Chapter 2

Wash a cup of rice and boil it. Take seven or eight good-sized tomatoes, boil and strain them, and season with salt and a little allspice. Take a baking-dish and put into it alternate layers of tomato and rice, finishing off with a layer of tomato, covered up with grated bread crumbs moistened with melted butter. Bake in a moderate oven for a good half-hour.

RISOTTO WITH HAM

Cut into small pieces one ounce of raw ham, fat and lean. Chop up fine a small piece of onion, and put it with the ham into a frying-pan with one-half a tablespoon of butter. Fry slowly until the ham and onions are golden. Then add one-half cup of uncooked rice; when it has cooked for a few minutes, add twice its height of bouillon (or water), salt and pepper, a dash of nutmeg, and mix well and allow it to boil for twenty minutes over a good fire. Then take off the stove, add two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese grated; mix well and serve.

RICE WITH MUSHROOMS

10 mushrooms if canned, or 5 or 6 if fresh ones 3/4 of a cup of rice

Chop up a little onion, parsley, celery, and carrot together, and put them on the fire with two tablespoons of good olive-oil. When this sauce is colored, add two tablespoons of tomato paste, thinned with hot water (or a corresponding quantity of tomato sauce). Season with salt and pepper. Cut the mushrooms into small pieces, and add them to the sauce. Cook for twenty minutes over a medium fire. Put on one side and prepare the rice as follows:

Fry the rice with a lump of butter until dry; then add hot water, a little at a time, and boil gently. When the rice is half cooked (after about ten minutes) add the mushrooms and sauce, and cook for another ten minutes. Add grated Parmesan cheese before serving.

POLENTA (_Indian Meal_)

3/4 of a cup of yellow Indian meal (fine) 3 cups of water

Put the water into a granite or iron saucepan, add salt. When it begins to boil add the Indian meal, little by little. Keep stirring constantly as you pour it in, to prevent lumps. Boil for one-half hour, stirring constantly over a moderate fire. If desired, a little more water may be added if preferred not so thick. Add grated cheese and butter.

POLENTA FRITTERS

Put one pinch of salt and one tablespoon of sugar into a cup of milk, and put it on to boil. As soon as it boils pour in, little by little, one-half scant cup of fine Indian meal, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Allow it to boil gently for twenty minutes.

Take it off the stove, add one level tablespoon of butter and the yolk of one egg and a little grated lemon-peel. Beat up well to mix the egg and butter. Then turn the mixture onto the bread-board, which has been dampened; spread it out to the thickness of a finger. Allow it to cool, then cut into squares or diamonds or little rounds, dip these into egg and then into the bread crumbs, and fry them in boiling lard, a few at a time. Sprinkle with sugar, and serve hot.

POLENTA "ALLA TOSCANA"

2 cups of Indian meal 3 pints of cold water

Put the water on, and when it boils add salt. Then add the Indian meal, little by little, stirring all the time. Allow it to boil over a moderate fire for one-half hour, stirring constantly. When the meal has become quite stiff, take a wooden spoon and dip it into hot water, and with it detach the Indian meal from the side of the saucepan, then hold the saucepan for a moment over the hottest part of the fire, until the Indian meal has become detached from the bottom. Then turn it out onto the bread-board; it should come out whole in a mold. Let it stand a few moments to cool. Then with a wire cut it into slices about the thickness of a finger. Place these slices on a hot platter in a layer; pour over them a good meat gravy and grated cheese; then put on another layer of the polenta, and add more gravy and cheese, and so on, until your polenta is used up.

POLENTA WITH CHOPPED SAUSAGES

Prepare the Indian meal as in the preceding receipt.

Take four Deerfoot sausages (or two, if a larger variety of sausage), remove the skins, chop fine, then fry in butter. When they are a nice brown add one tablespoon of stock, and two tablespoons of tomato paste thinned with hot water (or a corresponding amount of the tomato sauce).

Cook for fifteen minutes more. Then cut the polenta in slices as in preceding receipt and add the chopped sausages with their sauce and grated cheese, in layers as before.

CHICKEN WITH POLENTA

Take a small chicken; clean and prepare it. Take a slice of ham fat four fingers wide and one finger long (or one tablespoon of good lard). Chop up very fine with a chopping knife, and put into a good-sized saucepan. Take one-half an onion, a small carrot, a piece of celery, and cut all into very small pieces and add them all to the fat. Then put in the chicken, the salt, pepper, and a pinch of allspice, and cover the saucepan. Cook until the chicken is covered, basting with the grease, and turning the chicken until it is brown on all sides; then add one-third of a glass of red or white wine. When the wine has become absorbed, add one tablespoon of the tomato paste, dissolved in a cup of hot water (or a cup of tomato sauce not too thick). Cook for a few moments more--until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Prepare the Indian meal as in receipt for Indian meal, and serve the chicken surrounded by the Indian meal, with the sauce poured over all and grated cheese sprinkled over the Indian meal.

Pigeon may be prepared in the same way as the chicken and served with the Indian meal; or either one may be served instead of the Indian meal with rice, as in receipt for Risotto alla Nostrale; Macaroni, as in receipt for Macaroni with Butter, or Ribbon Macaroni, as in receipt given.

POLENTA PASTICCIATA

3/4 of a cup of Indian meal 1 quart of milk

Boil the milk, and add the Indian meal, a little at a time, when milk is boiling, stirring constantly. Cook for one-half an hour, stirring constantly. Add salt just before taking off the fire. The Indian meal should be stiff when finished. Turn it onto the bread-board, and spread it out to the thickness of two fingers. While it is cooking prepare a meat sauce, and a Bechamel sauce as follows:

MEAT SAUCE

Take a small piece of beef, a small piece of ham, fat and lean, one tablespoon of butter, a small piece of onion, a small piece of carrot, a small piece of celery, a pinch of flour, one-half cup of bouillon (or same amount of water), pepper. Cut the meat into small dice; chop up fine together the ham, onion, carrot, and celery. Put these all together with some pepper into a saucepan with the butter, and when the meat is brown, add the pinch of flour, and the bouillon a little at a time (or the water), and cook for about one-half an hour. This sauce should not be strained.

BECHAMEL SAUCE

Take one tablespoon of flour, and one tablespoon of butter. Put them into a saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until they have become a golden-brown color. Then add, a little at a time, one pint of milk; stir constantly until the sauce is as thick as custard, and is white in color. If it grows too thick, a little more milk may be added; or if it is too thin, a tiny lump of butter rolled in flour will thicken it.

Now take the cold Indian meal and cut it into squares about two inches across. Take a baking-dish of medium depth, butter well, then put in a layer of squares of Indian meal close together, to entirely cover the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle over it grated cheese; then pour on the top enough meat sauce to cover the layer (about two tablespoons), then on the top of this add a layer of Bechamel sauce. Then put another layer of the squares of Indian meal, sprinkle with grated cheese as before, add meat sauce, then Bechamel sauce, and continue in this way until the baking-dish is full, having for the top layer the Bechamel sauce. Put the dish into a moderate oven, and bake until it is a golden brown on top.

POLENTA CAKE (_Migliaccio di Farina Gialla_)

2 cups of coarse Indian meal 1/2 cup of raisins 1/2 teaspoon of salt 3 teaspoons of sugar (granulated) 3 tablespoons of lard

Mix the salt, sugar, and raisins with the Indian meal in a bowl, then pour in boiling water, a little at a time, and stir well with a wooden spoon until you have a stiff paste and no dry meal remains sticking to the bottom of the bowl.

Then take a cake-tin and grease it well with one-half of the lard. Then turn out the Indian meal into the pan, and even it out with the wooden spoon. Spread on the top of this the rest of the lard, softened slightly so as you can spread it easily. Cook in a slow oven until a golden brown. Serve hot.

GNOCCHI OF FARINA (_Gnocchi di Semolina_)

1 pint of milk 1 egg 1/2 cup of farina Butter and cheese

Put the milk on, and when it boils add salt. Take a wooden spoon and, stirring constantly, add the farina little by little. Cook for ten minutes, stirring constantly. Take off the fire and break into the farina one egg; mix very quickly, so that the egg will not have time to set. Spread the farina onto the breadboard about the height of a finger. Allow it to cool, then cut it into squares or diamonds about two or three inches across. Butter well a baking-dish, and put in the bottom a layer of the squares of farina; sprinkle over a little grated Parmesan cheese (or Gruyere), and put here and there a small dab of butter. Then put in another layer of the squares of farina; add cheese and butter as before. Continue in this way until your baking-dish is full, having on the top layer butter and cheese.

Bake in a hot oven until a brown crust forms. Serve in the baking-dish.

GNOCCHI OF POTATO

Take six medium-sized potatoes and put them on to boil in their skins. When they are done, peel them and pass them through a fine colander. Add a little salt. Take one cup of flour, and mix on the bread-board with the potatoes until they form a paste. Roll this paste with the hands into a sausage about the thickness of three fingers. Cut this roll across into pieces about an inch long. Press these pieces lightly with the finger or the handle of the knife, so they will take little cup-shaped forms. Leave these to one side, and put two quarts of salted water on to boil. When it boils add the gnocchi a few at a time, until all are in the water. When the gnocchi rise to the surface of the water, take them out with the skimmer. Put them into a platter a few at a time, adding each time gravy and cheese, and covering them well. Put a layer of grated cheese sprinkled on top. Serve with meat, or as a first course.

GNOCCHI OF MILK--A DESSERT

1 cup of milk 1 level tablespoon of powdered starch 2 or 3 drops of vanilla extract 2 yolks of eggs 2 tablespoons of sugar

Put all these ingredients together into a saucepan and mix together with a wooden spoon for a few moments. Then put onto the back of the stove where it is not too hot, and cook until the mixture has become stiff. Cook a few moments longer, stirring always; then turn out onto a bread-board and spread to a thickness of a finger and a half. When

cold, cut into diamonds or squares the width of two fingers. Butter a baking-dish, and put the squares into it overlapping each other. Add a few dabs of butter here and there. Put another layer of the squares in the dish, more dabs of butter, and so on until the dish is full. Brown in the oven.

SAUCES

ROUX FOR SAUCES

Roux is necessary to thicken and give body to sauces. Put one tablespoon of flour and one of butter into a saucepan and cook until the flour has lost any raw taste. Then put the saucepan on the back of the stove and add slowly the stock or milk, one cup for every tablespoon of butter or flour, and stir until smooth. For white sauces take care the flour does not color; for dark sauces let it brown, but take care it does not burn.

AGRO DOLCE SAUCE

Take two tablespoons of sugar (brown or white), one-half a cup of currants, a quarter of a bar of grated chocolate, one tablespoon of chopped candied orange, one of lemon-peel, one of capers, and one cup of vinegar. Mix well together and let soak for two hours; pour it over venison or veal, and simmer for ten minutes.

BECHAMEL SAUCE NO. 1

Put two ounces of butter and two tablespoons of flour into a saucepan and stir for five minutes. Pour one and one-half pints of boiling milk gradually in, beating well with a whisk. Add some nutmeg, a few peppercorns, a pinch of salt, and some chopped mushrooms. Cook for one-quarter of an hour, and rub through a fine sieve.

BECHAMEL SAUCE NO. 2

Mix three tablespoons of butter and three of flour to a smooth paste, put some peppercorns, one-half an onion, one-half a carrot sliced, a small piece of mace, two teacups of white stock, a pinch of salt and of grated nutmeg, in a stew-pan; simmer for one-half an hour, stirring often, then add one teacup of cream; boil at once, and strain and serve.

TOMATO SAUCE NO. 1

Take ten fresh tomatoes, remove the skins, cut them up; put them into a saucepan and boil them until soft. Then pass them through a sieve. Put their juice into a saucepan with one heaping tablespoon of butter or one-half tablespoon of good lard, salt and pepper, and boil again, adding water if the sauce becomes too thick. This sauce can be kept in a bottle for several days. It can be used for macaroni, etc., in place of the tomato paste.

TOMATO SAUCE NO. 2

Mince one-quarter of an onion, one-half a stalk of celery, a few leaves of sweet basil, and a bunch of parsley up fine. Add one-half cup of olive-oil, a pinch of salt and one of pepper, and cut eight or nine tomatoes into slices. Boil until the sauce is as thick as cream, stirring occasionally, then strain through a sieve and serve.

TOMATO SAUCE NO. 3

Take four pounds of tomatoes, cut them in two, and put them into a two-quart saucepan with two wine-glasses of water, two saltspoons of salt, one of pepper, cover the saucepan, and boil for forty minutes, stirring often to prevent burning; then strain. Make a roux in another saucepan with one ounce of butter and three-quarters of an ounce of flour. Cook for three minutes, mixing well. Take roux off the fire, and pour the tomatoes into it a little at a time, stirring to keep it smooth. Add two wineglasses of stock, put on the fire, and cook for twenty minutes, stirring all the time.

BUTTER SAUCE

Take eight ounces of butter, one tablespoon of salt, one of pepper, and two tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir with a wooden spoon over the fire until the butter is half melted, then take it off and continue to stir until it is quite liquid. By taking the butter off the stove before it is all melted it will have a pleasant taste of fresh cream; this is all lost otherwise.

LOMBARDA SAUCE

Put two tumblers of white roux and one of chicken jelly into a saucepan, reduce, and add three yolks of eggs mixed with two ounces of butter and the juice of one-half lemon. Before it boils take the saucepan off the fire, and add one tumbler of thick tomato sauce (see Sauces, page 30), strain, and just before serving add one tablespoon of sweet herbs minced fine.

"ALLA PANNA" SAUCE

Melt one-half a pound of butter, add a little flour, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Stir until thick, then add one pint of cream, a little chopped parsley, and heat for five minutes.

MEAT SAUCE

Put into a saucepan one pound of beef and one-half an onion chopped up with three ounces of lard, some parsley, salt, pepper, one clove, and a very small slice of ham. Fry these over a hot fire for a few moments, moving them continually, and when the onion is browned add four tablespoons of red wine, and four tablespoons of tomato sauce (or tomato paste). When this sauce begins to sputter, add, little by little, some boiling water. Stick a fork into the meat from time to time to allow the juices to escape. Take a little of the sauce in a spoon, and when it looks a good golden color, and there is a sufficient quantity to cover the meat, put the covered saucepan at the back of the stove and allow it to simmer until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Then take out the meat, slice it, prepare macaroni, or any paste you desire, and serve it with the meat, and the sauce poured over all, and the addition of butter and grated cheese.

ECONOMICAL SAUCE

Take one-half of an old onion and chop it up fine. Take one small carrot, wash it, scrape it, and cut it into transverse slices; do the same with a stalk of celery, some parsley, and one fresh or canned mushroom. Then take a slice of ham (raw if possible), fat and lean, about four fingers wide and one finger high. Chop it up fine, and put it into a medium-sized saucepan with one tablespoon of butter. When the ham is colored, put in the chopped-up vegetables, one clove, salt, and pepper, and stir constantly, allowing the vegetables to cook thoroughly but not to burn, which will destroy the taste of the sauce. It should be a golden color. A little red wine may be added if you have it, but this is not necessary. Then add four fresh tomatoes, cut into several pieces, the skins removed, and the seeds taken out. Allow these to cook in the sauce until they sputter, then add a little water (or bouillon if you have it), allow it to boil for a few moments more, then take it off the fire and pass it through a sieve or fine colander, pressing hard so that all will pass through. If it is too thick after straining, add water or bouillon, and put it back and allow it to boil again a few moments. This sauce can be used for macaroni, gnocchi, left-over meat, egg, etc. The success of the sauce depends upon the proper frying of the onion in it.

HOT PIQUANTE SAUCE

Chop up fine two ounces of lean ham and a small piece of onion, add a little celery, the stalks of parsley, one clove, one-half tablespoon of pepper, and one-half bay-leaf. Pour over these ingredients a scant one-half cup of vinegar. Cover the saucepan and allow it to boil until it has consumed one-half. Put into another saucepan one-half cup of bouillon (or water in which you have dissolved one tablespoon of extract of beef). Allow it to boil, and then thicken with a teaspoon of potato flour which has been diluted in a little cold water. Drop this, little by little, into the saucepan until you have gained the required thickness for the sauce. Then pour in the boiled vinegar, passing it through cheese-cloth. Mix well together and add a teaspoon of French mustard, some capers, and some chopped-up pickles. Serve hot with meats or tongue. The pepper should predominate in this sauce.

PIQUANTE SAUCE WITH EGG

Take some anchovy paste--one tablespoon, two tablespoons of chopped parsley, some capers and chopped pickles, one teaspoon of French mustard and the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Work this all together into a paste, then add three tablespoons of olive-oil and two or three of vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. This sauce is good with both meat and fish.

EGGS

EGGS WITH PEAS

Take one and one-half cups of green peas, and cook them with one and one-half tablespoons of good butter, and a pinch of salt. Take four hard-boiled eggs, cut them in two lengthwise, and put them on a platter; pour over them the peas as a sauce.

EGGS "ALLA MILANESE"

Hard boil four eggs, cut them in four pieces each, put them in a platter, and pour over them the following sauce:

CREAM OF LEMON SAUCE

Take one cup of cold water, and pour one-half of it in a bowl with one tablespoon of starch, stir well until starch is dissolved. Pour the other one-half onto one heaping tablespoon of powered sugar and boil for a few moments--until sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Allow it to cool, and then add the starch, and one cup of milk, a pinch of salt, a little grated lemon-rind, and two yolks of eggs. Mix all thoroughly, then strain through a sieve, then put on the stove again, and over a moderate fire, stir it constantly, always in the same direction, until it has assumed the thickness you desire.

EGGS "ALLA SCIARMANTE"

Hard boil four eggs; cut into several pieces. Then prepare the following:

Boil down to a syrup one heaping tablespoon of sugar, rind of one-quarter of lemon, one scant cup of water, and a little piece of cinnamon. Then remove the lemon-rind and the cinnamon, and add one cup of milk or cream. When heated through, take off of fire, and add the yolks of four eggs, beating well together. Then pour the sauce over the hard-boiled eggs in a shallow baking-dish, put it in a very moderate oven, and bake. Before serving squeeze on a little lemon juice and garnish with squares of fried bread.

EGGS WITH PIQUANTE SAUCE

Chop up fine one pickled pepper, one teaspoon of capers, one-half small pickled onion and one pickle, and some parsley. Dissolve in boiling water one tablespoon of butter, add the juice of one-half of lemon, a pinch of flour to give a little body, and the chopped pickles. If too sour add some sugar.

Hard boil four eggs, cut them in four, and pour over them the sauce.

EGGS "ALLA MONACHILE"

Hard boil four eggs, divide them in half, and pour over them the following sauce: Put two tablespoons of vinegar into a saucepan and one tablespoon of sugar (brown or white), fifteen almonds chopped up fine, and a small piece of candied citron. Let it boil for a little while, then add a pinch of cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and salt, and if too acid add a little water.

Before taking off the stove add a little flour to give body to the sauce. Pour over the eggs and serve.

EGGS "ALLA FIORENTINA"

Hard boil four eggs. Let them cool in a bowl of cold water. Peel them and divide them in half. Take the yolks and mix with them one heaping tablespoon of butter, one tablespoon of Parmesan cheese grated, and a little salt and pepper. Put this mixture into a saucepan with the yolks of two raw eggs, and one-half of the white of one egg. Stir well until the mixture becomes thick. Then fill the hard-boiled whites of the eggs with the stuffing; if any stuffing remains over, spread it on the platter under the eggs. Then put one-half cup of milk in a saucepan with one-half tablespoon of butter and one-half tablespoon of flour, salt, and pepper. Boil for a few moments, stirring well, then pour over the eggs, sprinkle well with grated Parmesan cheese, and put in the oven and brown.

LIGHTNING OMELETTE

Butter a baking-dish and put in the bottom of it slices of stale bread (brown bread is better than white) which have been dipped in milk. Then put in a layer of very thin slices of Gruyere cheese. Take two eggs, beat them up to a froth, add salt and pepper, pour them into a baking-dish on top of the bread and cheese, then put it in the oven until it is browned on top. Serve hot.

EGGS "ALLA PIACENTINA"

Take the whites of four eggs, and beat until stiff. Then add the yolks and one rounded tablespoon of melted butter, and a little salt and pepper. Take a small baking-dish, butter it well, and put in the bottom a layer or two of very thin slices of cheese, Parmesan or Gruyere. Put into the oven for a few moments until thoroughly heated, then pour on the whites of eggs mixed with the other ingredients, put back in the oven, and serve when the eggs are a golden brown.

EGGS "ALLA BENEDETTINA"

Roast two small peppers, take off their skins, remove the seeds, and cut into strips. Take two tomatoes (not too ripe), boil them, remove the skins and seeds, and cut into thin strips also. Then wash two anchovies, remove the bones, and cut also into strips. Take a small baking-dish, put in the strips of peppers and tomatoes and the anchovies. Add two tablespoons of good olive-oil and put on the top of the stove until the ingredients boil. Then break into the dish four eggs, taking care to keep the yolks whole. Add salt and pepper, and put the dish into the oven until the eggs are cooked.

EGGS "ALLA ROMANA"