Chapter 15

Make a dough of one egg with a tablespoon of water; add a pinch of salt; work this just as you would noodle dough, quite stiff. Sift the flour in a bowl, break in the egg, add the salt and water, mix slowly by stirring with the handle of a knife, stirring in the same direction all the time. When this dough is so stiff that you cannot work it with the knife, flour your noodle board and work it with the hollow of your hands, always toward you, until the dough is perfectly smooth; roll out as thin as paper and cut into squares three inches in diameter. Fill with pot cheese or schmierkaese which has been prepared in the following manner: Stir up a piece of butter the size of an egg, adding one egg, sugar, cinnamon, grated peel of a lemon and pinch of salt, pounded almonds, which improve it; fill the kraepfli with a teaspoon, wet the edges with beaten egg, fold into triangles, pressing the edges firmly together; boil in boiling milk; when done they will swim to the top. Eat with melted butter or cream.

BOILED MACARONI

Break the macaroni into small pieces; boil for half an hour; drain and blanch in cold water. Reheat in tomato or cream sauce and serve. Grated cheese may be sprinkled over the dish if desired.

SPAGHETTI

Spaghetti is a small and more delicate form of macaroni. It is boiled until tender in salted water and is combined with cheese and with sauces the same as macaroni, and is usually left long. It makes a good garnish.

BAKED MACARONI WITH CHEESE

Cook one cup of broken macaroni in two quarts of boiling salted water for twenty or thirty minutes, drain and pour cold water through the colander. Put the macaroni in a pudding-dish in layers, covering each layer with cream sauce and grated cheese, one cup will be sufficient, and on the top layers sprinkle one cup of buttered bread crumbs. Bake in oven until the crumbs are brown.

SAVORY MACARONI

After baking; some flour to a pale fawn color pass it through a sieve or strainer to remove its gritty particles. Break half a pound of macaroni into short pieces, boil them in salted water until fairly tender, then drain.

In a little butter in a saucepan brown a level tablespoon of very finely chopped onion, then add three or four sliced tomatoes, a half teaspoon of powdered mixed herbs, a little nutmeg, salt and pepper. When the tomatoes are reduced to a pulp add one pint of milk and allow it to come to the boiling point before mixing with it two tablespoons of the browned flour moistened with water.

Stir and boil till smooth, press the whole through a strainer and return to the saucepan. When boiling, add the macaroni and a few minutes later stir in two tablespoons of grated or finely chopped cheese.

It may be served at once, but is vastly improved by keeping the pan for half an hour by the side of the fire in an outer vessel of water. Or the macaroni may be turned into a casserole and finished off in the oven.

For a meat meal the onions may be browned in sweet drippings or olive oil and soup stock substituted for the milk.

DUMPLINGS FOR STEW

Mix two teaspoons of baking powder with two cups of flour, one egg, one cup of cold water and a little salt.

Stir all lightly together and drop the batter from the spoon into the stew while the water continues to boil. Cover closely and do not uncover for twenty minutes, boiling constantly, but not too hard. Serve immediately in the stew.

SPAETZLEN OR SPATZEN

Sift two cups of flour into a bowl, make a depression in the centre and break into it two eggs, add a saltspoon of salt and enough water or milk to form a smooth, stiff dough. Set on some water to boil, salt the water and when the water boils drop the spaetzle into it, one at a time. Do this with the spoon with which you cut the dough, or roll it on a board into a round roll and cut them with a knife. When the spaetzle are done, they will rise to the surface, take them out with a perforated skimmer and lay them on a platter. Now heat two tablespoons of butter and add bread crumbs, let them brown for a minute and pour all over the spaetzle. If you prefer you may put the spaetzle right into the spider in which you have heated the butter. Another way to prepare them is after having taken them out of the water, heat some butter in a spider and put in the spaetzle, and then scramble a few eggs over all, stirring eggs and spaetzle together. Serve hot.

SOUR SPATZEN

Brown three tablespoons of flour with one tablespoon of sweet drippings, add a small onion finely chopped, then cover the spider and let the onion steam for a little while; do this over a low heat so there will be no danger of the union getting too brown; add vinegar and soup stock and two tablespoons of sugar. Let this boil until the sauce is of the right consistency. Serve with spaetzlen made according to the foregoing recipe, using water in place of the milk to form the dough. Pour the sauce over the spaetzlen before serving. By adding more sugar the sauce may be made sweet sour.

LEBERKNADEL (CALF LIVER DUMPLINGS)

Chop and pass through a colander one-half pound of calf's liver; rub to a cream four ounces of marrow, add the liver and stir hard. Then add a little thyme, one clove of garlic grated, pepper, salt and a little grated lemon peel, the yolks of two eggs and one whole egg. Then add enough grated bread crumbs or rolled crackers to this mixture to permit its being formed into little marbles. Drop in boiling salt water and let cook fifteen minutes; drain, roll in fine crumbs and fry in hot fat.

MILK OR POTATO NOODLES

Boil seven or eight potatoes, peel and let them stand several hours to dry; then grate them and add two eggs, salt and enough flour to make a dough thick enough to roll. Roll into long, round noodles as thick as two pencils and cut to length of baking-pan. Butter pan and lay noodles next to each other; cover with milk and lumps of butter and bake fifteen minutes, till yellow; serve immediately with bread crumbs browned in butter.

KARTOFFEL KLOESSE (POTATO DUMPLINGS)

Boil about eight potatoes in their jackets and when peeled lay them on a platter overnight. When ready to use them next day, grate, add two eggs, salt, a little nutmeg if desired, one wine-glass of farina, a tablespoon of chicken fat, one scant cup of flour gradually, and if not dry enough add more flour, but be sure not to make the mixture too stiff as this makes the balls heavy. Place balls in salted boiling water, cook until light and thoroughly done, serve just, as they are or fried in chicken fat until brown.

The dumplings may be made of the same mixture and in the centre of each dumpling place stripes of bread one inch long and one-fourth inch thick which have been fried in chicken fat and onions. Flour your hands well and make into dumplings. Put into boiling-salted water, boil about twenty-five minutes. Serve at once with chopped onions browned, or browned bread crumbs and chicken fat.

WIENER KARTOFFEL KLOESSE

Boil eight potatoes. When they are very soft drain off every drop of water, lay them on a clean baking-board and mash them while hot with a rolling-pin, adding about one cup of flour. When thoroughly mashed, break in two eggs, salt to taste, and flavor with grated nutmeg. Now flour the board thickly and foil out this potato dough about as thick as your little finger and spread with the following: Heat some fresh goose fat in a spider, cut up part of an onion very fine, add it to the hot fat together with one-half cup of grated bread crumbs. When brown, spread over the dough and roll just as you would a jelly-roll. Cut into desired lengths (about three or four inches), put them in boiling water, slightly salted, and boil uncovered for about fifteen minutes. Pour some hot goose grease over the dumplings.

BAIRISCHE DAMPFNUDELN, No. 1

Soak one cake of compressed yeast in a cup of lukewarm milk with a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of salt, and sift a pint of flour in a bowl, in which you may also stir a small cup of milk and one egg. Pour in the yeast and work all thoroughly, adding more flour, but guarding against getting the dough too stiff. Cover up the bowl of dough and let it raise until it is as high again, which will take at least four hours. Flour a baking-board and mold small biscuits out of your dough, let them raise at least half an hour. Then butter a large, round, deep pan and set in your dumplings, brushing each with melted butter as you do so. When all are in, pour in enough milk to reach just half way up to the dumplings. Bake until a light brown. Eat hot, with vanilla sauce.

BAIRISCHE DAMPFNUDELN, No. 2

Make the dough just as you would in the above recipe, adding a tablespoon of butter, and after they have risen steam instead of baking them. If you have no steamer improvise one in this way: Put on a kettle of boiling water, set a colander on top of the kettle and lay in your dumplings, but do not crowd them; cover with a close-fitting lid and put a weight on top of it to keep in the steam, when done they will be as large again as when first put in. Take up one at first to try whether it is done by tearing open with two forks. If you have more than enough for your family, bake a pan of biscuits out of the remaining dough. Serve dumplings hot with prune sauce.

APPLE SLUMP

Pare, core and quarter apples, add a little water and sugar to taste, stew until tender and cover with the following mixture: Sift one pint of flour and one teaspoon of baking powder, add a pinch of salt and two cups of milk, mix and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Roll to one-half inch thickness and place over the stewed apples, cover and cook for ten minutes without lifting the lid. Serve hot with cream and sugar or soft custard.

BOILED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Beat well, without separating, two eggs, add a pinch of salt, two cups of milk and one cup of flour. To a second cup of flour, add two teaspoons of baking powder; add this to the batter and as much more flour as is necessary to make a soft dough. Roll out quickly one-half inch thick. Cut into squares, lay two or three quarters of pared apples on each, sprinkle with sugar and pinch the dough around the apples. Have a number of pudding cloths ready, wrung out of cold water, and sprinkle well with flour. Put a dumpling in each, leave a little room for swelling and tie tightly. Drop into a kettle of rapidly boiling water and keep the water at a steady boil for an hour. Serve hot with hard sauce.

Have a saucer in the bottom of kettle to prevent burning.

FARINA DUMPLINGS

Beat yolks of four eggs with three tablespoons of goose, turkey or chicken fat, but if these are not convenient, clear beef drippings will do. Put in enough farina to make a good Batter. Beat whites of eggs to a stiff froth with pinch of salt, and stir in batter. Put on in large boiler sufficient water to boil dumplings and add one tablespoon of salt. When boiling drop in by tablespoons. Boil one hour. This quantity makes twenty dumplings.

HUCKLEBERRY DUMPLINGS

Take a loaf of stale bread; cut off the crust and soak in cold water, then squeeze dry. Beat three eggs light, yolks and whites together add one quart berries and mix all together with a little brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Boil steadily one hour, serve with hard sauce.

PLUM KNOEDEL (HUNGARIAN)

Boil several potatoes, mash, mix with one egg yolk, a little salt and enough flour to make a dough soft enough to hold the impress of the finger. Roll out and cut into four-cornered pieces; in each square place a German plum which has had the pits removed and a mixture of sugar and cinnamon; put in place of the pit. Roll each square into a round dumpling; put these into a pan with boiling; salted water and let them cook covered for six or eight minutes. When done, serve with some bread crumbs browned in butter or schmalz and spread over the knoedel.

PEAR DUMPLING (BIRNE KLOESSE)

Take half a loaf of white bread or as much stale white bread, soak the white part and grate the crust, add one cup of suet chopped very fine, one cup of flour, one egg, salt and spices to taste, and one-half teaspoon of baking-powder. Make this into a dumpling, put it on a tiny plate in a large kettle. Lay prunes and pears around, about a pound of each, one cup of brown sugar, two pieces of stick cinnamon, dash of claret and cold water to almost cover; then cover kettle tightly and boil four hours. Serve hot.

Prunes and dried apples may be used as well.

PEACH DUMPLINGS

Make a dough of a quart of flour and a pint of milk, or water, a tablespoon of shortening, a pinch of salt, one egg and a spoon of sugar; add a piece of compressed yeast, which has previously been dissolved in water. Let the dough raise for three hours. In the meantime make a compote of peaches by stewing them with sugar and spices, such as cinnamon and cloves. Stew enough to answer for both sauce and filling. When raised, flour the baking-board and roll out the dough half an inch thick. Cut cakes out of it with a tumbler, brush the edges with white of egg, put a teaspoon of peach compote in the centre of a cake and cover it with another layer of cake and press the edges firmly together. Steam over boiling water and serve with peach sauce. A delicious dessert may also be made by letting the dough rise another half hour after being rolled out, and before cutting.

Compote of huckleberries may be used with these dumplings instead of peaches, if so desired.

CHERRY ROLEY-POLEY

Make a rich baking-powder biscuit dough, and roll it out until it is about two-thirds of an inch thick. Pit and stew enough cherries to make a thick layer of fruit and add sugar to taste. Spread them over the dough thickly and roll it up, taking care to keep the cherries from falling out. Wrap a cloth around it, and sew it up loosely with coarse thread, which is easily pulled out. Allow plenty of room for the dough to rise. Lay the roley-poley on a plate, set it in a steamer and steam for an hour and a half. Serve in slices, with cream or sauce.

SHABBAS KUGEL

Soak five wheat rolls in water, then press the bread quite dry, add one cup of drippings or one-half pound of suet chopped very fine, a pinch of salt, two eggs well beaten, one teaspoon of cinnamon, one grated lemon rind, one-half cup of sugar, one tablespoon of water. Stir all together thoroughly, grease the kugel pot well with warm melted fat, pour in the mixture and send it Friday afternoon to the bakery where it will remain till Saturday noon; it will then be baked brown. If one has a coal range that will retain the heat for the length of time required, it will be baked nicely. The kugel must be warm, however, when served.

KUGEL (SCHARFE)

If one desires an unsweetened kugel omit the sugar and cinnamon in the recipe above and season with salt and pepper. When required for any other meal but Shabbas, a kugel can be baked brown in two hours.

KUGEL

Soak five ounces of white bread--it may be stale bread--in cold water; then squeeze out every bit of water, put it in a bowl, add three-fourths cup of soft goose fat in small pieces, five whole eggs; one cup of flour, one-half cup of sugar, one-fourth cup of cracker meal, three apples and two pears cut in small pieces, two dozen raisins with the seeds removed, salt to taste, a tiny pinch of pepper, one-quarter teaspoon each of cinnamon and allspice. Mix all well together, and pour into an iron pan that has the bottom well covered with goose-fat; stick a few pieces of cut apple or pear in the top of the pudding. Pour a cup of cold water over all; place in the oven to bake. Bake slowly for five or six hours. If the water cooks out before it is ready to brown, add more. Bake brown, top and bottom.

NOODLE KUGEL

Cook three cups of broad noodles in salted boiling water ten minutes. Drain and add three-fourths cup of chicken or goose fat and four eggs, well beaten. Place in a well-greased iron pot and bake until the top of the kugel is well browned. Serve hot with raspberry jelly or stewed fruit of any kind.

PEAR KUGEL

Cream one cup of rendered fat with one cup of sugar, add one-half loaf of bread, previously soaked and pressed dry, a little salt, one-fourth cup of flour. Grease pudding-dish and put in alternate layers of the mixture and pears that have been boiled with water, sugar and claret. Bake slowly three hours.

KRAUT KUGEL

Chop up cabbage and let stew in fat slowly until quite brown. Do this the day previous to using. Next day mix in with the stewed cabbage one-fourth of a loaf of bread soaked in water and squeezed dry, one-half cup of flour, one-half cup of brown sugar, one-eighth pound of raisins, some finely chopped citron, one-fourth pound of almonds (mixed with a few bitter almonds), one-half teaspoon of salt, some cinnamon and allspice, about a teaspoon, juice and peel of one lemon and four eggs. Mix all thoroughly, pour into well-greased iron pan (kugel pot) and bake slowly.

APPLE KUGEL

Soak half a loaf of bread in water and squeeze dry, shave a cup of suet very fine and cut up some tart apples in thin slices. Add sugar, raisins, cinnamon, about one-quarter cup of pounded almonds and the yolks of three eggs. Mix all thoroughly. Add whites beaten to a stiff froth last. Bake one hour.

RICE KUGEL

Boil one cup of rice in water until done, then let it cool. In the meanwhile rub one-fourth cup of chicken-fat to a cream, add a scant cup of powdered sugar, a little cinnamon, the grated peel of one lemon, the yolks of three eggs, adding one at a time; one-half cup of raisins seeded, one-half pound of stewed prunes pitted, then add the cold rice. One-half cup of pounded almonds mixed with a few bitter ones improves this pudding. Serve with a pudding sauce, either wine or brandy. This pudding may be eaten hot or cold and may be either baked or boiled. If baked, one hour is required; if boiled, two hours; the water must be kept boiling steadily. Left-over rice may be used, butter instead of the fat, and the rice may be boiled in milk.

APPLE SCHALET, No. 1

Take one pound of fresh beef heart fat, shave it as fine as possible with a knife. Sift one quart of flour into a deep bowl, add two tumblers of ice-cold water, one tablespoon of brown sugar, a saltspoon of salt, then add the shaved heart fat and work well into the sifted flour. Put it on a pie-board and work as you would bread dough, with the palm of your hand, until it looks smooth enough to roll. Do not work over five minutes. Now take half of this dough, flour your pie-board slightly and roll out as you would pie dough, about once as thick. Grease a deep pudding-dish (an iron one is best), one that is smaller at the bottom than the top, grease it well, line the pudding-dish, bottom and sides, clear to the top, fill this one-third full with chopped tart apples, raisins, part of a grated lemon peel, citron cut quite fine, pounded almonds and melted drippings here and there. Sprinkle thickly with sugar, half brown and half white, and a little ground cinnamon. Moisten each layer with one-half wine-glass of wine. Now put another layer of dough, rolling out half of the remaining dough and reserving the other half for the top covering, fill again with apples, raisins, etc., until full, then put on top layer. Press the dough firmly together all round the edge, using a beaten egg to make sure of its sticking. Roll the side dough over the top with a knife and pour a cup of water over the pudding before setting it in the oven. Time for baking, two hours. If the top browns too quickly, cover.

This advantage of this pudding is, it may be baked the day previous to using, in fact, it is better the oftener it is warmed over--always adding a cup of water before setting it in the oven. Before serving the pudding turn it out carefully on a large platter, pour a wine-glass of brandy which has been slightly sweetened over the pudding and light it, carry to the table in flames. A novice had better try this pudding plain, omitting the wine, brandy, almonds and citron, moistening with water instead of wine before baking. Almost as nice and very good for ordinary use. Some apples require more water than others, the cook having to use her own judgment regarding the amount required.

APPLE SCHALET, No. 2

Line an iron pudding-dish with schalet dough, greasing it well before you do so. Chop up some apples quite fine, put on the crust, also some raisins (seeded), sugar and cinnamon, then put another layer of pie and another layer of chopped apples, and so on until filled, say about three layers, the last being crust. Bake slowly and long until a nice dark brown.

SCHALET DOUGH (MERBER DECK)

Cream four tablespoons of drippings, add a pinch of salt, two tablespoons of granulated sugar, beat in well one egg, add one cup of sifted flour and enough cold water to moisten dough so that it can be rolled out--about three tablespoons will be sufficient; it depends on the dryness of the flour how much is required.

NOODLE SCHALET

Make the quantity of noodles desired, then boil. When done, drain through colander, pouring cold water over the noodles.

When all the water has drained off, beat up three eggs in a large bowl, mix the noodles with the beaten eggs. Grease an iron pudding dish with plenty of goose grease or drippings, put in a layer of noodles, then sprinkle one-fourth cup of sugar, some pounded almonds, the grated peel of one lemon and a few raisins; sprinkle some melted fat over this, then add another layer of noodles, some more sugar and proceed as with the other layer until all the noodles are used. Bake two hours. Broad or fine noodles are equally good for this schalet. If desired, one tart apple chopped very fine may be added with the almonds.

CARROT SCHALET

Boil one pound of carrots, let them get perfectly cold before grating them. In the meanwhile cream a heaping tablespoon of drippings or chicken fat and four tablespoons of sugar, add gradually the yolks of four eggs, the grated peel of one lemon, one teaspoon of cinnamon, a little grated nutmeg, three tablespoons of flour, one teaspoon of baking-powder, pinch of salt, and the beaten whites last. Heat a few tablespoons of fat in a pudding dish, pour in the mixture and bake in a moderate oven one hour, then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon and return to oven for a few moments to brown. Serve hot.

SEVEN LAYER SCHALET

Take two cups of flour, one egg, three tablespoons of fat, one cup of water, a little sugar, pinch of salt, and knead lightly. Put dough aside in a cold place while you prepare a mixture of one cup of sugar, one and one-half teaspoons of cinnamon and three tablespoons of bread crumbs. Cut dough in seven pieces and roll out each piece separately. Place one layer on a greased baking-tin and spread the layer with melted fat and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon; place upon this the second layer, sprinkle on this two ounces of sweet and bitter almonds which have been grated and mixed with sugar; over this place the third layer and spread with oil, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and one-half pound of cleaned, seedless raisins. Place the fourth layer on and spread with jelly and one-half pound of citron cut up very small. Cover over with another layer, spread fat and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and grated lemon peel and juice of lemon. Place the sixth layer and spread and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Put on the last layer and spread with fat and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Cut in four-cornered pieces and bake thoroughly and until a nice brown.

This schalet may be made and left whole; a frosting put on top and when well baked will keep for a month or more.

BOILED POTATO PUDDING