TERRAPIN, FROGS’ LEGS

TERRAPIN

Counts. Terrapin measuring six inches or more across the bottom shell are called “counts.” The largest do not exceed ten inches; the average size is seven inches, and weight three to five pounds. The counts vary in price from seventeen to eighty dollars a dozen, according to size and weight.

Diamond backs. The terrapin which are most esteemed, and which command the highest price, are the “Diamond Back,” from the Chesapeake Bay. Probably it is the wild celery of this region which gives the especially prized flavor to the terrapin as well as to the Canvasback ducks taken there. Good terrapin, however, are taken in Long Island waters and all along the sea-coast.

Season. Terrapin burrow in the mud as soon as cold weather approaches and remain there until May, during which time they grow fat. They are caught during their season of hibernation, and are kept in cool, dark places packed in sea grass until wanted; the season for eating them being from December to April. Terrapin taken during the summer are rank in taste and unfit for food, and are confined in pens and fed on celery.

The female terrapin is the most prized on account of its eggs, terrapin-eggs, as served in the stew, being considered a great delicacy.

Cooking. The Maryland style of cooking terrapin is one of the most esteemed. A simple way is that of the Southern negro, who places the “bird,” as he calls it, over hot coals or in the oven until cooked, when the under shell comes off, and, removing only the gall, he eats the whole of the contents from the inverted upper shell, seasoning with butter, pepper, and salt. Before hibernating, the terrapin empties the stomach and is consequently clean, but a fastidious taste prefers to have the terrapin thoroughly washed, and the entrails and lights as well as the gall-sack removed.

The gall. It is of the greatest importance that the gall should be very carefully removed, for, if the sack be punctured or in any way injured, so that the liquid touches the liver or meat, its disagreeable bitter taste will infect the entire dish.

TO PREPARE TERRAPIN

Drop the live terrapin into hot water, and let it remain until the skin can be removed from the head and feet. Then remove, wash in several changes of water, take off the skin from the head and feet by rubbing it with a cloth, and return it to fresh scalding water to cook until tender. This is shown by pressing the feet between the fingers. They should be done in forty-five minutes to an hour. If a longer time is required, the terrapin is probably not a good one, and the meat will be stringy. Remove as soon as tender. When cold, cut off the nails, remove the shells, take out very carefully the gall-sack from the liver, the entrails, lights, heart, head, tail and white muscles. Separate the pieces at the joints, divide the meat into pieces an inch and a half long, and do not break the bones. Place the meat, cut into pieces, the terrapin eggs and the liver in a pan, cover with water, and boil again until the meat is ready to drop from the bones.

STEWED TERRAPIN, MARYLAND STYLE

Mash the yolks of eight hard-boiled eggs and mix them with two tablespoonfuls of best butter, rubbing them to a smooth paste. Put a pint of cream in a double boiler; when it is scalded, stir in the egg and butter until smooth; season with salt, white and cayenne pepper, a dash of nutmeg and allspice. Add a quart of terrapin prepared as directed above, and simmer for ten minutes, or until the terrapin is well heated. Just at the moment of serving add two tablespoonfuls of sherry or madeira; serve very hot. Terrapin is often served in individual metal cups made for the purpose, so as to insure its being hot; but with care to have all the dishes hot, the stew need not be allowed to get cold when served in ordinary deep plates.

TERRAPIN À LA NEWBURG

Put in a saucepan one quart of terrapin (prepared as directed, page [312]), a half pint of cream, and a tablespoonful of best butter. Let it cook a few minutes; then draw it aside, and add the yolks of five eggs beaten with a half pint of cream. Stir until the eggs are thickened; but do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Season with salt, white pepper and paprica. At the moment of serving, add two tablespoonfuls of sherry. Like all Newburg dishes this must be prepared only just in time to serve, or it will curdle.

FRIED FROGS’ LEGS

Dip the skinned frogs’ legs in milk; sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roll them in flour. Immerse in smoking hot fat until cooked to a delicate color. Serve on a napkin.

FROGS’ LEGS À LA POULETTE

Sauté the skinned frogs’ legs in butter; cook some fresh mushrooms in the pan at the same time if convenient. Place on a hot dish with the mushrooms, and pour over them a Poulette sauce (see page [280]).

MUSHROOMS

(SEE ALSO PAGE [45])

When one has learned to distinguish a few varieties of the edible fungi, a delicious acquisition to the menu will be enjoyed.

The author will not assume the responsibility of instructing how to distinguish the esculent mushrooms. There are books and colored charts which give explicit and reliable descriptions, and with these one can easily learn to know a few of them. Accidents are usually the result of carelessness or recklessness, many of the poisonous mushrooms being so attractive in appearance as to invite favor.

Mushroom hunting is akin in pleasure to botanizing, geologizing, or the gathering of any natural history specimens. It is not always easy to reject the many unfamiliar kinds.

How to gather. In gathering mushrooms they should be cut, not pulled, and laid in the basket with the gills up, so the spores will not be lost. If the stem is perforated with fine holes it means that worms have bored it, and it should be rejected.

The three most common varieties. The most common varieties are the Agaracini—those having gills; the Boleti—those having pores; and puff-balls (Lycoperdaceæ). All the puff-balls are edible, and those of the Boleti which have no tinge of red on the pore surface; but especial care must be used with the Agaracini, for it is said that all deaths from mushroom-poisoning have come from the Amanita, which is a genus of the gilled species, and is very common and abundant.

The safeguard to other species of poison varieties is their bitter and acrid taste. The Amanita. This warning the poisonous Agaric does not give, but it has the distinguishing feature of a cup or volva at the base of the stern. This cup is some times below the ground, and should be carefully sought; and where any doubt is felt, the specimen should be rejected. Antidote to poison. The antidote to this poison, as given by Mr. Gibson, is one sixtieth grain doses of atropine in hypodermic injections.

Authorities on mushrooms advise the amateur to first acquaint himself with the Amanita family.

“Dr. W. A. Curtis found in North Carolina thirty-eight edible species of Agaricus, eleven of Boletus, nine of Polyporus, seven of Hydnum, and thirteen of Clavaria.”

The popular tests of the cap peeling, or the mushroom blackening a silver spoon when cooking, are worthless.

Freshness. Mushrooms are very short-lived, and are quickly attacked by insects and worms, and so rendered unfit for use. They also decay quickly, and should be rejected if not entirely sound. Many cases of illness are the result of this unfit condition. The same would be the case if unwholesome meat were eaten, but good meat is not condemned on that account. Nourishment in. Mushrooms contain the same nutritive value as meat, and rank second to it in nitrogenous elements. They vary in flavor and in delicacy as much as vegetables.

COOKING MUSHROOMS

The simplest way of cooking mushrooms is usually the best, and this may be broiling, sautéing in butter, or stewing in a little cream sauce. These simple ways may be varied by seasoning with sherry, Madeira, or lemon-juice. Any meat stock may be used to stew them in, but many of the mushrooms are very juicy, and their flavor must not be lost by diluting them with too much liquor. They may be cut in pieces when used for sauces. When dried and powdered they make an excellent seasoning for sauces. Dried cèpes may be bought at grocers', and are very useful to stew in sauces.

It is better to cook mushrooms as soon as they are peeled, and to rinse them only as much as is necessary, as they lose some flavor by soaking. When they are to be used for garnishing, they are thrown into water with lemon-juice, one tablespoonful of juice to a quart of water, and are afterward boiled in the same water; this keeps them white. The water they are boiled in should be saved to use in sauces. Again, they may be put into a saucepan with butter and lemon-juice, and cooked (stirring frequently) for about five minutes. They are then covered to keep them moist and white until ready for use. Lemon-juice keeps them white, but the flavor of the mushroom is somewhat destroyed by it, and so it is not recommended for general practice. The French peel the caps with a fluted knife to make them more ornamental, but it is a difficult operation, and does not repay the trouble.

“Mr. George Augustus Sala, in a discourse on ‘Dinners Departed,’ refers to the famous à la mode beef, served in the days of old at the ‘Thirteen Cantons,’ in Blackmore Street, Drury Lane, and of which Soyer was very fond. The dish was remarkable for its rich sauce, the concoction of which was a close secret. However, the former proprietor of the old eating-house confided the receipt to Mr. Sala. Thus: ‘It was simply made from a particular mushroom, which he called “morella,” and which I infer was the Morchella esculenta, described in botanical works. These mushrooms were gathered in the fields round about the metropolis, dried, reduced to powder, and then used to thicken the sauce and enhance the flavor of à la mode beef.'”

THE FAIRY RING CHAMPIGNON

(MARASMIUS OREADES)

This is one of the most common and easily recognized mushrooms, and in their season enough for a sauce may be gathered in almost any dooryard. The difference between the real and the false fairy is easily distinguished, the former having the gills wide apart, and a little mound rising in the center of the cap, while the “false” have the gills close together and usually a depression in the center of the cap.

If the “fairies” are dry when gathered soak them in water for a little while, and then sauté or stew them. Put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; when it bubbles add a teaspoonful of flour, and cook the flour a few minutes, but not brown it; then add a half cupful of water or of milk, stir until smooth, and add a pint of the “fairies.” Simmer for fifteen minutes, season with salt and pepper. Pour this over softened buttered toast or over meat; use water to make the sauce if they are used with meat, and milk if served on toast; or cook them by sautéing them in a little butter, and serve them on softened toast.

THE AGARICUS CAMPESTRIS

This mushroom is one and two third inches in diameter; has a white or cream colored cap and purplish pink gills, the gills becoming brown at a later stage. When once learned they are unmistakable. It is a highly esteemed variety, and grows abundantly in meadows and pastures, but never in the forest. It is the mushroom generally found for sale in the markets.

Cut off the stem near the cup, peel them, and lay them with the gills up on a dish and sprinkle them with salt. After a little time they will be quite moist; then stew them in a sauce, the same as given above for the “fairies.” They may also be sautéd in butter, or be broiled. To broil, lay them on a fine wire broiler; turn the gills first to the coals for a few minutes; then turn the other side, and place a piece of butter on each one. Serve on toast. The fire for broiling mushrooms should not be very hot or bright.

AGARICUS PROCERUS

Remove the scurf spots, and broil the same as given above. Use plenty of butter. Serve on a dish with meat or on toast, as preferred.

AGARICUS RUSSULA

This mushroom is of various colors. It is found in woody paths and clearings. It is particularly subject to the attack of worms, and must be carefully scrutinized. The noxious Russulas have a bitter taste, and in appearance resemble closely the esculent ones, so care is required to discriminate them. Wash them well, peel, and broil as directed for the Campestris. Lay them under a broiled steak, so they will absorb the juices of the meat.

COPRINUS COMATUS AND COPRINUS ATRAMENTARIUS

These grow in masses in barnyards, gardens or any rich earth, and in decomposition become a soft black paste. They should be gathered at the white or pink stage. Fry them in butter or stew them with butter and a little milk or cream. They are very juicy, and do not need much liquor added to stew them.

THE BOLETI

This species is of a distinctly different character from the Agaracini or gilled mushrooms. The cap is more solid, being filled with a mass of vertical tubes or pores. Some Boleti are as large as six to eight inches in diameter, one of them making a meal for several people. Any of this class which have any tinge of red on the under surface should be rejected.

Remove the skin and pores, and either sauté the caps in butter, or dip them in fritter batter, or egg and crumb them, and fry in smoking-hot fat. They may also be stewed in a white sauce, but they are very juicy, and need but little extra liquor. These mushrooms must be carefully examined for insects, as they are quickly attacked.

PUFF BALLS

All are edible when gathered at the white stage. Cut them in slices one half inch thick. Either sauté them in butter, or dip them in beaten egg, and fry in hot fat or cook on a griddle. Season with pepper and salt.

MORCHELLÆ ESCULENTÆ

These mushrooms resemble none but those of the same genus, and all of them are edible. They are hollow, the exterior resembles a honey-comb, and they are found in open woods and at the base of trees on lawns. Great use is made of all the Morels in the French kitchen, and they are much prized by epicures.

Morels are usually stuffed with chicken, veal, or other meat, chopped very fine and highly seasoned. The stem is opened to admit the forcemeat, then pressed together again. Lay them on slices of bread, and bake in a moderate oven for ten minutes, or until tender; baste them with butter while cooking, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Wash the Morels well before stuffing them.

HYDNUM CAPUT MEDUSÆ

Cut the fungus into pieces, and simmer it in a little water; season with butter, salt, and pepper, and add a little cream. When cooked, pour the mixture over croûtons, or sauté the pieces in butter; add a little sherry just before removing from the fire, and serve on softened toast.

CLAVARIA

Separate the branches, and stew in white sauce; or sauté them in butter, seasoning with lemon-juice, salt, and pepper.

TO DRY MUSHROOMS

Place them in a saucepan, and cook with gentle heat until the moisture they give is evaporated; then place them on a hot shelf until they are thoroughly dry. Pound them to powder in a mortar, and place the powder in well-closed preserve jars.

SCALLOPED MUSHROOMS

Make a roux of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour. Add two cupfuls of chicken broth or of white stock; add the chopped stalks of a pint of mushrooms; reduce the sauce one half; add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, pepper, and salt. Turn this sauce into a shallow baking-dish. Press into it as many mushrooms as will fit into the dish, placing them close together, with the gills up. Put a piece of butter on each one; sprinkle the top with crumbs, and place in the oven for five to eight minutes. Serve in the same dish.

MUSHROOMS À LA POULETTE

Stew the mushrooms in a little water with a tablespoonful of butter; season with pepper and salt. When ready to serve, add a little milk or cream; remove from the fire, and stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs; replace on the fire for a minute to thicken the eggs, and serve at once.

Chapter XIII
ASPIC JELLY, FANCY MOLDING, SUPPORTS

Uses. Aspic is very useful in the preparation of cold dishes, and much care should be given to having it perfectly clear and well flavored. The second one of the two receipts given below is so simple that the most inexperienced cook can easily make it. With aspic, cold meats and salads can be made into most attractive dishes; and it is well worth while to learn and ornamenting with it. (See opposite pages [326], [328].)

ASPIC

Put the chicken, beef, and veal in a pot. Cover them well with cold water, and let simmer for five or six hours, with the pot covered closely. An hour before removing from the fire, add the carrot cut into dice, the cloves, and bay-leaf. Fry in butter the onions and celery (cut into pieces) to a dark brown, and add them to the stock at the same time. Remove from the fire, strain, and add one half package of gelatine (which has been soaked for an hour in one cupful of water) and one cupful of sherry or Madeira. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Set away until the next day. There should be two quarts of jelly. If it is not solid enough to stand, more gelatine may be added at the time of clearing. Boiling down jelly will not make it more firm.

TO CLEAR ASPIC

Remove all the grease from the top of the jelly, and wipe it off with a cloth wet in hot water, so every particle of grease will be removed. Stir into the cold jelly the beaten whites and the shells of three eggs (do not froth the egg). Put it on the fire, and continue to stir until it boils. Let it boil for five minutes; then strain it through a double cloth. If not perfectly clear, strain it a second time. Let the jelly drain through the cloth without pressure.

QUICK ASPIC

Put into a saucepan one and a half cupfuls of cold water, a tablespoonful each of chopped carrot and celery, a slice of onion, sprig of parsley, one bay-leaf, and three cloves; add also one teaspoonful of beef extract (obtained in jars) dissolved in one cupful of hot water. Cover, and let simmer for half an hour; then add one half box of Cox’s gelatine, which has been soaked in one half cupful of cold water for one hour. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Season with salt and pepper. A tablespoonful of sherry improves the flavor. If a deeper color is wanted add a few drops of kitchen bouquet or of caramel. Strain through a double cloth. If it is for molding it can be used at once, as there is no grease to be removed. If for garnishing, turn it into a shallow pan to set. It can be stamped or cut into fancy shapes more easily if cooled in layers of the right thickness. Gelatine added to a good, clear consommé will give the same results. Observe always the proportion of one box, or one and a half ounces, of gelatine to one and a quarter quarts (five cupfuls) of liquor. This simple method of making aspic is very quick, and is entirely satisfactory.

CHICKEN ASPIC OR JELLY

Boil a fowl as directed for chicken stock (page [100]), or boil a chicken or knuckle of veal, as directed for white stock (page [99]). Let the stock cool, take off the grease, then clarify the stock. If veal has been used, no gelatine will be needed. If chicken only has been used in making the stock, add to each quart of hot clarified stock three quarters of a box of Cox’s gelatine which has been soaked one hour in a half cupful of cold water. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved. This will make a very clear, light-colored jelly, good for molding, salads, chicken, etc.

ASPIC CROÛTONS

When jelly is to be used for garnishing, pour it into a square shallow pan one and a half inches deep. When it has thoroughly set, turn it onto a slightly dampened napkin spread on a board in a cool place. Dip a knife into hot water. Wipe it dry, and cut the jelly in strips the same width as the thickness of the jelly, then cut it straight across, making squares, or diagonally across, making diamonds, or into triangles. These croûtons will stand upright, and can be used for borders. If it is to be laid flat on the dish the strips need be cut only one quarter of an inch thick, and can be stamped with cutters into fancy shapes. Small molds may also be used for getting fancy forms of aspic. (See illustration facing page [328].)

TO CHOP JELLY

Place the jelly on a cold plate, and with a knife cut it very slowly until it is of the right size. The chopped jelly is used to cover the top of meats, or to place like a wreath around it on the dish. It may be either fine or coarse, but each piece should be separate and distinct, and can be kept so if cut slowly in a cool place, and not allowed to become warm.

TO MOLD JELLY

(SEE [ILLUSTRATIONS])

Where the mold is to be only coated with jelly, first paste a piece of paper over the top of the mold; when it is firm, cut an opening in the paper, and pour in some cold, but liquid, jelly; and turn the mold on ice slowly, so that every part may be coated. Pour off any of the jelly that has not adhered to the sides; remove the paper, and lay in the material which is to fill the center of the mold. This method is employed where only a thin coating of jelly is required. Where it is to be an inch or more in thickness it is better to use a double mold as explained below.

When molding jelly have a pan of cracked ice, and set the mold into it. The jelly will then quickly harden. The mold must be perfectly firm and upright, or the jelly will not stand straight when unmolded. Do not oil or grease a mold used for jelly. (See illustrations facing pages [326] and [386].)

TO UNMOLD JELLY

Dip the mold quickly into warm (not hot) water; wipe it dry, place the dish over the top of the mold, and turn them over together. If the jelly fails to slip out, rub the mold with a cloth wrung out of hot water. It takes only a low degree of heat to melt jelly, and if too much is used the fine points and edges will be destroyed. Do not unmold jelly until it is time to serve it. Do not shake the mold in trying to get it free, or the jelly is liable to break.

TO ORNAMENT MOLDS

Lay whatever fancy pieces are used for the decoration carefully in place on the bottom of the mold. With a spoon add only enough jelly to moisten them; if too much is used, the pieces will float out of place. Let the jelly harden and fix the decoration; then add as much as will make a layer one half inch thick; let that set; then place the material which is to fill the center. If it is a bird, or anything in one piece, add a little jelly to fix it in place; then fill up the mold. If the material is a soft substance, set in the double mold (see [below]); or, if one is not at hand, add a few spoonfuls at a time of the filling, leaving a space of one half an inch around the sides, and fill this with jelly. Proceed in this way until the mold is full, having the top covered with jelly, so that when unmolded it will form a complete case. If ornament is used on the sides of the mold, arrange the decoration when the mold is filled to the right height, dip the pieces in jelly to make them adhere, and cover them very slowly at first, so they will not float off. When the filling is to be in alternate layers with jelly, proceed in the same way, adding one layer at a time, and letting each one harden before the next is placed. The mold should not be moved while being filled; one layer should not become too hard before the next one is added, and no dampness must settle on them. Any of these causes will make the jelly liable to separate when unmolded. If the mold is placed on ice, as directed, the jelly hardens quickly, and the filling is soon accomplished.

DOUBLE MOLDS

For salads, and also in many cases for sweet jellies, it is easier to use a double mold. If one is not at hand two Charlotte Russe molds may be substituted, or any two molds or tins of the same shape, one of which is an inch smaller than the other. Place the larger one on ice, and pour into it enough jelly to make a layer on the bottom the same thickness as the width of space between the two molds. When it is set, place the smaller mold, filled with ice, on it; and fill the space between the two with jelly. When that has set, remove with a spoon the ice from the small mold, and pour in carefully a little warm water. It can then be easily lifted out. Be careful not to have the water too warm. Fill the space left by the small mold with the material to be used, leaving a space on top to cover with jelly—to encase it. Another way of molding jellies double, besides using the double mold and the method given above in ornamenting molds, is to fill the mold entirely with jelly, and when it has hardened, scoop out with a teaspoon, heated in hot water and wiped dry, enough of the center to give the space desired. This has to be done very carefully, as there is danger of the sides falling in. (See page [386].)

DECORATIONS FOR MEAT JELLY

DAISY DESIGN

Cut a hard-boiled egg into slices one eighth of an inch thick. With a pastry-bag tube or a small round vegetable-cutter stamp circles from the yolk. Cut the white strips diagonally, so they form diamond-shaped pieces. Lay a round piece of yolk in the mold, and the white pieces around it to simulate a daisy; place small pieces of parsley beside it, and use the stem of parsley for the stem of the daisy. This decoration fits very well in a Charlotte Russe mold, or in individual molds. Make two or three daisies on the large mold, only one on the small ones.

BERRY DESIGN

Use capers, grouped like berries, along the stem. Use water-cress for leaves and parsley for stems. This design, being dark, looks well in chicken or veal jelly.

TO DECORATE WITH TRUFFLES

Slice the truffles very thin; stamp them into any form desired. Take each piece on a long pin, and place it in a well-buttered mold; or for jelly molds dip them in cold jelly, and they will then adhere to the sides of the mold. Arrange the pieces symmetrically in any design. If the truffle is cut in strips, make geometrical forms. Some dishes may be ornamented after they are unmolded by dipping the pieces of truffle in cold but liquid jelly, and then applying them. The latter is the method used for chaudfroid dishes, which are usually much ornamented. (See illustration facing page [320].)

Green peas, carrots, beets, pickles, string-beans, radishes, parsley, etc., in combinations, can be made into various designs.

SOCLES

Socles are stands on which to raise birds, chops, or other articles above the dish to give them a better appearance, and allow more garnishing. They are also used as supports against which to rest larger pieces of meat, fish, tongue, etc., to keep them in place. Elaborate socles of various shapes are made of tallow by caterers, but these are not practicable for ordinary cooks to undertake, and they are also in questionable taste. The simple supports given below are easily made, and well repay the trouble, especially for cold dishes. They should be stuck to the dish with white of egg, so they will be firm. The simplest way of making a socle is to take a loaf of stale bread, remove the crust, and cut the crumb to the desired shape. Then spread it with butter, and cover it with parsley chopped very fine. If to be used for a hot dish, immerse the bread in hot fat until it takes a golden brown. Another simple socle can be made of hominy. Fill a well-buttered cake-tin or plain mold with boiled hominy. When cold it will retain the form of the mold. If desired, the sides of the mold can be ornamented with vegetables of different colors cut into fancy shapes. (See [picture].)

RICE SOCLE OR CASSEROLE

Boil rice with three times its quantity of water, and a little butter, until it is very soft; then mash or pound it in a mortar until it becomes a smooth, elastic paste. Press the paste into a plain buttered mold or pan of the size desired for the socle, and place a weight on it so it will be compact and firm when cold. Unmold, and with a pointed knife, a turnip cut wedge-shape, and a butter-stamp, mold the sides to fancy form. Brush it over with yolk of egg, and place a moment in the oven to brown; or it may be ornamented the same as the hominy supports, with vegetables cut into fancy shapes. (See [illustrations].) If wanted for a casserole, scoop out carefully a hollow in the center, and fill with chicken or any creamed meat, or with vegetables.

POTATO CASSEROLE

To a quart of seasoned mashed potato add four or six egg yolks. Stir it over the fire to dry it well; then with the hands or a knife mold it into a hollow cylinder or into a cup-shaped form; brush it over with yolk of egg, and place it a moment in the oven to brown. Fill the center just before serving with any minced meat, or with birds, chops, sweetbreads, or any creamed dish. The casserole may also be formed by pressing the potato into a mold which opens (see [illustration]), or any mold with fluted or plain sides, which, when buttered, will let the potato slip out; then egg and brown as before.

A POTATO SUPPORT FOR HOT MEATS

Add slowly to two cupfuls of well-mashed sweet or white potato, beating all the time over the fire, one cupful of hot milk, a tablespoonful of butter, one quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, a teaspoonful of salt, and lastly, three beaten eggs. Butter well a plain mold of the shape desired; sprinkle over it as many bread-crumbs as will stick to the butter; turn in the purée of potatoes, place the mold in a pan of water, and bake for thirty minutes. Turn the molded potato in the centre of a dish, and arrange chops or birds around and against it.

CROUSTADES OF BREAD

Take a loaf of bread two days old, which was baked in a round or a square tin; pare off the crust, and carve it with a sharp-pointed knife into vase or cup-shape. Fry it in hot fat to gold color. Paint the inside with white of egg to prevent its soaking up the sauce of the filling. Fill with mushrooms, chicken livers, creamed chicken or any salpicon. Do not put the filling in until ready to serve, and heat the croustade before adding it.

ROLL CROUSTADES

Cut off the tops of rolls, or of home-made biscuits of any size. Remove the crumb from the inside; butter the rolls inside and out, and set in the oven to brown. Fill with any creamed meat or salpicon.

Chapter XIV
CHAFING-DISH RECEIPTS

CHAFING-DISH COOKING

The chafing-dish, although a time-honored utensil, has recently had a renaissance. To-day it is not more valued for the convenience than for the fun of it. Amateurs and epicures alike find pleasure in brewing and stewing over the alcohol lamp; in preparing a luncheon dish, or a novelty for “tea;” but, best of all, at the midnight hour the chafing-dish does its best though most disastrous service, for matutinal headaches have been called the desserts, and just deserts of late suppers.

Kind of chafing-dish to use. The chafing-dish with double pan (the lower one to hold hot water) is the preferable one, because dishes may be kept warm in the hot water, and also because articles cooked with milk are liable to burn if cooked directly over the flame.

For safety from fire and staining, the chafing-dish should stand on a large metal tray, and the lamp should not be filled too full. Wood alcohol, which is much cheaper than high-proof spirits, answers just as well the purpose of heating, but has an unpleasant odor.

Russian bowls. The various articles to be used in the preparation of the dish should be put into Russian bowls, and the bowls placed on a Japanese tray. These bowls are of wood, and are made of all sizes. They do not break, they make no noise, and are ornamental: the last is a consideration which recommends them, other things being equal, where fancy work is being done. The preliminary preparation of the foods should be done in the kitchen, rather than before the party assembled to assist in the cooking operation with their advice, praise, and appetite.

Wooden spoons. Wooden spoons, which come in all sizes, are also desirable to use, as they do not become hot, do not scratch the dish, and are noiseless. Articles prepared in the chafing-dish are served directly from it, therefore garnishing has no part, but toast or croûtons go well with most of the preparations, and these can be toasted or reheated on an asbestos pad placed over the flame. The water-pan containing hot water should be placed under the cooking-pan as soon as the flame is extinguished. It will keep the dish warm, and serve as a bain-marie (the utensil employed in large kitchens for keeping dishes hot until time for serving). Two chafing-dishes are almost a requisite where no other fire than the lamp is to be called upon, but with this batterie de cuisine a supper can be easily and quickly prepared without one half of it spoiling while the other half is being made ready—the toast and hot water, for instance.

Dishes suitable for chafing-dish. The dishes most suitable for chafing-dish cooking are stews, eggs, and cheese. Stews can be modified in a great variety of ways, the barbecue being a favorite one. The simplest way of cooking in a chafing-dish is to put a little butter in the dish, and when it bubbles add oysters, mushrooms or any article which makes its own liquor; this lacking, a little water or milk is added, and seasoning to taste.

Canned chicken, tongue, salmon, crabs, and shrimps make good dishes and are easily prepared. Paprica, a kind of red pepper, is especially good for use in chafing-dish cookery instead of cayenne.

PANNED OYSTERS

For twenty-five oysters, put in a chafing-dish one tablespoonful of butter. When it is melted, add the juice of half a lemon and one teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Then add the oysters, which should be well drained. Cook, stirring carefully, until they are plump and the gills a little frilled—no longer. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at once on toast. The oysters exude enough juice to soften the toast. Or let the butter brown in the chafing-dish, then add the oysters and cook until plump or the gills are curled. Then add a wineglassful of sherry or Madeira. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once. When wine is used, omit the lemon and parsley, and do not season until after the wine is added, as wine augments the flavor of salt. Have ready some toasted bread and pour the oysters over it; or cut the toast into small squares, stir them into the oysters and serve directly from the chafing-dish.

OYSTER STEW

Put a tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish; add a heaping tablespoonful of flour, and cook a few minutes, stirring all the time so it will not color. Add a cupful of milk slowly and stir until it begins to thicken; then add the oyster liquor (have the liquor strained so it will be free from pieces of shell), and lastly the oysters; season with salt and pepper and a little celery salt if liked. As soon as the edges of the oysters curl they are done, and the cooking must be arrested, or they will become tough.

CREAMED OYSTERS AND CLAMS

See receipt for creamed clams (page [135]). This receipt can easily be prepared in the chafing-dish. Also oysters à la Poulette given on page [133].

BARBECUE OF FISH

Marinate one pound of any cold boiled white fish in one tablespoonful of oil, one tablespoonful of vinegar, one slice of onion, pepper and salt. Leave the fish in as large pieces as possible. Put in a chafing-dish three tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup, three tablespoonfuls of sherry, three tablespoonfuls of butter. Put the butter in first, and when melted add the catsup and wine and then the fish. Baste the fish with the liquor until it is thoroughly heated, and it is then ready to serve. Thin slices of cooked cold beef, veal, or ham may also be cooked in this way.

EGGS WITH TOMATOES

Put into the chafing-dish a cupful of canned tomatoes, and cook until they begin to soften; then season with one tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Add two beaten eggs, and stir constantly until they begin to thicken. Then extinguish the flame, and the heat of the dish will be sufficient to complete the cooking. Stir constantly until they are of the consistency of scrambled eggs. Serve at once, or they will separate.

TOMATOES AND RICE

Put into a chafing-dish a half cupful of tomatoes; add a bay-leaf, a few drops of onion-juice, pepper and salt to taste. Let them cook until tender, then remove the bay-leaf and stir in as much boiled rice as can be well coated and moistened with the tomatoes. Serve with cracker biscuits.

CREAMED DISHES

(EGGS, CHICKEN, OR VEAL)

Use the double pan with water. Make a white sauce by putting in the chafing-dish one tablespoonful of butter; let it bubble, then stir in one tablespoonful of flour; let it cook a few minutes, but not brown; then add a cupful of milk slowly, stirring all the time until it is a little thickened. Season with pepper and salt. Lay in carefully thick slices of hard-boiled egg. As soon as they are heated, place them on slices of toast softened with hot water, and pour the thickened sauce over them. For chicken or meat, season the sauce with a few drops of onion-juice, a little chopped celery if convenient, salt, pepper, and paprica. Have the chicken in good-sized pieces, or meat in thin slices, and leave them in the sauce only long enough to become well heated; canned chicken or turkey may be used. Any kind of meat can be minced and used in this way, in which case the sauce should be made with half milk and half stock. If stock is not at hand extract of beef (one teaspoonful to a cupful of boiling water) may be substituted. With chicken or oysters, the yolk of an egg is added just before it is removed, which makes it “à la poulette.”

DISHES À LA NEWBURG

These are favorite chafing-dish preparations, and may be made of lobster, crabs, shrimps, soft-shelled clams, chicken, or cold boiled halibut. Lobster: Take the meat of one boiled lobster, put it in a chafing-dish with a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne or of paprica. Stir lightly with a fork for three minutes, or until the lobster is well heated; then add a wineglassful of sherry or of Madeira, cook for another three minutes, and then add the beaten yolks of three eggs, diluted with a half pint of cream. Stir the mixture constantly for a minute, or just long enough to set the egg. If cooked too long it will curdle; serve at once. Prepare the dishes à la Newburg with a double pan. For soft-shell clams use only the soft half of the clam. For chicken use the white meat cut into inch squares. For halibut leave the pieces large, and break them as little as possible.

TERRAPIN

The prepared terrapin which comes in cans is the best for the chafing-dish, and needs only to be heated and seasoned to taste.

CHICKEN LIVERS WITH MADEIRA

Put a tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish; add the livers cut into pieces; cook them directly over the flame, turning them constantly, and dredge them while cooking with a tablespoonful of flour. It will take about five minutes to cook them; add a cupful of stock, and a few drops of kitchen bouquet. Then place the pan in the double pan containing water already hot; add to the livers a half cupful of Madeira and a few stoned olives; season with salt, pepper, and paprica after the wine is in; cover and let it simmer for ten minutes. Serve with croûtons.

CRAB TOAST

Put into the chafing-dish a tablespoonful of butter; when it is melted, add a tablespoonful of chopped celery, a teaspoonful of flour, a half cupful of cream or milk, and a canful of crab meat. Stir until the moisture is nearly evaporated; add a tablespoonful of sherry, salt and pepper, and paprica to taste; spread on toasted biscuits, or on thin slices of toast.

SMELTS À LA TOULOUSE

Cut down the back of the smelts, and remove the bone; close the fish, and lay them in the chafing-dish with the wine and mushroom liquor taken from the can. Cook until done, which will take five or six minutes. Remove and place the smelts on a hot dish. Mix with the liquor in which they were boiled one cupful of stock; rub together the butter and flour, and stir this in also, leaving it on the spoon until by stirring it is dissolved. (This method prevents its getting lumpy.) Then add the chopped mushrooms and chopped truffle. Season with salt and paprica or a dash of cayenne. Cook, stirring all the time until the sauce is creamy; then pour it over the fish. Serve with croûtons.

This is a good supper dish.

MEATS

VENISON

Put a tablespoonful of butter in a chafing-dish. When it is very hot, lay in a piece of venison steak; let it cook a minute on both sides. Use spoons for turning the meat, so as not to pierce it. When the surfaces are seared, add a glassful of currant jelly, and baste the venison constantly with the liquid jelly until cooked rare. Extinguish the flame, and cut and serve the meat from the chafing-dish.

MUTTON

Lay a slice of mutton cut from the leg into a hot chafing-dish; turn it constantly, using two spoons, until it is cooked rare. Extinguish the flame, and cover the meat with a maître d’hôtel sauce (page [286]). If preferred, spread it with currant jelly or with plum sauce; or prepare it the same as venison, with a little butter, and, instead of jelly, add a half canful of tomatoes, and finish the cooking in the same way. Season with a little onion-juice, pepper, and salt.

BEEF

A small steak can be pan-broiled in the same way. For beef a maître d’hôtel sauce must be used. A Delmonico steak or a small porterhouse steak, with the bones removed, are the best cuts to use.

Any meat cooked in the chafing-dish should have all the fat trimmed off, so that there will be less odor.

WELSH RAREBIT AND GOLDEN BUCK

Receipts for Welsh Rarebit and Golden Buck are given on pages [371] and [372].

FONDUE

BRILLAT-SAVARIN

Savarin gives this receipt, which he says is taken from the papers of a Swiss bailiff. He says: “It is a dish of Swiss origin, is healthy, savory, appetizing, quickly made, and, moreover, is always ready to present to unexpected guests.”

He relates an anecdote of the sixteenth century of a M. de Madot, newly appointed Bishop of Belley, who at a feast given in honor of his arrival, mistaking the fondue for cream, eat it with a spoon instead of a fork. This caused so much comment that the next day no two people met who did not say: “Do you know how the new bishop eat his fondue last night?” “Yes; he eat it with a spoon. I have it from an eye-witness.” And soon the news spread over the diocese.

RECEIPT

“Weigh as many eggs as you have guests. Take one third their weight of Gruyère cheese, and one sixth their weight of butter. Beat the eggs well in a saucepan; add the cheese, grated, and the butter. Put the saucepan on the fire and stir until the mixture is soft and creamy; then add salt, more or less, according to the age of the cheese, and a generous amount of pepper, which is one of the positive characters of the dish. Serve on a hot plate. Bring in the best wine, drink roundly of it, and you will see wonders.”

PINEAPPLE CANAPÉS

Split in two some square sponge-cakes, which can be bought at the baker’s for two cents each. Put a little butter in the chafing-dish. When it is hot put in the slices of cake, and brown them a little on both sides. Lay the slices on a plate, and spread each one with a layer of canned chopped pineapple. Turn the juice from the can into the chafing-dish. Moisten a teaspoonful of arrowroot with cold water, stir it slowly into the hot juice, and continue to stir until it becomes thickened and clear. Pour the sauce over the slices of spread cake. If more than a cupful of juice is used, add more arrowroot in proportion. Any kind of fruit, and slices of sponge cake or of brioche, can be used instead of the square individual cakes. Strawberries, raspberries, or peaches make good sweet canapés.

CHOCOLATE MADE WITH CONDENSED MILK

Fill the cups to be used about one third full of condensed milk; add a heaping teaspoonful of instantaneous chocolate, which is chocolate ground to a fine powder. Mix them well together; then fill the cup with boiling water, and stir until the chocolate and milk are dissolved. No sugar is needed, as the milk is sweetened to preserve it.

Chapter XV
BREAD

The yeast plant. Yeast is a minute plant, and like other plants must have the right conditions of heat, moisture, and nourishment in order to live or to nourish. It will be killed if scalded, or if frozen, as any other plant would be; therefore, as we depend upon the growth of this little plant for raising our bread, we must give its requirements as much care as we do our geraniums or our roses. The yeast plant takes its nourishment from sugar. This is found in flour. It converts this sugar into carbonic acid gas and alcohol, and the pressure of this gas causes the mixture in which it is generated to become inflated, or to “rise.”

Making bread. In mixing bread, we put the yeast into warm (not hot) water; this we mix with flour, thus supplying the moisture and nourishment required. We put this mixture in a warm place to force the growth of the plant. When the dough has become sufficiently inflated we put it into the oven and raise the heat to a degree which kills the plant and fixes the air cells, and our bread is done.

Yeast. In cities, where fresh compressed yeast can be obtained, it is not worth while to prepare one’s own. Where this cannot be had, the dry yeast-cakes often give satisfactory results, but are not as reliable as a liquid yeast, which in the country it is often necessary as well as desirable to make.

DICK BENNET’S RECEIPT FOR YEAST

Peel nine good-sized potatoes, and boil them with a large handful of loose hops tied in a thin muslin bag. Use enough water to cover them well. When the potatoes are tender strain off the water. Mash the potatoes, return them to the water in which they were boiled, and mix them well together. Add two tablespoonfuls of flour, one half cupful of granulated sugar, and one tablespoonful of salt. Cook it for a few minutes, adding sufficient flour to make a thin batter. Set it aside until lukewarm; then add a yeast-cake, or a cupful of liquid yeast. Mix it well and place in a stone jar. Let it stand for twelve hours in a warm place. Stir it three times during this period. Place a weight on the lid of the jar, and set it in a cool place.

YEAST RECEIPT No. 2

Mix these together, and add enough water to make a batter as thick as that used for griddle cakes.

Pour two quarts of boiling water on as many hops as one can hold in the hand. Let them boil for five minutes. Strain off the water, and while hot add it to the batter. When it is lukewarm add a cupful of yeast, or a yeast cake. Let it stand several hours in a warm place until it rises, or the top is covered with bubbles. Then place in glass preserve jars, and keep in a cool place. Use a granite-ware saucepan and a wooden spoon when making yeast, in order to keep a good color.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YEAST IS NOT OBTAINABLE TO START THE FERMENTATION IN MAKING YEAST

Mix a thin batter of flour and water, and let it stand in a warm place until it is full of bubbles. This ferment has only half the strength of yeast, so double the amount must be used.

PROPORTIONS OF RAISING MATERIALS TO USE, AND OTHER ITEMS

One cake of compressed yeast is equal to one cupful of liquid yeast.

Baking-powder is a mixture of soda, cream of tartar, and cornstarch, or rice flour.

Use one level teaspoonful of baking-powder to each cupful of flour.

Use one even teaspoonful of soda and two full teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar to a quart of flour.

When sour milk is used, take one even teaspoonful of soda to a pint of milk, and omit the cream of tartar.

When molasses is used, omit the cream of tartar, and use one teaspoonful of soda to each cupful of molasses.

Mix powders with the flour, and sift them together, so as to thoroughly mix them.

Mix dry materials in one bowl and liquids in another; combine them quickly, and put at once into the oven.

The oven for baking bread should be hot enough to brown a teaspoonful of flour in five minutes. For biscuits it should brown in one minute.

Rolls brushed with milk just before baking will have a brown crust.

Rubbing the crust with butter just before it is taken from the oven will make it crisp.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING BREAD

Time required for making bread. Bread is often mixed the night before it is to be baked, and left to rise from eight to ten hours; but the whole process of bread-making, from the mixing to the serving, can be done in two and a half hours if sufficient yeast is used. In hot weather it is desirable to complete the work in a short time, in order to prevent fermentation or souring, which occurs if left too long a time. Four hours and a half is ample time for the whole process, using the ordinary amount of yeast; two hours for the mixing and rising of the sponge or dough; one half hour for the kneading and molding; one hour for the loaves to rise in the pans, and one hour for the baking.

Raising the bread. A thin batter called a sponge may be made at night, and the rest of the flour added in the morning, or the dough may be mixed and kneaded at night and only molded into loaves in the morning; but a better way, especially in summer, is to set the bread early in the morning and have it baked by noon. It needs to rise twice, once either in the sponge or in the dough, and again after it is molded into loaves. The old way of letting it rise three times is unnecessary, and increases the danger of souring. If the dough gets very light before one is ready to work it, it should be cut away from the sides of the pan and pressed down in the center with the knife. This liberates some of the gas and retards the fermentation. This can be done several times. If it rises too high it will collapse, which means souring, but before that it loses its best flavor, and so should not be allowed to more than double its bulk.

Proportions of materials. The proportions of flour, liquid, and yeast cannot be exactly given, as flour of different qualities and degrees of dryness will absorb more or less liquid, and the amount of yeast to be used depends both upon the time allowed and the temperature.

Two cupfuls of liquid will take six to seven cupfuls of sifted flour, and this will make two small loaves. One half a compressed yeast cake will raise this amount in two hours if kept in a warm place. The other ingredients for this quantity are one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, and one tablespoonful of butter, lard, or cottolene, if shortening is desired.

Bread made with milk instead of water, and with shortening, is more tender than when water alone is used. Boiled potatoes are sometimes added, and give a more moist bread.

Mixing. Dissolve the yeast in a part of the tepid water; in the rest of the water mix the salt, sugar, and butter, add the dissolved yeast, and then stir in enough flour to make a soft dough which will not stick to the hands. If the flour is cold warm it. If milk is used, scald it, then allow it to become tepid before mixing it with the yeast. Place the pan in a warm place free from draughts. When the dough is to be made into rolls or fancy forms, it needs to be a little stiffer than for loaves.

Making a sponge. A sponge is a thin batter made by mixing only a little flour with the other ingredients. This is left to stand until filled with large bubbles. The rest of the flour is then added, to make the dough.

When bread is to be made in a short time, it is better to set a sponge instead of making a dough at first; for in this way the second rising will be a little quicker.

The crust on dough. When a dough is mixed and set aside to rise, cover the pan with several thicknesses of cloth to exclude the air and so prevent a crust forming on the top. It helps also to keep the dough at an even temperature. If a crust forms it is difficult to mix it in so thoroughly that it does not leave hard spots and lines in the bread. There is a bread-pan made with close-fitting cover, which is recommended.

Kneading and molding. When the dough is made, it should be kneaded for twenty to thirty minutes. Turn it from the pan onto a board, and work it by drawing it forward with the fingers and pushing it away with the balls of the hands, turning it all the time. This stretches the gluten and changes it from a sticky paste to a smooth, elastic substance. Use as little flour on the board as possible, and work it until it no longer sticks. The more it is worked the finer will be the grain, and the less flour used the better will be the bread.

Baking. When dough is made at the first mixing, return it to the pan after it is kneaded and let it rise to double its size (not more), and then work it down, mold it into loaves, and let it rise a second time in the baking-pans. When a sponge is made, knead the dough when the flour is added to the sponge, and put it at once into the baking-pans.

Divide the dough evenly and shape it to the pans as well as possible, filling the pans only half full. Cover and set them in a warm place free from draughts. When they have doubled (not more) in size, put them in the oven. The loaf rises a little more in the oven. If it is too light, it is likely to fall, which means it has soured, and for this there is no remedy. The loaf in the pan should rise in one hour.

Care in baking is even more essential than care in mixing and raising the bread. Test the oven by putting in a teaspoonful of flour. If it browns the flour in five minutes the heat is right. The fire. Have the fire prepared so it will not need replenishing during the hour required for the baking. The bread rises after it goes in the oven, and is likely to rise unevenly if the oven is hotter on one side than the other; therefore it should be watched and turned carefully if necessary. At the end of ten to fifteen minutes the top should be browned, and this will arrest the rising. If the oven is too cool, the bread is likely to rise so much as to run over the pan, or to have a hole in the center. If the oven is too hot it will make a crust too soon, the centre be underdone, and the crust be too thick. Time. One hour is the time required for baking the ordinary sized loaf.

When the bread is taken from the oven turn it out of the pans and support the loaves in such a way that the air will reach all sides. Care of bread after it is baked. If the loaves stand flat the bottom crust will become moist. If wrapped in cloth it will do the same and give a soft crust, which, however, some prefer to have. It should not be put in the bread-box until entirely cold.

Baking bread rolls. For baking rolls the rule is different from that for bread. Rolls should rise, to be very light, more than double their original size, and the oven be hot enough to form a crust at once. It should brown flour in one minute and bake the rolls in fifteen to twenty minutes.

Flour. The ordinary white flour of best quality is nearly all starch, the nourishing parts of the wheat having been mostly all removed by the bolting to make it white. The whole wheat flour makes a much more nourishing and health-giving bread, and when the habit of eating it is once formed, bread made of the white flour is no longer liked.

Pans. There is a variety of bread-pans giving loaves of different shapes to be used for different purposes. Besides the square tin which gives the ordinary square loaf, there is a sheet iron rounded pan open at the ends. The dough for this pan is made into a long roll a little thicker in the middle than at the ends. It gives the shape of the Vienna loaf. After the bread has risen cut it across the top in three diagonal slashes with a sharp knife; when it is nearly baked brush over the top with a thin boiled cornstarch, and it will further resemble the Vienna loaf. For dinner bread, there is a pan a foot long of two flutes, about two inches each across and open at the ends; for this roll the dough long and round, or make two smaller rolls and twist them together; bake in a hot oven like biscuits. This gives a long, round crusty loaf like the French bread. A pan of small flutes is used for dinner sticks or finger rolls, giving a pencil of bread three quarters of an inch thick and five inches long. Different shapes for variety. Bread made in different shapes gives a pleasant variety and often seems like a different article when baked so as to give more or less crust.

WATER BREAD No. 1

TWO SMALL LOAVES)

For mixing, kneading, and baking, see [general directions] given at head of chapter.

WATER BREAD No. 2

(TWO SMALL LOAVES)

For mixing, kneading, and baking, see [general directions] given at head of chapter.

MILK BREAD

Make the same as Water Bread No. 2, but use milk in place of the water, or use half milk and half water.

POTATO BREAD

Add one medium-sized mashed boiled potato to the sponge of any of the foregoing receipts. Potato gives a more moist bread, which retains its freshness longer.

RECEIPT FOR ONE LOAF OF BREAD OR ONE PAN OF BISCUITS TO BE MADE IN TWO HOURS

Make a sponge; let it stand in a warm place in a pan of warm water until full of bubbles; then add the flour, knead it for twenty minutes, mold into loaf, and let it rise in the baking-pan until double in size, and bake.

BREAD MADE WITH BAKING-POWDER

Add to four quarts of flour a teaspoonful of salt and six teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Sift them three times so as to thoroughly mix them, and then add slowly a quart of cold water, or enough to make a dough of the right consistency. Mold it quickly into four loaves, and put at once into a moderate oven for one and a quarter hours.

BREAD MADE OF WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR

Dissolve a yeast cake in two tablespoonfuls of tepid water. Put into a bowl a pint of milk; add to it a pint of boiling water, and let it stand until it is lukewarm; then add the dissolved yeast, a teaspoonful of salt, and enough whole wheat flour to make a thick batter. The batter should drop, but not run off the spoon. Beat this batter with a spoon for fifteen minutes. It becomes quite soft and liquid by beating. Add enough more flour to make a dough; turn it onto the board and knead it a few minutes; return it to pan, and let rise for three hours, or until light. Mold it into small loaves; let it rise again, and bake in moderate oven thirty to forty-five minutes.

GRAHAM BREAD

Dissolve a half teaspoonful of soda in a cupful of lukewarm water. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a tablespoonful and a half of molasses, and let them warm until the butter is melted. Add to it the dissolved soda and water, and a half teaspoonful of salt. Stir this mixture into a cupful of light white bread sponge, and add enough Graham flour to make a stiff batter, or very thin dough. Turn into a greased pan. Let it rise until even with the top of the pan, and bake in a moderate oven an hour or an hour and a quarter. Use a spoon, and not the hands, for mixing Graham flour. A little white flour may be mixed with the Graham flour if a lighter colored and dryer bread is preferred.

GLUTEN BREAD

Pour a pint of boiling water into a pint of milk; add a teaspoonful of butter and a teaspoonful of salt. Let it stand until it is lukewarm; then add a well-beaten egg, a quarter of a yeast-cake dissolved, and enough gluten to make a soft batter. Cover and stand in a warm place to rise; then add enough gluten to make a soft dough, and knead it well. Form it into four loaves, and let rise again. Bake for one hour.

Gluten bread requires less yeast and less time to rise than ordinary bread.

BOSTON BROWN BREAD

Mix well the flour, meal, and salt; add to them the boiling water. Mix the sweet milk and molasses together, and add them to the scalded meal. Dissolve the soda in the sour milk, and add it last. Turn the mixture into a covered cylindrical mold or into a covered pail, and steam it for three hours; then uncover and bake in the oven for half an hour. Slices of this bread toasted, buttered, and covered with cream make a good breakfast or luncheon dish.

TOAST

Cut the bread in even slices one quarter of an inch thick. Cut off the crust and trim the pieces into even and uniform shape. There is no waste in this, as the scraps of bread can be dried and crumbed. If the bread is fresh, let it dry a few minutes in the oven. Place it on a wire toaster, and turn often until well dried through; then hold it over the coals a minute to take an even golden color. Toast requires careful watching, or it will burn or be unevenly colored. Toast should not be served until the moment it is required. A few pieces only should be served at a time, and the plate should be hot. If wrapped in a napkin, or piled up, it quickly becomes damp and loses its crispness. If a soft toast is wanted, color the bread at once without drying it; the center will then be only heated. Toast used under game or meats is made dry, buttered, and sprinkled with salt; then softened with a little boiling water.

MILK TOAST

Make a dry toast; spread it with butter, and sprinkle it with salt. Place it in the dish in which it is to be served, and pour over it a little boiling water; cover it, and place in the oven a few minutes to steam and soak up the water. It should have enough water to entirely soften it, but not lose its shape. Put one teaspoonful of butter in a saucepan. When it bubbles, stir in a teaspoonful of flour, and let it cook a minute without coloring. Add slowly, stirring all the time, one cupful of milk. Cook until it is slightly thickened; add a saltspoonful of salt. Pour this thickened milk over the softened toast just before serving. Bread for milk toast should be cut in even slices one half inch thick, thoroughly dried in toasting, evenly colored, and steamed until tender. When cream is used, it is scalded and poured over the softened toast.

PANADA

Split Bent’s water biscuits in two; sprinkle salt or sugar between them, and place together again; or, use two large soda biscuits, or pilot bread, or Passover bread. Place them in the dish in which they will be served; pour over enough boiling water to cover them. Cover the dish, and place it in the open oven, or on the hot shelf, until the biscuits have become soft like jelly; pour off any water that has not been absorbed, using care not to break the biscuits. Sprinkle again with salt or sugar. A little cream or hot milk can be added if desired.

PULLED BREAD

Break off irregular pieces of the crumb of fresh bread, and dry it in a very slow oven until lightly colored. The inside of fresh biscuits left over can be treated in this way, and will keep an indefinite time. They should be heated in the oven when served, and are good with chocolate, or coffee, or bouillon. The crusts of the biscuits may be used as cups for creamed meats or vegetables, or for eggs.

ZWIEBACK

Cut rusks into slices one half inch thick, and dry them in a very slow oven until dried through, and of a deep yellow color. Slices of Vienna bread can be used in the same way.

BREAD FRITTERS

Take pieces of raised bread-dough the size of an egg, drop them into smoking hot fat, and fry to a gold color, the same as doughnuts. Drain and serve on a napkin for breakfast, or sprinkle them with powdered sugar and ground cinnamon mixed, and serve them for luncheon.

BREAD ROLLS

For one panful of biscuits take as much raised bread-dough as will make one loaf of bread. Use any kind of bread-dough, but if no shortening has been used, add a tablespoonful of butter to this amount of dough. Add also more flour to make a stiffer dough than for bread. Work it for ten minutes so as to give it a finer grain. Cut it into pieces half the size of an egg, roll them into balls, and place in a pan some distance apart. If enough space is given, each roll will be covered with crust, which is the best part of hot breads. If, however, the crumb is preferred, place them in the pan near enough to run together in rising. Let the biscuits rise to more than double size, and bake in a quick oven twenty to thirty minutes.

When removed from the oven rub the crusts with a little butter, and wrap the rolls in a cloth until ready to serve. This will give a tender crust. If a deep color is liked, brush the rolls with milk or egg before placing them in the oven. A glaze is obtained by brushing them with sugar dissolved in milk when taken from the oven, then replacing them in the oven again for a moment to dry.

CRESCENTS

Add to bread-dough a little more sugar, and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll it to one eighth inch thickness. Cut it into strips six inches wide, and then into sharp triangles. Roll them up, commencing at the base; the point of the triangle will then come in the middle of the roll. Turn the points around into the shape of crescents. Place on tins to rise for half an hour, brush the tops with water, and bake until lightly colored. When taken from the oven brush the tops with thin boiled cornstarch water, and place again for a minute in the oven to glaze.

BRAIDS AND TWISTS

Take any bread- or biscuit-dough. Roll it one inch thick, and cut it into strips one inch wide. Roll the strips on the board to make them round. Brush the strips with butter. Braid or twist the strips together, making them pointed at the ends, and broad in the middle. Let them rise a little, but not so much as to lose shape, and bake in a quick oven. Glaze the tops the same as directed above for crescents.

CLEFT ROLLS

Make the dough into balls of the size desired. After the rolls have risen cut each roll across the top with a sharp knife about an inch deep. If cut twice it makes a cross roll. Glaze the tops as directed for crescents, or brush them with milk and sugar.

LUNCHEON AND TEA ROLLS

Boil the milk, dissolve in it the sugar and salt, and add the butter to melt it. When this mixture becomes tepid, add the beaten whites of the eggs and the yeast, dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of water; then stir in the flour, and knead it for twenty to thirty minutes; cover it well, and put it aside in a warm place free from draughts to rise over night. If to be used for breakfast, mold the rolls to any shape desired; let them rise to more than double their size, and bake for thirty minutes. If they are to be used for luncheon, cut down with a knife the raised dough in the morning, and keep it in a cool place until an hour and a half before the time for serving the rolls; then mold, raise, and bake them. If they are to be used for tea, do not set the dough until morning. In summer allow four and a half hours for the whole work, the same as directed for bread on page [340].

PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

Put the salt into the flour, and work in the shortening thoroughly. Dissolve the yeast in one cupful of warm water. Scald the milk, and dissolve the sugar in it after it is taken off the fire. When the milk is lukewarm, mix the yeast with it. Make a hollow in the center of the flour, and pour into it the milk and yeast mixture. Sprinkle a little of the flour over the top. Cover the pan well, and leave it to rise. If this sponge is set at five o’clock, at ten o’clock stir the whole together thoroughly with a spoon. Do not beat it, but stir it well, as it gets no other kneading. In the morning turn the dough onto a board, work it together a little, and roll it evenly one half inch thick. Lift the dough off the board a little to let it shrink all it will before cutting. Cut it into rounds with a good-sized biscuit-cutter. Place a small piece of butter on one side, and double the other side over it, so the edges meet. Let them rise for two hours, and bake in a quick oven for twenty minutes. If the rolls are to be used for luncheon, cut down the dough in the morning and keep it in a cool place until the time for molding them. If for tea, set the sponge in the morning, using one half cake of compressed yeast.[352-*]

TEA BISCUITS MADE WITH BAKING POWDER

Add the salt and baking-powder to the flour and sift them. Rub in the butter well. With a fork stir in lightly and quickly sufficient milk to make a soft dough. The dough must be only just stiff enough to roll. Flour the board well, turn the dough onto it, and lightly roll it to a half inch thickness. Cut it into small circles, brush the tops with milk, and bake in a quick oven for twenty to thirty minutes.

BISCUITS MADE WITH SOUR MILK

Mix the soda and the salt with the flour, and sift them several times so they will be thoroughly mixed. Rub in the butter evenly. Stir in lightly with a fork enough sour milk to make a dough just stiff enough to roll. The dough can be left very soft if the board is well floured and the rolling-pin is used very lightly, patting the dough rather than rolling it. Roll it out quickly an inch thick. Cut it into small rounds. Bake in a quick oven twenty to thirty minutes. The dough can be rolled half an inch thick, and two rounds placed together with a small bit of butter between. They are then called twin biscuits. These biscuits may be made of sweet milk, in which case two rounding teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar must be used with the soda and mixed with the flour.

CORN BREAD No. 1

Mix the flour, meal, salt, and baking-powder together thoroughly. Beat together the eggs and sugar; add the butter, then the flour mixture, and lastly mix in quickly the milk and turn into a flat pan to bake. Sour milk can be used instead of sweet milk, in which case a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a quarter of a cupful of hot water is used, and baking-powder is omitted.

CORN BREAD No. 2

Scald the milk and pour it onto the sifted meal. Let it cool, then add the melted butter, salt, sugar, baking-powder, and yolks of the eggs. Stir it quickly and thoroughly together, and lastly fold in the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in a flat pan in a hot oven for thirty minutes.

PUFFS OR POP-OVERS

Mix the salt with the flour. Mix the beaten yolks with the milk, and add them slowly to the flour to make a smooth batter. Lastly fold in the whipped whites. Put the batter at once into hot greased gem-pans, filling them half full, and put into a hot oven for thirty minutes. Serve at once, as they fall as soon as the heat is lost.

GRAHAM GEMS

Mix the dry ingredients together; beat the eggs separately. Mix the milk with the salt and sugar; add the water, then the flour, and lastly fold in the whipped whites, and put at once into very hot greased gem-pans, filling them half full. Bake in a hot oven thirty minutes.

CORN GEMS

(MADE OF CORN FLOUR)

Break the yolks of the eggs; add to them milk, salt, and melted butter; mix them well together, then add the two kinds of flour. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth; when they are ready, add the baking-powder to the flour mixture and then fold in lightly the whipped whites. Turn at once into warm gem-pans, a tablespoonful of batter into each one, and bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes. This receipt can be used for any kind of flour.

MUFFINS No. 1

Mix thoroughly the baking-powder and salt with the flour. Stir the milk and yolks together; add the butter, melted; then the flour, and lastly fold in the whipped whites. Turn into hot gem-pans, and bake at once in a very hot oven for fifteen to twenty minutes. Serve immediately.

RAISED MUFFINS

Scald the milk, and add the butter, sugar and salt. When it has become lukewarm, add the yeast dissolved in a quarter cupful of lukewarm water. Stir in enough flour to make a drop batter, cover it well, place it in a warm place free from draughts, and let rise over night. In the morning stir it down, grease some muffin-rings, place them on a hot greased griddle, fill the rings half full of batter. It will rise to the top. Turn the muffins with a pancake turner and bake them on both sides until a thin brown crust is formed. Two eggs may be added to the batter in the morning if desired. If so, beat the yolks and whites separately and add the whites last.

ENGLISH MUFFINS OR CRUMPETS

Use the receipt for raised muffins, omitting the sugar and eggs. Do not bake them so much. Turn them before the crust becomes brown. When cold, pull them apart and toast them.

SALLY LUNN

This is the same as the receipt for Muffins No. 1, using three eggs instead of two, and baking it in a cake-tin instead of gem-pans. In this form it is served for luncheon or for tea.

WAFFLES

Mix the flour, baking-powder, and salt thoroughly together. Mix the yolks with the milk; then the melted butter, the flour, and lastly the beaten whites. Have the waffle-iron very clean; let it be thoroughly heated on both sides. Rub it over with a piece of salt pork, or with a piece of butter tied in a clean rag. Close the iron, and turn it so the grease will cover every part. Put enough batter into each section of the iron to fill it two-thirds full. Shut the iron, and cook the waffles a minute or longer on each side. Serve the waffles hot, using with them syrup or powdered sugar mixed with ground cinnamon.

HOMINY CAKE

Stir into one cupful of boiled hominy while it is still hot a teaspoonful of butter, one saltspoonful of salt, and the yolks of two eggs well beaten; add slowly a cupful of milk, and then a half cupful of fine cornmeal; lastly, fold in the whipped whites of two eggs. Bake in a flat tin in a hot oven for twenty to thirty minutes. Cold boiled hominy left over can be used for this dish by heating it with enough water to moisten it.

OAT CAKE

Mix oatmeal, which is ground fine, with a little salt and enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll it on a floured board to one eighth inch thickness, and bake it in one sheet in a slow oven without browning, until dry and hard. It should be gray in color. When done, break it into irregular pieces. This is a Scotch dish, and in Scotland is made with a fine oat flour, which is difficult to obtain in this country.

BRAN BISCUITS

Mix the bran, flour, and soda together, mix the molasses and milk together, and add the flour mixture. Bake in gem-pans. Two of these biscuits eaten at each meal act as a laxative and cure for constipation. The receipt is furnished by a physician.

BREAD STICKS

Any bread-dough may be used, though that with shortening is preferred. After it is kneaded enough to be elastic, cut it into pieces half the size of an egg, roll it on the board into a stick the size of a pencil and a foot long. Lay the strips on a floured baking-tin or sheet. Let them rise a very little, and bake in a moderate oven, so they will dry without browning. Serve them with bouillon or soups, or with tea.

RUSKS

Make a sponge (see [directions] at head of chapter), using the milk, salt, and yeast. When it is full of bubbles, add the butter, sugar, and well-beaten eggs. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead it for twenty minutes. Let it rise to double its bulk; then mold it into balls the size of half an egg. Place them rather close together in a baking-tin, and let them rise until very light. When they are ready to go into the oven, brush over the tops with sugar dissolved in milk, and sprinkle the tops with dry sugar. Bake in a hot oven about half an hour. Rusks must be well kneaded and be very light before being baked. A part of the dough set for bread may be made into rusks by adding to it an egg, sugar, and butter.

DRIED RUSKS

Cut rusks that are a day old into slices one half inch thick, and dry them in a slow oven until a fine golden color.

BATH BUNS

Mix the salt, sugar, and grated nutmeg with the flour. Scald the milk and melt the butter in it. Dissolve the yeast in a quarter cupful of lukewarm water. When the scalded milk has become lukewarm, add to it the dissolved yeast and the eggs, which have been well beaten, the yolks and whites separately; then add the flour. Use more flour than given in the receipt, if necessary, but keep the dough as soft as possible. Knead it on a board for twenty minutes. Let it rise over night in a warm place, well covered. In the morning turn it on to the molding-board, roll it and rub it lightly with butter, then fold it several times, cut it into pieces the size of a large egg, and mold it into balls. The folding is to make it peel off in layers when baked, but may be omitted if desired. Press into the side of each bun, after it is molded, a piece of citron and lump of sugar wet with lemon-juice. Place the buns in a baking-tin and let them rise to more than double their size. Brush the tops with egg diluted with water to give a brown crust. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. When baked, brush over the tops with sugar dissolved in milk, and return to the oven for a few minutes to glaze. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar over the tops as soon as they are removed from the oven.

COFFEE CAKE

Take two cupfuls of bread sponge, add one egg well beaten, a half cupful of sugar, a tablespoonful of butter, and a cupful of tepid water. Mix them well together, then add enough flour to make a thin dough. Let it rise until double in size. Turn it on a board, and roll it out an inch thick. Place it in a baking-tin, cutting it to fit the tin, and let it rise again until light. Just before placing it in the oven, spread over the top an egg beaten with a teaspoonful of sugar. Sprinkle over this some granulated sugar, and a few split blanched almonds. If preferred, the dough may be twisted and shaped into rings instead of being baked in sheets. This cake, which is a kind of bun, is, as well as bath buns, a good luncheon dish to serve in place of cake; or either of them, served with a cup of chocolate, makes a good light luncheon in itself.

BRIOCHE

Brioche is a kind of light bun mixture much used in France. It has many uses, and is much esteemed. It will not be found difficult or troublesome to make after the first trial. The paste once made can be used for plain brioche cakes, buns, rings, baba, savarins, fruit timbales (see page [406]), cabinet puddings, etc.

Dissolve the yeast-cake in a quarter of a cupful of lukewarm water. Stir it so it will be thoroughly mixed, then add enough flour to make a very soft ball of paste. Drop this ball into a pan of warm water (the water must not be hot, or it will kill the yeast plant). Cover, and set it in a warm place to rise, which will take about an hour. This is for leaven to raise the brioche. The ball of paste will sink to the bottom of the water at first, but will rise to the top later, and be full of bubbles.

Put the rest of the flour on a platter, and make a well in the center of it. Into this well put the butter, salt, sugar, and four eggs. Break the eggs in whole, and have the butter rather soft. Work them together with the hand, gradually incorporating the flour, and adding two more eggs, one at a time. Work and beat it with the hand until it loses its stickiness, which will take some time. When the leaven is sufficiently light, lift it out of the water with a skimmer, and place it with the dough. Work them together, add one more egg, the last of the seven, and beat it for a long time, using the hand. The longer it is beaten the better and the finer will be the grain. Put the paste in a bowl, cover, and let it rise to double its size, which will take four to five hours; then beat it down again, and place it on the ice for twelve or twenty-four hours. As beating and raising the paste require so much time, the work should be started the day before it is to be used.

After taking the paste from the ice, it will still be quite soft, and have to be handled delicately and quickly. It softens more as it becomes warm.

TO MAKE A BRIOCHE ROLL WITH HEAD

Take up carefully a little of the paste, and turn it into a ball about three inches in diameter; flatten it a little on top, and with a knife open a little place on top, and lay a small ball of paste into it. Let it rise to double its size, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty to thirty minutes. If a glazed top is wanted, brush it over with egg yolk diluted one half with water, before putting it in the oven. Serve hot or perfectly fresh.

TO MAKE A BRIOCHE CROWN OR RING

Roll the paste into a ball, roll it down to a thickness of half an inch, keeping the form round. Cut it several times through the middle, and twist the paste into a rope-like ring. Let it rise, brush the top with egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for about half an hour.

TO MAKE BUNS

Roll the paste into small balls, glaze the tops when ready to go into the oven, and bake about twenty minutes.

BRIOCHE FOR TIMBALE, OR CABINET PUDDINGS

When the brioche is to be used for timbales, or cabinet puddings, turn the paste into a cylindrical mold, filling it half full. Let it rise to the top of the mold, and bake in a hot oven for about half an hour.

PANCAKES

The batter for pancakes should be smooth, and thin enough to run freely when turned onto the griddle. In order to have all the cakes of the same size an equal quantity of batter must be used for each cake. It should be poured steadily at one point, so the batter will flow evenly in all directions, making the cake perfectly round. An iron spoonful of batter makes a cake of good size; but if a larger one is wanted, use a ladle or cup; for if the batter is put on the hot griddle by separate spoonfuls, the first becomes a little hardened before the second is added, and the cake will not be evenly baked, or have so good an appearance. Lastly, the baking is of great importance. The cakes must be well browned on both sides, the color even and uniform on every part. To effect this the griddle must be perfectly clean and evenly heated. A soap-stone griddle is the best, as it holds the heat well, and as it requires no greasing. The cakes baked thus are by some considered more wholesome. The griddle should stand on the range for some time before it is needed in order to get thoroughly and evenly heated. Where an iron griddle is used, it should also be given time to become evenly heated, and while the cakes are baking it should be moved so the edges may in turn come over the hottest part of the range. It must be wiped off and greased after each set of cakes is baked. A piece of salt pork on a fork is the best thing for greasing, as it makes an even coating, and too much grease is not likely to be used. An iron griddle is often allowed by careless cooks to collect a crust of burned grease around the edges. When in this condition, the cakes will not, of course, be properly baked. The griddle should be hot enough to hiss when the batter is turned onto it. Serve the cakes as soon as baked, in a folded napkin on a hot plate. Two plates should be used, so while one is being passed the next griddleful may be prepared to serve.

PLAIN PANCAKES

Stir two cupfuls of milk into two beaten eggs; add enough flour to make a thin batter. Add a half teaspoonful of salt and a heaping teaspoonful of baking-powder. Sour milk can be used, in which case omit the baking-powder and add a half teaspoonful of soda. The baking-powder or soda should not be put in until just before beginning to bake the cakes. The cakes will be lighter and better if the eggs are beaten separately, and the whipped whites added the last thing.

FLANNEL CAKES

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, add the beaten eggs, then the flour, in which the baking-powder has been sifted. Add enough milk to make a smooth, thin batter.

RICE PANCAKES

Make the same batter as for plain cakes, using half boiled rice and half flour. Any of the cereals—hominy, oatmeal, cracked wheat, etc.—can be used in the same way, utilizing any small quantities left over; a little butter is sometimes added.

BREAD PANCAKES

Soak stale bread in hot water until moistened; press out the water. To two cupfuls of softened bread, add two beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, a half cupful of flour, and enough milk to make a thin, smooth batter; add, the last thing, a teaspoonful of baking-powder, or use soda if sour milk has been used in the batter.

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

Pour a little boiling water on a cupful of cornmeal, and let it stand half an hour. Add a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, one egg and two cupfuls of flour. Add enough milk to make a smooth batter, and a teaspoonful of baking-powder just before baking. Instead of white flour rye meal may be used: one cupful of rye to one of cornmeal, a tablespoonful of molasses instead of the sugar, and soda in place of baking-powder.

BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Scald a cupful of yellow meal in a quart of boiling milk. Add a half teaspoonful of salt; when cold add a quarter of a compressed yeast-cake, and enough buckwheat flour to make a soft batter. Beat it well together. Let it rise over night. In the morning stir in a tablespoonful of molasses and a teaspoonful of soda. Although the above method is the old and better way, these cakes can be made in the morning, and baking-powder used instead of yeast; in which case divide the batter, and add the baking-powder, one half at a time.

ADIRONDACK PANCAKES

Bake several pancakes as large as a plate. Butter, and cover them with maple syrup. Pile them one on another, and cut like a pie.

[352-*] Place the rolls far enough apart in the pan to give room for them to rise without running together.

Chapter XVI
SANDWICHES

SANDWICHES AND CANAPÉS

Sandwiches are usually the chief reliance for cold lunches, and are always acceptable if well made and attractively served. Where they are to be kept some time, as in traveling, they should be wrapped in oiled or paraffin paper, for this will keep them perfectly fresh.

Sandwiches may be made of white, Graham, or brown bread, or of fresh rolls, and may be filled with any kind of meat, with fish, with salads, with eggs, with jams, or with chopped nuts.

Shapes. They may be cut into any shapes, the square and triangular ones being the usual forms, but a pleasant variety may be given by stamping them with a biscuit-cutter into circles, or by rolling them, and these forms are recommended for sandwiches made of jams or jellies, as it gives them a more distinctive character.

How to prepare the meat. The meat used in sandwiches should be chopped to a fine mince, seasoned with salt and pepper, mustard, if desired, and moistened with a little water, stock, cream or milk, or with a salad dressing, using enough to make the mince spread well. Fish can be pounded to a paste, then seasoned. Potted meats can also be used. Slices of anything that has a fibrous texture make the sandwich difficult to eat, and as knives and forks are not usually at hand when sandwiches are served, it is desirable to make the primitive way of eating as little objectionable as possible.

Butter. The butter for sandwiches should be of the best, and should be soft enough to spread easily without tearing the bread. The butter may sometimes be worked into the meat paste. What are called “sandwich butters” are frequently used. They are made by rubbing the butter to a cream, combined with anchovy paste, with mustard, with chopped parsley and tarragon, with pâté de foie gras, etc.

These butters are used to spread the bread for meat sandwiches, using with the butter any flavoring that will go well with the meat.

Rolls. When rolls are used for sandwiches, they should be very fresh, should be small, and have a tender crust. The finger rolls are good for the purpose, also Parker House rolls, when made in suitable shape. Graham bread makes excellent sandwiches.

How to prepare the bread. Bread for sandwiches should be of fine grain and a day old. A five-cent loaf cuts to good advantage. The crust should be cut off, and the loaf trimmed to good shape before the slices are cut. The crusts and trimmings can be dried for crumbs, so they are not wasted, and no butter is lost in spreading bread which will afterward be trimmed off. When the bread is ready, the butter should be spread on the loaf, and then a slice cut off evenly one eighth of an inch thick. The next slice will have to be cut off before being spread, in order to have it fit exactly the preceding piece. After the first slice is covered with the filling, lay the second slice on it. In many cases the second slice of bread does not need spreading with butter. Cut the sandwich to the desired shape. One cut across the loaf will make two square, or four triangular, sandwiches.

Meat sandwiches. Poultry, game, ham, beef, and tongue can be prepared as directed above, or they may be mixed with a French or a Mayonnaise dressing. Chicken pounded to a paste, then well mixed with a paste made of the yolks of hard-boiled eggs mashed, a little milk or cream, and a little butter, then seasoned with salt, pepper, and a few drops of onion-juice, makes a delicious chicken sandwich.

Fish sandwiches. Anchovies, sardines, or any fresh boiled fish may be used for sandwiches. It is better pounded to a paste. Moisten sardines with a little lemon-juice.

Fresh fish should be well seasoned with salt and pepper, and moistened with a white or any other sauce, or with Mayonnaise. A little chopped pickle may be added. Shad roe, mashed with a fork to separate the eggs, and seasoned in the same way, makes excellent sandwiches.

Note.—Sandwiches of any kind which are left over are good toasted, and can be served at luncheon.—M. R.

EGG SANDWICHES

No. 1. Cut hard-boiled eggs into slices; sprinkle with salt and pepper plentifully, and spread the bread with butter mixed with chopped parsley.

No. 2. Lay the sliced eggs between crisp lettuce leaves, and spread the bread with butter, then with Mayonnaise.

No. 3. Chop the hard-boiled eggs fine. Mix with Mayonnaise and spread on the buttered bread, or mix them with well-seasoned white sauce.

SALAD SANDWICHES

No. 1. Lay a crisp lettuce leaf sprinkled with salt between buttered thin slices of bread; or spread the bread with Mayonnaise, then with lettuce or with water-cress.

No. 2. Chop chicken and celery together fine; mix it with French or with Mayonnaise dressing.

No. 3. Chop lobster meat; mix it with any dressing; cut lettuce into ribbons; cover the bread with the lettuce; then a layer of lobster; then with lettuce again.

No. 4. Mix chopped olives with Mayonnaise; serve with afternoon tea.

SPANISH SANDWICHES

Spread buttered Graham bread with mustard; then with a layer of cottage cheese; and then with a layer of chopped olives mixed with Mayonnaise.

CHEESE SANDWICHES

No. 1. Cut American cheese in slices one-eighth of an inch thick, or about the same thickness as the bread. Sprinkle it with salt, and have the bread well buttered.

No. 2. Cut Gruyère cheese in thin slices. Lay it on the bread, sprinkle it with salt and pepper; then add French mustard.

No. 3. Grate any cheese. Rub it to a paste with butter, and spread the bread; dust with salt and pepper. Cut into strips and serve with salad.

No. 4. Mock Crab. Rub to a smooth paste one tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, a saltspoonful each of salt, paprica, and dry mustard, a little anchovy paste, and a teaspoonful of vinegar. Spread between thin slices of dry toast.

RAW BEEF SANDWICHES

Scrape the raw beef; spread it between thin slices of plain bread. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the sandwiches on a toaster, and hold them over the coals until well heated. Serve them hot.

SWEET SANDWICHES

No. 1. For Æsthetic Sandwiches, see chapter “Five O’clock Tea,” page [33].

No. 2. Spread thin slices of bread with any jam, or with fruit jelly, or with any preserved fruit, or with chopped canned fruit. Cut them into circles, or roll them as directed above.

No. 3. Spread very thin buttered slices of Boston brown bread with chopped walnuts, or with chopped almonds, or with both mixed, or with salted nuts chopped.

CANAPÉS

Canapés are slices of bread toasted or fried in hot fat, or dipped in butter, and browned in the oven. The slices are then covered with some seasoned mixture. They are served hot, and make a good first course for luncheon. The bread is cut a quarter of an inch thick, then into circles two and a half inches in diameter, or into strips four inches long and two inches wide. They are sometimes used cold, and are arranged fancifully with different-colored meats, pickles, eggs, etc.

CHEESE CANAPÉS

Cut bread into slices one quarter inch thick, four inches long and two inches wide. Spread it with butter, and sprinkle it with salt and cayenne or paprica. Cover the top with grated American cheese, or with grated Parmesan cheese, and bake in the oven until the cheese is softened. Serve at once, before the cheese hardens.

HAM CANAPÉS

Cut bread into slices a quarter inch thick, then with a small biscuit-cutter into circles; fry them in hot fat, or sauté them in butter. Pound some chopped ham to a paste; moisten it with cream or milk. Spread it on the fried bread; dust with cayenne, sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese, and place in a hot oven until a little browned.

ANCHOVY CANAPÉS

Spread strips of fried bread with anchovy paste. Arrange in lines, on top, alternate rows of the white and yolks of hard-boiled eggs chopped fine.

SARDINE CANAPÉS

Spread circles of fried bread with a layer of sardines pounded to a paste. Arrange on top, in circles to resemble a rosette, lines of chopped hard-boiled egg and chopped pickle.

CANAPÉ LORENZO

Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, and fry in it one slice of onion chopped fine, but do not brown; then add one tablespoonful of flour and cook, but do not brown; add the stock slowly, and when smooth add the cooked crab meat. Season highly with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and let simmer for six or eight minutes.

Put into another saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when melted, add one tablespoonful of flour and cook, but not brown; then add the milk and stir in the cheese, and let cook just long enough to soften the cheese. Remove from the fire and let cool; then form the cheese mixture into six balls. Have ready six slices or circles of buttered toast, or bread fried in butter, and cover them with a layer of the crab mixture, and in the center of each piece place a ball of the cheese. Place in a hot oven for five minutes.

This is a good supper dish, and may be made of lobster, fish, or chicken.

Serve with water-cress.

CHEESE AND CHEESE DISHES

Varieties. Among the best cheeses are Stilton, Cheshire, Camembert, Gorgonzola, Rocquefort, Edam, Gruyère, and Parmesan. The Parmesan is a high-flavored, hard Italian cheese, and is mostly used grated for cooking. Our American dairy cheeses are much esteemed, and are largely exported to foreign markets; but as they have no distinctive names, it is difficult to find a second time any one that is particularly liked. The Pineapple cheese is the only one that differs radically from the other so-called American cheeses. The foreign cheeses are, nearly all of them, very successfully imitated here. Cheese is served with crackers, wafer biscuits, or with celery after the dessert, or with salad before the hot dessert. Any of the cheese dishes, such as soufflé, ramekins, omelets, etc., are served before the dessert. Cheese straws are used with salad. Serving. Cheeses small enough to be passed whole, like Edam, Pineapple, etc., have the top cut off, plain or in notches, and are wrapped in a neatly plaited napkin. The top is replaced after the service, so as to keep the cheese moist. A Stilton or Chester cheese is cut in two, and one half, wrapped in a napkin, served at a time. Rocquefort and Gorgonzola are served in the large slice cut from the cheese and laid on a folded napkin. American dairy cheese is cut into small uniform pieces. The soft cheeses, Brie, Neuchâtel, etc., are divested of the tinfoil and scraped before being passed. They are placed on a lace paper. Fresh butter, wafer biscuits, and celery are passed with cheese.

CHEESE SOUFFLÉ

Put into a saucepan the butter; when it is melted stir in the flour and let it cook a minute (but not color), stirring all the time; add one half cupful of milk slowly and stir till smooth, then add salt and cayenne. Remove from the fire and add, stirring constantly, the beaten yolks of three eggs and the cupful of grated American or Parmesan cheese. Replace it on the fire, and stir until the cheese is melted and the paste smooth and consistent (do not cook too long, or the butter will separate). Pour the mixture on a buttered dish and set away to cool. When ready to use, stir into it lightly the well-beaten whites of the three eggs; turn it into a pudding-dish and bake in a hot oven for twenty to thirty minutes. Do not open the oven door for ten minutes; do not slam the oven door; do not move the soufflé until after fifteen minutes; serve it at once when done. Like any soufflé, it must go directly from the oven to the table, or it will fall.

CRACKERS AND CHEESE

Split in two some Bent’s water biscuits; moisten them with hot water and pour over each piece a little melted butter and French mustard; then spread with a thick layer of grated cheese; sprinkle with paprica or cayenne. Place them in a hot oven until the cheese is soft and creamy.

CHEESE CANAPÉS

Cut bread into slices one half inch thick; stamp them with a biscuit cutter into circles; then, moving the cutter to one side, cut them into crescent form; or, if preferred, cut the bread into strips three inches long and one and one half inches wide; sauté them in a little butter on both sides to an amber color. Cover them with a thick layer of grated cheese; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dash of cayenne. Fifteen minutes before the time to serve, place them in the oven to soften the cheese. Serve at once very hot; or, cut some toasted bread into small triangles; spread with a little French mustard; dip in melted butter; then roll in grated cheese; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dash of cayenne, and place in a hot oven for a few minutes to soften the cheese. Serve at once on a hot dish.

WELSH RABBIT

Grate or cut into small pieces fresh American cheese. Place it in a saucepan or chafing-dish with three quarters of the ale. Stir until it is entirely melted; then season with the mustard, salt, and pepper, and pour it over the slices of hot toast, cut in triangles or circles. Everything must be very hot, and it must be served at once, as the cheese quickly hardens. Some use a scant teaspoonful of butter (more will not unite), a few drops of onion-juice, and the beaten yolks of two eggs, added just before serving. The egg makes it a little richer and prevents the cheese hardening so quickly. Milk may be used instead of ale to melt the cheese, in which case the egg should also be used. If any of the cheese fondu is left, it can be heated again with the rest of the ale for the second helping.

GOLDEN BUCK

Make Welsh rarebits as directed above, and place on each one a poached egg (see page [263]).

CHEESE STRAWS

Mix with one cupful of flour one half cupful of grated Parmesan cheese, a dash of cayenne, one half teaspoonful of salt, and the yolk of one egg; then add enough water to make a paste sufficiently consistent to roll. Place it on a board and roll to one quarter inch thickness. Cut it into narrow strips and roll so each piece will be the size and length of a lead pencil. Place them in a baking-tin and press each end on the pan so they will not contract. Bake to a light brown in a moderate oven. Serve with salad. These straws will keep for several days, and should be heated just before serving.

CHEESE STRAWS No. 2

Take bits of puff paste; roll them to one half inch thickness; cut them into strips one inch wide and three inches long; sprinkle them with grated cheese and bake; or, the pastry may be rolled to one quarter inch thickness; then spread with cheese, doubled over, and then cut into strips, leaving the cheese between two layers of paste.

CHEESE PATTIES

Make some small round croustades as directed (page [82]). Dip them in butter and toast them in the oven to a delicate color. Fill the centers with a mixture of two ounces of grated cheese, one half tablespoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of milk, a little salt and pepper. Place the croustades again in the oven to melt the cheese. Serve very hot.

COTTAGE CHEESE

Place a panful of milk which has soured enough to become thick, or clabbered, over a pan of hot water. Let it heat slowly until the whey has separated from the curd; do not let it boil, or the curd will become tough; then strain it through a cloth and press out all the whey; stir into the curd enough butter, cream, and salt to make it a little moist and of good flavor. Work it well with a spoon until it becomes fine grained and consistent, then mold it into balls of any size desired.