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The
Myrtle Reed
Cook Book
[Illustration]
G. P. Putnam's Sons
New York London
The Knickerbocker Press
1916
Copyright, 1905, 1906, 1911
by
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
Copyright, 1916
by
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
_Over One Million Copies Sold_
MYRTLE REED
_Miss Reed's books are peculiarly adapted for dainty yet
inexpensive gifts. They are printed in two colors, on
deckle-edge paper, and beautifully bound in four distinct
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LOVE LETTERS OF A MUSICIAN
LATER LOVE LETTERS OF A MUSICIAN
THE SPINSTER BOOK
LAVENDER AND OLD LACE
THE MASTER'S VIOLIN
AT THE SIGN OF THE JACK-O'-LANTERN
A SPINNER IN THE SUN
LOVE AFFAIRS OF LITERARY MEN
FLOWER OF THE DUSK
OLD ROSE AND SILVER
MASTER OF THE VINEYARD
A WEAVER OF DREAMS
THE WHITE SHIELD
THREADS OF GREY AND GOLD
HAPPY WOMEN
16 Illus.
THE SHADOW OF VICTORY
Cr. 8vo. $1.50 net
SONNETS TO A LOVER
Cr. 8vo. $1.50 net
THE MYRTLE REED YEAR BOOK
$1.50 net
THE BOOK OF CLEVER BEASTS
Illustrated by Peter Newell. $1.50
PICKABACK SONGS
Words by Myrtle Reed. Music by Eva Cruzen Hart.
Pictures by Ike Morgan. 4to. Boards, $1.50
_Send for Descriptive Circular_
EXPLANATION
The only excuse the author and publishers have to offer for the
appearance of this book is that, so far as they know, there is no
other like it.
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Philosophy of Breakfast 1
How to Set the Table 9
The Kitchen Rubaiyat 15
Fruits 20
Cereals 39
Salt Fish 58
Breakfast Meats 72
Substitutes for Meat 87
Eggs 91
Omelets 111
Quick Breads 121
Raised Breakfast Breads 147
Pancakes 160
Coffee Cakes, Doughnuts, and Waffles 173
Breakfast Beverages 186
Simple Salads 191
One Hundred Sandwich Fillings 228
Luncheon Beverages 235
Eating and Dining 241
Thirty-five Canapes 244
One Hundred Simple Soups 252
Fifty Ways to Cook Shell-Fish 281
Sixty Ways to Cook Fish 297
One Hundred and Fifty Ways to Cook Meat and
Poultry 316
Twenty Ways to Cook Potatoes 366
One Hundred and Fifty Ways to Cook Other
Vegetables 373
Thirty Simple Sauces 423
One Hundred and Fifty Salads 431
Simple Desserts 459
Index 531
The Myrtle Reed Cook Book
THE PHILOSOPHY OF BREAKFAST
The breakfast habit is of antique origin. Presumably the primeval man
arose from troubled dreams, in the first gray light of dawn, and set
forth upon devious forest trails, seeking that which he might devour,
while the primeval woman still slumbered in her cave. Nowadays, it is
the lady herself who rises while the day is yet young, slips into a
kimono, and patters out into the kitchen to light the gas flame under
the breakfast food.
In this matter of breaking the fast, each house is law unto itself.
There are some who demand a dinner at seven or eight in the morning,
and others who consider breakfast utterly useless. The Englishman, who
is still mighty on the face of the earth, eats a breakfast which would
seriously tax the digestive apparatus of an ostrich or a goat, and
goes on his way rejoicing.
In an English cook-book only seven years old, menus for "ideal"
breakfasts are given, which run as follows:
"Devilled Drum-sticks and Eggs on the dish, Pigs Feet, Buttered
Toast, Dry Toast, Brown and White Bread and Butter, Marmalade and
Porridge."
"Bloaters on Toast, Collared Tongue, Hot Buttered Toast, Dry Toast,
Marmalade, Brown and White Bread and Butter, Bread and Milk."
"Pigeon Pie, Stewed Kidney, Milk Rolls, Dry Toast, Brown and White
Bread and Butter, Mustard and Cress, Milk Porridge."
And for a "simple breakfast,"--in August, mind you!--this is
especially recommended:
"Bloaters on Toast, Corned Beef, Muffins, Brown and White Bread and
Butter, Marmalade, and Boiled Hominy."
An American who ate a breakfast like that in August probably would not
send his collars to the laundry more than once or twice more, but it
takes all kinds of people to make up a world.
Across the Channel from the brawny Briton is the Frenchman, who, with
infinitely more wisdom, begins his day with a cup of coffee and a
roll. So far, so good, but his _dejeuner a la fourchette_ at eleven or
twelve is not always unobjectionable from a hygienic standpoint. The
"uniform breakfast," which is cheerfully advocated by some, may be
hygienic but it is not exciting. Before the weary mental vision
stretches an endless procession of breakfasts, all exactly alike, year
in and year out. It is quite possible that the "no-breakfast" theory
was first formulated by some one who had been, was, or was about to be
a victim of this system.
The "no-breakfast" plan has much to recommend it, however. In the
first place, it saves a deal of trouble. The family rises, bathes
itself, puts on its spotless raiment in leisurely and untroubled
fashion, and proceeds to the particular business of the day. There are
no burnt toast, soggy waffles, muddy coffee, heavy muffins, or pasty
breakfast food to be reckoned with. Theoretically, the energy supplied
by last night's dinner is "on tap," waiting to be called upon. And,
moreover, one is seldom hungry in the morning, and what is the use of
feeding a person who is not hungry?
It has been often said, and justly, that Americans eat too much.
Considering the English breakfast, however, we may metaphorically pat
ourselves upon the back, for there is no one of us, surely, who taxes
the Department of the Interior thus.
"What is one man's meat is another man's poison" has been held
pointedly to refer to breakfast, for here, as nowhere else, is the
individual a law unto himself. Fruit is the satisfaction of one and
the distress of another; cereal is a life-giving food to one and a
soggy mass of indigestibility to some one else; and coffee, which is
really most innocent when properly made, has lately taken much blame
for sins not its own.
Quite often the discomfort caused by the ill-advised combination of
acid fruit with a starchy cereal has been attributed to the clear,
amber beverage which probably was the much-vaunted "nectar of the
gods." Coffee with cream in it may be wrong for some people who could
use boiling milk with impunity.
For a woman who spends the early part of the day at home, the omission
of breakfast may be salutary. When hunger seizes her, she is within
reach of her own kitchen, where proper foods may be properly cooked,
but for a business woman or man the plan is little less than suicidal.
Mr. Man may, indeed, go down town in comfort, with no thought of food,
but, no later than noon, he is keenly desirous of interior decoration.
Within his reach there is, usually, but the lunch counter, where, in
company with other hapless humans, he sustains himself with leathery
pie, coffee which never met the coffee bean, and the durable doughnut
of commerce. The result is--to put it mildly--discontent, which
seemingly has no adequate cause.
It is better, by far, for Mr. Man to eat a breakfast which shall
contain the proteids, carbohydrates, phosphates, and starches that he
will require during the day, and omit the noon luncheon entirely,
except, perhaps, for a bit of fruit. Moreover, a dainty breakfast,
daintily served, has a distinct aesthetic value. The temper of the
individual escorted to the front door by a devoted spouse has more
than a little to do with the temper of the selfsame individual who is
let in at night by the aforesaid D. S.
Many a man is confronted in the morning by an untidy, ill-cooked
breakfast, a frowsy woman and a still frowsier baby, and, too often,
by querulous whinings and complaints.
The ancient Britons had a pleasing arrangement which they called "The
Truce of God." By this, there was no fighting whatever, no matter what
the provocation, between sunset on Wednesday and sunrise on Monday.
This gave time for other affairs, and for the exercise of patience,
toleration, and other virtues of the same ilk.
Many a household might take a leaf from this book to good advantage.
Settle all differences after dinner, since at no time of the day is
man in more reasonable mood, and ordain a "Truce of God" from dawn
until after dinner.
No dinner, however beautifully cooked and served, no fine raiment,
however costly and becoming, can ever atone, in the memory of a man,
for the wild and untamed morning which too often prevails in the
American household. His mind, distraught with business cares, harks
back to his home--with pleasure? None too often, more's the pity.
Some one has said that, in order to make a gentleman, one must begin
with the grandfather. It is equally true that a good and proper
breakfast begins the night before--or, better yet, the morning before.
Careful, systematic planning in advance lightens immeasurably the
burden of housekeeping, and, many a time, makes the actual work
nothing but fun. Those who have tried the experiment of planning meals
for the entire week are enthusiastic in praise of the system. It
secures variety, simplifies marketing, arranges for left-overs, and
gives many an hour of peace and comfort which could not be had
otherwise.
Even if a woman be her own maid, as, according to statistics,
eighty-five per cent. of us are, a dainty, hygienic, satisfying
breakfast is hers and her lord's for little more than the asking. By
careful preparation in advance, the morning labor is reduced to a
minimum; by the intelligent use of lists and memoranda, the weary and
reluctant body is saved many an unnecessary step.
An alarm clock of the "intermittent" sort insures early rising, a dash
of cold water on the face is a physical and mental tonic of the most
agreeable kind, and one hour in the morning is worth two at night, as
the grandmothers of all of us have often said.
Fruit, usually, may be prepared for serving the night before, and will
be improved by a few hours in the refrigerator. Cereals should be
soaked over night in the water in which they are to be cooked, and a
few hours' cooking in the afternoon will injure very few cereals
destined for the breakfast table the next morning. Codfish balls and
many other things will be none the worse for a night's waiting; the
table can be set, and everything made ready for a perfect breakfast,
which half an hour of intelligent effort in the morning will readily
evolve.
A plea is made for the use of the chafing-dish, which is fully as
attractive at the breakfast table as in the "wee sma' hours" in which
it usually shines; for a white apron instead of a gingham one when "my
lady" is also the cook; for a crisp, clean shirt-waist instead of an
abominable dressing-sack; for smooth, tidy hair, instead of unkempt
locks; for a collar and a belt, and a persistent, if determined,
cheerfulness.
In the long run, these things pay, and with compound interest at that.
They involve a certain amount of labor, a great deal of careful
planning, eternal getting-up when it is far more pleasant to abide in
dreamland, quite often a despairing weariness, if not a headache, and
no small draft upon one's power of self-denial and self-sacrifice.
But he who goes in the morning from a quiet, comfortable, well-ordered
house, with a pleasant memory of the presiding genius of his
hearthstone, is twice the man that his fellow may be, whose wife
breakfasts at ten in her bed, or, frowsy and unkempt, whines at him
from across a miserable breakfast--twice as well fitted for the
ceaseless grind of an exhausting day in the business arena, whence he
returns at night, footsore, weary, and depressed, to the four walls
wherein he abides.
"How far that little candle throws its beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world."
To some, this may seem an undue stress laid upon the material side of
existence, but the human animal needs animal comforts even more than
his brother of forest and field, and from such humble beginnings great
things may come, not the least of which is the fine, spiritual essence
of a happy home.
HOW TO SET THE TABLE
Having said so much, we proceed, not to our mutton, as the French have
it, but to our breakfast, in which the table plays no small nor
unimportant part.
There are rumors that the pretty and sensible fashion of doilies on
the bare table is on the wane, but let us hope these are untrue, or,
if not, that some of us may have the courage of our convictions and
continue to adhere to a custom which has everything in its favor and
nothing against it.
In the absence of handsome top of oak or mahogany, the breakfast
cloths, fringed or not, as one likes, which are about a yard and a
quarter square, are the next best thing. Asbestos mats, under the
cloth, protect the table from the hot dishes. Failing these, fairly
satisfactory substitutes are made from thin white oil-cloth, between
two layers of canton flannel, "fur side outside," and quilted on the
machine. Grass table-mats are also used, but always under cloth or
doily. Canton flannel, quilted, three layers to a mat, is easily
washed, and furnishes a great deal of protection.
Breakfast, most assuredly, is not dinner, and there should be a
distinct difference in the laying of the table. The small doilies are
easily washed, and fresh ones are possible every morning--an assured
gain in the way of daintiness.
Let us suppose that we have a handsome table-top, and an unlimited
supply of doilies, tray-cloths and centrepieces. First the centrepiece
goes on, exactly in the centre, by the way, and not with a prejudiced
leaning to one side or the other. On this belongs the pot of growing
fern, the low jar containing a few simple flowers, or a bowl of fruit,
decorated with green leaves, if green leaves are to be had.
At each place the breakfast doily, nine or twelve inches square, a
small doily for the coffee cup, and another for the glass of water. At
the right of the plate, the small silver knife, sharp edge toward the
plate, the spoons for fruit and cereal; at the left, one fork, or two,
as needed, and the coffee spoon.
In front of the master of the house the small platter containing the
_piece de resistance_ will eventually be placed; in front of the
mistress of the mansion, the silver tray bearing the coffee
service--coffee-pot, hot-water pitcher, cream jug, milk pitcher, and
sugar bowl.
Breakfast napkins are smaller than dinner napkins, and the small
fringed napkins are not out of place. "Costly thy habit as thy purse
will buy" might well refer to linen, for it is the one thing in which
price is a direct guarantee of quality.
Satisfactory breakfast cloths and napkins are made of linen sheeting,
fringed, hemstitched, or carefully hemmed by hand, and in this way a
pretty cloth can be had for less money than in any other. The linen
wears well, washes beautifully, and acquires a finer sheen with every
tubbing. Insertions and borders of torchon or other heavy lace make a
breakfast cloth suitable for the most elaborate occasion, and separate
doilies may easily be made to match. The heavy white embroidery which
has recently come into favor is unusually attractive here.
Finger-bowls wait on the sideboard, to be placed after the fruit
course, or after breakfast. The rose-water, slice of lemon, geranium
leaves, and other finger-bowl refinements in favor for dinners are out
of place at breakfast. Clear, cool water is in better taste.
The china used at the breakfast table should be different from that
used at dinner. Heavier ware is permissible, and more latitude in the
way of decoration is given. Much of the breakfast china one sees in
the shops is distinctly cheerful in tone, and one must take care to
select the more quiet patterns. It is not pleasant to go to breakfast
with a fickle appetite, and be greeted by a trumpet-toned "Good
Morning" from the china.
Endless difference is allowed, however, and all the quaint, pretty
jugs, pitchers, and plates may properly be used at breakfast. One is
wise, however, to have a particular color scheme in mind and to buy
all china to blend with it. Blue and white is a good combination, and
is, perhaps, more suitable for the morning meal than anything else. As
a certain philosopher says: "The blue and white look so pretty with
the eggs!"
The carafe, muffin plate, platter, and all other bowls, platters,
plates, and pitchers not on the individual cover have each a separate
doily, with the protecting mat always under hot dishes. A well-set
table is governed by a simple law--that of precision. Dishes arranged
in an order little less than military, all angles either right or
acute, will, for some occult reason, always look well. Informality may
be given by the arrangement of the flowers, or by a flower or two laid
carelessly on the table. But one must be careful not to trifle too
much with this law of precision. Knives, forks, and spoons must all be
laid straight, but not near enough together to touch, and napkins and
dishes must be precisely placed, else confusion and riot will result.
The breakfast selected as a type consists of fruit, a cereal, salt
fish, or salt meat, or eggs, or omelets, hot bread of some kind, and
pancakes or waffles, or coffee cake, one dish from each group, and
coffee. Six dishes in all, which may be less if desired, but never
more. All six form a breakfast sufficiently hearty for a stone mason
or a piano mover; one or two give a breakfast light enough to tempt
those who eat no breakfast at all. For serving it are required small
and medium-sized plates, knives, forks, spoons, egg cups, platters,
service plates, cups and saucers, glasses, coffee-pot, pitchers, sugar
bowl, and cream jug, syrup pitcher, and fruit bowl.
Fruit is said to be "gold in the morning," and it is a poor breakfast,
indeed, from which it is omitted. Even in winter it is not hard to
secure variety, if time and thought be taken, for the dried fruits are
always in the market and by careful cooking may be made acceptable to
the most uncertain appetite.
Medical authorities recommend a glass of water taken the first thing
upon rising, either hot or cold as suits one best. A little
lemon-juice takes the "flat" taste from plain hot water, and clear,
cool water, not iced, needs nothing at all. This simple observance of
a very obvious hygienic rule will temper the tempestuous morning for
any one. One washes his face, his hands, his body--then why not his
stomach, which has worked hard a large part of the night, and is
earnestly desirous of the soothing refreshment of a bath?
To those carping critics who cavil at the appearance of the stomach
in a chapter entitled "How to Set the Table," we need only say that
the table is set for the stomach, and the stomach should be set for
the table, and anyway, it comes very near being a table of contents,
_n'est-ce pas_?
THE KITCHEN RUBAIYAT
Wake, for the Alarm Clock scatters into Flight
The variegated Nightmares of the Night;
Allures the Gas into the Kitchen Range
And pleads for Rolls and Muffins that are Light.
Before the Splendor of the last Dream died
Methought a Voice from out my Doorway cried:
"When all the Breakfast is Prepared for him
Why doth my lord within his Crib abide?"
And, as the cat Purred, she who was Before
Within the Kitchen shouted: "Guard the Door!
Else this new Bridget will have Flown the Coop
And, once Departed, will Return no More!"
All maids in sight the Wise One gladly Hires
And one of them she Presently acquires,
Yet toward the Bureau does not fail to Look
Because all Maids, as well as Men, are liars.
For Mary Ann has gone, with all her Woes,
And Dinah, too, has fled--where, no one knows,
But still a Bridget from the Bureau comes
And many a Tekla of her Reference blows.
Come, fill the Cup, and let the Kettle Sing!
The Cream and Sugar and Hot Water bring!
Methinks this fragrant liquid amber here
Within the Pot, is pretty much the Thing.
Each Morn a thousand Cereals brings, you say?
Yes, but where leaves the Food of Yesterday?
And this same Grocer man that sells us Nerve
Shall take Pa's Wheat and Mother's Oats away.
For lo, my small Back Yard is thickly Strown
With Ki-Tee-Munch, Chew-Chew, and Postman's Own
Where Apple-Nuts and Strength have been Forgot--
Ah, how these Papers by the Winds are Blown!
The tender Waffle hearts are Set upon
Is either Crisp or Soggy, and Anon
Like Maple Syrup made of corn and Cobs
Lasts but a scant Five Minutes, and is Gone.
I often think that never gets so Red
My flower-like Nose as when I've just been Fed
And after Breakfast, in the Glass I look,
And never Fail to Wish that I were dead.
And this faint Sallow Place upon my Mien--
How came it There? From that fair Coffee Bean?
Ah, take the Glass away! Make Haste unless
You want to see my Whole Complexion green.
When I was Younger, I did oft Frequent
The Married Bunch, and heard Great Argument
About the Fearful Price of Eggs, and How
To get a Dollar's Work out of a Cent.
And when I asked them of their Recompense,
What did they Get for Keeping Down Expense--
Oh, many a cup of Coffee, Steaming Hot,
Must drown the Memory of their Insolence!
If I were Married 't would be my Desire
To get up Every Morn and Build the Fire
For fear my Husband should use Kerosene,
And, without warning, be transported Higher.
Ah, with the Coffee all my Years provide!
Its chemicals may turn me green Inside,
But all my Fears are Scattered to the Winds
When o'er the fragrant Pot I can Preside.
I blame our Mother Eve, who did mistake
Her Job, and flirted Somewhat with the Snake,
For all the Errors of the Flaky Roll,
For all the Terrors of the Buckwheat Cake.
A glass of Creamy Milk just from the Cow,
Or Buttermilk, drawn from the Goat, I trow,
And thou across the Festal Board from Me,
A Six-Room Flat were Paradise enow!
Some for a Patent Bread that will not Crumb,
And nary Bite of Cereal for Some--
Ah, take the Coffee! Let all else go by
Nor heed the Thick White Fur upon the Tongue.
Look to the Human Wrecks about us: lo,
About their Indigestion how they Blow,
And lay the Blame on Coffee, crystal Clear,
Or say the Crisp Hot Muffin is their Foe!
And those who chew and chew upon the Grain,
Have got so used to Chewing, they are Fain
To Dwell upon their Health Food in their Talk
And presently their Neighbors go Insane.
FOOT-NOTES
1. The author began with the intention of adapting the entire Rubaiyat
to kitchen purposes, but thought better of it just in time to head off
the Lyric Muse, who was coming at full gallop, with her trunk.
2. Those who do not like The Kitchen Rubaiyat will doubtless be glad
there is no more of it.
3. Those who do like it can begin at the beginning and read it again.
The rest of it would be about like this installment, anyway.
P. S. If the demand is great enough, the rest of it may appear in
another book.
P. S. 2. The publisher of this book has an unalterable prejudice
against printing poetry, but he allowed The Kitchen Rubaiyat to slip
by without question.
P. S. 3. ?
FRUITS IN SEASON
Apples All the year.
Apricots July 20 to August 20.
Bananas All the year.
Blackberries July 1 to August 15.
Cherries June 1 to July 15.
Currants, Red and White July 1 to August 15.
Figs, dried All the year.
Figs, bag October and November.
Gooseberries July.
Grapes, Concord August 20 to November 15.
" Malaga November to March.
" California December to March.
Grapefruit October to July.
Green Gage Plums August 1 to September 15.
Huckleberries July and August.
Melons, Musk, Water, Cantaloupe July 15 to October 15.
Oranges December to May.
Peaches August and September.
Pears August and September.
Pineapples June to September.
Plums, Blue September.
Quinces September, October, and November.
Rhubarb April to September.
Raspberries, Black and Red July and August.
Strawberries May and June.
Tangerines November to February.
The above table, of course, is only a rough outline, as seasons and
localities vary so much. The tendency, too, is to extend the season of
every fruit indefinitely, as transporting and refrigerating methods
improve. Fruit out of season is always expensive, and often unripe and
unsatisfactory. Fortunately, when it is at its best it is always
abundant and at the lowest price.
Among the dried fruits may be mentioned Prunelles, Apricots, Apples,
Blackberries, Cherries, Nectarines, Peaches, peeled and unpeeled,
Pears, Plums, Raspberries, Prunes, Figs, and Dates. Canned fruits
which may be used for breakfast, with proper preparation, are Pears,
Peaches, Apricots, Cherries, Plums, and Pineapples.
Dried fruits may be soaked over night in the water in which they are
to be cooked, and simmered slowly, until they are tender, with little
sugar or none at all. They may also be steamed, either with or
without sugar, omitting the soaking, until tender enough for a straw
to pierce. Combinations of dried fruits are often agreeable, and a few
raisins will sometimes add a pleasant flavor.
Canned fruits intended for breakfast should be drained and very
thoroughly rinsed in cold water, then allowed to stand for some hours
in a cool place.
Many of the fruits, both dried and fresh, combine well with cereals.
Care must be taken, however, to follow such acid fruits as Currants,
Cherries, Oranges, and Grapefruit, with meat or egg dishes, omitting
the cereal, as the starch and acid are very likely to fight with each
other when once inside, to the inconvenience of the non-combatant. A
fruit which for any reason tastes "flat" can be instantly improved in
flavor and tonic quality by a sprinkle of lemon-juice.
Below are given different ways of preparing fruit for the breakfast
table.
APPLES
I. When served whole, apples should be carefully washed and rubbed to
a high polish with a crash towel. Only perfect fruit should be served
in this way, and green leaves in the fruit bowl are especially
desirable. Fruit-knives are essential.
II. Pare, quarter, and core good eating apples, removing all
imperfections. Serve a few quarters on each plate, with or without
sugar. A sprinkle of cinnamon or lemon-juice will improve fruit which
has little flavor. A grating of nutmeg may also be used.
III. _A la Conde._--Pare, quarter, and core good cooking apples.
Arrange in rows in an earthen baking-dish, sprinkle with powdered
sugar and lemon-juice, pour a little water into the baking-dish, and
add a heaping tablespoonful of butter. Bake slowly, basting frequently
with the apple-juice and melted butter. When tender, take out, drain,
and cool, saving the juice. Serve with boiled rice or other cereal,
using the juice instead of milk.
IV. _A la Cherbourg._--Pare and core good cooking apples; halve or
quarter if desired. Cook slowly in a thin syrup flavored with
lemon-peel and a bit of ginger-root. Serve separately or with cereal.
V. _A la Fermiere._--Pare and core the apples and arrange in a
well-buttered baking-dish. Sprinkle slightly with sugar and cinnamon;
baste often with melted butter, and serve with boiled rice or other
cereal, using the juice instead of milk.
VI. _A la Francaise._--Core and then peel tart apples. Put into cold
water from half an inch to an inch in depth, sprinkle with sugar,
cover tightly, and cook very slowly on the back part of the range
till tender. Flavorings already noted may be added at pleasure. Skim
out the apples, reduce the remaining syrup one-half by rapid boiling,
pour over the apples, and cool. Serve cold, with or without cereal.
VII. _A la Ninon._--Sprinkle baked apples with freshly grated cocoanut
on taking from the oven. Serve on a mound of boiled rice with the milk
of the cocoanut.
VIII. _A la Religieuse._--Core cooking apples; score the skin deeply
in a circle all around the fruit. Sprinkle a little sugar in the
cores, and dissolve a little currant jelly in the water used for the
basting. Cook slowly, and baste once with melted butter. The peel is
supposed to rise all around the apple, like a veil--hence the name.
IX. _Baked._--Peel or not, as preferred. Sprinkle with melted butter
and sugar, baste now and then with hot water, and serve separately or
with cereal.
X. _Baked, with Bananas._--Core, draw a peeled and scraped banana
through each core, trimming the ends off even, and bake slowly,
basting with hot water, melted butter, and lemon-juice. The apples may
be peeled if desired. Serve separately, or with cereal.
XI. _Baked, with Cereal._--Pare or not, as preferred, but core. Fill
the centres with left-over cooked cereal and bake slowly. Butter,
lemon-juice, or any flavoring recommended before can be used to
advantage. Any quartered apples, baked or stewed, can be covered with
any preferred cereal, and served with sugar and cream.
XII. _Baked, with Cherries._--Core the apples, fill the centres with
pitted cherries, either sour or sweet, bake carefully, basting with
syrup and melted butter. The apples may be peeled or not. Take up
carefully, and serve separately, or with cereal.
XIII. _Baked, with Currants._--Fill the centres with currants, red or
white, and use plenty of sugar. Baste with hot water or melted butter.
May be served with cereal if enough sugar is used in baking.
XIV. _Baked, with Dates._--Wash and stone dates, fill the cores of
apples with them, sprinkle with powdered sugar and bake, basting with
butter, lemon-juice, and hot water. The apples may be peeled or not.
XV. _Baked, with Figs._--Wash the figs carefully, and pack into the
cores of apples. Bake, basting with lemon syrup and melted butter.
Serve separately or with cereal.
XVI. _Baked, with Gooseberries._--Cap and stem a handful of
gooseberries. Fill the cores of large, firm apples with them, using
plenty of sugar. Baste with melted butter and hot water. May be
served with cereal if plenty of sugar is used in cooking.
XVII. _Baked, with Prunes._--Select tart apples, and peel or not, as
preferred. Core and fill the centres with stewed prunes, stoned and
drained. Bake slowly, basting with the prune-juice, or with
lemon-juice, melted butter, spiced syrup, or hot water containing
grated lemon-peel and a teaspoonful of sherry. Two or three cloves may
be stuck into each apple, and removed after the apples are cold.
Serve, very cold, with cream; separately, or with a cereal.
XVIII. _Baked, with Quinces._--Fill the cores of sweet apples with
bits of quince and plenty of sugar. Bake slowly, basting with melted
butter and syrup. Serve separately or with cereal.
XIX. _Baked, with Spice._--Select very sour apples, and peel or not,
as preferred. Core, and stuff the cavities with brown sugar, putting
two whole cloves into each apple. Baste with hot water containing a
bit of grated lemon-peel and a teaspoonful of sherry, putting a
teaspoonful of butter into the liquor as it forms in the dish. Bake
slowly, covered, until the apples are very tender. Serve separately or
with a cereal. Cinnamon, or nutmeg, or a blade of mace may be used
instead of the cloves.
XX. _Boiled._--Boil slowly in a saucepan with as little water as
possible. Do not peel. When tender, lift out, add sugar to the water
in which they were boiled; reduce half by rapid boiling, pour over the
apples, and let cool. Currant-juice, lemon-juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, or
a suspicion of clove may be added to the syrup if the apples lack
flavor.
XXI. _Coddled._--Core, cut in halves, but do not peel. Lay in the
bottom of an earthen dish, sprinkle lightly with sugar, add a little
water, and cook very slowly on the top of the stove until tender.
XXII. _Crusts._--Cut stale bread in circles, lay half of a peeled and
cored apple on each piece. Bake carefully, basting with melted butter
and a little lemon-juice if desired. When the apples are done,
sprinkle with powdered sugar, and take from the oven. Serve either hot
or cold.
XXIII. _Dried._--Soak over night in water to cover, after washing
thoroughly; cook slowly until soft, sweeten, and flavor with lemon.
Raisins, dates, figs, or other dried fruits may be added at pleasure.
XXIV. _Fried._--Core, but do not pare. If very juicy, dredge with
flour and fry slowly in hot fat till tender. They are served with
pork, or, sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon, with cereals.
XXV. _Glazed._--Core tart apples. Fill the centres with cinnamon,
sugar, bits of butter, and a raisin or two. Bake slowly, basting with
lemon-syrup. When nearly done, brush with the beaten white of egg and
sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve separately or with cereal.
XXVI. _In Bloom._--Cook pared red apples in any preferred way, and
stew the skin separately, in a little water, until the color is
extracted. The tiniest bit of red vegetable coloring may be needed.
Strain this liquid, and pour it over the apples when done. Or, add
currant jelly to color the water in which the apples are boiled, or to
the water for basting pared baked apples.
XXVII. _In Casserole._--Arrange good cooking apples in an earthen
casserole. Cover with a thin syrup made of brown sugar, add a little
spice and a bit of orange- or lemon-peel. Bake, very slowly, tightly
covered. Serve cold from the casserole.
XXVIII. _In Crumbs._--Cut strips of stale bread to fit stone
custard-cups. Dip in milk, and arrange in the moulds. Fill the centres
with apple sauce, cover with a circle of the bread, and steam thirty
minutes. Serve cold, with cream.
XXIX. _In Rice-Cups._--Line buttered custard cups with cold boiled
rice. Fill the centres with apple sauce or cooked quartered apples,
mildly tart rather than sweet. Cover with more of the rice. Steam
half an hour and let cool in the cups. Turn out on chilled plates and
serve with cream. Cream may be used with any cooked apple, if the
Secretary of the Interior files no objections. Cereals, other than
rice, left over, can be used in the same way. A wreath of cooked apple
quarters around the base of each individual mould is a dainty and
acceptable garnish.
XXX. _Jellied._--Cut tart apples in halves, core, place in buttered
baking-dish, skin side down, measure the water and add enough barely
to cover; add twice as much sugar as water, cover and boil slowly till
the apples are tender. Skim out, drain, boil the syrup rapidly till
reduced one half; pour over the apples and let cool. Flavorings
referred to before can be added to the syrup if desired.
XXXI. _Mock Pineapple._--Arrange alternate slices of sweet apples and
oranges, peeled, on a chilled plate, one above the other. Sprinkle
with powdered sugar, pour over the orange-juice and serve immediately.
XXXII. _Sauce._--Peel, quarter, and core quick-cooking apples. Sweeten
slightly, and when very tender, rub through a sieve and let cool. Any
flavoring recommended before may be used.
XXXIII. _Snow._--Peel white-fleshed, firm apples, grate quickly on a
coarse grater, and serve in roughly piled heaps on small plates
immediately. Use sugar or not.
XXXIV. _Southern, Fried._--Core and cut in thick slices, but do not
peel. Dip in egg and crumbs and fry in ham or bacon fat and serve with
those meats.
XXXV. _Stewed._--Pare, core, and halve large cooking-apples. Put into
an earthen dish, cover with water, sprinkle with sugar, cover tightly,
and cook slowly. If flat in taste, sprinkle with lemon-juice,
cinnamon, or nutmeg.
XXXVI. _Stewed with Dates._--Add washed and stoned dates to stewed
apples when partially cooked, and finish cooking. Dried apricots,
fresh or dried cherries, rhubarb, figs, plums, dried peaches, pears,
or quinces, may be used in the same way.
XXXVII. _Stewed with Rice._--Boil rice as usual in boiling water,
adding a little salt. When partly done, add pared, cored, and
quartered quick-cooking apples. Finish cooking. Serve very cold with
cream and sugar. Flavorings noted above may be added at discretion.
APRICOTS
I. Wipe with a dry cloth and serve with fruit-knives. A green leaf on
each plate is a dainty fruit doily.
II. _Canned._--Drain, rinse in cold water, arrange on plates, and let
stand several hours before serving. Sugar or not, as desired. Save the
syrup to flavor syrup for pancakes, or to use for puddings, fritters,
etc.
III. _Dried._--Soak over night, cook very slowly in the water in which
they were soaked, adding very little sugar. Serve with cereal, or
separately.
IV. _Sauce._--Cook as above, and rub the fruit through a sieve. The
canned, drained, and freshened fruit may be used in the same way.
BANANAS
I. Serve in the skins with fruit-knives, one to each person.
II. Skin and scrape and serve immediately. People who cannot
ordinarily eat bananas usually find them harmless when the tough,
stringy pulp is scraped off.
III. _Baked._--Bake without peeling, basting with hot water and melted
butter occasionally. Let cool in the skins.
IV. _Baked._--Skin, scrape, and bake, basting with lemon-juice and
melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
V. _Au naturel._--Slice into saucers, sprinkle with lemon-juice and
sugar.
VI. _With Sugar and Cream._--Slice, sprinkle with powdered sugar, pour
cream over, and serve at once.
VII. _With Oranges._--Slice, add an equal quantity of sliced oranges,
and sprinkle with sugar.
VIII. _With Cereal._--Slice fresh bananas into a saucer, sprinkle with
sugar, cover with boiled rice or with any preferred cereal.
IX. Equally good with sliced peaches.
BLACKBERRIES
Serve with powdered sugar, with or without cream. A tablespoonful of
cracked ice in a saucer of berries is appreciated on a hot morning.
BLUE PLUMS
See Green Gages.
CHERRIES
I. Serve very cold, with the stems on. A dainty way is to lay the
cherries upon a bed of cracked ice, and serve with powdered sugar in
individual dishes.
II. Pit the cherries, saving the juice, and serve in saucers with
sugar and plenty of cracked ice.
III. _Iced._--Beat the white of an egg to a foam. Dip each cherry into
it, then roll in powdered sugar, and set on a platter in the
refrigerator. Must be prepared overnight.
IV. _Crusts._--Butter rounds of stale bread, spread with pitted
cherries and their juice, sprinkle with sugar, and bake. Serve very
cold.
CURRANTS
Serve in cracked ice with plenty of sugar. These are also served iced,
and on crusts. See Cherries III and IV.
FIGS
May be served from the basket. This, of course, applies only to the
more expensive varieties, which are clean. The ordinary dried fig of
commerce must be washed many times, and is usually sweet enough
without adding more sugar.
II. _Steamed._--Set a plate of figs in a steamer over boiling water
until plump and soft, then set away to cool.
III. _Stewed._--Clean, soak, and cook slowly till tender in a little
water. Skim out, drain, sweeten the syrup slightly, reduce one half,
pour over the figs, and cool. A bit of vanilla or wine may be added to
the syrup.
IV. _With Cereal._--Cover a saucer of steamed or stewed figs with any
preferred cereal. Serve with cream if desired.
V. _In Rice-Cups._--See Apples XXIX.
VI. _In Crumbs._--See Apples XXVIII.
GOOSEBERRIES
These berries must be stewed in order to be acceptable. The fruit,
after stewing, may be rubbed through a sieve fine enough to keep back
the seeds, or it may be baked on crusts. See Cherries IV.
GRAPES
This luscious fruit is at its best when served fresh from the vines,
with the bloom still on. Never wash a bunch of grapes if it can be
avoided. Serve with grape scissors to cut the bunches apart. People
who fear appendicitis may have the grapes squeezed from the skins and
the seeds afterwards removed. They are very nice this way, with sugar
and pounded ice.
GRAPEFRUIT
A good grapefruit will have dark spots, a skin which seems thin, will
be firm to the touch, and heavy for its size. To serve, cut crosswise,
and remove the white, bitter pulp which is in the core, and separate
the sections. Fill the core with sugar and serve cold. A little rum or
kirsch may be added just before serving, but, as George Ade said, "A
good girl needs no help," and it is equally true of a good grapefruit.
If anybody knows why it is called grapefruit, please write to the
author of this book in care of the publishers.
GREEN GAGES
Serve as they come, with the bloom on, or peel, pit, and serve with
cracked ice and powdered sugar.
HUCKLEBERRIES
Look the fruit over carefully. Nothing pleases a fly so much as to die
and be mistaken for a huckleberry. Serve with cracked ice, with sugar
or cream, or both.
MUSKMELONS
Keep on ice till the last moment. Cut crosswise, take out the seeds
with a spoon, and put a cube of ice in each half. Green leaves on the
plate are a dainty touch.
ORANGES
Serve with fruit-knives, or in halves with spoons--either the
orange-spoon which comes for that purpose, or a very heavy teaspoon.
Another way is to remove the peel, except a strip an inch wide at the
equator, cut at a division line and straighten out the peel, taking
care not to break off the sections. Or, the fruit may be peeled,
sliced, and served on plates with sugar.
PEACHES
Wipe with a dry cloth and serve with fruit-knives. Or, if you think
much of your breakfast napkins, peel and cut just before serving, as
they discolor quickly. Serve with cracked ice, or with cream. Hard
peaches may be baked, as apples are, and served cold with cream.
Stewed peaches may be served on crusts.
PEARS
Serve as they come, with fruit-knives. Hard pears may be baked or
stewed according to directions previously given.
PINEAPPLE
Peel, cut out the eyes, and shred from the core with a silver fork.
Sprinkle with sugar and keep on ice some hours before serving.
Pineapple is the only fruit known to have a distinct digestive value,
and it works most readily on starches. It combines pleasantly with
bananas.
PRUNELLES
These are soaked, and boiled in the water in in which they are soaked,
with the addition of a very little sugar. Dried apricots,
blackberries, cherries, nectarines, and prunes are cooked in the same
way. They may also be steamed and afterwards sprinkled with sugar.
PRUNES
These are no longer despised since the price has gone up, and the more
expensive kinds are well worth having. A bit of lemon-peel or spice
may flavor the syrup acceptably, and they are especially healthful in
combination with cereals, according to recipes previously given.
QUINCES
Peel, stuff the cores with sugar, and bake according to directions
given for apples. A little lemon may be used in the syrup for basting.
RASPBERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES
These delicious berries should not be washed unless absolutely
necessary, nor should they be insulted with sugar and cream. If very
sour, strawberries may be dipped in powdered sugar. Large, fine ones
are served with the stems and hulls on. Raspberries, if ripe, seldom
need sugar. Cracked ice is a pleasing accompaniment.
RHUBARB
I. Peel, cut into inch-lengths, and stew with plenty of sugar. Serve
cold.
II. Cut, but do not peel, boil five minutes, then change the water
and cook slowly with plenty of sugar till done.
III. _Baked._--Do not peel. Cut into inch-pieces, put into a buttered
baking-dish or stone jar, sprinkle plentifully with sugar, and bake
slowly. It will be a rich red in color.
IV. Cook on crusts. See Cherries IV.
V. Add a handful of seeded raisins to rhubarb cooked in any of the
above ways when it is about half done. Figs, dates, and other dried
fruits, used with rhubarb, make a combination pleasing to some.
TANGERINES
See Oranges.
WATERMELON
Like muskmelon, watermelon must be very thoroughly chilled. Serve in
slices from a platter or on individual plates, removing the rind
before serving, if desired; or cut the melon in half, slice off the
lower end so that it may stand firmly, and serve the pulp from the
shell with a silver spoon. Ice pounded to snow is a pleasant addition
to any fruit, when the thermometer is ninety-five or six in the shade.
CEREALS
So many breakfast foods are upon the market that it would be
impossible to enumerate all of them, especially as new ones are
appearing continually. Full and complete directions for cooking all of
them are printed upon the packages in which they are sold. It may not
be amiss to add, however, that in almost every instance, twice or
three times the time allowed for cooking would improve the cereal in
taste and digestibility.
The uncooked cereals are many. A wise housekeeper will use the
uncooked cereals when she has no maid. "A word to the wise is
unnecessary."
Pleasing variety in the daily menu is secured by getting a different
cereal each time. In this way, it takes about a year to get back to
the beginning again, and there is no chance to tire of any of them.
Cereals should always be cooked in a double boiler; and soaking over
night in the water in which they are to be cooked, where it is not
possible to secure the necessary time for long cooking, will prove a
distinct advantage. Leftover cereals should be covered with cold
water immediately, in the double boiler, and kept in a cool place
until the next day. Bring slowly to a boil, and cook as usual. In the
hot weather, cereals may be cooked the day before using, moulded in
custard-cups, and kept in the ice-box over night. They are very
acceptable when served ice-cold, and, if moulded with fruit, or served
with fruit on the same plate, so much the better.
Pearled wheat, pearled barley, and coarse hominy require five cupfuls
of water to each cup of cereal, and need from four to six hours'
cooking. Coarse oatmeal and fine hominy must be cooked from four to
six hours, but need only four cupfuls of water to each cup of cereal.
Rolled wheat and rolled barley are cooked two hours in three times as
much water as cereal; rice and rolled oats, with three times as much
water, will cook in one hour. Farina, with six cupfuls of water to
each cupful of cereal, also cooks in an hour; cerealine flakes cook in
thirty minutes, equal parts of water and cereal being used.
Salt must be added just before cooking begins. All cereals are richer
if a little milk is added to the water in which they are cooked.
To cook cereals in a double boiler, put the water into the inner
kettle, the outer vessel being from half to two thirds full, and when
it is boiling furiously, sprinkle in the cereal, a few grains at a
time, and not so rapidly as to stop the boiling. When cereals are
eaten cold, they require a little more liquid.
BOILED BARLEY
Wash the barley in several waters, cover with cold water; bring to a
boil, drain, cover with fresh boiling water, add a little salt, and
cook slowly for four hours.
BARLEY GRUEL
Wash half a cupful of pearled barley in several waters; put it into a
double boiler with eight cupfuls of water and half an inch of stick
cinnamon. Boil for two hours, strain, sweeten, and add two wine
glasses of port. Keep in a cool place and reheat when required. An
invaluable breakfast cereal for a convalescent.
STEAMED BARLEY
Cooked one cupful of pearled barley in a double boiler four hours,
with four cupfuls of water and a little salt. In the morning, add a
cupful of boiling water or milk, stir occasionally, reheat thoroughly,
and serve.
BREWIS
Dry bread in the oven so slowly that it is a light brown in color.
Crush into crumbs with the rolling-pin and sift through the
frying-basket. Measure the milk, salt it slightly, and bring to a
boil. Put in half as much of the dried crumbs. Boil five or ten
minutes, season with butter, pepper, and salt, and serve at once with
cream. It must be stirred all the time it is cooking. By omitting the
butter, it may be served with sugar. Brown, rye, graham, or corn bread
may be mixed with the white bread to advantage. The dried and sifted
crumbs of brown bread, when served cold with cream, taste surprisingly
like a popular cereal which etiquette forbids us to mention. This is a
good way to use up accumulated crumbs.
CORN-MEAL MUSH
The best meal comes from the South. It is white, moist, and coarse,
and is called "water ground." It is a very different proposition from
the dry, yellow powder sold in Northern groceries. For mush, use four
times as much water as meal. Salt the water, and sprinkle in the meal
very slowly when it is at a galloping boil. Boil an hour or more,
stirring frequently. A better mush is made by using half milk and half
water. Serve hot or cold with cream, or milk, and sugar. If wanted for
frying, wet a pan in cold water, pour in the hot mush, and let cool.
CORN AND WHEAT PORRIDGE
Half a cupful of corn-meal and half a cupful of flour. Make into a
batter with cold water and put into two cupfuls of boiling water.
Stir often and cook half an hour or more, then add four cupfuls of
boiling milk. Cook half an hour longer, stirring often. Serve hot or
cold, with cream and sugar.
CORN MUSH OR HASTY PUDDING