One large cup of milk; five eggs; a saltspoonful of salt; and half a one

of white pepper mixed with the last. Beat the eggs well, a Dover

egg-beater being the best possible one where yolks and whites are not

separated; add the salt and pepper, and then the milk. Melt a piece of

butter the size of an egg in a frying-pan, and when it boils, pour in the

egg. Let it stand two minutes, or long enough to harden a little, but do

not stir at all. When a little firm, put into a quick oven, and bake till

brown. It will rise very high, but falls almost immediately. Serve at once

on a very hot platter. This omelet can also be varied with chopped ham or

parsley. The old-fashioned iron spider with short handle is best for

baking it, as a long-handled pan cannot be shut up in the oven. This

omelet can also be fried in large spoonfuls, like pancakes, rolling each

one as done.

CHEESE FONDU.

This preparation of grated cheese and eggs can be made in a large dish for

several people, or in "portions" for one, each in a small earthen dish.

For one portion allow two eggs; half a saltspoonful of salt; a heaping

tablespoonful of grated cheese; two of milk; and a few grains of cayenne.

Melt a teaspoonful of butter in the dish, and when it boils, pour in the

cheese and egg, and cook slowly till it is well set. It is served in the

dish in which it is cooked, and should be eaten at once.

An adaptation of this has been made by Mattieu Williams, the author of the

"Chemistry of Cookery." It is as follows:--

Soak enough slices of bread to fill a quart pudding-dish, in a pint of

milk, to which half a teaspoonful of salt and two beaten eggs have been

added. Butter the pudding-dish and lay in the bread, putting a thick

coating of grated cheese on each slice. Pour what milk may remain over the

top, and bake slowly about half an hour.

CHEESE SOUFFLÉ.

Melt in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter, and add to it half a

teaspoonful of dry mustard; a grain of cayenne; a saltspoonful of white

pepper; a grate of nutmeg; two tablespoonfuls of flour; and stir all

smooth, adding a gill of milk and a large cupful of grated cheese. Stir

into this as much powdered bi-carbonate of potash as will stand on a

three-cent piece, and then beat in three eggs, yolks and whites beaten

separately. Pour this into a buttered earthen dish; bake in a quick oven,

and serve at once. In all cases where cheese disagrees it will be found

that the bi-carbonate of potash renders it harmless.

TO BOIL OATMEAL OR CRUSHED WHEAT.

Have ready a quart of boiling water in a farina-boiler, or use a small

pail set in a saucepan of boiling water. If oatmeal or any grain is boiled

in a single saucepan, it forms, no matter how often it is stirred, a thick

crust on the bottom; and, as _never to stir_ is a cardinal rule for all

these preparations, let the next one be, a double boiler.

Add a teaspoonful of salt to the quart of water in the inside boiler. Be

sure it is boiling, and then throw in one even cup of oatmeal or crushed

wheat. Now _let it alone_ for two hours, only being sure that the water in

the outside saucepan does not dry away, but boils steadily. When done,

each grain should be distinct, yet jelly-like. Stirring makes a mere mush,

neither very attractive nor palatable. If there is not time for this long

boiling in the morning, let it be done the afternoon before. Do not turn

out the oatmeal, but fill the outer boiler next morning, and let it boil

half an hour, or till heated through.

COARSE HOMINY.

Treat like oatmeal, using same amount to a quart of water, save that it

must be thoroughly washed beforehand. Three hours' boiling is better than

two.

FINE HOMINY.

Allow a cupful to a quart of boiling, salted water. Wash it in two or

three waters, put over, and boil steadily for half an hour, or till it

will pour out easily. If too thin, boil uncovered for a short time. Stir

in a tablespoonful of butter before sending to table. Any of these

preparations may be cut in slices when cold, floured on each side, and

fried brown like mush.

FINE HOMINY CAKES.

One pint of cold boiled hominy; two eggs; a saltspoonful of salt; and a

tablespoonful of butter melted. Break up the hominy fine with a fork, and

add salt and butter. Beat the eggs,--whites and yolks separately; add the

yolks first, and last the whites; and either fry brown in a little butter

or drop by spoonfuls on buttered plates, and bake brown in a quick oven.

This is a nice side-dish at dinner. Oatmeal and wheat can be used in the

same way at breakfast.

HASTY PUDDING, OR MUSH.

One cup of sifted Indian meal, stirred smooth in a bowl with a little cold

water. Have ready a quart of boiling water, with a teaspoonful of salt,

and pour in the meal. Boil half an hour, or till it will just pour,

stirring often. To be eaten hot with butter and sirup. Rye or graham flour

can be used in the same way. If intended to fry, pour the hot mush into a

shallow pan which has been wet with cold water to prevent its sticking. A

spoonful of butter may be added while hot, but is not necessary. Cut in

thin slices when cold; flour each side; and fry brown in a little butter

or nice drippings, serving hot.

WHAT TO DO WITH COLD POTATOES.

Chop, as for hash; melt a tablespoonful of either butter or nice drippings

in a frying-pan; add, for six or eight good-sized potatoes, one even

teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper. When the fat boils, put

in the potatoes, and fry for about ten minutes, or until well browned. As

soon as they are done, if not ready to use, move to the back of the stove,

that they may not burn.

Or cut each potato in lengthwise slices; dredge on a little flour; and fry

brown on each side, watching carefully that they do not burn. The fat from

two or three slices of fried salt pork may be used for these.

LYONNAISE POTATOES.

Slice six cold boiled potatoes. Mince very fine an onion and two or three

sprigs of parsley,--enough to fill a teaspoon. Melt in a frying-pan a

tablespoonful of butter; put in the onion, and fry light brown; then add

the potatoes, and fry to a light brown also, turning them often. Put into

a hot dish, stirring in the minced parsley, and pouring over them any

butter that may be left in the pan.

STEWED POTATOES.

One pint of cold boiled potatoes cut in bits; one cup of milk; butter the

size of an egg; a heaping teaspoonful of flour. Melt the butter in a

saucepan; add the flour, and cook a moment; and pour in the milk, an even

teaspoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of white pepper. When it boils,

add the potatoes. Boil a minute, and serve.

SARATOGA POTATOES.

Pare potatoes, and slice thin as wafers, either with a potato-slicer or a

thin-bladed, very sharp knife. Lay in very cold water at least an hour

before using. If for breakfast, over-night is better. Have boiling lard at

least three inches deep in a frying kettle or pan. Dry the potatoes

thoroughly in a towel, and drop in a few slices at a time, frying to a

golden brown. Take out with a skimmer, and lay on a double brown paper in

the oven to dry, salting them lightly. They may be eaten either hot or

cold. Three medium-sized potatoes will make a large dishful; or, as they

keep perfectly well, enough may be done at once for several meals, heating

them a few minutes in the oven before using.

FISH BALLS.

One pint of cold salt fish, prepared as on page 136, and chopped very

fine. Eight good-sized, freshly-boiled potatoes, or enough to make a quart

when mashed. Mash with half a teaspoonful of salt, and a heaping

tablespoonful of butter, and, if liked, a teaspoonful of made mustard. Mix

in the chopped fish, blending both thoroughly. Make into small, round

cakes; flour on each side; and fry brown in a little drippings or fat of

fried pork. A nicer way is to make into round balls, allowing a large

tablespoonful to each. Roll in flour; or they can be egged and crumbed

like croquettes. Drop into boiling lard; drain on brown paper, and serve

hot. Fresh fish can be used in the same way, and is very nice.

Breadcrumbs, softened in milk, can be used instead of potato, but are not

so good.

FISH HASH.

Use either fresh fish or salt. If the former, double the measure of salt

will be needed. Prepare and mix as in fish balls, allowing always double

the amount of fresh mashed potato that you have of fish. Melt a large

spoonful of butter or drippings in a frying-pan. When hot, put in the

fish. Let it stand till brown on the bottom, and then stir. Do this two or

three times, letting it brown at the last, pressing it into omelet form,

and turning out on a hot platter, or piling it lightly.

FISH WITH CREAM.

One pint of cold minced fish, either salt cod or fresh fish; always

doubling the amount of seasoning given if fresh is used. Melt in a

frying-pan a tablespoonful of butter; stir in a heaping one of flour, and

cook a minute; then add a pint of milk and a saltspoonful each of salt and

pepper. When it boils, stir in the fish, and add two well-beaten eggs.

Cook for a minute, and serve very hot.

Cold salmon, or that put up unspiced, is nice done in this way. The eggs

can be omitted, but it is not as good. If cream is plenty, use part cream.

Any cold boiled fresh fish can be used in this way.

SALT MACKEREL OR ROE HERRING.

Soak over-night, the skin-side up. In the morning wipe dry, and either

broil, as in general directions for broiling fish, page 133, or fry brown

in pork fat or drippings.

Salted shad are treated in the same way. All are better broiled.

FRIED SAUSAGES.

If in skins, prick them all over with a large darning-needle or fork;

throw them into a saucepan of boiling water and boil for one minute. Take

out, wipe dry, and lay in a hot frying-pan, in which has been melted a

tablespoonful of hot lard or drippings. Turn often. As soon as brown they

are done. If gravy is wanted, stir a tablespoonful of flour into the fat

in the pan; add a cup of boiling water, and salt to taste,--about a

saltspoonful,--and pour, not _over_, but around the sausages. Serve hot.

FRIZZLED BEEF.

Half a pound of smoked beef cut very thin. This can be just heated in a

tablespoonful of hot butter, and then served, or prepared as follows:--

Pour boiling water on the beef, and let it stand five minutes. In the

meantime melt in a frying-pan one tablespoonful of butter; stir in a

tablespoonful of flour, and add slowly half a pint of milk or water. Put

in the beef which has been taken from the water; cook a few minutes, and

add two or three well-beaten eggs, cooking only a minute longer. It can be

prepared without eggs, or they may be added to the beef just heated in

butter; but the last method is best.

VEAL LOAF.

Three pounds of lean veal and quarter of a pound of salt pork chopped very

fine. Mince an onion as fine as possible. Grate a nutmeg, or use half a

teaspoonful of powdered mace, mixing it with an even tablespoonful of

salt, and an even saltspoonful of cayenne pepper. Add three well-beaten

eggs, a teacupful of milk, and a large spoonful of melted butter. Mix the

ingredients very thoroughly; form into a loaf; cover thickly with sifted

bread or cracker crumbs, and bake three hours, basting now and then with a

little butter and water. When cold, cut in thin slices, and use for

breakfast or tea. It is good for breakfast with baked potatoes, and slices

of it are sometimes served around a salad. A glass of wine is sometimes

added before baking.

MEAT HASH.

The English hash is meat cut either in slices or mouthfuls, and warmed in

the gravy; and the Southern hash is the same. A genuine hash, however,

requires potato, and may be made of any sort of meat; cold roast beef

being excellent, and cold corned beef best of all. Mutton is good; but

veal should always be used as a mince, and served on toast as in the rule

to be given.

Chop the meat fine, and allow one-third meat to two-thirds potato. For

corned-beef hash the potatoes should be freshly boiled and mashed. For

other cold meats finely-chopped cold potatoes will answer. To a quart of

the mixture allow a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper

mixed together, and sprinkled on the meat before chopping. Heat a

tablespoonful of butter or nice drippings in a frying-pan; moisten the

hash with a little cold gravy or water; and heat slowly, stirring often.

It may be served on buttered toast when hot, without browning, but is

better browned. To accomplish this, first heat through, then set on the

back of the stove, and let it stand twenty minutes. Fold like an omelet,

or turn out in a round, and serve hot.

MINCED VEAL.

Chop cold veal fine, picking out all bits of gristle. To a pint-bowlful

allow a large cup of boiling water; a tablespoonful of butter and one of

flour; a teaspoonful of salt; and a saltspoonful each of pepper and mace.

Make a _roux_ with the butter and flour, and add the seasoning; put in the

veal, and cook five minutes, serving it on buttered toast, made as in

directions given for water toast.

TOAST, DRY OR BUTTERED.

Not one person in a hundred makes good toast; yet nothing can be simpler.

Cut the slices of bread evenly, and rather thin. If a wire toaster is

used, several can be done at once. Hold just far enough from the fire to

brown nicely; and turn often, that there may be no scorching. Toast to an

even, golden brown. No rule will secure this, and only experience and care

will teach one just what degree of heat will do it. If to be buttered dry,

butter each slice evenly as taken from the fire, and pile on a hot plate.

If served without butter, either send to table in a toast-rack, or, if on

a plate, do not pile together, but let the slices touch as little as

possible, that they may not steam and lose crispness.

WATER TOAST.

Have a pan of boiling hot, well-salted water; a teaspoonful to a quart

being the invariable rule. Dip each slice of toast quickly into this. It

must not be _wet_, but only moistened. Butter, and pile on a hot plate.

Poached eggs and minces are served on this form of toast, which is also

nice with fricasseed chicken.

MILK TOAST.

Scald a quart of milk in a double boiler, and thicken it with two even

tablespoonfuls of corn-starch dissolved in a little cold water, or the

same amount of flour. Add a teaspoonful of salt, and a heaping

tablespoonful of butter. Have ready a dozen slices of water toast, which,

unless wanted quite rich, needs no butter. Pour the thickened milk into a

pan, that each slice may be easily dipped into it, and pile them when

dipped in a deep dish, pouring the rest of the milk over them. Serve very

hot. Cream is sometimes used instead of milk, in which case no thickening

is put in, and only a pint heated with a saltspoonful of salt.

* * * * *

TEA, COFFEE, ETC.

For these a cardinal rule has already been given in Part I., but can not

be enforced too often; viz., the necessity of fresh water boiled, and used

as soon as it boils, that the gases which give it character and sparkle

may not have had time to escape. Tea and coffee both should be kept from

the air, but the former even more carefully than the latter, as the

delicate flavor evaporates more quickly.

TEA.

To begin with, never use a tin teapot if an earthen one is obtainable. An

even teaspoonful of dry tea is the usual allowance for a person. Scald the

teapot with a little _boiling water_, and pour it off. Put in the tea, and

pour on not over a cup of boiling water, letting it stand a minute or two

for the leaves to swell. Then fill with the needed amount of _water still

boiling_, this being about a small cupful to a person. Cover closely, and

let it stand five minutes. Ten will be required for English breakfast tea,

but _never boil_ either, above all in a tin pot. Boiling liberates the

tannic acid of the tea, which acts upon the tin, making a compound bitter

and metallic in taste, and unfit for human stomachs.

COFFEE.

The best coffee is made from a mixture of two-thirds Java and one-third

Mocha; the Java giving strength, and the Mocha flavor and aroma. The

roasting must be very perfectly done. If done at home, constant stirring

is necessary to prevent burning; but all good grocers use now rotary

roasters, which brown each grain perfectly. Buy in small quantities

_unground_; keep closely covered; and if the highest flavor is wanted,

heat hot before grinding.

A noted German chemist claims to have discovered an effectual antidote to

the harmful effects of coffee,--an antidote for which he had searched for

years. In his experiments he discovered that the fibre of cotton, in its

natural state before bleaching, neutralizes the harmful principle of the

caffein. To make absolutely harmless coffee which yet has no loss of

flavor, it is to be boiled in a bag of unbleached cheese-cloth or

something equally porous. In the coffee-pot of his invention, the rounds

of cotton are slipped between two cylinders of tin, and the boiling water

is poured through once or twice, on the same principle as French filtered

coffee. The cloths must be rinsed in hot and then cold water daily and

carefully dried; and none are to be used longer than one week, as at the

end of that time, even with careful washing, the fibre is saturated with

the harmful principle. The same proportions of coffee as those given below

are used, and the pot must stand in a hot place while the water filters

through.

For a quart of coffee allow four heaping tablespoonfuls of coffee when

ground. Scald the coffee-pot; mix the ground coffee with a little cold

water and two or three egg-shells, which can be dried and kept for this

purpose. Part of a fresh egg with the shell is still better. Put into the

hot coffee-pot, and pour on one quart of _boiling water_. Cover tightly,

and boil five minutes; then pour out a cupful to free the spout from

grounds, and return this to the pot. Let it stand a few minutes to settle,

and serve with boiled milk, and cream if it is to be had. Never for

appearance's sake decant coffee. Much of the flavor is lost by turning

from one pot into another, and the shapes are now sufficiently pretty to

make the block tin ones not at all unpresentable at table.

Where coffee is required for a large company, allow a pound and a half to

a gallon of water.

Coffee made in a French filter or biggin is considered better by many; but

I have preferred to give a rule that may be used with certainty where

French cooking utensils are unknown.

COCOA, BROMA, AND SHELLS.

The directions found on packages of these articles are always reliable.

The _cocoa_ or _broma_ should be mixed smoothly with a little boiling

water, and added to that in the saucepan; one quart of either requiring a

pint each of milk and water, about three tablespoonfuls of cocoa, and a

small cup of sugar. A pinch of salt is always a great improvement. Boil

for half an hour.

SHELLS are merely the husk of the cocoa-nut; and a cupful to a quart of

boiling water is the amount needed. Boil steadily an hour, and use with

milk and sugar.

CHOCOLATE.

This rule, though unlike that given in cook-books generally, makes a drink

in consistency and flavor like that offered at Maillard's or Mendee's, the

largest chocolate manufacturers in the country.

Scrape or grate fine two squares (two ounces) of Baker's or any

unsweetened chocolate. Add to this one small cup of sugar and a pinch of

salt, and put into a saucepan with a tablespoonful of water. Stir for a

few minutes till smooth and glossy, and then pour in gradually one pint of

milk and one of boiling water. Let all boil a minute. Dissolve one heaping

teaspoonful of corn-starch or arrow-root in a little cold water, and add

to the chocolate. Boil one minute, and serve. If cream can be had, whip to

a stiff froth, allowing two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a few drops of

vanilla essence to a cup of cream. Serve a spoonful laid on the top of the

chocolate in each cup. The corn-starch may be omitted, but is necessary

to the perfection of this rule, the following of which renders the

chocolate not only smooth, but entirely free from any oily particles.

Flavor is lost by any longer boiling, though usually half an hour has been

considered necessary.

* * * * *

VEGETABLES.

POTATOES.

To be able to boil a potato perfectly is one of the tests of a good cook,

there being nothing in the whole range of vegetables which is apparently

so difficult to accomplish. Like the making of good bread, nothing is

simpler when once learned. A good boiled potato should be white, mealy,

and served very hot. If the potatoes are old, peel thinly with a sharp

knife; cut out all spots, and let them lie in cold water some hours before

using. It is more economical to boil before peeling, as the best part of

the potato lies next the skin; but most prefer them peeled. Put on in

boiling water, allowing a teaspoonful of salt to every quart of water.

Medium-sized potatoes will boil in half an hour. Let them be as nearly of

a size as possible, and if small and large are cooked at the same time,

put on the large ones ten or fifteen minutes before the small. When done,

pour off every drop of water; cover with a clean towel, and set on the

back of the range to dry for a few minutes before serving. The poorest

potato can be made tolerable by this treatment. Never let them wait for

other things, but time the preparation of dinner so that they will be

ready at the moment needed. New potatoes require no peeling, but should

merely be well washed and rubbed.

MASHED POTATOES.

Boil as directed, and when dry and mealy, mash fine with a potato-masher

or large spoon, allowing for a dozen medium-sized potatoes a piece of

butter the size of an egg, half a cup of milk, a teaspoonful of salt, and

half a teaspoonful of white pepper. The milk may be omitted if the potato

is preferred dry. Pile lightly in a dish, or smooth over, and serve at

once. Never brown in the oven, as it destroys the good flavor.

POTATO SNOW.

Mash as above, and rub through a colander into a very hot dish, being

careful not to press it down in any way, and serve hot as possible.

BAKED POTATOES.

Wash and scrub carefully, as some persons eat the skin. A large potato

requires an hour to bake. Their excellence depends upon being eaten the

moment they are done.

POTATOES WITH BEEF.

Pare, and lay in cold water at least an hour. An hour before a roast of

beef is done, lay in the pan, and baste them when the beef is basted. They

are very nice.

POTATO CROQUETTES.

Cold mashed potatoes may be used, but fresh is better. To half a dozen

potatoes, mashed as in directions given, allow quarter of a saltspoonful

each of mace or nutmeg and cayenne pepper, and one beaten egg. Make in

little balls or rolls; egg and crumb, and fry in boiling lard. Drain on

brown paper, and serve like chicken croquettes.

SWEET POTATOES.

Wash carefully, and boil without peeling from three-quarters of an hour to

an hour. Peel, and dry in the oven ten minutes. They are better baked,

requiring about an hour for medium-sized ones.

BEETS.

Winter beets should be soaked over-night. Wash them carefully; but never

peel or even prick them, as color and sweetness would be lost. Put in

boiling, salted water. Young beets will cook in two hours; old ones

require five or six. Peel, and if large, cut in slices, putting a little

butter on each one. They can be served cold in a little vinegar.

PARSNIPS.

Wash, and scrape clean; cut lengthwise in halves, and boil an hour, or two

if very old. Serve whole with a little drawn butter, or mash fine, season

well, allowing to half a dozen large parsnips a teaspoonful of salt, a

saltspoonful of pepper, and a tablespoonful of butter.

PARSNIP FRITTERS.

Three large parsnips boiled and mashed fine, adding two well-beaten eggs,

half a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, two tablespoonfuls

of milk, and one heaping one of flour. Drop in spoonfuls, and fry brown in

a little hot butter. _Oyster-plant_ fritters are made in the same way.

OYSTER-PLANT STEWED.

Scrape, and throw at once into cold water with a little vinegar in it, to

keep them from turning black. Cut in small pieces, or boil whole for an

hour. Mash fine, and make like parsnip fritters; or drain the pieces dry,

and serve with drawn butter.

CARROTS.

Carrots are most savory boiled with corned beef for two hours. They may

also be boiled plain, cut in slices, and served with drawn butter. For old

carrots not less than two hours will be necessary. Plenty of water must be

used, and when cold the carrots are to be cut in dice. Melt in a saucepan

a spoonful of butter; add half a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of

pepper, and a teaspoonful of sugar, and when the butter boils put in the

carrots, and stir till heated through. Pile them in the centre of a

platter, and put around them a can of French peas, which have been cooked

in only a spoonful of water, with a teaspoonful of sugar, a spoonful of

butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper. This is a pretty

and excellent dish, and substantial as meat. A cup of stock can be added

to the carrots if desired, but they are better without it.

TURNIPS.

Pare and cut in quarters. Boil in well-salted water for an hour, or until

tender. Drain off the water, and let them stand a few minutes to dry; then

mash fine, allowing for about a quart a teaspoonful of salt, half a one of

pepper, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut.

Or they may be left in pieces, and served with drawn butter.

CABBAGE.

Wash, and look over very carefully, and lay in cold water an hour. Cut in

quarters, and boil with corned beef an hour, or till tender, or with a

small piece of salt pork. Drain, and serve whole as possible. A much nicer

way is to boil in well-salted water, changing it once after the first

half-hour. Boil an hour; take up and drain; chop fine, and add a teacupful

of milk, a piece of butter the size of an egg, a teaspoonful of salt, and

half a one of pepper. Serve very hot. For cabbage Virginia fashion, and

the best of fashions, too, bake this last form in a buttered pudding-dish,

having first stirred in two or three well-beaten eggs, and covered the top

with bread-crumbs. Bake till brown.

CAULIFLOWER.

Wash and trim, and boil in a bag made of mosquito-netting to keep it

whole. Boil steadily in well-salted water for one hour. Dish carefully,

and pour over it a nice drawn butter. Any cold remains may be used as

salad, or chopped and baked, as in rule for baked cabbage.

ONIONS.

If milk is plenty, use equal quantities of skim-milk and water, allowing a

quart of each for a dozen or so large onions. If water alone is used,

change it after the first half-hour, as this prevents their turning dark;

salting as for all vegetables, and boiling young onions one hour; old

ones, two. Either chop fine, and add a spoonful of butter, half a

teaspoonful of salt, and a little pepper, or serve them whole in a

dressing made by heating one cup of milk with the same butter and other

seasoning as when chopped. Put the onions in a hot dish, pour this over

them, and serve. They may also be half boiled; then put in a buttered

dish, covered with this sauce and a layer of bread-crumbs, and baked for

an hour.

WINTER SQUASH.

Cut in two, and take out the seeds and fiber. Half will probably be enough

to cook at once. Cut this in pieces; pare off the rind, and lay each piece

in a steamer. Never boil in water if it can be avoided, as it must be as

dry as possible. Steam for two hours. Mash fine, or run through a

vegetable sifter, and, for a quart or so of squash, allow a piece of

butter the size of an egg, a teaspoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of

pepper. Serve very hot.

SUMMER SQUASH, OR CIMLINS.

Steam as directed above, taking out the seeds, but not peeling them. Mash

through a colander; season, and serve hot. If very young, the seeds are

often cooked in them. Half an hour will be sufficient.

PEASE.

Shell, and put over in boiling, salted water, to which a teaspoonful of

sugar has been added. Boil till tender, half an hour or a little more.

Drain off the water; add a piece of butter the size of an egg, and a

saltspoonful of salt. If the pease are old, put a bit of soda the size of

a pea in the water.

FIELD PEASE.

These are generally used after drying. Soak over-night, and boil two

hours, or till tender, with or without a small piece of bacon. If

without, butter as for green pease. Or they can be mashed fine, rubbed

through a sieve, and then seasoned, adding a pinch of cayenne pepper.

In Virginia they are often boiled, mashed a little, and fried in a large

cake.

SUCCOTASH.

Boil green corn and beans separately. Cut the corn from the cob, and

season both as in either alone. A nicer way, however, is to score the rows

in half a dozen ears of corn; scrape off the corn; add a pint of lima or

any nice green bean, and boil one hour in a quart of boiling water, with

one teaspoonful each of salt and sugar, and a saltspoonful of pepper. Let

the water boil away to about a cupful; add a spoonful of butter, and serve

in a hot dish. Many, instead of butter, use with it a small piece of

pork,--about quarter of a pound; but it is better without. A spoonful of

cream may be added. Canned corn and beans may be used; and even dried

beans and coarse hominy--the former well soaked, and both boiled together

three hours--are very good.

STRING BEANS.

String, cut in bits, and boil an hour if very young. If old, an hour and

an half, or even two, may be needed. Drain off the water, and season like

green pease.

SHELLED BEANS.

Any green bean may be used in this way, lima and butter beans being the

nicest. Put on in boiling, salted water, and boil not less than one hour.

Season like string beans.

GREEN CORN.

Husk, and pick off all the silk. Boil in well-salted water, and serve on

the cob, wrapped in a napkin, or cut off and seasoned like beans. Cutting

down through each row gives, when scraped off, the kernel without the

hull.

GREEN-CORN FRITTERS.

One pint of green corn grated. This will require about six ears. Mix with

this, half a cup of milk, two well-beaten eggs, half a cup of flour, one

teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and a tablespoonful of

melted butter. Fry in very small cakes in a little hot butter, browning

well on both sides. Serve very hot.

CORN PUDDING.

One pint of cut or grated corn, one pint of milk, two well-beaten eggs,

one teaspoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of pepper. Butter a

pudding-dish, and bake the mixture half an hour. Canned corn can be used

in the same way.

EGG-PLANT.

Peel, cut in slices half an inch thick, and lay them in well-salted water

for an hour. Wipe dry; dip in flour or meal, and fry brown on each side.

Fifteen minutes will be needed to cook sufficiently. The slices can be

egged and crumbed before frying, and are nicer than when merely floured.

EGG-PLANT FRITTERS.

Peel the egg-plant, and take out the seeds. Boil for an hour in

well-salted water. Drain as dry as possible; mash fine, and prepare

precisely like corn fritters.

BAKED EGG-PLANT.

Peel, and cut out a piece from the top; remove the seeds, and fill the

space with a dressing like that for ducks, fitting in the piece cut out.

Bake an hour, basting with a spoonful of butter melted in a cup of water,

and dredging with flour between each basting. It is very nice.

ASPARAGUS.

Wash, and cut off almost all of the white end. Tie up in small bundles;

put into boiling, salted water, and cook till tender,--about half an hour,

or more if old.

Make some slices of water toast, as in rule given, using the water in

which the asparagus was boiled; lay the slices on a hot platter, and the

asparagus upon them, pouring a spoonful of melted butter over it. The

asparagus may be cut in little bits, and, when boiled, a drawn butter

poured over it, or served on toast, as when left whole. Cold asparagus may

be cut fine, and used in an omelet, or simply warmed over.

SPINACH.

Not less than a peck is needed for a dinner for three or four. Pick over

carefully, wash, and let it lie in cold water an hour or two. Put on in

boiling, salted water, and boil an hour, or until tender. Take up in a

colander, that it may drain perfectly. Have in a hot dish a piece of

butter the size of an egg, half a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of

pepper, and, if liked, a tablespoonful of vinegar. Chop the spinach fine,

and put in the dish, stirring in this dressing thoroughly. A teacupful of

cream is often added. Any tender greens, beet or turnip tops, kale, &c.,

are treated in this way; kale, however, requiring two hours' boiling.

ARTICHOKES.

Cut off the outside leaves; trim the bottom; throw into boiling, salted

water, with a teaspoonful of vinegar in it, and boil an hour. Season, and

serve like turnips, or with drawn butter poured over them.

TOMATOES STEWED.

Pour on boiling water to take off the skins; cut in pieces, and stew

slowly for half an hour; adding for a dozen tomatoes a tablespoonful of

butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, and a teaspoonful

of sugar. Where they are preferred sweet, two tablespoonfuls of sugar will

be necessary. They may be thickened with a tablespoonful of flour or

corn-starch dissolved in a little cold water, or with half a cup of rolled

cracker or bread crumbs. Canned tomatoes are stewed in the same way.

BAKED TOMATOES.

Take off the skins; lay the tomatoes in a buttered pudding-dish; put a bit

of butter on each one. Mix a teaspoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of

pepper, with a cup of bread or cracker crumbs, and cover the top. Bake an

hour.

Or cut the tomatoes in bits, and put a layer of them and one of seasoned

crumbs, ending with crumbs. Dot the top with bits of butter, that it may

brown well, and bake in the same way. Canned tomatoes are almost equally

good. Thin slices of well-buttered bread may be used instead of crumbs.

FRIED TOMATOES.

Cut in thick slices. Mix in a plate half a teacupful of flour, a

saltspoonful of salt, and half a one of pepper; and dip each slice in

this, frying brown in hot butter.

BROILED TOMATOES.

Prepare as for frying, and broil in a wire broiler, putting a bit of

butter on each slice when brown, and serving on a hot dish or on buttered

toast.

RICE.

Wash in cold water, changing it at least twice. It is better if allowed to

soak an hour. Drain, and throw into a good deal of boiling, salted water,

allowing not less than two quarts to a cupful of rice. Boil twenty

minutes, stirring now and then. Pour into a colander, that every drop of

water may drain off, and then set it at the back of the stove to dry for

ten minutes. In this way every grain is distinct, yet perfectly tender. If

old, half an hour's boiling may be required. Test by biting a grain at the

end of twenty minutes. If tender, it is done.

RICE CROQUETTES.

Where used as a vegetable with dinner, to a pint of cold boiled rice allow

a tablespoonful of melted butter and one or two well-beaten eggs. Mix

thoroughly. A pinch of cayenne or a little chopped parsley may be added.

Make in the shape of corks; egg and crumb, and fry a golden brown.

MACARONI.

Never wash macaroni if it can be avoided. Break in lengths of three or

four inches and throw into boiling, salted water, allowing quarter of a

pound for a dinner for three or four. Boil for half an hour, and drain off

the water. It may be served plain with tomato sauce, or simply buttered,

or with drawn butter poured over it.

MACARONI WITH CHEESE.

Boil as directed. Make a pint of white sauce or _roux_, as on p. 169,

using milk if it can be had, though water answers. Have a cupful of good

grated cheese. Butter a pudding-dish. Put in a layer of macaroni, one of

sauce, and one of cheese, ending with cheese. Dust the top with sifted

bread or cracker crumbs, dot with bits of butter, and bake fifteen minutes

in a quick oven. It can be baked in the same way without cheese, or with

simply a cup of milk and two eggs added, making a sort of pudding.

* * * * *

BREAD AND BREAKFAST CAKES.

BREAD-MAKING AND FLOUR.

Much of the health, and consequently much of the happiness, of the family

depends upon good bread: therefore no pains should be spared in learning

the best method of making, which will prove easiest in the end.

Yeast, flour, kneading, and baking must each be perfect, and nothing in

the whole range of cooking is of such prime importance.

Once master the problem of yeast, and the first form of wheat bread, and

endless varieties of both bread and breakfast cakes can be made.

The old and the new process flour--the former being known as the St.

Louis, and the latter as Haxall flour--are now to be had at all good

grocers; and from either good bread may be made, though that from the

latter keeps moist longer. Potapsco flour is of the same quality as the

St. Louis. It contains more starch than the St. Louis, and for this reason

requires, even more than that, the use in the family of coarser or graham

flour at the same time; white bread alone not being as nutritious or

strengthening, for reasons given in Part I. Graham flour is fast being

superseded by a much better form, prepared principally by the Health Food

Company in New York, in which the entire grain, save the husk, is ground

as fine as the ordinary flour, thus doing away with the coarseness that

many have objected to in graham bread.

Flour made by the new process swells more than that by the old, and a

little less quantity--about an eighth less--is therefore required in

mixing and kneading. As definite rules as possible are given for the whole

operation; but experience alone can insure perfect bread, changes of

temperature affecting it at once, and baking being also a critical point.

Pans made of thick tin, or, better still, of Russia iron, ten inches long,

four or five wide, and four deep, make the best-shaped loaf, and one

requiring a reasonably short time to bake.

YEAST.

Ingredients: One teacupful of lightly broken hops; one pint of sifted

flour; one cupful of sugar; one tablespoonful of salt; four large or six

medium-sized potatoes; and two quarts of boiling water.

Boil the potatoes, and mash them fine. At the same time, having tied the

hops in a little bag, boil them for half an hour in the two quarts of

water, but in another saucepan. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt well

together in a large mixing-bowl, and pour on the boiling hop-water,

stirring constantly. Now add enough of this to the mashed potato to thin

it till it can be poured, and mix all together, straining it through a

sieve to avoid any possible lumps. Add to this, when cool, either a cupful

of yeast left from the last, or of baker's yeast, or a Twin Brothers'

yeast cake dissolved in a little warm water. Let it stand till partly

light, and then stir down two or three times in the course of five or six

hours, as this makes it stronger. At the end of that time it will be

light. Keep in a covered stone jar, or in glass cans. By stirring in

corn-meal till a dough is made, and then forming it in small cakes and

drying in the sun, _dry yeast_ is made, which keeps better than the liquid

in hot weather. Crumb, and soak in warm water half an hour before using.

_Potato yeast_ is made by omitting hops and flour, but mashing the

potatoes fine with the same proportion of other ingredients, and adding

the old yeast, when cool, as before. It is very nice, but must be made

fresh every week; while the other, kept in a cool place, will be good a

month.

BREAD.

For four loaves of bread of the pan-size given above, allow as follows:

Four quarts of flour; one large cup of yeast; one tablespoonful of salt,

one of sugar, and one of butter or lard; one pint of milk mixed with one

of warm water, or one quart of water alone for the "wetting."

Sift the flour into a large pan or bowl. Put the sugar, salt, and butter

in the bottom of the bread pan or bowl, and pour on a spoonful or two of

boiling water, enough to dissolve all. Add the quart of wetting, and the

yeast. Now stir in slowly two quarts of the flour; cover with a cloth,

and set in a temperature of about 75° to rise until morning. Bread mixed

at nine in the evening will be ready to mould into loaves or rolls by six

the next morning. In summer it would be necessary to find a cool place; in

winter a warm one,--the chief point being to keep the temperature _even_.

If mixed early in the morning, it is ready to mold and bake in the

afternoon, from seven to eight hours being all it should stand.

This first mixture is called a _sponge_; and, if only a loaf of graham or

rye bread is wanted, one quart of it can be measured, and thickened with

other flour as in the rules given hereafter.

To finish as _wheat bread_, stir in enough flour from the two quarts

remaining to make a dough. Flour the molding-board very thickly, and turn

out. Now begin kneading, flouring the hands, but after the dough is

gathered into a smooth lump, using as little flour as may be. Knead with

the palm of the hand as much as possible. The dough quickly becomes a flat

cake. Fold it over, and keep on, kneading not less than twenty minutes;

half an hour being better.

Make into loaves; put into the pans; set them in a warm place, and let

them rise from thirty to forty-five minutes, or till they have become

nearly double in size. Bake in an oven hot enough to brown a teaspoonful

of flour in one minute; spreading the flour on a bit of broken plate, that

it may have an even heat. Loaves of this size will bake in from forty-five

to sixty minutes. Then take them from the pans; wrap in thick cloths kept

for the purpose and stand them, tilted up against the pans till cold.

Never lay hot bread on a pine table, as it will sweat, and absorb the

pitchy odor and taste; but tilt, so that air may pass around it freely.

Keep well covered in a tin box or large stone pot, which should be wiped

out every day or two, and scalded and dried thoroughly now and then. Pans

for wheat bread should be greased very lightly; for graham or rye, much

more, as the dough sticks and clings.

Instead of mixing a sponge, all the flour may be molded in and kneaded at

once, and the dough set to rise in the same way. When light, turn out. Use

as little flour as possible, and knead for fifteen minutes; less time

being required, as part of the kneading has already been done.

GRAHAM BREAD.

One quart of wheat sponge; one even quart of graham flour; half a

teacupful of brown sugar or molasses; half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved

in a little hot water; and half a teaspoonful of salt.

Pour the sponge in a deep bowl; stir in the molasses, &c, and lastly the

flour, which must never be sifted. The mixture should be so stiff, that

the spoon moves with difficulty. Bake in two loaves for an hour or an hour

and a quarter, graham requiring longer baking than wheat.

If no sponge can be spared, make as follows: One pint of milk or water;

half a cup of sugar or molasses; half a cup of yeast; one teaspoonful of

salt; one cup of wheat flour; two cups of graham. Warm the milk or water;

add the yeast and other ingredients, and then the flour; and set in a cool

place--about 60° Fahrenheit--over-night, graham bread souring more easily

than wheat. Early in the morning stir well; put into two deep,

well-greased pans; let it rise an hour in a warm place, and bake one

hour.

GRAHAM MUFFINS.

These are made by the same rule as the bread. Fill the muffin-pans

two-thirds full; let them rise till even with the top of the pans, which

will take about an hour; and bake in a quick oven twenty minutes. To make

them a little nicer, a large spoonful of melted butter may be added, and

two beaten eggs. This will require longer to rise, as butter clogs the

air-cells, and makes the working of the yeast slower. The quantities given

for bread will make two dozen muffins.

RYE BREAD.

This bread is made by nearly the same rule as the graham, either using

wheat sponge, or setting one over-night, but is kneaded slightly. Follow

the rule just given, substituting rye for graham, but use enough rye to

make a dough which can be turned out. It will take a quart. Use wheat

flour for the molding-board and hands, as rye is very sticky; and knead

only long enough to get into good shape. Raise, and bake as in rule for

graham bread.

RYE MUFFINS.

Make by above rule, but use only one pint of rye flour, adding two eggs

and a spoonful of melted butter, and baking in the same way. A set of

earthen cups are excellent for both these and graham muffins, as the heat

in baking is more even. They are used also for pop-overs, Sunderland

puddings, and some small cakes.

BROWN BREAD.

Sift together into a deep bowl one even cup of Indian meal, two heaping

cups of rye flour, one even teaspoonful of salt, and one of soda. To one

pint of hot water add one cup of molasses, and stir till well mixed. Make

a hole in the middle of the meal, and stir in the molasses and water,

beating all till smooth. Butter a tin pudding-boiler, or a three-pint tin

pail, and put in the mixture, setting the boiler into a kettle or saucepan

of boiling water. Boil steadily for four hours, keeping the water always

at the same level. At the end of that time, take out the boiler, and set

in the oven for fifteen minutes to dry and form a crust. Turn out, and

serve hot.

Milk may be used instead of water, or the same mixture raised over-night

with half a cup of yeast, and then steamed.

PLAIN ROLLS.

A pint-bowlful of bread dough will make twelve small rolls. Increase

amount of dough if more are desired. Flour the molding-board lightly, and

work into the dough a piece of butter or lard the size of an egg. Knead

not less than fifteen minutes, and cut into round cakes, which may be

flattened and folded over, if folded or pocket rolls are wanted. In this

case put a bit of butter or lard the size of a pea between the folds. For

a cleft or French roll make the dough into small round balls, and press a

knife-handle almost through the center of each. Put them about an inch

apart in well-buttered pans, and let them rise an hour and a half before

baking. They require more time to rise than large loaves, as, being small,

heat penetrates them almost at once, and thus there is very little rising

in the oven.

Bake in a quick oven twenty minutes.

PARKER-HOUSE ROLLS.

Two quarts of flour; one pint of milk; butter the size of an egg; one

tablespoonful of sugar; one teacupful of good yeast; one teaspoonful of

salt.

Boil the milk, and add the butter, salt, and sugar. Sift the flour into a

deep bowl, and, when the milk is merely blood-warm, stir together with

enough of the flour to form a batter or sponge. Do this at nine or ten in

the evening, and set in a cool place, from 50° to 60°. Next morning about

nine mix in the remainder of the flour; turn on to the molding-board; and

knead for twenty minutes, using as little flour as possible. Return to the

bowl, and set in cool place again till about four in the afternoon. Knead

again for fifteen minutes; roll out, and cut into rounds, treating them as

in plain rolls. Let them rise one hour, and bake twenty minutes. One

kneading makes a good breakfast roll; but, to secure the peculiar delicacy

of a "Parker-House," two are essential, and they are generally baked as a

folded or pocket roll. If baked round, make the dough into a long roll on

the board; cut off small pieces, and make into round balls with the hand,

setting them well apart in the pan.

SODA AND CREAM OF TARTAR BISCUIT.

One quart of flour; one even teaspoonful of salt; one teaspoonful of soda,

and two of cream of tartar; a piece of lard or butter the size of an egg;

and a large cup of milk or water.

Mix the soda, cream of tartar, and salt with the flour, having first

mashed them fine, and sift all together twice. Rub the shortening in with

the hands till perfectly fine. Add the milk; mix and roll out as quickly

as possible; cut in rounds, and bake in a quick oven. If properly made,

they are light as puffs; but their success depends upon thorough and rapid

mixing and baking.

BAKING-POWDER BISCUIT.

Make as above, using two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, instead of

the soda and cream of tartar.

BEATEN BISCUIT.

Three pints of sifted flour; one cup of lard; one teaspoonful of salt. Rub

the lard and flour well together, and make into a very stiff dough with

about a cup of milk or water: a little more may be necessary. Beat the

dough with a rolling-pin for half an hour, or run through the little

machine that comes for the purpose. Make into small biscuit, prick several

times, and bake till brown.

WAFERS.

One pint of sifted flour; a piece of butter the size of a walnut; half a

teaspoonful of salt.

Rub butter and flour together, and make into dough with half a cup of warm

milk. Beat half an hour with the rolling-pin. Then take a bit of it no

larger than a nut, and roll to the size of a saucer. They can not be too

thin. Flour the pans lightly, and bake in a quick oven from five to ten

minutes.

WAFFLES.

One pint of flour; one teaspoonful of baking powder; half a teaspoonful of

salt; three eggs; butter the size of an egg; and one and a quarter cups of

milk.

Sift salt and baking powder with the flour; rub in the butter. Mix and

add the beaten yolks and milk, and last stir in the whites which have been

beaten to a stiff froth. Bake at once in well-greased waffle-irons. By

using two cups of milk, the mixture is right for pancakes. If sour milk is

used, substitute soda for the baking powder. Sour cream makes delicious

waffles.

RICE OR HOMINY WAFFLES.

One pint of warm boiled rice or hominy; one cup of sweet or sour milk;

butter the size of a walnut; three eggs; one teaspoonful of salt and one

of soda sifted with one pint of flour.

Stir rice and milk together; add the beaten yolks; then the flour, and

last the whites beaten stiff. By adding a small cup more of milk, rice

pancakes can be made. Boiled oatmeal or wheaten grits may be substituted

for the rice.

BREAKFAST PUFFS OR POP-OVERS.

One pint of flour, one pint of milk, and one egg. Stir the milk into the

flour; beat the egg very light, and add it, stirring it well in. Meantime

have a set of gem-pans well buttered, heating in the oven. Put in the

dough (the material is enough for a dozen puffs), and bake for half an

hour in a _very hot oven_. This is one of the simplest but most delicate

breakfast cakes made. Ignorant cooks generally spoil several batches by

persisting in putting in baking powder or soda, as they can not believe

that the puffs will rise without.

SHORT-CAKE.

One quart of flour; one teaspoonful of salt and two of baking powder

sifted with the flour; one cup of butter, or half lard and half butter;

one large cup of hot milk. Rub the butter into the flour. Add the milk,

and roll out the dough, cutting in small square cakes and baking to a

light brown.

For a strawberry or peach short-cake have three tin pie-plates buttered;

roll the dough to fit them, and bake quickly. Fill either, when done, with

a quart of strawberries or raspberries mashed with a cup of sugar, or with

peaches cut fine and sugared, and served hot.

CORN BREAD.

Two cups of corn meal; one cup of flour; one teaspoonful of soda and one

of salt; one heaping tablespoonful of butter; a teacup full of sugar;

three eggs; two cups of sour milk, the more creamy the better. If sweet

milk is used, substitute baking powder for soda.

Sift meal, flour, soda, and salt together; beat the yolks of the eggs with

the sugar; add the milk, and stir into the meal; melt the butter, and stir

in, beating hard for five minutes. Beat the whites stiff, and stir in, and

bake at once either in one large, round loaf, or in tin pie-plates. The

loaf will need half an hour or a little more; the pie-plates, not over

twenty minutes.

This can be baked as muffins, or, by adding another cup of milk, becomes a

pancake mixture.

HOE-CAKE.

One quart of corn meal; one teaspoon full of salt; one tablespoonful of

melted lard; one large cup of boiling water. Melt the lard in the water.

Mix the salt with the meal, and pour on the water, stirring it into a

dough. When cool, make either into one large oval cake or two smaller

ones, and bake in the oven to a bright brown, which will take about half

an hour; or make in small cakes, and bake slowly on a griddle, browning

well on each side. Genuine hoe-cake is baked before an open fire on a

board.

BUCKWHEAT CAKES.

Two cups of buckwheat flour; one of wheat flour; one of corn meal; half a

cup of yeast; one teaspoonful of salt; one quart of boiling water. Mix the

corn meal and salt, and pour on the boiling water very slowly, that the

meal may swell. As soon as merely warm, stir in the sifted flour and

yeast. All buckwheat may be used, instead of part wheat flour. Beat well,

cover, and put in a cool place,--about 60°. In the morning stir well, and

add half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water. Grease

the griddle with a bit of salt pork on a fork, or a _very little_

drippings rubbed over it evenly, but never have it floating with fat, as

many cooks do. Drop in large spoonfuls, and bake and serve _few at a

time_, or they will become heavy and unfit to eat. If a cupful of the

batter is saved, no yeast need be used for the next baking, and in cold

weather this can be done for a month.

HUCKLEBERRY CAKE.

One quart of flour; one teaspoonful of salt and two of baking powder

sifted with the flour; one pint of huckleberries; half a cup of butter;

two eggs; two cups of sweet milk; two cups of sugar.

Cream the butter, and add the sugar and yolks of eggs; stir in the milk,

and add the flour slowly; then beating the whites of the eggs stiff, and

adding them. Have the huckleberries picked over, washed, dried, and well

dusted with flour. Stir them in last of all; fill the pans three-quarters

full, and bake in a moderate oven for about half an hour.

APPLE CAKE.

Make as above; but, instead of huckleberries, use one pint of sour, tender

apples, cut in thin slices. It is a delicious breakfast or tea cake.

BROWN-BREAD BREWIS.

Dry all bits of crust or bread in the oven, browning them nicely. To a

pint of these, allow one quart of milk, half a cup of butter, and a

teaspoonful of salt. Boil the milk; add the butter and salt, and then the

browned bread, and simmer slowly for fifteen minutes, or until perfectly

soft. It is very nice. Bits of white bread or sea biscuit can be used in

the same way.

CRISPED CRACKERS.

Split large soft crackers, what is called the "Boston cracker" being best;

butter them well as for eating; lay the buttered halves in baking-pans,

and brown in a quick oven. Good at any meal.

SOUR BREAD.

If, by any mishap, bread has soured a little, make into water toast or

brewis, adding a teaspoonful of soda to the water or milk.

TO USE DRY BREAD.

Brown in the oven every scrap that is left, seeing that it does not

scorch. Roll while hot and crisp, and sift, using the fine crumbs for

croquettes, &c., and the coarser ones for puddings and pancakes. Keep dry

in glass jars; or tin cans will answer.

BREAD PANCAKES.

One cup of coarse crumbs, soaked over-night in a quart of warm milk, or

milk and water. In the morning mash fine, and run through a sieve. Add

three eggs well beaten, half a cup of flour, a large spoonful of sugar, a

teaspoonful of salt, and, if liked, a little nutmeg. If the bread was in

the least sour, add a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm

water. Bake like pancakes, but more slowly.

TO FRESHEN STALE BREAD OR ROLLS.

Wrap in a cloth, and steam for ten or fifteen minutes in a steamer. Then

dry in the oven. Rolls or biscuits may have the top crust wet with a

little melted butter, and then brown a minute after steaming.

* * * * *

CAKE.

CAKE-MAKING.

In all cake-making, see that every thing is ready to your hand,--pans

buttered, or papered if necessary; flour sifted; all spices and other

materials on your working-table; and the fire in good order.

No matter how plain the cake, there is a certain order in mixing, which,

if followed, produces the best result from the materials used; and this

order is easily reduced to rules.

First, always cream the butter; that is, stir it till light and creamy. If

very cold, heat the bowl a little, but never enough to melt, only to

soften the butter. Second, add the sugar to the butter, and mix

thoroughly.

Third, if eggs are used, beat yolks and whites separately for a delicate

cake; add yolks to sugar and butter, and beat together a minute. For a

plain cake, beat yolks and whites together (a Dover egg-beater doing this

better than any thing else can), and add to butter and sugar.

Fourth, if milk is used, add this.

Fifth, stir in the measure of flour little by little, and beat smooth.

Flavoring may be added at any time. If dry spices are used, mix them with

the sugar. Always sift baking powder with the flour. If soda and cream of

tartar are used, sift the cream of tartar with the flour, and dissolve the

soda in a little milk or warm water. For very delicate cakes, powdered

sugar is best. For gingerbreads and small cakes or cookies, light brown

answers.

Where fruit cake is to be made, raisins should be stoned and chopped, and

currants washed and dried, the day beforehand. A cup of currants being a

nice and inexpensive addition to buns or any plain cake, it is well to

prepare several pounds at once, drying thoroughly, and keeping in glass

jars. Being the very dirtiest article known to the storeroom, currants

require at least three washings in warm water, rubbing them well in the

hands. Then spread them out on a towel, and proceed to pick out all the

sticks, grit, small stones, and legs and wings to be found; then put the

fruit into a slow oven, and dry it carefully, that none may scorch.

In baking, a moderate oven is one in which a teaspoonful of flour will

brown while you count thirty; a quick one, where but twelve can be

counted.

The "cup" used in all these receipts is the ordinary kitchen cup, holding

half a pint. The measures of flour are, in all cases, of _sifted flour_,

which can be sifted by the quantity, and kept in a wooden pail. "Prepared

flour" is especially nice for doughnuts and plain cakes. No great variety

of receipts is given, as every family is sure to have one enthusiastic

cake-maker who gleans from all sources; and this book aims to give fuller

space to substantials than to sweets. Half the energy spent by many

housekeepers upon cake would insure the perfect bread, which, nine times

out of ten, is not found upon their tables, and success in which they

count an impossibility. If cake is to be made, however, let it be done in

the most perfect way; seeing only that bread is first irreproachable.

SPONGE CAKE.

One pound of the finest granulated, or of powdered, sugar; half a pound of

sifted flour; ten eggs; grated rind of two lemons, and the juice of one;

and a saltspoonful of salt.

Break the eggs, yolks and whites separately, and beat the yolks to a

creamy froth. Beat the whites till they can be turned upside down without

spilling. Put yolks and whites together, and beat till blended; then add

the sugar slowly; then the lemon rind and juice and the salt, and last the

flour. Whisk together as lightly and quickly as possible. Turn into either

three buttered bread-pans of the size given on p. 201, or bake in a large

loaf, as preferred. Fill the pans two-thirds full, and, when in the oven,

do not open it for ten minutes. Bake about half an hour, and test by

running a clean broom-straw into the loaf. If it comes out dry, they are

done. Turn out, and cool on a sieve, or on the pans turned upside down.

ROLLED JELLY CAKE.

Three eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately; one heaped cup of sugar;

one scant cup of flour in which a teaspoonful of baking powder and a pinch

of salt have been sifted; quarter of a cup of boiling water.

Mix as in sponge cake; add the water last, and bake in a large

roasting-pan, spreading the batter as thinly as possible. It will bake in

ten minutes. When done, and while still hot, spread with any acid jelly,

and roll carefully from one side. This cake is nice for lining

Charlotte-Russe molds also. For that purpose the water may be omitted, its

only use being to make the cake roll more easily.

CUP CAKE.

One cup of butter; two cups of sugar; four eggs, yolks and whites beaten

separately; one cup of milk; three and a half cups of flour; a grated

nutmeg, or a teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon; and a heaping teaspoonful of

baking powder.

Cream the butter; add the sugar, and then the yolks; then the milk and the

whites, and last the flour, in which the baking powder has been sifted.

Bake half an hour, either in two brick loaves or one large one. It is

nice, also, baked in little tins. Half may be flavored with essence, and

the other half with a teaspoonful of mixed spice,--half cinnamon, and the

rest mace and allspice. By using a heaping tablespoonful of yellow ginger,

this becomes a delicious sugar gingerbread, or, with mixed spices and

ginger, a spice gingerbread.

This cake with the variations upon it makes up page after page in the

large cook-books. Use but half a cup of butter, and you have a plain _Cup

Cake_. Add a cup of currants and one of chopped raisins, and it is plain

_Fruit Cake_, needing to bake one hour. Bake on Washington-pie tins, and

you have the foundation for _Cream_ and _Jelly Cakes_. A little

experience, and then invention, will show you how varied are the

combinations, and how one page in your cook-book can do duty for twenty.

POUND CAKE.

One pound of sugar; one pound of flour; three-quarters of a pound of

butter; nine eggs; one teaspoonful of baking powder, and one of lemon

extract; one nutmeg grated.

Cream the butter, and add half the flour, sifting the baking powder with

the other half. Beat the yolks to a creamy foam, and add; and then the

sugar, beating hard. Have the whites a stiff froth, and stir in, adding

flavoring and remainder of flour. Bake in one large loaf for one hour,

letting the oven be moderate. Frost, if liked.

FRUIT CAKE.

One pound of butter; one pound of sugar; one pound and a quarter of sifted

flour; ten eggs; two nutmegs grated; a tablespoonful each of ground

cloves, cinnamon, and allspice; a teaspoonful of soda; a cup of brandy or

wine, and one of dark molasses; one pound of citron; two pounds of stoned

and chopped raisins, and two of currants washed and dried.

Dredge the prepared fruit with enough of the flour to coat it thoroughly.

To have the cake very dark and rich looking, brown the flour a little,

taking great care not to scorch it. Cream the butter, and add the sugar,

in which the spices have been mixed; then the beaten yolks of eggs; then

the whites beaten to a stiff froth, and the flour. Dissolve the soda in a

very little warm water, and add. Now stir in the fruit. Have either one

large, round pan, or two smaller ones. Put at least three thicknesses of

buttered letter-paper on the sides and bottom; turn in the mixture, and

bake for three hours in a moderate oven. Cover with thick paper if there

is the least danger of scorching. This will keep, if well frosted, for two

years.

DOVER CAKE.

One pound of flour; one pound of sugar; half a pound of butter; one teacup

of milk; six eggs; one teaspoonful of baking powder; one grated nutmeg.

Cream the butter; add first sugar, then beaten yolks of eggs and milk,

then whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth, and last the flour. Bake

forty-five minutes in a large dripping-pan, sifting fine sugar over the

top, and cut in small squares; or it may be baked in one round loaf, and

frosted on the bottom, or in small tins. Half a pound of citron cut fine

is often added.

WHITE OR SILVER CAKE.

Half a cup of butter; a heaping cupful of powdered sugar; two cups of

flour, with a teaspoonful of baking powder sifted in; half a cup of milk;

whites of six eggs; one teaspoonful of almond extract.

Cream the butter, and add the flour, beating till it is a smooth paste.

Beat the whites to a stiff froth, and add the sugar and essence. Now mix

both quickly, and bake in a sheet about an inch and a half thick. About

half an hour will be needed. Frost while hot, with one white of egg,

beaten ten minutes with a small cup of sifted powdered sugar, and juice

of half a lemon. This frosting hardens very quickly. Before it is quite

hard, divide it into oblong or square pieces, scoring at intervals with

the back of a large knife. The milk can be omitted if a richer cake is

wanted. It may also be baked in jelly-cake tins; one small cocoanut

grated, and mixed with one cup of sugar, and spread between, and the whole

frosted. Or beat the white of an egg with one cup of sugar, and the juice

of one large or two small oranges, and spread between. Either form is

delicious.

GOLD CAKE.

One cup of sugar; half a cup of butter; two cups of flour; yolks of six

eggs; grated rind and juice of a lemon or orange; half a teaspoonful of

soda, mixed with the flour, and sifted twice.

Cream the butter; add the sugar, then the beaten yolks and the flour,

beating hard for several minutes. Last, add the lemon or orange juice, and

bake like silver cake; frosting, if liked. If frosting is made for either

or both cakes, the extra yolks may be used in making this one, eight being

still nicer than six.

BREAD CAKE.

Two cups or a pint-bowlful of raised dough ready for baking; one cup of

butter; two cups of sugar; one teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, or half a

nutmeg grated; three eggs; one teaspoonful of soda in quarter of a cup of

warm water, and half a cup of flour.

Cream the butter, and add the sugar. Then put in the bread dough, and work

together till well mixed. The hand is best for this, though it can be done

with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs, then the flour, and last the soda. Let

it stand in a warm place for one hour, and bake in a moderate oven

forty-five minutes, testing with a broom-straw. A pound of stoned and

chopped raisins is a nice addition. Omitting them, and adding flour enough

to roll out, makes an excellent raised doughnut or bun. Let it rise two

hours; then cut in shapes, and fry in boiling lard. Or, for buns, bake in

a quick oven, and, a minute before taking out, brush the top with a

spoonful of sugar and milk mixed together.

PLAIN BUNS.

One pint-bowlful of dough; one cup of sugar; butter the size of an egg;

one teaspoonful of cinnamon.

Boll the dough thin. Spread the butter upon it. Mix sugar and cinnamon

together, and sprinkle on it. Now turn over the edges of the dough

carefully to keep the sugar in, and press and work gently for a few

minutes, that it may not break through. Knead till thoroughly mixed. Roll

out; cut like biscuit, and let them rise an hour, baking in a quick oven.

The same rule can be used for raised doughnuts.

DOUGHNUTS.

First put on the lard, and let it be heating gradually. To test it when

hot, drop in a bit of bread; if it browns as you count twenty, it is

right. Never let it boil furiously, or scorch. This is the rule for all

frying, whether fritters, croquettes, or cakes.

One quart of flour into which has been sifted a teaspoonful of salt, and

one of soda if sour milk is used, or two of baking powder if sweet milk.

If cream can be had, use part cream, allowing one large cup of milk, or

cream and milk. One heaping cup of fine brown sugar; one teaspoonful of

ground cinnamon, and half a one of mace or nutmeg; use one spoonful of

butter, if you have no cream, stirring it into the sugar. Add two or three

beaten eggs; mixing all as in general directions for cake. They can be

made without eggs. Roll out; cut in shapes, and fry brown, taking them out

with a fork into a sieve set over a pan that all fat may drain off.

Cut thin, and baked brown in a quick oven, these make a good plain cooky.

GINGER SNAPS.

One cup of butter and lard or dripping mixed, or dripping alone can be

used; one cup of molasses; one cup of brown sugar; two teaspoonfuls of

ginger, and one each of clove, allspice, and mace; one teaspoonful of

salt, and one of soda dissolved in half a cup of hot water; one egg.

Stir together the shortening, sugar, molasses, and spice. Add the soda,

and then sifted flour enough to make a dough,--about three pints. Turn on

to the board, and knead well. Take about quarter of it, and roll out thin

as a knife-blade. Bake in a quick oven. They will bake in five minutes,

and will keep for months. By using only four cups of flour, this can be

baked in a loaf as spiced gingerbread; or it can be rolled half an inch

thick, and baked as a cooky. In this, as in all cakes, experience will

teach you many variations.

PLAIN GINGERBREAD.

Two cups of molasses; one of sour milk; half a cup of lard or drippings;

four cups of flour; two teaspoonfuls of ginger, and one of cinnamon; half

a teaspoonful of salt; one egg, and a teaspoonful of soda.

Mix molasses and shortening; add the spice and egg, then the milk, and

last the flour, with soda sifted in it. Bake at once in a sheet about an

inch thick for half an hour. Try with a broom-straw. Good hot for lunch

with chocolate. A plain cooky is made by adding flour enough to roll out.

The egg may be omitted.

JUMBLES.

The richest jumbles are made from either the rule for Pound or Dover Cake,

with flour enough added to roll out. The Cup-Cake rule makes good but

plainer ones. Make rings, either by cutting in long strips and joining the

ends, or by using a large and small cutter. Sift sugar over the top, and

bake a delicate brown. By adding a large spoonful of yellow ginger, any of

these rules become hard sugar-gingerbread, and all will keep for a long

time.

DROP CAKES.

Any of the rules last mentioned become drop cakes by buttering muffin-tins

or tin sheets, and dropping a teaspoonful of these mixtures into them. If

on sheets, let them be two inches apart. Sift sugar over the top, and bake

in a quick oven. They are done as soon as brown.

CREAM CAKES.

One pint of boiling water in a saucepan. Melt in it a piece of butter the

size of an egg. Add half a teaspoonful of salt. While still boiling, stir

in one large cup of flour, and cook for three minutes. Take from the fire;

cool ten minutes; then break in, one by one, six eggs, and beat till

smooth. Have muffin-pans buttered, or large baking-sheets. Drop a spoonful

of the mixture on them, allowing room to spread, and bake half an hour in

a quick oven. Cool on a sieve, and, when cool, fill with a cream made as

below.

FILLING FOR CREAM CAKES.

One pint of milk, one cup of sugar, two eggs, half a cup of flour, and a

piece of butter the size of a walnut.

Mix the sugar and flour, add the beaten eggs, and beat all till smooth.

Stir into the boiling milk with a teaspoonful of salt, and boil for

fifteen minutes. When cold, add a teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon. Make a

slit in each cake, and fill with the cream. Corn-starch may be used

instead of flour. This makes a very nice filling for plain cup cake baked

on jelly-cake tins.

MERINGUES, OR KISSES.

Whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth; quarter of a pound of sifted

powdered sugar; a few drops of vanilla.

Add the sugar to the whites. Have ready a hard-wood board which fits the

oven. Wet the top well with boiling water, and cover it with sheets of

letter-paper. Drop the meringue mixture on this in large spoonfuls, and

set in a _very slow_ oven. The secret of a good meringue is to _dry_, not

bake; and they should be in the oven at least half an hour. Take them out

when dry. Slip a thin, sharp knife under each one, and put two together;

or scoop out the soft part very carefully, and fill with a little jelly or

with whipped cream.

PASTRY AND PIES.

In the first place, don't make either, except very semi-occasionally.

Pastry, even when good, is so indigestible that children should never have

it, and their elders but seldom. A nice short-cake made as on p. 209, and

filled with stewed fruit, or with fresh berries mashed and sweetened, is

quite as agreeable to eat, and far more wholesome. But, as people _will_

both make and eat pie-crust, the best rules known are given.

Butter, being more wholesome than lard, should always be used if it can be

afforded. A mixture of lard and butter is next best. Clarified dripping

makes a good crust for meat pies, and cream can also be used. For

dumplings nothing can be better than a light biscuit-crust, made as on p.

208. It is also good for meat pies.

PLAIN PIE-CRUST.

One quart of flour; one even teacup of lard, and one of butter; one teacup

of ice-water or very cold water; and a teaspooonful of salt.

Rub the lard and salt into the flour till it is dry and crumbly. Add the

ice-water, and work to a smooth dough. Wash the butter, and have it cold

and firm as possible. Divide it in three parts. Roll out the paste, and

dot it all over with bits from one part of the butter. Sprinkle with

flour, and roll up. Roll out, and repeat till the butter is gone. If the

crust can now stand on the ice for half an hour, it will be nicer and more

flaky. This amount will make three good-sized pies. Enough for the bottom

crusts can be taken off after one rolling in of butter, thus making the

top crust richer. Lard alone will make a tender, but not a flaky, paste.

PUFF PASTE.

One pound of flour; three-quarters of a pound of butter; one teacupful of

ice-water; one teaspoonful of salt, and one of sugar; yolk of one egg.

Wash the butter; divide into three parts, reserving a bit the size of an

egg; and put it on the ice for an hour. Rub the bit of butter, the salt,

and sugar, into the flour, and stir in the ice-water and egg beaten

together. Make into a dough, and knead on the molding-board till glossy

and firm: at least ten minutes will be required. Roll out into a sheet ten

or twelve inches square. Cut a cake of the ice-cold butter in thin slices,

or flatten it very thin with the rolling-pin. Lay it on the paste,

sprinkle with flour, and fold over the edges. Press it in somewhat with

the rolling-pin, and roll out again. Always roll _from_ you. Do this again

and again till the butter is all used, rolling up the paste after the last

cake is in, and then putting it on the ice for an hour or more. Have

filling all ready, and let the paste be as nearly ice-cold as possible

when it goes into the oven. There are much more elaborate rules; but this

insures handsome paste. Make a plainer one for the bottom crusts. Cover

puff paste with a damp cloth, and it may be kept on the ice a day or two

before baking.

PATTIES FROM PUFF PASTE.

Roll the paste about a third of an inch thick, and cut out with a round or

oval cutter about two inches in diameter. Take a cutter half an inch

smaller, and press it into the piece already cut out, so as to sink

half-way through the crust: this to mark out the top piece. Lay on tins,

and bake to a delicate brown. They should treble in thickness by rising,

and require from twenty minutes to half an hour to bake. When done, the

marked-out top can easily be removed. Take out the soft inside, and fill

with sweetmeats for dessert, or with minced chicken or oysters prepared as

on p. 140.

GRANDMOTHER'S APPLE PIE.

Line a deep pie-plate with plain paste. Pare sour apples,--greenings are

best; quarter, and cut in thin slices. Allow one cup of sugar, and quarter

of a grated nutmeg mixed with it. Fill the pie-plate heaping full of the

sliced apple, sprinkling the sugar between the layers. It will require not

less than six good-sized apples. Wet the edges of the pie with cold water;

lay on the cover, and press down securely, that no juice may escape. Bake

three-quarters of an hour, or a little less if the apples are very tender.

No pie in which the apples are stewed beforehand can compare with this in

flavor. If they are used, stew till tender, and strain. Sweeten and flavor

to taste. Fill the pies, and bake half an hour.

DRIED-APPLE PIES.

Wash one pint of dried apples, and put in a porcelain kettle with two

quarts of warm water. Let them stand all night. In the morning put on the

fire, and stew slowly for an hour. Then add one pint of sugar, a

teaspoonful of dried lemon or orange rind, or half a fresh lemon sliced,

and half a teaspoonful of cinnamon. Stew half an hour longer, and then use

for filling the pies. The apple can be strained if preferred, and a

teaspoonful of butter added. This quantity will make two pies. Dried

peaches are treated in the same way.

LEMON PIES.

Three lemons, juice of all and the grated rind of two; two cups of sugar;

three cups of boiling water; three tablespoonfuls of corn-starch dissolved

in a little cold water; three eggs; a piece of butter the size of an egg.

Pour the boiling water on the dissolved corn-starch, and boil for five

minutes. Add the sugar and butter, the yolks of the eggs beaten to a

froth, and last the lemon juice and rind. Line the plates with crust,

putting a narrow rim of it around each one. Pour in the filling, and bake

half an hour. Beat the whites to a stiff froth; add half a teacup of

powdered sugar and ten drops of lemon extract, and, when the pie is baked,

spread this on. The heat will cook it sufficiently, but it can be browned

a moment in the oven. If to be kept a day, do not make the frosting till

just before using. The whites will keep in a cold place. Orange pie can be

made in the same way.

SWEET-POTATO PIE OR PUDDING.

One pound of hot, boiled sweet potato rubbed through a sieve; one cup of

butter; one heaping cup of sugar; half a grated nutmeg; one glass of

brandy; a pinch of salt; six eggs.

Add the sugar, spice, and butter to the hot potato. Beat whites and yolks

separately, and add, and last the brandy. Line deep plates with nice

paste, making a rim of puff paste. Fill with the mixture, and bake till

the crust is done,--about half an hour. Wickedly rich, but very

delicious. Irish potatoes can be treated in the same way, and are more

delicate.

SQUASH OR PUMPKIN PIE.

Prepare and steam as in directions on p. 194. Strain through a sieve. To a

quart of the strained squash add one quart of new milk, with a spoonful or

two of cream if possible; one heaping cup of sugar into which has been

stirred a teaspoonful of salt, a heaping one of ginger, and half a one of

cinnamon. Mix this with the squash, and add from two to four well-beaten

eggs. Bake in deep plates lined with plain pie-crust. They are done when a

knife-blade on being run into the middle comes out clean. About forty

minutes will be enough. For pumpkin pie half a cup of molasses may be

added, and the eggs can be omitted, substituting half a cup of flour mixed

with the sugar and spice before stirring in. A teaspoonful of butter can

also be added.

CHERRY AND BERRY PIES.

Have a very deep plate, and either no under crust save a rim, or a very

thin one. Allow a cup of sugar to a quart of fruit, but no spices. Stone

cherries. Prick the upper crust half a dozen times with a fork to let out

the steam.

For rhubarb or pie-plant pies, peel the stalks; cut them in little bits,

and fill the pie. Bake with an upper crust.

CUSTARD PIE.

Line and rim deep plates with pastry, a thin custard pie being very poor.

Beat together a teacupful of sugar, four eggs, and a pinch of salt, and

mix slowly with one quart of milk. Fill the plate up to the pastry rim

_after it is in the oven_, and bake till the custard is firm, trying, as

for squash pies, with a knife-blade.

MINCE-MEAT FOR PIES.

Two pounds of cold roast or boiled beef, or a small beef-tongue, boiled

the day beforehand, cooled and chopped; one pound of beef-suet, freed from

all strings, and chopped fine as powder; two pounds of raisins stoned and

chopped; one pound of currants washed and dried; six pounds of chopped

apples; half a pound of citron cut in slips; two pounds of brown sugar;

one pint of molasses; one quart of boiled cider; one pint of wine or

brandy, or a pint of any nice sirup from sweet pickles may be substituted;

two heaping tablespoonfuls of salt; one teaspoonful of pepper; three

tablespoonfuls of ground cinnamon; two of allspice; one of clove; one of

mace; three grated nutmegs; grated rind and juice of three lemons; a

cupful of chopped, candied orange or lemon peel.

Mix spices and salt with sugar, and stir into the meat and suet. Add the

apples, and then the cider and other wetting, stirring very thoroughly.

Lastly, mix in the fruit. Fill and bake as in apple pies. This mince-meat

will keep two months easily. If it ferments at all, put over the fire in a

porcelain-lined kettle, and boil half an hour. Taste, and judge for

yourselves whether more or less spice is needed. Butter can be used

instead of suet, and proportions varied to taste.

RAMMEKINS, OR CHEESE STRAWS.

One pound of puff paste; one cup of good grated cheese. Roll the paste

half an inch thick; sprinkle on half the cheese; press in lightly with the

rolling-pin; roll up, and roll out again, using the other half of the

cheese. Fold, and roll about a third of an inch thick. Cut in long, narrow

strips, four or five inches long and half an inch wide, and bake in a

quick oven to a delicate brown. Excellent with chocolate at lunch, or for

dessert with fruit.

* * * * *

PUDDINGS BOILED AND BAKED.

For boiled puddings a regular pudding-boiler holding from three pints to

two quarts is best, a tin pail with a very tight-fitting cover answering

instead, though not as good. For large dumplings a thick

pudding-cloth--the best being of Canton flannel, used with the nap-side

out--should be dipped in hot water, and wrung out, dredged evenly and

thickly with flour, and laid over a large bowl. From half to

three-quarters of a yard square is a good size. In filling this, pile the

fruit or berries on the rolled-out crust which has been laid in the middle

of the cloth, and gather the edges of the paste evenly over it. Then

gather the cloth up, leaving room for the dumpling to swell, and tying

very tightly. In turning out, lift to a dish; press all the water from the

ends of the cloth; untie and turn away from the pudding, and lay a hot

dish upon it, turning over the pudding into it, and serving at once, as it

darkens or falls by standing.

In using a boiler, butter well, and fill only two-thirds full that the

mixture may have room to swell. Set it in boiling water, and see that it

is kept at the same height, about an inch from the top. Cover the outer

kettle that the steam may be kept in. Small dumplings, with a single apple

or peach in each, can be cooked in a steamer. Puddings are not only much

more wholesome, but less expensive than pies.

APPLE DUMPLING.

Make a crust, as for biscuit, or a potato-crust as follows: Three large

potatoes, boiled and mashed while hot. Add to them two cups of sifted

flour and one teaspoonful of salt, and mix thoroughly. Now chop or cut

into it one small cup of butter, and mix into a paste with about a

teacupful of cold water. Dredge the board thick with flour, and roll

out,--thick in the middle, and thin at the edges. Fill, as directed, with

apples pared and quartered, eight or ten good-sized ones being enough for

this amount of crust. Boil for three hours. Turn out as directed, and eat

with butter and sirup or with a made sauce. Peaches pared and halved, or

canned ones drained from the sirup, can be used. In this case, prepare the

sirup for sauce, as on p. 172. Blueberries are excellent in the same way.

ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING, OR CHRISTMAS PUDDING.

One pound of raisins stoned and cut in two; one pound of currants washed

and dried; one pound of beef-suet chopped very fine; one pound of

bread-crumbs; one pound of flour; half a pound of brown sugar; eight eggs;

one pint of sweet milk; one teaspoonful of salt; a tablespoonful of

cinnamon; two grated nutmegs; a glass each of wine and brandy.

Prepare the fruit, and dredge thickly with flour. Soak the bread in the

milk; beat the eggs, and add. Stir in the rest of the flour, the suet, and

last the fruit. Boil six hours either in a cloth or large mold. Half the

amounts given makes a good-sized pudding; but, as it will keep three

months, it might be boiled in two molds. Serve with a rich sauce.

ANY-DAY PLUM PUDDING.

One cup of sweet milk; one cup of molasses; one cup each of raisins and

currants; one cup of suet chopped fine, or, instead, a small cup of

butter; one teaspoonful of salt, and one of soda, sifted with three cups

of flour; one teaspoonful each of cinnamon and allspice.

Mix milk, molasses, suet, and spice; add flour, and then the fruit. Put in

a buttered mold, and boil three hours. Eat with hard or liquid sauce. A

cupful each of prunes and dates or figs can be substituted for the fruit,

and is very nice; and the same amount of dried apple, measured after

soaking and chopping, is also good. Or the fruit can be omitted

altogether, in which case it becomes "Troy Pudding."

BATTER PUDDING, BOILED OR BAKED.

Two cups of flour in which is sifted a heaping teaspoonful of baking

powder, two cups of sweet milk, four eggs, one teaspoonful of salt. Stir

the flour gradually into the milk, and beat hard for five minutes. Beat

yolks and whites separately, and then add to batter. Have the

pudding-boiler buttered. Pour in the batter, and boil steadily for two

hours. It may also be baked an hour in a buttered pudding-dish. Serve at

once, when done, with a liquid sauce.

SUNDERLAND PUDDINGS.

Are merely puffs or pop-overs eaten with sauce. See p. 209.

BREAD PUDDING.

One cup of dried and rolled bread-crumbs, or one pint of fresh ones; one

quart of milk; two eggs; one cup of sugar; half a teaspoonful of cinnamon;

a little grated nutmeg; a saltspoonful of salt.

Soak the crumbs in the milk for an hour or two; mix the spice and salt

with the sugar, and beat the eggs with it, stirring them slowly into the

milk. Butter a pudding-dish; pour in the mixture; and bake half an hour,

or till done. Try with a knife-blade, as in general directions. The whites

may be kept out for a meringue, allowing half a teacup of powdered sugar

to them. By using fresh bread-crumbs and four eggs, this becomes what is

known as "Queen of Puddings." As soon as done, spread the top with half a

cup of any acid jelly, and cover with the whites which have been beaten

stiff, with a teacupful of sugar. Brown slightly in the oven. Half a pound

of raisins may be added.

BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING.

Fill a pudding-dish two-thirds full with very thin slices of bread and

butter. A cupful of currants or dried cherries may be sprinkled between

the slices. Make a custard of two eggs beaten with a cup of sugar; add a

quart of milk, and pour over the bread. Cover with a plate, and set on the

back of the stove an hour; then bake from half to three-quarters of an

hour. Serve very hot, as it falls when cool.

BREAD-AND-APPLE PUDDING.

Butter a deep pudding-dish, and put first a layer of crumbs, then one of

any good acid apple, sliced rather thin, and so on till the dish is nearly

full. Six or eight apples and a quart of fresh crumbs will fill a

two-quart dish. Dissolve a cup of sugar and one teaspoonful of cinnamon in

one pint of boiling water, and pour into the dish. Let the pudding stand

half an hour to swell; then bake till brown,--about three-quarters of an

hour,--and eat with liquid sauce. It can be made with slices of bread and

butter, instead of crumbs.

BIRD'S-NEST PUDDING.

Wash one teacupful of tapioca, and put it in one quart of cold water to

soak for several hours. Pare and core as many good apples as will fit in a

two-quart buttered pudding-dish. When the tapioca is softened, add a

cupful of sugar, a pinch of salt, and half a teaspoonful of cinnamon, and

pour over the apples. Bake an hour, and eat with or without sauce.

TAPIOCA PUDDING.

One quart of milk; one teacupful of tapioca; three eggs; a cup of sugar; a

teaspoonful of salt; a tablespoonful of butter; a teaspoonful of lemon

extract.

Wash the tapioca, and soak in the milk for two hours, setting it on the

back of the stove to swell. Beat eggs and sugar together, reserving whites

for a meringue if liked; melt the butter, and add, and stir into the milk.

Bake half an hour. Sago pudding is made in the same way.

TAPIOCA CREAM.

One teacupful of tapioca washed and soaked over-night in one pint of warm

water. Next morning add a quart of milk and a teaspoonful of salt, and

boil in a milk-boiler for two hours. Just before taking it from the fire,

add a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of vanilla, and three eggs

beaten with a cup of sugar. The whites may be made in a meringue. Pour

into a glass dish which has had warm water standing in it, to prevent

cracking, and eat cold. Rice or sago cream is made in the same way.

PLAIN RICE PUDDING.

One cup of rice; three pints of milk; one heaping cup of sugar; one

teaspoonful of salt.

Wash the rice well. Butter a two-quart pudding-dish, and stir rice, sugar,

and salt together. Pour on the milk. Grate nutmeg over it, and bake for

three hours. Very good.

MINUTE PUDDING.

One quart of milk; one pint of flour; two eggs; one teaspoonful of salt.

Boil the milk in a double boiler. Beat the eggs, and add the flour slowly,

with enough of the milk to make it smooth. Stir into the boiling milk, and

cook it half an hour. Eat with liquid sauce or sirup. It is often made

without eggs.

CORN-STARCH PUDDING.

One quart of milk; four tablespoonfuls of corn-starch; one cup of sugar;

three eggs; a teaspoonful each of salt and vanilla.

Boil the milk; dissolve the corn-starch in a little cold milk, and add.

Cook five minutes, and add the eggs and flavoring beaten with the sugar.

Turn into a buttered dish, and bake fifteen minutes, covering then with a

meringue made of the whites, or cool in molds, in this case using only the

whites of the eggs. The yolks can be made in a custard to pour around

them. A cup of grated cocoanut can be added, or two teaspoonfuls of

chocolate stirred smooth in a little boiling water.

GELATINE PUDDING.

Four eggs; one pint of milk; one cup of sugar; a saltspoonful of salt; a

teaspoonful of lemon or vanilla; a third of a box of gelatine.

Soak the gelatine a few minutes in a little cold water, and then dissolve

it in three-quarters of a cup of boiling water. Have ready a custard made

from the milk and yolks of the eggs. Beat the yolks and sugar together,

and stir into the boiling milk. When cold, add the gelatine water and the

whites of the eggs beaten very stiff. Pour into molds. It is both pretty

and good.

CABINET PUDDING.

One quart of milk; half a package of gelatine; a teaspoonful each of salt

and vanilla; a cup of sugar.

Boil the milk; soak the gelatine fifteen minutes in a little cold water;

dissolve in the boiling milk, and add the sugar and salt. Now butter a

Charlotte-Russe mold thickly. Cut slips of citron into leaves or pretty

shapes, and stick on the mold. Fill it lightly with any light cake, either

plain or rich. Strain on the gelatine and milk, and set in a cold place.

Turn out before serving. Delicate crackers may be used instead of cake.

CORN-MEAL OR INDIAN PUDDING.

One quart of milk; one cup of sifted corn meal; one cup of molasses (not

"sirup"); one teaspoonful of salt.

Stir meal, salt, and molasses together. Boil the milk, and add slowly.

Butter a pudding-dish, and pour in the mixture; adding, after it is set in

the oven, one cup of cold milk poured over the top. Bake three hours in a

moderate oven.

* * * * *

CUSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, ETC.

BAKED CUSTARD.

One quart of milk; four eggs; one teacup of sugar; half a teaspoonful of

salt; nutmeg.

Boil the milk. Beat the eggs very light, and add the sugar and salt. Pour

on the milk very slowly, stirring constantly. Bake in a pudding-dish or in

cups. If in cups, set them in a baking-pan, and half fill it with boiling

water. Grate nutmeg over each. The secret of a good custard is in slow

baking and the most careful watching. Test often with a knife-blade, and

do not bake an instant after the blade comes out smooth and clean. To be

eaten cold. Six eggs are generally used; but four are plenty.

BOILED CUSTARD.

One quart of milk; three or four eggs; one cup of sugar; one teaspoonful

of vanilla; half a teaspoonful of salt; one teaspoonful of corn-starch.

Boil the milk. Dissolve the corn-starch in a little cold water, and boil

in the milk five minutes. It prevents the custard from curdling, which

otherwise it is very apt to do. Beat the eggs and sugar well together,

stir into the milk, and add the salt and flavoring. Take at once from the

fire, and, when cool, pour either into a large glass dish, covering with a

meringue of the whites, or into small glasses with a little jelly or jam

at the bottom of each. Or the whites can be used in making an apple-float,

as below, and the yolks for the custard.

For _Cocoanut Custard_ add a cup of grated cocoanut; for _Chocolate_, two

tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate dissolved in half a cup of boiling

water.

TIPSY PUDDING.

Make a boiled custard as directed. Half fill a deep dish with any light,

stale cake. Add to a teacup of wine a teacup of boiling water, and pour

over it. Add the custard just before serving.

APPLE FLOAT.

Six good, acid apples stewed and strained. When cold, add a teacupful of

sugar, half a teaspoonful of vanilla, and the beaten whites of three or

four eggs. Serve at once.

BLANCMANGE.

One quart of milk; one cup of sugar; half a package of gelatine; half a

teaspoonful of salt; a teaspoonful of any essence liked.

Soak the gelatine ten minutes in half a cup of cold water. Boil the milk,

and add gelatine and the other ingredients. Strain into molds, and let it

stand in a cold place all night to harden. For chocolate blancmange add

two tablespoonfuls of scraped chocolate dissolved in a little boiling

water.

SPANISH CREAM.

Make a blancmange as on p. 238; but, just before taking from the fire, add

the yolks of four eggs, and then strain. The whites can be used for

meringues.

WHIPPED CREAM.

One pint of rich cream; one cup of sugar; one glass of sherry or Madeira.

Mix all, and put on the ice an hour, as cream whips much better when

chilled. Using a whip-churn enables it to be done in a few minutes; but a

fork or egg-beater will answer. Skim off all the froth as it rises, and

lay on a sieve to drain, returning the cream which drips away to be

whipped over again. Set on the ice a short time before serving.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE.

Make a sponge cake as on p. 216, and line a Charlotte mold with it,

cutting a piece the size of the bottom, and fitting the rest around the

sides. Fill with cream whipped as above, and let it stand on the ice to

set a little. This is the easiest form of Charlotte. It is improved by the

beaten whites of three eggs stirred into the cream. Flavor with half a

teaspoonful of vanilla if liked.

BAVARIAN CREAM.

Whip a pint of cream to a stiff froth. Boil a pint of rich milk with a

teacupful of sugar, and add a teaspoonful of vanilla. Soak half a box of

gelatine for an hour in half a cup of warm water, and add to the milk. Add

the yolks of four eggs beaten smooth, and take from the fire instantly.

When cold and just beginning to thicken, stir in the whipped cream. Put

in molds, and set in a cold place. This can be used also for filling

Charlotte Russe. For chocolate add chocolate as directed in rule for

boiled custard; for coffee, one teacup of clear, strong coffee.

STRAWBERRY CREAM.

Three pints of strawberries mashed fine. Strain the juice, and add a

heaping cup of sugar, and then gelatine soaked as above, and dissolved in

a teacup of boiling water. Add the pint of whipped cream, and pour into

molds.

FRUIT CREAMS.

Half a pint of peach or pine-apple marmalade stirred smooth with a

teacupful of sweet cream. Add gelatine dissolved as in rule for strawberry

cream, and, when cold, the pint of whipped cream. These creams are very

delicious, and not as expensive as rich pastry.

OMELETTE SOUFFLÉE.

Six whites and three yolks of eggs; three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar

sifted; a few drops of lemon or vanilla. Beat the yolks, flavoring, and

sugar to a light cream; beat the whites to the stiffest froth. Have the

yolks in a deep bowl. Turn the whites on to them, and do not stir, but

mix, by cutting down through the middle, and gradually mixing white and

yellow. Turn on to a tin or earthen baking-dish with high sides, and bake

in a moderate oven from ten to fifteen minutes. It will rise very high,

and must be served the instant it is done, to avoid its falling.

FRIED CREAM.

One pint of milk; half a cup of sugar; yolks of three eggs; two

tablespoonfuls of corn-starch and one of flour mixed; half a teaspoonful

of vanilla, and two inches of stick-cinnamon; a teaspoonful of butter.

Boil the cinnamon in the milk. Stir the corn-starch and flour smooth in a

little cold milk or water, and add to the milk. Beat the yolks light with

the sugar, and add. Take from the fire; take out the cinnamon, and stir in

the butter and vanilla, and pour out on a buttered tin or dish, letting it

be about half an inch thick. When cold and stiff, cut into pieces about

three inches long and two wide. Dip carefully in sifted cracker-crumbs;

then in a beaten egg, and in crumbs again, and fry like croquettes. Dry in

the oven four or five minutes, and serve at once. Very delicious.

PEACH FRITTERS.

Make a batter as on p. 208. Take the fruit from a small can of peaches,

lay it on a plate, and sprinkle with a spoonful of sugar and a glass of

wine. Let it lie an hour, turning it once. Dip each piece in batter, and

drop in boiling lard, or chop and mix with batter. Prepare the juice for a

sauce as on p. 172. Fresh peaches or slices of tender apple can be used in

the same way. Drain on brown paper, and sift sugar over them, before they

go to table.

FREEZING OF ICE CREAM AND ICES.

With a patent freezer ice cream and ices can be prepared with less trouble

than puff paste. The essential points are the use of rock-salt, and

pounding the ice into small bits. Set the freezer in the centre of the

tub. Put a layer of ice three inches deep, then of salt, and so on till

the tub is full, ending with ice. Put in the cream, and turn for ten

minutes, or till you can not turn the beater. Then take off the cover,

scrape down the sides, and beat like cake for at least five minutes. Pack

the tub again, having let off all water; cover with a piece of old carpet.

If molds are used, fill as soon as the cream is frozen; pack them full of

it, and lay in ice and salt. When ready to turn out, dip in warm water a

moment. Handle gently, and serve at once.

ICE CREAM OF CREAM.

To a gallon of sweet cream add two and a quarter pounds of sugar, and four

tablespoonfuls of vanilla or other extract, as freezing destroys flavors.

Freeze as directed.

ICE CREAM WITH EGGS.

Boil two quarts of rich milk, and add to it, when boiling, four

tablespoonfuls of corn-starch wet with a cup of cold milk. Boil for ten

minutes, stirring often. Beat twelve eggs to a creamy froth with a heaping

quart of sugar, and stir in, taking from the fire as soon as it boils.

When cold, add three tablespoonfuls of vanilla or lemon, and two quarts

either of cream or very rich milk, and freeze. For strawberry or raspberry

cream allow the juice of one quart of berries to a gallon of cream. For

chocolate cream grate half a pound of chocolate; melt it with one pint of

sugar and a little water, and add to above rule.

WATER ICES.

Are simply fruit juices and water made very sweet, with a few whites of

eggs whipped stiff, and added. For lemon ice take two quarts of water,

one quart of sugar, and the juice of seven lemons. Mix and add, after it

has begun to freeze, the stiffly-beaten whites of four eggs. Orange ice is

made in the same way.

WINE JELLY.