Part 72

_Gooseberry Tart._--Make a short paste with 4 oz. flour, 3 oz. butter, 2 oz. sugar, the yolks of 3 eggs, a little water, and a pinch of salt. Work it smoothly and roll it out to the thickness of rather more than ⅛ in. Place a “flan” ring on a baking sheet, lay the sheet of paste over it, and with the fingers fit it carefully inside the ring, then cut off all the part that is above the ring, fill the shape with uncooked rice, and bake for ½ hour in a moderate oven; then take out all the rice, and put in its place a compote made as follows: pick a quantity of gooseberries, put them in a saucepan with plenty of loaf sugar and a little cold water; when they come to the boil drain them off from the syrup; let this boil for 10 minutes, then return the gooseberries to it.

_Gooseberry Toast._--1 pint green gooseberries; clean them thoroughly from stems and dried blossoms; then toast to a bright brown as many slices of stale bread as will make 3 layers for a quart pie-dish. Dip each piece of toast in milk, sprinkle the upper surface with white powdered sugar, having your berries stewed 10 minutes, so that none of them shall be broken. Cover one slice of toast with them; the berries are to be covered with another slice, and thus proceed for each layer. The whole to be placed in a moderately hot oven for ¼ hour before sending to table.

_Greengage Soufflé._--Boil some greengages with sugar; when done pass through a sieve. Mix 1 gill milk with 1 tablespoonful potato flour, and stir over the fire till it thickens. When cold work into it the yolks of 4 eggs and as much of the greengage jam (about 4 tablespoonfuls) as will make the mixture of the proper consistency. The whole must be thoroughly well mixed. Lastly, mix in quickly and effectually the whites of 6 eggs, beaten up to a stiff froth; pour the mixture in a plain mould, put it into the oven at once, and serve as soon as it has well risen.

_Greengage Tart._--Make a short paste with 1 white and 3 yolks of egg. 1 oz. sugar, 1 oz. butter, a small pinch of salt, and sufficient flour. Work it lightly, and roll it out to the thickness of ¼ inch. Line a flat mould with this paste, uniting the joints carefully with white of egg, fill it with uncooked rice, and bake it. When done, remove the rice, and put in greengages treated as follows: Stone the fruit, and cut them in halves, and stew it for 1 hour with plenty of powdered loaf sugar and a little water, adding at the last a liqueur glass of pale brandy. To be served hot or cold.

_Groat Pudding._--Take 1 breakfastcupful groats, let them soak for some hours, pick them carefully from the husks, tie them loosely in a cloth, and boil for 3 hours; then untie the cloth, and add a few currants and a little raw sugar, tie them up again quite tightly, and boil for another hour.

_Ground Rice Pudding._--(_a_) 2 oz. ground rice, 1 oz. sugar, 1 oz. butter, and 1 pint new milk. Boil 15-20 minutes, pour into a buttered mould; when cold, turn out and serve.

(_b_) ¼ lb. ground rice, swell it in 1 good pint milk, 6 oz. castor sugar, 4 oz. butter oiled, 4 eggs, rind of a lemon grated, a few sweet almonds pounded. Put in a buttered dish with paste round the edge. The butter to be added last thing.

_Gruel._--(_a_) Groat.--Boil ½ lb. groats in 2 qt. water, with a blade of mace; when the groats are soft, put in white wine and sugar to taste. Serve in a china bowl with toast.

(_b_) Sago.--4 oz. sago scalded in hot water, then strained through a hair sieve, and set over the fire with 2 qt water. It is to be boiled and skimmed till thick and clear, then 1 pint red wine, and sugar to taste is to be added, when it is served in a tureen, with a slice of lemon and dry biscuits.

(_c_) Barley.--Made in the same way, but with the addition of 3 oz. currants, which would seem rather an unpalatable mixture to our modern notions.

(_d_) Water.--1 tablespoonful oatmeal is to be boiled in 3 pints water till it is perfectly fine and smooth; if it shows signs of becoming too thick for drinking, more water is to be added. When taken from the fire, it must stand to cool; then white wine, sugar, and nutmeg to taste is to be added. This would seem an exceedingly palatable drink; and, if lemon juice were substituted for the wine, a simple and inexpensive one. (Bessie Tremaine.)

_Hasty Pudding._--Put 1 pint milk into a perfectly clean quart stewpan, with 5 or 6 bay leaves; have ready on the hob a basin of flour; as soon as the milk boils remove the bay leaves, take some flour in the left hand and let it fall lightly into the milk (which must be kept boiling fast the whole time), stir without ceasing, adding flour until it is about the consistency of porridge, then let it boil a few minutes longer, still keeping it stirred. Turn it out on a hot dish, stick pieces of butter all over it, sprinkle moist sugar, and grate some nutmeg, when the butter and sugar will melt and mingle, and, running all over and round it, form a delicious sauce. Do not be too sparing of butter and sugar, and the cook need not be discouraged if she does not succeed in her first attempt, as experience alone can teach her how to sprinkle the flour in properly. If it is not done very lightly, lumps of uncooked flour will be the result.

_Hominy and Samp._--(_a_) Hominy is white Indian corn, divested of its outer skin by scalding in hot lye, and then winnowed and dried. Samp is hominy, pounded till it is about as fine as coarse oatmeal. To cook hominy, wash it through 2 or 3 waters, pour boiling water on it, and let it soak for at least 10 hours; then put it into a stewpan, allowing 2 qt. water to 1 qt. hominy, and boil it slowly 4-5 hours, or until it is perfectly tender; then drain it, put it into a deep dish, add salt and a bit of butter, and serve as a vegetable with meat. Samp is cooked in the same way, but rather less water is used; for instance, put 1½ pint to 1 qt. samp. It is also good cut when cold into slices, and fried for breakfast.

(_b_) Baked.--To 1 cupful cold boiled hominy, allow 2 cupfuls milk, 1 heaped teaspoonful butter, 1 teaspoonful sugar, a little salt, and 3 eggs. Beat the yolks and whites separately. Mix the yolks first into the hominy alternately with the melted butter, then the sugar and salt, and mix in the milk gradually, being careful to leave no lumps in the hominy. Lastly, stir in the whites of the eggs, and bake in a buttered pudding dish until delicately browned.

(_c_) Boiled.--Soak 1 pint hominy in 2½ pints boiling water over night. In the morning add 1 pint sweet milk, and let it boil ½ hour over a brisk fire; add a small piece of butter, salt, and pepper. It should be as soft as mush, and is generally eaten for breakfast with cream and sugar.

(_d_) Fried.--Cut the cold boiled hominy in slices, and fry in hot lard or dripping, or moisten to a soft paste with milk; beat in some melted butter; bind with a beaten egg; form into round cakes with your hands; dredge with flour, and fry a light brown.

_Ice Puddings._--These puddings are made in as great variety as ices themselves, the difference in them being chiefly in flavouring. The great secret of securing their perfection is to ice the material to 22° F. before putting it into the pudding mould. For ice puddings, and indeed for every kind of ice which, after being made, requires to be embedded in freezing mixture, it is absolutely necessary to have moulds suitable for the purpose, with closely-fitting lids. Possessed of these, an ordinary cook should have no difficulty in serving ice puddings, as they are made long before the busy time of sending up dinner; but without suitable utensils it is much better not to attempt making these puddings. Take 1½ pint clarified syrup and the strained juice of 3 lemons. Put the mixture in the freezing-pot, and when nearly frozen add essence of citron to taste, and 1 oz. pistachio nuts blanched, and split in half lengthwise; finish freezing, put into a mould, and lay it on ice till wanted.

_Ice Soufflé._--Clarify some sugar by mixing a good teaspoonful of white of egg, previously well beaten, with 1 pint water; put this into a very clean stewpan, add 1 lb. sifted white sugar and boil together over a slow fire, carefully taking off the scum as it rises until none remains; then strain it through a fine clean cloth, when it should be clear. Take ½ pint of this clarified syrup with the yolks of 6 eggs, 1 whole egg, and ½ port-wine glassful of maraschino; stir them together, and then pour them into a pudding basin which has been warmed by having hot water in it, taking care that it is quite dry again before using. Set this on a stove of hot ashes, and begin whisking the mixture briskly, continuing to do so until it attains the consistency of a smooth light batter. Tie or otherwise fix a band of double paper round the lining of a soufflé dish, so that it stands 2 in. higher; fill this with the preparation to within ½ in. of the edge of the paper. It will be necessary to have a circular tin box, with a closely fitting lid, large enough to contain the soufflé, which must now be put into it; put on the lid, and plunge it into a pailful of crushed ice, with which has been mixed some salt and saltpetre (about ¼ lb. each mixed together); cover the pail with a piece of coarse wet flannel, and let it so remain in the ice for about 3 hours, or until it is time to send it to table; then remove the paper, and sift over it either a little grated chocolate, or some macaroon biscuit powder, which will just give it the appearance of having been baked. Any other flavouring may be used instead of the maraschino, if preferred, using some other liqueur, or vanilla, lemon, orange, &c.; or a small cupful of very strong coffee made in the usual way, may be substituted if a soufflé au café is desired.

_Jamaica Jelly._--Boil to a clear jelly 1 lb. sugar, mix with 2 oz. clarified isinglass and 1 wineglassful Jamaica rum. Damp a mould, and pour the jelly in, let it cool, and turn out. Ornament with clotted cream and small clusters of purple grapes.

_Jam Pudding._--Take equal quantities fine flour and suet, remove all skin from the suet, slice it very thin, and then chop it quite fine, mix together, and moisten with cold water; add a very little salt, knead it well, and roll it out quite thin (about ⅙ in.). Spread the paste equally over with any kind of jam to within ½ in. of the edge, moisten the edges with water, roll up the pudding, pinch the edges together; put it into a cloth, which must be tied at both ends. Put the pudding into boiling water, and boil about 2 hours.

_Jam Roll._-½ lb. butter must be stirred to a cream, then the yolks of 12 eggs added, and ½ lemon peel grated. Add by degrees ½ lb. sifted sugar, ¼ lb. fine flour, and the same of potato flour, or, if preferred, the whole ½ lb. may be of the former. When these are well mixed add the egg whites whipped to a snow. Thoroughly stir all together. Make 4 or 5 white paper plates by stretching the paper over any round utensil (a large dinner plate will do), plait up an edge 1 in. deep, and tack it round with a needle and thread to keep it upright. Butter these paper plates, and lay them on baking tins. Spread over each a layer of the above mixture not thicker than a thin pancake. Bake them in a moderate oven a nice yellow, but do not let them tinge brown. When cold cut away the paper round, turn the cakes over, and peel off the bottom paper, but take great care not to break the cakes. Lay one cake over the other, with preserve between each, till all are piled up. It may be all of one sort of preserve, or varied, one layer of marmalade if liked. Dissolve powdered sugar with a little lemon juice. Spread it thickly over the top and sides of the cake to make a glazing. Put it in a cool oven to dry, or it may simply be pared smoothly all round, and strewn thickly with sifted sugar. If required as a roll, the cake mixture must be poured into a large flat baking tin as thin as before, and when of a nice yellow colour take it out of the oven, quickly turn it out on to a flat board, and while still hot spread it over with preserve, but not too near the edges. It must then be quickly rolled, beginning at the edge next you, and then left to cool before being cut. Great care is required to do the rolling of the pastry, but practice and perseverance will soon overcome the difficulty. Before leaving to cool, sprinkle it thickly with sugar as before.

_Jam Tartlets._--Take some puff paste, roll it out ½ in. thick, and line some patty-pans with it. Cut some rounds out of the bottom of a stale loaf 1 in. diameter less than the patty-pans, put one in each pan exactly in the middle, and press it down; bake in a quick oven until the paste has well risen--about 15 minutes. Remove the pieces of bread, and fill each tartlet with either apricot, strawberry, or currant and raspberry jam.

_Jelly Baskets._--Orange skins can be emptied of their fruit and cut out in the shape of baskets, as follows: Mark out the shape of a basket upon the skin of 6-8 oranges without piercing the fruit. The handles should be formed across the stalk end of the fruit, and should be a good width. Take out the quarters which will not be required, and with the small blade of a sharp penknife cut out the baskets. Then pass the flat part of a teaspoon carefully under the handle to separate it from the fruit, and scoop out the remainder of the pulp, which easily comes out through the open spaces. Fill the skins with different-coloured jellies. The baskets may be scalloped or ornamented, according to the taste of the operator.

_Jelly Pie._--Boil 5 eggs hard; when cold, cut them in slices and put them closely round a pie dish, with sweet herbs chopped very fine, and scalded and put in small heaps. Fill the dish with ham, fowl, veal, or any other meat cut in very thin slices; make a very rich gravy the previous day, which will be a firm jelly when cold. Fill up the dish with it, and bake for ½ hour. When required to be used cold, turn it out, and garnish.

_Jersey Wonders._--1 lb. flour, 3 oz. butter, 3 oz. white sugar, a little nutmeg, ground ginger, and lemon peel; beat 4 eggs and knead all well together; a taste of brandy will be an improvement. Roll them 3 in. thick, cut off a small slice and roll into an oval, not too thin; cut two slits in it, but not through either end; pass the left hand through the aperture to the right, and throw into boiling fat. A brass or metal skillet is best to cook them in; about 5 minutes to cook them, turn once.

_Jumbles._--(_a_) ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. sugar, 6 oz. butter, 1 oz. sweet almonds, 1 oz. bitter almonds, 1 egg. Mix these well, drop in small lumps on a tin and bake for a few minutes in a hot oven.

(_b_) ½ lb. best flour, 6 oz. loaf sugar, ¼ lb. butter. Rub the butter and half of the sugar into the flour, beat along with it 1 egg, about 20 drops essence of lemon, mix all together, and roll out the cakes with the remainder of the sugar; a little ammonia carbonate is an improvement. Turn in fancy shapes, and bake on a hot tin about 15 minutes; but the time must be regulated according to the oven, but quick baking is desirable.

_King Henry’s Shoestrings._--Make a batter with ¼ lb. flour, ¼ pint milk, a piece of butter the size of an egg, the juice of a lemon, and powdered loaf sugar to taste. When well mixed set it on the fire for 10 minutes, till the batter comes easily from the sides of the saucepan. Mix in (off the fire) a handful of sweet almonds, chopped up, and the yolks of 4 eggs. Let the whole get cold, then work into it the whites of 3 eggs, whisked to a froth, and spread out the batter on a baking sheet. Sift plenty of powdered sugar over, bake 10 minutes in a slow oven, cut it out in strips, serve hot or cold.

_Leche Crema._--Beat up 3 eggs, leaving out 2 of the whites, and add to them gradually 1½ pint milk, then mix very carefully 4 tablespoonfuls fine wheat flour, and 2 oz. finely powdered loaf sugar, with grated lemon peel to flavour. Boil these ingredients over a slow fire, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until the flour is quite dissolved. Prepare a dish with ¾ lb. ratafia cakes at the bottom, having a glass of cognac or any liqueur poured over them, and when the cream is sufficiently boiled, pour it boiling through a sieve on the cakes. This delicious dish is always served up cold, and should have some finely powdered cinnamon dusted over. The genuine recipe, obtained from the Nuns of St. Clare Convent at Palmas, in the Canary Islands.

_Lemon Cream._--Soak for 2 hours a 6_d._ packet of gelatine in a large cup of good milk; then place the milk and gelatine in a clean saucepan on the fire, adding the very thin rind of 2 lemons; keep stirring this on the fire till the gelatine is quite dissolved, then add 2 oz. pounded white sugar, stir again on the fire till the sugar is dissolved, then strain this on to 1 pint cream in a bowl (the cream must not be too thick), and keep whisking it gently till thoroughly mixed, then add the strained juice of 2 good lemons; keep whisking the whole till nearly set, but take care not to beat too hard or too strong; when nearly cold, pour into a mould (crockery), and turn out in the usual manner when wanted for table.

_Lemon Dumplings._-½ lb. grated bread, ½ lb. suet, chopped fine, ¼ lb. loaf sugar powdered, 2 eggs, the juice and thin rind of a lemon. Mix, make 8 dumplings, and boil 1 hour.

_Lemon Pudding._--To ½ lb. good butter add 2 lb. loaf sugar, broken as for tea, the yolks of 12 eggs and the whites of 8, the rinds of 4 lemons, to be peeled very thin and minced as fine as possible, and the juice of 6; put all those into a saucepan, and boil them till the sugar is dissolved and it is as thick as honey, taking care to stir it well all the time it is on the fire; then pour it into a jar, and add a wineglassful of brandy or whisky; tie it very close. When going to use it add 4 tablespoonfuls very fine-grated bread for a small pudding. This will keep for 6 months.

_Lemon Soufflé._--Beat very lightly the yolks and whites of 8 eggs separately, add 1 teacupful white sugar, the rind of 2 lemons, and the juice of 1; bake for ¼ hour in a moderate oven.

_Lemon Sponge._--Whisk the whites of 6 eggs till firm. Boil 1 oz. isinglass in 1 pint water till it is reduced to ½ pint; when nearly cold add it gradually to the eggs, also the juice of 4 lemons, and the grated rind, 1½ lb. loaf sugar powdered; whisk all together till it is as thick as sponge.

_Lemon Toast._--Beat the yolks of 3 eggs and mix with them ½ pint milk; dip slices of bread into the mixture, then fry them a delicate brown in boiling butter. Take the whites of the eggs, beat them to a froth, add to them 3 oz. white sugar and the juice of a small lemon. Stir in a small teacupful of boiling water, and serve as a sauce over the toast.

_Lentil Pudding._--3 oz. lentil flour, 1 oz. cornflour, 1 pint milk, 3 eggs, and a pinch of salt; pour the milk boiling gradually on to the flour, stirring it; when cool add the eggs well beaten; mix well, boil an hour in a buttered plain mould; serve with sweet sauce.

_Macaroni au Gratin._--Drop the macaroni into boiling water, and cook till quite tender. Make a sauce of milk, thickened with flour and butter, to which add a small spoonful of made mustard, cayenne, and salt to taste. Let the macaroni remain in this a short time; turn out on a buttered dish, and cover with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Brown in the oven.

_Macaroni, Boiled._--Put into a large saucepan plenty of water, salted to taste; when the water boils throw in the macaroni, broken into convenient lengths, but not too short; stir frequently. When the macaroni is done, pour in a jugful of cold water, and strain the macaroni quite free from any water. According to its size macaroni takes 20-30 minutes to cook; it should not be done too much.

_Macaroni Cheese._--Take sufficient boiled macaroni to fill a square dish or tin; when buttered pile up with layers of macaroni and grated cheese (a highly flavoured and dry cheese is best); add plenty of mustard and butter, some cayenne, salt, and pepper; cover all with the grated cheese, bake a yellow brown, serve very hot.

_Macaroni Pie._--Take a piece of gravy beef, cut in small pieces, put it into a saucepan with an onion sliced, and a piece of butter; toss it on the fire till the onion and the pieces of meat are browned; then add a glass of white wine, a faggot of sweet herbs, a carrot cut in pieces, spices, pepper, and salt to taste, a few mushrooms, and a fair allowance of tomato sauce. Let the whole simmer for 2 hours, then strain, and skim off superfluous fat. Put the boiled macaroni into a saucepan with a piece of butter, plenty of Parmesan cheese, and as much of the sauce or gravy as it will absorb; toss it on the fire a little while, and put it by till wanted. Make a smooth and stiff paste with 1 lb. fine flour, 5 oz. fresh butter, 2 or 3 yolks of eggs, 2 oz. sugar, a pinch of salt, and sufficient tepid water. Roll it out to the thickness of ⅛ in., and line with it a plain round mould previously buttered, uniting the joints carefully with white of egg. Have ready some very small fillets of breasts of chicken, just cooked with butter in a covered tin in the oven, some cooked ham or ox tongue cut in dice, some truffles, mushrooms, and cockscombs, cut in convenient pieces and cooked in the gravy used to dress the macaroni. Fill the lined mould with all these things in judicious proportions, letting the macaroni, of course, predominate, and adding during the process a little more sauce or gravy and a due allowance of Parmesan cheese; cover up the mould with a disc of the paste, unite the edges carefully, and bake in a moderate oven for about an hour. Turn out the mould carefully and serve.

_Macaroni Pudding._--(_a_) Take 2 oz. small macaroni (vermicelli, fidelini, or spaghetti), break them up small, and put them into 1 pint boiling milk, sweetened to taste with lump sugar. Let them boil till quite done; add ½ oz. fresh butter, and pour the whole into a pudding dish; then stir in the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with a little cold milk and strained. Strew some powdered cinnamon or some grated nutmeg on the top, and bake for about 20 minutes.

(_b_) Take 2 oz. small macaroni, broken up small as in (_a_), put them with the thin rind of a lemon into 1 pint boiling milk sweetened to taste with lump sugar; when quite done, turn it all out into a pudding dish, remove the lemon rind, and stir in ½ gill cream beaten up with the strained yolks of 2 eggs. Strew powdered cinnamon over, and bake as in (_a_).

_Macaroni Soufflé._--Break up about 1 oz. small macaroni into very small pieces, throw it into fast-boiling salted water, let it boil 20 minutes, then drain off the water and put the macaroni into ½ pint milk, with sugar to taste and a piece of cinnamon; let it boil till it has absorbed all the milk. Put it by to get cold, work into it the yolks of 4 eggs and the whites of 6 whisked into a stiff froth, pour the mixture into a tin large enough to allow room for rising, strew a little finely powdered sugar over it, and place the tin at once into a quick oven. It will take 15-20 minutes to cook, and as soon as the soufflé has well risen, and its top has taken colour, it is ready, and must be served immediately in the tin itself, a little finely powdered sugar being sprinkled on the top.