_Ingredients._—1½ lb. of cherries, 2 small tablespoonfuls of moist
sugar, ½ lb. of short crust. _Mode._—Pick the stalks from the cherries,
put them, with the sugar, into a _deep_ pie-dish just capable of
holding them, with a small cup placed upside down in the midst of them.
Make a short crust with ½ lb. of flour, by either of the recipes for
short crust, lay a border round the edge of the dish, put on the cover,
and ornament the edges; bake in a brisk oven from ½ hour to 40 minutes;
strew finely-sifted sugar over, and serve hot or cold, although the
latter is the more usual mode. It is more economical to make two or
three tarts at one time, as the trimmings from one tart answer for
lining the edges of the dish for another, and so much paste is not
required as when they are made singly. Unless for family use, never
make fruit pies in very _large_ dishes; select them, however, as _deep_
as possible. _Time._—½ hour to 40 minutes. _Average cost_, in full
season, 8_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ in June,
July, and August.
_Note._—A few currants added to the cherries will be found to impart a
nice piquante taste to them.
CHESTNUT SAUCE, Brown.
_Ingredients._—½ lb. of chestnuts, ½ pint of stock, 2 lumps of sugar,
4 tablespoonfuls of Spanish sauce (_see_ SAUCES). _Mode._—Prepare the
chestnuts as in the succeeding recipe, by scalding and peeling them;
put them in a stewpan with the stock and sugar, and simmer them till
tender. When done, add Spanish sauce in the above proportion, and rub
the whole through a tammy. Keep this sauce rather liquid, as it is
liable to thicken. _Time._—1½ hour to simmer the chestnuts. _Average
cost_, 8_d._
CHESTNUT SAUCE, for Fowls or Turkey.
_Ingredients._—½ lb. of chestnuts, ½ pint of white stock, 2 strips of
lemon-peel, cayenne to taste, ¼ pint of cream or milk. _Mode._—Peel off
the outside skin of the chestnuts, and put them into boiling water
for a few minutes; take off the thin inside peel, and put them into a
saucepan with the white stock and lemon-peel, and let them simmer for
1½ hour, or until the chestnuts are quite tender. Rub the whole through
a hair-sieve with a wooden spoon; add seasoning and the cream; let
it just simmer, but not boil, and keep stirring all the time. Serve
very hot, and quickly. If milk is used instead of cream, a very small
quantity of thickening may be required: that, of course, the cook will
determine. _Time._—Altogether, nearly 2 hours. _Average cost_, 8_d._
_Sufficient_, this quantity for a turkey.
CHESTNUT (Spanish) SOUP.
_Ingredients._—¾ lb. of Spanish chestnuts, ¼ pint of cream; seasoning
to taste of salt, cayenne, and mace; 1 quart of stock. _Mode._—Take the
outer rind from the chestnuts, and put them into a large pan of warm
water. As soon as this becomes too hot for the fingers to remain in it,
take out the chestnuts, peel them quickly, and immerse them in cold
water, and wipe and weigh them. Now cover them with good stock, and
stew them gently for rather more than ¾ of an hour, or until they break
when touched with a fork; then drain, pound, and rub them through a
fine sieve reversed; add sufficient stock, mace, cayenne, and salt, and
stir it often until it boils, and put in the cream. The stock in which
the chestnuts are boiled can be used for the soup, when its sweetness
is not objected to, or it may, in part, be added to it; and the rule
is, that ¾ lb. of chestnuts should be given to each quart of soup.
_Time._—Rather more than 1 hour. _Average cost_, per quart, 1_s._ 6_d._
_Sufficient_ for 4 persons. _Seasonable_ from October to February.
CHICKENS, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—A pair of chickens, water. _Choosing and Trussing._—In
choosing fowls for boiling, it should be borne in mind that those which
are not black-legged are generally much whiter when dressed. Pick,
draw, singe, wash, and truss them in the following manner, without
the livers in the wings; and, in drawing, be careful not to break the
gall-bladder:—Cut off the neck, leaving sufficient skin to skewer back.
Cut the feet off to the first joint, tuck the stumps into a slit made
on each side of the belly, twist the wings over the back of the fowl,
and secure the top of the leg and the bottom of the wing together by
running a skewer through them and the body. The other side must be done
in the same manner. Should the fowl be very large and old, draw the
sinews of the legs before tucking them in. Make a slit in the apron of
the fowl, large enough to admit the parson’s nose, and tie a string on
the tops of the legs to keep them in their proper place. _Mode._—When
they are firmly trussed, put them into a stewpan with plenty of hot
water, bring it to boil, and carefully remove all the scum as it rises.
_Simmer very gently_ until the fowl is tender, and bear in mind that
the slower it boils the plumper and whiter will the fowl be. Many cooks
wrap them in a floured cloth to preserve the colour, and to prevent
the scum from clinging to them; in this case, a few slices of lemon
should be placed on the breasts, over these a sheet of buttered paper,
and then the cloth; cooking them in this manner renders the flesh very
white. Boiled ham, bacon, boiled tongue, or pickled pork, are the usual
accompaniments to boiled fowls, and they may be served with Béchamel,
white sauce, parsley and butter, oyster, lemon, liver, celery, or
mushroom sauce. A little should be poured over the fowls after the
skewers are removed, and the remainder sent in a tureen to table.
_Time._—Large fowl, 1 hour; moderate-sized one, ¾ hour; chicken, from
20 minutes to ½ hour. _Average cost_, in full season, 5_s._ the pair.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year, but scarce
in early spring.
[Illustration: BOILED FOWL.]