Frying.—This is a very good method of cooking fish, and of warming cold meat and vegetables. To fry well put into your frying pan enough fat to cover what you mean to fry, and let it get smoking hot, but do not burn it; then put in your food, and it will not soak fat, and will generally be done by the time it is nicely browned. To SAUTÉ, or HALF FRY any article, you should begin by putting in the pan enough fat to cover the bottom, and let it get smoking hot, but not burnt before you put in the food. This also is a good way to warm over meat, vegetables, oatmeal, or pudding.
A very good way to cook meat and vegetables together is to put them in an earthen jar, cover it tightly, and cement the cover on with flour paste; then bake for about four hours.
If you are going to use a piece of meat cold do not cut it until it cools, and it will be more juicy. If the meat is salt let it cool in its own pot liquor, for the same reason.
Salt and Smoked Meats.—These meats are best when they are put over the fire in cold water, brought gradually to a boil, and then set back from the fierce heat of the fire, so as to keep scalding hot WITHOUT BOILING; they take longer to cook this way, but they are tender and delicious, and very little fat is wasted.
Seasoning Food.—Many people have the idea that a finely flavored dish must cost a great deal; that is a mistake; if you have untainted meat, or sound vegetables, or even Indian meal, to begin with, you can make it delicious with proper seasoning. One reason why French cooking is so much nicer than any other is that it is seasoned with a great variety of herbs and spices; these cost very little; if you would buy a few cents' worth at a time you would soon have a good assortment. The best kinds are Sage, Thyme, Sweet Marjoram, Tarragon, Mint, Sweet Basil, Parsley, Bay-leaves, Cloves, Mace, Celery-seed, and onions. If you will plant the seed of any of the seven first mentioned in little boxes on your window sill, or in a sunny spot in the yard, you can generally raise all you need. Gather and dry them as follows: parsley and tarragon should be dried in June and July, just before flowering; mint in June and July; thyme, marjoram and savory in July and August; basil and sage in August and September; all herbs should be gathered in the sun-shine, and dried by artificial heat; their flavor is best preserved by keeping them in air-tight tin cans, or in tightly corked glass bottles.
Dried Celery and Parsley.—If you ever use celery, wash the leaves, stalks, roots and trimmings, and put them in a cool oven to dry thoroughly; then grate the root, and rub the leaves and stalks through a sieve, and put all into a tightly corked bottle, or tin can with close cover; this makes a most delicious seasoning for soups, stews, and stuffing. When you use parsley, save every bit of leaf, stalk or root you do not need, and treat them in the same way as the celery. Remember in using parsley that the root has even a stronger flavor than the leaves, and do not waste a bit.
Dried Herbs.—When you buy a bunch of dried herbs rub the leaves through a sieve, and bottle them tightly until you need them; tie the stalks together and save them until you want to make what the French call a bouquet, for a soup or stew. A bouquet of herbs is made by tying together a few sprigs of parsley, thyme and two bay-leaves. The bay-leaves, which have the flavor of laurel, can be bought at any German grocery, or drug-store, enough to last for a long time for five cents.
Table Sauce.—There is no reason why you should not sometimes have a nice relish for cold meat when you can make a pint of it for six cents, so I will give you a receipt for it. Get at Washington market at the herb stand, a bunch of TARRAGON; it will cost five cents in the summer, when it is green and strong, and not much more in the winter; put it in an earthen bowl, and pour on it one pint of scalding hot vinegar; cover it and let it stand until the next day; then strain it, and put it into a bottle which you must cork tight. Either put more hot vinegar on the tarragon, or dry it, and save it until you want to make more; you can make a gallon of sauce from one bunch, only every time you use it you must let it stand a day longer.
Celery Salt.—If you mix celery root, which has been dried and grated as above, with one fourth its quantity of salt, it makes a nice seasoning and keeps a long time.
Spice Salt.—You can make this very nicely by drying, powdering and mixing by repeated siftings the following ingredients: one quarter of an ounce each of powdered thyme, bay-leaf, and pepper; one eighth of an ounce each of marjoram and cayenne pepper; one half of an ounce each of powdered clove and nutmeg; to every four ounces of this powder add one ounce of salt, and keep the mixture in an air-tight vessel. One ounce of it added to three pounds of stuffing, or forcemeat of any kind, makes a delicious seasoning.