The American Housewife Part 3

54. _Sauce for Turtle, or Calf's Head._

To half a pint of hot melted b.u.t.ter, or beef gravy, put the juice and grated rind of half a lemon, a little sage, basil, or sweet marjoram, a little cayenne, or black pepper, and salt. Add a wine gla.s.s of white wine just before you take it up.

55. _Apple and Cranberry Sauce._

Pare and quarter the apples--if not tart, stew them in cider--if tart enough, stew them in water. When stewed soft, put in a small piece of b.u.t.ter, and sweeten it to the taste, with sugar. Another way, which is very good, is to boil the apples, without paring them, with a few quinces and mola.s.ses, in new cider, till reduced to half the quant.i.ty.

When cool, strain the sauce. This kind of sauce will keep good several months. It makes very good plain pies, with the addition of a little cinnamon or cloves. To make cranberry sauce, nothing more is necessary than to stew the cranberries till soft; then stir in sugar and mola.s.ses to sweeten it. Let the sugar scald in it a few minutes. Strain it if you like--it is very good without straining.

56. _Pudding Sauce._

Stir to a cream a tea cup of b.u.t.ter, with two of brown sugar, then add a wine gla.s.s of wine, or cider--flavor it with nutmeg, rose-water, or essence of lemon. If you wish to have it liquid, heat two-thirds of a pint of water boiling hot, mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, and stir it into the boiling water. As soon as its boils up well, stir it into the b.u.t.ter and sugar.

57. _Tomato Soy._

Take ripe tomatos, and p.r.i.c.k them with a fork--lay them in a deep dish, and to each layer put a layer of salt. Let them remain in it four or five days, then take them out of the salt, and put them in vinegar and water for one night. Drain off the vinegar, and to each peck of tomatos put half a pint of mustard seed, half an ounce of cloves, and the same quant.i.ty of pepper. The tomatos should be put in a jar, with a layer of sliced onions to each layer of the tomatos, and the spices sprinkled over each layer. In ten days, they will be in good eating order.

58. _Tomato Catsup._

To a gallon of ripe tomatos, put four table spoonsful of salt, four of ground black pepper, three table spoonsful of ground mustard, half a table spoonful of allspice, half a spoonful of cloves, six red peppers, ground fine--simmer the whole slowly, with a pint of vinegar, three or four hours--then strain it through a sieve, bottle and cork it tight.

The catsup should be made in a tin utensil, and the later in the season it is made, the less liable it will be to spoil.

59. _Mushroom Catsup._

Put a layer of fresh mushrooms in a deep dish, sprinkle a little salt over them, then put in another layer of fresh mushrooms, and salt, and so on till you get in all the mushrooms. Let them remain several days--then mash them fine, and to each quart put a table spoonful of vinegar, half a tea spoonful of black pepper, and a quarter of a tea spoonful of cloves--turn it into a stone jar, set the jar in a pot of boiling water, and let it boil two hours, then strain it without squeezing the mushrooms. Boil the juice a quarter of an hour, skim it well, let it stand a few hours to settle, then turn it off carefully through a sieve, bottle and cork it tight. Keep it in a cool place.

60. _Walnut Catsup._

Procure the walnuts by the last of June--keep them in salt and water for a week, then bruise them, and turn boiling vinegar on them. Let them remain covered with vinegar for several days, stirring them up each day--then boil them a quarter of an hour with a little more vinegar, strain it through a thick cloth, so that none of the coa.r.s.e particles of the walnuts will go through--season the vinegar highly with cloves, allspice, pepper and salt. Boil the whole a few minutes, then bottle and cork it tight. Keep it in a cool place.

61. _Curry Powder._

Mix an ounce of ginger, one of mustard, one of pepper, three of coriander seed, the same quant.i.ty of turmeric, a quarter of an ounce of cayenne pepper, half an ounce of cardamums, and the same of c.u.mmin seed and cinnamon. Pound the whole fine, sift, and keep it in a bottle corked tight.

62. _Essence of Celery._

Steep an ounce of celery seed in half a pint of brandy, or vinegar. A few drops of this will give a fine flavor to soups, and sauce for fowls.

63. _Soup Herb Spirit._

Those who like a variety of herbs in soup, will find it very convenient to have the following mixture. Take when in their prime, thyme, sweet marjoram, sweet basil, and summer savory. When thoroughly dried, pound and sift them. Steep them in brandy for a fortnight, the spirit will then be fit for use.

64. _Plain Veal Soup._

A leg of veal, after enough has been cut off for cutlets, makes a soup nearly as good as calf's head. Boil it with a cup two thirds full of rice, a pound and a half of pork--season it with salt, pepper, and sweet herbs, if you like. A little celery boiled in it gives the soup a fine flavor. Some people like onions, carrots, and pa.r.s.ely boiled in it. If you wish for b.a.l.l.s in the soup, chop veal and a little raw salt pork fine, mix it with a few bread crumbs, and a couple of eggs. Season it with salt and pepper--add a little curry powder if you like, do it up into small b.a.l.l.s, and boil them in the soup. The veal should be taken up before the soup is seasoned. Just before the soup is taken up, put in a couple of slices of toast, cut into small pieces. If you do not like your soup fat, let the liquor remain till the day after you have boiled the meat, and skim off the fat before heating the liquor. The shoulder of veal makes a good soup.

65. _Mock Turtle, or Calf's Head Soup._

Boil the head until perfectly tender--then take it out, strain the liquor, and set it away until the next day--then skim off the fat, cut up the meat, together with the lights, and put it into the liquor, put it on the fire, and season it with salt, pepper, cloves, and mace--add onions and sweet herbs, if you like--stew it gently for half an hour.

Just before you take it up, add half a pint of white wine. For the b.a.l.l.s, chop lean veal fine, with a little salt pork, add the brains, and season it with salt, pepper, cloves, mace, sweet herbs or curry powder, make it up into b.a.l.l.s about the size of half an egg, boil part in the soup, and fry the remainder, and put them in a dish by themselves.

66. _Beef or Black Soup._

The shank of beef is the best part for soup--cold roast beef bones, and beef steak, make very good soup. Boil the shank four or five hours in water, enough to cover it. Half an hour before the soup is put on the table, take up the meat, thicken the soup with scorched flour, mixed with cold water, season it with salt, pepper, cloves, mace, a little walnut, or tomato catsup improves it, put in sweet herbs or herb spirit if you like. Some cooks boil onions in the soup, but as they are very disagreeable to many persons, it is better to boil and serve them up in a dish by themselves. Make force meat b.a.l.l.s of part of the beef and pork, season them with mace, cloves, pepper, and salt, and boil them in the soup fifteen minutes.

67. _Chicken or Turkey Soup._

The liquor that a turkey or chicken is boiled in, makes a good soup. If you do not like your soup fat, let the liquor remain till the day after the poultry has been boiled in it, then skim off the fat, set it where it will boil. If there was not any rice boiled with the meat, put in half a tea cup full, when the liquor boils, or slice up a few potatoes and put in--season it with salt and pepper, sweet herbs, and a little celery boiled in it improves it. Toast bread or crackers, and put them in the soup when you take it up.

68. _Oyster Soup._

Separate the oysters from the liquor, to each quart of the liquor, put a pint of milk or water, set it on the fire with the oysters. Mix a heaping table spoonful of flour with a little water, and stir it into the liquor as soon as it boils. Season it with salt, pepper, and a little walnut, or b.u.t.ternut vinegar, if you have it, if not, common vinegar may be subst.i.tuted. Put in a small lump of b.u.t.ter, and turn it as soon as it boils up again on to b.u.t.tered toast, cut into small pieces.

69. _Pea Soup._

If you make your soup of dry peas, soak them over night, in a warm place, using a quart of water to each quart of the peas. Early the next morning boil them an hour. Boil with them a tea spoonful of saleratus, eight or ten minutes, then take them out of the water they were soaking in, put them into fresh water, with a pound of salt pork, and boil it till the peas are soft, which will be in the course of three or four hours. Green peas for soup require no soaking, and boiling only long enough to have the pork get thoroughly cooked, which will be in the course of an hour.

70. _Portable Soup._

Take beef or veal soup, and let it get perfectly cold, then skim off every particle of the grease. Set it on the fire, and let it boil till of a thick glutinous consistence. Care should be taken that it does not burn. Season it highly with salt, pepper, cloves and mace--add a little wine or brandy, and then turn it on to earthen platters. It should not be more than a quarter of an inch in thickness. Let it remain until cold, then cut it in pieces three inches square, set them in the sun to dry, turning them frequently. When perfectly dry, put them in an earthen or tin vessel, having a layer of white paper between each layer. These, if the directions are strictly attended to, will keep good a long time.

Whenever you wish to make a soup of them, nothing more is necessary, than to put a quart of water to one of the cakes, and heat it very hot.

71. _To Boil Eggs._

They should be put into boiling water, and if you wish to have them soft, boil them only three minutes. If you wish to have them hard enough to cut in slices, boil them five minutes. Another way which is very nice, is to break the sh.e.l.ls, and drop the eggs into a pan of scalding hot water, let it stand till the white has set, then put the pan on a moderate fire, when the water boils up, the eggs are cooked sufficiently. Eggs look very prettily cooked in this way, the yelk being just visible through the white. If you do not use the eggs for a garnish, serve them up with burnt b.u.t.ter. See receipt for making, No.

42.

72. _Omelet._

Beat the eggs to a froth, and to a dozen of eggs put three ounces of finely minced boiled ham, beef, or veal; if the latter meat is used, add a little salt. Melt a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, mix a little of it with the eggs--it should be just lukewarm. Set the remainder of the b.u.t.ter on the fire, in a frying or tin pan, when quite hot, turn in the eggs beaten to a froth, stir them until they begin to set. When brown on the under side, it is sufficiently cooked. The omelet should be cooked on a moderate fire, and in a pan small enough, to have the omelet an inch thick. When you take them up, lay a flat dish on them, then turn the pan upside down.