AN EXCELLENT WAY OF BOILING CABBAGE.--Having trimmed the cabbage, and
washed it well in cold water, (examining the leaves to see that no
insects are lurking among them,) cut it almost into quarters, but do not
divide it entirely down at the stem, which should be cut off just below
the termination of the leaves. Let it lie an hour in a pan of cold
water. Have ready a pot _full_ of boiling water, seasoned with a small
tea-spoonful of salt. Put the cabbage into it, and let it boil for an
hour and a half, skimming it occasionally. Then take it out; put it into
a cullender to drain, and when all the hot water has drained off, set it
under the hydrant. Let the hydrant run on it, till the cabbage has
become perfectly cold all through. If you have no hydrant, set it under
a pump, or keep pouring cold water on it from a pitcher. Then, having
thrown out all the first water, and washed the pot, fill it again, and
let the second water boil. During this time the cabbage under the
hydrant will be growing cold. Then put it on again in the second water,
and boil it two hours, or two and a half. Even the thickest part of the
stalk must be perfectly tender all through. When thoroughly done, take
up the cabbage, drain it well through the cullender, pressing it down
with a broad ladle to squeeze out all the moisture; lay it in a deep
dish, and cut it _entirely_ apart, dividing it into quarters. Lay some
bits of fresh butter among the leaves, add a little pepper, cover the
dish, and send it to table hot.
This receipt for boiling cabbage was obtained from a physician, and on
trial has been found very superior to any other. Cabbage cooked in this
manner loses its unpleasant odour, and its unwholesome properties, and
may be eaten without apprehension, except by persons decidedly
dyspeptic. The usual cabbage-smell will not be perceptible in the
house--either while the cabbage is boiling or afterwards.
If you like it boiled with corned pork or bacon, the _second boiling_
(after the cabbage has been made cold under the hydrant) may be in the
pot with the meat--skimming it well.
TO STEW RED CABBAGE.--Having stripped off the outer leaves, and washed
the cabbage, quarter it, remove all the stalk, and cut the cabbage into
shreds. Slice some cold ham as thin as possible, and put it into a
stew-pan, alternately with layers of shred cabbage; having first laid
some bits of fresh butter in the bottom of the pan. Add about half a
pint of boiling water. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew steadily
for three hours, till the cabbage is very tender, and the liquid all
wasted; taking care not to let it burn. If you find it so dry as to be
in danger of scorching, add a little more _boiling_ water. When done,
press and drain it through a cullender, and serve it up with the cabbage
heaped in the middle of the dish, and the ham laid round.
It may be improved by adding, before it begins to stew, a jill of red
beet vinegar.
White cabbage may be stewed as above. Also cauliflower or broccoli,
omitting the vinegar.
YOUNG CORN OMELET.--To a dozen ears of fine young Indian corn allow five
eggs. Boil the corn a quarter of an hour; and then, with a large grater,
grate it down from the cob. Beat the eggs very light, and then stir
gradually the grated corn into the pan of eggs. Add a small salt-spoon
of salt, and a very little cayenne. Put into a hot frying-pan equal
quantities of lard and fresh butter, and stir them well together, over
the fire. When they boil, put in the mixture thick, and fry it;
afterwards browning the top with a red-hot shovel, or a salamander.
Transfer it, when done, to a heated dish, but do not fold it over. It
will be found excellent. This is a good way of using boiled corn that
has been left from dinner the preceding day.
CAULIFLOWER OMELET.--Take the white part of a boiled cauliflower after
it is cold; chop it very small, and mix with it a sufficient quantity of
well-beaten egg, to make a very thick batter. Then fry it in fresh
butter in a small pan, and send it hot to table.
FRIED CAULIFLOWER.--Having laid a fine cauliflower in cold water for an
hour, put it into a pot of boiling water that has been slightly salted,
(milk and water will be still better,) and boil it twenty-five minutes,
or till the large stalk is perfectly tender. Then divide it, equally,
into small tufts, and spread it on a dish to cool. Prepare a sufficient
quantity of batter made in the proportion of a table-spoonful of flour,
and two table-spoonfuls of milk to each egg. Beat the eggs very light;
then stir into them the flour and milk alternately; a spoonful of flour,
and two spoonfuls of milk at a time. When the cauliflower is cold, have
ready some fresh butter in a frying-pan over a clear fire. When it has
come to a boil and has done bubbling, dip each tuft of cauliflower twice
into the pan of batter, and fry them a light brown. Send them to table
hot.
Broccoli may be fried in this manner.
CAULIFLOWER MACCARONI.--Having removed the outside leaves, and cut off
the stalk, wash the cauliflower, and examine it thoroughly to see if
there are any insects about it. Next lay it for an hour in a pan of cold
water. Then put it into a pot of boiling milk and water that has had a
little fresh butter melted in it. Whatever scum may float on the top of
the water must be removed before the cauliflower goes in. Boil it,
steadily, half an hour, or till it is quite tender. Then take it out,
drain it, and cut it into short sprigs. Have ready three ounces of rich,
but not strong cheese, grated fine. Put into a stew-pan a quarter of a
pound of fresh butter; nearly half of the grated cheese; two large
table-spoonfuls of cream or rich milk; and a very little salt and
cayenne. Toss or shake it over the fire, till it is well mixed, and has
come to a boil. Then add the tufts of cauliflower; and let the whole
stew together about five minutes. When done, put it into a deep dish;
strew over the top the remaining half of the grated cheese, and brown it
with a salamander or a red hot shovel held above the surface.
This will be found very superior to real maccaroni.
BROCCOLI AND EGGS.--Take several heads of broccoli, and cut the stalks
short, paring off from the stalks the tough outside skin. Trim off the
small outside shoots or blossoms, and tie them together in bunches.
After all the broccoli has been washed, and lain half an hour or more in
a pan of fresh, cold water, put the large heads, with a salt-spoonful of
salt, into a pot of boiling water, and let them boil till thoroughly
done, and the stalk perfectly tender. When the large heads have boiled
about a quarter of an hour, put in the small tufts, which of course
require less time to cook. In the meanwhile have ready six beaten eggs.
Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a sauce-pan, and stir it over
the fire till it is all melted; then add gradually the beaten eggs, and
stir the mixture, or shake it over the fire till it becomes very thick.
Toast sufficient bread to cover entirely the bottom of a deep dish,
cutting it to fit exactly, having removed the crust. Pour the egg and
butter over the hot toast. Then place upon it the broccoli; the largest
and finest head in the middle, the lesser ones round it; and having
untied the small sprigs, lay them, in a circle close to the edge.
FRIED CELERY.--Take fine large celery; cut it into pieces three or four
inches in length, and boil it tender; having seasoned the water with a
very little salt. Then drain the pieces well, and lay them, separately,
to cool on a large dish. Make a batter in the proportion of three
well-beaten eggs stirred into a pint of rich milk, alternately with half
a pint of grated bread-crumbs, or of sifted flour. Beat the batter very
hard after it is all mixed. Put into a hot frying-pan, a sufficiency of
fresh lard; melt it over the fire, and when it comes to a boil, dip each
piece of celery _twice_ into the batter, put them into the pan, and fry
them a light brown. When done, lay them to drain on an inverted sieve
with a broad pan placed beneath it. Then dish the fried celery, and send
it to table hot.
Parsnips, and salsify (or oyster plant) may be fried in butter according
to the above directions. Also the tops of asparagus cut off from the
stalk; and the white part or blossom of cauliflower. Cold sweet potatoes
are very nice, peeled, cut into long slips, and fried in this way.
FRIED ARTICHOKES.--The artichokes must be young and tender. Cut them
into quarters, remove the choke part, and strip off the leaves. Having
washed the artichokes well, and laid them an hour in cold water, put
them into a pot of boiling water, and keep them boiling steadily for a
long time, till you find by trying them with a fork that they are tender
all through. Then take them out immediately, and drain them. Have ready
a sufficiency of batter, made in the proportion of the yolk of one egg
to a large table-spoonful of milk, and a tea-spoonful of flour. The eggs
must be well beaten before they are mixed with the milk; then beat in
the flour a spoonful at a time. Have ready over the fire some fresh
butter, or lard, in a frying-pan. When it has boiled hard, dip the
artichokes into the batter, (each piece should be twice dipped,) and fry
them brown. Then drain them well, and send them to table hot.
Parsnips may be fried as above. Salsify also.
Another way of frying artichokes, parsnips, and salsify, is, after they
have been boiled tender, to dip each piece first in beaten yolk of egg,
(without milk or flour,) and then roll it in finely-grated bread-crumbs.
Then put them into the pan and fry them in butter or lard, or a mixture
of both.
In boiling artichokes, observe to take them out as soon as they are
tender. If they remain in the water after they are done, they turn
blackish and lose their flavour.
MUSHROOM OMELET.--Take some fresh-gathered mushrooms; remove the stalks,
and rub the flaps or heads very slightly with a little salt, mixed with
cayenne. Then stew the mushrooms in a small sauce-pan, with barely
sufficient cream or rich milk to cover them. Put in with them a small
onion; and if the onion is found to turn blackish, throw away the whole;
it being proof that there is among them a false or poisonous mushroom.
Stir them with a silver spoon, and keep on the lid of the pan closely;
unless when you are stirring. If the spoon turns black, the mushrooms
should not be eaten.
After they have come to a boil, take them off the fire; drain them, and
when cool, chop them small. To a pint or more of the minced mushrooms,
allow six or seven eggs. Beat the eggs till very light and thick,
(omitting the whites of two,) and then mix in, gradually, the mushrooms;
stirring the whole very hard. Put three ounces of fresh butter into a
hot omelet-pan, or a _small_ frying-pan; place it over the fire, and
stir the butter as it melts. When it has boiled hard, put in the omelet
mixture, and as it fries, stir it till it begins to set. Do not turn the
omelet; but brown the top by holding close above it a red-hot shovel.
When done, drain off the butter; fold over or double the omelet; and
serve it up immediately, on a hot dish.
In gathering mushrooms, those that are fit to eat may be known by their
being of a pale pearl colour, or of a grayish white, instead of what is
called a dead white; and the under side of the flap or head (if good) is
of a light pink, or a pinkish salmon colour. The best mushrooms grow on
uplands, or in high open fields where the air is pure and good, and they
should be gathered early in the morning before the dew is off. All that
are found in low swampy ground, or in the woods, or under large trees
are poisonous.
SCOLLOPED TOMATOES.--Take fine large tomatoes, perfectly ripe. Scald
them to loosen the skins, and then peel them. Cover the bottom of a deep
dish thickly with grated bread-crumbs, adding a few bits of fresh
butter. Then put in a layer of tomatoes, seasoned slightly with a little
salt and cayenne, and some powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover them with
another layer of bread-crumbs and butter. Then another layer of seasoned
tomatoes; and proceed thus till the dish is full, finishing at the top
with bread-crumbs. Set the dish into a moderate oven, and bake it near
three hours. Tomatoes require long cooking, otherwise they will have a
raw taste, that to most persons is unpleasant.
FRENCH SPINACH.--Having picked them from the stalks, wash the leaves
carefully in two or three cold waters, till they are quite free from
grit. Put the spinach into a sauce-pan of hot water, in which a very
small portion of salt has been boiled. There must be sufficient water to
allow the spinach to float. Stir it frequently, that all the leaves may
be equally done. Let it boil for a quarter of an hour. Then take it out,
lay it in a sieve, and drain it well; pressing it thoroughly with your
hands. Next chop it as fine as possible. For a large dish of spinach,
put two ounces of butter into a stew-pan; dredge in a table-spoonful of
flour and four or five table-spoonfuls of rich cream, mixed with a
tea-spoonful of powdered loaf-sugar. Mix all well, and when they have
come to a boil, add, gradually, the spinach. Stew it about ten minutes,
(stirring it frequently,) till the superfluous moisture is all absorbed.
Then serve it up very hot, garnishing it all round with leaves of
puff-paste, that have been handsomely formed with a tin cutter, and are
fresh from the oven.
STEWED SPINACH.--Pick the spinach very clean, and wash it through two or
three waters. Then drain it, and put it into a sauce-pan, with only the
water that remains about it after the washing. Add a very little salt
and pepper, and let it stew for twenty minutes, or till it is quite
tender; turning it often, and pressing it down with a broad wooden spoon
or flat ladle. When done, drain it through a sieve, pressing out all the
moisture, till you get it as dry as you can. Then put it on a flat dish,
and chop or mince it well. Set it again over the fire; add to it some
bits of butter dredged with flour, and some beaten yolk of egg. Let it
simmer five minutes or more, and when it comes to a boil, take it off.
Have ready some thin slices of buttered toast, cut into triangular or
three-cornered pieces, without any crust. Lay them in regular order
round a flat dish, and heap the spinach evenly upon them, smoothing the
surface with the back of a spoon, and scoring it across in diamonds.
ASPARAGUS LOAVES.--Having scraped the stalks of three bundles of fine,
large asparagus, (laying it, as you proceed, in a pan of cold water,)
tie it up again in bunches, put them into a pot with a great deal of
boiling water, and a little salt, and boil them about twenty minutes, or
till quite tender. Then take out the asparagus, and drain it. Cut off
the green tops of two-thirds of the asparagus, and on the remainder
leave about two inches of the white stalk; this remaining asparagus must
be kept warm. Put the tops into a stew-pan with a pint of cream, or rich
milk, sufficient to cover them well; adding three table-spoonfuls of
fresh butter, rolled in flour, half a grated nutmeg, and the well-beaten
yolks of three eggs. Set the stew-pan over hot coals, and stir the
mixture till it comes to a boil. Then immediately remove it. Have ready
some tall fresh rolls or penny loaves; cut the tops carefully off, in a
nice circular or oval piece, and then scoop out the inside of the rolls,
and fill them with the stewed asparagus while it is hot. Make small
holes very nicely in the tops or lids. Fit the lids again on the rolls,
and stick in the holes (of which you must make as many as you can) the
remaining asparagus, that has had the bit of stalk left on for this
purpose. Send them to table warm, as side-dishes.
ASPARAGUS OMELET.--Take two bunches of the largest and finest asparagus.
Put it into a pot of boiling water, with a tea-spoonful of salt, and
boil it about twenty-five minutes, or till perfectly tender. Then drain
it, and chop small all the green part. Beat four eggs very light, and
add to them a wine-glass of cream. Mix the chopped asparagus thoroughly
with the egg and cream, adding a salt-spoon of salt, and a very little
cayenne. Melt a large slice of fresh butter in a frying-pan over the
fire; and when it has boiled, and the bubbling has ceased, put in the
mixture, and fry it till light and firm. Then slip it from the
frying-pan to a hot dish, and fold it over.
For a soft omelet, put the mixture into a skillet, with a piece of fresh
butter. Let it stew slowly for ten minutes. Lay a thin slice of buttered
toast in the bottom of a hot dish, and cut the toast into small squares,
but let them remain close together. With a spoon heap the soft omelet
upon the toast, and serve it up.
Any omelet mixture may be kept soft by stewing instead of frying it, and
it will be found far more wholesome.
STEWED PEAS.--Take young, tender green peas, and put into a stew-pan,
with sufficient fresh butter to keep them from burning, but no water.
Season them with a little black pepper, and a very little salt. Set them
over a moderate fire, and stir them about till the butter is well mixed
through them. Let them simmer till quite soft and slightly broken;
taking off the lid occasionally, and giving them a stir up from the
bottom. If you find them becoming too dry, add some more butter. When
done, drain off what superfluous butter may be about the peas, and send
them to table hot. They will be found excellent.
To the taste of many persons, they will be improved by a lump or two of
loaf-sugar put in with the butter; and also by a few sprigs of mint, to
be removed before the peas go to table.
Lima beans may be stewed in butter, as above: also, asparagus tops, cut
off from the white stalk.
FRENCH PEAS.--The peas should be young, freshly gathered, and shelled
immediately before they are cooked. Boil them in water slightly salted,
till they are perfectly tender. Then put them into a sieve, and drain
them as dry as possible. To each quart of peas allow an ounce and a half
of the best fresh butter; a large tea-spoonful of flour; and six
table-spoonfuls or a tea-cup of rich cream; with a small tea-spoonful of
powdered sugar. Put the butter into a stew-pan; place it over the fire;
and when it comes to a boil, stir in the flour, making it quite smooth,
and free from lumps. Having mixed the sugar with the cream, add it,
gradually, to the butter and flour; and when it boils hard stir in the
peas, and let them stew till they are all hot through. While stewing,
stir them occasionally to prevent their burning. If the pan is small it
is better to shake it over the fire.
LETTUCE PEAS.--Having washed four lettuces, and stripped off the outside
leaves, take their hearts, and (having chopped them well) put them into
a stew-pan with two quarts of young green peas, freshly shelled; a lump
or two of loaf-sugar; and three or four leaves of green mint minced as
finely as possible. Then put in a slice of cold ham, and a quarter of a
pound of butter divided into four bits and rolled in flour; and two
table-spoonfuls of water. Add a little black pepper, and let the whole
stew for about twenty-five minutes, or till the peas are thoroughly
done. Then take out the ham, and add to the stew half a pint of cream.
Let it continue stewing five minutes longer. Then send it to table.
PLAIN LETTUCE PEAS.--Cover the bottom and sides of a stew-pan with large
fresh leaves taken from lettuces. Have ready the peas, which should be
young and green. To each quart of shelled peas allow two table-spoonfuls
of fresh butter, and a lump of loaf sugar. Add a very little pepper and
salt, and a sprig of green mint. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew
for half an hour, or till the peas are thoroughly done. Then take them
out from the lettuce leaves, and send only the peas to table.
TO STEW CARROTS.--Half-boil the carrots; then scrape them nicely, and
cut them into thick slices. Put them into a stew-pan with as much milk
as will barely cover them, a very little salt and pepper, and a sprig or
two of chopped parsley. Simmer them till they are perfectly tender, but
not broken. When nearly done, add a piece of fresh butter rolled in
flour. Send them to table hot. Carrots require long cooking.
Parsnips and salsify may be stewed in the above manner, substituting a
little chopped celery for the parsley.
STEWED BEANS, (_French way._)--Take fresh young green beans, and string
them. Do not split them; but merely cut them in half. It destroys the
flavour of string-beans to divide them into small pieces. If very young,
do not even cut them in half, but merely string them and leave them
whole. Have by you a pan of cold water to drop the beans in, as you
proceed. Then, having washed and drained them, put them into a stew-pan
of boiling water, and let them boil twenty minutes or more, till they
are all tender. Then drain them well. Afterwards melt two ounces of
butter in a stew-pan, and then stir smoothly into it a tea-spoonful of
flour, adding a little powdered mace and a salt-spoon of salt. When it
comes to a boil, add a tea-cup of rich cream. Then put in the beans, and
stir or shake them over the fire till they are all thoroughly heated. A
moment before you take them from the fire, stir in the beaten yolks of
two eggs, and send them hot to table.
For this dish, you must have beans enough to absorb nearly all the
liquid. They must on no account float about in it, as it is intended for
a seasoning, not a gravy.
Stewed beans will be improved by adding a small piece of cold ham, to be
removed before they go to table. If ham is used, omit any salt in the
seasoning, as the ham will make it quite salt enough.
TO STEW COLD POTATOES.--Take cold potatoes, (either white or sweet
ones,) and cut them into round or circular slices. Have ready some nice
gravy of roast beef, veal, or fresh pork, that has been left from the
preceding day, and well skimmed. Care should every day be taken to save
whatever gravy is left of roast meat, skimming off _all_ the fat from
the surface, and putting away the gravy in a covered vessel set in a
cool place. The gravy of cold mutton or lamb is so like tallow that it
is unfit to use in any sort of cookery, and should always be consigned
to the crock of soap-fat.
Season the sliced potatoes slightly with pepper, and putting them into a
skillet with the cold gravy among them, stew them in that only, without
a drop of water. Let them stew but a quarter of an hour. They are nice
at breakfast, done in this manner; sweet potatoes especially.
TO IMPROVE OLD POTATOES.--In the spring when the potatoes of the
preceding autumn have become old, and deteriorated in quality, they will
be greatly improved if, previous to boiling, a piece about the size of a
shilling or a twelve-cent-piece, is cut off from each end; like “topping
and tailing” them. Afterwards boil these potatoes with the skins on, and
see that they are thoroughly done. _Old_ potatoes require very long
boiling, and are unfit to eat if hard in the centre, being then
extremely indigestible. Their specks and blemishes make them so
unsightly when sent to table whole, that it is best when sufficiently
boiled, to peel and mash them. Mash them with milk or cream, if you
cannot obtain good fresh butter. Salt butter will spoil their flavour
instead of improving it, and all bad butter (whether salt or fresh) is
unwholesome, as well as unpalatable, and should never be used for any
purpose.
SYDNEY SMITH’S SALAD-DRESSING.--Have ready two well-boiled potatoes,
peeled and rubbed through a sieve; they will give peculiar smoothness to
the mixture. Also, a very small portion of raw onion, not more than a
_quarter_ of a tea-spoonful, (as the presence of the onion is to be
scarcely hinted,) and the pounded yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Mix
these ingredients on a deep plate with two small tea-spoonfuls of salt;
one of made mustard; three table-spoonfuls of olive oil; and one
table-spoonful of vinegar. Add, lastly, a tea-spoonful of essence of
anchovy; mash, and mix the whole together (using a boxwood spoon) and
see that all the articles are thoroughly amalgamated. Having cut up a
sufficiency of lettuce, (that has been well washed in cold water, and
drained,) add to it the dressing immediately before dinner, mixing the
lettuce through it with a boxwood fork.
This salad dressing was invented by the Rev. Sydney Smith, whose genius
as a writer and a wit is well-known on both sides the Atlantic. If
_exactly_ followed, it will be found very fine on trial; no peculiar
flavour predominating, but excellent as a whole. The above directions
are taken from a manuscript receipt given by Mr. Smith to an American
gentleman then in London.
In preparing this, or any other salad-dressing, take care not to use
that excessively pungent and deleterious combination of drugs which is
now so frequently imposed upon the public, as _the best white wine
vinegar_. In reality, it has no vinous material about it, and it may be
known by its violent and disagreeable sharpness, which overpowers and
destroys the taste (and also the substance) of whatever it is mixed
with. And it is also very unwholesome. Its colour is always very pale,
and it is nearly as clear as water. No one should buy or use it. The
first quality of _real_ cider vinegar is good for all purposes.
The above receipt may be tried for lobster-dressing.
LETTUCE CHICKEN SALAD.--Having skinned a pair of cold fowls, remove the
fat, and carve them as if for eating, cut all the flesh entirely from
the bones, and either mince it or divide it into small shreds. Mix with
it a little smoked tongue or cold ham, grated rather than chopped. Have
ready one or two fine fresh lettuces, picked, washed, drained, and cut
small. Put the cut lettuce on a dish, (spreading it evenly,) or into a
large bowl, and place upon it the minced chicken in a close heap in the
centre. For the dressing, mix together the following ingredients, in the
proportion of the yolks of four eggs well beaten; a tea-spoonful of
powdered white sugar; a salt-spoon of cayenne; (no salt if you have ham
or tongue with the chicken;) two tea-spoonfuls of made mustard; two
table-spoonfuls of vinegar, and four table-spoonfuls of salad oil. Stir
this mixture well: put it into a small sauce-pan, set it over the fire,
and let it boil three minutes, (not more,) stirring it all the time.
Then set it to cool. When quite cold, cover with it thickly the heap of
chicken in the centre of the salad. To ornament it, have ready half a
dozen or more hard-boiled eggs, which after the shell is peeled off,
must be thrown directly into a pan of cold water to prevent their
turning blue. Cut each egg (white and yolk together) lengthways into
four long pieces of equal size and shape; lay the pieces upon the salad
all round the heap of chicken, and close to it; placing them so as to
follow each other round in a slanting direction, something in the form
of a circular wreath of leaves. Have ready, also, some very red cold
beet, cut into small cones or points all of equal size; arrange them in
a circle upon the lettuce, outside of the circle of cut egg. To be
decorated in this manner, the salad should be placed in a dish rather
than a bowl. In helping it, give each person a portion of every thing,
and they will mix them together on their plates.
This salad should be prepared immediately before dinner or supper, as
standing long will injure it. The colder it is the better.
ITALIAN CHICKEN SALAD.--Make a dressing in the proportion of the yolks
of three hard-boiled eggs, mashed or pounded fine; a salt-spoon of salt;
and the same quantity of mustard, and of cayenne; and a salt-spoon of
powdered white sugar; four table-spoonfuls of salad-oil; and two
table-spoonfuls of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar will be best.) Simmer this
dressing over the fire, but do not let it come to a boil. Stir it all
the time. Take a sufficiency of the white meat of cold fowls, and pull
or cut it into flakes. Pile it in the middle of a dish, and pour the
salad-dressing over it. Have ready two fine fresh lettuces that have
been laid in cold water. Strip off the outside leaves; cut up the best
part of the lettuces, and arrange it evenly in a ridge, or circular heap
all round the pile of chicken in the centre. On the top of the ridge of
lettuce, place the whites of the eggs, cut into rings and laid round so
as to form a chain. Of course, a portion of the lettuce is to be helped
with the chicken.
A lobster salad may be made as above; also a salad of minced prawns or
crabs.
Persons who have no dislike to a very slight flavour of garlic, will
find this chicken-salad improved, by a clove of garlic being lightly
rubbed over the dish while empty.
In dressing and helping every sort of salad, use a boxwood spoon and
fork.
TARRAGON SAUCE.--Take a large handful of tarragon leaves, stripped from
the stalks: put them into a small sauce-pan with half a pint of boiling
water, and four blades of mace. Cover the sauce-pan, and let it stew
slowly till the liquid is reduced to one half, and the flavour of the
tarragon is well drawn out. Then strain it; and put the liquid into a
clean sauce-pan. Mix together a table-spoonful of flour, and six ounces
of butter, and when it has been well-stirred, and beaten smoothly, stir
it into the tarragon water. Place the sauce-pan over the fire, and watch
it closely. When it has simmered well, and is just beginning to boil,
take it off immediately and transfer it to a sauce-boat. Eat it with any
sort of boiled meat or poultry, or with boiled fish. The tarragon will
give it a fine flavour.
You may add to the tarragon, while stewing, a small white onion cut in
slices.
This sauce may be coloured a fine green, by pounding in a mortar a
sufficient quantity of young parsley or spinach. Then take some of the
juice, and add it to the liquid after you have strained it from the
tarragon leaves, and before you put in the butter.
Tarragon is an herb well worth cultivating. It grows from a slip or
root, and is easily raised. The leaves are fit to gather in July and
August. They impart a fine and peculiar flavour to sauces, soups, and
salad; and are indispensable in making French mustard. Tarragon may be
kept a year or more by drying it in bunches. Also by filling a bottle
half with tarragon leaves, and half with good vinegar.
FINE LEMON PICKLE.--Take some fresh ripe lemons, and (having first
rolled each one under your hand upon the table) cut them into quarters,
and remove all the seeds. Put the pieces of lemon, with all the juice,
into a stone jar. Have ready a sufficient quantity of excellent vinegar
to cover the lemon well; the vinegar being boiled with a clove or two of
garlic; some blades of mace; a broken up nutmeg; whole pepper, (the
white or peeled pepper-corns will be best;) some cayenne or bird-pepper;
and a very little salt. The proportion of these ingredients may be
according to your taste, but the seasoning should be high, yet not so as
to overpower the lemon-flavour. Having boiled the vinegar, with all
these articles, about ten minutes, pour the whole boiling hot upon the
lemon in the jar, and immediately cover it closely. Let the jar stand
three weeks in the chimney-corner, stirring it frequently, and setting
it occasionally in the oven after the baking is done. Then roll a sheet
of blotting paper into a cone, pinning up the side, and folding the
cone so as to close up the pointed end. Have ready some small clean
black bottles. Set the paper cone into the mouth of the bottle, and
through it filter the liquid. Seal the corks. This will be found an
excellent sauce for fish, or any sort of white meat; and will keep for
years.
PEACH PICKLES.--Stir two pounds of white sugar into two quarts of the
best cider vinegar. Boil it ten minutes, skimming it well. Have ready
some large fully-ripe peaches; rub them with a clean flannel to take off
the down, and stick four cloves into each. Put them into glass or
white-ware jars, (rather more than half-full,) and pour on them the
vinegar boiling hot. Cover them closely, set them in a cool place, and
let them rest for a week. Then pour off the liquid, and give it another
boiling. Afterwards pour it again on the peaches; cover them closely,
corking the jars, and tying leather over each, and put them away till
wanted for use.
Instead of cloves you may stick the peaches with blades of mace, six
blades to each peach.
Apricots may be pickled as above. Morella cherries also, using mace
instead of cloves.
If you find a coat of mould on the top of a jar of pickles, remove it
carefully, and do not throw away the pickles, as they may still be quite
good beneath.
CUCUMBER CATCHUP.--For a small quantity, take twelve fine full-grown
cucumbers, and lay them an hour in cold water. Then pare them, and grate
them down into a deep dish. Grate also six small onions, and mix them
with the grated cucumber. Season the mixture to your taste, with pepper,
salt, and vinegar; making it of the consistence of rich marmalade or
jam. When thoroughly incorporated, transfer it to a glass jar, cover it
closely, tying down over the top a piece of bladder, so as to make it
perfectly air-tight.
It will be found very nice (when fresh cucumbers are not in season) to
eat with beef or mutton, and if properly made and tightly covered will
keep well. It should be grated very fine, and the vinegar must be of
excellent quality--real cider vinegar.
ONION CUSTARD.--Peel and slice some mild onions, (ten or twelve, in
proportion to their size,) and fry them in fresh butter; draining them
well when you take them up. Then mince them as fine as possible. Beat
four eggs very light, and stir them gradually into a pint of milk, in
turn with the minced onions. Season the whole with plenty of grated
nutmeg, and stir it very hard. Then put it into a deep, white dish, and
bake it about a quarter of an hour. Send it to table as a side dish to
be eaten with meat or poultry. It is a French preparation of onions, and
will be found very fine.