CHAPTER I.
SOUPS AND BROTHS.To excel in making rich and palatable soup or broth, requires more judgment in the combination of its component parts than the variety of its flavors; and more care and pains-taking in conducting its process, than in selecting its ingredients. A rich and nutricious soup may be made with little or no expense; for in most cases it is real economy to convert the broth in which your meat or poultry has been boiled, into soup, especially if you have a young family. No dish is more wholesome and acceptable to children than well-seasoned soup. In the first place, (take no offence, madam!) it is highly necessary that your vessel should be perfectly clean; a little smut might pass incog. in a dish of roasted beef or broiled mackerel, but never in soup. Soup must be prepared in a perfectly neat kettle, the top should fit closely, or the most essential qualities of the soup will evaporate, as the juices of the meat are extracted. An open kettle will give the most delicious of its flavors to the surrounding atmosphere, instead of condensing them within, and though you be ever so neat and fastidious, there will always be a collection of impurities which must be carried off by scum, especially if limestone water be used.
Place your kettle over a slow fire, where it will gradually warm for at least half an hour without boiling. During this process it will become penetrated and cleansed from the small clots of blood and other matters to be carried off by the scum, which will rise profusely, and which should be constantly taken off. When the half hour has expired, quicken the fire, let your soup boil, still continuing to remove the scum as it rises, until it is entirely clear; then place it where it will remain boiling slowly. It is decidedly erroneous to purpose extracting the most nutricious qualities of a fowl or beef-shank by hard boiling. They must, of course, escape with the steam. Never throw in salt until it has boiled. This will also clarify it, and it is proper to remove the scum as long as it presents itself to the surface. Clear soups must be perfectly transparent, those designed to be thickened must be a little thicker than rich cream. Thickened soups require more seasoning than clear. Bread crumbs are most excellent thickening, especially if toasted to a light brown, and it is both wholesome and savory. Rice may also be used in most compounds, or browned flour.
An invited dinner-party should invariably be presented with a plate of soup as a first course, and no doubt it would be a judicious arrangement to have soup make its regular appearance at every day's dinner.
OBSERVATION.--In preparing soups, always cut the pieces of meat you send in the tureen small enough to be eaten without introducing a knife and fork into the soup plate.
CALIFORNIA SOUP.
Take a leg of beef, weighing about ten pounds, and, after breaking the bones, put it into a soup-pot quite large enough to hold it, just cover it with cold water, and heat it gradually till it nearly boils. This should take not less than an hour. Skim it attentively while any scum rises, then pour in a little cold water and let it come to a boil again, skimming it till perfectly clear. Let it boil for eight or ten hours, and strain it through a hair sieve into a brown stone pan, and set it where it will soon become cool.
Next day remove every particle of fat from the top of it, and pour it through a fine sieve into a stewpan, taking care not to disturb the settling at the bottom of the stone pan. The stewpan should be of copper, well tinned. Put in an ounce of whole black pepper, and let it boil briskly on a quick fire, taking off the scum if any rises. When it is reduced to about a quart, set it over a gentler fire in a smaller vessel, till it is reduced to the consistence of a very thick syrup. Be very particular now that it does not burn, for a moment's carelessness may ruin the compound. Cool a little of it in a spoon, and if it has the consistence of jelly it is done; if not, boil it till it has.
Put it away in small dry vessels, or, if you wish to preserve it more than six months, in bladders, such as are used for German sausages. If you prefer it in cakes, turn it into a shallow dish; and when it is cold, turn it out and weigh the cake, and divide it with a paste-cutter into half ounce or ounce pieces. Place them in a warm room, and turn them frequently till they are quite dry, which will take a week or ten days. When well hardened and kept in a dry place, they may be preserved for several years in any climate.
BEEF BROTH.
Desire the butcher to crack a shin of beef in two or three places, wash it very clean, and add to it any trimmings of meat, game, or poultry you may happen to have. Cover them in cold water, stir it up carefully from the bottom, and the moment it begins to simmer, skim it well. On the clearness of this broth depends the goodness of the soups, sauces, and gravies of which it is the basis. When it seems perfectly clear, add some cold water to make the scum rise again, and then skim it until the surface of the broth is quite clear, and no more scum rises. Then put one common sized carrot, a head of celery, two turnips, and two onions, cover it close, and set it where it will simmer very gently for four or five hours. Strain it through a sieve into a clean, dry, stone pan, and set it in the coolest place you can find.
This is a good foundation for all sorts of soups and sauces, brown or white.
CLEAR GRAVY SOUP.
Cut half a pound of ham into slices, and lay them at the bottom of a large stewpan, with two or three pounds of lean beef and as much veal; break the bones and lay them on the meat, take off the outer skins of two large onions and two turnips, wash clean and cut into pieces two large carrots and two heads of celery; put in a few cloves and a little mace, and cover the stewpan close and set it over a smart fire. Turn the meat when it begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, and as soon as there is a brown glaze at the bottom, cover the meat with hot water. When it is coming to a boil, pour in half a pint of cold water, take off the scum, and then put in another half pint of cold water, skim it again, and repeat this process till no more scum rises.
Then set it to boil gently for four hours, strain it through a clean napkin, or a fine sieve, into a clean stone vessel, and let it remain till cold, when you must remove all the fat. When you pour it off, be careful not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the pan.
This is the basis of all gravy soups, which are called by the name of the vegetables used.
MOCK TURTLE SOUP.
Take the upper from the lower part of a calf's head, and put both in a gallon of water and boil till tender.
Strain the liquor, let it stand till next day, and take off the fat. Hang it over the fire three-quarters of an hour before serving it, and season it with salt, cloves, pepper, mace, and sweet herbs, tied in a bag. Add half a pint of rich gravy. Darken it with browned flour or fried sugar. Then put in the yolks of eight eggs boiled hard, the juice of two lemons, and force-meat balls. When ready to serve, add half a pint of wine.
GUMBO SOUP.
Put a shin of veal and an old fowl into a soup-pot with two carrots, two turnips sliced, an onion whole, and six quarts of water; let it boil gently five hours. Take the chicken out and cut it up into small pieces; cut two onions in slices, and fry them brown in butter, then take out the onion and put in the chicken, and fry it brown. Put the onions into a saucepan, and shake a little flour into the hot butter, stirring it all the time, and take care that it does not oil or burn. Then put it in with the chicken, strain the soup into it, and let it boil for a half-hour.
Mix three table-spoonsful of gumbo in half a pint of cold water, stir this in the soup while the soup is boiling, but it must not boil after the gumbo is put in.
There should be, on the table, a dish of boiled rice; a spoonful of which should be served with each plate of soup.
It adds greatly to this soup, to mix with it three quarts of oysters, including the liquor, and let it boil up once, before the gumbo is put in.
CALF'S HEAD SOUP.
Get a calf's head with the skin on, take out the brains, wash the head several times in cold water, let it soak about an hour in spring-water, then lay it in a stewpan and cover it with water and a half-gallon over. Take off the scum as it rises, let it boil gently for one hour, take it up, and when almost cold, cut the head into pieces about an inch long, also the tongue--add the brains. When the head is taken out, put in a knuckle of veal and as much beef, add the trimmings and bones of the head, skim it well, cover it close, and let it boil five hours. Then strain it off, and let it stand till next morning, and take off the fat. Set a large stewpan on the fire with half a pound of good, fresh butter, twelve ounces of onions sliced, four ounces of green sage; chop it a little; let these fry one hour; then rub in half a pound of flour; then, by degrees, add the broth, till it is the thickness of cream. Season it with quarter of an ounce of ground allspice and half an ounce of black pepper, ground very fine. Salt to your taste. The rind of one lemon, peeled very thin. Let it simmer very gently for one hour and a half, then strain it through a hair sieve; do not rub your soup to get it through the sieve; it will make it grouty; if it does not run through easily, knock your spoon against the side of your sieve. Put it in a clean saucepan with the head, and season it by adding to each gallon of soup, half a pint of wine, (either claret or Madeira,) two table-spoonsful of lemon juice; let it simmer gently till the meat is tender; this may take from half an hour to an hour. Take care it is not overdone. Stir it frequently to keep the meat from sticking to the bottom of the stewpan, and when the meat is quite tender, the soup is ready.
SOUPE á LA JARDINIERE.
Wash a leg of lamb or veal, of moderate size, and put it into four quarts of cold water. Boil it gently, and when the scum rises, take it off carefully. Take of potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, and turnips, a tea-cupful of each, chopped fine. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Carrots should be put in first, as they require most time for boiling, and onions last.
This soup must be boiled three hours.
PEASE SOUP.
To a quart of split pease put three quarts of cold, soft water, with half a pound of bacon, not very fat, or roast-beef bones. Wash two heads of celery, two onions, peeled, a sprig of savory, or parsley; set it on the fire and let it simmer very gently, stir every quarter of an hour, to keep the pease from sticking to the soup-pot, until the pease are tender, which will be in about three-quarters of an hour. Then work the whole through a hair sieve, put it into a clean stewpan with half a tea-spoonful of black pepper, ground. Let it boil again ten minutes, and if any fat arises, skim it off.
ASPARAGUS SOUP.
This is made with the points of asparagus, in the same manner as the green pease soup. Let half the asparagus be rubbed through a sieve, and the other half be cut in pieces about an inch long, and boiled till done enough, and sent up in the soup. To make two quarts, there must be a pint of heads to thicken it, and half a pint cut in. Take care to preserve these green, and a little crisp.
This soup is sometimes made, by adding the asparagus heads to common pease soup.
SOUP--ROUGH AND READY.
Crack a shin-bone well, boil it in five or six quarts of water four hours. Take half a head of white cabbage, three carrots, two turnips, and three onions; chop them up fine, and put them into the soup with pepper and salt, and boil it two hours. Take out the bone and gristle half an hour before serving it.
OYSTER SOUP.
Take a pound or two of veal, boil it in a gallon of water till it is reduced to two quarts, then add the juice of a quart of oysters. Season it with pepper and salt to your taste. Put in the oysters fifteen minutes before serving it. Ten minutes before taking it up, put in ten crackers. Add half a pint of milk after it stops boiling.
VERMICELLI SOUP.
Take a nice fowl and a shin of veal, two carrots, a turnip and an onion, a little salt, and put them into four quarts of water. Boil this three hours. Put into it two teacups full of vermicelli, and boil it an hour. Before serving, take out the bones and vegetables.
CARROT SOUP.
Scrape and wash half a dozen large carrots, peel off the red outside, which is the only part that should be used; put it into a gallon stewpan with one head of celery and a sliced onion. Take two quarts of beef, veal, or mutton broth, put it to the roots, cover the pan close, and set it on a slow fire for two hours and a half; boil it for two or three minutes, then rub it through a fine sieve with a wooden spoon, and add as much broth as will make it of the proper thickness. Put it into a clean stewpan, make it hot, season it with salt, and send it up with some toasted bread, cut in small pieces.
PLAIN GREEN-PEA SOUP, WITHOUT MEAT.
Take a quart of green pease, keeping half a pint of the youngest, put them on in boiling water and boil them till they are tender. Then pour off the water, and set it by to make the soup with. Pound the pease to a mash, in a mortar. Boil the young pease separately, to put into the soup when finished. Put into the mashed pease two quarts of the water they were boiled in, stir all well together, and let it boil for about five minutes, and then rub it through a hair sieve.
This will be a thick and fine vegetable soup.
JULIENNE SOUP.
This is a French dish, and takes its name from the months of June and July; and to make it in reality, as originally made, a small quantity of every description of vegetables should be used, including lettuce, sorrel, tarragon; however, some few sorts of vegetables mixed together make a most estimable soup. Weigh half a pound of the vegetables, in fair proportions to each other; that is, carrots, turnips, onions, celery, and leeks; which, cut into small fillets an inch in length, and of the thickness of a running needle; when done, wash, dry, and pan them in butter and sugar as before--proceeding the same with the soup, adding, just before it is done, a little sorrel, cabbage, lettuce and pease, if handy, but it would be excellent without either.
CHAPTER II.
FISH.As we have not a very great variety of fish in our beautiful Western rivers, our chapter on this subject will not be very long. It is best always to put fish in cold water to boil.
First, let them soak in clear salt and water. Always fry fish in lard. Parsley is the most appropriate herb to garnish with.
Let the lard be hot enough to brown it in a few minutes; it destroys the flavor to soak it in grease.
Wipe the fish quite dry, dip it in bread-crumbs or flour, just before laying it in the fryingpan.
CHOWDER.
Cut the fish in pieces of an inch thick and two inches square. Take half a dozen large slices of salt pork, and lay in the bottom of an iron pot, and fry till crisped. Take the pork out of the fat, and chop it fine. Put in the pot a layer of fish, a layer of split crackers, some of the chopped pork, black and red pepper, and onion chopped fine, then another layer of fish, split crackers, &c. Continue this till all the fish is used. Barely cover the fish with water, and slowly stew it till it is tender. Then take out the fish, and thicken the gravy withpounded cracker, and season it with mushroom catsup, and the juice of a lemon. Pour the gravy over the fish, after it has boiled up once. Garnish it with slices of lemon.
CODFISH PIE
Put the fish in cold water to soak, the night before wanted; then boil it well, and pick it into small pieces; set it on a fish drainer to get cold. Boil four eggs hard, peel and slice them very thin; the same quantity of onion sliced thin. Line the bottom of a pie-dish with a layer of potatoes sliced thin; then a layer of onions, then of fish, and of eggs, and so on till the dish is full. Season each layer with a little pepper, then mix a tea-spoonful of mustard and a little mushroom catsup in a gill of water, put it in the dish, and put on top an ounce of fresh butter, broke in bits. Cover it with puff-paste, and bake in one hour.
BOILED PERCH.
Clean them carefully, and put them in a fish-kettle with as much cold spring-water as will cover them, and a handful of salt. Set them on a quick fire till they boil, and when they boil, set them on one side to boil gently for about ten minutes or more, according to their size.
TO COOK SALT COD.
Soak the fish in spring-water, the night before it is to be dressed. In the morning take it out and put it in a vessel of clean water, add a tea-spoonful of saleratus, change the water again just before dinner, and let it barely simmer; it will not bear boiling.
TO COOK COLD CODFISH.
Pick it up very fine put it in a clean pan, add an equal quantity of mashed potatoes, some black pepper, a little cream, and salt, mash them well together, roll them in balls, and fry in hot lard.
TO STEW OYSTERS.
Take a quart of oysters, lay them out of the liquor, into cold water, take the liquor and strain it through a sieve, add an equal quantity of water, put it in a saucepan, then a tea-spoonful of black pepper, an ounce of sweet butter, then lay the oysters in, let them simmer a few minutes, have ready a deep dish with some nice slices of toasted bread, then pour the oysters over them.
FRIED PERCH.
Clean them, lay them in salt and water, and let them remain an hour or so, wipe them perfectly dry, dip them in flour, have your lard properly heated, that is to say, boiling. Fry them a light brown.
SALMON FRIED.
Is fried the same way.
FRIED OYSTERS.
Dip the oysters in nice, grated crackers, or crumbs, and drop them in hot fat. Lay them to drain on a sieve.
CHAPTER III.
BOILING.IT is absolutely necessary to keep the water boiling, after you have commenced. If the meat or joint continues in the water after it ceases to boil, it will absorb the water, and lose its sweetness and natural flavor.
When it is necessary to add more water, be very particular to let it be boiling, as it is a great disadvantage to suspend this process.
When your meat first begins to boil, take the scum off carefully, and add the salt immediately, as it greatly accelerates the clarification of the water. Fresh meat should always be put in boiling water. Salt meat should be put in cold water and heated by degrees.
Never boil meat hard, particularly at the beginning, and it is decidedly best, never to permit it to boil rapidly. Always keep the kettle, or pot, covered, so that the genuine taste may not be lost.
TO BOIL HAM.
Put it in soak the night before. Give it plenty of water room, and put it in while the water is cold. Skim it well and keep it simmering gently. A middling sized ham will be done in four or five hours. If not to be cut cold, it will cut the shorter and tenderer for being boiled still longer. Pull off the skin carefully, and preserve it as whole as possible--it will serve to keep it moist. Grate a crust of bread over it.
TO BOIL TONGUE.
A tongue is so hard, whether prepared by drying or pickling, that it requires much more cooking than a ham; nothing of its weight takes so long to dress it properly. A tongue that has been salted and dried, should be put to soak, (if it is old and very hard,) twenty-four hours before it is wanted, in plenty of water. A green one, fresh from the pickle, requires soaking only a few hours. Put your tongue into a plenty of cold water, let it be an hour gradually warming, and give it from three and a half to four hours, very slowly simmering.
TO BOIL FOWLS.
All fowls are boiled exactly in the same manner, only allowing time according to their size. They must be well washed in warm water, and then dredged well with flour. Set on a clean pot, over a good clear fire, have pure, clean water enough to cover the fowl well. The slower it boils, the whiter and plumper it will be. Take care to remove the scum carefully as it rises. Of course, sufficient salt is thrown in to make it savory. They are always sent to the table with an appropriate sauce.
TO BOIL HOMINY.
Wash two quarts of hominy in cold water, then put it in a large pot, fill it up with cold water, and let it boil gently all day long; when pretty dry, take a wooden mallet and pound it while warm, add salt enough to make it palatable, then take it out in a stone pan. Season it with fresh butter while warm, as much as you intend to use at the present; that you put by, will be excellent for breakfast. Fry it in hot lard, without stirring it; turn it out whole in a dish.
Hominy should never be stirred while boiling or frying.
This is one of the most substantial and wholesome dishes in the West, and can be always had. During the winter months, it should never be absent from the table; for no dish can supply its place.
CHAPTER IV.
SAUCES AND GRAVIES.
TO PREPARE MELTED BUTTER.
CUT two ounces of butter into little bits; put it in the stewpan with a large tea-spoonful of flour, arrow-root, or potatoe starch, and two table-spoonsful of milk. When thoroughly mixed, add six table-spoonsful of water, hold it over the fire and shake it round every minute, till it just begins to simmer, then let it stand quietly and boil up, till it is the thickness of good cream. If the butter oils, put a spoonful of cold water to it and stir it; if it is very much oiled, pour it backward and forward from the stewpan to the sauceboat, till it is right again.
THICKENING FOR GRAVY, SAUCE, OR SOUP.
Put some fresh butter into a stewpan over a slow fire: when it is melted, add flour sufficient to make it the thickness of paste; stir it well together, with a wooden spoon, fifteen or twenty minutes, till it is quite smooth and yellow. This must be done gradually. When cold, it should be thick enough to cut with a knife. Always add this thickening to your gravy or soup, according to the consistency you would wish them to have. It will keep a fortnight in summer, and longer in winter.
GRAVY FOR ROAST MEAT.
Most joints will afford sufficient trimmings to make half a pint of plain gravy, which you may color with a little burnt sugar. For those that do not, about half an hour before you think the meat will be done, mix half a tea-spoonful of salt in a quarter of a pint of boiling water. Drop this by degrees on the brown part of the meat, set a dish under to catch it, and set it by. Let it cool, and remove the fat from the top, and when the meat is ready, warm it, and pour it into the dish.
GRAVY FOR BOILED MEAT.
This may be made with parings and trimmings; or pour half a pint of the liquor in which the meat was boiled into the dish with it, and pierce the inferior part of the joint with a sharp skewer.
TURTLE SAUCE.
Put into the stewpan a pint of beef gravy, thickened; add to this a wine-glassful of Madeira, the juice and peel of half a lemon, an eschallot quartered, a few grains of cayenne pepper, and let them simmer together five minutes, and then strain them through a fine, hair sieve.
TOMATO SAUCE.
Take fifteen ripe tomatoes, take off the stalk, cut them in half, and squeeze them just enough to get all the water and seeds out. Put them in a stewpan with a capsicum and two or three table-spoonsful of beef gravy; set them on a slow stove for an hour, or till properly melted; then rub them through a hair sieve into a clean stewpan, and add a little pepper and salt, and let them simmer together five minutes.
Some add to this an onion or eschallot, a clove or two, and a little vinegar.
APPLE SAUCE.
Pare and core three good sized baking apples, put them into a saucepan with two table-spoonsful of cold water. Cover the saucepan close, and set it on a trivet, over a slow fire for two hours, more or less, as some apples are much more easily cooked than others. When the apples are done enough, pour off the water and let them stand a few minutes to get dry, then put in a small piece of butter and a tea-spoonful of powdered sugar. Some add grated lemon peel.
TO MIX MUSTARD.
Mix it very gradually in a mortar, so you can rub it well together. Take an ounce of mustard, three table-spoonsful of milk or cream, half a tea-spoonful of salt, and the same of sugar.
EGG SAUCE.
Boil three eggs about fifteen minutes, and put them into cold water until you want them. Cut them up neatly, using only two of the whites, and pour on them a pint of melted butter, and stir them together. This is an agreeable accompaniment to roast or boiled poultry, or salt fish.
LEMON SAUCE.
Pare a lemon, slice it in thin slices, and divide the slices into small pieces, and put them into a quarter of a pint of melted butter.
CELERY SAUCE, FOR BOILED FOWLS.
Cut a half-dozen heads of white celery into small pieces, and slice two onions; put them in a stewpan with a small lump of butter. Stew them over a slow fire till quite tender, then put in two spoonsful of flour, half a pint of water, salt and pepper, and a little cream, or milk. Boil it a quarter of an hour, and pass it through a hair sieve with the back of a spoon. When celery is not in season, a small quantity of celery-seed will impregnate the sauce with the celery flavor.
CURRANT JELLY SAUCE, FOR VENISON.
Put some currant jelly into a stewpan. When it is melted, pour it into a sauceboat.
SALAD MIXTURE.
Boil a couple of eggs fifteen minutes, and put them in a basin of water a few minutes. The yolks must be quite cold and hard. Rub them through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and mix them with a table-spoonful of water or rich cream. Then add two table-spoonsful of oil or melted butter. When these are well mixed, add by degrees a tea-spoonful of salt, or powdered loaf-sugar, the same of mustard, and, when these are smoothly united, add, very gradually, three table-spoonsful of vinegar, and rub it with the other ingredients till it is thoroughly incorporated with them; cut up the white of the egg, and garnish the top with it. This is a good sauce for any kind of salad, and is delicious when mixed with minced turkey or chicken, and celery.
Let the sauce remain in the bottom of the bowl, and do not stir the salad in it till it is to be eaten.
SAUCE FOR BOILED TRIPE, OR CALF'S HEAD.
Strong vinegar a table-spoonful, a tea-spoonful of mustard, the same quantity of brown sugar and black pepper, stirred into half a pint of melted butter.
MINT SAUCE, FOR VEAL OR MUTTON.
Take two table-spoonsful of green mint, half a tea-cupful of vinegar, and two table-spoonsful of pounded loaf sugar, and mix them well together.
IMITATION OF CAPERS.
Gather green peas while young and tender, pickle them with vinegar, put them away in tight bottles in a dry place, and they will make a good sauce as capers.
MY UNCLE'S SAUCE.
Take some bits of ham, beef, and veal, cut up with them some celery, onions, carrots, and parsnips, pour some boiling water over them, and let it stand till cool; add a glass of Madeira, some cloves, and slices of lemon. Boil it on a slow fire till the meat is done, strain it, and chop a little parsley in it just before it is used.
FISH SAUCE.
Take walnuts when they are old enough to pickle, slice them, and between every layer of walnuts, throw a handful of salt. Stir it every day for two weeks. Then strain the liquor, let it settle, pour off the clear and boil it with a pound of anchovies to each pint; skim it, and when it is cool boil it again; add a pint of Port wine, one of good vinegar, to each pint of the liquor, also half an ounce each of mace and cloves, some sliced horse-radish, and a head of garlic, to a quart of the liquor, and some grains of black pepper. Cork it up tight in bottles.
OYSTER SAUCE.
So soon as the oysters boil, strain off the liquor, put it in a clean saucepan, then take the oysters and cut up the soft parts and lay them in a dish where they will keep warm until the sauce is ready. The gristly part of the oysters must not be used. Roll two ounces of butter well in flour, and put it with the liquor in the saucepan; let it boil well, pass it through the sieve, and pour it over the oysters.
This is the most delicious sauce in the whole catalogue of culinary compounds, but it is often spoiled by too many ingredients; the flavor of the oyster is preserved when prepared with salt and butter only: pepper is superfluous. Spice should never be used in making oyster sauce.
CHESTNUT SAUCE.
Take a pint of nuts, boil and hull them, press them through a sieve, put them in a saucepan, add a little salt, a clove or two, and a half-pint of rich cream, a small lump of butter, mix them well over the fire, but do not let it get brown.
CHESTNUT STUFFING.
Chestnuts make a delightful stuffing for turkeys, by working into them butter and pepper. It is very rich, and better mixed with bread-crumbs.
MUSHROOM CATSUP.
Take fresh-gathered and full-grown mushrooms; put a layer of these at the bottom of a deep earthen pan, and sprinkle them with salt; then another layer, and more salt on them, and so alternately, salt and mushrooms. Let them remain two or three hours, then pound them well in a mortar, or mash them with your hands, and let them remain for a couple of days, not longer, stirring them up and mashing them each day. Then pour them into a stone jar, and to each quart add an ounce of whole black pepper; stop the jar very close, and set it on a stewpan of boiling water, and keep it boiling for two hours at least. Take out the jar, and pour the clear juice from the settlings through a hair sieve, without squeezing, into a clean stewpan; let it boil very gently for half an hour. Those who are for SUPERLATIVE CATSUP will continue the boiling till the mushroom juice is reduced to half the quantity.
Take especial care that it is closely corked and sealed down, or dipped in bottle-cement.
If kept in a cool, dry place, it may be preserved a long time.
MUSHROOM SAUCE.
Take eight mushrooms, clean and wash them well, chop them quite fine, put them in a saucepan with twelve table-spoonsful of brown sauce or rich veal gravy, add a little cayenne pepper, a tea-spoonful of sugar, boil them about five minutes. This sauce is very excellent for game or broiled cutlets.
STEWED MUSHROOMS.
When mushrooms are old, pour boiling water over them; if they are young, it is unnecessary to do so; let them lie a few minutes in cold spring-water, then rub the skins off with clean, coarse napkin. Cut them up in fine pieces, put them in a saucepan with a small quantity of water--barely cover them--add some butter, pepper, salt, and let them boil about six minutes; thicken them with cream. Toast a slice of bread very neatly, and lay it in a dish, and pour the mushrooms over it. This is a very cheap dish, and very easy to prepare.
QUINTESSENCE OF MUSHROOMS.
Sprinkle a little salt over your mushrooms, let them remain three hours; then mash them well, and let them lie till the next day, then strain off the liquor that will flow from them, put it in a saucepan, and boil it down to half its original quantity. It is best without spice.
SORREL SAUCE.
Wash some fresh bunches of sorrel, put it in a stewpan, that will just hold it, with a bit of butter the size of an egg, cover it, set it over the fire for a quarter of an hour, pass the sorrel, with the back of a wooden spoon, through a sieve, season it with pepper, salt, and a tea-spoon barely full of sugar, make it hot, and serve it up under lamb, veal, or sweetbreads. It is quite a domestic sauce, and very good.
ONION SAUCE.
Peel some onions and lay them in salt and water for at least an hour, then wash them and put them in a kettle with plenty of water; boil them until they are very tender, pass them through a sieve, add a little butter, pepper, and a small quantity of made mustard.
OYSTER CATSUP.
Take fresh oysters, if you can get them, scald them in their own liquor, pound them in a mortar. To a pint of oysters add a pint of wine, an ounce of cayenne; let it boil up, skim it, and rub through a sieve; when cold, bottle it, and seal it with wax.
INDIANA SAUCE.
One ounce of scraped horseradish, one ounce of mustard, one of salt, half an ounce of celery seed, two minced onions, and a half ounce of cayenne, add a pint of vinegar; let it stand in a jar a week, then pass it through a sieve, and bottle it up securely.
CUCUMBERS A LA MODE.
Get them fresh and green, cut them in long slices, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and fry them in sweet lard.
STEAMBOAT SAUCE.
Mince up a hard-boiled egg very fine, also a few slices of beets, add to these some salt and pepper, stir them well, and garnish with them.
FIGS.
Take six pounds of sugar to one peck (or sixteen pounds) of the fruit. Scald, and remove the skin of the fruit in the usual way. Cook them over the fire, their own juice being sufficient, without the addition of water, until the sugar penetrates and they are clarified.
They are then taken out, spread on dishes, flattened, and dried in the sun. A small quantity of syrup should be sprinkled over them while drying; after which, pack them down in boxes, treating each layer with powdered sugar. The syrup is afterward concrecated and bottled for use. Brown sugar may be used, a large portion of which is retained in the syrup.
TOMATO KETCHUP.
Take a gallon of skinned tomatoes, four tablespoonsful of salt, four of black pepper, and three of mustard. Grind these articles fine, and simmer them slowly in sharp vinegar, in a pewter basin, three or four hours, and then strain it through a wire sieve, and bottle for use. It may be used in two weeks, but improves much by age.
Use enough vinegar to make half a gallon of liquor when the process is over.
TOMATO SAUCE, FOR PRESENT USE.
Pour boiling water on the tomatoes, take the skin off, cut them up in pieces, and cover them all over with loaf-sugar. No more should be prepared than you wish to use at once, as they will not keep good.
TOMATO OMELET.
Skin and stew your tomatoes, then beat up half a dozen new-laid eggs, the yolk and white separately; when each is well beaten, mix them with the tomatoes; put them in a pan and heat them up, you have a fine omelet.
PRESERVED TOMATOES--NO. I.
Take them when quite small and green, put them in cold clarified syrup with an orange. Simmer gently over a slow fire two or three hours. Equal weight of sugar and tomatoes, and more than water enough to cover the tomatoes used for the syrup; boil down quite thick.
PRESERVED TOMATOES--NO. II.
Pour boiling water on the tomatoes, and take the skins off; then add the weight of them in sugar, and some sliced lemons; take a cup of ginger and tie it up in a bag loosely, and boil it in half a pint of water; put this into the preserves, and boil the whole three hours, skimming off the froth as it rises. When cold, it is ready for use.
GRAPE SYRUP.
Fill a stone pot with ripe grapes, pour in enough molasses to cover them, set them in a cool place, in a pan, as, in working, it may run over. It will be ready for use in a month. It is useful through the winter, for making mince-pies.
APPLE PRESERVES.
Take some pleasant sour apples, pare them, take the core out at the bottom, and leave the stem in; make a syrup, of white sugar and water, to half cover the apples; bake or boil them till they are just done through. Serve them up whole, with sugar and cream.
TO PRESERVE WHORTLEBERRIES.
Put the berries in a bottle, and then cork and seal it, place the bottle in a kettle of cold water, and gradually let it boil. As soon as it boils, take it off and let it cool; then take the bottles out and put them away for winter use. Gooseberries, plums, and currants,
may be preserved in the same manner.
ORANGE SALAD.
Cut the large oranges crosswise, lay them neatly in a glass dish, sprinkle them with two ounces of powdered loaf-sugar, pour over a table-spoonful of brandy, or a glass of wine. This dish ought not to be prepared long before it is required.
PEACH SALAD.
Peel four or five ripe, juicy peaches, and slice them neatly, and have each slice as much alike as possible in shape and thickness; lay them in a glass dish, and cover them with loaf-sugar, pour over them a spoonful of brandy or wine; turn them off the top to the bottom, so they may all be seasoned alike.
The most of fruits may be prepared in the same way; but never mix fruits.
STRAWBERRY SALAD.
Take a quart of strawberries, cover them with loaf-sugar, and sprinkle them with wine.
TOMATO SALAD.
Slice fine, ripe tomatoes very thinly, and sprinkle with salt; let them lie a minute or so, then add pepper and vinegar, and a tea-spoonful of loaf-sugar.
MINT SAUCE.
Take two table-spoonsful of mint, chopped very fine, two table-spoonsful of loaf-sugar, two table-spoonsful of vinegar; mix it all well together, and add a little melted butter.
SANDWICHES.
Cut slices of light loaf bread, very thin and even, line them with cold meat of any kind you may prefer, or cheese, sausage, tongue, or hard eggs pounded with butter; they may be seasoned with curry powder, mustard, pepper, and salt.
POWDERED HORSERADISH.
Cut it in thin slices, (late in the fall,) put it in a stove, dry it well, then pound it in a mortar, and bottle it closely.
CHAPTER V.
PICKLING.
TO PICKLE CUCUMBERS.
The cucumber should be small, and free from spots. Keep them in strong salt and water nine days, stirring them twice every day. Then pour the water off, cover the cucumbers with vine leaves; boil the water, and pour it over them. As soon as it gets cold, boil it again, and continue this process till they are of a fine green, which will be in about five times pouring. Keep them covered with something close over the vine leaves, to keep in the steam. Drain them from the salt water. Take, to every two quarts of good vinegar, an ounce of black pepper, a pod of red pepper, a handful of salt, a few cloves, half an ounce of mace, six teaspoonsful of ground ginger, and two or three cloves of garlic. Boil this compound five minutes, and pour it on the pickle. Tie it down close. A stone jar is the best vessel for pickles.
MANGOES.
Take small muskmelons of a late growth, and cut a small piece out of the side of each. Scrape out the inside, and wipe all the furze from the outside; put them in salt and water nine days, and prepare them for the vinegar in the same way you do cucumbers. When they are ready, fill them with small pieces of horseradish, ginger, mace, cloves, black pepper, nasturtion-seed, nutmeg, very small onions, or garlic, and white mustard-seed. Sew in the piece that was cut out. Boil good vinegar a few minutes and pour it on them. If they are not sufficiently green, put a tablespoonful of alum to every three quarts of vinegar. This adds to the consistence, as well as to the color of green pickles. If you use a copper, brass, or bell-metal vessel, be sure not to let the vinegar cool in them, as it would be rendered poisonous. Common earthen ware should not be used for pickles.
ONIONS.
Put them into salt and water for nine days, changing the water every day. Then take them out and pour fresh boiling salt and water over them; cover them close till they are cold, and repeat the process once more. Drain them when cold, and put them into glass jars. Fill them with vinegar, and put in some horse-radish, cloves, mace, and black pepper. A tea-spoonful of olive oil will keep them white. Cover them very closely, and keep them in a dry place.
YELLOW PICKLE.
Take six firm heads of cabbage, take off all the loose leaves, quarter them and dip them separately in a kettle of boiling water; lay them in dishes, and sprinkle them well with salt; lay them in the sun until the water is pretty well drained from them, then dip them separately in strong, boiling vinegar; let them be well saturated. Prepare your spice; an ounce of cinnamon, an ounce of cloves, one of mace, black pepper, orange-peeling, and ginger; let them be all well pounded. Three ounces of white mustard-seed, scald them in vinegar and let them stand and soak at least two hours; a half pound of horseradish, nicely sliced in long narrow pieces, these must be scalded also, as you do the mustard-seed. Then take a stone jar, put in a layer of cabbage, a layer of spice, horseradish, and mustard-seed, and a bag of tumerick, about as large as a hickory nut, then another layer of cabbage, then one of spice, horseradish, mustard-seed, and another bag of tumerick. On the top layer put a bag holding a half ounce of tumerick, then fill up with cold vinegar; have your jar air-tight, and do not disturb it for at least three months; they are always best when undisturbed, for at least a year. I have seen pickles made by this receipt, seven years old, which were delicious. Pickles should always be kept a long time before using them.
Onions may be added to the above--they make a very fine yellow pickle.
TO PICKLE TOMATOES.
Wash a peck of very green tomatoes, wipe them with a coarse napkin, then slice them as fine as it is possible for a knife to cut, sprinkle them with salt, and lay them in a sieve to drain. Slice a half peck of onions, and scald them in salt and water; have ready allspice, white mustard-seed, black pepper, six red pepper-pods, cinnamon, cloves, horseradish, ginger. Take a large stone jar, put in a layer of tomatoes, then lay on some of each spice and horseradish, then layer of onions, then another of tomatoes, let the last layer be spiced well, and then fill it up with strong cider vinegar. An ounce of each kind of spice and a pint of cramped horseradish is sufficient to a peck of tomatoes. Try and have the jar air-tight.
PICKLE RIPE TOMATOES.
Take ripe and sound tomatoes, lay them in a stone jar, tie up spices in little bags, wet them in hot water, dissolve some salt in warm vinegar, after it is perfectly cool pour it on the tomatoes, put in the bags of spice, and fill it up with the strongest cold vinegar. Be very careful to keep your pickle tight and close, the air destroys them very soon. I have kept both the above tomatoes from one season to the other in the West.
GREEN TOMATOES.
Put them in salt and water, take them out in ten days, wash them in cold water, scald them in strong vinegar, lay them in a jar, put on each layer several pods of red pepper, cut up fine, then fill up the jar with cold vinegar. Cover up closely.
LARGE, GREEN PEPPERS.
Cut out the part that holds the stem, be very particular to cut them even, scrape them out, and lay them in salt and water two or three days; then wash them well in cold water, then lay them to drain. If you have a peck of peppers, prepare a large cabbage head thus: cut it up as you do for cold-slaw, very fine; use none but the whole part of the cabbage; a dozen large onions minced very fine, four or five young cucumbers cut in very small pieces, mix them together; add an ounce of allspice, ginger, a half ounce of cloves, cinnamon one ounce, and two ounces of white or black mustard-seed; scald these all well in barely as much vinegar as will cover them, then pour it in a stone vessel and let it cool, then take your peppers and fill them as full as possible, then sew on the stem, or the pieces you have cut out; put them in a jar and fill with cold, strong vinegar.
PICKLE CHERRIES.
To two quarts of cherries take a pound and a half of brown sugar, and two quarts of vinegar; lay your cherries in small glass jars or wide-mouthed bottles; boil the sugar and vinegar to a nice thin syrup; after it cools, pour it over the fruit; be sure and have them well covered with the syrup. Make them air-tight.
Tomatoes, grapes, wild grapes, and damsons, or plums
of any kind may be done the same way. Be sure and have them air-tight.
PEACHES DOUCE ET AIGRE.
Peaches are best peeled and sliced, when put up in this manner; take six pounds of peeled peaches and lay them immediately after they are peeled in small jars. Take four pounds of brown sugar, six quarts of strong vinegar, a few races of ginger, an ounce of cinnamon; boil it well, and after it forms a syrup, let it cool, and then pour it over the peaches. They will be fit to eat in four weeks.
CUCUMBERS SLICED.
Slice your cucumbers thin, lay some of them in a jar, sprinkle with pepper and salt, put in more cucumbers, sprinkle again with pepper and salt, so on until your jar is full; fill up with cold vinegar, make the jar air-tight; keep them in a cool place.
TO PICKLE WALNUTS.
Make a brine of salt and water, a quarter of a pound of salt to a quart of water; put the walnuts into this to soak, for at least a week; stick them through several times with a knitting-needle, so that the brine may penetrate; when they are softened put them in a stew-pan with some clean water, let them simmer gently; put them on a sieve to drain, then lay them on dishes, and let them stand in the air until they become black; this may take two days--then put them in a stone jar--let the jar be two-thirds full, and then fill with the following pickle:
To a quart of the strongest vinegar put an ounce of black pepper, the same of ginger, of shallots, the same of salt, a half ounce of allspice, half ounce of cayenne. Put these in a stone jar, cover it with a bladder wetted with the pickle, tie over that some leather, and set the jar on a trivet by the side of the fire for three days, shaking it up three times a day, and then pour over the walnuts while hot; cover them well; tie the bladder and leather over the jar.
The liquor from the pickle is the very best
walnut catsup.
CHAPTER VII.
BREAD.GOOD bread is essential to health, and to domestic comfort. Experience is the best teacher as it regards this, as great allowance must be made for the variety of baking apparatus; and, as it is necessary not to let the bread rise too much, and no direction can be given in these particulars which can supply the place of experience; but one thing is certain: good bread can never be made without sweet yeast.
Flour should always be sifted before it is used for anything.
GRAHAM BREAD.
Take two quarts of unbolted flour, put some salt in, and two table-spoonsful of brewer's yeast, mix it into a stiff dough with warm water. Let it rise four or five hours, then work into it enough white flour to make it stick together well, and bake it in a quick oven.
COMMON BREAD.
Take two quarts of flour, rub into it two table-spoonsful of lard, a little salt; add two tablespoonsful of brewer's yeast, and work it up withwarm milk. Knead it till it is very smooth, set it to rise six hours, work it over and make it into rolls. Bake in a quick oven.
POTATO YEAST.
Boil a handful of hops half an hour, in two quarts of water. Take ten boiled potatoes and mash them very fine, and strain the water from the hops on them as soon as it has boiled. Mix into it a pint of flour, and two table-spoonsful of salt. When it is lukewarm, add a pint of good brewer's yeast, and let it stand six hours to rise. Strain it through a cullender, and put it into a close stone vessel. It will keep a week in summer, and longer in winter.
HOME-MADE YEAST.
Take a handful of hops, put them in three pints of water, and boil half an hour. As soon as you take it off, strain half the water on a pint of flour, mix it well, and then pour on the rest of the water. When it is almost cool, put in a cup of yeast, half a cup of molasses, and some salt.
CRACKERS.
Rub two ounces of butter into a quart of flour. Put in a tea-spoonful of saleratus, and half a tea-spoonful of salt. Make it up with milk enough to have a stiff dough. Beat it for half an hour, or till it is quite smooth; roll it out thin, and cut it into small cakes; stick them with a fork, and bake them in a moderate oven.
BREAD-SPONGE.
Put a quartern of flour into a tray with two tea-spoonsful of salt, put in four table-spoonsful of yeast, a pint of milk, lukewarm, and stir it, just to make of it a thin batter, then strew a little flour over the top; cover it, and set it in a warm place till next morning; then make it into dough; add half a pint of warm milk, knead it for ten minutes, and then set it in a warm place for an hour and a half. Then knead it again, and it is ready, either for loaves or rolls. Bake them according to the size.
FRENCH ROLLS.
Put a pint of milk into three quarts of water. In winter it should be pretty hot, but only milk-warm in summer. Lay a pint and a half of good brewer's yeast into a gallon of water, the night before. Pour the yeast off into the milk and water, and then break in rather more than a quarter of a pound of butter. Work it well, and then beat up two eggs and stir them in. Mix a peck and a half of flour with the liquor, making the dough stiffer in winter than in summer; mix it well, and the less it is worked, the better. Stir the liquor into the flour, and, after the dough is made, cover it with a cloth, and let it stand to rise while the oven is heating. When the loaves have lain in a quick oven about a quarter of an hour, turn them over and let them lay another quarter of an hour.
PUMPKIN BREAD.
Take two quarts of sweet pumpkin, stewed dry; two quarts of fine Indian meal, two tea-spoonsful of salt, a table-spoon heaping full of lard, and mix them up with sufficient hot water to make it of the consistence of common corn-meal dough. Set it in a warm place, two hours, to rise, and bake it in a pan, in a moderate oven. It will take an hour and a half to bake.
SALLY LUNN.
Take one pint of milk, quite warm, a tea-cupful of yeast; put them into a tray with sufficient flour to make it into a stiff batter. Let it stand two hours to rise, then add two ounces of sugar, dissolved in a tea-cupful of warm milk; rub a quarter of a pound of butter into some flour. Add flour sufficient to make it into dough; let it stand half an hour. Then make it into a loaf, let it stand a little while to rise, and bake it in a moderate oven, Split it across three times while it is hot, and put plenty of fresh butter between. It is then ready for the table.
CREAM OF TARTAR BISCUIT.
Take a quart of flour, mix into it two tea-spoonsful of cream tartar, two tea-spoonsful of salt, a table-spoonful of lard; then take a pint of warm water and a tea-spoonful of soda, knead it into the flour, and work it well. Roll it out about half an inch thick, and cut the biscuit with a round cutter, or into square pieces.
WHEAT MUFFINS.
Beat up two eggs with a pint of sweet milk; add a table-spoonful of yeast and some salt. Beat in flour enough to make a thick batter, and let it rise five or six hours. Then bake in rings.
CORN MUFFINS.
Take a quart of corn meal, an ounce of butter, rub them together. Beat it up with a quart of milk, two table-spoonsful of yeast, one of molasses, and a little salt. Let it rise four or five hours, and bake in muffin rings.
BUCKWHEAT CAKES.
Take a quart of buckwheat flour, a table-spoonful of yeast, and a teaspoonful of salt. Mix it up with enough warm water to make a thick batter. Cover it, and let it stand all night. If it is at all sour in the morning, add a tea-spoonful of saleratus.
Cakes of this kind may be made of unbolted flour. They are equally good, and much more wholesome.
WAFFLES.
Take a quart of flour, put into it a teaspoonful of salt, and three table-spoonsful of brewer's yeast. Mix it gradually with a quart of warm milk, having in it a table-spoonful of melted butter. Let it rise, and then put two eggs, well beaten, into it. Grease the waffle-irons well each time they are used.
MRS. COLLINS' BATTER CAKES.
Take four eggs, beat them separately, and to the yolks add a pint of rich milk, beat in enough flour to make it into a thick batter. Put in a tea-cupful of sour cream, a tea-spoonful of saleratus; add this to the batter, mix in lightly the white of the eggs, beaten to a froth, and bake on a hot griddle like buckwheat cakes.
TO MAKE CORN DODGERS.
Sift some Indian meal, throw into it a little salt, pour enough hot water over it to make it stick well together; work it well with the hand, make it into rolls, and bake in a moderate oven.
TO MAKE TOAST.
Cut your bread a third of an inch thick; stale bread is the best. Toast it a light brown on each side. Put a pint of rich milk on the fire, add to it half a pound of butter; when the butter is well melted, dip each slice of the toast in the liquor, lay it in a dish, and pour the rest of the liquor over it. Put the cover on the dish, and send it to the table.
CORN MEAL BATTER CAKES.
Into a quart of sour milk, stir a table-spoonful of well-pounded saleratus, beat into it five eggs, two or three tea-spoonsful of salt, and as much corn meal as will make it into a stiff batter. Bake on a griddle like buckwheat cakes.
EGG BREAD.
(Mrs. Sanders' way.)
Warm a quart of sweet milk, melt a quarter of a pound of butter in it, add four eggs and a tea-spoonful of salt, beat it well, and put in enough meal to make a stiff batter. Bake it in a tin pan half an hour. Or, make it a little stiffer with meal and drop it with your hand, in lumps, in a quick oven.
MRS. OURY'S LIGHT BATTER CAKES.
Take a lump of light dough, soften it with warm water till it comes to a thick batter, beat four eggs separately, add them to the batter, and bake on a hot griddle.
CORN MEAL MUSH.
Fill an iron pot as full of water as you think will make mush enough for the occasion, salt it to your taste, sift the meal, and begin to stir it in as soon as the water boils, but not before. Let the meal fall slowly and lightly through your fingers; after putting in two or three handfuls, let it boil a minute or two, still stirring; after it boils well, stir in more until it is thick enough.
What is better for supper than milk and mush?
CORN PONE
"Carry me back to old Virginny."
Pour boiling water on three pints of sifted corn meal, beat it up to a batter with a wooden spoon, add two tea-spoonsful of salt. Let it stand until cool, then put it in a tray and work it well with your hands, adding two quarts of dry corn meal, until it is pretty stiff. Have your oven very clean and well buttered, warm it through, and fill it more than half full. Set it in a warm place, and let it stand twelve hours; it will, in that time, sweeten and become light. When ready to bake, put the oven over bright coals, heat the top on the fire, and when you place it on the oven, cover it with hot coals. Let it bake slowly, and when done, set it by and let it cool in the oven. This bread cannot be baked in anything but an oven, (Dutch oven,) or deep skillet; if baked any other way, it would not, nor could not, be CORN PONE.
BUTTERED BISCUIT.
Work one pound of butter into seven pounds of flour; wet it up with one quart of warm water and half a pint of good yeast, and a table-spoonful of salt; work it very hard until it is smooth and light. Bake in a brisk heat.
NAPLES BISCUIT.
To six ounces of moist sugar, add six ounces of white, a tea-cupful of water, beat the yolks and whites of twelve eggs together, just enough to break them.
Put the sugar in a saucepan, and put it on the fire; take it off before it comes to a boil, put the eggs in, and stir till cold; have your tins ready, fill nearly full of the batter, sugar over the tops, bake quickly.
RATAFIAS.
Take three ounces of sweet almonds, boil and skin them, put them in a mortar with a pound of loaf sugar and the whites of two eggs; beat it all together well, drop them out upon coarse, white paper. Have them all the same size, about an inch apart; bake on tins; when cold, take them off the paper.
