Chapter 4

From SEÑORA TERESA ARMIJO DE SYMINGTON, of New Mexico.

First prepare your puffs by the following recipe. Ingredients: Two cupfuls of milk, two of flour, two eggs and a piece of butter the size of an egg melted; a little salt; heat the eggs separately and well; add the milk to the yolks, then the flour and so on, the whites last; beat all well together. They may be baked in teacups. This quantity will make about a dozen puffs.

_Curry of Chicken_--Buy a young chicken, cut it into pieces, leaving out all the bones; season with pepper and salt to taste; fry them in butter until well done; cut an onion fine, which fry in the same butter until brown; add a teacupful of clear stock, a teaspoonful of sugar. Take about a tablespoonful of curry powder and a little flour, mix and rub together with a little of the stock until quite smooth; add to the sauce pan; put in the chicken and let it boil for a few minutes; just before taking out add the juice of half a lemon. When this is all ready proceed to fill puffs while hot and serve immediately. Garnish puffs with parsley and serve a dish of cold slaw with it.

PILAUF.

From MISS FLORIDE CUNINGHAM, of South Carolina, Lady Manager.

Select a good fat hen, one pound of bacon strip, and one dozen whole black peppers, and boil together until quite done. Take them out of the pot, and put into the liquid left a pint and a half of rice, seasoned with a dessertspoonful of salt, boil twenty minutes, drain from it any of the juice that may remain, and place the pot again on the range, where the rice cannot burn, but where it will have the opportunity to dry thoroughly--each grain remaining apart. Keep the chicken hot and brown the bacon in the oven. When the rice is ready serve in an open dish, place the chicken on the top and pour over it a rich sauce of melted butter and hard boiled eggs chopped fine. The bacon can be sliced very thin and served with lettuce as a course.

FRICASSEE CHICKEN.

From MRS. HELEN C. BRAYTON, of South Carolina, Vice-President of State Board and Lady Manager.

Cut the chicken in pieces and stew in as much water as will cover it. Add a bunch of sweet herbs, white pepper and onions. When cooked, add the yolks of six eggs, glass of white wine, chopped parsley, butter, and tablespoonful of cream, all beaten together.

A GOOD ROAST TURKEY.

From MRS. HELEN A. PECK, OF MISSOURI, Alternate Lady Manager-at- Large.

An ordinary turkey weighing eight to ten pounds requires at least two hours for proper and thorough cooking. Prepare your fowl and rub dry with a clean towel; then mix a little pepper and salt and rub both inside and outside of the turkey before putting in the dressing. Grate stale bread, about three cups; then add a small teaspoon of pepper and the same amount of powdered sage or sweet marjoram, salt and a little salt fat pork chopped very fine or a piece of butter the size of an egg; use warm water to mix the whole to the consistency of thick batter; beat an egg and stir into it the last thing; stuff the breast with half of the dressing, then sew up with coarse white thread and put the remaining dressing into the body and sew up. Take skewers of wood or iron and pin the wings closely to the sides, then turn the neck back and pin that firmly. One can use twine and tie them if they haven't the skewers. Force the legs down and tie tightly to the body before placing the turkey in the dripping pan with nearly a pint of water. Have a brisk fire and baste the turkey at least every fifteen minutes with these drippings. This frequent basting is of great importance as it keeps in the juices and allows thorough cooking. Turn the turkey two or three times during the cooking. During the last half hour dredge with flour and butter freely. The crisp pasty look so desirable and appetizing comes from this. Cook gizzard and liver in a sauce pan on the stove until thoroughly tender, then chop very fine and put them in the gravy to boil thoroughly in the dripping pan in the gravy which is delicious, and to be served from a tureen.

DRESSING FOR TURKEY.

From MRS. W. H. FELTON, OF GEORGIA, Lady Manager.

Bread crumbs and cold rice, equal quantities; season with pepper, onion and salt to taste, mixing well with cup of butter and yolks of three hard boiled eggs; dress the outside with circles of white hard boiled eggs and sprigs of parsley or celery.

HOW TO COOK CHESTNUTS.

From MISS ELOISE L. ROMAN, OF MARYLAND, Alternate Lady Manager.

Two quarts of water to one quart of fresh chestnuts. If dried they should be soaked several hours in cold water. Boil from three- quarters to one hour. Abut five minutes before they are done add a handful of salt. Peel and skin, serve hot, browned in butter, or cold with salad dressing and equal parts of chopped celery. When parboiled and skinned with salt and a little pepper it makes an excellent dressing for turkeys.

GAME

WILD DUCK IN MARYLAND.

From MRS. WILLIAM REID, of Maryland, Lady Manager.

Wild ducks, canvassback, redheads, etc., are roasted without stuffing. After they are picked and thoroughly cleansed, roast them in a tin kitchen before a hot fire or in a quick oven for twenty-one minutes. They should be well browned on the outside, but the blood should run when cut with a knife. Unless underdone the flavor of the duck is destroyed. Fried hominy is generally served with wild duck; and fresh celery. Currant jelly is sometimes used.

SNIPE AND WOODCOCK BROILED ON TOAST.

From MRS. RUFUS S. FROST, of Massachusetts, Lady Manager.

Prepare the birds with great care; place in baking tin and put in oven. Pour into the tin enough water, boiling hot, to cover the bottom of the tin or bake pan; cover the bake pan with another tin; keep them closely covered and let them cook very steadily until tender, adding from time to time enough boiling hot water to keep birds from burning, or even _sticking_ to the tin. When very tender remove from the oven and from the bake pan, carefully saving all the liquid in the pan, which you set on top of the stove, which is the foundation and the _flavor_ for your sauce or gravy which you make _in this_ pan for your birds after they are broiled. Have in an earthen dish some melted butter; dip the birds in the butter and then in Indian or corn meal and put on the gridiron to brown and finish cooking; keep them hot as possible until you serve. Arrange nicely trimmed pieces of toasted bread on the heated platter, put on each piece a bird, pour over and around the birds on the platter a sauce which you make _in_ the bake pan in which your birds were semi- cooked, and which you have kept on top of the range while your birds were broiling. Pour into this pan of _liquid_ or "juice" one teacup sweet cream, and thicken with one tablespoon butter, yolk of one egg and two tablespoons of Indian meal; let it boil up once just to thicken, and pour boiling hot onto the birds and toast on platter, saving some to send in separate serving dish. If you prefer flour to the corn meal to dip the birds in after the melted butter bath, use flour also to thicken the sauce or gravy, which should be a brown sauce or gravy and is generally brown enough if made in roasting pan. A prize cook in Washington once confided to me that "a leetle last year's spiced pickle syrup am luscious flavor for gravy of the wee birds, robins, quail, snipe and them like." Alas! In the same moment of flattering triumph for _me_, she added--triumphantly on _her_ part also--"Lor, chile, I'se de only one libing dis day dat knows nuff to use that same, sure!"

PRAIRIE CHICKEN.

From MRS. E. S. THOMSON, of Maryland, Lady Manager.

Do not wash prairie chickens. Cover this breasts with very thin slices of bacon, or rub them well with butter; roast them before a good fire, basting them often with butter. Cook twenty minutes, salt and pepper them, and serve on a hot dish as soon as cooked.

_Sauce for the above_--First roll a pint of dry bread crumbs and pass half of them through a sieve. Put a small onion into a pint of milk and when it boils remove the onion and thicken the milk with the half pint of sifted crumbs; take from the fire and stir in a heaping teaspoonful of butter, a grating of nutmeg, pepper and salt. Put a little butter in a sautée pan, and when hot throw in the half pint of coarser crumbs which remained in the sieve; stir them over the fire until they assume a light brown color, taking care that they do not burn, and stir into them a pinch of cayenne pepper. For serving, pour over the chicken, when helped, a spoonful of the white sauce and on this place a spoonful of the crumbs.

VEGETABLES

VEGETABLE OYSTER.

From MRS. GOVERNOR BAGLEY, of Michigan, Lady Manager-at-Large.

_I regret that the long distance I am from home prevents me from sending you many valuable recipes I would be glad to contribute to your book. One, however, occurs to me that you may consider worthy a place, and, I assure you, makes a very delicious dish.

Sincerely yours,_

While cooking vegetable oyster put in the kettle a small piece of codfish. This adds very much to its flavor and delicacy and makes a delicious dish out of what would otherwise be an almost tasteless vegetable. The codfish should, of course, be removed before sending to the table.

CAULIFLOWER WITH TARTAR SAUCE.

From MRS. MYRA BRADWELL, of Chicago, Lady Manager.

Serve the cauliflower with one cup of drawn butter in which has been stirred the juice of a lemon, and a half teaspoonful of French mustard, mixed up well with the sauce.

SCALLOPED POTATOES.

From MRS. BERIAH WILKINS, of District of Columbia, Fifth Vice- President, Board of Lady Managers.

Slice six raw potatoes as thin as wafers. This can be done with a sharp knife, although there is a little instrument for the purpose, to be had at the house furnishing stores, which flutes prettily as well as slices evenly. Lay in ice water a few minutes; then put a layer in the bottom of a pudding dish, and over this sprinkle salt and pepper and small bits of butter; then another layer of potatoes and so on until the dish is full. Pour over this a pint of milk, stick bits of butter thickly over it, cover the dish, set it in the oven, bake half an hour. Remove the cover if not sufficiently brown.

ESCALLOPED SWEET POTATOES.

From MRS. P. B. WINSTON, of Minnesota, Alternate Lady Manager.

Take large sweet potatoes; parboil them slightly and cut them in transverse slices. Prepare a deep baking dish and cover the bottom with a layer of slices; add a little butter, a very little sugar and nutmeg. Strew over this a few bits of orange peel and add a little juice of the orange. Fill the dish in like manner, finishing with fine shred of orange peel. Bake until tender and you will have a dish to satisfy an epicure.

POTATO PUFF. (A la Geneve)

From MRS. H. F. BROWN, of Minnesota, Lady Manager.

Whip mashed potatoes light and soft, with milk, butter and two raw eggs; season with pepper and salt, and beat in a few spoonfuls of powdered cheese. Pile upon a bake-dish and brown nicely. Serve in dish.

POTATO CROQUETTES.

From MRS. FRANCES P. BURROWS, of Michigan, Alternate Lady Manager.

Four large mealy potatoes, cold. Mash them; add two tablespoons of fresh, melted butter, pinch of salt, a little pepper, one tablespoon of cream. Whip it for about five minutes or until very smooth and light. Make into forms, roll them in a beaten egg and bread crumbs. Fry in boiling lard.

POTATOES--MASHED.

From MRS. E. J. P. HOWES, of Michigan, Lady Manager.

Peel potatoes thin; put into boiling water with a little salt added. Cook until tender; drain off the water and remove the cover a few moments to dry the potatoes; turn into an earthen dish that has been heated, and beat up with a wire heater or silver fork, moistening the whole with cream; or, if not available, milk with a little butter will answer; salt to taste and mold in any desired form when it is ready to serve. A wooden masher in apt to make it heavy, while beating will make it light and creamy.

BOSTON BAKED BEANS.

From MRS. ELIZABETH C. LANGWORTHY, of Nebraska, Lady Manager.

Soak one quart of small, dry beans over night. Parboil in the morning and place in earthen jar, with salt and pepper to taste. Add one-half teaspoon soda and two tablespoons of molasses; also a small piece of salt pork. Cover with water and bake eight hours, adding boiling water as needed.

LIMA BEANS

From MRS. MARIAN D. COOPER, of Montana, Alternate Lady Manager.

Soak beans over night; cook one hour in water, leaving very little water when done. Just before serving season with pepper, salt, cream and butter and heat thoroughly.

BAKED TOMATOES.

From MRS. GOVERNOR RICKARDS, of Montana, President State Board and Lady Manager.

Select large-sized, smooth and round tomatoes. Cut from the stem end a slice and lay aside. Scoop all the inside of tomato out, being careful not to break through; add half as much cracker or bread crumbs; season highly with salt and pepper; add plenty of butter, a dash or two of cayenne; put on the stove and cook for ten minutes. Now fill the hollow tomatoes with this dressing; when full, add four or six whole cloves, putting them on top of the dressing; either pile up high or make level and put on the sliced top. Place tomatoes in a large baking pan, with a little hot water to prevent sticking. Bake fifteen minutes.

BAKED TOMATOES.

From MRS. AUGUSTA TRUMAN, of California, Lady Alternate-at-Large.

Select smooth, medium-sized tomatoes; make a small aperture at the stalk end; remove the pulp and seeds with a spoon and put into a sieve to drain. Chop equal parts of cold chicken and veal and one green pepper; add a well-beaten egg, half cup grilled bread crumbs, piece of butter, pepper, salt, sage and a suspicion of onion; mix well together; moisten with some of the juice; fill the tomatoes; bake half an hour in a moderate oven. Serve each tomato on a lettuce leaf. This makes a pretty as well as a savory entrée.

STEWED TOMATOES.

From MISS MARY H. KROUT, of Indiana, Alternate Lady Manager.

Take one quart of firm ripe tomatoes; stew one hour and a half over an even fire and stir frequently to prevent scorching; then add half a cup of bread crumbs, one teaspoonful of sugar, salt to taste, a pinch of cayenne pepper, a heaping tablespoonful of good butter and half a cup of sweet cream. Boil together twenty minutes and serve hot.

BEETS.

From MRS. GOVERNOR JOHN M. STONE, of Mississippi, Lady Manager.

Boil until perfectly done; then pour melted butter, salt and pepper over and serve hot.

PARSNIPS--STEWED.

From MRS. M. R. LEE, of Mississippi, Lady Manager.

Wash, scrape, and slice about half an inch thick; have a skillet prepared with half pint hot water and a tablespoon butter; add the parsnips, season with salt and pepper, cover closely and stew until the water is cooked away, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. When done the parsnips will be of a creamy, light brown color.

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS.

From MRS. ALICE B. CASTLEMAN, of Kentucky, Alternate Lady Manager.

Cut off the small end of the pepper; make a slit down the side; remove all the seeds. Mince fine cold chicken, veal or shrimps, and add a little stale bread soaked in water and well squeezed to dry it; one- half teaspoonful minced onion; a little minced parsley, pepper, salt and one tablespoonful butter. Put a large tablespoonful of butter in a spider and heat the dressing for the peppers in it for a few minutes; then stuff them, tie on the tops and the sides together also. In a sauce pan put a heaping tablespoonful of butter; when hot add one-half tablespoonful of flour, which brown in the butter; add a little onion minced fine and a cup of water; put in the peppers, cover closely and let them simmer slowly until tender; when done, add one tablespoonful of butter, pepper and salt to taste.

CORN OYSTERS.

From MRS. JOHN S. BRIGGS, of Nebraska, Lady Manager.

One teacup milk, three eggs, one pint green corn grated very fine, a little salt and as much flour as will make a slightly stiff batter; beat the eggs, the yolks and whites separately. To the yolks of the eggs add the milk, corn, salt and flour; beat the whole very hard, then stir in the whites of the eggs and the oysters; after having dredged them in a portion of the grated corn, drop this batter, a spoonful at a time, into hot lard and fry until done.

FRIED EGG PLANT.

From MRS. LILY ROSECRANS TOOLE, of Montana, Lady Manager.

Pare the egg plant and cut in very thin slices; sprinkle each slice with salt and pepper; pile them evenly; put a tin plate over them and on this stand a flatiron to press out the juice. Let stand one hour. Beat an egg lightly and add to it a tablespoonful of boiling water; dip each slice first in this and then in bread crumbs. Put three tablespoonfuls of lard into a frying pan; when hot sauté the slices, a few at a time; brown one side then turn and brown the other. As the fat is consumed add more, waiting each time for it to heat before putting in the egg plant. Drain on brown paper and serve very hot. Tomato catsup should be served with it. (_Mrs. Rohrer's Cook Book._)

MACARONI--GOOD.

From MRS. SAM S. FIFIELD, of Wisconsin, Alternate Lady Manager.

Five tablespoons of grated cheese, one of flour, one of butter, one egg, one-half cup of cream, salt and pepper; put over the fire and stir until the cheese is dissolved. Boil one-fourth package of macaroni in suited water about fifteen minutes, drain, cover with milk and boil again. Stir all together and bake until brown.

RICE AS A VEGETABLE.

From MRS. CHARLES H. OLMSTEAD, of Georgia, Lady Manager.

Wash and pick thoroughly one quart of rice; put in pot containing two quarts of boiling water; salt to taste; let the rice boil for fifteen minutes; then pour off all the water that has not been absorbed by the rice and place the pot on back of stove to steam; stir occasionally until grains of rice separate.

CRANBERRIES.

From MRS. LANA A. BATES, of Nebraska, Alternate Lady Manager.

After removing all soft berries, wash thoroughly; place for about two minutes in scalding water, remove, and to every pound of fruit add three-quarters of a pound of granulated sugar and a half pint of water; stew together over a moderate but steady fire. Be careful to _cover_ and _not stir_ the fruit, but shake the vessel. If attention to these particulars be given the berries will retain their shape to quite an extent, which materially adds to their appearance on the table. Boil from five to seven minutes; remove from the fire; turn into a deep dish, and set aside to cool. If strained sauce be preferred, one and a half pounds of fruit should be stewed in one pint of water for ten or fifteen minutes or until quite soft; then strain through a colander or fine wire sieve; add three quarters of a pound of sugar and return to the fire and boil three minutes, stirring constantly; set away to cool, when it will be ready for use.

EGGS

PLAIN OMELET WITH EIGHT EGGS.

From MRS. L. BRACE SHATTUCK, of Chicago, Lady Manager.

Beat separately and very lightly the whites and yolks of eight eggs. To one tablespoon of flour add one-half teaspoon of baking powder and one-half cup of sweet milk. Add the beaten yolks and lastly the beaten whites of the eggs. Have ready a hot frying pan, with a generous amount of melted butter, into which pour, a cupful at a time, the mixture. As soon as it _sets_, lift carefully the one half over upon the other, and when done remove to a hot plate and serve immediately. This omelet is exceedingly light and is sufficient for four or five persons.

GREEN CORN OMELET.

From MRS. FRANCES P. BURROWS, of Michigan, Alternate Lady Manager.

Grate twelve ears of boiled corn. Beat five eggs until light and stir into the corn; season with pepper and salt, and one tablespoon butter; fry until brown. If fried in small cakes with a little flour and milk stirred in to make a batter, it will be found excellent.

OMELET WITH HAM.

From MRS. NAOMI T. COMPTON, of New Jersey, Alternate Lady Manager.

Have a teacupful of very finely minced ham prepared for use as soon as the eggs are ready. Beat the whites of eight eggs separately and have the yolks beaten the same length of time as the whites. We always put the eggs in the refrigerator over night if the omelet is to be used for breakfast, for the eggs will beat much better if thoroughly cold. We use the same amount of flour and milk as of ham, but moisten the flour with milk until it is of the consistency of cream, pouring in the milk and flour with the yolks of the eggs. Add lastly the whites, beaten stiff, alternating with the finely minced ham and whites, until all are combined. Do not stir around in one direction, but lift the yellow mixture up through and into the white. Get it into the oven as soon as possible, which must be blazing hot. If baked in a bread tin it will usually rise to double the amount. If you prefer baking on the top of a stove, have your frying pan hot, with plenty of butter, and turn the omelet as soon as the edges are cooked. Great care must be taken not to have the pan keep too hot after the cooking begins, for nothing burns so quickly as egg, and if scorched the delicate flavor is lost. Plain flour can be used with the proper proportions of baking powder.

Omelet must be eaten directly after it comes from the fire to be tasted at its best. A little chopped parsley may be added as a flavoring, but it need not he chopped so finely as the ham.

OMELET--PLAIN.

From MISS MARY E. BUSSELLE, of New Jersey, Lady Manager.

Four eggs, well beaten; four tablespoons milk; two tablespoons melted butter. Bake in a quick oven, in buttered round jelly tins, and when browned, turn half over and send to the table hot.

STUFFED EGGS.

From MRS. RALPH TRAUTMANN, of New York City, First Vice-President Board of Lady Managers.

Boil twelve eggs for twenty minutes; cut in halves; take out the yolks and mash to a paste, adding one onion chopped fine, butter size of an egg, one-half cup of milk, a little chopped parsley, with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well; roll this paste into balls and refill the empty halves, joining the cut eggs together again with the white of a raw egg. Roll the stuffed eggs in beaten yolk and cracker crumbs, and brown in boiling lard, same as crullers. Drain well and serve on toast or lettuce leaves.

DEVILED EGGS FOR LUNCHEON OR PICNICS.

From MRS. ISABELLA LANING CANDEE, of Illinois, Alternate Lady Manager.

Boil any number of eggs very hard, turning over carefully in the water several times to prevent their being unevenly cooked; put into cold water a few moments and then take off shells; cut in halves carefully and take out the yolks; mash these fine with a silver spoon (use a _silver_ knife for cutting and filling) and add to them as much good mayonnaise dressing as may be required to make a smooth paste with which fill the empty halves; put them evenly together, fasten with toothpicks, and wrap each egg in white tissue paper and put in the ice chest until ready to serve.

ESCALLOPED EGGS.

From MRS. HELEN A. PECK, of Missouri, Alternate Lady Manager-at- Large.