682. To boil Rice.—Wash well in two separate waters a pound of the best Carolina rice, then have two quarts of water boiling in a stewpan, into which throw your rice, boil it until three parts done, then drain it on a sieve; butter the interior of a stewpan, in which put your rice, place the lid on tight, and put it in a warm oven upon a trivet until the rice is perfectly tender, or by the side of the fire; serve it separate with curry, or any other dish where required. Prepared thus, every grain will be separate and quite white.
683. Chopping of Herbs, &c.—This may appear a very simple thing to do well, yet it is often done badly, by which the flavor is lost. They should be well washed and dried, and then take the leaves in the left hand, pressing upon the leaves with your fingers, and chop as fine as possible, not by placing the point of the knife on the board and raising it and letting it fall, but with a good sharp cut, so that they are cut, not pressed. Onions should be peeled, and cut in halves lengthwise, and then with a thin knife cut each half in slices, leaving them joined at the root; again cut into slices contrarywise, and then from top to bottom; thus having cut into very small squares, chop it with both hands with the knife. You may also wash them; when half-chopped press them in a cloth, and chop them still finer.
[OF DIFFERENT SORTS OF PASTRY.]
THE variety of pastes is to the pastry what first stocks are to soups and sauces, and must be very properly first described, particularly as it is here I must refer my readers for paste even used for the hors-d’œuvre and entrées; to succeed you must be particular in your proportions, and very careful in the mixing; for, although there is nothing more simple if pains be taken, so will the least neglect produce a failure, nor is it only with the making of the paste that pains must be taken, but likewise with the baking, for as paste badly made would not improve in baking, neither will paste, however well made, be good if badly baked; should the oven be too hot the paste will become set and burn before it is done; and, again, if too cold it would give the paste a dull heavy appearance, but an oven properly heated (which can be readily known by a little attention on the part of those in the habit of using it) will give it a clear brilliant appearance.
For every description of pastry made from puff paste, try if the oven is hot by placing your hand about half-way in, and hold it there about a quarter of a minute, if you can hold it there that time without inconvenience it would not be hot enough; but if you cannot judge of the heat, the safest method would be, try a piece of the paste previous to baking the whole; I apply these few observations to all my friends, but particularly to the uninstructed, as a person of continual practice cannot fail to be aware of the truth of them.
684. Puff Paste.—Put one pound of flour upon your pastry slab, make a hole in the centre, in which put the yolk of one egg and the juice of a lemon, with a pinch of salt, mix it with cold water (iced in summer, if convenient) into a softish flexible paste, with the right hand dry it off a little with flour until you have well cleared the paste from the slab, but do not work it more than you can possibly help, let remain two minutes upon the slab; then have a pound of fresh butter from which you have squeezed all the buttermilk in a cloth, bringing it to the same consistency as the paste, upon which place it; press it out with the hand, then fold over the edges of the paste so as to hide the butter, and roll it with the rolling-pin to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, thus making it about two feet in length, fold over one third, over which again pass the rolling-pin; then fold over the other third, thus forming a square, place it with the ends top and bottom before you, shaking a little flour both under and over, and repeat the rolls and turns twice again as before; flour a baking-sheet, upon which lay it, upon ice or in some cool place (but in summer it would be almost impossible to make this paste well without ice) for half an hour; then roll twice more, turning it as before, place again upon the ice a quarter of an hour, give it two more rolls, making seven in all, and it is ready for use when required, rolling it whatever thickness (according to what you intend making) directed in the following receipts. When I state that upwards of a hundred different kinds of cakes may be made from this paste, I am sure it will be quite sufficient to urge upon every cook the necessity of paying every attention to its fabrication, as it will repay for the study and trouble.
685. Puff Paste, with Beef Suet.—Where you cannot obtain good butter for making paste, the following is an excellent substitute; skin and chop one pound of kidney beef suet very fine, put it into a mortar and pound it well, moistening with a little oil, until becoming as it were one piece, and about the consistency of butter, proceed exactly as in the last, using it instead of butter.