Part 32

Pare, core, and quarter the apples; boil the cores and parings in sugar and water; strain off the liquor, adding more sugar; grate the rind of a lemon over the apples, and squeeze the juice into the syrup; mix half a dozen cloves with the fruit, put in a piece of butter the size of a walnut; cover with puff paste.

1247. Cup in a Pie-Dish.

The custom of placing an inverted cup in a fruit pie, is to retain the juice while the pie is baking in the oven, and prevent its boiling over. When the cup is first put in the dish it is full of cold air, and when the pie is placed in the oven, this air will expand by the heat and fill the cup, and drive out all the juice and a portion of the present air it contains, in which state it will remain until removed from the oven, when the air in the cup will condense, and occupy a very small space, leaving the remainder to be filled with juice; but this does not take place till the danger of the juice boiling over is passed.

1248. Excellent Paste for Fruit or Meat Pies.

Excellent paste for fruit or meat pies may be made with two-thirds of wheat flour, one-third of the flour of boiled potatoes, and some butter or dripping; the whole being brought to a proper consistence with warm water, and a small quantity of yeast or baking powder added when lightness is desired. This will also make very pleasant cakes for breakfast, and may be made with or without spices, fruits, &c.

1249. Pastry for Tarts, &c.

Take of flour one pound; baking powder, three teaspoonfuls; butter, six ounces; water, enough to bring it to the consistence required.

1250. Preparation.

When much pastry is made in a house, a quantity of fine flour should be kept on hand, in dry jars, and quite secured from the air, as it makes lighter pastry and bread when kept a short time, than when fresh ground.

1251. My Wife's Little Suppers.

1252. Meat Cakes.

Take any cold meat, game, or poultry (if underdone, all the better), mince it fine, with a little fat bacon or ham, or an anchovy; season it with pepper and salt; mix well, and make it into small cakes three inches long, an inch and a half wide, and half an inch thick; fry these a light brown, and serve them with good gravy, or put into a mould, and boil or bake it. Bread-crumbs, hard yolks of eggs, onions, sweet herbs, savoury spices, zest, curry-powder, or any kind of forcemeat may be added to these meat cakes.

1253. Oyster Patties.

Roll out puff paste a quarter of an inch thick, cut it into squares with a knife, sheet eight or ten patty pans, put upon each a bit of bread the size of half a walnut; roll out another layer of paste of the same thickness, cut it as above, wet the edge of the bottom paste, and put on the top; pare them round to the pan, and notch them about a dozen times with the back of the knife, rub them lightly with yolk of egg, bake them in a hot oven about a quarter of an hour: when done, take a thin slice off the top, then with a small knife, or spoon, take out the bread and the inside paste, leaving the outside quite entire; then parboil two dozen of large oysters, strain them from their liquor, wash, beard, and cut them into four; put them into a stewpan with an ounce of butter rolled in flour, half a gill of good cream, a little grated lemon peel, the oyster liquor, free from sediment, reduced by boiling to one-half, some cayenne pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice; stir it over a fire five minutes, and fill the patties.

[THE STEAM ENGINE IS A MIGHTY AGENT OF GOOD.]

1254. Lobster Patties.

Prepare the patties as in the last receipt. Take a hen lobster already boiled; pick the meat from the tail and claws, and chop it fine; put it into a stewpan with a little of the inside spawn pounded in a mortar till quite smooth, an ounce of fresh butter, half a gill of cream, and half a gill of veal consommé, cayenne pepper, and salt, a teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, the same of lemon juice, and a tablespoonful of flour and water: stew for five minutes.

1255. Egg and Ham Patties.

Cut a slice of bread two inches thick, from the most solid part of a stale quartern loaf: have ready a tin round cutter, two inches in diameter; cut out four or five pieces, then take a cutter two sizes smaller, press it nearly through the larger pieces, then remove with a small knife the bread from the inner circle: have ready a large stewpan full of boiling lard; fry the discs of bread of a light brown colour, drain them dry with a clean cloth, and set them by till wanted; then take half a pound of lean ham, mince it small, add to it a gill of good brown sauce; stir it over the fire a few minutes, and put to it a small quantity of cayenne pepper and lemon juice: fill the shapes with the mixture, and lay a poached egg upon each.

1256. Veal and Ham Patties.

Chop about six ounces of ready-dressed lean veal, and three ounces of ham, very small; put it into a stewpan with an ounce of butter rolled in flour, half a gill of cream, half a gill of veal stock, a little grated nutmeg and lemon peel, some cayenne pepper and salt, a spoonful of essence of ham, and lemon juice, and stir it over the fire some time, taking care it does not burn.

1257. Puff Paste.

To a pound and a quarter of sifted flour, rub gently in with the hand half a pound of fresh butter, mix up with half a pint of spring water, knead it well, and set it by for a quarter of an hour; then roll it out thin, lay on it in small pieces three quarters of a pound more of butter, throw on it a little flour, double it up in folds, and roll it out thin three times, and set it by for about an hour _in a cold place_. Or, if a more substantial and savoury paste be desired, use the following:

1258. Paste for Meat or Savoury Pies.

Sift two pounds of fine flour to a pound and a half of good salt butter, break it into small pieces, and wash it well in cold water; rub gently together the butter and flour, and mix it up with the yolks of three eggs, beat together with a spoon, and nearly a pint of spring water; roll it out, and double it in folds three times, and it is ready.

1259. Chicken and Ham Patties.

Use the white meat from the breast of the chickens or fowls, and proceed as for veal and ham patties.

1260. Prime Beef Sausages.

Take a pound of lean beef, and half a pound of suet, remove the skin, chop it fine as for mince collop, then beat it well with a roller, or in a marble mortar, till it is all well mixed and will stick together; season highly, and make into flat round cakes, about an inch thick, and shaped with a cup or saucer, and fry of a light brown. The sausages should be served up on boiled rice, as for curry, if for company, you may do them with eggs and bread-crumbs; but they are quite as good without. Or they may be rolled in puff or pie paste, and baked.

1261. Potato Puffs.

Take cold roast meat, either beef, or mutton, or veal and ham, clear it from the gristle, cut it small, and season with pepper, salt, and pickles, finely minced. Boil and mash some potatoes, and make them into a paste with one or two eggs; roll out the paste, with a dust of flour, cut it round with a saucer, put some of your seasoned meat on one half, and fold the other half over it like a puff; pinch or nick it neatly round, and fry of a light brown. This is an elegant method of preparing meat that has been dressed before.

[THE STEAM FROM A KETTLE SUGGESTED THE STEAM ENGINE.]

1262. Fried Eggs and Minced Ham or Bacon.

Choose some very fine bacon streaked with a good deal of lean; cut this into very thin slices, and afterwards into small square pieces; throw them into a stewpan and set it over a gentle fire, that they may lose some of their fat. When as much as will freely come is thus melted from them, lay them on a warm dish. Put into a stewpan a ladleful of melted bacon or lard; set it on a stove; put in about a dozen of the small pieces of bacon, then incline the stewpan and break in an egg. Manage this carefully, and the egg will presently be done: it will be very round, and the little dice of bacon will stick to it all over, so that it will make, a very pretty appearance. Take care the yolks do not harden. When the egg is thus done, lay it carefully on a warm dish, and do the others.

1263. Fish Cake.

Take the meat from the bones of any kind of cold fish, and put the bones with the head and fins into a stewpan with a pint of water, a little salt, pepper, an onion, and a faggot of sweet herbs, to stew for gravy. Mince the meat, and mix it well with crumbs of bread and cold potatoes, equal parts, a little parsley and seasoning. Make into a cake, with the white of an egg, or a little butter or milk; egg it over, and cover with bread crumbs, then fry a light brown. Pour the gravy over, and stew gently for fifteen minutes, stirring it carefully twice or thrice. Serve hot, and garnish with slices of lemon, or parsley. These cakes aiford a capital relish from scraps of cold fish. Housekeepers who would know how to economise all kinds of nutritious fragments, should refer to the "Family Save-all," which supplies a complete course of "Secondary Cookery." [1]

[Footnote 1: Published by Houlston and Sons, Paternoster-square, London, E.C. Price 2s. 6d.]

1264. Marbled Goose.

The following is suitable for larger supper parties, or as a stock dish for families where visitors are frequent; it is also excellent for breakfasts, or for picnics :--Take a fine mellow ox-tongue out of pickle, cut off the root and horny part at the tip, wipe dry, and boil till it is quite tender. Then peel it, cut a deep slit in its whole length, and lay a fair proportion of the following mixture within it:--Mace half an ounce, nutmeg half an ounce, cloves half an ounce, salt two tablespoonfuls, and twelve Spanish olives. The olives should be stoned, and all the ingredients well pounded and mixed together. Next take a barn-door fowl and a good large goose, and bone them. Put the tongue inside the fowl, rub the latter outside with the seasoning, and having ready some slices of ham divested of the rind, wrap them tightly round the fowl. Put the fowl and its wrapping of ham inside the goose, with the remainder of the seasoning, sew it up, and make all secure and of natural shape with a piece of new linen and tape. Put it in an earthen pan or jar just large enough to hold it, with plenty of clarified butter, and bake it for two hours and a half in a slow oven; then take it out, and when cold take out the goose and set it in a sieve; take off the butter and hard fat, which put by the fire to melt, adding, if required, more clarified butter. Wash and wipe out the pan, put the bird again into it, and take care that it is well covered with the warm butter; then tie the jar down with bladder and leather. It will keep thus for a long time. When wanted for the table the jar should be placed in a tub of hot water, so as to melt the butter, the goose then can he taken out, and sent to table cold.

[BE BOLD ENOUGH TO EXPERIMENT.]

1265. Oyster Pie.

The following directions may be safely relied upon. Take a large dish, butter it, and spread a rich paste over the sides and round the edge, but not at the bottom. The oysters should be fresh, and as large and fine as possible. Drain off part of the liquor from the oysters. Put them into a pan, and season them with pepper, salt, and spice. Stir them well with the seasoning. Have ready the yolks of some hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and the grated bread.

Pour the oysters (with as much of their liquor as you please) into the dish that has the paste in it. Strew over them the chopped egg and grated bread. Roll out the lid of the pie, and put it on, crimping the edges handsomely. Take a small sheet of paste, cut it into a square, and roll it up. Cut it with a sharp knife into the form of a double tulip. Make a slit in the centre of the upper crust, and stick the tulip in it. Cut out eight large leaves of paste, and lay them on the lid. Bake the pie in a quick oven.

1266. Salad.

The mixing of salad is an art which it is easy to attain with care. The main point is to incorporate the several articles required for the salad, and to serve up at table as fresh as possible. The herbs should be "morning gathered," and they will be much refreshed by laying an hour or two in spring water. Careful picking, and washing, and drying in a cloth, in the kitchen, are also very important, and the due proportion of each herb requires attention.

The sauce may be thus prepared:--Boil two eggs for ten or twelve minutes, and then put them in cold water for a few minutes, so that the yolks may become quite cold and hard. Rub them through a coarse sieve with a wooden spoon, and mix them with a tablespoonful of water or cream, and then add two tablespoonfuls of fine flask oil, or melted butter; mix, and add by degrees a teaspoonful of salt, and the same quantity of mustard: mix till smooth, and then incorporate with the other ingredients about three tablespoonfuls of vinegar.

Pour this sauce down the side of the salad bowl, but do not stir up the salad till wanted to be eaten. Garnish the top of the salad with the white of the eggs, cut in slices; or these may be arranged in such manner as to be ornamental on the table. Some persons may fancy they are able to prepare a salad without previous instruction, but, like everything else, a little knowledge in this case is not thrown away.

1267. French Mode of Dressing Salad.

Fill the salad bowl with lettuce and small salading, taking care not to cut up the lettuce into too small strips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and, if liked, drop some mustard, mixed thin, over the salad, and strew a little moist sugar over it. Then pour over the whole three tablespoonfuls of good salad oil and one of Orléans vinegar, and turn over the lettuce lightly with a salad spoon and fork, that every portion of it may be brought into contact with the mixture. This mode of preparing a salad is far more expeditious than the ordinary way.

1268. Salad Mixture in Verse.

Two large potatoes, passed through kitchen sieve, Unwonted softness to the salad give; Of mordant mustard add a single spoon-- Distrust the condiment which bites so soon; But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault To add a double quantity of salt; Three times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown, And once with vinegar procured from town. True flavour needs it, and your poet begs The pounded yellow of two well-boiled eggs; Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl, And, scarce suspected, animate the whole; And lastly, on the favoured compound toss A magic teaspoon of anchovy sauce; Then, though green turtle fail, though venison's tough, And ham and turkey be not boiled enough Serenely full, the epicure may say,-- "Fate cannot harm me--I have dined today."

1269. Apple Puddings.

One pound of flour, six ounces of very finely minced beef suet; roll thin, and fill with one pound and a quarter of boiling apples; add the grated rind and strained juice of a small lemon, tie it in a cloth; boil for one hour and twenty minutes, or longer. A small slice of fresh butter stirred into it when it is sweetened will be an acceptable addition; grated nutmeg, or cinnamon in fine powder, may be substituted for lemon rind. For a richer pudding use half a pound of butter for the crust, and add to the apples a spoonful or two of orange or quince marmalade.

[HE IS UNFORTUNATE WHO CANNOT BEAR MISFORTUNE.]

1270. Boston Apple Pudding.

Peel and core one dozen and a half of good apples; cut them small; put them into a stewpan with a little water, cinnamon, two cloves, and the peel of a lemon; stew over a slow fire till soft; sweeten with moist sugar, and pass it through a hair sieve; add the yolks of four eggs and one white, a quarter of a pound of good butter, half a nutmeg, the peel of a lemon grated, and the juice of one lemon; beat well together; line the inside of a pie-dish with good puff paste; put in the pudding, and bake half an hour.

1271. Bread Pudding.

Unfermented brown bread, two ounces; milk, half a pint; one egg; sugar, quarter of an ounce. Cut the bread into slices, and pour the milk over it boiling hot; let it stand till well soaked, and stir in the egg and sugar, well beaten, with a little grated nutmeg; and bake or steam for one hour.

1272. Plum Pudding.

Take of flour, one pound; three teaspoonfuls of baking powder; beef suet, eight ounces; currants, eight ounces; nutmeg and orange peel, grated fine, quarter of an ounce; three eggs. To be boiled or steamed four hours.

1273. Cabinet Pudding.

Cut three or four muffins in two, pour over them boiling milk sufficient to cover them, cover them up until they are tender. Make a rich custard with the yolks of eight eggs and the whites of four, a pint of cream, a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar, an ounce of almonds, blanched and cut, lemon peel and nutmeg grated, and a glass of ratafia or brandy, and add to the soaked muffins. Butter a tin mould for boiling--for baking, a dish. Put a layer of dried cherries, greengages, apricots, or French plums; cover with the mixture, adding fruit and mixture alternately, until the mould or dish is quite full. Boil an hour, and serve with wine sauce. In boiling this pudding it should be placed in a stewpan with only water enough, to reach half way up the mould. If for baking, it will not take so long. Lay a puff paste round the edges of the dish.

1274. Elegant Bread Pudding.

Take light white bread, and cut it in thin slices. Put into a pudding shape a layer of any sort of preserve, then a slice of bread, and repeat until the mould is almost full. Pour over all a pint of warm milk, in which four beaten eggs have been mixed; cover the mould with a piece of linen, place it in a saucepan with a little boiling water, let it boil twenty minutes, and serve with pudding sauce.

1275. Economical Family Pudding.

Bruise with a wooden spoon, through a cullender, six large or twelve middle-sized boiled potatoes; beat four eggs, mix with a pint of good milk, stir in the potatoes; sugar and seasoning to taste; butter the dish; bake half an hour. A little Scotch marmalade makes a delicious accompaniment.

1276. Batter Pudding.

Take of flour, four ounces; a teaspoonful of baking powder; a little sugar, and one egg. Mix with milk to a thin batter, and bake in a well-buttered tin, in a brisk oven, half an hour. A few currants may be strewed in the bottom of the tin if preferred.

1277. Batter Pudding, Baked or Boiled.

Six ounces of fine flour, a little salt, and three eggs; beat well with a little milk, added by degrees until it is the thickness of cream; put into a buttered dish: bake three-quarters of an hour: or if boiled put it into a buttered and floured basin, tied over with a cloth; boil one hour and a half or more.

[FALSEHOOD, LIKE A NETTLE, STINGS THOSE WHO MEDDLE WITH IT.]

1278. Half-Pay Pudding.

Four ounces of each of the following ingredients, viz., suet, flour, currants, raisins, and bread-crumbs; two tablespoonfuls of treacle, half a pint of milk--all of which must be well mixed together, and boiled in a mould, for four hours.

1279. Fig Pudding.

Three-quarters of a pound of grated bread, half a pound of best figs, six ounces of suet, six ounces of moist sugar, a teacupful of milk, and a little nutmeg. The figs and suet must be chopped very fine. Mix the bread and suet first, then the figs, sugar, and nutmegs, one egg beaten well, and lastly the milk. Boil in a mould four hours. To be eaten with sweet sauce.

1280. Plain Suet Pudding.

Take of flour, one pound and a half; bicarbonate of soda, three drachms; or two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; beef suet, four ounces; powdered ginger, half a drachm; water or milk, one pint. Mix according to the directions given for the tea cake (_par_. 2099) and boil or steam for two hours.

1281. Barley Pudding.

Take a quarter of a pound of Scotch or pearl barley. Wash, and simmer it in a small quantity of water; pour off the water, and add milk and flavouring as for rice puddings. Beat up with sugar and nutmeg, and mix the milk and barley in the same way. It may be more or less rich of eggs, and with or without the addition of butter, cream, or marrow. Put it into a buttered deep dish, leaving room for six or eight ounces of currants, and an ounce of candied peel, cut up fine, with a few apples cut in small pieces. An hour will bake it.

1282. Carrot Pudding.

Grate a raw red carrot; mix with double the weight of bread-crumbs or biscuit, or with the same weight of each: to a pound and a half of this mixture, put a Pint of new milk or cream, or half a pint of each, four or six ounces of clarified butter, three or four eggs well beaten, sugar to taste, a little nutmeg, and a glass of brandy; line or edge a dish with puff paste; pour in the mixture; put slices of candied lemon or orange peel on the top, and bake in a moderately hot oven.

1283. Potato Pudding.