Boiled Potatoes.
IF the potatoes are new, wash clean, and put into boiling water; boil
thirty minutes, and serve immediately. As they grow older, scrape the
skin off before boiling. For old potatoes, have a sharp knife with
a _thin_ blade; and pare the potatoes, having the skin as thin as
possible. They are very much better if they stand in cold water a few
hours before boiling; then put them in boiling water, and boil thirty
minutes. When they have boiled fifteen minutes, throw in a handful of
salt. When done, turn off the water, and let them stand on the back
part of the range three minutes; then, shake them up once, and turn
into the dish, and send to the table.
Baked Potatoes.
Be very particular to wash every part of the potato clean, as many
persons eat the skin. Put them in a pan (have an old one for this
purpose), and bake in a moderate oven fifty minutes. There is such a
difference in ovens, that each one must learn for herself what the time
will be for each; for some will bake in less time, and some will take
much longer than the time designated.
Fried Potatoes.
Pare and slice _thin_ raw potatoes, and let them stand in cold water
several hours; if in summer, put a piece of ice in the water. Cut the
slices _lengthwise_ of the potato. Have ready a basin with _boiling_
drippings or lard, drain the potatoes a minute in a cullender, and drop
them into the boiling fat, and fry a light brown; take them out with a
skimmer, and lay them in a dry cullender, which should be placed in a
tin pan, and set in an open oven. There should be as much fat as for
frying doughnuts, and there should not be any more potatoes put in at
a time than will fry brown and not stick together. Have the basin in
which you fry quite deep, as there is danger of the fat boiling over
when the potatoes are put in. When you take the potatoes up, dredge a
little salt over them. When potatoes are cooked in this manner, they
will be light and crisp. If they do not get cooked enough at first,
they are very much improved by dropping them into the fat for one
minute, after they have been standing in the oven a while.
Fried Boiled Potatoes.
Cut the potatoes into slices, and fry in either pork fat or nice
drippings. Have just fat enough in the pan to prevent their sticking,
and sprinkle with salt while cooking. When these are brown, take them
up and put in a little more fat, and fry as before.
Potatoes warmed with Pork.
Cut about eight slices of pork into pieces about half an inch square,
and fry a nice brown. Have ready one dozen cold potatoes cut into
slices, and turn them into the pan with the fried pork, and dredge in a
little salt and pepper, then stir and cut them into small pieces with
the knife. When a light brown, serve.
Potatoes warmed in Gravy.
Slice cold potatoes as for frying, and turn them into the frying-pan,
and to a dozen potatoes add a pint of cold gravy. Season with pepper
and salt, and stir, and cut with a knife, until they are hot and in
small pieces.
Fricassee of Potatoes.
Cut cold boiled potatoes into small squares, and put them in a basin
with milk, pepper, and salt, allowing half a pint of milk to a dozen
potatoes. Set the basin into another of hot water, and when it comes to
a boil, add a tablespoonful of butter, and set on the stove, and let it
boil up once, then serve.
Boiled Sweet Potatoes.
Wash and boil, with the skins on, forty-five minutes. They are much
better baked than boiled, and I would cook them so generally.
Baked Sweet Potatoes.
Wash and wipe dry, and bake one hour. Do not cook squash when you have
sweet potatoes.
Boiled Onions.
When new and tender, they will boil in one hour; but after the month
of October, they will require two hours. Put them into water before
peeling them, and they will not affect the eyes. Peel off all the dark
skin, and put them in hot water, and boil as directed. If you have
milk plenty, half an hour before they are done, turn a quart into the
water in which they are boiling. This makes them white, and is said to
prevent in a measure, the disagreeable odor which always follows their
being eaten. Boil them in a porcelain kettle. Dish them whole, and
season with a little pepper, salt, and butter.
Fried Onions.
Peel and slice thin ten good-sized onions, and put them in a frying-pan
with two spoonfuls of drippings. Fry thirty minutes, turning often.
Baked Squash.
Cut the squash in two, take out all the soft, stringy part; if you
need the whole squash for dinner, lay the halves together, and put in
a baking-pan (the old one you use for baking potatoes in), and bake
forty-five minutes. When done, scrape the squash from the shell, and
season, and serve as boiled squash. When you cook but half a squash,
lay it with the inside downward. This is a nice way to cook watery
squash.
Beets.
Wash clean, but do not scrape; if you do they will look white when
cooked. When young they will cook in two hours; but old ones will
require four or five hours. When done, plunge them into cold water, and
the skin will peel off easily. Cut in thin slices.
Pickled Beets.
Cut the beets that are left from dinner into thin slices, and lay them
in an earthen vessel, and cover with cold vinegar.
Shelled Beans.
Wash in several waters, and put them in a basin with boiling water.
Boil one hour. Do not drain them very dry. Season with butter and salt.
Boston Baked Beans.
Examine and wash one quart of dry beans (the pea bean is the best),
and put them in a pan with six quarts of cold water; let them soak in
this over night. In the morning wash them in another water, and place
them on the fire with six quarts of cold water and a pound of mixed
salt pork. If they are the present year’s beans, they will cook enough
in half an hour; if older, one hour. Drain them and put half in the
bean-pot; then gash the pork, and put in the remainder of the beans,
one tablespoonful of molasses, and one of salt, and cover with boiling
water. Bake ten hours. Watch them carefully, and do not let them cook
dry.
N. B. As the water cooks away, add more.
String Beans.
String and cut into pieces about an inch long; then wash and put into
boiling water, and boil one hour. Season with salt and butter.
Green Peas.
Put them into boiling water, and when very young they will cook in
twenty minutes; but generally they require thirty. Season with salt and
butter.
Boiled Rice.
Wash and pick all the specks from a cup of rice. Let it stand in cold
water two hours, and then put it in a deep kettle, with two quarts
of water, and boil _fast_ thirty minutes. When it has boiled twenty
minutes, throw in a great spoonful of salt. When done, turn into a
cullender, and set in the oven a few minutes. When ready to dish,
shake lightly and _turn_ into the vegetable dish. Never use a spoon.
If these directions are followed, you will have a handsome and healthy
vegetable, and every kernel will be separate. The water in which the
rice has been boiled makes a nice starch for colored clothes.
The Southern rice cooks much quicker and is nicer than the Indian
rice. If possible, always purchase the former.
Boiled Rice, No. 2.
Wash one cupful of rice and put into a tin basin or pail, with three
cupfuls of cold water, and a teaspoonful of salt, cover and set in
another basin, with hot water, place on the fire, and boil thirty
minutes. Rice is very healthy, and should be a common dish on the table.
Boiled Macaroni.
Break up and wash a pint bowl full of macaroni, and put in a shallow
basin, and cover with cold water. Set this basin into another of
warm water, and place on the fire; after fifteen minutes, add a pint
of milk, and a teaspoonful of salt; let it cook ten minutes longer,
then add a spoonful of butter, and cook five minutes more, and dish.
Be careful not to break the macaroni in dishing. The boiled macaroni
which remains from one dinner can be used for the next, by preparing
it in the following manner: Butter a shallow dish, and turn the
macaroni into it; then grate over it old cheese, and brown.
Boiled Green Corn.
Boil twenty-five minutes, if very young and tender. As it grows older
it requires a longer time. Send to the table in a napkin.
Boiled Turnips.
Peel and cut into slices. If they are to be served in slices, boil
with a small piece of pork. Boil the pork three hours, and put in the
turnips; if they are the white turnip, they will cook in forty-five
minutes; but if the yellow, they will require two hours. Serve in
slices without any seasoning except what they get by being boiled with
the pork.
Stewed Tomatoes.
Pour boiling water over half a peck of ripe tomatoes. Let them stand in
it five minutes, and then peel off the skins; cut them into slices, and
put in a stew-pan with a little salt, pepper, and a spoonful of sugar.
Simmer two hours, stirring often to prevent burning. Two minutes before
dishing stir in one tablespoonful of butter. Canned tomatoes are cooked
in the same manner, but do not require more than half an hour to stew.
Sliced Tomatoes.
Pour boiling water over them, and then peel and slice thin; lay them on
small platters, and serve. Let each person season to his own taste.
Baked Tomatoes.
Scald and peel as directed; have ready a dish, into which lay a layer
of tomatoes (whole), then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cracker
crumbs; then another layer of tomatoes, and sprinkle again with salt
and pepper. Cut a spoonful of butter into small pieces and lay on the
tomatoes, and then cover with cracker crumbs. Bake thirty minutes.
Mock Bisque Soup.—Very nice.
Stew one can of tomatoes (one quart can). While the tomatoes are
stewing, put three pints of milk on to boil, setting the basin in which
the milk is into another of hot water. When the milk comes to a boil,
stir in a tablespoonful of flour, which has been thoroughly mixed with
a little cold milk. Let this boil ten minutes, and then add butter the
size of an egg, salt and pepper to taste. The tomatoes, which were put
on at the same time with the milk, are now ready to strain into the
mixture. Just before straining, stir a pinch of saleratus into the
tomatoes to remove the acidity. Serve immediately.