Chapter 5

Unless some _sweetness_ at the bottom lie, Who cares for all the crinkling of the pie! KING.

Fruit pies for family use are generally made with common paste. Allow three quarters of a pound of butter to a pound and a half of flour. Peaches and plums for pies should be cut in half, and the stones taken out. Cherries also should be stoned, and red cherries only should be used for pies. Apples should be cut into very thin slices, and are much improved by a little lemon-peel. Apples stewed previous to baking, should not be done till they break, but only till they are tender. They should then be drained in a cullender, and chopped fine with a knife or edge of a spoon. In making pies of juicy fruit, it is a good way to set a small teacup on the bottom crust, and lay the fruit round it. The juice will collect under the cup, and not run out at the edges or top of the pie. The fruit should be mixed with a sufficient quantity of sugar, and piled up in the middle, so as to make the pie highest in the centre.

The upper crust should be pricked with a fork. The edges should be nicely crimped with a knife. If stewed fruit is put in warm, it will make the paste heavy. If your pies are made in the form of shells, the fruit should always be stewed first, or it will not be sufficiently done, as the shells (which should be made of puff paste) must not bake so long as covered pies.

Fruit pies with lids should have loaf sugar grated over them.

MINCE PIES.

When Terence spoke, oraculous and sly, He'd neither grant the question nor deny, Pleading for tarts, his thoughts were on _mince pie_.

My poor endeavors view with gracious eye, To make these lines above a _Christmas pie_.

Two pounds of boiled beef's heart or fresh tongue, or lean fresh beef chopped, when cold; two pounds of beef suet chopped fine, four pounds of pippin apples chopped, two pounds of raisins stoned and chopped, two pounds of currants picked, washed, and dried, two pounds of powdered sugar, one quart of white wine, one quart of brandy, one wine-glass of rose-water, two grated nutmegs, half an ounce of cinnamon, powdered, a quarter of an ounce of mace, powdered, a teaspoonful of salt, two large oranges, and half a pound of citron cut in slips. Pack it closely into stone jars, and tie them over with paper. When it is to be used, add a little more wine.

PLUM PUDDING.

All you who to feasting and mirth are inclined, Come, here is good news for to pleasure your mind. Old Christmas is come, for to keep open house: He scorns to be guilty of starving a mouse. Then come, boys, and welcome, for diet the chief,-- _Plum pudding_, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef. The cooks shall be busied, by day and by night, In roasting and _boiling_, for taste and delight. Provision is making for beer, ale, and wine, For all that are willing or ready to dine. Meantime goes the caterer to fetch in _the chief_,-- _Plum pudding_, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef. ANCIENT CHRISTMAS CAROL.

One quarter of a pound of beef suet; take out the strings and skin; chop it to appear like butter; stone one pound of raisins, one pound of currants, well washed, dried, and floured, one pound loaf sugar, rolled and sifted, one pound of flour, eight eggs well beaten; beat all well together for some time, then add by degrees two glasses of brandy, one wine, one rose-water, citron, nutmeg, and cinnamon; beat it all extremely well together, tie it in a floured cloth very tight, let it boil four hours constantly; let your sauce be a quarter pound of butter, beat to a cream, a quarter pound loaf sugar pounded and sifted; beat in the butter with a little wine and sugar and nutmeg.

COCOANUT PUDDING.

Whatever was the _best pie_ going, In _that_ Ned--trust him--had his finger. MOORE.

Take the thin brown skin off of a quarter pound of cocoa, wash it in cold water, and wipe it dry; grate it fine, stir three and half ounces of butter and a quarter pound of powdered sugar, to a cream; add half teaspoonful of rose-water, half glass of wine and of brandy mixed, to them. Beat the white of six eggs till they stand alone, and then stir them into the butter and sugar; afterwards sprinkle in the grated nut, and stir hard all the time. Put puff paste into the bottom of the dish, pour in the mixture, and bake it in a moderate oven, half an hour. Grate loaf sugar over it when cold.

APPLE PUDDING.

Where London's column, pointing to the skies, Like a tall bully, lifts the head and lies, There dwelt a citizen of sober fame, A plain, good man, and Balaam was his name; Religious, punctual, frugal, and so forth, His word would pass for more than he was worth; One solid dish his week-day meal affords, And _apple pudding_ solemnized the Lord's. POPE.

Make a batter of two eggs, a pint of milk and three or four spoonfuls of flour; pour it into a deep dish, and having pared six or eight apples, place them whole in the batter, and bake them.

HASTY PUDDING.

But man, more fickle, the bold license claims, In different realms, to give thee different names. _Thee_, the soft nations round the warm Levant Polanta call; the French, of course, Polante. E'en in thy native regions, how I blush To hear the Pennsylvanians call thee _mush_! All spurious appellations, void of truth; I've better known thee from my earliest youth: Thy name is _Hasty Pudding_! Thus our sires Were wont to greet thee from the fuming fires; And while they argued in thy just defence, With logic clear, they thus explained the sense: "In _haste_ the boiling caldron, o'er the blaze, Receives and cooks the ready-powdered maize; In haste 'tis served, and then in equal _haste_, With cooling milk, we make the sweet repast. No carving to be done, no knife to grate The tender ear, and wound the stony plate; But the smooth spoon, just fitted to the lip, And taught with art the yielding mass to dip, By frequent journeys to the bowl well stored, Performs the _hasty_ honors of the board." Such is thy name, significant and clear,-- A name, a sound, to every Yankee dear; But most to me, whose heart and palate chaste Preserve my pure, hereditary taste. BARLOW.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING.

The strong table groans Beneath the smoking sirloin, stretch'd immense From side to side; in which with desperate knife They deep incisions make, and talk the while Of England's glory, ne'er to be defaced While hence they borrow vigor; or amain Into the _pudding_ plunged at intervals, If stomach keen can intervals allow, Relating all the glories of the chase. THOMSON.

This pudding is especially an excellent accompaniment to a sirloin of beef. Six tablespoonfuls of flour, three eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, and a pint of milk, make a middling stiff batter; beat it up well; take care it is not lumpy. Put a dish under the meat; let the drippings drop into it, till it is quite hot and well greased; then pour in the batter. When the upper surface is browned and set, turn it, that both sides may be brown alike. A pudding an inch thick will take two hours. Serve it under the roast beef, that the juice of the beef may enter it. It is very fine.

SUET PUDDING.

Sir Balaam now, he lives like other folks; He takes his chirping, and cracks his jokes. Live like yourself, was soon my lady's word; And lo! _suet pudding_ was seen upon the board. POPE.

Suet, a quarter of a pound; flour, three tablespoonfuls; eggs two, and a little grated ginger; milk, half a pint. Mince the suet as fine as possible; roll it with the rolling-pin, so as to mix it well with the flour; beat up the eggs, mix them with the milk, and then mix them all together; wet your cloth well in boiling water, and boil it an hour and a quarter. Mrs. Glasse has it: "When you have made your water boil, then put your pudding into your pot."

OATMEAL PUDDING.

Of oats decorticated take two pounds, And of new milk enough the same to drown; Of raisins of the sun, stoned, ounces eight; Of currants, cleanly picked, an equal weight; Of suet, finely sliced, an ounce at least; And six eggs, newly taken from the nest: Season this mixture well with salt and spice; 'Twill make a pudding far exceeding rice; And you may safely feed on it like farmers, For the recipe is learned Dr. Harmer's.

EVE'S PUDDING.

If you want a good pudding, mind what you are taught: Take eggs, six in number, when bought for a groat; The fruit with which Eve her husband did cozen, Well pared and well chopped, take at least half a dozen; Six ounces of bread--let the cook eat the crust-- And crumble the soft as fine as the dust; Six ounces of currants from the stalks you must sort, Lest they husk out your teeth, and spoil all the sport; Six ounces of sugar won't make it too sweet, And some salt and some nutmeg will make it complete. Three hours let it boil, without any flutter, And Adam won't like it without sugar and butter. ANONYMOUS.

CHARLOTTE DES POMMES.

_Charlotte_, from rennet apples first did frame _A pie_, which still retains her name. Though common grown, yet with white sugar stewed, And butter'd right, its goodness is allowed. KING.

Pare, core, and mince fifteen French rennet apples; put them into a frying-pan with some powdered loaf sugar, a little pounded cinnamon, grated lemon-peel, and two ounces and a half of fresh butter; fry them a quarter of an hour over a quick fire, stirring them constantly. Butter the shape the size the Charlotte is intended to be; cut strips of bread long enough to reach from the bottom to the rim of the shape, so that the whole be lined with bread; dip each bit into melted butter, and put a layer of fried apples, and one of apricot jam or marmalade, and then one of bread dipped into butter; begin and finish with it. Bake it in an oven for an hour. Turn it out to serve.

BATTER PUDDING.

A frugal man, upon the whole, Yet loved his friend, and had a soul; Knew what was handsome, and would do't On just occasion, coûte qui coûte. He brought him bacon (nothing lean); _Pudding_, that might have pleased a dean; Cheese, such as men of Suffolk make, But wished it Stilton for his sake. POPE.

Take six ounces of flour, a little salt, and three eggs; beat it well with a little milk, added by degrees, till the batter becomes smooth; make it the thickness of cream; put it into a buttered and floured bag; tie it tightly; boil one and a half hour, or two hours. Serve with wine sauce.

APPLE DUMPLINGS.

By the rivulet, on the rushes, Beneath a canopy of bushes, Colin Blount and Yorkshire Tray Taste the _dumplings_ and the whey. SMART.

Pare and scoop out the core of six large baking apples; put part of a clove and a little grated lemon-peel inside of each, and enclose them in pieces of puff paste; boil them in nets for the purpose, or bits of linen, for an hour. Before serving, cut off a small bit from the top of each, and put a teaspoonful of sugar and a bit of fresh butter; replace the bit of paste, and strew over them pounded loaf sugar.

SWEETMEAT FRITTERS.

If chronicles may be believed, So loved the pamper'd gallant lived, That with the nuns he always dined On rarities of every kind; Then hoards, occasionally varied, Of biscuits, _sweetmeats_, nuts, and fruits.

Cut small any sort of candied fruit, and heat it with a bit of fresh butter, some good milk, and a little grated lemon-peel; when quite hot, stir in enough of flour to make it into a stiff paste; take it off the fire, and work in eight or ten eggs, two at a time. When cold, form the fritters, fry, and serve them with pounded loaf sugar strewed over them.

FRITTERS.

Methinks I scent some _rich repast_: The savor strengthens with the blast. GAY.

Take a dozen apricots, or any other fruit preserved in brandy; drain them in half; then wrap them in wafers, cut round, and previously moistened. Make the batter by putting a glass and a half of water, a grain of salt, and two ounces of fresh butter, into a saucepan. When it boils, stir in sufficient quantity of flour to make it rather a firm batter; keep it stirring three minutes; then pour it into another vessel: dip the fruit in this batter, and fry them; sprinkle them with sugar, then serve.

CREAMS.

ICE CREAM.

After dreaming some hours of the land of Cocaigne, That Elysium of all that is friand and nice, Where for hail they have bonbons, and claret for rain, And the skaters in winter show off on _cream ice_. MOORE.

Here _ice, like crystal firm_, and never lost, Tempers hot July with December's frost. WALLER.

Put a quart of rich cream into a broad pan; then stir in half a pound of powdered loaf sugar by degrees, and when all is well mixed, strain it through a sieve. Put it into a tin that has a close cover, and set it in a tub. Fill the tub with ice broken into small pieces, and strew among the ice a large quantity of salt, taking care that none of the salt gets into the cream. Scrape the cream down with a spoon as it freezes round the edges of the tin. While the cream is freezing, stir in gradually the juice of two large lemons or the juice of a pint of mashed strawberries or raspberries. When it is all frozen, dip the tin in lukewarm water; take out the cream, and fill your glasses, but not till a few minutes before you want to use it, as it will melt very soon.

If you wish to have it in moulds, put the cream into them as soon as it is frozen in the tin.

Set the moulds in a tub of ice and salt. Just before you want to use the cream, take the moulds out of the tub, wipe or wash the salt carefully from the outside, dip the moulds into lukewarm water, and turn out the cream. You may flavor a quart of ice cream with two ounces of sweet almonds, and one ounce of bitter almonds, blanched, and beaten in a mortar with a little rose-water to a smooth paste.

Stir in the almond gradually, while the cream is freezing.

WHIPPED CREAM.

Pudding our parson eats, the squire loves hare, But _whipped cream_ is my Buxoma's fare, While she loves _whipped cream_, capon ne'er shall be, Nor hare, nor beef, nor pudding, food for me. GAY.

Sweeten with pounded loaf sugar a quart of cream, and to it a lump of sugar which has been rubbed upon the peel of two fine lemons or little oranges; or flavor it with orange flower water, a little essence of roses, the juice of strawberries, or any other fruit. Whisk the cream well in a large pan, and as the froth rises, take it off, and lay it on a sieve placed over another pan, and return the cream which drains from the froth till all is whisked; then heap it upon a dish, or put it into glasses.

BOILED CUSTARDS.

And _boiled custard_, take its merit in brief, Makes a noble dessert, where the dinner's roast beef.

Boil a pint of milk with lemon-peel and cinnamon; mix a pint of cream, and the yolks of five eggs well beaten; when the milk tastes of the seasoning, sweeten enough for the whole; pour it into the cream, stirring it well; then give the custard a simmer till of a proper thickness. Do not let it boil; stir the whole time one way; then season with a large spoonful of peach-water, and two teaspoonfuls of brandy or a little ratafia. If you wish your custards extremely rich, put no milk, but a quart of cream.

ORANGE CUSTARDS.

With _orange custards_ and the juicy pine, On choicest melons and sweet grapes they dine. JONSON.

Sweeten the strained juice of ten oranges with pounded loaf sugar, stir it over the fire till hot, take off the scum, and when nearly cold, add to it the beaten yolks of twelve eggs and a pint of cream; put it into a saucepan, and stir it over a slow fire till it thickens. Serve it in cups.

CUSTARDS OR CREAMS.

But nicer cates, her dainty's boasted fare, The _jellied cream_ or custards, daintiest food, Or cheesecake, or the cooling syllabub, For Thyrses she prepares. DODSLEY.

Whisk for one hour the whites of two eggs, together with two tablespoonfuls of raspberry or red currant syrup or jelly; lay it in any form of a custard or cream, piled up to imitate rock. It may be served in a cream round it.

ALMOND CREAMS.

And from _sweet kernels_ pressed, She tempers _dulcet creams_. MILTON.

Blanch and pound to a paste, with rose-water, six ounces of almonds; mix them with a pint and a half of cream which has been boiled with the peel of a small lemon; add two well-beaten eggs, and stir the whole over the fire till it be thick, taking care not to allow it to boil; sweeten it, and when nearly cold, stir in a tablespoonful of orange-flower or rose-water.

MISCELLANEOUS.

YEAST.

Not with the leaven, as of old, Of sin and malice fed, But with unfeigned sincerity.

One dozen of potatoes, two cupfuls of hops; put them together in a bag, and place them in a pot with two quarts of water; let it boil till the potatoes are done; a cupful of salt, a ladle of flour; then pour the boiling water over it, then let it stand till lukewarm; add a cupful of old yeast, cover it up, and put near the fire till it foments.

BREAD.

His diet was of _wheaten bread_. COWPER.

Mixt with the rustic throng, see ruddy maids, Some taught with dextrous hand to twirl the wheel, Some expert To raise from _leavened wheat the kneaded loaf_. DODSLEY.

Her _bread_ is deemed such dainty fare, That ev'ry prudent traveller His wallet loads with many a crust. COWPER.

Like the _loaf_ in the Tub's pleasant tale, That was fish, flesh, and custard, good claret and ale, It comprised every flavor, was all and was each, Was grape and was pineapple, nectarine and peach. LOVILOND.

Mix with six pounds of sifted flour one ounce of salt, nearly half a pint of fresh sweet yeast as it comes from the brewery, and a sufficient quantity of warmed milk to make the whole into a stiff dough, work and knead it well on a board, on which a little flour has been strewed, for fifteen or twenty minutes, then put it into a deep pan, cover it with a warmed towel, set it before the fire, and let it rise for an hour and a half or perhaps two hours; cut off a piece of this sponge or dough; knead it well for eight or ten minutes, together with flour sufficient to keep it from adhering to the board, put it into small tins, filling them three quarters full; dent the rolls all around with a knife, and let them stand a few minutes before putting them in the oven.

The remainder of the dough must then be worked up for loaves, and baked either in or out of shape.

RYE AND INDIAN BREAD.

Of wine she never tasted through the year, But white and black was all her homely cheer, _Brown bread_ and milk (but first she skimmed her bowls), And rasher of singed bacon on the coals. CHAUCER.

Sift two quarts of rye, and two quarts of Indian meal, and mix them well together. Boil three pints of milk; pour it boiling upon the meal; add two teaspoonfuls of salt, and stir the whole very hard. Let it stand till it becomes of only a lukewarm heat, and then stir in half a pint of good, fresh yeast; if from the brewery and quite fresh, a smaller quantity will suffice. Knead the mixture into a stiff dough, and set it to rise in a pan. Cover it with a thick cloth that has been previously warmed, and set it near the fire. When it is quite light, and has cracked all over the top, make it into two loaves; put them into a moderate oven, and bake them two hours and a half.

BUTTER.

Vessels large And broad, by the sweet hand of neatness clean'd, Meanwhile, in decent order ranged appear, The milky treasure, strain'd thro' filtering lawn, Intended to receive. At early day, Sweet slumber shaken from her opening lids, My lovely Patty to her dairy hies; There, from the surface of expanded bowls She skims the floating cream, and to her churn Commits the rich consistence; nor disdains, Though soft her hand, though delicate her frame, To urge the rural toil, fond to obtain The country housewife's humble name and praise. Continued agitation separates soon The unctuous particles; with gentler strokes And artful, soon they coalesce; at length Cool water pouring from the limpid spring Into a smooth glazed vessel, deep and wide, She gathers the loose fragments to a heap, Which in the cleansing wave, well wrought and press'd, To one consistent golden mass, receives The sprinkled seasoning, and of pats or pounds The fair impression, the neat shape assumes. DODSLEY.

COTTAGE CHEESE.

Warm from the cow she pours The milky flood. An acid juice infused, From the dried stomach drawn of suckling calf, Coagulates the whole. Immediate now Her spreading hands bear down the gathering curd, Which hard and harder grows, till, clear and thin, The green whey rises separate. DODSLEY.

Warm three half pints of cream with one half pint of milk, and put a little rennet to it; keep it covered in a warm place till it is curdled; have a proper mould with holes, either of china or any other; put the curds into it to drain, about one hour or less. Serve it with a good plain cream, and pounded sugar over it.

CAKES.

BUCKWHEAT CAKES.

Do, dear James, mix up the cakes: Just one quart of meal it takes; Pour the water on the pot, Be careful it is not too hot; Sift the meal well through your hand, Thicken well--don't let it stand; Stir it quick,--clash, clatter, clatter! O what light, delicious batter! Now listen to the next command: On the dresser let it stand Just three quarters of an hour, To feel the gently rising power Of powders, melted into yeast, To lighten well this precious feast. See, now it rises to the brim! Quick, take the ladle, dip it in; So let it rest, until the fire The griddle heats as you desire. Be careful that the coals are glowing, No smoke around its white curls throwing; Apply the suet, softly, lightly; The griddle's black face shines more brightly. Now pour the batter on; delicious! Don't, dear James, think me officious, But lift the tender edges lightly; Now turn it over quickly, sprightly. 'Tis done! Now on the white plate lay it: Smoking hot, with butter spread, 'Tis quite enough to turn our head!

JOHNNY CAKES.

Some talk of hoecake, fair Virginia's pride! Rich _Johnny cake_ this mouth has often tried; Both please me well, their virtues much the same; Alike their fabric, as allied their fame. BARLOW.

A quart of sifted Indian meal, and a handful of wheat flour sifted; mix them; three eggs, well beaten; two tablespoonfuls of fresh brewer's yeast, or flour of home made yeast, a teaspoonful of salt, and a quart of milk.

MUFFINS.

Friend, I am a shrewd observer, and will guess What cakes you doat on for your favorite mess. ARMSTRONG.