Part 5

Fill a preserving bottle with parsley leaves, freshly gathered and washed, and cover with vinegar. Screw down the top and set aside for two or three weeks. Then strain off the vinegar, add salt and cayenne pepper to taste, bottle and cork. Use on cold meats, cabbage, etc.

PARSLEY SAUCE. (See Sauces.)

BOILED PARSNIPS.

Wash, scrape and cut them into slices about an inch thick, put them in a saucepan with salted water and cook until tender, drain, cover with good rich milk, season with butter, pepper and salt to taste, bring to a boil and serve.

BROILED PARSNIPS.

After parsnips are boiled, slice and broil brown. Make a gravy as for beefsteak.

BROWNED PARSNIPS.

Put two or three thin slices of salt pork in the bottom of a kettle and let them brown, scrape and slice the parsnips and pare about the same amount of potatoes, leaving them whole if they are small. Place in alternate layers in the kettle, and add sufficient water to cook them, leaving them to brown slightly. They must be closely watched as they burn very easily. Requires about one and a half hours to cook and brown nicely. Remove the vegetables and thicken the gravy with a little flour; add pepper and salt, and a small lump of butter. Serve pork and vegetables on a large, deep platter and pour over the gravy.

FRIED PARSNIPS.

Scrape and wash parsnips, cut off the small end and cut the thick part into half-inch-thick slices. Put them in boiling water with a tablespoonful each of salt and sugar. Boil an hour or until nearly done and drain; beat two eggs, four tablespoonfuls of flour and half a pint of milk together, season with salt and pepper. Dip the slices of parsnip into the batter, then in bread crumbs and fry in boiling lard or drippings until a golden brown. Pile them in a heap on a napkin and serve very hot.

PARSNIP FRITTERS.

Scrape and halve the parsnips, boil tender in salted water, mash smooth, picking out the woody bits; then add a beaten egg to every four parsnips, a tablespoonful of flour, pepper and salt to taste, and enough milk to make into a thin batter; drop by the tablespoonful into hot lard, and fry brown. Drain into a hot colander and dish.

MASHED PARSNIPS.

Boil parsnips tender in salted water, drain and mash them through a colander. Put the pulp into a saucepan with two or three tablespoonfuls of cream and a small lump of butter rubbed in flour, stir them over the fire until the butter is melted and serve.

MOCK OYSTERS.

Use three grated parsnips, three eggs, one teaspoonful of salt, one teacupful of sweet cream, butter half the size of an egg, three tablespoonfuls of flour. Fry as pancakes.

PARSNIP PUFFS.

Take one egg, well beaten, and add (without stirring until the ingredients are in) one teacupful each of cold water and flour, one heaping teaspoonful of baking powder, half a teaspoonful of salt, one teacupful of well-mashed, boiled parsnips; stir very lightly and only enough to mix. Do not let it stand long. Drop by the tablespoonful into hot, melted fat in a frying pan, and cook until a delicate brown.

CHICAGO RECORD.

AMBUSHED PEAS.

Cut the tops off of biscuits or buns twenty-four hours old. Scoop out the inside and put both shells and tops into the oven to crust. Pour into them peas after they have been boiled and mixed with a cream sauce to which an egg has been added, also minced parsley or mint if liked. Cover carefully with the tops and serve hot.

BOILED PEAS.

Do not shell peas until ready to cook. Salt, and slightly sweeten if needed boiling water, drop the peas so slowly into the water it will not stop boiling. Boil the peas until tender without covering and they will keep their color. They will generally cook in about twenty minutes, take them up with a little of the liquor in which they were boiled, butter and pepper them, and they are much better to add a little sweet cream, but will do without. If they are cooked immediately upon gathering, they will need no sugar; if allowed to remain twelve hours or more, a tablespoonful of sugar will be found an addition. A sprig of mint or a little parsley may be added. Pea-pods are sometimes boiled in a small quantity of water, then are skimmed out and the peas are boiled in this liquor.

PEAS AND BUTTERED EGGS.

Stew a pint of young peas with a tablespoonful of butter, a little salt, pepper and chopped parsley, until they are tender; beat up two eggs and pour over them the boiling peas. Serve at once on toast before the eggs harden.

CANAPES OF PEAS.

These form a dainty entree. To prepare the canapes take some slices of stale bread about two inches thick and cut into neat rounds with a large biscuit cutter. With a smaller cutter mark a circle in the center of each round and scoop out the crumbs from it to the depth of one inch. This must be carefully done, so there will be a firm bottom and sides. Lay these around in a shallow dish and pour over them a half-pint of milk in which one egg has been thoroughly beaten. This proportion of egg and milk is sufficient for six canapes. Let them lie in this for a few minutes; then take up very carefully and slip into very hot lard. When of a pale golden brown remove with a skimmer and drain on blotting paper. Boil a pint of freshly cleaned peas in unsalted water until tender; drain well. Put into a saucepan with two spoons of butter, dredge in a dessertspoonful of flour and add a saltspoon of salt and a quarter of a pint of milk. Let it come to a boil; then fill the canapes with this, give a dusting of pepper on the top of each, arrange on a platter and garnish with parsley and slices of lemon.

CHICAGO RECORD.

PEAS AND LETTUCE.

Use a pint of peas and two young lettuces cut small. Put in as little water as possible to use and not burn, let them boil until tender, then add a square of sugar, the yolks of two eggs well beaten and two tablespoonfuls of cream. Stir together a short time but do not boil.

PEAS AU PARMESAN.

Grate one and one-half ounces of cheese, add to it two tablespoonfuls of cream, a gill of milk, a tablespoonful of butter, saltspoonful of salt and four shakes of pepper. Place in an enameled pan and stir over the fire until the butter and cheese are dissolved. Then put in a pint and a half of fresh young peas, previously boiled until tender, drained and seasoned with a half-teaspoonful of salt. Stir the mixture a few moments. Serve as hot as possible.

CHICAGO RECORD.

GREEN-PEA SALAD.

Shred some lettuce and add to it the peas--they should be boiled with a little mint, and be quite cold. Add the salad dressing just before serving.

PEA AND NUT SALAD.

Use one cupful of chopped pecan nuts to three cupfuls of French peas. Serve on lettuce with mayonnaise.

PEA SOUP.

Use chicken, mutton, or beef broth, or water for a liquor in which to boil two cups of green peas, add to them one minced onion, one carrot cut fine, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, a stalk of celery cut fine, a bay leaf and two cloves. When the peas are tender, rub all through a sieve. Return the soup to the pot and add two tablespoonfuls of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, two well beaten yolks and half a cupful of cream. Let come to a boil and serve with croutons. Croutons are little squares of bread hard baked in the oven, or fried in oil or butter.

DEVILED PEPPERS.

Use green bell peppers, cut off the stem end and remove the inside. Chop cooked cold ham, and with it as many eggs as one wishes, or chop tongue, veal or chicken, and use the following salad dressing:--To a pint of meat use the yolk of a hard boiled egg, rubbed smooth in a scant tablespoonful of melted butter, a half teaspoonful of made mustard, half a teaspoonful of sugar, add enough vinegar to make it thin and stir in the meat. Fill the pepper shells with this mixture rounding it up high. It is an excellent lunch dish.

PEPPER MANGOES. (See Mangoes.)

PICKLED PEPPERS.

Remove the seeds from large green peppers, slice them and lay them in a jar alternating each layer of peppers with a layer of cabbage, then cover them with salt and let stand over night. In the morning drain off the water. For the pickle use enough vinegar to cover the peppers, an ounce each of black and white mustard seed, juniper berries, whole cloves and allspice, one half-ounce of celery seed and one large onion chopped fine or one head of garlic if that flavor is liked. Let this come to a boil and pour over the peppers. Pack tightly in a jar, cover with horseradish leaves, and close up tightly.

PEPPER SALAD.

Shave as fine as possible one head of cabbage, use an ounce of mustard seed, or an ounce of celery seed as one prefers either flavor; cut one or two yellow peppers into thin shavings if mustard seed is used, or four if celery seed is used. Pour cold cider vinegar over all, add a little salt and sugar and let stand a day or two to really pickle the cabbage and peppers. Pack in jars or cans and it will keep all winter. Serve with oysters and cold meats.

STUFFED PEPPERS.

Cut off the stem end of green bell peppers. Mince cooked chicken or use a can of shrimps, and mix with it almost an equal weight of bread crumbs, a large lump of butter, two or three tablespoonfuls of cream, salt and a sprinkle of parsley. Fill the pepper shells with the mixture, sprinkle bread crumbs over the tops, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.

OAKLAND STUFFED PEPPERS.

Cut off the tops and scoop out the seeds of six peppers, chop an extra pepper without seeds, mix with it a small onion chopped, a cupful of chopped tomato, two tablespoonfuls of butter or salad oil, a teaspoonful of salt, and an equal measure of bread crumbs. Stuff the peppers, replace the stem ends, and bake the peppers for half an hour, basting them with butter or salad oil two or three times. Serve them hot as a vegetable.

BROWNED MASHED POTATOES.

Whip up mashed potatoes with an egg-beater, add a few tablespoonfuls of cream, the yolks of two eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, pepper and salt. Cover with the whipped whites of the two eggs, bake until browned and with a pancake knife transfer them to a hot dish and serve at once.

POTATOES WITH CHEESE SAUCE.

Use twelve good sized potatoes, mash, add pepper, salt, milk and butter. Make a cup of drawn butter, (milk, butter and a very little corn starch as thickening, with pepper and salt) into it stir two beaten eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese. Put a layer of potatoes on a pie tin, cover with a thin layer of the drawn butter sauce, cover this in turn with more potato and repeat until there is a mound, cover with the sauce, strew thickly with cheese and brown in a quick oven.

LYONNAISE POTATOES.

Put a large lump of butter in a saucepan and let it melt; then add one small onion chopped fine or sliced thin, when it is nicely browned but not scorched, put in slices of cold boiled potatoes, salt and pepper and cook until well browned. Just before taking up add a teaspoonful of parsley.

POTATO PANCAKES.

Grate eight large pared potatoes, add to them one and one half-teacupfuls of milk, the beaten yolks of two or three eggs, a lump of butter the size of a walnut, pepper, salt, enough flour to make a batter, and lastly add the whites of two or three eggs beaten stiff. Add a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder if only one egg is used. Fry in butter or drippings to a rich brown.

RINGED POTATOES.

Peel large potatoes, cut them round and round as one pares an apple, fry in clean, sweet, very hot lard until brown; drain on a sieve, sprinkle salt over them and serve.

POTATO TURNOVERS.

Use ten tablespoonfuls of whipped mashed potatoes with a little salt added gradually, six tablespoonfuls of flour and three tablespoonfuls of butter. When thoroughly mixed lay the mass upon a floured board and roll out about an inch thick, cut in circles with a small bowl, lay upon each circle minced meat, poultry or fish. Season the meat, wet the edges of the circle with beaten egg and close each one like a turnover, pinch them around the edges and fry to a light brown, or brush them with egg and brown them in the oven.

POTATO SOUFFLE.

Choose large, smooth, handsome, uniform potatoes, allow an extra potato for any waste. Bake and with a very sharp knife cut them in two lengthwise. Remove the inside, season with butter, cream, pepper and salt and fill the potato skins with the mixture; glaze them with the beaten whites of eggs and over the top spread the whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Brown in the oven.

POTATO SOUP.

Use the water in which the potatoes were boiled, add three tablespoonfuls of mashed potato to a pint of water, and as much rich milk as there is water used, season with salt and a dust of cayenne pepper, a little juice of lemon or a little minced parsley or tarragon. Serve with crackers or croutons.

STUFFED POTATOES.

Bake handsome, uniform potatoes, cut off the tops with a sharp knife, take out the inside. Add to the scraped potato, butter, milk, pepper, salt and a little grated cheese, fill the empty shells and heap above the top. Grate a little cheese over this and set in the oven to brown. Serve hot.

POTATOES USED TO CLEANSE.

Small pieces of raw potato in a little water shaken vigorously inside bottles and lamp chimneys will clean them admirably. To clean a burned porcelain kettle boil peeled potatoes in it. Cold boiled potatoes not over-boiled, used as soap will clean the hands and keep them soft and healthy. To cleanse and stiffen silk, woolen and cotton fabrics use the following recipe:--Grate two good sized potatoes into a pint of clear, clean, soft water. Strain through a coarse sieve into a gallon of water and let the liquid settle. Pour the starchy fluid from the sediment, rub the articles gently in the liquid, rinse them thoroughly in clear water and then dry and press. Water in which potatoes are boiled is said to be very effective in keeping silver bright.

BAKED PUMPKIN.

Slice the pumpkin a quarter of an inch thick, peel and put a layer in the bottom of a baking dish, then a layer of sugar with a sprinkle of cinnamon and dot with butter, repeat this until the pan is full. Let the top be well covered with sugar. Bake in a moderate oven until the sugar becomes like a thick syrup. Or cut the pumpkin in squares and do not peel, bake, and when soft enough, scrape it from the shells, season with butter and salt and serve like squash.

CANNED PUMPKIN.

Stew pumpkin as for pies, put while hot in cans and seal.

PUMPKIN LOAF.

Take one quart of stewed pumpkin mashed fine, one teaspoonful each of salt and baking soda, one tablespoonful sugar, three pints of meal. Stir all together while boiling hot; steam four hours, or steam three hours and bake one. To be eaten hot with cream, or butter and sugar.

PUMPKIN MARMALADE.

Take ripe yellow pumpkins, pare and cut them into large pieces, scrape out the seed, weigh and to every pound take a pound of sugar and an orange or lemon. Grate the pieces of pumpkin on a coarse grater and put in the preserving kettle with sugar, the orange rind grated and the juice strained. Let it boil slowly, stirring frequently and skimming it well until it forms a smooth, thick marmalade. Put it warm into small glass jars or tumblers and when cold cover with a paper dipped in alcohol and another heavy paper pasted over the top of the glass.

PUMPKIN PIE.

To one quart of rich milk take three eggs, three big tablespoonfuls of sugar, a little salt, and a tablespoonful of ginger, a teaspoonful of cinnamon and a grated nutmeg if one likes it highly spiced, add enough finely stewed pumpkin to make a thin mixture. This will make three pies. A good pumpkin pie will puff up lightly when done.

PRESERVING PUMPKINS FOR WINTER USE.

A good way to prepare pumpkin for winter use is to cook and sift it as fine as for pies, then add nearly as much sugar as there is pumpkin; stir well and pack in crocks. Better than dried pumpkin for winter use.

PUMPKIN SOUP.

For six persons use three pounds of pumpkin; take off the rind, cut in pieces and put in a saucepan with a little salt and cover with water; let it boil until it is soft (about twenty minutes) and pass through a colander; it must have no water in it; put about three pints of milk in a saucepan, add the strained pumpkin, and let come to a boil; add a very little white sugar, some salt and pepper, but no butter. Serve hot.

HOW TO SERVE RADISHES.

Let every housekeeper try serving radishes in this dainty way. Cut off the root close to the radish and remove the leaves, leaving about an inch of the stem. Then cut the skin of the radish from the root toward the stem, in sections, as is done in removing the skin of an orange in eighths. The skin can then be peeled carefully back to the stem by slipping the point of a knife under it, and pulling it gently away from the heart of the radish. The pure white heart, with the soft pink of the peeling and the green stem makes a beautiful contrast. If they are thrown into cold water as fast as they are prepared and allowed to remain there until the time for serving, they will be much improved, becoming very crisp and tender. The skin of the young radish should never be discarded, as it contains properties of the vegetable that should always be eaten with the heart; and, unless the radish is tough, it will agree with a delicate stomach much better when eaten with the peel on. They look very dainty when served in this way, lying on fresh lettuce leaves, or are beautiful to use with parsley as a garnish for cold meats.

RADISH, CUCUMBER AND TOMATO SALAD.

Slice a bunch of radishes, and a cucumber very thin, make a bed of cress or lettuce, over this slice three solid tomatoes, and cover with the cucumbers and radish. Pour over all a French or mayonnaise dressing.

BAKED RHUBARB.

Peel rhubarb stalks, cut into inch lengths, put into a small stone crock with at least one part sugar to two parts fruit, or a larger part if liked, but not one particle of water, bake until the pieces are clear; flavor with lemon or it is good without. It is a prettier sauce and takes less sugar than when stewed, and can be used for a pie filling if the crust is made first. To prevent burning, the crock may be set in a pan of boiling water. When done and while yet hot, beat up the whites of two eggs and whip into the sauce. It makes it very light and very nice.

BOTTLED RHUBARB.

Use perfectly fresh, crisp rhubarb, peel and cut in small pieces as for pies, fill a Mason jar with the fruit and pour over it freshly drawn water. Screw on the top and by the next morning the water will have settled in the jar. Fill the jars full with fresh water, seal again and the fruit is ready for winter's use. In making pies it takes less sugar than the fresh fruit. Or, boil the rhubarb a few moments, as for sauce, with or without sugar and put into jars while it is very hot just as other fruit is canned.

RHUBARB COBBLER.

Two cups of flour sifted with two teaspoons of baking powder and one-half teaspoon of salt. Rub in two tablespoons of butter. Beat one egg very light and add it to three-fourths of a cup of milk. Mix with the other ingredients, line the sides of a baking dish with this crust. Take one quart of chopped rhubarb sweetened with three cups of sugar, fill the pudding dish with the rhubarb; roll out the remaining crust, cover the top of dish and bake one-half hour.

MRS. LAURA WHITEHEAD.

CREAM RHUBARB PIE.

One cup of rhubarb which has been peeled and chopped fine; add one cup of sugar and the grated rind of a lemon. In a teacup place one tablespoonful of cornstarch and moisten it with as much cold water; fill up the cup with boiling water and add it to the rhubarb. Add the yolks of three eggs well beaten. Bake with an under crust. When cold cover with a meringue made of the whites of the eggs and one-half cup of sugar. Place in the oven to become a delicate brown. Very fine.

MRS. BYRON BACKUS.

RHUBARB JAM.

Use equal parts of rhubarb and sugar, heat the sugar with as little water as will keep it from burning, pour over the rhubarb and let stand several hours; pour off and boil until it thickens, then add the fruit and boil gently for fifteen minutes. Put up in jelly glasses. Apples and oranges may be put up with rhubarb allowing two apples or three oranges to a pint of cut up rhubarb.

RHUBARB TAPIOCA.

Soak over night two-thirds of a cupful of tapioca. In the morning drain; add one cupful of water and cook the tapioca until it is clear; add a little more water if necessary. Then add a cup and a half of finely sliced rhubarb, a pinch of salt and a large half-cup of sugar. Bake in moderate oven an hour. Serve warm or cold and eat with sugar if liked very sweet. Very nice.

SHIRLEY DE FOREST.

RUTABAGAS BOILED.

Pare, slice and boil in as little salted water as possible, a little sugar added is an improvement. When dry and tender serve plain, each slice buttered and peppered as it is piled on the plate.

RUTABAGAS AND POTATOES.

Use three-fourths potatoes and one-fourth rutabagas; boil in salted water until tender, add a lump of butter, a dust of pepper and more salt if necessary, mash and stir until fine and light. Any good recipe for white turnips is equally good for rutabagas.

SALAD DRESSINGS.

=Cream Dressing.=--Where oil is disliked in salads, the following dressing will be found excellent. Rub the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs very fine with a spoon, incorporate with them a dessertspoonful of mixed mustard, then stir in a tablespoonful of melted butter, half a teacupful of thick cream, a saltspoonful of salt, and cayenne pepper enough to take up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade, and a few drops of anchovy or Worcestershire sauce; add very carefully sufficient vinegar to reduce the mixture to a smooth, creamy consistency.

=French Dressing.=--Use one tablespoonful of vinegar to three of salad oil (melted butter will do) one teaspoonful of salt to half the quantity of pepper and a teaspoonful of made mustard. Mix the salt, pepper, mustard and oil together, then add the vinegar a few drops at a time, stirring fast. A teaspoonful of scraped onion may be added for those who like the flavor.

=Mayonnaise Dressing.=--Put in the bottom of a quart bowl the yolk of a raw egg, a level teaspoonful of salt, and three-fourths of a teaspoonful of pepper; have ready about half a cupful of vinegar, and a bottle of salad oil; use a wooden spoon and fork for mixing the mayonnaise--first the egg and seasoning together, then begin to add the oil, two or three drops at a time, stirring the mayonnaise constantly until a thick paste is formed; to this add two or three drops at a time, still stirring, enough vinegar to reduce the paste to the consistency of thick cream; then stir in more oil, until the mayonnaise is again stiff, when a little more vinegar should be added; proceed in this way until the oil is all used, being careful toward the last to use the vinegar cautiously, so that when the mayonnaise is finished it will be stiff enough to remain on the top of the salad. Some like the addition of a level teaspoonful of dry mustard to a pint of mayonnaise.

=Plain Salad Dressing.=--Set a bowl over a boiling teakettle, into it put a tablespoonful each of melted butter and mustard, rub them well together, then add a tablespoonful of sugar, one half-cup of vinegar and lastly three well-beaten eggs. Stir constantly while cooking, to make the mixture smooth, when done, strain and bottle for use. If too thick upon serving, thin with cream.

BOILED SALSIFY.