94 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ June_ 



French substitute for American ha^h, and tells how 

 to make them : "Veal, mutton, lamb, sweetbreads, 

 almost any of the lighter meats, besides cold chicken 

 and turkey, can be most deliciously turned into cro- 

 quettes. Chop the meat very fine. Chop up an 

 onion, fry it in an ounce of butter, add a tablespoon- 

 ful of flour. Stir well, and then add the chopped 

 meat and a little broth, salt, pepper, little nutmeg. 

 Stir for two or three minutes, then add the yolks of 

 two egpe, and turn the whole mixture into a dish to 

 cool. When cool mix well together again. Divide 

 up into parts for the croquettes, roll into the desired 

 shape in bread crumbs. Dip in beaten eggs, then 

 into bread crumbs again, and fry crisp, a bright 

 golden color. Any of these croquettes may be served 

 plain or with tomato sauce or garniture of vegetables. " 



Cooking Potatoes. 

 To most of us the food we eat is valuable because 

 we like it, and not so much because we consider our- 

 selves a machine on which profit and loss are to be 

 nicely calculated in regard to what we eat. But, as 

 some of our readers are chemically or financially dis- 

 posed, and have a desire to know to a penny what 

 their bodies cost, and to the grain the material of 

 which it is made, we give the following about cook- 

 ing potatoes from an English agricultural magazine; 

 As food, the potato is valuable on account of the 

 potash and the phosphoric acid it contains, and it is 

 ■of the first importance that the potash salts should 

 not be lost in the process of cooking, for it is to these 

 salts that potatoes owe their anti-scorbutic proper- 

 ties. Potatoes steamed with their skins on lose very 

 little potash and scarcely any ,,hosphoric acid ; wliile, 

 If steamed after peeling, they lose 6--ven and five per 

 cent, respectively. Similarly, potatoes, when boiled 

 ■with their skin on, lose a little more than two per 

 cent, of their potash, and about one per cent, of their 

 phosphoric acid ; but, if ihey are boiled after peeling, 

 they lose as much as thirty-three per cent, of potash 

 andtwenty-three per cent, of phosphoric acid. Hence, 

 if potatoes must be peeled, they .should be steamed, 

 not be boiled; and, if they must be boiled, they 

 should at least retain their jackets during their opera- 

 tion — the best way of all, from a scientific point of 

 view, being to steam them before peeling, or to bake 

 them in their skins. 



Hints to Housekeepers. 



The test of a housekeeper's taste and refinement is 

 her table. The linen, though coarse in texture, can 

 always be fresh and white; the silver and glass 

 shining; the castor and salt cups neatly filled; the 

 dishes uniform and orderly in their arrangement, and 

 the snowy cloth protected from any chance soil or 

 stain by mats of straw or crotchet-work. The atmo- 

 sphere of the break fiist room should be cheery, and 

 good temper and iTi.'i|riiiii^: ialk should wait upon ap- 

 petite. The miiniiim's fof>d sliould le such as will 

 leave the (acuities at their best— light, nutritious and 

 inviting ; and its provisions should be abundant, but 

 not disorderly. Have hot plates sent to the table 

 with the hot meat, and cold plates placed upon the 

 sideboard, or side table, with any cold meat which is 

 to be used ; this should he sliced as it is required for 

 use. A-box of mould in a kitchen window makes a 

 nice garden for raisin;; lljc Iierl.s w iiich give such 

 variety and flavor to any dish into which they enter. 

 Hot rolls and biscuits should be eerved well covered 

 with a napkin. Dry toast should be sent to the table 

 the instant it is made. Buttered toast should be set 

 into the oven about five minutes to render it crisp. A 

 small pice of sponge tied upon a rod, or a flat brush, 

 will serve nicely to grease pans or plates with. Rub 

 your griddle with salt before you grease it, and your 

 cakes will not stick. 



Household Recipes, 



Pleasing the Palate. 

 During Miss Dods' lectures on Cooking, in Phila- 

 delphia, within the past month, she has demonstrated 

 her manner of rendering palatable and digestible 

 many well-known dishes. Subjoined will be found 

 some of her receipts : 



IRISH STEW. 



Material required ; 2 pounds of potatoes, 1 pound 

 of neck mutton, )4 pound of onions, salt, pepper and 

 )4 pint of water. Cut the potatoes in pieces, boil 

 them and throw away the water. Soak the onions 

 in water, slice them up and put them with the pota- 

 toes in a saucepan, and cook slowly for an hour and 

 a hall, seasoning with pepper and salt. 



APPLE DDMPLING. 



Ingredients used: .5 apples, '.< pound of flour, 2 

 ounces of lard, 1 ounce of sugar, '. iiinl of cold 

 water, )4 teaspoonful of baking powder, ajid a pinch 

 of salt. Pare and core the apples. .Mix the lard, 

 yeast, powder and salt. Add water, knead lightly 

 together and cut into five pieces. Fill the core hole 

 in the apple with sugar, wrap the apple with dough, 

 put into a lightly-floured tin. and bake for an hour 

 and a half. 



MILK SOUP. 



Stock required : 2 raw potatoes, 1 ounce of lard. 



pint of milk, 1 H ounces of fine sage, 1 quart of cold 

 water, pepper and salt. Cover potatoes with water, 

 keep over until the water boils ; then replace the 

 water with a quart of fresh, adding the lard at the 

 same time. Boil the potatoes until they are tender; 

 pour the materials through a colander and return 

 to a saucepan ; add milk, sago and seasoning. 



MACOARONI AND CHEESE. 



Ingredients necessary : i^" pound of maccaroni, 3 

 oune'es of dry cheese, '..; pint of milk, and a small 

 quantity of pepper and salt. Boil the maccaroni 

 fifteen minutes in water; then replace the water 

 with milk, and boil for half hour longer. Spread a 

 layer of maccaroni on a flat dish ; add a layer of dry 

 cheese; sprinkle slightly with pepper and salt. Con- 

 tinue alternate layers of maccaroni and cheese until 

 the required amount is obtained. Then place in the 

 oven and brown for from SU to 10 minutes. 



TO BOIL- POTATOES. 



The only method to boil potatoes pronerly, says 

 Miss Dodds, is to boil them uutil half-done, then 

 pour off all the water, cover the pot closely and per- 

 mit them to steam until quite done. Just before re- 

 moving them from the stove ta'ke off the lid of the 

 pot that the steam may escape, and the potatoes will 

 be found to be very dry and very mealy. Young 

 potatoes should be placed in boiling water ; old pota- 

 toes in cold and boiled. 



TO MAKE PUFF PASTE. 



To make this pastry she used one-quarter of a 

 pound of flour, same quantity of butter, the yolk 

 of one egg, a pinch of salt, several drops of lemon 

 juice and a gill of cold water. The yolk of the 

 egg, salt, lemon juice and water are mixed and 

 tiien worked into the flour, thus forming a stifl' 

 dough. When this has been kneaded quite firmly, 

 roll the dough on a well-floured board until 

 it is quite thin. It is necessary to be particular to 

 use the exact weight of flour and butter. The butter 

 should then be squeezed through a towel to extract 

 the water and milk. Having been strained, it is 

 placed in the centre of the dough, which is folded 

 carefully upon it and again rolled out as thin as 

 possible.' It is then folded in three layers and rolled, 

 and folded for seven times ; the first three times very 

 cafelully, that the butter my not run out. Having 

 rolled aiid folded it the first time, it should be laid 

 aside for a time to cool. After awhile, it is rolled 

 again and folded again. Between the second and 

 third and fifth and sixth rollings it should be allowed 

 to stand in a cool place. When it is rolled for the 

 seventh and last time, the paste should be about a 

 half an inch in thickness. It is then cut in circular 

 pieces about the size of a cup. In the centre of 

 these cakes a small, round indention is made half 

 through. These pieces are removed after the paste 

 is cooked, which requires ten minutes. 



TURKISH SOUP. 



For this soup the ingredients required are one 

 quart of second stock, one-half teacupful of rice, 

 the yolks of two eggs, one tablespoonful of cream 

 and a little pepper and salt. The second stock is 

 made by sjfnply covering the meat and bones 

 with water and fresh vegetables, and boiling the 

 whole for a long time. Wash the rice well by 

 placing it in a strainer and pouring water over it. 

 This washes off all the starch and flour on the out- 

 side, so that when it is cooked each grain of the rice 

 is separate from the others. Place the stock, the 

 rice, pepper and salt in a saucepan and boil for 

 twenty minutes. Then pour it through a wire sieve, 

 rubbing the rice well through, and pour the hot 

 stock back into the saucepan. In a basin then mix 

 the yolks of two eggs aud the cream, and add a 

 tablespoonful of hot stock. This gradually cools the 

 stock and warms the cream and eggs. Then pour 

 the stock in. Allow this to stand over the fire for 

 two minutes, but do not let it boil or the eggs curdle. 



AMBER PUDDING. 



In preparing this there were used two pounds of 

 raw apples, three ounces of sugar, a -gill of cold 

 water, several drops of lemon juice, four eggs, six 

 ounces of flour, two ounces of butter, one-half tea- 

 spoonful of baking powder and a pinch of salt. The 

 sugar and one-half gill of water are placed over the 

 fire and allowed to come to a boil. At this point add 

 the apples, which should be cut into lumps, and the 

 lemon juice, and cook until the apples are quite soft. 

 Weigh out six ounces of flour in a basin, and mix in 

 well two ounces of butter ; then add the baking 

 powder, a pinch of salt and one-half gill of water, 

 and work the whole into a firm dough, and roll out 

 to thickness of one-third of an inch. Then dampen 

 the sides of a pie dish w-ith cold water and line it 

 with narrow strips of the dough. After trimming 

 the edge nicely, brush them lightly with cold water, 

 and garnish the outer edge with small circular pieces 

 of pastry laid close together. The apples, when soft, 

 are removed and strained through a sieve into a clean 

 dish. The yolks of four eggs are then mixed in, aud 

 in this condition it is placed into the pie plate that 

 has been prepared. In order to cook the newly in- 

 troduced ergs and the dough the dish is put in the 

 oven for ten minutes. The whites of the eggs, to 

 which salt has been added, are beaten stiff, and when 

 the pudding is done this is piled high up in the cen- 

 tre, and is then well sprinkled with sugar. After 

 smoothing the white of the egg into a cone shape, it 



can be neatly garnished with pieces of Angelica or 

 dried berries. It is again placed in the oven to brown 

 for two minutes, and is then ready for the table. 

 Miss Dods stated that it was never necessary to beat 

 the j'Olks of the eggs. The whites always beat 

 quicker and softer separate. She used the sharp edge 

 of a table knife, and said the beating could be done 

 quicker in a cool air. 



FISH CAKBS. 



The receipt given for fish cakes included one 

 pound of potatoes, one pound of codfish — boiled, 

 pepper and salt, two eggs, one teaspoonful of cream, 

 one-half ounce of butter, and a few tablespoonfuls of 

 bread crumbs. After breaking the boiled fish into 

 small pieces, grate the potatoes while hot upon it 

 through a sieve ; add one-half ounce of butter, the 

 yolks of the eggs, the cream, and mix all well to- 

 gether ; when seasoned with pepper and salt, divide 

 the mass mto small fiat cakes on a well floured 

 board; heat the whites of the eggs, and, having 

 coated each of the cakes with it, roll them into the 

 bread crumbs ; fry in hot fat or lard for two minutes. 

 As soon as the cakes are done place them on a piece 

 of paper that the superfluous grease may he absorbed 

 from them . 



DRESSED BOILED FISH. 



Her mode of dressing any boiled fish was demon- 

 strated with halibut. To one pound offish she used 

 two ounces of butter, two ounces of fiour, one ounce 

 of grated cheese, one-half pint of milk and one gill 

 of cream. The butter and flour are placed over the 

 fire and mixed while the butter melts. Milk is 

 then mixed in and stirred until it boils. At the 

 boiling point add the cream, pepper and salt and 

 cook two minutes. The bones and skin having been 

 removed from the fish, it is cut into small pieces 

 and then mixed into the sauce, which should remain 

 only long enough over the fire to heat the fish. 

 Place the whole on a fiat dish, sprinkle over grated 

 cheese or bread crumbs, add pepper and brown 

 quickly in the oven. To boil halibut properly, she 

 said it should be placed in boiling water, to which a 

 tablespoonful of vinegar has been added. It should 

 cook only twenty minutes, unless the fish is of un- 

 usual size. 



FILLET OF BEEF AND DUTCH SAUCE. 



The beef should be cut in slices about an inch in 

 thickness. It is then placed in the broiler, which 

 should be lightly greased, and then subjected to the 

 action of the fire for seven minutes, turning it but 

 once in that time. The Dutch sauce was prepared 

 with half a tablespoonful of cream, half a table- 

 spoonful of water, the yolks of two eggs, a little 

 pepper and salt, one ounce of butter, and the juice of 

 half a lemon. The water and egg yolks are beaten 

 well together, and the lemon juice^cream and butter, 

 with salt and pepper, are then introduced, and the 

 whole is whisked over a slow fire until it thickens. 

 This, however, must not be allowed to come to a 

 boil. When finished, pour hot over the fillets of 

 beef and serve. 



CHARLOTTE RUSSE. 



In making Charlotte Russe she required a quarter 

 pound of lady finger cake (sponge finger biscuits), 

 one pint cream, half ounce of gelatine, the whites of 

 two eggs, one teaspoonful of essence of vanilla, one 

 ounce of sugar, a few dried cherries — preserved 

 cherries with stones out — and a half gill of cold 

 water. The gelatine w.as put in cold water to soak. 

 The lady fingers, in the meantime, were cut length- 

 wise, so they would fit closely together, and were 

 then placed side by side within a small pan. The 

 gelatine was then carefully melted over the fire so as 

 to not get too hot. A pint of cream was whipped, 

 to which was added one ounce of granulated sugar. 

 Take the whites of two eggs and whip them until 

 they are very stiff, adding a little dry salt. When the 

 whites are wliipped to a very stiff froth add to the 

 cream the vanilla and tlie gelatine. Pour gently into 

 this, stirring all tlie tinif the melted gelatine, and 

 then mix very liglitly I lie whites of egg. When well 

 mixed stand to one side until it begins to set, then 

 pour into the mould in which the cake has been ar- 

 ranged, and allow it to stand until well set. A few 

 dried cherries were first dropped into the bottom of 

 the pan for flavor. 



WELCOME-GUEST PUDDING. 



In the preparation of this dessert she required 4 

 ounces of bread crumbs, 1 gill of boiling milk, i 

 ounces suet, 8 ounces sugar, IJ^ ounces citron, \]4 

 ounces sweet almonds, - eggs and a few preserved 

 cherries. First put on to boil 1 gill of milk ; put two 

 ounces of' the bread crumbs in a basin; pour over 

 them the boiling milk ; allow this this to soak for a 

 minute or two ; chop finely the suet, beef suet is 

 always used except in the sick room ; here mutton 

 suet is used because it is more easily digested ; chop 

 finely the almonds,which are first blanched ; cut the 

 citron in very th n pieces, having removed the hard 

 sugar from the surface . The bread crumb and milk 

 having soaked, two ounces more of crumbs are 

 poured into it, together 'with the suet, citron and 

 almonds. In a basin put the yolks of two eggs and 

 two ounces of sugar, the sugar is mixed with the 

 yolks to make the latter lighter. To the whites of 

 the eggs add a pinch of salt and beat to a stiff froth; 

 mix the froth with the yolks and sugar ; all the in- 

 gredients are mixed together; grease a mould, garnish 



