Each mortal has his pleasure; none denyScarsdale his bottle, Darby hisham pie.Dodsley.
Take two pounds of veal cutlets, cut them in middling sized pieces, season with pepper and a very little salt; likewise one of raw or dressed ham, cut in slices, lay it alternately in the dish, and put some forced or sausage meat at the top, with some stewed mushrooms, and the yolks of three eggs boiled hard, and a gill of water; then proceed as with rumpsteak pie.
N. B. The best end of a neck is the fine part for a pie, cut into chops, and the chine bone taken away.
Turkey and fowl, and ham and chine,On which the cits prefer to dine,With partridge, too, and eke aHare,The luxuries of country fare,She nicely cooked with bounteous care.
Cut the skin from a hare that has been well soaked, put it on the spit, and rub it well with Madeira, pricking it in various places that it may imbibe plenty of wine; cover it entirely with a paste, and roast it. When done, take away the paste, rub it quickly over with egg, sprinkle breadcrumbs, and baste it gently with butter (still keeping it turning before the fire), until a crust is formed over it, and it is of a nice brown color; dish it over some espagnole with Madeira wine boiled in it; two or three cloves may be stuck into the knuckles, if you think proper.
Yourrabbits fricaseedand chicken,With curious choice of dainty picking,Each night got ready at the Crown,With port and punch to wash ’em down.Lloyd.
Take two fine white rabbits, and cut them in pieces; blanch them in boiling water, and skimthem for one minute; stir a few trimmings of mushrooms in a stewpan over the fire, with a bit of butter, till it begins to fry, then stir in a spoonful of flour; mix into the flour, a little at a time, nearly a quart of good consommé, which set on the fire, and when it boils put the rabbits in, and let them boil gently till done; then put them in another stewpan, and reduce the sauce till nearly as thick as paste; mix in about half a pint of good boiling cream, and when it becomes the thickness of bechamelle sauce in general, squeeze it through the tammy to the rabbits; make it very hot, put in a few mushrooms, the yolk of an egg, a little cream, and then serve it to table.
Little birds fly about with thetrue pheasant taint,And the geese are all born with the liver56-*complaint.Moore.
Chop some fine raw oysters, omitting the head part, mix them with salt and nutmeg, and add some beaten yolk of egg to bind the other ingredients. Cut some very thin slices of cold ham or bacon, and cover the birds with them, then wrap them in sheets of paper well buttered, put them on the spit, and roast them before a clear fire.
With all the luxury of statesmen dine,On daily feasts ofortolansand wine.Cawthorn.
Put into every bird an oyster, or a little buttermixed with some finely sifted breadcrumbs. Dredge them with flour. Run a small skewer through them, and tie them on the spit. Baste them with lard or fresh butter. They will be done in ten minutes. Reed birds are very fine made into little dumplings with a thin crust of flour and butter, and boiled about twenty minutes. Each must be tied in a separate cloth.
And as for your juries—who would not set o’er themA jury of tasters, withwoodcocksbefore them?Moore.
Woodcocks should not be drawn, as the trail is by the lovers of “haut gout” considered a “bonne bouche.” Truss their legs close to the body, and run an iron skewer through each thigh, and put them to roast before the fire; toast a slice of bread for each bird, lay them in the dripping-pan under the bird to catch the trail; baste them with butter, and froth them with flour; lay the toast on a hot dish, and the birds on the toast; pour some good beef gravy into the dish, and send some up in a boat. Twenty or thirty minutes will roast them. Some epicures like this bird very much underdone, and direct that the woodcock should be just introduced to the cook, for her to show it to the fire, then send it to table.
“It tastes of thebird, however,” said the old woman, “and she cooked therail of the fenceon which the crow had been sitting.”
“It tastes of thebird, however,” said the old woman, “and she cooked therail of the fenceon which the crow had been sitting.”
When birds have come a great way, they often smell so bad that they can scarcely be borne from the rankness of the butter, by managing them in the following manner, they may be as good as ever. Set a large saucepan of clean water on the fire, when it boils take off the butter at the top, then take the fowls out one by one, throw them in the saucepan of water half a minute, whip it out, and dry it in a cloth inside and out, continue till they are all done; scald the pot clean, when the birds are quite cold, season them with mace, pepper, and salt according to taste, put them down close in a pot, and pour clarified butter over them.
What say you, lads? is any sparkAmong you ready for alark?Moore.
These delicate little birds are in high season in November. When they are thoroughly picked, gutted, and cleansed, truss them; do them over with the yolk of an egg, and then roll them in breadcrumbs; spit them on a lark spit; ten or fifteen minutes will be sufficient time to roast them in, before a quick fire; whilst they are roasting, baste them with fresh butter, and sprinkle them with breadcrumbs till they are well covered with them. Fry some grated bread in butter. Set it to drain before the fire, that it may harden; serve the crumbs in the dish under the larks, and garnish with slices of lemon.
56-*The process by which the liver of the unfortunate goose is enlarged, in order to produce that richest of all dainties,the foie gras, of which such renowned pâtés are made at Strasbourg and Toulouse, is thus described in the “Cours Gastronomique:” “On deplumes l’estomac des oies; on attache ensuite ces animaux aux chenets d’une cheminée, et on le nourrit devant le feu. La captivité et la chaleur donnent a ces volatiles une maladie hepatique, qui fait gonflerleur foie.”
56-*The process by which the liver of the unfortunate goose is enlarged, in order to produce that richest of all dainties,the foie gras, of which such renowned pâtés are made at Strasbourg and Toulouse, is thus described in the “Cours Gastronomique:” “On deplumes l’estomac des oies; on attache ensuite ces animaux aux chenets d’une cheminée, et on le nourrit devant le feu. La captivité et la chaleur donnent a ces volatiles une maladie hepatique, qui fait gonflerleur foie.”
Poor Roger Fowler, who’d a generous mind,Nor would submit to have his hand confined,But aimed at all,—yet never could excelIn anything butstuffing of his veal.
Good stuffing has always been considered a chief thing in cookery. Mince a quarter of a pound of beef suet or marrow, the same weight of breadcrumbs, two drachms of parsley leaves, a drachm and a half of sweet marjoram or lemon thyme, and the same of grated lemon-peel and onion chopped as fine as possible, a little pepper and salt; pound thoroughly together with the yolk and white of two eggs, and secure it in the veal with a skewer, or sew it in with a bit of thread.
And own they gave him a lively notion,What his ownforced meat ballswould be.Moore.
Take an equal quantity of lean veal scraped, and beef suet shred, beat them in a marble mortar, addpepper, salt, cloves, pounded lemon-peel, and nutmeg grated, parsley, and sweet herbs chopped fine, a little shallot and young onion, a few breadcrumbs grated fine, and yolk of egg, sufficient to work it light; roll this into balls with a little flour, and fry them.
Boy, tell the cook I love all nicknackeries,Fricasees,vol au vents, puffs, and gimcrackeries.Moore.
Roll off tart paste till about the eighth of an inch thick, then with a tin cutter made for that purpose cut out the shape (about the size of the bottom of the dish you intend sending to table), lay it on a baking-plate with paper, rub the paste over with the yolk of an egg. Roll out good puff paste an inch thick, stamp it with the same cutter, and lay it on the tart paste; then take a cutter two sizes smaller, and press it in the centre nearly through the puff paste; rub the top with yolk of egg, and bake it in a quick oven about twenty minutes, of a light-brown color when done; take out the paste inside the centre mark, preserving the top, put it on a dish in a warm place, and when wanted fill it with a white fricasee of chicken, rabbit, ragout of sweetbread, or any other entree you wish. Serve hot.
De Beringhen.In the next room there’s a delicious pâté, let’s discuss it.Baradas.Pshaw! a man filled with a sublime ambition has no time to discuss your pâtés.De Beringhen.Pshaw! and a man filled with as sublime a pâté has no time to discuss ambition. Gad, I have the best of it.Bulwer’s Richelieu.
De Beringhen.In the next room there’s a delicious pâté, let’s discuss it.
Baradas.Pshaw! a man filled with a sublime ambition has no time to discuss your pâtés.
De Beringhen.Pshaw! and a man filled with as sublime a pâté has no time to discuss ambition. Gad, I have the best of it.
Bulwer’s Richelieu.
Beard a quart of fine oysters, strain the liquor and add them to it. Cut into thin slices the kidney-fat of a loin of veal; season them with white pepper, salt, mace, and grated lemon-peel; lay them on the bottom of a pie-dish, put in the oysters and liquor, with a little more seasoning; put over them the marrow of two bones. Lay a border of puff paste around the edge of the dish, cover it with paste, and bake it nearly three quarters of an hour.
Seducing young pâtés, as ever could cozenOne out of one’s appetite, down by the dozen.Moore.
Cut the crumb of a loaf of bread into square or round pieces, nearly three inches high, and cut bitsthe same width for tops. Mark them neatly with a knife; fry the bread of a light-brown color in clarified beef-dripping or fine lard; scoop out the inside crumb; take care not to go too near the bottom; fill them with mince-meat prepared as for patties, with stewed oysters or with sausage meat; put on the tops, and serve them on a napkin.
Where so ready all nature its cookery yields,Macaroni au Parmesangrows in the fields.Moore.
Lay fried bread pretty closely round a dish; boil your macaroni in the usual way, and pour it into the dish; smooth it all over, and strew breadcrumbs on it, then a pretty thick layer of grated Parmesan cheese; drop a little melted butter on it, and put it in the oven to brown.
What will notLuxury taste?Earth, sea and airAre daily ransacked for the bill of fare.Gay.
The truffle, like the mushroom, is a species of fungus, common in France and Italy; it is generally about eight to ten inches below the surfaceof the ground. As it imparts a most delicious flavor, it is much used in cookery.
Being dug out of the earth, it requires a great deal of washing and brushing. It loses much of its flavor when dried.
Muse, sing the man that did to Paris go,That he might taste their soups andmushroomsknow.King.
Take a pint of white stock; season it with salt, pepper, and a little lemon pickle, thicken it with a bit of butter rolled in flour; clean and peel the mushrooms, sprinkle them with a very little salt, boil them for three minutes; put them into the gravy when it is hot, and stew them for fifteen minutes.
If you please,I’ll taste your tempting toasted cheese,Broiled ham, and nicemushroom’d ketchup.
If you love good ketchup, gentle reader, make it yourself, after the following directions, and you will have a delicious relish for made dishes, ragouts, soup, sauces, or hashes. Mushroom gravy approaches the nature and flavor of made gravy, more than any vegetable juice, and is the superlative substitute for it; in meagre soups and extempore gravies, the chemistry of the kitchen has yet contrived to agreeably awaken the palate and encourage the appetite.
A couple quarts of double ketchup, made according to the following receipt, will save you some score pounds of meat, besides a vast deal of time and trouble, as it will furnish, in a few minutes, as good sauce as can be made for either fish, flesh, or fowl. I believe the following is the best way for preparing and extracting the essence of mushrooms,so as to procure and preserve their flavor for a considerable length of time.
Look out for mushrooms, from the beginning of September. Take care of the right sort and fresh gathered. Full-grown flaps are to be preferred. Put a layer of these at the bottom of a deep earthen pan, and sprinkle them with salt; then another layer of mushrooms, and some more salt on them, and so on, alternately, salt and mushrooms; let them remain two or three hours, by which time the salt will have penetrated the mushrooms, and rendered them easy to break; then pound them in a mortar, or mash them well with your hands, and let them remain for a couple of days, not longer, stirring them up, and mashing them well each day; then pour them into a stone jar, and to each quart add an ounce and a half of whole black pepper, and half an ounce of allspice; stop the jar very close, and set in a stewpan of boiling water, and keep it boiling for two hours at least.
Take out the jar, and pour the juice, clear from the settlings, through a hair sieve (without squeezing the mushrooms), into a clean stewpan; let it boil very gently for half an hour. Those who are for superlative ketchup, will continue the boiling till the mushroom juice is reduced to half the quantity. There are several advantages attending this concentration: it will keep much better, and only halfthe quantity required; so you can flavor sauce, &c., without thinning it; neither is this an extravagant way of making it, for merely the aqueous part is evaporated. Skim it well, and pour it into a clean dry jar or jug; cover it close, and let it stand in a cool place till next day; then pour it off as gently as possible (so as not to disturb the settlings at the bottom of the jug), through a tamis or thick flannel bag, till it is perfectly clear; add a tablespoonful of good brandy to each pint of ketchup, and let it stand as before; a fresh sediment will be deposited, from which the ketchup is to be quietly poured off and bottled in pints or half pints (which have been washed in brandy or spirits). It is best to keep it in such quantities as are soon used.
Take especial care that it is closely corked and sealed down. If kept in a cool dry place, it may be preserved for a long time; but if it be badly corked, and kept in a damp place, it will soon spoil.
Examine it from time to time, by placing a strong light behind the neck of the bottle, and if any pellicle appears about it, boil it up again with a few peppercorns.
Who praises, in thissauce enamor’dage,Calm, healthful temperance, like an Indian sage?Warton.
Claret or Port wine and mushroom ketchup, a pint of each; half a pint of walnut or other pickle liquor; pounded anchovies, four ounces; fresh lemon-peel, pared very thin, an ounce; peeled and sliced eschalots, the same; scraped horseradish, ditto; allspice and black pepper, powdered, half an ounce each; cayenne, one drachm, or curry powder, three drachms; celery seed, bruised, one drachm; all avoirdupois weight. Put these into a wide-mouthed bottle, stop it close, shake it every day for a fortnight, and strain it (when some think it improved by the addition of a quarter of a pint of soy or thick browning), and you will have “a delicious double relish.” Dr. Kitchener says, this composition is one of the chefs d’œuvres of many experiments he has made, for the purpose of enabling good housewives to prepare their own sauces; it is equally agreeable with fish, game, poultry, or ragouts, &c.; and as a fair lady may make it herself, its relish will be not a little augmented, that all the ingredients are good and wholesome.
Obs.Under an infinity of circumstances, a cookmay be in want of the substances necessary to make sauce; the above composition of the several articles from which the various gravies derive their flavor, will be found a very admirable extemporaneous substitute. By mixing a large tablespoonful with a quarter of a pint of thickened melted butter, or broth, five minutes will finish a boat of very relishing sauce, nearly equal to drawn gravy, and as likely to put your lingual nerves into good humor as anything I know.
“Live bullion,” says merciless Bob, “which I thinkWould, if coined with a littlemint sauce, be delicious.”Moore.
Wash half a handful of nice, young, fresh-gathered green mint (to this add one-third the quantity of parsley), pick the leaves from the stalks, mince them very fine, and put them into a sauce-boat, with a teaspoonful of moist sugar and four tablespoonfuls of vinegar.
Our fathers most admired theirsauces sweet,And often asked for sugarwith their meat.King.
Wash a quart of ripe cranberries, and put them into a pan with just about a teacup of water; stew them slowly and stir them frequently, particularly after they begin to burst. They require a great deal of stewing, and should be like marmalade when done. When they are broken and the juice comes out, stir in a pound of white sugar. When they are thoroughly done, put them into a deep dish, and set them away to get cold. You may strain the pulp through a cullender or sieve into a mould, and when it is a firm shape send it to table.
Cranberry sauce is eaten with roast fowl, turkey, &c.
Along these shoresNeglected trade with difficulty toils,Collecting slender stores; the sun-dried grape,Orcapersfrom the rock, that prompt the tasteOf luxury.Dyer.
To make a quarter of a pint, take a tablespoonful of capers and two teaspoonfuls of vinegar.The present fashion of cutting capers is to mince one-third of them very fine, and divide the others in half; put them into a quarter of a pint of melted butter, or good thickened gravy; stir them the same way as you did the melted butter, or it will oil. Some boil and mince fine a few leaves of parsley or chevrel or tarragon, and add to the sauce; others, the juice of half a Seville orange or lemon.
Grateful and salutary Spring! theplantsWhich crown thy numerous gardens, and inviteTo health and temperance, in the simple meal,Unstain’d with murder, undefil’d with blood,Unpoison’d with rich sauces, to provokeThe unwilling appetite to gluttony.For this, thebulbous esculentstheir rootsWith sweetness fill; for this, with cooling juiceThe green herb spreads itsleaves; and openingbudsAndflowersandseedswith various flavors temptsTh’ ensanguined palate from its savage feast.Dodsley.
As to the quality of vegetables, the middle size are preferred to the largest or smallest; they are more tender, juicy, and full of flavor, just before they are quite full grown. Freshness is their chief value and excellence, and I should as soon think of roasting an animal alive, as of boiling a vegetable after it is dead.
To boil them in soft water will preserve the color best of such as are green; if you have only hard water, put to it a teaspoonful of carbonate of potash.
Take care to wash and cleanse them thoroughly from dust, dirt, and insects. This requires great attention.
If you wish to have vegetables delicately clean, put on your pot, make it boil, put a little salt in it, and skim it perfectly clean before you put in the greens, &c., which should not be put in till the water boils briskly; the quicker they boil, the greener they will be. When the vegetables sink, they are generally done enough, if the water has been kept constantly boiling. Take them up immediately, or they will lose their color and goodness. Drain the water from them thoroughly before you send them to table.
This branch of cookery requires the most vigilant attention.
Two large potatoes, pressed through kitchen sieve,Smoothness and softness to thesaladgive;Of mordant mustard add a single spoon;Distrust the condiment that bites too soon;But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault,To add a double quantity of salt.Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown,And twice with vinegar procured from town;True flavor needs it, and your poet begsThe pounded yellow of two boiled eggs;Let onion’s atoms lurk within the bowl,And, scarce suspected, animate the whole;And, lastly, in the flavored compound tossA magic spoonful of anchovy sauce.O great and glorious! O herbaceous treat!’Twould tempt the dying anchorite to eat,Back to the world he’d turn his weary soul,And plunge his fingers in the salad bowl.Rev. Sidney Smith.
If the herbs be young, fresh-gathered, trimmed neatly, and drained dry and the sauce-maker ponders patiently over the above directions, he cannot fail of obtaining the fame of being a very accomplished salad-dresser.
The things we eat, by various juice controlThe narrowness or largeness of our soul.Onionswill make e’en heirs or widows weep;The tender lettuce brings on softer sleep.King.
Peel a pint of button onions, and put them in water till you want to put them on to boil; put them into a stewpan, with a quart of cold water; let them boil till tender; they will take (according to their size and age) from half an hour to an hour.
Whose appetites would soon devourEach cabbage,artichoke, and flower.Cawthorne.
Soak them in cold water, wash them well, then put them into plenty of boiling water, with a handful of salt, and let them boil gently till tender, which will take an hour and a half or two hours. The surest way to know when they are done enough is to draw out a leaf. Trim them and drain them on a sieve, and send up melted butter with them, which some put into small cups, so that each guest may have one.
Now fragrant with thebean’sperfume,Now purpled with the pulse’s bloom,Might well with bright allusions store me;But happier bards have been before me.Shenstone.
These are generally considered the finest of all beans, and should be gathered young. Shell them, lay them in a pan of cold water, and then boil them about two hours, or till they are quite soft; drain them well, and add to them some butter. Theyare destroyed by the first frost, but can be kept during the winter by gathering them on a dry day, when full grown, but not the least hard, and putting them in their pods into a keg. Throw some salt into the bottom of the keg, and cover it with a layer of bean pods, then add more salt, and then another layer of beans in their pods, till the keg is full. Press them down with a heavy weight, cover the keg closely, and keep it in a cool, dry place. Before you use them, soak the pods all night in cold water, the next day shell them, and soak the beans till you are ready to boil them.
Leeks to the Welsh, to Dutchmen butter’s dear;Of Irish swains,potatoesis the cheer.Gay.
Wash them, but do not pare or cut them, unless they are very large. Fill a saucepan half full of potatoes of equal size (or make them so by dividing the larger ones), put to them as much cold water as will cover them about an inch; they are sooner boiled, and more savory than when drowned in water. Most boiled things are spoiled by having too little water; but potatoes are often spoiled by having too much; they must be merely covered, and a little allowed for waste in boiling, so thatthey may be just covered at the finish. Set them on a moderate fire till they boil; then take them off, and put them by the side of the fire to simmer slowly till they are soft enough to admit a fork. Place no dependence on the usual test of their skins cracking, which, if they are boiled fast, will happen to some potatoes when they are not half done, and the insides quite hard. Then pour the water off—(if you let the potatoes remain in the water a moment after they are done enough, they will become waxy and watery),—uncover thesaucepan, and set it at such a distance from the fire as will secure it from burning; their superfluous moisture will evaporate, and the potatoes will be perfectly dry and mealy.
You may afterwards place a napkin, folded up to the size of the saucepan’s diameter, over the potatoes, to keep them hot and mealy till wanted.
This method of managing potatoes is in every respect equal to steaming them, and they are dressed in half the time.
There is such an infinite variety of sorts and sizes of potatoes, it is impossible to say how long they will take doing: the best way is to try them with a fork. Moderate sized potatoes will generally be done enough in fifteen or twenty minutes.
Your infantpeasto asparagus prefer;Which to the supper you may best defer.King.
Young green peas, well dressed, are among the most delicious delicacies of the vegetable kingdom. They must be young. It is equally indispensable that they be fresh gathered, and cooked as soon as they are shelled, for they soon lose both their color and sweetness. After being shelled, wash them, drain them in a cullender, put them on, in plenty of boiling water, with a teaspoonful of salt; boil them till they become tender, which, if young, will be less than half an hour; if old, they will require more than an hour. Drain them in a cullender, and put them into a dish, with a slice of fresh butter in it. Some people think it an improvement to boil a small bunch of mint with the peas; it is then minced finely, and laid in small heaps at the end or sides of the dish. If peas are allowed to stand in the water, after being boiled, they lose their color.
Every week dispenseEnglish beans orCarolinian rice.Grainger.
Wash the rice perfectly clean; put on one pound in two quarts of cold water; let it boil twenty minutes; strain it through a sieve, and put it before the fire; shake it up with a fork every now and then, to separate the grains, and make it quite dry. Serve it hot.
Onturnipsfeast whene’er you please,And riot in my beans and peas.Gay.
Wash, peel, and boil them till tender, in water with a little salt; serve them with melted butter. Or they may be stewed in a pint of milk, thickened with a bit of butter rolled in flour, and seasoned with salt and pepper, and served with the sauce.
Much meat doth Gluttony procure,To feed men fat as swine;But he’s a frugal man, indeed,That onthe leafcan dine.
Pick it very carefully, and wash it thoroughlytwo or three times; then put it on in boiling water with a little salt; let it boil nearly twenty minutes. Put it into a cullender; hold it under the watercock, and let the water run on it for a minute. Put it into a saucepan; beat it perfectly smooth with a wooden spoon; add a bit of butter, and three tablespoonfuls of cream. Mix it well together, and make it hot before serving.
At early morn, I to the market haste,(Studious in everything to please thy taste);A curious fowl and’sparagusI chose,(For I remembered you were fond of those).Gay.
Boil asparagus in salt and water till it is tender at the stalk, which will be in twenty or thirty minutes. Great care must be taken to watch the exact time of its becoming tender. Toast some bread; dip it lightly in the liquor the asparagus was boiled in, and lay it in the middle of the dish; melt some butter; lay the asparagus upon the toast, which must project beyond the asparagus, that the company may see that there is toast.
And when his juicy salads fail’d,Slic’dcarrotspleased him well.Cowper.
Let them be well washed and brushed, not scraped. If young spring carrots, an hour is enough. When done, rub off the peels with a clean coarse cloth, and slice them in two or four, according to their size. The best way to try if they are boiled enough, is to pierce them with a fork.
With carrots red, and turnips white,Andleeks, Cadwallader’s delight,And all the savory crop that vieTo please the palate and the eye.Grainger.
Leeks are most generally used for soups, ragouts, and other made dishes. They are very rarely brought to table; in which case dress them as follows. Put them in the stock pot till about three parts done; then take them out, drain and soak them in vinegar seasoned with pepper, salt, and cloves; drain them again, stuff their hearts with a farce, dip them in butter, and fry them.
Herbstoo she knew, and well of each could speakThat in her garden sipp’d the silvery dew,Where no vain flower disclosed a gaudy streak,But herbs, for use and physic, not a fewOf gray renown, within those borders grew,—Thetufted basil,pun-provoking thyme,Freshbalm, andmarigoldof cheerful hue,Thelowly gill, that never dares to climb,And more I fain would sing, disdaining here to rhyme.Shenstone.
It is very important to know when the various seasons commence for picking sweet and savory herbs for drying. Care should be taken that they are gathered on a dry day, by which means they will have a better color when dried. Cleanse them well from dirt and dust, cut off the roots, separate the bunches into smaller ones, and dry them by the heat of the stove, or in a Dutch oven before a common fire, in such quantities at a time, that the process may be speedily finished,i. e.“Kill ’em quick,” says a great botanist; by this means their flavor will be best preserved. There can be no doubt of the propriety of drying, &c., hastily by the aidof artificial heat, rather than by the heat of the sun. In the application of artificial heat, the only caution requisite is to avoid burning; and of this a sufficient test is afforded by the preservation of the color. The best method to preserve the flavor of aromatic plants is to pick off the leaves as soon as they are dried, and to pound them, and put them through a hair sieve, and keep them in well-stopped bottles labelled.
What lord of old would bid his cook prepareMangoes, potargo, champignons, caviare!King.
There is a particular sort of melon for this purpose. Cut a square small piece out of one side, and through that take out the seeds, mix with them mustard seeds and shred garlic, stuff the melon as full as the space will allow, and replace the square piece. Bind it up with small new pack-thread. Boil a good quantity of vinegar, to allow for wasting, with peppers, salt, ginger, and pour it boiling over the mangoes, four successive days; the last day put flour of mustard and scraped horseradish into the vinegar just as it boils up. Observe that there is plenty of vinegar. All pickles are spoiled, if not well covered.
Lives in a cell, and eats from week to weekA meal ofpickled cabbageand ox cheek.Cawthorne.
Choose two middling-sized, well-colored and firm red cabbages, shred them very finely, first pulling off the outside leaves; mix with them nearly half a pound of salt; tie it up in a thin cloth, and let it hang for twelve hours; then put it into small jars, and pour over it cold vinegar that has been boiled with a few barberries in it. Boil in a quart of vinegar, three bits of ginger, half an ounce of pepper, and a quarter of an ounce of cloves. When cold, pour it over the red cabbage. Tie the jar closely with bladder.
’Mongst salts essential,sugarwins the palm,For taste, for color, and for various use.O’er all thy works let cleanliness preside,Child of frugality; and as the scumThick mantles o’er the boiling wave, do thouThe scum that mantles carefully remove.Grainger.
Whereof littleMore than a little is by much too much.Shakspeare.
To every three pounds of loaf sugar, allow the beaten white of an egg and a pint and a half of water; break the sugar small, put it into a nicely cleaned brass pan, pour the water over it; let it stand some time before it be put upon the fire, then add the beaten white of the egg; stir it till the sugar be entirely dissolved; when it boils up, pour in a quarter of a pint of cold water, let it boil up a second time, take it off the fire, let it settle for fifteen minutes, carefully take off all the scum, let it boil again till sufficiently thick; in order to ascertain which, drop a little from a spoon into a jar of cold water, and if it become quite hard, it is sufficiently done, and the fruit to be preserved must instantly be put in and boiled.
He snuffs far off the anticipated joy,Jellyand ven’son all his thoughts employ.Cowper.
Currant, grape, and raspberry jelly are all made precisely in the same manner. When the fruit is full ripe, gather it on a dry day. As soon as it is nicely picked, put it into a jar, and cover it down very close. Set the jar in a saucepan, about three parts filled with cold water; put it on a gentle fire, and let it simmer for about half an hour. Take the pan from the fire, and pour the contents of the jar into a jelly-bag, pass the juice through a second time; do not squeeze the bag. To each pint of juice, add a pound and a half of very good lump sugar pounded, when it is put into a preserving pan; set it on the fire, and boil it gently, stirring and skimming it the whole time (about thirty or forty minutes),i. e.till no more scum rises, and it is perfectly clear and fine; pour it warm into pots, and when cold, cover them with paper wetted in brandy.
Half a pint of this jelly dissolved in a pint of brandy or vinegar will give you an excellent currant or raspberry brandy or vinegar.
Obs.Jellies from the fruits are made in the same way, and cannot be preserved in perfection without plenty of good sugar. The best way is the cheapest.
The board was spread with fruits and wine;With grapes of gold, like those that shineOn Caslin’s hills; pomegranates, fullOf melting sweetness, and the pearsAnd sunniestapplesthat CabulIn all its thousand gardens bears.Moore.
Pare and mince three dozen juicy, acid apples; put them into a pan; cover them with water, and boil them till very soft; strain them through a thin cloth or flannel bag; allow a pound of loaf sugar to a pint of juice, with the grated peel and juice of six lemons. Boil it for twenty minutes; take off the scum as it rises.
With rich conserve ofVisna cherries,Of orange flower, and of those berriesThat——.Moore.
Take the stones and stalks from two pounds of clear, fine, ripe cherries; mix them with a quarter of a pound of red currants, from which the seeds have been extracted; express the juice from these fruits; filter, and mix it with three quarters of a pound of clarified sugar, and one ounce of isinglass. Replace the vessel on the fire with the juice, and add to it a pound and a half of sugar, boiledà conserve. Boil together a few times, and then pour the conserve into cases.
Nature hates vacuums, as you know,We, therefore, will descend below,And fill, with dainties nice and light,The vacuum in your appetite.Besides, good wine and dainty fareAre sometimes known to lighten care;Nay, man is often brisk or dull,As the keen stomach’s void or full.
To four feet add four quarts of water; let them boil on a slow fire till the flesh is parted from thebones, and the quantity reduced to half; strain it carefully, and the next morning remove the feet and sediment. Add the rind of two lemons, the juice of five lemons, one and a half pounds of white sugar, a stick of cinnamon, a little nutmeg, a pint of sherry wine, half a teacupful of brandy; beat the white of ten eggs to a froth, and put them into the pan with their shells; let it boil ten minutes, when throw in a teacupful of cold water. Strain it through a flannel bag, first dipped into boiling water.
And thesun’s child, themail’d anana, yieldsHisregal appleto the ravish’d taste.Grainger.
Pare your pineapple; cut it in small pieces, and leave out the core. Mix the pineapple with half a pound of powdered white sugar, and set it away in a covered dish till sufficient juice is drawn out to stew the fruit in.
Stew the pineapple in the sugar and juice till quite soft, then mash it to a marmalade with the back of a spoon, and set it away to cool; pour it in tumblers, cover them with paper, gum-arabicked on.
Though many, I own, are the evils they’ve brought us,Though R**al*y’s here on her very last legs;Yet who can help loving the land that has taught usSix hundred and eighty-five ways to dresseggs!Moore.
Take as many eggs as you think proper; break them into a pan, with some salt and chopped parsley; beat them well, and season them according to taste. Have ready some onion, chopped small; put some butter into a fryingpan, and when it is hot, put in your chopped onion, giving them two or three turns; then add your eggs to it, and fry the whole of a nice brown. You must only fry one side; serve the fried side uppermost.
But, after all, what would you have me do,When, out of twenty, I can please not two?One likes the pheasant’s wing, and one the leg;The vulgar boil, the learnedpoach an egg;Hard task to hit the palate of such guests,When Oldfield loves what Dartineuf detests.Pope.
The cook who wishes to display her skill inpoaching, must endeavor to procure eggs that have been laid a couple of days; those that are new laid are so milky, that, take all the care you can, your cooking of them will seldom procure you the praise of being a prime poacher. You must have fresh eggs, or it is equally impossible. The beauty of a poached egg is for the yolk to be seen blushing through the white, which should only be just sufficiently hardened to form a transparent veil for the egg. Have some boiling water in a teakettle; pass as much of it through a clean cloth as will half fill a stewpan; break the egg into a cup, and when the water boils remove the stewpan from the stove, and gently slip the egg into it; it must stand till the white is set; then put it on a very moderate fire, and as soon as the water boils, the egg is ready. Take it up with a slicer, and neatly place it on a piece of toast.
On holydays, anegg or twoat most;But her ambition never reached to roast.Chaucer.
The fresher laid the better. Put them into boiling water; if you like the white just set, about two minutes’ boiling is enough. A new-laid egg will take a little more. If you wish the yolk to be set, it will take three, and to boil it hard for a salad,ten minutes. A new-laid egg will require longer boiling than a stale one by half a minute.
Go work, hunt, exercise (he thus begun),Then scorn a homely dinner if you can;Fried eggs, and herbs, and olives, still we see:This much is left of old simplicity.Pope.
Eggs boiled hard, cut into slices, and fried, may be served as a second course dish, to eat with roast chicken.
Never go to France,Unless you know the lingo;If you do, like me,You’ll repent, by jingo.Starving like a fool,And silent as a mummy,There I stood alone,A nation with a dummy.
Signs I had to makeFor every little notion;Limbs all going likeA telegraph in motion;If I wantedbread,My jaws I set a-going,And asked fornew laid eggsBy clapping hands and crowing.
Put half a handful of breadcrumbs into a saucepan, with a small quantity of cream, sugar, and nutmeg, and let it stand till the bread has imbibed all the cream; then break ten eggs into it, and having beaten them up together, fry it like an omelet.
“Where is my favorite dish?” he cried;“Let some one place it by my side!”Donne.
Beat up the yolks of eight eggs, and the whites of four (set aside the remaining whites), with a spoonful of water, some salt, sugar, and the juice of a lemon; fry this, and then put it on a dish. Whip the four whites which were set aside to a froth with sugar, and place it over the fried eggs; bake it for a few minutes.
Thepuffsmade me light,And now that’s all over, I’m pretty well, thank you.Moore.
Weigh an equal quantity of flour and butter, rub rather more than half the flour into one-third of the butter; add as much cold water as will make it into a stiff paste; work it until the butter be completely mixed with the flour, make it round, beat it with the rolling-pin, dust it, as also the rolling-pin with flour, and roll it out towards the opposite side of the slab, or paste-board, making it of an equal thickness, then with the point of a knife, put little bits of butter all over it, dust flour over it and under it, fold in all the sides, and roll it up, dust it again with flour, beat it a little, and roll out, always rubbing the rolling-pin with flour, and throwing some underneath the paste to prevent its sticking to the board.
It should be touched as little as possible with the hands.
You that from pliantpastewould fabrics raise,Expecting thence to gain immortal praise,Your knuckles try, and let your sinews knowTheir power to knead, and give the form to dough;From thence of course the figure will arise,And elegance adorn the surface of your pies.King.
Make a rich puff paste, roll it out a quarter of an inch thick, cut it into five or seven pieces with scalloped tin cutters, which go one within another; leave the bottom and top piece entire, and cut a bit out of the centre of the others. Place them upon buttered baking tins, and bake them of a light brown. Build them into a pyramid, laying a different preserved fruit upon each piece of paste, and on the top a whole apricot with a sprig of myrtle stuck in it.
Unless somesweetnessat the bottom lie,Who cares for all the crinkling of the pie!King.
Fruit pies for family use are generally made with common paste. Allow three quarters of a pound ofbutter to a pound and a half of flour. Peaches and plums for pies should be cut in half, and the stones taken out. Cherries also should be stoned, and red cherries only should be used for pies. Apples should be cut into very thin slices, and are much improved by a little lemon-peel. Apples stewed previous to baking, should not be done till they break, but only till they are tender. They should then be drained in a cullender, and chopped fine with a knife or edge of a spoon. In making pies of juicy fruit, it is a good way to set a small teacup on the bottom crust, and lay the fruit round it. The juice will collect under the cup, and not run out at the edges or top of the pie. The fruit should be mixed with a sufficient quantity of sugar, and piled up in the middle, so as to make the pie highest in the centre.
The upper crust should be pricked with a fork. The edges should be nicely crimped with a knife. If stewed fruit is put in warm, it will make the paste heavy. If your pies are made in the form of shells, the fruit should always be stewed first, or it will not be sufficiently done, as the shells (which should be made of puff paste) must not bake so long as covered pies.
Fruit pies with lids should have loaf sugar grated over them.
When Terence spoke, oraculous and sly,He’d neither grant the question nor deny,Pleading for tarts, his thoughts were onmince pie.
My poor endeavors view with gracious eye,To make these lines above aChristmas pie.
Two pounds of boiled beef’s heart or fresh tongue, or lean fresh beef chopped, when cold; two pounds of beef suet chopped fine, four pounds of pippin apples chopped, two pounds of raisins stoned and chopped, two pounds of currants picked, washed, and dried, two pounds of powdered sugar, one quart of white wine, one quart of brandy, one wine-glass of rose-water, two grated nutmegs, half an ounce of cinnamon, powdered, a quarter of an ounce of mace, powdered, a teaspoonful of salt, two large oranges, and half a pound of citron cut in slips. Pack it closely into stone jars, and tie them over with paper. When it is to be used, add a little more wine.
All you who to feasting and mirth are inclined,Come, here is good news for to pleasure your mind.Old Christmas is come, for to keep open house:He scorns to be guilty of starving a mouse.Then come, boys, and welcome, for diet the chief,—Plum pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef.The cooks shall be busied, by day and by night,In roasting andboiling, for taste and delight.Provision is making for beer, ale, and wine,For all that are willing or ready to dine.Meantime goes the caterer to fetch inthe chief,—Plum pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef.Ancient Christmas Carol.
One quarter of a pound of beef suet; take out the strings and skin; chop it to appear like butter; stone one pound of raisins, one pound of currants, well washed, dried, and floured, one pound loaf sugar, rolled and sifted, one pound of flour, eight eggs well beaten; beat all well together for some time, then add by degrees two glasses of brandy, one wine, one rose-water, citron, nutmeg, and cinnamon; beat it all extremely well together, tie it in a floured cloth very tight, let it boil four hours constantly; let your sauce be a quarter pound of butter, beat to a cream, a quarter pound loaf sugar pounded and sifted; beat in the butter with a little wine and sugar and nutmeg.
Whatever was thebest piegoing,InthatNed—trust him—had his finger.Moore.
Take the thin brown skin off of a quarter pound of cocoa, wash it in cold water, and wipe it dry; grate it fine, stir three and half ounces of butter and a quarter pound of powdered sugar, to a cream; add half teaspoonful of rose-water, half glass of wine and of brandy mixed, to them. Beat the white of six eggs till they stand alone, and then stir them into the butter and sugar; afterwards sprinkle in the grated nut, and stir hard all the time. Put puff paste into the bottom of the dish, pour in the mixture, and bake it in a moderate oven, half an hour. Grate loaf sugar over it when cold.
Where London’s column, pointing to the skies,Like a tall bully, lifts the head and lies,There dwelt a citizen of sober fame,A plain, good man, and Balaam was his name;Religious, punctual, frugal, and so forth,His word would pass for more than he was worth;One solid dish his week-day meal affords,Andapple puddingsolemnized the Lord’s.Pope.
Make a batter of two eggs, a pint of milk andthree or four spoonfuls of flour; pour it into a deep dish, and having pared six or eight apples, place them whole in the batter, and bake them.
But man, more fickle, the bold license claims,In different realms, to give thee different names.Thee, the soft nations round the warm LevantPolanta call; the French, of course, Polante.E’en in thy native regions, how I blushTo hear the Pennsylvanians call theemush!All spurious appellations, void of truth;I’ve better known thee from my earliest youth:Thy name isHasty Pudding! Thus our siresWere wont to greet thee from the fuming fires;And while they argued in thy just defence,With logic clear, they thus explained the sense:“Inhastethe boiling caldron, o’er the blaze,Receives and cooks the ready-powdered maize;In haste ’tis served, and then in equalhaste,With cooling milk, we make the sweet repast.No carving to be done, no knife to grateThe tender ear, and wound the stony plate;But the smooth spoon, just fitted to the lip,And taught with art the yielding mass to dip,By frequent journeys to the bowl well stored,Performs thehastyhonors of the board.”Such is thy name, significant and clear,—A name, a sound, to every Yankee dear;But most to me, whose heart and palate chastePreserve my pure, hereditary taste.Barlow.
The strong table groansBeneath the smoking sirloin, stretch’d immenseFrom side to side; in which with desperate knifeThey deep incisions make, and talk the whileOf England’s glory, ne’er to be defacedWhile hence they borrow vigor; or amainInto thepuddingplunged at intervals,If stomach keen can intervals allow,Relating all the glories of the chase.Thomson.
This pudding is especially an excellent accompaniment to a sirloin of beef. Six tablespoonfuls of flour, three eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, and a pint of milk, make a middling stiff batter; beat it up well; take care it is not lumpy. Put a dish under the meat; let the drippings drop into it, till it is quite hot and well greased; then pour in the batter. When the upper surface is browned and set, turn it, that both sides may be brown alike. A pudding an inch thick will take two hours. Serve it under the roast beef, that the juice of the beef may enter it. It is very fine.
Sir Balaam now, he lives like other folks;He takes his chirping, and cracks his jokes.Live like yourself, was soon my lady’s word;And lo!suet puddingwas seen upon the board.Pope.
Suet, a quarter of a pound; flour, three tablespoonfuls; eggs two, and a little grated ginger; milk, half a pint. Mince the suet as fine as possible; roll it with the rolling-pin, so as to mix it well with the flour; beat up the eggs, mix them with the milk, and then mix them all together; wet your cloth well in boiling water, and boil it an hour and a quarter. Mrs. Glasse has it: “When you have made your water boil, then put your pudding into your pot.”
Of oats decorticated take two pounds,And of new milk enough the same to drown;Of raisins of the sun, stoned, ounces eight;Of currants, cleanly picked, an equal weight;Of suet, finely sliced, an ounce at least;And six eggs, newly taken from the nest:Season this mixture well with salt and spice;’Twill make a pudding far exceeding rice;And you may safely feed on it like farmers,For the recipe is learned Dr. Harmer’s.
If you want a good pudding, mind what you are taught:Take eggs, six in number, when bought for a groat;The fruit with which Eve her husband did cozen,Well pared and well chopped, take at least half a dozen;Six ounces of bread—let the cook eat the crust—And crumble the soft as fine as the dust;Six ounces of currants from the stalks you must sort,Lest they husk out your teeth, and spoil all the sport;Six ounces of sugar won’t make it too sweet,And some salt and some nutmeg will make it complete.Three hours let it boil, without any flutter,And Adam won’t like it without sugar and butter.Anonymous.
Charlotte, from rennet apples first did frameA pie, which still retains her name.Though common grown, yet with white sugar stewed,And butter’d right, its goodness is allowed.King.
Pare, core, and mince fifteen French rennet apples; put them into a frying-pan with somepowdered loaf sugar, a little pounded cinnamon, grated lemon-peel, and two ounces and a half of fresh butter; fry them a quarter of an hour over a quick fire, stirring them constantly. Butter the shape the size the Charlotte is intended to be; cut strips of bread long enough to reach from the bottom to the rim of the shape, so that the whole be lined with bread; dip each bit into melted butter, and put a layer of fried apples, and one of apricot jam or marmalade, and then one of bread dipped into butter; begin and finish with it. Bake it in an oven for an hour. Turn it out to serve.