fine; 3 eggs well beaten; 4 tablespoonfuls sweet cream; butter size of
an egg; 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls salt, and one of pepper. Mix thoroughly,
make into a loaf, and bake two hours, basting as you would roast beef.
Fried Oysters.
Take the largest-sized oysters; drain off the juice, and dry in a cloth;
beat two eggs in a spoonful of milk, adding a little salt and pepper.
Run the oysters through this, and fry in equal parts butter and sweet
lard to a light brown.
STEWS, SALADS and SALAD DRESSING.
Terrapin Stew.
Take six terrapins of uniform size. (The females, which are the best,
may be distinguished by the lower shell being level or slightly
projecting.) If the terrapins are large, use one pound of the best
butter; if small, less, and a pint of good sherry wine. After washing
the terrapins in warm water, put them in the kettle alive, and cover
with cold water, keeping the vessel covered tight. After letting them
boil until the shell cracks and you can crush the claws with the thumb
and finger, take them off the fire, and when cool enough, pull off the
shell and remove the dark, or scarf skin, next pulling the meat from the
trail and the liver--being careful not to break the gall, which would
render the liver uneatable. After breaking the meat in small pieces, lay
it in a porcelain kettle with a teacupful of water; put in the wine, and
one-half the butter, with 2 or 3 blades of mace, 2 or 3 teaspoonfuls of
extract of lemon, 2 tablespoonfuls of Worcestershire or Challenge sauce;
little salt is required, and if pepper is needed, use cayenne. After
stewing for fifteen minutes, add the yolks of 6 hard-boiled eggs--worked
to a paste in the remainder of the butter--thinning with the juice of
the stew, adding at the same time a teacupful of sweet cream, and after
simmering for three minutes, chop the whites of the eggs fine, and add
to the mixture; then take from the fire, and make hot five minutes
before serving. If kept in a cool place this stew will remain perfectly
good for three days.
Stewed Chicken, Cottage Style, with White Gravy.
Take two chickens, one or two years old, and cut each in about fourteen
pieces, dividing each joint, and cutting the breast in two pieces; cut
the gizzard quite small, and put it and the liver with the chicken. When
the chicken is half done, cover with cold water, adding a good-sized
onion, and when it reaches a boil, skim carefully; and when the same is
about half cooked add sufficient salt and pepper, and also a handful of
the green leaves of celery chopped fine, which will give it the flavor
of oysters. Boil slowly until you can tear the chicken with a fork, when
turn it out in a dish. Next, take one half pound of good butter, the
yolks of three boiled eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch or
flour, and, after working well together, so as to form a thin batter,
add the liquor from the chicken, return to the kettle, and, after
boiling for five minutes, return the chicken, season with nutmeg or
sal-piquant, adding at the same time a teacupful of cream or good milk,
also the whites of the eggs, chopped fine. Keep hot until served.
Stewed Tripe.
Cut and prepare the tripe as for pepper-pot; season highly; add a pint
of soup stock, and four spoonfuls of tomatoes, with a little butter, and
half an onion chopped fine. Cook until quite tender.
Chicken Salad.
Boil a good-sized chicken, not less than one year old, in as little
water as possible; if you have two calves' feet boil them at the same
time, salting slightly, and leaving them in after the chicken is cooked,
that they may boil to shreds. This liquid forms a jelly, which is
almost indispensable in making good salad. When the chicken becomes
cold, remove the skin and bones, after which chop or cut to the size of
a pea; cut celery and lettuce equally fine--after taking off the outer
fibre of the former--and mixing, add Clayton's Salad Dressing, (the
recipe for which will be found elsewhere); also incorporating four eggs,
which should be boiled eight minutes, cutting three as fine as the
chicken and celery, and leaving the fourth as a garnish on serving. Cold
roast turkey, chicken or tender veal make most excellent salad treated
in this way.
Clayton's Celebrated California Salad Dressing.
Take a large bowl, resembling in size and shape an ordinary wash-bowl,
and a wooden spoon, fitted as nearly as possible to fit the curve of the
bowl. First put in two or three tablespoonfuls of mixed mustard, quite
stiff. Pour on this, slowly, one-fourth of a pint of best olive oil,
stirring rapidly until thick; then break in two or three fresh eggs,
and, after mixing slightly, pour in, very slowly, the remaining
three-fourths of the pint of oil, stirring rapidly all the while until
the mixture forms a thick batter. Next, take a teacupful of the best
wine vinegar, to which the juice of one lemon has been added, along with
a small tablespoonful of salt, and another of white sugar, stirring
well, until the whole of these ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
When bottled and tightly corked, this mixture will remain good for
months. Those who are not fond of the oil, will find that sweet cream,
of about sixty or seventy degrees in temperature, a good substitute; but
this mixture does not keep so well.
Salad Flavoring.
It will be found a good thing before ornamenting a salad, to take a
section of garlic, and, after cutting off the end, steeping it in salt,
and then rubbing the surface of the bowl, putting in at the same time,
small pieces of the crust of French or other bread, similarly treated.
Cover the bowl with a plate, and shake well. This gives the salad a
rich, nutty flavor.
Eggs and Omelettes.
Boiling Eggs.
Unless quite sure the eggs are fresh, never boil them, as the well known
remark that even to suspect an egg cooked in this style is undoubtedly
well-founded. Hard boiled eggs, to be eaten either hot or cold, must
never be boiled more than eight minutes, when they will be found tender
and of a fine flavor, whereas, if boiled for a longer time, they will
invariably prove leathery, tough, and almost tasteless, and dark-colored
where the whites and yolk are joined, giving them an unsightly and
anything but attractive appearance.
For soft boiled, three, and for medium, four minutes only, are
necessary.
Scrambled Eggs.
Beat well three eggs, with two tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; add salt
and pepper; put in the pan a lump of fresh butter, and, as soon as
melted, put in the eggs, stirring rapidly from the time they begin to
set; as in order to be tender they must be cooked quickly.
To Fry Eggs.
Put butter or lard in a hot pan, and then as many small, deep muffin
rings as eggs required. Drop the eggs in the rings. Cooked in this
manner the eggs are less liable to burn, look far nicer, and preserve
their fine flavor.
Oyster Omelette.
Stew a few oysters in a little butter, adding pepper for seasoning, and
when the omelette is cooked on the under side, put on the oysters, roll
over, and turn carefully. A good omelette may be made of canned oysters
treated in this way.
Ham Omelette.
Take a thin slice of the best ham--fat and lean--fry well done, and chop
fine. When the omelette is prepared, stir in the ham, and cook to a
light brown.
Cream Omelette.
Beat three eggs with two tablespoonfuls of cream, adding a little salt
and pepper. Put a lump of butter in the pan, but do not let it get too
hot before putting in the mixture. The pan should be about the
temperature for baking batter cakes. Fold and turn over quite soon. The
omelette should be a light brown, and be sent to the table hot. Should
you have sausage for breakfast, the bright gravy from the sausage is
preferable to butter in preparing the omelette.
Spanish Omelette.
Make in the same manner as the cream omelette, but before putting in the
pan have ready one-half an onion, chopped fine and fried brown, with a
little pepper and salt. When the omelette is cooked on one side, put the
mixture on, and turn the sides over until closed tight.
Omelette for Dessert.
Beat eight eggs thoroughly, with a teacup of rich milk or cream, a
tablespoonful of fine white sugar, and a very little salt. Stir well,
and make in two omelettes; lay side by side, and sift over a thin
coating of fine white sugar. In serving, pour over and around the
omelette a wine-glass of good California brandy, and set on fire.
VEGETABLES.
Baked Tomatoes.
Pick out large, fair tomatoes; cut a slice from the stem end, and,
placing them in a pan with the cut side up, put into each one-half
teaspoonful of melted butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake
until they shrivel slightly.
Raw Tomatoes.
Cut the skin from both ends; slice moderately thin, and, if you like,
add a small piece of onion chopped fine. Season with salt and pepper,
and pour over Durkee's or Clayton's salad dressing.
Cucumbers.
Take off a thick rind, as that portion between the seed and outer skin
is the unwholesome part. Slice, rather thin, into cold, salt water, and,
after half-an-hour, drain off, and dress with salt, pepper, wine
vinegar, and a little Chile pepper-sauce, covering slightly with
Durkee's or Clayton's salad dressing.
Boiled Cabbage.
Cut large cabbage in four; small in two pieces, and tie up in a bag or
cloth. Put in boiling water, with some salt, and boil briskly for
half-an-hour. A piece of charcoal in the pot will neutralize the odor
given out by the cabbage, boiled in the ordinary way. Cabbage should
never be cooked with corned-beef, as the fine flavor of the latter is
changed to the strong odor of the cabbage.
To Cook Cauliflower.
If the cauliflower is large, divide in three, if small, in two pieces;
tie up in a cloth, and put in boiling water with a little salt, and cook
not more than twenty minutes. Eat with melted butter, pepper and salt,
or nice drawn butter.
(Asparagus may be cooked in the same way, and eaten with similar
dressing. Both cauliflower and asparagus may be spoiled with too much
cooking. Care should be taken to drain the water from both as soon as
they are done.)
To Cook Young Green Peas.
The best mode of cooking this most delicate and finely-flavored
vegetable--put the peas in a porcelain-lined kettle, with just water
sufficient to cover, and let them boil slowly until tender. Add a lump
of butter, worked in a teaspoonful of flour, to the rich liquid, with
half a teacupful of rich milk or cream; season with salt and pepper.
A Good Way to Cook Beets.
Take beets of a uniform size; boil until tender; slip off the skin, and
slice into a dish or pan; season with salt and pepper, adding a little
butter, made hot, and the juice of one lemon. Pour this over the beets,
set in a hot oven for a few minutes, and send to the table hot.
Mashed Potatoes and Turnips.
Take equal quantities of boiled potatoes and turnips; mash together,
adding butter, salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly with a little good
milk, working all together until quite smooth.
Boiled Onions.
Take small white onions, if you have them; if large, cut and boil until
tender, in salted water. Pour off nearly all the water, and add a small
lump of butter, worked in a little flour, and a small cup of milk; add
pepper, and simmer for a few minutes.
[All the foregoing are desirable additions to roast turkey and chicken.]
Stewed Corn.
If canned corn is used, put a sufficient quantity in a stewpan, with two
or three spoonfuls of hot water, and, after adding pepper and salt to
taste, put in a good-sized lump of butter, into which a teaspoonful of
flour has been well worked, adding, at the same time, a cup of good,
sweet milk or rich cream, and let it cook three minutes. Corn cut fresh
from the cob should be boiled at least twenty minutes before adding the
milk and butter.
Stewed Corn and Tomatoes.
Take equal quantities of corn and tomatoes, and stew together
half-an-hour, with butter, pepper and salt; and when taken up place
slices of buttered toast in the dish in which it is served.
Succotash.
This is the original native American Indian name for corn and beans. In
compounding this most palatable and wholesome dish, take two or three
pounds of green, climbing, or pole beans--the pods of which are large,
and, at the same time, tender. Break these in pieces of something like
half-an-inch long, and let them lie in cold water about half-an-hour, at
which time drain this off. Put them in a porcelain-lined kettle,
covering them with boiling water, into which put a large tablespoonful
of salt. When the beans become tender, pour off the greater portion of
the water, replacing it with that which is boiling, and when the
beans become entirely tender, cut from the cob about half the amount of
corn you have of the beans, which boil for twenty minutes; but where
canned corn is used five minutes will suffice. About five minutes before
taking from the fire, take a piece of butter about the size of an egg,
worked with sufficient flour or corn-starch to form a stiff paste.
Season with plenty of black pepper and salt to taste, adding, at the
same time, a teacupful of rich milk or cream. Then, to keep warm, set
back from the fire, not allowing to boil, but simmering slowly. This
will be equally good the next day, if kept in a cool place, with an open
cover, which prevents all danger of souring. This is a simple,
healthful, and most appetizing dish, inexpensive and at the same time
easily prepared.
Saratoga Fried Potatoes.
The mode of preparing the world-renowned Saratoga fried potatoes is no
longer a secret. It is as follows:
Peel eight good-sized potatoes; slice very thin; use slicing-machine,
when available, as this makes the pieces of uniform thickness. Let them
remain half-an-hour in a quart of cold water, in which a tablespoonful
of salt has been dissolved, and lay in a sieve to drain, after which mop
them over with a dry cloth. Put a pound of lard in a spider or stewpan,
and when this is almost, but not quite, smoking hot, put in the
potatoes, stirring constantly to prevent the slices from adhering, and
when they become a light brown, dip out with a strainer ladle.
[If preferred, cut the potatoes in bits an inch in length, and of the
same width, treating as above.]
Salsify or Oyster Plant.
The best way I have yet found to cook this finely flavored and highly
delicious vegetable is: First, wash clean, but do not remove the skin.
Put the roots in more than enough boiling water to cover them; boil
until quite soft; remove the skin; mash; add butter, and season with
pepper and salt; make into the size of oysters, and dip in thin egg
batter; fry a light brown. If the plant is first put into cold water to
boil, and the skin scraped or removed, the delicate flavor of the
oyster--which constitutes its chief merit--will be entirely dissipated
and lost.
Egg Plant.
There is no more delicate and finely-flavored esculent to be found in
our markets than the egg plant, when cooked in the right manner.
Properly prepared, it is a most toothsome dish; if badly cooked, it is
anything but attractive. Of all the varieties, the long purple is
decidedly the best. Cut in slices, less than one-fourth an inch in
thickness; sprinkle with salt, and let the slices lie in a colander
half-an-hour or longer, to drain. Next parboil for a few minutes, and
drain off the water; season with salt and pepper, and dip in egg batter,
or beaten egg, and fry in sweet lard mixed with a little butter, until
the slices are a light brown. Serve hot.
To Boil Green Corn.
Green corn should be put in hot water, with a handful of salt, and
boiled slowly for half-an-hour, or five minutes longer. The minute the
corn is done, pour off the water and let it remain hot. All vegetables
are injured by allowing them to remain in the water after they are
cooked.
Boiled Rice.
American rice for all its preparations is decidedly preferable, the
grain being much the largest and most nutritious. In boiling, use two
measures of water to one of rice, and let them boil until the water is
entirely evaporated. Cover tightly; set aside, and let steam until every
grain is separated. When ready to serve, use a fork in removing the rice
from the cooking utensil.
[The foregoing recipe was given me by a lady of South Carolina, of great
experience in the preparation of this staple cereal product of the
Southern Atlantic seaboard.]
Stewed Okra.
Cut into pieces one quart of okra, and put to boil in one cup of water;
add a little onion and some tomatoes; salt and pepper to taste; and when
all is boiled tender, add a good lump of butter, worked in with a
spoonful of flour, and let stew five minutes, stirring frequently.
Bread, Cakes, Pies, Puddings and Pastry.
SOLID AND LIQUID SAUCES.
Quick Bread.
Mix 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder with quart of flour, adding 1
teaspoonful salt and sufficient milk or water to make a soft dough, and
bake at once in a hot oven. If eaten hot, break; use a hot knife in
cutting.
Quick Muffins.
Take 2 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls best lard or butter, 1 teaspoonful salt, 2
teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1 tablespoonful sugar, 1 quart good milk,
and flour to make a moderately stiff batter, and bake at once in
muffin-rings.
Brown Bread.
3 cups of yellow corn-meal, 1 cup flour, 2 sweet, and 1/2 cup sour milk,
with 1/2 cup syrup, 1 teaspoonful soda, and a little salt. Bake 4 hours.
Graham Rolls.
Two cups graham and 1 of white flour, 1/2 cup of yeast or 1/3 cake
compressed yeast, 2 teaspoonfuls sugar; mix with warm milk or water, and
let stand upon range until light.
Mississippi River Corn-Bread.
One pint best yellow corn-meal, 1 pint of butter-milk, 2 tablespoonfuls
melted butter, 2 eggs and teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful saleratus;
mix well, and bake at a brisk fire.
Nice Light Biscuit.
Before sifting 1 quart of flour, put in 2 or 3 teaspoonfuls of best
baking powder, adding a little salt after sifting. Follow this with 3
tablespoonfuls of best lard, and with good milk, mix into soft
dough--working as little as possible. Roll full half-an-inch thick; cut
and bake in a hot oven until slightly browned on top and bottom.
Clayton's Corn-Bread.
Take 3 cups of good corn-meal--either yellow or white--and 1 cup of
flour; add a teaspoonful of baking powder, stirring well together. Next,
put into a vessel, 2 eggs, well beaten, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, a
little salt, a large tablespoonful of sweet lard or butter, and milk
enough to make a thick batter. Let these come to a boiling heat,
stirring well at the same time, then pour in the meal, and beat to a
stiff consistence. Turn into a baking pan, and bake until thoroughly
done, brown on top and bottom. Use hot milk in mixing, as, in my
opinion, it takes the raw taste from the corn-meal.
Johnny Cake.
Two spoonfuls of melted butter, 1 egg, well beaten, 2 teaspoonfuls
baking powder, 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar or syrup, 2 cups each,
corn-meal and flour. Bake in a moderate oven until brown.
Sweet Potato Pone.
One large sweet potato grated, 1 cup yellow Indian meal, 2 eggs, 1
tablespoonful butter, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and spice to
taste; add sufficient milk to make the usual thickness of cake.
Ginger-Bread.
One pint molasses, 1/2 pint of sour milk, 2 teaspoonfuls ginger, 1
teacup butter, 1 teaspoonful soda, 2 eggs--salt.
Molasses Ginger Bread.
One cup syrup, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup sweet milk, 2 tablespoonfuls
vinegar, 1/2 cup shortening; flour to make moderately thick, and large
teaspoonful baking powder.
Quaker Cake.
One cup butter, 3 teaspoonfuls ginger, 5 flour, 1/2 cup cider or any
spirits, 4 eggs, and a teaspoonful of saleratus, dissolved in a teacup
of sweet milk.
Pound Cake.
One cup sugar, 1/2 cup best butter, 1/2 cup of rich milk or cream, 3
eggs, well beaten, 1-1/2 cups flour, 1 large teaspoonful baking powder,
and a teaspoonful ground nutmeg; and beat the whole thoroughly before
baking.
Chocolate Cake.--Jelly Cake.
Two cups sugar, 1 cup butter, the yolks of 5 eggs, and whites of 2, 1
cup pure milk, 3-1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar, 1/2
teaspoonful bi-carbonate soda, and stir thoroughly before baking.
The following is the mixture for filling.
Whites of 3 eggs, 1-1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls of grated
chocolate, and 1 teaspoonful extract vanilla. Beat well together, and
spread between each layer and on top the cake.
[Jelly cake may be made the same way, using jelly instead of chocolate.]
Currant Cake.
Three eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1 butter, 1 milk, 1/2 teaspoonful soda, 1 cup
currants, and a little citron, cut in thin slices, with flour to make a
stiff batter. Pour into pans, and bake medium quick.
Cream Cup-Cake.
Four cups of flour, 2 of sugar, 3 of sweet cream, 4 eggs; mix and bake
in square tins. When cold, cut in squares about two inches wide.
Jumbles.
Rub to a cream a pound of butter and a pound of sugar; mix with a pound
and a half of flour, 4 eggs and a little brandy; roll the cakes in
powdered sugar, lay in flat buttered tins, and bake in a quick oven.
Sweet Cake.
One cup of sugar, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup butter, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoonful
soda, 1/2 nutmeg grated fine, flour enough to make a stiff batter. Bake
in a slow oven.
Sponge Cake.
Five eggs, 2 cups sugar, 2 cups flour, 1/2 teacup cold water; mix well
and bake quickly.
Ginger Snaps.
Into 1 pint of molasses put 1 cup lard, 1 tablespoonful of ginger, 1
teaspoonful of soda, and a little salt; boil for a few minutes, and when
quite cool, add sufficient flour to make a stiff dough; roll very thin
and bake.
A Nice Cake.
One quart flour, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sweet lard, 2
teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and 1 of salt. Beat the whites and yolks
of the eggs separately, until light. Sift the baking powder into the
flour. Melt the shortening in a cup of milk with the yolks of the
eggs--putting the whites in last. Work into a thick batter, and bake
steadily for three-quarters of an hour; to be eaten hot.
Icing for Cake.
There are a number of formulas for the preparation of icings for cake,
but the following will invariably be found the simplest, easiest
prepared, and the best:
Take the whites of 4 eggs, and 1 pound of best pulverized white sugar,
and any flavoring extract most agreeable to the taste. Break the whites
of the eggs into a broad, cool dish, and after throwing a small handful
of sugar upon them, begin whipping it in with long even strokes of the
beater. Beat until the icing is of a smooth, fine and firm texture. If
not stiff enough, put in more sugar, using at least a quarter of a pound
to each egg. Pour the icing by the spoonful on top of the cake, and
near the centre of the surface to be covered. If the loaf is so shaped
that the liquid will naturally settle to its place, it is best left to
do so. To spread it, use a broad-bladed knife, dipped in cold water; if
as thick with sugar as should be, one coat will be amply sufficient.
Leave in a moderate oven for three minutes. To color icing yellow, use
the rind of a lemon or orange, tied in a thin muslin bag, straining a
little of the juice through it and squeezing hard into the ice and
sugar; for red, use extract of cochineal.
Chocolate Icing.
Quarter of a cake of chocolate grated, 1/2 cup of sweet milk, 1
tablespoonful corn-starch; flavor with extract of vanilla. Mix these
ingredients, with the exception of the vanilla; boil two minutes, and
after it has fairly commenced to boil, flavor, and then sweeten to taste
with powdered sugar, taking care to have it sweet enough.
Lemon Pie.
Grated rind and juice of two lemons; 2 cups sugar; butter, the size of
an egg; 2 tablespoonfuls corn-starch; 4 eggs. Rub the butter and sugar
smooth in a little cold water; have ready 2 cups boiling water, in which
stir the corn-starch, until it looks clear; add to this the butter and
sugar, and, when nearly cold, the yolks of four eggs, and the white of
one, well beaten, and the rind and the juice of the lemons. After lining
two deep dishes with a delicate paste, and pouring in the mixture, beat
the remaining whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, adding two spoonfuls
of powdered sugar. Spread this over the pies when done, returning to the
oven to brown.
English Plum Pudding.
Three cups flour; 2 eggs; 1 cup milk; 1/2 cup brandy; 1 nutmeg; a
teaspoonful of salt; 5 teaspoonfuls baking powder; 1/2 pound currants;
1/2 pound raisins, stoned and chopped fine; 1/2 pound suet chopped fine;
1 cup sugar. Boil three hours.
Baked Apple Pudding.