Marion Harris Neil

“ ASPARAGUS AU GRATIN 1⁄2 pint (1 cup) asparagus tips 10 small dinner rolls 1 gill (1⁄2 cup) white sauce 1 tablespoonful grated cheese 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoonful cream Few drops lemon juice Salt, pepper, paprika, and grated nutmeg to taste Cut the tops from the rolls, scoop the soft part of the crumb, and place them in the oven to get dry and crisp. Boil the asparagus tips in boiling salted water till tender, then drain. Canned asparagus tips may be used, but do not boil them. Heat the sauce in a fireproof dish, add the cheese, seasonings, yolk of egg, cream, and asparagus tips. ”

“ In many places garlic is considered indispensable, the new dishes being rubbed with a clove of it, “to prevent their cracking.” Never place the vessels on the stove or within the oven without either water or fat in them. Never put a casserole roughly on a metal surface, especially if it is full or partly full.
Sudden alternations of temperature should be avoided, that is to say, the casserole should not be taken off the range or out of the oven and placed in 16cold water or on the wet sink, and vice versâ. A fierce heat is never needed or desirable. ”

“ Any dish which requires slow, gentle cooking can be prepared in a casserole, and hash, curry, and other réchauffés are far superior in flavor when recooked in earthenware than in metal. The stew, 14or whatever it is, may be left to get cold in the casserole. The color would be spoiled if this were done with an ordinary saucepan.
(10) The flavor of the food cooked is brought out best when it is prepared in an earthenware dish.
(11) The fact that a casserole is a non-conductor of heat makes it more economical to use than other ware. ”

“ Mix the vinegar, pepper, and mustard together, pour them over the goose, and baste it frequently. An old goose that can be cooked in no other way may be so dressed, two hours being allowed for the boiling instead of one hour.
To make the potato stuffing: Cook one chopped onion in a quarter of a cupful of salt pork cubes until brown, then add two cupfuls of hot mashed potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, half a teaspoonful of poultry seasoning, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and one cupful of cooked sausages cut in pieces. ”

“ The asbestos mat may also be used in the oven. If the heat must be intense for other food in progress of cooking at the same time as an earthenware dish is in the oven, the heat may be controlled by placing the casserole in a pan of hot water which can be lowered in temperature by occasional supplies of cold water added to the hot water.
The adoption of these simple precautions will make easy the use of earthenware utensils. Marmites, ramequins, cocottes, au gratin dishes, and soufflé cases all come under the head of casseroles. ”

“ Put half a cupful of stock and one tablespoonful of grated cheese into a small saucepan and bring to boiling point. Beat up two eggs with salt and pepper to taste, strain the stock to them, pour into one or 20two small buttered molds, stand in a pan of hot water, allowing the water to come within half an inch of the top of the molds; place in the oven, and when set turn out and allow to cool, cut into dice, divide into petites marmites, and pour over the soup. ”

“ The crowning advantage of casserole cooking, especially in a family where for one cause or another meals are apt to be irregular, is that the dish can be 15kept waiting for a considerable time without deterioration. Food can be left in a casserole with perfect safety as long as desired.
HOW TO CARE FOR CASSEROLE DISHES The cook who has been accustomed to the use of iron, granite, copper, aluminum, or other metal cooking utensils will necessarily have something to learn when adopting earthenware. It must be realized that it is a method of slow cookery, and cannot be hurried. ”

“ CHERRY SALAD 2 cupfuls large, firm cherries Some crisp lettuce leaves Mayonnaise dressing 1⁄2 cupful blanched and cut almonds Stone the cherries and cut them in halves; then mix them with the almonds and mayonnaise dressing. If mayonnaise is not desired, use a dressing made of four tablespoonfuls of olive oil, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, one teaspoonful of sherry wine, and seasoning of salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. ”

“ JUGGED HARE 1 hare 1 carrot 1 onion 1 turnip 2 celery stalks Small bunch parsley Small piece lemon rind 3 allspices 1 clove 1 bay leaf Salt and pepper Stock 1 tablespoonful flour 1 blade mace 4 tablespoonfuls water 1 tablespoonful red currant jelly 1 tablespoonful Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup 1 tablespoonful lemon juice 2 wineglassfuls port wine 12 small forcemeat balls Skin the hare after taking out the inside, wipe the hare thoroughly, but do not wash it, cut it into neat joints, dust a little flour over them, and fry them in smoking hot fat till browned. ”

“ If the cooking is done on an ordinary coal range the fire holes should be kept closed and the heat received through the top lids; if a gas range be employed, the gas jets should be kept low, and not allowed to flare round the utensil. When cooking is being done on the top of the range with wood, coal, gas, or oil as the fuel, an asbestos mat placed underneath will modify the heat. ”

“ When ready to serve, put the ox tails on a hot fireproof dish, and rub the vegetables through a sieve with the liquor. Reheat the sauce, add the olives, and pour it over the meat.
OX TONGUE EN CASSEROLE 1 ox tongue 2 carrots 2 onions 1 turnip A bunch parsley Little thyme and marjoram 3 cloves 6 allspices Stock or water Salt and pepper Wash and trim the tongue carefully, roll it round in the same way as you would ribs of beef, and keep it in shape with a piece of tape. ”

“ In the morning drain off the juice into a casserole, add the remaining sugar and the lemon juice, add half a pint of water, stir over the fire till the sugar is dissolved, bring quickly to boiling point, skim, add the berries, and simmer gently until they are tender. ”

“ To grate a lemon take a grater, and grate off the yellow part only, the white being of no use for flavoring, besides being very indigestible.
A small brush is excellent for removing the rind from the grater.
TO BLANCH ALMONDS Drop the almonds into hot water; allow it just to boil, then strain, and remove the brown skins, drop the almonds into cold water until required, so as to keep their color.
210 TO BLANCH PISTACHIO NUTS Drop the nuts into hot water containing a little baking soda; allow the water just to boil, strain, and remove the skins. ”

“ Casseroles are readily cleaned on account of their perfectly hard and unbroken surfaces. It can easily be seen when casseroles are clean. They are sanitary, and food prepared in them is pure and sweet. They do not retain any taste whatever from previous cooking. ”

“ Properly speaking, however, a casserole is a dish, the material for which in many instances is first prepared in the sauté or frying-pan and then transferred to the earthenware pan to finish cooking by a long, slow process 10which develops the true flavors of the food being cooked. ”