Janet McKenzie Hill

“ Then, too, salad-making appeals largely to one's artistic nature, and the products of sea and fresh water are constantly furnishing opportunities for studies in many and varied shades of color. The lobster's vivid red, the brilliant tints of the salmon and red snapper, the delicate pink of shrimps, the dull white of scallops and halibut, and the bluish gray of mackerel and bluefish, each, in its season, may be made to contrast most effectively with fresh green herbs and yellow dressings.
Oysters, scallops and little-neck clams are frequently served in salads without cooking. ”

“ In regard to the chafing-dish and its most prominent use, some one may fittingly ask: Is it hygienic to eat at midnight? Can one keep one's health and eat late suppers? As in all things pertaining to food, no set rules can be given to meet every case; much depends upon constitutional traits, individual habits and idiosyncrasies. One may practise what another cannot attempt. As a rule, however, people who eat a hearty dinner, after the work of the day is done, do not need to eat again until the following breakfast hour. ”

“ After a good, complete, and copious breakfast, if we take, in addition, a cup of well-made chocolate, digestion will be perfectly accomplished in three hours, and we may dine whenever we like. Out of zeal for science, and by dint of eloquence, I have induced many ladies to try this experiment. They all declared, in the beginning, that it would kill them; but they have all thriven on it and have not failed to glorify their teacher. ”

“ Let the gelatine stand in the half cup of cold water until it has taken up all of the water. Stir the sugar and the two-thirds a cup of cold water over the fire until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is boiling, then add the gelatine and let cook twenty minutes; add the cinnamon, the chocolate, melted over hot water, and beat all together, then add the vanilla and the fruit; let stand in a cool place for a time, then when it thickens a little turn into an unbuttered bread pan and set aside until the next day. To unmold separate the paste from the pan—at the edge—with a sharp-pointed knife. ”

“ Beat to a cream half a cupful of butter and one tablespoonful of lard. Gradually beat into this one cupful of sugar; then add one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, and two ounces of Walter Baker & Co.'s Premium No. 1 Chocolate, melted. Now add one well-beaten egg, and half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of milk. Stir in about two cupfuls and a half of flour. Roll thin, and, cutting in round cakes, bake in a rather quick oven. The secret of making good cookies is the use of as little flour as will suffice. ”

“ Bear in mind that the hot-water pan is to be used in all cases where the double boiler would be used, if the cooking were to be done upon the range. For instance, where the recipe calls for milk or cream, except in the making of a sauce, use the bath from the beginning. Also, be careful always to place the blazer in the bath before eggs are added to any mixture. Indeed, the hot-water pan is the one feature of the chafing-dish which it is most important to notice; for on the proper use of the hot-water pan the value of the chafing-dish as an exponent of scientific cookery entirely depends. ”

“ The candy must be stirred constantly during the last of the cooking. In cooking without a thermometer one is liable to remove the candy from the fire too soon—if this happens, return, egg whites and all, to the saucepan, set this into a dish of boiling water and stir constantly until the mixture thickens, then pour into the pan lined with paper. ”

“ Of uncooked vegetables, cabbage lettuce—called long ago by the Greek physician, Galen, the philosopher's or wise man's herb—stands at the head of salad plants. Like all uncooked vegetables, lettuce must be served fresh and crisp, and the more quickly it is grown the more tender it will be. When dressed for the table, each leaf should glisten with oil, yet no perceptible quantity should fall to the salad-bowl. Watercress, being rich in sulphuretted oil, is often served without oil. Cheese or eggs combine well with cress ”

“ Do not stir or shake the sugar while it is cooking. Pour the hot syrup in a thin stream into the whites of two eggs that have been beaten to a stiff froth, beating the mixture all the time. Continue to beat until the icing is thick. Flavor with one teaspoonful of vanilla. Use two-thirds of this as a white icing, and to the remaining third add one ounce of melted chocolate. To melt the chocolate, shave it fine and put in a cup, which is then to be placed in a pan of boiling water. ”

“ Have prepared on a hot serving-dish a can of tomatoes, stewed until they are reduced to a scant pint, and upon the tomatoes rounds of buttered toast for each egg to be served. Break some eggs, one by one, into a cup, and turn them into the blazer two-thirds filled with hot water; turn the flame low and put on the chafing-dish cover; if the water boils, turn down the flame. When the eggs are nicely poached, remove with a skimmer to the toast. Pour out the water and melt in the blazer, browning if desired, two tablespoonfuls of butter; add one tablespoonful of lemon juice ”

“ Put the sugar, glucose, butter, cream of tartar and one cup of the milk over the fire, stir constantly, and when the mass has boiled a few moments, gradually stir in the rest of the milk. Do not let the mixture stop boiling while the milk is being added. Stir every few moments and cook to 248° F., or, until when tested in cold water, a hard ball may be formed; add the chocolate and vanilla and beat them thoroughly through the candy, then turn it into two bread pans. ”

“ The flavor of a few drops of onion juice is relished by many in any kind of fish or meat sandwich, while others would prefer a few grains of fine-chopped parsley.
When salad sandwiches are to be prepared, chop the meat or fish very fine and mix it with the salad dressing. Celery, cabbage, cress, cucumbers, tomatoes or olives may be chopped and added to the meat with the dressing. When lettuce is used, the leaf is served whole, the edges just appearing outside the bread. Any one of these vegetables, combined with a salad dressing, makes a delicious sandwich without meat or fish. ”

“ Wet the hand in cold water and with it dampen a marble slab or a large platter, then without jarring the syrup turn it onto the marble or platter. Do not scrape out the saucepan or allow the last of the syrup to drip from it, as sugary portions will spoil the fondant by making it grainy. When the syrup is cold, with a metal scraper or a wooden spatula, turn the edges of the mass towards the center, and continue turning the edges in until the mass begins to thicken and grow white, then work it up into a ball, scraping all the sugar from the marble onto the mass ”

“ Heat one-fourth a cup of chopped cold tongue or ham, and half a cup of chopped veal or chicken, with half a cup of good sauce and two tablespoonfuls of curry paste (curry powder mixed with [206] just enough water to form a paste) . Let the mixture simmer five minutes, stirring constantly; then set aside to become cool. Have some bits of bread prepared as for sandwiches. Heat some clarified butter in the blazer, and in it sauté the bread a delicate brown, and drain on soft paper. Spread with the cold mixture, press two pieces together, and heat over hot water five or ten minutes. Serve hot. ”

“ Our Cocoa and Chocolate Preparations are ABSOLUTELY PURE—free from coloring matter, chemical solvents, or adulterants of any kind, and are therefore in full conformity to the requirements of all National and State Pure Food Laws. ”

“ Thudichum recommends sea water, whenever it is available, for boiling fish; lacking this, hot water, salted (an ounce of salt to a quart of water) , and acidulated pleasantly with lemon juice or vinegar, is the proper medium of cooking. The addition of a slice or two of onion and carrot, a sprig of parsley, a stalk of celery, with aromatic herbs or spices, provided they be not used so freely as to overpower the delicate savor of the fish, is thought to improve the dish. ”

“ The people who make constant use of chocolate are the ones who enjoy the most steady health, and are the least subject to a multitude of little ailments which destroy the comfort of life; their plumpness is also more equal. ”

“ For one cup of sauce, put two tablespoonfuls of butter into the blazer; let the butter simply melt, without coloring, if for a white sauce, but cook until brown for a brown sauce. Mix together two tablespoon [159] fuls of flour, one-fourth a teaspoonful of salt and a dash of black or white pepper, or a few grains of cayenne or paprica, and beat it into the bubbling butter; let the mixture cook two or three minutes, then stir into it, rather gradually at first, and beating constantly, one cup of cold milk, water or stock. ”

“ When the syrup is so cool that the finger can be held in it comfortably, pour it into a bowl, and stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes thick and white. When it begins to look dry, and a little hard, take out the spoon, and work with the hand until the cream is soft and smooth. Flavor with a few drops of vanilla, and, after shaping, cover with chocolate, as directed in the preceding recipe. ”

“ German potatoes, which are waxy rather than mealy, may be procured in large cities especially for salads. Peel the potatoes and cut them while hot into [38] slices or cubes; pour over them as much beef broth as they will readily absorb and sprinkle with the salt and pepper, the oil and onion; mix lightly and set aside for some hours. Then add the whites of the eggs chopped fine, the yolks passed through a sieve, and mix with the rest of the oil, stirred with the vinegar into the mustard and sugar. After disposing in the dish, sprinkle with the parsley. ”

“ Some persons complain of being unable to digest chocolate; others, on the contrary, pretend that it has not sufficient nourishment, and that the effect disappears too soon. It is probable that the former have only themselves to blame, and that the chocolate which they use is of bad quality or badly made; for good and well-made chocolate must suit every stomach which retains the slightest digestive power. ”

“ Cauliflower Salad, Egg Garnish.
Separate a cauliflower into flowerets and boil in salted water until tender, not longer. Drain carefully. Season with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of chopped tarragon leaves (or use tarragon vinegar) . Arrange symmetrically in an earthen bowl, having the upper surface level. Let stand to become thoroughly chilled, then turn on to a serving-dish; the shape of the mould will be [50] retained. Cover with mayonnaise dressing or Sauce Tartare, and surround with lengthwise quarters of hard-boiled eggs. ”

“ This House has grown to be the largest of its kind in the world and it has achieved that result by always maintaining the highest standard in the quality of its cocoa and chocolate preparations and selling them at the lowest price for which unadulterated articles of high grade can be put upon the market. ”

“ There is positive need of more widespread knowledge of the principles of cookery. Few women know how to cook an egg or boil a potato properly, and the making of the perfect loaf of bread has long been assigned a place among the "lost arts." ”

“ Mayonnaise dressing is composed largely of olive oil. A small amount of yolk of egg is used as a foundation. The oil, with the addition of condiments, is slightly acidulated with vinegar and lemon juice, one or both, and the whole is made very light and thick by beating. Mayonnaise forms a very handsome dressing, and it is much enjoyed by those who are fond of oil. ”

“ For chicken, veal or sweetbread salad, use chicken or veal stock, or a light-colored consommé. In an emergency, aspic may be made from the prepared extracts of beef, or from bouillon capsules. Aspic is often tinted delicately to harmonize with a particular color scheme. A light-green aspic has been found quite effective.
RECIPE.
To one quart of highly seasoned stock, freed from all fat, add the juice of a lemon, a bay leaf, half a cup of wine and one box of gelatine soaked in a cup of cold water. Beat into the mixture the slightly beaten whites and crushed shells of two eggs. ”