stuffing or chestnut stuffing. Tie down the legs and rub entire surface
with salt and let stand overnight. Next morning place in large drippings
or roasting-pan on rack and spread breast, legs and wings with one-third
cup of fat creamed and mixed with one-fourth cup of flour. Dredge bottom
of pan with flour. Place in a hot oven and when the flour on the turkey
begins to brown, reduce the heat and add two cups of boiling water or
the stock in which the giblets are cooking, and baste with one-fourth
cup of fat and three-fourths cup of boiling water. When this is all
used, baste with the fat in the pan. Baste every fifteen minutes until
tender; do not prick with a fork, press with the fingers; if the breast
meat and leg are soft to the touch the turkey is done. If the oven is
too hot, cover the pan; turn the turkey often, that it may brown nicely.
Remove strings and skewers and serve on hot platter. Serve with giblet
sauce and cranberry sauce. If the turkey is very large it will require
three hours or more, a small one will require only an hour and a half.
STUFFED TURKEY NECK (TURKISH STYLE)
Take neck of turkey, stuff with following: One-quarter pound of almonds
or walnuts chopped fine and seasoned with chopped parsley, pepper and
salt, put two hard-boiled eggs in the centre of this dressing; stuff
neck, sew up the ends and when roasted slice across so as to have a
portion of the hard-boiled egg on each slice; place on platter and
surround with sprigs of parsley.
*STUFFINGS FOR MEAT AND POULTRY*
TO STUFF POULTRY
Use enough stuffing to fill the bird but do not pack it tightly or the
stuffing will be soggy. Close the small openings with a skewer; sew the
larger one with linen thread and a long needle. Remove skewers and
strings before serving.
CRUMB DRESSING
Take one tablespoon of chicken fat, mix in two cups of bread crumbs,
pinch of salt and pepper, a few drops of onion juice, one tablespoon of
chopped parsley, and lastly one well-beaten egg. Mix all on stove in
skillet, remove from fire and stuff fowl.
BREAD DRESSING FOR FOWL
In a fryer on the stove heat two tablespoons of drippings or fat, drop
in one-half onion cut fine, brown lightly and add one-quarter loaf of
stale baker's bread (which has previously been soaked in cold water and
then thoroughly squeezed out). Cook until it leaves the sides of the
fryer, stirring occasionally. If too dry add a little soup stock. Remove
from the fire, put in a bowl, season with salt, pepper, ginger, and
finely chopped parsley, add a small lump of fat, break in one whole egg,
mix well and fill the fowl with it.
MEAT DRESSING FOR POULTRY
If you cannot buy sausage meat at your butcher's have him chop some for
you, adding a little fat. Also mix in some veal with the beef while
chopping. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg or thyme. Grate in a piece of
celery root and a piece of garlic about the size of a bean, add a small
onion, a minced tomato, a quarter of a loaf of stale bread; also grated,
and mix up the whole with one egg. If you prefer, you may soak the
bread, press out every drop of water and dry in a heated spider with
fat.
POTATO STUFFING
Add two cups of hot, mashed Irish or sweet potatoes to bread stuffing.
Mix well and stuff in goose, stuffed veal or lamb breast, or in beef
casings, cleaned and dressed.
CHESTNUT STUFFING
Shell and blanch two cups of chestnuts. Cook in boiling salted water
until tender. Drain and force through a colander or a potato ricer. Add
one-fourth cup of melted chicken fat, one-fourth teaspoon of pepper,
three-fourths of a teaspoon of salt, one cup of grated bread crumbs, and
enough soup stock to moisten.
RAISIN STUFFING
Take three cups of stale bread crumbs; add one-half a cup of melted
chicken fat, one cup of seeded raisins cut in small pieces, one teaspoon
of salt and one-fourth teaspoon of white pepper. Mix thoroughly.
*VEGETABLES*
All vegetables should be thoroughly cleansed just before being put on to
cook.
Green vegetables; such as cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts,
should be soaked heads down in salted cold water, to which a few spoons
of vinegar may be added.
To secure the best results all vegetables except beans, that is the
dried beans, should be put in boiling water and the water must be made
to boil again as soon as possible after the vegetables have been added
and must be kept boiling until the cooking is finished.
In cooking vegetables, conserve their juices.
The average housewife pours down the sink drainpipe the juices from all
the vegetables which she cooks; she little realizes that she thus drains
away the health of her family. Cook vegetables with just sufficient
water to prevent them from burning, and serve their juices with them;
else save the vegetable "waters" and, by the addition of milk and butter
convert them into soups for the family use. Such soups, derived from one
or several vegetables, alone or mixed together, make palatable and
healthful additions to the family bill-of-fare.
ASPARAGUS
Cut off the woody part, scrape the lower part of the stalks. Wash well
and tie in bunches. Put into a deep stew-pan, with the cut end resting
on the bottom of the stew-pan. Pour in boiling water to come up to the
tender heads, but not to cover them. Add one teaspoon of salt for each
quart of water. Place where the water will boil. Cook until tender,
having the cover partially off the stew-pan. This will be from fifteen
to thirty minutes, depending upon the freshness and tenderness of the
vegetable. Have some slices of well-toasted bread on a platter. Butter
them slightly. Arrange the cooked asparagus on the toast, season with
butter and a little salt and serve at once. Save the water in which the
asparagus was boiled to use in making vegetable soup.
CANNED ASPARAGUS
Open one end of the can, as indicated on wrapper, so tips will be at
opening. Pour off the liquid and allow cold water to run over gently and
to rinse. Drain and pour boiling water over them in the can and set in a
hot oven to heat thoroughly. When ready to serve, drain and arrange
carefully on hot platter and serve same as fresh asparagus, hot on toast
or cold with salad dressing, or with "Sauce Hollandaise", poured over.
ARTICHOKES (FRENCH OR GLOBE)
French artichokes have a large scaly head, like the cone of a pine tree.
The flower buds are used before they open.
The edible portion consists of the thickened portion at the base of the
scales and the receptacle to which the leaf-like scales are attached.
When the artichoke is very young and tender the edible parts may be
eaten raw as a salad. When it becomes hard, as it does very quickly, it
must be cooked. When boiled it may be eaten as a salad or with a sauce.
The scales are pulled with the fingers from the cooked head, the base of
each leaf dipped in a sauce and then eaten.
The bottoms (receptacles), which many consider the most delicate part of
the artichoke, may be cut up and served as a salad, or they may be
stewed and served with a sauce. To prepare the artichoke remove all the
hard outer leaves. Cut off the stem close to the leaves. Cut off the top
of the bud. Drop the artichokes into boiling water and cook until
tender, which will take from thirty to fifty minutes, then take up and
remove the choke. Serve a dish of French salad dressing with the
artichokes, which may be eaten either hot or cold. Melted butter also
makes a delicious sauce for the artichokes if they are eaten hot.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE
This vegetable is in season in the fall and spring, and may be cooked
like kohl-rabi and served in a white cream or sauce. The artichoke may
also be cooked in milk.
When this is done, cut the washed and peeled artichoke into cubes, put
in a stew-pan, and cover with milk (a generous pint to a quart of
cubes). Add one small onion and cook twenty minutes. Beat together one
tablespoon of butter and one level tablespoon of flour, and stir this
into the boiling milk. Then season with one teaspoon of salt and
one-fourth teaspoon of pepper, and continue the cooking one-half hour
longer. The cooking should be done in a double boiler. The artichoke
also makes a very good soup.
FRENCH ARTICHOKES WITH TOMATO SAUCE
Pick off from the solid green globes the outer tough petals. Scoop out
with a sharp-pointed knife the fuzzy centres, leaving the soft base,
which is the luscious morsel. Cut each artichoke in halves, wash, drain
and fry brown on each side in olive oil Make tomato sauce and cook
thirty minutes in that mixture. Then serve.
BEET GREENS
Beets are usually thickly sowed, and as the young plants begin to grow
they must be thinned out. These plants make delicious greens, and even
the tops of the ordinary market beets are good if properly prepared.
Examine the leaves carefully to be sure that there are no insects on
them; wash thoroughly in several waters, and put over the fire in a
large kettle of boiling water. Add one teaspoon of salt for every two
quarts of greens; boil rapidly about thirty minutes or until tender;
drain off the water; chop well and season with butter and salt.
BOILED BEETS
Carefully wash any earth off the beets, but every care is needed to
avoid breaking the skin, roots or crown; if this is done much of their
color will be lost, and they will be a dull pink. Lay them in plenty of
boiling water, with a little vinegar; boil them steadily, keeping them
well covered with water for about one and one-half to two hours for
small beets and two to three and one-half hours for large ones. If they
are to be served hot, cut off the roots and crown and rub off the skin
directly, but if to be served cold, leave them until they have become
cold and then cut into thin slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper and
pour some vinegar over them. If to be eaten hot, cut them into thin
slices, arrange them on a hot vegetable dish and pour over white sauce
or melted butter, or hand these separately.
BAKED BEETS
Boil large beetroot about two hours, being careful not to pierce it.
When cold mash very smooth, add a little drippings, pepper, salt and
stock. Place in a greased pan and bake one hour.
SOUR BUTTERED BEETS
Wash as many beets as required and cook in bailing water until tender.
Drain and turn into cold water for peeling. Remove the skins, slice and
sprinkle with as much salt as desired. Melt one-half cup of butter in a
large frying-pan and add two tablespoons of strained lemon juice. Stir
the butter and lemon juice until blended, keeping the fire low. Now turn
the beets into this sauce, cover the pan and shake and toss until the
sauce has been well distributed. Serve hot at once.
CELERIAC
This vegetable is also known as "knot celery" and "turnip-rooted
celery." The roots, which are about the size of a white turnip, and not
the stalks are eaten. They are more often used as a vegetable than as a
salad.
Pare the celeriac, cut in thin, narrow slices, and put into cold water.
Drain from this water and drop into boiling water and boil thirty
minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. The celeriac is now ready to
be prepared and served the same as celery.
PURÉE OF CELERIAC
Boil as directed above and press through a sieve. To one quart take two
tablespoons of butter blended with two tablespoons flour and cooked
until smooth and frothy, add the strained celeriac and cook five
minutes, stirring frequently. Add one teaspoon of salt and a half cup of
cream, cook five minutes longer and serve hot on toast or fried bread.
CAULIFLOWER
Trim off the outside leaves and cut the stalk even with the flower. Let
it stand upside down in cold salted water for twenty minutes. Put it
into a generous quantity of rapidly boiling salted water and cook it
uncovered about twenty minutes or until tender, but not so soft as to
fall to pieces. Remove any scum from the water before lifting out the
cauliflower. If not perfectly white, rub a little white sauce over it.
Serve with it a white, a Bechamel, or a Hollandaise sauce; or it may be
served as a garnish to chicken, sweetbreads, etc., the little bunches
being broken off and mixed with the sauce.
SPANISH CAULIFLOWER
Finely chop one medium-size onion and a small bunch of parsley. Melt one
tablespoon butter in a pan and fry the onion until it is brown. Season
with celery salt. Blend in one tablespoon flour, add one cup boiling
water and let simmer for half an hour. Carefully clean the cauliflower
and boil for one-half hour. Drain the onion sauce, add three tablespoons
tomato catsup, drain the cauliflower, turn into a baking-pan, pour over
the sauce, place in a moderate oven for five minutes and serve hot.
CAULIFLOWER WITH BROWN CRUMBS
Drain and place the hot cauliflower in serving dish, and pour over it
two tablespoons fine bread crumbs browned in one tablespoon of hot
butter or fat. Serve hot. Asparagus may be served in this style.
CAULIFLOWER OR ASPARAGUS (HUNGARIAN)
Cook in salt water until tender. Spread with bread crumbs and butter.
Pour some sour cream over the vegetable and bake until the crumbs are a
golden brown.
SCALLOPED CAULIFLOWER
Boil and drain off the water, grease a baking-dish, line with a layer of
cauliflower, add a layer of toasted bread crumbs, another of cauliflower
and so on alternately, letting the top layer be of bread crumbs. Over
all pour one cup of boiling milk, dot the top with butter and bake in a
moderate oven for twenty minutes.
CAULIFLOWER (ROUMANIAN)
Brown a minced onion, add cauliflower cut in pieces with a small
quantity of water; stew, add salt, white pepper, a little sour salt and
red tomatoes; when half done add one-fourth cup of rice. Cook until rice
is done. The onion may be browned either in butter, fat or olive oil, as
desired.
CREAMED CELERY
Remove the leaves from the stalks of celery; scrape off all rusted or
dark spots; cut into small pieces and drop in cold water. Having boiling
water ready; put the celery into it, adding one-half teaspoon of salt
for every quart of water. Boil until tender, leaving the cover partly
off; drain and rinse in cold water. Make a cream sauce; drop the celery
into it; heat thoroughly and serve.
LETTUCE
If lettuce has grown until rather too old for salad, it may be cooked,
and makes a fairly palatable dish.
BOILED LETTUCE
Wash four or five heads of lettuce, carefully removing thick, bitter
stalks and retaining all sound leaves. Cook in plenty of boiling salted
water for ten or fifteen minutes, then blanch in cold water for a minute
or two. Drain, chop lightly, and heat in stew-pan with some butter, and
salt and pepper to taste. If preferred, the chopped lettuce may be
heated with a pint of white sauce seasoned with salt, pepper, and grated
nutmeg. After simmering for a few minutes in the sauce, draw to a cooler
part of the range and stir in the well-beaten yolks of two eggs.
GREEN LIMA BEANS
Cover the shelled beans with boiling water; bring to a boil quickly;
then let them simmer slowly till tender. Drain and add salt, pepper and
butter or hot cream or cream sauce.
CARROTS
Scrape the carrots lightly; cut them into large dice or slices and drop
them into salted boiling water, allowing one teaspoon of salt to one
quart of water. Boil until tender; drain and serve with butter and
pepper or with cream sauce.
LEMON CARROTS
Old carrots may be used for this dish, and are really better than the
new ones. Pare and cut into dice, and simmer in salted water until
tender, but not pulpy. Drain, return to the fire, and for one pint of
carrots add one teaspoon of minced parsley, a grating of loaf sugar,
one-half teaspoon of paprika, one tablespoon of butter and the juice of
half a lemon. Heat through, shaking the dish now and then, so that each
piece of the vegetable will be well coated with the mixture or dressing.
SIMMERED CARROTS
Wash, scrape and slice one quart carrots roundwise. Put them in a
saucepan with one tablespoon of butter or drippings, three tablespoons
of sugar and one teaspoon salt. Cover closely and let simmer on a slow
fire until tender.
FLEMISH CARROTS
Scrape, slice and cook one quart of carrots in one quart of boiling
water to which has been added one teaspoon of salt, until tender; drain.
Heat two tablespoons fat, add one small onion, brown lightly, add the
carrots, season with one teaspoon of sugar, one-quarter teaspoon of
salt, one-eighth teaspoon of white pepper and shake well over the fire
for ten minutes, add one and one-half cups of soup stock, cover and
simmer for one-half hour, then add one teaspoon chopped parsley and
serve hot.
CARROTS WITH BRISKET OF BEEF
Salt and pepper two pounds of fat brisket of beef and let stand several
hours. Wash and scrape two bunches of carrots and cut in small cubes.
Place in kettle with meat, cover with boiling; water and cook several
hours or until the meat and carrots are tender, and the water is half
boiled away. Heat two tablespoons of fat in a spider, let brown
slightly, add two tablespoons of flour and gradually one cup of carrot
and meat liquid. Place in kettle with meat and carrots and boil until
carrots become browned.
COMPOTE OF CARROTS (RUSSIAN STYLE)
Make a syrup of one cup of sugar and one cup of water by boiling ten
minutes. To this syrup add two cups of carrots diced, which have
previously been browned in two tablespoons hot fat or butter. Cook all
together until carrots are tender. Brown in oven and serve.
CORN ON THE COB
Free the corn from husks and silk; have a kettle of water boiling hard;
drop the corn into it and cook ten minutes (or longer if the corn is not
young). If a very large number of ears are put into the water they will
so reduce the temperature that a longer time will be needed. In no case,
however, should the corn be left too long in the water, as overcooking
spoils the delicate flavor.
CORN OFF THE COB
Corn is frequently cut from the cob after it is cooked and served in
milk or butter; but by this method much of the flavor and juke of the
corn itself is wasted; It is better to cut the corn from the cob before
cooking. With a sharp knife cut off the grains, not cutting closely
enough to remove any of the woody portion of the skins. Then with a
knife press out all the pulp and milk remaining in the cob; add this to
the corn; season well with salt, pepper and butter; add a little more
milk if the corn is dry; cook, preferably in the oven, for about ten
minutes, stirring occasionally. If the oven is not hot, cook over the
fire.
SUCCOTASH
Mix equal parts of corn, cut from the ear, and any kind of beans; boil
them separately; then stir them lightly together, and season with
butter, salt, and pepper and add a little cream if convenient.
CANNED CORN
To one can of corn take one tablespoon of butter, one-half cup milk;
sprinkle one tablespoon of flour over these; stir and cook about five
minutes, until thoroughly hot. Season to taste and serve hot.
DANDELIONS
Wash one peck of dandelions; remove roots. Cook one hour in two quarts
of boiling salted water. Drain, chop fine; season with salt, pepper and
butter. Serve with vinegar.
STUFFED CUCUMBERS
Cut four cucumbers in half lengthwise; remove the seeds with a spoon,
lay the cucumbers in vinegar overnight; then wipe dry and fill with a
mixture made from one cup pecans or Brazil nuts chopped, six tablespoons
of mashed potatoes, one well-beaten egg, one teaspoon of salt, two
tablespoons of chopped parsley, one saltspoon of white pepper, dash of
nutmeg and two tablespoons of melted butter. Bake in a buttered dish
until tender. Serve hot with one cup of white sauce, dash of powdered
cloves, one well-beaten egg, salt and pepper to taste.
FRIED CUCUMBERS
Daintily prepared fried cucumbers are immeasurably superior to fried egg
plant and are especially nice with boiled chicken.
Peel and slice the cucumbers lengthwise in about the same thickness
observed with egg plant. Lay these slices in salt and water for about an
hour, then dip in beaten egg and cracker dust, and French fry in boiling
fat, taking care to carefully drain in a colander before serving.
COLD SLAW
Take a firm, white head of cabbage; cut it in halves; take out the heart
and cut as fine as possible on slaw-cutter. Cut up one onion at the same
time and a sour apple. Now sprinkle with salt and white pepper and a
liberal quantity of white sugar. Mix this lightly with two forks. Heat
one tablespoon of goose oil or butter, and mix it thoroughly in with the
cabbage. Heat some white wine vinegar in a spider; let it come to a
boil and pour over the slaw, boiling. Keep covered for a short time.
Serve cold.
BOILED SAUERKRAUT
Take brisket of beef weighing about two or three pounds. Set it on to
boil in two quarts of water, a little salt and the usual soup greens.
When the meat is tender take it out, salt it well and put on to boil
again in a porcelain-lined kettle, having previously removed all the
bones. Add about a cup of the soup stock and as much sauerkraut as you
desire. Boil about one hour; tie one tablespoon of caraway seed in a bag
and boil in with the kraut. Thicken with two raw potatoes, grated, and
add one tablespoon of brown sugar just before serving. If not sour
enough add a dash of vinegar. This gives you meat, vegetables and soup.
Mashed potatoes, kartoffelkloesse or any kind of flour dumpling is a
nice accompaniment. Sauerkraut is just as good warmed over as fresh,
which may be done two or three times in succession without injury to its
flavor.
TO BOIL CABBAGE
Cut a small head of cabbage into four parts, cutting down through the
stock. Soak for half an hour in a pan of cold water to which has been
added one tablespoon of salt; this is to draw out any insects that may
be hidden in the leaves. Take from the water and cut into slices. Have a
large stew-pan half full of boiling water; put in the cabbage, pushing
it under the water with a spoon. Add one tablespoon of salt and cook
from twenty-five to forty-five minutes, depending upon the age of the
cabbage. Turn into a colander and drain for about two minutes. Put in a
chopping bowl and mince. Season with butter, pepper, and more salt if it
requires it. Allow one tablespoon of butter to a generous pint of the
cooked vegetable. Cabbage cooked in this manner will be of delicate
flavor and may be generally eaten without distress. Have the kitchen
windows open at the top while the cabbage is boiling, and there will be
little if any odor of cabbage in the house.
FRIED CABBAGE
Cut one medium head of cabbage fine, soak ten minutes in salt water.
Drain, heat three tablespoons of fat (from top of soup stock preferred),
add cabbage, one sour apple peeled and cut up, caraway seed to taste,
salt, paprika and one-half onion minced. Cover very closely and cook
slowly for one hour.
CREAMED NEW CABBAGE
To one pint of boiled and minced new cabbage add one-half pint of hot
milk, one tablespoon of butter, one teaspoon of flour, one-half teaspoon
each of salt and pepper, one teaspoon finely minced parsley and a
generous dash of sweet paprika. The butter and flour should be creamed
together before stirring in. Let simmer for about ten minutes, stirring
occasionally to keep from burning. Serve hot on toasted bread.
HOT SLAW
Cut the cabbage into thin shreds as for cold slaw. (Use a plane if
convenient). Boil it until tender in salted fast-boiling water. Drain it
thoroughly, and pour over it a hot sauce made of one tablespoon of
butter, one-half teaspoon of salt, dash of pepper and of cayenne, and
one-half to one cup of vinegar, according to its strength. Cover the
saucepan and let it stand on the side of the range for five minutes, so
that the cabbage and sauce will become well incorporated.
CARROTS BOILED WITH CABBAGE
Pare the carrots and cut them into finger lengths, in thin strips. Put a
breast of lamb or mutton on to boil, having previously salted it well.
When boiling, add the carrots and cover closely. Prepare the cabbage as
usual and lay in with the mutton and carrots; boil two hours at least;
when all has boiled tender, skim off some of the fat and put it into a
spider. Add to this one tablespoon of flour, one tablespoon of brown
sugar and one-half teaspoon of cinnamon. Keep adding gravy from the
mutton until well mixed, and pour all over the mutton and vegetables.
Serve together on a platter.
STEWED CABBAGE
Clean and drain cabbage, cut in small pieces and boil until tender.
Drain and rinse in cold water; chop fine, heat one tablespoon of
drippings in spider, one-fourth of an onion cut fine and one tablespoon
of flour; brown all together, add one-half pint of soup stock, add
cabbage and cook ten minutes longer. Salt and pepper to taste.
FILLED CABBAGE