Thomas J. Murrey

“ Soup Stock.—The word stock when used in cooking means the foundation or basis upon which soups and sauces depend; it is therefore the most important part of soup making. Care should be exercised that nothing in the least tainted or decayed enters the stock pot; it is very desirable that soup stock be prepared a day or two before it is wanted; the seasoning should be added in moderation at first, as it is difficult to restore a soup that has been damaged by over seasoning. ”

“ Many seem to think that they have made toast when they brown the outside of a slice of bread. Have they?
The object in making toast is to evaporate all moisture from the bread, and holding a slice over the fire to singe does not accomplish this; it only warms the moisture, making the inside of the bread doughy and decidedly indigestible. The true way of preparing it is to cut the bread into slices a quarter of an inch thick, trim off all crust, put the slices in a pan or plate, place them in the oven—which must not be too hot—take them out when a delicate brown, and butter at once. ”

“ Egg Sauce.—Cream an ounce of butter; add to it one tablespoonful of dry flour, a saltspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of white pepper (black pepper spoils its color) . Stir it briskly, and add half a pint of hot water. Divide an ounce of butter into little balls, roll them in flour, and add them one at a time; stir constantly, and care should be exercised not to allow the sauce to brown or discolor. Chop three cold hard-boiled eggs, and add them to the sauce; let it heat thoroughly, and serve in a boat. ”

“ The secret of the cuisine of these noted cooks was a mysterious powder, which, when added to their dishes, cured disease, as well as appeased the appetite. Those who partook of their food died only of extreme old age or by accident. ”

“ Sardine Salad.—Wash the oil from six sardines, remove skin and bone and pour a little lemon juice over them. Put into a salad-bowl the leaves of a head of crisp lettuce; add the fish. Chop up two hard-boiled eggs, add to the fish, and serve with a plain dressing. Some do not approve of the washing process, but one of the principal reasons why Americans dislike oil is the fact that they first tasted it on sardines with which a poor fish-oil is generally used, and the reason that the trade in sardines has fallen off, is owing to the poor oil used in the canning of these otherwise dainty fish. ”

“ Open a pound can of salmon, drain, add to the small amount of salmon liquid sufficient water to make a gill, season it with salt and pepper, and, if on hand, add a little anchovy paste. Beat up the yolks of two eggs with half a teaspoonful of flour dissolved in a little cold water or milk: add the gill of water, place it on the range to become hot and thick, whisking it meanwhile; break the salmon into pieces, and add to the sauce. When quite hot, fill the patty shells with it, and serve. A very rich sauce may be made by the addition of butter and cream. ”

“ An ordinary half pint cup full of rice should be boiled in at least a gallon of water. It will surprise the uninitiated when they compare the bulk of the rice before and after cooking. The rice should be first well washed in several waters; reject all husks and imperfect grains, put the rice into cold water slightly salted, and boil about twenty-five minutes. Old rice requires a little longer cooking. The grains should occasionally be tested, and when a slight pressure will crush them they are done. If boiled until the grains burst, the rice is spoiled for serving with Curry. ”

“ Dissolve two ounces of butter in a frying pan; mince a large onion, and fry it in the butter until nicely browned, and add to the stock in which the head was cooked. Return the bones to the stock; simmer the soup, removing the scum until no more rises. Put in a carrot, a turnip, a bunch of parsley, a bouquet of herbs, a dozen outer stalks of celery, two blades of mace and the rind of one lemon, grated; salt and pepper to taste. Boil gently for two hours, and strain the soup through a cloth. Mix three ounces of browned flour with a pint of the soup ”

“ Bakers' bread cannot always be relied upon. One never knows to what extent the flour has been mixed with brands of flour made from musty or sprouted wheat, as the baker can make what appears to be good bread from these by mixing them with what is known as garlic flour, which is a grade of flour ground with garlic, the effect being to conceal other unpleasant odors. ”

“ When the shoots are a few inches long, trim them off, as wanted, and add them to any salad with a plain dressing.
Plain Salad Dressing is admissible with nearly all salads. It is composed of oil, vinegar, pepper, and salt, and nothing else. Many who do not care particularly for oil, use equal quantities of oil and vinegar, others one-third vinegar to two-thirds oil; these proportions satisfy a large class, but four parts of oil to one of vinegar are about the right proportions, provided the vinegar is of the best. ”

“ Some authorities claim that the oyster can hear. One cannot noisily approach an oyster-bed at feeding time without their hearing, and instantly every shell is closed. A cloud or a boat passing over an oyster-bank will cause every shell to close with proverbial tightness, and the sound of thunder will often kill them while they are in transit,—conclusive evidence that the nervous system in an oyster, while not highly developed, is of sufficient importance to merit attention from those who roughly handle oysters. ”

“ Artichoke Soup.—Melt a piece of butter the size of an egg in a saucepan; then fry in it one white turnip sliced, one red onion sliced, three pounds of Jerusalem artichokes washed, pared, and sliced, and a rasher of bacon. Stir these in the boiling butter for about ten minutes, add gradually one pint of stock. Let all boil together until the vegetables are thoroughly cooked, then add three pints more of stock; stir it well; add pepper and salt to taste, strain and press the vegetables through a sieve, and add one pint of boiling milk. ”

“ Fresh cold boiled salmon may be served as a Curry, and a salmon steak, cooked in a Curry sauce until it is done, is very good eating, but there is no better way of serving canned salmon than as a Curry. ”

“ The peas should be cooked as follows: Open a small can of imported peas; drain off the liquid; melt an ounce of butter in a pan, and when it creams, add the peas: shake the pan to prevent burning; add pepper and salt. When the peas are heated through they require no longer cooking, and should be served at once.
The great mistake made by many cooks in cooking canned peas is that they allow them to remain too long on the fire, which spoils them, as they are already cooked, and simply require heating.
Minced Turkey with Poached Eggs.—A very appetizing dish is made of cold boiled or roast turkey. ”

“ After they are all spread out, turn them over neatly, which will bread-crumb the other side. Dip them in the batter again by taking hold of the beard, and again spread them out on the bread-crumbs. Under no circumstances place one oyster on top of another, or in any way press them together; this would make them heavy. When the fat is so hot that the smoke from it would light a match, then fry them by again taking hold of the beard, one at a time, and dropping them into the fat. When they are dark brown, take them up, and strew over them a quantity of salt. ”

“ The large claws should not be forgotten, for they contain a dainty morsel; the fat that adheres to the top shell should not be overlooked. Cut up an amount of celery equal in bulk to the crab meat; mix both together with a few spoonfuls of plain salad dressing; then put it in a salad-bowl. Mask it with a mayonnaise; garnish with crab-claws, shrimps, and hard-boiled eggs, alternated with tufts of green, such as parsley, etc. ”

“ The desire of the average man is to remain in bed until the very last moment. A hurried breakfast of food long cooked awaits the late riser, who will not masticate it properly when he finally arrives at the breakfast-table, and the best of housekeepers is discouraged and prevented from ever attempting culinary surprises, when they are not to be appreciated. ”

“ They were never intended as an accompaniment of the oyster, and are only used by country people. A suspicion of lemon; a dash of salt when the dealer has kept them covered with cracked ice, and the descending ice-water washed out all sea flavor; and, for palates grown callous, a dash of cayenne. Such abominations as ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, etc., should never be used. Do not bolt the oyster, but masticate it; and one will soon learn to tell the different oysters by their different flavors. By bolting them, one will never know how to thoroughly appreciate them. ”

“ American manufacturers have not as yet made a salt free from foreign flavors and suitable to delicate cookery; its peculiar fishy flavor is objectionable, and gives to bread a taste that leads the eater thereof to imagine it had been sliced with a fish-knife. ”

“ A Barrel of Oysters.—Persons living away from the city are advised to purchase oysters by the barrel. If kept with the deep shell down, and in a cool place, they will live a long time. The novice is likely to bruise fingers in vain attempts to open them; but, like carving, the opening of oysters should be part of a man’s education. Then there is the charm of roasting the oysters in the old-fashioned fire-place. ”

“ When forming part of a mixed diet, no substance is more wholesome than the potato. Even the wild potato found in the Yellowstone Country is thought one of the best of edible wild roots.
Boiled Potatoes.—To retain the highest amount of nourishment, potatoes should be boiled with their skins on. When so treated, they are twice as rich in potassa salts as those which have first been peeled. It is a good plan to place them in the oven or on top of the range after boiling them, thereby allowing all surplus moisture to escape. ”

“ Pork gives a more delicate flavor to the fish than bacon.
Fish Curries.—Cold boiled or baked fish is simply a luxury when warmed up in a delicious curry sauce. This dish may be served at breakfast or luncheon. Americans are fast learning the usefulness of curry-powders; as yet they demand a mild form of curry, and a little flour is added to the sauce to tone down the pungency of the curry.
A Plain Fish Curry.—Fry an onion quite brown in a little butter or oil, add a teaspoonful of curry-powder and half a pint of hot water. Dissolve a teaspoonful of flour in a little cold water ”

“ In making an omelet care should be taken that the omelet pan is hot and dry. To insure this, put a small quantity of lard into the pan; let it simmer a few minutes, and remove it; wipe the pan dry with a towel, and put in a little fresh lard, in which the omelet may be fried. Care should be taken that the lard does not burn, as it would spoil the color of the omelet.
It is better to make two or three small omelets than one very large one, as the latter cannot be well handled by a novice.
The omelet made of three eggs is the one recommended for beginners. Break the eggs separately ”

“ The crayfish are inhabitants of fresh-water streams; and they bear a striking resemblance to the lobster in appearance, spawning habits, shedding their shell, etc. Their season begins early in the spring, and lasts until cold weather. During a bountiful supply of these delicious shell-fish, large quantities are packed away in ice-houses for winter use, when there is a big demand for them from caterers who use them as garnishment, and for salads and sauces. They cost from three to four dollars per hundred in the New-York markets. Those that come from Milwaukee are highly esteemed ”

“ Any flour containing too much moisture is likely to "heat," or sour, and flour of the best quality, when placed in damp, stuffy cellars, [Pg 22] where it will absorb moisture, is likely to do the same thing. The yeast used by many bakers is deserving the attention of the Health Department. Damaged hops are often used, which, when boiled too long, impart their obnoxious flavor to the yeast, and to the bread made from it. ”

“ For the sake of variety, if for no other reason, we should eat more fish; and it need not always be fried or broiled. A well-made fish stew or a curry should be acceptable to the majority of us, and undoubtedly would be if appetizingly prepared. ”

“ Put three ounces of finely-ground coffee in the top compartment of the coffee-pot; pour a quart of boiling water over it; let it filter through; add half a pint more of boiling water; let it filter through, and pour it out into a hot measure, and pour it through the filter again. Let it stand a moment on the range, and you have coffee as clear as wine; but unless your pot, measure, and the water are very hot, the coffee will taste as though it had become cold and then "warmed over." No eggs or other foreign substances are used to clear or settle the coffee. ”

“ When wanted for patties, melt an ounce of butter. While whisking it, gradually add a pint of the sauce. Mix it with a quart of prepared crab-meat, obtainable at the grocer’s. When hot, fill the shells with it.
Soft-shell Crabs.—When the blue crab is desirous of increasing his growth, he sheds his shell, and for a short period is perfectly helpless. The male usually retires to a secluded spot out of the reach of eels and other enemies, but the female soft shell is protected by a male companion whose shell is hard. At Sheepshead Bay these are called elopers or double crabs. ”