Cut a loaf of stale bread in slices an inch thick. With the patty cutter, press out as many pieces as you wish patties, and with a smaller cutter, press half through each piece. Place this second cutter as near the centre as possible when using. Put the pieces in the frying basket and plunge into boiling fat for half a minute. Take out and drain, and with a knife, remove the centre crusts and take out the soft bread; then fill, and put on the centre pieces.
Filling for crusts: Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add one of flour. Stir until smooth and brown. Add one cupful of stock. Boil one minute, and stir in one pint of cooked veal, cut rather fine. Season with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice. When hot, fill the crusts. Any kind of cold meat can be served in this manner.
Sweetbreads.
Sweetbreads are found in calves and lambs. The demand for calves' sweetbreads has grown wonderfully within the past ten years. In all our large cities they sell at all times of the year for a high price, but in winter and early spring they cost more than twice as much as they do late in the spring and during the summer. The throat and heart sweetbreads are often sold as one, but in winter, when they bring a very high price, the former is sold for the same price as the latter. The throat sweetbread is found immediately below the throat. It has an elongated form, is not so firm and fat, and has not the fine flavor of the heart sweetbread. The heart sweetbread is attached to the last rib, and lies near the heart. The form is somewhat rounded, and it is smooth and firm.
To Clean Sweetbreads.
Carefully pull off all the tough and fibrous skin. Place them in a dish of cold water for ten minutes or more, and they are then ready to be boiled. They must always be boiled twenty minutes, no matter what the mode of cooking is to be.
Sweetbreads Larded and Baked.
When the sweetbreads have been cleaned, draw through each one four very thin pieces of pork (about the size of a match). Drop them into cold water for five or ten minutes, then into hot water, and boil twenty minutes. Take out, spread with butter, dredge with salt, pepper and flour, and bake twenty minutes in a quick oven. Serve with green peas, well drained, seasoned with salt and butter, and heaped in the centre of the dish. Lay the sweetbreads around them, and pour a cream sauce around the edge of the dish. Garnish with parsley. One pint of cream sauce is sufficient for eight or ten sweetbreads.
Sweetbread Sauté.
One sweetbread, after being boiled, split and cut in four pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Put in a small frying-pan one small table-spoonful of butter and the same quantity of flour. When hot, put in the sweetbreads; turn constantly until a light brown. They will fry in about eight minutes. Serve with cream sauce or tomato sauce.
Broiled Sweetbreads.
Split the sweetbread after being boiled. Season with salt and pepper, rub thickly with butter and sprinkle with flour. Broil over a rather quick fire, turning constantly. Cook about ten minutes, and serve with cream sauce.
Breaded Sweetbreads.
After being boiled, split them, and season with salt and pepper; then dip in beaten egg and cracker crumbs. Fry a light brown in hot lard. Serve with tomato sauce.
Sweetbreads in Cases.
Cut the sweetbreads, after being boiled, in very small pieces. Season with salt and pepper, and moisten well with cream sauce. Fill the paper cases, and cover with bread crumbs. Brown, and serve.
Pancakes.
Six eggs, a pint of milk, one heaping teaspoonful of salt, one cupful of flour, one table-spoonful of sugar, one of melted butter or of salad oil. Beat the eggs very light, and add the milk. Pour one-third of this mixture on the flour, and beat until perfectly smooth and light; then add the remainder and the other ingredients. Heat and butter an omelet pan. Pour into it a thin layer of the mixture. When brown on one side, turn, and brown the other. Roll up, sprinkle with sugar, and serve hot. Or, cover with a thin layer of jelly, and roll. A number of them should be served on one dish.
SALADS.
A salad should come to the table fresh and crisp. The garnishes should be of the lightest and freshest kind. Nothing is more out of place than a delicate salad covered with hard-boiled eggs, boiled beets, etc. A salad with which the mayonnaise dressing is used, should have only the delicate white leaves of the celery, or the small leaves from the heart of the lettuce, and these should be arranged in a wreath at the base, with a few tufts here and there on the salad. The contrast between the creamy dressing and the light green is not great, but it is pleasing. In arranging a salad on a dish, or in a bowl, handle it very lightly. Never use pressure to get it into form. When a jelly border is used with salads, some of it should be helped with the salad. The small round radishes may be arranged in the dish with a lettuce salad. In washing lettuce great care must be taken not to break or wilt it. The large, dark green leaves are not nice for salad. As lettuce is not an expensive vegetable, it is best, when the heads are not round and compact, to buy an extra one and throw the large tough leaves away. In winter and early spring, when lettuce is raised in hot-houses, it is liable to have insects on it. Care must be taken that all are washed off. Only the white, crisp parts of celery should be used in salads. The green, tough parts will answer for stews and soups. Vegetable salads can be served for tea and lunch and with, or after, the meats at dinner. The hot cabbage, red cabbage, celery, cucumber and potato salads, are particularly appropriate for serving with meats. The lettuce salad, with the French dressing, and the dressed celery, are the best to serve after the meats. A rich salad, like chicken, lobster or salmon, is out of place at a company dinner. It is best served for suppers and lunches. The success of a salad (after the dressing is made) depends upon keeping the lettuce or celery crisp and not adding meat or dressing to it until the time for serving.
Mayonnaise Dressing.
A table-spoonful of mustard, one of sugar, one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, one teaspoonful of salt, the yolks of three uncooked eggs, the juice of half a lemon, a quarter of a cupful of vinegar, a pint of oil and a cupful of whipped cream. Beat the yolks and dry ingredients, until they are very light and thick, with either a silver or wooden spoon--or, better still, with a Dover beater of second size. The bowl in which the dressing is made should be set in a pan of ice water during the beating. Add a few drops of oil at a time until the dressing becomes verythickand rather hard. After it has reached this stage the oil can be added more rapidly. When it gets so thick that the beater turns hard, add a little vinegar. When the last of the oil and vinegar has been added it should be very thick. Now add the lemon juice and whipped cream, and place on ice for a few hours, unless you are ready to use it. The cream may be omitted without injury.
Salad Dressing Made at the Table.
The yolk of a raw egg, a table-spoonful of mixed mustard, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, six table-spoonfuls of oil. Stir the yolk, mustard and salt together with a fork until they begin to thicken. Add the oil, gradually, stirring all the while. More or less oil can be used.
Cream Salad Dressing.
Two eggs, three table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one of cream, one teaspoonful of sugar, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of mustard. Beat two eggs well. Add the sugar, salt and mustard, then the vinegar, and the cream. Place the bowl in a basin of boiling water, and stir until about the thickness of rich cream. If the bowl is thick and the water boils all the time, it will take about five minutes. Cool, and use as needed.
Red Mayonnaise Dressing.
Lobster "coral" is pounded to a powder, rubbed through a sieve, and mixed with mayonnaise dressing. This gives a dressing of a bright color. Or, the juice from boiled beets can be used instead of "coral."
Green Mayonnaise Dressing.
Mix enough spinach green with mayonnaise sauce to give it a bright green color. A little finely-chopped parsley can be added.
Aspic Mayonnaise Dressing.
Melt, but heat only slightly, one cupful of aspic jelly; or, one cupful of consommé will answer, if it is well jellied. Put in a bowl and place in a basin of ice water. Have ready the juice of half a lemon, one cupful of salad oil, one-fourth of a cupful of vinegar, one table-spoonful of sugar, one scant table-spoonful of mustard, one teaspoonful of salt and one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne. Mix the dry ingredients with the vinegar. Beat the jelly with a whisk, and as soon as it begins to thicken, add the oil and vinegar, a little at a time. Add the lemon juice the last thing. You must beat all the time after the bowl is placed in the ice water. This gives a whiter dressing than that made with the yolks of eggs.
Boiled Salad Dressing.
Three eggs, one table-spoonful each of sugar, oil and salt a scant table-spoonful of mustard, a cupful of milk and one of vinegar. Stir oil, salt, mustard and sugar in a bowl until perfectly smooth. Add the eggs, and beat well; then add the vinegar, and finally the milk. Place the bowl in a basin of boiling water, and stir the dressing until it thickens like soft custard. The time of cooking depends upon the thickness of the bowl. If a common white bowl is used, and it is placed in water that is boiling at the time and is kept constantly boiling, from eight to ten minutes will suffice; but if the bowl is very thick, from twelve to fifteen minutes will be needed. The dressing will keep two weeks if bottled tightly and put in a cool place.
Sour Cream Salad Dressing.
One cupful of sour cream, one teaspoonful of salt, a speck of cayenne, one table-spoonful of lemon juice, three of vinegar, one teaspoonful of sugar. Mix all together thoroughly. This is best for vegetables.
Sardine Dressing.
Pound in a mortar, until perfectly smooth, the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs and three sardines, which have been freed of bones, if there were any. Add the mixture to any of the thick dressings, like the mayonnaise or the boiled. This dressing is for fish.
Salad Dressing Without Oil.
The yolks of four uncooked eggs, one table-spoonful of salt, one heaping teaspoonful of sugar, one heaping teaspoonful of mustard, half a cupful of clarified chicken fat, a quarter of a cupful of vinegar, the juice of half a lemon, a speck of cayenne. Make as directed for mayonnaise dressing.
Salad Dressing made with Butter.
Four table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one table-spoonful of salt, one of sugar, one heaping teaspoonful of mustard, a speck of cayenne, one cupful of milk, half a cupful of vinegar, three eggs. Let the butter get hot in a sauce-pan. Add the flour, and stir until smooth, being careful not to brown. Add the milk, and boil up. Place the sauce-pan in another of hot water. Beat the eggs, salt, pepper, sugar and mustard together, and add the vinegar. Stir this into the boiling mixture, and stir until it thickens like soft custard, which will be in about fire minutes. Set away to cool; and when cold, bottle, and place in the ice-chest. This will keep two weeks.
Bacon Salad Dressing.
Two table-spoonfuls of bacon or pork fat, one of flour, one of lemon juice, half a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar, one of mustard, two eggs, half a cupful of water, half a cupful of vinegar. Have the fat hot. Add the flour, and stir until smooth, but not brown. Add the water, and boil up once. Place the sauce-pan in another of boiling water. Have the eggs and seasoning beaten together. Add the vinegar to the boiling mixture, and stir in the beaten egg. Cook four minutes, stirring all the while. Cool and use. If corked tightly, this will keep two weeks in a cold place.
French Salad Dressing.
Three table-spoonfuls of oil, one of vinegar, one salt-spoonful of salt, one-half a salt-spoonful of pepper. Put the salt and pepper in a cup, and add one table-spoonful of the oil. When thoroughly mixed, add the remainder of the oil and the vinegar. This is dressing enough for a salad for six persons. If you like the flavor of onion, grate a little juice into the dressing. The juice is obtained by first peeling the onion, and then grating with a coarse grater, using a good deal of pressure. Two strokes will give about two drops of juice--enough for this rule.
Chicken Salad.
Have cold roasted or boiled chicken free of skin, fat and bones. Place on a board, and cut in long, thin strips, and cut these into dice. Place in an earthen bowl (there should be two quarts), and season with four table-spoonfuls of vinegar, two of oil, one teaspoonful of salt and one-half of a teaspoonful of pepper. Set away in a cold place for two or three hours. Scrape and wash enough of the tender white celery to make one quart. Cut this, with a sharp knife, in pieces about half an inch thick. Put these in the ice chest until serving time. Make the mayonnaise dressing. Mix the chicken and celery together, and add half of the dressing. Arrange in a salad bowl or on a flat dish, and pour the remainder of the dressing over it. Garnish with white celery leaves. Or, have a jelly border, and arrange the salad in this. Half celery and half lettuce is often used for chicken salad. Many people, when preparing for a large company, use turkey instead of chicken, there being so much more meat in the same number of pounds of the raw material; but the salad is not nearly so nice as with chicken. If, when the chicken or fowl is cooked, it is allowed to cool in the water in which it is boiled, it will be juicier and tenderer than if taken from the water as soon as done.
Lobster Salad.
Cut up and season the lobster the same as chicken. Break the leaves from a head of lettuce, one by one, and wash them singly in a large pan of cold water. Put them in a pan of ice water for about ten minutes, and then shake in a wire basket, to free them of water. Place in the ice chest until serving time. When ready to serve, put two or three leaves together in the form of a shell, and arrange these shells on a flat dish. Mix one-half of the mayonnaise dressing with the lobster. Put a table-spoonful of this in each cluster of leaves. Finish with a teaspoonful of the dressing on each spoonful of lobster. This is an exceedingly inviting dish. Another method is to cut or tear the leaves rather coarse, and mix with the lobster. Garnish the border of the dish with whole leaves. There should be two-thirds lobster to one-third lettuce.
Salmon Salad.
One quart of cooked salmon, two heads of lettuce, two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, one of vinegar, two of capers, one teaspoonful of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, one cupful of mayonnaise dressing, or the French dressing. Break up the salmon with two silver forks. Add to it the salt, pepper, vinegar and lemon juice. Put in the ice chest or some other cold place, for two or three hours. Prepare the lettuce as directed for lobster salad. At serving time, pick out leaves enough to border the dish. Cut or tear the remainder in pieces, and arrange these in the centre of a flat dish. On them heap the salmon lightly, and cover with the dressing. Now sprinkle on the capers. Arrange the whole leaves at the base, and, if you choose, lay one-fourth of a thin slice of lemon on each leaf.
Oyster Salad.
One pint of celery, one quart of oysters, one-third of a cupful of mayonnaise dressing, three table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one of oil, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful of lemon juice. Let the oysters come to a boil in their own liquor. Skim well and drain. Season them with the oil, salt, pepper, vinegar and lemon juice. When cold, put in the ice chest for at least two hours. Scrape and wash the whitest and tenderest part of the celery, and, with a sharp knife, cut inverythin slices. Put in a bowl with a large lump of ice, and set in the ice chest until serving time. When ready to serve, drain the celery, and mix with the oysters and half of the dressing. Arrange in the dish, pour the remainder of the dressing over, and garnish with white celery leaves.
Sardine Salad.
Arrange one quart of any kind of cooked fish on a bed of crisp lettuce. Split six sardines, and if there are any bones, remove them. Cover the fish with the sardine dressing. Over this put the sardines, having the ends meet in the centre of the dish. At the base, of the dish mate a wreath of thin slices of lemon. Garnish with parsley or lettuce, and serve immediately.
Shad Roe Salad.
Three shad roe, boiled in salted water twenty minutes. When cold, cut inthinslices. Season and set away, the same as salmon. Serve the same as salmon, except omit the capers, and use chopped pickled beet.
Salads of Fish.
All kinds of cooked fish can be served in salads. Lettuce is the best green salad to use with them, but all green vegetables, when cooked and cold, can be added to the fish and dressing. The sardine and French dressings are the best to use with fish.
Polish Salad.
One quart of cold game or poultry, cut very fine; the French dressing, four hard-boiled eggs, one large, or two small heads of lettuce. Moisten the meat with the dressing, and let it stand in the ice chest two or three hours. Rub the yolks of the eggs to a powder, and chop the whites very fine. Wash the lettuce and put in the ice chest until serving time. When ready to serve, put the lettuce leaves together and cut in long, narrow strips with asharpknife, or tear it with a fork. Arrange on a dish, heap the meat in the centre, and sprinkle the egg over all.
Beef Salad.
One quart of cold roasted or stewed beef--it must be very tender, double the rule for French dressing, one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, and one of onion juice, to be mixed with the dressing. Cut the meat inthinslices, and then into little squares. Place a layer in the salad bowl, sprinkle with parsley and dressing, and continue this until all the meat is used. Garnish with parsley, and keep in a cold place for one of two hours. Any kind of meat can be used instead of beef.
Meat and Potato Salad.
Prepare the meat as directed for beef salad, using, however, one-half the quantity. Add one pint of cold boiled potatoes, cut in thin slices, and dressing. Garnish, and set away as before. These salads can be used as soon as made, but the flavor is improved by their standing an hour or more.
Bouquet Salad.
Four hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped; one head of lettuce, or one pint of water cresses; a large bunch of nasturtium blossoms or buttercups, the French dressing, with the addition of one teaspoonful of sugar. Wash the lettuce or cresses, and throw into ice water. When crisp, take out, and shake out all the water. Cut or tear in pieces. Put a layer in the bowl, with here and there a flower, and sprinkle in half of the egg and half the dressing. Repeat this. Arrange the flowers in a wreath, and put a few in the centre. Serve immediately.
Cauliflower Salad.
Boil one large cauliflower with two quarts of water and one table-spoonful of salt, for half an hour. Take up and drain. When cold, divide into small tufts. Arrange on the centre of a dish and garnish with a border of strips of pickled beet. Pour cream dressing, or a cupful of mayonnaise dressing, over the cauliflower. Arrange a star of the pickled beet in the centre. Serve immediately.
Asparagus Salad.
Boil two bunches of asparagus with one quart of water and one table-spoonful of salt, for twenty minutes. Take up and drain on a sieve. When cold, cut off the tender points, and arrange diem on the dish. Pour on cream salad dressing.
Asparagus and Salmon Salad.
Prepare the asparagus as before directed. Season a quart of cooked salmon with one teaspoonful of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, three table-spoonfuls of oil, one of vinegar and two of lemon juice. Let this stand in the ice chest at least two hours. Arrange the salmon in the centre of the dish and the asparagus points around it. Cover the fish with one cupful of mayonnaise dressing. Garnish the dish with points of lemon. Green peas can be used instead of asparagus.
Cucumber Salad.
Cut about one inch off of the point of the cucumber, and pare. (The bitter juice is in the point, and if this is not cut off before paring, the knife carries the flavor all through the cucumber.) Cut in thin slices, cover with cold water, and let stand half an hour. Drain, and season with French dressing. If oil is not liked it can be omitted.
Tomato Salad.
Pare ripe tomatoes (which should be very cold), and cut in thin slices. Arrange on a flat dish. Put one teaspoonful of mayonnaise dressing in the centre of each slice. Place a delicate border of parsley around the dish, and a sprig here and there between the slices of tomato.
Cabbage Salad.
One large head of cabbage, twelve eggs, two small cupfuls of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one table-spoonful of melted butter, two teaspoonfuls of mustard, one cupful of vinegar, or more, if you like. Divide the cabbage into four pieces, and wash well in cold water. Take off all the wilted leaves and cut out the tough, hard parts. Cut the cabbage very fine with asharpknife. Have the eggs boiled hard, and ten of them chopped fine. Add these and the other ingredients to the cabbage. Arrange on a dish and garnish with the two remaining eggs and pickled beets.
Hot Cabbage Salad.
One quart of finely-shaved cabbage, two table-spoonfuls of bacon or pork fat, two large slices of onion, mincedvery fine; one teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, half a cupful of vinegar, one teaspoonful of sugar. Pry the onion in the fat until it becomes yellow; then add the other ingredients. Pour the hot mixture on the cabbage. Stir well, and serve at once. Lettuce can be served in the same manner.
Vegetable Salad.
A spoonful of green parsley, chopped fine with a knife; six potatoes, half of a small turnip, half of a carrot, one small beet. Cut the potatoes in small slices, the beet a little finer, and the turnip and carrot very fine. Mix all thoroughly. Sprinkle with a scant teaspoonful of salt--unless the vegetables were salted in cooking, and add the whole French dressing, or half a cupful of the boiled dressing. Keep very cool until served.
Red Vegetable Salad.
One pint of cold boiled potatoes, one pint of cold boiled beets, one pint of uncooked red cabbage, six table-spoonfuls of oil, eight of red vinegar (that in which beets have been pickled), two teaspoonfuls of salt (unless the vegetables have been cooked in salted water), half a teaspoonful of pepper. Cut the potatoes inthinslices and the beets fine, and slice the cabbage as thin as possible. Mix all the ingredients. Let stand in a cold place one hour; then serve. Red cabbage and celery may be used together. Use the French dressing.
Potato Salad.
Ten potatoes, cut fine; the French dressing, with four or five drops of onion juice in it, and one table-spoonful of chopped parsley.
Potato Salad, No. 2.
One quart of potatoes, two table-spoonfuls of grated onion, two of chopped parsley, four of chopped beet and enough of any of the dressings to make moist. The sardine is the best for this. Pare and cut the potatoes in thin slices, while hot. Mix the other ingredients with them, and put away in a cool place until serving time. This is better for standing two or three hours.
Cooked Vegetables in Salad.
Nearly every kind of cooked vegetables can be served in salads. They can be served separately or mixed. They must be cold and well drained before the dressing is added. Any of the dressings given, except sardine, can be used.
Dressed Celery.
Scrape and wash the celery. Let it stand in ice water twenty minutes, and shake dry. With a sharp knife, cut it in pieces about an inch long. Put in the ice chest until serving time; then moisten well with mayonnaise dressing. Arrange in the salad bowl or on a flat dish. Garnish with a border of white celery leaves or water-cresses. When served on a flat dish, points of pickled beets, arranged around the base, make an agreeable change.
Lettuce Salad.
Two small, or one large head of lettuce. Break off all the leaves carefully, wash each separately, and throw into a pan of ice water, where they should remain an hour. Put them in a wire basket or coarse towel, andshakeout all the water. Either cut the leaves with a sharp knife, or tear them in large pieces. Mix the French dressing with them, and serve immediately. Beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, asparagus, etc., can each be served as a salad, with French or boiled dressing. Cold potatoes, beef, mutton or lamb, cut fine, and finished with either dressing, make a good salad.
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES.
Brown Sauce.
One pound of round beef, one pound of veal cut from the lower part of the leg; eight table-spoonfuls of butter, one onion, one large slice of carrot, four cloves, a small piece of mace, five table-spoonfuls of flour, salt and pepper to taste, four quarts of stock. Cut the meat in small pieces. Rub three spoonfuls of the butter on the bottom of a large stew-pan. Put in the meat, and cook half an hour, stirring frequently. Add the vegetables, spice, a bouquet of sweet herbs and one quart of the stock. Simmer this two hours, and add the remainder of the stock. Half a dozen mushrooms will improve the flavor greatly. Put the remainder of the butter in a frying-pan, and when hot, add the flour. Stir until dark brown, and as soon as it begins to boil, add to the sauce. Simmer one hour longer. Season with salt and pepper, and strain through a fine French sieve or gravy strainer. Skim off the fat, and the sauce is ready to use. This will keep a week in winter. It is the foundation for an fine dark sauces, and will well repay for the trouble and expense of making.
White Sauce.
Make the white sauce the same as the brown, but use all veal and white stock. When the butter and flour are cooked together be careful that they do not get browned.
White Sauce, No. 2.
One quart of milk, four table-spoonfuls of butter, four of flour, a small slice of onion, two sprigs of parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Put the milk, onion and parsley on in the double boiler. Mix the butter and flour together until smooth and light. When the milk boils, stir four table-spoonfuls of it into the butter and flour, and when this is well mixed, stir it into the boiling milk. Cook eight minutes. Strain, and serve. This sauce is best with fish.
White Sauce, No. 3.
One large slice of onion, one small slice of carrot, a clove, a small piece of mace, twelve pepper-corns, two table-spoonfuls of flour, two heaping table-spoonfuls of butter, one quart of cream--not very rich, salt to taste. Cook the spice and vegetables slowly in the butter for twenty minutes. Add the flour, and stir until smooth, being careful not to brown. Add the cream, gradually, stirring all the while. Boil for two minutes. Strain, and serve. This sauce is good for veal and chicken cutlets,quenelles, sweetbreads, etc.
White Sauce, No. 4.
One pint of milk, one of cream, four table-spoonfuls of flour, the yolks of two eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Put the milk and cream on in the double boiler, reserving one cupful of the milk. Pour eight table-spoonfuls of the milk on the flour, stir until perfectly smooth, and add the remainder of the milk. Stir this into the other milk when it boils. Stir the sauce for two minutes; then cover, and cook eight minutes longer. Season well with salt and pepper. Beat the yolks of the eggs with four spoonfuls of cream or milk. Stir into the sauce, and remove from the fire immediately. The eggs may be omitted, if you choose. One table-spoonful of chopped parsley stirred into the sauce just before taking from the fire, is an improvement. This sauce is nice for all kinds of boiled fish, but particularly for boiled salt fish.
Bechamel Sauce.
One pint of white sauce, one pint of rich cream, salt, pepper. Let the sauce and cream come to a boil separately. Mix them together, and boil up once. Strain, and serve.
Cream Bechamel Sauce.
Three table-spoonfuls of butter, three scant ones of flour, ten pepper-corns, a small piece of mace, half an onion, a large slice of carrot, two cupfuls of white stock, one of cream, salt, a little nutmeg, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme and one bay leaf. Tie the parsley, bay leaf and thyme together. Rub the butter and flour to a smooth paste. Put all the ingredients, except the cream, in a stew-pan, and simmer half an hour, stirring frequently; add the cream, and boil up once. Strain, and serve.
Allemande Sauce.
One pint of white sauce, the yolks of six eggs, the juice of half a lemon, one table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, one table-spoonful of butter, half a cupful of cream, salt, pepper, a grating of nutmeg. Let the sauce come to a boil. Place the sauce-pan in another of boiling water, and add all the seasoning except the lemon. Beat the yolks of eggs and the cream together, and add to the sauce. Stir three minutes. Take off, add the lemon juice, and strain.
Cream Sauce.
One pint of cream, one generous table-spoonful of flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Let the cream come to a boil. Have the flour mixed smooth with half a cupful of cold cream, reserved from the pint, and stir it into the boiling cream. Add seasoning, and boil three minutes. This sauce is good for delicate meats, fish and vegetables, and to pour around croquettes and baked and Quaker omelets.
Cream Sauce, No. 2.
One cupful of milk, a teaspoonful of flour and a table-spoonful of butter, salt and pepper. Put the butter in a small frying-pan, and when hot,but not brown,add the flour. Stir until smooth; then gradually add the milk. Let it boil up once. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve. This is nice to cut cold potatoes into and let them just heat through. They are then creamed potatoes. It also answers as a sauce for other vegetables, omelets, fish and sweetbreads, or, indeed, for anything that requires a white sauce. If you have plenty of cream, use it, and omit the butter.
Polish Sauce.
One pint of stock, two table-spoonfuls of butter, four of grated horseradish, one of flour, one of chopped parsley, the juice of one lemon, one teaspoonful of sugar, salt, pepper. Cook the butter and flour together until smooth, but not brown. Add the stock; and when it boils, add all the other ingredients except the parsley. Boil up once, and add the parsley. This sauce is for roast veal.
Robert Sauce.
Two cupfuls of stock, two small onions, four table-spoonfuls of butter, one heaping table-spoonful of flour, one tea-spoonful of dry mustard, one of sugar, a speck of cayenne, two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, salt. Cut the onions into dice, and put on with the butter. Stir until they begin to color; then add the flour, and stir until brown. As soon as it boils, add the stock and other ingredients, and simmer five minutes. Skim, and serve.
Supreme Sauce.
Add to one pint of white sauce three finely-chopped mushrooms, the juice of half a lemon and one table-spoonful of butter. Simmer all together ten minutes. Rub through the strainer and use.
Olive Sauce.
Two dozen queen olives, one pint of rich stock, the juice of one lemon, two table-spoonfuls of salad oil, one of flour, salt, pepper, a small slice of onion. Let the olives stand in hot water half an hour, to extract the salt. Put the onion and oil in the stew-pan, and as soon as the onion begins to color, add the flour. Stir until smooth, and add the stock. Set back where it will simmer. Pare the olives, round and round, close to the stones, and have the pulp in a single piece. If this is done carefully with a sharp knife, in somewhat the same way that an apple skin is removed whole, the olives will still have their natural shape after the stones are taken out. Put them in the sauce, add the seasoning, and simmer twenty minutes. Skim carefully, and serve. If the sauce is liked thin, half the amount of flour given can be used. This sauce is for roast ducks and other game.
Flemish Sauce.
Cut a cupful of the red part of a carrot intovery smalldice. Cover with boiling water, and simmer one hour. Put three table-spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, a slice of carrot, an onion, cut fine; a blade of mace and twenty pepper-corns in a sauce-pan. Stir over the fire one minute, and add two cupfuls of stock. Simmer gently half an hour. Add a cupful of cream, boil up once, and strain. Now add the cooked carrot, one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, two of chopped cucumber pickles and, if you like, one of grated horseradish. Taste to see if salt enough.
Chestnut Sauce.
One pint of shelled chestnuts, one quart of stock, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, one table-spoonful of flour, two of butter, salt, pepper. Boil the chestnuts in water for about three minutes; then plunge them into cold water, and rub off the dark skins. Put them on to cook with the stock, and boil gently until they will mash readily (it will take about an hour). Mash as fine as possible. Put the butter and flour in a sauce-pan and cook until a dark brown. Stir into the sauce, and cook two minutes. Add the seasoning, and rub all through a sieve. This sauce is for roast turkey. When, to be served with boiled turkey, use only a pint and a half of stock; rub the butter and flour together, and stir into the boiling mixture; rub through the sieve as before; add half a pint of cream to the sauce; return to the fire, boil up once, and serve. The chestnuts used are twice as large as the native fruit All first-class provision dealers and grocers keep them.
Celery Sauce.
Cut the tender parts of a head of celeryvery fine.Pour on water enough to cover them, and no more. Cover the sauce-pan, and set where it will simmer one hour. Mix together two table-spoonfuls of flour and four of butter. When the celery has been boiling one hour, add to it the butter and flour, one pint of milk or cream, and salt and pepper. Boil up once, and serve.
Brown Mushroom Sauce.
One forty-cent can of French mushrooms, two cupfuls of stock, two table-spoonfuls of flour, four of butter, salt, pepper. Melt the butter. Add the flour, and stir until a very dark brown; then gradually add the stock. When this boils up, add the liquor from the mushrooms. Season, and simmer twenty minutes. Skim off any fat that may rise to the top. Add the mushrooms, and simmer five minutes longer. Too much cooking toughens the mushrooms. This sauce is to be served with any kind of roasted, broiled or braised meats. It is especially nice with beef.
Brown Mushroom Sauce, No, 3.
One pint of stock, two cloves, one small slice each of turnip, carrot and onion, three table-spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, half a can of mushrooms, or one-eighth of a pound of the fresh vegetable. Cut the vegetables in small pieces, and fry in the butter with the cloves until brown. Add the flour, and stir until dark brown; then gradually add the stock. Chop the mushrooms, stir into the sauce, and simmer half an hour. Rub through the sieve. Use the same as the other brown mushroom sauce.
White Mushroom Sauce.
Hake a mushroom sauce like the first, using one cupful of white stock and one cupful of cream, and cooking the butter only until smooth. Do not let it become browned.
Beurre Noir.
Two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of vinegar, one of chopped parsley, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, half a tea-spoonful of salt, one quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper. Put the butter in a frying-pan, and when very hot, add the parsley and then the other ingredients. Boil up once. This sauce is for fried and broiled fish, and it is poured over the fish before sending to the table.
Maitre d' Hotel Butter.
Four table-spoonfuls of butter, one of vinegar, one of lemon juice, half a teaspoonful of salt, one quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat in the seasoning. This sauce is spread on fried and broiled meats and fish instead of butter. It is particularly nice for fish and beefsteak.
Maître d' Hôtel Sauce.
One pint of white stock, the yolks of three eggs, one heaping table-spoonful of corn-starch. Put the stock on to boil, reserving one-third of a cupful for the corn-starch. Mix the corn-starch with the cold stock and stir into the boiling. Boil gently for five minutes. Prepare themaître d' hotelbutter as directed in the rule, and add to it the yolks of the eggs. Gradually stir into this the boiling mixture. After placing the sauce-pan in another of boiling water, stir constantly for three minutes. Take off, and serve.
Hollandaise Sauce.
Half a tea-cupful of butter, the juice of half a lemon, the yolks of two eggs, a speck of cayenne, half a cupful of boiling water, half a teaspoonful of salt. Beat the butter to a cream; then add the yolks, one by one, the lemon juice, pepper and salt. Place the bowl in which these are mixed in a sauce-pan of boiling water. Beat with an egg-beater until the sauce begins to thicken (about a minute), and add the boiling water, beating all the time. When like a soft custard it is done. The bowl, if thin, must be kept over the fire only about five minutes, provided the water boils all the time. The sauce should be poured around meat or fish when it is on the dish.
Lobster Sauce.
One small lobster, four table-spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, one-fifth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, one pint of boiling water. Cut the meat into dice. Pound the "coral" with one table-spoonful of the butter. Rub the flour and the remainder of the butter to a smooth paste. Add the water, pounded "coral" and butter, and the seasoning. Simmer five minutes, and then strain on the lobster. Boil up once, and serve. This sauce is for all kinds of boiled fish.
Butter Sauce.
Two table-spoonfuls of flour, half a cupful of butter and one pint of boiling water. Work the flour and butter together until light and creamy, and gradually add the boiling water. Stir constantly until it comes to a boil, but do not let it boil. Take from the fire, and serve. A table-spoonful of lemon juice and a speck of cayenne may be added if you choose. A table-spoonful of chopped parsley also gives an agreeable change.
White Oyster Sauce.
One pint of oysters, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one heaping table-spoonful of flour, one of lemon juice, salt, pepper, a speck of cayenne. Wash the oysters in enough water, with the addition of the oyster liquor, to make a pint. Work the butter and flour to a smooth paste. Let the water and oyster juice come to a boil. Skim, and pour on the flour and butter. Let come to a boil, and add the oysters and seasoning. Boil up once, and serve. Half a cupful of the water may be omitted and half a cupful of boiling cream added at the last moment.
Brown Oyster Sauce.
The same ingredients as for the white sauce. Put the butter and flour in the sauce-pan and stir until a dark brown. Add the skimmed liquor, boil up, and add the other ingredients. Boil up once more, and serve. In the brown sauce stock can be used instead of water. The sauce is served with broiled or stewed beefsteak.
Shrimp Sauce.
Make a butter sauce, and add to it two table-spoonfuls of essence of anchovy and half a pint of canned shrimp. Stir well, and it is ready to serve.
Anchovy Sauce.
Make the butter sauce, and stir into it four table-spoonfuls of essence of anchovy and one of lemon juice.
Egg Sauce.
Six hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine with a silver, knife or spoon; half a cupful of boiling cream or milk, and the butter sauce. Make the sauce, add the boiling cream or milk, and then the eggs. Stir well, and serve.
Fine Herbs Sauce.
One table-spoonful of chopped onion, two of chopped mushroom, one of chopped parsley, two of butter, salt, pepper, one pint of white sauce, No. 3. Put the butter and chopped ingredients in a sauce-pan and stir for one minute over the fire. Add the sauce, and boil up once.
Caper Sauce.
Make a butter sauce, and stir into it one table-spoonful of lemon juice, two of capers, and one of essence of anchovy.
Mustard Sauce.
Stir three table-spoonfuls of mixed mustard and a speck of cayenne into a butter sauce. This is nice for devilled turkey and broiled smoked herrings.
Curry Sauce.
One table-spoonful of butter, one of flour, one teaspoonful of curry powder, one large slice of onion, one large cupful of stock, salt and pepper to taste. Cut the onion fine, and fry brown in the butter.. Add the flour and curry powder. Stir for one minute, add the stock, and season with the salt and pepper. Simmer five minutes; then strain, and serve. This sauce can be served with a broil orsautéof meat or fish.
Vinaigrette Sauce.
One teaspoonful of white pepper, one of salt, half a teaspoonful of mustard, half a cupful of vinegar, one table-spoonful of oil. Mix the salt, pepper and mustard together; thenveryslowly add the vinegar, and after mixing well, add the oil. The sauce is to be eaten on cold meats or on fish.
Piquant Sauce.
Two cupfuls of brown sauce, one of consomme, (common stock will do), four table-spoonfuls of vinegar, two of chopped onion, two of chopped capers, two of chopped cucumber pickles, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, one teaspoonful of sugar, salt to taste. Cook the onion and vinegar in a sauce-pan for three minutes; then add the sauce, consomme, sugar, salt and pepper. Boil rapidly for five minutes, stirring all the while. Add the capers and pickles, and boil three minutes longer.
Tomato Sauce.
One quart of canned tomatoes, two table-spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, eight cloves and a small slice of onion. Cook the tomato, onion and cloves ten minutes. Heat the butter in a small frying-pan, and add the flour. Stir over the fire until smooth and brown, and then stir into the tomatoes. Cook two minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and rub through a strainer fine enough to keep back the seeds. This sauce is nice for fish, meat and macaroni.
Tartare Sauce.
The yolks of two uncooked eggs, half a cupful of oil, three table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one of mustard, one teaspoonful of sugar, one-quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of salt, one of onion juice, one table-spoonful of chopped capers, one of chopped cucumber pickles. Make the same as mayonnaise dressing. Add the chopped ingredients the last thing. This sauce can be used with fried and broiled meats and fish, and with meats served in jelly.
Champagne Sauce.
Mix thoroughly a table-spoonful of butter with one of flour. Set the sauce-pan on the fire, and stir constantly until the mixture is dark brown; then pour into it half a pint of boiling gravy (the liquor in which pieces of lean meat have boiled until it is very rich). Pour in this gravy slowly, and stir slowly and continually. Let boil up once, season well with pepper and salt, and strain. Add half a cupful of champagne, and serve.
Port Wine Sauce for Game.
Half a tumbler of currant jelly, half a tumbler of port wine, half a tumbler of stock, half a teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, four cloves, a speck of cayenne. Simmer the cloves and stock together for half an hour. Strain on the other ingredients, and let all melt together. Part of the gravy from the game may be added to it.
Currant Jelly Sauce.
Three table-spoonfuls of butter, one onion, one bay leaf, one sprig of celery, two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, half a cupful of currant jelly, one table-spoonful of flour, one pint of stock, salt, pepper. Cook the butter and onion until the latter begins to color. Add the flour and herbs. Stir until brown; add the stock, and simmer twenty minutes. Strain, and skim off all the fat. Add the jelly, and stir over the fire until it is melted. Serve with game.
Bread Sauce for Game.
Two cupfuls of milk, one of dried bread crumbs, a quarter of an onion, two table-spoonfuls of butter, and salt and pepper. Dry the bread in a warm oven, and roll into rather coarse crumbs. Sift; and put the fine crumbs which come through, and which make about one-third of a cupful, on to boil with the milk and onion. Boil ten or fifteen minutes, and add a table-spoonful of butter and the seasoning. Skim out the onion. Fry the coarse, crumbs a light brown in the remaining butter, which must be very hot before they are put in. Stir over a hot fire two minutes, being watchful not to burn. Cover the breasts of the roasted birds with these, and serve the sauce poured around the birds, or in a gravy dish.
FORCE-MEAT AND GARNISHES.
Force-Meat for Game.
One pound of clear uncooked veal, a quarter of a pound of fat pork, one pound of boiled ham, one quart of milk, one pint of bread crumbs, half a cupful of butter, three table-spoonfuls of onion juice, one table-spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, six mushrooms, the yolks of four eggs, a speck each of clove, cinnamon, mace and nutmeg. Chop the veal, pork, ham and mushroomsvery fine, and, with a pestle, pound to a powder. Cook the bread and milk together, stirring often, until the former is soft and smooth. Set away to cool, first adding the butter and seasoning to it. When cold, add to the powdered meat. Mix thoroughly, and rub through a sieve. Add the yolks of the eggs. This force-meat is used for borders in which to serve hot entrees of game. It is also used in game pies, and sometimes forquenelles.When used for a border it is put in a well-buttered mould and steamed three hours. It is then turned out on a flat dish, and the hot salmis, blanquette or ragout is poured into the centre.
Ham Force-Meat.
Two pounds of cooked ham, chopped, and then pounded very fine; one pound of bread crumbs, one pint of milk, the yolks of four eggs, one table-spoonful of mixed mustard, one teaspoonful of salt, a speck of cayenne, one cupful of brown sauce. Make as directed for force-meat for game.
Veal Force-Meat.
Three pounds of veal, one cupful of butter, one pint of bread crumbs, one pint of milk, one pint of white sauce, two table-spoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, two table-spoonfuls of Halford sauce, two of onion juice, the yolks of six eggs, half a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, two table-spoonfuls of chopped parsley. Make and use the same as game force-meat.
Chicken Force-Meat.
Use only the breast of the chicken. Make the same as veal force-meat, using cream, however, with the bread crumbs, instead of milk. This force-meat is for the most delicate entries only. Either the chicken or veal can be formed into balls about the size of a walnut and fried or poached for soups.
Fish Force-Meat.
This can be made the same as veal force-meat. Salmon and halibut will be found the best kinds of fish to use for it. The force-meat is for entrees of fish.
Force-meat is sometimes formed into a square or oval piece for the centre of the dish. It should be about an inch and a half thick. Place on a buttered sheet or plate and steam two hours. When cooked, slip on to the centre of the dish. Arrange the entree on this, and pour the sauce around the base. Delicate cutlets, sweetbreads, etc., can be used here. Veal or chicken force-meat is the best for all light entrees.
Jelly Border.
Make one quart of aspic jelly. Set the plain border mould (see rice border, under Entries) in a pan with a little ice and water. Pour enough of the liquid jelly into the mould to make a layer half an inch deep. Let this get hard. When hard, decorate with cooked carrot and beet, and the white of a hard-boiled egg. These must all be cut in pretty shapes with the vegetable cutter, and arranged on the jelly. Very carefully add two table-spoonfuls of jelly, and let it harden. Fill with the remainder of the jelly, and set away to harden. At serving time put the mould for half a minute in a pan of warm water. Wipe it, and turn the jelly on a cold flat dish. Fill the centre with salad, boned fowl, or anything else you choose.
Marinade for Fish.
One quart of cider, two slices of carrot, one large onion, four cloves, a bouquet of sweet herbs, two table-spoonfuls of butter, two of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper and the same quantity of mustard. Cook the onion and carrot in the butter for ten minutes, and add the other ingredients. Cover the sauce-pan, and simmer one hour and a half. This is for stewing fish. It should be strained on the fish, and that should simmer forty minutes.
Cold Marinade.
A bouquet of sweet herbs, the juice of half a lemon, two table-spoonfuls of oil, six of vinegar, one of onion juice, a speck of cayenne, one teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one-tenth of a teaspoonful of ground clove. Mix all together. Sprinkle on the meat or fish, which should stand ten or twelve hours. This is particularly for fish, chops, steaks and cutlets which are to be either fried or broiled. Any of the flavorings that are not liked may be omitted. When cooked meats or fish are sprinkled with salt, pepper and vinegar, as for salads, they are said to be marinated.
To Get Onion Juice.
Feel the onion, and grate on a large grater, using a good deal of pressure.
To Fry Parsley.
Wash the parsley, and wipe dry. Put in the frying basket and plunge into boiling fat for half a minute.
To Make Spinach Green.
Wash a peck of spinach. Pour on it two quarts of boiling water. Let it stand one minute. Pour off the water, and pound the spinach to a soft pulp. Put this in a coarse towel and squeeze all the juice into a small frying-pan. (Two people, by using the towel at the same time, will extract the juice more thoroughly than one can.) Put the pan on the fire, and stir until the juice is in the form of curd and whey. Turn this on a sieve, and when all the liquor has been drained off, scrape the dry material from the sieve, and put away for use. Another mode is to put with the juice in the frying-pan three table-spoonfuls of sugar. Let this cook five minutes; then bottle for use. This is really the more convenient way. Spinach green is used for coloring soups, sauces and creams.
Points of Lemon.
Cut fresh lemons in thin slices, and divide these slices into four parts. This gives the points. They are used as a garnish for salads and made dishes.
To Make a Bouquet of Sweet Herbs.
Put two sprigs of parsley on the table, and across them lay two bay leaves, two sprigs of thyme, two of summer savory, and twoleavesof sage. Tie all the other herbs (which are dry) with the parsley. The bouquet is for soups, stews, game, and meat jellies. When it can be obtained, use tarragon also.
VEGETABLES.
All green vegetables must be washed thoroughly in cold water and dropped into water which has been salted and is just beginning to boil There should be a table-spoonful of salt for every two quarts of water. If the water boils a long time before the vegetables are put in it loses all its gases, and the mineral ingredients are deposited on the bottom and sides of the kettle, so that the water is flat and tasteless: the vegetables will not look green, nor have a fine flavor. The time of boiling green vegetables depends very much upon the age, and how long they have been gathered. The younger and more freshly gathered, the more quickly they are cooked. The following is a time-table for cooking:
Nearly all these vegetables are eaten dressed with salt, pepper and butter, but sometimes a small piece of lean pork is boiled with them, and seasons them sufficiently.
Potatoes.
No other vegetable is in America so commonly used and abused. The most inexperienced housekeeper takes it as a matter of course that she or her cook cannot fail of boiling potatoes properly. The time of cooking the potato, unlike that of nearly all other vegetables, does not vary with age or freshness; so there need never be a failure. In baking, the heat of the oven is not always the same, and the time of cooking will vary accordingly. The potato is composed largely of starch. Cooking breaks the cells and sets this starch free. If the potato is removed from heat and moisture as soon as this occurs, it will be dry and mealy, but if it is allowed to boil or bake, even for a few minutes, the starch will absorb the moisture, and the potato will become soggy and have a poor flavor.
Boiled Potatoes.
Twelve medium-sized potatoes, one table-spoonful of salt, boiling water to cover. Pare the potatoes, and if old, let them stand in cold water an hour or two, to freshen them. Boil fifteen minutes; then add the salt, and boil fifteen minutes longer. Pour offevery dropof water. Take the cover from the sauce-pan and shake the potatoes in a current of cold air (at either the door or window). Place the saucepan on the back part of the stove, and cover with a clean coarse towel until serving time. The sooner the potatoes are served, the better. This rule will ensure perfectly sweet and mealy potatoes, if they were good and ripe at first.
Mashed Potatoes.
Twelve potatoes, one and a half table-spoonfuls of salt, one table-spoonful of butter, half a cupful of boiling milk. Pare and boil as directed for boiled potatoes, and mash fine and light. Add the salt and butter. Beat well; then add the milk, and beat as you would for cake. This will give a light and delicate dish of potatoes. The potatoes must be perfectly smooth before adding the other ingredients.
Purée of Potato.
Prepare the potatoes as directed for mashed potatoes, except use a generous cupful of milk and half a teaspoonful of pepper. If the puree is to serve as a foundation for dry meats, like grouse, veal or turkey, use a cupful of rich stock instead of the milk. This preparation, spread on a hot platter, with any kind of cold meat or fish that has been warmed in a little sauce or gravy, heaped in the centre of it, makes a delightful dish for lunch or dinner.
Potato Puffs.
Prepare the potatoes as directed for mashed potato. Whilehot,shape in balls about the size of an egg. Have a tin sheet well buttered, and place the balls on it. As soon as all are done, brash over with beaten egg. Brown in the oven. When done, slip a knife under them and slide them upon a hot platter. Garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.
Riced Potato.
Have a flat dish and the colander hot. With a spoon, rub mashed potato through the colander on to the hot dish. Be careful that the colander does not touch the potato on the dish. It is best to have only a few spoonfuls of the potato in it at one time. When all has been pressed through, place the dish in the oven for five minutes.
Potato à la Royale.
One pint of hot toiled potatoes, a generous half cupful of cream or milk, two table spoonfuls of butter, the whites of four eggs and yolk of one, salt and pepper to taste. Beat the potato very light and fine. Add the seasoning, milk and butter, and lastly the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. Turn into a buttered escalop dish. Smooth with a knife and brush over with the yolk of the egg, which has been well beaten. Brown quickly, and serve. It will take ten minutes to brown. The dish in which it is baked should hold a little more than a quart.
Potatoes à l'Italienne.
Prepare the potatoes as for servingà la royale. Add one table-spoonful of onion juice, one of finely-chopped parsley, and half a cupful of finely-chopped cooked ham. Heap lightly in the dish, but do not smooth. Sprinkle on this one table-spoonful of grated Parmesan cheese. Brown quickly, and serve. The cheese may be omitted if not liked.
Thin Fried Potatoes.
Pare and cut raw potatoesvery thin, with either the vegetable slicer or a sharp knife. Put them in cold water and let them stand in a cold place (the ice chest is best) from ten to twenty-four hours. This draws out the starch. Drain them well. Put about one pint in the frying basket, plunge into boiling lard, and cook about ten minutes. After the first minute set back where the heat will decrease. Drain, and dredge with salt. Continue this until all are fried. Remember that the fat must be hot at first, and when it has regained its heat after the potatoes have been added, must be set back where the potatoes will not cook fast. If the cooking is too rapid they will be brown before they have become crisp. Care must also be taken, when the potatoes are first put in the frying kettle, that the fat does not boil over. Have a fork under the handle of the basket, and if you find that there is danger, lift the basket partly out of the kettle. Continue this until all the water has evaporated; then let the basket remain in the kettle. If many potatoes are cooked in this way for a family, quite an amount of starch can be saved from the water in which they were soaked by pouring off the water and scraping the starch from the bottom of the vessel. Dry, and use as any other starch.
French Fried Potatoes.
Pare small uncooked potatoes. Divide them in halves, and each half in three pieces. Put in the frying basket and cook in boiling fat for ten minutes. Drain, and dredge with salt. Serve hot with chops or beefsteak. Two dozen pieces can be fried at one time.
Potatoes à la Parisienne.
Pare large uncooked potatoes. Cut little balls out of these with the vegetable scoop. Six balls can be cut from one large potato. Drop them in ice water. When all are prepared, drain them, and put in the frying basket. This can be half full each time--that is, about three dozen balls can be put in. Put the basket carefully into the fat, the same as for thin fried potatoes. Cook ten minutes. Drain. Dredge with salt, and serve very hot. These are nice to serve with a fillet of beef, beefsteak, chops or game. They may be arranged on the dish with the meats, or served in a separate dish.
Potato Balls Fried in Butter.
Cut little balls from cooked potatoes with the vegetable scoop. After all the salt has been washed from one cupful of butter (chicken fat will do instead), put this in a small frying-pan. When hot, put in as many potato balls as will cover the bottom, and fry until a golden brown. Take up, drain, and dredge with salt. Serve very hot. These balls can be cut from raw potatoes, boiled in salted water five minutes, and fried in the butter ten minutes. When boiled potatoes are used, the part left after the balls have been cut out, will answer for creamed or Lyonnaise potatoes; but when raw potatoes are used, the part left should be put into cold water until cooking time, and can be used for mashed or riced potatoes.
Potatoes Baked with Roast Beef.
Fare rather small potatoes, and boil for twelve minutes in salted water. Take up and put on the grate with roast beef. Bake twenty-five or thirty minutes. Arrange on the dish with the beef, or, if you prefer, on a separate dish.
Broiled Potatoes.
Cut cold boiled potatoes in slices a third of an inch thick. Dip them in melted butter andfinebread crumbs. Place in the double broiler and broil over a fire that is not too hot. Garnish with parsley, and serve on a hot dish. Or, season with salt and pepper, toast till a delicate brown, arrange on a hot dish, and season with butter.
Lyonnaise Potatoes.
One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut into dice; three table-spoonfuls of butter, one of chopped onion, one of chopped parsley, salt, pepper. Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper. Fry the onions in the butter, and when they turn yellow, add the potatoes. Stir with a fork, being careful not to break them. When hot, add the parsley, and cook two minutes longer. Serve immediately on a hot dish.
Duchess Potatoes.
Cut cold boiled potatoes into cubes. Season well with salt and pepper, and dip in melted butter and lightly in flour. Arrange them on a baking sheet, and bake fifteen minutes in a quick oven. Servevery hot.
Housekeeper's Potatoes.
One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut into dice; one pint of stock, one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, one of butter, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, salt, pepper. Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper, and add the stock. Cover, and simmer twelve minutes. Add lemon juice, butter and parsley, and simmer two minutes longer.
Potatoes à la Maître d' Hôtel.
One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut into dice; one scant pint of milk, one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, three of butter, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, salt, pepper, the yolks of two eggs, one teaspoonful of flour. Mix the butter, flour, lemon juice, parsley and yolks of eggs together. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Add the milk, and put on in the double boiler. Cook five minutes; then add the other ingredients, and cook five minutes longer. Stir often.
Stewed Potatoes.
One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut into little dice j one pint and a half of milk, one table-spoonful of parsley, one of flour, two of butter, salt, pepper. Put the potatoes in the double boiler, and dredge them with the salt, pepper and flour. Add the parsley, butter and milk. Cover, and put on to boil. Cook twelve minutes. Serve very hot.
Creamed Potatoes.
One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut in verythinslices; one pint of cream sauce, salt, pepper. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, and turn them into the sauce. Cover the stew-pan, and cook until the potatoes are hot--no longer. Serve immediately in a hot dish. They will heat in the double boiler in six minutes, and will not require stirring.
Escaloped Potatoes.
Cut one quart of cold boiled potatoes invery thinslices, and season well with salt and pepper. Butter an escalop dish. Cover the bottom with a layer of cream sauce, add a layer of the potatoes, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and moisten with sauce. Continue this until all the material is used. Have the last layer one of cream sauce. Cover the dish with fine bread crumbs, put a table-spoonful of butter in little bits on the top, and cook twenty minutes. It takes one pint of sauce, one table-spoonful of parsley, half a cupful of bread crumbs, one teaspoonful of salt and as much pepper as you like. This dish can be varied by using a cupful of chopped ham with the potatoes. Indeed, any kind of meat can be used.
Potato Soufflé.
Six large, smooth potatoes, half a cupful of boiling milk, one table-spoonful of butter, the whites of four eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Wash the potatoes clean, being, careful not to break the skin. Bake forty-five minutes. Take the potatoes from the oven, and with a sharp knife, cut them in two, lengthwise. Scoop out the potato with a spoon, and put it in a hot bowl. Mash light and fine. Add the seasoning, butter and milk, and then half the whites of the eggs. Fill the skins with the mixture. Cover with the remaining white of the egg, and brown in the oven. Great care must be taken not to break the skins.
Sweet Potatoes.
Sweet potatoes require from forty-five to fifty-five minutes to boil, and from one hour to one and a quarter to bake. The time given will make the potatoes moist and sweet If, however, they are preferred dry and mealy, fifteen minutes less will be enough.
French Fried Sweet Potatoes.
Prepare and fry the same as the white potatoes. Or, they can first be boiled half an hour, and then pared, cut and fried as directed. The latter is the better way, as they are liable to be a little hard if fried when raw.