Part 10

Next take directions for boiling vegetables, so that the color is perfectly kept. I told you yesterday that we should have spinach if we could get it, if not, that we would use lettuce. I think that next week, in the course of the lessons, I shall succeed in having some spinach from Cleveland. However, I shall use lettuce to-day. First, thoroughly wash it in salted water. For a quart of water use a tablespoonful of salt. As I told you the other day, the salt in the water is for the purpose of killing any little insects that are in the leaves, especially of the lettuce. You know that it is very troublesome to dislodge them, but the salt kills them, and of course you can wash them out. As long as they are alive they cling there. If you sprinkle salt on the leaves it will wither them, but if you put it in the water it will not. Salted water is intensely cold, you know, and it would restore the freshness of the leaves of lettuce, even if they were wilted, unless they were really on the verge of decay. If you will remind me, after I have finished giving the recipe for cooking the vegetables, I will tell you how to keep lettuce fresh. After your vegetables, whatever they may be, whether lettuce, or spinach, or asparagus, or string beans, are washed perfectly clean--I do not say wash peas, and I will tell you after a little the reason why--after they are thoroughly washed put them over the fire in enough boiling salted water to more than cover them--plenty of water, so that they can float about--the water to be salted with a tablespoonful of salt in a quart of water, and to be actually boiling when you put in the vegetables. This same rule applies to the cooking of peas, only that the peas are treated a little differently in the cleaning, but they are cooked in the same way. Boil the vegetable (whatever it is) in salted water, fast, just till they are tender. Remember what I said about boiling carrots yesterday. As soon as the vegetables are tender, drain them and throw them into plenty of cold water. Leave them in the cold water until you want to use them. Then, if peas or beans, drain them, heat them quickly, with a little salt and pepper and butter, very quickly, or any sauce or gravy you wish to serve them in, and serve them hot. If lettuce or spinach, to make a _puree_, after having boiled in boiling salted water and then put in cold water, rub them through a sieve with a potato masher. After they are rubbed through the sieve they are ready to be used in different ways. In Europe the _puree_ of lettuce is served as a vegetable, just as the _puree_ of spinach is. We do not often cook it in that way, but it is very nice; it is such an exceedingly tender vegetable that it takes proportionately more than of spinach. After the lettuce or spinach is rubbed through the colander or sieve with a potato masher it is ready to be seasoned with salt, pepper and vinegar, or any sauce you like, and used as a vegetable, or used in soup. You remember what I told you about spinach soup yesterday--_puree_ of spinach with cream soup, colored green with spinach. Put in just enough spinach to cover it. If I succeed in getting spinach next week I shall make, at one of the lessons, spinach soup, and also boil and serve some as a vegetable.

Now about peas. I spoke about washing string beans but not washing peas. If the shells of the peas are at all dirty, and sometimes they are so that they blacken your fingers in shelling, wash the shells of the peas before you begin to shell them, but do not wash the peas after they are shelled. Of course the inside of the pod is perfectly clean, and if your hands are clean and the shells are clean, you do not need to wash them. In using green peas in summer time it is well to have a quantity of them, perhaps twice as many as you are likely to use for one meal, and shell them, because you know they are of different sizes always. Shell them and separate them into two different sizes, the smallest and the largest, and then cook one size for one day, putting the others in a very cool place, or refrigerator, and cook them the next day, because if you have the large and small ones mixed they do not cook evenly. You will find them very much nicer; if you keep them in a cool place it will not hurt to keep them.

The length of time that it takes to boil lettuce or spinach depends somewhat on the time of the year. The tenderer the spinach is, of course, the quicker it will boil; when it is very young and tender it will boil in two or three minutes; when it is older it may take as long as ten minutes. Ladies very often make the mistake in boiling spinach that they do in boiling cabbage. They boil it sometimes until the leaves are destroyed, in order to soften the stalk. The better way is to tear away the stalk and use only the leaf. Of course, that gives you a smaller quantity of spinach than if you use the stalk, but when you use the tough, woody stalk you waste the leaf in boiling. Lettuce usually boils in a couple of minutes. One of the ladies speaks about cooking spinach without any water. You can do that if you wish. Just put in a sauce pan, after having carefully picked it over and washed it; stir it a little once in a while to be sure that the uncooked top goes down to the bottom. There is no special advantage in it, because if you boil it as I tell you, only until it is tender, the water has no effect upon it except to cook it more quickly. It is the English way to cook it without water. If you use boiling salted water, as I told you, it cannot possibly affect the nutriment of the vegetable. It is when you boil vegetables a long time, and boil them away before you take up the dish, that you waste the nutriment. These rules apply to every vegetable that has color in it except beets. Beets have to be cooked without cutting the skin or trimming them in any way, in order to keep the color.

Now to keep lettuce fresh. I have kept it fresh, even in the summer time, for two or three days in this way: When it first comes in from the market wash it thoroughly in plenty of cold salted water. You do not need to tear it apart. You know I told you the other day about separating the leaves slightly from the head of the lettuce and shaking it in cold salted water. Trim off the outside wilted leaves. Wash it thoroughly in cold salted water, then wet a towel and lay the lettuce in it, fold it loosely up over the roots and if you have ice lay the towel on the cake of ice in the refrigerator or by the side of the cake of ice. If you haven't any ice and have a cold cellar, after you have washed the lettuce and wrapped it in the wet towel, put it in a box; a tight wooden box is the best, or a thick pasteboard box if it is not broken; and put it in the cellar in the coldest place you can find. If you wrap it in a wet towel and put it on the ice you do not want to look at it. It will keep fresh at least two days, and sometimes longer; but if you put it in the cellar you will have to wet the towel thoroughly twice a day, morning and night; and you will find that you will have to take away some of the leaves that have wilted, but if you have it upon the ice the chances are that you will not lose any leaves. And it is very much nicer than it is to let it wilt and then try to restore it by soaking it in water.

FRIED PICKEREL.

Next take a recipe for fried pickerel. Some of the ladies will remember that a few days ago we were talking about frying fish in this way with salt pork. If any of the ladies have the recipe, of course they do not need to take it again. For fried fish of any kind, enough salt pork to cover the bottom of the frying pan that you are going to use for the fish. You find you have three or four pounds of fish; you will need at least half a pound of salt pork. Cut the pork in very thin slices; fat salt pork is the best. Put it in the frying pan and fry it until it is light brown. While the pork is being fried get ready the fish, having it thoroughly cleaned by washing it in cold water. If the fish is small you do not need to cut it; if it is large, cut it in pieces about three or four inches square. After the fish has been cleaned dry it in a towel; season some Indian meal with salt and pepper, roll the fish in the Indian meal. When the pork is brown take it out of the fat and put the fish into the drippings and fry the fish brown, first on one side and then on the other. When the fish is browned nicely serve it in a dish with the pork--fried pork and fish in one dish. This fish will not get very brown to-day, because it is still frozen. It did not come in long enough ago for us to get it thawed out, so, of course, there will be a little water in the fat, and it will not get quite so brown.

LECTURE TENTH.

CHEAP DISHES AND REWARMED FOODS.

We begin our lesson this afternoon with a dish of rice,--piloff of rice,--any cold meat cut in small squares, an onion peeled and chopped fine, and if you have tomatoes, either canned, fresh, or cold stewed tomatoes, a cupful. Sometimes the dish is made with tomatoes, sometimes without. Put the onion in the sauce pan with a tablespoonful of drippings; set it over the fire and let it get light brown. When it is light brown put with it a cupful of rice, picked over and washed and dried by the fire. After the onion begins to brown put the rice with it and stir until the rice is light brown; then put in a quart of hot water, the meat and tomatoes and a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper. Of course, the quantity of salt and pepper that you use will depend on the seasoning of the meat, and this may be any kind of meat. Then cover the sauce pan in which you have all these things and let the rice, meat, tomatoes and water all cook together gently. Every ten minutes you must look to see whether the rice has absorbed all the water. If it has you must add a little more water, not more than half a cupful at a time, keeping the rice just moist until it is tender. You will find that probably in about half an hour the rice will be tender, and when the dish is done it should not have the gravy about it; it simply needs to be moist, so you will have to add water cautiously after the first quart.

If the meat that you use is very fat,--and sometimes beef like this is very fat,--you may cook the meat, fat and lean together in with the onion in the first place instead of the tablespoonful of butter or drippings. If you have no meat you can make the dish in the same way using tomato, onion and rice; and if you have cold gravy of any kind put that in it.

FRENCH HASH.

Next take the recipe for a dish called French hash. There is no potato in it, it is simply meat and gravy, so that you must not let the name mislead you. Little slices of cold meat, fat and lean together. For a pint bowlful of meat use about a tablespoonful of chopped onion. First slightly brown the onion with a tablespoonful of butter or drippings or fat from the meat; then when the onion begins to brown put in the meat and let that brown. Next a tablespoonful of dried flour; stir the flour with the brown meat and onion until the flour is quite brown; then cover the meat with pork gravy or boiling water. After you have covered the meat with water or cold gravy just let the water or gravy boil, then season it palatably with salt and pepper; of course, the seasoning will depend upon whether you have used gravy or broth or water. If you have used gravy or broth that already will have been seasoned, so that you want to taste for the seasoning. After the gravy is both boiled and seasoned take the sauce pan off the fire and stir in the yolk of one raw egg with it and dish at once. You must not put the hash back on the fire after putting the egg in. If you do you will curdle it. Do not stir the egg in till you are ready to serve it, on toast or plain.

BAKED TENDERLOINS.

The next recipe will be for baked tenderloins. Split the pork tenderloins in such a way as to make rather thick slices. Tenderloins are so thick that by cutting you spread them out. Inside the slice of tenderloin put any stuffing that you like. I have given two or three recipes for different kinds of stuffing. For this to-day I shall use a little stale bread, crumbed, seasoned with salt and pepper, and moistened with butter; a tablespoonful of butter to a scant cupful of bread, or in place of butter you could use an egg. After you put a little stuffing in the tenderloins fold them together and either tie or sew them so as to keep the stuffing inside. Put the tenderloins in the dripping pan in the oven and bake them until they are thoroughly browned. Then take off the strings and serve them. They are very nice if you bake potatoes in the pan with them. If the oven is hot the potatoes and tenderloins will bake in about the same time. The potatoes should be peeled. Remember what I told you about always taking large stitches in sewing up meat, so that you can see to pull them out when the meat is done. Of course, pork tenderloins will be pretty sure to yield drippings enough to baste with. I have spoken about that in the baking of meats two or three times. No water is needed in preparing them. The tenderloins, when sewed up, will resume their original shape.

FRIED LIVER.

First, wash the liver in cold water, then pour scalding water on it and let it stand for about ten minutes to draw out the blood; slice it about half an inch thick. After the liver is scalded and sliced, roll it in flour, season it with salt and pepper and put it into the frying pan containing about a quarter of an inch of hot fat, which may be drippings or fat from bacon or salt pork. In that case you first would fry the salt pork or bacon to get the fat or drippings, and put the slices of pork or bacon to keep warm when they are done. After the pork or bacon is fried put it on a dish to keep warm, and then fry the liver in the drippings. As soon as the liver is browned on both sides serve it on a dish with the fried pork or bacon. Fried liver needs to be cooked as quickly as possible, making sure that it is done. The more quickly you can cook it the tenderer it will always be. You can take that as a rule in regard to liver, heart and tongue, that the faster they can be cooked the tenderer they will be. To-day I simply have fried this with drippings. I have not fried the bacon with it, but I have told you how to fry it.

BAKED HASH.

Next take a recipe for baked hash. Equal quantities of chopped meat and stale bread, meat of any kind. Suppose you have a pint bowl of each. Mix with the meat and the bread a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a palatable seasoning of salt and pepper, and that, of course, will depend upon the seasoning of the meat. You may use corned beef or highly seasoned meat, and then you will not need so much seasoning as you would if you used fresh meat. A heaping teaspoonful of chopped parsley, enough cold gravy, if you have it, or broth to moisten the hash,--just to moisten it, not make it sloppy,--or if you have not gravy or broth you must use water and butter. Mix the hash very thoroughly. Have ready an earthen dish, buttered. See that the oven is hot, then very quickly dissolve a teaspoonful of baking powder in a teaspoonful of water or broth and stir it into the hash just as fast as you can and put it into the oven to bake. As soon as the hash is brown on top it will be done.

CORNED BEEF HASH.

Now I will give you a recipe for corned beef hash. Yesterday we spoke about boiling corned beef. You will take cold corned beef and boiled potatoes, either hot or cold, about equal quantities. Sometimes people like a little more potato than meat. Mix the meat and potato together; add just enough water or broth to moisten the meat and potato. Season palatably with salt and pepper and butter; have the hash nicely mixed together; put into the frying pan; suppose you have a quart of hash, about two tablespoonfuls of butter and let it get hot, then put in the hash. Stir the hash in the butter until it is nearly hot. Then, using a knife, form it into a cake on one side of the frying pan and let the bottom brown. Loosen the hash once in a while from the bottom of the pan to make sure it is not burning and when it is brown on the bottom turn it out on a dish with the brown side up. Another form of hash is the moist hash. That is simply prepared and warmed without browning it, using broth or butter and hot water for moistening it.

LECTURE ELEVENTH.

OYSTERS.

We begin our lecture this morning with roast oysters, Mobile style. All oysters, when cooked in any way, should be first put in a colander and the juice allowed to drain off, then strain the juice. Always take each oyster in the hand and carefully remove all fragments of shell from the gills. The shells of oysters are dangerous to swallow, and serious illness is often the result. Hold the oyster by the hard part, removing pieces of shell with the finger. Then wipe the oyster with a wet towel. Keep the most perfect specimens for broiling, as the more imperfect ones will do sufficiently well for soups or stews. For roasting oysters in the Mobile style, have as many deep oyster shells as you intend to have oysters, scrubbed very clean; put the shells in a dripping pan and place them in the oven, until they become so hot as to melt butter when put into them. When quite hot take the shells out of the oven and put a small piece of butter and a very little pepper in each shell. If the oysters are large lay one in each shell, if they are small put two or three in each shell and put them back in the oven directly. By the time the edges of the oysters curl they will be done. Oysters when heated through are done. Do not put any salt on them. Serve them on the shells. As they are served in Mobile, a large shell is used, laid on a small charcoal furnace, putting the shell on top of the furnace to get very hot; the furnace is brought to the table and the oysters opened and dropped into the hot shell and turned once. The regulation way of roasting oysters is to thoroughly wash the outside of the shell and lay them on the fire with the large end down. As soon as the oysters open serve them.

To use the liquor, take a pint of the oyster liquor after it has been strained; sift a heaping cupful of flour; mix with it a level teaspoonful of salt and a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. Have the griddle as hot as you would for pancakes. Very quickly stir into the flour enough of the oyster liquor to make a batter, and fry just as any pancake; serve hot with butter.

Next take a recipe for oyster fritters. Have the frying kettle half full of fat, as you would for doughnuts. Strain the oysters and remove all bits of shell. In the meantime the lard should be heating on the back of the stove. Cut the oysters slightly. For a pint of oysters use a pint of flour, sifted, and mixed with a level teaspoonful of salt. Put the flour in a mixing bowl with the yolk of one egg, a tablespoonful of salad oil, and a pinch of pepper. Use enough of the oyster liquor to make a batter thick enough to drop from the spoon. Beat the white of an egg to a stiff froth. Mix the oysters and the white of egg lightly with the batter, and as soon as it is mixed drop by the large spoonful into the hot lard. As soon as brown take the fritters out and lay them for a moment on brown paper to drain the grease off. In order to keep them hot while you are frying the rest lay the paper on a dripping pan and set it in the oven.

Take next a recipe for oyster soup, thickened with cracker dust. For a quart of oysters, remove all bits of shell, as usual, and mix the oyster liquor with enough to make a quart. Take one tablespoonful of butter, a very little white pepper, if you have it, two tablespoonfuls of cracker dust finely powdered. As I told you the other day, the cracker dust which you buy at the cracker factories is the nicest. Stir all together over the fire, and when it comes to a boil put in the oysters, with a level teaspoonful of salt. Stir till the edges of the oysters curl; then serve. To thicken with flour, stir one tablespoonful of flour and one of butter together over the fire. Season with pepper, and put in one quart of liquor and milk.

For plain broiled oysters, prepare the oysters as above directed and lay them on a towel. Take a double-wire broiler and butter it thickly, taking care to have the fire hot. Season the oysters lightly with pepper and but very little, if any, salt. Put the oysters between the broiler, and broil them; serve them on toast.

For breaded oysters, prepare as before, and dip the oysters in melted butter seasoned with pepper and salt, and roll them in cracker crumbs. Put them on the gridiron and broil them until they are light brown.

For oysters broiled with bacon, cut very thin slices of breakfast bacon, as many slices as oysters, and stick them on little skewers, half a dozen oysters on each skewer, first a slice of bacon and then an oyster, until you have half a dozen on each skewer. Flatten them so that they will lie a little apart. Put the skewer between the buttered bars of the gridiron, dust them a little with pepper and brown them. The bacon should be cut very thin and about the size of the oyster. Serve them on the skewers.

For oysters in the Philadelphia style, prepare the oysters by draining the juice from them and removing the small pieces of shells. Use for one dozen large oysters one tablespoonful of lard, two tablespoonfuls of salad oil. As soon as the fat is hot put the oysters in and fry them till the edges curl. Season them with pepper and salt. Fry them plain or rolled in flour.

WELSH RAREBIT.

For a rarebit large enough for three or four persons, put in a sauce pan a quarter of a pound of grated cheese, two tablespoonfuls of butter, a saltspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of ale, one teaspoonful of mustard, a little dust of cayenne pepper, stir all these together over the fire and serve on toast.

LECTURE TWELFTH.

_Cookery for the Sick._

BROILED CHICKEN.

For broiled chicken choose always a tender chicken. Remove all the feathers, singe it over the fire, and wipe the chicken with a wet towel. Split the chicken down the back. In doing that one can remove the entrails without breaking. Take out the entrails and crop; lay the chicken open on the gridiron. It is better to use a double gridiron, well buttered. If the chicken is not tender, break the joints so the chicken will lie flat on the gridiron. Put the inside of the chicken to the fire first and brown it. Do not put it too close to the fire. Broil it fifteen or twenty minutes, for it will require about that time to get well done. When the inside is brown, turn it and broil the outside, allowing about ten minutes. Take time enough to brown it nicely without burning. If you have a very young spring chicken less time will be required. Do not broil a chicken that weighs over three pounds. If the chicken is very large it is better to put it in a very hot oven in a pan, with no butter unless the chicken is very lean. Season with salt, pepper and butter, if desired, when it is removed from the oven.

BARBECUED CHICKEN.

Split down the back, and after breaking the joints dress and lay it open. Use two tablespoonfuls of butter and one cup of water. Season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken well, dredge it with flour and baste it every fifteen minutes with drippings from the pan until tender. Pour over it the gravy that you find in the pan, and serve. The Southerners, with whom this dish is a great favorite, usually put in this gravy some nice table sauce.

JELLIED OATMEAL.