FRITTERS, CROQUETTES, DUMPLINGS AND CRULLERS
When cooking any article to be immersed in fat use about this proportion: 2 pounds of sweet lard to 1 of suet, which had been previously tried out. It is cheaper, also more wholesome, to use part suet than to use all lard. Save all pieces of left-over fat, either raw or cooked, from steaks, roasts, bacon or ham. Cut all up into small pieces and place in a pan in the oven until tried out, or put in a double boiler and stand over boiling water until fat is tried out. Strain and stand aside to be used as drippings. To clarify this fat, pour boiling water over, let cook a short time, strain and stand away in a cool place, when a cake of solid fat will form on top, which may be readily removed and used as drippings, or it may be added to the kettle of fat used for deep frying. Always strain fat carefully after frying croquettes, fritters, etc. Should the frying fat become dark add to the can of soap fat the economical housewife is saving. Return the clear-strained fat to the cook pot, cover carefully, stand aside in a cool place, and the strained fat may be used times without number for frying. The housewife will find it very little trouble to fry fritters, croquettes, etc., in deep fat, if the fat is always strained immediately after using, and returned to the cook pot, kept especially for this purpose. Stand on the hot range when required and the fat will heat in a few minutes, and if the fat is the right temperature, food cooked in it should not be at all greasy. When the housewife is planning to fry fritters or croquettes she should, if possible, crumb the articles to be fried several hours before frying, and stand aside to become perfectly cold. When the fat for frying is so hot a blue smoke arises, drop in the fritters or croquettes, one at a time, in order not to chill the fat or plunge a frying basket, containing only a couple of fritters at a time, in the hot fat, as too many placed in the fat at one time lowers the temperature too quickly and causes the fritters to be greasy and soggy. To test the fat before dropping in the fritters, if a small piece of bread is dropped in the fat and browns in about one minute the fat is the right temperature for frying fritters, and fritters fried at the correct temperature should be a rich brown and not at all greasy. When removing fritters from hot fat place on coarse brown paper to absorb any remaining fat. Fritters composed of vegetables, or oysters, should be served on a platter garnished with parsley, and fritters composed of fruit, should have pulverized sugar sifted over them liberally. Should a small piece of bread brown in the fat while you count twenty, fat is the correct temperature for frying croquettes, but is too hot for frying crullers or any food not previously cooked.
KARTOFFLE BALLA (POTATO BALLS)
Boil until tender, 8 medium-sized (not pared) potatoes; when quite cold remove parings and grate them; fry one finely-chopped onion in a little butter until a yellow-brown; add this, also 1 egg, to the potatoes, season with salt and pepper and add flour enough to mold into balls; use only flour enough to hold the mixture together. The chopped onion may be omitted, and instead, brown small, dice-like pieces of bread in a little butter, shape dumplings into balls the size of walnuts, place a teaspoonful of the browned bread crumbs in the centre of each and add also a little chopped parsley. Drop the dumplings in salted boiling water and cook uncovered from 15 to 20 minutes. When dumplings rise to the top they should be cooked sufficiently, when remove from kettle with a skimmer to a platter; cut dumplings in half and strew over them bread crumbs, browned in butter.
"BOOVA SHENKEL"
For this excellent "Pennsylvania German" dish, which I am positive has never before been published, take 2½ pounds of stewing meat (beef preferred), season with salt and pepper and cook slowly several hours until tender.