Part 11

58. Cottage cheese seasoned with mustard and chopped olives, mixed with mayonnaise.

59. Minced ham, olives, and parsley.

60. Cold corned-beef and green peppers, minced.

61. Cold roast lamb, minced, seasoned with minced olives and tomato catsup.

62. Raisins and candied lemon-peel chopped and made into a paste with lemon-juice.

63. Dates chopped fine, with half the quantity of English walnuts or pecans.

64. Chinese preserved ginger chopped fine.

65. Equal parts of grated cheese and English walnuts, chopped fine, and rubbed to a paste with cream.

66. Cold, cooked sweetbreads chopped fine.

67. Cold mutton chopped fine, and seasoned with mint sauce.

68. Hard-boiled eggs and watercress finely minced and mixed with mayonnaise.

69. Pickled lambs' tongues chopped very fine with capers.

70. Olives and pimentos finely chopped, lettuce leaves, and mayonnaise.

71. Dutch cheese and finely minced watercress.

72. Sour apples and celery, minced very fine, and mixed with mayonnaise.

73. Cucumber, grated onion, and mayonnaise.

74. Leaves of endive and French dressing.

75. Grated cheese, seasoned with salt, paprika, mustard, vinegar, and anchovy paste.

76. Same as seventy-five, with chopped olives or pickles added.

77. Cold, fried oysters chopped fine, lettuce leaves, and French dressing.

78. Equal parts of banana pulp and crushed red raspberries, mashed with sugar, and made into a paste with cream.

79. Grated cocoanut, chopped nuts, sugar, and lemon-juice.

80. Orange marmalade and English walnut meats.

81. Preserved ginger and candied orange-peel chopped fine.

82. Maraschino cherries and nut meats chopped fine.

83. Cottage cheese and jam or marmalade.

84. Cream cheese and bar le duc mixed to a paste.

85. Hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and seasoned with anchovy paste.

86. Chopped figs and chopped peanuts, seasoned with lemon-juice.

87. Chopped English walnuts mixed with quince-jelly.

88. Cabbage, finely chopped, and mixed with salad dressing.

89. Thinly sliced bananas spread with mayonnaise.

90. The tender tops of celery, minced fine, and mixed with mayonnaise.

91. Figs and raisins chopped together.

92. Boiled ham, sardines, and pickles, minced, seasoned with mustard, catsup, and vinegar.

93. Cottage cheese, lettuce leaves, and French dressing.

94. Cold, cooked chicken and mushrooms mixed with mayonnaise.

95. Cottage cheese and minced hard-boiled eggs, mixed with mayonnaise.

96. Cold roast beef, chopped fine, seasoned with tomato catsup, celery salt, Worcestershire, and grated onion.

97. Raisins chopped fine and worked to a paste with sherry.

98. Cream cheese and shredded green peppers.

99. Equal parts of tongue and chicken, minced fine, and mixed with mayonnaise.

100. Cold, boiled shad roe and cucumbers, finely minced, and mixed with French dressing or mayonnaise.

101. People who are not satisfied with the above fillings are at liberty to invent their own.

LUNCHEON BEVERAGES

Inasmuch as coffee usually appears both at breakfast and dinner, it is well to bar it out absolutely from the luncheon table. Too much coffee drinking is injurious, as the makers of imitation coffees assure us daily through the medium of expensive advertisements. Though nothing else is quite as good as coffee, yet there are many other beverages which will prove acceptable at luncheon.

MILK

Serve from an earthen pitcher, either hot or cold as preferred.

BUTTERMILK

Buttermilk is always served ice cold. On a hot day a glass of buttermilk, and a cracker or a bit of salted toast will often prove a sufficient luncheon.

TEA

Use the best tea. The cheap tea is dear at any price. Scald out the tea-pot, which should never be of metal, and put into it a teaspoonful of tea for each person and one for the pot. Add as many cupfuls of hot water as there are teaspoonfuls of tea. Cover and let steep for a moment, but never allow it to boil. The water for tea must be freshly boiled and taken at the first vigorous boil. When tea is boiled, tannin is extracted from the grounds, and tannin, even in the most minute quantities, has a very injurious effect upon the lining of the stomach.

VIENNA CHOCOLATE

Three heaping tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate mixed to a paste with cold water. Pour it into a double boiler with four cupfuls of milk boiling hot. Add sugar to taste, and let cook five minutes. Beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth and put into the chocolate pot. Put a teaspoonful of vanilla into the chocolate after taking from the fire, and pour the hot chocolate very slowly upon the eggs, stirring constantly with a silver spoon or the wooden stick which comes for the purpose. It makes a delicious, frothy chocolate. The cocoa which comes in packages may be used instead of grated chocolate.

COCOA

Directions are given on the package the cocoa comes in. If not, buy another kind next time.

LEMONADE

Select perfect lemons and roll until soft. Extract the juice, using a glass lemon squeezer, and rejecting the seeds and pulp. Rub cut loaf sugar over the peel of the lemon to extract the oil, and add to the lemon-juice. Fill a glass pitcher one third full of broken ice, pour the lemon-juice upon the ice, and add granulated sugar and water to taste.

ICED TEA

Make tea according to directions given above, using two or three extra teaspoonfuls of tea. Fill a glass pitcher half full of broken ice, and pour the tea, scalding hot, upon the ice, being careful that the stream strikes the ice, and not the pitcher. Serve with cut loaf sugar, and slices of lemon.

PINEAPPLE CUP

Put into a bowl the juice of three lemons, two oranges, sliced and seeded, one grated pineapple, and one cupful of sugar. Let stand an hour to extract the juice, then strain through a fruit press. Add to the juice as much cold water as desired, and two slices of pineapple, shredded. Pour into glasses half full of cracked ice.

RASPBERRY CUP

Mash and strain two cupfuls of currants stripped from the stems. Mash also an equal quantity of raspberries. Mix the juices, sweeten to taste, and serve in glasses with cracked ice and cold water.

PINEAPPLE LEMONADE

One cupful of sugar, one cupful of canned pineapple, one cupful of water and the juice of two lemons. Boil the sugar and water until it threads. Put the pineapple through the fruit press and add to the syrup with the juice of the lemons. When ready to serve, add water and sugar to taste. Serve ice cold.

GRAPE JUICE

Stem ripe Concord grapes. Do not wash unless necessary. Cover with cold water and put into a saucepan over a slow fire. Boil until the grapes are in pieces, then strain through coarse cheese-cloth and sweeten to taste. Serve in glasses with plenty of cracked ice.

BLACKBERRY SHRUB

For every cupful of fruit juice take one half cupful of cider vinegar and two cupfuls of sugar. Put the fruit, sugar, and vinegar over the fire, stir until the sugar dissolves, and boil until a thick syrup. Skim if necessary, strain, and bottle. When served, allow one fourth cupful of syrup to half or three fourths of a cupful of ice water.

RASPBERRY SHRUB

Use ripe red raspberries, and prepare according to directions given for Blackberry Shrub.

RASPBERRY DASH

Fill the tumbler half full of cracked ice. Add one tablespoonful of sweetened raspberry juice and one tablespoonful of cream. Fill the glass with soda water.

MINT SANGAREE

Crush two or three sprays of mint with a lump of sugar. Put into a glass half full of cracked ice. Add four tablespoonfuls of grape juice and fill the glass to the brim with charged water. Shake thoroughly and strain into another glass.

SELTZER LEMONADE

Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a tall glass, add two inches of shaved ice, two heaping teaspoonfuls of sugar and fill the glass with seltzer or Apollinaris.

TEMPERANCE PUNCH

Upon a tablespoonful of good tea pour two quarts of boiling water. In the meantime have ready the juice and peelings of three lemons and one orange in a pitcher. When the tea has steeped for five minutes, strain through a fine strainer into the pitcher. Add a cupful of sugar and cool slowly. At serving-time put into glasses with plenty of ice.

EATING AND DINING

There is an old saying to the effect that "all may eat, but ladies and gentlemen dine." The difference lies more in the preparation and manner of serving than in the food itself, and whether her evening meal is a banquet or a repast of the lunch-counter sort rests wholly with the housewife.

We pause long enough to pay our disrespects to that barbarous institution known in America as the Sunday Dinner. On six days in the week, the average business man eats a light luncheon or none at all. On the seventh day, at an unaccustomed hour, he eats a heavy meal, goes to sleep shortly afterward, and wonders why Monday is a "blue day."

Our uncivilized Sundays are responsible for our Monday morning headaches and for the gloom which, in many a household, does not wear off until Tuesday morning. If Sunday were a day of fasting instead of a day of feasting, Monday might be radiant occasionally instead of riotous or revolutionary.

We make Sunday a hard day for the women of the household, especially the servants, and the imperial liver appertaining to the Head of the Establishment balks sometimes at the strain. The American Sunday Dinner is one cause of the American Servant Problem--and everybody knows what that is.

In more than one household, a twelve or one o'clock breakfast has proved both hygienic and satisfactory. Coffee and rolls are served to those who want them at eight or nine o'clock, if they come into the dining-room. At noon the family sits down to a simple breakfast--fruit, broiled chicken, creamed potatoes, hot bread and coffee, for example. The maid has few dishes to wash, is not too tired to enjoy her afternoon off, and gets away two or three hours earlier than her less fortunate sisters. Also she remains where she is hired--which has its advantages. Only a light lunch is needed in the evening which the mistress may serve, leaving the dishes to be washed in the morning.

Owing to the aforesaid American Servant Problem an increasing number of women do their own housework--not from choice, but from stern necessity. This book is intended for the woman in a small house or apartment, who is her own cook, who earnestly desires to do her duty by her family, yet be something more than a wearied and soul-sickened drudge; who has to look after her dimes and nickels, if not her pennies, and who wants more than the weekly "afternoon off" accorded to the stronger women who undertake domestic tasks.

Simplicity--and, as a general rule, economy--has been the standard by which each recipe has been judged. All are within the capabilities of the most inexperienced cook, who is willing to follow directions, and, in the case of such variable materials as flour and eggs, trust, now and then, to her own judgment.

THIRTY-FIVE CANAPÉS

I

Cover thin circles of fried or toasted bread with chopped hard-boiled eggs, lay a curled anchovy in the centre of each piece and serve either hot or cold, garnishing with minced parsley or capers.

II

Cut thin slices of bread into fancy shapes, toast, spread with butter, and lay a curled anchovy in the centre around half a pimola. Fill the spaces with the minced whites and sifted yolks of hard-boiled eggs and border with minced capers or parsley.

III

Serve pitted olives on rounds of fried bread with an anchovy curled around each olive. Fill the space to the edge with chopped olives or rings of hard-boiled eggs. Garnish with cress.

IV

Fry small rounds of bread in clarified butter, sprinkle with grated cheese, season with salt and cayenne, and put in the oven until the cheese is melted. Fillets of anchovies may be laid on these canapés and they may be served hot or cold, garnishing with minced parsley.

V

Pound anchovies to a smooth paste with butter and season with cayenne and lemon-juice. Spread on strips of toast or bread and lay strips of anchovy on each piece. Fill the spaces between with hard-boiled eggs chopped separately.

VI

Chop watercress and pickles with the yolks of hard-boiled eggs and rub to a smooth paste with butter. Spread on strips of fried or toasted bread and lay an anchovy on each one.

VII

Slice large tomatoes, cut circles of bread to fit, and toast or fry the bread. Lay a slice of tomato on each piece, put a pimola in the centre, curl an anchovy around it and border with stiff Mayonnaise, using the pastry bag and tube. Serve ice cold.

VIII

Beat together two eggs, a tablespoonful of melted butter, a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, and salt and cayenne to season. Add three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and one tablespoonful of flour wet with cream. Spread thickly upon small slices of toast and bake until brown.

IX

Chop two hard-boiled eggs fine, mix to a smooth paste with melted butter, season with anchovy essence, and serve on small circles or squares of buttered toast.

X

Spread strips of toast with caviare rubbed to a smooth paste with butter, sprinkle with chopped watercress, and serve cold.

XI

Heat caviare with enough cream to moisten, spread on rounds of fried or toasted bread, and sprinkle with hard-boiled egg-yolks rubbed through a fine sieve. Garnish with cress.

XII

Spread thin rounds of toasted rye-bread with caviare, seasoned with lemon-juice. Lay a slice of hard-boiled egg on each one and serve with a garnish of parsley.

XIII

Spread thin squares of toast with caviare seasoned with lemon-juice, sprinkle with minced parsley, and border with chopped hard-boiled eggs. Garnish with lemon and parsley.

XIV

Chop fine, olives, pimentos, and cucumber pickles. Season caviare with lemon-juice and spread upon circles of fried or toasted bread. Cover with a thin layer of the chopped mixture.

XV

Spread butter upon thin round slices of rye-bread or Boston brown-bread and lay a thin slice of cucumber, which has been dipped in French dressing, on each piece. Remove the yolk from slices of hard-boiled egg, lay the ring of white on the cucumber, and fill the centre with caviare.

XVI

Season caviare with lemon-juice and spread upon rounds of toasted bread. Lay an oyster on each piece and serve on a plate with a garnish of cress and lemon.

XVII

Mix caviare to a cream with lemon-juice and spread on buttered toast cut into squares or diamonds. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs, chopped finely, and sprinkle with minced onion. Skinned and boned anchovies may be used instead of caviare.

XVIII

Heat a can of caviare with a little melted butter, season with lemon-juice and cayenne, and serve on small squares of hot buttered toast.

XIX

Fry small rounds of bread in butter, drain and cool. Chop watercress very fine, rub it to a paste with butter and spread on the toast. Sprinkle with salt and paprika, cover with caviare seasoned with lemon-juice, and serve with a garnish of cress.

XX

Spread thick rounds of fresh bread with butter and anchovy paste, cover with crab-meat, sprinkle with minced green pepper, press firmly, and serve with a garnish of cress.

XXI

Rub to a smooth paste the yolks of hard-boiled eggs and an equal quantity of skinned and boned sardines, seasoning with lemon-juice. Spread on narrow strips of buttered toast and serve either hot or cold.

XXII

Drain and skin boned sardines. Sauté in butter, season with salt, cayenne, and lemon-juice, and serve hot on small strips of buttered toast.

XXIII

Drain, skin, bone, and mash sardines. Rub to a smooth paste, moistening with melted butter and lemon-juice. Spread on small circles of bread, lay a ring of hard-boiled egg-white in the centre, fill the space with minced olives and surround with the sifted yolk. Serve with cress or parsley.

XXIV

Toast small slices of rye-bread and spread with sardines, pounded to a paste and rubbed smooth with butter. Arrange alternate rows of chopped hard-boiled egg yolks and whites, garnish with parsley and serve.

XXV

Rub boned and skinned sardines to a paste with butter and the yolks of hard-boiled eggs, seasoning with chopped pickle and parsley, lemon-juice, and mustard. Spread the paste on rounds or strips of fried bread, lay a skinned and boned sardine on each piece, heat thoroughly and serve.

XXVI

Spread rounds of fried bread with anchovy paste and cover with Mayonnaise to which has been added chopped capers, olives, and onion. Garnish with cress and serve cold.

XXVII

Fry small rounds of bread, spread with anchovy paste, lay a slice of tomato on each and serve ice cold, garnishing with cress or parsley.

XXVIII

Sprinkle rounds of fried bread with grated cheese, heat until the cheese melts, and serve very hot.

XXIX

Spread rounds of fried bread with caviare seasoned with lemon-juice, lay a slice of hard-boiled egg on each one, and sprinkle with chopped cress.

XXX

Rub chopped ham to a smooth paste, moistening with cream, milk, or melted butter. Spread on small rounds of fried bread, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and cayenne, and brown in a hot oven.

XXXI

Spread small strips of bread with butter and sprinkle with salt and paprika. Cover with grated cheese, bake until the cheese softens, and serve immediately.

XXXII

Butter small rounds of toast, cover with thin slices of Swiss cheese or sprinkle with grated Swiss cheese, brown in the oven, and serve hot.

XXXIII

Spread grated cheese on small rounds of bread seasoned with salt and cayenne, and bake until the cheese is melted. The bread may be spread with French mustard before the cheese is put on.

XXXIV

Rub two chicken livers to a smooth paste with butter, seasoning with salt and paprika, spread on rounds of fried bread, and serve hot.

XXXV

Mix equal quantities of minced cooked chicken, ham, or tongue with a little very thick Cream Sauce. Season with curry-powder and lemon-juice. Spread on small rounds of toast and serve hot, or make sandwiches of toast with the mixture between.

ONE HUNDRED SIMPLE SOUPS

_BEEF SOUPS_

BARLEY SOUP

Cook one cupful of barley slowly until soft. Drain, and add to beef stock made according to any preferred method. Serve very hot.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Soak two cupfuls of black beans in cold water over night. In the morning, drain, and cover with fresh boiling water. Boil until tender, add four cupfuls of beef stock, and two cupfuls of boiling water. Rub through a fine sieve, return to the fire, and bring to the boil. Season with salt, pepper, and a wineglassful of sherry. Cut into slices one lemon, and two hard-boiled eggs. Put into a tureen, pour the hot soup over, and serve.

BOSTON SUMMER SOUP

Cook together one cupful of peas and one cupful of tomatoes. Rub through a sieve, and add to four cupfuls of beef stock. Thicken with two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold stock. Simmer fifteen minutes, add two tablespoonfuls of butter and three tablespoonfuls of cooked peas. Season with salt and pepper, reheat and serve.

CREOLE SOUP

Half a can of tomatoes, three tablespoonfuls of rice, one half can of okra, and a red pepper, added to two quarts of beef stock. Simmer until the rice is cooked. Blend together two tablespoonfuls of flour, mix with a little cold stock, pour into the soup, and stir until it thickens. Season with salt and serve at once.

ENGLISH SPINACH SOUP

Cook half a peck of spinach, rub through a fine sieve, add six cupfuls of strong beef stock, season with salt, pepper, sugar, and mace, thicken with butter and flour, bring to the boil, and serve immediately.

ENGLISH TOMATO SOUP

Add one can of tomatoes to four cupfuls of beef stock, and simmer together for an hour, with a small onion cut fine. Rub through a sieve, reheat, season with salt, pepper, and sugar, and thicken with a tablespoonful of butter, rubbed smooth with a tablespoonful of flour, boiled in the soup, while stirring. When thick, add three tablespoonfuls of cold boiled rice, reheat, and serve with croutons.

ITALIAN ONION SOUP WITH CHEESE

Slice four large onions very thin, fry brown in butter, and add to four cupfuls of beef stock. Put into an earthen pot and arrange slices of toast on top, liberally sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese. Serve from the dish with one slice of toast for each person.

JULIENNE SOUP

Cut into thin, match-like strips carrots, turnips, and celery, having half a cupful of each. Cover with boiling water, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft. Add to two quarts of boiling beef stock.

SOUP OF MIXED VEGETABLES

One cupful each of chopped onion, carrot, celery, and tomatoes; one-half cupful each of chopped turnip, parsnip, and cabbage. Fry the onions and carrot in a little butter, then add four cupfuls of boiling water and four cupfuls of beef stock. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt, pepper, sugar, and minced parsley.

NOODLE AND TOMATO SOUP

Add a five-cent can of tomato paste to three pints of boiling beef stock. Season to taste, and cook in it noodles made according to directions given elsewhere. Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese.

QUICK BEEF SOUP

Cook together in two quarts of water for half an hour, half an onion, three stalks of celery, and a sliced carrot. Season with salt, pepper, and mace. Strain, and add to the water two tablespoonfuls of extract of beef. Stir until dissolved, reheat and serve.

RICE AND CURRY SOUP

Melt in a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter, add a chopped onion, and a tablespoonful of chopped raw ham. Fry for three minutes. Add one tablespoonful of curry powder and two tablespoonfuls of flour. Mix thoroughly, add three quarts of beef stock, boil for one hour, skim, and press through a fine strainer into another saucepan. Add a pint of rice which has been cooked in stock, reheat, skim, and serve.

SPANISH ONION SOUP

Chop fine five onions and fry brown in butter, adding a teaspoonful of sugar. When brown, pour over eight cupfuls of hot beef stock. Add a bay leaf, half a dozen pepper-corns, and a tablespoonful of minced parsley. Simmer fifteen minutes, strain, and serve with dice of fried or toasted bread.

VEAL SOUP

Put a knuckle of veal into three quarts of cold water, with a teaspoonful of salt, and a tablespoonful of uncooked rice. Simmer gently for four hours, take from the fire, and strain through a colander. Beat the yolk of one egg with a cupful of milk, add a teaspoonful of butter, and strain the hot soup upon it, stirring constantly. Pour into the tureen and serve immediately.

WREXHAM SOUP

One pound of lean beef chopped fine. Peel and slice one large carrot, one large turnip, six small onions, a stalk of celery, and two cupfuls of tomatoes. Tie up in a muslin cloth a small bunch of parsley, six cloves, six pepper-corns, and a sprig of thyme. Put all these ingredients into a bean-pot, with a tablespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of sugar and a pinch of pepper. Cover with five pints of cold water, and bake very slowly for five hours. Take out the bag of spices, and serve the soup with croutons.

_BISQUES AND PURÉES_

BISQUE OF CLAMS

Reheat four cupfuls of veal stock, and thicken with two tablespoonfuls of butter, blended with two tablespoonfuls of flour, and rubbed smooth in the stock, while boiling. Add a small can of minced clams with their liquor, or twenty-five clams, chopped very fine. Season to taste, add two cupfuls of boiling cream, and serve immediately.

CRAB AND TOMATO BISQUE

Blend together two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour. Add one quart of cold milk, and cook slowly until it thickens, stirring constantly. Add one cupful of cooked crab meat, two cupfuls of stewed and strained tomatoes, a pinch of soda, and salt and pepper to season. Boil up once and serve.

PURÉE OF ASPARAGUS