Part 3

Boil the meat until about half done, if chickens they should be jointed. Take up the meat, and put it in a pot with a layer of crust, to each layer of meat; have a layer of crust on the top, cover the whole with the liquor the meat was boiled in. Keep a tea kettle of boiling water, to turn in when the water boils away, (cold water makes the crust heavy.) If you wish to have it brown, heat a bake pan lid, and cover the pot while it is cooking, which takes about an hour. The crust for the pie is good, made like common pie crust, only very plain, roll it about an inch thick, cut it with a tumbler, into small cakes. Raised pie crust, is generally preferred to any other, it is made in the following manner. Rub together, three pints of flour one cup of butter, half a tea spoonful of salt, and then turn in a tea cup of yeast, and half a pint of water. Set it in a warm place to rise, when risen, (which will be in the course of ten or twelve hours, in cold weather,) roll it out, and cut it into small cakes. If it is not stiff enough to roll out, knead in a little flour, if too stiff, put in a little water. Potatoe pie crust is good, boil the potatoes, peel and mash them fine, put in a tea spoonful of salt, a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg, and half a pint of milk, mix flour with it till of the right consistency to roll out, cut it into cakes, and put them with the meat. A very good way to make the crust, when you happen to have unbaked wheat bread; is to roll out the dough several times and spread butter on it each time, let it lay about half an hour, before you put it with the meat.

34. _To Frizzle Beef._

Take tender smoked beef and shave it off thin, put it in a stew pan, with boiling water enough to cover it, let it stew ten or fifteen minutes; three or four minutes before it is done, thicken the water it is stewed in with a little flour, when taken up sprinkle on a little pepper. This makes a nice dish for breakfast, provided the beef is moist and tender.

35. _Warmed over Meats._

Boiled or roasted veal makes a nice dish, chopped very fine, and warmed up with a little pepper, a small piece of butter, and a little water, if you have gravy, it is very good instead of the butter and water. A little nutmeg and the rind and juice of half a lemon improve it, the rind should be chopped very fine, (none of the white part should be used.) When well heated through, take it up and cut a couple of lemons in slices, and lay over it. Veal and fresh or salt beef, are all of them good, minced fine, with boiled potatoes, and warmed up with pepper, salt and gravy, if you have not gravy, use a little butter and water. Some people like boiled onions, or turnips, chopped fine, and mixed with the minced meat, instead of potatoes. Veal, lamb and mutton, are good cut in small strips, and warmed with boiled potatoes, cut in slices, and pepper, salt, and gravy. Roast beef and mutton, if not cooked too much, are nice cut in slices, and just scorched on a gridiron. Meat when warmed over, should only be on the fire just long enough to get heated well through, if on the fire long, most of the nourishment of the meat will be extracted, and it will be very indigestible. Cold fowls are nice jointed and warmed up, with a little water and salt, then take the fowls out of the water, put them in a frying pan, that has a little hot butter in it, and fry them, till of a light brown, they should have a little flour sprinkled over them before they are browned. Thicken the water with flour, that the fowls were warmed in, put a little butter in it, and turn it over the meat, when taken up.

36. _A Ragout of Cold Veal._

Cut boiled or roasted veal, in nice slices, flour and fry them in butter, till of a light brown. Then take them up and turn a little hot water into the butter they were fried in, mix a little flour with water and into the gravy, season it with salt, pepper, mace, and catsup, if you have any, and a little lemon juice. Put in the meat and stew it till very hot.

37. _Drawn Butter._

Mix a couple of tea spoonsful of flour, gradually with a little water, stir it till free from lumps, thin it, and stir it into half a pint of boiling water, let it boil four or five minutes, then put in about a quarter of a lb. of butter, previously cut in small pieces, set it where it will melt gradually. If carefully mixed it will be free from lumps, if not strain it, before it is put on to the table. If the butter is to be eaten on fish, cut up several boiled eggs into it. A little curry powder sprinkled in it, will convert it into curry sauce.

38. _Burnt Butter._

Put a couple of ounces of butter, in a frying pan, set it on the fire, when of a dark brown color, put in a table spoonful of vinegar, a little pepper and salt. This is nice for fish, or boiled eggs.

39. _Roast Meat Gravy._

Meat when put down to roast, should have about a pint of water in the dripping pan. If you like your gravy very rich, skim off the top of the drippings to your meat, and use them, if you like it plain, stir up the drippings, strain them and put in a skillet and boil them. Mix a tea spoonful of flour, with a little cold water, and stir it into the gravy. Lamb and veal require a little butter in the gravy.

40. _Sauce for cold Meat, Fish or Salad._

Mix the yolks of two eggs boiled soft, with a mustard spoonful of made mustard, a little salt and pepper, two table spoonsful of salad oil, or melted butter, when well mixed, put in three table spoonsful of vinegar. A table spoonful of tomato, or mushroom, catsup, improves it.

41. _Wine Sauce for Venison or Mutton._

Warm half a pint of the drippings, or the liquor, the meat was boiled in. When it boils, mix a tea spoonful of scorched flour, with a little water, and stir it in, put in a little pepper, salt, and quarter of a tea spoonful of cloves, put in a table spoonful of currant jelly, and half a tumbler full of wine, just before you take it from the fire. Many people prefer melted currant jelly, to any other sauce for venison.

42. _Rice Sauce._

Boil half a tea cup of rice, till soft, then stir in two table spoonsful of milk, a little salt, and a nutmeg, or mace, sweet herbs, a boiled onion, and strain it. This is a very nice accompaniment to game.

43. _Oyster Sauce._

Take the juice of your oysters, and to a pint put a couple of sticks of mace, a little salt and pepper, put it on the fire, when it boils, mix two tea spoonsful of flour, with a little milk, and stir it in. When it has boiled two or three minutes, put in about half a pint of solid oysters, a piece of butter of the size of half an egg, when scalded through take them up.

44. _Liver Sauce for Fish._

Boil the liver of the fish, then mash it fine, stir it into drawn butter, put in a little cayenne or black pepper, a couple of tea spoonsful of lemon juice, and a table spoonful of catsup.

45. _Lobster Sauce._

Mash the yolks of two eggs, boiled soft, with the spawn of the lobster, and a tea spoonful of water, when rubbed smooth, put in a mustard spoonful of made mustard, two table spoonsful of salad oil, or melted butter, a little salt, pepper, and five table spoonsful of vinegar.

46. _Chicken Salad._

Boil four eggs three minutes, take them out of the shell mash, and mix them, with a couple of table spoonsful, of olive oil, or melted butter, two thirds of a tumbler of vinegar, a tea spoonful of mixed mustard, half a tea spoonful of salt, quarter of a tea spoonful of pepper, and a little essence of celery, if you have any. Cut up a boiled chicken that weighs two or three pounds, into small strips, and turn the sauce over it.

47. _Sauce for Turtle, or Calf's Head._

To half a pint of drawn butter, or thickened beef gravy, put the juice of half a lemon, a little sage, basil, or sweet marjoram, a little cayenne pepper, and a wine glass of white wine, just before you take it up.

48. _Apple Sauce._

Pare and quarter the apples, take out the cores, stew them in cider. When soft take them up, put in a piece of butter of the size of a walnut, to every quart of the sauce, sweeten it to your taste, with brown sugar. Another way which is very good, is to boil the apples, with a few quinces, in new cider, and molasses enough to sweeten them, till reduced to half the quantity. This kind of sauce will keep good for several months.

49. _Pudding Sauce._

Mix a tea cup of butter, with two of nice brown sugar, when white, put in a wine glass of wine, or brandy, flavor it with nutmeg, essence of lemon or rosewater. If you wish to have it liquid make two thirds of a pint of thin starch, and stir it into the butter and sugar. If you wish to have it foam, put in a little cider. Cider instead of wine, or brandy, answers very well, for common pudding sauce.

50. _Tomato Catsup._

Wipe the tomatoes, which should be perfectly ripe. Boil them till soft in a little water. Strain the whole through a sieve, season it highly, with salt, pepper, cloves, allspice and mace, then boil it fifteen minutes. Let it stand twenty four hours, then take off the watery part, bottle the remainder, seal it tight, and keep it in a cool place. Made in this way it will keep the year round. The catsup, should be stewed in tin, and the later in the season it is made, the less liable will it be to spoil.

51. _Mushroom Catsup._

Put a layer of fresh mushrooms, in a deep dish, sprinkle a little salt over them, then put in another layer of mushrooms, and salt, and so on, till you get in all the mushrooms, let them stand several days, then mash them fine; to each quart, put a tea spoonful, of black pepper, put it in a stone jar tightly covered, set it in a pot of boiling water, boil it two hours, then strain it without squeezing the mushrooms. Boil the juice half an hour, skim it well, let it stand a few hours to settle, then turn it off carefully through a sieve, bottle, cork, and seal it tight, set it in a cool place.

52. _Essence of Celery._

Steep half an oz. of bruised celery seed, in a quarter of a pint of brandy, for a fortnight. A few drops of this, will give a fine flavor to soup.

53. _Soup Herb Spirit._

Those who like a variety of herbs, in soup, will find it very convenient, to have the following mixture. Take when in their prime, thyme, sweet marjoram, sweet basil, and summer savory, dry, pound, and sift them, steep them in brandy. The herb spirit will be fit for use, in the course of a fortnight.

54. _Veal Soup._

A leg of veal, after enough has been cut off for cutlets, makes a soup nearly as good as calves head. Boil it with a cup two thirds full of rice, a pound and a half of pork, season it with salt, pepper, and sweet herbs, if you like, a little boiled celery cut in slices, or a little essence of celery improves it, parsly, carrot, and onions, boiled in the soup, are liked by some people.

If you wish for balls in your soup, chop veal fine, mix it with a couple of eggs, a few bread crumbs, a small piece of butter, or raw pork chopped fine, put in salt and pepper, to your taste, or a little curry powder, boil them in the soup. Just before you take the soup up, put in a couple of slices of toast, cut into small pieces. The veal should be taken up before the soup is seasoned.

55. _Black Soup._

The shank of beef, is the best part for soup, cold roast beef bones, and beef steak, make very good soup. Boil the shank four or five hours, in water enough to cover it. Half an hour before the soup goes on the table, take out the meat, thicken the soup with scorched flour mixed with cold water, season it with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and cloves, a little tomato catsup improves it, put in sweet herbs or herb spirit if you like.

Some people boil onions in the soup, but as they are very disagreeable to many persons, it is better to boil them and put them in a dish by themselves. Take bread soaked soft, mash it well and put in a little of the boiled beef chopped fine, a couple of eggs, a very little flour, season it highly with salt, pepper, cloves, and mace, do it up in small balls and boil them in the soup fifteen minutes.

56. _Calf's Head or mock Turtle Soup._

Boil the head till perfectly tender, then take it out, strain the liquor, and set it away till the next day, then skim off the grease. Cut up the meat, and put it in the liquor, together with the lights, (the brains should be reserved for the balls) warm it, and season it with salt, pepper, cloves, mace, and sweet herbs if you like and onions, let it stew gently for half an hour. Just before taking it up add half a pint of white wine. For the balls chop lean veal fine, with a small piece of raw salt pork, add the brains, and season it highly with salt, pepper, cloves, mace, and sweet herbs, or curry powder, make it up into balls, about the size of half a hen's egg, boil part in the soup, and fry the remainder, and put them in a dish by themselves.

57. _Chicken or Turkey Soup._

The liquor that turkey or chicken is boiled in makes a good soup, with half a tea cup of rice, and a lb. of pork boiled in it. If you do not like it very fat, let it stand till the next day after the turkey is boiled, skim off the fat, season it with salt, pepper, and sweet herbs. If you like vegetables in soup, boil them by themselves, slice them up when done and put them in the turreen with toasted bread, cut in small pieces; or toasted crackers. When the soup is hot, turn it on them.

58. _Oyster Soup._

Take a couple of quarts of oysters out of the liquor with a fork, strain the liquor, and if there are any shells in them rinse them off. To each quart put a pint of milk or water. Set them on the fire, when it begins to simmer skim it, mix three tea spoonsful of flour, with a little milk, stir it in when the oysters boil, when it boils again take it up and season it with salt, pepper, a table spoonful of tomato catsup, a table spoonful of vinegar and a small lump of butter; turn it on to a slice of toast cut in pieces.

59. _Pea Soup._

To a quart of peas, put a quart of cold water soak them over night, in a warm place. Next day set them to boiling four or five hours, before they are to be eaten, put in a couple of lbs. of pork to two quarts of the peas, add in a little more water, if not likely to be sufficiently soft, put in a tea spoonful of saleratus half an hour before you take up the soup.

60. _To Bake Beans._

Pick over the beans, wash, and put them in a pot with cold water enough to cover them, hang them over the fire where they will keep just lukewarm. When they begin to grow soft, stew them over a hot fire several minutes, with a heaping tea spoonful of saleratus. Then take them up with a skimmer, and put them in a baking pot, gash a lb. of pork and put it down in the pot so as to have the beans just cover it, pour in cold water till you can see it at the top. They will bake in a hot oven in the course of three hours; but they will be better to remain in it five or six. Beans are very good stewed, without being baked.

61. _Poached Eggs._

Break your eggs into a dish and beat them to a foam. Then put them on a few coals, put in a small lump of butter, a little salt, let them cook very slowly, stirring them constantly till they become quite thick, then take them up, and turn them on buttered toast.

62. _To Boil Eggs._

They should be put into boiling water, and if you wish to have them soft, three minutes is long enough to boil them, if you wish to have them hard, they should boil five minutes. Another way to boil them, is to break the shells and drop the eggs, into a frying pan of boiling water, let them boil three or four minutes. If you do not use the eggs, as a garnish, salt and butter them, when you take them up.

63. _Omelet._

Beat your eggs to a froth, leaving out half the whites, put in a couple of ounces, of fine minced ham, corned beef or veal, when veal is used, a little salt will be requisite. Fry it in butter, till it begins to thicken. When it is brown on the underside, it is sufficiently cooked. If you wish to have it brown on the top, put a heated bake pan lid over it, as soon as it has set.

64. _Fresh Fish._

Fresh fish for boiling, or broiling, are the best the day after they are caught. They should be cleaned, washed, and half a tea cup of salt, sprinkled on the inside of them, and a little pepper, if they are to be broiled. Set them in a cool place. When fresh fish are boiled, they should be put in a strainer, or sewed up in a cloth carefully; put them in cold water, with the backbone down; with eight or ten pounds of fish, boil half a tea cup of salt. Many people do not put their fish into the pot, until the water boils, but it is not a good plan, as the outside gets cooked too much, before the inside is cooked sufficiently. Fish for frying, should be wiped dry after being washed, and flour sprinkled on them. For five or six lbs. of fish, fry three or four slices of pork, when brown, take them up, and put in the fish, if the pork does not make sufficient fat, to fry the fish in, add a little lard. For good plain gravy, mix a tea spoonful or two of flour with a little water, and turn in, when you have taken up the fish; when well mixed, add a little butter and pepper, when it boils, turn it on to the fish. Boiled fish, should be served up with drawn butter, or liver sauce. For a garnish to boiled fish, boil several eggs five minutes, cool them in water, then take off the shells, and cut them in slices, and lay them round the fish; parsly and pepper grass, are also a pretty garnish for boiled fish. For broiling fish the gridiron should be greased with a little butter, the inside of the fish should be broiled first.

65. _Fresh Cod_,

Is good boiled, fried, baked, or made into a chowder. It is too dry a fish to broil.

66. _Halibut_,

Is nice cut in slices, and broiled or fried; the fins and the thick part, are good boiled.

67. _Striped and Sea Bass_,

Are good fried, boiled, broiled, baked or made into a chowder.

68. _Black Fish._

Black fish are the best fried, or boiled, they will do to broil but are not so nice as cooked in any other way.

69. _Shad._

Fresh shad are the best bloated and broiled; but they are good boiled or fried, the spawn and liver are nice fried in lard. Salt shad is good boiled, without any soaking, if liked quite salt, if not pour on scalding water, and let them soak in it, half an hour, then drain off the water, and boil them twenty minutes. Salt shad and mackerel for broiling, should be soaked twenty four hours, in cold water, the water should be changed several times. To salt twenty five shad, mix one pound of sugar, a peck of rock salt, two quarts of fine salt, and quarter of a pound of salt petre. Put a layer of it at the bottom of the keg, then a layer of shad, with the skin side down, sprinkle on the mixed salt, sugar, and salt petre, and so on till you get in all the shad. Lay a heavy weight on the shad, to keep it under brine. If there is not brine enough in the course of a week, add a little more sugar, salt, and salt petre.

70. _Chowder._

Fry three or four slices of pork until brown. Cut each of your fish into five or six slices, flour and put a layer of them in your pork fat, sprinkle on pepper and very little salt, cloves, and mace, if you like, lay on several crackers, previously soaked soft, in cold water, and several bits of your fried pork, this operation repeat, till you get in all your fish, then turn on nearly water enough to cover them, put on a heated bake pan lid. When the fish has stewed about twenty minutes, take them up, and mix a tea spoonful of flour, with a little water, and stir it into the gravy, add about an ounce of butter, and cloves. Half a pint of white wine, and the juice of half a lemon, or a tea cup of tomato catsup, improve it. Bass and Cod, make the best chowder. Some people like them made of clams, the hard part should be cut off.

71. _Stuffed and Baked Fish._

Soak bread in cold water, till soft, then squeeze out all the water, mash it and mix it with a piece of butter, of the size of a hen's egg, a little salt, pepper, cloves, and mace, a couple of raw eggs, makes the dressing cut smoother. Fill the fish with this dressing, and sew it up. Put a tea cup of water in a bake pan, and a small piece of butter, lay in the fish; bake it about an hour. Fresh cod, bass, and shad, are suitable fish for baking.

72. _Salt Cod_,

Should be soaked in lukewarm water, till the skin will come off easily. Scrape it, and change the water, and put it over a moderate fire, where it will keep warm without boiling, boiling hardens rather than softens it. It takes three hours to soak it soft. It should be cut into good square pieces, and served up with drawn butter. Cold codfish is good, minced up fine, with potatoes, and warmed up with butter, and a little water.

73. _Fish Cakes._

Cold, boiled, salt, or fresh fish, are nice mixed up fine, with potatoes, a little butter put in, and moulded up, into small cakes, with the hand, fry them in pork fat, or butter.

74. _Lobsters and Crabs._

Put them into boiling water, and boil them three quarters of an hour, if large, if not, half an hour will be long enough. Boil two thirds of a tea cup of salt, with four or five pounds of lobsters. When cold crack the shells, take out the meat. Be careful to get out the blue vein, and what is called the lady, as they are very unhealthy.

Lobsters are good cold, or warmed up, with a little vinegar, pepper, salt, and butter. A way of dressing them, which looks very prettily, is to pick out the spawn, and red chord, mash it fine, and rub it through the sieve, put in a little butter and salt, cut the lobsters into small squares, and warm it together with the spawn, over a moderate fire. When hot take it up, and garnish it with parsly. The chord and spawn when strained, are a handsome garnish for any kind of boiled fish.

75. _Scollops._

Are nice fried, or boiled and pickled like oysters, for frying, they should be previously boiled, and taken out of the shells, and all but the hearts thrown away, as the rest is very unhealthy, dip the hearts, into flour, and fry them till brown in lard. The hearts are also good stewed with a little water, butter, pepper, and salt.

76. _Eels._

If very large, are best, bloated and broiled, they should be bloated several hours before cooking them. If not very large fry them in pork fat; large eels are nice cut into small strips, and laid in a deep dish, with bits of salt pork and pepper, and baked for half an hour.

77. _Clams._

Wash and boil them, until the shells open, with just water enough to prevent their burning at the bottom of the pot. When the shells open, take the clams out of them, and warm them, with a little of the liquor, they were boiled in, and a little butter, pepper, and salt. Soak a slice of toasted bread, in the clam liquor, put it in the bottom of a dish and turn the clams on to it when hot. For clam pancakes, take some of the clam liquor, and mix with a little flour, to a pint of flour put two beaten eggs, and a little salt, fry them in lard. Very large long clams are nice taken out of the shell without boiling and broiled.

78. _Stew Oysters._

Take the oysters out of the liquor with a fork, rinse the bits of shell from them, and strain the liquor, put the oysters in a stew pan, with the juice, when scalded through, take them up, turn them on buttered toast, salt, butter, and pepper them, to your taste, some cooks add a little catsup or lemon juice.

79. _To Fry Oysters._

Take those that are large, dip them in eggs, and fine bread crumbs, fry them in lard, till of a light brown. They are a nice garnish for boiled or fried fish, if fried when first caught with a little salt, and pepper, sprinkled on them, will keep good several months, provided they are put into a bottle and corked tight, as soon as cooked. Whenever they are to be eaten, warm them with a little water.

80. _Oyster Pancakes._