v * wrmmw*: rf\ *i'H ! • H>P — •i&t? \-'a'. tatts^jj-ri 53) k moi A*: mntmm -m mmmm , m-ww& a . *: v^*^p^^ 1 ^ wmm--', **«# &* «fc 4 ; li«)M«pt'.M:HiWR|f^»'i|iM^''«K^ «»w-;»«Oj^^ii;tdi«^^w^Lay in salt and water for an hour, wipe dry, rub on both sides with olive oil and lemon-juice, and broil over clear coals. Trans- fer to a hot dish, baste with butter and lemon-juice, plentifully, cover, let them stand in an open oven for three minutes and serve. HALIBUT STEAK A LA JARDINIERE. Leave in salt and water for one hour, wipe dry, rub melted butter on both sides of the steak and lay upon some rings of onion in your covered roaster. About the steak lay a parboiled carrot cut into dice, half a dozen small tomatoes, peeled but whole ; a green pepper sliced, and half a cupful of green peas, each veg- etable in its own place and separate from the rest. Add just enough hot water (salted) to keep the fish from scorching, put a tablespoonful of butter on top and bake covered, twelve minutes to the pound, basting three times. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 57 Dish upon a hot platter, the vegetables laid in heaps about the fish ; add a little white wine to the liquor left in the pan with a teaspoonful of browned flour rolled in butter, boil up once and send in as a sauce. BOILED SALMON. Sew up the fish in a piece of thin muslin, or mosquito-netting, fitted well to it, and boil in salted boiling water to which two tablespoonfuls of vinegar have been added. Take off the cloth carefully when the fish has boiled twelve minutes to the pound, and lay upon a hot platter. Pour over it a few spoonfuls of egg sauce into which has been stirred a tablespoonful of capers, and serve the rest in a gravy-boat. Garnish with nasturtiums, or parsley, or cresses. BOILED SALMON AU COURT BOUILLON. Put a great spoonful of butter into a frying-pan and when it hisses, add a minced carrot, an onion also cut small, and a stalk of celery cut into inch lengths. Add half a oupful of vinegar, four whole black peppers, four cloves, a bay-leaf, a sprig of pars- ley, and three pints of boiling water. Cook, covered, for one hour, strain, pour the liquor into a fish-kettle, put in the salmon sewed up in coarse muslin, and boil twelve minutes to the pound. You can use the same bouillon three times if it has not boiled away too much to cover the fish. Serve the salmon with a Becha- mel Sauce (See Sauces), and garnish with nasturtium flowers, pars- ley, or cress. SALMON STEAKS. Cook as you would halibut steaks, but they need not be laid in salted water first, being more delicate in flesh and flavor. A PALATABLE SALMON RECHAUFFE AL NAPOLITANO. This fish is at once so delicious and so expensive that a wise housewife is careful not to lose so much as an inch of it. A good 58 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK accompaniment to boiled salmon is spaghetti, or some other form of macaroni, baked with cheese. On the morrow, pick the bones and skin from the remnants of the fish, and flake it fine with a silver fork. Cut the cold spaghetti up small and mix with the fish, seasoning to taste. Have ready in a sauce-pan a cupful of white sauce, or drawn butter, in which has been beaten an egg. Perhaps you may have another " left over " in the shape of the egg sauce that went with yesterday's fish. Heat it to scalding, put in the fish and macaroni, toss and stir with a sil- ver fork, now and then, to prevent lumping, but do not beat the mixture to a pulp or mush. The salmon should keep its in- dividuality. A few capers in the sauce will give piquancy to the rechauffi. As soon as it is smoking hot, dish. If you have no spaghetti on hand, use a handful (not more) of bread-crumbs. Do not spoil the salmon flavor with mashed potato. CANNED SALMON STEAK is excellent, treated as above. Or, you may broil and dress it with a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise, or butter and lemon-juice rubbed together with minced parsley. Or you may steam it and treat as you would boiled salmon. Or, still again, divide into cutlets with a keen knife, roll in egg and cracker-crumbs, set away for two or three hours to harden, and fry in deep cottolene. SALMON CROQUETTES. The remains of yesterday's fish may be used for this, or canned salmon, as may be convenient. Flake fine with a silver fork, and season with paprica, or cay- enne, salt, and a tiny pinch of mace. Heat a cupful of white sauce in a saucepan, beat into it a raw egg, stir in the picked salmon and a handful of very dry crumbs. When heated all through, spread upon a flat dish to cool. It should be cold and just stiff enough to handle before you mould your croquettes. Flour your hands and make a great spoonful of the paste into a THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 59 roll two-and-a-half inches long and an inch in diameter, or into a small cone. Roll this upon a floured dish to get it quite smooth, dip into beaten egg, then roll in fine cracker-crumbs ; lay upon a flat dish, lightly floured, not near enough to touch one another, and set in a cold place for several hours before you fry them in deep cottolene brought slowly to a boil before they go in. Croquettes made according to this rule are sure to be good. Many fail with them because unwilling to take the forethought to prepare them early enough in the day to insure firmness. Others get them too stiff. A hard croquette is worse than a leathery doughnut. You can use almost any kind of cold fish for this purpose. SALMON CHOPS. Prepare a paste precisely as directed for croquettes, and when cold and stiff, mould into the form of mutton chops. Egg and crumb them, set in the refrigerator for two hours and fry as you would croquettes or doughnuts. When they are done, stick a bit of macaroni in the small end to simulate the chop- bone. Send in sauce tartare or tomato sauce with them. Garnish with sliced lemon. Halibut, blue-fish, lobster, etc. , may be treated in this way. FLOUNDER FILLETS. Have the backbone taken neatly out of the fish, and cut each half into two long strips. Trim them into uniform size and lay for an hour in salad oil and lemon-juice, or vinegar, setting the dish on ice. Roll each fillet then into a coil, the thin end out- ward, and skewer firmly into place with slivers of wood — tooth- picks will do. Dip in beaten egg, then in cracker-dust, leave again on the ice for an hour, and fry in hot cottolene. (Bear in mind that fat for frying should be put into a cold pan, and brought slowly to the boil.) Shake off every drop of grease, pull out the skewers carefully, and dish. Serve with tomato sauce. 60 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK FRIED PERCH, WEAK-FISH, BUTTER-FISH, AND OTHER PAN-FISH. The general treatment is the same with all. They can be floured and fried, but are invariably nicer and more comely when rolled in egg and fine crumbs. Clean, wash, and dry them inside and out ; rub with salted and peppered flour, then dip in egg and roll in cracker-dust, or very dry fine crumbs. Heat the fat gradually, and have it deep enough to float the fish. Otherwise they are sautS, not fried. Strain the fat and set it away" against you wish to fry other fish. Unless you are so unfortunate as to let it get scorched, you can use it more than once. FILLETS, STEAKS, AND CUTLETS OF FISH SAUTE. You can use good, sweet dripping for this purpose, or the fat that runs from a few slices of fat salt pork cooked in a frying-pan. Lay the fish in olive oil and lemon for an hour. Rub well with peppered and salted flour, and set in a cold place for half an hour. Put into the hot fat, cook steadily until browned on the lower side, turn with care, and cook the other. Drain off the fat and serve. Small fish may also be cooked in this manner. FRIED SMELTS. Dip them in milk (or cream is still better), then roll in^ salted and peppered flour. Set aside for an hour or more in a cold place, and fry in hot deep cottolene. Serve upon a folded napkin, or upon several folds of tissue-paper fringed at the ends. Pass sauce tartare with them. BROILED SMELTS. Ask your fish merchant to split them down the back and with a narrow, sharp blade, to remove the bone. Perhaps you can do it neatly, and perhaps not. Broil quickly upon a well- oiled gridiron ; have ready some nice mayonnaise, or butter, THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 6l lemon, and chopped parsley beaten to a cream ; lay the smelts, skin downward, upon a hot dish ; anoint well with this, and serve. Saratoga or Parisienne potatoes should be passed with them. SCALLOPED FISH. Heat one cupful of milk to boiling, and stir it gradually into three tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed to a cream with two table- spoonfuls of butter. When it is well mixed set over the fire and cook, stirring often, three minutes. Add then a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, and pour the mixture upon a well-beaten egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pick the fish free from bones and skin, and shred — not chop — it fine. Put a layer of fish into a buttered pudding-dish, season, cover with the sauce ; more fish and more sauce, in alternate layers, until the materials are used up. Cover with fine, dry bread-crumbs salted and peppered ; stick bits of butter upon them, and bake covered until the scallop begins to bubble, when uncover and brown. Salmon is especially good prepared in this way, but the re- mains of any firm fish, boiled or baked, can be scalloped satis- factorily. SALMON LOAF. Pick and flake cold salmon. Canned will do if you can- not get fresh. Have ready the pounded yolks of two hard- boiled eggs ; mix with the shredded fish, season with pepper, salt, a pinch of mace, some minced parsley, and a tablespoonful of capers, and set aside in a cold place. There should be two cupfuls of the fish. Have ready a little fish stock. If you have boiled fresh salmon for the dish, strain a cupful of the liquor in which it was cooked. If not, cook half a pound of some other fish, sea- son, and strain it. Do not use the liquor from canned salmon ; it is unwholesome and greasy. Heat the stock, add a tablespoon- ful of lemon-juice and pour upon a tablespoonful of soaked gela- tine. Return to the fire and stir until scalding hot, mix with the 62 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK fish, and turn into a buttered mould, in which you have arranged rings of the whites of the boiled eggs in 1 fanciful shapes. Press the mixture gently but firmly into the mould, put a plate on top, and a weight upon this, and let it get perfectly cold. Turn out upon a platter. It should be firm and lightly glazed. Cut into slices ; lay each slice upon a lettuce leaf, and serve mayonnaise sauce with it. SALMON PUDDING. Pick the fish, add half as much finely crumbed bread, and a tablespoonful of butter, season with pepper and salt, with a dash of onion-juice. Beat two eggs light and into these two table- spoonfuls of cream, and work into the fish mixture. Put all into a greased mould ; fit on the top and set into a pot of boiling water. Cook steadily for one hour and a half. Dip the mould into cold water to loosen the pudding, and, invert upon a hot dish. Eat with a white sauce, with, if you like, a teaspoonful of an- chovy and a little lemon-juice stirred into it. BROOK TROUT. Clean, wash, and dry the fish, handling tenderly, not to mar its beauty or flavor, roll in salted and peppered flour, and fry in deep fat to a delicate brown. Serve upon folded tissue-paper in a hot-water dish, if you have one. The simpler the seasoning the better. GRAYLING. This second-best of game-fish is cooked as you would cook trout. In the opinion of some he outranks his better-known brother in deliciousness. He is found at his best estate in the Michigan woods, in a river which he has honored with his name. CREAMED SALMON TROUT. Having cleaned and washed it, rub all over with butter and lay in your covered baking-pan with just enough water under the grating to keep him from burning, and bake ten minutes to the pound, basting four times and freely with butter and water. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 63 When done, transfer deftly to a heated dish and pour over him a white sauce made of a cup of cream (a pinch of soda will keep it from curdling), heated to scalding in an outer vessel of boiling water, and thickened with a great spoonful of butter rolled in corn-starch, then cooked one minute. Add a little chopped parsley to this cream sauce. Cover the dish and leave the gallant beauty for three minutes to his cream bath, before serving. CREAMED PICKEREL. Bake as you would salmon trout. FRIED PICKEREL. Clean, wipe dry, roll in salted and peppered flour, or dip in egg and roll in seasoned cracker-dust, and fry quickly in deep cottolene or oil brought slowly to the boil. CAT-FISH (FRIED). Skin, cut off the heads, season, roll in egg and cracker-crumbs, and fry in deep cottolene. You can make an almost elegant affair of the plebeian fish by treating them, after they are skinned, to a" marinade " of salad oil and lemon -juice or vinegar, letting them lie in this for half an hour, then egging and crumbing them before they are fried. CAT-FISH (STEWD). Let them lie in cold salt and water for half an hour after skin- ning them ; put into a saucepan with a tablespoonful of chopped onion for each pound of fish ; cover with cold water and stew until they are tender. Take them out, salt, pepper, and butter them, and keep hot over boiling water, while you add to the water in which they were cooked, a great spoonful of butter cooked to a roux with a tablespoonful of flour, and stirred into three tablespoonfuls of cream (also hot), and a little chopped parsley. Stir until it boils, and pour the sauce over the fish. Let them stand in it for five minutes and serve. A beaten egg will enrich this sauce. 64 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK BOILED COD. Lay in salt and water for half an hour ; sew up in coarse, thin muslin fitted to the shape, and cook ten minutes to the pound, after the boil begins, in boiling salted water in which a table- spoonful of vinegar has been mixed. Cut the stitches, remove the cloth, lay the fish upon a hot platter, rub over with butter and lemon-juice, pour over it a good egg sauce and serve more of the same in a boat. COD-STEAKS. Leave in salt and water fifteen minutes ; wipe dry and cover with salad oil and vinegar for half an hour or more. Broil then upon a well-greased gridiron ; butter well, pepper and salt, and serve with a garnish of potato-balls, made by beating a raw egg into mashed potato, forming the paste into balls, rolling them in flour and setting upon the upper grating of a quick oven to brown. SCALLOPED CODFISH (FRESH). Fry a sliced onion in two tablespoonfuls of butter, strain it out, return the butter to the pan and stir in two tablespoonfuls of flour until it bubbles all over. Take from the fire and add gradually, stirring well, a cupful of hot milk. Season with salt and paprica, or cayenne. Whip to a cream, with a little milk and butter, four hot mealy boiled potatoes, and when light beat in an egg. Fill a deep dish with alternate layers of cold boiled codfish, picked fine and seasoned to taste and the sauce just described, and spread the mashed potato like a crust over the top. Wash the crust with melted butter and sift finely grated cheese over the butter. Bake to a light brown in a quick oven and serve in the dish. HALIBUT LOAF. Two cupfuls of picked halibut — boiled and cold. Two table- spoonfuls of butter. Two eggs. Four tablespoonfuls of milk or cream. One tablespoonful of flour, stirred to a roux in the hot THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 65 butter. Pepper, salt, and onion-juice to taste. One teaspoonful of anchovy paste. Half a can of mushrooms chopped fine. Chop the fish as fine as it can be made and seasoned ; mix into this the mushrooms, the roux, and the milk, which should have been heated and whipped light with the eggs. Pour into a well- greased mould with a close top, set in a deep pan of hot water that yet will not float the mould, and cook steadily one hour. Dip the mould in cold water to loosen the pudding from the sides, and turn out upon a heated dish. This excellent side-dish may be made ornamental by cooking it in a mould that has a funnel in the centre, and when it is dished, filling the hole in the centre with Parisienne potatoes, i.e., cut into marble -shaped balls with a potato-gouge, then boiled. Butter the potato-balls plentifully after they go in, and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Any firm fish may be cooked in the same way. STURGEON STEAKS. Skin and lay for an hour in cold salt and water. Wipe dry, let them soak in a marinade of oil and vinegar for an hour. Broil over clear coals, turning dexterously twice. Butter and sprinkle with cayenne and garnish with sliced lemon. BAKED STURGEON. Prepare as you would the steaks, then parboil for fifteen min- utes and let it cool, Rub the marinade now well into the flesh of the fish, and bake, covered, ten minutes to the pound, with just enough water to prevent burning. Serve with caper sauce. Or— After the parboiled fish is perfectly cold and has lain in the marinade half an hour, gash the surface nearly an inch deep and rub in a forcemeat of bread-crumbs, finely chopped salt pork, parsley, a little lemon-juice, pepper, and butter. Then bake. 66 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK STEWED EELS. Skin and clean, removing all the fat. Cut into inch lengths, cover with cold water and cook gently three-quarters of an hour. Season with onion-juice, chopped parsley, pepper and salt, stew fifteen minutes, and thicken with two tablespoonfuls of white roux. FRIED EELS. Prepare as for stewing ; leave in olive oil and vinegar for half an hour, pepper and salt ; roll in egg and cracker-dust, and fry in deep cottolene. SALT FISH. BROILED SALT MACKEREL. Wash and scrape the fish. Soak all night, changing the water at bed-time for tepid, and again early in the morning for almost scalding. Keep this hot for an hour by setting the vessel containing the soaking fish on the side of the range. Wash, now, in cold water with a stiff brush or rough cloth, wipe per- fectly dry, rub all over with salad oil and vinegar, or lemon- juice, and let it lie in this marinade for a quarter of an hour be- fore broiling it over clear coals. Lay on a hot dish and spread with a mixture of butter, lemon- juice, and minced parsley. The mackerel will be so far superior to that cooked in the old-fashioned way that it will amply repay you for the trifling additional work. BOILED MACKEREL. Wash, scrape, and soak as directed in the last recipe. In the morning lay in hot water for an hour. Throw this away, put the fish into a large frying-pan, cover with boiling water, to which has been added a tablespoonful of vinegar, and simmer gently for twenty minutes. Dish upon a heated platter and pour over it a white sauce. Cover it and leave it to stand over THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 6j boiling water for five minutes that the sauce may soak into it, and it is ready for the table. SALT MACKEREL WITH TOMATO SAUCE. Proceed as with boiled mackerel, but when dished, pour over it, instead of the white sauce, one of tomatoes, stewed, strained, seasoned with onion-juice, pepper, salt, and sugar, and thickened with a brown roux of butter and flour. Let the fish lie in this for ten minutes and serve. CREAMED CODFISH (SALT). Soak all night, changing the water several times and having the last bath quite hot. Boil tender in hot water with a table- spoonful of vinegar. Take out the bones while hot, and let it cool before picking or shredding it into fine flakes. Heat a cupful of milk, stir into it a tablespoonful of butter rolled in one of flour, cook until it thickens well, take from the fire and add two beaten eggs. When these are well mixed, add the shredded fish, and cook two minutes, stirring steadily. A tablespoonful of minced parsley is an improvement, also, a little lemon-juice. Season with cayenne or paprica. Serve hot. SMOKED SALMON. Soak over night, changing the water three times for warmer. In the morning rub hard to get rid of the smoke and rust, leave in ice-water half an hour, wipe dry, rub with olive oil and vinegar and broil over a clean fire. Pass sliced lemon with it. A QUICK RELISH OF SMOKED SALMON. Half a pound of smoked salmon cut into narrow strips ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; juice of half a lemon ; cayenne pepper. Parboil the salmon ten minutes ; lay in cold water- for the same length of time ; wipe dry, and broil over a clear fire. Butter while hot, season with cayenne and lemon -juice, pile in a " log- cabin " square upon a hot plate, and send up with dry toast. 68 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK SARDINES AU GRATIN. Lift each fish carefully from the oil in which it was put up, hold suspended for a moment to let most of the oil drip from it, squeeze a few drops of lemon-juice upon it and roll in very fine, peppered, cracker dust. Lay upon a buttered tin, or stoneware plate, and brown lightly upon the upper grating of a quick oven. Pass crackers, heated and buttered, and sliced lemon with them. They are a good luncheon or supper-dish. SMOKED HERRING, ALEWIVES, BLOATERS, ETC. Wash thoroughly, wipe dry, wrap them in clean, wet manilla paper, and leave in a quick oven for fifteen minutes. Serve with sliced lemon. "FINNAN BADDE." A Scotch delicacy that is becoming popular with us. Wash thoroughly, leave in cold water half an hour, then for five minutes in very hot. Wipe, rub over with butter and lemon- juice and broil fifteen minutes. CODFISH BALLS. The purified, shredded codfish, to be bought by the box from any grocer, is best for these. Soak it for two or three hours, then boil for fifteen minutes in water that has had a tablespoon- ful of vinegar stirred into it, and spread upon a sieve to get cold. Allow to each cupful of fish half as much mashed potato whipped to a soft cream. Mix them together well, make very hot over the fire and beat in a frothed egg for every cupful of fish. Season with pepper. Let the mixture get quite cold, make into balls, roll in flour, and set in a cold place to stiffen. If you wish them for breakfast you will do well to make them the night before. Roll again in flour and fry in deep fat to a yellow-brown. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 69 SHELL-FISH. ROASTED OYSTERS. Wash thoroughly and lay upon hot coals, or in a shallow pan on the top of the stove, the deeper shell downward, until they open wide. Take off the loosened upper shell, carefully, to re- tain the juice, and lay upon a hot platter, or upon hot plates, a bit of butter upon each steaming oyster, and send at once to table. Pass pepper, salt, and sliced lemon, also pepper sauce, that the eaters may have their choice of seasoning. CREAMED OYSTERS. One quart of oysters. One cupful of milk, with a tiny pinch of soda dissolved in it. One cupful of oyster liquor. Three ta- blespoonfuls of butter. Two tablespoonfuls of flour. One egg. Juice of half a lemon. Pepper and salt. Cook the butter and flour together until they bubble ; add the milk and the oyster liquor, and stir until you have a thick sauce. Into this drop the oysters, freed from their liquor. Have ready an egg beaten light in a cup, mix some of the hot sauce with it, turn all back into the saucepan, stir one minute — no longer — and take from the fire. Season with pepper, salt, and lemon-juice. Have ready buttered scallop-shells, fill them with the creamed oysters, sprinkle lightly with crumbs, dot thickly with bits of butter, and brown delicately in a quick oven. Eat very hot. PANNED OYSTERS. (No. J.) Heat a dozen pate-pans, and lay a scant half teaspoonful of butter in each. Fill with raw oysters from which all the juice has been drained, cover closely and cook for ten minutes in a quick oven, or until the oysters plump and ruffle. Send to table in the pans with a firm sauce of lemon-juice, butter, and parsley beaten light. JO THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK PANNED OYSTERS. (No. 2.) Butter the heated pans and fit in the bottom of each a round of buttered, peppered, and salted toast. Lay the drained oysters upon this, cover and cook. Serve in the tins. If you have sil- ver pate pans, this is really an elegant dish, and one that pre- serves the flavor of the oysters to perfection. BROILED OYSTERS. (No. U) Drain fine fat oysters and dry well by laying them upon a cloth, covering with another and gently patting the upper. Sprinkle with salt and paprica, or cayenne, and broil upon a hot buttered gridiron. Heat the liquor strained from them and add a white roux — a tablespoonful to a cup of liquor — boil up, season with kitchen bouquet and serve in a gravy-boat with the oysters. These should go to table in a hot-water dish. BROILED OYSTERS. (No. 2.) Salt and pepper large fine oysters, roll them in fine cracker- dust and broil upon a well-greased wire oyster-broiler for three minutes, turning twice. Serve upon rounds of buttered toast, put a little sauce of lemon-juice beaten up with butter on each, and serve in a hot-water dish. FRIED OYSTERS. Drain and wipe fine large oysters, dip each first in cracker- dust (peppered and salted), then in beaten egg, and again in the cracker, and arrange upon a large cold platter. Set upon ice for half an hour and fry in butter that has been gradually brought to a boil. Cook a few at a time, and if the crumbs come off in the fat, strain them out before the next instalment goes in. FRIED OYSTERS AU SUPREME. Drain the liquor from twenty-five large oysters, heat it and when it boils put in the oysters and cook one minute after the THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 7 1 liquor grows scalding hot again. Take them out, spread upon a folded cloth laid within a sieve and set in the refrigerator to get cold. Meanwhile make a good white sauce of two tablespoon- fuls of butter rolled in as much flour and stirred into a cupful of boiling milk. Season with a little onion-juice, salt, and cayenne ; take from the fire and beat in the yolks of two eggs to each cupful of sauce. Put back over the fire and stir one minute, but do not let it boil. Pour upon a broad platter, and when luke- warm and thick, remove the oysters to a clean dry cloth spread upon a tray ; with a spoon coat each with the sauce on both sides and set at once on ice. Leave them there until the coating is firm ; trim off the edges, take up each in a wire spoon and cover with raw egg, then with fine cracker -dust, and fry them in a wire basket immersed in boiling fat. SCALLOPED OYSTERS. Cover the bottom of a greased bake-dish with oysters, and the oysters with fine cracker -crumbs. Sprinkle these with pepper, salt, and bits of butter ; then lay in more oysters and go on in this order until all are in. The top layer should be of crumbs and well buttered. Pour over each layer of oysters, as it goes in, a few spoonfuls of oyster liquor, and upon the crumbs the same quantity of cream. Bake, covered, in a quick oven until hot all through, uncover and brown lightly. Serve with sliced lemon. You may fill clam-shells, or silver or china scallop shells in like manner. SCALLOPED OYSTERS AU SUPREME. Drain the oysters and reserve the liquor for some other dish. Butter a pudding-dish, cover the bottom with oysters, and these with fine cracker-crumbs ; sprinkle the crumbs with bits of but- ter, minced parsley, celery-salt, here and there a few capers and a dust of paprica, and moisten with cream or with milk which has been heated and thickened slightly with a white roux, and allowed to cool. Now another layer of oysters, more seasoned 72 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK crumbs and cream, until the dish is full, having crumbs thickly dotted with butter on top. Bake covered until it bubbles, uncover and brown lightly. It should require not more than half an hour. OYSTER PATES. Heat the liquor to a boil, drop in the oysters and cook three minutes after the boil begins. Drain and cut them into quar- ters, and keep hot over boiling water. For each quart of oys- ters put one tablespoonful of butter into a frying-pan and when hot, stir in an equal quantity of flour. Toss and stir three min- utes, take from the fire and pour gradually upon it a cupful of hot milk in which a bit of soda has been dissolved. Season, and let it get lukewarm, then beat in the yolk of a raw egg for each cupful of sauce. Heat again, setting the saucepan in boil- ing water. When smoking hot, put into a bowl and add the oysters. Fill heated shells of baked pastry and send to table. Cooks sometimes fail with this mixture because the oysters are cooked in the sauce, and make i t watery. If they are small, you need not quarter them. OYSTER PIE. Line the dish with fine puff paste. Fill with dry crusts of bread and lay the top crust over these. Bake in a quick oven ; remove the upper crust with care, take out the crusts and fill with such a mixture as you would prepare for pites, but leaving the oysters whole. Set in the oven a few minutes to re-heat before serving. CURRIED OYSTERS. Make a roux of two tablespoonfuls of butter in which half a sliced onion has been fried, then strained out, and a heaping tablespoonful of flour with a teaspoonful of curry powder. Cook for three minutes, stirring diligently ; add a cupful of oyster- liquor, heated to boiling and strained. Toss and stir until you have a smooth, thin paste, " old-gold " in color, and pour upon broiled oysters arranged in a hot-water dish. Send around boiled rice with it. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 73 FRIED OYSTERS A LA BROCHETTE. Drain the oysters, roll each in a slice of breakfast bacon, no thicker than writing paper ; pass a stout straw or a toothpick through both, and then through other two, making three oysters and three slices of bacon upon each toothpick. Heat and but- ter well a clean frying-pan, lay the " brochettes " in it, and turn often while cooking, that the heat may get at all parts of oysters and bacon. The fat from the pork should be sufficient to fry the oysters. The bacon should curl and be clear when done. Serve upon squares of thin buttered toast, and garnish with parsley and sliced lemon. ROAST OYSTERS A LA BROCHETTE. These are sometimes called spindled oysters. Run a slender skewer — (a sharp knitting-needle will serve the purpose well) — through the hard parts of six oysters and the upper edges of six thin slices of breakfast bacon. When you have five or six needles thus strung, lay them across the top of a narrow tin-pan or bake-dish. Oysters and bacon should be suspended from the skewers, but not quite touch the bottom of the pan. Set upon the upper grating of a hot oven, and cook nearly ten minutes. Serve upon buttered strips of toast ; season the liquor that has dripped from them with lemon-juice and cayenne or pap- rica, pour over the oysters and toast and serve immediately. STEWED TERRAPIN. Kill the terrapins by dropping into hafd-boiling water. Cook one hour or until the skin comes off easily from the heads and feet. Let them get perfectly cold ; take off the shells, remove intestines, lights, heads, hearts, tails, and feet. Be careful not to break the gall-bag. Cut into dice, put into a saucepan, and just cover with water and stew, after they reach the boil, for fifteen minutes. Have ready the yolk of one hard-boiled egg for each 74 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK terrapin, rub to a powder, and then to a paste with butter, allow- ing a teaspoonful for each terrapin. Heat three tablespoon- fuls of cream in a saucepan, for each terrapin (dropping in a bit of soda). Pour upon the egg-and-butter paste by degrees, season with paprica or cayenne, salt, a pinch of nutmeg or mace, and stir into the stewed terrapin. Cook two minutes or until scalding hot, add a teaspoonful of sherry for each terrapin, and serve hot at once. This is the Baltimore recipe for the expensive delicacy. PHILADELPHIA TERRAPIN. Cook as above directed, but instead of the pounded yolks add to the hot cream three raw yolks beaten light, after which the stew should not be suffered to boil. Bring up the heat by set- ting it in boiling water for ten minutes. If there are no eggs in the terrapin, make force-meat balls of pounded yolks worked to a paste with butter, and seasoned with pepper and salt, and made manageable by a little flour. Mould with floured hands, drop into boiling water, and simmer three minutes, then put into the stew. CLAMS. How to Open Them. If they are to be eaten raw, have your fishmonger open them with a knife made for the purpose. If they are to be cooked, wash the shells well and put them into a steamer, or, if you have none, into a broad colander, taking care to have the clams in such a position that the juice will not leak down into the lower vessel as they open. Set this over boiling water, cover the steamer closely and keep the water at a furious boil until the clams gape. Take them out, one by one, drain off the liquor and strain it through a cloth to get rid of sand or dust. ROAST CLAMS. Prepare as you would oysters, but roast three minutes longer. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 7$ BAKED CLAMS. Open as directed at head of this article, but be careful to re- serve to every shell all the juice that belongs to it. Leave the clams in the lower shells, put a bit of butter, a drop of onion- juice, and a sprinkle of paprica or cayenne, with a mere dust of salt upon each ; replace the top shell, tying it on with a bit of cotton string ; arrange the shells upon a hot pan and bake fif- teen or eighteen minutes, according to the size of the clams. Remove the upper shells, squeeze upon each clam a few drops of lemon and the same of tomato-catsup, and serve on the shells. CREAMED CLAMS. Steam the clams until wide open, drain off the liquor, set it aside, chop the clams fine and set in a vessel of boiling water upon the range, while you make the sauce by adding to two tablespoonfuls of white roux the heated liquor, and stirring it smooth over the fire. Season with salt and cayenne, or paprica. Have hot in another vessel for a cupful of the chopped clams half a cup of cream, or rich milk, in which has been put a pinch of soda, pour it upon a beaten egg, cook two minutes, stirring all the while. Put the chopped clams into a bowl, stir in the thick- ened liquor, lastly the hot cream and egg, mix quickly, and pour over buttered toast laid upon a hot platter. SCALLOPED DEVILED CLAMS. Chop thirty clams fine, set in a closed vessel and this in an- other of boiling water over the fire. Fry a sliced onion light-brown in two tablespoonfuls of butter; strain out the onion, return the butter to the range and stir into it three chopped tomatoes, a pinch of mace, salt, and paprica to taste. Cook four minutes, dust with flour from a dredger, take from the fire and pour upon two frothed eggs. Lastly, £dd the clams, fill scallop- or clam-shells with the mixture, cover with fine cracker-crumbs, sticking bits of butter in the top and bake in a quick oven fifteen minutes, or until browned. ?6 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK SCALLOPED CLAMS. Drain and chop two dozen clams. Make a white sauce by stirring into a cup of hot milk a heaping tablespoonful of flour rolled in two teaspoonfuls of corn-starch. When it thickens add the pounded yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, a little minced pars- ley, a pinch of mace, and the beaten yolk of a raw egg, with salt and pepper to taste. Stir one minute, remove from the fire and pour upon the chopped clams, which should be steaming hot. Fill shells or pate-pans with the mixture, cover with fine crumbs, stick bits of butter upon these, and bake in a hot oven until browned. CLAM FRITTERS. Chop two dozen "long" clams fine; pepper and salt them. To make the batter, sift into a bowl twice, through a pint of flour, a level teaspoonful of Cleveland's baking powder, and a saltspoonful of salt. Beat two eggs light, add a cupful of milk and half as much clam liquor and pour this into a hole in the middle of the flour. When the deep cottolene in your frying- pan is hot, and not until then, add the clams to the batter, and drop it, by the spoonful, into the boiling fat. Turn each fritter as it browns upon the lower side. You can make the clam batter into pancakes by frying it upon a griddle. They are a nice breakfast dish. CLAM PIE. An Old New England Seashore Dish. Chop the clams if large, saving the liquor that runs from them. Heat, strain, and season this and cook the chopped clams for ten minutes in it. Have a thick top-crust of good pastry, but none at the bottom of the bake-dish. Fill it with alternate layers of the minced clams, seasoned with salt, pepper, a few drops of onion-juice, some bits of butter and a few teaspoonfuls of strained tomato- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 77 sauce, and thin slices of boiled potatoes. Dredge each layer of clams with flour. Lastly, pour in a cupful of clam-juice, put on the crust and bake half an hour in a quick oven. CREAMED SCALLOPS. Scald scallops in their own or in oyster liquor, leaving them in only two minutes after the liquid reaches the boil. Heat a cupful of milk, thicken it with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with a teaspoonful of butter, drain the scallops and put them into this sauce. Season to taste, and serve on squares of toast. FRIED SCALLOPS. (No. U) Dry them with a soft bit of old linen, roll in finely pounded cracker, salted and peppered, then in a beaten egg and again in the crumbs before dropping them into boiling cottolene. Cook to a light golden brown. FRIED SCALLOPS. (No. 2.) Drop the scallops into boiling water and cook fast for five minutes ; drain and spread them upon a cloth to get cold. Meanwhile, make a batter by sifting twice, through a cupful of flour, a half teaspoonful of Cleveland's baking powder, and the same quantity of flour ; wetting it with half a cupful of milk into which has been beaten two well-whipped eggs and a teaspoonful of melted butter. Beat hard. The scallops should be cold and stiff when they are dipped into this batter, and fried in deep cot- tolene. LOBSTERS. It is always safe to cook your lobster yourself unless you have an exceptionally honest fish-merchant, or are yourself an apt judge of shell-fish in all their varieties. The enclosed excel- lent directions for choosing, killing, and preparing " the tooth- some lobster " for cooking are copied gratefully from The New York Sun. " Lobsters are more easily prepared for the table than young 78 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK housewives imagine, and many delicious dishes may be made with them. " Should ready-boiled lobsters be purchased, test them by gently drawing ba~ck the tail, which should rebound with a spring. If the tail is not curled up and will not spring back when straightened, the lobster was dead when boiled and should not be eaten. Choose the smaller lobsters that are heavy for their size, as the larger ones are apt to be coarse and tough. Lobsters weighing from one and one-half to three pounds are the best in size. " All parts of the lobster are wholesome and may be used ex- cept the stomach, which is a small hard sack and contains poi- sonous matter, and lies directly under the head, and a little vein which runs the entire length of the tail. ' ' To boil a lobster, put into a kettle water enough to cover the lobster. When the water is hot, but not boiling, put in the live lobster, head first. In this way the lobster will be instantly smothered to death. Put a tablespoonful of salt into the water, cover the kettle, and boil a medium-sized lobster thirty minutes. Cooking too long will make the meat tough and dry. When the lobster becomes cold, twist off the claws and break apart the tail and body, take out the green fatty part, which is the liver of the lobster, and coral, and lay them one side to use with the meat. Remove the stomach, which is below the head, and throw it away. Break open the body and take out all the small pieces of meat. Cut the under side of the tail shell open and loosen the meat, taking it out in one piece.- Open the meat and remove the little vein and throw it away. In cracking the claws hold them on the edge of the table. By doing so the shell will be cracked and the meat will not be crushed. Save the small claws to garnish with." BROILED LOBSTER. When convenient, have your fish-merchant remove the stomach and the long intestine running through the "body, when he has split the wriggling crustacean down the back. If you THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 79 cannot have this done, drive a sharp knife into the back just where the shells of body and tail overlap, and remove the objec- tionable parts. Lay the divided sides upon the gridiron, shell downward, and broil for over half an hour. Baste the meat four times while in cooking with butter and lemon-juice beaten to a cream. When half-done, turn the flesh side down, for a few minutes. When done, sprinkle with salt and cayenne and split up the claws with a pair of sharp scissors. Serve melted butter and pass oyster-crackers and sliced lemon with it. FARCIED LOBSTER. Make a thick sauce of — Two tablespoonfuls of butter heated to hissing, and two table- spoonfuls of flour stirred into it at this point. Take from the fire, add gradually a cupful of hot milk seasoned with salt, cayenne, and parsley (not forgetting the pinch of soda). Re- turn to the fire, and when it boils draw to one side and stir in — Pounded yolks of three hard-boiled eggs. A tablespoonful of fine bread-crumbs. Two cupfuls of lobster meat (boiled and cold), cut into neat dice. The shell of the lobster should not have been broken in taking out the meat. Have it now washed and dried and stuffed with the mixture. Cover the open side with fine crumbs, with bits of butter here and there, sprinkle with salt and paprica, and brown in a quick oven. Serve with sliced lemon, and garnish with curled parsley. BUTTERED LOBSTER. Meat of two boiled lobsters, or one can of preserved lobster ; three tablespoonfuls of butter (heaping) ; two lemons — juice only ; one cup of cracker-crumbs ; half a teaspoonful of made mustard ; a good pinch of cayenne pepper ; salt. Open the lobster-can and empty it into a bowl an hour before using it. Mince evenly. Put lemon-juice^ butter, and seasoning into a saucepan, and when it simmers add the lobster and half the 80 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK crumbs. Cook slowly, covered, ten minutes, stirring occasion- ally. Fill pat6-pans or scallop-shells with the mixture, put a bit of butter on each, cover with fine crumbs and bake to a light- brown. Serve in the shells, hot. Pass sliced lemon and crack- ers with them. CREAMED LOBSTER. Four pounds of lobster-meat cut into small dice. One cup of cream and one of milk. White roux made of two tablespoon- fuls of butter, heated, with two of flour, and cooked smooth. Salt and cayenne to taste. Fine bread-crumbs. A pinch of soda in the milk. Heat milk and cream together, stir in roux and seasoning ; add the lobster-meat and turn into a buttered mould, or into scallop-shells. Cover with fine crumbs and brown in a quick oven. LOBSTER CHOPS. Make a roux by frying half a sliced onion and a little chopped parsley one minute in a tablespoonful of butter, then putting in a tablespoonful of flour and stirring to a pale brown. Heat a cupful of cream or rich milk in another vessel, and pour gradu- ally upon the roux, beating smooth as you go. Season two cup- fuls of finely chopped lobster-meat with salt, cayenne, a pinch of mace and a teaspoonful of lemon-juice. Take the cream from the fire, add two beaten yolks, heat again to a boil, turn into a bowl, mix in the lobster and a great spoonful of fine crumbs, and set aside on the ice to get cold and stiff. When it is of the right consistency, make into the form of mutton chops, dip , into whipped egg, then into cracker-dust, and leave again on the ice for some hours. Fry in hot, deep cottolene. Stick a claw in the small end of each chop. Serve with sauce-tartare and pass deviled crackers with it. LOBSTER AND OYSTER RAGOUT. Eighteen oysters. Meat of one large boiled lobster, or of two small, cut into inch lengths. Onion-juice to taste. One great THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 8 1 spoonful of butter for frying ; cayenne, lemon-juice, and salt. Yolks of two beaten eggs. One small glass of sherry. One tablespoonful of butter, cooked to a brown roux, with one of flour. Heat the butter in a frying-pan, and when it hisses put in the lobster dice, upon each of which has been squeezed three drops of onion-juice. Saute the lobster in the scalding butter until it is smoking hot. Drain the liquor from the oysters and heat in a saucepan while the lobster is cooking. When the liquor boils, strain and return to the fire with the oys- ters. Cook two minutes after the boil is reached ; strain out the oysters, arrange the fried lobster dice in a deep dish and upon them the oysters ; cover and keep hot over boiling water while you reheat the oyster liquor, season with salt, cayenne, lemon-juice, and parsley, thicken with the brown roux, and boil up once. Take from the range and pour, a few spoonfuls at a time, stirring slowly, upon the beaten yolks. At the very last put in the sherry, and do not put back upon the fire. Turn out, at once, upon the oysters and lobster, and serve. CURRIED LOBSTER. Two cups of lobster-dice. Two cups of weak soup stock. One teaspoonful of minced onion, and two of curry powder. Saltspoonful of salt. Fry the onion in the butter, add the salt, the stock, and the curry, and cook gently for five minutes, before putting in the lobster. Serve as soon as this is thoroughly heated. Pass plain boiled rice with this dish. DEVILED LOBSTER. Cut into pieces as large as an oyster and coat each piece with a paste made of a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of cur- ry powder, half as much made mustard, half a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and a little salt, worked into a well-mixed sauce. Heat three tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan and sautt the lobster in this. 6 82 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK CROQUETTES OF LOBSTER. Meat of one fine lobster, well boiled ; two eggs ; two table- spoonfuls of butter ; half a cupful of fine bread-crumbs ; one tea- spoonful of anchovy sauce, yolks of two eggs, boiled hard and rubbed to a powder, then beaten into the butter ; one good tea- spoonful of lemon-juice ; season well with salt and cayenne pep- per ; also, a pinch of mace and lemon-peel ; yolks of two raw eggs, beaten very light. Mince the meat, work in the butter, melted, but not hot ; then the seasoning,-»tne raw eggs, and lastly the bread-crumbs. Make into oblong balls, set on the ice for two hours and fry quickly in deep cottolene. Drain them of every drop of fat by rolling each, for an instant, very lightly upon a hot, clean cloth. Be sure your dish is well heated. Crab croquettes are made in the same way. FRICASSEE OF LOBSTER AND MUSHROOMS. One large lobster, cut into pieces over an inch long, and half as wide. Three tablespoonfuls of brown roux. Two cups of veal or chicken stock. One tablespoonful of corned ham minced fine. One-half onion chopped. Teaspoonful of minced par- sley. Six large mushrooms cut into quarters, or twelve cham- pignons, cut into halves. Paprica and salt. A liqueur glass of sherry. Heat the stock with the ham, seasoning, and onion. Boil ten minutes and strain ; thicken with the roux, put in the pieces of lobster and the mushrooms, and cook for half an hour in a sauce- pan set within a vessel of boiling water. Add the sherry after the fricassee is turned into a deep dish. LOBSTER A LA NEWBURG. (No. U) Two cups of lobster, dice, and the same of cream. Beaten yolks of three eggs. One glass of sherry. Half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of cayenne. Put cream, wine, and beaten yolks together in a saucepan over THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 83 boiling water and cook, stirring steadily until thick. Add the pieces of lobster, let them get smoking hot, season, and serve. This is the simplest form (and a good one) of this fashionable and popular delicacy. LOBSTER A LA NEWBURG. (No. 2.) Meat of one fine boiled lobster cut into large dice. The pounded yolks of two eggs. One cupful of cream. Two table- spoonfuls of butter and one scant tablespoonful of flour. A small glass of sherry. Salt to taste, a pinch of mace, a dash of cayenne. Heat the butter in a saucepan and when just melted, stir in the flour and mix well. Rub the pounded eggs (which should be like a powder) smooth with a little of the cream and stir into the flour and butter. Let it get hot ; put in the rest of the cream, and heat to scalding in a saucepan set in one of water at a hard boil. When at the right temperature, put in the rest of the cream, and when this heats, the lobster and the seasoning, all except the wine. Toss with a silver fork for two minutes', add the wine and serve. LOBSTER A LA NEWBURG. (No. 3.) Two tablespoonfuls of butter. One-and-a-half cupfuls of lob- ster cut into inch lengths with a sharp knife ; two truffles chopped fine ; cayenne and salt to taste. One cupful of cream. Yolks of two eggs beaten light. One glass of sherry. Heat the butter in a saucepan, but do not let it brown. When it begins to hiss season with salt and pepper and put in the lob- ster-dice and truffles. Cover closely and set in a vessel of boil- ing water over the fire. Heat the cream in another vessel, dropping in a bit of soda to prevent curdling. Take from the fire and mix with the lobster, add the wine and serve at once. LOBSTER A LA BROCHETTE. Meat of one fine lobster cut into clean dice with a keen blade. Two dozen fresh mushrooms. Cayenne, salt, and mace. A dozen slices of breakfast bacon, cut as thin as writing-paper. 84 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Rounds of toasted bread. Two tabiespoonfuls of butter; juice of half a lemon ; minced parsley. Sprinkle the pieces of lobster with salt, cayenne, and mace and string them upon slender skewers alternately with the mush- rooms, having four pieces of lobster and three mushrooms upon each skewer. Broil over clear coals, turning the skewers often. Have ready the bacon broiled clear ; cut the toast into slender strips over an inch wide ; lay a slice of bacon upon each and on the bacon a skewer of lobster and mushrooms. Spread these last with a sauce of the butter beaten to a cream with the lemon- juice and minced parsley. FRIED LOBSTER. Cut the meat into pieces of uniform length, roll in egg, then in fine cracker-crumbs ; set in a cold place for an hour and fry in boiling fat to a light brown. Pile upon a hot platter ; gar- nish with cresses and nasturtiums, and serve with this sauce : Beat the yolks of two raw eggs to a cream with a teaspoonful of French mustard, one of sugar, a good pinch of cayenne and a little salt. When you have a smooth mixture, add half a cupful of salad oil, gradually, beating steadily, thinning, as you go on, with lemon-juice. Add a dash of onion-juice and a table- spoonful of chopped capers. LOBSTER GUMBO. A Creole Dish. Two pounds of lobster-meat taken from the shell in two large pieces, breaking as little as possible. Two teaspoonfuls of but- ter and one of salad oil. A tablespoonful of minced onion. Three fresh tomatoes — large and ripe ; one sweet green pepper ; six okra pods; cayenne and salt to taste; one cup of boiling water. Melt the butter in a saucepan, lay in the lobster, turn over to coat it thoroughly, add the hot water and stew gently, covered, half an hour. Strain from the meat, which should be kept hot over boiling water until you are ready for it again. Heat in an- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 85 other pan the oil, minced onion, and green pepper, the sliced tomatoes and okras. When the mixture smokes turn in the lobster-broth ; simmer half an hour, rub through a fine colander and stir almost dry over the fire. Turn out upon a hot platter, lay the lobster upon this bed, and serve. Pass sliced lemon with it, and toasted crackers. SOFT SHELL CRABS, SAUTE. Take off the fringe or loose shell found under the side points, also the sand-bag found under the shell under the eyes ; wash them quickly, salt and dust with cayenne and roll in salted flour. Have ready some hissing hot butter in a frying-pan, and saute them, turning once to brown the upper side. Or— You may roll them in raw egg, then in peppered and salted cracker-dust, and fry them. If they are not alive when you are ready to use them, throw them away. Keep wrapped in wet moss or sea-weed in the refrigerator until they are needed. A few minutes, uncovered, in a hot kitchen would kill them. BROILED SOFT-SHELL CRABS. Have three tablespoonfuls of butter melted in a deep platter and mix with it the juice of half a lemon and a dash of cayenne. Sprinkle salt upon the cleaned crabs, roll them in the butter mixture, drain for a second and dredge well with salted flour. Cook in an oyster broiler over clear coals. Serve with sauce tartare. HARD CRABS. Like lobsters, they must be bought alive and killed just be- fore they are cooked. The most merciful method is to plunge them head downward into boiling water. The first plunge kills them. Cook at least half an hour in salted boiling water. 86 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK SCALLOPED CRABS, WITH MUSHROOMS. Two cupfuls of crab-meat cut into dice. One dozen fresh mushrooms. One cupful of milk. Half teaspoonful of onion- juice. One cupful of cream or rich milk. A great spoonful of butter and a smaller one of flour. Powdered yolks of three hard-boiled eggs. Juice of half a lemon. Half cupful of fine crumbs. Salt and cayenne. Cut the crabs and mushrooms into pieces of equal size. Heat the butter and onion-juice in a frying-pan and stir to a roux with the flour. Take from the fire and work into the hot cream or milk. Season with salt and cayenne, add the yolks and the crab-meat. Lastly, stir in the mushrooms; fill the crab-shells or scallop-shells of silver or china with the mixture; sift crumbs on top, sticking bits of butter in them, and bake in a quick oven. Squeeze the lemon-juice over them and serve. A CRAB WELSH RAREBIT. Make a white roux of a tablespoonful of butter and the same of flour. When hot and smooth, add four tablespoonfuls of veal or chicken stock gradually, and bring again to the boil. Take from the fire, pour in half a cupful of cream, a little at a time (put a bit of soda in the cream), then stir in a cupful of crab dice, less than half an inch square ; simmer in hot water for ten minutes, add two tablespoonfuls of Parmesan cheese, cook one minute, lift from the range and pour in two tablespoonfuls of sherry. Have ready in a flat dish rounds of bread toasted and but- tered. Spread the smoking crab mixture upon them, cover with more cheese, set upon the top grating of a hot oven three min- utes to' melt the cheese, and serve. Eat at once. A lobster Welsh Rarebit may be made in the same way, also one of halibut and of chopped shrimps. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 87 DEVILED CRABS. Two cupfuls of crab-meat, cut small— r not chopped. Two tablespoonfuls of butter, one of flour, and a level teaspoonful of mustard. One cupful of milk, or cream, or fish stock. Salt, cayenne, and the juice of half a lemon. Crumbs and butter. Heat the butter and stir to a roux with the flour and mustard. In another vessel heat the milk, and mix with the roux when it is scalding hot. Cook three minutes, turn into a bowl, add the crab-meat, salt, pepper, and lemon-juice. With the mixture fill shells or pat6-pans, cover with crumbs and bits of butter and bake in a quick oven. CRABS AU GRATIN. Two cupfuls of crab-meat cut into pieces an inch long. One tablespoonful of flour and a larger spoonful of butter. One cup- ful of good white stock. Half a cupful of cream. One table- spoonful of sherry. , Salt, cayenne, and half a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Lay the crab-dice in a deep buttered dish. Heat the butter an£ -flour to a roux, and when smooth, stir in the hot stock. Cook three minutes and work into it the cream, which should have been heated with a bit of soda not larger than a pea. Sea- son and pour the sauce over the crab-meat. Cover with cracker- dust, sprinkle this with paprica and bits of butter, and brown in a quick oven. FRICASSEE OF CRABS. One cupful of crab-meat, picked out coarsely. Yolks of three hard-boiled eggs. Two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour. Three cupfuls of milk. Juice of half a lemon. Half a teaspoon- ful of French mustard. Cayenne and salt and a pinch of mace. Pound the yolks to a powder, and work into them the butter, flour, mustard, salt, pepper, and mace. Heat the milk to a boil, lift from the fire and add, gradually, stirring all the while, to the paste just made. Stir in the crab-meat ; set, covered, in boiling 88 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK water for five minutes, stirring often, add a glass of sherry, and pour upon thin slices of peeled lemon in a deep dish. COQUILLES OF SHRIMPS A LA TORQUAY. One cupful of milk or cream. One tablespoonful of butter and one of flour. Six fresh mushrooms minced. A cupful of minced shrimps or prawns. Salt, cayenne, cracker-crumbs, and butter- bits. Melt the butter, rub in the flour when the butter hisses, and stir two minutes. Take from the fire and add the hot milk, slowly. Reheat and whip steadily in a bowl for two minutes. Season with salt and cayenne ; set back on the range and cook for five minutes in a vessel of hot water, putting in your egg whip now and then to keep it smooth and light. Stir in the shrimps, let the mixture come to a boil, cook one minute, and fill buttered scallop shells with it ; sift crumbs on top ; stick bits of butter in these and brown in a quick oven. STEWED SHRIMPS. If canned shrimps are used, rinse them in cold water before they are cooked. If fresh, take off the shells, taking care to get the fish out as whole as possible. Heat in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter, and when it hisses, add a cupful of shrimps. Toss with a silver fork to coat them well with the butter, and when they are heated through, add a cupful of boiling water and a tablespoonful of tomato-catsup, with a teaspoonful of lemon-juice, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and a pinch of cayenne. Stew gently three minutes and turn them out. Pass toasted crackers, buttered, with them. DEVILED SHRIMPS. Make a brown roux with two tablespoonfuls of butter and the same of browned flour, add when smooth to half a cupful of good stock ; stir one minute and put in a large cupful of minced shrimps, the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, rubbed to powder, a THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 89 saltspoonful of made mustard, a pinch of cayenne, a few drops of onion-juice, with salt to taste. Mix well, stir over the fire un- til smoking hot, and fill clam or scallop-shells or pate-pans with the mixture, cover with fine crumbs, with bits of butter here and there and brown quickly. Send around sliced lemon with them. CREAMED SHRIMPS. One can of shrimps, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and one of flour. Two cupfuls of milk. Salt and cayenne to taste. Pinch of soda in the milk. Make a roux of butter and flour, and when smooth stir into the hot milk. Cook two minutes, add the shrimps, season, sim- mer until smoking hot, and turn into a deep dish. You can, if you like a richer dish, stir in a beaten egg at the last. The mixture must not cook after it goes in. CURRIED SHRIMPS. One can of shrimps ; one tablespoonful of butter, and the same of flour ; two teaspoonfuls of curry powder, and one of Chutney sauce ; two cupfuls of boiling water ; salt to taste ; one teaspoonful of minced onion. Cook onion and butter in a sauce- pan for two minutes after they boil ; add flour and curry, and when they bubble, the boiling water gradually, stirring all the time. Finally, put in the shrimps; cook five minutes and serve in a hot-water dish. Send around bananas, ice-cold, with them, and boiled rice. FRIED FROGS' LEGS. Only the hind-legs are eatable. They are very good, having a curious resemblance to the most delicate spring chicken. Skin, wash, and lay in milk for fifteen minutes. Without wiping them, pepper and salt, and coat with flour. Fry in deep boiling fat to a light brown. Or— Wipe off the milk, dip in egg and pounded cracker, and fry. 90 THE MATIONAL COOK BOOK STEWED FROGS' LEGS. Skin, lay in milk for fifteen minutes ; roll in peppered and salted flour, and saute in hot butter for three minutes. Cover (barely) with hot water, and stew tender. Twenty minutes should suffice. Heat half a cupful of cream to boiling, stir in a tablespoonful of butter rolled in flour, boil up, and turn into the saucepan where the frogs' legs are simmering. Season with pepper, salt, and a little chopped parsley. Cook gently for three minutes and serve. FAMILIAR TALK. WRINKLES FOR HOUSEKEEPERS. Not the care-lines that tell of work and worry. These are not the " wrinkles " that one woman wishes to receive from another. But there are, to use another expressive bit of contemporary slang, "tips" — fragments of practical knowledge accumulated by every woman who looks well to the ways of her household — which are of distinct value to all housekeepers. Sometimes they have been discovered almost by accident, at other times they have come as the working out of pet theories. Still again they may have been hardly acquired after many failures have taught the experimenter how not to do it. Some of the wrinkles thus gathered may be old and familiar to many housekeepers. To others they may be entirely fresh and helpful. How many women who like a dainty table know, for instance, that the flavor of a broiled fish is rendered richer and finer if the fish is laid in salad oil for an hour before it is cooked ? The fish should be placed on a flat plate, two or three tablespoonfuls of the oil poured upon it, and when this has soaked in thoroughly the fish may be turned over and the other side treated in the same fashion. This same expedient of steeping in salad oil adds a delicious THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK $1 flavor to the cold chicken or turkey that is to be warmed up in a cream sauce. If the sauce is flavored with a suspicion of onion- juice and celery salt, the result is an appetizing rechauffe which has been aptly compared to hot chicken salad. The superiority of onion-juice over the chopped onion so often used in seasoning is manifest to all who have tried the former. The juice may be procured most readily, perhaps, by tearing the onion upon a vegetable grater. The juice quickly trickles from the bottom of the grater. Or the onion may be cut in half and pressed in a lemon-squeezer. For seasoning minces, hashes, Hamburg steaks, and in all chafing-dish concoctions, the onion- juice is invaluable. Welcome to those who enjoy soft-shell crabs, but object to the odor of the frying fat that usually accompanies their cookery, should be the " tip " that the crabs may be broiled, instead of fried, and that the flavor is the same whichever of the two ways they are cooked. The crab should be cleaned, dipped in olive oil, laid on the gridiron over a bed of broiling-coals, and cooked until the outside is red-brown, the meat white and tender. Another " wrinkle " worth knowing is that vinegar added to the water in which fish is boiled will make the fish firmer and im- prove its flavor, while when it is put into the water in which meat or poultry is stewing it will make the flesh more tender. The proportion varies a little. A tablespoonful is enough for the fish, while twice that quantity may safely be used for the meat. It expedites the boiling of tough poultry. Of great help to the woman who wishes to broil steak or chops, when she is baking bread or cake, is the knowledge that she can do this without cooling her ovens by uncovering the top of the stove. With proper care meats may be broiled — not fried — in a frying-pan so that they will be quite as juicy and nutritious as though they had been grilled over the coals. The mode of cook- ing is simple. The frying-pan should be put on the stove until it is hissing hot. If the meat has very little fat on it, the pan may be rubbed lightly with a bit of butter no larger than a hick- ory nut. This is to keep the meat from sticking when it first 92 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK goes in. The pan should be so hot that the albumen on the sur- face of the meat will coagulate the moment it touches the pan. By this the juices are sealed in the meat, and this may be turned and cooked in the pan as it would be on the gridiron until it is done to suit the taste of the eaters. Fish may be broiled in the oven, if this is very hot, nearly as well as over the fire. Both with fish and meat the after-treatment should be the same — a transfer to a hot platter and plentiful basting with butter. An added savoriness may be given by rubbing the platter with onion or with garlic, and working minced parsley into the butter used in basting. Garlic, so much dreaded by those who have used it too much or not at all, is a valuable article when employed in moderation. It cannot be handled as carelessly as onion, but if it is rubbed on the inside of a salad-bowl, or of the dish in which the salad dressing is mixed, its flavor will be found both delicate and delicious. The problem of how to whip cream without changing it into butter is one that has troubled many housekeepers who like this simple and popular sauce for puddings and fruit. The secret of success is to have the cream-churn (which may be a glass egg- beater) and the cream ice cold. One excellent cook always fills her cream-churn with ice, and puts it in the refrigerator for half an hour or more before using, while the cream too is kept on the ice. Given sweet, rich cream, the whipping under these circum- stances cannot fail to be successful. In the same coldness of utensils and ingredients lies the secret of a quickly mixed mayon- naise. In cooking cream or milk the danger of curdling is much re- duced if a pinch of soda the size of a pea is added. There is also risk of curdling milk if it is salted when put over the fire. The salt should go in the last thing. When greasing pans for cakes or muffins, or a griddle for frying cakes, it is a common mistake to use too much fat. The greasy crust that means an attack of indigestion for the person who eats it may be avoided if a flat paint-brush is dipped into melted fat, THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 93 and the pan lightly brushed with this. It has the added merit of reaching the cracks and corners that sometimes escape the touch of the time-honored greased paper or cloth, which coats the cook's fingers more effectually than the pan to which it is applied. There are many other " wrinkles " of more or less value. As, for instance, the fact that vinegar will restore the color of hands white and sodden from dish-washing, that the fumes from a freshly lighted sulphur match will take the stains of berries from the finger-tips and nails if used before they have been washed with soap, that boiling in buttermilk will sometimes take out mildew when everything else fails, that chlorinated soda will remove ink- spots from white cotton or linen goods without injuring the fabric, that Benares brass should be cleansed with a soft cloth dipped in lemon-juice and brightened with chamois-skin, that the tarnish is most easily removed from silver if the flannel used in cleaning is moistened with alcohol before being dipped into the silicon and rubbed on the silver, that silver keeps bright for a long time if each piece is wrapped in fine white tissue-paper. One might go on indefinitely were it not that space and a reader's patience have limits. C. T. H. MEATS. As a nation we eat too much, meat, and spend too much money for the quantity we use. The provincial butcher who told a customer that she would better buy from somebody else if she would have choice cuts every day, had hold of one thread of a common-sensible fact, although he could not state it even to himself. What are known as second-best portions, not because of freshness or sweetness, but on account of their location upon the body of the slain beast, have capabilities never suspected by the Average Cook. A very low order of culinary skill may suffice to make tolerably palatable and masticable a tender fillet, or chop, or rib-roast, even a beefsteak of prime quality. Unfort- unately, these usually set forth rich men's tables and are handled by first-class cooks. Culinary genius and much experience are needed to make tough meats tender, yet nutritious, and to con- coct dainty entrees out of coarse bits that are uneatable if treated according to the Average Cook's faith and practice. A few general rules are needful as a foundation for the more explicit instructions which are to follow. The darker meats, such as beef, mutton, venison and wild ducks, are wholesome and digestible if cooked to the " rare " — which is not the raw — point. All white meats — chicken, veal, turkey, pork, etc., must be well done, or they are unpalatable, indigestible, and to people who are used to good cookery, dis- gusting. The secret of making tough meat tender is slow and steady cooking, especially braising, boiling, and stewing. It was the boast of a celebrated chef that he could make lignum vitse tender, if he were given all the time he asked. The heat should THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 95 be low, but steady. The toughest fowl can be reduced to tooth- some tenderness if steamed in a close kettle, or boiled, or braised in a covered roaster several hours. It should not reach the boil under one hour, and must never be allowed to cook briskly, from post to finish. The first step in roasting meats is to make a close coating on the outside that will exclude air and keep in juices. This may be done by dashing a little boiling water over it, as it goes into the oven, or setting for ten minutes in a hot oven, then, remov- ing to a slower. Chops and steaks may be similarly encased by holding the gridiron over a fierce fire for a few minutes, then broiling more deliberately. Fowls that are to be fricasseed are kept juicy by frying in boiling fat for a few minutes, then laid in a pot and covered with eold water. Do not corn meat by seasoning it before it goes into the oven or frying-pan, or upon the gridiron, or into the saucepan. You will draw the juices out, instead of retaining them, and harden the fibres. BEEF. RIB ROAST OF BEEF. Wipe with a clean cloth, but do not wash it. Dash a cupful of boiling water over it to sear the surface, dredge with flour to make a yet more impervious coating, and set upon the grating of your roaster. Cook fast for fifteen minutes, then change to a slower oven or draw off the heat by means of dampers. If you have a covered roaster (as you should have), there is no need of basting more than twice during the roasting ; otherwise, baste every two minutes with the juice that drips from the meat. Roast ten minutes to the pound. Fifteen minutes before the meat is taken up, open the valve of the roaster, wash the meat over with butter, dredge with flour, and leave the valve open to brown the roast. Serve with horse-radish sauce, or mustard, and as the red juice (the " dish-gravy ") follows the carving knife, put a little 96 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK upon each slice when laid upon a plate. It is no longer the custom upon well-served tables to send in made gravy with roast meat, and few educated palates tolerate it. Set the gravy from the pan aside in a bowl. The fat that forms upon the surface will make excellent dripping, and the lower stratum can be util- ized in soup-stock. ROLLED ROAST OF BEEF. If your butcher has not done it for you, remove the ribs, and roll up the meat, the thicker part in the centre, bind into a round with stout twine, secure the outer flap with a couple of skewers, and proceed as with the rib roast. When it is cooked, clip the string and withdraw carefully, but leave the skewers in to keep the meat in shape. Carve horizontally. BRAISED ROUND OF BEEF. This is a pleasing variation of the " pot-roast " of our grand- mothers, and is an admirable way of cooking a tough piece of beef. Chop a carrot, a turnip, an onion, and a stalk of celery coarsely and lay half of them in the bottom of your roaster. Place the meat upon them, dash a large cupful of boiling water over all, dredge the meat with flour and set, uncovered, in a hot oven for twenty minutes to brown. Mask now with the reserved vegetables, cover closely and cook very slowly twenty-five min- utes to each pound, basting four times. Take up the meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper and keep hot, rub the gravy left in the pan through a colander, season to taste, stir in a tablespoonful of browned flour and half a teaspoonful of French mustard, boil up once ; pour a few spoonfuls over the meat, and send in the rest in a gravy-boat. BRAISED BEEF, A LA JARDINIERE. Cook as directed in the foregoing recipe. Have ready when the meat comes from the fire and the sauce has been made, a THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 97 cupful of green peas, or of string-beans, cut into short pieces, or Lima beans ; the same quantity of potatoes cut into dice and boiled tender ; a cooked carrot and turnip cut into dice, a dozen button onions, boiled, and six tomatoes of uniform size, baked whole in their skins, or stuffed and then baked. Arrange these vegetables in small heaps around the meat as it lies on the dish, each kind by itself, and the color contrasting agreeably with the next pile. Pour some spoonfuls of sauce over them and the meat, and serve. In carving help out at least two kinds of vegetables with each portion of beef. ROLLED BEEFSTEAK (BRAISED). A tough steak may be brought to tender terms in this way : Make a forcemeat of crumbs, butter or bits of suet, if you have them, pepper and salt. A fresh tomato, minced, is an im- provement. Cover the steak with this, roll it up and secure into a "stumpy " cylinder with stout cord and a skewer. Lay it in your bake-pan, or a pot on the top of the stove, upon a pallet of vegetables, such as is described in the recipe for braised round of beef; add a cupful of stock or water, cover closely and cook twenty minutes to the pound. Take out the meat, strain and rub the gravy through a colander ; season and boil up, before pouring it over the steak. Cut the strings and withdraw them, but do not remove the skewer. You may, if you like, omit the stuffing, but the meat will be less savory. ROAST BEEF WITH YORKSHIRE PUDDING. One pint of milk ; two eggs ; two cups of prepared flour, or, if you use plain flour, add an even teaspoonful of Cleveland's baking powder. One teaspoonful of salt. Roast the beef in the usual way and when nearly done, take out four or five tablespoonfuls of dripping from the roaster and put them into a bake-pan, whieh keep warm until the pudding is ready. Sift salt and baking powder twice with the flour ; beat the eggs very light, add them to the milk and pour this upon the 7 98 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK flour, stirring swiftly and lightly with a wooden spoon. Heat the dripping to hissing, pour in the batter and bake quickly. Cut into oblong pieces and lay about the beef in the dish, like a garnish. BEEF A LA MODE. For this dish you will require a piece of beef from the round, free from sinews or gristle, and compact in character. It is much easier to prepare a large piece of beef a la mode satisfactorily than a smaller cut, and nothing less than seven or eight pounds should be selected. Ten, twelve, and even fourteen pound pieces may be used with good results. Direct your butcher to " plug " the beef with strips of salt pork. Or you may do this yourself with the aid of a larding-needle, or a long, sharp, narrow-bladed carving-knife. Pierce the beef with this from top to bottom, and draw through the hole thus made a strip of fat salt pork about the thickness of your middle finger, and long enough to project about half an inch each side of the beef. These lardoons should be about two inches apart. Between them make deep incisions, and fill these with a forcemeat composed of bread-crumbs and finely minced pork, in the proportion of one part of the pork to two of the bread-crumbs. Season this highly with pepper, all- spice, minced parsley, thyme, and sweet-marjoram, and moisten with vinegar and a little Worcestershire sauce. Cram the holes to overflowing with this mixture, and crowd it into all crevices and interstices of the meat. Bind a stout piece of muslin around the sides of the beef, to keep the round in shape, and then lay it in a broad pot, cover it with cold water, and strew over it a minced onion, a sliced carrot, a bay-leaf, six cloves, a couple of blades of mace, a few sprigs of parsley and of celery-tops. Cook the meat very slowly, fifteen minutes to the pound. It should be tender enough to be pierced easily with a fork when it is done. Let it cool in the water, take it out, lay it between two flat sur- faces, under a heavy weight, and do not take off the cotton band until just before it goes to the table. If properly prepared, it will show a prettily mottled surface when sliced across with a sharp knife, and will be an attractive as well as a delicious dish. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 99 FILLET OF BEEF may be roasted plain, or larded with strips of fat salt pork and braised, as directed in the foregoing recipes. BROILED BEEFSTEAK. Speaking by the card, there is but one way of cooking a first- class beefsteak, and that is by broiling. It may be said with equal positiveness that a steak should always be cut more than one inch thick. An inch-and-a-half is better than an inch. Grease the broiler well with beef-suet, or butter. You may also rub it with a raw onion. Lay the beefsteak upon it and hold close to the coals for one minute, turn the broiler and hold the other side in the same way, to cauterize the surface and hold back the juices. Now withdraw to the top of the range and cook over clear coals, the lids having been removed for this purpose — from fifteen to seventeen minutes. The time will depend upon the thickness of the steak and the strength of the fire. Transfer to a hot dish, salt and pepper, rub all over on both sides with butter, or butter and lemon-juice, and cover for one minute before it goes to the table. Tough or doubtful steaks are improved by letting them lie in olive oil and a little vinegar for two hours before they are cooked. MIGNON FILLETS are cut from the end of the fillet or tenderloin. Broil when you have trimmed them neatly, salt, pepper, and butter, or cover with a sauce of butter, lemon-juice, and chopped parsley. CHATEAUBRIAND STEAK WITH MUSHROOMS. What often passes upon French restaurant menus and some- •times at state breakfasts for this elegant dish, which should be 5it from the heart of the fillet, is only a prime tenderloin steak, trimmed into shape. The real and the imitation articles are IOO THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK alike broiled as directed in recipe for broiled beefsteak, served upon a hot dish seasoned and plentifully buttered. An added touch of deliciousness and elegance is imparted by broiling a dozen or so fine fresh mushrooms (peeled and trimmed), and arranging them upon the steak. It then becomes a dish fit for a king. BEEFSTEAK AND ONIONS. While your steak is in broiling have two large, or three small onions sliced very thin and fried lightly in butter. When the steak has been dished, seasoned, and buttered, cover with the fried onions and let all stand, closely covered, for five minutes over hot water to draw the meat -juices toward the onions and the flavor of the onions into the meat. RUTH PINCH'S BEEFSTEAK PUDDING. Cut the steak into strips an inch long and less than half as wide, put over the fire in a saucepan, cover closely, set within another of cold water and bring the water slowly to a boil. Let the meat get cold before opening the inner saucepan. Butter a baking-dish well, and line with strips of good crust put in the meat, seasoning with pepper, salt, and a few drops of onion-juice and dredging with browned flour from time to time. When you have a layer an inch or more deep, cover with other thin strips of crust, then more meat, seasoning, and , flour, until the dish is full, when pour in the juice from the meat and a cupful of cold water. Cover then with a top-crust and bake in a moderate oven three-quarters of an hour. Serve in the dish. BEEF STEW. Cut up two pounds of beef — the coarser pieces will do — into inch lengths and sauti in two tablespoonfuls of dripping in which a sliced onion has been already fried. Cover with cold water, then set at the side of the range and simmer until the meat can be broken up with a fork. Set away in a covered vessel for five THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK IOI or six hours, or all night. Take off the fat an hour before you wish to use the stew, add a teaspoonful, each, of summer savory and sweet marjoram, a little chopped onion and parsley, and bring to a steady boil. Stir in now, a tablespoonful of tomato catsup, and a generous tablespoonful of browned flour, a level teaspoon- ful of allspice, wet up with cold water, the juice of half a lemon, and half a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Boil up sharp- ly, turn in a glass of brown sherry and you have an excellent and inexpensive breakfast or luncheon dish. Provided, always, that the recipe is followed faithfully and that you have yourself a just taste for flavoring. CURRIED ROAST BEEF. Cut two cups cold roast beef into small bits, put a large piece of butter into a saucepan, and lay in it the meat and two onions, sliced very thin. Brown for five minutes, add one cupful of boiling water and one dessertspoonful of curry powder. Let this simmer for ten or fifteen minutes. Line an earthen vege- table dish with boiled rice and pour the curried beef into it. Serve hot. HAMBURG STEAKS. To one pound of lean beef, chopped twice and rid of every bit of fibre and gristle, allow one beaten egg, one teaspoonful of onion-juice, half as much salt, a fourth as much paprica, and a pinch of ground mace. Mix well. Mould into flat cakes, dredge them with salted flour, set in a cold place for one hour, roll again in flour and saute them in good dripping or butter. They can be also made of rare roast beef. HASH CAKES. Chop underdone roast beef fine and mix with one-third as much smoothly mashed potato. Season to taste with pepper, salt, and mustard. Knead lightly, and when the ingredients are well incorporated, work in a beaten egg to bind the mixture. Set 102 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK aside to cool and stiffen. When ready to cook them, roll them in beaten egg and cracker-dust, leave them in a cold place again for an hour or so, and fry in boiling dripping. Serve dry. MINCE OF BEEF AND POTATO. Chop under-done and well-done beef together, season with pepper, salt, a few drops of onion-juice and with mustard, and mix with one-third as much mashed potato as you have beef. Heat in a frying-pan a cupful of stock of any kind, except fish, for every two cupfuls of meat and potato, and when it boils stir in the beef mixture thoroughly, scraping from side to side toward the middle until the contents of the pan bubble all over the surface. It should be soft enough to pour out into a hot- water dish. Edge with sippets, i.e., triangles of fried bread. If you have no stock, use boiling water with a generous spoon- ful of butter heated in it before the rest of the ingredients are added. A little strained tomato sauce or a teaspoonful of tomato makes the mince more piquant. CORNED BEEF. Wash thoroughly, and if very salt leave in cold water for one hour. Put over a moderate fire, or at the side of the range, in enough cold water to cover it deeply. If you mean to use the liquor for soup, fill the pot with water and cut up in it half an onion, a carrot, and a small turnip. Cook slowly half an hour to each pound, and when done, let it stand in the liquor for at least fifteen minutes. Scrape the top of the meat and trim off the ragged edges. Serve with a white sauce made by straining through a cloth a cupful of the "pot liquor" and thickening it with a white roux, then stirring in a tablespoon- ful of capers or chopped pickles. When dinner is over, cover the beef with a flat plate, and lay a heavy weight upon this, to press the meat. Corned beef is best cold or made into hash. There is a grow- ing dislike to it when served hot. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 103 - While the round is considered the choice cut, the brisket, or the " plate," properly cooked is less solid and sweeter, and makes a good family dinner dish. CORNED BEEF AND DUMPLINGS. Wash the beef thoroughly, and let it lie in cold water fifteen or twenty minutes. Plunge then into a pot of boiling water, and plenty of it, that every part of the meat may be covered. Cook steadily, never intermitting the boil, fifteen minutes for each pound of beef, after the boil recommences. When the meat is done, take it out and cover to keep warm. Strain the liquor through a coarse cloth and return to the pot, keeping out a cup- ful for drawn butter. When it again begins to boil, put in the dumplings and cook fifteen minutes. Take these up with a split spoon, and arrange about the beef when dished. For dumplings : — One cupful of flour, mixed with a heaping tablespoonful of corn-meal, one teaspoonful of Cleveland's baking powder, one teaspoonful of cottolene, one saltspoonful of salt. Sift the powder and salt through flour and meal three times. Chop in the shortening, and stir in very cold water until a soft dough is obtained. Cut into rounds with a small tumbler, or top of pepper-box. They should puff out like balls in boiling. For drawn butter : Heat the cupful of reserved pot-liquor to a tioil ; stir in a heaping teaspoonful of butter, and thicken with one of flour wet with cold water. Add, just before taking from the fire, a tablespoonful of chopped green pickle, and half a tea- spoonful of made mustard. Send to table in a gravy-bowl. TO CORN BEEF. Rub hard on all sides with a mixture of nine parts of salt to one of saltpetre, until the meat will take no more and the salt lies dry upon it. Repeat this rubbing daily for three days, keep- ing the meat in a cold place. On the fourth day wipe each piece dry and clean, and put into pickle. For the pickle mix five gallons of water, one gallon of salt, four ounces of saltpetre and one and a-half pounds of brown 104 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK sugar ; boil ten minutes, let it get perfectly cold ; pack down the beef, and pour the pickle over the top. Look at your meat every week to see if it is keeping well. If not, wipe clean, rinse with clear water, rub in dry salt, and put into other and stronger pickle. This is an Old Virginia plantation recipe and warranted good. PRESSED CORNED BEEF. Select a firm piece for this purpose. The brisket is good, or for those who like a streak of fat and a streak of lean, the plate- piece is excellent, but this must be chosen carefully. , Tie the meat tightly in a piece of cotton cloth that has been shrunk, making the beef take the shape you wish it to have when cold. Lay it in a pot and cover it with cold water, and put into this a stalk of celery, half a carrot sliced, a sliced turnip, an onion, and a few cabbage-leaves. Let the meat simmer gently. The time of cooking will depend upon the size of the piece of beef. Six pounds will require between four and five- hours' cooking, but it must be very slow boiling — only the quietest of bubbling at the side of the pot. A hard galloping boil will cook the taste out of the meat and reduce it to a mass of insipid shreds. When the beef is done leave it in the water until this is nearly cold, then take it out and lay it between two flat surfaces and put heavy weights upon it. It should remain thus all night. In the morning remove the cloth, trim the beef into comeliness, if there are any ragged edges, and garnish it with watercress, or parsley and small pickles. STEWED TRIPE. Cut into dice, and saute in hot fat in which a sliced onion has been fried. Cook the tripe ten minutes, and cover with boiling water. Stew half an hour gently ; season with salt, pepper, a great spoonful of tomato-juice, a tablespoonful of chopped celery and the same of parsley, and cook slowly until the tripe is tender and clear. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 105 Before tripe is used it should be soaked five or six hours, then scraped clean, and simmered in hot water, slightly salted, for three hours longer. Drain and let it get cold. You can buy it ready for cooking in the markets. BOILED BEEF'S TONGUE (FRESH). Trim away the uneatable root. (It may go into the stock-pot as fresh meat.) Put the tongue on in hot, salted water and boil it an hour if small, an hour and a half if large. Remove the skin carefully and serve with a piquante sauce poured over it, and more of the same served in a boat. BRAISED BEEF'S TONGUE (FRESH). Boil for one hour, take off the skin and lay the tongue in a covered roaster, or in a pot with a broad bottom, upon a bed of vegetables, a small carrot cut into dice, a small onion sliced, a stalk of celery minced, and chopped parsley. Just cover all with water from the pot in which the tongue was boiled, fit a close lid upon the baking pan and simmer gently two hours. Take out the tongue and keep it warm over hot water while you season the vegetables and gravy well, and rub them through a colander. Lay the tongue in an open baking-pan ; pour the gravy over it, set on the upper grating of a quick oven a few minutes to brown, and serve with the gravy about it. BOILED TONGUE (SMOKED). Wash the tongue carefully, and let it lie in cold water for sev- eral hours before cooking — over night if possible. Lay it in a kettle of cold water when it is to be cooked, bring the water to a boil slowly, and let it simmer until the tongue is so tender that you can pierce it with a fork. A large tongue should be over the fire for about four hours. When it has cooled in the liquor in which it was boiled, remove the skin with great care, begin- ning at the tip, and stripping it back. Trim away the gristle and fat from the root of the tongue before serving. 106 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK JELLIED BEEFS TONGUE. Boil a smoked tongue as directed above, and when cold slice thin, and pack it (not too tightly) in a mould. When all the slices are in pour over all aspic jelly enough to cover it well, but not to float it, and set on ice. ASPIC JELLY. Two cups of well seasoned clear stock — veal, chicken, or con- somme of any kind. Haifa package of gelatine that has been soaked three hours in enough cold water to cover it. Two table- spoonfuls of vinegar and the same of sherry. Heat the stock to boiling, stir in the gelatine, bring to a boil, add the vinegar, cook one minute, strain, without squeezing, through a thick bag, add the wine, and when more than blood-warm pour over the tongue. Calves' and lambs' tongues may be treated in the same way. You can vary the dish by alternating the slices of tongue with olives split in half, or slices of cold boiled egg. MOULDED BEEF. Pass two pounds of lean, raw beef twice through the meat- chopper and pick out all bits of fibre and gristle. Season well with paprica, salt, a little French or English made mustard, and a dash of onion-juice ; mix in half a cupful of fine dry crumbs, a raw egg well beaten, two tablespoonfuls of minced fat pork, and half a can of champignons (French mushrooms) cut into quar- ters. Wet with half a cupful of stock, and press into a buttered mould that has a close cover, or into a bowl, and tie a thick cloth tightly over it. Set in boiling water that does not come up quite high enough on the sides to float the mould, and cook steadily upon the top of the range for nearly three hours. With- out removing from the mould, fit over the meat a plate that presses equally upon all parts, lay a heavy weight on this and set away to get perfectly cold. Turn out and cut in horizontal slices. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK IO7 You make this nice supper or picnic dish ornamental by ar- ranging olives cut into halves in a ring or in perpendicular lines within the mould before pressing the beef mixture carefully upon them, or by disposing halved champignons in like designs. MOCK HARE. Beat a sirloin steak (having removed bone and fat) from end to end with the flat of a hatchet and trim the edges. Lay in two tablespoonfuls of vinegar and the same of oil for two hours. Pile in the centre, then, half a cupful of force-meat made of bread- crumbs and fine bits of fat pork seasoned well with parsley, pep- per, salt, and onion-juice ; draw together the sides of the steak in a long cylinder, enclosing this and sew the edges together ; lay in your covered roaster upon minced carrot and onion, cover the "hare" with thin slices of fat corned pork, bound into place by cotton-strings, pour about him two cupfuls of weak stock or of butter and water ; cover and roast steadily one hour ; uncover, remove the pork, baste well with butter and brown. Transfer to a hot dish and set, covered, in an open oven, while you strain the gravy, and thicken with browned flour, adding then the juice of half a lemon, a little French mustard, and a tablespoonful of wine. Lay the pork about the beef, pour a few spoonfuls of gravy over him, and send the rest to table in a boat. If you can withdraw the stitches by careful clipping without injuring the " hare's" shape, it is neater than to send them to the table with him. Cooked thus, a tough steak is ten- der, and has really a " gamey " flavor. BEEF ROULETTES. Chop lean raw beef very fine, season well with paprica, onion- juice, and salt. For every cupful of the minced meat allow a tablespoonful of almonds, chopped fine. Bind the mixture with a raw egg beaten light, and make it with floured hands into round balls about as large as an English walnut. Flour well, and fry them in deep fat made very hot before they go in. 108 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Shake off every drop of fat in a hot sieve ; arrange in a heated platter, and pour this gravy about them : One tablespoonful of flour stirred two minutes into one of heated butter, and thinned with half a cupful of stock or con- somme ; boiled two minutes ; seasoned well and poured over the roulettes. You may substitute chopped champignons for the almonds, and stir a tablespoonful of them into the gravy. As tough meat can be utilized for roulettes, you have a pretty and toothsome entree at a trifling expense. STUFFED BEEF'S HEART. Wash thoroughly, clearing the ventricles of all coagulated blood, and stuff with a good force-meat of crumbs, minced pork, onion, parsley, and other seasoning. Fill all the orifices with this, packing "it in well ; sew the heart up in mosquito-netting fitted to the shape, and boil two hours in weak stock, which, by the way, you may use again for soup. Let the heart get al- most cold before taking it out, put a weight upon it, and do not undo the cloth until the heart is cold, stiff, and flattened. Cut perpendicularly into thin slices. Cook calf's heart in the same way. CHIPPED BEEF. This especial form of much-misnamed "relish" is neither digestible nor palatable as usually served upon the tea-table of tired housewives who "do their own work," and have no heart to study variety of fare. Plain bread-and-butter and cottage cheese, with a glass of milk or really good tea, would be better for stomach and soul. If nothing else in the shape of an " appetizer " is at hand, put the sliced or chipped beef into a frying-pan, cover with boiling water in which has been mixed a tablespoonful of vinegar. Cover and leave on the table for ten minutes ; put, then, over the fire and bring slowly to a boil, after which simmer for ten minutes longer. Drain and chop the beef, and stir into a white THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 109 sauce enriched by a beaten egg, and seasoned with pepper and chopped parsley. Do not cook after the meat goes in. Or— You may return the minced beef to the fire, adding a table- spoonful of butter and a little pepper for each cupful, and when hot, " scramble " quickly with four or five beaten eggs, dishing while the eggs are still soft. VEAL. While veal of the right age and cooked judiciously may not be unwholesome, so much that is put upon the market — espe- cially a country market — is so immature when it comes into the cook's hands and is so barbarously misused by her that dis- trust of the calf as an article of family diet grows and strengthens with the study of dietetics. "Bob Veal," i.e., calves slaugh- tered with the mother's milk upon their lips, is an atrocity and should be dealt with by law as such. The flesh thereof has a bloodless look, the muscles are flaccid, the whole creature is a matter of pulp and cartilage. At its best estate, veal should not be kept long before it is cooked, and requires more skilful management to make it nutritious even to the normal stomach than beef, mutton, lamb, game or poultry. To some otherwise well-conducted digestions it is rank poison. If there be any ir- regularity in the alimentary organs, it is wise to let it alone. With respect to this, as in most other questions of diet, every general law has a- list of exceptions that sets known rules at de- fiance. The recipes herewith given are designed for the use of those who can eat veal with satisfaction and impunity and who like the various savory preparations thereof. In soup-making, we cannot dispense with it, and the sweet- breads yielded by the despised calf are dear to the heart and rest lightly upon the stomach of the epicure all over the civilized world. IIO THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK ROAST LOIN OF VEAL. Lay upon the grill of your covered roaster, dash a cupful of boiling water over it, cover closely and set in a hot oven for fif- teen minutes, after which draw the heat, or change the oven, rub all over with butter, and roast eighteen minutes to the pound. If you use the covered roaster, turn twice while cooking and baste four times. It must be thoroughly done. Half an hour before taking the meat up, dip out a cupful of gravy, set in cold water to throw up the grease ; skim carefully ; add half a cupful of strained cooked tomatoes and boil fast ten minutes before thickening with browned flour and seasoning with pepper and salt. Fifteen minutes before serving, rub the meat over with butter, pepper and salt, dredge with flour and set on the upper grating of the oven to brown. ROAST FILLET OF VEAL. Have the bone taken out, and fill the hole thus left with a stuff- ing of crumbs, chopped pork or ham, chopped parsley, pepper and salt. Pin the fillet into shape with skewers and bind with stout cords. The stuffing should also be pressed well down between the folds of the fillet, and thin slices of ham or pork be laid over the top after it goes into the roaster. These must be removed fifteen minutes before the meat comes from the oven, the top be rubbed with butter, peppered, and dredged with flour to brown it. Proceed in all things else as with the roast loin. Cook eighteen minutes to the pound. BRAISED BREAST OF VEAL. Run a sharp knife between the ribs and the flesh and fill the space thus cleared with force-meat made as directed in last recipe. Lay in the roaster upon a bed of chopped carrots, onions, cel- ery, and tomatoes. Pour a cupful of boiling water over the meat, cover closely and cook slowly, allowing fully twenty minutes THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK III per pound. Fifteen minutes before serving transfer the meat to an open pan (heated), rub with butter, pepper, salt, dredge with browned flour and set in a quick oven to brown. Meanwhile, strain and press the gravy and vegetables through a colander into a saucepan, return to the fire, season to taste, thicken with browned flour, boil up, and when the meat is dished pour a few spoonfuls over and about it. Serve the rest in a boat. ROAST SHOULDER OF VEAL. Cook as above, omitting the vegetables, and roasting two minutes less per pound. Bear in mind that all the juices must be kept in so dry a meat as veal, and that the bacon and butter are needful additions to that which would otherwise be insipid. VEAL CUTLETS AND CHOPS. Pepper and salt, dip in beaten egg, then in fine cracker-crumbs salted and peppered. If you wish the cutlets fried, lay them with care in deep fat hissing hot, and cook rather slowly, but steadily. If you would saute them cook slices of fat ham or of salt pork in a frying-pan, take them out when crisp, and put in the veal, turning when the underside is browned. Serve on a hot-water dish, anoint with butter and lemon- juice, or send them dry to table, and pass tomato-sauce with them. Serve spinach with veal whenever you can. VEAL STEAKS are really "better eating" than chops or cutlets, and should be better known. Cut them but half an inch thick and broil more slowly than you would beefsteak, also turning oftener. Dish upon a heated plat- ter and pour over them a sauce made of four young onions sliced and fried in a generous tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoon- fuls of strained stewed tomatoes, a teaspoonful of minced parsley 112 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK and half a cupful of stock simmered together for half an hour, then strained, thickened with browned flour, and boiled one minute. If you have no stock, use boiling water and more but- ter. Let the steaks lie in this five minutes before you send to table, keeping hot over boiling water. STEWED FILLET OF VEAL. Prepare as for roasting, put into a pot with two cupfuls of stock, cover closely and cook gently for four hours. If you have no stock add three tablespoonfuls of chopped salt pork to two cupfuls of hot water, and use instead. Take up the meat when done, undo the strings, and keep hot, while you add to the gravy left in the pot a tablespoonful of butter rolled in as much browned flour, the juice of half a lemon, a great spoonful of tomato cat- sup, salt and pepper to taste. Boil up sharply and strain and rub through a colander over the meat. Have eight or ten baked tomatoes, plain or stuffed, to lay about the meat on the dish, and pass spinach with it. STEWED KNUCKLE OF VEAL WITH DUMPLINGS. Crack the knuckle well and put over the fire with four slices of corned ham cut into dice, or as much salt pork (the ham is nicer), a carrot minced, an onion sliced" thin, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and a tomato cut up small. Cover with a quart of boiling water, and cook slowly two hours. Season them to taste with pepper and salt, put on the lid and cook one hour longer, or until the meat slips easily from the bones. Take out the bones, arrange the meat upon a hot dish, surround it with the dumplings, and pour over all the gravy when you have strained it, thickened it with flour, and boiled it one minute. DUMPLINGS FOR THIS STEW. One cupful of flour, sifted twice, with a teaspoonful of Cleve- land's baking powder, and half a teaspoonful of salt ; half a cup- ful of milk ; one teaspoonful of butter. Rub or chop the butter THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK I13 into the prepared flour, wet up with the milk into a soft dough ; flour your hands well, and handling as lightly as possible, form the dough into balls, and drop into boiling water. Cook ten minutes. They should be ready at the same time with the gravy, as they get clammy with waiting. This stew is good when made with lean mutton. VEAL AND HAM PEE. Cut the meat into strips half an inch wide and over an inch long. Have ready half as much cooked ham cut up in the same way, and six eggs boiled hard. Before you begin to make the pie have the gravy ready and cold. Make it by stewing slowly bones and refuse bits of veal in a pint of water until you have reduced the liquid one-half, when strain out the meat and bones, add a small onion minced, a tablespoonful of strained tomato- sauce, and one of chopped sweet herbs, with pepper to taste (the ham supplying the salt), and cook five minutes before setting aside to cool. Now put in the bottom of a pudding-dish a layer of the veal, pepper lightly, and dust with flour ; cover with a layer of ham, and this with slices of hard-boiled egg, each with a bit of butter upon it. Another layer of veal, peppered and floured, more ham and eggs, and so on until all the materials are in. A few drops of lemon-juice on the ham, or a few capers sprinkled here and there, improve the flavor. Pour in the gravy, cover with a good paste, cutting a slit in the middle, and bake slowly an hour and a half for a medium-sized pie ; two hours if it be large. Lay stout, clean paper over it for the first hour, and keep the oven steady, not too hot. This is a delicious pie. SCALLOPED VEAL. Use cold cooked veal for this purpose. Chop it well, clearing it of bones and gristly bits, season to taste and lay a stratum in the bottom of a buttered bake -dish. Cover with cracker- crumbs, salted and peppered, with bits of butter dropped over 8 114 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK them ; moisten with stock, or with milk, or, if convenient, with oyster-juice, and put in more veal. Use up your ingredients in this order, having a thick layer of cracker-crumbs on top, well buttered and moistened ; set in the oven, bake, covered, for half an hour, then brown quickly. Chicken is very nice scalloped according to this recipe. VEAL AND HAM PATES. Mince cold cooked veal and ham in the proportion of two- thirds veal and one- third ham. A few champignons are a pleas- ing addition. To each cup of the mixture allow a tablespoon- ful of fine crumbs ; season piquantly with salt, a dash of cayenne, a little lemon-juice and a teaspoonful of catsup. Wet up with stock, or butter and water, and heat in a vessel set in another of hot water, to a smoking boil. Take from the fire, stir in a beaten egg and a glass of sherry and fill shells of pastry that have been baked empty. The shells should be hot when the mince goes in. Set in the oven for two or three minutes, but the mixt- ure must not cook. SCALLOP OF VEAL AND MUSHROOMS. A " Left-over." Make this the day after you have had a roast fillet of veal. Chop cold veal and stuffing ; put a layer into a greased bake- dish ; season, and wet with the cold gravy. Lay chopped mushrooms upon this ; then bread-crumbs, with butter scattered over them. More meat seasoning, mushrooms, and crumbs should fill the dish, with plenty of crumbs profusely buttered on top. Wet each layer of meat with gravy. Cover the dish, and bake until it bubbles on top. Brown lightly, and send to table in the dish in which it was cooked. A "COMPANY-DISH'' OF VEAL. Take the large bones from a piece of loin of veal ; stuff the cavities thus made with a good force-meat of chopped pork- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 15 crumbs and seasoning — a few chopped mushrooms are an improvement — cover the sides with greased sheets of thick writ- ing-paper ; put a cupful of soup-stock or other gravy in the drip- ping-pan, and baste well for one hour with butter and water, afterward with the gravy. Cook fully twelve minutes to the pound. Take off the paper during the last half hour ; dredge with flour, baste with butter, and brown nicely. Take up and keep hot while you skim the fat from the gravy, stir into it half a cupful of chopped mushrooms and a little browned flour. Serve this, having cooked it three minutes, in a boat. Have ready some green pease, boiled and seasoned, and make a fence of them about the veal when dished. MOCK PIGEONS. Take the bone from two fillets of veal cut an inch thick ; flat- ten them with the broad side of a hatchet and spread with a good force-meat of crumbs and chopped ham, seasoned well. Roll the meat up on this ; bind into oblong rolls with soft string ; lay in a dripping-pan and pour over them two cupfuls of boiling stock. Turn a pan over them and bake nearly two hours, bast- ing well with the gravy. When done, lay upon a hot dish while you thicken the gravy with browned flour, and season well with pepper, salt, and tomato-catsup. Boil one minute and pour part over the pigeons, the rest into a boat. Clip the strings and pull them carefully from the meat. VEAL LOAF. Cut the last shavings from the almost naked bone of a boiled ham. If you have no " left-overs " of cold veal, boil a pound of this meat. The coarsest piece will do, but it must be lean. While the veal cools, boil down the liquor in which it was cooked to a half-cupful. If your veal is already cooked treat a cupful of gravy in the same way. Add to this a teaspoonful of butter, the juice of half a lemon, pepper and salt, with a pinc"h of mace. Chop veal and ham very fine, mix up well together, wet with the gravy, and press hard into a bowl. Lay on the sur- Il6 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK face a saucer or small plate, and set on this a flat-iron or other weight. By the morrow it will be firm. Turn out bottom up- ward, and cut in thin perpendicular slices. Scraps of poultry can be worked up nicely in this way, mixing them with ham. By keeping a long look ahead and paying wise heed to the "bits and sups ' ' that would otherwise be thrown away as worthless, the housekeeper can grace her board with many a pretty " relish " unknown to most people whose " obligation to live prudently " implies coarseness, if not meanness of fare. PRESSED VEAL OR GALANTINE. Have a veal steak cut thin ; trim into a neat shape with no ragged edges. Lay flat upon a dish and butter the inside well ; then spread with a mixture of a half-cupful of cold boiled tongue (or ham), a great spoonful of minced mushrooms and the same of almonds, blanched and chopped fine. Season with paprica and a few drops of onion*juice — the tongue or ham salting it suffi- ciently. Roll as you would a valise-pudding, and sew up in a piece of cheese-cloth, fitted to the shape. Put into a saucepan ; cover with weak stock or consomme (which you can use again for soup), drop in a sliced onion, a stalk of celery minced, and a teaspoonful of chopped soup-herbs, and cook slowly at a steady simmer three hours, closely covered. Set away until lukewarm in the liquor ; then lift it out and put it upon a dish with a plate on top, and on this a heavy weight. Leave thus all night. Take off the cloth when ready to use it, and cut perpendicularly in thin slices. A delightful relish for tea, or picnic, or luncheon on a hot day. It is made elegant by laying the roll of pressed meat, after removing the cloth, in an oblong mould and pouring over it aspic jelly. Set on the ice, and turn out when the jelly is firm. VEAL EGGS IN A NEST A LA TURIN. Mince cold veal, season to taste, and wet slightly with a good gravy. To each cupful allow a tablespoonful of finely minced THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK I \J blanched almonds, or the same quantity of champignons chopped small. Bind the mixture with a beaten egg, stir over the fire one minute and set aside to cool. Flour your hands and form into balls the size and shape of an egg; let them get cold, roll in egg and cracker-dust, and fry in deep fat. Arrange upon a platter a border of spaghetti boiled tender in salted water and drained. Butter plentifully and pour carefully over it a cupful of strained tomato-sauce. Heap the eggs in the centre, and you have an attractive and most palatable entree, especially if almonds be used. VEAL SOUFFLE. Two cupfuls cold veal, minced fine. One cupful bread-crumbs, dry and fine. One cupful boiling milk. One tablespoonful butter. One slice cold boiled ham, minced. One egg, beaten very light. A pinch of soda dissolved in the milk. Pepper and salt to taste. Soak the crumbs in the boiling milk, stir in the butter and let the mixture cool. Stir in the meat first when the bread is nearly cold, season, and last put in the beaten eggs. Beat all up well and pour into a well-greased pudding-dish. Set in a brisk oven, covered, and bake half an hour, uncover, brown lightly, and serve immediately. CALF'S HEAD AU GRATIN. Wash the head, which should be cleaned with the skin left on. Take out and set aside for other dishes the tongue and brains, parboiling both, and sprinkling lightly with salt. Put the head over the fire in enough cold water to cover it, bring quickly to a boil, and as soon as this is reached, lift it out and plunge it into ice-water. This will make it white and firm. When per- fectly cold (the water should be changed twice for colder), wash all over with vinegar and put on again, now in plenty of boiling water in which have been mixed two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Add half a sliced onion, a sliced carrot, some minced parsley, six black peppers, and a heaping teaspoonful of salt. Cook Il8 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK gently two hours for a small head, longer for a large, or until you can slip out the cheek-bones. Transfer with care to a baking-pan, draw put the bones and teeth, injuring the shape as little as may be, rub well with butter, cover thickly with fine crumbs, peppered and salted, and brown upon the upper grating of an oven. Serve with tomato-sauce. The liquor in which the head was boiled will make a fine soup. BOILED CALF'S HEAD. Cook as in the last recipe, but when the head is drawn from the liquor, tender, but not dropping to pieces, lay it upon a hot dish, with the tongue, boiled and cut into four strips, about it, and pour over all a sauce made of two tablespoonfuls of butter heated with four of vinegar, a half-teaspoonful of onion-juice, a tablespoonful of chopped capers, pepper and salt to taste. Or— Add to this sauce the brains, cooked soft, freed from strings, and beaten to a cream, with a little of the water in which the head was cooked. FRIED CALPS BRAINS. Boil the brains in hot, salted water for fifteen minutes and drop instantly into ice-cold water to blanch them. Wipe dry when cold. Take off the skins and clear away the strings, cut each lobe into halves, pepper and salt, roll in egg and cracker- dust, set aside to get cold and stiff, and then fry in deep fat. They make a savory entree, but are usually a garnish to larger meats. TIMBALES OF CALPS BRAINS. One calf's brain, parboiled ; a heaping tablespoonful of blanched and chopped almonds (very fine) ; whites of four eggs, salt and white pepper to taste. Beat the brains to a cream, stir in the other ingredients ; fill THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK II9 small buttered moulds or pate-pans, set in a pan of boiling water and cook in a good oven fifteen minutes after the boil recom- mences. Turn out carefully on a hot dish, and serve with a good white sauce. These may be made of pig's brains also. BROILED SWEETBREADS. Let them stand in cold water for an hour ; then parboil in boiling, slightly salted, water for ten minutes, then plunge into ice-cold, to plump and blanch them. No matter how you intend to cook them, do these things as soon as the sweetbreads are brought in, as they are very perishable. When cold, take from the water, wipe well, and if you are not ready to cook them, sprinkle with salt and set on ice. When you wish to broil them, rub all over with melted butter, or salad oil, and broil over clear coals, turning often. When about half done, roll them over and over in melted butter or in hot oil, and return to the fire. Serve dry upon a hot dish, or dress with butter beaten to a cream with lemon-juice. STEWED SWEETBREADS. Parboil and blanch the sweetbreads, and let them get cold. Cut into small dice of uniform size. Make a white roux of one tablespoonful of butter and the same of flour, and stir into it a cup- ful of hot milk, continuing to stir until it bubbles all over ; add now a cupful of chopped mushrooms, the sweetbread dice, a little chopped parsley, pepper and salt to taste, and set the saucepan in boiling water for five minutes before serving. ROASTED SWEETBREADS. Parboil and blanch as directed, and when rather more than blood-warm, sew each up in a bit of mosquito-net, cheese-cloth, or coarse, thin muslin, drawing it into the form of an egg or a pear, as you may fancy, and fitting the cloth as smoothly as you can. Now lay them between two plates, with a weight upon the upper, and leave in a cold place for several hours. Remove the 120 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK cloths ; with a slender skewer perforate each in half a dozen places, and pass a lardoon of fat salt pork through it, the ends projecting at each side. Arrange in a baking-pan ; add a cupful of weak stock, and cook brown in a quick oven, basting four or five times. Transfer to a hot dish, and cover while you strain the gravy ; add a large spoonful of minced mushrooms ; return to the fire and thicken with browned flour. Boil up once sharply ; pepper to taste, and send to table in a boat, after you have put a spoon- ful upon each sweetbread. BRAISED SWEETBREADS. Prepare as for roasting, but instead of larding lay them upon thin slices of salt pork, and strew about them a carrot, an onion, and a stalk of celery, cut into dice. Add a cupful of hot water or weak stock ; cover closely and cook half an hour. Uncover, baste well with butter, then with their own gravy, and brown. Strain and rub the gravy through a sieve ; thicken with browned flour ; boil up and pour over the sweetbreads. FRIED SWEETBREADS. Parboil, blanch, and lard with fat salt pork, and fry in the fat that runs from the pork when they are lain in the hot frying-pan. Or— Cut them into slices after parboiling, blanching, and chilling them ; roll these in beaten egg and cracker-crumbs ; set on ice for an hour and fry in deep fat. Serve dry and hot, with tomato-sauce. SWEETBREADS A LA POULETTE. Parboil and blanch them. When cold, cut into neat dice, add a tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms for each sweetbread ; put them all together in a saucepan, cover with white stock, or with butter and water, pepper and salt, and heat to a boil. Strain off the gravy, and return to the saucepan, heaping sweet- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 121 breads and mushrooms upon a dish and keeping them hot. Thicken the gravy with a white roux ; stir in a great spoonful of cream and pour over the dice. You may omit the mush- rooms if you choose. SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES. Parboil, blanch, and mince sweetbreads. Put over the fire with just stock enough to cover them, season to taste, and bring to a boil. Thicken well with a white roux, heat again, stir in a beaten egg for each cupful of sweetbread dice, and pour out upon a dish to cool. When stiff, make, with floured hands, into croquettes, roll in egg and fine cracker-crumbs and set in a cold place for at least two hours before frying them in deep fat. CROQUETTES OF SWEETBREADS AND BRAINS. Make as above, but beat into the sweetbread dice the brains, which have been washed, scalded, and freed from membranes. Add for each cupful of the mixture a tablespoonful of fine crumbs, wet up with stock and heat in a vessel set in another of boiling water, then stir in a beaten egg, and when smoking hot, turn out to cool and stiffen. When cold proceed as with sweetbread cro- quettes. Or— Make them of the brains alone, omitting the stock, and pro- ceeding in all things else as with other croquettes. Serve with pressed spinach, heaping the croquettes or balls about the base of the mounded vegetable. IMITATION TERRAPIN. Boil and blanch a calf's head, and when the flesh is loose from the bones set away in the liquor to get cold. Take it out, wipe it and let it get firm. Cut into dice an inch long and half as wide and set aside. Thicken a cupful of the liquor in which the head was boiled with a roux of browned flour and butter, drop in the dice and simmer fifteen minutes; season with salt, a pinch 122 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK of nutmeg and a dash of cayenne ; lift from the fire and keep hot in a vessel of boiling water while you prepare the sauce. Heat a cupful of cream (this is for two cupfuls of the meat dice), putting in a bit of soda to prevent curdling, and, taking from the fire, pour gradually upon the yolks of three beaten eggs. Stir well together, add to the meat and gravy, and just before serving, pour in a glass of sherry. This imitation is the better for a dozen balls, made by rubbing together the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs with calf's brains, a raw egg, butter, and a tablespoonful of finely minced boiled tongue. Roll them in flour, set in a hot oven until a crust forms upon them, and put into the ' ' terrapin ' ' stew. They must be no larger than marbles. SCALLOPED CALF'S (OR BEEF'S) BRAINS. Soak the brains in cold water one hour, rid them of all fibres and skin, and parboil for ten minutes. Drain and leave in ice- water until firm. Cut up small, and lay in buttered pate-pans, alternately with a layer of finely chopped cooked ham, seasoning as you go with cayenne, bits of butter, and a few drops of onion- juice. Wet with hot stock, or butter and water, cover with cracker-dust dotted with butter, and brown on the upper grating of a hot oven. CALF'S LIVER A LA JARDINIERE. Wash the liver and dry with a soft cloth ; lard it with strips of fat salt pork, half an inch apart, and lay upon a bed of vegeta- bles — a carrot cut into dice, a parboiled young turnip, also cut up ; a cupful of green peas, or of lima beans ; a chopped onion and a tablespoonful of minced parsley. Dust with paprica, cover with boiling water, or weak stock ; fit on a close lid and cook one hour before adding three sliced tomatoes. Cook about forty minutes longer ; dish the liver, lay the drained vegetables close about it and keep hot over boiling water while you strain the gravy left in the pan and thicken it with browned flour. Boil up sharply, add the juice of half a lemon, pour part of it over the liver, and the rest into a boat. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 123 Carve the liver horizontally and serve some of the vegetables with each portion. Should there be any of the liver left, put a plate upon it, and a weight on this, and press to be eaten cold. Sheep's liver or lamb's liver is quite as good as calf's liver, and far cheaper. STEWED CALF'S LIVER. Cut a liver into dice and throw them into cold water to lie there ten minutes. Heat two tablespoonfuls of butter in a sauce- pan and fry in it half an onion sliced thin. Take out the onion, dry the liver dice between two soft cloths, pepper and salt them and dredge with flour before frying them in the butter to a light brown. Pour upon them then a cupful of stock, of consomme, or of boiling water ; cover closely and simmer half an hour ; take up the pieces of liver aiid keep hot on a platter ; thicken the gravy with browned flour, season with salt, parsley, a teaspoon- ful of tomato catsup and the juice of half a lemon. Boil up, add a glass of sherry and pour over the liver. Half a can of champignons improves this dish. CALF'S LIVER AND BACON. Fry the bacon until it begins to curl, when add half a sliced onion, and cook three minutes longer. Take out the bacon and keep hot on a hot-water dish, strain out the onion and return the fat to the fire. As it begins to hiss lay in the slices of liver which have been peppered, salted, and rolled in flour. Cook rather slowly, turning frequently until brown and tender. If cooked rapidly it will become dry and hard on the outside and remain rare at heart. Lay in the middle of a hot platter and garnish with the bacon. Or— You may, after taking the meat from the pan, add to the fat a small cup of stock, or of boiling water, a teaspoonful of tomato catsup or sauce, a little chopped parsley and a tablespoonful of browned flour. Boil up, stirring all the while and pour over the meat. 124 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK CALF'S LIVER SAUTE. One pound of liver, sliced thin ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one teaspoonful of minced onion ; one tablespoonful of catsup, and two of sherry. Salt, paprica, and flour. Heat the butter in a frying-pan, and fry the onion in it. Pepper and salt the liver and roll in flour. Lay in the butter and cook to a light brown, turning often. Transfer to a hot dish, stir into the butter in the frying-pan the catsup and wine. Boil up once, and pour over the liver. STUFFED CALFS LIVER. Wash the liver and leave it in cold water half an hour. Wipe dry and run a sharp knife into one side, almost but not quite through. Leave an inch on the side opposite that at which the blade entered. Work the knife to and fro, without enlarging the outer aperture, until you have a space cleared that will hold a small cupful of force-meat. This should be made of bread-crumbs, chopped ham or pork, chopped mushrooms (if you have them), and a few capers, and be well seasoned with pepper, salt, pars- ley, and onion-juice. Bind it with a raw egg. Plump out the liver with this, and sew up the outer gash. Then, sew the whole liver up in mosquito-net or cheese-cloth, fitted closely to the new shape, lay in a saucepan upon a bed of chopped carrot, onion, and tomato ; just cover with hot water or stock and cook in a close vessel for an hour and a half. Let the meat get almost cold in the liquor, take it out and put between two plates, with a weight upon the upper, to get cold and firm. When you are ready to use it, remove the cloth, and carve horizontally in thin slices. It is a palatable supper, or luncheon entree. LIVER PATE. Boil a calf's liver very tender in salted water, also, in another vessel a calf's tongue. Cut half a can of champignons into THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 125 halves and boil. When liver and tongue are dead-cold, pound the liver with a potato-beetle, or rub with the back of a wooden spoon to a paste, moistening with butter as you go on. When it is soft and smooth, season the paste with onion-juice, cayenne or paprica, salt, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and half as much French mustard. Work all the ingredients together well, and pack the paste in small jars, interspersing it with tiny dice of tongue and the halved champignons. Butter the jars or glasses and press the mixture down very hard. Smooth the tops and cover with melted butter. These pates will keep for a month in winter and are convenient and popular. They are even better if made of turkey and chicken livers, bits of the gizzards, freed from cartilage, taking the place of truffles. BRAISED CALF'S LIVER. Wash well and wipe dry. Cover the bottom of your baking- pan with thin slices of salt pork, and these with a carrot minced small, also a sliced onion and turnip and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Lay the liver upon this ; dredge with salt and pepper ; pour in two cups of boiling water ; cover closely and cook two hours, for the last twenty minutes uncovered to brown. Keep the liver hot in a covered platter, rub the gravy and vegetables through a colander, thicken, if necessary, boil up sharply, add the juice of half a lemon and a teaspoonful of to- mato sauce, and pour over the liver. CALF'S LIVER A LA MODE. One fine, fresh liver ; one half pound of salt pork, cut into lar- doons; three tablespoonfuls of good dripping; two sliced onions, — small ones ; one tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce ; two table- spoonfuls of vinegar ; one teaspoonful of mixed spices ; one table- spoonful of sweet herbs, chopped ; pepper. Wash the liver, and soak half an hour in cold, salted water. Wipe dry and lard with the fat pork, allowing it to project on both sides. Heat drip- ping, onion, herbs, and spices in a frying-pan. Put in the liver 126 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK and fry both sides to a light brown. Turn all into a saucepan, add the vinegar, and water enough to cover it ; put on a close lid and stew gently one hour and a half. Lay the liver on a hot dish, add the sauce to the gravy, strain it, thicken with browned flour, boil up ; pour half over the liver, and send the rest up in a sauce-boat. LAMB AND MUTTON. When over six months old it is no longer lamb, even by butcherly courtesy, but young mutton. It begins to lose claim to the honorable title after two months of terrestrial life. In this particular the conscience of the meat vender is more elastic than in any other direction. The solid fact that there is no dis- grace in calling mutton by the right name would seem to be in- conceivable to his imagination, and there are housekeepers who survey, without winking, a leg, at spring-lamb prices, weighing ten pounds and warranted to melt in the mouth. The fraud becomes palpable to eye and teeth when the meat comes upon the table, underdone to rawness and unmasticable. Lamb may be cooked as soon as the animal heat is fairly out of it, and to be at its best must be fresh. Mutton should be hung for several days before it is cooked. Lamb is sold, usu- ally, by the quarter. The hind quarter, including the heavier legs, are the prime cut. The fore-quarter, including the shoul- der, costs less, and if judiciously cooked, is quite as palatable. The chops are trimmed from both quarters. ROAST LEG OF LAMB. Put into the covered roaster, dash a cupful of boiling water over it, cover and cook about fifteen minutes to the pound. Twenty minutes before taking it up, take off the cover, rub all over with butter, dredge with .pepper, salt, and flour, and brown. Serve with mint sauce, and never with made gravy from the pan. Mutton and lamb gravy from plain roasts tastes of tallow. Green pease are always en rigle as the accompanying vegetable with mutton and lamb. Asparagus is the next choice. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 127 ROAST SHOULDER OF LAMB. Cook as you would the leg, but with more water in the pan and more slowly. When nearly done, baste plentifully with the gravy, and, five minutes later, with butter into which a little lemon-juice has been beaten. Brown lightly, after dredging with salt, pepper, and flour. Your object should be to make every part of the shoulder eatable, the muscles soft, and the skin gelati- nous. As usually served, the thin part of the roast is often hard and distasteful, more like burnt leather than meat. You can vary the dish by having the bone of the shoulder taken out, filling the cavity with a dressing of bread-crumbs and butter, seasoned with pepper and salt. BRAISED BREAST OF LAMB. Lay a breast of lamb, or two scrags, in a broad pot, meat downward. Scatter over this a sliced turnip, a sliced onion, and two sliced tomatoes, with a little pepper and salt. Add less than a cupful of stock, cover, and cook slowly one hour. Turn the meat then and cook one hour longer, very slowly. When ten- der, but not ragged, brown, rub with butter and keep hot. Strain the gravy ; thicken with browned flour ; season, boil up, and pCur over the meat. STUFFED LEG OF MUTTON. Have the bone removed, tearing as little as possible. Fill the cavity with a dressing of a cupful of bread-crumbs worked up with butter, two tablespoonfuls of finely minced almonds, pepper, salt, parsley, and a little onion-juice. Sew or tie up the gash, that the stuffing may not escape. Have ready in your roaster a carrot cut into dice, a sliced tomato, a small onion, minced, a stalk of celery, and a little parsley. Lay the mutton upon them, pour over it two cupfuls of boiling' water, cover closely and cook two hours, basting four times. Remove the cover, brown, after basting once with butter and sprinkling with pepper, salt, and flour. 128 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Rub the gravy through the colander, thicken with browned flour and send to table in a boat. Mashed or stewed young turnips are a good accompanying vegetable. LAMB OR MUTTON CHOPS. Trim off the skin and fat and scrape the bone bare for an inch and a half or two inches from the end, making, as it were a handle for the edible part of the chop. Flatten with the potato- beetle or the broad side of a hatchet, and broil quickly upon a greased gridiron, turning several times. Pepper and salt and send in upon a hot dish, the chops over- lapping one another neatly. Or, you may ring the chops about a mound of green pease or mashed potatoes, circling all with parsley or nasturtiums. A showy dish of chops is made by twisting frills of fringed white paper about the bare bone left at the end of each. BREADED CHOPS. Trim and flatten, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dip in egg and then in cracker-dust and fry to a fine brown in deep boiling fat. Drain and serve dry and hot. STUFFED MUTTON CHOPS. Make a white roux of a tablespoonful of butter and the same of flour. When it has thickened well, stir in a scant half-cupful of stock; mix thoroughly until it bubbles; add half a cupful of chopped almonds, or, if you prefer, mushrooms, and season to taste. Boil up once and let it get cold and stiff. The chops should be tender, juicy, and cut twice as thick as for ordinary uses. Split each horizontally clear to the bone, leaving that to hold it together and fill the slit with the cold paste. Close the sides upon it and quilt a tooth-pick through the edges to hold them together and broil slowly over clear coals, turning often for ten minutes. Withdraw the skewers, and dish upon a bed of green pease. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 129 CREAMED CHOPS. Real lamb is necessary if you would have the dish successful. Trim and broil them, sprinkle with pepper and salt and set them aside until just warm enough to handle comfortably. Have ready a stiff, cold paste prepared as in the last recipe, only sub- stituting hot milk for the stock. Put a spoonful upon a cold dish, lay a chop upon it and enfold the meat in the paste, flat- tening and moulding with your hand and letting the bone pro- ject beyond the covering. Do this quickly, dip into beaten egg, then into cracker-dust, and fry in deep, hot cottolene. Serve at once. BOILED MUTTON. Plunge the meat into a kettle of salted water that is boiling hard ; leave it there for fifteen minutes and draw it to the side of the range. After this cook slowly fifteen minutes to the pound. Half an hour before you are ready to serve it, drop in a minced carrot, a turnip, a small onion — both sliced — a stick of celery and a little parsley, also a sprig of mint, and let all cook together. Take up the meat, wash over with butter and keep hot. Strain out enough of the liquor to serve as a foundation for a white sauce, and set away the rest for soup stock. Set the reserved liquor in cold water to throw up the fat, skim, and thicken with a white roux ; stir in a great spoonful of capers and serve in a boat. Lamb should never be boiled. GAME MUTTON. Hang a leg of mutton in the cellar for two weeks, washing it all over with vinegar every other day. When you are ready to cook it, rub it well with lemon-juice, then with a raw cut onion, finally with salad oil. Put into your covered roaster with two cups of boiling water, and set in a hot oven for half an hour. Transfer to a cooler oven and cook steadily fifteen minutes to the pound. Half an hour before taking the meat up baste plen- tifully with a cupful of the gravy in which you have melted three 9 130 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK tablespoonfuls of currant jelly. Use all the jelly and gravy. Fifteen minutes later, baste with butter, sprinkle well with pepper, salt, and flour, and brown it upon the upper grating of the oven. Before doing this, pour off the gravy into a bowl and set in cold water to make the fat rise. Skim this off, strain and return the gravy to the fire, thicken with browned flour ; boil up, add a glassful of sherry and pour half of it over the meat, the rest into a boat. The meat will have a pleasing flavor of ven- ison. Of course this is a cold weather dish. BONED SHOULDER OF MUTTON. Have the bone carefully removed from a rather lean shoulder of mutton, and fill the orifice thus left with a good force-meat. To make this, chop fine half a pound of lean veal and a quarter of a pound of ham, and add to these a small cupful of fine bread- crumbs. Season with a quarter-teaspoonful, each, of ground mace, cloves, and allspice, and a saltspoonful of black pepper. Stir in a raw egg to bind the mixture together. When the force-meat has been put into the hole in the shoulder, sew up the mutton in a cloth that will close the mouth of the opening, and lay the meat in a pot with' the bone from the shoulder, a peeled and sliced onion, carrot, turnip, a little parsley and celery and a bay-leaf. Pour in enough cold water to cover the mutton entirely, stir in a heaping tablespoonful of salt, and let the water come gradually to a boil and simmer until the mutton has cooked twenty minutes to the pound. Let it cool in the broth ; take it out ; lay it under a weight until cold, remove the cloth and serve. This is also very good hot. The liquor makes excellent soup. STEWED LAMB AND GREEN PEASE. Buy three pounds of the coarser parts of the lamb ; cut into inch lengths and dredge with flour. Have ready in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of good dripping, and when it hisses put in half a sliced onion, and fry to a light brown. Skim out the onion and put in the meat, cooking for five minutes and turning often to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 131 add a cupful of boiling water, or of weak stock, cover closely and cook gently for one hour. Add then a generous cupful of green pease. Canned will do, but the fresh are better.. Stew for twenty minutes longer, or until the pease are tender, add a tablespoonful of brown roux, boil up once, and pour upon slices of toast that have been soaked in hot tomato sauce. A cheap and a savory dish. IRISH STEW. The coarser pieces of mutton or lamb may be advantageously utilized in the manufacture of what is an excellent and popular dish when rightly compounded, and a disgrace to civilized kit- chens as usually put together. Cut three pounds of mutton, which must be lean, into pieces of uniform size, and not more than an inch square. Heat two tablespoonfuls of butter or beef dripping in a saucepan, brown a large sliced onion in it and put in the meat. Turn it over and over until coated with the fat, and slightly browned, add enough cold water to cover the meat an inch deep, put on a tightly fitting top, and stew two hours, or until the meat is very tender. Have ready in another vessel four potatoes, sliced thin, a carrot cut into dice; a tomato cut into bits, a stalk of celery minced, and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Cook fifteen minutes, drain off and throw away the water, put the parboiled vegetables into the stew and season to taste. Cook very gently half an hour longer, take up meat and vegetables with a perforated spoon and arrange upon a flat dish, the meat in the centre, the vegetables on the outside. Cover and keep hot. Add to the gravy in the saucepan a cupful of canned or fresh pease boiled tender (" left-overs " will do), with half a cupful of hot milk in which has been stirred a teaspoonful of corn-starch, cook five minutes and pour over the meat and vegetables. "A DAINTY DISH." One dozen tender French chops (lamb or mutton). Three cepes (large mushrooms). Salt, pepper, one beaten egg. Cracker-dust. Fat for frying. 132 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Flatten and trim the chops ; divide each cepe into four strips, make a hole with the point of a knife in the thickest part of each chop and thrust through it a slice of the mushroom. Pepper and salt, dip in raw beaten egg, coat with cracker- crumbs and set in a cold place for one hour. Fry them in deep fat to a fine brown. Mrs. Lamed in her useful and charming book, "The Little Epicure," adds to what is substantially the same recipe as this : " Spread nicely trimmed pieces of toast with pate-de-foie-gras, place a chop on each and serve with Madeira sauce poured around. Use butter instead of the patt-de-foie-gras if you prefer. ' ' In either case it is a " dainty dish to set before a king," or an American epicure. To many tastes a good tomato sauce would be more acceptable than the Madeira, but even a veteran recipe- writer must suggest diffidently when the accomplished woman above quoted directs. BRAISED MUTTON CHOPS. Heat two tablespoonfuls of dripping in a frying-pan, and fry a sliced onion in it, then the chops. Lay them upon a bed of chopped carrots, onion, celery, turnip, and tomato, in your cov- ered roaster and pour over them the fat from the pan, and two cupfuls of hot water or weak stock. Cover closely and cook slowly for one hour. Turn the chops then, season with pepper and salt, dust with flour and let them brown, uncovered, turning once more in fifteen minutes. Transfer to a hot dish, rub the gravy and vegetables through a colander, boil up sharply, and pour over the meat. Tough chops may be made tender and toothsome by this method. LAMB CHOPS A LA MILANAISE. Trim neatly, pepper and salt, roll in egg and cracker-crumbs and fry in deep cottolene. Lay on a stoneware or metal dish, and cover on both sides with finely grated Parmesan cheese. Set upon the upper grating of a hot oven, for three minutes, or hold THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 33 a red-hot shovel close above them to melt or crisp the cheese, and arrange upon a bed of spaghetti, boiled tender in salted water, then drained and seasoned with butter, salt, and paprica, or cayenne. If you like you may pour over the spaghetti, after it is sea- soned, enough strained tomato sauce to moisten it well, and then lay the chops in order upon it. BARBECUED LAMB. Cut cold lamb into neat, thin slices. Into a rather deep, broad frying-pan, put a tablespoonful of butter, a dash of cayenne, salt and pepper, a great spoonful of vinegar and the same of currant jelly, with a small teaspoonful of French mustard. Heat to boil- ing, keeping your spoon busy all the while until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Then lay in the lamb and let them get smoking hot through. Lay upon a hot-water dish and pour the sauce over them. MINCE-BALLS OF LAMB OR MUTTON. Two cupfuls of cold meat, minced and cleared of gristle and cartilage. Salt and pepper to taste and a little onion-juice. Two eggs. Two tablespoonfuls of brown gravy. Half a cupful of fine bread-crumbs. Mix the seasoned meat with the gravy, work in the bread- crumbs, then the beaten egg, make into balls, roll in flour and set in a cold place to stiffen. When they are firm, drop them into boiling water or weak stock, carefully, so as not to break them ; draw the saucepan to the side of the range, and let all stand for five or six minutes. Take up gently with a split spoon, arrange upon a hot-water dish and pour about them a good white or tomato sauce, or rich gravy left from any kind of meat. The water must not boil after the balls go in. MOULD OF MUTTON AND RICE. One cupful of raw rice. Two cupfuls of minced cold mutton or lamb. Two tablespoonfuls of gravy and as much cream. A 134 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK stalk of celery chopped or cut fine. One egg beaten light. Pepper and salt to taste. One tablespoonful of butter. Cracker- crumbs. Boil the rice twenty minutes in hot salted water in which you have put the chopped celery. Drain dry, when the grains are tender, but not broken, work into the rice the butter, pepper, and salt, lastly the beaten egg, spread the paste upon a dish and set in a cold place for a couple of hours. When you are ready for it, season the chopped meat and wet with the gravy. Sprinkle the inside of a well-greased bowl or a tin mould with plain sides with fine crumbs, then line with the rice paste. This lining should be an inch thick. Fill with the meat, cover with the rice and put into a pan of boiling water in a quick oven, laying paper or a tin lid over the top. Keep the water at a fast boil for an hour ; set the mould in cold water for one minute, run a knife around the inside to loosen the contents and invert upon a flat dish, shaking very gently to dislodge the rice. Send to table with the moulded rice and meat, a good sauce or gravy in a boat. Drawn butter, in which have been beaten an egg and a tablespoonful of grated cheese, is good for this purpose, as is oyster or tomato sauce. It is an excellent luncheon-dish. Save the rice-water, flavored with celery, for soup-stock. Miniature moulds, prepared like the above, baked in pate-pans, or custard-cups, then turned out upon a dish, with a sprig of parsley in the top of each, are pretty. KIDNEYS. The kidneys of beef, veal, or lamb, are best for cooking. Veal and lamb kidneys are preferable to the coarser beef. All should be fresh and plump, and free from fat. Cut out the hard, white hearts, and lay the kidneys in cold water, slightly salted, for an hour before proceeding to cook them. STEWED KIDNEYS, WITH WINE. Slice the kidneys, after they have been soaked in cold water ; wipe dry and roll in flour. Have ready in a saucepan a little THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 35 butter in which has been fried a slice of onion. Lay in the kidneys ; roll them over and over, coating them with the butter, for two minutes — no more — and pour in a cupful of boiling water or heated stock. Simmer not longer than ten or twelve minutes. Take them up and lay upon a hot dish ; add to the gravy a tablespoonful of catsup, a dash of paprica or cayenne, and salt, a small tablespoonful of butter that has been rolled in browned flour, and when it has boiled up, a generous glass of sherry or claret. Pour over the kidneys and serve. DEVILED KIDNEYS. Slice, and take out hard centres and fat. Have ready, beaten to a cream, a tablespoonful of butter, an even teaspoonful of mustard, a pinch of paprica or cayenne, a little salt, and a tea- spoonful of lemon-juice. Melt, without really heating the mixt- ure ; coat each slice with it, roll in cracker -dust, and broil, turn- ing often. They should be done in eight minutes. Put a few drops of the deviled sauce upon each, and send to table. KIDNEYS WITH BACON. Split lamb kidneys in half and fasten open with toothpicks. Cook in a frying-pan thin slices of fat breakfast bacon until clear, but not crisped. Take up and keep hot while you cook the kid- neys in the bacon-fat, turning them frequently. Six minutes should make them tender. Long cooking toughens them. Ar- range upon thin slices of toast in a dish, garnish with the bacon, add a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce to the gravy and pour over the kidneys. TOASTED KIDNEYS. Cut each one of three kidneys into three pieces, and lay upon a very hot tin plate in front of a hot fire, where a clear glow will fall upon them. Have ready thin slices of fat bacon, hold each slice upon a fork close to the red grate so that the gravy will drip upon a slice of kidney below. Having toasted all the bacon, lay it upon a second hot plate, taking up the first and draining off 136 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK ■ every drop of gravy over the bacon. Now, toast the kidneys over the bacon. When no more juice drips from each kidney it is done. Lay each in turn upon a slice of 'toast, in a hot dish, garnish with the pork, sprinkle with pepper and pour the gravy over the kidneys. Serve hot. STUFFED KIDNEYS. Split the kidneys lengthwise, leaving enough meat and skin on one side to serve as a hinge. Rub well inside with melted but- ter, and broil them, back downward, over a bright fire for eight minutes. Have ready a stuffing of bread-crumbs, cooked salt pork, parsley and butter, seasoned with pepper, salt, and onion- juice. Heat in a saucepan set in another of boiling water, stir in the juice of half a lemon, fill the kidneys with the mixture, run a toothpick through the outer edges or lips to keep in the stuffing, pepper them and serve. Send around sauce piquante with them. PORK. While fresh pork seldom finds a position upon the table of the housewife who aspires even to modest elegance, it still holds a place upon hotel menus and in the larders of well-to-do people in certain sections of the land. Professors of Dietetics warn us that hot pork is never wholesome at any season, and occasional trichina and hog-cholera scares lessen the consumption of it year by year. The fact remains that we cannot do without juicy hams and breakfast bacon and the well-corned strips of fat salt pork that season a host of dishes as nothing else can. Sausage of the best quality is welcome upon the breakfast-table on frosty mornings, and souse and scrapple are in great request with com- petent judges of good living. Clearly, then, it is the part of wisdom to accept the inevitable and to make the best of what people will have. If farmers and farmers' families depend upon the pig-sty for the major part of their meat-supply, they should ■ THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 37 learn how to prepare pork for human consumption, and when and how to eat it. Hot pork should never be eaten in summer, in any form, and in cold weather only by those whose digestions are exceptionally strong, and who lead active lives. Much and vigorous exercise in the open air is required to dispose of the carbon and oil sup- plied by this, the most oleaginous meat vended in the markets of civilized countries. Pork should always be thoroughly cooked. Underdone ham is tough, hard, and indigestible ; rare fresh pork is disgusting. Taste and custom are at one in this decision. ROAST PORK. The leg, the loin, the shoulder, and the chine are usually roasted, and the method is the same with each. The skin is scored in squares, or in parallel lines, the knife just cutting through to the flesh. Put into the roaster, dash a cup of boiling water over it ; heat gradually until the fat begins to run, when quicken the fire. Baste often and abundantly, that the skin may be tender, even when crisp. Allow at least twenty minutes to the pound. The old-fashioned Virginia cook — and there were none better in' her day — rubbed well into the deep lines made by the knife in the rind a force-meat of crumbs, sage and onions, seasoned with pepper, salt, a little grated lemon-peel, and the juice of a lemon. This was done before the meat went into the oven and the cracks were well filled. Do not send made gravy in with the meat. It is little better than lard, unless left to stand for at least an hour and then skimmed. Pass apple sauce with roast pork when you can get it, or Chili sauce, or catsup, or a good bread sauce. Sharp condiments go well with it and arouse the diges- tive organs to their work. PORK CHOPS. Cut off the skin, trim neatly and dip in beaten egg, then in cracker-crumbs seasoned with salt, pepper, powdered sage, and 138 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK finely minced onion. Set in a cold place for an hour or more and fry in hot fat, turning often, for at least twenty minutes. Send in dry and hot, and pass apple sauce with them. PORK STEAKS AND TENDERLOINS. Broil over a clear fire, turning every two minutes for twenty or twenty-five minutes. Lay upon a hot dish and dust with pepper and salt and powdered sage. Sprinkle with onion-juice and with lemon-juice, and drop bits of butter here and there. Cover closely over hot water for ten minutes before sending to table. SPARE RIB. Cook exactly as you would pork steaks, also pork cutlets. PORK POT-PIE. Cut two pounds of lean pork into pieces an inch long and half an inch wide ; cover with cold water, put in some thin slices of peeled lemon, a little chopped parsley and minced celery, and stew slowly half an hour. Add, then, four potatoes, sliced very thin and parboiled for ten minutes in another vessel. Season with pepper and salt and dredge in a tablespoonful of flour. A table- spoonful of catsup is an improvement. Cover closely and cook until the meat is ready to drop to pieces. Stir in a tablespoon- ful of butter, rolled in flour, boil up and put the pork into a covered deep dish, leaving the gravy in the saucepan. Have ready some strips of biscuit-dough, two inches long and half an inch wide, drop them into the boiling gravy and cook ten min- utes. Lay half of them across the meat in one direction, the rest in another, making squares all over it ; pour in the gravy gently and send to table. Or— You can cut the biscuit-dough round with a cake-cutter and bake these rounds in the oven by the time the pork-stew is done. Put meat and gravy upon a deep platter and cover with the hot bis- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 39 cuits laid closely together. They axe more wholesome than boiled dough. YORKSHIRE PORK-PIE. Chop lean pork somewhat coarsely ; butter a pudding-dish and line with a good paste ; put in the pork interspersed with minced onion and hard-boiled eggs, cut into bits and sprinkle with pepper, salt, and powdered sage. Now and then dust with flour and drop in a bit of butter. When all the meat is in, dredge with flour and stick small pieces of butter quite thickly all over it. Cover with puff-paste, cut a slit in the middle of the crust and bake half an hour for each pound of meat. When it begins to brown, wash the crust with the white of an egg. It will give a fine gloss to it. BOILED HAM. The best ham to select is one weighing from eight to ten pounds. Take one that is not too fat, to save waste. Soak all night ; wash it carefully before you put it on to boil, removing rust or mould with a small, stiff scrubbing-brush. Lay it in a large boiler and pour over it enough cold water to cover it. To this add a bay-leaf, half a dozen cloves, a couple of blades of mace, a teaspoonful of sugar, and, if you can get it, a good handful of fresh, sweet hay. Let the water heat very gradually, not reaching the boil under two hours. It should never boil hard, but simmer gently until the ham has cooked fifteen min- utes to every pound. It must cool in the liquor, and the skin should not be removed until the meat is entirely cold, taking care not to break or tear the fat. Brush over the ham with beaten egg, strew it thickly with very fine bread-crumbs, and brown in a quick oven. Arrange a frill of paper around the bone of the shank, and surround the meat with water-cress, or garnish the dish with parsley. BREADED HAM. Boil as above directed. Brush the top with beaten egg and sift over it cracker-dust in a thick, even coat. Set in the oven to brown and let it get perfectly cold before it is carved. 140 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK STUFFED HAM. Soak the ham over night and scrub well in the morning. Run a narrow sharp knife along the bone, loosening the meat for the whole length ; shake and pull the bone while doing this until you can withdraw it. Then dig out the flat bone from the butt- end of the ham. With a fair degree of patience the process is not difficult. Fill the cavity left by the bones with a stuffing of bread-crumbs, seasoned with pepper, butter, onion, and Worces- tershire sauce. Pack it in well and sew the ham tightly into shape in mosquito-netting. Cover with cold water in which have been stirred two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and cook twenty minutes to the pound after the boil begins. Leave the ham in the water until it is lukewarm, take it out and put to press under an inverted dish with a heavy weight on top. Leave it thus for eight or ten hours ; take off the cloth, and then the skin. Dot the top with black pepper, or Hungarian sweet red pepper (paprica) using the tip of the middle finger to make the impressions. If you can arrange the dots in a pattern the effect will be pleasing. Send to table surrounded by a garland of as- paragus tops and nasturtium flowers, or parsley and marigolds. This is a delightful preparation of ham, suitable for luncheon or Sunday evening suppers. BAKED HAM. Soak, wash, and parboil the ham, twelve minutes to the pound. Skin as soon as you can handle it, and stanch the flow of juices by rubbing flour into it. Put into a good oven ; slice an onion, mince a carrot and a fresh tomato, and lay about the meat, pour in half a cupful of hot water to prevent burning, cover closely, and bake twelve minutes to the pound. During this time baste the ham four times with Madeira or sherry or other pale wine, using two glasses in all, and four times with the pan-gravy. Have ready some browned cracker-crumbs and sift them thickly over the ham when done. Leave it in the oven until firm and evenly colored. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 141 If the ham is eaten hot, make a sauce by rubbing the gravy through a colander and thickening it with browned flour. If cold, put aside the pan-liquor for sauce for some other dish. It is too good to be wasted. Champagne sauce is an excellent accompaniment to baked ham. SUNNYBANK HAM AND EGGS. Mince cold ham finely and moisten it with sharply seasoned stock, well thickened. (There is nothing better for this purpose than the pan -liquor described in the last recipe.) Heat in a saucepan ; beat in a raw egg to bind it, form into a long-oval mound upon a hot dish, and set in a moderate oven until a slight crust forms upon it. Have ready six eggs that have been boiled for twenty-five minutes, then left in cold water. Take off the shells, cut the whites into thin circles, and rub the yolks through a sieve to powder. Take the mounded ham from the oven and cover all over with the powdered yolks. Arrange the white rings closely about the bottom, and outside of these a garland of parsley. The contrast of the golden bank and white and green base is pleasing and uncommon. It can be eaten cold or hot. SMOTHERED HAM Soak, scrub, and trim away all the blackened underside until the meat shows clean and red. Wash with vinegar, rubbing it in well. Cover the underside with a paste of flour and water, and lay upside down in your roaster. Pour about it two cup- fuls of cold water and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar ; stir in a tablespoonful of sugar and the same of minced onion. Cover closely and bake in a moderate oven twenty-five minutes to the pound. Baste five times to keep the paste from scaling off. Skin, and remove the paste while hot, sift fine cracker-crumbs over the top, and brown in a quick oven. It is best cold. BROILED HAM. Cut thin, wash well, and lay in a frying-pan full of warm — not hot — water. Bring slowly to scalding, take from the fire, and, 142 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK covering closely, leave in the water for half an hour. Pour off the water and cover the ham with boiling water. Let the meat stand covered in this fifteen minutes, and transfer to cold. After five minutes pour this off and wipe the ham dry. Broil over clear coals, dust with pepper, and serve. Cold boiled ham is better than raw for broiling. FREED HAM. If raw, soak as for broiling. Fry it in its own fat until the fat is clear and begins to curl and crisp at the edges. Serve dry after peppering it. BREADED HAM, SAUTE. Cut cold boiled ham into rather thick slices, cover with a mixt- ure of pepper, olive oil, and mustard; dip in egg, then in cracker-crumbs, and set in a cold place. Fry slices of fat bacon or pork crisp, take them out and put the breaded ham into the hissing fat. Turn when the lower side is brown and cook the upper. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut in slices, serving a slice upon each portion of ham. This dish is appetizing and a welcome variety in the monot- ony of country-fare when " butcher's meat " is hard to get. BARBECUED HAM. Fry slices of cold boiled ham in their own fat ; remove from the pan to a hot -water dish and pour over them a sauce made by adding to the gravy left in the pan two tablespoon fuls of vine- gar, the same of sherry, a half teaspoonful of made mustard, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a dash of paprica or cayenne, just heating these to a boil. Cover the dish and let meat and sauce stand together for a minute before serving. HAM AND EGGS. If the ham be raw, soak it as before directed. If cooked, it needs no other preparation than cutting it evenly into slices of THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK I43 uniform size. Fry these in their own fat until the fat is clear and curling ; lay in order upon a hot platter and keep warm while you break the eggs, one by one, into the hot fat left in the pan. Three minutes should cook them. If you wish " turned eggs," cook two minutes, then slip a bread-knife or a spatula under each and turn it dexterously to cook one minute longer. Serve an egg upon each slice of ham. BACON AND EGGS are cooked as above. FRIED BREAKFAST-BACON. This is growing fast into universal favor as a staple breakfast- dish. It is so simple and so quickly made ready it seems odd enough that it should so seldom be set before the listless or eager breakfaster at its best estate. To begin with, it can hardly be cut too thin, certainly not by any knife at the command of the average cook. It should be as thin as writing-paper made for foreign correspondence, and the rind be pared away before the meat is cooked. Heat the frying- pan, lay in the bacon, and as soon as the slices cook clear, turn them. They should be hardly discolored by the fire when you serve them, dry and hot, upon a heated platter. BROILED HAM AND EGGS. If the sliced ham be raw, soak as for fried ham. Broil over a clear red fire for from three to five minutes, and arrange upon a hot platter. Heat a tablespoonful of butter to hissing in a frying- pan, but not until it colors, and drop the eggs carefully into it. Cook three minutes, lift with the spatula and lay upon the broiled ham. Dust both with pepper, and serve. HAM AND POTATO BALLS. Work into two cupfuls of mashed potatoes pepper and salt to taste, a teaspoonful of flour, and the beaten yolk of an egg. Set aside until cold and stiff ; take a tablespoonful in the hollow of 144 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK your floured hand and shape it into a cup. Put into the centre a tablespoonful of minced ham, seasoned with pepper and mus- tard, enfold it with the potato, roll over and over until you have a round, smooth ball, dip into beaten egg, then into cracker-crumbs, and set in a cold place until stiff. Cook in deep boiling fat. HAM PATES. Chop cold lean ham fine, season with onion-juice, pepper, minced parsley, and catsup ; moisten with good stock, and stir over the fire until smoking-hot. Have at hand pastry forms or cups, heated, and fill with the mixture. Or— Fill pate-pans, or fire-proof china "nappies" with the hot mince, put a raw egg upon each, and set in a quick oven until the white is " set." Serve in the nappies. BOILED PIGS? FEET. Wrap each cleaned foot up in coarse cotton cloth, wind a string about it from top to bottom to keep the bandage in place, and when all are ready cover them deep in boiling water in which has been stirred a tablespoonful of vinegar. Cook four hours and let them get cold in the water. The feet are now ready for pickling or frying. If you wish to use them without other preparation, unroll, dish them, and pour over them the following sauce : Heat four tablespoonfuls of vinegar to a boil with a table- spoonful of minced onion, the same of chopped parsley and of capers, a saltspoonful each of salt and pepper and half a tea- spoonful of made mustard. When they have simmered together three minutes, take from the fire and beat slowly into four tablespoonfuls of oil. When you have a creamy sauce, set in boiling water until hot and pour upon the feet. Cover them closely, and set over boiling water for ten minutes before they are served. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 145 BREADED PIGS' FEET. Boil as directed, and let them get cold in the cloths. Undo, pepper and salt, roll in egg, then in cracker-crumbs, and fry to a nice brown. Serve with sauce tartare. PIG'S LIVER AND BACON. Slice the liver and lay in cold water for half an hour to draw out the blood. Wipe perfectly dry, salt and pepper and flour well. Fry slices of thin, fat bacon clear ; take them out and cook in the same fat a sliced onion. Strain the fat, return to the pan, and when it hisses lay in the floured slices of liver and fry to a good brown. It should be better known that pigs' livers, as well as those of lambs and even young mutton, are nearly as good when well- cooked as calf's liver, and cost much less. Any of the recipes that deal with calf's liver may be applied to those just mentioned. SAUSAGES. If you use the sausages in skins, prick these with a needle in several places to prevent bursting, put them into a frying-pan with just enough cold water to cover them, and let them simmer gently until the water has dried up. The sausages will then be done, and neither scorched nor broken to pieces. If your sausage-meat is in bulk, make into flat cakes, roll in flour and sauti in a very little fat. As soon as the sausages be- gin to cook they will supply all that is needed. BREADED SAUSAGES. Put raw sausage-meat into a tin pail with a closely fitting top and set in a pot of boiling water. Cook half an hour to the pound and let it get cold in the pot. When you are ready to cook it, make into balls or cakes or croquettes ; roll in egg, then in cracker-crumbs ; let them stand for some hours in a cold place, and fry in deep boiling fat. 146 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK These are more wholesome than the ordinary fried sausage, and especially nice as garnishes for other dishes, such as roast turkey and chicken. APPLES AND BACON. Fry slices of breakfast-bacon or salt pork until clear ; take them up and keep hot. Have ready firm, tart apples, sliced crosswise, without paring or coring, and fry them in the hot fat left by the bacon. They must be tender, but not broken, when done. Take from the fat with a split spoon, shake off all cling- ing drops, and lay upon a hot dish. Sift fine sugar over them and garnish with the bacon. Send around corn-bread or brown bread with them. PORK AND BEANS. Soak the beans over night in cold water, changing this in the morning for warm, an hour later for hot. Put over the fire half an hour afterward, in boiling salted water, and cook until tender, but not broken. Drain them then, and put into a deep dish or bean-pot, bury a piece of pork (parboiled) in the centre. Stir into a large cupful of boiling water half a teaspoonful of dry mus- tard, half as much extract of celery or celery-salt, and a table- spoonful of molasses, and pour this over the pork and beans. Cover closely, set in the oven and bake slowly from four to six hours according to the size of the pot. This is a Massachusetts recipe, and there is no better for the preparation of an ancient and honorable dish. In olden times the bean-pot stood all of Saturday night in the brick oven, and was in mellow prime at breakfast-time on the Sabbath day. Serve Boston brown bread with it always. The two are in- dissolubly wedded. APROPOS TO LARD. The old-fashioned housekeeper may have observed the marked omission in these pages of the word " lard," even in recipes call- ing for fat. While we believe that The National Cook Book THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 147 is not singular in this respect, we feel that we owe it to our sister housewives to explain why in the years which have elapsed since the issue of former works which did contain directions for the manufacture and the use in the kitchen of lard, we have had good and sufficient reasons for excluding it from our own kitchens and for declining to commend the lard of commerce to our constitu- ents. Apart from the fact that lard, unadulterated and properly made, is less wholesome than vegetable oils, and absolutely pernicious to many stomachs, no intelligent reader of the daily papers and medical reports can shut his eyes to the recognized practices of certain manufacturers of " kitchen lard " and the possibilities of similar iniquities in every such business throughout the country. It is not enough that hog-cholera and trichina, in the animal legitimately slaughtered and put upon the market, make doubtful the quality of the fat tried out even by respectable and conscien- tious firms. It is an open secret that hundreds of hogs which have died in transitu from farm to factory, " of disease, thirst, and exposure," are made to yield their lard, and that this is unblush- ingly put upon the market for household use. A prominent lard manufacturer is reported as saying in defence of the practice : "As it goes through the boiling process and boiling fat rises to the highest possible heat, there can be no mischievous germs left in the lard, even supposing the animal had died of cholera or other disease." Leaving this statement to speak for itself, we remark simply that not a pound of lard per year is consumed in our kitchens, and that we conscientiously advise the use in public and in private of almost any other fat. Butter is expensive in the hands of hirelings, and the salt makes it objectionable for such purposes as greasing moulds, etc. Really good dripping from beef, veal, or chicken, while eligible in some cases, is unfit for frying delicately flavored foods, and cannot be used for shortening biscuits, pastry, and the like. Olive oil, while excellent in a large majority of cases where frying and sauteing 148 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK are prescribed, is expensive when of prime quality, and objection- able when less than prime. It is but fair to those in whose behalf we have prepared this manual to mention that we have found, after several years of faithful testing and trusting, cottqlene to be liable to fewer ob- jections and to combine more advantages than any other fat of which we have practical knowledge. It is a compound of vege- table oil and a smaller proportion of the best beef-suet, and is, we believe, entirely free from any deleterious substance whatsoever. It is inexpensive, it gives out no unpleasant odor, and for frying and "shortening" is far more satisfactory than even honest, home-made lard at its best estate. Cottolene, as the directions accompanying each can state, must always be put into a cold frying-pan and brought slowly to the boil. When this is done there is no danger of spluttering or scorching. POULTRY. After forty years of active housekeeping one housemother would deliberately record her conviction that there is but one satisfactory method of securing the appearance of tender fowls upon her table. When your poultry-merchant sells you chickens tender under the wings, with smooth, white complexions, hair- less, and altogether promising, according to the best authorities, yet which come to table tough and tightly jointed — take your custom to another man, and let him, as well as the discarded, because dishonest, vendor, know just why you do it. Some of the fairest fowls in our town and country markets are artistically " doctored " and might delude the most experienced purchaser. The deception is the less excusable because every tolerably skilful cook can make a tough bird tender and eat- able by processes known even to humble followers of the craft. It is cruel to allow her to treat a two-year old as she would a half- yearling, and reap disappointment as the result of her gener- ous confidence in the poulterer. Fowls should always be dressed and drawn by the poulterer before they are sent home. When it is not done, the duty of the cook upon receipt of the birds is to empty the bodies forth- with of offal and giblets. These are first to spoil, and, in spoil- ing, taint the flesh. The gizzard should be cut open and cleaned, and, with the liver and heart, be put over the fire in boiling salted water. Boil fifteen minutes and let them get cold in the water. Take out, wipe, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and keep in a cool place until they are needed for gravy or soup. Wash the fowl out with cold water three times, dissolving a ISO THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK little soda in the first water, then rinsing thoroughly. Wipe perfectly dry inside and out, and dust the cavity of the body with pepper. Hang now in a cool place until you are ready to cook it. CHICKEN. ROAST CHICKEN. Wash thoroughly and wipe dry within and without. Stuff the hollow in the body, also the craw, with a force-meat, but do not pack it in. It will ooze out or distend the fowl into a clumsy shape, or become so clammy as to be unfit to eat. Sew up the body and draw the skin covering the craw up to the neck, fasten- ing it there with a cotton cord wound tightly about the neck- bone. Bind the legs and the wings close to the body with tape or cotton cord. Unless the fowl is very fat, lay a few slices of fat bacon or pork in the pan and the chicken upon them. Pour a scant cupful of boiling water over it ; put on the lid of the roaster and cook quite fast for fifteen minutes, afterward more moderately, fifteen minutes to the pound. Baste every half hour if you use the covered roaster, every ten minutes if you cook it in an open dripping-pan. Each time pour at least ten large spoonfuls of gravy over the fowl. A quarter of an hour before you dish it wash it all over with butter, pepper and salt it well, and dredge it with flour. Take off the cover of the roaster and brown. Dish and keep warm while you make the gravy. Chop the giblets fine, rejecting the cartilage ; stir a spoonful of browned flour, wet with cold water, into the baking-pan gravy, boil up, season to taste, add the giblets, and pour into a boat. For the stuffing use a cupful of fine bread-crumbs (cracker- dust will not do) moistened with a tablespoonful of butter and seasoned with pepper, salt, and parsley. Do not flavor it with thyme or sage or onion. These are disagreeable to many tastes and help to give the ' ' dressing ' ' of fowls the reputation of un- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK IS I wholesomeness. Moreover, they mar the flavor of the delicate meat. The English truss a roasting chicken with the liver under one wing, and esteem this "liver-wing " a choice morsel in carving and distributing the bird. BOILED CHICKEN. A chicken over a year old should always be boiled or steamed or fricasseed. As a rule a boiled fowl is better without stuffing. Cleanse thoroughly, truss neatly, sew up in a piece of mosquito-netting or coarse cheese-cloth, fitted to the shape, and cover deeply with boiling salted water to which has been added a tablespoonful of vinegar. Cook gently twenty minutes to the pound. It should not reach the boil in less than half an hour. If really tough, put on in cold water, after trussing and sewing it up, add a little vinegar to it, and heat so slowly that it does not boil in the first hour. After it begins to simmer, cook twenty minutes to the pound and never let it boil fast. A bit of fat salt pork dropped into the pot at the end of the first hour and cooked with it will restore much of the richness lost by the use of cold water. Unwrap, draw out the threads, and dish, pouring four spoon- fuls of egg sauce over the breast and serving the rest in a boat. Send around boiled rice with it. BOILED CHICKEN AND RICE. Cook as in the last recipe. Half an hour before dishing the fowl dip out a great cupful of the gravy, season well, and stir in a beaten egg. Boil a cupful of , raw rice fast in two quarts of salted water with a stalk of celery cut into four pieces, for ten minutes ; drain and shake in a colander ; pick out the bits of celery, put the rice into a saucepan and cover with the hot chicken-gravy. Set in a pan of boiling water oyer the fire and cook gently for fifteen minutes, or until the rice, in swelling, has absorbed all the gravy. Each grain of rice should remain 152 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK whole. Rice paste is abhorrent to a just taste. Make a border of the rice about the chicken when dished, and help a little with each portion of chicken. BOILED CHICKEN AND OYSTERS. Prepare in the usual way and stuff with raw oysters cut in half, peppered and salted, with a few bits of butter among them. Sew up in cheese-cloth and boil twenty minutes to the pound. Undo the cloth, and dish, with oyster sauce poured over them. FRIED CHICKENS. Cut up a pair of young chickens, as for fricassee. Lay in cold water for one minute, and, without wiping them, pepper and salt each piece ; roll in flour and fry in hot fat to a fine brown. Pile upon a hot-water dish ; fry whole bunches of green parsley in the lard and lay over and about them. This is the famous fried chicken of the South. Or— ~" Fry thin slices of fat bacon crisp in a hot pan, take them out and set aside; Cook the chicken prepared as above in the fat left in the frying-pan. Dish the chicken, laying the fried bacon about it as a garnish, cover and keep hot. Stir into the gravy over the fire a tablespoonful pf flour until it begins to brown, and into this, gradually, a cup of cream or milk heated in an- other vessel with a tiny bit of soda in it. Continue to stir until the mixture is smooth ; add a heaping teaspoonful of minced parsley, and pour over the chicken. This is Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy. FRICASSEED CHICKEN (WHITE). Otherwise incurably tough fowls can be made manageable by teeth and digestive organs in this way : Clean, wash, wipe, and joint neatly. This dissection is an art to be studied, much of the comeliness of the dish depending THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK I S3 upon it. Cut with a sharp knife every joint apart from the rest, the breast into two pieces, the back into three. Arrange in layers in a broad pot, sprinkling between these two table- spoonfuls of minced onion and a quarter of a pound of chopped fat salt pork, sprinkle with pepper and chopped parsley, and just cover with cold water. The giblets should be stewed with the rest of the fowl. Cover closely and set at the side of the range, until in about an hour (no sooner) the pot begins to simmer. Set it then where the heat is stronger, but not where it will boil hard, and stew quietly until the chicken is tender. If tolerably young this will happen in an hour from the date of "the first simmer. Old fowls sometimes take three, and even four, hours, but they are bound to succumb finally to the persuasive influence of the gentle boil, provided they never reach a hard, rapid ebullition for one minute while on the fire. Old fowls, yellow of skin, hairy, obdurate of muscle, and with iron-clad breast-bones must be treated according to their de- serts. Allow them all the time there is, keep down the boil, and victory is sure. When tender take out of the gravy and dispose neatly upon a hot dish. Cover and keep warm. There is probably more gravy in the pot than you need for sauce. One good cupful is all you want. Pour off the surplus and set aside for stock. Never waste so much as a thimbleful. Stir into what is left in the pot a cupful of hot milk (not forgetting the pinch 'of soda) in which has been well mixed a tablespoonful of butter cut up with one of flour. Let all boil up once, and pour gradually upon two beaten eggs in a bowl. Without returning to the fire, pour over the chicken and serve. Always pass rice in some shape with fricasseed chicken. FRICASSEED CHICKEN (BROWN). Clean, wash, wipe, and joint as already directed. Fry a dozen slices of fat pork in a broad pot, then a sliced onion until brown, lastly the jointed chicken dredged with flour. Turn the pieces often to brown them equally. When they are well 154 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK colored add just enough hot — not boiling — water to prevent burning. If you have a little stock or consomm6 it is better still. Half a cupful is enough. Cover closely and cook slowly until tender. Lay the chicken in order upon a dish, cover and keep hot while you stir into the gravy two tablespoonfuls of brown roux and a teaspoonful of caramel for coloring, with paprica and minced parsley to taste. Boil up and pour over the chicken. SMOTHERED CHICKEN. Split down the back as for broiling and lay, breast upward, in your covered roaster. Dust with pepper and salt and pour in a cupful of boiling water or weak stock or consomme\ Cover closely, and cook gently fifteen minutes to the pound if young, twenty if the subject be. a year old. If it is over the latter age, cook it in some other way. Lift the cover when the chicken is half done, and turn it over to cook the other side. Ten minutes before taking it up turn the breast upward again, baste well with gravy, then with butter, dredge with flour and cover again, with the valve open, to brown. Take up and dish the chicken, thicken the gravy with brown roux, season to taste, and pour a few spoonfuls over the fowl, the rest into a boat. The flavor of the chicken is better preserved by this process than by any other known to cooks. Therefore the simpler the seasoning the better. BRAISED CHICKEN. Lay in the bottom of your roaster a carrot, cut into dice, a sliced onion, a small young turnip, also sliced, a stalk of celery, minced, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and three table- spoonfuls of minced salt pork. Upon this prepared bed put the chicken, trussed as for roasting, but not stuffed. Over all pour two cupfuls of boiling water ; cover so tightly that little or no steam can escape, and cook twenty-five minutes to the pound. If the fowl be decidedly tough make this half an hour to each pound, or more. Open the roaster but once ; when you judge THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 55 the chicken to be half done, baste it well ; try the breast with a larding-needle or a skewer to see how it is getting on and leave it again. Fifteen minutes before taking it up rub over with butter and dredge with flour to brown it. When done, dish and keep hot ; rub the gravy through a colander, thicken with a little browned flour, boil up, and serve in a boat. This, also, is a capital use to which you may put an aged fowl. BROILED CHICKEN. Clean, wash, wipe, and split down the back, leaving the breast intact. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and wash all over with melted butter or salad oil. Grease a perfectly clean broiler and lay the chicken upon it, breast upward. Put a tin cover or an inverted pan over it until the juices dropping upon the red coals below threaten to smoke it. Lift the broiler now and then to avoid this, and broil about ten minutes to the pound. When half done, turn to cook the upper side. Remove to a hot platter, and anoint generously with a great spoonful of butter mixed with a teaspoonful of lemon-juice and as much minced parsley. Serve hot. Garnish with curled parsley or water-cresses. DEVILED FRIED CHICKEN. Prepare as for frying in the usual way, jointing it neatly, and lay for fifteen minutes in a bath of oil, lemon-juice, paprica, salt, and mustard. Rub the mixture in well and roll in flour. Fry in boiling deep fat, drain and serve upon a hot folded napkin, or upon three thicknesses of tissue-paper fringed at the ends. Garnish with cresses, and serve with a piquante sauce or with mayonnaise. ROAST FRIED CHICKEN. Joint, dust with salt and pepper, dip in beaten egg, then in salted and peppered cracker-dust. Have two tablespoonfuls of butter in a baking-pan; lay the chicken in it, and, covering closely, roast in the oven for half an hour, or until nicely 156 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK browned. Send to table dry and hot, and pass a good white sauce with it. CHICKEN BAKED WITH HAM. Prepare as for roasting, stuff and truss; then wrap in thin slices of cold boiled corned ham. Bind the ham closely to the fowl with cotton string, put into a covered roaster, pour in half a cupful of hot consomm£, or if you have none, or stock of any kind, butter and water; sprinkle with onion and parsley; cover and cook slowly, twenty minutes to the pound. Uncover and baste four times. When a skewer comes out easily and clean from the breast, take the chicken up, undo the wrappings of ham, lay the fowl upon a hot platter with the ham, cut into strips about it, and keep hot. Thicken the gravy with a brown roux, pepper, add three tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, boil up once, and send to table in a boat. The flavor of the chicken will be very fine. CHICKEN CUTLETS. Chop cold chicken fine ; season with onion-juice, celery salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. For two cupfuls allow a cupful of cream or rich milk. Heat this (with a bit of soda stirred in) in a saucepan, and thicken with a tablespoonful of butter rubbed in one of corn-starch, stirred in when the cream is scalding. Cook one minute, put in the seasoned chicken, and cook until smoking-hot. Beat two eggs light ; take the boiling mixture from the fire and add gradually to these. Pour into a broad dish or agate-iron pan and set in a cold place until perfectly chilled and stiff. Shape with your hands, or with a cutter, into the form of cutlets or chops. Dip in egg, then in cracker-crumbs, set on the ice for an hour or two, and fry in deep boiling fat. Send around white sauce with them. CHICKEN AND MACARONI A LA MILANAISE. Boil in the usual way and without stuffing ; unwrap and carve into eleven pieces with a keen knife. Arrange these neatly upon THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 57 a flat stoneware or other fire-proof platter, the white meat at one end, the dark at the other, and cover them with pipe macaroni, or spaghetti, broken into short lengths, and boiled clear, but not until they break, in boiling, salted water, or, better still, in some of the pot-liquor in which the chicken was cooked. In either case boil an onion in the liquor, removing it when you take up the macaroni. Conceal the mound of chicken completely with this, sift Parmesan cheese all over it, set in the oven until browned, and serve in the platter. Another excellent device for disposing of a tough fowl. DEVILED CHICKEN WITH OYSTER SAUCE. Cut cold boiled chicken into neat pieces, an inch and a half long and half as wide, and all as nearly as possible of the same size. Cover with oil and lemon-juice and let them stand in the refrigerator two hours. Then sprinkle with pepper, salt, and a dust of dry mustard, dip in egg and cracker-crumbs, set aside for an hour, or until stiff, and fry to a light brown. Heat a cupful of strained oyster-liquor to boiling, skim, season to taste, and thicken with a tablespoonful of butter rubbed in one of corn-starch. Boil up, stirring all the while, add a table- spoonful of cream and a beaten egg. Half fill nappies or shallow custard-cups with the sauce, lay a piece of chicken upon k, and pass while hot. Eat from the nappies. TIMBALES OF CHICKEN. Chop very fine the meat of an uncooked roasting fowl, or a broiler. The meat must be almost like powder. Stir a pinch of soda into four tablespoonfuls of sweet cream with salt and white pepper. Beat stiff the whites of three eggs. Mix the meat with the cream and beat in the frothed whites. Butter well enough nappies or timbale-moulds to hold the mixture, set in a pan of boiling water ; cover the pan and bake fifteen minutes in a quick oven. Turn out upon hot plates, and pour about each a good white sauce. Serve immediately, as they soon fall. 158 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK CHICKEN PIE. Cut two fowls into joints ; put them on in enough cold water to cover them and stew very slowly at the side of the fire until tender. Take out the meat ; add to the gravy a grated onion, a bay leaf, a stalk of celery, two or three sprigs of parsley, pepper, and salt. Let all simmer together for an hour, and set the sauce- pan aside. Arrange the chicken neatly in a large pudding-dish, pour over it the highly seasoned gravy, and cover all with pastry made by the recipe given below. Bake to a delicate brown. PASTRY FOR CHICKEN PIE. Two pounds of sifted flour ; one and a half pound of butter ; iced water enough to make a stiff paste. Have bowl, chopping-knife, butter, and flour well chilled be- fore beginning work. Chop the butter into the flour, and when the bits of butter are the size of pease pour in the iced water, mix it with the chopping-knife into a rough paste, and turn it out on the board together with any scraps of butter that have not been worked in. Roll it out quickly into a sheet about half an inch thick. Flour lightly, fold it in three, turn the rough edges toward you, and roll out again. Repeat this process three times, handling the pastry just as little as possible. Set it on the ice for an hour at least before using. ENGLISH CHICKEN PIE. Take a pair of young, tender chickens and cut them into neat joints. Lay them in a deep pudding-dish, arranging them so that the pile shall be higher in the middle than at the sides. Re- serve the pinions of the wings, the necks, and the feet, scalding the latter and scraping off the skin. Make small force-meat balls of fine bread-crumbs seasoned with pepper, salt, parsley, a sus- picion of grated lemon->peel, and a raw egg. Form this into little balls with your hands, and lay them here and there in the pie. Pour in a cupful of cold water, cover the pie with a good crust, THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 59 making a couple of cuts in the middle of this, and bake in a steady oven for an hour and a quarter. Lay a paper over the pie if it should brown too quickly. Soak a tablespoonful of gelatine for an hour in enough cold water to cover it. Make a gravy of the wings, feet, and necks of the fowls, seasoning it highly ; dis- solve the gelatine in this, and when the pie is done pour this gravy into it through a small funnel inserted in the opening in the top. The pie should not be cut until it is cold, when the meat will be found embedded in jelly. This is a delicious dish. CASSEROLE OF CHICKEN. A hungry man seeking his luncheon went, not long ago, to a certain French restaurant noted for its rare combination of ad- mirable cookery and reasonable charges. There, moved by a happy inspiration, he ordered and ate a casserole of chicken. It was exceedingly good — so good that he went home and described the dish to his wife with an eloquence that moved her to do her best to reproduce the dainty. She sought through countless cook-books for the directions she needed, and found recipes many for casseroles of various sorts. Some were in the shape of meat-loaves, some took the forms of moulds of rice or potato filled with minced chicken, fish, or meat. Dish after dish she prepared, following with what con- sistency she could the combined directions of the cook-books and her husband, but in vain. The casserole eluded her efforts. To complete her discouragement, none of the notable cooks consulted could offer any satisfactory suggestions. At last, however, one of the least of them, who had never be- fore had anything approaching an original idea, was visited by a lucky thought. This she at once proceeded to put into practice. Selecting for her companion a bon-tnvantvi\\o possessed a fine talent for culinary analysis, she went to the restaurant where the chef- d'oeuvre had been found and ordered casserole of chicken. The two ate and studied and compared impressions and devised for- mulae, and finally exercised financial blandishments upon the head-waiter and the chef. l6o THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK When the seekers for knowledge left the restaurant they bore with them lightened purses, satisfied appetites, and an air of tri- umph. But the most valuable acquisition was a bit of paper, upon which was jotted down, in kitchen French and in the chefs own Gallic handwriting, the outline of the longed- for recipe, and here it is, reduced to the American kitchen idiom. Select a plump spring chicken, clean it, and truss it as for roasting. Place in a casserole two tablespoonfuls of butter, a carrot, and an onion (both cut into slices), two bay-leaves, and a sprig of thyme. Set the casserole on top of the stove for about ten minutes, or until the vegetables are lightly browned in the butter. Pour in then a pint of well-seasoned consomme, cover the casserole closely, put it into the oven, and braise the chicken for three-quarters of an hour. If it is not young and tender it will require longer. Ten minutes before the time is up add two tablespoonfuls of sherry or madeira, and cover again. At the end of the three-quarters of an hour drop into the gravy a dozen or more small potato-balls which have been cut from the raw potato with a Parisian cutter and then browned, or saute in butter. At the same time add an equal number of French champignons. Season the gravy with pepper and salt, and leave the cover off the casserole that the chicken may brown. This should take ten or fifteen minutes. After removing it from the oven, sprinkle finely minced parsley over the chicken, and send it to table in the casserole. The genuine French casseroles are hard to find in this country, and the imported ones are very expensive. For the benefit of those who do not possess these utensils already, it may be stated that any deep earthenware pudding-dish with a closely fitting cover will serve as a substitute. There is a little curio-shop in New York where a feature is made of Mexican and Moorish pot- tery, and here may be found delectable covered pudding-dishes, of a light terra-cotta ware, which are cheap, artistic, and will stand any amount of heat. These are more ornamental than the imported casseroles, and infinitely preferable to the ugly earthen- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK l6l ware saucepans sold by that name. The only essential differ- ence lies in the handles, the Mexican dish having a pair of them instead of the single short one found on the regular casserole. FRICASSEE OF CHICKEN A LA REINE. Joint a pair of young chickens, and put them on the fire in a large saucepan with a quart of cold water. Let it come to a boil slowly ; when it reaches this point put in a couple of stalks of celery, three or four sprigs of parsley, a bay-leaf, and a couple of slices of onion. Season with a tablespoonful of salt and a scant teaspoonful of pepper. Simmer for half an hour, closely covered. As soon as the chicken is done — test it with a fork — take it from the gravy, and keep it warm over hot water while you make the sauce. Cook together in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour until they bubble ; do not allow them to brown ; when they bubble add to them slowly, stirring constantly, a pint of the strained gravy of the chicken. Let this boil for about two minutes. Mix in another bowl the yolks of two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of milk, a table- spoonful of melted butter, and a tiny pinch of red pepper, and add this carefully, almost drop by drop, to the hot sauce, stirring all the time. Do not let the sauce boil again, but when it is thoroughly mixed put in a teaspoonful of lemon-juice ; pour the sauce over the chicken and serve it at once. HUNGARIAN CHICKEN. Joint a fowl as for fricassee ; put it on the fire in enough cold water to cover it ; bring it to a boil slowly, and cook until tender. Unless the chicken is quite young this should require from two to three hours. When it has been simmering about an hour put in a sliced onion, two stalks of celery, three sprigs of parsley, and a teaspoonful of paprica — the Hungarian red pepper. When the chicken is done, arrange it in a dish; add to the gravy salt to taste and the juice of half a lemon, and pour it over the chicken. 1 62 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK TURKISH CHICKEN WITH RICE. Cut up a spring chicken as for fricassee, and put it on the stove in a saucepan with a tablespoonful of butter and a minced onion. When the pieces are lightly browned, which should be in about ten minutes, add a gill of tomato-liquor and a pint of weak chicken-stock, which should have been made from the neck, feet, giblets, and wing-tips of the fowl. Bring this to a boil. Wash and pick over a cupful of raw rice, stir it into the broth, and cook all together for twenty minutes, or until the rice is soft. Ten minutes before it is done add two tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese and a dozen French mushrooms. Be- fore taking from the fire, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve very hot. JELLIED CHICKEN. Take off every bit of skin and cut the meat into pieces of as nearly uniform size as you can manage. Boil four eggs for twenty-five minutes and lay them in cold water for half an hour, then peel and cut into neat round slices. Cut stoned or stuffed olives into halves. Butter a mould or bowl well, and line with alternate rows of the egg-circles and the split olives, the rounded sides of the olives outward. Put a layer of the chicken into the mould, seasoning with pepper and salt ; cover with cold and slightly coagulated jelly (aspic) ; set in a cold place for ten min- utes ; put in another layer of seasoned chicken, more aspic, and so on until the mould is full. Now and then add a few bits of chopped egg and an occasional caper. Set on ice, in warm weather, until you are ready to use it, when wrap a towel, wrung out in boiling water, about the mould and invert upon a cold platter. ASPIC JELLY FOR THE FOREGOING RECIPE. Soak half a box of gelatine in cold water enough to cover it for two or three hours. Boil and clear with white of egg, then strain through flannel two cupfuls of the liquor in which the chicken was boiled, or, if you lack this, the same quantity of THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 163 good consomme, which will not need straining. It should be rather highly seasoned. Take from the fire and stir in the gela- tine ; bring to a boil, let it cook one minute, and stir in four tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar if you wish a tart aspic. If not, omit it. Set aside in a broad bowl to cool. Claret gives a fine color and a pleasant taste to aspic. Some fancy that a little sherry improves the flavor, more epicures object to the somewhat faint " tang " it imparts. MOULD OF CHICKEN AND RICE. Boil a cupful of boiled rice in chicken or other stock, seasoned well with pepper, salt, onion-juice, and celery. Cook twenty minutes hard in the stock, which should boil when the rice is dropped in. Drain the rice dry, beat up a raw egg in it while hot, and let it get cold and stiff. Then line with it a well-, greased mould which has been thickly strewn with fine crumbs. The rice-lining should be nearly an inch thick and hollowed out with the hand. Fill with cold chicken, minced and well sea- soned, put a layer of rice on the top, cover with a tightly fitting lid, set in a pot or pan of hot water and cook one hour. Turn out upon a hot platter and serve with curry or tomato sauce. MARSEILLES BOILED CHICKEN PUDDING. Chop cold chicken fine, and mix it up with a cupful of well- seasoned drawn butter for two cupfuls of meat. Better still, if you have a cupful of good stock or gravy, add to it a few spoon- fuls of cream, thicken to the consistency of starch and moisten the chicken well with this. Beat in the yolk of an egg, and, if convenient, two tablespoonfuls of pounded almonds or of pine- nuts. The mixture should be creamy and soft. Let it get cold and stiff; line a pudding-mould that has a close top with light biscuit-dough, or with family pie-crust, fill with the chicken, put the crust over the top, fit on the lid, and boil for one hour, or steam for an hour and a half. Turn out upon a hot dish and serve egg sauce or a good gravy with it. It must be eaten as soon as it is turned out. 164 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK TO BROIL A COLD CHICKEN. Split down the back and lay, breast uppermost, upon a plate ; pour over and rub into it a marinade of four tablespoonfuls of olive oil and one of lemon-juice. Invert a plate over it, put a heavy weight upon the upper plate and set aside for two hours. Then rub all over well with the oil and lemon-juice, dip in egg, then in fine crumbs, set on the ice, or in a cold place for an hour, and broil over a clear, but not fierce, fire, turning often. Send in a made gravy of the chopped giblets and a large spoonful of chopped champignons, added to a cup of boiling stock and thickened with a brown roux. CHICKEN SCALLOP. Mix two cupfuls of well-seasoned cold chicken with a cupful of boiling oyster-liquor ; bring to a boil, add a cupful of hot milk thickened with a great spoonful of butter rolled in one of flour, and take from the fire. Stir in a tablespoonful of chopped al- monds or of chopped champignons, and the pounded yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Butter a pudding-dish ; cover the bot- tom with a thick layer of crumbs, peppered, salted, and buttered ; pour in the mixture ; cover with another layer of fine crumbs, pepper, salt, and stick bits of butter all over it, and cook, cov- ered, for half an hour, then uncover and brown lightly. You can cook turkey or lamb or duck in the same way, sub- stituting a good stock or a white sauce for the oyster-liquor. CHICKEN CROQUETTES. Make a mixture precisely as above directed ; let it get cold, make into croquettes, roll in egg, then in cracker-crumbs, and set away for several hours to get stiff. Fry in deep, hot cottolene and serve dry. Pass green pease with them. CHICKEN AND SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES. Stir one cupful of minced cold chicken and the same of sweet- breads, boiled and blanched, into a good drawn butter, or four THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 165 tablespoon fuls of chicken-stock thickened with two tablespoon- fuls of white roux. Heat in a vessel set in another of boiling water ; when hot all through take from the fire, add half a cup- ful of hot cream (with a bit of soda stirred in) and the beaten yolks of two eggs. Mix well, set in a cold place until solid ; make into croquettes ; egg and bread them ; set on ice for an hour and fry in deep, hot cottolene. CHICKEN FILLING FOR PATES. One cupful milk, one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful flour, salt, pepper, and a pinch of mace ; juice of half a small lemon. Cook the flour and butter together until they bubble, and pour the milk upon them, stirring until you have a thick, white sauce. Set the vessel containing it in an outer saucepan of boil- ing water and stir into it a cupful of the white meat of chicken, cut, not chopped, with a sharp knife, into small pieces. Let it get hot through before filling the pastry-shells. TURKEY. Turkeys are so near akin to chickens that the directions for roasting and boiling the latter may be used with hardly an alter- ation for the former. The same time — about fifteen minutes to the pound if the fowl be tolerably tender — is observed in cook- ing both kinds of poultry. The same kinds of rechauffes may be made from turkey as from chicken. FLORENTINE ROAST TURKEY STUFFED WITH CHESTNUTS. Prepare the turkey by cleaning, washing, and trussing. Make a dressing of — One quart of Spanish chestnuts ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one teaspoonful of salt ; pepper to taste. Roast or boil the chestnuts. If you roast them do not let them burn. Peel, mash, and chop them. Work in the butter and seasoning and stuff the turkey as you would with bread-dressing. l66 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Of course you could substitute native chestnuts for the Span- ish, boiling and peeling them. But the time required to get out enough meat to fill a turkey would seem to put the substitute out of the question. OYSTER STUFFING FOR TURKEY. To the ordinary stuffing for a turkey, of dry bread-crumbs, seasoned with parsley, thyme, and sweet marjoram, and moistened with melted butter, add two dozen small oysters, chopped fine. Stuff the breast of the turkey with this. A SECOND-DAY TURKEY. If but one side of a boiled or steamed turkey, or a roast that is unfortunately underdone, be left intact after the first visit to the table, it can be made both presentable and palatable by obedience to the following rules : Cover the whole side with tolerably thick and fat slices of boiled cold ham. Bind them in place with cotton-twine or narrow tapes. Lay the turkey, whole side upward, in your covered roaster. If you have any gravy left from yesterday thin it with boiling water, strain, and pour it in the pan about the turkey. If not, weak chicken or veal, or even beef-stock, will do. If you have none of these use boiling water and stir in a tablespoonful of butter. Cover the roaster and cook gently one hour. Baste four times during this hour. Fifteen minutes be- fore dishing cut and withdraw the strings, take off the ham and keep it hot. If the turkey is not brown, dredge with flour and baste well once more. Shut the oven and brown it. Cut the ham into strips, and lay about the fowl when dished. Strain the gravy ; if necessary thicken with browned flour and boil up before serving in a boat. SCALLOPED TURKEY. Cut the remains of a cold turkey into strips an inch and a half long, salt and pepper and set away, covered, in a cold place while you make a good gravy of the carcass, broken to THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK l6j pieces, and the stuffing, with the skin and other uneatable bits. Cover well with cold water and stew down slowly to half the original quantity of liquid. Strain and add the beaten yolks of three eggs for two cupfuls of meat. Stir in the turkey. The mixture should be very soft and well-seasoned. Cover thickly with fine crumbs, salt and pepper, stick bits of butter in this crust, and bake, covered, until it is bubbling hot. Then brown. TURKEY AND SAUSAGE SCALLOP. Butter a pudding-dish and fill with alternate layers of cold minced turkey and cooked minced and cold sausage meat, season- ing slightly as you go. The sausage will supply nearly all the sea- soning you wish. Pour in as much gravy or weak stock as the dish will hold ; let it soak in for a few minutes and cover with a mush of bread-crumbs, peppered, salted, and soaked in cream or milk, then beaten smooth with an egg and a tablespoonful of butter, melted. It should be half an inch thick. Cover and bake for half an hour, then uncover and brown. Serve at once, as the crust soon falls. GALANTINE OF TURKEY. Boil a turkey that is too tough to be served whole. Put it on in cold water, bring slowly to the boil, and cook until the meat slips from the bones. Cut it off while hot and let it get cold. Return the bones to the pot-liquor and cook gently two hours • longer. There should be a full pint of strong stock after the bones are strained out. Heat now and clear with white of egg, strain through flannel and color with a little caramel. Have at hand half a box of gelatine that has been soaked for two hours in a large cupful of cold water. Stir over the fire until the gelatine dissolves and the liquid is hot. Add then half a teaspoonful of onion-juice and a teaspoonful of kitchen - bouquet, with the juice of half a lemon. Dip nappies or custard-cups or broad wine-glasses in cold water, put a notched slice of pickled beet in the bottom of each, and when the jelly is cold a teaspoonful of this. Upon it lay a l68 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK slice of hard-boiled egg yolk, then fill the nappies with minced and highly seasoned turkey to within half an inch of the top. Pour in jelly to the brim, letting it sink as it will into the mince and rise to leave a stratum at top. Set on ice until they are wanted. Turn out upon crisp lettuce- leaves and pass mayonnaise dressing with them. You may sub- stitute a slice of truffle, or half of a stoned olive, the cut side inward, for the pickled beet. A handsome and a delightful entree. HASHED TURKEY. Heat in a saucepan the carcass and stuffing with water enough to cover it two inches deep. Cook slowly for two hours, strain and season with onion-juice, chopped parsley, pepper, and salt. Cut the meat into small dice, and half a can of mushrooms (champignons) into quarters, and stir into the sauce. Heat to scalding, add a glass of sherry and the juice of half a lemon, and serve. BONED TURKEY. With a narrow, keen knife take the bones out of a raw tur- key. Follow one bone until you have loosened it along its length, keeping the blade close to it. Cut the nearest joint and pull it out, with the tendons attached to it, then go on to the next. Patience and dexterity will accomplish the task more easily than you imagine. Now fill the spaces left by the bones with a good force-meat seasoned to taste. Sausage and mush- rooms may be worked to advantage into this force-meat, with bread-crumbs and mashed boiled chestnuts. Sew it up in mos- quito-netting when it is stuffed, retaining some resemblance to the original bird, and braise it upon a bed of minced vegetables, •basting with good stock, and keeping it covered the rest of the time. Put under a light weight, while warm, and do not undo the cloth until next day. Practise upon a chicken befpre under- taking a turkey. Boning-knives can be procured which make the tedious proc- ess easier. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 169 GEESE. A tough chicken is an inconvenience. A tough turkey is a serious annoyance. When a goose is tough the infliction casts inconvenience and annoyance into the shade. And he toughens at such an inconceivably early period of his mortal career ! By the time he is six months old he is a doubtful character. At twelve months he is "impossible" from the market point of view. He is never quite patrician, although tolerated in our best circles when at his best (tenderest) estate. In middle life and in his declining months he is hopelessly plebeian. When cooked at that age the most attractive thing about him is the savory odor that arises while the process is going on. "And now two smaller Cratchits, boy and girl, came tearing in, screaming that outside the baker's they had smelled the goose and known it for their own," moves the initiated reader to compassionate forebodings of the awakening that might be in store for the revelers-expectant. There is relief in the sigh of satisfaction with which we see, on turning the page, "There never was such a goose cooked. Its tenderness and flavor, size, and cheapness were the themes of universal admira- tion." That was an English Christmas and the Cratchits were an ex- ceptional family. For the sake of such and for less uncommon folk, with whom size and smell go far in a Christmas dinner, it behooves us to make the goose of every age as masticable as is practicable by kindly and cunning devices. ROAST GOOSE. It must be under a quarter of a year old. Prepare for roast- ing as you would a turkey. He is more hairy than other fowls and needs careful singeing. In mixing the dressing make judi- cious use of onion and sage. They go well with the strong meat. Old-fashioned English cooks used to mix a little minced 170 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK apple with the bread-crumbs and seasoning. The acid is pleas- ant in this combination. Lay the goose in a covered roaster ; dash a great cupful of boiling water over him into the dripping-pan below ; dredge him with flour, salt, and pepper ; cover and cook twenty minutes to the pound, if young, lengthening the time in proportion to his age. Chop the giblets fine and stir into the gravy, with browned flour for thickening. Serve apple sauce with it. BRAISED GOOSE. Prepare as for roasting, but do not stuff. Cut an onion, a ear- rot, a turnip, two stalks of celery, and a fine pippin into thin slices (chopping the celery), and dispose them in the bottom of the roaster. Sprinkle the vegetables with powdered sage, pepper, and salt. Lay the goose upon them ; pour over it two cupfuls of boiling water, dredge with salt, pepper, powdered sage, and flour ; cover closely and cook slowly, allowing twenty-five minutes to the pound. When half the time has expired, turn the goose over on his side, and an hour later upon the other. Take him up and keep hot. Rub the vegetables and gravy through a colander, return to the fire, and stir in a tablespoonful of browned flour. Boil up once, pour half over the goose and send in the rest in a boat. GERMAN RAGOUT OF GOOSE. Cut up the remains of yesterday's braised or roast goose into neat pieces. Put into a saucepan and cover with the gravy left from the former dish. If you have none, cut earlier in the day a carrot, a turnip, an onion, an apple, and a stalk of celery into small dice and stew soft in a pint of consomm6 or weak stock. Rub through a colander and use it for covering the pieces of goose. Cover closely and stew gently for an hour and a half, longer if the fowl be tough. Take up the meat, arrange neatly upon a flat dish, and pour the gravy over all. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 171 A palatable accompaniment to this ragout is a garnish of small, well-flavored apples, boiled tender, but not until they break to pieces. Leave them in the water until you can handle them, when skin, sprinkle with sugar, and keep hot over boiling water until the goose is dished. Lay them close about the meat, and serve one with each portion. DUCKS. These pets of the poulterer are as distinctively aristocratic as our geese are plebeian, an honor for which the buyer has to pay. They deserve popularity, being more delicate of flesh and flavor than geese, and retain their good qualities longer. ROAST DUCKS. Clean with care, and, after washing well, rinse out with soda and water. Lay in cold water for half an hour ; wipe dry and stuff" with bread-crumbs, seasoned with butter, pepper, salt, a half teaspoonful of onion-juice, and just a pinch of powdered sage. Dredge with salt, pepper, and flour ; dash a cupful of boiling water over them and roast, covered, twelve minutes to the pound, if you like them rather rare ; fifteen, if you would have them well done. Baste four times, the last time with butter, after which dredge with flour and brown. Chop the giblets for the gravy, and thicken with browned flour. When green pease can be procured they should accompany ducks. BRAISED DUCK. Proceed as with braised goose, omitting the apple from the " bed " and adding onion and sage very sparingly. STEWED DUCKS. Ducks which are no longer in the first flush of youth may be treated satisfactorily in this way. Joint as for fricassee ; pepper, salt, and flour them. Heat good 172 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK dripping in a frying-pan and fry a sliced onion to a light brown. Take out the onion, put in the duck, and cook ten minutes, turn- ing two or three times. Put into a saucepan a cupful of stock or consommg, and while it is still cold lay in the jointed duck. Cover and stew slowly until tender, season with pepper and salt, a tablespoonful of tomato catsup, and a dash of lemon-juice. Sim- mer three minutes, stir in a tablespoonful of brown roux, cook a minute to thicken it, add a glass of sherry, and serve. SALMI OF DUCK. Cut up the carcass of a roasted or braised duck, the meat into neat dice, bones, stuffing, and skin into small pieces. Cover the meat-dice with a marinade of salad oil and lemon-juice, and leave in a cold place while you prepare the gravy or sauce. Cover the bones, etc. , well with cold water, add parsley, pepper, and salt, and simmer, after this reaches the boil, for two hours. Strain, thicken the gravy with browned flour rubbed up with a spoonful of butter ; add the juice of half an onion, boil up and put in the meat. Draw to the side of the range and let it almost, but not quite, boil. Take out the meat and arrange neatly upon a flat dish. Add to the gravy half a can of cham- pignons, (or, if you can get them, fresh mushrooms are far better). Simmer three minutes and pour over the meat. Garnish with sippets of fried bread. ROAST DUCKLINGS. Whip three tablespoonfuls of mashed potatoes to a white cream with butter and a tablespoonful of cream. Season with celery salt and white pepper, add three tablespoonfuls of almonds, blanched and chopped very fine. With this mixture stuff your young ducks when you have cleaned and washed them. Do not distend the bodies, but fill without packing. Truss and bind legs and wings into position with cotton-twine. Lay the plump creatures (they must be fat and white) upon the grating of your roaster, rub the breast with a split onion, dust with pepper, salt, 7W.fi NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 73 and flour ; put a cupful of boiling water into the pan and cover. Set in a very quick oven for the first fifteen minutes. Change, then, to a more moderate, and cook, still covered, ten minutes to the pound. Uncover, baste well with gravy, then with butter, dredge with flour, and brown. Skim the fat from the gravy, thicken with a tablespoonful of browned flour, rubbed up with two tablespoonfuls of currant jelly, and send to table in a boat. This is one of the choicest of summer delicacies. RAGOUT OF DUCK AND GREEN PEASE. Cook , the remnants of a pair of roast ducks as directed in recipe for Salmi of Duck, and when done pile the meat in the centre of the dish ; put a quart of green pease, well boiled and drained, about them like a green fence, and pour the gravy over all. FAMILIAR TALK. A WORD ABOUT POTS AND PANS. When you are furnishing your pantry bear in mind that it is sometimes poor economy to save money. Be a little lavish in pots and pans, bowls and spoons. Your strength is your capital. Do not squander it by doing without what you need in the way of utensils, or wear yourself out washing them again and again in the course of one morning's work, because you have an over-scant supply of necessary vessels. There are plenty of homes where the abundant food served on handsome china is prepared by the cook with the greatest diffi- culty because of insufficient utensils. A visit to such kitchens would reveal make-shifts that are usually associated with poverty. Cake and puddings mixed in a soup-tureen or vegetable-dish, in default of regular mixing-bowls, bread set to rise in a dish-pan for lack of a bread-bowl, left-overs set away in the handsome china dishes in which they came from the table because there 174 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK are not kitchen plates and cups to hold them, worn-out chop- ping-bowls, leaky measuring-cups, dented and dingy tins, and a general "down-at-heel " condition of affairs. This is not always the fault of the mistress. Often it happens that she has provided all the essentials, and the carelessness of her servants has brought about the dearth and disorder. Unless she goes into the kitchen regularly, and looks well to the ways of her pantries she must expect that loss and breakages will pass un- reported. The woman who does more or less of her own cook- ing will be spared this annoyance at least. The best ware for pots and pans is usually of agate-iron, although it is difficult to find a make that will not crack or scale. The blue porcelain-lined vessels are always pretty and clean - looking. Of these or the agate-iron should be the double-boil- ers, the double - bottomed saucepans, the frying - kettle, the pudding-dishes, and sundry other equally useful vessels. Have an omelet-pan as well as a frying-pan, a waffle-iron as well as a griddle, muffin-tins as well as biscuit-pans. And, above all, do not stint yourselves in the matter of bowls. Have of big bowls one or two, of medium-sized bowls three or four, and of small bowls as many as your financial conscience will allow you to get. They are cheap, they take up little room, are easily kept clean, and are always useful, not only for mixing small quantities, for beating an egg or two, but for holding a spoonful of this or half a cupful of that remnant. Be lavish, also, in spoons for mixing and for measuring, and in knives of various sizes for cutting meat and bread, for paring apples and potatoes. Have a split spoon for taking croquettes and fritters from the boiling fat, meat-forks, cake-turners, and a palette-knife for lifting and turning an omelette. Provide your- self with a board to cut bread upon, with a paint-brush to grease cake-tins, with an iron-handled chain -dishcloth for cleaning pots and pans, with a long-handled mop, a vegetable-grater, a cheese- grater, a vegetable-press, a gravy-strainer, a long-nosed pitcher for griddle-cake batter, and more than one egg-beate^ There are many other no less useful articles that will readily THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 175 suggest themselves, such as fish and meat broilers, toasters, cro- quette-baskets, and the like. This paper is not meant to give a complete list of kitchen furnishings, but rather as a plea to the housekeeper to supply herself with those aids which will lighten her labors. Of course she can branch out to any extent, but there is a clearly drawn line between the things she should have and those she can get along without. Some writers of house- hold topics fail to recognize this point of division, and enumerate among the articles necessary to every cook such a collection of border-moulds, pastry-tubes, boning-knives, salamanders, roasters, steamers, sieves, and bains-marie that the young housekeeper of small means is utterly discouraged, while the experienced woman who has kept house long and well without these appliances is amused and scornful, and discounts the value of the entire list. C. T. H. GAME. REDHEAD OR CANVASBACK DUCKS (ROASTED). Singe and draw, but do not wash the ducks. Wipe them, in- side and out, with a soft, damp cloth. Cut off the pinions and tie what is left of the wings to the bodies. Instead of stuffing them, pepper and salt the cavity of the body, wash out with salad oil and lemon -juice and put a teaspoonful of currant jelly, or three or four cranberries, in each. Put into your covered roaster ; pour half a cupful of boiling water into the dripping- pan beneath ; cover closely and cook half an hour, basting three times. Uncover, wash all over with a mixture of butter and lemon-juice, and brown. Send currant jelly around with them. REDHEAD OR CANVASBACK DUCKS (BROILED). Clean and wipe with a soft, damp cloth within and without. Split down the back and flatten the protuberant breast-bone with the broadside of a hatchet, then leave them in a marinade of salad oil and lemon-juice for one hour, setting them in a cold place. Without wiping them, broil over red, clear coals for twenty minutes, if they are plump and large ; less time will do for small birds. Turn them twice. Send around currant or grape jelly with them, and when dish- ing put upon each breast a teaspoonful of butter beaten to a cream with lemon-juice and finely chopped parsley. ROAST PRAIRIE CHICKENS OR GROUSE. Test them, after cleaning and wiping, and if theyjPfe tough put them — trussed as for roasting — into a steamer and set over THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK IJJ hard-boiling water for half an hour. While still hot rub them well with butter and lemon-juice, salt and pepper, inside and out, put a small bit of fat salt pork in each and roast, covered, in a quick oven half an hour. Baste three times with butter and hot water, and, just before taking them up, with butter alone. They are dry birds and need mollifying. Send currant jelly and bread sauce around with them. BROILED GROUSE (LARDED). Singe, clean, wipe well, split down the back, and lard the breasts with narrow strips of fat salt pork, drawn through the skin for an inch and out the other side with a larding-needle. Or, if they are decidedly tough, steam for half an hour and lay until cold in a marinade of lemon-juice and oil. Pepper and salt and broil for fifteen minutes. Serve upon squares of toasted bread, or upon oblongs of fried hominy. Butter well before sending to table. SALMI OF GROUSE. Cut neatly into joints a pair of underdone grouse and divide the breasts into two pieces each. Put a cupful of good stock or consomme 1 in a saucepan, season well, add a minced onion, a chopped carrot, and a stalk of celery, with a little minced parsley, and cook slowly one hour. Rub through a colander, stir in a tablespoonful of brown roux, bring to a boil, and put in the grouse. After this it must not boil, but set it in a saucepan of boiling water just where it will keep at the scalding-point for half an hour. At the last put in half a cupful of mushrooms, heated in their own liquor, and serve. If you have preserved the giblets of the grouse, mince them fine, work them to a paste with butter, season with salt and pepper, and spread them on buttered toast upon the dish intended for the salmi before it goes in. The toast will absorb the gravy and be delicious. ROAST QUAILS. Draw and wipe carefully within and without with a soft, damp cloth. Put a whole raw oyster in the body of each, and truss as 178 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK you would a chicken. Bind thin slices of fat bacon over the breast; lay upon the grating of your roaster, put a very little hot water under them and cook, covered, in a lively oven, for twenty minutes, basting three times with butter and water. Wash well with butter, pepper, and salt, and serve upon squares of buttered toast, wet with gravy from the roaster. BROILED QUAILS. Draw, wipe, and split down the back, then leave them in a marinade of salad oil and lemon-juice for half an hour. With- out wiping, broil on a wire "bird-broiler" for ten minutes, turning twice. Butter, salt, and pepper them, and serve on squares of buttered toast, upon each of which has been poured a teaspoonful of hot stock. ROAST PARTRIDGES. Clean and truss as you would chickens. Bind thin slices of fat salt pork or bacon over the breasts and put into your roaster with half a cupful of boiling water. Pepper and salt the birds and wash over with melted butter, letting it drip into the pan below. Cook, covered, forty-five minutes, basting four times with butter and water. Serve with a good bread sauce, but after dishing pour over the birds several spoonfuls of their own gravy from the pan. ROAST PIGEONS (WILD). Unless you are sure that they are tender, stew them or put them into a pie. Draw and wash them thoroughly ; wipe dry, salt and pepper the insides ; truss and bind them into shape with cotton string; cover the breasts with thin slices of fat bacon tied in place, lay them, breasts upward, in your roaster, and pour in half a cupful of hot water or weak stock. Cook, covered, fifteen minutes ; remove the pork, rub all over with butter and lemon-juice, and brown. Keep the pigeons hot while you stir into the gravy THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 79 a tablespoonful of butter cut up in one of browned flour and another of currant jelly. Boil up once and pour over the pigeons. BROILED SQUABS. Split down the back, rub all over with butter, salt and pepper them, and broil over red coals. Serve upon buttered toast wet with a little hot stock or gravy. BRAISED PIGEONS WITH MUSHROOMS. Drain, wash, and stuff, with a force-meat of crumbs and chopped fat pork, seasoned with onion-juice, salt, and pepper. Pre- pare the usual bed of vegetables— minced carrot, onion, celery, and parsley. Lay the pigeons upon it ; add a cupful of stock, or of butter and water, cover and cook gently one hour, or until tender. Dish the birds and keep hot ; rub the gravy through a colander into a saucepan, season to taste, add a dozen fresh mushrooms cut into small pieces, simmer five minutes, thicken with a tablespoonful of brown roux, boil up and pour over the pigeons. PIGEON PIE. Clean, wash, and joint ; wipe dry, pepper, salt, and sauti them in hot dripping in which an onion has been fried. Butter a deep dish and lay in the meat alternately with layers of fat salt pork, chopped fine, hard-boiled eggs, and the giblets of the birds, boiled and minced. Dredge flour over the pigeons as they go in. When the dish is full pour in a cupful of the water in which the giblets were cooked, seasoned with pepper and salt. Cover the pie with a good crust, cut a slit in the middle, and bake one hour in a moderate oven. ENGLISH JUGGED PIGEONS. Clean, wash, and stuff with a good force-meat of crumbs, chopped fat pork, the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs rubbed to powder, and a tablespoonful of celery boiled tender and chopped. Season to taste with onion-juice, pepper, and salt. Truss the 180 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK birds ; tie wings and legs close to the bodies and pack in an agate- iron pail with a close top. Plunge this into boiling water deep enough to cover the pail almost to the top, but not to float it. Put a weight on the top to keep the pail from turning over as the boiling becomes hard, and cook for three hours if the pigeons are 'tough. Dish the birds, thicken the gravy with browned flour, add a tablespoonful of tomato catsup, boil up and pour over the pigeons. CURRIED PIGEONS. Cook as above directed, dish and add to the gravy two teaspoonfuls of curry-powder. Boil one minute before pouring over the birds. Serve with boiled rice. Pass ice-cold bananas with this dish. WOODCOCK, SNIPE, AND OTHER SMALL BIRDS are usually broiled in the same manner as squabs. They are also nice (especially woodcock) cleaned and left whole, the head skinned, the eyes extracted, and the head twisted over the shoulder until the bill pierces the body. Bind a thin slice of fat pork or bacon closely about each bird. When all are ready lay them upon the grating of your covered roaster, pour a very little boiling water under them, cover and roast fifteen minutes. Remove the bacon, wash the birds over with butter, and brown. Boil the giblets and pound fine ; rub to a paste with butter ; season to taste. Have ready squares of toast, buttered. Wet with the pan-gravy and spread with the paste, laying a bird upon each. BORDEAUX STEWED RABBITS. Skin, clean, and joint. Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan and fry in it a sliced onion. When it is slightly colored put in the pieces of hare, salted, peppered, and dredged with flour, and cook five minutes, turning over and over that all parts may be seared. Cover with cold water or weak stock, add THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK l8l parsley, sweet marjoram, pepper, and salt, and stew gently until tender. Take up the meat with a skimmer and pile upon a dish. Add to the gravy in the saucepan a great spoonful of brown roux, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and, if you like, half a cup- ful of chopped mushrooms or champignons. Boil two minutes, take from the fire, put in a glass of claret, pour over the meat, cover, and set in an open oven for five minutes before serving. ROAST HARES OR RABBITS. " Old hare " at the South, let the age be what it may. At the North and West it is a rabbit, tame or wild. Skin and clean them. The latter process should be thorough. Good cooks are sometimes less heedful than they should be in this respect. Chop the livers fine, also a slice of fat pork, and mix with bread-crumbs. You may add a few champignons or mushrooms if you like. Season with pepper, salt, and onion-juice. Stuff the rabbits with this, sew them up, and anoint well with salad oil and lemon-juice, leaving them in this marinade for an hour. Put into the roaster, pour a cupful of weak stock, or con- somme, or butter and water under them ; cover and cook for an hour. Take off the bacon, wash over with butter, and brown. Dish the hares, and keep hot, while you thicken the gravy with browned flour, boil up, add a teaspoonful of catsup and half a glass of claret, pour a few spoonfuls over the rabbits, the rest into a boat. JUGGED HARE. Skin, clean, and joint a full-grown rabbit, or hare. Cut the back into two pieces, and sever every joint. Fry a sliced onion to a pale brown in hot dripping, put in the meat, peppered, salted, and floured, and cook for ten minutes, fast, turning often. Put into the bottom of an agate-iron saucepan a layer of chopped fat salt pork, sprinkle with onion, parsley, and paprica. Upon this lay the pieces of hare and cover with another layer of chopped 1 82 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK pork and onion. A few bits of fresh tomato would not be amiss. Pour in a cupful of cold, weak stock in which a stalk of celery has been boiled, then removed. Fit on a tight top, set in a vessel of cold Water, and bring slowly to a boil. Keep this up for three hours, or until the meat is tender. Dish the pieces of rabbit, thicken the gravy -with browned flour ; add a tablespoonful of currant jelly and one of lemon -juice, simmer one minute, pour in a .glass of sherry and turn all upon the meat. Garnish with triangles of fried hominy, serving a bit with each portion of hare. This is an English dish and good. ROAST VENISON. The best pieces for roasting are the leg, the haunch, and, chiefest of all, the saddle. The general treatment is the same as that bestowed upon prime mutton. Cook about twelve minutes to the pound. Venison should be hung for several days before it is used in winter. If it be frozen, so much the better. When you are ready to cook it wash it all over with vinegar, rub this in well, wipe the meat, and rub it as faithfully with butter or with salad oil. Send around currant jelly with it, and mix a tablespoopful of the same in the gravy when you thicken it, with a glass of claret, or other red wine. VENISON STEAK. Cook as you would beefsteak, allowing a little more time, as the meat is firm and close-grained. When it is done lay it upon a hot-water dish, pepper and salt, and put upon it a great spoonful of butter, beaten to a cream, with one of currant jelly. Cover the dish, let the sauce melt, turn the steak in it and put another spoonful upon the other side. Eat hot. "VENISON PASTY." Cut cold, underdone venison into neat dice, season with pep- per and salt, and lay in salad oil and lemon-juice for one hour. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 83 Make a gravy, some hours before you are ready to make- the pasty, of venison or beef-bones, bits of skin, and refuse bits of meat, with a chopped carrot, an onion, and a stalk of celery ; cover with cold water. Boil down to half the original quantity of liquid, strain and season, thicken with brown roux, boil up again and let it get cold. Pack the venison in a deep dish, seasoning each layer as it is put in with pepper, salt, and onion-juice. Next to the first thickness put a dozen or more dice of cold boiled tongue (beef is good, but calf's or lamb's tongue is better), sprinkle with bits of butter dipped in flour, and here and there a great drop of cur- rant jelly. On the tongue lay chopped *salt pork and minced parsley. Squeeze a few drops of lemon- and of onion-juice on each layer. When all are in pour in gravy enough to be seen through the topmost layer, but not to cover it. Put over all a thick crust of puff-paste with a slit in the middle, and leaves or triangles of pastry overlapping the edges toward the centre. Bake in a steady oven for an hour. As the pasty browns, wash it with white of egg, and when this hardens, with butter, and leave in the oven to glaze. FAMILIAR TALK. KITCHEN PHYSIC. Nature's treasure-house is continually yielding up new secrets that are for the healing of nations. By wise application of these medical science has added within half a century five and a half years to the average of human life. She has other, and what may be classed among open, secrets that even sensible people are slow to comprehend and to use to the advantage of the race. Fondness for drugs and ignorance of the laws of health usually go hand in hand. The reader of " The Mill on the Floss " re- calls as a stroke of genius sallow Mrs. Pullet's mournful pride in the fact that no other woman in the parish had swallowed such quantities of doctor's stuff as herself. In proof of which dis- tinction she points to the empty bottles and boxes on the shelf, 1 84 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK and regrets that, " as for the boluses there is nothing to show for them without it is the bills. ' ' Every parish has its Pullets — the wife who doses herself with physic, and the husband who "draws" his drugs "mild," by keeping medicated lozenges in his mouth. But for them the patentees and pedlers of panaceas could not build palaces and drive four-in-hands. Even conscientious members of the profes- sion devote more thought to remedial than to preventive meas- ures. We must go to the antipodes to find a spasm of sense that pays the family physician for keeping his charges well, and stops his salary as soon as one of them becomes a "patient." The American practitioner in good and regular standing who makes much of " kitchen physic " is rated as old-womanish. The best of the guild are more ready to say what the sick ought not to eat than to advise what well people should eat, and when and how, if they would keep well. I know a woman who would be handsome but for growing obesity, and a red muddiness of skin that defies alterative drugs, mineral waters, and cosmetics. Her- physician lately prescribed walking in the open air for an hour each day. " Walking ! " cried the perplexed patient. " I do little else. I walk miles every day of my life. I know nobody who walks more unless it be our letter-carrier. ' ' The pedestrian's friends whisper among themselves that she is " a high liver," addicted (the word is not too strong) to gravy- soups and entrees, teeming with indigestion ; to fat ducks and salmon and lobster ; to rich puddings and sauces ; to pastry transparent with butter ; to strong coffee, chocolate, nuts, raisins, confectionery, and so-called digestive liqueurs. Such things, when indulged in freely and habitually, will not down for all the medicines in the Pharmacopoeia, and even bodily exercise profiteth little, although taken in the life-giving air of heaven. In the good time coming doctors will league — not with drug- gists — but with greengrocers and butchers. Prescriptions for juicy steaks, tender chops, fish, full of phosphates for bone and brain, and fresh vegetables, will take the place of mystical THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 85 scrawls ordering quinine, calisaya, antipyrin, phenacetine, the various bromides, hydrarg. cum creta and myriads of other mineral and vegetable poisons. Manuals of Domestic Medicine will be discarded for familiar treatises upon Dietetics and the Chemistry of Pood. As a means to this end and the health and longevity of our race, each house-mother should study what kind of food will most surely build up the systems of growing children and maintain the vigor of adults. It sounds harsh, but it is a harsh truth, that thousands of people in otherwise fairly comfortable circumstances throughout our land suffer, and that many actually die yearly, from malnutrition. Their stomachs are distended tri-daily with what passes for food, but it is not food convenient for human creatures. The table is the first objective point of economy when econ- omy becomes necessary. " We must live more plainly," signi- fies a cutting off and a shutting down upon provision bills. Salted meats and fish are substituted for fresh ; canned fruits and vegetables are cheaper in all seasons than those newly gathered, and are purchased by the family caterer as a matter of principle. In farming districts, peopled by fairly prosperous freeholders, "butchers' meat" is a novelty in home bills-of-fare, being re- served for high-days and holidays, and the slaughter of a fowl for home consumption is an event bordering upon a solemn cere- monial. The barrel of pickled pork, the keg of pickled fish, the store of smoked beef and hams, the bins of potatoes, turnips, and cabbages, supply with dreary monotony the family table from October until June, when new potatoes, turnips, and cabbages "come in." Eggless rice-puddings and leathery apple-pies, on five days out of seven, fill up the chinks left in disappointed stomachs by the solids enumerated. The quality of home-made bread in these households leaves so much to be desired that the sawdusty loaves left semi- weekly by the neighborhood baker are a welcome variety. From this class of a rural and religious population, and from the corresponding rank of city mechanics, clerks, and small house- 1 86 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK keepers, is recruited the largest constituency of doctors and apothecaries. Butcher and greengrocer rate them as indifferent customers. These are the buyers of fowls at twelve cents per pound when the market-price is sixteen cents ; of equivocal fish and Saturday bargains in berries and peaches that cannot be kept over Sunday, and ought to have been sold on Friday. The purchasers will tell you honestly — and patiently, being, as I have said, religious — that they cannot afford choice cuts and fresh vegetables and fruits ; furthermore, that their children must be brought up frugally to prepare them for the lives of working-people. They have but one idea of more palatable and nourishing food than their own, and that is, that it costs more money. Talk of broths, rich in delicious nutriment, that may be evolved from coarse lean meat and cracked bones and a handful of vege- tables ; of cereals, any one of which, when properly cooked and eaten with good milk, is a breakfast in itself for hungry, growing children ; of methods of cooking tough poultry and joints that mellow tissues and keep in the juices which are the life-giving element of the meat ; of the genuine economy of buying firm, ripe fruits in their season instead of manufacturing leathery pastry and tasteless puddings — is thrown away upon the feminine Bour- bons of the American kitchen. They receive into credulous ears, and alas ! into good and honest hearts, the plausible periods of patent-medicine venders, and estimate the family doctor's skill by the number of prescriptions he leaves, or the drugs he compounds in their sight. The head of such a household told me the other day, with melancholy complacency, that his doctor's bill last year was $250. He added pridefully that ' ' having had so much sickness in the family he and his wife had considered it a duty to. be as econom- ical as possible," and that the butcher's meat for themselves and five children had not cost $50 in twelve months. The sallow wife subjoined, with a sickly smile, that she " mostly lived on tea and toast. Seems 's if meat went against my stomach." Tea and toast go as naturally together with the weaker vessels THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 87 among these sufferers as corned beef and cabbage with those of stronger physical mould. It is difficult to decide which is the more unholy combination. Tea and dry or buttered toast as certainly generate acid in the stomach as corned beef and cab- bage defy gastric juices and irritate the mucous membranes. Good- meats, vegetables, and fruits at any cost are less expensive than the doctor and druggist, who try to repair the evil-doing of indi- gestible food. Excellent materials, badly cooked, are an outrage to natural laws; poor materials are made intolerable by poor cooking. The result gained will be worth all the expenditure of time, money, and thought on the part of the house-mother who, by attention to this vital subject, learns to feed her family aright. The higher physical education of the nation begins in the nursery. In carrying it forward through childhood, youth, and maturity, the mother is a whole " faculty " in herself. Hers are the hands that are to throttle the serpent of National Dyspepsia. M. H. EGGS. An egg which is more than doubtful will float in cold water and should be thrown away without further test. An egg that is not perfectly fresh will have a smooth shell, a newly laid egg a rough. Within three days from the time of laying, the lime of the shell begins to disintegrate in the air. Within ten days the meat of the egg begins to evaporate through the shell ; the latter loses its pearly whiteness and becomes glossy. To prevent disintegration and evaporation, the egg may be dipped in melted fat, or varnished, or coated with beeswax. Eggs packed down in melted lard will keep for weeks. Pack them in a jar, the small end downward, pour the melted (not warm) fat about them until all are covered. They may also be packed in dry salt, or covered with a solution of saltpetre and lime in hot water, which should cool before it is poured over the eggs. BOILED EGGS. There are three things which the Average Cook holds and be- lieves for certain that anybody can do without being taught, yea, four which are too easy to learn. The three are : Tea-Mak- ing, Dish- Washing, and Toasting Bread. The fourth is Boiling an Egg. " They are as easy as breathing," she says, disdainfully. Perhaps so. Not one human creature in a thousand knows how to draw his breath properly. "There's wit goes to the boiling of eggs," is a pithy old proverb that rings sadly in the ear of her who must herself see to THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 89 the cooking of every egg every morning in the year if she would have them "just right." The best way of all, to the present writer's way of thinking, and tasting, is to lay the eggs in lukewarm water for a few min- utes to take off the chill, then to put them into a saucepan of water which is at a positive and furious boil, and as soon as they are in, to draw the saucepan out of the way of possible reboil, cover it closely and leave the eggs in it for six minutes. A woollen cap, like a tea-cosey, is a good thing to have for such a purpose. Cover the saucepan with a closed lid, envelop it in the cap, and let it alone until the time is up. The white and yolk will be of custard-like consistency, and so much more digestible than when cooked by actual boiling, that it is strange the mode is not more generally adopted. Another Way. Be sure that the water boils. It is not enough that it simmers. There must be violent ebullition. Put in the eggs (always with a spoon, never drop them in) ; cover and cook for three minutes and a half, take them up and serve immediately, wrapped in a warmed napkin. Still Another. Cover the eggs with cold water ; put them directly over a hot fire, and as soon as the water boils take them out. STEAMED EGGS. Break the shells and drop the contents carefully into buttered nappies of stone china. Put them into the perforated pan of a steamer, fit on the lid and keep the water below at a hard boil for seven minutes, or until the whites are set. SHIRRED EGGS. Butter the nappies and break the eggs into them, one in each. Arrange in a perforated pan or in a broad wire basket and set in boiling water on top of the range. Leave them in 190 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK the water until the white is set, when take up the nappies, put a bit of butter and a dust of salt and pepper upon each, and send at once to table. Eat from the nappies. The flavor of eggs cooked in this way is considered more deli- ' cate than when they are prepared in any other manner. They imbibe no taste from the lime of the shell, as sometimes happens when they are,boiled, and are not made insipid by contact with the boiling water as when poached. POACHED OR DROPPED EGGS. The neatest way of poaching eggs is to cook them in muffin- rings or in rings made expressly for this purpose. Put the rings or the poacher in shallow boiling water, slightly salted, and with a tablespoonful of vinegar in it. Let the water begin to bubble again before you break an egg into each ring. Draw to the side of the range, where the water will just simmer about the edge of the pan, and watch the eggs until they are "set" all through. As usually poached or " dropped," eggs are soft in the middle and hard on the edges. Have ready rounds of delicately browned toast thick enough not to curl with the heat ; butter them well, put a teaspoonful of boiling, salted water in the centre of each, and lay an egg upon it. The dish is made more savory if you will wet the toast with hot stock or consomme. It is especially nice when wet with oyster-liquor. CREAMED POACHED EGGS. Heat a cupful of cream with a pinch of soda in it, in a small frying-pan. When it boils break into it an indubitably fresh egg and cook three minutes, or until it is set. Take it out with a per- forated spoon, lay upon buttered toast in a hot-water dish, and drop in a second, then a third. Put a tiny bit of butter upon each egg, dust with salt and pepper, and serve. A single egg poached in half a cupful of hot cream makes a delicious and nourishing breakfast for an invalid. An epicurean THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 191 bachelor cooked two eggs in cream every morning for ten years in his apartment with a chafing-dish, and, with strong, hot coffee made over a spirit-lamp, and two crisp rolls left by a French baker, asked for nothing more luxurious. EGGS A LA CREME. Heat half a pint of new milk in a pudding-dish on top of the stove, melt in a tablespoonful of butter, and when the milk boils break into it six eggs. Season with salt and pepper, cook for three minutes more. Serve in the dish in which they were cooked. EGGS POACHED IN CONSOMME. Heat a pint of consomme or clear beef-soup to boiling. Poach six eggs in it, two at a time, lay them in a dish that will stand the heat, and put the soup on the hot part of the stove where it will quickly reduce one-half. While it boils sprinkle a table- spoonful of grated cheese over the eggs, and set them in a hot oven. Thicken the soup with a tablespoonful of browned flour, kneaded with half as much butter, and when it is smooth and thick pour it around the eggs. EGGS A LA LYONNAISE. Boil six eggs hard and cut them into slices. Fry a small onion, sliced, in a tablespoonful of butter. Take out the onion ; stir in half a pint of milk in which has been mixed a table- spoonful of flour. Cook this to a smooth sauce, add pepper and salt to taste, put in the sliced eggs, cook two minutes longer, and serve on small squares of buttered toast. SAVORY EGGS. Boil six eggs hard and slice them. Brown half a small onion in a tablespoonful of butter, add a cupful of broth or gravy, and boil for ten minutes, until the sauce is reduced to half the original quantity. Take out the onion ; season with salt, pepper, and a 192 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK small teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, lay in the sliced eggs, and let them get heated through. The sauce must not boil after the eggs go in. POWDERED EGGS. Boil six eggs hard. Chop the whites coarsely and rub the yolks through a sieve. Make a white sauce by cooking together a tablespoonful of butter and one of flour in a saucepan until they bubble, add half a pint of milk, and stir until thick and smooth. Season with salt and white pepper, stir in the minced whites, and when these are heated through, turn them upon a hot dish. Strew the yolks over them and set in the oven for two minutes. CURRIED EGGS. Six hard-boiled eggs cut into rather thick slices with a sharp knife. One cupful of gravy in which an onion has been cooked. One teaspoonful of curry -powder. If gravy is not available an onion may be stewed in a little soup-stock, and this strained and thickened with brown flour. Heat the gravy to boiling, stir in the curry-powder, and lay the sliced egg in it, taking care not to break the pieces. The gravy must be deep enough to cover the eggs. Simmer gently fifteen minutes, turn out into a deep dish, and serve with boiled rice. DEVILED EGGS. Six hard-boiled eggs. One saltspoonful of dry mustard. One tablespoonful of melted butter. Pepper and salt to taste. Throw the boiled eggs into cold water as soon as they are taken from the fire, in order that the shells may be easily re- moved. This done, cut the eggs in two carefully, so as to pre- serve the whites as perfect as possible. Rub the yolk smooth with the butter and seasoning, form the mixture into balls as nearly the size of the yolks as they can be made, and fit these into the halved whites. Bind the portions together with soft string, or fasten with fine wooden toothpicks ; roll first in beaten egg, then in fine crumbs ; drop into boiling cottolene and fry to THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 193 a nice brown. Remove the strings before sending to table. These make a delightful side dish and may be accompanied by slices of bacon fried crisp. They are also very nice served alone with a cupful of rich drawn butter poured over them. SCRAMBLED EGGS (PLAIN). Break six eggs into a bowl and beat them with a fork just enough to blend whites and yolks. Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan and turn in the eggs. Stir to a smooth, soft mass. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and, if you choose, a few drops of onion-juice. Serve upon a hot-water dish. CREAMED SCRAMBLED EGGS. Heat in separate saucepans a small cup of cream and the same quantity of chicken or veal stock. Beat six eggs, whites and yolks together, for one minute, season the stock to taste, pour in the eggs, stir for two minutes over the fire, add the cream and serve. They should be soft and smooth throughout. EGGS A LA MILANAISE. Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan, and break into this six eggs. Stir constantly, and as soon as they are well mixed add a tablespoonful of grated cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve on very hot plates. This makes an excellent luncheon-dish. JONQUIL EGGS. Whip the whites to a stiff froth, and half fill buttered nappies with them. Make a depression in the centre of each and drop a yolk into the hollow. Set in shallow boiling water, cover and cook for three minutes. You can have a large dish of this sort for breakfast or lunch- eon by making mounds of the stiffened whites upon a buttered block-tin, or silver, or stone-china platter, and with the back of a spoon hollowing each hillock to receive the yolk. When all 194 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK are in, set the dish in, or over, boiling water, cover, and cook three or four minutes. SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SHAD ROES. When you have shad for dinner scald the roes ten minutes in boiling water (salted), drain, throw into cold water, leave them there three minutes, wipe dry, and set in a cold place until next day, or whenever you wish to use them. Cut them across into pieces an inch or more wide, roll them in flour, and fry to a fine brown. Scramble a dish of eggs, pile the roes in the centre of a heated platter, and dispose the eggs in a sort of hedge all around them. A very nice breakfast or lunch dish. STIRRED EGGS. Heat a cupful of rich gravy or of consomme in a saucepan, and melt in it a scant tablespoonful of butter. When it boils stir into it six eggs that have been beaten together just enough to mix whites and yolks. Stir three minutes over the fire, pour out upon hot buttered toast, and sprinkle with minced parsley. A SWEDISH DISH OF EGGS. Melt a tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan, stir in a few drops of onion-juice, then a tablespoonful of flour, and when the roux bubbles, a cupful of hot milk. Keep your spoon busy until you have a smooth white sauce, and add six eggs, beaten light, without separating whites and yolks. Season with salt and white pepper, stir and toss for two minutes, and heap upon squares of toast that have been buttered and spread with anchovy paste. BUTTERED EGGS. Melt three tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, fry in it two slices of onion until they are brown, take them out and cook the butter until it is dark brown. Break, one after the other, six THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 195 eggs into the dark butter, taking care that they do not run into one another. Baste with the hot butter until they are well " set, ' ' and just before dishing them sprinkle with pepper, salt, and half a teaspoonful of vinegar. FRIED EGGS. (No. I.) Heat two great spoonfuls of clarified dripping in the frying- pan, or the same quantity of butter, and when it hisses drop in six eggs, one after the other. When set, if you wish to have " turned eggs," slip a spatula under them, and turn to cook the underside. Dust with pepper and salt when dished. FRIED EGGS. (No. 2.) Fry three slices of onion in three tablespoonfuls of well-sea- soned dripping ; take out the onion and break into the hissing fat six eggs, carefully, one after the other. The onion gives a pleas- ant flavor to them. Cook until set, and dish. Pepper and salt, and serve. Garnish with parsley. BACON AND EGGS. Fry thin slices of breakfast bacon until clear and curling at the edges. Dish them and keep hot. Strain the fat left in the pan ; put again over the fire and fry in it six eggs. Lay an egg upon each slice of bacon and serve together. EGGS AND TOMATOES. Make a white roux of a tablespoonful of butter and the same of flour, and when it bubbles stir into it a cupful of canned toma- toes or six fine fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped into bits, with the liquor which runs from them. Add half a teaspoonful of onion-juice or of grated onion, and when the mixture boils stir in six well-beaten eggs gradually lest they should curdle. Stir until they thicken. Season with salt and pepper and serve. 196 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK BARBECUED EGGS AND HAM. Heat two tablespoonfuls of butter, fry in it half a teaspoonful of finely grated onion. Have ready half a pound of cold boiled ham which has been minced and seasoned well with pepper, mus- tard, two tablespoonfuls of salad oil, and one of vinegar, then left to stand, covered, for two hours in a cold place. Stir this mince into the butter, cook, still stirring and tossing it, until smok- ing hot all through, add six well-beaten eggs and cook until the eggs are "set," but not hard. Serve upon buttered toast that has been moistened with a little stock. EGGS AND MUSHROOMS. Heat two tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, add half a can of champignons, cut into quarters, and heat them thoroughly. Squeeze over them the juice of half a lemon, stir in five eggs, well beaten previously, pepper and salt, and cook to a soft mass. Serve upon crackers that have been toasted, buttered, strewed with Parmesan cheese, then set in the oven for one minute. NEAPOLITAN EGGS. Heat a cupful of milk in a saucepan ; stir into it a tablespoonful of butter, then six well-beaten eggs, and, as they thicken, one dozen fresh mushrooms, sliced, and three tablespoonfuls of boiled spaghetti that has been allowed to get cold and then chopped fine. Season with pepper, salt, and half a teaspoonful of onion-juice. Cook until hot and smoking all through, and serve upon a hot platter, with strips of fried hominy or polenta laid about it. BREADED EGGS. Slice cold, hard-boiled eggs, pepper and salt, and dip each slice in beaten egg, then in cracker-dust. Leave in a cold place for an hour, and fry in deep fat to a golden brown. Dish, garnish with parsley, and pass tomato sauce with them. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK lg7 " FANCY DISHES" OF EGGS. Eggs often appear at elegant luncheons in guises that entitle them to rank with entrees. The useful ovate is susceptible of in- finite variations from skilful hands and cultivated tastes. But a few of these can be given here. If all were written this volume would be wholly given up to them. EGG-CUPS AND ANCHOVIES. Cut thick rounds of stale bread, and with a small cutter mark a circle in the centre, pressing the cutter half-way through the bread. Dig out a hollow along this line capable of holding a tablespoonful of custard or other soft matter. Wash the rounds of bread all over with butter and let them dry, and crisp slightly upon the upper grating of a hot oven. Fill the cups with the following mixture : Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan, and add half a cupful of cream (not forgetting a bit of soda). 'When both are hot stir in five well-beaten eggs and cook to a soft paste. Have ready a dozen anchovies, skinned and minced fine. Half fill the " cups " with them, squeeze upon them a few drops of lemon, and heap upon them the creamed eggs. Stick a bit of parsley in the top of each. EGG-CUPS AND SARDINES. Prepare in the same way, substituting sardines for anchovies. EGG-CUPS WITH TOMATO. When the egg-cups are ready, fill with a rich tomato puree, made by straining tomato sauce, and thickening it with a good white roux, and seasoning it with grated onion, pepper, salt, and a little sugar. Lay a neatly poached egg upon the top of each. EGG-BASKETS. Six hard-boiled eggs ; one cupful of minced cold meat — ham, veal, or poultry — well seasoned ; one cupful of drawn butter or I98 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK strained gravy ; a little chopped parsley. Cut the eggs smoothly around, dividing each into two cups, extracting the yolk. Cut a small piece from the bottom of each cup, so that it will stand upright. Mash the yolks to powder with a potato-beetle or bowl of a spoon, mix with them the chopped meat, and mould into pellets about the size and shape of a yolk. Put one of these in each " basket," arrange them in a dish, and pour over them the gravy or drawn butter, made very hot and seasoned with the chopped parsley. Set in the oven for five minutes to heat the eggs, and serve. Should you wish to add further to this dish, cut stale bread into rounds with a cake-cutter; scoop out a hollow in each to fit the bottom of the egg ; toast and butter them, and put one under each egg-basket before you pour the gravy over all. In this case there should, of course, be more liquid, as the toast would ab- sorb much. EGG-CUPS AND TONGUE. Prepare the hollowed rounds of bread as before directed, fill the centres with minced tongue seasoned with a drop or two of onion- juice, pepper, and French mustard to taste, then wet with a little consomme. Around the edge of the cup lay a ring of stiffly frothed white of egg, and in the central space left by this a raw yolk, with a bit of butter upon it. Set on the upper grating of a hot oven until the white begins to color slightly and becomes encrusted. Transfer each "cup" and contents to a small hot plate of its own, and surround with a close garnish of parsley. Have the sprigs picked and ready when the cups come from the oven and serve promptly. EGG AND TONGUE PATES. Instead of making cups of rounds of breads, use empty shells of pastry for holding the minced tongue, the ring of meringue, and the raw yolk. By the time they are thoroughly heated in the oven the eggs will be done. A pretty and savory entree. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 1 99 TIMBALES OF EGG AND CHICKEN. Chop cold chicken as fine as it can be made. Put it over the fire with just enough stock to prevent it from scorching, stir into a cupful of the meat a tablespoonful of corn-starch wet in milk, and cook three minutes, stirring all the time. Take from the fire, beat in the white of an egg, and spread upon a dish to cool. When stiff, butter your nappies or pate-pans or timbale-moulds well and line them with this white paste. Drop the yolk of an egg in the centre of each, pepper and salt it and lay a bit of butter upon it. Set in a pan of boiling water upon the upper grating of a hot oven, cover closely, and cook ten minutes. Invert upon small hot plates, one for each timbale, and put a spoonful of egg sauce upon each. With a little practice you will find the manufacture of these timbales easy and satisfactory work. EGG TIMBALES. Beat the whites and yolks of four eggs light without separating them, add three tablespoonfuls of cream, a little celery-salt, five or six drops of onion- juice, and a dash of white pepper. Butter timbale-moulds or nappies well, pour enough of the mixture into each to fill it almost to the top ; set in a pan of boiling water, cover and cook upon the upper grating of a quick oven for ten minutes, or until the middle of each custard is set. Invert upon heated individual plates, with a spoonful of rather thick tomato sauce upon the top. These are sometimes called " Tom Thumb Omelettes." EGG FLUMMERY. Boil six eggs twenty-five minutes ; throw them into cold water and leave them there for one hour. Peel them, rub the yolks through a sieve and set aside. Chop the whites until they can also be pressed through a fine colander or a coarse sieve. Mince them with two tablespoonfuls of finely minced champig- nons and season with celery-salt, a few drops of onion-juice, and 200 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK white pepper. Now whip to a close froth the whites of two raw eggs, stir into the other mixture, and fill with the savory com- pound a well-buttered mould. Set in boiling water in a quick oven, cover the top and cook for twenty minutes, or until firm. Turn out upon a flat dish, sift the pounded yolks all over it, pour a good sauce — Bechamel or white or tomato — about the base and serve at once. You may make timbales of this mixture by baking it in tim- bale-moulds and turning them out upon individual plates, then sifting the yellow powder over them. It is very nice and is easily made. EGG TOAST. Cut rounds of stale bread, toast and moisten slightly with a mixture of butter and water. Pepper lightly with paprica and dust with celery -salt. Chop the whites of six hard-boiled eggs very fine and mix with a small cupful of drawn butter. Spread this upon the toast when you have seasoned to taste with pepper, salt, and finely minced parsley. Cover the sauce with the yolks rubbed through a colander into yellow powder. Set in a hot oven for three minutes and serve. EGGS AND RICE. Boil six eggs for twenty-five minutes ; leave them in ice-water for an hour. Peel and separate yolks and whites. Chop the latter fine and mix them with half a cupful of good drawn butter. Rub the yolks through a colander. Form in the middle of a stone-china dish or other fire-proof crockery a ring of cold boiled rice which has been wet up while hot with butter, and seasoned with onion-juice, pepper, and salt. Wash this over with raw yolk of egg and sprinkle thickly with Parmesan cheese. Pour in the sauce mixture. It should be quite stiff, so as to hold together and not break down the rice-walls. Cover with the pounded yolks, put bits of butter here and there upon it, and set upon the upper grating of a hot oven until heated through. Fifteen minutes should do it. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 201 A HEN'S NEST. Boil six eggs hard, and when they are cold and firm pare away the whites in slender shavings and arrange them in a circle upon a platter, in imitation of a nest. Butter them and set in an open oven, renewing the butter now and then as they warm. Chop a cupful of cold chicken or veal or shrimps or other cold fish fine, season well and work into it the pounded yolks of the eggs, moistening with butter as you go on. When well mixed form into egg-shaped balls, and heap within the shredded whites. Pour about them a cupful of drawn butter into which has been stirred three spoonfuls of chicken-gravy. STUFFED EGGS. Boil six eggs hard and drop into cold water. With a sharp knife cut each in half and chip a piece from each end that they may stand firmly. Work into the pounded yolks a cupful of minced chicken, tongue, or ham, moisten with butter and season to taste. Make into balls the size and shape of the yolks, fill the halves with these, arrange on a dish, pour a good sauce over them, set in the oven for five minutes, or until heated, and serve. STUFFED EGGS (BAKED). Boil six eggs hard and when cold cut into halves crosswise. Make egg-balls as directed in the last recipe, fill the divided halves and press them closely back into place. Roll each egg in raw egg and cracker-crumbs and lay within a buttered baking- pan. Set in a hot oven until slightly browned, and serve with a white or tomato sauce. STUFFED EGGS (COLD). To Be Eaten at Picnics. Boil eggs hard and throw them into cold water. When cool remove the shells, cut the eggs in half carefully, and extract the 202 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK yolks. ■ Rub these to a powder with the back of a spoon and add to them pepper and salt to taste, a little very finely minced ham, and enough melted butter to make the mixture into a smooth paste. If ham is not at hand any other cold meat will do, and either anchovies or anchovy paste may be used. Make the com- pound into balls about the size and shape of the yolks, and restore them to their place between the two cups of the whites. Keep these in place by wrapping them in several thicknesses of tissue-paper, folded square, the ends fringed out and twisted up close to the egg. Line a basket with green leaves or grasses, and pile the eggs in this. They are pleasant to the sight and good to the taste. PLAIN OMELET. Beat six eggs just enough to break the yolks into the whites. A dozen strokes should suffice. Have a scant tablespoonful of butter heated in a small frying-pan or an omelet-pan. Pepper and salt the eggs lightly and put in a teaspoonful of cream for each. As soon as the butter hisses pour in the eggs and shake gently, always in one direction, to keep the omelet from sticking to the pan. When it is set, but still soft, slip a broad knife or a spatula under one half and fold it upon the other. Invert the pan dexterously over a hot dish and drop the omelet into the middle of the platter. Garnish with cress or parsley. A palette-knife is admirable for folding omelets. A FROTHED OMELET. Cook as directed in the last recipe, but beat the whites and yolks separately and very light, adding the whites after the yolks are whipped and mixed with the cream and seasoning. The whites will break up around the edges of the omelet, giving it a light and pleasing appearance. You may spread minced ham or tongue, chicken, turkey, veal, fish, in fact almost any kind of meat, upon the omelet before folding it over, and thus give it a distinctive character. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 203 OMELET WITH SMOKED BEEF. Beat six eggs light, the whites and yolks separately. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a frying-pan, and cook in it for a couple of minutes two tablespoonfuls of finely chopped smoked beef. Mix the whites and yolks of the eggs lightly together, turn them into the pan upon the beef, and proceed as with a plain omelet. OMELET WITH GREEN PEASE. Beat up six eggs for omelet as in preceding recipe, mix whites and yolks, and stir into them half a cupful of canned or cooked green pease. Season with salt and pepper, put a tablespoonful of butter into the frying-pan, pour in the omelet, and cook as above directed. SAUSAGE OMELET. Make a plain omelet of six eggs and fry it in a tablespoonful of butter. Just before folding the omelet lay on it three cooked sausages, which have been skinned, minced fine, and heated. Fold the omelet and serve. TOMATO OMELET. (No. J.) Beat together the whites and yolks of six eggs, season with salt and pepper. Heat two tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying- pan, turn into it a cupful of stewed and chopped tomatoes from which the liquor has been drained, cook for two minutes, and then stir in the beaten eggs. Let the omelet brown on the under side, fold over and serve. TOMATO OMELET. (No. 2.) Stir a tablespoonful of flour into one of hot butter in a frying- pan and cook until it bubbles all over. Add to this half a can of tomatoes, stewed, strained, and seasoned with a little onion- juice, salt, and pepper. Cook three minutes, turn into a platter, and let the mixture cool. When it is stiff whip six eggs light, 204 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK yolks and whites together ; beat in the tomato mixture and fry- in a buttered omelet-pan. It will be found very good if eaten before it has a chance to fall. MUSHROOM OMELET. Beat six eggs just enough to break the yolks and mix them with the whites ; add four tablespoonfuls of cream, a dust of salt and pepper, lastly, half a can of minced mushrooms. Turn into an omelet-pan in which you have heated a tablespoonful of butter, and cook as you would a plain omelet. CLAM OMELET. Chop a dozen clams fine. Heat a heaping teaspoonful of but- ter in a saucepan, stir in the same quantity of flour, and when it bubbles all over thin with three tablespoonfuls of hot cream and the same of boiling clam-juice. Season with a pinch of cayenne or paprica, and a few drops of onion-juice. Mix the chopped clams with this and set the saucepan in boiling water at the side of the range to keep hot. It must get scalding hot but not act- ually boil. Beat six eggs light — yolks and whites together — and add two tablespoonfuls of cream. Have a tablespoonful of butter in your omelet-pan on the fire, pour in the eggs ; shake the pan to prevent the omelet from sticking. As soon as it is fairly set spread the clam mixture upon it and fold. OMELET AUX FINES HERBES. Beat six eggs just enough to blend the whites and yolks ; add three tablespoonfuls of cream, dust with salt and pepper, and just before it goes into the pan whip in as rapidly as possible two heaping tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, sweet mar- joram, celery tops, and as much grated onion as would lie on a dime. Cook in the usual way. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 205 CORN OMELET. Beat six eggs without separating yolks and whites. A dozen strokes will mix them sufficiently. Add four tablespoonfuls of cream and four tablespoonfuls of cold boiled, or of canned, corn, chopped fine. Mix with three or four whirls of your beater, and cook in the usual manner. OMELET AND SHAD ROES. Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan and stir into it four tablespoonfuls of shad roes that have been boiled, blanched, and broken into a granulated heap. Season with a saltspoonful of salt, the same of grated onion, and a dash of cayenne with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley. When the mixture is heated through add two tablespoonfuls of milk (or cream) with a tiny pinch of soda ; cook three minutes and keep hot over boiling water. Beat five eggs for one minute, add a tablespoonful of cream, a little salt and pepper, and turn into an omelet-pan, where a tea- spoonful of butter is beginning to hiss. Shake until it is set ; pour the roes upon it, double over and serve. CHEESE OMELET. Beat five eggs very light, add a dash of cayenne and of salt and three tablespoonfuls of cream with a pinch of soda. Have ready a heaping teaspoonful of butter in an omelet-pan, add with a few rapid strokes three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese to the eggs, and cook at once. Serve as soon as cooked, as it is clammy when it falls. You may, if you like cheese, sift more upon the omelet when it is dished, and hold a red-hot shovel so near it that the cheese takes fire. Blow out and serve. ASPARAGUS OMELET. Six eggs, beaten very light ; one bunch of asparagus, the green tops only (the stalks will be an improvement to your soup) ; two tablespoonfuls of milk. Beat whites and yolks together, add the 206 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK milk, then the boiled asparagus heads, cold, and chopped fine. Have ready a frying-pan with a tablespoonful of butter in it, hot, but not frying. Pour in the mixture ; shake well from the bottom as it forms, loosening from the pan with cake-turner or palette- knife ; fold over in the middle, and turn the pan upside down upon a hot dish. EGGS AND ASPARAGUS. Boil two dozen asparagus tips in hot, salted water. Drain and mix them into a good white sauce, or butter " drawn " in milk. Season with pepper and salt, pour into a pudding-dish ; break enough eggs upon the surface to cover it; pepper, salt, and scatter bits of butter upon them, sift fine crumbs over the top, and bake until the eggs are set. A SPANISH OMELET. Beat six eggs light, add two tablespoonfuls of cream, a dash of salt and cayenne, and just before it goes into the pan stir in lightly a green pepper, minced fine, a tablespoonful of grated onion, a raw tomato, chopped, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley. Cook in the usual way, fold upon itself, invert the pan over a heated platter, and sift a tablespoonful of Parmesan cheese upon the folded omelet. Pour a cupful of tomato sauce, seasoned with onion-juice, cayenne, butter, salt, and sugar, about the omelet and serve. FAMILIAR TALK. AN INEXPENSIVE LUNCHEON. They were talking together of the recently popular fifty-cent . luncheons and fifty-cent dinners, the Woman of Small Means, the Man of the House, and the Friend of the Family. "My greatest achievement," said the Woman of Small Means, with modest pride, " was when I had a luncheon for three people for ninety cents." "You mean ninety cents apiece," said the Friend of the Family. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 20"J "No; ninety cents for all three." " Did you give them pork and beans? " queried the Man of the House, with an attempt at jocularity. ' ' No ; I gave them five courses, exclusive of the coffee and crime de menthe at the end." The Man of the House is a gentleman, and he suppressed a half-uttered whistle, and instantly indemnified himself for it. "Oh, come now," he said. (He has the easy contempt most men feel for women's financial estimates.) "You may have spent only ninety cents in direct outlay, but you didn't count the things you already had in the house." "Yes, I counted every one," insisted the Woman of Small Means. The Man of the House said no more, but his countenance proclaimed incredulity in loud tones. " Tell us how you did it," said the Friend of the Family. "The bill -of- fare was bouillon, oyster pates, chops, and potatoes a la Duchesse, salad, crackers and cheese, grape fruit with rum and sugar, coffee and crime de menthe. ' ' A smothered ejaculation from the Man of the House. The Woman of Small Means turned her back upon him and addressed herself to the Friend of the Family. " Of course," she said, apologetically, " I had to plan for my luncheon in order to get it at that price. If I had gone out and bought everything without consideration, the expense would have been much more. As it was, the actual cost of the food did not exceed ninety cents. "Take the bouillon, for instance. I bought a twenty-five- cent quart can. That holds enough to fill five of my bouillon- cups. I had used two cupfuls the day before, so I estimated the cost of the three cups served at luncheon at fifteen cents. " It was the same way with the oysters. I had planned oyster- soup for my dinner, and had bought a quart of oysters for thirty cents. I filched a dozen oysters and a gill of the liquor from the supply for the soup, and had quite enough with the sauce to fill the three pate shells I had bought for ten cents at the French 208 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK baker's. I allowed eight cents for the oysters, seven for the gill of milk, the one egg, and the bit of butter used in preparing them. " My economical genius had been at work in the purchase of the meat also. I had bought a fore-quarter of lamb at twelve cents a pound. You know this includes the shoulder for roast- ing, the neck and breast for stewing, and the chops. Three of these weighed less than a pound. The tiny Duchesse loaves of potatoes took only a cupful of mashed potatoes, and you pay six cents a quart for old potatoes. So my third course did not cost more than thirteen cents. "A head of lettuce was five cents; a Neufchatel cheese — we didn't eat half of it, and had the rest for dinner — was five cents more. " The grape fruit — big ones — were three for a quarter, and we had half a one apiece, and there was a teaspoonful of rum in each. Call it fifteen cents. "So you see," jotting down figures on the back of a card, " the first course was fifteen cents; the second, twenty -five; the third, thirteen ; the fourth, ten ; the fifth, fifteen. That makes a total of seventy-eight cents. Twelve, cents will cover the three small cups of coffee, the tiny portions of crime de menthe — I used cordial glasses, and they were filled with ice — the bread, butter, oil, vinegar, etc. That is how it was done," she said, with a glance of triumph over her shoulder toward the Man of the House. But he had kept silence too long to be "downed" in this fashion. He fancied he saw his opportunity, and seized it. " May I ask," he said, assuming the labored patience and de- liberation a man exhibits when he wishes to crush an illogical woman, " where in all this beautiful estimate do you put the cost of the fire, the skill of the cook, the services of the waitress ? ' ' " Oh, those don't count," replied the Woman of Small Means, calmly. "They never allow for the salary of the chef in the fashionable fifty-cent luncheons and dinners." And the Man of the House, " sad, surprised, astounded by the sovereign strength of woman's — ' ' logic, said no more. C. T. H. CHEESE DISHES. WELSH RAREBIT. (No. J.) While the respectable and growing tribe of Welsh rarebits can be made in a frying-pan over the fire, the more graceful, easy, and popular method is to cook them with the chafing-dish on the table in the sight of the prospective eaters. The accompanying comprehensive recipe is taken verbatim from "THE CHAFING- DISH SUPPER," * by Mrs. Herrick's colleague in the prep- aration of the present volume. Melt a heaping tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish with a saltspoonful of dry mustard, and stir into this three cupfuls of grated cheese. As it begins to soften add about a gill of ale, or in default of this an equal quantity of boiling water. If water or boiling milk is used, it produces what is known as a " tem- perance Welsh rarebit." Stir vigorously all the time, and when the mixture is thick, smooth, and a rich yellow, it is done. Three or four minutes should suffice after the cheese is in, but it is almost impossible to give a positive rule for cooking Welsh rarebit. If the cooking is checked too soon the cheese becomes tough and stringy ; if it continues too long there is danger that it will curdle. Only the eye of experience can tell when the ex- act point is reached to produce a compound of delicious indiges- tibility. It should be served on toast, but if this is not at hand square snowflake crackers make very tolerable substitutes. * The Chafing-Dish Supper. By Christine Terhune Herrick. Published by Charles Scribner's Sons. 14 2IO THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK WELSH RAREBIT. (No. 2.) Cut into shavings a pound of soft, mild cheese. The richer and drier kinds are not suitable for this dish. Put into the chafing-dish with a gill of the best ale and stir over the blaze until the cheese melts in the hot ale. Stir in, then, half a tea- spoonful of dry mustard, the same quantity of salt, and a dash of cayenne. Pour upon rounds of hot buttered toast and serve immediately. WELSH RAREBIT. (No. 3.) Pour into the saucepan of your chafing-dish and set directly over the blaze, a pint of good ale. (Bass's is perhaps the best, but Manhattan beer is excellent, and cheaper.) When it boils stir in a pound of soft cheese, cut into dice. As it melts add a tablespoonful of cream, a saltspoonful of dry mustard and the same of salt, with a generous pinch of cayenne. Stir until the whole mixture is hot, and ladle out upon hot toasted crackers, buttered. WELSH RAREBIT. (No. 4.) Put a cupful of milk and one of cream into your saucepan, with a bit of soda the size of a pea. When the boil begins add two cupfuls of soft, mild cheese (American), with a teaspoonful of made mustard, a saltspoonful of paprica, and a well-whipped egg. Pour upon rounds of buttered toast, each of which has been moistened with a teaspoonful of hot cream. GOLDEN BUCK. (No. I.) Melt a tablespoonful of butter over boiling water, add a cupful of ale or beer, and when this is scalding stir in half a pound of good American cheese, shaved fine, or grated. When the mixt- ure is smooth put in an even saltspoonful of celery-salt, the same of dry mustard, and a pinch of cayenne. Have ready the yolks and whites of two eggs, beaten separately very light, then stirred together. Add to this, gradually and rapidly, a great spoonful at a time of the hot cheese mixture. When well incorporated and THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 211 creamy put in a teaspoonful each of Worcestershire sauce and lemon-juice. Pour upon hot buttered toast or crackers, and eat at once. GOLDEN BUCK. (No. 2.) Make Welsh Rarebit, Nos. i, 2, or 3, pour upon rounds of but- tered toast and lay a poached egg upon each. Salt, pepper, and butter the egg. GOLDEN BUCK. (No. 3.) Heat together a tablespoonful of butter, a saltspoonful each of dry mustard and of salt, with a pinch of cayenne. When well mixed and boiling add a cupful of hot milk (heated with a bit of soda no larger than a pea) in which has been soaked a half cupful of cracker-crumbs and a cupful of grated cheese. Cook all together three minutes, or until smoking-hot, add two well- beaten eggs, stir one minute — no more — and heap upon rounds of buttered toast. Eat at once. CHEESE FONDU AU GRATIN. Soak a cupful of dry bread-crumbs in two cupfuls of hot milk for fifteen minutes. Dissolve a generous pinch of soda in the milk while heating. Stir into this paste three well-beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of melted butter, a pinch of cayenne, and a salt- spoonful of salt ; lastly, beat in rapidly a cupful of grated cheese. Pour into a greased pudding-dish', strew dry cracker-crumbs on top, stick bits of butter in them, dust delicately with cayenne or paprica, and bake in a quick oven, covered, for fifteen min- utes, then uncover and brown lightly. Send to table at once, as it falls very soon. While puffy and hot it is delicious. CHEESE SOUFFLEE. Beat four eggs light and pour upon them gradually a cupful of hot milk in which has been dissolved a large pinch of soda, and which was then thickened with a teaspoonful of corn-starch. Stir until well mixed, add a good tablespoonful of butter, a dash 212 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK of cayenne, and a saltspoonful of salt, finally, an even cupful of dry grated cheese. Beat well and quickly for less than a min- ute, pour into well-buttered custard-cups or into buttered nappies and bake in a quick oven, ten minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Cover with paper until they begin to rise. Serve in the cups and pass with them crackers, toasted, but- tered, and lightly peppered with cayenne. CHEESE RAMAKINS. Beat to a cream two eggs, a tablespoonful of melted butter, a saltspoonful of salt, a pinch of cayenne, and three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese. Work all well into a smooth paste, stir in a tablespoonful of cream in which has been wet up a teaspoonful of flour. Beat one minute, spread upon rounds of buttered toast or crackers, and brown slightly upon the upper grating of a hot oven. CHEESE AND TONGUE RAMAKINS. Make as directed in the foregoing recipe, but mix with the paste, besides the grated cheese, one great spoonful of minced tongue, boiled and cold. Mix all thoroughly together and stir in at the last a cupful of hot cream in which has been dissolved half a saltspoonful of soda. Boil up once, and pour upon rounds of buttered toast. CHEESE FINGERS. Cut good puff-paste into strips three inches long and two inches wide. Strew thickly with Parmesan cheese, sprinkle with salt and cayenne, double the strips lengthwise, creasing them firmly so that they shall not open in baking, and bake in a quick oven. Brush with beaten white of egg three minutes before taking them up, and sift powdered cheese upon them. DEVILED CRACKERS AND CHEESE. Split Boston crackers in two, and toast on the inside. Moisten them with a mixture of boiling water, butter, French mustard, and celery-salt. Keep this at a hard boil on the stove, dip each THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 213 cracker in it, and draw it out almost immediately. Ten seconds will wet it sufficiently. Spread each cracker with grated cheese, sprinkle with cayenne or paprica, as you may prefer, and set them in a broad pan upon the upper grating of your oven until the cheese melts and the crackers are almost dry. CHEESE CROUSTADES. Cut thick rounds of stale bread, and hollow them as directed in recipe for Egg-cups, by marking a smaller circle within the outer and digging out the crumb half through the bread. Butter them well and set in a quick oven until crisp and slightly browned. Rub to a cream four tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, a great tea- spoonful of butter, a tablespoonful of cream, a little salt and cayenne. Fill the hollowed rounds of toast with the mixture, and set for four or five minutes longer in the oven. Serve at once. CHEESE STRAWS. Make as you would cheese fingers, but half as wide. Or— Work up a cupful of prepared flour with four tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, a little salt and cayenne, the beaten yolk of an egg, and cream enough to make a soft paste. Roll out thin and cut into narrow strips as long as your middle finger and one-third as broad. Bake to a pale brown, and just before taking them up brush over with white of egg and sift powdered cheese upon them. CHEESE BALLS. Half a cupful of grated cheese ; whites of two eggs, beaten stiff. Mix quickly with a spoon ; mould with floured hands into balls twice as large as English walnuts and drop into scalding cottolene. Cook five minutes, skim out of the fat, and drain upon a cloth. Serve hot. They are less indigestible if sea- soned with salt and cayenne. 214 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK COTTAGE CHEESE. Set a bowl of loppered milk (bonny-clabber) upon the range where it will heat very slowly. As soon as the curd has fairly separated from the whey turn it upon a sieve or into a colander lined with coarse muslin or mosquito-netting and let it drip dry. Then gather up the cloth into a bag and squeeze out the few drops of whey that remain. Set in a cold place until you are ready to use it, when work soft with a little butter and cream, salting to taste. Stir and shape the mixture until it is of the consistency of Brie cheese. When thus handled it is as palatable as any of the foreign (so-called) fashionable cheeses, and far more wholesome. HOME-MADE CREAM CHEESE. Put a panful of milk, warm from the cow, upon the range and let it come very slowly to the scalding-point. Watch that it does not begin to boil. Remove it now to a very cold place — a refrigerator closet, if you have one — and leave it for six hours. Take off the cream and press it gently into glass cups, bowls, or deep saucers. Sift a little fine salt over the surface of each portion and set in a cold place, to be eaten upon heated crackers with salad or with gooseberry jam. It is delicious. FAMILIAR TALK. TEA, TEA-MAKING, AND TEA-DRINKING. Dogberry figured as a masculine type of a mighty class when he opined that " reading and writing come by nature." A modern Mrs. Dogberry would give prominence among things that are too easy to be learned to Tea-Making. She troubles herself little, to begin with, with the quality of the tea she buys. So long as it is not costly, if she be in moderate cir- cumstances, she takes what is offered her by her grocer and asks no questions. If she be wealthy she satisfies herself that she buys the best brand of tea when she orders the highest-priced. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 21 5 Brands of tea are many, and each is warranted to be superior to all the rest. As a rule, avoid cheap — and bulky — teas. They are largely adulterated with foreign and domestic herbs, the former being represented by dried huckleberry leaves, the latter by dried-over teas that have been already used, and by inferior qualities which the Chinese will not drink. Green teas are often "doctored " by dyes in which Prussian blue holds a conspicuous place. Again, teas may be high in price and pure in quality and be done to their death and the injury of the drinkers by the making — or marring. We are all, unhappily, well acquainted with the astringent flavor of stewed tea, which has been left to simmer upon the range or hob, until all the tannic acid latent in the herb is drawn out into the decoction. It is even less drinkable when (nomi- nally) made of unboiled water, reminding the partaker thereof of tepid dish-water, scantily or abundantly sweetened. Such is the beverage usually compounded at country hotels and boarding- houses. It is almost as usually served in cups such as were com- plained of by the witty tourist who objected to "sipping her tea over the edge of a stone wall. ' ' It is still a matter of curious inquiry who established the cus- tom of tea-drinking. It must have been a woman, and it is a comparatively modern "fad." Queen Elizabeth and her more refined sister, Mary, had beer — and plenty of it — for breakfast. Marie Stuart took nothing stronger than perfumed eau sucre. Without ice, too. Queen Anne consumed incredible quantities of brown stout, which, if newspaper gossip is to be received as evidence, is still popular among feminine sovereigns. Everybody has heard of the good Yankee house-mother, one of the first settlers in New England, whose son, a seafaring man, brought to her a small package of tea from China. The good soul, delighted with the gift, boiled it, strained, off and threw away the water, and served the leaves as greens, presumably with the accompaniment of salt pork or corned beef. We know that our Revolutionary forempthers used tea, but if they had the same 2l6 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK fondness for it their descendants display, they could hardly have given a greater proof of their patriotism than when they encour- aged husbands and sons to throw the precious cargo overboard. Women of all classes become each year more dependent on this, their favorite beverage. Men, as a rule, prefer coffee — possibly because the proper mode of preparing it is more gener- ally understood, and, consequently, the chances are in favor of its palatableness. Our ' ' comfort ' ' is frowned upon by the stronger sex as " weak, sloppy stuff," disapprobation justified by the fact that most wives and mothers are so deficient in the knowledge, or derelict in the practice of the correct method of brewing the " ladies' nectar," that, on nine tables out of ten, it is a carica- ture of the fragrant amber fluid that should steam in the cups. One good woman goes so far as to affirm that while green tea should " only be drawed quite a while, black tea must always be boiled!" Yet the one and only way is so simple that the wonder is how a child could err therein. When you use good mixed tea, the old saying, " A level tea- spoonful for each person and one for the pot," is about as good a rule for quantity as you can follow, when the number of drinkers is not more than six or eight. First, and above all, have the water boiling. Not "just off the boil," not already boiled, but actually boiling. Few per- sons appreciate the great difference between water that has been cooked some time and that which has just attained the point of ebullition. One has life and sparkle ; the other is as flat as two-days' uncorked champagne. You will be obliged to give this your personal supervision, as the average servant is without conscience — and sense — in the matter. She will state, with the utmost sang-froid, that the water must be all right, for " it boiled an hour ago. ' ' The only safe and the most convenient way is to make your tea on the table. Arrange on the tray in front of you a bowl of block sugar, cups, spoons, cream-pitcher, and a small tea-canister. This THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 2\"J last article may be of silver, solid or plated, or of expensive, or cheap, though pretty, china. There is in every china-shop such a large variety of them that the housewife can easily find one to suit her — or her purse. When of porcelain, they have two tops, that the tea may not lose its strength, and are daintier and more convenient when not large. For fifty cents one can get a bit of pretty Japanese ware that would grace any board. When you buy several pounds of tea, keep it in a tightly closed can- ister, and fill your little caddy from this. Try always to have cream for your tea. You need so small an amount that you will scarcely notice the extra cost, and it adds immeasurably to the rich flavor of the beverage. Pitchers are now made in such tiny, dainty shapes, that your half-pint of cream will fill one to overflowing. Use a small silver tea-strainer, that the minute leaves and sticks which escape through the spout may not get into the cups. A person who habitually drinks unstrained tea can scarcely imagine the de-appetizing effect it produces upon, one unaccustomed to the sight of the particles, the nature of which is doubtful, floating about on the surface. It is sometimes, es- ' pecially during the summer months, unpleasantly suggestive of dismembered flies and other insects. Years ago, before the in- troduction of the strainer, young girls called these atoms of leaves "beaux," and when the tea was drunk, delighted in tell- ing fortunes from the mass of sediment in the bottom of the cup. This was certainly a graceful way of disposing of a most dis- agreeable subject. But let us, of a more enlightened time, use strainers. At your right hand have a brass, copper, or silver kettle, heated by a small spirit-lamp. Pretty brass kettles range in price from #3.50 to #25.00. Some of them rest on a standard on the table, while others depend from a high crane set on the floor at the pourer's right hand. These cranes are of iron, fashioned usually in the shape of the figure 5, and are "the thing " for five-o'clock tea. Kettles of solid silver are useful, so long as they do not (as 218 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK sometimes happens) melt when heated by the flame of the alco- hol lamp. They should never be placed on the stove. Fill your kettle with hot water, and light the lamp. Put into the tea-pot the requisite quantity of tea ; when the water boils pour enough on the leaves to cover them, and put the kettle again over the lighted wick. Cover the tea-pot closely. At the end of three minutes the steeping process will be com- pleted, and you may fill the pot with the still boiling water. After it has stood a minute longer the delicious drink is ready to be enjoyed. If you cannot afford to buy, and if nobody presents you with one of these almost necessary kettles, make up your mind always to go into the kitchen yourself and ascertain that the water is boiling before allowing the servant to wet the tea. One of the requisites in a good cup of tea is to have it very hot. This object should not be attained by allowing the pot to stand on the side of the range, or, after the manner of our grandmothers, on the hob, where it is almost sure to stew and be ruined, but by covering it while on the table with a cosey ; or you may have a basket-cosey. This is a small, round hamper with a wadded lining, and holds a Japanese tea-pot. The cover of the cosey clamps down, and as the spout protrudes through an opening in the basket the tea may, if desired, be poured without removing the pot from its warm nest. Different sizes of the ham- per-cosey are kept at Japanese stores. To make a cosey, cut two semicircles of some thick, rich-col- ored material, such as tricot, felt, plush, or velvet, and join these at the top and sides. Cut two half-circles a little smaller than the others, of very heavy wadding, and still another pair of satin, or sateen, for the lining. Fit the wadding inside of this, and quilt or tack the wadding to the lining to prevent its slipping. The seams at sides and bottom should be finished with a silk cord fastened in loops at the tops and corners. When finished, the whole fits over the tea-pot like a snug cap. Before making the cosey you may have the sides stamped with your initials, a design, or an appropriate motto. I have seen on THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 219 the table of a friend a pretty one, the material of which was pea- cock-blue tricot. Upon one side was embroidered a branch of tea-flowers, while the other bore the words : " Come, Sip % Ira's flelicions <$lofoa t " Other appropriate mottoes are : " $0% fnf % Hetile #rt!" " % % ifcat %ers ! " and "Come ano fake fea!" The housekeeper who has once known the abiding comfort of a cosey would wrap up her tea-pot in a heavy towel, or improvise a covering out of still more unlikely material, rather than do with- out an adjunct to the tea equipage that secures the triple end of conserving heat, strength, and aroma. The tea-tray must always be covered with a cloth. A tasteful design in outline for a tray-cloth is traced around the border, and runs : Unless t\t Juiilt foiling fe, (filling Ijje f ea-poi Spoils i|je f ea. Do not use thick china. For a small sum you can purchase pretty porcelain cups and saucers. The tea drunk from one of these will taste better than if partaken of over the aforementioned "stone wall." The graceful fashion of afternoon tea has done and is doing more to make simple and easy what has grown in American society to be the " business of entertaining " one's friends than anyone who has not studied the subject is willing to believe. The tea equipage, as arranged upon a rustic stand on the veranda in summer, and near the library fire in winter, typifies home comfort and hospitable cheer to those who are used to the genial refreshment between four and six o'clock every afternoon. 220 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK The modest display and the offered dainties involve no dis- turbance in the household machinery. A few cups and saucers, a jar of dinner or Albert biscuits, or a plate of thin bread-and- butter, with, now and then, a dish of buttered scones ; the tea- kettle and stand ; the tea-pot and caddy, a sugar-dish, and a cream-jug — and voila tout ! It costs a maid but a few minutes' work to set it all in place, and to remove the tray when the canonical hour is over. The hostess makes and dispenses the tea with her own hands, a young girl visitor, or the son of the house, or any privileged guest, passes the biscuit-jar. The spirit of the hour is ease and good-will. Wits arouse and tongues are unlimbered under the influence of the fragrant nervine. In summer give your guests their choice between hot and iced tea, and if the latter be chosen, pass sliced lemon and Jamaica rum for those who care to disguise the flavor of what is good enough in itself to satisfy the born or educated tea-lover. M. H. VEGETABLES. POTATOES. They are not placed first upon the list of vegetables in this work because they are especially nutritious. The potato holds seventy -five parts of water and eighteen of starch out of one hundred. The remaining seven parts are — albuminoids, one and a half; organic acids, one and one-fifth ; dextrine, two parts ; fat nothing and one-third ; cellulose, one part ; minerals, one part. He who esteems potatoes to be the rod and staff of life may ponder the analysis and extract what comfort he can from it. Nor are potatoes to be classed among the most digestible of vegetables. Starch and water in certain combinations clog the alimentary organs, and unripe potatoes irritate them. A diet of the favorite tuber is not wholesome for young children, and the laboring man, though a fool in the matter of dietetics, speedily learns that he must combine meat or milk with them if he would retain strength of muscle and integrity of bone. So firmly rooted in the average intellect is the belief that this vegetable deserves the high rank it holds upon the national bill of fare, and in the affections of housewife and those to whom she ministers, that an article entitled "The Tyrant Potato," pub- lished in a leading periodical three years ago, drew down upon the writer of that and of the present protest a storm of dissent, and even personal vituperation, conveyed by private letters, newspaper paragraphs, and resolutions drafted by food conven- tions. The Tyrant Potato was not assailed ignorantly or flippantly, and after further studies of its properties, its works, and its ways, 222 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK the utmost concession that is now made to popular prejudice is in the declaration that since people will make potatoes nine- tenths of their vegetable diet, it is essential to the national diges- tion that the ninety-three parts of water and starch be cooked in such manner as shall render the edible as palatable and as little hurtful as is practicable when the constituents are not to be ignored. BOILED POTATOES (AU NATUREL). The work is so simple that it is seldom well done. Wash the potatoes, cover with plenty of boiling water, slightly salted, and cook fast until a fork will penetrate easily to the heart of the largest. Drain off every drop of water ; shake them up lightly, throw in a little salt, and set the pot at the back of the range for five minutes. The skins should crack and roll open, mak- ing the work of removing them easy. Do it rapidly, put a bit of butter upon each potato, set in the oven for one minute, and serve. Never serve potatoes boiled or baked whole in a closely covered dish. They become sodden and clammy. Cover with a folded napkin that allows the steam to escape, or absorbs the moisture. MASHED POTATOES. Peel very thin, and drop the potatoes, cut or whole, into cold water. Leave them there for half an hour, and put over the fire in plenty of boiling, salted water. Cook until a fork penetrates the largest easily ; drain and dry as directed in the last recipe, and beat up with a split spoon or two forks to a powdery heap, then mix into this a little hot milk in which a lump of butter has been melted, salt to taste, and beat to a cream. Stiff mashed potatoes are an offence to eye, taste, and stomach. Turn into a hot, deep dish, and leave the top rough. The mixt- ure should be just firm enough to stand alone, and the more irregular the surface the better. Do not level or mould it or variegate with dabs of pepper put on with the end of the thumb. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 223 MOULDED MASHED POTATOES. Prepare mashed potatoes as usual with milk, butter, and season- ing, press them hard into a fluted mould that has been wet with cold water. Turn out, set the dish on which they are in the oven for five minutes, and serve. If you wish, brush the potato over with beaten egg after turning it out, and before setting in the oven. NEW POTATOES. Wash, rub the skins off with a rough cloth, put on the fire in boiling water, slightly salted, and cook until tender. Serve whole. WHOLE STEWED POTATOES. Peel the potatoes and put them over the fire in cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Turn off the water, cover them with warm milk, and stew ten minutes. Transfer the po- tatoes to a vegetable dish, thicken the milk in which they were cooked with a teaspoonful of butter rolled in a tablespoonful of flour, and season with salt, pepper, and minced parsley. Pour this over the potatoes, pressing each with a spoon so as to crack it. POTATO TURNOVERS. Chop a few slices of yesterday's roast fine, and season well. Have ready mashed potato, mix one or two raw eggs with it un- til it is like a paste and can be spread out, sprinkle with flour and cut out round cakes ; put a tablespoonful or more of the meat upon one cake; lay another over it and press the edges together, and fry in hot cottolene to a delicate brown. POTATO SCONES. Two cupfuls of mashed potatoes, salt to taste, three table- spoonfuls of flour, one tablespoonful of butter. Work the butter, flour, and salt into the potato and roll out into thin cakes. Brown on a well-greased griddle and eat with butter while very hot. 224 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK MOULDED POTATO. Mash, or, rather, beat up lightly with a fork. Work in but- ter and milk, but do not get it too soft. Fill small cups, wet with cold water, with the potato, pack down firmly, and turn out upon a greased bake-pan. Brown in a quick oven until they are of a russet hue, glazing with butter as they color. Transfer to a flat, hot dish. LYONNAISE POTATOES. Cut or chop cold Irish potatoes into bits about half an inch square. Heat good dripping in a frying-pan, salt and pep- per it, and fry in this two or three slices of onion. Take these out and throw away. Put the potatoes into the hissing fat and turn often to prevent them from browning, until they are very hot all through. Mix in with them now a teaspoonful of finely minced parsley, stir, and toss it into the potatoes for two minutes, and dish. There should be just enough fat to cook the potatoes, but not enough to make them greasy to dripping when you take them out. Serve very hot. This dish is known on hotel bills- of-fare as "Lyonnaise Potatoes" (pronounced "Z^onnaise"), and is a general favorite, although seldom really well cooked. Sometimes the onion is minced and stirred in with the potatoes while the latter are cooking, a ranker and coarser preparation of the materials than that here given. The common fault is to make the whole too greasy, a defect rendered more glaring by the lukewarm temperature of the mass by the time the guest gets it. See to it, then, that John gets his Lyonnaise dry, hot, and savory. CASSEROLE OF POTATO. Mash eight or ten potatoes smooth with butter; salt, and work in the beaten whites of two eggs. Then fill a greased jelly- mould with the mixture, pressing it in firmly. Set aside to harden. When cold, scrape about a teacupful, or less, from the middle, leaving firm, thick walls. Fill the cavity with minced mutton, THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 225 highly seasoned, mixed with crumbs moistened with gravy, and not too soft. Fit a piece of fried bread in the mouth of the filled cavity ; turn out the casserole carefully upon a stone-china or block-tin dish ; wash all over with beaten egg and set in a hot oven ten minutes to heat and glaze. The mince should be very hot when it goes in and stiff enough to keep its shape. POTATOES A LA CREME. Heat a cupful of milk ; stir in a heaping tablespoonful of but- ter cut up in as much flour. Stir until smooth and thick ; pep- per and salt, and add two cupfuls of cold boiled potatoes, minced, and a little very finely chopped parsley. Shake over the fire until the potatoes are hot all through, and pour into a deep dish. POTATO CROQUETTES. (No. J.) Beat into hot mashed potato a raw egg, a little butter, milk, nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste, also a very little grated lemon- peel. Heat and stir three minutes in a saucepan, or until scald- ing hot. When perfectly cold make into croquettes, roll in flour, and fry in boiling cottolene or nice dripping. Drain off every drop of fat and serve in a hot dish lined with a napkin. POTATO CROQUETTES. (No. 2.) Boil and mash in the u'sual way, and for each cupful of potato add and mix in thoroughly one dozen English walnuts, chopped fine. Season with salt and pepper, bind with the yolk of a raw egg, and set in a cold place until stiff. Make into croquettes, dip in egg and then in cracker-crumbs, let them stand on ice for half an hour and fry in deep fat. FRIED POTATOES. Pare, slice very thin, or cut lengthwise into strips. Lay in cold water for half an hour; dry between two soft cloths and fry in deep, hot cottolene, a few at a time, not to cool the fat. 15 226 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK When lightly colored take up with a split spoon and lay upon hot paper in an open oven until all are ready. They should be so dry and crisp as not to soil the napkin lining the dish in which they are served. You can cut the raw potatoes into balls with the little potato- gouge made for this purpose, or into slender " straws," and fry as above. SARATOGA POTATOES are nothing more than raw potatoes shaved, rather than cut, into translucent slices, and then laid in ice-cold water again be- fore drying quickly and frying to a very pale brown. As fast as they are fried put them into a hot colander and set in an open oven. POMMES DE TERRE SOUFFLES. That is to say, "puffed potatoes." The foreign phrase lifts them a degree in the gastronomic scale. Pare the potatoes and cut, lengthwise, into slices less than a quarter of an inch thick. Lay in ice-water for half an hour ; dry well with a soft cloth and fry in tolerably hot fat for three minutes, but not until they begin to color. Take them out and set aside in the colander for ten minutes in a cool place. Heat the fat again — now very hot, and fry, a few at a time. They should "swell wisibly before your eyes," like Mr. Weller's tea- drinker. Potatoes for this purpose should be perfectly ripe and mealy. New potatoes and really old are alike unavailable for the souffli. POTATO SOUFFLE. Which is a very different thing from souffle potatoes. Beat a cupful of mashed potato to a cream, add the yolks of three well- ,beaten eggs and a tablespoonful of melted butter, season with pepper and salt and a dash of onion-juice ; whip in by degrees a cupful of rich milk, lastly the frothed whites of the eggs. Pour into a buttered bake-dish and cook, covered, until it rises well, then brown. Serve at once: It soon falls and settles. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 22"J POTATOES BAKED WHOLE. Select those of fair and of uniform size. Wash and lay upon the floor of your oven. Bake until soft to the pinch of an ener- getic finger and thumb. SWEDISH BAKED POTATOES. Bake large potatoes whole, cut a cap from the top of each and scoop out as much of the mealy potato as you can without break- ing the skins. Fill with a hot mince of boiled fish whipped light with cream and butter and highly seasoned. Put on the caps, and set in the oven to re-heat for three minutes, or until very hot. BAKED POTATOES STUFFED. Bake, and empty the skins as directed in the last recipe. Whip the potato you have taken out to a light cream with hot milk and butter. Season with salt and a pinch of cayenne, and stir in, finally, for six potatoes, a large spoonful of grated cheese. Fill the skins high with this mixture and set again in the oven until they are lightly browned. BAKED POTATO DICE. Pare and cut six large potatoes into dice, or into strips half an inch thick. Leave in cold water for half an hour. Wipe and turn over and over in melted butter until each piece is coated. Pour what remains of the butter into a bake-dish, lay in the po- tatoes irregularly that the heat may reach all, sprinkle upon them salt, pepper, a few drops of lemon- and the same of onion-juice. Cover the dish and bake, covered, for three-quarters of an hour, or until the dice are tender. Serve dry on a hot dish. POTATO OMELET. Beat mashed potatoes to a soft cream with milk, salt, pepper, and mix in a little melted butter — a small tablespoonful for each cupful of potato. Whip in the beaten yolks of two eggs and at the 228 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK last the frosted whites. Have a little hot butter in a frying-pan, pour in the mixture and cook slowly until it is well set. Ten minutes should suffice. Double and turn out upon a hot dish. POTATO FRITTERS. Beat into a cupful of creamy mashed potato (hot) two table- spoonfuls of hot milk, one of butter, one egg, and a little salt and pepper. Mix well and let it get perfectly cold. Cut into squares, roll in egg, then in cracker-crumbs or in flour only, and fry in deep boiling fat. Serve dry and hot. SWEET POTATOES. They are best when fully ripe and not yet watery or sticky. They should, in this, their prime, be as mealy as well-cooked Irish potatoes, and are at once more palatable and more nutri- tious than their lowlier-born cousins. BAKED SWEET POTATOES. A fine, ripe sweet potato never tastes better than when baked properly. Wash and wipe and lay in a baking-pan. Cover, and cook until the heart of the largest potato yields to the pressure of your thumb and finger. Turn several times while they are baking, that all sides may receive an equal degree of heat. The fashion of baking or roasting potatoes until the skins are like leather and on the lower side burned to a cinder is an insult to this one of the kindly fruits of the earth. Baked and boiled mealy sweet potatoes have a decided resemblance in texture and taste to boiled chestnuts. BOILED SWEET POTATOES. Select those of uniform size, wash and boil in salted water until a fork pierces readily to the centre of the largest. Drain and set in a hot oven five minutes to dry, then peel and serve hot. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 22$ SWEET POTATOES SAUTE. Slice cold boiled sweet potatoes, pepper, salt, and flour. Heat in a frying-pan a good spoonful of butter or sweet dripping. Lay in the potato slices, turning them over and over to coat each piece with the fat, and sauU until lightly colored. SWEET POTATOES AU GRATDST. Slice the potatoes crosswise and arrange in layers in a bake- dish, sprinkling each layer with salt, pepper, bits of butter, and a very little sugar. When the dish is full pour in three or four tablespoonfuls of hot water in which has been melted a teaspoon- ful of butter. Strew the top thickly with salted and peppered cracker-crumbs, stick bits of butter here and there, and bake, covered, until thoroughly heated. Uncover, and brown lightly. An excellent preparation of an excellent esculent. SWEET POTATO PUFF. Boil and mash sweet potatoes. To two cupfuls of this add three eggs, beaten light, a cupful of milk, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and a little salt. Beat all together vigorously, turn into a pudding-dish, and bake. CREAMED SWEET POTATOES. Boil dry, mealy potatoes, peel and set in the oven to dry, but do not let them get hard. Rub through a colander, or grate, or rub through a vegetable-press into a mealy mass. Beat with a silver or wooden spoon to a cream with hot milk in which a lump of butter has been melted. Season with salt and pepper, pour into a pudding-dish and bake, covered, in a quick oven until it begins to brown. Wash over with egg and leave in the oven one minute longer. Serve at once. SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES. Beat into two cupfuls of boiled and mashed sweet potatoes, while hot, a tablespoonful of butter, and the whipped yolks of 230 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK two eggs, with a tablespoonful of cream, and let the mixture get cold before making it into croquettes. Roll in egg and cracker- crumbs ; set in a cold place for a couple of hours, and fry to a golden brown in deep fat. SWEET POTATO AND CHESTNUT CROQUETTES. Make as above, but add to the potatoes a cupful of Spanish chestnuts, roasted or boiled, and pounded to powder. Work in well with the butter, eggs, and cream, season and fry in deep fat. RICE. " Rice," says an eminent authority upon dietetics, " is more largely grown and consumed as human food than any other cereal. It is said to be the main food of one-third of the human race. Alone, however, it is not a perfect food, being deficient in albuminoids and in mineral matters." Reading on, we find that it contains but fourteen-and-a-sixth parts of water and seventy-six parts of starch, with seven-and-a- fifth parts of the useful albuminoids, as against one-and-one-half parts of the same in potatoes. " One pound of rice, when digested and oxidized in the body, might liberate force equal to 2,330 tons raised one foot high. The greatest amount of external work which it could enable a man to perform is 466 tons raised one foot high. ' ' Thus another distinguished writer upon the same subject. Turning to his opinion of the Tyrant Potato, we read with wicked satisfaction — " One pound of potatoes, when digested and oxidized in the body, might liberate force equal to 619 tons raised one foot high. The greatest amount of work which it would enable a man to perform is 124 tons raised one foot high." Comment would seem to be superfluous were we less familiar with the fatuous prejudices of those who, depending upon brawn and bone for their daily living, should study most needfully the THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 23 1 capabilities of their daily food to furnish what they need. Rice, as a vegetable, is held in light esteem — in fact in no esteem at all by this class. It is spoken of contemptuously as " babies' victuals," and "sick folks' mess," and is practically unknown upon the family bill-of-fare except in the shape of rice-pud- dings. These are reckoned economical and "filling at the price. ' ' Hodge and his congeners are the less to blame for their stu- pidity, because rice, as a rule, suffers more in the clutches of The Average American Cook than any other vegetable. The pasty mess, stiff enough to stand alone, or so watery as to look like coarse and ill-made starch, which figures as boiled rice upon nineteen out of twenty otherwise well-furnished tables, deserves the reputation it has wrought. That a majority of writers upon cookery pass over the cereal and the violence done to it lightly, is a greater puzzle. The reader will, in consideration of the importance of the subject, pardon one more extract from our treatise upon " Food and Some of its Constituents. ' ' "As rice is deficient in natural fat, oil, butter, fat bacon, or similar articles of food, should be eaten with it." That is, the ' ' trimmings ' ' that make rice toothsome, also raise it toward the level of the perfect food. Furthermore it may be consumed along with substances rich in nitrogenous or flesh-form- ing matters — such as meat, eggs, and any kind of pulse, as pease or beans. All of which dicta point to our gentle cereal as a vegetable ac- companiment of meat and gravies rather than to the final course which the English name "sweets," the American, "desserts." The word " gentle " is used with a purpose in this connection. Rice, properly cooked, is digested without difficulty by the stomach and holds healing in its soft starches and mild albu- minoids, poulticing pain, and coating sore surfaces. Clearly, then, it is the duty of caterer and cook to make it attractive and popular for the general good of mankind and the especial benefit of the household. 232 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK BOILED RICE. Wash a cupful of rice in three waters, leaving it in the last for ten minutes. Have on the fire a pot containing at least two quarts of boiling water. A gallon would not be amiss. One quart would be ruin. Put in a full teaspoonful of salt for each quart of water. The water should be at a furious boil when the rice goes in, and this must be kept up all the while it is cooking. Leave the pot uncovered and do not touch the rice with a spoon. At the end of twenty minutes take out a few grains with a fork and bite into them to try if they are tender. They should be by now. If the test is satisfactory drain off every drop of the water into the bowl and set aside to be used in broths, etc. Turn the rice into a heated colander and set at the back of the range or in the open oven for a few minutes to dry, as you would potatoes. Every grain should stand up for its own individual right to be plump, white, and tender, yet consistent. Send to table in a hot open vegetable-dish, and eat with meat as you would any other vegetable, or butter it and eat it alone. SAVORY RICE A LA MILANABE. Wash a cupful of rice well. Take a cupful of broth from your soup-pot ; strain through a thin cloth and add twice as much boiling water, with a little salt. Put in the rice and cook slowly until it has taken up all the water and is soft. Pour in a large cupful of hot milk in which have been mixed two eggs (raw), two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, and a tablespoonful of butter. Stir up well ; add about half a cupful of minced veal and ham ; turn into a greased mould ; cover and bake one hour and a half in a dripping-pan of hot water. Dip in cold water and invert upon a flat dish. RICE AND CHEESE. Boil a cupful of rice in a quart of water, slightly salted, and when half done add two tablespoonfuls of butter. By the time the rice is soft the water should have been soaked up entirely, THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 2$$ and each grain stand out whole in the mass. Never stir boiling rice, but shake up the saucepan instead. Stir into the rice at this point three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Toss up with a fork until the cheese is dissolved, and pour into a deep dish. RICE LOAVES. Two cupfuls of boiled rice ; two eggs, beaten light ; two table- spoonfuls of melted butter. Milk at discretion. Beat the rice smooth with a spoon, add the butter and eggs and enough milk to make a rather soft paste. Form this with the hands into small loaves, lay them in a dripping-pan and bake them, closely covered, for fifteen minutes. When half done wash with beaten yolk of egg, strew with grated cheese, and brown. BAKED RICE CURRY. An East Indian Dish. Wash a cupful of raw rice in three waters, and let it soak fif- teen minutes in water enough to cover it. Boil an onion in a quart of water with a little salt until the onion is very soft. Strain the water, squeezing the onion hard in a bit of cloth. Throw it away, put the water over the fire with a heaping tea- spoonful of curry-powder, and when it boils again pour upon the rice and the water in which it was soaked. Turn all into a jar with a close top, or a casserole dish with a cover, and set in a moderate oven until the rice has soaked up the liquid and is swollen and soft, but not broken. Serve in a deep, open dish, and pour over it a few spoonfuls of melted butter, loosening the rice gently with a fork to allow the butter to penetrate to the bottom. Serve with roast chicken, veal, or fish. RICE "WITH TOMATO SAUCE. Boil as already directed, and, when dry, dish, and pour over it a cupful of strained tomato sauce, seasoned with onion-juice, 234 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK pepper, salt, butter, and a little sugar. Stir and lift the grains lightly with a fork to let the tomato reach the whole mass. RICE AND TOMATO. An Italian Recipe. Cook as in the last recipe, but add to the strained and seasoned - tomato sauce a cupful of good stock or gravy, and when they have boiled together five minutes stir in two great spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese. (Season the tomato with cayenne, not with black pepper.) Dish the rice — every grain standing apart from its fellows — and cover with the sauce. Loosen with a fork to let this sink into the rice, set in an oven for three minutes and serve. It is a savory and pleasant accompaniment to cold meat. RICE SAUTE. Boil as in former recipes, turn out upon a hot platter and put into the oven to dry for five minutes, loosening the grains with a fork that each may retain form and consistency. When dry, set away until perfectly cold. Heat a little butter in a frying-pan and fry half a dozen slices of onion until they begin to color. Take them out and put the rice into the butter, a tablespoonful at a time, to keep the grains apart. Toss lightly with a fork that the grains may remain distinct, and as they color slightly take them up with a perforated spoon and lay them in a fine col- ander (heated). Keep the colander in an open oven until all the rice is done. Shake up gently to make sure that it is free from grease and turn into a deep, uncovered dish. This is a delightful accompaniment to fried fish or broiled birds, and very wholesome. BROILED RICE. Boil as usual, and while hot stir in a tablespoonful of white sauce for each cupful of rice, and a beaten egg for two cupfuls. Season with pepper, salt, and a few drops of onion-juice ; fill a broad, shallow dish with it, and press the bottom of another, or THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 235 a large plate, firmly upon it until it fits down firmly upon every part. Set a flat-iron or other heavy weight upon the upper dish and set away to get cold. When stiff and -chilled throughout, cut into strips or squares or triangles, and broil upon a buttered gridiron until lightly browned. Serve hot and dry with game or broiled chicken. FRIED RICE. Prepare as above, and when stiff cut into rounds or squares, roll in egg and cracker-crumbs, let them stand for an hour, and fry in hot, deep cottolene. This is a very nice preparation of rice. BUTTERED RICE. A Chinese Recipe. Boil a cupful of rice and dry. Heap in a deep dish and pour over it this sauce : Fry a sliced onion in two tablespoonfuls of butter to a light brown ; strain it out and add to the hot butter a small green pepper, seeded and minced fine, and when this has cooked tender, a teaspoonful of lemon-juice. Pour over the rice and serve. RICE AND CHEESE. A Swiss Recipe. Boil a cupful of raw rice in a quart and a pint of hot water, lightly salted. At the end of fifteen minutes drain off half the water and add a good tablespoonful of butter with a pinch of cayenne. When the rice is done all the water should be ab- sorbed and each grain stand out swollen and whole. Let it dry out for five minutes. Shake up the saucepan lightly, not to break the rice, and stir into it, with a fork, three tablespoonfuls of Parmesan cheese. Turn into a deep dish and serve. RICE CROQUETTES. (No. J.) Into a cupful of cold boiled rice beat the well-whipped yolk of an egg, a teaspoonful of melted butter, a teaspoonful of sugar, 236 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK half as much salt, and enough milk to make a paste that you can handle. Make this into croquettes, or into balls, with floured hands. Dip each into beaten egg, then into cracker- dust, and set aside in a cold place for a couple of hours or more. Then fry in deep, hot cottolene to a golden brown. Take up with a split spoon, lay in a heated colander, and set in the open oven until you are ready to dish them. RICE CROQUETTES. (No. 2.) Boil a cupful of rice in plenty of hot, salted water for twenty minutes. Drain and dry, and while hot work in half a cupful of milk and the beaten yolks of two eggs, with pepper and salt to taste, a teaspoonful of butter and a dash of nutmeg, or a pinch of grated lemon-peel. Set aside the mixture until stiff and cold ; form into croquettes, egg and crumb them, leave them for two hours in a cold place, and fry in hot, deep cottolene. RICE AND MUSHROOM CROQUETTES. Drain the liquor from half a can of mushrooms ; chop them and cook for fifteen minutes in a pint of weak stock or in water in which half an onion, a carrot, cut into dice, and a stalk of cel- ery have been boiled for one hour, then strained out. Drain the liquor from the mushrooms and set them aside to get cold. Cook three tablespoonfuls of washed, raw ri,ce in the liquor left in the saucepan, until soft, but not broken. It should absorb it all when done. Now add the chopped mushrooms, a teaspoon- ful of butter, the yolk of a beaten raw egg, pepper and salt to taste, and set aside the paste to get cold and stiff. Make it into croquettes with well-floured hands, egg and crumb, set them in a cold place for an hour or so, and fry in deep, hot cottolene. RICE AND GIBLET CROQUETTES. A German Recipe. Boil a cupful of raw rice in plenty of hot, salted water. Drain and dry, and while hot work into it a teaspoonful of butter, a THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 237 tablespoonful of grated cheese, the yolk of a beaten egg, pepper and salt to taste, and set aside to get cold. Chop and rub the boiled giblets of chickens, ducks, or geese smooth, and work to a paste with a very little gravy, seasoning to taste. Flour a rolling-pin, roll out the rice-paste half an inch thick, and cut into round cakes. In the centre of each lay a spoonful of the giblets, enclose it and roll the rice about it in an egg-shaped ball. Egg and crumb them, leave on the ice for two hours or more, and fry in deep, hot olive oil. RICE AND SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES. Prepare as directed in the foregoing recipe, but substitute sweetbreads, boiled, blanched, and chopped, for the livers. SAVORY MOULD OF RICE. A Neapolitan Recipe. Boil one cupful of raw rice in two quarts of salted water for twenty minutes. Drain and dry, and mix with it a cupful of milk in which has been dissolved a teaspoonful of corn-starch. Beat into this a raw egg and a tablespoonful of melted butter, and set aside to get cold. Mince a cupful of chicken, lamb, or veal, mix with it two tablespoonfuls of chopped pine-nuts. You may buy them from Italian grocers, and if you cannot get them, substitute blanched and chopped almonds. Season well, and work in a tablespoonful of gravy. When the rice is cold put all the ingredients together, mixing well, and pour into a but- tered mould, the sides of which you have coated with fine, dry crumbs, after buttering. Fit on a close top, and cook in the oven, set in a pan of boiling water, for two hours. Dip the mould for an instant in cold water, and turn out the pudding upon a hot dish. Serve with tomato sauce, into which have been stirred two large spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese. An excellent and inexpensive entree. 238 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK PILAU. (No. J.) A Turkish Recipe. Boil a cupful of raw rice in a pint of mutton-stock which has been skimmed and seasoned with onion, tomato, salt, and cayenne. When the rice is soft and has soaked up all the liquor add a tablespoonful of butter and a heaping teaspoonful of curry-powder with one of capers. Mince cold mutton or lamb until you have a cupful ; heat a cupful of gravy over the fire, season well and sharply, and thicken with browned flour, then stir in the minced meat, and boil up once. Pour upon a heated platter and arrange the rice like a fence around it. Pilau is even better when made with chicken-stock and meat instead of mutton. PILAU. (No. 2.) Heat together a cupful of strained tomato-juice and one of well-seasoned mutton-, or chicken-, or veal-stock. Put in four tablespoonfuls of washed rice, and cook until it is soft and has taken up the liquid. Add two tablespoonfuls of butter, salt and paprica to taste, cook for two minutes and turn out. Eat with boiled mutton or chicken, and pass with it a dish of grated cheese, or with a saltspoonful of curry, blended with a cupful of cheese, for those who like this addition. RICE AND GIBLET PUDDING. Boil the giblets tender, and mince fine. Add to the water in which they were cooked a small grated onion and a tablespoon- ful of finely chopped salt pork. There should be a pint of the liquor. Boil three tablespoonfuls of rice in it for twenty minutes. It should absorb all the liquid. Have ready five tablespoonfuls of milk, heated in a separate vessel, pour it upon a beaten egg, stir in a tablespoonful of butter, season to taste with salt and paprica, add to the rice, and put in the chopped giblets. Sim- mer for five minutes after the boil is reached, and turn into a THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 239 mould which you have greased well and then coated with fine crumbs. Press firmly into this, and set in the oven for one minute before turning out upon a hot platter. .It should be just stiff enough to take the shape of the mould. Pass tomato sauce and grated cheese with it. CASSEROLE OF RICE. Boil a cupful of rice in a pint of hot chicken-stock for twenty minutes, or until tender and dry. Season with salt, pepper, and onion-juice when half done. When dry, mound it upon a hot dish, wash with beaten egg and strew with grated cheese, and brown upon the upper grating of your oven. Send around mush- room sauce with it. RICE AND SAUSAGE. Boil the rice twenty minutes, or until tender ; drain and dry and mix with an equal quantity of sausage-meat which has been boiled in water enough to cover it. Season this liquor with a quarter-spoonful of chopped garlic — not onion — add a pinch of allspice and a tablespoonful of walnut- or mushroom-catsup, and wet up the sausage and rice mixture with it. Press firmly into a bowl and turn out upon a hot dish. Garnish with fried calf s brains, or eat with roast veal. This is a Russian dish and better than it sounds, especially in winter. MACARONI. MACARONI AU GRATIN. Break half a pound of macaroni into inch lengths. Make a weak broth by diluting the remains of yesterday's soup with hot water, and straining it. When it boils, season well and put in the macaroni. Cook until tender, but not broken. Drain off all but half a cupful of the liquor ; put the hot macaroni upon a stone-china dish; stir a good piece of butter through it; sift over it a mixture of grated cheese and fine bread-crumbs. Set upon the upper grating of the oven to brown. 240 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK MACARONI DI LUCCA. Break half a pound of pipe macaroni into two-inch lengths. Cook fast in boiling, salted water for twenty minutes, or until clear, but not broken. Then drain and rinse quickly in cold water to prevent the pieces from adhering to one another. Butter a bake-dish, and cover the bottom with macaroni, salt, drop bits of butter here and there with a slight sprinkling of cayenne, and cover with Parmesan cheese. Fill the dish in this order, having a cheese-layer on top. Have ready in a saucepan a cupful of hot milk, and melt in it a teaspoonful of' butter, a saltspoonful of English mustard, and a little pepper and salt. Cover the macaroni with it, put a lid over the dish, and bake, covered, half an hour ; then brown. Serve in the dish. This is a genuine Italian recipe. MACARONI IN SPANISH STYLE. Boil half a pound of macaroni in salted water until clear ; drain and rinse in cold water in which has been mixed a table- spoonful of vinegar. Lay the sticks of boiled macaroni upon a board in parallel rows, and with a sharp knife cut all into pieces of equal length, about five inches long. In another saucepan have ready, heated, a cupful of mutton or lamb or chicken gravy, a teaspoonful of grated onion, a cupful of strained tomato, a green pepper, chopped fine, a teaspoonful of sugar, salt and cayenne to taste, and a dust of nutmeg. Put in the macaroni, simmer slowly for half an hour and pour into a hot dish which has been rubbed with a freshly cut clove of garlic. SPAGHETTI (PLAIN). Break half a pound of spaghetti into pieces of equal length and boil twenty minutes fast in plenty of salted water. Drain off the water, rinse the spaghetti in 'cold water, and return to the fire with enough cold milk to cover it. Stir in a table- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 241 spoonful of butter for each cupful of spaghetti, season with pepper and salt, and cook gently for ten minutes more. Stir in, then, three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and turn into a deep dish. MACARONI AND HAM. Boil half a pound of macaroni tender in hot, salted water. Drain and rinse in cold water and cut into inch lengths. Make a roux of a tablespoonful of flour, stirred smooth, in one of hot butter over the fire ; thin with a cupful of scalding milk, heated, with a bit of soda to prevent curdling. Put into this the maca- roni, and a cupful of cold, boiled ham, minced fine and seasoned with a saltspoonful of dry mustard and a dash of cayenne. Lastly, stir in a well-beaten egg. Pour the mixture into a buttered bake- dish, sift cracker-crumbs and grated cheese over all, and cook, covered, in a steady oven, half an hour. Uncover and brown. BAKED MACARONI AND TOMATO. An Italian Recipe. Boil half a pound of macaroni twenty minutes, or until tender ; drain and rinse quickly in cold water ; lay it out upon a board and with a sharp knife cut into inch lengths. Butter a bake- dish and cover the bottom with macaroni ; season with bits of butter, paprica, salt, a few drops of onion-juice, and scatter over it a large spoonful of Parmesan cheese. Upon this lay a stratum of stewed, seasoned, and strained tomatoes, then more macaroni, and so on, until the dish is full. Cover with the tomato sauce, and sift fine crumbs over all with bits of butter on top. You will need a cupful of the sauce for this dishful. Bake, covered, half an hour, then brown. SAUCE FOR THE ABOVE. Stew a cupful of chopped tomatoes with a teaspoonful of grated onion and half a teaspoonful of mixed cloves and mace (ground). Make a brown roux of a tablespoonful of butter and the same of flour ; when it is smooth add the stewed tomatoes, cook one 16 242 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK minute, and rub them through a colander. Turn the macaroni upside down upon a deep dish, pour the sauce over it, leave it in the oven for a moment and serve. Send around grated cheese with it. STEWED MACARONI A LA TURQUE. Break half a pound of macaroni into two-inch lengths; boil in hot, salted water twenty minutes, or until clear ; drain, rinse in cold water, and spread upon a dish to cool, separating the tubes that they may not stick together. Have ready a cupful of stewed and strained tomatoes, seasoned with butter, sugar, paprica, and salt. When cooked and strained add three tablespoonfuls of pine-nuts, or, if you cannot get them, of almonds, blanched and chopped. Cook five minutes after it reaches the boil, stir in three tablespoonfuls of consomme or of strong stock and the macaroni. Bring slowly to a gentle boil, and as soon as it begins, take up and dish. Pass grated cheese with it. You can serve it as a vegetable with roast beef, or make a separate course of it, as in the for- eign restaurants. Spaghetti is nice when prepared in the same way. SPAGHETTI AND SWEETBREAD TIMBALES. Boil, drain, and rinse spaghetti without cutting it into short pieces, and spread it out at length upon a dish or clean board to cool. Butter or oil some timbale-moulds or nappies, and when the spaghetti is cold, line these with it, beginning in the centre of the bottom and winding the spaghetti neatly and closely around and around until the top is reached. Do this deftly and patiently, joining closely when a single piece is not enough to line the whole cup. A little practice will enable you to do it well. When the mould is lined, dust with paprica or with cayenne, and with salt. Have at hand sweetbreads that have been boiled, blanched, chopped, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a few drops of onion-juice, then moistened with a rich white sauce. Fill the lined cups or moulds with this, cover THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 243 with a close coil of spaghetti, and cook twenty-five minutes in a pan of boiling water set in a hot oven. Keep the timbales covered for twenty minutes. Or, you may steam them for three- quarters of an hour. Dip each mould for an instant in ice-cold water, and turn out the timbales upon individual plates, made very hot. Serve with a rich gravy, or with mushroom or tomato sauce. SPAGHETTI AND MUSHROOM TIMBALES are made exactly as in the last recipe, substituting mushrooms for the sweetbreads. In fact chicken, oysters, turkey, salmon — almost any well- prepared filling — may be used instead of either of these materials. This is a pretty company entree. GREEN CORN. BOILED CORN. Husk, clearing the ear of every strand of silk, and trim off stem and top neatly. Boil in hot water until the milk does not escape when a grain is penetrated by the nail. Fifteen or twenty minutes, according to the age of the corn, will be enough. Drain, sprinkle the corn with salt, and serve upon a hot napkin laid upon a platter. Fold the corners of the napkin over the corn. STEWED CORN. Husk and clean the corn, and leave it in cold water for fifteen minutes. With a sharp knife split each row of grains all the way down from stem to tip of the ear; then shave, rather than cut, them off down to the cob. Cover with hot water in a saucepan, and stew slowly for twenty minutes. Stir in a table- spoonful of butter for a pint of corn; pepper and salt and serve. 244 THE NATI °WAL COOK BOOK STEWED CORN AND TOMATOES. Cook as in last recipe, and when the corn has simmered five minutes add a cupful of chopped tomatoes (peeled). Cook twenty minutes longer after the boil recommences, season and serve. If there is much liquid in the stew, roll the butter in flour before adding it, and boil a minute more than if the flour were not used. CORN FRITTERS. Two cupfuls of grated green corn ; two eggs ; one cupful of milk; a pinch of soda; salt and pepper to taste; one tablespoon- ful of melted butter ; two tablespoonfuls of flour. Mix and fry as you would griddle-cakes, and send in hot, in acceptable relays. SUCCOTASH. Six ears of corn ; one pint of string-beans, trimmed and cut into short pieces ; one tablespoonful of butter rolled in flour ; one cupful of milk ; pepper and salt. Cut the corn from the cob, bruising as little as possible. Put over the fire with the beans in enough hot water, salted, to cover them, and stew gently half an hour. Turn off nearly all the water and add a cupful of milk. Simmer in this, stirring to prevent burning, twenty minutes; add the floured butter, the pepper and salt, and stew ten minutes. Serve in a deep dish. CANNED CORN may be used satisfactorily in most dishes that call for green corn. If, before cooking it, the contents of the can be turned into a fine colander, and cold water poured over it to wash off the liquor in which it was preserved, the taste will be cleaner and sweeter. Like all other " canned goods " corn should be opened and poured out upon an open dish for some hours before it is used to get rid of the close, smoky flavor and smell. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 245 TOMATOES. STEWED TOMATOES. Pour boiling water upon tomatoes to loosen their skins, and peel them. Slice, or cut into dice, and cook in a porcelain or agate-iron saucepan for twenty minutes. Drain off the superflu- ous liquid, pepper and salt it and keep for sauces, stews, and soups. Stir into the hot tomatoes, for each quart, a tablespoon- ful of butter rolled in corn-starch or in fine cracker-dust,* a tea- spoonful each of salt and of pepper, and a half teaspoonful of grated onion. Cook three minutes longer and serve. TOMATOES AU GRATIN. One quart fine, smooth tomatoes ; one cupful bread-crumbs ; one small onion, minced fine ; one teaspoonful white sugar ; two tablespoonfuls butter — melted ; cayenne and salt. Cut a piece from the top of each tomato. Scoop out the inside, leaving a hollow shell. Chop the pulp fine, mix with the crumbs, butter, sugar, pepper, salt, and onion. Fill the cavities of the tomatoes with this stuffing, heaping and rounding each ; scatter fine crumbs on the top, and arrange in a bake-dish. Set the dish, covered, in an oven, and bake half an hour before uncovering, after which brown lightly, and send to table on a hot platter. BROILED TOMATOES WITH SAUCE. Six fine, firm tomatoes, pared and sliced nearly half an inch thick ; yolks of three hard-boiled eggs, pounded ; three tablespoonfuls of melted butter and same of vinegar ; two raw eggs, beaten light ; one teaspoonful of sugar and half as much, each, of made mustard and salt ; a pinch of cayenne. Rub but- ter, pounded yolks, pepper, salt, mustard, and sugar together. Beat hard, add vinegar, and heat to a boil. Put this gradually upon the beaten eggs and whip to a smooth cream. Set in hot water while you broil the tomatoes in an oyster-broiler over clear 246 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK coals. Lay this upon a hot-water dish and pour the scalding dressing upon them. You may substitute a simpler sauce for this dressing, such as maitre d' hotel sauce, or one made by beating two teaspoonfuls of lemon-juice in three tablespoonfuls of butter, and seasoning this with a little mustard or cayenne. SCALLOPED TOMATOES. (No. J.) Butter a bake-dish and cover the bottom with fine, dry crumbs. Next put a layer of sliced and peeled tomatoes ; season with pep- per, salt, sugar, butter, and a few drops of onion-juice. More crumbs and more tomatoes until the dish is full. The top layer should be crumbs, peppered, salted, and buttered. Bake half an hour, covered. Uncover and brown. If canned tomatoes are used, drain off half the juice before you begin the scallop, or it will be too watery. Season the liquor and save for sauces and soups. SCALLOPED TOMATOES. (No. 2.) Peel and slice tomatoes. Chop fine two slices of fat salt pork and a small onion. Place a layer of tomatoes in a pudding-dish, pepper and salt lightly, sprinkle with a very little sugar and with the pork and onion. Cover with crumbs and continue using the ingredients in this order until the dish is full. Have the top layer of crumbs. Bake, covered, half an hour, then uncover and brown ten minutes. Serve in the dish in which they were BAKED TOMATOES. (No. t.) Peel with a sharp knife. Cut a piece from the top and gouge out most of the pulp, leaving the walls intact. Season what you have removed with pepper, salt, sugar, a few drops of onion-juice, and twice as much salad oil when you have chopped the pulp rather coarsely. Put it back into the tomatoes, replace the top, sprinkle with oil, paprica, and salt, and arrange upon a baking- pan. Bake, covered, for twenty minutes, and uncovered for five, and serve upon buttered Graham-bread toast. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 247 BAKED TOMATOES. (No. 2.) Peel and cut the tomatoes into halves. Have two tablespoon- fuls of salad oil hot in a frying-pan and lay the halved tomatoes in this, turning them over cautiously when they have cooked for one minute, that they may be equally coated with the hot fat. Take them up, without breaking, and arrange them close together in a bake-dish. For six tomatoes, chop half a small clove of garlic — there should not be more than half a salt- spoonful — and allow two tablespoonfuls of oil, a tablespoonful of minced parsley, a dash of paprica, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Mix this sauce well, pour over the tomatoes in the dish, cover, and bake for twenty minutes. Uncover and cook for five min- utes longer. Serve in the bake-dish. This is a German recipe, and a good one. Serve with roast mutton. CREAMED TOMATOES. Cut six firm tomatoes into thick slices and saute them in two tablespoonfuls of butter three or four minutes, until they are tender. Stir in then a cupful of hot cream or milk in which has been mixed a tablespoonful of flour. Stir over the fire until the sauce thickens well and serve. They are very good. STUFFED TOMATOES. (No. U) Wash and wipe, but do not peel, fine, smooth tomatoes. Cut a piece from the top of each, dig out most of the pulp and re- place it by a force-meat of cold chicken or ham, seasoned with salt, pepper, sugar, and a little onion-juice. Pack the tomatoes, with this, replace the tops and put into a baking-pan close to^ gether. Fill the interstices with f?ne bread-crumbs, peppered, salted, and buttered, and pour over them a cupful of chicken- stock or consomme. Cover and bake half an hour. Take up the tomatoes and dish on a hot platter, add to the 248 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK gravy left in the pan half a cupful of cream or milk in which has been dissolved a bit of soda. Heat to a boil and pour over the tomatoes. STUFFED TOMATOES. (No. 2.) Cut the tops off fine, large tomatoes and scoop out the inside, taking care not to break the outer skin. Mince what you have removed fine, add to it as much bread-crumbs, season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, and a little butter, and refill the shells. Replace the tops, and if there is any stuffing left, put it between the tomatoes as they are placed side J>y side in a pudding-dish. Cover closely and bake half an hour. Uncover and brown. TOMATOES WITH SAUCE PIQUANTE. Wash and wipe, but do not peel. Cut into slices half an inch in thickness, and saute in boiling oil for three minutes be- fore turning. Turn and cook three minutes longer, dish, and put upon each a small teaspoonful of sauce made by whipping butter and lemon-juice to a cream, then adding salt and paprica or black pepper. CURRIED TOMATOES. Cook half a teaspoonful of grated onion in two tablespoonfuls of butter, and when it has simmered two minutes stir in a tea- spoonful of curry-powder. Cut tomatoes into thick slices and saute in this mixture. Sprinkle with salt and serve. Pass them with cold meat or with fish, and serve plain boiled rice with them. CALCUTTA CURRY OF TOMATOES. 1 Peel and slice a quart of tomatoes and put a layer of them in the bottom of a deep bake-dish, or bowl. Season with salt, butter, sugar, and a sprinkle of curry-powder, allowing a tea- spoonful for the whole dish. Upon the tomatoes put a layer of uncooked rice, allowing a scant cupful to the quart of tomatoes. Cover the rice with sliced okras, of which you should have two THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 249 dozen. Sprinkle these with salt, cayenne, and bits of butter. Proceed in this way until the materials are all used up. You may, if you like, cover the top with fine crumbs, but they are not included in the East Indian recipe. Scatter bits of butter plentifully over the whole, cover tightly, and bake steadily over an hour. Serve in the dish or bowl. FRIED TOMATOES IN BATTER. A nice side-dish is made by dipping slices of ripe tomatoes into a batter made of flour, milk, and an egg, and then frying them a delicate brown. FRIED TOMATOES (PLAIN). Wash and wipe, but do not peel, the tomatoes. Slice, dust each piece with paprica, salt, and sugar, sprinkle with a few drops of onion-juice ; dip in fine corn-meal, and fry in deep, hot cottolene, as you would fritters. Serve dry with fish or with chops. DEVILED TOMATOES. Fine, firm tomatoes — about a quart ; three hard-boiled eggs — the yolks only ; three tablespoonfuls of melted butter ; three table- spoonfuls of vinegar ; two raw eggs, whipped light ; one teaspoon- ful of powdered sugar; one saltspoonful of salt ; one teaspoonful of made mustard ; a good pinch of cayenne pepper. Pound the boiled yolks; rub in the butter and seasoning. Beat light, add the vinegar, and heat almost to a boil. Stir in the beaten egg until the mixture begins to thicken. Set in hot water while you cut the tomatoes in slices nearly half an inch thick. Broil over a clear fire upon a wire oyster-broiler. Lay on a hot-water dish, and pour the hot sauce over them. EAST INDIAN RAGOUT OF TOMATOES. Break the shell of a cocoanut, saving the milk if it be sweet. Grate the meat when you have taken off the brown skin. Heat the milk and pour it over the grated cocoanut. (If the milk be 2SO THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK not sweet use a cupful of boiling water, slightly sweetened with loaf-sugar.) Set aside, covered, until perfectly cold, then strain through a muslin bag, squeezing out every drop of liquid. Peel and cut up fine enough firm tomatoes to make two cupfuls ; add a large green pepper, chopped, a tiny pinch of chopped garlic, a tablespoonful of grated onion, and stew gently for twenty minutes. Add then a teaspoonful of curry and draw to the side of the range, while you heat the cocoanut-milk and thin with it a roux of one tablespoonful of flour, stirred smooth into a larger spoon- ful of boiling butter. Season with salt to taste, pour all together in a deep dish, stir in a quarter -teaspoonful of soda, and serve while frothing. It will be relished by the lovers of highly seasoned sauces and stews. Eat with roast, or boiled chicken, or with fish. PEASE. GREEN PEASE. Shell and wash ; put them in slightly salted boiling water, and cook them in this for twenty-five minutes. Drain well, turn into a hot dish, put a lump of butter the size of an egg upon them and a little pepper and salt. CANNED PEASE. Drain and leave in cold water for ten minutes, put on in salted boiling water, cook fifteen minutes ; drop in a lump of white sugar and a small sprig of mint, and cook five minutes longer. Drain, butter, pepper and salt, and serve. PUREE OF GREEN PEASE. Shell half a peck of pease and set them in a cold place while you boil the pods for twenty minutes in just enough hot, salted water to cover them. Strain them ; return the water to the fire with the pease and a sprig of mint, and boil until they are soft THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 25 1 enough to rub through a colander. When you have pressed all through that will go, stir into them a cupful of the water in which they were cooked, season with pepper and salt and put back into the colander. As they begin to simmer stir in a roux of one tablespoonful of flour, cooked for three minutes in two tablespoonfuls of butter, cook one minute, take from the fire and add three tablespoonfuls of cream, that have been heated with a tiny bit of soda. Pour upon squares of fried bread laid on a hot platter, PLAIN PUREE OF GREEN PEASE. Boil and rub a quart of pease through a colander, or pass them through a vegetable-press. Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan with pepper, paprica, or a dash of cayenne, half a tea- spoonful of sugar, and three mint leaves, finely minced. Stir in the pulped pease and toss and stir with a silver fork until they are very hot. Pile upon a hot platter and lay triangles of fried bread about the base. GREEN-PEA PANCAKES. Two cupfuls of green pease left over from dinner, or boiled ex- pressly for this dish, mashed while hot, and rubbed through a colander. Season with pepper, salt, and butter to taste; let them get cold ; then add two beaten eggs and a cupful of milk. Sift half a teaspoonful of Cleveland's Baking Powder twice through half a cupful of flour, and beat in lightly at the last. Mix well and bake as you would griddle-cakes. Eat hot. LIMA BEANS. After shelling, cook about half an hour in boiling water with a little salt. Drain dry, and after dishing stir in a lump of but- ter half the size of an egg and pepper and salt to taste. LIMA BEANS (STEWED)/ Shell a quart of beans, and boil tender in hot, salted water. Drain, add four tablespoonfuls of hot milk, in which has been 252 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK melted a tablespoonful of butter rolled in a teaspoonful of flour. Simmer for five minutes, season with pepper and salt, and serve. KIDNEY BEANS. If fresh, cook them as you would Lima beans. If dried, soak overnight, and put over the fire in the morning in salted boiling water, and cook gently one hour, or until soft, but not broken. Drain, stir in pepper, salt, and a lump of butter, and serve. KIDNEY BEANS A LA LYONNAISE. Soak overnight and boil tender, but not until they break ; drain perfectly dry, throw in a little salt, and leave over an empty pot in the colander at the side of the range, as you would potatoes, to "dry off." Have ready in a frying-pan a great spoonful of clarified dripping (that from roast beef is best), with half a small onion, grated, and a little chopped parsley. Salt and pepper to taste, and when hissing hot put in the beans. Shake over the fire about two minutes, until the contents of the pan are well mixed, and as hot as may be without scorching, then serve. "BLACK-EYED PEASE" are really a species of bean, although known at the South, where they are abundant, by the name given above. They are boiled always with a bit of fat bacon, to give them richness. Drain well, pepper, salt, and serve with the bacon on the top of the pease. Or— After they are boiled they are drained and turned into a fry- ing-pan in which slices of fat bacon have been cooked and then taken out, leaving the fat in the pan. Saute the pease in this until dry, hot, and well-seasoned by the fat. Serve dry, and lay the fried bacon on or about the pease. Dried black -eyed pease must be soaked overnight. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 253 CAULIFLOWER. BOILED CAULIFLOWER. Boil the cauliflower, tied in a net, in plenty of hot, salted water, in which has been stirred a tablespoonful of vinegar. When done, drain and dish, the flower upward. Pour over it a cupful of drawn butter seasoned with lemon-juice, pepper, and salt. Serve very hot. BOILED CAULIFLOWER WITH TOMATO SAUCE. Cook as directed in last recipe, but when dished pour over it, instead of the white sauce, a cupful of strained tomato sauce, sea- soned with butter, sugar, salt, and paprica. CAULIFLOWER (PARISIAN STYLE). Boil a good-sized cauliflower until tender, chop it coarsely, and press it hard in a bowl or mould, so that it will keep its form when turned out. Put the shape thus made upon a dish that will stand the heat, and pour over it a tomato sauce. Make this by cooking together a tablespoonful of butter and flour in a saucepan, and pouring upon them a pint of strained tomato- juice in which half an onion has been stewed. Stir until smooth, and thicken still more by the addition of three or four tablespoon- fuls of cracker-dust. Salt to taste, turn the sauce over the moulded cauliflower, set it in the oven for about ten minutes, and serve in the dish in which it is cooked. CAULIFLOWER AU GRATEM. An Italian Recipe. Boil in hot, salted water and divide into tiny clusters, a " flower ' ' or two on each. Butter a deep dish and put in a layer of these, sprinkling with butter, salt, and pepper, and covering first with Parmesan cheese, then with cracker-crumbs. Wet each layer with milk, and fill the dish in this order, finishing with a 254 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK layer of crumbs dotted with butter-bits, and dusted with cayenne. Bake, covered, half an hour, then brown. Serve in the dish. STEWED CAULIFLOWER A LA HOLLANDAISE. Cut into large clusters of uniform size and stew tender in weak stock or bouillon. (This may be utilized afterward for soup.) Drain, butter, salt, and pepper, and pass with it drawn butter, into which have been whipped the yolks of two raw eggs. This is a Dutch recipe and good. BAKED CAULIFLOWER. Cut into clusters and stew tender in boiling, salted water. Or, if you have a couple of small cauliflowers, boil them whole and dish together. Drain and lay in a bake-dish. Pour over it a good white sauce (hot), sprinkle with grated cheese and paprica, and bake, covered, twenty minutes. It will be found very nice. SPINACH. GERMAN SPINACH. Pick over a peck of spinach heedfully, removing all decayed and withered leaves. Less than a peck will not make a dish of fair size. Pick off the leaves, lay in cold water for half an hour, and, without shaking off the wet, fill an agate-iron or porcelain saucepan with them, adding no water. The wet leaves will not scorch and will presently yield enough liquid to cook themselves. Cover the saucepan to facilitate the process and now and then stir up from the bottom. Bring slowly to the boil, after which cook fast for fifteen minutes. The idea prevalent in some kitchens that spinach should boil for, at least, THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 255 one hour, accounts partially for the ill-conditioned messes of- ten dished under this name. Salt the boiled spinach in the pot, turn into a colander to drain, then into a chopping-tray, and mince it fine. Heat a great spoonful of butter in a saucepan and make a roux of it with a scant tablespoonful of flour. When they bubble together season with pepper and salt and stir in the spinach. Heat to a boil, put in with the mixture four tablespoonfuls of cream, and stir almost dry. Turn into a deep dish, or mound upon a platter, and garnish with slices of hard-boiled egg, or triangles of fried bread. SPINACH IN A MOULD. Pick over carefully, wash, clip off the stems, and put the leaves, without water, in a saucepan over the fire. Boil fifteen minutes. When done, drain, pressing out all the water. Chop fine, put back into the saucepan with a piece of butter — a large spoon- ful for a good dish — a little powdered sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and toss until very hot ; press hard into a mould wet with hot water, and turn out with care upon a heated dish. Lay round slices of hard-boiled eggs on the top. FRENCH SPINACH. Boil as directed in foregoing recipes, chop, heat with the roux, and season with pepper and salt. In place of the cream in the German method, add the same quantity of white stock — chicken or veal — adding half a saltspoonful of nutmeg or mace and an even teaspoonful of sugar, with a pinch of grated lemon-peel. This seasoning imparts an exquisite flavor to the vegetable. SPINACH SOUFFLE. Boil and chop a peck of spinach, and while hot stir in a table- spoonful of butter and a beaten egg, salt, and nutmeg. Season with a little sugar, pepper, and set away to get cold. When 256 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK you are ready for it, whip into the cold spinach two table- spoonfuls of cream and the stiffened whites of three eggs. Pour into a handsome bake-dish, sift a small teaspoonful of powdered sugar on top, and bake in a hot oven ten minutes, covered, five minutes when you have uncovered it. Send immediately to table, as it soon falls. It may be served as a separate course at a luncheon. Each portion should be helped out upon a square of fried bread laid upon each plate. As the initiated will at once see, this is also a French recipe. SPINACH BOILED PLAIN. Wash a peck of spinach, pick the leaves from the stems, and, without shaking off the wet, put them into an agate-iron or porcelain saucepan. Set this in a pot of boiling water, cover closely, and cook for fifteen minutes. Stir up well from the bottom, then, and put into the saucepan a tablespoonful of hot water in which has been dissolved half a saltspoonful of soda. Beat in well, cover the pot, and cook ten minutes longer. Drain the spinach in a colander without pressing it at first, sea- soning with salt, pepper, butter, a little sugar, and half a tea- spoonful of lemon-juice. Turn into a hot colander, press out the remaining juice very gently not to bruise the spinach, and serve on a heated platter. Cover with slices of hard-boiled egg, and serve one with each portion of spinach. The soda gives a fine green to this vegetable. SPINACH A LA GENEVE. Cook as directed in foregoing recipe, but mound upon a hot platter and cover completely with the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs rubbed to a powder, with a narrow border of the whites minced fine at the lower and outer edge of the mound. The effect is exceedingly pretty and the pounded egg is a pleasant addition to the spinach. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 2$? ASPARAGUS. BOILED ASPARAGUS. Scrape the stalks and lay them in cold water for half an hour j tie into a rather loose bundle with soft string, and cook in hot, salted water for half an hour. It is no longer considered necessary to lay boiled asparagus upon toast, many good judges of cooking preferring to serve it without the sodden underpinning. If you are thus minded, undo the string and arrange the stalks upon a hot dish. Pour white or Hollandaise sauce over it, or pass this separately. Or you may serve melted butter with it. ASPARAGUS A LA VINAIGRETTE. Boil as directed, and while the stalks are hot pour over them a dressing made of three tablespoonfuls of salad oil to one of vine- gar, a teaspoonful of French mustard, a little salt and cayenne, and a saltspoonful of sugar. Set away in a closely covered dish, and when cold put upon the ice for some hours before serving. It ranks among salads, but is a delicious accompaniment to cold lamb or chicken on a hot day. SCALLOPED ASPARAGUS. Wash the asparagus and cut off the hard, woody part of the stalks. Cut the tender part into inch lengths and parboil for ten minutes in hot, salted water. Drain and put a layer of them in a buttered bake-dish. Scatter over this minced, hard-boiled eggs, season with salt, pepper, and butter-bits, and go on thus until the ingredients are used up. You need about four eggs to a bunch of asparagus. Make a roux of a large tablespoonful of but- ter and one of flour, and thin with a cupful of hot milk. Cook for a minute, season with paprica, and ponr over the asparagus, a layer of which should be uppermost in the scallop; sift fine crumbs over all with bits of butter stuck in it and grated 17 258 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK cheese upon this. Bake twenty minutes, covered, then brown slightly. ASPARAGUS TIPS. Use for this dish only the delicate tips of asparagus, less than two inches long. Boil in hot, salted water until tender ; drain, turn into a deep dish, pepper, salt, butter, and pour a good white sauce over them — half a cupful to one cupful of the tips. ASPARAGUS PATES. Cut rounds of stale bread an inch and a half thick. Press a small cutter an inch deep into each, and dig out the inside, leaving a round, saucer-like cavity. Butter these well and set upon the grating of a hot oven to crisp and to color lightly. Fill them with asparagus tips prepared as in the last recipe, and serve hot. This is a nice luncheon entree. CABBAGE. We have not time to enter into the discussion of the problem why the laboring classes have taken upon trust the dogma that potatoes and cabbage are especially adapted to their wants, and may be drawn upon for daily strength for daily needs. While more nutritious than the turnip, which carries a weight of ninety- two per cent, of water into the human stomach, it has little to boast of in the way of food for blood, brain, brawn, or bone. Out of one hundred parts of constituent matter eighty-nine parts of cabbage are water ; one and a fifth part albuminoids ; five and an eighth sugar, starch, and gum ; next to nothing fat ; two parts cellulose ; one and one half part minerals. The cousins-german of English-born cabbage — cauliflower and broccoli — are some- what richer in nutriment-values than itself. Whether or not it is worth the time and strength of a rational being to distend his stomach with so much to get so little is a question the cabbage-loving reader must decide for himself. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 259 BOILED CABBAGE. Quarter a firm cabbage, take off the outer leaves, and cut out the stalk. Wash thoroughly, keeping a sharp lookout for insects, and put into a pot of boiling water in which have been dissolved two teaspoonfuls of salt and a bit of carbonate of soda as large as a filbert. Cook the cabbage fifteen minutes after the boil be- gins again ; turn off the water and fill up with fresh from the boiling tea-kettle ; drop in a teaspoonful of salt and cook ten minutes longer. Turn into a colander, drain off all the water, pressing until no more runs out. Chop the cabbage in a chop- ping-tray, quickly ; stir in butter, salt, and pepper ; return to the fire in a saucepan and stir until it is smoking hot, and dish. Send around vinegar with it for those who like it. ■ CREAMED CABBAGE. Cook as directed in last recipe, chop and turn into a sauce- pan, and mix with it a sauce made of one tablespoonful of flour stirred into one of hot butter until it bubbles, then thinned with four tablespoonfuls of hot milk and seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook one minute and dish. SCALLOPED CABBAGE. Cut a small cabbage into quarters, and boil tender in hot, salted water. When perfectly cold chop and season with pepper and a little butter. Beat up a raw egg and stir it in. Moisten well with liquor from the beef-pot. Turn the mixture into a greased bake-dish, and cover with fine bread-crumbs. Wet these with pot-liquor and bake, covered, half an hour, then brown. The time required to transform the homely farm fare of corned beef and cabbage into a dinner to which no man need be ashamed to invite his most honored guest will not transcend the season usually given to cooking the plainer dish by forty-five minutes. Perhaps half an hour would suffice. 260 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK CABBAGE SCALLOPED "WITH CHEESE. A German Recipe. Boil the cabbage in two waters, drain and chop fine. Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful of flour stirred into two of bubbling hot butter and thinned with a cupful of hot milk, and seasoned with cayenne and salt with a pinch of nutmeg. Rub a bake-dish with garlic, and butter it ; spread a layer of cabbage on the bottom ; squeeze over it a little lemon-juice and less of onion- juice ; cover with the white sauce and this with grated cheese. Fill the dish in this order, and put over all fine bread-crumbs dotted with butter and sprinkled lightly with cayenne. Bake, covered, half an hour, and brown. Serve in the bake-dish. STOCKHOLM STEWED CABBAGE. Shred the cabbage while raw, as for sauerkraut, when you have washed it well and laid it in cold water for half an hour. Cover three inches deep in boiling salted water in which has been dropped a bit of soda ; cook ten minutes after the boil be- gins again ; turn off the water and cover with more from the tea-kettle. Cook ten minutes in this and drain well. Return to the saucepan with a cupful of hot milk, a tablespoonful of butter, salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg, and stew until soft and nearly dry. Heap upon a platter and garnish with boiled sau- sages or balls of fried calf's brains. This is a genuine Swedish recipe and not unpalatable. CABBAGE AU MAITRE DHOTEL. Boil in two waters and let the cabbage get perfectly cold be- fore chopping it. Season with paprica and salt, and stir the chopped cabbage into a saucepan containing a cupful of hot stock. Cook until heated through and almost dry, add a table- spoonful of melted butter and the juice of a lemon, and dish. This is an Alsatian recipe. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 26 1 HOT SLAW. Shred a small, firm head of cabbage fine, put into a bowl and pour over it a sauce made thus : Heat in a saucepan a cupful of vinegar, and when hot add a tablespoonful each of butter and of sugar, half a teaspoonful of made mustard, a saltspoonful of salt, and the same of black or white pepper. When well mixed with this the shred cabbage must be heated to scalding and poured into a deep dish. Stir into it quickly two tablespoon- fuls of sour cream, cover and set in hot water ten minutes before serving. CABBAGE SPROUTS OR YOUNG GREENS. Wash, trim, and boil in hot water with a bit of streaked pork two inches square. When tender, drain, season with pepper and salt, and mince quickly, lest they get cold. Stir in a tea- spoonful of melted butter and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and serve. Slice the pork and lay about the greens. SEAKALE. An excellent green that deserves to be better known may be cooked according to the foregoing recipe, or without pork. BROCCOLI. Wash and leave in cold water, slightly salted, for one hour. Cook in boiling salted water for fifteen minutes, or until tender. Drain very dry, season with salt and pepper, and dish. Pour over it two tablespoonfuls of melted butter (for two cupfuls of broccoli) in which has been stirred the juice of half a lemon. BRUSSELS SPROUTS are cooked in the same way. KOHLRABL Boil tender in two waters; salting both, and putting into the second a tablespoonful of vinegar. Peel off the outer skin, pep- 262 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK per and salt, and serve with white sauce or drawn butter, with the juice of a lemon stirred into it, poured over the kohlrabi. ONIONS. That onions " have a feeding value superior to that of white turnips " hardly reassures those of us who had classed them among our most nutritious vegetables until we see them tabu- lated as bearing ninety-one per cent, of water. The proportion of mucilage, pectose, and sugar is, however, four and one-eighth parts, and they have two per cent, of cellulose matter. They also contain a minute portion of sulphur, represented by their pungent odor. " The bulb is commonly regarded as a mere flavorer," writes an English analyst of its properties. In this ca- pacity "no family should be without it," and as experience gratefully attests, the bulbs, when judiciously cooked, sit lightly upon the digestive organs. BOILED ONIONS. Peel and lay them in cold water for half an hour ; then boil tender in two waters, hot and salted. Drain, pepper and salt, and cover with a white sauce. YOUNG ONIONS (STEWED). They should vary in size from a filbert to a hickory-nut. Cut off the stalks, skin, wash, and put over the fire in hot, salted water. Cook twenty minutes in this, drain, and return to the saucepan with a cupful of hot milk in which has been dissolved a tiny bit of soda. Stir in, presently, a tablespoonful of butter rolled in as much flour, and stew gently until the sauce thick- ens well. Cooked thus, they are delicious and easily digested. Always boil onions in an open saucepan. The smell will be much less offensive than when cooked in a covered vessel. A bit of clean charcoal, tied in a rag, put into the first water, also lessens this nuisance, and a cupful of vinegar boiling beside them on the range is said further to mitigate it. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 26$ BAKED ONIONS. A Norwegian Recipe. Cook tender in two waters — the second salted and boiling. Drain well, pressing each onion in a coarse cloth, gently, not to break it, and when they are dry, lay all together, side by side, in a bake-pan. Pepper, salt, and butter, and add a cupful of stock. Brown in a quick oven ; take out the onions and keep them hot in a deep dish while you thicken the gravy left in the pan with browned flour. Pour over the onions, set in the oven for two minutes, and serve. BERMUDA ONIONS (STUFFED). Peel large Bermuda or Spanish onions, and parboil them for ten minutes. Drain, and let them get perfectly cold. With a sharp knife dig out the centre from each and fill with a force- meat of minced meat, veal, ham, or chicken, well seasoned, and mixed with one-third as much fine crumbs. Season with salt and cayenne and a little butter. Set the stuffed onions close to- gether in a dish, fill the interstices with crumbs, and scatter more over the top. Pour about them enough weak stock to keep them from burning — about an inch in the bottom of the dish will do — and cook, covered, half an hour. Uncover and brown lightly. Onion-lovers will find this very palatable. BEETS. You cannot be too careful, in preparing beets for cooking, not to cut or even scratch the skins. If this accident occurs they will bleed themselves white in the water and lose flavor and crisp- ness with their complexions. YOUNG BOILED BEETS. After washing them, boil three-quarters of an hour, scrape, slice, and pour over them a tablespoonful of butter, two of vine- gar, and a little pepper and salt. 264 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK OLD BEETS (BOILED). Wash and cook in hot, salted water from two to three hours, according to age and size. Throw at once into cold water when done, to loosen the skins ; peel quickly, slice thin, dish, and pour over them a sauce made of three tablespoonfuls of scalding vinegar, a tablespoonful of butter, and a little pepper and salt. . Serve hot. " Left-overs " of beets should be kept for salad and for gar- nishes. BEET-TOPS. A German Recipe. Cut half a pound of cold boiled ham into dice and fry in a little salad oil with half a grated onion. Add two tablespoonfuls of hot vinegar and set in hot water while you wash, pick over, and boil the greens in hot, salted water. Fifteen minutes should make them tender. Chop fine, drain well, and mix with the fried ham and vinegar. Dish hot, with poached eggs on top of the greens. BEET GREENS. An English Recipe. Choose two quarts of very tender, young beet-tops. Wash and pick them apart. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan ; put in the beet -tops, cover closely, and cook twenty minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching. They should be very tender. Turn into a hot dish, season with pepper and salt, and cover all over with slices of hard-boiled eggs. DANDELION GREENS. Pick over, wash, and boil in hot, salted water. Drain when tender, chop, and season with salt, pepper, butter, and a table- spoonful of vinegar, or the juice of half a lemon. Serve hot. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 26$ CUCUMBERS. "The fruit contains little besides water, some grape-sugar, and a trace of volatile flavoring water." Thus a distinguished dietetist. Cucumbers are by him tabulated as containing ninety -six parts of water and two parts of sugar (glucose). The other constituents are put down in fractions. Nevertheless, millions of people find them toothsome and re- freshing, and perhaps one-half the number maintain that the " fruit " does not disagree with them. This latter item of testi- mony would be more general if cucumbers were eaten fresh and were sometimes cooked, instead of always appearing upon their tables raw. STEWED CUCUMBERS. Peel and quarter six cucumbers and lay them in ice-cold water for fifteen minutes. (Do not salt the water.) Then put them into a shallow saucepan ; cover with boiling water and cook slowly for half an hour. Drain, without pressing, leaving the quarters whole ; transfer daintily to a heated platter and cover with a maitre d 'hotel sauce (see Sauces). Eat hot. STUFFED CUCUMBERS. Cut full-grown cucumbers of uniform size into halves and re- move the seeds. Fill the halves with a force-meat of minced chicken, or veal, or lamb, or fish, mixed with one-third the quantity of fine crumbs, seasoned with salt, butter, and cayenne. Place two filled halves carefully together, bind in place with soft string ; lay the cucumbers in a bake-pan and just cover with good stock. Cover and cook tender in a moderate oven. One hour should do this. Clip the strings, lay the cucumbers in a hot dish, and keep them warm over boiling water, while you thicken the pan-gravy with a roux of browned flour, boiling up once. Pour about the cucumbers and serve. 266 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK This is a popular Syrian dish, and is much liked by tourists. Vegetable marrows are prepared in like manner by native cooks. STUFFED CUCUMBERS WITH TOMATO SAUCE. Prepare as directed in the last recipe, but stir into the pan- gravy a cupful of strained and seasoned tomato sauce with the roux. FRIED CUCUMBERS. Pare, cut into slices nearly half an inch thick. Lay in ice- water for fifteen minutes. Wipe dry, dust with pepper and salt, and flour, or dip into egg, then into cracker-dust and fry in deep, hot cottolene. Drain, and serve hot and dry. Pass sliced lemon with them, or mayonnaise dressing. CUCUMBERS FRIED IN BATTER. Pare six cucumbers and cut crosswise into slices half an inch thick. Lay in ice-water while you make a batter of one cupful of milk, one egg, well beaten, a saltspoonful of salt, half as much paprica, and a heaping cupful of flour in which is sifted, twice, the salt and a scant half-teaspoonful of Cleveland's Baking Pow- der. Beat quickly to a light batter, dip the cucumber slices into it, and drop, one at a time, into deep, hot cottolene. Cook as you would doughnuts, and drain in a hot colander before serving. DEVILED CUCUMBERS. Fry as in recipe for Fried Cucumbers, and when all are done heap upon a heated platter. Pour over them this sauce : One cupful of strained hot tomato-juice ; half a teaspoonful of salt and the same of made mustard, a teaspoonful of sugar, a pinch of cayenne, a dozen drops or so of onion-juice, a table- spoonful of salad oil, and the juice of half a lemon. Heat all together until scalding ; pour over the cucumbers and send to table. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 26j CREAMED CUCUMBERS. An English Recipe. Pare the cucumbers, cut crosswise into half-inch slices, and leave for half an hour in ice-water. Cover them with boiling water and simmer fifteen minutes. Drain and throw away this water, and just cover the cucumbers with more, boiling hot, in which has been melted a tablespoonful of butter. Salt and pepper, and keep hot in a pan of boiling water until the sauce is ready. Make a roux of one tablespoonful of butter heated and worked smooth with one of .flour, then thinned with a cupful of hot cream, and seasoned with salt and cayenne. Line a hot platter with slices of buttered toast, turn the cucumbers upon these, squeeze the juice of half a lemon upon them, and pour the cream sauce over all. SCALLOPED CUCUMBERS. (No. J.) Pare six full-grown cucumbers, and cut into dice half an inch square. Butter a pudding-dish and put in a layer of the dice, sprinkling with lemon- and with onion-juice. Cover with fine crumbs seasoned with celery-salt, cayenne, or paprica, and but- ter-bits. Fill the dish in this order, covering all with peppered, salted, and buttered crumbs. Cover closely and bake one hour, then brown. Pass a sauce piquante with it, and thin slices of buttered brown bread. SCALLOPED CUCUMBERS. (No. 2.) Prepare as directed in last recipe, but instead of layers of bread-crumbs, spread over each layer of seasoned bread-crumbs this sauce : Heat a tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan and stir into it one of flour. When it bubbles, thin with a cupful of hot cream or rich milk. Let the sauce get cold before using. Cover the top layer of sauce with fine crumbs, bake one hour, covered, then brown. 268 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK LETTUCE. Invaluable as it is in the realm of salads, it is not generally known that it is palatable cooked. Besides the recipe for cream- lettuce soup, we give here one that has found favor upon good men's tables abroad, and of late in our country. BOILED LETTUCE. Wash firm heads of lettuce. Trim away wilted and coarse outer leaves and cut the stalks close to the lowest leaves. Tie each head up separately with a bit of tape or soft string, and lay close together in a wide saucepan. Cover with good consomme^ and cook slowly, covered, for half an hour, or until the heads are easily pierced by a straw. Take out with care, drain each head separately in a colander without bruising, and lay upon a hot platter. Keep hot while you stir a white roux into the pan- gravy and boil up once. Pour over the lettuce when you have clipped and drawn out the strings. STEAMED LETTUCE. Pick apart two large heads of lettuce, wash well, and put into a steamer over a kettle of hot water, or improvise a steamer by help of a colander and a pot of boiling water. Cover closely and keep in all jets of steam by further laying a thick folded cloth upon the lid. Boil the water furiously for half an hour ; lift the wilted lettuce and lay upon a hot' dish. Sprinkle with pepper and salt, and pour a sauce piquante over it. SQUASH. BOILED SQUASH. Pare off the outer shell, take out the seeds, and cut into small pieces. Boil in hot, salted water until tender. If young, twenty minutes will do this ; a longer time is required for full- grown squash. Drain well, rub through a vegetable-press, and THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 269 return to the saucepan. Mix with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon- ful of butter made into a roux with a tablespoonful of flour. Stir and beat for a whole minute, until you have a creamy, smoking mass, and pour out. Squash cooked in this way is a very dif- ferent thing from the watery stuff usually served under that name. BAKED SQUASH. Boil and mash the squash, stir in two teaspoonfuls of butter, an egg, beaten light, a quarter of a cupful of milk, and pepper and salt to taste. Fill a buttered pudding-dish with this, strew fine bread-crumbs over the top and bake to a nice brown. SQUASH FRITTERS. To two cupfuls of cooked and creamed squash (cold) allow two of milk, two eggs, a saltspoonful of salt, and half a cupful of flour in which has been sifted half a teaspoonful of Cleveland's Bak- ing Powder. There should be just enough flour to hold the mixture together. Bake on a griddle as you would cakes, and send to table hot. EGG-PLANT. FRIED EGG-PLANT. (No. J.) Slice the egg-plant about half an inch thick, peeling the slices. Lay them in salt and water for an hour, placing a plate on them to keep them down. Wipe each slice dry, and dip into a batter made of a beaten egg, a cupful of milk, half a cup- ful of flour, and pepper and salt. Fry in boiling dripping and serve on a hot dish, first draining off all the grease. FRIED EGG-PLANT. (No. 2.) Peel and slice the egg-plant at least half an inch thick ; pare the pieces carefully and lay in salt and water, putting a plate upon the topmost to keep it under the brine, and let them alone 270 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK for an hour or more. Wipe each slice, dip in beaten egg, then in cracker-crumbs, and sauti in hot fat until well done and nicely browned. BROILED EGG-PLANT. Peel and cut into rather thin slices and lay in salted ice-water for an hour; spread upon a soft towel and cover with another, pat- ting and pressing the slices until they are entirely dry. Leave them for ten minutes in a mixture of three tablespoonfuls of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon ; sprinkle then with salt and pepper, and broil quickly upon a wire broiler. Twelve minutes should cook both sides. STUFFED EGG-PLANT. A Roman Recipe. Parboil a good-sized egg-plant for ten minutes, and throw at once into ice-cold salted water. Leave it there for an hour. It should then be fine and plump. Cut into halves, lengthwise, and scoop out seeds and pulp, leaving the walls half an inch thick. Rub the pulp through a colander, add to it two table- spoonfuls of minced chicken and the same of minced pine-nuts. (If you cannot get them, use almonds blanched and chopped.) Work in a saltspoonful of salt and half as much pepper, with two tablespoonfuls of fine, dry crumbs. Fill the divided halves of the egg-plant with this stuffing and bind them into the original shape with soft string. Put into a bake-dish with two table- spoonfuls of water and butter, or the same of stock ; cover closely and bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. With- draw the string carefully and dish. You may, if you like, butter the hot egg-plant well when half- done and sift fine crumbs over it, then brown lightly. It is a handsome entree when this is done. THE NATIONAL COOK BOqfC 2>]\ CARROTS. Their chief use in the kitchen is in soup-making, braising, and the like processes. In these nothing takes their place. They are a wholesome esculent, containing no starch, eighty-nine parts of water, four and a fifth of sugar, two and a fifth of pectose and gum, two and one-third of cellulose, and one of mineral matter. STEWED CARROTS. Scrape and boil whole three-quarters of an hour, drain, and cut into cubes half an inch square. Have ready in a saucepan enough weak stock to cover the carrot-dice. Put them on in it and cook twenty minutes, or until tender. Add then two tablespoonfuls of milk, a tablespoonful of butter cut up in one of flour, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer five minutes and serve. YOUNG CARROTS A LA PARISIENNE. Boil for five minutes ; take up and rub off the skins with a coarse cloth. Return to the fire and cook until tender. Slice lengthwise, making three pieces of a medium-sized carrot, two of a small. Have hot in a frying-pan a tablespoonful of butter for each cupful of the carrots, and when it bubbles lay in the slices. SautS on both sides, quickly, and just before taking them up sprinkle with chopped parsley. Dish dry ; strew over them a little white sugar, pepper, and salt, and serve very hot. CREAMED YOUNG CARROTS. Scald for five minutes and rub off the skins with a rough cloth. Slice crosswise and thin. Heat in a saucepan a tablespoonful of butter, two of hot water, salt and pepper to taste, and put in the sliced carrots. Cook gently, covered, for half an hour. In another saucepan heat four tablespoonfuls of cream and a tea- spoonful of chopped parsley. When the mixture boils take from 272 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK the fire and pour upon the beaten yolks of two eggs. Stir up well, pour over the carrots, cook one scant minute and dish. This also is a French recipe. CREAMED WINTER CARROTS. Pare and boil full-grown carrots, tender; let them get cold, and with a potato-gouge cut into small balls like marbles. Make a white roux of a tablespoonful of butter heated and stirred smooth with one of flour, thin this with a cupful of hot milk, season with pepper and salt, cook one minute, and add the carrot-balls. Cook until they are heated through; throw in a little minced parsley and serve. CARROTS SAUTE. Pare and cut into small cubes or dice. There should be two cupfuls of these. Boil in hot, salted water for half an hour, drain, and cover with a cupful of consomm6 or stock. Cook, uncovered, and fast, until the stock has evaporated, but not until the carrots break or scorch. Shake gently in a colander and transfer to a frying-pan in which is hissing a tablespoonful of butter. Shake the pan gently until the butter reaches all cubes and dish. The carrots will be savory and well flavored. MASHED CARROTS. Scrape, wash, cut into quarters, and lay in cold water for half an hour, then boil tender in hot, salted water. Drain, rub through' a colander, or a vegetable-press, beat in a good bit of butter, pepper and salt to taste, whip light, and dish. GREEN PEPPERS are rapidly growing into favor with progressive housewives. They should be full-grown when gathered, but not at all reddened. In cutting them be careful to handle the seeds as little as possible, lest you pay for your carelessness with sore and THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 2?$ burning finger-tips. Use a small knife or a stick to extract them. When they are out, the pepper is cool and sweet. FRIED SWEET PEPPERS. Cut open crosswise, extract the seeds, cut the peppers into slices, lay in cold water for fifteen minutes, salt slightly, dust with flour and fry in hot cottolene for five or six minutes. They are an appetizing accompaniment to cold meat or to boiled fish. STUFFED SWEET PEPPERS. Make an incision in one side, and extract the seeds through this with a bit of stick. Stuff with a force-meat of tongue, chicken, ham, or veal, mixed up with boiled rice, and seasoned with salt, a dash of onion-juice, and a little butter. Sew up the peppers with a few stitches, pack them into a bake-dish, pour in enough weak stock to keep them from burning, cover and bake in a moderate oven for an hour, then dish, withdrawing the strings. Keep hot while you add to the^gravy in the dish a tablespoonful of brown roux. Boil up once and pour over the peppers. Should the gravy have boiled away too much,»put in a little boiling water to thin the roux. This is a Syrian recipe and excellent. GREEN PEPPERS AU GRATEST. Cut the stem-end from a dozen peppers and dig out the seeds with a penknife and a small spoon. Lay the peppers in cold water for half an hour. Make a force-meat of half a cupful of cold boiled rice and an equal quantity of cold minced chicken, seasoned with salt and butter and wet with tomato-juice. Fill the peppers with the mixture, heaping it up, stand them on end, close together, in a deep dish, leaving off the stem-tops ; fill the interstices with the force-meat and pour a good tomato sauce, thickened with drawn butter, into the dish, leaving the upper part of the peppers visible; sift fine crumbs over all, stick bits of but- ter here and there, and cook, covered, one hour, then brown. Serve in the bake-dish. 18 274 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK PEPPER BASKETS. A pretty luncheon dish is made of green peppers. Cut a piece from the blossom-end of each and shave off the stem, so that it will stand steadily upon a plate. Fill with hot minced chicken or fish, seasoned with a mayonnaise or other piquante dressing. SALSIFY, OR OYSTER-PLANT. SALSIFY FRITTERS. One bunch of salsify ; two eggs ; half a cupful of milk ; flour for thin batter ; dripping or cottolene ; salt to taste. Scrape and grate the roots, and stir into a batter made of the beaten eggs, the milk, and flour. Grate the salsify directly into this, that it may not blacken by exposure to the air. Salt, and drop a spoonful into the hot fat to see if it is of the right consistency. As fast as you fry the fritters, throw into a hot colander to drain. One great spoonful of batter should make a fritter. STEWED SALSIFY. Scrape a bunch of salsify and drop into cold water as you cut it into inch lengths. Boil in hot, salted water until tender. Drain this off, and pour into the saucepan with the salsify a cupful of hot milk. Simmer five minutes, and stir in a tablespoonful of butter and three tablespoonfuls of cracker-dust, with pepper and salt. Stew gently for three minutes and dish. FRIED SALSIFY. Scrape and cut into short pieces, dropping them into cold water as you go on. Boil tender in salted water, drain, and while hot mash with a silver or wooden spoon, picking out woody bits and seasoning with salt, pepper, and butter. Let the salsify get cold, then wet with milk until you have a toler- ably thick paste, beat in a whipped egg for each cupful of THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 27$ paste ; make with floured hands into round, flat cakes, flour, and fry in hot fat to a light brown. Serve hot. They taste some- what like fried oysters. SALSIFY SAUTE. Scrape and boil as above directed, drain dry ; cut the roots into pieces two inches long ; heat two tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, with a little pepper and salt, and put in the sal- sify. Shake and toss for three minutes, but do not let the salsify burn. Serve dry and hot. PARSNIPS. The parsnip is nutritious, containing less water and more sugar and fat than the carrot, but the odd faint sweetness, com- bined with a peculiar " tang " of flavoring, makes it unpleasant to many people. The same qualities make it ineligible for sea- soning in combination with other vegetables. If used in soup or sauce it asserts itself disagreeably. BUTTERED PARSNIPS. Boil tender and scrape. Slice lengthwise and sauti in a little butter heated in a frying-pan and seasoned with pepper, salt, and minced parsley. Shake and turn until the parsnips are well coated and hot through. Dish, and pour the butter over them. FRIED PARSNIPS. Boil tender in salted, hot water ; let them get cold, scrape off the skin and slice lengthwise. Pepper and salt, dredge with flour, and fry in hot dripping to a light brown. Drain and serve. PARSNIP CAKES. Wash, boil, and scrape the parsnips tender. While hot mash, season with salt and pepper, and make with floured hands into small, flat cakes. Flour well and fry in clarified dripping. 276 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK CREAMED PARSNIPS. Boil, scrape, and slice crosswise. Heat a tablespoonful of but- ter in a saucepan ; put in the parsnips and shake and turn until all are coated with the butter and very hot. Turn them into a deep dish and pour over them a sauce made by adding to the butter left in the saucepan a teaspoonful of flour and thinning it with three or four tablespoonfuls of hot cream. Boil up once, and when you have covered the parsnips with it, serve. TURNIPS. We hardly need the testimony of our dietetist and chemist to inform us that " the turnip is very watery and contains but little nourishment," but it may interest those who depend upon it to build up the system, to learn that "turnips contain no more than one-half per cent, of flesh-formers instead of the one per cent, formerly assigned to them." Those who are studying anti- fat foods may get a hint from the quotation. YOUNG TURNIPS. Peel and quarter. Cook half an hour, or until tender, but not broken, in boiling, salted water. Drain, still without break- ing, and dish. Sprinkle with pepper and salt, then butter plentifully and serve. Turnips must be served hot, or they are not fit to eat. YOUNG TURNIPS (STEWED). Peel and quarter, or slice. Boil fifteen minutes in hot, salted water, drain and cover with a cupful of milk that has been heated in a. separate vessel with a tiny bit of soda. When they simmer again stir in a tablespoonful of butter rolled in half as much flour, pepper and salt to taste, and stew gently fifteen min- utes more. Serve in a deep, covered dish, and very hot. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 277 YOUNG TURNIPS (FRIED). Pare and slice crosswise a quarter of an inch thick. Lay in ice-cold water half an hour, then cook tender, but not too soft, in boiling water without salt. Drain, lay upon a soft cloth until dry and lukewarm, sprinkle with pepper and salt, flour, and fry in hot cottolene. Or— Dip in beaten egg, then in cracker-dust, and fry. MASHED TURNIPS. Boil tender, drain, and mash in a colander, to get rid of the superfluous water ; turn into a saucepan and stir until smoking-hot, when pepper, salt, and stir in a roux of a tablespoonful of butter, heated, then stirred smooth with one of flour. Heat and toss one minute longer, and serve very hot. PUREE OF TURNIPS. Pare, slice, and cook tender in hot, salted water. Rub through a colander into a saucepan, stir into it a roux, as in the last recipe, pepper and salt, and add at the last a half cupful of hot cream in which has been dissolved a bit of soda. Take from the fire when it has boiled up once, and beat in a frothed egg. After this it must not boil, but be set in boiling water for five minutes, stirring up well now and then. Some people think this savory accompaniment of boiled mutton improved by a few drops of onion-juice. TURNIPS AND CARROTS A LA PARISIENNE. Cut both vegetables into small balls like marbles with a potato-gouge. Boil the balls tender, the carrots in one saucepan, the turnips in another, drain and mix them in a deep dish. Salt, pepper, and butter them well, or, if you like, cover them with a good white sauce. 278 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK ARTICHOKES. " They have a delicate flavor and agreeable texture, but con- tain little nutritive matter," says our Food Manual. Which said agreeable texture and delicate flavor are appreciated by educated palates. To others, both are obnoxious, and much practice is required to learn to relish the dainty. For dainty it is esteemed here as abroad, where it has long been in favor. Familiarity with English, French, and Italian menus has made the artichokes a fashionable entree at dinners and luncheons. Sometimes, if large and fine, they command fifty cents each in the New York markets. BOILED ARTICHOKES. Pare off the stems and the lower and coarser leaves. With a sharp knife trim the tops evenly, and take out the hard core. Wash and lay in cold water ten minutes. Shake off the wet and cook in boiling, salted water for thirty-five minutes, or until the bottoms are tender. If large, cut into halves ; if of moderate size, serve whole with drawn butter or sauce piquante poured over them. FRIED ARTICHOKES. The part to be cooked in this way is known as the fond in French, in English as the " bottom." Cut off the stalk leaves and scrape away the woolly " fuzz " that covers the stalk. Boil tender in salted water ; drain and let them get cold, and dry. Make a batter of four tablespoonfuls of flour in which have been sifted a saltspoonful of salt and the same quantity of Cleveland's Baking Powder, an egg and three table- spoonfuls of milk. Salt and pepper the artichokes, dip into the batter, and fry in hot, deep cottolene. Serve dry and hot. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 2jg BANANAS. A ripe banana " is a nutritious food, containing less water and more nitrogenous matter than is commonly found in fresh fruits," is the dictum of our expert. This is especially true of the large red bananas, now, unfortunately, comparatively rare in our mar- kets by comparison with the flood of the small yellow fruit best known under the same name. In reality the yellow imitations are plantains, and far inferior to those whose title they have stolen. The recipes given herewith will apply to both kinds of bananas. The yellow (or plantain) is bettered by cooking, being much less wholesome raw than the more luscious red. FRIED BANANAS. Strip off the skins ; cut each banana (or plantain) into three slices, and flour well. Saute in hot butter in a frying-pan, or fry in deep fat. Drain dry and serve hot. Or— Roll in egg, then in cracker-dust ; set on ice for one hour and fry in hot, deep cottolene. BANANA CROQUETTES. For this purpose select small, yellow bananas (or plantains) ; strip off the skins and cut off the ends, so as to make them look like croquettes ; pepper and salt, roll in egg, then in cracker- crumbs, set on the ice for one hour to stiffen them, and fry in hot, deep cottolene to a golden brown. Serve dry and hot. They should accompany chicken or lamb, being a delicate yet piquante vegetable, and unfit to attend roast beef or other heavy meats. BAKED BANANAS. Tear down a narrow strip from each, and lay them, the torn side upward, in a baking-pan. Cover and cook about half an 280 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK hour. Pare carefully and send to table with hot cream, in which has been melted a little butter, poured over them. CELERY. Besides the aromatic taste and smell that have brought this vegetable into universal favor in less than three quarters of a century, celery 'has a distinct value as a nervine, and as such is prescribed in certain cases as an article of diet by our best physi- cians. The nutrient value is low — but it is very nice. CREAMED CELERY. Cut into inch-long pieces. Cook tender in boiling, salted water, drain this off, and cover with a cupful of hot milk (half cream, if you have it) in which has been stirred a tablespoonful of white roux. Simmer five minutes and serve. SAVORY CELERY. Select the whitest and tenderest stalks and lay aside in ice- water. Cut the outer, coarser stalks into three-inch lengths, and stew in a cupful of stock, seasoned with a half teaspoonful of onion-juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Cook, covered, for an hour, slowly. Drain and press in a colander. Return the stock to the fire, and when it boils put the reserved stalks, also cut into short lengths, into it. Cook gently until tender, thicken with a good spoonful of roux, boil up and serve. CELERY STEWED WHOLE. Cut off the coarse, green stalks and lop the tops of the choicer to within five or six inches of the roots. Trim and scrape the roots, removing all rusty parts from these and the stalks. Parboil for ten minutes in hot, salted water. Drain the heads of celery and let them lie upon a soft cloth for fifteen minutes. Have ready in a saucepan enough stock or consomme to cover the celery heads and put these into it, taking care not to break them. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 28 1 Stew slowly for twenty-five minutes, or until tender. Transfer the celery to a hot dish, thicken the stock left in the saucepan with browned roux, boil one minute and strain over the celery. FRIED CELERY. Scrape, wash, and cut the stalks into pieces four or five inches long. Cook tender in boiling, salted water. Drain, and spread out to dry and stiffen in a cold place. When firm, dip into a batter made of half a cupful of flour sifted twice with a saltspoon- ful of Cleveland's Baking Powder and the same of salt, and wet up with a beaten egg and enough milk to make the batter manageable. Fry to a pale brown in hot cottolene. Dish and serve with a sauce piquante. CELERY AU GRATIN. Cut into inch lengths the best parts of two bunches of celery, and cook tender in boiling, salted water. Drain, return to the saucepan, and cover with a cupful of hot milk in which has been mixed a tablespoonful of butter rolled in one of flour. Season with paprica and salt, simmer three minutes, and pour into a bowl to cool. Butter a pudding-dish, and cover the bottom thickly with fine crumbs. When the stewed celery is cold, beat into it two well-frothed eggs and pour into the dish. Strew crumbs thickly over it, sticking dots of butter here and there, cover and cook half an hour in a good oven, then brown. Serve in the pudding-dish. ^ HOMINY. Indian corn is richer than rice in "flesh-formers," and con- tains more fat. As a diet it is decidedly laxative, a circumstance which lends it value in winter, and which should make mothers wary in the use of it in hot weather. In the form of hominy it plays an important part in menus in our Southern and Western States, and as polenta is the chief diet of the Italian peasants. Nor is it lightly esteemed by the better classes in Southern 282 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Europe. Various dishes of which it is the base are found upon fashionable hotel tables in those countries, and might be intro- duced to our advantage and pleasure in the United States. BOILED HOMINY (LARGE). The large hominy, called "samp " at the North, is served, boiled, as a vegetable. Soak in cold water overnight. In the morning put over the fire in cold, salted water and cook until swollen and tender. It will require at least three hours. Put plenty of water into the pot to allow for swelling. Drain, pepper, salt, and stir in a great lump of butter. BROWNED HOMINY (LARGE). Put a good spoonful of dripping in a frying-pan and turn into it cold boiled hominy, well seasoned. Shake the pan occasion- ally to prevent sticking, and when the lower surface is lightly browned, invert the pan over a hot platter. BAKED HOMINY (SMALL). Work a tablespoonful of melted butter into a cupful of cold boiled hominy until the latter is smooth and free from lumps. Then work in the yolks of two beaten eggs, and when they are well mixed with the hominy, a teaspoonful of sugar and half as much salt. Having now a thick, smooth paste, begin to thin it with two cupfuls of milk. Whip it in gradually, and, lastly, beat in with swift, upward strokes the stiffened whites of the eggs. Pour into a well-greased pudding-dish, and bake, cov- ered, half an hour, then brown. Serve in the dish. It will be found almost as delicious as green-corn pudding, and a wel- come addition to your winter bill-of-fare. HOMINY AND MEAT CROQUETTES. Into one cupful of cold boiled hominy, seasoned with salt, pepper, and, should you fancy it, a few drops of onion-juice, work an equal quantity of minced ham, lamb, veal, or chicken. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 283 Moisten it with half a cupful of hot stock, add two beaten eggs ; stir over the fire in a shallow saucepan until smoking-hot and set away to cool. When cold and stiff make into croquettes, with floured hands, roll in egg, then in crumbs, and fry in hot, deep cottolene to a fine brown. HOMINY CROQUETTES (PLAIN). Two cupfuls of fine hominy, boiled and cold, two beaten eggs, one tablespoonful of melted butter, salt to taste, one teaspoonful of sugar. Work the butter into the hominy until the latter is smooth, then the eggs, salt, and sugar. Beat hard with a wooden spoon to get out lumps and mix well. Make into oval balls with floured hands. Roll each in flour, and fry in sweet dripping or lard, putting in a few at a time and turning them over with care as they brown. Drain in a hot colander. FRIED HOMINY (SMALL). Boil hominy after soaking it for several hours, and when done season with salt and a little butter. Turn into small greased pate-pans to get cold, or upon a large platter. If you mould it in the pate-pans, turn out when stiff and cold, dip in egg and cracker-crumbs, and fry in hot, deep cottolene. If upon the platter, cut into small squares when cold and treat in the same way. Squares of fried hominy are much used to lay under small game-birds and for garnishing larger game. POLENTA is, strictly speaking, only boiled mush made of fine, yellow corn-meal. It is ground as fine as flour, and prepared for the table precisely as mush would be. For a scant cupful of the corn-flour allow a quart, at least, of boiling, salted water. Stir in the meal, a little at a time, stir- ring all the while with the other hand, and continuing to use the spoon for five minutes and more after it is all in. Boil, stirring 284 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK often, for half an hour, turn out upon a platter to cool, and when stiff cut into squares or strips. Roll these in raw meal and fry in hot cottolene, or in salad oil, and send around with meat. SAVORY POLENTA A LTTALIENNE. While boiling, add a large spoonful of butter for a cupful of the raw meal, and a little later two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, then cook twenty minutes longer. Let it get cold, cut out with a round cutter, arrange these upon a buttered baking-pan, grate Parmesan cheese over them, dot with specks of butter, and sprinkle with paprica. Bake in a quick oven until lightly browned, and pass tomato sauce or a good brown gravy with them. In Italy we ate this dish under the name of gniocchi. Polenta is also made of chestnut-flour. MUSHROOMS. One of the latest, and certainly the most charming, of the la- mented W. Hamilton Gibson's works is Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms, and How to Distinguish Them. The only re- gret of the reader, who is also the owner, of the superb volume is that a cheaper edition does not put it within the reach of every caterer and housewife. The page facing the Introduction is exquisitely illustrated by a collection of American mushrooms, and within the oval they en- close is an extract from the works of a celebrated English natu- ralist and botanist. Under the caption, The Spurned Har- vest, we read — " Whole hundred- weights of rich, wholesome diet rotting under the trees ; woods teeming with food, and not one hand to gather it ; and this, perhaps, in the midst of poverty and all manner of privations and public prayers against imminent famine. ' ' A few pages beyond this lament Mr. Gibson breaks forth with — " What a plenteous, spontaneous harvest of delicious feasting THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 285 annually goes begging in our woods and fields ! ' ' And again — " Gastronomically considered, the flesh of the mushroom has been proven to be almost identical with meat, and possesses the same nourishing properties. ' ' A passing reference to our gastronomic chemist corroborates this statement : " Mushrooms are highly nitrogenous. Some kinds contain much fat or oil. ' ' And yet both of our authors frankly admit the danger of amateur work in the selection and harvesting of the rich, deli- cious edible. Mr. Gibson's introductory chapter sets this before us so graphically that we are inevitably reminded of the heedless Syrian who " went out into the fields to gather herbs and gathered wild gourds his lapful and came and shred them into the pot of pottage, and as they were eating of the pottage one cried out, and said — ' O, thou man of God, there is death in the pot!' " Elisha neutralized the poison with a handful of meal. Mr. Gibson indicates atropine injected hypodermically, " the treat- ment to be repeated every half hour until one-twentieth of a grain has been given, or the patient's life saved." And yet (again) the rules laid down by our enchanting author for distinguishing the harmful from the wholesome fungi would seem to be an effectual guard against the catastrophe pre-figured by the death's-head introduced into the frontispiece of "The Deadly Amanita." His " Rules for the Venturesome " are clear and emphatic. 1. Avoid every mushroom having a cup or suggestion of such' at base. The distinctly fatal poisons are thus excluded. 2. Exclude those having an unpleasant odor, a peppery, bitter, or other unpalatable flavor, or tough consistency. 3. Exclude those infested with worms or in advanced age or decay. 4. In testing others which will pass the above probation, let the specimen be kept by itself, not in contact with, or enclosed in the same basket with other species. He lays especial stress upon the danger-signal of the "poison- 286 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK cup," which " may be taken as the cautionary symbol of the genus Amanita common to all the species. Any mushroom or toadstool, therefore, whose stem is thus set in a socket, or which has any suggestion of such a socket should be labelled ' poison. ' But the cup must be sought for. ' ' A secondary " sign " is the " veil which in the young mush- room originally connected the edge of the cup or pileus with the stem and whose gradual rupture necessarily follows the expansion of the cup until a mere frill or ring is left about the stem at the original point of contact." This sign is sometimes found in edible mushrooms, and is therefore only ominous when coupled with the poison-cup at the base of the stem. We offer no apology for much dwelling upon the possible peril of indiscriminate mushroom gathering nor for a last extract from our author's introduction, which should reassure the excessively timid. " Of the forty odd species which the writer enjoys with more or less frequency at his table, he is satisfied that he can select at least thirty which possess such distinct and strongly marked characters of form, structure, and other special qualities as to enable them by the aid of careful portraiture and brief descrip- tion to be easily recognized, even by a tyro." It is a pity, as the most thoughtless student of this subject must admit, that one of the most delicious viands served upon the table of the rich epicure and which might grace the cotter's board every day in the week if he would take the trouble to gather it, should be practically excluded from home bills-of-fare from one end of the country to the other, through ignorance of such simple tests as a child might master after a few lessons. BROILED MUSHROOMS. (No. J.) This is the simplest and, in the opinion of many epicures, the best way of preparing this delicacy for the table, since the flavor of the mushrooms is not marred by sauces or stewing. Stem and peel, when you have washed half a pound of mush- rooms, and lay them, gills downward, upon an oyster-broiler THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 2%J over clear coals. Cook for two or three minutes, turn, and broil the other side. Serve upon thin squares of lightly toasted bread, buttered ; sprinkle with salt and pepper, butter, and serve, very hot. BROILED MUSHROOMS. (No. 2.) Cut off the stalks, wash, peel, and dry the mushrooms tenderly upon a soft cloth. Baste with melted, not hot, butter, and set on the ice for fifteen minutes ; then broil upon an oyster-broiler, five minutes on one side and the same upon the other. Lay upon rounds of delicately toasted bread ; pepper and salt ; put upon each a bit of butter which has been beaten to a cream with lemon-juice ; cover and serve hot. BROILED MUSHROOMS AND BACON. Cut off the stalks, wash, and peel half a pound of mushrooms, and broil as directed in " Broiled Mushrooms, No. i," two min- utes on each side. Lay upon the buttered toast, set the platter containing them upon a pan of hot water on the range, and broil close beside it thin slices of fat breakfast-bacon. As they drip, hold them quickly above the mushrooms, letting every drop of fat fall upon them and the toast. They will be found very savory. FRIED MUSHROOMS. Cut off the stalks, wash, peel, and dry half a pound of mush- rooms. Heat a great spoonful of butter in a frying-pan, and when it hisses lay in the mushrooms, and fry three minutes on each side. Serve upon rounds of lightly toasted and buttered bread, dust with salt and pepper, put a bit of butter on each and serve. FRIED MUSHROOMS AU MAiTRE DuStEL. Fry as directed in the foregoing recipe, but when they are served put upon them, instead of butter, a mixture of butter beaten light with lemon-juice and a tablespoonful of very finely chopped parsley. 288 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK FRIED MUSHROOMS AND BACON. Lay five or six thin slices of the, best breakfast-bacon you can get in a hot frying-pan. When clear and beginning to curl at the edges transfer to a hot dish, and fry half a pound of mushrooms, stemmed, washed, and peeled, in the fat left in the pan. Serve upon toast, salt and pepper them, and garnish with the bacon. MUSHROOM CUPS. Select six or eight large mushrooms which are well curved and firm. Stem, wash, peel, and wipe them with care. Have ready a good force-meat of finely minced mushrooms and crumbs, moistened with a little chicken- or veal-stock, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Fill the inverted mushrooms with this mixture, mounding it smoothly with a bit of butter upon each ; put a very little butter into a bake-dish and set the mushrooms close together, stuffed sides upward in the dish. Cover closely, and bake fifteen minutes in a hot oven, or until the "cups" and contents are steaming hot. Serve upon buttered toast, and pour a Bechamel sauce for meat over them. They will give universal satisfaction. BAKED MUSHROOMS (PLAIN). Stem, wash, and peel the mushrooms, carefully preserving their shape. Cover the bottom of a greased pie-plate or a bake- dish with rounds of thin, delicately toasted bread, well buttered ; lay the mushrooms, gills upward, upon the toast, dust with salt and pepper ; cover closely and bake from fifteen to twenty min- utes in proportion to the size of the mushrooms. Butter them, remove with the toast to a hot platter, and serve. If you like a suspicion of garlic, rub the hot bake-dish with a cut clove of garlic before laying in, the toast. The flavor will be faint but exquisitely appetizing. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 289 MUSHROOMS AU GRATIN. Prepare, as you would Mushroom Cups, but set the mush- rooms, when filled, in a pudding-dish ; fill the interstices with the force-meat, sprinkle fine crumbs over all ; pour in four table- spoonfuls of cream ; stick butter-bits upon the surface, dust with pepper and salt, and bake, covered, in a hot oven, fifteen min- utes. Brown lightly and serve in the bake-dish. CREAMED MUSHROOMS. Stem, wash, and peel half a pound of small mushrooms. Have ready in a saucepan of porcelain or agate-iron half a cupful of boiling water, and as much milk, slightly salted. Put in the mushrooms and cook gently ten minutes. Now add a cupful of cream or rich milk which has been treated with a bit of soda, then thickened with a white roux of butter and a little flour, and seasoned with salt, a dust of cayenne, and a good pinch of ground mace. Simmer all together for three minutes and serve in a deep, covered dish. MUSHROOMS STEWED IN WINE. Stew, wash, and peel a pint of small fresh mushrooms. Put them over the fire with just enough slightly salted boiling water to cover them, and cook gently for five minutes. Add a heap- ing teaspoonful of butter and, when it has melted, half a cupful of good red wine (claret of excellent quality will do), season with a little mace and less cayenne, cover, and bring the stew to a boil. Have ready upon a hot platter the sliced yolks of six hard-boiled eggs ; pour the stew over them, and garnish with ' broiled or fried mushrooms. An elegant dinner or luncheon entree. SCALLOPED MUSHROOMS. Stem, peel, and wash a pint of fresh mushrooms or a can of champignons, and cook five minutes in just enough boiling, salted 19 2od digestive agent and is far more whole- some than coffee mixed With cream or milk. CAFE AU LAIT. One-half cupful of ground coffee ; two cupfuls of boiling water ; one cupful and a half of fresh milk. Make the coffee in the usual way. Strain into a coffee-pot or pitcher, add the milk, scalding-hot, and set for five minutes, closely covered, in boiling water. When allowed to cool and then iced this is a favorite bever- age at hot-weather luncheons and picnics. TEA. Directions for making this have already been given in full in the FAMILIAR TALK on " Tea, Tea-Making, and Tea-Drink ing." CHOCOLATE. Allow to six tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate a pint of boil- ing water, and as much milk. Rub the chocolate to a paste with a little cold water, and stir into the hot water. Boil twenty minutes; add the milk and boil ten minutes longer, stirring often.' Sweeten in the cups. It is improved by laying upon the surface of each cup a teaspoonful of cream. 474 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK MILLED CHOCOLATE. When the chocolate has boiled twenty minutes, and before the milk goes in, take it from the fire and with it more than half fill one of Silver's tall glass egg-beaters which has been prepared for the scalding liquid by dipping and rinsing it in hot water. Churn vigorously for five minutes, return to the saucepan and set in hot water while you "mill" the rest, if you have too much for the churn. Add the hot milk and cook for five min- utes after the chocolate reaches the boil. Milling makes the beverage lighter in color and in weight, . and is thought by epicures to render it far more delicate and delicious. Put a heaping teaspoonful of whipped cream upon each cupful when poured out. COCOA. " Cocoa," says a noted writer upon Dietetics, " is, for gen- eral use, a milder, less stimulating, and more nutritious beverage than tea or coffee. " As it contains fifty per cent, of fat and twelve per cent, of albuminoids, the chemical analysis bears out the assertion. Boil a pint of water, rub three tablespoonfuls of grated cocoa to a smooth paste with cold water and stir into the hot water. Boil ten minutes, hard, and pour upon it a pint of hot milk (with a bit of soda in it). Boil for ten minutes longer, stirring and beating well. Sweeten in the cups. COCOA NIBS OR SHELLS. This is a milder preparation of cocoa. They are called, in- correctly, "shells," being, jnjffact, the cocoa seeds dried, roasted, winnowed from the shells, or husks, and broken into coarse fragments known as "nibs." Wet three tablespoonfuls with a little cold water, add to a pint of boiling ; cook for one hour slowly, strain, and add a pint of hot milk. Boil one minute and serve. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 475 CAMBRIC TEA. Put a lump of loaf-sugar in a cup ; fill the cup one-third full of cream ; let it stand a minute to melt the sugar and fill lip with boiling water direct from the kettle. To those whose nerves forbid the use of tea or coffee, and who do not like choco- late, this mild, nutritious beverage is cordially commended. There is ho milk-and-water insipidity about it if the cream be genuine and the water on a fresh, violent boil. It is especially good for invalids and sickly children. LEMONADE. Four lemons, rolled, peeled, and sliced ; four large sproonfuls of sugar ; one quart of water. Put lemons (sliced) and sugar into a pitcher and let them stand for an hour, then add water and ice. If you substitute Apollinaris for plain water you have a most refreshing drink. ORANGEADE. Make as you would lemonade, but add the juice of a lemon, a few bits of shredded orange-peel, and a slice of pineapple. Orangeade is insipidly sweet without these additions. RASPBERRY OR BLACKBERRY VINEGAR. Put a gallon of berries into a great crock and crush them well with a potato-beetle or wooden mallet. Cover an inch deep in cider-vinegar. Set in the hot sunshine for a day and leave all night in the cellar. Stir six times during the day of sunning. Strain and squeeze the berries dry and throw them away. Put another gallon of mashed berries into the strained vinegar and leave again in the sun all day and another night in the cellar. On the morrow strain and squeeze the berries and measure the liquid thus gained. For each quart allow a pint of water, and for every pint of the water thus added, five pounds of sugar (you have then five pounds of sugar for every three pints of mingled juice, vinegar, 476 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK and water). Turn into a porcelain-lined or agate-iron kettle and set over the fire, stirring until the sugar melts. Heat to boiling, and boil hard one minute to throw up the scum. Skim well, take from the fire, strain, and, while still warm, bottle. Seal the corks with a mixture of beeswax and rosin. RASPBERRY ROYAL is made as in the last recipe, but a pint of fine brandy is added to every three quarts of the raspberry vinegar just before it is bottled. BLACKBERRY CORDIAL. Pound and squeeze enough blackberries through a coarse mus- lin bag to make a quart of juice. Put this into an agate-iron or porcelain-lined kettle, with a pound of sugar, two teaspoonfuls each of grated nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice, and one tea- spoonful of cloves. Tie the spices up in little thin muslin bags and stir the sugar until dissolved. Set over the fire and cook together, after the boil begins, fifteen minutes. Take off the scum, turn into a jar, and cover closely while it cools. When perfectly cold strain out the spices and add a pint of good brandy. Bottle and seal. This cordial will keep for years and is valuable in case of sum- mer complaint and other intestinal disorders. STRAWBERRY SHERBET. Crush two quarts of strawberries and strain through muslin upon a pound of granulated sugar. Set in a cold place, stirring now and then until the sugar melts. Add then a quart of cold water, the juice of a lemon, and a tablespoonful of maraschino. Cover closely and set on ice for an hour or more before you use it. As it goes to table throw in a handful of fine ripe strawber- ries capped, that one or two may float in each glass. PINEAPPLE SHERBET. To three pints of boiling water add a pound of sugar, and cook briskly for half an hour. While it is cooking pare a fine pine- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 477, apple and grate or chop it fine. Add four teaspoonfuls of lemon- juice, and an orange cut into small bits. When the boiled syrup is cold, pour it upon the pineapple and orange, and bury the vessel containing the mixture in ice for two hours. When you are ready to use it, put a big block of ice in a punch-bowl and pour the mixture over it. Stir into it a wineglassful of sherry, and if they are in season, a handful of fine strawberries. If not, cut two dozen white grapes in half, take out the seeds, and put them in instead. LARNED TEA SHERBET. Measure four teaspoonfuls of good tea (" Ceylon-Bud," if you can get it) into a pitcher, and pour from the boiling kettle a quart of hot water upon it. Cover it closely and let it stand five minutes. Strain and set in a cold place until cool. Put a block of ice into a punch-bowl, and about it a cupful and a half of granulated sugar, and strain over this five tablespoonfuls of lemon- juice. Add the tea now, and, just before the sherbet is served, a pint of Apollinaris water. A handful of strawberries, or bits of fresh orange-peel, floating on the surface is a pretty touch which you may add to your sherbet. Or— You may mix your sherbet in a pitcher, and fill the mouth of it with sprays of fresh mint. ORANGE SHERBET. Peel away all the rind and the white skin from six fine oranges, and scrape the pulp away from the inner membranes, saving every drop of juice. Put pulp and juice into a bowl with six tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar and the juice of a lemon. Stir until the sugar is melted, add two tablespoonfuls of pine- apple dice, very small and thin, and set on ice until needed. Then put a block of ice into a punch-bowl, pour the mixture about it, and when you are ready to serve the sherbet add two bottles of Apollinaris water. 478 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK GINGER-ALE JULEP. Put a scant cupful of granulated sugar into a glass pitcher, and squeeze upon it the juice of six large lemons. Set on ice until the sugar dissolves and you are ready to serve the sherbet. Stick half a dozen long stalks of mint in the pitcher, bruising the lower leaves slightly by pinching between the thumb and finger ; put into the pitcher a cupful of pounded ice ; shake hard for one min- ute and add two bottles of Ginger Ale. Pour out at once. It is a most refreshing and delicious drink in hot weather. The mint sprigs make it comely and graceful. MINT JULEP. Pound ice enough to fill as many glasses as there are people to be served. Into each glass put three or four sprigs of green mint and two lumps of sugar. Fill the glass with ice, stir, press, and shake until the sugar is dissolved; pour in, then, enough water to fill the interstices of the ice within an inch of the top, stir up the sugar, and add a tablespoonful of the best old whiskey. Stir this in, and the julep is ready for drinking. This is the real old Virginia " hail-storm " julep, compounded and drunk with gusto and comparative impunity in a day when liquors were pure, and men knew the true meaning of temper- ance. Now the best place for the fragrant stimulant is the sick- room, where it does good service. CLARET CUP. Squeeze the juice of three lemons upon four tablespoonfuls of sugar ; add a pint of ice-water ; stir well and pour upon a block of ice set in a punch-bowl. Peel and slice a lemon as thin as paper, and float these slices with a few shreds of orange-peel upon the water before emptying a quart bottle of claret into the bowl. SHERRY COBBLER. Put four tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar into a pitcher and cover it with a lemon, peeled and sliced very thin, also a peeled THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 479 orange cut into tiny bits, and a good tablespoonful of minced pineapple. Add two cupfuls of pounded ice, cover the pitcher, and shake hard for a full minute, or until the ingredients are well mixed. Pour in a pint of ice-water, stir for a minute, and add four wineglassfuls of good sherry or Catawba. Stir up vig- orously, and pour out. Some epicures add a handful of strawberries and two or three slices of cucumber to the cobbler. SAUTERNE CUP. Put four tablespoonfuls of sugar into a bowl, strain over it five tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice, and set on ice for an hour. Stir well and mix into the syrup a tablespoonful of pineapple- dice, a handful of strawberries, or of white grapes, seeded and halved, and a few thin slices of cucumber. Empty a quart bottle of Sauterne upon the mixture ; pour over a block of ice into a punch-bowl, and add a bottle of soda-water that has been on the ice for several hours. A few leaves of citron-aloes or lemon-verbena are sometimes laid upon the surface of Sauterne Cup. EGG-NOGG. Beat the yolks of six eggs light, and then with them half a cup- ful of granulated sugar ; pour upon and mix with them a quart of milk; mix well and add half a pint of fine old brandy. Finally, whip in the whites of three eggs. The rest of the whites must be beaten to a meringue with a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, and a large spoonful laid upon the surface of each tumbler of egg-nogg as it is poured out. MILK SHAKK Put a teaspoonful of sugar in the bottom of a half-pint tumbler and pour upon it milk enough to fill the glass to within an inch of the top. Stir to dissolve the sugar, flavor with a teaspoonful of maraschino or other liquor ; put a tablespoonful of whipped cream upon the surface of the milk ; cover the tumbler with a piece of clean white paper, put your hand firmly upon it to pre- 480 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK vent the escape of a drop of milk, and shake hard up and down for a full minute. Grate a little nutmeg on top and drink, or serve. It is nourishing and palatable for an invalid. A useful utensil for shaking the milk may be purchased at house-furnishing stores. "WILD-CHERRY BOUNCE. Pick over and wash wild cherries and pack in small glass jars, strewing sugar over each layer and pounding them hard with a small stick to bruise them and allow the juice to escape. Allow five tablespoonfuls of sugar to each quart jar. When the cher- ries and sugar are well mixed and fill the jar, pour in as much good brandy or whiskey as can find room for itself between fruit and sugar. It will be gradually soaked up. Return to each jar until the contents of all are saturated, and the liquor stands on top. Screw on covers, and do not trouble yourself to think of the bounce again for four months. Turn out the contents then into a bowl, pound and crush them with a potato-beetle, and strain and squeeze a cupful at a time through a coarse cloth. You have now a fine liquor, palatable and highly medicinal as a tonic and a corrective to coughs. The liquor will improve with age and keep for years. HOME-MADE CANDIES. CHOCOLATE CARAMELS. Put on the fire in a saucepan two pounds of brown sugar, half a pound of Baker's Chocolate, broken into small pieces, and a small cupful of cold water. Boil this until a little of it hardens in water, stir into it two tablespoonfuls of butter and two tea- spoonfuls of vanilla, turn into buttered pans and cut into squares. If you like the sugary, soft caramels, stir the mixture hard for several minutes after you take it from the fire ; but should you prefer the sticky variety, add four tablespoonfuls of molasses to your sugar when you put it on to cook, and do not stir it after it leaves the stove. CHOCOLATE CREAMS. To the white of an egg, mixed with as much water, add enough confectioner's sugar to make a dough-like paste that can be worked with the fingers into small balls. Grate six table- spoonfuls of sweetened chocolate, melt it, without water, in a cup on the stove, and when smooth and thick dip your balls of sugar-paste into it and then let them dry on waxed paper. They may have to be dipped several times before they are satisfactory. MAPLE-SUGAR CANDY. (No. J.) Take two pounds of maple sugar, broken into small pieces, and put it in a saucepan with a quart of rich milk — part cream is better. Let this boil until it reaches the stage where it hardens in cold water ; pour it into pans, and mark it in squares as you would taffy or caramels. 3' 482 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK MAPLE-SUGAR CANDY. (No. 2.) One pound of maple sugar ; one pint of milk ; one tablespoon - ful of butter. Break the sugar into small pieces and put it into a double boiler with the milk. Put it on the stove and cook until the sugar melts. Set the* inner vessel of the double boiler directly on the stove and boil, stirring constantly, until the syrup reaches the stage where a little dropped in cold water becomes brittle. Add your butter then, and when this is melted turn the syrup into greased pans. As it cools, mark it off in squares with a knife. NOUGAT. The simplest, if perhaps the least scientific, way to make this is the following : Boil together a pound of sugar and half a cupful of cold water until a little of it becomes brittle when dropped in cold water. Do not stir it after the sugar melts. Butter a shallow tin — a biscuit-pan will answer — and cover the bottom closely with blanched almonds, the kernels of hickory, pecan, and hazel nuts, thin strips of cocoanut, split and stoned dates, bits of figs, etc. When the candy is done add to it a table- spoonful of lemon-juice, and pour it over your nuts and fruits. Mark it into strips or squares when cool. FRENCH BON-BONS. Make a paste of sugar and water as described in the recipe for Chocolate Creams. Divide it into as many portions as you wish flavors, and add to one grated and melted chocolate to taste, to another a drop or two of essence of rose and a little powdered cochineal, moistened in cold water, to a third a few drops of coffee essence, or of rum, or of strawberry or other fruit syrup. Or you may make a fondant like that for Boiled Icing (see recipe), and melting that over boiling water, proceed as directed above with flavoring and coloring. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 483 CREAM PEPPERMINTS OR WINTERGREENS. Make a fondant as for Boiled Icing (see recipe), stir until it begins to become creamy, and drop from a teaspoon upon waxed paper. MAPLE CREAM. Proceed as in preceding recipe, using maple sugar instead of the plain white sugar. STUFFED DATES. Remove the stone and put in its place a bit of fondant, or, better still, a peanut or a blanched almond and dust with fine sugar. CANNED FRUITS. There is a general opinion that "canned goods" bought from a trustworthy grocer are at once as good and cheaper than those put up at home. This is a great mistake — quite as errone- ous as the idea that baker's sponge cake is the same article as the golden, porous, home-made loaf, composed of pure sugar, fresh eggs, with no soda and no ammonia. Much of the general prejudice against fruit and vegetables put up in cans is consequent upon the fact that many housewives know them only as the insipid products of factories that line the windows of the corner grocery. But even with this class there are brands and brands. Certain houses have a well-deserved reputation for putting on the market fruits carefully selected and preserved with a just regard to quality and flavor. These goods, it may be remarked, are never cheap, although they may be well worth all the money asked for them. The housekeeper of moderate means considers them altogether too expensive for family use — perhaps Too sweet and good For human nature's daily food, especially when the boys and girls, with school-children's appe- tites, will consume the contents of a large can at one repast, and then, like the glutton of nursery rhyme, complain that they have not yet attained the end of their capacity in that line. The mother of such a flock is forced to content herself with what she can afford, although it be a second-rate article. It does not occur to her that, unless her time has a specific THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 485 market value, and her strength be rated according to the same standard, she may stock the pantries in the fruit season with what will vie with the finest brands offered by high-priced gro- cers. To many people the very mention of canned goods is produc- tive of a disgustful qualm — for have we not all been obliged to partake of them, or at least been expected to accept them, at summer hotels and boarding-houses, on steamboats, and railroad trains, where they furnish, day after day, the chief dessert ? Peaches and apricots thus offered have the same faint, sickly sweetness, and can hardly be distinguished the one from the other, while berries are only recognizable among the larger fruits by their shape and seeds. The only use to which these apologies for the genuine article maybe put is to "doctor" them for pies and puddings, and even then they will be much improved by being boiled down and sweetened according to taste. Before proceeding to the method of preparing the materials, let us consider the can question. Shall it be tin or glass ? If you ask my opinion I should say glass — decidedly. Of course they are more expensive in the beginning, but they are cheaper in the long run, for, if carefully used for half a dozen seasons, when the seventh summer approaches they are still there and ready to do service again. I do not think that I strain a point in saying that there is no place on this broad, green earth for old tin cans. In every community, from the tiny hut to the fashionable sum- mer hotel, from the crowded tenement-house to the palatial brown-stone front, the tin can is the one indestructible piece of rubbish. The scavenger cart is loaded with them. In the coun- try an occasional small boy uses an empty "tomayto can " for " worms for bait." But were there a small boy for every old tin can, the danger predicted by Malthus of over-population would be imminent. There is a popular superstition to the effect that this blemish upon the fair face of nature is an article of diet for the omnivo- rous goat, but while we do not question his capacity to acquire 486 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK adipose tissue from a frugal regimen of newspapers and old shoes, we doubt if even his digestive juices could extract nutriment from the tin can. Let us, then, refuse to make use of the plebeian article, and fasten our faith to the quart and pint glass jars, always making sure that tops and rubbers are in good condition and laid ready to the hand, that they may be adjusted the very second the glasses are filled. Do not attempt to use the same rubbers year after year, but purchase new ones each season, that you may be sure they are firm and strong, and will preclude all air. In canning there are certain principles which our housewife' should bear in mind, and one of them is that the work must be un- dertaken when articles to be put up are at the height of the season in the part of the country in which she lives. The reasons for this are self-evident, as then the fruit is not forced, but has ripened naturally, and has not been bruised by transportation from the South, and, above all, is fresh. It is a great mistake to think of buying bruised or green peaches, apples, etc., for can- ning. They may be cooked, sweetened, and boiled down into marmalade or jellies, but for present purpose your fruit must be as caref^Jly picked as if intended for eating from the hand. The peeling of pears, apples, and peaches is an art in itself, and should be performed with a sharp knife. Handle lightly, not to bruise, and throw whole fruits into ice-water as soon as the skin is removed, and peaches when they are halved and the stones taken out. This serves to retain their original color and prevents the unsightly ' ' browning ' ' so often seen when this precaution is neglected. Plums require no peeling, but they must be carefully selected, that no bsuised ones are used. CANNED PEACHES. To each quart of fruit allow a heaping tablespoonful of granu- lated sugar. Pour a little water into your kettle to prevent the contents from burning, then put in a layer of peaches, a sprink- ling of sugar, another layer of peaches, more sugar, and so on THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 487 until the kettle is full. Bring slowly to a boil, which may con- tinue for three minutes. Can and seal. CANNED PEARS OR APPLES. If your fruit be tough, boil it in water until tender. But, as a rule, this is unnecessary, and may be avoided by buying tender- fruit to begin with. Make a syrup of a pint of water and a quar- ter of a pound of sugar for every quart of fruit. When this is hot, drain the cold water in which they were laid after peeling, from the pears or apples, and drop them carefully, one by one, into the now boiling syrup, and cook until they can be readily pierced with a fork. Your cans, meanwhile, should be lying in hot water, from which you may now remove them, and fill them with the pears. This done, pour in the syrup until the jars are full to the brim, and fit on the tops and rubbers immediately. CANNED PLUMS. Twelve quarts of greengage plums ; one pint of water ; one pound of sugar. Put the sugar and water on the stove in the preserving kettle. Prick each plum with a needle to prevent bursting, and as soon as the sugar is dissolved, turn the fruit into the kettle. Heat very slowly to a boil, and cook for five min- utes. Fill the jars to the rims with the plums alone, pour over them the scalding liquid until full to overflowing. Purple plums may be canned in the same way. CANNED TOMATOES. Loosen the skins from your tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them, when you may easily peel them. This done, drain off all the liquid, lay them gently, not to break them, in the kettle, and heat to the boiling-point. Take them from the stove and rub smooth through a colander. Return to the fire, boil for ten minutes, drain off the surplus juice, pack the tomatoes, still boil- ing hot, into the cans, fill with the juice, and seal immediately. 488 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK CORN is exceedingly difficult to can, and is so likely to spoil that I do not give directions for its preparation. But it may be put up with tomatoes, according to the following recipe : CANNED TOMATOES AND CORN. Boil the corn on the cob for twenty minutes, and cut off while hot. Scald the skin from your tomatoes, and rub to a pulp. To every one part of cut corn add two of tomatoes. Salt to taste, boil hard for a moment, and can. Keep in a cool, dark place. After many experiments I have discovered only one way to prevent the accumulation of a sticky moisture on the outside of preserve jars. In the first place the housekeeper must herself (no hireling will do it properly) wash each jar in a separate water. This is troublesome and tedious, but well worth the pains, and is the only way to have the glass completely clean. Keep your cans in a closet or pantry that is not only dark and cool, but through which a current of air may pass. Ventilation of this sort is the only cure for the condensation of moisture. I have tried keeping preserves in a large, dark, cool closet, and had them " sweat ; " while in a room in which there was a door and a window, both of which were frequently thrown open, they remained clean and dry. M. H. FRUIT JELLIES. With but a few exceptions, noted below, the rule for all fruit jellies is substantially the same. The directions given, if fol- lowed closely, cannot fail to produce a clear, sparkling jelly. If it should after strict adherence to the recipe prove watery, the fault is in the fruit, not in the method or the maker. Thin liquid jellies can often be brought to greater firmness if the filled THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 489 glasses are allowed to stand in the hot sun for a season. Some- times three or four hours will suffice, at other times as many days may be required. Not until the jelly is at least comparatively firm should it be covered with waxed or brandied tissue-paper, and sealed from the air. CURRANT JELLY. Select currants that are not over-ripe for this, and put them into a stone crock. Set it in an outer vessel of hot water, bring gradually to a boil, and cook until the fruit is so broken that the jelly flows freely. Squeeze the fruit, a small amount at a time, in a jelly-bag or fruit-press and measure the juice. Allow to each pint of this a pound of white sugar. Place the juice on the fire in the preserving kettle and bring rapidly to a boil. Put the sugar into shallow pans, and set in the oven, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When the juice has boiled twenty minutes, skim it, turn in the sugar, stir until it has dissolved and come back to the boil ; boil one minute and take from the fire. Fill your jelly-glasses at once, setting each on a wet cloth to prevent cracking. A spoon placed in the glass is also a safeguard. The jelly will harden quickly. As soon as it is firm, spread the top with brandied tissue-paper, and screw on the cover. STRAWBERRY, BLACKBERRY, AND GRAPE JELLY may be made by the same recipe. CRAB-APPLE JELLY. Quarter, without peeling or coring, ripe crab-apples. Put on the stove in a preserving kettle and allow them to heat slowly. If the apples are very dry you may add a little water, not quite enough to cover the fruit. Boil slowly until the apples are tender and broken to pieces'. Put it into a flannel bag, a little at a time, and allow the juice to drop through. Squeezing the pulp will make the jelly cloudy. Measure the juice and proceed exactly as with currant jelly; 49° THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK APPLE JELLY may be made by the same recipe from any tart, juicy apple. PEACH JELLY This is made like apple jelly, except that the stones are re- moved, a dozen or so of them cracked, and the kernels of these added to the stewing fruit. When the liquid is strained and measured, add a tablespoonful of lemon-juice to each pint of the jelly and then proceed as with other jellies, allowing, as usual, a pound of sugar to a pint of the juice. QUINCE JELLY may be made like apple jelly, although a commoner and more economical fashion is to use only the peelings and cores for this purpose, reserving the choice parts of the fruit for preserving. FRUIT-JAMS, MARMALADES, ETC. RASPBERRY JAM. Six pounds of berries ; four and one-half pounds of sugar. Crush the berries with a wooden spoon, and put pulp and juice in a preserving kettle. After they boil, cook steadily half an hour, stirring often. Add the sugar, cook twenty minutes longer, and put boiling hot into jars. If there is a great deal of juice, dip out part of it, and make jelly of it or reserve it for raspberry vinegar. Either black or red raspberries may be used for this, but the latter are especially delicious. BLACKBERRY OR STRAWBERRY JAM may be made by the same recipe. GOOSEBERRY JAM. Six pounds of ripe gooseberries ; four pounds of sugar. Stem and top the gooseberries, and bpil one hour in a pre- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 491 serving kettle, watching closely that the fruit does not scorch. Stir often. If the juice increases very rapidly, dip out some of it. When the fruit has boiled an hour add the sugar, and cook an hour longer. Put the jam boiling hot into glass tumblers or small jars and seal. The extra juice from this makes a delicious tart jelly, almost equal to currant for serving with meats and game. DAMSON JAM. Stone damsons, weigh them, and stew for twenty minutes. Add then half a pound of sugar for every pound of fruit and cook together slowly an hour longer, or until the jam is of the desired consistency. Put up hot in small jars. PEACH MARMALADE. To each pound of the peeled and stoned peaches allow three- quarters of a pound of sugar. Put the fruit on by itself and let it heat slowly, stirring frequently, that it may not burn. When it has boiled three-quarters of an hour add the sugar and boil five minutes, skimming constantly. To every two pounds of fruit add then the kernels of half a dozen peach-stones, chopped fine, and the juice of a lemon. Cook ten minutes longer and put in small jars or jelly -glasses. APRICOT MARMALADE may be made by the same recipe as Peach Marmalade. ORANGE MARMALADE. Slice very thin and seed twenty-four small, well - flavored oranges, or twelve large ones, and two lemons. Measure, and if there is less than six pints of juice, add enough water to reach this amount. Some persons consider that it improves the flavor of the marmalade to slice one grape-fruit with this number of oranges. Let the fruit stand in a covered earthen jar or bowl for several hours or overnight. Heat it slowly in a preserving 492 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK kettle and simmer gently until the orange-peel is tender. Stir in then six pounds of granulated sugar (this is allowing a pound of the sugar to a pint of the juice) and boil until the skin looks clear and the marmalade is jelly-like. Test it by cooling a little in a saucer to see if it has reached the right stage. Let it cool before putting it up in glasses as you would jelly. SPICED CURRANTS. Five pounds of stemmed currants ; four pounds of sugar ; one pint of vinegar ; two tablespoonfuls of cloves; two tablespoon- fuls of cinnamon. Put on the fire together and cook half an hour after they come to a boil. Put up in jars or jelly-glasses. SPICED CHERRIES. Stem and stone the cherries before weighing them and pro- ceed as with Spiced Currants. SPICED GRAPES. Pulp and seed the grapes before weighing and prepare by the recipe given for Spiced Currants. SPICED TOMATOES. Seven pounds of peeled and sliced tomatoes ; four pounds of granulated sugar ; one ounce each of whole cloves, cinnamon, and allspice; half a nutmeg, grated ; one pint of vinegar. Boil the vinegar and spice together for ten minutes, put in the tomatoes, and cook slowly until the mixture is thick. Keep in sealed jars. SPICED CANTELOPES. These may be made by the same recipe. The cantelope must be cut into strips and the seeds and rind removed before it is weighed. It must cook in the spiced vinegar until tender enough to be pierced with a straw. THE, NATIONAL COOK BOOK 493 PRESERVED FRUITS. For some years it seemed as though canned fruits would event- ually supersede preserves. Their novelty tickled the fancy of many people, and to others the cheapness of canning and the small amount of labor it involved as compared with the lengthy process of preserving, commended the simpler operation. The old-fashioned " pound-for-pound " preserves were seen only on the shelves of the Women's Exchanges, where they found a mar- ket among a limited class of dainty-lovers, and on the table of the conservative housewife (generally a Southern woman) who preferred " good old ways " of cooking to any innovations. Of late, canned fruits have rather declined, in popularity. They have become too cheap to be a luxury, and even those whose voices were at first loudest in their praise are forced to own that the canned fruits are insipid compared with those pre- served in a rich syrup. The latter are undoubtedly more costly and more difficult to prepare. On the other hand, they are eaten less freely than canned fruit, and there can be no question that they are infinitely more agreeable to the palate. In the recipes given below there has been no effort at a com- promise with economy. Good preserves are always expensive, and those who desire the luxury of having them upon their tables must be prepared to pay for it. PRESERVED PEACHES. Peel and stone firm white peaches, and weigh them. To each pound of the fruit allow a pound of granulated sugar. Spread a layer of this on the bottom of a preserving kettle, cover it with a layer of fruit and proceed with sugar and fruit in alternate strata until all are used up. Put the kettle at the side of the stove where it will heat slowly. A pleasant flavor is given by straining into the sugar, when it is melted, a small cupful of water in which have been steeped and boiled the crushed kernels of two dozen peach-stones. 494 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Let the peaches stew in the syrup until they are clear and ten- der — half an hour should suffice — take them out with a perforated skimmer, and lay on flat dishes, arranging them so that they will not crowd one another. Let the syrup boil fast for fifteen min- utes, or until clear and thick, skimming it frequently. Fill wide- mouthed jars nearly full of the peaches, pour in the boiling syrup, and close the jars. PRESERVED APRICOTS. Put up by the same recipe as Preserved Peaches. PRESERVED PEARS. Peel without stemming the pears, and proceed as with Pre- served Peaches. PRESERVED PLUMS. Select firm and perfect plums, prick each with a large needle, and weigh the fruit. Allow a pound of sugar and a pint of water to a pound of fruit, and make a syrup of the sugar and water. Let this boil until it is clear, removing all the scum that rises to the surface. When the syrup is quite clear drop in the plums, putting in only as many as the kettle can easily hold, and cook twenty minutes. Remove with a perforated skimmer and spread out in plates to cool. Proceed thus with each kettleful until all are done. Put the plums in small jars, pour, over them the boiling syrup, and seal. Greengages, purple, red, and yellow plums may be put up by this recipe. PRESERVED QUINCES. Peel, core, and quarter firm quinces, weigh them, and put them in a preserving kettle with barely water enough to cover them and stew slowly until they are soft. Before they begin to break take them out with a perforated spoon and lay the pieces care- fully, side by side, upon flat dishes. To the liquor left in the ket- tle add a pound of sugar for each pound of the fruit. Bring it to a boil, skim it, and when it has boiled fifteen or twenty minutes, put in the quinces. Cook fifteen minutes after the syrup again THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 495 boils, and proceed as with preserved peaches. The skins and cores of the quinces make excellent jelly. PRESERVED PINEAPPLE. Pare, core, cut into slices, and proceed as with Preserved Peaches. PRESERVED WATERMELON OR CITRON RIND. Remove the green outer peel of the melon, and scrape away the soft inner part. Cut the rind into strips or fancy " shapes " and steam it for three hours in a closely covered preserving kettle, lining this and covering the rind with grape-leaves (if you can get them). In any case scatter a little powdered alum over each layer of citron. Two teaspoonfuls will be enough for the whole kettleful. There should be enough water put in to just cover the rind. When this has steamed for three hours, take it out and throw it at once into very cold water. Let it soak for four hours, changing the water four times. Make a syrup of a quart of water and two pounds and a half of granulated sugar, boiling and skimming it until the scum ceases to rise. When it reaches this point drop in the rind and let it simmer until tender enough to be pierced with a straw. Take it out with a skimmer, spread it out on flat dishes, and let it stand in the sun. for a couple of hours. Add to ike syrup a small lemon, sliced, and a little sliced green ginger-root for every pound of the rind, boil the syrup for about ten minutes and set it aside. When the rind is cool put it in the jars, let the syrup come to a boil and pour it over the rind. Seal when it is cool. PRESERVED CHERRIES. For this select sour cherries — the morellos, if you can get them. To every pound of stoned cherries allow a pound of sugar. Lose none of the juice. Arrange fruit and sugar in al- ternate layers in an agate-iron or porcelain-lined preserving kettle ; let it stand an hour or two to draw out the juice ; then 496 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK put it over the fire, and boil slowly and steadily until the juice thickens. Put up the preserves in small glass jars and keep in a dark closet. PRESERVED CHERRIES. German Mode. Stone tart cherries, preserving all the juice. Weigh the fruit, and to every pound of this allow one of granulated sugar. Put the sugar into the preserving kettle with the cherry-juice, and cook slowly until the sugar is entirely dissolved, when the fruit must be added. Cook this just five minutes, spread fruit and syrup out on broad platters and set them in the hot sun. Cover each platter with a pane of window-glass or with netting and let them have the full benefit of the sun's rays for three or four days, or until the fruit is thick and rich. Put up in jelly-glasses or pre- serve jars. PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES OR RASPBERRIES may be put up by either of the preceding recipes, using a little water to moisten the sugar in place of the juice procured from the stoned cherries. BRANDED PEACHES. One quart of best white brandy ; six pounds of white sugar ; eight pounds of peaches (peeled) ; three cupfuls of water. Put water and sugar together on the fire and bring to a boil. Drop in the peaches and simmer fifteen minutes after the syrup begins to boil again. Take out the peaches with a perforated skimmer and pack them in quart glass jars. After they are all out let the syrup boil fifteen minutes, add the brandy, and pour this boiling liquor over the peaches in the jars. Seal these and keep them in a dark place. They will be ready for the table in about six weeks. BRANDIED APRICOTS are put up by the same recipe as Brandied Peaches. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK A,gj BRANDED PEARS. Put up in the same manner as Brandied Peaches, selecting firm Bartlett pears of uniform size, and paring them carefully, so as to keep the shape of the fruit. Do not remove the stems. BRANDIED PLUMS. Proceed as with Brandied Peaches, pricking the plums instead of peeling them. BRANDIED PINEAPPLES. Peel the pineapple, remove the eyes and tear the fruit from the core with a fork, or cut it into dice. Pack self-sealing jars with the fruit, allowing four heaping tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar to each jar, and sprinkling it on each layer of pineapple. When the jars are filled, pour in white preserving brandy slowly, allowing it to filter through the fruit and sugar, until the jars can hold no more. Screw down the tops, keep the jars in a dark place, and let it season some weeks before using. BRANDIED STRAWBERRIES. Cap fine fresh strawberries and proceed with them as with the Brandied Pineapple. BRANDIED CHERRIES, RASPBERRIES, OR BLACKBERRIES may be prepared in the same way. 3 2 PICKLES. Excellent pickles may now be purchased from first-class grocers. Still better may be ordered from Women's Exchanges, or from some of the many housekeepers in reduced circum- stances who earn an honorable living by preparing kitchen dainties for sale. In spite of all these facilities, there is a goodly number of homes beyond their reach, and there are others whose inmates prefer the pickles made by themselves to any they can buy. The home-made pickles possess the advantage of cheap- ness, unless the maker's time is of money value. The cost of the materials is comparatively slight. GHERKIN OR SMALL CUCUMBER PICKLES. Select firm small gherkins, the smaller the better. None should be more than three inches in length. Lay them smoothly, with alternate layers of salt, in a large earthenware crock, and after putting on the top coat of salt, pour in enough cold water to cover all. Keep the pickles from floating by laying a weighted plate on top of them. Leave the pickles in brine for at least ten days, stirring them from the bottom every other day. When they have lain in the brine for the appointed time, pour it off and pick over the gherkins, throwing away those that have softened, and let the firm ones soak two days in fresh water, changing this once. To green the pickles, line your kettle, which should be of agate- iron-ware, or porcelain-lined, with grape-leaves, and arrange the gherkins in it in layers, scattering a pinch of powdered alum over each layer. A heaping teaspoonful is sufficient for a large kettle- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 499 ful. Cover the pickles with cold water, spread a triple thick- ness of grape-leaves over them, put on a closely fitting cover, and steam the pickles over a slow fire for six hours. The water must not boil. By the end of this time the pickles should be well- greened and should be thrown into very cold water. While they are becoming firm and crisp, four quarts of vinegar, one cupful of sugar, three dozen whole cloves, three dozen black peppers, eighteen whole allspice, and twelve blades of mace may 1 be boiled together for five minutes. The gherkins, drained from the water, may then be put into jars, the scalding vinegar poured over them and the jar closely covered. The pickles should be kept in a cel- lar or a cool, dark closet. They will be ready for use in about two months. STRING BEANS may be pickled like Gherkins. SLICED CUCUMBER PICKLES. Slice twenty-four good-sized cucumbers, put them into a pre- serving kettle with enough vinegar to cover them and boil them for an hour. Let them stand in the hot vinegar while you pre- pare the following pickle : One cupful of sugar ; one teaspoonful, each, of mace, allspice, and cloves; one tablespoonful, each, of sliced garlic, ground horse-radish, cinnamon, ginger, celery seed, black pepper, and turmeric, and a half teaspoonful of cayenne ; one gallon of cider vinegar. Into this put the sliced cucumbers, simmer two hours, and put into jars. PICKLED ONIONS. Select small white onions of nearly uniform size, peel them, and put them into strong brine. Leave them in this four days, make fresh brine, heat it to scalding^ put in the onions and boil three minutes. Drain, pour cold water on them, and set aside for six hours. Drain again, put them into jars and pour over them scalding spiced vinegar, prepared as directed in recipe for Pickled Gherkins. They should ripen for two months before using. 50O THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK PICKLED CAULIFLOWER. Cut firm white cauliflowers into tiny clusters, and boil them three minutes in scalding brine. Take them out, drain, put them into a jar with cold vinegar, and let them stand in this two days. Turn this off, arrange the clusters in jars, and pour over them the following spiced vinegar : One gallon of vinegar ; one cupful of sugar ; one tablespoon- ful, each, of celery seed, coriander seed, mustard seed, and whole white peppers, twelve blades of mace, and a small red pepper, sliced. These should boil together five minutes before putting the mixture upon the cauliflower. PICKLETTE. One large cabbage, peeled and chopped ; six large white onions peeled and chopped. Arrange these in a large crock in alternate thicknesses, sprinkling a little salt on each layer; and leave them thus twenty-four hours. The next day add to a pint of vinegar half a pound of brown sugar, a heaping teaspoonful each of powdered alum, turmeric, ground cinnamon, allspice, mace, black pepper, mustard, and celery seed, and heat all to boiling. Pour these over the cabbage and onion, let it stand twenty-four hours, drain off the vinegar, heat it again to boiling, and pour it over the cabbage. Repeat the process three successive morn- ings. On the fourth, put all together into the kettle, boil five minutes, and when cold pack in small jars. PICKLED CHERRIES. For every quart of the fruit allow a half-pint of vinegar ; two tablespoonfuls of white sugar ; twelve whole cloves, and six blades of mace, and put all but the cherries on to heat together. When they have boiled ten minutes, set them aside to cool. Have ready small jars, fill them nearly full of cherries, strain the cold vinegar over them, and seal the jars. Large tart cherries are best for pickling. They should be very fresh and need not be stemmed. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 501 PICKLED CABBAGE. Cut the outer leaves from white cabbages, quarter, put them into a pot of scalding water, and boil three minutes. Drain, cover thickly with salt, let the cabbages dry in the sun, shake the salt from them, and cover them in cold vinegar in which has been steeped a tablespoonful of turmeric. They should lie in this two weeks. At the end of the time pack the cabbages in jars, and cover with a seasoned vinegar prepared as follows : One gallon of vinegar ; one pound of sugar ; two tablespoon- fuls, each, of white mustard-seed, ginger, and black pepper-corns ; one tablespoonful, each, of cloves, celery-seed, minced garlic, and grated horse-radish ; one teaspoonful, each, of allspice and mace ; one sliced lemon. Pound the spices fine, and boil the mixture five minutes be- fore pouring it on the cabbage. This will not be fit for use un- der a couple of months. ENGLISH CHOW-CHOW. One cauliflower ; one-half pint of string beans ; six green to- matoes, sliced ; one pint of tiny cucumbers ; two medium-sized cucumbers, sliced ; one-half pint of small onions ; four small long red peppers. Nasturtium seeds and radish pods may be added, if desired. Cut the cauliflower into small clusters, and peel the onions. Place a layer of the vegetables in a wide-mouthed stone jar, and sprinkle thickly with salt. Over this lay more vegetables, cov- ering these, too, with salt, and continue thus until your supply is exhausted. Pour on enough cold water to cover all, keeping the pickles from floating by pressing down over them a plate or a disk of wood, and weighting this with a flat-iron. Let the jar remain undisturbed for three days ; then drain oft" the brine, wash the pickles in pure water, cover them again — this time with fresh water — and let them lie in this twenty-four hours. Thus far the process has been the same with that followed for several varieties of sour pickles, such as the ordinary mixed 502 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK pickle, gherkin pickle, onion, or cabbage pickle, etc. But in making English chow-chow there is no need of " greening " the pickle, and so one tiresome process is avoided. Prepare the vinegar as follows : One gallon of vinegar ; one teaspoonful of whole black pep- pers ; one teaspoonful of whole cloves ; two teaspoonfuls of tur- meric ; one teaspoonful of celery-seed ; one teaspoonful of white mustard-seed ; one teaspoonful of whole mace ; one teaspoonful of grated horse-radish ; one cupful and a half of brown sugar ; three tablespoonfuls of ground mustard. Bring the vinegar and condiments to a boil, and drop in the pickles, taking care that none of them are soft or decayed. Simmer five minutes, remove the pickles with a perforated skimmer, lay them in a stone jar, and pour the scalding vinegar over them. Leave them in this for forty-eight hours. Then drain the vinegar off, return it to the kettle, and add to it a tablespoonful of curry powder. When the vinegar boils, pour it over the pickles in the crock, let them stand until cold, then put into wide-mouthed bottles or small jars, and seal. This pickle must ripen two or three weeks before it will be ready for the table. SOUTHERN CHOW-CHOW. Proceed in salting, etc. , as directed for English chow-chow, substituting sliced green peppers for string-beans, omitting the onions and increasing the quantity of green tomatoes; sliced white cabbage may also be added. The mixture of vinegar, spices, etc., is the same, except that the ground mustard, tur- meric, and curry powder are left out. Vinegar, spices, and vegetables are all boiled together for half an hour, then allowed to cool, and put up in air-tight jars. GREEN TOMATO SOY. Four quarts of green tomatoes ; six onions ; one pound of sugar ; one quart of vinegar ; one tablespoonful, each, of ground mustard, ground black pepper, and salt ; one half tablespoonful, each, of allspice and cloves. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 503 Put all together in a preserving kettle and stew, stirring often, until tender. Put into glass jars and seal. Like most other pickles this is better when it is over a month old. PICKLED WALNUTS. These must be gathered while young and green, and be laid in strong brine. Leave them in this for a week, changing it every other day. Take them out, dry them between two cloths, and pierce each with a large needle. Throw them into cold water and leave them several hours before packing them in small jars and pouring over them scalding-hot seasoned vinegar prepared like that for Pickled Gherkins. Not good under two months. PICKLED BUTTERNUTS may be put up by the preceding recipe. PICKLED MANGOES. Select small muskmelons, cut a small round opening in each at the stem end, and through this remove the seeds, saving the piece cut out to replace when the mango is stuffed. Make a strong brine, putting in as much salt as the water will take, and let the melons lie in this for three days. Lay them then in fresh water for twenty-four hours. Green the melons according to the directions given in Pickled Gherkins, and lay them again in cold water. When chilled and firm take them out, drain them, and fill with a stuffing made by mixing together four tablespoonfuls of English mustard-seed with two of grated horse- radish, one teaspoonful, each, of chopped garlic, celery-seed, whole pepper-corns, ground mace, and white sugar ; half a tea- spoonful, each, of ground mustard and ground ginger, and two teaspoonfuls of salad oil. When the stuffing is all in, replace the pieces cut out and tie them in place with soft cords. Pack the melons in a stone crock, pour scalding vinegar over them, and set away in a cool, dark place. They will require at least four months to ripen, 504 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK PEPPER MANGOES. Select full-grown green peppers that have not begun to red- den, extract the seeds with a pen-knife or a long-handled coffee- spoon, as they burn the fingers cruelly. Proceed as with the Pickled Mangoes. SWEET PICKLES. PICKLED PEACHES (PEELED). Peel firm white peaches, weigh them, and to every pound of the fruit allow half a pound of sugar. Place this and the fruit in a preserving kettle in alternate layers. Bring slowly to a boil. To every six pounds of fruit allow one pint of vinegar. To this add a tablespoonful, each, of ground mace, cinnamon, and cloves, mixing them and dividing them into three portions. Tie each up in a bit of thin muslin. Put the spices into the vinegar, pour this upon the peaches, and boil five minutes. At the end of this time remove the fruit and spread it upon a flat dish, boil the syrup fifteen minutes, or until thick, put into glass jars with the fruit, pour the boiling syrup upon it and seal. PICKLED PEACHES (UNPEELED). Select peaches of uniform size, and after rubbing off the down with a coarse cloth, like a crash towel, prick each with a fork. Weigh and put them into a preserving kettle with just enough water to cover them, and let them become scalding hot. Just before they reach the boil remove them from the kettle and add sugar to the water in the proportion of three pounds to every seven pounds of the peaches. Let this boil for a quarter of an hour, skimming two or three times, and put in three pints of vinegar and one teaspoonful, each, of cloves and celery-seed, and one tablespoonful, each, of ground mace, cinnamon, and allspice, mixed and tied up in thin muslin bags. Bring the syrup to a boil and cook together for ten minutes, then put in the fruit and THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 505 let it stew until tender. Remove it again from the kettle with a skimmer, spread on dishes to cool, boil the syrup until thick, and after you have packed the peaches in glass jars, pour the scalding syrup upon them and seal. PICKLED PEARS (UNPEELED). Put up by the preceding recipe. PICKLED PEARS (PEELED). Put up by the recipe given for Pickled Peaches (peeled). All sweet pickles should for the first few weeks be examined every two or three days for signs of fermenting. Should these appear, uncover the jars and set them thus in a kettle of water. Bring this to a boil, and keep it at this until the contents of the jar are scalding hot. PICKLED PLUMS. Put up by the recipe given for Pickled Peaches (peeled), prick- ing the plums instead of peeling them. PICKLED WATERMELON RESTD. Proceed as directed for Preserved Watermelon Rind until you reach the point where the pieces of rind are put into the syrup. Weigh them then and make for the pickles a syrup of a pound of sugar and a half cupful of water for every pound of the rind. Add to this a half ounce of sliced ginger-root for every eight pounds of sugar. Heat the sugar and water slowly and when they are hot lay in the rinds. Let them simmer very slowly until clear and tender, take them out, spread them upon dishes, add to the syrup a pint of vinegar for every pound of rind, a tablespoonful, each, of ground mace, cloves, and cinnamon tied up in thin muslin, and a tablespoonful of turmeric to every eight pounds of rind. When the syrup boils, put in the rind again, let it sim- mer fifteen minutes and put it up in glass jars. It must season two or three weeks before it is ready- for use. 506 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK CATSUPS, RELISHES, FLAVORING VINEGARS, ETC TOMATO CATSUP. One peck of ripe tomatoes ; four onions ; half a teaspoonful of garlic, grated ; twelve sprigs of parsley ; two bay leaves ; one tablespoonful, each, of salt, sugar, ground cloves, mace, black pepper, and whole celery-seed — tie the last up in a bit of thin muslin ; one scant teaspoonful of cayenne ; one pint of vinegar. Boil the tomatoes and onions together until soft, press through a colander, and then strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Put this over the fire with the seasoning and boil five hours, stirring well from the bottom from time to time. When the liquid is re- duced nearly one-half and is quite thick, add the vinegar, re- moving the bag of celery-seed. When the catsup is cold, bottle it and seal the corks. Keep in a cellar or cool, dark closet. TOMATO PASTE. Proceed as in the preceding recipe, adding to the tomatoes two good-sized carrots, peeled and sliced, and omitting the vine- gar altogether. Cook the ingredients as for catsup until they reach the stage where a little of the pulp will jelly in a saucer. Spread on shallow pie-plates and let the paste dry thoroughly in the sun or in an open oven. It can be packed in layers in wooden boxes, with waxed paper between the layers, and is use- ful for seasoning macaroni, soups, stews, etc. A piece a couple of inches square melted in a half pint of butter (see Sauce) makes an excellent tomato sauce. WALNUT CATSUP. The walnuts should be young, and tender enough to be read- ily pierced with a large needle. Prick each in three or four places, allow salt in the proportion of two tablespoonfuls to twenty-five walnuts, and lay salt and nuts in a jar with enough THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 507 water to cover them. Leave them in this for a fortnight, pound- ing them every day with a wooden mallet or potato beetle. At the end of that time strain off the liquor into a preserving kettle, cover the nuts with boiling vinegar, pound them in this thor- oughly, and strain this liquid into the other. Measure it, and for every quart add a tablespoonful, each, of ginger and black pepper, a dessert-spoonful, each, of cloves and mace, a teaspoon- ful, each, of finely minced onion and grated horse-radish, and a pinch of cayenne. Boil for an hour, cool, bottle, and seal. Good in two months. BUTTERNUT CATSUP. This may be made by the recipe given for Walnut Catsup. MUSHROOM CATSUP. Wipe firm, fresh mushrooms and break them into pieces. Al- low two tablespoonfuls of salt to every quart of the mushrooms, and arrange the latter in a large crock, sprinkling salt over each layer. Stand the jar in a cellar or other cool place for three days, stirring the contents three or four times each day. At the end of the time turn mushrooms and salt into a preserving ket- tle, and let them get warm very slowly over a low fire. When the juice flows freely, strain it off, put it back over the fire and boil fifteen minutes. Measure it then and allow to each quart of the liquor a tablespoonful, each, of whole black peppers and of allspice, two blades of mace, a bay leaf, a tiny section of a clove of garlic, a bit of ginger root of the same size, and a very little cayenne. Return the liquor to the fire once more with the spices and boil until it is reduced to half the quantity ; let it cool, strain and bottle it. Seal the bottles. The addition of a tea- spoonful of brandy to each bottle is recommended by some authorities as an aid in preserving it. CUCUMBER CATSUP. Peel, seed, and grate large cucumbers. Drain the pulp in a sieve, measure, and to a quart allow two green peppers, seeded 508 _ THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK and minced, two teaspoonfuls of salt, a grated onion, a gill of grated horse-radish and a scant half teaspoonful of cayenne. Mix all well together, add a pint of vinegar, bottle the catsup and seal. GRAPE CATSUP. Wash and stem the grapes and put them over the fire with enough water to keep them from burning, stew slowly until tender, and rub through a colander. The seeds and skins should both be removed by this process. Measure the pulp and put it back in the preserving kettle, allowing to three quarts of it, two pounds of brown sugar, a pint of good cider vinegar, a large tablespoonful, each, of ground cloves, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper, and an even teaspoonful of cayenne. Boil the catsup until it is reduced about one-half and is very thick, skim, take from the fire, and when cool, bottle and seal. APPLE CHUTNEY. Peel and chop six large tart apples. Mix with them a small onion and a section of garlic, grated, a teaspoonful of ground ginger, two tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, a pinch of cayenne, and half a pint of vinegar. Boil ten minutes, and bottle when cool. CHILI SAUCE. Twelve large ripe tomatoes ; four onions ; two green, or one red pepper ; four tablespoonfuls of sugar ; two tablespoonfuls of salt ; two teaspoonfuls, each, of ground cinnamon, cloves, and allspice ; one teaspoonful of ground ginger ; one quart of vinegar. Peel onions and tomatoes, seed peppers, and chop all fine. Add the spices, put over the fire and boil steadily for two hours. Cool, feottle, and seal. MINT VINEGAR. Pick mint leaves from the stems, wash them and dry between soft cloths and pack a cupful in a glass jar or wide- mouthed bottle. Cover with vinegar, seal or cork, and let it stand for three weeks. Strain off the vinegar through a fine cloth, and put into THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 509 a clean bottle. Or you may use two cupfuls of leaves, let them remain in the vinegar and put into a quart jar of this a table- spoonful of mustard-seed and a bit of horse-radish. You then have a mint sauce that only needs the addition of a little sugar to be ready for the table. CELERY VINEGAR. Cut a bunch of celery into small bits and put it into a jar. Bring a quart of vinegar to a boil, add to it a teaspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of white sugar ; pour it, still scalding hot, upon the celery, let it cool, close the jar and leave it unopened for two weeks. Then strain off the vinegar, bottle it, and cork tightly. A quarter of a pound of celery-seed may be used in- stead of the fresh celery. ONION VINEGAR. Peel and chop six large onions, sprinkle over them a table- spoonful of salt, -and let them stand over night. Scald a quart of vinegar with a tablespoonful of white sugar, pour this over the onions, let them steep for two weeks, closely covered, strain, and bottle the vinegar. TARRAGON VINEGAR. Prepare like Mint Vinegar and let it stand, closely covered, three weeks before straining and bottling it. CHILDREN'S DIET. All matters bearing upon dietetics have sprung into promi- nence during the past ten years. Physicians have adopted the practice of recommending diet rather than medicine, and writers on domestic topics have devoted their best powers to raising the national standard of food, both in quality and modes of prepa- ration. In spite of all this, the reforms introduced have been neither radical nor universal. Men and women still eat at ex- press rates, devour pie, drink ice-water, and cling to the frying- pan. The national dyspepsia is yet unsubdued; and worst of all, the rising generation are planting their feet in the footprints left by their fathers and mothers. Henry James has presented a picture of what he evidently con- siders the typical American boy in Daisy Miller's small brother, a portrait at which readers have alternately laughed and fumed. In either case they have been compelled to admit that the de- scription contained elements of resemblance, although they might be overdrawn. The pertness of Randolph Miller, his total absence of respect for parent or guardian, his candy-eating propensities, and various other disagreeable traits are all familiar, though seldom all combined in the person of one child. For any and all of these faults at least nine-tenths of the blame must rest with the father and mother. Original sin and total de- pravity may be negatived, but a natural tendency to do wrong rather than right, cannot be denied by any one who has had much to do with young children. This acknowledged, it fol- lows that it is the bounden duty of the guides of the little ones to do all they can to counteract this disposition in order to pre- THE. NATIONAL COOK BOOK 5 II vent their charges from becoming intolerable to themselves and to all about them. In no department of the nursery is close guardianship needed more than in that of children's food. To a casual looker-on, it seems sometimes that, in becoming mothers, women must have parted with whatever atoms of common sense they once pos- sessed. Ignorant of physiology and hygiene though they may be, ordinary observation and acquaintance with the simplest laws of nature ought to teach them something. Nevertheless, one constantly sees women who, in other directions give no evidence of being candidates for lunatic asylums, trifling with the health and life of their offspring with a recklessness -that, if applied to other and less important matters, would seem nothing short of madness. The mother of several boys was one day bemoaning to a visit- or the fact that her youngest, a child of five, was subject to sum- mer complaint. She had been up with him all the preceding night in an attack resembling cholera morbus. The scourge of cholera was in the land at the time, and the anxious parent sighed as she said she knew poor little Tom would have no chance if exposed to the disease. She had hardly finished her lament when the guest caught a glimpse of its object. The morning was a rainy one, but the child was standing nearly knee-keep in wet grass under a plum-tree in the garden, eating the unripe fruit with gusto. At her friend's exclamation of horror, the mother glanced from the window, nodded smilingly to the juvenile culprit, and said calmly, as she resumed her seat : "I never limit the boys in their allowance of fruit. They are welcome to all they find on the ground, and the dear fellows enjoy it thoroughly." Another child, a girl of four, is "passionately fond of pickles." " It does no good to put them out of her reach," laughs the mother. "I did that for awhile. But after I caught her risk- ing her neck balancing herself on two chairs and a footstool to reach the jar on the top shelf of the pantry, I thought it would 512 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK be safer to keep them where she could get them without break- ing any bones." Nearly every one is acquainted with children who are as de- voted to their strong tea and coffee as a regular drinker to his dram. While these beverages may be helpful in imparting tem- porary tone and strength to hard-worked men and women, it is a great mistake to permit a child to begin life by over-exciting his nervous system by their use. For those who do not like milk, cold water — not iced-water — should be sufficient. Thought- less mothers often lay the foundation for this taste by pouring a few teaspoonfuls of real tea or coffee into the child's " cambric tea. ' ' Far better is it to have it understood at the outset that such drinks are not for children, instead of pretending to humor a whim which can do no good. Nervous digestions and tempers would all be the better for the abstinence. But it is not enough to keep from children those articles of food which will do them harm. It should be the study of the mother to select and arrange their diet with the view to giving them what they need for nourishment and growth. In this day when the dietetic schoolmaster is abroad, when lectures on cookery are delivered in every town, and the press teems with tracts and treatises upon wholesome food, there is less excuse than ever before for ignorance or neglect. Yet all the preach- ing and printing in the land does no good unless the mother makes the practical application of the precepts. Upon her, and upon her alone, it devolves to feed her child with food conven- ient (or suitable) for him. She must see that while he has starches to keep up the fires of the body, as it were, he has also nitrogenous foods that will form flesh and muscle, phosphates that will feed bone and brain, fats that will warm and nourish. For no two children can one prescribe a similar bill of fare. One demands fats, another requires albuminoids, a third needs starches. Only by patient and intelligent study and experi- ment can the mother learn what to choose and what to reject. C. T. H. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 513 THE NURSERY TABLE. CEREALS AND VEGETABLES. At least half the mothers of young children labor under the impression that they know all there is to be learned about chil- dren's diet. Many have a lofty contempt for the " fussiness," as they term it, that leads sundry young matrons to study the comparative nutritive qualities of different kinds of food and to exclude from the baby's bill-of-fare all but the simplest articles. "I let my baby come to the table and eat with us," said the mother of a year -old girl not long ago. "She's real fond of potatoes and green corn, and of sweet things; but" — with a sigh — " doctor, he says they ain't good for her while I'm nursin' her." The mother of another baby of about the same age was terribly alarmed by a severe attack of cholera morbus that followed the infant's supper of boiled ham and cabbage. "It couldn't be anything he e't," she said, decidedly, "be- cause the four other children have always been fed just like him, and they're all right." True, these instances are selected from an unlearned class, but the same ignorance or carelessness may be found in a much higher walk of life. The study of an appropriate diet for children will not seem unworthy of trained mental powers when one reflects upon the evil consequences that neglect may entail upon the body, and, through that, upon the mind of the growing child. For a little baby there can be, of course, almost no variety. Milk, sterilized or peptonized, or one of the prepared foods en- dorsed by physicians, is all that can be offered for many months. But as the child grows older and acquires his full set of milk- teeth, a change is not only agreeable to him, but almost essential to his health. His appetite will be stimulated by variety, and if his food is properly prepared, it may be toothsome as well as nourishing. Prominent in his menu are cereals and vegetables which should serve as the pieces de risistance of the nursery -table. 33 5 14 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK OATMEAL PORRIDGE. Four heaping tablespoonfuls of fine ground oatmeal ; three cupfuls of warm water ; one-half teaspoonfbl of salt. The manufacturer of one brand of oatmeal declares that it needs no preliminary soaking. This can do it no harm, how- ever, and aids in softening the cereal and reducing it to a fit state for childish — or adult — digestions. Let the double boiler, con- taining oatmeal and water, stand at the back of the range over night. In the morning fill the outer vessel with hot water and move the boiler to the front of the stove. Let it cook steadily for at least half an hour. Three-quarters of an hour, or an hour, will be even better. Just before pouring out the porridge beat it hard with a wooden spoon, and if it seems too stiff, stir in a little boiling water. Salt it the last thing before turning it out. WHEATEN GRITS. To be properly cooked this should be prepared the day before it is to be eaten. Put three tablespoonfuls of the wheaten grits, or cracked wheat, and a pint of warm water into a double boiler and cook at one side of the stove steadily, but not hard, for four hours. ' The next morning warm the porridge and salt it to taste. HASTY PUDDING OR MUSH. One quart of boiling water; one cupful of yellow com -meal ; one teaspoonful of salt. Stir the corn-meal to a paste with a little cold water and add it to the salted boiling water in a double boiler. Cook steadily three-quarters of an hour, stirring hard and often. Avoid mak- ing the mush too stiff. HOMINY BOILED IN MILK. One cupful of fine white hominy ; two cupfuls of milk ; salt to taste. Wash the hominy in several waters and soak it over night in enough cold water to cover it. In the morning drain off the THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 515 water, pour in the milk, and cook in a covered double boiler for an hour. Stir in a small tablespoonful of butter, and salt to taste before sending to table. RICE PORRIDGE. Two cupfuls of milk ; two tablespoonfuls of rice or rice- flour ; half a cupful of cold water. If you cannot procure the rice-flour wash the rice thoroughly and crush it with a rolling-pin or in a mortar with a pestle ; or, it may be laid between two folds of coarse cloth and hammered with a potato-beetle until it is well broken. Mix it with the water and stir it into the milk, which should be scalding-hot, in a double boiler. Cook for half an hour, salt, and serve. CORN-BREAD. One cupful of corn-meal ; one cupful of flour; two tablespoon- fuls of sugar ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; two teaspoonfuls of Cleveland's Baking Powder ; two eggs ; one cupful of milk ; one tablespoonful of salt. Beat the eggs, add to them the salt, sugar, milk, and melted butter. Sift the corn-meal and flour together with the baking powder, and mix with the other ingredients. Beat hard, pour into well-greased muffin-tins, and bake. These are also good split and toasted when cold. GRAHAM BREAD. Two cupfuls of Graham flour ; one cupful of white flour ; one yeast cake dissolved in a cupful and a half of warm water ; three tablespoonfuls of molasses ; one teaspoonful of salt. Sift the white flour with the salt and mix with the unsifted Graham flour. Stir in the yeast, the warm water, and the molasses, and make all into as soft a dough as can be handled. Should it seem stiff with the above proportions, add a little warm water. Let the dough rise over night and in the morning knead it well and make it into small loaves. Set these to rise for a couple of hours and bake in a steady oven. 5l6 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK This bread should not be cut while hot. It is admirable for growing children, and makes excellent toast. GRAHAM BREWIS. Two cupfuls of milk ; one heaping tablespoonful of white flour ; one tablespoonful of butter ; slices of Graham bread ; salt to taste. Break the bread into small bits, spread it on a pan and set it in a slow oven for five or ten minutes, until quite crisp. Mean- while, heat the milk to scalding in a double boiler, and thicken it with the flour and butter rubbed together. Into this stir the bread, and let it cook slowly until soft and smooth. Should it become too thick to stir easily, add a little more milk. Salt to taste, and serve. Brewis may also be made of white bread, or of white and Graham mixed. MILK TOAST. Cut slices of baker's bread an inch thick, trim off the crusts and toast the bread quickly and lightly over a clear, smokeless fire. Place ready at the side of the stove a pan of boiling water and dip each slice into this for. a second before spreading it spar- ingly with butter and laying it on a deep dish. When the dish is full, pour over it slowly milk that has been heated in a double boiler, adding a little salt to it just before taking it from the fire. Cover the dish and set it in a slow oven or in the plate-warmer for five minutes, uncover, and if all the milk has been absorbed, add more, and let the dish stand in a warm place five minutes longer before sending to table. By this process the toast will be soft throughout. TOASTED CRACKERS. Split Boston crackers, toast them on the inside, and butter. These are especially relished by children when accompanied by apple sauce or by some simple fruit-jelly, jam, or marmalade. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK $1? PANADA. Split and toast Boston crackers and arrange them in a bowl, sprinkling each layer lightly with sugar. When the bowl is full pour over its contents enough slightly salted boiling water to cover the crackers. When this is absorbed add a little more, and let the bowl stand covered in a hot place for fifteen minutes before serving. STUFFED POTATOES. Select six large white potatoes, wash and bake them until soft. Cut off the end of each one, and with the handle of a fork or spoon scrape out the contents. Mash them with a fork and add to them three tablespoonfuls of hot milk, a tablespoon - ful of butter, and salt to taste. Return the mixture to the skins and set them in the oven for five or ten minutes until they are hot through. STEWED POTATOES. Peel six large white potatoes and cut them into neat dice with a sharp knife. Lay them in cold water for twenty minutes and then put them over the fire in boiling water. Cook until tender, drain off the water and sprinkle the potatoes with a tablespoon- ful of flour. Have ready a cupful of milk in which a good tea- spoonful of butter has been melted ; pour this over the potatoes and let them come slowly to a boil. Salt to taste, and serve. POTATO PUFF. Two cupfuls of mashed potato ; one egg ; half a cupful of milk ; two teaspoonfuls of butter ; salt to taste. Beat the egg light, add it with the butter, the milk, and the salt to the potato, whip all together and bake in a buttered pud- ding-dish. SCALLOPED POTATO. To two cupfuls of mashed potato add one egg, a tablespoonful of butter, and a cupful of milk. Salt to taste, turn the potato 5l8 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK into a buttered pudding-dish, sprinkle with fine crumbs, dot with bits of butter, and bake, covered, until the potato is hot through ; uncover and brown. POTATOES STEWED WHOLE. Small potatoes may be selected for this. Peel and boil them. When they are almost done drain off the water and pour over them enough milk to cover them. Let them cook in this until done and stir in a tablespoonful of butter, cut up in a table- spoonful of flour. Simmer a few moments, season, and serve. SWEET POTATOES, SCALLOPED. Boil sweet potatoes and slice them crosswise after peeling. Arrange the slices in a buttered pudding-dish, sprinkling each layer with a few crumbs, with bits of butter, and a very little salt. Make the top layer a thick one of crumbs and dot plentifully with butter. Cook, covered, twenty minutes, uncover and brown. SWEET POTATO PUFF. Two cupfuls of sweet potato, mashed ; two eggs ; one cupful of milk ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; salt. Mix and bake like the white potato puff described above. BUTTERED SWEET POTATOES. Boil and peel sweet potatoes and slice them lengthwise. But- ter each piece and lay all in a pan, buttered side up. Set this in the oven for a few minutes before serving. SCALLOPED TOMATOES. Slice ripe tomatoes and place the slices in layers in a pudding- dish, sprinkling each layer with a little sugar and salt, and put- ting bits of butter here and there. Bake, covered, for half an hour, uncover and brown. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 519 RICE AND TOMATO. Arrange alternate layers of boiled rice and sliced tomatoes in a baking-dish, making the top layer of tomato. Scatter over this small pieces of butter, bake, covered, twenty minutes, un- cover and leave in the oven ten minutes longer. STEWED OYSTER PLANT. Scrape and slice the roots. Stew until tender, putting them on in hot water, a little salted. When done, turn off the water, add a cupful of cold milk, thicken it with a tablespoonful of butter rolled in a tablespoonful of flour, and serve after it has simmered about five minutes. STEWED CELERY. Cut celery into inch lengths, cook it in water until tender, drain and pour over it a cupful of milk, thickened with a table- spoonful of butter rubbed smooth with as much flour. Season to taste. STEWED MACARONI. Select spaghetti in preference to the pipe macaroni. Break it into small pieces, put it over the fire in boiling water and cook ten minutes. Drain off the water, pour a cupful of milk over the macaroni, and cook until tender. When done, stir in a good tablespoonful of butter, and salt to taste. This makes an excellent nursery dessert when eaten with butter and sugar. WITH THE CHAFING-DISH. A few years ago it might have been thought necessary to in- clude, in a book of this character, an elaborate treatise upon the methods of cooking with the chafing-dish, and a long list of recipes. But we have changed all that. Few and far between are the homes in which the chafing-dish is not a familiar friend, and each man or woman who handles it has his, or her, own pet recipes for at least the best-known dishes that can be prepared over an alcohol flame. Therefore it is not designed to give elementary instructions here. There follow only such dishes as have seemed new or unusual, and so worthy of being made known to the public. Those who desire arguments in favor of the chafing-dish, minute directions for its use, and an extensive collection of trustworthy recipes, are respectfully referred to " The Chafing- Dish Supper,' 1 '' by Christine Terhune Herrick, published by Charles Scribner's Sons. DEVILED OYSTERS. Twenty oysters ; one gill of oyster-liquor ; two tablespoon- fuls of butter ; one dessertspoonful of flour ; one teaspoonful of salt ; half a tablespoonful of curry powder ; one teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce ; ten drops of Tabasco sauce ; juice of one lemon. Melt the butter in the blazer, stir in the flour, and when this is blended^ the oyster-liquor and all of the seasoning except the lemon-juice. As soon as the sauce is boiling-hot, drop in the oysters and cook three minutes or until they plump. Add the lemon -juice and serve them at once on Graham toast. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 521 Huntley & Palmer's Breakfast Biscuits make an excellent sub- stitute for toast in chafing-dish cookery. OYSTERS WITH ANCHOVY. Twenty oysters ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one heap- ing teaspoonful of anchovy paste ; a little cayenne ; juice of a lemon. Melt the butter and the anchovy together in the blazer, put in the oysters, cook three minutes, add the cayenne and lemon- juice and serve on buttered toast or "breakfast-biscuit." CELERY OYSTERS. Twenty fine oysters ; one gill of oyster-liquor ; half a cupful of crisp celery, minced fine ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one gill of cream ; one gill of sherry or Madeira ; one teaspoonful, each, of salt and paprica. Put the oyster -liquor, celery, and paprica in the chafing-dish over hot water, and when it comes to a boil simmer three or four minutes ; add the butter and the cream, and when these are boiling-hot put in the oysters. Cook until the edges curl, stir in the wine and salt, and serve at once on toast. CLAMS SAUTE. Twenty soft clams, from which the tough part has been re- moved ; two slices of salt pork or fat bacon cut into fine dice; a little white pepper. Fry the pork or bacon crisp in the blazer, and when the dice begin to brown push them to the side of the pan and lay in the clams. Sautt them, turning once or twice, and serve on Gra- ham or Boston brown bread toast. DEVILED SARDINES. One box of boneless sardines, drained and skinned ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one teaspoonful of paprica, or one saltspoonful of cayenne ; one saltspoonful of salt ; one table- spoonful of lemon-juice. 522 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Melt the butter in the blazer and when hissing hot lay in the sardines. Cook until heated through, turning once, sprinkle with salt and paprica, add the lemon-juice, and serve on toast. SHRIMPS WITH ANCHOVY SAUCE. One can of shrimps ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one gill of cream ; one teaspoonful of anchovy paste ; yolks of two eggs ; saltspoonful of cayenne. Melt together the butter and anchovy, lay in the shrimps, pepper them, and saute until they are hot through. Break the eggs in a bowl, beat the cream into them, and pour into the chafing-dish. Stir two or three minutes, until the sauce thickens, and serve at once on toast. This dish should be prepared over hot water. SHRIMPS WITH TOMATO SAUCE. One cupful of tomato sauce (see recipe). This can easily be prepared in the chafing-dish. One can of shrimps. Salt to taste, and one saltspoonful of cayenne. Stir the shrimps into the tomato sauce, bring to a boil, season, and serve on toast or in scallop-shells, or nappies. CELERY LOBSTER. Two cupfuls of lobster-meat, cut into small pieces ; one cup- ful of crisp celery, minced ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one dessertspoonful of flour ; half a pint of milk ; yolks of two eggs ; one teaspoonful of salt ; one" saltspoonful of cayenne ; juice of a lemon. Cook together the butter and flour over hot water, add the milk, stir until smooth, put in the celery and cook three minutes, add the lobster, seasoning, and yolk of egg ; stir until thick, and serve. HUNGARIAN MUSHROOMS. Half a pound of fresh mushrooms, stemmed and peeled ; three tablespoonfuls of salad oil; one teaspoonful of paprica ; one salt- spoonful of pepper. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 523 Heat the oil over boiling water, lay in the mushrooms. Cover closely, cook ten minutes, or until tender salt and serve on toast or ' ' breakfast-biscuit. ' ' DEVILED EGGS. Six hard-boiled eggs ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one table- spoonful, each, of tomato and mushroom catsup ; one teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce ; saltspoonful, each, of dry mustard and cayenne. Heat the butter and seasoning together in the blazer, lay in the eggs, cut into four lengthwise and then sliced across four times, and, when hot through, serve upon toast spread with but- ter or anchovy paste. EGGS 'WITH KIDNEYS. Four lamb's kidneys, scalded, skinned, and quartered ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one teaspoonful of onion-juice ; one gill of consomme or gravy ; six eggs. Heat the butter in the blazer, add the onion-juice and put in the kidneys. Cook until browned, pour in the gravy and stir in the eggs, slightly beaten. Cook until they are set, and serve. DEVILED KIDNEYS. Six lamb's kidneys, scalded, skinned, and split in half; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one teaspoonful, each, of onion-juice and Worcestershire sauce ; two tablespoonfuls of sherry or Madeira ; one even teaspoonful of salt ; saltspoonful of cayenne. Heat the butter and brown the kidneys in the blazer, add the seasoning, cook two minutes, and serve. DEVILED BEEF. Slices of rare roast beef; three tablespoonfuls of olive oil ; one teaspoonful, each, of paprica and salt ; half a teaspoonful, each, of mustard and black pepper ; six olives, stoned and cut in two. Heat oil and seasoning together in blazer ; lay in the beef and olives and cook until smoking-hot. Underdone mutton may be prepared in the same way. 524 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK SAVORY SAUSAGES. Prick and fry six small sausages in the blazer until almost crisp, put in a tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of minced celery, and half a teaspoonful of paprica ; toss and turn until hot, and serve on toast or "breakfast-biscuit." CELERY CHICKEN. Prepare like Celery Lobster, adding to the roux a teaspoonful of onion-juice. CHICKEN TERRAPIN. Two cupfuls of the dark meat of chicken or turkey, cut into small pieces ; half a pint of cream ; two tablespoonfuls of butter ; one tablespoonful of flour ; yolks of three hard-boiled eggs ; one teaspoonful, each, of dry mustard and salt ; saltspoonful of cay- enne ; one gill of sherry or Madeira. Rub the yolks of the eggs to a paste with the butter, flour, and seasoning. Heat the cream in the blazer and stir them into it. Lay in the chicken, cook until smoking-hot, add the wine, and serve. HOT CHICKEN SALAD. Two cupfuls of the white meat of cold chicken or turkey cut into dice, and steeped one hour in two tablespoonfuls of salad oil ; one tablespoonful of butter ; one tablespoonful of flour ; half a pint of milk ; one gill of cream ; one teaspoonful, each, of onion-juice and celery-salt ; half a teaspoonful of common salt ; saltspoonful of white pepper. Melt the butter in the blazer with the onion-juice, add the flour, and when these are blended, the milk. Stir until thick and smooth, put in the chicken and any of the oil it has not ab- sorbed, let it become scalding-hot, season, put in the cream and serve at once, with or without toast. LAKE FOREST CHICKEN RECHAUFFE. Two cupfuls of the white meat of cold chicken or turkey ; one pint of chicken-stock ; half a cupful of fine white bread- THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK $2$ crumbs ; half a pint of cream ; four hard-boiled eggs ; one table- spoonful of butter ; salt and white pepper to taste. Chop the whites of the eggs coarsely. Let the crumbs soak in the cream until soft, and rub into them the powdered yolks of the eggs. Melt the butter in the blazer, put in the stock and bring to a boil ; add the paste of crumbs, cream and yolks, and, when hot, the chicken and chopped whites. Cook five min- utes, or until boiling, and serve. SWEETBREADS WITH ASPARAGUS TIPS. One large pair of sweetbreads, parboiled, blanched, and sliced ; half a pint of boiled asparagus tips ; one gill of asparagus liquor ; half a pint of cream ; one tablespoonful of butter ; one table- spoonful of flour ; yolks of two eggs ; one teaspoonful of salt ; saltspoonful of white pepper. Make a roux of the butter and flour over hot water, stir in the cream and asparagus-liquor and when these are a smooth sauce, add the sweetbreads and asparagus. Put in cautiously, drop by drop, the beaten yolks of the eggs, cook three minutes, season and serve. A SWISS WELSH RAREBIT. Half a pound of Gruyere (Swiss) cheese ; three tablespoon fu Is of butter ; six eggs ; one teaspoonful of salt ; saltspoonful of red pepper, or three times as much paprica. Melt the butter and the grated cheese over boiling water, stir in the eggs and cook until they are thick, season and serve on toast or crackers. Those who find this rarebit too thick as made by the above recipe may thin it with a gill of beer or of milk. AFTERMATH. CRAB BISQUE. A Creole Dish. The meat of four boiled crabs "picked up" fine; nearly three cupfuls of rich milk ; two tablespoonfuls of butter rolled in one of flour, and two left plain ; two small onions and one green sweet-pepper cut up, with the seeds left out ; one large tomato, peeled and sliced thin ; salt and pepper to taste. A handful of bread-dice fried. Melt the unfioured butter in the saucepan, but do not let it hiss. As soon as it is hot put in with it the minced onions, pepper, and tomato. Season, cover closely, and stew twenty min- utes. Add the crab, with a very little boiling water to prevent the crab-meat from catching on the bottom, and stew ten minutes. Heat the milk (with a bit of soda) in a separate vessel, thicken with the floured butter, season with salt and cayenne; take the saucepan from the fire and stir in the thickened milk. Pour upon the croutons laid in the bottom of the tureen. BAR HARBOR CLAM CHOWDER. Fifty clams ; quarter of a pound of salt pork, sliced ; one cup- ful of potato-dice, parboiled ; two tablespoonfuls of flour, stirred into two of butter ; two cupfuls of milk (half cream, if you can get it) ; four pilot biscuits ; sweet herbs, minced ; salt and cayenne. Cook the clams in their own juice for ten minutes ; strain them out and set aside to cool before they are chopped. Fry sliced pork and onion together ; add the clam-liquor and the parboiled potatoes, and cook half an hour. Then add the chopped clams, THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK $2? cook one hour and put in the broken pilot-bread soaked in but- ter and water. Heat the milk, thicken with the butter and flour, pour into the tureen, and, after it, the contents of the soup- kettle. Mix up well and serve. CLAM BROTH. Two dozen clams should yield a scant quart of liquor. Strain it all from them and heat the juice to a boil ; skim off the scum and drop in the clams. Cook fifteen minutes and strain again, now through coarse muslin, back into the saucepan, and season with pepper and salt. Have ready a cupful of rich milk in a saucepan, stir into it a heaping tablespoonful of butter rolled in Bermuda arrow-root, and boil two minutes, stirring steadily. Pour this into the tureen, and upon this the clam-soup. This will be found both nourishing and delicious. It is highly recommended for invalids. A teaspoonful of whipped cream laid upon each portion of the broth is a dainty touch. BROILED SARDINES. Drain off the oil, broil on both sides in a double wire broiler which has been rubbed with a raw onion, then greased. Have ready as many slices of Graham bread as you have sardines, toasted, buttered, and sprinkled with cayenne or paprica and salt. Lay a sardine on each and squeeze lemon-juice upon the fish. Or— You may give a foreign touch to this appetizing entree by lay- ing the broiled sardines upon Holmes & Coutts' Banquet Wafers, which have been toasted, buttered, and salted, with a dash of cayenne, and covering these with Parmesan cheese. Sift cheese also over the sardines, and set in the oven two minutes before serving. DUNDEE EGGS. Boil six eggs for twenty-five minutes and leave them in cold water for an hour. Make a paste of one cupful of cold chopped 528 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK ham, two tablespoonfuls of fine crumbs, and the same quantity of milk ; season with a pinch of cayenne and half a teaspoon- ful of made mustard. Bind with a raw egg. Peel the boiled eggs, coat them with this mixture, set in a cold place for an hour, and cook three minutes in hot, deep fat. Serye cold. MARY HILL'S FINGER-ROLLS. Heat three cupfuls of milk to a boil and add to it half a cupful of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt and two dessertspoonfuls of sugar. Set all aside until lukewarm, when stir into it the whites of three eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and half a yeast cake, dis- solved in a little warm water. Pour upon two quarts of sifted flour, work into a dough, and knead fifteen minutes. Let it rise over night. In the morning cut and slash the dough down with a sharp knife and let it rise again. When light once more, pull it into long finger-rolls and bake to a delicate brown. FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. Cut green tomatoes into thick slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roll in egg and cracker crumbs and fry in deep cottolene, as you woujd egg-plant. Serve with bacon, broiled ham, or other meat, or as a vegetable. EGG-PLANT FAROE. Halve a fine egg-plant with care and scrape out the inside, leaving the walls an inch thick. Chop the pulp taken out with the pulp (not the seeds) of two ripe tomatoes, season well with butter, pepper, and salt, and mix with a tablespoonful of dry crumbs. With this mixture stuff the hollowed egg-plant, bind the sides together with soft string, put into your covered roaster, dash a cupful of boiling water over it, cover closely and steam for an hour. Turn the egg-plant and cook for half an hour longer. Remove the strings, peel the vegetable deftly and serve. Pass drawn butter with it. In helping, cut into slices an inch thick, breaking the stuffing as little as possible. The walls of the egg-plant should be tender all through. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK 529 EGG-PLANT FAROE WITH GREEN PEPPERS. Cook as directed in the last recipe, but substitute green peppers, seeded and minced, for the tomato-pulp in making the stuffing. CREAM TOMATO SALAD. Pour boiling water over large ripe tomatoes to loosen the skins, strip these off quickly and set the tomatoes on ice for sev- eral hours. Cut each in half just before they are to be served, sprinkle lightly with salt and paprica, lay upon a cold plate that has been rubbed with garlic, and heap a great spoonful of whipped cream upon it. Do not be afraid to try this unusual combination. You will find it delicious. SALADE AU NID. Boil seven eggs for twenty minutes, and when cold remove the yolks and mash them to a paste with an equal quantity of Neuf- chatel cream cheese. Season this with a half teaspoonful of salt, and half as much paprica, or a pinch of cayenne, and make into egg-shaped balls. Line a salad dish with crisp lettuce-leaves, shred the whites of the eggs as fine as possible, and form a nest of these upon the leaves. In this place the egg-balls and mask them with a white mayonnaise. (See Salads.) The salad is improved if the dressing is poured over it about ten minutes before serving. VEAL LOAF. Two pounds of leg or loin veal, chopped very fine; quarter of a pound of salt pork, chopped with the veal ; quarter of a cupful of milk; half a cupful of cracker-crumbs; two eggs; one tea- spoonful of pepper ; two teaspoonfuls of salt ; one teaspoonful of onion-juice ; one teaspoonful of kitchen-bouquet ; quarter of a cupful of butter. Mix all the ingredients but the last together, mould into a loaf, and place in a pan, dot with the butter and sprinkle with flour. 34 530 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK Bake one hour. Remove to a hot dish, thicken the gravy in the pan with a tablespoonful of flour, brown, add half a pint of boiling water, stir until smooth, with one teaspoonful of Worces- tershire sauce, and pour over meat. FRUIT BOUILLON. One quart of tart cherries, or three cupfuls of raspberries and one of currants ; three cupfuls of cold water ; half a cupful of sugar ; one even tablespoonful of corn-starch. Cook the fruit tender, rub through a colander, then through a sieve, add the sugar, return to the fire and thicken with corn- starch wet up in cold water. Cook two minutes after the boil is reached, stirring all the time, and turn into a bowl. You can, if you like, add a glass of claret when it is cold. Serve the bouillon cold in punch-glasses, half-full of cracked ice. STRAWBERRY SAUCE. Add to half a pint of cream, whipped light, half a pint of fresh strawberries, crushed fine and sweetened to taste. Beat all well together. There will be enough for eight persons. It is eateff*with blanc-mange, jelly, and cold farina pudding. THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK S3 1 MENU j£ngltefo Dinner RAW OYSTERS CLEAR SOUP BAKED STURGEON POTATOES X LA PARISIENNE ROAST SWEETBREADS WITH SAUCE SUPREME ROAST SADDLE OF MUTTON BRUSSELS SPROUTS * BOILED TURNIPS JUGGED HARE WITH CURRANT JELLY LETTUCS AND CELERY SALAD WITH MAYONNAISE DRESSING PLUM TART WITH WHIPPEI? CREAM FRUIT AND NUTS COFFEE HORS D'CEUVRES OLIVES. PRESERVED GINGER. DAMSON CHEESE. - 532 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK MENU German Htfnner CAVIARE BARS CLEAR BROWN SOUP WITH NOODLES FLOUNDER FILLETS WITH SAUCE TARTARE LYONNAISE POTATOES BREADED SAUSAGES RICE LOAVES BRAISED BREAST OF VEAL WITH OYSTER SAUCE BEET TOPS STUFFED ONIONS CROQUETTES OF LAMBS' LIVERS WITH SAUCE ALLEMANDE RUSSIAN TOMATO AND SARDINE SALAD JELLY OMELET PEARS AND GRAPES COFFEE HORS D'QEUVRES THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK - 533 MENU ffrencfo dinner JULIENNE PRINTANIERE SALMON WITH SAUCE HOLLANDAISE POMMES DE TERRE SOUFFLES FRENCH CHOPS WITH CEPES A LA BORDELAISE (See *'A Dainty Dish," p. 131) FILET DE BOEUF WITH SAUCE CHATEAUBRIAND FRENCH SPINACH BROILED SQUABS LETTUCE AND ENDIVE SALAD WITH FRENCH DRESSING NESSELRODE PUDDING FRUIT COFFEE MARASCHINO HORS D'OIUVRES OLIVES. STUFFED DATES. RADISHES 534 THE NATIONAL COOK BOOK MENU "(Italian SHnner CREAM OF CELERY SOUP PARMESAN CHEESE, PASSED WITH SOUP OYSTER PAT^S CALF'S HEAD AU GRATIN FRIED POLENTA ROAST TURKEY STUFFED WITH CHESTNUTS STEWED ARTICHOKES RICE AND TOMATO MACARONI DI LUCCA BROILED SNIPES LETTUCE AND CHICORY SALAD WITH FRENCH DRESSING FIG PUDDING WITH BRANDY SAUCE MANDARINS. ORANGES. GRAPES COFFEE HORS D'CEUVRES OLIVES. CANDIED FRUITS. CELERY INDEX Alewives, smoked, 68 Almonds, salted, 6 Ambrosia, 461 Anchovy bars, 3 croutons, 463 strips, 3 Appetizers, 1 Apple compote au gratin, 394 Apple pop-overs, 396, 458 Apples, 396 and bacon, 146 canned, 487 Apricots, brandied, 496 preserved, 494 Artichokes, 278 boiled, 278 fried, 278 Asparagus a la vinaigrette, 257 Asparagus, boiled, 257 pates, 258 scalloped, 257 tips, 258 Aspic, cucumber, 299 jelly, 106, 162 mayonnaise, 296 tomato, 299 Bacon and Eggs, 143 breakfast, fried, 143 on toast, 3 Baking powders, 343 Bananas and cream, 459 and wine, 459 baked, 279 croquettes, 279 fried, 279 Bass, boiled, 55 grilled, 55 Beans a la Lyonnaise, 252 Beans, kidney, 252 Lima, 251 stewed, 251 Beef a la mode, 98 Beef, braised, a la Jardiniere, 96 round of, 96 chipped, 108 corned, 102 and dumplings, 103 pressed, 104 curried roast, 101 fillet, 99 Hamburg steaks, 101 hash cakes, 101 mignon fillets, 99 mince of, and potatoes, 102 mock hare, 107 moulded, 106 rib roast of, 95 roast, with Yorkshire pudding,97 rolled roast of, 96 roulettes, 107 stew, 100 to corn, 103 Beef's heart, stuffed, 108 tongue (fresh), boiled, 105 braised, 105 tongue, jellied, 106 (smoked) boiled, 105 Beefsteak and onions, 100 broiled, 99 Chateaubriand, with mushrooms, 99 pudding, Ruth Pinch s, 100 rolled, braised, 97 Beet greens, 264 tops. 264 Beets (old), boiled, 264 (young), boiled, 263 536 INDEX Beets, graham, 345 Biscuits, tea, 345 whole-wheat, 345 Blackberries, 458 brandied, 497 Blackberry cordial, 476 vinegar, 475 Blanc-mange, chocolate, 441 cocoanut, 447 coffee, 441 cornstarch, with brandied peach- es, 440 narcissus, 442 plain, 439 tapioca, 440 tea, coffee, and chocolate, 441 tutti-frutti, 439 Bloaters, smoked, 68 Bluefish, broiled, 50 fillets, 55 Bouillon, 12 chicken, 16 fruit, 530 Brains (beef's or calf s), scalloped, 122 Brandied fruits, 496 Bread, braided, 339 Boston brown, 338 quick, 339 steamed, 338 corn-, loaf, 347 boiled, 348 graham, 336 home-made, set with sponge, 334 pulled, No. 1, 342 No. 2, 342 whole-wheat, 338 Broccoli, 261 Broths, 18 Brunettes, 5 Brussels SDrouts, 261 Bun-loaf, English, 368 Butter-fish, fried, 60 Cabbage au maftre d'hotel, 260 Cabbage, boiled, 259 creamed, 259 scalloped, 259 with cheese, 260 sprouts, 261 Stockholm, stewed, 260 Cafe au lait, 473 Cake, almond, 363 apple, 363 bun-loaf, English, 368 cocoanut loaf, No. 1, 367 No. 2, 367 cream, 362 chocolate, 365 cup, 359 white, 361 currant, 364 filling, apple, 363 caramel, 366 chocolate, 366 cocoanut, No. 1, 366 No. 2, 367 coffee, 367 cream, 365 chocolate, 365 raspberry, 366 fruit-, Christmas, 368 wedding-, 369 gold, 360 green-and-silver, 361 jelly roll, 368 quick, 363 marbled, 360 nut, 365 orange, 361 orange layer, 362 pink-and-silver, 361 pound, No. 1, 358 No. 2, 359 raisin and citron, 364 seedless raisin, 364 silver, 360 sponge, No. I, 359 No. 2, 359 tea, blueberry, 417 English, 417 huckleberry, 417 -wedding-, fruit, 369 Cakes and cake-making, 357 almond (small), 369 Boston cream, 370 Calf's head au gratin, 117 Calf's head, boiled, 118 fried, 118 timbales of, 118 Candy, chocolate caramels, 481 creams, 481 cream peppermints, 483 INDEX 537 Candy, cream wintergreens, 483 French bon-bons, 482 maple cream, 483 sugar, No. 1, 481 No. 2, 482 nougat, 482 Canned fruits, 484 apples, 487 corn, 488 peaches, 486 pears, 487 plums, 487 tomatoes, 487 and corn, 488 Cantelopes, spiced, 492 Carrots, mashed, 272 saute, 272 stewed, 271 winter, creamed, 272 young, a la Parisienne, 271 creamed,^7i Catfish, fried, 63 stewed, 63 Catsup, apple chutney, 508 butternut, 507 chili sauce, 508 cucumber, 507 grape, 508 mushroom, 507 tomato, 506 walnut, 506 Cauliflower au gratin, 253 Cauliflower, baked, 254 boiled, 253 with tomato sauce, 253 Parisian style, 253 stewed, a la Hollandaise, 254 Caviare bars, 3 Caviare saute, 2 Celery au gratin, 281 Celery, creamed, 280 fried, 281 savory, 280 stewed whole, 280 Chafing-dish, with the, 520 Celery chicken, 524 Celery lobster, 522 oysters, 521 Chicken rechauffe, Lake Forest, 524 Chicken terrapin, 524 Clams saute, 521 Chafing-dish.with the {Continued): — Deviled beef, 523 kidneys, 523 oysters, 520 sardines, 521 Eggs with kidneys, 523 " Hot chicken salad," 524 Hungarian mushrooms, 522 Oysters with anchovy, 521 Savory sausages, 524 Shrimps with anchovy sauce, 522 with tomato sauce, 522 Sweetbreads with asparagus tips, 525 Swiss Welsh rarebit, a, 525 Charlotte Russe, No. 1, 448 No. 2, 448 No. 3, 448 strawberry, 446 Cheese and tongue ramakins, 212 Cheese balls, 213 cottage, 214 cream, home-made, 214 croflstades, 213 deviled crackers and, 212 fingers, 212 Fondu au gratin, 211 ramakins, 212 souffle, 211 straws, 213 Cherries, brandied, 497 pickled, 500 preserved, 495 German mode, 496 spiced, 492 Chestnut roulettes, 291 Chicken and macaroni a la Milanaise, 156 Chicken and oysters, boiled, 152 rice, boiled, 151 mould of, 163 sweetbread croquettes, 164 baked with ham, 156 braised, 154 broiled, 155 cold, 164 casserole of, 159 croquettes, 164 cutlets, 156 deviled, fried, 155 deviled, with oyster sauce, 157 fricassee of, a la reine, 161 538 INDEX Chicken, fricasseed, brown, 153 white, 152 fried, 152 Hungarian, 161 jellied, 162 pates, 165 filling for, 165 pie, 158 English, 158 prairie, roast, 176 pudding, Marseilles boiled, 163 fried, 155 roast, 150 scallop, 164 smothered, 154 timbales, 157 Turkish, with rice, 162 Chocolate, 473 milled, 474 Chowder, clam, No. r, 42 No. 2, 42 and oyster, 43 Bar Harbor, 526 corn, 26 and tomato, 26 fish, No. 1, 43 No. 2, 44 New Jersey, 44 Clam bisque, 39 creamed, 40 Florida, 39 broth, 527 chowder, Bar Harbor, 526 fritters, 76 pie, 76 soup, 38 Clams, baked, 75 creamed, 75 how to open, 74 raw, 2 roast, 74 scalloped, 76 ddviled, 75 Claret cup, 478 Cocoa, 474 nibs, 474 Cod, boiled, 64 steaks, 64 Codfish balls, 68 Codfish, fresh, scalloped, 64 salt, creamed, 67 Coffee, 472 Coffee, after-dinner or black, 473 breakfast, 472 frappe, 457 Cookies, molasses, 373 picnic, 373 Pompton, 372 spice, 372 sugar, 373 Cocktails, oyster, No. I, 2 No. 2, 2 Corn, boiled, 243 canned, 244 fritters, 244 stewed, 243 and tomatoes, 244 Corn-bread, boiled, 348 loaf, 347 Crab bisque, 526 Crabs au gratin, 87 Crabs, deviled, 87 fricassee of, 87 hard, 85 scalloped with mushrooms, 86 soft-shell, broiled, 85 saute, 85 Welsh rarebit, 86 Cream, Bavarian, 439 raspberry, 444 rose, 446 strawberry, French, 444 whipped, 449 Cresslets, 5 Croquettes, chicken, 164 and sweetbread, 164 hominy and meat, 282 plain, 283 lobster, 82 potato, No. 1, 225 No. 2, 225 rice, No. 1, 235 No. 2, 236 and giblets, 236 mushrooms, 236 sweetbreads, 237 Sainton, 58 shad roe, 53 sweetbreads, 121 and brains, 121 sweet potatoes, 229 and chestnut, 230 Crullers and doughnuts, 373 nonpareil, 374 INDEX 539 Crullers, Powhatan, 374 sour cream, 374 Cucumber aspic, 299 Cucumbers, Creamed, 267 deviled, 266 fried, 266 in batter, 266 scalloped, No. 1, 267 No. 2, 267 stewed, 265 stuffed, 265 Currants, frosted, 459 spiced, 492 Custard, chocolate, 437 strawberry, 437 Custards, arrow-root, 438 baked, 437 boiled, 436 general rules for, 436 orange, 438 tapioca, 440 Dandelion Greens, 264 Dates, stuffed, 483 Doughnuts, New England, 375 quick, 375 Duck and green pease, ragout of, 173 Duck, braised, 171 salmi of, 172 Ducklings, roast, 172 Ducks, redhead or canvasback, broiled, 176 roasted, 176 roast, 171 stewed, 171 Dumplings, apple, 385 baked, 387 blackberry, 387 cherry, 385 baked, 387 farmers', 386 peach, 385 and rice, 386 canned, 387 rice and apple, 385 strawberry, 384 Easter Eggs (sweet), 442 Eclairs, 370 Eels, fried, 66 stewed, 66 Egg and chicken timbales, 199 and tongue pate's, 198 baskets, 197 cups and anchovies, 197 and sardines, 197 cups and tongue, 198 with tomatoes, 197 flummery, 199 nogg, 479 plant, broiled, 270 farcie, 528 fried, No. 1, 269 No. 2, 269 stuffed, 270 Eggs a la creme, 191 a la Lyonnaise, 191 k la Milanaise, 193 and asparagus, 206 bacon, 195 barbecued ham, 196 mushrooms, 196 rice, 200 tomatoes, 195 boiled, 188 breaded, 196 buttered, 194 creamed, poached, 190 scrambled, 193 curried, 192 deviled, 192, 523 dropped, 190 Dundee, 527 Easter (sweet), 442 fancy dishes of, 197 fried, No. 1, 195 No. 2, 195 jonquil, 193 Neapolitan, 196 poached, 190 in consomme, igi powdered, 192 savory, igi scrambled, 193 with shad roes, 194 shirred, 189 steamed, 189 stirred, 194 stuffed, 201 and baked, 201 cold, 201 Swedish dish of, 194 timbales, 199 54Q INDEX Familiar Talks : ^ A Woman's Luncheon, 291 A Word About Pots and Pans, 173 An Inexpensive Luncheon, 206 Bread, 329 Children's Diet, 510 Dust, Dusting, and Dusters, 418 Kitchen Physic, 183 Something About Sauces, 313 Tea, Tea - making, and Tea- drinking, 214 The Dignity of Economy, 45 The " Quick " Luncheon, 354 Wholesale or Retail ? 399 Wrinkles for Housekeepers, 90 Finnan haddie, 68 Fish cutlets, 60 fillets, 60 saute, 60 scalloped, 61 steaks, 60 Flapjacks, Indian meal, 352 Floating Island, plain, 438 strawberry, 438 Flounder fillets, 59 Flounders, broiled, 50 Flour, whole-wheat, 337 Flummery, raspberry, 444 French dressing for salads, 297 Fritter batter, No. 1 , 409 No. 2, 409 No. 3, 410 Fritters, apple, 411 banana, 412 bread, 413 clam, 76 corn, 244 cream, 411 custard, 410 jelly cake, 412 nut, 411 orange, 4r2 peach, 410 potato, 228, 413 rusk, 412 squash, 269 strawberry, 414 Swiss, 413 Frogs' legs, fried, 89 stewed, 90 Gems, gluten, 347 graham, 345 rice, 347 Gingerbread, eggless, No. I, 376 No. 2, 376 loaf, 376 raisin, 376 sugar, 375 Gingersnaps, No. 1, 372 No. 2, 372 Golden Buck, No. 1, 210 No. 2, 211 No. 3, 211 Goose, braised, 170 German ragout of, 170 roast, 169 Grape-fruit, 8 Grapes, 9 spiced, 492 Grayling, 62 Griddle-cakes, 350 bread-and-milk, 352 buckwheat, 351 flannel, No. 1, 351 No. 2, 351 without eggs, 351 hominy, 352 rice, 352 Grisini, 340 Grouse, broiled (larded), 177 roast, 176 salmi of, 177 Haddie, finnan, 68 Halibut, baked, 55 loaf, 64 steaks a la Jardiniere, 56 boiled au gratin, 56 broiled, 56 Ham and eggs, 142 broiled, 143 Sunnybank, 141 and potato balls, 143 baked, 140 barbecued, 142 boiled, 139 breaded, 139 saute, 142 broiled, 141 fried, 142 pates, 144 smothered, 141 INDEX 541 Ham, stuffed, 140 Hare, jugged, 181 mock, 107 Hare, roast, 181 Hen's nest, a, 201 Herrings, smoked, 68 Hominy, 281 and meat croquettes, 282 baked (small), 282 boiled (large), 282 browned (large), 282 croquettes (plain), 283 fried, 283 Ice, cherry, 456 coffee frappe, 457 Ice-cream, banana, 454 brown-bread, 454 chocolate, 452 coffee, 452 currant and raspberry, 456 Delmonico, 451 frozen pudding, 453 fruit, with fruit frozen in, 453 ginger, 457 lemon, 453 mousse, raspberry, 456 strawberry, 455 Nesselrode pudding, 454 self-freezing, 452 tutti-frutti, 453 Ice, currant, 455 and raspberry, 455 fruit surprise, 454 ginger, 457 lemon or sherbet, 455 orange, 455 raspberry, 457 Roman punch, 456 strawberry, 456 Icing, boiled or fondant, 377 chocolate, 377 plain, 377 Irish stew, 131 Jam, blackberry, 490 damson, 491 gooseberry, 490 raspberry, 490 strawberry, 490 Jelly, apple, 490 blackberry, 489 Jelly, cider, 450 j claret, 450 crab-apple, 489 currant, 489 grape, 489 lemon, 450 orange, French, 446 peach, 490 quince, 490 strawberries in, 445 strawberry, 489 wine, 450 Julep, ginger-ale, 478 mint, 478 Jumbles, No. 1, 371 No. 2, 371 Kidneys, deviled, 135 stewed with wine, 134 stuffed, 136 toasted, 135 with bacon, 135 Kohl-Rabi, 261 Lady-fingers, 371 Lamb and mutton, 126 " Lamb, barbecued, 133 braised breast of, 127 chops, 128 a dainty dish, 131 k la Milanaise, 132 breaded, 128 creamed, 129 leg of, roast, 126 minced balls of, 133 shoulder of, roast, 127 stewed, and green pease, 130 Lard, apropos to, 146 Lemonade, 475 Lettuce, boiled, 268 steamed, 268 Liver, calf's, a la Jardiniere, 122 a la mode, 125 and bacon, 123 braised, 125 pSte, 124 saute, 124 stewed, 123 stuffed, 124 pigs, and bacon, 145 Lobster a la brochette, 83 a la Newburg, No. 1, 82 542 INDEX Lobster a la Newburg, No. 2, 83 No. 3, 83 and mushroom fricassee, 82 and oyster ragout, 80 broiled, 78 buttered, 79 chops, 80 creamed, 80 croquettes, 82 curried, 81 deviled, 81 farcied, 79 fried, 84 gumbo, 84 Lobsters, how to open, 77 Macaroni and Ham, 241 and tomato, baked, 241 au gratin, 239 di Lucca, 240 Spanish style, 240 stewed, a la Turque, 242 Macaroons, 370 cocoanut, 371 Mackerel, fresh, broiled, 50 salt, boiled, 66 broiled, 66 with tomato sauce, 67 Marmalade, apricot, 491 orange, 491 peach, 491 Mayonnaise, aspic, 296 dressing, 295 green, red, white, 296 Meats, 94 Melons, 458 Milk shake, 479 Muffins, buttermilk, 348 corn-meal, 348 hominy, 349 minute, 349 mush, 348 Mushroom cups, 288 Mushrooms, 284 and bacon, broiled, 287 fried, 288 scrambled eggs, 290 shirred eggs, 290 au gratin, 289 aux fines herbes, 290 baked (plain), 288 broiled, No. 1, 286 Mushrooms, broiled, No. 2, 287 No. 3, 465 creamed, 289 fried, 287 au maftre d'hotel, 287 scalloped, 289 stewed in wine, 289 Mutton and rice, mould of, 133 Mutton, boiled, 129 chops, 128 braised, 132 stuffed, 128 game, 129 leg of, stuffed, 127 shoulder of, boned, 130 Nursery Table, The, 513 Bread, corn-, 515 graham, 515 Brewis, graham, 516 Celery, stewed, 519 Crackers, toasted, 516 Hominy boiled in milk, 514 Macaroni, stewed, 519 Mush, 514 Oatmeal porridge, 514 Oyster plant, stewed, 519 Panada, 517 Potato puff, 517 Potato, scalloped, 517 Potatoes, stewed, 517 whole. 518 stuffed, 517 sweet, buttered, 518 puff, 518 scalloped, 518 Porridge, oatmeal, 514 rice, 515 Pudding, hasty, 514 Rice and tomato, 519 Rice porridge, 515 Toast, milk, 516 Tomatoes, scalloped, 518 Olive and Caper Bars, 6 Olives, stuffed, 465 Omelet and shad roes, 205 Omelet, apple, 435 asparagus, 205 aux confitures, 434 fines herbes, 204 cheese, 205 INDEX 543 Omelet, clam, 204 corn, 205 frothed, 202 jelly, 435 mushroom, 204 plain, 202 sausage, 203 souffle, baked, 434 fried, 434 Spanish, 206 tomato, No. 1, 203 No. 2, 203 with green pease, 203 smoked beef, 203 Onions, baked, 263 Bermuda, stuffed, 263 boiled, 262 young, stewed, 262 Orangeade, 475 Oranges, 9, 458 Oyster cocktails, No. 1, 2 No. 2, 2 pates, 72 pie, 72 Oysters, broiled, No. I, 70 No. 2, 70 creamed, 69 curried, 72 fried, 70 a la brochette, 73 au supreme, 70 panned, No. 1, 69 No. 2, 70 raw, 2 roast, a la^brochette, 73 roasted, 69 scalloped, 71 au supreme, 71 Pancakes, green pea, 251 queen's, 413 Panfish, fried, 60 Parsnip cakes, 275 Parsnips, buttered, 275 creamed, 276 fried, 275 Partridges, roast, 178 Pastry, 424 Peaches, 458 and cream, 459 brandied, 496 Peanuts, salted, 7 Pears, 458 and cream, 459 Pease, black-eyed, 252 canned, 250 green, 250 plain puree of, 251 puree of, 250 Pepper baskets, 274 Pepper mangoes, 504 Peppers, green, au gratin, 273 sweet, fried, 273 stuffed, 273 Perch, fried, 60 Pickerel, creamed, 63 fried, 63 Pickles (sour), 498 butternuts, 503 cabbage, 501 cauliflower, 500 cherries, 500 chow-chow (English), 501 (Southern), 502 cucumbers, sliced, 4gg small, 498 mangoes, 503 pepper, 504 mixed, 465 onions, 499 picklette, 500 soy, green tomato, 502 string-beans, 499 walnuts, 503 Pickles (sweet), 504 peaches (peeled), 504 (unpeeled), 504 pears (peeled), 505 (unpeeled), 505 plums, 505 watermelon rind, 505 Pie, amber lemon, 432 apple, No. 1, 426 No. 2, 426 cream, 426 custard, 427 meringue, 427 cherry, No. 1, 429 No. 2, 429 cocoanut, 431 custard, 431 custard, 431 gooseberry (ripe), 430 how to make a, 424 544 INDEX Fie, lemon, No. I, 431 No. 2, 432 amber or ' ' transparent, ''432 mince, 425 orange, 431 peach and almond, 427 cobbler, 428 meringue, 427 open, 428 whole, 427 with whipped cream, 428 pumpkin, 425 rhubarb, 430 rice-and-raisin, 426 1 strawberry, 429 Pigeon pie, 179 Pigeons, braised with mushrooms,i7g curried, 180 jugged, English, 179 mock, 115 roast (wild), 178 Pigs' feet, boiled, 144 breaded, 145 Pineapple and wine, 460 in the shell, 460 Polenta, 283 savory, a l'ltalienne, 284 Pommes de terre souffles, 226 Pop-overs, 395 apple, 396 Pork, 136 and beans, 146 chops, 137 pie, Yorkshire, 139 pot-pie, 138 roast, 137 spare-rib, 138 steaks, 138 tenderloin, 138 Potato, casserole of, 224 croquettes, No. 1, 225 No. 2, 225 dice, baked, 227 fritters, 228 moulded, 224 omelet, 227 scones, 223 souffle, 226 turnovers, 223 Potatoes a. la crime, 225 Potatoes, baked, stuffed, 227 Swedish, 227 Potatoes, baked, whole, 227 boiled, au naturel, 222 fried, 225 Lyonnaise, 224 mashed, 222 moulded, mashed, 223 new, 223 Saratoga, 226 stewed whole, 223 sweet, 228 au gratin, 229 baked, 228 boiled, 228 creamed, 229 croquettes, 229 and chestnut, 230 puff, 229 saute, 229 Poultry, 149 Pousse-cife, = Virginia, 464 Preserved cherries, 495 German mode, 496 peaches, 493 pears, 494 pineapple, 495 plums, 494 quinces, 494 strawberries, 496 water-melon, 495 Pudding, apple, 380 and tapioca, 392 compote au gratin, 394 arrow-root, 439 blackberry, baked, 388 raised, 384 bread, 389 and jam, No. 1, 390 No. 2, 390 brown betty, steamed, 381 cabinet, steamed, 382 cherry, 383 and currant, 383 chocolate souffle, 395 cottage, 393 date, 380 English biscuit, 391 fruit, 381 potato, 382 farina souffle, 391 fig, 380 frozen, 453 huckleberry, baked, 386 INDEX 545 Pudding, Indian, 389 steamed, 380 La Regina, 397 lemon, 396 boiled, 384 macaroni, 388 souffle, 397 orange, 394, 396 roly-poly, 381 peach, 380 batter, 388 pineapple, 395 plum, 378 quick, 379 steamed, 379 prune souffle, No. I, 394 No. 2, 394 queen of puddings, 399 raspberry, 383 rhubarb, 398 and tapioca, 398 rice-and-raisin, 393 rice-custard, No. 1, 393 No. 2, 393 plain, 392 sago, 392 snow, 447 strawberry, 382 sweet potato, 389 tapioca, 391 vermicelli, 398 souffle, 398 Victoria, 449 Puff-paste, a good, 424 Quails, broiled, 178 roast, 177 Rabbits, Bordeaux, stewed, 180 roast, 181 Raspberry flummery, 444 royal, 476 vinegar, 475 Rice and giblet pudding, 238 sausage, 239 tomato, 234 boiled, 232 broiled, 234 buttered, 235 casserole of, 239 cheese and, 232 Swiss, 235 Rice croquettes, No. 1, 235 No. 2, 236 and giblet, 236 mushroom, 236 sweetbread, 237 curry, baked, 233 fried, 235 loaves, 233 pilau. No. 1, 238 No. 2, 238 saute, 234 savory, a la Milanaise, 232 mould of, 237 ■with tomato sauce, 233 Rolls, breakfast, 341 crescent, or horseshoe, 339 finger, 340 Mary Hill's, 528 grisini, 340 tea, No. 1, 340 No. 2, 341 Vienna, 340 Roux, brown, 21 white, 20 and brown, to keep, 316 Rusk, 346 Salad, asparagus, 305 au nid, 529 beet, stuffed, 300 cabbage, 305 cauliflower, 305 celery, 304 and apple, 304 radish, 304 tomato jelly, 304 chestnut, 312 and walnut, 312 chicken, 310 chicory, 300 crab, 308 soft-shell, 308 cream tomato, 529 cress, 300 cucumber, 301 stuffed, 301 dandelion, 300 and beet, 300 dressing, boiled, No. 1, 298 No. 2 (with whipped cream), 298 No. 3, 298 546 INDEX Salad dressing, boiled, No. 4, 299 French, 297 mayonnaise, 295 egg, No. 1, 306 No. 2, 306 endive, 300 fish, a l'Espagnol, 309 French, 309 plain, 309 fruit, French, 312 grape-fruit, 311 green pease, 301 lettuce, 299 and cucumber, 302 tomato, 302 romaine, 300 lobster, 307 a l'Allemande, 308 a la Kusse, 308 en casserole, 308 macedoine, 301 melon, 311 orange, 311 oyster, 307 potato, 304 pot-cheese, No. I, 306 No. 2, 306 salmon and cucumber, 310 sardine, 309 shrimp, 307 string-bean, 301 sweetbread, 310 and celery, 311 tomato and lettuce, 302 tomato baskets with celery, 303 with chicken, 303 cucumbers, 303 green pease, 302 shrimps, 303 sweetbreads, 303 tomato cream, 529 Russian and sardine, 302 vegetable, 301 walnut, 311 and apple, 311 Salads, 294 Sally Lunn, 342 Salmon, boiled, 57 au court bouillon, 57 chops, 59 croquettes, 58 loaf, 61 Salmon pudding, 62 rechauffe, 57 smoked, 3, 67 quick relish of, 67 steaks, 57 canned, 58 trout, creamed, 62 Salsify, fried, 274 fritters, 274 saute, 275 stewed, 274 Sand tarts, 371 Sandwiches, beef, 470 celery, 469 cheese-and-lettuce, 467 chicken,. 4, 466 and almond, 4 and ham, 466 cream-cheese, 469 cress, 469 egg, 467 and anchovy, 467 deviled, 5 French, 468 ham, 466 lettuce, 5, 469 lobster mayonnaise, 467 mayonnaise, 468 mutton, 471 nasturtium, 6 peanut, 6 piquant, 469 raisin, 470 roll, 466 sardine, 467 and olive, 4 sausage, 470 savory, 468 supper-cheese, 471 tongue, 468 tutti-frutti, 470 walnut-and-cheese, 470 Sardine canapes, 464 Sardines au gratin, 68 Sardines, broiled, 527 grilled, 4 Sauce (pudding), 403 banana fritters, 412 brandied peach, 406 brandy, 404 hard, 407 cream, 403 INDEX 547 Sauce, custard, 405 egg, 405 fruit-juice, 405 puree of, 407 hard brandy, 407 pink, 407 ruby, 407 white, 407 jelly, 405 lemon souffle, 404 milk-pudding, 403 plum-pudding, 379 sherry, 404 souffle (cold), 404 strawberry, No. 1, 406 No. 2, 406 No. 3, 530 tart claret, 406 tutti-frutti, 408 vanilla, 403 Sauces (savory), 313 Allemande, 318 anchovy egg, 319 Bearnaise, 325 Bechamel, No. I (for fish), 318 No. 2 (for meat), 318 Bordelaise, 324 bread, 324 brown or Spanish, 316 butter, 317 tartare, 317 caper, 323 celery, 323 Chateaubriand, 324 Chaudfroid, 326 chestnut, 323 clam, 320 cranberry, No. 1, 325 No. 2, 325 No. 3, 325 ■cream, 316 cucumber, No. 1, 321 No. 2, 321 No. 3, 321 currant jelly, 326 curry egg, 319 egg, 319 anchovy, 319 curry, 319 Hollandaise, 317 green, 317 horseradish, 323 Sauces (savory) (Continued') : — lobster, No. 1, 320 No. 2, 320 No. 3, 321 " made mustard," 327 maitre d'hotel, 323 mint, 322 mushroom, 324 onion, 323 oyster, No. I, 320 No. 2, 320 Robert, 326 sorrel, 322 soubise, 323 Spanish, 316 supreme, 318 tartare, 326 tomato, No. 1, 321 No. 2, 322 veloute, 326 white, 315 Sausages, 145 breaded, 145 Sauterne cup, 479 Savories, 462 Savory, a Chicago, 464 an English, 464 Scallops, creamed, 77 fried, No. 1, 77 No. 2, 77 Scones, Scotch, 346 Sunnybank, 346 Scotch tid-bit, a, 464 Scotch woodcock, 464 Sea kale, 261 Shad, baked au court bouillon, 50 boiled au court bouillon, 51 with egg sauce, 51 broiled, 50 fried, 52 planked, 52 roes, 52 broiled, 53 Croquettes of, 53 scalloped, 54 stuffed, $4 Shaddocks, 8 Sherbet, Lamed tea, 477 orange, 477 pineapple, 476 strawberry, 476 Sherry cobbler, 478 543 INDEX Shortcake, black raspberry, 416 breakfast berry, 350 currant, 416 orange, 416 our grandmothers', 349 strawberry, No. 1, 415 strawberry, No. 2, 415 No. 3, 415 Shrimps, coquilles of, a la Torquay, 88 creamed, 89 curried, 89 deviled, 6, 88 stewed, 88 Slaw, hot, 261 Smelts, broiled, 60 fried, 60 Snipe, 180 Soup a la Russe, 13 Soup, amber, 12 another Lenten broth, 25 asparagus, cream of, 30 beet, cream of, 31 brown consomme, 17 calf's head, or mock turtle, 35 cauliflower broth, 25 celery consomme royale, 14 cream of, 28 clam, 38 and oyster chowder, 43 bisque, 39 creamed, 40 Florida, 39 broth, 527 chowder, No. 1, 42 No. 2, 42 Bar Harbor, 526 clear brown, 13 celery, 16 tapioca, 15 with croutons, 16 with green pease, i& chicken and corn broth, 27 bisque, 24 bouillon, 16 broth, 20 consomme, 16 consomme, brown, 17 chicken, 16 corn and tomato chowder, 26 chowder, 26 cream of, 32 Soup, crab bisque, 526 Martha Washington, 41 cream of asparagus, 30 beet, 31 celery, 28 of corn, 32 green pea (Swedish), 30 lettuce, 29 Lima bean, 31 onion, 29 oyster, 38 sorrel, 29 spinach, 31 tomato, 30 turnip, 29 eel, 42 English barley broth, 21 fish bisque, 40 chowder, No. 1, 43 No. 2, 44 giblet, 36 green pea and tomato puree, 34 cream of, 30 Gumbo, No. 1, 35 No. 2, 36 Highlander's delight, 27 Julienne, 14 print an iere, 14 lettuce, cream of, 29 Lima bean, cream of, 31 liver, 36 lobster bisque, 39 mock turtle, 35 beans, puree of, 33 New Jersey broth, 22 chowder, 44 onion, cream of, 29 ox-tail, 34 oyster bisque, 38 a la reine, 39 cream of, 38 potato puree, 32 browned, 32 rabbit, or " old hare," 37 rice and curry puree, 34 salmon bisque, 40 Scotch broth, 20 sorrel, cream of, 29 spaghetti, 15 spinach, cream of, 31 split pea, puree of, 33 sweetbread, 13 INDEX 549 Soup, tomato and rice broth, 23 cream of, 30 turnip, cream of, 29 veal and sago broth, 23 vegetable, 24 vermicelli, 15 Virginia game broth, 28 white veal broth, 22 Soups, 10 clear stock for, 12 Spaghetti and mushroom timbales, 243 sweetbread timbales, 242 plain, 240 Spinach a la Geneve, 256 -Spinach, boiled plain, 256 French, 255 German, 254 in a mould, 255 souffle, 255 Sprats, smoked, 4 Squabs, broiled, 179 Squash, baked, 269 boiled, 268 fritters, 269 Strawberries, 458 and claret, 459 in ambush, 457 jelly, 445 Strawberry Charlotte, 446 foam, 445 French cream, 444 sponge, 445 Sturgeon, baked, 65 steaks, 65 Succotash, 244 Sunny bits, 463 Sweetbread croquettes, 121 Sweetbreads a la poulette, 120 Sweetbreads and brains, croquettes of, 121 braised, 120 broiled, 119 fried, 120 roasted, 119 stewed, 119 Taktines, savory, 463 sweet pepper and cheese, 463 Tartlets, lemon, 43a Tarts, apricot, 429 cranberry, 429 currant, 430 Tarts, gooseberry (green), 430 lemon (Christmas), 432 plum and cream, 428 rhubarb, 430 Tea, cambric, 475 making, 214 sherbet. Lamed, 477 Terrapin, imitation, 121 Philadelphia, 74 stewed, 73 Tipsy parson, 448 Toast, baked, 353 egg, 200 tomato, 354 Tomato aspic, 299 Tomato paste, 506 Tomatoes au gratin, 245 Tomatoes, baked, No. 1, 246 No. 2, 247 broiled, with sauce, 245 Calcutta, curry of, 248 creamed, 247 curried, 248 deviled, 249 f East Indian ragout of, 249 fried in batter, 249 gree.n, 528 plain, 249 scalloped, No. I, 246 No. 2, 246 spiced, 492 stewed, 245 stuffed, No. 1, 247 No. 2, 248 with sauce piquante, 248 Trifle, gooseberry, 443 hedgehog, 448 orange, 447 peach, No. 1, 443 No. 2, 449 raspberry, 443 sponge-cake, 443 tipsy parson, 448 Tripe, stewed, 104 Tropical snow, 460 Trout, brook, 62 Turkey and sausage scallop, 167 boned, 168 chestnut stuffing for, 165 Florentine roast, 165 galantine of, 167 hashed, 168 55o INDEX Turkey, oyster stuffing for, 166 scalloped, 166 second day, 166 Turnips and carrots 4 la Paris- ienne, 277 Turnips, mashed, 277 puree of, 277 young, 276 fried, 277 stewed, 276 Veal, 109 and ham pates, 114 and ham pie, 113 and mushroom scallop, 114 braised breast of, no chops or cutlets, in " company dish " of, 114 eggs in nest, a la Turin, 116 fillet of, roast, no stewed, 112 knuckle of, stewed with dump- lings, 112 loaf, 115, .529 loin of, roast, no mock pigeons, 115 Veal, pressed, or galantine, 116 scalloped, 113 shoulder, roast, in souffle, 117 steaks, in Venison pasty, 182 roast, 182 steak, 182 Vinegar celery, 509 Vinegar, mint, 508 onion, 509 tarragon, 509 Waffles, minute, 353 rice, 353 risen, 353 Welsh rarebit, No. 1, 209 No. 2, 210 No. 3, 210 No. 4, 210 Wild cherry bounce, 480 Woodcock, 180 Yeast, 333 hop, 333 ■m nnT | f a f ^ . 1 rT TT |. m U ■.•.. »« ■ «■ » ft h hiibu m U t"*""wjn £ IfUmrtri Mi B *iJ»K.HiiB ft UiilifUMlK ; n uiiimmw • uuuinwi-t s WJWHtffiH H (mSSHEM n.WWWBi'WWIW'.SPWWfl noa«»»a»j llll l l il i n il "ii i n nn mi -1 ainmaua e t«m»tWB *«o«m» a «*«w»w « btttttma u Hawated