Chapter 23

Make a syrup of three pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, two table- spoonfuls of cinnamon, two table-spoonfuls of clove, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Add six pounds of currants, and boil half an hour.

Spiced Plums.

Make a syrup, allowing one pound of sugar to one of plums, and to every three pounds of sugar, a scant pint of vinegar. Allow one ounce each of ground cinnamon, cloves, mace and allspice, to a peck of plums. Prick the plums. Add the spices to the syrup, and pour, boiling, over the plums. Let these stand three days; then skim them out, and boil down the syrup until it is quite thick, and pour hot over the plums in the jar in which they are to be kept. Cover closely.

Pickled Cucumbers.

Six hundred small cucumbers, two quarts of peppers, two quarts of small onions. Make enough brine to cover the pickles, allowing one pint of salt to four quarts of water, and pour it, boiling, over the pickles. Let them stand until the next morning; then pour off the brine, throw it away, make a new one, and scald again. The third morning scald this same brine and pour it over again. The fourth morning rinse the pickles well in cold water, and cover them with boiling vinegar. Add a little piece of alum and two table-spoonfuls each of whole cloves and allspice, tied in a bit of muslin, if you like the spice.

Pickled Cucumbers, No. 2.

Wash and wipe six hundred small cucumbers and two quarts of peppers. Put them in a tub with one and a half cupfuls of salt and a piece of alum as large as an egg. Heat to the boiling point three gallons of cider vinegar and three pints of water. Add a quarter of a pound each of whole cloves, whole allspice and stick cinnamon, and two ounces of white mustard seed, and pour over the pickles. Cover with cabbage leaves.

Stuffed Peppers.

Get large bell peppers. Cut around the stem, remove it, and take out all the seeds. For the stuffing use two quarts of chopped cabbage, a cupful of white mustard seed, three table-spoonfuls of celery seed, two table-spoonfuls of salt, half a cupful of grated horse-radish. Fill each pepper with part of this mixture, and into each one put a small onion and a little cucumber. Tie the stem on again, put the peppers in a jar, and cover with cold vinegar.

Mangoes.

Get small green musk-melons or cantelopes. Cut a small square from the side of each one, and, with a teaspoon, scrape out all the seeds. Make a brine of one pint of salt to a gallon of water. Cover the mangoes with it while it boils. Let them stand two days; then drain them, and stuff with the same mixture as is used for peppers. Pour boiling vinegar over them, using in it a bit of alum.

Chopped Pickle.

One peck of green tomatoes, two quarts of onions and two of peppers. Chop all fine, separately, and mix, adding three cupfuls of salt. Let them stand over night, and in the morning drain well. Add half a pound of mustard seed, two table-spoonfuls of ground allspice, two of ground cloves and one cupful of grated horse-radish. Pour over it three quarts of boiling vinegar.

Pickled Tomato.

One peck of green tomatoes, a dozen onions, sliced thin; two cupfuls of salt, a small (quarter of a pound) box of mustard, one quarter of a pound of mustard seed, one ounce each of ground allspice, clove and pepper. Cut the tomatoes in thin slices, sprinkle with the salt, and let them stand two days; then drain them. Mix the spices. Put layers of tomato, onion and spice in the kettle, and cover with vinegar. Cook slowly until the tomato looks clear--about half an hour.

Pickled Cauliflowers.

Two cauliflowers, cut up; one pint of small onions, three medium-sized red peppers. Dissolve half a pint of salt in water enough to cover the vegetables, and let these stand over night. In the morning drain them. Heat two quarts of vinegar with four table-spoonfuls of mustard, until it boils. Add the vegetables, and boil for about fifteen minutes, or until a fork can be thrust through the cauliflower.

Tomato Ketchup.

Twelve ripe tomatoes, peeled; two large onions, four green peppers, chopped fine; two table-spoonfuls of salt, two of brown sugar, two of ginger, one of cinnamon, one of mustard, a nutmeg, grated; four cupfuls of vinegar. Boil all together till thoroughly cooked (about three hours), stirring frequently. Bottle while hot.

Tomato Ketchup, No, 2.

Skin the tomatoes, and cook them well. Press them through a sieve, and to each five pints add three pints of good cider vinegar. Boil slowly a long while (about two hours), until it begins to thicken; then add one table-spoonful of ground clove, one of allspice, one of cinnamon and one of pepper, and three grated nutmegs. Boil until very thick (between six and eight hours), and add two table-spoonfuls of fine salt. When thoroughly cold, bottle, cork and seal it.

Barberry Ketchup.

Three quarts of barberries, stewed and strained; four quarts of cranberries, one cupful of raisins, a large quince and four small onions, all stewed with a quart of water, and strained. Mix these ingredients with the barberries, and add half a cupful of vinegar, three-fourths of a cupful of salt, two cupfuls of sugar, one dessert- spoonful of ground dove and one of ground allspice, two table- spoonfuls of black pepper, two of celery seed, and one of ground mustard, one tea-spoonful of cayenne, one of cinnamon and one of ginger, and a nutmeg. Let the whole boil one minute. If too thick, add vinegar or water. With the quantities given, about three quarts of ketchup can be made.

POTTING.

For potting, one should have small stone or earthen jars, a little larger at the top than at the bottom, so that the meat may be taken out whole, and then cut in thin slices. All kinds of cooked meats and fish can be potted. The meat must, of course, be well cooked and tender, so that it can be readily pounded to a paste. Of the fish, salmon and halibut are the best for potting. When the potted meat or fish is to be served, scrape off all the butter, run a knife between the meat and the jar, and, when the meat is loosened, turn it out on a dish. Cut it in thin slices, and garnish with parsley; or, serve it whole, and slice it at the table. The butter that covered meats can be used for basting roasted meats, and that which covered fish can be used for basting baking fish.

Beef.

Three pounds of the upper part of the round of beef, half a cupful of butter, one table-spoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, a speck of cayenne, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of mace, the same quantity of clove, a bouquet of sweet herbs, three table- spoonfuls of water. Cut the meat in small pieces and put it in a jar with the water, herbs and seasoning. Mix one cupful of flour with water enough to make a stiff paste. Cover the mouth of the jar with paper, and spread over this the paste. Place the jar in a pan of hot water and put in a moderate oven for five hours. Take up and remove the cover and herbs. Pound the meat to a paste, add half of the butter to it, and when thoroughly mixed, pack solidly in small jars. Melt the remainder of the butter and pour it over the meat. Paste paper over the jars, put on the covers, and set away in a cool, dry place. Veal may be potted in the same manner, omitting the clove.

Chicken.

One quart of cold roasted chicken, one cupful of cold boiled ham, four table-spoonfuls of butter, a speck of cayenne, a slight grating of nutmeg, and two teaspoonfuls of salt. Free the chicken of skin and bones. Cut it and the ham in fine pieces. Chop, and pound to a paste. Add the butter and seasoning, and pack solidly in small stone pots. Cover these, and place them in a pan of hot water, which put in a moderate oven for one hour. When the meat is cold, cover with melted butter, and put away in a cool, dry place.

Tongue.

Pound cold boiled tongue to a paste, and season with salt, pepper and a speck of cayenne. To each pint of the paste add one table-spoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of mixed mustard. Pack closely in little stone jars. Place these in a moderate oven in a pan of hot water. Cook half an hour. When cool, cover the tongue with melted butter. Cover, and put away.

Ham.

Cut all the meat, fat and lean, from the remains of a boiled ham, being careful not to mix with it either the outside pieces or the gristle. Chop very fine, and pound to a paste with the vegetable masher. To each pint of the paste add one teaspoonful of mixed mustard and a speck of cayenne, and, if there was not much fat on the meat, one table-spoonful of butter, Pack this smoothly in small earthen jars. Paste paper over these, and put on the covers. Place the pots in a baking pan, which, when in the oven, should be filled with hot water. Bake slowly two hours. Cool with, the covers on. When cold, take off the covers and pour melted butter over the meat. Cover again, and set away in a cool place. The ham will keep for months. It is a nice relish for tea, and makes delicious sandwiches.

Marbled Veal.

Trim all the roots and tough parts from a boiled pickled tongue, which chop and pound to a paste. Have two quarts of cold roasted or boiled veal chopped and pounded to a paste. Mix two table-spoonfuls of butter and a speck of cayenne with the tongue, and with the veal mix four table-spoonfuls of butter, one of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper and a speck of mace. Butter a deep earthen dish. Put a layer of the veal in it and pack down solidly; then put spoonfuls of the tongue here and there on the veal, and fill in the spaces with veal. Continue this until all the meat has been used, and pack very solidly. Cover the dish, and place it in the oven in a pan of water. Cook one hour. When cold, pour melted butter over it. Cover, and set away.

Fish.

Take any kind of cooked fish and free it of skin and bones. To each quart of fish add one table-spoonful of essence of anchovy, three of butter, two teaspoonfuls of salt, a little white pepper and a speck of cayenne. Pound the fish to a paste before adding the butter and anchovy. When all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, pack the fish closely in little size jars. Place these in a pan of water and put in a moderate oven. Cook forty-five minutes. When cold, pour melted butter over the fish. Paste paper over the top, and set way.

Lobster.

Prepare and pot lobster the same as fish. If there is "coral" in the lobster, pound it with the meat.

Mackerel.

Nine pounds of small mackerel (about twenty-five in number), one ounce of whole cloves, one of pepper-corns, one of whole allspice, six teaspoonfuls of salt, three pints of vinegar. Wash the mackerel and pack them in small, deep earthen or stone pots. Three will be needed for the quantities given. Divide the spice into six parts. Put each portion in a small piece of muslin, and tie. Sprinkle two teaspoonfuls of salt on the fish in each pot, and put two of the little bags of spice in each pot. Cover the fish with the vinegar; and if there should not be enough, use more. Cover the pots with old plates, and place in a moderate oven. Bake the fish four hours. Cool, and put away in the pots in which they were baked. They will keep five or six months. Where oil is liked, half a cupful can be added to each pot with the vinegar. Any kind of small fish can be potted in this manner.

Smelts.

Six dozen smelts, one pint of olive oil, three pints of vinegar, or enough to cover the smelts; three table-spoonfuls of salt. Spice the same as potted mackerel, and prepare and cook the same as mackerel. More or less oil can be used. Smelts are almost as nice as sardines.

BREAKFAST AND TEA.

Meat Hash.

Chop rather fine any kind of cold meat; corned beef is, however, the best. To each pint add one pint and a half of cold boiled potatoes, chopped fine; one table-spoonful of butter and one cupful of stock; or, if no stock is on hand, two-thirds of a cupful of hot water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the mixture in a frying-pan, and stir over the fire for about eight minutes, being careful not to burn. Spread smoothly. Cover the pan and set back where the hash will brown slowly. It will take about half an hour. When done, fold it like an omelet and turn on to a hot dish. Garnish with points of toast and parsley. Serve hot. If there are no cold potatoes, the same quantity of hot mashed potatoes may be used.

Vegetable Hash.

Chop, not very fine, the vegetables left from a boiled dinner, and season them with salt and pepper. To each quart of the chopped vegetables add half a cupful of stock and one table-spoonful of butter. Heat slowly in the frying-pan. Turn into a hot dish when done, and serve immediately. If vinegar is liked, two or more table- spoonfuls of it can be stirred into the hash while it is heating.

Breaded Sausages.

Wipe the sausages dry. Dip them in beaten egg and bread crumbs. Put them in the frying-basket and plunge into boiling fat. Cook ten minutes. Serve with a garnish of toasted bread and parsley.

Meat Fritters.

Cut any kind of cold meat into dice. Season well with salt and pepper. Make a fritter batter. Take up some of it in a large spoon, put a small spoonful of the meat in the centre, cover with batter, and slide gently into boiling fat. Cook about one minute. Drain on brown paper, and serve on a hot dish.

Lyonnaise Tripe.

About one pound of cooked tripe, cut in small pieces; two table- spoonfuls of butter, one of chopped onion, one of vinegar, salt, pepper. Put the onion and butter in a frying-pan, and when the onion turns yellow, put in the tripe. Cook five minutes. Season with the salt, pepper and vinegar. Serve on slices of toast.

Meat and Potato Sandwiches.

Any kind of cold meat, cut in slices and seasoned with salt and pepper; four large potatoes, two eggs, salt, pepper, one-forth of a cupful of boiling milk, one table-spoonful of butter. Have the meat cut in thin slices and seasoned with salt and pepper. Pare, boil and mash the potatoes. Add the milk, butter, salt, pepper and one well- beaten egg. Cover the slices of meat on both sides with this preparation, and dip in well-beaten egg. Put in the frying-basket and fry till a light brown. Serve on a hot dish.

Minced Veal and Eggs.

One quart of cold veal, chopped rather coarse; one teaspoonful of lemon juice, one cupful of stock or water, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of flour, salt, pepper. Melt the butter in a frying-pan. Add the flour to it. Stir until smooth, and add the stock and seasoning. When it boils up, add the chopped veal. Heat thoroughly, and dish on slices of toast. Put a dropped egg in the centre of each slice, and serve very hot.

Mutton, Réchauffé.

Cut cold roasted or boiled mutton in slices about half an inch thick, and cover both sides with sauce made in this way: Put two table- spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when melted, add one of flour. Stir until smooth. Add, gradually, one cupful of stock, and two table-spoonfuls of glaze. Boil for one minute, and stir in the yolks of two eggs. Season with salt, pepper and one table-spoonful of lemon juice, and remove from the fire at once. Season the mutton with salt and pepper, and as soon as the sauce begins to cool, dip both sides of the slices in it, and roll them in fine bread crumbs. Beat one whole egg and the two whites together. Dip the sauced mutton in this and again in the crumbs. Fry in boiling fat for two minutes. Drain on brown paper, and serve with either tomato, Tartare or Hollandaise sauce. Any kind of cold meat can be served in this manner.

Chicken In Jelly.

A little cold chicken (about one pint), one cupful of water or stock, one-fifth of a box of gelatine, half a teaspoonful of curry powder, salt, pepper. Cut the meat from the bones of a chicken left from dinner. Put the bones on with water to cover, and boil down to one cupful Put the gelatine to soak in one-fourth of a cupful of cold water. When the stock is reduced as much as is necessary, strain and season. Add the curry and chicken. Season, and simmer ten minutes; then add the gelatine, and stir on the table until it is dissolved. Turn all into a mould, and set away to harden. This makes a nice relish for tea or lunch. If you have mushrooms, omit the curry, and cut four of them into dice. Stir into the mixture while cooking. This dish can be varied by using the whites of hard-boiled eggs, or bits of boiled ham. To serve: Dip the mould in warm water, and turn out on the dish. Garnish with parsley.

Chicken Cutlets.

Season pieces of cold chicken or turkey with salt and pepper. Dip in melted butter; let this cool on the meat, and dip in beaten egg and in fine bread crumbs. Fry in butter till a delicate brown. Serve on slices of hot toast, with either a white or curry sauce poured around. Pieces of cold veal make a nice dish, if prepared in this manner.

Broiled Liver.

Cut in slices and dip in melted butter, and lightly in flour. Broil over a bright fire eight or ten minutes.

Liver, Fried in Crumbs.

Season slices with salt and pepper. Dip in beaten egg and very fine cracker crumbs. Fry six minutes in boiling lard.

Liver and Bacon.

Cut in slices, season with salt and pepper, and cut again into small squares. Place on a skewer pieces of liver and bacon, alternating. Fry five minutes in boiling fat. Slip off of the skewer on to toasted bread, and serve immediately.

Liver, Sauté.

Cut the liver in _thin_ slices. Season with salt and pepper. Heat together in a small frying-pan two table-spoonfuls of butter and a large one of flour. Lay in the liver, and brown it on both sides. Add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, two table-spoonfuls of water and one of wine. Taste to see if salt enough. Boil up once, and serve.

Liver, Sauté, with Piquant Sauce.

Cut the liver in slices about one-third of an inch thick, and if beef liver, let it stand in warm water ten minutes (calves' livers will not need this). Drain dry, and put in the frying-pan with enough beef or pork drippings to prevent its sticking, and cook very slowly for eight minutes, turning constantly. Take up on a hot dish and pour a piquant sauce over it. Serve immediately.

Curry of Liver.

Cut the liver in small, thin pieces, and for every pound have four table-spoonfuls of butter, two slices of onion, two table-spoonfuls of flour, a speck of cayenne, salt, pepper, one teaspoonful of curry powder. Let the butter get hot; then cook the liver in it slowly for four minutes. Add the flour and other ingredients. Cook two minutes, and add, slowly, one cupful of stock. Let this boil up. Dish, and serve.

Chicken Livers, Sauté.

Wash and wipe six livers. Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add a large slice of onion, which cook slowly ten minutes, and then take out. Dredge the livers with salt, pepper and flour, and fry for ten minutes in the butter; add one teaspoonful of flour, and cook a minute longer. Pour in half a cupful of stock, one tea-spoonful of lemon juice, one of vinegar and one- fourth of a spoonful of sugar, and boil up once. Serve with a garnish of toasted bread.

Chicken Livers and Bacon.

Cut the livers in pieces the size of a half dollar, and have thin slices of bacon of the same size. Nearly fill a small wire skewer with these, alternating. Place in the frying basket and plunge into boiling fat for about one minute. Serve on the skewers, or on toast, with thin slices of lemon for a garnish. Or, the skewers can be rested on the sides of a narrow baking pan and placed in a hot oven for five minutes. Serve as before. The livers of all other kinds of poultry can be cooked the same as chicken.

Chicken Livers in Papillotes.

Wash the livers and drop them into boiling water for one minute. Take them up; and when drained, split them. For eight livers put two table- spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add one table- spoonful of flour. Stir until smooth; then gradually add half a cupful of cold water. Stir into this two spoonfuls of glaze, if you have it. Season with pepper and salt, and stir into the sauce half a cupful of finely-chopped ham. Spread this mixture on the livers, place them in _papillotes_ the same as cutlets, lay them in a pan, and put in a slow oven for fifteen minutes. Have little squares of toast or of fried brown bread. Heap these in the centre of a hot dish, and arrange the livers around them. Serve very hot.

Stewed Kidneys.

Cut the kidneys in thin round slices. Cover them with cold water and let them stand half an hour; then wash them clean, and put them in a stew-pan with one quart of water or stock, a clove, two table- spoonfuls of onion juice, and salt and pepper. Simmer two hours. Put one table-spoonful of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add one of flour. Stir until it is brown and smooth, and add to the kidneys. Put a small bouquet of sweet herbs in the stew-pan, and simmer half an hour longer. Taste to see if seasoned enough; if not, add more salt and pepper, and, if you like, one table-spoonful of lemon juice. Take out the bouquet, and serve. This dish can be prepared any time in the day, as it is quite as good warmed over as when first prepared.

Kidneys, Sauté.

Skin, wash and wipe the kidneys, cut in thin, round slices, and season with salt and pepper. Put one table-spoonful of butter and half a table-spoonful of flour in the frying-pan, and when hot, put in the kidneys. Stir two minutes, then add half a cupful of stock or water. When the dish boils up, add half a table-spoonful of lemon juice. Serve with a garnish of points of toast.

Broiled Kidneys.

Skin, wash, wipe and split sheep's or lambs' kidneys. Run a small skewer through each, to keep it open. Season with salt and pepper, dip in melted butter and in flour, place in the double broiler and cook six minutes over a bright fire. Serve on a hot dish.

Kidneys à la Maître d'Hôtel.

Split and cut in two, lengthwise, lambs' or sheep's kidneys. Wash and wipe them. Season with salt and pepper, and dip in melted butter and fine bread crumbs. Run a small skewer through each, to keep it open. Put them in the double broiler and cook about six minutes over a bright fire. Serve on a hot dish with _maître d'hôtel_ butter.

Ham and Eggs on Toast.

Chop fine the trimmings from cold boiled or roasted ham. Toast and butter slices of stale bread. Spread the ham on these, and place in the oven for about three minutes. Beat six eggs with half a cupful of milk, a little pepper and one teaspoonful of salt. Put this mixture in a sauce-pan with two table-spoonfuls of butter, and stir over the fire until it begins to thicken. Take off, and beat for a moment; then spread on the ham and toast. Serve immediately.

Ham Croquettes.

One cupful of finely-chopped cooked ham, one of bread crumbs, two of hot mashed potatoes, one large table-spoonful of butter, three eggs, a speck of cayenne. Beat the ham, cayenne, butter, and two of the eggs into the potato. Let the mixture cool slightly, and shape it like croquettes. Roll in the bread crumbs, dip in beaten egg and again in crumbs, put in the frying-basket and plunge into boiling fat. Cook two minutes. Drain, and serve.

Canapees.

After cutting the crust from a loaf of stale bread, cut the loaf in very thin slices, and toast to a delicate brown. Butter lightly, and spread with any kind of potted meat or fish. Put two slices together, and, with a sharp knife, cut them in long strips. Arrange these tastefully on a dish and serve at tea or evening parties. Sardines may be pounded to a paste and mixed with the yolks of hard-boiled eggs, also pounded to a paste, and used instead of potted meats. In this case, the slices of bread may be fried in salad oil.

Welsh Rare-Bit.