the oven until the meat is cooked.
RIBS OF PORK IN CASSEROLE
UYNVECHE
(Serbian)
Fry 3 sliced onions in 1 tablespoon of lard. Mix this with 1 lb. of
rice. Remove the seeds and cut in halves 3 green peppers. Add these to
the rice; also 3 or 4 sliced tomatoes and 2 potatoes sliced. Place this
rice mixture in a casserole and put on top a piece of ribs of pork of
about 2 lbs. Pour in water enough to well cover the rice. Bake in the
oven.
SALMIS DE LAPIN
(French)
Cut up your rabbit into neat pieces, removing as much of the bone as
possible. Have an iron saucepan ready, in which you have put a good
quarter of a pound of fat bacon. Put in your pieces of rabbit, which
you fry until they become a nice golden brown, and which the French
call doré; just before they are this colour add 2 tablespoonsful of
rum, or of cognac, according to taste, also 2 échalotes cut up into
very small pieces, which you must see do not burn.
FOR THE GRAVY.--Take the trimmings of the rabbit, the head, and
liver, and pound them all up in a mortar. When pounded, add a
heaping spoonful of flour and pound it in. Now measure out a pint and
a half of white ordinary wine (hock), to which you will add a good
breakfastcupful of good bouillon, or gravy. Into this put what you
have already pounded up and mix it in, then pass it all through a
sieve (passoire). When ready pour it over the pieces of rabbit, now
that they are become of a golden colour, and let it simmer with them
in a covered saucepan by the side of the fire for a good two hours and
more, so as to have it very tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Bouquet
garni--which means thyme, and if one likes the flavour, a leaf of bay
laurel--but for the latter just to let it be in an instant only, as it
has such a strong flavour. Many prefer just the thyme, which is more
delicate. Half an hour before the rabbit is cooked, add a good spoonful
of vinegar[1]; two, should the vinegar not be strong. Add a piece of
butter of the size of a walnut whilst it is simmering or stewing by the
side of the fire.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The vinegar is quite optional.
SHEEP'S HEAD
(Scotch)
Choose a nice sheep's head, get it slightly singed, then have it sawn
up the middle, steep it all night with a little soda in the water,
then clean it thoroughly, take out the brains, put on with cold water,
slowly bring to boil, and boil slowly for three hours. Boil the brains
in a cloth for a quarter of an hour, then mince small, make a white
sauce, stir in the minced brains, lay the head flat on a dish and pour
sauce over. Decorate with a few small bits of parsley.
MACARONI PIE
(Italian)
Three-quarters lb. of cold beef, or mutton, 1/2 an onion, 3 or 4
tomatoes, 1/4 lb. of macaroni, bread-crumbs, grated cheese, stock,
salt, pepper, nutmeg.
Cut the beef or mutton into thin slices, peel the onion and slice it
thinly, slice the tomatoes, and boil the macaroni in slightly salted
water until tender. Cool and drain the macaroni, and cut it up into
small pieces. Line a buttered baking-dish with macaroni, and arrange
the meat, onion, and tomato slices in layers on the baking-dish. Season
with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, pour over a little stock, and cover the
top with macaroni. Sprinkle over some bread-crumbs, and grated cheese,
and bake for about 20 minutes in a hot oven.
KIDNEY AND MUSHROOMS
(English)
Take some sheep's kidneys, skin, halve, and core them, sprinkle each
piece with pepper, salt, and sauté them in butter till a good brown;
have a large mushroom peeled and cored for each half kidney, fry in the
same fat as the kidney; lay the mushrooms in a hot dish, on each put a
piece of tomato heated in the oven, then a half kidney, put a little
pat of butter on each, and serve with either a pile of mashed potatoes
or spinach in centre of dish.
Curries
INDIAN CURRY
Most of the curry powder or paste to be found in this part of the world
is a mixture of 1/4 of dried chilli, 1/4 coriander, 1/2 dagatafolum;
but the native curry cook uses a much larger variety of spices and
likes to grind them himself fresh daily between two stones. The spices
commonly used are:
Red chilli (roasted)
Coriander seed (roasted)
" " (fresh)
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Baked garlic
Scraped cocoanut
Dagatafolum
Caraway seed
Yellow pimentos
Red pimentos
Cardamon seeds
Curcuma (saffron root)
A FRICASSEE OF CHICKEN
(Ceylon style)
Cut 2 good-sized chickens in 8 pieces. Season with salt and pepper;
put in a saucepan with about 1 quart of cocoanut milk; add to this
a little cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon fresh coriander, 1/4 teaspoon of
powdered saffron, a little red pimento, and boil until tender; at the
last minute thicken the sauce with 4 yolks of eggs mixed well with 1/2
pint cocoanut cream; keep hot but do not boil, as the richness of the
ingredients would make it curdle. As this curry is not hot it is served
with a sambo which consists of small dishes on one tray containing such
savories as plain scraped cocoanut, pimento paste, and chopped onion
with a red pepper sauce.
To obtain cocoanut cream, use the same process as that for ordinary
cream;--as for the milk: have 3 fresh cocoanuts scraped very fine to
which you add 3 pints of water, stir together for a few moments, then
strain, let this milk stand for 3 hours to obtain the cream.
A SIMPLER INDIAN CURRY
One lb. of beef, mutton, fish, or vegetables, as desired. One
tablespoon of curry powder, 1 heaping tablespoon of butter, 1 onion,
1/2 fresh cocoanut, juice of half a lemon, salt to taste. Curry powder
to be mixed in 2 ozs. of water. Onion to be finely chopped. Cocoanut to
be scraped and soaked in a teacup of boiling water, then squeezed, and
the milk (or the liquid) to be put in the curry. First cook the butter
till it bubbles, put in the onion and let it brown, add the curry
powder, and let that cook a few minutes; if it becomes too dry and
sticks to the pan add a little hot water. Then put in the meat (raw),
cut in small pieces, fish, or vegetables, and fry them, add salt, and
if dry, add a little more water, let all simmer till meat is thoroughly
done; when about half done, add the cocoanut milk and the lemon-juice.
If not convenient to use the cocoanut milk, ordinary milk can be used,
and the mixture thickened with a little flour. Cocoanut milk thickens
without flour. When the butter separates and shows itself in the gravy,
the curry is ready for serving. Curry should be served with plain
boiled rice. Pass rice first, then curry.
If Indian chutney is served with curry it is a great addition. A banana
may be cut up in pieces about half-inch thick, and added to the curry
mixture while cooking, and is a pleasant addition to the flavour.
ANOTHER CURRY SAUCE
Chop 1 onion and 1 apple and cook them in 1 oz. of butter about 10
minutes, but do not let them brown. Add 1 dessert-spoonful of mild
curry powder, the grated rind and juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 pint of
water or stock, some salt, and 1 tablespoonful of seedless raisins,
and simmer until the onion is quite tender. Unless added to rice or
paste put in 1 dessert-spoonful of flour after the onion and apple have
cooked about 10 minutes.
Pastes, Cheese, Etc.
MACARONI WITH CHEESE
(Italian)
Into 2-1/2 quarts of boiling water, well salted, throw 1/2 lb. of
macaroni broken up into pieces. Let it boil 25 minutes, then drain it
upon a sieve; replace in a stewpan with 3 ozs. of fresh butter cut in
small pieces, 2 ozs. of grated cheese, and a pinch of pepper; mix all
with a fork. The macaroni must not be broken. Add 1/2 cup of cream.
Serve hot.
NOTE:--Macaroni should be tender but not pasty; it should possess a
certain crispness; obtain this by passing cold water over it when it is
in the sieve and quickly returning it to the saucepan.
MACARONI
(Milanaise)
Break up 1/2 lb. macaroni into pieces about 1/4 of an inch long. Boil
in salted water 25 minutes. Drain on a sieve. Put it back in the
stewpan with a cupful of tomato sauce and 2 oz. of ham cut into dice.
Let it simmer a few minutes, then add 2-1/2 oz. of butter and the same
of grated cheese.
POLENTA WITH CHEESE
(Italian)
Add to 1-1/2 pints of salted, boiling water, 1/2 lb. of Indian meal,
sprinkling it in a little at a time. Let it cook until thick.
With a tablespoon form it into small lumps; arrange them on a dish,
sprinkle them with grated cheese, and pour over them some butter cooked
brown, but not burnt. Put the dish in the oven a few minutes to melt
the cheese before serving.
LENTIL CROQUETTES
Put in cold water 1/2 a cup of dried beans or lentils and let soak
overnight. Boil them 1-1/2 hours or until tender. Pass them through
a sieve; add 1/2 of a cup of fine bread-crumbs and 3 tablespoons of
cream or butter, 1 egg, a grated onion, a pimento chopped, a little
mace or nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of cayenne. Make into
croquettes and roll in bread-crumbs, then beaten egg and bread-crumbs,
and fry in oil or butter. If baked in the oven in a loaf, baste
occasionally with oil or butter.
Serve with a tomato or horse-radish sauce.
This is a nourishing substitute for meat.
RISOTTO
Colour for an instant in butter a chopped onion, add to it 1/2 lb. of
rice; stir an instant over the fire until it begins to frizzle, but
do not colour; add stock to 3 times the quantity of rice, a cupful of
tomato sauce, a pinch of saffron, one of pepper, let it boil, cover
the saucepan, and let it cook by the side of the fire for 20 minutes.
If the rice becomes dry before it is sufficiently tender add a little
more stock. Place the saucepan on the corner of the stove away from the
hot fire, then add to the rice 2 ozs. of grated Parmesan cheese and the
same amount of butter. Arrange the rice on a dish and pour over it some
good gravy and serve very hot.
The brown rice now procurable in most large cities is liked by gourmets
cooked in this manner and served with partridge and other game.
RISOTTO MILANAISE
Fry a tablespoon of minced onion in a good bit of butter; when slightly
browned, add 4 or 5 tomatoes and 1 pimento; after cooking pass through
a sieve and replace in the casserole with pepper, salt, and a dash of
cinnamon, 2 or 3 chicken livers, or some beef cut into small pieces.
Add 1 cup of rice and 1 qt. of stock or, lacking stock, water will do;
boil until the rice is tender, when add 1/4 lb. of cheese grated.
RAVIOLI
Prepare a paste made of 4/5 of a lb. of flour, a pinch of salt, 5
eggs, 2 spoonfuls of water. Cover with a cloth and let stand at least
15 minutes. Make a farce with cooked chicken or veal minced--about 2
cups--1 tablespoonful of finely minced cooked ham, 1/2 of a calf's
brain cooked, yolks of 2 eggs, a dash of nutmeg, 1 dessert-spoon of
grated Parmesan cheese. Take 1/2 the paste, roll out thin into a large
square; place a ball of the farce every 2-1/2 inches apart about the
size of a walnut, moisten with a brush the paste between the balls of
farce. Roll the rest of the paste and place it over the farce; press
edges together and between each ball. Cut with a round cutter or into
squares as preferred and cook in boiling water 7 or 8 minutes, drain
them and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Put on a dish and pour a
tomato sauce around them.
EGG COQUILLES, WITH SPINACH
(French)
One-half lb. of prepared and seasoned spinach, 1 breakfastcupful of
cream, 6 eggs, pepper, and salt.
Have 6 very small coquille or marmit pots, or china soufflé cases,
butter them, and put 1 tablespoonful of spinach in each. Upon this put
about 1 dessert-spoonful of cream. Break 1 egg in each, season with
salt and pepper, and bake carefully in a moderately heated oven for 8
minutes. Serve quickly.
PIROG OF MUSHROOMS
Boil mushrooms until they are tender, chop them and mix them in the pan
with butter, pepper and salt. Roll out the paste, put on one side of
the dough cold boiled rice, then the mushrooms, hashed meat of boiled
veal, chopped hard-boiled eggs, chopped onions, pepper, salt, and
nutmeg. When filling is placed on half of the dough lap the other half
over it, close the edges with the white of an egg, spread over some
beaten egg, and bake in the oven light brown.
PASTE FOR RUSSIAN PIROG
One cup of milk, 3 eggs, 1-1/2 cups of butter, a little salt mixed with
flour to make a soft dough. Knead it thoroughly, first with hands and
then half an hour more with a wooden spoon.
EGGS ROMANOFF
Cover hard-boiled eggs with a stiff mayonnaise. Put a little highly
flavoured aspic jelly in the bottom of individual moulds. When the
jelly is firm add a spoonful of caviare and place the mayonnaised egg
on the top. Pour in more jelly. When it is cold turn from the mould and
serve on a garniture of lettuce. This is good for a cold supper.
OEUFS POCHÉS IVANHOE
Cook a piece of finnan haddie in milk, then add 2 tablespoons of sauce
(a good cream sauce) with a few fresh mushrooms, salt, pepper, a bit
of cayenne, and 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. Put this through a
fine sieve, and in nests of this paste on slices of toast, slip poached
eggs. Sprinkle with grated cheese and place for a moment in a hot oven
to glaze.
CHEESE PUFFS
Bring to a boil 2/3 of a cup of water, 1-1/2 oz. of butter, a pinch of
salt, a pinch of pepper, then add 1/4 of a lb. of flour and stir to a
smooth paste, then stir in, one at a time, 3 eggs, 3-1/2 oz. of grated
cheese (Parmesan preferred). Add 1/4 teaspoon of English mustard;
when all is well mixed, drop by tablespoonfuls on a baking tin and
place on top of each a slice of Gruyère cheese. Put in a moderate oven
increasing the heat gradually. Cook from 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.
MOSKVA CHEESECAKES
Line tartlet moulds with short paste. Take 2 tablespoons of thick white
sauce, well seasoned, add a good pinch of cayenne pepper, bring it to a
boil, add 2 yolks of eggs, 4 tablespoons of grated cheese. Again bring
to a boil and remove from the fire, add 1 white of egg beaten stiff.
Fill the tartlet moulds with this mixture, put in a hot oven for 10
minutes, serve immediately.
CHEESE FRITTERS
Boil 1/2 pint of water, 1 oz. of butter, pinch of salt, pepper. Remove
from fire and add 3 oz. flour. Stir until a smooth paste is made, then
add 3 oz. of grated cheese and 1 oz. chopped cooked ham; when the
mixture is half cold add 3 eggs, one by one, stirring well.
Drop by spoonfuls into hot, not boiling fat; increase the temperature
of the fat, turning the fritters often.
When golden brown drain and serve.
CHEESE PUDDING
(A simple and nutritious Welsh dish)
Chop 1/2 lb. of cheese. Toast and butter four slices of bread. Put two
slices in the bottom of a dish, cover with half the cheese, sprinkle
a little salt and pepper, put in the dish the other two slices of
buttered bread and cover with the remaining cheese.
Pour over 1 pint of milk, let it stand for five minutes, then bake in a
warm oven 20 minutes.
CHICORY OR ENDIVE
Chicory or endive is scalded the same as spinach, but needs a little
longer time in the boiling water. It is prepared the same in brown
butter, gravy, or cream.
STEWED COS LETTUCES
(French)
Take off the outer leaves; wash them carefully, keeping them as whole
as possible; boil for ten minutes in boiling salted water; pour cold
water through them; drain. Extract the water from them by pressing each
lettuce lightly with two hands; split them in halves lengthwise; take
off the stalk; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put them in a stew-pan,
placing each half lettuce partly over the other round the pan. The
latter must be well buttered before putting in the lettuces, or in
place of butter some very good gravy from which all grease has been
taken. Add stock to half the height of the lettuces; cover and cook
them gently for an hour. The lettuces should be tender and the liquid
much reduced.
NOTE.--Lettuces may be cooked in the same manner with a little lean
bacon, ham, or sausage; in the latter case water may be used instead of
stock. They can be served as a vegetable or for garnishing.
ASPARAGUS
(French)
One bundle or 100 heads of asparagus, 1 pint of milk (or equal
quantities of milk and water), 1 head of lettuce finely shredded
and cut into short lengths, 1 medium-sized onion par-boiled and
finely chopped, 1 bay leaf, one sprig of thyme, 1-1/2 oz. of butter,
2 tablespoonsful of flour, the yolks of 2 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of
lemon-juice, salt and pepper, croûtes of buttered toast or fried bread,
chopped parsley, strips of cucumber.
Wash and trim the asparagus, and tie it into 3 or 4 bundles. Bring
the milk to boiling point, put in the asparagus, lettuce, onion,
bay-leaf, thyme, and salt, and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
Drain the asparagus well, cut off the points and the edible parts of
the stalks, and keep them hot. Strain the milk and return it to the
stew-pan, add the butter and flour previously kneaded together, and
stir until a smooth sauce is obtained. Beat the yolks of eggs slightly,
add them to the sauce, and stir until they thicken, but do not allow
the sauce to boil, or the yolks may curdle. Season to taste, and add
the lemon-juice. Pile the asparagus on the croûtes, cover with sauce,
garnish with strips of cucumber, and a little chopped parsley, and
serve as a vegetable entremet or as an entrée for a vegetarian dinner.
CELERY CROQUETTES
Two heads of celery, stock, 1 oz. of butter, 1 oz. of flour, 1 shallot,
1 gill of milk, seasoning, 2 yolks of eggs, egg and bread-crumbs, fat
for frying.
Trim and wash the celery, and cut into short pieces, blanch them
in salted water, and drain, then cook till tender in well-seasoned
stock. Drain the cooked celery, and chop it rather finely. Melt the
butter in a stew-pan, add the shallot (chopped), and fry a little,
stir in the flour, blend these together, and gradually add a gill of
milk. Stir till it boils, and put in the chopped celery. Season with
salt and pepper, and cook for 15 minutes, add the egg-yolks at the
last. Spread the mixture on a dish and let it get cold. Make up into
croquettes--cork or ball shapes--egg and crumb them, fry in hot fat to
a golden colour, drain them on a cloth or paper, and dish up.
RAGOÛT OF CELERY
Two or 3 heads of celery, 1 pint of white stock, 1/2 pint of milk,
2 tablespoonsful of cream, 1 medium-sized Spanish onion, 24 button
onions, 1 dessert-spoonful of finely chopped parsley, 2 ozs. of butter,
2 ozs. of flour, salt, and pepper.
Wash and trim the celery, cut each stick into pieces about 2 inches
long, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, and pour the water
away. Put in the stock, the Spanish onion finely chopped, season with
salt and pepper, and cook gently for about 1/2 an hour. Meanwhile, skin
the onions, fry them in hot butter, but very slowly, to prevent them
taking colour, drain well from fat, and keep them hot. Add the flour
to the butter, and fry for a few minutes without browning. Take up the
celery, add the strained stock to the milk, pour both on to the roux or
mixture of flour and butter, and stir until boiling. Season to taste,
add the cream and 1/2 the parsley, arrange the celery in a circle on
a hot dish, pour over the sauce, pile the onions high in the centre,
sprinkle over them the remainder of the parsley, and serve. The celery
may also be served on croûtes of fried or toasted bread arranged in
rows with the onions piled between them. A nice change may be made by
substituting mushrooms for the onions.
STUFFED ONIONS
(Italian)
Remove from 6 onions the centres with an apple-corer and fill them up
with the following stuffing: One tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese
mixed with 2 hard-boiled eggs and chopped parsley. Boil them first,
then roll them in flour and fry them in olive-oil or butter. Then put
them in a baking-dish with 1/2 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese
and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Put them in the oven and bake until
golden.
ONIONS
(Venetian style)
Remove the centres of 6 small onions. Boil them for a few moments,
drain them, and stuff them with the following: Take a piece of bread,
dip it in milk, squeeze out the milk, and mix the bread with 1
tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese, the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs.
Mix well together, then add some fine-chopped parsley, a pinch of
sugar, salt, and pepper, and the yolk of 1 raw egg; mix again well,
and then stuff the onions with the mixture. Dip them in flour and in
egg, and fry them in lard. Put them on a platter and serve with a
piquante sauce made as follows: Chop up fine some pickles, capers, and
peppers, and 1/2 cup of water. When these are cooked, add 1 tablespoon
of butter and cook a little while longer, then pour over the onions and
serve.
FRIED PUMPKIN OR SQUASH
(Italian)
Take a slice of pumpkin or squash, remove the rind and the seeds. Cut
it into fine strips. Roll in flour and dip in egg, and fry in boiling
lard or olive-oil.
If desired as garnishing for meat, cut the pumpkin exceedingly fine,
roll in flour, but not in egg, and fry.
CUCUMBERS
(Italian)
Peel and boil 3 or 4 cucumbers in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain and
cut them into pieces 1 inch thick and put them in a frying-pan with 1
ounce of butter, a little flour, and 1/2 pint of stock; stir well, and
add some salt and pepper. Reduce for about 15 minutes, stirring until
it boils; add 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley, 1/2 a teaspoon of grated
nutmeg, 1/2 a cup of cream, and the beaten-up yolks of 2 eggs. Put on
the fire again for 3 or 4 minutes. Do not let boil, and serve hot.
SARMA
(Serbian)
Put a cabbage in boiling water. Let it stand while preparing the rest
of the dish.
Fry 4 onions in 1 tablespoon of lard. Mix 2 lbs. of chopped pork and 2
lbs. of chopped beef with the onions. Stir into this 4 raw eggs. Add
1/2 lb. of rice, salt and pepper.
Remove the cabbage from the water, tear off the leaves and put into
each leaf two tablespoonsful of the meat and rice mixture, wrapping it
so that the contents should not come out.
Put a little sauerkraut in a pot, then a layer of the filled cabbage
leaves, continue doing this until the pot is filled. Cook slowly about
1 hour.
Make a sauce putting 1 tablespoon of lard in a saucepan on the fire,
and add a chopped onion. When a golden brown, add 1 tablespoonful of
browned flour and paprika to taste. Add a cup of water. Pour this sauce
into the pot and cook about half an hour longer. Some sour cream may be
added if liked on serving.
POLENTA PASTICCIATA
(Italian)
Three-quarters of a cup of Indian meal and 1 quart of milk.
Boil the milk, and add the Indian meal, a little at a time, when milk
is boiling. Cook for one-half an hour, stirring constantly. Add salt
just before taking off the fire. The Indian meal should be stiff when
finished. Turn it onto the bread-board, and spread it out to the
thickness of two fingers. While it is cooking prepare a meat sauce, and
a Béchamel sauce as follows:
MEAT SAUCE
Take a small piece of beef, a small piece of ham, fat and lean, 1
tablespoon of butter, a small piece of onion, a small piece of carrot,
a small piece of celery, a pinch of flour, 1/2 cup of bouillon (or
water), pepper. Cut the meat into small dice; chop up fine together
the ham, onion, carrot, and celery. Put these into a saucepan with the
butter, and when the meat is brown, add the pinch of flour, and the
bouillon a little at a time, and cook for about one-half an hour. This
sauce should not be strained.
BÉCHAMEL SAUCE
Take 1 tablespoon of flour, and 1-1/2 tablespoon of butter. Put them
into a saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until they have become a
golden-brown colour. Then add, a little at a time, 1 pint milk; stir
constantly until the sauce is as thick as custard, and is white in
colour.
Now take the cold Indian meal and cut it into squares about two inches
across. Take a baking-dish of medium depth, butter well, then put in a
layer of squares of Indian meal close together, to entirely cover the
bottom of the dish. Sprinkle over it grated cheese; then pour on the
top enough meat sauce to cover the layer (about 2 tablespoons), then on
the top of this add a layer of Béchamel sauce. Then put another layer
of the squares of Indian meal, sprinkle with grated cheese as before,
add meat sauce, then Béchamel sauce, and continue in this way until the
baking-dish is full, having for the top layer the Béchamel sauce. Put
the dish into a moderate oven, and bake until a golden brown.
FRIED BREAD WITH RAISINS
(Italian)