(b) Take a good-sized jar (jam-pot shape if possible), into it put any cold cooked meat you have, viz. ham, bacon, fowl, rabbit, game, beef, or mutton, &c.; mix them together, flavour with shallot, cayenne pepper, and salt; pour in some good stock, and plenty of cassareep sauce; this last ingredient is difficult to obtain out of the West Indies. It is by far the best; but if unobtainable, add soy or Harvey’s sauce to taste. Make thoroughly hot in the oven; serve with a table napkin folded round the pot. The pepper-pot is kept going for weeks without cleaning, and is replenished with the various ingredients as required. The West Indians improve its flavour by adding their own native green and red pepper pods, which are very hot.
Plum Pudding Sauce.—(a) Fresh butter and powdered lump sugar beaten together until the mixture becomes of the consistency of cream.
(b) Beat up the yolks of 6 new-laid eggs with 6 tablespoonfuls powdered lump sugar; add ½ tumbler pale brandy, and rather more than ½ tumbler sherry; put the mixture in a jug, place this in a saucepan full of boiling water, and froth up the sauce for about 10 minutes with a chocolate mill.
(c) The best French pale brandy.
(d) Foam Sauce.—1 cup white sugar, 3 of butter, 1 tablespoonful flour. Beat to a cream, put it on the stove, and add 1 wineglassful sherry or ½ wineglass brandy; stir quickly until it is all foam.
(e) Hard Sauce.—4 oz. butter, 5 oz. sugar, beaten to a cream; pile it on the dish. You can add a scrape of nutmeg or a little lemon juice when beating it, or brandy, as you like—not enough to thin it, only to flavour.
(f) Beat up together ¼ lb. butter, 4 teaspoonfuls brown sugar, 1 egg, and 1 wineglassful wine. Boil it up once, and serve immediately.
Polish Sauce.—Put a piece of butter and 1 tablespoonful sugar in a stewpan, and when melted throw in 1 tablespoonful flour and let it brown. Then stir in ¾ pint red wine; add a good handful of currants washed and picked, the same quantity of raisins stoned, a small handful of almonds blanched, powdered cinnamon and bruised cloves. Let all simmer ¼ hour or till the currants are plumped and soft.
Prune Sauce.—Boil ½ lb. prunes in a little water till soft, then take out the stones and break them in a mortar; put the fruit and crushed stones in a stewpan with a glass of wine, the juice of a lemon, and a strip of its peel; add ½ teaspoonful powdered cinnamon, some sugar, and the syrup in which the prunes were boiled; simmer a fewminutes, then pass the sauce through a coarse sieve. If too thick, add a little more water or wine.
Pudding Sauce.—(a) Pour ½ pint fast boiling water on 1 large tablespoonful flour, mixed smoothly in 1 gill ale. Sweeten with 2 oz. raw sugar, add a large pinch of grated nutmeg, or any other spice, stir over the fire until it boils, then put in 1 oz. butter, and when it is dissolved the sauce will be ready.
(b) The yolks of 4 eggs, and the juice of 2 lemons, sugar to taste, and if you choose, a wineglass of hock; make these hot in a pan, and when it begins to thicken, add the whites, which have been beaten to a froth, and serve with the pudding almost directly.
(c) Scald 1 oz. Jordan almonds and 6 bitter almonds; bruise them in a mortar with 4 oz. sugar and 1 tablespoonfuleau de fleurs d’orangerto a pulp. Put this in a small stewpan, with 1 gill of cream, 2 yolks raw eggs, and with a wire whisk whip the sauce (always one way) over a very slow heat till it becomes a substantial smooth froth.
(d) A little caramel, the yolks of 2 eggs, ¼ pint cream, ½ glass brandy or sherry, stir in a jug till it thickens; put on ice to cool.
Quin Sauce.—2 gal. each mushroom ketchup and walnut ketchup, 1 gal. soy, 1 lb. garlic, 6 lb. sprats; boil ¼ hour; strain; bottle.
Raspberry Sauce.—Put into a stewpan 4 well-beaten eggs, 2 teaspoonfuls flour, 1 pint fresh raspberry juice, and ¼ lb. sugar; whisk this over the fire till it thickens and rises well; serve while it is light and frothy. Other similar fruit may be used in the same way. If red currants be chosen more sugar will be required.
Ravigote Sauce.—(a) Take equal parts parsley, chervil, garden cress, and tarragon; mince them very finely. Rub a saucepan with shallot, melt a piece of butter in it, add a little flour, mix thoroughly, then add stockquant. suff., pepper, salt, a glass of white wine, and the herbs. Let the sauce come to the boil, then throw in a small pat of butter, a squeeze of lemon, and serve.
(b) Pound in a mortar some fine herbs, previously chopped—viz. parsley, chervil, cress, pimpernel, celery, chives, scallions—a spoonful of capers, 1 or 2 anchovies; reduce to a smooth paste, add the yolk of an egg, salt, pepper, 1 spoonful oil, and 1 of vinegar.
Rum Butter.—Grate 1 lb. coarse brown sugar as fine as possible, add ½ small nutmeg grated, melt a little over ¼ but not quite ½ lb. butter, stir in the sugar and nutmeg; add 1 wineglassful good rum, and beat it well up. Pour into a deep glass dish or basin, and when cold sprinkle powdered white sugar well over it.
Sharp Sauce.—(a) Robert.—Put a large piece of butter rolled in flour into a saucepan, add chopped and blanched parsley and mushrooms, a little chopped shallot, and the least bit of garlic. Moisten with a cupful of stock, add salt, a grate of nutmeg, and some English mustard; amalgamate thoroughly, and serve in a boat.
(b) Poivrade.—Take 3 parts olive oil, 1 of tarragon vinegar, a little mustard, plenty of pepper and salt to taste, beat them up with a fork until perfectly amalgamated.
(c) Piquante.—3 cloves garlic, 3 shallots, 3 anchovies, 2 tablespoonfuls mushroom, 1 oz. cayenne. Bruise all well together in a mortar, and mix with them 1½ pint boiling vinegar. Shake the bottle occasionally, and let it stand 2-3 weeks. Then strain and bottle for use.
(d) Brown Sharp Sauce.—Cut a small carrot and a few shallots into dice, put them into a stewpan with a small pat of butter, some parsley, and parsley roots, 2 or 3 slices lean ham, a little thyme, ½ bay leaf, a clove, a little mace, and a few grains of peppercorn and allspice. Set the stewpan on a slow fire till the contents attain a fine brown colour; keep stirring with a wooden spoon; pour into it 4 tablespoonfuls white vinegar, and add a lump of sugar. This must reduce until almost a glaze. Moisten this with some rich brown gravy, preferably with that made from veal and ham, but in any case it must have had mushrooms, parsley, and green onions boiled in it for flavouring, a little plain consommé should also be added; season with a little cayenne and salt. This should be tasted to ascertain whether it be salt enough, and also to ensure its not being too acid;should it be so, add a little more of the brown gravy; skim off the fat, strain the sauce through a tammy, and serve.
(e) White Sharp Sauce.—Put a small bunch of tarragon into a stewpan with 4 tablespoonfuls white vinegar (or, if there be no fresh tarragon, tarragon vinegar may be used), and about 20 peppercorns; let the vinegar reduce to a quarter of its original quantity. Have ready some good white sauce which has been flavoured with a few mushrooms, a bunch of parsley, and green onions. Pour 6 tablespoonfuls of this sauce into the stewpan with the vinegar, and 2 tablespoonfuls stock; let this reduce over a hot fire. Strain it through a tammy, and then put it again on the fire. When it has boiled, take it off the fire, thicken it with the yolks of 2 eggs and stir in a small bit of butter. Should it be rather brown, add a spoonful of cream to restore the white appearance, and add a little cayenne pepper and salt.
Shrimp Sauce(Crevette).—Take ½ pint shrimps, pick out all the meat from the tails, pound the rest in a mortar with the juice of half a lemon and a piece of butter; pass the whole through a sieve. Make 1 pint melted butter, put the meat from the tails into it, add a dust of cayenne, and when the sauce boils stir into it the shrimp butter that has come through the sieve, with or without a tablespoonful of cream.
Soubise Sauce.—Peel and blanch 6 onions, cool them in water, drain, and put them in a stewpan with sufficient water or white stock, to cover them; add some cayenne, bay leaf, a little mace, a small piece of ham or bacon; keep the lid closely shut, and simmer gently till tender, take them out, drain thoroughly, press through a sieve or tammy cloth, add ½ pint béchamel made in the following manner: Put into a stewpan a little parsley, 1 clove, ¼ bay leaf, some sweet herbs, and 1 pint white stock; when boiled long enough to extract the flavour of the herbs, &c., strain it, boil up quickly, and reduce to half the quantity, mix 1 tablespoonful arrowroot with ½ pint milk or cream, pour on the reduced stock, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Spinach Greening.—Take enough spinach for a small dish, wash, and pound it in a mortar until quite soft; then lay it in a strong, clean kitchen cloth to wring out the juice. This is best done by 2 persons, one at either end of the cloth, each twisting the extremity round a wooden spoon to form a handle. This will enable them to wring the cloth so tightly as to easily extract all moisture from the spinach. This juice must be immediately placed in a small stewpan and held over the fire until it thickens, it must be then turned out upon a hair sieve to drain away the watery part. When this has all come away, rub the spinach green through the sieve with a wooden spoon, and it is then ready for use.
Sweet Sauce.—(a) Melted butter and sugar.
(b) Ditto, with addition of either raspberry juice or raspberry vinegar.
(c) Mix arrowroot with cold water, pour boiling water on it, stirring till it thickens. Add to this lumps of broken sugar which have been rubbed on lemon peel (to imbibe the flavour), and the strained juice of a lemon.
(d) Cut the peel of a large lemon into very narrow strips, let them remain in water by the fire for 1-2 hours, then boil them up with Demerara sugar till like syrup, squeeze the juice in, put the lemon straws on the pudding, and pour the sauce over. This sauce is very good with Sir Watkin’s pudding.
(e) Melted currant jelly, with or without the addition of a little water. Wine or rum would be a considerable improvement to several of the above recipes (though not essential), especially to (e).
Tartare Sauce.—(a) Stir into the yolk of a new-laid egg, drop by drop, 1 tablespoonful salad oil; when well mixed, add by degrees a little chili vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of vinegar, 3 teaspoonfuls mustard, a little salt and pepper, and some finely chopped parsley; beat all until of the consistency of cream; cover closely, and set in a cool place until wanted. It should be made 4-5 hours before used.
(b) To the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs add the yolk of 1 raw egg, 1 teaspoonfulmustard and a little salt. Mix the whole well together, then by degrees add ½ pint salad oil. Beat the whole well together until it becomes of the consistency of good paste, then add tarragon vinegar to taste. When the sauce is to be sent to table add a little chopped tarragon and chervil.
(c) Take 2 or 3 shallots, some chervil, and tarragon. Shred them fine, then add some mustard (either dry or wet), salt, pepper, and a very little oil and vinegar, stirring constantly. If your sauce gets too thick put a little more vinegar, and if it tastes too salt add a little oil and mustard.
Tomato Sauce(Tomate).—(a) 10 lb. ripe tomatoes, 1 pint best brown vinegar, 2 oz. salt, ½ oz. cloves, 1 oz. allspice, ½ lb. white sugar, 1 oz. garlic, ½ oz. black pepper, ½ oz. cayenne pepper. Wipe the tomatoes clean, and boil or bake till soft; then strain and rub through a sieve that will retain the seeds and skins. Boil the juice for 1 hour, then add the above ingredients (all the spices must be ground). Boil all together for a sufficient time, which may be known by the absence of any watery particle, and by the whole becoming a smooth mass; 5 hours will generally suffice. Bottle without straining into perfectly dry bottles, and cork securely when cold. The garlic must be peeled. The proportions of spice may be varied according to taste.
(b) Take 1 peck tomatoes, 10 large onions, or shallots in proportion, 6 capsicums, and ½ lb. salt. Cut the tomatoes, onions, and capsicums very small, and work them well together with the salt. Let it stand 3 days in an earthen vessel, then add 1 oz. black peppercorns, 1 oz. allspice, and a few cloves, and boil it for nearly 1 hour, stirring it often to prevent it from burning. Then beat it through a colander, and when cold add ½ pint vinegar to keep it from fermenting, and bottle it up, adding 1 tablespoonful vinegar at the top of each bottle. Cork and seal it down, and it will keep for years.
(c) Choose ripe tomatoes, and bake till tender, pulp through a sieve. To every lb. of pulp allow 1 pint chili vinegar, 1 oz. garlic, 1 oz. shallot, plenty of horseradish, ½ oz. ground white pepper, ½ oz. salt. Boil the whole together until every ingredient is tender. Rub the mixture through a sieve; then to every lb. add the juice of 2 lemons. Boil the whole together until it attains the consistency of good cream. When cold bottle it; keep it dry and cool.
(d) Break with a wooden spoon ½ sieve ripe tomatoes, and rub them through a hair sieve into a preserving pan; set the pan on the fire, and keep stirring them until they boil well and become of the consistency of very thick cream; as soon as they boil, add 2 oz. shallots and 1 oz. garlic, keep stirring, and, just before taking them off the fire, put in a few chilies or a little cayenne pepper, adding salt to taste; pour off into wide-mouthed bottles as soon as sufficiently boiled, and when cold cork the bottles, covering the corks with resin.
(e) Cut up the tomatoes, and put them into a saucepan containing a little water, with some parsley, basil, marjoram, thyme, and laurel leaf according to taste, a clove of garlic, a few cloves, some whole pepper, and salt. Let them boil till thoroughly done, then strain off the water, and pass them through a hair sieve. Put a piece of butter in a saucepan, add to it when melted a spoonful of flour and the tomato pulp; mix thoroughly, and when hot the sauce is ready. (The G. C.)
(f) To every lb. tomato (ripe) rubbed through a sieve, after being baked, add 1 pint vinegar, 1 oz. garlic, 1 oz. shallot sliced very fine, ½ oz. white pepper, ½ oz. salt. Boil these together, and strain them through a hair sieve. To every lb. add the juice of 3 lemons, and boil the whole together till it has acquired the consistency of cream. When cold bottle it, and keep it in a dry place well corked.
(g) Boil in a covered jar, in a saucepan of water, ripe tomatoes, with ¼ oz. shred shallots to every lb. of the fruit. When quite tender rub the pulp through a sieve, and to every lb. add 1 pint vinegar and the juice of 2 lemons, ½ oz. salt, ¼ oz. white pepper ground, and 1 small teaspoonful cayenne pepper. Boil over a slow fire until the sauce is sufficiently thick. Keep it in ½ pint bottles, well corked and covered with bladder,in a dry place. Capsicums may be used instead of the cayenne, and if liked a very small quantity of garlic; either or both must be boiled in the jar with the tomatoes.
(h) Slice tomatoes, put them in a weak solution of salt and water for 2 days, then scald them well, as the salt is not to season but to toughen them a little. Put them in a kettle with water enough to just prevent them from burning, and let them slowly cook for an hour; then add 1 qt. vinegar, 1 full tablespoon each of powdered mace, allspice, and cloves, ½ spoonful mustard seed, 1 teacup brown sugar, and a few slices of onion. A little celery seed or other flavouring of celery is an improvement. Pour this on, and cook ½ hour longer.
(i) ¼ peck green or half-ripe tomatoes, 3 onions (or shallots, if preferred); slice them, cover with vinegar, and stew them well, with a spice bag of pepper, cloves, ginger, and chilies, until quite a pulp, when strain all the vinegar away, and press the pulp through a coarse sieve. Mix in a little cold vinegar, 1 oz. arrowroot, 1 oz. mustard, mix this with boiling vinegar, and add all to the pulp with cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Just boil it all up again, adding as much of the vinegar the tomatoes were stewed in as will make the sauce as thick as good cream. Sugar may be added if the tomatoes are very sour.
(j) Gather the tomatoes quite ripe on a sunny day. Cut them into quarters, and put them into a saucepan with saltquant. suff., a good handful of basil, and 3 or 4 cloves of garlic. A little water should be put into the saucepan to prevent the tomatoes catching. When they are thoroughly done turn them out upon a hair sieve, and wait till all the water has drained from them. Throw away this water, and pass the tomatoes through the sieve. The pulp thus obtained is put into a saucepan to boil for about ½ hour, and a moderate quantity of black pepper maybe added according to taste. When the sauce is quite cold, put it into wide-mouthed bottles, cork tightly, and tie up each cork with string or wire; dip the neck of each bottle into melted rosin, and you may then put them away to be used when required. The bottles should be of moderate size, for, once opened, the sauce will no longer keep good. Another way consists in letting the tomato pulp reduce in the saucepan until it assumes the appearance of a very thick paste, care being taken to stir it constantly. When cold it is put away like jam, in pots. When wanted for use, a small quantity of it is dissolved in hot water. (The G. C.)
(k) Bake tomatoes when quite ripe until quite tender, then rub them through a coarse sieve; weigh, and for every lb. of pulp take 1 qt. chili vinegar, 1 oz. garlic, 1 oz. shallots, both peeled and sliced, and a ¼ oz. salt. Boil the chili vinegar, garlic, shallots, and salt together until the ingredients are tender; them rub them through a sieve, and to each lb. of all the ingredients mixed together add the juice of 3 lemons. Boil the whole again to the consistency of thick cream, bottle it when quite cold, and keep it in a cold dry place. ½ pint good ketchup should be added to the sauce when opened for use.
(l) Zuchillo (Tomato sauce to dress macaroni with).—Take about 1 lb. trimmings of beef, as much fat bacon, all cut into dice, and put them into a saucepan with an onion cut into dice, then thrown into cold water and squeezed dry in a cloth; add or not a clove of garlic; then put the whole into a saucepan, and let it remain on the fire, shaking it occasionally, till the onion is almost melted away; then add parsley, marjoram, thyme, pepper, and salt. Take a piece of conserva (tomato pulp dried in the sun to the consistency of damson cheese), cut it in pieces the size of a pea, put in the pieces a few at a time, always stirring the contents of the saucepan. The conserva must be fresh and soft; if it is old and tough, it must first be softened by kneading it with a little water. When sufficient conserva has been put in, moisten with water a spoonful at a time. Let the whole simmer some 10 minutes longer; then strain, remove superfluous fat, and the sauce is ready. To make zuchillo with fresh tomatoes, cut them in pieces, remove pips, water, and stalks, and then put in the pieces instead of conserva, a few at a time. In this case it is not necessary to moisten with water, but rather to letthe sauce reduce, and be careful not to put in fresh tomatoes until the first lot is somewhat reduced. Another way is to use either fresh or bottled tomato sauce, and put it in a spoonful at a time. The tomato sauce must be in the French form, with no vinegar in it.
Truffle Sauce(Périgueux).—Rub a saucepan with a shallot, melt a piece of butter in it, add a very small quantity of flour and the trimmings of the truffles chopped coarsely; moisten with some good stock free from fat, and a little white wine, season with pepper, salt, and the least bit of nutmeg. Let the sauce simmer about 10 minutes, and it is ready.
Truffle and Chestnut Stuffing.—Mince 1 lb. fat bacon and 2 shallots, give them a turn on the fire in a saucepan; then put in 1 lb. chestnuts, boiled and peeled, and ½ lb. truffles, both cut up in moderate-sized pieces; add pepper, salt, and spices to taste; also a little powdered thyme and marjoram. Give the mixture another turn or two on the fire, and it is ready.
Vanilla Sauce.—Boil 1 pint milk with a piece of vanilla and some loaf sugar, take it from the fire and stir into it the yolks of 3 eggs and 2 teaspoonfuls flour; stir it over the fire till thick. Whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff snow with a spoonful of sifted sugar, and at the moment of serving add the snow to the sauce, not broken up entirely, but just dipping partly under it. Other flavourings may be given if preferred—orange peel or lemon, cinnamon or almonds, according to taste.
Watercress Butter.—Pick the leaves of a quantity of watercress and mince them as fine as you can; then dry them in a cloth, mince them still more, and dry them again. You then knead them with as much fresh butter as they will take up, adding a very little salt and white pepper, and with a couple of butterman’s striped pats shape your watercress butter in as many pats of as many shapes as you are able to work out. Do the same with some plain butter, and serve the two on a glass dish.
Whipped Cream.—Cream should be whipped in a very cool place the afternoon before wanted; flavour delicately with lemon or vanilla, and beat in a little of the finest-sifted white sugar. When it will stand up when heaped with a spoon put on a tammy that is only used for sweet things; place that on a dish in a cool larder to drain till wanted. In London what is called double cream should be used.
White Sauce.—(a) Take a good-sized piece of fresh butter, put on the fire in a perfectly clean small saucepan (a brass pan is best); when the butter is melted stir in 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls flour, when thoroughly mixed with the butter add gently new milk (or cream if wanted rich), stirring all the while till of the proper thickness. Flavour with salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg, and small piece of lemon peel; boil up together. Just before serving add lemon juice to taste, and stir in the yolk of 1 egg off the fire. Great care is required in stirring in the flour and milk over the fire to prevent lumping.
(b) Put 2 oz. fresh butter into a saucepan. As soon as it is melted mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour; mix the two well together. Then add about 1 tumblerful hot water, pepper and salt and nutmeg; stir till the sauce begins to thicken; then stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained.
(c) Put ¾ pint cream into a saucepan with the rind of a lemon, ½ teaspoonful whole white pepper, and a sprig of lemon thyme, and let these infuse for ½ hour, when simmer gently for a few minutes till there is a nice flavour of lemon. Strain it, and add a thickening of 3 oz. butter and 1 dessertspoonful flour; stir this well, and put in the juice of a lemon at the moment of serving. Mix with 1 teacupful white stock, and add a little salt. This sauce should not boil after the cream and stock are mixed together. Milk may be used instead of cream.
(d) 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. flour, ½ pint milk or cream. Make it quite smooth, add 2 oz. gelatine dissolved in a little water. Remove from the fire, add a little lemon juice, strain into a basin, let it cool and thicken. Dip in the pieces of chicken cut into neatjoints, place on a hair sieve; when cool dip them in again, till well covered with the sauce. Arrange on a dish with slices of boiled beetroot round, alternately with the white of hard-boiled eggs. Cut into rings, and the yolk rubbed through a strainer over the chicken. A little salt might be added to the sauce.
Wild Duck Sauce.—Put in a saucepan 1 tablespoonful Harvey’s sauce, 1 tablespoonful Worcester sauce, a little salt, cayenne to taste, a small glass of port wine, and the strained juice of ½ large lemon. Mix well, and make hot. Just before serving stir in—by the side of the fire, not on it—1 large teaspoonful made mustard; pour into a warm sauce tureen, and serve hot.
Wine Sauce(au Vin).—(a) Mix 1 tablespoonful potato flour with 1 gill sherry, beat up another gill of sherry with the yolks of 4 eggs; mix the two together, add powdered loaf sugar and powdered cinnamon to taste, and a third gill of sherry. Put the whole in a saucepan, and keep stirring on the fire until the sauce thickens, when it is ready.
(b) Put 2 oz. butter into a stewpan with a little parsley, a small (blanched) onion, 1 or 2 mushrooms (previously tossed in lemon juice), all finely minced, turn them well over the fire but do not let them brown; add 1 oz. flour, seasoning of salt, pepper, and mace, 1 pint Chablis (or other light wine); simmer gently for ½ hour, skim, and serve hot.
Worcester Sauce.—(a) 15 gal. white vinegar, 10 gal. walnut and mushroom ketchup, 5 gal. Madeira wine, 4 gal. soy, 1 gal. brandy containing ¼ lb. assafœtida, 25 lb. salt, ½ lb. each pimento, coriander, mace, and cinnamon; boil 20 lb. pigs’ liver for 12 hours in 10 gal. water, frequently renewing the water; chop up the liver, work with the water, strain, and mix with the other ingredients.
(b) ½ oz. cayenne pepper, ½ oz. shallots, ½ oz. garlic, ¼ pint Indian soy, 1 qt. white vinegar. Put the 3 first ingredients, after being pounded, into a jar, then pour the vinegar boiling upon them, and before bottling add the soy.
Flavours.—This term is here made to embrace flavouring extracts prepared from fruits, artificial substances which have the odour and flavour of certain fruits, and compounds for flavouring liquors, cigars, &c. The artificial fruit essences are composed chiefly of compound ethers; when tartaric, oxalic, succinic, or benzoic adds enter into their composition it is to be understood that these acids are employed in the form of saturated solutions in cold alcohol.
Almonds, Bitter.—4 oz. oil of bitter almonds, 1 oz. tincture of turmeric, 1 qt. 95 per cent. alcohol.
Apple.—4 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. chloroform, 1 oz. nitric ether, 2 oz. aldehyde, 1 oz. acetate of ethyl, 10 oz. valerianate of methyl, 1 oz. saturated solution oxalic acid in alcohol.
Apricot.—4 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. chloroform, 10 oz. butyrate of ethyl, 5 oz. valerianate of ethyl, 1 oz. œnanthylate of ethyl, 2 oz. salicylate of methyl, 1 oz. butyrate of amyl, 1 oz. saturated solution of oxalic acid in alcohol.
Brandy.—(1) Mash 25 lb. raisins, 12 lb. prunes, 6 lb. figs, 1 lb. sliced pineapple; infuse 15 days in 20 gal. proof spirit, stirring every day; filter.
(2) Put 1 oz. green oil of cognac in ½ gal. 95 per cent. alcohol. Cork tightly, shake frequently for 3 days, and add 2 oz. strong ammonia. Let stand 3 days longer; place in 3 gal. stone jar, 1 lb. fine black tea, 2 lb. prunes (mashed and with the kernels broken); pour on 1 gal. spirit 20 o.p.; cover close; let stand 8 days; filter the liquor, and mix it with that containing the oil and ammonia. Bottle for use. (Monzert.)
(3) 1 pint of (2), 15 gal. fine pure spirit 20 o.p., ½ pint plain white spirit; colour with caramel.
Capsicum.—From powdered capsicums, as black pepper.
Celery.—Bruise 2 oz. celery seed and put into a percolator; pour on 1 pint deodorised alcohol, and water until 1 pint of extract has passed through; triturate with 1 dr. carbonate of magnesia, and filter.
Cherry.—(1) 3 oz. glycerine, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 5 oz. ethyl benzoate, 1 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. saturated solution benzoic acid in alcohol.
(2) Black.—10 oz. ethyl acetate, 5 oz. ethyl benzoate, 2 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. saturated solution oxalic acid in alcohol, 2 oz. solution benzoic acid in alcohol.
Cinnamon.—Dissolve 2 dr. cinnamon oil in 1 pint deodorised alcohol; add gradually 1 pint water, and stir in by degrees 4 oz. powdered Ceylon cinnamon; shake several times, and filter through paper.
Coffee.—Infuse 1 lb. ground roasted coffee in 1 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol.
Coriander.—Mix 4 oz. powdered coriander seed with 1 dr. coriander oil; add to 1½ pint 95 per cent. alcohol and ½ pint water; macerate 24 hours, decant the liquid, put the sediment into a percolator, and pour on it the decanted liquor, adding alcohol until 1 qt. has run through.
Ginger.—Moisten 4 oz. powdered ginger with a little alcohol in a percolator; pour on alcohol till 1½ pint tincture has passed through; mix with 8 oz. syrup.
Gooseberry.—1 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz. ethyl benzoate, 1 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 5 oz. saturated solution tartaric acid, 1 oz. saturated solution succinic acid, 1 oz. saturated solution benzoic acid.
Grape.—10 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. chloroform; 2 oz. aldehyde, 2 oz. ethyl formiate, 10 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. methyl salicylate, 5 oz. saturated solution tartaric acid, 3 oz. saturated solution succinic acid.
Hickory-nut.—Crush 1 bush. hickory nuts, and infuse 1 month in 12 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol; strain and filter.
Lemon.—(1) Partially air-dry 4 oz. outer rind of lemons; bruise in a stone mortar; add 2 qt. deodorised alcohol at 90°, and agitate until the colour is extracted; add 6 oz. recent oil of lemon; let stand till clear; filter.
(2) 5 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. chloroform, 1 oz. nitric ether; 2 oz. aldehyde, 10 oz. ethyl acetate, 10 oz. amyl valerianate, 10 oz. saturated solution tartaric acid, 1 oz. saturated solution succinic acid.
Melon.—3 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. aldehyde, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 4 oz. ethyl butyrate, 5 oz. ethyl valerianate, 10 oz. sebacic ether.
Nutmegs.—Macerate 2 dr. nutmeg oil and 1 oz. powdered mace for 12 hours in 1 qt. deodorised alcohol; filter.
Orange.—(1) As lemon (1), using 4 oz. outer rind of orange, 1 qt. alcohol, and 2 oz. oil of orange.
(2) 10 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. chloroform, 2 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 1 oz. ethyl butyrate, 1 oz. ethyl benzoate, 1 oz. methyl salicylate, 10 oz. amyl acetate, 10 oz. essence of orange, 1 oz. saturated solution tartaric acid.
(3) Steep 1 lb. orange peel in 1 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol 15 days; filter.
Orris.—Infuse 2 oz. powdered orris root for 20 days in 1 qt. 95 per cent. alcohol; filter.
Peach.—(1) 5 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 5 oz. ethyl formiate, 5 oz. ethyl butyrate, 5 oz. ethyl valerianate, 5 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. sebacic ether, 2 oz. methyl salicylate.
(2) Steep 10 gal. dried peaches, 10 gal. oak sawdust, 5 lb. black tea in 40 gal. proof spirit for 1 month; strain and filter.
Pear.—10 oz. glycerine, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 10 oz. amyl acetate.
Pepper, Black.—From powdered pepper, as ginger, pouring on alcohol till 1 qt. has passed through, and omitting the syrup.
Pineapple.—3 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. chloroform, 1 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl butyrate, 10 oz. amyl butyrate.
Plum.—8 oz. glycerine, 5 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 2 oz. ethyl butyrate, 4 oz. ethyl œnanthylate.
Prune.—Infuse 25 lb. mashed prunes for 15 days in 6 gal. proof spirit, stirring every day; press and filter.
Raisin.—Infuse 25 lb. mashed raisins for 15 days in 6 gal. proof spirit, stirring every day; press and filter.
Raspberry.—4 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. nitric ether, 1 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 1 oz. ethyl butyrate, 1 oz. ethyl benzoate, 1 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. sebacic ether, 1 oz. methyl salicylate, 1 oz. amyl acetate, 1 oz. amyl butyrate, 5 oz. saturated solution tartaric acid, 1 oz. saturated solution succinic acid.
Rose.—Bruise 2 oz. 100-leaved roses, macerate in 1 qt. deodorised alcohol, press out the alcoholic extract, add 1 dr. oil of rose, and filter through paper. May be tinted with cochineal.
St. John’s Bread.—Cut up 50 lb. St. John’s bread (carob beans, or locust pods) into small pieces; infuse for 15 days with 12 gal. proof spirit, stirring every day; filter.
Sassafras.—Granulate ½ lb. sassafras bark, and infuse in ½ gal. 95 per cent. alcohol for 20 days; filter.
Soup-herbs.—Put 1 oz. thyme, 1 oz. sweet marjoram, 1 oz. sweet basil, 1 oz. summer savory, 1 dr. celery seed, into a percolator; pour on sufficient alcohol to make 1 pint extract.
Strawberry.—2 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. nitric ether, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 5 oz. ethyl butyrate, 1 oz. methyl salicylate, 3 oz. amyl acetate, 2 oz. amyl butyrate.
Vanilla.—(1) 1 dr. vanilla in slices, infused for 20 days in 1 pint 95 per cent. alcohol; filter.
(2) 1 oz. vanilla in fine pieces, triturated with 2 oz. sugar to coarse powder, placed in a percolator; pour on dilute alcohol till 1 pint has run through; mix with 1 pint syrup.
Coffee.—Before roasting, it is a good plan to wash the berries. They must be thrown into lukewarm water, washed rapidly between the hands, the water changed once, the berries rinsed again, then strained, rubbed between a clean cloth, and put to dry in the sun or beside the fire. This washing does no harm, and certainly cleanses the coffee from dust or colouring, and also serves to prove the quality. The berries that float on the top of the water are not good. Raw berries, when thrown into cold water, should sink at once. But, if preferred, the coffee may be cleansed by rubbing between 2 towels. The roasting of coffee requires great care and attention; its goodness greatly depends on this. If suffered to burn, its aroma is destroyed, and it is made bitter and unwholesome. If not sufficiently browned, neither the strength nor the aroma will be developed, and its taste will be most unpleasant. Examine the berries, pick out any black or discoloured ones, and see that there is no stone among them. Have a clear fire, but not too fierce. Fill the drum half full. This must be constantly turned, but not too quickly, that the berries may be roasted equally. After about 5 minutes good heat, take the drum from the fire and shake it well. Open the slide to let the steam out, return the drum to the heat, continue the turning, and after a short time again withdraw and shake it, then open it to see if the coffee is colouring properly. Should a strong smell of roasting and an apparent smoke escape, and should a slight crackling noise begin, take the drum from the fire, shake it for a minute, open the slide, and if the coffee is too pale, return it to the fire. When it has a fine cinnamon-brown colour, turn it out on a large flat dish, spread it quite apart, and as soon as it is cold, put it in a close-shutting canister or cork it well in dry bottles. A spoonful of moist sugar thrown in with the berries is said to improve the quality in roasting. Those who have not a drum can use an iron stewpan, in which case a little piece of butter half the size of a walnut is melted in the pan, then the coffee berries put in and the lid put on. Every minute it must be shaken and tossed without removing the lid. Have ready a wooden spoon, which should be kept for the purpose, and when the coffee begins to smoke and crack, draw it quickly from the strong heat, and stir it thoroughly till it is nicely browned. It will burn in half a minute by too strong a fire. Finish as stated above. An excellent coffee-roaster is made by Sugg, Charing Cross.
If possible, use freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee; let it be of good quality, with no admixture of chicory. If the beans have not been ground just before they are required for use, put the ground coffee into a plate or dish before the fire, and heat it thoroughly. Pour boiling water through the coffee-pot, put in the coffee—about ½ teacupful for each person—pour on to it perfectly boiling water, and let the pot stand by the fire for a few minutes. These directions will answer equally well, with some slight variations, for Loysell’s coffee-pot, Gen. Hutchinson’s cafetière, or, with the addition of hot water in the outer receptacle, for Ashe’s kaffee-kanne. A capital, though somewhat costly, coffee-pot is sold by E. Boyes, 14 High Street, Borough. Let it be clearly understood that the pot in which coffee is made is of comparatively little consequence, provided that it is scrupulously clean, the water boiling, and not in excess, and that the coffee is pure and plenty of it. If café au lait is required, the milk should be quite hot, but not boiling, and when the coffee is really good and strong, equal quantities of coffee and milk will be found to be the right proportions.
To make café noir, use no percolating, filtering, or steaming engine of any sort. Pound the roasted berries in a mortar to a fine powder, which keep in a tightly corked glass bottle. The coffee-pot may be a tin pannikin of the simplest shape—a truncated cone, or a cylinder rather narrower at the top than at the bottom. To make a cup of coffee, first place into the pannikin 1 teaspoonful (heaped) of the coffee powder, then fill up with water, hot or cold; stir the contents with a teaspoon, and hold the pannikin over the fire or a lighted gas burner; when the contents boil, stir it once more, and again hold it over the fire; then, stirring a third time, pour the contents into a coffee-cup, and as soon as the coffee has sufficiently cooled, by which time the powder is well settled to the bottom, drink it. For those who take sugar, put a sufficient quantity of it into the pannikin before boiling the coffee. When hot water is used, it takes about 1 minute to make 1 cup of coffee.
Foreign Dishes.—The following notes comprise the chief special dishes of various foreign countries. They will afford many a useful hint to the English housewife who is not prejudiced against foreign cookery.
American.—Boston Brown Bread.—1 pint tepid water, 2 gills of wheat flour, 1 pint rye meal, 1 pint of Indian meal, ½ pint molasses, 1½ gill smart yeast, 1 teaspoonful salt, 1 small teaspoonful soda carbonate; mix well, pour it into a tall straight-sided mould with a tight cover. Let it rise 3-4 hours. Steam or boil it for 4-5 hours. Remove the cover and set it in a moderate oven to dry for ½ hour. Serve hot in slices.
Buckwheat Cakes.—Buckwheat depends entirely on its treatment; crushed and kneaded into heavy loaves, it forms the impossible pumpernickel; finely ground and deftly handled, it becomes the famous buckwheat cake. To make the latter well-known dish, 2-3 tablespoonfuls fine buckwheat flour are mixed overnight with a little yeast in order to—as the bakers say—set the sponge. In the morning the “sponge” is added to some buckwheat flour, moistened simply with warm water, when the whole mass “rises” immediately into the form of an excessively light batter. Enough of this batter to make an ordinary muffin (about 2 tablespoonfuls) is placed on the well-anointed “griddle”—a flat piece of iron, well-known in the northern counties of England—the cake is turned quickly with a flat “slice,” and in about 2 minutes assumes a pale brown colour, and is done. This accomplished, the quicker the cake is transferred from the griddle to the mouth the better. Eaten hot it is delicious, but once allowed to settle, becomes heavy and “stodgy” to an inedible degree. These cakes may be eaten with butter and sugar, with molasses, honey, or maple syrup, and are in any way excellent—when hot.
Cheese Biscuits.—Take 4 oz. grated cheese, 3 oz. finely grated breadcrumbs, 2 oz. butter, 1 teaspoonful flour of mustard, 1 saltspoonful cayenne, 1 of white pepper, and 2 beaten-up eggs; melt the butter and mix all the ingredients together, and let them stand an hour. Knead and work out the paste as thin as possible, and cut it intotriangles or roll it up into thin sticks about 3 in. long. Bake in a quick oven for 16-18 minutes; serve hot.
Chow-Chow.—Take 2 heads of cabbage, 2 heads of cauliflower, 2 qt. dwarf onions, 2 qt. small tomatoes, 12 cucumbers, and 6 roots of celery; cut into small pieces and boil each vegetable separately until tender, then strain and take 2 gal. vinegar, ¼ lb. mustard, ¼ lb. mustard seed, 1 pot French mustard, 1 oz. cloves, and 2 oz. turmeric; put the vinegar and spices into a pan, and let them come to the boil, then mix the vegetables, and pour the liquor over.
Chowder.—A chowder is always made in a deep iron pot. Cut 6 oz. pickled pork into dice. Put it, with 2 large onions sliced, into the pot; fry till the onion begins to brown; remove the pork and onions. Slice 5 or 6 medium-sized potatoes and 3 lb. fresh cod or other firm fish. Put into the pot a layer of potatoes, then one of fish, seasoning each layer as you proceed with a sprinkling of the fried onions and pork, also a little soup herbs, pepper, and salt. Pour on cold water enough to barely cover the whole, and boil 20 minutes; then add 3 large ship biscuits soaked in milk, also ½ pint hot milk. As soon as it boils again remove it from the fire, and serve it at once. A cup of claret is sometimes added, but in that case the milk is omitted; or clams are frequently used instead of fish, in which case a layer of sliced or canned tomatoes is added.
Clam Fritters.—Put a sufficient quantity of clams into a stewpan, straining the liquor, and pouring about half of it over the clams, adding a little black pepper, but no salt. Let them stew slowly for ½ hour, then take them out, drain off all the liquor, and mince the clams as finely as possible, omitting the hardest parts. You should have enough clams to make a large pint when minced. Make a batter of 7 eggs, beaten till very thick and light, and then mixed gradually with 1 qt. milk and 1 pint sifted flour, stirred in by degrees, and made perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Then gradually mix the minced clams with the butter, and stir the whole very hard. Have ready, in a frying pan over the fire, a sufficiency of boiling lard. Put the batter in with a spoon, so as to form round thin cakes; fry them light brown. Drain well, and serve hot.
Cucumber Sauce.—(a) Peel some cucumbers, and then grate sufficient to make 4 tablespoonfuls; to this quantity add an equal quantity of the best olive oil, 1½ tablespoonfuls vinegar, salt and cayenne pepper; stir well until wanted for use. Serve with salmon, lamb, or mutton cutlets. (b) Peel some cucumbers, cut them up quite small and put them into a saucepan with a little vinegar, cayenne pepper, salt, a small onion, also cut up, and a few celery seeds. Stew gently for 2-3 hours, add a small pat of butter, and serve with cutlets.
Egg Pie.—Boil 1 doz. eggs hard and put them in cold water to get cold; peel and slice them; butter a pie dish, and then put in the eggs in layers, with butter, breadcrumbs, pepper, and salt between the layers until the dish is full, putting breadcrumbs and butter at the top; pour in a cupful of cream, and bake until the top is brown.
Fish Roe Sauce.—Boil 2 pickled herrings, take out the roes, and while hot mix with them ½ lb. butter, a little parsley and onion finely minced, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice; serve poured over broiled mutton chops, or with boiled fish.
Gumbo Filet.—Cut up a chicken, wash and wipe it perfectly dry, pepper and salt it; fry the pieces until brown in hot butter or lard; sprinkle with flour. Add 2 chopped onions, a little finely minced parsley, together with pounded mace, and a clove or two, and sweet herbs—thyme and marjoram. Pour over a little white stock or broth, and then stir gently to prevent burning, until cooked. Then add sufficient stock and the liquor from 1 qt. oysters. Boil until it is wanted. Just before serving put in the oysters, and sift into it a tablespoonful of the gumbo filet. Stir well to the bottom, let it come to the boil, and serve immediately. Rice boiled as for curry, each grain distinct, should be served with it. Gumbo filet is made of the tender young leaves of the sassafras, picked in spring, and dried carefully in the shade, powdered fine, bottled, and corked.
Ham Steaks.—Cut some slices of raw ham, and put them into a frying pan, with ½ teacupful water. When the water has boiled away, and the steaks (which should be turned) have become a light brown on both sides, dredge them over with flour, and pour over them the following sauce: Take ½ teacupful cream and ½ teacupful milk, put them into a saucepan with a small piece of butter, a teaspoonful of mustard, and a dash of cayenne; let it just boil, and pour over the ham.
Lemon Sauce for Fish.—Put into a saucepan ¼ lb. butter and the juice of a good-sized lemon, with pepper and salt to taste; beat up altogether until thick and quite hot; do not allow it to boil. Remove it from the fire and add the beaten-up yolks of 2 eggs. Serve with boiled fish.
Milk, Thickened.—This is a very popular breakfast dish in New England households. Take 1 qt. milk, 1 small teacupful flour, ½ teaspoonful salt, and 5 lumps white sugar. Take 1 teacupful of the milk to mix the flour, place the rest on the fire. When boiling add the mixed flour, salt, and sugar. Boil 5 minutes. To be eaten with cream, sugar, and spice.
Milk Toast.—Another favourite dish. Take ½ pint milk, 2 teaspoonfuls butter, and a little sauce. Put to heat over the fire; toast slices of bread; lay each slice, as soon as toasted, in a deep dish, and pour the heated milk over it, placing the next slice upon it, with more of the milk. When the dish is filled pour over the remainder of the milk, cover it, and serve hot.
Okra.—Take 2 lb. lean beef, and cut it up into small pieces. Peel ½ gal. tomatoes, remove the seeds and hard parts, and put them, with a small onion chopped up and the beef, into a stewpan (not iron). Simmer gently in some butter for a short space, stirring well, then add the okra—previously cut into slices—and stir again for about 10 minutes. Then add 1 gal. boiling water, season to taste with spices, pepper, and salt. Boil slowly, stirring frequently, and mashing up the okra. Just before serving add a small pat of butter.
Pan Dowdy.—Fill a pudding pan with apples pared, quartered, and cored. Cover the top with a crust rolled out of light bread dough, make a hole in the lid, and set the pan in a brick oven. After it has cooked, lift the crust and add molasses, or brown sugar, a little powdered cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, also 1 tablespoonful butter. Stir it well, cut the crust into square bits, mix all together, cover it with a large plate, return it to the oven for 3-4 hours. Serve hot. A pan dowdy may be baked in a stove oven, in which case the apples had better be stewed, and the crust baked separately, then mix all together and bake 2 hours.
Pork and Beans.—1 qt. navy beans, ½ lb. pickled pork, 2 teaspoonfuls thickly mixed mustard, 1 large tablespoonful molasses. Soak the beans in tepid water all night. Next day change the water, place them on the fire, and boil them a few minutes, not long enough to crack them, drain them, place them in a “bean pot,” or deep earthenware pan, nearly bury the pork in the middle of the beans, add the mustard, molasses, pepper and salt, with enough water to cover the whole. If they become too dry, add a teacupful of water when they are half done. Serve with Boston brown bread.
Pumpkin Pie.—“Punkin” (pumpkin) pie is an invariable adjunct either to dinner or to “a high tea,” a species of repast much affected “down East.” It is prepared in this wise. The prime ripe parts of the pumpkin are carefully separated from the seeds and rind, and gently stewed till quite tender. The pumpkin is then strained through a fine sieve, and eggs and milk are added in sufficient proportion to form a thick custard-like substance; sugar and allspice are then added, and the mixture is put into a flat dish previously lined with good paste, and a little powdered nutmeg is strewed over the top. The pies are then baked in a moderate oven. The thickness of the layer of pumpkin should be 1½-2 in. When well prepared, “punkin pie” is a delicious dish, and is never eaten in America without the accompaniment of a small fragment of cheese.
Tomatoes.—(a) Baked.—Take large tomatoes, wash them, wipe and cut them in two. Put them in a baking tin with the skin downward, season well with pepper and salt, and place in a hot oven. When done put a piece of butter on each tomato, and serve on a hot dish with or without sharp sauce. (b) Cut a very large tomato in half and flour the cut side; heat the pan and lay the slices in, floured side down. When brown turn over, and when quite done dish up and pour over a teacupful of hot cream or milk. (c) Hashed.—Well butter a pie dish, put in a layer of sliced tomato, then a layer of any kind of cold meat (sliced very thin or minced), then a layer of thin bread and butter, and so on till the dish is full. Season the whole well and bake till quite brown. (d) Stewed.—Put ripe tomatoes into hot water, and when scalded take off the skins; throw them into an earthen pipkin, cut in slices, and stew gently till tender. Season with butter, pepper, and salt; and serve with sippets of buttered toast. In some parts of America breadcrumbs and sugar are added to the stew instead of other seasoning.
Veal Cake.—Take 3 lb. veal and chop it up very finely with ¼ lb. pork, 1 cupful breadcrumbs, 3 teaspoonfuls salt, 1 of black pepper, ½ teaspoonful cayenne, and a few cloves. Mix all well together with 2 raw eggs. Put it into a plain mould and steam for 2 hours; then put into a cool oven for a short time just to dry it. Turn it out, when cold, and cut it into thin slices. Garnished with aspic jelly, it makes a very nice luncheon dish.
White Cabbage Salad.—Set a firm white cabbage in cold water, and let it stand some hours, then dry well and shred very fine. For the dressing take a piece of butter the size of a walnut and a tablespoonful of flour, mix well, and add 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar; scald for a minute, then add the beaten yolk of 1 egg and 2 tablespoonfuls cream, with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over and serve.
Whortleberry Cakes.-¾ cupful sugar, ¼ cupful butter, 1 cupful milk, 3 cupfuls sifted flour, 1 heaping teaspoonful baking powder, 1 small teaspoonful salt, 2 eggs, 1 heaping pint whortleberries. Mix the baking powder with the flour, beat the butter and sugar to a cream, add the milk and beaten eggs, then the flour, stirring in lastly the berries over which you have previously dredged a little of the flour. Pour into 12 small tin cups buttered and heated, serve hot for breakfast or tea, with butter. They can be baked in muffin rings.
Belgian.—Asparagus.—(a) Boil in the usual way as much asparagus as required, and arrange it neatly on a folded napkin in a flat dish. Boil some eggs hard (allowing one egg to each person), and divide them in halves lengthwise. Border the asparagus with these halves, placing them with the yolks upwards. Serve this dish very hot, and send to table with it a sufficient quantity of butter, simply melted and made quite hot, but without any thickening.
(b) Having cut all the hard white part from some cold boiled asparagus, arrange it neatly on a dish, and cover it with a thick mayonnaise sauce. Place round this some slices of cold boiled ham, cut very thin and rolled. Alternate these with halves of hard-boiled eggs, as in (a), and garnish with small sprays of parsley. Forced eggs, flavoured with ham or tongue, may be used with this dish instead of the ham and eggs, if preferred.
(c) Cut the tender parts of some boiled asparagus into lengths of 2 in.; mince finely some parsley and young onions with a few leaves of lettuce; put them in a saucepan with butter, a little water, salt, pepper, a little nutmeg, and a pinch of flour; simmer, stirring occasionally, until the onions, &c., are done. Scald the asparagus in this, and serve very hot with croutons of fried bread. Small sprigs of cauliflower, broccoli, or peas which have been previously boiled are also good served in this way. If for peas, a little sugar may be added when liked.
Flamande Sauce.—This is an excellent sauce with which to serve almost any vegetable that has been previously cooked. It is made thus: Put into a saucepan butter, a slice of lemon, salt, pepper, and a little water; scald in this the vegetable to bere-warmed, drain, and put it into a dish. Thicken the sauce with a pinch of flour and the yolks of 2 eggs, and serve with the vegetable at once. Care must be taken not to curdle this.
Greens.—(a) Boil some turnip or any other greens preferred; mince, drain them well, and put them into an enamelled stewpan, with enough thick cream to moisten them; add white pepper, salt, and, if liked, a soupçon of grated nutmeg. Stir well together over the fire until quite hot. Have ready as many well-flavoured sausages as you require, baked brown. Arrange the greens in a mould in the centre of an entrée dish, and garnish them with the sausages. New milk and butter may take the place of cream if preferred.
(b) Prepare some greens, as in (a), and arrange them so as to cover the centre of the dish on which they are served. Poach some eggs in shapes for the purpose; or, when poached, trim them round. Place these upon the greens, and arrange round the dish alternately thin slices of ham rolled and toasted, and sippets of dry toast.
Mackerel.—(a) Remove the bones and skin from some cold boiled mackerel, and arrange the flakes in a rather high mound in the centre of a flat dish. Cover these with a thick mayonnaise sauce, made green by mixing with it either finely chopped fennel, parsley, tarragon, or chives. If either of the two former, it should be just scalded first. Garnish with prawns or crawfish and sprays of paisley and fennel. Mustard and cress or Italian corn salad can take the place of the parsley and fennel for garnish.
(b) Having cleaned some fresh mackerel, divide each fish into 4 or 6 pieces, according to size. Stew them until tender in enough sauce to cover them. For this use white sauce, made with veal stock, flavoured delicately with essence of shrimps or anchovies, salt, cayenne, and the juice of a lemon. A strip of lemon peel should be stewed with the fish, and removed before it is served. Open 2-3 doz. mussels, remove the yellow part from them, and wash them in their liquor; blanch them in the sauce, drain, and arrange them round the fish, and pour the sauce over.
Shoulder of Mutton.—Choose a small fresh shoulder, and steep it in a marinade. To make this, simmer for 20 minutes in 1 pint water 2 or 3 bay leaves, a bunch of parsley and lemon thyme, an onion, 3 cloves, 1 teaspoonful each pimento berries and black peppercorns, and a small piece of ginger; add 1 teacupful each claret and brown sugar, and ½ teacupful vinegar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the marinade at boiling point. Pour it into a shallow pan that will just hold your shoulder of mutton, and, when cold, put the mutton in, and keep it turned and basted with the pickle every day from 4 days to a week, according to the weather. When ready, remove the bones from the mutton, and fill the hollows with a forcemeat, as for veal kidney (below). Bind the shoulder into shape, and roast it until well done. It should be well floured and basted, that it may be well browned. Have ready 1 lb. French plums (not prunes) stewed in equal parts of claret and water, and a lump or two of sugar. Arrange these, with the liquid in which they were cooked, in the dish round the mutton. To make the gravy, put the bones from the mutton in a saucepan with 1 pint stock and 1 wineglassful of the marinade, and simmer until the liquid is reduced to ½ pint. Pour this to the gravy in the pan, remove as much of the fat as possible, and thicken the gravy slightly with brown roux. Send it to table with the mutton as hot as possible. A loin or fillet of mutton will answer as well as the shoulder. The same marinade can be used 2 or 3 times if it be first reboiled and skimmed. This recipe is very useful if you want to keep meat for a few days in hot weather, but it must be watched carefully and protected from flies.
Veal Kidney.—Remove the skin and fat from a veal kidney, and cut it in halves lengthwise. Mix with ½ lb. sausage meat 1 teacupful fine breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful truffles cut into pieces the size of very small peas, an egg slightly beaten, pepper and salt. Mix these well together with a fork. Cover each half of the kidney with this stuffing, and wrap them securely in pieces of pig’s caul, large enough to allow for the forcemeatswelling a little. Put them in an enamelled baking tin with a little butter, and bake them ¾-1 hour, according to the size of the kidney, basting now and then until nicely browned. Cut them into slices about 1 in. thick, and arrange them in 2 rows in an entrée dish, with each slice overlapping the other. For the sauce, thicken slightly ⅓ pint strong stock with brown roux (flour and butter stirred together on the fire till brown). Pour this to the gravy in the pan, and strain it into a saucepan; remove as much of the fat as possible, add 1 wineglassful sherry, and stir over the fire until the sauce is at boiling point. Serve in the dish with the kidneys. Pork kidneys not divided are good dressed in this way, as also are thick strips of calf’s liver.
Canadian.—Codfish Balls.—Take equal quantities mashed potatoes and boiled codfish minced fine; to each ½ lb. allow 1 oz. butter and a well-beaten egg; mix thoroughly. Press into balls between 2 spoons; drop into hot lard, and fry till brown.
Cookies.—Mix together 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar, 1 lb. flour, and ½ teaspoonful soda carbonate; rub in ¼ lb. butter; make into a soft paste, with 3 eggs beaten, 1 dessertspoonful cream or milk, and essence of almond to taste; roll out 1 in. thick, and cut into biscuits with a wineglass. Bake 10 minutes in a moderate oven. They must be kept in a dry place, and will continue good for 3 months.
Corn Bread Loaf.—Ingredients: Yellow meal, 2 cups; flour, 1 cup; cream of tartar, 2 teaspoonfuls; soda and salt, 1 teaspoonful; eggs, 2; sugar (golden) ½ teacup: butter, 2 oz.; new milk, 2 cups. Mode: Mix salt, soda, and cream of tartar with flour and meal, cream the butter, and beat the eggs and sugar together, and add to the mixture, stirring in the milk lastly, and beating the butter well till smooth. Bake in buttered round iron cake pans, 4 in. deep. This loaf should be cut from the centre, like a tart. Sometimes honey is substituted for the sugar, or the loaf made without sugar, split and spread with honey, and then cut as above.
Corn Meal Muffins.—Warm milk, 1 pint; flour, 1 cup; sugar, 1 tablespoonful; salt, 1 teaspoonful; compressed yeast, 1 cake. Mix well, and add enough corn meal to make a thin batter. Set to rise overnight. In the morning add 1 teaspoonful soda dissolved in warm water, and 1 oz. melted butter. Bake in muffin tins. These yeast muffins do not, like those made with soda, get heavy when cold.
Cream Toast.—Toast even slices of white bread a light golden brown. Scald the cream, and thicken with a very little cornflour, just the consistency of custard. Simmer till well done and no raw taste left. Stir in a piece of butter, and pour some of it evenly between layers of the hot toast.
Crullers.—Rub 2 oz. butter into 10 oz. flour and 1 tablespoonful white sugar. Knead into a stiff paste, with 3 eggs beaten—if the eggs are not sufficient to moisten the flour, 1 spoonful milk can be added. Flavour with lemon or almond, and leave it an hour covered with a cloth. Pinch off pieces, the size of small eggs; roll them out into an oval shape the size of your hand, and the thickness of half-a-crown. Cut 3 slits with a paste cutter or knife, in the centre of each oval; cross the 2 middle bars, and draw up the 2 sides between; put your finger through, and drop the cruller into boiling lard in a stewpan wide enough to admit of 3 at once. Turn them as they rise, and, when a light brown, take them up with a fork and lay them on a dish, with paper underneath them. They are best eaten within 2 days after they are made; but, if kept longer, it recrisps them to place them in a moderate oven for 10 minutes; 2-3 lb. lard are required, and what is left will do again with the addition of a little more.
Johnny Cake.—Mix together 2 teacups Indian meal, ½ cup flour, 2 tablespoonfuls brown sugar, 2 teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, 1 of soda carbonate, and 1 of salt. Rub in 1 tablespoonful butter, add milk enough to make a cake batter, and bake in a greased pound cake tin. It is best eaten hot, with plenty of butter.
Waffles.—(a) Rice.—Boiled rice, 1 cup; eggs, 3; butter, 1 oz.; sour milk, 2 cups; salt and soda, 1 teaspoonful each. Stir the rice to separate the grains well; add the butter creamed, and the eggs frothed; dissolve the soda, stir into the milk; add to themixture with flour enough to make a batter, rather thick; heat the waffle irons and rub well with butter; fill ¾ only, and bake carefully.
(b) Raised.—Sifted flour, 1 qt.; salt, 1 teaspoonful; warm milk, 1½ pint; compressed yeast, ½ cake, or 3 tablespoonfuls liquid yeast: creamed butter, 2 oz. Set the yeast, with the warm milk, butter, and salt, to rise overnight. When required in the morning, add 3 eggs, well beaten, and ½ teaspoonful soda dissolved in warm water. Heat the waffle irons, butter them well, and fill nearly ¾ full; take care not to scorch them.
(c) Cream.—Sifted flour, 4 cups; soda, cream of tartar, and salt, 1 teaspoonful each; eggs, 3; cream, 2 cups. Mix the soda and cream of tartar, and salt with the dry flour, mix the beaten yolks with the cream, and make a smooth batter. Add the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth. Butter the waffle irons, and fill ¾ full. Bake a light brown.
Cape.—Bobotie.—Take a small leg of mutton and mince it very fine, add to the bones and sinews 1 pint water and let it simmer slowly for ½ hour, then soak a thick slice of white bread in the hot broth and when cool mix it with the meat, to which add 6 eggs, well beaten. Take 2 large white onions, chop them very fine, with a clove of garlic and some salt, fry them in butter until brown, then stir in 1 tablespoonful good Indian curry powder and mix the whole well together. Put into a pie dish or cups, putting a lemon leaf and a small lump of butter into each cup, then put in the meat mixture: beat up an egg with a little milk and rub over the top, cover with lemon leaves and bake for 1 hour. As lemon leaves are not always obtainable in England, a small piece of lemon peel for the flavouring, and vine leaves to keep from burning would perhaps not be a bad substitute.
Sasatijs.—Much the same as the Indian “kabobs.” Take a leg of mutton and cut the best part of it—about 3 lb.—into small squares, then chop a plateful of sliced white onion fried in butter, to which add 1 tablespoonful of good curry powder and 1 cup tamarind water or vinegar; stir the meat into the sauce, and let it stand for a whole night, then thread the meat upon thin bamboo sticks, or very slender wooden skewers, lean and fat pieces alternately; grill upon the gridiron just before they are required, and serve very hot with rice. The sauce must be boiled and also served very hot. This is a favourite dish at Cape picnics, and when travelling with the bullock waggon. The sasatijs are always left on the bamboo sticks when served up. To boil rice for Sasatijs.—To 1 cup good whole rice take exactly 3 cups cold water, add a pinch of salt; boil in an enamelled saucepan, but do not stir the rice. When the water is apparently all absorbed by the rice, tilt the lid of the pot and let it steam dry.
Dutch.—Bloaters, Pickled.—Take 1 doz. bloaters, wash them thoroughly, well drain and dry them, and lay them in enough milk to completely cover them. When they have lain in this for 24 hours, drain them thoroughly, and lay them in a pie dish with 6 slices of lemon and the same quantity of Spanish or Portugal onion, 4 bay leaves, 2 oz. capers, 12 cloves, and about 18 peppercorns, and as much oil and vinegar in equal proportions as will completely cover the herring. Lay them by in a cool place till wanted.
Eel Patties.—Skin, clean, and wash an eel, cut it up into small pieces, and cover it with vinegar. Melt in a saucepan 2 oz. butter, stir into it 1 tablespoonful flour, and 2 tablespoonfuls stock or broth, well freed from fat, add the finely minced rind of ½ lemon, some chopped capers, 1 teaspoonful minced parsley, with salt and nutmeg to taste. Take the pieces of eel out of the vinegar, put them into the sauce, and let them stew until thoroughly cooked. Have some patty-pans lined with short paste, put into each 1, 2, or 3 pieces of eel, cover over with the same paste, make a small opening in the cover, brush them over with an egg, and bake in a quick oven. The sauce should be well reduced, and served separately.
Herring Salad.—Thoroughly wash 4 soft-roed bloaters, remove the bones and skin, and put the roes aside; arrange the 4 fillets of each fish neatly round a dish. Chopfinely and separately the whites and yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, also some parsley, some shallot or parboiled onion, and some pickled beetroot, keeping each separate. Lay these different things in some sort of pattern in the centre of the dish. Take the roes and mash them by means of a spoon with enough oil and vinegar, in the proportions of 2 to 1, to make a thickish sauce; add pepper to taste, and pour the same over the herring fillets, avoiding to disarrange the minced eggs, &c., in the centre.
Oysters.—(a) Open some oysters, beard them, and loosen them carefully from their shells. Sprinkle over each oyster a small proportion of anchovies, well washed, boned, and finely minced, a little pounded mace, squeeze over a few drops of lemon juice, add a small piece of butter, and lastly sprinkle a little flour or fine breadcrumbs over. Put the shells into a slow oven to bake until the contents are of a light brown colour. Serve very hot with cut lemons.
(b) Remove some oysters from their shells, and put them into a stewpan with their liquor; add 4 finely minced, boned, and skinned sardines, the juice of ½ lemon, a few chopped capers, and grated nutmeg to taste; lastly, add flour and butter in due proportions, and stew gently until cooked. Have ready some shapes lined with short paste. Put 2 or 3 oysters into each, cover over with paste, make an incision in the top, and bake in a quick oven.
(c) When they have been well cleaned put them, with some sea-water, some lemon juice, and grated nutmeg, into a saucepan. Let them just come once to the boil, remove them from the fire, and let them stand until the next day, then put them into earthenware jars, pour melted butter over them, and keep them in a cool place. When prepared in this way they can be used for patties, sauces, and also for scalloping.
(d) Soak for one night 3 or 4 herring-roes, dry them on a cloth, and cut them up in 3 or 4 pieces, about the size of an oyster. Get some scallop shells, put in each a piece of fresh butter the size of a small nut, the least bit of pounded mace, a few drops of anchovy sauce, or ¼ anchovy well washed, boned, and minced. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice and sprinkle a little flour or breadcrumbs over; then lay a piece of roe on this, with 3 or 4 capers, and again sprinkle a little flour or breadcrumbs over, and put them into a slow oven till they begin to colour.
Parsley and Lemon Sauce.—Wash a handful of parsley and mince it up finely with the pulp and rind of a lemon; melt a pat of butter in a saucepan, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, add the minced parsley and lemon, sufficient broth or stock to make the sauce, a little pounded mace and a few capers; stir over the fire, and when partly cooked add, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up.
Pike.—(a) Soup.—Boil until quite soft 2 oz. well-washed rice in sufficient salt and water, with a small piece of butter. Take 1 lb. flesh of pike well freed from bones and skin, divide it into small pieces, and toss them in butter until cooked; mince it finely, together with 3 hard-boiled yolks of eggs, pound in a mortar, and stir them into the rice, with salt and pepper to taste; add sufficient water to make the soup, and pass the whole through a fine sieve. Let the soup come to the boil, and serve over small sippets of toast.
(b) Stewed, with Butter Sauce.—Prepare some stock. Cleanse the fish, remove the inside, cut off the fins, rub it well with salt, and pour over it a glass of vinegar. Lay the fish in the stock, and simmer gently until thoroughly cooked, strain, and serve with the following sauce: Put 3 oz. butter in a saucepan, add to it 2 spoonfuls milk and some grated nutmeg, add sufficient stock strained from the fish to make the sauce. Let the sauce boil, then add, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with 1 gill cream, pour over the fish, and serve. This dish is improved by stewing the fish the previous day, then allowing it to get cold in the stock, and stewing it a second time when wanted.
Sardine Sauce.—Remove the tails, skin, and bone from 1 doz. sardines, cut them up into small pieces. Take a shallot, a small quantity of parsley, and the thin rind and pulp of ½ lemon; mince all very finely. Melt in a saucepan a pat of butter with1 tablespoonful flour. When it has taken colour, add the above mince, with enough stock to make the sauce; let it boil, and lastly add a little grated nutmeg.
Sorrel Sauce.—Pick from the stalks and wash carefully 2 handfuls of sorrel, drain, and then chop it somewhat coarsely. Melt in a saucepan a pat of butter, mix with it 1 small tablespoonful flour, add the sorrel and ½ pint cream, a little stock, salt, and grated nutmeg; let it come to the boil, and it is ready.
Trout.—(a) Choose small fish, cleanse and wash them, remove the fins, and rub them well over with salt; mix a handful of flour with some salt and pepper, roll the fish over in it, and then fry them in hot fat until of a light brown colour, drain and serve.
(b) Take some rather small trout, remove the insides, cut off the fins, wash them carefully, and sprinkle them with vinegar. Put into a stewpan one pint of stock or broth well freed from fat, ½ pint wine, ¼ pint vinegar, a few slices of onion, some parsley, bay leaf, whole pepper and salt to taste, lay the trout in this and simmer gently, without letting them quite boil, until done. Strain off the sauce, place the fish on a hot dish, garnish with parsley, and serve either with oil and vinegar, or with the following sauce. Melt a small piece of butter in a saucepan, stir into it 1 tablespoonful flour, and add some of the strained sauce from the fish, let it boil, and pour over the trout.
German.—Beer Soup.—Bake to a good dark-brown ½ lb. bread, which has been previously soaked in oiled fresh butter, crumble it up, and add 1½ pint beer, the same quantity of red wine, some thin rind of lemon peel finely chopped, some cinnamon, cloves, and pounded white sugar. Boil the whole up lightly, and serve with some thin slices of bread fried in butter, laid on the top.