Anonymous

“ Cut two pounds of the upper round of beef into inch squares, dredge them with salt and pepper and roll them in flour. Put into a saucepan some butter and some drippings, or a little suet, and let it fry out, using enough only to cover the bottom of the saucepan; when the grease is hot, turn in the pieces of meat and let them cook until well browned on all sides; watch and turn them as soon as browned, then draw the meat to one side of the pan and add a tablespoonful of flour; let the flour brown, and add a cupful of stock or water, and stir it until it comes to a boiling point ”

“ When the gelatine begins to thicken, pour it slowly into the stiffly beaten whites of four eggs, beating it well as you pour. The mixture will now be white and spongy. Pour into mold or dish one-half of mixture, flavored to taste. Have ready cocoanut, chopped nuts or Maraschino cherries (all three may be used) in a center layer. Onto this pour the remainder of the mixture, which may be colored if desired. With this serve a sauce made from the yolks of three eggs, one pint milk, sugar and vanilla to taste; cook in double boiler till it thickens so that it will pour nicely. ”

“ The larger share of dressed pork is almost entirely clear fat, which should be white, firm and evenly distributed. Skin should be thin and smooth. Any detailed description of the various cuts of pork would be superfluous here. Not all our eloquence could adequately picture the delight with which an epicure gazes upon a ham boiled or baked by an experienced Kentucky or Virginia cook. ”

“ Instead of retaining the cold and keeping out the heat, the fireless cooker does the opposite by keeping food which has been brought to a boiling point at a temperature high enough to continue the process of cooking for many hours.
Every one has wrapped up ice in a newspaper or carpet to keep it from melting. In making the fireless cooker the material used for packing around the boiling food is paper, hay, wool or cork, because any one of these things is a poor conductor of heat—that is, the heat can not go through them easily. ”

“ Scraped beef is very nutritious, and is served raw between slices of bread and butter. Baked and broiled fish are nice, and generally relished by sick people.
Soft boiled and scrambled eggs are quite safe to give, as a rule.
If potatoes are liked, have them baked. Other vegetables may be given, but it is always best to consult the physician before serving things about which one is doubtful. Food that will not be harmful in some cases may be decidedly so in others. Generally, it is best to avoid fried and warmed-over meats, and pork should not be served to the sick. ”

“ Nearly all foods may be cooked in the fireless cooker except those which have to be crisp or brown, though roast meat may be browned either before placing in the cooker or when the process of cooking is nearly finished. Cereals, one of the most wholesome foods known, are greatly improved by use of the fireless cooker. The long cooking makes them more digestible and gives them a flavor which they lack when cooked only fifteen or twenty minutes. ”

“ Place a piece of wax paper over a knife when cutting butter.
If raisins and currants are rolled in flour before putting in a cake, they will not sink to the bottom.
When cutting fresh bread, have the knife very hot.
Put a pinch of salt in the whites of eggs to make them whip better.
Stains on knives, however obstinate, will disappear if rubbed with a piece of raw potato.
Put a slice of potato in the deep fat when frying doughnuts.
If potatoes are pared and laid in cold water just before boiling, they will be much whiter. ”

“ It is an advantage to housekeepers to know that meat need not be the highest in price to be nutritious and palatable.
BAKED BREAST OF MUTTON.
Sew up breast of mutton in a thin cloth, put into a stewpan, nearly cover with cold salt water, and let simmer, allowing ten minutes to each pound. Take out of pan and cloth, put into baking dish, rub over with mutton drippings, butter or fat, sprinkle with flour and bake one-half hour in hot oven, basting [Pg 38] frequently with its own broth. Just before removing from oven, strew with bread crumbs and butter and let brown. ”

“ After boiling macaroni in salted water until soft, sprinkle with grated cheese; repeat, pour over a sauce made of butter, flour, salt and scalded milk; cover with bread crumbs and bake until brown.
RICE.
Rice has been cultivated from time immemorial. While not so valuable a food as some of the other cereals, it forms the larger part of the diet of people in the tropics and in semi-tropical countries, and is used extensively in other places. It is eaten by more human beings than any other cereal ”

“ When all is white and stiff, pour into a wet mold. Make the custard of the sugar, yolks and milk; flavor with vanilla. Boil until it begins to thicken. When the meringue is turned into the dish, pour the cold custard about the base.
SNOWBALLS.
Three eggs, one scant cup flour, one cup sugar, one and one-half teaspoonful baking powder, three tablespoonfuls water, two tablespoonfuls lemon juice, grated rind of one lemon. Beat yolks of eggs, add sugar, then water, lemon rind and juice, then the whites beaten stiffly, finally the flour and baking powder, sifted together. Stir quickly and well. ”

“ One pint of milk, three tablespoonfuls sugar, two tablespoonfuls cornstarch, whites of three eggs, a little salt to taste, one-half teaspoonful vanilla or lemon. Have egg whites beaten stiff. Put milk on in a double boiler; when heated, add sugar, salt and flavoring; when scalding hot, add cornstarch, which has been dissolved in a little cold milk. Let this cook a minute or two, stirring well, then add the stiffly beaten whites of eggs, using cut-and-fold method. Turn mixture into molds which have been wet with cold water; sherbet cups make excellent molds, tea cup half filled will do. ”

“ Make the oyster sauce first. Take twenty-five large oysters, put them in a saucepan over a moderate fire, and cook slowly until the gills are curled. Drain, save the liquor, add enough milk to make a pint. Take a tablespoonful flour and one of butter and cream them. Put the liquor in a pan and when it begins to boil stir in the flour and butter. Stir until boiling, add a teaspoonful salt and a dash of paprika. Stand in a warm place until you make the omelet. ”

“ In selecting mutton or lamb we should be guided by color, fineness of grain, thickness of flesh and amount of fat. Mutton of a dull brick red is preferable, though the color varies from that to dark red. Lamb on account of its superior flavor is more popular than mutton. The flesh of lamb should be light in color, of fine grain and the fat evenly distributed. The nutritive value of mutton and lamb is practically the same as beef. ”

“ One pint oysters, one-half cup cream, one teaspoonful onion juice, two tablespoonfuls butter, one-half teaspoonful salt, one-eighth teaspoonful paprika, two level tablespoonfuls flour, one teaspoonful lemon juice, yolk of one egg, toasted bread. Melt one tablespoonful butter, add oysters, salt, paprika, onion and lemon juice, cook three minutes, and melt remaining tablespoonful butter, add flour, and when blended add cream, then the yolk of the egg, beaten slightly; cook until it thickens, stirring slowly, add to the oysters, mix and serve on toast. ”

“ Make dough as for dumplings or fruit roll, only stiff enough to drop from spoon. To one pint sifted flour add one heaping teaspoonful baking powder, one-fourth teaspoonful salt, lump of lard or butter size of small egg, milk to make dough of consistency to drop it from a tablespoon. Drop a little dough on top of fruit, having cup about two-thirds full. ”

“ Melt three tablespoonfuls butter, add four tablespoonfuls flour, and gradually one cup scalded milk with one-half cup macaroni rolled fine; when well thickened, pour into yolks of four eggs, beaten until thick, and lemon color, and mix with two tablespoonfuls sugar; cool, add one-fourth teaspoonful Crown almond extract and cut and fold in the whites of four eggs, beaten till stiff and dry. Turn into buttered pudding dish, sprinkle with macaroni crumbs and bake from thirty to thirty-five minutes in slow oven in a pan of water. ”

“ Boil spaghetti in salt water one-half hour, drain, cover with soup stock, add one can of tomatoes, salt, pepper to taste. One can mushrooms. Boil all these ingredients well together, turn into a hot dish. Pass grated Parmesan cheese, to sprinkle over each portion. Fresh mushrooms turned in butter may be used instead of canned ones.
NEW ENGLAND SWEET POTATOES.
Put a layer of boiled, peeled and sliced sweet potatoes in a greased baking dish, sprinkle with brown sugar and dot with butter. Cover with another layer of potatoes and another of sugar, and so on until the dish is full. ”

“ When cool, stir in the whites, beaten stiff. Bake in a buttered dish about twenty minutes and serve immediately. If for lunch, serve with a mushroom sauce. [Pg 42]
MEAT STEW.
Get five pounds of a cheap cut of beef. Cut into little pieces, taking off the fat. Try out the fat, brown the meat in it, and when well browned, cover with boiling water, boil five minutes, then cook in lower temperature until the meat is done. During the last hour of cooking add two-thirds cup of turnips and the same amount of carrots cut in small cubes, one-half an onion chopped fine, salt and pepper. ”

“ Mash and drain through cheese-cloth or coarse sieve. It makes the jelly cloudy to squeeze the apples. Now allow juice to drip through a jelly bag or through two thicknesses of cheese-cloth, boil twenty minutes and add equal quantity of sugar, boil five minutes, skim and turn in glasses. Let the glasses stand in a sunny window twenty-four hours. A sprig of rose geranium dropped in syrup while it is boiling the last time will give the jelly a delicious and unusual flavor. ”

“ Any person having a fair idea of the general principles of cooking will need very little instruction for the successful use of the fireless cooker. The following recipes do not pretend to cover the wide variety of food possible to fireless cookery, but only give an idea in the preparation of a few simple dishes that might be used for most any meal. ”

“ The idea of the fireless cooker is an old one, bringing things to a boil, placing into a box of hay and leaving for a few hours to cook—that method has been used by housewives in some European nations for a good many years. ”