The Story of Crisco

by Marion Harris Neil

The stock should be well flavored, otherwise it must be simmered with a little onion, carrot, celery, and herbs, and strained for use. Bring stock to boiling point, sprinkle in sago, or tapioca, and stir and cook until it becomes transparent; then let soup cool slightly. Mix yolks of eggs and the cream together, then the melted Crisco, and add to soup and stir till it thickens; it should have the consistency of single cream. When a thicker soup is desired, mix teaspoon flour or cornstarch with a little milk, and add it to soup at same time as sago or tapioca. Season to taste, and serve.

March 8

Turnip Soup
Beef Stew with Dumplings
Parsnips Mashed Potatoes
Russian Salad
Cheese Crackers
*Bird's Nest Pudding Coffee

*Bird's Nest Pudding—3 eggs, 3/4 cup flour, 6 tablespoons Crisco, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup blanc-mange, pinch baking powder, pistachio nuts or cocoanut, angelica and apricot jam.

Break eggs into basin, add sugar to them, and beat over saucepan of hot water until mixture is consistency of thick cream. Melt Crisco; sieve flour and baking powder together. Stir Crisco and flour quickly and lightly into egg mixture, turn into well-criscoed mold, and bake in a moderate oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn out when done, and let the cake get cold. Rub some apricot jam through a hair sieve, put a thin layer of this over the cake, roll it either in chopped pistachio nuts or desiccated cocoanut. Stand on a dish. Have ready some blanc-mange eggs, fill the center with these, and arrange round the base of the nest some pieces of angelica to represent twigs. It is now ready to serve. The blanc-mange eggs are made by either filling some egg-molds with blanc-mange, or by emptying out some eggs, and using the shells. The eggs must be emptied through as small a hole as possible. When set, the shells are broken away carefully.

March 9

*Veal and Ham Pie
Baked Sweet Potatoes Fried Parsnips
Salad of Canned Asparagus Tips
Cheese Fritters
Caramel Pudding with Meringue
Coffee

*Veal and Ham Pie—1-1/2 pounds veal, 2 hard-cooked eggs, few grains red pepper, dust of powdered mace, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind, 1/2 pound ham, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 6 whole peppers, powdered sweet herbs, and pastry.

Cut veal and ham into very thin pieces; mix on a plate, flour, salt, pepper, sweet herbs, lemon rind, red pepper, and mace, roll in this seasoning each piece of veal, and lay in a pie dish, alternately, layers of veal, ham, and egg, cut in slices; pile this in center of dish, add 1/2 cup water; line edge of dish, cover and decorate with Crisco Flake Pastry; when baked add a little very good seasoned stock, which should become a jelly when the pie is cold, or a little gelatine may be added; garnish with parsley if served cold.

March 10