THE LIBRARY OF

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

The Gastronomy Collection of George Holl

AGRIC.

LIBRARY

; 4- *.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

A COLLECTION OF CULINARY RECIPES

From Leading Chefs and Noted Creole House¬ wives , Who Have Made New Orleans Famous for Its Cuisine

5

SECOND EDITION

NEW ORLEANS:

F. F. HANSELL & BRO., Ltd.

COPYRIGHT

1885

HAMMOND PRES3 W. B. CONKEY COMPANY CHICAGO

ri oX

INTRODUCTION

“La Cuisine Creole” (Creole cookery) partakes of the nature of its birthplace — New Orleans — which is cosmopolitan in its nature, blending the characteristics of the American, French, Spanish, Italian, West Indian and Mexican. In this compilation will be found many original recipes and other valuable ones heretofore un¬ published, notably those of Combo file, Bouille-abaisse, Courtbouillon, Jambolaya, Salade a la Russe, Bisque of Cray-fish a la Creole, Pusse Cafe, Cafe brule, Brulot, together with many confections and delicacies for the sick, including a number of mixed drinks. Much do¬ mestic contentment depends upon the successful prepa¬ ration of the meal; and as food rendered indigestible through ignorance in cooking often creates discord and unhappiness, it behooves the young housekeeper to learn the art of cooking.

It is the author’s endeavor to present to her a number of recipes all thoroughly tested by experience, and em¬ bracing the entire field of the “Cuisine,” set forth in such clear, concise terms, as to be readily understood and easily made practicable, thereby unveiling the mysteries which surround her, upon the entree into the kitchen. Economy and simplicity govern “La Cuisine Creole ’ 9 ; and its many savory dishes are rendered palat¬ able more as the result of care in their preparation than any great skill or expensive outlay in the selection of materials. The Creole housewife often makes delicious morceaux from the things usually thrown away by the extravagant servant. She is proud of her art, and de¬ servedly receives the compliments of her friends. This volume will be found quite different from the average cook-book in its treatment of recipes, and is the only one in print containing dishes peculiar to “la Cuisine Creole.”

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2006 with funding from Microsoft Corporation

https://archive.org/details/lacuisinecreolecOOhearrich

LA CUISINE CREOLE

SOUP

Soup being the first course served at all ordinary din¬ ners, we make it the basis for preliminary remarks. Nothing more palatable than good, well-made soup, and nothing less appetising than poor soup. Now to attain perfection in any line, care and attention are requisite, careful study a necessity, and application the moving force. Hence, cooking in all its branches should be studied as a science, and not be looked upon as a hap¬ hazard mode of getting through life. Cooking is in a great measure a chemical process, and the ingredients of certain dishes should be as carefully weighed and tested as though emanating from the laboratory. Few female cooks think of this, but men with their superior instinctive reasoning power are more governed by law and abide more closely to rule; therefore, are better cooks, and command higher prices for services.

Now, with regard to soup making, the first care is to have the fire brisk, the vessel in which it is cooked thoroughly cleaned and free from odor. To insure this, keep one vessel sacred to soup as nearly as possible ; and after serving wash the pot with potash water, or take a piece of washing soda the size of a nutmeg, dissolve in

2

LA CUISINE CREOLE

hot water and then cleanse the vessel. A good workman is known by his tools, so also a good cook will look well to the utensils before commencing operations. Good results follow carefulness.

Soup must have time to cook, and should always boil' gently, that the meat may become tender, and give, out its juices. Allow a quart of water and a teaspoonful of salt for each pound of meat. Soup meat must always be put down in cold water. Skim well before it comes to the boiling point, and again skim off superfluous fat be¬ fore putting in the vegetables. The vegetables most used in soups are carrots, leeks, parsley, turnip, celery, tomatoes, okras, cabbage, cauliflower, peas and potatoes.

One large leek, two carrots, one bunch of parsley, two turnips and a potato, will be enough for one pot of soup. One head of celery, two leeks, two turnips, and five or six small potatoes will be enough another time. Six tomatoes skinned, the juice strained from the seeds, a leek, a bunch of parsley, and six potatoes will answer for another style ; a carrot, some cabbage, toma¬ toes, and potatoes will do another time. Okra alone is vegetable enough for a gombo, unless onion is liked with it. Green peas, lettuce, and new potatoes are enough for spring lamb soup. Vermicelli and macaroni are for chicken, lamb or veal soup, with the addition of onion if liked.

It is well to prepare the vegetables when the meat is put over the fire to boil; allow a quart of water to a pound of meat. Trim and scrape carrots, then cut or grate them. Wash parsley and cut it small. Pare tur¬ nips and cut them in slices a quarter of an inch thick. Cut leeks in thick slices. Cut celery in half lengths ; the delicate green leaves give a fine flavor to the soup.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

3

Pour boiling water on tomatoes, which will cause the skins to peel off easily; when cool, squeeze out the seeds, and reserve the juice for use in soup.

Shave cabbage in thin slices. Slice okra for gombo or okra soup. Pare the potatoes, shell the peas, and cut off green corn from the cob, for all these add fine flavor to soup.

To color soup brown, use browned flour or a little burnt sugar. Spinach leaves give a fine green color. Pound the leaves, tie them in a cloth, and squeeze out all the juice which add to the soup five minutes before serving. This is also used to give color to mock-turtle soup.

You may color soup red by putting in the strained juice of tomatoes, or the whole tomato, if it is run through a sieve ; grated carrot gives a fine amber color ; okra gives a pale green.

For white soups, which are made of veal, lamb, and . chicken, white vegetables are best, such as rice, pearl barley, vermicelli, and macaroni ; the thickening should then be made of unbrowned flour.

STOCK FOB SOUP

Stock in its composition is not confined to any set rules for any particular proportions. All cook books give particular as well as general directions for its manufacture; but all cooks know that the most economical plan is to have a general stock-pot, where, or into which, you can throw any pieces of beef or any piece of meat from which gravy can be extracted — bones, skin, brisket or tops of ribs, ox-cheek, ham, trim-

4

LA CUISINE CREOLE

mings of turkey and other fowls, pieces of mutton, ba¬ con, veal, game, etc., etc. In fact, anything that will become a jelly will assist in making stock. To this medley of ingredients add pepper, salt, spices, herbs, carrots cut small, onions, and curry, if wished, etc., and stew all to a rich consistency over a slow tire, and then remove to cool. When cool, or rather cold, every particle of fat must be removed and stock poured clear of all sediment ; it is now ready for use. When very rich soup is desired, the jelly from a cow-heel, or lump of butter rolled in flour, must be added to the stock.

TO CLARIFY STOCKS OR SOUPS

The whites of two eggs to about four quarts of stock or soup ; two pints and a half of cold water.

Whisk the whites of two fresh eggs with half a pint of water for ten minutes ; then pour in very gently the four quarts of boiling stock or soup, stirring it all the time. Place the stewpan over the fire, and skim the mixture till clear before allowing it to boil. When on the point of boiling, stir rapidly ; then place it a little back from the fire, and let it settle till the whites of the eggs be¬ come separated. Strain it through a fine cloth placed over a sieve, and it will be clear and good.

STOCK FOR GRAVIES

Cut the meat from a knuckle of veal, and put it, with a pound of lean beef, into two quarts of water ; add one table-spoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of pepper; cover it close, and let it stew until the meat is very ten¬ der; then strain it and keep it for rich soups or gravies,

LA CUISINE CREOLE

5

as thinning them with water spoils them. Always keep a pot or stewpan in which to throw all nice pieces of meat left from dinner, also any steak, bones, chicken wings, etc., etc. This makes a reserve of stock with very little fresh meat. It is useful and economical, and, being without vegetables, never sours. In making oys¬ ter soup use a pint or so of this stock to the usual quart of oysters and a pint of milk.

PLAIN BEEF SOUP

Five pounds of the leg or shin of beef ; one gallon of water ; a teaspoonful of salt ; two heads of celery ; five carrots ; three onions ; four turnips ; two tomatoes, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Boil four hours and a half.

Cut the meat in two or three pieces, and put them into a pot with a gallon of cold water, which gradually soaks out the juices of the meat before coming to the boil. Salt well, then skim as the soup heats. Boil slowly with a regular heat for about four hours ; then add two heads of celery, five carrots cut small, two to¬ matoes, three onions sliced and fried, and the sweet herbs tied up in muslin. The turnips should be added half an hour before serving. If any portion of the meat is required for the table, take it from the soup about two hours before- dinner. Let the remainder be left in the soup, which must be strained through a hair sieve before it is served.

SOUP ET BOUILLI

Six or eight pounds of a brisket of beef ; three car¬ rots; four turnips; two onions; six cloves; two heads of celery ; one clove of garlic ; a bunch of sweet herbs ; a

6

LA CUISINE CREOLE

little salt ; a piece of butter ; a little flour ; one French roll ; a tablespoonful of French mustard.

Put the beef into a pot and cover it with water, and when it boils take off the scum as it rises ; then draw it to the side of the fire to stew slowly for five or six hours, with the carrots, turnips, celery, garlic, bunch of sweet herbs, and the onions stuck with cloves. When done lay the bouilli on a hot dish, and strew over it some carrots, turnips and the stalks of celery, previ¬ ously boiled and cut into shapes. Add to it a sauce made of a little of the soup, thickened with flour fried in but¬ ter, and seasoned with pepper and salt. Strain the soup over a French roll placed at the bottom of the tureen and serve. The bouilli may have a spoonful of French mustard added to the soup sauce.

BROTH IN HASTE

Cut some rare roast meat or broiled steak very fine. To a teacupful of the cut meat put a pint and a half of boiling water; cover it, and set it on the fire for ten minutes ; season to taste. Roll a cracker fine, and put in with the meat. This broth is both excellent and convenient for invalids or children.

PLAIN CHICKEN-BROTH FOR AN INVALID

Cut a young fowl into four parts, wash well in cold water, put the pieces in a stewpan with one quart of cold water and a little salt; let it boil gently, skim it well; add the white heart of a head of lettuce and a handful of chervil. Boil the broth for an hour, then strain it into a bowl. Two tablespoonfuls of pearl bar¬ ley added to the broth when first put on makes it quite nourishing for an invalid.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

7

CRAYFISH-BROTH FOR PURIFYING THE BLOOD

Take two pounds of the lean part of very white veal, chop it very fine ; add to it three dozen crayfish and a handful of green chervil; pound them together to thoroughly bruise the crayfish ; then put the whole into a stewpan, and pour upon it three pints of cold spring water; add a little salt, and place the stewpan on the stove to boil. After half an hour, set it back on the stove, and let it simmer very gently for an hour, then strain. It should be taken fasting to insure its best effect.

SOUPE MAIGRE, WITHOUT MEAT, FOR LENT

Melt half a pound of butter in a stewpan, put in six onions sliced; add two heads of celery cut small, one- half a head of white cabbage, and a bunch of chopped parsley ; let them boil twenty minutes, then stir in three rolled crackers ; pour in two quarts of boiling milk, or milk and water; let this boil up gently for half an hour, and just before serving stir in two well-beaten eggs.

CHICKEN SOUP. YELLOW AND VERY RICH

Take two pounds of veal, half as much beef or lamb, and one small chicken cut up ; boil them in three quarts of water, skim off all the scum as it rises ; slice a leek or two onions, grate a large carrot or two small ones ; put all these to the soup; add two tablespoonfuls of salt and one of pepper. Let it boil gently for two hours, then add a spoonful of butter worked in flour; cover this for fifteen minutes, and serve in a tureen. Take the chicken into a deep dish, put over it butter, pepper, and sprigs of parsley; or you may chop the chicken up,

8

LA CUISINE CREOLE

season with pepper, salt, butter, and an egg ; form into balls, roll them in flour, and drop them in a few minutes before serving.

VEAL GRAVY SOUP

Throw into a stewpan one pound veal cutlet, three slices of ham, two tablespoonfuls of lard, and let them fry gently; then, before browning, add three sliced onions, two carrots, two parsnips, a head of celery, and a few cloves. Let them cook slowly till lightly browned, then add a pint and a half of boiling broth or water ; let this cook for an hour, and then put in a cup of mush¬ rooms ; skim and strain for use.

SCOTCH BARLEY BROTH. CHEAP AND SUBSTANTIAL

Wash half a pound of Scotch barley in cold water; put it in a pot with four or five pounds of shin beef sawed into small pieces, cover it with cold water and set it on the fire. When it boils skim it well, and then add three onions. Set it near the fire to simmer gently for two hours. If much fat rises skim again; then add two heads of celery and a couple of turnips cut into thin pieces. Season with salt, and let it boil for an hour and a half. Take out the meat on a platter and cover to keep warm ; then pour the soup in a tureen and serve.

CONSOMME OF BEEF AND FOWL

Take two pounds of lean beef and a fowl half roasted and cut in pieces, put into a saucepan, which must be filled with stock or plain broth ; skim it well, salt it to taste, and add two carrots, two onions, a head of celery or a pinch of celery seed, also a little thyme, a whole

LA CUISINE CREOLE

9

pepper, mace, and a bay leaf. Let it simmer gently for three or four hours, then strain through a coarse cloth ; free it entirely from fat, and clarify it with the white of an egg.

WHITE CONSOMME OF FOWL

Take one or twTo fowls, old or young. Let them lie half an hour in cold water to cleanse from the blood, then drain and put them in a pot ; fill it with water, let it boil, then skim it. Add one large carrot, or two small ones, two turnips, one onion, one head of celery, two cloves, a piece of mace, a little salt. Let it boil gently for two hours if the chickens are young; if old, three hours. When they are tender, skim off the fat, and pass the consomme through a sieve. This consomme may be considered a basis for all white soups, as well as white sauces, and should be used instead of water for filling them up.

PLAIN VERMICELLI SOUP, NO. 1

Put a soup-bone, weighing from two to three pounds, or a brisket of beef, into four quarts of water ; add two onions, two carrots, and two turnips ; salt to taste, and place over the fire to boil for three hours ; then remove and strain ; put back on the stove, and add a quarter of a pound of vermicelli, and let it boil till tender ; serve with tomatoes.

VERMICELLI SOUP, NO. 2

Cut about four pounds of knuckle of veal, one pound and a half of the scrag of mutton, and a few slices of ham into small pieces ; put them into a saucepan with one onion stuck with cloves, and four ounces of butter;

10

LA CUISINE CREOLE

then add the carrots, mace, hunch of sweet herbs, one anchovy, and the celery. Mix all together, cover it close, and set it over the fire till all the gravy has been ex¬ tracted from the meat; pour the liquor into a bowl, let the meat brown in the pan, and add to it four quarts of water ; boil it slowly till it is reduced to three pints, strain it, and stir in the gravy drawn from the meat. Set it over the fire, add the vermicelli, one head of cel¬ ery cut fine, a little cayenne, and salt; boil it up for ten minutes. Lay a French roll in the tureen, pour the soup over it, and strew some vermicelli on the top.

BAKED SOUP

Cut the beef or mutton and the vegetables in pieces, season them with salt and pepper, and put them into a jar with a pint of peas and the Patna rice. Pour in four quarts of water, cover the jar very closely, and set it in the oven to bake. When done, strain it through a sieve, and serve it very hot.

VERMICELLI OR MACARONI SOUP

Swell a quarter of a pound of vermicelli or macaroni (whichever is preferred) in a quart of warm water for one hour ; then add it to some good stock or plain veal, chicken or beef soup; add a spoonful of butter and half a pint of stewed tomatoes just before the soup is served. This is a very fine soup, and is especially nour¬ ishing for delicate stomachs.

GREEN PEA SOUP, WITHOUT MEAT, FOR LENT

Put two pints of green peas in two quarts of water, boil until the peas are very soft ; then add three or four

LA CUISINE CREOLE

11

onions, two heads of celery, a carrot, and a turnip, all cut small; season with salt to taste, add a little butter, and boil for two hours. If it becomes too thick, add one pint of boiling water. The peas may be boiled the day before, and kept over for convenience, if desired. This recipe is intended for green peas but it may be made with dried peas also, and the longer they boil, the bet¬ ter the soup will be. Do not add the vegetables until the day it is wanted.

TOMATO SOUP WITH VEGETABLES. VERY FINE

Cut small, three carrots, three heads of celery, four onions and two turnips ; put them into a saucepan with a tablespoonful of butter, a slice of ham and a half cup of water ; let them simmer gently for an hour ; then if a very rich soup is desired add to the vegetables two or three quarts of good soup stock, made by boiling a beef bone in three quarts of water until the meat is tender. Let all boil together for half an hour, and then add ten or twelve ripe tomatoes and a half-dozen whole pep¬ pers. It should cook for another hour or so. It must then be strained through a sieve or coarse cloth. Serve with toasted or fried bread cut in bits in the tureen. This is an elegant family soup, particularly nice in sum¬ mer when the vegetables are fresh.

CHEAP WHITE SOUP

Chop up any remains you may have of cold veal, chicken, game or rabbit roasted dry. Grate them, beat them in a mortar, and rub them through a sieve. Then add to the panada a quart of stock, put it into a sauce¬ pan and cook. Pay great attention to skimming as it boils.

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

QUEEN VICTORIA *S FAVORITE GREEN PEA SOUP

Take two quarts of green peas, a double-handful of parsley, four stalks of green mint, and a good handful of green onions. Have ready two quarts of veal or beef stock, place it on the fire, throw in the above peas, mint and onions. Let them all boil; when they are thor¬ oughly done take them out, drain them and pound them well together. Put them in the stewpan again with the liquor ; warm it and run it through a sieve. Add at the last moment a half pound of butter and a spoonful of sugar. Serve with fried bread.

ECONOMICAL GREEN PEA FAMILY SOUP WITH EGG DUMPLINGS

Take a quart of shelled English peas for a large family, but if for a small family a pint will do. Put on the fire a veal bone or half a chicken ; if a pint only of peas is used add any broiled steak, bones, nice scraps, or a small beef marrow bone ; set it on the fire with a gallon of water and let it boil two hours. Then tie up in a muslin bag, one coffeecupful of the green peas ; let the others stand in a cool place until wanted. Put this bag of peas into the pot with the beef and chicken stock, and let them boil until the peas are perfectly done. Skim out the peas, meat and bones, and add the rest of the peas, and let them boil gently. While these are cooking pour the peas in the bag into a pan and mash them smoothly; then add to them a batter made with two eggs, a spoonful of milk and flour. Add to the boiling peas a spoonful of butter and a little eschalot, if the flavor of onion is liked ; then drop the batter in gently, a little at a time, in small round dumplings, and when

LA CUISINE CREOLE

13

they boil up your soup is ready to serve. This is an excellent spring soup, and is improved by adding let¬ tuce heads, but they must be taken out before the dump¬ lings are put in, as they give a dark color if left in too long.

CLEAR PEA SOUP

Take two quarts of good beef or veal soup stock — which is better for being boiled the day before ; into this put a quart of young green peas, heads of lettuce, and a sprig of mint ; add salt and pepper to taste.

DRIED SPLIT-PEA SOUP

Take a good beef marrow-bone of one or two pounds weight, or the remains of roast beef-bones and gravy; add a slice of ham. Put these in a pot with a gallon of cold water; throw in the pot two cups of split peas or small white beans, two carrots, two turnips, two large onions or three small ones, a stalk of celery cut in pieces, a bunch of thyme, and a teaspoonful of mixed black and red pepper. When the vegetables are quite soft, which will be in about two hours, take the soup from the fire, strain it through a sieve or coarse cloth ; add salt, and put on the fire again and boil for a few moments ; then pour it over toasted bread.

GREEN CORN SOUP. VERY DELICATE

Cut corn from the cob until you have at least a pint ; cover it with a quart of sweet milk. Let it boil half an hour, add a teaspoonful of salt, skim it carefully, then throw into it a piece of butter the size of a hen’s-egg and pepper to suit your taste. Serve with rolls or toasted bread.

2 — Jan. 22.

14

LA CUISINE CREOLE

OYSTER SOUP. DELICATE

Take tlie oysters from their liquor. To every quart of the liquor add a pint of water or milk (milk is pref¬ erable) ; season with salt, pepper, butter, and toasted bread-crumbs that have been toasted and pounded. When this has boiled, put in a quart of oysters to two quarts of liquor. Let all boil a few minutes, and serve.

ANOTHER OYSTER SOUP. VERY STRENGTHENING

Take a knuckle of veal or a piece of lamb; allow a quart of water and a teaspoonful of salt to each pound ; set it over the fire, let it come to a boil, skim it well and then set it back on the stove. Let it simmer for two hours. This will form a fine, strong, nourishing stock for the soup. Take out the meat, and skim the stock clear ; put in half a pound of rolled crackers and a quart of nice oysters. Let it boil up, and finish by putting in a large tablespoonful of butter, and pepper and salt to taste. Macaroni or vermicelli can be substituted for the crackers, if preferred.

TURTLE SOUP FOR A LARGE COMPANY, NO. 1

Cut the bead off the turtle the day before you dress it, and drain the blood thoroughly from the body. Then cut it up in the following manner: Divide the back, belly, bead and fins from the intestines and lean parts. Be careful not to cut the gall bag. Scald in boiling water to remove the skin and shell. Cut up in neat pieces and throw into cold water. Boil the back and belly in a little water long enough to extract the bones easily. If for a large company a leg of veal will also be required, and a slice of ham, which must be stewed with

LA CUISINE CREOLE

15

the lean parts till well browned ; then add boiling water, and the liquor and bones of the boiled turtle. Season with sliced lemon, whole pepper, a bunch of parsley, two leeks sliced, and salt to taste. Let this all boil slowly for four hours then strain. Add the pieces of back, belly, head and fins (take the bones from the fins), pour in half a pint of Madeira wine and a quarter of a pound of good sweet butter, with a tablespoonful of flour worked in it ; also, a lemon sliced thin. Let it boil gently for two hours, then serve.

In cutting up the turtle great care should be taken of the fat, which should be separated, cut up neatly, and stewed till tender in a little of the liquor, and put into the tureen when ready to serve. Garnish with the eggs, if any; if not, use hard-boiled eggs of fowls.

TURTLE SOUP NO. 2

Put on, at an early hour in the morning, eight pounds of beef or veal, one pound of ham or bacon, eight on¬ ions, with pepper, salt, and sweet herbs to taste. Make a rich soup of this, and add to it the liquor of a boiled turtle ; season very high with wine, spice, cayenne, and catsup. Put in the flesh of the turtle, prepared as in recipe No. 1 — do not use the eyes or tongue. Let this boil up till tender, and serve with force-meat balls in tureen. Curry powder will give a higher flavor to soups than spice.

PLAIN MOCK-TURTLE SOUP

Boil a calf’s-head until very tender; take out the head, strain the liquor, and skim off the fat when cold,

16

LA CUISINE CREOLE

and keep till following day. Cut up the meat of the head and brain, and add to the liquor ; place over the fire, after seasoning to taste with pepper, salt, mace, cloves, sweet, herbs, and onions. Let it stew an hour, then add a tumbler of white wine, and it is ready for the force-meat balls. For the balls, chop a pound of lean veal with half a pound of salt pork ; add the brains of the calf’s-head, seasoned with pepper, salt, mace, cloves, sweet herbs, or curry powder. Make into balls the size of the yolk of an egg ; boil part in the soup, fry the rest for a separate dish.

MOCK-TURTLE SOUP NO. 2

Put into a pot a knuckle of veal, two calf’s feet, two onions, a few cloves, pepper, allspice, mace and sweet herbs; cover them with water; tie a thick paper over the pot, or cover it close. Let it stew four hours Re¬ move from the fire and let it cool. When cold take off the fat very nicely, cut the meat and feet into bits an inch square, remove the bones and coarse parts; then place over the fire again to warm. Add a large spoonful of walnut catsup, one of mushroom catsup, a little mushroom powder, or a few mushrooms, and the jelly of the meat. When hot, serve with hard eggs, force¬ meat balls, and the juice of one lemon.

MOCK-TURTLE SOUP. EXCELLENT, NO. 3

Clean a calf’s head nicely, split it and take out the brains ; put the head into considerably more water than will cover it. Let it boil gently, and skim it carefully ; when very tender take it out and cut in small pieces. Put into the boiling soup three pounds of beef and a knuckle of veal with all the bones broken fine. Add to

LA CUISINE CREOLE

17

this four or five onions, a carrot and turnip sliced, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Let it boil gently for three hours. Parboil the tongue and brains of the calf’s head, and add them when the soup is nearly done. Let it cool and take off the fat.

To finish it for the table, melt a quarter of a pound of nice fresh butter, add a handful of flour and stir over the fire till the butter and flour are brown ; add to this a little of the soup, a few sprigs of parsley and sweet basil ; boil it for fifteen minutes and add it to the soup, together with two tablespoonfuls of catsup, the juice of a lemon, and salt to taste. It is usual to add a pint of sherry. When dished in the tureen, put in two dozen egg balls.

EGG BALLS FOR MOCK-TURTLE SOUP

Make a paste of the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs and the white of two raw ones; season with salt and cayenne pepper. Take bits of the paste the size of small marbles, run them in flour and roll into balls ; fry care¬ fully in butter and drop into the soup.

OX-TAIL SOUP

Cut each joint of two ox-tails with a meat-saw, steep them in water for two hours ; then place them in a stew- pan with three carrots, three turnips, three onions, two heads of celery, four cloves, and a blade of mace.

Fill up the stew-pan from the boiling stock-pot ; boil this over a slow fire until done and the joints quite ten¬ der. Take them out, cool them, and clarify the broth. Strain this into a soup-pot, put with it the pieces of ox-tail, some olive shaped pieces of carrot and turnip

18

LA CUISINE CREOLE

which have been boiled in a little of the broth ; add to this when it has boiled half an hour a small lump of sugar and a little red pepper. This soup is excellent, and may be served with any kind of vegetables strained in it, such as puree of peas, carrots, turnips, or celery.

BABBIT SOUP

Cut one or two rabbits into joints ; lay them for an hour in cold water; dry and fry them in butter until they are half done ; place the meat in a saucepan with four or five onions and a head of celery cut small ; add to these three parts of cold water and a cup of peas, either green or dry ; season with pepper and salt, then strain and serve it. Some like it unstrained.

REMARKS ON GOMBO OF OKRA OR FILEE

This is a most excellent form of soup, and is an eco¬ nomical way of using up the remains of any cold roast¬ ed chicken, turkey, game, or other meats. Cut up and season the chicken, meat, or other material to make the soup ; fry to a light brown in a pot, and add boiling water in proportion to your meat. Two pounds of meat or chicken (bones and all), with a half pound of ham, or less of breakfast-bacon, will flavor a gallon of soup, which, when boiled down, will make gombo for six peo¬ ple. When the boiling water is added to the meat, let it simmer for at least two hours. Take the large bones from the pot, and add okra or a preparation of dried and pounded sassafras leaves, called filee. This makes the difference in gombo. For gombo for six people use one quart of sliced okra ; if filee be used, put in a coffee- cupful. Either gives the smoothness so desirable in

LA CUISINE CREOLE

19

this soup. Oysters, crabs, and shrimp may be added when in season, as all improve the gombo. Never strain gombo. Add green corn, tomatoes, etc., etc., if desired. Serve gombo with plain-boiled rice.

GOMBO WITH CRABS, OR SHRIMP

To a pound of beef add half a pound knuckle of ham ; chop up both in inch pieces and fry them brown in two tablespoonfuls of boiling lard; add to them four large crabs cut up, or a pound of peeled shrimps, or both if desired ; cut into this four dozen small okra pods, one large onion, a little red pepper, and salt to taste. Let all simmer on a slow fire for about twenty minutes ; then fill up with warm water, enough to cover the contents two inches deep. Let this boil for two hours. If it be¬ comes too thick, add as much water as required. If pre¬ ferred a chicken can be used instead of the beef.

SIMPLE OKRA GOMBO

Chop a pound of beef and half a pound of veal brisket into squares an inch thick ; slice three dozen okra pods, one onion, a pod of red pepper, and fry all together. When brown pour in half a gallon of water ; add more as it boils away. Serve with rice as usual.

OYSTER GOMBO WITH FILEE, HO. 1

Take a grown chicken, fifty oysters, and a half-pound of ham to flavor the gombo. Cut up two onions fine, fry them in lard and thicken the gravy with flour ; a tea¬ spoonful will be enough. Cut up the chicken and ham, and put them to fry with the onions. Let all cook gen¬ tly till brown, then put in a pint of boiling water and

20

LA CUISINE CREOLE

boil the chicken until it is almost in pieces. Half-an- hour before dinner pour in the oysters and their liquor. When ready for the table take a large spoonful of fresh powdered sassafras leaves or filee, wet it with a little of the soup, and stir it into the soup. If not thick or ropy enough, stir in another spoonful. Do not let the soup boil after the filee is put in, but remove it from the fire, or serve it immediately.

GOMBO FILEE WITH OYSTERS, NO. 2

Fry a tablespoonful of flour in a tablespoonful of lard. Let it brown slowly so as not to scorch. Boil the liquor of two quarts of oysters, and when it is boiling throw in a cupful of cut leeks or onions, a large slice of ham, some parsley, and stir in the browned flour. Let this cook fifteen minutes; then pour in two quarts of oysters. Let them boil a few minutes, season with salt and pepper ; take out the parsley and sift in half a cup of dried and pounded fresh filee ; if not fresh more will be required.

CHICKEN GOMBO WITH OYSTERS

Take a young chicken, or the half of a grown one; cut it up, roll it in salt, pepper and flour, and fry it a nice brown, using lard or drippings, as if for fricassee. Cut up a quart of fresh green okras, and take out the chicken and fry the okra in the same lard. When well browned return the chicken to the pot and boil. Add to it a large slice of ham ; a quarter of a pound will be about right for this gombo. Pour onto the chicken, ham and okra, half a gallon of boiling water, and let it boil down to three pints. Ten minutes before serving

LA CUISINE CREOLE

21

pour into the boiling soup two dozen fine oysters with half a pint of their liquor. Let it come to a good boil, and serve it with well-boiled rice.

MAIGRE OYSTER GOMBO

Take 100 oysters with their juice, and one large onion ; slice the onion into hot lard and fry it brown, adding when brown a tablespoonful of flour and red pepper. When thick enough pour in the oysters. Boil together twenty minutes. Stir in a large spoonful of butter and one or two tablespoonfuls of filee, then take the soup from the fire and serve with rice.

MAIGRE SHRIMP GOMBO FOR LENT

Boil a pint of shrimps in a quart of water ; give them only one boil up ; then set them to drain and cool, re¬ serving the water they were boiled in. Chop up three dozen okra pods, two onions, a pod of pepper, and a lit¬ tle parsley, and fry them brown in a little lard or but¬ ter ; add to the okra the shrimps and the strained water in which they were boiled. Let all boil for an hour, and season with salt and pepper to taste. When shrimp and crabs can not be procured, half a pound of dry cod¬ fish, soaked an hour or two, and chopped fine, will do very well. All gombo should be thickened with a little flour — browned if preferred — and stirred in just before adding the water; then boil an hour.

CRAB GOMBO, WITH OKRA

Take six large crabs, throw them in cold water for a few moments. When cool cut off the limbs — while they are living if possible, as this renders them more

22

LA CUISINE CREOLE

delicate ; clean them, and pnt them to fry, shells and all, in a pot containing a cup of lard, a cup of cut onions, a small bunch of parsley, and two tablespoonfuls of browned flour. Let them cook about fifteen minutes, and then pour on them two pints of boiling water and a quart of sliced okra ; let it all stew gently for half an hour, and add a slice of lean ham and a quart of good veal or beef stock (made by boiling two pounds of veal or beef in two quarts of water until reduced to a quart) ; season with a teaspoonful of salt, and same of black and red pepper, and let all boil for half an hour. This soup can be made in the oyster season by putting in a quart of oysters and two quarts of their liquor in¬ stead of the boiled beef stock.

CRAYFISH BISQUE. A CREOLE DISH

Parboil the fish, pick out the meat, and mince or pound it in a mortar until very fine; it will require about fifty crayfish. Add to the fish one-third the quan¬ tity of bread soaked in milk, and a quarter of a pound of butter, also salt to taste, a bunch of thyme, two leaves of sage, a small piece of garlic and a chopped onion. Mix all well and cook ten minutes, stirring all the time to keep it from growing hard. Clean the heads of the fish, throw them in strong salt and water for a few minutes and then drain them. Fill each one with the above stuffing, flour them, and fry a light brown. Set a clean stewpan over a slow fire, put into it three spoonfuls of lard or butter, a slice of ham or bacon, two onions chopped fine ; dredge over it enough flour to ab¬ sorb the grease, then add a pint and a half of boiling water, or better still, plain beef stock. Season this with

LA CUISINE CREOLE

23

a bunch of thyme, a bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Let it cook slowly for half an hour, then put the heads of the crayfish in and let them boil fifteen min¬ utes. Serve rice with it.

FISH

FRICASSEE OF FISH

All large fish make nice fricassee. Cut the fish into slices and lay it in a gravy made of fried onions, pars¬ ley, tomatoes and a little garlic; fry in butter and serve. Add catsup if liked.

TO FRY FISH

The fat from bacon, or salt pork, is much nicer to fry fish in, than lard. After the fish is cleaned, wash it and wipe it dry, and let it lie on a cloth till all the moisture is absorbed; then roll it in flour. No salt is required if fried in bacon or pork fat. There must be fat enough to float the fish or they will not fry nicely, but instead soak fat and be soft to the touch.

TO STUFF AND BAKE FISH

Choose any of the many dressings in this book. Take either plain bread stuffing, veal stuffing, or force-meat ; fill the fish and sew it up ; put a teacup of water in the baking pan, with a spoonful of butter and bake, accord¬ ing to the size of the fish, from thirty minutes to an hour. Season with pepper and salt and bake brown.

CROAKERS AND MULLETS FRIED

Have them perfectly cleaned ; trim the fins, wipe the fish with a clean cloth, salt and pepper each one, and

24

LA CUISINE CREOLE

roll it in flour or fine corn meal, and then drop it into a pot of boiling lard and bacon grease mixed. When brown, pile up on a hot dish and serve, with any de¬ sired sauce or catsup.

FILLETS OB SLICED FISH, FKIED

When the fish is too large to fry whole, cut into slices and place them in a crock; season with pepper, salt, oil, lemon juice, and chopped parsley. Turn the fish in this mixture so that all parts may become well saturated with the seasoning. When wanted, drain, wipe dry and dip each piece separately in flour; drop into boiling lard; take it up as it browns, and ornament the dish with a border of fried parsley. Send to table with sauce to suit the taste.

TKOTJT STUFFED AND BAKED

Stuff one or more fish, with any stuffing desired; score them well and put in a buttered pan to bake ; sea¬ son with pepper, salt and chopped parsley, moisten them with a little essence of mushrooms or catsup and butter. Baste every five minutes until they are done ; remove the fish to a hot dish. Throw a little wine or vinegar into the pan, and stir it to detach the crust from the pan ; boil this sauce down, add a little more butter and pour over the fish. Mushrooms are an im¬ provement to the sauce ; but if not convenient, tomato sauce will answer.

TBOUT A LA VENITIENNE

After well cleaning your trout, make slashes in the back, and insert butter rolled in parsley, lemon, thyme, basil, chives all minced very fine ; pour some salad oil

LA CUISINE CREOLE

25

over it, and let it lie for half an hour; cover it with bread crumbs and chopped sweet herbs, boil it over a clear fire which is not too quick, and serve it with sauce No. 13.

BROILED SPANISH MACKEREL

Split the mackerel down the back ; season with pep¬ per and salt, rub it over with oil, place it on a gridiron over a moderate fire and, when browned on one side, turn. If it is a very large fish, divide it and broil one half at a time. When done, place it on a dish, and put butter, parsley and lemon juice over it. Serve with sauce No. 13.

BROILED FLOUNDER

This is cooked just as the Spanish mackerel in the preceding recipe; and may be sent to table with the same sauce, or sauce a l’aurore No. 14.

FLOUNDERS AND MULLETS FRIED

These fish are very fine when fresh from the waters of Lake Pontchartrain. Flounder is better broiled, but still is very nice fried. Clean and dry the fish. Do not cut them in pieces, but score them across if very large. Have lard or bacon fat very hot ; roll the fish in flour and drop into the boiling fat. Let them cook until brown, and serve with sauce No. 15.

PLAIN BOILED RED FISH OR RED SNAPPER

Wash the fish; when cleaned, wipe it dry and rub it over with lemon juice and salt. Put it in a fish kettle or other vessel to boil, cover it with soft water and throw in a handful of salt. As soon as it begins to boil, skim it and let it simmer ; hard boiling breaks the flesh

26

LA CUISINE CREOLE

before it is cooked thoroughly. When done, lift it out of the water with a drainer, slip it carefully on a dish and send to table with sauces No. 13 and No. 3.

RED-FISH A LA PROVEN CALE

Have properly cleaned a medium sized fish; score it deep then put in a large dish and cover with a pickle or marinade made of two sliced carrots, two onions, some parsley and bay-leaves, three cloves of garlic, pepper and salt, the juice of two lemons, and a gill of salad oil. When thoroughly flavored, remove the fish from the marinade and bake three-quarters of an hour, bast¬ ing frequently with wine and butter. When done, put it on a platter and keep hot. Add half a bottle of wine and some cayenne pepper to the marinade; stew well and strain over the fish. Garnish with cut lemon, sprigs of parsley and capers.

BAKED AND STEWED CODFISH

Scald for ten minutes some soaked codfish, it should soak all night; then scrape it white, pick it in flakes, and put it in a stewpan with a tablespoonful of nice butter worked into as much flour, and milk enough to moisten it. Let it stew gently ten minutes ; add pepper to taste, and serve hot. Slice hard-boiled eggs over it, and sprigs of parsley around the dish.

If the fish is to be baked you must put it on to scald, as above, after soaking all night ; you must then put on double as much Irish potatoes as the quantity of cod¬ fish. Boil them, mash them, and then pick up the cod¬ fish fine, seasoning it with butter and pepper ; moisten it with two beaten eggs, a little chopped onion, and

LA CUISINE CREOLE

27

milk if necessary. Make it all into a large soft pat, or cake, smooth it with a knife blade and put it in the stove to be browned lightly.

CODFISH CAKES

Soak the codfish all night, then scald for ten minutes ; put to it an equal quantity of potatoes boiled and mashed ; moisten it with beaten eggs, a bit of butter and a little pepper ; form it into round cakes, about half an inch thick, roll them each one in flour, and fry in hot lard until they are a delicate brown. The lard must be boiling, and the cakes fried gently.

COD AU BEURRE ROUX

Cod; a little browned butter; a little flour; sugar; one onion; tablespoonful of vinegar.

For cod au beurre roux, boil a piece of cod and sep¬ arate it into flakes ; brown some butter, dredge in a lit¬ tle flour, and a little sugar in powder, and in this fry some slices of onion a fine brown ; throw in the vinegar, boil it up, pour over the fish, and serve it with crisp parsley.

OYSTER STUFFING FOR TURKEY

Take three or four dozen nice plump oysters, wash and beard them, add to them a tumblerful of bread crumbs ; chop up a tumblerful of nice beef suet ; mix to¬ gether, and moisten with three eggs ; season with salt, pepper, a little butter, a teaspoonful of mace, and some cayenne pepper. Roll force-meat into cakes, and fry them. They are pretty laid around a turkey or chicken.

28

LA CUISINE CREOLE

OYSTERS STEWED WITH CHAMPAGNE

Put into a silver chafing dish a quarter of a pound of butter; lay in a quart of oysters; strew over them grated bread which has been toasted, beaten and sifted, some cut parsley and a little pepper and salt ; cover the top with bits of butter cut thin; pour on a pint of champagne, cover and cook. This may be done in a pan or oven.

OYSTERS STEWED WITH MILK

Take a pint of fine oysters, one-half pint of their own liquor and a half a pint of milk; boil the liquor, take off the scum; put in a quarter of a pound of butter, pepper and salt to taste, and serve crackers and dressed celery with them.

STEWED OYSTERS ON TOAST

Take the oysters from their liquor, let it settle ; then strain and add some whole pepper, two blades of mace, and three cloves, and put over a moderate fire in a block-tin covered sauce-pan; mix a little flour with a piece of butter, as large as a hen’s egg for two dozen oysters, and stir in the boiling liquor; remove any scum which may rise, then put in the oysters and let them cook for five minutes. Line a hot oyster dish with toasted, well-buttered bread, and pour over it the boiling oysters. Only rich juicy oysters will stew to advantage. Milk is always an improvement, but in this recipe it can be dispensed with; if, however, it is convenient pour in a half a pint just as the oysters are put in to boil, as earlier it might curdle.

OYSTER TOAST

A nice little dish for a luncheon or a late supper. Scald a quart of oysters in their own liquor, take them

LA CUISINE CREOLE

29

out and pound or chop them to a paste; add a little cream or fresh butter, and some pepper and salt. Get ready some thin slices of toast moistened with boiling water, and spread with fresh butter ; then, spread over the butter the oyster paste. Put a thin slice of fresh cut lemon on each piece, and lay parsley on the platter. Serve this very hot or it will not be good.

SCALLOPED OYSTERS. - NO. 1

Lay the oysters in a shallow pan or dish with a little of their own liquor, some pepper, salt, chopped parsley, butter, and grated breadcrumbs. Have a layer of bread crumbs on the top of the pan, and set it in the oven to bake a light brown. They should be served hot with tomato or walnut catsup poured over them.

, SCALLOPED OYSTERS. — NO. 2

Procure any quantity of oysters desired, and place in a baking dish; put alternate layers of oysters and pounded crackers ; season each layer with salt, pepper and butter. When filled, pour on enough milk to soak the crackers, and bake forty minutes. Serve hot.

OYSTERS FRIED

Take large oysters from their own liquor; dry and lay them in a towel till you heat, very hot, a cup of lard in a thick-bottomed pan. Dip each oyster in wheat flour, or rolled cracker, until it will hold no more ; then lay it in the pan. The fire must be moderate, or the oysters will scorch before cooking through. They will brown on one side in five minutes, then turn them. Oysters may be dipped in beaten egg and rolled cracker, and then fried.

3

30

LA CUISINE CREOLE

OYSTER PICKLE. VEKY EASY AND NICE

Wash four dozen oysters; let them be fine and large, with plenty of their own liquor. Pick them carefully, strain their liquor and to it add a dessertspoonful of pepper, two blades of mace, a tablespoonful of salt, and a cup of strong wine vinegar. Simmer the oysters in this five minutes, then put them in small jars. Boil the pickle again, and when cold add a cup of fresh vinegar; and fill up the jars, cork them, and set away for use.

VEAL SWEETBREAD AND OYSTER PIE

The sweetbread of veal is the most delicate part of the animal. Boil it tender, season with pepper, salt and butter; put in two dozen oysters; thicken their juice with a cup of cream, a tablespoonful of butter, the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, and a tablespoonful of flour. Pour all in a deep pan, and cover with paste and bake. If there is too much liquid, keep it to serve with the pie, if necessary, when baked. After baking, the pie is sometimes too dry.

BEEFSTEAK AND OYSTER PIE

Cut three pounds of lean beefsteak. Salt, pepper and fry quickly so as to brown without cooking through; then place in a deep dish. Get four dozen oysters, beard them, and lay them in the pan over the beef ; sea¬ son with salt and pepper. Take the gravy in which the steaks were fried, pour out some of the grease ; dredge in a tablespoonful of flour, let it brown and add to it a pint of good beef broth, then put in a wine-glassful of mushroom catsup, some of Harvey’s or Worcester¬ shire sauce ; heat it, and let it boil up a few times, then pour it over the oysters and steak. When the gravy

LA CUISINE CREOLE

31

has become cool, cover the pie with a good puff paste, and bake it for an hour and a half.

FRICASSEE OF CRABS

Take six nice fat crabs, wash them, and while alive chop off the claws; then clean the rest of the crabs carefully and lay them in a dish. Chop up two onions fine, fry them in a tablespoonful of butter and lard mixed ; when brown and soft stir in a large spoonful of flour, which must also brown nicely; throw in some chopped parsley and a little green onion, and when they are cooked pour on a quart of boiling water — this is the gravy. Now put in the crabs without parboiling. Let them simmer in the gravy for half an hour, and serve with boiled rice. Parboiling crabs destroys their flavor; they should be alive to the last moment.

SOFT-SHELLED CRABS, FRIED

Clean the crabs properly, dip them into rolled cracker, and fry them in hot lard salted. They must be dried carefully before frying, or they will not brown well. Serve with any favorite sauce.

TO DRESS A TURTLE

Cut off the head and let it bleed well. Separate the bottom shell from the top with care, for fear of break¬ ing the gall bag. Throw the liver and eggs, if any, into a bowl of water. Slice off all the meat from the under¬ shell and put in water also; break the shell in pieces, wash carefully and place it in a pot; cover it with water, and add one pound of middling or flitch of bacon with four chopped onions. Set this on the fire to

32

LA CUISINE CREOLE

boil. (If preferred, open and clean the chitterlings or intestines also — some use them.) Let this boil gently for four hours ; keep the liver to fry. While the under¬ shell is boiling, wash the top-shell neatly, cut all the meat out, cover it up and set it by. Parboil the fins, clean them perfectly ; take off the black skin and throw them into water. Now cut the flesh removed from both shells into small pieces ; cut the fins up ; sprinkle with salt, cover and set them by. When the pot containing the shells, etc., has boiled four hours, take out the bacon, scrape the shell, clean and strain the liquor, pour back in the pot about one quart, and put the rest by for the soup (Turtle Soup No. 2). Pick out the nice pieces strained out, and put with the fins in the gravy. Add to the meat one bottle of wine, one gill mushroom catsup, one gill of lemon pickle, cloves, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and one pound fresh butter rolled in flour. Stew together; take out the herbs, thicken with flour and put in the shell to bake with a puff paste around it. Trim with eggs.

* ‘ GRENOXJILLES FRITES,” OR FRIED FROGS

Use only the hind-quarters of the frogs. After wash¬ ing them in warm water, soak well ; then put them into cold vinegar with a little salt, and let them remain one or two hours, after which throw them into scalding water, and remove the skin without tearing the flesh. Wipe them dry, dust flour on them and fry in butter or sweet oil, with plenty of chopped parsley. When brown, dust pepper and a little salt over them, and garnish with crisped parsley. Stewed frogs are seasoned with butter, wine, beaten eggs and parsley chopped fine.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

33

TERRAPIN

Like crabs and lobsters, terrapins are thrown alive into boiling water and let boil till the outer shell and toe-nails can be removed. Then wash and boil them in salted water till the fleshy part of the leg is tender. Put them in a bowl or deep dish, take off the second shell, remove the sand bag and gall bladder, and cut off the spongy part. Cut up the meat, season it with salt, pepper, cayenne and mace, thicken with butter and flour, and cook. Just before serving put in a gill of sherry wine for every terrapin, and pour all over hot buttered toast.

34

LA CUISINE CREOLE

GOLD MEATS AND HOW TO SERVE THEM

TO SERVE PICKLED OYSTERS

Take them from the pickle jar, put them into a glass dish, and ornament it with the tender, delicate leaves of celery and parsley. Serve with bread and butter sandwiches.

TO SERVE MEAT OR CHICKEN PIE

Lay a fringed napkin in a waiter or plate larger than the dish in which the pie is baked; set the pie on it; turn up the edges of the napkin against it, and put sprigs of parsley or delicate green leaves of celery on the edge of the plate to keep the napkin in place.

A NICE WAY TO SERVE COLD MEAT

Cut cold roast beef in slices, put gravy enough to cover them, add two tablespoonfuls of wine or catsup. If there is not enough gravy, make more by putting hot water and a good bit of butter, with a spoonful of browned flour. Let it stew gently. If liked, a sliced leek with a bunch of parsley may be added. Serve mashed potatoes with it. This is equal to beef a la mode.

GLAZING FOR TONGUE, HAMS, ETC.

Boil a shin of beef and a knuckle of veal for twelve hours in three or four quarts of water. Put in spices, herbs, and vegetables, the same as for soup; keep it boiling till it is reduced to a quart, then strain through

LA CUISINE CREOLE

35

a sieve and put away for use. This makes fine gravies, and is extremely useful to finish off baked hams, tongues, and cold roasts.

BRAISED TONGUE WITH ASPIC JELLY

Boil the tongue until tender, then place it in a stew- pan with two onions, a head of celery, four cloves, and salt and pepper ; cover it with the liquor it was boiled in; add to it a glass of brandy, a tablespoonful of sugar, a blade of mace, a bunch of thyme, and a bunch of pars¬ ley. Let it simmer gently for two hours. Take out the tongue, strain the liquor it was boiled in, and add to it a box of Cox’s gelatine which has been soaked in a goblet of cold water. Heat it and pour over the tongue. Serve cold.

SEASONING FOR SAUSAGE MEAT

Chop up and run your sausage meat through the cut¬ ter, and to every pound of the ground meat, allow a ta¬ blespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of mixed black and red pepper, a quarter of a teaspoonful of saltpetre, and a half cup of sage and sweet marjoram. If you prefer it you may substitute for the sage some thyme and summer savory.

SEASONING FOR STUFFING VEAL, PIG OR TURKEY

When much seasoning is required it is well to keep it prepared on hand. It should always be kept well stopped. Dry a pound of salt; grind an ounce of white or black pepper ; dry and powder two ounces of thyme and one of sweet marjoram; grate one ounce of nutmeg, and mix with half a pound of bread crumbs dried in a

36

LA CUISINE CREOLE

slow oven, three eggs, a quarter of a pound of butter or suet, and a cup of finely chopped parsley.-

LIVER AND HAM FORCEMEAT FOR STUFFING

Take a calf’s liver, or the livers of three or four tur¬ keys, or geese; lay them in cold water, till ready to use them ; cut with them the same quantity of fat ham or bacon; throw them into a saucepan, and let them fry a good brown; season with salt, pepper, spices, chopped mushrooms, parsley and three shallots. When soft, chop them fine, or else pass them through a sausage grinder. This recipe can be used for raised pies, or as an addition to turkey stuffing.

AROMATIC SPICES FOR SEASONING MEAT PIES, ETC.

Take an ounce each of mace and nutmeg, two ounces of cloves, two of pepper corns (whole pepper will do), marjoram and thyme, each one ounce, bay leaves half an ounce. Dry the herbs well first ; put the spices and herbs in a paper closely folded, to keep in the aroma, and place them in a slow oven to dry for an hour, or two ; then pound and sift them, through a sieve. Cork tightly.

TRUFFLES AND CHESTNUT STUFFING FOR A PIG

Many persons like truffles for stuffing for a roast pig ; they should be mixed with fat bacon, livers of veal or fowl, sweet herbs, pepper, salt and butter. Chest¬ nut stuffing is prepared by roasting sixty chestnuts. Remove their hulls while hot, and pound them fine, add four ounces of butter, run this through a sieve, and add to it a few green onions, or chives, sweet basil,

LA CUISINE CREOLE

37

parsley and thyme; grate in a nutmeg, put in pepper and salt, and bind it with three eggs. Stuff the pig with it and serve with tomato sauce.

LIVER AND TRUFFLE STUFFING FOR A PIG OR TURKEY

Pare and cut into small pieces a pound of truffles, put them into a stewpan with a large spoonful of butter, one-half pound of fat bacon, chopped very fine; add a spoonful of black pepper, a clove of garlic, a little salt, a bunch of sweet basil and thyme, dried and powdered ; add also half a pound of nice veal liver, boiled and grated. Set this all on the fire, let it cook until the truffles are soft, then mash with a wooden spoon; take it off to cool it, and stuff the pig with the forcemeat. Baste the pig with sweet oil, which is better than but¬ ter. It is supposed the pig comes from the butchers all ready for stuffing and baking. If the stuffing is desired for a turkey, add a quarter of a pound of bread crumbs and two beaten eggs, and baste the turkey with butter, instead of oil.

NICE FORCEMEAT' FOR STUFFINGS, ETC.

Take equal quantities of cold chicken, veal and beef ; shred small and mix together ; season with pepper, salt, sweet herbs, and a little nutmeg, i. e., if intended for white meat or anything delicately flavored, but if meant for a savory dish add a little minced ham, and garlic; pound or chop this very fine (it is well, and saves trouble, to run it through a sausage chopper), and make it in a paste with two raw eggs, some butter, marrow or drippings; stuff your joint, or poultry, and if there is some not used, roll it round the balls, flour them and fry in boiling lard. This is a nice gar¬ nish for a side dish.

38

LA CUISINE CREOLE

SAUCES FOR MEATS AND GAME

NO. lr — DUCK SAUCE

Boil six large onions; change the water two or three times, while it is boiling, which takes away the strong taste. When soft, chop and pnt them in a saucepan with two large spoonfuls of butter, a little pepper and salt; now add either mushroom catsup, a cup of vinegar or a cup of wine, whichever is preferred.

NO. 2. — BROWN ONION SAUCE FOR POULTRY, ETC.

Slice three onions after peeling them; fry them a bright brown in a spoonful of butter; sprinkle a little flour in, and let it brown also; add salt, pepper, and also sage, if for goose or duck, and parsley and thyme if for chickens or roast meat; add a cup of the liquor in which the fowl was cooked, let it boil up and add a tablespoonful of catsup.

NO. 3. - MUSHROOM SAUCE

Peel and wash the mushrooms, cut them in small pieces, and put them in a saucepan; cover them with water, and let them boil soft ; then stir in butter, mixed in flour, until it is thick enough to form a nice sauce ; add pepper and salt.

NO. 4. - MINT SAUCE FOR SPRING LAMB

Wash carefully a cup of tender green spearmint, chop it fine, and mix with it half a cup of sugar and a cup of good vinegar.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

39

NO. 5. - WHITE ONION SAUCE

Peel and boil six white onions, and when tender pour off the water ; chop the onions small, and add to them a cup of hot milk, a large spoonful of butter, and pepper and salt to taste. Thicken with a little flour if pre¬ ferred.

NO. 6. — TOMATO SAUCE, PLAIN

Peel and slice twelve tomatoes, pick out the seeds; add three pounded crackers, salt and pepper; stir twenty minutes and serve.

NO. 7. - CRANBERRY SAUCE

Stew cranberries till soft; when soft, stir in sugar; scald a few minutes and strain, or not, just as you please ; it is good either way.

NO. 8. — SALAD SAUCE OR DRESSING FOR LETTUCE

Take the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, rub them to a paste in a bowl with a tablespoonful of mustard and one of sweet cream ; add gradually two tablespoonfuls of sweet oil; when well mixed add the yolk of a raw egg, to give the paste a delicate smoothness; a little salt, a spoonful of sugar, and one tablespoon and a half of fine vinegar.

NO. 9. - SAUCE PIQUANTE FOR COLD MEAT

Slice two onions, fry them in butter ; put them in a stewpan with a carrot, some sweet herbs, such as dried thyme or marjoram, two eschalots, some parsley and a clove of garlic; dredge in a spoonful of flour. When the carrot is perfectly done, mash it in the stewpan with a wooden spoon, and when smooth add to it a cup of

40

LA CUISINE CREOLE

soup stock. When this boils up, throw in a cup of strong vinegar. Add salt and pepper, and strain.

NO. 10. — BUTTER AND FLOUR SAUCE OR WHITE SAUCE

Mix a tablespoonful of butter and one of flour; mix over the fire, with a cup of cold water, stirring all the time. When this boils, take a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, if for a number of guests, and stir in the butter quickly, adding a cup of cold water by degrees, to keep the butter from oiling ; finish with the juice of a lemon, and strain. It must be served hot, and made only a few moments before it is wanted. It gets oily if kept long. Add a spoonful of chopped parsley.

NO. 11. - CAPER SAUCE FOR BOILED MUTTON, ETC., ETC.

Take half a pint of butter sauce and add two table¬ spoonfuls of capers and a little salt.

NO. 12. - PARSLEY AND BUTTER SAUCE

Take half a pint of butter sauce No. 10, and add half a cup of chopped parsley and the juice of one lemon. Pour hot water on the parsley before chopping.

NO. 13. — LEMON SAUCE FOR FISH

To half a pint of butter sauce No. 10, add the juice of a lemon and another lemon sliced; take out the seeds, and let all boil together. This is good with broiled Spanish mackerel or pompano, also with broiled fish.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

41

NO. 14. — SAUCE A l'aURORE, FOR FISH

Pound the spawn of a lobster very smooth, with a small piece of fresh butter, and press it through a sieve in the white sauce and a large spoonful of lemon juice, and set it over a clear fire to simmer for a minute or two, taking care it does not boil.

NO. 15. — SAUCE FROIDE

Mince quite fine some parsley, chervil, tarragon, chives and burnet ; mix them in five or six tablespoon¬ fuls of oil, or three yolks of hard-boiled eggs rubbed vdown smooth ; add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, some made mustard, salt and pepper; beat all together until it is smooth and thick, and serve in a sauce-boat. A good sauce for fish.

NO. 16. - CHESTNUT SAUCE FOR TURKEY OR FOWLS

Take half a pint of veal stock ; half a pound of chest¬ nuts ; peel of half a lemon ; a cupful of cream or milk ; a very little cayenne and salt.

Remove the dark shell of the chestnuts, and scald them until the inner skin can be taken off. Then put them into the saucepan with the stock, the lemon peel cut very thin, some cayenne and salt. Let it simmer till the chestnuts are quite soft. Rub it through a sieve; add the seasoning and cream, and let it simmer for a few minutes, taking care it does not boil, and stirring constantly.

NO. 17.' — WHITE CELERY SAUCE FOR BOILED POULTRY

Take six heads of celery, cut off the green tops, slice the remainder into small bits and boil in half a pint of water until it is tender ; mix three teaspoonfuls of flour

42

LA CUISINE CREOLE

smoothly, with a little milk. Add six spoonfuls more of milk, stir it in; add a little salt and a small piece of butter. On boiling take off.

NO. 17 1-2. - CELERY PUREE EOR TURKEY

Chop up six or eight heads of celery, boil them a few minutes ; drain and put them in a saucepan, with half a pound of butter, some white soup stock, a little sugar, pepper and salt; cook till soft, then strain it through a sieve, heat it again and add a cup of milk or cream.

NO. 18. - WHITE CUCUMBER SAUCE FOR MEATS

Take four or five cucumbers ; three-quarters of a pint of veal stock ; the yolks of three eggs ; a little cayenne pepper and salt.

Peel and take out the seeds from the cucumbers, cut them into very small pieces and put them into a sauce¬ pan with the stock and seasoning, and simmer it slow¬ ly until they are tender. Then stir in the yolks of the eggs well beaten. Make it very hot, but do not let it boil; and serve it up quickly.

NO. 19. — EGGS AND BUTTER SAUCE

Boil six eggs hard; when cold, peel them and put them into a cup of butter, melted; mix with a little flour, make it hot, stir in pepper and salt. Some peo¬ ple like lemon, and many require walnut catsup. This is left to personal taste.

NO. 20. — WINE SAUCE FOR VENISON OR MUTTON

Take from the stock pot a pint of the soup; let it boil down to half a pint ; season with a dozen cloves, a tea¬ spoon of salt, and a little pepper ; then stir in a cup of wine, or of currant jelly.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

43

NO. 21. - SAVORY JELLY FOR COLD TURKEY OR MEAT

Put in the pot two pounds of beef ; if you have veal or beef bones, break them and throw them in also, but they require longer boiling to dissolve the gelatine. Put in half a pound of sweet ham or bacon, add all the sweet herbs, such as thyme, basil, parsley and mar¬ joram; last of all, salt and pepper to taste. Boil for three or four hours. When it is sufficiently boiled, take off, strain, and put away to cool. Take off all the fat and sediment, and clarify by throwing into it the whites and shells of three eggs; add three blades of mace and a cup of wine or lemon juice. Place it again on the fire, let it boil a few times, and strain it through a jelly-bag. When well made it is delicious with cold turkey, and under the name of “ aspic jelly,’ ’ figures in the finest French cooking.

NO. 22. - TOMATO SAUCE, RICH AND VERY FINE

Take a dozen large ripe tomatoes, pick off the stalks ; extract the seeds and watery juice by squeezing them in the hand. Place the pulp in a stewpan with four ounces, or a quarter of a pound, of raw ham, cut into cubes ; a dozen small eschalots and a bunch of thyme or parsley. Throw in a little butter, and fry all gently un¬ til the tomatoes soften sufficiently to be passed through a strainer. Mix this puree with a cupful of good soup- stock or other soup; add the strained juice of the toma¬ toes, and let boil fifteen minutes, then set it by to clarify. Serve it hot. When canned tomatoes are used, omit the first directions.

NO. 23. — BROWN OYSTER SAUCE Prepare this just as white oyster sauce (No. 24) ; only you use brown gravy instead of cream, as in white oyster sauce.

44

LA CUISINE CREOLE

NO. 24.; — WHITE OYSTER SAUCE

Put three dozen oysters in a stewpan, without their juice, which save; mix with the oysters, half a pound of butter, thickened with flour (work it well with a spoon) ; season with cayenne pepper and salt, and thin with a cup of milk or cream, and a cup of oyster juice. Boil altogether for ten minutes.

NO. 25.— OYSTER SAUCE FOR BOILED TURKEY

Put three dozen oysters in a stewpan; save their liquor in a howl ; mix with the oysters half a pound of butter and flour, worked together, and season with cayenne pepper and salt ; thin this now with the liquor from the oysters and a cup of cream. Let it boil ten minutes and serve on the turkey.

NO. 26. — SAUCE PIQUANT

Put a large spoonful of sweet butter in a stewpan, slice into it two onions, two carrots, a little thyme, two cloves, two eschalots and a bunch of parsley; add, if liked, a clove of garlic. Let them cook until the carrot is soft, then shake in a little flour; let it cook five min¬ utes more, and add a cup of beef or veal stock, and half a cup of strong vinegar; skim and strain through a sieve. Add salt and pepper when boiling. This is nice on cold meat.

NO. 27. - STOCK FOR SOUPS OR GRAVIES

Break the bones of a knuckle of veal, add to it a pound of lean beef and a half pound of lean ham ; stew in two quarts of water until it is reduced to one. If for gravy, add to it two carrots, two turnips and two heads of

LA CUISINE CREOLE

45

celery. When the vegetables are soft, strain and keep for nse. Water added to gravies spoils them.

NO. 28. - EGG SAUCE WITH LEMON

Boil six eggs ; when cold, take off the shells, and slice them into a cup of melted butter ; add pepper and salt, and stir constantly while heating. Add the juice of a lemon, or vinegar, or catsup as preferred. This sauce is equally good for boiled fish or poultry.

NO. 29. - HORSERADISH SAUCE

To a spoonful of mustard add three tablespoonfuls of vinegar and a little salt; if you have it, put in two spoonfuls of cream. Grate into this as much horse¬ radish as will thicken it; then mash a clove of garlic and your sauce is ready.

NO. 30. - TO KEEP HORSERADISH

Grate the root, and pour strong vinegar over it, and bottle. This is fine for roast meat.

NO. 31. - SAUCE ROBERT

Cut into small pieces four large onions ; brown them with three ounces of butter and a spoonful of flour. When yellow-brown, pour on them half a pint of veal, or beef gravy, or soup ; let all simmer for half an hour; season with salt and pepper, and at the moment of serving, add a dessertspoonful of made mustard.

NO. 32.J — PIQUANT TOMATO SAUCE

Mash half a dozen ripe tomatoes (pick out the seeds), put them in a stewpan with sliced onions, and a little

46

LA CUISINE CREOLE

meat gravy ; let them simmer, till nearly dry, then add half a pint of brown gravy, left of cold meat, and let it cook twenty minutes. Strain and season with cayenne pepper, salt and lemon juice. Tarragon vinegar may be used instead of the lemon juice.

NO. 33. — CREAM SAUCE

Put a quarter of a pound of butter in a stew-pan, with a small tablespoonful of wheat flour, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and the same of young onions, or es¬ chalots, chopped fine; add a saltspoonful of salt, and the same of pepper, and a grated nutmeg. Mix these well together, then add a glass of cream, or rich milk, set it over the fire, and stir it with a silver spoon until it is ready to boil ; if it is too thick, add more milk. This sauce should be stirred for fifteen minutes. Extract of celery improves it. Serve with boiled rabbits, meat or poultry.

NO. 34. — APPLE SAUCE

Peel, quarter, and core some rich, tart apples ; add a very little water, cover and set them over the fire ; when tender, mash them smooth, and serve with roasted pork, goose, or any other gross meat.

NO. 35. — CRANBERRY SAUCE

Wash and pick a quart of cranberries ; put them into a stew-pan, with a teacupful of water, and the same of brown sugar; cover the pan and let them stew gently for one hour; then mash them smooth with a silver spoon; dip a quart bowl in cold water, pour in the stewed cranberries, and leave till cold. Serve with roast pork, ham, turkey or goose.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

47

NO. 36. - SAVORY SAUCE FOR A ROAST GOOSE

A tablespoonful of made mustard, half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, and three spoonfuls of port wine. When mixed, pour this (hot) into the body of the goose before sending it up. It wonderfully improves the sage and onions.

NO. 37. — FRIED PEACHES FOR SAUCE

Take peaches, not fully ripe, wash and wipe them; then cut them in slices a quarter of an inch thick, and fry in the pan, after pork. Serve with the meat. This is a South Carolina dish.

NO. 38. - FRIED APPLES AS A RELISH

Wash fine, fair apples without paring; cut them in slices an eighth of an inch thick, and fry in hot lard, or pork fat. Serve with fried pork.

NO. 39. - RICH LEMON SAUCE, FOR PUDDINGS

Boil a fresh lemon in plenty of water, until a straw will penetrate it, then cut it in slices, and each slice in quarters; add a teacupful of sugar, and the same of butter, with a large teaspoonful of wheat flour worked into it; put all together into a stew-pan, and stir in gradually half a pint of boiling water ; keep it over the fire for ten minutes, stirring it all the time, then serve with half a nutmeg grated over.

NO. 40.; — HARD SAUCE

Beat a quarter of a pound of butter to a cream, then stir into it half a pound of pulverized white sugar, and

48

LA CUISINE CREOLE

beat it until it is light. A wineglass of wine or brandy may be added. Grate nutmeg over it. Put it on ice if the weather is warm.

NO. 41. — TO KEEP HORSERADISH FOR SAUCE

Grate a quantity in season, and keep it in bottles filled with strong vinegar. A clove of garlic added to each bottle is an improvement.

NO. 42. - TO MAKE GOOD VINEGAR; NO. 1

Mix a quart of molasses in three gallons of rain wa¬ ter; add to this, one pint of sharp yeast. Let it ferment and stand four weeks ; you will then have good vinegar.

NO. 43. - ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE VINEGAR; NO. 2

To make good pickles or sauces of several kinds, good vinegar is required. To a gallon of water put two pounds of coarse brown sugar; boil and skim it for half an hour. Put it in a tub or jar to ferment ; add to it in the tub a slice of raised wheat-bread soaked in yeast. It can be bottled off or put in a cask in a week or two, but must be left unstopped, and the bung covered with muslin to keep out insects.

NO. 44. — TO MAKE GOOD VINEGAR FOR PICKLES

To a gallon of whisky add four pounds of brown sugar, a cup of yeast, and seven gallons of water. Put it into a demijohn or keg. If you set the vinegar in April, it will be good in November to pickle with. Cover the mouth of the vessel with muslin, to keep out flies or insects, which trouble and sometimes ruin vine¬ gar while making. When sharp and clear, bottle it.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

49

NO. 45. — TO MAKE GOOD AND CHEAP VINEGAB

Take three quarts of molasses, add to it eight gallons of rain water ; turn the mixture into a clean cask, shake it well two or three times, throw in a few spoonfuls of good yeast, or two yeast cakes ; place the cask in a warm place, and in ten days throw in it a sheet of common brown paper, smeared with molasses ; it should be torn into narrow strips. This paper seems necessary to form mother, in making vinegar, unless you use whisky to commence the fermentation j then paper is not necessary.

50

LA CUISINE CREOLE

ENTREES

KIDNEY AND MUSHROOM STEW

Cut the kidneys into slices, wash and dry them care¬ fully ; pepper and salt them, roll them in flour, and fry in butter till of a delicate brown color. Pour some plain beef stock, or beef gravy, in the pan; add a chopped onion, and stew for half an hour ; then put in a cupful of mushrooms, and cook for fifteen minutes. Mushroom catsup will serve as a substitute. Use one- half the quantity of catsup.

STEWED LAMB CHOPS WITH GREEN PEAS

Season the chops with pepper and salt ; roll in flour and fry to a pale brown. When done, if the chops are very fat, pour some of it into the stock-pot and cover the chops with boiling water. Parboil a pint of green peas; add them to the chops, together with a large spoonful of sweet butter. Dredge in a spoonful of flour, and let all stew gently for half an hour.

IRISH STEW

Take from one to three pounds of loin of mutton, or ribs of beef ; cut it into chops ; add by weight as many white potatoes, sliced, as there is beef. Throw in from two to six chopped onions, according to size, some pep¬ per and salt, and a large spoonful of butter to each pound of meat. Let all stew gently for two hours and serve with boiled rice or macaroni.

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51

PIGEON STEW

Pick and wash the pigeons, stuff them with bread crumbs, parsley, pepper, salt and butter mixed; dust with flour, and put into a pan to brown. Add butter and a little soup-stock or gravy. Stew gently until tender. Before dishing add a glass of wine if ap¬ proved, if not, a little more stock, if the gravy has be¬ come too thick.

TRIPE WITH MUSHROOMS

Clean and parboil tripe before cooking. When it is white and tender, cut it into pieces suitable to fry; pepper and salt it, and dip it in flour or rolled cracker, then drop it into hot bacon fat. When browned on both sides, take up and make a gravy of some of the fat in which it was fried, a little flour, and a wineglass of good vinegar. Pour this around the tripe and serve with mushrooms.

STEWED TRIPE, PLAIN

Cut a pound of tripe in long narrow pieces, lay it in a stew-pan and add a cup of milk, or milk and water, a piece of butter as large as a hen’s egg, a tablespoon¬ ful of flour sifted in, a bunch of parsley, and a green onion, if desired. Cook slowly for nearly two hours.

TO FRY TRIPE BROWN

It must be thoroughly boiled and tender, or no frying will make it good. Let it be perfectly cold, cut it in pieces, roll each piece in salt, pepper and flour, and fry brown in bacon grease. Frying tripe in lard makes it tasteless. When nicely brown take it up, dredge a

52

LA CUISINE CREOLE

little flour in the gravy, and put in a half cup of vinegar. Serve in a sauceboat, or pour over the tripe as preferred.

SCALLOPS OF MUTTON, WITH MUSHROOMS

“Sautez,” or fry the scallops brown, then pour off the fat, add a glass of wine, a dozen button mushrooms, three ounces of truffles cut in pieces, and a cup of broth, or the stock of plain soup without vegetables. Simmer gently, and finish by adding the juice of a lemon.

HASHED BEEF, PLAIN

Slice some beef in very thin pieces, season with pep¬ per and salt, and shake a little flour over it. Next, chop a medium sized onion and put it (without the beef) into a stew-pan with a tablespoonful of mushroom or tomato catsup. Boil for a few minutes, then add a pint of broth stock, or gravy-soup; boil it down to half the quantity. Five minutes before serving, throw in the cold sliced beef ; let it boil five minutes and serve on toasted bread.

SANDWICHES. VERY FINE

Take half a pound of nice sweet butter, three table¬ spoonfuls of mixed mustard, the same of sweet oil, a lit¬ tle salt, pepper and the yolk of an egg. Put it over the fire and stir till it thickens ; set it by to cool and chop fine some tongue or boiled ham. Cut the bread thin, then spread on the dressing and over it put a layer of ham or tongue. Press the slices of bread hard together, trim the edges and garnish with curled parsley.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

53

SANDWICHES OF VARIOUS KINDS, FOR PIC-NICS

Home-made bread cuts better for sandwiches than baker ’s bread, so if you wish the sandwiches very nice, it is better to make a loaf at home. For bread and but¬ ter sandwiches, cut the bread very thin, spread it evenly with sweet butter, and lay the buttered sides together. Lay them in circles on a plate and put parsley on top of them. Sandwiches may be made with cheese sliced and placed between the buttered bread, or with hard- boiled eggs sliced or chopped, and put between. The best are made with boiled smoked tongue or ham, with French mustard spread over the butter.

TO MAKE FRENCH MUSTARD

Put on a plate an ounce of the best mustard, add to it salt, a clove of garlic or a few tarragon leaves. Mince the garlic, stir it in, and pour on vinegar till it is of the proper thickness for use.

VEAL HASH FOR BREAKFAST. VERY NICE

Take a pint cup of cold veal cut small, dredge it with a spoonful of flour, and add a piece of butter the size of a hen’s egg. Put all in a stew-pan with half a pint of water ; cover up and put it on the stove ; let it simmer for an hour at least, stir it occasionally and add to it some parsley and sweet herbs. Just before serving add a teacup of milk, and serve on toasted bread.

PLAIN VEAL AND HAM PIE. EASILY MADE

Cut a pound of veal and a pound of ham into slices, salt them slightly ; chop a cupful of mushrooms, a bunch of parsley, some eschalots, and fry them lightly ; add to

54

LA CUISINE CREOLE

them a pint of soup stock, boil it together for five min¬ utes and pour it into the piepan where you have placed your ham and veal. Put a dozen hard-boiled yolks of eggs in among the contents of the pie, cover it with a nice paste and hake it one hour and a half.

FRICANDELLONS OF COLD VEAL OR MUTTON

Mince the meat very fine, soak a thick slice of bread in boiling milk, mash it, and mix it with the cold meat ; add a beaten egg (or two if you have more than a quar¬ ter of a pound of meat), some chopped parsley and thyme, a little grated lemon peel, pepper and salt ; make this into cakes, and fry in butter or lard. Serve them dry on a serviette, accompanied with a gravy made . from the bones of the minced meat which must be cooked with an onion, a little butter and flour, and milk ; when brown it is ready.

VEAL AND HAM RAISED PIE, OR TIMBALE

Lard two pounds of lean veal well with strips of fat bacon, and add two pounds of ham. Line a deep pan or mould with rich paste ; lay in the bottom of this a layer of liver forcemeat, then the veal and ham, and so on in alternate layers, till the dish is full. Season between each layer with thyme, bay leaf, marjoram, or any dried and pounded sweet herbs ; fill up the hollow places, and cover the pan with paste. Decorate the top of the pit with cut dough leaves ; make a hole in the top to pour in the gravy, and let out the steam. Egg the top of the pie and bake it for three hours ; withdraw it from the oven, and place the point of a funnel in the hole in the top,

LA CUISINE CREOLE

55

and pour in about a pint of good gravy or veal con- some. This should be eaten cold. It will be jellied all through if cooked enough.

VEAL, SALAD FOR LUNCH

To a pint of minced veal add three heads of celery. Pour over this a dressing made of the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs, a tablespoonful of dry mustard, and a large spoonful of olive oil. When this dressing is well beaten and perfectly smooth, add to it slowly (to keep from curdling) four tablespoonfuls of good wine vine¬ gar, a little cayenne and salt. Garnish the dish with parsley and celery leaves.

VEAL SWEETBREADS, WITH TOMATOES

Set over the fire two quarts of ripe tomatoes ; stew slowly, and strain through a coarse sieve. Add to them four or five sweetbreads, well trimmed and soaked in warm water; season with salt and cayenne pepper. Thicken with three spoonfuls of flour and a quarter of a pound of butter, mixed ; cook slowly till done, and just before serving stir in the beaten yolks of three eggs.

VEAL LOAF FOR LUNCH OR TEA

Mince cold roast veal as fine as possible ; add a fourth part as much fat ham, a cup of grated bread, or cracker crumbs, and two well-beaten eggs to bind the crumbs together; season with salt, and pepper (black and red), mix and form it into a loaf. Glaze the outside with yolk of egg, and sprinkle over it fine cracker crumbs. Bake half an hour, and serve with gravy made from the bones, etc., of the veal. Serve the gravy hot.

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

MINCED VEAL AND POACHED EGGS

One pound of cold veal chopped very fine. Boil half a pint of sauce till it begins to thicken or glaze; then add a cup of cream and the minced veal ; season with pepper and salt. When dished put six poached eggs around it, alternately with slices of red tongue or ham. This is a nice breakfast dish, and uses to advantage the cold meats from the day previous.

CALF OB PIG BBAINS FRIED

Wash the brains in salt water, and wipe dry and dip in wheat flour or in beaten egg and then in bread crumbs. Fry in butter or lard, and season with pepper, salt and lemon sliced.

calves' and pigs' feet fried in batter

Wash and cook the feet tender, the day before using. When wanted, wash and roll them in a little flour to dry. Set them by, and make a batter of flour, eggs, milk, and a little salt and pepper (one egg is sufficient to two feet) ; take out the largest bones and roll the feet in bat¬ ter, or lay them in a pan with hot lard, and pour the bat¬ ter over them. Fry a delicate brown and serve on toast.

calf's head boiled or baked

Have a head nicely cleaned, and soak it in salt and water to make it look white. Remove the eyes. Take out the tongue and salt it. Of the brains make a sepa¬ rate dish. To boil the head put it in a pot of lukewarm water and boil till very tender. Serve with sauce made of butter, flour and water, some lemon juice and toma¬ toes. If to bake, dredge flour over it, put on bits of butter, season with pepper, salt, and sweet herbs, set in a hot oven and baste with the water in which it was boiled.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

57

POTTED CALF’S HEAD

Boil a calf’s head or half a beef’s head with a cow- heel until very tender. When done, pick out all the bones and chop the meat and tendons very fine ; strain the liquor they were boiled in, and set it away to cool ; skim off the fat and pour the jelly over the meat. Season with a teaspoonful of black pepper, salt, and thyme, powdered ; boil all together for a few minutes, and pour into bowls or jelly moulds. Serve with pars¬ ley. Add a little garlic if the flavor is liked.

COLLARED CALF’S HEAD WITH BRAINS. COLD DISH

Boil half, or the whole calf’s head, as you require. Cover it with water and let it simmer for two hours ; take it up, remove the bones, and put them back into the broth; let it continue to stew, adding to it sage leaves, and an onion. Cut the meat of head and brains into a stew-pan, adding to it some slices of ham, pepper and salt, the chopped tongue and an eschalot ; let these cook two hours. The brains should be beaten up with two eggs, before putting them in, which should be the last thing. Then pour all in a mould and fill up with the liquor from the head, which should be boiled to a jelly.

CURRY OF COLD ROAST FOWL

Take two large onions, two apples, two ounces of but¬ ter, a dessertspoonful of curry powder or paste, half pint of gravy or soup-stock, one spoonful of lemon juice and two tomatoes.

Fry the fowl and the onions in butter to a light brown color; stew the apples, or fry them also. Put all,

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

onions, apples, gravy and fowl, with the tomatoes and lemon juice into a stewing pan and let it stew thirty minutes ; then serve with boiled rice. If curry paste is used instead of curry powder, no lemon is required.

WELSH RAREBIT

Cut a pound of cheese in slices a quarter of an inch thick, fry them together five minutes in butter, then add two well-beaten eggs, a little mustard and pepper ; stir it up and send it to table hot, on slices of buttered bread.

HAM TOAST FOR LUNCHEON

Beat the yolk of an egg with a tablespoonful of sweet milk; set it on the fire to warm, and thicken it with grated or finely chopped ham; let it simmer a few moments and pour it on buttered toast. This is for one person.

WINTER DISH OF BAKED BEANS AND PORK

This is a very heavy dish, but nourishing, and it is well to know how to cook it, as it is economical.

Pick the beans, wash them, and put them to soak over night in plenty of water. In the morning pour this water off and put the beans in a kettle of cold water ; place them on the fire and let them simmer till quite tender. Take them up and drain them; when thor¬ oughly drained, put them in a baking pan with a large piece of salt pork; score the pork and lay it deep in among the beans, not upon them. Pour boiling water over them and bake till brown. If in a range, leave them in all night. This constant change of water im¬ proves the beans very much, and makes them less flatulent.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

59

MUTTON, BEEF AND HAMS

REMARKS ON BOILING MEATS

Meat, whether fresh or salted, smoked or dried, should always be put on the fire in cold water. Dried meats should be soaked before boiling. The delicacy of meat and fowls is preserved by carefully skimming while they are boiling.

STUFFED HAM

Smoked hams are much liked stuffed with spices and sweet herbs, which the only kind of stuffing a salt ham will admit, as bread, crackers or oysters would sour before the ham could be used. If you wish to stuff a ham, look at the recipe for “Aromatic Spices for seasoning Meat, Pies, etc. 9 9 Soak your ham all night, scrape it nicely, and boil it half an hour to make the skin tender; then take it from the pot, gash it all over, introduce as much of the pounded spices as the incisions will hold, and then close the skin over the gashes and boil in the same manner, with vegetables thrown in, as in recipe for boiled ham.

BAKED HAM

Soak and clean your ham, boil it with onions, cloves, parsley and sweet herbs until it is nearly done, then let it cool in its own liquor ; when cold, pull off the skin and place the ham in the oven gate, with a little sugar and bread crumbs over it till it is brown. If it is to be eaten hot, serve with vegetables and some acid or piquant sauce; if cold, send up savory jelly, No. 21.

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

TO BOIL A HAM

Run a knife, or skewer, into the thickest part of the ham next the bone ; if the knife comes out clean the ham is good, if it smells rank and smears the knife the ham is not good. Select your ham, then, according to this rule, and when good lay it in cold water; scrape and wash it carefully, and let it remain in the water all night. In the morning, when the water — enough to cover the ham — is nearly boiling lay the ham in, and keep the water in a simmer. When it has boiled about an hour throw in two carrots, four onions, two heads of celery, a sprig of parsley, two or three blades of mace and four cloves. If the ham is very salt, it is well to change the water before putting in the seasoning. To obtain tenderness and mellowness the ham must not be allowed to boil hard, only simmer. Too much heat hardens all meat, especially salt meat. When the ham is done set it off in its own water, let it cool in it ; by this means it will retain its moisture. When cool take it out, skin it, and dredge sugar over it, set it in the oven till it browns, or hold a hot shovel over it.

DAUBE GLACEE OF BEEF, FOR COLD SUPPERS

Take a thick round of beef — from four to six inches is the best size — make holes in it and stuff them with salted pork or bacon ; roll each piece, before it is drawn through the beef, in pepper, salt, sugar, and vinegar, with minced parsley, and a very little minced garlic. If the weather is cold it will be better to keep the meat till the next day before cooking it. Boil two calf’s feet or four pig’s feet until they drop to pieces ; pick out the

LA CUISINE CREOLE

61

bones and strain the liquor; set it away to jelly, or put it on ice to make it jelly. The next morning, put one half the jelly in a large stew pan, then add the beef, and cover it with the remainder of the jelly. Paste the pan over very tight or cover it extremely well, so that none of the flavor can escape. Cook this about four hours ; when done, take out, cover with the liquor, and set it aside till it is jellied. This is delicious to eat cold, for suppers and collations.

BOILED BRISKET OF BEEF, STUFFED

A piece weighing about eight pounds requires five or six hours to boil. Before boiling the beef make a dressing of bread crumbs, pepper, butter, salt, sweet herbs, mace, and an onion, all chopped fine and mixed with a beaten egg. Put the dressing between the fat and the lean of the beef ; sew it up to keep the dressing in. Flour a cloth, tie the beef up tight in it, and let it boil five or six hours.

ROUND OF BEEF STEWED BROWN

Make incisions in the beef and stuff with chopped onions, salt, pepper, and sweet basil, thyme and pars¬ ley. Dredge the meat with flour, lay some slices of bacon over it, and put it to brown in a close oven. Slice two turnips, four carrots, four salsifies, three stalks of celery and two onions ; add a quarter of a cup of tomato catsup or two large tomatoes ; season with salt and put all in the oven to cook with the meat. After it has been cooking in the oven two hours and is brown, add a cup of water with the vegetables. Cover again closely, and let this stew for one or two hours more, or until the meat and vegetables are tender.

s

62

LA CUISINE CREOLE

TO FRY A STEAK TO TASTE AS IF BROILED

It sometimes happens that when the fire is low and the coals gone out, you are called on to cook a steak. Then get up a quick blaze in the stove with some kin¬ dlings. Put in a pan, over the blaze, a little butter ; when it is hot lay in your steak; let itifry quickly; while fry¬ ing cover the pan. Work some butter, salt and pepper together in a tin pan, and when the steak is done to taste, let it lie in this mixture a few minutes, and then serve. Do not salt a steak until it is cooked as salt will toughen it and draw out its juices.

ROUND OF BEEF A LA BARONNE

Boil a fat round of beef for half an hour, take it up and put in a deep dish ; cut gashes in the sides of the meat, put pepper and salt into each gash ; fill the dish the meat is in with claret wine ; set it in to bake, adding as it goes in the stove three blades of mace, a cup of pickled capers, or nasturtiums, three white onions cut small, and a bunch of parsley cut fine. Stew or bake all together until the meat is tender. Toast some slices of bread very brown, lay them in the bottom of a dish, lay in the beef and pour the gravy around it, unless it is preferred in a sauce boat.

ROASTED BEEFSTEAKS

Tenderloin or porterhouse steaks are the best for broiling. Have a clear fire of coals to broil on ; rub the gridiron with a little fat of the meat; lay on the steak without salting, let it broil gently until one side is done,

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63

then turn. Catch the blood as you turn it, to make the gravy rich. If the steak is a large firm one, take a quarter of a pound of butter and work into it pepper and salt. When the steak is done lay it on to this sea¬ soned butter, keep it hot until the butter melts, turn the steak in it a few times, put the blood with the gravy, and serve hot, with tomato sauce or catsup.

TO EOAST BEEF IN A STOVE

A fine roasting piece of beef may, if properly man¬ aged, be baked in a stove so as to resemble beef roasted before a large, open fire. Prepare the meat as if for roasting, season it well with salt, pepper, and a little onion if liked. Set the meat on muffin rings, or a trivet in a dripping pan, and pour into the pan a pint or so of hot water to baste the meat with. Keep the oven hot and well closed on the meat; when it begins to bake, baste it freely, using a long-handled spoon; it should be basted every fifteen minutes ; add hot water to the pan as it wastes, that the gravy may not burn ; allow fifteen minutes to each pound of meat unless you wish it very rare. Half an hour before taking it up, dredge flour thickly over it, baste freely and let it brown. Take the meat from the pan, dredge in some flour and seasoning if needed; throw into the gravy a cup of water, let it boil up once, and strain into a sauce boat or gravy tureen.

LEG OF MUTTON BOILED A l’aNGLAISE

Select a fat, fine leg of mutton, put it on the fire in warm water; when it boils skim it, and let it simmer gently for two hours and a half ; throw in a tablespoon-

64

LA CUISINE CREOLE

ful of salt. When the mutton is done garnish with turnips mashed in cream, butter, pepper and salt, and send it to table with a sauce boat of caper sauce No. 11.

ROAST LEG OF MUTTON

Select a fine, fat leg, cut holes in it, and lard it with fat bacon; season with parsley, pepper, and salt and put it to bake in a slow oven. Roast it for two hours, and serve with tomato sauce.

MUTTON STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS

Chop up half a pint of mushrooms, put them in a stew pan with some chopped parsley and onion, and a tablespoonful of grated lean and same of fat ham; season with salt and pepper, add the yolks of four eggs, stir it all together, and introduce it in the leg by taking out the bone or by making incisions in the mut¬ ton. Bake very brown, froth it up by dusting flour over it, and serve with a good brown gravy, in which some currant jelly is melted. Sauce No. 28 is very nice for stuffed leg of mutton.

MUTTON HAUNCH

Let it lie in vinegar and water a few hours before it is put to cook. When wanted, rub it all over with pep¬ per and salt, and when going to put it in the oven, cover it with a paste made of flour and water, to keep in the juices while baking; allow fifteen minutes to each pound of mutton. When half done, take off the flour paste, baste the meat well and dredge flour over it. Half an hour before serving, stir into the pan a quarter of a pound of butter, baste the meat freely, dredge

LA CUISINE CREOLE

65

flour over it again, and brown. Serve with port wine and. jelly in the gravy, or if preferred, use one of the sauces mentioned for roast mutton.

MUTTON THAT WILL TASTE LIKE VENISON

Take a hind quarter of lamb or mutton; rub it well all over with brown sugar, half a pint of wine, and same of vinegar. Let it stay in this pickle for a day or two, if the weather is cold. When it is wanted, wash it, dry it, and roast it, or it may be cut into steaks, or made into a pie like venison. Sugar is a great pre¬ servative, and gives a finer flavor than salt, which hardens delicate meats. Salt drains out the juices of mutton or lamb.

66

LA CUISINE CREOLE

FOWLS AND GAME

BOILED CHICKEN

After tlie chickens are cleaned and trussed fold them in a nice white cloth, put them in a large stew-pan and cover them with boiling water; boil them gently, and skim carefully as long as any scum rises ; let them sim¬ mer slowly as that will make them plump and white, while fast boiling will make them dark and lose flavor. When done lay them on a hot dish, and pour celery, oyster, or egg sauce over them. Serve some also in a boat, as it keeps hot longer than when poured over the fowls. Boiled tongue or ham should be served with boiled chicken. If the chicken is not very tough, an hour or an hour and a quarter is sufficient to boil it.

COUNTRY FRIED CHICKENS

Take a young, fat chicken, cut it up, pepper and salt it, dredge it over with flour, and set it by while you mix a cup of lard, and some slices of fat bacon in a fry¬ ing pan. Let the lard get very hot, then drop in a few pieces of the chicken, always allowing room in the pan for each piece to be turned without crowding. As fast as you fry the pieces, put them on a dish over hot water to keep the heat in them while you make the gravy. Pour off some of the grease the chicken was fried in, and then dredge into the fryingpan some flour, let this brown nicely and then pour into it a cup of sweet milk, little at a time; let it froth up, and then place your

LA CUISINE CREOLE

67

chicken back into the gravy for three minutes. If you like the chicken brown and dry, pour the gravy under it on the dish for serving.

BOILED CHICKENS WITH STUFFING

Truss and stuff the chicken as for roasting, dredge it all over with wheat flour, and put it in a pot of boiling water; take the pot off the fire for five minutes after the chicken is put in, or the skin will crack ; then let it boil gently according to its age and weight, an old fowl requiring twice as long to boil as a young one; allow fifteen minutes to the pound. Take off all the scum as it rises, and when done serve with hard-boiled egg sauce, or parsley, or oyster sauce. This is a nice way to cook a fat old chicken, as it is much more tender and nourishing than baked, for if the chicken is old baking toughens it.

STEW, OR FRICASSEE OF CHICKEN

Clean and wash the chicken, cut it up as for frying, lay it in a stew-pan with water to cover it ; add a tea¬ spoonful of salt and half as much pepper ; set it to boil very gently, take off all scum as it rises. When the chicken is tender, which will be in an hour, take a tea¬ cup of butter, a tablespoonful of flour worked in it, and a bunch of parsley, put them in the stew-pan with the chicken; let all stew twenty minutes, and serve on toasted bread. Egg-balls around the toast add much to the beauty of this dish,

68

LA CUISINE CREOLE

CHICKEN FRICASSEE A LA MARENGO

Cut the chicken up as for a fricassee, put it in a sauce-pan with a wineglassful of salad oil, and allow it to cook rather briskly for twenty minutes ; then put in with it a quarter of a pound of truffles cut up, a bunch of parsley, six chives or small green eschalots, a bruised clove of garlic, and pepper and salt ; let them stew for twenty minutes ; then pour off the oil and take out the parsley. If only one chicken is used, throw in half a pint of button mushrooms, a ladleful of brown gravy sauce, and the juice of a lemon. Garnish this dish with pieces of fried bread and large crayfish.

ROAST CHICKENS

Draw them and stuff with rich bread and butter stuffing ; baste them with butter and a little fat bacon, seasoned with sweet herbs; brown nicely, and serve with their own gravy made by sifting in a tablespoon¬ ful of flour and a cup of hot water; add a little chopped parsley, and serve with hard-boiled eggs on the dish with the chickens.

CHICKEN SAUTE WITH OYSTER SAUCE

Cut up the chicken as for frying, roll each piece in salt, pepper, and sifted flour, and fry a light brown. Pour off most of the grease the chicken was fried in, and in the same pan put three dozen oysters with a pint of their juice, and a spoonful of lemon juice. Let

LA CUISINE CREOLE

69

them simmer a few minutes, and serve with pieces of fried bread around the dish.

COLD CHICKEN ESCALLOPED

Mince cold chicken without the skin, wet it with gravy or hot water (gravy is best), and season with salt and pepper. To the minced meat of one chicken, put two ounces of sweet, fresh butter, cut small. Rub tin or silver scallop pans with butter, strew over the bottom powdered cracker, lay the minced chicken in, strew cracker over the top, and bake in a hot oven long enough to brown the top. Serve with celery or pickle.

TO BROIL A CHICKEN

Clean it as usual and split it down the back, break the breast-bone with a stroke of the potato beetle, spread it out flat and lay it on the gridiron over clear coals ; put the inside of the chicken to the fire first. Put a tin cover over it, let it broil quickly until nearly done, then turn it and finish without the cover. When nicely browned take it on a dish, season it with salt and pep¬ per, and butter it freely; turn it once or twice in the butter and serve it hot.

CHICKEN CURRY

Cut up the chicken and stew as usual for the table. When done add a tablespoonful of curry powder. Serve rice with the dish.

CHICKEN PIE, A LA REINE

Cut two chickens up as for frying, lay some veal cut in small pieces in the bottom of your pie dish, cut up

70

LA CUISINE CREOLE

over the veal a slice of fat ham; on this place your chickens ; place hard-boiled yolks of eggs in among the chicken. Take half a pint of white sauce, made with butter, flour, and milk or water; pour this over the chickens, season with a cup of chopped mushrooms, some parsley, pepper and salt (a good pie can be made if you omit the mushrooms and ham, but not so rich as this recipe) ; now cover your pie with a good paste, and bake for an hour or two.

PLAIN CHICKEN PIE

Take two nice chickens, or more if they are small, cut them up as for frying, and put them in a pot to stew with some slices of fat meat. Let them cook for half an hour, then add a few onions and four Irish potatoes sliced small, so that in cooking they may be thoroughly dissolved in the gravy. Season with pepper, salt, a little parsley, and a quarter of a pound of sweet butter. When it is cooked well there should be gravy enough to cover the chickens. If you want it very nice, beat up two eggs, and stir into the stew with half a pint of milk. Line a five-quart pan with a crust made like soda biscuit, only more shortening; put in the chickens and gravy; then cover with a top crust. Bake until the crust is done and you will have a good chicken pie.

CHICKEN POT PIE

Cut up a chicken, parboil it, save the liquor it was boiled in. Wash out the kettle, or take another one, and in it fry three or four slices of fat salt pork, and put it in the bottom of the dish in which the pie is to be made; then put in the chicken and the liquor, also a

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71

piece of butter the size of a teacup, and sprinkle in some pepper ; cover with a light crust and bake an hour.

BONED TURKEY

Chop up one pound of white veal, with a pound of fat bacon ; season high with chopped mushrooms, parsley, pepper, salt, and a bunch of sweet herbs ; when chopped fine, pound them in a mortar or pass them through a sausage grinder; add to this the yolks of three eggs, and place it by in a basin for use. Peel a pound of truffles, and cut up a boiled smoked tongue, a pound of fat bacon, or a pound of calf’s udder or veal. Next bone a turkey, or two fine capons, or fowls, and draw the skin from the legs and pinions inside. Take the turkey on a napkin — it is now limp and boneless — cut slices from the thick breast and place it on the skin where it seems to be thin, distribute the flesh of the fowl as evenly as you can on the skin ; season it slightly with pepper and salt. Spread a layer of the prepared force-meat in the basin, let it be an inch thick; then place the cut-up tongue, bacon and veal, lay a row of chopped truffles and a layer of the force-meat until the skin is covered, or as full as it will hold. It must be sewed up the back, the ends tied, like a cushion, or roly- poly; to do this you must butter a cloth and put it tightly over the turkey skin, as it will be quite too tender to stand the cooking, etc., unless supported by a napkin. Tie it up tightly and place it in a round stew- pan with the bones and any trimmings of veal or poultry at hand, add to it two boiled calf’s feet, or an ounce of gelatine, two onions stuck with four cloves, a bunch of parsley, six green onions, a bunch of sweet basil, and a bunch of thyme, two blades of mace, and a

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

dozen pepper corns, or whole peppers ; moisten all with half a pint of wine or brandy. Warm this np and put in your tied-up gelatine, pour over it as much white veal stock as will cover it well, put it back in the stove to simmer gently for two hours and a half ; let the gela¬ tine get cold in its own seasoning, and then take it out and put it under a weight while you remove the stock or gravy ; take off all the cold grease from the surface and clarify with eggs in the usual way. When the gelatine is quite cold, remove the weight, take it from its napkin, wipe it and glaze it, and place it on a dish. Decorate it with the strained gravy, which should have been placed on ice as soon as clarified and strained. It will now be a firm jelly; if not, put it on ice again, and trim the boned turkey or fowls with it.

Gelatines of turkeys, geese, capons, pheasants, par¬ tridges, etc., are made in the same way. This is from the finest source, and will repay any one who tries to make this magnificent dish. It has never, to my knowl¬ edge, been given in an American cook-book, as it was obtained from one who was Chef de Cuisine to a crowned head of Europe.

WILD TURKEY

If the turkey is old, or tough, it must be boiled one hour before being stuffed for baking. Then stuff it with oysters, bread and butter, and season with pepper and salt; baste with butter, and the juice of the turkey. Make the gravy by putting in the pan a pint of oysters, or button mushrooms, throw in a cup of cream, or milk, salt and pepper, and send to table hot, with the turkey.

A PLAIN WAY TO COOK A TURKEY BY ROASTING

Make a dressing to suit you; there are several to

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73

choose from in this hook, made from bread, or force¬ meat. Stuff the turkey, season it with salt, pepper, and a little butter, dredge it with flour and put it in the oven ; let the fire be slow at first, and hotter as it begins to cook. Baste frequently with butter ; when the turkey is well plumped up, and the steam draws toward the fire, it is nearly done ; then dredge again with flour, and baste with more butter until it is a nice brown. Serve with gravy and bread sauce ; some like chestnuts stewed in the turkey gravy, and served with it. A very large turkey will take three hours to roast, one of eight pounds will take two hours.

ROAST TURKEY A LA PERIGORD

For this purpose choose a fine young hen turkey; make an incision at the back of the neck, and through this take out the entrails, as the turkey looks so much nicer than when otherwise cut. Cut away the vent, and sew up the place with coarse thread ; singe off the hairs and scald the legs to get off the black skin, if the skin is black, as it sometimes is. The neck should be cut off close into the back, and the crop left entire ; some cooks can do this and some think it too much trouble. Break the breast bone and take it out. Lay a little salt on the turkey, and cover it up, while you prepare the stuffing. Wash three pounds of truffles, if the hen turkey is a large one ; if it is small two pounds will do. Peel the truffles and slice them; throw them into water, and scald them; add two pounds of fat ham, or bacon, also the turkey liver, and a quarter of a pound of veal liver; season this with pepper, salt, nutmeg, chopped thyme, and a clove of garlic. Set the stew-pan, containing all

74

LA CUISINE CREOLE

these ingredients, on a slow fire, and let them cook for an hour, stirring them occasionally, with a wooden spoon. Mash them all up and let it get cool ; when cool, stuff the turkey full of the truffle dressing, and fill the crop also ; sew it up carefully, and tie it with a string, then truss the turkey, and if time allows, put it away for the next day. It should then be roasted, keeping it well basted with the liquor the truffles were boiled in, and butter added to it.

BOILED TURKEY AND CELERY SAUCE

Draw a fine, young turkey hen, and remove the angu¬ lar part of the breast bone ; take two pounds of fat veal dressing and stuff the turkey with it. Put over the fire to cook the veal, bones, and turkey giblets, to make some white soup stock; season this and let it boil until you want to put the turkey on to cook. Now truss your turkey and put it in a boiling pot with a carrot, two onions, a head of celery, and a bunch of sweet herbs; now pour over the turkey the stock from the veal and giblets ; cover with it, if enough ; if not, put in water to cover it and set it to boil ; when it has boiled one hour, put it on the back of the stove, and let it simmer and braise, until dinner. Take off any strings that may look badly; dish it up. Pour over it a well-made puree of celery, or oyster sauce, and send to table. This is an elegant mode of serving turkey.

BOILED TURKEY WITH OYSTER SAUCE

Clean and truss it the same as for baking. Stuff the turkey with oysters, bread crumbs, butter and mace, all mixed and seasoned. Put it on the fire in a kettle of

LA CUISINE CREOLE

75

water not hot, but slightly warm; do not drop it into boiling water or it will break the skin and spoil the appearance of the turkey. Cover it close, and when the scum rises take it off. Let the boiling continue for one hour, then put the pot containing the turkey on the coolest part of the stove, and let it simmer for half an hour. Serve with oyster sauce in a sauce boat.

DUCK BOASTED

Pick, draw and singe the duck ; wash it out carefully and stuff it with potatoes, mashed with butter, onions, and parsley. Put it down to a good fire or in a hot oven, pour in a cup of water; let it roast for half an hour if it is fat and tender, longer if tough. As soon as the duck is cleaned, boil the giblets, and before serving, chop them up fine with some of the gravy from the duck, two tablespoonfuls of catsup, a lump of butter, and a little brown flour. Have lemons cut on side dishes, or serve with brown duck sauce No. 1. See sauces for meats, ducks, etc.

DUCKS, TAME AND WILD

Tame ducks are prepared for the table the same as young geese, that is, stuffed with bread, butter, pepper and onion, or with mashed and seasoned Irish potatoes. Wild ducks should be fat, the claws small and supple ; the hen is the more delicate. Do not scald wild ducks, but pick them clean and singe over a blaze. Draw and wipe them well inside with a cloth; rub pepper and salt inside and out ; stuff each duck well with bread and butter stuffing. If the ducks are at all fishy, use onion in the stuffing, and baste very freely. It is well to

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

parboil them in onion and water before stuffing ; throw away the water and then proceed to stuff and roast them. Put in the pan a teacup of butter, baste well with this, and when nearly done, dredge flour over the ducks, and brown them nicely. For the gravy you must boil the giblets; while the ducks are cooking mince these fine; add pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of browned flour. Take a glass of wine and a large spoon¬ ful of currant jelly; heat them and serve with the ducks, mixed with the giblets, or serve it in a dish alone ; as you like.

CANVAS-BACK DUCKS

These are cooked the same as wild ducks, without onion however, in the basting, as they have no dis¬ agreeable taste. Serve wine and currant jelly with canvas-back ducks.

TO STEW DUCKS WITH GREEN PEAS

Truss the ducks as for baking and boiling, and put them away in the pantry ; then put two ounces of but¬ ter in a stew-pan on the fire, stir in two tablespoonfuls of flour, stir until it becomes brown or a fawn color ; then pour in a pint of broth or gravy made from veal, or from water in which the ducks or chickens have been boiled. Stir this while cooking, and when it boils, put in the ducks ; let them cook for half an hour, or until done or nearly so, then add a quart of green peas, an onion chopped, and a sprig of parsley; allow these to stew gently until done; remove the parsley and the ducks, and if there is too much sauce, cook it down a little ; dish up, pour the peas and gravy over the ducks and serve.

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ROASTED DUCK

Glean, draw and truss the duck, or ducks, wash them nicely, salt and pepper them, and get ready a sage and onion stuffing (see roast goose) or stuff with mashed potatoes, or bread, butter, onions, pepper and salt mixed, and bound together with an egg.

BROILED TEAL DUCK

Split the duck like a partridge down the back, broil on clear coals, butter freely, and serve on buttered toast ; pepper and salt when broiled, just before putting on the butter ; if salted before it extracts the fine flavor.

WILD DUCKS

There are several kinds of ducks South, and some are very fine. Truss wild ducks and lay them in a pan to bake with a small onion in the body; put butter over them, with a bunch of celery, a little pepper and salt; cook slowly and garnish with lemon. Wild ducks should be wiped dry after they are drawn, and rubbed on the inside with pepper and salt, except the canvas-back, which should be left to its own delicious flavor.

WILD GEESE

Wild geese should be cooked rare, and stuffed with a dressing of bread, butter, and a small quantity of pun¬ gent seasoning, such as onion, cayenne, or mustard.

ROAST GOOSE, WITH SAGE AND ONION

Draw a fine fat goose, stuff it with a seasoning of the following mixture: Take four onions, peel them and boil them ten minutes in plenty of water to take from

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

them the strong taste. When the onions have boiled take them from the fire, chop fine, and add to them a large spoonful of sage leaves dried and powdered, then add a cupful of stale white bread crumbs, a teaspoon of black pepper, a little cayenne, and a teaspoon of salt. Mix all together with a cup of milk or beef water, and stuff the goose with it. Put it in the oven and brown it nicely; baste often with butter; when done dish it with its own rich brown gravy, and send to table with a boat of apple sauce.

GOOSE, WITH CHESTNUTS A LA CHIPOLITA

Get the goose ready as usual. To prepare the stuff¬ ing take sixty large chestnuts, peel them by scalding, then put them in a stew pan with two ounces of butter, one onion chopped fine, and a sprig of parsley; chop and mix all together and stuff the goose with it ; mix with the chestnuts one pint of good broth, and stew them down in it before stuffing the goose. Boil down the gravy very much, and when the goose is served, add the juice of two oranges, half a pound of currant jelly, and a lemon peel in the gravy. Pour this over the goose when it goes to the table

GAME, VENISON, ETC.

Venison is the finest game we have South. The haunch or saddle is always roasted; it requires con¬ stant attention, and should be turned and hasted fre¬ quently while cooking. Cover the fat with thick white paper while cooking; when nearly done, take off the paper and baste well with claret wine, butter and flour. Currant jelly is the usual accompaniment of roasted venison, and is preferred by some to wine, in cooking it.

LA CUISINE CREOLE

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VENISON STEAK

Venison steak is good fried or broiled. If to be broiled, season with pepper, salt, and butter, and cook quickly on a hot gridiron. If the meat is not fat, make a gravy for it of wine, flour, and butter. Serve hot.

VENISON PASTY

This is a pie made from the bones, meat, etc., of venison, after the steak and haunch are taken off. Cut up and stew, or braise the parts of meat intended for the pie; season with pepper, salt, port wine, butter, and if liked, mushrooms; stew all until tender, then make a paste and finish like chicken pie. This is better to eat cold than hot and should be rich enough to be a solid jelly when cold.

SQUIBBEL, OB YOUNG BABBIT PIE

Cut up two or three young squirrels or rabbits ; put them in a saucepan to cook with two ounces of butter, a handful of chopped mushrooms, a bunch of parsley and two shallots chopped ; season with pepper and salt, and a little thyme or sweet herbs; cook them a light brown. Throw in a glass of white wine, a half cup of brown gravy from veal or chicken, and the juice of half a lemon. Toss all up on the fire fifteen or twenty minutes, and it is ready to be put in the pie. If you have no gravy on hand, add to the rabbits a cup of sweet milk, and a piece of butter, as large as a hen’s egg. Make a nice paste, line the sides of the pan, pour in the stewed rabbit, and cover with paste. Bake until a light brown, and eat cold or hot. It is almost as good as venison pie.

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

HAEE OR RABBIT ROASTED

If the hares and rabbits are young, the ears will be tender. Clean the rabbits and wash them through several waters. If to be roasted, they must be stuffed with grated bread crumbs, suet or butter, a chopped onion, the liver of the rabbit chopped, and a lemon peel grated. Moisten with eggs and a little claret. Put this in the rabbit and sew it up; baste with butter, and cook for two hours. Make the gravy with the drip¬ pings in the pan, a little cream or milk, and flour. If the rabbits are old, they are good stewed slowly with sweet herbs, wine, water, and chopped onions, and thickened with flour and butter.

CEDAR, OR CAROLINA RICE BIRDS

These are very small, but make a delicious pie by stewing them with butter and sweet herbs, and baking them in a light paste, with plenty of gravy.

PARTRIDGE OR QUAILS

Are nice roasted or broiled, and served on toast. If baked they require constant basting.

PIGEON PIE. VERY NICE

Take six pigeons, truss them, and stuff them with their own livers, a little bacon, some butter, parsley, and rolled cracker or a small piece of bread; salt to taste ; cover the bottom of the baking dish with slices of veal or beef; season with chopped parsley, mush¬ rooms, pepper, salt, and butter. Place the pigeons on this, and cover with a nice pie crust. When the pigeons are placed in the pan, lay between each two pigeons the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Be sure and have

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81

enough gravy to keep the pie very moist. This can be done by adding plain beef-stock or water as the pie bakes. Parboil the pigeons a little, also the beef, be¬ fore putting them in the pan, and then keep the water they were boiled in to fill up the pie.

ROAST PIGEONS

Truss them when plucked and drawn, lay thin slices of fat bacon on their breasts; bake them three-quar¬ ters of an hour, and then make a gravy with their gib¬ lets, which should have been boiling for the purpose. Chop up the livers, etc., brown them and serve with the pigeons. Thin the gravy with the stock the liver was boiled in.

TO ROAST A SUCKING PIG

In selecting a pig for the table, one four weeks old is to be preferred. Let the pig be prepared in the usual way by the butcher, that is scalded, drawn, etc. Stuff it with a mixture of two or three onions, say half a pint when sliced and chopped, and a dozen leaves of sage, pepper and salt; set this to simmer on the fire, then throw in half a pint of bread crumbs if the pig is small — if a large one, put a pint of crumbs — a quarter of a pound of butter, and the yolks of four eggs. Cook this and stuff the pig with it ; sew the pig up and put it in the oven to roast ; baste it often with a brush or swab dipped in olive oil, dust a little sugar over it, and brown it evenly. Take off the head before serving, take out the brains, put them in a stew pan ; add to them some chopped parsley, pepper, and salt, a cup of the gravy from the pig, and the juice of a lemon. Stir this over the fire, and send it to the table hot in a separate boat.

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

VEGETABLES

IRISH POTATOES, MASHED AND BROWNED

Boil them without peeling; peel them while hot, mash them up with sweet butter, a little milk, pepper and salt. Many like them better when mashed and smoothed over with a knife blade, and slightly browned in the oven. They can be kept hot in this way if the meal is kept hack for a guest, which is convenient on some occasions.

STEWED IRISH POTATOES. A NICE BREAKFAST DISH

Wash, peel, and slice six potatoes; throw them for a few moments into cold, salted water, take them out in five minutes and place them in a stew pan on the fire ; cover them with cold water; when tender, throw off all the water, pour over them half a cup of sweet milk, a little salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, and thicken them with a spoonful of butter, rolled in flour, or a tea¬ spoonful of flour, beaten in carefully to prevent it from lumping; stew a few moments and serve in a covered dish.

PUFFS

Very nice potato puffs may be made by mashing seven or eight potatoes smoothly, and mixing in with them two well-beaten eggs two tablespoonfuls of melt¬ ed butter, also well-beaten, and a cup of milk. Pour it into a pan and bake in a hot stove.

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FRIED POTATOES

Wash and pare a sufficient quantity for the meal. Slice them in the machine, taking care to hear down lightly, so as to have the slices very thin. Have ready a vessel of very hot lard, and drop the sliced potatoes into it, letting them remain till they begin to brown. Take them out with a wire ladle, scatter a little fine salt over them, and serve while hot. Success depends almost entirely upon having the lard sufficiently hot. If the potatoes do not brown, but absorb fat, and are limp and greasy, be sure the lard must be made hotter. Properly fried, they may be eaten with relish when cold, as they are crisp and palatable.

FRIED POTATOES

Pare and cut the potatoes in thin slices ; throw them as you cut them into salted water to cool, and make them crisp. Put them piece by piece on a dry towel and wipe dry, then drop them into boiling fat, enough to float them. As they brown dip them out with a skim¬ mer, and salt them a little.

POTATO CROQUETS

Take six boiled potatoes (cold mashed potatoes will do), add three tablespoonfuls of grated ham, a little pepper, salt, and chopped parsley, also, the yolks of three eggs ; form into balls, dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs ; fry in hot lard ; garnish with parsley.

SWEET POTATOES

Are good baked plain in their skins; or boiled, peeled and sliced, served with butter; or boiled, and then

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sliced in a pan, butter and sugar thrown over them, and baked in the stove* Some persons like them boiled and mashed with butter, and browned in the oven like Irish potatoes.

TURNIPS, TO COOK

Boil or steam them after peeling; when they are quite tender, you must mash them like potatoes, and season with pepper, salt and butter.

ONIONS BOILED AND PRIED

Trim and peel them, and boil them in water until quite tender, then dish them. Season with salt, pepper and butter. Many like them cut in slices and fried a light brown ; they are good on a beefsteak when washed in two or three waters after being sliced, then put into hot lard and some of the beefsteak gravy, fried gently until a light color, and served around the steak.

GREEN CORN ON THE COB

Get it as fresh from the field as possible, and if you desire it boiled on the cob you must (when it is well silked) throw it into boiling salted water. Corn re¬ quires only fifteen minutes boiling; too long boiling takes out the sweetness from the grain.

STEWED GREEN CORN

Take a dozen fresh, tender ears of corn; cut it off the cob, and put it in a stew pan with a quart of cold water. No salt at first. Let it cook half an hour and then stir in a lump of fresh butter, a spoonful of flour, and salt and pepper to taste. If too dry, add a cup of sweet milk, or water, if the milk is not convenient.

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GREEN CORN FRITTERS

Beat three eggs with a cup of milk ; to this add a pint of boiled green corn grated; throw in flour enough to make a batter thick enough to drop from a spoon ; salt and pepper to taste, beat it very hard, and drop into boiling lard one spoonful at a time. This is a great luxury and a good substitute for oysters during the hot season.

SUCCOTASH, OR CORN AND BEANS MIXED

Boil for half an hour two pints of green shelled beans, or the same amount of string beans ; then pour off the water, cut the corn from two dozen ears, put it in the pot among the beans ; add salt and pepper, and cover them with boiling water. Let it boil for half an hour, and add a lump of butter as big as a hen’s egg, rolled in flour ; let this boil up once and it is done.

CORN OYSTERS

One pint of grated green corn, one cup of flour, one dessertspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of pepper and an egg. Mix all together, and drop and fry in hot lard. This is a nice breakfast dish.

ROASTING EAR PUDDING

Cut as much corn from the cob as you require; a dozen ears make a large pudding. To every three ears allow an egg, a spoonful of butter, a little pepper and salt, to suit your taste; fill and cover it with sweet milk. Let this bake an hour.

OKRA AND CORN FRICASSEE

Put a pint of cut okra in a frying pan in which there is a cupful of hot lard, or the fat of side meat ; let it

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

fry a little, then cut into it a pint and a half of corn ; fry it until it is thoroughly cooked, pour off some of the grease, and dredge in a little flour, and a half cup of milk ; pepper and salt, to taste, must be added just be¬ fore dishing it up.

A NICE WAY TO COOK OKRA OR GOMBO

Take a pint of young tender okra, chop it up fine, add to it half as much skinned, ripe tomatoes, an onion cut up in slices, a tablespoonful of butter, a little salt and pepper, and a spoonful of water ; stew all together till tender, and serve with meat or poultry.

SALSIFY FRIED IN BATTER

Scrape the salsify, throw it for a few moments into cold water, then parboil it, drain it and cut into lengths of three inches ; allow it now to steep until cold, in a bowl with two tablespoonfuls of olive oil, one of French vinegar, pepper and salt; let it remain in this, occa¬ sionally turning it until ready to fry it. Then make a batter with eggs, milk, and flour; dip the salsify in this batter, and fry in hog’s lard; fry parsley with it and serve.

TOMATOES STUFFED

Take five large tomatoes, slice off that part which joins the stalk, cut out a little of their pulp, take out the seeds, and strain them; chop up the pulp with a handful of parsley, a slice of fat bacon, a slice of ham, and a cup of bread crumbs ; fry all these, and season with butter, pepper, salt, thyme, and the yolks of two eggs ; take it off the fire as soon as the eggs are beaten

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in, and stuff the tomatoes. Bake them for half an hour, pour some brown sauce or gravy over them and serve.

TOMATOES TO BROIL

Take ripe, red tomatoes, place them on the gridiron, broil, and turn until done through; then serve them whole, so that they can be seasoned at the table.

STEWED TOMATOES, WITH OR WITHOUT SUGAR

Pour boiling water over six or eight large, ripe to¬ matoes, let them remain in it a few minutes to scald the skins, then take them out and skin them. Chop them up and put them to stew with a little salt, pepper, and a small piece of butter; then add a spoonful of rolled cracker or toasted bread, and a tablespoonful of sugar, if liked; if not, omit the sugar, and let them stew gently, for half an hour longer.

TO COOK SPINACH

Wash in two or three waters, as the grit adheres very closely to spinach ; when well washed, boil it one half hour in clear water; add a little soda, if it does not look a nice green. When soft, drain it well and chop very fine — it cannot be too fine ; add butter, salt if needed, and pepper to taste ; garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut in fancy shapes ; or, in early spring, it is nice to poach two or three eggs, and lay on the freshly cooked spinach.

ASPARAGUS ON TOAST

The fresher this vegetable is the better ; and in pick¬ ing and washing it, all stalks not crisp and tender should be thrown aside. Cut off nearly all the horny

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white parts, tie the rest in neat bunches, and boil in salted water for twenty minutes or half an hour ; then take it out, let it drain a minute and lay on buttered toast, the heads all one way; cover with rich drawn butter sauce.

ASPARAGUS WITH CREAM

When cream is plentiful, cut the asparagus in inch pieces, boil, and then throw it into rich hot cream, with seasoning of pepper and salt.

STEWED MUSHROOMS ON TOAST

Pull out the stems of the mushrooms, and peel them ; melt a tablespoonful of butter in a stew pan, throw into the butter a little salt, pepper, and powdered mace (if liked), lay the mushrooms in this, upper side down, and stew till they are tender, which will be in about twenty minutes. Fry a slice of bread until it is a light brown, and then arrange the mushrooms over it. Serve hot.

EGG PLANT

Parboil egg plant, slice it and dip each piece in beaten egg and roll it in pounded cracker; then drop it in hot lard and fry brown. Season with salt and pepper. They are delicious cooked this way, and taste life soft-shelled crabs. Another way is to parboil them, mash them up and season with eggs, onions, pepper, salt and butter; then place the mixture back in the shell, and bake. Serve in their shells.

ANOTHER WAY TO COOK EGG PLANT

Parboil, slice them, and without rolling them in any¬ thing drop them into boiling lard; season with salt

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and pepper. Some like them mashed and added to a batter of eggs, flour and milk, seasoned with pepper and salt, and then dropped like fritters into hot lard.

BURR ARTICHOKES

Get them young or they are not tender, wash them in salted water, and put them to boil. Boil until you can pull off a leaf easily; salt them and serve with drawn- butter sauce, with vinegar in it, or mustard and oil, as preferred.

SNAP BEANS, STEWED AND BOILED

Pick and snap them when green and tender, cut them small, and throw into boiling water; let them cook gently for two hours ; then stir in a half cup of broth, and a cup of milk; let them stew in this for half an hour longer; season with salt and pepper to taste. Many like them cooked with a piece of lean side bacon. They require several hours boiling, if not very young. Put the beans in first, and when half done, put in a pound or so of bacon to an ordinary mess of beans.

GREEN ENGLISH PEAS, TO STEW

Shell a quart of green peas for a small mess. Wash them in cold water, and put them on to cook in a stew pan with a pint of boiling water, or enough to cover them. Let them cook half an hour, and then stir in a large lump of butter rolled in flour ; let this cook a few minutes, and add a teaspoonful of white sugar, same of salt and pepper, and serve while hot. Do not let them cook dry. Lamb and green peas is a favorite dish in the spring of the year.

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MARROWFAT PEAS

This is a late sort of green pea, and is much richer in taste than the earlier ones, but not so delicate. They must be dressed like the early peas, by boiling in water, and when soft, pour off the water. They are sometimes a little strong if the water is not changed. Fill up with milk, or milk and water, and boil a little longer, then season with butter, pepper and salt, and thicken with a teaspoon of flour stirred in among the peas.

LIMA, OR BUTTER BEANS

Shell them, and lay them in cold water for an hour or so before cooking ; this renders them more delicate and mealy. When ready to cook, put them in a stew pan in boiling water enough to cover them; let them boil fast and keep them covered while cooking; ex¬ amine them in an hour, and if soft, pour off nearly all the water and stir in a lump of butter, some pepper and salt. Lima beans and sweet corn make the finest succotash, although string beans are generally used.

SQUASH, STEWED

If not very young, you must peel the squashes, steam or boil them until tender, and season them with sweet milk or cream, and a little butter, pepper and salt ; let them stew down in this until they are thick, and of the consistence of mashed potatoes. Another way is to take them from the steamer, mash them with a cut-up onion, and a slice or two of ham ; then stew them down thick, adding pepper and salt to taste.

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STEWED SUMMER SQUASH

Gather them while young and tender. Peel, cut them up, take out the seeds, and put them on to boil; let them cook rapidly until very tender. Drain them well in a colander, and mash with a wooden spoon. Put this pulp in a stew pan with a small piece of butter, a gill of cream, and a little pepper and salt; cook this, and stir constantly until the squash is dry. Serve very hot.

PUMPKIN WITH SALT MEAT

This is very good cooked with salt meat and brown sugar. Slice the pumpkin and put it in the oven with brown sugar, or good molasses; slice some smoked meat and lay it in among the pumpkin ; cook it tender. It is better than many things with more reputation.

CAULIFLOWER, WITH WHITE SAUCE

Remove the green stalks, and if the heads are large, divide them into quarters ; wash and boil them with a little pepper, butter and salt ; serve with drawn butter or white sauce, when they become soft and tender.

STEWED CABBAGE

Cold cabbage left from dinner can be drained from the pot liquor in which it was boiled, and then sim¬ mered for half an hour in water, or milk and water; pour off all the water when it is tender, and stir in the pot a lump of butter or clarified drippings; let it cook gently, then throw in a cup of milk or cream; thicken

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it with flour, and season with pepper and salt. Serve with the cream gravy poured over the cabbage.

BEETS BOILED

Wash the beets clean, hut do not trim the roots, or they will bleed and lose their sweetness. If the beets are young and tender, they are nice cooked whole, and then stewed in a little butter, with sugar, salt and vine¬ gar added. Let them simmer in this hatter for twenty minutes, and serve. If the beets are large, boil, and slice them when cooked, and season with vinegar, pep¬ per and salt, or slice them, and serve with butter.

PARSNIP FBITTERS

I *

Boil the parsnips in salted water until they are done ; make a batter of an egg, a spoonful of milk and flour, pepper and salt, and when the parsnips are cool enough to handle cut them in rounds, dip them in the hatter and drop them into hot lard ; f ry a light brown, turn them and fry the other side. When brown on both sides, drain them from the grease. They are good, mashed like turnips.

MACARONI IN A MOULD

Boil macaroni till it is tender, line a mould with it, fitting it in closely. Make a mince of any kind of meat, raw or cooked ; season with sweet herbs, butter, pepper chopped eschalot, and a couple of eggs ; fill the mould with this and boil for twenty minutes. Serve with white sauce No. 10 put around the macaroni.

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93

MACARONI AND GRATED CHEESE

Take a quarter of a pound of macaroni, break into lengths, and throw it into cold water to soak, an hour or so after breakfast. Boil it an hour, take it out of the pot and put in the bottom of the pan a layer of the boiled macaroni and then a layer of grated cheese; strew over the top a teaspoonful of salt and some lumps of butter as big as a nutmeg. Then fill up the pan with new milk and bake until browned on top, but never let it get dry ; it is better to put water in, if your milk has given out, than to let it get the least dry. This is a rich dish when well made, but a poor one if badly made, and served dry.

7

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

EGGS, OMELETS, ETC.

In choosing eggs hold each one up to the light; if fresh, the white will be clear and the yolk distinct ; if they are not good, they will have a clouded appearance.

Eggs for boiling must be as fresh as possible ; they may be kept fresh for several weeks by packing them in bran. Lay the small end of the egg downward in the box. You may also keep them for months by greasing them with melted lard, or beef fat, or in a weak brine of lime water and salt ; strong lime water will eat the shell, and if very strong will cook the eggs. Add to a common bucket of water a pint of salt and a pint of lime ; stir it well, and it is ready to receive the eggs.

Omelets require a thick bottomed pan, as an ordi¬ nary pan is too thin and would scorch the eggs before they could be properly cooked. For turning omelets, eggs, fried parsley, etc., have a skimmer spoon with a flat, thin blade, with holes, to let the fat from the fry.

TO BOIL EGGS IN THEIR SHELLS, SOFT OR HARD

Wash the eggs clean, drop them as wanted in a stew- pan of boiling water ; if you desire them soft, let them boil just three minutes by the watch ; if only the yolk is to be soft five minutes will do it; but if wanted very hard for salad, sandwiches, etc., let them boil ten or fifteen minutes. Then put them in cold water, to make them peel easily. If soft-boiled eggs are kept in the

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shell before eating them, they will harden very much from the heat of the shell.

EGGS, AU GRATIN, FOR LENT

Boil the eggs hard, peel and cut them in slices, and lay them in a deep dish in close circular rows. Make a sauce of a tablespoonful of butter, the yolks of four eggs, a little grated cheese and half a cup of sweet milk. Stir this over the tire until it thickens, pour it over the eggs, strew some bread crumbs on the top, and bake for about ten minutes ; then send to table hot.

POACHED EGGS WITH TOAST AND ANCHOVY PASTE

Toast six pieces of bread, shape them round, before browning ; keep them where they will be hot until you poach the eggs. Take a tin dipper, half till it with boil¬ ing water, and drop it gently into the pot again, hold¬ ing it so that none of the water from the pot can get into the dipper ; keep it firm by holding it yourself or getting it held for you, and break a nice fresh egg into the dipper; let it stand until the white is firm. Lay each egg on one of the slices of toast, use butter and salt on the toast for both egg and toast; break each egg in this way until your six eggs and six pieces of toast are used ; butter very freely, and serve hot. Anchovy paste may be spread on the toast before the eggs are put on, but it is a nice dish without it and very suitable for a delicate breakfast.

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POACHED EGGS AND HAM

Poach your eggs in a tin dipper, as directed, and when done put them on round slices of broiled or fried ham. Many prefer this to fried ham and eggs.

EGGS WITH BROWNED BUTTER AND VINEGAR

Put four ounces of butter into an omelet pan over the fire ; as it begins to sputter, break the eggs into it without disturbing the yolks, season with pepper and salt ; fry the eggs carefully and remove them on to the dish in which they are to be served. Put two ounces more butter in the pan, fry it of a brown color ; put to the butter two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, pour it over the eggs and serve.

OMELETTE AU .NATUREL

Break eight eggs into a bowl; add a teaspoonful of salt, half as much pepper, beat up the whole very hard and throw in a tablespoonful of water. Have the ome¬ let-pan on the fire with a cup of sweet butter heated to a gentle heat (fierce heat would scorch the eggs) ; pour the eggs into the heated butter; raise it as it cooks, with a skimmer-spoon, turn in the brown edges, or turn one half over the other, as it keeps in the luscious¬ ness of the omelet. Keep gently rolling it, as it cooks, until, when done, it is round like a small roly-poly pudding. Omelette au naturel is the basis of all ome¬ lets, for, by substituting different seasonings, you have all the varieties of them. Parsley and onion chopped fine and mixed with the eggs is one variety; grated ham and parsley is another ; sugar makes another class, and so on.

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97

A NICE OMELET WITH GREEN ONION

Beat the whites and yolks of six eggs separately, put in a tablespoonful of butter, a spoonful of chopped green onion and one of fine-cut parsley, and mix with the eggs; then put it into a thick-bottomed pan, in which you have placed a half cup of butter. Roll it up as it cooks, and tilt the pan on one side, that the omelet may cook on the other side ; roll up again as it cooks. Do not let it get hard and brown, but keep it soft. Keep on rolling as well as you can ; a little practice will make you perfect. When the eggs cook, butter, pepper and salt them, and turn on a dish.

OMELET FOR ONE PERSON

Beat two eggs — yolks and whites separately; in a bowl put a tablespoonful of water, a little parsley, a teaspoonful of butter, and a little green onion, if liked ; beat the eggs into this, and whisk all very rapidly for a few minutes ; then pour it into a pan, where there is a tablespoonful of butter just hot enough to color the eggs ; cook them very slowly, and roll up the omelet as it cooks until it is like a rolled pancake; pepper and salt it at the last moment of cooking, as putting in salt too soon makes eggs tough.

OMELET WITH PARMESAN CHEESE

Break six eggs into a bowl, add a gill of cream, four ounces of grated cheese, some pepper and a little salt ; beat the whole together, pour into a pan, roll up and bake as directed. Butter it well before sending to table.

98

LA CUISINE CREOLE

OMELET WITH SUGAR

Beat six eggs, whites and yolks separately, with seven spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Flavor with lemon, and bake like a pudding for ten or fifteen minutes, or just long enough to set the eggs. Longer baking will spoil the jelly-like consistency of the omelet.

OMELETTE SOUFFLE

Beat six eggs, the whites and yolks separately; put to the yolks four dessertspoonfuls of white sugar pow¬ dered, and the yellow rind of a lemon chopped very fine; mix them thoroughly, whip the whites to a high froth and add them to the yolks. Put quarter of a pound of butter into the pan, over a brisk fire, and as soon as it is completely melted pour in the mixture; stir it that the butter may be completely incorporated with the eggs. When it is so, put it in a buttered dish and set it over hot embers or ashes, strew powdered sugar over the top and color it with a hot shovel ; this may be done in the oven. Serve as soon as possible, as it soon falls and so the appearance is spoiled.

OMELETTE SOUFFLE IN A MOULD

Break six fresh eggs, separate the whites from the yolks, put with the yolks three spoonfuls of rice flour and a tablespoonful of orange-flower water; stir these well together, whip the whites of the eggs to a high froth, and mix them with the yolks. Pour the mixture into a buttered mould, about half full; bake it in a moderate oven for half an hour. When done turn it on

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to a dish and serve quickly. This omelet must he clear and shake like a jelly.

A DELICIOUS OMELET

Beat separately, and lightly, six eggs ; add to them a tablespoonful of chopped green onion, and the same of parsley, chopped fine; beat them into the eggs with two tablespoonfuls of water, and at the last moment a little salt. Have a thick-bottomed skillet or pan on the fire, put in a teaspoonful of nice sweet butter, and when this is hot put in the eggs. Take a broad-bladed knife and keep rolling the omelet as it sets ; do not let it get too brown, but roll it in an oblong shape ; never turn an omelet over, but push and roll it, as described, then slide it on a hot dish, pour a spoonful of melted butter over it, and send it to table hot. A wood fire is the best, over which to cook an omelet, as you want only a blaze; a great heat in the stove makes it im¬ possible to have the eggs of the light delicate brown required.

SPANISH OMELET

Beat up six eggs until quite light, add to them a cup of chopped ham and two small onions minced very fine. The onions should be cooked a little before being put into the eggs, or they will not be cooked enough. When mixed together put it into a thick-bottomed pan and commence rolling. When it is a light brown, give it the last roll, let it lie a moment in the pan, then dish it. Put fresh butter as it goes to table, for the butter the omelet is fried in is never good to send to table.

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LA CUISINE CREOLE

OMELET WITH OYSTERS

Break eight or ten eggs in a basin, whip them np well, add a gill of cream, a tablespoonful of sweet butter, a spoonful of chopped parsley, pepper and salt to taste; beat it again very light, then stir in a pint of chopped oysters, and when the butter is hot put in the omelet. When the eggs have partly set, roll the omelet in form of a cushion, which you can do by using the tin slice. Brown delicately, and serve with a little melted butter or some sauce you prefer.

Grated Parmesan cheese is very fine in place of the chopped oysters ; also, ham, in the above omelet, is an acceptable addition.

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SALADS AND RELISHES

GARNISHES

Parsley is most universally used to garnish all kinds of cold meats, boiled poultry, broiled steak and fish of many kinds. Horse-radish is much liked on roast beef ; slices of lemon are liked by many on broiled fish or boiled calf’s head, etc. Mint is liked by many on roast lamb, and currant jelly is generally liked on game, ducks, etc.

MUSHROOM CATSUP

Lay fresh mushrooms in a deep dish, strew a little salt over them, then a fresh layer of mushrooms and salt, till you get in all the mushrooms. Let them stay in this brine three days; then mash them fine, add to each quart a spoonful of vingar, half a spoonful of pepper and a teaspoonful of cloves ; pour all this in a stone jar, and place the jar in a pot of boiling water; let it boil two hours, then strain it without squeezing the mushrooms. Boil the juice fifteen minutes, and skim it well; let it stand a few hours to settle; bottle and cork it well. Keep it cool, or it will ferment.

A DELICIOUS FLAVOR FROM THYME, ETC.

A delicious flavor from thyme, mint, sweet mar¬ joram and rosemary may be obtained when gathered in full perfection. They should be picked from the stalks and put into a large jar, then pour strong vine-

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gar or brandy over them ; let them stay in this twenty- four hours, then take the herbs out, and throw in fresh bunches ; do this three times, then strain the liquor or vinegar. Cork and seal the bottles tight. Do not let the herbs stay more than twenty or twenty-four hours in the liquid before straining, for fear of imparting an unsavory taste. This is very useful in soups.

CELERY AND SWEET HERBS VINEGAR

Take two gills of celery seed, pound them and put them in a bottle; fill the bottle with sharp vinegar, shake it every day for two weeks, then strain and bottle it for use.

GREEN TOMATO SOY, OR SAUCE

Slice a peck of green tomatoes thin, salt them thor¬ oughly, using a pint of salt. Let them stay in this all night, and in the morning drain them from the salt, wash them in cold water, and put them in a kettle with a dozen cut-up raw onions, two tablespoonfuls of black pepper, same of allspice, a quarter of a spoonful of ground mustard, half a pound of white mustard seed, and a tablespoonful of red pepper. Cover all with strong vinegar, and boil it until it becomes like jam. Stir it frequently while it is boiling or it will scorch.

SUPERIOR TOMATO CATSUP

Get a bushel of ripe tomatoes, scald them until they are soft enough to squeeze through a sieve. When strained, add to the pulp a pint and a half of salt, four tablespoonfuls of ground cloves, same of cayenne pep¬ per, a quarter of a pound of allspice and a table¬ spoonful of black pepper, a head of garlic skinned and

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separated, and a half gallon of vinegar. Boil until it is reduced one-half, then bottle.

TOMATO CATSUP

Take enough ripe tomatoes to fill a jar, put them in a moderate oven, and bake them until they are thor¬ oughly soft; then strain them through a coarse cloth or sieve, and to every pint of juice put a pint of vine¬ gar, half an ounce of garlic sliced, a quarter of an ounce of sait, and the same of white pepper finely ground. Boil it for one hour, then rub it through a sieve, boil it again to the consistency of cream; when cold, bottle it, put a teaspoonful of sweet oil in each bottle; cork them tight, and keep in a dry place.

TOMATO CATSUP. KECIPE FOE MAKING A SMALL QUANTITY

Take a gallon of ripe tomatoes, skin them by pouring boiling water over them; let them get cold and put them in a stew pan with four tablespoonfuls of salt, and the same of ground black pepper, half a spoonful of ground allspice, and three spoonfuls of ground mus¬ tard. Throw in eight pods of red pepper, and let all stew slowly until the tomatoes are soft and tender. Thin the mixture with enough vinegar to allow the catsup to be strained through a sieve; cook it fifteen minutes, and bottle up when cold. This will last in any climate, if well boiled and made according to these directions. Keep always in a cool, dark closet or cellar. Light ruins all catsups, pickles or preserves, when they are exposed to it. This is a fine recipe.

FEENCH CHICKEN SALAD

Roast one or two nice chickens, season them well, and when cooked, put them by to cool. Just before

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serving the dish, carve the fowls in small pieces, tak¬ ing out all the large bones. Make a dressing of the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs to each fowl, mash the yolks very smooth with a wooden spoon and pour gently on them in a little stream a cup of olive oil; beat the eggs all one way till they are creamed. Add now a cup of vinegar to two fowls, a half cup to one, pepper, salt, and drop a little vinegar on the fowl, then pour on the dressing. Arrange on the dish, cool, fresh lettuce heads quartered, and slice six more hard-boiled eggs over all as a garnish. A few red beets are a handsome addition, mixed with the green lettuce and yellow eggs.

CHICKEN SALAD FOR A SMALL COMPANY

Boil four eggs hard, throw them in cold water; when cool, take the yolks of two in a bowl, pour over them a spoonful of mixed mustard, an ounce of sweet oil, a saltspoonful of salt, and a little black pepper ; mix this carefully, pouring in the oil a little at a time; when it is smooth, pour in four tablespoonfuls of good vine¬ gar, and one-half a teaspoonful of sugar. This is the dressing for your salad.

The chicken is supposed to be already boiled or baked. When cold, pick all the flesh from the bones and pile it in the centre of a glass bowl, or dish ; mix with it three heads of celery, cut up fine, and season it with pepper and salt. About the time you wish it served, take six or seven heads of white-heart lettuce, split them, and place them closely around the cut-up chicken, and pour over it all the dressing. This is a plain and economical way, but if wanted richer, it is easy to add more eggs, and trim the salad with sliced hard-boiled eggs, over the top.

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105

A NICE CHICKEN SALAD

Cut up the white parts of four or five heads of celery, reserving the green leaves. Pick all the meat from a fine baked chicken, chop this up, and mix it with the cut-up celery ; lay it in a glass or china dish, where it will be cool.

To make the dressing, rub the yolks of six hard- boiled eggs to a paste, with two spoonfuls of mixed mustard, a teaspoonful of white sugar, and enough oil to make it perfectly smooth; put this in slowly, a little at a time, and finish the dressing by pouring in half a cup of vinegar. Pour this over the celery and chicken, and garnish with white heads of split lettuce, also the reserved celery leaves, and four sliced hard-boiled eggs.

POTATO SALAD

Slice a pint of cold potatoes, put them in a dish, chop over them six eschalots, pepper and salt them, and pour over them a dressing of two tablespoonfuls of oil, one of made mustard, and half a cup of vinegar ; it is better without eggs.

POTATO SALAD

Slice cold potatoes, add to them chopped eschalots, and season with pepper, salt, mustard, oil, tomato catsup and vinegar. Garnish with sprigs of parsley.

TOMATO SALAD, WITH OR WITHOUT SHRIMP

Slice a dozen large tomatoes, slice with them three or four sweet peppers, then pepper and salt the toma¬ toes; lay slices of tomato and a little sweet pepper until the dish is full. Pour over all a dressing of oil, mustard and vinegar. A pint of shelled shrimp is a great improvement to this salad, but it is good without.

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JAMBALAYA OF FOWLS AND EICE

Cut up and stew a fowl ; when half done, add a cup of raw rice, a slice of ham minced, and pepper and salt; let all cook together until the rice swells and absorbs all the gravy of the stewed chicken, but it must not be allowed to get hard or dry. Serve in a deep dish. Southern children are very fond of this; it is said to be an Indian dish, and very wholesome as well as palatable ; it can be made of many things.

COLD SLAW WITH HOT SAUCE

Chop fine a firm white head of cabbage, or better than that, slice it with a patent slicer; lay it in very cold water for an hour, then take it out, drain it, and when drained thoroughly, place it in the dish it is to be served in and pour over it the following sauce: Take two cups of strong vinegar to a quart of cut cabbage, stir in it one teaspoonful of mustard and salt, a tablespoonful of butter, and three teaspoons of white sugar. Make this all hot, and at the last moment stir in the yolks of two or three eggs ; stir rapidly and pour on to the chopped cabbage in the dish. It should be served instantly or the sauce will harden.

PLAIN COLD SLAW, WITH VINEGAB

This is made by chopping or slicing the cabbage as in the above recipe. When it is soaked, and is cool and firm, dust pepper on it, throw in a little salt and pour over it a cup of cold, sharp vinegar. Sliced hard- boiled eggs are a great improvement if put over the cabbage when sent to table. Sliced onions also make a good salad when seasoned with salt, pepper and vine¬ gar. Mix a little sweet, sliced vegetable pepper with the onions.

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PICKLES

HINTS ON THEIR MANAGEMENT

Pickles should always have vinegar enough to cover them; those intended for immediate use should be kept in wide-top stone-ware jars. Keep a cloth folded upon the pickles, and the jar covered with a plate or wooden vessel ; they should occasionally be looked over, and the softest and least likely to keep, used first. Pickles intended for use the following summer should be assorted from the remainder when first made; choose those most firm, and of equal size; put them into stone, or glass-ware, with fresh vinegar to cover them; cover the vessel close, with several thicknesses of paper, or a tin cover, or if wide-mouthed bottles are used, cork them tightly.

Cucumbers may be put down in a strong salt and water brine, to be greened and pickled as they are wanted. Keep them under the brine. When wanted, freshen them in two or three changes of water, for two or three days, until by cutting one open, you find it but little salt; then pour scalding vinegar over them three times, and keep them covered ; add spices and season¬ ing to the vinegar, to suit the taste.

The vessels in which pickles have been, whether of glass, wood, or stone, will never be fit for preserved fruit; they will surely spoil if put in them. After pickles are used, throw out the vinegar, wash the vessels first in cold water, then pour hot water into them, cover and let it remain until cold, then wash,

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wipe, and dry them near the fire or in the sun, and set them away for future use. Wooden ware will re¬ quire to be wet occasionally, or to be kept in a damp place, that it may not become leaky. Should catsups seem frothy or foamy, put them in a bright brass, or porcelain kettle, over the fire; boil slowly, and skim until no more scum rises, then turn into an earthen vessel to cool, after which put in bottles and stop them tight.

TO PICKLE CUCUMBERS PLAIN WITHOUT SPICES

Take one hundred small cucumbers, or more, if you wish, salt them freely, and let them remain eight or ten hours; then drain them, put them into boiling vinegar enough to cover them, and place vine leaves among and over them to green them ; let them scald a few minutes in the vinegar, and take them from the fire, but place them near it to keep warm and become green ; if the leaves turn yellow, put fresh ones among them. When green you can pack them away in jars; season them at any time you may desire, as they will keep well if scalded thoroughly with the boiling vinegar.

j CUCUMBER PICKLES IN WHISKEY

Prepare your cucumbers as usual by letting them stay a few days in brine, or if time is an object scald them in brine, and then proceed to pickle them. The same brine may be used many times, pouring it boiling hot on each mess of cucumbers. If you have no vine¬ gar convenient drop your scalded cucumbers into a mixture of one part whiskey and three parts water.

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Secure them carefully from the air, and by Christmas they will be fine, firm, green pickles, and the whiskey and water will be excellent vinegar. Add spices after they are pickled. If you do not wish all your pickles spiced, keep a stone-pot of well-spiced vinegar by it¬ self, and put in a few at a time as you want them.

CUCUMBER AND ONION PICKLE

Take a dozen fine crisp cucumbers and four large onions. Cut both in thick slices, sprinkle salt and pepper on them, and let them stand. Next day drain them well and scald them in boiling vinegar; cover close after scalding. Next day scald again with a bag of mace, nutmeg and ginger, in the vinegar ; then place them in jars and cork close. If the vinegar seems to have lost its strength, replace with fresh, and put the bag of spices in again to keep the flavor.

OLD-TIME SWEET PICKLED CUCUMBERS

Put your cucumbers in brine for eight days; slice them without soaking; let the slices be an inch thick. When cut, soak them until the salt is nearly out, changing the water very often. Then put them in a kettle, with vine leaves laid between the layers ; cover them well with leaves, and sprinkle pulverized alum all through them, to harden and green them, then cover with vinegar, and set them on the back of the stove until they become green. Take the cucumbers out and boil them a little in ginger tea (half an hour will be enough). Make a syrup of one quart of strong vinegar, and one pint of water, three pounds of sugar to four pounds of cucumbers, with one ounce of cinna-

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mon, cloves, mace and white ginger to every ten pounds of fruit. Make this syrup hot, and put in the cucumbers and boil them until clear. When they are clear take them out and boil the syrup until it is thick enough to keep. Pour it over the cucumbers, which should have been placed in jars ready for the syrup. They are now ready to use, or seal up, as may be desired. If not convenient to pickle after eight days salt brining, it does not hurt to let them remain a few days longer.

PICKLED EGGS

When eggs are abundant and cheap, it is well to pickle some for a time of scarcity. Boil three or four dozen eggs for half an hour, let them cool, and then take off the shells, and place them in wide-mouthed jars, and pour over them scalding vinegar. Season the vinegar with whole pepper, cloves, or allspice, gin¬ ger, and a few cloves of garlic. When cold, they must be bunged down very close. Let them be well covered with the vinegar, and in a month they will be fit for use. The above pickle is by no means expensive, and as an accompaniment to cold meat is not to be sur¬ passed for piquancy and gout.

SWEET PICKLE OF FIGS

Put the figs in brine at night; in the morning, or after being in brine about twelve hours, take them out, wash off the salt, and put them in alum water for three hours. Then take them out and scald them in hot water until heated through. Make a syrup of a

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quart of vinegar, a pint of sugar with a tablespoonful of cinnamon, mace, and cloves each ; boil half an hour, and pour on the figs boiling hot. Repeat the boiling next day, and bottle up and seal for future use.

SWEET PLUM PICKLE

Take eight pounds of fruit, four pounds of sugar, two quarts of vinegar, one ounce of cinnamon and one of cloves. Boil the vinegar, sugar and spices together; skim it carefully and pour it boiling on the fruit ; pour it off, and skim and scald each day for three days; it will then be fit for use. If for putting away, scald it the fourth time and cork up tightly. Plums pre¬ pared in this way are superior to the old way, with sugar aloj\P

GREEN TOMATO SWEET PICKLE

Slice tomatoes until you have seven pounds, sprinkle them with salt, and let them stand twenty-four hours. Then soak them for the same length of time in fresh water to get the brine from them. When drained off and ready, allow four and a half pounds of sugar, one ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves, and enough vinegar to cover them. Boil the compound together and pour it over the tomatoes ; let them stand twenty- four hours, then bring all to a boil, and tie away in jars, and keep in a cool place away from the light.

CANTALOUPE SWEET PICKLE

Take a ripe cantaloupe, quarter it, remove the seeds and cut it into pieces an inch square. Put the cut pieces in a stone crock, and pour on scalding vinegar ; when it cools heat it again, and return it to the can-

112

LA CUISINE CREOLE

taloupe. Repeat this next day. On the fourth day take ont the fruit and add fresh vinegar to cover it. To every quart of this vinegar add three pounds of loaf sugar, and five pounds of cantaloupe. Put to them nutmeg, cinnamon and mace, to taste. Put all in a porcelain-lined kettle and simmer until the fruit can be pierced with a straw. Pack it in small jars and keep in a cool place.

CHOPPED CABBAGE PICKLE

Put together one pint of chopped onions, three gills (or three wineglassfuls) of white mustard seed, three tablespoonfuls of ground mustard and the same of celery seed; add a pound of brown Sty ^ and three quarts of good vinegar. Cook this compand slowly until it begins to thicken, then pour it hot upon two gallons of chopped cabbage, which should be shaved or chopped very thin. This pickle, is ready to bottle for use when it has boiled fifteen minutes.

TO PICKLE CABBAGE. A VERY NICE YELLOW PICKLE

Cut four cabbage heads into eighths, if large, or quarters, if small; they must be white and tender. Soak it in strong brine for three days and scald it in clear water until you can pierce it with a straw. Take it out and dry it on large dishes for twenty-four hours. Then put it into strong vinegar, with powdered tur¬ meric, sufficient to color the cabbage yellow. Let it remain in this vinegar ten days ; then take it out and drain on a sieve for several hours. Have the follow¬ ing spices prepared, then pack in a jar alternately one layer of cabbage and one of spices. For each gallon

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of vinegar allow five pounds of sugar, three ounces of turmeric, two of ginger, four of horseradish, two of white mustard seed, one-half ounce of celery seed, quarter of an ounce of mace, two ounces of whole pep¬ per, white if you can get it, and four ounces of garlic. Scald the vinegar and sugar together, and pour hot on the cabbage and the spices. Cover tight, and you will have an admirable pickle.

TO PICKLE RED CABBAGE

Slice the cabbage and sprinkle with salt. Let it remain three days; drain, and pour over it boiling vinegar in which you have put mace, bruised ginger, whole pepper and cloves; let it remain in this until next day. Then give one more scald, and it is ready to put up for use. The purple red cabbage is the best.

CHOW-CHOW PICKLE

Take a quarter of a peck each, of green tomatoes, pickling-beans, and white onions (scald the onions separately), add one dozen cucumbers, green peppers, and a head of cabbage chopped. Season with ground mustard, celery seed, and salt to taste. Pour over these the best cider vinegar to cover them, and let all boil two hours, and while hot add two tablespoonfuls of sweet oil and the same of white sugar. Bottle and seal up carefully in wide-mouthed glass jars.

PICKLED CAULIFLOWER

Take large, ripe, full-blown cauliflowers; divide the pieces equally and throw them into a kettle of boiling water ; boil them until a little soft, but not as much as if for the table. Take the pieces out and let them cool,

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then scald an ounce of mace, to each quart of good cider vinegar, and pour it hot on the cauliflower. Spices such as are usually used in pickling, improve this recipe, and should be tied in a bag and thrown in with the pickle at the last, remembering not to use dark spices, as they discolor the cauliflower. White pepper, white mustard seed and ginger are the spices suitable for this pickle.

PICKLED LEMONS

They should be small and have a thick rind. Eub them hard with a piece of flannel, then slit them through the rind in four quarters, but not through the pulp; fill the slits with salt hard pressed in, set them upright in a crock four or five days, until the salt melts. Turn them each day in their own liquid until they get tender. Make the pickle to cover them of vinegar, some of the brine of the lemons, pepper and ginger ; boil this pickle and skim it well, and when cold put it over the lemons with two ounces of mustard seed and two cloves of garlic, to six lemons. This is fine for fish when the lemons are all used.

TO PICKLE ONIONS

Peel the onions, boil some strong salt and water and put it over them, cover, and let them stand twenty-four hours, then take them up with a skimmer; make some vinegar boiling hot, put to it whole pepper and mus¬ tard seed, and pour it over the onions to cover them ; when cold cover close.

PREMIUM MUSTARD PICKLE

Soak three quarts of small cucumbers, gherkins, or green tomatoes, in strong salt water for three days;

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then put them into fresh cold water for a day or two, then scald them in plain vinegar and set them by in a place to cool. Take a gallon of vinegar, add to it one ounce of white mustard seed, two ounces of turmeric, three of sliced ginger, two of shredded horseradish, one-half pound of mustard, three pounds of brown sugar, one-half pint of sweet oil, one ounce each of celery seed, black pepper, cloves, mace, and one tea- spoonful of cayenne pepper. Boil all these ingredi¬ ents for fifteen minutes and pour it on the cucumbers, gherkins, or other scalded vegetable you may wish to pickle.

WALNUT PICKLE

Pick the walnuts about the Fourth of July. They should be so soft that a pin can be run through them. Lay them in salt and water ten days, change the water two or three times during the ten days. Rub off the outside with a coarse cloth and proceed to finish the pickle. For one hundred nuts, make a pickle of two quarts of vinegar, one ounce of ground pepper, same of ginger, half an ounce of mace, cloves, nutmegs and mustard seed. Put these spices in a bag, lay it in the vinegar and boil all together a few minutes ; then set the pickle away for use. If the vinegar is not very strong, add fresh vinegar to the last scalding of the pickles.

PICKLED OYSTERS

Take fine large oysters, put them over a gentle fire in their own liquor, and a small lump of butter to each hundred oysters. Let them boil ten minutes, when they are plump and white ; take them from their liquor with a skimmer and spread them on a thickly folded cloth. When they are firm and cold take half as much

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of their own liquor and half of good vinegar, make this hot, and take a stone crock, put in a layer of oysters, a spoonful of ground mace, a dozen cloves, allspice, and whole pepper alternately. If to be kept, put them in glass jars with a little sweet oil on top. Stop them and seal tight, and they will, if kept in a cool place, be good for months.

COUNTRY GREEN PICKLE

One peck of tomatoes, eight green peppers to be chopped fine. They must be the vegetable or sweet pepper. Soak' the tomatoes and pepper twenty-four hours in weak brine; drain off the brine, and add to the green tomatoes a head of finely chopped cabbage ; scald all in boiling vinegar twenty minutes. Skim it out from the vinegar, and place in a large jar, and add three pints of grated horseradish and such other spices as you please. Fill the jars with strong cold vinegar and tie up for use.

TOMATO SAUCE PICKLE

One gallon of tomatoes and one gallon of vinegar. Slice the tomatoes (green ones are firmest), and sprinkle salt between each layer. Let them remain thus for twelve hours, then rinse them, and put them to drain on a sieve. Put your vinegar to boil with a dozen onions cut up in it, season high with cloves, pep¬ per and ginger, and when this boils throw in your tomatoes and let them boil five minutes. Finish by stirring in one-quarter of a pound of mustard and a pound of sugar; then add a quart of vinegar and bottle it.

PLAIN PEACH PICKLE

Take eight or ten fine, nearly ripe peaches; free¬ stone are preferred by some, but experience teacher

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that clings make the firmest pickle. Wipe oft the down with a flannel rag, and put them into brine strong enough to bear up an egg. In two days drain them from this brine, and scald them in boiling vine¬ gar, and let them stay in all night. Next day boil in a quart of vinegar, one ounce of whole pepper, one of broken-up ginger, eight blades of mace, and two ounces of mustard-seed ; pour this boiling on the peaches, and when cool, put them in jars, and pack away carefully in a cool place.

PEACH PICKLES

Take ripe, sound, cling-stone peaches; remove the down with a brush like a clothes brush ; make a gallon of good vinegar hot ; add to it four pounds of brown sugar; boil and skim it clear. Stick five or six cloves into each of the peaches, then pour the hot vinegar over them, cover the vessel and set it in a cold place for eight or ten days, then drain off the vinegar, make it hot, skim it, and again turn it over the peaches ; let them become cold, then put them into glass jars and secure as directed for preserves. Free-stone peaches may be used.

PEACHES AND APRICOT PICKLE

Take peaches fully grown, but not mellow; cover them in strong salt and water for one week. Take them from the brine and wipe them carefully, rubbing each peach to see if it is firm. Put to a gallon of vine¬ gar half an ounce each of cloves, pepper corns, sliced ginger root, white mustard seed, and a little salt. Scald the peaches with this boiling vinegar, repeat this three times ; add half as much fresh vinegar, and cork them up in jars. Keep them dark and cool. Light will spoil pickles or preserves as much as heat does. Apricots may be pickled in the same way.

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GREEN PEACHES PICKLED

Brush the down from green peaches (cling-stones) ; put them in salt and water, with