A SUNDAY NIGHT TEA
"STIR this chicken a la king a moment for me, will you, Ruth?" said
Bettina. "I'll warm the plates in the oven."
"What is that brown paper for?"
"To put under the dishes I'm warming. It breaks the heat and prevents
cracking. There, that cream sauce has cooked enough now. I'll take it
and beat it for a minute. See? There, now it's ready for the egg and the
chicken mixture."
"Shall I stir it now? Don't you put it back over the fire?"
"Just for a minute. You see, if any custard or egg sauce is allowed to
cook more than a minute after the egg has been added, it will curdle."
"Oh, is it done now? Let me toast the bread for it, will you, Bettina? I
like to make cunning little light brown triangles."
"I hope I have made enough of this chicken a la king."
"For eight people? I'm sure that you have, Bettina. Even for people with
as good appetites as Fred and I have! Are you ready to serve it now?"
That Sunday evening Bettina served:
Chicken a la King Toast
Cakes with Bettina Icing
Coffee
BETTINA'S RECIPES
(All measurements are level)
=Chicken a la King= (Eight portions)
1-1/2 C-cold boiled chicken, cut in 2/3-inch cubes
1/2 t-salt
1/3 C-button mushrooms, cut in fourths
4 T-pimento, cut in half-inch lengths
2 T-green pepper, cut fine
5 T-butter or chicken fat
6 T-flour
1-1/2 t-salt
1/2 t-paprika
2 C-milk
2 egg-yolks
8 pieces of toast
Boil the green pepper slowly for five minutes. Drain off the water. Melt
the butter, add the flour, salt and paprika, mix thoroughly, and add the
milk, stirring constantly. Cook three minutes or until quite thick.
Remove from the fire, beat one minute, reheat, add the egg-yolk, mix
thoroughly, and add the chicken mixture. Heat again. Serve immediately
by pouring over slices of toast.
To prepare the chicken mixture, thoroughly mix the chicken, half a
teaspoon of salt, the mushrooms, the cooked green pepper and the
pimento.
=Small Cakes= (Fourteen cakes)
1-1/4 C-sugar
1/3 C-butter
2 C-flour
4 t-baking powder
1/8 t-salt
2/3 C-milk
1 t-vanilla
1/2 t-lemon extract
2 egg-whites
Cream the butter, add the sugar slowly and continue creaming. Mix and
sift the flour, baking powder and salt and add these and the milk,
vanilla and lemon extracts to the butter and sugar. Mix well and beat
two minutes. Beat the egg-whites till very stiff and fold these very
carefully into the cake mixture. When thoroughly mixed, fill the cake
pans (which have been prepared with waxed paper) two-thirds of an inch
deep with the mixture.
Bake twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven, allow to stand five
minutes, then slip a knife around the edges and remove the cake
carefully from the pan. Turn over, remove the paper and allow the cake
to cool. Ice on the bottom side. When ready for serving, cut in two-inch
squares.
=Bettina Icing=
1 egg-white 1 T-cream 1 t-vanilla 1/2 t-lemon extract 2 C-powdered sugar
Beat the egg-white add part of the sugar. Add the cream, vanilla and
lemon extracts. Keep beating. Add the rest of the sugar gradually. (A
little more sugar may be needed.) Beat the icing till very fluffy and
until it will spread without running off the cake. Spread each layer.