Part 4

Boil down an old fowl or a knuckle of veal, or what is cheaper, a set of calf’s feet, till you have a quart of jelly. There should be an onion, some mace, pepper and salt boiled with it. Strain off the liquor, let it cool and then take off the fat. Put 50 sand clams washed (the middle size are best) into a pot over the fire till they open. Strain the liquor which you will find in the pot, and add it to the meat jelly. Put in the clams also, and let all boil an hour and a quarter. Then add ½ pint good cream or milk, a piece of butter as big as a walnut, mixed with a little flour. Stir these well in the soup. Have ready in a tureen the yolks of 2 eggs beaten and some chopped parsley, pour the soup in, a little at first till the eggs are well mixed, and then the remainder.

PEPPER POT.

MRS. RACHEL WALKER CRESSON (1779) PHILADELPHIA, PA.

_Contributed by Miss Anne H. Cresson, Germantown, Pa._

Four lbs. of the three different kinds of tripe. Soak in salt water an hour or two. Put on with 6 qts. of water, with salt and half of a little red pepper. Boil until thoroughly tender. It will take nearly all day. Leave in the water over night, out of the pot. Cut the tripe in small pieces; flour it well and put it back in the liquor which has been reheated. Add 2 small potatoes cut in pieces; 1 doz. cloves, 1 doz. allspice, 1 heaping tablespoonful each of sweet marjoram, summer savory and sweet basil. Boil 2 hours. About half an hour before serving add dumplings made by mixing flour, shortening, salt and water; make not too stiff and of the size of marbles. Thicken the soup with butter and flour rubbed together. The soup should be about as thick as rich cream when done.

MOCK TURTLE SOUP (ORIGINAL).

GEN. DABNEY H. MAURY, RICHMOND, VA.

_Contributed by Mrs. James T. Halsey, Philadelphia, Pa._

Take the head and haslets of a calf (dead). Take out the brains, put them into 3 gallons of water, and boil down to 3 quarts. Put into the water, after boiling it down, a bunch of parsley, thyme and an onion chopped fine, 1 large teaspoon of allspice, 1 of cloves, 1 of mace and 1 of nutmeg, black and red pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt. When the head and haslets are sufficiently boiled, take them out and mince the meat, and return it to the pot with ½ pint of sherry and a teacup of walnut and tomato catsup. Make a thickening of brown flour with a tablespoon of vinegar and 1 of butter. Garnish tureen with fritters made of the brains and 6 eggs, chopped parsley and pepper.

OCHRA SOUP.

AN OLD VIRGINIA RECEIPT.

_Contributed by Mrs. James T. Halsey, Philadelphia, Pa._

Get 2 double hands full of ochra, wash and slice it thin, add 2 onions chopped fine, put it into a gallon of water at an early hour in the morning. It must be kept steadily simmering, but not boiling; put in pepper and salt. At 12 o’clock put in a handful of lima beans; at half-past 1 o’clock add 3 young squash, cut in small pieces a chicken or knuckle of veal, a bit of bacon or pork that has been boiled, 6 tomatoes, peeled. When nearly done, thicken with a spoonful of butter mixed with one of veal. Have rice boiled separately to serve with it.

NEW ORLEANS COURT BOUILLON.

_Contributed by Miss Charlotte Mitchell, New Orleans._

Fry 3 chopped onions in a tablespoon of butter--then add a cup of tomatoes, 3 or 4 whole cloves, pepper, salt and toast. Let them stew together for 30 minutes. Then add 1 tablespoon flour with about ½ pint of claret. Let it boil, stirring constantly all the time for 5 minutes, until the flour is thoroughly cooked. Strain sauce and return it to the fire in a saucepan. Lay in the fish in slices, let them simmer gently until cooked, which will require from 6 to 10 minutes, according to thickness. Have ready in a deep dish slices of toast enough to cover bottom of dish. When done lay slices of fish on toast, add the remaining 1 pint of claret to the sauce. Pour it over the fish and the Court Bouillon is ready to serve. A fish of 5 or 6 pounds is the size used for this.

CALVES’ HEAD SOUP.

MRS. JULIA BRECKINRIDGE, VA.

Put head in water to soak, then in salt water to boil (take brains out and tie in bag to boil). Strain liquor, cut all meat and brains in dice, 6 potatoes cut small, dumplings made of flour, water and lard, small, add red pepper, 3 bunches of pot-herbs, sweet marjoram tablespoon, 4 hard boiled eggs cut fine. Meat balls (meat chopped fine with salt, pepper and flour) fried in butter, sherry to taste.

CHICKEN SOUP.

MRS. FRANCIS BROOKE, “ST. JULIAN,” KING GEORGE CO., VA.

_Contributed by Mrs. James T. Halsey, Philadelphia, Pa._

Take a fat chicken, 5 pints of water, a slice of middling chopped fine. The soup must be put over a slow fire to simmer instead of boiling the whole morning until about a half hour before dinner, then let it boil. For thickening use a pint of cream, a tablespoon of butter and 1 of flour and a bunch of thyme. The thickening must be put in before it boils and the thyme taken out.

NOTE.--This recipe came from one of the old and most typical Virginia homes, “St. Julian,” in Virginia. It was the recipe of my great-great-great aunt, Mrs. Francis Brooke, and is more than a century old.--Sue Mason Maury Halsey.

BEAN SOUP.

MRS. GEORGE NEWBOLD LAWRENCE, NEW YORK.

Put 1 pint of kidney beans into 2 quarts of water, boil them 3 hours, then pour off the water, mash the beans through a colander with a wooden masher, then throw them back into the water in which they were boiled, add a piece of butter the size of an egg, a little salt and red pepper. Let it boil a quarter of an hour. Add a wineglass of white wine.

PALESTINE SOUP.

_Contributed by Mrs. Charles A. Farnum, Philadelphia, Pa._

Peel and cut into fine pieces 2 onions, 2 turnips, 2 carrots and 2 potatoes. Put into a stew pan or soup pot with ⅛ lb. of butter and the same quantity of lean ham and a bunch of parsley chopped fine. Put this over a brisk fire ten minutes, then add a good tablespoon of flour, mixing it in well. Add 1 quart of meat stock made the day before), ¼ pint of boiling milk. Stir until boiling, season with pepper and salt and a good teaspoon sugar. Rub all through a sieve and put back in the pot, but only let it boil up once, skim well and serve with small piece of fried bread on napkin.

PEPPER POT.

_From Ellen Gallagher, Philadelphia, Pa., who lived with Mrs. William H. Horstman, her son, and grandson, and great-granddaughter--four generations of reference._

Use a tripe and a knuckle of veal, let them boil all day separately, strain the tripe liquor into the veal liquor and strain off the fat. Season with salt, pepper, sweet marjoram, pot-herbs, and potatoes cut very fine, and drop in flour balls or dumplings, and let boil five minutes.

CRECY SOUP.

MRS. MORRIS R. STROUD, PHILADELPHIA, PA., 1875.

_Contributed by Mrs. Meredith Bailey, Philadelphia, Pa._

To a knuckle of veal and slice of beef, put 7 quarts of water. Boil all day to 3 quarts. Strain off next day, put in soup, bones and vegetables and boil 6 hours, then strain next day, skim off all the fat. Add 1 cup of split peas, boil until dissolved, then add 1 can of tomatoes, boil an hour. Add 3 tablespoonsful of flour and strain through a fine sieve. Flavor with Worcestershire Sauce.

BISQUE OF CLAMS.

_Contributed by Mrs. Thomas B. Sims, Bryn Mawr, Pa._

For 1½ pints of soup, take 1 doz. large clams, stew them 15 minutes in their own liquor, to which water is added to make three gills. Boil 3 gills of cream or rich milk. Stir 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 of flour in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Then pour boiling milk in, stirring all the time. Stand aside, squeeze each clam with a lemon squeezer and you will find but an empty skin remains. Strain clams and liquor to the white sauce already made, pressing as much juice out as possible. Stir well, bring all to a boil and remove from fire. While you beat the yolk of an egg with 2 tablespoons of the soup stir to rest and season to taste. Take care the soup is boiling when egg is added, but does not boil afterward.

PHILADELPHIA FAMOUS OLD PEPPER POT.

_From a Daughter of the Old Higgenbottom Family._

Knuckle of veal, 6 lbs. of best mixed tripe. Boil them well covered with water in separate large pots, three hours at least. When cold skim all grease off, and put the two liquors in one large pot. Cut the tripe up in pieces the size of a large dice, also some of the veal. Take 6 large white potatoes and 4 onions. Make a dough rolled out as for shortening, and make little balls of it in the hand the size of a large pea. When the soup is boiling drop them in, a couple at a time. Thicken the soup a little with flour paste. Season to taste with salt, pepper and pot-herbs, half a box of sweet marjoram, half a box of thyme. The soup when all cooked, should be very full of the above things.

CHESTNUT SOUP CLEAR.

USED BY LORD RAGLAN, RAGLAN CASTLE, ENGLAND.

_Contributed by Mrs. Joseph Coleman Bright, Green Hill Farm, Overbrook, Pa._

Scald and peel 2 doz. large chestnuts, put in a pan ½ lb. butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil, let it get to boiling point (be careful not to burn). Put in your chestnuts and brown them to golden color. This should be carefully watched, it should only take 2 minutes to brown them. Lay them on a paper in the oven to dry. Now take a quart of good consomme well seasoned with celery essence and cayenne pepper. Put your nuts in the tureen, and pour the boiling soup over. Soup must be boiling to bring the flavor out of the chestnuts.

OCHRA GUMBO--AN OLD CREOLE RECIPE.

MRS. EUGENE PALMER, NEW ORLEANS.

_Contributed by Mrs. Robert Lindsay Pollard, Austin, Tex._

Fry slowly together 1 sliced onion and a tablespoon of dripping or a slice of salt pork. Add a pound of lean beef cut in small pieces and stew quickly. Dredge a heaping tablespoon of flour and cook until brown. Add 3 pints of boiling water, 1 pint of sliced and peeled tomatoes and 1 pint of sliced ochra. Cover and simmer for 1½ hours, adding pepper and salt to taste. Chicken may be used instead of beef, or crabs, or shrimp. In the latter case these should be previously boiled and the meat picked out and added last. A little chopped ham is always an improvement. Serve with boiled rice. The gumbo should be very thick when served.

CALF’S HEAD SOUP.

MRS. THOMAS PRATHER, LOUISVILLE, KY. (1810).

_Contributed by her great-grandniece, Mrs. Alice C. Slaughter, through Miss Alice W. Richardson, Louisville, Ky._

Put the calf’s head in 1½ gal. of water, let it boil until the meat drops from the bones, then take it out and chop very fine. Take out the brains and mix with them one pint of claret, a wineglass of madeira and teaspoon of salt. With the chopped meat put an onion chopped, handful of parsley, a teaspoon of allspice, ½ teaspoon of cloves, one of black pepper, little sage and thyme and teacup of walnut catsup. Work a little browned flour into a piece of butter, and add just before you take off the soup.

OYSTER GUMBO.

MRS. LAWTON, NEW ORLEANS, LA.

One large heaping spoonful of lard. When boiling, stir in one small cup of flour and let it brown well, stirring all the time to keep from burning. Then add a large onion, sliced. Let that brown. Have one chicken cut up as for stew and fry in lard and onion mixture, then add as much water as you would for a tureen of soup. This must cook for five hours. One hour before serving put in 100 oysters with their liquor, and just before serving stir in 2 tablespoons of gumbo filee (a powder made from sassafras). As this lumps easily, stir a small quantity at a time in a cup of the liquid. The soup must boil up once after the filee is put in, and then add salt and pepper to taste. This quantity serves 10 people.

“MAMMY LACKEY’S” MOCK TURTLE SOUP.

MRS. CATHERINE LEAF SMITH, READING, PA. (1800).

_Contributed by Miss Katherine Smith, Philadelphia, Pa._

One gallon cold water, 1 calf’s head, 1 knuckle of veal, 1½ lbs. veal cutlet, 1 even teaspoonful of cloves and allspice mixed, ½ teaspoonful of mace, 1 large potato, 1 onion, dash of sweet marjoram, 1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley, two hard boiled eggs, ½ pint wine, enough good plain pie crust dough to make 3 or 4 doz. balls the size of a marble, salt, pepper, flour, butter and lard. Cut potato into dice, cut onion into very small pieces, tie spice into cloth. Wash head in cold water to remove blood. Take out the brain, remove from it all the veins, and put it into cold water until used. Boil the head in one gallon of cold water, and if the kettle is large enough the knuckle of veal may be boiled at the same time. If not, it can be cooked when the head is taken out. As the water boils off, enough must be added to keep the same quantity, otherwise there will not be enough. When the head falls apart take it out of the kettle, and set aside to cool. If the knuckle of veal had been boiled with the head, the soup may now be strained through a fine sieve. Add potato, onion, spice, dough balls, pepper and salt to taste, and allow it to cook slowly. As soon as the head is cool enough skin the tongue and cheeks, remove all bone, skin, veins, etc. Cut tongue and meat into dice. The meat on the knuckle is not used. Chop veal cutlet in meat chopper, season with salt, pepper and a little sweet marjoram; roll into balls twice as large as the others, and fry brown in lard and butter. Keep these hot. Mash yolks of two hard-boiled eggs with very little flour, and make into balls. When the dough balls rise to the top of soup they have cooked enough. Take out spice. Add meat, brains cut into pieces, parsley, and a few cloves if the soup does not taste of the spices. Thicken with butter and flour to make a rich soup. Just before serving add force meat balls, egg balls and wine. Do not skim off the surface.

CREAM OF MUSHROOMS.

_Contributed by Mrs. C. Stuart Patterson, Philadelphia, Pa._

If hothouse mushrooms are used they require cooking for nearly or quite 2 hours. When cooked, put the mushrooms in a vegetable press and squeeze the juice into the water in which they have been boiled, add to this small pieces of butter, and a pint of cream, smoothly thickened with a little flour, or better still, rice flour. Two tablespoonfuls of sherry may be added if desired. Pour into cups and serve with whipped cream on top.

FISH.

RECIPE FOR TERRAPIN.

TAKEN VERBATIM FROM “AUNT” MARY SHARP (OLD MARYLAND COOK).

_Contributed by Mrs. Robert C. Wright, Haverford, Pa._

Put de tarrypins inter er tub er col’ water, an’ let ’em wash deyselves. Den pore off dat water, an’ put some mo’ in, an’ let ’em wash deyselves agin. Den drap ’em erlive inter biling water, an’ let ’em bile till ther feets is easy skunned, tunning ’em over eve’y now an’ agin. W’en de feets is loose an’ easy, took from de shell, take ’em out and put ’em on er dish. Save er litl’ er de water dey was biled in an’ streen it. W’en de tarrypins gets cooled off, pick ’em, but be keerful not ter break de gall. Split de entruls an’ cut ’em up ’bout er inch long. W’en de meat is all cut up, th’ow in er litl’ raid pepper, black pepper, salt an’ mace. Put ’em in er stewpan wif jes ’bout nuff er de water dey was biled in ter kiver’ em, an’ den stew ’em slow fer er littl’ more’n er quarter hour. Den put in some browned flour mixed up wif butter stirred in, near ’bout er quarter pound butter, an free (3) tablespoonfuls flour ter er mejum size tarrypin. Put de wine in jes as de tarrypins is took outen de stewpan fer de table.

TERRAPIN BROWN STEW.

MR. JOE MCALLISTER, SAVANNAH, GA.

_Contributed by Mrs. Gulielma Harrison, Brandon, Va._

Have the terrapins boiled with onion, cloves and mace and celery seed. Add bread and black pepper and salt. When nearly done put them into a chafing dish into which you have mashed 2 large spoonfuls browned flour, 2 of butter, and a teaspoon of powdered allspice. Boil until quite thick, add a glass of wine. Eat with lemon juice.

PLANKED FISH.

MRS. MORRIS R. STROUD, PHILADELPHIA, PA.

(A method of planking shad used by the Piscataway tribe in Maryland.)

_Contributed by Mrs. W. Hinckle Smith, Bryn Mawr, Pa._

A pile of cord wood is made about 3 ft. high, 4 ft. wide, and 8 to 20 ft. long, according to the number of shad to be planked. When this has been reduced to a bed of coals, the shad, which have been previously cleaned and split down the back, are fastened with nails to oak planks about 2 ft. wide, 4 ft. long, and 3 in. thick. These planks like wine of ancient vintage, are all the better for long keeping. After the impalement the planks are set up edgewise before the fire, and while cooking the shad are continually basted with a mixture of butter, baking grease and Worcestershire sauce, with the addition of salt and pepper. Meantime, the roes are being prepared on another and smaller fire. When all is ready they are served with clam chowder and fresh spring vegetables. Many years ago old Jack Anderson, a relic of the days of slavery, used to say: “Well, I tell you, when dey’s done, marse, you jes’ cook an’ baste, an’ baste an’ cook twel dey smells so good you cain’t wait no longah, den dey’s done.”

FISH PIE.

MRS. J. A. HEWLETT, BROOKLYN, N. Y.

_Contributed by Mrs. James Crosby Brown, Rosemont, Pa._

About 1 qt. cold boiled fish, 1 pt. of milk, 1 large tablespoonful of butter, 1 onion, 1 teaspoonful of corn starch or flour, a little green celery or parsley. Add salt and pepper. Drop the onion into the cold milk and when it comes to a boil take out the onion, add corn starch mixed first with a little cold milk, butter and seasoning. Put a layer of sauce into the dish first, then fish, and repeat until all is used. Cover the top with bread crumbs and bake half an hour or more, according to oven.

MRS. HABERSHAM’S BROWN TERRAPIN STEW.

MRS. FRANK B. SCREVEN, SAVANNAH, GA.

Eight terrapin, diamond back, or 6 yellow terrapin, 1 teaspoon sugar, carameled, 1 tablespoon vinegar, with pepper, salt to taste, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 6 or 8 tablespoons of parched flour, 1 tumbler best sherry, 1 qt. jelly terrapin was cooked in, 1 saltspoon powdered allspice, 1 pinch cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon. Put butter in a deep pan on stove and melt it, add slowly the flour in which the allspice has been thoroughly sifted, spoonful by spoonful, stirring hard all the time. Heat the jelly in another pot and add little by little to the mixture until it boils and becomes smooth like starch. Then add sugar, and vinegar to sauce. Then the terrapin meat and eggs, taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Lastly pour in wine and serve with lemon. Boil terrapin for this stew with bunch of herbs and 2 onions. (For 16 people.)

TERRAPIN (MARYLAND STYLE).

The recipe of John Erwin, a negro cook from Maryland, who served suppers and dinners in Philadelphia before the Civil War--1859, 1862, 1863, 1864.

_Contributed by Mrs. Lelia Andrews Smith, Philadelphia._

Wash 4 terrapins in warm water, then throw them into a pot of boiling water, let them boil till the shells crack, then take them out, remove the bottom shell. Cut each quarter separately, take the gall from the liver very carefully, pick out the eggs and put the pieces of terrapin in a stewpan, use the water they were boiled in and if not enough to cover them add some more water, a little salt, cayenne and black pepper, a little mace and butter the size of a large egg. Then let it stew slowly for ¾ of an hour. Make a thickening of flour and water, stir in a few minutes before you take it off the fire and add 3 or more glasses of wine, add the eggs as you serve it. More wine and spices can be added if desired.

STUFFED CRABS.

MRS. MORRIS R. STROUD, PHILADELPHIA, PA. (1877).

_Contributed by Mrs. Meredith Bailey._

Cook the crabs 20 minutes. When cold, cut them in two parts, clean the shells well and keep. Take out and hash the meat. Make Bechamel sauce with cream, not too thick; add 1 onion hashed fine, and fry in butter. Spice strongly with cayenne pepper, mustard, spices and nutmeg. Cook crabs in this sauce 10 minutes, add crumbs, and thicken with yolks of eggs. Bechamel Sauce.--Mix cold and well together in a saucepan 2 oz. of butter, 1 tablespoonful flour, add 1 pt. of milk, set on fire, stir constantly. When turning rather thick, take off. Beat a yolk of egg with teaspoon of water. Turn it into the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

SHRIMP PILLAU.

MRS. HUGER, SAVANNAH, GA.

Take 1 qt. of rice, boil grainy, while hot add a heaping tablespoonful of butter, 1 pt. of milk, mace, pepper and salt to taste. Have 2 plates of pickled shrimp, put alternate layers of rice and shrimp, letting the first and last layers be of rice. Beat up the yolk of an egg, put it over the rice and bake.

LOBSTER AND CRAB FARCEE.

MRS. MORRIS R. STROUD, PHILADELPHIA, PA. (1877).

_Contributed by Mrs. Meredith Bailey, Philadelphia, Pa._

Take off the shell carefully of a boiled lobster or crabs. Chop a piece of onion fine with a little butter. When it is partly fried add a teaspoonful of flour. Chop your lobster fine, put in the pan and stir it until partly fried. Add ½ pt. of milk or cream, and stir again. Stir frequently to keep from burning. Add pepper and salt. Lay the pieces of shell in a pan, fill with the mixture, and bake in an oven.

SALMON PUDDING.

PHILADELPHIA, PA.