'LIBRARY 01 CONGRESS, # Uh. i •y^ opHtigltt .:ML M52>. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ol ERRATA. Page 60 — Cup Measure Douphmits. middio of the first line, add one cup and a half of s uga r. Page 62 — Pastiy, first line, omit ei- 0/ a pound . THE HOME MESSENGER BOOK OF Tested Receipts, RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE FRIENDS AND PATRONS OF THE DETROIT HOME OF THE FRIENDLESS, BY THE COMPILERS, M. B. D/^AND I. G. D. S. P R ICE, $1.2 5 . N,v.^^; The Profits of this Volume are devoted to the tieeds of the Home of the Friendless. While Using tliis Bool<, Hang it up by the Loop, and Hold it Open with two Clothes-Pins, PUBLISHED BY . E. B. SMITH & CO., Detroit. 1S73. ^ Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by E. B. SMITH & CO. For the Home of the Friendless, Detroit, Mich., In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PRINTED BY THE TR'.BUNE PRINTING COMPANT. Detroit, 1873. SUMMARY OF CONTENTS. Soups, Beef and Game, Vegetables, .... Bread, Biscuit and Y^^ast, Tea and Breakfast Cakes, Breakfast and Tea Relishes, Cake, ..... Cookies and Ginger Cakes, Doughnuts and Crullers, Pies, ..... Puddings, .... Creams, Meringues and Charlottes, Ice Creams and Water Ices, Salads, ..... Pickles and Catsups, Preserves and Jellies, . . . . To Cure Beef, Tongues, Hams and Fish, To Banish Vermin, . . . . . Washing and Cleaning Receipts, . Receipts for the Sick, . . . . Ointments, Salves, Liniments, Sec, Miscellaneous, ...... Bills of Fare, PAGE 5 i8 22 27 32 37 42 56 60 62 67 80 82 89 91 98 103 105 108 "3 121 J 24 PREFACE. Of the making of books there is no end, and of the making of Cook Books we trust there never will be, as long as each successive volume records an advance in gastronomic art and science. Every American woman of medium ability edits a receipt book. Our library shelves are full of these productions. Miss Leslie, Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Cornelius, Miss Beecher, Marion Harland, and scores of others, have contributed their mite, or might. Monsieur Blot rushed into the arena with the laudable intention of reforming, reconstructing and remodelling American taste. The present volume is an unambitious compilation of receipts gathered from hundreds of private sources, and published during the past five years in the Home Messenger, the organ of the Detroit Home of the Friendless, and the Thompson Home for Old Ladies. They have been tried, tested, criticised and reformed, until in a plain and practical way we consider them faultless. No cookery book alone will make a good cook. Judgment in baking, boiling, stewing, frying and compounding is only to be attained by experience ; but the acquisition of that experience may be greatly expedited by such instructions as are to be found herein. Here are receipts that will enable any lady to get up for her own family, or ceremonious guests, a delightful breakfast, lunch, dinner, lea, tea-company, or large evening entertainment. We have endeavored to make them so explicit, that a lady can follow them herself, or stand by her cook, and see that she follows them. One word on the subject of instructing cooks ; " Do you understand how to make muffins, Bridget?" " I do that, mum. I makes illegant muffins ; they 're just as loight, as loight," etc. IV PREFACE. True enough, they are as "loight, as loight," for she poisons them with baking powder, and they taste like saw-dust and over- effervesced soda water. Therefore stand by her ; see that she puts in first, flour; second, salt ; third, milk and eggs beaten together; fourth, yeast ; fifth, butter, and then make sure they set in a warm place over night. In this book will be found some of the most distinguished receipts, whose secrecy has been guarded with great care; a rare one for Biscuit Glace, others for Water Ices, Creams, Chicken and Lobster Salad, and very many fresh and new receipts for Sweet Cakes ; at the end of the volume a few bills of fare for the various seasons, or different styles of entertainment. Detroit, October, 1873. GENERAL HINTS FOR MAKING SOUPS. GENERAL HINTS FOR MAKING SOUPS. It is not easy to see why soups are held in so little favor by Americans generally, while with almost all other people they form an important article of food. The French, from the richest to the poorest, have their '''' Pot au feu^^^ which literally would be " pot to the fire," but it is the name used to designate the universal soup. The directions for this vary. We give one of the most economical. Put in a pot which is kept for this purpose alone, 4^ quarts of cold water, and 3 lbs. of rump beef, with what remains of poultry or cooked meat that may be at hand. Put upon the fire until it boils, and then place where it will simmer gently, removing the scum as it rises ; add carrots, two turnips, two leeks or small onions, a head of celery, and three or four cloves. The whole story is meat and vegetables simmered slowly together, and it may be varied in many ways by using different vegetables. The meat and vegetables are removed and the clear soup served, after which the meat and vegetables are served plain, or the meat is dressed with tomato or other sauce. Sometimes a tough fowl is put into the soup pot and cooked until tender, and then put into the oven and browned; the broth thus made serves for a variety of soups ; with vermicelli, macaroni, rice or barley, it gives soups those names. By using a variety of vegetables cut fine it makes vegetable soup. Roast an onion until it is thoroughly brown and boil in the broth and you have brown soup. A soup may be varied in many ways, sometimes by slicing hard boiled eggs into it, after dishing; again a slice of bread, fried to a brown crisp in butter, cut in small bits and dropped into the soup when it is ready for the table, imparts a savory relish.. 6 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Perfect Mock Turtle Soup. Endeavor to have the head and the broth ready for the soup, the day before it is to be eaten. It will take eight hours to prepare it properly. hours. Cleaning and soaking the head i To paTboil it to cut up i Cooling, nearly i Making the broth and finishing the soup 5 8 Get a calf s head with the skin on (the fresher the bet- ter) ; take out the brains, wash the head several times in cold water, let it soak for about an hour in spring water, then lay it in a stewpan, and cover it with cold water, and half a gallon over; as it becomes warm, a great deal of scum will rise, which must be immediately removed ; let it boil gendy for one hour, take it up, and when almost cold, cut the head into pieces about an inch and a half by an inch and a quarter, and the tongue into mouthfuls, or rather make a side dish of the tongue and brains. When the head is taken out, put in the stock meat, about five pounds of knuckle of veal, and as much beef; add to the stock all the trimmings and bones of the head, skim it well, and then cover it close, and let it boil five hcurs (reserve a couple of quarts of this to make gravy sauces); then strain it off and let it stand till the next morning ; then take off the fat, set a large stewpan on the fire with half a pound of good fresh butter, twelve ounces of onions sliced, and four ounces of green sage ; chop it a little; let these fry one hour; then rub in half a pound of flour, and by degrees add your broth till it is the thickness of cream ; season it with a quarter of an ounce of ground allspice and half an ounce of black pepper ground very fine, salt to your taste, and the rind of one lemon peeled very thin; let it simmer very gently for one hour and a PERFECT MOCK TURTLE SOUP. 7 half, then strain it through a hair sieve ; do not rub your soup to get it through the sieve, or it will make it grouty ; if it does not run through easily kiiock your wooden spoon against the side of your sieve; put it :n a clean stewpan with the head, and season it by adding to each gallon of soup half a pint of wine; this should be Madeira, or, if you wish to darken the color of your soup, claret, and two table-spoonfuls of lemon-juice; let it simmer gently tiU the meat is tender ; this may take from half an hour to an hour ; take care it is not over-done ; stir it frequently to prevent the meat sticking to the bottom of the stewpan, and when the meat is quite tender the soup is ready. A head weighing twenty pounds, and ten pounds of stock meat, will make ten quarts of excellent soup, besides the two quarts of stock you have put by for made dishes. Obs. — If there is more meat on the head than you wish to put in the soup, prepare it for a pie, and, with the addition of a calf's foot boiled tender, it will make an ex- cellent ragout pie; season it with zest, and a little minced onion, put in half a teacupful of stock, cover it with puff paste, and bake it one hour ; when the soup comes from table, if there is a deal of meat and no soup, put it into a pie-dish, season it a little, and add some little stock to it ; then cover it with paste, bake it one hour, and you have a good mock turtle pie. To season it, to each gallon of soup put two table-spoon- fuls of lemon-juice, same of mushroom catsup, and one of essence of anchovy, half a pint of wine (this should be Madeira, or, if you wish to darken the color of your soup^ claret), a tea-spoonful of curry powder, or 'a quarter of a drachm of cayenne, and the peel of a lemon pared as thin as possible, let it simmer for five minutes more, take out the lemon-peel, and the soup is ready for the tureen. While the soup is doing, prepare for each tureen a dozen and a half of mock turtle forcemeat balls, and put them into the tureen. Brain balls, or cakes, are a very elegant 8 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. addition, and are made by boiling the brains for ten min- utes, then putting them in cold water, and cutting them into pieces about as big as a large nutmeg ; take savory or lemon thyme dried and finely powdered, nutmeg grated, and pepper and salt, and pound them all together; beat up an egg, dip the brains in it, and then roll them in this mix- ture, and make as much of it as possible stick to them ; dip them in the egg again, and then in finely-grated and sifted bread crumbs; fry them in hot fat, and send them up as a side dish. A veal sweetbread, not too much done or it will break, cut into pieces the same size as you cut the calf's head, and put in the soup, just to get warm before it goes to table, is a superb " bonne bouche ; " and pickled tongue, stewed till very tender, and cut into mouthfuls, is a favorite addition. We order the meat to be cut into mouthfuls, that it may be eaten with a spoon ; the knife and fork have no business in a soup-plate. N. B. — In helping this soup, the distributer of it should serve out the meat, force-meat and gravy, in equal parts; however trifling or needless this remark may appear, the writer has often suffered from the want of such a hint being given to the soup-server, who has sometimes sent a plate of mere gravy without meat, at others, of meat with- out gravy, and sometimes scarcely anything but force- meat balls. Obs. — This is a delicious soup, within the reach of those who " eat to live ;" but if it had been composed expressly for those who only " live to eat," I do not know how it could have been made more agreeable; as it is, the lover of good eating will " wish his throat a mile long, and every inch of it palate," BROWNING FOR SOUPS. — CORN SOUP. 9 Browning for Soups. Many of the nicest soups owe their attractive appear- ance to burnt sugar, which is prepared as follows : Put three tablespoonfuls of brown sugar and an ounce of but- ter in a small frying pan and set over the fire ; stir con- tinually until it is of a bright brown color, add half a pint of water, boil and skim, and when cold, bottle for use. Add to soups at discretion. Corn Soup. Boil a leg of mutton or shank of beef in six quarts of water for four hours. After the meat and fat have been removed (it is better to stand over one day to cool, so that the grease may all be taken off), add a quart or more of sweet corn nicely cut from the cob, and boil twenty or thirty minutes. In cutting the corn (with a sharp knife) take off only the point of the kernels, and scrape the milk and pulp, thus avoiding the hull or skin, which is indigestible and unpalatable. Just before serv- ing, add to the soup a coffee cup of cream, with two table- spoonfuls of flour stirred smoothly in and boil for a minute. This can be made in winter by using the Yarmouth canned corn or the dried corn soaked over night, and boiled till tender. Corn Soup. Cut the grains from twelve ears of sweet corn and scrape the milk, add one quart of water. Let it boil until quite done — fifteen to twenty minutes — then add two quarts of new milk, and when it boils stir in one-quarter pound of butter rubbed into two tablespoonfuls of flour, pepper and salt. Beat the yolks of two eggs in the tureen and pour the soup in boiling, stirring all the time. lO HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Wtiy Soup is Wholesome. The London J^ood Journal says : Physiologically, soup has great value for those who hurry to and from their meals, as it allows an interval of comparative rest to the fainting stomach before the more substantial beef and mutton is attacked, rest before solid food being as impor- tant as rest after it. Let a hungry and weary merchant rush in jnedias res — plunge boldly into roast beef, and what is the result % The defeat is often as precipitate as was the attack. When the body is weary the stomach must be identified with it, and cannot therefore stand the shock of some ill-masticated, half-pound weight of beef. But if a small plateful of light soup be gently insinuated into the system, nourishment will soon be introduced, and strength will follow to receive more substantial material. Parker House Tomato Soup. For one gallon of soup take three quarts of good beef stock, (a shank of beef will make six quarts); one medium sized carrot, one turnip, one beet and two small onions ; peel and cut them in pieces ; add to this three quarts of red tomatoes ; boil all for one hour and strain through a cullender. Put five ounces oi butter in a pan, heat it until it becomes a light brown ; take it oft' the fire and add three tablespoonfuls of flour while hot ; mix well and pour a pint or more of the soup into the frying pan, then return all to the soup kettle ; season with salt, pepper and a dessert spoonful of sugar. Set it over the fire and stir till it boils ; boil and skim five minutes. For winter soup of this kind strain the soup before adding the tomatoes, and use in place of the raw tomatoes two quart cans of sealed toma- toes. calf's head soup. — TOMATO SOUP, ETC. IT Calfs Head Soup. Take the head, pluck and feet. Put them into a pot with cold water. Be careful to skim well when it boils. Chop a dozen small onions and let them all boil together until the meat cleaves from the bones. Then strain it. After putting the liquor into the pot again, add thyme, cloves, salt, pepper and cayenne to your taste. Cut all thi meat from the head and feet, half the liver and lights, the whole of the heart and tongue ; put all into the pot and boil about three-quarters of an hour. Before it is done take half a pound of butter with as much flour as will make into balls ; stir until dissolved. Then add a pint of port wine, four hard boiled eggs cut in slices, and a lemon to improve the flavor. This will make two gallons, and may be kept several weeks, to be used asoccasion requires. Tomato Soup. One quart of water, eight good sized ripe tomatoes cut up; boil twenty minutes and add one half teaspoonful of soda, then boil and add one pint or more of milk, and season as you do oysters. Mock Turtle Soup. One quart of black beans soaked over night, boiled until soft and mashed through a cullender ; have ready two quarts of soup made of beef bones, add the beans, and boil about half an hour ; have in the tureen two hard boiled eggs cut up, and slices of lemon, half teaspoonful brown sugar, a pinch of powdered cloves, cinnamon, black pep- per and salt ; a wine glass of sherry, and half a dozen force-meat balls. 12 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Black Bean Soup. One quart of black beans soaked over night i-i four quarts of water, one pound of beef, half pound of salt pork. Grate one large or two small carrots, and slice one large onion, and add to the beans and the water iii which they were soaked. Boil all together three or foui hours, then strain through a cullender. When in the tureen add two gills of port wine, one sliced lemon and one sliced or chopped boiled egg. Black Bean Soup, No. 2. Mash and put them into a pot with proper quantity of water, boil until thoroughly done, then dip them out of the pot and press through a cullender. Return the beans to the water, boil two or three eggs hard and put into the soup with sliced lemon ; add butter, pepper and salt. Pea Soup. One quart of split peas, two pounds of salt pork, five quarts of water. Boil five hours, and strain through a sieve while hot. Oyster Soup. To four cans of oysters, twelve crackers rolled fine, two quarts of boiling water, one pint of good rich milk. Let the milk and water come to a boil, add the crackers, salt and pepper, boil one minute briskly ; pour in the oysters and let all boil up again, and then add about a quarter of a pound of butter and they are done. OYSTER SOUP. 13 Oyster Soup, No. 2. To one quart of oysters add one quart of water ; pour the water on the oysters and stir them ; take them out one at a time, so that no small particle of shell may adhere to them ; strain the liquor through a seive and put it in a stew pan over the fire, with two or three blades of mace, and season with red pepper and salt to taste ; when this boils put in your oysters, add a teaspoonful of flour rubbed to a paste with one ounce of butter; let them boil again, then add one half pint of cream and serve hot. 14 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. OYSTERS AND FISH. To Stew Oysters. Put the oysters with the broth to boil, and when they begin to curl, skim them out of the kettle into a pan of cold water ; let them lie in the water until the broth has been skimmed and seasoned with butter, salt and pepper, add mace if you like ; then drain off the water and return the oysters to the broth. When they begin to boil up again they are ready to serve, and will be found to be more I)lump and hard by the process. (jriddled Oysters. Heat a griddle very hot, butter it and lay large oysters all over it ; when brown on one side, turn as you do grid- dle cakes. They should be washed first from the liquor, and this must be boiled and skimmed, and turned over the oysters when served, first seasoning it with butter, salt and pepper; serve on bread or cracker toast. Oyster Pie. Two cans of oysters, or three pints of solid oysters, one quart of cream, one dozen rolled crackers, pepper, salt, etc. Stir all together and pour into a dish lined with thick puff paste, cover with another paste and bake three-quarters of an hour. This is a delicious mode of cooking oysters. Fried Oysters. Select the largest, drain them on a cloth or hair sieve, dip them in rolled cracker crumbs that have been seasoned with pepper and salt ; fry in equal parts of butter and lard until they are browned. OYSTERS BROILED ON THE SHELL, ETC. 1$ Oysters Broiled on the Shell. The oysters should be of the largest size. Clean the shells with a stiff brush, then open, and save the juice ; turn boiling water over the oysters for only a minute or two ; drain it off, and lay the oysters on one-half of the shell, putting it on a well heated gridiron over a very hot fire. Boil the liquor that came from the oysters when opened, add it to the shells with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and a bit of butter, serve hot on the shells, laid on large platters. Chicken and Oyster Croquettes. Take equal quantities of chicken and oysters, chopped fine, with a cup of sifted bread crumbs and a piece of but- ter ; season with salt and pepper, and^ if liked, a little mace. Moisten with one or two well beaten eggs. Form into long, slender rolls, and fry in lard to a light brown ; serve on a napkin, and garnish with celery tops or parsley, and slices of lemon. Fricasseed Oysters. Drain the liquor from a quart of oysters, strain half a pint and put in a porcelain kettle and when it boils put in the oysters. Have a tablespoonful of flour rubbed well into two tablespoonsfuls of butter. When the oysters begin to swell, stir in the butter and flour, cook until the oysters are white and plump ; then add a gill of cream, and pep- per and salt. 1 6 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. To Pry Oysters with Batter. Take fine large oysters, beat as many eggs with cream (say 2 eggs to a cup of cream), as will moisten all the oysters required ; dip the oyster thoroughly into this mix- ture and then cover well with cracker crumbs which have been seasoned with salt, pepper and a little mace, if de- sired. Put into your frying pan or spider equal quantities of butter and lard, and when hot fry the prepared oysters to a delicate brown tint and serve hot. If preferred, add three tablespoonfuls of flour to the eggs and cream and omit the cracker crumbs. Unsurpassed Fricasseed Oysters. For one can of oysters use one pint of thin cream ; clean all the liquor from the oysters and put them over steam until hot ; at the same time thicken the cream with flour and season with salt, pepper and a small pinch of mace, and the same of cinnamon and a very little butter ; cook this well, and when done thoroughly, add to it the liquor of the oysters which has been scalded and well skimmed until clear ; then add the oysters, letting them remain just long enough to get plump, (if left too long, they grow tough). Have ready some toast on a platter and pour the whole over it, or have leaves and triangles of rich paste around the dish and partially moistened by the fricassee. Fish Chowder. Quarter pound of pork, cut in pieces ; put in bottom of pot and fry out. Put slices of potatoes on this, then layer of fish cut up, two onions, sliced, and layer of soda- crackers. Then pour boiling water over till well covered. Boil 25 minutes. TURBOT.— ^PICKLED FISH. — FISH CHOWDER, ETC. I^ Turbot. Take a fine large white fish, steam until tender ; take out the bones and sprinkle with pepper and salt. For the dressing, heat one pint of milk and thicken with one- quarter pound of flour. When cool add two eggs and one quarter pound of butter. Put in the baking dish a layer offish, then a layer of sauce, until full. Season with onions, parsley and thyme. Cover the top with bread crumbs and bake half an hour. Pickled Fish. Skin the fish and pack in a deep dish, cover with olive oil or butter; spice with vinegar, season with pepper, cloves, cinnamon and allspice and salt; scald and pour over the fish, cover closely and bake until done. Cul de Sac or Pish Chowder. Boil 3 pounds of fresh cod, rock or other fresh white fish; pick it fine and free from bones, season with pepper, salt, the grated rind and juice of a lemon, a wineglass of wine ; take one quart of milk, slice in it two small onions, and boil until they are soft; strain it and thicken with butter and flour to the consistency of thick drawn butter. Put a layer of dressing and fish alternately, shape into a round or oval form, cover with grated bread crumbs, and bake nicely. It can be served upon the same platter in which it is browned, by placing muffin-rings under it in a pan of water while baking. l8 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. BEEF, POULTRY AND GAME. Boast Beef. Wash the joint and wipe it dry ; then place it on a pan, with the fat and skin side up; put into a hot oven, and when the heat has started enough of the oil of the fat to baste with, open the oven, and drawing the pan toward you, take up a spoonful of the grease and pour over the meat for a few times, closing the door immediate- ly; this should be repeated four or five times during the process of roasting. When nearly done sprinkle with salt, and baste. Have ready a warm platter, and when the meat is dished drain off the grease, carefully keeping back the rich, brown juice which has exuded from the meat. This remaining gravy leave in the pan, placing it on the stove and adding about a gill of water, let it come to a boil and then pour it over the meat. If a made gravy is preferred, more water should be added and a little flour. Salt hardens and toughens meat, therefore in beef and mutton it should not be put on till it is cooked. It is also necessary to have the oven hot in order that the heat may quickly sear the surface, which will prevent the juice from escaping. It is obvious, if water is put in the pan, this quick searing cannot be effected ; water cannot be raised above a certain temperature (its boiling point) while fat is susceptible of a much greater degree of heat, and, therefore, as a basting agent is preferable. Beef roasted before a fire has a flavor inexpressiby finer than that done in an oven. BEEF A LA MODE. — BONED TURKEY. 1 9 Eeef a la Mode. Take the bone out of a small round of beef, cut some salt pork in strips, about the size of your two fingers, and the thickness of the beef; dip them in vinegar and roll them in the following seasoning: One grated nutmeg; one tablespoonful of black pepper, one of ground cloves, one of allspice and one of salt ; parsley, thyme, sweet marjoram and summer savory; then cut openings about four inches apart all through the beef and insert them. Make a rich stuf- fing with bread crumb, etc., lay it over the top. Put the whole into a covered pan, pour over it a pint of sour wine and let it stand in the oven for six hours. The addition of vegetables, one large onion, four carrots and two turnips, chopped fine, is a great improvement. Half an hour be- fore serving skim off the fat, take up the round and veget- ables, and add a teacup of port wine and a little browned flour to the gravy ; this is as delightful a dish as a turkey, when it is no longer in season. Boned Turkey. This favorite dish for evening parties may be thus pre- pared : Boil a turkey in as little water as may be, until the bones can be easily separated from the meat. Remove all the skin; slice, mixing together the light and dark parts. Season with salt and pepper. Take the liquid in which the turkey was boiled, having kept it warm, pour it on the meat; mix well. Shape it like a loaf of bread, wrap it in a cloth or put it into an oval shaped dish and press with a heavy weight for a few hours. When served up, it is cut in thin slices. Chickens can be prepared in the same way. A spoonful of butter and flour braided together and stirred into the water for boiling is an improve ment. 20 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Spiced Beef. Take a piece of beef from the forequarter, weighing ten pounds. Those who like fat should select a fatty piece ; those who prefer lean may take the shoulder clod, or up- per part of the fore leg. Take one pint of salt, one tea- cup of molasses or brown sugar, one tablespoon of ground cloves, allspice and pepper, and two tablespoons of pulver- ized saltpetre. Place the beef in a deep pan ; rub with this mixture. Turn and rub each side twice a day for a week. Then wash off the spices ; put in a pot of boiling water, and, as often as it boils hard, turn in a teacupful of cold water. It must simmer for five hours, on the back part of the stove. Press under a heavy weight till it is cold, and you will never desire to try corned beef of the butcher again. Your pickle will do for another ten pounds of beef, first rubbing into it a handful of salt. It can be renewed and a piece kept in preparation every day. This is good to pickle tongues also. A nice way to Cook Pigeons. Stuff the birds with a rich bread dressing; place com- pactly in an iron or earthen dish ; season with salt, pepper and butter (or if you like best thin slices of salt pork over the top), dredge thickly with flour and neirly cover them with water. Then put over a closely fitting plate or cover, and place the dish in a moderate oven, from two to four or even five hours, according to the age of the birds. If the birds are old and ioiigh this is the best way they can be cooked, and they may be made perfectly tender and much sweeter than by any other process, [f the gravy \z insufficient add a little water before dishing. BRUNSWICK STEW. — RICE AND CHICKEN PIE, ETC. 21 Brunswick Stew. Two chickens, whole, nine quarts of water ; boil till ten- der, take out skin and bones and return to the kettle, adding six potatoes previously soaked an hour in cold water and chopped very fine, also one pint of sweet corn, one quart of tomatoes; boil two hours. Before dishing, add two hard boiled eggs chopped fine, and one in slices, a piece of but- ter the size of a hen's egg, fourteen hard crackers, a little salt, very little red pepper, and three tablespoonfuls of Worcestershire Sauce. To be served like soup. ^ Rice and Chicken Pie. Boil a pint or more of rice ; stir in a spoonful of butter, a Httle milk, two eggs and a little salt. Fricassee two chick- ens. Cover the bottom of a long dish with rice, then a layer of chicken, and so on until it is full. Save out some of the gravy of the fricassee to eat on the rice. Cover the whole with the yolk of an egg and brown it. Curry may be put into the chicken if liked. One chicken makes a good sized dish. To Boil a Chicken or Turkey.. It is not every housewife who knows how best to boil a chicken. Plain, artless boiling is apt to produce a yellow- ish, slimy looking fowl. Before cooking, the bird should always be well washed in tepid water and lemon juice, and to insure whiteness, delicacy and succulence, should be boiled in a paste of flour and water, and after being put in the boiling water should be allowed to simmer slowly. This method is very effectual in preserving all the juices of the fowl, and the result is a more toothsome and nourish- ing morsel than the luckless bird which has been "galloped to death" in plain boiling. 2 2 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. VEGETABLES. Potatoes a la Maitre d'Hotel. Boil and peel the potatoes and let them become cold. Then cut them into rather thick slices. Put a lump of fresh butter into a stew pan, and add a little flour — about a teaspoonful for a middling sized dish. When the flour has boiled a little while in the butter, add by degrees a cupful of broth or water. When this has boiled up, put in the potatoes with chopped parsley, pepper and salt. Let the potatoes stew a few minutes, then take them from the fire, and, when quite off the boil, add the yolk of an egg, beaten up with a little lemon juice and a tablespoonful of cold water. As soon as the sauce has set, the potatoes may be dished up and sent to table. Boiled Potatoes. Potatoes in the spring begin to shrivel and should be soaked in cold water several hours before cooking. Put them over the fire in cold water [without salt], and when done drain off the water, returning them to the fire for a minute or two, but not long enough to endanger burning ; then throw in a little salt, take hold of the handle and toss the kettle in such a way that the potatoes will be thrown up and down. When they look white and floury they are ready to dish for the table. New potatoes should always be put into boiling water, and it is better to prepare them only just in time for cooking. FRIED POTATOES. — SARATOGA POTATOES. 23 Pried Potatoes. Pare and slice the potatoes thin — if sliced in small flakes they look more inviting than when cut in larger pieces — keep in ice-water two or three hours — then drain them dry, or dry them on a crash towel, and drop them into boiling lard ; when nearly done take them out with a skim- mer and drain them. Let them get cold, and then drop them again into boiling lard, and fry until well done. This last operation causes them to swell up and puff out ; sprin- kle with salt, and serve hot — our receipt says : but many like them cold as a relish for tea or with cold meats. Saratoga Potatoes. Peel good sized potatoes and cut as thin as your cab- bage cutter will slice them, and throw into cold water. After soaking an hour wipe them dry, and drop into boil- ing lard till a light brown. Skim them out into a cullender and sprinkle with salt while hot. Spring Vegetables and how to Cook them. In March and April Salsify, or Oyster plant, is a pleasant change from boiled turnips and cabbage, and can be pre- pared in various ways. First way : Grate a bunch or two of salsify as you would horse-radish, add a raw egg beaten, and a little bread crumbs or flour, and fry in a frying-pan, as you would oysters. Parsnips prepared in this way, are extremely nice. Second way: Cut your salsify into round lozenges, par- boil ; throw it into a frying-pan with a little butter, and heat through, but do not fry brown; turn over this enough soup stock, or the boilings from steak or other bones, to cover it; thicken with a little flour and butter braided together, add pepper and salt, and you have a nice dish. 24 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Asparagus. While this vegetable is sold on the market at such an extravagant price, it is well to know how to make all of it available. Cut off the green ends, then chop the remain- der of the stalk into small pieces, as you would string beans; boil tliese until they are thoroughly tender, and add the green part a few minutes before serving. Have ready some toasted bread, season with salt, pepper and butter, having water enough to moisten the toast. Or, if preferred to keep the bunches whole, set them on end in a small sauce pan, leaving the green above water, and boil till the white part is tender. The steam meantime will cook the tops sufficiently. Asparagus should be boiled in fresh water, and when thoroughly cooked taken out, salted, laid lengthwise upon a piece of toast in a deep dish ; pour over a sauce for Asparagus, made after this fashion : Take equal parts of flour and butter, a tablespoonful of each ; mix thoroughly, add water and a little salt ; cook in a stew-pan ; when done remove from the fire, and stir in the beaten yolk of an egg. Some persons cut asparagus into inch long pieces, but a genuine ^'bonvivant^^ prefers to eat only so much as ghdes off into his mouth from the four inch long stalk. Boiled Oanlifiower. To each half a gallon of water allow one heaped tea- spoonful of salt. Choose cauliflowers that are close and white. Trim off" the decayed outside leaves, cut the stalk off flat at the bottom. Open the flowers a little to remove the insects and let lie in salt and water with the head down for an hour before cooking ; then put them into fast boiling water with the addition of salt as above. Skim well and boil till tender. Serve with melted butter or delicate drawn butter poured over. TO STEW CABBAGE. — CABBAGE JELLY, ETC. 25 To Stew Cabbage. Parboil in milk and water and drain it, then shred it. put it into a stew-pan with a small piece of butter, a small cupful of cream, and seasoning, and stew tender. Cabbage Jelly. Boil a cabbage in the usual way, and squeeze it in a cul- lender till perfectly dry, then chop fine ; add a little butter, pepper and salt; press the whole very closely into an earthenware mould, and bake one hour, either in an oven or in front of the fire. Cole Slaw. Sprinkle a quart of finely chopped cabbage with salt, and let it stand an hour ; drain off the brine into a sauce-pan ; pour half a pint of strong vinegar, a piece of butter [size of a hickory nut], a teaspoonful of strong mustard [after it has been stirred with water], and half the same of pepper; when it boils stir in two well-beaten eggs, and three table- spoonfuls of sweet cream ; pour hot on the cabbage, and have it cold when it is to be served. A very delicious relish with meats. Badishes. Prof. Blot says cut off the root and all. the leaves, but the center one, or stalk. This should always be left on and eaten, as it contains an element which assists in the diges- tion of the radish. Split the radish up into stems, and leave whole at the top; serve in fresh ice-water. 26 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Com Oysters. One dozen grated ears of sweet corn, three tablespoon- fuls of cream, two do. of flour, one do. of melted butter, one egg well beaten ; mix and bake in small cakes on a griddle. Corn Oysters No. 2. One teacup of milk, two eggs, two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour and a pinch of salt. Beat all well together and with this stir the corn cut from one dozen ears or more, according to the size, enough to make a thick mass, having just batter enough to bind it together. Drop it by the tablespoonful into a frying pan with enough hot butter or drippings to keep it from burning. Serve on a platter, hot. Boiled Leg of Mntton Soup. Grate twelve ears of corn, and add to broth left from leg cooked day before; season, and if wished add meat balls or soup herbs. BREAD, BISCUIT AND YEAST. 2^ BREAD, BISCUIT AND YEAST. Brown Bread. One quart of corn meal, one pint of Rye or Graham flour, one quart of sour milk, one teacup of molasses, and one teaspoonful of soda. Steam four hours or bake one hour. This quantity will make two loaves. Corn Bread. One quart of Indian meal, two ounces of butter, as much warm milk as will make a stiff batter, four eggs, a little salt. Beat the whole well together, and bake in shallow tins in a moderate oven. Mrs. A.'s Corn Bread. Two cupfuls of corn meal, two cupfuls of flour, one cup- ful of sweet milk, one cupful of sour milk, one-half cupful of sugar, two eggs, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one teaspoonful of soda, and a little salt. Phillis' Corn Bread. One pint of sour milk, one-half pint of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of saleratus, one teaspoonful of salt, one table- spoonful of lard or butter. White Indian meal stirred in to make a batter thick as for muffins. If the meal is per- fectly sweet stir it in dry. If not, scald it first. ^ 28 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Graham Bread, One quart of Graham flour, three-quarters of a cup of yeast, one quart of water, warm, one cup of molasses. Let this rise over night. Mix with wheat flour in the morning into a stiff loaf; let it rise a second time ; afterwards put in- to loaves to rise for baking. Very good. Graham Gems. One pint of milk, one cup of wheat flour, one cup of Graham flour, one egg, a little salt. Bake in heated tins. Drop Biscuits. Three cups of sweet milk, four cups of flour, into which put two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one-half teaspoon- ful of soda, and pass the flour through a sieve. Mix with the batter, butter the size of an egg, and a little salt. Drop into greased tins, or mufiin rings, and bake in a quick oven. Parker House Rolls. Scald a little more than a pint of milk, let it stand till cold ; two quarts of flour ; make a hole in the middle of the flour after rubbing into it a tablespoonful of lard or butter, then add a half teacup of yeast, a little sugar, salt and the milk, and cover with the flour. Let it stand until morning, then work until smooth. When it is light roll out and cut with a pint pail cover; rub it over with a little butter and lap over like a turnover, then let them rise and bake twenty minutes. They are splendid and never fail if the directions are followed. LIGHT BISCUIT. — FRENCH ROLLS. RUSKS. 29 Light Biscuit. With one quart of boiled milk when nearly cold mix a thick sponge, add half a cup of good hop yeast, beat fifteen minutes. Let it rise four or five hours, or over night; then add two-thirds of a cup of shortening, (butter and lard half and half), two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a little salt, stirring in the flour with a large wooden spoon until the dough cleaves from the spoon. Roll out to an inch or less in thickness; mould into cakes and let them stand in a warm place till thoroughly light. Bake in a quick oven. French Rolls. • One pint of milk, one quart of flour, whites of two eggs, one tablespoonful of white sugar, a piece of butter the size of an egg. First take the milk and flour, with a tablespoon- ful of yesLSt, and make a sponge. If made of baker's or home-made yeast, it can be set at night. When the sponge is light, add the other ingredients and set to rise again ; roll out to half an inch in thickness; cut with an oval cutter; bake in a quick oven. Busks. One cup of yeast, one bowl of milk, three eggs, salt, one- quarter of a pound of butter, enough flour to mix not so hard as bread dough. Knead the biscuits in the hand from the pan without rolling out, to make them more soft and spongy. 30 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Old School Presbyterian Yeast. Boil two good handfuls of good hops in three quarts of water. Strain. When cool stir in one quart of flour, one cup of sugar, and a handful of salt. Cover this in a stone jar, and let it stand three days in a warm place, stirring it occasionally. On the fourth day add one quart of nicely mashed potatoes. Let it stand until the day following, when it will be ready for use. A small teacup is sufficient for five loaves of bread. This yeast which has proved most reliable, needs noth- ing to start it, as it is self-raising, and if kept in a cool place will keep six weeks in the summer, and three months in cold weather. It does not foam as do other kinds of yeast, so that one who had not used it would think it worthless, but if once used its excellency will not be doubted. In making bread, a tablespoonful of white sugar to a quart of flour is a great improvement to all kinds of bread- Joanna's Yeast. Peel and wash five good sized potatoes and boil in two quarts of water, then mash and add two small cups of flour, a handful of salt, and an even cup of sugar, white or brown; add potatoes and flour together, and mix slowly in the scald- ing water in which the potatoes were boiled, and strain all through the cullender. Then add the sugar, salt, and a cup of yeast, baker's or home made, or a yeast cake ; keep in a warm place until it rises, and then put away in an earthern crock. Bread made with the above yeast. — Sift two quarts of flour and add a little salt, boil three or four potatoes and mash in three pints of water and stir in with a cup full of yeast. Keep in a warm place over night. HOP YEAST. — ESTHER S BREAD. TO SPONGE BREAD. 3 1 Hop Yeast. Of pressed hops, break up fine about enough to make a teacupful; boil them in one quart of water for half an hour. At the same time boil in another kettle ten or twelve pota- toes (peeled) in a quart of water ; when thoroughly done mash the potatoes and pour the water back over them. . If the water is boiled away restore the quantity. Have ready two quarts of sifted flour ; strain the hop water on to it, and add the potato gruel; when luke-warm put in a teacupful of good yeast, or a yeast cake, and a little salt. After it is thoroughly light it should be kept in a stone jug or jar in a cool place. Esther's Bread. To make the yeast. — Take ten or twelve potatoes from the dinner pot, wet two teacupfuls of flour with two cups of boiling potato water, add one teacup of white sugar and one heaping tablespoonful of salt; raise twenty-four hours with a Twin Brother or Waterloo Yeast Cake. This will last a week or ten days. One cup and a half is enough for four loaves of the bread. Scald skim milk ; when cool enough sponge your bread at night; in the morning work it well, let it rise, then put it in the pan and rise again ; bake in a quick oven. To Sponge Bread. Sift four quarts of flour into a deep pan, sprinkle a dessert spoonful of salt over it. Make a hole in the center and add by degrees three pints of luke warm water or skim milk ; stir the flour into this till it reaches the consistency of a very thick cream ; add one-and-a-half cups of Esther's Yeast, or one cup of Joanna's Yeast, or two yeast cakes, or five cents worth of compressed or German Yeast, or three cents' worth of bakers' yeast, or two tablespoonfuls of brewers' yeast. German and brewers' yeast require but two hours, the others all night, to raise them. 32 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. TEA AND BREAKFAST CAKES. Tea Biscuit. One quart of flour, into which mix three heaping tea- spoonfuls of baking powder; lard, size of a hen's egg, rub- bed into the flour and salt ; wet with milk or water to as soft a consistency as can be rolled out, then bake in a quick oven. Muffins. One quart of sweet milk, three pints of flour, two eggs, a piece of butter the size of an egg, a little salt, one-half of a cup of yeast. Let the batter rise three or four hours and bake in mufiin rings, on a griddle. Flannel Cakes. One quart of milk, three tablespoonfuls of yeast, one tablespoonful of butter, melted, two eggs well beaten, one teaspoonful of salt, flour to make a good batter. Set the rest of the ingredients as a sponge over night, and in the morning add the melted butter and eggs. Sally Lunn— A Supper Dish. Three tablespoonfuls of butter, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one cup of milk, two eggs, three small cups of flour ; one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, or two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. WAFFLES. — INDIAN MUFFINS. — PONE, ETC. 33 Waffles. Four coffee cups of sweet milk, three eggs, a piece of but- ter the size of an egg, one and or.e half teaspoonfuls of soda, four teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, flour enough to make a thin batter. Indian Muffins. One quart of milk, eight eggs, one and a half cups of but- ter, one cup of flour, two cups of Indian meal, one tea- spoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and a little salt ; two teaspoonfuls of sugar. Beat well together and bake in muffin rings. (This receipt is from a reliable source, but we can only recommend it to those who have eggs and butter in abun- dance.) Pone. Boil one quart of milk, with which scald a pint of nice corn meal. Beat five eggs, whites and yolks separately ; add a piece of butter the size of an egg, and a teaspoonful of salt. Stir all together thoroughly, and bake immediate- ly, while it is still hot. This quantity makes two nice loaves, and should be baked half an hour. Corn Muffins. Three cups of Indian meal, two cups of flour, two cups of sweet milk, two cups of sour milk, or butter-milk, half a cup of molasses, one egg, a little salt, two teaspoonfuls of soda. Have the iron-clads hot before putting in the bat- ter. 34 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS Puffs. One quart of sifted flour, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder ; two eggs, butter the size of an egg, melted, milk enough to make a thick batter. Drop in spoonfuls on dripping pan and bake. Potato Cake. Take six nicely mashed potatoes, add to this one pint of warm milk, a tablespoonful of lard^ a teaspoonful of salt, and a quart of sifted flour. Let this be raised with a small quantity of German yeast or a portion of Twin Brothers' yeast cake, or a half cup of home-made. When ready to make up, which will be in about two hours, knead up to the consistency of biscuits and cut with a biscuit cutter ; lay in a dripping pan and stand in a warm place till tea time. These biscuits will bake in ten minutes in a quick oven. Sally Lnnn, No. 2. Seven cups of sifted flour, half a cup of butter, warmed in one pint of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, three well beat- en eggs, two tablespoonfuls of brewers' yeast or four of home-made. Pour into square tins and let rise two or four hours before baking. Corn Bread. Three cups of flour, four cups of corn meal, one egg, two-thirds of a cup of molasses, one quart of sour milk, soda and salt. Steam three hours and bake half an hour. If you do not have sour milk, sweet milk and baking powder will answer as well. HOW TO MAKE MUSH. CORN CAKE. 35 How tc Make Mush, One of the earliest literary productions of this country that attracted attention, was a poem by Joel Barlow, en- titled " The Hasty Pudding." In it he sings the praises of this old New England dish, and takes exceptions to its be- ing called mush, samp, or any name except the one our fathers gave. Mush, or hasty pudding, as he would have us call it, is an American dish, and, until lately, has never been met with over the water. But notwithstanding the fact of its antiquity, its wonderful cheapness and its undis- puted excellence, very few people know how to make this dish as it should be. The ingredients for a dish of mush are water, salt and corn meal. The water should be soft, and the salt fine, and the meal of the first quality ; yellow meal gives the best color, but white meal is the more easily cooked. The water should be boiling hot at the com- mencement, middle and end of the operation. The meal should be added very slowly, so as to prevent any lumps being formed, the cook stirring all the time, and should never be in such quantities as would bring down the tem- perature of the water below the boiling point. Herein lies the secret of making good mush. The reason that it re- quires a high degree of heat to cook Indian corn is, that the starch globules are very hard and compact, and require more heat to expand them than the starch particles con- tained in rice. Mush should be thoroughly cooked, but the cook must guard against its burning, by continual stir- ring. — Prairie Farmer, Corn Cake, No. 1. One pint of Indian meal, two tablespoonfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one teaspoonful of soda, one egg, one pint of milk, a small piece of butter. Bake in shallow paijs. 36 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Corn Cake, No. 2. One and a half cups of Indian meal, one cup of flour, one and a half cups of milk, one egg, one cup of molasses, one teaspoonful of soda, a little salt. Good Ann's Receipt for Waffles. A pint bowl of sour cream or buttermilk (I have known her in town to use store milk with about three ounces of but- ter in it, though, of course, the results were not quite the same), a pint bowl heaped with sifted flour, three eggs, and a teaspoonful of soda, stirred well in a tablespoonful of hot water and then into the cream, and half a teaspoonful of salt. To be baked in an iron at just the right shade of heat (be sure and not have it too hot to start with) ; butter well and eat with powdered sugar or sugar and cinnamon. Graham Pop-Overs. Two cups of Graham flour, one quart of sweet milk, four well beaten eggs and a pinch of salt. Have ready the pop-over irons, and. bake as quickly as possible. Flannel Cakes. One cup of sweet milk, one-half cup of yeast, whites of two eggs, two-thirds of a cup of butter, flour enough to make a thick batter, set to rise over night and in the morn- ing add whites and butter. Bake in cups. BREAKFAST AND TEA RELISHES. 37 BREAKFAST AND TEA RELISHES. Omelet. Six eggs, one cup of milk, one tablespoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of flour, a little salt. Melt the butter in half the milk, wet the flour smoothly in the other half; beat the yolks of the eggs and add in the milk, then stir in the whites lightly beaten to a stiff froth. Cook one-third at a time, turning one-half over the other just before taking up. Omelet. Five eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately. One tea- cupful of milk, a teaspoonful of flour, and a little salt. Beat these ingredients together very thoroughly, and bake about fifteen minutes, in a pudding dish that has been well buttered, or pour into a hot frying pan and stir till cook- ed. Ham Toast, One-fourth of a pound of lean ham, chopped fine ; beat well the yolks of three eggs ; one tablespoonful of melted butter, two tablespoonfuls of cream or good milk. Stir over the fire till it thickens ; spread on hot toast. Veal Omelet. Three pounds of fresh veal and two pounds of salt pork, chopped fine ; three eggs ; six crackers, rolled ; one tea- spoonful of salt, one of pepper, and a little parsley. Roll into an oblong form and baste with butter while it is bak- ing. This makes a nice relish, cold sliced for tea. 38 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Omelet. Four eggs, beat yolks and whites separately , one table- spoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of melted butter; add nearly a cup of milk. Pour all except the whites of the eggs into a pail, stand it on the stove in a pot of boiling water ; when it commences to thicken add the whites, stirring gradually ; after a few moments pour into a dish and set it in the oven to brown. Baked Omelet. Heat three gills of milk with a dessert spoonful of butter in it, beat thoroughly four or five eggs, wet a tablespoonful of flour and a teaspoonful of salt in a little cold milk. Mix the eggs with the flour and cold milk and add the hot milk stirring fast. Bake in a quick oven fifteen or twenty minutes. Veal Loaf. Three pounds of veal cutlets and a small piece of salt pork chopped together very fine (uncooked) ; one teacup- ful of cracker crumbs moistened with a little water ; one egg ; season with salt and pepper. Bake one and one half hours, and slice when cold. Add savory or sage, if liked, when mixing. Veal Casserole. Twelve pounds of very lean veal, chop raw quite fine ; three-quarters of a pound of butter, one-half pound of but- ter crackers, dried and rolled, one pint of water, pepper and salt to your taste. Mix well together and bake slowly four hours in a pan lined with buttered paper. CHICKEN CROQUETTES, ETC. 39 Chicken Croquettes. To one good sized chicken (after having been boiled and finely chopped) add one pint of rich cream, four eggs, butter the size of an egg, and a handful of flour. Flavor with nutmeg, cayenne pepper and salt. Cook over a slow fire until it is of the consistency of paste, then put into the refrigerator until thoroughly cold ; mould into oval pat- ties. Paint the croquettes with the yolks of three eggs and roll into bread crumbs, after which brown them nicely in a little butter and serve hot. With two sweetbreads added this receipt makes two dozen croquettes. Breakfast Balls or Croquettes. A little cold mutton or beef, or both ; a slice of cold ham; a small quantity of fine bread crumbs; a bit of sage, parsley or thyme. Chop well together : add one egg, a lit- tle melted butter, pepper and salt. Make up in flattened balls, dredge with flour and fry in hot lard. They are very nice. Cheese as Food. In his Philosophy of Eating, Professor A. J. Bellows says of cheese : " Cheese has in it more than twice the amount of food of any other known substance. It should therefore be used in small quantities, and with articles containing little nitro- gen, such as fruits and fine flour. Those persons whose occupation necessitates hard labor, and who cannot afford much fresh meat, will find in cheese a most wholesome as well as a most nutritious food, less expensive, and less likely to develop in the human system those scrofulous diseases attributed to animal food." 40 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Chicken or Beef Croquettes. Take a cold chicken (roast or boiled), or cold roast beef or veal, mince it very fine or it will not adhere, moisten it with the gravy, season with pepper, salt, thyme or onion. Make it up into small cakes ; cover with egg and bread crumbs ; fry in lard and butter, half and half. rricatelli. This is made of any kind of cold roast meat or raw fresh pork. Chop the meat very fine, add a little salt and plenty of pepper (two onions chopped, if you please), bread soaked in water until soft, half as much bread as meat ; ttvo eggs ; mix well together, make into oblong patties and fry like oysters. Serve with sliced lemon, if used as a tea relish. Cheese Omelet. Quarter of a pound of melted butter, four eggs, half a pound of grated cheese, one teacupful of sweet cream. Melt the butter and pour on the eggs after they are well beaten, then add the cheese and cream. Bake about twenty minutes or cook in a frying pan. Welsh Rarebit, Take one-fourth of a pound of good fresh cheese ; cut in small thin slices and put in a frying pan with a little over a teacupful of sweet milk. Stir in a previously beaten egg, and add a salt-spoon full of dry mustard, two dashes of red pepper, and a small piece of butter, stirring the mixture constantly. Have ready rolled crackers and gradually stir them in. As soon as this is thoroughly incorporated, turn it out into a heated dish and serve, or omit the crackers and pour on hot buttered toast. BICHAMELLE, OR MINCED VEAL. FRITEURS. 4I Bichamelle, or Minced Veal. Mince your cold roast veal fine in a chopping bowl, leaving out the stringy part; put into your frying pan a teacupful (or more as the quantity requires), of milk or sweet cream, into which stir, when hot, a tablespoonful of butter and one of flour, braided together ; then add your veal, heat it thoroughly through, grate a little nutmeg, or sprin- kle fine mace over it, and pour it into a dish that has a border of puff paste leaves spread around it (you can make your leaves when you are making pies, and just heat them in the oven a moment) ; then squeeze the juice of a lemon o\er the top of the minced veal, laying five or six leaves of paste on it, and serve. This was from old Mam- my Wood, and is delicious for breakfast. You can make veal patties of it by just enclosing it in paste and baking it. Friteurs. Put in a sauce pan a little butter, two tablespoonfuls of flour with soup stock if you have it, if not a little water until it thickens, then add minced turkey, chicken or veal, with a little salt. Take off" the fire and cool. Then make in any shape you please, say like small sausages half a finger long. Roll in cracker or brown bread crumbs and drop into lard until a delicate brown. 42 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. CAKES. Loaf or Bread Cake. Two pounds of light dough, one pound of sugar, one- half pound of butter, three eggs, and one teaspoonful of saleratus. Rub the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, well beaten, and the saleratus. Work the mixture thoroughly into the dough, until it is entirely smooth. Flavor with one teaspoonful of ground mace and one grated nutmeg. A wine-glassful of wine or brandy and a coffee cupful of seeded raisins. A few thin bits of citron are an improvement. Put it as soon as mixed into a slow oven, and bake about one hour. This will make two ordinary sized loaves ; and if frosted is nearly as good as the old times Connecticut election cake. Trench Cake. One pound of sugar, one-half pound of butter, one pound of currants washed clean and dredged with flour, two cups of flour, four eggs, nutmeg and cinnamon to taste, one-half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a table- spoonful of milk. Hickory Nut Cake. Two tea cups of white sugar, half a cup of butter, three cups of flour, three-quarters of a cup of sweet milk, a half teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in the milk, a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, put into the flour, the whites of eight eggs. Just before baking add two teacupfuls of hickory nut meats. EXCELLENT FRUIT CAKE, ETC. 43 Excellent Fruit Cake. One cup of brown sugar ; one-half cup of butter ; one cup of molasses ; one-half cup of sour milk ; two and one-half cups of flour ; yolks of four eggs ; cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, each one-half teaspoonful ; and one teaspoonful of soda added to the milk. Then stir in one pound of raisins, one pound of currants, one quarter of a pound of citron, all well dredged with flour. Mrs. H. M. D's Reliable Fmit Cake. One pound of light brown sugar, ten ounces of butter, eight eggs, broken into the butter and sugar, after it has been stirred to a cream ; one wine-glassful of brandy, one teaspoonful of baking powder in one pound of flour; mace and nutmeg; pour into a pan till half the quantity required is in, then cut slips of citron over the top and fill up the pan with the batter, this being an excellent way of putting in the citron ; add two pounds of raisins. Mrs. B's Receipt for "Washington Cake. Two pounds of flour, one and one-half pounds of sugar, three-quarters of a pound of butter, one scant pint of milk, to which add a gill of wine or brandy, five eggs, two large teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and two pounds of raisins, upon which scatter spices and flour well rubbed upon the fruit. Plain Fruit Cake, No. 2. One cup of butter, one cup of brown sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of sweet milk, four cups of flour, four eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, one and a half teaspoon- fuls of cream of tartar, two pounds of raisins chopped fine, spice to taste. 44 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Almond Cake. One half cup of butter, two of sugar, two and a half of flour, three-quarters of a cup of sweet milk, one half a teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, whites of eight eggs beaten to a stiff froth, one pound of soft shelled almonds blanched by steeping in boihng water till the skins are loose enough to remove, and then sliced or rolled, adding while crushing them, two wine glasses of white wine; flavor with essence of bitter almond. Bake in a pan two inches deep. Cocoanut Cake, No. 1. One cup of butter, two and three-fourths cups of sugar, three and three-fourths cups of flour, six eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately, one teaspoonful of cream of tar- tar, one half teaspoonful of soda, one grated peel of lemon with juice. Bake in four sheets, cover each with frosting and spread on a thick layer of cocoanut, putting one on the other as for jelly cake. One cocoanut will be sufficient, and it is better to have it grated over night. Cocoanut Cake, No. 2. One cup of butter, three cups of sugar, whites of six eggs, four and a half cups of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one half teaspoonful of soda, one grated cocoanut, one teacupful of milk. Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, beat the eggs to a froth, dissolve the soda in the milk, and mix the cream of tartar with the flour. After all are mixed together, put in the cocoanut, mixing thoroughly, and bake immediately. This cake will keep for some time, retaining its freshness. FRUIT CAKE.— CHOCOLATE CAKE, ETC. 45 Fruit Cake, No. 3. One pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, half a cup of sour milk, four eggs, four cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of lemon, two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, two teaspoonfuls of cloves, half a nutmeg, half a pound of raisins and a quarter of a pound of citron, makes two loaves; bake slowly. Chocolate Cake. One full cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three and a half cups of flour, one scant cup of milk, one half teaspoon- ful of bi-carbonate of soda, one-half teaspoonful of cream of tartar, five eggs, leaving out the whites of two. Rub your butter and sugar (which if pulverized makes the best cakes) to a cream and add the eggs, then about two-thirds of the milk, then the flour, having the cream of tartar mixed with it, then the remainder of the milk in which you have dissolved the soda. Pour into a large dripping pan and bake so that the cake is an inch thick. While hot. and as soon as turned out on a cake box, tray, waiter or other perfectly flat surface, spread with an icing formed by beating the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth, adding a cup and a half of pulverized sugar, two teaspoonfuls of essence of vanilla, and six tablespoonfuls of grated vanilla chocolate. Lemon Cake. Four eggs, white and yolks beaten separately; one small cup of butter, two of sugar, one-fourth of a cup of sweet milk, four small cups of flour, half a teaspoonful of soda one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, sifted through the sugar. Bake in a loaf, and cut as for jelly cake. 46 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Por Dressing. Take the white of one egg, sugar to make it the consis- tency of icing ; after beating thoroughly, add the grated rind and juice of one lemon ; spread this between the layers and ice the top. Apple Cake, Two eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, one and a half teacupfuls of sugar, scant three-quarters of a teacup- ful of butter, half a cup of sweet milk, three cups of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, sifted in the flour, half a teaspoonful of soda in the milk. Bake in jelly tins or cut for dressing. Dressing, Three good sized sour apples grated, the juice and grated rind' of one lemon, one egg, beaten, one cup of sugar. Cook all together, three minutes, and spread be- tween the layers. Lemon Jelly Cake. The grated rind and juice of two lemons, two apples grated, one egg well beaten, and one cup of sugar. Put this mixture between layers of cake made after the receipt for ordinary jelly cake. Aunt Fanny's Loaf Cake. Six teacups of bread dough, five eggs, three teacups of sugar, one cup of butter, two tablespoonfuls of ground cinnamon, half a nutmeg, one and a half pounds of raisins. Bake in a moderate oven. RAILROAD CAKE LEMON HONEY CAKE, ETC. 47 Hailroad Cake. One cup of sugar, OLe cup of flour, three eggs, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one half teaspoonful of soda (or one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder), a little salt ; beat all together as for sponge cake and spread on two square tins to bake. Make a custard of one-half pint of milk, one-half cup of sugar, one-half cup of flour, one egg ; wet the flour with a little milk, and stir into the milk boiling, then add the egg and sugar beaten together. Boil up and take off; flavor with a pinch of salt and a teaspoonful of vanilla. When cold spread between two layers of cake. This is very good for a dessert. Lemon Honey Cake. Two cups of sugar, two-thirds of a cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, one cup of corn starch, three cups of flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder; rub the butter and sugar to a cream, then add the milk, lastly the whites of eight eggs beaten to a stiff froth, then the corn starch and flour to which has been added the baking powder; bake in jelly tins. Lemon Honey. Take one pound of loaf sugar, the yolks of eight eggs with two whole ones, juice of six lemons, grated rind of two, quarter of a pound of butter. Put the sugar, lemon and butter in a saucepan, melt over a gentle fire ; when all are dissolved stir in the eggs which have been well beaten ; stir rapidly until it is as thick as honey. Spread this between the layers of cake. Set aside the remainder in a closely covered vessel for future use. 48 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Custard Cake— Good. One cup of sugar, three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one and a half teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a half cup of sweet milk, one and a half cups of flour ; baked in jelly tins ; let it cool ; one cup of milk, one teaspoonful of flour, two teaspoonfuls of corn starch, one egg, six teaspoonfuls of sugar; flavor to taste; spread like jelly. Rich Bread Cake. Three cups of light dough, three cups of sugar, one cut of butter, three eggs, one cup of raisins, a little nutmeg, a little cloves and cinnamon, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in hot water. Let it rise a short time before baking, and bake in a very slow oven. Wedding Cake. One pound of flour, one pound of butter, one pound of brown sugar, eleven pounds of raisins, two pounds of citron, two gills of brandy, half an ounce of cinnamon, three-quarters of an ounce of cloves, one ounce of mace, one teacup of milk, twelve eggs ; chop part of the raisins and citron. Delicate Cake. One cup of butter beaten to a cream with two of sugar, add the whites of eight eggs beaten to a stiff froth, and three and one-third cups of flour in which has been mixed one teaspoonful of baking powder, and one table - spoonful of essence of bitter almond. TO USE THE YOLKS OF EGGS, ETC. 49 To use the Yolks of Eggs. One quart of scalding milk, to which add the yolks of eight eggs and one teacup of sugar ; stir just one minute before taking off the fire, and you have the genuine old- fashioned boiled custard. When cold, flavor with vanilla or bitter almonds. Jamaica Plains Lemon Cake. Five eggs, three cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one of milk, five of flour, one lemon rind grated, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved well in the milk, and after all is well beaten, add the juice of the lemon and bake immediately. Spice Cake. One cup of butter, two of sugar, three eggs, nearly four cups of flour, one cup almost full of sweet milk, one tea- spoonful of soda, and two of cream of tartar, or three spoonfuls of baking powder. Fruit and spices of all kinds in abundance. Q,uinc7 Cakes. One cup of butter, three teacups of powdered sugar, four teacups of flour, one cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful and a half of cream of tartar, juice and rind of one fresh lemon. Bake one and a half or two hours in one pan. Haised Cake, Three cups of light dough, three cups of sugar, one ip of butter, three eggs, fruit and spices ; bake in a slow ^en. cup oven 50 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. "Shoo Fly" (very nice). One cup of rich sour cream, one-half cup of butter, two cups of sugar, whites of four eggs, three cups of flour, flavor with citron or bitter almonds, add to the cream one- half teaspoonful or more of soda. Snow Cake. One tumbler full of flour, whites of ten eggs, one and a- half tumblers of fine sugar, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar stirred into the flour. Beat the eggs to a stiff" froth, stir in the sugar, and lastly the flour. Flavor with lemon or almond. Bake immediately. Black Cake, Two cups of brown sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of molasses, one cup of sour milk, in which dissolve one teaspoonful of soda, the yolks of eight eggs, four cups of browned flour, and spices to your taste. Eugenia's Cake. One cup of sugar, two cups of flour, one-half cup of butter, one-half cup of milk, two eggs, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one-half teaspoonful of soda. Qrove Cake. Two and a half cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, four and a half cups of flour, eight eggs, omitting the yolks of four; two teaspoonfuls of Snowflake Baking Powder. WHITE CAKE. — RICH CUP CAKE, ETC. 5T White Cake. Beat well together three cups of sugar and one of butter; then put in one cup of sweet milk, in which is one-half a teaspoonful of soda ; then add the whites of eight eggs, beaten to a froth; one teaspoonful of vanilla, and four cups of flour, in which scatter a teaspoonful of cream of tartar. Mother's Rich Cup Cake. Five cups of flour, two and one-half cups of sugar, one and one-half cups of butter, one cup of milk, six eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. Flavor with lemon or vanilla. Coffee Cake. Four eggs, two cups of sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of butter, one cup of hot coffee ; four and one-half cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one-half cup of chopped raisins; cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon to the taste. QiUeen Cake. One pound of sugar, one pound of flour, three-quarters of a pound of butter, five eggs, one gill of sweet cream, one gill of wine, one grated nutmeg ; beat the sugar and butter to a cream, add the eggs, beaten very light ; then the cream and flour, and lastly the wine. — Mrs. F. Aunt Eliza's White Cake. Two cups of sugar, a small half cup of butter, one cup of milk, two and three-quarters cups of flour, the whites of three eggs, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder. 3 52 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Cream Cake. One cup of cream, two of sugar, two eggs, a wine glass of milk, two and a half cups of sifted flour, and one tea- spoonful of saleratus. Beat the eggs and sugar together till very light ; then dissolve the saleratus in the cream and stir it in with the flour. Add half a wine glass of wine, one teaspoonful of ground mace, and one grated nutmeg. Bake in shallow tins. Very nice baked in layers and put together with frosting. Sponge Cake. One pound of sugar, half a pound of flour, ten eggs, the juice of one lemon and grated rind, and a pinch of salt. The yolks of the eggs and the sugar should be beaten to- gether, the whites separately, until they stand stiff. The whole should then be stirred slowly together, adding the flour by degrees, the juice of the lemon added last. No soda or cream of tartar should go into sponge cake, as they make it dry. The lemon is very essential, not only for the flavor, but to make it light. The oven should be pretty hot. Sponge Cake. Two large cups of coffee sugar, two wine glasses of cold water, put on the stove and boil ; six eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately and then together in the boiling syrup, stirring briskly all the time ; when cool add two cups of sifted flour and the rind and juice of a fresh lemon. STARCH CAKE. CORN STARCH CAKE, ETC. 53 Starch Cake, No. 1. Two cups of sugar, one of corn starch, two of flour, one of sweet cream, one cup of butter, the whites of seven eggs, one teaspoonful of soda and two of cream of tartar. Rub the butter and sugar together till light and creamy ; dissolve the starch in the cream and add, then the whites of the eggs well beaten, and lastly the flour with soda and cream of tartar. Corn Starch Cake, No. 3. One and a half cups of powdered sugar, one-half cup of butter, one and one-half cups of flower, one-half cup of corn starch, one-half cup of sweet milk, the whites of six eggs, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one-half teaspoonful of soda ; flavor with lemon, vanilla or bitter almond. The same receipt, with the yolks of the eggs, and an orange rind and juice, makes rich yellow cake. Harrison Cake. One cup of butter, one cup of molasses, one and one- half cups of milk, two cups of sugar, four cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, three eggs, half a pound of raisins, half a pound of currants, one teaspoonful of cloves and two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon. Cousin Nell's Cake. Three eggs, one cup of sugar, one cup of flour and two large tablespoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of baking powder. 54 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Calico Cake. Three cups of sugar, one and one-half cups of butter, six eggs, two-thirds of a cup of milk, one half teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, four cups of flour. Make half of the above with brown sugar, adding a litde ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, and one-half pound of dried currants. Make the other half with white sugar and the whites of the eggs. Put into your pans for baking alternate tablespoonfuls of the dark and light, and the effect will be novel and the cake palatable. Short Bread— The True Scotch Receipt. Four pounds of flour, two and a half pounds of butter, one and one-quarter pounds of sugar, one wine glass of rose water, one-half pound of caraway comfits and one-half pound of citron. Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, add the rose water and then the flour, roll out to rather less than half an inch in thickness and strew over the top the candy comfits and the citron ; cut in thin pieces the size of your thumb nail, pass your rolling-pin over this and then cut out into squares and diamonds with a paste-jigger, and bake in a dripping pan ; will keep nice and fresh two or three months. This receipt has been in an old Scotch family for more than three-quarters of a century, and has always been the New Year's cake in the old fashioned Knickerbocker visitations on that day. The candy and citron make it a very handsome looking cake, as well as delightful in flavor. Savoy Biscuits. One pound of sugar, six eggs, three-quarters ofa pound of flour beaten as for sponge cake, flavor with bitter almonds, and drop on tin pans and bake in a quick oven. CREAM CAKE. — BOSTON CREAM CAKES, ETC. 55 Cream Cake. Five eggs, one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of milk, five cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. To prepare the cream for the cake take one pint of milk, two eggs, one table spoonful of corn starch, put in the milk when near boiling ; bake about an inch thick, when done open and spread with the cream mixture. Put together as for jelly cake. This is nice for loaf or jelly cake. Boston Cream Cakes. One half-pint of water, one quarter of a pound of butter, six ounces of flour and five eggs. Boil the butter and water together, adding the flour while the above is boiling. When thoroughly stirred take it from the fire, and when it is cold add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture until it is entirely free from lumps. Dissolve soda in the proportion of one teaspoonful to one cup of water, with which wet the baking pan, on which the mixture is to be dropped in round places the size of a cream cake. Bake twenty minutes in a hot oven, avoid opening the oven door while baking. When cool, open them on one side and fill with the following mixture . One cup of sugar, one-half cup of flour, two eggs and one pint of milk. Beat the eggs, sugar and flour together and stir them into the milk while it is boiling, stirring constantly until it thickens. When it is cold, flavor to suit the taste. Sponge Cake Drops. Six eggs, one pound of sugar, three-quarters of a pound of flour, juice of a lemon; drop on tins and bake quickly. 56 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Orange Cake. Two cups of sugar, two cups of flour, two-thirds of a cup of milk, and four eggs. Put three teaspoonfuls of bak- ing powder into the flour before adding it to the other in- gredients. Beat the eggs and sugar together as for sponge cake, whites and yolks separately, then add the milk and flour with a saltspoonful of salt. Bake in jelly tins. Make a frosting of the whites of two eggs and one cup and a half of sugar, to which add the juice and grated peel of two oranges. Put this between the layers of cake. Ladies' Fingers. Use any kind of light sponge cake batter. Take a sheet of buttered paper, and, with a spoonful of the batter, draw a shape on the paper the size and length of a finger. Make an even number ; bake until crisp and lightly brown ; remove from the paper and join two together by means of a little good jelly. They may be cemented with frosting, or with white of egg alone, if desirable. Cookies, No. 1. One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of sour cream, one egg, eight cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda in cream. Put ingredients all together in a bowl at once, leaving out just enough of the flour to use in rolling out; mix as speedily as possible; roll thin; sift sugar over and bake quickly, and the result will be cookies, delicious as rich jumbles. Cookies, No. 2. Two cups of sugar, one of butter, two eggs, half a cup of sour cream, half a teaspoonful of saleratus ; flavor with nutmeg or mace ; mix soft. BROWN SUGAR COOKIES. — DROP COOKIES, ETC. 57 Brown Sugar Cookies, No. 3. One cup of sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of butter, two eggs, two teaspoonfuls of soda in a tablespoon- ful of hot water; mix soft, spice to taste, cloves, ginger and cinnamon, or either one of these spices. Drop Cookies, No. 4. Two cups of sugar, three-fourths of a cup of butter, four cups of flour, one cap of milk, four eggs, two tea- spoonfuls of cream of tartar, one teaspoonful of soda, caraway seeds. Drop in pan and bake in quick oven. New Year's Cookies, No. 5. Six cups of sugar, three of butter, one and a half of sour cream or milk, six eggs, two teaspoonfuls of saleratus, one ounce of caraway seeds; make them stiff. First Rate G-inger Nuts. One and a half pounds of flour, half-a-pound of butter, half a pound of brown sugar, one tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of cloves, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one pint of molasses, one teaspoonful of saleratus dis- solved in luke warm water ; roll out thin and bake in a dripping pan, wash over with molasses and water before baking. Ginger Snaps. One cup of brown sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of lard (or drippings), one egg, a little salt, one tablespoon- ful of ginger,, two teaspoonfuls of soda dissolved in a little hot water, flour enough to roll out easily. Lay a little apart on tins that they may not run together in baking. 58 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. » Lrop Ginger Calces— Mrs. D.'s. One cup of boiling water, one cup of butter, one egg, one cup of brown sugar, one cup of molasses, in which is dissolved two teaspoonfuls of saleratus {not soda) ; five cups of flour, two tablespoonfuls of ginger, two tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, and one teaspoonful of cloves. Process. — Pour your boiling water into a pan, set it on the stove, add the butter and sugar, then the molasses. Take it off the stove and stir in the flour, spice and egg. Drop in by the spoonful on a dripping pan or into iron cake bakers. Soft Gingerbread— Very Nice. Two cups of molasses, one cup of sweet milk, one-half cup of butter, three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, two eggs, three cups of flour, cinnamon and ginger, two spoonfuls each — put in the milk last. Hot Water Frosting. . One pound of sugar, one cup of water. Boil to a thick, ropy syrup, add to this while boiling the whites of four eggs, beaten stiff, and flavor to taste. Cinnamon "Wafers. One pound of sugar, quarter of a pound of butter, three eggs, half a teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in as little milk as possible, two or three tablespoonfuls of ground cinnamon, flour enough to roll out ; roll thin and bake quickly. SOFT GINGERBREAD. — MOLASSES POUND CAKE, ETC. 59 Soft Gingerbread. One cup of molasses, one cup of sugar, three cups of flour, two eggs, one cup of sweet milk, one quarter of a cup of butter, one tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. Molasses Pound Cake. One cup of butter, one cup of sugar, one cup of molas- ses, one-half cup of milk, four eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, one-half teaspoonful of cinnamon, one teaspoonful of gin- ger. Molasses Sponge Cake. One pint of Molasses, three tablespoonfuls of butter, two eggs, three teaspoonfuls of soda, dissolved in a tea cup full of hot water, one quart of flour, a little ginger ; beat the eggs separately. Ginger Bread. One-half pint of molasses, one egg, one-half cup of but- ter, one-half cup of hot water, three and one-half cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, one tablespoon of ginger. Soft Gingerbread. One coffee cup of sugar, one do. of molasses, one do. of butter, four cups of flour, one cup of sour milk, two large teaspoonfuls of ginger, two teaspoonfuls of ground cinna- mon, one-half teaspoonful of cloves, one teaspoonful of saler- atus dissolved in sour milk ; stoned raisins may be added. Bake in sponge cake tins. 6o HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. FRIED CAKES. Doughnuts and Crullers. Genuine dough-nuts are raised with yeast. There is a spurious article that can be made very palatable with soda and cream of tarter or baking powder. Strange to say the three latter ingredients are much more digestible than if made with yeast, though we still cling to the faith of our "fore-mothers" and believe in old fashioned ''lightning." To Prepare the Yeast for Doughnuts. Take from the potato pot at dinner time, two good sized boiled potatoes, two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour, and a tea cup full of the scalding potato water ; mash and beat the whole smooth. Add a tablespoonful of white sugar and set it by till luke warm, then add a Twin Brother Yeast cake, and let it ferment from two till eight or nine o'clock P. M. Cup Measure Doughnuts. One cup of luke warm milk, four tablespoonfuls of but- ter, three eggs beaten light, half a nutmeg grated, a pinch of salt, half a tea cup of yeast, as above, and one quart of flour, let rise over night. Mould up at 9 A. M. with as little flour as possible; set near the stove till 2 P. M., and fry. This receipt is excellent without yeast, substituting two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, or one of bi-carbonate of soda, and two of cream of tartar. RAISED DOUGHNUTS. CRULLERS. 6 1 Baised Doughnuts. Three-quarters ofa pound of butter, one and one-half pounds of white sugar, five eggs, one pint of milk, one cup of fresh yeast, as above, and flour enough to make them of the con- sistency of bread dough ; one nutmeg and one-half teaspoon- ful of salt. Process. — Mix the butter warmed in the milk, the sugar and eggs ; stir into the flour until it is a soft sponge, then add the yeast and more flour ; set it to rise over night. In the morning roll out and cut into diamond shapes or twists, lay them on the paste board, set them in a warm place, let them rise until very light, say till two or three o'clock P. M. ; then drop them into hot lard, turn them over in the pot, promptly but not hurriedly. Should the lard incline to burn, throw in an apple skin, or a pared potato, which will clear it of any scorching propensity. Crullers. Six eggs to one cup of butter, and two of sugar and one- half cup of milk, and flour to roll out easily. Cut with a jigging iron and drop into boiling lard. Long fingers are requisite to give them a peculiar shape, peculiar things as well as peculiar people being attractive. Crullers. Two pints of flour, one cup of sugar, a piece of butter the size of an egg, three eggs, one cup of sweet milk, two tea- spoonfuls of cream of tartar and one teaspoonful of soda. Flavor with nutmeg. 62 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. PIES. Pastry, One quarter of a pound of flour, one pound of shortning and a little salt, all rubbed together, but not too thoroughly, sufficient cold water to mix with ; no more flour. Put upon the moulding board, roll out and cut in strips, put one upon another, then cut oif in squares, roll out and put upon plates. Plain, but Good Family Pie-Crust. One pound of flour, half a pound butter, mix thoroughly with a knife or spoon. Pour in very cold water, just enough to form a dough for rolling out ; flour the board and rolling pin, using a knife to handle the dough (the warmth of the hand makes it heavy); roll out the size of one plate at a time, so as to work it as little as possible. Bake in a quick oven. Minc3 Pie. Seven pounds of meat, six pounds of suet, seven pounds of sugar, one gallon of hard cider, seven pounds of currants, seven pounds of seeded raisins, fourteen pounds of chopped apples. Boil together cider, apples and sugar, and when hot pour over the other ingredients. Salt, brandy, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon to taste. If citron is liked, put in slices just before baking. RICH MINCE PIE. — LEMON PIE, ETC. 63 Eich Mince Fie. Three pounds of beef, one fresh beefs tongue, four pounds of suet, two and a half pounds of raisins, one pound of currants, three quarters of a pound of citron, eight pounds of chopped apples, four and a half pounds of sugar, three pints of molasses, three ounces of cinna- mon, two ounces of cloves, half a nutmeg, one and a fourth ounces of salt, half an ounce of pepper, one gallon of sweet cider, three pints of brandy, three pints of wine. When mixed, put into a kettle and scald, stirring it all the time. Lemon Pie- Grate the rind and squeeze the juice of one lemon ; take a tablespoonful of white sugar and the yolks of two eggs ; beat them up and bake in a crust. Then beat the white of the eggs to a froth, adding two tablespoonfuls of sugar ; put this on top and put it in the oven till it is brown. Lemon Pie that will Keep a Long Time. One pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, eight eggs, the rind of two lemons, the juice of one. Beat well and bake with an under crust in an oven not too hot, as it needs thorough baking and must not have a soft or custard look when done. This recipe will make two pies, which if not eaten fresh will be equally good a week after with a mer- ingue and browned in the oven. Cocoanut Pie. One teacup of sugar, one-half a cup of butter, three eggs, one grated cocoanut, one pint of milk ; underlined with pastry. 64 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Orange Pie. Three oranges peeled with a knife, and sliced in rounds into a plate lined with paste. Sprinkle well (if sour) with sugar, and add two tablespoonfuls of water if the oranges are sweet. Add the juice of half a lemon. Cover with paste and bake. This is as nice as peach pie. Pie Plant or Rhubarb Pie. Peel a bunch of pie plant, put it into your chopping- bowl and chop into pieces the size of your little finger nail ; grate the rind and squeeze the juice of a lemon over this, add sugar to taste ; put this into a pie dish lined with paste, and cut strips of paste and lay them across the top, and bake. Strawberry Pie. Make a nice puff paste, with which line a baking plate ; bake in a quick oven. Have ready sugared strawberries to fill the plate, and the white of an egg beaten to a froth and sweetened, with which to cover the berries. Return to the oven long enough to brown slightly. Pumpkin Pie. Of pumpkin or squash, stewed and strained, take one teacupful, two eggs, two teaspoonfuls of ginger, two of ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and milk enough for two pies; bake on an ordinary sized soup plate (one- third or one-quarter cream is an inprovement), sweeten to taste ; if the pumpkin is not quite dry, a little more than a tea- cupful will be required. Do not let them bake till they whey or the crust will be softened and the flavor spoiled. CRACKER PIE. — CREAM PIE, ETC. 65 Cracker Pie. One soda cracker, one coffee cupful of cold water, one cup- ful of sugar, one egg, one teaspoonful of tartaric acid, and one teaspoonful of essence of lemon. Break up the cracker into a bowl with the sugar, pour the water over ; stir in the acid and let it stand for half an hour, then add the egg, well beaten, and the lemon, and bake in a pie plate with top and bottom crusts. It is better cold, and tastes something like a lemon pie. Cream Pie. One pint of rich cream, one tablespoonful of flour, one egg ; sweeten to the taste ; a little nutmeg. Bake with an under crust. Cream Pie without Cream. For one pie, take two eggs, one-half of a cup of sugar, three tablespoonfuls of flour, one pint of sweet milk ; heat your milk, beat sugar, eggs and flour together ; add to the scalded milk, and cook to a thick custard ; flavor with the lemons; bake your crust, and when cold fill with the custard. Peach Pie. Line with paste a deep pie or "soup plate, then skin the peaches (or if they are fair-skinned and tender, rub off with a crash towel the downy coat), and lay on the plate as many as will make one layer ; cover with white sugar and lay on the top paste. Bake until the fruit is thoroughly done. If the crust is likely to be overdone, leave open the oven- door. Some prefer to have no under crust, in which case the upper crust should be somewhat thicker. To be eaten cold, and is delicious with the addition of cream. 66 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Apple Custard Pie. One pint of good stewed apples, quarter of a pound of butter, half a pint of cream, three eggs, beaten light. Sugar and flavoring to the taste. Bake on an under crust. Cream Pie— Unsurpassed. One pint of rich cream, one scant teacup of sugar, one tea- spoonful of vanilla, the whites of four eggs whipped to a stiff froth ; beat all together and pour into a pie plate lined with paste. Bake as you would custard pie and eat when very cold. PUDDINGS. 67 PUDDINGS. Suet Pudding. One cup of suet, one cup of molasses, one cup of sweet milk, one cup of raisins, three cups of flour, and a little salt and soda. Tie in a cloth, allowing a little room to swell, or put it into a tin pudding dish, and boil three or four hours. It is just as good the second day by steaming for an hour. To be eaten with liquid sauce. Cottage Pudding. One egg, one pint of flour, one cup of milk, one cup of sugar, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one teaspoon- ful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. Mix the cream of tartar in the flour, and the soda in the milk. Can be made in twenty minutes. Bake quickly, and eat with sauce. Square, shallow pans are better to bake in. Pudding Sauce. Three tablespoonfuls of white sugar, one even of flour, a piece of butter the size of a hen's egg, stirred to a cream. Stir in, gradually, a wine glass of sherry wine ; add a tea- cup of boiling water. Then set into a kettle of boiling water, stirring it constantly, until the flour is cooked. Gypsy Pudding. Cut stale sponge cake into thin slices ; spread with jelly or sweet meats, and put together like a sandwich ; then lay them in a deep dish and pour over boiled custard hot -, let it cool before serving. 68 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Eve's Pudding— Mrs. T.'s. If you want a good pudding, mind what you are taught ; Take of eggs six in number when bought for a groat ; The fruit with which Eve her husband did cozen, Well pared and well chopped at least half a dozen ; Six ounces of bread — let Moll eat the crust, And crumble the rest as fine as the dust ; Six ounces of sugar wont make it too sweet ; Some salt and some nutmeg will make it complete ; Three hours let it boil without any flutter, But Adam wont like it without wine and butter. Very Nice Bice Pudding. Put one-half cup of rice into one and one-half cups of water and set it upon the stove until about done, then stir in a pint of milk and let it come to a jelly. Beat the yolks of five eggs with five tablespoon fuls of powdered sugar, and stir in with a little salt while boiling. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth with five tablespoonfuls of sugar, and spread over the top and bake a little. It may be flavored with lemon or vanilla, and eaten hot or cold. Snow Pudding. One-half box of gelatine dissolved in a pint of warm wa- ter ; three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar. Beat the whites of three eggs, add gradually the gelatine, sugar, and juice of three lemons; beat constantly, hard and fast, from half an hour to an hour, or until it is about as stiff as pan- cake batter ; put it in the dish in which it is to be served, and set in a cold place or on ice : make the yolks into a soft custard, with a pint of milk, flavoring with the rind of the lemon. This pudding is good the second day, eaten with strawberries or brandied fruit. BALLOON PUDDING. — BROWN BREAD PUDDING, ETC. 69 Balloon Pudding. One quart of milk, one quart of flour, six eggs. Bake in small tins. Brown Bread Pudding. Three cups of Graham flour, three cups of corn meU, one cup of molasses, one quart of milk, one teaspoonful of soda. Boil three hours in a mould. A Delicate Pudding— Cocoanut and Rice, Half a teacup of rice in three pints of milk ; set it, in a tin pail, in a kettle of water ; let it simmer till the rice is cooked very soft ; set it by to cool. Beat five eggs, leav- ing out two whites, one coffee cup of sugar and one gra- ted cocoanut; stir in the rice and milk when cold, and set it in the oven to bake ; take out as soon as the custard forms ; do not wait for it to set, or it will whey. Make a meringue of the two whites of eggs and six tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar beaten to a stiff" froth ; pile up on the top and return to the oven for two minutes. Very nice hot or cold. Troy Pudding. One cup of suet, chopped fine, one and one-half cups of raisins, one cup of milk, one-half cup of molasses, three and one-half cups of flour, one teaspoonful of saleratus. Boil three hours. Sauce for the same. Five tablespoonfuls of white sugar, one tablespoonful of flour, three of butter, one pint of boihng water ; wine to the taste. 70 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Baked: Indian Pudding. One quart of milk, boiled ; seven tablespoonfuls of In- dian meal. Let it boil together five minutes, and cool ; then add three eggs, nutmeg, sweeten well, and bake an hour. Butter the dish well that the pudding is baked in. Sweet Corn Pudding. Ten or twelve ears of corn, one tablespoonful of flour, one tablespoonful of butter, one or two teaspoonfuls of sugar, a little salt, a quart of milk, three eggs. Put the flour and butter into the corn, then the sugar and salt, then the eggs and milk, and bake. Marlboro Pudding. Nine tablespoonfuls of sweetened stewed apples ; one- fourth of a pound of butter; six eggs, beaten separately; flavor with lemon or vanilla ; bake with an undercrust. The whites of two of the eggs may be reserved and mixed with one-half cup of sugar, spread over the top when baked and slightly browned. Queen of Puddings. One pint of bread crumbs, one quart of sweet milk, one cup of sugar, the yolks of four eggs, well beaten, the grated rind of one lemon, butter the size of an egg. When baked spread over the pudding a layer of fruit or jelly, and add a meringue made of the whites of the eggs, and one cup of sugar. PORK PUDDING. — WHORTLEBERRY PUDDING, ETC. 7 1 Pork Pudding. Two teacupfuls of sweet milk, one of molasses, one of salt pork ; after chopping very fine, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, two of cloves, two of cinnamon ; add fruit, using your own judgment as to the quantity, putting in flour enough to make it as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon ; put in a pan and steam five hours. Whortleberry Pudding. Six cups of flour, in which three teaspoonfuls of baking powder have been sifted, two cups of milk, stirred well to- gether; then add three pints of berries, and boil in a floured cloth or bag two hours and a half, Ser\ e with rich, sweet sauce. Rice Pudding, Half a teacup of rice in three pints of milk ; set it in a tin pail in a kettle of boiling water ; let it simmer till the rice is cooked soft ; while hot, stir in two tablespoonfuls of butter; set it by to cool; beat five eggs, leaving out two whites, and a teacup of sugar ; stir into the rice and milk when cold, and set into the oven to bake; take out as soon diS^it fvrjfis a custard ; do not wait for the custard to set or it will whey ; one-quarter of a pound of stoned raisins ad- ded to this is very nice. Make a meringue of the two whites of eggs and six tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar beaten to a stifl" froth ; pile up on the top and set in the oven just two minutes. Batter Pudding. Six eggs, beaten light ; six tablespoonfuls of flour, sifted one quart of sweet milk. Bake an hour. 72 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Lemon Rice Pudding. Boil one-half pint of rice in one quart of milk until very soft, add to it while hot the yolks of three eggs, gra- ted rinds of two lemons, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a pinch of salt. If too thick, add some cold milk. It should be a little thicker than boiled custard. Turn it into a pudding dish, beat the whites of the eggs very stiff together with eight tablespoonfuls of white sugar, and juice of the lemons, and brown on top. To be eaten icy cold. German Puff Pudding. One pint of milk, six eggs beaten separately and stirred into the milk. Take sifted flour and stir all into a thin batter. Bake half an hour in a quick oven. Boiled Indian Pudding. One quart of milk, one quart of corn meal, one-half pint of molasses, two eggs, a little salt, one teaspoonful of soda. Mixed cold, put into a bag and boil four hours. Phillis' Christmas Plum Pudding. One pound of flour, half a pound of suet, one pound of currants, half a pound of brown sugar, eight eggs, half a teacup of milk, one nutmeg, one wineglass of brandy, half a pound of citron. Boil ten to twelve hours. Amherst Pudding. Four cups of flour, three-fourths of a cup of molasses, one cup of milk, one cup of chopped rasins, one cup of chopped suet, one teaspoonful of soda, spice to taste. Steam three hours. APPLE BETTY. — FARINA PUDDING, ETC. 73 Apple Betty. Take one pint of stewed apples, sweetened, a small lump of butter 'and a teacup of rich milk, or thin cream ; put the apple into a pudding dish in layers, with thin shav- ings from a loaf of bread between the layers ; pour the milk over it and bake a half hour. To be eaten with Fairy Sauce — that is, butter and sugar stirred to a frothy compound, flavored with wine and nutmeg. Farina Pudding. Stir into one quart of milk, while boiling, three large tablespoonfuls of farina; set it away to cool; then add three well-beaten eggs, three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, a little salt, and put into your pudding dish that has been well buttered ; set into the oven in a pan half filled with boiling water; bake for about half an hour, and then turn out upon a platter, and serve hot with a sauce made of butter and sugar beaten to a cream and flavored with nutmeg or vanilla. If the pudding dish is oval-shaped of the size of the platter upon which the pudding is to be served, and the sauce put over the top of the pudding, a most tempting dessert is before you. English Plum Pudding Without Eggs. One bowl of flour, one bowl ot sugar, one bowl of suet, one bowl of fruit, one dessert spoonful of salt ; cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to taste. The fruit should be raisins, currants, and citron cut into strips, candied orange peeling, and if desired, blanched almonds. Boil constantly for six hours, leaving room in the bag for it to swell. It should be boiled the day before it is wanted. Keep in the bag. Next day boil one hour. Eat with a rich sauce. 74 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Genuine English Phm Pudding. Grate the crumbs of a ten cent loaf of bread, boil a quart of rich milk, strain and set to cool ; pick, wash aiid dry a pound of currants, stone and cut a pound of raisins ; strew over the fruit three large tablespoonfuls of flour. Roll fine a pound of brown sugar and mince three-quarters of a pound of beef suet. Prepare two grated nutmegs, a large table- spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon, the grated peel and juice of two large lemons or oranges, and one-half pound of cut citron ; beat ten eggs very light and stir them gradually into the cold milk, alternately with the suet and grated bread crumbs ; add by degrees the sugar, fruit and spice with a large glass of brandy, and one ot white wine, mix the whole very well, then pour it into a mould or a scalded and floured pudding bag, and put into boiling water and boil steadily five hours, replenishing the pot with boiling water. If you wish a sensation, send it to the table blazing. To accomplish this pour a wine glass of strong brandy into a hollow, scooped with a spoon from the top of the pudding, just as the waiter is entering with the dish let the brandy be ignited. Snow Cream. Pour one pint of boiling w^ter over one-half box of sparkling gelatine (in weight three-quarters of an ounce), add two cups of sugar, the juice of two lemons and grated rind or zest of one ; strain it and when cool add the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth ; then beat the whole with an egg beater until it becomes stiff; make a soft boiled custard with the yolks of the eggs, half a cup of sugar and one pint of milk, flavor to taste ; and when cold pour on the pudding. FRIED PUDDING, ETC. 75 Fried Br3ad Pudding, One pint of milk, three eggs, a pinch of salt, and flour enough to make a very thin batter ; cut a stale baker's loaf in slices one inch thick ; dip each slice one instant in milk, then lay them in the batter for fifteen to twenty min- utes ; remove carefully with a pancake turner when ready to cook, and fry brown on both sides in hot batter in a fry- ing pan; eat with sauce. Sauce — Half a pint bowl of brown sugar, two heaped tablespoonfuls of butter, a wine glass of rose water or brandy, all stirred to a cream ; then dredge in about a tablespoonful of flour, and add a teacup of boiling water, stirring well for two or three minutes ; grate half a nutmeg over the top, and use the moment it is done. The above is a delicious French desert, though bearing so homespun a title. My Pudding— (I. G. D. S.) Beat the yolks and whites separately of five eggs, and gradually add a coffee cup of milk, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, a quarter of a grated nutmeg, four tablespoonfuls of flour, half a pound of grated bread crumbs (a scant pint bowl makes half a pound generally), and half a pound of fine chopped suet, or if preferred four ounces of butter; mix all thoroughly half an hour before pouring it into the butter- ed mould or bag. When ready to put over to boil or steam, stir in the juice and rind of two lemons ; boil or steam three hours. When dishing it for the table, pour cnm it the fol- lowing sauce, piping hot. Sauce — One pint of madeira or sherry wine, heated to boiling and into which stir as much loaf sugar as it will take up, say two or three teacupfuls ; let this sauce sim- mer to the consistency of thick syrup or molasses, before serving. 76 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Orange Pudding. Grate the yellow of two oranges, and juice of three, add one cup of white sugar, one cracker, a small piece of butter, four eggs, one cup of sweet milk. Line pudding dish with paste, and bake until firm, nice either hot or cold. Tapioca Pudding. Put into one quart of milk two thirds of a cup of tapioca that has soaked over night ; set it on the back part of the stove and heat gently until the tapioca becomes clear, then beat the yolks of four eggs with one cup of sugar and a wine glassful of wine or the rind and juice of one lemon ; stir this into the boiling milk and tapioca ; of the whites of the eggs make a frosting with one cup of pulverized sugar. Add the juice of a lemon or other flavoring, spread over the top of the pudding in a baking dish, and let it just brown to a cream tint in the oven. It is best eaten cold. Cream Batter Pudding. Half a pint of sour cream, half a pint of sweet milk, half a pint of flour, three eggs, half a teaspoonful of soda. Beat the whites and the yolks of the eggs separately, and add the whites last. Bake in a moderately hot oven. This is the queen of batter puddings. Eat with half a cup of butter and one cup of sugar, stirred to a cream and flavored with a teaspoonful of extract of vanilla or a table- spoonful of brandy. Rennet Wine. Take a rennet freshly salted, wash clean, and soak half an hour ; cut up into a quart of madeira or sherry, and cork tightly. With this make " Velvet Slip," page 77. PUDDING SAUCE,. — FIG PUDDING, ETC. 77 Pudding Sauce. Add to a coffee cup of boiling milk, one tablespoonful of flour, wetted with two of cold milk, have ready a tea cup of sugar, and half a tea cup of butter, throughly stirred to- gether and when the flour and milk have boiled two or three minutes add the sugar and butter, stir well but do not boil, flavor with lemon or vanilla. Pig Pudding. Six ounces of suet, six ounces of bread crumbs, six ounces of sugar, one half pound of figs chopped fine, three eggs, one cup of milk, one nutmeg, one-half glass of brandy, one-half teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar. Steam three hours. Wine sauce. Lemon Pudding. Mix three large tablespoonfuls of corn starch with cold water very thin ; pour in three coffee cups of boiling water, and boil till it thickens, stirring all the time ; then add two coffee cups of sugar, the grated rind and juice of two large lemons, two eggs well beaten, and salt to taste. Butter a pudding dish, and bake twenty minutes. To be eaten cold, and it is very nice with cream. Velvet Slip. Take two quarts of new milk, warm from the cow, sweet- en and flavor the same, half a dozen peach leaves boiled in a tea cup of milk, and added, flavors delightfully ; stir into this a tablespoonful of the rennet wine that has been made five days or more. Set in a cool place four or five hours, and eat with cream. 78 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Fritters. One pint of sour milk, two eggs, soda enough to sweeten the milk, a little salt, one tablespoonful of melted lard, stir a little thicker than for griddle cakes ; drop from a spoon into hot lard. Omelet Souffle. One cup of flour, one pint of milk, one tablespoonful of sugar, piece of butter the size of a walnut Scald milk, butter and flour together. After the batter is cold, stir in the yolks of eight eggs, and just before baking, the whites beaten light. Bake in a quick oven. Eat with sauce. Poor Man's Rice Pudding, Two quarts of rich milk, one teacup of raw rice well washed, one teacup, or more, of sugar, a piece of butter the size of an egg, and a little salt. Flavor with nutmeg. Bake slowly from one and a half to two hours. Stir occa- sionally during the first hour to prevent the rice from set- ling in the bottom of the dish. Some like a few raisins added. This is very nice when cold. Lemon Custards that will Keep a Week. Beat the yolks of eight eggs until they are white, then put to them a pint of boiling water, the rinds of two lemons grated, and the juice sweetened to your taste, stir it on the fire until it is thick, then add a glass of wine or a little brandy, and after giving it one scald, put in cups to eat cold. If it does not come thick enough a Httle corn starch can be added. WASHINGTON PIE. BOILED BATTER PUDDING, ETC. 79 Washington Pie— A Eeady Dessert. Two cups of sugar, half a cup of butter, one cup of milk (if sour stir in one teaspoonful of saleratus), add one egg. Beat the butter and sugar together, then break in the egg and beat it light, then add the milk foaming, and three and a half cups of flour (if the milk is sweet, use three t^aspoonfuls of baking powder in the flour instead of saleratus). Bake in four tin plates in a quick oven ; then have ready some nicely stewed apples, sweetened and flavored with nutmeg or lemon, or other fruit like raspberry jam ; spread a thick layer on one of the cakes and place another on the top, making two pies. In an emergency they may be made after the dinner is served if the fruit is at hand. Boiled Batter Pudding. Four tablespo^nfuls of flour, four eggs, one pint of milk ; mix well, and boil an hour. Whortleberry Pudding, One quart of flour, one heaping tablespoonful of baking powder, a little salt, and mix with cold water, having the dough softer than for soda biscuit; roll out the paste and pour upon it one quart of whortleberries, then cover the berries by securely lapping the paste as for dumplings The water must be boiling, the pot ample and well filled with the boiling water. Dip the pudding cloth in hot water, then flour it well ; tie the pudding very closely in the cloth and let it boil steadily one hour. Sauce — One cup of sugar, a little less than a half a cup of butter, worked together until white and smooth ; add a wine glass of good wine, flavor with nutmeg ; just before sending to the table pour in boiling milk until the whole is the consistency of thick cream. Stir the sauce when used as it will settle a little. HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. CHARLOTTES AND CREAMS, MERIN- " GUES, &c. Charlotte Russe. Take one pint of milk ; make a rich custard ; boiled hot over hot water. Dissolve one ounce of English gelatine in a little hot water; whip to a stiff froth one quart of cream flavored with vanilla. When the custard is perfectly cold, stir them all together. Have your dish ready lined with sponge cake, fill and place in powdered ice. Delicate Custard. Heat a quart of milk quite hot that it may not whey when baked, let it stand till cold ; then beat six eggs very light (five will do very well), and add to the milk; sweet- en to taste with white sugar, flavor with lemon or vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Fill cups or bowls and set them in the oven in a dripping pan filled with boiling water. When the water has boiled ten or fifteen minutes take out a cup and if the cup is the consistency of jelly it is done. Cover the cups and they will bake better. Spanish Cream. Dissolve half a package of Cox's gelatine in half a pint of cold milk. Simmer a quart of milk ; while hot on the stove pour in the gelatine stirring till perfectly dissolved , add the beaten yolks of eight eggs, sugar and vanilla, as for a custard and let them scald one minute or a little more. When done pour the mixture into a large dish containing the well beaten whites of the eight eggs; stir briskly for one minute and pour into moulds. It will fill two quarts and one pint. I CHARLOTTE RUSSE. 8 1 Charlotts Russe. Four eggs, three pints of cream, one oz. of gelatine, one pound of sugar. Flavor with vanilla bean. Beat the eggs light, grate the bean into the sugar, and then stic in the egg ; add the gelatine when it is dissolved and cool. Whip the cream very light, and stir in the froth. Cut your cake and place around and on the bottom of the mould or dish in which it is to be shaped. When the Russe begins to stiffen, pour it on the cake, and let it cool until it is in a state to turn out. This quantity will make four medium sized moulds. Charlotte Russe, No. 2. * Sweeten and flavor to taste one quart of fresh cream ; whip it to a froth. Break up one ounce of Cooper's isin- glass into a half pint of water, and set it over a boiling tea- kettle to dissolve. When thoroughly dissolved pour it in- to the cream, stirring it until it begins to thicken. Line a mould with lady fingers and pour in the mixture. Charlotte Russe, No. 3. Four sheets of Cooper's isinglass broken up and soaked in cold water till soft, then pour off the water and put the isinglass into a pint of milk, and set it on the stove to dis- solve. Beat the yolks of four eggs till very light, with three-quarters of a pound of sugar. Beat the whites sepa- rately. When the isinglass is dissolved, and the milk very hot (it should not boil), pour it on the yolks and sugar, and add the beaten whites. Have ready a quart of cream churned to a froth, which add when the custard is quite cold and commencing to thicken, stirring very thor- oughly. Flavor with vanilla and put into moulds lined with sponge cake. 82 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Ice Cream. To one quart of cream take six ozs. of sugar, grate in one quarter of a vanilla bean, strain it and put it into your freez- er; add the whites of two eggs beaten very light, with three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar to stiffen them. If your cream is not very rich, boil a little milk, sweeten it, beat two eggs very light and stir in and cook like soft custard. The flavor will perhaps be better if the vanilla bean is boiled a few minutes in a little milk, which may be added to the cream when cool. Biscuit (jlace. To half a pound of powdered sugar add the yolks of four eggs and vanilla flavor; beat well and then take two quarts of well whipped cream, and mix with sugar and yolks; color some of it red and spread on the bottom of paper capsules and fill up with the fresh cream. Then put them in a tin box with cover and pack well up on all sides with pounded ice and salt. Let stand for two hours; it is then ready for use. The above receipt was procured from the French cook at . the St. Nicholas Hotel, New York, where biscuits glace reach a perfection that cannot be excelled by any confec- tioner. Chocolate Ice. Grate two cakes of chocolate, and mix to a paste in milk. Boil one quart ot milk and when boiling, add the chocolate with sugar enough to make it very sweet. When cool and ready for the freezer, pour in a teaspoonful of vanilla and freeze as ice-cream. \ I LEMON ICE. ITALIAN CREAM, ETC. 83 Lemon Ice. Take the juice of four lemons, add about three pints of water and sweeten as for lemonade. To every pint, when it begins to freeze, stir into it the whites of two eggs beaten very light with a little powdered sugar. This will make it smooth. Any kind of water ice may be made in this way, by mixing the strained juice of the fruit, currant, raspberry, strawberry, etc., with water, sweeten to taste and add the juice of a lemon and the white of egg when it begins to freeze. Italian Cream. Mix one pint of rich cream with half a pint of milk, sweeten to taste; add two gills of Maderia wine, one gill of rose water. Beat these thoroughly together. Take one and a half ounces of isinglass, break it small into a very little water and set it over a boiling teakettle until dissolved; strain and stir into the cream. Fill the moulds and set in a cool place. Gelatine Pudding. One-third of a box of gelatine, one-half pint of cold water; let it stand an hour, and add one half pint of boiling water. When dissolved add three lemons and two cups of sugar, the juice of three lemons and grated rind of one. Strain into a di3h to cool. Make a custard from the yolks of three eggs, one pint of milk, one cup of sugar, and flavor with vanilla. Just before using cut the jelly into squares and place in a glass dish ; pour the custard over it, beat the whites to a froth with a little sugar, and pour over the top. 84 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Eussian Cream. One half box of gelatine ; cover it with water and let it stand fifteen minutes. Beat the yolks of four eggs, and one cup of powdered sugar together; stir in the gelatine and pour all into one quart of boiling milk. Flavor with vanilla. Let it cool a little, and then stir in the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth ; pour into moulds and let it stand four hours, when it will be ready to use. Isabella Cream. One-quarter of a box of gelatine, one pint of milk, three eggs. With the eggs and milk make a boiled custard. Dissolve the gelatine in a little extra milk and add to the custard after it cools. Flavor with vanilla and sweeten to taste, then whip a pint of cream and add to it with one wine-glass of wine. Stand two hours to set and cool. Cream a la Mode. Put half a pound of white sugar into a deep glass dish ; two wine glasses of wine and the juice of one large lemon ; to one ounce of isinglass, add one pint of water ; let it simmer down one half; strain it on the above, and by degrees add one and a half pints of cresm, that has been well whipped; stir till cool, and place it on ice, to set. Tapioca Cream. One teacup of tapioca; add to it sufficient milk to make it soft, then take one quait of milk, let it boil for a few min- utes ; beat two eggs, whites and yolks separately, stir the yolks into the milk, and, when it begins to boil, add the tapioca ; let it boil up, then stir the whites very thoroughly through it. Flavor to taste ; eat cold. The tapioca must soak over night. ORANGE JELLY. — ISABELLA CREAM, ETC. 85 Orange Jelly. One package of gelatine in one pint of cold water, six or eight oranges, the peel of four taken off very thin, the juice of one lemon, two pounds of sugar, one quart of boiHng water; stir until all is dissolved, then add four tablespoon- fuls of brandy or wine. Strain and cool. Isabella Cream, No. 2. One ounce of isinglass dissolved in one-half pint of boil- ing water. After straining it, add one quart of cream and stir until it boils. One teacup of crushed sugar is now put in and the mixture cooled a little. The beaten yolks of six eggs are then added, with one glass of wine. The whole should be strained and stirred until almost cool and then turned into a mould. CoDoanut Custard. To one pound of grated cocoanut allow one pint of milk and six ounces of sugar. Beat well the yolks of six eggs and stir them alternately in the milk with the cocoanut and sugar. Pour this into a dish lined with paste and bake twenty minutes, or, if preferred, treat the milk, cocoanut, eggs and sugar as for boiled custard and serve in cups. Custard to Turn Out. Mix with the yolks of four eggs, well beaten, one pint of new milk, one half oz. of dissolved isinglass; sweeten with sugar and boil over the fire till it thickens. Pour into a dish and stir till a little cooler, then pour into cups to turn out when cold. Add flavoring to the eggs. 86 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Iced Coffee. One pint of strong coffee ; one pint of rich cream ; one- half a pound of sugar ; then freeze. Pineapple Ice. Peel and grate two pineapples, let them stand in a dish covered with sugar until the juice is extracted; then squeeze through fine muslin, and add as much water as juice, stir in thoroughly the whites of a dozen well beaten eggs ; add su- gar to make it sweet, if needed, then freeze. Rice Meringue. Boil nearly one teacupful of rice very soft, add one pint of milk, the grated rind and juice of one lemon, half a teacup of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, four eggs, reserving the whites of three to be beaten to a stiff froth, adding two table- spoonfuls of powdered sugar; bake the same as a custard. The whites are to be put on after it is done, and browned a very little. Sweeten to your taste. Apple Pudding Meringue. Stew some tender apples — if juicy they will require very little water to cook them. Add to one pound of the mashed apples, sifted through a cullender and sweetened, a quarter of a pound of butter (while the apples are hot), add (when cold) four eggs, keeping out the whites of two. Pour this out into pie dishes lined with pie crust. Take four or six tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar and add to the two whites after they have been well beaten, also a little lemon juice. Spread over the top of the pies after they are baked, and let stand in the oven from one to five minutes to brown the meringue. This is a delicious desert. FRENCH MERINGUE. PEACH MERINGUE, ETC. 87 French Meringue. One gill of sugar, one quart of milk, one pint of bread crumbs, yolks of four eggs, one teaspoonful of vanilla ; pour into a pudding dish, and bake. When cold spread on top raspberry jam, or any other marmalade, or jelly of any kind. Beat the remaining whites of eggs to a meringue ; sprinkle with sugar.and brown for a few moments in the oven. Peach Meringue. Cut up peaches and put in the bottom of a dish : sprinkle them with sugar. Make an icing of the whites of three eggs and three-fourths of a cup of sugar, spread over the peaches and bake a few minutes. Orange Souffle. Two oranges peeled and cut in thin slices in your pud- ding dish, with sugar sprinkled over them, and let stand an hour. Make a custard with the yolks of four eggs and one pint of milk, sweetened to taste, pour over the oranges boil- ing hot. Beat the whites to a stiff froth with five table- spoonfuls of pulverized sugar, spread over the top of the custard, set the dish in a pan of water and put in the oven until it is a lovely brown. Fruit Charlotte. Line a dish with sponge cake , place upon the bottom, in the renter of the dish, grated pine apple; cover with a whipped cream blanc mange. Keep back a little of the cream to pour over the top after it is turned out of the mould. 88 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Charlotte of Apples. Melt a lump of butter in a bowl of stewed sour apples. Pass them through a cullender, sweeten with brown sugar, and flavor with nutmeg. Cut some pieces of bread dipped in melted butter, and lit them to your mould, and fill it with the apple, cover with thin slices of bread, and set in the oven until it browns nicely. Serve hot, with sauce or cream. Caramels. One cup of brown sugar, one cup of white sugar, one cup of milk, two cups of molasses, one tablespoonful of flour, butter the size of an egg, eight ozs. of chocolate. Boil an hour ; pour on a platter, when cool cut in small square cakes. Molasses Candy. Two cups of molasses, one and one -half cups of brown sugar, one-half cup of vinegar, one-fourth cup of butter. Made thus, there will be no adhering to the fingers in pull- ing, and sticks as white and delicious as any one could wish for will be the result. Bell's Candy. Two cups of sugar, one cup of water, juice of two lemons; let the sugar and water boil "to the crack" (or thirty to forty minutes), in a frying pan or spider; add the lemon and stir ten minutes after removing from the fire. SALADS. 89 SALADS. Chicken Salad. One chicken, three bunches of celery, four eggs whites and yolks (beaten separately)^ two tablespoonfuls of mixed mustard, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one teaspoonful of pep- per, one tablespoonful of butter (hard), six or eight table- spoonfuls of vinegar. Set the dish with these ingredients into a pan of boiling water on the stove, and stir until it thickens like custard; then set off to cool. Cut the chicken, that has been carefully boiled, into little pieces, and the celery also, and pour over them the dressing, adding, if you pjease, a little olive oil and sweet cream. Chicken Salad, No. 2. Two common sized fowls, one teacupful of fresh sweet oil, half a jar of French mustard, the yolks of ten eggs (boiled hard), half a pint of vinegar, one teaspoonful of cay- enne pepper, eight heads of celery, one teaspoonful of salt, or more if required. Boil the fowls and put sufficient salt in the water to make them palatable. When they are perfectly cold, cut the meat from the bones in pieces about a quarter of an inch in size. Cut the white part of the celery about the same. Mix the chicken and celery and set them away. Mash the eggs to a paste with the oil, then add the vinegar and mustard, cayenne and salt. Mix them all thoroughly. When the dressing is made it must not be poured over the salad until about half an hour before it is to be used, as the celery becomes wilted. 90 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Dressing for Salad. Four eggs beaten light, yolks and whites together, two tablespoonfuls of mixed mustard, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of black pepper, or one-third of a tea- spoon of red pepper, one tablespoonful of butter, and nearly one teacupful of sharp vinegar. Float the pan con- taining the ingredients in a pan of boiling water on the stove and stir until it is thick like custard. When cold pour over the salad, adding cold vinegar if needed. German Salad Dressing. The yolks of three hard boiled eggs, put through a sieve, the yolks of three raw eggs, oue teaspoonful of salt. Beat well together until cream like, then add a pint of olive oil, one cup of vinegar, a little pepper, and a little sugar. Beat all well together until light, cold and creamy. Add capers if used for fish dressing. Dressing for a Mayonaise. The yolks of four eggs beaten light with a silver fork ; then add, drop by drop, a teacupful of the finest salad oil, two small onions, and a small bunch of celery, minced very fine ; pour this over a white fish that has been boiled in salted and spiced water flavored with a lemon (juice and rind); remove the bones from the fish ; when cold, pile into a shape, and as it comes to table pour oyer the dressing. PICKLES AND CATSUPS. 9 1 PICKLES AND CATSUPS. Tomato Catsup, Break up the tomatoes and stew them till they are soft enough to strain through a cullender. After straining, to one gallon of tomatoes put four tablespoonfuls of salt, four or live pods of red pepper, chopped fine, three white onions, sliced thin. Boil to a half gallon, and when nearly done, put in two tablespoonfuls of ground cloves. It should be kept closely corked and sealed. Tomato Mustard. , One bushel of tomatoes ; take out the stalks and boil for an hour with six red peppers. Then strain through a sieve and add one-half pound of salt, one ounce of ginger, one half ounce of cloves, three tablespoonfuls of black pepper, one ounce of allspice, two onions. Boil for six hours to a thick paste; when cold add one-fourth of a pound of mustard and one-half pint of vinegar. Cucumber Catsup. Late in September take a bushel of full grown cucum- bers, peel and slice them, sprinkle them with salt, and let them stand over a sieve two hours that the salt may drain off, then chop them fine. Add two dozen onions cut up small, one pound of white mustard seed, one pound of black mustard, one-fourth of a pound of black pepper, ground. Mix all together very thoroughly with the best vinegar, making it the consistency of a thick catsup, and fill your jars, tying up closely. 92 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Plum Catsup. To three pounds of fruit put one and three-quarter pounds of sugar, one tablespoonful of cloves, one table- spoonful of cinnamon, one tablespoonful of pepper, and very little salt. Scald the plums and put them through a cullender, then boil until about the same consistency as the tomato catsup. Another Peach or Plum Pickle. Seven pounds of fruit, three pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, a little water to dissolve the sugar. Boil up the fruit in this syrup. Stick a clove in each peach, and add cinnamon ; take them out and add the vinegar. For plums put one pint of molasses to this quantity of sugar, and not as many cloves. Spiced Currants or Grapes. One spoonful of cloves and one spoonful of cinnamon to one quart of fruit ; three pounds of sugar and one quart of vinegar to five quarts of fruit. Boil the sugar, spices and vinegar together, and pour on to the fruit hot. The same proportions for Peach Pickle. Peaches will need to be cooked in the vinegar till they are tender. Rub them clean of the downy coat, prick them over with a fork, and put a few at a time in the kettle. Canadian Bed Belish, To a quart of boiled beets chopped the size of peas, add a teacup of very finely chopped raw onions. Make a dressing of vinegar, pepper, salt, and mustard, and if it is liked, oil sufficient to wet it. PICCALILLI. — PEACH PICKLE, ETC. 93 Piccalilli. One peck of green tomatoes, three small cabbages, six good sized cucumbers, six large green peppers, six white onions, one gill of white mustard seed. Chop fine and let the whole lie in weak brine for twenty-four hours; drain well, and add vinegar, spiced to taste, boiling hot. Cover close. Peach Pickle. To seven pounds of fruit take one quart of vinegar, three pounds of sugar, one teaspoonful of ground cloves and one of cinnamon (tied in a muslin bag), rub the peaches clean of their downy coat, prick them with a fork, and put them, a few at a time, into the spiced vinegar. Let them cook till they are tender. Put them into jars, as taken out, and pour the vinegar over them. This is equally good for plums, quinces, or any other fruit. White Pickle. Two quarts of vinegar, one-quarter of a pound of ground mustard, one-quarter pound of white mustard seed, two ounces of black mustard seed, one teaspoonful of root gin- ger, one teaspoonful of celery seed; tarragon and mace to taste ; green and red pepper to taste ; a lemon or two cut into this quantity improves the flavor, as also does a root of horse radish. Scald the vinegar before adding the above ingredients, and pour all when cold over sliced green toma- toes that have stood in salt one day. It is equally good over beans, cucumbers, etc. 94 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Piccalilli, Slice a peck of green tomatoes, with a pint of salt, next day drain well and chop, ('hop a dozen large cucumbers, half a dozen onions, a head of cabbage, half a dozen red peppers. Mix well together and scald with vinegar. Drain well. Add one pint of mustard seed, one pint of molasses, one tablespoonful of ground cloves, half an ounce of celery seed and a cup of grated horse radish ; mix well. On the top of each jar put a thick layer of brown sugar, and fill with good vinegar. Tomato Catsup. Two pecks of tomatoes, six onions, one dozen of peach leaves, one bulb of garlic, one teaspoonful of red pepper, one tablespoonful of black pepper, two spoonfuls of ground cloves, two tablespoonfuls of ground mustard, one half pound of brown sugar, one cup of good vinegar. Slice the tomatoes, sprinkle them with salt, and let them stand several hours. Drain them well and boil together with the peach leaves, onions and garlic, until done ; rub through a sieve. Boil the pulp until as thick as you wish. Twenty minutes before you take it up^ add the sugar, vinegar and spice. Spiced Currants or Grapes. To six pounds of fruit, four pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar. Boil to a thick jam. Just before taking it up, stir in two tablespoonfuls of powdered cloves and the same of cinnamon. Very nice to eat with meats. To Keep Eggs. Half a pint of unslacked lime, the same quantity of salt, two gallons of hot water. When perfectly cold put in the eggs. They will keep for months. CUCUMBER PICKLES, ETC. 95 Chicuniber Pickles. Make a brine strong enough to bear up an egg ; pour it scalding hot over the pickles. Let them stand twenty- four hours. Take them out, wipe and put into cold vine- gar. To one gallon of vinegar add one tablespoonful of salt, a piece of ginger root, and a lump of alum the size of a walnut. Set them over the fire, stirring up from the bot- tom all the while until they are scalded, but not to boil. Break into them two or three small green peppers and bottle them. For Pickling Small Cucumbers. Wash the cucumbers and put into a jar, throw a double handful of salt over them, cover with boiling water and let them stand twenty-four or thirty-six hours. Then after pouring off the brine and wiping them dry, drop a few at a time into scalding vinegar, to which you have added a bag of spices and a little sugar, and let them be until thoroughly heated through ; then put into jars, and pour the hot vinegar over them. If it is deemed desirable to have them green in color, they can be made beautifully so by using an old-fashioned brass kettle for scalding them in the vinegar. Pepper Sauce. Take twenty-five peppers without the seeds, cut them pretty fine, then take more than double the quantity of cabbage, cut like slaw, one root of horse radish grated, a handful of salt, rather more than a tablespoonful of mustard seed, a tablespoonful of allspice, and the same of cloves ; simmer a sufficient quantity of vinegar to cover it and pour over, mixing well through. g6 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Pickled Peaches. Twelve pounds of peaches, six pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar; make the syrup with the vinegar; work the peaches a Httle ; pour over hot, two or three tinnes, cloves, cinnamon and mace. Tomato Catsup. Scald the tomatoes, press them through a sieve; boil three gallons of this juice, thus pressed out, down to one gallon. Add one and one- half pints of cider vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of black pepper, two of cloves, one of cay- enne, four of salt ; mix well ; bottle, and stop tight. Melon Mangoes. The late small smooth musk melons are used for this pickle. Wash and put them into a strong brine and let them lie twenty-four hours or more, then throw them into fresh cold water and let them remain over night. Cut out neatly a piece at the stem or from the side, take out the seeds and carefully scrape the inside with a teaspoon, then scatter within celery seed which will adhere to the sides of the melon, and stuff with such materials as you may have, shreded cabbage, broken cauliflower, small onions and cu- cumbers, green beans, radish and the like, scattering in also whole cloves and allspice, pieces of stick cinnamon and a little white mustard seed. After filling the melon sew each piece that has been cut out, into its place with a needle and coarse thread. Drop them into scalding vine- gar a few moments, put them into a jar and pour hot vine- gar over them; in a day or two drain off and re-scald the vinegar, and pour over them again. TOMATO CHOWDER. — GREEN TOMATO PICKLES. 97 Tomato 'Chowder. One-half bushel of green tomatoes, one-half peck of pep- pers, red and green, eight good sized onions, two large cabbage heads. Chop all fine, place in an earthen jar, with one quart of salt, for twenty-four hours; then strain and press it thoroughly ; now place in weak vinegar and boil for a few moments. Set it away for twenty-four hours. Then drain thoroughly, and add cold vinegar with these spices; two ounces of celery seed, two boxes of ground cinnamon, one tablespoonful of cloves, one pound of brown sugar, two or three sticks of horse radish chopped fine. If not salty enough, add more to suit the taste. Green Tomato Pickles. Cut your tomatoes in thin slices and let them boil four or five minutes in salt and water. Then take them out and put in a cullender to drain. To one quart of vinegar add one pound of sugar, a few allspice, cloves and cinna- mon. Let it come to a boil, then put in the tomatoes and boil a few minutes. Take them out and put in a jar. Let the vinegar scald again and pour over. 98 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. PRESERVES AND JELLIES To Skin Peaches. To two quarts of wood ashes put four quarts of soft water ; place in an iron pot, ashes and all, and let it come to a boil ; throw in a dozen peaches, take them out almost immediately, and throw into a pail of cold water. The skin will slip off without any trouble, when the round ball should be passed to another pail of clear water, to remain until wanted for the kettle ; put more peaches into the pot and proceed in the same manner until all are done. Mrs. L.'s Receipt for Preserving Peaches. One peck of rich yellow peaches, five pounds of crushed sugar, one quart of water. Boil the syrup until clear, and, in the meantime, fill cans or jars with peaches, packed as full as possible, whole or in halves, as you please. Pour the syrup boiling hot over them ; then place the jars thus filled in pans of water on the stove and let them be heated to the boiling point — then seal. Grape Jam. Pick the grapes from the stem and wash them ; ^fter they are drained slip the pulp from the skin, keeping them in separate dishes, then boil the pulp until it will easily part from the seeds. Strain through a cullender, rinsing the seed with a little water. Boil the skins (adding some water) until they are quite tender, (the Isabella will not become as tender as other varieties). Then put all together and weigh one pound of sugar to one pound of fruit. Boil two or three minutes and put into cups or jars. GRAPE JELLY. — ORANGE MARMALADE, ETC. 99 Grape Jelly. Differs only by heating the grapes ; bruising them mean- time with a ladle or potato masher until the juice runs freely, then strain through a sieve or thin cloth, and meas- ure one pint for one pound of sugar. Boil the juice fifteen or twenty minutes before putting in the sugar ; after adding the. sugar let it boil from three to five min- utes. All fruit will form more readily in a jelly if not quite ripe; if the fruit is over-ripe I have sometimes used a little tartaric acid. Orange Marmalade, Three pounds of oranges, two pounds of lemons, five pounds of sugar. Directions — Peel the oranges and lemons, put the skins of both in the preserving pan, cover with water and cook till tender; then take them out, and put the pulps into the same water and cook from one to two hours, adding more water if it gets too thick ; while the pulp is cooking cut the skins in strips as fine as possible ; strain the pulp through a jelly bag, and put the juice back in the pan with the sugar ; when it is dissolved put in the skins; boil about fifteen min- utes, and it is ready to put in bowls. Apple Jelly. Core and quarter, but not pare, tart apples. Cook in a little more water than will cover them till well reduced. Strain, add one pound of sugar to one pint of the juice, boil twenty minutes or half an hour, and strain carefully into your moulds. Slices of lemon or Jamaica ginger may be added to the apples while boiling. lOO HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Hipe Peach Marmalade. One-half pound of sugar, one pound of peaches, cut up ; put the sugar over ; cook slowly two hours ; put in cups or bowls. Jelly Without Boiling. To three packages of sparkling gelatine, one quart of cold water, juice of four lemons and the thin yellow peel; let it stand one hour, and add three quarts of boiling water, one quart of wine and three pounds of sugar ; when the sugar is dissolved, strain and set away to cool. Lemon Jelly. One ounce of gelatine, (red the best), one pound of su- gar, one quart of boiling water, four lemons ; cut the lemons in slices and bruise them, then add the sugar and gelatine, and pour upon the whole the boiling water; set the vessel containing them upon the stove and stir until the gelatine is well dissolved; then pour into moulds or tumblers. Currant Jelly. Pick over the fruit but leave it on the stems. Put it into the preserving kettle and break with a ladle or wooden masher, squeeze through a coarse linen bag, or put into a bag and let it drip over a crock through one night. Then weigh a pound of sugar to a pint of juice ; heat the sugar and add to the juice after it has boiled twenty minutes or a half hour ; boil about five minutes after adding the sugar ; take off the fire and pour into your jelly glasses. CRAB-APPLE JELLY. WINE JELLY, ETC. lOI Crab-Apple Jelly. Boil the fruit whole in water enough to cover it until it is perfectly soft, then pour the contents of the kettle into a coarse linen bag and suspend it between two chairs with a pan under it and leave it until it ceases to drip. Then press it a very little. Allow a pound of sugar to a pint of the juice — if you choose, add the juice of a lemon to every quart of syrup. Boil the juice first and skim it ; heat the sugar in a dish in the stove oven and add it as the syrup boils up. Boil gently twenty minutes and pour in tumblers or moulds. Wine Jelly. To a package of gelatine add one pint of cold water, the juice of three lemons and the rind of one ; then add three pints of boiling water, one pint of wine, two and a half pounds of white crushed sugar ; run into moulds and stand it in a cool place. The flavor may be varied by ad- ding three or four whole cloves, a stick or two of cinna- mon, or oranges may be substituted for lemons. Worth Knowing. In boiling fruit, take a thick cloth (or one folded in sev- eral thicknesses), wring it out in cold water and lay on a table. On this set the bottles for filling, and you may pour in the boiling fruit with impunity, thus avoiding the dis- comfort of standing over a hot stove during the process, handling heated bottles. If the cloth becomes warm wring it out again. Some persons think a dry cloth answers the same purpose. I02 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. A Nice Way to Cook Apples. Pare and cut into quarters; fill a pudding dish ; sprinkle with sugar according to the tartness of the apple, and very- little water; cover the dish closely with a plate, and cook in the oven till done. The flavor is much better than when stewed in the ordinary manner. Apple Betty. Take one pint of stewed apples, sweetened, a small lump of butter, and a teacupful.of rich milk or thin cream; put the apples in a pudding dish in layers, with thin shav- ings from a loaf of bread between the layers ; pour the milk in it and bake half an hour. To be eaten with fairy sauce ; that is butter and sugar stirred to a frothy com- pound, flavored with wine and nutmeg. If the sugar used in making jelly is heated very -hot, and used while in that state, the jelly will set sooner and be a better color. TO CURE BEEF, TONGUES, HAMS, AND FISH. IO3 TO CURE BEEF, TONGUES, HAMS, AND FISH. To Corn Beef. One peck of coarse salt, four ounces of saltpetre, one and a half lbs of brown sugar, one and a half pints of molas- ses ; add to the above four gallons of water, boil and skim until clear. When cold it is fit for use ; salt the meat a few hours before it is put into the pickle. Brine for Curing Beef and Tongue. Six gallons of water, nine lbs of salt, three lbs of brown sugar, one quart of molasses, three ounces of saltpetre ; boil all together and skim ; when cold pour on the beef. This is quantity sufficient for one hundred pounds ; keep closely covered and under the brine. Receipt for Curing Hams. To eight hams of common size, take eight lbs of brown sugar, one and a half lbs of saltpetre, five lbs of fine salt. Rub the hams with the mixture, and let them remain a week with the skins downward. Then make a brine of com- mon salt and water, strong enough to bear up an egg ; add two or three quarts of ley made from hickory ashes, refined by boiling and skimming. Cover the hams with this liquid, keeping them down with a weight. Let them remain in it from four to six weeks according to their size, then take them out and let them drain there for a day before sending them to the smoke house. I04 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Beef. To pickle for drying or boiling, thoroughly rub salt into it and let it remain twenty-four hours, to draw off the blood ; after which drain and pack as desired; have ready a pickle prepared as follows : For every one hundred lbs of beef, seven lbs of salt, one ounce of saltpetre, one quart of molasses, eight gallons of soft water; boil and skim well; when cold pour it over the beef; pieces designed for dry- ing should be taken out in two weeks, and soaked over night, to take the salt from the outside. To Boil a Ham as it is done at the Parker House, Boston. A ham weighing ten or twelve pounds should be boiled six hours. Wash and scrape the ham well. Put it into cold water enough to cover it well and stir into the water a teaspoonful of soft soap. Let it come to a boil gradually ; keep hot water ready to fill up the boiler as it evaporates. If it is to be eaten cold, have ready a large pan in which to put your ham, and cover it with cold water and let it stand an hour or two, or until it is cold. Take it up and remove the skin and ornament as you choose. To Boil Corn Beef. Corn beef or tongue that is intended to be eaten cold, is greatly improved by letting it stand until cold in the water in which it is boiled. The great secret in having good corn beef, is long boiling without stopping in plenty of water. TO BANISH VERMIN. IO5 TO BANISH VERMIN. Moths. Moths are at present the pest of our city houses. Wheth- er this is the result of our using furnaces during the win- ter and late mto the spring, or because Axminster and Moquette carpets have taken the place of Brussels and in- grain we cannot tell. In our own wear furs and soft chin- chilla cloths are the order, where, heretofore, it was French broadcloth, etc. Certain it is that moth millers fill the air with their dusty wings. We give a few reliable and well tried methods of preservation from these pests. A Red Pepper Smoke. This is the surest of all we ever tried : Hang up in a closet or clothes press all woolen things, such as dresses, cloths, ovjrcoats, etc., and take a few ounces of Cayenne pods (the imported article), or the dried red pepper of our gardens, and putting them upon some live coals in a tin pan, the bottom of which is covered with ashes, shut them close into yrur closet, and let it remain without opening for twenty-four hours ; an attic infested with moths may re- quire this process repeated three or four times. Carpets which are on the floors cannot, of course, be treated in this fashion, but by following round the base board (where they mostly lodge), with a wet sheet or towel of several thicknesses, and pressing the same with a very hot iron, un- til the steam from the wet cloths penetrates the thickness of the carpet, the insects and their eggs will be killed. Alum is said to be an excellent preventive of moths ; have it powdered fine and sprinkled where they appear. To fold furs tightly in black inky newspapers early in the season is highly recommended. Io6 HOME MESSENGER RECEIPTS. Fur dealers tell us that the only sure way to preserve skins from the ravages of these little wretches is to hang out and beat the furs well every two weeks. Ants may be banished by powdered alum or by wash- ing your shelves with a solution of corosive sublimate ; this is dangerous but said to be '' a dead shot." Carbonic acid or oxalic acid, in a strong solution, is said to have the same effect. A Cure for Bedbugs. The only sure remedy that, in the course of seventeen year?, we have invariably found efficacious, is a preparation of copperas, one pound to one gallon of boiling water. The most infected house we ever saw was cleared by filling a syringe with this fluid and shooting it into the cracks and crevices of the rooms and walls. Sponging or painting the bedstead with this solution will drive them away for months and forever. The only drawback to this is that it leaves a stain like iron rust. To Clear Rose Bushes of Insects. Put a tablespoonful of whale oil soap into a pail of warm water, and with a garden syringe wash the bushes thoroughly. In a very short time the insects that infest them will disappear and the after blossom will be perfect, though the leaf may not be restored that year. To Cure A Felon. Lay the skin of an ^ T ^v.> IN. . ». ■^; :v ' , ■-■•.■■■ < .■ , ^:-:v. ^ .':-t.-. !.•