Chapter 26

The old method of boiling coffee is still practised by at least one- half the housekeepers in this country. The coffee is sometimes boiled with an egg, which makes it perfectly clear, and also enriches it. When an egg is not used a small piece of salt fish skin is boiled with the coffee to clear it.

Directions for making: A small cupful of roasted and ground coffee, one-third Mocha and two-thirds Java; a small egg, shell and all, broken into the pot with the dry coffee. Stir veil with a spoon, and then pour on three pints of boiling water. Let it boil from five to ten minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. As soon as it has boiled enough, pour in a cupful of cold water, and turn a little of the coffee into a cup, to see that the nozzle of the pot is not filled with grounds. Turn this back, and let the coffee stand a few moments to settle, taking care that it does not boil again. The advantages of boiled coffee are that when the egg is used the yolk gives a very rich flavor, and when the milk or cream is added the coffee has a rich, yellow look, which is pleasing. It has also a peculiar flavor, which many people prefer to the flavor gained by any other process. The disadvantages are that the egg coats the dry coffee, and when the hot water is added the coating becomes hard, and a great deal of the best of the coffee remains in the grounds after boiling. Also, in boiling, much of the fine flavor is lost in the steam that escapes from the pot.

Filtered Coffee.

Another--and really the most economical and the easiest--way of making coffee is by filtering. The French coffee biggin is valuable for this. It consists of two cylindrical tin vessels, one fitting into another, and the bottom of the upper being a fine strainer. Another coarser strainer, with a rod running from the centre, is placed upon this. Then the coffee, which must be finely-ground, is put in, and another strainer is placed at the top of the rod. The boiling water is poured on, and the pot set where it will keep hot, but not boil, until the water has gone through. This will make a clear, strong coffee, with a rich, smooth flavor. The advantage of the two extra strainers is that the one coming next to the fine strainer prevents the grounds from filling up the fine holes, and so the coffee is clear, and made more easily. The upper strainer causes the boiling water to fall on the coffee like rain. In this way it is more evenly distributed, and the fine coffee is not carried through the fine strainer, as it would be if the water were poured directly on the dry coffee. When milk or cream is added to filtered coffee it does not turn a rich yellow, as in the case of that boiled with an egg. A few spoonfuls of this coffee, without sugar or milk, taken after dinner, is said to help digestion.

Vienna Coffee.

A quartet of a cupful of boiled milk. Add three table-spoonfuls of whipped cream, and fill up with filtered coffee.

Café au Lait.

This is simply one pint of filtered coffee added to one pint of milk that has come just to the boiling point.

Steamed Coffee.

Another mode of preparing coffee is to steam it. The coffee is put in a pot and boiling water poured on it. This pot, which is made to fit into a tea-kettle, is placed in the kettle, and the coffee is cooked from ten to twenty minutes, the water in the kettle boiling all the time. This will make a clear and delicious drink.

Tea.

There are three varieties of the tea plant; both black and green tea can be prepared from them all. Green tea is made from leaves which are dried quickly, and black from leaves which have first been allowed to stand twelve hours or more before roasting. The leaves wilt and grow moist in that time, and that is what gives the dark and peculiar appearance to this tea. In making tea the pot should be earthen, rinsed with boiling water and left to stand a few moments on the stove, to dry. Put in the tea leaves, and let the pot stand a few minutes longer. Pour on boiling water, leaving the pot standing where it will be at the boiling point, yet will not boil, for from three to five minutes. For moderate strength use one teaspoonful of tea to half a pint of water. If the water is soft it should be used as soon as it boils, for boiling causes all the gases which flavor the water to escape; but if the water is hard it is best to boil from twenty to thirty minutes. The gases escape from hard water also, but boiling causes the mineral matter, which hardens the water, to settle on the bottom of the kettle, and the water becomes softer.

Lemonade.

Good lemonade can be made with half a pint of lemon juice (extracted with a squeezer, and strained), three pints of water and a generous pint of sugar. Have the drink cold. Hot lemonade is highly recommended for a cold. A glass can be made with the juice of a lemon, one large table-spoonful of sugar and a cupful of boiling water. Drink it hot.

HOW--

To Blanch Almonds.

Shell the nuts, and pour boiling water over them. Let them stand in the water a minute, and then throw them into cold water. Rub between the hands.

To Corn Beef.

For fifty pounds of beef make a pickle with two gallons of water, four pounds of salt, one and a half pounds of brown sugar, one and a half ounces of saltpetre, half an ounce of saleratus. Put these ingredients on to boil, and when they boil, skim, and put away to cool. When cold, put the beef in it. Put weights on the meat, to keep it under the brine.

To Scrape Chocolate.

If only one square of chocolate is needed, draw a line across the two squares at the end, dividing them in halves. With a sharp knife, shave off the chocolate until you come to the line. By this method there is no waste of time or material. If you want two or more squares, all that is necessary is, of course, to shave off until you come to the dividing line already there. The pound packages of Baker's chocolate consist of two cakes, each of which has eight squares; so one of these squares is an ounce.

To Use the Salamander.

The salamander is a circular iron plate, to which is attached a long handle. It is made red hot in the fire and held over the article to be browned, being careful not to have it touch. If you have not a salamander the fire shovel can be heated and used in the same way; but the shovel is not improved by the operation.

To Clean English Currants.

Pick all the stones, bits of dirt and long stems from the currants. Add one pint of flour to two quarts of currants, and rub well between the hands. This starts the stems and dirt from the fruit. Put about a pint of currants in the flour sieve and rub them until all the flour has passed through; then put them in the colander and shake until the stems have passed through. When all the fruit has been treated in this manner, put it in a large pan of cold water. Wash thoroughly, and drain in the colander. Repeat this operation three times. When the fruit is well drained, spread it on boards or flat dishes and dry in a warm place. Put away in jars.

To Remove Jellies and Creams from Moulds.

Have in a pan water enough (a little more than blood warm) to come to the top of the mould. If the mould is tin, set it in this for about half a minute; if earthen, keep it in long enough to have the heat pass through the mould. Wipe the mould, place over it the dish into which the jelly is to be turned, and turn both dish and mould simultaneously. Let the mould rest a moment before lifting it gently from the jelly.

To Whip Cream.

Very rich or _very_ poor cream will not whip well. When too rich it turns to butter, and when too poor the froth becomes liquid almost as soon as it has been skimmed. Thick cream, that will hardly pour, should have an equal quantity of milk added to it before whipping. Such cream as one gets from the milkman will rarely be found _too_ rich for whipping. It is more likely to be the other way; and one is often disappointed in finding it too poor to froth. The cream should be ice cold.

Have a large bowl or tin pail, rather narrow at the bottom. Place this in a pan of ice water. Have a bright tin pan in another of ice water. Put the cream in the bowl and put the whip churn in this. Hold the churn with the left hand, tipping it slightly, that the cream may flow out at the bottom. With the right hand draw the dasher lightly about half way up the cylinder; then press down hard. It must not be forgotten that the _up_ stroke is _light_ and the _down_ stroke is _hard_. When the bowl is full, skim the froth into a tin pan. Continue this until nearly all the cream has been whipped. Draw the froth in the pan to one side, and turn the liquid cream at the bottom of the pan back into the bowl. Whip it again. A little of the cream will always become liquid again.

When the cream is for whips, or for a garnish for frozen pudding or Bavarian creams, sweeten it, and flavor with anything you please, before whipping. If the cream is very rich a Dover beater will whip it, but there is nothing that will whip cream so quickly and so well as the whip churn described in the chapter on Kitchen Furnishing.

To Boil Sugar.

The degrees of boiling sugar are variously divided by different cooks. Some give six and others as high as eight. The Stench boil sugar for nearly all their desserts. For all practical purposes a cook need understand only three stages. Put one cupful of granulated or loaf sugar and half a cupful of water on to boil. When the mixture has boiled fifteen minutes, dip the fore-finger and thumb in cold water and take up a little of the syrup between them. If, upon drawing them apart, the syrup forms a thread, it is at the second degree. This is the best stage for frozen fruits, sherbets, and preserves.

If, a little later, when some syrup is taken up with a spoon and blown hard, it flies off in tiny bubbles, it is at the fourth degree, called the _soufflé_. It takes about twenty minutes' boiling for this. The syrup is then used for _biscuit glacé_ and various kinds of creams. At this stage it also gives sherbets and fruits a much richer flavor than when used at the second degree.

If, when a little syrup is taken up on the point of a stick or skewer, and dipped in cold water, it breaks off brittle, the sixth degree has been reached. This is the stage where it is used for icing fruit and cake, the dish being called fruit _glacé_ or _gâteau glacé_. The syrup must _never_ be stirred, as this will cause it to grain. Great care must be taken that it does not boil after coming to the sixth degree, as it burns quickly after that point is reached.

To Make and Use a Pastry Bag.

Fold a piece of strong cotton cloth (perhaps a foot square) from the opposite corners, so as to give it a triangular shape. On one side sew together the two edges, thus making a bag shaped like a "dunce's cap." Cut the cloth at the apex just enough to permit a short tin tube, somewhat like a tailor's thimble, to be pushed through. The tube for éclairs measures about three-fourths of an inch at the smallest opening; that for lady-fingers is three-eighths of an inch, and that for meringues and kisses, half an inch. The tubes for decorating with frosting are very small.

Fill the bag with the mixture to be forced through, and gather the cloth together at the top with the left hand. Hold the point of the tube close to the pan on which the mixture is to be spread. Press the mixture out with the right hand. If the cakes are to be large use a good deal of pressure, but if to be small, very little will do. At first, it will be hard to get the shapes, but with a little practice it will seem comparatively easy.

To Make Paper Cases.

This is not difficult, if one will carefully study for a moment the diagram below and the directions following:

Cut the paper on the dark lines--(there are _eight_).

Crease on every dotted line.

At each end turn the parts lettered A over that lettered B, so that the lines _c_ rest on the line _d_, and one A overlaps the other.

Fold the parts B up against the backs of the parts A.

Fold inward those parts of the edges which are lightly shaded, and fold outward those which are heavily shaded.

Stick the parts of the box together with the white of an egg mixed with a little flour.

Remember that it is a box that is to be made, and after the first two steps it may be easy to guess how to complete the work. By tracing a copy of the diagram one obtains a good model one quarter of the size the case should be; that is, the square should be five inches on a side instead of two and one-half. After experimenting with this the shape may be varied to suit the taste. Stiff white paper should be used. Cases can be bought of restaurateurs. They are used for _biscuit glacé, biscuit soufflé,_ and other dainties.

To Lard.

Larding is a simple operation. The pork should be firm and young (salt, of course). Cut thin, even slices parallel with the rind, and cut these in long, narrow strips that will fit into the needle. For beef, veal, turkey or chicken the strips should be about as large round as a lead pencil, and about three and a half inches long; and for birds, chops, and sweetbreads they should be about as large round as a match. Three slices are all that can be cut from one piece of pork, because when you get more than an inch away from the rind, the pork is so tender that it will break when in the needle.

Put the strips in a bowl of broken ice, to harden. Have the meat, if beef or veal, free of skin and gristle. Put a strip (also called a lardoon) into the needle as far as it will go. With a skewer or knife draw a line on both sides of the meat and along the upper part. Thrust the needle into the meat at one of the side lines; and when it is about half way through to the top of the piece, press the steel slightly with the thumb and fore-finger, to hold the lardoon in place until it has entered the meat. Now push the needle through to the top, and gently draw it out, leaving about three-quarters of an inch of the strip exposed at both the side and upper part of the meat That part of the pork which is hidden should be half an inch under the surface. The needle's course is as if it started under the eaves of a gable roof and came out at the ridge-pole. Continue until all the rows are filled with lardoons. Two rows are enough for a fillet of beef. If the strips are too large for the needle they will be pressed out as soon as the lower part of the needle enters the meat.

To Stew.

The meat and vegetables for stews should, when it is possible, be browned in a little fat, and hot water should then be added. As soon as the stew comes to the boiling point, skim it, and set back where it will just simmer, not boil, the given time. The pieces of meat in a stew should come to the table whole and tender and juicy, and they will be in this condition only with _slow_ cooking.

To Braise.

Braising is one of the best modes of preparing meat. There are pans expressly for braising; but any deep tin, sheet-iron, or granite-ware pan, with a cover, will answer quite well. The meat to be cooked must always be browned in some kind of fat, the vegetables fried in the same fat, and enough stock (if possible) or water be added to half cover the meat. The pan should then be covered and placed in the oven. The meat must cook _slowly_ and thoroughly, and be basted frequently. No matter how tough, if properly braised it will become tender and juicy. If, however, the cooking is hurried the dish will be spoiled.

To Fry.

There are two modes of frying. One is to have just enough fat to prevent the article from burning or sticking; and the other is to have enough not only to cover the food, but to float it. The latter is by far the better way, as all the surface of the article is instantly hardened, and, therefore, will not absorb fat. It is also the cheaper way, because the fat can be used so many times. If the drippings saved from meats, soups and gravies should not be enough for frying purposes, buy pure lard to use with it. Many recommend buying beef suet for this same purpose; but food fried in suet is more liable to absorb fat than that fried in lard. The reason of this is that lard can be heated to a higher temperature without burning than can beef or any of the other fats. Butter is also often recommended for frying. If used, it should be free of salt. But aside from being so expensive, it is not so nice for frying purposes as fats, for it burns at a much lower temperature than either beef fat or lard. The Scotch kettle is the _best_ utensil for frying. It rests on a rim, which lifts the bottom from the stove, and the inside surface is polished very smooth; therefore, the fat is less liable to burn than if the surface were rough and the bottom rested on the hot stove. The fat should heat gradually; and when the food is plunged into it a slight smoke should rise from the _centre._ It will smoke at the sides some time before it has become hot enough for frying. After the food has been put in, let the kettle stand on the hottest part of the stove until it regains its former temperature, and then set it back where it is not quite so hot. In frying fish-balls, doughnuts, etc., put only a few at a time in the boiling fat; then wait a few moments for the fat to regain its former temperature, and put in a few more. Fish-balls are often spoiled by the putting of a great many in the kettle at once. The temperature of the fat is instantly reduced, and the balls absorb the fat. When an article of food is fried, drain the fat from it, and lay it on a sheet of brown paper in a warm pan. The paper will absorb any fat that may remain on the food. As soon as you are through frying, take the fat from the fire, and when cooled a little, strain it, (See the chapter on the Care of Food.) If the directions given are followed, there will be no difficulty in having food fried without its being saturated with grease.

To Serve.

The dishes on which meats, fish, jellies and creams are placed should be large enough to leave a margin of an inch or so between the food and the lower edge of the border of the dish.

It is well to pour the sauce for cold puddings around the pudding, especially if there will be a contrast in color.

It is a great improvement to have the sauce poured around the article instead of over it, and to have the border of the dish garnished with bits of parsley, celery tops or carrot leaves.

When sauce is poured around meat or fish the dish must be quite hot, or the sauce will cool quickly.

Small rolls or sticks of bread are served with soup. Potatoes and bread are usually served with fish, but many people prefer to serve only bread. Butter is not served at the more elegant dinners. Two vegetables will be sufficient in any course. Cold dishes should be very cold, and hot dishes _hot._

It is a good idea to have a dish of sliced lemons for any kind of fish, and especially for those broiled or fried.

Melons, cantelopes, cucumbers and radishes, and tomatoes, when served in slices, should all be chilled in the ice chest.

Be particular not to overdo the work of decorating. Even a simple garnish adds much to the appearance of a dish, but too much decoration only injures it. Garnishes should be so arranged as not to interfere with serving.

Potato-balls and thin fried potatoes make a nice garnish for all kinds of fried and broiled meats and fish.

Cold boiled beets, carrots and turnips, and the whites of hard-boiled eggs, stamped out with a fancy vegetable cutter, make a pretty garnish for cold or hot meats.

Thin slices of toast, cut into triangles, make a good garnish for many dishes.

Whipped cream is a delicate garnish for all Bavarian dreams, blanc- manges, frozen puddings and ice creams.

Arrange around jellies or creams a border of any kind of delicate green, like smilax or parsley, or of rose leaves, and dot it with bright colors--pinks, geraniums, verbenas or roses. Remember that the green should be dark and the flowers small and bright. A bunch of artificial rose leaves, for decorating dishes of fruit at evening parties, lasts for years. Natural leaves are preferable when they can be obtained.

Wild roses, buttercups and nasturtiums, if not used too freely, we suitable for garnishing a salad.

BILLS OF FARE.

What to set before guests at the table, or, indeed, before one's own family, is sometimes a perplexing matter for housekeepers to decide, and a few bills of fare are given on the following pages as an aid. The number of dishes can readily be increased or diminished. Any of the company dinners can be prepared at home almost as easily as an ordinary dinner, success depending not upon a great number of dishes, but upon a few well cooked and well served, and a hostess apparently free from care.

A great part of any company dinner can be prepared the day before. The vegetables can be prepared and put in cold water, the game or meat be larded, the meat or fish cooked for croquettes and salads, the salad dressing made ready, and jellies, creams and cold puddings be made. If a clear soup (and that is always best) is to be served, it also should be made. In the morning the bread and cake can be baked, and the fish and other dishes prepared. Early in the afternoon freeze the creams and sherbets.

Make a list of the principal dishes. With each dish have a list of the vegetables, sauces or other things to be served, and the time for serving. This will insure the dishes being ready at the proper moment. Have the plates and other dishes counted and ready to warm--and, by the way, arrange to have these and the silver washed where the noise cannot reach the guests.

Twelve seems to be a good number of people for a dinner party. But very little increase in the quantity of material will be required if the number should be as large as sixteen or eighteen. Fox six or eight the quantity of soup, oysters, creams, sherbets and coffee, can be diminished one-third, but that of meats and fish should not be much smaller. It is supposed that the coffee will be served in small cups. Although it is usually drunk clear, cream and sugar should be offered with it.

People differ as to the kinds of breakfast required. Many believe in the French custom of having only chocolate or coffee, rolls, and perhaps eggs in some form. Again, others believe in and require a substantial breakfast. There is no limit to the variety of dishes that can be prepared for breakfast and tea if the cook has taste and judgment in using the remains of meats, fish and vegetables left from dinner. Either oatmeal or hominy should always be served at breakfast. When it is possible, have fruit for the first course.

BREAKFAST.

Fruit.

Oatmeal and Cream.

Baked Potatoes.

Mutton Chops.

Rye Muffins.

Hominy Griddle-Cakes.

Coffee, Tea or Chocolate.

* * * * * * *

Fruit.

Oatmeal.

Broiled Ham. Omelet.

Graham Muffins. Toast.

Griddle-Cakes.

Coffee or Tea.

* * * * * * *

Fruit.

Escaloped Meat.

Dropped Eggs.

Raised Muffins.

Corn Cake.

Drinks.

* * * * * * *

DINNERS FOR TWELVE.

Clear Soup (five pints).

Fish (four or five pounds, baked, boiled, or escaloped).

Bread, and Potatoes if you like.

Chicken Croquettes, or any kind of Patties.

Fillet of Beef, Larded (two and a half to three pounds), with Mushroom Sauce.

Potato Puffs.

Sweetbreads (six).

Green Peas (two quarts, if fresh, or two cans of French peas).

Lettuce Salad (French dressing; two large heads of lettuce).

A Cold Pudding. Ice Cream (one gallon). Cake.

Crackers.

Cheese.

Coffee.

The cost of a dinner like this, when prepared at home, depends somewhat upon the market, but will rarely exceed twenty-five dollars.

* * * * * * *

Oysters on a Block of Ice (two quarts).

_Consommé à la Royale_ (five pints).

Baked Fish (five pounds), Hollandaise Sauce (double the rule).

Cheese _Soufflé_ (double the rule).