Part 11

Mix sugar and flour; add other ingredients in order given; cook 10 min in db, stirring constantly until thickened; cool before spreading.

ORANGE FROSTING

1 tbp orange juice, 1 tsp lemon juice, yolk 1 egg, confectioner’s sugar, grated rind 1 orange.

Add rind to fruit juices; let stand 15 min and add gradually to yolk of egg slightly beaten; stir in sugar until of right consistency to spread.

BUTTER SCOTCH ICING

2 c light syrup, ½ c butter, ½ c milk.

Boil syrup, butter and milk together until it forms a soft ball when tested in cold water; cool slightly without stirring and pour while warm on cake.

Chopped nuts may be added while icing is still soft.

SEA FOAM ICING

1 c brown sugar, ⅓ c water, white 1 egg, 1 tsp bp.

Boil sugar and water without stirring until syrup spins a thread; add hot syrup slowly to beaten egg white, beating continually, preferably on platter, with wire whip; add baking powder; when icing foams, put between layers and on top of cake.

COCOA ICING

1 c confectioner’s sugar, 4 tbp cocoa, 1 egg white, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbp cream, 1 tsp melted butter.

Add sugar and cocoa slowly to beaten egg white; then add vanilla, melted butter and cream to make soft enough to spread on cake.

VEAL

Veal is the meat of a calf killed when 6 or 8 weeks old. The meat from a younger calf is unwholesome. This meat is not as easily digested as beef and is less nutritious.

Good veal should be light pink in color and the fat white, and is in season in the spring. It requires longer cooking than beef or lamb.

The entire forequarter of veal may be secured at a very low price, because of the breast, which, though it is a most delicious cut when properly stuffed and braised, is little known and generally despised. This forequarter contains the ribs, which correspond to the favorite rib roast of beef. From these are cut the best chops, which become less choice in quality the nearer we come to the neck. The rack of veal, as the chops are known to the marketmen, cut entire, makes an excellent roasting piece, equaled only by the loin and the fillet. The neck of the veal, after the scrag end is passed, which is only fit for broth and stews, may be cut into excellent little breakfast cutlets. The fleshy portions of the foreleg, or shin of veal, make good pot-pies or stews, and the leg itself may be used for soup or stock.

RAGOUT OF VEAL

Reheat 2 c cold roast veal, cut in cubes, in ½ c Brown Sauce seasoned with 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, few drops of onion juice and a few grains of cayenne.

VEAL CUTLETS

2 lb veal cutlet, 1 tsp salt, ⅛ tsp pepper, ¾ c dried bread crumbs, 1 egg, 2 tbp water, 2 tbp lard, 1 c hot water.

Cut veal into 6 pieces; wipe with a clean, damp cloth and sprinkle with salt and pepper; roll in bread crumbs; dip in well-beaten egg, diluted with water and roll again in crumbs. Melt lard in an iron frying pan; put in the cutlets and brown on both sides; add the hot water and simmer until tender, about 45 to 50 min; remove them and thicken the stock with a little flour mixed to a smooth paste with cold water; pour the sauce over the cutlets.

VEAL LOAF

2½ lb veal, ¼ lb salt pork, 1 tsp chopped onion, 1 c bread crumbs, ½ c stock or milk, 1 egg, ½ tsp sage, 2 tsp salt.

To the chopped meat add the other ingredients; mix well; pack in greased Pyrex loaf pan; bake for 2 hr in a moderate oven; baste with a mixture of ½ c of water or stock in which 2 tbp of fat have been melted.

BREADED VEAL

Cut into pieces of a suitable size for serving; roll in egg and crumbs and brown quickly in a small amount of fat; add 2 c of hot water or stock; cover and simmer until the veal is tender (about 45 min).

VEAL LOAF (2)

3 lb raw, lean veal, chopped, ¾ c cracker crumbs, 1 egg, 1 tbp chopped parsley, 2 tbp melted lard, 1½ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp pepper, 1 tbp chopped onion, ⅛ tsp nutmeg, ½ c milk.

Mix veal, cracker crumbs, beaten egg, parsley, lard, salt, pepper, onion and nutmeg together; moisten with milk; pack in a greased small loaf pan; spread top with butter; bake in a moderate oven 1 hr; baste occasionally with melted fat and a little hot water; serve hot with tomato sauce or cold with catsup or pickles.

VEAL PIE

2½ lb knuckle of veal, 1 tsp salt, ⅛ tsp pepper, 2 tbp fat, 2 slices onion, 2 c celery, cut in pieces, 2 c water, ½ c sliced carrots, 2 tbp chopped parsley, 2 tbp flour, ¼ c water, plain pastry.

Cut meat from the knuckle in small pieces; sprinkle with salt and pepper; melt fat; add onion and cook slowly 5 min; remove onion from pan and put in the veal; cook until meat is brown, stirring frequently; add celery and water, cover and simmer until meat is tender; add a little water to the meat as liquid boils away; add raw carrots and parsley and more salt and pepper if necessary; cook 20 min longer; thicken with the flour and water mixed to a smooth paste; put in baking dish and cover with plain pastry; bake in a quick oven 15 to 20 min or until brown.

METHODS OF COOKING MEATS

ROASTING

Meat should be placed 1″ from the bottom of the baking pan, using a rack made for the purpose; rub the joint well with salt and pepper, and dredge with as little flour as will insure a dry surface. Lean meat is improved by having thin slices of fat meat, either bacon or pork, or its own fat, laid over the surface at first until there is sufficient dripping to baste with. The oven and pan should be hot at first; then gradually reduce the heat; baste frequently with equal quantities of fat drippings and water.

When done remove roast to a hot platter, drain off the fat; add enough water to dissolve the glaze left in the pan and use this for gravy.

BRAISING

Braising is a method used for meats that are lacking in flavor or are tough. Use a deep pan with a close-fitting cover. The covered pans sold as roasters are really braising pans, the two parts of which fit together so tightly as to confine the steam, thus cooking the meat in its own vapor. The most stubborn pieces will yield to the persuasion of a braising pan and become tender, especially if a few drops of lemon juice or other acid be added to the gravy in the pan. Braising affords an opportunity to render coarse pieces savory by laying them upon a bed of vegetables or sweet herbs.

BROILING

Broiling is cooking by direct exposure to a heat over a gas flame or hot coals. The surfaces are seared by exposing the meat to great heat at first, thus preventing the juices from escaping.

PAN BROILING

Heat a cast-iron or steel frying pan to a blue heat. Rub it with a bit of fat meat till well oiled. Season the meat and lay in the pan just long enough to sear thoroughly, then turn and sear the other side and continue turning often enough to keep the juices from escaping. Reduce heat and cook more slowly until meat is done.

SAUTEING

To saute is to cook in a hot, shallow pan with a little fat, browning first one side and then the other.

FRYING

To fry is to cook in hot fat, deep enough to cover the material to be cooked. All mixtures not containing egg should be dipped in egg and crumbs to prevent food from absorbing fat. The albumen is hardened by the heat and forms a coating. Cook only a few pieces of the article at a time, reheating after each frying. Drain on brown paper.

The fats used are lard, cottolene and olive oil.

To clear fat after using, cut a raw potato into ¼″ slices and add to the cooled fat. Heat gradually, and when potatoes are browned, strain fat through cheesecloth placed over a strainer. If carefully strained each time the fat can be used repeatedly.

BOILING

In boiling, as in roasting, the general principle is to subject the meat to a high degree of heat at first until a layer of albumen hardens over the entire surface. The temperature should then be dropped much below boiling point and kept there until the gelatine and connective tissues are softened to almost the point of dissolving. Let the meat partly cool in the liquid. If the slices are served on very hot plates they will be juicy, tender and well flavored.

LARDING

Use a piece of salt pork fat. Shave off the rind as closely as possible; cut the fat in ¼″ strips, and cut these into strips the same width. With a larding needle draw these strips into the meat, leaving the stitches evenly distributed and in alternate rows until the whole upper surface is covered.

BEEF

Good beef should be fine grained in texture, bright red in color and well coated and marked with fat. Roasting methods suit the tender cuts. A standing roast is one with the ribs left in. A rolled roast is one with the ribs removed and the meat rolled and tied. In roasting meats remember two things. First, try to keep all the juices in the meat; secondly, you want the tissues to grow tender.

Remove meat immediately from the paper when it comes from the market and place it in the ice box or a cool place on a china or enamel plate. Meat should not be washed, but wiped with a clean, damp cloth before cooking. The tough cuts of meat should be cooked very slowly and for a long time. The tender cuts rare, medium, or well done in a hot oven for a short time only. Do not pierce the meat with a fork when it is cooking, as this allows the juice to run out of it. Baste meat often while roasting so as not to have it too dry.

ROAST BEEF

4 lb prime rib beef, boned and rolled (sirloin, porterhouse, delmonico or tenderloin cuts), ¼ c fat, 1 tsp salt, ¼ c flour.

Clean beef well by wiping it with a damp cloth; spread with fat; dredge with flour mixed with salt; place on rack of a roaster; place roaster or pan, uncovered, in very hot oven for 20 min to sear meat; salt meat and reduce temp a little; bake 12 min to each pound for rare roast; 15 min to each pound for medium roast, or 18 min to each pound for a well done roast.

ROASTING CHEAP CUTS

4 lb beef (shoulder clod, chuck ribs, boned and rolled, inner rump, top sirloin or round), ¼ c fat, 1 tsp salt, ¼ c flour, 2 c water.

Only tender cuts of beef should be roasted in an uncovered pan. Shoulder clod of beef, chuck ribs, inner rump or top sirloin are best when roasted in the presence of steam in a covered pan. Place the larded, dredged meat on rack of roaster; sear uncovered in a very hot oven for 20 min; add enough water to cover bottom of roaster, but not enough to reach to level of meat or rack; cover roaster with lid-valve open and bake in moderate oven 35 min per pound. If roast is large roast in a slow oven. Tough meats have to be cooked well done in the presence of steam in order to be tender. Moist heat changes the tough connective tissue to a gelatinous substance which is tender.

POT ROAST

Brown the roast in a little fat to sear and to develop flavor; place in a pot or casserole with a closely fitting cover; add 1 c water and cook until tender (2 to 3 hr), adding more water if necessary. The roast may be cooked either on top of the stove or in the oven. Vegetables, such as carrots, turnips or onions, may be added at the beginning of the cooking; tomato juice may be used for the liquid added, and potatoes may be added about 30 min before the roast is done.

SMOTHERED BEEF

3 lb beef suitable for pot roast, 2 tbp flour mixed with 1 tsp salt and a few grains of pepper, 3 large onions sliced, 3 tbp oil or drippings, 1 tbp mustard, 1 tsp celery seed, 1 c strained tomatoes, 2 tsp salt, 1 tbp Worcestershire sauce.

Dredge the meat with the flour and brown it in a heavy iron pan; fry the onions in the oil and add the other ingredients; pour this sauce over the meat and simmer 3 hr or more. Cold roast meat, fowl or chicken giblets may be very attractively prepared in a similar manner.

COTTAGE PIE

Grease bottom of small baking dish and cover with hot mashed potato; add a thick slice of roast beef, cut in small pieces, seasoned with salt, pepper, a little onion juice, and moistened with some of the gravy; cover with a thin layer of mashed potato; bake in hot oven long enough to heat through. This is a good way to use left-over roast beef or hamburg. Grated onion can be used instead of onion juice.

MOCK DUCK

On a round steak, place a stuffing made as below; roll steak up around the stuffing, fasten with wooden toothpicks or tying with a string; brown the outside quickly to develop flavor; add a cup of hot water, meat stock or tomato juice and cover; cook slowly until tender.

MOCK DUCK STUFFING

2 c cornbread crumbs, 1 c bread crumbs, 1 onion, minced, 1 tbp chopped parsley, ¼ c fat, ¾ c milk or water, or stock to soften.

SWISS STEAK

2 lb beef round, ½ c flour, ½ tsp salt, ⅓ tsp pepper, 1 small onion, chopped, 2 tbp shortening, ¼ c chopped green pepper, 1 c stewed or canned tomatoes, 1 c boiling water.

Wipe meat with a clean damp cloth; cut in 2″ square pieces; mix flour, salt and pepper together; pound flour into the meat with a wooden potato masher; brown onion and meat in the shortening; add green pepper, tomatoes and water; cover and cook slowly 2 hr, or until meat is tender. The stock may be thickened more with a little flour mixed to a smooth paste with cold water.

BEEFSTEAK PIES

2 lb chuck steak, 1 tsp salt, ⅛ tsp pepper, 2 tbp flour, 3 tbp cold water, 1 c cooked carrots, cut in cubes, 2 c cooked potatoes, cut in cubes, 1 c cooked celery, cut in pieces, 6 cooked medium-sized onions, 2 tbp shortening.

Wipe meat with a clean damp cloth; cut in 1″ cubes and sprinkle with salt and pepper; cover meat with boiling water and simmer for 1 hr or until meat is tender; put the meat in a baking dish; thicken the stock with the flour mixed to a paste with the water; add carrots, potatoes, celery and onions; pour the gravy over it and dot with shortening; add more seasoning if necessary; cover top with plain pastry; bake in a quick oven 10 min; reduce heat to a moderate oven; bake 20 to 25 min.

HAMBURG BALLS

1 lb round steak, ground, 2 eggs, ⅔ c soft bread crumbs, 1 tsp salt, ⅛ tsp pepper, ⅓ c milk, 2 tbp chopped onion, 1 tbp butter, 1½ tsp flour, 1½ c boiling water.

Mix meat, beaten eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and milk together; fry onion in grease until a delicate brown and add to the meat mixture; form in small flat circular cakes and sprinkle with flour; fry on both sides in a small amount of grease until brown; remove the cakes to a hot platter; add flour to the grease in the pan and cook until a delicate brown, stirring constantly; add water and bring to the boiling point, mixing well; pour around the meat balls.

PLANKED SIRLOIN STEAK

Wipe a sirloin steak, cut 2″ thick; remove flank end and pan broil 10 min, seasoning with salt after first 5 min of cooking; place a border of mashed potatoes around edge of slightly buttered plank and make 8 nests of mashed potatoes; place steak on plank and put in oven to brown potatoes and finish cooking steak. Fill potato nests with canned peas, reheated and seasoned, and arrange equal distances piles of buttered carrot cubes and stuffed tomatoes; spread steak with butter; fit plank into nickel frame and serve.

GOULASH FOR FOUR

Slice and chop small 1 large or 2 medium-sized onions; heat 2 heaping tbp fine lard, in which brown the onions to a deep golden color; then add a level tsp of Hungarian paprika, a tsp of salt and 2 lb of lean sirloin or good round steak that has previously been cut in about inch cubes; let meat simmer, under cover, for a few minutes, being careful to stir often to avoid burning; then add sufficient water to cover it well, and let boil. In the meantime peel and cut in good-sized cubes 6 or 7 large potatoes, to be added when meat is fairly done; fill again up with water to cover about ½″ to 1″ and let boil; season again according to taste. Potatoes and meat should be done about the same time, and the gravy have assumed the consistency of cream.

HOMINY MEAT CAKES

2 c cooked hominy grits, ½ c cooked meat, 1 tbp minced onion, salt, pepper, milk or stock to moisten if necessary.

Form into cakes, brown in fat or brush with melted fat and brown in the oven.

CREAMED DRIED BEEF

¼ lb dried beef, 1 c medium white sauce.

Remove skin and separate meat into small pieces; cover with lukewarm water; let stand 10 min and drain; add white sauce and cook in db 10 min.

MEAT MOUSSE

1 c cooked meat, minced, 1 tbp gelatin, 1¼ c clear stock, 2 mushrooms, minced and sauteed, ¼ tsp pepper, ½ c evaporated milk, ½ c cream, 1 tsp salt.

Chicken, ham or sweetbreads may be used; chop meat very fine; soak the gelatin in the stock; heat stock until gelatin dissolves; then add meat, mushrooms and seasonings; cool, stirring occasionally. When it begins to stiffen fold in the evaporated milk and cream, which has been chilled and beaten stiff; pour mixture into molds and chill at least 2 hr.

CORNED BEEF HASH

Remove skin and gristle from cooked corn beef, then chop the meat. When meat is very fat, discard most of the fat. To 2 cups chopped meat add an equal quantity of cold boiled chopped potatoes; season with salt and pepper; moisten with milk or cream; put into a hot buttered frying pan, stir until well mixed, spread evenly, then place on a part of the range where it may slowly brown underneath, the time required being 40 to 45 min; turn and fold on a hot platter; garnish with spring of parsley in the middle.

CREAM DRIED BEEF (2)

¼ lb smoked dried beef, thinly sliced, 1 c scalded cream, 1½ tbp flour.

Remove skin and separate meat in pieces, cover with hot water, let stand 10 min and drain; dilute flour with enough cold water to pour easily, making smooth paste; add to cream, and cook in db 10 min; add beef, and repeat.

BEEFSTEAK A LA HENRIETTA

½ c butter, yolks 3 eggs, 1 tbp cold water, ½ tbp lemon juice, ¼ tsp salt, 2 tbp tomato puree, 1 tbp Worcestershire sauce, ½ finely chopped parsley, few grains cayenne.

Wash butter and divide in 3 pieces; put 1 piece in saucepan with yolks of eggs slightly beaten and mixed with water and lemon juice; then add tomato, parsley and seasonings; pour ½ sauce on a serving dish, lay a broiled porterhouse steak on sauce, and cover steak with remaining sauce; garnish with parsley.

MEXICAN BEEF SAUCE

Reheat cold roast beef cut in thin slices; cook 1 onion, finely chopped, in 2 tbp butter 5 min; add 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, and 1 clove of garlic, each finely chopped, and 2 tomatoes peeled and cut in pieces; cook 15 min; add 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, ¼ tsp celery salt, and salt to taste.

CORNED BEEF

Corned beef gives variety to the diet. The best pieces are the rattle rand and fancy brisket. The fancy brisket commands a higher price and may be easily told from the rattle rand by the selvage on lower side and the absence of bones. The upper end of brisket (butt end) is thick and composed mostly of lean meat, the middle cut has more fat, but is not well mixed, while the lower (navel end) has a large quantity of fat.

=To Boil=: Wipe the meat, tie securely in shape, if this has not been already done at market; put in kettle, cover with cold water, and bring slowly to boiling point; boil 5 min, remove scum and cook at a lower temperature until tender; cool slightly in water in which it was cooked, remove to a dish, cover, and place on cover a weight, that meat may be well pressed. The lean meat and fat may be separated and put in alternate layers in a bread pan, then covered and pressed.

BOILED TONGUE

A boiled corned tongue is cooked the same as Boiled Corned Beef. If salty, it should be soaked in cold water several hours, or over night, before cooking; take from water when slightly cooled and remove skin.

ROAST BEEF GRAVY

Leave 4 tbp of fat in pan; place on front of range; add 5 tbp flour; stir until well browned; the flour, dredged and browned in pan, should give additional color to gravy; add gradually 1½ c boiling water; cook 5 min, season with salt and pepper and strain.

TO CARVE A ROAST

Have roast placed on platter, skin side up; with a pointed, thin-bladed sharp knife cut a sirloin or rib roast in thin slices at right angles to the ribs, and cut slices from ribs. If there is tenderloin, remove it from under the bone, and cut in thin slices across grain of meat; carve back of rump in thin slices with the grain of meat; by so doing, some of the least tender muscle will be served with that which is tender; by cutting across grain of meat, the tenderest portion is sliced by itself, as is the less tender portion.

STEWS

Stews made of meat and vegetables offer a great variety of dishes, good in themselves and good also because they encourage the eating of bread. The meat used should, of course, be in good condition, but need not be from a tender cut. The lower-priced cuts may be used with good results, provided they are made tender by long, slow cooking. Any vegetable may be added, including the tougher parts of lettuce and the leaves of celery. Rice, barley, macaroni, or even crusts of stale bread may be used in the stew to give variety. A stew containing a little meat, with one or more vegetables and a cereal, comes near to supplying all the needed foods other than milk.

MEAT STEW

2 lb of one of the cheaper cuts of beef, ⅔ c each of turnips and carrots, cut into ½″ cubes, 4 c of potatoes, cut into small pieces, ½ onion, chopped, ¼ c of flour, salt.

Cut the meat into small pieces, cover with boiling water, boil for 5 min, and then cook at a lower temp until the meat is tender. This will require about 3 hr on the stove or 5 hr in the fireless cooker; add the carrots, turnips and onions and salt during the last hour of cooking, and the potatoes 20 min before serving; thicken with the flour diluted with cold water. If the dish is made in the fireless cooker, the mixture must be reheated when the vegetables are put in. If foods depended on for vitamins are scarce, cook the vegetables separately from the meat so as to avoid the danger from overcooking them.

There is much to be said in favor of keeping a soup pot on the stove all the time, provided great care is taken not to allow the contents to grow stale. Into this pot can go clean portions of uncooked food and also clean foods left from the table, such as meat, milk, mashed potatoes, or other vegetables, crusts, cold cereal mashes, and even fruits. Soups made from such materials may not have great nutritive value, but, like those made out of materials bought for the purpose, they encourage the use of a large amount of bread, particularly if carefully seasoned.

BROWN STEW

For this dish the cheaper and less tender cuts of beef, such as the rump and round can be used; remove the meat from the bone and cut it into small pieces; dredge with flour and cook in a small amount of fat until it is well browned; add hot water, about 1 qt to every pound of meat; season with salt, pepper and onion, and cook.

CARROT STEW

In these times of “high prices” perhaps the following will be found helpful in the list of cheap though nourishing dishes: Into 1 qt boiling water put 2 c grated carrot; add salt to taste and allow to cook for 15 or 20 min; add 1 qt milk, which has been warming, to which has been added a piece of butter and broken or rolled crackers; allow mixture to become very hot, when it is ready for serving. The flavor will be found delicious, reminding one of salmon. Of course, the more generous piece of butter the richer the stew.

CHOWDERS