Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus Part 20

-DATE MERINGUE---Beat the whites of five eggs until stiff, add three rounding tablespoons of powdered sugar, and beat again. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice and a half a pound of stoned and chopped dates. Turn into a b.u.t.tered baking dish and bake fifteen minutes in a moderate oven.

Serve with a boiled custard.

-EGG SOUFFLE---Make a sauce from one cup of hot milk and two level tablespoons each of b.u.t.ter and flour, cooked together five minutes in a double boiler. Add the yolks of four eggs beaten well, stir enough to mix well and remove from the fire. Add half a level teaspoon of salt and a few grains of cayenne. Fold in the whites of the eggs beaten stiff, turn into a b.u.t.tered dish, set in a pan of hot water, and bake in a slow oven until firm. Serve in the same dish.

-FRUIT PUDDING---One and one-half cups flour, two and one-half cups raisins, one-half cup mola.s.ses, one-half cup milk, two tablespoons b.u.t.ter, one teaspoon cinnamon, one-half teaspoon allspice, one-half teaspoon nutmeg, one-half teaspoon salt, mix all together, one-half teaspoon soda, dissolved in hot water, steam two hours. Hard or liquid sauce, or both.

-INDIAN TAPIOCA PUDDING---One-third cup tapioca, one-fourth cup cornmeal, one quart scalded milk, half cup mola.s.ses, two tablespoons b.u.t.ter, one-half teaspoon salt, one teaspoon ginger and cinnamon mixed, one cup cold milk. Soak the tapioca in cold water for one hour, then drain. Pour the hot milk on to the cornmeal gradually. Add the tapioca and cook in double boiler until transparent. Add mola.s.ses, b.u.t.ter, salt, and spice, and turn into a b.u.t.tered baking dish. Pour the cold milk over the top and bake for one hour in a moderate oven.

-LEMON MERINGUE PUDDING---Soak one cup of fine breadcrumbs in two cups of milk until soft. Beat one-quarter cup of b.u.t.ter and one-half of sugar together until greasy, stir all into the milk and crumbs. Grate a little yellow lemon peel over the top and pour into a b.u.t.tered baking dish. Set in a moderate oven until firm and slightly browned. Make a meringue of the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs and four level tablespoons of powdered sugar. Spread over the pudding, return to the oven and color a little.

-LEMON PUDDING---Three eggs, one scant cup sugar, one lemon juice and rind, two cups of milk, two liberal tablespoons cornstarch, one heaping teaspoon b.u.t.ter. Scald the milk and stir in the cornstarch, stirring all the time until it thickens well, add the b.u.t.ter and set aside to cool.

When cool beat the eggs, light; add sugar, the lemon juice and grated rind, and whip in a great spoonful at a time, the stiffened cornstarch and milk. Bake in a b.u.t.tered dish and eat cold.

-LITTLE STEAMED PUDDING---Cream one-quarter cup b.u.t.ter with one-half cup of sugar, add one-quarter cup milk, then one cup of flour sifted with two teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt, and last fold in the stiffly beaten whites of three eggs. Have some small molds or cups b.u.t.tered, fill half full with the batter, cover with b.u.t.tered paper, and steam three-quarters of an hour. Serve hot with a sauce.

-NEW HAMPs.h.i.+RE INDIAN MEAL PUDDING---Bring a quart of milk to a boil, then sprinkle in slowly about a cup and a quarter of yellow meal, stirring constantly. (An exact rule for the meal cannot be given, as some swells more than others.) As soon as the milk is thickened take from the fire and cool slightly before adding three-quarters of a cup of mola.s.ses, half a teaspoonful salt and a tablespoonful ginger. Beat the mixture until smooth, and lastly turn in a quart of cold milk, stirring very little. Pour into a well greased pudding-dish and set in a very slow oven. This pudding needs about five hours of very slow baking to insure its becoming creamy, instead of hard and lumpy. The batter, after the cold milk is added should be about the consistency of pancake batter. Serve with cream or maple syrup.

-ORANGE PUDDING---Take one cup of fine stale breadcrumbs, not dried, and moisten them with as much milk as they will absorb and become thoroughly softened. Beat the yolks of four eggs with the whites of two, add four tablespoons of sugar and the grated peel of one orange, using of course only the outer cells. Stir this into the softened crumbs, then beat the other two whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture. Turn it into a well b.u.t.tered mold and steam it two hours. Turn out into a hot dish and serve with orange sauce.

-PEACH TAPIOCA---Prepare a dish of tapioca in the usual way, into a b.u.t.tered pudding dish put a layer of cooked and sweetened tapioca, then a layer of peaches, fresh or canned. Next add another layer of tapioca, then more peaches, and so on until the dish is full. Flavor with lemon and sprinkle three-fourths of a cup of sugar over all, then bake in a very hot oven until a light brown.

-RASPBERRY DUMPLINGS---Wash one cup of rice and put into the double boiler. Pour over it two cups of boiling water, add one-half teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of sugar and cook thirty minutes or until soft.

Have some small pudding cloths about twelve inches square, wring them out of hot water and lay them over a small half pint bowl. Spread the rice one-third of an inch thick over the cloth, and fill the center with fresh raspberries. Draw the cloth around until the rice covers the berries and they are good round shape. Tie the ends of the cloth firmly, drop them into boiling water and cook twenty minutes. Remove the cloth and serve with lemon sauce.

-SPOON PUDDING---Cream one tablespoonful b.u.t.ter with two tablespoonfuls sugar. Add two tablespoonfuls flour, pinch of salt, one tablespoonful cornstarch, beaten yolk of one egg and tablespoonful of cream. Beat well, and lastly add beaten white of egg and one teaspoonful baking powder. Pour over berries and steam forty minutes. Serve with whipped cream.

-SQUASH PUDDING---One pint of finely mashed cooked squash, one cup of sugar, one teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a little salt, the juice and grated rind of one lemon, add slowly one quart of boiling milk, stirring well, and when a little cooled, add five well beaten eggs. Bake in a pudding dish set in a pan of hot water, in a moderate oven, until firm in the center. Serve with cream.

-STEAMED BERRY PUDDING---Sift two cups of flour with four teaspoons of baking powder, rub in a rounding tablespoon of b.u.t.ter, add two beaten eggs, one cup of milk, one-half cup of sugar, and last two cups of blueberries. The berries should be rinsed in cold water, shaken in a cheese cloth until dry and then roiled in flour before adding. Pour into a pudding mold, and steam one and one-quarter hours. Serve with liquid sauce.

-STEAMED PUDDING---Beat one-half cup of b.u.t.ter with one cup of sugar to a cream, add two beaten eggs and cup of flour sifted with one teaspoon each of cinnamon and soda, two cups of breadcrumbs, soaked in one cup of sour milk. Add one cup of chopped and seeded raisins and one-half cup of chopped dates. Steam two hours and serve with whipped cream.

-TAPIOCA MERINGUE---Soak one-half cup granulated tapioca in a pint of cold water for half an hour. Cook slowly twenty minutes until transparent. If too thick, add a little more boiling water. Boil one quart of milk in a farina kettle with a pinch of salt and the yellow rind of half lemon. Beat the yolks of four eggs with a cup of sugar, add slowly to the milk, stirring until smooth and creamy, but do not allow it to boil. When thickened, remove from the fire, add a teaspoonful flavoring and blend thoroughly. Whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth with three tablespoonfuls powdered sugar and a teaspoonful flavoring, spread over the top of the pudding which should have been poured in the serving dish and set in a coolish oven to puff and color a golden yellow.

-TAPIOCA PUDDING---Cover one cup of the flake tapioca with cold water and let it stand two hours. Stir occasionally with a fork to separate the lumps. Put in a farina kettle with a pint and a half water.

Slice three tart apples and put in with the tapioca, together with sugar to sweeten to taste. Stir all together and cook until the apples are soft and the tapioca clear. Serve hot or cold. Peaches may be used in place of the apple. Serve with cream.

-TAPIOCA SOUFFLE---Soak three tablespoonfuls pearl tapioca in water to cover for three or four hours. Then add a quart of milk and cook until the tapioca is perfectly clear and the milk thickened. It will take about twenty minutes, and unless you use the farina kettle, must be stirred constantly. Add the yolks of four eggs beaten with two-thirds cup sugar and cook two or three minutes, stirring steadily. Whip the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth, fold through the cooked cream, and take directly from the fire. Flavor with lemon or vanilla and bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. Chill and serve. This may also be served as a pudding without the final baking.

-WHOLE WHEAT PUDDING---Put one cup of milk, one-half cup of mola.s.ses, two cups of graham or whole wheat flour, one cup of chopped raisins and half a saltspoon of salt into a bowl and add one level teaspoon of soda, dissolved in a tablespoon of warm water, beat hard for three minutes.

Pour the thin batter into a b.u.t.tered pudding mold and steam two and a half hours. Serve with a lemon sauce or cream.

-YORKs.h.i.+RE PUDDING---Take an equal number of eggs and tablespoonful of sifted flour and when the eggs are well beaten mix them in with the flour, add some salt and a little grated nutmeg and then pour in as much new milk as will make a batter of the consistency of cream, stir the batter with a fork well for ten minutes and then put in at once into a baking tin, which must be very hot, containing a couple of tablespoons of hot drippings. Set the pudding in oven to bake or before the fire under the roasting meat. When ready to serve cut the pudding into squares and send to the table on a separate dish.

SAUCE FOR PUDDINGS

-FRUIT SYRUP SAUCE---One cup fruit syrup, one-half cup sugar, one teaspoon b.u.t.ter. Use the syrup from apricots, peaches, cherries, quinces or any fruit you prefer. The amount of sugar will depend upon the acidity of the fruit. Mix the cornstarch with the sugar, add the syrup and boil all together five minutes. Add the b.u.t.ter last.

-LEMON SAUCE---Grate the rind and squeeze the juice of one lemon. Mix together three teaspoons cornstarch, one cup of sugar and two cups of boiling water, and cook ten minutes, stirring constantly. Add the lemon rind and juice and one teaspoon of b.u.t.ter.

-LEMON SAUCE---Mix three dessert spoons of cornstarch with one cup of sugar, pinch of salt, in a saucepan, pour on two cups boiling water and stir quickly as it thickens. When it is smooth set it back where it will simply bubble and simmer, and stir occasionally. Add the grated rind and juice of one lemon and one rounding tablespoon b.u.t.ter. If this is too thick add more hot water as it thickens in cooling, and you want it thin enough to pour easily.

-LEMON SAUCE---Mix three tablespoons of cornstarch with one cup of cold water and turn on one cup of boiling water. Boil ten minutes, then add one cup of sugar, the juice and grated yellow rind of one lemon and two rounding tablespoons of b.u.t.ter.

-LEMON SAUCE FOR FRITTERS---Mix four level teaspoons of cornstarch with one cup of sugar, and stir at once into two cups of boiling water, add the juice and grated yellow rind of one lemon and cook six minutes, add three level tablespoons of b.u.t.ter.

-ORANGE SAUCE No. 1---Mix one and a half tablespoons of cornstarch with one cup of sugar, and stir it into one pint of boiling water. Let it cook quickly and stir as it thickens, and after ten minutes add two tablespoons of b.u.t.ter and one-half cup of orange juice. Cook two minutes longer then serve.

-ORANGE SAUCE No. 2---Chip the yellow rind from an orange and squeeze the juice over it. Let stand half an hour. Stir one-quarter cup of flour into one cup of sugar and turn into two cups of boiling water. Cook ten minutes, add a pinch of salt, the orange rind and juice, stir and strain.

-RASPBERRY SAUCE FOR ICE CREAM---If you think that a good ice cream is yet not quite fine enough, pour a raspberry sauce over each portion as served. Add one-quarter cup of sugar to one cup of raspberry juice prepared as for jelly-making, and simmer five minutes. Add a rounding teaspoon of arrow-root made smooth in one tablespoon of cold water, and cook five minutes. Now add one tablespoon of strained lemon juice and let boil up once.

-SAUCE FOR CHERRY PUDDING---Put two cups of cherry juice, or juice and water, into a saucepan, stir in three level tablespoons of corn starch and cook fifteen minutes. Add two-thirds cup of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

-SAUCE FOR BATTER PUDDING---Beat together in a bowl three rounding tablespoons of sugar, two level tablespoons of b.u.t.ter and one of flour.

When the mixture is white add one-half cup of boiling water and stir until all is well melted. Add a little lemon juice and serve.