Chapter 3

Boil and mash some potatoes, working in a little milk and butter but not enough to make the paste soft; while hot add one beaten egg. Shape this paste into a fence on the inside round of a shallow dish, fluting it with the round handle of a knife. Set one minute in a hot oven but not long enough to cause the fence to crack. Glaze quickly with butter and pour the meat carefully within the wall. The mince should not be so thin as to wash away the frill.

POTATO PUFF.

MISS CORDELIA JACKSON.

Take two cupfuls of cold mashed potato, and stir into it six teaspoonfuls of melted butter, beating to a white cream before adding anything else. Then put with this two eggs, whipped very light and a teacupful of cream or milk, salting to taste. Beat all well, pour into a deep dish, and bake in a quick oven until it is nicely browned. If properly mixed it will come out of the oven light, puffy and delectable.

POTATO PEARS.

MRS. J. S. THOM

Boil six or eight large potatoes, when well done mash thoroughly, adding a little butter, cream, pepper and salt. Mould into shape of pears, putting a clove into stem and brush over with beaten egg, and put into the oven to brown slightly.

POTATO FRICASSÉ.

MRS. J. T. SMYTHE.

Cut into thin slices one half pound of fat salt pork. Place in stewpan, when brown, add an onion sliced and a little cold water, cook a few minutes. Cut up a number of good sized potatoes, add this to onion and pork and one half teaspoon of pepper. Cover well with cold water. Let this boil hard for hours. If about half an hour before serving, it is found not to be thick enough, take off cover and boil until it does thicken.

PEAS WITH CREAM SAUCE.

MRS. STOCKING.

Put one quart of peas in a kettle of salted boiling water and cook fifteen minutes; drain, put a tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, add a tablespoon of flour, mix; add a cup of milk; stir constantly until boiling; add salt, pepper and then the peas; stand over boiling water about five minutes and serve as garnish to baked, broiled or fried sweetbreads.

CREAMED RICE.

MRS. LAWRENCE.

Two thirds cup raw rice, one quart of milk, one half cup sugar, flavor with grated rind of lemon or nutmeg. Cook in a pie dish in moderate oven for one and half hour.

TO BOIL RICE.

MISS M. SAMPSON.

Have enough boiling water with a pinch of salt to more than cover the rice, boil for twenty minutes, do not stir, strain through a collander when cooked, and serve.

SPINACH ON TOAST.

MRS. FRANK GLASS.

Cook twenty minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and chop fine. Put a tablespoon of butter into a saucepan with a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of nutmeg, pepper and salt. Stir in the spinach and beat smooth while it heats; at the last, add one tablespoonful of cream or two of milk. Pour upon crustless slices of buttered toast laid upon a flat dish.

VEGETABLE MARROW.

MRS. DAVID BELL.

Cut in slices half an inch thick, peel and remove the spongy portion; fry in hot dripping or butter, pepper and salt; also nice to make a light batter and dip the slices in, afterwards frying a golden brown.

ENTRÉES AND MEATS RÉCHAUFFÉ.

BEEF CROQUETTES.

MISS FRANCIS FRY.

Two cups beef (minced fine), one cup stock, two pounds flour, one pound butter, one teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar, ditto of onion and salt, one half teaspoon pepper, two eggs, bread or biscuit crumbs. Make a thick sauce by cooking flour and butter; add gradually stock and lemon juice, season; add chopped meat with the onion and one egg. Cook five minutes and turn out to cool. Form into shape roll in beaten egg and crumbs, and fry in boiling lard.

CREAM OF CHICKEN.

MRS. ARCHIE COOK.

Pound three quarters of a pound of chicken, veal or rabbit until quite smooth, then pound one half pound of panada (bread soaked in hot milk), and mix the two together, add two tablespoonfuls of thick soubise sauce, an ounce and a quarter butter, two tablespoons sherry, a little pepper and salt and three whole eggs. Pass the mixture through a fine wire sieve and then add two tablespoons of thick cream. Butter some small timbale moulds and fill them with the mixture, remembering to hit the moulds on the table after having put the mixture into them and steam them about fifteen minutes. Turn them out carefully and serve hot. Tomato sauce poured around them is an improvement. If preferred they can be cold and decorated with aspic jelly and a ragout made of truffles, cooked tongue, or ham and button mushrooms, or a little tomato salad could be used.

SOUBISE SAUCE.

Put some onions to soak for ten minutes in boiling water. Peel them, cut in halves or quarters. Put them in a small saucepan with a lump of fresh butter; simmer very slowly until the onions are quite cooked, add salt to taste; thicken with flour, or flour and fine bread crumbs, and add cream or milk. Pass through a sieve, must be thick and smooth. Some people like a pinch of sugar.

JELLIED CHICKEN.

MRS. ARCHIBALD LAURIE.

Take an old fowl, boil until so tender the bones will leave the meat; set aside to cool: next day skim off the fat and boil down to one quart, to this add one ounce of sheet gelatine previously steeped in a little cold water. Pepper and salt to taste, with a little ground savory. Put the meat in a pie dish and by degrees add the liquid to avoid having the meat all in one place. This should turn out well when cold.

MAKE A DOZEN CHICKEN CROQUETTES.

MRS. ANDREW THOMSON.

White of two chickens well minced, one wineglass of sherry, one half pint of cream, pepper and salt and a little cayenne to taste, mix well and put into a buttered mould; steam for one hour.

CHICKEN MOULD. (Served Cold.)

MADAME J. T.

Put over one large chicken in a pint and a half of cold water, with a medium sized onion, three stalks of celery, and a small bunch parsley. Let simmer gently (not boil), for two hours. Then remove chicken, pick the meat from the bones, and cut into pieces about an inch long. Put the bones back into the broth and let this boil down to three quarters of a pint. Add gradually two cups cream in which a tablespoonful of flour has been dissolved. When the flour has thickened remove from fire and add two well beaten eggs and a very little nutmeg. Garnish a mould with slices of hard boiled egg and sprigs of parsley. Pour in chicken mixture. Allow to set and serve on lettuce leaves. This will serve eight people.

CURRY. (Excellent.)

MRS. W. COOK.

Take several small onions, chop them up very fine, put them into a pan with a piece of butter, stew them over the fire until the onions are quite dissolved and turned to a light brown. Cut meat into small pieces and rub the curry powder well into the raw meat. Put it into a stew pan with onion and an apple minced fine and a teaspoonful of cream, and let it all simmer for two or three hours. It must not boil.

FISH RÉCHAUFFÉ

One pound cooked fish, one tablespoon each of mushroom ketchup, essence of anchovy, Harvey's sauce and mustard, one ounce of butter, rolled flour and one half a pint of cream, a wall of potatoes. Divide the fish into flakes, place it with cream and butter into a stew pan, until very hot. Mash the potatoes, and add to them one tablespoon cream, one yolk of egg, pepper and salt; well butter a wall mould and sprinkle with browned bread crumbs, and place it in the oven till hot, turn it out on a silver dish and pour the ragoût in the centre. Garnish with lemon and parsley.

FISH CROQUETTES.

MISS FRY.

Mash freshly boiled potatoes, add one egg and flour to make a stiff dough. Roll out thin and cut with a round cutter. Spread on one half the cake chopped fish, mixed with parsley, fold over and press down the edges. Fry in lard.

HOMINY CROQUETTES.

MRS. BENSON BENNETT.

To a cupful of cold boiled hominy, add a tablespoonful of melted butter, and stir, moistening by degrees with a cupful of milk beating to a soft light paste, one teacupful of white sugar, and lastly a well beaten egg. Roll in oval balls with floured hands in egg and bread crumbs and fry in hot lard.

POTTED HEAD.

MISS EDITH M. HENRY.

Take the shank (lower), of meat, cover with water, boil until tender enough to cut up in dice, take off and cut the meat into dice, then throw back into pot, flavor with pepper, salt, mace, celery seed, cayenne pepper, allspice and cloves. Then have ready a little gelatine, mix all through well and let boil a short time, then pour into a cold shape.

KEGEREE.

MRS. BENSON BENNETT.

One teacup of freshly boiled rice, one half quarter of boiled salmon, two soft boiled eggs, lump of butter, salt and pepper. Mix all together and put it in a mould to steam.

DEVILLED LIVER.

MRS. HENRY THOMSON.

To three pounds of uncooked liver, one quarter of a pound of uncooked salt pork, one half pint of bread crumbs, three tablespoons of salt, one teaspoon of pepper, one half a teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, mace and cloves. Mode.--Chop the liver and pork very fine, add the other ingredients mixing well, put it into a covered mould, and set in a saucepan of cold water, cover and place on the fire to cook two hours. Take out the mould, uncover and let it stand in an open oven to let the steam off. This is a cold dish.

MEAT CROQUETTES.

MADAME J. T.

One tablespoon butter, one tablespoon flour, two tablespoon of stock, one tablespoon milk. Let boil until it thickens, then add small teaspoonful onion juice (grated), one teaspoon lemon juice, one small teaspoon lemon rind, pepper and salt, one grate of nutmeg. When well blended, add one beaten up egg, cupful of chopped meat (any kind.) Let this mixture cool in a soup plate and roll into cork shaped croquettes with finely grated bread crumbs and fry in lard hot. Serve on a napkin with parsley and lemon rind.

MOCK PATÉ DE FOIE GRAS.

MRS. BLAIR.

Rub the bottom of a stew-pan five times across with a piece of fresh cut garlic, put in three pounds of larded calf's liver, with two chopped shallots, a laurel leaf, a bay leaf, a blade of mace, four pepper corns, two cloves, a saltspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of loaf sugar, and half a pint of stock: simmer gently for four hours. Then cut the liver into thin slices, place in a basin, and cover with the liquid: let it remain until next day. Then pound the liver to a paste, add a tablespoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of white pepper; add three quarters of a pound of clarified butter; pound well together and pass through a wire sieve; put into pots; smooth over the top with a knife, then pour over hot clarified butter or lard and keep in a cool place.

POTATO CROQUETTES.

MRS. J. G. SCOTT.

Take two cupfuls of cold mashed potatoes, beat up with two tablespoonfuls of melted butter and three eggs, make into rolls, cover with cracker dust, or bread crumbs and fry.

KIDNEY STEW.

MRS. SEPTIMUS BARROW.

One tablespoon flour, one half tablespoon of salt, one saltspoon pepper, three gills stock or water, one tablespoon mushroom ketchup, two ounces butter or bacon fat. First: Wash the kidney and remove the core--cut into thin slices; mix together pepper, salt and flour, roll kidney in it. Brown it quickly in the butter, then add stock or water; skim well and cook very slowly for two hours.

STEWED SWEETBREADS.

MRS. ERNEST WURTELE.

Soak the sweetbreads in salt and water for twenty minutes, then take them out, wipe them well, and take off the skin. Parboil them for twenty minutes or half an hour, after which you stew them in a little milk, till they are tender, add a little salt and pepper, make a little sauce of the milk and serve. Use a double kettle when stewing.

COLD ENTRÉE.

MRS. FRANK DUGGAN.

An entrée that supplies the want of fish for luncheon. Take the contents of one can of sardines, mince fine with a silver fork removing bits of bone, the tails, etc., etc., add celery salt, pepper and salt to taste, a tablespoonful of lemon juice, a quarter teaspoonful Worcester sauce, a few drops of Harvey's sauce, the same of anchovy sauce. Add a tablespoonful of capers. Mix the whole thoroughly with a little thick cream, (sweet), or mayonnaise. Mould into minature pyramids and serve on lettuce leaves: further garnish the dish with parsley. One can of sardines will be sufficient to make four pyramids. Finely chopped celery may be added before the mayonnaise.

STUFFED TOMATOES (HOT ENTRÉE.)

MRS. JAMES LAURIE.

Six tomatoes, three ounces cooked white meat of any kind, one small shallot, one teaspoon chopped parsley, pepper and salt, two tablespoons bread crumbs, one egg. Take out the centre from the tomatoes; cut the meat into very small pieces, mix with the bread crumbs, parsley, shallot, pepper, salt, and egg. With this fill the tomatoes, put a small piece of butter on each and bake fifteen minutes in a good oven.

MOCK TURKEY.

MRS. HENRY THOMSON.

Three pounds veal, one fourth pound salt pork, finely minced cup bread crumbs (large coffee cup), two eggs, one teaspoonful salt, same of pepper, a little sweet herbs, steam four hours.

TURBOT À LA CRÈME AU GRATIN.

MADAME J. T.

Boil one quart of milk twenty minutes, with one onion, one bunch parsley, one bunch thyme; mix in a little cold milk, one quartercup flour, and add gradually to boiled milk also salt, pepper and a grate of nutmeg. When thick, remove from fire, add one quarter pound fresh butter, the yolks two eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of grated gruyere cheese. Pass through a coarse sieve and pour over two and one half pounds of boiled fish removed from bones and flaked, putting in the dish first a layer of sauce, then a layer of fish, another layer of sauce and another of fish. On top layer put sauce, thickly sprinkled with bread crumbs and grated gruyere cheese. Brown one half an hour in the oven and serve. This quantity will serve ten or twelve people.

JELLIED TONGUE.

MISS MITCHELL.

Take a corned tongue, soak it for twelve hours then boil slowly, pare and skin, and put it in your mould. Have ready half a package of gelatine and a half a thinly cut lemon, place on the tongue and pour your jelly over it. Turn out when cold.

SALADS AND SALAD DRESSING.

"To make a perfect salad, there should be a spendthrift for oil, a miser for vinegar, a wise man for salt, and a madcap to stir the ingredients up, and mix them well together."--SPANISH PROVERB.

APPLE AND CELERY SALAD.

MRS. R. M. STOCKING.

One day at the house of a charming friend, From dishes of dainty blue, I ate something good which puzzled me much, The secret I'll tell to you.

2. "This looks like salad, my dear," said I, "T'is celery surely I see, And mayonnaise yellow and thick and rich, What may this rare flavor be."

3. "A firm spicy apple," she said with a smile, "Cut into pieces like dice-- I used equal parts, with celery white, And my salad was made in a trice."

CABBAGE SALAD.

MRS. SMYTHE.

Cut a cabbage into fine pieces. Place in water for a couple of hours with one onion sliced thin. Throw water off, pass through colander. Cover it with the dressing and let it stand for five or six hours. A couple of beets can be chopped up finely and placed with it; this salad will keep for a couple of days.

SALAD DRESSING.

One cup cream, one table spoon sugar, one dessert spoon mustard, one half dessert spoon of pepper and salt, one small onion sliced fine, a couple of radishes sliced, two hard boiled eggs. Crush the yolks into the cream, one pinch mint, two tablespoons vinegar. If cream is not thick enough, crush up potatoes and mix with it. Sour cream can be used as well as sweet cream.

CHICKEN SALAD.

MISS STEVENSON.

One cold chicken, one teaspoonful white pepper, one half head celery, one grain cayenne, yolks two eggs, one tablespoonful vinegar, one tablespoonful capers, one head of lettuce, one gill salad oil, one tablespoonful of cream, white of egg beaten to a stiff froth. Cut the chicken into small square pieces and remove the skin. The celery should be well washed and also cut into pieces of a similar size. Put into a bowl the yolks of eggs, drop into this drop by drop, the oil, and beat them together, the mixture should resemble thick cream, add the vinegar. Put the chicken and celery together in a salad bowl and pour over the compound, sprinkle on also pepper and salt and cayenne; mix all thoroughly together with a fork. Arrange the lettuce around the edge of the salad bowl, sprinkle the capers over the top and garnish the centre with tips of celery.

LOBSTER, CHICKEN OR VEAL SALAD.

MRS. A. J. ELLIOT.

Cut up a chicken, (roast or boiled) fine, salt and pepper well, add a large or two small heads of celery and if lobster some beet-root and the white of a hard boiled egg. Crush the yolk with a pinch of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, a large teaspoon of mustard, two teaspoons of brown sugar, one teaspoon of olive oil or butter melted, one wineglass of vinegar; mix well with a raw egg well beaten, half a pint of sour or sweet cream, and mix with other ingredients: garnish with either salad or parsley. This is excellent.

LETTUCE CHICKEN SALAD.

MRS. DUNCAN LAURIE.

Having skinned a pair of cold chickens, either mince or divide into small threads. Mix with it a little smoked tongue or cold ham, grated rather than chopped. Have ready one or two fine fresh lettuces, washed, drained and cut small. Put the cut lettuce in a bowl, place upon it the minced chicken in a close heap in the centre. For the dressing: the yolks of four eggs well beaten, a teaspoon of white sugar, a little cayenne, no salt: if you have ham or tongue with the chicken two teaspoonfuls of made mustard, two tables of vinegar, and four tables of salad oil. Stir this mixture well, put it into a small saucepan and let boil three minutes (not more), stirring it all the time, then set to cool, when quite cold cover with it thickly the heap of chicken in centre of salad. To ornament it have ready one half dozen hard boiled eggs, which after the shell is peeled off must be thrown directly into a pan of cold water to prevent discoloring. Cut each egg (white and yolk together) lengthways, into four large pieces of equal size and shape, lay the pieces upon the salad all round the heap of chicken in a slanting direction. Have ready also some red cold beet, cut in small cones of equal size, arrange them outside the circle of egg. This salad should be prepared immediately before dinner or supper. The colder it is the better.

SALMON OR LOBSTER SALAD DRESSING.

MRS. ANDREW T. LOVE.

Two eggs, two tablespoons melted butter, one tablespoon mustard, one half cup milk, (with a small pinch baking soda to prevent curdling), one half cup vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix mustard and butter, then eggs well beaten, milk, stir well, add vinegar, boil gently till as thick as cream. Celery chopped up and added gives a nice flavor and crispness. If cooked in a double boiler it is less likely to burn. This does nicely with chicken or lamb.

SOMETHING NICE FOR THE SALAD COURSE OF A LUNCHEON.

MRS. FRANK DUGGAN.

Select round tomatoes of equal size; peel and scoop out the seeds from the stem end. Place the tomatoes on the ice till shortly before serving; then fill with celery that has been chopped fine and mixed with mayonnaise. Arrange the filled tomatoes on lettuce leaves on a flat dish or plate. Garnish the dish further by placing the ends of celery and sprigs of parsley on top of each tomato. Serve with toasted cheese, biscuits, or salted wafers. Be generous with the filling. Use plenty of the mayonnaise and celery and fill tomatoes to the top.

SALAD DRESSING.

MRS. R. STUART.

Two eggs (well beaten), one cup sweet milk, one half cup vinegar (scant) one teaspoon mixed mustard, one tablespoon butter (melted). Pepper and salt to taste, _mix thoroughly_. Set in kettle of boiling water and stir till it thickens, (about four minutes), when ready to use it add two tablespoons cream.

SALAD SANDWICHES.

MRS. J. LAURIE.

For twenty four slices of bread and butter, take two small tomatoes, one small lettuce, one bunch cress, two tablespoons salad oil, one tablespoon of vinegar, pepper and salt. Shred all the salad finely. Mix well with the dressing and put a little on half the bread and butter. Cover with the other half, press together and trim neatly.

SALAD DRESSING WITHOUT OIL.

MRS. GILMOUR.

The yolks of two egg boiled half an hour, one half egg spoon of mustard, one dessert spoon of sugar, pinch of salt, a little pepper. One cup of sour or sweet cream, one dessert spoon of vinegar.

SALAD DRESSING FOR TOMATOES.

MRS. A. J. ELLIOT.

Half a cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, one cup of vinegar, one tablespoon of salt, two tablespoons of made mustard, a dash of sugar and cayenne, and four eggs. Slice tomatoes and arrange in layers. Garnish dish with either salad or parsley.

METHOD: Scald the milk and melt the butter with it, pour this on the eggs well beaten, add the salt and then the vinegar, this last slowly, and stir all the time. Then cook in a pot in hot water, until as thick as custard, when cold add the mustard.--Prepared mustard is made as follows: two tablespoons mustard, one teaspoon sugar, half a teaspoon salt, enough boiling water to mix. Half this quantity is enough for ordinary use. The above recipe is also good for chicken.

EGGS.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men Could not set Humpty Dumpty back again. --MOTHER GOOSE.

Try the freshness of eggs by putting them into cold water; those that sink the soonest are the freshest.

Never attempt to boil an egg without watching the time-piece. Put the eggs in boiling water. In three minutes eggs will be boiled soft; in four minutes the white part will be cooked; in ten minutes they will be hard enough for salad.

PRESERVING EGGS.

MRS. FARQUHARSON SMITH.

(Which keeps them from June to June.)

Half a gallon of fresh lime to five gallons of water added by degrees, two and one half gallons the first day, the rest next, then add one half gallon coarse salt, stir two or three times a day for three days, after this drop in four eggs gently. To test the strength of the lime-water drop in an egg that you know to be fresh, and if it floats the lime is too strong, add another gallon or more of water until you find the egg dropping to the bottom.

CURÉE EGGS.

MISS MITCHELL.

Boil six eggs quite hard, then shell and cut them in half; have drawn butter not too thick, flavor with curée powder. Place your eggs on a side dish, pour your curée round and finish with parsley: makes a pretty lunch dish.

POACHED EGGS.

Have nicely cut hot buttered toast, with a little anchovy paste. After poaching your eggs, put them on the toast and sprinkle finely chopped parsley over them. Garnish the dish with parsley.

ANCHOVY EGGS.

MADAME J. T.

Boil three eggs hard, turn in the water for the first two minutes. Let boil for one hour; cut in two, remove the yolks and leave the whites in cold water not to discolor. Pound three anchovies in a mortar with one tablespoon butter, small pinch of pepper, one shake cayenne, one half teaspoon lemon juice and the yolks of the eggs. When pounded smooth put back into the eggs. Sardines can be used instead of the anchovies.

STUFFED EGGS.

MRS. W. CLINT.

Three eggs, one teaspoon of butter, one teaspoon of parsley, two tablespoons minced ham. Boil the eggs for ten minutes; take off the shells, cut lengthwise, take out the yolks, mash them in a basin, add the butter melted, the minced ham and the parsley. Put the mixture into the whites of the eggs. Put the two halves together. Serve on shallow dish with the following white sauce: one tablespoon each of butter, flour, and salt, one cup milk, one saltspoon pepper. Melt the butter add the flour, then the milk (gradually) and pepper and salt.

BAKED OMELET.

MRS. DUNCAN LAURIE.