Chapter 1

Produced by Karen Fabrizius, David Starner, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

MANY WAYS FOR COOKING EGGS

By Mrs. S.T. Rorer

Author of Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book, Philadelphia Cook Book, Bread and Bread-Making, and other Valuable Works on Cookery.

CONTENTS

SAUCES

English Drawn Butter, Plain Hollandaise; Anchovy, Bechamel, Tarragon, Horseradish, Cream or White, Brown Butter, Perigueux, Tomato, Paprika, Curry, Italian

COOKING OF EGGS

To Preserve Eggs, Egging and Crumbing, Shirred Eggs, Mexicana, On a Plate, de Lesseps, Meyerbeer, a la Reine, au Miroir, a la Paysanne, a la Trinidad, Rossini, Baked in Tomato Sauce, a la Martin, a la Valenciennes, Fillets, a la Suisse, with Nut-Brown Butter, Timbales, Coquelicot, Suzette, en Cocotte. Steamed in the Shell, Birds' Nests, Eggs en Panade, Egg Pudding, a la Bonne Femme, To Poach Eggs, Eggs Mirabeau, Norwegian, Prescourt, Courtland, Louisiana, Richmond, Hungarian, Nova Scotia, Lakme, Malikoff, Virginia, Japanese, a la Windsor, Buckingham, Poached on Fried Tomatoes, a la Finnois, a la Gretna, a l'Imperatrice, with Chestnuts, a la Regence, a la Livingstone, Mornay, Zanzibar, Monte Bello, a la Bourbon, Bernaise, a la Rorer, Benedict, To Hard-boil, Creole, Curried, Beauregard, Lafayette, Jefferson, Washington, au Gratin, Deviled, a la Tripe, a l'Aurore, a la Dauphin, a la Bennett, Brouilli, Scalloped, Farci, Balls, Deviled Salad, Japanese Hard, en Marinade, a la Polonnaise, a la Hyde, a la Vinaigrette, a la Russe, Lyonnaise, Croquettes, Chops, Plain Scrambled, Scrambled with Chipped Beef, Scrambled with Lettuce, Scrambled with Shrimps, Scrambled with Fresh Tomatoes, Scrambled with Rice and Tomato, Scrambled with Asparagus Tips, Egg Flip

OMELETS

Omelet with Asparagus Tips, with Green Peas, Havana, with Tomato Sauce, with Oysters, with Sweetbreads, with Tomatoes, with Ham, with Cheese, with Fine Herbs, Spanish, Jardiniere, with Fresh Mushrooms, O'Brien, with Potatoes

SWEET OMELETS

Omelet a la Washington, with Rum, Swiss Souffle, a la Duchesse, Souffle

SAUCES

The philosophy of a sauce, when understood, enables even an untrained cook to make a great variety of every day sauces from materials usually found in every household; to have them uniform, however, flavorings must be correctly blended, and measurements must be rigidly observed. Two level tablespoonfuls of butter or other fat, two level tablespoonfuls of flour, must be used to each half pint of liquid. If the yolks of eggs are added, omit one tablespoonful of flour or the sauce will be too thick. Tomato sauce should be flavored with onion, a little mace, and a suspicion of curry. Brown sauce may be simply seasoned with salt and pepper, flavored and colored with kitchen bouquet. Spanish sauce should also be flavored with mushrooms, or if you can afford it, a truffle, a little chopped ham, a tablespoonful of chives, shallot and garlic. Water sauce, drawn butter and simple sauce Hollandaise, when they are served with fish, must be flavored with a dash of tarragon vinegar, salt and pepper.

ENGLISH DRAWN BUTTER

3 tablespoonfuls of butter 1/2 pint of boiling water 2 tablespoonfuls of flour 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 dash of pepper

Rub two tablespoonfuls of butter and the flour together, add the boiling water, stir until boiling, add the salt and pepper; take from the fire, add the remaining tablespoonful of butter and it is ready for use. It must not be boiled after the last butter is added.

PLAIN SAUCE HOLLANDAISE

Make English drawn butter and add to it, when done, the yolks of two eggs beaten with two tablespoonfuls of water; cook until thick and jelly-like, take from the fire and add one tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar or the juice of half a lemon.

ANCHOVY SAUCE

Rub two teaspoonfuls of anchovy essence with the butter and flour and then finish the same as English drawn butter.

SAUCE BECHAMEL

2 tablespoonfuls of butter 1 yolk of an egg 1/2 cup of milk 1 saltspoonful of pepper 1 tablespoonful of flour 1/2 cup of stock 1/2 teaspoonful of salt

Rub the butter and flour together, add the stock and the milk and stir until boiling; add the salt and pepper, take from the fire and add the beaten yolk of the egg, heat for a moment over hot water, and it is ready for use.

TARRAGON SAUCE

Add two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar to an English drawn butter.

HORSERADISH SAUCE

Make an English drawn butter, and, just at serving time, add a half cupful of freshly grated horseradish. If you are obliged to use that preserved in vinegar, press it perfectly dry before using it.

CREAM OR WHITE SAUCE

2 tablespoonfuls of butter 1/2 pint of milk 2 tablespoonfuls of flour 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 saltspoonful of pepper

Rub the butter and flour together, add the milk cold and stir until boiling; add the pepper and salt and it is ready for use.

BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

6 tablespoonfuls of butter 1 teaspoonful of mushroom catsup 1 tablespoonful of vinegar 4 tablespoonfuls of stock

Melt the butter, brown it and then skim; pour it carefully into a clean saucepan, add the vinegar, catsup and stock, boil a minute, and it is ready for use.

SAUCE PERIGUEUX

4 tablespoonfuls of butter 1/2 pint of stock 1 glass of white wine 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 2 tablespoonfuls of flour 1 bay leaf 2 chopped truffles 1 saltspoonful of pepper 1 teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet

Chop the truffles and put them with the bay leaf and wine in a saucepan on the back of the stove. Rub half the butter and flour together, add the stock, stir until boiling and add one teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet, the salt and pepper, and then the truffles; cook ten minutes, add the remaining quantity of butter and use at once.

TOMATO SAUCE

Rub together two level tablespoonfuls of flour and two of butter. Add a half pint of strained tomatoes. Stir until boiling. Add a teaspoonful of onion juice, a half teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper. Strain and use.

PAPRIKA SAUCE

Rub together two level tablespoonfuls of flour and two of butter, with a tablespoonful of paprika. Add a half pint of chicken stock. Stir until boiling. Add a half teaspoonful of salt, and strain. This sauce may be used over chicken as well as eggs.

CURRY SAUCE

Chop fine one onion. Cook it with two level tablespoonfuls of butter until soft. Do not brown. Add two level tablespoonfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of curry powder and a half teaspoonful of salt. Mix and add a half pint of boiling water. Stir until boiling, and strain.

ITALIAN SAUCE

Chop sufficient carrot to make a tablespoonful; chop one onion. Place them in a saucepan with three level tablespoonfuls of butter, a bay leaf and a blade of mace. Shake the pan over the fire until the vegetables are slightly browned. Drain off the butter and add to it two level tablespoonfuls of flour, a half cupful of good stock, a half cupful of strained tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Add a half teaspoonful of salt and a dash of cayenne. Strain. Stir until boiling, strain again and add four tablespoonfuls of sherry.

COOKING OF EGGS

Any single food containing all the elements necessary to supply the requirements of the body is called a complete or typical food. Milk and eggs are frequently so called, because they sustain the young animals of their kind during a period of rapid growth. Nevertheless, neither of these foods forms a perfect diet for the human adult. Both are highly nutritious, but incomplete.

Served with bread or rice, they form an admirable meal and one that is nutritious and easily digested. The white of eggs, almost pure albumin, is nutritious, and, when cooked in water at 170 degrees Fahrenheit, requires less time for perfect digestion than a raw egg. The white of a hard-boiled egg is tough and quite insoluble. The yolk, however, if the boiling has been done carefully for twenty minutes, is mealy and easily digested. Fried eggs, no matter what fat is used, are hard, tough and insoluble. The yolk of an egg cooks at a lower temperature than the white, and for this reason an egg should not be boiled unless the yolk alone is to be used.

Ten eggs are supposed to weigh a pound, and, unless they are unusually large or small, this is quite correct.

Eggs contain from 72 to 84 per cent. of water, about 12 to 14 per cent. of albuminoids. The yolk is quite rich in fat; the white deficient. They also contain mineral matter and extractives.

To ascertain the freshness of an egg without breaking it, hold your hand around the egg toward a bright light or the sun and look through it. If the yolk appears quite round and the white clear, it is fresh. Or, if you put it in a bucket of water and it falls on its side, it is fresh. If it sort of topples in the water, standing on its end, it is fairly fresh, but, if it floats, beware of it. The shell of a fresh egg looks dull and porous. As it begins to age, the shell takes on a shiny appearance. If an egg is kept any length of time, a portion of its water evaporates, which leaves a space in the shell, and the egg will "rattle." An egg that rattles may be perfectly good, and still not absolutely fresh.

TO PRESERVE EGGS

To preserve eggs it is only necessary to close the pores of the shells. This may be done by dipping them in melted paraffine, or packing them in salt, small ends down; or pack them in a keg and cover them with brine; or pack them in a keg, small ends down and cover them with lime water; this not only protects them from the air, but acts as a germicide.

Eggs should not be packed for winter use later than the middle of May or earlier than the first of April. Where large quantities of the yolks are used, the whites may be evaporated and kept in glass bottles or jars. Spread them out on a stoneware or granite plate and allow them to evaporate at the mouth of a cool oven. When the mixture is perfectly dry, put it away. This powder is capable of taking up the same amount of water that has been evaporated from it, and may then be used the same as fresh whites.

EGGS AND CRUMBING

To do this successfully one must prepare a mixture, and not use the egg alone. If an egg mixture or a croquette is dipped in beaten egg and rolled in cracker crumbs and dropped into fat, it always has a greasy covering. This is the wrong way. To do it successfully and have the articles handsome, beat the egg until well mixed, add a teaspoonful of olive oil, a tablespoonful of water and a dash of pepper. Dip the articles into this mixture, and then drop them on quite a thick bed of either sifted dry bread crumbs or soft white bread crumbs.

I prefer sifted dry bread crumbs for croquettes, and soft white crumbs for lobster cutlets and deviled crabs.

SHIRRED EGGS

Cover the bottoms of individual dishes with a little butter and a few fresh bread crumbs; drop into each dish two fresh eggs; stand this dish in a pan of hot water and cook in the oven until the whites are "set." Put a tiny bit of butter in the middle of each, and a dusting of salt and pepper.

EGGS MEXICANA

Put two tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan. Add four tablespoonfuls of finely chopped onion and shake until the onion is soft, but not brown. Then add four Spanish peppers cut in strips, a dash of red pepper and a half pint of tomatoes; the tomatoes should be in rather solid pieces. Add a seasoning of pepper and salt. Let this cook slowly while you shir the desired quantity of eggs. When the eggs are ready to serve, put two tablespoonfuls of this sauce at each side of the dish, and send at once to the table.

EGGS ON A PLATE

Rub the bottom of a baking dish with butter. Dust it lightly with salt and pepper. Break in as many fresh eggs as required. Stand the dish in a basin of water and cook in the oven five minutes, or until the whites are "set." While these are cooking, put two tablespoonfuls of butter in a pan and shake over the fire until it browns. When the eggs are done, baste them with the browned butter, and send to the table.

EGGS DE LESSEPS

Shir the eggs as directed. Have ready, carefully boiled, two sets of calves' brains; cut them into slices; put two or three slices between the eggs, and then pour over browned butter sauce.

EGGS MEYERBEER

To each half dozen eggs allow three lambs' kidneys. Broil the kidneys. Shir the eggs as directed in the first recipe. When done, put half a kidney on each side of the plate and pour over sauce Perigueux.

EGGS A LA REINE

6 eggs 1/2 pint of chopped cold cooked chicken 1/2 can of mushrooms 2 tablespoonfuls of butter 2 tablespoonfuls of flour 1/2 pint of milk 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 saltspoonful of pepper

Use ordinary shirring dishes for the eggs; butter them, break into each one egg, stand these in a pan of boiling water and in the oven until they are "set." Rub the butter and flour together, add the milk, stir until boiling, add the salt, pepper, chopped chicken and mushrooms, and put one tablespoonful of this on top of each egg and send at once to the table. This is also nice if you put a tablespoonful of the mixture in the bottom of the dish, break the egg into it, and then at serving time put another tablespoonful over the top.

EGGS AU MIROIR

Cover the bottom of a graniteware or silver platter with fresh bread crumbs, break in as many eggs as are needed for the number of persons to be served. Put bits of butter here and there, stand the platter over a baking pan of hot water in the oven until the eggs are "set," dust them with salt and pepper and send them to the table.

EGGS A LA PAYSANNE

6 eggs 1/2 cupful of cream 2 tablespoonfuls of grated onion 1 clove of garlic 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 saltspoonful of pepper

Add the onion and the garlic, mashed, to the cream; pour it in the bottom of a baking dish, break on top the eggs, dust with salt and pepper, stand the baking dish in a pan of water and cook in the oven until the eggs are "set." Serve in the dish in which they are cooked.

EGGS A LA TRINIDAD

6 eggs 2 lamb's kidneys 1 cupful of fresh bread crumbs 2 level tablespoonfuls of butter 2 level tablespoonfuls of flour 1/2 pint of stock 1 teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 saltspoonful of pepper

Split the kidneys, cut out the tubes; scald them, drain, and cut them into thin slices. Put the butter into a saucepan, add the kidneys, toss until the kidneys are cooked, then add the flour, stock, kitchen bouquet, salt and pepper; stir until boiling. Grease a shallow granite or silver platter, break into it the eggs, sprinkle over the bread crumbs and stand them in the oven until the eggs are "set," then pour over the sauce, arrange the kidneys around the edge of the dish and send at once to the table.

EGGS ROSSINI

6 eggs 4 chicken livers 12 nice mushrooms 1/2 cupful of stock 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 dash of pepper

Put the stock in a saucepan and boil rapidly until reduced one-half, add a drop or two of browning. Throw the chicken livers into boiling water and let them simmer gently for ten minutes; drain. Slice the mushrooms and put them, with the livers, into the stock; let them stand until you have cooked the eggs. Put a tablespoonful of butter in the bottom of a shallow platter; when melted break in the eggs, stand them in the oven until "set," garnish with the livers and mushrooms and pour over the sauce.

EGGS BAKED IN TOMATO SAUCE

Make a tomato sauce. Pour one-half in the bottom of a baking dish or granite platter, break in from four to six fresh eggs, cover with the other half of the sauce, dust the top with grated cheese, and bake in a moderate oven until "set," about fifteen or twenty minutes. Serve for supper in the place of meat.

EGGS A LA MARTIN

Make a half pint of cream sauce. Put half of it in the bottom of a baking dish or into the bottom of ramekin dishes or individual cups. Break fresh eggs on top of the cream sauce, dust with a little salt and pepper, pour over the remaining cream sauce, sprinkle the top with grated cheese, and bake in a moderate oven until the cheese is browned and eggs are "set." Serve in the dish or dishes in which they are cooked.

EGGS A LA VALENCIENNE

6 eggs 1 pint of dry boiled rice 1/2 pint of strained tomato 2 mushrooms 2 tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese 2 level tablespoonfuls of butter 2 level tablespoonfuls of flour 1/2 saltspoonful of grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoonful of paprika 1 teaspoonful of salt 1/2 saltspoonful of pepper

Rub the butter and flour together, add the strained tomato, stir until boiling, add the mushrooms, sliced, salt, paprika, nutmeg and pepper. Take a granite or silver platter, put in two tablespoonfuls of butter extra, let the butter melt and heat; break into this the eggs, being very careful not to break the yolks. Let the eggs cook in the oven until "set." Then put around the edge of the dish as a garnish the boiled rice, pour over the eggs the tomato sauce, dust the top with the Parmesan cheese and send at once to the table.

FILLETS OF EGGS

6 eggs 4 tablespoonfuls of good stock 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 saltspoonful of pepper

Beat the eggs with the stock, add the salt and pepper. Turn them into a buttered square pan, stand this in another of boiling water, and cook in the oven until the eggs are thoroughly "set." Cut the preparation into thin fillets or slices, dip in either a thin batter made from one egg, a half cupful of milk and flour to thicken, or they may be dipped in beaten egg, rolled in bread crumbs and fried in deep hot fat. Arrange the fillets in a platter on a napkin, one overlapping the other; garnish with parsley and send to the table with a boat of tomato or white sauce.

EGGS A LA SUISSE

Cover the bottom of a baking dish with about two tablespoonfuls of butter cut into bits. On top of this, very thin slices of Swiss cheese. Break over some fresh eggs. Dust with salt and pepper. To each half dozen eggs, pour over a half cup of cream. Then cover the top with grated Swiss cheese and bake in the oven until the cheese is melted and the eggs "set." Send this to the table with a plate of dry toast.

EGGS WITH NUT-BROWN BUTTER

These eggs may be shirred or poached and served on toast. Put two tablespoonfuls of butter in a saute or frying pan. As soon as it begins to heat, break into it the eggs and cook slightly until the yolks are "set;" dish them at once on toast or thin slices of broiled ham. Put two more tablespoonfuls of butter in the pan, let it brown, and add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar; boil it up once and pour over the eggs.

EGG TIMBALES

Butter small timbale molds or custard cups, dust the bottoms and sides with chopped tongue and finely chopped mushrooms. Break into each mold one fresh egg. Stand the mold in a baking pan half filled with boiling water, and cook in the oven, until the eggs are "set." Have ready nicely toasted rounds of bread, one for each cup, and a well-made tomato or cream sauce. Loosen the eggs from the cups with a knife, turn each out onto a round of toast, arrange neatly on a heated platter, fill the bottom of the platter with cream or tomato sauce, garnish the dish with nicely seasoned green peas and serve at once.

EGGS COQUELICOT

Grease small custard or timbale cups and put inside of each a cooked Spanish pepper. Drop in the pepper one egg. Dust it lightly with salt, stand the cups in a pan of boiling water and cook in the oven until the eggs are "set." Toast one round of bread for each cup and make a half pint of cream sauce. When the eggs are "set," fill the bottom of the serving platter with cream sauce, loosen the peppers from the cups and turn them out on the rounds of toast. Stand them in the cream sauce, dust on top of each a little chopped parsley and send to the table.

EGGS SUZETTE

Bake as many potatoes as you have persons to serve. When done, cut off the sides, scoop out a portion of the potato, leaving a wall about a half inch thick. Mash the scooped-out portion, add to it a little hot milk, salt and pepper, and put it into a pastry bag. Put a little salt, pepper and butter into each potato and break in a fresh egg. Press the potato from the pastry bag through a star tube around the edge of the potato, forming a border. Stand these in a baking pan and bake until the eggs are "set." Put a tablespoonful of cream sauce in the center of each, and send to the table.

EGGS EN COCOTTE

Chop fine one good-sized onion. Cook it, over hot water, in two level tablespoonfuls of butter. When the onion is soft add a quarter of a can of mushrooms, chopped fine, two level tablespoonfuls of flour and one cupful of stock. Stir until boiling. Add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a half teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper. Put a tablespoonful of this sauce in the bottom of individual cups. Break into each cup one egg. Pour over the remaining mixture. Stand the cups in a pan of hot water and bake in a moderate oven about five minutes.

EGGS STEAMED IN THE SHELL

Eggs put into hot water and kept away from the fire are much better than eggs actually boiled for only a short time. The greater the number of eggs to be cooked, the greater the amount of water that must be used. To cook four eggs, put them into a kettle, pour over them two quarts of water, cover the kettle and allow them to stand for ten minutes. Lift them from the water, put them into a large bowl, cover with boiling water, and send at once to the table. The whites will be coagulated, but should be soft and creamy, while the yolks will be perfectly cooked. If you should add six eggs to this volume of water, lengthen the time of standing. A single egg, dropped into a quart of water, must stand five minutes.

BIRDS' NESTS

Separate the eggs, allowing one to each person. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Heap them into individual dishes, make a nest, or hole, in the center. Drop into this a whole yolk. Stand the dish in a pan of water, cover, and cook in the oven about two or three minutes. Dust lightly with salt and pepper, put a tiny bit of butter in the center of each, and send at once to the table. This is one of the most sightly of all egg dishes.

EGGS EN PANADE

2 eggs 6 slices of bread 1/2 cupful of milk or cream 4 tablespoonfuls of olive oil 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 saltspoonful of pepper

Trim the crusts from the bread. Beat the eggs until well mixed, but not light, then add the milk or cream, salt and pepper. Put the oil in a shallow frying pan, dip the slices of bread in the beaten egg and drop them into the hot oil; when brown on one side, turn and brown the other. Dish on a hot platter, dust with the chopped parsley and send at once to the table.

EGG PUDDING

6 eggs 6 slices of bread 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped chives 2 tablespoonfuls of butter 1 tablespoonful of flour 1/2 pint of milk 1/2 teaspoonful of salt 1 saltspoonful of white pepper

Break the eggs in a bowl, add all the seasoning. Rub the butter and flour together, add the milk, stir until boiling, and then add this to the eggs; beat together until thoroughly mixed. Crumb the bread, removing the crusts; stir this in at last. Turn into a buttered baking dish, cover with grated cheese, and bake in the oven until thoroughly "set" and a nice brown. It makes an exceedingly good, easily digested luncheon or supper dish for children.

EGGS A LA BONNE FEMME

1 Spanish or 2 Bermuda onions 2 level tablespoonfuls of butter 2 level tablespoonfuls of flour 1/2 pint of milk 6 eggs 1 teaspoonful of salt 1 saltspoonful of pepper 1/2 saltspoonful of grated nutmeg