the stalk, wash the cauliflower, and examine it thoroughly to see if
there are any insects about it. Next lay it for an hour in a pan of cold
water. Then put it into a pot of boiling milk and water that has had a
little fresh butter melted in it. Whatever scum may float on the top of
the water must be removed before the cauliflower goes in. Boil it
steadily half an hour, or till it is quite tender. Then take it out,
drain it, and cut it into short sprigs. Have ready three ounces of
rich, but not strong cheese, grated fine. Put into a stew-pan a quarter
of a pound of fresh butter, nearly half of the grated cheese, two large
table-spoonfuls of cream or rich milk, and a very little salt and
cayenne. Toss or shake it over the fire till it is well mixed and has
come to a boil. Then add the tufts of cauliflower, and let the whole
stew together about five minutes. When done put it into a deep dish,
strew over the top the remaining half of the grated cheese, and brown it
with a salamander or a red-hot shovel held above the surface.
This will be found very superior to real maccaroni. It is a company
dish.
BROCCOLI AND EGGS.--Take several heads of broccoli and cut the stalks
short, paring off from the stalks the tough outside skin. Trim off the
small outside shoots or blossoms, and tie them together in bunches.
After all the broccoli has been washed, and lain half an hour or more in
a pan of fresh cold water, put the large heads, with a salt-spoonful of
salt, into a pot of boiling water, and let them boil till thoroughly
done, and the stalk perfectly tender. When the large heads have boiled
about a quarter of an hour, put in the small tufts, which of course
require less time to cook. In the meanwhile have ready six beaten eggs.
Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a sauce-pan, and stir it over
the fire till it is all melted; then add gradually the beaten eggs, and
stir the mixture, or shake it over the fire till it becomes very thick.
Toast sufficient bread to cover entirely the bottom of a deep dish,
cutting it to fit exactly, having removed the crust. Dip the toast for a
minute in hot water. Pour the egg and butter over the hot toast. Then
place upon it the broccoli; the largest and finest head in the middle,
the lesser ones round it, and having untied the small sprigs, lay them
in a circle close to the edge.
FRIED CELERY.--Take fine large celery, cut it into pieces three or four
inches in length, and boil it tender, having seasoned the water with a
very little salt. Then drain the pieces well, and lay them, separately,
to cool on a large dish. Make a batter in the proportion of three
well-beaten eggs stirred into a pint of rich milk, alternately with half
a pint of grated bread-crumbs, or of sifted flour. Beat the batter very
hard after it is all mixed. Put into a hot frying-pan a sufficiency of
fresh lard; melt it over the fire, and when it comes to a boil, dip each
piece of celery _twice_ into the batter, put them into the pan, and fry
them a light brown. When done, lay them to drain on an inverted sieve
with a broad pan placed beneath it. Then dish the fried celery, and send
it to table hot.
Parsnips, and salsify, (or oyster plant) may be fried in butter
according to the above directions. Also the tops of asparagus cut off
from the stalk, and the white part or blossom of cauliflower. Cold
sweet potatos are very nice, peeled, cut into long slips, and fried in
this way.
FRIED ARTICHOKES.--The artichokes must be young and tender. Cut them
into quarters, remove the choke part, and strip off the leaves. Having
washed the artichokes well and laid them an hour in cold water, put them
into a pot of boiling water, and keep them boiling steadily for a long
time, till you find by trying them with a a fork that they are tender
all through. Then take them out immediately, and drain them. Have ready
a sufficiency of batter, made in the proportion of the yolk of one egg
to a large table-spoonful of milk, and a tea-spoonful of flour. The eggs
must be well beaten before they are mixed with the milk; then beat in
the flour a spoonful at a time. Have ready over the fire some fresh
butter, or lard, in a frying-pan. When it has boiled hard, dip the
artichokes into the butter, (each piece should be twice dipped,) and fry
them brown. Then drain them well, and send them to table hot.
Parsnips may be fried as above. Salsify also.
Another way of frying artichokes, parsnips, and salsify, is, after they
have been boiled tender, to dip each piece first in beaten yolk of egg,
(without milk or flour,) and then roll it in finely grated bread-crumbs.
Then put them into the pan and fry them in butter or lard, or a mixture
of both.
In boiling artichokes, observe to take them out as soon as they are
tender. If they remain in the water after they are done, they turn
blackish and lose their flavor.
MUSHROOM OMELET.--Take some fresh-gathered mushrooms; remove the stalks,
and rub the flaps or heads very slightly with a little salt, mixed with
cayenne. Then stew the mushrooms in a small sauce-pan, with barely
sufficient cream or rich milk to cover them. Put in with them a small
onion; and if the onion is found to turn blackish, throw away the whole;
it being proof that there is among them a false or poisonous mushroom.
Stir them with a silver spoon, and keep on the lid of the pan closely,
unless when you are stirring. If the spoon turns black, the mushrooms
should not be eaten.
After they have come to a boil, take them off the fire; drain them, and
when cool, chop them small. To a pint or more of the minced mushrooms,
allow six or seven eggs. Beat the eggs till very light and thick,
(omitting the whites of two,) and then mix in, gradually, the mushrooms,
stirring the whole very hard. Put three ounces of fresh butter into a
hot omelet pan, or a _small_ frying-pan; place it over the fire and stir
the butter as it melts. When it has boiled hard, put in the omelet
mixture, and as it fries, stir it till it begins to set. Do not turn the
omelet; but brown the top by holding close above it a red-hot shovel.
When done, drain off the butter, fold over or double the omelet, and
serve it up immediately on a hot dish.
In gathering mushrooms, those that are fit to eat may be known by their
being of a pale pearl color, or of a grayish white, instead of what is
called a dead white; and the underside of the flap or head (if good) is
of a light pink, or a pinkish salmon color. The best mushrooms grow on
uplands, or in high open fields where the air is pure and good, and they
should be gathered early in the morning before the dew is off. All that
are found in low swampy ground, or in the woods, or under large trees,
are poisonous.
SCOLLOPED TOMATOS.--Take fine large tomatos, perfectly ripe. Scald them
to loosen the skins, and then peel them. Cover the bottom of a deep dish
thickly with grated bread-crumbs, adding a few bits of fresh butter.
Then put in a layer of tomatos, seasoned slightly with a little salt and
cayenne, and some powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover them with another layer
of bread-crumbs and butter; then another layer of seasoned tomatos; and
proceed thus until the dish is full, finishing at the top with
bread-crumbs. Set the dish into a moderate oven, and bake it near three
hours. Tomatos require long cooking, otherwise they will have a raw
taste, that to most persons is unpleasant.
ASPARAGUS OMELET.--Take two bunches of the largest and finest asparagus.
Put it into a pot of boiling water, with a salt-spoonful of salt, and
boil it about twenty-five minutes, or till perfectly tender. Then drain
it, and chop small all the green part. Beat four eggs very light, and
add to them a wine-glass of cream. Mix the chopped asparagus thoroughly
with the egg and cream, adding a salt-spoon of salt, and a very little
cayenne. Melt a large slice of fresh butter in a frying-pan over the
fire; and when it has boiled, and the bubbling has ceased, put in the
mixture, and fry it till light and firm. Then slip it from the
frying-pan to a hot dish, and fold it over.
For a soft omelet, put the mixture into a skillet with a piece of fresh
butter. Let it stew slowly for ten minutes. Lay a thin slice of buttered
toast in the bottom of a hot dish, and cut the toast into small squares,
but let them remain close together. With a spoon heap the soft omelet
upon the toast, and serve it up.
Any omelet mixture may be kept soft by stewing instead of frying it, and
it will be found more wholesome.
Before buttering the toast dip it a minute in hot water.
STEWED PEAS.--Take young, tender, green peas, wash them, and put them
into a stew-pan, with sufficient fresh butter to keep them from burning,
_but no water_. Season them with a little black pepper, and a very
little salt. Set them over a moderate fire, and stir them about till the
butter is well mixed through them. Let them simmer till quite soft and
slightly broken; take off the lid occasionally, and give them a stir up
from the bottom. If you find them becoming too dry, add some more
butter. When done, drain off what superfluous butter may be about the
peas, and send them to table hot. They will be found excellent.
To the taste of many persons, they will be improved by a lump or two of
loaf-sugar put in with the butter, and also by a few sprigs of mint, to
be removed before the peas go to table.
Lima beans may be stewed in butter, as above; also, asparagus tops, cut
off from the white stalk.
LETTUCE PEAS.--Having washed four lettuces, and stripped off the outside
leaves, take their hearts, and (having chopped them well) put them into
a stew-pan with two quarts of young green peas, freshly shelled; a lump
or two of loaf-sugar; and three or four leaves of green mint minced as
finely as possible. Then put in four slices of cold ham, and a quarter
of a pound of butter divided into four bits, and rolled in flour; and
two table-spoonfuls of water. Add a little cayenne, and let the whole
stew for about twenty-five minutes, or till the peas are thoroughly
done. Next take out the ham, and add to the stew half a pint of cream.
Let it continue stewing five minutes longer. Then send it to table.
PLAIN LETTUCE PEAS.--Cover the bottom and sides of a stew-pan with large
fresh leaves taken from lettuces. Have ready the peas, which should be
young and green. To each quart of shelled peas allow two table-spoonfuls
of fresh butter, and a lump of loaf sugar. Add a very little pepper and
salt, and a sprig of green mint. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew
for half an hour, or till the peas are thoroughly done. Then take them
out from the lettuce leaves, and send only the peas to table.
TO STEW CARROTS.--Half-boil the carrots; then scrape them nicely, and
cut them into thick slices. Put them into a stew-pan with as much milk
as will barely cover them; a very little salt and pepper; and a sprig or
two of chopped parsley. Simmer them till they are perfectly tender. When
nearly done, add a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour. Send them to
table hot. Carrots require long cooking; longer than any other
vegetable.
Parsnips and salsify may be stewed in the above manner, substituting a
little chopped celery for the parsley.
SPINACH.--Having peeled and washed the spinach very nicely, put it into
a _bain marie_, or inside kettle, without any water, and cover it
closely. Pour the water into the outside kettle, and you may hurry the
boiling by throwing a handful of salt in the outside tin, taking care
that none of the salt gets into the inside. When the spinach is well
stewed, take it up and drain it without squeezing or pressing, as that
will make it tough and dry. Then chop it small, and add some hard-boiled
eggs, also chopped. Season it with pepper and fresh butter, stir it well
together, return it to the kettle, and let it stew a quarter of an hour
or more. Serve it up with buttered toast and poached eggs laid upon it.
Spinach being very watery, should always be _stewed_ rather than boiled.
If you have no _bain marie_, the water that remains about the spinach,
after it has been washed, will suffice to stew it slowly.
Spinach juice, for coloring green, must be strained, and boiled
slightly. You can obtain plenty of juice by pounding the leaves.
TO PREPARE CUCUMBERS.--Let the cucumbers be full-grown, but not in the
least yellow or hard. They are then only fit to be saved for seed. Lay
the cucumbers in a pan of cold water for an hour or more, or till it is
nearly time to send them to table, being careful not to set them in the
sun. Have ready another pan of fresh water, (very cold) and having
pared the cucumbers, slice them into it. Transfer them to a deep china
or white-ware dish. Season them with vinegar, pepper, salt, and a little
salad oil, taking care not to use too much salt. When there is no
dislike to onions, peel and slice a few that are mild, and mix them with
the cucumbers. It is usual now, at the best tables, to have the onions
in a small separate dish, (sliced with vinegar and pepper) to be eaten
by those that like them, and omitted by those who do not. Onions, (and
also salad oil) are said to render cucumbers more wholesome.
Tomatos (raw) are frequently sliced, seasoned, and sent to table in the
manner of cucumbers. Tomatos are always wholesome.
STEWED CUCUMBERS.--Pare six fine fresh cucumbers. Cut each of them
lengthways into four pieces; lay them for an hour in a pan of cold
water. Take a clean stew-pan, and place in its bottom two
table-spoonfuls of good fresh butter. Then put in the slices of
cucumber, and sprinkle them slightly with a very little pepper. Add two
table-spoonfuls of cold water. Set the pan over a moderate fire, and let
the cucumbers stew slowly for half an hour or more, till they are well
cooked. Keep the pan closely covered, except when you have to remove the
lid to stir the stew. Serve them up hot, at breakfast, or as a side
dish, at dinner.
Persons who have no objection to the taste of onions, will think the
cucumbers improved by the addition of the half of a moderate sized
onion, sliced thin and stewed with them.
A NICE WAY OF COOKING ASPARAGUS.--Where asparagus is plenty, there is no
better way of cooking it than the following. Take it as nearly of a size
as possible, wash it, and cut off the stalks very short, leaving them
not more than half an inch in length. Two quarts of water will be
sufficient to boil one quart of asparagus tops; allow a tea-spoonful of
salt to this quantity of water, and set it over the fire to boil. When
the water is boiling hard, put in the asparagus, and boil it fast for at
least half an hour. To see if it is done, take up two or three of the
largest pieces and taste them. While it is boiling, prepare two slices
of bread cut half an inch thick, and (having removed the crust) toast
the bread brown on both sides. Have ready a large jill of melted (or
drawn) fresh butter. When the asparagus is done, take it up with a
perforated skimmer, and lay it on a sieve to drain. Dip the slices of
toast (one at a time) first in the hot asparagus liquor, and then in the
melted butter. Lay the slices, side by side, in a deep dish, and cover
it with the asparagus, laid evenly over and round the toast. Then add
the remainder of the drawn butter, and send the asparagus to table hot,
in a covered dish.
This is a much nicer way than that of boiling and serving it up with the
long stalks left on. And where you have asparagus in abundance, (for
instance in a country garden,) it may always be cooked in this manner.
This is from the receipt of Mr. N. Darling, of New Haven.
ASPARAGUS OYSTERS.--Take two bundles of fine full-grown asparagus. Cut
off the green tops or points as far down as the white stalk. Take a
sufficient quantity of fresh oysters, the finest you can get at that
season. Put the asparagus tops into a stew-pan, with enough of oyster
liquor (previously strained) to stew them quite tender. Stew the oysters
themselves in another pan with some more of their liquor, seasoned with
pepper, mace, and nutmeg, adding a large piece of fresh butter, divided
into four, and each part rolled in flour. Do not let the oysters stew
more than five minutes, or they will become tough and shriveled. When
they are merely plumped, take them out and cut them up small, omitting
the gristle or hard part. Set the mixture over the fire for about five
minutes, stirring all the time. Have ready some slices of nice toast,
with all the crust pared off; the slices dipped for a minute in hot
water. Butter the toast, and cover with it the bottom of a deep dish,
and fill it with the mixture of asparagus and oysters.
ONION EGGS.--Boil a dozen eggs quite hard. Slice and fry in fresh butter
five or six onions. Slice (whites and yolks together) ten of the eggs,
reserving two for the seasoning. Drain the sliced onions, and lay them
on a dish with the sliced eggs placed upon them. Cover the dish, and
keep it hot. Take the two remaining eggs, grate the yolks, and mix them
with cream and grated nutmeg, and a very little cayenne. Put this
mixture into a very small sauce-pan, give it one boil up, pour it over
the eggs and onions, and send it to table hot. For those who have no
objection to onions this is a nice side dish.
EGG BALLS.--Boil eight eggs till quite hard, and when done, throw them
directly into cold water. Then put the yolks into a mortar, and pound
them to a paste, moistening them as you proceed with the beaten yolks of
three _raw_ eggs, seasoned with as much salt as will lie _flat_ upon a
shilling, and a little cayenne, and powdered nutmeg and mace. Mix the
whole well together, and make it up into small round balls. Throw them
into mock-turtle soup, or into stewed terrapin, about two minutes before
you take it up.
CURRY BALLS.--Take a sufficiency of finely-grated bread-crumbs;
hard-boiled yolk of egg, grated; fresh butter, and a little curry
powder. Pound the whole in a mortar, moistening it with raw yolk of egg
(well-beaten) as you proceed. Make it into small balls, and add them to
stewed chicken or rabbit, about five minutes before you take it up.
TOMATO PASTE.--Scald and peel as many ripe tomatos as will fill a large,
deep, stone jar. Set them into a warm oven for an hour. Then skim off
the watery liquid that has risen to the top, and press and squeeze the
tomatos in a sieve. Afterwards add salt, cayenne, pounded mace, and
powdered nutmeg, to your taste; and to every quart of tomatos allow a
half a pint of cider vinegar. Stew the whole slowly in a porcelain
kettle for three hours, (stirring it frequently from the bottom,) till
it becomes a smooth, thick paste. Then put it into small jars or
glasses, and cover it closely, pasting paper over each. It is an
excellent sauce, at the season when fresh tomatos are not to be had, and
is very good to thicken soup.
DRIED OCHRAS.--Take fine large fresh ochras; cut them into thin, round
slices; string them on threads, and hang them up in festoons to dry in
the store-room. Before using, they must be soaked in water during
twenty-four hours. They will then be good (with the addition of tomato
paste) to boil in soup or gumbo.
BEEF GUMBO.--Put into a large stew-pan some pieces of the lean of fresh
beef, cut up into small bits, and seasoned with a little pepper and
salt. Add sliced ochras and tomatos, (either fresh or dried ochras and
tomato paste.) You may put in some sliced onions. Pour on water enough
to cover it well. Let it boil slowly, (skimming it well,) till
everything is reduced to rags. Then strain and press it through a
cullender. Have ready a sufficiency of toasted bread, cut into dice. Lay
it in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the strained gumbo upon it.
TO BOIL OCHRAS.--For boiling, the ochras should be young and small. Wash
them, and cut off a small piece from each end. Boil them till very
tender throughout. Then drain them well, and transfer them to a deep
dish. Lay among them some bits of fresh butter, and season them with
pepper. Cover the dish, that the butter may be warm and melt the sooner.
Or you may make a sauce of half a pint of milk boiled, and when it has
come to a boil enrich with a quarter of a pound of very good fresh
butter, divided into four pieces; each piece rolled in a little flour,
the butter stirred in gradually and smoothly, as soon as the milk is
taken off the fire. Pour this sauce over the dish of ochras, and keep it
covered till it has gone to table.
We prefer the first way, putting the bit of butter cold into the hot
ochras, with either milk or flour, and letting the butter melt
gradually, in the manner of green beans. You may boil with them a small
piece of very good bacon, removing when the ochras are taken off the
fire. Season with pepper.
ONIONS.--The best onions for cooking are the white or silver-skinned.
The red-skinned are generally strong and coarse. Shalots are very small
and delicate. Some sorts of large onions are milder and nicer than those
of middle size, and some that are very small have a powerful taste and
smell. The outer skin of most onions should be peeled entirely, and the
ends cut off. All onions are the better for boiling, before they are
cooked for any other purpose. Put them into a stew-pan with cold water,
and when they have come to a boil pour off that water, and replace it
with fresh cold also. Boil them slowly till quite tender all through,
which will not be in less than half an hour; more, if they are large.
When done, drain them well, dish them, and pour over them some nice
melted butter.
_To Stew Onions._--Peel, slice them, and stew them in milk, enriched
with butter rolled in flour, and seasoned with a little cayenne and a
few blades of mace.
_To Roast Onions._--Select fine large onions; do not peel them, but
place them in a bake-pan, and set them in an oven. Bake them slowly till
tender all through. When done, peel off the outer skin, and send them
hot to table, to eat with pepper and cold butter.
They are very good when covered up and roasted under hot ashes, taking
care that they are done quite through to the heart.
TO BOIL GREEN PEAS.--When the peas are shelled, wash them in a pan of
cold water. Put on the peas in cold water, (a little salted) and let
them boil very fast. If nice peas, they will generally be done in a
quarter of an hour after beginning to boil. When simmering, add to them
a lump or a spoonful of loaf-sugar, and a sprig of fresh green mint,
(half a dozen leaves) having first ascertained if mint is not disliked
by any person who is to eat of the peas. To some the taste and odor of
mint is very agreeable, to others very disgusting, as is the case with
onions, and many other things that are liked by the majority.
When the peas are all soft or tender, take out the mint, drain the peas
through a cullender till not a drop of water is left among them;
transfer them to a deep dish, mix into them some of the best fresh
butter, and sprinkle them with pepper. Cover them immediately, and send
them to table hot.
STEWED PEAS.--Having prepared the peas as above, put them into a
stew-pan without any water. Mix among them plenty of bits of nice fresh
butter, sufficient to cook them. Let them stew slowly in the butter till
they are quite soft, stirring them up from the bottom frequently. Drain
and dish them. They will be found very fine--better than if boiled in
water. Peas should not be stewed this way, except in places where plenty
of good _fresh_ butter is to be easily obtained.
GREEN PEAS.--The largest and finest peas are what the English call
marrowfat. The sugar pea is next. All green peas for boiling should be
young and tender, but not so young as to be tasteless or insipid. As a
general rule, nearly every article of food is best when it has just
attained its full growth and ripeness; after that period the older it is
the worse. Peas, so old as to be hard and yellow, are unfit to eat. In
some ultra economical houses, good peas are things unknown. They are not
bought in spring or early summer while young and fresh, but are never
thought cheap enough till they become hard and yellow. Afterwards, when
they reach the cheap state, a quantity are bought low, and put into jars
not to be touched till next spring, when they are boiled, (with great
difficulty, for they never become soft,) and _attempted_ to be passed
off "as this year's fresh peas"--and by the time the family have gotten
through with _them_, "this year's young peas" have become old. Do not
believe (for it is untrue,) that any eatable can be kept in _all_ its
genuine freshness and original flavor, by merely secluding them
entirely from air. They will not spoil or decompose if skillfully
managed; but they _have not exactly_ their natural taste and
consistence. It is better for those who _never make pickles or
preserves_, to wait for fresh vegetables or fruit, till they are
actually in market--or, if put up in jars, to add something more than
parboiling and seclusion from the air. Vinegar, salt, sugar, spice and
alcohol, will be found the grand and universal articles for securing the
goodness of nearly all eatables. Without some of these along with them,
things that have not spoiled while secluded from air, will surely spoil
almost as soon as the jars are opened, and the external air admitted to
them.