Cost of living.Thefollowing receipts are furnished by a lady who for many years solved the problem of providing nourishment for a family of three persons upon a very small income. The average expenditure each day for three meals did not exceed twenty centsper capita, or four dollars and twenty cents a week for the family; and great care was taken to secure for this sum the greatest possible amount of nourishment. In families where meat is not considered a daily necessity, this price might be further reduced.Care required in cooking cheap cuts of meat.It is, of course, very much easier to supply coarse qualities of food for a low sum than refined and dainty dishes, but, after all, it is more a matter of the care given to the preparation than of the food itself which produces refined results; for instance, beef, which is very nourishing, is least suited to these requirements, because the less expensive portions, which often contain the most nutriment, cannot be served as daintily as either veal or mutton without a large amount of care and trouble; this it is often difficult to give personally, and almost impossible to secure in a low-priced cook. Still, it is worth while for any housekeeper desirous of obtaining the maximum nourishment at minimum cost, to try the following receipts for using the most inexpensive portion of beef that can be bought,i. e., the shin, which costs about eight cents a pound.
Cost of living.Thefollowing receipts are furnished by a lady who for many years solved the problem of providing nourishment for a family of three persons upon a very small income. The average expenditure each day for three meals did not exceed twenty centsper capita, or four dollars and twenty cents a week for the family; and great care was taken to secure for this sum the greatest possible amount of nourishment. In families where meat is not considered a daily necessity, this price might be further reduced.
Care required in cooking cheap cuts of meat.It is, of course, very much easier to supply coarse qualities of food for a low sum than refined and dainty dishes, but, after all, it is more a matter of the care given to the preparation than of the food itself which produces refined results; for instance, beef, which is very nourishing, is least suited to these requirements, because the less expensive portions, which often contain the most nutriment, cannot be served as daintily as either veal or mutton without a large amount of care and trouble; this it is often difficult to give personally, and almost impossible to secure in a low-priced cook. Still, it is worth while for any housekeeper desirous of obtaining the maximum nourishment at minimum cost, to try the following receipts for using the most inexpensive portion of beef that can be bought,i. e., the shin, which costs about eight cents a pound.
Take a slice about one inch thick, cut toward the smaller end of the shin, so that the little round bone in the center is quite small. This is fairly manageable, and can by careful cooking be rendered as tender as a sirloin steak. Place the slice in a stewpan, cover it with water, add salt, and set it upon the far end of the grate for three hours, never allowing it to boil. If by that time it is fairly tender, cover it with vegetables cut in very small dice—carrots, turnips, and one large onion; advance the pot nearer to the fire, and let it simmer another hour. Push aside the vegetables, take the meat out carefully, and lay it on the dish; pile the vegetables upon its center, then carefully thicken the liquor, and if necessary brown it with a drop or two of burnt sugar, and pour this gravy over the beef.
Take about two and a half pounds of the thicker part of the shin, place it in an iron pot with two tablespoonfuls of drippings. Turn it as it browns. When brown enough put it in astew-pan; add enough water to cover it, a large onion stuck full of cloves, and half a carrot cut into slices. Let it simmer four hours, remove the meat and onion and carrot, thicken the liquor, and serve in a dish large enough to allow plenty of gravy. If, after removing the meat, the liquor appears too rich, pour off the fat before thickening.
Round Steak.Round steak can be used instead of shin for both these receipts, but costs just double the price. It requires far less cooking and calls for less care, and if carefully and slowly stewed for one hour makes a very appetizing dish.Another very appetizing dish, much used by people of small means in England, is beefsteak pudding, for which it is also possible to use the shin, by stewing it beforehand, and cutting it up when perfectly tender into small pieces; but it is usually made of round steak as follows:
Round Steak.Round steak can be used instead of shin for both these receipts, but costs just double the price. It requires far less cooking and calls for less care, and if carefully and slowly stewed for one hour makes a very appetizing dish.
Another very appetizing dish, much used by people of small means in England, is beefsteak pudding, for which it is also possible to use the shin, by stewing it beforehand, and cutting it up when perfectly tender into small pieces; but it is usually made of round steak as follows:
Line a pudding-basin with a plain crust made of chopped suet and flour mixed with water, and simply rolled out once an inch thick; cut up a pound of round steak, and sprinkle with flour, pepper, and salt; chop a small onion fine, put all into the lined basin, add a cup of water, cover over with the suet crust, and tie it in a well-floured cloth. Have a saucepan full of water boiling rapidly, and put the basin in, the opening downwards; leave the lid off the saucepan, and let it boil two and one half hours, adding water if it boils away. A sheep’s kidney cut up small adds richness to the gravy.
Menus.Sometimes, where great economy must be practised, and the sum allowed for the entire meal for three people is only sixty cents, it is difficult to remember just such accessories in the way of vegetables as are as inexpensive in their way as the meat, and for this reason the following very modest menus are offered as samples of what can be accomplished in the way of very inexpensive dinners.
Menus.Sometimes, where great economy must be practised, and the sum allowed for the entire meal for three people is only sixty cents, it is difficult to remember just such accessories in the way of vegetables as are as inexpensive in their way as the meat, and for this reason the following very modest menus are offered as samples of what can be accomplished in the way of very inexpensive dinners.
POTATO BALLS, SCOTCH BROTH, TURNIPS WITH WHITE SAUCE, TAPIOCA AND APPLES
This is an excellent winter dinner.
Scotch Broth.—Buy for four persons one pound or one and a quarter pounds of scrag of mutton; chop it into pieces, and put it into an iron pot with one quart of water, one large onion cut into slices, and a small cupful of pearl barley. Let it simmer for two hours, adding a little water if it becomes too thick. Serve boiling hot with the mutton in it.
This is very inexpensive. The scrag of mutton costs from eight to ten cents; the barley is eight cents a pound—about two cents’ worth is sufficient; the onion may be reckoned as one cent. It can be made a little more costly by buying what is called the best end of the neck. Six or eight chops would weigh the pound and a quarter required, and would cost perhaps twelve to fourteen cents. The chops look somewhat better than the chopped-up scrag, but the nourishing quality is as good in the latter.
Potato Balls.—Choose large potatoes, and with a scoop cut out small balls; boil these and serve them sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Turnips.—Cut into small dice, boil until tender, throw away the water, and serve with a white sauce made of milk, flour, and a teaspoonful of butter. Two turnips are sufficient for a dish.
Tapioca and Apples.—Apples are cheap early in the winter. Three or four at a cent apiece should be pared and cored, and placed in a low baking-dish with two dessertspoonfuls of tapioca, and enough water to cover the whole. Bake in a slow oven. By soaking the tapioca over night a less quantity will do, say, one and a quarter spoonfuls.
N. B.—Both sago and tapioca are very economical because, when soaked over night, they swell greatly, and they can both be cooked with water, instead of milk, with good results.
STUFFED POTATOES, VEAL WITH WHITE SAUCE, PURIFIED CABBAGE, RENNET CUSTARD
Buy one and a quarter pounds of leg of veal at ten cents a pound; cut the meat into dice, and place it in a stew-pan with a piece of mace and a pint of milk. Place it back of the fire so that it will not burn, and thicken it before serving with a teaspoonful of flour.
Stuffed Potatoes.—Bake four large potatoes until nearly done; then cut in half, remove the insides, beat them up with milk, replace in the skins, and serve in a pyramid.
Purified Cabbage.—Cut a cabbage into thin strips as if for salad; boil it in salted water, but every time the water comes to the boiling point throw it away for three successive times; after the third boiling use milk instead of water, and add a little nutmeg. If nicely cooked in this way, cabbage is as palatable and as digestible as cauliflower.
STEWED CARROTS, CHOPS WITH PARSLEY SAUCE, CREAM POTATOES,APPLE DUMPLINGS
Chops cut from the shoulder of mutton are cheaper than either neck or loin chops, and are as good, perhaps better, for boiling. Put the chops on in enough cold water to cover them; let them simmer for half an hour, and at the end of that time come just to a boil; pour off the liquor into the stock-pot, and lay the chops on a hot dish; make some white sauce of one ounce of butter, one teaspoonful of flour, and a cup of milk; add chopped parsley, and pour over the chops.
To stew carrots cut them in very thin rounds, lay them in a stew-pan with enough water to more than cover. Let them boil till tender, about one quarter of an hour; then thicken the liquor with flour, and add a tiny bit of butter.
BOILED ONIONS, CURRY, RICE, STEWED PRUNES
Curry can be made of a variety of materials. The best for the purpose are the white meats, veal, pork, or chicken; and although curried cooked meat is a satisfactory substitute for hash, it is not on the whole commendable. The Indian receipt for ordinary curry is as follows:
Cut the fowl or meat into joints or fair-sized pieces; dip each piece in curry powder, or sprinkle freely with it; cut up a large onion, and have a clove of garlic. Put all together in a frying-pan, the bottom of which is covered with melted butter (drippings or lard will do); fry until thoroughly brown, turning continually. When brown, remove meat into a stew-pan; make a gravy with flour and water (or stock) in the frying-pan from which the meat was taken; strain it over the meat, and then add a few drops of lemon, or a little Worcester sauce—and set the stew-pan on the side of the stove and let it simmer for two hours. The meat should be so tender that it can be readily separated by a fork. A knife should never be used. Eggs make a delicious curry. Boil them hard, shell, and cut in halves; make a curry gravy as above, and pour over them. Serve with rice around the dish.
Rice.—The proper way to serve rice with curry is perfectly dry, and this is best secured by throwing a cupful (for an ordinary dish) into water which is already boiling hard. Let it continue to boil rapidly until the water has all boiled away, leaving the lid off. The rice will then be almost tender, and by removing to the side of the stove the evaporation will continue, and the rice drying off will be easily separable grain from grain, which is the proper way. The success of this method depends upon having plenty of water in the first instance.
Madrascurry is differently made, and is served dry. For it, proceed as for the other curry by frying all the ingredients together in butter or drippings, but when brown continue to fry until the meat is done; then at the last moment add a sprinkling of curry powder, shake the pan, and turn all the contents onto a hot dish. Serve with rice.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS, LIVER SAUTÉ, POTATOES, RICE PUDDING
Calf’s liver can be so cooked as to be both delicate and easily digested. The German method is a very good one. Remove any outer skin, and cut the liver into very thin slices. Have a pan with salted boiling water and throw in the liver. It will require only about five minutes’ cooking if the slices are thin enough. Take them out, lay them on a hot dish, and make a gravy by frying a cut-up onion and when brown pouring in the liquor used to boil the liver, thickening with flour and browning if necessary. Add at the last moment one half a large spoonful of vinegar.
Liver balls may be made by using the liver left over, chopping it very fine with an onion, some sage, or thyme (as may be preferred), bread-crumbs and a beaten egg, and frying in hot lard.
Liver should be accompanied by a green vegetable, for which reason Brussels sprouts are suggested. They should be cooked in salted water, drained, and served with white sauce, flavored with nutmeg.
FRIED SWEET POTATOES, BREAST OF MUTTON, CAPER SAUCE, STRING-BEANS (TEN CENTS A CAN), APPLE PIE
Breast of mutton is the cheapest of all mutton, and being very fat, is considered unprofitable, but by care it can be made both palatable and economical. Buy about three pounds of breast; place it in a pan over a slow fire until a good deal of the fat has melted, but avoid letting it brown; pour away the fat as it melts, and when fairly free of it place the meat in a stew-pan with an onion cut up, and enough water to cover it, and a little thyme. Let it cook very slowly, only simmering for two hours; then lay on a hot dish, and pour caper sauce over it. If it is still fat skim often while simmering.
Tomato.—Turn a can of tomatoes into a stew-pan, and let come to a boil; fry some bread in dice, place them at the bottom of a soup tureen, and rub the tomatoes through a colander over them; put the pulp left in the colander back into the stewpan; add water, let it boil up, and strain again into the tureen; stir in a teaspoonful of butter, season with pepper and salt, and serve.
Carrot.—Boil half a dozen large carrots until quite tender; then rub them through a colander into a saucepan; add a pint and a half of water to the pulp, and boil; thicken with a little flour, and add a teaspoonful of butter, pepper and salt.
Potato.—Boil half a dozen large potatoes; rub them through a sieve (coarse hair is the best) into a saucepan in which there have been placed a shredded onion, some chopped parsley, and about a cupful of milk. Stir in the potato pulp, and thin with water. Season with pepper and salt.
Bean.—Soak some beans over night, boil for one hour; add an onion when nearly soft, rub them through a colander into a tureen in which have been already placed some onions fried in butter or lard, and add water if too thick.
Celery.—Take the cast-off leaves and hard ends of a bunch of celery, and let them boil until perfectly shredded; then strain the water into some thickened milk, and let it all come to the boiling point, but not boil. Season with butter, pepper and salt. It is a very good addition to this soup to break an egg into the tureen, and pour the soup upon it.
Stock can be used in any of these soups instead of water.
Thesubject of bacteria in foods has of late become a matter of careful scientific study, and the fact has been established that milk is one of the most subtle of disease-carriers. Hence every careful mother, before giving it to her children, subjects it to the sterilizing process, which is simply raising it to the degree of heat which destroys the germs. It is found, however, that this does not kill the spores or seeds of the bacilli, and so the operation is but a partially successful expedient. (To render it really sterile requires heating several times on successive days.) It has also been found that sterilizing milk robs it of its antiscorbutic qualities, and that children fed entirely upon it are subject to bleeding gums and other symptoms of scurvy. Milk should be fresh as possible, as the longer it stands the greater will be the number of bacteria, and less rich the milk in the substances on which they feed. The first point to emphasize in the simple process of sterilization is perfect cleanliness. Rounded bottles should be used, as they are easier to clean. They should be well rinsed as soon as emptied, and left to soak in soda and water, and before use they should be subjected to a good scrubbing with scalding water and a piece of cloth tied onto a stick or wire. The brushes made for cleaning bottles should be avoided, as they are more than likely to be full of germs themselves. Turn the fresh milk into the bottles as soon as cleaned. Fill them to within an inch of the top, and stop them with antiseptic cotton. The sterilizing is effected bykeeping the bottles in boiling water or in live steam for at least half an hour. The water in the boiler should be cold at first, and the heat raised gradually. This, as well as not letting the bottles rest on the bottom of the kettle, will prevent their breaking. Sterilizers are made which are both cheap and convenient, but any kettle well covered will answer the purpose. The time for cooking should be counted from the moment the water boils. Let the bottles remain in the water until cooled, and do not remove the stopper until the milk is to be used.
(RECEIPT OBTAINED IN ENGLAND.)
Put a panful of milk in a cold place for twenty-four hours, or in summer for twelve hours. Then place it on the fire, and let it come very slowly to the scalding-point, but do not let it boil. Put it again in a cool place for six or twelve hours, and then take off the cream, which will be firm and of a peculiarly sweet flavor.
Put the fresh milk on the fire, and let it very slowly come to the scalding-point, but do not let it boil. Leave it on the fire for about half an hour, then remove to a cold place, and let it stand for six hours, or until the cream has all risen.
Devonshire cream is thick and clotted, and is used on fruits, mush, etc. It will keep for some time, and is particularly delicious.
The French use for table butter that which is freshly made and without salt. One soon learns to prefer it to the best salted butter. It is very easy to make fresh butter, but not always easy to buy it, for it keeps only a day at its best, and therefore the surest way of having it good is to make it. Take a half pint of double cream; turn it into a bowl, and with a wire whip beat it until the butter forms. This will take but afew minutes, if the cream is of the right temperature (65°). (If very cold, it will whip to froth as it is prepared for whipped cream.) Turn off the milk; add some ice water, and work the butter until it is firm and free from milk; then press it into pats, and keep it in a tight jar on the ice until ready to use.
This amount of cream, which costs ten cents, will, if rich, give a quarter of a pound of butter. Put some fresh grass or some clover blossoms in the jar with the butter, and it will absorb their flavor. (See illustration facing page256.)
See captionBUTTER PATS AND MOLDED BUTTER. (SEE PAGE258.)1. Shells made with No. 5.2. Balls made with No. 7.3. Small pats made with No. 6.4. Rolls made with No. 7.
Save every scrap of fat each day; try out all that has accumulated, however small the quantity. This is done by placing the scraps in a frying-pan on the back of the range. If the heat is low, and the grease is not allowed to get hot enough to smoke or burn, there will be no odor from it. Turn the melted grease into lard-pails and keep them covered. When six pounds of fat have been obtained, turn it into a dish-pan; add a generous amount of hot water, and stand it on the range until the grease is entirely melted. Stir it well together; then stand it aside to cool. This is clarifying the grease. The clean grease will rise to the top, and when it has cooled can be taken off in a cake, and such impurities as have not settled in the water, can be scraped off the bottom of the cake of fat.
Put the clean grease into the dish-pan and melt it. Put a can of Babbitt’s lye in a lard-pail; add to it a quart of cold water, and stir it with a stick or wooden spoon until it is dissolved. It will get hot when the water is added; let it stand until it cools. Remove the melted grease from the fire, and pour in the lye slowly, stirring all the time. Add two tablespoonfuls of ammonia. Stir the mixture constantly for twenty minutes or half an hour, or until the soap begins to set.
Let it stand until perfectly hard; then cut it into square cakes. This makes a very good, white hard soap which will float on water. It is very little trouble to make, and will be foundquite an economy in a household. Six pounds of grease make eight and a half pounds of soap.
Cut up the beeswax and pound the resin. Melt them together. Take them from the fire and stir in a quart of turpentine. Rub very little on the floor with a piece of flannel; then polish with a dry flannel and a brush.
There is a best way of doing everything, even if it be to boil an egg.—Emerson.Thevariety of purposes which eggs serve, the many ways of cooking them, their value as a highly concentrated, nutritious, and easily-digested food, make them one of the most useful articles of food. To have them fresh and rightly cooked is within the power of the simplest household. They hold the principal place as a breakfast dish, and although the original methods of cooking them may be limited to boiling, baking, poaching, etc., each one of these can be varied in an indefinite number of ways, giving a menu of eggs unlimited in extent, and thus securing always a new way of presenting them, if desired. Urbain Dubois has recently published a book giving 300 ways of preparing eggs. The varieties are attained mostly by the sauces and garnishings. It is not generally understood that sauces can be served with poached, hard-boiled, and scrambled eggs, and also with omelets.To judge of freshness and how to preserve eggs.A fresh egg should feel heavy, sink in water, and when held to a bright light, show a clear round yolk. If old, a part of the substance will have evaporated through the pores of the shell, leaving a space filled with air, which will cause it to float on water. It will also contain dark specks. To preserveeggs it is necessary to stop the pores of the shells with a coating of fat or gum or wax. This will prevent the air from entering and decomposing the nitrogenous elements of the egg.How to pack.They should be packed standing on the small end, and kept in a cool, dark place. Another way of preserving them is to immerse them in a saturated solution of lime.
There is a best way of doing everything, even if it be to boil an egg.—Emerson.
There is a best way of doing everything, even if it be to boil an egg.—Emerson.
Thevariety of purposes which eggs serve, the many ways of cooking them, their value as a highly concentrated, nutritious, and easily-digested food, make them one of the most useful articles of food. To have them fresh and rightly cooked is within the power of the simplest household. They hold the principal place as a breakfast dish, and although the original methods of cooking them may be limited to boiling, baking, poaching, etc., each one of these can be varied in an indefinite number of ways, giving a menu of eggs unlimited in extent, and thus securing always a new way of presenting them, if desired. Urbain Dubois has recently published a book giving 300 ways of preparing eggs. The varieties are attained mostly by the sauces and garnishings. It is not generally understood that sauces can be served with poached, hard-boiled, and scrambled eggs, and also with omelets.
To judge of freshness and how to preserve eggs.A fresh egg should feel heavy, sink in water, and when held to a bright light, show a clear round yolk. If old, a part of the substance will have evaporated through the pores of the shell, leaving a space filled with air, which will cause it to float on water. It will also contain dark specks. To preserveeggs it is necessary to stop the pores of the shells with a coating of fat or gum or wax. This will prevent the air from entering and decomposing the nitrogenous elements of the egg.How to pack.They should be packed standing on the small end, and kept in a cool, dark place. Another way of preserving them is to immerse them in a saturated solution of lime.
Soft-boiled eggs should have the albumen creamy, not hard. To obtain this, slow heat is required. Hence receipt No. 1 is recommended. No. 2 gives a soft egg, but the time is difficult to determine exactly. No. 3 gives satisfactory results. To have eggs hard boil them for twenty-five minutes. The yolks will then be dry and mealy. When done, place them in cold water for fifteen minutes. Then roll them lightly on the table to crush the shells, which can then be peeled off easily, leaving the surface smooth and white. Use a sharp, thin knife for cutting them so the pieces will be clean and smooth.
Place the eggs in warm water to heat the shells so they will not crack when put into boiling water. Let the water in the saucepan boil violently; put in the eggs carefully, and when the water again bubbles, remove it from the fire; cover and let the eggs remain in it for five minutes.
Put the eggs into boiling water and cook for three minutes, the water boiling all the time.
Place the eggs in cold water on the fire, and remove as soon as the water boils.
The white of a poached egg should be a white, translucent, jelly-like mass. To obtain this result, which makes it an easily digested food, it must cook very slowly, the water never reaching the boiling-point. Place in a shallow pan as many muffin-rings as you have eggs to poach. Turn in enough boiling water to just cover the rings; add a little salt. When the water boils, draw the pan to the side of the range, and break an egg into each ring. It should take at least ten to fifteen minutes to cook the eggs to the translucent state desired. Have ready even pieces of toast one half inch thick, cut into rounds a trifle larger than the muffin-rings. Moisten them with hot water, and spread with a little butter. Remove the eggs carefully on a skimmer or pancake turner, and place one on each round of toast; then lift off carefully the rings, and place a spot of pepper in the center of each yolk. Arrange them symmetrically on a dish, and garnish with parsley.
These eggs, when properly cooked, are in the shape of balls, and are used for fancy egg-dishes. Have in a deep saucepan a generous amount of water; add a little salt and vinegar; the salt to raise the heat of the water, the vinegar to harden the white of the egg. When the water is violently boiling, crack the shell of the egg, and holding it close to the water, drop the contents quickly on the point of greatest ebullition. The egg should drop all at once, not drain into the water. The mass will then be whole, and the violently agitated water will toss it about, giving it a round form. When sufficiently firm to hold, remove with a skimmer and place carefully on the bottom of an inverted tin to drain. Poach but one egg at a time, and remove it before the yolk hardens.
Add a dash of salt to the white of an egg and whip it to a froth. Place this in a deep saucer or cup, and place in the center the whole unbroken yolk. Set the dish in a pan of boiling water; cover and let cook for two minutes. This is a good way to serve an egg to an invalid.
See captionPOACHED EGG. NO. 3. (SEE PAGE263.)
Place a little butter in a very clean frying-pan. When it bubbles, turn in the eggs, one at a time, and keep the pan where the heat is not sufficient to blacken the butter. If the eggs are wanted hard, turn and fry them on both sides like a pancake.
Beat the eggs lightly with a fork, just enough to break them. To four eggs add two tablespoonfuls of milk, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper. Put into a very clean frying-pan one half tablespoonful of butter. When it begins to bubble, turn in the eggs, and stir them constantly over a slow fire until they begin to set; then remove them from the fire and continue to stir until they are of the right consistency. The heat of the pan will be sufficient to finish the cooking, and there will not be danger of their being overcooked. They should be firm only, not hard. If the pan is perfectly clean, and the butter is not allowed to burn, they will have a bright clean color. Scrambled eggs may be varied the same as omelets, by mixing with them any other thing desired. The extra material should be added when the pan is taken from the fire, and stirred with the egg until it has finished cooking. A teaspoonful of parsley, chopped fine, gives a good flavor and simple change. A little purée of tomatoes added makes a good combination. With minced chicken, veal, ham, fried bacon, mushrooms, or sweetbreads, it makes a good luncheon dish. Any pieces left over will serve the purpose, as very little is required. Garnish the dish with croûtons and parsley.
An omelet is the most difficult to prepare of any egg dish. It requires some practice to give it the right shape (which is high in the center and pointed at the ends), to have it soft inside, to give it a smooth, slightly browned surface, a texture like scrambled eggs, and to have everything perfect. The first essential is to have a perfectly clean and smooth pan. It is difficult to make a smooth omelet in a pan used for other purposes; so it is well to have one kept for this use alone. The French do not wash the omelet-pan, but scour it smooth with salt and vinegar when it sticks, and at other times rub it clean with a dry cloth. Before using the pan scour it well with dry salt to give it extra smoothness.
It is better to make several small omelets than one large one, using not more than three or four eggs for each one. Beat the eggs just enough to break them. The rule is twelve beats. To three eggs add a half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and a half teaspoonful of butter broken into small bits. A teaspoonful of milk may be used or not. Have the pan evenly heated and hot, but not scorching. Put in a half teaspoonful of butter and let it run evenly over the pan, but not brown; turn in the eggs. With a knife or fork break the cooked surface in several places quickly, so the egg from the top may run to the bottom and cook, or press the egg away from the sides, letting the uncooked part run under. This must be done in the beginning so as not to make the surface uneven. When the egg is cooked, but yet quite soft on the top, lift the pan on one side, slip the knife under, and carefully roll the omelet to the center. Let it cook a moment to set any egg that has run out, and if the color is not right add a little butter, and let it run under and slightly color the omelet. Place a hot dish over the pan and turn them together so the omelet will fall in the right place; press it into good shape, doubling it under on the ends if necessary. Garnish with parsley and serve at once. Have everything ready before beginning to cook an omelet, as it will not bear being kept while the dish is heated, and the garnishing found.
No. 1. Sprinkle a little parsley, chopped fine, over the top.No. 2. Turn tomato, Béchamel or mushroom sauce on the dish around the omelet; sprinkle the top with choppedmushrooms, if that sauce is used. Garnish with pointed croûtons.No. 3. Green omelet. Mix chopped parsley with the egg mixture before cooking the omelet, and do not brown the surface.No. 4. Aux Fines Herbes. Chop parsley, chives, chervil, and tarragon very fine. Mix them with the egg mixture before cooking. When the omelet is turned out, rub over it a little maître d’hôtel butter (see page286).No. 5. With Peas or Tomatoes. Before turning a plain omelet, spread it with a few green peas or tomatoes cooked and seasoned. Asparagus or any other vegetable may be used in the same way.No. 6. With Ham. Spread the plain omelet with ham, chopped fine, before turning it. Any other cooked meat may be used in the same way.
No. 1. Sprinkle a little parsley, chopped fine, over the top.
No. 2. Turn tomato, Béchamel or mushroom sauce on the dish around the omelet; sprinkle the top with choppedmushrooms, if that sauce is used. Garnish with pointed croûtons.
No. 3. Green omelet. Mix chopped parsley with the egg mixture before cooking the omelet, and do not brown the surface.
No. 4. Aux Fines Herbes. Chop parsley, chives, chervil, and tarragon very fine. Mix them with the egg mixture before cooking. When the omelet is turned out, rub over it a little maître d’hôtel butter (see page286).
No. 5. With Peas or Tomatoes. Before turning a plain omelet, spread it with a few green peas or tomatoes cooked and seasoned. Asparagus or any other vegetable may be used in the same way.
No. 6. With Ham. Spread the plain omelet with ham, chopped fine, before turning it. Any other cooked meat may be used in the same way.
Beat very light the yolks and whites of three eggs separately. Season the yolks with salt and pepper and one tablespoonful of milk; then fold in lightly the whipped whites. Put a half teaspoonful of butter in a hot frying or omelet pan. Let it run over the bottom and sides of the pan, but do not let it brown. Turn in the egg mixture, spread it lightly and evenly over the pan, and let it cook until it forms a very light crust on the bottom; then place it in the oven about three minutes, or until the egg is cooked through, but not hard; fold it once, and turn it onto a hot dish. This omelet may be used the same as the French omelet in combination with other things. Spread anything so used on the omelet before turning it. For a sweet omelet add sugar to the yolks, and omit the pepper. Serve at once.
(SUR LE PLAT ... AU MIROIR ... COCOTTE.)
For this dish (sur le plat) individual china dishes are generally used, although a dish holding several eggs will do. Butterthe dishes; break into each one an egg; sprinkle a little salt on the whites, but not on the yolks. Place them on the shelf of the oven so the heat will be greatest on top; baste the yolks several times while baking with a little hot butter. This will give them a glaze. As soon as the glaze appears remove them from the oven, and if not sufficiently cooked, stand them for a minute on the top of the range. Care must be used not to dry the eggs.
Several eggs cooked together in this way in a large dish, then cut into circles with a biscuit cutter, and placed on broiled ham, stewed kidneys, minced meat, tomato purée, or other things, are called eggs au miroir. When baked in individual dishes, they may be varied by sprinkling in the dish before the egg is added a little chopped ham, chicken, mushrooms, or tomato purée, etc.When baked in little pot-shaped dishes in the same way they are called cocottes. These may be varied by lining the dishes with a thin layer of forcemeat or minced meat, the eggs then dropped in and poached by standing the dishes in a pan of water in the oven. When done, a little cream or Béchamel sauce or tomato purée is turned over the top, and sprinkled with parsley. Serve eggs sur le plat and cocotte in the dishes in which they are baked.
See caption1. SHIRRED EGG. 2. COCOTTE. (SEE PAGE266.)
(À LA POLIGNAC)
Butter well some individual timbale molds; chop some parsley very fine, and powder the inside of the buttered molds with it. To do this, place a teaspoonful of the parsley in a buttered mold, cover it with the hand and shake it well; then invert the mold, and strike it on the table to free it of all that is loose. Break into each mold an egg, letting it go in slowly from the side so no air bubbles will be held, as they make holes and uneven surface in the cooked egg. Sprinkle the top with salt and butter. Place the molds in a pan of hot water, half covering them, and poach in a moderate oven eight to ten minutes, or until firm enough to stand, but not very hard. Serve them on a flat dish with a spoonful of white, Béchamel, or tomatosauce under each form. This is a very simple way of preparing eggs, and makes a good luncheon dish.
See captionMOLDED EGGS À LA POLIGNAC. (SEE PAGE267.)
Mince some boiled ham very fine. Moisten it with white sauce and raw egg, just enough to make a consistent paste. Line individual buttered timbale molds with a thin layer of the ham paste. Break an egg in the center of each one, and poach them in the oven eight to ten minutes, as directed for eggs à la Polignac. Place a little white or Béchamel sauce on the serving dish; turn the eggs onto it, and put a spoonful of sauce on the top of each one, letting it run over, and partly mask them, as the color of the ham is not attractive. Garnish with parsley. Another receipt for ham and eggs is given on page178. Any other meat may be used in the same way.
(A SUPPER DISH)
Cut toasted bread into circles; spread them with anchovy paste, and place on each piece a poached egg prepared as directed in receipt No. 1.
(AN ENTRÉE FOR LUNCHEON)
Cut bread into circles and toast them; spread them lightly first with anchovy paste, then with a layer of ham or tongue chopped very fine, seasoned well, and a little moistened with stock or white sauce. Cover the top with whipped white of egg; place a raw yolk in the center of each one. Bake them in the oven for one minute, or just long enough to well heat the egg.
Cut bread into slices three quarters of an inch thick, then into circles. With a smaller cutter cut half way through thebread, and remove the center, leaving a form like a patty case. Fry them in hot fat to an amber color; fill the centers with well seasoned tomato purée, and place on the top of each one a French poached egg.
This dish is served as an entrée for luncheon, and is a particularly good as well as mysterious dish, for having a soft egg inside a croquette seems a difficult thing to get. Poach the eggs French style (page263), using care to have them round and just firm enough to hold in shape. Lift them carefully on a strainer, and place them on the bottom of an inverted pan, leaving a space between them. When they are cold trim them, carefully removing any ragged ends of white, and wipe them dry. Make a Villeroi sauce as directed (page280). When it is partly cooled, pour it with a spoon over the eggs. It should form a thick coating. When it is cold and well set, trim each egg neatly again, cutting away any of the sauce that has run over the pan. Have some soft, white crumbs, grated from the loaf or rubbed through a coarse sieve, and mixed with grated cheese. Lift an egg on a broad knife, and place it on the crumbs. Cover it with as many crumbs as will adhere. Lift it again on the knife into a dish containing beaten egg, and with a spoon moisten it well with the egg. Then place it on fresh, white crumbs that are not mixed with cheese, and cover it completely. It can now be handled with care and turned into good shape in the crumbs. Let the breaded eggs stand until just ready to serve, then place three or four at a time in a wire basket, and plunge them in smoking hot fat (see frying, page72) to take a delicate color. Do not let them become deeper than lemon color. Place a spoonful of Villeroi sauce on each plate, using the sauce left from coating the eggs and thinning it with stock; place an egg on the sauce and serve at once. Chopped truffles mixed with the sauce improves it.
Poach eggs in the French style, letting them be as soft as possible. Butter a flat baking-dish; sprinkle it with bread crumbs and grated cheese. Place on them carefully the poached eggs. Cover them with Béchamel or Allemande sauce (see page279), and sprinkle over the top grated Parmesan cheese. Place in a hot oven to melt the cheese, and lightly brown the top.
Take six hard-boiled eggs, and press the yolks through a colander. Cut the whites into half-inch dice, mix them with a well-reduced white or Béchamel sauce, and turn them into a flat baking-dish. Cover the top with the mashed yolks, dot it with small bits of butter, and place in a hot oven for a few minutes to heat, but not brown. This may be served in individual cups or shells if desired. Chopped mushrooms mixed with the sauce makes a good variation of the dish. Another way of serving it is to cut the whites lengthwise into quarters or eighths, and place them in a circle on the dish; pour the sauce in the center, leaving the points of one end uncovered, and sprinkle over the sauce the mashed yolks. In order not to have the dish cold when served in this way, keep the cut whites in hot water until ready to serve. Have the dish hot, and put all together quickly at the moment of serving. (Seeillustration.)