Part 17

Make the omelet the same as the plain one, but use water instead of milk in mixing it, and only use two tablespoons of water for the six eggs required.

After the eggs are sufficiently beaten, mixed, and in the pan over the fire, and when the edges begin to stiffen, cover the surface of the omelet to within an inch of the edge with the cooked vegetables. Fold the omelet quickly and turn it on a hot platter. Pour around it all the vegetables left in the pan and serve.

RUM OMELET

Take six eggs, beat whites and yolks well, add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of brandy. Fry in a spider quickly and spread with a compote of huckleberries or any other fruit. Roll up the omelet, pour a very small wineglass of rum over it, light it and serve at once.

SWEET ALMOND OMELET

Prepare one-half cup of sweet almonds, blanched, chopped fine and pounded smooth. Beat four eggs slightly, add four tablespoons of cream and turn it into a hot omelet pan on which you have melted one tablespoon, of butter. Cook carefully, drawing the cooked portion into the centre and tilting the pan to allow the liquid part to run over the bare pan. When nearly all set, sprinkle the almonds over the surface and turn the edges over until well rolled. Then slip it out on a hot dish and dredge with powdered sugar, and scatter several salted almonds over the top. Serve immediately.

CORN OMELET

Take one-half cup of canned corn and chop it very fine (or the same amount cut from the cob). Add to that the yolk of one egg, well beaten with pepper and salt to taste, and two tablespoons of cream. Beat the white of the egg very stiff and stir in just before cooking. Have the pan very hot and profusely buttered. Pour the mixture on, and when nicely browned, turn one half over the other, as in cooking other omelets.

HERB OMELET

Take six eggs and beat well in a bowl. Add two tablespoons of cold water and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper, a teaspoon of chopped parsley, a quarter of a teaspoon of grated onion and a teaspoon of fine butter, shaved in little pieces. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Dissolve in the spider the butter and add at once the beaten eggs, etc., inclining the spider to the handle for an instant and then shaking the omelet into the centre and turn up the right edge, then the left and fry briskly five minutes and serve.

POACHED EGGS WITH FRIED TOMATOES

Fry tomatoes (cut one-half inch thick) in butter, pepper and salt. Have prepared slices of bread cut round, and fried in butter. Put on a hot platter with a slice of tomato on each. Poach as many eggs as are required, in boiling salt water. Lift out very carefully, placing one egg on each tomato. Add to the gravy in which tomatoes were fried, two tablespoons of cream, one teaspoon of any pungent sauce, one teaspoon of mushroom catsup, juice of half a lemon, and a teaspoon of flour to thicken. Cook up once and pour over eggs. Serve very hot.

EGGS POACHED IN TOMATO SAUCE

Make a sauce of one tablespoon of butter, one tablespoon of flour, one and one-half cups of canned tomatoes rubbed through a strainer, a pinch of soda, salt, pepper and sugar to taste. When sufficiently cooked drop in the required number of eggs, cook until the white is firm, basting the eggs often with the sauce. When done, lift the eggs carefully to squares of toast and pour the sauce around them.

EGGS PIQUANT

Set to boil the following mixture: Pour into the kettle water to the depth of about one inch, adding a little salt and half a cup of vinegar. When this boils, break in as many fresh eggs, one at a time, as you desire to have. Do this carefully so as not to break the yolks. As soon as the whites of the eggs are boiled, take up carefully with a perforated skimmer and lay in cold water. Then remove to a large platter and pour over the following sauce: Strain the sauce the eggs were boiled in and set away until you have rubbed or grated two hard-boiled eggs, yolks only. Add a tablespoon of butter rubbed very hard and add also some sugar and part of the strained sauce. Boil up once and pour over the eggs. Garnish with parsley.

OMELET SOUFFLÉ

Yolks of six eggs and six tablespoons of powdered sugar, added gradually, and both beaten together until thick and smooth; juice of one lemon and a little grated rind; whites beaten as stiff as possible, stirred together. Put into a warm well-buttered dish; bake in quick oven ten minutes.

WHITE SAUCE OMELET

Make a white sauce of one tablespoon of butter blended with two tablespoons of flour, one-half teaspoon of salt, pinch of pepper and one teaspoon of sugar, adding one-half cup each of milk and cream. Beat the yolks of five eggs and stir them into the sauce, then add the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs, folding them in carefully. Melt two tablespoons of butter in the omelet pan, when it is hot put in the mixture and let it stand in a moderate heat for two minutes, place in a hot oven and cook until set. Remove from the oven, turn on a hot platter and serve.

EGGS WITH CREAM DRESSING

Blend two tablespoons of butter with three tablespoons of flour. Place on range and stir until the butter is melted. Add one and one-half cups of milk, stirring all the time until the mixture is thick; season with one teaspoon of salt and a few grains of pepper. Separate the whites of six hard-boiled eggs from the yolks. Chop the whites fine and add to the dressing. Arrange slices of toast on a hot platter, pour the dressing over them; force the yolks through a ricer onto the toast and dressing; serve hot.

SCALLOPED EGGS

Use above recipe and mix one cup of bread crumbs with one tablespoon of butter, sprinkle this over dish and bake fifteen minutes in a hot oven.

EGGS À LA MEXICANA

Boil six dried Spanish peppers twenty minutes. Drain, remove the seeds, and chop fine. Fry in butter half an onion and one clove of garlic. Add one cup of uncooked rice, cover with one cup of water and cook till tender. Add a lump of butter, salt, and, when done, cover with six eggs; then scramble all together. Serve on a hot dish.

EGGS SPANISH

Boil eggs hard; after cooling, remove shells and halve lengthwise. Cook for thirty minutes fresh or canned tomatoes with minced green onions, garlic, parsley, a laurel leaf, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Strain. Melt a slice of butter, add a little flour, and then add sauce gradually. Cook ten minutes; place eggs carefully in sauce and serve.

FRESH MUSHROOMS WITH EGGS

Peel nine good-sized mushrooms without using the stems and chop very fine; fry two tablespoons of butter and two finely chopped onions without browning. Add the mushrooms and steam them by covering the pan after seasoning with salt, pepper and paprika. Before serving, beat six whole eggs and scramble with the mushrooms. Serve on hot buttered toast.

EGG RAREBIT

Make a cream sauce. Grate one-half pound American and Swiss cheese mixed, or American alone; add to the sauce. Chop three hard-boiled eggs, add to the sauce, season with salt and pepper, and serve on buttered toast.

KROSPHADA

Place two sliced onions with two ounces each of sugar and spices, pepper and salt to taste, in a pint of pure malt vinegar and boil gently until the onions are nearly done. Let it cool a little and then stir in six beaten eggs and sufficient crumbled ginger-bread to make the whole quite thick. Place again over the fire for a few minutes, stirring frequently and mashing the mixture into a uniform paste, but be very careful that it does not boil.

CURRIED EGGS

Melt four tablespoons of butter in a frying-pan, add one onion chopped fine and cook until straw colored. Then add one tablespoon of curry powder. Make a smooth paste of one-fourth of a cup of water and two tablespoons of flour; add one tablespoon of lemon juice and one-half teaspoon of salt. Add to the first mixture; boil five minutes. Arrange six hard-boiled eggs in a border of rice and pour the dressing over all.

FRICASSEED EGGS

Take six hard-boiled eggs, remove shells. Roll them in flour, then in egg to which has been added one-half teaspoon of oil, one-half teaspoon of vinegar, a few drops of onion juice, one teaspoon chopped parsley, a little nutmeg and salt. When quite covered, roll in vermicelli that has been broken into fine bits and fry in deep beef drippings. Serve with the following sauce: One tablespoon of fat; one tablespoon of flour, browned together; add one-half cup of white wine and a cup of bouillon. Season with salt and cayenne and boil five minutes. Add one teaspoon each of chopped chives and parsley, some chopped olives and mushrooms; bring to a boil again and pour over the eggs.

EGGS EN MARINADE

Mix equal quantities of water and good meat gravy, two tablespoons each, with a teaspoon of vinegar and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Put in a stew-pan and stir in gradually two well-beaten, yolks of eggs. When it thickens and before it boils, have ready a half dozen nicely poached eggs and pour the sauce over them. Garnish with parsley.

SCALLOPED EGGS (FLEISCHIG)

Make a force-meat of chopped tongue, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, a little parsley, one tablespoon of melted fat, and soup stock enough to make a soft paste. Half fill patty-pans with the mixture. Break an egg carefully on the top of each, sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and cracker dust. Put in the oven and bake about ten minutes. Serve hot.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH BRAINS

Scald brains with hot water, clean and skin, and boil a few minutes in fresh water. Melt a little fat in skillet, put in brains, finely chopped, and stir well until dry and done. Add one teaspoon of chopped parsley, pinch of salt, and three eggs well-beaten. Stir with a fork until eggs are evenly cooked, put on hot platter, and serve immediately.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SAUSAGE

Take one pound of cold, boiled sausage, skin and slice in half-inch pieces. Place in a frying-pan with two tablespoons of hot fat; brown on both sides a few minutes and just before serving add three eggs, beaten slightly; mix; and cook until the eggs are set and serve immediately.

Chopped tongue root may be used instead of sausage.

SMOKED BRISKET OF BEEF AND EGGS

Take slices of smoked breast of beef, brown in frying-pan; place on hot platter. Slip as many eggs as are needed in frying-pan and cook gently by dripping the hot fat over them until done. Place carefully on the beef slices and serve at once.

*CHEESE*

Cheese should not be tightly covered. When it becomes dry and hard, grate and keep covered until ready to use. It may be added to starchy foods.

Care should be exercised in planning meals in which cheese is employed as a substitute for meat. As cheese dishes are inclined to be somewhat "heavy," they should be offset by crisp, watery vegetables, water cress, celery, lettuce, fruit salads and light desserts, preferably fresh or cooked fruit. Another point, too, is to be considered. Whether raw or cooked, cheese seems to call for the harder kinds of bread--crusty rolls or biscuits, zwieback, toast, pulled bread or hard crackers.

A soft, crumbly cheese is best for cooking.

Cheese is sufficiently cooked when melted, if cooked longer it becomes tough and leathery.

Baking-soda in cheese dishes which are cooked makes the casein more digestible.

COTTAGE CHEESE (POT CHEESE)

Heat sour milk slowly until the whey rises to the top; pour it off, put the curd in a bag and let it dry for six hours without squeezing it. Pour it into a bowl and break it fine with a wooden spoon. Season with salt. Mold into balls and keep in a cool place. It is best when fresh.

KOCH KAESE (BOILED CHEESE)

Press one quart of fine cottage cheese through a coarse sieve or colander and set it away in a cool place for a week, stirring it once or twice during that time; when it has become quite strong, stir it smooth with a wooden or silver spoon; add a saltspoon of salt and one-fourth as much of caraway seed, yolks of two eggs and an even tablespoon of flour which has been previously dissolved in about one-half cup of cold milk; stir the flour and milk until it is a smooth paste, adding a lump of butter, about the size of an egg; add all to the cheese. Put the cheese on to boil until quite thick; stirring occasionally; boil altogether about one-half hour, stirring constantly the last ten minutes; the cheese must look smooth as velvet. Pour it into a dish which has been previously rinsed in cold water. Set it away in a cool place; to keep it any length of time, cover it with a clean cloth which has been dipped in and wrung out of beer. This cheese is excellent for rye bread sandwiches.

A DELICIOUS CREAM CHEESE

Sweet milk is allowed to stand until it is like a jelly, but does not separate. Then it is poured into a cheese-cloth bag and hung up to drain until all the water is out of it and only the rich creamy substance remains. Sometimes it takes from twelve to twenty-four hours. At the end of this time the cheese is turned from the bag into a bowl; then to every pint of the cheesy substance a tablespoon of butter is added and enough salt to season it palatably. Then it is whipped up with a fork until it is a smooth paste and enough put on a plate to make a little brick, like a Philadelphia cheese. With two knives, one in each hand, lightly press the cheese together in the shape of a brick, smooth it over the top and put it away to cool. One quart of rich sour milk will make a good sized cheese.

CHEESE BALLS, No. 1

Take one cake of cream cheese, one-quarter of a pound of chopped figs, one-quarter of a pound of chopped walnuts, roll into balls and serve on lettuce leaves.

CHEESE BALLS, No. 2

Mix one cake Neufchatel cheese, a piece of butter the size of the cheese, one tablespoon of cream, one-quarter teaspoon of salt and six dashes of Tabasco Sauce and form one large ball or several small ones and roll in chopped pecan nuts.

CHEESE SOUFFLÉ

Dissolve one and one-half tablespoons of butter, add one tablespoon of flour, stir until it loosens from the pan; add one and one-half cups of rich milk, pepper and salt. Take from the fire, add gradually four egg yolks and three-quarters of a cup of grated cheese, then the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Bake in a hot oven in china ramekins about fifteen minutes and serve immediately.

CHEESE TIMBALS FOR TWELVE PEOPLE

Take one pint of milk, four tablespoons of flour, and use enough of the milk to dissolve the flour, the balance put in double boiler; when it boils, add the dissolved flour, then add one-quarter pound imported Swiss cheese grated. Let these two boil for fifteen minutes; when cool, add the yolks of four eggs; drop one in at a time and beat, then strain through a fine sieve about ten minutes before you put in the pans; beat the whites of two eggs and put in the above and mix; grease timbal forms, fill three-quarters full only; bake in pan of boiling water twenty minutes. Let them stand about two minutes, turn out on little plates, and serve with tomato sauce, a sprig of parsley put on top of each one.

WELSH RAREBIT

Melt one tablespoon of butter, add two cups finely cut American cheese, when it melts add one-half cup of milk or stale beer, keep stirring until it is smooth. Add one-half teaspoon of English mustard, two beaten eggs. Cook one minute longer and salt to taste. Serve on toast.

GOLDEN BUCK

One pound of cheese, one-eighth pound of butter, one-half glass of ale, one teaspoon of mustard, one egg (well beaten), and salt and paprika. Put butter in pan, and when melted add cheese cut up or grated; stir, and as cheese melts, add ale. When it begins to bubble, add egg well beaten. Stir continually to keep from getting stringy. In two or three minutes it will be ready to serve. Pour over hot buttered toast. This quantity is sufficient for four persons.

CHEESE BREAD

Take six thick slices of stale bread, well buttered; cut them in two; dip into milk; then place in a baking dish, with alternating layers of thinly sliced cheese, having cheese for top. Add half a cup of milk, into which a half teaspoon of dry mustard has been put. Bake in quick oven fifteen minutes. Serve at once.

GREEN CORN, TOMATOES AND CHEESE

Into one tablespoon of melted butter stir two cups of grated cheese until it, too, is melted. Add three-quarters of a cup of canned or grated fresh corn, one ripe green pepper, stir them, add one egg yolk mixed with one-half cup of tomato purée, one teaspoon of salt, one-half teaspoon of paprika. Toast five slices of bread and pour this mixture over it. Serve hot.

RICE AND CHEESE

Melt two ounces of butter in a stew-pan; fry in the buttery finely minced onion. When this is of a nice golden color stir into it a quarter of a pound of well-boiled rice. Work it well with a fork and then pour all into a buttered pie dish. Dredge over with a good coating of grated cheese, sprinkle the surface with melted butter and bake until nicely browned.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

Break three ounces of macaroni--noodles or spaghetti answer equally well--into small pieces, boil in rapidly boiling salted water; when tender drain off the water and add half a pint of milk; cook slowly till the macaroni has absorbed most of the milk. To half a pint of thick white sauce add two ounces of grated cheese and mix with the macaroni; last of all add two well-beaten eggs. Butter a pudding mold, sprinkle it with browned bread crumbs and pour in the macaroni mixture; steam gently for about half an hour, turn out and fill the centre with stewed tomatoes and mushrooms.

CHEESE OMELET

Cook in double boiler one cup of milk, add one tablespoon of butter, one tablespoon of flour blended together and cook till thick; one cup of cheese cut up added, and stir till dissolved. Remove from fire and stir in yolks of four eggs beaten, one-half teaspoon of salt (pepper). Fold in whites of four eggs beaten stiff and a pinch of baking powder. Bake in a buttered dish one-half hour.

CHEESE AND SWEET GREEN PEPPERS

Cheese and peppers make a very nice combination. Melt two ounces of cheese, add a tablespoon of chopped peppers and the same amount of butter, a little paprika, salt, and if liked, mustard. When the ingredients have been well blended pour the mixture on hot buttered toast and serve.

CHEESE FONDUE

Soak one-half cup of bread crumbs in one scant cup of milk; dissolve a speck of bicarbonate of soda in a drop of hot water and add to the milk, one egg, yolk and white beaten separately, one-half cup of dry cheese grated, one tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper to taste, beat well, pour into a well buttered baking dish, strew dry crumbs moistened with butter over the top, and bake in a hot oven until light brown. Serve at once in the dish in which it is baked.

TOMATOES, EGGS AND CHEESE (HUNGARIAN STYLE)

Place two tablespoons of butter in a pan (after having the water boil to heat the pan). Let butter melt, add one small onion chopped fine and cook until soft, a pint of tomatoes strained and let come to a boil; add one-half pound mild cheese cut fine; and stir until smooth. Break in three eggs and stir hard until eggs are done. Serve on buttered toast.

CRACKERS AND CHEESE

Split in two some Bent's water biscuits; moisten them with hot water and pour over each piece a little melted butter and French mustard; then spread with a thick layer of grated cheese; sprinkle with paprika or cayenne. Place them in a hot oven until the cheese is soft and creamy.

RAMEKINS OF EGG AND CHEESE

Beat three new-laid eggs and blend thoroughly with two ounces of grated cheese and one ounce of partly melted butter. Place the mixture in little pans or saucers and bake in the oven.

*BREAD*

Home-made bread is very much more palatable and more nutritious than baker's bread and it is worth while to spend time and effort in its preparation.

To make good bread, it is necessary to have good flour, fresh yeast and the liquid used in moistening must be neither too hot nor too cold or the bread will not rise properly.

FLOUR

The housekeeper should know about the different kinds of flour. We get the bread flour from the spring wheat; the pastry flour from the winter wheat.

Bread flour contains more gluten than pastry flour and is used for bread on that account. Pastry flour having less gluten and slightly more starch is more suitable for pastry and cake mixtures and is used wherever softness and lightness are desired.

Graham flour is the whole kernel of wheat ground.

Entire wheat flour is the flour resulting from the grinding of all but the outer layer of the wheat.

Rye flour is next best to wheat flour for bread making, but is generally combined with wheal flour, since by itself it makes a sticky bread.

Cornmeal is also combined with wheat flour.

Variety bread is composed of bread flour, rye flour and cornmeal combined in one loaf.

If flour is musty; it is not kosher and must be destroyed. Keep flour either in tins or barrels in a dry atmosphere.

YEAST

In cities where fresh compressed yeast can be obtained, it is not worth while to prepare one's own.

Compressed yeast is always in proper condition to use until it becomes soft, often the yeast cakes are slightly discolored, but this does not affect the yeast, being caused by the oxidation of the starch in the cake.

Keep yeast in cool place.

HOME MADE YEAST

Grate six large raw potatoes, have ready a gallon of water in which you have boiled one and one-half cups of hops. Strain through a fine hair sieve, boiling hot, over the potatoes, stirring well, or the mixture will thicken like starch. Add a scant cup of sugar and one-half cup of salt. When cold, add a yeast cake or a cup of fresh yeast. Let it stand until a thick foam rises on the top. Bottle in a few days. If kept in a cool place, this yeast will last a long time. Use one cup of yeast for one large baking. In making yeast, from time to time, use a cup of the same with which to start the new yeast.

One cup of liquid yeast is equal to one cake of compressed yeast.

When yeast is not obtainable to start the fermentation in making yeast, mix a thin batter of flour and water, and let it stand in a warm place until it is full of bubbles. This ferment has only half the strength of yeast so double the amount must be used.

TO MAKE BREAD

Try the yeast always by setting to raise in a cup of lukewarm water or milk, if you use compressed yeast add salt and sugar.

If it rises in the course of ten or fifteen minutes, the yeast is fit to use. In making bread always use sifted flour. Set a sponge with lukewarm milk or water, keeping it covered in a warm place until very light, then mold this sponge by adding flour, until very light into one large ball, then knead well and steadily for twenty minutes. Set to rise again in a warm place free from drafts, and when it has risen to double its former bulk, take a knife, cut through the dough in several places, then place this dough on a baking board which has been sprinkled with flour. Work with the palm of the hand, always kneading towards the centre of the ball (the dough must rebound like a rubber ball). When this leaves the board and the hands perfectly clean the dough may be formed into loaves or rolls.

Place in pan, greased slightly with a good oil, let rise until the imprint of the finger does not remain, and bake.

The oven for baking bread should be hot enough to brown a teaspoon of flour in five minutes.

If baked in a coal range, the fire must be just the proper heat so as not to have to add fuel or shake the stove.

If baked in a gas range, light oven to full heat five minutes before putting the bread in the oven, and bake in a moderately hot oven forty-five minutes, unless the loaves are very large when one hour will be the proper time.

When taken from the oven, the bread may be wrapped in a clean towel wrung out of warm water (this prevents the crust from becoming hard); place bread in slanting position or allow it to cool on a wire rack.

WHITE BREAD