[Illustration: RABBIT EN CASSEROLE]
HOW TO COOK
IN
CASSEROLE DISHES
BY
MARION HARRIS NEIL, M.C.A.
Formerly Cookery Editor, ‘The
Ladies’ Home Journal’; Author of
‘Candies and Bonbons and How to Make
Them’; ‘Canning, Preserving, and
Pickling’; ‘The Thrift Cook Book’;
‘Salads, Sandwiches, and
Chafing-Dish Recipes’; etc.
LONDON: 38 Soho Square, W. 1
W. & R. CHAMBERS, LIMITED
EDINBURGH: 339 High Street
NOTES
In place of “whole peppers” read “peppercorns.”
In place of “okra” read “canned okra or diced vegetable marrow.”
In place of “squabs” read “pigeons.”
In place of “corn-starch” read “corn-flour.”
In place of “pumpkin” read “canned pumpkin.”
In place of “string-beans” read “French beans.”
Printed in Great Britain.
W. & R. CHAMBERS, LTD., LONDON and EDINBURGH.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
PAGE
HOW TO COOK IN CASSEROLE DISHES 9
SOUP RECIPES 17
FISH RECIPES 30
POULTRY AND GAME RECIPES 44
MEAT RECIPES 54
COLD MEAT RECIPES 70
VEGETABLE RECIPES 79
SALAD RECIPES 95
PUDDING RECIPES 103
INVALID RECIPES 127
CHEESE RECIPES 137
EGG RECIPES 147
SAUCE RECIPES 159
CAKE AND BREAD RECIPES 170
PICKLE RECIPES 181
PRESERVE RECIPES 193
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES 202
INDEX 212
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
RABBIT EN CASSEROLE _Frontispiece_
SOUP EN MARMITE 17
HADDOCK AND MACARONI 32
LOBSTER NEWBURG 40
RAGOUT OF DUCK 41
VEAL AND HAM PIE 56
BEEF AND SAUSAGES 57
GROUP OF CASSEROLES 65
BAKED BEANS 80
CURRIED VEGETABLES 88
MUSHROOMS AU GRATIN 89
AMERICAN SALAD 97
BAKED APPLES 105
FRENCH PUDDING 112
ASSORTED SMALL CASSEROLES 152
EGG AND POTATO PIE 153
HOW TO COOK IN CASSEROLE DISHES
“_Some hae meat and canna eat,
An’ some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat an’ we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit._”
There is no doubt that the fashion of cooking in casseroles or
earthenware dishes has come to stay in this country; and it is hardly a
matter of surprise when the advantages of this form of cookery are
really understood, whether it be actual casserole cookery, so called, or
cookery in fireproof utensils.
Cooking “en casserole” is a term which signifies dishes cooked and
served in the same earthenware pot or utensil, though, as every one
knows, the original French word is the generic name for a stewpan or a
saucepan.
The old idea of a casserole was some preparation of chopped fish, flesh,
or vegetables enveloped in a crust of cooked rice, macaroni, or potato.
Properly speaking, however, a casserole is a dish, the material for
which in many instances is first prepared in the sauté or frying-pan and
then transferred to the earthenware pan to finish cooking by a long,
slow process which develops the true flavors of the food being cooked.
The sooner the casserole utensil becomes an indispensable part of our
kitchen outfit the better, for it makes in every way for
economy,—economy of materials, time, and labor,—as materials often too
tough for ordinary cooking may by this means be served in a nutritious
and tender condition. When casserole cookery is thoroughly understood,
many combinations of food and many inexpensive viands will be put to use
and very palatable results obtained.
Casseroles nowadays take on all shapes and sizes, from the dainty
individual dishes up to a size sufficient for serving a large number of
persons.
Of late years the prices of these utensils have been reduced so greatly
that they are within the reach of the most modest housewife’s
pocketbook, and then at the same time the actual pots and fireproof
dishes have been improved enormously in quality.
Every kind of utensil can be had in this ware nowadays, and people are
realizing how delicious food cooked in this way is.
They may be bought at all the reliable house-furnishing stores.
Ornamental effects in brown, green, blue, red, white, or yellow
stoneware add to the appearance of the breakfast, luncheon, or dinner
table. No one attempts to deny that the eye has much to do with the
palate, and that a dish served in an attractive form is likely to prove
much more pleasing to the taste than a carelessly offered one. The
holders in which the casseroles are placed when removed from the oven
and taken to the table are made of silver, nickel, brass, copper, and
wrought iron, and are examples of genuine artistic merit.
For those who do not wish the extra expense of the metal holder a
platter or tray will answer the purpose, which is simply to keep the hot
casserole from coming in contact with the table or table mats and
scorching them. The adaptability of a stoneware cooking utensil deserves
to be more fully known, when it will be more thoroughly appreciated.
For braising, pot roasting, as well as stewing, which are slow cooking
processes, the casserole has proved its superiority over the metal pans
again and again. It gives its best and almost exclusive service in the
baking oven, for poultry done in pot roasting fashion or for stewing
fruit, and other articles which require to be cooked slowly under close
cover. There are few cooks who do not know that the application of a
moderate, even heat for certain food materials produces far better
results than if quick heat is applied. For such cases the use of
earthenware cooking utensils is to be strongly recommended, because by
their aid an application of heat, such as will insure gentle simmering,
steaming, or baking, is assured.
The casserole may be regarded as a labor-saving device, taking the place
of a half-dozen pots and pans in the kitchen.
SOME COMMENDABLE FEATURES OF CASSEROLE DISHES
(1) The initial cost of the utensils is very low, and if proper care is
bestowed on them they may last as long as metal pans.
(2) All risk of metallic contamination is avoided. The ingredients may
be put together in a casserole and allowed to stand for hours in it
before cooking without spoiling in the very least degree. Its lining
cannot scale, and in cooking the contents cannot become tainted or
discolored.
(3) The ornamental appearance of casserole dishes simplifies the
practice of serving the viands at table in the vessels in which they
were cooked, so great a desideratum in cases where the prosperity of a
dish depends upon its hot service. The troublesome process of re-dishing
can in most cases be dispensed with. This is convenient as well as
economical.
(4) Casseroles are readily cleaned on account of their perfectly hard
and unbroken surfaces. It can easily be seen when casseroles are clean.
They are sanitary, and food prepared in them is pure and sweet. They do
not retain any taste whatever from previous cooking. Therefore the same
utensils can be used for the most varying preparations.
(5) The cooking in casserole dishes is slow but thorough, and all the
nutritious elements in the viands are preserved in their integrity. The
cover must fit snugly to each utensil, to prevent too rapid escaping of
the aromas and flavors. Sometimes a strip of cloth, spread with a soft
paste of flour and water or mashed potatoes, is pressed over the joining
of the casserole and the cover, and the heat of the oven finishes the
sealing of the dish. When the dish is ready to serve, the strip of cloth
and paste is removed.
(6) The use of a casserole is economical. The actual cooking is effected
slowly and evenly, consequently less fuel is used in cooking. Once the
materials have been started on their culinary way they require little
attention. A casserole dish may be placed in the oven or on the stove;
it may be used for steamed food or as a chafing dish.
(7) The cleanliness and wholesomeness of a casserole make it especially
valuable in preparing food for the invalid and the convalescent.
(8) In the cooking of fruits and vegetables, especially for canning, the
casserole is invaluable. The earthenware is not attacked by fruit acids,
therefore cannot give rise to any noxious product.
(9) Any dish which requires slow, gentle cooking can be prepared in a
casserole, and hash, curry, and other réchauffés are far superior in
flavor when recooked in earthenware than in metal. The stew, or whatever
it is, may be left to get cold in the casserole. The color would be
spoiled if this were done with an ordinary saucepan.
(10) The flavor of the food cooked is brought out best when it is
prepared in an earthenware dish.
(11) The fact that a casserole is a non-conductor of heat makes it more
economical to use than other ware.
(12) The amount of water, liquid, or stock in which the article is to be
cooked should be relatively small, and, in general, seasoned. For stews,
ragouts, etc., it is better to cook the meat in a nicely seasoned sauce,
that it may absorb the flavor in cooking. The time, in general, should
be multiplied by two; that is, if the recipe calls for thirty minutes;
cook in the casserole in the oven for about sixty minutes. The heat of
the oven should be about 212 degrees Fahrenheit or less, that the liquid
in the casserole may simmer, not boil.
When vegetables are to be cooked—and nearly all vegetables are
wonderfully better when cooked by this method—a small amount of water,
in many cases seasoned stock, should be used.
(13) Left-overs, salads, and small entrées of all kinds may be served in
a most attractive manner in ramequins or individual casseroles.
(14) The crowning advantage of casserole cooking, especially in a family
where for one cause or another meals are apt to be irregular, is that
the dish can be kept waiting for a considerable time without
deterioration. Food can be left in a casserole with perfect safety as
long as desired.
HOW TO CARE FOR CASSEROLE DISHES
The cook who has been accustomed to the use of iron, granite, copper,
aluminum, or other metal cooking utensils will necessarily have
something to learn when adopting earthenware. It must be realized that
it is a method of slow cookery, and cannot be hurried. Before being used
for the first time the vessels should be soaked in cold water for some
hours, as this will go far toward saving them from cracking on their
first exposure to heat. There need be little risk of this if the heat be
applied gradually, and this principle should always be observed;
although as the utensils become seasoned by constant use the risk of
accident is materially lessened. In many places garlic is considered
indispensable, the new dishes being rubbed with a clove of it, “to
prevent their cracking.” Never place the vessels on the stove or within
the oven without either water or fat in them. Never put a casserole
roughly on a metal surface, especially if it is full or partly full.
Sudden alternations of temperature should be avoided, that is to say,
the casserole should not be taken off the range or out of the oven and
placed in cold water or on the wet sink, and vice versâ. A fierce heat
is never needed or desirable.
If the cooking is done on an ordinary coal range the fire holes should
be kept closed and the heat received through the top lids; if a gas
range be employed, the gas jets should be kept low, and not allowed to
flare round the utensil. When cooking is being done on the top of the
range with wood, coal, gas, or oil as the fuel, an asbestos mat placed
underneath will modify the heat. The asbestos mat may also be used in
the oven. If the heat must be intense for other food in progress of
cooking at the same time as an earthenware dish is in the oven, the heat
may be controlled by placing the casserole in a pan of hot water which
can be lowered in temperature by occasional supplies of cold water added
to the hot water.
The adoption of these simple precautions will make easy the use of
earthenware utensils. Marmites, ramequins, cocottes, au gratin dishes,
and soufflé cases all come under the head of casseroles.
[Illustration: SOUP EN MARMITE]
SOUP RECIPES
“_Give zest and flavor to a mess of pottage_”
BROWN SOUP WITH FORCEMEAT BALLS
¾ lb. lean beef
1 carrot
2 onions
1 teaspoonful whole peppers
1 teaspoonful salt
Few sprigs parsley
2 stalks celery
3 pints (6 cups) water
1 turnip
1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup
4 cloves
1 teaspoonful powdered herbs
2 tablespoonfuls (1½ ozs.) butter
2 tablespoonfuls (1½ ozs.) flour
1 teaspoonful kitchen bouquet
Some forcemeat balls
Melt the butter in a large marmite, let it get brown, then brown in it
the onions, cut in rings; remove the onions from the pot, and brown the
flour in the butter; then add the water and the kitchen bouquet, stir
till smooth, allow this to boil, put back the onions, and add the
vegetables cut into neat pieces, the meat cut up into small pieces, and
the seasoning; simmer for one and a half hours, remove the meat, and rub
through a sieve as much of the vegetables with the soup as possible.
Put the soup back into the marmite with the meat and some forcemeat
balls (made as undernoted); simmer again for fifteen minutes, skim off
the fat if necessary, and serve in small fireproof dishes.
FORCEMEAT BALLS
4 tablespoonfuls bread crumbs
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
½ teaspoonful grated lemon rind
1 egg
1½ tablespoonfuls chopped suet
½ teaspoonful powdered herbs
Seasoning of salt and pepper
A pinch powdered mace
Beat up the egg and mix in the above ingredients, form into tiny balls,
roll in flour, and add to the soup.
BROWN STOCK
4 lbs. shin of beef
3 cloves
2 quarts (8 cups) water
2 stalks celery
1 bay leaf
1 blade mace
1 large carrot
2 onions, browned
1 bunch sweet herbs
1 teaspoonful whole peppers
1 teaspoonful salt
Some poultry or game bones
3 sprigs parsley
Wipe the meat and cut it into small square pieces. Break up the bones
and remove the marrow. Put the bones and the meat into a large
casserole, cover with the water, and bring slowly to boiling point; skim
thoroughly, then add all the other ingredients, and simmer for four
hours; then strain, and when cold remove the fat.
The bones may be boiled down again for cheaper stock.
To brown the onions place them with the skin on in a tin and set in the
oven until brown.
CHEESE SOUP WITH SAVORY CUSTARD
2 heaping tablespoonfuls grated cheese
1 quart (4 cups) white stock
¼ pint (½ cup) cream
2 egg yolks
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) butter
1 blade mace
1 teaspoonful salt
1 onion
1 carrot
1 teaspoonful whole peppers
1 stalk celery
Bunch sweet herbs
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) flour
Few sprigs parsley
Savory custard
Pare and slice the vegetables and fry them in the butter with the herbs,
mace, and whole peppers for five minutes, then add the flour and the
stock; simmer for one hour, rub through a sieve; mix together the egg
yolks, cream, and grated cheese, add to the soup and reheat, taking care
that it does not boil.
Meanwhile prepare a savory custard as follows: Put half a cupful of
stock and one tablespoonful of grated cheese into a small saucepan and
bring to boiling point. Beat up two eggs with salt and pepper to taste,
strain the stock to them, pour into one or two small buttered molds,
stand in a pan of hot water, allowing the water to come within half an
inch of the top of the molds; place in the oven, and when set turn out
and allow to cool, cut into dice, divide into petites marmites, and pour
over the soup.
OYSTER OR CLAM BISQUE
3 dozen clams
1 onion
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs parsley
1 quart (4 cups) fish stock
Salt and pepper
Some cream
1 tablespoonful butter
1 tablespoonful flour
1 gill (½ cup) Madeira wine
Put the clams into a casserole, slice the onion and the carrot, and add
them with the bay leaf, parsley, and stock.
Simmer for one and a half hours, then strain; return to the casserole
and add the needed salt and pepper.
Blend the butter and flour together and add them with enough cream to
make two pints. Simmer for five minutes and add the wine when serving.
CREAM OF BARLEY SOUP
2 ozs. (¼ cup) fine barley
2 sliced onions
2 sliced carrots
1 small bay leaf
Few sprigs parsley
2 quarts (8 cups) veal or chicken stock
½ pint (1 cup) hot milk
2 egg yolks
1 glass sherry wine
½ pint (1 cup) boiled green peas
Salt and pepper to taste
Put the stock into a fireproof pot, add the barley, onions, carrots, bay
leaf and parsley and simmer for three hours.
When almost ready, add the yolks of the eggs mixed with the milk, wine,
and seasonings. Press through a sieve and reheat.
Divide the hot peas into earthenware handled cups, pour over the soup,
and serve very hot.
CREAM OF SALSIFY SOUP
4 roots salsify
2 pints (4 cups) milk
1 teaspoonful onion juice
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
1 oz. (1 heaping tablespoonful) butter
1 oz. (1 heaping tablespoonful) flour
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
A few chopped pistachio nuts
Water
½ pint (1 cup) cream
Clean the salsify, throwing at once into cold water to prevent their
turning dark. Put them into an earthenware dish with water to well cover
and cook till very tender, then rub through a sieve.
Return to the casserole and add to the pulp two cupfuls of the milk,
onion juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper to season.
Have ready the remaining milk, thickened with the butter and the flour
rubbed together, add to the salsify, and heat thoroughly.
Just before serving stir in the beaten yolks of the eggs mixed with the
cream.
Pour into hot marmites. Have ready the stiffly beaten whites of the
eggs, put a spoonful of the egg on the top of each marmite, and sprinkle
over the chopped pistachio nuts.
Serve hot.
FISH SOUP
1 lb. haddock or flounder
Some fish bones or skin
2 stalks celery
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) flour
½ pint (1 cup) milk
1 bay leaf
1 large onion
2 quarts (8 cups) water or stock
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) butter
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Skin and fillet the fish. Put the fish bones, skin, and any other fish
trimmings into an earthenware pot with the stock or water and the salt;
bring to the boil and skim well, add the bay leaf, the onion, and celery
cut into small pieces; simmer for one and a half hours; then strain.
Melt the butter in the pan, add the flour, stir till smooth, then add
the milk; allow this to boil for four minutes, add the soup, the
parsley, and the fish cut into small pieces; season nicely, simmer for
fifteen minutes, and serve hot.
FRUIT SOUP
1 pint (2 cups) fruit juice
2 quarts (8 cups) water
6 cloves
3 inches cinnamon stick
Peel of 1 orange
Peel of 1 lemon
4 bitter almonds
¼ lb. (½ cup) tapioca
3 heaping tablespoonfuls (3 ozs.) sugar
1 teaspoonful salt
Put one quart of the water into a fireproof utensil, add the cloves,
cinnamon, lemon and orange peels, and the bitter almonds.
Allow to remain for one hour, then simmer for fifteen minutes.
Strain and return to the pan, add the tapioca and the remainder of the
water, and simmer until clear; then add the sugar, salt, and fruit
juice.
Serve hot.
Cherry, strawberry, currant, blackberry, or grape juice may be used for
fruit soups.
GUMBO SOUP
1 quart okra
1 chicken
2 onions
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoonful flour
2 tablespoonfuls melted butter
1 quart tomatoes
Salt and pepper
½ lb. sliced ham
¼ lb. chopped bacon
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
1 head celery
3 pints (6 cups) strained stock
1 pint (2 cups) plain boiled rice
Chop the onions and the garlic, roll them in the flour, then brown them
in the butter, and add the tomatoes. Cut the heads off the okra, split
each four times and cut into dice, add it to the tomatoes in the
casserole, add the parsley, salt and pepper, and the celery, bacon, and
ham chopped; brown all together.
Cut up the chicken and fry it for a few minutes, then add it with the
stock, and simmer until thick.
Serve with plain boiled rice. One pint of cooked crab meat, cooked
shrimps, or oysters, may be added with the chicken if liked.
LENTIL SOUP
½ lb. (1 cup) lentils
3 stalks celery
4 springs parsley
1 onion
1 carrot
1 turnip
1 crust stale bread
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoonful whole peppers
1 blade mace
1 teaspoonful salt
¼ pint (½ cup) cream
3 pints (6 cups) water
½ pint (1 cup) milk
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) butter
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) flour
Wash the lentils and put them to soak in cold water overnight. In the
morning drain them and put them into an earthenware pan with the water,
bring slowly to the boil, and skim well; then add the vegetables cut
into small pieces, the mace, bay leaf, whole peppers, and bread, simmer
for one and a half hours. Strain the soup, rubbing as much of the pulp
through the sieve as possible.
Melt the butter in the pan, stir in the flour, add the milk, and boil
for four minutes. Add the soup, and season it nicely. Divide the cream
into earthenware cups and pour the soup over it.
OYSTER BOUILLON
2 quarts oysters
1 quart (4 cups) white stock
1 onion
1 celery stalk
Salt and pepper
Some whipped cream
Put the oysters into a casserole, add the white stock, the onion and
celery chopped, and the salt and pepper.
Simmer gently for one hour. Strain the soup, reheat it, and serve in
earthenware bouillon cups with a tablespoonful of whipped cream on the
top of each.
POTATO PURÉE
12 medium sized potatoes
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) butter
Salt and pepper
1 quart (4 cups) white stock
1 pint (2 cups) cream
2 tablespoonfuls flour
2 tablespoonfuls melted butter
1 teaspoonful onion juice
Boil the potatoes in their skins till tender, then cool and peel them.
Cut them into quarters and put them into an earthenware pan with the two
ounces of butter to brown just a very little in places.
Season with the salt and pepper, then add the stock, cream, and the
onion juice.
Allow to boil up, and strain through a sieve; return the purée to the
pan and stir into it the melted butter mixed with the flour.
Boil for three minutes and serve hot.
SCOTCH BROTH
2 lbs. mutton (neck)
½ lb. (1 cup) barley
½ pint (1 cup) peas
1 carrot
1 turnip
1 teaspoonful sugar
3 onions or leeks
1 teaspoonful dripping
1 small cabbage
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
4 quarts (16 cups) water or stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Prepare the vegetables and cut them into small pieces. Put the water or
stock into a large earthenware pan, and when it boils, add the meat and
the barley. Boil up, skimming frequently, add the vegetables, and then
simmer for three hours.
Now stir in one extra carrot grated, the salt and pepper, sugar and
dripping. Simmer again for thirty minutes.
Add the parsley and the broth is ready to serve.
The mutton may be served separately with potatoes.
SHRIMP CHOWDER
3 cupfuls picked shrimps
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) butter
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) flour
1 blade mace
¼ cupful salt pork fat cut in cubes
1 chopped onion
Salt and red pepper to season
2 pints (4 cups) milk
½ pint (1 cup) hot cream
Cook the onion in the salt pork fat. Melt the butter in a casserole,
stir in the flour and seasoning, then add the milk very gradually and
stir till boiling, allow to cook for five minutes, then add the shrimps
and cook for twenty-five minutes; add the strained salt pork fat, the
hot cream, and serve hot.
SOUP TO SERVE IN PETITES MARMITES
4 lbs. beef from the round
1 fowl weighing 3 lbs.
8 inches beef marrow bone
6 pints (12 cups) cold water
1 large onion
2 cloves
1 large carrot
1 turnip
4 stalks celery
Some toasted bread
Salt
1 bay leaf
1 blade mace
12 whole peppers
Remove the marrow from the bone. Saw the bone into inch lengths and put
it into a large stoneware soup pot with the beef and the water.
Let it come slowly to boiling point, remove the scum, and set on a cool
part of the stove to simmer for half an hour. Draw, truss, and roast the
fowl for twenty minutes, then, when well browned, put it into the soup
pot, adding the giblets well cleaned. Remove the beef and the chicken as
soon as they are tender. Keep hot a part of the beef and a part of the
breast of the chicken to serve in the petites marmites.
The remainder can be used for other dishes. Press the cloves into the
onion and add it to the soup with the bay leaf, mace, whole peppers,
carrot, turnip, and celery, cleansed and pared, and cut into neat
pieces. Allow to simmer until the vegetables are tender. Remove the fat
and strain the soup; add salt to taste and reheat it. Into each small
soup pot put two pieces each of chicken, beef, and vegetables, and pour
over them the soup. Place on the covers and serve with small pieces of
toasted bread.
VEGETABLE SOUP
2 lbs. lean beef or mutton
4 onions
2 turnips
4 carrots
5 skinned tomatoes
6 potatoes
2 parsnips
1 teaspoonful white pepper
1 tablespoonful salt
3 stalks celery
3 quarts (12 cups) cold water
Cut the meat into small, neat slices; put it into a deep earthenware
pan, sprinkle in the salt and pepper; add the tomatoes, sliced, the
other vegetables all pared or scraped and cut into neat pieces, and the
water. Cover tightly and cook slowly in the oven for two and a half
hours.
If too thick, add a little boiling water before serving.
WHITE STOCK
4 lbs. shin of veal
1 onion
1 blade mace
2 stalks celery
1 fowl
2 quarts (8 cups) water
1 teaspoonful white whole peppers
1 teaspoonful salt
Some bones
Wipe the meat and cut it up into small pieces; and put it into a large
marmite or casserole; add the bones and the water and bring slowly to
boiling point; skim thoroughly, add the other ingredients, and simmer
for four hours; strain through a fine sieve, and when cold remove the
fat.
The fowl should be cleaned and added with the meat.
The bones may be boiled again for cheaper stock.
FISH RECIPES
“_Why, then, the world’s mine oyster
Which I with sword will open._”
BAKED OYSTERS
1 quart oysters
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) butter
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) flour
½ pint (1 cup) milk
½ pint (1 cup) cream
1 heaping tablespoonful grated cheese
A little melted butter
Some fine bread crumbs
1 tablespoonful white wine
Salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste
Scald the oysters in their liquor, and put them aside to cool; then
divide each oyster into four pieces.
Melt the butter, stir in the flour, then add gradually the milk and
cream; stir until thickened, and add the seasonings, wine, and cheese.
Butter sufficient octagon ramequins, put in a layer of the oysters, fill
up with the sauce, pour a little melted butter over each, sprinkle some
bread crumbs on the top, and bake in a moderate oven for ten minutes.
COD À LA GARONNE
2 slices cod
1 garlic clove
4 tablespoonfuls olive oil
1 tablespoonful chopped capers
3 boned and chopped anchovies
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) butter
A few bread crumbs
Salt and paprika to taste
Rub a shallow fireproof dish with a cut clove of garlic, then lay in the
fish and add the oil.
Bake in the oven, and when three parts cooked take out and sprinkle in
the capers, anchovies, parsley, bread crumbs, salt, and paprika; divide
the butter into tiny pieces, lay it on the top, and return it to the
oven to brown and to finish cooking.
Serve hot in the casserole.
COLD MACKEREL, VINAIGRETTE
1 mackerel
1 bunch parsley
1 slice lemon
6 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar
2 teaspoonfuls made mustard
1 teaspoonful salt
12 tablespoonfuls olive oil
1 teaspoonful chopped shallots
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
1 tablespoonful chopped gherkins and capers
Clean the mackerel, leaving the head on, wrap it in a piece of
cheesecloth, and boil in boiling salted water until tender.
The water should contain a little vinegar. Put the tarragon vinegar into
a basin, add the mustard, salt, olive oil, parsley, shallots, gherkins,
and capers. Remove the cloth from the fish, then lay the mackerel in an
earthenware dish, pour the sauce over it and let it marinate thoroughly.
It should be put into the refrigerator as soon as cool.
Serve cold in a bed of parsley garnished with slices of lemon.
CRAB À LA CARMEN
1 good-sized crab
2 tablespoonfuls olive oil
1 chopped shallot
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
2 tablespoonfuls bread crumbs
2 tablespoonfuls chopped cooked chicken
1 teaspoonful tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoonful cream
3 tablespoonfuls fish stock
½ pint (1 cup) white sauce
2 hard cooked egg yolks
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil the crab, then remove the meat from it. Put the oil into a
casserole, add the crab meat, the shallot, and parsley; stir over the
fire until quite hot; then add the bread crumbs, vinegar, chicken,
cream, stock, and seasonings; fill some flange ramequins very full with
the mixture, heaping them in the center; pour over each some of the
white sauce, and sprinkle over the top the sieved hard cooked yolks of
eggs.
Stand them in a pan containing a little boiling water on the stove until
thoroughly hot, then serve.
[Illustration: HADDOCK AND MACARONI]
CURRIED FISH
1½ lbs. cooked fish
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
2 large onions
1 large apple
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) rice flour
1 tablespoonful curry powder
1 tablespoonful chutney
1 lemon
1 teaspoonful salt
1½ pints (3 cups) fish stock
½ lb. (1 cup) boiled rice
½ cupful shrimps
2 hard cooked eggs
Free the fish from skin and bones. Melt the butter in a fireproof dish,
then put in the apple and the onion cut into small pieces, fry together
until a nice brown color, then stir in the rice flour, curry powder,
chutney, the strained juice of the lemon, salt, and stock; simmer for
fifty minutes, then add the fish.
Arrange the hot boiled rice around a casserole, turn the curry into the
center; garnish with the shrimps made hot in a little cream and quarters
of the hard cooked eggs.
Serve very hot.
FINNAN HADDIE
1 medium sized finnan haddie
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) butter
Salt and pepper
Select a well-cured medium sized fish. If not well cured it will
probably be tasteless and flabby. Wash it well, trim off the fins, the
tail, and the two bones at the head.
Lay it in a buttered casserole, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper,
pour in enough boiling water to cover it, and allow it to simmer for ten
minutes.
Drain it from the water, return it to the casserole with the butter, and
cook it for ten minutes in the oven.
See that it is thoroughly cooked, but not hardened.
FISH SOUFFLÉ
½ lb. cooked chopped fish
6 boiled potatoes
3 heaping tablespoonfuls (3 ozs.) butter
1 teaspoonful anchovy extract
1 teaspoonful made mustard
¼ pint (½ cup) thick cream
1 oz. (½ cup) bread crumbs
3 tablespoonfuls (1 oz.) chopped suet
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley
5 egg whites
A few browned bread crumbs
Salt and paprika to taste
Boil the potatoes and rub them through a sieve while they are hot; mix
with them the butter, salt, paprika, anchovy extract, mustard, cream,
fish, white bread crumbs, suet, parsley, and the whites of eggs beaten
stiffly.
Mix carefully and turn into a well-buttered fireproof soufflé dish;
sprinkle the top of the soufflé with the browned bread crumbs and here
and there put a little bit of butter; place it on a baking tin and cook
in a moderate oven for about forty minutes.
Serve at once.
FLOUNDER AU GRATIN
1 large flounder
2 chopped shallots
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
¼ pint (½ cup) white wine
½ cupful bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
Clean and skin the fish. Salt and pepper both sides of the flounder,
then lay it in a fireproof au gratin dish, sprinkle in the shallots and
the parsley; add the butter divided into small pieces, the wine, and the
layer of bread crumbs.
Let it cook in the oven for about half an hour.
HADDOCK AND MACARONI
1 lb. boiled haddock
½ pint (1 cup) white sauce
¼ lb. macaroni
2 small skinned tomatoes
Seasoning of salt and pepper
3 pickled gherkins
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) butter
Break the macaroni in pieces from one to one and a half inches long, put
it into a pan of fast boiling, salted water, add the butter, and boil
until it is tender without being in the least mashed; drain and wash the
macaroni in a little hot water.
Heat the sauce in a fireproof dish, stir in the fish without breaking
the flakes, and season it nicely with salt and pepper.
Arrange a border of the hot macaroni around a hot casserole, pile the
fish and sauce in the middle.
Cut the tomatoes in quarters; cook them for a few minutes on a buttered
baking tin, then arrange them round the fish. Cut the gherkins into
shreds and place them in small heaps on the macaroni.
Heat in the oven for a few moments and serve hot.
HADDOCK AU GRATIN
1 haddock weighing 4 lbs.
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
Salt and pepper
2 lemons
4 ozs. (½ cup) melted butter
½ cupful grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoonfuls buttered bread crumbs
1 tablespoonful potato flour
1 gill (½ cup) thick cream
Boil the haddock in boiling salted water with the two ounces of butter,
seasoning of salt and pepper, and the strained juice of one lemon.
When it is ready remove the skin, put the fish into a buttered gratin
dish, pour over it the melted butter, and sprinkle over it a little red
pepper and lemon juice.
Cover it with the cheese and the buttered bread crumbs and put in a hot
oven to brown.
Mix the potato flour with the cream, make hot, and pour over the fish
just before sending to table.
Garnish with a thinly sliced lemon.
HALIBUT TIMBALE
1½ lbs. fresh halibut
1 teaspoonful salt
A few grains red pepper
1 gill (½ cup) whipping cream
5 egg whites
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
Put the fish through a meat-chopper, add to it the parsley, salt, red
pepper, whipped cream, and the whites of eggs stiffly beaten.
Mix carefully and turn into a well-buttered earthenware mold, cover, and
steam steadily for half an hour.
Serve with egg sauce.
LOBSTER NEWBURG
1 lobster
½ pint (1 cup) cream
3 egg yolks
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) butter
1 wineglassful sherry wine
Salt and red pepper to taste
Take the meat from a boiled lobster and cut it into dice; sauté it in
the butter, then add the seasonings, sherry wine, and the yolks of eggs
mixed with the cream.
Stir until the mixture begins to thicken, then remove it from the fire
and serve at once in hot ramequins.
MACKEREL WITH TOMATOES
1 medium sized mackerel
1 lb. skinned tomatoes
1 wineglassful sherry wine
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
1 slice onion
Juice ½ lemon
½ pint (1 cup) stock
1 teaspoonful powdered herbs
½ cupful bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
Cook the mackerel in the oven with the stock, sherry wine, herbs, lemon
juice, and onion, cover with a buttered paper; when cooked, remove the
skin, split the fish open, and remove the bones; butter a fireproof
dish, lay in a layer of sliced tomatoes, a little salt and pepper, then
a layer of fish and some tiny pieces of butter, repeat this until the
fish is used; finally put a layer of sliced tomatoes on the top; pour
over the stock in which the fish was cooked, cover with bread crumbs and
some small pieces of butter, and cook in a moderate oven for twenty
minutes; sprinkle the parsley over the top and serve at once.
OYSTER CURRY
1 quart oysters
½ pint (1 cup) tomatoes
3 tablespoonfuls curry powder
½ pint (1 cup) beef stock
1 apple
2 tablespoonfuls flour
1 teaspoonful salt
1 cupful plain boiled rice
2 tablespoonfuls butter
1 Spanish onion
Chop the onion and brown it in one tablespoonful of the butter in a
casserole or earthenware dish, add the curry powder, the remaining
tablespoonful of butter, the apple chopped, and the stock.
Simmer slowly for half an hour.
Put the oysters, their liquor, and the tomatoes into another pan over
the fire. When the edges of the oysters begin to ruffle put the two
mixtures together.
Add the salt, and thicken with the flour moistened with a little cold
water. Boil for five minutes stirring constantly.
Serve with the hot plain boiled rice.
SCALLOPS EN CASSEROLE
18 scallops
½ pint (1 cup) white stock
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
¼ pint (½ cup) cream
1 small onion
2 shallots
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) flour
3 egg yolks
3 chopped mushrooms
Some small pieces puff pastry
Salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste
Put the scallops and mushrooms into a casserole with one tablespoonful
of the butter, cover, and let cook for ten minutes.
Peel and chop finely the onion and shallots, blanch them in water, and
drain.
Put them into an earthenware pan with the remainder of the butter and
cook until a light brown color; stir in the flour, mix for a few minutes
over the fire, add the stock and scallop liquor, simmer for fifteen
minutes, stirring in the yolks of eggs one at a time, season with salt,
pepper, and a dust of red pepper, put in the scallops and mushrooms, and
heat but do not boil; mix in the cream just before serving.
Garnish the top with the pieces of pastry.
STEWED EELS
2 or 3 eels
½ pint (1 cup) white stock
2 tablespoonfuls cream
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) flour
2 ozs. (2 heaping tablespoonfuls) butter
½ teaspoonful whole white peppers
Seasoning of salt, pepper, and red pepper
Bunch of parsley
¼ teaspoonful lemon juice
1 small onion
Blade of mace
Bunch of sweet herbs
Skin and divide the eels into pieces about two inches long, put them
into a casserole with the stock, sliced onion, herbs, mace, lemon juice,
parsley, and whole peppers. Bring to the boil, skim, and allow to simmer
for twenty minutes; lift out the eels and strain the stock.
Melt the butter in the casserole, stir in the flour, add the liquid from
the fish, the cream, and boil for five minutes, stirring all the time,
then add the seasonings and the eels, allow to heat thoroughly, and
serve.
[Illustration: LOBSTER NEWBURGH]
[Illustration: FOR RAGOUT OF DUCK]
STUFFED HERRINGS
4 large fresh herrings
1 cupful bread crumbs
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Split the herrings up the back, remove the backbones, lay two herrings
open on a buttered fireproof dish; mix together the bread crumbs,
parsley, salt, pepper, egg well beaten, and one tablespoonful of the
butter; lay this on the split herrings, place the other two on the top,
sandwich fashion; put the remainder of the butter on the top, sprinkle
with bread crumbs, and bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes.
Serve with parsley sauce.
TERRAPIN STEW
2 terrapins
4 hard cooked yolks of eggs
½ lb. (1 cup) butter
1 tablespoonful salt
1 teaspoonful white pepper
3 tablespoonfuls browned flour
1 pint (2 cups) cream
1 wineglassful sherry wine
Encourage the terrapin to move about in lukewarm water for a few
minutes, then plunge head first into a pan of boiling water.
Remove from the water in about five minutes, or as soon as the thin
white skin can be removed from the head and feet, then put back into
fresh boiling water and simmer for forty minutes, or until the upper
shell separates readily from the lower on a slight pressure. Drain, lay
them on their backs, heads from you; then loosen the shells and take
them off. Remove the sand bags, bladders, and the thick part of the
intestines and the gall sacks, which are found embedded in one lobe of
the liver, and throw them away. The meat is separated and the giblets
cut up fine. Place all in a casserole and barely cover with boiling
water. Simmer for half an hour, then add the dressing. Mash the egg
yolks with the butter, then add the salt, pepper, flour, and cream. Stir
until smooth and creamy, then add to the terrapin and simmer for fifteen
minutes, stirring frequently. If too thick, reduce with a little boiling
water. Add the wine and serve very hot.
TROUT WITH POTATOES
1 fresh trout
½ pint (1 cup) milk
2 tablespoonfuls chopped parsley
3 large potatoes
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
¼ pint (½ cup) cream
Salt and pepper
1 egg white
Oyster sauce
Boil the trout in boiling salted water for twenty minutes or until
ready; when cold, bone it and flake it, and lay it in a well-buttered
fireproof dish; bring the milk and parsley to the boil and pour them
over the fish; boil the potatoes, then mash them with the butter, cream,
salt, and pepper, spread them over the fish, smooth the surface, then
mark it in fancy design with a fork; place the casserole in a hot oven
for ten minutes. Remove it from the oven, beat up the white of the egg
stiffly, brush it over the top of the potatoes, and continue to bake for
fifteen minutes. Serve hot with the oyster sauce. The sauce may be
served in an earthenware gravy boat.
POULTRY AND GAME RECIPES
“O: dainty duck,
With wings as swift as meditation”
CHICKEN EN CASSEROLE NO. 1
1 good-sized chicken
1 lb. sliced bacon
1 onion
3 tomatoes
3 celery stalks
5 mushrooms
2 pickled walnuts
1 bay leaf
1 pint (2 cups) stock
1 tablespoonful arrowroot
Salt and pepper
Singe and draw the chicken, then truss it as for boiling, have ready a
casserole large enough to hold the bird whole; line it with the bacon,
put in the chicken, sprinkle in salt, pepper, and the onion chopped
fine. Then arrange round the chicken the tomatoes skinned, the celery,
mushrooms and walnuts chopped, and the bay leaf; add the stock, place
the casserole in the oven, let it cook gently for one and a half hours,
basting the chicken frequently.
When ready, remove the bay leaf, brown and thicken the gravy with the
arrowroot, leave all the vegetables in the gravy with the chicken, and
serve hot in the casserole.
A turkey may also be prepared in this way.
CHICKEN EN CASSEROLE NO. 2
1 large chicken or turkey
3 tablespoonfuls olive oil
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) flour
1½ pints (3 cups) chicken stock
Salt and pepper to season
1 tablespoonful kitchen bouquet
1 cupful chopped oysters
Singe, draw and cut the fowl into neat joints, removing the skin and as
many small bones as possible.
Heat the oil in a frying-pan, lay in a few pieces of chicken at a time,
and fry until the meat looks white on each side. Turn frequently but do
not let them brown.
Take out and drain on paper. Add a little more oil if necessary, until
all the pieces have been cooked. Blend the butter and flour in a
saucepan over the fire: when smooth stir in the stock, and continue
stirring until it cooks for five minutes.
Add the kitchen bouquet and the seasonings. Strain the sauce into a
casserole, add the chicken, arranging the pieces so that they are level
at the top, cover closely with a sheet of buttered paper, and put on the
casserole lid. Cook in a moderate oven for an hour or until ready. About
fifteen minutes before serving uncover and add the oysters scalded and
cut into halves.
CHICKENS WITH OLIVES
2 young chickens
3 pints (6 cups) water
1 onion
Salt and pepper
3 heaping tablespoonfuls (3 ozs.) butter
2 dozen olives
1 tablespoonful capers
1 oz. (1 heaping tablespoonful) flour
Prepare the chickens and cut them into joints, then put them in a
casserole with the water, salt, pepper, and onion.
Cook slowly till tender. Lift out the pieces of chicken and drain and
dry them, then fry them in the butter till they are brown.
Stir the flour into the casserole, add a pint of the water in which the
chickens were cooked, the olives, chopped, capers, and seasoning of salt
and pepper.
When quite smooth add the chickens and serve when hot.
GOOSE DEVILED EN CASSEROLE
1 goose
Potato stuffing
4 tablespoonfuls vinegar
1 tablespoonful white pepper
2 tablespoonfuls made mustard
After cleaning the goose and wiping it well with a damp cloth, plunge it
into a saucepan of boiling water, and boil gently for one hour. Take it
from the saucepan, drain well, and wipe it very dry.
Fill the body and neck with potato stuffing, truss and sew up, lay it in
an earthenware pan, and roast in a very hot oven, allowing twenty
minutes to every pound.
Mix the vinegar, pepper, and mustard together, pour them over the goose,
and baste it frequently. An old goose that can be cooked in no other way
may be so dressed, two hours being allowed for the boiling instead of
one hour.
To make the potato stuffing: Cook one chopped onion in a quarter of a
cupful of salt pork cubes until brown, then add two cupfuls of hot
mashed potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, half a teaspoonful of poultry
seasoning, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and one cupful of
cooked sausages cut in pieces. Mix thoroughly, then stuff the goose with
the mixture.
GUINEA FOWL EN CASSEROLE
1 large guinea fowl
1 onion
4 tablespoonfuls cream
A bunch herbs
2 celery stalks
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) flour
½ pint (1 cup) white stock
1 blade mace
6 whole peppers
2 slices carrot
½ pint (1 cup) milk
Salt and pepper
Draw and truss the guinea fowl; then put it into a casserole with
sufficient hot water to cover, then bring to the boil, and simmer gently
until the bird is cooked. Take it up and let it cool.
Measure half a pint of the water the guinea fowl was boiled in. Put this
into a pan with the milk, add the onion, mace, carrot, herbs, celery,
whole peppers, and the stock; bring slowly to boiling point; then simmer
for ten minutes.
Melt the butter, stir in the flour, then stir in the boiling stock. Cook
slowly for ten minutes, season with salt and pepper, add the cream.
Cut the guinea fowl into neat joints. Put these into a casserole, strain
the sauce over, put it on the fire, and heat up; make quite hot without
boiling.
Serve in the casserole.
JUGGED HARE
1 hare
1 carrot
1 onion
1 turnip
2 celery stalks
Small bunch parsley
Small piece lemon rind
3 allspices
1 clove
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Stock
1 tablespoonful flour
1 blade mace
4 tablespoonfuls water
1 tablespoonful red currant jelly
1 tablespoonful Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup
1 tablespoonful lemon juice
2 wineglassfuls port wine
12 small forcemeat balls
Skin the hare after taking out the inside, wipe the hare thoroughly, but
do not wash it, cut it into neat joints, dust a little flour over them,
and fry them in smoking hot fat till browned. Drain them and put them
into an earthenware jar with the vegetables cut into small pieces, the
bay leaf, lemon rind, mace, clove, allspices, salt and pepper; fill up
the jar with boiling stock, let it simmer for two or three hours,
according to the size of the hare; when cooked, take out the pieces of
hare, warm them to prevent their getting dry; mix the flour with the
water, add it to the blood and the pounded liver, thicken the gravy with
it, stir in the jelly, sauce, ketchup, lemon juice, and wine, strain on
to the hare in a casserole, put in the forcemeat balls that have been
fried in smoking hot fat; heat and serve.
QUAILS EN CASSEROLE
6 quails
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
¼ pint (½ cup) red currant jelly
½ lemon
¼ lb. preserved cherries
1 wineglassful port wine
½ pint (1 cup) stock
½ orange rind
Salt and pepper to season
Prepare and truss the quails. Melt the butter in an earthenware pan;
when hot, put in the birds, and brown them all over.
Cover with the lid, and put into a moderate oven till ready.
Lift out the quails and keep hot. Drain the fat from the pan, add the
stock, wine, and orange rind.
Simmer for ten minutes, then stir in the jelly. Put in the quails for
ten minutes; season with salt, pepper, and the strained lemon juice.
Before serving remove the orange rind and add the cherries.
Serve hot.
RABBIT EN CASSEROLE
2 rabbits
2 sliced onions
2 celery stalks
1 cupful chopped carrots
1 bay leaf
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) flour
1 pint (2 cups) hot water
½ pint (1 cup) cold water
1 tablespoonful Worcestershire sauce
12 stoned olives
1 tablespoonful capers
2 tablespoonfuls dripping
Salt and pepper
Skin and joint the rabbits, then put them into an earthenware pan, add
the onions, celery, carrots, bay leaf, dripping, and cold water.
Simmer for thirty minutes, then remove the rabbits. Add the butter and
flour to the pan, stir over the fire till brown, then add the hot water,
stirring till smooth, add the salt, sauce, capers, olives, pepper, and
rabbits.
Cover closely and bake for forty minutes.
RAGOUT OF DUCK
1 cooked duck
2 heaping tablespoonfuls (2 ozs.) butter
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) flour
1 pint (2 cups) stock
3 shallots
A few sprigs of parsley
1 teaspoonful lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoonful red currant jelly
½ teaspoonful meat extract
Few drops kitchen bouquet
Cut the duck into neat joints. Melt the butter in an earthenware pan,
toss the pieces of duck in it, then sprinkle in the flour, and fry it a
light brown color; then add the stock, stirring it in smoothly. Add the
parsley, lemon juice, shallots, jelly, kitchen bouquet, and meat
extract.
Put on the lid and let it simmer for thirty minutes. Season it nicely.
Pin a napkin round the casserole and serve it hot.
SQUABS EN CASSEROLE
4 squabs
1 onion
¼ lb. raw lean bacon
Bunch of herbs
1 tablespoonful chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
1 blade mace
Small piece lemon rind
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) flour
1 heaping tablespoonful (1 oz.) butter
1 pint (2 cups) stock
1 wineglassful Marsala wine
Salt and pepper to season
Cut each bird in four pieces. Cut the bacon into small pieces and the
onion into large dice. Melt the butter in a casserole, put in the bacon,
onion, herbs, mace, parsley, and bay leaf, and fry them for five
minutes, or till a good brown color.