Title: Jennie June's American Cookery Book...
Author: Croly, Jane Cunningham
Publisher: New York: American News Co.
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JENNIE JUNE'S
AMERICAN COOKERY BOOK,
CONTAINING UPWARDS OF TWELVE HUNDRED CHOICE AND CAREFULLY
TESTED RECEIPTS; EMBRACING ALL THE POPULAR DISHES,
AND THE BEST RESULTS OF MODERN SCIENCE, RE-
DUCED TO A SIMPLE AND PRACTICAL FORM.
ALSO,
A CHAPTER FOR INVALIDS, FOR INFANTS, ONE ON JEWISH COOKERY;
AND A VARIETY OF MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS OF SPECIAL
VALUE TO HOUSEKEEPERS GENERALLY.
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BY MRS. J. C. CROLY, (JENNIE JUNE.)
AUTHOR OF "TALKS ON WOMEN'S TOPICS," ETC.
"What does cookery mean?"
"It means the knowledge of Medea, and of Circe, and of Calypso, and of Helen, and of Rebekah, and of the Queen of Sheba. It means the knowledge of all fruits, and herbs, and balms, and spices--and of all that is healing, and sweet in fields, and groves, and savory in meats--it means carefulness, and inventiveness, and watchfulness, and willingness, and readiness of appliance. It means the economy of your great-grandmothers, and the science of modern chemists--it means much tasting, and no wasting--it means English thoroughness, and French art, and Arabian hospitality, and it means in fine, that you are to be perfectly, and always 'ladies,'--'loaf givers,' and as you are to see imperatively that everybody has something pretty to put on,--so you are to see, even yet more imperatively, that everybody has something nice to eat."--RUSKIN.
NEW YORK:
THE AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY,
119 & 121 NASSAU STREET.
1870.
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866 by
THE AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York
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INTRODUCTION
"Why another cook-book, when there are already so many?"
Well, for several reasons, one of which is, that when an inquiry was made for a good, practical cook-book, we knew not which to recommend. We examined a great many, and found some good for one thing, and some for another; but few containing just what young, middle class housekeepers want to know--arranged in a clear, available form, unencumbered with unnecessary and wordy details.
A very small number of the printed cookery and housekeeping books have been written by women, and still less by persons possessing any practical knowledge of the subject of which they were treating. The majority are clumsy compilations of all kinds of receipts--good, bad, and indifferent, collected from various sources, and put together with an ignorance as profound, of their results, as if they had been written in an unknown language.
There are certain "high art" cookery books that are very good and complete, in their way; but they are too elaborate and pretentious for the class for whom this was written. They go into the mysteries of French dishes, and tell how to get up grand dinners, but they leave the poor young wife, who wants to cook a chop or a chicken,
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stuff a piece of veal, and make a pudding, or a loaf of bread for the first time in her life, quite in the dark.
It is not claimed for the present volume, by the author, that it fully meets the necessities of the case, or has satisfactorily accomplished its task, even within the modest limits assigned to it. It is one thing to think how something may be done, and another thing to do it; but it is claimed that the object of the work has been constantly kept in view, that it has been executed lovingly, with a strong appreciation of the benefit and pleasure to be derived from good cooking, from the intermingling of the finer with the grosser elements, with a pleasant remembrance of good times spent in the kitchen, and with an earnest wish to make these duties seem attractive to the conscientious young wives who would willingly perform their part, if they but knew how.
Nearly all the receipts and recommendations in the following pages have been carefully tested and found sensible and practical. We have omitted some things, which nearly all cook-books contain, such as directions for carving, setting table, etc.; because it seemed a waste of valuable space. Carving is partly a gift of nature, and partly of grace; it is never learned from a book. Directions of this kind, moreover, are useless without illustrations; and these did not come within the scope of the present work. Information as to how to put the knives and forks on a dinner table is another work of supererogation. Few persons who use a cookery book are so benighted as not to have seen a table neatly set sometime or other, and if they have, it is worth more to them than a dozen printed rules. Young housekeepers will, however, find a great many hints,--the result of experience and observation,--which we hope will prove useful to them, and help to keep
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them from the errors and perplexities of many who have preceded them.
Dear friends,--for it is you, for whom this book is written, and to whom it is dedicated,--I believe in you, I sympathize with you, because I am one of you. I see you in your lovely young wife-hood, so happy in your treasures of pantry and closet, so proud of your first culinary success, and of your lord and master's high appreciation of it; and I would, if it were possible, extend the loving halo which glorifies every act of affection during these first happy months, to all your future; so that no weariness, no pain, no distrust, no loss of anything that now makes life beautiful, might ever come near you. But this is out of my power. I can only wish for every one no more clouds than is necessary, to vary and make beautiful the matrimonial sky, and so dear friends,
FAREWELL.
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TO THE READER
A NEW edition gives me the opportunity to add a chapter to this little work, which, I hope, will give it additional interest and value, and also to offer a word of apology and explanation to my readers.
A longer experience has demonstrated one error, which is of such importance to young mothers that I desire to correct it here. This is in regard to diluting milk, in the chapter upon Food for Infants. If cow's milk is used as a substitute for mother's milk, I believe now, from experience and observation, that it is best to get the best from one cow, and use it pure. The child is better nourished on a much smaller quantity than when it is diluted, and is much less liable to flatulence and colic. Sweeten the milk slightly with powdered sugar, and warm it by putting the bottle in water, which should be gradually heated. I may remark, however, that my faith in prepared barley, as food for infants, has been strengthened, and I am very glad it is rapidly being brought into general use.
All that I have to say in regard to the receipts contained in the additional chapter is, that they are genuine, and were obtained directly, excepting in one instance, (where it was furnished by a friend,) from the parties themselves. All that I have to beg of young housekeepers is, that they will try them with their own hands, and not turn them over to the tender mercies of Bridget. It is not the personal extravagance of American women that is sapping the foundation of American homes. It is the disintegrating quality of our domestic service.
JENNIE JUNE CROLY.
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GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COOKING.
1. The object of cooking is to make food healthful, and palatable; the secret is therefore, how to combine elements and flavors, so as to produce the best results.
2. The best meat requires the simplest preparation.
3. A cardinal principle in cooking is cleanliness; a dirty cook cannot be a good cook, because all her dishes, no matter how distinct in quality, or costly in material, will taste as if, to use a common expression, they were "cooked in one pot."
4. As a general rule, to which there are very few exceptions, cook long and slowly, to cook well, and let the heat reach every part as evenly as possible.
5. Fresh meats, and fish are better than corned, pickled, or smoked provisions; and the flesh of grown animals, (beef or mutton) is to be preferred to young beasts, such as veal or lamb.
6. The natural order in cooking meats or fish, excepting oysters, is first to broil, second to boil, third to roast, fourth to stew, fifth to bake, and sixth to fry; and never to fry, as long as there is another method left.
7. To retain the juices in boiled meat, keep it in mass and plunge it in boiling water; this coagulates the outer coating and prevents the escape of the jucies, or soluable matter. To extract the jucies for soup, cut it up in small pieces, and put it in cold water; this draws out all the strength, making good soup, but poor meat.
8. Air should have access to roasting meat, hence spit roasting before a fire, is found much better than roasting in a closed oven.
9. Always retain as much as possible of the distinct flavor of every article of food used; mixtures which make all dishes taste alike, are dyspepsia breeding, as well as appetite killing.
10. Carefully avoid placing articles in contact, which have no
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affinity, such as fish and meat, etc. It is sufficient for people to do that in their stomachs.
11. A light hand in making, a quick step in baking, maketh a good conscience for eating bread, puddings, and pies.
12. Food for the well, is better than physic for the sick. Bad cooking is a crime; it is the cause of dyspepsia, and a host of other evils. A woman convicted of it ought to be arrainged for manslaughter.
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HOUSEKEEPING.
The great question when a young couple are going to be married is, whether they shall keep house or board. The gentleman, as a general rule, wishes to keep house, he is tired of boarding; moreover, he had anticipated so much enjoyment in a snug little house of their own, and so much pride and pleasure in seeing his pretty Nellie at the head of his table, doing the honors to the choicest of his friends.
But Nellie has quite different ideas; in the first place, she knows nothing about cooking. She has, with the help of her mother, or the cook, made cake once or twice, or possibly blanc-mange, which was very much praised; but of the practical details required in the getting up of the most ordinary breakfast, dinner, or supper, she knows nothing, and has not the remotest intention or inclination to become acquainted with them.
The final result is, that they go to "board" in some highly genteel establishment, where the prices are high in proportion to the gentility and lack of real comfort, and some fine morning the young gentleman wakes up to the knowledge that he is tied to a wife who doubles his expenses, but has added nothing to his happiness, or at any rate, nothing to the real value and usefulness of his life.
This is a matrimonial swindle. Girls ought not to marry until they are ready and willing to accept the position of head of a household, and capable of making a home what it should be to husband and children.
If a man can find a woman to act as his mistress for her board and clothes, well and good--there is no law to prevent it; but for a woman bearing the honored name of wife to hold so dependent and humilating a position, is fearful degradation.
The marriage relation is one of reciprocal interests, duties, and responsibilities; and no young lady ought to marry until she is
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willing to assume her share of them. True affection on the part of the husband will lighten, and make duties pleasures, but whatever aspect they bear, she must not shrink from them. If she has not received the training necessary to fit her for the position, it is her misfortune; but it will be her fault, if she does not try as far as possible to remedy the evil.
Want of means constitutes no sort of reason why young married people should not go to housekeeping. What we spend on foolish and useless gewgaws and presents would, in nine cases out of ten, if usefully applied, set them up in a style quite in accordance with their means, if not their inclination.
But it is not for themselves they fear. They are willing, or at least they think so, to live together in an attic; but society! Well, what has society got to do with it? Society will not pay your butcher's and grocer's bills, nor care a copper whether they are paid or not. Society will eat ice-cream, oysters, and cake of your providing, but that is not what you are marrying for.
You have chosen a comparatively poor man, your business is to adapt yourself to his circumstances, to make the most of his means in providing a pleasant home, and bringing up carefully and conscientiously the children which may be given you. If society find you out, or if you find it worth while to fill up any of the chinks or interstices with occasional glimpses of the false, glittering, outside world--good! you will come back to your sweet home with so much the more relish; but do not marry it, do not sacrifice your own sense of duty, and the happiness and welfare of husband and family to it.
Talk of happiness,--there is none like that of an intelligent, affectionate family circle. There is no pleasure, no enjoyment equal to that of a mother ministering to the wants, or gratifying the natural and innocent tastes of her children. The pleasure is all the greater, because it is a surprise.
Young women very often dread the exacting care of a family, and expect to find wifely and maternal duties irksome and wearisome; that is the reason why they would so willingly escape them, as they fancy, by boarding, and not having children.
But unfortunately, or fortunately, God has managed it so that we cannot take the pleasures of life without bearing its pains; we
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cannot shirk a plain line of duty, without incurring the penalty. But we can, and do, by taking upon ourselves bravely, its burdens, find an exaltation of womanhood, and a hight and depth of happiness, such as we never before dreamed of.
Exceptions are said to exist to every general rule; but there are very few to this, that when people marry, they ought to set right about making a home of their own. If you can only afford two rooms, live in two rooms. If your means will compass a small house, but not a large one, then take the small one, and be happy and thankful.
I would not give a wisp of straw for a young woman who does not want, on her marriage, to occupy her own little domain; who does not revel in anticipation over the contents of kitchen and closet, if there is only a small cook stove in one, and a set of delf in the other. But this suggests a matter of some importance.
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KITCHEN FURNISHING.
In selecting a house to live in, particularly if it is a small one, give the preference to a pleasant, sunny kitchen, which will at least look clean when it is clean, and into which it will not be disagreeable to enter.
As a general rule, buy as little as possible on first going to housekeeping; it is easy to add more when experience has discovered to you precisely what you want; but if you should indulge in any extravagance, let it be in the kitchen furnishing.
It is a real pleasure to get a glimpse of an orderly kitchen and neat closets, newly fitted up with all the useful modern contrivances for saving labor, and making it agreeable, and as the whole cost would not amount to more than one expensive carpet, it is not worth while to do without them.
It is economical, moreover, to have all kitchen utensils of the best quality; cheap pans, brushes, pails, earthenware and the like, are not only an "eyesore" in a house, and bad or disagreeable to use, but they are good for nothing; they eternally want replacing,
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while a really good article is not only taken better care of, but will stand infinitely more of hard usage.
Oil cloth is the best material for covering a kitchen floor; it is easily kept clean, and does not absorb the dirt and grease.
Short, white muslin curtains to kitchen windows are considered "nonsense" by some people, but they are tidy, and the cost and washing are not much.
Of course the kitchen will be supplied with dresser, table with drawer, and ironing table. As to chairs, three and a common rocker are sufficient; but I would enliven the walls with a picture or two, if possible, and encourage the cook, or maid of all work, to have her monthly rose or pot of geranium in the window.
Under the shelves of the kitchen closets, it is a good plan to have narrow strips of board, in which nails or tacks can be inserted, for the purpose of hanging up all sorts of small articles, such as iron and wooden spoons, sugar and flour sifters, tin strainers, lemon squeezer, lemon grater, egg beater, skewers, small sauce pans, cake turner, rolling pin, and such things as one is most likely to want, and which it is convenient to have in sight.
The floors of all closets should be covered with oil-cloth, so that they can be easily washed up, and kept neat and clean.
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HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT.
Women are sometimes accused of managing too much, and sometimes of not managing at all; but the most perfect system of management is, undoubtedly, that which outwardly betrays itself least, and in the results of which, there is not suspected to have been any management at all.
Regularity is the pivot upon which all household management turns; where there is a lack of system there is a lack of comfort, that no amount of individual effort can supply. Forethought also is necessary, so that the work may be all arranged beforehand; done in its proper order, and at the right time. Never, except in cases of extreme emergency, allow Monday's washing to be put
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off till Tuesday; Tuesday's ironing till Wednesday, or Wednesday's finishing up and "setting to rights," till Thursday. Leave Thursday for extra work; or when that is not required, for resting day, or half holiday, and as a preparation for the up stairs' sweeping and dusting of Friday, and the downstairs' baking and scrubbing of Saturday.
Arrange work so as to save fuel as much as possible. Mix bread at night, so that it will be ready to bake with that "first fire" which always makes the oven hot in the morning. Prepare fruit over night, so that pies or other things can be quickly made and baked immediately after. Prepare hashes for breakfast, over night. Have the kitchen and dining room put in order before retiring to rest. Have kindlings and whatever is needed for building fires laid ready, and the fire in the kitchen raked down, so that it can be built up in the shortest possible space of time. This is not only a saving in the morning, but will be found useful in case of illness in the night, when a fire is often required at a moment's notice.
Try to buy in as large quantities as possible, so as to save the perpetual running out to the grocery. Supplies on hand also enable the housekeeper to provide a more varied table, with far greater economy than is possible where every thing is bought by the half a pound, more or less.
Every family that can possibly find means to do it, or a place to properly keep the articles, should commence winter with fuel, potatoes, apples, flour, and butter, enough to last till Spring. A good supply of hominy, rice, farina, Indian meal, preserved fish, and other staples, including sugar, should also be laid in, not forgetting a box of raisins, one of currants, a third of soap, and a fourth of starch.
There is such an immense saving in soap well dried, that it is surprising so many housekeepers content themselves with buying it in damp bars. Starch also is frightfully wasted by quarter, and half pound purchases, which are frequently all absorbed at one time, by careless girls, in doing the washing for a small family.
But in most American families, the largest amount of waste, probably, takes place in the use of fuel. Heretofore, fuel of all kinds has been comparatively cheap, and very little supervision has
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been exercised over its use. At present rates however, it is an item of considerable importance; and it is quite time that servants were taught how to employ it to the best advantage.
In nine out of ten kitchens, when there is any cooking to be done the range is made red hot; when the cooking is done, the fire is left to go down to ashes, and is then raised by means of a wasteful pile of kindling wood. When no cooking is going on, and a large fire is not needed, the dampers will frequently be left open, and the fuel allowed to blaze itself out up the chimney instead of being kept in reserve for actual service.
The general principle of construction upon which American kitchen stoves and ranges is based, renders them either very economical, or very much otherwise, according to the way they are managed. After the fire is first built in an ordinary stove, or range, the dampers ought all to be closed up and not opened again during the day, except while broiling, or something of that sort. If the grate is kept clear, and the fire replenished with a small quantity of coal, before it begins to get low, both the oven, and the top of the range will be kept sufficiently hot for any kind of cooking, and it will be done all the better for being done somewhat more slowly, than is customary with the well meaning, but terribly blundering, and irresponsible race of wild Irish girls, who officiate as the high priestesses of our domestic altars.
The strictest attention on the part of a house-keeper, is necessary, to see that certain articles are kept for their proper use; for instance, that the dish cloth is not used for a floor cloth, that the napkins are not used to wipe up the dishes, the dish towels as dusters, a new broom to sweep out the back yard, and the best new enamelled sauce pan, for melting down grease.
Where the lady of the house attends partly to her own work, she will naturally see to all these things; but where it is left wholly to servants, there are always complaints of missing articles, and an inspection of the kitchen, or ironing table drawer, would generally bring them all to light, although in a state almost unrecognizable, from dirt, and their contiguity to whitening, hair oil, candle grease, combs and brushes, and other articles, all of which it is found "handy" to keep in a drawer in the kitchen, with mats, table cloths, towels, and other things destined for family use.
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It is hardly necessary after this to say that a kitchen being once provided with necessary and convenient articles for cleaning and cooking, the presiding genius should be held to a strict accountability for them. Pudding cloths should be forthcoming whenever wanted,--dry, clean, and free from stains; towels, napkins, pans, bowls, and cooking utensils, should be kept strictly to their uses, and not put away till perfectly clean and dry.
Ironing sheets, blankets, skirt board, bosom board, iron holder, rubber, and the like, should be kept smoothly folded in the drawer of the ironing table, when not in use.
The shelves of kitchen, dining-room, and other closets, should be covered with fresh paper, neatly cut out on the edges, once in two weeks, and dusted down twice a week.
Pot closets, safes, and refrigerators, should be thoroughly scrubbed out every week, and the latter aired every day.
Good brooms and brushes will last a long time if care is taken of them. When first bought they should be allowed to stand in cold water for twelve hours, and then thoroughly dried before using. When not in use, they should be hung up by a loop of twine, or cord, so that the weight may not rest on the edge of the splinters, and break them. Four large brooms should be provided, one for the kitchen, one for the parlor, one for the sleeping rooms, and one for the family, or "living" room. A "whisk" will be required for every room in the house, besides one for the hall.
As soon as the kitchen broom is worn down so as to render it unfit to sweep the floor with ease and comfort, take it for the cellar, door steps, and back yard; take the one from the sitting room for the kitchen, the one from the parlor to the sitting room, and get a new one for the parlor.
Exact punctuality in serving the meals, and punctual attendance at them; it is oftener the fault of the family, than the servants, that meals are served at irregular hours. Where the members make a practice of sitting down any time, and food is kept waiting until it suits their pleasure or convenience to partake of it, irrespective of household necessities, servants, or any one else, will naturally become careless and neglectful.
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HOUSEHOLD MEMORANDA.
Dried herbs should be tied each separately in a paper bag, and
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hung against the wall in the store-room. Mint, pennyroyal, catnip, sage, thyme, summer-savory and parsley, are all good to have in the house.
Parsley should be bunched before it goes to seed, and hung up to dry. In a week, or two, it may be put in paper bags, and is ready for use, for soup, stuffing, or fricassee.
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PIECE BAGS.
Out of an old calico dress make three piece bags, and label each one of them with its written name upon a small square piece of white muslin, which must be sewn upon the side of the bag. One should be the "rag-bag," another the "white piece-bag," a third, the "colored piece-bag,"--they will be found very useful.
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DUSTERS.
Provide a duster, as well as a feather brush, and a whisk broom, for every room in the house, and see that they are kept in their place, when not in use.
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KITCHEN HOLDERS.
Make three kitchen holders, one to put away with the ironing apparatus, two others, to be hung up, one each side, under the kitchen mantle piece, so as to be ready for lifting pots and kettles off the fire, or taking hold of the hot handle of a sauce pan, or skillet. Small squares of old, or new carpet, are best, with an inner lining of old cloth, and an outer one of dark twilled cotton, which may either be sewed to the edge of the carpet, or the whole may be bound with worsted binding. Add a loop to hang it up by.
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PAPER AND STRING.
When parcels are brought to the house, take the nice white, or brown tissue paper, in which the goods have been wrapped, fold it and put it away in a drawer, with the string tied round it, to be ready for use in case of emergency.
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MENDING.
When you put the clean clothes away for the family, examine every piece, and see if a string, or a button needs replacing, or
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a fracture requires mending. Pile all together, and repair them at once, remembering that a stitch in time saves nine.
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MENDING STOCKINGS.
Mending stockings for a large family, is a somewhat onerous, and not altogether agreeable duty. As soon as the daughters are old enough they should be set to mending their own; but even then, there is sometimes a large pile for "mother's" work basket. Do not hurry them; however, mend them conscientiously, if it is only one pair at a time. Have needle and darning cotton of the proper size, take a large area in every direction beyond the hole, leave loops at each end of the thread, as it is drawn out, for shrinkage--and darn carefully and extensively over all the thin places. Hose mended in this way will not require the process more than twice, during their existence, provided the quality in the first place was the best. Cheap hose are not worth buying at all.
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RAINY DAYS.
Make the house look as bright as possible inside, have something good for tea, put on a pretty dress, light up early, romp with the children, tell them stories, and determine at least to have sunshine in the house, if you cannot have it outside.
PACKING AWAY SUMMER OR WINTER CLOTHES. |
Before packing away summer or winter clothes, devote a day to an examination of them; mend, and clean any spots off that may require it, brush, and shake them well, fold up smoothly, and sprinkle between every fold a little
gum camphor, unless you are so fortunate as to have
cedar chests, and then you will not need it. Sprinkle a little
gum camphor also on the bottom of common trunks or chests, pack closely, filling up all the crevices, with small articles such as stockings, gloves, scarfs, hoods and the like, reserving the body part of the box for the larger garments.
Nice dresses, velvet cloaks, opera cloaks, furs, and the like, should be folded in sheets, or towels, pinned tightly down, and be placed in the trays, or hollow part of trunks, by themselves, if possible.
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CAKE BOX.
Have a japanned box, or large jar, for cake, which will shut down tight. Cover it with a linen cloth, which should be put in the wash once in two weeks. Empty the box, scald it out, and let it dry in the sun, or before the fire, every week.
CHAMBER, MANTEL, AND TOILET COVERS. |
White Marseilles, thin pique or
Allendale quilting, edged with
white ball, or
twisted fringe, makes nice covers for toilet stands, or chamber mantels, especially where cottage furniture is used. If the furniture is very handsome black walnut, or rosewood, elegant mantel covers may be made, by tacking patent
maroon velvet on a
thin board, and edging it with
bullion fringe.
TO CLEAN LOOKING GLASSES. |
Divide a
newspaper in two halves, fold up one in a small square and dip it in
cold water. Rub the glass first with the wet half of the
paper, and dry with the other. Fly specks, and all other dirty marks will disappear as if by magic.
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TO TAKE OUT SCORCH.
If a shirt bosom, or any other article has unfortunately been scorched in ironing, lay it where bright sunshine will fall straight upon it. It will take it entirely out, leaving it clean and white as snow.
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LABEL CHILDREN.
Into the crowns of the hats or bonnets of little children, sew a square of writing paper, stating age, and residence. This will save them from any danger of being lost.
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WASH RAGS.
Small squares of crash hemmed, make very nice wash rags, or small, coarse tea napkins, fringed on the sides; very good ones may also be made out of the best part of old dinner napkins, or tablecloths. Be careful always to supply them to every sleeping-room with the towels, and see that they are changed once a week.
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NIGHT CLOTHES.
Never wear anything at night that you have worn during the day, nor during the day, that you have worn at night.
In all such cases, great promptitude and quickness is necessary. The thing to be done is, to
crush it out; either with
rugs, mats, blankets, or whatever else is handy.
If the fire is in a chimney, fire a pistol into it, or put salt on it, and close up the draft of the fire-place, by pinning a quilt up over it. This last precaution alone will generally prevent danger, unless there should happen to be a high wind.
When sheets are beginning to wear in the middle, sew the selvage sides together, tear them in two, and hem down the sides; they will last enough longer to pay for the trouble, especially at present price of muslin.
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PAY AS YOU GO.
Keep no books, and never run accounts with stores; pay for what you buy when you buy it, and so save much money and trouble and prevent many very disagreeable mistakes.
Collect all the food together first, and dispose of it, neatly, and carefully. Put all the spoons together, all the forks together, and all the knives together, If you have a small pitcher partly full of warm water on the table, put the knives into that, blades down. Scrape the plates clean, and empty all the slops from the tea and coffee cups, into the slop bowl. Have ready your clean light wooden tub, two thirds full of
hot water, little mop, piece of
soap, and tin pan of warm water for rinsing. Wash the glasses first, with a little
soap, and rinse them, then the spoons, then the cups and saucers, then the silver forks, then the plates, lastly, the larger dishes. Dry quickly with nice large fine linen crash towels. Be careful not to put the handle of knives into hot water, or silver
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knives where they can touch the forks, as that will scratch them. The quicker the whole operation is performed, the brighter and nicer the ware will be.
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MATTRESSES.
Mattresses are used universally now in preference to feather beds; and to save trouble, some people straighten the clothes over them, just as they rise. This is very bad, they ought to be turned every day, and exposed to the air some time before the bed is made up.
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HINTS ON ECONOMY.
PROVIDE ON SATURDAY for Monday, so as not to take up the fire with cooking, or time in running errands, any more than is possible on washing day.
WAIT TILL ARTICLES, fruit, fish, poultry and vegetables, are in full season, before purchasing. They are then not only much lower in price than when first brought to market, but finer in quality and flavor.
OUTSIDE GARMENTS, bonnets, cloaks, hats, shawls, scarfs and the like, will last clean and fresh much longer, if the dust is carefully removed from them by brushing and shaking after returning from a ride or a walk.
WHEN YOUR APPLES begin to rot, pick the specked ones out carefully; stew them up with cider and sugar, and fill all your empty self-sealing cans. In this way you may keep in nice apple sauce till apples come again.
PICKLE OR PRESERVE JARS should be washed in lukewarm or cold water, and dried in the sun or near the fire. Hot water cracks the polished surface of the inside, and renders them unfit for their specific use.
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NEVER ALLOW CHILDREN to eat butter with meat or gravy; it is both wasteful and injurious.
HOT BUCKWHEAT CAKES will go farther and last longer than any other single article of food. A celebrated judge declared that he could remain in court all day, without feeling a symptom of hunger, after a breakfast of buckwheat cakes.
A STEW is not a bad dish for a family dinner, once a week; make it of good meat, and savory with sweet herbs, and the most fastidious will not object to it.
RISE EARLY on fine summer mornings, and throw all the windows of the house open, so that it may exchange its close atmosphere, for the cool, fresh air. Have the work done before the heat of the day comes on, and save it as much as possible during the warmest weather.
TAKE CARE OF THE FOOD that is brought into the house, and see that none of it is wasted; but do not be always on the lookout for cheap things. Beans are cheap, and very good sometimes; corn meal is cheap too, and even more available, because it can be made into a great variety of dishes, but people would not care to live on beans and corn meal all the time, because they are cheap. Eating is intended as a means of enjoyment, as well as of sustaining life; and it is right to avail ourselves of the abundant resources provided, as far as we can consistently.
USE TEA LEAVES, or short, freshly cut grass, to sprinkle upon carpets before sweeping. It will freshen up the colors, and save the usual cloud of dust.
HAVE EVERYTHING CLEAN, on Saturday night, something nice for tea, and also for Sunday morning breakfast. Let the approach of the Sabbath be anticipated in all things, with pleasure. Stay at home with the children on Sabbath evening, and finish the day with a sacred concert.
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ALLOW NO HOLES, or corners in the house, in drawers, on shelves, or in closets, for the stowing away of dirty rags, old bottles, grease-pots, and broken crockery. When bottles are emptied, let them be cleaned, and put down in the cellar, until they are wanted. Harbor no dirty grease pots, and when an article is broken past recovery, throw it away at once; there is no use in keeping it to collect dust, and cobwebs.
MAKE A POINT of examining safe, refrigerator, closets, drawers, and all receptacles for food, and kitchen articles, at least as often as once a week, either Saturday, or washing day. Look into pickle jars, bread jars, cake jars, butter tubs, apple, and potato barrels, everything in fact, examine their condition, see if they are kept covered and clean, and that food put away, is not left to spoil, or be wasted.
THE FEWER SERVANTS THE BETTER--two requires a third to wait upon them, and so on ad infinitum. Have good servants however, pay good wages, and make them responsible for their work.
IF IT IS POSSIBLE, and when there is a will there is a way, call your household together, after breakfast every morning, and have domestic worship, be it ever so short. A verse of a hymn, a passage from the Bible, and just a few words of heartfelt prayer, and praise, sets everything right for the day, smooths ruffled tempers, and puts the domestic machine in nicely running order. It is also no bad preparation for the temptations and annoyances of business.
BEFORE SWEEPING a room, have the furniture, and especially all the small articles, dusted and removed. This keeps them looking fresh, and new.
WEAR PRETTY MORNING DRESSES; they are inexpensive, and easily preserved from injury, by a large calico apron enveloping the skirt of the dress, and sleeves of the same kind, gathered into a band, top, and bottom, and extending over the elbows. These can be slipped on and off in a minute, and with a bib added to the
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apron in front, affords complete protection, while engaged in dusting, making pastry, and the like.
ALWAYS HAVE YOUR TABLE served neatly, and then if friends "happen in," you will not be ashamed to ask them to share your meal. Be hospitable, if it is only a crust, and a cup of cold water; if it is clean and good of its kind, there is no reason to blush for it; the hearty welcome will make amends for the absence of rich viands.
IF CHILDREN WANT ANYTHING between meals, which they should not, give them a cracker, or an apple; do not encourage an irregular and unhealthy appetite, by giving them pie, cake, or ginger-bread.
1. Eat slowly as if it was a pleasure you desired to prolong, rather than a duty to be got rid of as quickly as possible.
2. Don't bring your prejudices, your dislikes, your annoyances, your past misfortunes, or future forebodings, to the table--they would spoil the best dinner.
3. Respect the hours of meals, you have no right to injure the temper of the cook, destroy the flavor of the viands, and the comfort of the family, by your want of punctuality.
4. Have as much variety in your food as possible, but not many dishes served at one time.
5. Find as little fault with the food prepared as possible, and praise whenever you can.
6. Finally, be thankful, if you have not meat, that you have at least an appetite, and hope for something more and better in the future.
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THE USE OF FUEL.
There is no department of housekeeping in which our national spirit of waste and extravagance is more clearly exemplified, than
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in our use of fuel. Even the enormous advance in prices has led to no retrenchment or reform in this respect. Coal and wood are just as recklessly as ever, shovelled into the cellar. Bridget makes the same blazing fires, subject to no supervision, except a faint, general direction, to "sift the cinders every morning;" and Bridget says "yes'm" as usual, but there being nobody to see, or know whether she does or not, in nineteen cases out of twenty, she does not do it.
Every little while through the day, the fires are raked down, and fresh coal put on, the dampers of stove or range left wide open, and for so much cooking as a cup of tea, or a dish of potatoes, a fresh fire built with range made red hot, and as much fuel wasted as would have cooked a thanksgiving dinner.
These are generally considered as requiring a great deal of coal, and so they do, under the usual system of management in this country. But let us see how they manage grate fires in England.
The grate is cleared, with the exception of a few scattering cinders, which forms a sort of body, for the paper, which is torn up in small pieces, and crushed down, and the wood, which is neatly and compactly laid "across and across." When the largest and best cinders remaining are picked out and thrown on, a match is applied, cinders are still put on wherever they are needed to catch the blaze, and when the wood is burnt down, and the cinders are all a-glow, fresh coal is used to fill up the grate. The ashes are then sifted, the cinders, which are fine and small, damped, and when the fire has burned red through, without the use of the blower, the wet cinders are thrown on the top. In this way a grate fire will last through a whole day with once replenishing, and keep a room warmer than we do, without blaze, our frequent use of the blower, and reckless waste of fuel.
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KITCHEN RANGES.
Nearly all of these are built on the air tight principle, and should be kept closed up tight all the time. The fire will be found to burn equally well, though more moderately; the oven will be always hot, and cooking can be done slowly, as it ought, on the
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top of the range, with much less trouble, and infinitely better than if "rushed through," at a red heat.
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PARLOR HEATERS.
These new heaters are very good for small houses; we used one for years, with great satisfaction, and found it quite as efficient, and much safer, more convenient and more economical than a furnace.
Parlor heaters are fitted into the wall, and take up no more room than a grate; they should be attended to with regularity, and then the fire will hardly ever need to go out; once in two months is quite as often as it requires to be made up fresh. At night, wetted cinders should be thrown on the fire so as to thickly cover it while it is good, and the dampers shut up close; these will keep the fire almost intact till the next morning, when a thorough raking down will be needed. A parlor heater properly managed, burns out about as much coal as one large grate or two small stoves; but excepting in the very coldest weather, it will comfortably heat the whole house.
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SPRING FUEL.
Coke is excellent fuel for spring and fall, if it is carefully and rightly used; but if it is mixed with hard coal and thrown on a kitchen fire by a reckless servant, at discretion, it becomes equally extravagant and useless. Coke makes a bright, hot fire, kindles easily, and goes out easily; but it can also be made to last a long while, by packing it a little on top, and neglecting to rake it down. This is the method for early spring, when fires are required in the morning and evening, but not much through the sunshiny part of the day.
A great saving is effected in spring fuel, by putting the "slack" from coal, in a heap by itself, and with it, ashes from which the cinders have not been taken. Dampen the heap occasionally with a little water, and add to it, whenever there is material. Doing this through the coldest weather will form a sort of compost, hard and insoluble, which can be broken apart, and furnishes splendid fuel for spring grate fires, or for parlor heaters.
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SOUPS.
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STOCKS.
Stock is the foundation of soups, and also of good gravies, sauces, and the like. A French cook can do nothing without the stock pot, and keeps it supplied in a way that is both useful, and economical.
Stock can be made to keep for a considerable time, and be used for many purposes, if occasional additions are made, and the whole of the liquor re-scalded. It may be made from meat, or from bones, or from both, or it may be made from bones with the addition of refuse meat, the trimmings of regular joints. Chicken and turkey bones may be thrown in, and will help to enrich, and give flavor to the preparation. Any kind of bones with a little meat upon them, will make good stock, if they are simmered, not boiled, long enough, and beef, mutton, veal, poultry, and other bones may be stewed together. In stewing them down, use the liquor if you have it, in which other meat has been boiled, so that nothing may be wasted. Shank bones, trimmings from chops, any thing of this sort may be thrown in, simmered all day, then poured into a jar, and the fat removed the next morning. It is then frequently a jelly, and ready to convert into soup, with the aid of herbs, and vegetables--or kept for other uses. Stock sours very soon after the vegetables have been boiled in it, so it is best not to put the vegetables in till needed for soup.
If your stock is made of meat, or partly of meat, cut it up fine, and always put it on in cold water, if the water is hard, put a pinch of soda in it. This will extract all the pieces of the bones and meat. If on the contrary, you want to boil meat, and retain its pieces, put it on in boiling water. [See the Principles of Cooking.]
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Take the
bones of a sirloin of beef, break them into half a dozen pieces or more, put them in the stock pot with a gallon of
cold water; and let them simmer gently for five or six hours. Then take it off, strain it--it ought to make about two quarts--and set it aside for several hours, or over night. When cold, skim off the fat. Then return it to the pot with a
turnip, and a large
carrot cut up in two or three pieces, two
onions, a bunch of
sweet herbs, a sprig or two of
parsley, and a head of
celery if it can be obtained, or a teaspoonful of
celery-seed tied in a piece of muslin. Let these simmer together gently for two hours, adding
boiling water to keep the quantity two quarts, and putting in also while boiling a little
salt and a large lump of
sugar; when done, strain it off into a jar, and you have a good stock, which can be kept several days, in a cool place in winter, or by being boiled over each day, in summer.
Put into a stew pan ten
carrots, as many
turnips and
onions cut in small pieces, two
lettuces, two sticks of
celery, a handful of
chervil, half a
cabbage and a
parsnip cut in slices; add to these three ounces of
butter and a quart of
water; stew them till the liquid is nearly dried up, and then fill the stewpan with
water; add a quart of
peas, green or dried, according to the season, two
chives, some
pepper and
salt; stew slowly three or four hours and strain through a colander for use.
Put a large handful of
bran into a quart of
water, boil and leave to simmer till the quantity is reduced to half. This will do excellently for the thickening of meat soup. It will make very good soup of itself, if
onions, salt and
pepper, with a few vegetables, are mixed in it. It will also be good sweetened with
molasses or
honey.
A
cow heel in two quarts of
water will make first rate stock, but
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do not get boiled cow heels. The others take more boiling, but make much richer stock, and may be used more than once.
FOUR QUARTS OF BROWN STOCK. |
Heat an iron pot and rub the bottom with garlic. Put in ten pounds of
shin of beef, fresh killed, and a pint of
water; let it stand by the fire for an hour, then add three quarters of a pound of
lean ham, three
onions, three
carrots, a small
head of celery, four
cloves, six
allspice, ten
peppercorns, a table-spoonful of
brown sugar, a tea-spoonful of
mustard, a tea-spoonful of
salt, a large
black onion, and six quarts of
water. Simmer and skim frequently for six hours. Strain into an earthen dish, and when cold, remove the fat; a fine hair sieve dipped in
cold water is good to strain it with.
FOUR QUARTS OF WHITE STOCK. |
Put into an iron pot a
knuckle of veal, about seven pounds, a
cow heel, and an
old fowl; add a
turnip, two
onions, a
lettuce, a blade of
mace, quarter of a
nutmeg, half a pound of
lean ham, a tea-spoonful of
salt, a small bunch of
sweet herbs, and six quarts of
water. Simmer gently, and skim frequently, for six hours. Strain into an earthen dish, and when cold, take off the fat.
Take the
neck, shanks, scraps of
fresh meat, or
old fowls. Let your
meat, beef, mutton, fowls, or
game, be cut into small pieces, and the bones cracked up well. Put the pieces into a pot and cover them with as much
water as will stew them into rags; stew them very slowly, then pour in some
boiling water, and keep the soup boiling to within a few minutes of serving. Skim it entirely free from grease. Take out whatever you wish to set away for the next day before you put in the vegetables. Now cut up vegetables (previously cooked by themselves), in it slice
potatoes, okra, turnips, carrots, any vegetable you like, or
rice or
barley. If there is any vegetable,--for instance,
onions, cabbage, or
tomatoes,--which you wish to give distinctive character to your soup, use that vegetable entirely, in connection with
potatoes and okra, which give consistency without any very discernible taste. If your soup lacks
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richness, a few spoonfuls of
drawn butter will help; if consistency, some
gelatine may be dissolved in it. A bouquet of
sweet herbs is indispensable. A rich soup is sometimes flavored with
wine or
catsup. It is as well to offer these articles to each person, as also the castor at the table.
Vermicelli or
macaroni may be used as a substitute for
okra.
SOUP OR STOCK FROM ONE POUND OF BEEF. |
Take one pound of
lean beef, free from fat, mince it finely and add to it its own weight of
cold water; heat it very slowly to boiling, two or three hours is not too much, let it boil briskly a minute or two, strain it through a towel. Mix the liquid with
salt and other
seasoning, tinge it darker with
roast onions or
burnt sugar. Dr. Liebig says this forms the best soup that can be prepared from one pound of flesh.
A variety of good soups can be made of
fish by stewing them down in the same manner as meat, with the same addition of
vegetables and
herbs. If the skin is coarse, strip it off before using the
fish, and when stewing skim off the oily particles.
Take a
shin of beef, boil it in two gallons of
water down to one gallon; pour it out after removing the bones, and let it cool. This will be one mass of
jelly, from which as much can be taken daily as may be needed in the quantity of soup desired. Stew the vegetables or cook the
rice, split peas, beans, and add all together with as much
water as may be necessary, and let it boil well.
SORREL SOUP WITHOUT MEAT. |
Wash a handful of
sorrel, add some
chervil, lettuce, and
leeks; chop all very fine, and stew with
salt and
butter; when the vegetables are done enough, add some
stock without meat or
water. Let it stew again, and before you serve, add the
yolks of three or four
eggs well beaten, with some
cream or good
milk, taking care it does not boil after the
eggs are added. Season to taste. Sorrel is prepared for winter in jars, first chopped, then pounded and seasoned. It must be closely covered.
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Cut up your
rabbit and put it into a soup-pot, with a
ham bone, a bunch of
sweet herbs, a
bay leaf, an
onion stuck with
cloves, some whole
pepper, and let it simmer till the
meat is tender, then cut off the
meat into neat squares, return the
bones and trimmings into the soup, and let it simmer till the
meat is in rags; then strain it, and thicken it with
flour and
butter, mixed on the fire, without being browned; add a pint of highly seasoned
stock, or if desired a pint of
red wine--port is best--season to taste and let all simmer together with the
meat that was cut off. Serve hot.
Cut an equal quantity of
carrots, turnips, onions and
leeks; stew them in some good
stock; then add some
French beans, peas, bean cucumbers, asparagus tops, lettuces, sorrel and chervil; add a little bit of
white sugar; let these reduce to nearly a glaze; then add them to some
stock thickened with
grean peas rubbed through a tammy. The soup might be thickened, to vary it, with
asparagus rubbed through a tammy; in this case all the vegetables should be strained off, and some
asparagus tops served only in the soup.
Boil two pounds of
lean veal and a quarter of a pound of
pearl barley in a quart of
water very slowly, until it becomes of the consistency of cream. Pass it through a fine sieve and
salt it to taste. Flavor it with
celery seed, if the taste be liked, or use fresh
celery, if in season,--a very small quantity would suffice. It should simmer very slowly. This soup is very nourishing.
Take a large
fowl, cut in pieces, beat up and fry very brown, and make with it a highly seasoned and
rich gravy. Cut into it a half gallon of tender
green okra, as many ripe
tomatoes, and pour on three pints of
boiling water; boil until the vegetables are of the softest consistency, and
chicken in rags. Stir in a heaping tablespoon of young
sassafras leaves, dried and reduced to a
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powder. Strain into your dish hot. When well made this will almost rope like candy.
Pepper, onions, and
sweet herbs are used profusely in this soup, with
salt to savor it.
Put four or five
turnips, four
leeks, two
heads of celery, washed and sliced, into the saucepan with a piece of
butter and a
knuckle of ham; add a quart of
stock, and let all stew together till tender. When nearly done, put in a pint of
milk and some small pieces of
bread; boil up two or three times, strain it and serve it hot.
Parboil a
calf's head divided, and cut all the
meat in small pieces; then break the
bones and boil them in some
beef broth; fry some
shalots in
butter, add
flour to thicken, and stir it in; skim it carefully while it boils up, and add a pint of
white wine; let it simmer till the
meat is perfectly tender, then put in some
chives, parsley, basil, salt, cayenne, soy, and
mushroom catsup to your taste, and boil it in for ten minutes; squeeze a little
lemon juice into your tureen, pour your soup on it, and serve with
force meat balls.
Cut the
liver and
lights into pieces, and stew them in four quarts of
water, with some
onions, carrots, and
turnips, half pound of
pearl barley, pepper, salt, cloves, and a little
marjoram, parsley and
thyme. Stew all these until nearly done enough, then put in the
head and boil it until quite tender, then it should be taken out and everything strained from the liquor. Let this stand till cool, then take off the fat, and thicken it with
butter and flour in the same way as mock turtle. A glass of
wine may be put into the tureen if desired, before pouring in the soup.
Three pounds of
neck of beef, one
cowheel, one pennyworth of
carrots and
turnips, part of a
head of celery, one bunch of tied up
sweet herbs, four
onions browned, one pint of
peas, all put together
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into three quarts of
water. After boiling for some hours, to be well strained before serving up.
CALF'S HEAD SOUP BROWNED. |
Strain the liquor the
head was boiled in, and set it away until next day; take off all the fat; fry an
onion in a little
butter in the soup pot, dredge in a little
flour, stir until brown; cut up two
carrots, two
onions, two
turnips, and whatever is left of the
head, in inch pieces, put them in with the
stock, a dozen
cloves, pepper and
salt; boil it about two hours; braid up a little
flour and
butter, stir it into the soup, and boil about ten minutes; add, if desired, half a tumbler of
red wine; serve hot.
Cut a few
onions in pieces, fry them in dripping brown; cut three pounds of
beef in pieces, brown this also, stirring and turning both
meat and
onions as they fry, then put them in the saucepan with a
carrot, a
turnip cut small, and a little
celery if you have it, or two
seeds of celery, add three quarts of
water to this, stir all together with a little
pepper and
salt; simmer very slowly and skim off what rises; in three or four hours the soup will be clear. When served, add a little
vermicelli, which should have previously been boiled in
water; the liquor should be carefully poured off through a sieve.
Take two large
old fat chickens; chop up the pieces and mash the
bones. Put in a few slices of
boiled ham if not too strong. Stew slowly until in rags. Then pour on three quarts of
boiling water, and boil it down to half a gallon. Chop up the
chickens' hearts, the
yolks of four
hard boiled eggs, and stir, with a tea cup half full of grated
bread crumbs, into a cup of
rich sweet cream; strain the soup, return it to the kettle with a bouquet of
herbs, boil five minutes, stir in the
cream, etc., and take it off quickly.
Any soup of fowl or game may be made in the same way.
Instead of the thickening prepared as above, you may boil in it some
rice, or use
vermicelli, or
macaroni, previously simmered until soft.
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Take a
shin of veal, put it in a pot with three quarts of
water, and a
head of celery, pepper, and
salt; boil it three hours; then strain it all through a sieve; add a small piece of
butter, braided in a table-spoonful of
flour; stir it in and give it one boil; have ready, washed out of the liquor, one gallon of
oysters; strain the liquor into the soup, let it boil up, then put in the
oysters with a spoonful of
mushroom sauce; give it one boil and send it to the table very hot.
Slice some
onions, fry them a light brown in a quarter of a pound of
butter, then put them on the fire to stew in some
stock, as much as required for your soup,--about half an hour is sufficient; before you serve, add two or three dozen of
oysters, with their liquor strained. Thicken with the
yolks of three eggs, and season it with
white pepper, mace, and
salt; it must not boil after the
eggs are put in, but thicken like custard. Any kind of good
broth or
stock makes the foundation. Some add to this before the
eggs are put in, a glass of
white wine.
Mix one pint of
water with whatever liquor you can drain from two quarts of fresh
oysters. When this liquor comes to a full boil, put the
oysters in, and boil until nearly done; then pour in a quart of
fresh milk. Season with
salt, pepper, and a blade of
mace. If you prefer the soup a little thick, powder a half dozen
crackers fine, and sift them into it.
First make a rich
mutton broth, pour it on the
oysters. Add a small piece of
butter rolled in
flour, let it simmer gently for about quarter of an hour, then serve it in a dish with
crackers in the bottom.
ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH GREEN PEAS. |
After cutting the greenest part of the
asparagus into pieces
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about an inch or two long, blanch them in
boiling water until quite done; add some good
stock to it and strain it. Boil the pieces separately, add them to the soup and serve
toasted bread with it, if desired.
Take some young
carrots, turnips, onions, celery, and
cabbage lettuces; cut them in slices, and put them into a stewpan with a little
butter, and some
lean ham cut in pieces. Cover them closely and let them stew for a short time. Fill up with
stock sufficient for the soup required, and let it boil until the vegetables are quite soft, adding a few leaves of
mint and the crust of a roll; pound all, and having boiled a quart of
peas, as green as you can, strain them off and pound them also; mix them with the rest of the ingredients and pass through a sieve. Heat it, and season with
salt, pepper and
sugar; add a few young boiled
peas, and use the
spinach to restore it.
Boil a pint of
split peas in two quarts of
water for four or five hours, or until quite tender. Then add two
turnips, two
carrots, a stick of
celery, and some
potatoes all cut in pieces. When tender, pulp it through a sieve. Cut a large
onion in slices and fry it in
butter and
flour, to thicken the soup. Season to taste. If desired, a
ham bone or a piece of
beef can be stewed with the
peas, to be taken out when the soup is pulped through the sieve. Serve with the soup pieces of
bread fried crisp in
butter.
Take a half of a
shin of beef, some
beef and
ham bones, and, if possible, a
knuckle of veal, and boil all together, in a gallon of
water, with a little
salt. Clear it of the scum, as it rises, and have ready a quart of
split peas, which have been soaked in
cold water over night. Boil the
meat very slowly, for two hours, then put in the
peas, which will have absorbed the
water, with a root of
celery, and two or three
carrots scraped, and cut in pieces. Sift in, also, a little
dried mint, and season to taste. Cook slowly, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for four hours.
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Have a
knuckle of veal (weighing about five pounds) for dinner. When all have dined, return the
bones into the stewpan, with the liquor in which it was boiled, a nice,
white onion, and two
turnips. Boil some
Jerusalem artichokes in
milk, (
skim milk will do,) then beat up all with the liquor, which, of course, must be first strained, then thickened with a small quantity of
flour rubbed smooth in a tea cup, with a little
milk. Use
white pepper for the seasoning, to keep the color pure.
Cut in pieces half a dozen
parsnips, a
head of celery, and two
onions; stew them in two quarts of
stock until they are tender, take them out and pulp them through a coarse sieve, and pour the pulp back into the soup, flavor with
pepper and
salt, and before serving pour in a little
milk.
Take half a gallon of
stock; add three
turnips, six
carrots, three or four
onions, and let them stew till tender. Take out the vegetables, strain the soup; take off the red part of the
carrots, and rub it through a colander, make the soup about as thick as
cream, with the pulped
carrot. Heat it well through and serve.
Boil in
water some
peas with
salt, pepper, and any vegetables. When quite soft mash the whole and bray through a sieve or colander. Instead of split peas you may use
carrots, turnips, asparagus, or
green peas, etc., as the staple. Put your colandered vegetables back into the pot, and if you have any
stock, thin the soup with it; if you have no stock, thin with
water, or
milk and
water. Boil up, and your dish is fit for table.
In four quarts of
water put two pounds of trimmings or odd pieces of
meat, a quarter of a pound of
pearl barley, four sliced
onions, salt and
pepper, with a little
parsley, if you have it. Simmer for three hours or more.
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Put first a gallon of
water to a
sheep's head nicely cleaned, then reduce it to half the quantity, and add a teacupful of
pearl barley, half a dozen large
onions, a
turnip, a
carrot, a bunch of
sweet herbs, pepper, salt, cloves, and a little
mushroom or
walnut catsup. Strain all off, cut part of the
head in pieces and serve it in the soup, with a small quantity of
white wine.
Take three pounds of ripe
pumpkin, peel and remove the seeds, cut into pieces of moderate size, and place in a stewpan over the fire with a pint of
water; let it boil slowly till soft, strain off all the
water, and pass the
pumpkin through a colander; return the pulp into the stew pan adding nearly three pints of
milk, one ounce or more of
butter, a pinch of
salt and
pepper, and a few lumps of
loaf sugar; boil for ten minutes, stirring often. Pour it boiling into the dish, on very thin slices of
bread. The
sugar improves the flavor, but may be omitted. It can be seasoned with a blade of
mace or a little
nutmeg.
Cut two pounds of the gourd into large slices, put it into a pan with three ounces of
butter, two tea-spoonfuls of
salt, two of
moist sugar, a little
pepper, and half a pint of
water; set on the fire and stew gently for twenty minutes. When reduced to a pulp, add two table-spoonfuls of
flour, stir and moisten with three pints of
new milk; boil with care ten minutes longer, and serve with
toast in slices. Vegetable
marrow is equally good, made into soup according to this receipt.
Slice some
onions into a stew pan, with a piece of dripping, or
lard, and a little
flour. When brown add a quart of boiling
milk, pepper, salt, and any cold cooked vegetables at hand. Boil up once or twice, and you have a delicious food, without
meat or
stock.
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Slice some
onions into a stewpan, with any grease at hand, and keep them moving about till half brown, then sift in a little
flour or fine
bread-crumbs, and brown well. Now add a quart of
boiling hot water, with
salt, pepper, and some cold cooked vegetables. This would be greatly improved if you could contrive to fry in
grease a few bits of
bread cut into small pieces, and add them to the soup when brown.
Boil a
shin of veal three hours, or take some soup
stock. Cut up two
onions, two
carrots, and two
turnips, and put with it; also
pepper, salt and one dozen
tomatoes. Boil this two hours, and strain it through a sieve.
Toast some pieces of
bread a light brown; cut them in dice form, and put them into the dish. The soup should be turned on to the
toast just before it is taken to the table, as soaking long spoils it.
Set the
stock on the fire to boil; let it simmer three or four hours. Place in a bowl bits of
bread, no matter how hard and stale. Pour over them enough
hot broth to soak them well; mash fine, and put the whole into the
stock. Let it continue to simmer a few minutes more after the
bread mash has been added.
Put a
shin of veal, one
onion, two
carrots, two
turnips, and a little
salt, into four quarts of
water. Boil this three hours; add two cups of
vermicelli, and boil it an hour and a half longer. Before serving take out the bone and vegetable.
The following soup is stated by Miss Bremer, to be the soup constantly served to Mademoiselle Jenny Lind, as prepared by her own cook. The sago and eggs were found by her soothing to the chest, and beneficial to the voice. Wash a quarter of a pound of best
pearl sago thoroughly, then stew it quite tender and very
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thick in
water or thick
broth; (it will require nearly or quite a quart of liquid, which should be poured to it cold and heated slowly;) then mix gradually with it a pint of good
boiling cream or
milk, and the
yolks of four fresh
eggs, and mingle the whole carefully with two quarts of strong
veal or
beef stock, which should always be kept ready boiling. Serve immediately.
Make a batter with a pound of
flour, a little
salt, half a pint of
milk; stir well, and add two
eggs beaten; it should be of the consistency of
cream. Make this into pancakes, fried very pale yellow. As each one is fried, lay it on a board and double over once. Roll each slightly, and cut into strips half an inch wide, and put them into the soup tureen and pour good
stock, well seasoned and strained, over them. Serve hot.
Put a bouquet of finely cut vegetables, consisting of
celery, a
carrot, an
onion, tomatoes,--two if fresh, two table-spoonfuls if canned,--a
leek, and a bunch of
parsley, in a stew pan, with two ounces of
butter, pepper, salt, and cover down for nearly an hour; when cooked soft in the
butter add a quart or more of
broth, and two table-spoonfuls of
cold jelly gravy, and leave the whole to simmer together an hour longer, or until dinner time. During the process of coming to a boil, the
butter or
grease rising to the top should be skimmed off and preserved, to be clarified for further use.
Take three pounds of the
neck of beef, one
cow heel, carrots and
turnips, half a
head of celery, one bunch of tied up
sweet herbs, four
onions browned, one pint of
peas; put together into three quarts of
water and, after boiling some hours, strain through a sieve. The best part of the
cow heel may be cut in square pieces and served up in the soup.
When baking is more convenient, in four quarts of
water put
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one pound of trimmings or odd pieces of
meat, two
onions, and two sliced
carrots, two ounces of
rice or bits of
bread, one pint of
split peas, pepper and
salt. Put the whole into a close jar, and bake slowly for four hours. This will make a good, wholesome food for a large family.
Put a pint of
peas into a quart of
water; boil them until they are so tender as easily to be pulped through a sieve. Take of the leanest end of a
loin of mutton three pounds, cut it into chops, put it into a saucepan with a gallon of
water, four
carrots, four
turnips, cut in small pieces; season with
pepper and
salt. Boil until all the vegetables are quite tender; put in the
pulped peas a
head of celery and a
sliced onion. Boil fifteen minutes, and serve.
Take the scrag end of a large sized
neck of mutton, reserving the best half for cutlets, put it into a stewpan and boil it with three quarts of
water, half a pint of
Scotch barley, three
leeks, three
onions, a little
parsley and
thyme. Skim it, and after it has boiled up, let it stand on the top of the stove and simmer for two hours, then skim again, and if it is too thick with
barley add half a pint of
boiling water, three or four
turnips, a
head of celery, and two
carrots cut in pieces; after which, let it simmer slowly an hour and a half more; the
barley should be almost wholly dissolved. The
meat may be cut in pieces and served with the
broth or served separately.
Cut the
chicken, veal, mutton or
beef, up into pieces, and put into a jar with a cover; fill with
water, adding a little
salt; close down tight, and let it simmer all day on the stove or range; strain, and season to taste. This method extracts all the juices and strength of the
meat, and is infinitely better than boiling.
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>
MEATS.
If the
beef is very
salt put it in
cold water; if it is only slightly corned put it in
boiling water, and let it cook very slowly. This will render it quite as tender as if put into
cold water, and at the same time all the juices of the
meat will be retained. Boil until tender, but not until ragged, so that the
meat will cut clean and clear, when cold.
Never buy poor, cheap pieces of corned beef, they are full of bone and gristle; there is no satisfaction in eating from them, and they prove the most costly in the end.
Fresh beef should never be boiled plain, unless it is boiled down for soup; it may be stewed, or cooked alamode, or stuffed and baked, provided the piece is not suitable for roasting.
Take six pounds of
round of beef, place it in a deep kettle, with half a pint of
water, half a pint of
broth, a gill of good
vinegar, a bunch of
parsley, a few
cloves, a sprig of
sweet marjoram, and some
salt, and
pepper. Let it lay in this over night, turning it several times, if it is warm weather; it is best to give the mixture a boil up, putting the
meat to it cold. The next day simmer four or five hours, adding two
onions chopped small; take up the
meat, add a tea spoonful of
butter braided in
flour to the strained liquor, with a dash of
mushroom catsup. Pour it over the
meat, and serve. If more liquid is required while stewing, put in
broth or
gravy, if you have it,-if not,
water.
CURED BRISKET OF BEEF FOR CHRISTMAS. |
At night rub fourteen pounds of
brisket of beef, with one ounce of
saltpetre pounded very fine; the next morning mix together
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half a pound of
sugar, and four handfuls of
common salt, and rub the
beef well over with it. Let it remain in the
pickle two weeks, turning and rubbing it every day; then take it out, and put it into an earthen pan, with some
suet chopped fine to cover the bottom of the pan, and the same on the top of the
beef, with a little
water to keep the pan from burning. Bake it slowly for six hours. Eaten cold.
Put three fourths of a pound of coarse
sugar, one pound of
bay salt, nearly an ounce of
allspice, a tea-spoonful or less of
cloves, a small piece of
saltpetre, and three cents worth of
cochineal, into four quarts of
water; let these all boil slowly together fully twenty minutes; then take from the fire, and let it stand till quite cool. Take a
round of beef, from twenty to twenty-five pounds, and pour this
pickle over it, turning it once or twice a day, continuing this for two or three weeks. At the end of this time it will be ready for use.
It is not necessary to beat them; cut them half an inch thick and place them on the gridiron. The fire should be clear and brisk, the gridiron should be hot, the bars rubbed with
suet. Sprinkle a little
salt over the fire. Turn the
steaks often, keeping a dish close to the fire, in which to drain the
gravy from the top of the
steak as you lift it. The gridiron is best set in a slanting direction, so that fat will not fall on the coals and make a smoke. If there is a smoke, take the
steak off for a moment. Over a brisk fire of coals steaks will be done in ten minutes. Then lay them on a hot plate with a small slice of
butter on each piece, pouring over them the
gravy, and sprinkling on a very little
salt.
Lard a
round of beef with slices of
fat bacon dipped in
vinegar; roll it up with
chopped seasoning, cloves, sage, parsley, thyme, pepper and
green onions; bind it close and put it in a sauce pan. Tnrn it when half done, and let it stand for twelve hours on a stove. It can be eaten hot or cold.
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Take five or six pounds of
rump, and cover down close in a pan, with enough
butter or clarified dripping to prevent burning or sticking to the pan; let it cook slowly for an hour, then pour off the
grease and put in a little
broth, half a cup of rich
gravy, a few drops of
vinegar, and a little
calf's-foot jelly, if convenient; cover down closely again and let it cook, with the heat all about it, for two hours longer, basting frequently; when it is quite tender, take it up, and mix half a table-spoonful of
flour with a little
cream, and put into the
gravy, which season to taste, and then pour over the
meat, that is to say, a part of it, for an economical cook will reserve part to assist in the preparation of next day's dinner.
A piece weighing eight pounds requires about five or six hours to boil. Make a dressing of
bread crumbs, pepper, salt, sweet herbs, a little
mace, and one
onion chopped fine and mixed with an
egg. Put the dressing in between the fat and the lean of the beef and sew it up tight;
flour the cloth; pin the
beef up very tight in it; boil it five or six hours. When it is done take the cloth off, and press it until it is cold. This is to be cut in thin slices and eaten cold.
Procure a
steak cut from the
rump of beef, and fill it with a dressing made of
chopped bread, pork, sage, onions and
sweet marjoram, and well seasoned; sew it up, put a slice or two of
pork, or some of the dressing, on the top, and set it in a pan, into which pour a pint of
water; cover down tight, and let it cook slowly in the oven three hours; then take off the lid, brown quickly, and serve hot.
OX CHEEK STUFFED AND BAKED. |
Mash and soak thoroughly an
ox cheek; put it into plenty of
warm water and boil gently an hour, throwing in a large tea spoonful of
salt and skimming occasionally. Lift it out, and when cool take out the bones. Put in a good roll of
forcemeat; bind up the
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cheek securely, and bake it in a moderate oven an hour or an hour and a half, until it is quite tender clear through. Drain it from fat, unbind it, and serve it with a good
brown gravy, or any
sauce preferred, or with
melted butter in a tureen, a cut
lemon and cayenne.
This can be made from either the round, brisket or
rump of beef, but
ribs are the most tender eating. Procure from eight to ten pounds of the
ribs of beef; those which have a good amount of fat upon them are the best; remove the bone, rub the
meat well with one ounce of
saltpetre pounded very finely, and three hours after this has been applied, rub on half a pound of
moist sugar; let the
meat lay in this for two days, then take one ounce of
ground pepper, half an ounce of pounded
mace, a few
cloves well pounded, and a tea-spoonful of
cayenne pepper. Mix all these ingredients well, and rub them well into the
beef, particularly into the holes, adding occasionally a little
salt. Roll up the
meat as a round, and bind it with a strong fillet. Chop some
suet very finely, cover the
beef with it, and bake it in a moderately heated oven, from five to six hours. While baking, it may be placed either upon a
meat tin, or in an earthen jar as nearly of its size as possible. In both cases there should be a cup full of
gravy or
water under the
meat, to prevent it from burning; if a jar is used there should be a cover to it.
Take two pounds of
steak from a
round of beef, cut thin, divide it into strips about three inches broad; beat them with a chopper till flat and tender, then chop finely some fresh gathered
mushrooms, and add a little
pepper, salt, and fresh
butter in small pieces. Lay the
mushrooms and
seasoning half over the strips of
steak; roll them up, fasten them with a coarse needle and thread, (or with very tiny skewers,) and lay the fillets in a pie dish to bake. The baking dish should be covered with another dish of the same size, to prevent the steam from evaporating, otherwise the outside of the meat will be dry. Thicken the
gravy which is in the baking dish with
flour and
butter, and add
mushroom catsup as a
seasoning.
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The fillets will require turning whilst baking. But a less troublesome plan of cooking a
steak in this mode, is to have it dressed in one piece. The
steak should be cut thin and rolled as described, but instead of mushrooms add a fine
forcemeat or plain
veal stuffing.
FILLETS OF BEEF WITH ANCHOVY. |
Soak five or six
anchovies in
water for about two hours, split them and put the fillet with them, mixed with some
bacon; boil it on a slow fire with a small quantity of
broth, a glass of
white wine, a
clove of garlic, two
cloves, and a bunch of
herbs. When sufficiently done, strain the
sauce, add to it a piece of
butter rolled in
flour, two spoonsful of
cream, and a few
capers; mix in a little
yolk of egg, and pour it over the fillet.
FILLETS OF BEEF WITH FORCEMEAT. |
Make forcemeat with
fowls' livers, grated bacon, a little
butter, parsley, shallots, three
yolks of eggs, and
spices. Cut a
fillet of beef in two, flatten it with a cleaver, lard it through, then lay the
forcemeat between it, and also about a pint of small
mushrooms which have been previously stewed in a little
butter; tie the
meat up in a cloth, boil it in
broth, with a glass of
wine and a bunch of
sweet herbs.
Take a
round of beef weighing fifteen pounds, and let it hang two or three days. Reduce to a very fine powder two ounces of
saltpetre, two ounces of
sugar, three quarters of an ounce of
cloves, the same of
nutmeg, one third of an ounce of
allspice, two handsful of
common salt. Bone the
beef, and rub the
spices well into it, and do so every day for two or three weeks. When you wish to dress the
meat, wash the spices off the outside with
cold water, bind it up tightly with tape, and place it in a pan with a tea-cupful of
water at the bottom; cover the top of the
meat with chopped
suet; cover the pan with a coarse
paste, and
brown paper over that. Let it bake five hours, and when it is cold remove the
paste and the tape. Some persons stuff the hole left by taking out the bone, with chopped
parsley and
sweet herbs.
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Make a strong
brine of
bay salt, saltpetre and
pump water. Place in it a piece of
ribs of beef, and let it lie for nine days. Then hang it in a chimney in the smoke of wood or sawdust. When it is nearly dry, wash the outside with
bullock's blood, and when this is dry, boil it and serve it with vegetables.
HAMBURGH PICKLE FOR BEEF, HAMS AND TONGUE. |
Take two gallons of
water, three pounds of
bay salt, or if that cannot be got, five pounds of
common salt, two pounds of
coarse sugar, two ounces of
saltpetre, and two ounces of
black pepper bruised and tied in a fold of muslin; boil all together twenty minutes, removing the scum as it rises. Pour the
pickle into a deep earthen jar, and when it is cold lay in the
meat so that every part is covered. Turn the
meat occasionally. A middling sized
round of beef will be ready for the table in a fortnight.
Place a thick
rump steak well larded and rubbed with
shallot in the bottom of a saucepan, cut up some
game into small pieces without
bones, and lay over the
steak, mixed with
pepper and
salt and some pieces of
bacon; stew them all well, and add
chopped mushrooms and a rich
gravy, before making them into the pie. The pie should have a thick ornamental crust round the sides and on the bottom. Let the top crust be loose, so that additional
gravy can be poured in; and bake until it is a light brown.
Take a piece of
beef boiled tender, chop it very finely with an
onion, season with
salt and
pepper, add
parsley, bread crumbs, lemon peel, and grated
nutmeg; moisten it with an
egg, mix well together, and roll it into balls. Then dip them in
flour and fry them in boiling
lard or fresh dripping. Serve them with thickened
brown gravy, or fried
bread crumbs.
Mince some dressed
beef very fine, melt a piece of
butter in a
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stew pan, add three or four
onions, chopped fine, and fried a pale brown; add a spoonful of
flour, and moisten with a little good
stock, or
gravy, seasoned with
pepper, salt, nutmeg, and a little
parsley chopped fine. When the
sauce is done enough, put in the
minced beef; let it stew a short time till the
sauce is dry, then form the
meat into either balls or rolls; dip each into the beaten
white of eggs; have some
butter, or
lard, hot; put each ball very gently into the frying pan, shaking a little
flour over them, roll them about gently in the pan to brown them alike, and when a good color, drain them on a cloth, and serve on dressed
parsley.
Take cold
roast beef, cut in slices, and remove skin and gristle. Place in a stewpan a small piece of
butter, an
onion chopped fine, a table-spoonful of
flour; put it on the fire and stir it till it browns, but be careful it does not burn. Then stir in gradually half a pint of
stock, flavored with
herbs, with a little
salt, and let it boil up thick. Put in two table-spoonsful of hot
green pickles chopped small, and the slices of
beef. Heat them through and serve with sippets of
toast.
Having removed the fat and skin, mince the
beef nearly to a
paste: stew gently--if possible over night, so that the fat may be skimmed off. Season with
pepper and
salt, and sprinkle with
oat-meal; chop a half handful of
parsley and
thyme and throw in; boil a large
onion nearly tender, chop it and mix it in; add sufficient
broth or skim-
milk and
water to cover the
beef; let it simmer two hours; then thicken with a little
oatmeal, and add a dessert spoonful of
mushroom or
walnut catsup; stir well, boil a minute and serve with pieces of
bread toasted. The
bones from which the
meat is cut will do for the
broth in which the
meat is stewed, if
broth is used. Even then, however, a tea-cupful of
milk may be added with the thickening.
After being thinly sliced, as usual, freshen it in
water; stew it in a little
water until tender; then beat an
egg with a little
flour, put
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a lump of
butter to the
beef, stir in the
egg and
flour, and serve on
toast bread with the
gravy over it.
Cut up the
meat in pieces as large as you wish, and pack it in a barrel or cask. Then make a
brine as follows: one pound and half of
salt to one gallon of
water, one ounce of
saltpetre to one hundred pounds of
beef, one table-spoonful of
ground pepper to one hundred pounds of
beef. Put in the
salt and
saltpetre, heat it boiling hot, skim it, then add the
pepper. Pour it on the
beef boiling hot and cover closely.
Carbonate of soda will remedy tough
beef. Cut the
steaks the day before using into slices about two inches thick; rub over them a small quantity of
soda; wash off next morning, cut it into suitable thickness, and cook. The same process will answer for
fowls, legs of mutton, etc.
A LEG OF MUTTON IN FOUR MEALS. |
For the first meal, cut off a handsome
knuckle and boil it; for the second meal, take as many cutlets as required for the family from the
joint; for the third meal, roast the remainder of the
joint. The remains of both the boiled and roasted
meat, may then be hashed for a fourth meal.
Cut off the shank bone and trim the
knuckle. Boil with
salt in the
water, skimming. If it weighs nine or ten pounds it will need to cook three hours. It may be served with
parsley or
celery and
butter, or
caper sauce, or
pickled kidney beans and
onion sauce; mashed turnips, spinach and
potatoes are good with it.
A
leg of mutton weighing ten pounds should be roasted two hours. When half done, turn the fat out of the roaster; then baste the
meat with the dripping. Make the
gravy the same as for
roast beef, or add a few spoonsful of current
jelly and a cup of
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red wine. Ten minutes more should be allowed for every extra pound of
mutton.
LEG OF MUTTON WITH OYSTERS. |
Parboil
fat oysters and mix with them some
parsley, minced onions, and
sweet herbs, boiled and chopped fine, and the
yolks of two
hard boiled eggs. Cut five or six holes in the fleshy part of a
leg of mutton, and put in the mixture; dress it as follows: Tie it up in a cloth and let it boil gently two and a half or three hours, according to the size.
A nice way to cook a
shoulder of lamb is to
bone it, and fill the space with a
stuffing made of chopped
mushrooms, parsley, salt pork, cracker crumbs, some
sweet herbs, pepper and
salt, and a
raw egg. Braise it with some good
stock gravy, and send it to table surrounded by
spinach, garnished with slices of
egg.
To roast a quarter of
lamb, lard it slightly with
salt pork, and sprinkle it with
bread crumbs and finely-chopped
parsley. Make a
sauce of some
stock gravy, a table-spoonful of
vinegar, chopped
mint, a little
yolk of egg, and
mushroom catsup; pour over the joint, and let it stand in the oven a few moments. Serve with
green peas, with which a little bunch of
mint has been boiled.
Roast the joint of a
leg of mutton in the usual way; rub on a little
salt, and also sprinkle on
flour as the fat comes out. Have it nicely and evenly browned on every side, baste it well, and when ready, to take out, pour off the dripping and have ready a little
boiling water, but do not drown the real
juices of the
meat. Serve with
currant jelly if convenient.
Trim them; remove what fat is not required to cook with them; season and broil over a clear fire, turning often until done. Serve with small pieces of
butter on them.
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Trim them, season with
pepper and
salt, fry them in their own
fat or
pork fat, turn them often. Serve them hot. Brown a little
butter and
flour, add a little
water, and pour the
gravy over them.
MUTTON CHOPS WITH CUCUMBERS. |
Slice
cucumbers and lay them in a deep dish, sprinkled with
salt and wet with
vinegar. Fry the chops a nice brown, lay them in a stewpan, and put the
cucumbers, drained, over them; add some chopped
onions, pepper and
salt, cover them with weak
broth and stew them, skimming occasionally.
Cut up the chops and beat them with the edge of a knife. Beat the
yolks of a few
eggs and dip the cutlets in them; season them with
pepper, salt, nutmeg, and
bread crumbs. Roll them in buttered papers and boil them. Use for
sauce some good
gravy, a piece of
butter, crumbs of
bread, capers, anchovies, with some
nutmeg and a little
vinegar. As soon as they are dressed, tear off the papers, and set them on the dish with the
sauce.
Cut in thick slices cold boiled
leg of mutton; it should not be cooked too much or it will fall into pieces; put on it
salt and
pepper, and then broil it. Let it be very hot, and add a thick
sauce flavored with fresh
tomatoes, or
tomato sauce, and serve.
Take
cold boiled mutton, or
roast mutton if that is on hand, cut it into small slices, and slice a few
potatoes. Dip the slices of
meat into a mixture of
salt, pepper, flour, and finely chopped
onion; butter the basin, line it with
suet crust, fill it with alternate layers of
mutton and
potatoes, pour in a tea-cupful of
gravy, or
stock, cover with
crust and cook it.
Part of a
breast of mutton or
lamb, cut in bits, as many
potatoes,
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pepper and
salt to taste; two
onions, a bunch of
parsley, a bunch of
sweet herbs. Stew all together in barely sufficient
water to cover them, for two hours, gently. Then put in a tea-cup of
tomato catsup, and boil up again. Serve hot.
Cut the meat from a
neck of mutton into pieces about as large as your finger,
lard them through with
ham bacon; let them simmer in some
stock with
sweet herbs; when done, take the pieces of
meat out, reduce the
gravy and strain it over them; cover each piece with good
fowl seasoning, wrap it in a slice of
bacon, wash them over with
egg, strew them with
bread crumbs, and bake them.
At night cut
cold boiled or roast mutton into slices, remove the solid fat, break the bones, and put it in a saucepan with a large
onion sliced thin; pour in
broth or
stock to just cover over it, and let it simmer until at boiling heat, but do not let it boil. Pour it into an earthen dish and cover it for the night. In the morning, or sometime before dinner, skim off the fat, return it to the pot with
seasoning and a little
flour, and let it simmer, but not boil, a long time. As the
meat gets dry, pour in
milk. A quarter of an hour before serving, take away the bones and skin, add a dessert spoonful or more of
walnut or mushroom catsup, thicken smoothly with
flour, oat meal or
Indian meal, wet with
milk and
liquor from the hash; boil a minute longer, add more
seasoning if required, and serve with sippets of
toasted bread.
Cut off two pounds from a
leg of mutton, remove the fat, and chop it up finely, with a slice or two of
bacon; season with
pepper and
salt, and put it into a saucepan with a tea-cupful of
gravy, six ounces of
butter. Chop three young
lettuces; add a quart of young
peas, an
onion chopped small. Stir all together over a gentle fire until quite hot, then place the saucepan closely covered at the side of the fire, and let it stew gently for three hours. Serve in a hot dish, and place round it a wall of well-cooked
rice.
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HASHED MUTTON WITH MUSHROOMS. |
Take nice slices of
mutton, without skin or fat, and sprinkle each piece with
flour on both sides. Put six large
mushrooms, after having been trimmed and cut in four pieces, into a stewpan with a small piece of
butter, to stew; add a little
gravy, some
pepper and
salt, and when sufficiently done, put in the
meat; let it heat through, slowly, stirring it the while that it may not burn, but not let it boil, or the
meat will be hard. As soon as the hash thickens and the
flour is all heat through and changed color, the hash is done. Serve immediately with sippets of neatly cut, thin
toast, or
fried bread, round the dish.
Prepare a
sauce by taking finely chopped
onions, parsley, and
sweet herbs; fry in
butter, and add a table-spoonful of
flour mixed in
water or
stock, and as much
stock as required. Mince cold
boiled or roast mutton, taking only the good parts, place it in the
sauce and warm it through without boiling. This should be served with
poached eggs on the top.
MINCED MUTTON WITH CUCUMBERS. |
To prepare minced
mutton with
cucumber, the
mutton should be minced as before, then a large
cucumber should be pared, the
seeds taken out, and cut up in small, square pieces about the size of a nutmeg. Stew till tender in
savory brown sauce, and put in the
minced mutton and some thickening, if necessary. Mix the
mutton and
cucumber well together, let it heat through, and serve it piled high on a dish, with sippets of
fried bread round it.
Cut in slices about one pound of
cold mutton; then put two sliced
onions into a stew pan with a small piece of
butter, and fry brown; then add half a pint of good flavored
broth, a dessert-spoonful of
Harvey sauce, the same spoon three times full of taragon
vinegar, two tea-spoonful of
curry paste, a small lump of
sugar, and a little
pepper and
salt to taste; let this
sauce just boil up once and then simmer slowly by the fire for half an hour; stir
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it often, and thicken it with a table spoonful of
flour, mixed smooth in a little
cold water; or you can use
corn starch, half the quantity will do. When the thickening has boiled thoroughly, and the
sauce ready, put in the
meat, let it heat through but not boil. Serve hot, with pieces of
toast round the dish.
QUARTER OF LAMB AS A SAVORY DISH. |
Procure a hind quarter of
lamb, and cut off the shank from it. Raise the thick part of the flesh from the bone with a knife. Prepare some
forcemeat, the same as for
veal or any other
white meat, and place it between the
bone and flesh, and all underneath the
kidney. Roast the
lamb partially, then place it on a saucepan with a quart of
mutton gravy; cover it up and let it stew gently. When it is sufficiently cooked, take it up and lay it upon a hot dish. Skim the fat from the
gravy, and strain it; add a
wine glass full of
sherry or
Maderia wine, a dessert spoonful of
walnut catsup, two of browning, the
juice of half a
lemon, a little
cayenne pepper, and half a pint of bearded
oysters. Thicken with a little
butter rolled in
flour; pour the
gravy hot over the
lamb, and serve it up.
Put into an earthen pan a glass of
water, two or three spoonsful of
vinegar, three
onions, sliced
parsley, chives, two
shallots, a
bay leaf, a bit of
thyme, two
cloves, and about two ounces of
butter; cover the pan close, and put a
paste of coarse
flour and
water round the edges, to keep in the steam; let it bake three hours, strain the
sauce and pour over the
meat, after
seasoning it with
pepper and
salt. Another way is to stuff it with
bread crumbs, suet, or
butter, parsley, a little
thyme and
lemon peel, pepper, salt, and
nutmeg; then
lard it, and roast until brown, serving it with rich
brown gravy.
Take part of a
loin of veal, the chump end will do; put it into a large, thick, well tinned iron saucepan, or into a stewpan, two ounces of
butter, and shake it over a moderate fire, until it begins to brown;
flour the
veal well all over, lay it into the saucepan, and when it is of a light brown, pour in gradually
veal broth,
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gravy, or
boiling water, to nearly half its depth; add a little
salt, one or two sliced
carrots, a small
onion or more, and a bunch of
parsley; stew the
veal very gently for an hour or more; then turn and let it stew another hour until it is perfectly done. Dish the joint; skim all the fat from the
gravy, and strain it over the
meat, or keep the joint hot while it is rapidly reduced to a richer consistency.
Cut off the gristle, raise the
meat off the
bones, then lay a good
forcemeat, made of pounded
veal, some
sausage meat, parsley, and a few
shallots chopped very fine, and seasoned with
pepper, salt, and
nutmeg; then roll the
veal tightly, and sew it with the twine; lay some slices of
fat bacon in a stewpan, and put the
veal roll on it; add some
stock, pepper, salt, and a bunch of
sweet herbs; let it stew three hours; then cut out the twine, strain the
sauce after skimming it, thicken it with
brown flour; let it boil up once, and pour it over the
veal; garnish with slices of
lemon, each cut in four. A
fillet of veal, first stuffed with
forcemeat, can be dressed in the same manner, but it must first be roasted, so as to brown it a good color; and
forcemeat balls, highly seasoned, should be served round the
veal.
Brown the
veal first, by half roasting it; remove as many of the bones as possible, and then put it in a stewpan with some
stock, a glass of
wine, a piece of
lemon peel, a bunch of
sweet herbs, a
ham bone, and a
carrot; let it simmer slowly in the oven about half an hour before it is served; strain off the
sauce and remove the herbs, etc., put it then back with the
veal, first thickening it with some
flour browned with
butter; let it boil up to take off the raw taste of the
flour; then add some
pickled mushrooms with their
juice, and serve.
Take out or ask the butcher to do so, the bone from the center, and fill the cavity with a
stuffing of bread crumbs, nice
salt pork, an
onion, sweet herbs, and
pepper and
salt to taste, all chopped
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up together until thoroughly blended; with the remainder fill up all the interstices and fasten with skewers; cover down in a bake-pan with a teacupful of
water, for an hour and a half, basting occasionally; then remove the cover and roast until it becomes a rich brown. This dish is a universal favorite.
This is best larded. Have every joint thoroughly cut, and between each one lay a slice of
salt pork; roast a fine brown, and so that the upper sides of the
pork will be crisp; baste often; season with
pepper; the
pork will make it sufficiently
salt.
The
knuckle, which is left after cutting off the fillet, makes excellent soup, or is very good boiled with
rice. It should cook slowly on the top of the range, so that the
rice will not burn, and be dished up with the
meat in the center, and small pieces of
butter placed at intervals round it, in the
rice.
KNUCKLE OF VEAL WITH RICE. |
Boil a
knuckle of veal, two
turnips, one
onion, six
pepper-corns, a
head of celery, and a tea-cupful of
rice, together, very gently on the top of the stove for about three hours, skimming occasionally, and mixing in a little
salt. When done, send it to the table with
rice around the
veal. The
stock in which the
veal has boiled, will help to make good soup.
Take six neck cutlets of
veal, trim them neatly, and cut off the bone;
lard the cutlets, put them into a frying-pan with a little
butter, and let them brown; shake a little
flour over them, and then moisten them with a little
stock; add a bunch of fine
herbs, some
carrots cut in forms, or scalloped, some small
onions, mushrooms, salt, two
cloves; when the cutlets are done enough, dish them and put the vegetables in the middle; skim the
sauce, strain it, and pour it over the cutlets. They must be well seasoned.
MINCED VEAL WITH MACARONI. |
Mince up
cold veal with a slice of
ham, a little grated rind of
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lemon, a little
salt, and a few spoonsful of
broth or
gravy. Simmer gently, taking care that it does not boil. Serve it upon small squares of
buttered toast, and surround it with a border of
macaroni, cooked without cheese.
Cut cold boiled
veal into small pieces, dip each in
butter, fry them a light brown color, drain them well from the fat, pile them high in a dish and pour round them a thick,
brown sauce, strongly flavored with fresh
tomatoes when in season--when not in season, use
tomato sauce.
Cut cold
roast veal in small pieces, put half a pint of
white sauce, and a little
mushroom catsup in a sauce-pan; when it boils, put in the
meat and let it remain until it is well heated; break in an
egg slightly beaten; when the
sauce thickens put in a little
juice of lemon, and send to table.
Cut some slices of
veal very thin and divide them into neat pieces. Lay on each some good
forcemeat, seasoned high; roll each up tight, and tie them with coarse thread; put them on a bird spit; after dipping each in the
yolks of eggs, well beaten,
flour them over, and baste them with
butter; half an hour will do them. Have a good
gravy ready, with
truffles and
mushrooms chopped; and after dishing the rolls, pour the
gravy round them.
Take a
leg of veal and corn it slightly, by sprinkling
salt over it; let it lay a week, then cut from it steaks, which fry in the
fat from a few thin slices of browned
salt pork, or broil and serve with
butter and
pepper; no salt will be needed.
Take two pounds of
veal from the
leg or the
neck, and cut into nice pieces, which fry a light brown, with a slice of
ham or
salt pork, which may afterward be cut in pieces; have ready a
sauce,
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made by mixing
cold gravy or
soup stock with a table-spoonful of
flour, a little
thyme, pepper, salt, and some
button mushrooms; pour this over the
veal and
ham, and let the whole simmer together for half an hour. Of course, the
veal and
ham should be removed from the
grease in which they were fried, and placed in a clean pan before the
sauce is poured over them.
Take the part that is rare done, of either
roasted or boiled veal, and chop it very fine. Take
beef gravy sufficient for the
veal to be cooked in, dissolve cavear, of the quantity of an acorn, to one pound of
meat; put into the
gravy the
minced veal, and let it boil one minute. Pour it into a soup dish, upon sippets of
toasted bread. Garnish the dish with slices of
bacon broiled.
Three pounds of finely chopped
veal, three
eggs, six
cracker rolls, one table-spoonful of
salt, one of
thyme, one of
sage, and half a table-spoonful of
pepper, half a teacup of
milk, mix well, form into a loaf, baste with
milk and
butter while baking. Bake two hours.
Cut two thin
steaks from a
fillet of veal, beat them and rub them over with the
yolk of an egg; then cut them in strips from four to five inches in length; lay over every strip a very thin piece of
fat bacon, and strew them over with
bread crumbs, a little
lemon peel, and
parsley, chopped small; season with
cayenne pepper and
salt. Roll them up separately, and fasten them with a little wooden skewer in each. Dip them into
egg, bread crumbs and
parsley, chopped small. Put some clarified
beef dripping into a frying pan, let it boil up, then throw in the
veal olives and fry them a light brown color. Take a pint of good
gravy, add to it a dessert-spoonful of
lemon pickle, and same of
walnut catsup, and one of browning;
cayenne pepper and
salt to taste; thicken this with
flour and
butter. Place the
veal olives on a hot dish, strain the
gravy hot upon them, garnish with
lemon pickle and
forcemeat balls, and strew over them a few
pickled mushrooms.
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Take the hind quarter of
veal, add three
eggs, one pound of
pork, half a loaf of
bread; season with
salt and
pepper to taste; chop, and wet the whole with
milk. Bake two hours, then turn it out and eat it cold.
About three or four weeks is the right age, to roast whole; cut off the toes, leaving the skin long to wrap around the ends of the
legs, and put it in
cold water. Make a
stuffing, with about six powdered
crackers, one table-spoonful of
sage, two of
summer-savory, one chopped
onion, half a pint of
cream, two
eggs, with
pepper, and
salt. Mix these together, and stew about fifteen minutes. Take the
pig from the
water, fill it with the
stuffing, and sew it up. Boil the
liver, and
heart, with five
pepper-corns, chop fine for the
gravy. Put the
pig to roast, with a pint of
water, and a table-spoonful of
salt. When it begins to roast,
flour it well and baste it with the drippings. Bake three hours.
For
roast pork, make a
stuffing of crackers powdered fine, with half a pint of
cream, two
eggs, a small quantity of
summer-savory, pepper, and
salt; cook about ten minutes. Take the
leg of pork, of seven or eight pounds in weight, and raise the skin off the knuckle, and put in the
stuffing, then make deep cuts in the thick part of the
leg, and fill them also. It must be
floured over, and a pint of
water put in the pan. While roasting, baste it often with the drippings. Cook about three hours and a half. Skim some of the fat from the
gravy, add a little
flour, and boil it well a few minutes. Serve with
apple sauce, or any other that may be preferred.
Joint it down the middle; sprinkle it with fine
sage, salt, and a little
flour; put it in the oven and baste it well. Serve it with
apple sauce, egg sauce, or
white sauce.
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To broil or fry these, cut them half an inch thick, trim them into neat form, take off part of the fat. To broil them, sprinkle a little
pepper on them, and broil them over a clear and moderate fire a quarter of an hour, or a few minutes more; and just before taking them off, sprinkle over a little
fine salt. For frying,
flour them well and season with
pepper, and
salt, and
sage. They may also be dipped into an
egg, and then into
bread crumbs mixed with
minced sage; if for broiling, add a little
clarified butter to the
egg, or sprinkle it on the cutlets.
BOSTON PORK AND APPLE PIE. |
Boil one pound of nice, sweet,
salt pork, and when it is cold chop it up fine. Peel half a peck of greening
apples, chop them up also, and mix with the
pork. Sweeten with
sugar, and spice with
cinnamon and ground
cloves, or
allspice, and bake in deep soup plates, slowly and thoroughly, with a crust on both sides.
ENGLISH PORK OR RAISED PIE. |
These constitute a favorite luncheon dish in England. Take a pound of nice
lard, and heat it until melted, in a little
water. Use this
hot melted lard to mix the
flour into a
paste, with a little
salt. Work the
paste very smooth, divide it, and form each piece into a round ball, gradually working a hollow in the centre, and raising a wall, two, three, or four inches high all round, according to the size required. Have ready the
pork, fat and
lean, cut into small square pieces; fill each pie, season highly, fit a lid neatly to the top,
egg over, and bake a light brown, in a steady but not a quick oven.
Take some
pork bones from which the
meat has been removed for
sausages or other use. Put them into a deep dish and place amid them slices of
apples and
potatoes, with
chopped onions, salt and
pepper; add a little
water; cover it with a crust and bake slowly.
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Beat up some
eggs (according to the quantity required,) then add
salt, pepper, some finely cut parsely and
green onions, and a slice or two of
bacon cut into very fine mince
meat; mix all well together, fry and scorch the top with a red hot poker.
Cut a quarter of a pound of
bacon into thin slices and stew them slowly, turning them over and over. Take out the slices and put to the
grease two spoonsful of any
stock you happen to have, and break over it six or seven
eggs. Now add your slices of
bacon again,
pepper and
salt, cook over a slow fire, and scorch the top with a red hot poker.
Fry some slices of
salt pork till crisp, take them out, pour a little
water to the
fat and season it with
pepper; sprinkle in a little
flour, then cut up the
pork into small pieces and put it into this thickened
gravy.
Weigh your
hams, and make a
brine of one ounce of
salt to every pound of
meat, and one ounce of
saltpetre to every twenty pounds. Cover the bottom of the tub with
salt; pack the
hams close, and fill the chinks with stones. Let the
brine cover them well. After they have lain three or four weeks, take them up, dry and smoke them. Then wrap them in papers and lay them in ashes in a cool, dry cellar. This keeps the flies from them, and prevents them from getting dry and hard.
Hams cured in this way, keep the year round.
For every one hundred lbs. of
ham, take seven lbs. of
salt, three ounces of
saltpetre, two ounces of
pearlash, one quart of
molasses, five gallons of
water. Re-pack the
hams at the end of the first week, and put the same
pickle on them again.
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A
ham, if dry, may be soaked over night; if moist, this may be omitted. Put it in
warm water, and boil it for five or six hours. If it is
salt, the
water may be changed once, though it should not be put into
cold water. Soft water is best; if the
water is hard, a little
soda may be added to it. If it is desired to give the flavor of
ham to vegetables, they may be boiled in some of the liquor the
ham was boiled in, but the vegetables should not be put in with the
ham. When done take off the skin, which should be kept as whole as possible, (to put over the
ham when cold, which will prevent its drying,) and grate
toasted bread over it. Boiled
ham is best eaten cold. When served, remove the skin, stick cloves at intervals with a ring of
pepper around them, and garnish with
parsley, or put fringed paper around the small end.
After boiling the
ham three hours, remove the skin, sprinkle
sugar over it and bake one hour. It will be delicious.
Take the remains of a
boiled ham, cut in small pieces, and pound it, little by little, in a mortar; softening it during the process, with a little melted
butter. Add
Cayenne pepper to taste, and put it in small bowls, glasses, or potting jars, pressing it down very smooth. Over the surface pour a little more
melted butter; cover tight, and set away. It will keep for weeks. This is a nice supper dish.
Cut the
ham in thin slices, and broil quick, on a gridiron set over lively hot coals. If the
ham is too
salt, soak it in
hot water before broiling, and dry it with a cloth before putting it on the fire. Fry some
eggs in an equal quantity of
lard and
butter, put an
egg on each slice of
ham, and serve.
Mix a quarter of a pound of grated
ham, with one pound of
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mealy
potatoes, well beaten until quite light, and add a little
butter, cream, and two
eggs; but do not get it too moist. Make into small balls, and fry with a little
lard, a light brown. Serve with a brown thick
gravy. Garnish with
fried parsley.
Toast a thick slice of
bread, and
butter it on both sides. Take a small quantity of remains of
ham, or
tongue, and grate it, and put it in a stew-pan with two
hard boiled eggs chopped fine, mixed with a little
butter, salt, and
cayenne; make it quite hot, then spread thickly upon the
buttered toast. Serve while hot.
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>
SECONDARY MEATS.
Lay three or four pounds of
steak from the undercut of a
round of beef, in a middling sized dish, having seasoned it with
pepper and
salt. Have a couple of
chickens at hand, cut in pieces and seasoned; place them upon the
steak, and over them one dozen and a half of fresh
fat oysters, without the liquor. Add half a dozen fresh,
hard boiled eggs, and after damping the bottom of the dish with half a pint of strong
ale, cover the whole with fresh
mushrooms, adding to these half a pound of
glaze or
plam neatsfoot-jelly; lay over the dish a substantial
paste, and bake in a brisk oven. This pie is excellent for a picnic or water excursion.
Take off the under bone from the best end of a
neck of mutton, and cut it into chops; season them with
pepper and
salt, some
mushroom powder, and
beaten mace. Put the
meat into a stew-pan, slice a large
onion, and tie up a bunch of
parsley and
thyme, and add these and a pint of
veal broth to the
meat. Let this simmer until the chops are about three parts done, then add some
onions, and whole
potatoes peeled, and let all stew together until thoroughly cooked. Take out the
parsley and
thyme, and serve up in a deep dish.
Take as much of
mutton as is required; the scrag end is the best for the purpose. Cut the
meat into small chops, pare all the fat off the piece, chop it fine, and set it aside for dumplings; let the
meat stew till perfectly tender, strain the liquor, and set the
meat aside. The following day remove the fat, put the liquor in a sauce pan, roll each piece of
mutton in flour, add the
meat to the
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liquor, and sufficient
potatoes and onions to thicken it. Before serving, add a layer of
potatoes, boiled in a separate sauce-pan, also dumplings, about the size of an egg. The dumplings will take about twenty minutes to boil. No seasoning is required except
pepper and
salt.
Fill a dish with alternate layers of
mutton or
beef, sliced
potatoes and onions; season with
pepper and
salt, pour in plenty of
water for
gravy, and cover the top closely with
potatoes; cook in a moderate oven, and let the
potatoes on top be browned before it is served; the onion can be omitted if desired.
Saltpetered tongue requires five or six hours to boil. When done, lay it in
cold water three minutes, peel off the
skin, beginning at the tip of the
tongue, as it comes off much easier.
Add to a pint of
water, or
veal stock, a little grated
lemon peel, mace, and
pepper and
salt; in this put your
sweetbreads,--two good sized ones; stew them an hour or more; then take them out, mix a teaspoonful of
flour with a little
milk, mushrooms, and
catsup, and add to the liquor when it boils; put in the
sweetbread for a moment. Serve with the
sauce poured over them.
Scald them first; fry them in
butter, with a little
sweet marjoram and
parsley chopped fine, and served with a
gravy, flavored with
mushroom catsup.
Take all the pieces of cooked
meat you have, no matter whether boiled or roast,
butcher's meat, poultry or
game, and mince very fine. Put the whole into a stew-pan, with a little
parsley, a few
green onions, and
mushrooms, if you can get them, one or two
eggs beaten up, and a little
gravy or
stock. Simmer for a quarter of an hour; then take a
meat dish, pour upon it a layer of your
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stew, a layer of
bread in slices, another layer of stew, and so on, and heat in an oven. When hot, pour it over the rest of the stew hot, and serve.
Take one pound of fresh
pork, two pounds of
lean beef, and chop them very fine; mix this with three tea-spoonfuls of
black pepper, the same quantity of
salt, five of powdered
sage, and five of
summer-savory; make this into small cakes and place them upon a plate. When needed, fry them in the same manner as
sausages.
First chop separately, and then together, a pound and a quarter of
veal, free from fat, skin, and sinew, and an equal weight of
lean pork, and of the inside
fat of the
pig. Mix them well, and sprinkle on an ounce and a quarter of
salt, half an ounce of
pepper, one
nutmeg grated, and a large tea-spoonful of pounded
mace. Turn and chop all together until equally seasoned throughout; press the
sausages into a clean pan, and keep them in a very cool place. When wanted, form them into cakes an inch thick or less
flour and fry them about ten minutes, in a little
butter.
Chop
veal and
ham together finely, add a few
bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a little
parsley and
lemon peel, or
shallot; mix all together with the
yolks of eggs well beaten; either roll them into shape like a flat
sausage, or into the shape of
pears, sticking a bit of
horseradish in the ends, to resemble the stalks;
egg each over, and
grate bread crumbs; fry them brown and serve on crisp fried
parsley.
GRANDMOTHER'S BREAKFAST BALLS. |
A little
cold beef, or
mutton, or both; a slice of
ham, or
salt pork; a small quantity of
bread crumbs, a little
parsley, a little
sage, or
thyme, all chopped together, and mixed with an
egg, a little
melted butter, and
seasoning. Take a table spoonful of the mixture, dredge it with the
flour, and make into a ball, which fry a quick brown.
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This constitutes an elegant breakfast dish, and is a good way of getting rid of cold meat, particularly if hash is not liked.
Chop the lean of any
cold meat, with a quarter pound of
beef wet, very fine; mix with quarter pound of
scalded rice; season with
salt, pepper, and add the
yolks of two eggs. Take
cabbage leaves, dip them in
water, make the
meat into shape of
cucumbers, and fold the leaves round them, tying each with a thread; put them into a stewpan with
gravy, an
anchovy, and an
onion: stew a long time gently. The thread is taken off when served, and the
gravy browned with
flour and a little
butter.
Put the
cold meat into a chopping bowl, cut them fine, season with
salt, pepper, a little
onion or else
tomato catsup. Fill a tin bread pan two thirds full; cover it over with
mashed potato which has been salted and has
milk in it; lay bits of
butter over the top, and set it into an oven for fifteen or twenty minutes.
Any kind of
cold meat, a few
cold potatoes, an
onion, pepper and
salt, a little
dried parsley, sage, and
summer savory. Chop all together. Put it in a sauce-pan, with a little
gravy, or
hot water, and a small piece of
butter. Let it simmer gently for fifteen minutes. Turn out over thin slices of
toast. It is palatable to persons who do not usually like hash.
Make a batter of six ounces of
flour, one pint of
milk, two or three
eggs, a little
lard, salt and
pepper; put into it a pound of
beef sausages, and bake for an hour. Instead of beef sausages, slices of any
meat you have, or half a pound of
pork sausages, or a few
oysters with
meat trimmings, may be used.
Boil in
water a split
cow heel (one already used for
stock will do) four or five hours; then add a pint of
milk, and boil for two
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hours more, adding an
onion or two, and if you like, a little
chopped parsley.
Cut a stewed
cow heel into pieces about two inches long, and put the pieces into a frying pan with
bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and a little
minced parsley. You will require to have
grease in the pan, and it should be boiling before you put your
cow heel in. About a quarter of an hour will suffice for frying. It would be a great improvement if you were to beat up an
egg and dip each piece into it, before you put it into the hot frying pan.
Into a stewpan put a little
suet with
sliced onions and
carrots, thyme, salt and
pepper; let these simmer for about five minutes. Next add two spoonsful of
flour and
water, and keep stirring till it boils; when it boils, put in the trotters and simmer for three hours or more. Now mix in two
eggs, beaten up in
milk, but do not let your stewpan boil again. Pour into a deep dish, and garnish with
toasted bread.
SWEET BREAD, LIVER AND HEART. |
Parboil the
sweet bread, and let them get cold. Cut them in pieces about an inch thick; put on
salt, and
pepper and
sage; then dip them in the
yolk of an egg and fine
bread crumbs. Fry them a light brown. Another way is, to fry slices of
salt pork until brown, take out the
pork and fry the
sweet bread in the
fat. When done, make a
gravy by stirring a little
flour and
water mixed smooth, into the
fat; add
spices, and
wine, if you like. The
liver and
heart are cooked in the same manner, or broiled.
Parboil half a
calf's head, with a little
sage; cut off the
meat, put the
bones back into the
broth, and boil them until the
broth is much reduced. Cut up the
meat and put it into the jar with the
tongue, mace, pepper, &c., add a few small slices of
ham; put the jar into the oven covered, and let it stand some hours until the contents are thoroughly done; then mix it with the
brains beaten up
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with an
egg. Put pieces of
hard boiled egg in a mold, pour the mixture from the jar into it, and let it get entirely cold, then turn it out.
This dish can be made also with
sheep's head, carefully scalded and soaked.
Take a
calf's head or half a one, as you desire; parboil it, cut off the best parts in slices, and set these aside for the hash. Put the rest,
bones and all, with any other
bones you may have, especially a
ham bone, each into the liquor with a bunch of
sweet herbs, a sliced
carrot, a fried
onion, half
head of celery, mace, salt, and
peppercorns, according to taste. Let these ingredients stew gently together, until the liquor is so strong that, when it is cold, it will form a
jelly. Strain it through a hair sieve, and afterwards through a cloth, and when cold, remove all the fat which may rise to the top. Take of this
jelly the quantity that may be required for
gravy, put it into a sauce-pan, and add to it
mushroom catsup, Worcester sauce, a little
lemon peel, and
Chili wine. Now put in the slices of
meat, and let them warm gently, but do not let them boil. Before serving to table add, if you desire, a wine-glass of
sherry, and a table-spoonful of
brandy, and garnish with
brain cakes and slices of
lemon. Butter may be added to the
gravy to make it thicker.
Soak the
head well in
cold water and boil it a quarter of an hour. Parboil the
heart, liver, and if desired, the
lights; mince them quite small, mix them with
gravy, season them, pour them on sippets of
toasted bread in a soup dish, broil the
bread and lay it upon the mince. It can be garnished with sliced
pickled cucumbers and slices of
bacon.
Wash the
brains thoroughly, first in cold and afterwards in
hot water; remove the skin and fibers, and then boil the
brains in
water with a little
salt, for two or three minutes. Take them up and beat them in a basin with some very finely
chopped parsley, sifted sage, salt, mace, cayenne pepper, the well-beaten
yolk of
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an
egg, and a gill of
cream. Drop them in small cakes into the frying pan, and fry them in
butter a light brown color. A little
flour and grated
lemon peel are sometimes added.
The
tripe, after being corned, should be soaked in
salt and water five or six days, changing the
water every day; then cut it in pieces, scrape it and rinse it. Boil it until quite tender, which will take half a day or more, and it will then be fit for broiling, frying or pickling. Drop it into a jar of spiced
vinegar.
After being boiled, let it be quite cold; cut it in pieces, roll them cornerwise, tie them with a thread, sprinkle a little
salt and
mace over them, roll them in
eggs and
crumbs, fry in
fat a nice brown; serve with
onion sauce, with a little
lemon and tomato catsup boiled in.
Choose the thickest and whitest
tripe, cut the
white part into thin slices, and put them into a stewpan with a little
white gravy, a spoonful of
vinegar, a little
lemon juice, and a little
grated lemon peel. Add the
yolk of an egg well beaten, with a little
cream and
chopped parsley, and two or three
chives. Shake them together over a slow fire until the
gravy is as thick as
cream, but do not let it boil. Serve it with sippets, and garnish, if desired, with sliced
lemon.
Take the lower half of a
pig's face, the
feet and
ears, rub them well with
salt, let them remain so a week or ten days.
Salt beef tongue the same way, for the same time. Then let the
face, ears, and
feet boil half an hour in
water enough to cover them; take them out and clean them thoroughly, then put them back with the
tongue also, and boil for three hours, or until the
meat will slip from the
bones. Then take it off, remove the bone, cut the
meat in small pieces, the
tongue into thin slices; mix all together and season with plenty of
pepper, a little ground
allspice, &c. Then put
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it into a mold in layers of
fat and lean, press it down with a spoon, add a little liquor from the saucepan, put a heavy weight on the top, and let it stand till next morning, when it is ready to turn out and send to table. It can be sent with a piece of white paper fastened round and served, if desired, with a little
sauce of mustard vinegar, and
brown sugar. The
beef tongue makes it much nicer, though some omit it, merely chopping the
pig's tongue with the
face, ears and
feet.
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>
FISH.
Clean and rinse the
fish, wrap it in a cloth, and place it in the kettle with
cold water, adding a little
salt; boil slowly but constantly; let the
water always cover the
fish, remove the scum that rises, add a little
vinegar when nearly done. The
fish is done when the flesh can be separated from the back bone by running a thin sharp knife in; be careful not to let the
fish be overdone. Drain it dry on a sieve, keeping it hot; lay it on the
fish platter carefully, so as not to break it. Serve with
sauces composed of
drawn butter. If a fish kettle with strainer is used, the
fish need not be wrapped in cloth.
Fresh cod, haddock, whiting and shad, are better for being salted the night before cooking them. The muddy smell that is sometimes noticed in fresh water fish, is obviated by soaking it, after cleaning, in strong salt and water; after which, dry it on a napkin, and dress it.
Cleanse them thoroughly, dry them well, dip them in
flour, or first in the beaten
yolks of eggs, and then in grated
bread crumbs; fry in
lard or
beef drippings, or equal parts of
lard and
butter. Butter alone takes out the sweetness, and gives a bad color. Turn on both sides, and cook a rich yellow brown.
Fried parsley, grated
horse-radish, or slices of
lemon are used as garnish. The
fat fried from
salt pork is good to fry
fish in. Some
fish can be dipped in
Indian meal instead of flour, if preferred.
Trout and
perch should not be dipped in Indian meal.
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WHITE FISH BROILED. (Lake Superior style.) |
This is one of the most delicious of lake
fish. Cut it in two pieces down through the centre of the back, lay in a pan, and cover with
cold water, into which you have put a table-spoonful of
salt. Let it lay for two hours, this makes it firm. Then take it out, wrap it in a dry cloth, and let it remain until ready for cooking. Have a nice bed of coals, grease your gridiron well, put on a little
salt, and some
pepper. Broil for twenty minutes, or half an hour, according to size, turning it to brown on both sides. It will not break in pieces. Serve with
white sauce.
WHITE FISH BOILED. (Lake Superior style.) |
This is a very delicate, and highly esteemed dish. Place the
fish whole, in a fish kettle; cover with
cold water, add a table-spoonful or more of
salt, and let it come to a boil. Ten minutes after it boils, will cook it. Take it out carefully, serve with
egg sauce, which is
white sauce, with a
hard boiled egg chopped up in it.
Draw the
fish into the form of the letter S, by running a thread through the tail, centre of the body and head; or if it is part of a
fish, fold it in a clean cloth. When bent, cut two or three slanting gashes on each side, to prevent the
skin breaking and disfiguring the
fish. Plunge it in
boiling water in which a handful of
salt to four quarts of
water has been mixed, and the scum arising from it skimmed off. Put in with the
fish, a little
horse radish. Boil until very well done, about quarter of an hour to every pound of
fish; and serve with
lobster, or
white parsley sauce; garnish with
sliced lemon. For vegetables,
mashed potatoes, and
cucumbers sliced in
vinegar, can be served. A
salmon should be chosen for its brightness of color, complete covering of scales, firmness of flesh, whitness of the belly, brightness of the eye, and redness of the scales. Artificial means, it is said, are sometimes adopted to give redness to the gills of
salmon and other
fish, to deceive inexperienced buyers.
View page [66]
About an inch, is the proper thickness to cut the slices; dry them with a cloth, put
salt on them, and lay them skin side down, on a gridiron over hot coals. Before laying on the
fish, rub the bars with
lard, to prevent them sticking. When broiled sufficiently on one side, turn the
fish, by laying a plate upon it and turning the gridiron over; then slip the
salmon from the plate on to the gridiron. This prevents its breaking.
The remains of
boiled salmon, instead of being pickled, as is usually done; are very good sent to table cold, to be eaten with salad. Trim the
fish neatly, ornament it with sprigs of
parsley, and serve with a bowl of salad, made as follows: Boil a
cauliflower till about two thirds done; let it get cold, break it in bunches, lay them in a dish, and put to it
salt, pepper, oil, and
vinegar. This is an excellent dish in hot weather.
Lay the
fish on its side and cut it from tail to head, taking care not to injure the belly by inserting the knife too far; wash the
fish well, take out the eyes, and put a pinch of
salt in their place; then sprinkle a handful or two of
brown sugar over the inside, and above the
sugar the same quantity, or rather more, of
common salt; lay the
salmon on a flat board, the inside up; cover with a cloth and let it remain twenty-four hours (or if wished saltish, thirty-six) in a dry place, neither too hot nor too cold. If the weather is fine, an hour or two of exposure to the sun and air will accelerate the curing process. The kipper is in perfection after it has been dried twenty-four hours, but it will keep a considerable time. To cook it, cut it in slices, wrap each in a piece of paper and fry it; send it to the table in paper.
Scald, clean, and split the
salmon; then cut into pieces and lay them on the bottom of the kettle, with an equal quantity of
water and
vinegar, enough to cover them; put in
salt, pepper, six blades
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of
mace, twelve
bay leaves. When the
salmon has boiled enough, drain and lay it on a cloth, put more
salmon into the kettle and boil; continue doing this till all is done. When all is cold, pack the
fish, and cover with
pickle; place something heavy upon the
fish to keep it down, that it may be covered entirely with the
pickle, which must be occasionally poured off and scalded. Cover it closely to keep it from the air.
Shad should be baked, fried or broiled. For broiling, remove the roes, clean and dry thoroughly, cut into straight halves, and lay with the roes on a well-heated and well-greased gridiron, over a moderate fire; put the cover on so that it will cook through while it is browning, and only turn once; when it is done remove it to a warm dish, spread over a piece of
butter the size of a walnut, a little
pepper and
salt, and put it, for a moment, in the oven; garnish with sprigs of fresh
parsley before serving.
Divide the two halves in pieces two or three inches wide,
salt and
pepper them and put them in a pan, in which the
fat, to keep them from sticking, has already been made boiling hot; fry a rich brown on both sides, cooking the inside first, and serve hot. The roes may be fried in the same way.
Baked shad does not require to be cut down the back; only cleaned, the
roes removed, and the inside filled with a
stuffing made of
bread crumbs, salt pork, an
onion, sage, thyme, parsley, and
pepper and
salt; chop all together fine, fill and sew up the
shad, and place in a pan with three or four slices of the
pork over it, and the
roes at the side; bake one hour, and you will have a dish fit for an editor.
Butter a pan and lay the
shad in it, with an
onion sliced, a
bay leaf, five
cloves, the
juice of half a
lemon, a spoonful of
vinegar, and two of
gravy; make four or five incisions on both sides of the
View page [68]
shad, cutting down to the bone, cover with buttered paper, and put into a rather slow oven; let it bake twenty minutes, then take it out, remove the paper, baste thoroughly and put it back; let it remain in the oven altogether about three quarters of an hour, or an hour if the
fish is a large one, basting frequently with the liquor in the pan; then take it out, fill the incisions with
chopped parsley and
butter, and put back, while making a
sauce of a little
butter, flour, broth, and
lemon juice, into which pour all the liquid surrounding the
shad; boil up once, dish the
fish, and pour the
sauce over it.
This is a Spring luxury. Purchased in the city they are already cleaned, and require only to be rolled in a clean cloth, put in
cold water, and cooked for five minutes, after coming to a boil; serve with
parsley sauce, made with a table-spoonful of
flour, mixed smooth with
cold milk, and a piece of
butter the size of a small
egg; garnish with
green parsley, and eat with
stewed gooseberries.
Take fresh
mackerel, well cleaned, and boil them for a few minutes, or until tender, in
salt and water. Take of the
water in which they were boiled, half as much as will cover them; add the same amount of good
vinegar, some whole
pepper, cloves, and a blade or two of
mace. Pour over hot. In twelve hours it will be ready for use.
Shad is very nice soused in the same way.
BOILED BASS, ROCK FISH, ETC. |
These should be boiled plain, leaving on the head and tail. Let them boil steadily half an hour, serve with
drawn butter mixed with finely
chopped eggs, which have been boiled three quarters of an hour.
PICKED UP CODFISH AND POTATOES. |
This is as old and esteemed a dish as
pork and
beans. Put your
salted codfish in soak the night before; pick it off in shreds the next morning, and scald it in a saucepan, pouring off the
water just before it comes to a boil; this will freshen it sufficiently.
View page [69]
Put in then a little more
water, a small piece of
butter, and a few shakes of
pepper, and let it cook till it is tender. When it is done, thicken it with a
beaten egg, but don't allow it to boil; and mix it with double its bulk in
potatoes, mashed finely with
milk, and season with
pepper and a little
salt. Pile up as near like a haystack as possible, pour over the whole some good
egg sauce, and garnish with
parsley and
egg rings.
BAKED COD, BLACK FISH, HADDOCK, ETC. |
Spread little slices of
bread with
butter; pepper and
salt them and lay them inside the
fish. Then take a needle and thread and sew it up. Put a small skewer through the lip and tail, and fasten them together with a piece of twine. Lay it into a dish, in which it may be served; put two or three thin slices of
salt pork upon it, sprinkle
salt over it, and
flour it well. Baste it several times with the liquor which cooks out of it. A
fish weighing four pounds will cook in an hour.
Make a
brine with
salt and water, sprigs of
parsley, shallots and
onions, and let the whole boil together for half an hour; strain it and boil the whitings in it, adding a third part of
milk. Drain them when done, and make the following
sauce for them: A piece of
butter, some
flour, two whole
green shallots, pepper, and
salt. Thicken this with
cream; take out the
shallots, and pour the
sauce over the whitings.
WATER SOUCHY, OR SOODJEE. |
This mode of dressing
fish may be used for
soles, flounders, and also fresh
water fish of almost any description. The
fish should be thoroughly cleansed and put into a stew-pan, with sufficient
cold water for
broth, a very small quantity of
white wine vinegar, and some
salt. While boiling they must be carefully skimmed; and when thoroughly done, served in the liquor in which they were boiled; to which should be added some roots of
parsley, cut, trimmed, and boiled. A few
parsley leaves, boiled to a nice green, should be strewed over the
fish, and
bread and
butter sent up to eat with the souchy.
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Cut the
fish in pieces about the size as to help at table; wash and wipe them dry, roll them in
Indian meal. Fry some pieces of
salt pork; take out the
pork, and put into the frying-pan some
lard; when it is quite hot put in the
fish and fry it a light brown; dish it with the
fried pork, serve with
drawn butter.
To one and a half pounds of
cold boiled fish, put half a pound of
cold potatoes, half a pound of
butter; pepper, salt, and a little
mace, and some
anchovy sauce. Pound all these together in a mortar, thoroughly. When well beaten, make the mixture into the shape of small cutlets, dip them in
egg and
bread crumbs, and fry them until they are of a light brown color. They are excellent as a side dish or
entree.
Put the soft roes from half a dozen
broiled mackerel or
shad into paper cases, with shred
parsley, a little rasped
bread, butter, salt, and
pepper. Bake them, and serve them up with
lemon juice squeezed over them.
Fry the
fish a nice brown color, and drain them. Take another small
fish, remove all the
meat from it, and chop it fine, mixing with it a little grated
bread, some
lemon peel, chopped parsley, pepper, salt, nutmeg, the
yolks of an egg, and a little
butter; make this up into small balls and fry them. Into some good
gravy thickened with
flour, put some
red wine, and boil it up adding
cayenne pepper, catsup, and
lemon juice; place the
fish and balls in it, simmer them a few moments, and serve, garnished with
lemon.
Let some small
fish soak in the
juice of two
lemons, with
salt, pepper, and
chopped sweet herbs. After taking them out, drain them, and stuff them with crumbs of
bread, boiled in
milk, and
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beat up with the
yolks of two eggs; then sprinkle them with
flour, and fry them of a good color. Serve them up on
fried parsley. They should be very dry and crisp.
Rub the inside of a mold with fresh
butter, and strew
grated cheese at the bottom of it to the thickness of about an inch; then put in a layer of
macaroni of about the same thickness. Upon this lay some
fish of whatever kind preferred, boned, cut in pieces, and strewed with
parsley, thyme, and
shallots finely chopped; also some
pounded spices and
cayenne pepper, adding another layer of
macaroni and
cheese. Bake it for an hour in a moderate oven, carefully turn it out into a dish, and serve it up with a little good
stock gravy round it.
Boil the
macaroni in
water until tender, drain it, and cut it into short pieces. Remove the bones and skin from any kind of
white boiled fish, tear it into small pieces, and mix it with the
macaroni. Then make a
sauce of two ounces of
butter, the
yolks of one or two
eggs, salt, pepper and a little
lemon juice. Heat this in a sauce-pan, pouring in half a pint of good melted
butter, stir it, and put in the
fish and
macaroni. When hot, pour it out in a dish, heaping it in the centre; sprinkle fine
bread crumbs over it and bake the top a light brown color in the oven.
Split them just far enough to clean them; lay them in
salt and water, and let them remain an hour; then wash and wipe them, have ready two
eggs beat up in a plate, and some
cracker crumbs in another plate; put about two pounds of
lard into the frying pan; set it on the fire until it is very hot; dip the
smelts into the
eggs, roll them in the
crumbs, and put them into the
boiling fat; fry them a light brown; serve them hot, with
drawn butter.
These can be broiled or fried. After scaling and cleaning them nicely, split them quite open, wash the insides with care, dry them
View page [72]
in a cloth, remove the head, tail and back bones, rub the insides with
pepper, salt, and a little
pounded mace; stick small bits of
butter on them; skewer two of the
fish together as flat as possible, the
skin of both outside;
flour and boil them in twenty to twenty-five minutes, or fry them about ten minutes, until brown; and serve with
melted butter mixed with a tea-spoonful of
mustard, some
salt, and a little
vinegar or
lemon juice.
TO DRESS FISH A SECOND TIME. |
Put four table spoonsful of
bread crumbs to a small quantity of
fish; add two
eggs, two ounces of
butter, a little
essence of anchovy, and a little
pepper, salt and
cayenne. Mix these all well with the
fish, which should previously be taken from the bones, and steam it until it is heated through. Any
cold boiled fish may be dressed this way.
Take
cold boiled fish, the part that is white, and
mashed potatoes, an equal quantity; mix well together, breaking the
fish very fine; add two ounces of
melted butter, or
cream instead of the
butter; season with
salt and
pepper. Butter a pudding dish, put the mixture in, keeping the top rough, and put it in the oven till heated through, and the top nicely browned.
For a capital Spring chowder, put a layer of fresh
fish, cod, or
haddock; then a layer of
split crackers, sliced onions, and
raw potatoes sliced very thin; strew a little
salt and
pepper over this layer; then put in more
pork and
fish, crackers, onions, and
potatoes, and so on, until the ingredients are exhausted; over this mixture pour a bowl of liquid, composed of two table-spoons of
flour, mixed smooth with
milk and
water; add
milk and
water to the
flour until there is sufficient to just cover the contents of the pot; cover down tight, and cook slowly two or three hours.
Pare, and cut into slices, seven or eight
potatoes, and put them in a basin of
cold water; cut a fresh
cod into slices, then fry a
View page [73]
few slices of
fat salt pork; lay the
pork in the bottom of the stew kettle; place two or three slices of
fish on it, then a layer of
split crackers, then some
potatoes, and so on, with alternate layers, until the kettle is full; put in a little
pepper and
salt. Put in a quart of
water; mix one table-spoonful of
flour, in half a pint of
water, and pour in, after it begins to stew. Cover very tight, and stew three hours.
Mix together a pound and a half of mashed
potatoes, a pound of cold boiled
fish, either
salt or fresh; add a little
milk and
butter, one
egg if desired;
pepper, onions, and a little
chopped thyme, and
salt if the
fish requires it; sprinkle on a little
flour, and fry them a light brown in small, thick cakes.
Soak and scald the
fish until sufficiently freshened; pick it into shreds, and stew it with
milk to moisten it, a little
butter rolled in
flour, and
pepper to taste. Stew gently a few minutes, and serve hot.
Fry some slices of sweet,
salt pork till they are crisp; pour off part of the
fat; take out the rashers and set them aside, where they will keep hot. Put in a layer of
potatoes first, with a little
onion, then
pepper, then a layer of
butter crackers, then a layer of
fish, then a little more
fat, more
potatoes, more
onion, more
pepper, more
butter crackers, more
fish, and so on until the kettle is two thirds full; then put on top whatever
fat may be left; fill up with
water, cover close, and let it cook an hour or an hour and a half, according to quantity. A little
salt may be required. Serve with the rashers placed round the dish on
toast and
pickle.
This is made in the same way, only they require a great deal of
pork, and be careful to get
soft shell clams.
SALT CODFISH AND POTATOES. |
Soak a thick piece of
fish over night, pour out the
water and
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cover it with fresh,
lukewarm water, and let it stand a short time, then put it in
lukewarm water over the fire and let it simmer, but not boil, for an hour and a half or two hours, until it is done; remove the skin; serve with
drawn butter or
egg sauce, with whole
boiled potatoes to be mashed or cut by each person with the
fish, on their own plate. Serve also, if convenient,
cucumbers in
vinegar, pickles or
nasturtiums. The
fish can be garnished with
hard boiled eggs. The cold
fish left, will make a fine hash, or may be prepared in fish cakes.
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>
SHELL FISH, EELS, ETC.
Procure two dozen
oysters. Have them opened, and throw them into a clean basin or soup plate. Take a small bunch of
parsley, chopped quite small, a little raw
lemon rind ditto, half a
nutmeg grated, and the crumb of a stale
French roll, also grated. Let the latter be well mixed together, adding one drachm of
cayenne pepper. Have at hand the
yolks of three fresh
eggs, beaten up into a fluid; dip the
oysters separately into the
eggs, and roll them in the
crumb of the loaf until they are all encased in a bread coating or covering. Put a quarter of a pound of good
butter into the oven, with a brisk fire, until the former is fully melted, arranging your
oysters on the tray of the oven at your convenience. Keep the
oysters continually turned until they assume a perfectly brown, crusty appearance. When fully baked, serve them up with a plate of
bread and
butter, cut thin, and use
salt at discretion. A stick of
celery eaten with them, adds greatly to the relish which the
fish impart when served in this way.
Boil up the
oysters in their own liquor, with a piece of
butter the size of a walnut, and
pepper and
salt to taste. Have ready a pint or more of rich
boiled milk, the quantity according to the number of
oysters. Pour it hot into the soup tureen, and as the
oysters come to a boil, skim them, let them boil up once, and then pour them into the
milk.
Wash out of the liquor two quarts of
oysters; pound very fine eight soft
crackers, or grate a stale loaf of
bread; butter a deep
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dish, sprinkle in a layer of crumbs, then a layer of
oysters, a little
mace, pepper, and bits of
butter; another layer of crumbs, another of
oysters, then
seasoning as before, and so on until the dish is filled; cover the dish over with
bread crumbs, seasoning as before; turn over it a cup of the
oyster liquor. Set it in the oven for thirty or forty minutes to brown. This is an excellent way to prepare oysters for a family dinner.
Select fine, large
oysters, dry them out of their own liquor. Have ready a plate of
egg, and a plate of
bread crumbs. Let them lay in the
egg a few minutes, and then roll them in the
bread crumbs, allowing them to remain in these also, for a minute or two; this will make them adhere, and not come off as a skin, when in the pan. Fry in half
butter and half
lard, in order to give them a rich brown. Make it very hot before putting the
oysters in.
Take a deep dish, cover it with
puff paste, lay an extra layer around the edge of the dish, put in the oven and bake nicely. When done, fill the pie with
oysters; season with
butter, salt, and
pepper, sprinkle a little
flour over them and cover with a thin crust of
puff paste; bake quickly; when the top crust is done, the
oysters should be. Serve immediately.
Beard the
oysters, and, if large, halve them; put them into a saucepan with a piece of
butter rolled in
flour, some finely shred
lemon rind, and a little
white pepper, and
milk, and a portion of the liquor from the
fish; stir all well together, let it simmer for a few minutes, and put it in your patty pans, which should be already prepared with a
puff paste in the usual way. Serve hot or cold.
Cut out a piece of the size of a quarter of a dollar from the top of half a dozen
buns, scoop out most of the crumb, put a portion of the latter with a good bit of
butter, and about two dozen fresh
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oysters into a frying pan and fry all together for five minutes, add a little
cream or
milk and
seasoning. Then fill the loaves, allowing four
oysters to each; replace the pieces of crust on the tops,
butter the outsides, and place them for a short time in an oven to get crisp. Serve them hot or cold.
Slowly stew some
macaroni in good
gravy till quite tender; then lay it in a pie dish, put in a good layer of fresh
oysters, bearded; add
pepper, salt, a little grated
lemon rind, and a tea-spoonful of
cream, or
olive oil if preferred. Strew
bread crumbs over, and just brown it in a tolerably brisk oven. Serve with plenty of
lemon juice, or a
sauce piquante.
Take a fine
oyster, wrap it thinly with
bacon, fastening it with a little skewer. Lay it on a piece of
toast, and put into a Dutch oven or a hot stove oven, a very little time. Prepare as many in this way as desired.
Wash fifty large
oysters in their own liquor; wipe them dry, strain the liquor off, add to it a dessert-spoonful of
pepper, the same of
mace, the same of
salt, the same of whole
cloves, and a pint of
vinegar. Let the
oysters come to a boil in the liquor, then drain them off with a skimmer; put them into a jar; boil the
pickle up, skim it, and when it is cold, pour over the
oysters. They will be ready for use in twenty-four hours.
Put the
oysters, say two hundred, with their
juice, into a large saucepan on the fire; let them simmer, but not boil, until the edges curl, and they become solid, but not shriveled. Be careful about this. Strain off the juice, and wipe the
oysters with a nice, clean cloth. Let the
juice settle, then pour off about a quart, leaving the sediment undisturbed; to this clear
juice add one pint
white wine, or other
vinegar, a little
mace, two dozen
cloves, and a handful of
black peppers. Heat it over the fire, but don't let it
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boil; pour it while hot, over the
oysters. Put them in a stone jar, and in two days they will be very nice for use.
Open the muscles in their own liquor. When ready for use drain off the liquor and wash them in clear
water. Then add to the liquor, or as much of it as is needed, an equal amount of
water and of
white wine, a blade of
mace and a little whole
pepper; boil them, and after awhile drop in the muscles, letting them just boil up, and thicken them with a piece of
butter and
flour. They can be served with sippets of
bread and the
liquor.
After the
eels have been skinned and cleaned, split them open and cut them in short pieces. Then make a
pickle of vinegar, lemon juice, sliced onion, salt and
pepper; place the
eels in it and let them lie two or three hours. Roll them in
flour and fry in
lard or
clarified butter. Place them on the table dry, with fried
parsley, using
plain butter for
sauce.
Take two pounds of
eels, scour their
skins with
sand and
salt, wipe them dry with flannel, gut them, cut them into short pieces, saturate them with the beaten
yolk of an egg, and then roll into a plate containing crumbs of the inside of
stale bread, chopped parsley, a sprig of
sweet marjoram, a sprig of bruised
anchovy, half a
nutmeg grated, and some
cayenne pepper, and
salt all mixed. When well rubbed in these, baste them before a clear bright fire, with plenty of
butter, until they are covered with a
brown crust. Serve them with
plain or melted butter for
sauce.
Select a large
eel, gut it and bone it without skinning it, and rub the inside with
salt, pepper, mace, allspice, powdered cloves, chopped sage. Parsley, thyme, savory and
knotted marjoram also improve the taste. Roll it tight, tie it, and boil it well in
salt water. Then add
vinegar, and when cold keep it in pickle.
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Wash the
eels well, and cut into pieces two or three inches long. Place them in the pan with an
onion, cloves, a bundle of
sweet herbs, a blade of
mace, some whole
pepper in a muslin rag, and add enough
water for
sauce. Let them stew softly, and add the
juice of half a
lemon, and a piece of
butter rolled in
flour. When they are tender, take out the
onion, cloves, herbs, mace, and
pepper, put in sufficient
salt to season, and serve it with the
sauce.
Boil them in a little
water with some
parsley until tender, season them properly, and serve them with the liquor and the
parsley. Use chopped
parsley and
butter for
sauce.
Cut up the
eels in one or two inch lengths, line the dish with
potato paste, such as used for meat pies; put in the
eels, season with
pepper, salt, parsley, and a little
butter. Pour over a little
stock, or a few spoonsful of
gravy, a spoonful of
mushroom catsup, and dredge with
flour. Cover with
potato paste, and bake an hour and a quarter. This is for family use; if company is expected, a richer
paste may be used.
To choose
lobsters that are boiled, select those that are heaviest, and of a middling size; if they are fresh the tail will flap back with a springy motion, when raised up.
Put it into a fish kettle of
boiling water, into which a handful of
salt has been thrown; boil it briskly for half an hour, then wipe off the skum, and rub over it a little
sweet oil. When cold, break off the claws, and crack the shell, but do not disturb the
meat; set the body upright in the dish, with the claws and tail around it.
MRS. MAJOR D.'S LOBSTER SALAD. |
Boil the
lobster about half an hour. When it is cold, take it
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from the shell, being careful to take out the vein in the back. To six lbs of
lobster, take two heads of salad, one cup of melted
butter; two table-spoons of
mustard, mixed with a little
vinegar. Salt and
pepper to taste. Chop these together, and spread on a flat dish. Then beat six
eggs, and mix with half a pint of
vinegar. Put this on the stove to thicken, stirring constantly; when cold spread it over the
lobster.
For another receipt, see "Salads."
These are boiled in the same manner as
lobsters.
Mash the fresh
eggs of a hen lobster; strain, and reserve; divide the flesh into small pieces, dust it with
flour to prevent it adhering together, and put it into a
white sauce, allowing it to simmer for a minute, before putting in the
eggs; when these have been added, it will assume a brilliant red, and should be removed from the fire instantly, before it has time to darken. Such flavor as
anchovy, or
lemon, may be added at the table.
CRAB AND LOBSTER CUTLETS. |
Take out the
meat of either a large
lobster, or
crab, mince it, and add two ounces of
butter browned with two spoonfuls of
flour, and seasoned with a little
pepper, salt, and
cayenne; add again about half a pint of strong
stock, stir the mixture over the fire until quite hot, lay it in separate table-spoonsful on a large dish. When they are cold, form them into the shape of cutlets, brush them over with the beaten
yolk of an egg; dip them into grated
bread crumbs, fry them of a light brown color in
clarified beef dripping, and place them round a dish, with a little
fried parsley in the centre.
Mince the
meat with the
coral, season, make it in balls mixed with
bread crumbs and
butter, dip them with the
yolk of an egg and
flour if desired, and fry them brown in
hot lard; for
lobsterpatties , place minced
lobster in the shell in
puff paste, and bake.
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Put the
meat of a large
lobster into a stew-pan with a blade of
mace, a large cup of
veal stock or
gravy, and a table-spoonful of
corn starch, mixed smooth with a little
milk, or
cream. Add
salt, a small piece of
butter, a dessert-spoonful of
curry powder, and the
juice of half a
lemon; simmer for an hour, and serve.
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>
MUSHROOMS.
>
HOW TO KNOW MUSHROOMS.
To know the mushroom from the poisonous toadstool, observe the mushroom has no bad smell, that its top skin will readily peel off; there is a thick meat between the skin and the red gills or plates; the gills are of a pinkish or rosy hue, though turning brownish by age, but are never of the lurid brown of the toadstool; when sprinkled with salt and allowed to stand, the mushroom gives out juice, the toadstool becomes dry and leathery.
Put a quart of fresh
mushrooms, cleaned, into a saucepan, with three spoonsful of
water, three of
milk, and a little
salt, and set them on a quick fire. Let them boil up three times, after which take them off and mix in half a pint of
milk, a piece of
butter rolled in
flour, and a little
grated nutmeg. Put them into the saucepan, shaking it well occasionally, and when the liquor is thick, stirring them carefully in the saucepan with a spoon, all the time, and seeing that they do not curdle.
Wash half a peck of large
mushrooms quite clean from grit, and cut off the stalks. Put them in a saucepan, without water, containing a quarter of an ounce of
mace, two spoonsful of pounded
pepper, two
onions stuck with
cloves, a handful of
salt, some
allspice and
nutmeg, if liked, and a quarter of a pound of
butter. Let this stew till the liquor is dried up, then place them on sieves until they are sufficiently dry to be beaten to a powder. Bottle this and closely cork it. To give a good flavor to soup or gravy,
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a tea-spoonful of the powder must be added a minute or two before it is taken from the fire.
Wipe the
mushrooms clean and pare the skin from the large ones. Put them on
paper, and place them in a cool oven to dry. Lay them before the fire until crisp, then grind and sift them through a fine sieve, and keep the powder in small closely corked bottles.
Well wash some small
button mushrooms, such as are generally used for pickling, and boil them for a few minutes in a very little
water. Add to them a small quantity of
cream, a piece of
butter rolled in some
flour, salt and
pepper, then boil up all together again. Cut off a piece from the end of some rolls, scoop out the crumb; in its place put the prepared
mushrooms, and replace the end of each roll.
Remove the stems, and red inside, and skins, from a pint of freshly gathered
mushrooms. Dissolve a little
butter in a stew-pan, throw in the
mushrooms, season with
cayenne pepper, and toss them over the fire for about ten minutes; add a tea-spoonful of
flour, and stir until all is slightly browned. Cut a crust about an inch thick from the under part of a loaf: scoop it out in the centre;
butter it, and boil it over a brisk fire; then place it upon a hot dish before the fire. Pour in by degrees a tea-cupful of
cream or
new milk to the
mushrooms; flavor with a few drops of
catsup; stew gently for two minutes, and pour them into the crust. Serve hot.
Choose large
button mushrooms, wipe them with a wet flannel, and put them into a stew-pan with a little
water. Let them stew gently for a quarter of an hour; then put in a pinch of
salt, work a little
flour and
butter to make it as thick as
cream. Let it boil for five minutes, and before dishing it up, add two large table-spoonsful
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of
cream mixed with the
yolk of one egg. Shake the sauce-pan over the fire for a minute or so, to warm the contents, but do not allow them to boil, for fear they might curdle. Put some sippets around the inside of the dish, and serve hot. [For pickled mushrooms, see Pickles.]
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>
FOWLS AND GAME.
Have a
stuffing prepared of
bread crumbs, sausage meat, or
sweet salt pork, chopped fine,
thyme, summer savory, and one
onion; with
pepper, and
salt in about equal proportions. If the
liver and
heart are not used with the
gizzard, to make the
gravy, they also may be chopped, and mixed with the
stuffing. Fill the body, sew up the opening, truss it, and if you choose, place a ring of
sausages round the
neck of the
turkey. Put in the pan with a cup of
hot water; roast slowly at first, and baste frequently; if there is danger of scorching, cover the
breast with
white paper. It will require, if of good size, two and a half to three hours to roast; and should be served with a rich
brown gravy, and with the
sausages browned and lying on the
breast. If sausages are not liked, thin slices of
sweet salt pork should be laid over the
breast, and round the
neck.
Boil the
liver, gizzard, heart and lower part of the
legs, in a very little
water, chop them fine, mix them with
drawn butter and
bread crumbs, and season with
salt, summer savory, and a little
pepper. Stuff the
fowl with this; put it in sufficient
water to cover it well, and stew it gently until tender; serve with
drawn butter.
Clean and truss them nicely, and fill their bodies with a
stuffing made of half
mashed potatoes, and half
sage, and
onions, well
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seasoned with
pepper and
salt. Baste them with slices of
sweet fat pork in the pan, and baste frequently. Make a rich
gravy, into which put a table-spoonsful of
Worcestershire sauce. Serve with
apple sauce.
For a change one of a pair of ducks may be stuffed with prunes.
The
fowl being drawn, and prepared, fill the body with a dressing of
bread and
butter, seasoned with
pepper, salt, and
summer savory; sew up the opening, truss it,
oil it with
butter, roast it rather fast without scorching, the first half hour, heating all sides evenly; baste it all over every five minutes, and after that, roast rather slowly three quarters of an hour or more, until the
fowl is done through. If not sufficiently browned, wet it over with a little
yolk of egg, sprinkle it with
flour, and let it stand a little longer, till browned evenly.
Divide the
fowl at the back, lay the sides open, and skewer the
wings as for roasting. Boil over a clear fire,
seasoning with
pepper, salt, and a little
butter. Serve them immediately, on a hot dish.
MR. DEMOREST'S CHICKEN FRICASSEE. |
Prepare a couple of nice plump
chickens; joint them, dividing the wings, side, breast, and backbones, and let them lie in clear
water half an hour; remove them then to a stew-pan, with half a pound of good, sweet
salt pork cut up in pieces; barely cover with
water, and
simmer on the top of the stove or range for three hours; when sufficiently tender, take out the
chicken, mix a tablespoonful of
flour smoothly with
cold milk, and add a little fine
dried or chopped parsley, sage, and
thyme, or
summer savory, and stir gradually into the liquor; keep stirring till it boils; season with
pepper and
salt to taste; and then put back the
chicken and let it boil up for a few moments in the
gravy; garnish with the green tops of
celery.
Dress and singe it, put it into a deep dish, cover it with boiling
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milk and leave it all night. In the morning wash off the
milk and put the
goose into
cold water on the fire; when boiling hot take it off, wash it in
warm water, and dry it with a cloth. This process takes out the taste of
oil. Fill the body with a dressing of
bread crumbs seasoned with
pepper, salt, and
butter, two
chopped onions, if relished, and a little
sage, and close it. Put it into
cold water and boil gently until tender, about an hour. Serve with
giblet sauce, and with
pickles, or
acid jellies. For vegetables have
beets, turnips and
cauliflower.
Make a dressing of two ounces of
onion, an ounce of
green sage chopped fine, a coffee cup of
bread crumbs, a little
pepper, and
salt; do not quite fill the
goose, but leave room to swell. The
yolks of two eggs can be added to the dressing, if desired. Roast two hours or less, and serve with
gravy and
apple sauce.
Roast a
duck until about half done. Place it into a stew-pan, with a pint of good
gravy, and a very little
sage; cover it close, and let the
duck continue to simmer in the pan, for half an hour; then put in a pint of
boiled green peas; the
peas are put in the pan to thicken the
gravy. Place the
duck on a dish, and pour the
gravy and
peas over it.
Procure a good
rump steak, fill it with
duck stuffing, bread, a little sweet
salt pork, sage, chopped
onions, and
pepper, and
salt; roll it up, skewer the ends tight; tie a string round the middle, and simmer with a little
stock, in a covered pan, for two hours; take it out, put in the oven, and bake for another hour without cover.
TURKEY STEWED WITH CELERY. |
Choose a fine
hen-turkey, and stuff it with some
force meat as for
veal, viz: four ounces of
bread crumbs, the grated rind of half a
lemon, a quarter of an ounce of
savory herbs, minced fine,
salt and
pepper, two ounces of
butter, and the
yolk of an egg. All these ingredients to be well mixed together. Skewer the
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turkey as for boiling, and put it into a large sauce-pan filled with
water, and let it boil until tender. Take up the
turkey and put it into another sauce-pan, with sufficient of the
water in which it has been boiled, to keep it hot. Wash well about four good sized
heads of celery, put these into the sauce-pan with the rest of the
water in which the
turkey has been boiled, and stew them until tender. Take them out and put in the
turkey, breast downward, and let it stew for a quarter of an hour; place it on a hot dish before the fire, thicken the
sauce with
butter and
flour, and a breakfast-cup of
cream; put it in the
celery to warm, and pour the
sauce and
celery hot over the
turkey.
Divide a
chicken into pieces by the joints, and put into a stew-pan, with
salt, pepper, some
parsley, and
thyme; pour in a quart of
water, with a piece of
butter; and when it has stewed an hour and a half, take the
chicken out of the pan. If there is no
gravy, put in another piece of
butter, add some
water, and
flour, and let it boil a few minutes. When done, it should be not quite as thick as
drawn butter.
Place the
cold chicken, divided into small joints, into a deep dish, and cover then with
salt, pepper, a little melted
butter, the
juice of a lemon, and some chopped
parsley and
onion. Let the
meat soak three or four hours in this, turning it once in a while. Then take them out, sprinkle
flour over them, and fry them. When done, pile them high on a dish, and pour a good
gravy sauce, seasoned and flavored with
sweet herbs, round them.
Make a case of
puff paste, and fill it, when baked, with
minced chicken, prepared as follows. Take the
meat of a cold chicken, and mince it small. Take half a pint of
stock, thicken it with a little
flour, flavor with
salt, and
nutmeg, and let it boil well; then add two or three
mushrooms chopped small, a teacupful of
milk, and the
minced chicken. As soon as the
mushrooms are cooked the mince is done. This may be served on a dish alone. Or put
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into vol-au-vent cases, and ornamented with a few
button mushrooms, stewed in
white sauce, on the top.
CHICKEN WITH CHEESE. (A French dish). |
Braise a couple of
chickens, and when nearly done, add to them some good
stock, vegetables, white wine and
butter, seasoning according to taste. When done, strain some of the liquor into a dish, and grate into it some
parmesan cheese; place the
chickens in this, pour over them the remainder of the
gravy, grate more
parmesan over them, and bake the whole.
Mince up together the
breast of a chicken, some
lean ham, half an
anchovy, a little
parsley, some
shallot and
lemon peel, and season these with
pepper, salt, cayenne, and beaten
mace. Let this be on the fire for a few moments, in a little good
white sauce. Cut some thinly rolled out
puff paste into squares, putting on each some of the mince; turn the
paste over, fry them in boiling
lard, and serve them. These puffs are very good cold.
Bone a
chicken carefully, and fill it with chopped
sweetbread well seasoned; make it as nearly as possible into its original form, tie it up in
bacon, and having wrapped a cloth round it, boil it in some
white wine, good
stock, and
sweet herbs. When done, untie it, use the
bacon as garnish, cut in narrow strips, and serve up with some rich
sauce.
Divide the
chicken into pieces at the joints; boil until part done, or about twenty minutes, then take it out. Fry two or three slices of
fat salt pork, and put in the bottom, then place the
chicken on it with three pints of
water, two ounces of
butter, a tea-spoonful of
pepper, and cover over the top with a light crust, made the same as for
biscuit. Cook one hour.
MRS. MAJOR D.'S CHICKEN PIE, FLAVORED WITH OYSTERS. |
Cut up a good sized
chicken and stew until tender; meanwhile
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seasoning it. After lining the sides of your pan with
paste, put in it a quart of
oysters, seasoning them. Then throw in the
chicken. Take the
water in which the
chicken was stewed, and thicken it with
flour. Fill the pan with the thickened liquor, cover it all with
paste; ornament with pastry, and bake till the crust is a nice brown, or about twenty minutes in a quick oven.
Take a
chicken and cut it in pieces. Stew it in
water enough to cover it. When tender, line a deep dish with
pie crust, take the
chicken out of the liquor, put it in the dish with three or four slices of
pork, and two ounces of
butter, the latter cut in small pieces; add some of the liquor, flavor with
mushroom catsup, and thicken with
flour. Cover it with
pie crust, and bake it in a quick oven about an hour.
THANKSGIVING CHICKEN PIE. |
Cut two
chickens into small members as for fricassee; cover the bottom of the pie-dish with layers of
veal and
ham placed alternately; season with
chopped mushrooms and
parsley, pepper and
salt, then add a little
gravy; next place in the dish the pieces of
chicken in neat order, and round these put slices of
hard boiled egg in each cavity; repeat the
seasoning and the
sauce, lay a few thin slices of dressed
ham neatly trimmed, on the top; cover the pie with
puff-paste, ornament this with pieces of the same cut into the form of leaves; &c.;
egg the pie over with a paste-brush, and bake it for one hour and a half.
Joint two plump, tender
chickens, stew them half an hour in barely enough
water to cover them, take them from the liquor, and lay them in a deep dish, with some thin slices of very sweet, nice
salt pork, and a few halves of small
butter crackers. Season the liquor highly, and pour over the
chicken. Have ready a nice top crust, and put a rim of it first round the edge of the dish, wet it slightly, so that the other edge will stick close, and ornament the top with pastry.
For family use, or to eat cold, for breakfast, or for lunch, put a
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layer of cooked potatoes in the bottom of the dish. The gravy will form a thick jelly round them. Omit the crackers.
Skin the
chickens, which makes them sweeter; cut them open on the back and through the breast. Fry them in
butter, with
salt and
pepper to the taste. Cook them to a nice brown.
When they are nicely prepared, fill them with a
stuffing of bread crumbs, a slice of
salt pork chopped fine;
sage and
onion and
pepper and
salt to season sufficiently. Roast slowly for the first half hour, briskly the last half hour. Serve with
mushroom sauce.
Prepare the
chickens the same as for roasting. Put them in a stew-pan with some
stock or
water, and a cup of
cold gravy, a little
lemon, a
clove or two, and some
pepper and
salt. Add after awhile a few spoonsful of
tomato sauce. Stew slowly for a couple of hours, serve with a little
tomato catsup added to the
sauce, and a light thickening of
butter and
flour.
Score the
legs of a roasted
turkey; sprinkle them with
cayenne, black pepper and
salt; boil them well, and pour over them the following
sauce, quite hot: Three spoonsful of
gravy, one of
butter rubbed in a little
flour, one of
lemon juice, a glass of
port wine, a spoonful of
mustard, some
vinegar, two or three chopped
green chillis, a spoonful of
mushroom catsup, and
Harvey sauce.
ALICE CAREY'S MINCED CHICKEN. |
Mince all that is left of
cold roast, or boiled chickens. Warm it with half a cup of
cold gravy and a table-spoonful of
mushroom sauce. Pile it in the centre of a dish, and place round it alternately small and very thin slices of
broiled ham, and
poached eggs on
toast.
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Take the
meat from a
cold fowl, and cut it in small pieces. Put half a pint of well-flavored
stock into a stew-pan, add a little
salt, pepper and
nutmeg, and thicken with some
flour and
butter; let it boil, then put in the pieces of
fowl to warm; after stewing sufficiently, serve with some poached
eggs laid on the hash, with a sprig of
parsley in the centre, and garnish round the plate with pieces of
fried bread.
Split the
partridge, wipe it inside and out, but do not wash it; broil it delicately over a clear fire, sprinkling it with a little
salt and
cayenne; rub a bit of fresh
butter over it the moment it is taken from the fire. Serve immediately with a
sauce made of a slice of
butter, browned with
flour; a little
water, cayenne, salt, and
mushroom catsup poured over it. Another way is to dip it, after being dressed, flattened and seasoned, into
clarified butter, and then into
bread crumbs; broil gently twenty or thirty minutes, and serve with brown
mushroom sauce.
Place the remains of
roast partridge in a deep dish, with
oil, tarragon vinegar, shallot minced, salt and
pepper. At the time of serving, place the
partridge in a dish, surround it with the
hearts of lettuce cut in halves or in quarters according to the size; garnish the
partridge with
hard boiled eggs, cut in quarters,
minced gherkins, pickled onions and
capers, and stir it in thoroughly with the mixture remaining in the deep dish.
Take two brace of
partridges, pluck and draw them; carve three of them into six pieces each, viz.,
wings, legs, breast, neck and
head, and
back. One of the birds should be kept whole, trussed in the usual form. Let the pieces be seasoned with
pepper, salt, and a little ground
mace, and laid in a deep dish. Stuff the body of the bird left entire, and put it into the middle of the dish,
breast upwards. Pour over the
game half a pint of cold strong
beef gravy
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well strained, in which two well
roasted shallots and a few
corns of allspice have been boiled; add the
yolk of six
hard boiled eggs, and half a gill of good
catsup. Cover your dish with a light
puff paste, and bake in a moderately heated oven.
Make a fine
puff paste, lay a border of it around a large dish, and cover the bottom with a
veal cutlet, or a tender
rump steak free from fat and bone, and seasoned with
salt, cayenne, and
nutmeg or
pounded mace; then prepare as many freshly killed young
pigeons as the dish will contain in one layer; put into each a slice of
butter seasoned with a little
cayenne and
mace; lay them into the dish
breast downwards, and between and over them put the
yolks of half dozen or more
boiled eggs; stick plenty of
butter on them, season the whole with
salt and
spice; pour in
cold water or
veal broth for the
gravy, roll out the cover three quarters of an inch thick, secure it round the edge, ornament it and bake the pie an hour or more. The
livers of the birds may be put in them, or they may be filled with small
mushrooms.
Mince very fine some
meat from a
cold fowl; put it in a pan with a little
stock, a table-spoonful of
cream, a little
salt, and
nutmeg, and make it of the right thickness with
flour; let it boil well, then pour it out on a deep dish, and put it aside to get cold and set; then divide it into parts, form them into small balls, or egg shapes; roll each in fine
bread crumbs, then egg over with the
yolk of egg beaten; roll again in
bread crumbs and fry, not too brown. Serve, ornamented with
parsley.
Make as many patties of a small size as you require, of good light
puff paste; egg them over, and bake them a nice light brown. Fill the centre with minced
venison, or
hare, or a mince of any kind of
game; dish them on a nappy, and send them to table quite hot.
Mince the
white meat of a
roast or boiled fowl very fine with
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the
liver so as to make about six table-spoonsful in all. To this put two table-spoonsful of pounded
cheese, two moderate sized
onions, four or five
green chillies (or if these cannot be procured, some
cayenne peppers,) chopped very small. Mix these thoroughly together, and afterwards add one spoonful of
anchovy, and one of
Harvey sauce, a large spoonful of
mustard, two of
mushroom catsup, black pepper, and
salt, and three spoonsful of
sweet oil. Well mix the whole. This makes a nice relish to eat with
bread and
butter.
Dress them nicely, split them down the back and open them out flat, cleaning them well. Broil them gently over a clear fire, season them with
butter, salt and
pepper; serve them on
buttered toast with
pickles.
Dress and singe them. Fill the bodies with a
stuffing of bread crumbs, seasoned only with
pepper, salt and
butter. Put some
cold stock or
gravy into the pan, and baste frequently; three quarters of an hour will cook them. Serve with
gravy, enriched with Harvey, or some other good
game sauce, with
mashed potatoes and jelly.
FORCEMEAT FOR ROAST VEAL, TURKEY, ETC. |
Mix thoroughly four ounces of the
crumb of stale bread very finely grated; the
grated rind, pared thin, of half a fresh
lemon; quarter of an ounce of
minced parsley and
thyme, one part
thyme, two parts
parsley; pepper or
cayenne sufficient to season. Add to these the unbeaten
yolk of an egg, and two ounces of
butter in small bits; work all smoothly together with the fingers. Other
savory herbs than
parsley or
thyme may be used if preferred, and a little
minced onion may be added, if desired. The proportions given here may be increased when more is required. The above will be sufficient for a middling sized
turkey. Forcemeat for
Ducks or
Geese. Two parts of chopped
onions, two parts of
bread crumbs, two of
butter, one of
pounded sage, and a
seasoning of pepper and
salt.
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Cut the
venison into pieces; line a dish with pie crust, place a layer of
beef suet cut up finely, in the bottom of the dish, then put in the
venison. Season it with
salt and
pepper, lay on
butter, cover it with crust and bake it.
Shave some
cold venison very thin, and cut into small pieces; to to this add a little
currant jelly and some rich
brown gravy well mixed. Roll out some light
puff paste very thin, cut it in pieces and in each piece put some of the
meat, and make them into puffs. Place them all ready to bake, and brush them over with
white of egg. Put them in a quick oven and bake a nice brown color.
Broil rare, and prepare a
gravy with
butter, pepper, salt, a teaspoon of
flour, and some
mushroom catsup. Cut the
steak up into small pieces, and when the
gravy is hot put it in, and cover tight. Set it back from the fire, or in the oven ten minutes, and serve with
toast, and
jelly.
Wash and soak it thoroughly, wipe it quite dry, cut it into joints,
flour and brown it slightly in four or five ounces of
butter, with some bits of
lean ham, then pour on by degrees a pint and a half of
gravy, and stew the
meat very gently an hour and a half, or two hours; add
salt if needed. When it has stewed a half hour or more, put in half the
rind of a lemon, cut thin, and ten minutes before serving stir in a large dessert-spoonful of
rice flour, mixed smoothly with two table-spoonsful of
mushroom catsup, quarter of a teaspoonful of
mace and less of
cayenne.
Take a fresh
rabbit, cut it in slices, and fry it brown with some slices of
pickled pork and some
onions chopped fine. When nice and brown, take it out of the frying pan and put it in a stewpan with
water sufficient to cover it;
pepper and
salt to taste; thicken
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with some
flour and
butter; and add
force-meat balls, but be sure not to put the fat out of the frying pan. Let the
gravy be the thickness of a very
rich cream.
Dress the
rabbit, parboil the
liver with a slice of
fat ham, or
sweet salt pork, and chop it up fine with
bread crumbs, thyme, a small
onion, and
pepper and
salt. Fill the body, and sew it up. Rub it over with
sweet oil, or a little
butter, and put a little
butter in the pan with the
water to baste it. Baste frequently, roast an hour and a half, and serve with
mashed potatoes, and
black, or red currant jelly.
Hare is prepared, and roasted in precisely the same way.
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>
MEAT SAUCES.
Boil well over the fire half a pint of
milk, quarter of a pint of
stock of a light color, season with
salt, and thicken with some
flour and
butter. Mix the
flour with
milk instead of water, for
white sauce.
Boil thin slices of
white bread without the crust, in
milk, with some whole
white pepper, and a sliced
onion; rub all through a coarse colander, put it back into the stewpan with a small piece of
butter, a cup of
veal stock or
gravy, salt and a little
cream, if you have it; warm, and serve it.
Pour quite boiling, on half a pint of the finest
bread crumbs, an equal measure of
new milk; cover them closely with a plate, and let the
sauce remain for twenty or thirty minutes; put it then into a saucepan with a small
salt-spoonful of
salt, half as much
pounded mace, a little
cayenne, and about an ounce of fresh
butter; keep it stirred constantly over a clear fire, for a few minutes, then mix it with a cup of
milk, give it a boil, and serve it immediately.
Soak a quarter of a pound of
rice in a pint of
milk, with
onion, pepper etc., as for
bread sauce. When it is quite tender, remove the
spice, rub it through a sieve into a stewpan, and boil it. If too thick, add a small quantity of
cream or
milk. This is good for game or chicken, as a change from bread sauce.
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Knead a large table-spoonful of
butter in a little
flour, melt it in a tea-cupful of
milk; beat the
yolk of an egg with a tea-spoonful of
milk or
cream, stir it into the
butter, and place it over the fire, stirring it constantly.
Chopped parsley may be added.
Mince two or three
hard-boiled eggs, and mix in
white sauce.
Add one or two spoonsful of
capers to
white sauce.
Boil up
oysters in their own liquor, then beard them; mix some
butter with
flour, and put into the strained liquor; when it is hot, stir the
oysters into it; add some
melted butter, and a little
cayenne pepper; let it boil up once; put in a little
lemon juice and it is ready for serving.
Brown some
sliced onions, in a stew pan, in a little
butter; add a little good
gravy, and stew them till quite tender. With the round steak of beef, this sauce is much admired.
Take about one hundred and fifty good
tomatoes, cut them into thin slices, place them in a dish with a pound of
salt strewn over them, let them remain in the
salt two days. Boil a quart of distilled
vinegar with half ounce of
mace, half ounce of
cloves, half ounce of
ginger and
mustard seed, and twenty-five ripe
capsicums, or
long pepper pods, for half an hour; then add the
tomatoes, having first poured away all the
water and
juice extracted by the
salt from them, and boil all together for half hour; rub them through a clean, fine sieve, and when cold, bottle and cork tightly. If the tomatoes are gathered in dry weather, and carefully done, this sauce will keep for two years.
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Put
tomatoes perfectly ripe, into an earthen jar, and set into an oven till they are quite soft; then separate the skins from the
pulp, and mix this with
capsicum vinegar and a few
shalots finely chopped, which will be proportioned to the quantity of fruit. Add
powdered ginger and
salt to your taste. Some
white wine vinegar and
cayenne may be used instead of capsicum vinegar. Keep the mixture in small wide-mouthed bottles, well corked, and in a dry, cool place.
Remove the skin and seeds from about a dozen
tomatoes, slice them and put them in the stew pan with
pepper and
salt to taste, and three pounded
crackers. Stew slowly one hour.
Wash a good stick of
horseradish, scrape off the outside, then grate to a powder. Then take one table-spoonful of the
grated horseradish, one
salt spoonful of
mustard, a pinch of
salt, four table-spoonsful of
cream, and two table-spoonsful of
vinegar, and mix them well together. Add the
vinegar last, stirring rapidly as it is added.
Stir together until well mixed one dessert spoon of
sweet cream, the same quantity of
powdered mustard, a table-spoonful of
vinegar, and two table-spoonsful of scraped
horseradish, with a little
salt to taste. Serve the sauce separately in a sauce tureen. It will keep for two or three days or longer if
olive oil is used instead of cream.
Wash, and pick over one quart of
cranberries, put them to stew with a little
water, and a pound of
sugar, in a porcelain-lined sauce-pan. Let them stew slowly, and closely covered for an hour, or more. They can then be set away ready for use, or they can be put into a mould and turned out in form the next day.
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Another, and nicer way is to stew them soft, then strain off the skins, add pound of sugar to quart of fruit, and boil all up together again for fifteen minutes. This will make a fine jelly for game, if put into a mould.
Choose fresh and young
mint, strip the leaves from the stems, wash and drain, chop them finely, and add two table-spoonsful of pounded
sugar to three heaped table-spoonsful of
mint. Mix thoroughly, and pour in gradually, six table-spoonsful of good
vinegar. The proportions can be varied according to taste.
Cut the
celery into inch lengths, fry it in
butter until it begins to be tender, add a spoonful of
flour which may be allowed to brown a little, and half a pint of good
broth or
beef gravy, with a
seasoning of pepper or
cayenne.
Wash and drain half inch lengths of
asparagus tops, about a half pint of them, throw them into plenty of
boiling salt and
water, and boil quarter of an hour or less until tender, then turn them into a strainer to drain. When ready to serve put them into
thickened veal gravy, mixed with the
yolks of two eggs, with
seasoning of salt and
cayenne; or into
melted butter into which a little
lemon juice has been squeezed.
Turkey's eggs are superior to others for sauce. Boil three
eggs gently in plenty of
water twenty minutes. Break the shells by rolling them on the table; separate the
whites from the
yolks, divide all the
yolks into quarter inch dice pieces, mince one and a half of the
whites rather small, mix them lightly and stir them into a pint of
white sauce, and serve hot. The
eggs of common
fowl may be prepared for sauce according to these directions, using four
yolks and two
whites, and boiling four or five minutes less. The
eggs of guinea fowl also make a good sauce after ten minutes boiling.
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For immediate use
mustard may be mixed with
milk to which a spoonful of very thin
cream may be added.
For frying
vegetables and for
apple, peach, or
orange fritters, pour a gill of
boiling water on a couple of ounces of bits of
butter. When dissolved, add three gills of
cold water to make it lukewarm; mix in smoothly twelve ounces of dry
flour and a small pinch of
salt if for
fruit fritters, but more
salt if for meat. If it is too thick, add more
water. Just before using, add the
whites of two eggs beaten to a solid froth.
One full pint of
nasturtium flowers must be placed in a stone jar, with five
shallots bruised, two tea-spoonsful of
salt, and the same quantity of
cayenne pepper. Upon these, one quart of boiling
vinegar should be poured, and the jar closely stopped down for a month or more. At the end of this time the liquid must be strained, and three ounces of soy added for each pint, after which the sauce may be bottled, and is fit for use. This is excellent for either
hot or cold meat, and easily made when
nasturtium flowers are plentiful.
One quart of
vinegar, one ounce of
cayenne pepper, six table-spoonsful of
walnut catsup, two table-spoonsful of soy, two
cloves of garlic, and the same quantity of
shallots (both the
garlic and
shallots must be well bruised). Mix all the ingredients well together, bottle them, and keep the bottles closely corked. It will be fit or use in six weeks.
SAUCE FOR BOILED TURKEY OR CAPON. |
When the
turkey is plucked clean, singed and neatly trussed, stuff it inside with raw
oysters, adding a lump of fresh
butter and some
stale bread crumbs. Place the
turkey or
capon in a clean cloth, fold it up carefully, put it in a saucepan of
cold water, and
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let it boil over a moderately heated fire until it is done. Have a stick of
white blanched celery at hand, and chop it up very small, place it in a quart of
new milk in a saucepan and let it boil, gently, with a few
black pepper corns, till the quantity is reduced to one pint; keep stirring the esculent up with the
milk until it assumes the character of a consistent
pulp. Thicken the whole with the
yolk of a fresh
egg, well beaten up, with half a tea-cup of fresh
cream. Have upon the table a
sauce boat of strong
veal gravy.
SAUCE FOR ROASTED CHICKEN. |
Cut up some
carrots and
parsnips into any shape preferred, and let them boil with some little
onions in a small quantity of
stock. Add
mushroom catsup, a little
ham cut into small pieces, and let all stew in
butter, with
sweet herbs, adding two
cloves, some
thyme and a
bay leaf. When these are colored, put in some
veal gravy. Let the whole boil slowly until sufficiently done. Skim it and add it with a little good
veal broth to the
carrots and
parsnips. Roast two
chickens (nicely stuffed) rolled in
bacon and wrapped in
pepper, and pour the mixture upon them.
Pick and wash some
fennel, parsley, mint, thyme and small
green onions, using only a small quantity of each. Boil them until tender in a little
veal stock; after which chop them up, add to them some fresh
butter, the liquor they were boiled in, some grated
nutmeg, the
juice of half a
lemon, a little
cayenne pepper and
salt. Let it boil; thicken it with
flour and send it up in a sauce boat.
FISH SAUCE TO KEEP A YEAR. |
Chop up forty
anchovies, bones and all, put to them ten
shallots cut small, a handful of scraped
horseradish, a quarter of an ounce of
mace, a quart of
white wine, a pint of
water, one
lemonL cut in slices, half a pint of
anchovy liquor, a pint of
red wine, twelve
cloves, and twelve
peppercorns. Boil together until reduced to a quart; strain it, put it into a bottle and cork it closely. It must be kept in a cold, dry place. When required for use, one tea-spoonful
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should be heated and put to half a pound of
butter and a little
flour.
Two spoons of
currant jelly, one stick of
cinnamon, one blade of
mace, grated white bread, ten table-spoons of
water, let it stew with a little
water, serve in the dish with
venison steaks.
Rub two tea-spoonsful of
flour into a quarter of a pound of
butter, add five table-spoons of
cold water; set it into
boiling water and heat till it begins to simmer, then it is done. For
fish, chopped boiled
eggs and
capers can be put in. For
boiled fowl, oysters can be put in while it is melting, and cooked through while it is simmering.
Put half a pound of
brown sugar into an iron saucepan, melt it over a moderate fire for about twenty minutes, stirring it continually until quite black; but it must become so by degrees, or too sudden a heat will make it bitter; then add two quarts of
water, and in ten minutes the
sugar will be dissolved. Bottle for use.
One quart of
grated horseradish, two tea-spoons
black pepper, two of
mustard, one of
allspice, two of
salt, and a pint of best
vinegar. Mix well, and bottle immediately.
Break up the
mushrooms and add to them a little
salt, a handful to a peck, let them lie over night, and in the morning strain them through a coarse cloth; add to the liquor an ounce each of
cloves, black pepper, Jamaica pepper, and
ginger; two or three
anchovies, and a glass of
port wine for each quart, or in that proportion. Boil it gently then until the liquor is reduced to one half; take it off, let it cool, and bottle it air tight.
Put in an earthen vessel layers of
mushrooms, and thin layers
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of
salt, and allow them remain half a day, or until the
salt has penetrated them somewhat. Then mash them, and keep them standing another whole day, frequently stirring them up from the bottom. To each gallon of
mushrooms add an ounce of
peppercorns, an ounce of