Compôte of Gooseberries.—Choose a quart of large, sound, ripe, green gooseberries, (cost ten cents,) remove the stems and tops, throw them into boiling water for two minutes; drain them, let them lay three minutes in cold water containing a tablespoonful of vinegar, to restore their color, and then drain them quite dry. Meantime make a thick syrup by boiling one pound of sugar, (cost twelve cents,) with one pint of water; as soon as the syrup has boiled about ten minutes, put in the gooseberries and boil them gently until just tender, about ten minutes. Then pour both fruit and syrup into an earthen or glass dish; cool, and use. The dish will cost less than twenty-five cents.
Gooseberry Cheese.—Remove the tops and stalks from two quarts of ripe, red gooseberries, (cost twenty cents,) put them in a moderate oven till soft enough to rub through a seive; then add to them one-fourth their weight of sugar, set them over the fire to boil gently for half an hour, stirring them constantly, and skimming till clear; then put by the tablespoonful on plates, and dry in the mouth of a cool oven. Pack, when quite cool, in a tight box, between sheets of white wrapping paper. The above quantity will cost about twenty-five cents.
Gooseberry Fool.—Remove tops and stalks from two quarts of gooseberries, boil them with three quarters of their weight in sugar, and half a pint of cold water, until soft enough to pulp through a sieve; then mix the pulp with a pint of milk, or cream, if a more expensive dish is desired, and put into an earthen or glass dish to cool; serve cold. The above quantity will cost about twenty-five cents.
Grape Jelly.—Dissolve one ounce of gelatine, (cost eight cents,) in half a pint of cold water. Break one pound and a half of grapes, (cost ten cents,) in an earthen bowl with a wooden spoon; strain the juice without pressing the grapes, through clean muslin, three times; put the juice into a preserve kettle with half a pound of loaf sugar, (cost eight cents,) and the dissolved isinglass, and boil it ten minutes; rub a jelly mold with pure salad oil; add two tablespoonfuls of brandy, (cost three cents,) to the jelly; pour it into the mould, and cool until the jelly sets firm. The above ingredients will make about a pint and a half of jelly, and will usually cost about twenty-five cents, for the above estimate is rather more than the average cost.
Green Gage Compôte.—Remove the skin from a quart of very ripe green gages, (cost fifteen cents,) put them in a glass dish, sprinkle them over with a pound of powdered sugar, (cost ten cents,) and let them stand in a cool place four hours, until a nice syrup has been formed. The dish is delicious, and costs about twenty-five cents.
Pine Apple Julep.—Pare and slice a very ripe pine apple, which in season will cost about ten cents; lay it in a glass dish; pour over it the juice of one orange, (cost two cents,) the juice of one lemon, (cost two cents,) a gill of any fruit syrup, (cost about five cents,) and two tablespoonfuls of rum, (cost three cents;) sprinkle it with a little powdered sugar, cool it on the ice, and serve it cold. It will cost about twenty-five cents.
Lemon Snow.—Soak one ounce of gelatine, (cost eight cents,) in one pint of cold water for half an hour; peel the yellow rind from three lemons, (cost six cents,) and squeeze and strain their juice; put the rind and juice of the lemons into a saucepan with eight ounces of loaf sugar, (cost eight cents,) and stir until the sugar and isinglass are quite dissolved; pour it into a bowl, and let it cool, and begin to grow firm. Then add the whites of three eggs, (cost three cents,) and beat to a stiff froth. Pile by the tablespoonful high in the centre of a glass dish. It is pretty and delicious, and costs only about twenty-five cents.
Melon Compôte.—Make a syrup by boiling one pound of sugar, (cost ten cents,) with half a pint of water. Pare and slice a spicy musk melon, (cost five cents,) and put it into the syrup with a little wine, (cost five cents.) Boil gently for ten minutes, take up the melon in a glass dish, cool the syrup a little, and pour it over the melon. Serve the compôte cold; it is delicious, and costs only about twenty-five cents.
Orange Salad.—Peel six oranges, (cost twelve cents,) slice them, place them in rings in a glass dish, sprinkle them with three ounces of powdered sugar, (cost two cents,) pour over them a little wine and brandy, and let them stand over night in a cool place. A good dish full will cost about twenty cents.
Orange and Apple Compôte.—Pare and slice very thin three oranges, (cost six cents,) and three apples, (cost three cents,) removing the seeds from both: lay the slices in rings in a glass dish, cover, with the following syrup, and cool. Boil the orange peel in half a pint of water, with four ounces of sugar, (cost four cents,) until the syrup is clear; add a tablespoonful of brandy to it, cool it a little, and pour it over the sliced fruit. The dish is very nice when iced, and costs about fifteen cents.