ART AND SCIENCE OF COOKING.

THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A COOK.

What Cooks Should Know.—An old saying runs, "If fools never went to market, bad wares would not be sold." A woman, whether she goes to market herself or not, ought to be a judge of meats, fish and fowl, to know stale from fresh fruits and vegetables, to have clear ideas of good flour, rice, sago, and the scores of things required in the culinary department. She ought to know all about kitchen utensils, the essential ones, and their quality. She should be familiar with the time required to cook different articles, and the full management of the fire.

No Drudgery at Home.—In short, kitchen and house work should be elevated from mere humdrum drudgery. They should be carried on with the exactness of science, and the refinement of art. There is great opportunity in this direction to give our daughters a training in a department of knowledge that may lessen, perhaps, their brilliancy in the parlor, but that will wield in the long run a more enduring and noble influence.

Art of Setting a Table.—To set a table properly, to be able to select and prepare the food to be placed on it, if such preparation is needed on her part, is something of which any woman has a right to be proud, and those who have acquired these arts bring to their husbands treasures more to be prized than much gold.

THE MODEL HOUSEWIFE.

A Model Dining-Room.—A woman of tact will have her dining-room the cheeriest room in the house. In that room she desires to have manufactured good bodies, strong minds and cheerful spirits. She will see to the comeliness of her dishes, the cleanliness of the linen, and the addition of bouquets or other artistic decorations, for well does she know that the road to the palate lies through the eye. There is inducement to tarry at an attractively-set table, and a good housewife can so please her family by cleanliness, by savory cooking, cheer and comfort at the table, as to incline all to proper leisure in eating, and thus to the performance of an important duty toward their bodies.

The Model Kitchen.—Housekeepers should bring the same interest and intelligence to bear in matters pertaining to the kitchen and dining-table as in the other important transactions of life. In all this there is science, but no mystery. It involves patience and understanding, and, when well done, it repays for trouble bestowed. A good cook rises to the dignity of an artist, and may rank with the chemist and with the physician.

UTENSILS REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL KITCHEN-WORK.

For the convenient and successful management of kitchen-work, various implements and utensils are necessary. The following is a useful reference list of these articles, prepared by Helen Campbell:

TINWARE.

One boiler for clothes, holding eight or ten gallons.

Two dish pans, one large, one medium sized.

One two-quart covered tin pail.

One four-quart covered tin pail.

Two thick tin, four-quart saucepans.

Two two-quart saucepans.

Four measures, from one gill to a quart, and broad and low, rather than high.

Three tin scoops of different sizes for flour, sugar, etc.

Two pint and two half-pint moulds for jellies.

Two quart moulds.

One skimmer, with long handle.

One large and one small dipper.

Four bread pans, 10x4x4.

Three jelly-cake tins.

Six pie plates.

Two long biscuit tins.

One coffee pot.

One colander.

One large grater.

One nutmeg grater.

Two wire sieves, one ten inches across, the other four, and with tin sides.

One flour sifter.

One fine jelly strainer.

One frying basket.

One Dover egg beater.

One wire egg beater.

One apple corer.

One pancake turner.

One set of spice boxes, or a spice caster,

One pepper box.

One flour dredger.

One sugar dredger.

One biscuit cutter.

One potato cutter.

A dozen muffin rings.

Small tins for little cakes.

One muffin pan.

One double milk boiler, the inside boiler holding two quarts.

One fish boiler, which can also be used for hams.

One deep bread pan; a dish pan is good, but must be kept for this.

One steamer.

One pudding boiler.

One cake box.

Six teaspoons.

WOODENWARE.

One bread board.

One rolling pin.

One meal board.

One wash board.

One lemon squeezer.

One potato masher.

Two large spoons.

One small spoon.

Nest of wooden boxes for rice, tapioca, etc,

Wooden pails for graham and cornmeal

Chopping tray.

Water pail.

Scrubbing pail.

Wooden cover for flour barrel.

One board for cutting bread.

One partitioned knife box.

IRONWARE.

One pair of scales.

One two-gallon pot with steamer to fit.

One three-gallon soup pot with close-fitting cover.

One three-gallon porcelain-lined kettle, to be kept only for preserving.

One four or six-quart kettle, for apple sauce, etc.

One tea kettle.

One large and one small frying pan.

Two Russia or sheet-iron dripping pans, one large enough for a large turkey.

Two gem pans with deep cups.

Two long-handled spoons.

Two spoons with shorter handles.

One large meat fork.

One meat saw.

One cleaver.

One griddle.

One wire broiler.

One toaster.

One waffle iron.

One can opener.

Three pairs of common knives and forks.

One small Scotch or frying kettle.

One chopping knife.

One meat knife.

One bread knife.

One set of skewers.

Trussing needles.

EARTHEN AND STONEWARE.

Two large mixing bowls, holding eight or ten quarts each.

One eight-quart lip bowl for cake.

Half a dozen quart bowls.

Half a dozen pint bowls.

Three or four deep plates for putting away cold food.

Six baking dishes of different sizes, round or oval.

Two quart blanc-mange moulds.

Two or three pitchers.

Two stone crocks, holding a gallon each.

Two crocks holding two quarts each.

One bean pot for baked beans.

One dozen Mason's jars for holding yeast, and many things used in a store closet.

Stone jugs for vinegar and molasses.

Two or three large covered stone jars for pickles.

One deep jar for bread.

One earthen tea pot.

One dozen pop-over cups.

One dozen custard cups.

Measuring cup.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Scrubbing and blacking brushes.

Soap dish.

Knife board.

Vegetable cutters.

Pastry brush.

Egg basket.

Market basket.

Broom.

Brush.

Dust pan.

Floor and sink cloths.

Whisk broom.

Four roller towels.

Twelve dish towels.

Dishes enough for setting servants' table, heavy stone china being best.

Patent cake beater.

Cherry stoner.

Meat cutter for cutting meat very fine.

Patent wine press.

Patent jelly press.

Patent irons.

Tea strainer.

Bread toaster.

Corn grater.

Ice pick.

Strainer cloth.

Funnel.

Dipper with holes in it.

Fish fork with long handle.

Wooden fork.

Oyster frying pan with inside drainer.

MISCELLANEOUS—Continued

Sausage cutter.

Cork screw.

Meat pounder.

Coffee mill.

Apple parer.

Can opener.

Cream whipper.

Gravy strainer.

Wire basket.

Corn popper.

HOUSEKEEPER'S TABLE.

Measures.—As many families have no scales for weighing, a table of measures is given which can be used instead. Weighing is always best, but not always convenient. The cup used is the ordinary coffee or kitchen cup, holding half a pint. A set of tin measures, from a gill up to a quart, is very useful in all cooking operations:


One quart of sifted flour is one pound.

One pint of granulated sugar is one pound.

Two cups of butter packed are one pound.

One quart of butter is one pound.

One quart of Indian meal weighs one pound, two ounces.

One quart of powdered white sugar weighs one pound, one ounce.

One quart of the test brown sugar weighs one pound, two ounces.

Ten eggs are one pound.

Five cupfuls of sifted flour are one pound.

A wine-glassful is half a gill.

Eight even tablespoonfuls are a gill.

Four even saltspoonfuls make a teaspoonful.

A saltspoonful is a good measure of salt for all custards, puddings, blanc-manges, etc.

Use one teaspoonful of soda to a quart of flour.

Use two teaspoonfuls of soda to one of cream of tartar.

Use two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder to one quart of flour.

Use one cup of sweet or sour milk as wetting for one quart of flour.

Forty drops make one small teaspoonful.

GENERAL RULES FOR THE SELECTION OF FOODS.

Age of Meats has an influence on the quality of meat. The flesh of young animals is more tender than that of old, yet experience shows that the younger is more resistant to the digestive powers. Veal and lamb tax digestion and dyspeptics more than beef and mutton. The tissues of young animals, moreover, are more gelatinous, less stimulating, and of less nutritive value. Beef is in perfection about the seventh year, wether mutton at the fourth, ewe mutton at two years.

Sex of Meats also has an influence on the quality of the meat, the female being more delicate and finely-grained. Castration takes away the strong flavor and improves meat for edible purposes. Meat is better in season. Mutton and beef are never actually out of season, yet when used in the early winter months the animal has had the advantage of abundance of fresh summer food.

How to Kill Animals.—The best method of killing animals is by draining off the blood. There is a loss of nutriment, it is true, in this way, but it renders the meat more pleasant to the eye, easier to keep, and improves the flavor, and there is less danger of obtaining any blood disease the animal may have had.

Mutton or Beef.—Mutton is easier of digestion than beef. This may escape the notice of a well person, for such a one has digestive powers in excess of what is required for easy digestion of either, but in the dyspeptic a nice balance between comfort and distress may exist. With such a one the beef may rest somewhat heavily, while mutton may excite no discomfort. It is well to remember idiosyncrasies may exist, and that to some, mutton may act as a poison.

Pork.—Pork is rich and trying to the stomach, and it is absolutely out of season in the summer time.

Cured Meats.—Cured meats are less digestible than the same meat fresh. Bacon is an exception to this rule. Venison is digestible, but too rich for some stomachs. Bone contains quite an amount of nutritive material. To extract it, the bones must be well crushed and boiled for a long time.

Fish Foods.—The white flesh fish are easier of digestion than the red flesh. Whiting, the chicken of the fish tribe, being the easiest digested of the white flesh: cod the hardest. Oysters are self-digestive when eaten raw. Cooking makes them less so. They make blood rapidly with far less stimulation than meat. They are peculiarly valuable for the aged, the intemperate and those who suffer from exhaustion, as after a severe hemorrhage, or chronic discharges of any kind.

Eggs.—Eggs are easier to digest when eaten slightly boiled, even more so than when used raw.

Soups.—Good soup is a valuable article of diet. It has been said that to administer a well-made plate of soup is as important as to prescribe a pill.

Best Vegetable Foods.—Of the vegetable foods, the farinaceous or starchy are most nutritious. Bread to be digestible must be light. Macaroni and vermicelli, on account of their closeness of grain, are not quite as easy of digestion as bread.

Oatmeal.—Oatmeal is a nutritious food, but does not agree with all persons; sometimes it causes acidity. Many a dyspeptic has been cured by giving up its frequent use. Barley is a strength-giving food not fully appreciated in this country. The Arabs give it the preference as a food for their horses.

Rye.—Rye is nearly as nutritive as wheat, and useful in costive cases. Corn is rich in fat, nourishing, and digestible when the fatty nature is not an objection. Rice is the food of a vast number of the human race; it is very rich in starch, but poor in nitrogen; it possesses an easily-digested starch granule. In cases of diarrhoeal affections it agrees better than any other kind of solid food. Arrowroot, sago and tapioca, being pure starch, can be used only as an auxiliary to other foods. Buckwheat contains carbon in excess: it makes better cakes when it is mixed with wheat or rye flour.

Beans and Peas.—Beans and peas are nutritive; they should be cooked well, masticated thoroughly, and eaten with starchy food—not with much meat. Oleaginous seeds, like almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, etc., are highly nutritive, but like all articles permeated with fatty matter, are hard of digestion.

Potatoes.—Potatoes, when mealy, are easy of digestion; when close and watery, hard. Young potatoes being more watery, are therefore of more difficult digestion. Plants of the cabbage tribe are hard to digest. They contain much sulphur, thus giving rise to flatulency; they are wholesome and agreeable, however. We must not suppose we are never to use an article simply because it is comparatively hard to digest. Judgment must be used.

Fruits.—Of the fruits, plums are the most likely to cause disorder of the bowels. Raw pears are easier to the stomach than raw apples. Cherries, like plums, easily cause diarrhoea. Serious consequences have followed the swallowing of the stones of cherries. Bananas, on account of the amount of nitrogen they contain, are quite nutritious.

Value of Condiments.—Condiments are not strictly alimentary, but prove of service in more ways than one. First, they render food more tempting, and thereby increase the amount used. Second, they aid digestion. Third, they may correct injurious properties belonging to an article. Vinegar and pepper are used instinctively with those things hard to digest.

Value of Coffee.—Coffee is the cup that cheers, but does not inebriate. An enthusiast exclaimed: "Breakfast without coffee is like a wedding without a bride." Coffee stimulates the brain gently, banishes somnolence, and aids digestion, strengthens one for the day's work, invigorating and cheering him. Used in moderation, and not too strong, no harm can come from its use.

Tea.—Tea should be used with the same moderation as coffee, and then, particularly if the black tea is selected, it cheers and exhilarates without doing any harm. Used in excess it is a fertile source of nervousness and dyspepsia, as well as of constipation.

THE DIGESTIBILITY OF VARIOUS KINDS OF FOOD.

A table of the comparative digestibility of different articles of food is of interest as well as of practical value:

Meats.—Easy to Digest.—Mutton, venison, hare, sweetbread, chicken, turkey, partridge, pheasant, grouse, beef tea, mutton broth, beef.

Hard to Digest.—Pork, veal, goose, liver, heart, brain, lamb, duck, salt meat, sausage.

Fish.—Easy to Digest.—Turbot, haddock, flounder, sole, fresh fish (generally), roasted oysters, trout, pike.

Hard to Digest.—Mackerel, eels, salmon, herring, halibut, salt fish, lobster, crabs, mussels, cod.

Vegetables.—Easy to Digest.—Asparagus, French beans, cauliflower, beets, potatoes, lettuce.

Hard to Digest.—Artichoke, celery, spinach, cabbage.

Fruit, Etc.—Easy to Digest.—Baked apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, peaches, cocoa, coffee, black tea, sherry, claret.

Hard to Digest.—Apples, currants, raspberries, apricots, pears, plums, cherries, pineapples, chocolate, pickles, porter.

TIME REQUIRED TO DIGEST CERTAIN ARTICLES OF FOOD.

It requires three hours to digest one pound of beef.

It requires three and a half hours to digest one pound of cheese.

It requires two hours to digest one pound of milk.

It requires three hours to digest one pound of eggs.

It requires four hours to digest one pound of veal.

It requires four hours to digest one pound of fowls.

It requires four hours to digest one pound of pork.

It requires one hour to digest one pound of tripe.

It requires three and a half hours to digest one pound of bread.

It requires three and a half hours to digest one .pound of potatoes, boiled.

It requires two hours to digest one pound of potatoes, roasted.

It requires four and a half hours to digest one pound of cabbage.

It requires two and a half hours to digest one pound of beans.

FOOD COMBINATIONS.

Selection of Table Foods.—In selecting foods for the table, one must take into consideration the habits of the individuals to be fed, and the ever-varying climatic conditions. The sedentary must be fed differently from laborers, who require a larger proportion of more nutritious foods.

A combination of food that would be delightful in July or August, would be insufficient and distasteful in December. In cold and damp weather, warm food is better relished.

Judgment of the Cook.—The cook should use good judgment, considering the character of the eaters, and ever changing with the weather. She should know that certain kinds of foods are antagonistic to each other, that they will not digest well together, and that, with others, there is a sort of a kindred tie, which makes an agreeable combination. For example, sweet potatoes and tomatoes go well together, the one being sweet and nutritious, the other, acid and juicy.

Rules for Combining Foods.—Dr. Susanna W. Dodds gives the following rules for food combinations.

1. Fruits and vegetables should not, as a rule, be eaten together.

2. Vegetables are best eaten at the noon-day meal, two or three varieties being quite sufficient. Tomatoes do well with vegetables, grains, or meats; but they should not, as a rule, be eaten with fruits.

3. The Irish potato is an exception among vegetables; it seldom quarrels with anything.

4. Fruits and cereals are particularly suited to the morning and evening meals, and very little other food is required.

5. A supper is best made of bread and fruit only, taken in limited quantities, and at an early hour.

6. Fruits, if eaten raw, should be ripe and of good quality, and persons with feeble stomachs digest them better at the beginning of the meal; this is particularly true when warm foods make a part of the repast.

7. Some persons cannot digest certain kinds of raw fruits for supper, or late in the day; let them take these on sitting down to the breakfast table.

8. Meat should be used at the noon-day meal, and in cold weather rather than warm.

9. The grains digest well with all other foods, though some persons cannot eat them in the form of mushes. They should always be well cooked.

10. Persons with feeble digestion should, as a rule, confine themselves to a single kind of fruit at a meal; they can make the changes from one meal to another.

11. Those who find it difficult to digest vegetables, should not attempt more than one kind at a given meal, until the digestion is improved. Often it is best to leave them off entirely for a time.

12. In selecting vegetables for a single meal, do not, if there are several varieties, have all of them of the watery kinds, as cabbage, asparagus, white turnips, etc.; nor all of the dryer sorts, as baked beans, winter squashes, sweet potatoes, etc., but blend the more and less nutritive kinds in a judicious manner.

13. If you have for dinner a thin vegetable soup, follow with something more substantial, as baked beans, baked potatoes, or corn bread; but if you have bean or split-pea soup, let the other vegetables be of a kind less hearty.

14. On very cold days, have a warm dinner of good nutritious articles; select mainly solid foods with grains, rather than thin soups and watery vegetables.

15. On a warm day make the breakfast largely of fruits, with a moderate supply of cereals; the dinner of young vegetables, or fruits, a dish of grains, and a little bread. Eat lightly, and you will not suffer so much from the heat.

16. In very cold weather take the chill off your stewed fruit, fruit pies, or other dishes, before serving them. Pastries, if used, are best at the mid-day meal, and so are puddings.

17. Never have too great a variety at a single meal, have few dishes, well prepared, and make the changes from one meal to another.

18. If one meal falls below the average as to quality or variety, see that the next is fully up to the mark.

THE EFFECTS OF COOKING UPON FOOD.

What Good Cooking Does.—What purposes are fulfilled, it may be asked, by cooking? Our food is rendered more pleasing to the eye, agreeable to the palate and digestible by the stomach. Cooking lessens cohesion, coagulates the albumen of meats, solidifies the fibrine, gelatinizes fibrous and connective tissues; it softens the consistence of vegetables, and so enables them to be more readily masticated, loosens their intercellular structure and thus facilitates the penetration of digestive juices into their substances, and it causes the starch granule to swell and burst, allowing the digestive fluids to come in contact with the central part.

Cooking Imparts Warmth.—Then the warmth imparted to food by the process of cooking aids the digestive action of the stomach, and also exerts a reviving effect upon the system when it is fatigued, or has been exposed to cold. The modes of cooking in common use are: Boiling, roasting, broiling, baking, frying and stewing.

BOILING.

Preparing Meats for Boiling.—If the object to be attained is the extraction of the virtue of meat into the surrounding liquid, as in making broths and soups, the article should be cut up finely and placed in cold water. After soaking for a short time heat should be applied and the temperature slowly raised. Thus treated, the principles of the meat pass out into the surrounding liquid, and as this gains in flavor and nutritive properties the meat becomes impoverished.

Retaining Meat Flavors.—If it is desired to retain the flavor and nutritive properties of the meat an opposite process must be adopted by plunging the meat suddenly into boiling water and briskly maintaining the boiling process for a few moments. This coagulates the albuminous matter upon the surface and forms an almost impermeable external layer which keeps the juices from escaping from the substance of the meat.

When to Stop Boiling.—After this the boiling should not be continued, a temperature of about 165 degrees Fahrenheit being all that is required, and this should be continued until the cooking is done. This will give a juicy and tender central meat, possessing all the properties of nutritiveness and digestibility. The usual fault committed in boiling meat is in keeping up too high a temperature by which the muscular tissue is made to shrink and become hard and indigestible.

Boiling Fish.—Fish is rendered firm in proportion to the hardness of the water in which it is boiled; hence by boiling it in sea-water or salt-water its flesh is firmer and more highly flavored.

How to Boil Potatoes.—Potatoes should be boiled in their skins to retain their soluble constituents. This object is still further attained by adding a little salt to the water. By steaming, the object is still further secured.

Objection to Boiled Food.—One objection to boiled food is that it is more insipid than food cooked in other ways. This loss of flavor makes it less tempting to the palate, but it sits more easily on a delicate stomach.


IN BOILING USE COLD WATER FOR:

1. All kinds of salt meat, salt fish, some fresh fish, and root vegetables, except very young potatoes.

2. Such green vegetables as artichokes, cabbage, beans, peas, asparagus, seakale and broccoli.

IN BOILING USE BOILING WATER FOR:

1. Almost all green vegetables. (See exceptions opposite.)

2. Shell-fish, herrings, soles, skate, mackerel and all crimped fish.

3. All kinds of puddings, whether of paste, batter or rice, except plain boiled rice.


Boiling Rules.—1. When meat is boiled enough it looks plump and shrinks away from the bone.

2. When vegetables are done enough they sink to the bottom of the water.

3. When fish is done the eye-balls fall out, and the fins are easy to pull away

TIME REQUIRED FOR BOILING.

(Much depends upon the freshness and age of the articles.)

For each pound of corned beef.............................30 minutes
For each pound of beef....................................15 to 30 minutes
For each pound of veal....................................15 to 20 minutes
For shoulder of mutton weighing 5 to 6 pounds.............1 hour
For leg of mutton, for each pound.........................20 minutes
For leg of lamb...........................................15 minutes
For tongue of beef........................................4 hours
For ham, for each pound...................................1/2 hour
For turkey, for each pound................................20 minutes
For brill ................................................10 to 15 minutes
For turbot (4 to 5 pounds)................................20 to 30 minutes
For haddock ..............................................15 to 30 minutes
For mackerel .............................................20 to 30 minutes
For salmon, to each pound.................................8 minutes
For skate ................................................30 to 60 minutes
For whiting ..............................................5 to 15 minutes
For cod (only simmer) ....................................1 hour
For fish in general, to each pound........................10 minutes
For carrots ..............................................1 hour
For turnips, parsnips, cabbage, seakale ..................1 hour
For cauliflower, onions, beans (young)....................1 hour
For peas (young), squash (spring).........................1/2 hour
For dried peas............................................2 hours
For winter squash (steam).................................2 hours
For oyster-plant .........................................1 hour
For beets (young).........................................1 to 2 hours
For beets (old) ..........................................3 to 8 hours
For asparagus (young) ....................................1/2 hour
For asparagus (old).......................................1 hour
For artichokes ...........................................1 hour
For winter carrots, parsnips, turnips and cabbage.........2 hours
For corn .................................................10 to 15 minutes

ROASTING.

How to Roast.—Roasting is conducted upon the same general principles as boiling. First the sharp heat and then the pan must be removed to a greater distance from the fire to allow a lower heat gradually to penetrate the centre. Roasted meat is more savory than boiled. If properly roasted the meat should be juicy enough to show a quantity of red gravy with the first cut.

When Roasts are Done.—Before serving the meat it should be ascertained whether it is done or not, and this can be done by drawing it back from the fire and pressing the fleshiest part with the finger. If the cooking be perfect the flesh will yield to the finger; if not, there will be a little resistance. For fowls and game examine the leg; if the flesh yield and is ready to come away from the bone the cooking is sufficient. When meat is nearly done there are small jets of steam to be seen coming from the meat at the side next the fire.

TIME REQUIRED FOR ROASTING.

For beef (rare), to each pound ...........................10 minutes
For beef (well-done), to each pound ......................15 to 20 minutes
For mutton, to each pound ................................15 minutes
For veal, to each pound ..................................20 minutes
For turkey, to each pound ................................10 to 12 minutes
For duck (game) ..........................................1/2 hour
For duck (tame)...........................................1 hour
For capon ................................................50 to 60 minutes
For fowl .................................................60 minutes
For pigeon ...............................................15 to 30 minutes
For pheasant .............................................85 minutes
For partridge, woodcock or plovers........................15 minutes
For grouse, snipe, small birds............................20 minutes
For larks ................................................6 minutes
For hare ................................................ 1-1/2 hours
For rabbits ..............................................20 to 60 minutes
For goose ................................................2 hours

BROILING.

Advantage of Broiling.—Some one has said "the gridiron is the thermometer of civilization." Broiling produces the same effect as roasting, but the proportion of scorched material is greater on account of the relatively larger amount of surface exposed. The principle of cooking should be the same to retain the central portion juicy. If a cook cannot manage to broil meat well, if her broiling make a greasy, yet burned morsel, she had better fry, for this process is less likely to be a failure; but broiling is better for weak digestions.

A Good Broiling Fire.—For good broiling the fire should be prepared at least a quarter of an hour before it is required; a layer of cinders, an inch and a half thick, spread over the hot coals and left to burn clear. If not perfectly clear at the last moment a little salt thrown on the fire makes it burn more clearly and frees it from smoke.

The Proper Gridiron.—The gridiron should be clean, and its upper surface well greased to prevent the meat from sticking. An improved kind of gridiron has its upper surface grooved and all terminating in a hollow in the handle, so as to save a little of that rich gravy which would otherwise fall into the fire.

TIME REQUIRED FOR BROILING.

For rump steak, about 1-1/2 pounds....................... 10 to 15 minutes
For fillet steak, 1-1/2 pounds........................... 7 minutes
For mutton chop, 5 ounces................................ 6 minutes
For sheep's kidney (brisk fire).......................... 4 minutes
For veal chop, 7 ounces.................................. 9 minutes
For pork chop, 7 ounces.................................. 9 minutes
For mackerel ............................................ 10 to 15 minutes

BAKING.

Effect of Baking.—Baking renders meat more impregnated with empyreumatic, or smoky tasted products, and therefore richer and stronger for the stomach than any other process of cooking.

TIME REQUIRED FOR BAKING.

For potatoes (with or without skins)..................... 1 hour
For egg-plant and tomatoes............................... 1 hour
For omelet .............................................. 15 to 20 minutes
For eggs (until they set)................................ 15 to 20 minutes
For shad ................................................ 1 hour
For cod, black fish and haddock, 4 pounds................ 1 hour
For fish generally, 4 to 6 pounds........................ 1 hour
For clams ............................................... 20 minutes

FRYING.

Effect of Frying.—Frying is also an objectionable process of cooking for persons of weak digestive powers. The article of food becomes more or less penetrated with fatty matter, making it more resistant to the digestive fluids. It is also likely to contain fatty-acid products arising from the decomposition of the fat used in frying; these are not well borne by the stomach, causing general dyspeptic symptoms, but particularly heart-burn.

Removing Objections to Frying.—Frying is less objectionable if the meat or fish is rolled in cracker-dust and egg and then dropped into hot lard. The egg hardens instantly and no fat penetrates the inside.

STEWING.

Effects of Stewing.—Stewing places food in a highly favorable state for digestion. The articles to be cooked are just covered with water, and should be exposed to a heat sufficient only to allow of gentle simmering; much of the nutritive matter passes into the surrounding liquids; this is eaten as well as the solid material. If properly cooked the meat should be rendered sufficiently tender to break down under moderate pressure. If boiling is permitted the meat becomes tough.

RECIPES FOR HYGIENIC COOKING.

VARIOUS DIET DRINKS.

Toast Water.—Toast water, the simplest of all drinks, Is also one of the most grateful. It is made by toasting thoroughly on both sides a half slice of bread, a day or two old, and pouring over it a quart of cold water, then putting it into a hot place and letting it steep for half an hour or so. A small piece of lemon peel may be added, which will improve its flavor.

Apple Water.—Take two apples, peel them; take out the core, and slice up thinly. Take a small piece of the yellow rind of lemon, enough to give a flavor, and put this with the sliced apples and a little sugar into a jug; pour a pint of boiling water over them, and when cold strain ready for use; roasted tart apples may be used in place of fresh ones.

The commencement of the apple season is the best time for making good apple water.

Wine Whey.—Boil half a pint of milk, and while boiling add a wine-glassful of sherry wine. Separate the curd by straining through muslin or a sieve. Sweeten the whey to taste, and grate upon it a little nutmeg. It will be found very palatable and refreshing.

Lime Water and Milk.—Take clear lime water and fresh milk, of each a wineglassful; mix. Let a tablespoonful or less be taken at once. This will generally soothe an irritable stomach.

Lemonade.—To four lemons add a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar and three pints of boiling water; rub some sugar on the rinds of two of the lemons till it is yellow. Strain the juice of the four lemons (do not use the white pith and seeds), put the sugar and juice into a jug, and pour the water over it. Cover it till cold. Oranges can be substituted for the lemons.

Barley Water.—Wash two ounces of pearl barley several times in cold water, which must be thrown away. Then pour on two quarts of boiling water, and boil down to a quart. Flavor with thinly-cut lemon rind and sugar to taste, but do not strain unless at the patient's request; add the juice of a lemon or of a tart orange if the patient can take acids.

Flaxseed Tea.—Wash two ounces of flaxseed by putting them in a small strainer and pouring cold water through it; take the yellow rind of half a lemon, as thin as possible; to the flaxseed and rind add one quart of water; let it simmer for an hour and a half. Strain away the seeds, and to each half pint of tea add a teaspoonful of sugar.

Rhubarb Water for Spring Drink.—Take eight ounces of rhubarb, wipe clean with a cloth; cut up into as thin slices as possible; put into a jug; add three ounces of sugar, the yellow rind of half a lemon, the juice of one lemon, and a quart of boiling water. When cold strain for use.

Hop Tea.—Pour a quart of boiling water upon half an ounce of hops, cover this over and allow the infusion to stand for fifteen minutes; the tea must then be strained off into another jug. A small teacup may be drunk in the morning, which will create an appetite and also strengthen the digestive powers. It is an excellent medicinal drink.

Oat Water.—Into two quarts of cold water stir a single handful of fresh oats; let it stand fifteen to twenty minutes, or longer. Pour off the water as it is wanted and serve.

Bread and Butter Broth.—Spread a slice of well-baked bread with good fresh butter; sprinkle it moderately with salt and black pepper. Pour a pint of boiling water over it, cover and let it stand to cool.

Milk Lemonade.—Dissolve six ounces of loaf sugar in a pint of boiling water, and mix with them a quarter of a pint of lemon juice and the same quantity of sherry, then add three-quarters of a pint of cold milk. Stir the whole well together, and pass it through a strainer until clear.

Camomile Tea.—Put about half an ounce of camomile flowers into a jug, pour a pint of boiling water upon them, cover up the tea, and when it has stood about ten minutes pour it off from the flowers into another jug; sweeten with sugar or honey. A cupful of it in the morning will strengthen the digestive organs. A teacupful in which is stirred a large dessertspoonful of moist sugar and a little grated ginger, is an excellent thing to administer to aged persons a couple of hours before dinner.

Iceland-Moss Tea.—Wash one ounce of iceland-moss in cold water to remove impurities. Then heat with water up to nearly the boiling point, and reject the liquid, which has extracted much of the bitter principle. Next boil with a pint of water for ten minutes in a covered vessel, and strain with gentle pressure while hot. The result is mucilaginous demulcent liquid, with mildly-bitter tonic properties. It may be flavored with sugar, lemon peel, or aromatics; or milk may be used instead of the water, by which a nourishing liquid is obtained.

Irish-Moss Tea.—Macerate half an ounce of moss in cold water for ten minutes. Remove and boil in three pints of water for a quarter of an hour, and then strain. The tea thus made possesses mucilaginous properties, and may be flavored with orange or lemon juices and peel, and also with wine. By doubling the quantity of the moss a mucilage is obtained, and when in a highly concentrated state the product solidifies into a jelly on cooling.

Rice Water, or Mucilage of Rice.—Thoroughly wash one ounce of Carolina rice with cold water. Then macerate for three hours in a quart of water kept at a tepid heat, and afterward boil slowly for an hour, and strain. This is a useful drink in cases of dysentery, diarrhoea, and irritable states of the alimentary canal. It may be sweetened and flavored like barley water.

Cranberry Tea.—Mash ripe cranberries thoroughly, and pour boiling water over them; let the mixture stand a few minutes, or till cold; then strain off the water and sweeten to taste.

Bran Tea.—Boil a large handful of bran in a quart of water for ten minutes, then strain off the water into a jug, sweeten it with one ounce of gum arabic and a good spoonful of honey. Stir all well together. This drink may be used in all cases of affections of the chest, such as colds, catarrhs, consumption, and also in cases of measles.

Rose Tea.—Take half an ounce of red rose buds (the white heels being removed), three tablespoonfuls of white-wine vinegar, and one ounce of sugar or sugar candy. Put them into one quart of boiling water, and let the mixture stand near a fire for two hours; then strain it.

Jelly Water.—Put a dessertspoonful of wild cherry or blackberry jelly into a goblet of ice water. Beat up well. This is an excellent drink in case of fever.

Decoction of Marshmallow.—Add five pints of boiling water to a quarter of a pound of dried marshmallow root. Boil the mixture down to three pints, and strain through a cloth.

Decoction of Camomile.—Take two ounces of camomile flowers and one ounce of fennel seeds; pour over them four pints of boiling water: let them boil, and strain perfectly clear.

Egg Water.—Blend the whites of two eggs with half a pint of cold water by stirring gently (not beating); add half a teaspoonful of sugar, or half a teaspoonful of salt, to make it palatable. This is highly recommended for children with diarrhoea while teething.

Lemon-Peel Water.—Carefully pare off the rind of one lemon, and placing this in a hot jar, pour upon it one pint of boiling water; cover closely until cool; pour off the fluid, and add a tablespoonful of brandy or two tablespoonfuls of sherry wine. A pleasant summer drink.

Milk and Cinnamon Drink.—Boil in one pint of new milk sufficient cinnamon to flavor it pleasantly, and sweeten it with white sugar. This may be taken cold with a teaspoonful of brandy, and is very good in case of diarrhoea. Children may take it milk-warm without brandy.

BROTHS AND GRUELS.

Mutton Broth.—1. Put two pounds of scrag of mutton into a saucepan with three pints of water and a little salt. Let it simmer gently two hours; strain it through a sieve; when cold remove every particle of fat. It can be thickened with arrowroot, barley or ground rice. If the patient can have broth with some of the meat and barley in it, add them; also a little bit of nice brown toast.

Mutton Broth.—2. Take one pound of meat free from bone, and wash it, put it on the fire with a quart of water; when it boils skim it as clear as possible by laying a piece of thin blotting-paper on the top, the greasy particles will adhere to the paper, and so free the preparation from them (to an invalid nothing is more disagreeable than broth served with a quantity of fat floating on the top, and to avoid this it is always better to let it get cold, as the fat can then be easily removed). Then add a little more cold water, which will make the scum rise afresh; take it off the stove and season it with parsley root, a small carrot, an onion, and a blade of mace, if the palate of the invalid be strong enough to bear it; boil it an hour and a half at least, till the meat is tender, then strain it.

Chicken Broth.—1. Remove from a chicken the skin, lungs, liver, etc.; cut the meat from it lengthwise in large strips, then take a sharp knife and cut these strips across the fibres of the meat into thin shavings, removing as much of the fat as possible; put the shavings into a jar; add one saltspoonful of salt and pour over these as much cold water as will just cover them. Mix up the slices of chicken with the water, so as to prevent the meat from forming a solid mass in the jar; cover the jar with paper; have in readiness a saucepan containing as much cold water as will reach to one inch from the top of the jar; when the jar is placed in it, let it simmer gently over a slow fire for an hour and a quarter, the saucepan being lightly covered. The bones of the chicken are meanwhile to be broken up and placed by themselves in a pint of water, to which has been added a pinch of salt, and allowed to simmer gently until the above is ready. Take all the meat of the chicken out of the jar and pound it thoroughly, adding by degrees a little of the liquor from the bones and a little water. Press the meat through the back of a hair sieve into a bowl, crushing it through with the back of a wooden spoon. Take a teacupful of the broth made from the bones, and, having first removed by means of a piece of paper any grease there may be on the surface, pour this with the thick meat broth into a saucepan; add four tablespoonfuls of cream, or of milk, if cream be unobtainable or forbidden, and a little salt and pepper; set the saucepan on the fire and boil up.

Chicken Broth.—2. Skin and chop up small a small chicken, or half a large fowl, and boil it, bones and all, with a blade of mace, a sprig of parsley, and a curst of bread, in a quart of water for an hour, skimming it from tune to time. Strain it through a coarse colander.

Veal Broth.—The fleshy part of the knuckle of veal is best. Boil it in a saucepan for two hours, and strain. Pearl barley, rice, vermicelli, or semolino may sometimes be advantageously added.

Barley Broth.—Take two pounds of lean mutton, preferably the neck, and boil it in four quarts of water. It should be put into cold water and heated slowly and skimmed well; then add barley and cook two hours and a half; then add the turnip and parsley and cook an hour longer. Do not cook fast at any time, and stir if there is danger of scorching. Strain and remove all grease. If the patient does not like herbs omit them, also the turnip, and use only the barley and meat. Serve with dry toast or plain corn bread baked with a crust.

Beef Tea.—Take one pound of lean beef. With a sharp knife scrape it into fibres; put the scraped meat into a delicately clean saucepan, and pour half a pint of boiling water on it; cover it closely and set it by the fire for ten minutes, and then, having strained into a teacup, place it in a basin of ice-cold water and remove all fat from the surface. Serve in a warm cup. When greater strength is required use half the above quantity of water, or even less if the patient is able to take a spoonful only at a time.

Beef Juice.—Broil quickly some pieces of round or sirloin steak of a size to fit in the cavity of a lemon squeezer. Both sides of the beef should be quickly scorched to prevent the escape of the juice, but the interior should not be fully cooked. As soon as ready, the pieces should be pressed in the lemon squeezer, previously heated by being dipped in hot water. The juice, as it flows away, should be received into a hot wineglass, and, after being seasoned to the taste with a little salt and a little cayenne pepper, should be eaten while hot.

Oatmeal Gruel.—Pour a pint of boiling water into a saucepan; into this stir a couple of tablespoonfuls of oatmeal until quite smooth; let this boil well for ten or fifteen minutes, season with salt, then strain through a strainer, and add sugar. This is a soothing and nutritive food holding a totally different position, on account of the nitrogenous matter present, from the farinaceous preparations. Milk may be used instead of water, or a little brandy added.

Arrowroot.—Mix thoroughly two teaspoonfuls of arrowroot with three tablespoonfuls of cold water, and pour on them half a pint of boiling water, stirring well during the time; the arrowroot thickens as it is poured on, and nothing more is necessary. Genuine arrowroot requires no boiling and, if good, it will be quite clear, as clear as good starch; but if muddy or warm water is used it must be put into a saucepan and boiled until it thickens, carefully stirring all the time, before it can be given to an invalid. Sweeten with loaf sugar, and flavor with lemon peel or nutmeg, or add sherry or brandy if required or ordered by the physician. Milk may be employed instead of water, but when this is done no wine must be added, as it would be otherwise curdled. It is not wholesome if insufficiently cooked.

Corn-Flour Gruel.—A good gruel can be made by mixing a dessertspoonful of corn-flour, which has first been blended with cold water, into half a pint of hot water; stir on the fire for ten minutes, sweetening with moist sugar; flavor with nutmeg or a tablespoonful of wine.

Egg Gruel.—Beat up an egg to a froth, add a wineglass of sherry, flavor with a lump of sugar, a strip of lemon peel, and a little grated nutmeg. Have ready some gruel, very smooth and hot, stir in the wine and egg, and serve with sippets toast. Arrowroot may be made the same way.

Farina Gruel.—Stir two tablespoonfuls of farina into a quart of water in a milk saucepan; let this boil until it has grown quite thick; add a pint of milk, a little salt, and let the whole boil fifteen minutes longer; turn out into a bowl, and sweeten to taste.

Rice Gruel (for Diarrhoea).—Take two ounces of ground rice, a quarter of an ounce of cinnamon, and four pints of water; boil for forty minutes, and add a tablespoonful of orange marmalade.

Onion Gruel.—Slice an onion, and boil it in the quantity of water required for the gruel till quite tender; then add oatmeal, mixed smooth in cold water, a little fresh butter, a peppercorn or two, etc.; let it boil a few minutes; then strain it.

SOUPS.

Vegetable Soup.—Select a nice fresh soup bone, have it partly cracked or broken, but not crushed; put the meat into cold water about four hours before dinner and heat slowly; skin as soon as ready; add barley, keep the pot closely covered, and stew slowly for an hour. Prepare the vegetables, which will be four white potatoes sliced, a little cabbage, one carrot sliced fine, two turnips, one leek, and one stalk of celery cut fine; add barley, or instead, rice, noodles, vermicelli or rivels. The potatoes and all but rice and barley should be added last, when used. Corn cut from the ear and green peas can be used to suit the taste.

Barley Soup.—In four quarts of water put two pounds of pieces of meat, a quarter of a pound of pearl barley, four sliced onions, salt and pepper, with a little parsley; let the whole simmer for three hours or more. This makes a very nutritious soup.

Oyster Soup.—Drain the liquor from fifty fresh oysters, and heat it slowly in a porcelain kettle; then heat two quarts of milk in a double boiler until it boils; let the liquor of the oysters boil, and put in the oysters as soon as boiled; add the milk at once and remove from the hot fire. The oysters will be cooked sufficiently. Season with six whole peppers, a little salt and butter. If the oysters are salts, care should be taken that the milk does not curdle.

Soup for Invalids.—Boil two pounds of lean veal and a quarter of a pound of pearl barley in a quart of water very slowly, until it becomes of the consistency of cream. Pass it through a fine sieve and salt it to taste. Flavor it with celery seed, if liked, or use fresh celery, if in season, a very small quantity will suffice. Let it simmer very slowly. This soup is very nourishing.

Sago Soup.—Boil an ounce of sago in a pint of weak beef tea or broth until it be well dissolved.

Mutton Soup.—Select a nice shoulder of mutton; put it on to boil in two quarts of lukewarm water; when the meat is half cooked add the herbs tied up in a coarse cloth; then add one pared turnip and some celery cut into small pieces; one carrot cut fine, one leek. When all is almost done, add two potatoes cut fine, and noodles or rivels, vermicelli or macaroni. Noodles are made nicely by breaking into a cup of flour salted to taste, one egg, and mixing to a paste that can be rolled out very thin, and then placing before the fire until it is dry enough to cut in long strips. When tomatoes are liked, two raw ones, or half a can of canned ones, add very much indeed to the flavor and give it a much richer color.

Bread Soup.—Let the stock simmer over the fire three or four hours; place in a bowl bits of bread, no matter how hard and stale; pour over them enough hot broth to soak them well; mash fine, and put the whole into the stock. Let it continue to simmer a few minutes longer.

Vermicelli Soup.—Take a shin of veal and put it in four quarts of water; adding one onion, or leek, two carrots, two turnips (white), and a—little salt. Boil this three hours; add two cups of vermicelli, and boil it an hour and a half longer. When ready for the table remove the bone. The vegetables also may be taken out and the broth served clear.

Onion Soup with Milk.—Slice some onions into a stewpan, with a piece of butter or lard, and a little flour; when brown add a quart of boiling milk, pepper, salt, and any cold, cooked vegetables at hand; boil up once or twice and you have a delicious food, without meat or stock. Water can be used instead of milk, and sift in a little flour or bread crumbs, and brown well.

Green-Pea Soup.—Take two quarts of shelled peas; boil the pods in two quarts of water until the volume is reduced to one quart. When cool put in the peas and boil them; when half done add two quarts of new milk, let this boil, being careful it does not scorch, and then serve. Season with butter, pepper and a little salt. This soup is a favorite at fashionable dinners.

Mock-Turtle Soup.—Parboil a calf's head, divided, and cut up all the meat into small pieces; then break the bones and boil them in some beef broth; fry some shalots in butter, add flour to thicken, and stir them in; skim carefully while boiling; add a pint of white wine; let the whole simmer till the meat is perfectly tender; then put in some chives, parsley, basil, salt, cayenne, soy and mushroom catsup to your taste and boil for ten minutes; squeeze a little lemon juice into the tureen and pour the soup on it. Serve with four meat balls.

Sheep's-Head Soup.—Cut a sheep's liver and lights into pieces and stew them in four quarts of water with some onions, carrots and turnips, half a pound of pearl barley, pepper, salt, cloves and a little marjoram, parsley and thyme. Stew all these until nearly done; then put in the sheep's head and boil until quite tender; then it should be taken out and everything strained from the liquor. Let this stand until cool; take off the fat and thicken it with butter and flour. A glass of wine may be put into the tureen if desired before pouring in the soup.

Tapioca Soup.—Put two and a half ounces of tapioca into one quart of cold stock and bring it gradually to the boiling point. Let it simmer gently till tender, and serve.

Macaroni Soup.—Take one ounce and a half of macaroni, a small piece of butter and a pinch of salt. Put them into boiling water and let them simmer half an hour. When tender drain and cut into thin rings or lengths and drop into the boiling soup stock. Stew gently fifteen minutes.

Split-Pea Soup.—Boil one pint of peas in three quarts of water till they become broken to bits; add any vegetable that is liked one hour before the soup is to be served. The best peas require three and a half hours to cook them. One tablespoonful of olive oil will improve the soup.

Snapper Soup.—Make, according to the quantity of snapper, a good stock from knuckles of veal and shins of beef. Kill and bleed the snappers and remove their entrails. Take out the meat and eggs (if any), break the shells into pieces and put in the stock to boil. Then put in the snapper meat, and, when cooked, take it out, cut it into small pieces and set aside until wanted. Now add to the stock tomatoes, onions in slices and all kinds of sweet herbs. Boil well and strain off the stock, thicken with brown flour and season well with salt and pepper. Add the juice of two lemons and lastly the snapper meat. If there are no eggs in the snapper add chicken eggs, a little flour and milk or water. Boil separately and add them to the soup just before dishing it up. When all is done flavor with brandy or Madeira wine.

Clam Soup.—Wash twenty-five good-sized clams thoroughly, and when perfectly clean boil them in their shells with very little water. The water should be boiling when the clams are put in. In a few minutes the clam shells will open and the juice run out. Remove them from the shells and chop them up as fine as possible and press them through a coarse sieve, adding a finely-chopped onion, some minced celery and a little mace and pepper. Then strain the liquor in which they were boiled, stir into it all the ingredients and boil it fifteen minutes, adding a little milk and thickening with flour and butter. Then remove from the fire and stir in the well-beaten yolks of two eggs. Serve the soup in a tureen lined with toast.

Chicken Soup.—Take a chicken weighing about three pounds. Cut it into quarters and place in a porcelain pot. Add two quarts of water and let it boil one hour. Then have a fryingpan ready with a lump of butter and remove the chicken to it and have some boiled rice ready, cooked in another saucepan—about one cupful of boiled rice—as boiling the rice with the chicken improves the flavor of the soup. Add about one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, one onion and a small carrot in very thin slices; boil the giblets separately, and when the chicken is a rich brown remove it to make a gravy by adding a half cup of water, one tablespoonful of flour and the giblets chopped fine. Serve the gravy separately.

Mulligatawny Soup.—This Indian dish is admired by many. The meat may be either veal, rabbit or fowl. Get a knuckle of veal; have the bones cracked in two or three pieces; put it into a stewpan, cover it with water, and, when it is rather more than half done, cut off as much meat as you wish for the soup and boil the bones and the remainder of the meat well down to make stock soup; let this stand until cold and then remove the fat; cut the meat into small pieces and fry them in butter with four onions sliced and floured, two dessertspoonfuls of curry powder, a little cayenne pepper and salt; put these into the stewpan; add the stock gravy with three or four cloves and a good tablespoonful of lemon juice; let the whole simmer for an hour and serve up with some plain boiled rice in a separate dish.

Economical Veal Soup.—Boil a piece of veal suitable for a fricassee, pie or hash. When tender, take the meat up and slip out the bones; put these back into the kettle and boil two hours; then strain the liquor and stand away until the next day. When wanted take off the fat; put the soup into a clean pot; add pepper, salt, an onion, a half teacupful of rice, a tablespoonful of flour mixed in cold water and slices of potatoes; boil thirty minutes and serve hot.

Okra Soup.—To five quarts of water and a shin of beef add four dozen okras, sliced thin, and a few tomatoes; boil from six to seven hours and add salt and pepper to taste.

Beef Soup.—Prepare the extract; add a tumbler of boiled milk, slightly thickened with flour (see that there are no lumps in it); flavor with extract of celery.

EGGS AND MILK FOODS.

Boiled Eggs.—1. Put the eggs into boiling water, and boil three minutes for soft-boiled; five minutes for hard-boiling, and fifteen for hard-boiled for an invalid. Eggs boiled fifteen minutes, or considerably longer if convenient, are easily digestible by the most delicate stomach. Sometimes physicians direct that the patient have eggs which have been boiled two hours.

As an alternative, the following is subjoined:

Boiled Eggs.—2. Cover the eggs with boiling water, and put them in a place on the range where the water will keep boiling hot, but not boil; let them stand seven minutes; when they will be found deliciously jellied and perfectly digestible.

Poached Eggs.—Fill a fryingpan half full of boiling water, and add a little salt; break the eggs separately into a cup, and pour them carefully into the water whilst boiling, watching each so as to shape the whites, or place muffin rings in the water and pour the eggs into them. Have enough water to cover them. Remove carefully so as not to break them. They can be served on buttered toast or alone. Two and a half minutes is sufficient time to cook them.

Eggnog.—Beat the yolk of one egg, sweetened with one tablespoonful of sugar to a cream; add half a cup of milk and a tablespoonful of whiskey; beat the white to a stiff froth, and stir it into the other very lightly. Omit the milk when more nourishment is desired.

Egg and Sherry.—Beat up an egg till it froths; add a lump of sugar and two tablespoonfuls of water; mix well, pour into it a wineglassful of sherry, and serve before it gets flat.

Mulled Egg.—Toast a piece of bread nice and brown; beat up an egg very lightly in a bowl, then boil one and a half cups of milk, sweeten, and while hot pour on the egg, and add the toast cut into small pieces. This is a delightful food for an invalid.

Sherry, or Brandy and Milk.—To one tablespoonful of brandy, or one wineglassful of sherry, in a bowl, add sugar and a very little nutmeg for flavor, warm a cupful of new milk, and pour it into a spouted jug; pour the contents from a height over the wine, sugar, etc. The milk must not boil.

Mulled Wine.—Boil some spices, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, or mace, in a little water; then add a wineglass of sherry, or any kind of wine, and some sugar; bring it to the boiling point, and serve with toast. If claret is used, it will require a good deal of sugar.

Egg and Brandy.—Beat up three eggs to a froth, add four ounces of water, two or three lumps of sugar, and pour in four ounces of brandy, stirring all the time.

Milk Toast.—Toast one or two thin slices of bread. Boil a cup of sweet milk and season with a little salt and butter; lay the toast in a hot, deep plate and pour the milk over it.

Milk Porridge.—Stir into one quart of boiling milk two tablespoonfuls of flour mixed with a little cold milk and half a teaspoonful of salt. Boil half an hour; strain before serving. A handful of raisins and a little grated nutmeg may be boiled with it.

Rice Milk.—Wash three tablespoonfuls of rice, put it in a saucepan with some milk, and let it simmer gently till the rice is tender, stirring it now and then to prevent its burning. Sweeten a little and serve with a cut lemon, black-currant jam or stewed apples.

Arrowroot, Lime-Water and Milk.—Take equal parts of milk, arrow-root water and lime water, and sweeten to taste. The most delicate stomach can digest this food, and at the same time is very nourishing.

Milk Lemonade.—Dissolve six ounces of loaf sugar in a pint of boiling water, and stir in a quarter of a pint of lemon juice and the same quantity of sherry; then add three-quarters of a pint of cold milk.

Indian-Meal Milk Gruel.—Sweeten one quart of milk and stir into it two tablespoonfuls of cornmeal; this must be cooked carefully and stirred whilst cooking, as it may scorch; flavor with nutmeg; more meal must be used if it is not as thick as desired.

Flour and Milk.—Tie some flour up tightly in a cloth, boil it slowly in water for ten or twelve hours. The flour becomes agglomerated into a hard mass, and is only wetted on the surface; after drying mix one grated tablespoonful with a pint of milk and boil. This is a nourishing and useful remedy for dysentery and diarrhoea, and one which should be more generally known.

Arrowroot Blanc-Mange.—Mix two tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, three-quarters of a pint of milk, and lemon and sugar to suit the taste; omit the lemon if the patient cannot have acids.

Thickened Milk.—Mix a tablespoonful of flour smooth with a little milk; pour upon it a quart of boiling milk, and when it is thoroughly amalgamated boil up the whole once, stirring all the time to keep it smooth and free from lumps; serve with dry toast. It becomes specific by scorching the flour first before you mix it. This is excellent food in cases of diarrhoea.

Scrambled Eggs.—Beat up a dozen eggs and turn them into a pan in which a little butter has been allowed to melt, season with a little pepper and salt, and toss about rapidly to prevent sticking.

Egg Omelet.—Beat up four eggs until they are light; add them to one pint of milk, with a little pepper and salt, and a teacupful of flour; beat well all the lumps. Have ready a frying-pan with equal parts of lard and melted butter in it; and stir into this the batter with a fork until it thickens; bake to a light brown, and serve while hot.

Savory Eggs.—Break five eggs into a dish, add a pinch of salt and some pepper, and a little chopped thyme; beat them well together; rub a small pan twice with an onion, place in it two ounces of fresh butter, and boil the whole; when boiling pour in the eggs; stir quickly until cooked about ten minutes, then turn on to a hot dish, and serve immediately.

Scalloped Eggs.—Boil five or six eggs hard, chop them up roughly, make a white sauce, and mix all up well together; butter a pan, and put in it a layer of bread crumbs, and then a layer of egg, and so on until full; finish with bread crumbs on top; bake to a light brown.

FRUITS AND JELLIES.

Roasted Apples.—Take tart apples; wipe each clean and put in the oven to roast. As soon as they are soft to the core take them out and cool them. Serve with sugar and cream if desired.

Baked Apples.—Select smooth, fair apples; remove the blossom end and core; place in an earthen, or tin pie plate; if tart, crowd them; if sweet, keep them separate; pour a cupful of cold water into the plate and set the plate, covered, in an oven to bake. Do not let the apples get dry, as it will burn up the juice; add a little sugar to the juice, or put some sugar into the core holes and cover each with a little slice of lemon, first lightly squeezing the juice over the apples. Sweet apples are preferred for baking. Serve with cream.

Steamed Apples.—Prepare as for baking, and steam two or three hours, or until soft. Serve as above.

Stewed Apples.—Select apples not too ripe; pare, core and slice them into thin pieces; wash hastily, or place them in cold water while cutting, so as to remove the rust which a steel knife always imparts; put them into a porcelain kettle and add cold water to make them moderately juicy; cook till soft; stew quickly if tart, slowly if sweet, and do not stir, and the pieces will hold together unbroken, swimming in the clear juice. When tart, sweeten while hot and leave to cool.

Apple Jelly.—Cut the apples, cores, skins and all into thin slices, and put them into water enough to cover them; boil until soft; then strain through a strain-cloth and add three-quarters of a pound of sugar to one pint of juice; boil until it jellies, and then pour into moulds.

Baked Peaches.—Take good clingstone peaches, wash them well, and do not pare them; fill a stone jar nearly full; add a pint or more of cold Water; cover, and bake in a very slow oven about two hours. If the peaches are tart, less cooking and less water is required. Sweeten to taste.

Stewed Dried Peaches.—Pared peaches are best, as the skin is disagreeable to most persons, let them soak in warm water on the back of the stove until quite tender, then finish over a quick fire; sweeten to taste.

Grape Jelly.—Press the juice from the grapes, and to each pound (a pint is a pound) of juice add one pound of sugar. Currants, plums (gages), quinces, blackberries, strawberries, and all fruits may be used in the same manner. Quinces have to be boiled before being pressed.

Orange Jelly.—In one quart of water boil two ounces of isinglass until it becomes a strong jelly; add the juice of four oranges and a little sugar. Lemons can be used instead of oranges.

Cider Jelly.—Boil new cider to the consistency of syrup, adding one pound of white sugar to a gallon of cider; skim it and let it cool. It will be a beautiful clear jelly, very nice to make a drink.

Wine Jelly.—To one pint of wine add one ounce of isinglass, half a pound of sugar, and spices to taste.

Calf's-Foot Jelly.—Place four calf's feet into four quarts of boiling water and boil until reduced to one quart; then strain, and when cold, take off the top. In taking out the jelly avoid the settlings. To a quart add six ounces of loaf sugar, the crushed shells and the whites of five eggs very well beaten, half an ounce of clarified isinglass, the juice of two lemons and a glass of sherry wine; after the mixture has stood a few minutes, put the pan over a gentle fire, and stir until the liquid boils and rises in the pan, but do not stir it after this stage is reached; let it boil twenty minutes, removing the scum carefully as it rises; now remove from the stove to one side and let it settle for twenty minutes; then pour the jelly through a jelly bag made of flannel, first wringing the bag out in hot water. Do not put the jelly into metal moulds to remain for any length of time as the action of the metal will be apt to affect the color. Keep it in a cool place; in summer surround it with ice.

Beef Jelly.—Take one pound of round steak, free from fat, cut into small pieces and put into a wide-mouthed bottle (or what is better, an earthen jar); barely cover the meat with cold water, set the jar in a kettle of water and let it boil one hour; add to the juice thus obtained two wine glasses of best sherry wine, the juice of one lemon and a quarter of a box of gelatine or enough to set the jelly; pour into very small cups or moulds and turn out upon a saucer when ready to serve. A very delightful and nutricious jelly.

Rice Jelly.—Take a quarter of a pound of rice flour, and half a pound of loaf sugar, and boil them in a quart of water; when they become a glutinous mass, strain off the jelly, add wine or lemon juice and let it stand until it is entirely cold before serving.

Strawberry Ice.—Press one and a half pounds of strawberries through a hair sieve; they will make a little over a pint of pulp; add one pint of syrup of ordinary consistency; also a gill of red currant juice or the juice of half a lemon, and a pint of water; mix the ingredients and work the composition in the freezer; use when sufficiently frozen.

Mutton Jelly.—Put six mutton shanks, half a pound of lean beef and a little pepper and salt, in three pints of water, and let them simmer gently for five hours; strain, and when cold take off the fat. Warm up as much as is wanted at a time, and keep the rest in a cool place.

Chicken Jelly.—Pound together the bones and meat of half a raw chicken and cover them with cold water; heat slowly in a covered vessel and let it stand until the meat is in white rags, and the liquid reduced to one-half; strain through a fine sieve, add salt and cook a few minutes longer. Wine or other seasonings may be added, according to special tastes.

Arrowroot Wine Jelly.—Take one cupful of boiling water, two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, and one dessertspoonful of brandy, or three of wine; wet the arrowroot in a little cold water and rub smooth, then stir into the hot water with the sugar melted in it; boil it, and stir until clear, and add the wine and brandy; pour into moulds. Lemon or orange may be used instead of wine.

Iceland-Moss Jelly.—Soak one handful of iceland-moss in cold water; then stir in one quart of boiling water, and let it simmer until dissolved; add the juice of two lemons, one glass of wine, and a little cinnamon; sweeten to taste and strain into moulds. Irish moss can be used the same way.

Stewed Prunes.—Wash the fruit and allow half a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit; put on the stove and cook slowly for two hours. They are very nice for a sick person, when a little warm.

Cranberry Jelly.—This is made like currant jelly. When the juice is expelled, strain, and to every pint of juice add a pound of sugar; boil until it thickens, and skim it. Serve with roast turkey.

Farina Jelly.—Boil three pints of milk, and whilst boiling sprinkle in slowly one-quarter of a pound or four tablespoonfuls of farina; continue to boil for about three-quarters of an hour; when done turn into a mould and place on ice. It makes a beautiful ornament for the table.

Orange Water-ice.—Rub the best part of four oranges upon a half dozen lumps of sugar, being careful in this not to rub the under skin; put the flavored lumps into a little warm syrup and let them remain until dissolved; now take a dozen fine Florida oranges and two lemons, and strain the juice, adding a pint of water and one quart of clarified sugar to the flavored syrup; mix and freeze. Pineapples, cherries, lemons or any other fruit may be used in the same way. In using lemons always add oranges. Coffee-ice is made by dissolving a pound of sugar in one quart of water, and adding half a pint of strong coffee and the white of one egg.

Apple Butter.—Boil ten gallons of sweet cider in a brass kettle until reduced to five gallons; take a bushel of apples, wash, drain and put them into the boiled cider, and when soft stir constantly until finished with a wooden spoon; two hours will be required to cook slowly, if for winter use. Before taking it from the fire add cinnamon and cloves to taste; remove from fire, and while hot pour the butter into a well-glazed crock or stone jar, and set away to cool.

Peach Butter.—Pare and slice fine the peaches and proceed as in apple butter, only adding water instead of cider; quince and other fruits may be substituted. Marmalade can be made by adding three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of pulp.

MEATS AND GAME.

Roast Beef.—The sirloin and rib pieces are the best for roasting; have the butcher bone and roll the meat, basting it together with the skewers, but avoid many skewers, as they allow the gravy to escape. Place the meat in a dripping pan with a little water and put into a hot oven for ten or fifteen minutes until a crust is formed to imprison its juices; then lower the temperature, and keep at a steady, moderate heat; season with salt and pepper on both sides; cook until done as desired. For gravy, pour off the fat from the drippings into a little water and thicken with flour browned, or let the gravy cook a few minutes. Do not baste roast beef.

Roast Mutton.—A nice shoulder or chime is generally used for roasting. It is best to wash mutton in cold or lukewarm water and dry it with a, clean cloth. Place it in a dripping-pan in a hot oven with a little water; after searing the surface, top and bottom, cook moderately in a steady heat; it requires a little basting; roast fifteen minutes for each pound of the meat. A shoulder is nice boned and filled with bread filling seasoned with thyme, salt and pepper. This gives a delicious flavor to the meat. If gravy is needed make it in the same way as beef gravy.

Roast Lamb.—The fore and hind quarters are used for roasting; proceed as in roasting mutton.

Roast Veal.—Take out the bone of a fillet of veal, and prepare a filling of bread, thyme, pepper and salt, and fill with it the cavity (onion can be used also in the dressing); then roast the meat in a moderately hot oven, as veal takes long and slow cooking; when cooked to a nice light brown, remove. It should be basted while cooking. If gravy is desired make it in the same way as beef gravy. Veal is so very dry that a moist dressing is almost essential. The shoulder, loin, knuckle, and breast may be roasted the same way.

Roast Pork.—Bone a leg as in mutton, filled if preferred, only substituting sage or sweet marjoram for the thyme; onion may also be used if the flavor is liked. Make gravy as for beef. The spare-ribs, leg and loin are all delicious when roasted and cut cold. A young pig three or four weeks old can be roasted whole. It should be roasted slowly, and requires long cooking.

Pork Cutlets.—Cut the meat half an inch thick. In broiling sprinkle a little pepper on them, and when almost done add a little salt. When frying, flour them well and season with salt, pepper and sage; fry over a slow fire, and let it cook until brown.

Ham Omelet.—Beat up four eggs very light; add enough fine chopped ham to flavor it; fry in hot butter till brown on the lower side; sprinkle salt and pepper over it, and fold over one-half.

Boiled Ham.—Put the ham into warm water, and boil it for five or six hours; if very salt the water may be changed once, but the temperature of the fresh water should be the same as of that already used; when done take off the skin. Before serving stick cloves at intervals with a ring of black pepper, and garnish with parsley. Boiled ham is best eaten cold. It can be made delicious by sprinkling sugar over it and baking an hour.

Potted Ham.—Cut the remains of cold boiled ham in small pieces, and pound it little by little in a mortar, softening it during the process with melted butter; add cayenne pepper to taste; put it in a jar, pressing it down very smooth; cover it with a little melted butter, and close up tight and set away. It will keep well and as long as desired.

Veal Cutlets.—Take the cutlets—those from the leg are best—and cut them into pieces as nearly of a size as possible; dip them into well-beaten egg, and then into cracker dust, and fry slowly to a golden brown. If the veal is tough parboil it for ten or fifteen minutes; dry before frying.

Veal Omelet.—Chop up very fine three pounds of veal, and with it mix six powdered crackers, a tablespoonful of salt, one of thyme, one of sage, half a tablespoonful of pepper, and half a teacupful of milk; mix and form a loaf; baste with milk and butter while baking, and bake two hours.

Veal Patties.—Chop up the veal and some ham, using only one-third ham to two-thirds veal; add powdered crackers and wet with gravy or milk; use hot milk, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and one beaten egg; season well and bake in patty pans; if eaten hot (and most persons prefer them hot), line the pans with puff paste and send them to the table.

Sweetbreads.—Parboil the sweetbreads, cut them into slices and dip them in eggs well beaten, then into cracker dust or bread crumbs; season with pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and the grated yellow rind of a lemon. They are served with melted butter or mushroom ketchup. They may be garnished with bacon fried in thin slices.

Tripe.—Boil the tripe tender, wipe it dry and dip it in a batter made of eggs, flour and milk, seasoned with salt; garnish with fried parsley. It may be boiled and cut into small pieces and covered with a jelly made by boiling a few cloves in vinegar.

Kidneys.—Skin and parboil some sheep's kidneys, cut them in slices, and fry them in butter for a few minutes, with pepper and salt to taste; mix a tablespoonful of flour with a piece of butter in a saucepan, stir till it begins to color, then add a teacupful of good gravy, and the same quantity of sherry; let this boil five minutes, then add to the kidneys, with a small quantity of parsley, finely minced; make them very hot (but do not let them boil) and serve.

Broiled Cold Meat.—Cut the cold meat into slices and place them on the gridiron, properly cleansed, and rubbed over with a little butter; put into a hot dish a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and a teaspoonful of ketchup; melt together, and lay the meat from the gridiron on the gravy made by these ingredients as soon as it is done.

Broiled Mutton Chops.—Remove most of the fat from the chops and place them over a clear fire, turning often until done; have a dish hot on the stove and in it put a little hot water, pepper and salt; as the chops are taken from the fire butter each while hot and dip it back and forth in the water; this will season them well and form a delicious gravy. Serve as hot as possible and have the plates heated before serving to prevent any chill.

Fried Mutton Chops.—Trim the chops and season them with salt and pepper; fry them in their own fat or pork fat, turning them frequently; brown a little butter and flour, adding some water, and pour this gravy over the chops. Be careful not to let the chops burn while frying.

Boiled leg of Mutton.—Cut off the shank and trim the knuckle; boil three hours; when part cooked add a little salt. Serve with sauce, and preferably cut cold; save the water for stock, boiling up the shank well cracked, and the knuckle; mashed turnips are usually served with it.

Beef Croquettes.—Chop up fine some cold roast beef and season it with pepper and salt; mix some bread crumbs with milk or with mashed potatoes, and with a little flour on the hands make up the meat and the crumbs into balls; fry in a pan with hot lard or dip it into egg and then into fine pulverized cracker dust. The croquette should be dropped into hot lard so as to float.

Beef a la Mode.—Lard a round of beef with slices of fat bacon dipped in vinegar; roll it up with chopped seasoning of cloves, sage, parsley, thyme, pepper and green onions; bind close and put it in a kettle; cook slowly for ten or twelve hours, turning when half done; thicken with a heaping tablespoonful of flour added when the fluid is reduced one-half.

Irish Stew.—Either beef or mutton may be used; cut it into pieces about an inch square and cover with cold water; allow to two pounds of meat two onions, eight good-sized potatoes, two teaspoonfuls of salt and a half teaspoonful of pepper; cover and cook for two hours, skimming as it boils up; thicken the gravy with flour stirred smooth. Serve very hot.

Broiled Beefsteak.—Select a nice sirloin, porterhouse or tenderloin steak; remove from it all suet and place it over the fire, not too hot; it requires a glowing fire without flame or smoke; subdue the flames by sprinkling salt upon the coals; heat the gridiron and rub it with a piece of suet to prevent the meat's sticking; cook as desired and serve very hot in a gravy made of a good-sized piece of butter, some pepper and salt and a gill of water mixed well together while hot. Another sauce may be made by placing in a saucepan an ounce of butter, a teaspoonful of very finely chopped onion, a pinch of sweet marjoram, if desired, and a teaspoonful of fluid beef, together with a wineglassful of sherry or Madeira; boil this a few minutes, stirring constantly, and pour it over the meat in a hot dish. Serve at once.

Dried Beef.—Slice up the dried beef fine and stew it in a little water until tender; beat up an egg with a little flour; put a lump of butter to the beef, stir in the egg and flour and serve on toasted bread with a gravy over it. Milk may be used instead of water.

Pounded Beef.—Take one pound of cold roast beef and pound it well to a paste; add a saltspoonful of salt, half a spoonful of pepper, a blade of mace and half a pound of clarified butter; mix together and pass through a wire sieve; press down in pots, covering the top with butter. In this way beef may be kept until required.

Beef Omelet.—Take three pounds of beef chopped fine, three eggs. beaten together, six crackers rolled fine, one tablespoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of pepper and one tablespoonful of melted butter; mix all these ingredients up well and make like a loaf of bread; put a little water and bits of butter into the pan; invert another pan over it; baste the omelet occasionally; bake an hour and a quarter and when cold slice very thin.

Potted Beef.—Cook a beefsteak, cut off the fat, gristle and outside pieces; pound to a paste in a mortar; to one pound of beef add a saltspoonful of white pepper, a little cayenne and grated nutmeg, a little fresh-made mustard, a tablespoonful of beef gravy and three ounces of dissolved butter; press it into pots and pour melted butter over it; serve cold.

Roast Chicken.—Draw and wash a chicken and dry with a towel; rub the inside with dry salt; fill with bread filling seasoned with thyme, salt and pepper, sew up with strong string, crossing the legs and tying down the wings; roast in a moderate oven, having some water in the pan to baste it with; frequent basting makes it a handsome brown. Make a gravy of the gizzard, heart and liver chopped fine, boiled and thickened with flour. Serve with cranberry sauce and onions boiled in milk. Any fowl may be roasted in this way.

Fried Chicken.—After neatly dressing and carving in pieces of proper size, parboil a half hour or longer until tender; take out with fork and place in a fryingpan of melted butter; fry brown by frequent turning to keep from burning. A nice gravy is made by pouring the broth in which it was boiled into the fryingpan with a thickening of flour and any seasoning preferred. Curled parsley arranged as a garnish adds to the general effect.

Stewed Turkey.—An old turkey is more tender stewed than when cooked in any other way. Put into a large pot half a pound of bacon cut in slices, a quarter of a pound of knuckle of veal, three sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, six small onions, one carrot cut in small pieces, three cloves, salt and pepper and then the turkey; add a pint each of broth and white wine; cover as closely as possible and simmer gently about two and a half hours; then turn the turkey over and put it back on the fire for another two and a half hours; dish the turkey; strain the sauce; put it back on the fire and after reducing it to a glaze spread it over the turkey and serve. Some prefer stewed turkey when cold.

Roast Duck.—After cleaning the duck stuff with poultry dressing and roast; if game, half an hour; if tame, one hour; making gravy the same; serve with currant jelly. Goose is roasted the same way, only taking two hours to roast. Skin off the fat, as it gives a strong taste.

Birds.—Small birds are washed and dried and then broiled or roasted and served with sauce or wine gravy or on toast. Reed birds are delicious for the sick.

Quail and Partridges on Toast.—Leave the feet and head on, cross the feet over the breast, and twist the neck round the wing so as to bring the head to the side of the breast, or truss the birds the same as fowls; baste with butter, and when nearly done sprinkle flour over them, and continue basting until they are browned; toast some bread and place it on a plate; pour over it the contents of the dripping-pan, and serve the birds on it. The sauce may be either plain melted butter or beef gravy. Pheasants, grouse, woodcock and snipe may be cooked in the same manner.

Chicken Croquettes.—Chop cooked chicken fine; season with a little pepper, salt and butter, mixed with one egg and a little cream; roll the croquettes on a bread board sprinkled with cracker dust until they are shaped like little cylinders; beat an egg light and dip them into it; then roll them again in the cracker dust; fry in a croquette basket in boiling fat until of a light brown color. The stock of chicken, veal, lamb or mutton may be used instead of cream to mix them with. Croquettes can be made of any fowl in this way.

FISH AND SHELLFISH.

Baked Shad.—Scale, wash and clean the shad, making an incision only large enough to properly clean it; wash it several times so as to be sure that it is clean; fill it with a stuffing composed of equal parts of mashed potatoes and buttered stale bread cut into fine pieces; season with salt and pepper to taste; add parsley or any herb in powder; sew it up with strong thread, lay it in a baking-pan with a few little pieces of butter on top, and dredge with flour; add a little water; bake moderately for two hours, basting quite often. Serve hot.

Broiled or Fried Shad.—Clean and split the shad down the backbone; have the broiler well rubbed with suet, and broil the fish to a golden brown; salt it when done and spread it with butter; serve hot. It is better if corned a little while before cooking, or sprinkle a little salt on and keep it cool over night; wash off the salt in the morning before broiling. To fry shad, clean and cut the backbone out, making three pieces; then season with salt and pepper, and dredge with a little flour, and fry in olive oil or any other fat; drain and send to the table hot, the roe and milts may be fried also, and by many persons are preferred to the fish itself.

Planked Shad.—Scale and split the shad down the back; remove the roe and entrails, wash and dry with a towel; have a heated plank of hickory about two inches thick, and nail the shad on this, with its back to the plank; cook one side while placing it before a hot fire of live coals, at an angle of forty-five degrees, bake it a rich brown color, basting by means of a soft brush, with a thin mixture of melted butter and flour; when done serve upon the plank (send the plank to the table). In the meantime parboil the roe, roll it in cracker dust and egg, and fry so as to serve it with the fish. A bottle of Rhine wine will be found to fraternize well with this dish.

Rock Fish.—Scale, clean and wash the fish; cut off the fins, boil in salted water, let it drain for a minute or two, and place on a hot dish; serve with a rich egg sauce poured over it; garnish with slices of lemon and parsley. Fresh mackerel and sea bass or any other large fish of a similar nature may be cooked the same way.

Halibut.—This fish requires careful cleaning and rubbing with salt to remove the slime which exudes from it; make an incision in the back to prevent the skin bursting on the breast, as the fish swells in boiling; lay it in the kettle, breast upward; add to the water a handful or salt and a cupful of vinegar. Dish with breast upward, and serve with any sauce preferred.

Haddock.—Let it lay a few hours in salt, then boil briskly for about twenty-five minutes, or less, if the fish is small; the head is esteemed a delicacy. Another excellent way to prepare haddock is to cut it into pieces, and salt, pepper and dip it into egg and cracker dust; fry slowly and serve while hot. Fresh cod may be done the same way.

Salmon.—Salmon should be fresh, and if there is more than is required for one meal it can be slightly salted and kept in a cool place for several days. Wash, clean and scald it; boil in plenty of salt water. It can be cooked whole but is best boiled in slices. Remove instantly when done, and let it drain across the fish-kettle; serve with any sauce or with plain melted butter. Trout are dressed whole and served in the same manner. Fish, being naturally soft, require a boiling heat to make them firm.

Mackerel, Boiled, Fresh and Salted.—Clean the fish and boil five minutes; serve with parsley sauce. The fresh fish fried in a little lard is delicious. When salt mackerel are used they may be boiled or fried, after being well soaked, or they may be boiled before soaking.

Salt Codfish.—Soak a piece of fish over night; pour out the water and cover the fish again with lukewarm water; let it stand until cold; then put it in lukewarm water, and let it simmer (but not boil) for two hours; remove the skin and bone; serve with drawn butter or egg sauce, and with whole boiled potatoes. Fresh codfish are cooked like haddock or other fish.

Codfish Cakes.—Take equal quantities of fish and potatoes, shred the fish, and after boiling the potatoes mash them as for table use very smooth; beat them together with a fork and make them into little balls, and float in hot lard until fried a light brown; place before the fire to drain.

Chowder.—Take three pounds of any sort of fresh fish (though fresh cod is best); six large potatoes, two onions and a half pound of salt pork; fry the pork in thin slices to a light brown; add the onions and brown them; pour the fat into a saucepan and put a layer of potatoes, a little onion and pork and a layer of fish cut in small pieces, salting and peppering each layer; just cover with boiling water and boil for half an hour. In the meanwhile boil a pint of milk, and when at the boiling-point break into it a dozen crackers and add a heaping tablespoonful of butter; put the chowder in a pan and pour the crackers and milk over it, or lay the crackers in the chowder dry and pour the boiling milk over all; serve in a tureen; three or four tomatoes are sometimes added. Clam chowder is made the same way with the substitution of one hundred clams for the fish, and the addition of a can of tomatoes.

Stewed Oysters.—Separate the liquor from the oysters, strain it and put it on the stove and let it simmer gently; when hot add some cream, and then, when that is hot, add the oysters; remove at once and pour into a hot dish with a little butter, salt and pepper and serve at once; this can be poured on toast, and many persons prefer it that way.

Oyster Patties.—Beard the oysters, and, if large, half them; put them into a saucepan with a piece of butter rolled in flour; some finely shredded lemon rind, a little pepper and milk, and a portion of the liquor from the oysters; stir all together and let it simmer for a few minutes and then put it into patty pans which should be ready with a puff paste crust in them. Serve hot or cold.

Fried Oysters.—Drain the liquor from the oysters and then roll each in cracker dust; beat up some fresh eggs, add some liquor of the oyster and dip them in it, then roll them in cracker dust, again in egg and again in cracker dust; have some olive oil boiling hot and float the oysters in it, and fry them to a light brown. Lard or olive butter can be used. Garnish with parsley.

Oyster Fritters.—Drain the juice from one hundred oysters, take six eggs beaten up light, two cupfuls of cracker dust and one of flour, a little salt and pepper, all added to the juice, or milk enough to make a batter; then add two teaspoonfuls of baking powder and oysters; have the lard boiling hot; drop the mixture into it by large tablespoonfuls and fry to a nice brown, Clams make delicious fritters and are used in this way very frequently.

Panned Oysters.—Select large, highly-flavored oysters, those for frying are the best; have a small pan about one inch deep with a handle; put into the pan one dozen oysters and their own juice only; place them on a quick fire and when they begin to swell they are done; add a little butter and pepper, also salt (if they are not salts); turn out into a very hot dish, or they may be eaten from the pan in which they have been cooked, while they are steaming hot.

Fried Eels.—Select nice eels weighing two pounds each or less; skin them and place them either in the oven or on a gridiron for eight minutes, to draw out the fat; split them down the thin part, take out the backbone, cut off the fins, scrape the outside and cut them into pieces three inches long; have three ounces of dried crumbs of bread and two well-beaten eggs; dip each piece of eel into the egg and then into the crumbs, and fry in boiling lard over a slow fire till they are a pale yellow color; serve with melted butter or other sauce in a tureen.

Baked Clams.—Put on the liquor from twenty-five clams, and when hot skim it and add a teaspoonful of butter after rubbing a half teaspoonful of flour in it to a cream; stir until it melts, and allow it to become of the consistency of gruel; then, having chopped the clams fine and rejected the tough part, pour them in and let them cook a few minutes only; season with pepper and salt and place in nicely-washed shells, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake in a quick oven for twenty minutes. Baked clams are a fashionable dish in New England.

Scalloped Oysters.—Take fifty oysters blanched and bearded; strain and boil down the juice as thick as possible and add one quart of cream; rub eight ounces of butter and four tablespoonfuls of flour to a smooth paste with three tablespoonfuls of scalding cream, and add the juice; then season with a teaspoonful of salt, and two teaspoonfuls of allspice, two of white pepper, and two of mace; pour in the yolks of four well-beaten eggs and a little cold water, until smooth; then strain the mixture upon the oysters and mix lightly; butter some porcelain scallop-pans, and sprinkle them with bread crumbs, and heap on each one as many oysters with their sauce as it will hold; sprinkle with bread crumbs or cracker dust and set in a moderately hot oven to brown. Serve very hot as soon as done.

Steamed Oysters.—Scrub the unopened oyster shells till clean; put in a large pot a wire strainer which shall stand about one-third of the depth of the pot from the bottom; place the oysters in it the round side down; pour in water to one-fourth the depth of the pot; put on the lid and set over a quick fire, and boil until the oysters open their shells; take out the oysters and serve them the same as roasted oysters, which they to some degree resemble.

BREAD AND CAKE.

Bread.—1. The general rule for making bread is one quart of wetting—either milk or warm water—to five quarts of flour, and one large cup of yeast; make a sponge of the wetting and yeast with part of the flour; it should be mixed in the evening and will be ready for moulding into loaves the next morning; set it to rise in a warm place in the winter, and in a cool place in the summer; mould the sponge into loaves by adding the remaining flour, and knead with the palm of the hand as much as possible; the dough quickly becomes a flat cake; fold it over and keep on kneeding not less than twenty minutes or half an hour; make into four loaves, and put them into pans; set them in a warm place to rise, when they have become nearly double in size, place them in the oven to bake; the heat of the oven should be sufficient to brown a teaspoonful of flour in one minute, the flour being spread on a small plate so that it may have an even heat; loaves of this size will bake in from forty to sixty minutes; then take them from the pans, wrap them in thick cloths kept for the purpose, and stand them tilted up against the pans till cold. Never lay hot bread on a pine table, as it will sweat and absorb the taste; it should be tilted that the air may pass around it freely.

Bread.—2. Take one quart of flour, a little sugar, and a pinch of salt, two teaspoonfuls of some kind of baking powder, and one and a half pints of milk; mix smoothly and rapidly, and turn into a greased pan; bake in a moderate oven forty-five minutes. The sugar can be omitted and water used in place of milk.

Brown Bread.—Sift into a deep bowl one cup of Indian meal and two cups of rye flour, a teaspoonful of salt and one of soda, vary the proportions of rye and cornmeal according to taste; if more rye is used the dough should be stiff; if cornmeal be the greater part it must be softer and requires longer baking; to one pint of hot water add one cup of molasses and stir until well mixed; make a hole in the middle of the meal and stir in the molasses and water, beating all till smooth; butter a tin pudding boiler, or a tin pan holding three pints, and put in the mixture; set the boiler into a kettle of boiling water; boil steadily for four hours, keeping the water always at the same level; then take out the boiler and set it in the oven for fifteen minutes to dry and form a crust; turn out and serve hot.

Corn Bread.—To a pint of fine Indian meal add shortening about the size of an egg, one teaspoonful of salt, two small teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and then milk sufficient to make a batter, and one egg beaten up; dissolve a small teaspoonful of soda and stir it in thoroughly; grease the pan well, and bake in a pretty hot oven about one hour. If you use buttermilk, make the same way, but leave out the cream of tartar.

Graham Bread.—Make one quart of wheat sponge; pour it into a deep bowl and add a teacupful of brown sugar or molasses, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little hot water, and a little salt; then sift into it one even quart of Graham flour; the mixture should be very stiff; bake in two loaves, for an hour or in a little more. Graham bread requires a longer time to bake than wheat bread. If no sponge is at hand make as follows: Take one pint of milk or water (warm), half a cup of sugar or molasses, half a cup of yeast, a little salt, one cup of wheat flour and two cups of Graham; when all are mixed set in a cool place over night (Graham bread sours more easily than wheat bread); in the morning stir it well; put it into two deep well-greased pans; let it rise an hour in a warm place and bake one hour.

Rye Bread.—This is made by the same rule as for Graham bread, substituting rye for Graham flour, but use enough rye to make a dough which can be turned out, use wheat flour for the moulding pan and hands, as rye is very sticky, and knead only long enough to get it into good shape; raise and bake as in the above rule for Graham bread.

Rusks.—Take three pints of flour and rub a quarter of a pound of butter well through it; then add one pint of sugar, a tablespoonful of yeast, and one pint of warm milk; set it as a sponge, and put in all the ingredients and mix them up together while soft.

Plain Rolls.—Allow one pint of bread dough for twelve small rolls, flour the moulding board lightly and knead into the dough butter or lard the size of an egg; cut the dough into round cakes, which may be flattened out, and one-half turned over the other; spread a little butter between the folds to make what are called pocket-book rolls. This same dough is made into French rolls by pressing a knife handle almost through the centre of round balls of it; put the rolls in a well-greased pan an inch apart and set them to rise an hour and a half before baking; they require more time to rise than large loaves. Bake in a quick oven twenty minutes.

Soda and Cream of Tartar Biscuit.—Mix into one quart of flour one teaspoonful of salt, one of soda and two of cream of tartar, then pass it through a fine sieve; rub a piece of butter or lard the size of an egg in the flour with the hands till perfectly fine; then add one cup of milk; mix well and roll out quickly; cut into round cakes and bake in a quick oven. They are very light if properly made, but all depends upon the mixing and baking, which should be as rapid as possible.

Muffins.—1. Mix one quart of milk, one egg, one spoonful of butter, two spoonfuls of lard, one-half cup of yeast, aad flour enough to make a batter a little thicker than griddle cakes; put to rise over night; bake in the morning in rings.

The following is a simple recipe for the same:

Muffins.—2. Mix one pint of new milk, four eggs, a little salt, flour enough for batter; bake in muffin rings.

Waffles.—Take one pint of new milk and add three well-beaten eggs; melt a piece of butter the size of an egg and pour it in; mix with one pint of flour a little salt and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and add slowly to the milk and eggs, making a thin batter; beat well and bake at once in a well-greased waffle iron. If sour milk is used substitute soda for the powder. Sour cream makes delicious waffles. Boiled rice added to the above batter makes rice waffles.

Breakfast Puffs or Pop-Overs.—Stir together one pint of flour and one pint of milk; beat one egg very light and add it with a little salt; have a set of gem-pans well greased and heating in the oven; put in the batter and bake half an hour in a hot oven. This is a simple but most delicate breakfast cake. No baking powder or soda must be used.

Hoe Cake.—Take one quart of cornmeal one cup of boiling water, one teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful of lard; melt the lard in the water; add the salt and pour the water on the meal until it becomes a dough; when cool make it into one large or two small cakes and bake a half hour to a light brown. It should be baked before an open fire on a board.

Buckwheat Cakes.—Take equal quantities of buckwheat, Indian meal and Graham flour to make one quart; add half a cup of new yeast, a little salt and enough milk or lukewarm water to make a thick batter; set it in a warm place to rise and have a well-greased griddle hot and bake in small cakes. The griddle should be greased each time.

Common Pancakes.—To one and a half pints of milk add a little salt and the yolks of six eggs well beaten; then mix in slowly about six ounces of flour and some melted butter; then add the whites beaten to a froth; the batter should be of the consistency of thick cream; place a fryingpan on the fire and when quite hot put into it a little lard or butter; pour in batter (about one-quarter of a teacupful), and spread it around the pan until thin; then fry brown and turn it over and brown again; they may be served in rolls after being spread with preserves; serve immediately, for if allowed to stand they grow heavy.

Bread Griddle Cakes.—Take pieces of stale bread, soak them in water until soft, drain them and rub the bread to a pulp; then add two or three beaten eggs and milk enough to make a thick batter; cook them on a hot griddle in small cakes. The egg may be omitted.

Flannel Cakes.—1. Take a pint bowl two-thirds full of Indian meal and mix with scalding water; stir in a piece of lard or butter the size of two walnuts; then put in cold water so as not to scald the flour; then mix in a pint of flour and, if needed, water enough to make it of the consistency of batter cakes; add two spoonfuls of yeast and set it to rise. Bake on a griddle.

Many cooks make flannel cakes as follows:

Flannel Cakes.—2. Put two ounces of butter into a pint of hot milk, then add a pint of cold milk, four beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of yeast and enough flour to make a stiff batter; let it rise and fry on a griddle.

Indian Griddle Cakes.—Take one pint of Indian meal, one cup of flour, a tablespoonful of molasses, a teaspoonful of saleratus, a little salt and ginger and sufficient sour milk to make a stiff batter; bake on the griddle. This is the recipe given by Jennie June.

Rye Griddle Cakes.—Mix one quart of sweet milk, two eggs, one-half teaspoonful of saleratus, a little salt, and enough rye flour to make a batter; baking powder may be used instead of saleratus.

Rice Griddle Cakes.—Take one cup of rice boiled very soft and mashed fine, a pint of milk, and two or three eggs, a little flour stirred in and a teaspoonful of baking powder; have ready a hot griddle and bake in small cakes, allowing them to brown nicely, but not to burn.

Pound Cakes.—Take one pound of sugar, one pound of butter; beat well together until very light; add ten well-beaten eggs; beat well again; add one pound of flour; mix until smooth, and bake in moderate heat; flavor with rose. A hot oven is required if baked in small tins.

Lady Cake.—Make the same as gold cake, but using the whites of the eggs only instead of the yolks.

Jelly Cake.—Beat to a cream one pound of butter; add one pound of sugar; then add the yolks of ten eggs and three-quarters of a pound of flour, and finally add the whites of the eggs, beaten to a froth. Bake in shallow tins, and put jelly between each two layers. Use any flavor.

Cream Cake.—Mix four cups of flour, three cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of sweet cream, five eggs, four teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Bake in a quick oven.

Cup Cake.—Take two cups of sugar, three-quarters of a cup of butter, three cups of flour, one cup of milk, three eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, and two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar; bake in a well-greased pan, taking care to keep the oven at a moderate even heat.

Molasses Cake.—1. Mix three cups of flour, one cup of sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, a teaspoonful of soda, three eggs and a little cinnamon and ginger.

Molasses Cake.—2. Take one cup of molasses, one cup of hot water with a teaspoonful of soda in it, a tablespoonful of butter or lard, a teaspoonful of ginger and two cups of flour; if lard is used, add a little salt; put the flour in a dish, make a hole and pour the molasses into it; then mix the butter melted into the molasses, and then the ginger; stir all together, and add the hot water with the soda in it, stir quickly and place at once in a moderate oven.

Molasses Cake.—3. Take two cups of molasses, half a cup of butter, one cup of water and a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in hot water; beat the molasses and butter together, put the soda in this, then the water, a teaspoonful of cinnamon and ginger, and flour enough to make a soft dough; warm the butter or lard, so that it will readily mix with the molasses.

Ginger Cakes.—Take two cups of molasses, shortening the size of an egg, one teaspoonful of soda, two tablespoonfuls of ginger and one cup of hot water; add enough flour to make it stiff.

Ice Cream Cake.—Mix two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, one cup of milk, a tablespoonful of butter, the whites of three eggs and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; divide and bake in two cakes. For icing, which adds very much to the attractive appearance, flavor the whites of two eggs with vanilla, and beat them up, adding gradually pulverized sugar until stiff.

Coffee Cake.—Mix five cups of flour, one cup of made coffee, one cup of sugar, half a cup of molasses, one cup of butter, and a teaspoonful of cloves; add raisins or currants, if they are agreeable to the taste, and four teaspoonfuls of baking powder.

Dutch Cake.—Take three pounds of flour, one pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, half a pound of lard, half a pound of raisins, one pound of currants, a quarter of a pound of citron, three eggs, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one grated nutmeg, one quart of milk and two cups of yeast; set a sponge of part of the flour with the other ingredients; and then add the remainder of the flour. This is a wholesome cake suitable for evening use.

Fruit Cake.—Mix three cups of sugar, six cups of flour, one cup of milk, two cups of butter, seven eggs, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one of salt, one pound of raisins, half a pound of citron, half a pound of currants, half a pound of figs, three teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, half a nutmeg. This will make three cakes; bake one and a half hours.

Crullers.—Mix one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of milk, one teaspoonful of soda, three eggs, and flour sufficient to roll out with ease; fry them floating in lard; flavor with nutmeg.

Cocoanut Cake.—Mix one quart of flour, one pound of sugar, three eggs, one pint of milk, a piece of butter the size of two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of baking powder, a little salt and one small cocoanut grated; flavor to suit the taste; bake in a moderate oven.

Snow-Flake Cake.—Mix one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of cornstarch, two cups of flour, the whites of seven eggs, a scant cup of cream and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; beat butter and sugar together; add the cornstarch and cream, and then the rest; beat the whites of the eggs to a froth, and then add them to the mixture after everything else; flavor with a few drops of bitter almond, or flavoring may be omitted entirely.

Sponge Cake.—Take six eggs, one and a half cups of sugar, one cup of flour, and one teaspoonful of baking powder; flavor with almond; beat the whites separately; add the yolks and sugar, and the juice of one lemon or a tablespoonful of vinegar; then add the yeast and flour, and finally the whites of the eggs; stir as little as possible.

Marble Cake.—For the White Portion: Use the whites of seven eggs, two cups of white sugar, one cup of butter, three cups of flour and half a cup of sweet milk; flavor with lemon or vanilla, and three teaspoonfuls of baking powder; cream the butter and sugar first; then add the white of the eggs, well beaten with the flour and yeast powder.

For the Dark Portion: Mix the yolks of seven eggs with one cup of butter, one of molasses, two cups of brown sugar, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, one cup of milk, and five cups of flour; put each part in turn in a cake pan; bake it in a moderate oven; allspice, nutmeg and cloves can be used if desired. The quantities given will make two large cakes.

Chocolate Cake.—Mix two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of milk, the yolks of five eggs and the whites of two eggs; mix two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder with three and a half cups of flour while dry; cream the sugar and butter, and add the rest; bake in jelly tins; prepare a mixture of the whites of three eggs, one and a half cups of pulverized sugar, three tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate, one teaspoonful of vanilla, all these ingredients being thoroughly mixed together; spread this between each two layers of the cake, and on top of the whole.

Doughnuts.—Mix one pint of milk, one teacup of melted lard, two teacups of brown sugar, one cup of yeast, three eggs, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon and one of salt; set a sponge and let it rise; then mix in flour enough to make a dough and set it to rise again; then knead and roll out; cut into cakes and fry in hot lard by letting them float in it.

Icing.—To ice a large cake, put eight ounces of powdered sugar into a deep dish with four spoonfuls of rice water and the whites of two eggs, beating and straining it; then whisk it well and it is ready to be put in the cake; set it in the oven a few minutes to harden.

Chocolate Icing.—Take a cup of milk, and a quarter of a pound of grated chocolate, one cup of powdered sugar, scald the milk and chocolate, and add the sugar, and pour this on the whites of two eggs after they are well beaten, and proceed as for ordinary icing.

SAUCES AND SALADS.

Lobster Salad.—Boil the lobster about half an hour; when it is cold take it from the shell, being careful to take out the vein in the back; to two heads of salad allow six pounds of lobster, one cup of melted butter, two tablespoonfuls of mustard mixed with a little vinegar and salt and pepper to taste; chop them up together and spread on a flat dish; then beat six eggs and mix with half a pint of vinegar; put this on the stove to thicken, stir it constantly, and when it has become cold spread it over the lobster dressing; the sauce may be served separately.

Mayonnaise Sauce.—Take one yolk of a raw egg, some salt, pepper and a little raw mustard; mix these together with a silver fork in a large plate; add salad oil slowly, and in the quantity used be guided by the taste; mix by stirring one way until quite thick and smooth; then add vinegar enough to thin it a little; if there is any difficulty in getting the oil to mix, add a few drops of vinegar from time to time and keep stirring.

Caper Sauce.—Pound a tablespoonful of fresh-boiled shrimps and a tablespoonful of capers; knead together three ounces of butter and a tablespoonful of baked flour, and stir them into the third of a pint of boiling water; add the pounded capers and shrimps, and a dessertspoonful of whole capers; boil for ten minutes, and serve.

Rice Sauce.—Soak a quarter of a pound of rice in a pint of milk, with a little pepper, an onion, and a little salt; when it is quite tender, remove the spice, rub it through a sieve into a stewpan, and boil it; if too thick add a small quantity of cream or milk. This is good for game.

Egg Sauce.—Mince two or three hard-boiled eggs, and mix them thoroughly together in white sauce.

Celery Sauce.—Cut some celery into inch lengths; fry it in butter until it begins to be tender; add a teaspoonful of flour, which may be allowed to brown, and half a pint of good broth or beef gravy; season with cayenne or black pepper, or other seasoning, as desired.

Drawn Butter.—Rub two teaspoonfuls of flour into a quarter of a pound of butter; add five tablespoonfuls of cold water, or the water any vegetable, such as asparagus, has been cooked in; let it simmer until smooth. If for fish, chopped boiled eggs and capers may be put in. If for boiled fowl, oysters may be put in while it is melting, and cooked through while it is simmering.

Parsley Sauce.—Wash a bunch of parsley in salted water, dip it twice into boiling water, and chop the leaves quite fine; knead a quarter of a pound of butter with a tablespoonful of baked flour, and stir it into the third of a pint of the water that a fowl has been cooked in; let it simmer five minutes; stir in a dessertspoonful of the chopped parsley; serve with fowl or fish. If with boiled fish, use in making the sauce the water the fish was boiled in.

Mint Sauce.—Look over and strip off the leaves of mint, and cut them as fine as possible with a sharp knife; use only the tender tips; to a cupful of chopped mint allow an equal quantity of sugar and half a cup of good vinegar. It should stand an hour before using.

Salad Dressing.—Boil three fresh eggs for ten minutes; when cold rub the yolks to a paste with a little pepper and salt, and teaspoonful of mustard, and a little sugar; mix in the beaten yolk of one egg; add by degrees four tablespoonfuls of salad (Lucca) oil, and, drop by drop, two teaspoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, and one and a half tablespoonfuls of vinegar, serve at once.

Chicken Salad.—Take two chickens, weighing six pounds, two bunches of celery; boil the chickens in very little water; cut into large pieces; dry the celery without washing; take two yolks of hard-boiled eggs, the yolk of one raw egg, and mix them together with one teaspoonful of dry mustard; add slowly half a bottle of oil, the juice of one lemon, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, a teaspoonful of salt and a little red pepper; put in a cold place just before using; mix it through the chicken; also two hard-boiled eggs cut fine, one tablespoonful of capers, and six olives cut fine; save a little dressing for the top.

Potato Salad.—Slice some fresh-boiled potatoes or some cold potatoes; dress them with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, precisely like any other salad, adding a little onion and parsley chopped fine. Use cream or melted butter if oil is not liked.

Tomato Salad.—Take ripe tomatoes and cut them into thin slices; sprinkle over them a small quantity of finely-chopped green onions; add salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil, if liked. The oil should be in the proportion of three tablespoonfuls to one of vinegar.

Anchovy Sauce.—Wash four anchovies in hot water, scrape them, and take out the bones; pound the fish to a smooth paste; mix with it a quarter of a grain of cayenne, the strained juice of half a lemon, and the third of a pint of cold water; put it into a saucepan, boil up, and strain; knead together four ounces of butter and a tablespoonful of baked flour, and stir it into the sauce; boil for ten minutes; add one tablespoonful of good cream, and serve at once.

Apple Sauce.—Pare, core and slice very thin half a dozen Juicy apples, and the rind of a lemon, and cook them till tender; beat the apples to a smooth pulp and remove the lemon peel; add a little butter, sugar and a little grated nutmeg.

Winter Salad.—Mix equal proportions of celery, boiled beet-root, raw white cabbage, and cold fowl or rabbit, all chopped fine, together; dress with mayonnaise sauce, and serve with a garnish of lettuce leaves. This is a delightful salad for persons with weak digestive organs. For very delicate persons omit the cabbage, as it is not very easily digested.

Water-Cress Salad.—Wash the cress and drain it well; chop a green onion, two radishes, one spoonful of grated horseradish and a few leaves of lettuce; season with a little salt and pepper, and plenty of oil and vinegar. This makes a crisp, delightful salad for table use.

VEGETABLES.

Mashed Potatoes.—Boil the potatoes, after peeling them and taking out the spots; let them lie a while in cold water; then put them on the stove in a saucepan with lukewarm water; when dry and mealy drain off the water and mash them fine with a potato-masher; add a small bit of butter, a little milk, and salt to taste; then beat to a foam with a fork; heap lightly in a dish, and serve at once. They should be cooked quickly. Never brown them in the oven.

Baked Potatoes.—Wash the potatoes carefully and bake in the skin; it will require an hour to bake large ones. They should be eaten with salt the moment they are done. They may be peeled and baked under meat of any kind; they are delicious this way. They should be basted once or twice with the drippings. Sweet potatoes may be roasted the same way.

Potato Croquettes.—Mash some fresh boiled potatoes, and add a little mace or nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and one beaten egg; make into little balls or rolls, and roll in egg and crumbs or cracker dust; fry in boiling lard; drain on brown paper, or before the fire.

Potato Chips.—Wash and peel the potatoes, and cut them into thin shavings; have ready boiling fat, and drop them into it; when done to a light brown drain them over or before the fire, and sprinkle fine salt over them; keep them crisp and serve hot.

Scalloped Potatoes.—Slice half a dish of cold boiled potatoes very thin; add half a pint of milk to them and four ounces of butter; cut into pieces, fill up the dish with bread crumbs or cracker dust, and about an ounce more of butter; add a little pepper and salt, and bake until brown.

Potato Cakes.—Take some mashed potatoes and mix a little flour with them; then make them into little patties and fry them over a hot fire until they are brown.

Potatoes a la Creme.—Put two ounces of butter into a saucepan with a dessertspoonful of flour, and some parsley and scallions, both chopped fine; salt and pepper to taste; mix together and add a little cream, and set on the fire, stirring constantly until it boils; cut the cold boiled potatoes into slices and put them into the saucepan with the mixture; boil again, and serve very hot.

Fried Raw Potatoes.—Peel and slice the potatoes into very thin slices; put them into cold water for a little while; dry with a towel, and put them into a frying pan with a little butter or lard, salt and pepper; cover down, and every little while turn them; when they are tender and a nice rich brown they are done. The grease should be drained from them when sent to the table.

Lyonnaise Potatoes.—Slice six cold boiled potatoes, chop up very fine an onion and a little parsley, enough to fill a teaspoon; put a tablespoonful of butter into a frying-pan, and fry the onion to a light brown; then add the potatoes, and fry them also to a light brown, turning them often; put them into a hot dish, stirring in the minced parsley, and pouring over them any butter that may be left in the pan. Potatoes prepared in this way are liked by almost everyone.

Carrots and Parsnips.—These should be washed and scraped, and boiled like turnips; young ones should be served whole, and large ones cut into quarters lengthwise; boil them tender; season with salt and pepper, and plain melted butter poured over them. Parsnips can be mashed or fried after being boiled. Beets can be used the same way, but they should not be scraped.

Cauliflower.—Wash and trim the cauliflower, and boil it in a bag; when tender break into pieces; place part of them in a dish, cover with butter, bread crumbs, and a little grated cheese; then add more cauliflower, and so on until the dish is full; the top should be covered with bread crumbs, cheese and butter; the last should be plentifully applied; bake to a golden brown.

Spinach.—Pick off the stem of each spinach leaf and avoid using that which is old or yellow; wash it in several waters and put it into a quart of boiling water with a little salt, press it down, and boil it rapidly for ten or twelve minutes; drain it through a sieve; place it in a dish and send it to the table to be eaten with vinegar, hard-boiled egg and mustard.

Green Peas.—The peas should be young, freshly gathered and freshly shelled; put them into lukewarm water and boil them rapidly; when they are tender put in a little salt and pepper, and serve with melted butter. Sugar and a sprig of mint may be added while cooking, if desired.

Asparagus.—Cut off the dry ends and scrape off the outer skin until you reach the tender part, or use very young asparagus; tie it up in a fine cloth; put it into plenty of boiling water, adding a little salt after it has boiled awhile; when done serve on nicely toasted bread, covering the whole with drawn butter. The toast may be omitted and vinegar may be used.

Mushrooms.—Clean and trim the roots of the mushrooms and dip them into melted butter; roll them in cracker dust and brown them in a quick oven; or cut them into quarters, wash them in several waters, and fry them slowly in butter with a little parsley, salt and pepper.

Hominy.—Put half a pound of hominy to soak over night, or put it to cook over a slow fire; then drain off the water and add a pint of milk. It makes a nice dish.

Baked Egg Plant.—Peel the egg plant and cut out a piece from the top; dig out the centre, thus removing the seeds; fill the cavity with a dressing like that for ducks, and replace the top piece; bake an hour, basting with a spoonful of butter melted in a cup of hot water, and dredging with flour after each basting. It should be served as soon as possible after it is prepared.

Egg Plant Fritters.—Peel the egg plant and take out the seeds; boil it in well-salted water for an hour; mash fine and press all the water off through a coarse cloth, and mix in a fritter batter and fry.

Macaroni.—Never wash macaroni. Break it into lengths of three or four inches and throw them into boiling water, allowing a quarter of a pound for every three or four persons; boil for half an hour, and just before it is done put in a little salt, and drain off the water. It may be served plain with tomato sauce, or with drawn butter. It may be baked with milk or grated cheese.

Stewed Tomatoes.—Scald some firm tomatoes and peel off the skin; place in a stewpan and cook slowly with a little water; when tender whip them fine, and season with butter, salt and pepper, and a little flour or cornstarch thickening; serve while hot.

Baked and Stuffed Tomatoes.—Select firm, ripe tomatoes and cut off a thin slice from the stem end; remove the green core and fill them with an onion chopped fine, a small piece of butter, pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of cracker dust, or bread crumbs; arrange them in a baking-pan; add a little water, and bake in a slow oven; serve them hot in the pan or a warmed dish.

String Beans.—Cut off the ends of the beans and pull off the tough strings; cut them into pieces; put them on in boiling water, with a little salt and carbonate of soda, to preserve their color, and boil them until tender; drain them and place them in a dish with a little salt, pepper and butter. Some persons like a little vinegar with them.

Lima Beans.—Shell and wash the beans, and if old, skin them; put them on to cook in boiling water, and when partly cooked add a little salt; drain them, and season with salt, pepper and a piece of butter; serve them hot in a covered dish.

Green Corn.—1. Husk two dozen ears of corn and remove all the silk, slightly cutting off the edge of the kernels with a sharp knife, and scraping the remainder; place in a pot with two cupfuls of milk, and cook slowly where there is no danger of burning, when ready for the table thin with a little more milk, and season in the dish with salt, pepper and butter to taste.

Green Corn.—2. Strip off all the husks except two or three of the tender inner leaves and clean carefully; then boil on the ear until tender, twelve to fifteen minutes being the time required for young corn; serve hot after removing the leaves.

Corn Fritters.—Take half a dozen ears of corn and free them of all the silk; grate the corn from the cobs, scraping them to get it all off; beat up three eggs very light and add it to the grated corn, then a gill of milk and two tablespoonfuls of flour, salt to taste, and half a teaspoonful of baking powder; put a little lard into a pan, and when hot allow a tablespoonful for each fritter and fry brown; do not have the lard too hot; serve immediately.

Beets.—Wash the beets, but do not peel or even prick them, as the color and sweetness would be lost; put them in boiling water; young beets will cook in two hours; old ones require five or six hours to cook well; peel them with the hand and cut them into thin slices, putting butter, salt and pepper on each slice. When for a pickle, put them into vinegar and a little salt.

Cabbage.—Wash and cut all the coarse sticks from each outside leaf; cut the head into quarters and boil an hour, or until tender; drain and serve as nearly whole as possible. Corned beef or ham, when cooked with it, give it a nice flavor. Serve with vinegar or a vegetable sauce.

Squash.—Peel a spring squash, take out the seeds and core, and cut it into pieces and put it on to boil in a little water; when tender press the water off through a coarse cloth, and then mash it, adding a spoonful of cream, a little butter, pepper and salt to taste; keep hot till used.

Boiled Onions.—Peel the onions and put them on to boil in boiling water; when they are tender pour the water off; add a little butter, pepper and salt to taste, and a little milk; boil them up again, and send to the table hot. They are nice served with turkey or chicken.

Dandelion.—Take the young leaves before the plants blossom or while in bud; wash them clean, and boil them in salted water. They are nice served like spinach. The dandelion is considered very healthy, and the slight bitterness is relished by most persons.

Succotash.—Cut the corn from the cobs of half a dozen ears and cook a little while; then add a pint of lima beans (which are best), or any green bean, and boil an hour in a quart of boiling water, with a little salt and pepper; let the water boil away until only a little remains; then add some milk; season with butter, and serve in a hot dish.

Boiled Rice.—Take a cup of rice, wash it, and put it into a boiler; cover it with water and cook fifteen minutes, stirring it if is likely to stick to the boiler, adding a little salt; then drain, put into a colander, cover again, and steam fifteen minutes. Rice cooked in this way will be white, the grains will swell to their full size, and will be dry and perfectly tender.

DESSERTS AND PUDDINGS.

Rice Pudding.—Take a cupful of rice, put it into a pudding-pan with two quarts of the best milk, half a cup of sugar, a little pinch of salt and half a nutmeg grated over the top; place it in a moderate oven, and as soon as it is brown on top stir it in, stirring the rice up from the bottom; repeat this several times, having it brown each time, but not burnt, and when the rice is tender, and the milk reduced to one quart, add a little piece of butter, and brown again on top; remove as soon as brown, and set away to cool.

Apple and Rice Pudding.—Take some rice, and milk enough to boil it soft; add a little sugar, and some lemon peel, and cinnamon; place it in a double boiler and let it stand over thirty minutes; make some apple sauce, and when the rice is done turn it out into a dish; hollow out the centre and fill it with the apple sauce; beat the whites of three eggs to a froth, and cover the apples with it; sift pulverized sugar over the top and brown it a little in the oven; then serve.

Custard.—Take a quart of new milk and six ounces of sugar; add eight well-beaten eggs and a little salt; flavor to taste, and fill cups with the custard and bake them.

Custard Cream.—Take one pint of cream and five eggs well beaten, five ounces of sugar and a little grated nutmeg; mix all together; place on the fire and stir constantly until it thickens, then remove it from the fire and flavor with pure extract of vanilla; put it in an ice-cream freezer and freeze it. The same mixture is used to fill cream puffs with.

Chocolate Cream Custard.—Scrape a quarter of a pound of chocolate and put it in a teacupful of water boiling hot; let it remain on the fire until dissolved; then add a little sugar, beat six or eight eggs light and save the whites of two; stir by degrees into a quart of milk alternately with the chocolate and three tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar; flavor with vanilla, and bake ten minutes in cups. This makes a most delicious pudding.

Apple Custard.—Take sour apples, peel, wash and cover them, and cook them in half a cupful of water until a little tender; then take them out, place them in a deep dish, and pour over them the plain custard mixture; then bake for half an hour.

Arrowroot Pudding.—Beat up the yolks of two eggs, boil one-third of a pint of milk with a little sugar; mix a dessertspoonful of arrowroot with a little cold milk until it forms a paste, and pour it into the boiling milk; when nearly cold beat in the eggs; put it into a basin, and boil it quickly for twenty minutes or bake it for half an hour, taking care not to let it burn.

Sago Pudding.—Soak two tablespoonfuls of sago in a little hot milk in a covered basin until soft; add a little grated nutmeg or lemon peel, sugar to taste, and a well-beaten egg; beat all together until thoroughly mixed; butter some cups and pour the pudding into them and boil it.

Plain Sago.—Put a tablespoonful of sago into a saucepan with half a pint of hot water; sweeten to taste, and, if desired, add a glass of port wine, stir it on the fire for a quarter of an hour; serve in a cup or glass. This is a wholesome and nutritious food.

Arrowroot Blanc-Mange.—Mix three tablespoonfuls of arrowroot with one tablespoonful of milk; boil one pint and a half of new milk, sweeten it, and flavor to taste; pour it over the moistened arrowroot and mix them well; put it over a slow fire until it is thoroughly cooked and thickened, stirring all the time; do not let it burn; pour into a mould, and let it stand till next day.

Tapioca Blanc-Mange.—Soak half a pound of tapioca in a pint of milk until a little soft; then boil until tender, adding sugar to taste, and shape it in a mould; turn it out and pour a little cream around it, jotted with jelly or some kind of jam. The former may be omitted, and lemon or almond may be used. Both ways it is very nice and much relished by the sick.

Tapioca Pudding.—Wash the tapioca and soak it in a quart of milk for two hours, setting it on the back of the stove to soak; beat up three eggs and one cup of sugar together, saving the whites for a meringue, if liked; melt a tablespoonful of butter, add a little salt, and stir into the milk; bake half an hour, or until it is nicely browned on top.

Tapioca Cream.—Take one teacupful of tapioca washed and soaked over night in one pint of warm water; add a little salt and a quart of milk in the morning, and boil in a double boiler for two hours; just before it is done add a little butter, a teaspoonful of vanilla, and three beaten eggs with a cup of sugar; beat the whites of two eggs separately, add a little pulverized sugar, and cover over the top; brown in the oven only a few minutes.

Bread Pudding.—Sweeten one quart of milk with a cup of sugar; a little grated nutmeg and a little salt; add three well-beaten eggs; cut the stale bread into slices and butter it, lay as many pieces on the top as there is room for, and bake it in a pudding-pan; serve a little warm or cold. Raisins may be added, and must be parboiled before.

Cornstarch Pudding.—Take two quarts of milk sweetened with one cup of sugar, place it in a double boiler, and when the milk boils have ready four tablespoonfuls of cornstarch wet with milk and stir it in; keep stirring so that it does not go in lumps; let it cook a while; then add two or three well-beaten eggs, stirring again until it sets; remove from the fire and flavor with vanilla before it cools; cover the top with a meringue and place it in the oven to brown a few minutes. It can be made without eggs if desired.

Oatmeal Pudding.—Mix two ounces of fine Scotch oatmeal in a quarter of a pint of milk, and to it a pint of boiling milk, sweeten to taste, and stir over the fire for ten minutes; then put in two ounces of sifted bread crumbs; stir until the mixture is stiff, then add one ounce of shred suet and one well-beaten egg; add a little flavoring or grated nutmeg; put the pudding into a buttered dish and bake slowly for an hour. It may be served hot or cold.

Cornmeal Pudding.—Stir one cup of cornmeal, a teaspoonful of salt and one cup of molasses together; boil some milk and add the mixture slowly; butter a pudding-dish and pour the pudding in it; set it in the oven and pour one cup of uncooked milk on top; bake three hours in a slow oven.

Bread and Butter Pudding.—Put in a pudding pan a layer of bread crumbs and a layer of tart apples pared, cored and sliced thin; thus alternate until the dish is nearly full; dissolve a cup of sugar and one teaspoonful of ground cinnamon in a pint of boiling water, and pour over the layers; let it stand until the crumbs swell; then put in the oven and bake three-quarters of an hour until brown. Serve with a liquid sauce. It can be made with slices of bread and butter.

Apple Float.—Take six good sour apples, stewed and made into sauce; let them cool, and add a teacupful of sugar, and flavor with vanilla and the beaten whites of three or four eggs. Serve at once.

Charlotte Russe.—1. Make a sponge cake; cut it into pieces to fit the bottom and sides of a Charlotte mould; whip a pint of rich cream to a stiff froth and fill the mould and let it stand on the ice to set. It is improved by the beaten whites of three eggs stirred into the cream. Flavor with vanilla or to suit the taste.

Charlotte Russe.—2. Make a pint of custard—two eggs to the pint of milk; then dissolve a box of gelatine in a pint of water and let it boil as in making jelly; strain each into the same vessel—a tin pan is best—and stir it gently all the while, until it gets cold. In the meantime, take a quart of cream, season with vanilla, sweeten with a pound of sugar, and churn it to a froth; skim the froth and stir it into the mixture as soon as it begins to thicken.


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Last Modified: Monday, 13-May-2013 15:31:47 EDT