Emma Paddock Telford

“ Sometimes an egg is added and a tablespoonful of sugar, but it is a far cry from the French strawberry short cake of hotels and restaurants which is really a cake, either sponge or layer, with whole berries between the layers and thick whipped cream or a meringue on top. To make the genuine old-fashioned sour milk biscuit short cake, which is really more tender than that made with sweet milk, put four cups sifted pastry flour in a mixing bowl with a half teaspoonful of salt and mix well. Add three tablespoonfuls of butter and chop fine, using a silver knife. ”

“ Reed Birds.—Most of the reed birds obtained in our markets are in reality nothing but sparrows, and those undrawn. If fed on grain, as they are in Chicago, they are really very nice. To bake, wrap each one in a thin slice of bacon or salt pork, put in buttered bag, seal and cook in a quick oven. Still more delectable are they cooked en surprise. For a half dozen covers, prepare the same number of birds, six large oval potatoes, six oysters, and some thin slices of bacon. Prepare the birds as for roasting, and tuck into each little interior an oyster, seasoned with salt and pepper. ”

“ Before putting a cake in the oven, particularly if it be a fruit cake, it will be found advisable to set on the bottom of the oven, a shallow pan with a little water in it. Put in the bag, close the oven door and leave ten minutes with the gas on, then reduce the heat at least one-half. Bag cooking prevents cake crusting over and thereby permits it to rise to its full height. It also saves from burning. Midway in the baking the position of cakes can be changed, those on the grid itself set low on the broiler and vice versa so all will cook evenly. ”

“ The up-to-date housewife who is adopting the paper-bag culinary cult has also discovered that for greasing the bags, a necessary step, there is nothing that can take the place of the high grade vegetable oils. They are easily applied and absolutely tasteless and odorless, a great point, this, when the bags themselves have sometimes been condemned as imparting a foreign odor to foods cooked in them, when in reality it was the fault of the special fat with which they were greased. ”

“ Sauce Hollandaise.—This is really a warm mayonnaise, using butter instead of vegetable oil. It is the best sauce for serving with salmon or other boiled fish if you desire it hot. It requires a quarter pound butter, half a lemon, the yolks of two eggs, a little salt and a half teaspoonful white pepper. The secret of its successful making is to preserve an even temperature. The sauce should not approach the boiling point, as the eggs would cook and the sauce curdle. Put the eggs in a small saucepan and add the butter, gradually stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. ”

“ For the stuffing make two kinds—one for the body and one for the breast. It is a good plan to make these different so as to suit all tastes. For the body, make a chestnut stuffing. Boil and peel one quart of large chestnuts and mash with a fork. Season with pepper, salt and a little butter. For the breast, take a pint of bread crumbs free from crusts. Fry a half onion cut fine in a very little butter or vegetable oil until tender but not brown. Season nicely with chopped parsley and thyme, not too much. Salt and pepper and moisten with one beaten egg. ”

“ The age of a rabbit may be determined by testing the paw. If there is a little nut there and the paw may be broken readily between the thumb and finger the rabbit is young. If the nut has disappeared and the paw resists pressure, the rabbit is too venerable for anything but a stew. In dressing a rabbit there is a little secret that enables the cook to dispose of the gamy odor that so many object to. If the thin, muscular membrane that extends from the flank over the intestines is carefully removed before cooking, the strong flavor will go with it, leaving the flesh delightfully sweet. ”

“ Make it very hot in the oven or under the gas flame, then grease well with vegetable oil, olive or the refined cotton seed, and lay on it the fish cleaned, split down the back, seasoned, oiled all over with the sweetest of vegetable oils or butter and spread out as flat as possible with the skin side next to the hot board. Slip into the greased bag and fasten tightly. If you use the gas oven for planking your fish, as most of us do, turn on both burners until the oven is very hot. Then set in the fish with a trivet under the bag the same as if you were cooking without the plank. ”

“ When the yolks are cooked hard and mealy, pound to a paste and season with an even teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of cayenne or a more liberal sprinkling of paprika. Mould into balls the size of grapes, by mixing the yolk of a raw egg with the cooked paste, rolling lightly in the white of [24] an egg, then in flour. Tuck into a small buttered bag, fasten, and set in oven for five minutes to become firm.
Forcemeat Balls or Quenelles.—Chop very fine any cold meat you have on hand, and season with salt, pepper, chopped parsley and a little onion juice. ”

“ Salt lightly inside and dust with pepper, stuff with whatever dressing you elect to have, truss, fasten thin slices of bacon or salt pork over the breast and thighs, grease the entire body liberally with soft butter or vegetable oils, put into a loose fitting well-greased bag, breast down, seal, lay on a trivet, set on broiler in hot oven, let cook till bag corners turn very brown, then slack heat one-half, or even a little more if the heat is fierce, and cook from an hour and a half to an hour and three-quarters. ”

“ Shell fish are not so apt to spoil as the other fish.
The wood cookery dishes will be found of great value in cooking all kinds of fish in paper bags. In many cases the flavor of the fish is improved and the fish can [26] always be taken from the bag with ease and served whole if desired.
Clam Pies.—Line little tins or moulds with paste and put in a layer of raw clams with a seasoning of butter and pepper. Dredge with flour, add a spoonful or two of clam juice, cover with the paste, cut a hole in the top, brush with beaten egg, slip into the bag, fasten and bake twenty minutes. ”

“ Cream the sugar and shortening, as for cake, then add eggs well beaten, molasses and water, spices and soda, then flour, and lastly fruit. When the batter will take up no more flour, lift it up by teaspoonfuls, pat it flat and in shape in the baking pan, which must be well-buttered, put in bag, and bake in fairly hot oven, being careful not to scorch. ”

“ Peel and slice a good sized onion and brown in a round bottomed iron pot with a piece of beef suet. Wash a four or five pound piece of bottom round, place in the pot without any water and brown quickly on all sides, turning it without piercing with a fork. When very brown add a small cup of water, push it back and let simmer for one hour, turning frequently. Season and cook for ten minutes longer, then place it in a well-greased bag, seal and put in a hot oven on a broiler, adding about a cupful of the liquid in which it was cooking, before sealing. ”

“ For the very large family or boarding house, pots and pans need still be called upon; but for the small family, for the woman who does her own work and wishes to minimize labor, or for the epicurean but frugal housewife who looks personally after the details of her own little establishment, this paper-bag cookery is commended. ”

“ Measure out a cupful of olive oil and add a few drops at a time, stirring until it thickens. If it begins to thicken too much to stir easily, thin with a little lemon juice, adding oil and lemon alternately until you have used all the oil and two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice. Lastly beat in two tablespoonfuls of tarragon or other vinegar. This gives the regular mayonnaise, which should be smooth and thick. Now to make [46] it into sauce tartare, add one teaspoonful finely chopped onion or onion juice, a tablespoonful of chopped pickle, capers, olives and parsley, in any proportion desired. ”

“ In the morning cook until soft in water to which a saltspoonful of soda has been added, changing the water after it first comes to a boil. Rub through a colander, then add to the pulp one cup grated bread crumbs, one tablespoonful minced parsley, two tablespoonfuls melted butter, two eggs well beaten, one small onion grated and salt and pepper to season. Mix thoroughly, shape into cylinders, dip in beaten egg, then in cracker dust and put in buttered bag. Seal and cook ten minutes in hot oven. ”

“ Crabs, like all other shell fish, are best when fresh from their native waters, and the individual who can do his own crabbing and then eat the fruits of his labor with the flavor of the sea still with them, has nothing more to be desired from a gastronomic standpoint. In most markets crabs may be found both alive and boiled. If alive, keep them in cold water until ready to cook. ”

“ Not as much sauce is needed as when the fish is browned in a baking dish. Brush the top liberally with melted butter, sprinkle with rolled cracker crumbs. Put the mold in a paper bag in the oven, and let the fish acquire a nutty, crisp crust. Send to the table garnished with lemon and parsley or thin slices of tomato and a few sprays of water cress. ”

“ Dust with salt and lay in a covered dish with a minced onion, the juice of half a lemon and a bit of finely cut parsley and thyme. Let them stand half an hour. Twenty minutes before serving wipe dry again, dust lightly with flour, dip in well-beaten egg, then roll in fine bread crumbs. When all are prepared, put in greased bag and cook twenty minutes until a delicate brown. Arrange on a warm dish and serve with parsley and lemon or sauce tartare. Filets of sole may be cooked in the same way. ”

“ Add a quart and a half peeled and quartered apples, one cup of sugar, a teaspoonful salt, and lemon juice or extract to flavor. Turn into a buttered dish, put in bag and bake an hour in a moderate oven. When cold serve with cream and sugar.
A White Plum Pudding.—Beat to a cream a half cup of sugar and three-quarters cup of butter. Add four eggs well beaten, a saltspoonful of salt, two cups milk, a quart of flour mixed with one-half cup shredded citron, one-half cup currants, a teaspoonful grated nutmeg and a teaspoonful vanilla. ”

“ When these are bag broiled with a bit of macaroni in each end to simulate the chop bone they can be arranged to stand on a bed of parsley stacked against a pretty bowl containing tomato sauce or stewed tomato, a spoonful of which is to be served with each portion. The bed on which the chops are to rest may be mashed potato or peas, if preferred to the parsley.
Pot Roast.—While this does not eliminate washing the pot, the juices and flavor of the beef are so conserved that instead of the usual dry pot-roast it is moist and tender and so well worth the trouble. ”

“ Pour over one cupful dry bread crumbs enough cold water or milk to moisten. Add a teaspoonful melted butter, and a teaspoonful minced parsley. Mix thoroughly and fill the fish, sewing or skewering the opening together. Use a wood cookery dish and put into a buttered bag two or three slices of wafer-thin salt pork and having salted and peppered the outside of the fish lay carefully on top the sliced pork. Lay as many more thin slices on top of the fish, or wipe over with olive oil. Seal, set in the oven and bake three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. ”

“ Ten minutes airing after the bag is opened will be quite sufficient to dissipate every particle of odor. Furthermore, the fish itself is much more delicate and digestible with all the flavor of fish and seasoning held in and united in a harmonious whole. Of course, this presupposes a fresh fish to start with, or one just out of cold storage, before it has had a chance to thaw and develope ptomaines. In buying fish, look at the eyes and flesh. Fish should be firm to the touch. If pressed by the finger the flesh should rise instantly. ”

“ If you are using gas for the cooking, light for five minutes before the bag goes into the oven. The average oven heat should be not less than 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and may be 250 degrees. When the bag is put into the oven, the heat must be at once reduced to 170 degrees. An inexperienced cook lacking an oven thermometer can test the right degree of heat by placing a bit of paper in the oven and noting the color it assumes. ”

“ While a sheet of heavy foolscap paper made into a bag serves for the cooking of a single chop—it is self-evident that for larger proportions, larger bags and bags from strong, absolutely sanitary paper must be used. ”

“ Have a small cream cheese pressed through a ricer and mixed with a cup of whipped cream and a little [118] salt. Press through a pastry tube or tin funnel on top of the pie in a pattern, and serve warm for dessert. The cheese and cream combination may also be used on a two crust apple pie.
Cranberry Pie.—Line a rather deep pie plate with a plain crust. Put on a border of richer paste, fill with cranberries cooked according to directions for stewed cranberries, and put strips of crust over the top, making squares or diamonds as preferred. Put in bag and bake. ”