Chapter 16

Pare and cut raw potatoes _very thin_, with either the vegetable slicer or a sharp knife. Put them in cold water and let them stand in a cold place (the ice chest is best) from ten to twenty-four hours. This draws out the starch. Drain them well. Put about one pint in the frying basket, plunge into boiling lard, and cook about ten minutes. After the first minute set back where the heat will decrease. Drain, and dredge with salt. Continue this until all are fried. Remember that the fat must be hot at first, and when it has regained its heat after the potatoes have been added, must be set back where the potatoes will not cook fast. If the cooking is too rapid they will be brown before they have become crisp. Care must also be taken, when the potatoes are first put in the frying kettle, that the fat does not boil over. Have a fork under the handle of the basket, and if you find that there is danger, lift the basket partly out of the kettle. Continue this until all the water has evaporated; then let the basket remain in the kettle. If many potatoes are cooked in this way for a family, quite an amount of starch can be saved from the water in which they were soaked by pouring off the water and scraping the starch from the bottom of the vessel. Dry, and use as any other starch.

French Fried Potatoes.

Pare small uncooked potatoes. Divide them in halves, and each half in three pieces. Put in the frying basket and cook in boiling fat for ten minutes. Drain, and dredge with salt. Serve hot with chops or beefsteak. Two dozen pieces can be fried at one time.

Potatoes à la Parisienne.

Pare large uncooked potatoes. Cut little balls out of these with the vegetable scoop. Six balls can be cut from one large potato. Drop them in ice water. When all are prepared, drain them, and put in the frying basket. This can be half full each time--that is, about three dozen balls can be put in. Put the basket carefully into the fat, the same as for thin fried potatoes. Cook ten minutes. Drain. Dredge with salt, and serve very hot. These are nice to serve with a fillet of beef, beefsteak, chops or game. They may be arranged on the dish with the meats, or served in a separate dish.

Potato Balls Fried in Butter.

Cut little balls from cooked potatoes with the vegetable scoop. After all the salt has been washed from one cupful of butter (chicken fat will do instead), put this in a small frying-pan. When hot, put in as many potato balls as will cover the bottom, and fry until a golden brown. Take up, drain, and dredge with salt. Serve very hot. These balls can be cut from raw potatoes, boiled in salted water five minutes, and fried in the butter ten minutes. When boiled potatoes are used, the part left after the balls have been cut out, will answer for creamed or Lyonnaise potatoes; but when raw potatoes are used, the part left should be put into cold water until cooking time, and can be used for mashed or riced potatoes.

Potatoes Baked with Roast Beef.

Fare rather small potatoes, and boil for twelve minutes in salted water. Take up and put on the grate with roast beef. Bake twenty-five or thirty minutes. Arrange on the dish with the beef, or, if you prefer, on a separate dish.

Broiled Potatoes.

Cut cold boiled potatoes in slices a third of an inch thick. Dip them in melted butter and _fine_ bread crumbs. Place in the double broiler and broil over a fire that is not too hot. Garnish with parsley, and serve on a hot dish. Or, season with salt and pepper, toast till a delicate brown, arrange on a hot dish, and season with butter.

Lyonnaise Potatoes.

One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut into dice; three table- spoonfuls of butter, one of chopped onion, one of chopped parsley, salt, pepper. Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper. Fry the onions in the butter, and when they turn yellow, add the potatoes. Stir with a fork, being careful not to break them. When hot, add the parsley, and cook two minutes longer. Serve immediately on a hot dish.

Duchess Potatoes.

Cut cold boiled potatoes into cubes. Season well with salt and pepper, and dip in melted butter and lightly in flour. Arrange them on a baking sheet, and bake fifteen minutes in a quick oven. Serve _very hot_.

Housekeeper's Potatoes.

One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut into dice; one pint of stock, one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, one of butter, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, salt, pepper. Season the potatoes with the salt and pepper, and add the stock. Cover, and simmer twelve minutes. Add lemon juice, butter and parsley, and simmer two minutes longer.

Potatoes à la Maître d' Hôtel.

One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut into dice; one scant pint of milk, one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, three of butter, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, salt, pepper, the yolks of two eggs, one teaspoonful of flour. Mix the butter, flour, lemon juice, parsley and yolks of eggs together. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Add the milk, and put on in the double boiler. Cook five minutes; then add the other ingredients, and cook five minutes longer. Stir often.

Stewed Potatoes.

One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut into little dice j one pint and a half of milk, one table-spoonful of parsley, one of flour, two of butter, salt, pepper. Put the potatoes in the double boiler, and dredge them with the salt, pepper and flour. Add the parsley, butter and milk. Cover, and put on to boil. Cook twelve minutes. Serve very hot.

Creamed Potatoes.

One quart of cold boiled potatoes, cut in very _thin_ slices; one pint of cream sauce, salt, pepper. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, and turn them into the sauce. Cover the stew-pan, and cook until the potatoes are hot--no longer. Serve immediately in a hot dish. They will heat in the double boiler in six minutes, and will not require stirring.

Escaloped Potatoes.

Cut one quart of cold boiled potatoes in _very thin_ slices, and season well with salt and pepper. Butter an escalop dish. Cover the bottom with a layer of cream sauce, add a layer of the potatoes, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and moisten with sauce. Continue this until all the material is used. Have the last layer one of cream sauce. Cover the dish with fine bread crumbs, put a table-spoonful of butter in little bits on the top, and cook twenty minutes. It takes one pint of sauce, one table-spoonful of parsley, half a cupful of bread crumbs, one teaspoonful of salt and as much pepper as you like. This dish can be varied by using a cupful of chopped ham with the potatoes. Indeed, any kind of meat can be used.

Potato Soufflé.

Six large, smooth potatoes, half a cupful of boiling milk, one table- spoonful of butter, the whites of four eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Wash the potatoes clean, being, careful not to break the skin. Bake forty-five minutes. Take the potatoes from the oven, and with a sharp knife, cut them in two, lengthwise. Scoop out the potato with a spoon, and put it in a hot bowl. Mash light and fine. Add the seasoning, butter and milk, and then half the whites of the eggs. Fill the skins with the mixture. Cover with the remaining white of the egg, and brown in the oven. Great care must be taken not to break the skins.

Sweet Potatoes.

Sweet potatoes require from forty-five to fifty-five minutes to boil, and from one hour to one and a quarter to bake. The time given will make the potatoes moist and sweet If, however, they are preferred dry and mealy, fifteen minutes less will be enough.

French Fried Sweet Potatoes.

Prepare and fry the same as the white potatoes. Or, they can first be boiled half an hour, and then pared, cut and fried as directed. The latter is the better way, as they are liable to be a little hard if fried when raw.

Cold Boiled Sweet Potatoes.

Cut cold boiled sweet potatoes in thick slices, and season well with salt and pepper. Have the bottom of the frying-pan covered with either butter, or pork, ham or chicken fat. Put enough of the sliced potatoes in the pan to just cover the bottom. Brown one side, and turn, and brown the other. Serve in a hot dish. Cold potatoes can be served in cream, cut in thick slices and toasted, cut in thick slices, dipped in egg and bread crumbs and fried brown, and can be fried in batter.

Plain Boiled Macaroni.

Two quarts of boiling water, one table-spoonful of salt, and twelve sticks of macaroni. Break and wash the macaroni, throw it into the salt and water, and boil _rapidly_ for twenty-five minutes. Pour off the water, season with salt, pepper and butter, and serve.

Macaroni in Gravy.

Twelve sticks of macaroni, one and a half pints of stock, one scant table-spoonful of flour, one generous table-spoonful of butter, salt, pepper. Break and wash the macaroni. Put it in a sauce-pan with the stock. Cover, and simmer half an hour. Mix the butter and flour together. Stir this and the seasoning in with the macaroni. Simmer ten minutes longer, and serve. A table-spoonful of grated cheese may be added.

Macaroni with Cream Sauce.

Boil the macaroni as directed for the plain boiled dish. Drain, and serve with half a pint of cream sauce.

Macaroni with Tomato Sauce.

Boil and drain as directed for plain boiled macaroni. Pour over it one pint of tomato sauce.

Macaroni with Cheese.

Prepare the macaroni with the cream sauce. Turn into a buttered escalop dish. Have half a cupful of grated cheese and half a cupful of bread crumbs mixed. Sprinkle over the macaroni, and place in the oven and brown. It will take about twenty minutes.

Macaroni à l'Italienne.

Twelve sticks of macaroni (a quarter of a pound), half a pint of milk, two table-spoonfuls of cream, two of butter, one of flour, some salt, white pepper and cayenne, and a quarter of a pound of cheese. Break and wash the macaroni, and boil it rapidly for twenty minutes in two quarts of water. Put the milk on in the double boiler. Mix the butter and flour together, and stir into the boiling milk. Add the seasoning, cream and cheese. Drain, and dish the macaroni. Pour the sauce over it, and serve immediately. One table-spoonful of mustard can be stirred into the sauce if you like. If the sauce and macaroni are allowed to stand long after they are put together the dish will be spoiled. If they cannot be served immediately, keep both hot in separate dishes.

Stuffed Tomatoes.

Twelve large, smooth tomatoes, one teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, one table-spoonful of butter, one of sugar, one cupful of bread crumbs, one teaspoonful of onion juice. Arrange the tomatoes in a baking pan. Cut a thin slice from the smooth end of each. With a small spoon, scoop out as much of the pulp and juice as possible without injuring the shape. When all have been treated in this way, mix the pulp and juice with the other ingredients, and fill the tomatoes with this mixture. Put on the tops, and bake slowly three- quarters of an hour. Slide the cake turner under the tomatoes and lift gently on to a flat dish. Garnish with parsley, and serve.

Stuffed Tomatoes, No 2.

Twelve tomatoes, two cupfuls of bread crumbs, one of stock, four table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, salt, pepper, one teaspoonful of onion juice. Cut slices from the stem end of the tomatoes. Remove the juice and pulp with a spoon, and dredge the inside with salt and pepper. Put two table-spoonfuls of the butter in a frying-pan, and when hot, stir in the bread crumbs. Stir constantly until they are brown and crisp, and fill the tomatoes with them. Cover the openings with fresh crumbs and bits of butter. Bake slowly half an hour. Fifteen minutes before the tomatoes are done, make the sauce in this manner: Put one table-spoonful of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add the flour. Stir until brown and smooth; then add the stock, tomato juice and pulp. Stir until it boils up, and add the onion juice, salt and pepper. Simmer ten minutes, and strain. Lift the tomatoes on to a flat dish, with the cake turner. Pour the sauce around, garnish with parsley, and serve. Any kind of meat, chopped fine and seasoned highly, can be used in place of the crumbs.

Escaloped Tomatoes.

One pint of fresh or canned tomatoes, one generous pint of bread crumbs, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one of sugar, one scant table-spoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Put a layer of the tomato in an escalop dish. Dredge with salt and pepper, and dot butter here and there. Now put in a layer of crumbs. Continue this until all the ingredients are used, having crumbs and butter for the last layer. If fresh tomatoes have been used, bake one hour, but if canned, bake half an hour.

Broiled Tomatoes.

Cut the tomatoes in halves. Sprinkle the inside of the slices with _fine_ bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Place them in the double broiler, and broil over the fire for ten minutes, having the outside next the fire. Carefully slip them on a hot dish (stone china), and put bits of butter here and there on each slice. Put the dish in the oven for ten minutes, and then serve. Or, if you have a range or gas stove, brown before the fire or under the gas.

Fried Tomatoes.

Slice ripe tomatoes and dip them in well-beaten eggs, which have been seasoned with salt, pepper and sugar (one teaspoonful of sugar to each egg), and then, in fine bread or cracker crumbs. Have two table- spoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, and when hot, put in as many slices of tomato as will cover the bottom. Fry for ten minutes, five for each side. Serve on thin slices of toast.

To Peel Tomatoes.

Put the tomatoes in a frying basket and plunge them into boiling water for about three minutes. Drain, and peel.

Baked Onions.

Peel large onions, and boil one hour in plenty of water, slightly salted. Butter a shallow dish or a deep plate, and arrange the onions in it. Sprinkle with pepper and salt, put a teaspoonful of butter in the centre of each onion, and cover lightly with crumbs. Bake slowly one hour. Serve with cream sauce.

Stuffed Onions.

Boil as for baking. Cut out the heart of the onions, and fill the space with any kind of cold meat, chopped fine, and highly seasoned. To each pint of meat add one egg and two-thirds of a cupful of milk or cream. When the onions are filled put a bit of butter (about a teaspoonful) on each one. Cover with crumbs, and bake one hour. Serve with cream sauce.

Parsnips Fried in Butter.

Scrape the parsnips, and boil gently forty-five minutes. When cold, cut in long slices about one-third of an inch thick. Season with salt and pepper. Dip in melted butter and in flour. Have two table- spoonfuls of butter in the frying pan, and as soon as hot, put in enough parsnips to cover the bottom. Fry brown on both sides, and serve on a hot dish.

Parsnips Fried in Molasses.

Have one cupful of molasses in a large frying-pan. When boiling, put in slices of parsnips that have been seasoned with salt, and cooled. Fry brown, and serve hot.

Parsnip Balls.

Mash one pint of boiled parsnips. Add two table-spoonfuls of butter, one heaping teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, two table-spoonfuls of cream or milk and one beaten egg. Mix all the ingredients except the egg. Stir on the fire until the mixture bubbles; then add the egg, and set away to cool. When cold, make into balls one-third the size of an egg. Dip them in beaten egg and in crumbs. Put in the frying basket and plunge into boiling fat. Cook till a rich brown.

Escaloped Parsnip.

Prepare the parsnips as for the balls, omitting the egg. Turn into a buttered dish, cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.

Asparagus with Cream.

Have the asparagus tied in bundles. Wash, and plunge into boiling water in which there is a teaspoonful of salt for every quart of water. Boil rapidly for fifteen minutes. Take up, and cut off the tender heads. Put them in a clean sauce-pan with one generous cupful of cream or milk to every quart of asparagus. Simmer ten minutes. Mix one tablespoonful of butter and a generous teaspoonful of flour together. When creamy, stir in with the asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer five minutes longer.

Green, Peas à la Française.

Boil green peas until tender, and drain. For every quart, put in a sauce-pan two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, and half a teaspoonful of sugar. Stir until all are thoroughly mixed. Add the peas, and stir over the fire for five minutes. Add one cupful of white stock or cream, and simmer ten minutes. The canned peas can be prepared in the same manner.

Minced Cabbage.

Drain boiled cabbage in the colander. Put it in the chopping tray and chop fine. For each quart of the chopped cabbage, put two table- spoonfuls of butter and one of flour in the frying-pan. As soon as smooth and hot, put in the cabbage, which season well with salt, pepper, and, if you like it, two table-spoonfuls of vinegar. Stir constantly for five or eight minutes. When done, heap on a dish. Make smooth with a knife, and garnish with hard-boiled eggs.

Minced Spinach.

Boil the spinach in salt and water until tender. Drain in the colander, and chop fine in the tray. Season well with pepper and salt. For each quart of the chopped spinach, put two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour in a frying-pan. When this has cooked smooth, and before it has become browned, add the spinach. Stir for five minutes; then add half a cupful of cream or milk, and stir three minutes longer. Arrange in a mound on a hot dish. Garnish with a wreath of slices of hard-boiled eggs at the base, and finish the top with another wreath. Serve hot. Lettuce can be cooked and served in the same manner. It must be boiled about twenty minutes to be tender.

Cauliflower with Cream Sauce.

Take off the green leaves and the stalk of the cauliflower. Wash, and put on to cook in boiling water. Boil gently for half an hour. Turn off the water, and add one pint of milk, one pint of boiling water and one table-spoonful of salt. Simmer half an hour longer. Take up with, a skimmer, being careful not to break it. Pour over this a cream sauce, and serve.

Escaloped Cauliflower.

Cook the cauliflower one hour in salt and water. Drain, and break apart. Put a layer of the cauliflower in an escalop dish, moisten it with Bechamel or cream sauce, and sprinkle in a little grated cheese. Put in another layer of cauliflower, and continue, as directed before, until all of the vegetable is used. There should be two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and one pint of sauce to each head of cauliflower. Cover with bread crumbs and cheese, and dot with bits of batter. Bake half an hour in a moderate oven.

Stewed Celery with Cream Sauce.

Wash and scrape the tender white part of two heads of celery. Cut them in pieces about two inches long. Cover with boiling water and simmer gently half an hour. Season well with salt. Drain off the water in which the celery was cooked. Add a pint of cream sauce, and serve.

Celery Stewed in Stock.

Scrape, wash and cut the white part of two heads of celery. Put in a stew-pan with one pint of stock, and simmer half an hour. Mix together two table-spoonfuls of butter and one of flour. Stir this in with the celery. Season with salt, and simmer five minutes longer.

Stewed Okra.

After the ends of the pods have been cut off, wash, and put on with just enough water to prevent burning (about a cupful to a quart of the okra) and a teaspoonful of salt. Simmer gently thirty minutes. Season with pepper and butter, and with more salt, if necessary.

Okra Stewed with Tomatoes.

Cut the okra in thin slices, and pare and slice the tomatoes. Have one pint of tomatoes to two of okra. Put the vegetables in a stew-pan with one teaspoonful of salt and a little pepper. Simmer half an hour. Add one table-spoonful of butter, and more salt, if needed.

Scalloped Okra and Tomatoes.

Prepare the same as stewed okra and tomatoes. When they have been stewing fifteen minutes add the butter and pepper, and turn into a deep dish. Cover with bread or cracker crumbs, dot with butter, and bake half an hour.

Fried Egg Plant.

Cut the plant in slices about one-third of an inch thick. Pare these, and lay in a flat dish. Cover with boiling water, to which has been added one table-spoonful of salt for every quart of water. Let this stand one hour. Drain, and pepper the slices slightly, and dip in beaten egg and bread crumbs (two eggs and a pint of crumbs for a good- sized plant). Fry in boiling fat for eight or ten minutes. The slices will be soft and moist when done. Or, the slices can be seasoned with pepper, and fried in just enough pork fat to brown them. The egg plant is sometimes stewed, and sometimes baked, but there is no other mode so good as frying.

Boiled Rice.

One cupful of rice, one quart of boiling water, one scant table- spoonful of salt. Wash the rice in three waters, and put in the double kettle with the salt and boiling water. Boil rapidly fifteen minutes; then pour off _all_ the water. Cover tightly, return to the fire, and cook twenty minutes longer. The water in the under boiler must boil rapidly all the time. Rice cooked in this manner will have every grain separate.

Corn Oysters.

One cupful of flour, half a cupful of melted butter, three table- spoonfuls of milk, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one pint of grated corn. Pour the corn on the flour, and beat well; then add the other ingredients, and beat rapidly for three minutes. Have fat in the frying-pan to the depth of about two inches. When smoking hot, put in the batter by the spoonful. Hold the spoon close to the fat and the shape of the oyster will be good. Fry about five minutes.

New Bedford Corn Pudding.

Twelve ears of corn, four eggs, a generous pint and a half of milk, a generous teaspoonful of salt, four table-spoonfuls of sugar. Grate the corn, beat the eggs with a spoon, and mix all the ingredients together. Butter a deep earthen dish, and pour the mixture into it. Bake slowly two hours. Serve hot. When the corn is old it will take one quart of milk. If very young and milky, one pint of milk will be sufficient.

Pickled Beets.

Cut boiled beets in slices. Lay these in a large glass jar or earthen pot. For every beet, put in one slice of onion, one table-spoonful of grated horse-radish, six cloves, and vinegar enough to cover. The beets will be ready to use in ten or twelve hours. They will not keep more than a week.

Baked Beans.

Pick one quart of beans free from stones and dirt. Wash, and soak in cold water over night. In the morning pour off the water. Cover with hot water, put two pounds of corned beef with them, and boil until they begin to split open, (the time depends upon the age of the beans, but it will be from thirty to sixty minutes). Turn them into the colander, and pour over them two or three quarts of cold water. Put about half of the beans in a deep earthen pot, then put in the beef, and finally the remainder of the beans. Mix one tea-spoonful of mustard and one table-spoonful of molasses with a little water. Pour this over the beans, and then add boiling water to just cover. Bake _slowly_ ten hours. Add a little water occasionally.

PIES AND PUDDINGS.

Puff Paste.