CONDIMENTS AND BEVERAGES.
Condiments are simply seasoning or flavoring agents, and, though hardly
coming under the head of food, yet have an important part to play. As food
by their use is rendered more tempting, a larger amount is consumed, and
thus a delicate or uncertain appetite is often aided. In some cases they
have the power of correcting the injurious character of some foods.
Salt stands foremost. Vinegar, lemon-juice, and pickles owe their value to
acidity; while mustard, pepper black and red, ginger, curry-powder, and
horse-radish all depend chiefly upon pungency. Under the head of aromatic
condiments are ranged cinnamon, nutmegs, cloves, allspice, mint, thyme,
fennel, sage, parsley, vanilla, leeks, onions, shallots, garlic, and
others, all of them entering into the composition of various sauces in
general use.
Salt is the one thing indispensable. The old Dutch law condemned criminals
to a diet of unsalted food, the effects being said to be those of the
severest physical torture. Years ago an experiment tried near Paris
demonstrated the necessity of its use. A number of cattle were fed without
the ration of salt; an equal number received it regularly. At the end of a
specified time, the unsalted animals were found rough of coat, the hair
falling off in spots, the eyes wild, and the flesh hardly half the amount
of those naturally fed.
A class of extreme Grahamites in this country decry the use of salt, as
well as of any form of animal food; and I may add that the expression of
their thought in both written and spoken speech is as savorless as their
diet.
Salt exists, as we have already found, in the blood: the craving for it is
a universal instinct, even buffaloes making long journeys across the
plains to the salt-licks; and its use not only gives character to insipid
food, but increases the flow of the gastric juice.
Black pepper, if used profusely as is often done in American cooking,
becomes an irritant, and produces indigestion. Red pepper, or cayenne, on
the contrary, is a useful stimulant at times; but, as with mustard, any
over-use irritates the lining of the stomach.
So with spices and sweet herbs. There should be only such use of them as
will flavor well, delicately, and almost imperceptibly. No one flavor
should predominate, and only a sense of general savoriness rule. Extracts,
as of vanilla, lemon, bitter almond, &c., should be used with the greatest
care, and if possible always be added to an article after it cools, as the
heat wastes the strength.
BEVERAGES.
Tea and coffee are the most universal drinks, after water. The flavor of
both is due to a principle, _theine_ in tea, _caffeine_ in coffee, in
which both the good and the ill effects of these drinks are bound up. It
is hardly necessary the principles should have different names, as they
have been found by chemists to be identical; the essential spirit of cocoa
and chocolate,--_theobromine_,--though not identical, having many of the
same properties.
_Tea_ is valuable chiefly for its warming and comforting qualities. Taken
in moderation, it acts partly as a sedative, partly as a stimulant,
arresting the destruction of tissue, and seeming to invigorate the whole
nervous system. The water in it, even if impure, is made wholesome by
boiling, and the milk and sugar give a certain amount of real nourishment.
Nervous headaches are often cured by it, and it has, like coffee, been
used as an antidote in opium-poisoning.
Pass beyond the point of moderation, and it becomes an irritant, precisely
in the same way that an overdose of morphine will, instead of putting to
sleep, for just so much longer time prevent any sleep at all. The woman
who can not eat, and who braces her nerves with a cup of green tea,--the
most powerful form of the herb,--is doing a deeper wrong than she may be
able to believe. The immediate effect is delightful. Lightness,
exhilaration, and sense of energy are all there; but the re-action comes
surely, and only a stronger dose next time accomplishes the end desired.
Nervous headaches, hysteria in its thousand forms, palpitations, and the
long train of nervous symptoms, own inordinate tea and coffee drinking as
their parent. Taken in reasonable amounts, tea can not be said to be
hurtful; and the medium qualities, carefully prepared, often make a more
wholesome tea than that of the highest price, the harmful properties being
strongest in the best. If the water is soft, it should be used as soon as
boiled, boiling causing all the gases which give flavor to water to
escape. In hard water, boiling softens it. In all cases the water must be
fresh, and poured boiling upon the proper portion of tea,--the teapot
having first been well scalded with boiling water. Never boil any tea but
English-breakfast tea; for all others, simple steeping gives the drink in
perfection.
A disregard of these rules gives one the rank, black, unpleasant infusion
too often offered as tea; while, if boiled in tin, it becomes a species of
slow poison,--the tannic acid in the tea acting upon the metal, and
producing a chemical compound whose character it is hard to determine.
Various other plants possess the essential principle of tea, and are used
as such; as in Paraguay, where the Brazilian holly is dried, and makes a
tea very exhilarating in quality, but much more astringent.
The use of _Coffee_ dates back even farther than that of tea. Of the many
varieties, Mocha and Java are finest in flavor, and a mixture of one-third
Mocha with two-thirds Java gives the drink at its best. As in tea, there
are three chief constituents: (1) A volatile oil, giving the aroma it
possesses, but less in amount than that in tea. (2) Astringent matter,--a
modification of tannin, but also less than in tea. (3) Caffeine, now found
identical with theine, but varying in amount in different varieties of
coffee,--being in some three or four per cent, in others less.
The most valuable property of coffee is its power of relieving the
sensation of hunger and fatigue. To the soldier on active service, nothing
can take its place; and in our own army it became the custom often, not
only to drink the infusion, but, if on a hard march, to eat the grounds
also. In all cases it diminishes the waste of tissue. In hot weather it is
too heating and stimulating, acting powerfully upon the liver, and, by
producing over-activity of that organ, bringing about a general
disturbance.
So many adulterations are found in ground coffee, that it is safest for
the real coffee-lover to buy the bean whole. Roasting is usually more
perfectly done at the grocers', in their rotary roasters, which give every
grain its turn; but, by care and constant stirring, it can be accomplished
at home. Too much boiling dissipates the delicious aroma we all know; and
the best methods are considered to be those which allow no boiling, after
boiling water has been poured upon it, but merely a standing, to infuse
and settle. The old fashion, however, of mixing with an egg, and boiling a
few minutes, makes a coffee hardly inferior in flavor. In fact, the
methods are many, but results, under given conditions, much the same; and
we may choose urn, or old-fashioned tin pot, or a French biggin, with the
certainty that good coffee, well roasted, boiling water, and good judgment
as to time, will give always a delicious drink. Make a note of the fact
that long boiling sets free tannic acid, powerful enough to literally tan
the coats of the stomach, and bring on incurable dyspepsia. Often coffee
without milk can be taken, where, with milk, it proves harmful; but, in
all cases, moderation must rule. Taken too strong, palpitation of the
heart, vertigo, and fainting are the usual consequences.
_Cocoa_, or, literally, cacao, from the cacao-tree, comes in the form of a
thick seed, twenty or thirty of which make up the contents of a gourd-like
fruit, the spaces between being filled with a somewhat acid pulp. The
seeds, when freed from this pulp by various processes, are first dried in
the sun, and then roasted; and from these roasted seeds come various forms
of cocoa.
_Cocoa-shells_ are the outer husk, and by long boiling yield a pleasant
and rather nutritious drink. Cocoa itself is the nut ground to powder, and
sometimes mixed with sugar, the husk being sometimes ground with it.
In _Chocolate_--a preparation of cocoa--the cocoa is carefully dried and
roasted, and then ground to a smooth paste, the nuts being placed on a hot
iron plate, and so keeping the oily matter to aid in forming a paste.
Sugar and flavorings, as vanilla, are often added, and the whole pressed
into cakes. The whole substance of the nut being used, it is exceedingly
nutritious, and made more so by the milk and sugar added. Eaten with bread
it forms not only a nourishing but a hearty meal; and so condensed is its
form, that a small cake carried in traveling, and eaten with a cracker or
two, will give temporarily the effect of a full meal.
In a hundred parts of chocolate are found forty-eight of fatty matter or
cocoa-butter, twenty-one of nitrogenous matter, four of theobromine,
eleven of starch, three of cellulose, three of mineral matter, and ten of
water; there being also traces of coloring matter, aromatic essence, and
sugar. Twice as much nitrogenous, and twenty-five times as much fatty
matter as wheaten flour, make it a valuable food, though the excess of fat
will make it disagree with a very delicate stomach.
_Alcohol_ is last upon our list, and scientific men are still uncertain
whether or not it can in any degree be considered as a food; but we have
no room for the various arguments for and against. You all know, in part
at least, the effects of intemperance; and even the moderate daily drinker
suffers from clouded mind, irritable nerves, and ruined digestion.
This is not meant as an argument for total abstinence; but there are cases
where such abstinence is the only rule. In an inherited tendency to drink,
there is no other safe road; but to the man or woman who lives by law, and
whose body is in the best condition, wine in its many forms is a
permissible _occasional_ luxury, and so with beer and cider and the wide
range of domestic drinks. In old age its use is almost essential, but
always in moderation, individual temperament modifying every rule, and
making the best knowledge an imperative need. A little alcoholic drink
increases a delicate appetite: a great deal diminishes or takes it away
entirely, and also hinders and in many cases stops digestion altogether.
In its constant over-use the membranes of the stomach are gradually
destroyed, and every organ in the body suffers. In ales and beers there is
not only alcohol, but much nitrogenous and sugary matter, very fattening
in its nature. A light beer, well flavored with hops, is an aid to
digestion, but taken in excess produces biliousness. The long list of
alcoholic products it is not necessary to give, nor is it possible to
enter into much detail regarding alcohol itself; but there are one or two
points so important that they can not be passed by.
You will recall in a preceding chapter the description of the circulation
of the blood, and of its first passage through veins and arteries for
cleansing, before a second round could make it food for the whole complex
nervous system. Alcohol taken in excess, it has been proved in countless
experiments by scientific men, possesses the power of coagulating the
blood. The little corpuscles adhere in masses, and cannot force themselves
through the smaller vessels, and circulation is at once hindered. This,
however, is the secondary stage. At first, as many of you have had
occasion to notice, the face flushes, the eyes grow brighter, and thought
and word both come more freely. The heart beats far more rapidly, and the
speed increases in proportion to the amount of alcohol absorbed. The
average number of beats of the heart, allowing for its slower action
during sleep, is 100,000 beats per day. Under a small supply of alcohol
this rose to 127,000, and in actual intoxication to 131,000.
The flush upon the cheek is only a token of the same fact within; every
organ is congested. The brain has been examined under such circumstances,
and "looked as if injected with vermilion ... the membrane covering both
brains resembling a delicate web of coagulated red blood, so tensely were
its fine vessels engorged."
At a later stage the muscular power is paralyzed, the rule of mind over
body suspended, and a heavy, brutal sleep comes, long or short according
to the amount taken. This is the extreme of alcoholism, and death the only
ending to it, as a habitual condition. Alcohol seems a necessary evil; for
that its occasional beneficence can modify or neutralize the long list of
woe and crime and brutality following in its train, is more than doubtful.
"Whatever good can come from alcohol, or whatever evil, is all included in
that primary physiological and luxurious action of the agent upon the
nervous supply of the circulation.... If it be really a luxury for the
heart to be lifted up by alcohol, for the blood to course more swiftly
through the brain, for the thoughts to flow more vehemently, for words to
come more fluently, for emotions to rise ecstatically, and for life to
rush on beyond the pace set by nature; then those who enjoy the luxury
must enjoy it--with the consequences."
And now, at the end of our talks together, friends, there is yet another
word. Much must remain unsaid in these narrow limits; but they are wide
enough, I hope, to have given the key by which you may find easy entrance
to the mysteries we all may know, indeed must, if our lives are truly
lived. If through intemperance, in meat or drink, in feeling or thought,
you lessen bodily or mental power, you alone are accountable, whether
ignorant or not. Only in a never-failing self-control can safety ever be.
Temperance is the foundation of high living; and here is its definition,
by one whose own life holds it day by day:--
"Temperance is personal cleanliness; is modesty; is quietness; is
reverence for one's elders and betters; is deference to one's mother and
sisters; is gentleness; is courage; is the withholding from all which
leads to excess in daily living; is the eating and drinking only of that
which will insure the best body which the best soul is to inhabit: nay,
temperance is all these, and more."
_PART II._
STOCK AND SEASONING.
The preparation called STOCK is for some inscrutable reason a
stumbling-block to average cooks, and even by experienced housekeepers is
often looked upon as troublesome and expensive. Where large amounts of
fresh meat are used in its preparation, the latter adjective might be
appropriate; but stock in reality is the only mode by which every scrap of
bone or meat, whether cooked or uncooked, can be made to yield the last
particle of nourishment contained in it. Properly prepared and strained
into a stone jar, it will keep a week, and is as useful in the making of
hashes and gravies as in soup itself.
The first essential is a tightly-covered kettle, either tinned iron or
porcelain-lined, holding not less than two gallons; three being a
preferable size. Whether cooked or uncooked meat is used, it should be cut
into small bits, and all bones broken or sawn into short pieces, that the
marrow may be easily extracted.
To every pound of meat and bone allow one quart of cold water, one even
teaspoon of salt, and half a saltspoon of pepper. Let the meat stand till
the water is slightly colored with its juice; then put upon the fire, and
let it come slowly to a boil, skimming off every particle of scum as it
rises. The least neglect of this point will give a broth in which bits of
dark slime float about, unpleasant to sight and taste. A cup of cold
water, thrown in as the kettle boils, will make the scum rise more freely.
Let it boil steadily, but very slowly, allowing an hour to each pound of
meat. The water will boil away, leaving, at the end of the time specified,
not more than half or one-third the original amount. In winter this will
become a firm jelly, which can be used by simply melting it, thus
obtaining a strong, clear broth; or can be diluted with an equal quantity
of water, and vegetables added for a vegetable soup.
The meat used in stock, if boiled the full length of time given, has
parted with all its juices, and is therefore useless as food. If wanted
for hashes or croquettes, the portion needed should be taken out as soon
as tender, and a pint of the stock with it, to use as gravy. Strain, when
done, into a stone pot or crock kept for the purpose, and, when cold,
remove the cake of fat which will rise to the top. This fat, melted and
strained, serves for many purposes better than lard. If the stock is to be
kept several days, leave the fat on till ready to use it.
Fresh and cooked meat may be used together, and all remains of poultry or
game, and trimmings of chops and steaks, may be added, mutton being the
only meat which can not as well be used in combination; though even this,
by trimming off all the fat, may also be added. If it is intended to keep
the stock for some days, no vegetables should be added, as vegetable
juices ferment very easily. For clear soups they must be cooked with the
meat; and directions will be given under that head for amounts and
seasonings.
The secret of a savory soup lies in many flavors, none of which are
allowed to predominate; and, minutely as rules for such flavoring may be
given, only careful and frequent _tasting_ will insure success. Every
vegetable, spice, and sweet herb, curry-powders, catchups, sauces, dried
or fresh lemon-peel, can be used; and the simple stock, by the addition of
these various ingredients, becomes the myriad number of soups to be found
in the pages of great cooking manuals like Gouffée's or Francatelli's.
_Brown soups_ are made by frying the meat or game used in them till
thoroughly brown on all sides, and using dark spices or sauces in their
seasoning.
_White soups_ are made with light meats, and often with the addition of
milk or cream.
_Purées_ are merely thick soups strained carefully before serving, and
made usually of some vegetable which thickens in boiling, as beans, pease,
&c, though there are several forms of fish _purées_ in which the
foundation is thickened milk, to which the fish is added, and the whole
then rubbed through a common sieve, if a regular purée-sieve is not to be
had.
Browned flour is often used for coloring, but does not thicken a soup, as,
in browning it, the starchy portion has been destroyed; and it will not
therefore mix, but settles at the bottom. Burned sugar or caramel makes a
better coloring, and also adds flavor. With clear soups grated cheese is
often served, either Parmesan or any rich cheese being used. Onions give a
better flavor if they are fried in a little butter or dripping before
using, and many professional cooks fry all soup vegetables lightly.
Cabbage and potatoes should be parboiled in a separate water before
adding to a soup. In using wine or catchup, add only at the last moment,
as boiling dissipates the flavor. Unless a thick vegetable soup is
desired, always strain into the tureen. Rice, sago, macaroni, or any
cereal may be used as thickening; the amounts required being found under
the different headings. Careful skimming, long boiling, and as careful
removing of fat, will secure a broth especially desirable as a food for
children and the old, but almost equally so for any age; while many
fragments, otherwise entirely useless, discover themselves as savory and
nutritious parts of the day's supply of food.
* * * * *
SOUPS.
BEEP SOUP WITH VEGETABLES.
For this very excellent soup take two quarts of stock prepared beforehand,
as already directed. If the stock is a jelly, as will usually be the case
in winter, an amount sufficient to fill a quart-measure can be diluted
with a pint of water, and will then be rich enough. Add to this one small
carrot, a turnip, a small parsnip, and two onions, all chopped fine; a
cupful of chopped cabbage; two tablespoonfuls of barley or rice; and
either six fresh tomatoes sliced, or a small can of sealed ones. Boil
gently at least one hour; then add one saltspoonful each of pepper,
curry-powder, and clove. If the stock has been salted properly, no more
will be needed; but tasting is essential to secure just the right flavors.
Boil a few minutes longer, and serve without straining.
This is an especially savory and hearty soup, and the combinations of
vegetables may be varied indefinitely. A cup of chopped celery is an
exceedingly nice addition, or, if this is not to be had, a teaspoonful of
celery salt, or a saltspoonful of celery-seed. A lemon may also be sliced
thin, and added at the last. Where tomatoes are used, a little sugar is
always an improvement; in this case an even tablespoonful being
sufficient. If a thicker broth is desired, one heaped tablespoonful of
corn-starch or flour may be first dissolved in a little cold water; then a
cup of the hot broth gradually mixed with it, and the whole added to the
soup and boiled for five minutes.
CLEAR OR AMBER SOUP.
This soup needs careful attention. It may be made of beef alone, but, if
desired very rich for a special dinner, requires the addition of either a
chicken or a knuckle of veal. Allow, then, for the best soup, a
soup-bone,--the shin of beef being most desirable,--weighing from two to
three pounds; a chicken; a slice of fat ham; two onions, each stuck with
three cloves; one small carrot and parsnip; one stalk of celery; one
tablespoonful of salt; half a saltspoonful of pepper; and four quarts of
cold water.
Cut all the meat from the beef bone in small pieces; slice the onions; fry
the ham (or, if preferred, a thick slice of salt pork weighing not less
than two ounces); fry the onions a bright brown in this fat; add the
pieces of beef, and brown them also. Now put all the materials, bones
included, into the soup-kettle; add the cold water, and let it very
gradually come to a boil. Skim with the utmost care, and then boil slowly
and steadily for not less than five hours, six or even seven being
preferable. Strain, and set in a cold place. Next day remove the fat, and
put the soup on the fire one hour before it will be wanted. Break the
white and shell of an egg into a bowl; add a spoonful of cold water, and
beat a moment; add a little of the hot soup, that the white may mix more
thoroughly with the soup, and then pour it into the kettle. Let all boil
slowly for ten minutes; then strain, either through a jelly-bag, or
through a thick cloth laid in a sieve or colander. Do not stir, as this
would cloud the soup; and, if not clear and sparkling, strain again.
Return to the fire, and heat to boiling-point, putting a lemon cut in thin
slices, and, if liked, a glass of sherry, into the tureen before serving.
A poached egg, or a boiled egg from which the shell has been peeled, is
often served with each plate of this soup, which must be clear to deserve
its name.
WHITE SOUP.
Veal or chicken must be used for this soup; and the stock must always be
prepared the day beforehand, having been flavored with two chopped onions
and a cup of cut celery, or celery-seed and other seasoning, in the
proportions already given. On the day it is to be used, heat a quart of
milk; stir one tablespoonful of butter to a cream; add a heaping
tablespoonful of flour or corn-starch, a saltspoonful of mace, and the
same amount of white pepper. Stir into the boiling milk, and add to the
soup. Let all boil a moment, and then pour into the tureen. Three eggs,
beaten very light and stirred into the hot milk without boiling, make a
still richer soup. The bones of cold roast chicken or turkey may be used
in this way; and the broth of any meat, if perfectly clear, can serve as
foundation, though veal or chicken is most delicate.
MOCK TURTLE SOUP.
A calf's head is usually taken for this soup; but a set of calf's feet and
a pound of lean veal answer equally well. In either case, boil the meat in
four quarts of water for five hours, reducing the amount to two quarts,
and treating as stock for clear soup.
Remove all fat, and put on the fire next day, half an hour before dinner,
seasoning it with a saltspoonful each of mace, powdered thyme, or sweet
marjoram and clove. Melt a piece of butter the size of a walnut in a small
saucepan; add a heaping tablespoonful of flour, and stir both till a
bright brown. Add soup till a smooth thickening is made, and pour it into
the soup-kettle. Cut about half a pound of the cold meat into small square
pieces,--_dice_ they are called,--and put into the tureen. Make forcemeat
balls by chopping a large cup of meat very fine; season with a
saltspoonful each of pepper and thyme; mix in the yolk of a raw egg; make
into little balls the size of a hickory-nut, and fry brown in a little
butter. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the tureen with (or
without) a wine-glass of sherry. Pour in the soup, and serve. If egg-balls
are desired, make them of the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs rubbed fine.
Add the yolk of a raw egg, a tablespoonful of melted butter, a saltspoon
of salt and half a one of pepper, and flour enough to make a dough which
can be easily handled. Roll out; cut into little dice, and make each into
a ball by rolling between the palms of the hands. Boil five minutes in the
soup.
MUTTON BROTH.
Prepare and boil as directed for stock. The broth from a boiled leg of
mutton can be used, or any cheap pieces and trimmings from chops. One
small turnip and an onion will give flavoring enough. On the day it is to
be used, add to two quarts of broth half a cup of rice, and boil for half
an hour.
CHICKEN BROTH.
Even an old fowl which is unusable in any other way makes excellent broth.
Prepare as in any stock, and, when used, add a tablespoonful of rice to
each quart of broth, boiling till tender. A white soup will be found the
most savory mode of preparation, the plain broth with rice being best for
children and invalids.
TOMATO SOUP WITHOUT MEAT.
Materials for this soup are: one large can, or twelve fresh tomatoes; one
quart of boiling water; two onions; a small carrot; half a small turnip;
two or three sprigs of parsley, or a stalk of celery,--all cut fine, and
boiled one hour. As the water boils away, add more to it, so that the
quantity may remain the same. Season with one even tablespoonful each of
salt and sugar, and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Cream a tablespoonful of
butter with two heaping ones of flour, and add hot soup till it will pour
easily. Pour into the soup; boil all together for five minutes; then
strain through a sieve, and serve with toasted crackers or bread.
HASTY TOMATO SOUP.
Simple but excellent. One large can of tomatoes and one pint of water
brought to the boiling-point, and rubbed through a sieve. Return to the
fire. Add half a teaspoonful of soda, and stir till it stops foaming.
Season with one even tablespoonful of salt, two of sugar, one
saltspoonful of cayenne. Thicken with two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour,
and one of butter rubbed to a cream, with hot soup added till it pours
easily. Boil a pint of milk separately, and, when ready to use, pour into
the boiling tomato, and serve at once, as standing long makes the milk
liable to curdle.
OYSTER SOUP.
Two quarts of perfectly fresh oysters. Strain off the juice, and add an
equal amount of water, or, if they are solid, add one pint of water, and
then strain and boil. Skim carefully. Add to one quart of milk one
tablespoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and, if
thickening is liked, use same proportions as in hasty tomato soup, and set
to boil. When the milk boils, put in the oysters. The moment the edges
curl a little, which will be when they have boiled one minute, they are
done, and should be served at once. Longer boiling toughens and spoils
them. This rule may be used also for stewed oysters, omitting the
thickening; or they may be put simply into the boiling juice, with the
same proportions of butter, salt, and pepper, and cooked the same length
of time.
CLAM SOUP.
Fifty clams (hard or soft), boiled in a quart of water one hour. Take out,
and chop fine. Add one quart of milk, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and
one teaspoonful of salt. It will be necessary to taste, however, as some
clams are salter than others. Rub one tablespoonful of butter to a cream
with two of flour, and use as thickening. Add the chopped clams, and boil
five minutes. If the clams are disliked, simply strain through a sieve,
or cut off the hard part and use the soft only.
PURÉE, OF FISH, VEGETABLES, ETC.
One pound of fresh boiled salmon, or one small can of the sealed.
Pick out all bone and skin, and, if the canned is used, pour off every
drop of oil. Shred it as fine as possible. Boil one quart of milk,
seasoning with one teaspoonful of salt, and one saltspoonful each of mace
and white pepper, increasing the amount slightly if more is liked. Thicken
with two tablespoonfuls of flour, and one of butter rubbed to a cream,
with a cup of boiling water; add thickening and salmon, and boil two
minutes. Strain into the tureen through a purée sieve, rubbing as much as
possible of the salmon through with a potato-masher, and _serve very hot_.
All that will not go through can be mixed with an equal amount of
cracker-crumbs or mashed potato, made into small cakes or rolls, and fried
in a little butter for breakfast, or treated as croquettes, and served at
dinner.
This thickened milk is the foundation for many forms of fish and vegetable
purées. A pint of green pease, boiled, mashed, and added; or asparagus or
spinach in the same proportions can be used. _Lobster_ makes a purée as
delicious as that of salmon. Dry the "coral" in the oven; pound it fine,
and add to the milk before straining, thus giving a clear pink color. Cut
all the meat and green fat into dice, and put into the tureen, pouring the
hot milk upon it. Boiled _cod_ or _halibut_ can be used; but nothing is so
nice as the salmon, either fresh or canned. For a _Purée of Celery_ boil
one pint of cut celery in water till tender; then add to boiling milk,
and rub through the sieve. For _Potato Purée_ use six large or ten medium
sized potatoes, boiled and mashed fine; then stirred into the milk, and
strained; a large tablespoonful of chopped parsley being put in the
tureen. For a _Green-Corn Soup_ use the milk without straining; adding a
can of corn, or the corn cut from six ears of fresh boiled corn, and an
even tablespoonful of sugar, and boiling ten minutes. _Salsify_ can also
be used, the combinations being numberless, and one's own taste a safe
guide in making new ones.
TURTLE-BEAN SOUP.
Wash and soak over-night, in cold water, one pint of the black or turtle
beans. In the morning put on the fire in three quarts of cold water,
which, as it boils away, must be added to, to preserve the original
quantity. Add quarter of a pound of salt pork and half a pound of lean
beef; one carrot and two onions cut fine; one tablespoonful of salt; one
saltspoonful of cayenne. Cover closely, and boil four or five hours. Rub
through a colander, having first put in the tureen three hard-boiled eggs
cut in slices, one lemon sliced thin, and half a glass of wine. This soup
is often served with small sausages which have been boiled in it for ten
minutes, and then skinned, and used either whole or cut in bits. Cold
baked beans can also be used, in which case the meat, eggs, and wine are
omitted.
PEA SOUP.
One quart of dried pease, washed and soaked over-night; split pease are
best. In the morning put them on the fire with six quarts of cold water;
half a pound of salt pork; one even tablespoonful of salt; one
saltspoonful of cayenne; and one teaspoonful of celery-seed. Fry till a
bright brown three onions cut small, and add to the pease; cover closely,
and boil four or five hours. Strain through a colander, and, if not
perfectly smooth, return to fire, and add a thickening made of one heaping
teaspoonful of flour and an even one of butter, stirred together with a
little hot water and boiled five minutes. Beans can be used in precisely
the same way; and both bean and pea soups are nicer served with
_croutons_, or a thick slice of bread cut in dice, and fried brown and
crisp, or simply browned in the oven, and put into the tureen at the
moment of serving.
ONION SOUP.
Take three large onions, slice them very thin, and then fry to a bright
brown in a large spoonful of either butter or stock-fat, the latter
answering equally well. When brown, add half a teacupful of flour, and
stir constantly until red. Then pour in slowly one pint of boiling water,
stirring steadily till it is all in. Boil and mash fine four large
potatoes, and stir into one quart of boiling milk, taking care that there
are no lumps. Add this to the fried onions, with one teaspoonful of salt
and half a teaspoonful of white pepper. Let all boil for five minutes, and
then serve with toasted or fried bread. Simple as this seems, it is one of
the best of the vegetable soups, though it is made richer by the use of
stock instead of water.
BROWNED FLOUR FOR SOUPS.
Put a pint of sifted flour into a perfectly clean frying-pan, and stir and
turn constantly as it darkens, till the whole is an even dark brown. If
scorched at all, it is ruined, and should not be used for any purpose. As
a coloring for soups and gravies it is by no means as good as caramel or
burned sugar.
CARAMEL.
Half a pound of brown sugar; one tablespoonful of water. Put into a
frying-pan, and stir steadily over the fire till it becomes a deep dark
brown in color. Then add one cup of boiling water and one teaspoonful of
salt. Boil a minute longer, bottle, and keep corked. One tablespoonful
will color a clear soup, and it can be used for many jellies, gravies, and
sauces.
* * * * *
FISH.
The most essential point in choosing fish is their _freshness_, and this
is determined as follows: if the gills are red, the eyes prominent and
full, and the whole fish stiff, they are good; but if the eyes are sunken,
the gills pale, and the fish flabby, they are stale and unwholesome, and,
though often eaten in this condition, lack all the fine flavor of a
freshly-caught fish.
The fish being chosen, the greatest care is necessary in cleaning. If this
is properly done, one washing will be sufficient: the custom of allowing
fresh fish to lie in water after cleaning, destroys much of their flavor.
Fresh-water fish, especially the cat-fish, have often a muddy taste and
smell. To get rid of this, soak in water strongly salted; say, a cupful of
salt to a gallon of water, letting it heat gradually in this, and boiling
it for one minute; then drying it thoroughly before cooking.
All fish for boiling should be put into cold water, with the exception of
salmon, which loses its color unless put into boiling water. A
tablespoonful each of salt and vinegar to every two quarts of water
improves the flavor of all boiled fish, and also makes the flesh firmer.
Allow ten minutes to the pound after the fish begins to boil, and test
with a knitting-needle or sharp skewer. If it runs in easily, the fish can
be taken off. If a fish-kettle with strainer is used, the fish can be
lifted out without danger of breaking. If not, it should be thoroughly
dredged with flour, and served in a cloth kept for the purpose. In all
cases drain it perfectly, and send to table on a folded napkin laid upon
the platter.
In frying, fish should, like all fried articles, be _immersed_ in the hot
lard or drippings. Small fish can be fried whole; larger ones boned, and
cut in small pieces. If they are egged and crumbed, the _egg_ will form a
covering, hardening at once, and absolutely impervious to fat.
Pan-fish, as they are called,--flounders and small fish generally,--can
also be fried by rolling in Indian meal or flour, and browning in the fat
of salt pork.
Baking and broiling preserve the flavor most thoroughly.
Cold boiled fish can always be used, either by spicing as in the rule to
be given, or by warming again in a little butter and water. Cold fried or
broiled fish, can be put in a pan, and set in the oven till hot, this
requiring not over ten minutes; a longer time giving a strong, oily taste,
which spoils it. Plain boiled or mashed potatoes are always served with
fish where used as a dinner-course. If fish is boiled whole, do not cut
off either tail or head. The tail can be skewered in the mouth if liked;
or a large fish may be boiled in the shape of the letter S by threading a
trussing-needle, fastening a string around the head, then passing the
needle through the middle of the body, drawing the string tight and
fastening it around the tail.
BAKED FISH.
Bass, fresh shad, blue-fish, pickerel, &c., can be cooked in this way:--
See that the fish has been properly cleaned. Wash in salted water, and
wipe dry. For stuffing for a fish weighing from four to six pounds, take
four large crackers, or four ounces of bread-crumbs; quarter of a pound of
salt pork; one teaspoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper; a
tablespoonful of chopped parsley, or a teaspoonful of thyme. Chop half the
pork fine, and mix with the crumbs and seasoning, using half a cup of hot
water to mix them, or, if preferred, a beaten egg. Put this dressing into
the body of the fish, which is then to be fastened together with a skewer.
Cut the remainder of the pork in narrow strips, and lay it in gashes cut
across the back of the fish about two inches apart. Dredge thickly with
flour, using about two tablespoonfuls. Put a tin baking-sheet in the
bottom of a pan, as without it the fish can not be easily taken up. Lay
the fish on this; pour a cup of boiling water into the pan, and bake in a
hot oven for one hour, basting it very often that the skin may not crack;
and, at the end of half an hour, dredging again with flour, repeating this
every ten minutes till the fish is done. If the water dries away, add
enough to preserve the original quantity. When the fish is done, slide it
carefully from the tin sheet on to a hot platter. Set the baking-pan on
top of the stove. Mix a teaspoonful of flour with quarter of a cup of cold
water, and stir into the boiling gravy. A tablespoonful of walnut or
mushroom catchup, or of Worcestershire sauce, may be added if liked.
_Serve very hot._
Before sending a baked fish to table, take out the skewer. When done, it
should have a handsome brown crust. If pork is disliked, it may be omitted
altogether, and a tablespoonful of butter substituted in the stuffing.
Basting should be done as often as once in ten minutes, else the skin will
blister and crack. Where the fish is large, it will be better to sew the
body together after stuffing, rather than to use a skewer. The string can
be cut and removed before serving.
If any is left, it can be warmed in the remains of the gravy, or, if this
has been used, make a gravy of one cup of hot water, thickened with one
teaspoonful of flour or corn-starch stirred smooth first in a little cold
water. Add a tablespoonful of butter and any catchup or sauce desired.
Take all bones from the fish; break it up in small pieces, and stew not
over five minutes in the gravy. Or it can be mixed with an equal amount of
mashed potato or bread-crumbs, a cup of milk and an egg added, with a
teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper, and baked until
brown--about fifteen minutes--in a hot oven.
TO BOIL FISH.
General directions have already been given. All fish must boil _very_
gently, or the outside will break before the inside is done. In all cases
salt and a little vinegar, a teaspoonful each, are allowed to each quart
of water. Where the fish has very little flavor, Dubois' receipt for
boiling will be found exceedingly nice, and much less trouble than the
name applied by professional cooks to this method--_au court
bouillon_--would indicate. It is as follows:--
Mince a carrot, an onion, and one stalk of celery, and fry them in a
little butter. Add two or three sprigs of parsley, two tablespoonfuls of
salt, six pepper-corns, and three cloves. Pour on two quarts of boiling
water and one pint of vinegar, and boil for fifteen minutes. Skim as it
boils, and use, when cold, for boiling the fish. Wine can be used instead
of vinegar; and, by straining carefully and keeping in a cold place, the
same mixture can be used several times.
TO BROIL FISH.
If the fish is large, it should be split, in order to insure its being
cooked through; though notches may be cut at equal distances, so that the
heat can penetrate. Small fish may be broiled whole. The gridiron should
be well greased with dripping or olive oil. If a double-wire gridiron is
used, there will be no trouble in turning either large or small fish. If a
single-wire or old-fashioned iron one, the best way is to first loosen
with a knife any part that sticks; then, holding a platter over the fish
with one hand, turn the gridiron with the other, and the fish can then be
returned to it without breaking.
Small fish require a hot, clear fire; large ones, a more moderate one,
that the outside may not be burned before the inside is done. Cook always
with the _skin-side_ down at first, and broil to a golden brown,--this
requiring, for small fish, ten minutes; for large ones, from ten to
twenty, according to size. When done, pepper and salt lightly; and to a
two-pound fish allow a tablespoonful of butter spread over it. Set the
fish in the oven a moment, that the butter may soak in, and then serve. A
teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and half a lemon squeezed over shad or any
fresh fish, is a very nice addition. Where butter, lemon, and parsley are
blended beforehand, it makes the sauce known as _maître d'hôtel_ sauce,
which is especially good for broiled shad.
In broiling steaks or cutlets of large fish,--say, salmon, halibut, fresh
cod, &c.,--the same general directions apply. Where very delicate broiling
is desired, the pieces of fish can be wrapped in buttered paper before
laying on the gridiron; this applying particularly to salmon.
TO FRY FISH.
Small fish--such as trout, perch, smelts, &c.--may simply be rolled in
Indian meal or flour, and fried either in the fat of salt pork, or in
boiling lard or drippings. A nicer method, however, with fish, whether
small or in slices, is to dip them first in flour or fine crumbs, then in
beaten egg,--one egg, with two tablespoonfuls of cold water and half a
teaspoonful of salt, being enough for two dozen smelts; then rolling again
in crumbs or meal, and dropping into hot lard. The egg hardens instantly,
and not a drop of fat can penetrate the inside. Fry to a golden brown.
Take out with a skimmer; lay in the oven on a double brown paper for a
moment, and then serve.
_Filets_ of fish are merely flounders, or any flat fish with few bones,
boned, skinned, and cut in small pieces; then egged and fried.
To bone a fish of this sort, use a very sharp knife. The fish should have
been scaled, but not cleaned or cut open. Make a cut down the back from
head to tail. Now, holding the knife pressed close to the bone, cut
carefully till the fish is free on one side; then turn, and cut away the
other. To skin, take half the fish at a time firmly in one hand; hold the
blade of the knife flat as in boning, and run it slowly between skin and
flesh. Cut the fish in small diamond-shaped pieces; egg, crumb, and put
into shape with the knife; and then fry. The operation is less troublesome
than it sounds, and the result most satisfactory.
The _bones and trimmings_ remaining can either be stewed in a pint of
water till done, adding half a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of
pepper, and a tablespoonful of catchup; straining the gravy off, and
thickening with one heaping teaspoonful of flour dissolved in a little
cold water: or they can be broiled. For broiled bones, mix one
saltspoonful of mustard, as much cayenne as could be taken up on the point
of a penknife, a saltspoonful of salt, and a tablespoonful of vinegar. A
tablespoonful of olive-oil may be added, if liked. Lay the bone in this,
turning it till all is absorbed; broil over a quick fire; and _serve very
hot_.
Fish may also be fried in batter (p. 182), or these pieces, or _filets_,
may be laid on a buttered dish; a simple drawn butter or cream sauce (p.
182) poured over them; the whole covered with rolled bread or
cracker-crumbs, dotted with bits of butter, and baked half an hour. A cup
of canned mushrooms is often added.
TO STEW FISH.
Any fresh-water fish is good, cooked in this way; cat-fish which have been
soaked in salted water, to take away the muddy taste, being especially
nice. Cut the fish in small pieces. Boil two sliced onions in a cup of
water. Pour off this water; add another cup, and two tablespoonfuls of
wine, a saltspoonful of pepper, and salt to taste (about half a
teaspoonful). Put in the fish, and cook for twenty minutes. Thicken the
gravy with a heaping teaspoonful of flour, rubbed to a cream with a
teaspoonful of butter. If wine is not used, add a sprig of chopped parsley
and the juice of half a lemon.
These methods will be found sufficient for all fresh fish, no other
special rules being necessary. Experience and individual taste will guide
their application. If the fish is oily, as in the case of mackerel or
herring, broiling will always be better than frying. If fried, let it be
with very little fat, as their own oil will furnish part.
TO BOIL SALT CODFISH.
The large, white cod, which cuts into firm, solid slices, should be used.
If properly prepared, there is no need of the strong smell, which makes it
so offensive to many, and which comes only in boiling. The fish is now to
be had boned, and put up in small boxes, and this is by far the most
desirable form. In either case, lay in tepid water _skin-side up_, and
soak all night. If the skin is down, the salt, instead of soaking out,
settles against it, and is retained. Change the water in the morning, and
soak two or three hours longer; then, after scraping and cleaning
thoroughly, put in a kettle with tepid water enough to well cover it, and
set it where it will heat to the scalding-point, but _not boil_. Keep it
at this point, but never let it boil a moment. Let it cook in this way an
hour: two will do no harm. Remove every particle of bone and dark skin
before serving, sending it to table in delicate pieces, none of which
need be rejected. With egg sauce (p. 169), mashed or mealy boiled
potatoes, and sugar-beets, this makes the New-England "fish dinner" a
thing of terror when poorly prepared, but both savory and delicate where
the above rule is closely followed.
Fish-balls, and all the various modes of using salted cod, require this
preparation beforehand.
SALT COD WITH CREAM.
Flake two pounds of cold boiled salt cod very fine. Boil one pint of milk.
Mix butter the size of a small egg with two tablespoonfuls of flour, and
stir into it. Add a few sprigs of parsley or half an onion minced very
fine, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Butter a
quart pudding-dish. Put in alternate layers of dressing and fish till
nearly full. Cover the top with sifted bread or cracker crumbs, dot with
bits of butter, and brown in a quick oven about twenty minutes. The fish
may be mixed with an equal part of mashed potato, and baked; and not only
codfish, but any boiled _fresh_ fish, can be used, in which case double
the measure of salt given will be required.
SPICED FISH.
Any remains of cold fresh fish may be used. Take out all bones or bits of
skin. Lay in a deep dish, and barely cover with hot vinegar in which a few
cloves and allspice have been boiled. It is ready for use as soon as cold.
POTTED FISH.
Fresh herring or mackerel or shad may be used. Skin the fish, and cut in
small pieces, packing them in a small stone jar. Just cover with vinegar.
For six pounds of fish allow one tablespoonful of salt, and a dozen each
of whole allspice, cloves, and pepper-corns. Tie a thick paper over the
top of the cover, and bake five hours. The vinegar dissolves the bones
perfectly, and the fish is an excellent relish at supper.
FISH CHOWDER.
Three pounds of any sort of fresh fish may be taken; but fresh cod is
always best. Six large potatoes and two onions, with half a pound of salt
pork.
Cut the pork into dice, and fry to a light brown. Add the onions, and
brown them also. Pour the remaining fat into a large saucepan, or butter
it, as preferred. Put in a layer of potatoes, a little onion and pork, and
a layer of the fish cut in small pieces, salting and peppering each layer.
A tablespoonful of salt and one teaspoonful of pepper will be a mild
seasoning. A pinch of cayenne may be added, if liked. Barely cover with
boiling water, and boil for half an hour. In the meantime boil a pint of
milk, and, when at boiling-point, break into it three ship biscuit or half
a dozen large crackers; add a heaping tablespoonful of butter. Put the
chowder in a platter, and pile the softened crackers on top, pouring the
milk over all. Or the milk may be poured directly into the chowder; the
crackers laid in, and softened in the steam; and the whole served in a
tureen. Three or four tomatoes are sometimes added. In clam chowder the
same rule would be followed, substituting one hundred clams for the fish,
and using a small can of tomatoes if fresh ones were not in season.
STEWED OYSTERS.
The rule already given for _oyster soup_ is an excellent one, omitting the
thickening. A simpler one is to strain the juice from a quart of oysters,
and add an equal amount of water. Bring it to boiling-point; skim
carefully; season with salt to taste, this depending on the saltness of
the oysters, half a teaspoonful being probably enough. Add a saltspoonful
of pepper, a tablespoonful of butter, and a cup of milk. The milk may be
omitted, if preferred. Add the oysters. Boil till the edges curl, and no
longer. Serve at once, as they toughen by standing.
FRIED OYSTERS.
Choose large oysters, and drain thoroughly in a colander. Dry in a towel.
Dip first in sifted cracker-crumbs; then in egg, one egg beaten with a
large spoonful of cold water, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a
saltspoonful of pepper, being enough for two dozen oysters. Roll again in
crumbs, and drop into boiling lard. If a wire frying-basket is used, lay
them in this. Fry to a light brown. Lay them on brown paper a moment to
drain, and serve at once on a _hot platter_. As they require hardly more
than a minute to cook, it is better to wait till all are at the table
before beginning to fry. Oysters are very good, merely fried in a little
hot butter; but the first method preserves their flavor best.
SCALLOPED OYSTERS.
One quart of oysters; one large breakfast cup of cracker or bread crumbs,
the crackers being nicer if freshly toasted and rolled hot; two large
spoonfuls of butter; one teaspoonful of salt; half a teaspoonful of
pepper; one saltspoonful of mace. Mix the salt, pepper, and mace together.
Butter a pudding-dish; heat the juice with the seasoning and butter,
adding a teacup of milk or cream if it can be had, though water will
answer. Put alternate layers of crumbs and oysters, filling the dish in
this way. Pour the juice over, and bake in a quick oven twenty minutes. If
not well browned, heat a shovel red-hot, and brown the top with that;
longer baking toughening the oysters.
OYSTERS FOR PIE OR PATTIES.
One quart of oysters put on to boil in their own liquor. Turn them while
boiling into a colander to drain. Melt a piece of butter the size of an
egg in the saucepan, add a tablespoonful of sifted flour, and stir one
minute. Pour in the oyster liquor slowly, which must be not less than a
large cupful. Beat the yolks of two eggs thoroughly with a saltspoonful of
salt, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and one of mace. Add to the boiling
liquor, but do not let it boil. Put in the oysters, and either use them to
fill a pie, the form for which is already baked, for patties for dinner,
or serve them on thin slices of buttered toast for breakfast or tea.
SPICED OR PICKLED OYSTERS.
To a gallon of large, fine oysters, allow one pint of cider or white-wine
vinegar; one tablespoonful of salt; one grated nutmeg; eight blades of
mace; three dozen cloves, and as many whole allspice; and a saltspoon even
full of cayenne pepper. Strain the oyster juice, and bring to the
boiling-point in a porcelain-lined kettle. Skim carefully as it boils up.
Add the vinegar, and skim also, throwing in the spices and salt when it
has boiled a moment. Boil all together for five minutes, and then pour
over the oysters, adding a lemon cut in very thin slices. They are ready
for the table next day, but will keep a fortnight or more in a cold place.
If a sharp pickle is desired, use a quart instead of a pint of vinegar.
SMOTHERED OYSTERS (_Maryland fashion_).
Drain all the juice from a quart of oysters. Melt in a frying-pan a piece
of butter the size of an egg, with as much cayenne pepper as can be taken
up on the point of a penknife, and a saltspoonful of salt. Put in the
oysters, and cover closely. They are done as soon as the edges ruffle.
Serve on thin slices of buttered toast as a breakfast or supper dish. A
glass of sherry is often added.
OYSTER OR CLAM FRITTERS.
Chop twenty-five clams or oysters fine, and mix them with a batter made as
follows: One pint of flour, in which has been sifted one heaping
teaspoonful of baking-powder and half a teaspoonful of salt; one large cup
of milk, and two eggs well beaten. Stir eggs and milk together; add the
flour slowly; and, last, the clams or oysters. Drop by spoonfuls into
boiling lard. Fry to a golden brown, and serve at once; or they may be
fried like pancakes in a little hot fat. Whole clams or oysters may be
used instead of chopped ones, and fried singly.
TO BOIL LOBSTERS OR CRABS.
Be sure that the lobster is alive, as, if dead, it will not be fit to use.
Have water boiling in a large kettle, and, holding the lobster or crab by
the back, drop it in head foremost; the reason for this being, that the
animal dies instantly when put in in this way. An hour is required for a
medium-sized lobster, the shell turning red when done. When cold, the meat
can be used either plain or in salad, or cooked in various ways. A
can-opener will be found very convenient in opening a lobster.
STEWED OR CURRIED LOBSTER.
Cut the meat into small bits, and add the green fat, and the coral which
is found only in the hen-lobster. Melt in a saucepan one tablespoonful of
butter and a heaping tablespoonful of flour. Stir smoothly together,
adding slowly one large cup of either stock or milk, a saltspoonful of
mace, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Put in
the lobster, and cook for ten minutes. For curry, simply add one
teaspoonful of curry-powder. This stewed lobster may also be put in the
shell of the back, which has been cleaned and washed, bread or cracker
crumbs sprinkled over it, and browned in the oven; or it may be treated as
a scallop, buttering a dish, and putting in alternate layers of crumbs and
lobster, ending with crumbs. Crabs, though more troublesome to extract
from the shell, are almost equally good, treated in any of the ways given.
* * * * *
MEATS.
The qualities and characteristics of meats have already been spoken of in
Part I., and it is necessary here to give only a few simple rules for
marketing.
The best BEEF is of a clear red color, slightly marbled with fat, and the
fat itself of a clear white. Where the beef is dark red or bluish, and the
fat yellow, it is too old, or too poorly fed, to be good. The sirloin and
ribs, especially the sixth, seventh, and eighth, make the best
roasting-pieces. The ribs can be removed and used for stock, and the beef
rolled or skewered firmly, making a piece very easily carved, and almost
as presentable the second day as the first. For steaks sirloin is nearly
as good, and much more economical, than porter-house, which gives only a
small eatable portion, the remainder being only fit for the stock-pot. If
the beef be very young and tender, steaks from the round may be used; but
these are usually best stewed. Other pieces and modes of cooking are given
under their respective heads.
MUTTON should be a light, clear red, and the fat very white and firm. It
is always improved by keeping, and in cold weather can be hung for a
month, if carefully watched to see that it has not become tainted. Treated
in this way, well-fed mutton is equal to venison. If the fat is deep
yellow, and the lean dark red, the animal is too old; and no keeping will
make it really good eating. Four years is considered the best age for
prime mutton.
VEAL also must have clear white fat, and should be fine in grain. If the
kidney is covered with firm white fat, it indicates health, and the meat
is good; if yellow, it is unwholesome, and should not be eaten. The loin
and fillet are used in roasting, and are the choice pieces, the breast
coming next, and the neck and ribs being good for stewing and fricassees.
PORK should have fine, white fat, and the meat should be white and smooth.
Only country-fed pork should ever be eaten, the pig even then being
liable to diseases unknown to other animals, and the meat, even when
carefully fed, being at all times less digestible than any sort. _Bacon_,
carefully cured and smoked, is considered its most wholesome form.
POULTRY come last. The best _Turkeys_ have black legs; and, if young, the
toes and bill are soft and pliable. The combs of fowls should be bright
colored, and the legs smooth.
_Geese_, if young and fine, are plump in the breast, have white soft fat,
and yellow feet.
_Ducks_ are chosen by the same rule as geese, and are firm and thick on
the breast.
_Pigeons_ should be fresh, the breast plump, and the feet elastic. Only
experience can make one familiar with other signs; and a good butcher can
usually be trusted to tide one over the season of inexperience, though the
sooner it ends the better for all parties concerned.
BOILED MEATS AND STEWS.
All meats intended to be boiled and served whole at table must be put into
_boiling water_, thus following an entirely opposite rule from those
intended for soups. In the latter, the object being to extract all the
juice, cold water must always be used first, and then heated with the meat
in. In the former, all the juice is to be kept in; and, by putting into
boiling water, the albumen of the meat hardens on the surface and makes a
case or coating for the meat, which accomplishes this end. Where something
between a soup and plain boiled meat is desired, as in _beef bouilli_, the
meat is put on in cold water, which is brought to a boil _very quickly_,
thus securing good gravy, yet not robbing the meat of all its juices.
With corned or salted meats, tongue, &c., cold water must be used, and
half an hour to the pound allowed. If to be eaten cold, such meats should
always be allowed to cool in the water in which they were boiled; and this
water, if not too salt, can be used for dried bean or pea soups.
BEEF À LA MODE.
Six or eight pounds of beef from the round, cut thick. Take out the bone,
trim off all rough bits carefully, and rub the meat well with the
following spicing: One teaspoonful each of pepper and ground clove,
quarter of a cup of brown sugar, and three teaspoonfuls of salt. Mix these
all together, and rub thoroughly into the beef, which must stand
over-night.
Next morning make a stuffing of one pint of bread or cracker crumbs; one
large onion chopped fine; a tablespoonful of sweet marjoram or thyme; half
a teaspoonful each of pepper and ground clove, and a heaping teaspoonful
of salt. Add a large cup of hot water, in which has been melted a heaping
tablespoonful of butter, and stir into the crumbs. Beat an egg light, and
mix with it. If there is more than needed to fill the hole, make gashes in
the meat, and stuff with the remainder. Now bind into shape with a strip
of cotton cloth, sewing or tying it firmly. Put a trivet or small iron
stand into a soup-pot, and lay the beef upon it. Half cover it with cold
water; put in two onions stuck with three cloves each, a large
tablespoonful of salt, and a half teaspoonful of pepper; and stew very
slowly, allowing half an hour to the pound, and turning the meat twice
while cooking. At the end of this time take off the cloth, and put the
meat, which must remain on the trivet, in a roasting-pan. Dredge it
quickly with flour, set into a hot oven, and brown thoroughly. Baste once
with the gravy, and dredge again, the whole operation requiring about half
an hour. The water in the pot should have been reduced to about a pint.
Pour this into the roasting-pan after the meat is taken up, skimming off
every particle of fat. Thicken with a heaping tablespoonful of browned
flour, stirred smooth in a little cold water, and add a tablespoonful of
catchup and two of wine, if desired, though neither is necessary. Taste,
as a little more salt may be required.
The thick part of a leg of veal may be treated in the same manner, both
being good either hot or cold; and a round of beef may be also used
without spicing or stuffing, and browned in the same way, the remains
being either warmed in the gravy or used for hashes or croquettes.
BEEF À LA MODE (_Virginia fashion_).
Use the round, as in the foregoing receipt, and remove the bone; and for
eight pounds allow half a pint of good vinegar; one large onion minced
fine; half a teaspoonful each of mustard, black pepper, clove, and
allspice; and two tablespoonfuls of brown sugar. Cut half a pound of fat
salt pork into lardoons, or strips, two or three inches long and about
half an inch square. Boil the vinegar with the onion and seasoning, and
pour over the strips of pork, and let them stand till cold. Then pour off
the liquor, and thicken it with bread or cracker crumbs. Make incisions in
the beef at regular intervals,--a carving-steel being very good for this
purpose,--and push in the strips of pork. Fill the hole from which the
bone was taken with the rest of the pork and the dressing, and tie the
beef firmly into shape. Put two tablespoonfuls of dripping or lard in a
frying-pan, and brown the meat on all sides. This will take about half an
hour. Now put the meat on a trivet in the kettle; half cover with boiling
water; and add a tablespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of pepper, an onion
and a small carrot cut fine, and two or three sprigs of parsley. Cook very
slowly, allowing half an hour to a pound, and make gravy by the directions
given for it in the preceding receipt.
_Braised beef_ is prepared by either method given here for _à la mode_
beef, but cooked in a covered iron pan, which comes for the purpose, and
which is good also for beef _à la mode_, or for any tough meat which
requires long cooking, and is made tenderer by keeping in all the steam.
BOILED MUTTON.
A _shoulder_, or _fore-quarter_, of mutton, weighing five or six pounds,
will boil in an hour, as it is so thin. The _leg_, or _hind-quarter_,
requires twenty minutes to the pound; though, if very young and tender, it
will do in less. It can be tried with a knitting-needle to see if it is
tender. It is made whiter and more delicate by boiling in a cloth, but
should be served without it. Boil in well-salted water according to the
rule already given. Boiled or mashed turnips are usually served with it,
and either drawn butter or caper sauce as on p. 169.
_Lamb_ may be boiled in the same manner, but is better roasted; and so
also with _veal_.
BOILED CORNED BEEF.
If to be eaten hot, the _round_ is the best piece. If cold and pressed,
what are called "_plate pieces_"--that is, the brisket, the flank, and
the thin part of the ribs--may be used. Wash, and put into cold water,
allowing half an hour to a pound after it begins to boil. If to be eaten
cold, let it stand in the water till nearly cold, as this makes it richer.
Take out all bones from a thin piece; wrap in a cloth, and put upon a
large platter. Lay a tin sheet over it, and set on a heavy
weight,--flat-irons will do,--and let it stand over-night. Or the meat may
be picked apart with a knife and fork; the fat and lean evenly mixed and
packed into a pan, into which a smaller pan is set on top of the meat, and
the weight in this. Thus marbled slices may be had. All corned beef is
improved by pressing, and all trimmings from it can be used in hash or
croquettes.
BOILED TONGUE.
Smoked tongue will be found much better than either fresh or pickled
tongues.
Soak it over night, after washing it. Put on in cold water, and boil
steadily four hours. Then take out; peel off the skin, and return to the
water to cool. Cut in _lengthwise_ slices, as this makes it tenderer. The
root of the tongue may be chopped very fine, and seasoned like deviled ham
(p. 265).
BOILED HAM.
Small hams are better in flavor and quality than large ones. A brush
should be kept to scrub them with, as it is impossible to get them clean
without it. Soak over-night in plenty of cold water. Next morning, scrape,
and trim off all the hard black parts, scrubbing it well. Put on to boil
in cold water. Let it heat very gradually. Allow half an hour to the
pound. When done, take from the water, skin, and return, letting it remain
till cold. Dot with spots of black pepper, and cover the knuckle with a
frill of white paper. It is much nicer, whether eaten hot or cold, if
covered with bread or cracker crumbs and browned in the oven. The fat is
useless, save for soap-grease. In carving, cut down in thin slices through
the middle. The knuckle can always be deviled (p. 265). A _leg of pork_
which has simply been corned is boiled in the same way as ham, soaking
over-night, and browning in the oven or not, as liked.
IRISH STEW.
This may be made of either beef or mutton, though mutton is generally
used. Reject all bones, and trim off all fat and gristle, reserving these
for the stock-pot. Cut the meat in small pieces, not over an inch square,
and cover with cold water. Skim carefully as it boils up, and see that the
water is kept at the same level by adding as it boils away. For two pounds
of meat allow two sliced onions, eight good-sized potatoes, two
teaspoonfuls of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Cover closely, and
cook for two hours. Thicken the gravy with one tablespoonful of flour
stirred smooth in a little cold water, and serve very hot. The trimmings
from a fore-quarter of mutton will be enough for a stew, leaving a
well-shaped roast besides. If beef is used, add one medium-sized carrot
cut fine, and some sprigs of parsley. Such a stew would be called by a
French cook a _ragoût_, and can be made of any pieces of meat or poultry.
WHITE STEW, OR FRICASSEE.
Use _veal_ for this stew, allowing an hour to a pound of meat, and the
same proportions of salt and pepper as in the preceding receipt, adding a
saltspoonful of mace. Thicken, when done, with one heaping tablespoonful
of flour rubbed smooth with a piece of butter the size of an egg, and one
cup of hot milk added just at the last. A cauliflower nicely boiled, cut
up, and stewed with it a moment, is very nice.
This stew becomes a _pot-pie_ by making a nice biscuit-crust, as on p.
164; cutting it out in rounds, and laying in the kettle half an hour
before the stew is done. Cover closely, and do not turn them. Lay them,
when done, around the edge of the platter; pile the meat in the centre,
and pour over it the thickened gravy. Two beaten eggs are sometimes added,
and it is then called a _blanquette_ of veal.
BROWN STEW OR FRICASSEE.
To make these stews the meat is cut in small pieces, and browned on each
side in a little hot dripping; or, if preferred, quarter of a pound of
pork is cut in thin slices and fried crisp, the fat from it being used for
browning. Cover the meat with warm water when done. If a stew, any
vegetables liked can be added; a fricassee never containing them, having
only meat and a gravy, thickened with browned flour and seasoned in the
proportions already given. Part of a can of mushrooms may be used with a
beef stew, and a glass of wine added; this making a _ragoût with
mushrooms_. The countless receipts one sees in large cook-books for
ragoûts and fricassees are merely variations in the flavoring of simple
stews; and, after a little experimenting, any one can improvise her own,
remembering that the strongly-flavored vegetables (as carrots) belong
especially to dark meats, and the more delicate ones to light. Fresh pork
is sometimes used in a white fricassee, in which case a little powdered
sage is better than mace as a seasoning.
_Curries_ can be made by adding a heaping teaspoonful of curry-powder to a
brown fricassee, and serving with boiled rice; put the rice around the
edge of the platter, and pour the curry in the middle. Chicken makes the
best curry; but veal is very good. In a genuine East-Indian curry,
lemon-juice and grated cocoa-nut are added; but it is an unwholesome
combination.
BEEF ROLLS.
Two pounds of steak from the round, cut in very thin slices. Trim off all
fat and gristle, and cut into pieces about four inches square. Now cut
_very thin_ as many slices of salt pork as you have slices of steak,
making them a little smaller. Mix together one teaspoonful of salt and one
of thyme or summer savory, and one saltspoonful of pepper. Lay the pork on
a square of steak; sprinkle with the seasoning; roll up tightly, and tie.
When all are tied, put the bits of fat and trimmings into a hot
frying-pan, and add a tablespoonful of drippings. Lay in the rolls, and
brown on all sides, which will require about ten minutes; then put them in
a saucepan. Add to the fat in the pan a heaping tablespoonful of flour,
and stir till a bright brown. Pour in gradually one quart of boiling
water, and then strain it over the beef rolls. Cover closely, and cook two
hours, or less if the steak is tender, stirring now and then to prevent
scorching. Take off the strings before serving. These rolls can be
prepared without the pork, and are very nice; or a whole beefsteak can be
used, covering it with a dressing made as for stuffed veal, and then
rolling; tying at each end, browning, and stewing in the same way. This
can be eaten cold or hot; while the small rolls are much better hot. If
wanted as a breakfast dish, they can be cooked the day beforehand, left in
the gravy, and simply heated through next morning.
BRUNSWICK STEW.
Two squirrels or small chickens; one quart of sliced tomatoes; one pint of
sweet corn; one pint of lima or butter beans; one quart of sliced
potatoes; two onions; half a pound of fat salt pork.
Cut the pork in slices, and fry brown; cut the squirrels or chickens in
pieces, and brown a little, adding the onion cut fine. Now put all the
materials in a soup-pot; cover with two quarts of boiling water, and
season with one tablespoonful of salt, one of sugar, and half a
teaspoonful of cayenne pepper. Stew slowly for four hours. Just before
serving, cream a large spoonful of butter with a heaping tablespoonful of
flour; thin with the broth, and pour in, letting all cook five minutes
longer. To be eaten in soup-plates.
ROASTED MEATS.
Our roasted meats are really _baked_ meats; but ovens are now so well made
and ventilated, that there is little difference of flavor in the two
processes.
Allow ten minutes to the pound if the meat is liked rare, and from twelve
to fifteen, if well done. It is always better to place the meat on a
trivet or stand made to fit easily in the roasting-pan, so that it may not
become sodden in the water used for gravy. Put into a hot oven, that the
surface may soon sear over and hold in the juices, enough of which will
escape for the gravy. All rough bits should have been trimmed off, and a
joint of eight or ten pounds rubbed with a tablespoonful of salt. Dredge
thickly with flour, and let it brown on the meat before basting it, which
must be done as often as once in fifteen minutes. Pepper lightly. If the
water in the pan dries away, add enough to have a pint for gravy in the
end. Dredge with flour at least twice, as this makes a crisp and
relishable outer crust. Take up the meat, when done, on a hot platter.
Make the gravy in the roasting-pan, by setting it on top of the stove, and
first scraping up all the browning from the corners and bottom. If there
is much fat, pour it carefully off. If the dredging has been well managed
while roasting, the gravy will be thick enough. If not, stir a teaspoonful
of browned flour smooth in cold water, and add. Should the gravy be too
light, color with a teaspoonful of caramel, and taste to see that the
seasoning is right.
_Mutton_ requires fifteen minutes to the pound, unless preferred rare, in
which case ten will be sufficient. If a tin kitchen is used, fifteen
minutes for beef, and twenty for mutton, will be needed.
STUFFED LEG OF MUTTON.
Have the butcher take out the first joint in a leg of mutton; or it can be
done at home by using a very sharp, narrow-bladed knife, and holding it
close to the bone. Rub in a tablespoonful of salt, and then fill with a
dressing made as follows: One pint of fine bread or cracker crumbs, in
which have been mixed dry one even tablespoonful of salt and one of summer
savory or thyme, and one teaspoonful of pepper. Chop one onion very fine,
and add to it, with one egg well beaten. Melt a piece of butter the size
of an egg in a cup of hot water, and pour on the crumbs. If not enough to
thoroughly moisten them, add a little more. Either fasten with a skewer,
or sew up, and roast as in previous directions. Skim all the fat from the
gravy, as the flavor of mutton-fat is never pleasant. A tablespoonful of
currant jelly may be put into the gravy-tureen, and the gravy strained
upon it. The meat must be basted, and dredged with flour, as carefully as
beef. Both the shoulder and saddle are roasted in the same way, but
without stuffing; and the leg may be also, though used to more advantage
with one.
Lamb requires less time; a leg weighing six pounds needing but one hour,
or an hour and a quarter if roasted before an open fire.
ROAST VEAL.
Veal is so dry a meat, that a moist dressing is almost essential. This
dressing may be made as in the previous receipt; or, instead of butter,
quarter of a pound of salt pork can be chopped fine, and mixed with it. If
the loin is used,--and this is always best,--take out the bone to the
first joint, and fill the hole with dressing, as in the leg of mutton. In
using the breast, bone also, reserving the bones for stock; lay the
dressing on it; roll, and tie securely. Baste often. Three or four thin
slices of salt pork may be laid on the top; or, if this is not liked, melt
a tablespoonful of butter in a cup of hot water, and baste with that.
Treat it as in directions for roasted meats, but allow a full half-hour to
the pound, and make the gravy as for beef. Cold veal makes so many nice
dishes, that a large piece can always be used satisfactorily.
ROAST PORK.
Bone the leg as in mutton, and stuff; substituting sage for the sweet
marjoram, and using two onions instead of one. Allow half an hour to the
pound, and make gravy as for roast beef. Spare-ribs are considered most
delicate; and both are best eaten cold, the hot pork being rather gross,
and, whether hot or cold, less digestible than any other meat.
ROAST VENISON.
In winter venison can be kept a month; and, in all cases, it should hang
in a cold place at least a month before using. Allow half an hour to a
pound in roasting, and baste very often. Small squares of salt pork are
sometimes inserted in incisions made here and there, and help to enrich
the gravy. In roasting a haunch it is usually covered with a thick paste
of flour and water, and a paper tied over this, not less than four hours
being required to roast it. At the end of three, remove the paper and
paste, dredge and baste till well browned. The last basting is with a
glass of claret; and this, and half a small glass of currant jelly are
added to the gravy. Venison steaks are treated as in directions for
broiled meats.
BAKED PORK AND BEANS.
Pick over one quart of dried beans, what is known as "navy beans" being
the best, and soak over-night in plenty of cold water.
Turn off the water in the morning, and put on to boil in cold water till
tender,--at least one hour. An earthen pot is always best for this, as a
shallow dish does not allow enough water to keep them from drying. Drain
off the water. Put the beans in the pot. Take half a pound of salt pork,
fat and lean together being best. Score the skin in small squares with a
knife, and bury it, all but the surface of this rind, in the beans. Cover
them completely with boiling water. Stir in one tablespoonful of salt, and
two of good molasses. Cover, and bake slowly,--not less than five
hours,--renewing the water if it bakes away. Take off the cover an hour
before they are done, that the pork may brown a little. If pork is
disliked, use a large spoonful of butter instead. Cold baked beans can be
warmed in a frying-pan with a little water, and are even better than at
first, or they can be used in a soup as in directions given. A teaspoonful
of made mustard is sometimes stirred in, and gives an excellent flavor to
a pot of baked beans. Double the quality if the family is large, as they
keep perfectly well in winter, the only season at which so hearty a dish
is required, save for laborers.
BROILED AND FRIED MEATS.
If the steak is tender, never pound or chop it. If there is much fat, trim
it off, or it will drop on the coals and smoke. If tough, as in the
country is very likely to be the case, pounding becomes necessary, but a
better method is to use the chopping-knife; not chopping through, but
going lightly over the whole surface. Broken as it may seem, it closes at
once on the application of a quick heat.
The best _broiler_ is by all means a light wire one, which can be held in
the hand and turned quickly. The fire should be quick and hot. Place the
steak in the centre of the broiler, and hold it close to the coals an
instant on each side, letting both sear over before broiling really
begins.
Where a steak has been cut three-quarters of an inch thick, ten minutes
will be sufficient to cook it rare, and fifteen will make it well done.
Turn almost constantly, and, when done, serve at once on a _hot dish_.
Never salt broiled meats beforehand, as it extracts the juices. Cut up a
tablespoonful of butter, and let it melt on the hot dish, turning the
steak in it once or twice. Salt and pepper lightly, and, if necessary to
have it stand at all, cover with an earthen dish, or stand in the open
oven. _Chops_ and _cutlets_ are broiled in the same way. Veal is so dry a
meat that it is better fried.
Where broiling for any reason cannot be conveniently done, the next best
method is to heat a frying-pan very hot; grease it with a bit of fat cut
from the steak, just enough to prevent it from sticking. Turn almost as
constantly as in broiling, and season in the same way when done. Venison
steaks are treated in the same manner.
VEAL CUTLETS.
Fry four or five slices of salt pork till brown, or use drippings instead,
if this fat is disliked. Let the cutlets, which are best cut from the leg,
be made as nearly of a size as possible; dip them in well-beaten egg and
then in cracker-crumbs, and fry to a golden brown. Where the veal is
tough, it is better to parboil it for ten or fifteen minutes before
frying.
PORK STEAK.
Pork steaks or chops should be cut quite thin, and sprinkled with pepper
and salt and a little powdered sage. Have the pan hot; put in a
tablespoonful of dripping, and fry the pork slowly for twenty minutes,
turning often. A gravy can be made for these, and for veal cutlets also,
by mixing a tablespoonful of flour with the fat left in the pan, and
stirring it till a bright brown, then adding a large cup of boiling water,
and salt to taste; a saltspoonful being sufficient, with half the amount
of pepper.
Pigs' liver, which many consider very nice, is treated in precisely the
same way, using a teaspoonful of powdered sage to two pounds of liver.
FRIED HAM OR BACON.
Cut the ham in very thin slices. Take off the rind, and, if the ham is old
or hard, parboil it for five minutes. Have the pan hot, and, unless the
ham is quite fat, use a teaspoonful of drippings. Turn the slices often,
and cook from five to eight minutes. They can be served dry, or, if gravy
is liked, add a tablespoonful of flour to the fat, stir till smooth, and
pour in slowly a large cup of milk or water. Salt pork can be fried in the
same way. If eggs are to be fried with the ham, take up the slices, break
in the eggs, and dip the boiling fat over them as they fry. If there is
not fat enough, add half a cup of lard. To make each egg round, put
muffin-rings into the frying-pan, and break an egg into each, pouring the
boiling fat over them from a spoon till done, which will be in from three
to five minutes. Serve one on each slice of ham, and make no gravy. The
fat can be strained, and used in frying potatoes.
FRIED TRIPE.
The tripe can be merely cut in squares, rolled in flour, salted and
peppered, and fried brown in drippings, or the pieces may be dipped in a
batter made as for clam fritters, or egged and crumbed like oysters, and
fried. In cities it can be bought already prepared. In the country it must
first be cleaned, and then boiled till tender.
TO WARM COLD MEATS.
Cold roast beef should be cut in slices, the gravy brought to
boiling-point, and each slice dipped in just long enough to heat, as
stewing in the gravy toughens it. Rare mutton is treated in the same way,
but is nicer warmed in a chafing-dish at table, adding a tablespoonful of
currant jelly and one of wine to the gravy. Venison is served in the same
manner. Veal and pork can cook in the gravy without toughening, and so
with turkey and chicken. Cold duck or game is very nice warmed in the same
way as mutton, the bones in all cases being reserved for stock.
* * * * *
POULTRY.
TO CLEAN POULTRY.
First be very careful to singe off all down by holding over a blazing
paper, or a little alcohol burning in a saucer. Cut off the feet and ends
of the wings, and the neck as far as it is dark. If the fowl is killed at
home, be sure that the head is chopped off, and never allow the neck to be
wrung as is often done. It is not only an unmerciful way of killing, but
the blood has thus no escape, and settles about all the vital organs. The
head should be cut off, and the body hang and bleed thoroughly before
using.
Pick out all the pin-feathers with the blade of a small knife. Turn back
the skin of the neck, loosening it with the finger and thumb, and draw out
the windpipe and crop, which can be done without making any cut. Now cut a
slit in the lower part of the fowl, the best place being close to the
thigh. By working the fingers in slowly, keeping them close to the body,
the whole intestines can be removed in a mass. Be especially careful not
to break the gall-bag, which is near the upper part of the breastbone, and
attached to the liver. If this operation is carefully performed, it will
be by no means so disagreeable as it seems. A French cook simply wipes out
the inside, considering that much flavor is lost by washing. I prefer to
wash in one water, and dry quickly, though in the case of an old fowl,
which often has a strong smell, it is better to dissolve a teaspoonful of
soda in the first water, which should be warm, and wash again in cold,
then wiping dry as possible. Split and wash the gizzard, reserving it for
gravy.
DRESSING FOR POULTRY.
One pint of bread or cracker crumbs, into which mix dry one teaspoonful of
pepper, one of thyme or summer savory, one even tablespoonful of salt,
and, if in season, a little chopped parsley. Melt a piece of butter the
size of an egg in one cup of boiling water, and mix with the crumbs,
adding one or two well-beaten eggs. A slice of salt pork chopped fine is
often substituted for the butter.
For _ducks_ two onions are chopped fine, and added to the above; or a
potato dressing is made, as for geese, using six large boiled potatoes,
mashed hot, and seasoned with an even tablespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful
each of sage and pepper, and two chopped onions.
_Game_ is usually roasted unstuffed; but grouse and prairie-chickens may
have the same dressing as chickens and turkeys, this being used also for
boiled fowls.
ROAST TURKEY.
Prepare by cleaning, as in general directions above, and, when dry, rub
the inside with a teaspoonful of salt. Put the gizzard, heart, and liver
on the fire in a small saucepan, with one quart of boiling water and one
teaspoonful of salt, and boil two hours. Put a little stuffing in the
breast, and fold back the skin of the neck, holding it with a stitch or
with a small skewer. Put the remainder in the body, and sew it up with
darning-cotton. Cross and tie the legs down tight, and run a skewer
through the wings to fasten them to the body. Lay it in the roasting-pan,
and for an eight-pound turkey allow not less than three hours' time, a ten
or twelve pound one needing four. Put a pint of boiling water with one
teaspoonful of salt in the pan, and add to it as it dries away. Melt a
heaping tablespoonful of butter in the water, and baste very often. The
secret of a handsomely-browned turkey, lies in this frequent basting.
Dredge over the flour two or three times, as in general roasting
directions, and turn the turkey so that all sides will be reached. When
done, take up on a hot platter. Put the baking-pan on the stove, having
before this chopped the gizzard and heart fine, and mashed the liver, and
put them in the gravy-tureen. Stir a tablespoonful of brown flour into
the gravy in the pan, scraping up all the brown, and add slowly the water
in which the giblets were boiled, which should be about a pint. Strain on
to the chopped giblets, and taste to see if salt enough. The gravy for all
roast poultry is made in this way. Serve with cranberry sauce or jelly.
ROAST OR BOILED CHICKENS.
Stuff and truss as with turkeys, and to a pair of chickens weighing two
and a half pounds each, allow one hour to roast, basting often, and making
a gravy as in preceding receipt.
Boil as in rule for turkeys.
ROAST DUCK.
After cleaning, stuff as in rule given for poultry dressing, and
roast,--if game, half an hour; if tame, one hour, making gravy as in
directions given, and serving with currant jelly.
ROAST GOOSE.
No fat save its own is needed in basting a goose, which, if large,
requires two hours to roast. Skim off as much fat as possible before
making the gravy, as it has a strong taste.
BIRDS.
Small birds may simply be washed and wiped dry, tied firmly, and roasted
twenty minutes, dredging with flour, basting with butter and water, and
adding a little currant jelly or wine to the gravy. They may be served on
toast.
FRIED CHICKEN.
Cut the chicken into nice pieces for serving. Roll in flour, or, if
preferred, in beaten egg and crumbs. Heat a cupful of nice dripping or
lard; add a teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper; lay in the
pieces, and fry brown on each side, allowing not less than twenty minutes
for the thickest pieces and ten for the thin ones. Lay on a hot platter,
and make a gravy by adding one tablespoonful of flour to the fat, stirring
smooth, and adding slowly one cupful of boiling water or stock. Strain
over the chicken. Milk or cream is often used instead of water.
BROWN FRICASSEE.
Fry one or two chickens as above, using only flour to roll them in. Three
or four slices of salt pork may be used, cutting them in bits, and frying
brown, before putting in the chicken. When fried, lay the pieces in a
saucepan, and cover with warm water, adding one teaspoonful of salt and a
saltspoonful of pepper. Cover closely, and stew one hour, or longer if the
chickens are old. Take up the pieces, and thicken the gravy with one
tablespoonful of flour, first stirred smooth in a little cold water. Or
the flour may be added to the fat in the pan after frying, and water
enough for a thin gravy, which can all be poured into the saucepan, though
with this method there is more danger of burning. If not dark enough,
color with a teaspoonful of caramel. By adding a chopped onion fried in
the fat, and a teaspoonful of curry-powder, this becomes a curry, to be
served with boiled rice.
WHITE FRICASSEE.
Cut up the chicken as in brown fricassee, and stew without frying for an
hour and a half, reducing the water to about one pint. Take up the chicken
on a hot platter. Melt one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan, and add
a heaping tablespoonful of flour, stirring constantly till smooth. Pour in
slowly one cup of milk, and, as it boils and thickens, add the chicken
broth, and serve. This becomes a pot-pie by adding biscuit-crust as in
rule for veal pot-pie, p. 150, and serving in the same way. The same crust
may also be used with a brown fricassee, but is most customary with a
white.
CHICKEN PIE.
Make a fricassee, as above directed, either brown or white, as best liked,
and a nice pie-crust, as on p. 224, or a biscuit-crust if pie-crust is
considered too rich. Line a deep baking-dish with the crust; a good way
being to use a plain biscuit-crust for the lining, and pie-crust for the
lid. Lay in the cooked chicken; fill up with the gravy, and cover with
pastry, cutting a round hole in the centre; and bake about three-quarters
of an hour. The top can be decorated with leaves made from pastry, and in
this case will need to have a buttered paper laid over it for the first
twenty minutes, that they need not burn. Eat either cold or hot. Game pies
can be made in the same way, and veal is a very good substitute for
chicken. Where veal is used, a small slice of ham may be added, and a
little less salt; both veal and ham being cut very small before filling
the pie.
BOILED TURKEY.
Clean, stuff, and truss the fowl selected, as for a roasted turkey. The
body is sometimes filled with oysters. To truss in the tightest and most
compact way, run a skewer under the leg-joint between the leg and the
thigh, then through the body and under the opposite leg-joint in the same
way; push the thighs up firmly close to the sides; wind a string about the
ends of the skewer, and tie it tight. Treat the wings in the same way,
though in boiled fowls the points are sometimes drawn under the back, and
tied there. The turkey may be boiled with or without cloth around it. In
either case use _boiling_ water, salted as for stock, and allow twenty
minutes to the pound. It is usually served with oyster sauce, but parsley
or capers may be used instead.
CHICKEN CROQUETTES.
Take all the meat from a cold roast or boiled chicken, and chop moderately
fine. Mince an onion very small, and fry brown in a piece of butter the
size of an egg. Add one small cup of stock or water; one saltspoonful each
of pepper and mace; one teaspoonful of salt; the juice of half a lemon;
two well-beaten eggs; and, if liked, a glass of wine. Make into small
rolls like corks, or mold in a pear shape, sticking in a clove for the
stem when fried. Roll in sifted cracker-crumbs; dip in an egg beaten with
a spoonful of water, and again in crumbs; put in the frying-basket, and
fry in boiling lard. Drain on brown paper, and pile on a napkin in
serving.
A more delicate croquette is made by using simply the white meat, and
adding a set of calf's brains which have been boiled in salted water. A
cupful of boiled rice mashed fine is sometimes substituted for the
brains. Use same seasoning as above, adding quarter of a saltspoonful of
cayenne, omitting the wine, and using instead half a cup of cream or milk.
Fry as directed. Veal croquettes can hardly be distinguished from those of
chicken.
PHILADELPHIA CHICKEN CROQUETTES.
The croquette first given is dry when fried, and even the second form is
somewhat so, many preferring them so. For the creamy delicious veal,
sweetbread, or chicken croquette one finds in Philadelphia, the following
materials are necessary: one pint of hot cream; two even tablespoonfuls of
butter; four heaping tablespoonfuls of sifted flour; half a teaspoonful of
salt; half a saltspoonful of white pepper; a dust of cayenne; half a
teaspoonful of celery salt; and one teaspoonful of onion juice. Scald the
cream in a double boiler. Melt the butter in an enameled or granite
saucepan, and as it boils, stir in the flour, stirring till perfectly
smooth. Add the cream very slowly, stirring constantly as it thickens,
adding the seasoning at the last. An egg may also be added, but the
croquettes are more creamy without it. To half a pound of chicken chopped
fine, add one teaspoonful of lemon juice and one of minced parsley, one
beaten egg and the pint of cream sauce. Spread on a platter to cool, and
when cool make into shapes, either corks or like pears; dip in egg and
crumbs, and fry in boiling fat. Oyster, sweetbread, and veal croquettes
are made by the same form, using a pint of chopped oysters. To the
sweetbreads a small can of mushrooms may be added cut in bits.
SALMI OF DUCKS OR GAME.
Cut the meat from cold roast ducks or game into small bits. Break the
bones and trimmings, and cover with stock or cold water, adding two
cloves, two pepper-corns, and a bay-leaf or pinch of sweet herbs. Boil
till reduced to a cupful for a pint of meat. Mince two small onions fine,
and fry brown in two tablespoonfuls of butter; then add two tablespoonfuls
of flour and stir till deep brown, adding to it the strained broth from
the bones. Put in the bits of meat with one tablespoonful of lemon juice
and one of Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for fifteen minutes, and at the
last add, if liked, six or eight mushrooms and a glass of claret. Serve on
slices of fried bread, and garnish with fried bread and parsley.
CASSEROLE OF RICE AND MEAT.
This can be made of any kind of meat, but is nicest of veal or poultry.
Boil a large cup of rice till tender, and let it cool. Chop fine half a
pound of meat, and season with half a teaspoonful of salt, a small grated
onion, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley and a pinch of cayenne. Add a
teacupful of cracker crumbs and a beaten egg, and wet with stock or hot
water enough to make it pack easily. Butter a tin mould, quart size best,
and line the bottom and sides with rice about half an inch thick. Pack in
the meat; cover with rice, and steam one hour. Loosen at edges; turn out
on hot platter, and pour tomato sauce around it.
ITALIA'S PRIDE.
This is a favorite dish in the writer's family, having been sent many
years ago from Italy by a friend who had learned its composition from her
Italian cook. Its name was bestowed by the children of the house. One
large cup of chopped meat; two onions minced and fried brown in butter; a
pint of cold boiled macaroni or spaghetti; a pint of fresh or cold stewed
tomatoes; one teaspoonful of salt; half a teaspoonful of white pepper.
Butter a pudding dish, and put first a layer of macaroni, then tomato,
then meat and some onion and seasoning, continuing this till the dish is
full. Cover with fine bread crumbs, dot with bits of butter, and bake for
half an hour. Serve very hot.
DEVILED HAM.
For this purpose use either the knuckle or any odds and ends remaining.
Cut off all dark or hard bits, and see that at least a quarter of the
amount is fat. Chop as finely as possible, reducing it almost to a paste.
For a pint-bowl of this, make a dressing as follows:--
One even tablespoonful of sugar; one even teaspoonful of ground mustard;
one saltspoonful of cayenne pepper; one spoonful of butter; one teacupful
of boiling vinegar. Mix the sugar, mustard, and pepper thoroughly, and add
the vinegar little by little. Stir it into the chopped ham, and pack it in
small molds, if it is to be served as a lunch or supper relish, turning
out upon a small platter and garnishing with parsley.
For sandwiches, cut the bread very thin; butter lightly, and spread with
about a teaspoonful of the deviled ham. The root of a boiled tongue can be
prepared in the same way. If it is to be kept some time, pack in little
jars, and pour melted butter over the top.
BONED TURKEY.
This is a delicate dish, and is usually regarded as an impossibility for
any ordinary housekeeper; and unless one is getting up a supper or other
entertainment, it is hardly worth while to undertake it. If the legs and
wings are left on, the boning becomes much more difficult. The best plan
is to cut off both them and the neck, boiling all with the turkey, and
using the meat for croquettes or hash.
Draw only the crop and windpipe, as the turkey is more easily handled
before dressing. Choose a fat hen turkey of some six or seven pounds
weight, and cut off legs up to second joint, with half the wings and the
neck. Now, with a very sharp knife, make a clean cut down the entire back,
and holding the knife close to the body, cut away the flesh, first on one
side and then another, making a clean cut around the pope's nose. Be very
careful, in cutting down the breastbone, not to break through the skin.
The entire meat will now be free from the bones, save the pieces remaining
in legs and wings. Cut out these, and remove all sinews. Spread the turkey
skin-side down on the board. Cut out the breasts, and cut them up in long,
narrow pieces, or as you like. Chop fine a pound and a half of veal or
fresh pork, and a slice of fat ham also. Season with one teaspoonful of
salt, a saltspoonful each of mace and pepper, half a saltspoonful of
cayenne, and the juice of lemon. Cut half a pound of cold boiled smoked
tongue into dice. Make layers of this force-meat, putting half of it on
the turkey and then the dice of tongue, with strips of the breast between,
using force meat for the last layer. Roll up the turkey in a tight roll,
and sew the skin together. Now roll it firmly in a napkin, tying at the
ends and across in two places to preserve the shape. Cover it with boiling
water, salted as for stock, putting in all the bones and giblets, and two
onions stuck with three cloves each. Boil four hours. Let it cool in the
liquor. Take up in a pan, lay a tin sheet on it, and press with a heavy
weight. Strain the water in which it was boiled, and put in a cold place.
Next day take off the napkin, and set the turkey in the oven a moment to
melt off any fat. It can be sliced and eaten in this way, but makes a
handsomer dish served as follows:
Remove the fat from the stock, and heat three pints of it to
boiling-point, adding two-thirds of a package of gelatine which has been
soaked in a little cold water. Strain a cupful of this into some pretty
mold,--an ear of corn is a good shape,--and the remainder in two pans or
deep plates, coloring each with caramel,--a teaspoonful in one, and two in
the other. Lay the turkey on a small platter turned face down in a larger
one, and when the jelly is cold and firm, put the molded form on top of
it. Now cut part of the jelly into rounds with a pepper-box top or a small
star-cutter, and arrange around the mold, chopping the rest and piling
about the edge, so that the inner platter or stand is completely
concealed. The outer row of jelly can have been colored red by cutting up,
and boiling in the stock for it, half of a red beet. Sprigs of parsley or
delicate celery-tops may be used as garnish, and it is a very
elegant-looking as well as savory dish. The legs and wings can be left on
and trussed outside, if liked, making it as much as possible in the
original shape; but it is no better, and much more trouble.
JELLIED CHICKEN.
Tenderness is no object here, the most ancient dweller in the barnyard
answering equally well, and even better than "broilers."
Draw carefully, and if the fowl is old, wash it in water in which a
spoonful of soda has been dissolved, rinsing in cold. Put on in cold
water, and season with a tablespoonful of salt and a half teaspoonful of
pepper. Boil till the meat slips easily from the bones, reducing the broth
to about a quart. Strain, and when cold, take off the fat. Where any
floating particles remain, they can always be removed by laying a piece of
soft paper on the broth for a moment. Cut the breast in long strips, and
the rest of the meat in small pieces. Boil two or three eggs hard, and
when cold, cut in thin slices. Slice a lemon very thin. Dissolve half a
package of gelatine in a little cold water; heat the broth to
boiling-point, and add a saltspoonful of mace, and if liked, a glass of
sherry, though it is not necessary, pouring it on the gelatine. Choose a
pretty mold, and lay in strips of the breast; then a layer of egg-slices,
putting them close against the mold. Nearly fill with chicken, laid in
lightly; then strain on the broth till it is nearly full, and set in a
cold place. Dip for an instant in hot water before turning out. It is nice
as a supper or lunch dish, and very pretty in effect.
* * * * *
SAUCES AND SALADS.
The foundation for a large proportion of sauces is in what the French cook
knows as a _roux_, and we as "drawn butter." As our drawn butter is often
lumpy, or with the taste of the raw flour, I give the French method as a
security against such disaster.
TO MAKE A ROUX.
Melt in a saucepan a piece of butter the size of an egg, and add two even
tablespoonfuls of sifted flour; one ounce of butter to two of flour being
a safe rule. Stir till smooth, and pour in slowly one pint of milk, or
milk and water, or water alone. With milk it is called _cream roux_, and
is used for boiled fish and poultry. Where the butter and flour are
allowed to brown, it is called a _brown roux_, and is thinned with the
soup or stew which it is designed to thicken. Capers added to a _white
roux_--which is the butter and flour, with water added--give _caper
sauce_, for use with boiled mutton. Pickled nasturtiums are a good
substitute for capers. Two hard-boiled eggs cut fine give egg sauce.
Chopped parsley or pickle, and the variety of catchups and sauces, make an
endless variety; the _white roux_ being the basis for all of them.
BREAD SAUCE.
For this sauce boil one point of milk, with one onion cut in pieces. When
it has boiled five minutes, take out the onion, and thicken the milk with
half a pint of sifted bread-crumbs. Melt a teaspoonful of butter in a
frying-pan; put in half a pint of coarser crumbs, stirring them till a
light brown. Flavor the sauce with half a teaspoonful of salt, a
saltspoonful of pepper, and a grate of nutmeg; and serve with game,
helping a spoonful of the sauce, and one of the browned crumbs. The boiled
onion may be minced fine and added, and the browned crumbs omitted.
CELERY SAUCE.
Wash and boil a small head of celery, which has been cut up fine, in one
pint of water, with half a teaspoonful of salt. Boil till tender, which
will require about half an hour. Make a _cream roux_, using half a pint of
milk, and adding quarter of a saltspoonful of white pepper. Stir into the
celery; boil a moment, and serve. A teaspoonful of celery salt can be
used, if celery is out of season, adding it to the full rule for _cream
roux_. Cauliflower may be used in the same way as celery, cutting it very
fine, and adding a large cupful to the sauce. Use either with boiled
meats.
MINT SAUCE.
Look over and strip off the leaves, and cut them as fine as possible with
a sharp knife. Use none of the stalk but the tender tips. To a cupful of
chopped mint allow an equal quantity of sugar, and half a cup of good
vinegar. It should stand an hour before using.
CRANBERRY SAUCE.
Wash one quart of cranberries in warm water, and pick them over carefully.
Put them in a porcelain-lined kettle, with one pint of cold water and one
pint of sugar, and cook without stirring for half an hour, turning then
into molds. This is the simplest method. They can be strained through a
sieve, and put in bowls, forming a marmalade, which can be cut in slices
when cold; or the berries can be crushed with a spoon while boiling, but
left unstrained.
APPLE SAUCE.
Pare, core, and quarter some apples (sour being best), and stew till
tender in just enough water to cover them. Rub them through a sieve,
allowing a teacupful of sugar to a quart of strained apple, or even less,
where intended to eat with roast pork or goose. Where intended for lunch
or tea, do not strain, but treat as follows: Make a sirup of one large
cupful of sugar and one of water for every dozen good-sized apples. Add
half a lemon, cut in very thin slices. Put in the apple; cover closely,
and stew till tender, keeping the quarters as whole as possible. The lemon
may be omitted.
PLAIN PUDDING SAUCE.
Make a _white roux_, with a pint of either water or milk; but water will
be very good. Add to it a large cup of sugar, a teaspoonful of lemon or
any essence liked, and a wine-glass of wine. Vinegar can be substituted.
Grate in a little nutmeg, and serve hot.
MOLASSES SAUCE.
This sauce is intended especially for apple dumplings and puddings. One
pint of molasses; one tablespoonful of butter; the juice of one lemon, or
a large spoonful of vinegar. Boil twenty minutes. It may be thickened with
a tablespoonful of corn-starch dissolved in a little cold water, but is
good in either case.
FOAMING SAUCE.
Cream half a cup of butter till very light, and add a heaping cup of
sugar, beating both till white. Set the bowl in which it was beaten into a
pan of boiling water, and allow it to melt slowly. Just before serving
but _not before_, pour into it slowly half a cup or four spoonfuls of
boiling water, stirring to a thick foam. Grate in nutmeg, or use a
teaspoonful of lemon essence, and if wine is liked, add a glass of sherry
or a tablespoonful of brandy. For a pudding having a decided flavor of its
own, a sauce without wine is preferable.
HARD SAUCE
Beat together the same proportions of butter and sugar as in the preceding
receipt; add a tablespoonful of wine if desired; pile lightly on a pretty
dish; grate nutmeg over the top, and set in a cold place till used.
FRUIT SAUCES.
The sirup of any nice canned fruit may be used cold as sauce for cold
puddings and blancmanges, or heated and thickened for hot, allowing to a
pint of juice a heaping teaspoonful of corn-starch dissolved in a little
cold water, and boiling it five minutes. Strawberry or raspberry sirup is
especially nice.
PLAIN SALAD DRESSING.
Three tablespoonfuls of best olive-oil; one tablespoonful of vinegar; one
saltspoonful each of salt and pepper mixed together; and then, with three
tablespoonfuls of best olive-oil, adding last the tablespoonful of
vinegar. This is the simplest form of dressing. The lettuce, or other
salad material, must be fresh and crisp, and should not be mixed till the
moment of eating.
SPANISH TOMATO SAUCE.
One can of tomatoes or six large fresh ones; two minced onions fried brown
in a large tablespoonful of butter. Add to the tomatoes with three sprigs
of parsley and thyme, one teaspoonful of salt, and half a one of pepper;
three cloves and two allspice, with a small blade of mace and a bit of
lemon peel, and two lumps of sugar. Stew very slowly for two hours, then
rub through a sieve, and return to the fire. Add two tablespoonfuls of
flour, browned with a tablespoonful of butter, and boil up once. It should
be smooth and thick. Keep on ice, and it will keep a week. Excellent.
MAYONNAISE SAUCE.
For this sauce use the yolks of three raw eggs; one even tablespoonful of
mustard; one of sugar; one teaspoonful of salt; and a saltspoonful of
cayenne.
Break the egg yolks into a bowl; beat a few strokes, and gradually add the
mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper. Now take a pint bottle of best
olive-oil, and stir in a few drops at a time. The sauce will thicken like
a firm jelly. When the oil is half in, add the juice of one lemon by
degrees with the remainder of the oil; and last, add quarter of a cup of
good vinegar. This will keep for weeks, and can be used with either
chicken, salmon, or vegetable salad.
A simpler form can be made with the yolk of one egg, half a pint of oil,
and half the ingredients given above. It can be colored red with the juice
of a boiled beet, or with the coral of a lobster, and is very nice as a
dressing for raw tomatoes, cutting them in thick slices, and putting a
little of it on each slice.
Mayonnaise may be varied in many ways, _sauce tartare_ being a favorite
one. This is simply two even tablespoonfuls of capers, half a small onion,
and a tablespoonful of parsley, and two gherkins or a small cucumber, all
minced fine and added to half a pint of mayonnaise. This keeps a long
time, and is very nice for fried fish or plain boiled tongue.
DRESSING WITHOUT OIL.
Cream a small cup of butter, and stir into it the yolks of three eggs. Mix
together one teaspoonful of mustard, one teaspoonful of salt, and quarter
of a saltspoonful of cayenne, and add to the butter and egg. Stir in
slowly, instead of oil, one cup of cream, and add the juice of one lemon
and half a cup of vinegar.
BOILED DRESSING FOR COLD SLAW.
This is good also for vegetable salads. One small cup of good vinegar; two
tablespoonfuls of sugar; half a teaspoonful each of salt and mustard; a
saltspoonful of pepper; a piece of butter the size of a walnut; and two
beaten eggs. Put these all in a small saucepan over the fire, and stir
till it becomes a smooth paste. Have a firm, white cabbage, very cold, and
chopped fine; and mix the dressing well through it. It will keep several
days in a cold place.
CHICKEN SALAD.
Boil a tender chicken, and when cold, cut all the meat in dice. Cut up
white tender celery enough to make the same amount, and mix with the meat.
Stir into it a tablespoonful of oil with three of vinegar, and a
saltspoonful each of mustard and salt, and let it stand an hour or two.
When ready to serve, mix the whole with a mayonnaise sauce, leaving part
to mask the top; or use the mayonnaise alone, without the first dressing
of vinegar and oil. Lettuce can be substituted for celery; and where
neither is obtainable, a crisp white cabbage may be chopped fine, and the
meat of the chicken also, and either a teaspoonful of extract of celery or
celery-seed used to flavor it The fat of the chicken, taken from the water
in which it was boiled, carefully melted and strained, and cooled again,
is often used by Southern housekeepers.
SALMON MAYONNAISE.
Carefully remove all the skin and bones from a pound of boiled salmon, or
use a small can of the sealed, draining away all the liquid. Cut in small
pieces, and season with two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, half a small onion
minced fine, and half a teaspoonful each of salt and pepper. Cover the
bottom of the salad dish with crisp lettuce-leaves; lay the salmon on it,
and pour on the sauce. The meat of a lobster can be treated in the same
way.
* * * * *
EGGS, CHEESE, AND BREAKFAST DISHES.
BOILED EGGS.
Let the water be boiling fast when the eggs are put in, that it may not be
checked. They should have lain in warm water a few minutes before boiling,
to prevent the shells cracking. Allow three minutes for a soft-boiled egg;
four, to have the white firmly set; and ten, for a hard-boiled egg.
Another method is to pour boiling water on the eggs, and let them stand
for ten minutes where they will be nearly at boiling-point, though not
boiling. The white and yolk are then perfectly cooked, and of jelly-like
consistency.
POACHED EGGS.
Have a deep frying-pan full of boiling water,--simmering, not boiling
furiously. Put in two teaspoonfuls of vinegar and a teaspoonful of salt.
Break each egg into a cup or saucer, allowing one for each person; slide
gently into the water, and let them stand five minutes, but without
boiling. Have ready small slices of buttered toast which have been
previously dipped quickly into hot water. Take up the eggs on a skimmer;
trim the edges evenly, and slip off upon the toast, serving at once. For
fried eggs, see _Ham and Eggs_, p. 158.
SCRAMBLED EGGS.
Break half a dozen eggs into a bowl, and beat for a minute. Have the
frying-pan hot. Melt a tablespoonful of butter, with an even teaspoonful
of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper, and turn in the eggs. Stir them
constantly as they harden, until they are a firm yet delicate mixture of
white and yellow, and turn into a hot dish, serving at once. A cup of milk
may be added if liked. The whole operation should not exceed five minutes.
BAKED EGGS.
Break the eggs into a buttered pudding-dish. Salt and pepper them very
lightly, and bake in a quick oven till set. Or turn over them a cupful of
good gravy, that of veal or poultry being especially nice, and bake in
the same way. Serve in the dish they were baked in.
STUFFED EGGS.
Boil eggs for twenty minutes. Drop them in cold water, and when cold, take
off the shells, and cut the egg in two lengthwise. Take out the yolks
carefully; rub them fine on a plate, and add an equal amount of deviled
ham, or of cold tongue or chicken, minced very fine. If chicken is used,
add a saltspoonful of salt and a pinch of cayenne. Roll the mixture into
little balls the size of the yolk; fill each white with it; arrange on a
dish with sprigs of parsley, and use cold as a lunch dish. They can also
be served hot by laying them in a deep buttered pie-plate, covering with a
cream _roux_, dusting thickly with bread-crumbs, and browning in a quick
oven.
PLAIN OMELET.
The pan for frying an omelet should be clean and very smooth. Break the
eggs one by one into a cup, to avoid the risk of a spoiled one. Allow from
three to five, but never _over_ five, for a single omelet. Turn them into
a bowl, and give them twelve beats with whisk or fork. Put butter the size
of an egg into the frying-pan, and let it run over the entire surface. As
it begins to boil, turn in the eggs. Hold the handle of the pan in one
hand, and with the other draw the egg constantly up from the edges as it
sets, passing a knife underneath to let the butter run under. Shake the
pan now and then to keep the omelet from scorching. It should be firm at
the edges, and creamy in the middle. When done, either fold over one-half
on the other, and turn on to a hot platter to serve at once, or set in the
oven a minute to brown the top, turning it out in a round. A little
chopped ham or parsley may be added. The myriad forms of omelet to be
found in large cook-books are simply this plain one, with a spoonful or so
of chopped mushrooms or tomatoes or green pease laid in the middle of it
just before folding and serving. A variation is also made by beating
whites and yolks separately, then adding half a cup of cream or milk;
doubling the seasoning given above, and then following the directions for
frying. Quarter of an onion and a sprig or two of parsley minced fine are
a very nice addition. A cupful of finely minced fish, either fresh or
salt, makes a fish omlet. Chopped oysters may also be used; and many
persons like a large spoonful of grated cheese, though this is a French
rather than American taste.
BAKED OMELET.