fifteen or twenty minutes.
PIGEONS.
Make a filling of bread crumbs, pepper, salt and parsley; baste them
well: they will cook in twenty minutes.
PEPPER POT.
Clean well two sets of calves’ feet; put them into a pot with three or
four pounds of tripe and six quarts of water, and some cayenne pepper;
cover them and let them boil till perfectly tender; strain the liquid,
and cut the tripe in small pieces; put it in the liquid with some salt,
three sliced onions, two potatoes, sweet marjoram, parsley and thyme
cut up fine, and some small round dumplings made of butter and flour;
send hot to the table.
TO MAKE NOODLES FOR SOUP.
Beat three or four eggs, (the yolks only) make them into a stiff paste
with flour; roll out very thin and let it dry; it should be made
several hours before they are wanted for the soup; when quite dry roll
up, and cut in very thin strips; shake them apart, and put them in the
soup.
TO MAKE CROQUETS.
Chop up fine any kind of cold meat, fowl, ham, and pork; mix all well
together; add salt and pepper, and mustard to the taste, some grated
bread, butter and catsup; make them into cakes; dip them in the yolk
of egg, and fry in hot lard.
SPANISH OLIO.
Put into a soup kettle one pound of beef, half a pound of mutton, half
a chicken, salt, pepper and a very little water; let it stew slowly for
two hours; then put in four apples, two pears pared and cut up, three
tomatoes, a bunch of mint chopped, two onions, lima beans and any kind
of vegetables you may prefer; let them all stew slowly two or three
hours longer; send hot to the table.
MACARONI.
Wash a little macaroni, and boil in water till it is tender, which
will be in half an hour; drain it; butter your dish and put a layer of
macaroni in, upon which put salt, cheese, butter and mustard, a little
of each; then macaroni, and so on till the dish is full. Parmesan
cheese is the best, but any other kind will answer.
TO MAKE POLENTA.
Take cold chicken or meat of any kind and stew it; when done cut it up.
Have potatoes mashed, which put around the sides and bottom of the dish
about half an inch thick; then put in your stew with the liquor; season
with pepper and salt; spread some macaroni which has been boiled on the
top of the dish, with grated cheese, butter, pepper and salt; bake, and
bring to table in the dish in which it is baked.
CHICKEN SALAD.
One pair of chickens, eight bunches of celery, six eggs, one dessert
spoonful of mustard, nearly a bottle of oil, pepper and salt. Boil the
chickens; take off the skins: cut them up in small pieces; sprinkle
them with pepper, salt and vinegar, and let them lie three hours;
moisten the mustard with vinegar; then pour in the oil, a few drops
at a time, and keep constantly stirring it; have the eggs boiled
hard; mash them up with a little vinegar, and then mix with the oil;
cut up your celery very fine and throw it into cold water; when the
ingredients are all ready, mix the chicken and celery; (after draining
it) then pour the dressing over it. Curl some pieces of celery by
cutting it up about an inch and throwing it into cold water, with which
garnish the dish.
ITALIAN MACARONI.
Break the macaroni into pieces two inches long; boil it in hot water,
with a little butter, pepper and salt; when done, drain it on a napkin;
then put a layer of macaroni on the bottom of a dish; pour over it some
hot tomato sauce; then some grated cheese, and so on, until the dish is
full; the cheese being on the top; put it in the oven a few minutes,
and serve it hot.
MACARONI WITH CREAM.
Boil half a pound of macaroni in hot water, and when done cut it into
pieces; put it into a pan with a quarter of a pound of butter, two
ounces of grated cheese, and half a gill of cream; add a little pepper,
salt and mustard; shake it over the fire until well mixed and quite
hot; dish it, and garnish with pieces of puff paste cut in diamonds.
OMELETTE WITH CHEESE.
Beat six eggs very light; add to them two tablespoonsful of cream,
butter the size of a walnut, a spoonful of chopped parsley, some pepper
and salt, two ounces of grated cheese; beat all well together, and pour
into a pan in which butter is melting; let it cook until a light brown;
then fold up and dish for the table. Shake the pan while the omelet is
doing.
OMELETTE WITH OYSTERS.
Beat six eggs separately, very light; add to the yolks a little
mustard, cayenne pepper and salt; mix this with the whites; pour it
into a pan in which butter is melting, and cook till a light brown.
Before folding, have a few nicely scolloped oysters and lay between;
shake the pan about till the omelet is done.
EGG TOAST.
Toast four slices of bread, a light brown; butter them well, and
sprinkle on a little salt. Poach four eggs in muffin rings to retain
their shape; place one on each slice of toast, and send to the table.
CROQUETTES OF SWEET-BREADS.
Take six sweet-breads, and after being well washed stew them until
done; when cold cut them into small pieces; season with pepper, salt,
a grated nutmeg, and a little mushroom catsup; stir them over the fire
a few minutes; then spread them on a dish to cool; the croquettes must
then be shaped; rolled in egg and bread crumbs, and fried in lard.
TO BOIL EGGS.
Boiling eggs depends upon the person for whom you cook. Two minutes and
a half will boil to suit most persons: if you want them very soft, two
minutes will answer. If hard, they will take ten minutes.
TO FRY EGGS.
Have the lard hot, but not boiling; put in the eggs one at a time; when
done, send hot to table.
TO POACH EGGS.
Have ready a pan of boiling water with muffin rings, into which put the
eggs, one in each ring; let them remain on the fire till the whites are
firm.
SCRAMBLED EGGS.
Beat the eggs with pepper, salt, parsley and chives; have some butter
in a saucepan; as soon as it has melted put in the eggs; stir till they
are done.
OMELET SOUFFLE.
Beat the eggs separately till very light; then mix them: add sugar and
lemon peel to your taste; have some melted butter in a pan; pour in the
eggs; and when baked, sift some powdered sugar over it and send it hot
to the table.
OMELET.
Separate five eggs; beat them very light; season the yolks with pepper,
salt and parsley; have some butter hot in a pan; put in the omelet;
stir the whites in just before you put it in the pan; you can put in
ham, oysters, onions, chives, or any thing you prefer. Keep the pan
moving till the omelet is done; a little cream is an improvement.
Vegetables.
TO DRESS SALAD.
The lettuce should be gathered early in the morning; pick and wash it
well; let it lie in water till required: then drain the water from it.
Have eggs boiled hard, oil, mustard, pepper and salt, according to
taste. Ornament with slices of hard-boiled eggs.
CAULIFLOWER.
Get those that are hard and white; cut off the stalk; take off the
outside leaves; put it down to boil in hot water, with a little salt:
a large one will take half an hour. Do not let it boil too much: eat
with drawn butter.
PARSNIPS.
Scrape and wash them: cover them with water, and let them boil till
tender, which will be from one to two hours: send to table with butter,
pepper and salt, or fry them brown.
CARROTS.
Let them be scraped and washed; boil them; try them with a fork; if
they are tender, they are done; dress with drawn butter.
TURNIPS.
Pare, wash and cut up; put them on to boil; when done, take them up;
mash them in a tin pan: season with pepper, salt, and butter; send hot
to table.
SALSIFY OR OYSTER PLANT.
Wash and scrape them well; put them down to boil; when soft, mash and
season with pepper and salt: make a batter of milk, flour and egg. Mix
all well together; drop them the size of oysters with a tablespoon, and
fry them a light brown.
TO BOIL POTATOES.
Have the water boiling. Put in the potatoes; let them boil till nearly
done, then pour off the water and throw in some salt; uncover the
saucepan and set them on the back part of the stove. If the potatoes
are boiled fast, the skin will crack before they are done. For mashed
potatoes, pare them before you boil them; when done, mash them with a
small piece of butter, a cup of cream, and a little salt. Another way
to boil old potatoes is to pare them around the middle, before you boil
them, and throw in a little salt. When potatoes are young, scrape and
boil them; when done, pour off the water and dress them with a little
cream, butter, pepper and salt.
TO FRY POTATOES.
Pare large potatoes; cut them lengthwise: cut them into four pieces,
of about a quarter of an inch thick. Have some butter boiling hot into
which put the potatoes; keep turning them till they are done. Sprinkle
a little salt on them before sending them to table.
TO STEW POTATOES.
Slice the potatoes and put them down to boil, with just enough water to
cover them; when nearly done, pour off the water, and add milk and a
lump of butter rolled in flour, parsley and salt.
MASHED POTATOES.
You can make mashed potatoes into any shape you wish them. Touch them
over with the yolk of egg, and put them in an oven to brown.
TO ROAST POTATOES.
Large potatoes will roast in an hour. Do not put them too near the
fire, or they will burn before they are cooked. Sweet potatoes, if they
are large, will take an hour and a half to roast.
TO FRY SWEET POTATOES.
Parboil them, then peel; cut them in slices, and fry in butter: send
them hot to table.
TO BOIL SWEET POTATOES.
Have them as nearly of a size as possible. Put them in boiling water;
as soon as they are done, (which will depend upon the size,) pour off
the water; then lay them on the back part of the stove, where they will
dry, but not burn. Some persons parboil them, cut them in two, and
broil them over a gridiron.
SPINACH.
Take great care in picking it; wash it well, and put it in a steamer
with a little salt. It will cook in twenty minutes. Have some toast on
a dish; put your spinach on the toast, and some poached eggs on the top.
TO BOIL GREENS.
Cabbage sprouts are better boiled with a piece of pork or bacon. Eat
with hard-boiled eggs, and if cooked without the meat, have drawn
butter or vinegar.
LIMA BEANS.
Lima beans will require about three quarters of an hour to boil. Put
them on in cold water; when done, drain them: season with pepper, salt
and butter.
STRING BEANS.
String and cut them down the middle; put them down in as little water
as you can cook them in, without burning them: do not strain off the
water, but let them cook till nearly all the water has evaporated:
season with butter, pepper and salt, and send to table.
PEAS.
Shell and wash the peas. Cook them just as the beans. This is the best
way to cook peas and beans; or you can boil them in the common way, and
drain off the water: season with butter, pepper and salt.
ASPARAGUS.
Scrape and wash the asparagus; tie it up in bunches; and put it on to
boil in water in which there is some salt; it requires about fifteen
minutes to boil it, and it must not remain in the water after it is
done. Have some bread nicely toasted, on which place it, and pour over
drawn butter. A better way is to cook it in just as little water as
possible; do not pour off the water, but let it evaporate as much as
possible; then season with butter, pepper and salt, and send to table
with the liquor around it. This is the German manner of cooking beans,
peas, and asparagus.
TO FRICASEE CORN.
Have young corn cut from the cob. Save the juice; put it down to stew
with pepper, salt, and a little cream; roll a lump of butter in flour,
and stir in. If the corn is young, it will cook in twenty minutes. Corn
will boil in half an hour; put it in boiling water, and take it up as
soon as done.
TO KEEP CORN FOR WINTER.
Get the corn when young. Boil it ten minutes; a longer time would
injure it; cut it from the cob; spread it on dishes, and put it in the
oven after the bread comes out; be careful the oven is not too hot; if
it is, the corn will be spoiled. If not dry enough, put it in the sun
for a few days, stirring it frequently. When perfectly dry, tie it up
in bags and keep it in a dry place. When you cook it, wash it well: put
it down with a little water, butter, pepper and salt. It will require
much longer to cook than it does in summer.
HOMINY.
Wash it well, and soak it over night in the water you intend to boil it
in; put it on early in the morning with a few beans and a piece of salt
pork. Let it boil slowly for three hours or more, if not soft.
TO FRY HOMINY.
After your hominy is boiled and cold, mash and season with pepper and
salt; have some lard hot in a pan, into which put your hominy. Cover
it for five minutes, then stir it well, and cover again, and let it fry
a light brown. Fried hominy is very good for breakfast.
TO FRY EGG PLANT.
Pare and let them lie ten or fifteen minutes in salt and water, to take
away the bitter taste; wipe them perfectly dry; have ready cracker
rolled fine, and seasoned with pepper and salt; dip each piece in the
yolk of an egg beaten, then in the rolled cracker, and fry in hot lard.
TO STEW EGG PLANT.
Cut in half with the skin on, then soak in vinegar to extract the
bitter taste, say half an hour, then boil till quite tender; scrape out
the pulp and fill them with bread crumbs, butter, cayenne pepper and
salt; lay them open in your bake pan with a little water in the bottom,
put them in the oven and baste them often so that they will not be dry;
rub a little flour and butter together for the gravy.
ANOTHER WAY.
Prepare as above, and mix with pepper, salt, butter, and bread crumbs;
fry in sweet oil.
TO STEW TOMATOES.
Take off the skins by pouring boiling water over them; then stew them
with butter, pepper and salt; put in a little soda to correct the
acidity; pour in some cream, and stew for a few minutes longer. Some
persons prefer them without cream, and then it is not necessary to use
the soda.
ANOTHER WAY.
Wash and boil your tomatoes whole; then pass them through a hair sieve;
season with butter, pepper and salt; let them stew some twenty minutes,
and serve. Or dress them with sugar and a little wine.
TO BROIL TOMATOES.
Wash some large ripe tomatoes: wipe them dry; put them on a gridiron
over hot coals to broil; when they are hot through, they are done; send
them hot to table: to be eaten with butter, pepper and salt.
TO BAKE TOMATOES.
Have some large ripe tomatoes; wash and peel them; cut them up in
a dish--have ready bread, butter, pepper and salt; put a layer of
tomatoes, then the bread crumbs, butter, pepper and salt, and so on,
till your dish is full; bake, and send them to table in the dish in
which they were baked.
ANOTHER WAY.
Take some large tomatoes; peel them, cut the top off, and take out some
of the seeds; have ready some mushrooms chopped fine to fill them;
season with butter, pepper and salt; then put them in a pan, and bake
them; serve up hot.
ANOTHER WAY.
Peel your tomatoes; slice them and put down to stew; season with some
onions cut fine, bread crumbs, butter, pepper and salt; they will be
sufficiently done in twenty minutes. Some persons prefer a little flour
rolled in butter.
TO BOIL CORN.
Take off carefully all the silk and all the husks. Put the corn in
boiling water: if young and tender, it will boil in half an hour. Some
persons serve it up in a napkin on the dish, but if it is sufficiently
cooked, and can be served hot, it is better not to be steamed in a
napkin.
TOMATOES AND OCHRAS.
Take some tomatoes; skin and cut them up with equal quantities of
ochras; season with pepper, salt and butter; stew them till tender;
which will be nearly an hour. Ochras may be stewed alone, seasoned with
butter, pepper and salt: add very little water when you put them down.
EGGS AND TOMATOES.
Skin some tomatoes; slice and fry them with butter, pepper and salt;
cut up two onions, and put in with four eggs; stir all well together,
and send hot to table.
TO DRY OCHRAS FOR WINTER.
Get the young ochras; slice and string them; hang them up to dry; when
dry, put them away for soup in winter.
CUCUMBERS.
Gather them fresh. Pare, slice and lay them in salt and water; just
before dinner, pour off the water; season with pepper, salt, vinegar
and onions.
SQUASHES.
Squashes should be young and tender; try them with a fork; if they are
old, do not use them. Peel them and take out the seed; cut them in
pieces and boil till tender; when done, pass them through a cullender.
Stew with butter, pepper, salt and a little cream; send them hot to
table.
TO BOIL BEETS.
The early turnip beet is best in summer: wash them, but do not cut the
tops too close, as they are much sweeter with some of the tops boiled
on them. They will boil in three quarters of an hour; when done, take
them up, put them in cold water for a moment, so that the skin will
easily peel off. Slice them, and season with pepper, salt and butter.
Old, or winter beets, will take much longer. They will take from two to
three hours to boil. It is better to put them to soak over night, if
they are very solid: cut them in slices, and pour vinegar over them.
TO COOK ONIONS.
The small white onions are preferred. Peel them, and put them down in
a little water and salt; when nearly done, pour off the water, and add
milk and a little flour mixed with butter.
TO KEEP VEGETABLES FOR WINTER.
Salsify, parsnips, beets, and carrots should be gathered in the early
part of November. Those you want to use during the winter should be put
in boxes, and covered with sand. Celery should be put in a box with the
roots down, covered with sand. Some gardeners keep it in the ground all
winter, and dig it as they wish it, for use.
TO STEW MUSHROOMS.
Wash and peel the mushrooms; put them down in a stew pan with a little
water, pepper, salt and butter; let them stew slowly for ten or fifteen
minutes; then take them up. They are very good broiled.
HOT OR COLD SLAW.
The hard white cabbage is the best for slaw. Wash it well, and cut it
fine; have some butter boiling hot; put in the slaw and keep stirring
till it is shrivelled: then beat up some vinegar and the yolk of an
egg: season with pepper and salt; pour this in the pan over the slaw,
and stir in till quite hot: send to table either hot or cold, as
preferred.
COLD SLAW.
Cut fine some hard cabbage; dress with hard-boiled eggs, oil, vinegar,
mustard, pepper and salt.
TO BOIL CABBAGE.
Wash your cabbage well; cut it in two, and boil till tender in salt and
water. Some persons prefer it boiled with a piece of pork or bacon.
If it is boiled with bacon, the pot should be well skimmed before the
cabbage goes in.
BROCOLI.
Pick and wash it well; tie it up in bunches and boil it; when done,
drain it and serve it up with drawn butter. Put a little salt in the
water when nearly boiled.
SEA KALE.
Sea kale is cooked in the same way as brocoli.
BUTTER.
In winter the pans should be scalded before the milk is strained into
them; in summer the pans and strainer should be rinsed with cold water.
Do not cover the milk until it is perfectly cold; a stone crock is the
best for keeping the cream in, and it should be stirred two or three
times a day; if the cream is not stirred, the butter will have a bad
taste; do not let your milk stand too long, or this will make the
butter taste very unpleasant. Be particular to put cold water in your
churn the night before you wish to use it; pour it out in the morning,
and rinse it again; before the butter comes, or while it is gathering,
take off the lid of the churn; have your butter-bowl scalded and
cooled; work the milk out well, but do not put in any water; add salt
to your taste. Everything connected with milk or butter should be kept
very carefully clean.
TO KEEP BUTTER.
Butter, to keep, should be well worked; pack it in stone jars, and tie
it up tight, and set it in a cool place.
TO KEEP EGGS.
Get eggs as fresh as possible; put a layer of salt in a jar; then put
in some eggs, the small end down, then another layer of salt, then the
eggs; be careful not to let the eggs touch each other; set them in a
dry cool place, and they will keep all winter.
TO MAKE COFFEE.
Coffee should be roasted with great care, to a dark brown colour,
stirring it all the time it is on the fire, with a long-handled iron
spoon; when it is done, put it in a stone jar, and cover it up. Freshly
roasted coffee is much the best; grind it into a bowl, beat it up
with part of the white of an egg, and cold water; put it into the tin
coffee-pot, and pour on it boiling water, out of a tea-kettle, stirring
it all the while; set it on the fire, and let it boil fifteen minutes;
stir it frequently from the sides of the pot; when it is done, set it
a moment on the hearth, and it will settle; do not pour into it either
cold or warm water, or coffee, to settle it: this spoils the coffee.
Pour it into your silver or china coffee pot, and send to table.
TO MAKE TEA.
Black tea should be boiled fifteen or twenty minutes. Green tea should
not boil: but have boiling water poured on about five minutes before
it comes to table.
TO MAKE CHOCOLATE.
Have a quart of good milk boiling; grate a piece of chocolate three
inches square; mix it with a little cold milk; then stir it gradually
into the milk on the fire. If preferred thinner, use less chocolate. It
should boil at least half an hour.
YEAST.
Pare six good-sized potatoes; put them on to boil with three pints of
water and a handful of hops; pour the water through a sieve on a pint
of flour; stir it until perfectly smooth; mash your potatoes through
a cullender into the yeast; stir all well together, and let it stand
till nearly cold; then stir into it a pint bowl half full of dry yeast,
dissolved in water; put the water on the dry yeast as soon as you mix
your flour and potatoes, and when it has sufficiently cooled, your
yeast will be ready to go in. Set it in a warm place to rise. When it
is light enough, keep it in a cool place; cover it close. Yeast should
be made the day before you bake; then it is good and fresh.
TO MAKE DRY YEAST.
Make as directed above. When perfectly light, stir in corn meal till
it is quite dry; spread it on dishes to dry. Be careful not to let it
be in the sun, as this would sour it. When dry, put it in a bag, in a
dry, cool place. In summer time, when the flies are numerous, spread a
thin piece of gauze over to keep them off when it is drying.
BREAD.
Sift the flour; put it in an earthen vessel; the quantity of flour you
take will depend upon the number of loaves you want. Four loaves of
bread will require two quarts of water; pour the water, which may be as
warm as milk just from the cow, upon the flour, enough to make a thick
batter; put in two tablespoonsful of salt, and a pint of home-made
yeast; do not beat it after the yeast goes in. Set it in a warm place
to rise; when it is light, work it very well with flour. The more you
knead it, the better. If the flour is running, the bread will require
to be made stiffer than when it is superfine flour. Let it rise again,
covering it, and set it in a warm place. When it is broken on top, make
it into loaves, with as little flour as possible. Put each loaf into a
basket: cover it over, and set it to rise again. When quite light, bake
it in a brick oven, from three quarters to one hour.
TO BAKE IN A BRICK OVEN.
A brick oven will require one hour to heat. The wood should be split
fine; make a little fire at first, then add more wood; when the oven
is white at the top, it is sufficiently hot. Spread the coals over the
bottom of the oven, and let them remain a quarter of an hour.
Rusk or biscuit, if they are very light, will bake in from ten to
fifteen minutes. Bread requires one hour.
PHILADELPHIA BUNNS.
One pound of flour, and a half pound of sugar, one pint of milk, with
one teaspoonful of soda, a few currants, and half a pound of butter, a
tea-cup full of yeast. Mix all well, and let it rise; when well risen,
put in six eggs, beaten separately: pour it in the pans, and let it
rise again; then bake.
BREAD ROLLS.
When your bread is very light, take a piece of dough, into which rub a
small piece of butter; make them into rolls a quarter of an inch thick:
let them rise, and bake.
DIET BREAD.
Rub into a pound of flour, one tablespoonful of butter, and a
teaspoonful of salt: work it very well, or beat it; roll very thin:
stick with a fork, and bake.
MUSH ROLLS.
Have a pint of corn mush; when a little warm, add a little salt and
flour, enough to make a dough; add a tea-cup full of yeast; let it
rise, and when quite light, make into rolls; let them rise again, and
bake. You can put a little butter with them, if you prefer: but they
are very palatable without.
RISEN MUFFINS.