THE THINGS MARGARET MADE FOR DINNER
At first, of course, Margaret could not get dinner all alone;
indeed, it took her almost a year to learn how to cook everything
needed,--soup, vegetables, meat, salad, and dessert; but at
first she helped Bridget, and each day she cooked something.
Then she began to arrange very easy dinners when Bridget was out,
such as cream soup, beefsteak or veal cutlet, with potatoes and
one vegetable, and a plain lettuce salad, with a cold dessert
made in the morning. The first time she really did every single
thing alone, Margaret's father gave her a dollar; he said it was
a ``tip'' for the best dinner he ever ate.
SOUPS
The soups in the little cook-book began with those made of
milk and vegetables, because they were so easy to make, and,
when one was learned, all were made in the same way. First
there was--
The General Rule
1 pint of fresh vegetable, cut up in small pieces, or one can.
1 pint of boiling water.
1 pint of hot milk.
1 tablespoonful of flour.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
After the vegetable is washed and cut in very small pieces,
put it in the pint of water and cook it for twenty minutes.
Or, if you use a canned vegetable, cook it ten minutes.
While it is cooking, make the rule for white sauce as before:
Melt one tablespoonful of butter, and when it bubbles put in
one tablespoonful of flour, with the salt and pepper; shake
well, and rub till smooth and thick with the hot milk. Take
the vegetable from the fire and press it through the wire sieve,
letting the water go through, too; mix with the sauce and strain
again, and it is done.
Almost all soups are better for one very thin slice of onion
cooked with the vegetable. When you want a cream soup very nice
indeed, whip a cup of cream and put in the hot soup-tureen, and
pour the soup in on it, beating it a little, till it is all foamy.
Cream of Corn
1 pint of fresh grated corn, or one can.
1 pint of water.
1 pint of hot milk.
1 tablespoonful of flour.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
1 thin slice of onion.
Cook the corn with the water; make the white sauce with the milk;
strain the corn and water through the sieve, pressing well,
and add the milk and strain again.
Cream of Green Peas
1 pint of peas, or one can.
Milk, water, and seasoning, as before; mix by the general rule.
In winter-time you can make a nice soup by taking dried peas,
soaking them overnight, and using them as you would fresh.
All pea soup should have dropped in it just before serving
what are called croutons; that is, small, even cubes of bread
toasted to a nice brown in the oven, or put in a frying-pan
with a tiny bit of butter, and browned.
Cream of Lima Beans
1 pint of fresh or canned beans, or those which have been soaked.
Use milk, water, thickening, and seasoning as before. Add a slice
of onion, as these beans have little taste, and beat the yolk of
an egg and stir in quickly, after you have taken the soup from
the fire, just before you strain it for the second time.
Cream of Potato
This is one of the best and most delicate soups.
5 freshly boiled potatoes.
1 slice of onion.
1 quart of hot milk.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley.
This soup has no water in it, because that which has had potatoes
boiled in it is always spoiled for anything else and must always
be thrown away. This is why you must take a quart of milk instead
of a pint. There is no thickening in the soup, because the potatoes
will thicken it themselves. Put the parsley in at the very last,
after the soup is in the tureen.
The yolk of an egg beaten and put in before the second straining
is nice sometimes in this soup, but not necessary.
Cream of Almonds
This was what Margaret called a Dinner-party Soup, because it
seemed almost too good for every day, but, as her mother explained,
almonds cost no more than canned tomatoes or peas, and the family
can have the soup as well as guests, provided one has plenty of cream.
1 cup of chopped almonds.
1 quart of thin cream.
Small half-teaspoonful of salt.
Get ten cents' worth of Jordan almonds, and put them in boiling
water for one minute; then pour off the water and put on cold,
till they are well chilled. Turn this off, and push the almonds
out of their skins, one by one. If they stick, it is because they
were not in the hot water long enough, and you must put them back
into it, and then into the cold. Chop them while the cream heats
in the double boiler, and then put them in with the salt, and
simmer ten minutes and then strain.
This soup is especially delicious if whipped cream is either mixed
with it at the end, or served on top.
You can also make good almond soup by using the regular rule;
cooking the chopped nuts in a pint of water, adding the thickened
pint of milk and seasoning, and straining twice. Then, after it
is in the tureen, you must put in the egg-beater and whip well,
to make it light.
Cream of Spinach
1 pint cold cooked spinach.
1 quart of milk.
Heat the spinach, using a little of the quart of milk with it,
and press through the sieve; thicken the rest of the milk, and
the seasoning, and strain again. It is better to use cayenne
pepper instead of black with spinach.
Cream of Tomato Soup, Called Tomato Bisque.
4 large tomatoes, cut up, or 1/2 can, with 1/2 cup of water.
2 slices of onion.
2 sprigs of parsley.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
1/4 teaspoonful soda.
1 quart of milk.
1 tablespoonful butter.
1 tablespoonful flour.
Cook the tomatoes with the onion, parsley, sugar, and salt for
twenty minutes. Mix in the soda and stir well; the soda prevents the
milk from curdling. Make the milk and flour and butter into white
sauce as usual; strain the tomato, mix the two, and strain again.
Sometimes add a stalk of celery to the other seasoning as it cooks.
Cream of Clams
1 dozen hard clams, or one bunch of soft ones.
1 quart of rich milk.
1 tablespoonful butter.
1 tablespoonful flour.
3 shakes of pepper.
Chop the clams and drain off the juice and add as much water;
cook till the scum rises, and skim this off. Drop in the clams
and cook three minutes. Heat the milk and thicken as usual;
put in the clams and juice, cook for one minute, and strain.
Notice that there is no salt in this soup. A cup of cream,
whipped, either put on top or stirred in, is very nice.
Oyster Soup
1 pint oysters.
1/2 pint water.
1 quart rich milk.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
Drain off the oyster juice, add the water, boil it for one minute,
and skim it well. Heat the milk and mix it with this; drop in the
oysters and cook one minute, or till the edges begin to curl, and it
is done. This soup is not thickened at all; but if you like you may
add two tablespoonfuls of finely powdered and sifted cracker-crumbs.
Meat Soup or Bouillon Made from Extract
This Margaret made from beef extract, before she learned to use
the fresh beef.
2 teaspoonfuls of extract, or 2 capsules.
1 quart of boiling water.
1/2 an onion, sliced.
1 stalk of celery.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
2 shakes of pepper.
2 sprays of parsley.
Simmer this for twenty minutes, strain, and pour over six thin
slices of lemon, one for each plate. Serve with hot crackers.
Cream Bouillon
Make this same soup, and pour it over a half-pint of thick cream,
well whipped. Do not put any lemon in it. Serve with hot crackers.
Meat Soups
You can make meat soup, or stock, out of almost any kind of meat,
cooked or raw, with bones or without. Many cooks never buy fresh
meat for it, and others think they must always have it. It is best
to learn both ways.
Plain Meat Soup
1 shin of beef.
5 quarts of water.
1 small tablespoonful of salt.
1 head celery, cut up.
1 onion.
1 carrot.
1 turnip.
1 sprig of parsley.
2 bay-leaves.
6 whole cloves.
Wipe the meat and cut off all the bone. Put the bone in a clean
kettle first, and then the meat on top, and pour in the water;
cover, and let this stand on the back of the stove an hour,
then draw it forward and let it cook. This will bring scum on
the water in half an hour, and you must carefully pour in a cup
of cold water and skim off everything which rises to the top.
Cover the kettle tightly, and cook very slowly indeed for four
hours; then put in the cut up vegetables and cook one hour more,
always just simmering, not boiling hard. Then it is done, and
you can put in the salt, and strain the soup first through a
heavy wire sieve, and then through a flannel bag, and set it
away to get cold, and you will have a strong, clear, delicious
stock, which you can put many things in to have variety.
Clear Vegetable Soup
Slice one carrot, turnip, and one potato, and cut them either
into small, even strips, or into tiny cubes, or take a vegetable
cutter and cut out fancy shapes. Simmer them about twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, take a pint of soup stock and a cup of water and heat
them. Sprinkle a little salt over the vegetables and drain them;
put them in the soup-tureen and pour the hot soup over.
Split Pea Soup
1 pint split peas.
1 1/2 quarts of boiling water.
1 quart of soup stock.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
Wash the peas in cold water and throw away those which float,
as they are bad. Soak them overnight, and in the morning pour
away the water on them and cover them with a quart of the boiling
water in the rule, and cook an hour and a half. Put in the rest
of the water and the stock, and press the whole through a sieve,
and, after washing and wiping the kettle, put the soup back to heat,
adding the salt and pepper.
Tomato Soup
1 can tomatoes, or 1 quart of fresh stewed ones.
1 pint of stock. (You can use water instead in this soup,
if necessary.)
1/4 teaspoonful soda.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
1 small onion, cut up.
1 sprig of parsley.
1 bay-leaf.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
Put the tomatoes into a saucepan with the parsley, onion, bay-leaf,
and stock, or water, and cook fifteen minutes, and then strain
through a sieve. Wash the saucepan and put the tomatoes back in it,
and put on to boil again; melt the butter, rub smooth with the flour,
and put into the soup while it boils, and stir till it is perfectly
smooth. Then add the sugar, salt, and pepper and soda, and strain
into the hot tureen. Serve croutons with this soup.
Soup Made with Cooked Meats
Put all the bones, bits of meat, and vegetables which are in the
refrigerator into one large kettle on the back of the fire,
and simmer all day in enough boiling water to cover it all,
adding more water as this cooks away. Skim carefully from time
to time. If there are not many vegetables to go in, put parsley
and onion in their place. At night strain through the sieve,
then through the flannel, and cool.
This stock is never clear as is that made from fresh meat,
but it is almost as good for thick soups, such as pea, or tomato.
Chicken or Turkey Soup
Break up the bones and cover with cold water; add a slice of onion,
a bay-leaf, and a sprig of parsley, and cook all day, adding water
when necessary, and skimming. Cool, take off the grease,
heat again, and strain. Serve with small, even squares of
chicken meat in it, or a little cooked rice and salt. Many people
like a small pinch of cinnamon in turkey soup.
VEGETABLES
Mashed Potatoes
6 large potatoes.
1/2 cup hot milk.
Butter the size of a hickory-nut.
3 teaspoonfuls salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
Peel and boil the potatoes till tender; then turn off the water
and stand them on the back of the stove with a cover half over them,
where they will keep hot while they get dry and floury, but do not
let them burn; shake the saucepan every little while. Heat the
milk with the butter, salt, and pepper in it; mash the potatoes well,
either with the wooden potato-masher or with a wire one, and put
in the milk little by little. When they are all free from lumps,
put them through the potato-ricer, or pile them lightly in the tureen
as they are. Do not smooth them over the top.
Sweet Potatoes
If they are large, scrub them well and bake in a hot oven for
about forty minutes. If they are small, make them into--
Creamed Sweet Potatoes
Boil the potatoes, skin them, and cut them up in small slices.
Make a cup of cream sauce, mix with them, and put them in the oven
for half an hour.
Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Boil six potatoes in well-salted water till they are tender; skin them,
slice them thin, and put a layer of them in a buttered baking-dish;
sprinkle with brown sugar, and put on more potatoes and more sugar
till the dish is full. Bake for three-quarters of an hour.
Beets
Wash the beets but do not peel them. Boil them gently for
three-quarters of an hour, or till they can be pierced easily
with a straw. Then skin them and slice in a hot dish, dusting
each layer with a little salt, pepper, and melted butter. Those
which are left over may have a little vinegar poured over them,
to make them into pickles for luncheon.
Once Margaret made something very nice by a recipe her Pretty Aunt
put in her book. It was called--
Stuffed Beets
1 can French peas.
6 medium-sized beets.
Boil the beets as before and skin them, but leave them whole.
Heat the peas after the juice has been turned off, and season
them with salt and pepper. Cut off the stem end of each beet so
it will stand steadily, and scoop a round place in the other end;
sprinkle each beet with salt and pepper, and put a tiny bit of
butter down in this little well, and then fill it high with the
peas it will hold.
Creamed Cabbage
1 small cabbage.
1 cup cream sauce.
Take off the outside leaves of the cabbage; cut it up in four
pieces, and cut out the hard core and lay it in cold, salted water
for half an hour. Then wipe it dry and slice it, not too fine,
and put it in a saucepan; cover it with boiling water with a
teaspoonful of salt in it, and boil hard for fifteen minutes
without any cover. While it is cooking, make a cup of cream sauce.
Take up the cabbage, press it in the colander with a plate till
all the water is out; put it in a hot covered dish, sprinkle well
with salt, and pour the cream sauce over. This will not have any
unpleasant odor in cooking, and it will be so tender and easy
to digest that even a little girl may have two helpings.
If you like it to look green, put a tiny bit of soda in the water
when you cook it.
Lima Beans
Shell them and cook like peas; pour over them a half-cup of
cream sauce, if you like this better than having them dry.
Peas
Shell them and drop them into a saucepan of boiling water,
into which you have put a teaspoonful of salt and one of sugar.
Boil them till they are tender, from fifteen minutes, if they are
fresh from the garden, to half an hour or more, if they have stood
in the grocer's for a day or two. When they are done they will
have little dents in their sides, and you can easily mash two or
three with a fork on a plate. Then drain off the water, put in
three shakes of pepper, more salt if they do not taste just right,
and a piece of butter the size of a hickory-nut, and shake them
till the butter melts; serve in a hot covered dish.
String Beans
Pull off the strings and cut off the ends; hold three or four beans
in your hand and cut them into long, very narrow strips, not into
square pieces. Then cook them exactly as you did the peas.
Stewed Tomatoes
6 large tomatoes.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
1 pinch soda.
3 shakes of pepper.
Butter as large as an English walnut.
Peel and cut the tomatoes up small, saving the juice; put together
in a saucepan with the seasoning, the soda mixed in a teaspoonful
of water before it is put in. Simmer twenty minutes, stirring
till it is smooth, and last put in half a cup of bread or cracker
crumbs, or a cup of toast, cut into small bits. Serve in a hot,
covered dish.
Asparagus
Untie the bunch, scrape the stalks clean, and put it in cold water
for half an hour. Tie the bunch again, and cut enough off the
white ends to make all the pieces the same length. Stand them
in boiling water in a porcelain kettle, and cook gently for about
twenty minutes. Lay on a platter on squares of buttered toast,
and pour over the toast and the tips of the asparagus a cup of
cream sauce. Or do not put it on toast, but pour melted butter
over the tips after it is on the platter. To make it delicious,
mix the juice of a lemon with the butter.
Sometimes put a little grated cheese on the ends last of all.
Onions
Peel off the outside skin and cook them in boiling, salted water
till they are tender; drain them, put them in a baking-dish, and
pour over them a tablespoonful of melted butter, three shakes
of pepper, and a sprinkling of salt, and put in the oven and brown
a very little. Or, cover them with a cup of white sauce instead
of the melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, but do not
put in the oven.
Corn
Strip off the husks and silk, and put in a kettle of boiling water
and boil hard for fifteen minutes; do not salt the water, as salt
makes corn tough. Put a napkin on a platter with one end hanging
over the end; lay the corn on and fold the end of the napkin over
to keep it warm.
Canned Corn
Turn the corn into the colander and pour water through it a moment.
Heat a cup of milk with a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful
of salt, and three shakes of pepper, and mix with the corn and
cook for two minutes. Or, put in a buttered baking-dish and brown
in the oven. Many people never wash corn; it is better to do so.
Sometimes Margaret had boiled rice for dinner in place of potatoes,
and then she looked back at the recipe she used when she cooked
it for breakfast, and made it in just the same way. Very often
in winter she had--
Macaroni
6 long pieces of macaroni.
1 cup white sauce.
1/2 pound of cheese.
Paprika and salt.
Break up the macaroni into small pieces, and boil fifteen minutes
in salted water, shaking the dish often. Pour off the water and
hold the dish under the cold-water faucet until all the paste is
washed off the outside of the macaroni, which will take only a
minute if you turn it over once or twice. Butter a baking-dish,
put in a layer of macaroni, a good sprinkle of salt, then a very
little white sauce, and a layer of grated cheese, sprinkled over
with a tiny dusting of paprika, or sweet red pepper, if you have it;
only use a tiny bit. Then cover with a thin layer of white sauce,
and so on till the dish is full, with the last layer of white sauce
covered with an extra thick one of cheese. Bake till brown.
Margaret's mother got this rule in Paris, and she though it
a very nice one.
After the soup, meat, and vegetables at dinner came the salad;
for this Margaret almost always had lettuce, with French dressing,
as mayonnaise seemed too heavy for dinner. Sometimes she had nice
watercress; once in a long time she had celery with mayonnaise.
DESSERTS
Corn-starch Pudding
1 pint of milk.
2 heaping tablespoonfuls of corn-starch.
3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
Whites of three eggs.
1/2 teaspoonful vanilla.
Beat the whites of the eggs very stiff. Mix the corn-starch with
half a cup of the milk, and stir till it melts. Mix the rest of the
milk and the sugar, and put them on the fire in the double boiler.
When it bubbles, stir up the corn-starch and milk well, and stir
them in and cook and stir till it gets as thick as oatmeal mush;
then turn in the eggs and stir them lightly, and cook for a minute
more. Take it off the stove, mix in the vanilla, and put in a
mould to cool. When dinner is ready, turn it out on a platter and
put small bits of red jelly around it, or pieces of preserved ginger,
or a pretty circle of preserved peaches, or preserved pineapple.
Have a pitcher of cream to pass with it, or have a nice bowl of
whipped cream. If you have a ring-mould, let it harden in that,
and have the whipped cream piled in the centre after it is on
the platter, and put the jelly or preserves around last.
Chocolate Corn-starch Pudding
Use the same rule as before, but put in one more tablespoonful
of sugar. Then shave thin two squares of Baker's chocolate,
and stir in over the teakettle till it melts, and stir it in
very thoroughly before you put in the eggs. Instead of pouring
this into one large mould, put it in egg-cups to harden; turn
these out carefully, each on a separate plate, and put a spoonful
of whipped cream by each one.
Cocoanut Corn-starch Pudding
Make the first rule; before you put in the eggs, stir in a cup of
grated cocoanut, with an extra spoonful of sugar, or a cup of that
which comes in packages without more sugar, as it is already sweetened.
Serve in a large mould, or in small ones, with cream.
Baked Custard
2 cups milk.
Yolks of two eggs.
2 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
A little nutmeg.
Beat the eggs till they are light; mix the milk and sugar till
the sugar melts; put the two together, and put it into a nice
baking-dish, or into small cups, and dust the nutmeg over the tops.
Bake till the top is brown, and till when you put a knife-blade
into the custard it comes out clean.
Cocoanut Custard
Add a cup of cocoanut to this rule and bake it in one dish, stirring
it up two or three times from the bottom, but, after it begins
to brown, leaving it alone to finish. Do not put any nutmeg on it.
Tapioca Pudding
2 tablespoonfuls tapioca.
Yolks of two eggs.
1/2 cup of sugar.
1 quart of milk.
Put the tapioca into a small half-cup of water and let it stand
one hour. Then drain it and put it in the milk in the double boiler,
and cook and stir it till the tapioca looks clear, like glass.
Beat the eggs and mix the sugar with them, and beat again till
both are light, and put them with the milk and tapioca and cook
three minutes, stirring all the time. Then take it off the fire
and add a saltspoonful of salt and a half-teaspoonful of vanilla,
and let it get perfectly cold.
Floating Island
1 pint milk.
3 eggs.
One-third cup of sugar.
Put the milk on the stove to heat in a good-sized pan. Beat
the whites of the eggs very stiff, and as soon as the milk
scalds,--that is, gets a little wrinkled on top,--drop spoonfuls
of the egg on to it in little islands; let them stand there to cook
just one minute, and then with the skimmer take them off and
lay them on a plate. Put the milk where it will keep hot but not
boil while you beat the yolks of the eggs stiff, mixing in the
sugar and beating that, too. Pour the milk into the bowl of egg,
a little at a time, beating all the while, and then put it in the
double boiler and cook till it is as thick as cream. Take it off
the fire, stir in a saltspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful
of vanilla, and set it away to cool. When it is dinner-time,
strain the custard into a pretty dish and slip the whites off
the top, one by one. If you like, you can dot them over with
very tiny specks of red jelly.
Cake and Custard
Make a plain boiled custard, just as before, with--
1 pint of milk.
Yolks of three eggs.
One-third cup of sugar.
1 saltspoonful of salt.
1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.
Beat the eggs and sugar, add the hot milk, and cook till creamy,
put in the salt and vanilla, and cool. Then cut stale cake into
strips, or split lady-fingers into halves, and spread with jam.
Put them on the sides and bottom of a flat glass dish, and gently
pour the custard over.
Brown Betty
Peel, core, and slice six apples. Butter a baking-dish and
sprinkle the inside all over with fine bread-crumbs. Then
take six very thin slices of buttered bread and line the sides
and bottom of the dish. Put a layer of apples an inch thick,
a thin layer of brown sugar, six bits of butter, and a dusting
of cinnamon, another layer of crumbs, another of apples and
sugar, and so on till the dish is full, with crumbs and butter
on top, and three tablespoonfuls of molasses poured over.
Bake this one hour, and have hard sauce to eat with it.
Lemon Pudding
1 cup of sugar.
4 eggs.
2 lemons.
1 pint of milk.
1 tablespoonful of sugar.
2 tablespoonfuls of corn-starch.
1 pinch of salt.
Wet the corn-starch with half a cup of the milk, and heat what
is left. Stir up the corn-starch well, and when the milk is hot
put it in and stir; then boil five minutes, stirring all the time.
Melt the butter, and put that in with a pinch of salt, and cool it.
Beat the yolks of the eggs, and add the sugar, the juice of both
lemons, and the grated rind of one, pour into the milk, and stir well;
put in a buttered baking-dish and bake till slightly brown. Take
it out of the oven; beat the whites of two eggs with a tablespoonful
of granulated sugar, and pile lightly on top, and put in the oven
again till it is just brown. This is a very nice rule.
Rice Pudding with Raisins
1 quart of milk.
2 tablespoonfuls of rice.
One-third cup of sugar.
1/2 cup seeded raisins.
Wash the rice and the raisins and stir everything together till
the sugar dissolves. Then put it in a baking-dish in the oven.
Every little while open the door and see if a light brown crust
is forming on top, and, if it is, stir the pudding all up from
the bottom and push down the crust. Keep on doing this till
the rice swells and makes the milk all thick and creamy, which it
will after about an hour. Then let the pudding cook, and when
it is a nice deep brown take it out and let it get very cold.
Bread Pudding
2 cups of milk.
1 cup soft bread-crumbs.
1 tablespoonful of sugar.
2 egg yolks.
1 egg white.
1/2 teaspoonful vanilla.
1 saltspoonful of salt.
Crumb the bread evenly and soak in the milk till soft. Beat
it till smooth, and put in the beaten yolks of the eggs, the
sugar, vanilla, and salt, and last the beaten white of the
egg. Put it in a buttered pudding-dish, and stand this in a
pan of hot water in the oven for fifteen minutes. Take it out
and spread its top with jam, and cover with the beaten white
of the other egg, with one tablespoonful of granulated sugar
put in it, and brown in the oven. You can eat this as it is,
or with cream, and you may serve it either hot or cold.
Sometimes you can put a cup of washed raisins into the bread-crumbs
and milk, and mix in the other things; sometimes you can put in
a cup of chopped almonds, or a little preserved ginger. Orange
marmalade is especially nice on bread pudding.
Orange Pudding
Make just like Lemon Pudding, but use three oranges instead
of two lemons.
Cabinet Pudding
1 pint of milk.
Yolks of three eggs.
3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
1 saltspoonful of salt.
Beat the eggs, add the sugar, and stir them into the milk,
which must be very hot but not boiling; stir till it thickens,
and then take it from the fire. Put a layer of washed raisins
in the bottom of a mould, then a layer of slices of stale cake
or lady-fingers, then more raisins around the edge of the mould,
and more cake, till the mould is full. Pour the custard over
very slowly, so the cake will soak well, and bake in a pan of
water in the oven for an hour. This pudding is to be eaten hot,
with any sauce you like, such as Foamy Sauce.
Cut-up figs are nice to use with the raisins, and chopped nuts
are a delicious addition, dropped between the layers of the cake.
Cottage Pudding
1 egg.
1/2 cup of sugar.
1/2 cup of milk.
1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
1 cup of flour.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
Beat the yolk of the egg light, add the sugar and butter mixed,
then put in the milk, the flour, the whites of the eggs beaten stiff,
and last of all the baking-powder, and stir it up well. Put in a
greased pan and bake nearly half an hour. If you want this very nice,
put in half a cup of chopped figs, mixed with part of the flour.
Serve with Foamy Sauce.
Prune Whips
This was a cooking-school rule which the Pretty Aunt put in,
because she said it was the best sort of pudding for little
girls to make.
1 tablespoonful of powdered sugar.
2 tablespoonfuls stewed prunes.
White of one egg.
Cook the prunes till soft, take out the stones, and mash the
prunes fine. Beat the white of the egg very stiff, mix in the
sugar and prunes, and bake in small buttered dishes. Serve
hot or cold, with cream.
Junket
1 junket tablet.
1 quart milk.
1/2 cup sugar.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.
Break up the junket tablet into small pieces, and put them into a
tablespoonful of water to dissolve. Put the sugar into the milk
with the vanilla, and stir till it is dissolved. Warm the milk
a little, but only till it is as warm as your finger, so that if you
try it by touching it with the tip, you do not feel it at all as
colder or warmer. Then quickly turn in the water with the tablet
melted in it, stirring it only once, and pour immediately into
small cups on the table. These must stand for half and hour
without being moved, and then the junket will be stiff, and the cups
can be put in the ice-box. In winter you must warm the cups till
they are like the milk. This is very nice with a spoonful of whipped
cream on each cup, and bits of preserved ginger or of jelly on it.
Strawberry Shortcake
Margaret's mother called this the Thousand Mile Shortcake, because
she sent so far for the recipe to the place where she had once
eaten it, when she thought it the best she had ever tasted.
1 pint flour.
1/2 cup butter.
1 egg.
1 teaspoonful baking-powder.
1/2 cup milk.
1 saltspoonful of salt.
Mix the baking-powder and salt with the flour and sift all together.
The butter should stand on the kitchen table till it is warm and
ready to melt, when it may be mixed in with a spoon, and then the egg,
well beaten, and the milk.
Divide the dough into halves; put one in a round biscuit-tin,
butter it, and lay the other half on top, evenly. Bake a light
brown; when you take it out of the oven, let it cool, and then lift
the layer apart. Mash the berries, keeping out some of the biggest
ones for the top of the cake, and put on the bottom layer; put a
small half-cup of powdered sugar on them, and put the top layer on.
Dust this over with sugar till it is white, and set the large
berries about on it, or cover the top with whipped cream and
put the berries on this.
Cake Shortcake
1 small cup sugar.
1/2 cup butter.
1 cup cold water.
1 egg.
2 cups flour.
3 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
Rub the butter and sugar to a cream; sift the flour and baking-powder
together; beat the egg stiff without separating; put the egg with
the sugar and butter, add the water and flour in turn, a little
at a time, stirring steadily; bake in two layer-tins. Put crushed
berries between, and whole berries on top.
Tiny field strawberries make the most delicious shortcake of all.
Peach Shortcake
Make either of the rules above, and put mashed and sweetened
peaches between the layers. Slice evenly about four more, and
arrange these on top, making a ring of them overlapping all
around the edge, and laying them inside in the same way. Sugar well,
and serve with whipped cream or a pitcher of plain cream.
Lemon Jelly
1/2 box gelatine.
1/2 cup cold water.
2 cups boiling water.
1 cup sugar.
Juice of three lemons, and three scrapings of the yellow rind.
Put the gelatine into the cold water and soak one hour. Put the
boiling water, the sugar, and the scrapings of the peel on the fire,
and still till the sugar dissolves. Take it off the fire and stir
in the gelatine, and mix till this is dissolved; when it is
partly cool, turn in the lemon juice and strain through a flannel
bag dipped in water and wrung dry. Put in a pretty mould.
Orange Jelly
Make this exactly as you did the lemon jelly, only instead of
taking the juice of three lemons, take the juice of two oranges and
one lemon, and scrape the orange peel instead of the lemon peel.
Whipped cream is nicer with either of these jellies.
Prune Jelly
Wash well a cup of prunes, and cover them with cold water and soak
overnight. In the morning put them on the fire in the same water,
and simmer till so tender that the stones will slip out. Cut each
prune in two and sprinkle with sugar as you lay them in the mould;
pour over them lemon jelly made by the recipe above, and put on ice.
Turn out on a pretty dish, and put whipped cream around.
Sometimes Margaret colored lemon jelly with red raspberry juice,
and piled sugared raspberries around the mould. Lemon jelly is one
of the best things to put things with; peaches may be used instead
of prunes, in that rule, or strawberries, with plenty of sugar,
or bits of pineapple.
Fruit Jelly
Make a plain lemon jelly, as before. Cut up very thin two oranges,
one banana, six figs, and a handful of white grapes, which you
have seeded, and sweeten them. Put in a mould and pour in the jelly;
as it begins to grow firm you can gently lift the fruit from the
bottom once or twice.
You can also fill the mould quite full of fruit, and make only half
the jelly and pour over. Whipped cream is nice to eat with this.
Coffee Jelly
1/2 box of gelatine.
1/2 cup of cold water.
1 pint strong hot coffee.
3/4 cup sugar.
1/2 pint boiling water.
Put the gelatine in the cold water and soak two minutes, and
pour over it the coffee, boiling hot. When it is dissolved,
put in the sugar and boiling water and strain; put in little
individual moulds, and turn out with whipped cream under each
one. Or, set in a large mould, and have whipped cream around it.
Snow Pudding
1/2 box of gelatine.
1 pint of cold water.
3 eggs.
Juice of three lemons.
1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
Pour the water over the gelatine and let it stand ten minutes;
then put the bowl over the fire and stir till it is dissolved,
and take it off at once. As soon as it seems nearly cold, beat
to a froth with the egg-beater. Beat the whites of the eggs stiffly,
and add to the gelatine, with the lemon juice and sugar, and mix well.
Put in a mould and set on ice. Make a soft custard by the rule,
and pour around the pudding when you serve it.
Velvet Cream
1/4 box of gelatine.
1 pint milk.
2 eggs.
3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
Small teaspoonful of vanilla.
Put the gelatine in the milk and soak fifteen minutes; put
on the stove and heat till it steams, but do not let it boil;
stir carefully often, as there is danger of its burning. Beat
the yolks of the eggs with the sugar, and put these in the
custard, and cook till it all thickens and is smooth, but do
not boil it. Strain, cool, and add the vanilla, and last fold
in the beaten whites of the eggs, and put in a mould on the ice.
Preserved peaches laid around this are very nice, or rich
pineapple, or apricot jam; or a ring of whipped cream, with
bits of red jelly, make a pretty border.
Easy Charlotte Russe
1/4 box gelatine.
1/2 pint of milk.
1 pint thick cream.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
1 small teaspoonful vanilla.
Put the gelatine in the milk and stand on the stove till the
gelatine is dissolved, stirring often. Then take it off, and beat
with the egg-beater till cold. Beat the cream with the egg-beater
till perfectly stiff, put in the sugar and vanilla, and mix with
the milk, and set on ice in a mould. When you wish to use it,
turn out and put lady-fingers split in halves all around it.
PUDDING SAUCES
Orange Sauce
3 egg-whites.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Juice of 2 oranges.
Grated rind.
Beat the egg-whites very stiff, add the sugar, then the grated
orange-peel, then the juice; beat up lightly and serve at once.
Delicious Maple Sauce
2 egg-yolks.
1/4 cup maple syrup.
1/2 cup whipped cream.
Beat the yolks very light, putting in a pinch of salt; put in the
syrup and cook till the spoon coats over when you dip it in;
then cool and beat in the whipped cream, and serve very cold.
Hard Sauce
Beat together a half-cup of powdered sugar and a half-cup of
butter with a fork till both are light and creamy. Flavor
with a teaspoonful of vanilla and put on the ice to harden.
Foamy Sauce
1/2 cup butter.
1/2 cup boiling water.
1 cup powdered sugar.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.
White of one egg.
Rub the butter and sugar to a cream; add vanilla and beat well.
When it is time to serve, beat the egg stiff, stir the boiling
water into the sugar and butter, and then put in the egg and beat
till foamy, standing it on the stove as you do so, to keep it hot.
Serve in the sauce-boat.
Grandmother's Sauce
1 cup sugar.
1/2 cup butter.
Yolks of two eggs.
1/4 cup boiling water.
A dusting of nutmeg.
Cream the butter and sugar, stir in the beaten yolk, and last
the boiling water. Beat till foamy, and then dust with nutmeg.
Lemon Sauce
White of one egg.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Juice of half a lemon.
Beat the egg, add the sugar and lemon, and beat again.
White Sauce
1 tablespoonful of corn-starch.
1/2 cup cold water.
1 cup boiling water.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Pinch of salt.
2 whites of eggs.
1 teaspoonful alons extract.
Dissolve the corn-starch in the cold water, and then add the
boiling water and sugar and salt, and cook for fifteen minutes,
stirring all the time. Take from the fire and fold in the stiffly
beaten egg-whites with the flavoring, and beat till perfectly cold.
Any flavoring will do for this sauce; pistache is very nice.
Quick Pudding Sauce
1 egg.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.
Put the egg in a bowl without separating it and beat till very light;
then pour in the sugar very slowly, beating all the time; add the
vanilla and serve at once.
This is a very nice sauce, and so simple to make that Margaret
learned it among the first of her rules.
Ice-creams and Ices
Margaret had a little ice-cream freezer which was all her own,
and held only enough for two little girls to eat at a tea-party,
and this she could pack alone. When she made ice-cream for all
the family she had to use the larger freezer, of course, and this
Bridget helped her pack. But the same rule was used for either
the large one or the small. First break up the ice in a thick bag
with a hammer until the pieces are as large as eggs, and all
about the same size. Then put two big bowls or dippers of this
into a tub or pail, and add one bowl or dipper of coarse salt,
and so on, till you have enough, mixing it well with a long-handled
spoon. Put the freezer in its pail and put the cover on; then fill
the space between with the ice and salt till it is full, pressing
it down as you work. Let it stand now in a cool place, till
you know the inside is very cold, and then wipe off the top
carefully and pour in the cream, which must be very cold, too.
Put on the top and turn smoothly and slowly till it is stiff,
which should be fifteen minutes. Then draw off the water from
the pail, wipe the top of the cover again, so no salt can get
in, and take out the dasher, pushing the cream down with a
spoon from the sides and packing it firmly. Put a cork in the
hole in the cover, and put it on tightly. Mix more ice with a
little salt; only a cupful to two bowls this time, and pack
the freezer again up to the top. Wring out a heavy cloth in
the salty water you drew off the pail, and cover it over
tightly with this, and then stand in a cool, dark place till
you need it; all ice-creams are better for standing two hours.
Plain Ice-cream
3 cups of cream.
1 cup of milk.
1 small cup of sugar.
2 teaspoonfuls vanilla.
Put the cream, milk, and sugar on the fire, and stir till the sugar
dissolves and cream just wrinkles on top; do not let it boil.
Take it off, beat it till it is cold, add the vanilla, and freeze.
French Ice-cream
1 pint of milk.
1 cup of cream.
1 cup of sugar.
4 eggs.
1 tablespoonful vanilla.
1 saltspoonful of salt.
Put the milk on the fire and let it just scald or wrinkle.
Beat the yolks of the eggs, put in the sugar, and beat again;
then pour the hot milk into these slowly, and the salt, and put
it on the fire in the double boiler and let it cook to a nice
thick cream. (This is a plain boiled custard, such as you made
for floating island.) Take it off and let it cool while you beat
the whites of the eggs stiff, and then the cup of cream.
Put the eggs in first lightly when the custard is entirely cold,
and then the whipped cream last, and the vanilla, and freeze.
Coffee Ice-cream
Make either of these creams, and flavor with half a cup of strong
coffee in place of vanilla.
Chocolate Ice-cream
Make plain ice-cream; melt two squares of chocolate in a little
saucer over the teakettle. Mix a little of the milk or cream
with this, and stir it smooth, and then put it in with the rest.
You will need to use a large cup of sugar instead of a small one
in making this, as the chocolate is not sweetened.
Peach Ice-cream
Peel, cut up, and mash a cup of peaches. Make plain ice-cream, with a
large cup of sugar, and when it is cold stir in the peaches and freeze.
Strawberry Ice-cream
Mix a large cup of berries, mashed and strained carefully so that
there are no seeds, with the ice-cream, and freeze.
The Easiest Ice-cream of All--Vanilla Parfait
1 cup of sugar.
1 cup of water.
Whites of three eggs.
1 pint of cream.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.
Put the sugar and water in a nice enamelled saucepan and cook it
without stirring. You must shake the pan often to prevent its
burning, but if you stir it, it will make it sugary. After about
five minutes hold your spoon up in the air and drop one drop back
into the saucepan; if a little thread is made which blows off
to one side, it is done, but if not you must cook till it does.
If your fire is very hot it may make the thread in less time,
so try it every few moments. Have the whites of your eggs beaten
very stiff, and slowly pour the syrup into them, beating hard with
a fork all the time. You must keep on beating till this is cold.
Have ready a pint of thick cream, whipped very stiff, either with a
Dover egg-beater, or in a little tin cream-churn, and when the egg
is cold, mix the two lightly and put in the vanilla. If you have
a mould with a tight cover, put it in this, but if not, take
a lard-pail; cover tightly, and stand in a pail on a layer of
ice and salt, mixed just as for freezing ice-cream, and pile
more ice and salt all over it, the more the better. Let this stand
five hours, or four will do, if necessary, and turn the cream on
a pretty dish. After you have made this once it will seem no
trouble at all to make it.
If your mother would like a change from this recipe sometimes,
try putting in the yolks of the eggs, well beaten, with the cream,
and use some other flavoring.
Lemon Ice
1 quart of water.
4 lemons.
2 1/2 cups sugar.
1 orange.
Boil the sugar and water for ten minutes; strain it and add the
juice of the lemons and orange; cool and freeze.
Orange Ice
1 quart of water.
6 oranges.
1 lemon.
2 1/2 cups sugar.
Prepare exactly as you did lemon ice.
Strawberry Ice
1 quart of water.
2 1/2 cups sugar.
1 1/2 cups strawberry juice, strained. Prepare like lemon ice.
Raspberry Ice
1 quart of water.
2 1/2 cups sugar.
1 1/2 cups raspberry-juice, strained. Prepare like lemon ice.
Peach Surprise
1 quart of peaches cut up in small bits.
2 cups of sugar.
Whites of five eggs.
Do not beat the eggs at all; just mix everything together and
put in the freezer and stir till stiff; this is very delicious,
and the easiest thing to make there is.
When Margaret wanted to make her own freezer full of ice-cream,
she just took a cup of cream and heated it with the sugar,
and when it was cold put in three drops of vanilla and froze it.
CAKE
Next after the ices in her book, Margaret found the cake to eat
with them, and first of all there was a rule for some little cakes
which the smallest girl in the neighborhood used to make all alone.
Eleanor's Cakes
1/4 cup of butter.
1/2 cup of sugar.
1/4 cup of milk.
1 egg.
1 cup flour.
1 teaspoonful baking-powder.
1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.
Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, beat the egg light without
separating, and put it in next; then the milk, a little at a time;
mix the baking-powder with the flour and stir in, and last the vanilla.
Bake in small scalloped tins, and fill each one only half-full.
Grandmother's Little Feather Cake
1 cup of sugar.
2 tablespoonfuls soft butter.
1 egg.
1/2 cup milk and water mixed.
1 1/2 cups sifted flour.
1 teaspoonful baking-powder.
Rub the butter and sugar to a cream. Beat the yolk of the egg stiff
and put that in; then add part of the milk and water, and part of
the flour and baking-powder, which has been sifted together;
next the vanilla, and last the stiff whites of the eggs, not
stirred in, but just lightly folded in. If you put them in heavily
and roughly, cake will always be heavy. Bake this in a buttered
biscuit-tin, and cut in squares when cold. It is nice covered
with caramel or chocolate frosting.
Domino Cake
Make this feather cake and pour it into two pans, so that the
bottom shall be just covered, and bake it quickly. When it is done,
take it out of the pans and frost it, and while the frosting is
still a little soft, mark it off into dominoes. When it is
entirely cold, cut these out, and with a clean paint-brush paint
little round spots on them with a little melted chocolate,
to exactly represent the real dominoes. It is fun to play a game
with these at a tea-party and eat them up afterwards.
Margaret's Own Cake
Margaret's mother named this cake for her, because she liked it so much
to make it and to eat it. It is a very nice cake for little girls.
5 eggs.
1 cup granulated sugar.
1 cup of flour.
1 pinch of salt.
1/2 teaspoonful of lemon-juice, or vanilla.
Separate the eggs, and beat the yolks very light and foamy;
then put in the sugar which you have sifted, a little at a time,
and the flour in the same way, but put them in in turn, first sugar,
then flour, and so on. Then put in the flavoring, and last fold in
the whites of the eggs, beaten very stiff. Bake in a buttered pan.
Sponge Cake
4 eggs.
1 cup powdered sugar.
1 cup sifted flour.
1 level teaspoonful baking-powder.
Juice of half a lemon.
Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs and beat them both very
light. Mix the sugar in the yolks and beat again till they are very
foamy; then put in the stiff whites, and last the flour, sifted
with baking-powder; then the lemon-juice. Bake in a buttered
biscuit-tin. You can frost and put walnut-halves on top.
Velvet Cake
This is a large cake, baked in a roasting-pan; it is very light and
delicious, and none too large for two luncheons, or for a picnic.
6 eggs.
2 cups of sugar.
1 cup of boiling water.
2 1/2 cups of flour.
3 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
Put the yolks of the eggs in a deep bowl and beat two minutes;
then put in the sugar, and beat ten minutes, or fifteen, if you
want it perfect. Put in the water, a little at a time, and next
the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Mix the baking-powder and
flour, put these in next, and add the flavoring last. This is
a queer way to mix the cake, but it is right.
Easy Fruit-cake
Margaret's Other Aunt begged to have this in the book, because she
said it was so simple any little girl could make it, and all the
family could help eat it, as they were especially fond of fruit-cake.
1 cup butter.
1 cup sugar.
1 cup molasses.
1 cup milk.
1 cup currants.
1 cup raisins.
1 egg.
1 teaspoonful soda.
2 teaspoonfuls mixed spices.
3 cups flour.
Wash and dry the currants. Buy the seeded raisins and wash these,
too, and then chop them. Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg
beaten well without separating, then the molasses with the soda
stirred in it, then the milk, then the cinnamon and cloves.
Measure the flour, and then take out a half-cup of it, and stir in
the raisins and currants, to keep them from going to the bottom
of the cake when it is baked. Stir these in, add the rest of
the flour, and beat well. Bake in two buttered bread-pans.
Layer Cake
1 cup sugar.
1/2 cup water.
2 eggs.
2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
1/2 cup butter.
2 1/2 cups flour.
Teaspoonful vanilla.
Rub the butter to a cream in a deep bowl, and put in the sugar
a little at a time, and rub this till it, too, creams. Then put
in the beaten yolks of the eggs, and then the water. Beat the
egg-whites well, and fold in half, then add the flour, in which
you have mixed and sifted the baking-powder, and then put in
the vanilla and the rest of the eggs.
Divide in two layers, or in three if the tins are small, and
bake till a light brown.
FILLING FOR LAYER CAKES
Nut and Raisin Filling
Make the rule for plain icing, and add a half-cup of chopped raisins
mixed with half a cup of chopped almonds or English walnuts.
Fig Filling
Mix a cup of chopped figs with the same icing.
Marshmallow Filling
Chop a quarter of a pound of marshmallows; put them over the
teakettle to get soft; make a plain icing and beat them in.
Maple Filling
2 cups maple syrup.
Whites of 2 eggs.
Boil the syrup slowly till it makes a thread when you hold it up;
then add it slowly to your beaten egg-whites, beating till cold.
Orange Filling
1 cup powdered sugar.
1 tablespoonful boiling water.
Grated rind of 1 orange.
1 tablespoonful orange-juice.
Put the sugar in a bowl, add the rind, then the water and juice,
and spread at once on the cake. This icing must be very thick
when made, and if is seems thin put in more sugar.
Caramel Filling
2 cups brown sugar.
1/2 cup cream or milk.
Butter the size of an egg.
1/2 teaspoonful vanilla.
Mix all together and cook till it is smooth and thick.
Plain Icing
Put the white of one egg into a bowl with a half-teaspoonful
of water, and beat till light. Then stir in a cup of sifted
powdered sugar, and put on the cake while that is still warm,
and smooth it over with a wet knife.
Chocolate Icing
Melt one square of Baker's chocolate in a saucer over the teakettle,
and put in two tablespoonfuls of milk and stir till smooth.
Add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a small half-teaspoonful
of butter, and stir again. Take it off the stove and put it on
the cake while both are warm.
Caramel Icing
1/2 cup of milk.
2 cups brown sugar.
Butter the size of an egg.
1 teaspoonful of vanilla.
Mix the butter, sugar, and milk, and cook till it is smooth
and thick, stirring all the time and watching it carefully to
see that it does not burn; take it off and put in the vanilla,
and spread while warm on a warm cake.
Doughnuts
Margaret's mother did not approve of putting this rule in her
cook-book, because she did not want Margaret ever to eat rich things;
but her grandmother said it really must go in, for once in awhile
very nice doughnuts would not hurt anybody.
1 1/2 cups of sugar.
1/2 cup of butter.
3 eggs.
1 1/2 cups of milk.
2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
Pinch of salt.
Put in flour enough to make a very soft dough, just as soft as you
can handle it. Mix, and put on a slightly floured board and make
into round balls, or roll out and cut with a cooky cutter with
a hole in the centre. Heat two cups of lard with one cup of
beef suet which you have melted and strained, and heat till it
browns a bit of bread instantly. Then drop in three doughnuts,--not
more, or you will chill the fat, --and when you take them out dry
on brown paper. It is much better to use part suet than all lard,
yet that will do if you have no suet in the house.
Oatmeal Macaroons
These little cakes are so like real macaroons that no one
who had not seen the recipe would guess how they were made.
2 1/2 cups rolled oats.
2 1/2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
3 even tablespoonfuls butter.
1 cup sugar.
3 eggs, beaten separately.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.
Cream the butter, add the sugar and well beaten egg-yolks,
then the oatmeal, salt, and baking-powder, then the vanilla,
and last the whites of the eggs. Drop in small bits, no larger
than the end of your finger, on a shallow pan, three inches apart.
Bake in a very slow oven till brown, and take from the pan while hot.
Peanut Wafers
1 cup of sugar.
1/2 cup of butter.
1/2 cup of milk.
1/2 teaspoonful soda.
2 cups of flour.
1 cup chopped peanuts.
Cream the butter and sugar, put the soda in the milk and stir well,
and put this in next; add the flour and beat well. Butter a
baking-pan and spread this evenly over the bottom, and then
spread the peanuts over all. Bake till a light brown.
Tea-party Cakes
2 squares of Baker's chocolate.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
Bit of butter the size of a pea.
Melt the chocolate over the teakettle and stir in the sugar
and butter and a couple of drops of vanilla, if you like.
Take little round crackers, and with a fork roll them quickly
in this till they are covered; dry on buttered paper. You can
also take saltines, or any long, thin cracker, and spread one
side with the chocolate.
Almond Strips
White of 1 egg.
1 cup chopped almonds.
2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar.
Beat the egg just a little and put in the sugar and almonds;
spread on thin crackers, and brown in the oven with the door open.
PIES
General Rule
Margaret's mother did not like her to eat pie, but she let
her learn how to make it, and once in awhile she had a small
piece. Here is her rule:
1 pint of flour.
1/4 cup of butter.
1/4 cup lard, 1 teaspoonful salt.
1/2 cup ice-water.
Put the flour, butter, lard, and salt in the chopping-bowl and
chop till well mixed. Then add the water, a little at a time,
turning the paste and chopping till smooth, but never touching
with the hand. Put a very little flour on the pastry-board and
lift the crust on this, and with a floured rolling-pin lightly roll
it out once each way; fold it over and roll again, and do this
several times till the crust looks even, with no lumps of butter
showing anywhere. Put it on a plate and lay it in the ice-chest
for at least an hour before you use it.
Pie-crust will never be light and nice if you handle it. Do
not touch it with your fingers unless it is really necessary.
When you use it, get everything ready for the pie first, and
then bring out the crust, roll quickly, and spread over the pie.
In putting the pie in the pan, cut the bottom piece a little
larger than you want it, as it will shrink. Sprinkle the tin
with flour, lay on the crust, and after it has been fitted evenly,
and is not too tight, cut off the edge. Put a narrow strip
of paste all around the edge, and press it together; if you wet
it with a little water it will stick. If you wish to be sure
the filling of the pie will not soak into the under crust,
brush that over with beaten white of egg. After you put in
the filling, fold your top crust together and cut some little
shutters to let out the steam. Put on the cover, wet the edges
so they will stick together, and pinch evenly.
Deep Apple Pie, or Apple Tart
Fill a baking-dish with apples, peeled and cut in slices.
Sprinkle with flour, cinnamon, and plenty of sugar, about half
a cup. Put in the oven and bake till the apples are soft, and
then cool, put on the crust, and bake till brown. Serve powdered
sugar and rich cream with this. All pies cooked in a baking-dish,
with no crust on the bottom or sides of the dish, are called
tarts by the English. They are the best kind of pie.
Peach Pie
Line a pie-plate with crust, lay in the peaches, peeled and sliced,
sprinkle with flour, and then cover with sugar; put on a top crust,
cut some little slits in it to let out the steam, and cook till brown.
Or, make a deep peach tart.
French Peach Pie
Put the crust in the pie-pan as before; boil a cup of sugar with
two tablespoonfuls of water till it threads. Lay quarters of peaches
in the paste, around and around, evenly, no one on top of the other.
Break ten peach-stones and arrange evenly on top; the pour the
syrup over, and put a few narrow strips of crust across the pie,
four each way, and bake.
Pumpkin Pie
1 small pumpkin.
2 1/2 cups of pulp.
2 cups of milk.
1 tablespoonful molasses.
2 eggs.
1 teaspoonful each of salt, ginger, cinnamon, and butter.
2 heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar.
Cut the pumpkin in small pieces and take out the seeds and
remove the peel. Put the good part over the kettle and steam
it till it is tender, keeping it covered. Then you take off
the cover, and stand the steamer you have cooked it in on the
back of the stove, till the heat makes the pumpkin nice and dry.
Then mash it and put it through the colander. While it is warm,
mix in everything in the rule except the eggs; let it cool,
and put these in last, beating them till light. Line the pie-tin
with crust, and pour in the filling and bake. This rule is
a very nice one; it makes two pies.
Cranberry Pie
Cook a quart of cranberries till tender, with a small cup of
water; when they have simmered till rather thick, put in a
heaping cup of sugar and cook five minutes more. When as
thick as oatmeal mush, take them off the fire and put through
the colander; line a tin with crust, fill with berries, put
strips of crust across, and bake. A nice plan is to take half
a cup of raisins and a cup of cranberries for a pie, chopping
together and cooking with water as before, adding a sprinkling
of flour and a little vanilla when done.
Orange Pie
1 orange.
1 cup of water.
1 small cup of sugar.
2 teaspoonfuls corn-starch.
Butter the size of a hickory-nut.
Yolk of one egg.
Grate the rind of the orange, and then squeeze out the juice.
Beat the yolk of the egg, add the water, with the corn-starch
stirred in, orange juice and rind and butter, and cook till it
grows rather thick. Bake your crust first; then bake the
orange filling in it; then beat the white of your egg with
a tablespoonful of granulated sugar, and put over it and brown.
This is an especially nice rule.
Lemon Pie
Make exactly as you did the orange-pie, but put in a good-sized cup
of sugar instead of a small one, with a lemon in place of the orange.
Tarts
Whenever Margaret made pie she always saved all the bits of the
crust and rolled them out, and lined patty-pans with them and
baked them. She often filled them with raw rice while they baked,
to keep them in shape, saving the rice when they were done.
She filled the shells with jelly, and used the tarts for lunch.
CANDY
Margaret did not wait till she reached the recipes for candy
at the back of her book before she began to make it. She made
it all the way along, whenever another little girl came to
spend the afternoon, or it was such a rainy day that she could
not go out. Nearly always she made molasses candy, because it
was such fun to pull it, and she used the same rule her mother
used when she was a little girl.
Molasses Candy
2 cups New Orleans molasses.
1 cup white sugar.
1 tablespoonful butter.
1 tablespoonful vinegar.
1 small teaspoonful soda.
Boil hard twenty minutes, stirring all the time, and cool in
shallow pans. If you double the rule you must boil the candy
five minutes longer.
The best thing about this candy is that it does not stick to
the fingers, if you let it get quite cool before touching it,
and pull it in small quantities. Do not put any butter on
your fingers, but work fast.
Maple Wax
Boil two cups of maple syrup till it hardens when dropped in
cold water. Fill a large pan with fresh snow, pack well; keep
the kettle on the back of the stove, where the syrup will be
just warm, but will not cook, and fill a small pitcher with
it, and pour on the snow, a little at a time. Take it off in
small pieces with a fork. If there is no snow, use a cake of ice.
Peanut Brittle
Make the molasses candy given above, and stir in a large cup
of shelled peanuts just before taking it from the fire. Put
in shallow, buttered pans.
Peppermint Drops
1 cup sugar.
2 tablespoonfuls of water.
3 teaspoonfuls of peppermint essence.
Boil the sugar and water till when you drop a little in water
it will make a firm ball in your fingers. Then take it off
the fire and stir in the peppermint, and carefully drop four drops,
one exactly on top of another, on a buttered platter. Do not
put these too near together.
Pop-corn Balls
Make half the rule for molasses candy. Pop a milk-can full of corn,
and pour in a little candy while it is hot; take up all that sticks
together and roll in a ball; then pour in more, and so on.
Maple Fudge
3 cups brown sugar.
2 cups maple syrup.
1 cup of milk.
1/2 cup of water.
Butter the size of an egg.
1 cup English walnut meats, or hickory-nuts.
Boil the sugar and maple syrup till you can make it into a very
soft ball when you drop it in water; only half as hard as you boil
molasses candy. Then put in the milk, water, and butter, and boil
till when you try in water it makes quite a firm ball in your fingers.
Put in the nuts and take off the fire at once, and stir till it
begins to sugar. Spread it quickly on buttered pans, and when
partly cool mark in squares with a knife.
Chocolate Fudge
1 cup of milk.
1 cup of sugar.
1 pinch of soda.
3 squares Baker's chocolate.
Butter the size of an egg.
Put the soda in the milk and scrape the chocolate. Mix all
together until when you drop a little in water it will make a
ball in your fingers. Take off the fire then, and beat until
it is a stiff paste, and then spread on a buttered platter.
Sometimes Margaret added a cup of chopped nuts to this rule,
putting them in just before she took the fudge off the fire.
Cream Walnuts
2 cups of light brown sugar.
Two-thirds cup of boiling water.
1 small saltspoonful of cream of tartar.
1 cup chopped walnuts.
Boil till the syrup makes a thread, then cool till it begins to
thicken, and stir in the walnuts and drop on buttered paper.
Cream Made from Confectioners' Sugar
Take the white of one egg, and measure just as much cold water;
mix the two well, and stir stiff with confectioners' sugar;
add a little flavoring, vanilla, or almond, or pistache, and,
for some candies, color with a tiny speck of fruit paste.
This is the beginning of all sorts of cream candy.
Candy Potatoes
Make the plain white candy just given, and to it add a tablespoonful
of cocoanut, and flavor with vanilla. Make into little balls,
rather long then round, and with a fork put eyes in them like
potato eyes. Roll in cinnamon. These candies are very quickly made,
and are excellent for little girls' parties.
Chocolate Creams
Make the cream candy into balls, melt three squares of Baker's
chocolate; put a ball on a little skewer or a fork,
and dip into the chocolate and lay on buttered paper.
Nut Candy
Chop a cup of almonds and mix with the cream candy; make into bars,
and when cold cut in slices.
Walnut Creams
Press two walnut halves on small balls of cream candy, one on
either side.
Creamed Dates
Wash, wipe, and open the dates; remove the stones and put a small
ball of cream candy into each one.
Butter Scotch
3 tablespoonfuls sugar.
3 tablespoonfuls of molasses.
2 tablespoonfuls of water.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 saltspoonful of soda.
Boil all together without stirring till it hardens in water;
then put in a small teaspoonful of vanilla and pour at once on
a buttered platter. When hard break up into squares.
Pinoche
1 cup light brown sugar.
1 cup cream.
1 cup walnuts, chopped fine.
Butter the size of a walnut.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.
Cook the sugar and cream till it makes a ball in water; then
put in the butter, vanilla, and nuts, and beat till creamy and
spread on a platter.
Betty's Orange Candy
Betty was Margaret's particular friend, so this was her favorite rule:
2 cups sugar.
Juice of one orange.
Boil till it hardens in water, and then pull it.
Creamed Dates, Figs, and Cherries
Make the plain cream candy, as before; wash the dates well,
open at one side, and take out the stones and press in a ball
of the candy; leave the side open. You can sprinkle with
granulated sugar if you choose.
Cut figs in small pieces, and roll each piece in the cream
candy till it is hidden.
For the cherries, color the cream candy light pink and make
into little balls. On top of each press a candied cherry.
Dates with Nuts
Wash and wipe the dates dry, and take out the stones. Put half
an English walnut in each and press the edges together; roll in
granulated sugar. Small figs may be prepared in the same way.
MARGARET'S SCHOOL LUNCHEONS
As Margaret had to take her luncheon to school with her sometimes,
she had to learn how to make a good many kinds of sandwiches,
because she soon grew tired of one or two sorts.
Cut the bread very thin and spread lightly with butter, and after
they are done trim off the crusts neatly, not taking off all the crust,
but making the two pieces even. For plain meat sandwiches,
chop the meat very fine, sprinkle with salt, and spread on the bread;
if it is too dry, put in a very little cream as you chop the meat.
Egg Sandwiches
Make a very little French dressing,--about a teaspoonful of oil,
a sprinkling of salt, and four drops of lemon juice, or vinegar.
Chop a hard-boiled egg very fine, mix with the dressing, and spread.
Lettuce Sandwiches
Spread the bread, lay on a lettuce-leaf and cover with French
dressing, or with mayonnaise. These sandwiches are about the
best for school, as they do not get dry.
Celery Sandwiches
Chop the celery fine, mix with a French or mayonnaise dressing,
and spread.
Olive Sandwiches
Chop six olives fine, mix with a tiny bit of mayonnaise and spread.
Chicken and Celery Sandwiches
Mix chopped celery and chopped chicken, as much of one as the other,
wet with French or mayonnaise dressing and spread.
Nut Sandwiches
Chop the nuts fine and add just enough cream to moisten;
sprinkle with salt and spread.
Sardine Sandwiches
Scrape off all the skin from the sardines, and take out the bones
and drain them by laying them on brown paper; mash them with a fork,
and sprinkle with lemon juice, and spread.
Tomato and Cheese Sandwiches
Slice a small, firm tomato very thin indeed, and take out all
the seeds and soft pulp, leaving only the firm part; put one slice
on the bread, and one thin shaving of cheese over it, and then
put on bread. A slice of tomato with a spreading of mayonnaise
makes a nice sandwich.
Cream Cheese and Nut Sandwiches
Spread thin Boston brown bread with just a scraping of butter,
then spread with cream cheese and cover with nuts; this is a
delicious sandwich.
Sweet Sandwiches
All jams and jellies make good sandwiches, and fresh dates,
chopped figs, and preserved ginger are also nice.
Some of Margaret's School Luncheons
1. Two Boston brown bread, cream cheese, and nut sandwiches,
and two white bread and jam; a little round cake; a pear.
2. Two chopped ham sandwiches, two with whole wheat bread
and peanut-butter; a piece of gingerbread; a peach.
3. Two whole wheat-bread and chopped egg sandwiches with
French dressing; two crackers spread with jam; three thin
slices of cold meat, salted; a cup custard; an apple.
4. Two whole wheat sandwiches spread with chopped celery and
French dressing, two of white bread and sardines; three
gingersnaps; three figs.
5. Three sandwiches of white bread filled with cooked oysters,
chopped fine, one of whole wheat with orange marmalade; a few
pieces of celery, salted, a spice cake; a handful of nuts.
6. Four sandwiches, two of minced chicken moistened with cream,
two of whole wheat and chopped olives; a little jar of apple-sauce;
gingerbread.
7. Two date sandwiches, two of chopped cold meat; sugar cookies;
three olives; an orange.
8. Two fig sandwiches, two whole wheat with chopped celery and
French dressing; a devilled egg; a little scalloped cake; an apple.
9. Three lettuce sandwiches, one with brown sugar and butter;
three tiny sweet pickles; ginger cookies; fresh plums.
THE END.
INDEX
BEVERAGES
Chocolate
Cocoa
Coffee
Coffee, French
Lemonade
Lemonade with Grape-juice
Tea
Tea, Iced
BREAD
Baking Powder Biscuit
Barneys
Cornbread, Grandmother's
Cornbread, Perfect
Flannel Cakes
Griddle-cakes
Griddle-cakes, Sweet Corn
Milk Toast
Muffins, Cooking-school
Popovers
Toast
Waffles
CAKE
Almond Strips
Domino
Doughnuts
Eleanor's
Filling for Layer Cake:
Caramel
Fig
Maple
Marshmallow
Nut and Raisin
Orange
Frosting:
Caramel
Chocolate
Plain
Fruit, Easy
Gingerbread
Gingerbread, Soft
Ginger Cookies
Grandmother's Little Feather Cake
Grandmother's Sugar Cookies
Layer
Margaret's Own
Oatmeal Macaroons
Peanut Wafers
Sponge
Tea-party
Velvet
CANDY
Betty's Orange
Butter Scotch
Candy Potatoes
Chocolate Creams
Chocolate Fudge
Creamed Dates
Creamed Dates, Figs and Cherries
Cream Walnuts
Cream Made from Confectioners' Sugar
Dates with Nuts
Maple Fudge
Maple Wax
Molasses
Nut
Peanut Brittle
Peppermint Drops
Pinoche
Pop-corn Balls
Walnut Creams
CEREALS
Corn-meal Mush
Corn-meal Mush, Fried
Farina Croquettes
Hominy
Rice, Boiled
Rice Croquettes
Rice, Fried
CHEESE
Fondu
Scalloped
Welsh Rarebit, Easy
DESSERTS
Bread Pudding
Brown Betty
Cabinet Pudding
Charlotte Russe, Easy
Coffee Jelly
Cornstarch Pudding, Plain
Cornstarch Pudding, Chocolate
Cornstarch Pudding, Cocoanut
Cottage Pudding
Custard, Baked
Custard and Cake
Custard, Cocoanut
Floating Island
Fruit Jelly
Ice-creams and Ices:
Packing the Freezer
Chocolate Ice-cream
Coffee Ice-cream
French Ice-cream
Peach Ice-cream
Plain Ice-cream
Strawberry Ice-cream
Lemon Ice
Orange Ice
Peach Surprise
Raspberry Ice
Strawberry Ice
Vanilla Parfait, the Easiest of All
Junket
Lemon Jelly
Lemon Pudding
Orange Jelly
Orange Pudding
Peach Shortcake
Prune Jelly
Prune Whips
Rice Pudding with Raisins
Snow Pudding
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake Made with Cake
Tapioca Pudding
Pudding Sauces:
Foamy
Grandmother's
Hard
Lemon
Orange
Maple, Delicious
Quick
White
Velvet Cream
EGGS
Baked in Little Dishes
Beds, Eggs in
Bird's Nests
Boiled Eggs, Soft
Bacon, Eggs with
Cheese, Eggs with
Creamed Eggs
Creamed in Baking Dishes
Creamed on Toast
Devilled
Double Cream with Eggs
Ham and Eggs, Moulded
Omelette
Omelette with Mushrooms
Omelette with Mushrooms and Olives
Omelette, Spanish
Poached Eggs
Poached Eggs with Potted Ham
Scalloped
Scrambled
Scrambled with Parsley
Scrambled with Chicken
Scrambled with Tomato
FISH
Codfish Balls
Crab Meat in Shells
Creamed Codfish
Creamed Fish
Creamed Lobster
Creamed Salmon
Mackerel, Salt
Oysters, Creamed
Oysters, Panned
Oyster Pigs in Blankets
Oysters, Scalloped
Sardines, Broiled
Scalloped Lobster or Salmon
Smelts, Fried
MEATS
Bacon, Broiled
Chicken or Turkey, Creamed
Chicken Hash
Chicken, Pressed
Chops, Broiled
Chops, Panned
Cold
Corned Beef Hash
Dried Beef, Frizzled
Liver and Bacon
Liver and Bacon on Skewers
Shepherd's Pie
Sliced with Gravy
Soufflé
Steak, Broiled
Steak with Bananas
Veal Cutlet
Veal Loaf
PIES
Apple Pie or Tart, Deep
Cranberry
General Rule
Lemon
Orange
Peach
Peach Pie, French
Pumpkin
Tarts
POTATOES
Cakes
Creamed
Hashed Brown
Mashed
Saratoga
Stuffed
Sweet Potatoes
Creamed
Fried
Scalloped
SALADS
Cabbage
Cabbage in Green Peppers
Cauliflower
Celery
Celery and Apple
Chicken
Egg
Fish
Lobster
Orange or Grapefruit
Pineapple
Potato
String Bean
Tomato and Lettuce
Tomato, Stuffed
Salad Dressings:
French
Mayonnaise
SANDWICHES
Celery
Cream Cheese and Nut
Chicken and Celery
Egg
Lettuce
Nut
Olive
Sardine
Sweet
Tomato and Cheese
Sauce: Cream or White
School Luncheons
SOUPS
Cream Soup, General Rule
Cream of Almonds
Cream of Clams
Cream of Corn
Cream of Green Peas
Cream of Lima Beans
Cream of Oysters
Cream of Potato
Cream of Spinach
Cream of Tomato (Tomato Bisque)
Meat Soups
Bouillon, Creamed
Extract, Made from
Chicken or Turkey
Made with Cooked Meat
Pea, Split
Plain Meat
Tomato
Vegetable, Clear
VEGETABLES
Asparagus
Beans, Lima
Beans, String
Beets
Beets, Stuffed
Cabbage, Creamed
Corn
Corn, Canned
Macaroni
Onions
Peas
Tomatoes, Baked
Tomatoes, Stewed