Part 6

_Toasted Crackers._—Split and toast Boston crackers. Butter them well on the inside, lay the two halves together, and serve them in a hot covered dish. They are not nearly so good when they are cold.

2.

Ham Fritters. Baked Bananas. Bread-and-Butter. Ginger Snaps. Tea.

_Ham Fritters._—Two cups minced cold ham, one egg, half-pint good stock, saltspoonful dry mustard, teaspoonful Worcestershire sauce, tiny bit of scalded onion (chopped), half-teaspoonful minced parsley, one tablespoonful butter, one teaspoonful flour. Heat the stock to boiling, and thicken it with the butter and flour rubbed together; stir into it the ham, seasoned with the mustard, onion, Worcestershire sauce, and parsley; add the beaten egg. Pour the mixture on a flat plate to cool. When cold and firm, make into flattened balls about the size of a small plum; drop each into a batter made of a cup of flour, two teaspoonfuls of melted butter, a small cup of warm water, the beaten white of an egg, and a little salt. Lay each fritter out of the batter into boiling fat. They will puff up at once, and should be of a delicate brown.

_Baked Bananas._—Select large ripe bananas, and bake them in the oven as you would potatoes. When the skin begins to split at the seams they are done. Take them out, and serve one to each person, as a vegetable. They should be peeled, and eaten with butter and a little salt.

_Bread-and-Butter._—Butter bread a day old on the loaf, and cut into thin slices. Double, the buttered side inward.

_Ginger Snaps._—Two eggs, two cups sugar, one cup butter, two teaspoonfuls ginger, one teaspoonful cinnamon, flour to make a stiff dough. Roll into a thin sheet, cut into rounds, and sprinkle with granulated sugar before baking. Watch closely or they will burn.

3.

A Scrap Hash. Rice Bread. Oranges.

_A Scrap Hash._—Two cups cold beef (roast, boiled, corned, or fresh), one or two cold sausages, two or three slices cold bacon, one cup cold potato, four olives, tablespoonful Worcestershire sauce, a little cold stewed tomato (if you have it), half an onion minced fine, one cup gravy or soup stock, _or_ one cup boiling water and a tablespoonful of butter. Heat the gravy or stock to boiling in a frying-pan; stir into it the other ingredients chopped _fine_; simmer for fifteen minutes, stirring constantly. You can either serve the hash soft or let it brown on the bottom. Olla-podrida though it seems, it will be savory, and will be relished by nearly every one.

_Rice Bread._—Two cups milk, two cups boiled rice, one cup white corn-meal, three eggs well beaten, two tablespoonfuls butter, teaspoonful salt. Bake in a hot oven, in rather shallow pans.

4.

Liver Toast. Rusk. Radishes. Stewed Pie-plant. Light Cakes.

_Liver Toast._—One cupful cold boiled or stewed liver, half cupful brown gravy of any sort, enough mustard, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce to season the liver highly, several squares of buttered toast. Rub the liver smooth with the back of a spoon, add the seasoning, heat to boiling with the gravy, and heap or spread upon the toast. Set in the oven two minutes before sending to table.

_Rusk._—Two cups milk, two eggs, two and a half cups flour, half cup butter, one cup sugar, half a yeast-cake dissolved in warm water. Set a sponge made of the milk, the yeast, and part of the flour—enough to make a good batter. Let this rise all night. In the morning work in the beaten eggs, the sugar, butter, and the rest of the flour. Knead well, and make into balls with the hands. Set these together in the pan, let them rise until light, and bake in a steady oven. Just before taking them out brush the tops with molasses and water.

5.

Panned Oysters. Lunch Biscuit. Stewed Prunes. Ginger Snaps.

_Panned Oysters._—Cut small rounds of toast to fit the bottom of deep, straight-sided patty-pans. Prettier than these are the little "nappies," or china fire-proof dishes, that come for this purpose. Moisten each piece of toast with a spoonful of oyster liquor, lay on it as many oysters as the pan will easily hold, sprinkle with pepper and salt, lay a small piece of butter on top, and set in the oven for a few minutes until the oysters begin to crimp. Serve in the pans.

_Lunch Biscuit._—Two cups flour, half cup milk, one egg, one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful baking-powder, saltspoonful salt. Chop the shortening into the salted flour, pour in the beaten egg and milk, making a soft dough, roll out, cut into rounds, and bake.

6.

Deviled Mutton. Hashed Potatoes. Hot Loaf Bread. Orange Marmalade.

_Deviled Mutton._—Rub slices of rare mutton with a mixture made as follows: One teaspoonful Worcestershire sauce, one teaspoonful vinegar, one teaspoonful made mustard, tablespoonful melted butter. Let the meat lie in this for an hour. Then dip each slice in a frying batter made as directed in recipe for "ham fritters," and fry in deep fat. Or the deviled meat may simply be boiled over a clear fire. In either case serve very hot.

_Hot Loaf Bread._—Set a loaf of French bread in the steamer for fifteen minutes, then in a hot oven for five minutes. Serve wrapped in a napkin, and cut on the table.

7.

Caviare Toast. Cold Meat. Baked Potatoes. Strawberries, unhulled.

_Caviare Toast._—Buy the Russian caviare, which comes in small tin cans. Cut your bread into neat squares or rounds, removing the crusts; toast and butter it, spread it with the caviare, and set it in the oven five minutes before serving.

8.

Scalloped Cod. Oatmeal Gems. Boiled Potatoes. Guava Jelly and Crackers.

_Scalloped Cod._—Two cupfuls picked codfish, one cupful drawn butter (with an egg beaten in it), one teaspoonful minced sour pickle, one tablespoonful Worcestershire sauce, fine bread-crumbs. Have the drawn butter hot, stir the fish into it, add the pickle and sauce, pour into a buttered baking-dish, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with bits of butter, and bake.

_Oatmeal Gems._—Two cups of the finest oatmeal, two cups milk, two eggs, one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful sugar, one saltspoonful salt.

9.

Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus. Bread and Butter. Cheese Biscuit. Lettuce Salad.

_Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus._—Six eggs, one tablespoonful butter, two tablespoonfuls milk, salt and pepper to taste, green tips of a bunch of asparagus boiled tender. Put the butter and the milk into a frying-pan, break the eggs into this, and stir until they begin to thicken; put in the asparagus tops, season, and remove to a hot dish.

_Cheese Biscuit._—One cup grated cheese, one cup flour, one egg, pinch of salt, dash of Cayenne. Mix all together, roll into a sheet, cut into rounds, and bake to a light brown.

10.

Lobster Croquettes. Graham Bread. Saratoga Potatoes. Strawberries and Cream.

_Lobster Croquettes._—Meat of one large boiled lobster, half pint white sauce, two eggs, juice of a lemon, salt and Cayenne to taste. Mince the meat fine, stir it into the white sauce, add the eggs well beaten, and, last, the lemon juice. Turn out on a plate to cool. When perfectly cold, form into small croquettes with the hands, roll in beaten egg, then in fine cracker crumbs, and fry in deep fat.

FAMILY LUNCHES FOR SUMMER

In hot weather a comfortable room is essential to the enjoyment of a meal. The _salle à manger_ must be cleared of food, the soiled dishes removed, all crumbs brushed up, and the flies beaten out the moment breakfast is over, if the apartment is to be pleasant at noon. If blinds and doors are kept closed, the room may be deliciously cool and fresh by lunch-time.

With such surroundings, good digestion is much more prone to wait on appetite than in a stuffy, fly-infested room, where neither heat nor light is excluded. Among the pleasantest recollections of at least one woman are those connected with the lunches she has eaten in midsummer in a certain city dining-room, where the subdued light, the daintily arranged table, the carefully prepared and seasonable food, and the noiseless serving inclined one to feel that there were many worse fates than being obliged to spend the summer in town.

1.

Anchovy Toast. Chicken Salad. Bread-and-Butter. Berries and Cream. Iced Tea.

_Anchovy Toast._—Spread crustless slices of toast first with butter, then with anchovy paste. Set in the oven five minutes, and send to table.

_Chicken Salad._—Cut into small neat pieces half the contents of a can of boned chicken or part of a cold boiled or roast chicken. Mix this with half as much celery, if you can get it; if not, arrange it in the midst of crisp lettuce leaves. Stir into it a French dressing of two tablespoonfuls of oil, as much vinegar, and a little pepper and salt, and pour over it a mayonnaise dressing.

_Mayonnaise Dressing._—Into a bowl set in an outer vessel of cold or iced water place the yolk of an egg. Be careful that no vestige of the white gets in. Begin whipping in salad oil drop by drop with a Dover egg-beater, beating for nearly a minute after each addition. After ten minutes, add two or three drops at a time, and when the dressing once begins to thicken, the quantity can be increased even more. If too thick, add a little vinegar to thin it. A pint of oil can be used to every egg. When done, season with salt and white pepper. Just before serving, stir into it the whipped white of an egg. The bowl, egg-beater, and materials must all be very cold, and the dressing when made must be kept on ice until used.

2.

Eggs _à la Crème_. Raw Tomatoes. Rice Crumpets. Sliced Peaches.

_Eggs à la Crème._—Eight eggs boiled hard, one cup white sauce, two tablespoonfuls fine crumbs, tablespoonful butter. Slice six of the eggs, and put them in a pudding-dish with the white sauce. Rub the yolks of the other two eggs through a sieve, mix them with the bread-crumbs, and sprinkle them over the top of the dish. Put bits of butter here and there, garnish the dish around the sides with points of buttered toast and the extra whites of the eggs cut in rings, and set the dish in the oven until browned on top.

_Rice Crumpets._—One cup rice, two cups flour, one cup milk, one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful sugar; quarter of a yeast-cake, dissolved in warm water; pinch of salt. Set to rise early in the morning. When light, fill muffin-pans; let them stand fifteen minutes, and bake.

3.

Deviled Chicken. French Rolls. Broiled Tomatoes. Berries.

_Deviled Chicken._—Select a young and tender chicken, score it with a knife, rub it well with the sauce described in the last chapter (see "Deviled Mutton"), and broil over a clear fire.

_Broiled Tomatoes._—Slice, but do not peel, fresh tomatoes. Broil them on a toaster over the fire; remove to a hot dish; put a little butter, pepper, and salt on each one, and let them stand a minute before serving.

4.

Poached Eggs, with Anchovy Toast. Sardines. Boston Brown-Bread. Water-cress. Nutmeg Melons.

_Poached Eggs, with Anchovy Toast._—Prepare slices of anchovy toast as already described, and lay on each slice a poached egg. Pour over all a cup of drawn butter in which has been stirred a teaspoonful of chopped parsley.

_Boston Brown-Bread._—Put a loaf of Boston brown-bread into the inner vessel of a double boiler, and boiling water in the outer vessel, and steam the bread until it is hot through.

5.

Game _Pâté_. Cold Tongue, sliced. Bread-and-Butter. Radishes. Hot Crackers. Cream Cheese.

_Game Pâté._—Several varieties of game _pâtés_ are put up by French and American companies, and all are admirable for summer lunches or teas.

6.

Fried Pickerel. New Potatoes. Brown-Bread. Celery and Radish Salad.

_Fried Pickerel._—These fish are very delicious when perfectly fresh. Each fish should be rolled in flour and fried quickly in hot dripping. Take them out of the pan as soon as done.

_Celery and Radish Salad._—Cut the celery into inch lengths, and toss it up with a French dressing. Heap it in a bowl, and arrange half-peeled radishes around the mound. Pour over all a mayonnaise dressing prepared according to the directions already given. The combination of the cool celery and the pungent radishes will be found very pleasing.

7.

Jellied Tongue. Fried Bananas. Asparagus Biscuit. Peaches and Cream.

_Jellied Tongue._—One cup of the liquor in which the tongue was cooked, two cups good stock or gravy of any meat except mutton, half-box of gelatine, one gill cold water, one cup boiling water, two tablespoonfuls vinegar, one glass sherry, a cold boiled tongue, sliced. Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours. Pour over it the boiling water, the stock or gravy, and the tongue liquor, heated. Unless the gravy is highly seasoned, it is a good plan to boil a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, a slice of onion, and a few sweet herbs in a cup of water, and then to strain this, and pour it over the gelatine instead of using the plain boiling water. Flavor the jelly with the vinegar, the sherry, pepper, and salt, if the last is needed. Strain all through a cloth. When the jelly begins to harden, pour a little into a brick-shaped mould or tin pan with straight sides, first wetting the mould with cold water. Arrange slices of tongue on this. Pour in more jelly, then place another layer of tongue, and continue thus until the supply of both is exhausted, making jelly the last layer. Set the mould on ice until the jelly is hard; turn it out and slice on the table. This sounds like a fussy dish, but it is less trouble than appears at first.

_Asparagus Biscuit._—Scoop out the inside of stale biscuit, leaving side walls and the foundation of crust. Set these hollow shells in the oven until dried. Boil asparagus tender in salted water, cut off the tops, mince and season them, and stir them into a cupful of drawn butter. Fill the hot shells with the mixture, and send to table.

8.

Baked Chicken Omelet. Corn Croquettes. Brown Bread. Strawberry Short-Cake. Iced Coffee.

_Baked Chicken Omelet._—Into one cupful of white sauce, made as previously directed, stir a cupful of chicken, minced fine and seasoned to taste. Beat two eggs light, yolks and white separately. Add the yolks to the chicken mixture; last, stir in the whites lightly, pour into a buttered pudding dish, and bake in a quick oven.

_Corn Croquettes._—To two cupfuls of green corn, chopped, add one well-beaten egg, a teaspoonful of butter, one of sugar, salt to taste, and just enough flour to hold the ingredients together. Form into croquettes with floured hands, and fry in deep fat.

9.

Pickled Lambs' Tongues. Egg Salad. Boiled Corn-Bread. Loppered Milk.

_Egg Salad._—Slice hard-boiled eggs, arrange them upon crisp lettuce leaves, and pour over all a mayonnaise dressing.

_Boiled Corn-Bread._—Two cups sour milk, one cup warm water, one tablespoonful lard, one tablespoonful molasses, one teaspoonful soda, one cup flour, two cups corn-meal. Mix the ingredients, beating well; pour into a Boston brown-bread mould with a tight top; set in a pot of water; boil two hours, and turn out.

10.

Welsh Rabbit. Cold Corned Ham. Sliced Cucumbers. Rolls. Hot Oatmeal Crackers. Cream Cheese.

_Welsh Rabbit._—One egg, half-cup milk, one cup grated cheese; salt, Cayenne, and made mustard to taste; squares of stale bread toasted and buttered. Heat the milk in a double boiler, melt the grated cheese in this, season, add the egg, and pour the mixture over the toast. If the rabbit seems too thin, add more cheese or a few fine bread-crumbs.

FAMILY LUNCHES FOR AUTUMN

1.

Sweetbread Pâtés. Raised Corn-meal Muffins. Fried Potatoes. Jelly Toast.

_Sweetbread Pâtés._—Scald and blanch a pair of sweetbreads; remove bits of skin and gristle; chop rather coarsely, and stir into a cupful of white sauce; season to taste. Have ready pastry shells made hot in the oven, and fill them with the sweetbreads. Send very hot to table. A few mushrooms chopped with the sweetbreads are a pleasant addition.

_Raised Corn-meal Muffins._—Two cups milk, two cups corn-meal, one tablespoonful white sugar, one tablespoonful lard, quarter yeast-cake. Heat the milk to boiling, and pour it upon the meal. While this is warm, beat in all the other ingredients except the lard. Let it rise six hours. Add the lard. Fill muffin tins, and let the batter rise twenty minutes before baking.

_Jelly Toast._—Cut stale bread into neat rounds or squares; fry each slice in boiling deep fat; spread it thickly with some fruit jelly, and serve very hot.

2.

Deviled Ham. Sliced Potatoes. Rye Biscuit. Crackers and Cheese.

_Deviled Ham._—Cut cold boiled corned or smoked ham into rather thick slices, rub well with a sauce made as described on page 134 for "Deviled Mutton," and broil the ham over a clear fire.

_Sliced Potatoes._—Cut six boiled potatoes into neat slices, warm them in a steamer, transfer to a dish, and put on them a tablespoonful of butter and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Let them stand five minutes before serving.

_Rye Biscuit._—Two cups rye flour, one cup white flour, one and a half cups milk, one tablespoonful sugar, one tablespoonful lard, one tablespoonful butter, two teaspoonfuls baking-powder, saltspoonful salt. Rub the shortening into the flour after sifting the salt and baking-powder with it; add the sugar and the milk; roll the dough out quickly, and bake the biscuit in a brisk oven.

3.

Bouillon. Cold Chicken Pie. Potato Salad. Cold Bread. Gingerbread. Cocoa.

_Cold Chicken Pie._—Stew a grown chicken until tender, putting it on in cold water, and cooking very slowly; arrange the pieces in a deep pudding dish, laying in with them two hard-boiled eggs cut into slices; pour over all a cupful of the gravy, which should be well seasoned; cover the pie with a pastry crust, and bake in a moderate oven. Add to two cups of the remaining gravy a quarter-box of gelatine soaked in a little cold water, a small glassful of sherry, and a tablespoonful of vinegar; when the pie is done, pour this gravy into it through an opening which should have been left in the top. Make this pie the day before it is to be eaten. It is an excellent dish for Sunday lunch or tea.

_Potato Salad._—Slice cold boiled potatoes; with three cups of these mix one sliced beet, one onion braised, and three or four stalks of celery; pour over them four tablespoonfuls of salad oil and three of vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste. Let all stand in a cold place at least an hour before serving.

_Gingerbread._—Two cups milk, half-cup sugar, half-cup molasses, one teaspoonful ground ginger, one teaspoonful cinnamon, one tablespoonful butter, two teaspoonfuls baking-powder; flour enough to make a good batter. Beat hard, and bake in a steady oven.

4.

Apples and Bacon. Brown-Bread Toast. Canned Peach Short-Cake.

_Brown-Bread Toast._—Cut stale Boston brown-bread into slices, and toast, taking care not to scorch it. Butter rather liberally, and send hot to table.

_Canned Peach Short-Cake._—Make a short-cake according to previous directions; cover canned peaches with sugar, and stew them gently for half an hour in the syrup thus made; lay the sliced peaches between the layers of short-cake, and pour the syrup over each piece after it is split and buttered.

5.

Broiled Blue-Fish. Baked Potatoes. Cold Bread. Corn-meal Griddle-Cakes. Maple Syrup.

_Corn-meal Griddle-Cakes._—Two cups corn-meal, one cup flour, one cup boiling water, one tablespoonful lard, one tablespoonful molasses, two cups sour milk, one teaspoonful soda, saltspoonful salt. Scald the corn-meal; add the shortening, the milk and soda, the molasses, and the salted flour. Beat hard.

6.

Meat Loaf. Baked Tomatoes. Fried Bread. Hot Cake.

_Meat Loaf._—Two pounds raw or under-done beef or veal, minced fine; quarter-pound ham, also minced; two eggs; half-cup fine bread-crumbs; one tablespoonful melted butter; pepper, salt, chopped onion, and herbs for seasoning to taste. Work all the ingredients well together, and press closely into a brick-shaped tin. Cover this, set it in a pan of boiling water, and bake an hour and a half, taking care that the boiling water does not cook away. Turn out and slice when cold.

_Fried Bread._—Beat one egg into a cup of milk; soak in this slices of stale bread from which the crust has been trimmed. Cook on a griddle, as you would cakes.

_Hot Cake._—One cup buttermilk, two eggs, three tablespoonfuls butter, one and a half cups sugar, half teaspoonful soda, flour for a good batter (about two heaping cupfuls). Bake in a loaf, and eat warm.

7.

Broiled Smelts. Hashed Potatoes. Raised Muffins. Cerealine Fritters.

_Raised Muffins._—Two eggs, two cups milk, one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful sugar, half yeast-cake, saltspoonful salt. Make a sponge in the early morning, omitting the eggs; at lunch-time add these, well beaten, and bake the muffins in a quick oven.

_Cerealine Fritters._—One and a half cups cerealine, two cups milk, saltspoonful salt. Cook the cerealine in the milk, beat it up light, and set it aside to cool in a shallow pan; cut it into squares or rounds when cold, and fry in deep fat; sprinkle with powdered sugar, and put a spoonful of jelly on top of each just before sending to table.

8.

Stewed Kidneys. Potatoes _au Gratin_. Plain Muffins. Sliced Oranges.

_Stewed Kidneys._—Soak two kidneys in salt and water half an hour; take out the core, and cut the remainder into small pieces. Brown a tablespoonful of butter and one of flour together with a quarter of an onion sliced; lay the pieces of kidney in this, and let them cook five minutes. Add a cup of good gravy; or, if this is lacking, half a cup of boiling water. Let the kidneys simmer in this ten minutes; take out, and serve on slices of toast, pouring the gravy over and around them.

_Potatoes au Gratin._—Two cupfuls of raw potatoes cut into dice, half-cup fine bread-crumbs, two tablespoonfuls butter. Let the potato dice lie in cold water several hours, drain them, season with salt and pepper, and put them in a well-greased pan; dot them thickly with bits of butter, sprinkle them with the crumbs, and add more butter. Bake, covered, for half an hour; uncover, and brown.

_Plain Muffins._—One egg, two cups milk, one tablespoonful lard, saltspoonful salt, half yeast-cake, flour for batter. Set them early in the morning, and let them rise until noon.

9.

Toasted Bacon. Poached Eggs. Buttered Toast. Quick Crullers. Cream Cheese.

_Quick Crullers._—One and a half cups sugar, one cup butter, four eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, flour for a stiff dough; roll out, and cut into fancy shapes, and fry in deep fat.

10.

Creamed Lobster. Thin Bread-and-Butter. Salad of Cold Lamb. Crackers and Cheese.

_Creamed Lobster._—One cup milk, half-cup cream, meat of a large lobster, two tablespoonfuls butter, one tablespoonful flour, salt and Cayenne pepper to taste, juice of a lemon. Heat the milk to boiling, and thicken with the flour and butter. Mince the lobster with a sharp knife; never chop it. Stir it into the milk, and let it become well heated; add to it the raw cream, stir up once, and take from the fire; season, add the lemon juice, and serve in small silver or china shells.

11.

A Fish "Left-Over." Stewed Potatoes. Rice Cakes. Roast Spanish Chestnuts.

_A Fish "Left-Over."_—The remains of any cold boiled, broiled, fried, or baked fish; three hard-boiled eggs, if you have only a half-cupful of fish (two eggs if there is more fish); one cup white sauce. Flake the fish, chop the eggs, heat both in the white sauce, season to taste, and serve either on toast or without it.

_Rice Cakes._—One egg, one cup flour, one and a half cups cold boiled rice, saltspoonful salt, three cups milk. If this amount of milk thins the batter too much, add more flour.