Chapter 6

Take pieces of fresh pork that have been left from sausage meat, or any trimmings of the hams or shoulders; boil them, then chop. Have two heads nicely washed and cleaned, boil, pick out the bones and chop them; mix with the other meat, and season as you do other mince pies, they do not require any suet. The lower crust of mince pies need not be so rich as the top; always cut several places in the top crust with scissors, to keep the juice from wasting. When you warm mince pies, do it gradually, and do not have the crust scorched. Some prefer them cold. When the pies are very plain, a little preserve syrup, and a glass of wine added is an improvement.

Currant Pie.

After stemming green currants, scald them, and allow them to stand awhile; pour off the water; have the crust in your plates; put in the currants, sweeten them well; put in a little water, a dust of flour and a little orange peel. Gooseberries are prepared in the same way, but require more sugar. Cherries should not be scalded.

Pumpkin Pudding.

Choose a yellow pumpkin, with a fine grain, pare and cut it in small pieces, boil it in plenty of water, and take it up as soon as it is done, or it will soak up the water; to a gallon of pumpkin, stewed and mashed, put two quarts of milk, eight eggs, half a pound of butter, half a tea-cup of lemon or rose brandy; nutmeg and sugar to your taste; bake it in deep plates, with a bottom crust.

Apple Pudding.

Take three pints of stewed apples, well mashed, melt a pound of butter, beat ten eggs with two pounds of sugar, and mix all together with a glass of brandy and wine; pat in nutmeg to your taste, and bake in puff paste.

Quince Pudding

Take six quinces, pare them, cut them in quarters, and stew them, in a little water with lemon peel; cover them and let them cook gently till soft, when mash, or rub them through a sieve; mix them with sugar till very sweet, season with mace and nutmeg; beat up four eggs and stir in with a pint of cream; bake it in paste.

Potato Pudding.

Take a pound and a half of well mashed potatoes; while they are warm put in three-quarters of a pound of butter; beat six eggs with three-quarters of a pound of sugar, rolled fine, mix all well together, and put in a glass of brandy; season with nutmeg, mace or essence of lemon, and bake in paste.

Cocoanut Pudding.

Take three-quarters of a pound of grated cocoanut, with the brown skin taken off, half a pound of sugar, the same of butter, the whites of six eggs, beaten light, half a pint of cream, a glass of brandy, or rose-water, and a quarter of a pound of crackers, pounded fine, beat them together and bake in paste. If you wish the pudding rich, take a pound of butter, the same quantity of cocoanut, of sugar and whites of eggs, omitting the crackers and cream. Season as above. This quantity will fill six dessert plates of large size.

Sweet Potato Pudding.

Boil the potatoes, take off the skin, mash and strain them while warm; to a pound of potatoes put half a pound of butter; beat six eggs with half a pound of loaf-sugar, add a little mace or nutmeg; mix all together, and bake with or without paste.

Lemon Pudding.

Grate the rind of six fresh lemons, squeeze the juice from three, and strain it; beat the yelks of sixteen eggs very light, put to them sixteen table-spoonsful of powdered sugar, not heaped, with four crackers finely powdered; beat it till light; put a puff paste in your dish and bake in a moderate oven.

Another Way.

Take one pound of potatoes strained through a sieve, half a pound of butter, the same of rolled sugar, the juice of two lemons and the peel of one; beat five eggs, and mix all together with a glass of wine and a nutmeg.

A Preserve Pudding.

Take a deep dish, butter it well and spread a layer of preserves, without syrup--either quinces, citron, apples or peaches; rub together a pound of fresh butter, and the same of powdered loaf-sugar, and add the yelks of sixteen eggs well beaten; pour this on the preserves, bake it in a quick oven for half an hour; it may be set by till the next day; beat the whites of the eggs as for island, seasoning with currant jelly, and spread it over the pudding cold, just as it goes to table. This makes a rich dish and is eaten without sauce. This quantity will bake in four ordinary pie plates.

Arrow Root Pudding.

Take four table spoonsful of arrow root, mixed in a little cold milk; pour on this a quart of boiling milk, beat six eggs with three table spoonsful of sugar, and stir all together with a spoonful of butter, bake it twenty minutes in paste.

Rice Pudding.

Pour a quart of boiling milk on a pint of rice flour, stir it well, and put in six spoonsful of sugar, one of butter, and four eggs, beat all together, and bake in deep plates, with or without crust.

Another Way.

Boil half a pound of rice till soft, when nearly cold stir in half a pound of white sugar, a quarter of a pound of butter, and three eggs well beaten; grate in half a nutmeg, stir in a pint of rich milk; pour all in a yellow dish and bake half an hour; then, put a thick coating of loaf sugar on the top, and eat hot, with or without cream.

Pudding Of Whole Rice.

Boil a pint of washed rice in milk or water, till soft, put in a lump of butter, five eggs, and sugar to your taste, season with essence of lemon, or lemon peel, and mix in cream to make it thin enough to pour, bake it in paste, in deep plates.

A Pudding Of Corn Meal.

Pour three pints of boiling milk on nearly half a pint of sifted corn meal, stir in half a pound of butter, add four eggs, a little nutmeg, rose brandy, and the grated peel of a lemon, sweeten it, and bake it in paste.

Corn Pudding in Paste.

To two pounds of mush moderately warm, put three-quarters of a pound of butter, the yelks of six eggs, the rind of one lemon, and juice of two; sugar and nutmeg to your taste, and bake in paste as potato puddings. This is much admired.

Richmond Pudding.

Take one pound of raisins, stoned and chopped, half a pound of currants rubbed in flour, a pound and a half of grated bread, a pound of suet shred fine, eight eggs, two glasses of brandy, and two of wine; beat them all together, adding the eggs at the last; dip your bag or cloth in boiling water and flour it well; pour in the pudding and tie it up, leaving room for it to swell; allow it four hours to boil; eat it with white sauce.

Suet Pudding.

Take half a pound of suet chopped fine, four tea-cups of flour, and five eggs; beat these together with a quart of milk, and half a spoonful of salt; put in three tea-cups of raisins just before you tie it up; they should be rubbed in flour to prevent them from sinking; dried cherries, or pared dried peaches, are very good instead of raisins; scald the cloth and flour it; leave room for the pudding to swell. If you put one-fourth corn meal, you can do with fewer eggs.

Cheese Cakes.

Take one quart of curd, after the whey has been strained off, mix with it half a pound of fresh butter, an ounce of pounded blanched almonds, the whites of three eggs, a tea-cup of currants; season with sugar and rose water to your taste, and bake in plates with paste.

Baked Apples.

Wash and core your apples, and in the vacancy left by the core, put brown sugar, and bake them in a stove or oven.

Batter Pudding with Green Fruit.

Make a batter as for suet pudding. If you have small fruit, put it in whole; if apples, chop them fine; boil it three hours.

Custard Bread and Butter Pudding.

Fill a pan with slices of buttered bread, with raisins, grated nutmeg and sugar over each slice; beat six eggs with a tea-cup of sugar; add two quarts of rich milk, and pour it over the bread and butter; bake it in a stove or oven.

Balloon Puddings.

Mix a pint of rich milk with a pound and a quarter of flour; break nine eggs; beat the yelks with the batter, the whites alone; when they are mixed, stir in three-quarters of a pound of melted butter; grease cups or bowls with butter; pour in the batter, and bake them half an hour; if in a dutch-oven, put some water in the bottom; eat them with white sauce.

Plain Rice Pudding.

Put two quarts of good milk in a tin pan, with a tea-cup of whole rice, the same of stemmed raisins, and a little nutmeg or cinnamon, and sugar to your taste. If you bake it in a dutch-oven, it is best to put a little water in the bottom before you set it in; bake it till the rice is soft, and there is a brown crust on the top.

A Rice Dish with Fruit.

Put a tea-cup of rice in a quart of milk, and boil it very slowly to keep it from burning; when done, add a little salt, a tea-cup of cream, and sugar enough to sweeten it; have ready, in a deep dish, any fruit that is in season,--cherries, blackberries or apricots, apples, or peaches, cut up and well sweetened, but uncooked; spread the rice roughly over, and bake it slowly two hours. It may be eaten with cream, and nutmeg, and is quite as good cold as warm.

Bread Pudding.

Bread pudding is made out of bread that is too dry to use; cut it fine, boil it in milk, and mash it well; beat four eggs and put in, with half a pound of raisins; boil it an hour and a half, or bake it.

Bread and Apple Pudding.

_To be eaten with Sauce_.

Put a layer of buttered bread in the bottom of a well buttered dish, with chopped apples, sugar, grated bread and butter, and a little pounded cinnamon; fill up the dish with alternate layers of these articles, observing that it is better to have the inner layer of bread thinner than that of the top and bottom. This is a nice dish for those who cannot partake of pastry.

Custard Hasty Pudding.

Put a quart of new milk on to boil; then mix a tea-cup of rice flour with a little milk, two eggs, and three spoonsful of sugar; beat it, and when your milk boils, stir it in; let it boil five minutes--when pour it out on some buttered toast, in a bowl or dish, and grate nutmeg over it.

Elkridge Huckleberry Pudding.

One pound of flour, one of light-brown sugar, eight eggs--beat as sponge cake, and add one quart of berries, nicely picked, washed, and allowed to dry, bake as sponge cake. This maybe served with sauce; either Lot or cold.

Huckleberry Pudding.

Make a batter of five eggs to a quart of milk, and a little butter; pick, wash, and rub in flour a pint or more of huckleberries, put them in, and bake as long as other puddings, or boil it in a bag.

Green Corn Pudding.

Cut the green corn through the grain, and scrape it off the cob with the back of a knife; prepare a batter made of a quart of rich milk, two eggs, and wheat flour, and a little salt; then add the corn, and beat it well for a few minutes: it should be of a consistence to pour easily; grease the pan, and pour it in; bake with quick heat in a stove or spider, about half an hour. Six ears of corn will be enough for a quart of milk, or you may double the quantity; eat it with butter, sugar and cream, molasses, or any sauce that is convenient.

Baked Pudding.

Boil a quart of milk, and stir into it half a pint of corn meal and a tea-spoonful of salt--mix this well together; beat two eggs, stir in when nearly cold; add a tea-cup of chopped suet, two table-spoonsful of sugar, a little spice--grease a pan, and pour it in; bake three-quarters of an hour. Eat it with sugar and cream, or molasses sauce.

A Boiled Indian Pudding.

Boil a quart of milk, and stir in meal to make it a thick batter; put in a tea-spoonful of salt, a tea-cup of suet, a spoonful of sugar; mix; these well together, add two eggs, well beaten. If you have dried peaches, soak them; sprinkle them with dry flour, and put them in, or put in raisins, previously rubbed with wheat flour-beat it well; have your pot boiling, scald the bag, flour it, and put in the pudding,--it will boil in two hours. Eat with sugar and cream, molasses, or any kind of pudding sauce.

Boiled Bread Pudding.

Take a loaf of stale light bread, tie it in a cloth, boil it an hour, and eat it with sauce.

A Bird's Nest Pudding.

Pare and core some apples, enough to fill a deep dish, they should be ripe, and such as will cook easily. Make a custard of five eggs, to a quart of milk, and sugar and nutmeg to taste; pour this over, and bake half an hour.

Little Puddings in Pans.

Beat four eggs very light; make a batter of two tea-cups of flour, three of milk, and one of cream; pour in the eggs, and beat all well together; put in a spoonful of melted butter; grease your shallow pins or cups, and bake from twenty to thirty minutes; eat them with sauce, or sugar, cream and nutmeg.

Switzerland Pudding.

Make a hatter of five eggs, a quart of milk and flour; pare and core enough good apples to cover the bottom of your pan, fill the holes where the cores came out with sugar, grease the pan, lay them in, and pour the batter over, bake it an hour and a half, and make wine sauce to eat with it.

Boiling Puddings.

In boiling puddings, you must observe to have plenty of water in the pot; the pudding should be turned frequently, have the water boiling when it goes in, and do not let it stop. Have a tea-kettle of water by the fire to pour in as it evaporates. When the pudding is done, it should be dipped in a pan of cold water, to prevent its adhering to the cloth.

Screw Dumplings.

Roll out some paste thin, in a long strip, lay in preserves of any kind, or stewed fruit, well sweetened, roll it up and close it tight, pin it up in a towel, and boil it an hour, eat it with butter, sugar and cream, or sauce.

Large Dumplings.

Take green fruit of any kind--peaches, apples, cherries, blackberries, or huckleberries, make crust as for pies, roll it out, put in the fruit, and pin it in a cloth, boil it two hours.

Peach and Apple Dumplings.

Make crust as for plain pies, cut it in as many pieces as you want dumplings, pare and core the apples, roll out the crust, and close them up, have the water boiling when they go in, and let them boil three-quarters of an hour. Peaches pared and stoned make very good dumplings, eat them with sauce of any kind, or sugar, cream and butter.

Light Bread Dumplings

Take as much lightened dough as will make a loaf of bread, work into it half a pound of stemmed raisins, tie it up in a cloth, and boil it an hour and a half.

Rice Dumplings

Wash and pick a pint of rice, boil it in water till it is soft; have some apples pared and cored whole, fill the holes with sugar, cover them over with the rice, and tie each one separately in a cloth; boil them till the apples are done.

Indian Suet Dumplings

Chop beef suet fine, and to a pint of Indian meal, take a table-spoonful of the suet and a little salt; pour on boiling water enough to make a stiff dough, work it well, make into round cakes, and boil in clear water. These are good when vegetables are scarce, to eat with meat, or as a dessert with sugar or molasses.

Corn Dumplings.

When you boil corned beef, new bacon, or pork, you can make dumplings, by taking some grease out of the pot, with some of the water, and pouring it hot on a quart of Indian meal, mix and work it well, (it will not require salt,) make it into little round cakes; (they should be stiff, or they will boil to pieces;) take out the meat when it is done, and boil the dumplings in the same water for half an hour. They may be eaten with molasses, and make a good common dessert.

Pan Cakes.

Take five eggs to a quart of milk, make a thin batter with flour, have a little hot lard in the frying-pan, and pour in enough batter to cover the bottom; turn and fry the other side; if eggs are scarce, a tea-spoonful of salaeratus will supply the place of two. Eat them with wine and sugar.

Water Pan Cakes--a cheap Dessert.

Stir a quart of warm water in sufficient flour to make a batter of moderate thickness; dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus, with a little salt, into a tea-cupful of butter-milk, or sour cream; beat it well; put a little lard in a frying-pan, and when it is hot, fry them. They are much better to be eaten hot, with sauce, sugar and cream, or any thing you may fancy. This is a very cheap dessert, and has been thought nearly equal to pan cakes made with milk and eggs.

Apple Fritters.

Allow four eggs to a quart of milk; make a thick batter with flour, and beat it well; stir in a quart of apples, chopped fine: have a frying-pan with hot lard, and drop a spoonful in a place; fry them light brown on both sides, and eat with sugar and wine, or sweet cider.

Rice Fritters.

To a pint of rice flour add a tea-spoonful of salt and a pint of boiling water; beat four eggs and stir them in, have hot lard in a frying-pan, and fry them as other fritters.

Indian Meal Fritters.

Take a quart of butter-milk, (in which dissolve a tea-spoonful of salaeratus,) stir in meal to make a batter of suitable thickness, a tea-spoonful of salt and two eggs; beat all well together, and fry in hot lard, as other fritters. If you like, you can put in chopped apples. Eat with sugar or molasses.

Snow Fritters.

Take of light new fallen snow, three table-spoonsful for every egg you would otherwise use--that is, if you would wish the quantity that three eggs would make in the usual way, take nine table-spoonsful of snow, and stir in a quart of rich milk that has been setting in a very cold place, so that it will not melt the snow, and destroy its lightness; put in a tea-spoonful of salt, and enough wheat flour to make a stiff batter; have ready a frying-pan with boiling lard, and drop a spoonful in a place as with other fritters, and set the remainder in a cold place till the first are done. Eat them with wine sauce, or sugar, butter and cream, or any thing you fancy.

Rice Flummery.

Rice that is ground coarse, in a hand-mill, is much better for making flummery than the flour you buy: put three pints of milk to boil, mix with water two tea-cups of ground rice, and stir it in the milk when it boils; while the milk is cold, put in it two dozen peach kernels, blanched, and rolled with a bottle; wet your moulds with cold cream or water; keep stirring the rice till it is thick, when pour it out in the moulds; just before dinner turn them out on dishes, have cream, sugar and nutmeg mixed, to eat with it.

Rice Milk.

Take a tea-cupful of rice, boil it till about half done, and let all the water be evaporated; then add the milk, and beat an egg with some flour, and stir in; let it boil n few minutes, and season with sugar and nutmeg.

Wine Sauce for Puddings.

Mix a spoonful of flour in a tea-cup of water, with two spoonsful of sugar and one of butter; stir this in half a pint of boiling water; let it boil a few minutes, when add a glass of wine and some nutmeg.

White Sauce.

Take half a pound of powdered white sugar, and quarter of a pound of butter, beat them well together with a glass of wine, and grate in half a nutmeg. A little currant jelly is preferred by some in this sauce instead of wine.

Cream Sauce.

Boil half a pint of cream, thicken it a very little, and put in a lump of butter; sweeten it to your taste, and after it gets cold add a glass of white wine; this is good to eat with boiled rice, plain pudding, or apple dumplings.

Molasses Sauce.

Put half a pint of molasses to boil in a skillet, with a piece of butter the size of an egg; when it has boiled a few minutes, pour in a tea-cup of cream, and grate in half a nutmeg; this is the most economical way of making sauce.

Egg Sauce.

Take the whites of three eggs and the yelks of two, beat them till very light, and add a large table-spoonful of butter ready creamed, with sugar and nutmeg to your taste; boil three glasses of wine, and pour over the other ingredients, put it over the fire, and let it boil two minutes, stirring all the time. This is nice sauce for any kind of pudding.

Cherry Toast.

Stone and stew a quart of ripe cherries, sweeten them, place some slices of buttered toast in a deep dish, and put the stewed cherries over them. A little powdered cinnamon or grated nutmeg may be put on the toast.

Apple Custard.

Lay a crust in your pie plates, slice apples thin and half fill the plates, pour over a custard made of four eggs to a quart of milk, sweeten and season it; bake it slowly.

Custard baked in Cups.

Beat up five eggs with two heaped spoonsful of sugar, mix these with a quart of rich milk and a little nutmeg; fill the cups, pour water in the bottom of a dutch-oven or dripping-pan, and set them in and bake them till thick.

Boiled Custard.

Put on to boil a quart of new milk; have ready a dozen peach kernels, scalded, peeled, and rubbed fine with a bottle, beat five or six eggs, with some sugar, and when the milk boils stir them in with the kernels; keep stirring till it thickens, but do not let it boil, or it will curdle; then take it off the fire, pour it in a pitcher, and continue to stir till it is nearly cold, when pour it into your cups, and grate nutmeg over the top of each. If you wish to have it flavored with lemon, boil some peel with the milk. This custard may be put in a glass bowl, and an island on the top.

Cold Custard.

Sweeten half a gallon of milk, put into it a table-spoonful of rennet wine, and let it stand in a warm place till it begins to come, when it should be set in cold water till dinner time; just as you take it to table, pour some cream on it, and grate nutmeg over the top.

Cream Custard.

To a pint of thin cream, take one egg, and beat and season as other custard; bake it in a plate with paste; this quantity is sufficient for one large plate, and is more delicate than custard made in the usual way.

Ice Custard with Vanilla.

Boil three pints of rich milk with as much vanilla as will give it a good flavor; sweeten it to your taste; have ready four eggs well beaten, pour the boiling milk on them, and keep stirring till cool; when put it to freeze.

Custard with Raisins.

Stone and cut a tea-cup of raisins, put them in a quart of milk; when it boils stir in five eggs well beaten, with two table-spoonsful of sugar, and a little lemon peel; keep stirring till it boils again, then take it off the fire, and stir till nearly cold; when put it in cups, or in a large bowl; beat the whites of three eggs with sugar, and when quite cold put them on the top of the custard.

To Boil Custard in Water.

Beat the eggs, sugar and seasoning together, and put it in a pitcher or nice stone jar; put in the milk and stir it well together; set the pitcher in a pot of boiling water, and stir till it is cooked, when take the pitcher out and stir till nearly cool. Custard should never be boiled or baked two much--a minute too long will sometimes spoil it.

Whips.

Grate the peel of a lemon in a pint of cream, sweeten it with loaf sugar, and whip it well; beat the whites of three eggs and mix with it; put apple jelly, seasoned with lemon, in the bottom of your glasses, and as the froth rises put it on the top of the jelly.

Trifle.

Put slices of sponge cake or Naples biscuit in the bottom of a deep glass dish; on this put slices of preserved citron, or apples preserved with lemon; pour over this a boiled custard, and on the top put a whip made by the foregoing receipt.

Floating Island.

Beat the whites of five eggs till the beater will stand up in them; then add, a little at a time, four spoonsful of powdered loaf-sugar, and currant jelly, or preserved syrup of any kind; put rich milk in the bottom of a glass, or china bowl, and put the island on the top. In making floating island, you should allow the whites of six eggs to six persons. You can have very good custards at the same time with the yelks of the eggs.

Apple Float.

To a quart of apples, slightly stewed and well mashed, put the whites of three eggs, well beaten, and four table-spoons heaping full of loaf sugar, heat them together for fifteen minutes, and eat with rich milk and nutmeg.

Carrageen or Irish Moss Blancmange.