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Transcriber's Note
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of corrections is found at the end of the text. Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been maintained. A list of inconsistently spelled and hyphenated words is found at the end of the text.
THE AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE:
CONTAINING THE MOST VALUABLE AND ORIGINAL RECEIPTS IN ALL THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF
COOKERY;
AND WRITTEN IN A MINUTE AND METHODICAL MANNER.
TOGETHER WITH A COLLECTION OF MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS, AND DIRECTIONS RELATIVE TO HOUSEWIFERY.
BY AN EXPERIENCED LADY.
ALSO THE WHOLE ART OF CARVING,
ILLUSTRATED BY SIXTEEN ENGRAVINGS.
THIRD EDITION.
NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY DAYTON, AND SAXTON (SUCCESSORS TO GOULD, NEWMAN, AND SAXTON,) CORNER OF FULTON AND NASSAU STS. 1841.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by
DAYTON & SAXTON,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York.
PREFACE.
The writer does not deem any apology necessary for adding another to the long list of gastronomic works, provided she has accomplished the desirable object of producing a Cook Book which shall commend itself to all persons of true taste—that is to say, those whose taste has not been vitiated by a mode of cooking contrary to her own. Although not a Ude or a Kitchener, she does profess to have sufficient knowledge of the culinary art, as practised by good American cooks, to instruct those not versed in this truly interesting science.
The inefficiency of most works of this kind are well known to all experienced housekeepers, they being generally a mere compilation of receipts, by those who have no practical knowledge of the subject, and are consequently unable to judge of their correctness, or to give the necessary directions for putting the ingredients together in the right manner. A conviction that a good practical Cook Book was much needed, induced the writer to exert herself to supply the deficiency. She does not pretend to infallibility, but having taken a great deal of pains to have each receipt as correct and nice as possible, she trusts that they will generally give satisfaction.
The mode of cooking is such as is generally practised by good American housekeepers, and the receipts embrace all the various branches of the culinary science, from preparing the most simple vegetables or broths, to making the most delicate cake, creams, sweetmeats, &c. The writer has endeavored to combine both economy and that which will be agreeable to the palate, but she has never suffered the former to supersede the latter. This book is intended for all classes of society, embracing receipts both for rich and plain cooking, and written in such a plain manner, that the most unskilled need not err. Placed in the hands of any servant of common capacity, who can read, it will set aside the necessity of those frequent applications for directions, with which the patience of housekeepers is often tried. The experienced cook may smile at the minuteness of the directions; but, if she has witnessed as much good food spoiled by improper cooking as the writer of these receipts, she will not think she has been too explicit.
In regard to the seasoning of food, it has been found impossible to give any exact rules, as so much depends upon the quality of the seasoning and food. The cook should be careful not to have the natural flavor of the food overpowered by the seasoning; and where a variety of spices are used, no one of them should predominate.
Independent of the receipts for cookery, we have annexed a collection of miscellaneous receipts relative to housekeeping, which, together with the copious illustrations and directions for carving, we trust will render it of superior usefulness.
In conclusion, the writer would give her sincere thanks to those of her friends who have kindly furnished her with their choice and valuable receipts: and to those into whose hands the book may fall she would ask a fair trial of them before passing judgment.
CONTENTS.
NO. PAGE
MEAT.
1 Observations respecting Meat, 9 2 Roast Beef, 10 3 Beefsteak, 10 4 Alamode Beef, 11 5 Beef Liver, 11 6 To Corn Beef, 11 7 Mutton, 12 8 Veal, 13 9 Veal Cutlets, 13 10 Calf's Head, 14 11 Force Meat Balls, 14 12 Calf's Feet, 14 13 Calf's Liver and Heart, 15 14 Collops, 15 15 Plaw, 15 16 Fillet of Veal, 15 17 Lamb, 16 18 Shoulder of Lamb, Grilled, 16 19 Lamb's Fry, 17 20 Turkey, 17 21 Goose, 18 22 Chickens, 18 23 Fricassee, 18 24 Pigeons, 19 25 Ducks, 19 26 Baked or Roast Pig, 19 27 Sweet Bread, Liver, and Heart, 20 28 Pressed Head, 20 29 Souse, 20 30 Tripe, 21 31 Sausages, 21 32 To Cure and Cook Hams, 21 33 To Salt and Smoke Tongues, 22 34 Curries, 22
MEAT PIES.
35 Chicken Pie, 22 36 Beef and Mutton Pie, 23 37 Chicken and Veal Pot Pie, 23 38 To Frizzle Beef, 24 39 Warmed-over Meats, 24 40 A Ragout of Cold Veal, 25
GRAVIES AND SAUCES.
41 Drawn Butter, 25 42 Burnt Butter, 25 43 Roast Meat Gravy, 25 44 Sauce for Fish, Salad, and Cold Meat, 26 45 Wine Sauce for Mutton and Venison, 26 46 Rice Sauce, 26 47 Oyster Sauce, 26 48 Celery Sauce, 27 49 Brown Sauce for Poultry, 27 50 Savory Jelly Sauce for Cold Meat, 27 51 Liver Sauce for Fish, 27 52 Lobster Sauce, 27 53 Chicken Salad, 28 54 Turtle, or Calf's Head Sauce, 28 55 Apple and Cranberry Sauce, 28 56 Pudding Sauce, 28 57 Tomato Soy, 29 58 Tomato Catsup, 29 59 Mushroom Catsup, 29 60 Walnut Catsup, 30 61 Curry Powder, 30 62 Essence of Celery, 30
SOUPS.
63 Soup Herb Spirit, 30 64 Plain Veal Soup, 30 65 Mock Turtle, or Calf's Head Soup, 31 66 Beef and Black Soup, 31 67 Chicken and Turkey Soup, 31 68 Oyster Soup, 32 69 Pea Soup, 32 70 Portable Soup, 32
VARIOUS METHODS OF COOKING EGGS.
71 To Boil Eggs, 33 72 Omelet, 33 73 Poached Eggs, 33
FISH.
74 Directions for Broiling, Boiling, and Frying Fish, 34 75 Chowders, 35 76 Baked Fish, 35 77 Codfish, 35 78 Cod Sounds and Tongues, 36 79 Halibut, 36 80 Bass, 36 81 Black Fish, 36 82 To Cook Shad, or Salt them for winter use, 36 83 Sturgeons, 37 84 Fish Cakes, 37 85 Fish Balls, 37 86 Lobsters and Crabs, 37 87 Scollops, 38 88 Eels, 38 89 Trout, 38 90 Clams, 38 91 To Stew Oysters, 39 92 To Fry Oysters, 39 93 Oyster Pancakes, 39 94 Oyster Pies, 39 95 Scolloped Oysters, 40
VEGETABLES.
96 Potatoes, 40 97 Potato Snow Balls, 40 98 Turnips, 41 99 Beets, 41 100 Parsnips and Carrots, 41 101 Onions, 41 102 Artichokes, 41 103 Squashes, 42 104 Cabbage and Cauliflowers, 42 105 Asparagus, 42 106 Peas, 43 107 Sweet Corn, 43 108 To Bake and Boil Beans, 43 109 Greens, 44 110 Salads, 44 111 To Prepare Cucumbers for Eating, 44 112 To Stew Mushrooms, 44 113 To Cook Egg Plant, 45 114 Celeriac, 45 115 Salsify, or Vegetable Oyster, 45 116 Tomatoes, 45 117 Gumbo, 46 118 Southern Method of Boiling Rice, 46
PICKLES.
119 General Directions for Pickling, 46 120 Peppers, 47 121 Mangoes, 47 122 Butternuts, 48 123 Peaches and Apricots, 48 124 Cabbage and Cauliflowers, 48 125 East India Pickle, 49 126 French Beans and Radish Pods, 49 127 Nasturtions, 49 128 Samphire, 49 129 Onions, 50 130 Artichokes, 50 131 Cucumbers, 50 132 Gherkins, 51 133 To Pickle Oysters, 51 134 Mushrooms, 51
BREAD.
135 Wheat Bread, 51 136 Sponge Bread, 52 137 Rye Bread, 53 138 Brown Bread, 53 139 Indian Bread, 53 140 Potato Bread, 53 141 Rice Bread, 53 142 French Rolls, 54 143 Yeast, 54 144 Yeast Cakes, 55
BISCUIT.
145 Butter Biscuit, 55 146 Buttermilk Biscuit, 56 147 Hard Biscuit, 56 148 Saleratus Biscuit, or Short Cakes, 56 149 Potato Biscuit, 56 150 Sponge Biscuit, 57 151 Crackers, 57
HOT CAKES.
152 Cream Cakes, 57 153 Crumpets, 57 154 Rice Cakes, 57 155 Rice Ruffs, 58 156 Buckwheat Cakes, 58 157 Economy Cakes, 58 158 Green Corn Cake, 59 159 Ground Corn Cake, 59 160 Indian Slap Jacks, 59 161 Journey Cakes, 59 162 Hoe Cake, 60 163 Muffins, 60 164 Raised Flour Waffles, 60 165 Quick Waffles, 60 166 Rice Waffles, 61 167 Rice Wafers, 61
SWEET CAKES.
168 Directions for making Cake nice, 61 169 Frosting for Cake, 62 170 Sponge Gingerbread, 62 171 Hard Gingerbread, 63 172 Soft Gingerbread, 63 173 Sugar Gingerbread, 63 174 Ginger Snaps, 63 175 Spice Cakes, 64 176 Cider Cake, 64 177 Bannoch, or Sweet Meal Cakes, 64 178 Rich Cookies, 64 179 Tea Cakes, or Plain Cookies, 64 180 New Year's Cookies, 65 181 Shrewsbury Cake, 65 182 Tunbridge Cake, 65 183 Jumbles, 65 184 Composition Cake, 65 185 Rusk, 66 186 Whigs, 66 187 Nut Cakes, 66 188 Crollers, 67 189 Molasses Dough Cake, 67 190 Sugar Dough Cake, 67 191 Measure Cake, 68 192 French Cake, 68 193 Washington Cake, 68 194 Cup Cake, 68 195 Plain Cream Cake, 69 196 Rich Cream Cake, 69 197 Cymbals, 69 198 Rich Loaf Cake, 69 199 Plain Loaf Cake, 70 200 Shelah, or Quick Loaf Cake, 70 201 Rice Cake, 70 202 Diet Cake, 71 203 Lemon Cake, 71 204 Scotch Cake, 71 205 Pound Cake, 71 206 Confectioner's Pound Cake, 71 207 Queen's Cake, 72 208 Delicate Cake, 72 209 Jelly Cake, 72 210 Strawberry Cake, 73 211 Superior Sponge Cake, 73 212 Good Sponge Cake, 73 213 Almond Cake, 73 214 Fruit Cake, 74 215 Black Cake, 74 216 Maccaroons, 75 217 Cocoanut Cakes, 75 218 Tory Wafers, 75 219 Sugar Drops, 75 220 Savoy Cakes, 76 221 Almond Cheese Cakes, 76
TRIFLES.
222 Flummery, 76 223 Floating Island, 76 224 Whip Syllabub, 77 225 Ornamental Froth, for Blanc Mange or Creams, 77 226 Ice Currants, 77 227 Apple Snow, 77 228 Comfits, 77
BLANC MANGES.
229 Isinglass Blanc Mange, 78 230 Calf's Feet Blanc Mange, 78 231 Rice Flour Blanc Mange, 78 232 Unground Rice Blanc Mange, 78
CREAMS.
233 Snow Cream, 79 234 Orange Cream, 79 235 Lemon Cream, 79 236 Iced Creams, 79
PASTRY AND PIES.
237 Pastry, 80 238 Puff Paste, or Confectioner's Pastry, 81 239 Apple Pies, 81 240 Mince Pie, 82 241 Rice Pie, 83 242 Peach Pie, 83 243 Tart Pies, 83 244 Rhubarb Pies, 84 245 Tomato Pie, 84 246 Lemon Pie, 84 247 Cherry and Blackberry Pies, 84 248 Grape Pies, 85 249 Currant and Gooseberry Pies, 85 250 Prune Pie, 85 251 Pumpkin Pie, 85 252 Carrot Pie, 86 253 Potato Pie, 86 254 Sweet Marlborough Pie, 87 255 Marlborough Tarts, 87 256 Cocoanut Pie, 87 257 Small Puffs, 88
CUSTARDS.
258 Plain Custard Pie, 88 259 Rich Baked Custards, 88 260 Boiled Custards, 88 261 Mottled Custard, 89 262 Cream Custard, 89 263 Almond Custard, 89 264 Apple Custard, 90
PUDDINGS.
265 Directions for making Puddings, 90 266 Hasty Pudding, 90 267 Corn Pudding, 91 268 Cracker Pudding, 91 269 Boiled Indian Pudding, 91 270 Baked Indian Pudding, 91 271 Minute Pudding, 92 272 Boiled Bread Pudding, 92 273 A Plain Baked Bread Pudding, 92 274 Rich Bread Pudding, 93 275 Flour Pudding, 93 276 Boiled Rice Pudding, 93 277 Baked Rice Pudding, without Eggs, 94 278 Baked Rice Pudding, with Eggs, 94 279 Ground Rice Pudding, 94 280 Rice Snow Balls, 94 281 Cream Pudding, 95 282 Custard Pudding, 95 283 Rennet Pudding, 95 284 Fruit Pudding, 95 285 Quaking Pudding, 96 286 Lemon Pudding, 96 287 Almond Pudding, 96 288 Tapioca Pudding, 97 289 Sago Pudding, 97 290 Orange Pudding, 97 291 Bird's Nest, or Transparent Pudding, 98 292 English Plum Pudding, 98
FRITTERS AND DUMPLINGS.
293 Plain Fritters, 98 294 Apple Fritters, 98 295 Cream Fritters, 99 296 Oxford Dumplings, 99 297 Apple Dumplings, 99
SYRUPS.
298 Lemon Syrup, 99 299 Orange Syrup, 100 300 Blackberry Syrup, 100 301 Elderberry Syrup, 100 302 Molasses Syrup, for Sweetmeats, 100 303 To Clarify Syrup for Sweetmeats, 101
SWEETMEATS.
304 Directions for Preserving, 101 305 To preserve Quinces, 102 306 Quince Marmalade, 103 307 To preserve Pears, 103 308 Pear Marmalade, 103 309 To preserve Peaches, 103 310 Peach Jam, 104 311 To preserve Peaches in Brandy, 104 312 Raspberries, 104 313 Cherries, 105 314 Currants, 105 315 Prunes, 105 316 Cranberries, 106 317 To preserve Crab or Siberian Apples, 106 318 Barberries, 106 319 Tomatoes, 107 320 To preserve Common Apples, 107 321 Cymbelines, or Mock Citron, 107 322 Watermelon Rinds, 108 323 Muskmelons, 108 324 Pine Apples, 109 325 Pumpkins, 109 326 Gages, 110 327 To preserve Strawberries, 110 328 Blackberry and Raspberry Jam, 110
JELLIES.
329 Strawberry, Raspberry, and Blackberry Jellies, 110 330 Cranberry, Grape, and Currant Jellies, 111 331 Quince Jelly, 111 332 Apple Jelly, 111 333 Lemon Jelly, 112 334 Calf's Feet Jelly, 112 335 Hartshorn Jelly, 113
COMMON DRINKS.
336 Coffee, 113 337 Tea, 114 338 Chocolate, 114 339 Hop Beer, 114 340 Beer of Essential Oils, 115 341 Spring Beer, 115 342 Ginger Beer, 116 343 Instantaneous Beer, 116 344 Mixed Wine, 116 345 Currant Wine, 116 346 Grape Wine, 117 347 To mull Wine, 117 348 Quince Cordial, 117 349 Peach Cordial, 117 350 Smallage Cordial, 118 351 Currant Shrub, 118 352 Raspberry Shrub, 118 353 Lemon Shrub, 118 354 Sherbet, 119 355 Noyeau, 119 356 Mead, 119
ESSENCES.
357 Essence of Lemon, 119 358 Essence of Ginger, 120 359 Spice Brandy, 120 360 Rosewater, 120
PERFUMERY.
361 To extract the Essential Oil of Flowers, 121 362 Perfumery Bags, 121 363 Cologne Water, 121 364 Lavender Water, 121 365 Aromatic Vinegar, 121
COOKERY FOR THE SICK.
366 Barley Water, 122 367 Rice Gruel, 122 368 Water Gruel, 122 369 Caudle, 122 370 Arrow Root Custards, 123 371 Wine Whey, 123 372 Stomachic Tincture, 123 373 Thoroughwort Bitters, 123 374 Cough Tea, 124 375 Beef Tea, 124 376 Moss Jelly, 124 377 Sago Jelly, 124 378 Tapioca Jelly, 125
MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS RELATIVE TO HOUSEWIFERY.
379 To renew Old Bread and Cake, 125 380 To keep Insects from Cheese, 125 381 To pot Cheese, 125 382 To pot Butter for winter, 125 383 To extract Salt from Butter, 126 384 To extract Rancidity from Butter, 126 385 To preserve Cream for a long time, 126 386 Substitute for Cream, 126 387 To keep Eggs several months, 126 388 To melt Fat for Shortening, 126 389 To keep Vegetables through the winter, 126 390 To preserve Herbs a year, 126 391 To keep various kinds of Fruit through the winter, 126 392 To keep Pickles and Sweetmeats, 127 393 Cautions relative to the use of Brass and Copper Cooking Utensils, 127 394 Durable Ink, 127 395 Black Ball, 127 396 Liquid Blacking, 127 397 Cement for the mouths of Bottles, 127 398 Cement for China, Glass, and Earthenware, 127 399 Japanese Cement, 128 400 Alabaster Cement, 128 401 To clean Alabaster, 128 402 Cement for Ironware, 128 403 To loosen Glass Stopples, when wedged tight in bottles, 128 404 Lip Salve, 128 405 Cold Cream, 128 406 To prevent the formation of a crust on Tea-Kettles, 128 407 To remove Stains from Broad cloth, 128 408 To extract Paint from Goods, 128 409 To remove Stains on Scarlet Woollen Goods, 128 410 To extract Grease from Silks, Woollens, and Floors, 128 411 To extract Stains from White Cotton and Colored Silks, 129 412 Directions for Washing Calicoes, 129 413 Directions for Cleaning Silk Goods, 129 414 Directions for Washing Woollen Goods, 129 415 Directions for Washing White Cotton Clothes, 130 416 Starch, 130 417 To clean Nice Shawls, 130 418 Directions for Carpets, 130 419 To clean Light Kid Gloves, 130 420 To restore Rusty Crape, 131 421 To clean Mahogany and Marble Furniture, 131 422 To clean Stoves and Stone Hearths, 131 423 To extract Ink from Floors, 131 424 To remove Paint and Putty from Window Glass, 131 425 To clean Feather Beds and Mattresses, 131 426 To clean Vials and Pie Plates, 131 427 To temper Earthenware, 131 428 To temper new Ovens and Ironware, 132 429 To polish Brass, Britannia, and Silver Utensils, 132 430 To remove or keep Cutlery from contracting rust, 132 431 Preservatives against the ravages of Moths, 132 432 To destroy various kinds of household Vermin, 132
COMMON DYES.
433 To dye Black, 132 434 Green and Blue Dye, 133 435 Yellow Dyes, 133 436 Red Dyes, 133 437 Slate-Colored Dye, 133
SOAPS.
438 Soap from Scraps, 134 439 Cold Soap, 134 440 Hard Soap, 134 441 Windsor and Castile Soap, 134 442 Bayberry, or Myrtle Soap, 134
THE ART OF CARVING.
1 Sirloin of Beef, 135 2 Aitch, or Edgebone of Beef, 136 3 Shoulder of Mutton, 136 4 Knuckle of Veal, 137 5 Roasted Breast of Veal, 137 6 A Spare Rib, 138 7 Saddle of Mutton, 138 8 Pig, 138 9 Half a Calf's Head, boiled, 139 10 Leg of Mutton, 139 11 Ham, 140 12 Fore Quarter of Lamb, 140 13 Haunch of Venison, 141 14 Round of Beef, 141 15 Brisket of Beef, 141 16 Leg of Pork, 141 17 Haunch of Mutton, 141 18 Goose, 142 19 A Fowl, 142 20 Partridge, 143 21 Pigeons, 143 22 Turkey, 143 23 Cod's Head, 144
PRACTICAL COOKERY.
1. Observations respecting Meat.
Meat to be in perfection should be kept a number of days when the weather will admit of it. Beef and mutton should be kept at least a week in cold weather, and poultry three or four days. If the weather is hot, it will keep but a short time. It should be kept in a cool, airy place, away from the flies, and if there is any danger of its spoiling, a little salt should be rubbed over it. When meat is frozen, it should be put into lukewarm water, and not taken out till the frost is extracted. If there is any frost in it when put to the fire, it will not cook well. The best way to boil it is to put it in cold water, and boil it gently, with just water enough to cover it, as it hardens by furious boiling. The part that is to be up on the table, should be down in the pot, as the scum that rises is apt to make the meat look dark—the scum should be taken off as soon as it rises. The liquor in which all kinds of fresh meat is boiled, makes a good soup, when thickened and seasoned. Boiling is the cheapest way of cooking meat, provided you make a soup of the liquor; if not, it is the dearest, as most of the gelatine is extracted by the process of boiling, which is the most nourishing part, and if not used for soup, is completely lost. In roasting meat, only the juices and fat are extracted, but not lost, as the juices make good gravy, and the fat is good for various culinary purposes. When it is put down to roast, there should be a little water in the dripping pan. For broiling, the bars of the gridiron should be perfectly clean, and greased with lard or butter, otherwise the meat will retain the impression of the bars. The bars of the gridiron should be concave, and terminate in a trough, to catch the juices, or they will drop in the fire and smoke the meat. A good fire of hot coals is necessary to have the meat broil as quick as possible without burning. The gridiron should be put on the fire, and well heated before the meat is laid on it. The dish should be very hot on which broiled meat is put, and it should not be seasoned till taken up. If you wish to fry meat, cut a small piece of pork into slices, and fry them a light brown, then take them up and put in your meat, which should be perfectly dry. When the meat is sufficiently fried, take it up, remove the frying pan from the fire to cool; when so, turn in a little cold water for the gravy, put it on the fire—when it boils, stir in a little mixed flour and water, let it boil, then turn it over the meat. If not rich enough, add butter and catsup if you like.
2. Roast Beef.
The tender loin and first and second cuts off the rack are the best roasting pieces—the third and fourth cuts are good. When the meat is put to the fire, a little salt should be sprinkled on it, and the bony side turned towards the fire first. When the bones get well heated through, turn the meat, and keep a brisk fire—baste it frequently while roasting. There should be a little water put into the dripping pan when the meat is put down to roast. If it is a thick piece, allow fifteen minutes to each pound to roast it in—if thin, less time will be required.
3. Beef Steak.
The tender loin is the best piece for broiling—a steak from the round or shoulder clod is good and comes cheaper. If the beef is not very tender, it should be laid on a board and pounded, before broiling or frying it. Wash it in cold water, then lay it on a gridiron, place it on a hot bed of coals, and broil it as quick as possible without burning it. If broiled slow, it will not be good. It takes from fifteen to twenty minutes to broil a steak. For seven or eight pounds of beef, cut up about a quarter of a pound of butter. Heat the platter very hot that the steak is to be put on, lay the butter on it, take up the steak, salt and pepper it on both sides. Beef steak to be good, should be eaten as soon as cooked. A few slices of salt pork broiled with the steak makes a rich gravy with a very little butter. There should always be a trough to catch the juices of the meat when broiled. The same pieces that are good broiled are good for frying. Fry a few slices of salt pork, brown, then take them up and put in the beef. When brown on both sides, take it up, take the pan off from the fire, to let the fat cool; when cool, turn in half a tea cup of water, mix a couple of tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, stir it into the fat, put the pan back on the fire, stir it till it boils up, then turn it over the beef.
4. Alamode Beef.
The round of beef is the best piece to alamode—the shoulder clod is good, and comes lower; it is also good stewed, without any spices. For five pounds of beef, soak about a pound of bread in cold water till soft, then drain off the water, mash the bread fine, put in a piece of butter, of the size of a hen's egg, half a tea spoonful of salt, the same quantity of ground cloves, allspice, and pepper, half a nutmeg, a couple of eggs, and a table spoonful of flour—mix the whole well together; then cut gashes in the beef, and fill them with about half of the dressing, put the meat in a bake-pan, with lukewarm water enough to cover it; set it where it will stew gently for a couple of hours, cover it with a heated bake pan lid. When it has stewed a couple of hours, turn the reserved dressing on top of the meat, heat the bake pan lid hot enough to brown the dressing, stew it an hour and a half longer. After the meat is taken up, if the gravy is not thick enough, mix a tea spoonful or two of flour with a little water, and stir it into the gravy; put in a little butter, a wine glass of wine, and turn it over the meat.
5. Beef Liver.
Liver is very good fried, but the best way to cook it, is to broil it ten minutes, with four or five slices of salt pork. Then take it, cut it into small strips together with the pork, put it in a stew pan, with a little water, butter, and pepper. Stew it four or five minutes.
6. To Corn Beef.
To every gallon of cold water, put a quart of rock salt, an ounce of salt-petre, quarter of a pound of brown sugar—(some people use molasses, but it is not as good)—no boiling is necessary. Put the beef in the brine. As long as any salt remains at the bottom of the cask it is strong enough. Whenever any scum rises, the brine should be scalded, skimmed, and more sugar, salt and salt-petre added. When a piece of beef is put in the brine, rub a little salt over it. If the weather is hot, cut a gash to the bone of the meat, and fill it with salt. Put a heavy weight on the beef in order to keep it under the brine. In very hot weather, it is difficult to corn beef in cold brine before it spoils. On this account it is good to corn it in the pot when boiled. It is done in the following manner; to six or eight pounds of beef, put a tea cup of salt, sprinkle flour on the side that is to go up on the table, and put it down in the pot, turn the water into the pot after the beef is put in, boil it a couple of hours, then turn in more cold water, and boil it an hour and a half longer.
7. Mutton.
The saddle is the best part to roast—the shoulder and leg are good roasted; but the best mode to cook the latter, is to boil it with a piece of salt pork. A little rice boiled with it, improves the looks of it. Mutton for roasting, should have a little butter rubbed on it, and a little salt and pepper sprinkled on it—some people like cloves and allspice. Put a small piece of butter in the dripping pan, and baste it frequently. The bony side should be turned towards the fire first, and roasted. For boiling or roasting mutton, allow a quarter of an hour to each pound of meat. The leg is good cut in gashes, and filled with a dressing, and baked. The dressing is made of soaked bread, a little butter, salt, and pepper, and a couple of eggs. A pint of water with a little butter should be put in the pan. The leg is also good, cut into slices and broiled. It is good corned a few days, and then boiled. The rack is good for broiling—it should be divided, each bone by itself, broiled quick, and buttered, salted and peppered. The breast of mutton is nice baked. The joints of the brisket should be separated, the sharp ends of the ribs sawed off, the outside rubbed over with a little piece of butter—salt it, and put it in a bake pan, with a pint of water. When done, take it up, and thicken the gravy with a little flour and water, and put in a small piece of butter. A table spoonful of catsup, cloves and allspice, improve it, but are not essential. The neck of mutton makes a good soup. Parsely or celery-heads are a pretty garnish for mutton.
8. Veal.
The loin of veal is the best piece for roasting. The breast and rack are good roasted. The breast also is good made into a pot pie, and the rack cut into small pieces and broiled. The leg is nice for frying, and when several slices have been cut off for cutlets, the remainder is nice boiled with a small piece of salt pork. Veal for roasting should be salted, peppered, and a little butter rubbed on it, and basted frequently. Put a little water in the dripping pan, and unless the meat is quite fat, a little butter should be put in. The fillet is good baked, the bone should be cut out, and the place filled with a dressing, made of bread soaked soft in cold water, a little salt, pepper, a couple of eggs, and a table spoonful of melted butter put in—then sew it up, put it in your bake pan, with about a pint of water, cover the top of the meat with some of the dressing. When baked sufficiently, take it up, thicken the gravy with a little flour and water well mixed, put in a small piece of butter, and a little wine and catsup, if you like the gravy rich.
9. Veal Cutlets.
Fry three or four slices of pork until brown—take them up, then put in slices of veal, about an inch thick, cut from the leg. When brown on both sides, take them up—stir half a pint of water into the gravy, then mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, and stir it in—soak a couple of slices of toasted bread in the gravy, lay them on the bottom of the platter, place the meat and pork over it, then turn on the gravy. A very nice way to cook the cutlets, is to make a batter with half a pint of milk, an egg beaten to a froth, and flour enough to render it thick. When the veal is fried brown, dip it into the batter, then put it back into the fat, and fry it until brown again. If you have any batter left, it is nice dropped by the large spoonful into the fat, and fried till brown, then laid over the veal. Thicken the gravy and turn it over the whole. It takes about an hour to cook this dish. If the meat is tough, it will be better to stew it half an hour before frying it.
10. Calf's Head.
Boil the head two hours, together with the lights and feet. Put in the liver when it has boiled an hour and twenty minutes. Before the head is done, tie the brains in a bag, and boil them with it; when the brains are done, take them up, season them with salt, pepper, butter, and sweet herbs, or spices if you like—use this as a dressing for the head. Some people prefer part of the liver and feet for dressing—they are prepared like the brains. The liquor that the calf's head is boiled in, makes a good soup, seasoned in a plain way like any other veal soup, or seasoned turtle fashion. The liquor should stand until the next day after the head is boiled, in order to have the fat rise, and skimmed off. If you wish to have your calf's head look brown, take it up when tender, rub a little butter over it, sprinkle on salt, pepper, and allspice—sprinkle flour over it, and put before the fire, with a Dutch oven over it, or in a brick oven where it will brown quick. Warm up the brains with a little water, butter, salt, and pepper. Add wine and spices if you like. Serve it up as a dressing for the head. Calf's head is also good, baked. Halve it, rub butter over it, put it in a pan, with about a quart of water; then cover it with a dressing made of bread soaked soft, a little butter, an egg, and season it with salt, pepper, and powdered mace. Slice up the brains, and lay them in the pan with the head. Bake it in a quick oven, and garnish it with slices of lemon, or force meat balls.
11. Force Meat Balls.
Chop a pound or two of veal fine—mix it with one or two eggs, a little butter, or raw pork chopped fine—season it with salt and pepper, or curry powder. Do them up into balls about the size of half an egg, and fry them brown.
12. Calf's Feet.
Boil them with the head, until tender, then split and lay them round the head, or dredge them with flour after they have been boiled tender, and fry them brown. If you wish for gravy for them, when you have taken them up, stir a little flour into the fat they were fried in; season it with salt, pepper, and mace. Add a little butter and wine if you like, then turn it over the feet.
13. Calf's Liver and Heart.
Are good, broiled or fried. Some people like the liver stuffed and baked.
14. Collops.
Cut part of a leg of veal into pieces, three or four inches broad—sprinkle flour on them, fry them in butter until brown, then turn in water enough to cover the veal. When it boils, take off the scum, put in two or three onions, a blade of mace, a little salt and pepper. When stewed tender, take up the meat, thicken the gravy with flour and water, mixed smoothly together, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, then turn it over the collops. Garnish them with a lemon cut in thin slices.
15. Plaw.
Boil a piece of lean veal till tender. Take it up, cut it into strips three or four inches long, put it back into the pot, with the liquor it was boiled in, with a tea cup of rice to three pounds of veal. Put in a piece of butter, of the size of a hen's egg; season it with salt, pepper, and sweet herbs if you like; stew it gently till the rice is tender, and the water nearly stewed away. A little curry powder in this, converts it into a curry dish.
16. A Fillet of Veal.
Cut off the shank of a leg of veal, and cut gashes in the remainder. Make a dressing of bread, soaked soft in cold water, and mashed; season it with salt, pepper, and sweet herbs; chop a little raw pork fine, put it in the dressing, and if you have not pork, use a little butter instead. Fill the gashes in the meat with part of the dressing, put it in a bake pan, with just water enough to cover it; put the remainder of the dressing on top of the meat, and cover it with a heated bake pan lid. For six pounds of veal, allow two hours' steady baking. A leg of veal is nice prepared in this manner, and roasted.
17. Lamb.
The fore and hind quarters are good roasting pieces. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the lamb, turn the bony side towards the fire first; if not fat, rub a little butter on it, and put a little in the dripping pan; baste it frequently. These pieces are good stuffed like a fillet of veal, and roasted. The leg is also good, cooked in the same manner; but it is better boiled with a pound of salt pork. Allow fifteen minutes boiling to each pound of meat. The breast of lamb is good roasted, broiled, or corned and boiled; it is also good made into a pot pie. The fore quarter, with the ribs divided, is good broiled. The bones of this, as well as all kinds of meat, when put down to broil, should first be put towards the fire, and browned before the other side is broiled. A little salt, pepper, and butter, should be put on it when you take it up. Lamb is very apt to spoil in warm weather. If you wish to keep a leg several days, put it in brine. It should not be put with pork, as fresh meat is apt to injure it. Lamb's head, feet, and heart, are good, boiled till tender, then cut off the flesh from the head, cut up the heart, and split the feet in two; put the whole into a pan, with a pint of the liquor they were boiled in, together with a little butter, pepper, salt, and half a tea cup of tomato catsup; thicken the gravy with a little flour; stew the whole for a few moments. Pepper-grass, or parsely, are a pretty garnish for this dish.
18. Shoulder of Lamb Grilled.
The shoulder of lamb is good roasted plain, but is better cooked in the following manner. Score it in checkers, about an inch long, rub it over with a little butter, and the yelk of an egg; then dip it into finely pounded bread crumbs; sprinkle on salt, pepper, and sweet herbs; roast it till of a light brown. This is good with plain gravy, but better with a sauce, made in the following manner. Take a quarter of a pint of the drippings from the meat, mix it with the same quantity of water, set it on the fire; when it boils up, thicken it with a little flour and water mixed, put in a table spoonful of tomato catsup, the juice and grated rind of a lemon; season it with salt and pepper.
19. Lamb's Fry.
The heart and sweet bread are nice fried plainly, or dipped into a beaten egg and fine bread crumbs. They should be fried in lard.
20. Turkey.
Take out the inwards, wash both the inside and outside of the turkey. Prepare a dressing made of bread, soaked soft in cold water, (the water should be drained from the bread, and the bread mashed fine.) Melt a small piece of butter, and mix it with the dressing, or else put in salt pork, chopped fine; season it with salt and pepper; add sweet herbs if you like. An egg in the dressing, makes it cut smoother. Any kind of cooked meat is nice minced fine, and mixed with the dressing. If the inwards are used, they ought to be boiled very tender, as it is very difficult to cook them through while the turkey is roasting. Fill the crop and body of the turkey with the dressing, sew it up, tie up the legs and wings, rub on a little salt and butter. Roast it from two to three hours, according to its size; twenty-five minutes to every pound, is a good rule. The turkey should be roasted slowly at first, and basted frequently. A little water should be put into the dripping pan, when the meat is put down to roast. For a gravy to the turkey, take the liquor that the inwards are boiled in, put into it a little of the turkey drippings, set it where it will boil, thicken it with a little flour and water, previously mixed smooth. Season it with salt, pepper, and sweet herbs if you like. Drawn butter is used for boiled turkey. A turkey for boiling should be prepared in the same manner as one for roasting. If you wish to have it look white, tie it up in a cloth, unless you boil rice in the pot. If rice is used, put in two-thirds of a tea cup. A pound or two of salt pork, boiled with the turkey, improves it. If you wish to make a soup of the liquor in which the turkey is boiled, let it remain until the next day, then skim off the fat. Heat and season it.
21. Goose.
If a goose is tender under the wing, and you can break the skin easily by running the head of a pin across the breast, there is no danger of its being tough. A goose should be dressed in the same manner, and roasted the same length of time as a turkey.
22. Chickens.
Chickens for roasting or boiling should have a dressing prepared like that for turkies. Half a tea cup of rice boiled with the chickens makes them look white. They will be less liable to break if the water is cold when they are put in. A little salt pork boiled with the chickens, improves them. If you do not boil pork with them they will need salt. Chickens for broiling should be split, the inwards taken out, and the chicken washed inside and out. Put the bony side down on the gridiron, and broil it very slowly until brown, then turn it, and brown it on the other side. About forty minutes is required to broil a common sized chicken. For roast chicken, boil the liver and gizzards by themselves, and use the water for gravy to the chickens—cut the inwards in slices, and put them in the gravy.
23. Fricassee.
The chickens should be jointed, the inwards taken out, and the chickens washed. Put them in a stew pan with the skin side down; on each layer sprinkle salt and pepper; put in three or four slices of pork, just cover them with water, and let them stew till tender. Then take them up, mix a little flour and water together, and thicken the liquor they were stewed in, add a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg, then put the chickens back in the stew pan, and let them stew four or five minutes longer. When you have taken up the chickens, soak two or three slices of toast in the gravy, then put them in your platter, lay the chickens over the toast, and turn the gravy on them. If you wish to brown the chickens, stew them without the pork, till tender, then fry the pork brown, take it up, put in the chickens, and then fry until a light brown.
24. Pigeons.
Take out the inwards, and stuff the pigeons with a dressing prepared like that for turkeys, lay them in a pot with the breast side down. Turn in more than enough water to cover them. When stewed nearly tender, put in a quarter of a pound of butter to every dozen of pigeons—mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour, with a little water, and stir into the gravy. If you wish to brown them, put on a heated bake pan lid, an hour before they are done, or else take them up when tender, and fry them in pork fat. They are very good split open and stewed, with a dressing made and warmed up separately with a little of the gravy. Tender pigeons are good stuffed and roasted. It takes about two hours to cook tender pigeons, and three hours tough ones. Roast pigeons should be buttered when put to the fire.
25. Ducks.
Are good stewed like pigeons, or roasted. Two or three onions in the dressing of wild ducks, takes out the fishy taste they are apt to have. If ducks or any other fowls are slightly injured by being kept long, dip them in weak saleratus water before cooking them.
26. Baked or Roast Pig.
A pig for roasting or baking should be small and fat. Take out the inwards, and cut off the first joint of the feet, and boil them till tender, then chop them. Prepare a dressing of bread soaked soft, the water squeezed out, and the bread mashed fine, season it with salt, pepper, and sweet herbs, add a little butter, and fill the pig with the dressing. Rub a little butter on the outside of the pig, to prevent its blistering. Bake or roast it from two hours and a half, to three hours. The pan that the pig is baked in should have a little water put in it. When cooked, take out a little of the dressing and gravy from the pan, mix it with the chopped inwards and feet, put in a little butter, pepper, and salt, and use this for a sauce to the pig. Expose the pig to the open air two or three minutes, before it is put on the table, to make it crispy.
27. Sweet Bread, Liver, and Heart.
A very good way to cook the sweet bread, is to fry three or four slices of pork till brown, then take them up and put in the sweet bread, and fry it over a moderate fire. When you have taken up the sweet bread, mix a couple of tea-spoonsful of flour with a little water, and stir it into the fat—let it boil, then turn it over the sweet bread. Another way is to parboil them, and let them get cold, then cut them in pieces about an inch thick, dip them in the yelk of an egg, and fine bread crumbs, sprinkle salt, pepper, and sage on them, before dipping them in the egg, fry them a light brown. Make a gravy after you have taken them up, by stirring a little flour and water mixed smooth into the fat, add spices and wine if you like. The liver and heart are good cooked in the same manner, or broiled.
28. Pressed Head.
Pig's head is good baked with beans, or corned and smoked. It is also nice prepared with spices in the following manner. Boil the ears, forehead, and rind, (the cheek is good, but it is better corned and smoked,) till the meat will almost drop from the bones; take them up; when cold cut the meat in strips about an inch long, warm it in a little of the liquor in which the meat was boiled, season it with salt, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Put it while hot in a strong bag, put a heavy weight upon it, and let it remain till perfectly cold. When you wish to eat it, cut it in thin slices.
29. Souse.
Take pig's ears and feet, clean them thoroughly, then soak them in salt and water, for several days. Boil them tender, and split them, they are then good fried. If you wish to souse them when cold, turn boiling vinegar on them, spiced with pepper-corns, and mace. Cloves improve the taste, but it turns them a dark color. Add a little salt. They will keep good pickled five or six weeks. Fry them in lard.
30. Tripe.
After being scoured, should be soaked in salt and water seven or eight days, changing the water every other day, then boil it till tender, which will take eight or ten hours. It is then fit for broiling, frying, or pickling. It is pickled in the same manner as souse.
31. Sausages.
Chop fresh pork very fine, the lean and fat together, (there should be rather more of the lean than the fat,) season it highly with salt, pepper, sage, and other sweet herbs, if you like them—a little salt-petre tends to preserve them. To tell whether they are seasoned enough, do up a little into a cake, and fry it. If not seasoned enough, add more seasoning, and fill your skins, which should be previously cleaned thoroughly. A little flour mixed in with the meat, tends to prevent the fat from running out when cooked. Sausage-meat is good, done up in small cakes and fried. In summer, when fresh pork cannot be procured, very good sausage-cakes may be made of raw beef, chopped fine with salt pork, and seasoned with pepper and sage. When sausages are fried, they should not be pricked, and they will cook nicer, to have a little fat put in the frying-pan with them. They should be cooked slowly. If you do not like them very fat, take them out of the pan when nearly done, and finish cooking them on a gridiron. Bologna sausages are made of equal weight each, of ham, veal, and pork, chopped very fine, seasoned high, and boiled in casings, till tender, then dried.
32. Ham.
A ham that weighs ten pounds, should be boiled four or five hours; if very salt, the water should be changed. Before it is put on the table, take off the rind. If you wish to ornament it, put whole cloves, or pepper, in the form of diamonds, over it. The Virginia method of curing hams, (which is considered very superior), is to dissolve two ounces of salt-petre, two tea spoonsful of saleratus, in a salt pickle, as strong as possible, for every sixteen pounds of ham, add molasses in the proportion of a gallon to a hogshead of brine, then put in the hams, and let them remain three or four weeks. Then take them out of the brine, and smoke them with the hocks downwards, to preserve the juices. They will smoke tolerably well, in the course of a month, but they will be much better, to remain in the smoke-house two or three months. Hams cured in this manner are very fine flavored, and will keep good a long time.
33. Tongues.
Cut off the roots of the tongues, they are not good smoked, but they make nice pies. Take out the pipes and veins, boil them till tender, mince them fine, season the meat with salt, cloves, mace, and cinnamon, put in a little sugar and molasses, moisten the whole with brandy, put it in a cool place, and it will keep good several months in cold weather, and is good to make pies of at any time, with the addition of apples chopped fine, and a little butter melted. For the remainder of the tongues, make a brine in the following manner—to a gallon of cold water, put a quart of rock salt, an ounce of salt-petre, quarter of a pound of sugar, and a couple of table spoonsful of blown salt. Put in the tongues, let them remain in it a week, and then smoke them eight or ten days.
34. Curries.
Chickens, pigeons, mutton chops, lobsters and veal, all make good curries. If the curry dish is to be made of fowls, they should be jointed. Boil the meat till tender, in just sufficient water to cover it, and add a little salt. Just before the meat is boiled enough to take up, fry three or four slices of pork till brown—take them up, and put in the chickens. Let them brown, then add part of the liquor in which they were boiled, one or two tea spoonsful of curry powder, and the fried pork. Mix a tea spoonful of curry powder with a tea cup of boiled rice, or a little flour and water mixed—turn it on to the curry, and let it stew a few minutes.
35. Chicken Pie.
Joint the chickens, which should be young and tender—boil them in just sufficient water to cover them. When nearly tender, take them out of the liquor, and lay them in a deep pudding dish, lined with pie crust. To each layer of chicken, put three or four slices of pork—add a little of the liquor in which they were boiled, and a couple of ounces of butter, cut into small pieces—sprinkle a little flour over the whole, cover it with nice pie crust, and ornament the top with some of your pastry. Bake it in a quick oven one hour.
36. Beef and Mutton Pie.
Take tender meat, pound it out thin, and broil it ten minutes—then cut off the bony and gristly parts, season it highly with salt and pepper, butter it, and cut it into small pieces. Line a pudding dish with pastry, put in the meat, and to each layer add a tea spoonful of tomato catsup, together with a table spoonful of water—sprinkle over flour, and cover it with pie crust, and ornament as you please with pastry. Cold roast, or boiled beef, and mutton, make a good pie, by cutting them into bits, and seasoning them highly with salt and pepper. Put them into a pie dish, turn a little melted butter over them, or gravy, and pour in water till you can just see it at the top.
37. Chicken and Veal Pot Pie.
If the pie is to be made of chickens, joint them—boil the meat until about half done. Take the meat out of the liquor in which it was boiled, and put it in a pot, with a layer of crust to each layer of meat, having a layer of crust on the top. The meat should be seasoned with salt and pepper—cover the whole with the boiled meat liquor. If you wish to have the crust brown, keep the pot covered with a heated bake pan lid. Keep a tea kettle of boiling water to turn in as the water boils away—cold water makes the crust heavy. The crust for the pie is good like that made for fruit pies, with less shortening, but raised pie crust is generally preferred to any other. It is made in the following manner—mix together three pints of flour, a tea cup of melted butter, a tea spoonful of salt, then turn in half a tea cup of yeast—add cold water to make it sufficiently stiff to roll out. Set it in a warm place to rise, which will take seven or eight hours, unless brewer's yeast is used. When risen, roll it out, and cut it into small cakes. Potatoe pie crust is very nice. To make it, boil eight or nine small potatoes, peel and mash them fine, mix with them a piece of butter, of the size of a hen's egg, a tea spoonful of salt, a tumbler full of milk, and flour to render it of the right consistency to roll out. When rolled out, cut them into cakes, and put them with the meat. If you happen to have unbaked wheat dough, very good crust may be made of it, by working into it a little lukewarm melted butter. Let it remain, after you have rolled and cut it into cakes, about ten or fifteen minutes, before putting it with the meat.
38. To Frizzle Beef.
Take beef that is fresh smoked and tender—shave it off thin, put it in a stew pan, with water enough to cover it—let it stew ten or fifteen minutes. Three or four minutes before it is taken up, mix a little flour and water together, and stir in, to thicken the water; add a little butter and pepper. This makes a good dish for breakfast—eggs are a nice accompaniment to it.
39. Warmed Over Meats.
Boiled or roasted veal makes a nice dish, chopped fine, and warmed up, with just sufficient water to moisten it, and a little butter, salt, and pepper, added. A little nutmeg, and the grated rind of a lemon, improve it—none of the white part of the lemon should be used. When well heated through, take it up on a platter, and garnish it with a couple of lemons cut in slices. Fresh or corned beef is good minced fine, with boiled potatoes, and warmed up with salt, pepper, and a little water—add butter, just before you take it up. Some people use the gravy that they have left the day before, for the meat, but it is not as good when warmed over, and there is no need of its being wasted, as it can be clarified, and used for other purposes. Boiled onions, or turnips, are good mixed with mince meat, instead of potatoes. Veal, lamb, and mutton, are good cut into small strips, and warmed with boiled potatoes cut in slices, pepper, salt, a little water—add butter just before you take it up. Roast beef and mutton, if not previously cooked too much, are nice cut in slices, and just scorched on a gridiron. Meat, when warmed over, should be on the fire just long enough to get well heated through—if on the fire long, most of the juices of the meat will be extracted, and render it very indigestible. Cold fowls are nice jointed, and warmed with a little water, then taken up, and fried in butter till brown. A little flour should be sprinkled on them before frying. Thicken the water that the fowls were warmed in—add a little salt, pepper, and butter, and turn it over the fowls.
40. A Ragout of Cold Veal.
Cut boiled or roasted veal in nice slices—flour and fry them in butter, till a light brown—then take them up, and turn a little hot water into the butter they were fried in, mix a little flour and water together, and stir it into the gravy—season it with salt, pepper, (nutmeg, or catsup,) and lemon juice—put in the meat, and stew it till very hot—stew two or three onions with it, if you like.
41. Drawn Butter.
Mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little cold water—stir it till free from lumps, thin it, and stir it into half a pint of boiling water—let it boil two or three minutes, then cut up about a quarter of a pound of butter into small pieces, and put it with the flour and water—set it where it will melt gradually. If carefully mixed, it will be free from lumps—if not, strain it before it is put on the table. If the butter is to be eaten on fish, cut up several soft boiled eggs into it. A little curry powder sprinkled into it, will convert it into curry sauce.
42. Burnt Butter.
Put a couple of ounces of butter into a frying pan—set it on the fire—when of a dark brown color, put in half a tea cup full of vinegar, a little pepper and salt. This is nice for fish, salad, or eggs.
43. Roast Meat Gravy.
Meat, when put down to roast, should have about a pint of water in the dripping pan. A little while before the meat is done, stir up the drippings, put it in a skillet, and set it where it will boil. Mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour smoothly, with a little water, and stir it in the gravy when it boils. Lamb and veal require a little butter in the gravy. The gravy for pork and geese, should have a little of the dressing, and sage, mixed with it. If you wish to have your gravies look dark, scorch the flour that you thicken them with, which is easily done by putting it in a pan, setting it on a few coals, and stirring it constantly till it is a dark brown color, taking care that it does not burn. Enough can be burnt at once to last a long time.
44. Sauce for Cold Meat, Fish or Salad.
Boil a couple of eggs three minutes—then mix it with a mustard spoonful of made mustard, a little salt, pepper, half a tea cup of salad oil, or melted butter, and half a tea cup of vinegar. A table spoonful of catsup improves it.
45. Wine Sauce for Venison or Mutton.
Warm half a pint of the drippings, or liquor the meat was boiled in—mix a couple of tea spoonsful of scorched flour with a little water, and stir it in when the gravy boils. Season it with salt, pepper, and cloves—stir a table spoonful of currant jelly in, and just before you take it from the fire, half a tumbler of wine. Many people prefer melted currant jelly to any other sauce for venison or mutton.
46. Rice Sauce.
Boil one onion and half a tea cup of rice with a blade of mace, till very soft, in just water enough to cover it—then stir in half a pint of milk, a little salt, and strain it. This is a nice accompaniment to game.
47. Oyster Sauce.
Take the juice of the oysters, and to a pint put a couple of sticks of mace, a little salt and pepper. Set it on the fire—when it boils, stir in a couple of tea spoonsful of flour, mixed with milk. When it has boiled several minutes, stir in half a pint of oysters, a piece of butter, of the size of a hen's egg. Let them scald through, then take them up.
48. White Celery Sauce for Boiled Poultry.
Take five or six heads of celery—cut off the green tops, cut up the remainder into small bits, and boil it till tender, in half a pint of water—mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour smoothly with a little milk—then add half a tea cup more of milk, stir it in, add a small lump of butter, and a little salt. When it boils, take it up.
49. Brown Sauce for Poultry.
Peel two or three onions, cut them in slices, flour and fry them brown, in a little butter—then sprinkle in a little flour, pepper, salt, and sage—add half a pint of the liquor the poultry was boiled in, and a table spoonful of catsup. Let it boil up, then stir in half a wine glass of wine if you like.
50. Savory Jelly for Cold Meat.
Boil lean beef or veal till tender. If you have any beef or veal bones, crack and boil them with the meat, (they should be boiled longer than the meat,) together with a little salt pork, sweet herbs, and pepper and salt. When boiled sufficiently, take it off, strain it, and let it remain till the next day—then skim off the fat, take up the jelly, and scrape off the dregs that adhere to the bottom of it—put in the whites and shells of several eggs, several blades of mace, a little wine, and lemon juice—set it on the fire, stir it well till it boils, then strain it till clear through a jelly bag.
51. Liver Sauce for Fish.
Boil the liver of the fish—then mash it fine, stir it into drawn butter, put in a little cayenne, or black pepper, a couple of tea spoonsful of lemon juice, and a table spoonful of catsup.
52. Sauce for Lobsters.
Boil a couple of eggs three minutes—mix them with the spawn of the lobster, and a tea spoonful of water. When rubbed smooth, stir in a tea spoonful of mixed mustard, half a tea cup of salad oil, or the same quantity of butter melted, a little salt, pepper, and five table spoonsful of vinegar.
53. Chicken Salad.
Boil a chicken that weighs not more than a pound and a half. When very tender, take it up, cut it in small strips, and make the following sauce, and turn over it—boil four eggs three minutes—then take them out of the shells, mash and mix them with a couple of table spoonsful of olive oil, or melted butter, two thirds of a tumbler of vinegar, a tea spoonful of mixed mustard, a tea spoonful of salt, a little pepper, and essence of celery, if you have it—if not, it can be dispensed with.
54. Sauce for Turtle, or Calf's Head.
To half a pint of hot melted butter, or beef gravy, put the juice and grated rind of half a lemon, a little sage, basil, or sweet marjoram, a little cayenne, or black pepper, and salt. Add a wine glass of white wine just before you take it up.
55. Apple and Cranberry Sauce.
Pare and quarter the apples—if not tart, stew them in cider—if tart enough, stew them in water. When stewed soft, put in a small piece of butter, and sweeten it to the taste, with sugar. Another way, which is very good, is to boil the apples, without paring them, with a few quinces and molasses, in new cider, till reduced to half the quantity. When cool, strain the sauce. This kind of sauce will keep good several months. It makes very good plain pies, with the addition of a little cinnamon or cloves. To make cranberry sauce, nothing more is necessary than to stew the cranberries till soft; then stir in sugar and molasses to sweeten it. Let the sugar scald in it a few minutes. Strain it if you like—it is very good without straining.
56. Pudding Sauce.
Stir to a cream a tea cup of butter, with two of brown sugar, then add a wine glass of wine, or cider—flavor it with nutmeg, rose-water, or essence of lemon. If you wish to have it liquid, heat two-thirds of a pint of water boiling hot, mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, and stir it into the boiling water. As soon as its boils up well, stir it into the butter and sugar.
57. Tomato Soy.
Take ripe tomatos, and prick them with a fork—lay them in a deep dish, and to each layer put a layer of salt. Let them remain in it four or five days, then take them out of the salt, and put them in vinegar and water for one night. Drain off the vinegar, and to each peck of tomatos put half a pint of mustard seed, half an ounce of cloves, and the same quantity of pepper. The tomatos should be put in a jar, with a layer of sliced onions to each layer of the tomatos, and the spices sprinkled over each layer. In ten days, they will be in good eating order.
58. Tomato Catsup.
To a gallon of ripe tomatos, put four table spoonsful of salt, four of ground black pepper, three table spoonsful of ground mustard, half a table spoonful of allspice, half a spoonful of cloves, six red peppers, ground fine—simmer the whole slowly, with a pint of vinegar, three or four hours—then strain it through a sieve, bottle and cork it tight. The catsup should be made in a tin utensil, and the later in the season it is made, the less liable it will be to spoil.
59. Mushroom Catsup.
Put a layer of fresh mushrooms in a deep dish, sprinkle a little salt over them, then put in another layer of fresh mushrooms, and salt, and so on till you get in all the mushrooms. Let them remain several days—then mash them fine, and to each quart put a table spoonful of vinegar, half a tea spoonful of black pepper, and a quarter of a tea spoonful of cloves—turn it into a stone jar, set the jar in a pot of boiling water, and let it boil two hours, then strain it without squeezing the mushrooms. Boil the juice a quarter of an hour, skim it well, let it stand a few hours to settle, then turn it off carefully through a sieve, bottle and cork it tight. Keep it in a cool place.
60. Walnut Catsup.
Procure the walnuts by the last of June—keep them in salt and water for a week, then bruise them, and turn boiling vinegar on them. Let them remain covered with vinegar for several days, stirring them up each day—then boil them a quarter of an hour with a little more vinegar, strain it through a thick cloth, so that none of the coarse particles of the walnuts will go through—season the vinegar highly with cloves, allspice, pepper and salt. Boil the whole a few minutes, then bottle and cork it tight. Keep it in a cool place.
61. Curry Powder.
Mix an ounce of ginger, one of mustard, one of pepper, three of coriander seed, the same quantity of turmeric, a quarter of an ounce of cayenne pepper, half an ounce of cardamums, and the same of cummin seed and cinnamon. Pound the whole fine, sift, and keep it in a bottle corked tight.
62. Essence of Celery.
Steep an ounce of celery seed in half a pint of brandy, or vinegar. A few drops of this will give a fine flavor to soups, and sauce for fowls.
63. Soup Herb Spirit.
Those who like a variety of herbs in soup, will find it very convenient to have the following mixture. Take when in their prime, thyme, sweet marjoram, sweet basil, and summer savory. When thoroughly dried, pound and sift them. Steep them in brandy for a fortnight, the spirit will then be fit for use.
64. Plain Veal Soup.
A leg of veal, after enough has been cut off for cutlets, makes a soup nearly as good as calf's head. Boil it with a cup two thirds full of rice, a pound and a half of pork—season it with salt, pepper, and sweet herbs, if you like. A little celery boiled in it gives the soup a fine flavor. Some people like onions, carrots, and parsely boiled in it. If you wish for balls in the soup, chop veal and a little raw salt pork fine, mix it with a few bread crumbs, and a couple of eggs. Season it with salt and pepper—add a little curry powder if you like, do it up into small balls, and boil them in the soup. The veal should be taken up before the soup is seasoned. Just before the soup is taken up, put in a couple of slices of toast, cut into small pieces. If you do not like your soup fat, let the liquor remain till the day after you have boiled the meat, and skim off the fat before heating the liquor. The shoulder of veal makes a good soup.
65. Mock Turtle, or Calf's Head Soup.
Boil the head until perfectly tender—then take it out, strain the liquor, and set it away until the next day—then skim off the fat, cut up the meat, together with the lights, and put it into the liquor, put it on the fire, and season it with salt, pepper, cloves, and mace—add onions and sweet herbs, if you like—stew it gently for half an hour. Just before you take it up, add half a pint of white wine. For the balls, chop lean veal fine, with a little salt pork, add the brains, and season it with salt, pepper, cloves, mace, sweet herbs or curry powder, make it up into balls about the size of half an egg, boil part in the soup, and fry the remainder, and put them in a dish by themselves.
66. Beef or Black Soup.
The shank of beef is the best part for soup—cold roast beef bones, and beef steak, make very good soup. Boil the shank four or five hours in water, enough to cover it. Half an hour before the soup is put on the table, take up the meat, thicken the soup with scorched flour, mixed with cold water, season it with salt, pepper, cloves, mace, a little walnut, or tomato catsup improves it, put in sweet herbs or herb spirit if you like. Some cooks boil onions in the soup, but as they are very disagreeable to many persons, it is better to boil and serve them up in a dish by themselves. Make force meat balls of part of the beef and pork, season them with mace, cloves, pepper, and salt, and boil them in the soup fifteen minutes.
67. Chicken or Turkey Soup.
The liquor that a turkey or chicken is boiled in, makes a good soup. If you do not like your soup fat, let the liquor remain till the day after the poultry has been boiled in it, then skim off the fat, set it where it will boil. If there was not any rice boiled with the meat, put in half a tea cup full, when the liquor boils, or slice up a few potatoes and put in—season it with salt and pepper, sweet herbs, and a little celery boiled in it improves it. Toast bread or crackers, and put them in the soup when you take it up.
68. Oyster Soup.
Separate the oysters from the liquor, to each quart of the liquor, put a pint of milk or water, set it on the fire with the oysters. Mix a heaping table spoonful of flour with a little water, and stir it into the liquor as soon as it boils. Season it with salt, pepper, and a little walnut, or butternut vinegar, if you have it, if not, common vinegar may be substituted. Put in a small lump of butter, and turn it as soon as it boils up again on to buttered toast, cut into small pieces.
69. Pea Soup.
If you make your soup of dry peas, soak them over night, in a warm place, using a quart of water to each quart of the peas. Early the next morning boil them an hour. Boil with them a tea spoonful of saleratus, eight or ten minutes, then take them out of the water they were soaking in, put them into fresh water, with a pound of salt pork, and boil it till the peas are soft, which will be in the course of three or four hours. Green peas for soup require no soaking, and boiling only long enough to have the pork get thoroughly cooked, which will be in the course of an hour.
70. Portable Soup.
Take beef or veal soup, and let it get perfectly cold, then skim off every particle of the grease. Set it on the fire, and let it boil till of a thick glutinous consistence. Care should be taken that it does not burn. Season it highly with salt, pepper, cloves and mace—add a little wine or brandy, and then turn it on to earthen platters. It should not be more than a quarter of an inch in thickness. Let it remain until cold, then cut it in pieces three inches square, set them in the sun to dry, turning them frequently. When perfectly dry, put them in an earthen or tin vessel, having a layer of white paper between each layer. These, if the directions are strictly attended to, will keep good a long time. Whenever you wish to make a soup of them, nothing more is necessary, than to put a quart of water to one of the cakes, and heat it very hot.
71. To Boil Eggs.
They should be put into boiling water, and if you wish to have them soft, boil them only three minutes. If you wish to have them hard enough to cut in slices, boil them five minutes. Another way which is very nice, is to break the shells, and drop the eggs into a pan of scalding hot water, let it stand till the white has set, then put the pan on a moderate fire, when the water boils up, the eggs are cooked sufficiently. Eggs look very prettily cooked in this way, the yelk being just visible through the white. If you do not use the eggs for a garnish, serve them up with burnt butter. See receipt for making, No. 42.
72. Omelet.
Beat the eggs to a froth, and to a dozen of eggs put three ounces of finely minced boiled ham, beef, or veal; if the latter meat is used, add a little salt. Melt a quarter of a pound of butter, mix a little of it with the eggs—it should be just lukewarm. Set the remainder of the butter on the fire, in a frying or tin pan, when quite hot, turn in the eggs beaten to a froth, stir them until they begin to set. When brown on the under side, it is sufficiently cooked. The omelet should be cooked on a moderate fire, and in a pan small enough, to have the omelet an inch thick. When you take them up, lay a flat dish on them, then turn the pan upside down.
73. Poached Eggs.
Break the eggs into a pan, beat them to a froth, then put them into a buttered tin pan, set the pan on a few coals, put in a small lump of butter, a little salt, let them cook very slowly, stirring them constantly till they become quite thick, then turn them on to buttered toast.
74. Directions for Broiling, Boiling and Frying Fish.
Fish for boiling or broiling are the best the day after they are caught. They should be cleaned when first caught, washed in cold water, and half a tea cup of salt sprinkled on the inside of them. If they are to be broiled, sprinkle pepper on the inside of them—keep them in a cool place. When fish is broiled, the bars of the gridiron should be rubbed over with a little butter, and the inside of the fish put towards the fire, and not turned till the fish is nearly cooked through—then butter the skin side, and turn it over—fish should be broiled slowly. When fresh fish is to be boiled, it should either be laid on a fish strainer, or sewed up in a cloth—if not, it is very difficult to take it out of the pot without breaking. Put the fish into cold water, with the back bone down. To eight or ten pounds of fish, put half of a small tea cup of salt. Boil the fish until you can draw out one of the fins easily—most kinds of fish will boil sufficiently in the course of twenty or thirty minutes, some kinds will boil in less time. Some cooks do not put their fish into the water till it boils, but it is not a good plan, as the outside gets cooked too much, and breaks to pieces before the inside is sufficiently done. Fish for frying, after being cleaned and washed, should be put into a cloth to have it absorb the moisture. They should be dried perfectly, and a little flour rubbed over them. No salt should be put on them, if you wish to have them brown well. For five or six pounds of fish, fry three or four slices of salt pork—when brown, take them up, and if they do not make fat sufficient to fry the fish in, add a little lard. When the fish are fried enough, take them up, and for good plain gravy, mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, and stir it into the fat the fish was fried in—put in a little butter, pepper, and salt, if you wish to have the gravy rich—add spices, catsup and wine—turn the gravy over the fish. Boiled fish should be served up with drawn butter, or liver sauce, (see directions for making each, Nos. 41 and 51.) Fish, when put on the platter, should not be laid over each other if it can be avoided, as the steam from the under ones makes those on the top so moist, that they will break to pieces when served out.
Great care and punctuality is necessary in cooking fish. If not done sufficiently, or if done too much, they are not good. They should be eaten as soon as cooked. For a garnish to the fish, use parsely, a lemon, or eggs boiled hard, and cut in slices.
75. Chowder.
Fry three or four slices of pork till brown—cut each of your fish into five or six slices, flour, and put a layer of them in your pork fat, sprinkle on pepper and a little salt—add cloves, mace, and sliced onions if you like—lay on several bits of your fried pork, and crackers previously soaked soft in cold water. This process repeat till you get in all the fish, then turn on water enough to just cover them—put on a heated bake pan lid. When the fish have stewed about twenty minutes, take them up, and mix a couple of tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, and stir it into the gravy, also, a little butter and pepper. Half a pint of white wine, spices, and catsup, will improve it. Bass and cod make the best chowder—black fish and clams make tolerably good ones. The hard part of the clams should be cut off, and thrown away.
76. Stuffed and Baked Fish.
Soak bread in cold water till soft—drain off the water, mash the bread fine, mix it with a table spoonful of melted butter, a little pepper and salt—a couple of raw eggs makes the dressing cut smoother—add spices if you like. Fill the fish, with the dressing, sew it up, put a tea cup of water in your bake pan, and a small piece of butter—lay in the fish, bake it from forty to fifty minutes. Fresh cod, bass, and shad, are suitable fish for baking.
77. Codfish.
Fresh cod is good boiled, fried, or made into a chowder. It is too dry a fish to broil. Salt cod should be soaked in lukewarm water till the skin will come off easily—then take up the fish, scrape off the skin, and put it in fresh water, and set it on a very moderate fire, where it will keep warm without boiling, as it hardens by boiling. It takes between three and four hours to cook it soft—serve it up with drawn butter. Cold salt codfish is nice minced fine, and mixed with mashed potatoes, and warmed up, with just water enough to moisten it, and considerable butter. It makes a nice dish for breakfast, prepared in the following manner. Pull the fish into small pieces, soak it an hour in warm water, then drain off the water, put a little milk and butter to it, stew it a few minutes, and serve it up with soft boiled eggs.
78. Cod Sounds and Tongues.
Soak them four or five hours in lukewarm water—then take them out of the water, scrape off the skin, cut them once in two, and stew them in a little milk. Just before they are taken up, stir in butter, and a little flour.
79. Halibut.
Is nice cut in slices, salted and peppered, and broiled or fried. The fins and thick part is good boiled.
80. Striped and Sea Bass.
Bass are good fried, boiled, broiled, or made into a chowder.
81. Black Fish.
Are the best boiled or fried—they will do to broil, but are not so good as cooked in any other way.
82. Shad.
Fresh shad are good baked or boiled, but better broiled. For broiling, they should have a good deal of salt and pepper sprinkled on the inside of them, and remain several hours before broiling. The spawn and liver are good boiled or fried. Salt shad and mackerel, for broiling, should be soaked ten or twelve hours in cold water. Salt shad, for boiling, need not be soaked only long enough to get off the scales, without you like them quite fresh—if so, turn boiling water on them, and let them soak in it an hour—then put them into fresh boiling water, and boil them twenty minutes. To pickle shad, mix one pound of sugar, a peck of rock salt, two quarts of blown salt, and a quarter of a pound of salt-petre. Allow this quantity to every twenty-five shad. Put a layer of the mixture at the bottom of the keg, then a layer of cleaned shad, with the skin side down. Sprinkle on another layer of salt, sugar, and salt-petre, and so on till you get in all the shad. Lay a heavy weight on the shad, to keep it under the brine. If the juice of the shad does not run out so as to form brine sufficient to cover them, in the course of a week, make a little brine, and turn on to them.
83. Sturgeons.
Sturgeons are good boiled or baked, but better fried. Before baking it, boil it about fifteen minutes, to extract the strong oily taste, and when baked, to eight or ten pounds of it put a quart of water into the pan, and bake it till tender. (See directions for baking fish, No. 76.) The part next to the tail is the best for baking or frying. Sturgeons are very nice, cooked in the following manner. Cut it in slices nearly an inch thick—fry a few slices of pork—when brown, take them up, and put in the sturgeon. When a good brown color, take them up, and stir in a little flour and water, mixed smoothly together. Season the gravy with salt, pepper, and catsup—stir in a little butter, and wine if you like, then put back the sturgeon, and let it stew a few minutes in the gravy. While the sturgeon is cooking, make force meat balls of part of the sturgeon and salt pork—fry and use them as a garnish for the fish.
84. Fish Cakes.
Cold boiled fresh fish, or salt codfish, is nice minced fine, with potatoes, moistened with a little water, and a little butter put in, done up into cakes of the size of common biscuit, and fried brown in pork fat or butter.
85. Fish Force Meat Balls.
Take a little uncooked fish, chop it fine, together with a little raw salt pork, mix it with one or two raw eggs, a few bread crumbs, and season the whole with pepper and spices. Add a little catsup if you like—do them up into small balls, and fry them till brown.
86. Lobsters and Crabs.
Put them into boiling water, and boil them from half to three quarters of an hour, according to their size. Boil half a tea cup of salt with every four pounds of the fish. When cold, crack the shell, and take out the meat, taking care to extract the blue veins, and what is called the lady in the lobster, as they are very unhealthy. If the fish are not eaten cold, warm them up with a little water, vinegar, salt, pepper, and butter. The following way of dressing lobsters looks very prettily. Pick out the spawn and red chord, mash them fine, rub them through a sieve, put in a little butter and salt. Cut the lobsters into squares, and warm it, together with the spawn, over a moderate fire. When hot, take it up, and garnish it with parsely. The chord and spawn are a handsome garnish for any kind of fish.
87. Scollops.
Are nice boiled, and then fried, or boiled and pickled, in the same manner as oysters. Take them out of the shells—when boiled, pick out the hearts, and throw the rest away, as the heart is the only part that is healthy to eat. Dip the hearts in flour, and fry them in lard till brown. The hearts are good stewed, with a little water, butter, salt, and pepper.
88. Eels.
Eels, if very large, are best split open, cut into short pieces, and seasoned with salt and pepper, and broiled several hours after they have been salted. They are good cut into small strips, and laid in a deep dish, with bits of salt pork, seasoned with salt and pepper, and covered with pounded rusked bread, then baked half an hour. Small eels are the best fried.
89. Trout.
Trout are good boiled, broiled, or fried—they are also good stewed a few minutes, with bits of salt pork, butter, and a little water. Trout, as well as all other kinds of fresh water fish, are apt to have an earthy taste—to remove it, soak them in salt and water a few minutes, after they are cleaned.
90. Clams.
Wash and put them in a pot, with just water enough to prevent the shells burning at the bottom of the pot. Heat them till the shells open—take the clams out of them, and warm them with a little of the clam liquor, a little salt, butter, and pepper. Toast a slice or two of bread, soak it in the clam liquor, lay it in a deep dish, and turn the clams on to it. For clam pancakes, mix flour and milk together to form a thick batter—some cooks use the clam liquor, but it does not make the pancakes as light as the milk. To each pint of the milk, put a couple of eggs, and a few clams—they are good taken out of the shells without stewing, and chopped fine, or stewed, and put into the cakes whole. Very large long clams are good taken out of the shells without stewing, and broiled.
91. Stewed Oysters.
Strain the oyster liquor, rinse the bits of shells off the oysters, then turn the liquor back on to the oysters, and put them in a stew pan—set them where they will boil up, then turn them on to buttered toast—salt, pepper, and butter them to your taste. Some cooks add a little walnut catsup, or vinegar. The oysters should not be cooked till just before they are to be eaten.
92. To Fry Oysters.
Take those that are large, dip them in beaten eggs, and then in flour, or fine bread crumbs—fry them in lard, till of a light brown. They are a nice garnish for fish. They will keep good for several months if fried when first caught, salted and peppered, then put into a bottle, and corked tight. Whenever they are to be eaten, warm them in a little water.
93. Oyster Pancakes.
Mix equal quantities of milk and oyster juice together. To a pint of the liquor when mixed, put a pint of wheat flour, a few oysters, a couple of eggs, and a little salt. Drop it by the large spoonful into hot lard.
94. Oyster Pie.
Line a deep pie plate with pie crust—fill it with dry pieces of bread, cover it over with puff paste—bake it till a light brown, either in a quick oven or bake pan. Have the oysters just stewed by the time the crust is done—take off the upper crust, remove the pieces of bread, put in the oysters, season them with salt, pepper, and butter. A little walnut catsup improves the pie, but is not essential—cover it with the crust.
95. Scolloped Oysters.
Pound rusked bread or crackers fine—butter scollop shells or tins, sprinkle on the bread crumbs, then put in a layer of oysters, a small lump of butter, pepper, salt, and a little of the oyster juice—then put on another layer of crumbs and oysters, and so on till the shells are filled, having a layer of crumbs at the top. Bake them till a light brown.
96. Potatoes.
The best way to cook Irish potatoes, is to pare and put them in a pot, with just boiling water enough to prevent their burning, and a little salt. Cover them tight, and let them stew till you can stick a fork through them easily. If any water remains in the pot, turn it off, put the pot where it will keep moderately warm, and let the potatoes steam a few moments longer. The easiest way to cook them, is to put them in boiling water, with the skins on, and boiled constantly till done. They will not be mealy if they lie soaking in the water without boiling. They are more mealy to peel them as soon as tender, and then put back in the pot without any water, and set in a warm place where they will steam, with the lid of the pot off. Old and poor potatoes are best boiled till soft, then peeled and mashed fine, with a little salt, butter, and very little milk put in—then put into a dish, smoothed over with a knife, a little flour sprinkled over it, and put where it will brown. Cold mashed, or whole boiled potatoes, are nice cut in slices, and fried with just butter or lard enough to prevent their burning. When brown on both sides, take them up, salt and butter them. Most potatoes will boil in the course of half an hour—new ones will boil in less time. Sweet potatoes are better baked than boiled.
97. Potato Snow Balls.
Take the white mealy kind of potatoes—pare them, and put them into just boiling water enough to cover them—add a little salt. When boiled tender, drain off the water, and let them steam till they break to pieces—take them up, put two or three at a time compactly together in a strong cloth, and press them tight, in the form of a ball—then lay them in your potatoe dish carefully, so as not to fall apart.
98. Turnips.
White turnips require about as much boiling as potatoes. When tender, take them up, peel and mash them—season them with a little salt and butter. Yellow turnips require about two hours boiling—if very large, split them in two. The tops of white turnips make a good salad.
99. Beets.
Beets should not be cut or scraped before they are boiled, or the juice will run out, and make them insipid. In summer, they will boil in an hour—in winter, it takes three hours to boil them tender. The tops in summer are good boiled for greens. Boiled beets cut in slices, and put in cold spiced vinegar for several days, are very nice.
100. Parsnips and Carrots.
Wash them, and split them in two—lay them in a stew pan, with the flat side down, turn on boiling water enough to cover them—boil them till tender, then take them up, and take off the skin, and butter them. Many cooks boil them whole, but it is not a good plan, as the outside gets done too much, before the inside is cooked sufficiently. Cold boiled parsnips are good cut in slices, and fried brown.
101. Onions.
Peel and put them in boiling milk, (water will do, but it is not as good.) When boiled tender, take them up, salt them, and turn a little melted butter over them.
102. Artichokes.
Scrape and put them in boiling water, with a table spoonful of salt to a couple of dozen. When boiled tender, (which will be in about two hours,) take them up, salt and butter each one.
103. Squashes.
Summer squashes, if very young, may be boiled whole—if not, they should be pared, quartered, and the seeds taken out. When boiled very tender, take them up, put them in a strong cloth, and press out all the water—mash them, salt and butter them to your taste. The neck part of the winter squash is the best. Cut it in narrow strips, take off the rind, and boil the squash in salt and water till tender—then drain off the water, and let the pumpkin steam over a moderate fire for ten or twelve minutes. It is good not mashed—if mashed, add a little butter. |
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