CREAM OF POTATO
Cream of potato soup is made by adding two scant cupfuls of mashed potato to the milk foundation given. Some people like the addition of a half-teaspoonful of onion juice to flavor or a tablespoonful of chopped bacon. If too thick it can be thinned with some of the boiling potato water.
It is advisable for the mother to have the child make a certain cream soup twice in close succession to be sure that she thoroughly understands the process, and then make each of the other kinds soon after, so that she will get used to using up whatever left-overs she finds on hand.
BLACK BEAN SOUP
Black beans make a particularly nice soup for a company dinner. To two cupfuls of the dried beans use four cupfuls of cold water and let stand over night. Next day add two cupfuls of boiling water and cook until the beans are perfectly tender, with one small chopped onion, three cloves, salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter, stir in two tablespoonfuls of flour, add a cupful of cold water; cook the same as the milk foundation and add to the beans after they have been put through a colander. Boil up well together, stirring to blend well. Put a couple of thin slices of hard-boiled egg and lemon in each plate and pour the hot soup in. If desired, the soup can be additionally flavored with a small wineglassful of sour wine.
CREAM OF TOMATO
Before leaving the soup question, let me say that the cream of tomato is made by heating twocupfuls of canned tomatoes to the boiling point, then straining, and after adding a good-sized pinch of soda, which must be stirred in well, poured slowly on to the milk foundation, prepared in another vessel. This must be served immediately, as it is not so good when allowed to stand.
Tossing Up a SaladTossing Up a Salad
DELECTABLE GARNISHES
Instead of always serving the ordinary crackers, teach the child how to prepare some simple little extras for nice soups. Plain square crackers spread with butter, salted and then browned in the oven will taste quite different; another time let her grate the least bit of cheese over before thetoasting. Or she can take stale bread, cut in long narrow strips, spread with butter, season with salt and pepper and bake a light brown in a slow oven. Croûtons, too, are a welcomed variety, made by cutting bread in half-inch cubes, dipping in melted butter and frying crisp. A few of these are scattered on top of each plate of soup just before sending to the table. Such extras require but little time, yet they mark the experienced cook; and if our small maid has been paying due attention to her directions (and consequently getting good results in her work,) she ought now to be so interested that she will be eager to try every new dish suggested and desirous of making the greatest possible number of dishes out of each particular kind of food.
Now let us review and see what we have out of the odds and ends that we found that we had on hand to start with, and what a luncheon it would make. We should have either a soup or the stuffed peppers for a first course, salad for a second, and the cheese crackers served with a small quantity of jam or preserves for a finish! Quite a nice meal, and one we need not hesitate to set before an unexpected guest. Besides, from any reasonable quantity of left-overs there would probably be enough for four people.
Fish, Fresh and Dried
Fresh fish, in the first place, must be absolutely fresh. They will have little odor, the eyes will be full and clear, and the flesh firm. They are usually delivered from the market cleaned and scaled, but they should be washed with cold water, and sprinkled with salt if not used immediately.
SMELTS, TROUT AND PERCH
Smelts, trout, perch and other small fish, are fried whole, while the larger kinds are cut in pieces called fillets. After washing, drying and seasoning with pepper and salt, each piece should be dipped in finely rolled, dried bread or corn meal, and laid on the bread-board. When all through, beginning with the first, dip each one in well-beaten, seasoned egg, and then in the crumbs again, taking pains to have them covered completely. Lay back on the board to dry before cooking. Heat a half cupful of lard in a skilletuntil smoking hot, then put in the fish and fry on one side until brown. Turn carefully to avoid breaking, and brown on the other side, but do not turn more than once, and watch to keep from burning. Many cooks use flour or rolled crackers for covering the fish, but the bread crumbs do not hold as much grease, and the fish always seem to fry better than when dipped in anything else. When cooked a deep, rich brown, lift out on to brown paper to drain, and then slip on to a hot platter and send to the table at once, garnished with slices of lemon, parsley or water cress.
HALIBUT
A halibut steak is fine when, after washing thoroughly, it is put in a dripping pan, seasoned with salt and pepper, covered with boiling water and cooked in the oven until done,—from twenty minutes to half an hour. While it is cooking, our little maid can prepare her favorite white sauce, only now she must add a cupful of strained tomatoes and season with red pepper. When the fish is ready, she must serve it on a hot platter, covered with the hot sauce. A steak of this kind usually weighs about two pounds, and is ample for four or five people.
WHITE, WEAK AND BLUE FISH
White fish, weak fish, blue fish and similar kinds I like best when large enough to have the bones first removed and the fish then spread, skin down, on a wire broiler, or an oak plank. Spread with a little butter and seasoned with pepper and salt, it may be cooked in a gas stove or before a hot fire. This will take from twenty to thirty minutes. When thoroughly done and browned on top, garnish with roses of mashed potato, lemon or parsley, and serve immediately,—right on the plank if desired. Any left over can be picked into small pieces, and worked up with an equal amount of cold mashed potato, into cakes, to be fried for breakfast.
There are many kinds of smoked and canned fish that make specially appetizing dishes for breakfast or luncheon. They should always be kept in the house, with other shelf supplies, and will prove "a friend in need."
FINNAN HADDIE
Finnan Haddie can be served in several ways. After washing and wiping off with a cloth, it can be buttered, seasoned with salt and pepper andeither broiled or fried. Or it is even better if boiled first for five minutes (put on it cold water), then picked into small flakes and stirred into our little maid's standby, white sauce. After cooking five minutes longer, it should be served on rounds of hot buttered toast, garnished with parsley.
SMOKED FISH
Smoked halibut, salmon and sturgeon can all be bought in small pieces (even as little as half a pound), and are most inviting when cut into thin slices and made hot in a skillet with just enough butter to keep them from burning.
SALT COD
But in talking of dried fish, we must not forget our old favorite, creamed codfish. As the boxed codfish is always so salty, it is necessary, after picking it carefully apart and removing the bones, to let it soak in cold water for half an hour, then drain. Put half a cupful of fish on in a stewpan, cover with cold water and let come to a boil. Pour this off immediately, cover with fresh boiling water, and let gently simmer for ten minutes. While it is cooking, our small maid should rub to a smooth paste one tablespoon of flour and one tablespoon of butter. Then adding one cup of milk and one well-beaten egg to the codfish, she nextputs in the paste, and continues to stir for five minutes more while it is cooking. It should then be served on rounds of hot toast.
Creamed Codfish and Coffee for Father's BreakfastCreamed Codfish and Coffee for Father's Breakfast
SALT MACKEREL
Salt mackerel should be covered with cold water and left skin side up to soak over night. For breakfast, dry in a cloth and broil, with the flesh side toward the fire, or else brown in a hot pan with a little butter, and serve on a hot platter garnished with slices of lemon.
I have purposely avoided giving recipes calling for frying in deep fat, as there is always more or less danger of an inexperienced child meeting with an accident in handling any quantity of melted lard, but mothers who wish to use it will find that fritters, fish and other things when cooked that way get a nice color and really take up less fat than when fried (sautéd) in the more common style.
Simple Meat Dishes
Here let me put in a few words about some easy ways of cooking meat. The recipes are simple, but everything depends on your getting in plenty of seasoning, cooking as directed, and—not burning. Be sure to have veal, lamb and pork well done, as no one likes these rare or even pink, but study the family taste about the length of time to cook beef. I have purposely omitted the ordinary dinner meats (I couldn't tell you everything in one little book!), but if you learn to make what Idotell you about, you will certainly become a good cook.
PAN-BROILED LAMB CHOPS
Lamb chops are particularly nice pan-broiled. First scrape off any fine particles of bone, trim off superfluous fat, and then place in a hissing hot skillet. Turn often until well seared, to prevent escape of juices, and cook until brown, about ten minutes. Serve on a hot platter, season withsalt and pepper, dot with butter, and garnish with parsley, peas, or a ring of mashed potatoes.
PORK CHOPS
Pork chops need to be thoroughly cooked, and after washing, I always parboil ten minutes first in a covered frying pan, then season with salt and pepper and brown in fat. They are often served with tomato sauce.
Veal Cutlet as Reed BirdsVeal Cutlet as Reed Birds
VEAL CUTLETS
The veal for this purpose, sometimes called Mock Reed Birds, should be sliced thin, then cut in four-inch squares. Spread lightly with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and scatter with finely minced parsley and celery, or either one alone. Roll each piece up tightly and tie with apiece of white string. Place "birds" in a hot skillet with a little water and melted butter, cover and simmer for twenty minutes, then brown in butter or fat as preferred. Serve on rounds of hot buttered toast, with brown gravy.
BEEF STEW (BROWN)
Take one pound of round steak, cut in small pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put a little suet in a hot kettle, or melt two tablespoons of butter, and add a couple of slices of dry onion, turning frequently until brown, then put in the meat. Stir to keep from scorching until well seared on all sides, cover with boiling water, and set on the back of the stove to simmer for at least three hours. As it boils down, allow to brown before filling up again, and have the meat covered with the broth when done. Thicken with two tablespoons of flour stirred to a smooth paste in half a cup of cold water. Add more salt then if necessary. Send to the table in a covered dish, and serve with mashed potatoes.
SOUTHERN BAKED HAM
When there is going to be company, baked ham is one of the nicest kinds of meat that can behad. Take either a small end or half a ham, as needed, and soak several hours in cold water. Wash well and put on in a kettle with cold water to cover and boil slowly, allowing at least twenty minutes to the pound. After boiling half an hour, remove one-third the water, and fill up with fresh boiling water, and keep covered until done. Then set aside and allow to cool in the liquor. When cold, lift out, trim off the brown skin, cover the fat with brown sugar, stick with whole cloves, and bake brown—about twenty or thirty minutes. This is delicious either hot or cold.
BEEFSTEAK
Different kinds of steak need to be cooked in different ways. Tenderloin, porterhouse, and sirloin are best broiled over a hot fire, or pan broiled by being turned frequently on a very hot skillet, with only the fat that comes from the steak itself. Serve on a hot platter, with butter, pepper and salt. Round steak is nice cut in small pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper, rolled in flour, and cooked quickly in some of the suet, first put in the pan until tried out. Lift browned pieces of the steak (for this needs more cooking than tenderer meat), on to a hot platter, add a little butter tothe fat in the pan, stir in a scant tablespoon of flour, stir well until smooth and brown, then pour in quickly a cupful of cold water, and continue to stir until well thickened. This gravy will be smooth and of nice flavor, and can be poured over the meat. Season, of course, with salt and pepper to taste.
HASH
Hash, though a dish often laughed at, is always appetizing when well made. Corn beef hash indeed has quite a reputation, and is made by chopping cold corn beef rather fine, adding an equal quantity of cold boiled potatoes, chopped, wetting with enough boiling water to keep from burning, seasoning with salt, pepper and a little butter, and then allowing to cook gently for at least twenty minutes. All kinds of hash need to simmer for quite a while, in order to blend the flavor of the meat and the potatoes, and give the delicate taste that marks a carefully prepared dish. Beef, particularly browned scraps, finely minced, and mixed with an equal quantity of minced cold boiled potatoes, seasoned and prepared as just directed, is very good for breakfast served on rounds of buttered toast. And eitherkind can be allowed to brown down in the pan and then turned out on a hot plate, rolled over with a nice thick crust. Any kind of meat can be used, however.
LAMB PIE
A lamb pie is an attractive way of using up small pieces of cold lamb. Cut off all scraps and gristle, and add enough cold gravy to cover. Season well with salt and pepper, and simmer twenty minutes. Take a pudding dish, invert a small cup in the bottom, pour in the hot meat, add half a can of peas, cover with a crust of light biscuit dough, and bake until brown. Before sending to the table lift crust and remove cup, which has drawn up the gravy. Serve with either mashed or baked potatoes.
DRIED BEEF
Dried beef dressed in cream is always an appetizing dish and very quickly made ready. The child should first take a half-pound of chipped beef and tear it into small pieces, removing all strings and fat. Then put in a stew-pan, cover with cold water and let come to a boil. Whileit is heating, however, she should stir smooth one tablespoonful butter and one tablespoonful flour. When the water boils on the beef she must pour off half (or it will be too salty), and add an equal amount of milk. Into this stir slowly the mixed butter and flour, season with pepper and let boil until thick. Some people like the addition of two well-beaten eggs, but I prefer the beef plain, with the gravy rather thick, served on rounds of hot buttered toast. The toast could be made first and set where it will keep warm, and thus save the time of making afterwards, for a dish of this kind cools very quickly, and should be sent to the table as soon as ready.
A Standing Roast of BeefA Standing Roast of Beef
ROAST BEEF
A roast of beef, after being scraped and wiped free from all particles of sawed bone, should be seasoned well with salt and pepper, and dredged with flour. Put it in a hot oven, and when it has seared on top, to keep in the juice, turn over and allow to sear on the bottom. Then pour in the pan enough boiling water to keep from burning, and baste frequently. Allow about one hour for a five pound roast rare, and an hour and a half to cook well done. Serve a rib roast, left on the bone, standing as shown in the illustration, garnished with parsley.
The Interesting Potato
Every girl should know how to cook potatoes properly; yet really there is scarcely any other one vegetable that can be prepared in so many ways and still is often so poorly cooked as to be practically unfit to eat. It would seem an easy thing to make a light, appetizing dish of mashed potatoes—and what is more inviting?—but how often are they served wet and soggy! To understand the right way to cook and serve potatoes is as much an art as to make a salad or bake a cake.
BOILED POTATOES
Plain boiled potatoes, with the skin on, are delicious when cooked as they should be. The requisite number should be selected, perfect in form and uniform in size, and scrubbed with the vegetable brush, but the skins not broken. If they are old they will be better for soaking half an hour in cold water. A half hour before dinner-time, if they are of medium size, they should becovered with boiling salted water and placed on the stove, where they will boil gently, not hard, until the skins begin to crack open. Test with a fork, and as soon as they are tender, drain off all the water and set on the back of the stove to steam dry. Serve in a hot, open vegetable dish; and if there is company or you are very particular, remove the skins (without breaking the potatoes) just before sending to the table. In case there is to be fish or a meat dish without gravy, serve the potatoes with the white sauce our little cook was taught to make in one of her first lessons.
MASHED POTATOES
For mashed potatoes the mother should tell the child to pick out the imperfect ones, or those too large to bake, to be peeled and cut up. Have her put them on in boiling salted water half an hour before dinner-time, cook until perfectly tender, then drain and let steam dry. After standing a few moments (in a hot place), have her mash them thoroughly, first with an old-fashioned wooden masher until all the lumps are removed, and then with a wire one. To each cupful of potato add a teaspoonful of butter and a tablespoonful of hot milk. They should be beaten upcreamy with the wire beater, then turned out into a hot covered dish, with a lump of butter in the center and a sprinkling of pepper over the top, and served at once.
If dinner is delayed, however, and there is danger of their getting cold, have her put them in a baking-dish or tin, smooth them nicely over the top and set where they will keep warm. Then when needed, if she will grate a little cheese over the top and put in the oven for a few minutes to brown, she will find that they are even nicer than when first made. The mashed potatoes left from dinner can be worked up with a little cream and molded into small round cakes, to be fried brown next morning.
CREAMED POTATOES
Often in buying potatoes one finds a quantity of little ones usually considered "too small to be bothered with." They seem hardly worth peeling, but if scrubbed clean and boiled as directed the skins can be removed quickly when they are tender. Then if a white sauce is made, these little potato balls can be dropped in and served garnished with finely chopped parsley on top. This is a favorite way of preparing new potatoes and most appetizing.
LYONNAISE POTATOES
If the mother prefers, she can have the child take these little balls (peeled after they are cooked), cut them up fine, and fry them as follows: In a hot pan melt two tablespoonfuls of butter and add a teaspoonful of finely chopped onion, which should be cooked until a delicate brown before the seasoned potatoes are added.
CHEESE POTATOES
Parboil sliced potatoes, or slice cold boiled ones, line the bottom of a baking dish, sprinkle with salt, pepper, a little flour, grated cheese, and dots of butter. Repeat until the pan is nearly full, cover with milk, sprinkle the top with the grated cheese, and bake until brown, or about half an hour. Cheese potatoes are particularly good served with cold meat.
BAKED POTATOES
Potatoes for baking should be of uniform, medium size and perfect. After being well scrubbed they should be wiped dry and put in a moderate oven three-quarters of an hour before meal-time. If the meal is delayed for any reason they should be pricked with a fork in several places to let outthe steam, and then set where they will keep hot, but not in a covered dish, or they will get wet and soggy.
STUFFED POTATOES
If it is necessary to keep them any length of time, cut off the end of each potato, scrape out the inside, season with salt, pepper, a little butter, a small quantity of cream and to every three potatoes one egg, the white beaten stiff. After whipping up light put back in the shells, where they will keep warm. Just before sending to the table, put in the oven for a few moments, until they puff up and brown at the ends.
FRIED POTATOES
Cold boiled potatoes can be used in so many different ways that where there is no servant in the house it often is a saving of time and labor to boil a quantity at one time and then heat up as needed. They are nice simply sliced thin and fried brown in butter.
HASHED CREAM POTATOES
If this is considered too rich, half the amount of butter will be sufficient to flavor and keep from scorching, and then when they brown as they arehashed in the pan pour in a few spoonfuls of cream. Season well, allow to brown down again, then fold like an omelet and serve on a hot platter garnished with parsley.
SCALLOPED POTATOES
Scalloped potatoes are very nice for a supper dish, as they can be prepared early in the day and set away until needed. The little cook, after washing and peeling her potatoes, next cuts them in thin slices, enough to fill the dish needed and parboils in salted water for ten minutes. Then drain. Arrange a layer of these, with a sprinkling of flour, pepper and salt and a few small pieces of butter, repeating in layers until the pan is full. Pour over enough milk to cover. When ready to cook, allow half an hour for the baking, and from time to time add a little extra hot milk. It is well to set a large pan containing water under the baking-dish to catch any milk that might boil over and burn on the bottom of the oven.
CANDIED SWEET POTATOES
Sweet potatoes that have been boiled are particularly nice when cut in half, buttered, seasonedwith very little salt and pepper and then sprinkled over the top with granulated sugar and browned in the oven. "Candied sweet potatoes" they are called when served in hotels as something extra.
Cleaning UpCleaning Up
Different Kinds of Vegetables
A mother can make the cooking of potatoes and the plainer vegetables interesting if she will use a little tact and stimulate the child's desire to make, first, as many different dishes from each article as possible, and second, to make them as appetizing as she can. Doubtless many a girl who will not eat plain food now could be taught to like things by getting her interested in cooking, for then she has to taste and make sure she has seasoned properly.
TURNIPS, CARROTS
Such winter vegetables as turnips, carrots and parsnips should be well washed, peeled, cut in small pieces and cooked in boiling salted water for sixty minutes, more or less, depending on the age of the vegetables, as the older they are the longer they will take to get tender. When sufficientlycooked they should be drained and may then be mashed, seasoned with pepper and salt and butter and served in a hot covered dish. Or if preferred they can be left in the cubes and served with our little cook's favorite white sauce poured over. If mashed they are to be served on the dinner plate, but if in cream sauce they will have to be put in individual sauce-dishes.
PARSNIPS
Plain boiled parsnips are delicious if cut in slices and fried in butter, as they acquire a sweetness not brought out in any other way of cooking. If the left-over quantity is mashed, it can be made into little flat cakes and browned in butter. The child should be encouraged to think of as many different ways as possible and then allowed to experiment and see the result.
WINTER SQUASH
Winter squash is good prepared in the same way as the mashed parsnips—that is, plain boiled and then mashed, but I prefer the Hubbard variety, cut in large squares and baked in the shell—without being peeled. Season before putting on the oven shelf, spread with a little butterand add a slight sprinkling of granulated sugar. This will take about three-quarters of an hour to bake, and should be a light brown over the top. The child may have some difficulty in cutting a Hubbard squash, as it is so hard, but she can prepare it after it has been cut for her.
DRIED LIMA BEANS
Put to soak half a pound of dried Lima beans in a small quantity of cold water. Next morning set where they will simmer slowly for two hours in salted water enough to cover. At dinner-time drain, and serve on the dinner plates simply seasoned with butter, pepper and salt. Or, if preferred, they can be served in sauce dishes, with white sauce.
BOILED CABBAGE
A nice way to serve cabbage hot is to chop fine after it has soaked half an hour in cold water, put on in boiling salted water, and cook in an open kettle with a pinch of soda, about forty minutes or until tender. Then drain and serve immediately with butter, pepper and salt, or with white sauce. Some people prefer to add simply a little vinegar, so find out the family taste.
BAKED BEANS
For a small family, soak one pint of the small navy beans over night, and next morning boil gently until nearly tender. Drain, throw away that water, and add a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoon of molasses and a cupful of boiling water. Cut a quarter of a pound of salt pork in small pieces, put half of the beans in a baking dish, add a layer of half the pork, fill up with the rest of the beans and lay the rest of the pork around over the top. Cover the beans with boiling water, put a tin over the dish, and bake a number of hours,—the longer the better. As the water boils away, add enough more to keep from burning, and half an hour before serving, uncover and allow to brown over the top. If a slow fire is going in the range, the beans will be the better for cooking most of the day, but they must be watched to keep from burning. However, they will taste very fine if boiled longer at first,—until perfectly tender, and then baked only an hour.
CREAMED ONIONS
Peel off the outside skin, cover with boiling water, cook five minutes, drain, and cover withfresh boiling water, well salted. Cook until tender, the length of time depending on the size, then drain and serve in a hot covered vegetable dish with white sauce, made while the onions were cooking.
BAKED ONIONS
First boil as above directed, then lift into a piepan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place a small lump of butter in a little hole on top of each, and bake until brown.
ASPARAGUS
With the coming of the spring vegetables will be opened a new field for the child to explore. Asparagus, one of the first in the market, is considered one of the choicest, and it is also one of the most easily prepared. To retain all the delicate flavor many people think it should be served plain. For this, tie the asparagus in bunches, after washing carefully and snapping off the tough ends. Set upright in a deep kettle and pour over boiling salted water enough to reach nearly to the tips, but do not cover. The tenderends will cook enough at first, for ten minutes, in the steam, and then the bunches should be turned down sideways for thirty minutes more. Lift carefully with a skimmer, allowing the water to run off, lay on a hot platter, remove the strings and serve immediately with tiny lumps of butter and a dash of pepper over the top. Or the asparagus can be first cut in small lengths, boiled until tender in salted water, then drained, laid on hot toast and covered with cream sauce. As mentioned before, the water in which it has been cooked can be set away to be used for soup, with a few tips added if desired.
CUCUMBER JELLY
Take one pint of well-seasoned bouillon, and while still warm, add the quantity of gelatine stated on the package necessary to make one pint of jelly, and when thoroughly dissolved, set away until it begins to stiffen. Then slice one cucumber, after peeling and ridging the sides, season with salt and pepper, and lay in vinegar for a moment. Rinse out the mould in cold water, lay around the cucumber in any pattern desired, and fill up the mould with the thickening jelly. Leave on ice after set, until ready to serve.
Cucumber JellyCucumber Jelly
STRING BEANS
Wax or string beans should be snapped in small pieces and all strings removed, then washed and put on to boil in hot salted water. Cook until tender (generally this requires about forty minutes), drain and serve in a hot dish with butter, pepper and salt, or, if preferred, the cream sauce. Our young cook will have many opportunities to use her recipe for white sauce with the spring vegetables, for almost all kinds are improved when it is added.
PEAS AND LIMA BEANS
Peas and Lima beans, after being shelled and covered with salted boiling water, are cooked untiltender (forty to sixty minutes) and then served either plain, as directed for the beans, or with the cream sauce, which, by the way, is better for such vegetables if thinned with more milk than when used in other ways.
CAULIFLOWER
Cauliflower, after being carefully washed, should be tied up in a piece of cheese-cloth to keep the shape, and after soaking for an hour in cold water, cooked in boiling salted water at least half an hour. When tender, it should be carefully lifted to the vegetable dish and the cream sauce poured around the base. A little chopped parsley scattered on top the sauce improves the appearance.
BEETS
Young beets have to be washed carefully to avoid breaking the skin, and have roots and half an inch of the tops left on while cooking. They should be kept covered with salted boiling water, and cooked until tender, allowing at least an hour for new beets, and possibly even three for old. When perfectly tender (on being tried by the prong of a kitchen fork), remove from the fire,drop into cold water for a moment to cool enough to slip off the skins, and then slice in a hot dish. They can be served plain, with butter, pepper and salt, although our grandmothers preferred the addition of a few spoonfuls of warm, thick cream. Many, however, like a little vinegar instead.
TOMATOES
Baked tomatoes are made by taking the fresh tomatoes, scooping out the centers and mixing with bread crumbs, seasoning with butter, pepper and salt, and then refilling the shell, sprinkling a few crumbs on top. They require about twenty minutes to bake, and can be served on rounds of toast, with cream sauce. In winter, however, canned tomatoes, alternated with layers of buttered bread, seasoned with butter, pepper and salt, are nice baked in a dish, with crumbs browned over the top.
GREEN CORN
Green corn "on the cob" must first have the husks and silk carefully removed and then be dropped into boiling salted water and kept boiling (under a cover) for from ten to twenty minutes, according to the age of the corn. If veryfresh and tender, it will cook quickly, but it should be served as soon as removed from the water.
CORN OYSTERS
Any corn left from a meal can be grated off the cob and used for corn oysters. To one cupful of corn, add half a cup of milk, one beaten egg, half a teaspoon of salt, and one tablespoon of melted butter. Into this stir one-half cup of sifted flour, and bake like pancakes on a hot, well greased skillet. Be careful to avoid too hot a fire or they will scorch on the bottom before cooking through, and they must not be raw in the middle. It may be necessary to put a little extra butter in the pan when they are turned, but they have to be watched carefully all the time.
For the Unexpected Guest
Entertaining can be made easy by some forethought, and a little girl should be made to realize that hospitality, of all things, should be genuine. In the case of expected company it is well to get whatever is needed in plenty of time, but the unexpected guest should receive none the less cordial greeting while the housekeeper hurriedly reviews her resources in the way of material available.
One of the most important lessons to teach the little girl is that of making simple dishes so attractive that no hesitation need be felt in asking friends to share the family fare. This is particularly true in the case of dishes for supper. They should not require much extra work, but be quickly prepared and preferably of what one happens to have in the house. For a light supper it is desirable to have one hot dish, beside a warm bread, cold meat, fruit, cake and tea.
Table Set for an Easter LuncheonTable Set for an Easter Luncheon
If the child has become proficient, she should be allowed as a special favor to make the baking-powderbiscuits by herself. Have her use a small cutter not more than two inches in diameter, as small biscuits are more appetizing; and be sure to have them baked to a light brown.
POTATO SALAD
Potato salad makes a good chief dish for the unexpected guest and is easily prepared. The child should be told to select medium-sized potatoes, at least one for each person and after scrubbing with a brush to get perfectly clean, put on with boiling water enough to cover and boil gently until tender, then drain and set aside to cool. This can be done at dinner time, when the fire is hot, and save extra trouble. When the potatoes are cold the skins can be easily removed, and the potatoes then cut in thin slices. Next she should peel and cut in very thin slices one small onion (unless the family taste prefers more) and arrange the alternate layers of sliced potatoes and onions, well seasoned with salt and pepper, in a pretty salad bowl. It looks attractive, too, tossed lightly on lettuce leaves arranged on a small platter. Over the whole then pour the boiled salad dressing, or the French, as the family prefer, and when the potato saladis ready to serve it should be garnished with sprigs of parsley and slices of hard-boiled egg.
SCALLOPED OYSTERS
Scalloped oysters make a fine supper dish on a cold night, and there are several ways they can be prepared. The one I like best I will give first. The child should butter a number of thin slices of bread and spread on the bottom of a dripping-pan, laying on next a layer of oysters, with pepper and salt; then another layer of the thin buttered bread, another layer of oysters, and the top finished with a layer of bread, well seasoned. Over the whole pour the oyster juice and one-half cupful of milk. This will require from twenty to twenty-five minutes in a hot oven, when the bread on top will be toasted crisp. Many people like scalloped oysters prepared with crackers, and in that case the rolled cracker-crumbs are used instead of the bread, but the taste of the two dishes is different.
CREAMED OYSTERS
Cook one pint of oysters in their own liquor or in a few spoonsful of salted water until they curl at the edges. Have ready a thick creamsauce, stir in the oysters, and cook a few moments longer. Serve in baskets made by removing the inside of the light rolls, brushing with melted butter and browning in the oven. Make handles from crust, and insert after filling.
Creamed Oysters in BasketsCreamed Oysters in Baskets
FRIED OYSTERS
To fry oysters, select large, choice ones, and dry in a napkin. Taking one at a time, roll in cracker crumbs, season with salt and pepper, dip in beaten egg, and cover thoroughly again with the rolled cracker. Spread out on a bread board and allow to stand a little while for this covering to set, then cook either in a skillet with a small amount of butter, or in deep fat, until lightly browned. Lift on to a piece of wrapping paperto drain, but keep hot, and serve garnished with parsley and sliced lemon.
WELSH RAREBIT
This is another good dish for an evening supper. Crumble half a pound of grated cheese, and put in a chafing-dish or a double boiler. Season with half a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of prepared mustard and a dash of red pepper. When it begins to melt, stir constantly, and as soon as it begins to look the least bit "stringy," pour in slowly a quarter of a cup of cream and one beaten egg. As this blends, add a teaspoonful of butter, cook until smooth, and serve immediately on rounds of hot toast or square soda crackers.
FRITTERS, APPLE AND BANANA
Fritters help out nicely, too, for company, and can be fried in a small quantity of very hot fat instead of in the deep fat if mother prefers. Sift one cup of flour, add one-quarter teaspoon salt, a tablespoon sugar, two-thirds of a cup of milk, one tablespoonful melted butter, and the yolk of one egg, beaten light. Stir to a smoothbatter, add the stiffly beaten white, and lastly several sour apples, cut in thin slices, or three bananas, cut a little thicker. Drop by the spoonful in the smoking hot fat, set where they will not scorch, and if in a frying pan, turn over as soon as brown around the edges. Serve with powdered sugar.