Part 9

Sift together one cupful of flour, three tablespoonfuls of corn starch, and a pinch of salt. Mix one egg, well beaten, one scant teaspoonful of soda, and two cupfuls of sour milk together and gradually combine mixtures, beating hard meanwhile. Bake in hot, well-greased waffle-irons and butter the waffles before serving.

FEATHER WAFFLES

Four cupfuls of milk, three eggs, beaten separately. Add the milk to the yolks and a pinch of salt, then add one and one half tablespoonfuls of rich cream or melted butter and sifted flour enough to make the batter a little stiffer than pancake batter. Add the whites of the eggs last, beaten to a stiff froth, and stir in quickly two teaspoonfuls of baking powder.

GEORGIA WAFFLES

Two cupfuls of flour, a pinch of salt, two cupfuls of buttermilk, one cupful of melted lard, one scant teaspoonful of soda, and one egg. Sift the flour and salt together and beat into a smooth batter with the buttermilk. Add the well-beaten egg, then the hot lard, beat thoroughly, add the dry soda, beat hard for a minute or two, and bake in hissing-hot waffle-irons.

HOMINY WAFFLES

One cupful of cold cooked hominy, one egg, well beaten, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one pinch of salt, two cupfuls of milk, and two cupfuls of flour sifted with one teaspoonful of baking powder. Mix thoroughly and bake in very hot waffle-irons, well buttered.

RAISED HOMINY WAFFLES

To one cupful of cold cooked hominy add two cupfuls of scalded milk in which one half a yeast cake has been dissolved, one tablespoonful of butter, melted, a pinch of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, and two cupfuls of flour. Mix thoroughly and set to rise over night. In the morning add two eggs, beaten separately, folding in the stiffly beaten whites last. Bake in very hot, well-greased irons.

INDIAN WAFFLES

One cupful each of flour and corn-meal, two cupfuls of thick sour milk, one cupful of sour cream, half a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of soda, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and two eggs, beaten separately, the stiffly beaten whites being folded in last. Bake in a very hot, well-greased waffle-iron and serve very hot.

KENTUCKY WAFFLES

Make a smooth paste of two cupfuls of sifted flour and two cupfuls of milk, add one half cupful of softened butter, not melted, then the well-beaten yolks of three eggs, then the stiffly beaten whites, and, just before baking, one heaping teaspoonful of baking powder. Beat very hard for five minutes and bake in a hissing-hot iron.

MARYLAND WAFFLES

Beat four eggs separately, the whites to a stiff froth. To the beaten yolks add a pinch of salt, two cupfuls of milk, and enough sifted flour to make a stiff batter. Beat hard until perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Thin the batter by adding gradually the beaten whites of the eggs, and a little more milk in which a level teaspoonful of baking powder has been dissolved. Add lastly one tablespoonful of melted butter or lard. Have the waffle-irons very hot and well greased, and butter each waffle as soon as done. Crisp light waffles are delicious when served with cream and sifted maple-sugar.

PLAIN WAFFLES

Two cupfuls of sifted flour, two cupfuls of milk, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one tablespoonful of melted lard, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted with the flour, two eggs well beaten, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Beat thoroughly and have the irons hot before mixing.

RICE WAFFLES

One cupful of cold boiled rice beaten light with one cupful of milk. Add one tablespoonful of melted butter, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little of the milk, two eggs well beaten, and enough flour, sifted in with one teaspoonful of cream tartar, to make a thin batter. Beat thoroughly and bake in well-greased waffle-irons. Cream tartar and spices are practically certain to be pure when bought of a druggist instead of a grocer. (Not knocking the groceryman.)

RICE AND CORN-MEAL WAFFLES

One cupful of cold boiled rice, one half cupful each of wheat flour and corn-meal, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in hot water, one teaspoonful of salt, two eggs, beaten separately, and enough milk to make a thin batter. The waffle-irons must be very thoroughly greased and the baking must be done with great care, as these waffles are likely to burn.

SWEDISH WAFFLES

Two cupfuls of cream, whipped stiff, one half cupful of sugar, one egg beaten with one fourth cupful of cold water, one half cupful of melted butter, and enough flour, sifted, to make a thin batter. Fold the whipped cream in carefully just before baking, and sprinkle with sugar when done.

TENNESSEE WAFFLES

Two cupfuls of sifted flour, half a teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of melted butter or lard, one egg, beaten separately, and milk enough to make a thin batter. Bake until brown in a well-greased waffle-iron.

VIRGINIA WAFFLES

Three eggs, well beaten, two cupfuls of milk, one half cupful of melted butter, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a pinch of salt, and enough flour to make a thin batter. Bake in hissing-hot waffle-irons.

BREAKFAST BEVERAGES

The breakfast beverage _par excellence_ is coffee, at least in American households, but, rather than have coffee poorly made, it is better to have no coffee at all. The French method of coffee making has practically superseded the old-fashioned boiled coffee. Cheap coffee, carefully made in the proper kind of a pot, has a better flavor than the more expensive brands can possibly have when improperly made.

The best coffee-pot on the market, which publishing ethics forbid us to mention by name, is made of nickel, comes in five or six different sizes, has a close fitting cover, a wooden handle, and has inside a finely woven wire strainer, which does away entirely with the questionable, and often unclean, cloth strainer. A cloth, no matter how carefully kept, will eventually become saturated with the grounds, and add the flavor of reheated coffee to the fresh brew in the pot.

The nickel coffee-pots having the wire strainer inside are easily kept clean with boiling water alone, and about once a month may be boiled out with a weak solution of baking soda.

Various blends of coffee have their champions, and the blended package coffees are, in the main, very good. It is better to buy in small quantities, a pound or two at a time, have the coffee pulverized very finely at the grocery, and keep a watchful eye on the man while he does it, lest he add alien elements to the coffee. Pulverized coffee keeps perfectly in ordinary Mason jars, tightly sealed, if bought in small quantities, as suggested.

The ideal coffee blend is two thirds Mandeheling Java and one third Arabian Mocha, but very little genuine Mocha ever reaches this country, though trusting consumers often pay high prices for what the man says is sure-enough Mocha. Pure Java is easier to get, and South American, Mexican, Cuban, and Porto Rican coffees are beginning to deserve consideration.

Presuming that we have the pot and a good quality of coffee, finely pulverized, we will proceed to brew the nectar of the gods. The water must be fresh and captured while on its first boil. Scald the coffee-pot, and put into it one heaping tablespoonful of pulverized coffee for each person and another for the poor, neglected pot. If the coffee is desired extra strong, put in another tablespoonful, or even two. Pour in one cupful of boiling water for each tablespoonful of coffee, keeping the pot over steam, but never over the fire itself. Occasionally the grounds may be lifted from the bottom of the strainer with a spoon in order to hasten the process a bit. The strength of Samson may be given the brew by pouring out a cupful or two of the coffee after it is made, and compelling it to go over the ground(s) again.

Put the desired amount of sugar in each cup, and add a liberal quantity of cream. Fill three fourths full with coffee and weaken slightly with freshly boiling water. Coffee poured into cream and afterward weakened with boiling water is an entirely different beverage from that which results when the process is reversed. Anybody knowing why, please write.

Never, never, never under any circumstances use the same coffee twice, or add fresh coffee to the remnant in the pot, if by chance there should ever be any left. Trim over last year's hat, if you must, and buy no books for a year except this one, but do have the daily coffee _right_.

Our deep feeling on this subject is caused by our own cherished reputation for coffee making, which extends as much as three blocks in every direction of the compass.

BOILED COFFEE

One cupful of ground coffee, mixed with a raw, unbeaten egg, and part of the shell. Add half a cupful of cold water, and put it into the coffee-pot. Pour over four cupfuls of boiling water, and as it rises and begins to boil, stir it with a silver spoon. Let boil hard for ten or fifteen minutes, then take from the fire. Pour out one cupful of the coffee, then put it back, and set the pot on the back of the stove for five minutes to settle.

CAFÉ GLACÉ

A welcome variant in summer, even for people who do not like cold coffee. Fill iced-tea glasses three fourths full of inch cubes of ice, add a lump or two of sugar, and pour in the coffee, boiling hot. Do not stir, but add the cream immediately. For some strange reason, it is better than if the hot coffee is poured over the ice, sugar, and cream. Anybody knowing why, please write.

CHOCOLATE

Make exactly like cocoa, using milk instead of water. A few drops of vanilla added to chocolate pleasantly accentuates its flavor.

COCOA

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

TEA

Cheap tea contains sawdust, dried and powdered hay, grass-seed, and departed but unlamented insects. Moral--buy good tea, or go without. Have the kettle boiling, and take the water at the first boil. Scald out the tea-pot, which must never be of metal, and put into it one teaspoonful of tea for each person, and one for the pot, or more, if curly hair for the drinker is desired. Pour one cupful of boiling water for each person and another for the pot upon the tea, and pour off the tea inside of three minutes. After that the boiling water busies itself in taking tannic acid out of the tea grounds. Tannic acid hardens albumen into a leathery substance of which the most courageous stomach is rightfully suspicious, and also puckers the mucous membrane of the stomach into smocking. Persistent drinking of boiled tea is quite likely to relieve the stomach altogether of its valued and hard-worked mucous membrane.

SIMPLE SALADS

A salad with mayonnaise dressing is an ideal _pièce de résistance_ for luncheon. It furnishes the necessary carbon in a light and easily assimilated form, and, if well made, is always palatable.

Strictly speaking, there are but two salad dressings, French and mayonnaise. The boiled dressing, with all its variations, is, technically, a sauce. A true salad dressing is made almost entirely of oil.

To make French dressing, put into a bowl or soup plate a pinch of salt, a dash of red pepper, and three tablespoonfuls of olive-oil. Stir with a silver spoon until thoroughly mixed, then add one tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, and stir until thick. French dressing must not be made until it is to be used, as it very quickly wilts a vegetable salad. Four or five tablespoonfuls of oil may be used to one of vinegar or lemon-juice if desired, and French dressing may also be seasoned with tabasco sauce, Worcestershire, dry mustard, celery salt, or any preferred condiment.

To make mayonnaise, put into an earthen bowl the yolk of a fresh egg and a pinch of salt, a dash of red pepper and half a teaspoonful of dry mustard. Place the bowl on ice or in ice water. Pour one cupful of olive-oil into a small pitcher from which it will drop easily. When the egg and seasoning are thoroughly mixed, begin to add the oil, using a silver teaspoon, and rubbing rather than stirring. Add the oil until a clear spot is formed upon the egg, then mix until smooth. Only a few drops can be added at first, but the quantity may be gradually increased. The clear spot upon the egg is an infallible test of the right quantity of oil. If too much oil is added, the dressing will curdle. A few drops of lemon-juice and long beating will usually make it right again. If this fails, set the bowl directly on the ice in the refrigerator, and let stand half an hour. If it is still curdled, begin again with the yolk of another egg and add the curdled mayonnaise by degrees to the new dressing.

When the mayonnaise is so thick that it is difficult to stir it, add the juice of half a lemon, or more if desired. If wanted still thinner, add a little cream at serving-time, but a stiff, creamy-yellow mayonnaise is a culinary triumph.

With a little experience, mayonnaise is very quickly made. It need not take more than ten or fifteen minutes to make enough abundantly to serve six people. Packed in jelly glasses, and covered with wax paper, or the cover of a jelly glass, mayonnaise will keep a week or more in a cool place.

A quick mayonnaise can be made by putting into a bowl half a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of red pepper, half a teaspoonful of dry mustard, the yolk of an egg, four tablespoonfuls of olive-oil, one tablespoonful of lemon-juice or tarragon vinegar, and beating all together with the egg beater. If it fails to thicken, it is because the egg is not strictly fresh, but even if it does not thicken, it is palatable. A small jar of mayonnaise dressing, kept upon the ice, is an ever present help in time of trouble.

All vegetables used for salads must be in prime condition. Lettuce must be crisp, and only the perfect leaves used. Ragged edges may be trimmed off with the scissors. The head lettuce is best for all salads, but the leaf lettuce may be used if the other is not obtainable. It is sometimes shredded into ribbons with a sharp knife or scissors, but lettuce should be torn rather than cut, as cutting breaks and bruises the fibres.

Salads with mayonnaise dressing are too rich to serve at dinner, and hence are relegated to luncheons, Sunday-night suppers, and hot-weather dinners, where no other meat is served.

The variety of salads is inexhaustible, and new combinations are invented every day, many of them elaborate and very difficult to make. The following salads, however, will be found simple, convenient, and in every way satisfactory.

CHICKEN SALAD

Mix cold, cooked, shredded chicken with half the quantity of finely cut celery, mix with mayonnaise dressing, and serve on a bit of lettuce. Garnish with parsley and slices of hard-boiled egg. Canned chicken may be used, but it is not as good.

CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM SALAD

Equal parts of chicken and cooked mushrooms. Mayonnaise.

MOCK CHICKEN SALAD

Cold roast pork, shredded with the fingers and mixed with half as much finely cut celery. Mayonnaise.

CHICKEN AND SWEETBREAD SALAD

Cold, cooked, shredded chicken, and half the quantity of cooked sweetbreads cut fine. Mayonnaise.

CHICKEN AND NUT SALAD

Add a few pecans or English walnuts, cut coarsely, to chicken salad.

ALMOND SALAD

Stone and chop six olives. Add half a cupful of blanched and shredded almonds, and half a cupful of tender celery cut fine. Serve on lettuce leaves, with mayonnaise.

ASPARAGUS SALAD

Boil, drain, and cool the asparagus. Serve on lettuce leaves with French dressing, and garnish with slices of hard-boiled egg.

APPLE AND CRESS SALAD

Cut sour apples into dice. Mix with watercress, carefully picked over, and French dressing.

APRICOT SALAD

Chill the fruit, pare, stone, cut in halves, arrange on lettuce leaves, and pour over French dressing made with lemon-juice.

ASPARAGUS AND SALMON SALAD

Flake cold, boiled salmon, mix with cooked asparagus tips, and add a little finely cut celery. Mayonnaise.

BEAN SALAD

Lima beans boiled, drained, and cooled, chopped onion and minced parsley. Mayonnaise.

BORDEAUX SALAD

Celery and olives, coarsely cut. Mayonnaise.

BANANA SALAD

Chill the fruit, peel, slice thin, pour over French dressing made with lemon-juice, and serve at once on lettuce leaves.

BANANA AND CHERRY SALAD

Prepare as above, mixing the bananas with a few maraschino cherries, cut into quarters.

BANANA AND PIMENTO SALAD

Prepare as above, using shredded scarlet pimentos instead of the cherries.

BANANA AND CELERY SALAD

Six bananas, half a cupful of nuts cut fine, and two stalks of celery cut fine. Peel the bananas carefully, cut the fruit into dice, mix with the nuts and celery, add mayonnaise, fill the banana skins, chill, and serve on lettuce leaves.

BIRD'S-NEST SALAD

Take the yolks of hard-boiled eggs and rub to a paste with an equal quantity of Neufchatel cheese. Season with salt and paprika, and make into egg-shaped balls. Make a mound of the shredded whites and lay the egg-balls upon it, flecking them with black pepper. Surround the dish with the heart-leaves of head lettuce, and serve mayonnaise dressing in a dish apart.

CELERY SALAD

Crisp, tender celery cut fine, mixed with a little chopped onion and mayonnaise. Serve on lettuce.

CAULIFLOWER SALAD

Boil a large cauliflower in salted water until tender. Drain, cool, separate the flowerets, sprinkle with chopped onion and parsley, and set on ice. When thoroughly chilled, mix with mayonnaise, and serve on lettuce leaves.

BOHEMIAN SALAD

Mix fried oysters or fried scallops, cold, with half the quantity of finely cut celery. Serve very cold on lettuce leaves with mayonnaise.

CRAB SALAD

Use the meat of boiled crabs flaked into pieces of uniform size. The canned crab meat is very good. Add half the quantity of finely cut celery, mix with mayonnaise, and serve on lettuce leaves.

CRESS SALAD

Watercress and nasturtium leaves. French dressing. Garnish with nasturtium blossoms.

CALF'S-BRAIN SALAD

Parboil the brains in acidulated water, blanch, cool, and remove all veins and membranes. Break in pieces and proceed as for Crab Salad.

CUCUMBER SALAD

Peel, slice, and chill the cucumbers. Drain, mix with chopped onion, or small bits of the large white onions. French dressing.

CUCUMBER AND RADISH SALAD

Prepare as above, and add a few radishes, sliced but not peeled. The onion may be omitted.

COTTAGE CHEESE SALAD

Make soft cottage cheese into balls the size of a bird's egg. Arrange carefully with cucumber dice and a little chopped onion. French dressing.

CREAM CHEESE SALAD

Prepare cheese as above, coloring the balls with spinach juice or green color paste. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, arrange on lettuce leaves, and pour over French dressing.

CUCUMBER JELLY

Cut peeled tomatoes and cucumbers into dice, saving the juice. Season with grated onion, pepper, and salt. Mix with hot water, in which gelatine has been dissolved, let cool, break up and serve in tomato shells with mayonnaise. When gelatine is used in salads, half a package to each two cupfuls of salad material is about the right proportion.

CHERRY SALAD

Maraschino or ox-heart cherries stuffed with hazel nuts. Serve very cold on lettuce leaves with mayonnaise.

CELERY AND NUT SALAD

Celery and pecans, or English walnuts, coarsely cut. Mayonnaise.

CAULIFLOWER AND BEET SALAD

Cooked cauliflower flowerets and dice of cold, boiled beets. Serve on lettuce with mayonnaise.

CHEESE AND TOMATO SALAD

Slices of tomato with small bits of Edam cheese. Serve on lettuce leaves with French dressing.

CELERY JELLY SALAD

Put into a saucepan two cupfuls of strained tomatoes, a tablespoonful of grated onion, a bay leaf, and a pinch of celery seed. Bring to a boil, set aside for fifteen minutes, add half a package of gelatine that has been soaked in half a cupful of cold water, half a teaspoonful of salt, and the juice of half a lemon. Stand over boiling water until the gelatine is all dissolved. Strain, stir in a quantity of finely cut celery, set on ice, stir until it begins to thicken, mould in small cups, and chill. At serving-time, turn out on a bed of lettuce leaves and mask with mayonnaise.

CHESTNUT SALAD

Shell and blanch the nuts, boil until tender, drain, and peel. Add an equal quantity of finely cut celery and some bits of pimento. Mayonnaise.

CHICKEN ASPIC SALAD

Use strong, clear chicken stock or the chicken juice which comes in cans, and half a package of gelatine to each pint. When the jelly begins to thicken, stir in lightly broken English walnuts, mould, chill, turn out on plates covered with lettuce leaves, and mask with mayonnaise.

TOMATO ASPIC SALAD

Use the juice and strained pulp of fresh or canned tomatoes. Season highly with salt, pepper, grated onion, and vinegar. Use half a package of gelatine to each two cupfuls of juice and pulp, mould in small cups, chill, turn out on lettuce leaves, and mask with mayonnaise.

BELLEVUE SALAD

Make the tomato aspic according to directions given above. When it begins to stiffen, stir in lightly flaked shrimps and cucumber dice, mould, chill, turn out on individual serving dishes, surround with the tender heart-leaves of head lettuce, and mask with mayonnaise dressing.

CHICKEN SALAD EN BELLEVUE

Make the tomato aspic and mould in a border mould. At serving-time turn out upon a platter, fill the centre with chicken salad and surround with tomato aspic. Garnish with the heart-leaves of head lettuce.

CUCUMBER ASPIC SALAD

Chop cucumbers fine, or grate on a coarse grater. Season with onion and celery, or a little celery seed. Add salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste, and save every drop of the juice. Tint with green color paste if desired. Use one package of gelatine to each quart of the pulp, and proceed according to directions given for other aspic salads. Turn into a border mould and chill on ice. At serving-time cover the platter with lettuce leaves, turn the border out of the mould and fill the centre with a fish salad.

CELERY AND RADISH SALAD

Prepare the celery as usual, but do not peel the radishes. Slice them thin and leave the little red line around each slice. Chill thoroughly, mix with mayonnaise, and serve on lettuce leaves. Garnish with whole radishes.

CABBAGE SALAD

Select a small, heavy, shapely head of white cabbage. Cut a slice off the top and scoop out the interior carefully, leaving a thin shell. Shred the inner portion with an equal quantity of crisp celery, mix with mayonnaise and serve in the cabbage. A few nut meats may be added. Sometimes the cabbage bowl is filled with fried oysters, and the celery and cabbage salad served on lettuce leaves.

SALAD À L'ESPAGNOLE

Scald, skin, and cool large, smooth tomatoes, cut a slice off the blossom end and scoop out the pulp with a silver spoon. Drain the pulp, add an equal quantity of cucumber dice, cut small, and a little grated onion to season, mix with a French dressing and fill the tomato shell with the mixture. Put a spoonful of mayonnaise on top of each tomato and serve on individual plates covered with lettuce leaves.

GRAPE SALAD

Use large, white, California grapes, peel, seed, and cut in halves. Mix with sour orange slices, and any preferred nuts. Use French dressing made with lemon-juice, and serve on lettuce leaves.

GRAPE SALAD--II

Prepare as above, using apples in place of the oranges.

GRAPEFRUIT SALAD

Break the pulp of grapefruit into small bits and drain, reserving the juice. Arrange on lettuce leaves, sprinkle with cut English walnuts, and pour over a French dressing made of oil and the juice of the fruit.

ITALIAN SALAD

Six cold, cooked potatoes, cut in dice, six flaked sardines, three small cucumber pickles, chopped, and a stalk of celery cut fine. French dressing.

LETTUCE SALAD

Use the crisp heart-leaves of head lettuce, and dress with French dressing. Serve with cheese and toasted crackers.

ENDIVE SALAD

Use the crisp leaves of endive and prepare as above.

MARGUERITE SALAD