Clayton's Quaker Cook-Book Part 9

Home-Made Lard.

Home-made lard is undoubtedly the best as well as cheapest. If leaf is not to be had, take 10 lbs of solid white pork, as fat as possible, which is quite as good, if not better; cut in pieces uniformly the size of your finger, and put in a vessel with a thick bottom--one of iron is preferable--and adding 1 pint of water, put on the range; keep tightly covered until the water has evaporated in steam, when leave off the cover, letting it cook slowly, until the sc.r.a.ps turn a light brown, when take off, and while still quite warm, strain through a colander, pressing the sc.r.a.ps hard with a potato-masher; pour the liquid into cans and set away. The next day it will be found snow-white, solid and of a fine and equal consistence; and for cooking purposes, quite as good as fresh churned b.u.t.ter in making biscuits, any kind of pastry, or frying eggs.

[In frying lard keep a careful watch and see that it does not scorch.]

New Jersey Sausage.

Take the very best pork you can get--one-third fat and two-thirds lean--and chop on a block with a kitchen cleaver. When half chopped, season with black pepper, salt and sage, rubbed through a sieve, and then finish the chopping; but do not cut the meat too fine, as in that case the juice of the meat will be lost. Make the mixture up into patties, and fry on a common pan, placed in the oven of the stove, taking care not to cook them hard. Veal is a good subst.i.tute for the lean pork in making these sausages, which are much better if made one day before cooking.

Pot-Pie.

The following I have found the best manner of making any kind of pot-pie. White meat, such as chicken, quail or nice veal, is decidedly the best for the purpose. Stew the meat until tender, in considerable liquid as when you put into the paste much of that will be absorbed. In making the paste take 1 quart of flour and 2 tablespoonfuls of baking powder, rubbed well into the flour, 1/4 pound b.u.t.ter or sweet lard, and a little salt; mix with milk or water into a soft dough; roll 1/2 an inch thick; cut to size, and lay in a steamer for 15 minutes to make light, then put in and around the stew; cooking slowly for ten minutes.

Curried Crab.

Put into a saucepan 1/4 pound b.u.t.ter with a little flour; cook together and stir till cool; then add a gill of cream, a little cayenne pepper, salt, and a dessert-spoonful of East India Curry Powder. Mix well together, and add 1 pound boiled crab meat, chopped fine; stir well together--make very hot and serve. The addition of a gla.s.s of white wine adds to the flavor of this curry.

To Toast Bread.

Cut bread in slices 1/2 an inch thick; first taking a thin crust from top, bottom and sides, or shave the loaf before cutting--otherwise the crust will scorch before the soft part is sufficiently toasted.

Cream Toast.

To make a delicious cream toast, mix well a teaspoonful of corn-starch with a little cold milk, and put in a stewpan with a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of an egg. Pour in hot milk, and stir two minutes, adding a little salt--a little sugar is also an improvement--and pour over the toast while hot.

Fritters.

Four eggs, well beaten; 1 quart of milk; 1 quart of flour; 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder; one tablespoonful sugar, and a little salt.

Cook in best lard, and serve with hard or liquid sauce, highly flavored with California brandy or white wine.

Hash.

It is a mistaken idea (labored under by many), that hash can be made of waste material, that would otherwise be thrown away. This is a most excellent and palatable dish if properly prepared. Take the shank, or other parts of good beef you may have at hand, and boil, with as little water as possible, until quite tender, and let stand until quite cold.

Then take of potatoes, that have been peeled before boiling, one-third the amount of the meat used, and chop moderately fine, adding plenty of pepper and salt, to taste. Next, chop two or three onions fine, and stew them in some of the liquid in which the meat was boiled, dredging in a little flour, and when thoroughly done, put in the hash, and chop and mix thoroughly. If you think the ma.s.s requires moistening add a little of the fat and juice. Put the whole in a pan, and bake in a quick oven until slightly browned at top and bottom.

Should you have good corned-beef--not too salt--it is very nice made in this manner. Use the marrow from the bones in making hash.

Hashed Potatoes with Eggs.

Chop fine 8 or 10 cold boiled potatoes; heat a pan (cast-iron is preferable,) quite hot; put in b.u.t.ter the size of an egg, and as soon as melted add the potatoes; salt and pepper; slightly stirring frequently, and, when heated thoroughly, stir in four well-beaten eggs. Serve on a hot dish.

Baked Macaroni.

Break the macaroni rather short; wash and put in salted water; boil about twenty minutes. Drain off the water, replace it with a cup of good milk and 1 tablespoonful of best b.u.t.ter, and as soon as boiling hot put in a baking-dish. If you like cheese, grate over it the best California article--old cheese should never be used--and bake to a light brown.

For stewed macaroni omit the baking and the cheese, if you like.

Drawn-b.u.t.ter.

To make drawn-b.u.t.ter, take two tablespoonfuls of flour; good b.u.t.ter, the size of an egg; a little milk, and make to a smooth paste. Then work in slowly one-half pint of water, until the flour is cooked. Season to taste. The foregoing will be found a good basis for nearly all hot sauces, for fish, beet, and other vegetables, as well as for puddings.

Spiced Currants.

Two boxes of currants, washed and stemmed; 3 pounds sugar, 1 tablespoonful allspice, 1 tablespoonful of cloves, 1 tablespoonful cinnamon; boil half-an-hour.

The Best Method of Canning Fruits.

There are various modes of canning fruits, almost every housekeeper having a method of her own. For the benefit of those who are at loss in this particular, we give the following mode--which we fully endorse as the best within our knowledge--made use of by Mrs. George W. Ladd, of Bradford, Ma.s.sachusetts, whose fruits, prepared in this way, have repeatedly taken the first premium at the Agricultural Fair, held in the Old Bay State. This lady certainly deserves the thanks of all interested in this important matter, for her liberality in giving the public the benefit of her knowledge and experience in this line, as detailed in the following, published in the _New York Graphic_ of August 15, 1883:

"As the season of ripe fruit advances, I prepare such quant.i.ties of syrup as I think I may need, in this way: Three pounds of granulated sugar to one gallon of water and boil twenty minutes; this I put in gla.s.s jars, when cool, and set away for future use. Peaches, quinces, pears, apples, plums, pine apples, rhubarb, crab apples, and, in fact, all fruits of this kind, I peel, quarter and place in a dish of cold water (to prevent discoloration), until I have prepared enough to fill a jar: I then pack them solid as possible in a jar, and then fill the jar with the syrup previously prepared. I then place a wire stand in the bottom of my preserving kettle, on which to place the jar, then fill the kettle with cold water until the jar is two-thirds covered; leave the jar open, but cover the kettle and boil until the fruit is sufficiently soft; have ready a little boiling syrup, if needed, to fill the jar full to overflowing. Then place the rubber band around the neck of the jar and screw the cover on as tightly as possible; then in from three to five minutes give the cover another turn, in order to be sure it is air tight, and you will have no mortal trouble with it. I use Mason's jars with metallic porcelain covers."

Preparing Quinces for Canning or Preserving.

Quinces for canning or preserving should be kept in a dry place for thirty days after taking from the trees, in order to give them richness and flavor. Peel and cut to the proper size, carefully saving skins and cores. Put the last named in a porcelain kettle and boil until quite tender, when strain through a cotton-bag; afterwards put the juice back in the kettle, and add sugar as directed in the directions for canning fruit. Boil slowly for half-an-hour, taking off the sc.u.m as it rises, then set away to cool, and can the fruit as directed in the receipt for canning.

Clayton's Monmouth Sauce.

In making this delightful ketchup, take 25 pounds of fresh, or two 8 lb.

cans of tomatoes, and slice, not too thin, adding five medium sized onions cut fine. Put these, with plenty of salt, in a porcelain kettle; adding, with a handful of hot green peppers, or a less quant.i.ty, if dried, 1 ounce of white ginger, chopped fine, 1 ounce of horse-radish, and 1/2 ounce each of ground cloves and allspice, and 1 lemon, with seeds removed and cut small. After letting these boil for three hours, work through a sieve and return to the kettle along with a pint of wine vinegar, 2 tablespoonfuls sugar, 2 of good mustard, a teacupful of Challenge or Worcesters.h.i.+re Sauce, and let boil for 2 or 3 minutes, and set off. To prevent fermentation, stir in a teacupful of high-proof California brandy. If too thick, when cold reduce with vinegar.

To Prepare Mustard for the Table.

Take 1/2 pound best mustard and enough wine vinegar, mixed with 1/3 boiling water, 1 large teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of sugar, juice of half a lemon, and mix to a thin batter, and put in a common gla.s.s jar and keep stopped tight. If pure mustard is used, treated in this way, it will keep good for months.

[If you desire the best article of mustard, I think E. R. Durkee & Co's is the best I have ever used, although Colman's ranks equally high, if you can get the genuine unadulterated article, which can be had by procuring Crosse & Blackwell's London brand, for which Messrs. Richards and Harrison are the San Francisco agents.]

Mint Sauce.

Into a teacupful of hot vinegar, in which has been dissolved sufficient sugar to make slightly sweet, add a handful of mint chopped quite fine.

Serve hot.