Part 12

Pare, wash and boil potatoes until soft enough to mash well. Drain off nearly all the water, leaving just a little; add one teaspoon of salt and return to the stove. It is better to boil the potatoes in salt water and add more salt if necessary after mashing. Sift one-half cup of flour into the potatoes after returning to the fire and keep covered closely for about five minutes. Then remove from the stove and mash them as hard as you can, so as not to have any lumps. They must be of the consistency of dough and smooth as velvet. Now put about two tablespoons of drippings or goose-fat in a spider, chop up some onions very fine and heat them until they become a light-brown, take a tablespoon and dip it in the hot fat and then cut a spoonful of the potato dough with the same spoon and put it in the spider, and so on until you have used all. Be careful to dip your spoon in the hot fat every time you cut a puff. Let them brown slightly.

POTATOES (HUNGARIAN STYLE)

Wash, pare and cut potatoes in one-third inch pieces, there should be three cups; parboil three minutes, and drain. Add one-third cup of butter, and cook on back of range until potatoes are soft and slightly browned. Melt two tablespoons of butter, add a few drops of onion juice, two tablespoons of flour, and pour on gradually one cup of hot milk, season with salt and paprika, then add one well-beaten egg yolk. Pour sauce over potatoes and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.

POTATO PUFF

Take two cups of cold mashed potatoes and stir into them one tablespoon of melted butter, beating to a white cream before adding anything else. Then put with this two eggs beaten extremely light, one cup of cream, and salt to taste. Beat all well and pour into a deep dish, and bake in a quick oven until it is nice and brown. If properly mixed, it will come out of the oven light, puffy, and delectable.

POTATO SURPRISE

Take large potatoes, parboil without peeling, cut a small piece of one end of the potato and scoop out the inside. Mince two ounces cooked mutton, season with pepper and salt, mix with the potato pulp and a little gravy. Return end of potato to its place and bake for about twenty minutes with a little fat on top of each potato.

BOILED SWEET POTATOES

Put on in boiling water, without any salt, and boil until a fork will easily pierce the largest. Drain off the water and dry.

FRIED SWEET POTATOES

Boil, peel and cut lengthwise into slices a quarter of an inch thick. Fry in sweet drippings or butter (cold boiled potatoes may also be fried in this way).

FRENCH FRIED SWEET POTATOES

Wash and cut small uncooked sweet potatoes into quarters; dry them and lower them into boiling hot fat. Brown thoroughly; remove with a skimmer; drain and dry on paper; sprinkle with salt and serve.

ROAST SWEET POTATOES

These are commonly called "baked" sweet potatoes. Select those of uniform size; wash, and roast in the oven until done, which you can easily tell by pressing the potatoes. If done they will leave an impression when touched. It usually requires three-quarters of an hour. Serve in their "jackets."

ROAST SWEET POTATOES WITH MEAT

Pare, cut lengthwise, salt and put them around roast meats or poultry of any kind. Roast about three-quarters of an hour, or until brown.

SWEET POTATOES AND APPLES

Wash and pare long sweet potatoes. Cook in boiling salted water until almost soft; drain and cut slices crosswise, two inches high. Core, pare and cut apples in one-half inch rounds. Into a spider, place the potatoes upright, with a slice of apple on top of each. Pour over one-half cup of maple syrup, one-fourth cup of water and two tablespoons of butter. Baste frequently until apples are soft. Then pour one teaspoon of rum over each section, place a candied cherry in the center of each apple and bake ten minutes. Remove to platter and if desired, pour more rum over and around. Light the liquor and bring to the table burning.

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

Boil sweet potatoes, peel and cut into long slices; place in an earthen dish; place lumps of butter or chicken-fat if desired on each side, and sprinkle with sugar. A little water or juice of half a lemon may be added. Bake until the sugar and fat have candied and the potatoes are brown.

DRIED BEANS

Look the beans over carefully to remove all dirt and pebbles, then wash clean. Soak them overnight in plenty of cold water. In the morning pour off the water and put them in a stew-pan with cold water enough to cover them generously. Let them come to the boiling point in this water, then drain. If the beans are old and hard, for each quart put a piece of soda about the size of a large bean in the water in which they are soaked overnight, also in the first water in which they are boiled.

The scalded and drained beans should be put back in the stew-pan and covered generously with boiling water. Add one tablespoon of salt for one quart of beans. They should now cook slowly, with the cover partially off the stew-pan until they have reached the required degree of tenderness. For stewed and baked beans the cooking must stop when the skins begin to crack. For beans served with a sauce they should cook until perfectly tender, but they must not be broken or mushy. For purées and soups they should be cooked until very soft.

SWEET SOUR BEANS AND LINZEN

Soak overnight and drain the beans, boil in salted water until tender; drain and prepare by adding salt and pepper to taste, thicken with one tablespoon of drippings in which has been browned one tablespoon of flour and some soup stock. If the beans are to be made sweet sour add two tablespoons of vinegar and two tablespoons of brown sugar; boil for a few minutes and serve.

BAKED BEANS WITH BRISKET OF BEEF

Wash, pick over and soak overnight in cold water, two cups of navy beans. In the morning, drain and cover with fresh water, heat slowly and let cook just below the boiling point until the skins burst. When done, drain beans and put in a pot with one and one-half pounds of brisket of beef. Mix one-half tablespoon of mustard; one teaspoon of salt, one tablespoon of molasses, two tablespoons of sugar, one-half cup of boiling water and pour over beans, and add enough more boiling water to cover them. Cover pot and bake slowly six or eight hours.

HARICOT BEANS AND BEEF

Wash two cups of haricot beans and leave them covered with two pints of water overnight. Next day brown one coarsely chopped onion in a little fat and put it with the beans and their water into a casserole or stew-jar.

Cook closely covered and rather slowly in the oven or by the side of the fire one hour, then put in a pound of beef in fairly large pieces.

An hour later add one carrot cut into dice, half as many dice of turnip, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue the slow cooking until these vegetables are tender, and a few minutes before serving thicken the stew with pea meal or flour previously baked to a fawn color. Flavor with vinegar.

Owing to its concentrated nutriment this stew should be served sparingly with an abundance of potatoes and green vegetables.

BEANS AND BARLEY

Soak one-half cup of navy beans in cold water overnight. Drain and cook in one quart boiling water with one teaspoon of salt until tender but not broken, add one-half cup of barley and let cook slowly until barley is tender, about one-half hour. Add fat soup stock as the water evaporates. Season to taste and bake in medium oven about one-half hour or until dry but not browned.

DRIED LIMA BEANS, BAKED

Wash one pound of dried Lima beans, let soak overnight. Drain, add fresh water, bring quickly to the boiling point, then let simmer until tender. Add salt and paprika. Heat two tablespoons of poultry or beef fat in a spider, add two tablespoons of flour, when brown add one cup of bean liquid, and the beans. Let simmer and bake in casserole one-half hour. Reserve the bean broth and add more if necessary.

FARSOLE

Soak the large, very hard Lima beans overnight. To a pound of beans take two large onions. When the beans are soft add the onions browned in fat, salt, pepper, a tablespoon of sugar, a quarter cup of rice, and let all simmer until the rice is done.

FARSOLE DULCE

Soak dried Lima beans in cold water overnight. Drain, put on with very little water, add one tablespoon of fat, peel of lemon or orange. When beans are half done, add a tablespoon of sugar which has been browned in a pan, stew slowly until the beans are tender.

SLAITTA (ROUMANIAN)

Soak one pound medium-sized white beans overnight. Put on to boil in cold water, when soft, mash, adding a little warm water while mashing. Add salt and mashed garlic to beans and one or two teaspoons of sugar. To a pound of beans take a pound of onions. Brown the onions in oil and add water so they do not become too brown or greasy. When beans are tender serve on platter with browned onions poured over them. May be served either hot or cold. This dish is served with Carnatzlich. (See Meats.)

BAKED LENTILS (LINZEN)

Pick and wash one-half pound of lentils and soak them in cold water overnight. In the morning put them over the fire in a large saucepan with about a quart of water. As soon as the water begins to boil, the lentils will rise to the top. Remove them with a skimmer, put them in a baking dish with one small onion and three or four ounces of smoked fat meat in the centre, and pour over them a pint of boiling water, in which one-half teaspoon of salt and one-quarter teaspoon of pepper have been mixed. Bake in a moderate oven four or five hours. The lentils must be kept moist and it may be necessary to add a little water from time to time.

MEAT SUBSTITUTES

The following recipes contain as much nourishment as any meat dish and can readily be substituted for meat at a meal.

LENTIL SAUSAGES

For each person soak one tablespoon of lentils overnight. Then drain and leave them spread on a dish for a day.

When ready to use, chop them finely and cook gently in a covered jar in an outer vessel of water for about one hour, adding from time to time just as much water as they will absorb.

When fully cooked, stir in about twice their bulk in bread crumbs (preferably whole wheat), a slight flavoring of very finely chopped onion, powdered mixed herbs and nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and drippings to make the whole fairly moist.

When cool, shape into sausages (or cutlets or round cakes for luncheon), coat them with egg and bread crumbs or seasoned flour, and brown them in a little fat in a frying-pan or in a fairly hot oven.

Gravy or diluted meat extract should be served with them. They are no less good when fried overnight and reheated in the gravy.

MOCK CHILE CON CARNE

Pick over and wash two cups of kidney beans, soak in one quart of water. Next morning bring to a boil in fresh water, drain, cover beans with boiling water and cook until tender. Half an hour before beans are to be served, put one tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, chop and add four green, peppers, one small red pepper, one onion, one pint of tomatoes, one teaspoon of salt, cook fifteen minutes, add to beans with three tablespoons of uncooked rice, simmer until thick.

SPANISH BEANS

Soak two cups of beans overnight. Drain and boil until the skin cracks, and let one cup of water remain on the beans. Chop fine one onion and two cloves of garlic and fry a light brown in one tablespoon of olive oil; then add one-half can of tomatoes, one teaspoon chili powder dissolved in a little cold water, salt to taste and half a dozen olives chopped. A piece of smoked beef or tongue improves the flavor.

PEA PURÉE

Pick over and wash two cups of dried peas. Soak them over night or for several hours in cold water. Put them on to boil in three pints of fresh, cold water and let them simmer until dissolved. Keep well scraped from the sides of the kettle.

When soft, nib through a strainer, add a little boiling water or soup stock, add one and one-half teaspoons of salt, one-half teaspoon of sugar and a speck of white pepper, and beat the mixture well.

Put hard brisket fat chopped in small pieces, about one-eighth of a pound will be sufficient, into a spider and cook until a light yellow, add a large onion, cut in dice and continue cooking with the fat until brown. Serve the purée like mashed potatoes. Pour the onion and fat over it before serving. Serve hot.

KIDNEY BEANS WITH BROWN SAUCE

Pick over and wash one pint (two cups) of kidney beans let soak overnight in cold water. Drain and cook in fresh salted water till tender. Drain; shake in saucepan with one teaspoon butter three minutes. Add one cup of brown sauce and simmer five minutes.

NAHIT (RUSSIAN PEAS)

Place one pound Russian peas in granite kettle, add one tablespoon of salt and hot water to more than cover and let soak twelve hours or more. Drain, return to the kettle, cover with boiling water, let cook fifteen minutes, add one-quarter teaspoon of soda and one pound of brisket of beef or back or neck of fat chicken and let cook slowly until peas are tender. Melt two tablespoons of fat, add two tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of brown sugar, let brown, add one cup of the liquid from the peas, cook until thick and smooth. Pour over the peas, cook thoroughly, then place in casserole and bake in a moderate oven one-half hour.

BOILED CHESTNUTS

Boil the chestnuts a few minutes; drain and remove the shells and skins. Boil again until tender, adding sufficient salt to make them palatable. Drain again; shake over the fire until dry; cover with cream sauce and serve at once. If allowed to stand the chestnuts become heavy and unappetizing.

CHESTNUT PURÉE

Put one pound of chestnuts, which have been shelled and skinned, on to boil in two cups of milk and cook until tender, then mash smooth. If necessary add more milk while boiling. Strain and season with salt and pepper and one teaspoon of fresh butter. Serve hot.

ROASTED CHESTNUTS

With a sharp knife cut across on the flat side of each chestnut; put them in a wire pan and shake constantly over a hot fire until the shells split. Serve at once.

CHESTNUTS WITH CELERY (TURKISH)

Clean and cut table celery and some celery root. Take roasted chestnuts, season with two tablespoons of olive oil; put on to boil with the celery and one tablespoon of lemon juice; boil all until celery is tender, season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

CHESTNUTS AND PRUNES

Peel one pint of chestnuts and skin, then boil until tender. Boil one pint of prunes till tender. Mix chestnuts and prunes together, leaving whatever of sauce there is oil the prunes. Season with sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice, and cook all together.

CHESTNUTS AND RAISINS

Remove the outer shells from one quart of chestnuts. Then pour boiling water over them and remove the skins; put in cold water for half an hour, then drain and put on in a boiler with cold water and boil until tender. Do not add any salt as it toughens them.

In another boiler put one cup of raisins which have been stemmed and cleaned, cover with cold water, add two bay leaves and some stick cinnamon; boil until tender, then pour them into the boiler containing the chestnuts. Add a pinch of salt and one teaspoon of butter and continue until chestnuts are done, then add two tablespoons of white wine, two tablespoons of sugar, one-half teaspoon of vinegar and thicken with one tablespoon of flour dissolved in water. More sugar or vinegar may be added to suit taste. Boil a few minutes, then serve.

BOSTON ROAST

Mash one pound of cooked kidney beans and put them through a food chopper, add one-half pound of grated cheese, salt and red pepper to taste and sufficient bread crumbs to make the mixture stiff enough to form into a ball. Bake in a moderate oven, basting occasionally with butter and water. Serve with tomato sauce.

NUT LOAF

Mix two cups of soft bread crumbs and one cup of chopped walnut meats with six tablespoons of butter or any butter substitute, one-half cup of hot water, one and one-half teaspoons of salt, one-quarter teaspoon of pepper, one tablespoon of chopped onion, a sprig of parsley chopped, and bind with one egg; shape into a loaf. Place in a greased baking-dish and bake in a moderate oven one hour. As the liquor boils out of the loaf it may be used for basting. A brown sauce may be made in the dish in which the loaf is cooked.

NUT ROAST

Soak one-half cup of lentils overnight; in the morning drain, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Drain again, put in fresh water and cook until tender. Drain once more, throw away the water, and press the lentils through a colander. To them add one-half cup shelled roasted peanuts, either ground or chopped, one-half cup of toasted bread crumby one-half teaspoon of salt and one-half saltspoon of pepper, and milk sufficient to make the mixture the consistency of mush. Put into a greased baking-dish; bake in a moderate oven for an hour; turn out on a heated platter; garnish with parsley or watercress and serve.

VEGETABLE MEAT PIE

Soak one-half cup of Lima beans overnight; in the morning let them boil rapidly for one-half hour. Drain, slip the beans from their skins and split them in halves. Blanch one-quarter cup of almonds and chop them with one-quarter cup of peanuts. Boil four potatoes, and when done cut two of them into small cubes. Mash the remaining; two and use them for a dough, adding four tablespoons of hot milk, a little salt and one-quarter cup of flour. Put a layer of beans in the bottom of the baking-dish, a sprinkling of nuts, a little hard-boiled egg, then the potato blocks and one-half tablespoon each of chopped parsley and chopped onion, one-half teaspoon of salt and one-half saltspoon of pepper and so on until the material is all used. Roll out the potato dough the size of the baking-dish; put it over the dish, brush with milk and bake half an hour in a moderately quick oven.

*TIME TABLE FOR COOKING*

The ordinary recipe generally states the time required for cooking its ingredients, but an approximate table is occasionally of use as giving a general idea of the time required for certain things. In any case, it is approximate only, for things should be cooked until done, and various conditions modify the time stated. The atmosphere, altitude, kind of oven or mode of heating employed, and the age of certain things, such as vegetables, all have to be considered, so that hard and fast rules cannot be laid down.

ROASTING

Allow 15 minutes to warm the meat through, and after that, figure the time.

Beef (rare), 12 to 15 minutes per pound; (well done), 15 to 18 minutes.

Lamb 18 minutes per pound Mutton 20 minutes per pound Veal 30 minutes per pound Chicken, 4lb about 2 hours, or 20 minutes per pound Turkey, 10lb about 3-1/2 hours, or 20 minutes per pound Goose, 8lb about 2 hours, or 15 minutes per pound Duck 40 to 60 minutes per pound

BROILING

Steaks, 1 inch thick (rare), 6 to 8 minutes; (medium), 8 to 10 minutes.

Steaks, 1-1/2 inch thick (rare), 8 to 12 minutes; (medium), 12 to 15 minutes.

Lamb, or Mutton Chops (well done) 8 to 10 minutes Spring Chicken 20 minutes Squab 10 to 15 minutes

BOILING

Beef Slowly, 40 to 60 minutes per pound Mutton Slowly, 20 minutes per pound Corned Beef Slowly, 30 minutes per pound Chicken Slowly, 20 minutes per pound Fowl Slowly, 30 minutes per pound Tripe three to five hours

VEGETABLES

Young peas, canned tomatoes, green corn, asparagus, spinach, Brussels sprouts--15 to 20 minutes.

Rice, potatoes, macaroni, summer squash, celery, cauliflower, young cabbage, peas--20 to 30 minutes.

Young turnips, young beets, young carrots, young parsnips, tomatoes, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, cabbage, cauliflower--30 to 45 minutes.

String beans, shell beans, oyster plant, winter squash--45 to 60 minutes.

Winter vegetables--one to two hours.

*SALADS AND SALAD DRESSINGS*

Salads are divided into two groups, dinner salads and the more substantial ones served at supper and luncheon in the place of meats. They are exceedingly wholesome.

Nearly all the meats, vegetables, and fruits may be served as salads. The essential thing is to have the salad fresh and cold; and if green, to have the leaves crisp and dry.

Lettuce, Romaine, endive and chicory or escarole make the best dinner salads, although one may use mixed cooked vegetables or well-prepared uncooked cabbage.

Left-over green vegetables, string beans, peas, carrots, turnips, cauliflower, cooked spinach, leeks and beets may all take their place in the dinner salad. Use them mixed, alone, or as a garnish for lettuce.

Lettuce and all green, raw salad vegetables should be washed and soaked in cold water as soon as they come from the market. After they have stood fifteen to twenty minutes in cold or ice water, free them from moisture by swinging them in a wire basket, or dry, without bruising, each leaf carefully with a napkin. Put them in a cheese-cloth bag and on the ice, ready for service. In this way they will remain dry and cold, and will keep nicely for a week.

The dressing is added only at the moment of serving, as the salad wilts if allowed to stand after the dressing is added.

Meat of any kind used for salads should be cut into dice, but not smaller than one-half inch, or it will seem like hash. It should be marinated before being mixed with the other parts of the salad. Meat mixtures are usually piled in cone-shape on a dish, the mayonnaise then spread over it, and garnished with lettuce, capers, hard-boiled eggs, gherkins, etc.

*To Marinate.*--Take one part of oil and three of vinegar, with pepper and salt for taste; stir them into the meat, and let it stand a couple of hours; drain off any of the marinade which has not been absorbed before combining the meat with the other parts of the salad. Use only enough marinade to season the meat or fish.

If too much vinegar is added to mayonnaise it robs it of its consistency and flavor. All salads must be mixed at the last minute, at serving time. Mayonnaise dressing may be made hours before and the meat, lettuce and celery prepared, but each must be kept in a separate dish until mixing time.

*SALAD DRESSINGS*

MAYONNAISE DRESSING

Beat the yolk of one egg in a cold dish with a silver or wooden fork. If the weather is very warm, place the bowl in a larger vessel filled with chopped ice. When the egg is beaten add one-half teaspoon of salt, dash of red pepper, one-half teaspoon of English mustard and olive oil, drop by drop, being careful to beat well without reversing the motion for fear of curdling. When the dressing thickens, begin adding the vinegar or lemon juice, drop by drop. Then add more olive oil, then more acid, continuing until one cup of olive oil and two teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice are all used. Be sure to have all the ingredients and dishes as cold as possible.

If the mixture should curdle, begin immediately with a fresh egg in a fresh dish and when it is well beaten add carefully the curdled mixture, drop by drop.

To serve twenty people one pint of mayonnaise is required.

MAYONNAISE WITH WHIPPED CREAM

When you are in want of a large quantity of dressing, mayonnaise or French, add one pint of whipped cream to your prepared dressing, stirring thoroughly, just before ready to serve.

COLORED MAYONNAISE

To color mayonnaise, chop parsley leaves very fine; pound them in a small quantity of lemon juice; strain and add the juice to the dressing.

WHITE MAYONNAISE

To make white mayonnaise, follow the ordinary directions, using lemon juice instead of vinegar, omitting the mustard and adding, when finished, a half cup of whipped cream or half an egg white beaten very stiff.

RUSSIAN DRESSING