
the apples in the bottom of the dish, and stick long narrow strips
of citron around them. Stir to a cream a pint of powdered sugar,
and half a pint of butter. Beat separately the yolks and whites of
eight eggs; mix them with the butter and sugar, season with nutmeg,
place it on the fire, and stir until it is hot; then pour it over the
apples, and bake immediately. It can be eaten warm or cold. Do not
allow the top to brown too soon. It should be covered with a pan,
when first put into the oven, to prevent this.
CROWS’-NEST WITH CINNAMON
Cut nice sour cooking apples into a baking dish, small or large as
you need; put sugar, cinnamon, and lemon over them; throw in a cup
of water, and cover the dish with a crust of light pie crust. Put it
in the oven, and bake until the apples are tender. Be sure to cut
air-holes in the crust before putting in to bake. Eat it with cream
and sugar, or hard sauce of butter and sugar; beat together until
firm enough to slice like butter. Grate a little nutmeg over the
sauce, if cinnamon is not liked.
COTTAGE PUDDING
One tablespoonful of butter, one cup of sugar, one cup of milk,
two eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, one pint of sifted flour, two
spoonfuls of cream of tartar; mix like cake; bake quickly in shallow
tin pans; dredge the top with powdered sugar, which gives a nice
crust to all puddings and cakes. Sauce to accompany this pudding: one
tablespoonful of butter, one cup of powdered sugar, lemon extract for
seasoning, or lemon juice, with half a pint of boiling water. All
beaten together until it foams.
COUNTRY BATTER PUDDING WITH FRUIT, CHEAP AND NICE
This is a pudding which requires no paste and is a nice way to use
fruit, such as pie-plant, berries, strawberries, peaches, etc. To
a quart of buttermilk add one egg, a large teaspoonful of soda, a
little salt, and flour enough to make a thick batter. Pour it over a
quart of chopped fruit, such as mentioned, beat it a little, tie it
tightly in a bag, drop it in a kettle of hot water, and let it boil
two hours. Serve with sugar and cream. This pudding may be poured
into a cake pan and baked, if not convenient to boil it. Put in
plenty of fruit.
RICE MERINGUE PUDDING
Boil half a cup of rice in a quart of milk until it is thoroughly
done. Sweeten to taste, and let it cool. Beat in the yolks of four
eggs. Flavor with lemon rind or essence and nutmeg. Bake in a
pudding-dish. When cool, pour over it the whites of your eggs, beaten
with a cup of white sifted sugar. Bake light brown. Season to taste
with lemon, rose or vanilla.
APPLE MERINGUE
Select handsome pippin apples if you can get them, pare and core them
whole, put them in the oven with a little water in a deep dish, and
let them cook a little but not enough to break. When plumped, take
them out and let them get cold; then fill the centre of each apple
with jelly. Make an icing of the whites of eggs, beaten with sifted
sugar, and carefully cover each apple with it, wetting the knife
while smoothing the icing. Sift a little sugar over them and put them
in the oven to harden, but not to brown; too much heat will cause the
jelly to melt.
A CHEAP AND DELICATE PUDDING
Take a tablespoonful of butter, a cup of sugar, a cup of milk,
two eggs, and a pint of sifted flour. Put into the flour a small
teaspoonful of soda and two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar; sift
this in carefully, and set the flour aside. Beat the eggs, yolks
and whites together, briskly until they foam; add to the eggs two
tablespoonfuls of water; beat them sharply again until the tissues of
the eggs thoroughly blend with the water, mix the sugar and butter
together; add the eggs, beat again, then pour in the flour which will
make a stiff batter; lastly, thin this with the small cup of milk
(sweet milk is the best), then bake in shallow pans and serve with
lemon sauce, or a rich wine sauce if that is preferred.
A QUICKLY-MADE PUDDING
Split a few crackers, lay the surface over with raisins, and place
the halves together again; tie them closely in a cloth, and boil them
fifteen minutes. Serve with a rich sauce of butter, wine, sugar and
nutmeg.
ANOTHER QUICKLY-MADE PUDDING
Get a light, square loaf of bread, split it in three or four
horizontal slices; strew in between the slices cut-up raisins or
currants; tie it up again; boil half an hour, and serve it with a
rich sauce. There are few better puddings made with so little expense
or trouble.
DELICIOUS BREAD PUDDING
Butter some slices of bread, cut thin, and lay them in a dish, with
currants and citron between; pour over it a quart of milk, with four
well-beaten eggs, and sugar sufficient to sweeten to taste, and bake.
Serve with sauce. It is easily made, and very nice. It is good hot or
cold.
CHEAP GINGERBREAD PUDDING
Take a cup of butter, rub it up with three and a half cups of
flour, one cup of milk, one cup of molasses, and one teaspoonful of
saleratus. Steam three hours, and serve with a rich sauce.
A FRENCH FRIED PUDDING
Beat four eggs to a quart of milk, sweeten and flavor to taste, cut
slices of baker’s bread and steep them until thoroughly saturated,
then fry in hot butter and serve. Half this quantity for a small
family.
MY OWN PUDDING
Let a quart of milk be set on to boil; while it is getting hot, mix a
cup of maizena or corn starch with enough cold water to form it into
a thick batter; add to this a cup of white sugar and the yolks of
four eggs; take the milk off and stir eggs, maizena, and sugar, into
the milk; beat all together a few minutes, then pour the mixture into
a baking dish and bake it lightly about ten minutes, or long enough
only to cook the eggs; then take the pudding out, and while hot put
over it a layer of jelly or jam; beat up the whites of the eggs with
a cup of sugar, put this over the jelly and brown.
MARLBOROUGH PUDDING
Take half a pound of grated apples, half a pound of fine white sugar,
half a pound of butter, six eggs well beaten, the peel of one lemon
grated, and the strained juice of two; line the dish with pie paste,
put the pudding in, and bake in a quick oven.
MARLBOROUGH APPLE TARTS. VERY FINE
Quarter, and stew a dozen tart apples. To each teacup of this pulp,
rubbed through a sieve, add a teacup of sugar, half a cup of melted
butter, the juice and grated rind of two lemons, a cup of milk, four
eggs and half a nutmeg. Beat all together and bake in pans lined with
pastry, with a rim of puff paste around the edge. This is an old and
always good recipe.
BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS
Make a nice pie crust, raised with yeast, or not, as you desire;
divide it into six parts, and roll each part thin; have ready six
good-sized tart apples, pared and cored; fill up the cores with sugar
and butter. Close the dough neatly around the apples, and turn that
side down in a deep dish. If they are made with raised dough they
should stand one hour; if with unleavened paste, sprinkle some sugar
over them, also a little grounded cinnamon or other spice, and set
them in the oven to bake. Spread a little batter over each of the
dumplings as they go to the oven. Put plenty of spices, nutmegs,
cinnamon and mace. Throw a little water in the dish, and bake
three-quarters of an hour. Wine, or sugar and butter sauce is a great
improvement, but it is very good without it.
PLAIN TAPIOCA CREAM
Boil the pearl tapioca as you do rice; when cool sweeten it to the
taste, and grate nutmeg over it. Pour rich cream over it and serve.
TAPIOCA CREAM
Soak two teaspoonfuls of tapioca for two hours in a little cold
water. Boil a quart of milk, and to it add the tapioca, the yolks
of three eggs, well beaten with a cup and a half of sugar; give it
one boil, and set it away to cool; do not boil it long, or the eggs
will curdle. Beat the whites of the eggs, and put them on top, or
boil them in a little of the milk and put it on the cream. Set it
on ice until wanted. This is a delicate and nourishing cream for
convalescents, or invalids who require nourishing food.
A NICE SUPPER DISH
Take one pint of cream, whip it until stiff, and one ounce of
isinglass boiled and strained in about a pint of water. Boil it until
reduced to half a pint. Boil in this water and isinglass, a vanilla
bean, and when nearly cold, take out the bean, add four ounces of
sugar, and when this is blood warm, stir in the cream. Eat with
whipped cream.
RICE-MILK FOR CHILDREN
To every quart of milk, allow two ounces of rice. Wash the rice and
put it with the milk in a close-covered stewpan, set it over a slow
fire, and let it simmer gently for one hour and a half. It will
scorch on a fierce fire.
NICE RICE CUSTARD
Take two tablespoonfuls of boiled rice. If it is very dry, wash it
with a little warm water. Put it in a pan, add a tablespoonful of
butter, three or four eggs beaten light, a quart of sweet milk, sugar
enough to make it quite sweet, and one cup of picked and seeded
raisins. Flavor with nutmeg and essence of lemon or vanilla. Bake
lightly. Do not allow it to remain in the oven long, as the milk will
become watery and thus destroy the jelly-like consistency of the
custard. It is a nice and cheap dessert for children. The raisins may
be omitted if they are objectionable.
APPLE POT PIE
First, the pastry: Rub into a pint of flour a heaping spoonful of
lard. Strew in a little salt, and work it until the mass becomes
numberless little globules and balls. Then moisten with cold water,
and press them together until they adhere, and your pastry is made.
It must not be kneaded or worked over at all. Let any cook try this
method, and he will find it the best and easiest way to make fine
leaf paste, and he will never again countenance the old rolling,
larding, butter-spreading system.
Now for the fruit: Pare, core and quarter one dozen apples. Put them
in a baking pan, with one large cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of
spices, two of molasses and one of butter; add water until the fruit
is nearly covered, and put it in the oven to bake and stew, and
brown. When the apples begin to soften, dredge in a little flour, for
the juice, though plentiful, must not be watery. Roll out the pastry.
Cut the cover to suit the pan, and make the trimmings into dumplings,
which must be dropped at intervals among the fruit. Fold the pie
cover in half, make several oblique incisions for openings, lay it on
and brown it lightly. Serve on a dish like peach cobbler. Like that
substantial dessert, it may be eaten with cream.
PRESERVES, SYRUPS AND FRUIT JELLIES
HINTS ON PRESERVING
Preserving kettles should be broad and shallow, with a handle on
each side. If you wish to preserve in small quantities, use a small
kettle. A charcoal furnace is most desirable in warm weather, as you
can put it where you like, and thus avoid the heat of the kitchen.
Slow, gentle boiling is absolutely necessary in preserving and
pickling.
Crushed or loaf sugar should be used for preserves, as it is less
liable to ferment during the long hot summer.
Jelly bags may be made of cotton, linen, or flannel, and can be made
like an old-fashioned reticule, with a string through the top, to
close and suspend it while dripping.
It is a mistake to think dark fruits, like raspberries, strawberries,
etc., can be preserved equally well with brown sugar, for the color
of this sugar makes the preserves dark, or rather _dingy_, which is
the proper word.
Glass is best for keeping preserves in, as they may be examined
without opening the jars. When first put up they should be corked
tightly, and dipped into coarse melted sealing-wax.
TO MAKE PRESERVES
Most fruits are much easier preserved than jellied. Weigh the fruit,
and to each pound of fruit the usual rule is a pound of sugar; make a
syrup of the sugar with a half pint of water to each pound of fruit.
Boil it clear, then put in the fruit and cook it well, and boil
gently till the fruit is clear.
TO GREEN FRUIT FOR PICKLING OR PRESERVING
Put vine leaves under, between, and over the fruit in a brass kettle,
and over the leaves sprinkle a teaspoonful of beaten or ground alum;
cover the fruit to be greened, with water, and boil it gently with
the leaves and alum; if not a fine green, take more leaves and dust a
little saleratus over them. Spread them out to cool when green, and
proceed to preserve or pickle them as desired.
TO PRESERVE PEACHES