Peach Fritters are made by the same recipe, but dropped by the spoonful in boiling lard.
Fried Smelts.—Cleanse and dry them, then dip them in milk, then in flour; shake off superfluous flour, and then egg and crumb them the same as chops, laying each fish when done on a bed of cracker meal. Make the lard as hot as for croquettes, and drop them in five or six at a time. If the lard is hot enough they will brown in two minutes.
Beef à la Mode.—Three pounds of the vein or any coarse part of beef that is solid meat, and half a pound of fat pork. Pierce the meat in several places with a knife, and into each hole thus made put a strip of pork; lay the beef in an earthen pan, with a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, four sprigs of parsley, two onions, medium size, with a clove stuck in each, half a blade of mace, half a carrot and turnip, a wine-glass of cooking-sherry, and a gallon of water, with half a salt-spoonful of pepper. The pan should not be much larger than the meat. Cover closely, using a common flour and water paste round the edges to prevent the steam escaping, and set in a good oven three hours. The wine may be omitted, and a wine-glass more water added, with a table-spoonful of Worcestershire sauce and half one of vinegar. When done, take up the meat carefully, strain the gravy, skim and season, and pour it over the meat. Don’t add the salt till the gravy is done, as pork varies so much that you may get it too salt with very little added; you must go by taste.
Cones of Carrots and Turnips.—Boil them separately in quarters, using white turnips; chop each fine in a chopping-bowl, put a dessert-spoonful of butter with them, season with white pepper and salt, then press them into a cone shape—a wine-glass will answer—and stand them in alternate cones of the yellow carrot and white turnips round the beef à la mode or corned beef.
Cheese Fritters.—Grate two ounces of cheese with two dessert-spoonfuls of bread crumbs, a half tea-spoonful of dry mustard, a dessert-spoonful of butter, a speck of cayenne, and the yolk of an egg; pound with a potato-masher till smooth and well mixed, then proceed as for chicken fritters.
Amber Pudding.—Two eggs, their weight in sugar, butter, flour, and the juice and grated peel of one lemon. Beat the yolks, with the sugar, lemon juice, and butter softened, till very light; sift in the flour and grated peel, butter a small bowl or mould, pour the mixture in and boil two hours.
Bisque of Clams.—For one pint and a half of soup take a dozen large clams; stew them fifteen minutes in their own liquor, to which water is added to make three gills. Boil three gills of milk; stir one dessert-spoonful of butter and one of flour in a small saucepan till they bubble; then pour the boiling milk quickly on them, stirring all the while; stand it aside. Squeeze each clam with a lemon-squeezer, and you will find little but an empty skin remains; strain the clams and liquor to the thick white sauce already made, pressing as much juice out as possible; then stir well, bring all to a boil, and remove from the fire while you beat the yolk of an egg with two table-spoonfuls of the soup; stir it to the rest and season to taste. Take care the soup is boiling hot, yet does not boil after the egg is added, or it will curdle.
Scalloped Clams.—Take a small cup of the bisque of clams, before the egg is added, and save it for the scallop. Scald ten or a dozen clams, cut out the hard part, chop the rest fine. Butter tin scallop shells or little saucers thickly, strew them with bread crumbs, put a layer of clams with pepper, a layer of crumbs, and enough of the soup to moisten them; then more clams, more pepper, and crumbs over the top, and then a thin covering of the soup, and bake a rich brown. Serve a cut lemon with them. Be careful not to get too much soup on them,—they should be moist, not wet, and be served very hot. Add a little salt if the clams are not salt enough, but it is seldom necessary.
Cauliflower Omelet.—Two eggs, a half cup of cold cauliflower with the sauce; mash the cauliflower and sauce, beat the yolks of eggs with it, then beat the whites till they will not slip from the dish, and stir them gently in; add pepper and salt, and fry as any other omelet.
As Molly had given minute directions to Marta for frying omelet already, she did not repeat them in her recipes. When Molly had made the brown hash for breakfast, she had laid aside some of the nicest slices of the cold à la mode beef and the gravy for