RECIPES FOR THE CHAFING-DISH
The chafing-dish, which, within the last few years, has gained so much
favor, is by no means a utensil of modern invention, as its history may
be traced to the time of Louis XIV. It finds its place on the breakfast
table, when the eggs may be cooked to suit the most fastidious; on the
luncheon table, when a dainty hot dish may be prepared to serve in place
of the so-oft-seen cold meat; but it is made of greatest use for the
cooking of late suppers, and always seems to accompany hospitality and
good cheer.
It is appreciated and enjoyed by the housekeeper who does her own work,
or has but one maid, as well as by the society girl who, by its use,
first gains a taste for the art of cooking. The simple tin
chafing-dishes may be bought for as small a sum as ninety cents, while
the elaborate silver ones command as high a price as one hundred
dollars. Very attractive dishes are made of granite ware, nickel, or
copper. The latest patterns have the lamp with a screw adjustment to
regulate the flame, and a metal tray on which to set dish, that it may
be moved if necessary while hot, without danger of burnt fingers, and
that it may not injure the polished table.
A chafing-dish has two pans, the under one for holding hot water, the
upper one with long handle for holding food to be cooked. A blazer
differs from a chafing-dish, inasmuch as it has no hot-water pan.
Wood alcohol, which is much lower in price than high-proof spirits, is
generally used in chafing-dishes.
The Davy Toaster may be used over the chafing-dish for toasting bread
and broiling.
List of dishes previously given that may be prepared on the
Chafing-Dish:—
German Toast
Dropped Eggs
Eggs à la Finnoise
Eggs à la Suisse
Scrambled Eggs
Scrambled Eggs with Tomato Sauce
Scrambled Eggs with Anchovy Toast
Buttered Eggs
Buttered Eggs with Tomatoes
Curried Eggs
French Omelet
Spanish Omelet
Creamed Fish
Halibut à la Rarebit
Creamed Oysters
Buttered Lobster
Creamed Lobster
Broiled Meat Cakes
Salmi of Lamb
Creamed Sweetbreads
Sautéd Sweetbreads
Chickens’ Livers with Madeira Sauce
Chickens’ Livers with Curry
Sautéd Chickens’ Livers Creamed Chicken
Chicken and Oysters à la Métropole
Stewed Mushrooms
Sautéd Mushrooms
Mushrooms à la Sabine
Soufflé au Rhum
Scrambled Eggs with Sweetbreads
4 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
½ cup milk
1 sweetbread, parboiled and cut in dice
2 tablespoons butter
Beat eggs slightly, using a silver folk, add salt, pepper, milk, and
sweetbread. Put butter in hot chafing-dish; when melted, pour in the
mixture. Cook until of creamy consistency, constantly stirring and
scraping from bottom of the pan.
Scrambled Eggs with Calf’s Brains
Follow recipe for Scrambled Eggs with Sweetbreads, using calf’s brains
in place of sweetbreads.
=To Prepare Calf’s Brains.= Soak one hour in cold water to cover. Remove
membrane, and parboil twenty minutes in boiling, salted, acidulated
water. Drain, put in cold water; as soon as cold, drain again, and
separate in small pieces.
Cheese Omelet
2 eggs
1 tablespoon melted butter
⅛ tablespoon salt
Few grains cayenne
1 tablespoon grated cheese
Beat eggs slightly, add one-half teaspoon melted butter, salt, cayenne,
and cheese. Melt remaining butter, add mixture, and cook until firm,
without stirring. Roll, and sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve with
Graham bread sandwiches.
Eggs au Beurre Noir
Butter
Salt
Pepper
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vinegar
Put one tablespoon butter in a hot chafing-dish; when melted, slip in
carefully four eggs, one at a time. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and
cook until whites are firm. Remove to a hot platter, care being taken
not to break yolks. In same dish brown two tablespoons butter, add
vinegar, and pour over eggs.
Eggs à la Caracas
2 ozs. smoked dried beef
1 cup tomatoes
¼ cup grated cheese
Few drops onion juice
Few grains cinnamon
Few grains cayenne
2 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
Pick over beef and chop finely, add tomatoes, cheese, onion juice,
cinnamon, and cayenne. Melt butter, add mixture, and when heated, add
eggs well beaten. Cook until eggs are of creamy consistency, stirring
and scraping from bottom of pan.
Union Grill
Clean one pint of oysters and drain off all the liquor possible. Put
oysters in chafing-dish, and as liquor flows from oysters, remove with a
spoon, and so continue until oysters are plump. Sprinkle with salt and
pepper, and add two tablespoons butter. Serve on zephyrettes.
Oysters à la D’Uxelles
1 pint oysters
2 tablespoons chopped mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Few grains cayenne
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon Sherry wine
Clean oysters, heat to boiling-point, and drain. Reserve liquor and
strain through double thickness of cheese-cloth; there should be
three-fourths cup. Cook butter and mushrooms five minutes, add flour,
and oyster liquor gradually; then cook three minutes. Add seasonings,
oysters, egg, and Sherry wine. Serve on zephyrettes or pieces of toasted
bread.
Oysters à la Thorndike
1 pint oysters
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
Slight grating nutmeg
¼ cup thin cream
Yolks 2 eggs
Clean and drain oysters. Melt butter, add oysters, and cook until
oysters are plump. Then add seasonings, cream, and egg yolks slightly
beaten. Cook until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring constantly.
Serve on zephyrettes or pieces of toasted bread.
Jack’s Oyster Ragout
Parboil fresh honeycomb tripe, and cut in three-fourths inch pieces;
there should be one cup. Add an equal quantity of small boiled onions,
and twice the quantity of raw oysters which have been previously
cleaned. Melt three tablespoons butter, add four tablespoons flour, and
pour on gradually while stirring constantly one and one-half cups thin
cream. Add tripe, onion, and oysters. When thoroughly heated add yolks
two eggs slightly beaten, and season highly with salt, pepper, and
paprika. Serve on pieces toasted bread.
Lobster à la Delmonico
2 lb. lobster
¼ cup butter
¾ tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
Slight grating nutmeg
1 cup thin cream
Yolks 2 eggs
2 tablespoons Sherry wine
Remove lobster meat from shell and cut in small cubes. Melt butter, add
flour, seasonings, and cream gradually. Add lobster, and when heated,
add egg yolks and wine.
Lobster à la Newburg
2 lb. lobster
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
Slight grating nutmeg
1 tablespoon Sherry
1 tablespoon brandy
⅓ cup thin cream
Yolks 2 eggs
Remove lobster meat from shell and cut in slices. Melt butter, add
lobster, and cook three minutes. Add seasonings and wine, cook one
minute, then add cream and yolks of eggs slightly beaten. Stir until
thickened. Serve with toast or Puff Paste Points.
Clams à la Newburg
1 pint clams
3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
3 tablespoons Sherry or Madeira wine
½ cup thin cream
Yolks 3 eggs
Clean clams, remove soft parts, and finely chop hard parts. Melt butter,
add chopped clams, seasonings, and wine. Cook eight minutes, add soft
part of clams, and cream. Cook two minutes, then add egg yolks slightly
beaten, diluted with some of the hot sauce.
Shrimps à la Newburg
1 pint shrimps
3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon flour
½ cup cream
Yolks 2 eggs
2 tablespoons Sherry wine
Clean shrimps and cook three minutes in two tablespoons butter. Add
salt, cayenne, and lemon juice, and cook one minute. Remove shrimps, and
put remaining butter in chafing-dish, add flour and cream; when
thickened, add yolks of eggs slightly beaten, shrimps, and wine. Serve
with toast or Puff Paste Points.
Fish à la Provençale
¼ cup butter
2½ tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Yolks 4 “hard-boiled” eggs
1 teaspoon Anchovy essence
2 cups cold boiled flaked fish
Make a sauce of butter, flour, and milk. Mash yolks of eggs and mix with
Anchovy essence, add to sauce, then add fish. Serve as soon as heated.
Serve on pieces of toasted Graham bread.
Grilled Sardines
Drain twelve sardines and cook in a chafing-dish until heated, turning
frequently. Place on small oblong pieces of dry toast, and serve with
Maître d’Hôtel or Lemon Butter.
Sardines with Anchovy Sauce
Drain twelve sardines and cook in a chafing-dish until heated, turning
frequently. Remove from chafing-dish. Make one cup Brown Sauce with one
and one-half tablespoons sardine oil, two tablespoons flour, and one cup
Brown Stock. Season with Anchovy essence. Reheat sardines in sauce.
Serve with Brown Bread Sandwiches, having a slice of cucumber marinated
with French Dressing between slices of bread.
Creamed Sardines
Drain from oil one small box sardines, remove backbones from fish, then
mash. Melt one-fourth cup butter, add one-fourth cup soft stale bread
crumbs, and one cup cream. When thoroughly heated add two “hard-boiled”
eggs finely chopped, the sardines, salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.
Serve on pieces of toasted bread.
Welsh Rarebit I
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon corn-starch
½ cup thin cream
½ lb. soft mild cheese cut in small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon mustard
Few grains cayenne
Toast or zephyrettes
Melt butter, add corn-starch, and stir until well mixed, then add cream
gradually, while stirring constantly, and cook two minutes. Add cheese,
and stir until cheese is melted. Season, and serve on zephyrettes or
bread toasted on one side, rarebit being poured over untoasted side.
Much of the success of a rarebit depends upon the quality of the cheese.
A rarebit should be smooth and of a creamy consistency, never stringy.
Welsh Rarebit II
1 tablespoon butter
½ lb. soft mild cheese, cut in small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon mustard
Few grains cayenne
⅓ to ¼ cup ale or lager beer
1 egg
Put butter in chafing-dish, and when melted, add cheese and seasonings;
as cheese melts, add ale gradually, while stirring constantly; then egg
slightly beaten. Serve same as Welsh Rarebit I.
Oyster Rarebit
1 cup oysters
2 tablespoons butter
½ lb. soft mild cheese, cut in small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
2 eggs
Clean, parboil, and drain oysters, reserving liquor; then remove and
discard tough muscle. Melt butter, add cheese and seasonings; as cheese
melts, add gradually oyster liquor, and eggs slightly beaten. As soon as
mixture is smooth, add soft part of oysters. Serve on zephyrettes or
bread toasted on one side, rarebit being poured over untoasted side.
Tomato Rarebit
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
¾ cup thin cream
¾ cup stewed and strained tomatoes
⅛ teaspoon soda
2 cups finely cut cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Salt
Mustard
Cayenne
Put butter in chafing-dish; when melted, add flour. Pour on, gradually,
cream, and as soon as mixture thickens add tomatoes mixed with soda;
then add cheese, eggs, and seasonings to taste. Serve, as soon as cheese
has melted, on Graham Toast.
English Monkey
1 cup stale bread crumbs 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon butter ½ cup soft mild
cheese, cut in small pieces 1 egg ½ teaspoon salt Few grains cayenne
Soak bread crumbs fifteen minutes in milk. Melt butter, add cheese, and
when cheese has melted, add soaked crumbs, egg slightly beaten, and
seasonings. Cook three minutes, and pour over toasted crackers which
have been spread sparingly with butter.
Breaded Tongue with Tomato Sauce
Cut cold boiled corned tongue in slices one-third inch thick. Sprinkle
with salt and pepper, dip in egg and crumbs, and sauté in butter. Serve
with Tomato Sauce I.
Scotch Woodcock
4 “hard-boiled” eggs
3 tablespoons butter
1½ tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
Anchovy essence
Make a thin white sauce of butter, flour, milk, and seasonings; add eggs
finely chopped, and season with Anchovy essence. Serve same as Welsh
Rarebit I.
Shredded Ham with Currant Jelly Sauce
½ tablespoon butter
⅓ cup currant jelly
Few grains cayenne
¼ cup Sherry wine
1 cup cold cooked ham, cut in small strips
Put butter and currant jelly into the chafing-dish. As soon as melted,
add cayenne, wine, and ham; simmer five minutes.
Venison Cutlets with Apples
Wipe, core, and cut four apples in one-fourth inch slices. Sprinkle with
powdered sugar, and add one-third cup Port wine; cover, and let stand
thirty minutes. Drain, and sauté in butter. Cut a slice of venison
one-half inch thick in cutlets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook
three or four minutes in a hot chafing-dish, using just enough butter to
prevent sticking. Remove from dish; then melt three tablespoons butter,
add wine drained from apples, and twelve candied cherries cut in halves.
Reheat cutlets in sauce, and serve with apples.
Mutton with Currant Jelly Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
Few grains pepper
1 cup Brown Stock
⅓ cup currant jelly
1½ tablespoons Sherry wine
6 slices cold cooked mutton
Brown the butter, add flour, seasonings, and stock, gradually; then add
jelly, and when melted, add mutton. When meat is heated, add wine. If
mutton gravy is at hand, use instead of making a Brown Sauce.
Minced Mutton
2 cups chopped cooked mutton
Yolks 6 “hard-boiled” eggs
¾ teaspoon mixed mustard
Salt
Cayenne
1 cup of cream
¼ cup wine
Mash the yolks, and season with mustard, salt, and cayenne. Add cream
and mutton. When thoroughly heated add wine. Serve on toast.
Devilled Bones
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Chili Sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon Walnut Catsup
1 teaspoon made mustard
Few grains cayenne
Drumsticks, second joints, and wings of a cooked chicken
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Cup hot stock
Finely chopped parsley
Melt butter, and add Chili Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Walnut Catsup,
mustard, and cayenne. Cut four small gashes in each piece of chicken.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and cook in the
seasoned butter until well browned. Pour on stock, simmer five minutes,
and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Devilled Almonds
2 ozs. blanched and shredded almonds
Butter
1 tablespoon Chutney
2 tablespoons chopped pickles
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
Fry almonds until well browned, using enough butter to prevent almonds
from burning. Mix remaining ingredients, pour over nuts, and serve as
soon as thoroughly heated. Serve with oysters.
Devilled Chestnuts
Shell one cup chestnuts, cut in thin slices, and fry until well browned,
using enough butter to prevent chestnuts from burning. Season with
Tabasco Sauce or few grains paprika.
Fruit Canapés
Make German Toast in circular pieces, cover with stewed prunes, figs, or
jam. Serve with Cream Sauce I.
Peach Canapés
Sauté circular pieces of sponge cake in butter until delicately browned.
Drain canned peaches, sprinkle with powdered sugar, few drops lemon
juice, and slight grating nutmeg. Melt one tablespoon butter, add
peaches, and when heated, serve on cake.
Fig Cups
½ lb. washed figs
Chopped salted almonds
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup wine
Stuff figs with almonds. Put sugar, lemon juice, and wine in
chafing-dish; when heated, add figs, cover, and cook until figs are
tender, turning and basting often. Serve with Lady Fingers.