Popcorn

“ His hat was popcorn, his mittens popcorn and his shoes popcorn. He didn’t know the gold buckskin whincher had a power and was working all the time. He didn’t know the whincher in his vest pocket was saying, “You have a letter Q in your name and because you have the pleasure and happiness of having a Q in your name you must have a popcorn hat, popcorn mittens and popcorn shoes.” ”

“ Picking it over carefully and throwing away all those kernels that were not properly popped, she placed the corn in a large buttered saucepan, then cooked the syrup until a little dropped in cold water became brittle. Adding the strained cranberry juice a few drops at a time until it became a brilliant red, Betsey slowly poured the candy over the corn, stirring constantly, then shaking an abundance of powdered sugar over the corn, she stirred it in until each kernel was separate.
Chocolate Frosted Popcorn
This Betsey made just as she did the other "Frosted Popcorn." ”

“ Put dried sweet corn into a corn popper, iron frying pan or round bottomed iron kettle; cover, and shake over the fire until the grains are browned and puffed up nearly round. Served plain, this corn supplies a complete and satisfying food, as any one will find who sits down with a nice fresh-parched porridge dish of it and chews it until it is fine and creamy in the mouth. It is much more delicious than the finest popcorn. It may be ground and eaten in cold or hot milk, nut or dairy, and it may have a little salt and sterilized butter mixed with it while it is warm. ”

“ Ears vary in length from an inch in varieties of popcorn to fifteen inches or more in the dent varieties. White, black, yellow, and red, with numerous variants, are the colors of the grain. In some the grain is no lorger than rice grains; in a South American variety, cuzco, the individual grains often weigh thirty-five times as much as the small popcorn grains. ”

“ Stoned dates and large raisins may be filled with this cream, or it may be mixed with chopped nuts, shaped in bars, and cut in squares.
Butter Taffy.—Boil 3 cups brown sugar, 1⁄2 cup molasses, 1⁄4 cup each hot water and vinegar. When it crisps in cold water, add 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, cook 3 minutes, cool on buttered pans.
Candied Popcorn.—Put into an iron kettle 1 tablespoon butter, 3 tablespoons water, 1 tea-cup white pulverized sugar. Boil until ready to candy, then throw in 3 quarts nicely popped corn. Stir briskly till candy is evenly distributed over corn. ”

“ Put first on the fire the currants and the candied fruits cut in very little cubes with as much brandy or cognac as is necessary to cover them: when it boils, light the brandy and let it burn out of the fire until the liquor is all consumed: then remove the currants and candy and let them dry in a folded napkin. Then stir for half an hour the sugar with the egg-yolks and the taste of lemon peel. Beat well the white of the eggs and pour them on the sugar and yolks. Add the flour and potato meal letting them fall from a sieve and stir slowly until everything is well mixed together. ”

“ But the average American woman doesn't look beyond her own kitchen and her own traditional row of spice boxes for her flavorings. She has her “kitchen set,” which ordinarily comprises a row of little receptacles labeled “pepper,” “salt,” “cloves,” “allspice,” “ginger,” “cinnamon,” “nutmeg,” and possibly one or two other spices or condiments—rarely more. With these and 4a bottle each of lemon extract and vanilla, she is satisfied that she is fully equipped as far as flavoring possibilities are concerned. ”

“ A spoonful or more of N.E. rum makes pancakes light. Flip makes very nice pancakes. In this case, nothing is done but to sweeten your mug of beer with molasses; put in one glass of N.E. rum; heat it till it foams, by putting in a hot poker; and stir it up with flour as thick as other pancakes.
FRITTERS.
Flat-jacks, or fritters, do not differ from pancakes, only in being mixed softer. The same ingredients are used in about the same quantities; only most people prefer to have no sweetening put in them, because they generally have butter, sugar, and nutmeg, put on them, after they are done. ”

“ Set a pitcher of iced water in a convenient place in pantry or dining-room.
Arrange a tray with the after-dinner coffee-cups on it and the bowl of lump sugar and sugar tongs in the center. Put an after-dinner coffee spoon on each saucer. Have this in pantry.
(The only spoon that is ever put with the forks and knives by the plates on the table is the soup spoon. Teaspoons for grapefruit, for bouillon, tea, coffee, etc., are always put on the plate or saucer on which these foods and drinks are served.) ”

“ Better cook as many as the pot will hold and the bacon season, since fried cabbage, which is chopped fine, and tossed in bacon fat with a seasoning of pepper, salt and vinegar, helps out wonderfully for either breakfast, luncheon or supper. Never throw away proper pot-liquor—it is a good and cheap substitute for soup on cold days. Heat, and drop into it crisp bread-crusts—if they are corn bread crusts made very brown, all the better. Pioneer folk throve on pot-liquor to such an extent they had a saying that it was sinful to have too much—pot-liquor and buttermilk at the same meal. ”

“ Zest (sugar rubbed on fresh lemon-peel) is an exceedingly delicate flavoring. The vanilla powder boiled in the milk is better than the extract.
It makes a pretty dish to pour this into cups or little molds, and, when cold and solid, to arrange them in a circle or, according to taste, on a platter, with strawberry, grape, or any kind of fruit sauce, or whipped cream poured into the bottom of the dish; or, mold it in a circular form, and pile up any kind of berries in the centre, with or without whipped cream. For an invalid I prefer the other receipt for “a corn-starch pudding.” ”

“ Raspberry fruit cocktail, cream of spinach soup, round-steak cutlets with brown gravy, creamed new potatoes with parsley, spinach, aspic jelly salad, angel cake, mint sherbet, and coffee. Doesn’t that sound good?”
“I should say,” answered the little girl with a happy sigh.
“We’ll have everything all ready beforehand, so that the serving will be easy,” went on the elder sister. “The butter and water and fruit cocktail will be on the table. We can fill the soup cups and keep them in the warming oven; and you and Harry can get up quietly; remove the fruit glasses, and bring on the soup cups. ”

“ Take two cupfuls of granulated sugar, one-half cupful of white corn syrup, one-half cupful of water and a pinch of cream of tartar. Boil to the soft ball stage, then flavor with a few drops of peppermint extract or a half teaspoonful of vanilla and pour over the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. Beat up until light and it begins to harden, then stir in two cupfuls of crisp pop-corn grains. Dip the hands into corn-starch and mold while still warm [126] into small balls. Roll each ball in cocoanut, and then wrap in paraffine paper to keep their shape until cold. ”

“ Take any joint of small Pork, not salted and lay it to the fire till the Skin may be taken off, then take it from the fire and take off the Skin, then stick it with Rosemary and Cloves, and lay it to the fire again, then salt it and rost it carefully, then make Sauce for it with Claret Wine, white bread sliced thin, a little water, and some beaten Cinamon; boil these well together, then put in some Salt, a little Butter, Vinegar, or Juice of Limon, and a little sugar, when your Pork is rosted enough, then flower it, and lay it into a Dish with the Sauce, and serve it in. ”

“ He lighted the wicks of the lamp, filled the platter with a sauce over which he had been working, whose basis was fine champagne, and, as it began to simmer, immersed in it one of the thin pancakes which had been brought from the kitchen. He turned the pancake over and over, sprinkled it with powdered sugar, folded and refolded it, gave it a dash of kümmel, powdered it again, and popped it to a plate in the hands of the attendant waiter, who hastened to place it piping hot before the countess. ”

“ Our store cupboard is supposed to contain the following provisions in tins:—Ox-tail soup, preserved salmon, mayonnaise sauce, curried rabbit, asparagus, plum pudding, pine apple in syrup, as well as a bottle of jelly. I may, however, mention, with regard to the mayonnaise sauce, that should you have a bottle of oil in the house and a couple of eggs, it would be better to make some fresh sauce from the egg and oil direct. Our cupboard will also contain a bottle of pickled walnuts, a bottle of capers, a bottle of olives, and a bottle of anchovies. ”

“ Chop sufficient cold cooked chicken to make a pint; add gradually eight tablespoonfuls of melted butter, cream or olive oil, a dash of cayenne, a saltspoonful of white pepper, a saltspoonful of celery seed and a saltspoonful of paprika. When thoroughly mixed fill the spaces just even and send at once to the table. These are nice for porch suppers, and may be served with either tea, coffee or chocolate, or may be used as an accompaniment to mayonnaise of tomatoes. ”

“ Add the hot milk slowly to the sugar and corn-starch mixture, stirring rapidly. Return to the double boiler and cook 30 minutes, stir rapidly until the mixture thickens. Add the salt and flavoring and pour into a mold which has been moistened with cold water. Cool, turn from the mold, and serve with sugar and cream.
If a softer and more creamy dessert is desired, the corn-starch may be reduced to 3 tablespoonfuls. If this quantity of thickening is used, the cooked dessert should be poured into sherbet glasses or other suitable dishes for serving; it will not become stiff enough to mold. ”

“ When you squeeze the fruits, throw the outside in water without the pulp. Let them remain in the same a fortnight, adding no more. Boil them therein till tender; strain it from them, and when they are tolerably dry, throw them into any old jar of candy, you may have remaining from old sweetmeats; or if you have none, boil a small quantity of syrup of common loaf sugar and water, and put over them. In a week or ten days boil them gently in it till they look clear, and that they may be covered with it in the jar. You may cut each half of the fruit in two, and they will occupy small space. ”

“ Place pan on back of range, cut squares apart with a sharp knife, and roll while warm in tubular or cornucopia shape. If squares become too brittle to roll, place in oven to soften. If rolled tubular shape, tie in bunches with narrow ribbon. These are very attractive, and may be served with sherbet, ice cream, or chocolate. If rolled cornucopia shape, they may be filled with whipped cream just before sending to table. Colored wafers may be made from this mixture by adding leaf green or fruit red. If colored green, flavor with one-fourth teaspoon almond and three-fourths teaspoon vanilla. ”

“ Get a dozen of pippins or pearmanes, pare them, put a quart of water to them, one pennyworth of cinnamon stick, grate part of a lemon rhind, and some cochineal steeped in water, and half a pound of loaf sugar; then send them to the oven, tie over them a paper, and after that coarse paste; do not forget to scoop a hole in the middle of the apples to let the liquor through them; let them stand in a slow oven; when you think they are enough, take them out of the oven, take off the paper, and let them stand in the syrup ”

“ Coffee is not suitable for a picnic, being difficult to make.
Things not to be forgotten at a Picnic.
2151. A stick of horseradish, a bottle of mint-sauce well corked, a bottle of salad dressing, a bottle of vinegar, made mustard, pepper, salt, good oil, and pounded sugar. If it can be managed, take a little ice. It is scarcely necessary to say that plates, tumblers, wine-glasses, knives, forks, and spoons, must not be forgotten; as also teacups and saucers, 3 or 4 teapots, some lump sugar, and milk, if this last-named article cannot be obtained in the neighbourhood. ”

“ Alas! the supper, served in a room dimly lighted with a smoky lamp, on a long table covered with oilcloth, was not of the sort to arouse the delayed and now gone appetite of a Reformer, and yet it did not lack variety: cornpone (Indian meal stirred up with water and heated through) , hot biscuit, slack-baked and livid, fried salt-pork swimming in grease, apple-butter, pickled beets, onions and cucumbers raw, coffee (so-called) , buttermilk, and sweet milk when specially asked for (the correct taste, however, is for buttermilk) , and pie. ”

“ Eggs are safest carried in the tins with the flour, coffee and rice; bread and bacon (or salt pork) are wrapped in macintosh and put near the top of the chest; the vinegar goes in a whisky flask (mark it to avoid mistakes) , and canned goods, condensed milk, baking powder, etc., in their own cans. The alcohol stove and utensils necessary to cook a meal should go in the box, such as coffee pot, cup, fork, knife, spoon, frying pan and plates. The coffee pot should be of small size, with handle and lip riveted. If soldered, they are likely to melt off. ”

“ Every kitchen can produce a stock made from odds and ends unsuitable for other purposes than the stock-pot, and this stock is most useful in preparing sauces, giving a flavor not obtained in specially prepared stock.
A French cook keeps at hand the different essences required to combine in sauces, such as a Mirepoix (vegetable flavor) , which is made by cutting into dice an onion, carrot, and turnip, celery, parsley, bay-leaf and bits of meat, frying them in fat pork or butter, then adding a little water, and simmering an hour, or until the flavor of the vegetables is extracted ”

“ By the way, the sight of a pepper-box in a lodging-house kitchen is always a sure sign that the man behind it is a "nark." Wanderers, however much trouble they take to carry tea, salt, soap, thread, needle, comb, and many other little things which must not interfere with space for food—would never think of carrying a pepper-box, though they may carry a little pepper in paper. ”