Chapter 5

Bake some medium-sized potatoes; when done cut in half lengthwise, scoop out the inside, taking care not to break the skin. Mash the potato smooth and fine with butter and a little milk, season with salt and pepper to taste, heat thoroughly, fill the skins, brush the tops over with melted butter, brown in the oven and serve.

POTATO FRICASSEE.

Put in a spider a generous tablespoonful of butter and a cup of milk, when hot add some cold potatoes cut in dice, season with pepper, salt, a few drops of onion juice. Let them get thoroughly hot, then add the beaten yolks of two eggs, stir constantly until thick. Great care must be taken not to let it cook too long, or the sauce will curdle. Pour into a vegetable dish, sprinkle a little finely minced parsley over the top and serve.

POTATOES A LA DUCHESSE.

Take cold mashed potatoes that are nicely seasoned with salt and pepper, form into little round cakes, put them on a tin, glaze over with beaten egg and brown in the oven. Arrange on a platter, garnish with parsley and serve.

SARATOGA CHIPS.

Peel some medium-sized white potatoes, and slice them very thin. It is better to have a potato slicer for these, if possible, as it cuts them so quickly and perfectly. Wash the potatoes in one or two waters, then cover with fresh water and lay a lump of ice on the top of them. Let them stand an hour, if convenient, drain in a colander, wipe dry with a towel, and fry in boiling fat--not too many at a time in the basket or they will stick together, and will not brown. Have a quick fire, and fry until brown and crisp, drain on paper, sprinkle with salt and serve.

FRENCH FRIED POTATOES.

Peel some potatoes and cut in finger lengths, not too thick, cover with ice water, and if they are old it is better to let them stand two hours. Drain, wipe dry, and fry in boiling fat as Saratoga chips--not too many at a time. When they are a nice brown lift the basket from the fat, sprinkle with salt, shake the grease from them and remove with a skimming spoon, drain on paper and serve at once.

POTATOES A LA MAITRE D'HOTEL.

Cut cold boiled potatoes in round slices, not too thick, put in a saucepan with some melted butter, pepper and salt. When they are hot add some lemon juice and a little minced parsley and serve.

POTATOES LYONNAISE.

Fry a little onion cut in thin slices in plenty of butter; when a delicate brown add some cold boiled potatoes cut in slices of medium thickness, mixing them with the onion by tossing them together rather than stirring, as this breaks them. Cook until a nice color, drain them, put in a dish and sprinkle a little minced parsley over them.

POTATOES A LA PARISIENNE.

Peel and wash some potatoes, scoop out into little balls with a potato scoop, which is made for the purpose. Boil for five minutes, put in melted butter in a saucepan until each potato is well covered with the butter, turn them into a pan, and brown in the oven. Turn out on a dish and sprinkle with minced parsley and a little salt.

POTATOES CREAMED AND BROWNED.

Take a pint of cold boiled potatoes, cut into dice of uniform size. Have ready a pint of cream sauce, toss the potatoes in this, season with salt and white pepper to taste, put in a baking dish, sprinkle with dried bread crumbs and a tablespoonful of American Edam cheese. A few drops of onion juice, if liked, may be added before putting the potatoes into the dish. Set it in the oven a few minutes, until it becomes a golden brown and serve. Do not let it stand in the oven long or it will dry.

POTATO PUFF.

Two cupfuls of smoothly mashed boiled or baked potatoes, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, two well-beaten whites of eggs, a cupful of sweet cream or rich milk. Stir the melted butter into the potato, then add the eggs and cream, season with salt and pepper, turn into a buttered baking dish, bake in a quick oven and serve in the dish in which it is baked.

WHITE POTATO CROQUETTES.

Boil and mash very fine four medium sized potatoes. Put half a cup of rich milk and a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan over the fire. When the milk comes to a boil, stir in the mashed potatoes, season with pepper and salt to taste, mix thoroughly and add the white of an egg beaten to a stiff froth, remove from the fire, turn out on a plate to cool, then make up in small cylinders, dip in beaten egg, roll in cracker crumbs and fry a delicate brown in boiling fat.

POTATO PAPA (a Mexican Dish).

Wash, pare and boil one dozen small white potatoes, mash while hot and add to them half a cup of raisins stoned and chopped very fine, twenty large Queen olives stoned and chopped fine, one tablespoonful of parsley finely minced, an even teaspoonful of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix all well together, form into an oblong shape, leaving the top rough. Brown a little butter in a spider, put the papa into it, and after a few moments' frying scatter little lumps of butter over the top and set in the oven to brown. Garnish with parsley and hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters lengthwise.

SWEET POTATOES FRIED RAW.

Peel two or three medium-sized potatoes and cut in slices about a quarter of an inch thick, fry in boiling fat--when they are a nice brown they are done--drain on paper for a moment before serving.

COOKED SWEET POTATOES FRIED.

Take several sweet potatoes cut in slices lengthwise, not too thin. Dip each slice in melted butter and then in brown sugar, and fry in a little butter.

SWEET POTATOES MASHED AND BROWNED.

Boil three sweet potatoes of medium size until done. Peel and squeeze through the patent vegetable strainer, add a heaping tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to taste, and enough milk to make very soft. Put in a baking dish, dot it over with tiny bits of butter and bake until brown. Serve in the dish in which it is baked. If any is left over remove the thin brown skin, make the potato into small, flat cakes and brown on both sides in a little butter in a spider.

SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES.

Three medium-sized potatoes baked and mashed very fine and beaten to a cream with one generous tablespoonful of butter, three tablespoonfuls of cream, one teaspoonful of sugar, a little salt, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, a saltspoonful of cinnamon and one egg yolk beaten very light, and add at the last the white of egg whipped to a stiff froth. Form into cones or cylinders, dip in beaten egg and bread crumbs and fry in boiling fat. Drain on kitchen paper, sift a little sugar over them and serve at once.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS.

Pick off any leaves that may be discolored and wash well a quart of Brussels sprouts, put into a saucepan with two quarts of boiling water and a saltspoonful of soda. Boil rapidly until tender--about half an hour--just before they are done add a tablespoonful of salt. Drain them in a colander, and if it is not time to serve them stand the colander over steam to keep them hot. Do not let them remain in the water. When ready to serve put the sprouts in a vegetable dish and pour over them a pint of rich cream sauce.

OKRA AND TOMATOES.

A quart of fresh or canned tomatoes--if fresh, skin in the usual way--cut them in quarters and put over the fire, let them boil until a great deal of the water has evaporated, then add a pint of fresh okra, cut in slices, cook until tender, season with a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter, and pepper and salt to taste.

BEETS.

Wash the beets carefully to avoid breaking the skin, and do not cut off the fine roots, as this will bleed and spoil them. Put on in boiling water and cook from an hour and a half to three hours. Test with a wooden skewer. Cut in slices or dice and serve with melted butter, pepper and salt. Winter beets should be soaked over night.

PUREE OF PEAS.

When peas are old this is a very nice way to use them. Put a quart of shelled peas over the fire in sufficient boiling water to cook them. Boil until tender, drain from the water, press through a puree sieve, season with salt and pepper to taste, and a good heaping tablespoonful of butter, and if too dry a little milk or cream may be used.

PUREE OF LIMA BEANS

may be prepared in the same way.

PUREE OF CUCUMBERS.

Peel and slice the cucumbers and put them over the fire in as little boiling water as will cook them; when tender drain from the water, press through a puree sieve, season with salt and pepper and add a tablespoonful of butter.

STUFFED CUCUMBERS.

Peel two large, fine cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, take out the seeds. Scrape out carefully the soft part--with a small spoon--into a saucepan. Peel and core a tart apple, chop fine with a small pickled gherkin, take from this a good tablespoonful for the sauce and put one side, then add the rest to the soft part of the cucumbers in the saucepan. Let it simmer until tender, then add butter the size of an egg, pepper and salt to taste, a few drops of onion juice, or the spoon used for stirring the mixture may be rubbed with garlic, three tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs, one egg beaten, stir all together, and remove at once from the fire. Put the cucumbers in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and cook gently until tender--about ten or fifteen minutes; when nearly done add a tablespoonful of salt, drain from the water, when cool enough stuff them with the dressing already prepared and press into shape, brush with egg, sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and a few tiny lumps of butter, place carefully in a pan and bake a delicate brown.

FOR THE SAUCE, take the tablespoonful of apple and pickle reserved from the stuffing, and add a teaspoonful of capers, chop all together as fine as possible, make a cream sauce and add this mixture to it on the fire and heat thoroughly. Place the cucumbers carefully on a platter and pour the sauce around them.

CUCUMBERS STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS.

Peel two large, firm cucumbers, and cut in half lengthwise; take out the seeds. Take a quarter of a pound of fresh mushrooms, skin and stem them. Chop the mushroom flaps very fine, put them in a spider with four tablespoonfuls of melted butter and a very little water, cover and cook until tender. Remove from the fire, stir in four heaping tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, a few drops of onion juice, and the yolk of one egg. Stuff the cucumbers with this dressing, put the halves together, fasten with wooden toothpicks or tie with string. Place in a small dish that will fit in the steamer, cover closely, and steam until tender--about three-quarters of an hour--and serve with a brown sauce made as follows:

THE SAUCE.--Put on the skins and stems of the mushrooms in boiling water. Fry a few slices each of carrot, celery top, green pepper, onion and turnip in butter, strain the water from the mushroom stems into this and stew until all are tender, strain, add a generous tablespoonful of butter and enough flour to thicken the sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Place the cucumbers in a shallow vegetable dish, remove the strings and pour the sauce around them.

ESCALLOPED EGG PLANT.

Boil a small egg plant, cut it in half, take out the pulp, throwing away the seeds and skin, chop the pulp fine and mix with it half a teaspoonful of bread crumbs, one cup of cream or rich milk, butter the size of an egg, an even teaspoonful of finely minced parsley, pepper and salt to taste, and a few drops of onion juice. Beat all together, turn into a baking dish, cover the top with dried bread crumbs and tiny bits of butter and bake until brown. Serve in the dish in which it is baked. If any is left over, cut in slices half an inch thick and fry in butter for luncheon.

STUFFED EGG PLANT.

Take half a large egg plant, boil gently until tender, remove from the fire, take out the pulp carefully so as not to break the shell, leaving it about a quarter of an inch thick. Peel and stem a quarter of a pound of fresh mushrooms, chop very fine, reserve a heaping tablespoonful of this for the sauce, then add the pulp of the egg plant to the mushrooms in the chopping bowl, and one heaping tablespoonful of currants, washed and picked over, one even teaspoonful of grated onion, one even teaspoonful of chopped green pepper, five heaping tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs, four tablespoonfuls of melted butter, two tablespoonfuls of rich cream. Mix all well together, fill the shell with this mixture, press it into shape and bind carefully with string. Bake twenty minutes, remove the string and serve on a platter with the sauce poured around it.

THE SAUCE.--Put on the skins and stems of the mushrooms in a saucepan, cover with boiling water, cook until tender, drain, and into this water put the tablespoonful of reserved mushrooms, add salt and pepper to taste, boil a few minutes, then add a heaping teaspoonful of flour stirred into a heaping tablespoonful of butter, let all cook together until thick, and pour around the egg plant.

GREEN CORN CAKES.

One quart of grated corn, one teacup of butter melted, four tablespoonfuls of flour, two eggs, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake as griddle cakes and serve at once. These cakes are very good made of canned corn. Pound the corn in a mortar and press through a sieve.

CORN PUDDING.

Four large ears of corn grated, or a can of corn prepared as for corn cakes, one heaping tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of sugar, one whole egg and one yolk. Melt the butter and stir into the corn, beat the eggs and add with one pint of milk, the sugar and flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a shallow dish in a moderate oven from twenty minutes to half an hour. If it bakes too long, it becomes watery.

MOCK OYSTERS OF GREEN CORN.

A pint of grated corn, a cup of flour, one egg, two ounces of butter, three tablespoonfuls of milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and drop from a spoon in oblong cakes--to look as much like oysters as possible--into hot butter, fry brown on both sides. Serve on a platter and garnish with parsley. These may also be made of canned corn by pressing it through a colander with a potato masher to separate the hulls from it.

CORN BOILED ON THE COB.

Husk the corn and remove the silk, put in a kettle, and cover with boiling water. If the corn is young, it will cook in from five to ten minutes, as it is only necessary to set the milk. It should be served at once in a folded napkin.

CURRY OF CORN.

A can of corn, one good tart cooking apple, one tomato, a teaspoonful of finely chopped green pepper, a teaspoonful of grated onion, a teaspoonful of curry powder, a tablespoonful of chopped Brazil or English walnuts, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Put the butter in a spider, when it bubbles add the apple cut in dice and onion, fry brown, then stir in the curry powder, the chopped pepper and tomato and nuts, let all simmer together for a few minutes, then add the corn, and cook gently for twenty minutes. If it is too thick a little water must be added. Serve in a shallow vegetable dish or on a platter. Fresh corn may be used. Boil and then cut from the cob, cook the cobs in the water the corn was boiled in long enough to extract all the good from them, and use this broth for the curry.

CROQUETTES OF SALSIFY AND CELERIAC.

Two roots of salsify and one large celeriac. Wash and scrape them well. Cut in pieces and cover with vinegar and water and let them stand one hour--this will prevent them from turning dark. Pour off the vinegar and water and nearly cover them with boiling water, cook until very tender, mash fine and smooth, season with pepper and salt, and a few drops of onion juice, put in a saucepan over the fire, and add a tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of milk, and just before removing from the fire add a tablespoonful of cream and one egg, stir well, turn out into a bowl and set aside to cool. When cold make into croquettes, dip in egg and cracker crumbs and fry in a basket in boiling oil.

INDIAN CURRY OF VEGETABLES.

Equal quantities of cauliflower and potatoes, raw. The cauliflower cut into flowerettes and the potatoes into dice. Put them into a spider with a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a rounded teaspoonful of curry powder, and let them simmer for a few minutes without taking color. Then add two tablespoonfuls of tomatoes, an even teaspoonful of grated onion and one of chopped green pepper, fill up the spider with boiling water, and set it back on the stove where it will stew gently until the vegetables are tender and the water has been reduced to one-third the quantity. It should be as thick as ordinary gravy; if not, add a scant teaspoonful of flour. Just before it is done stir in a heaping tablespoonful of butter. Turn it into a shallow vegetable dish and serve very hot. The spider should be kept covered while the curry is cooking. It is very good without the green pepper. This may be warmed over, and is better the second day than the first.

KOHLRABI.

Peel them, cut in slices and pour on just enough boiling water to cook them. Cook until tender. When nearly done add salt. Make a cream sauce, season with white pepper, salt and a little grated nutmeg, if liked, toss them in this sauce, let it boil up once and serve very hot.

MARROWFAT BEANS BAKED.

Pick over carefully and wash one quart of beans, soak in water over night. In the morning drain, add fresh cold water and bring to a boil, drain again, and turn them into a four-quart stone jar, put in a generous cup of butter, two large tablespoonfuls of Porto Rico molasses, two tablespoonfuls of salt, less than a teaspoonful of pepper, and fill the jar with boiling water. Put in the oven, covering the jar with a tin cover. It must be cooked in a slow oven eight or nine hours--the water ought to last until the beans are perfectly cooked, and when done a good gravy left, about a third of the depth of the beans in the jar. Beans cooked in this way are very nutritious and easily digested. Keep them covered for two or three hours while cooking. Serve with Chili sauce.

BAYO OR MEXICAN BEANS.--No. 1.

Put one cup of Bayo or Mexican red beans to soak over night, in the morning drain off the water and put them in a saucepan with plenty of fresh water, let them cook for two hours, drain again, and add to them three fresh tomatoes, skinned and cut small, or a cup of canned tomatoes, and half an onion cut as small as the beans, then cover with boiling water and cook for one hour. Then stir in a very generous tablespoonful of butter, and salt and pepper to taste.

MEXICAN BEANS.--No. 2.

Soak over night a pint of beans and boil as in recipe No. 1 until soft. Then melt a tablespoonful of butter in a spider; when it bubbles put in a small onion chopped very fine, and fry a delicate brown. Drain the beans and turn them into the spider, add a cup of boiling water and stir until the water becomes thick like cream.

EMPARADAS (a Mexican Recipe).

Take some beans cooked as in Mexican Beans No. 1 and mash them to a paste. Then roll out some puff paste very thin--about the sixth of an inch--cut this into rounds with a large patty cutter, put a spoonful of the bean puree on the half of each round, wet the edges of the pastry, cover, press the edges together, making a half moon, brush them over with beaten egg and bake in a hot oven, or they may be fried in boiling oil or fat until a delicate brown.

FRIJOLES FRITOS.

A pint of beans cooked as in recipe for Bayo or Mexican Beans No. 1. Rub them smooth in a mortar, put them into a spider with a quarter of a cup of butter and fry for a few minutes, then add half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese, mix thoroughly and serve hot.

BROILED MUSHROOMS.

Select large flap mushrooms for broiling. Wash, skin and stem them, lay them on a dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour a little olive oil over each mushroom, let them stand one hour. Broil on a gridiron over a nice clear fire. Place on a dish and serve with the following sauce: Prepare the stock as before by boiling the stems and skins in water and then straining. Mince two or three mushrooms fine, add to the stock, with a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a few drops of onion juice, a small lump of butter, cook for fifteen minutes, then add a cupful of cream, an even teaspoonful of flour wet with some of the cream and rubbed smooth. Let it all cook together for three minutes, then add the beaten yolk of an egg, stir well, remove from the fire at once and serve.

MUSHROOMS ON TOAST.

Half a pound of mushrooms, wash, stem and skin as before. Cut into dice, put in a saucepan with the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoonful of butter and a slice of onion, a sprig of parsley and one clove, tied together in a thin muslin bag. Set the saucepan on the fire and stew gently until nearly dry, then add water almost to cover them, salt and pepper to taste, and let them cook fifteen minutes. Take out the bag of onion, etc., and thicken with one egg yolk well beaten, and a small cupful of cream. Have some slices of toast on a platter, buttered and moistened with a little hot milk, pour the mushrooms over them, garnish with parsley and serve hot.

MUSHROOMS STEWED IN A CREAM SAUCE.

Make a pint of cream sauce, prepare half a pound of mushrooms as in the preceding recipe, cut into dice, and stew in the sauce until very tender. Have the toast prepared as above and pour the mushrooms over it. Garnish with parsley and serve at once. They may be served in pastry shells as an entree, if preferred.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS.--No. 1.

Wash, skin and stem half a pound of mushrooms, chop very fine, add two even teaspoonfuls of finely minced parsley, a few drops of lemon juice, the same of onion juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan and cook all together in this until the mushrooms are tender, then add a cupful of stale bread crumbs and one egg yolk, stir well and remove from the fire. Have half a dozen perfectly ripe tomatoes, washed and wiped, cut a slice from the top of each, take out the core and seeds, and fill with the mushroom stuffing. Bake in a moderate oven until done. The skins should be removed in the usual way before stuffing.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS.--No. 2.

Wash and wipe the tomatoes, but do not remove the skins. Cut in half, take out the core and a few of the seeds. Fill with the same forcemeat as in the preceding recipe and cover the top with it, place in a pan with a little water to keep from burning, bake in a moderate oven until soft, remove carefully from the pan, place on a platter, garnish with parsley and serve.

ESCALLOPED TOMATOES.

Strain from a quart can of tomatoes one cupful of water. Put a layer of the tomatoes in a baking dish, season with salt, pepper and a little sugar, cover with a layer of bread crumbs, dot freely with bits of butter, then put another layer of tomatoes, and lastly a layer of bread crumbs, with bits of butter, and sprinkle with a dessertspoonful of sugar. Bake forty-five minutes, and serve in the dish in which it is baked.

TOMATOES WITH EGG.

Drain the water from a can of tomatoes, press them through a colander, put into a saucepan over the fire, season with salt and pepper, a little sugar, if acid, and a few drops of onion juice. Let them cook a little, and just before serving add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, stir well until it thickens, and remove immediately from the fire or it will curdle.

FRENCH CARROTS IN BROWN SAUCE.

Select the smallest French carrots, wash and scrape them and boil until tender in as little water as possible. When done drain from the water, using it to make the sauce. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a spider, when hot stir in a tablespoonful of flour, stir until a dark brown, add gradually the water the carrots were boiled in, season with salt and pepper, simmer until thick and smooth, add the carrots, and when hot serve.

FRENCH CARROTS AND PEAS.