The oven should be pretty hot for small cakes, and moderate for larger. To ascertain if a large cake is sufficiently baked, pierce it with a broom-straw through the center; if done, the straw will come out free from dough; if not done, dough will adhere to the straw. Take it out of the tin about fifteen minutes after it is taken from the oven (not sooner), and do not turn it over on the top to cool.
Frosting.—One pint granulated sugar, moisten thoroughly with water sufficient to dissolve it when heated; let it boil until it threads from the spoon, stirring often; while the sugar is boiling, beat the whites of two eggs till they are firm; then when thoroughly beaten, turn them into a deep dish, and when the sugar is boiled, turn it over the whites, beating all rapidly together until of the right consistency to spread over the cake. Flavor with lemon, if preferred. This is sufficient for two loaves.
Frosting, for Cake.—One cup frosting-sugar, two tablespoons of water boiled together; take it off the stove, and stir in the white of one egg beaten to a stiff froth; stir all together well, then frost your cake with it, and you will never want a nicer frosting than this.
Chocolate Frosting.—Whites of two eggs, one and one-half cups of fine sugar, six great spoons of grated chocolate, two teaspoons of vanilla; spread rather thickly between layers and on top of cake. Best when freshly made. It should be made like any frosting.
Icing.—The following rules should be observed where boiled icing is not used:
Put the whites of your eggs in a shallow earthern dish, and allow at least a quarter of a pound or sixteen tablespoons of the finest white sugar for each egg. Take part of the sugar at first and sprinkle over the eggs; beat them for about half an hour, stirring in gradually the rest of the sugar; then add the flavor. If you use the juice of a lemon, allow more sugar. Tartaric and lemon-juice whitens icing. It may be shaded a pretty pink with strawberry-juice or cranberry syrup, or colored yellow by putting the juice and rind of a lemon in a thick muslin bag, and squeezing it hard into the egg and sugar.
If cake is well dredged with flour after baking, and then carefully wiped before the icing is put on, it will not run, and can be spread more smoothly. Put frosting on to the cake in large spoonfuls, commencing over the center; then spread it over the cake, using a large knife, dipping it occasionally in cold water. Dry the frosting on the cake in a cool, dry place.
Ice-Cream Icing, for White Cake.—Two cups pulverized white sugar, boiled to a thick syrup; add three teaspoons vanilla; when cold, add the whites of two eggs well beaten, and flavored with two teaspoons of citric acid.
Icing, for Cakes.—Take ten whites of eggs whipped to a stiff froth, with twenty large spoonfuls of orange-flower water. This is to be laid smoothly on the cakes after they are baked. Then return them to the oven for fifteen minutes to harden the icing.
Icing.—One pound pulverized sugar, pour over one tablespoon cold water, beat whites of three eggs a little, not to a stiff froth; add to the sugar and water, put in a deep bowl, place in a vessel of boiling water, and heat. It will become thin and clear, afterward begin to thicken. When it becomes quite thick, remove from the fire and stir while it becomes cool till thick enough to spread with a knife. This will frost several ordinary-sized cakes.
Almond Cake.—Take ten eggs, beaten separately, the yolks from the whites; beat the yolks with half a pound of white sugar; blanch a quarter of a pound of almonds by pouring hot water on them, and remove the skins; pound them in a mortar smooth; add three drops of oil of bitter almonds; and rose-water to prevent the oiling of the almonds. Stir this also into the eggs. Half a pound of sifted flour stirred very slowly into the eggs; lastly, stir in the whites, which must have been whipped to a stiff froth. Pour this into the pans, and bake immediately three-quarters of an hour.
Cocoanut Cake.—Whip the whites of ten eggs, grate two nice cocoanuts, and add them; sift one pound of white sugar into half a pound of sifted flour; stir this well; add a little rose-water to flavor; pour into pans, and bake three-fourths of an hour.
Cocoanut Drops.—One pound each grated cocoanut and sugar; four well beaten eggs; four tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, drop on pan, and bake.
Cocoanut Jumbles.—Take one cup butter, two cups sugar, three eggs well whipped, one grated cocoanut, stirred in lightly with the flour, which must be sufficient to stiffen to the required consistency. Bake one to know when enough flour is added.
Coffee Cake.—Take three eggs, two cups brown sugar, one cup strong coffee, quarter of cup of butter, three cups flour, one teaspoonful cream tartar, half teaspoonful each soda and ground cinnamon and cloves, half a nutmeg grated, one cup of raisins, stoned; beat butter and sugar to a cream, then add eggs beaten, coffee, flour sifted, and cream tartar, well mixed with it. Spices and raisins, then soda dissolved in sufficient warm water to absorb it. Thoroughly mix, and bake in round tins.
Cookies.—Two cups bright brown sugar, one cup butter, half cup sweet milk, two eggs, one teaspoonful soda, flour enough to roll out.
Composition Cake.—Five eggs, three cups sugar, two cups butter, five cups flour, one wine-glass brandy, one nutmeg grated, half pound each raisins and currants, three teaspoonfuls Gillett's baking powder.
Corn Starch Cake.—Two cups pulverized sugar, one cup butter, cup corn starch, two cups sifted flour, seven eggs (whites beaten very light), one teaspoon soda, two teaspoons cream tartar (or two teaspoons caking powder instead of soda and cream tartar), flavor with lemon. In putting this together, beat butter and sugar to a light cream, dissolve corn starch in a cup of sweet milk, leaving enough of the milk to dissolve the soda if it is used, put cream of tartar or baking powder in the flour, beat the whites of the eggs separate when the butter and sugar are ready, put all the ingredients together first, leaving the eggs and flour to the last.
Cream Cake.—Half pint cream, one tablespoon butter rubbed into one tablespoon flour. Put the cream on the fire. When it boils stir in the butter and flour mixed, add half a tea cup sugar, two eggs very light, flavor with vanilla. Spread between cakes, and frost or sugar top of cake to please fancy.
Cinnamon Cake.—Take two cups of brown sugar, one cup of butter, three-quarters cup of milk, half cup of vinegar, four eggs, large tablespoon of cinnamon, four cups of flour, one teaspoon of soda, two teaspoons cream tartar, mix all but vinegar and soda, then add vinegar, then soda, bake in large tin or patty pans.
Currant Cake.—Take two pounds of flour, half a pound of butter rubbed in the flour, half a pound of moist sugar, a few caraway seeds, three or four tablespoonfuls of yeast, and a pint of milk made a little warm. Mix all together, and let it stand an hour or two at the fire to rise; then beat it up with three eggs and a half pound ofPut it into a tin, and bake two hours in a moderate oven.
Cup Cake.—Cream half a cup of butter, and four cups of sugar by beating; stir in five well-beaten eggs; dissolve one teaspoonful of soda in a cup of good milk or cream, and six cups of sifted flour; stir all well together, and bake in tins.
Delicate Cake.—Mix two cups of sugar, four of flour, half cup butter, half cup sweet milk, the whites of seven eggs, two teaspoons cream tartar, one teaspoon soda, rub the cream tartar in the flour and other ingredients, and flavor to suit the taste.
Delicious Swiss Cake.—Beat the yolks of five eggs and one pound of sifted loaf sugar well together; then sift in one pound of best flour, and a large spoonful of anise seed; beat these together for twenty minutes; then whip to a stiff froth the five whites, and add them; beat all well; then roll out the paste an inch thick, and cut them with a molded cutter rather small; set them aside till the next morning to bake. Rub the tins on which they are baked with yellow wax; it is necessary to warm the tins to receive the wax; then let them become cool, wipe them, and lay on the cakes. Bake a light brown.
Doughnuts.—One and a half cup of sugar; half cup sour milk, two teaspoons soda, little nutmeg, four eggs, flour enough to roll out.
Drop Cake.—- To one pint cream, three eggs, one pinch of salt, thicken with rye till a spoon will stand upright in it, then drop on a well buttered iron pan which must be hot in the oven.
Drop Cookies.—Whites of two eggs, one large cup of milk, one cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter, two teaspoonfuls baking-powder, flavor with vanilla, rose, or nutmeg; flour enough for thick batter, beat thoroughly, drop in buttered pans, dust granulated sugar on top, and bake with dispatch.
Fruit Cake.—Take one pint each of sour milk and sugar, two eggs, half pint melted butter, two teaspoons even full of soda, dissolve in milk flour enough to roll out into shape, and fry in hot lard.
Fried Cakes.—Three eggs, one cup of sugar, one pint of new milk, salt, nutmeg, and flour enough to permit the spoon to stand upright in the mixture; add two teaspoonfuls of Gillett's baking powder and beat until very light. Drop by the dessert-spoonful into boiling lard. These will not absorb a bit of fat, and are the least pernicious of the doughnut family.
Fruit Cake.—Take four pounds of brown sugar, four pounds of good butter, beaten to cream; put four pounds of sifted flour into a pan; whip thirty-two eggs to a fine froth, and add to the creamed butter and sugar; then take six pounds of cleaned currants, four pounds of stoned raisins, two pounds of cut citron, one pound of blanched almonds, crushed, but not pounded, to a paste—a large cup of molasses, two large spoonfuls of ground ginger, half an ounce of pounded mace, half an ounce of grated nutmeg, half an ounce of pounded and sifted cloves, and one of cinnamon. Mix these well together, then add four large wineglasses of good French brandy, and lastly, stir in the flour; beat this well, put it all into a stone jar, cover very closely, for twelve hours; then make into six loaves, and bake in iron pans. These cakes will keep a year, if attention is paid to their being put in a tin case, and covered lightly in an airy place. They improve by keeping.
Ginger Drop Cake.—Cup each sugar, molasses, lard and boiling water, one teaspoon soda, half teaspoon cream tartar, stir in flour until it is as thick as cake, add sugar and salt.
Ginger Snaps.—Take one cup each of sugar, molasses, butter, half cup sour milk, two teaspoons cream tartar, one teaspoon soda, flour enough to roll out, cut into size desired and bake.
Ginger Snaps.—Two cups of New Orleans molasses, one cup of sugar, one of butter, one teaspoonful of soda, one of cloves, one of black pepper, and two tablespoons of ginger. These will keep good a month if you wish to keep them.
Graham Cakes.—Half a cup of butter, one-half cup sugar, one egg, one teacup sour milk, one-half teaspoon soda. Make a stiff batter by adding graham flour.
Good Graham Cakes.—Two cups sweet milk, one cup sweet cream, the white of one egg beaten to froth, half a spoonful of salt, dessert spoonful baking powder, stir in stiffened graham flour until quite thick, bake in muffin-rings or gem-tins, until well browned on top.
Indian Breakfast Patties.—To one pint of Indian meal add one egg, and a little salt, pour boiling water upon it, and fry brown immediately in pork fat. Cut open and put butter between, and send to the table hot.
Jumbles.—Stir together till of a light brown color, one pound sugar, one-half pound butter, then add eight eggs beaten to a froth, add flour enough to make them stiff enough to roll out, flavor with lemon, cut in rings half an inch thick, bake in quick oven.
Kisses.—Beat the whites of four eggs to a froth, stir into them half pound powdered white sugar; flavor with lemon, continue to beat it until it will be in a heap; lay the mixture on letter-paper, in the size and shape of half an egg, an inch apart, then lay the paper on hard wood and place in the oven without closing it, when they begin to look yellowish take them out and let them cool three or four minutes, then slip a thin knife carefully under and turn them into your left hand, take another and join the two by the sides next the paper, then lay them in a dish handling them gently. They may be batted a little harder, the soft inside taken out and jelly substituted.
Light Fruit Cake.—Take one cup butter, two cups sugar, four of flour, four eggs, one teaspoon cream tartar, half teaspoon soda, one cup sweet milk, one pound currants, half pound citron.
Marble Cake, Light Part.—One and a half cups white sugar, half cup butter, half cup sweet milk, one teaspoon cream tartar, half teaspoon soda, whites of four eggs, two and half cups flour.
Dark Part.—One cup brown sugar, half cup each molasses, butter and sour milk, one teaspoon cream tartar, one teaspoon soda, two and a half cups flour, yolks four eggs, half teaspoon cloves, allspice and cinnamon.
Molasses Cookies.—Three cups New Orleans molasses, one cup butter, one-half cup lard, one heaped teaspoon soda, one tablespoon ginger, one cup hot water. Roll thick. Better after standing.
Muffins.—Take two cups flour, one cup milk, half cup sugar, four eggs, one-half teaspoon each of soda and cream tartar, one tablespoon butter. Bake in rings.
Graham Muffins.—Mix one pint sweet milk, sift your flour, then take half pound each Graham and wheat flour, five or six spoonfuls melted butter, two half spoons baking powder. Bake in rings in very quick oven.
Nut Cake.—Mix each two tablespoons of butter and sugar, two eggs, one cup milk, three cups flour, one teaspoon cream tartar, half teaspoon soda, pint of nuts or almonds. Nuts may be sliced or not as suits taste.
Oat Cakes.—Mix fine and coarse oatmeal in equal proportions; add sugar, caraway-seeds, a dust of salt to three pounds of meal, a heaping teaspoonful of carbonate of soda; mix all thoroughly together, then add enough boiling water to make the whole a stiff paste; roll out this paste quite thin, and sprinkle meal on a griddle. Lay the cakes on to bake, or toast them quite dry in a Dutch oven in front of the fire; they should not scorch, but gradually dry through.
Orange Cake, the Most Delicate and Delicious Cake there is.—Grated rind of one orange; two cups sugar; whites of four eggs and yolks of five; one cup sweet milk; one cup butter; two large teaspoonfuls baking powder, to be sifted through with the flour; bake quick in jelly tins. Filling: Take white of the one egg that was left; beat to a froth, add a little sugar and the juice of the orange, beat together, and spread between the layers. If oranges are not to be had, lemons will do instead.
Plain Fruit Cake.—One pound each butter beaten to a cream, sifted sugar, sifted flour, twelve eggs, whites and yolks, beaten separately. Two pounds currants, three pounds of stoned raisins chopped, one nutmeg, a little cinnamon and other spices, half pint wine and brandy mixed, one pound citron cut in slices and stuck in the batter after it is in the tin. Bake slowly two to three hours.
Plain Cake.—Flour, three-quarters of a pound; sugar, the same quantity; butter, four ounces; one egg and two tablespoonfuls of milk. Mix all together and bake.
Puffs.—Two eggs beaten very light; one cup of milk, one cup of flour, and a pinch of salt. The gems should be heated while making the puffs, which are then placed in a quick oven.
Plum Cake.—Six eggs well beaten, one pound of sugar, the same of flour, butter and currants, four ounces of candied peel, two tablespoonfuls of mixed spice. When it is all mixed, add one teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, and one of tartaric acid. Beat it all up quickly and bake directly.
Pound Cake.—Take four and a half cups flour, 3 cups each butter and sugar. Ten eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately. Mix.
Pork Cake.—Take one pound salt pork chopped fine, boil a few minutes in half pint water, one cup molasses, two cups sugar, three eggs, two teaspoons soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg to taste, one pound raisins chopped fine, flour to make a stiff batter.
Rich Shortbread.—Two pounds of flour, one pound butter, and quarter pound each of the following ingredients:—Candied orange and lemon peel, sifted loaf sugar, blanched sweet almonds and caraway comfits. Cut the peel and almonds into thin slices, and mix them with one pound and a half of flour and the sugar. Melt the butter, and when cool, pour it into the flour, mixing it quickly with a spoon. Then with the hands mix it, working in the remainder of the flour; give it one roll out till it is an inch thick, cut it into the size you wish, and pinch round the edges. Prick the top with a fork, and stick in some caraway comfits; put it on white paper, and bake on tins in a slow oven.
Seed Cake.—Take half a pound of butter and three-fourths of a pound of sugar, creamed; three eggs, beaten lightly, and two tablespoonfuls of picked and bruised caraway seed; dissolve half a teaspoonful of soda in a cup of new milk; mix these well together until they are about the consistency of cream; then sift in two pounds of flour, mix well with a knife, and roll them out into thin cakes, about an inch in thickness. Bake in a quick oven.
Sponge Cake.—Take sixteen eggs; separate the whites from the yolks; beat them very lightly; sift into the yolks one pound of flour, adding a few drops of essence of almond or lemon, to flavor with; then add one pound and a quarter of pulverized loaf sugar; beat this well with a knife; then add the whites whipped to a stiff froth. Have ready the pans, and bake.
Sponge Cake, white.—One and one-third coffee cups of sugar; one coffee cup flour; whites of ten eggs; beat eggs and sugar as if for frosting; add flour by degrees and bake.
Snow Cake.—Take one pound arrow-root, half pound white sugar, half pound butter, the whites of six eggs, flavor with lemon, beat the butter to a cream, stir in the sugar and arrow-root, whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, beat for twenty minutes. Bake one hour.
Washington Cake.—One cup of sugar; 1/2 cup of butter; 1/2 cup sweet milk; 2 eggs; 2 cups flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder. Bake in layers as jelly cake. Jelly part: One pint of grated apples; 1 egg; 1 cup of sugar; grated rind and juice of one lemon; put in a vessel of some kind, and boil; put it on the cakes hot.
Waffles.—Take one quart milk, two eggs; beat the whites and yolks separately; four tablespoons melted butter, two teaspoons Gillett's baking powder, flour to make a stiff batter. Bake in waffle irons.
Alpine Snow.—Wash cup of rice, cook till tender in a covered dish to keep it white, when nearly done add cup rich milk, salt to taste, stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs, allow it to simmer for a moment, then place in a dish, beat the whites in two tablespoons fine sugar. Put the rice in little heaps upon the tin, intermingling with pieces of red jelly, eat with fine sugar and cream.
Apple Charlotte.—Take two pounds of apples, pare and core and slice them into a pan and add one pound loaf sugar, juice of three lemons and the grated rind of one, let these boil until they become a thick mass. Turn into a mould and serve it cold with thick custard or cream.
Apple Cream.—One cup thick cream, one cup sugar, beat till very smooth; then beat the whites of two eggs and add; stew apples in water till soft; take them from the water with a fork; steam them if you prefer. Pour the cream over the apples when cold.
Apple Custard.—Pare tart apples, core them, put them into a deep dish with a small piece of butter, and one teaspoon of sugar and a little nutmeg, in the opening of each apple, pour in water enough to cook them, when soft cool them and pour over an unbaked custard so as to cover them and bake until the custard is done.
Apple Fancy.—Pare and core apples, stew with sugar and lemon peels, beat four eggs to a froth, add a cupful of grated bread crumbs, a little sugar and nutmeg, lay the apples in the bottom of a dish and cover with the bread crumbs, laying a few pieces of butter over the top, bake in a quick oven, when done turn out upside down on a flat dish, scatter fine sugar over the top of apples, boil potatoes and beat fine with cream, large piece butter and salt, drop on tin, make smooth on top, score with knife, lay a thin slice of butter on top, then put in oven till brown.
Apple Fritters.—One pint milk, three eggs, salt to taste, as much flour as will make a batter, beat yolks and whites of eggs separately, add yolks to milk, stir in the whites when mixing the batter, have tender apples, pare, core, and cut in large thin slices, around the apple, to be fried in hot lard, ladle batter into spider, lay slice of apple in centre of each quantity of batter, fry light brown.
Apple Snow Balls.—Pare six apples, cut them into quarters, remove the cores, reconstruct the position of the apples, introduce into the cavities one clove and a slice ofpeel, have six small pudding cloths at hand and cover the apples severally in an upright position with rice, tying them up tight, then place them in a large saucepan of scalding water and boil one hour, on taking them up open the top and add a little grated nutmeg with butter and sugar.
Arrow-Root Blanc-Mange.—Put two tablespoonfuls of arrow-root to a quart of milk, and a pinch of salt. Scald the milk, sweeten it, and stir in the arrow-root, which must first be wet up with some of the milk. Boil up once. Orange-water, rose-water or lemon-peel may be used to flavor it. Pour into molds to cool.
Arrow-Root Custard.—Arrow-root, one tablespoonful; milk, 1 pint; sugar, 1 tablespoonful, and 1 egg. Mix the arrow-root with a little of the milk, cold; when the milk boils, stir in the arrow-root, egg and sugar, previously well beaten together. Let it scald, and pour into cups to cool. To flavor it, boil a little ground cinnamon in the milk.
Arrow-Root Jelly.—To a dessert-spoonful of the powder, add as much cold water as will make it into a paste, then pour on half a pint of boiling water, stir briskly and boil it a few minutes, when it will become a clear smooth jelly; a little sugar and sherry wine may be added for debilitated adults; but for infants, a drop or two of essence of caraway seeds or cinnamon is preferable, wine being very liable to become acid in the stomachs of infants, and to disorder the bowels. Fresh milk, either alone or diluted with water, may be substituted for the water.
Baked Apples.—Take a dozen tart apples, pare and core them, place sugar and small lump of butter in centre of each, put them in a pan with half pint of water, bake until tender, basting occasionally with syrup while baking, when done, serve with cream.
Chocolate Cream Custard.—Scrape quarter pound chocolate, pour on it one teacup boiling water, and stand it by fire until dissolved, beat eight eggs light, omitting the whites of two, and stir them by degrees into a quart of milk alternately with the chocolate and three tablespoons of white sugar, put the mixture into cups and bake 10 minutes.
Charlotte Russe.—Whip one quart rich cream to a stiff froth, and drain well on a nice sieve. To one scant pint of milk add six eggs beaten very light; make very sweet; flavor high with vanilla. Cook over hot water till it is a thick custard. Soak one full ounce Coxe's gelatine in a very little water, and warm over hot water. When the custard is very cold, beat in lightly the gelatine and the whipped cream. Line the bottom of your mold with buttered paper, and the sides with sponge cake or ladyfingers fastened together with the white of an egg. Fill with the cream, put in a cold place or in summer on ice. To turn out dip the mold for a moment in hot water. In draining the whipped cream, all that drips through can be re-whipped.
Cocoa Snow.—Grate the white part of a cocoanut and mix it with white sugar, serve with whipped cream, or not, as desired.
Cream and Snow.—Make a rich boiled custard, and put it in the bottom of a dish; take the whites of eight eggs, beat with rose-water, and a spoonful of fine sugar, till it be a strong froth; put some milk and water into a stew-pan; when it boils take the froth off the eggs, and lay it on the milk and water; boil up once; take off carefully and lay it on the custard.
Baked Custards.—Boil a pint of cream with some mace and cinnamon; and when it is cold, take four yolks and two whites of eggs, a little rose and orange-flower water, sack, nutmeg, and sugar to your palate. Mix them well, and bake it in cups.
Or, pour into a deep dish, with or without lining or rim of paste; grate nutmeg and lemon peel over the top, and bake in a slow oven about thirty minutes.
Gooseberry Cream.—Boil them in milk till soft; beat them, and strain the pulp through a coarse sieve. Sweeten cream with sugar to your taste; mix with the pulp; when cold, place in glasses for use.
Imperial Cream.—Boil a quart of cream with the thin rind of a lemon; stir till nearly cold; have ready in a dish to serve in, the juice of three lemons strained with as much sugar as will sweeten the cream; pour it into the dish from a large tea-pot, holding it high, and moving it about to mix with the juice. It should be made from 6 to 12 hours before it is served.
Jumballs.—Flour, 1 lb.; sugar, 1 lb.; make into a light paste with whites of eggs beaten fine; add 1/2 pint of cream; 1/2 lb. of butter, melted; and 1 lb. of blanched almonds, well beaten; knead all together, with a little rose-water; cut into any form; bake in a slow oven. A little butter may be melted with a spoonful of white wine and throw fine sugar over the dish.
Lemon Puffs.—Beat and sift 1 pound of refined sugar; put into a bowl with the juice of two lemons, and mix them together; beat the white of an egg to a high froth; put it into the bowl; put in 3 eggs with two rinds of lemon grated; mix it well up, and throw sugar on the buttered papers; drop on the puffs in small drops, and bake them in a moderately heated oven.
Lemon Tarts.—Pare the rinds of four lemons, and boil tender in two waters, and beat fine. Add to it 4 ounces of blanched almonds, cut thin, 4 ozs. of lump sugar, the juice of the lemons, and a little grated peel. Simmer to a syrup. When cold, turn into a shallow tin tart dish, lined with a rich thin puff paste, and lay bars of the same over, and bake carefully.
Macaroons.—Blanch 4 ozs. of almonds, and pound with 4 spoonfuls of orange-flower water; whisk the whites of four eggs to a froth, then mix it, and 1 lb. of sugar, sifted with the almonds to a paste; and laying a sheet of wafer-paper on a tin, put it on in different little cakes, the shape of macaroons.
Oatmeal Custard.—Take two teaspoons of the finest Scotch oatmeal, beat it up into a sufficiency of cold water in a basin to allow it to run freely. Add to it the yoke of a fresh egg, well worked up; have a pint of scalding new milk on the fire, and pour the oatmeal mixture into it, stirring it round with a spoon so as to incorporate the whole. Add sugar to your taste, and throw in a glass of sherry to the mixture, with a little grated nutmeg. Pour it into a basin, and take it warm in bed. It will be found very grateful and soothing in cases of colds or chills. Some, persons scald a little cinnamon in the milk they use for the occasion.
Orange Crumpets.—Cream, 1 pint; new milk, 1 pint; warm it, and put in it a little rennet or citric acid; when broken, stir it gently; lay it on a cloth to drain all night, and then take the rinds of three oranges, boiled, as for preserving, in three different waters; pound them very fine, and mix them with the curd, and eight eggs in a mortar, a little nutmeg, the juice of a lemon or orange, and sugar to your taste; bake them in buttered tin pans. When baked put a little wine and sugar over them.
Orange Custards.—Boil the rind of half a Seville orange very tender; beat it very fine in a mortar; add a spoonful of the best brandy, the juice of a Seville orange, 4 ozs. loaf sugar, and the yolks of four eggs; beat alltogether ten minutes; then pour in gradually a pint of boiling cream; keep beating them until they are cold; put them into custard cups, and set them in an earthen dish of hot water; let them stand until they are set, take out, and stick preserved oranges on the top, and serve them hot or cold.
Pommes Au Riz.—Peel a number of apples of a good sort, take out the cores, and let them simmer in a syrup of clarified sugar, with a little lemon peel. Wash and pick some rice, and cook it in milk, moistening it therewith little by little, so that the grains may remain whole. Sweeten it to taste; add a little salt and a taste of lemon-peel. Spread the rice upon a dish, mixing some apple preserve with it, and place the apples upon it, and fill up the vacancies between the apples with some of the rice. Place the dish in the oven until the surface gets brown, and garnish with spoonfuls of bright colored preserve or jelly.
Raspberry Cream.—Mash the fruit gently, and let it drain; then sprinkle a little sugar over, and that will produce more juice; put it through a hair sieve to take out the seeds; then put the juice to some cream, and sweeten it; after which, if you choose to lower it with some milk, it will not curdle; which it would if put to the milk before the cream; but it is best made of raspberry jelly, instead of jam, when the fresh fruit cannot be obtained.
Rice Fritters.—One pint of cooked rice, half cup of sweet milk, two eggs, a tablespoon of flour, and a little salt. Have the lard hot in the skillet, allow a tablespoon to each fritter, fry brown on each side, then turn same as griddle cakes. If you find the rice spatters in the fat, add a very little more flour. You can judge after frying one.
Rice Croquettes.—Make little balls or oblong rolls of cooked rice; season with salt, and pepper if you like; dip in egg; fry in hot lard.
Rice Custards.—Boil 3 pints of new milk with a bit of lemon-peel, cinnamon, and three bay leaves; sweeten; then mix a large spoonful of rice flour into a cup of cold milk, very smooth; mix it with the yolks of four eggs well beaten. Take a basin of the boiling milk, and mix with the cold that has the rice in it; add the remainder of the boiling milk; stir it one way till it boils; pour immediately into a pan; stir till cool, and add a spoonful of brandy, or orange-flower water.
Rice Flummery.—Boil with a pint of new milk, a bit of lemon-peel, and cinnamon; mix with a little cold milk, as much rice flour as will make the whole of a good consistence, sweeten and add a spoonful of peach-water, or a bitter almond beaten; boil it, observing it does not burn; pour it into a shape or a pint basin, taken out the spice. When cold, turn the flummery into a dish, and serve with cream, milk, or custard round; or put a teacupful of cream into half a pint of new milk, a glass of white wine, half a lemon squeezed, and sugar.
Rock Cream.—Boil a teacupful of rice till quite soft in new milk and then sweeten it with sugar, and pile it on a dish, lay on it current jelly or preserved fruit, beat up the whites of five eggs with a little powdered sugar and flour, add to this when beaten very stiff about a tablespoon of rich cream and drop it over the rice.
Strawberry and Apple Souffle.—Stew the apple with a little lemon-peel; sweeten them, then lay them pretty high round the inside of a dish. Make a custard of the yolks of two eggs, a little cinnamon, sugar and milk. Let it thicken over a slow fire, but not boil; when ready, pour it in the inside of the apple. Beat the whites of the eggs to a strong froth, and cover the whole. Throw over it a good deal of pounded sugar, and brown it to a fine brown. Any fruit made of a proper consistence does for the walls, strawberries, when ripe, are delicious.
Strawberry Short-Cake.—First prepare the berries by picking; after they have been well washed—the best way to wash them is to hold the boxes under the faucet and let a gentle stream of water run over and through them, then drain, and pick them into an earthen bowl; now take the potato-masher and bruise them and cover with a thick layer of white sugar; now set them aside till the cake is made. Take a quart of sifted flour; half a cup of sweet butter; one egg, well beaten; three teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, and milk enough to make a rather stiff dough; knead well, and roll with a rolling-pin till about one inch thick; bake till a nice brown, and when done, remove it to the table; turn it out of the pan; with a light, sharp knife, cut it down lengthwise and crossways; now run the knife through it, and lay it open for a few moments, just to let the steam escape (the steam ruins the color of the berries); then set the bottom crust on the platter; cover thickly with the berries, an inch and a half deep; lay the top crust on the fruit; dust thickly with powdered sugar, and if any berry juice is left in the bowl, pour it round the cake, not over it, and you will have a delicious short-cake.
Snow Cream.—To a quart of cream add the whites of three eggs, cut to a stiff froth, add four spoonfuls of sweet wine, sugar to taste, flavor with essence of lemon. Whip all to a froth, and as soon as it forms take it off and serve in glasses.
Stewed Figs.—Take four ounces of fine sugar, the thin rind of a large lemon, and a pint of cold water, when the sugar is dissolved, add one pound turkey figs, and place the stew-pan over a moderate fire where they may heat and swell slowly, and stew gently for two hours, when they are quite tender, add the juice of one lemon, arrange them in a glass dish and serve cold.
Spanish Cream.—Dissolve in 1/2 pint of rose-water, 1 oz. of isinglass cut small; run it through a hair sieve; add the yolks of three or four eggs, beaten and mixed with half a pint of cream, and two sorrel leaves. Pour it into a deep dish, sweeten with loaf sugar powdered. Stir it till cold, and put it into molds. Lay rings round in different colored sweetmeats. Add, if you like, a little sherry, and a lump or two of sugar, rubbed well upon the rind of a lemon to extract the flavor.
Whipped Cream.—To one quart of good cream, put a few drops of bergamot water, a little orange-flower water, and 1/2 lb. of sugar. When it is dissolved, whip the cream to a froth, and take it up with a skimmer; drain on a sieve, and if for icing, let it settle half an hour before you put it into cups or glasses. Use that which drops into the dish under the sieve, to make it froth the better, adding two whites of eggs. Colored powdered sugar may, if you like, be sprinkled on the top of each.
Asparagus Omelet.—Boil a dozen of the largest and finest asparagus heads you can pick; cut off all the green portion, and chop it in thin slices; season with a small teaspoonful of salt, and about one-fourth of that quantity of soluble cayenne. Then beat up six eggs in a sufficient quantity of new milk to make a stiffish batter. Melt in the frying-pan a quarter of a pound of good, clean dripping, and just before you pour on the batter place a small piece of butter in the center of the pan. When the dripping is quite hot, pour on half your batter, and as it begins to set, place on it the asparagus tops, and cover over with the remainder. This omelet is generally served on a round of buttered toast, with the crusts removed. The batter is richer if made of cream.
Buttered Eggs.—Beat four or five eggs, yolks and whites together, put a quarter of a pound of butter in a basin, and then put that in boiling water, stir it tillthen pour the butter and the eggs into a sauce-pan; keep a basin in your hand, just hold the sauce-pan in the other over a slow part of the fire, shaking it one way, as it begins to warm; pour it into a basin, and back, then hold it again over the fire, stirring it constantly in the saucepan, and pouring it into the basin, more perfectly to mix the egg and butter until they shall be hot without boiling.
Serve on toasted bread; or in a basin, to eat with salt fish, or red herrings.
Corn-Oysters.—Take a half dozen ears of sweet corn (those which are not too old); with a sharp knife split each row of the corn in the center of the kernel lengthwise; scrape out all the pulp; add one egg, well beaten, a little salt, one tablespoonful of sweet milk; flour enough to make a pretty stiff batter. Drop in hot lard, and fry a delicate brown. If the corn is quite young, omit the milk, using as little flour as possible.
Cheese Omelet.—Mix to a smooth batter three tablespoonfuls of fine flour, with half a pint of milk. Beat up well the yolks and whites of four eggs, a little salt, and a quarter of a pound of grated old English cheese. Add these to the flour and milk, and whisk all the ingredients together for half an hour. Put three ounces of butter into a frying-pan, and when it is boiling pour in the above mixture, fry it for a few minutes, and then turn it carefully; when it is sufficiently cooked on the other side, turn it on to a hot dish and serve.
Irish Stew.—Take a loin of mutton, cut it into chops, season it with a very little pepper and salt, put it into a saucepan, just cover it with water, and let it cook half an hour. Boil two dozen of potatoes, peel and mash them, and stir in a cup of cream while they are hot; then line a deep dish with the potatoes, and lay in the cooked mutton chops, and cover them over with the rest of the potatoes; then set it in the oven to bake. Make some gravy of the broth in which the chops were cooked. This is a very nice dish.
Irish Stew.—Cut off the fat of part of a loin of mutton, and cut it into chops. Pare, wash, and slice very thin some potatoes, two onions, and two small carrots; season with pepper and salt. Cover with water in a stew-pan, and stew gently till the meat is tender, and the potatoes are dissolved in the gravy. It may be made of beef-steaks, or mutton and beef mixed.
Macaroni, Dressed Sweet.—Boil 2 ozs. in a pint of milk, with a bit of lemon peel, and a good bit of cinnamon, till the pipes are swelled to their utmost size without breaking. Lay them on a custard-dish, and pour a custard over them hot. Serve cold.
Macaroni, as Usually Served.—Boil it in milk, or a weak veal broth, flavored with salt. When tender, put it into a dish without the liquor, with bits of butter and grated cheese, and over the top grate more, and put a little more butter. Put the dish into a Dutch oven, a quarter of an hour, and do not let the top become hard.
Omelet.—Six eggs beaten separately, beaten hard, two teaspoons of corn starch, two tablespoons milk, whites of eggs, put in slow at last. Fry in butter.
Rumbled Eggs.—This is very convenient for invalids, or a light dish for supper. Beat up three eggs with two ounces of fresh butter, or well-washed salt butter; add a teaspoonful of cream or new milk. Put all in a saucepan and keep stirring it over the fire for nearly five minutes, until it rises up like scuffle, when it should be immediately dished on buttered toast.
Poached Eggs.—Break an egg into a cup, and put it gently into boiling water; and when the white looks quite set, which will be in about three or four minutes, take it up with an egg slice, and lay it on toast and butter, or spinach. Serve them hot; if fresh laid, they will poach well, without breaking.
Savory Potato-Cakes.—Quarter of a pound of grated ham, one pound of mashed potatoes, and a little suet, mixed with the yolks of two eggs, pepper, salt and nutmeg. Roll it into little balls, or cakes, and fry it a light brown. Sweet herbs may be used in place of ham. Plain potato cakes are made with potatoes and eggs only.
Tomato Toast.—Remove the stem and all the seeds from the tomatoes; they must be ripe, mind, notover ripe; stew them to a pulp, season with butter, pepper and salt; toast some bread (not new bread), butter it, and then spread the tomato on each side, and send it up to table, two slices on each dish, the slices cut in two; and the person who helps it must serve with two half-slices, not attempt to lift the top slice, otherwise the appearance of the under slice will be destroyed.
How to Choose Anchovies.—They are preserved in barrels, with bay-salt; no other fish has the fine flavor of the anchovy. The best look red and mellow, and the bones moist and oily; the flesh should be high flavored, the liquor reddish, and have a fine smell.
Baked Black Bass.—Eight good-sized onions chopped fine; half that quantity of bread crumbs; butter size of hen's egg; plenty of pepper and salt; mix thoroughly with anchovy sauce until quite red. Stuff your fish with this compound and pour the rest over it, previously sprinkling it with a little red pepper. Shad, pickerel and trout are good the same way. Tomatoes can be used instead of anchovies, and are more economical. If using them, take pork in place of butter, and chop fine.
Boiled White Fish.—Lay the fish open; put it in a dripping pan with the back down; nearly cover with water; to one fish put two tablespoons salt, cover tightly and simmer (not boil) one-half hour; dress with gravy, butter and pepper; garnish with sliced eggs.
For sauce use a piece of butter the size of an egg, one tablespoon of flour, one half pint boiling water; boil a few minutes, and add three hard boiled eggs, sliced.
Fresh Broiled White Fish.—Wash and drain the fish: sprinkle with pepper and lay with the inside down upon the gridiron, and broil over fresh bright coals. When a nice brown, turn for a moment on the other side, then take up and spread with butter. This is a very nice way of broiling all kinds of fish, fresh or salted. A little smoke under the fish adds to its flavor. This may be made by putting two or three cobs under the gridiron.
To Boil Codfish.—If boiled fresh, it is watery; but it is excellent if salted, and hung for a day, to give it firmness. Wash and clean the fish well, and rub salt inside of it; tie it up, and put it on the fire in cold water; throw a handful of salt into the fish-kettle. Boil a small fish 15 minutes; a large one 30 minutes. Serve it without the smallest speck and scum; drain. Garnish it with lemon, horseradish, the milt, roe, and liver. Oyster or shrimp sauce may be used.
Chowder.—Five pounds of codfish cut in squares; fry plenty of salt pork cut in thin slices; put a layer of pork in your kettle, then one of fish; one of potatoes in thick slices, and one of onions in slices; plenty of pepper andrepeat as long as your materials last, and finish with a layer of Boston crackers or crusts of bread. Water sufficient to cook with, or milk if you prefer. Cook one-half hour and turn over on your platter, disturbing as little as possible. Clams and eels the same way.
Clam Fritters.—Twelve clams chopped or not, one pint milk, three eggs, add liquor from clams; salt and pepper, and flour enough for thin batter. Fry in hot lard.
Clam Stew.—Lay the clams on a gridiron over hot coals, taking them out of the shell as soon as open, saving the juice; add a little hot water, pepper, a very little salt and butter rolled in flour sufficient for seasoning; cook for five minutes and pour over toast.
Eels, to Stew.—Of the above fish, that of the "silver" kind is preferable to its congener, and, therefore, ought to be procured for all cuisine purposes. Take from three to four pounds of these eels, and let the same be thoroughly cleansed, inside and out, rescinding the heads and tails from the bodies. Cut them into pieces three inches in length each, and lay them down in a stew pan, covering them with a sufficiency of sweet mutton gravy to keep them seething over a slow fire, when introduced into the pan, for twenty minutes. Add to the liquor, before you place your eels into it, a quarter of an ounce of whole black pepper, quarter of an ounce of allspice, with one or two pieces of white ginger. Thicken with a light admixture of flour and butter, stirring it carefully round, adding thereto, at the same time, one gill of good port wine, and half a gill of sweet ketchup. Lemon-peel and salt may be added in accordance with your taste.
How to Keep Fish Sound.—To prevent meat, fish, etc., going bad, put a few pieces of charcoal into the sauce-pan wherein the fish or flesh is to be boiled.
How to Render Boiled Fish Firm.—Add a little saltpetre to the salt in the water in which the fish is to be boiled; a quarter of an ounce to one gallon.
Fish Balls.—Bone, cooked fresh, or salt fish, add double the quantity of mashed potatoes, one beaten egg, a little butter, pepper and salt to taste. Make in cakes or balls; dredge with flour and fry in hot lard.
Potted Fish.—Take out the back-bone of the fish; for one weighing two pounds take a tablespoon of allspice and cloves mixed; these spices should be put into bags of not too thick muslin; put sufficient salt directly upon each fish; then roll in cloth, over which sprinkle a little cayenne pepper; put alternate layers of fish, spice and sago in an earthen jar; cover with the best cider vinegar; cover the jar closely with a plate and over this put a covering of dough, rolled out to twice the thickness of pie crust. Make the edges of paste, to adhere closely to the sides of the jar, so as to make it air-tight. Put the jar into a pot of cold water and let it boil from three to five hours, according to quantity. Ready when cold.
How to Broil or Roast Fresh Herrings.—Scale, gut and wash; cut off the heads; steep them in salt and vinegar ten minutes; dust them with flour, and broil them over or before the fire, or in the oven. Serve with melted butter and parsley.
Herrings are nicejarred, and done in the oven, with pepper, cloves, salt, a little vinegar, a few bay-leaves, and a little butter.
How to Fry Fresh Herrings.—Slice small onions, and lay in the pan with the herrings; add a little butter, and fry them. Perhaps it is better to fry the onions separately with a little parsley, and butter or drip.
How to Pot Herrings.—Clean, cut off the heads, and lay them close in an earthen pot. Strew a little salt between every layer; put in cloves, mace, whole pepper, cayenne and nutmeg; fill up the jar with vinegar, water, and a quarter of a pint of sherry, cover, tie down; bake in an oven, and when cold pot it for use. A few anchovies and bay leaves intermixed will improve the flavor much.
Buttered Lobsters.—Pick the meat out, cut it, and warm with a little brown gravy, nutmeg, salt, pepper and butter, with a little flour. If done white, a little white gravy and cream.
Curry Of Lobster.—Take them from the shells, and lay into a pan, with a small piece of mace, three or four spoonfuls of veal gravy, and four of cream; rub smooth one or two teaspoonfuls of curry-powder, a teaspoonful of flour, and an ounce of butter, simmer an hour; squeeze half a lemon in, and add salt.
Lobster Chowder.—Four or five pounds of lobster, chopped fine; take the green part and add to it four pounded crackers; stir this into one quart of boiling milk; then add the lobster, a piece of butter one-half the size of an egg, a little pepper and salt, and bring it to a boil.
How to Boil Mackerel.—Rub them with vinegar; when the water boils, put them in with a little salt, and boil gently 15 minutes. Serve with fennel and parsley chopped, boil, and put into melted butter, and gooseberry sauce.
Salt Mackerel.—Soak the fish for a few hours in lukewarm water, changing the water several times; then put into cold water loosely tied in cloths, and let the fish come to a boil, turning off the water once, and pouring over the fish hot water from the tea-kettle; let this just come to a boil, then take them out and drain them, lay them on a platter, butter and pepper them, and place them for a few moments in the oven. Serve with sliced lemons, or with any fish sauce.
How to Fry Oysters.—Use the largest and best oysters; lay them in rows upon a clean cloth and press another upon them, to absorb the moisture; have ready several beaten eggs; and in another dish some finely crushed crackers: in the frying pan heat enough butter to entirely cover the oysters; dip the oysters first into the eggs, then into the crackers, rolling it or them over, that they may become well incrusted; drop into the frying pan and fry quickly to a light brown. Serve dry and let the dish be warm. A chafing dish is best.
Oyster Patties.—Make some rich puff paste and bake it in very small tin patty pans; when cool, turn them out upon a large dish; stew some large fresh oysters with a few cloves, and a little mace and nutmeg; then add the yolk of one egg, boiled hard and grated; add a little butter, and as much of the oyster liquor as will cover them. When they have stewed a little while, take them off the pan and set them to cool. When quite cold, lay two or three oysters in each shell of puff paste.
Oysters, Stewed.—In all cases, unless shell oysters, wash and drain; mix half a cup of butter and a tablespoon of corn starch; put with the oysters in a porcelain kettle; stir until they boil; add two cups of cream or milk; salt to taste; do not use the liquor of the oysters in either stewing or escaloping.
Oysters Stewed.—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, then take them out, beard them, and strain the liquor carefully from the grit. Put into a stewpan an ounce of butter, with sufficient flour dredged in to dry it up; add the oyster liquor, and a blade of pounded mace, a little cayenne, and a very little salt to taste; stir it well over a brisk fire with a wooden spoon, and when it comes to the boil, throw in your oysters, say a dozen and a half or a score, and a good tablespoonful of cream, or more, if you have it at hand. Shake the pan over the fire, and let it simmer forone or two minutes, but not any longer, and do not let it boil, or the fish will harden. Serve in a hot dish, garnished with sippets of toasted bread. Some persons think that the flavor is improved by boiling a small piece of lemon-peel with the oyster liquor, taking it out, however, before the cream is added.
Oysters Scolloped.—Beard and trim your oysters, and strain the liquor. Melt in a stewpan, with a dredging of flour sufficient to dry it up, an ounce of butter, and two tablespoonfuls of white stock, and the same of cream; the strained liquor and pepper, and salt to taste. Put in the oysters and gradually heat them through, but be sure not to let them boil. Have your scallop-shells buttered, lay in the oysters, and as much liquid as they will hold; cover them well over with bread-crumbs, over which spread, or drop, some tiny bits of butter. Brown them in the oven, or before the fire, and serve while very hot.
Oysters, To Pickle.—Take two hundred of the plumpest, nicest oysters to be had, open them, saving the liquor, remove the beards, put them, with the liquor, into a stewpan, and let them simmer for twenty minutes over a very gentle fire, taking care to skim them well. Take the stewpan off the fire, take out the oysters, and strain the liquor through a fine cloth, returning the oysters to the stewpan. Add to a pint of the hot liquor half an ounce of mace, and half an ounce of cloves; give it a boil, and put it in with the oysters, stirring the spice well in amongst them. Then put in about a spoonful of salt, three-quarters of a pint of white-wine vinegar, and one ounce of whole pepper, and let the oysters stand until they are quite cold. They will be ready for use in about twelve or twenty-four hours; if to be kept longer they should be put in wide-mouthed bottles, or stone jars, and well drawn down with bladder. It is very important that they should be quite cold before they are put into the bottles, or jars.
Salmon, To Boil.—Clean it carefully, boil it gently with salt and a little horse radish; take it out of the water as soon as done. Let the water be warm if the fish be split. If underdone it is very unwholesome. Serve with shrimp, lobster, or anchovy sauce, and fennel and butter.
Salmon, To Marinate.—Cut the salmon in slices; take off the skin and take out the middle bone; cut each slice asunder; put into a saucepan and season with salt, pepper, 6 cloves, a sliced onion, some whole chives, a little sweet basil, parsley, and a bay leaf; then squeeze in the juice of three lemons, or use vinegar. Let the salmon lie in the marinate for two hours; take it out; dry with a cloth; dredge with flour, and fry brown in clarified butter; then lay a clean napkin in a dish; lay the slices upon it; garnish with fried parsley.
Salt Cod, To Dress.—Soak the cod all night in 2 parts water, and one part vinegar. Boil; and break into flakes on the dish; pour over it boiled parsnips, beaten in a mortar, and then boil up with cream, and a large piece of butter rolled in a bit of flour. It may be served with egg-sauce instead of parsnip, or boiled and served without flaking with the usual sauce.
AllSalt Fishmay be done in a similar way. Pour egg-sauce over it, or parsnips, boiled and beaten fine with butter and cream.
How to Boil Sturgeon—Water, 2 quarts; vinegar, 1 pint; a stick of horseradish; a little lemon-peel, salt, pepper, a bay leaf. In this boil the fish; when the fish is ready to leave the bones, take it up; melt 1/2 lb. of butter; add an anchovy, some mace, a few shrimps, good mushroom ketchup, and lemon juice; when it boils, put in the dish; serve with the sauce; garnish with fried oysters, horseradish and lemon.
How to Broil Sturgeon.—Cut slices, rub beaten eggs over them, and sprinkle them with crumbs of bread, parsley, pepper and salt; wrap them in white paper, and broil gently. Use for sauce, butter, anchovy and soy.
How to Dress Fresh Sturgeon.—Cut slices, rub egg over them, then sprinkle with crumbs of bread, parsley, pepper, salt; fold them in paper, and broil gently. Sauce; butter, anchovy and soy.
How to Roast Sturgeon.—Put a piece of butter, rolled in flour, into a stewpan with four cloves, a bunch of sweet herbs, two onions, some pepper and salt, half a pint of water and a glass of vinegar. Set it over the fire till hot; then let it become lukewarm, and steep the fish in it an hour or two. Butter a paper well, tie it round, and roast it without letting the spit run through. Serve with sorrel and anchovy sauce.
Trout, a-la-Genevoise—Clean the fish well; put it into the stewpan, adding half champagne and half sherry wine. Season it with pepper, salt, an onion, a few cloves stuck in it, and a small bunch of parsley and thyme; put in it a crust of French bread; set it on a quick fire. When done take the bread out, bruise it and thicken the sauce: add flour and a little butter, and boil it up. Lay the fish on the dish, and pour the sauce over it. Serve it with sliced lemon and fried bread.
How to Broil Trout—Wash, dry, tie it, to cause it to keep its shape; melt butter, add salt, and cover the trout with it. Broil it gradually in a Dutch oven, or in a common oven. Cut an anchovy small, and chop some capers. Melt some butter with a little flour, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and half a spoonful of vinegar. Pour it over the trout and serve it hot.
How to Choose Ducks—A young duck should have supple feet, breast and belly hard and thick. A tame duck has dusky yellow feet. They should be picked dry, and ducklings scalded.
How to Roast Ducks.—Carefully pick, and clean the inside. Boil two or three onions in two waters; chop them very small. Mix the onions with about half the quantity of sage leaves, bread crumbs finely powdered, a spoonful of salt, and a little cayenne paper; beat up the yolk of an egg, and rub the stuffing well together. With a brisk fire roast about 35 minutes. Serve with gravy sauce.
How to Stew Ducks.—Lard two young ducks down each side the breast; dust with flour; brown before the fire; put into a stewpan with a quart of water, a pint of port wine, a spoonful of walnut ketchup, the same of browning, one anchovy, a clove of garlick, sweet herbs and cayenne pepper. Stew till they are tender, about half an hour; skim and strain, and pour over the duck.
How to Hash Partridge.—Cut up the partridges as for eating; slice an onion into rings; roll a little butter in flour; put them into the tossing pan, and shake it over the fire till it boils; put in the partridge with a little port wine and vinegar; and when it is thoroughly hot, lay it on the dish with sippets round it; strain the sauce over the partridge, and lay on the onion in rings.
How to Pot Partridge.—Clean them nicely; and season with mace, allspice, white pepper and salt, in fine powder. Rub every part well; then lay the breast downward in a pan, and pack the birds as closely as you possibly can. Put a good deal of butter on them; then coverthepan with a coarse flour paste and a paper over, tie it close, and bake. When cold, put the birds into pots, and cover with butter.
How to Roast Partridge.—Roast them like a turkey, and when a little under roasted, dredge them with flour, and baste them with butter; let them go to table with a fine froth; put gravy sauce in the dish, and bread sauce on the table.
How to Stew Partridge.—Truss as for roasting; stuff the craws, and lard them down each side of the breast; roll a lump of butter in pepper, salt and beaten mace, and put them inside; sew up the vents; dredge them well and fry a light brown; put them into a stewpan with a quart of good gravy, a spoonful of sherry wine, the same of mushroom ketchup, a teaspoonful of lemon pickle, and a little mushroom powder, one anchovy, half a lemon, a sprig of sweet marjoram; cover the pan close, and stew half an hour; take out, and thicken the gravy; boil a little, and pour it over the partridge, and lay round them artichoke buttons, boiled, and cut in quarters, and the yolks of four hard eggs, if agreeable.
How to Roast Pheasant.—Roast them as turkey; and serve with a fine gravy (into which put a very small bit of garlic) and bread sauce. When cold, they may be made into excellent patties, but their flavor should not be overpowered by lemon.
How to Roast Plovers.—Roast thegreenones in the same way as woodcocks and quails, without drawing, and serve on a toast.Greyplovers may be either roasted or stewed with gravy, herbs and spice.
How to Fricassee Quails.—Having tossed them up in a sauce-pan with a little melted butter and mushrooms, put in a slice of ham, well beaten, with salt, pepper, cloves and savory herbs; add good gravy, and a glass of sherry; simmer over a slow fire; when almost done, thicken the ragout with a good cullis, (i. e. a good broth, strained, gelatined, etc.) or with two or three eggs, well beaten up in a little gravy.
How to Roast Quails.—Roast them without drawing and serve on toast. Butter only should be eaten with them, as gravy takes off the fine flavor. The thigh and the back are the most esteemed.
How to Roast Rabbits.—Baste them with butter, and dredge them with flour; half an hour will do them at a brisk fire; and if small, twenty minutes. Take the livers with a bunch of parsley, boil them, and chop them very fine together; melt some butter, and put half the liver and parsley into the butter; pour it into the dish, and garnish the dish with the other half; roast them to a fine light brown.
How to Make Rabbit Taste Like a Hare.—Choose one that is young, but full grown; hang it in the skin three or four days; then skin it, and lay it, without washing, in a seasoning of black pepper and allspice in a very fine powder, a glass of port wine, and the same quantity of vinegar. Baste it occasionally for 40 hours, then stuff it and roast it as a hare, and with the same sauce. Do not wash off the liquor that it was soaked in.
How to Roast Snipes—Do not draw them. Split them; flour them, and baste with butter. Toast a slice of bread brown; place it in the dish under the birds for the trail to drop on. When they are done enough, take up, and lay them on the toast; put good gravy in the dish. Serve with butter, and garnish with orange or lemon.
Snipe Pie—Bone 4 snipes, and truss them. Put in their inside finely chopped bacon, or other forcemeat; put them in the dish with the breast downwards, and put forcemeat balls around them. Add gravy made of butter, and chopped veal and ham, parsley, pepper and shalots. Cover with nice puff paste; close it well to keep in the gravy. When nearly done, pour in more gravy, and a little sherry wine. Bake two or three hours.
How to Fry Venison—Cut the meat into slices, and make a gravy of the bones; fry it of a light brown, and keep it hot before the fire; put butter rolled in flour into the pan, and stir it till thick and brown; add 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar powdered, with the gravy made from the bones, and some port wine. Let it be as thick as cream; squeeze in a lemon; warm the venison in it; put it in the dish, and pour the sauce over it.
To Mold Ices—Fill your mold as quickly as possible with the frozen cream, wrap it up in paper, and bury it in ice and salt, and let it remain for an hour or more to harden. For dishing, have the dish ready, dip the mold in hot water for an instant, wipe it, take off the top and bottom covers, and turn it into the dish. This must be done expeditiously. In molding ices, it is advisable not to have the cream too stifly frozen before putting it into the mold.
Ice Cream—Take two quarts milk, one pint cream, three eggs beaten very light, and two teaspoons of arrowroot; boil in one-half pint milk, strain eggs, arrow-root, and flavor to suit, then freeze.
Ginger Ice Cream—Bruise six ounces of the best preserved ginger in a mortar; add the juice of one lemon, half a pound of sugar, one pint of cream. Mix well; strain through a hair sieve; freeze. One quart.
Italian Ice Cream—Rasp two lemons on some sugar, which, with their juice, add to one pint of cream, one glass of brandy, half a pound of sugar; freeze. One quart.
Lemon Ice Cream—Take one pint of cream, rasp two lemons on sugar; squeeze them, and add the juice with half a pound of sugar. Mix; freeze. One quart.
Pine-Apple Ice Cream—Take one pound of pineapple, when peeled, bruise it in a marble mortar, pass it through a hair sieve, add three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, and one pint of cream. Freeze.
Raspberry and Currant Ice Cream—Take one pound of raspberries, half a pound of red currants, three-quarters of a pound of sugar, and one pint of cream. Strain, color and freeze. One quart.
Strawberry Ice Cream—Take two pounds of fresh strawberries, carefully picked, and, with a wooden spoon, rub them through a hair sieve, and about half a pound of powdered sugar, and the juice of one lemon; color with a few drops of prepared cochineal; cream, one pint; then freeze. This will make a reputed quart. When fresh strawberries are not in season take strawberry jam, the juice of two lemons, cream, to one quart. Color, strain, and freeze. Milk may be substituted for cream, and makes good ices. If too much sugar is used, the ices will prove watery, or, perhaps not freeze at all.
Vanilla Ice Cream—Pound one stick of vanilla, or sufficient to flavor it to palate, in a mortar, with half a pound of sugar; strain through a sieve upon the yolks of two eggs, put it into a stewpan, with half a pint of milk; simmer over a slow fire, stirring all the time, the same as custard; when cool add one pint of cream and the juice of one lemon; freeze. One quart.