draw it towards the leg; and then, passing the knife underneath, take
off the wing at the joint. Next slip the knife between leg and body,
to cut through the joint; and with the fork turn leg back, and joint
will give way. Then take off other wing and leg. After legs are taken
off, enter knife into the top of breast, and cut under merrythought or
wishbone so as to loosen it, lifting it with the fork. Afterwards cut
slices from both sides of breast. Next, take off collarbones, which lie
on each side of wishbone and then separate side bones from the back.
The breast and wings are considered the most delicate parts; the back
as the least desirable, generally is left on platter.
_A turkey_ is carved in same manner, except that the legs and
wings, being larger, are separated at lower joint. Lower part of leg
(or drumstick) being hard, tough, and stringy, usually is allowed to
remain on platter. First cut off wing, leg, and breast from one side;
then turn turkey round and cut them off from the other.
_To carve a goose_, separate leg from body by putting fork into
small end of leg, pressing it close to body, and then passing knife
under, and turning leg back as you cut through joint. To take off wing,
put fork into the small end of wing, and press it closely to body, then
slip knife under and separate the joint. Next, cut under wishbone and
take it off, and cut slices from breast. Then turn and dismember the
other side. Take off upper side bones next to wings, then two lower
side bones. The breast and legs of a goose are considered the most
choice. If a goose is old, there is no fowl so tough.
_Quails_ merely are split down the back, as also are pigeons, giving a
half to each person.
_To carve loin of mutton_, a portion is cut through, beginning at
the best end. If kidney be in it, a slice should be served as far as
it will go to each portion. Care must be taken that the bone is well
jointed. The butcher chops the loin between each vertebra. When big
mutton is carved it gives a large chop, oftentimes more than the amount
desired, but a chop cannot be divided without waste, or one portion
being all the inferior end. It is therefore a good plan to joint a
loin of mutton with a small meat saw, cutting any thickness desired.
In this case the actual bone will often have to be sawn through. The
result will be more economical, and the servings more agreeable. The
loin also can be boned entirely, stuffed or not, as preferred, the flap
end folded and fastened over the fillet portion. Then the meat can be
carved across any thickness.
_To carve leg of mutton_, stand joint the inner part of the leg
uppermost and cut across center to bone, towards carver, then cut
rather thick slices on either side. To serve the meat equally, unless
any special part is desired, a portion of the knuckle is served with a
slice of the thick end. The prime fat is the kernel of fat at the thick
end.
_To carve forequarter of mutton or lamb_. The forequarter of
mutton usually is not served whole unless the mutton be very small.
The forequarter of lamb frequently is served whole. Before cooking
it must be jointed through the chine of bone at the back, to enable
this portion being served in chops, twice across the breastbones the
entire length, and at short intervals at the edge of the breast. Before
serving it is usual to separate the shoulder by pressing the fork in by
the knuckle, then passing knife round shoulder, crossing about center
of joint, raising shoulder without cutting too much meat off breast.
Leave shoulder in position on joint; a second dish is sent to table on
which to lay it while the other part is being carved.
_To carve rabbit or hare_. In either case first separate legs and
shoulders; then cut the back part across, into two parts. This is
accomplished best by inserting the knife into joint, and raising up the
back by means of the fork. The back or fillet part is considered the
best portion of a hare or rabbit.
_To carve sirloin of beef_, a sirloin should be cut into thin
slices with a sharp, firm cut from end to end of the joint. At the
upper portion the cut should be clean and even; then use point of knife
to loosen slices from bones. In carving undercut, remove superfluous
fat, and cut slices from end to end in same manner as upper portion.
Be careful always to cut down straight to the bone of a sirloin or rib
of beef; by so doing you will not spoil appearance of joint, and what
remains will look tidy.
_To carve ham._ Ham should be cut through to the bone first from
center or near thin end. Slices must be cut thin. Always commence
cutting from upper side. The fairest way by far, so as to serve fat and
lean evenly, is to begin cutting from center of thickest part, and to
cut thin circular slices; by this means the flavor of the ham is far
better, and it will prove to be the more economical way of serving.
_To carve ox-tongue._ Commence cutting from middle of tongue; cut
slices not too thin and take them from each side being careful not to
cut slices through to bottom part of tongue. Extreme end of the tip
and the lower part of tongue generally are used up for chopping in
salpicons, etc. A little of the fat should be put on each plate. When
rolled tongue is served it must be cut horizontally into rather thin
slices.
_To carve fish._ A silver slicer or trowel should be used for this
purpose; a steel knife applied to fish often spoils the delicacy of its
flavor. Great care must be taken to prevent breaking the flakes, which
ought to be kept as entire as possible. Short-grained fish, such as
salmon, etc., should be cut lengthwise, not crosswise.
[Illustration]
_Six Hundred and Fifteen
Tested Recipes_
_AND A_
“_Calendar of Dinners_”
[Illustration]
by Marion Harris Neil
SOUPS
[Illustration]
An economical housewife may supply good gravy and thick soups at
very little, if any, addition to the weekly expenses, as soups are
an excellent method of using up scraps and bones from joints and
vegetables that otherwise are wasted. Soup, if taken as the primary
course of a substantial dinner, if well flavored and warm, acts as a
stimulant in the stomach, exciting the gastric glands, and generally
enabling that organ to perform its functions more easily. For this
object the soup should be thin and not too much of it partaken,
otherwise it dilutes the digestive juices too much. If it is to form
the chief part of the meal, the soup will be more nutritious if
thickened, especially so, if pulse--i.e., peas, beans, and lentils--is
used as the thickening medium.
Stock is the liquid in which meat, bones, or vegetables have been
cooked, and which contains an extract from these substances. It is
used for soups, sauces, and gravies. Fresh or cooked bones or meat may
be used. A stock pot may be kept on the stove, into which are put any
scraps of meat, bones, gristle, or vegetable; at the end of the day
it is strained, and all fat taken off. Bones and meat for stock must
be broken into small pieces. Cold water should be used, and a little
salt to extract the nutriment. The whole must be brought slowly to the
boiling point; then, the temperature lowered, the fat and scum taken
off. When wanted for clear soups the vegetables should be cleaned,
but not cut up, or with the long cooking they may mash and thicken
the soup. In hot weather it is better to leave out the vegetables, as
the stock turns sour more quickly if vegetables have been used in its
preparation. They can be cooked separately and added when using the
stock.
[Illustration]
The soup should simmer for five or six hours to extract the gelatinous
matters. If the stock is skimmed occasionally it will be much clearer.
Keep the lid on the stock pot to prevent loss by evaporation. The
bones can be cooked again next day for a second stock, but the
vegetables must be taken out. Care must be taken that nothing doubtful
in freshness be put into the stock pot. Meat and bones should be well
wiped with a damp cloth before using them. If onions be put in the
soup unpeeled, simply washed and the root end cut off, they will help
to color the soup. When using eggs for other dishes, if the shells be
washed before breaking them and added to the stock pot they will help
to clear the soup. For clear soups care must be taken that nothing
of a floury nature be added to the stock pot. Stock always should be
strained before cooling. Never allow it to stand in stock pot all
night. Clear gravy soup consists of the extractives, flavoring matters,
and gelatine of meat and bones.
Consommé is a good stock made from beef, veal, and often fowl, and
flavored with vegetables, cooled, freed from fat. It is clarified with
whites and shells of eggs, and chopped raw lean beef, and strained
through a cloth. It should be brilliantly clear and of a pale brown
color. Any fat floating on the stock may be removed by passing a piece
of kitchen or blotting paper over the surface. Soup left from a meal
will keep better if strained from the vegetables that have been served
in it. In hot weather, stock left over must be boiled each day, and
poured into a clean basin to prevent its turning sour. In warm weather,
soups with milk in their composition should have a pinch of baking soda
added.
Thickenings for soup consist usually of yolks of eggs and cream beaten
together in a basin, the boiling soup poured on slowly, stirring
well at the same time. Soups thus thickened should not be allowed to
boil again, otherwise they will curdle. Instead of eggs and cream,
cornstarch and milk may be used to thicken the soup.
Asparagus Soup
40 heads asparagus
3 tablespoonfuls flour
3 tablespoonfuls Crisco
½ cupful cream
1 quart white stock
1 bunch herbs
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs parsley
2 egg yolks
1 blade mace
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 onion
Take heads off asparagus, and put aside. Cut up stalks in slices, also
onion, put these into saucepan with Crisco, herbs, parsley, bay leaf,
and mace, and fry gently for fifteen minutes, add flour, then stock,
and simmer slowly for 1½ hours. Rub through sieve, add cream, yolks
of eggs, and seasonings, reheat, but take care not to boil soup. Just
before serving throw in asparagus tops, which should be first cooked in
a little boiling stock.
Cheese Soup
4 tablespoonfuls grated cheese
3 quarts clear soup stock
1½ cupfuls flour
4 tablespoonfuls Crisco
2 cupfuls cream
2 eggs
Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
Finely grated cheese
Put flour into double boiler, add gradually cream, Crisco, 4
tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and paprika to taste, stir over fire
till a smooth paste. Break in eggs, mix well, cook two minutes longer
and allow to cool. Roll into balls, when they are all formed, drop into
boiling water and cook gently five minutes. Drain and put into soup
tureen. Pour over boiling stock and serve with dish of finely grated
cheese.
Cream of Tomato Soup
2 tablespoonfuls flour
1½ tablespoonfuls Crisco
1 cupful milk
2½ cupfuls strained tomato juice
1 teaspoonful celery salt
Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
Pinch baking soda
1 tablespoonful tomato catsup
Blend Crisco and flour together in saucepan over fire, add milk and
bring to boiling point. Heat tomato juice, tomato catsup and add soda
and seasonings. Just before serving add Crisco mixture to tomato juice
and stir till boiling. Serve hot. Another method, is to cook 1 quart
can of tomatoes with 1 quart of water twenty minutes, then rub through
sieve. Blend 2 tablespoonfuls Crisco with 2 tablespoonfuls flour, add
1 tablespoonful sugar, salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste, and 1
tablespoonful tomato catsup. Add pinch of baking soda to tomatoes, then
add gradually to Crisco mixture. Just bring to boiling point and serve
with tablespoonful whipped cream on top of each plate.
Fish Soup
1 lb. cod, or other white fish
2 tablespoonfuls Crisco
1 quart white stock, or half milk and half water
1 small carrot
1 small onion
1 stalk celery
3 parsley sprigs
1 blade mace
2 egg yolks
½ cupful cream
1 lemon
2 tablespoonfuls flour
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
Dry toast
Wash and dry fish and cut into small pieces. Put into saucepan with
stock, vegetables cut in small pieces, parsley and mace. Let these
simmer for half hour, then strain off liquid. Melt Crisco in pan, stir
in flour, then add fish liquor and stir till it boils. Draw it to the
side of fire and let cool slightly. Beat yolks of eggs with cream,
and, when soup has cooled, strain them in. Reheat soup without boiling
it, to cook eggs. Season, and add few drops lemon juice and chopped
parsley. Serve with small pieces of dry toast.
Lentil Soup
1 cupful lentils
2 cupfuls milk
3 tablespoonfuls Crisco
3 pints stock or water
1 onion
1 carrot
2 stalks celery
1 tablespoonful flour
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cupful cream
Croutons
Wash lentils; soak twenty-four hours; drain well. Cut onion, carrot and
celery into small pieces, then put them into a saucepan with Crisco,
cover, and cook gently for fifteen minutes. Add stock and simmer 2
hours, then rub through sieve. Return to pan, add milk, seasonings, and
bring to boil. Moisten flour with ½ cupful milk or stock, add it to
soup and simmer five minutes. Season to taste and add cream. Serve with
croutons of fried or toasted bread.
Lentils are a small leguminous seed, not so generally known as beans,
but an excellent nitrogenous food, containing about 25 per cent.
protein, more than 50 per cent. starch, with over 2 per cent. fat. They
are not used as much as they ought to be.
Croutons are made by cutting bread into tiny cubes and browning
through and through in hot oven or putting into a frying pan with 2
tablespoonfuls Crisco and browning well. If latter is used great care
must be used as the croutons will brown easily.
Lobster Bisque
1 can lobster
1 cupful breadcrumbs
1 quart milk
1 quart water
1 tablespoonful flour
¼ cupful Crisco
Salt, pepper, red pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste
Squares fried bread
Thin lemon slices
Open a can of lobster of good quality, take out best pieces and cut
into small squares without tearing; put them aside. Place remains of
lobster in mortar or basin, and pound quite smooth with Crisco. Soak
bread in water, adding flour, and seasonings, and put all on fire in
soup pot with pounded lobster and Crisco; stir till it boils, and boil
for fifteen minutes; then pass it through sieve, add milk and pieces
of lobster, and return to the pot till it boils up. Serve with small
squares of fried bread, and send thin slices of lemon to table with it.
This is an excellent soup, and can of course be made with fresh lobster.
Norfolk Puree
½ cupful barley, pearl
1 quart water
3 pints white stock
½ cupful cream
1 yolk of egg
2 tablespoonfuls Crisco
4 tablespoonfuls cooked carrot balls
4 tablespoonfuls cooked peas
Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
Diced toast or fried bread
Put barley into saucepan of cold water, bring to boil, let boil five
minutes, then drain off water; this removes the slightly bitter taste.
Now put barley into saucepan with Crisco and water, let these boil
gently until barley is tender, drain, and rub through sieve. Add stock
to this puree and let simmer ten minutes. Beat yolk of egg with cream
and when soup has cooled slightly, strain them in. Stir soup over fire
a few minutes to reheat; but be careful that it does not boil, or it
will curdle. Season carefully, add carrot balls and peas, which should
first be heated in a little stock or water. Serve with dice of toast
or fried bread. If you do not possess a round vegetable cutter, cut
the carrot into small dice. This is a particularly nourishing soup.
If you prefer a slightly cheaper variety, use milk instead of cream,
and if you have no white stock use milk and water in equal proportions
instead, and cook a carrot, turnip and onion in milk and water for
twenty or thirty minutes.
Soup Verte
4 tablespoonfuls flour
3 tablespoonfuls Crisco
2 quarts stock
1 lb. spinach
1 bunch parsley
1 teaspoonful sugar
2 egg yolks
1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Put stock into saucepan; add spinach and parsley, picked and thoroughly
washed; let all boil twenty minutes; strain, rubbing puree through
sieve. Return it all to saucepan, add Crisco and flour mixed together
with cupful of water, sugar and strained juice of a quarter of lemon.
Let boil five minutes. Beat yolks of eggs with ¼ cupful water, add them
gradually to soup off fire, and stir near fire until cooked. Soup must
not boil after yolks are added. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Thick Rice Soup
2 pints water or stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 small onions
2 tablespoonfuls Crisco
1 cupful rice
1 cupful canned tomatoes, or 4 fresh ones
Wash and drain rice. Heat Crisco in saucepan, add rice and stir
constantly until a golden brown. Now add water or stock, onions and
tomatoes cut in small pieces, and seasonings. Cook slowly for one hour.
FISH
[Illustration]
Fish, though not quite so nutritious or so stimulating as butcher’s
meat, is an excellent article of diet, as it is light and easy of
digestion and well suited to delicate persons and those following
sedentary occupations, who generally do not take exercise in the fresh
air. Fish contains a fair proportion of flesh forming and mineral
matter, and the white kinds very little fat, hence their value in a
sick diet. A few fishes are rich in fat, as salmon, mackerel, eels,
and herrings; they are more satisfying as a meal, but usually more
difficult to digest, except the latter, which is fairly easy to digest,
and, being inexpensive, forms an economical food.
The digestibility will vary also with the quality of the fish and the
methods of cooking. White fish when boiled is improved by being rubbed
over with a cut lemon, or by adding a little vinegar to the water in
which it is cooked to keep it white and firm. The fish should be put
into hot, not boiling water, otherwise the higher temperature contracts
the skin too quickly, and it breaks and looks unsightly. Salt fish may
be placed in cold water, then boiled to extract some of the salt; if
the fish has been salted and dried, it is better to soak it in cold
water for about twelve hours before cooking.
Fish to be fried should be cooked in sufficient hot Crisco to well
cover it, after having been dried and covered with batter, or with
beaten egg and breadcrumbs. To egg and breadcrumb fish put a slice into
seasoned flour, turning it so that both sides may be covered. Shake
off all loose flour. Brush fish over with beaten egg. Raise fish out
of egg with the brush and a knife, drain off egg for a second, and lay
fish in crumbs. Toss these all over it, lift out fish, shake off all
loose crumbs, lay the slice on a board, and press crumbs down, so that
surface is flat. The thicker the fish the more slowly it must be fried
after the first two minutes, or it will be raw inside when the outside
is done.
[Illustration]
_To bone fish._ The process of boning is known as filleting and is
generally done by the fish dealer, but when this is not the case the
single rule for boning must be strictly adhered to in order to keep
the knife on the bone--lifting the flesh with the left hand while the
knife slips in between the bone and the flesh. Flat fish are divided
down the middle of each side well into the bone, and the boning is
begun at either side of the incision. Round fish are cut down the back,
the flesh is laid open from one side and the bone is removed from
the other. Occasionally round fish are boned readily, the whole fish
minus the bones being returned to its proper shape, as in anchovies,
sardines, herrings, haddocks, etc., in this case the fish would be
split down the front, not the back, and stitched together after boning.
Fish stock is made from the bones, skin and trimmings of white fish.
These are broken small and generally flavored with onion, parsley,
herbs, and seasonings. The proportion of water used is rather larger,
as the flavor is much stronger and also more easily extracted than from
meat.
Baked Halibut
2 lbs. halibut
1 cupful tomatoes
2 tablespoonfuls flour
2 tablespoonfuls Crisco
¾ teaspoonful salt
⅛ teaspoonful pepper
Clean fish, season with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, place in
Criscoed baking pan, pour over tomatoes, and dot with Crisco. Bake in a
moderate oven, basting often.
Baked Salmon with Colbert Sauce
1 slice salmon, 1½ lbs. in weight
4 tablespoonfuls melted Crisco
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
1 tablespoonful tarragon vinegar
1 chopped shallot, gherkin and anchovy
Salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste
For Sauce
4 tablespoonfuls Crisco
2 tablespoonfuls flour
1 teaspoonful lemon juice
3 anchovies
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
Pepper to taste
2 cupfuls fish stock, or milk and water
_For fish._ Mix Crisco with shallot, gherkin, anchovy, and
seasonings, lay salmon in this mixture and let it “marinade,” as it
is called, for one hour. At the end of that time lift it out; do not
shake off any ingredients that are sticking to it. Now lay it in a well
Criscoed fireproof dish, cover it with a greased paper, and bake in
moderate oven for thirty minutes.
_For sauce._ Melt Crisco in small saucepan, stir in flour, add
fish stock and stir until it boils and thickens. Rub anchovies through
fine sieve, and add with seasonings. Serve in hot tureen with fish.
Baked Shad
1 shad weighing 4 lbs.
¼ lb. mushrooms
½ cupful Crisco
2 tablespoonfuls chopped parsley
2 tablespoonfuls chopped chives
1 cupful breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt and white pepper
Salt pork
1 cupful cream
1 teaspoonful cornstarch
Clean, wipe and dry the shad. Melt Crisco, add breadcrumbs, chopped
mushrooms, parsley, chives, egg well beaten, salt and pepper. Stuff
fish with this forcemeat, then lay it in a greased pan, put thin strips
of salt pork over it and bake in hot oven for forty minutes. Lay the
fish on a hot platter. Pour cream into baking pan, add cornstarch and
stir till boiling. Serve with the fish.
Cassolettes of Fish
½ lb. cold cooked fish or shrimps
½ cupful milk
4 tablespoonfuls Crisco
½ cupful water
2 tablespoonfuls cream
4 tablespoonfuls flour
Salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste
1 teaspoonful lemon juice
2 lbs. cooked potatoes
2 eggs
Rub potatoes through a sieve, add little salt and pepper, 1 egg well
beaten, and 2 tablespoonfuls melted Crisco and mix well. Roll out on
floured baking board to 1¼ inches in thickness. Cut into small rounds,
brush over with remaining egg well beaten, toss in fine breadcrumbs,
mark the center slightly with a smaller round cutter. Fry to golden
color in hot Crisco. Remove lids, carefully remove bulk of potatoes
from inside, fill with mixture, replace lids, and serve hot. For
mixture, blend 2 tablespoonfuls of the Crisco with flour in a saucepan
over the fire, add milk, water and seasonings and cook for a few
minutes. Put in flaked fish and make hot. Add cream last. ½ teaspoonful
of anchovy extract may be added if liked.
Sufficient for ten cassolettes.
Dressed Crab
1 good sized heavy crab
6 tablespoonfuls Crisco
2 tablespoonfuls breadcrumbs
3 tablespoonfuls olive oil
2 tablespoonfuls vinegar
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
Crisp lettuce leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
If possible choose a crab with large claws. Boil crab in boiling salted
water for thirty minutes, take up and break off large and small claws.
Lay crab on its back, pull back the flap under its body, pull it right
out and commence to remove flesh from shell. Take care that the little
bag near head, usually full of sand, is taken out. Throw away all bone
and finny pieces. The flesh is of two kinds, some firm and white, rest
soft and dark. Separate former into little shreds with a fork, also the
white meat from claws, which must be cracked in order to obtain it. Mix
dark soft substance with crumbs, add oil, vinegar, and seasonings to
taste. Toss shredded white meat also in a little seasoning, but keep
the two kinds separate. When shell is empty wash and dry well. Fill
shell with the two mixtures, arranging them alternately, so that they
appear in dark and white stripes. Have it heaped a little higher in
center. Decorate meat with lines of finely chopped parsley, and force
the Crisco round edge with a forcing bag and tube. Place crab on some
crisp lettuce leaves. Arrange some of the small claws in a circle round
shell.
Curried Cod
2 lbs. cod
¼ cupful Crisco
2 cupfuls white stock
1 tablespoonful flour
2 teaspoonfuls curry powder
1 medium-sized onion
1 tablespoonful lemon juice
Salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste
2 cupfuls plain boiled rice
2 tablespoonfuls chopped cocoanut