Part 42

Batter pudding should be smoothly mixed and free from lumps. To insure this, first mix the flour with a very small proportion of milk, and add the remainder by degrees. Should the pudding be very lumpy, it may be strained through a hair sieve.

_All boiled puddings_ should be put on in _boiling water_, which must not be allowed to stop simmering, and the pudding must always be covered with the water; if requisite, the saucepan should be kept filled up.

To prevent a pudding boiled in a cloth from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan, place a small plate or saucer underneath it, and set the pan _on a trivet_ over the fire. If a mould is used, this precaution is not necessary; but care must be taken to keep the pudding well covered with water.

For dishing a boiled pudding as soon as it comes out of the pot, dip it into a basin of cold water, and the cloth will then not adhere to it. Great expedition is necessary in sending puddings to table, as by standing they quickly become heavy, batter puddings particularly.

For baked or boiled puddings, the moulds, cups, or basins should be always buttered before the mixture is put in them, and they should be put into the saucepan directly they are filled.

Scrupulous attention should be paid to the cleanliness of pudding-cloths, as from neglect in this particular the outsides of boiled puddings frequently taste very disagreeably. As soon as possible after it is taken off the pudding, it should be soaked in water, and then well washed, without soap, unless it be very greasy. It should be dried out of doors, then folded up and kept in a dry place. When wanted for use, dip it in boiling water, and dredge it slightly with flour.

_The dry ingredients_ for puddings are better for being mixed some time before they are wanted; the liquid portion should only be added just before the pudding is put into the saucepan.

A pinch of salt is an improvement to the generality of puddings; but this ingredient should be added very sparingly, as the flavour should not be detected.

When baked puddings are sufficiently solid, turn them out of the dish they were baked in, bottom uppermost, and strew over them fine-sifted sugar.

When pastry or baked puddings are not done through, and yet the outside is sufficiently brown, cover them over with a piece of white paper until thoroughly cooked: this prevents them from getting burnt.

PASTRY, to Ice or Glaze.

To glaze pastry, which is the usual method adopted for meat or raised pies, break an egg, separate the yolk from the white, and beat the former for a short time. Then, when the pastry is nearly baked, take it out of the oven, brush it over with this beaten yolk of egg, and put it back in the oven to set the glaze.

To ice pastry, which is the usual method adopted for fruit tarts and sweet dishes of pastry, put the white of an egg on a plate, and with the blade of a knife beat it to a stiff froth. When the pastry is nearly baked, brush it over with this, and sift over some pounded sugar; put it back into the oven to set the glaze, and, in a few minutes, it will be done. Great care should be taken that the paste does not catch or burn in the oven, which it is very liable to do after the icing is laid on. _Sufficient._—Allow 1 egg and 1½ oz. of sugar to glaze 3 tarts.

PASTRY SANDWICHES.

_Ingredients._—Puff-paste, jam of any kind, the white of an egg, sifted sugar. _Mode._—Roll the paste out thin; put half of it on a baking-sheet or tin, and spread equally over it apricot, greengage, or any preserve that may be preferred. Lay over this preserve another thin paste; press the edges together all round; and mark the paste in lines with a knife on the surface, to show where to cut it when baked. Bake from 20 minutes to ½ hour; and, a short time before being done, take the pastry out of the oven, brush it over with the white of an egg, sift over pounded sugar, and put it back in the oven to colour. When cold, cut it into strips; pile these on a dish pyramidically, and serve. These strips, cut about 2 inches long, piled in circular rows, and a plateful of flavoured whipped cream poured in the middle, make a very pretty dish. _Time._—20 minutes to ½ hour. _Average cost_, with ½ lb. of paste, 1_s._ _Sufficient._—½ lb. of paste will make 2 dishes of sandwiches. _Seasonable_ at any time.

PATE BRISEE, Crust French, for Raised Pies.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of flour allow ½ saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, 1/3 pint of water, 6 oz. of butter. _Mode._—Spread the flour, which should be sifted and thoroughly dry, on the paste-board; make a hole in the centre, into which put the butter; work it lightly into the flour, and when quite fine, add the salt; work the whole into a smooth paste with the eggs (yolks and whites) and water, and make it very firm. Knead the paste well, and let it be rather stiff, that the sides of the pie may be easily raised, and that they do not afterwards tumble or shrink. _Average cost_, 1_s._ per lb.

_Note._—This paste may be very much enriched by making it with equal quantities of flour and butter; but then it is not so easily raised as when made plainer.

PATTIES, Fried.

[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—Cold roast veal, a few slices of cold ham, 1 egg boiled hard, pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, gravy, cream, 1 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, good puff-paste. _Mode._—Mince a little cold veal and ham, allowing one-third ham to two-thirds veal; add an egg boiled hard and chopped, and a seasoning of pounded mace, salt, pepper, and lemon-peel; moisten with a little gravy and cream. Make a good puff-paste; roll rather thin, and cut it into round or square pieces; put the mince between two of them, pinch the edges to keep in the gravy, and fry a light brown. They may also be baked in patty-pans; in that case, they should be brushed over with the yolk of an egg before they are put in the oven. To make a variety, oysters may be substituted for the ham. _Time._—15 minutes to fry the patties. _Seasonable_ from March to October.

PEA SOUP (Inexpensive).

_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of onions, ¼ lb. of carrots, 2 oz. of celery, ¾ lb. of split peas, a little mint, shred fine; 1 tablespoonful of coarse brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste, 4 quarts of water, or liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled. _Mode._—Fry the vegetables for 10 minutes in a little butter or dripping, previously cutting them up into small pieces; pour the water on them, and when boiling add the peas. Let them simmer for nearly 3 hours, or until the peas are thoroughly done. Add the sugar, seasoning, and mint; boil for ¼ of an hour, and serve. _Time._—3½ hours. _Average cost_, 1½_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ in winter. _Sufficient_ for 12 persons.

PEA SOUP (Green).

_Ingredients._—3 pints of green peas, ¼ lb. of butter, 2 or 3 thin slices of ham, 3 onions sliced, 4 shredded lettuces, the crumb of 2 French rolls, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 lump of sugar, 2 quarts of medium stock. _Mode._—Put the butter, jam, 1 quart of peas, onions, and lettuces, to a pint of stock, and simmer for an hour; then add the remainder of the stock, with the crumb of the French rolls, and boil for another hour. Now boil the spinach, and squeeze it very dry. Rub the soup through a sieve, and the spinach with it, to colour it. Have ready a pint of _young_ peas boiled; add them to the soup, put in the sugar, give one boil, and serve. If necessary, add salt. _Time._—2½ hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 9_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ from June to the end of August. _Sufficient_ for 10 persons.

_Note._—It will be well to add, if the peas are not quite young, a little more sugar. Where economy is essential, water may be used instead of stock for this soup, boiling in it likewise the pea-shells; but using a double quantity of vegetables.

PEA SOUP, Winter (Yellow).

_Ingredients._—1 quart of split peas, 2 lbs. of shin beef, trimmings of meat or poultry, a slice of bacon, 2 large carrots, 2 turnips, 5 large onions, 1 head of celery, seasoning to taste, 2 quarts of soft water, any bones left from roast meat, 2 quarts of common stock, or liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled. _Mode._—Put the peas to soak over-night in soft water, and float off such as rise to the top. Boil them in the water till tender enough to pulp; then add the ingredients mentioned above, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring it occasionally. Pass the whole through a sieve, skim well, season, and serve with toasted bread cut in dice. _Time._—4 hours. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year round, but more suitable for cold weather. _Sufficient_ for 12 persons.

PEACHES, Compôte of.

_Ingredients._—1 pint of syrup, about 15 small peaches, _Mode._—Peaches that are not very large, and that would not look well for dessert, answer very nicely for a compôte. Divide the peaches, take out the stones, and pare the fruit; make a syrup by recipe, put in the peaches, and stew them gently for about 10 minutes. Take them out without breaking, arrange them on a glass dish, boil the syrup for 2 or 3 minutes, let it cool, pour it over the fruit, and, when cold, it will be ready for table. _Time._—10 minutes. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 2_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ in August and September.

PEACH FRITTERS.

_Ingredients._—For the batter, ½ lb. of flour, ½ oz. of butter, ½ saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, milk, peaches, hot lard or clarified dripping. _Mode._—Make a nice smooth batter; skin, halve, and stone the peaches, which should be quite ripe; dip them in the batter, and fry the pieces in hot lard or clarified dripping, which should be boiling before the peaches are put in. From 8 to 10 minutes will be required to fry them; when done, drain them before the fire. Dish them on a white d’oyley. Strew over plenty of pounded sugar and serve. _Time._—From 8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters, 5 minutes to drain them. _Average cost_, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in July, August, and September.

PEACHES PRESERVED IN BRANDY.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of fruit weighed before being stoned, allow ¼ lb. of finely-pounded loaf sugar; brandy. _Mode._—Let the fruit be gathered in dry weather; wipe and weigh it, and remove the stones as carefully as possible, without injuring the peaches much. Put them into a jar, sprinkle amongst them pounded loaf sugar in the above proportion, and pour brandy over the fruit. Cover the jar down closely, place it in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire, and bring the brandy to the simmering-point, but do not allow it to boil. Take the fruit out carefully, without breaking it; put it into small jars, pour over it the brandy, and, when cold, exclude the air by covering the jars with bladders, or tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg. Apricots may be done in the same manner, and, if properly prepared, will be found delicious. _Time._—From 10 to 20 minutes to bring the brandy to the simmering-point. _Seasonable_ in August and September.

PEARS, Baked.

_Ingredients._—12 pears, the rind of 1 lemon, 6 cloves, 10 whole allspice; to every pint of water allow ½ lb. of loaf sugar. _Mode._—Pare and cut the pears into halves, and, should they be very large, into quarters; leave the stalks on, and carefully remove the cores. Place them in a clean baking-jar, with a closely-fitting lid; add to them the lemon-rind cut in strips, the juice of ½ lemon, the cloves, pounded allspice, and sufficient water just to cover the whole, with sugar in the above proportion. Cover the jar down closely, put it into a very cool oven, and bake the pears from 5 to 6 hours, but be very careful that the oven is not too hot. To improve the colour of the fruit, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added; but this will not be found necessary, if the pears are very gently baked. _Time._—Large pears, 5 to 6 hours, in a very slow oven. _Average cost_, 1_d._ to 2_d._ each. _Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ from September to January.

PEARS à L’ALLEMANDE.

_Ingredients._—6 to 8 pears, water, sugar, 2 oz. of butter, the yolk of an egg, ½ oz. of gelatine. _Mode._—Peel and cut the pears into any form that may be preferred, and steep them in cold water to prevent them turning black; put them into a saucepan with sufficient cold water to cover them, and boil them with the butter and enough sugar to sweeten them nicely, until tender; then brush the pears over with the yolk of an egg, sprinkle them with sifted sugar, and arrange them on a dish. Add the gelatine to the syrup, boil it up quickly for about 5 minutes, strain it over the pears, and let it remain until set. The syrup may be coloured with a little prepared cochineal, which would very much improve the appearance of the dish. _Time._—From 20 minutes to ½ hour to stew the pears; 5 minutes to boil the syrup. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for a large dish. _Seasonable_ from August to February.

PEARS, Moulded.

_Ingredients._—4 large pears or 6 small ones, 8 cloves, sugar to taste, water, a small piece of cinnamon, ¼ pint of raisin wine, a strip of lemon-peel, the juice of ½ lemon, ½ oz. of gelatine. _Mode._—Peel and cut the pears into quarters; put them into a jar with ¾ pint of water, cloves, cinnamon, and sufficient sugar to sweeten the whole nicely; cover down the top of the jar, and bake the pears in a gentle oven until perfectly tender, but do not allow them to break. When done, lay the pears in a plain mould, which should be well wetted, and boil ½ pint of the liquor the pears were baked in with the wine, lemon-peel, strained juice, and gelatine. Let these ingredients boil quickly for 5 minutes, then strain the liquid warm over the pears; put the mould in a cool place, and when the jelly is firm, turn it out on a glass dish. _Time._—2 hours to bake the pears in a cool oven. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for a quart mould. _Seasonable_ from August to February.

PEARS, Preserved.

_Ingredients._—Jargonelle pears; to every lb. of sugar allow ½ pint of water. _Mode._—Procure some Jargonelle pears, not too ripe; put them into a stewpan with sufficient water to cover them, and simmer them till rather tender, but do not allow them to break; then put them into cold water. Boil the sugar and water together for 5 minutes, skim well, put in the pears, and simmer them gently for 5 minutes. Repeat the simmering for 3 successive days, taking care not to let the fruit break. The last time of boiling, the syrup should be made rather richer, and the fruit boiled for 10 minutes. When the pears are done, drain them from the syrup, and dry them in the sun, or in a cool oven; or they may be kept in the syrup, and dried as they are wanted. _Time._—½ hour to simmer the pears in water, 20 minutes in the syrup. _Average cost_, 1_d._ to 2_d._ each. _Seasonable._—Most plentiful in September and October.

PEARS, Stewed.

_Ingredients._—8 large pears, 5 oz. of loaf sugar, 6 cloves, 6 whole allspice, ½ pint of water, ¼ pint of port wine, a few drops of prepared cochineal. _Mode._—Pare the pears, halve them, remove the cores, and leave the stalks on; put them into a _lined_ saucepan with the above ingredients, and let them simmer very gently until tender, which will be in from 3 to 4 hours, according to the quality of the pears. They should be watched, and, when done, carefully lifted out on to a glass dish without breaking them. Boil up the syrup quickly for 2 or 3 minutes; allow it to cool a little, pour it over the pears, and let them get perfectly cold. To improve the colour of the fruit, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added, which rather enhances the beauty of this dish. The fruit must not be boiled fast, but only simmered, and watched that it be not too much done. _Time._—3 to 4 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ from September to January.

PEAS, Boiled Green.

_Ingredients._—Green peas; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1 _small_ teaspoonful of moist sugar, 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. _Mode._—This delicious vegetable, to be eaten in perfection, should be young, and not _gathered_ or _shelled_ long before it is dressed. Shell the peas, wash them well in cold water, and drain them; then put them into a saucepan with plenty of _fast-boiling_ water, to which salt and _moist sugar_ have been added in the above proportion; let them boil quickly over a brisk fire, with the lid of the saucepan uncovered, and be careful that the smoke does not draw in. When tender, pour them into a colander; put them into a hot vegetable-dish, and quite in the centre of the peas place a piece of butter, the size of a walnut. Many cooks boil a small bunch of mint _with_ the _peas_, or garnish them with it, by boiling a few sprigs in a saucepan by themselves. Should the peas be very old, and difficult to boil a good colour, a very tiny piece of soda may be thrown in the water previous to putting them in; but this must be very sparingly used, as it causes the peas, when boiled, to have a smashed and broken appearance. With young peas, there is not the slightest occasion to use it. _Time._—Young peas, 10 to 15 minutes; the large sorts, such as marrowfats, &c., 18 to 24 minutes; old peas, ½ hour. _Average cost_, when cheapest, 6_d._ per peck; when first in season, 1_s._ to 1_s._ 6_d._ per peck. _Sufficient._—Allow 1 peck of unshelled peas for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from June to the end of August.

PEAS, Green, à la Française.

_Ingredients._—2 quarts of green peas, 3 oz. of fresh butter, a bunch of parsley, 6 green onions, flour, a small lump of sugar, ½ teaspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of flour. _Mode._—Shell sufficient fresh-gathered peas to fill 2 quarts; put them into cold water, with the above proportion of butter, and stir them about until they are well covered with the butter; drain them in a colander, and put them in a stewpan, with the parsley and onions; dredge over them a little flour, stir the peas well, and moisten them with boiling water; boil them quickly over a large fire for 20 minutes, or until there is no liquor remaining. Dip a small lump of sugar into some water, that it may soon melt; put it with the peas, to which add ½ teaspoonful of salt. Take a piece of butter the size of a walnut, work it together with a teaspoonful of flour, and add this to the peas, which should be boiling when it is put in. Keep shaking the stewpan, and, when the peas are nicely thickened, dress them high in the dish, and serve. _Time._—Altogether, ¾ hour. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per peck. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from June to the end of August.

PEAS, Stewed Green.

_Ingredients._—1 quart of peas, 1 lettuce, 1 onion, 2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, 1 egg, ½ teaspoonful of powdered sugar. _Mode._—Shell the peas, and cut the onion and lettuce into slices; put these into a stewpan, with the butter, pepper, and salt, but with no more water than that which hangs around the lettuce from washing. Stew the whole very gently for rather more than 1 hour; then stir in a well-beaten egg, and about ½ teaspoonful of powdered sugar. When the peas, &c., are nicely thickened, serve; but, after the egg is added, do not allow them to boil. _Time._—1¼ hour. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per peck. _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ from June to the end of August.

PERCH, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. _Mode._—Scale the fish, take out the gills and clean it thoroughly; lay it in boiling water, salted as above, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. If the fish is very large, longer time must be allowed. Garnish with parsley, and serve with plain melted butter, or Dutch sauce. Perch do not preserve so good a flavour when stewed as when dressed in any other way. _Time._—Middling-sized perch, ¼ hour. _Seasonable_ from September to November.

_Note._—Tench may be boiled the same way, and served with the same sauces.

PERCH, Fried.

_Ingredients._—Egg and bread-crumbs, hot lard. _Mode._—Scale and clean the fish, brush it over with egg, and cover with bread-crumbs. Have ready some boiling lard; put the fish in, and fry a nice brown. Serve with plain melted butter or anchovy sauce. _Time._—10 minutes. _Seasonable_ from September to November.

_Note._—Fry tench in the same way.

PERCH, Stewed with Wine.

_Ingredients._—Equal quantities of stock and sherry, 1 bay-leaf, 1 clove of garlic, a small bunch of parsley, 2 cloves, salt to taste; thickening of butter and flour, pepper, grated nutmeg, ½ teaspoonful of anchovy sauce. _Mode._—Scale the fish and take out the gills, and clean them thoroughly; lay them in a stewpan with sufficient stock and sherry just to cover them. Put in the bay-leaf, garlic, parsley, cloves, and salt, and simmer till tender. When done, take out the fish, strain the liquor, add a thickening of butter and flour, the pepper, nutmeg, and the anchovy sauce, and stir it over the fire until somewhat reduced, when pour over the fish, and serve. _Time._—About 20 minutes. _Seasonable_ from September to November.

PETITES BOUCHÉES.

_Ingredients._—6 oz. of sweet almonds, ¼ lb. of sifted sugar, the rind of ½ lemon, the white of 1 egg, puff-paste. _Mode._—Blanch the almonds, and chop them fine; rub the sugar on the lemon-rind, and pound it in a mortar; mix this with the almonds and the white of the egg. Roll some puff-paste out; cut it in any shape that may be preferred, such as diamonds, rings, ovals, &c., and spread the above mixture over the paste. Bake the bouchées in an oven, not too hot, and serve cold. _Time._—¼ hour, or rather more. _Average cost_, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for ½ lb. of puff-paste. _Seasonable_ at any time.

PHEASANT.

If this bird be eaten three days after it has been killed, it then has no peculiarity of flavour; a pullet would be more relished, and a quail would surpass it in aroma. Kept, however, a proper length of time,—and this can be ascertained by a slight smell and change of colour,—then it becomes a highly-flavoured dish, occupying, so to speak, the middle distance between chicken and venison. It is difficult to define any exact time to “hang” a pheasant; but any one possessed of the instincts of gastronomical science, can at once detect the right moment when a pheasant should be taken down, in the same way as a good cook knows whether a bird should be removed from the spit, or have a turn or two more.

PHEASANT, Broiled (a Breakfast or Luncheon Dish).

_Ingredients._—1 pheasant, a little lard, egg and bread-crumbs, salt and cayenne to taste. _Mode._—Cut the legs off at the first joint, and the remainder of the bird into neat pieces; put them into a frying-pan with a little lard, and when browned on both sides, and about half done, take them out and drain them; brush the pieces over with egg, and sprinkle with bread-crumbs with which has been mixed a good seasoning of cayenne and salt. Broil them over a moderate fire for about 10 minutes, or rather longer, and serve with mushroom-sauce, sauce piquante, or brown gravy, in which a few game-bones and trimmings have been stewed. _Time._—Altogether ½ hour. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from the 1st of October to the beginning of February.

PHEASANT, to Carve.

Fixing the fork in the breast, let the carver cut slices from it in the direction of the lines from 2 to 1: these are the prime pieces. If there be more guests to satisfy than these slices will serve, then let the legs and wings be disengaged in the same manner as described in carving boiled fowl, the point where the wing joins the neckbone being carefully found. The merrythought will come off in the same way as that of a fowl. The most valued parts are the same as those which are most considered in a fowl.

PHEASANT CUTLETS.