Tie in a cloth, put into a kettle of cold water, bring slowly to the
boil, and cook half an hour. Remove the cloth, take out the backbone,
and pour over melted butter and half a cupful of cream. Sprinkle with
black pepper and garnish with parsley.
BOILED SALT MACKEREL, CREAMED
Prepare as above. Heat a cupful of milk to the boil. Stir into it a
teaspoonful of cornstarch made smooth with a little cold milk. When it
thickens, add two tablespoonfuls of butter, and a little pepper, salt
and minced parsley. Beat an egg very light, pour the sauce gradually
over it, reheat for about a minute. Pour over the fish and garnish
with slices of hard-boiled eggs.
BAKED SALT MACKEREL
Freshen according to directions previously given. Put into a
baking-pan and pour on boiling water to cover. When the water cools,
drain. Cover the fish with dots of butter, pour over half a cupful of
cream or milk, and bake till brown.
FRIED SALT MACKEREL
Freshen according to directions previously given, soaking a full
twenty-four hours and changing the water frequently. In the morning,
drain, wipe dry, dredge with flour, and fry brown in butter. Garnish
with lemon quarters and parsley.
BOILED SALT MACKEREL--II
Freshen, and boil in water made very acid with lemon-juice. Serve with
melted or drawn butter.
BROILED SALT MACKEREL--II
Freshen, wipe dry, and soak for an hour in French dressing, made of
three tablespoonfuls of olive oil, and one of lemon-juice or tarragon
vinegar. Broil as usual.
BROILED SALT SALMON
Soak the salmon twenty-four hours in cold water, changing the water
frequently. Drain, wipe dry, rub with butter, and broil over a clear
fire. Serve with melted butter. Garnish with lemon quarters and
parsley.
BROILED SMOKED SALMON
Rub with butter and broil with the flesh side nearest the fire. Serve
on a hot platter with lemon quarters, melted butter, and parsley.
BROILED KIPPERED SALMON
Cut the salmon into strips, rub very lightly with butter, sprinkle
with pepper, and broil as usual.
FRIED KIPPERED SALMON
See Fried Smoked Haddock.
BROILED SMOKED SALMON
Wash a piece of smoked salmon in three or four waters, parboil fifteen
minutes. Skim out, wipe dry, rub with butter, and broil. Cover with
melted butter, sprinkle with pepper and minced parsley, and garnish
with lemon quarters.
FRIED SMOKED SALMON
Wash and parboil the salmon, drain, wipe, dip in egg and crumbs, and
fry. Serve with lemon quarters and parsley.
* * * * *
Roughly speaking, the recipes for salt fish are interchangeable. A
method of cooking recommended for one will be found equally good for
some of the others.
Salt fish left-overs may be used in hash, scrambles, omelets or
ramekin dishes, or reheated, rubbed to a paste, and served on toast,
with a poached egg on each slice.
BREAKFAST MEATS
BEEF BALLS
One cupful of cooked chopped beef, one cupful of cold mashed potatoes,
half a cupful of milk, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and one egg. Put
the milk and butter in the frying-pan; when it boils up, add the beef
and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the egg, well
beaten, and take from the fire. Let cool. When stiff, shape into small
flat cakes, dip in egg and bread crumbs, and put in a cool place. Fry
in hot fat for three minutes. These can be prepared beforehand.
BEEF HASH WITHOUT POTATOES
Mince the beef, season with grated onion, salt, and pepper. Reheat in
the beef gravy, or in hot water, adding a little butter. Serve on
toast. Shredded green pepper may be added.
FRIZZLED BEEF
Have dried beef cut very thin. Cover with cold water to which a small
pinch of soda has been added, and bring gradually to the boil. Drain,
add a lump of butter, and cook till the edges of the beef curl. Serve
on slices of buttered toast with poached or fried eggs laid over the
beef.
BEEF A LA NEWPORT
Prepare Creamed Dried Beef according to recipe elsewhere given, using
the egg to thicken. Add half a cupful of stewed and strained tomatoes
and a tablespoonful of grated cheese just before taking from the fire.
Heat thoroughly and serve at once on toast.
CORNED BEEF HASH
Equal parts of cooked corn beef and cold potatoes, cut fine, or use
more potato than meat if desired. Season with grated onion, pepper and
salt, and a little butter, and heat thoroughly. A green pepper,
shredded, is an invaluable addition to corned beef hash.
CORNED BEEF HASH A LA DELMONICO
Prepare as above, using the green pepper. Spread the hot hash thickly
on thin slices of buttered toast, slip a poached egg on to each piece,
sprinkle with pepper, salt, and minced parsley.
CREAMED DRIED BEEF
Prepare as directed for Frizzled Beef, having the beef cut into very
small pieces. Make a cream sauce of one tablespoonful of butter, two
tablespoonfuls of flour, and two cupfuls of milk. Season with salt and
pepper, and when smooth and thick add the cooked beef. A well-beaten
egg added just before taking from the fire is an improvement. Serve on
toast.
BACON AND EGGS
Have the bacon cut very thin. The colder it is, the better. Remove the
rind and cook in a hot frying-pan until crisp. Skim out the bacon,
break the eggs into the fat one at a time, and cook slowly, dipping
the fat over the eggs occasionally with a spoon. Eggs must always be
cooked at a moderate temperature. Serve on a hot platter, the eggs in
the centre, the bacon for a garnish.
BROILED BACON
Broil on a gridiron, turning constantly. It will cook in three
minutes. Perfectly cooked bacon is clear and crisp.
BREADED BACON
Dip slices of bacon in corn-meal and broil or fry. A Southern method.
BACON AND MUSH
Cut slices of cold corn-meal mush, dredge in flour, and fry brown.
Serve with a strip of fried or broiled bacon on each slice.
BACON FRAISE
Make a batter of four eggs, half a cupful of milk, and a teaspoonful
of flour. Fry some thin slices of bacon till transparent. Dip them in
the batter, spread on a stoneware platter, cover with the remaining
batter, and put into a moderate oven till a golden brown.
BACON A LA CREME
Fry thin slices of bacon as usual, place on a platter, and put into
the oven to keep warm. Make a cream sauce, using the fat in the pan
instead of butter. Pour over the bacon, sprinkle with minced parsley,
and serve at once.
CALF'S BRAINS
Soak in cold water, parboil, remove pipes and membranes, throw into
cold water, drain, wipe, and keep cool. They may be rubbed with melted
butter and fried or broiled, or dipped in egg and crumbs and fried or
broiled. Serve with a cream sauce or with a sauce of melted butter,
lemon-juice, and minced parsley.
CHICKEN HASH
Use cold cooked chicken and proceed according to directions previously
given. Cold turkey or tongue makes delicious hash. A shredded green
pepper will usually improve it. Any hash may be served on toast with a
poached egg on each slice.
FRIED HAM
Freshen a slice of ham a few moments in boiling water. Drain, wipe,
and fry slowly. Eggs may be served with it. See Bacon and Eggs.
FRIZZLED HAM
Prepare as above. When the ham is half done, sprinkle with flour and
fry brown. When brown, add a tablespoonful of made mustard to the
gravy, and boiling water enough to cover the ham. Simmer five minutes
and serve on a hot platter.
HAM AND POACHED EGGS
Prepare as directed above. Poach the eggs separately and serve on the
slices of ham.
BROILED HAM
Freshen in cold water, drain, wipe, and broil. May be breaded and
broiled on a buttered gridiron.
HAM BALLS
One cupful of cooked ham, finely chopped, one cupful of bread crumbs,
two cupfuls of cooked potatoes, mashed fine, a heaping tablespoonful
of butter, two eggs, and a dash of cayenne. Melt the butter and beat
all together until very light. Shape into small flat cakes, dip in egg
and crumbs, and fry brown. May be prepared beforehand.
HAM TOAST
Half a cupful of cold cooked ham, finely minced, half a teaspoonful of
anchovy paste, a bit of cayenne and pounded mace. Add half a cupful of
milk and an egg, well beaten. Stir till thick, take from the fire, and
spread thinly on dry buttered toast. A poached egg may be placed on
each slice.
HAM RECHAUFFE
Butter individual custard cups, fill three fourths full of minced ham
reheated in a cream sauce, break an egg into each cup, sprinkle with
crumbs, dot with butter, and bake till the egg is set. Tongue,
chicken, turkey, or other meats may be used in this same way.
HAM AND EGGS A L'AURORE
Mince cooked ham and reheat in a cream sauce, to which the shredded
whites of hard-boiled eggs have been added. Spread on buttered toast
and sprinkle with the sifted yolks of the eggs, rubbed through a
sieve.
KIDNEY BACON ROLLS
Season a cupful of bread crumbs with grated onion, salt and pepper,
and minced parsley. Moisten with egg well beaten. Spread the crumb
mixture over thin slices of bacon and wrap each slice of bacon around
a small kidney. Fasten with toothpicks or skewers. Put in a baking-pan
and bake in a hot oven until the bacon is crisp. Remove the skewers
and serve on a hot plate, garnished with parsley.
FRIED KIDNEYS
Cut in halves, skin, sprinkle with salt and red pepper, and fry one
minute in a spider, with no additional fat. Serve with dry toast.
KIDNEYS EN BROCHETTE
Cut the kidneys into small squares after parboiling and skinning.
String on small steel skewers with small squares of bacon alternating.
Broil or fry or cook in the oven, dredging with flour or not, as
preferred. If the bacon is not very fat, soak the kidneys in olive oil
a few moments before stringing. Serve on the skewers.
CRUMBED KIDNEYS
Parboil, drain, wipe, and split the kidneys, keeping them open with
skewers. Season with pepper and salt, brush with oil, roll in crumbs,
and broil, fry, or cook in a very hot oven. Make a sauce of melted
butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley, and pour over them if
desired.
DEVILLED KIDNEYS
Parboil, drain, wipe, and slice the kidneys. Make a marinade of three
tablespoonfuls of olive-oil, one of vinegar,--tarragon vinegar or
lemon-juice may be used,--a teaspoonful of mustard, salt, and red
pepper. Dip the sliced kidneys in this dressing and broil. Minced
parsley is a pleasant addition to the marinade. After dipping in the
dressing, they may be rolled in crumbs and fried. Serve plain, or with
a sauce of melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley, or with the
remaining marinade heated and poured over the kidneys.
KIDNEY AND BACON
Parboil and slice mutton or lamb kidneys. Fry brown in bacon fat and
serve on dry toast with the bacon.
STEWED BEEF KIDNEY
Parboil, drain, wipe, and cut into dice. Cook five minutes in boiling
water, drain, add a small onion, grated, a pinch of sage, and a cup
of water. Bring to the boil once more, add a pinch of salt, and two
hard-boiled eggs, cut fine. Thicken with one tablespoonful of
cornstarch, rubbed smooth in a little cold water. Serve on toast.
KIDNEYS A LA TERRAPIN
Parboil, drain, wipe, and cut into dice. Reheat in cream sauce, to
which hard-boiled eggs, cut fine, and minced parsley are added. Serve
on toast.
BROILED KIDNEYS--MAITRE D'HOTEL
Use veal or lamb kidneys. Plunge for an instant into boiling water,
skim out, and wipe dry. Split down the middle without cutting through,
skin, and run a skewer through each to keep flat. Broil as usual. When
brown, remove the skewers, lay on a hot platter, pour over melted
butter, add a squeeze of lemon-juice, and sprinkle with chopped
parsley. Kidneys and liver must be cooked very quickly, as long
cooking makes them tough.
MINCED LAMB WITH POACHED EGGS
Chop cold roast lamb very fine. Season with salt, pepper, and a bit of
mint. Reheat in the gravy, or in water, adding a little butter, or in
a cream sauce. Spread thinly on thin slices of dry buttered toast,
slip a poached egg on each slice, and serve at once, sprinkled with
pepper and minced parsley.
BROILED LAMB'S LIVER
Cut the liver in thin slices, cover with olive oil, and soak half an
hour. Drain, season with salt and pepper, dip in crumbs, and broil.
Finish as for Broiled Kidneys.
CALF'S LIVER AND BACON
Cook the bacon first, skim out, and put the slices of liver, dredged
with flour and seasoned with salt, into the hot fat. Cook very
quickly.
LIVER A LA CREME
Parboil calf's liver, drain, wipe, and cut into dice or chop coarsely.
Reheat in a cream sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper. Minced
parsley, lemon-juice, or finely cut capers may be added to the sauce.
Serve on toast. Cold cooked liver may be used in this way.
LIVER HASH
Equal parts of cold cooked liver and cold potatoes, cut fine. Reheat
in a frying-pan, adding butter and boiling water as necessary. Almost
any cold cooked meat may be used in this way.
BAKED HASH
Butter a shallow baking-dish, pile in the hash loosely, smooth the
top, dot with butter, and bake until brown and crisp. Turn out on a
platter or serve in the dish, a fresh napkin or a paper frill being
arranged around the dish.
LIVER BOULETTES
Chop cold cooked liver fine. Reheat in a very thick cream sauce, well
seasoned. Cool, shape into small flat cakes, dip in egg and crumbs,
and fry brown.
LIVER AND BACON BALLS
Cold cooked liver cut fine and half as much cooked bacon, chopped.
Shape into small flat cakes, using a raw egg to bind if necessary. Dip
in egg and crumbs and fry brown.
MEAT AND RICE BALLS
One cupful of cold cooked rice, one cupful of finely chopped cooked
meat,--any kind, or several kinds,--a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper,
two tablespoonfuls of butter, half a cupful of milk, and one egg. Put
the milk on to boil, add the rice, meat, and seasoning. When it boils,
add the egg, well beaten, and stir one minute. Take from the fire,
cool, form into small flat cakes, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry
brown. May be prepared the day before using.
FRIED SALT PORK
Cut in thin slices, freshen in cold water gradually brought to the
boil. Drain, wipe, trim off the rind, roll in flour, and fry. When
brown, put on a hot platter and make a cream sauce, using the fat in
the pan. Fried salt pork with cream sauce poured over it is a
venerable New England dish of some three centuries' standing.
PHILADELPHIA SCRAPPLE
Use the head, heart, and feet of fresh pork. Boil until the flesh
slips from the bone. Cool, take out the bones and gristle, and chop
the meat fine. Set aside the water in which the meat was cooked, and
when cold take the cake of fat from the surface. Bring the liquor to
the boil once more, add the chopped meat, and when at a galloping
boil, sprinkle in, slowly, enough corn-meal to make a thick mush. Cook
slowly for an hour or more. Pour into a pan wet with cold water and
let stand in a cold place over night. Turn out on a platter, cut in
half-inch slices, and fry.
SAUSAGE
Prick the skins with a needle or fork to prevent bursting. Cover with
boiling water, parboil five minutes, drain, wipe, and fry as usual.
The sausage meat is made into small flat cakes, dredged with flour and
fried. Bread crumbs may be used in making the sausage cakes if
desired. If the cakes do not hold together readily, add a little
beaten egg.
BAKED SAUSAGE
Prick the sausages and lay each one on a strip of buttered bread its
own length and width. Arrange in a baking-pan and bake in a very hot
oven till the sausages are brown and the bread crisp.
SAUSAGES BAKED IN POTATOES
Prick medium-sized sausages and brown quickly in a spider. Take out
and keep warm. Core large potatoes, draw the sausages through the
cores, and bake. A pleasant surprise for the person peeling the
potato.
BROILED SWEETBREADS
Parboil, in slightly acidulated water, for five minutes, then throw
into cold water. Remove pipes and fibres and let cool--the colder the
better. Split, rub with melted butter, season with pepper and salt,
and broil or fry. They may also be dipped in egg and crumbs and fried
or broiled. Serve on a hot platter. A sauce of melted butter,
lemon-juice, and minced parsley is a pleasing accompaniment.
FRIED TRIPE
Tripe as it comes from the market is already prepared. Wash
thoroughly, boil until tender, drain, and cool. Cut into strips,
season with salt and pepper, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in butter
or drippings until brown. It may be prepared for frying the day before
and kept in a cool place. Breaded tripe may also be broiled on a
buttered gridiron.
FRICASSEED TRIPE
Cut a pound of tripe in narrow strips, add a cupful of water, a piece
of butter the size of an egg, and a tablespoonful of flour, rubbed
smooth in a little cold water. Season with salt and simmer thirty
minutes. Serve very hot, on toast if desired.
TRIPE A LA LYONNAISE
One pound of cooked tripe cut into inch squares, two tablespoonfuls of
butter, one tablespoonful of chopped onion, one tablespoonful of
vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Put the butter and onion in a
frying-pan. When the onion turns yellow, add the tripe and seasoning,
boil up once more, and serve immediately, on toast.
TRIPE A LA POULETTE
Fry a chopped onion in three tablespoonfuls of butter. When brown, add
a pound of tripe, cut into dice, season with salt and paprika, and fry
until the mixture is partially dry. Add a heaping tablespoonful of
flour, and when the butter has absorbed it, add slowly two cupfuls of
stock or milk and a slight grating of nutmeg. Simmer till the tripe is
tender. Beat together one tablespoonful of melted butter and one
tablespoonful of lemon-juice, stir into the well-beaten yolks of two
eggs, take the tripe from the fire, mix thoroughly, and serve at once.
MINCED VEAL AND EGGS
Chop cold cooked veal very fine. Add hard-boiled eggs cut fine, one to
each two cupfuls of meat. Reheat in hot water, adding melted butter,
or in a cream sauce. A bit of green pepper, parsley, grated onion,
pimento, or capers finely cut may be used for flavoring. Other meats
may be prepared in the same way.
SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT
Certain things are well suited to replace meat at the breakfast table.
It is a good idea to bar out the potato, unless in hash, for the
simple reason that the humble vegetable appears at dinner about three
hundred and sixty-five days in the year, and even a good thing may be
worked to death. Americans have been accused, not altogether unjustly,
of being "potato mad." Potato left-overs can be used at luncheon, if
not in hash for breakfast.
FRIED EGGPLANT
Slice the eggplant in slices one third of an inch thick, pare, put
into a deep dish, and cover with cold water well salted. Soak one
hour. Drain, wipe, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry brown.
BROILED MUSHROOMS
Choose large, firm mushrooms. Remove the stems, peel, wash, and wipe
dry. Rub with melted butter and broil. Serve with a sauce made of
melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley.
FRIED MUSHROOMS
Prepare as above, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Or saute
in butter in the frying-pan. Breaded mushrooms may be broiled if
dipped in melted butter or oil before broiling.
BAKED MUSHROOMS
Prepare as above. Place in a shallow earthen baking-dish, hollow side
up, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place a small piece of butter
on each. Baste with melted butter and a few drops of lemon-juice.
Serve very hot, on buttered toast.
GRILLED MUSHROOMS
Cut off the stalks, peel, and score lightly the under side of large,
firm, fresh mushrooms. Sprinkle with pepper and salt and soak a few
moments in oil. Drain and broil. Serve with lemon quarters and garnish
with parsley.
FRENCH TOAST
Make a batter of two eggs, well beaten, a cupful of milk, a
tablespoonful of melted butter, and spice or grated lemon- or
orange-peel to flavor. Dip the trimmed slices of bread in this batter
and fry brown in butter.
CORN OYSTERS
Two cupfuls of green corn, grated, half a cupful of milk, one cupful
of sifted flour, two eggs, a teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful
each of butter and lard. Beat the yolks of the eggs, add the milk,
then the flour and salt. Beat to a smooth batter, add the corn, then
beat again, adding the well beaten whites of the eggs last. Put the
lard and butter into a frying-pan, and when very hot put in the batter
by small spoonfuls. Brown on one side, then turn. If the batter is too
thick, add a little more milk. The thinner the batter, the more
delicate and tender the oysters will be. Canned corn may be used, if
it is chopped very fine, but it is not so good. By scoring deeply with
a sharp knife each row of kernels on an ear of corn, the pulp may be
pressed out with a knife. The corn may be cut from the cob and
chopped, but the better way is to press out the pulp.
* * * * *
Regardless of the allurements of wood and field, it is always safest
to buy mushrooms at a reliable market. So many people are now making a
business of raising them that they are continually getting cheaper.
The silver spoon test is absolutely worthless. In fact, the only sure
test is the risky one: "Eat it, and if you live it's a mushroom--if
you die it's a toadstool." However, when buying mushrooms of a
reliable dealer, one takes practically no risk at all, and, even at
the highest price, a box of mushrooms is much cheaper than a really
nice funeral.
EGGS
Various rules have been given for testing the freshness of eggs, but
there is only one which is reliable, and it is, perhaps, the most
simple of all. It is merely this: open the egg and look at the
contents in a strong light. It is better to hold it near the eyes and
at the same time take a deep breath inward.
Strictly fresh eggs come from the country sometimes with the date of
their appearance stamped indelibly in purple on the egg. This is done
by giving the hens chopped calendars with their meals. Care should be
taken, however, to furnish this year's calendar. Nobody wants an egg
with a last-year's date on it and the error is likely to disarrange
the digestion of the hen. Eggs flavored with onions or tomatoes are
secured by turning the hens into a neighbor's vegetable garden. A
certain florist feeds his unsold roses to his hens and sells
rose-flavored eggs to his customers at a fancy price. The hint is well
worth remembering. Violet-flavored eggs might be had, doubtless, in
the same way.
At a formal breakfast, all precautions should be taken to insure the
freshness of the eggs. A conscientious hostess would be very much
mortified if she served chicken out of its proper course.
POACHED EGGS
Use a skillet, or muffin-rings placed in a pan of water, not too deep.
The water should barely cover the eggs. Bring the water to the boiling
point, drop in the eggs carefully, one at a time, and remove from the
fire immediately. Cover the pan and let stand until cooked. A
teaspoonful of lemon-juice or vinegar in the water will keep the
whites firm and preserve the shape of the eggs. Poached eggs are
usually served on thin slices of buttered toast. Take up with a
skimmer and let drain thoroughly before placing on the toast. Sprinkle
with salt and pepper. As every other writer who has given directions
for poaching eggs has said that "the beauty of a poached egg is for
the yolk to be seen blushing through the veiled white," the author of
this book will make no allusion to it.
SCRAMBLED EGGS
Put two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan. When it
sizzles, break into it quickly six fresh eggs and mix thoroughly with
a silver spoon for two minutes without stopping. Season with salt and
pepper and a slight grating of nutmeg if desired. Scrambled eggs
should be thick and creamy.
SCRAMBLED EGGS--II
Beat the eggs thoroughly, add one teaspoonful of cold water or milk
for each egg and beat again. Cook as above.
SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH ASPARAGUS TIPS
Have one cupful of cold cooked asparagus tips ready. In boiling
asparagus its color will keep better if the smallest possible pinch of
baking soda be added to the water. It should be cooked quickly in an
uncovered saucepan. Prepare the eggs as for Scrambled Eggs--II, and
when they begin to thicken, put in the asparagus tips and stir until
the eggs are done. One half cupful of the asparagus tips to each three
eggs is about the right proportion, but more may be added if desired.
In making scrambles, allow one egg for each person and one extra for
each three persons.
SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH DRIED BEEF
One cupful of minced dried beef, which has been soaked in boiling
water for five minutes. Put it into melted butter, stir till the
butter sizzles, then pour over six or seven-well-beaten eggs. Stir
till the eggs are smooth and creamy. Serve at once. Any scramble may
be served on toast if desired.
FRIED EGGS