SANDWICHES.
_Socrates brought Philosophy from the clouds, but
the Englishmen have dragged her into the kitchen._
--HEGEL.
_Homer never entertained either guests or hosts
with long speeches till the mouth of hunger be
stopped._
--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
SANDWICHES.
A pale young man, with feeble whiskers and a stiff
white neckcloth, came walking down the lane _en
sandwich_--having a lady, that is, on each arm.
--_Thackeray_ ("_Vanity Fair_").
The term "sandwich," now applied to many a fanciful shaped and encased
dainty, was formerly used in speaking of "two slices of bread with meat
between." In this sense, the word had its origin, about the end of the
eighteenth century, from the fact that the fourth Earl of Sandwich was
so infatuated with the pleasures and excitement of the gaming-table that
he often could not leave it long enough to take his meals with his
family; and, on such occasions, a butler was despatched to him bearing
"slices of bread with meat between."
The fillings of savory sandwiches may be placed between pieces of bread,
crackers, pastry, _chou_ paste or aspic jelly. When preparing sweet
sandwiches, these same materials may be used, as also lady-fingers
(white or yellow), macaroons or sweet wafers.
=Bread for Sandwiches.=
As a rule, bread for sandwiches should be twenty-four hours old; but
fresh bread, which is more pliable than stale, is better adapted to this
use, when the sandwiches are to take the form of rolls or folds. When
stale bread is used for rolls or folds, they must be ribbon-tied; or
tiny Japanese toothpicks may be made to keep them in shape.
The bread may be yeast or peptic bread. It may be white or brown. It is
not even essential that the two bits of bread be of the same kind;
Quaker, rice, whole-wheat, rye or graham bread is interchangeable with
white or brown bread. After selecting your loaf or loaves, slice in
even, quarter-inch slices; then cut in squares, triangles or fingers, or
stamp with a round or fanciful-shaped cutter. Cutters can be obtained in
heart, club, diamond and spade shape, also in racquet shape.
Do not spread butter or filling upon the bread before it is cut from the
loaf and into shape. When so treated, the butter or filling on the
extreme edge of the bread is liable to soil the fingers or gloves that
come in contact with it.
Cream the butter, using a small wooden spoon for the purpose, and then
it can be spread upon the most delicate bread without crumbling.
=The Filling.=
Anything appropriately eaten with the _covering_ may be used for the
_filling_ of a sandwich. In meats, salted meat takes the lead in popular
favor; when sliced the meat should be cut across the grain and as thin
as possible, and several bits should be used in each sandwich, unless a
very small, æsthetic sandwich be in order. Tongue and corned beef,
whether they be used in slices or finely chopped, should be cooked until
they are very tender. When corned beef or ham is chopped for a filling,
the sandwich is much improved by a dash of mustard; Worcestershire or
horseradish sauce improves a filling of roast beef or boiled tongue;
while chopped capers, tomato sauce, catsup or a cold mint sauce is
appropriate in sandwiches made of lamb; celery salt, when the filling is
of chicken or veal, and lemon juice, when the principal ingredient is
fish, are _en rapport_.
The flavor of a few drops of onion juice is relished by many in any kind
of fish or meat sandwich, while others would prefer a few grains of
fine-chopped parsley.
When salad sandwiches are to be prepared, chop the meat or fish very
fine and mix it with the salad dressing. Celery, cabbage, cress,
cucumbers, tomatoes or olives may be chopped and added to the meat with
the dressing. When lettuce is used, the leaf is served whole, the edges
just appearing outside the bread. Any one of these vegetables, combined
with a salad dressing, makes a delicious sandwich without meat or fish.
When desired, other well-prepared sauces may be used in the place of
salad dressings. Fillings of uncooked fruit may be used; but, in the
case of dried fruits, it is preferable to stew until tender, after the
fruit has been finely chopped. Pineapple, lemon or orange juice may be
added at pleasure. Sandwiches prepared from entire-wheat bread, with
fig or date fillings, are particularly wholesome for the children's
luncheon basket.
When a particularly æsthetic sandwich is desired, wrap the butter that
is to be used in spreading the bread in a napkin, and put it over night
in a jar, on a bed of violets or rose petals; strew more flowers over
the top and cover the jar tightly. If meat or fish is to be used as the
basis of the sandwich, substitute nasturtium leaves and blossoms, or
sprigs of mignonette, for the former flowers.
Fancy butter makes an attractive filling for a sandwich; it has also the
merit of being less often in evidence than many another filling.
Sandwiches, except when vegetables and dressings are used, may be
prepared early in the day, placed in a stone jar, covered with a
slightly dampened cloth, and set away in a cool place until such time as
they are wanted. Or, they may be wrapped in paraffine paper. Still, when
convenient, it is preferable to have everything in readiness, and put
the sandwiches together just before serving. Garnish the serving-dish
with parsley, cress, celery plumes, slices of lemon, barberries and
leaves, or fresh nasturtium leaves and blossoms.
=Beverages Served with Sandwiches.=
Coffee heads the list of beverages most acceptably served with
sandwiches. Tea comes next. Cocoa and chocolate are admissible only with
the dainty, æsthetic varieties, in which fruit or some kind of sweetmeat
is used.
SAVORY SANDWICHES.
"Hail, wedded nourishment!"
=Ham-and-Tongue Sandwiches.=
Chop two parts of cold tongue and one part of cold ham (one-fourth as
much fat ham as lean) very fine; pound in a mortar, and season with
paprica and a little mixed mustard. Spread butter on one piece of bread,
the meat mixture on the other, and press the two pieces together.
=Ham-and-Egg Sandwiches.=
Chop the ham and pound smooth in a mortar; pass the yolks of hard-boiled
eggs through a sieve; mix the yolks with an equal amount of mayonnaise
dressing. Butter one piece of bread lightly and spread with the ham,
spread the other piece with the egg and dressing, and press the two
together.
=Corned-Beef Sandwiches.=
Chop the cold meat very fine, using one-fourth of fat meat. Work into
the meat French mustard, or any "made" mustard, to taste, and prepare
the sandwiches in the usual way. Boston brownbread combines well with
this preparation.
=Tongue-and-Veal (or Chicken) Sandwiches.=
Use a little less of the chopped tongue than of the other kind of meat,
and one-half as much chopped celery as meat. Mix with salad dressing.
Spread one piece of bread with butter, the other with the mixture, and
press together.
=Celery Sandwiches.=
Chop crisp celery very fine and mix with salad dressing. Spread one
piece of bread with butter, the other with a thin layer of the mixture.
With a sharp knife split open the round stems of celery tips and put
them between the bread, so that the tips will just show on the edges.
Tie with narrow ribbon, light-green in color.
=Sardine Sandwiches.=
Use, in bulk, equal parts of yolks of well-cooked eggs, rubbed to a
smooth paste, and the flesh of sardines, freed from skin and bones and
pounded in a mortar; season to taste with a few drops of tobasco sauce
and lemon juice, and spread as usual. Crackers may be used in the place
of bread, if the sandwiches be prepared just before using, otherwise the
crackers lose their crispness. Garnish with slices of lemon and parsley.
=Caviare Sandwich Rolls.=
To each two tablespoonfuls of caviare add ten drops of onion juice and a
few drops of lemon juice, and mix together thoroughly. Remove the crust
from a fresh, moist loaf of bread, cut in thin slices, spread each slice
very delicately with butter and the caviare mixture, roll up in a roll
and tie with ribbon one-fourth an inch wide, or pin with Chinese
toothpicks. The bread should not be more than twelve hours old. If fear
be lest the bread will not be sufficiently moist to roll, wrap the loaf,
when taken from the oven, in a damp cloth and then in a dry one; keep in
this fashion until ready for use.
=Russian Sandwiches.=
Slightly butter thin slices of bread; moisten fine-chopped olives with
mayonnaise dressing and spread upon the buttered slices; spread other
slices with Neufchatel, or any cream cheese, and press together in
pairs.
=Mushroom-and-Lobster Sandwiches.=
Sauté the caps of half a pound of mushrooms in a little butter about
five minutes, adding half a sliced onion if desired. Cover with highly
seasoned stock and let simmer until very tender; chop and press through
a sieve, and, if very moist, reduce to the consistency of a thick purée.
Add an equal quantity of lobster meat pounded smooth in a mortar. Season
to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice and, if desired, tomato catsup.
When cool use as any filling.
=Cheese-and-English-Walnut Sandwiches.=
INGREDIENTS.
1/4 a pound of grated cheese.
1/4 a pound of butter.
1/4 a pound of English walnut meats, sliced.
Salt and paprica to taste.
_Method._--Work the butter to a cream, add the seasonings and the grated
cheese gradually; then mix in the nuts, which should be _sliced_ very
thin. Spread the mixture upon bits of bread and press together in pairs.
Particularly good made of brownbread and served with a simple vegetable
salad!
=Egg-and-Spinach Sandwiches.=
Use cold boiled spinach, which when hot was chopped very fine or pressed
through a colander, and sifted yolks of well-cooked eggs. Mix the
spinach with sauce tartare and spread on one bit of bread, spread the
other with butter and sifted yolk of egg; press together. Garnish the
serving-dish with parsley and cooked eggs cut in quarters lengthwise.
=Cress-and-Egg Sandwiches.=
Pick the leaves from fresh cress, chop or break apart, season with
French dressing, and proceed as above.
=Imitation Pâté-de-Foie-Gras Sandwiches.=
Chop half an onion and sauté in a little butter; when delicately
browned, add five or six chicken livers and sauté them on both sides.
Cover with well-seasoned chicken stock and let simmer until tender.
Mash the livers fine with a wooden spoon and press them through a sieve;
season with salt, paprica, mustard, or a dash of curry powder. Press
into a cup, pour melted butter over the top, and set away in a cool
place. When ready to serve, remove the butter and prepare the sandwiches
after the usual manner.
=Chicken Rolls.=
INGREDIENTS.
4 ounces from the breast of chicken (1/2 a cup).
4 ounces of braised tongue.
1/2 a teaspoonful of celery salt.
A few grains of cayenne.
1 teaspoonful of anchovy paste.
4 tablespoonfuls of mayonnaise or boiled dressing.
_Method._--Chop the meat and pound to a paste in a mortar; add the
seasonings and mix well. Remove the crust from a loaf of moist bread;
cut in very thin slices, trim each slice into a rectangular shape,
spread lightly with soft butter and then with the mixture. Roll the
slices and tie them with ribbon. Omit the anchovy paste, if desired.
=Epicurean Sandwiches.=
Cream four tablespoonfuls of butter and one teaspoonful of mustard.
Press the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs through a sieve and add them to
the butter and mustard. Then add four boned anchovies, four small
pickles, a teaspoonful of chives and a sprig of tarragon, chopped
together until fine. Cut stale bread in fingers or other fanciful
shapes, and spread with the mixture. Press two pieces together.
=Halibut-and-Lettuce Sandwiches.=
Put a pound and a half of halibut, a slice of onion, a stalk of celery,
four or five peppercorns, one teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful
of lemon juice in boiling water, and cook, just below the boiling-point,
ten or fifteen minutes, according to thickness. Remove bone and skin and
rub the fish fine with a wooden spoon; add half a cup of thick cream, a
teaspoonful of salt, a dash of white pepper and one tablespoonful of
lemon juice. Spread this mixture, when cold, on buttered slices of
bread, put a lettuce leaf above the mixture, and spread a teaspoonful of
mayonnaise or boiled salad dressing on the lettuce; finish with a slice
of buttered bread and tie with ribbon.
=Lobster Fingers.=
Chop lobster meat very fine; season to taste with French dressing. Cut
the bread in pieces about four inches long and an inch and a half wide.
Finish as usual. Garnish with parsley and the slender feelers of the
lobster.
=Tower of Babel.=
Pile a _variety_ of sandwiches in form of a pyramid (use bread of
different colors). Arrange a garnish of parsley and radish rosebuds
around the base, and on the top a few sprigs of parsley, or celery
plumes.
=Nasturtium Folds.=
Flavor the butter with nasturtium leaves and blossoms, and with it
spread a thin slice of _moist_ bread, which is longer one way than the
other. Press fresh nasturtium leaves and blossoms upon the butter and
fold one half over the other.
=Harlequin Sandwiches.=
Spread a bit of brownbread with butter and French mustard, and a bit of
white bread, cut to fit the former, with butter and cheese creamed
together. Finish as usual.
=Harlequin Sandwiches, No. 2.=
Spread the brownbread with butter and cheese creamed together, and the
white bread with butter, then with cucumber, chopped fine and seasoned
with French dressing, to which a few drops of onion juice have been
added.
=Beet-and-Cream-Cheese Sandwiches.=
Spread one piece of bread with cream cheese, the other with beets that
have been chopped very fine and seasoned with French dressing.
=Peanut Sandwiches.=
Chop freshly roasted peanuts very fine; then pound them in a mortar
until smooth; season with salt and moisten with thick cream.
=Peanut Sandwiches, No. 2.=
Mix the prepared peanuts with mayonnaise dressing. Butter two pieces of
bread; spread one with the peanut mixture, the other with shredded
lettuce, and press the two together.
=Shad-Roe-and-Yellow-Butter Sandwiches.=
INGREDIENTS.
1/4 a pound of butter.
Sifted yolks of 4 eggs.
1 set of shad roe, cooked, pounded in a mortar and sifted.
1/2 a teaspoonful of paprica.
4 drops of tobasco sauce.
2 teaspoonfuls of very fine-chopped capers.
_Method._--Cream the butter and add the other ingredients gradually.
Prepare as usual.
=Green-Butter Sandwiches.=
INGREDIENTS.
1/4 a pound of butter.
1/8 a peck of spinach.
2 tablespoonfuls of very fine-chopped parsley.
6 anchovies.
2 teaspoonfuls of very fine-chopped capers.
_Method._--Boil the spinach, drain thoroughly, and press through a piece
of muslin. Beat the butter to a cream with a wooden spoon; beat into the
butter enough of the spinach pulp to give the required tint of green.
Wipe the oil from the anchovies, remove the backbone, and pass through a
hair sieve; then add to the colored butter, a little at a time; add also
the parsley and capers; chill slightly and use as a filling for
sandwiches. These butters are used also to mask or decorate cooked fish
for "cold service."
[Illustration: Chicken Salad Sandwiches.
(See page 127)]
[Illustration: Halibut Sandwiches with Aspic.
(See page 128)]
=Chicken-Salad Sandwiches.=
(_Chou-paste boxes._)
(See cut facing page 126.)
Bake _chou_ paste in long, slender shapes, like éclairs, but narrower
and shorter; when cold split apart on the ends and one side and fill
with chicken salad. Put the top back in place, after inserting a celery
plume at each end. Garnish the serving-dish with celery leaves and
pim-olas or olives. Serve other salads in the same way.
=Mosaic Sandwiches.=
Cut the bread, white, brown and graham, as thin as possible, and use
four or five pieces in each sandwich, putting them together so that the
colors will contrast. Either butter or other filling is admissible.
=Chicken-and-Nut Sandwiches.=
Chop fine the white meat of a cooked chicken and pound to a paste in a
mortar. Season to taste with salt, paprica, oil and lemon juice and
spread upon thin bits of bread. Spread other bits of bread,
corresponding in shape to the first, with butter; press into the butter
English walnuts, pecan nuts or almonds, blanched and _sliced_ very thin.
Press corresponding pieces together.
=Aspic Jelly for Sandwiches.=
Soak one box (two ounces) of gelatine in one cup of cold chicken liquor
until thoroughly softened. Add to three cups of chicken stock, seasoned
with vegetables and sweet herbs according to directions previously
given, also the crushed shell and white of one egg, and proceed as for
aspic jelly. Turn the liquid jelly into rectangular pans, having it
three-eighths of an inch or less in thickness, and set aside in a cool
place to harden. When ready to serve, dip the pan in hot water an
instant, and turn the jelly on to a paper. With a thin, sharp knife cut
the jelly into squares or diamonds, or dip a cutter into hot water and
stamp out into hearts or clubs.
=Lobster Sandwiches with Aspic.=
Chop the lobster fine, mix with mayonnaise dressing to taste, spread
upon a bit of aspic, cover with a crisp lettuce leaf, and above this
place another piece of aspic spread with the lobster mixture. Serve at
once.
=Halibut Sandwiches with Aspic.=
After the aspic is poured into the pans, sprinkle upon it some fine-cut
Spanish pimentos. When ready to serve, prepare as lobster sandwiches
with aspic, using fish in the place of lobster, and, if desired, sauce
tartare in the place of mayonnaise. Shrimps, salmon or other fish,
chicken, veal, tongue, sweetbreads, etc., may be used either with
lettuce or with chopped celery, cress, cucumbers, etc. Or the vegetables
may be used without either fish, flesh or fowl.
[Illustration: Wedding Sandwich Rolls.
(See page 129)]
[Illustration: Club Sandwich.
(See page 129)]
=Club Sandwiches.=
(_Steamer Priscilla style._)
Have ready four triangular pieces of toasted bread spread with
mayonnaise dressing; cover two of these with lettuce, lay thin slices of
cold chicken (white meat) upon the lettuce, over this arrange slices of
broiled breakfast bacon, then lettuce, and cover with the other
triangles of toast spread with mayonnaise. Trim neatly, arrange on a
plate, and garnish with heart leaves of lettuce dipped in mayonnaise.
=Wedding Sandwich Rolls.=
Wrap bread as it is taken from the oven closely in a towel wrung out of
cold water, cover with several thicknesses of dry cloth and set aside
about four hours; then cut away the crust, and with a thin, sharp knife
cut the loaf or loaves in slices as thin as possible and spread with
butter, and, if desired, thin shavings of meat, potted meat or chopped
nuts; roll the slices very closely and pile on a serving-dish.
=The Milwaukee Sandwich.=
INGREDIENTS.
2 thin rounds of white bread.
1 thin round of graham or rye bread.
4 large oysters, broiled or fried.
Breast of cooked chicken, or turkey.
Two slices of crisp bacon.
Horseradish.
Lettuce.
4 small sweet pickles.
4 small radishes.
Slice of lemon.
1 tomato, skin removed.
Tartare sauce.
_Method._--Dip the bread in beaten egg, seasoned with salt and sauté to
a rich brown in hot butter. Roll the oysters in grated bread crumbs
(centre of the loaf) and broil them, or "egg and bread" them, and fry in
deep fat. Lay the first slice of bread on a plate over two or three
lettuce leaves, put the oysters on the bread, a grating of horseradish
on each oyster; cover with the graham or rye bread; on this lay the
chicken or turkey cut in thin slices, season with salt and pepper, put
on the bacon, and cover with the other slice of bread. On top of the
sandwich lay a slice of lemon cut square, and about this dispose the
pickles and radishes, to form a star. Serve the tomato on a lettuce leaf
at the side. Cut out the hard centre from the tomato and fill the
opening with sauce tartare. In making this sauce, add to mayonnaise or
boiled dressing, onion, olives, sweet pickles and celery, chopped fine
and squeezed dry in a cloth.
SWEET SANDWICHES.
In the name of the Prophet--figs!
--_Horace Smith._
=Fig Sandwiches.=
Chop one-fourth a pound of figs very fine, add one-fourth a cup of
water, and cook to a smooth paste; add, also, one-third a cup of
almonds, blanched, chopped very fine and pounded to a paste with a
little rose-water, also the juice of half a lemon. When cold spread the
mixture upon lady-fingers or cakelets, white or yellow, press another
above the mixture, and serve upon a handsome doylie-covered plate.
Raisins, dates or marmalade may be used in the place of the figs. The
marmalade, of course, requires no cooking. Bread may be used in the
place of the cake.
=French Fruit Sandwiches.=
Chop the fruit very fine; use a mixture of cherries, plums, pineapple
and angelica root; moisten with wine, orange or lemon juice. Use
lady-fingers or bread for the covering. If bread is used, spread lightly
with butter; if cake be your choice, spread very lightly with marmalade.
Use just enough butter or marmalade to keep the coverings together.
=Date-and-Ginger Sandwiches.=
Chop the dates and preserved ginger; moisten with syrup from the ginger
jar and a little lemon juice; cook as above, and use with bread or
lady-fingers. Preserved ginger may be used alone and without cooking.
=Rose-Leaf Sandwiches.=
Flavor the butter with rose petals according to the directions
previously given. Spread both bits of bread lightly with it and put upon
them three or four candied rose petals. If lady-fingers are used, brush
them over with white of egg and sugar mixed together. Use but little
sugar--just enough to hold the fingers together. The Turkish rose petals
that come in little jars are particularly dainty, and adapted to this
purpose. Garnish the dish on which they are served with rosebuds and
leaves.
=Violet Sandwiches.=
Prepare in the same manner as in the last number, substituting candied
violets for the rose petals, and violets with green leaves for a
garnish.
=Honey Sandwiches.=
Spread one bit of white bread with honey pressed from the comb with a
wooden spoon, the other bit with butter. Garnish with white clover
blossoms and leaves.
=Puff-Paste Sandwiches.=
Roll puff paste very thin (about one-eighth of an inch), cut in fanciful
shapes and bake to a delicate brown; add chopped almonds to rich
strawberry preserves, or peach marmalade, and spread the mixture between
each two bits of pastry.
=Pineapple Sandwiches.=
INGREDIENTS.
1 cup of pineapple juice and pulp.
3/4 a cup of sugar.
Juice of half a lemon.
Lady-fingers.
_Method._--Cook the pineapple, sugar and lemon juice until thick; let
cool, and spread upon lady-fingers or sponge drops. Press together in
pairs and serve.
=Whipped-Cream Sandwiches.=
INGREDIENTS.
1 cup of heavy cream.
1/4 a cup of powdered sugar.
1/4 a teaspoonful of vanilla extract.
Lady-fingers.
_Method._--Add the sugar and extract to the cream and beat until solid;
let chill, then spread quite thick upon lady-fingers or sponge drops.
=Whipped-Cream Sandwiches with French Fruit.=
Soak half a cup of fine-cut candied fruit in wine an hour or more.
Prepare the cream as above, and sprinkle the same with the fruit before
putting the sandwiches together.
=Fruit Jelly for Sweet Sandwiches.=
INGREDIENTS.
1 box of gelatine (2 ounces).
1 cup of cold water.
1 cup of boiling water.
1 cup of sugar.
1-1/2 cups of orange juice.
1/4 a cup of lemon juice.
_Method._--Soak the gelatine in the cold water and dissolve in the
boiling water; add the sugar and strain; when cold add the orange and
lemon juice. Mould in sheets three-eighths of an inch thick.
=Claret Jelly for Sweet Sandwiches.=
Substitute claret for the orange juice and prepare as above. Do not omit
the lemon juice.
=Fruit or Claret Jelly Sandwiches with Nuts.=
Slice blanched English walnuts and pecan nuts or almonds very thin, and
stir into whipped cream. Stamp out shapes from the jelly. Spread one
piece with the cream and nuts and cover with a second piece of jelly.
=With French Fruit.=
Substitute candied fruit for the nuts and proceed as above, or use nuts
and fruit together.
=Cupid's Butter Sandwiches.=
INGREDIENTS.
The yolks of 4 hard-boiled eggs.
1 cup of butter.
1/3 a cup of powdered sugar.
1 teaspoonful of orange juice.
A grating of orange rind.
Angel cakelets or slices of angel cake.
_Method._--Cream the butter, gradually add the yolks of eggs, passed
through a potato ricer or sieve, the sugar and orange juice. Spread upon
thin slices of angel cake, prepared for sandwiches, or upon angel
cakelets or fingers; press two slices together and serve at once. If
allowed to stand any length of time, keep covered and in a cool place.
=Cheese-and-Bar-le-Duc Currant Sandwiches.=
Spread wheat bread, prepared for sandwiches, with cream cheese; put two
or three currants and a little syrup on each piece of bread, and press
two pieces together. These may be varied by using sliced maraschino
cherries. Either the currants or sliced cherries with a little of the
syrup may be mixed with the cheese and then spread upon the bread.
Bar-le-Duc currants are imported from France in tiny glasses. The seeds
have been removed from the currants, which are cooked in honey.
=Hunter's Sandwich (Switzerland).=
Spread fresh bread, cut in thin slices, with fresh butter; over this
spread a layer of Brie or other cream cheese, and over the cheese spread
a layer of honey. Press two similarly shaped pieces together and serve
at once.
=Hunter's Sandwich (Ellwanger).=
Prepare as above, substituting maple syrup (or sugar) for the honey.
BREAD AND CHOU PASTE.
She needeth least, who kneadeth best,
These rules which we shall tell;
Who kneadeth ill shall need them more
Than she who kneadeth well.
--_F.F._
=Two Loaves of Wheat Bread.=
To two cups of scalded milk or boiled water, in a mixing-bowl, add two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, and, when the liquid
becomes lukewarm, one yeastcake dissolved in half a cup of water, boiled
and cooled. With a broad-bladed knife cut and mix in enough well-dried
flour, sifted, to make a stiff dough (about seven cups). Knead until the
dough is elastic; cover, and set to rise in a temperature of about 70°
Fahr. When the dough has doubled in bulk, "cut down" and knead slightly
without removing from the mixing-bowl. When again double in bulk, shape
into two double loaves and set to rise in buttered pans; when it has
risen a third time, bake one hour.
=Entire-Wheat Bread.=
Use the preceding recipe without change other than in kind of flour and
two additional tablespoonfuls of sugar.
=Rice Bread.=
Add three-fourths a cup of rice, cooked until tender and still hot, and,
also, two tablespoonfuls of butter, to the milk or water in the first
recipe. Other cereals, as oatmeal or cerealine, may be used instead of
rice.
=Salad Rolls.=
Make a sponge with one cup of milk, one yeastcake dissolved in
one-fourth a cup of milk, and about one cup and a half of flour; beat
thoroughly, cover, and set to rise in a temperature of about 70° Fahr.
When light add half a teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth a cup of melted
butter, and flour enough to knead. Knead until elastic. Set to rise in a
temperature of 70° Fahr. When doubled in bulk, cut down and shape into
small balls. Set to rise again, covered with a cloth and a dripping-pan.
When light press the handle of a small wooden spoon deeply across the
centre of each ball, brush with butter and press the edges together. Set
the rolls close together in a baking-pan, after brushing over with
butter the points of contact.
=Boston Brownbread.=
Sift together one cup, each, of yellow corn meal, rye meal and
entire-wheat flour, one teaspoonful of salt and three teaspoonfuls of
soda. Add three-fourths a cup of molasses and one pint of thick, sour
milk. Beat thoroughly, and steam in a covered mould three hours and a
half. The quantity here given may be steamed in four baking-powder
boxes in two hours.
[Illustration: Boston Brown Bread.]
[Illustration: Bread cut for Sandwiches.]
=Baking-Powder Biscuit.=
Pass through the sieve two or three times four cups of flour, one
teaspoonful of salt, and, for each cup of flour, two level teaspoonfuls
of baking-powder. With the tips of the fingers work into the flour
one-third a cup of butter. When the mixture looks like meal, mix in
gradually nearly one pint of milk, cutting the dough with a knife until
well mixed. When it is of a consistency to handle, turn out on to a
well-floured board, toss with the knife in the flour, then pat out into
a sheet half an inch thick, and cut into rounds. Let the heat of the
oven be moderate at first, and increase after the dough has risen. Bake
about fifteen minutes.
=Sandwich Biscuit.=
Prepare the dough as above, roll to about three-eighths an inch in
thickness, and cut into rounds. Spread one half of these with softened
butter, and press the others, unbuttered, upon them; bake fifteen or
eighteen minutes.
=Pulled Bread.=
(_To serve with simple salads and cheese._)
Remove the crust from a fresh loaf of French bread. Gash the loaf at the
ends and pull apart into halves; then cut the halves and pull apart
into quarters. Repeat until the pieces are about the thickness of
breadsticks. Put on a rack in a dripping-pan, and dry out the moisture
in a slow oven; then brown delicately. Keep in a dry place (a tin box is
suitable) and reheat in the oven before serving.
=How to Give Rolls and Bread a Glossy, Brown Crust.=
A short time before removing from the oven, brush over the top of each
loaf or roll with beaten yolk of egg, diluted with a little milk, or
with a little sugar dissolved in milk, or with thin starch.
=Chou Paste.=
Put a saucepan with half a cup of butter and one cup of boiling water
over the fire. When the mixture boils, beat into it one cup of flour.
When the dough cleaves from the sides of the saucepan, turn into a bowl
and beat in, one at a time, three large or four small eggs.
* * * * *
=To Boil Salted Meats: Ham, Tongue, Etc.=
Cover the meat with cold water and bring the water slowly to the
boiling-point; let boil five minutes, then _slightly_ bubble until the
meat is tender.
=To Boil Chicken, Lamb and Other Fresh Meat.=
Cover the meat with boiling water, let boil rapidly five minutes, then
keep the water just below the boiling-point, or just "quivering" at one
side of the saucepan, until the meat is tender. When the meat is about
half cooked, add a teaspoonful of salt for each quart of water.
=Potted Meat and Fish for Sandwiches.=
INGREDIENTS.
1 pound of tender cooked meat or fish (2 cups).
2 ounces of fat cooked meat (1/4 a cup).
2 ounces of butter (1/4 a cup).
Mace and anchovy essence, if desired.
Pepper and salt.
_Method._--Chop the meat or fish very fine, then pass through a purée
sieve; cream the butter and with a wooden spoon work it into the meat or
fish; add seasonings to taste, press the mixture solidly into small jars
or cups, and pour melted butter to the depth of one-fourth an inch over
the top of the meat. Set aside in a cool place.
=Kinds of Meat and Fish for Potting.=
Ham, fat and lean; either chicken, veal or tongue, with bacon; chicken
and ham, mixed, fat ham; chicken and tongue, mixed, with bacon; veal and
ham, mixed, with fat ham; roast beef and corned beef, mixed, with fat of
either, or bacon; finnan-haddie and bacon; salmon, cod, haddock,
bluefish, etc., with bacon, or with double the amount of butter.
[Illustration: Bowl of Fruit-Punch Ready for Serving.]
BEVERAGES SERVED WITH SANDWICHES.
Towards eve there was tea
(A luxury due to Matilda) and ice,
Fruit and coffee.
--_Meredith's "Lucile."_
Come, touch to your lips this melting sweetness,
Sip of this nectar,--this Java fine,--
Whose tawny drops hold more completeness
Than lurks in the depths of ruby wine.
--_J. M. L._
=Filtered Coffee.=
INGREDIENTS.
1/2 a cup of coffee, ground very fine.
3 cups of boiling water.
About 6 blocks of sugar.
About 3 tablespoonfuls of cream.
About 6 tablespoonfuls of hot milk.
_Method._--Put the coffee into the filter of a well-scalded coffee-pot.
Pour the boiling water over the coffee. Serve as soon as the infusion
has dripped through the filter. For black coffee use double the quantity
of coffee.
=Boiled Coffee.=
INGREDIENTS.
1 cup of ground coffee.
White and shell of 1 egg.
1 cup of cold water.
6 cups of boiling water.
1 tablespoonful of ground coffee.
_Method._--Beat the white and crushed shell of the egg and half the cup
of cold water together; mix with the coffee, pour over the boiling
water, stir thoroughly, and boil from three to five minutes with the
nozzle tightly closed; pour half a cup of cold water down the spout;
stir in one tablespoonful of coffee and let stand on the range, without
boiling, ten minutes.
=Five-o'clock Tea.=
INGREDIENTS.
Tea.
Candied ox-heart cherries.
Slices of lemon.
Boiling water.
_Method._--Fill the tea-ball half full with tea, put the ball into the
cup, with a cherry or a slice of lemon, and pour boiling water over
them; remove the ball when the tea is of the desired strength.
=Rich Chocolate.=
INGREDIENTS.
4 ounces of chocolate.
4 tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar.
1/4 a cup of hot water.
1 quart of scalded milk.
1 teaspoonful of vanilla extract.
Whites of 3 eggs.
1 pint of thick cream.
1/3 a cup of powdered sugar.
_Method._--Grate the chocolate, add the granulated sugar and hot water,
and cook until smooth and glossy; with a whisk beat in the hot milk very
gradually, and return to a double boiler to keep hot. Beat the cream
until solid. Beat the whites of the eggs until dry, then beat in the
powdered sugar and fold the cream into the egg and sugar. Add half of
the cream mixture to the chocolate with the vanilla, and mix while the
cream is heating. Serve the rest of the cream in spoonfuls upon the
chocolate in the cups.
=Plain Chocolate.=
Prepare as in preceding recipe, omitting the cream mixture and such
portion of the chocolate as is desired.
=Plain Cocoa.=
INGREDIENTS.
4 teaspoonfuls of cocoa.
4 teaspoonfuls of sugar.
1 cup of boiling water,
1 cup of hot milk.
Whipped cream, if desired.
_Method._--Mix the cocoa and sugar, pour over the boiling water, and
when boiling again add the hot milk; beat the whipped cream into the hot
cocoa, or serve a spoonful upon the top of each cup.
=Ceylon Cocoa.=
Scald a two-inch piece of paper-bark cinnamon with the milk to be used
in making the cocoa.
=Sultana Cocoa.=
Stem and wash half a pound of sultana raisins; let them stand, covered
with one quart of boiling water, upon the back of the range an hour or
more; filter the water through folds of cheese-cloth and use in making
cocoa or chocolate.
=Egg Lemonade.=
INGREDIENTS.
1 egg.
4 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
Juice of 2 lemons.
2 cups of water.
_Method._--Beat the egg until white and yolk are well mixed; then beat
in the sugar, the lemon juice and the water.
=Fruit Punch.=
INGREDIENTS.
1 pineapple.
4 cups of sugar.
3 cups of boiling water.
1 cup of tea, freshly made.
5 lemons.
6 oranges.
1 pint of strawberry or grape juice.
1/2 a pint of maraschino cherries.
1 bottle of Apollinaris water.
6 quarts of water.
_Method._--Grate the pineapple, add the boiling water and the sugar, and
boil fifteen minutes; add the tea and strain into the punch-bowl. When
cold add the fruit juice, the cherries and the cold water. A short time
before serving, add a piece of ice, and, on serving, the Apollinaris
water. Strawberries, mint leaves, or slices of banana may be used in the
place of the cherries.
=Punch à la Nantes.=
INGREDIENTS.
2 pounds of rhubarb.
1 pint of water.
1 bay leaf.
1 cup of sugar.
1 cup of orange juice.
1/4 a cup of lemon juice.
1/4 a cup of ginger syrup.
_Method._--Cut the rhubarb into pieces without peeling; add the bay leaf
and water, and let simmer until the rhubarb is tender; strain through a
cheese-cloth. Boil the juice with the sugar five minutes. When cold add
the orange and lemon juice, with one-fourth a cup of syrup from a jar of
preserved ginger, and a piece of ice. Add water as needed.
=Home-made Soda Water.=
INGREDIENTS.
2-1/4 pounds of granulated sugar.
1-3/4 ounces of tartaric acid.
1 pint of water.
Whites of 3 eggs.
1/2 an ounce of ginger extract.
1/4 a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda for each glass.
_Method._--Boil the sugar, water and tartaric acid five minutes. When
nearly cold beat into the syrup the whites of the eggs, beaten until
foamy, and the flavoring extract. Store in a fruit jar, closely covered.
To use, put three tablespoonfuls into a glass half full of cold water,
stir in one-fourth a teaspoonful of soda, and drink while effervescing.
A pint of any kind of fruit juice may displace the water, when a
teaspoonful of lemon juice should be added to the contents of each glass
before stirring in the soda.
=Spanish Chocolate.=
(_To serve 60._)
INGREDIENTS.
6 quarts of milk.
3 blades of mace.
1 five-inch stick of cinnamon.
12 cloves.
20 pounded almonds.
1 pound of chocolate.
3 cups of sugar.
2 quarts of boiling water.
Yolks of three eggs.
_Method._--Scald the milk with the spices and nuts. Break up the
chocolate and melt over hot water; add the sugar, mix thoroughly, then
gradually stir in the boiling water; let cook two or three minutes after
all the water has been added, then turn into the hot milk; let stand
over hot water until ready to serve, then add the beaten yolks of eggs,
diluted with half a cup of water, milk or cream, and strain through a
cheese-cloth. Keep hot over hot water.
=Claret Cup.=
INGREDIENTS.
2 quarts of claret.
1 cup of sugar.
1 cup of water.
5 lemons cut in slices.
1 dozen whole cloves.
2 qts. of charged Apollinaris or soda water.
1/4 a cup of brandy, sherry or maraschino.
Ice.
Boil the sugar and water about six minutes; let cool, then add the lemon
slices, with seeds removed, and the cloves; let stand some hours in a
cold place. When ready to serve, add the claret, water and liqueur, all
chilled on ice. Put a piece of ice in the pitcher and pour over it the
mixture. The beverage should not be sweet.
[Illustration: Copper Chafing-Dish with Earthen Casserole.]