Judith Cohen Montefiore

“ A clever writer has said, "Beauty is but another name for that expression of the countenance which is indicative of sound health, intelligence, and good feeling." If so, how much of beauty is attainable to all! ”

“ Take a small well cut piece of lean beef, lard it with the fat of smoked beef, and stew it with good gravy, highly seasoned with allspice, cloves, pepper and salt; when the meat is well done remove it from the gravy, which skim carefully and free from every particle of fat, and add to it a glass of port wine, the juice of a lemon, half a tea-spoonful of cayenne pepper, and a little mushroom ketchup; the beef should be glazed when required to have an elegant appearance. ”

“ Chop finely any kind of fish, that which has been already dressed will answer the purpose, then pound it in a mortar with a couple of anchovies, or a little anchovy essence, the yolk of a hard boiled egg, a little butter, parsley or any other herb which may be approved, grated lemon peel, and a little of the juice, then add a little bread previously soaked, and mix the whole into a paste, and form into balls, or use for stuffing, &c.
The liver or roe of fish is well suited to add to the fish, as it is rich and delicate. ”

“ Take one pint of milk, stir in as much flour as will bring it to the consistency of hasty pudding; boil it till it becomes thick, let it cool, and beat it up with ten eggs; when smooth, take a spoonful at a time, and drop it into a frying-pan, in which there is a good quantity of boiling clarified butter, fry of a light brown, and serve with clarified sugar, flavored with lemon essence. ”

“ Prepare cold veal or poultry as in the last receipt, add instead of crumbs of bread, a French roll soaked in white gravy, mix with it the same ingredients, and form it into two shapes to imitate small chickens or sweetbreads; sprinkle with crumbs of bread, and place in a frying-pan as deep as a shallow saucepan; when they have fried enough to become set, pour enough weak gravy in the pan to cover the fricondelles, and let them stew in it gently, place them both in the same dish, and pour over any well thickened sauce that may be selected. ”

“ Paste should be worked up very lightly, and no strength or pressure used; it should be rolled out from you, as lightly as possible. A marble slab is better than a board to make paste on.
The flour should be dried for some time before the fire previously to being used. In forming it into paste it should be wetted as little as possible, to prevent its being tough. It is a great mistake to imagine lard is better adapted for pastry than butter or clarified fat; it may make the paste lighter, but neither the color nor the flavor will be nearly so good, and the saving is extremely trifling. ”

“ Soak three sponge cakes and half a pound of macaroons and ratafias in one wine glass of brandy and three of white wine, lay them at the bottom of the trifle dish, and pour over nearly a pint of thick rich custard, made of equal portions of milk and cream, with seven eggs, according to directions for "Custards;" before the custard is added, jam and sweetmeats are sometimes spread over the cakes; a fine light froth is prepared, with cream and the whites of two eggs, flavored with wine and sugar, heap it over the trifle lightly. ”

“ CASSEROLE AU RIZ. Boil some rice till quite tender, make it into a firm paste with one egg and a couple of tablespoons of strong gravy; then line the inside of a mould with the paste of sufficient thickness to turn out without breaking. Some cooks fill the mould instead of lining it only, and scoop away the centre. After it is turned out the rice must stand till cold, before it is removed from the mould; then fill the rice with friccassee of fowl and sweetbread, with a rich white sauce, and place it in the oven to become hot and brown. ”

“ This is the basis of all kinds of soup and sauces. Shin of beef or ox-cheek make excellent stock, although good gravy-beef is sometimes preferred; the bones should always be broken, and the meat cut up, as the juices are better extracted; it is advisable to put on, at first, but very little water, and to add more when the first quantity is nearly dried up. The time required for boiling depends upon the quantity of meat; six pounds of meat will take about five hours; if bones, the same quantity will require double the time. Gravy beef with a knuckle of veal makes a fine and nutritious stock ”

“ Take one quart of young peas, a little mint, a few lumps of sugar, a little salt and white pepper, simmer them gently in one pint of water, when the peas are half done, throw in small dumplings made of paste, as if for short crust, and sweetened with a little brown sugar, beat up two eggs, and drop in a spoonful at a time, just before serving; it will require a deep dish, as the liquor is not to be strained off. Some prefer the eggs poached. ”

“ The more sugar that is added to fruit the less boiling it requires.
If jellies be over-boiled, much of the sugar will become candied, and leave the jelly thin.
Every thing used for the purpose of preserving should be clean and very dry, particularly bottles for bottled fruit.
Fruit should boil rapidly before the sugar is added, and quietly afterwards—when preserves seem likely to become mouldy, it is generally a sign they have not been sufficiently boiled, and it will be requisite to boil them up again—fruit for bottling should not be too ripe, and should be perfectly fresh ”

“ Frying is easier than broiling, the fat, oil or butter in which the article is fried must be boiling, but have ceased to bubble before it is put in the pan, or it will be greasy and black: there is now a new description of fryingpan, called a sauté pan, and which will be found extremely convenient for flying small cutlets or collops. ”

“ Take out the seeds of some fresh young cucumbers, quarter them, and cut them into pieces of two inch lengths, let them lay for an hour in vinegar and water, then simmer them till thoroughly soft, in a veal broth seasoned with pepper, salt, and a little lemon juice; when ready for serving, pour off the gravy and thicken it with the yolks of a couple of eggs stirred in, add it to the saucepan; warm up, taking care that it does not curdle. ”

“ Set on the fire in a saucepan a pint of milk, when it boils, pour in as much white wine as will turn it into curds, boil it up, let the curds settle, strain off, and add a little boiling water, and sweeten to taste. ”

“ We hope, therefore, that this unpretending little work may not prove wholly unacceptable, even to those ladies who are not of the Hebrew persuasion, as it will serve as a sequel to the books on cookery previously in their possession, and be the medium of presenting them with numerous receipts for rare and exquisite compositions, which if uncommemorated by the genius of Vatêl, Ude, or Carême, are delicious enough not only to gratify the lovers of good cheer generally, but to merit the unqualified approbation of the most fastidious epicures. ”

“ In the same way candour, benevolence, pity, and good temper, exert the most happy influence over the whole person;—shine forth in every look and every movement with a fascination which wins its way to all hearts. ”

“ A trustworthy zealous servant must keep in mind, that waste and extravagance are no proofs of skill. On the contrary. Good Cookery is by no means expensive, as it makes the most of every thing, and furnishes out of simple and economical materials, dishes which are at once palatable and elegant. ”

“ Mix a light batter of eggs with flour and milk or water, fry in boiling butter or clarified suet; they may be fried without butter or fat, by putting more eggs and a little cream, the pan must be very dry and clean; those fried without butter are very delicate and fashionable, they should be fried of the very lightest colour; they are good also made of rice, which must be boiled in milk till quite tender ”

“ She is continually subjected to impositions from her ignorance of what is required for the dishes she selects, while a lavish extravagance, or parsimonious monotony betrays her utter inexperience in all the minute yet indispensible details of elegant hospitality. ”

“ Clean some fine fresh mushrooms, put them in a saucepan with a large piece of butter, pepper and salt; let them simmer until tender, and serve them with no other sauce than that in which they have been dressed. Also stewed in a veal gravy, and served with white sauce on a toast, they form a nice and pretty dish. ”