BREAD.
Aerated Homemade Bread--Homebrewed Yeast--Homemade
Bread--Milk Bread--Rice Bread--Potato Bread--Pulled
Bread--Baking Powder--Loaf Bread--Breakfast Rolls--Tea
Biscuit--Finger Biscuit--Cream Breakfast Rolls--Breakfast
Twist--How to freshen stale Bread--Toast 134
THE COOKING MANUAL.
CHAPTER I.
MARKETING.
In order to market intelligently and economically, we must bear in mind
the three great divisions of foods generally accepted in their
consideration, and endeavor to adapt them to the requirements of our
households; if we remember that carbonaceous, or heat-giving foods, such
as the inner part of the cereals, fat meat, milk, honey, liver, grapes,
peas, beans, potatoes, beets, carrots, and parsnips, are the best diet
for hard steady workers, and for invalids suffering from wasting
diseases; that nitrogenous, or flesh-forming foods, such as lean meat,
unbolted flour, oatmeal, eggs, cheese, cabbage, cauliflower, onions,
spinach, asparagus, and artichokes, are most suitable for those who work
rapidly but with intervals of rest; and that brain-workers should
subsist chiefly on light and digestible articles, such as fish, oysters,
fruits, game, and vegetables containing mineral salts in excess; we can
arrange the daily marketing so as to give a pleasant variety and at the
same time satisfy all appetites.
Buy only small quantities of perishable things such as green
vegetables, fruit, fish, eggs, cream, and fresh butter; buy dry
groceries and preserved stores in quantities large enough to entitle you
to wholesale prices; and pay cash in order to avail yourself of the
lowest market price. Make your purchases as early in the day as possible
in order to secure a choice of fresh articles; and trade with
respectable dealers who give full weight and honest measure.
=Meats.=--While meats are in season all the year, they are better at
stated times; for instance, pork is prime in late autumn and winter;
veal should be avoided in summer for sanitary reasons; and even our
staples, beef and mutton, vary in quality. The flesh of healthy animals
is hard and fresh colored, the fat next the skin is firm and thick, and
the suet or kidney-fat clear white and abundant; if this fat is soft,
scant and stringy, the animal has been poorly fed or overworked. Beef
should be of a bright red color, well marbled with yellowish fat, and
surrounded with a thick outside layer of fat; poor beef is dark red, and
full of gristle, and the fat is scant and oily. Mutton is bright red,
with plenty of hard white fat; poor mutton is dull red in color, with
dark, muddy-looking fat. Veal and pork should be bright flesh color with
abundance of hard, white, semi-transparent fat; when the fat is reddish
and dark, the meat is of an inferior quality; veal and pork should be
eaten very fresh. When meat of any kind comes into the house it should
be hung up at once in some cool, dark place, and left until wanted.
=Poultry.=--Fresh poultry may be known by its full bright eyes, pliable
feet, and soft moist skin; the best is plump, fat, and nearly white, and
the grain of the flesh is fine. The feet and neck of a young fowl are
large in proportion to its size, and the tip of the breast-bone is soft,
and easily bent between the fingers; the body of a capon is large, fat,
and round, the head comparatively small, and the comb pale and withered;
a young cock, has short, loose, soft spurs, and a long, full, bright red
comb; old fowls have long, thin necks and feet, and the flesh on the
legs and back has a purplish shade; chickens, capons, and fowls, are
always in season.
Turkeys when good are white and plump, have full breasts and smooth
legs, generally black, with soft, loose spurs; hen turkeys are smaller,
fatter, and plumper, but of inferior flavor; full grown turkeys are the
best for boning and boiling, as they do not tear in dressing; old
turkeys have long hairs, and the flesh is purplish where it shows under
the skin on the legs and back. About March they deteriorate in quality.
Turkey-poults are tender, but lack flavor.
Young ducks and geese are plump, with light, semi-transparent fat, soft
breast-bone, tender flesh, leg joints which will break by the weight of
the bird, fresh colored and brittle beaks, and windpipes that break when
pressed between the thumb and fore-finger. They are best in fall and
winter.
Young pigeons have light red flesh upon the breast, and full, fresh
colored legs; when the legs are thin, and the breast is very dark, the
birds are old. Squabs are tender and delicious.
The giblets of poultry consist of the head, neck, wings, feet, gizzard,
heart, and liver; and make good soup, fricassees, pies, and various
_entrees_, or side dishes.
=Game.=--Fine game birds are always heavy for their size; the flesh of the
breast is firm and plump, the skin clear; and if a few feathers be
plucked from the inside of the leg and around the vent, the flesh of
freshly killed birds will be fat and fresh colored; if it is dark, and
discolored, the game has been hung a long time. The wings of good ducks,
geese, pheasants, and woodcock are tender to the touch; the tips of the
long wing feathers of partridges are pointed in young birds, and round
in old ones. Quail, snipe, and small birds should have full tender
breasts.
Young rabbits and hares have short necks, thick knees, and forepaws
which can be easily broken; old ones are very poor.
Buffalo meat is somewhat similar in appearance to beef, save that the
flesh is darker, and the fat redder; it is tender and juicy when it has
been kept long enough, say about two months in winter; the tongue, when
cured, is excellent.
Venison should be tender, and very fat, or it will be dry and tasteless.
Bear meat, when fat and tender, is savory and nourishing.
=Fish.=--Sea fish, and those which live in both salt and fresh water, such
as salmon, shad, and smelts, are the finest flavored; the muddy taste of
some fresh water species can be overcome by soaking them in cold water
and salt for two hours or more before cooking; all kinds are best just
before spawning, the flesh becoming poor and watery after that period.
Fresh fish have firm flesh, rigid fins, bright, clear eyes, and ruddy
gills.
Oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels, should be eaten very fresh, as
they soon lose their flavor after being removed from the shell.
Lobsters and crabs should be chosen by their brightness of color, lively
movement, and great weight in proportion to their size.
=Vegetables.=--All juicy vegetables should be very fresh and crisp; and if
a little wilted, can be restored by being sprinkled with water and laid
in a cool, dark place; all roots and tubers should be pared and laid in
cold water an hour or more before using. Green vegetables are best just
before they flower; and roots and tubers are prime from their ripening
until spring germination begins.
=Fruit.=--All fruit should be purchased ripe and sound; it is poor economy
to buy imperfect or decayed kinds, as they are neither satisfactory nor
healthy eating; while the mature, full-flavored sorts are invaluable as
food.
=Sweet Herbs.=--Sweet and savory herbs are absolutely indispensable to
good cooking; they give variety and savory flavors to any dish into
which they enter, and are nearly all of some decided sanitary use; the
different kinds called for in the various receipts further on in this
work can be bought at almost any grocery store, or in the market; but
we advise our readers to obtain seeds from some good florist and make
little kitchen gardens of their own, even if the space planted be only a
box of mould in the kitchen window. Sage, thyme, summer savory, sweet
marjoram, tarragon, sweet basil, rosemary, mint, burnet, chervil, dill,
and parsley, will grow abundantly with very little care; and when dried,
and added judiciously to food, greatly improve its flavor. Parsley,
tarragon and fennel, should be dried in May, June, and July, just before
flowering; mint in June and July; thyme, marjoram, and savory in July
and August; basil and sage in August and September; all herbs should be
gathered in the sunshine, and dried by artificial heat; their flavor is
best preserved by keeping them in air-tight tin cans.
Bay leaves can be procured at any drug store, or German grocery, at a
very moderate expense; they have the flavor of laurel.
An excellent and convenient spice-salt can be made by drying, powdering,
and mixing by repeated siftings the following ingredients: one quarter
of an ounce each of powdered thyme, bay leaf, and pepper; one eighth of
an ounce each of rosemary, marjoram, and cayenne pepper, or powdered
capsicums; one half of an ounce each of powdered clove and nutmeg; to
every four ounces of this powder add one ounce of salt, and keep the
mixture in an air-tight vessel. One ounce of it added to three pounds of
stuffing, or forcemeat of any kind, makes a delicious seasoning.
=A bouquet of Sweet herbs.=--The bouquet, or fagot, of sweet herbs, so
often called for in foreign cooking, is made as follows: wash three or
four sprigs of parsley, lay in their midst one sprig of thyme, and two
bay leaves; fold the parsley over the thyme and bay leaves, tie it in a
cork-shaped roll, about three inches long and one inch thick. The
bouquet is used for seasoning soups, sauces, stews, and savory dishes in
general, and is removed when the dish is served.
CHAPTER II.
SOUPS.
=Soup= is the most satisfactory and nourishing of all dishes when it is
properly made. Its value depends upon what is put into it, but even in
its most economical form it constitutes a hearty meal when eaten with
bread and vegetables. It can be made from the merest scraps and
trimmings of meat; from the heads, tails, and feet of animals; from the
bones and skin of fish; and from cereals and vegetables alone. Pot
liquor in which meat has been boiled should always be saved and used for
soup the next day, when by the removal of all fat, by careful skimming,
and the addition of a few vegetables or some dumplings, rice, or
macaroni, it will make a palatable broth. Experiments made by French
chemists prove that the delicacy and richness of soup may be increased
by first soaking the meat in tepid water enough to cover it, and adding
this to the second water in which the meat is put over the fire, just as
it reaches the boiling point.
1. =General Stock.=--PART I.--Where there is a family of any size it is
well to keep a clean pot or sauce-pan on the back of the stove to
receive all the clean scraps of meat, bones, and remains of poultry and
game, which are found in every kitchen; but vegetables should not be put
into it, as they are apt to sour. The proper proportions for soup are
one pound of meat and bone to one and a half quarts of cold water; the
meat and bones to be well chopped and broken up, and put over the fire
in cold water, being brought slowly to a boil, and carefully skimmed as
often as any scum rises; and being maintained at a steady boiling point
from two to six hours, as time permits; one hour before the stock is
done, add to it one carrot and one turnip pared, one onion stuck with
three cloves, and a bouquet of sweet herbs.
PART II.--When the soup is to be boiled six hours, two quarts of cold
water must be allowed to every pound of meat; this will be reduced to
one quart in boiling. Two gills of soup are usually allowed for each
person at table when it is served as the first part of the dinner, and
meats are to follow it. Care should be taken that the stock-pot boils
slowly and constantly, from one side, as rapid and irregular boiling
clouds and darkens the stock as much as imperfect skimming. Stock should
never be allowed to cool in the stock-pot, but should be strained into
an earthen jar, and left standing to cool uncovered, and all the fat
removed, and saved to clarify for drippings; the stock is then ready to
heat and use for soup, or gravy. When stock has been darkened and
clouded by careless skimming and fast boiling, it can be clarified by
adding to it one egg and the shell, mixed first with a gill of cold
water, then with a gill of boiling soup, and stirring it briskly into
the soup until it boils; then remove it to the back of the fire where it
will not boil, and let it stand until the white and shell of the egg
have collected the small particles clouding the soup; then strain it
once or twice, until it looks clear.
2. =Flavoring, thickening, and coloring soups.=--The flavor of soup stock
may be varied by using in it a little ham, anchovy, sausage, sugar, or a
calf's foot. Herbs in the sprig, and whole spices should be used in
seasoning, as they can easily be strained out. All delicate flavors, and
wine, should be added to soup just before serving it, unless the
contrary is expressly directed in the receipt, because boiling would
almost entirely evaporate them: one gill of wine is usually allowed to
every three pints of soup.
Soups which precede a full dinner should be less rich than those which
form the bulk of the meal. Corn starch, arrow root, and potato flour are
better than wheat flour for thickening soup. The meal of peas and beans
can be held in suspension by mixing together dry a tablespoonful of
butter and flour, and stirring it into the soup; a quarter of a pint of
peas, beans, or lentils, is sufficient to make a quart of thick soup.
Two ounces of macaroni, vermicelli, pearl barley, sago, tapioca, rice,
or oatmeal, are usually allowed for each quart of stock.
If you wish to darken soup use a teaspoonful of caramel; but avoid burnt
flour, carrot, and onion, as all these give a bad flavor. Caramel can be
made from the following receipt; melt half a pound of loaf sugar in a
thick copper vessel, stirring it frequently with a wooden spoon, and
boiling it slowly until it assumes a rich brown color, but do not let it
burn; when brown enough add one quart of cold water, stir well, and boil
gently at the side of the fire for twenty minutes; then cool, strain,
and bottle tight. In using the caramel add it just as you are about to
serve the soup, or sauce colored with it.
3. =Clear Soup, or Consomme.= (_Two quarts for eight persons._)--This is
made by straining two quarts of stock, which has been cooled and freed
from fat, through a piece of flannel or a napkin until it is bright and
clear; if this does not entirely clear it, use an egg, as directed for
clarifying soup; then season it to taste with salt, using at first a
teaspoonful, and a very little fine white pepper, say a quarter of a
saltspoonful; and color it to a bright straw color with caramel, of
which a scant teaspoonful will be about the proper quantity. _Consomme_
is sent to the table clear, but sometimes a deep dish containing poached
eggs, one for each person, with enough _consomme_ to cover them,
accompanies it.
4. =Poached Eggs for Consomme.=--Break the eggs, which should be very
fresh, into a deep sauce-pan half full of boiling water, seasoned with a
teaspoonful of salt, and half a gill of vinegar; cover the sauce-pan,
and set it on the back part of the fire until the whites of the eggs are
firm; then lift them separately on a skimmer, carefully trim off the
rough edges, making each egg a regular oval shape, and slip them off the
skimmer into a bowl of hot, but not boiling water, where they must
stand for ten minutes before serving.
5. =Vermicelli and Macaroni Soup.=--These soups are both made as for
_consomme_; and to every quart of stock is added two ounces of one of
these pastes blanched as follows. Put the paste into plenty of boiling
water, with one tablespoonful of salt to each quart of water, and boil
until tender enough to pierce with the finger nail; then drain it, and
put it in cold water until required for use, when it should be placed in
the two quarts of hot soup long enough to heat thoroughly before
serving.
6. =Rice and Tomato Soup.=--Strain, and pass through a sieve with a wooden
spoon, one pint of tomatoes, either fresh or canned, stir them into two
quarts of good, clear stock, free from fat; season it with a teaspoonful
of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper; taste, and if the
seasoning seems deficient add a little more, but do not put in too much
for general liking, for more can easily be added, but none can be taken
out. Add four ounces of rice, well washed in plenty of cold water, and
boil the soup slowly for three quarters of an hour before serving.
7. =Scotch Broth without Meat.=--Steep four ounces of pearl barley over
night in cold water, and wash it well in fresh water; cut in dice half
an inch square, six ounces of yellow turnip, six ounces of carrot, four
ounces of onion, two ounces of celery, (or use in its place quarter of a
saltspoonful of celery seed;) put all these into two and a half quarts
of boiling water, season with a teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a
saltspoonful of pepper, and as much cayenne as you can take up on the
point of a very small pen-knife blade; boil slowly for two hours; then
stir in quarter of a pound of oatmeal, mixed to a smooth batter with
cold water, see if seasoning be correct, add two or three grates of
nutmeg, and boil half an hour. Meantime, cut two slices of bread in half
inch dice, fry light brown in hot fat, and lay the bits in the soup
tureen; when the soup is ready pour it over them, and serve. This soup
is very rich and nutritious, and should be served with light dinners.
8. =Scotch Broth with Meat.=--Put four ounces of barley to soak in warm
water. From two pounds of the shoulder of mutton, cut the lean meat in
dice half an inch square; cut up the rest in small pieces and make a
stock as directed in receipt _No. 1._, _Part I._, using two and a half
quarts of water, and boiling and skimming for two hours; at the end of
an hour and a half put the dice of meat into a sauce-pan with two ounces
of butter, and fry them brown; stir in one ounce of flour; cut in dice
six ounces each of yellow turnip and carrot, chop four ounces of onion,
and put these with the meat; add the barley, and the stock strained,
season with a teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of
pepper, and simmer one hour. Then serve with a tablespoonful of chopped
parsley sprinkled in the soup.
9. =Spinach Soup.=--Blanch two quarts of spinach, by putting it into a
large pot full of boiling water, with two tablespoonfuls of salt, cover
until it boils up once; then remove the cover, and with a wooden spoon
press the spinach under water as fast as it rises to the surface; boil
it steadily until it is tender enough to pierce easily with the finger
nail; then drain it; run plenty of cold water from the faucet over it,
while it is still in the colander; drain it again, chop it fine, and
pass it through a kitchen sieve with the aid of a wooden spoon; boil two
quarts of milk, add the spinach to it, thicken it by stirring in one
tablespoonful of corn starch dissolved in cold milk; season it with one
teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a saltspoonful of white pepper, and the
same of nutmeg; and serve it as soon as it boils up.
10. =Sorrel Soup.=--Put one pint of sorrel into a sauce-pan with a
dessertspoonful of salt, and one gill of cold water; cover it, and cook
until it is tender enough to pierce with the finger nail, then drain,
wash it well with cold water, chop it and pass it through the kitchen
sieve with a wooden spoon; meantime brown half an ounce of chopped onion
in a sauce-pan with one ounce of butter; add one ounce of flour, and
stir till brown; then add two quarts of hot water, or hot water and
stock, and the sorrel, and season with one teaspoonful of salt, quarter
of a saltspoonful of pepper, and the same of nutmeg; mix the yolks of
two eggs with two tablespoonfuls of cold water, add to them half a pint
of boiling soup, and gradually stir the mixture into the soup, boiling
it a minute after it is thoroughly blended; meantime cut two slices of
bread into half inch dice, fry them brown in smoking hot fat, drain
them free from grease on a napkin, put them into a soup tureen, pour the
soup on them, and serve at once.
11. =Pea Soup.=--Use half a pint of dried peas for thick soup, or one pint
for a _puree_, to two quarts of stock or cold water. Bring slowly to a
boil; add a bone or bit of ham, one turnip and one carrot peeled, one
onion stuck with three cloves, and simmer three hours stirring
occasionally to prevent burning; then pass the soup through a sieve with
the aid of a potato masher; and if it shows any sign of settling stir
into it one tablespoonful each of butter and flour mixed together dry;
this will hold the meal in solution; meantime fry some dice of stale
bread, about two slices, cut half an inch square, in hot fat, drain them
on a napkin, and put them in the bottom of the soup tureen in which the
pea soup is served.
12. =Lentil Soup.=--The seed of the lentil tare commonly cultivated in
France and Germany as an article of food, ranks nearly as high as meat,
as a valuable food, being capable of sustaining life and vigor for a
long time; this vegetable is gradually becoming known in this country,
from the use of it by our French and German citizens; and from its
nutritive value it deserves to rank as high as our favorite New England
beans. For two quarts of lentil soup half a pint of yellow lentils
should be well washed, and put to boil in three pints of cold water,
with a small carrot, an onion, two sprigs of parsley, and two bay
leaves, and boiled gently until the lentils are soft enough to break
easily between the fingers; every half hour one gill of cold water
should be added, and the lentils again raised to the boiling point,
until they are done; they should then be drained in a colander, and
passed through a sieve with a wooden spoon, using enough of the liquor
to make them pass easy, and mixed with the rest of the soup; it is then
ready to simmer for half an hour, and serve hot; with dice of fried
bread half an inch square, like those used for pea soup. These dice of
fried bread are called _Conde_ crusts.
CHAPTER III.
FISH.
When fish is rather deficient in flavor, a little vinegar rubbed over
the skin; and a few sweet herbs boiled with it will greatly improve it.
For boiling, large fish should be placed on the fire in cold water, and
small ones in hot water; both are done when the fins pull out easily.
Fish soup is the most economical of all fish dishes; baked fish the
second best; broiled fish retains nearly all its nourishment; and boiled
fish is the poorest of all. The following technical terms are used to
denote different methods of cooking fish: to dress fish _a la
Hollandaise_ is to boil it in sea water; _a l'eau de sel_, in salt and
water; _au court bouillon_, with cold water, white wine or vinegar,
sweet herbs, soup vegetables, lemon, and whole spices; _a la bonne eau_,
with sweet herbs and cold water; _au bleu_, in equal quantities of red
wine and cold water, highly flavored with spices and aromatic herbs.
13. =Boiled Cod with Oyster Sauce.=--Lay two pounds of cod in enough cold
water to cover it, with a tablespoonful of salt, for an hour or more
before cooking; then put it to boil in three quarts of cold water, with
two tablespoonfuls of salt; as soon as the fish is done, set the kettle
containing it off the fire, and let the fish stand in it until you are
ready to use it; meantime put a pint of oysters on the fire to boil in
their own liquor; as soon as they boil drain them, and put the liquor
again on the fire to boil; mix together in a sauce-pan over the fire one
ounce of butter and one ounce of flour, as soon as it bubbles, gradually
pour in the boiling oyster liquor, and stir with an egg whip until the
sauce is quite smooth; season with half a teaspoonful of salt, an eighth
of a saltspoonful of pepper, and the same of nutmeg; and add the
oysters. Take up the fish, serve it on a napkin, and send it to the
table with a bowl containing the oyster sauce.
14. =Baked Blackfish.=--Have a fish weighing from two to two and a half
pounds cleaned by the fishmonger; rub it well with a handful of salt, to
remove the slime peculiar to this fish, wash it well, and wipe it with a
clean, dry cloth; stuff it with the following forcemeat. Put four ounces
of stale bread to soak in sufficient luke-warm water to cover it;
meantime fry one ounce of chopped onion in one ounce of butter until it
is light brown; then wring the bread dry in a clean towel, put it into
the onion with two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, one ounce of salt
pork chopped fine, one teaspoonful of chopped capers or pickles, one
teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a saltspoonful of white pepper, and one
gill of broth or hot water; stir until it is scalding hot, when it will
cleave from the bottom and sides of the sauce-pan; then stuff the fish
with it, and lay it in a dripping pan on one ounce of carrot and one
ounce of onion sliced, one bay leaf and two sprigs of parsley; cover the
fish with slices of salt pork, season it with a saltspoonful of salt,
and one fourth that quantity of pepper, and bake it in a moderate oven
for half an hour, basting it occasionally with a little butter, or
stock. When it is done, put it on a dish to keep hot while you prepare a
sauce by straining the drippings in the pan, and adding to them one
tablespoonful each of walnut catsup, Worcestershire sauce, chopped
capers, and chopped parsley. Pour a little of this sauce in the bottom
of the dish under the fish, and serve the rest with it in a bowl.
15. =Broiled Shad with Maitre d'hotel butter.=--Choose a medium sized
shad, weighing about three pounds, have it cleaned and split down the
back; turn it occasionally for an hour or more, in a marinade made of
one tablespoonful of salad oil, or melted butter, one of vinegar, a
saltspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper; lay it on
a gridiron, rubbed with a little butter to prevent sticking, broil it
slowly, doing the inside first, and, after laying it on a hot dish,
spread over it some _maitre d'hotel_ butter.
16. =Maitre d'hotel Butter.=--Mix together cold, one ounce of butter, a
tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of lemon juice, and
quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper; and spread it over the broiled
shad. This butter is excellent for any kind of broiled fish, or for
steaks.
17. =Fried Smelts, French Style.=--Carefully wipe two pounds of cleaned
smelts with a dry cloth; dip them in milk, then roll them in finely
powdered cracker crumbs, next in an egg beaten with a saltspoonful of
salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and then again in cracker
crumbs; fry them in enough smoking hot fat to cover them, until they are
golden brown; take them from the fat with a skimmer, lay them on a
napkin, or a piece of paper to absorb all fat; and serve them laid in
rows with a few quarters of lemon on the side of the dish.
18. =Fillet of Sole au gratin.=--Choose two flounders weighing about three
pounds. Lay them on the table with the dark side uppermost; with a
sharp, thin-bladed knife cut down to the back bone, following the dark
line in the middle of the fish; then turn the edge of the knife outward,
and cut towards the fins, keeping the blade flat against the bone, and
removing one quarter of the flesh of the fish in a single piece; proceed
in the same way until you have eight fillets; carefully cut the skin
from them; season them with salt and pepper, lay them on a buttered dish
suitable to send to table, sprinkle them thickly with sifted cracker
crumbs, and a little grated Parmesan, or any rich, dry cheese; put a few
bits of butter over them, using not more than an ounce in all, and brown
them in a quick oven. Serve them as soon as they are nicely browned.
This is a very savory and delicate dish, requiring some practice to do
nicely, but comparatively inexpensive, and well worth all trouble taken
in making it.
19. =St. James Fish Chowder.=--Put half a pound of sliced salt pork in
the bottom of a deep sauce-pan and fry it brown; take it out, and put in
layers of potatoes, onions and fish sliced, seasoning each layer
plentifully with salt and pepper; using about three pounds of fish, and
a quart each of potatoes and onions; cover with cold water, bring
gradually to a boil, and cook slowly for thirty minutes; then add two
pounds of sea-biscuits soaked for five minutes in warm water, and boil
five minutes longer and serve. This receipt calls for the addition of
half a pint of port wine, and a bottle of champagne to be added to the
chowder just before serving; but it is quite good enough without, and
far less expensive.
20. =Club House Fish Cakes.=--Wash and boil one quart of potatoes, putting
them on the fire in cold water enough to cover them, and a tablespoonful
of salt. Put one and a half pounds of salt codfish on the fire in plenty
of cold water, and bring it slowly to a boil; as soon as it boils throw
off that water, and put it again on the fire in fresh cold water; if the
fish is very salt change the water a third time. Free the fish from skin
and bone; peel the potatoes, mash them through a colander with a potato
masher, season them with quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper and an
ounce of butter; add the yolks of two eggs, and the fish; mix well, and
make into cakes, using a little flour to prevent sticking to the hands.
Fry them golden brown in enough smoking hot fat to nearly cover them;
observe that in frying any article of food it will not soak fat if the
latter be hot enough to carbonize the outside at once, and smoking hot
fat will do that.
21. =Sardine Sandwiches.=--Butter sixteen thin slices of bread on both
sides, put between each two a very thin layer of sardines, sprinkled
with a little lemon juice, and brown them in a quick oven.
22. =Warmed up boiled fish, with Dutch Sauce.=--Put the cold fish on the
fire in plenty of cold water and salt, and let it come slowly to a boil;
meantime make a sauce for it as follows.
23. =Dutch Sauce.=--Put one ounce of butter, and one ounce of flour in a
sauce-pan over the fire, and stir constantly until it bubbles; then add
gradually one gill of boiling water, remove the sauce from the fire,
stir in the yolks of three eggs, one at a time, add one saltspoonful of
dry mustard; add one tablespoonful of vinegar and three of oil,
gradually, drop by drop, stirring constantly till smooth. When the fish
is warmed take it up carefully without breaking and serve with the Dutch
sauce in a boat.
CHAPTER IV.
RELISHES.
The dishes known as relishes are usually eaten at dinner just after the
soup or fish; they are in reality the restorers of appetite; they are
usually cold, and are sent to the table on small oval dishes, or
ornamental boats.
24. =Anchovies.= (_One for each person._)--The best anchovies are small
and plump, with white scales, and dark red pickle; they are prepared for
the table by soaking two hours in cold water, taking out the back-bone,
removing the scales and some of the small bones, and serving them with
oil or vinegar in a suitable dish, or pickle shell.
25. =Sardines.= (_One for each person._)--Sardines are served by wiping
them, and serving them on a small dish with quarters of lemons beside
them.
26. =Pickled Herrings.= (_One for each person._)--These are served in a
boat with a few capers, and a little chopped parsley sprinkled over
them.
27. =Scalloped Oysters.= (_One shell for each person._)--Blanch one quart
of oysters by bringing just to a boil in their own liquor, then strain
them, saving the liquor, and keeping it hot; wash them in cold water and
drain them; mix one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour together in
a sauce-pan over the fire; as soon as it is smooth gradually stir in one
pint of the oyster liquor, which must be boiling; season the sauce with
half a teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful each of white
pepper and nutmeg; put the oysters into it to heat, while you thoroughly
wash eight or ten deep oystershells with a brush; fill them with the
oysters, dust them thickly with bread crumbs; put a small bit of butter
on each one, and brown them in a quick oven; they should be sent to the
table laid on a napkin neatly folded on a platter.
28. =Welsh Rarebit.=--Grate one pound of rich cheese, mix it over the fire
with one gill of ale, working it smooth with a spoon; season it with a
saltspoonful of dry mustard; meantime make two large slices of toast,
lay them on a hot dish, and as soon as the cheese is thoroughly melted,
pour it over the toast and send it to the table at once.
29. =Golden Buck.=--Prepare the cheese and toast as in receipt No. 28; cut
the toast in eight pieces; while the cheese is melting poach eight eggs,
by dropping them gently into plenty of boiling water containing a
teaspoonful of salt, and half a gill of vinegar; as soon as the whites
are firm, take them carefully out on a skimmer, trim off the edges, and
slip them again into warm water, while you divide the cheese on the
pieces of toast; then lay an egg on each piece, and serve at once. The
success of the dish depends upon having the eggs, cheese, and toast
ready at the same moment, putting them together very quickly, and
serving them before they cool.
30. =Mock Crab.=--Break up half a pound of soft, rich cheese with a fork,
mix with it a teaspoonful of dry mustard, a saltspoonful of salt, half a
saltspoonful of pepper, and a dessertspoonful of vinegar; serve it cold,
with a plate of thin bread and butter, or crisp crackers.
31. =English bread and butter.=--Cut an even slice off a large loaf of
fresh homemade bread; butter the cut end of the loaf thinly, then hold
it against the side with the left hand and arm, and with a sharp, thin
knife, cut an even slice not more than an eighth of an inch thick; a
little practice, and a steady grasp of bread and knife, will enable any
one to produce regular whole slices; fold each one double, with the
butter inside; and cut as many as you require; serve them on a clean
napkin, and send them to the table with any other of the above relishes.
32. =Cheese Straws.=--Sift six ounces of flour on the pastry board, make a
hole or well in the centre; into this well put two tablespoonfuls of
cream, three ounces of grated Parmesan, or any rich dry cheese, four
ounces of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a teaspoonful
of white pepper, and the same quantity of grated nutmeg, together with
as much cayenne as you can take up on the point of a very small
pen-knife blade; mix all these ingredients with the tips of the ringers,
to a firm paste, knead it well, roll it out an eighth of an inch thick;
and with a sharp knife, or pastry jagger, cut it in straws about eight
inches long, and quarter of an inch wide; lay the strips carefully on a
buttered tin, and bake them light straw color in a moderate oven. These
cheese straws make a delicious accompaniment to salad.
33. =Epicurean Butter.=--Bone and skin four anchovies or sardines, and
chop them fine; chop a tablespoonful of chives, and the same quantity of
tarragon leaves, four small green pickles, the yolks of two hard boiled
eggs; mix with these ingredients, a level teaspoonful of French mustard,
a saltspoonful of salt, and two ounces of sweet butter; pass them all
through a fine sieve with the aid of a wooden spoon; put it on the ice
to cool, and then mould it in balls the size of a walnut, by rolling
small lumps between two little wooden paddles; serve it with crackers
and cheese.
These receipts are given because many persons call for them; the author
begs leave to accompany them with the assurance that a prolonged diet of
any of them will produce a well grounded dyspepsia in a very moderate
length of time.
CHAPTER V.
SIDE DISHES, OR ENTREES.
The multitude of dishes known as _entrees_, represent to a great extent
the economical use of food for which the French are so celebrated; they
are based upon the principles of suitable combination. Usage has classed
certain sorts of food together as fit adjuncts; for instance, _bon
vivants_ instruct us that white sauces and light wines are the best
accompaniments for fish, poultry, and the white meats; and that brown
sauces, and rich, heavy wines, naturally follow with the dark meats and
game. These general principles readily apply to the preparation of the
numberless made dishes which are the glory of European cookery, and
which transform the remains of an ordinary meat breakfast into a
delicious luncheon, or an inviting side-dish for dinner. The fact that
the secret of all good cookery is economy, must be our apology for
treating this division of our subject at some length; and we beg our
readers to test our receipts before accusing us of attempting to
introduce obnoxious and difficult culinary methods into American
kitchens.
34. =How Meat should be Broiled.=--In broiling all meats, you must
remember that the surface should not be cut or broken any more than is
absolutely necessary; that the meat should be exposed to a clear, quick
fire, close enough to sear the surface without burning, in order to
confine all its juices; if it is approached slowly to a poor fire, or
seasoned before it is cooked, it will be comparatively dry and
tasteless, as both of these processes are useful only to extract and
waste those precious juices which contain nearly all the nourishing
properties of the meat.
35. =Parisian Potatoes.=--Pare and cut one quart of raw potatoes in balls
the size of a walnut, reserving the trimmings to use for mashed
potatoes; put the balls over the fire in plenty of cold water and salt,
and boil them until just tender enough to pierce easily with a fork;
which will be in about fifteen minutes; drain them, lay them on a towel
a moment to dry them, and then brown them in enough smoking hot lard to
immerse them entirely; when they are brown take them up in a colander,
and sprinkle them with a saltspoonful of salt, and a teaspoonful of
chopped parsley.
36. =To broil a Beefsteak.=--Rub the bars of the gridiron smooth, and then
grease them slightly; lay on a sirloin steak weighing about three
pounds; put the gridiron over a hot fire; if the fire is not clear throw
a handful of salt into it to clear it; broil the steak, turning it
frequently so that it cannot burn, until it is done to the required
degree; do not cut into it to ascertain this, but test it by pressing
the tips of the fingers upon it; if it spring up again after the
pressure is removed it is done rare; if it remains heavy and solid it is
well done; while it is broiling prepare a _maitre d'hotel_ butter
according to receipt No. 16; spread it over the steak after you have
laid it on a hot dish, and arrange the _Parisian potatoes_ at the sides
of the dish; send it to the table at once. After the proper cooking of a
steak comes the immediate eating thereof, if it is to be found perfect.
37. =Plain Rump Steak.=--Broil three pounds of tender rump steak according
to directions in receipt No. 36, put it on a hot dish, season it with a
level teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper,
spread over it one ounce of butter, and lay two tablespoonfuls of grated
horseradish on the side of the platter, and serve it hot, without delay.
38. =Portuguese Beef.=--Cut in thin shavings two pounds of cold beef, and
put it into a sauce-pan with half a pint of any brown gravy, and heat it
gradually; in another pan put one small onion chopped fine, the rind of
one orange chopped, the juice, quarter of a saltspoonful of grated
nutmeg, as much cayenne as can be taken up on the point of a very small
pen-knife blade, and one gill of port wine; boil these ingredients
rapidly until the liquid is reduced one half, and then mix them with the
beef; fry in hot fat some slices of bread, cut in the shape of hearts,
about two inches long and one inch wide, pile the beef in a mound on a
hot dish, lay the _croutons_ of fried bread around it, and serve it
hot.
39. =Bubble and Squeak.=--Cut about two pounds of cold meat in neat
slices, put them into a pan with an ounce of butter, and brown them; at
the same time chop one head of tender cabbage, without the stalks, put
it into a sauce-pan with two ounces of butter, a saltspoonful of salt,
and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and stir it occasionally over
the fire until it is quite tender; when both are done, lay the slices of
beef in the centre of a hot dish, and arrange the cabbage around it;
serve it hot.
40. =Stewed Kidneys.=--Cut one large beef kidney in thin slices about an
inch long; fry two ounces of onion in one ounce of butter, until pale
yellow; add the kidney, fry or rather _sauter_ it, for about five
minutes, shaking the pan frequently to prevent burning; then stir in one
ounce and a half of flour, season with one saltspoonful of salt, a
quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and the same of powdered sweet
herbs made as directed on page 20, and one gill of boiling water; cook
ten minutes longer; meantime make eight heart-shaped _croutons_ of
bread, as directed in receipt No. 38; add one gill of Madeira wine to
the kidneys, pour them on a hot dish, sprinkle them with a teaspoonful
of chopped parsley, arrange the _croutons_ around the border of the
dish, and serve hot at once. The success of this dish depends on serving
it while the kidneys are tender; too much cooking hardens them; and they
must not be allowed to stand after they are done, or they deteriorate.
41. =Haricot or Stew of Mutton.=--Trim a neck of mutton, weighing about
two pounds, of all superfluous fat, cut it into cutlets, put them in a
deep sauce-pan with one ounce of butter, and fry them brown; pour off
all fat, add two ounces of flour, stir till brown, moisten with one
quart and a half of stock, or water, and stir occasionally until the
haricot boils; meantime cut one quart of carrots and turnips, half and
half, in small balls, and add them, with one dozen button onions, a
bouquet of sweet herbs, half a saltspoonful of pepper, and a teaspoonful
of salt; simmer for one hour; take up the cutlets with a fork, skim out
the vegetables, and remove the bouquet; lay the cutlets in a wreath on a
hot dish, place the vegetables in the centre, and strain the gravy over
all. Green peas, new turnips, or new potatoes, may replace the first
named vegetables. The dish should always be sent to the table hot.
42. =Epigramme of Lamb, with Piquante Sauce.=--Boil a breast of young
mutton, weighing from two to three pounds until tender, either in the
stock-pot, or in hot water seasoned with salt, two cloves stuck in a
small onion, and a bouquet of sweet herbs made as directed in the first
chapter; when it is tender enough to permit the bones to be drawn out
easily, take it up, lay it on a pan, put another, containing weights, on
it, and press it until it is cold; then cut it in eight triangular
pieces, about the size of a small cutlet; season them with salt and
pepper; roll them first in sifted cracker dust, then in an egg beaten
with a tablespoonful of cold water, and again in cracker dust; fry them
light brown in enough smoking hot fat to cover them.
43. =Piquante Sauce.=--While the lamb is frying, chop one tablespoonful of
capers, two of shallot, or small, finely flavored onion, and the same
quantity of green gherkins; place them over the fire in a sauce-pan with
one gill of vinegar, two bay leaves, quarter of a saltspoonful of
pepper, and the same of powdered thyme, and boil quickly until the
vinegar is reduced to one third of its original quantity; then add half
a pint of rich brown gravy of any kind, or of Spanish sauce, which may
always be kept on hand; boil the sauce gently for five minutes, take out
the bay leaves, and pour a little of the sauce on the bottom of a hot
platter; when the pieces of breast are brown, take them up with a
skimmer, and lay them on soft paper, or on a clean napkin for a moment,
to free them from grease, and arrange them in a wreath on the platter
containing the sauce; serve them at once, with the rest of the sauce in
a gravy boat.
44. =Spanish Sauce.=--Fry one ounce of ham or bacon, cut in half-inch
dice, with one ounce of fat; add to it, as soon as brown, two ounces of
carrot sliced, two ounces of onion sliced; stir in two ounces of dry
flour, and brown well; then add one quart of stock; or if none is on
hand, one quart of water, and half a pound of lean meat chopped fine;
season with a teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper,
and a bouquet of sweet herbs, made as directed in the first chapter;
simmer gently for an hour, skimming as often as any scum rises; then
strain the sauce, add one gill of wine to it, and use it to dress any
dark meat, game, or baked fish. This sauce will keep a week or longer,
in a cool place.
45. =Kromeskys, with Spanish Sauce.=--Cut one pound of cold roast lamb, or
mutton, in half inch dice; chop one ounce of onion, and fry it pale
yellow in one ounce of butter; add one ounce of flour, and stir until
smooth; add half a pint of Spanish sauce, or water, if no sauce is at
hand, two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, one level teaspoonful of
salt, one level saltspoonful of white pepper, half a saltspoonful of
powdered herbs, as much cayenne as can be taken up on the point of a
very small pen-knife blade, and the chopped meat; two ounces of
mushrooms, slightly warmed with quarter of an ounce of butter, and a
teaspoonful of lemon juice, improve the flavor of the _kromeskys_
exceedingly; stir until scalding hot, add the yolk of one raw egg, cook
for two minutes, stirring frequently; and turn out to cool on a flat
dish, slightly oiled, or buttered, to prevent sticking, spreading the
minced meat about an inch thick; set away to cool while the batter is
being made.
46. =Plain Frying Batter.=--Mix quarter of a pound of flour with the yolks
of two raw eggs, a level saltspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of
pepper, quarter of a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, one tablespoonful of
salad oil, (which is used to make the batter crisp,) and one cup of
water, more or less, as the flour will take it up; the batter should be
stiff enough to hold the drops from the spoon in shape when they are
let fall upon it; now beat the whites of the two eggs to a stiff froth,
beginning slowly, and increasing the speed until you are beating as fast
as you can; the froth will surely come; then stir it lightly into the
batter; heat the dish containing the meat a moment, to loosen it, and
turn it out on the table, just dusted with powdered crackers; cut it in
strips an inch wide and two inches long, roll them lightly under the
palm of the hand, in the shape of corks, dip them in the batter, and fry
them golden brown in smoking hot fat. Serve them on a neatly folded
napkin. They make a delicious dish, really worth all the care taken in
preparing them.
47. =Sheep's Tongues with Spinach.=--Boil eight sheep's tongues in the
stock pot, or in hot water with a bouquet of sweet herbs, and a gill of
vinegar, for about an hour, or until they are quite tender; then remove
them from the stock, lay them on their sides on a flat dish, place over
them another dish with weights on it, and allow them to cool: trim them
neatly, put them into a sauce-pan with enough Spanish sauce, or brown
gravy to cover them, and heat them gradually.
48. =To boil Spinach.=--Wash and trim one quart of green spinach, put it
into a sauce-pan holding at least three quarts of boiling water, and
three tablespoonfuls of salt, and boil it rapidly, with the cover off,
until it is tender enough to pierce easily with the finger nail, which
will be in from three to seven minutes, according to the age of the
spinach; then drain it in a colander, wash it in cold water, thoroughly
drain it again, and chop it very fine, or pass it through a sieve with a
wooden spoon; put it into a sauce-pan with enough Spanish sauce or brown
gravy to moisten it, season it with a saltspoonful of salt, and half
that quantity of white pepper, and heat it until it steams; arrange the
tongues in a wreath on a hot platter, put the spinach in the centre, and
pour the gravy in which the tongues were heated, over them. Serve hot at
once.
49. =Broiled Sheep's Kidneys.=--Split eight kidneys lengthwise, skin them,
lay them for half an hour in a dish containing a tablespoonful of salad
oil, the same of some spiced vinegar, or table sauce, and a saltspoonful
of salt and pepper mixed equally; turn them frequently; then roll them
in cracker dust, lay them on a greased gridiron, and broil them, the
inside first; when done brown, place them on a hot dish, with a small
piece of _maitre d'hotel_ butter in each, made according to receipt No.
16, and send them hot to the table.
50. =Liver Rolls.=--Cut two sheep's livers in slices half an inch thick;
season them with salt and pepper; spread over each a layer of sausage
meat as thick as the liver, season that, roll each slice up, and tie it
in place with a string; on the bottom of a baking pan put one ounce of
carrot, and one ounce of onion sliced, two bay leaves, one sprig of
thyme, three of parsley, and an ounce of salt pork sliced; lay the liver
on these, put over each roll a tablespoonful of brown gravy, or Spanish
sauce, and bake them in a moderate oven about forty minutes, or until
they are thoroughly cooked; lay them on a hot platter, add a gill of
stock or water to the pan they were baked in, stir the vegetables about
in it, and strain it over the liver. Serve at once.
51. =Fried Brains with Tomato Sauce.=--Lay four pieces of calf's brains in
cold water and salt for one hour, to draw out the blood; meantime begin
a tomato sauce as directed below; carefully remove the outer skin
without breaking the brains; put them over the fire in enough cold water
to cover them, with half a gill of vinegar, two bay leaves, a sprig of
parsley, and an onion stuck with three cloves; bring them to a boil, and
simmer slowly for ten minutes; take them up carefully, and lay them in
cold water and salt to cool. When cool, cut each one in two pieces, roll
them first in cracker dust, then in one raw egg beaten with a
tablespoonful of cold water, then again in cracker dust, and fry them in
plenty of smoking hot fat; as soon as they are golden brown take them up
on a skimmer, and lay them on a soft paper or napkin to absorb all fat,
and then arrange on a platter containing half a pint of tomato sauce.
52. =Tomato Sauce.=--Put into a thick sauce-pan half a can, or one pint of
tomatoes, one ounce of carrot, and the same quantity of onion sliced,
one ounce of salt pork cut in small bits, a bouquet of sweet herbs, made
as directed in Chapter first, four cloves, one clove of garlic, if it is
liked, one teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and
a gill of stock, gravy, or water; simmer slowly one hour, and pass
through a sieve with a wooden spoon. This is an excellent sauce for any
breaded side dish.
53. =Calf's Liver larded.=--The operation of larding is done by passing
strips of larding pork, which is firm, white, fat pork, cut two inches
long, and quarter of an inch square, in rows along the surface of a
liver, placing the strips of pork in the split end of a larding needle,
and with it taking a stitch about a quarter of an inch deep and one inch
long in the surface of the liver, and leaving the ends of the pork
projecting equally; the rows must be inserted regularly, the ends of the
second coming between the ends of the first, and so on, until the
surface is covered; the liver is then laid in a dripping pan on one
ounce of carrot, one ounce of onions, and one ounce of salt pork sliced,
half a teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, three
sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, three bay leaves, and six cloves; a
gill of Spanish sauce or brown gravy is poured over it, and it is cooked
in a moderate oven about an hour, until it is thoroughly done. The liver
should be laid on a hot platter, while half a pint of Spanish sauce or
gravy is stirred among the vegetables it was cooked with, and then
strained over it. If served hot it is a most delicious and economical
dish, being nearly as satisfactory to appetite as a heavy joint of roast
meat.
54. =Blanquette of Veal.=--Cut three pounds of the breast of veal in
pieces two inches square, put them in enough cold water to cover them,
with one saltspoonful of white pepper, one teaspoonful of salt, a
bouquet of sweet herbs, made as directed in Chapter first, and an onion
stuck with three cloves; bring slowly to a boil, skim carefully until no
more scum rises, and cook gently for thirty or forty minutes until the
veal is tender; then drain it, returning the broth to the fire, and
washing the meat in cold water; meantime make a white sauce by stirring
together over the fire one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour, until
they are smooth, then adding a pint and a half of the broth gradually,
season with a little more salt and pepper if they are required, and with
quarter of a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg; when the sauce has boiled up
well, stir into it with an egg-whip the yolks of two raw eggs, put in
the meat, and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally; a few
mushrooms are a great improvement to the blanquette; or it may be served
with two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley sprinkled over it after it is
put on a hot platter.
55. =Stuffed breast of Veal.=--Have the butcher make what is called a
pocket in a three pound breast of veal, by cutting the flesh of the
upper side free from the breast bones, taking care to leave three outer
sides of the meat whole, so as to hold the stuffing; prepare a bed of
vegetables, herbs, and pork, as directed for liver, in receipt No. 53;
stuff the breast, sew it up, lay it on the vegetables, put four ounces
of salt pork cut in thin slices on the top, season it with a teaspoonful
of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and bake it in a
moderate oven about one hour, till thoroughly done; serve it with a
brown gravy made the same as the liver gravy in receipt No. 53.
56. =Stuffing for Veal.=--Steep four ounces of bread in tepid water; chop
one ounce of onion, and fry it yellow in one ounce of butter; wring the
bread dry in a towel and add it to the butter and onion; season with one
saltspoonful of salt, quarter of a saltspoonful each of pepper and
powdered thyme, or mixed spices, and stir till scalding hot, then remove
from the fire, stir in the yolk of one raw egg, and stuff the breast of
veal with it. This is a very good stuffing for poultry, or lamb.
57. =Broiled Pork Cutlets.=--Make a Robert sauce, according to directions
given below. Broil two pounds of cutlets from the neck of pork, being
careful not to burn them, and dish them in a wreath on a hot platter
with Robert sauce poured on the dish.
58. =Robert Sauce.=--Chop two ounces of onion, fry pale yellow with one
ounce of butter, add two tablespoonfuls of spiced vinegar, and reduce
one half by quick boiling; add half a pint of Spanish sauce, or brown
gravy, and boil slowly for fifteen minutes; then season with a
saltspoonful of salt, quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and two
teaspoonfuls of French mustard, and serve.
59. =Pork Chops with Curry.=--First boil a quarter of a pound of rice
according to receipt No. 60. Fry two pounds of pork chops cut from the
loin, brown in a very little butter, pour off all the grease, add to
them half a pint of Spanish sauce, and a tablespoonful of curry powder
mixed smooth with two tablespoonfuls of cold water; cover the sauce-pan,
and simmer the chops for fifteen minutes; then dish them in a wreath on
a hot platter, pour the sauce on the bottom of the dish, and fill the
centre with rice.
60. =Boiled Rice.=--Wash a quarter of a pound of rice in plenty of cold
water, put it into a quart of boiling water with a tablespoonful of
salt, and boil it fast for twenty minutes; shake it out into a colander,
drain it, and shake it from the colander into the centre of the dish of
chops; do not stir it with a spoon.
61. =Broiled Pigs' Feet.=--Boil four well cleaned pickled pigs' feet in
stock or boiling water with sweet herbs, until they are tender enough to
permit the bones to come out readily; split them in halves, take out all
the large bones; trim and shape them neatly, and cool them; when cold
season them with pepper and salt, dip them first in melted butter and
then in cracker dust, and broil them over a clear, moderate fire,
turning them frequently; serve with a little melted butter, lemon juice,
and chopped parsley over them.
62. =English Pork Pie.=--Make a plain pie crust by mixing together with
the hand, half a pound of flour and quarter of a pound of butter, with
enough cold water to make a stiff paste; roll out about six times on a
well floured pastry board, folding the paste evenly each time; line the
side of an earthen pie dish nearly to the bottom; in the bottom put a
thin layer of bacon, about four ounces sliced; pare and slice half a
quart of potatoes; chop two ounces of onion; cut two pounds of fresh
lean pork in two-inch pieces; lay all these in the dish in layers,
season with half a saltspoonful of pepper and the same quantity of
powdered sage; fill the dish with any good cold gravy, cover with crust,
wetting the edges to make them fit tight; ornament the surface according
to your fancy, with leaves and fancy shapes cut out of the pastry; brush
over with a raw egg beaten with a tablespoonful of water; bake in a
moderate oven fifteen minutes; cover the top with paper, and bake one
hour longer; serve hot, or cold, as desired.
63. =Fried Chicken, Spanish Style.=--Cut up a four pound chicken as for a
_fricassee_, sprinkle the pieces with salt, and Spanish red pepper; put
four ounces of lard in a frying pan on the fire, and when smoking hot,
put in the legs, back, thighs, and wings; when they are half done, add
the pieces of breast, two ounces of chopped onion, one clove of garlic
chopped, a bouquet of sweet herbs, made as directed in Chapter first,
and fry seven minutes; add half a pound of raw ham cut in half inch
dice, and fry till the chicken is tender; take it out and keep it hot,
while you fry four large tomatoes cut in dice, and seasoned with salt
and pepper to taste; then add the chicken, make it quite hot, and serve
all together on a platter, like a _fricassee_.
64. =Chicken Fricassee.=--Cut a four pound tender chicken in joints, put
it over the fire in enough cold water to cover it, with one
dessertspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of pepper, a bouquet of
sweet herbs, made as directed in Chapter first, two ounces of carrot,
pared and left whole, and one dozen button onions peeled; skim
frequently as often as any scum rises, simmer slowly until the chicken
is tender, about an hour, and then take it up to keep hot while the
sauce is made; strain out the vegetables, and set the broth to boil; mix
one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour together over the fire until
they become a smooth paste; then gradually add a pint and a half of the
broth, stirring the sauce with an egg-whip until it is quite smooth,
season it to taste with salt and pepper, and dish it on a hot platter;
half a can of mushrooms greatly improve the flavor of the _fricassee_.
65. =Grilled Fowl.=--Cut the legs and second joints from two cold roast
fowls; score them closely, season them with pepper and salt, and lay
them by, ready to broil. Mince the rest of the meat fine. Make a white
sauce by mixing together over the fire two ounces of butter and two of
flour until they form a smooth paste; gradually add enough boiling milk
to make a good thick sauce, season with half a teaspoonful of salt,
quarter of a saltspoonful of white pepper, and the same quantity of
grated nutmeg; add the minced fowl, and heat; now broil the legs and
thighs, and after dishing the mince on a hot platter, lay them on it,
and serve hot.
66. =Minced Chicken with Macaroni.=--Put four ounces of macaroni to blanch
as directed in receipt No. 67. Cut two pounds of cold roast fowl in
small slices, or scallops; and heat them in a white sauce, as directed
in receipt No. 65: dish them in a border of macaroni, and serve hot.
67. =Macaroni with Cheese.=--Blanch four ounces of macaroni by putting it
to boil in two quarts of boiling water and a tablespoonful of salt; boil
it until it is tender enough to pierce with the finger nail, drain it in
a colander, wash it well in cold water, and let it remain in water while
you prepare a white sauce of one ounce of butter, one of flour, and
boiling milk, as directed in receipt No. 65:--put the macaroni into it
with two ounces of grated cheese, Parmesan is the best; heat it
thoroughly; dish it in a border around the minced fowl, which should be
piled in the middle of the dish.
68. =Broiled Pigeons.=--Carefully pluck and draw eight pigeons, split them
down the middle of the back, flatten them by pounding them with the
blade of a heavy knife, broil them on a greased gridiron, the inside
first; lay each one on a slice of buttered toast, and dress them with a
little _maitre d'hotel_ butter, made according to receipt No. 16.
69. =Salmi of Duck.=--Cut two cold roast wild ducks in joints; put them
into a sauce-pan with enough Spanish sauce to cover them, and add two
dozen olives with the stones removed; season to taste with salt and
pepper, being guided in this by the seasoning of the Spanish sauce; heat
thoroughly; meantime cut a dozen heart shaped _croutons_, or slices of
bread about two inches long and one wide, and fry them brown in plenty
of hot fat; when the _salmi_ is hot, pour it on a hot dish, and arrange
the _croutons_ around the border; serve hot.
70. =Civet of Hare.=--Skin a pair of leverets, or young hares, carefully
wipe them outside with a damp cloth; remove the entrails, and wash the
interior with a cup of vinegar, which must be saved; cut them into
joints as you would divide a chicken for _fricassee_; cut the back and
loins in pieces about two inches square; peel two dozen button onions,
and fry them light brown in two ounces of butter, with half a pound of
lean ham cut in half inch dice; add the hare, and brown well; stir in
two ounces of dry flour, add three gills of broth, and one gill of the
vinegar used to wash the hare, or two gills of claret, season with one
teaspoonful of salt, one saltspoonful of ground cloves, and half a
saltspoonful of pepper; simmer gently about one hour, until the hare is
tender, and serve on a hot platter like chicken _fricassee_.
71. =Jugged Hare.=--Prepare two hares as for a _civet_, in receipt No. 70;
in the cup of vinegar and half a pint of Spanish sauce, (or in their
place one pint of claret,) put the yellow rind of one lemon, a bouquet
of sweet herbs, prepared as in Chapter first, eight cloves, two blades
of mace, two inches of stick cinnamon, eight allspice, one ounce of
onion whole, one ounce of carrot whole; boil all these together half an
hour when you are preparing the hare, as in receipt No. 70; lay the
browned pieces of hare in an earthen jar; season them a little with a
teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper; strain the
gravy made as above into the jar; put on the cover; fasten it in place
with a paste made of flour and water, and oiled on the top to prevent
cracking. Bake the hare in a moderate oven three hours. When you are
nearly ready to dish it, cut a slice of bread two inches thick, the
entire side of a large loaf, trim it to a perfect oval, fry it light
brown in hot fat, put it on a platter, arrange the hare on it, and pour
the gravy over; serve hot.
72. =Stuffed Eggs.=--Boil eight eggs for ten minutes, until quite hard,
lay them in cold water until they are quite cold; make a white sauce, as
directed in receipt No. 65; soak two ounces of stale bread in tepid
water for five minutes, and wring it dry in a towel; put one ounce of
grated cheese, Parmesan is the best, in a sauce-pan with one
saltspoonful of salt, half that quantity of white pepper, as much
cayenne as can be taken up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade,
a teaspoonful of lemon juice, two ounces of butter, and a gill of the
white sauce; cut the eggs carefully in halves lengthwise after removing
the shells, rub the yolks through a sieve with a silver spoon, and add
them with the bread to the sauce, as prepared above; stir these
ingredients over the fire until they cleave from the sides of the
sauce-pan, when they will be scalding hot; on a hot platter put a layer
of the white sauce as a foundation for the eggs; fill the whites with
the forcemeat, rounding it up to look like the entire yolk of an egg,
set them on a dish in a pyramid, and heat them in a moderate oven; send
whatever white sauce you have left to the table in a boat, with the dish
of eggs.
When, after preparing the eggs for the oven, they are sprinkled with
grated cheese, and cracker dust, and then browned, they are called
gratinated eggs, or stuffed eggs, _au gratin_, and are served without
any sauce.
73. =How to make Omelettes.=--There is no great difficulty in making
omelettes, and as they may be expeditiously prepared and served they are
a convenient resource when an extra dish is required at short notice;
care should be taken to beat the eggs only until they are light, to put
the omelette into a well heated and buttered pan, and _never to turn it
in the pan_, as this flattens and toughens it; if the pan be large, and
only three or four eggs be used in making the omelette, the pan should
be tipped and held by the handle so that the eggs will cook in a small
space upon one side of it; instead of spreading all over it, and
becoming too dry in the process of cooking.
There are three secrets in the making of a good omelette, namely, the
separate beating of the eggs, the knack of stirring it upon the fire,
and the method of transferring it from the fire to the table. If you
will carefully follow the directions here given, you can produce a dish
dainty enough to satisfy the most fastidious eater.
74. =Plain Omelette.=--If you have to serve eight persons, make three
omelettes as follows:
Put one half an ounce (about a tablespoonful) of butter into a clean,
smooth frying-pan, and set it upon the back of the stove to melt; stir
the yolks of three eggs with a saltspoonful of salt for one minute; beat
the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth with an egg-whip, beginning
slowly, and gradually increasing the speed until the froth will not
leave the dish if it be turned bottom up; this will take from three to
five minutes, according to the freshness of the eggs; now pour the
yolks into the froth, and mix them gently with a silver spoon, turning
the bowl of the spoon over and over, but do not stir in a circle, or
rapidly; put the frying-pan containing the melted butter over the fire,
pour in the omelette, and stir it with a large two-pronged fork (a
carving fork will do), carefully raising the edges with the fork as fast
as they cook, and turning them toward the centre, until the omelette
lies in the middle of the pan in a light mass, cooked soft or hard to
suit the taste; when done to the desired degree, turn it out upon a hot
dish _without touching it with either fork or spoon_, and send it to the
table immediately. Another excellent method is to beat three eggs,
without separating the whites and yolks, with one tablespoonful of milk,
and a little salt and pepper, and put them into a frying-pan containing
two ounces of butter browned; let the omelette stand for a moment, and
then turn the edges up gently with a fork, and shake the pan to prevent
it burning or sticking at the bottom; five minutes will fry it a
delicate brown, and it should then be doubled and sent to the table at
once on a hot dish. Three eggs will make an omelette large enough for
two persons, if any other dish is to be served with it. There are
several varieties of omelettes, each named after the ingredient
prominent in the composition. We subjoin some excellent receipts, which
may be based upon the first-mentioned method of preparation and cooking.
75. =Omelette with Herbs.=--Stir into the yolks of three eggs a
saltspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, one
tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, and one tablespoonful of shallot or
white onion; beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, add them to
the yolks, and cook as in the first receipt.
76. =Omelette with Ham, Tongue, or Cheese.=--Use chopped or grated ham, or
tongue, or cheese, in the proportion of one tablespoonful to one egg;
proceed to mix and cook in the same way as for omelette with herbs.
77. =Omelette with Oysters.=--Blanch one dozen small Blue Point oysters,
by bringing them just to a boil in their own liquor, seasoned with a
dust of cayenne, a saltspoonful of salt, and a grate of nutmeg; mix an
omelette as above, omitting the herbs, place it over the fire, and when
it begins to cook at the edges, place the oysters, without any liquor,
in its centre, and fold and serve it in the same manner as the omelette
with herbs.
78. =Omelette with Mushrooms.=--Choose a dozen small, even sized
mushrooms; if they are canned, simply warm them in the essence in which
they are preserved, and if they are fresh, peel them by dipping them,
held by the stem, into boiling water for one moment, and heat them over
the fire with half an ounce of butter and half a saltspoonful of salt
put over them; prepare the omelette as above, and as soon as the edges
begin to cook, place the mushrooms in the centre, and fold and serve
like the omelette with herbs.
79. =Spanish Omelette.=--Peel two large ripe tomatoes, cut them in thin
slices, put them into a frying pan with an ounce of butter, a
saltspoonful of salt, and a dust of pepper, and toss them to prevent
burning, until they are just cooked through; make an omelette as above,
and as soon as its edges are cooked put in the tomatoes, and fold and
serve the same as the omelette with herbs.
80. =Oriental Omelette.=--Heat a thick earthen plate over a charcoal or
wood fire, until it will melt butter enough to cover the bottom of it,
dust on the butter a little pepper, and sprinkle on a little salt; break
into it as many eggs as will lay upon it without crowding, and brown
them underneath; then set them where the heat of the fire will strike
their tops, and let them color a pale yellow; salt them a little, and
serve them very hot upon the same dish upon which they were cooked.
81. =Omelette with Preserves.=--Prepare an omelette as directed in receipt
No. 77, substituting any kind of jelly or preserves for the oysters.
82. =How to Cook Macaroni.=--This is one of the most wholesome and
economical of foods, and can be varied so as to give a succession of
palatable dishes at a very small cost. The imported macaroni can be
bought at Italian stores for about fifteen cents a pound; and that
quantity when boiled yields nearly three times its bulk, if it has been
manufactured for any length of time. In cooking it is generally combined
with meat gravy, tomato sauce, and cheese; Gruyere and Parmesan cheese,
which are the kinds most used by foreign cooks, can be readily obtained
at any large grocery, the price of the former being about thirty-five
cents per pound, and the latter varying from forty to eighty cents,
according to the commercial spirit of the vendor; the trade price quoted
on grocers' trade lists being thirty-eight cents per pound, for prime
quality. This cheese is of a greenish color, a little salt in taste and
flavored with delicate herbs; the nearest domestic variety is
sage-cheese, which may be used when Parmesan can not be obtained. If in
heating Parmesan cheese it appears oily, it is from the lack of
moisture, and this can be supplied by adding a few tablespoonfuls of
broth, and stirring it over the fire for a minute. When more macaroni
has been boiled than is used, it can be kept perfectly good by laying it
in fresh water, which must be changed every day. There are several forms
of Italian paste, but the composition is almost identical, all being
made from the interior part of the finest wheat grown on the
Mediterranean shores: the largest tubes, about the size of a lead
pencil, are called _macaroni_; the second variety, as large as a common
pipe-stem, is termed _mazzini_; and the smallest is _spaghetti_, or
threads; _vermicelli_ comes to market in the form of small coils or
hanks of fine yellowish threads; and _Italian paste_ appears in small
letters, and various fanciful shapes. Macaroni is generally known as a
rather luxurious dish among the wealthy; but it should become one of the
chief foods of the people, for it contains more gluten, or the
nutritious portion of wheat, than bread.
83. =Macaroni with Bechamel Sauce.=--Heat three quarts of water,
containing three tablespoonfuls of salt, to the boiling point; boil half
a pound of _macaroni_ in it until it is tender enough to pierce easily
with the finger nail; then drain it in a colander, and wash it well in
cold water; while it is boiling make a _Bechamel_, or white sauce, as in
receipt No. 84: put just enough of it with the _macaroni_ to moisten it,
heat it thoroughly; shake it up well with two forks to make the cheese
fibrous, put it on a hot dish, sprinkle with half an ounce of grated
Parmesan cheese, and serve it hot.
84. =Bechamel Sauce, with Parmesan Cheese.=--Stir together over the fire
two ounces of butter, and two ounces of flour, until they are perfectly
blended, boiling one pint of milk meantime; when the butter and flour
are smooth, pour the boiling milk into them, stir in two ounces of
grated Parmesan gradually and melt it thoroughly, stirring constantly
until the sauce is smooth; if cream is used instead of milk, and the
Parmesan cheese omitted, the same is called _Cream Bechamel_.
85. =Macaroni Milanaise style.=--Have ready some tomato sauce, made
according to receipt No. 52, or use some fresh tomatoes passed through a
sieve with a wooden spoon, and highly seasoned; and two ounces of grated
Parmesan cheese; put half a pound of imported Italian _macaroni_ in
three quarts of boiling water, with two tablespoonfuls of salt, one
saltspoonful of pepper in coarse pieces, called _mignonette_ pepper, and
a teaspoonful of butter; boil rapidly for about twenty minutes, or until
you can easily pierce it with the finger nail, then drain it in a
colander, run plenty of cold water from the faucet through it, and lay
it in a pan of cold water until you are ready to use it. Put into a
sauce-pan one gill of tomato sauce, one ounce of butter, and one gill of
Spanish sauce, or any rich meat gravy free from fat, and stir until they
are smoothly blended: put a half inch layer of _macaroni_ on the bottom
of a dish, moisten it with four tablespoonfuls of the sauce, sprinkle
over it half an ounce of the grated cheese; make three other layers like
this, using all the _macaroni_, cheese, and sauce, and brown the
_macaroni_ in a hot oven for about five minutes; serve it hot.
86. =Macaroni with Tomato Sauce.=--Boil half a pound of _spaghetti_ or
_macaroni_ as directed in receipt No. 83, and lay it in cold water. Make
a tomato sauce as follows, and dress the _macaroni_ with it, using only
enough to moisten it, and sprinkling the top with half an ounce of
grated cheese; serve it hot.
87. =Tomato Sauce.=--Boil together, for one hour, half a can of tomatoes,
or six large, fresh ones, one gill of broth of any kind, one sprig of
thyme, one sprig of parsley, three whole cloves, three peppercorns, and
half an ounce of onion sliced; rub them through a sieve with a wooden
spoon, and set the sauce to keep hot; mix together over the fire one
ounce of butter, and half an ounce of flour, and when smooth,
incorporate with the tomato sauce.
88. =Timbale of Macaroni.= (_A sweet dish._)--Boil half a pound of
_macaroni_ of the largest size, in boiling water and salt for fifteen
minutes; drain it in a colander, wash it well, lay by one quarter of it,
and put the rest into a sauce-pan with one ounce of butter, one pint of
milk or cream, four ounces of sugar, one teaspoonful of vanilla
flavoring, and a saltspoonful of salt; simmer it gently while you line a
well buttered three pint plain mould with the best pieces you have
reserved, coiling them regularly in the bottom and up the sides of the
mould; put what you do not use among that in the sauce-pan, and as soon
as it is tender fill the mould with it, and set it in a hot oven for
fifteen minutes; then turn it out on a dish, dust it with powdered
sugar, and serve it hot, with a pudding sauce.
89. =Vanilla Cream Sauce.=--Put three ounces of powdered sugar into a
sauce-pan with one ounce of corn starch, and one gill of cold water; mix
them smooth off the fire; then put the sauce-pan on the fire and pour in
half a pint of boiling milk, stirring smooth with an egg-whip for about
ten minutes, when the sauce will be thoroughly cooked; flavor it with
one teaspoonful of vanilla, and serve with pudding at once.
CHAPTER VI.
LARGE ROASTS.
Since roast or rather baked meats so often play the chief part in
American dinners, a few directions will be useful in connection with
their cooking. The object in cooking meat is to prepare it for easy
mastication and complete digestion; and it should be accomplished with
the least possible waste of the valuable juices of the meat. The
roasting of meat before the fire is not often possible in ordinary
kitchens, but with a well managed oven the same result can be attained.
If meat is placed before a slow fire, or in a cool oven, the little heat
that reaches it serves only to draw out its juices, and with them its
nutritious elements. The albumen of its cut surfaces coagulates at the
temperature of a bright, clear fire, or a hot oven, and thus seals up
the juices so that only a part of them escape, and those are collected
in the form of a rich brown, highly flavored crust, upon the surface of
well roasted meat. A good temperature for baking meat is from 320 deg. to
400 deg. Fahr. If the meat is put into a very hot oven for a few moments
to harden the outside, the heat can subsequently be moderated, and the
cooking finished more slowly, so that the meat will be sufficiently well
done, but not burned. Meats should be roasted about twenty minutes to a
pound, to be moderately well done; the fire should be clear, and steady,
in order that an equal heat may reach the joint and keep its interior
steam at the proper degree of heat; after the right length of time has
elapsed, care being taken meantime that the meat does not burn, it may
be tested by pressing it with the fingers; if it is rare it will spring
back when the pressure is removed; if it is moderately well done the
resistance to pressure will be very slight; and if it is thoroughly
cooked it will remain heavy under the fingers; never test it by cutting
into it with a knife, or puncturing it with a fork, for in this way you
waste the rich juices. If you wish to froth roast meat, dredge a little
flour over its surface, and brown it a few moments before serving it. If
it is to be glazed, brush it with clear stock concentrated to a paste by
rapid boiling, or dust a little powdered sugar over it, and in both
cases return it to the oven to set the glaze.
90. =Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding.=--Have three ribs of prime beef
prepared by the butcher for roasting, all the bones being taken out if
it is desirable to carve a clean slice off the top; secure it in place
with stout twine; do not use skewers, as the unnecessary holes they make
permit the meat-juices to escape; lay it in the dripping pan on a bed of
the following vegetables, cut in small pieces; one small onion, half a
carrot, half a turnip, three sprigs of parsley, one sprig of thyme, and
three bay leaves; _do not put any water in the dripping pan_; its
temperature can not rise to a degree equal in heat to that of the fat
outside of the beef, and can not assist in its cooking, but serves only
to lower the temperature of the meat, where it touches it, and
consequently to soften the surface and extract the juices; _do not
season it until the surface is partly carbonized by the heat_, as salt
applied to the cut fibre draws out their juices. If you use a roasting
oven before the fire, the meat should be similarly prepared by tying in
place, and it should be put on the spit carefully; sufficient drippings
for basting will flow from it, and it should be seasoned when half done;
when entirely done, which will be in fifteen minutes to each pound of
meat, the joint should be kept hot until served, but should be served as
soon as possible to be good. When gravy is made, half a pint of hot
water should be added to the dripping pan, after the vegetables have
been removed, and the gravy should be boiled briskly for a few minutes,
until it is thick enough, and seasoned to suit the palate of the family;
some persons thicken it with a teaspoonful of flour, which should be
mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cold water before it is stirred into
the gravy.
91. =Yorkshire Pudding.=--Put seven ounces of flour into a bowl with one
teaspoonful of salt; mix it smoothly with enough milk, say half a pint,
to make a smooth, stiff batter; then gradually add enough more milk to
amount in all to one pint and a half, and three eggs well beaten; mix it
thoroughly with an egg-whip, pour it into a well buttered baking pan,
bake it in the oven one hour and a half, if it is to be served with
baked beef; or if it is to accompany beef roasted before the fire, one
hour in the oven, and then half an hour under the meat on the spit, to
catch the gravy which flows from the joint. To serve it cut it into
pieces two or three inches square before taking it from the pan, and
send it to the table on a hot dish covered with a napkin, with the roast
beef.
92. =Roast Loin of Veal.=--Take out the chine, or back-bone, from a loin
of veal weighing about six pounds, being careful to leave the piece of
meat as whole as possible; chop up the bones and put them in a dripping
pan with two ounces of carrot, one ounce of turnip, and quarter of an
ounce of parsley; stuff the veal with a forcemeat made as in receipt
No. 93, roll it up neatly, tie it firmly with stout cord, lay it on the
vegetables in the pan, and roast it one hour and a half. When done take
it from the pan, and keep it hot while you prepare the gravy by putting
half a pint of hot water in the pan, boiling it up once, and straining
it; or if desirable thicken it with a teaspoonful of flour smoothly
dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of cold water and stirred with the
gravy.
93. =Stuffing for Veal.=--Cut two ounces of salt pork in quarter inch
dice, and fry it brown in half an ounce of butter, with one ounce of
chopped onion; while these ingredients are frying, soak eight ounces of
stale bread in tepid water, and then wring it dry in a napkin; add it to
the onion when it is brown, with one tablespoonful of chopped parsley,
half a saltspoonful of powdered thyme, and the same quantity of dried
and powdered celery, and white pepper, and one teaspoonful of salt; mix
all these over the fire until they are scalding hot, and cleave from
the pan; then stir in one raw egg, and use it with the veal.
94. =Roast Lamb with Mint Sauce.=--Choose a plump, fat fore-quarter of
lamb, which is quite as finely flavored and less expensive than the
hind-quarter; secure it in shape with stout cord, lay it in a dripping
pan with one sprig of parsley, three sprigs of mint, and one ounce of
carrot sliced; put it into a quick oven, and roast it fifteen minutes to
each pound; when half done season it with salt and pepper, and baste it
occasionally with the drippings flowing from it. When done serve it with
a gravy-boat full of mint sauce.
95. =Mint Sauce cold.=--Melt four ounces of brown sugar in a sauce boat
with half a pint of vinegar, add three tablespoonfuls of chopped mint,
and serve cold with roast lamb.
96. =Hot Mint Sauce.=--Put one pint of vinegar into a sauce-pan with four
ounces of white sugar, and reduce by rapid boiling to half a pint,
stirring to prevent burning; add a gill of cold water, and boil for five
minutes; then add three tablespoonfuls of chopped mint, and serve with
lamb.
97. =Roast Pork with Apple Sauce.=--Neatly trim a loin of fresh pork
weighing about six pounds; put it into a dripping pan on three bay
leaves, quarter of an ounce of parsley, one ounce of onion, and the same
quantity of carrot sliced, and roast it about twenty minutes to each
pound; when half done, season it with salt and pepper; when brown, serve
it with a border of Parisian potatoes, prepared according to receipt
No. 2, and send it to the table with a bowl of apple sauce.
98. =Apple Sauce.=--Pare and slice one quart of good tart apples; put them
into a sauce-pan with half a pint of cold water; stir them often enough
to prevent burning, and simmer them until tender, about twenty minutes
will be long enough; then rub them through a sieve with a wooden spoon,
add a saltspoonful of powdered cloves, and four ounces of sugar, or less
according to the taste; serve in a bowl, with the roast pork.
99. =Roast Turkey with Cranberry Sauce.=--Choose a fat tender turkey
weighing about six or seven pounds; pluck it, carefully remove the
pin-feathers, singe the bird over the flame of an alcohol lamp, or a few
drops of alcohol poured on a plate and lighted; wipe it with a damp
towel and see that it is properly drawn by slitting the skin at the back
of the neck, and taking out the crop without tearing the skin of the
breast; loosen the heart, liver, and lungs, by introducing the
fore-finger at the neck, and then draw them, with the entrails, from the
vent. Unless you have broken the gall, or the entrails, in drawing the
bird _do not wash it_, for this greatly impairs the flavor, and partly
destroys the nourishing qualities of the flesh. Twist the tips of the
wings back under the shoulders, stuff the bird with forcemeat made
according to receipt No. 100; bend the legs as far up toward the breast
as possible, secure the thigh bones in that position by a trussing cord
or skewer; then bring the legs down, and fasten them close to the vent.
Pound the breast bone down, first laying a towel over it. Lay a thin
slice of salt pork over the breast to baste it until sufficient
drippings run from the bird; baste it frequently, browning it on all
sides by turning it about in the pan; use a clean towel to turn it with,
_but do not run a fork into it or you will waste its juices_: when it is
half done season it with two teaspoonfuls of salt and one saltspoonful
of powdered herbs, made according to directions in Chapter first; when
it has cooked about twenty minutes to each pound, dish it, and keep it
hot while you make a gravy by adding half a pint of water to the
drippings in the pan, first taking off a little of the superfluous fat,
and thickening it if desired with a teaspoonful of flour mixed with two
tablespoonfuls of cold water; serve the turkey hot with a gravy-boat
full of gravy and a dish of cranberry sauce made according to receipt
No. 101. The same directions for drawing, trussing, and roasting will
apply to other poultry and game.
100. =Forcemeat for Roast Poultry.=--Steep eight ounces of stale bread in
tepid water for five minutes, and wring it dry in a clean towel;
meantime chop fine four ounces each of fresh veal and pork, or use
instead, eight ounces of good sausage meat; grate eight ounces of good
rather dry cheese; fry one ounce of onion in one ounce of butter to a
light yellow color; add the bread, meat, and cheese, season with a
saltspoonful of powdered herbs, made according to directions in Chapter
first, a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, and two whole
eggs; mix well and use.
101. =Cranberry Sauce.=--Carefully pick and wash one quart of
cranberries; put them over the fire in a sauce-pan with half a pint of
cold water; bring them to a boil, and boil them gently for fifteen
minutes, stirring them occasionally to prevent burning; then add four
ounces of white sugar, and boil them slowly until they are soft enough
to pass through a sieve with a wooden spoon; the sauce is then ready to
serve.
102. =Roast Chicken with Duchesse Potatoes.=--Prepare and roast a pair of
chickens as directed in receipt No. 99; or for the stuffing named in
that receipt substitute No. 93; meantime boil one quart of potatoes, for
mashing, and make twelve heart-shaped _croutons_ or pieces of bread
fried in hot fat: lay the Duchesse potatoes around the chickens when it
is dished, and the _croutons_ in an outer circle, with the points
outward.
103. =Duchesse Potatoes.=--Mash one quart of hot boiled potatoes through a
fine colander with the potato masher; mix with them one ounce of butter,
one level teaspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of white pepper,
quarter of a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, and the yolks of two raw
eggs; pour the potato out on a plate, and then form it with a knife into
small cakes, two inches long and one inch wide; lay them on a buttered
tin, brush them over the top with an egg beaten up with a teaspoonful of
cold water, and color them golden brown in a moderate oven.
104. =Roast Duck with Watercresses.=--Prepare and roast a pair of ducks as
directed in receipt No. 99, and serve them with a border of a few
watercresses, and a salad bowl containing the rest of a quart, prepared
as in receipt No. 105.
105. =Romaine Sauce for Watercresses.=--Grate half an ounce of onion, and
use two tablespoonfuls of vinegar to wash it off the grater; to these
add a saltspoonful of sugar, a tablespoonful of lemon juice, three
tablespoonfuls of olive oil, six capers chopped fine, as much cayenne as
can be taken up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade, a level
saltspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper; mix well,
and use for dressing watercresses, or any other green salad. A few cold
boiled potatoes sliced and mixed with this dressing, and a head of
lettuce, makes a very nice potato salad.
106. =Roast Goose with Onion Sauce.=--Prepare a goose as directed in
receipt No. 99; stuff it with onion stuffing made according to receipt
No. 107; serve it with a gravy boat full of onion sauce made according
to receipt No. 108.
107. =Sage and Onion Stuffing.=--Pare six ounces of onion, and bring them
to a boil in three different waters; soak eight ounces of stale bread in
tepid water, and wring it dry in a towel; scald ten sage leaves; when
the onions are tender, which will be in about half an hour, chop them
with the sage leaves, add them to the bread, with one ounce of butter,
the yolks of two raw eggs, one level teaspoonful of salt, and half a
saltspoonful of pepper; mix and use.
108. =Onion Sauce.=--Prepare six ounces of onions as in receipt No. 107;
chop them fine, pass them through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and put
them into half a pint of boiling milk, with one ounce of butter, one
saltspoonful of salt, and one quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper.
109. =Roast Wild Duck.=--Prepare a pair of ducks as directed in receipt
No. 99; do not stuff them, but tie over the breasts slices of pork or
bacon; roast fifteen minutes to the pound; serve with gravy in a boat
and quarters of lemon on the same dish.
110. =Roast Partridge.=--Prepare a pair of partridges as in receipt No.
99, but do not stuff them; tie over the breasts slices of pork or bacon,
and roast about twenty-five minutes; serve with bread sauce.
111. =Bread Sauce.=--Peel and slice an onion weighing full an ounce,
simmer it half an hour in one pint of milk, strain it, and to the milk
add two ounces of stale bread, broken in small pieces, one ounce of
butter, one saltspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of
nutmeg and pepper mixed; strain, passing through a sieve with a spoon,
and serve hot.
CHAPTER VII.
BOILED DISHES.
Boiling is the most economical way of cooking, if properly done; there
are several important points to be considered in this connection. We
have already said that the best method of cooking meat is that which
preserves all its nourishing juices; if in addition to this we can
prepare it in such a way as to present a large available surface to the
action of the digestive juices, we would seem to have reached culinary
perfection. Judicious boiling accomplishes this: and we cannot do better
than to follow Liebig's plan to first plunge the meat into boiling
water, and boil it five minutes to coagulate the albumen to a sufficient
depth to form a crust upon the surface, and thus confine the juices, and
then add enough cold water to reduce the temperature to 158 deg. Fahr.,
if the meat is to be rare, or to 165 deg. Fahr., if it is to be well
done; and to maintain this gentle heat until the meat is tender. There is
comparatively little waste in boiling, from the fact that fat melts less
quickly than in broiling or roasting, and the covering of the pot
retards evaporation, while the water absorbed by the meat adds to its
bulk to a certain extent without detracting from its quality. A strainer
or plate should be placed in the bottom of the pot to prevent burning;
the pot should be skimmed clear as soon as it boils, and the subsequent
simmering should be gentle and steady; there should always be sufficient
water to cover the meat in order to keep it plump. Less body of heat is
required to boil in copper or iron pots, than in those made of tin,
especially if the latter have polished surfaces which throw off the
heat. The pot-liquor from boiled meat should always be strained into an
earthen jar and left to cool; the fat can then be taken off for kitchen
use, and the liquor utilized as the basis for some kind of soup.
112. =Leg of Mutton with Caper Sauce.=--Put a leg of mutton, weighing
about six pounds, on the fire in enough boiling hot water to cover it;
boil it for five minutes, skimming it as often as any scum rises, then
pour in enough cold water to reduce the heat to about 160 deg. Fahr.,
season with a tablespoonful of salt, and simmer the meat at that heat
until it is tender, allowing about twenty minutes cooking to each pound
of meat; if turnips are to be served with it as a garnish, choose them
of equal size, pare them smoothly, and boil them with the mutton; if the
vegetables are cooked first take them up without breaking, and set them
back off the fire, in a little of the mutton stock, to keep hot. Just
before dishing the meat, make a caper sauce, as directed in receipt No.
113; serve the mutton on a hot dish, with the turnips laid around it,
and send the sauce in a gravy-boat to the table with it.
113. =Caper Sauce.=--Put one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour in a
sauce-pan over the fire, and stir until smoothly melted; gradually pour
in half a pint of boiling water, season with one teaspoonful of salt,
and quarter of a saltspoonful of white pepper, and stir until the sauce
coats the spoon when you lift it out; take it from the fire, and stir in
two ounces of butter, and two tablespoonfuls of small capers, and serve
at once. _Do not permit the sauce to boil after you have added the
butter, as it may turn rancid._
114. =Boiled Ham with Madeira Sauce.=--Choose a ham by running a thin
bladed knife close to the bone, and if the odor which follows the cut is
sweet the ham is good; soak it in cold water for twenty-four hours,
changing the water once; scrape it well, and trim off any ragged parts;
put it in enough cold water to cover it, with an onion weighing about
one ounce, stuck with six cloves, and a bouquet made according to
directions in Chapter first, and boil it four hours. Take it from the
fire and let it cool in the pot-liquor. Then take it up carefully,
remove the skin, dust it with sifted bread or cracker crumbs, and brown
it in the oven. Serve it either hot or cold; if hot send it to the table
with a gravy boat full of Madeira sauce.
115. =Madeira Sauce.=--Put over the fire in a thick sauce-pan one pint of
Spanish sauce made according to receipt No. 44, or the same quantity of
any rich brown gravy, season with salt and pepper to taste; the
seasoning must depend on the flavor of the gravy; when scalding hot add
half a pint of Madeira wine, and stir till the sauce is thick enough to
coat the spoon; then strain through a fine sieve, and serve hot.
116. =Beef a la Mode Jardiniere.=--Daube a seven pound piece of round of
beef, by inserting, with the grain, pieces of larding pork, cut as long
as the meat is thick, and about half an inch square, setting the strips
of pork about two inches apart; this can be done either with a large
larding needle, called a _sonde_, or by first making a hole with the
carving-knife steel, and then thrusting the pork in with the fingers;
lay the beef in a deep bowl containing the _marinade_, or pickle, given
in receipt No. 117, and let it stand from two to ten days in a cool
place, turning it over every day. Then put it into a deep pot just large
enough to hold it, together with the _marinade_, and turn it
occasionally over the fire until it is nicely browned; cover it with hot
stock or water, and simmer it gently four hours. When it has been
cooking three hours cut about four ounces each of carrots and turnips in
the shape of olives; pare two dozen button onions; and cut one pint of
string beans in pieces one inch long; put all these vegetables on the
fire in cold water, in separate vessels, each containing a teaspoonful
of salt, and half a saltspoonful of sugar, and let them boil till
tender; then lay them in cold water to keep them white, until ready to
use them. When the meat is tender, take it up, and keep it warm; strain
the sauce in which it has cooked, and stir it over the fire until it is
thick enough to coat the spoon; drain the vegetables, and let them scald
up in the sauce, and pour all over the beef.
117. =Marinade.=--Cut in slices, four ounces each of carrot and onion, two
ounces of turnip, and one ounce of leeks; chop a quarter of an ounce
each of parsley and celery, if in season; slice one lemon; add to these
one level tablespoonful of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper, six cloves,
four allspice, one inch of stick cinnamon, two blades of mace, one gill
of oil and one of vinegar, half a pint of red wine, and one pint of
water. Mix all these ingredients thoroughly, and use the _marinade_ for
beef, game, or poultry, always keeping it in a cool place.
118. =Boiled Fowl with Oyster Sauce.=--Prepare a pair of fowls in
accordance with receipt No. 99, but do not stuff them; put them into
boiling water enough to cover them, with a level tablespoonful of salt
to each quart of water; skim until clear, and boil slowly until tender,
about fifteen minutes to a pound; when nearly done, make an oyster
sauce, as directed in receipt No. 119, and serve it on the same dish
with the fowls, sprinkling them with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
119. =Oyster Sauce.=--Blanch one quart of oysters by bringing them to a
boil in their own liquor; drain them, saving the liquor; wash them in
cold water, and set them away from the fire until you are ready to use
them; stir one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour together over the
fire until they form a smooth paste, strain into them enough of the
oyster liquor and that the chicken was boiled in to make a sauce as
thick as melted butter; season with a teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a
saltspoonful of white pepper, and the same of grated nutmeg; put in the
oysters, and serve.
CHAPTER VIII.
SALADS AND SALAD SAUCES.
"The very herbs of the field yield nourishment, and bread and water make
a feast for a temperate man," says Plato; and indeed the healthfulness
of fresh vegetables is well enough known in our day; we include under
this term not only the edible roots, but the young shoots of succulent
plants, rich in nitrates and mineral salts, which play an important part
in the preparation of salads. Americans are beginning to realize the
wealth of green food abounding in their gardens and fields, which they
have too long abandoned to their beasts of burden. We are wise in
letting the ox eat grass for us, but with the grass he too often
consumes tender herbs which might find a place on our own tables, to the
advantage of appetite and digestion. Dandelion, corn-salad, chicory,
mint, sorrel, fennel, marshmallows, tarragon, chives, mustard, and
cresses, and their numerous kind, grow wild, or can be cultivated with
but little trouble; and should find their way to favor in every family,
for with the oil and vinegar employed in dressing them, they promote
digestion, and purify the system; while the condiments used with them
are of decided medicinal value.
There is some degree of truth in the idea that a salad-maker is born,
not made, and yet with due care and delicate manipulation, almost any
deft-handed and neat-minded individual may become an expert salad
dresser. Most careful preparation of the green vegetables is
imperatively necessary to the production of a good salad; they must be
freshened in cool water, cleaned of all foreign matter, well drained
upon a clean napkin; and, above all, torn with the fingers, and not cut
with a knife. Then the various ingredients should be very delicately and
deliberately compounded, and withal by a quick and cunning hand, and the
result will be perfection. Below we give the receipts for a class of
salads best adapted for general use.
In the preparation of all salads only good oil should be used, as none
other will produce invariably satisfactory results. The very best salads
are often the result of the inspiration of the moment, when the
necessity arises for substituting some ingredient near at hand for one
not to be obtained, as in the case of the shad-roe salad mentioned
below. The formula called for Russian caviare, but Russian caviare was
not to be had, and a cold shad-roe was; the consequence was its
substitution and the alteration of one or two other ingredients, and the
result, we do not hesitate to say, was the production of one of the most
delicious salads ever invented. Let careful housekeepers not given to
these "foreign dishes" remember that they are not only appetizing but
economical.
120. =Spring Salad.=--Break one pint of fresh mustard tops, and one of
cresses, tear one good-sized lettuce, and chop two green onions; place
all lightly in a dish, and ornament it with celery and slices of boiled
beet. Use it with a cream dressing.
121. =Watercress Salad.=--Serve one quart of watercresses with one chopped
green onion, one teaspoonful of ground horseradish, one tablespoonful of
lemon juice, and two of oil, simply poured over.
122. =Mint Salad.=--Wash and clean the tender tops of one quart of
spearmint, lay them in a bowl with one tablespoonful of chopped chives,
and dress them with brown sugar and vinegar, or _sweet sauce_. This is
an excellent accompaniment for roast lamb.
123. =Cauliflower Salad.=--Place in a salad bowl one underdone
cauliflower, broken in branches, six small silver onions, six radishes,
ornament with the hearts of two white lettuces, and one dessertspoonful
each of chopped olives and capers; dress it with cream sauce, or plain
oil and vinegar.
124. =Dandelion Salad.=--This salad is a favorite European dish; one pint
of the plants are carefully washed and placed in a salad bowl with an
equal quantity of watercresses, three green onions or leeks sliced, a
teaspoonful of salt, and plenty of oil or cream dressing. This is one of
the most healthful and refreshing of all early salads.
125. =Asparagus Salad.=--Cut the green tops of two bunches of cold
asparagus one inch long, mix them with the leaves of one lettuce, a few
sprigs of mint, and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, ornament with tufts
of leaves, and serve with a Mayonnaise.
126. =Shad-roe Salad.=--Boil two roes, separate the grains by washing them
in vinegar, place them in a salad bowl, with one head of tender lettuce
and one pint of ripe tomatoes cut thin; dress them with two
tablespoonfuls each of oil, lemon juice, and strained tomato pulp,
seasoned with cayenne pepper.
127. =Green Pea Salad.=--Place one pint of cold boiled peas in a bowl with
one tablespoonful of powdered sugar; pour over them two tablespoonfuls
of oil and one of vinegar, and garnish with two cucumbers delicately
sliced. This salad is excellent with a Mayonnaise.
128. =Orange Salad.=--Divest four under-ripe oranges of all rind and pith,
slice them into a dish, season with a little cayenne pepper, add the
rind of one minced, the juice of one lemon and a tablespoonful of oil if
desired; decorate with tarragon tops.
129. =Spinach Salad.=--Place one pint of lettuce leaves, and one pint of
tender spinach tops in a bowl with a few fresh mint leaves, dress them
with oil and vinegar plain, and decorate them with sliced hard boiled
eggs. A ravigote sauce is excellent with this salad.
130. =Tomato Salad.=--Slice one quart of ripe tomatoes, sprinkle with
cayenne pepper, garnish with chervil or fennel, and dress with oil or
lemon juice three tablespoonfuls of each.
131. =Nasturtium Salad.=--Tear two white lettuces into the salad bowl,
sprinkle over them one tablespoonful of pickled nasturtiums, or capers,
dress with simple oil and vinegar, and garnish with fresh nasturtium
blossoms.
In mixing salad dressings, first, carefully stir together all the
ingredients except the oil and vinegar, and add these gradually and
alternately a few drops at a time.
132. =Cream Dressing.=--Where oil is disliked in salads the following
dressing will be found excellent. Rub the yolks of two hard boiled eggs
very fine with a spoon, incorporate with them a dessertspoonful of mixed
mustard, then stir in a tablespoonful of melted butter, half a teacupful
of thick cream, a saltspoonful of salt, and cayenne pepper enough to
take up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade, and a few drops of
anchovy or Worcestershire sauce; add very carefully sufficient vinegar
to reduce the mixture to a smooth creamy consistency; and pour it upon
lettuce carefully prepared for the table.
133. =English Salad Sauce.=--Break the yolk of one hard boiled egg with a
silver fork, add to it a saltspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of dry
mustard, a mashed mealy potato, two dessertspoonfuls each of cream and
oil, and one tablespoonful of vinegar; mix until smooth and firm.
134. =Remolade.=--Beat a fresh raw egg, add to it a teaspoonful of mixed
mustard, and three tablespoonfuls of oil; when smooth add just enough
vinegar to change the color slightly.
135. =Sweet Sauce.=--Mix well two tablespoonfuls of oil, the raw yolk of
one egg, a saltspoonful of salt, a half that quantity of pepper, one
tablespoonful of vinegar, and a dessertspoonful of moist sugar.
136. =Piquante Salad Sauce.=--Mix together the yolks of two hard boiled
and two raw eggs; add one tablespoonful each of cream and oil; and,
when smooth, enough Chili or tarragon vinegar to season sharply, about
two tablespoonfuls.
137. =Green Remolade.=--One dessertspoonful each of chopped tarragon,
chives, and sorrel, pounded in a mortar; add a saltspoonful of salt,
half that quantity of mignonette pepper, one tablespoonful of mixed
mustard, a gill of oil, and the raw yolks of three eggs; when pounded
quite smooth, dilute it with a little vinegar, and strain it through a
sieve.
138. =Oil Sauce.=--Pound in a mortar one shallot or two button onions, the
yolks of two hard boiled eggs, a saltspoonful of herbs, a tablespoonful
of vinegar, and enough oil to thicken it, about one gill.
139. =Ravigote Sauce.=--Clean and chop a few salad herbs, put one
teaspoonful of each into a small pan with a tablespoonful of meat jelly
or thick stock, and a little pepper and salt; stir till the jelly is
hot, and then add one tablespoonful of vinegar, and two of good oil;
when thoroughly mixed set the sauce-pan into a cool place, or pour out
the mixture on a dish until it is wanted for use.