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PREPARATORY REMARKS.
Vegetables are always best when newly gathered, and should be brought in
from the garden early in the morning; they will then have a fragrant
freshness, which they lose by keeping.
They must
be cleaned with the greatest care; the outside leaves of every description
of Greens removed, and they, and all other vegetables, more particularly
when not recently gathered, should be laid for several hours in cold
water, and well shaken, to throw out the insects. A tea-spoonful of salt
should always be put into the water in which they are to be boiled; and if
it is hard, a tea-spoonful of salt of tartar, or potash, may be added, to
preserve the green colour of the vegetables.
All
Vegetables should be boiled quickly, and, with the exception of Spinach,
in an open vessel, skimming them carefully.
Kitchen
Greens should be kept in a cool and shady place. Potatoes, Carrots,
Turnips, and Beet-root should be stored up, without being cleaned from the
earth adhering to them, in layer of sand, or laid in heaps, and covered
with earth and straw. Parsnips and Skirrets, not being injured by frost,
are generally left in the ground, and taken up as wanted. Onions are
stored in a warm, dry place, never in a cellar; they are sometimes strung
in bunches, and suspended from the roof, and, more effectually to prevent
their growing, some people select the finest bulbs, and singe the roots
with a hot iron.
Herbs of
all sorts should be gathered when in flower, and on a dry day; and being
well cleaned from dust and dirt, they are tied up in small bunches, and
dried before the fire in a Dutch oven. They may then be kept in paper bags
labeled; or rubbed to a powder, sifted, and put into bottles.
TO
BOIL LARGE WHITE CABBAGE.
Wash and
clean them thoroughly; if large, cut them into quarters, or divide them;
put them on in boiling water, and throw in a little salt; boil them for
nearly two hours.
TO
BOIL YOUNG GREEN CABBAGES.
Wash and
clean them well; put them on in boiling water with a little salt in it,
and let them boil quickly from three quarters to nearly an hour; serve
with melted butter.
TO
BOIL GREEN PEAS.
After
being shelled, wash them; drain them in a cullender, put them on in plenty
of boiling water, with a tea-spoonful of salt, and one of pounded loaf
sugar; boil them till they become tender, which, if young, will be in less
than half an hour; if old, they will require more than an hour; drain them
in a cullender, and put them immediately into a dish with a slice of fresh
butter in it. Some people think it an improvement to boil a small bunch of
mint with the peas; it is then minced finely, and laid in small heaps at
the end or sides of the dish. If peas are allowed to stand in the water
after being boiled, they lose their colour.
TO
BOIL CARROTS.
Scrape,
wash, and clean them; if large, cut them into two or four pieces, put them
on in boiling water with some salt in it, and boil them from two to three
hours. Very young carrots will require one hour.
TO
BOIL PARSNIPS.
Scrape
and wash them nicely; when large, divide them; boil them in milk and water
till quite tender; they will take nearly as long to boil as carrots. They
may also be mashed like turnips.
TO
BOIL POTATOES.
Wash and
pare them, throwing them into cold water, as they are pared; put them into
a sauce-pan, cover them with cold water, and throw in a little salt; cover
the sauce-pan closely, and let them boil quickly for half an hour; pour
off the water immediately, and set the pan by the side of the fire to dry
the potatoes.
ANOTHER WAY TO BOIL POTATOES.
Wash them
very clean, put them on in cold water, cover the sauce-pan, and let them
boil quickly; as soon as the water boils, pour it off, and cover them with
cold water; add a little salt, and when the water boils, pour it off
instantly, when the potatoes will be sufficiently done; dry them, and take
off the skins before serving. Some people prefer potatoes being steamed.
New potatoes require much less boiling, and will be done enough in twenty
minutes; if allowed to remain long upon the fire, they will become
water-soaked. Before dressing, they are washed, and the skins rubbed or
scraped off.
MASHED
POTATOES.
Boil the
potatoes; peel and mash them very smoothly; put for a large dish four
ounces of butter, two eggs beat up in half a pint of good milk, and some
salt; mix them well together, heap it upon the dish with a table-spoon to
give it a rough and rocky appearance, or put it on the dish and score it
with a knife; dip a brush or feather into melted butter, and brush over
the top lightly; put it into a Dutch oven, and let it brown gradually for
an hour or more.
To mash
potatoes in a plain way, mix with them two ounces of butter, half a pint
of milk, and a little salt. When mashed potatoes are not browned, it is a
great improvement to add white pepper, salt, and one onion minced as
finely as possible; heat the potatoes in a sauce-pan, and serve them hot.
TO
BROIL BOILED POTATOES.
After
boiling potatoes, not quite sufficiently to send to table, put them on a
gridiron over a clear fire, and turn them frequently till they are of a
nice brown colour all over; serve them hot; take care they do not become
too hard, as that spoils the flavour.
TO
BROWN POTATOES UNDER MEAT WHILE ROASTING.
After
being boiled, lay them on a dish, and place it in the dripping-pan; baste
them now and then with a little of the meat dripping, and when one side is
browned, turn the other; they should all be of an equal colour.
POTATO
RIBANDS.
Wash four
or five large potatoes, scrape them, and cut them into thin stripes round
and round, keeping as nearly to one width as possible; throw them into
cold water as they are cut, and then fry them of a light brown in boiling
beef dripping; strew over them a little salt and pepper, and before
serving, drain them upon a dish turned up before the fire.
POTATO
EGGS.
Mash
perfectly smooth six or seven boiled potatoes, add a piece of butter the
size of a walnut, the beaten yolk of an egg, half an onion pounded, a
little boiled minced parsley, some pepper and salt; make it into the form
of small eggs or pears, roll them into a well-beaten egg, and then into
grated bread seasoned with white pepper and salt; fry them in plenty of
lard or dripping till they are of a fine brown colour; lay them before the
fire to drain; serve them with a fringe of fried parsley.
ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE POTATO EGGS.
Mash
perfectly smooth eight or ten boiled potatoes; add two ounces of butter, a
tea-cupful of cream, a little salt, and one or two onions finely minced;
make it into the form of eggs or small potatoes; brush them over with a
beaten egg; lay them upon a dish, and place it in a dripping-pan; turn
them carefully till they are all browned alike.
TO FRY
POTATOES, RAW OR COLD.
Wash,
peel, and put them into cold water for one or two hours; cut them into
slices about half an inch thick, and fry them a light brown in boiling
clarified beef suet. Cold boiled potatoes, cut into slices, may be done in
the same manner.
TO
ROAST POTATOES.
Wash them
very clean, put them into a Dutch oven, turn them frequently, and roast
them for two hours, taking care not to let them burn. Or, they may be
parboiled, and then roasted.
TO
BOIL YELLOW OR LARGE WHITE TURNIPS.
Wash,
pare, and throw them into cold water; put them on in boiling water, with a
little salt, and boil them from two hours to two and a half; drain them in
a cullender, put them into a sauce-pan, and mixing in a bit of butter,
with a beater mash them very smoothly; add half a pint of milk, mix it
well with the turnips, and make them quite hot before serving. If they are
to be served plain, dish them as soon as the water is drained off.
TO
DRESS YOUNG WHITE TURNIPS.
Wash,
peel, and boil them till tender in water with a little salt; serve them
with melted butter poured over them. Or they may be stewed in a pint of
milk thickened with a bit of butter rolled in flour, and seasoned with
salt and white pepper, and served with the sauce.
TO
DRESS YELLOW TURNIPS.
Wash,
peel, and boil till tender, three large round yellow turnips; cut off the
tops, scoop out the middle, and mix them with a geed deal of cream, a
beaten egg, some butter, flour, and a little salt; heat and fill the
turnips with the mixture; put on the tops, rub beaten egg over them, and
brown them in a Dutch oven.
TO
DRESS TOMATAS.
Pepper
and salt some ripe tomatas; broil them for a quarter of an hour, and serve
them hot. Or scoop out the inside, mix the pulp with two or three
spoonfuls of grated bread, a little butter, pepper, and salt; put the
mixture into the skins of the tomatas, and bake them in a Dutch oven. They
may be served with or without gravy.
TO FRY
TURNIPS.
Parboil
some turnips, cut them into long slices, and fry them in a little butter,
or clarified beef dripping.
TO FRY
SALSIFY.
Boil the
salsify till tender; cut it into slices about three inches long, and one
wide. Dip them into a batter made with a tea-cupful of white wine, one of
small beer, and as much flour as will thicken it. Fry them in oil or
butter. It may be stewed in a white or brown sauce.
TO
BOIL CAULIFLOWER.
Trim them
neatly, and let them lie an hour or two in cold water; then rinse them in
fresh cold water, and put them, with very little salt, into boiling water;
boil them twenty minutes, or half an hour if very large. They may be
boiled in milk and water, and require to be skimmed with particular
attention.
TO
BOIL SPINACH.
Pick it
very carefully, and wash it thoroughly two or three times in plenty of
cold water, with a little salt; let it boil nearly twenty minutes, put it
into a cullender, hold it under the water-cock, and let the water run on
it for a minute; put it into a sauce-pan, beat it perfectly smooth with a
beater, or with a wooden spoon, add a bit of butter, and three
table-spoonfuls of cream; mix it well together, and make it hot before
serving. When dished, it is scored in squares with the back of a knife.
ANOTHER WAY TO BOIL SPINACH.
After
being nicely picked and well washed, put it into a sauce-pan, with no more
water than adheres to it; add a little salt; cover the pan closely, and
boil it till tender, frequently shaking it; beat it quite smooth, adding
butter and cream, and make it quite hot. Spinach may be served with
poached eggs, or fried sausages laid on it.
When the
spinach is bitter, it is preferable to boil it in water.
TO
DRESS SPINACH.
Pick the
spinach with great care; strip the leaves from the stalks, and wash it in
several waters, till perfectly clean; boil the spinach in salt and water;
drain it well; pound it in a mortar, and put it into a stew-pan, with a
little butter and broth, and let it stew over a slow fire for three
quarters of an hour, till it be very dry; then add a quarter of a pound of
fresh butter, with salt and grated nutmeg; work the spinach well, till it
is thick, but take care the butter does not turn to oil. Garnish with
fried toasts of bread, which may be cut like cocks’ combs, or in any form.
TO
BOIL WINDSOR BEANS.
Shell and
wash them; put them on in boiling water, with a little salt in it; boil
them fifteen to twenty minutes.
In
Scotland, they are, when old, parboiled, the skins taken off, and then put
on in boiling water, and boiled till tender. When there is neither pickled
pork nor bacon at table, parsley and butter is served with them.
A BEAN
PUDDING.
Take off
the skins; pound the beans in a mortar; season with salt and pepper; add a
piece of butter; tie it lightly in a buttered and floured cloth. Put it on
in boiling water, and boil it for half an hour; squeeze the water from the
pudding-cloth, and if another shape is desired, put the cloth with the
pudding into the shape, press it down, and let it stand a few minutes,
then place the dish it is to be served in over the shape, and turn it out.
ANOTHER BEAN PUDDING.
Boil half
a pound of blanched beans; pound them in a mortar along with the crumbs of
a new roll soaked in milk; add two ounces of butter, some salt and pepper,
and mix it well with the beaten yolks of four eggs. Boil it in a basin, or
bake it in a pudding-dish lined with puff paste. Carrots may be dressed in
the same way.
TO
BOIL FRENCH BEANS.
Cut off
the stalk, and string them; if not very young, cut them in four, or into
very thin slices; put them into water as they are done, and put them on in
boiling water, with a little salt, and let them boil for half an hour. If
they are old, they will require a longer time to boil. Melted butter in a
sauce-tureen is served with them.
TO
BOIL ASPARAGUS.
Wash them
well, scrape, and tie them up in small bundles; cut them all even at the
bottom, and, as they are done, put them into cold water. Put them on in
boiling water, with a little salt, and let them boil twenty or twenty-five
minutes. Take them put, lay them upon a slice of toasted bread cut in
four, and the crusts pared off, with the tops meeting in the middle of the
dish, and cut off the strings. Melted butter is served in a sauce-tureen.
Cardoons
may be dressed in the same manner.
ASPARAGUS A LA FRANCAISE.
Boil it,
and chop small the heads and tender part of the stalks, together with a
boiled onion; add a little salt and pepper, and the beaten yolk of an egg;
heat it up. Serve it on sippets of toasted bread, and pour over it a
little melted butter.
TO
BOIL BROCOLI.
Wash it,
cut off all the outside leaves and stalks, throw it into cold water as it
is trimmed; put it on in boiling water, with a little salt, and boil it
for twenty minutes or half an hour. It is sometimes served upon bits of
toasted bread, and a little melted butter poured round it.
TO
BOIL BRUSSEL SPROUTS.
Trim and
wash them perfectly clean, and let them lie an hour in cold water. Put
them on in boiling water, with a little salt, and boil them till tender.
Drain off the water, and serve them hot.
TO
BOIL SEA KALE.
Let it
lie some time in cold water, then clean and trim it nicely, cutting off
any part that may be at all green, and parting it as little as possible.
Put it on in boiling water, with a little salt. Let it boil half an hour;
drain off the water. Pare the crust off a slice of toasted bread, lay it
in the dish, pour over it a little melted butter, and serve the kale upon
it.
TO
BOIL ARTICHOKES.
Cut off
the stalks close to the bottom, and slice off the half of the leaves from
the top; wash them well, and let them lie for some hours in cold water;
put them on in boiling water, with a little salt in it, cover the pan
closely, and boil them an hour and a half. If they are old, and have not
been fresh gathered, they will take a longer time to boil. Melted butter
is served with them in a sauce-tureen.
TO DRY
AND PICKLE ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS.
Half boil
the artichokes, strip off the leaves, and pull out the choke; put the
bottoms into small jars, and cover them with a cold boiled brine of salt
and water; put melted mutton suet on the top to exclude the air, and tie a
bladder over them. To dry them, they are boiled as for eating, the leaves
and choke pulled out, and the bottoms dried upon dishes in an oven, and
then kept in paper bags. When to be dressed, they must be laid into warm
water, and soaked for two or three hours; they may then be plain boiled,
and eaten with melted butter, or stewed in gravy, with a little mushroom
catsup, pepper, and salt, and thickened with a bit of butter rolled in
flour. They are a great improvement to all made dishes and meat pies.
TO
FRICASSEE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.
Wash and
scrape, or pare them; boil them in milk and water till they are soft,
which will be from a quarter to half an hour. Take them out and stew them
a few minutes in the following sauce: - Roll a bit of butter, the size of
a walnut, in flour; mix it with half a pint of cream or milk; season it
with white pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg.
They may
be served plain boiled, with a little melted butter poured over them.
Scorzonera is fricasseed in the same manner.
ONIONS
PLAIN BOILED.
Peel
them, and let them lie an hour in cold water; put them on in boiling milk
and water, boiled them till tender, and serve them with melted butter
poured over them.
TO
STEW CUCUMBERS.
Pare
eight or ten large cucumbers, and cut them into thick slices; flour them
well, and fry them in butter; then put them into a sauce-pan with a
tea-cupful of gravy; season it highly with cayenne, salt, mushroom catsup,
and a little port wine. Let them stew for an hour, and serve them hot.
ANOTHER WAY TO STEW CUCUMBERS.
Pare the
cucumbers, and let them lie in vinegar and water, with a little salt in
it; drain them, and put them into a sauce-pan, with a pint of gravy, a
slice of lean ham, an onion stuck with one or two cloves, a bunch of
parsley and thyme; let them stew, closely covered, till tender. Take out
the cucumbers, strain and thicken the gravy with a piece of butter rolled
in flour; boil it up, and pour it over the cucumbers.
ANOTHER WAY TO STEW CUCUMBERS.
Pare a
number of cucumbers, slice them the long way, and put them for one hour
into salt, vinegar, and water; drain them; slice three large onions, and
put them with the cucumbers into a frying-pan, with a bit of butter, and
some pepper; fry them till they are of a nice light brown colour, stirring
them frequently; cover them with a large plate, and let them stew gently
over a slow fire till they are tender, which will require a length of
time.
Cucumbers
dressed in this manner are particularly good with roast mutton.
TO
STEW MUSHROOMS.
Clean
them as for pickling, and, after washing them, put them into a sauce-pan,
with an anchovy, two cloves, some nutmeg sliced, mace, whole pepper, and
salt; let them stew in their own liquor till tender.
In this
way they will keep for some time, and when required to be dressed, pick
out the spice, and to a dish two large table-spoonfuls of white wine; add
part of their own liquor, and let them just boil; then stir in a bit of
butter dredged with flour, and two table-spoonfuls of cream.
ANOTHER WAY TO STEW MUSHROOMS.
For a
good-sized dish, take a pint of white stock; season it with salt, pepper,
and a little lemon pickle; thicken it with a bit of butter rolled in
flour; cleanse and peel the mushrooms, sprinkle them with a very little
salt, boil them for three or four minutes, put them into the gravy when it
is hot, and stew them for fifteen minutes.
ANOTHER WAY TO STEW MUSHROOMS.
Peel off
the skin, and cut away the stalks; brown a little butter and flour, then
add some gravy seasoned with pepper and salt; put in the mushrooms, and
let them stew very gently for three quarters of an hour. If required to be
done with a white sauce, follow the same method as with the onions, and
when dished, serve them with sippets of bread.
TO
STEW ONIONS.
Take a
dozen of good-sized onions; peel, and put them on in the following sauce:
- A pint of veal stock, a bit of butter rolled in flour, a little white
pepper, and salt. Stew them gently for an hour, and, just before serving,
mix in three table-spoonfuls of cream. To stew them in a brown sauce, take
the same quantity of good gravy. In a stew-pan, brown – of a light colour
– a little butter and flour; add the gravy and onions, with a little
pepper and salt, and stew them gently one hour.
ANOTHER WAY TO STEW ONIONS.
Peel five
or six large onions; put them into a Dutch oven or cheese-toaster to
roast, turn them frequently, and when they are well browned, put them into
a sauce-pan, with a bone of dressed or undressed meat, a slice of bacon, a
little water, and some pepper. Cover the pan closely, and stew them till
tender. Take out the bone and the bacon; thicken the sauce with a bit of
butter rolled in flour.
ANOTHER WAY TO STEW ONIONS.
Parboil
some onions in milk and water; strain, and chop them small; put them into
a sauce-pan, with a little cream or milk, a bit of butter, some salt and
pepper, and stew them till quite tender.
TO
ROAST ONIONS.
Roast
them with the skins on in a Dutch oven, that they may brown equally. They
are eaten with cold fresh butter, pepper, and salt.
TO
STEW CABBAGE.
Cut one
or two cabbages or savoys into quarters; take out all the stalk; boil them
in three pints of water till they are quite tender; drain, and boil them
with half a pint of gravy, two ounces of butter, a little pepper, salt,
and a table-spoonful of vinegar.
TO
STEW RED CABBAGE.
Wash a
cabbage well; slice it as for pickling, and put it into a stew-pan, with
half a tea-cupful of port wine, and a bit of butter kneaded in flour, a
little salt and pepper; stir it till the butter is melted; cover the pan,
and let it stew a little, but not to become too soft, as it eats better
rather crisp; add a table-spoonful of vinegar, give it one boil, and serve
it hot. The wine may be omitted.
A STEW
OF VEGETABLES.
Pick and
wash very clean as much spinach as will make a dish; mince finely three
small onions; pick and chop two handfuls of parsley; put all into a
sauce-pan, with rather more than half a pint of gravy, a bit of butter
dusted with flour, a little salt and pepper. Cover the pan closely, stir
it now and them, and when the spinach is tender, mash it smooth. Serve it
with slices of broiled ham, or with sausages.
TO
STEW OLD PEAS.
Put into
a sauce-pan, a pint of weak stock, a slice of ham or bacon, and a quart or
three pints of peas, with a tea-spoonful of pounded loaf sugar; cover the
pan closely, and stew them nearly an hour, or till they become tender;
take out the ham, and add a bit of butter rolled in flour. Serve them
quite hot.
TO
STEW BEET-ROOT.
Mix half
an ounce of butter with a little flour, melt it in rather more than half a
pint of water, add some salt and pepper; wash a middling-sized root,
scrape and cut it into slices, put it into the sauce-pan, with the butter;
cover the pan closely, and stew it for an hour and ten minutes. Before
serving, add a large table-spoonful of vinegar.
TO
STEW CELERY.
Wash and
clean some heads of celery, cut them into pieces of two or three inches
long, and boil them in veal stock till tender. To half a pint of cream,
add the well-beaten yolks of an egg, a bit of lemon-peel, grated nutmeg,
and salt, also a bit of butter; make it hot, stirring it constantly;
strain it upon the celery; heat it thoroughly, but do not let it boil.
ANOTHER WAY TO STEW CELERY.
Cut off
the green tops and the outside of a few heads of celery; cut them into
small pieces; wash them well; boil them in salt and water till tender;
pour off nearly all the water; add some butter, mixed with flour, a little
good cream, salt, and pepper, and heat it all together.
TO
STEW SORREL A LA FRANCAISE.
Strip the
leaves from the stalks, wash them well, scald them in boiling water in a
silver sauce-pan, or in an earthen pipkin; strain, and stew them in a
little gravy till tender. Serve with hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters.
ENDIVE
WITH GRAVY OR VEAL.
Wash and
clean thoroughly ten or twelve heads of fine endive, take off the outer
leaves, and blanch the heads in hot water; throw them into cold water, and
then squeeze them as dry as possible. Stew them in as much gravy as will
cover them; add a tea-spoonful of pounded sugar, and a little salt. When
perfectly tender, put in a little veloutee sauce, and serve quite hot.
TO
STEW YOUNG PEAS AND LETTUCE.
Wash and
made perfectly clean one or two heads of cabbage lettuce; pick off the
outside leaves, and lay them for two hours in cold water, with a little
salt in it; then slice them, and put them into a sauce-pan, with a quart
or three pints of peas, three table-spoonfuls of gravy, a bit of butter
dredged with flour, some pepper and salt, and a tea-spoonful of pounded
loaf sugar. Let them stew, closely covered, till the peas are soft.
TO
DRESS DRIED FRENCH BEANS.
Boil for
more than two hour, in two quarts of water, a pound of the seeds or beans
of scarlet runners; fill a pint basin with onions peeled and sliced; brown
them in a sauce-pan, with rather more than a quarter of a pound of fresh
butter; stir them constantly; strain the water from the beans, and mix
them with the onions; add a tea-spoonful of black pepper, some salt, and a
little gravy. Let them stew for ten minutes, and stir in the beaten yolks
of two eggs, and a table-spoonful of vinegar. Serve them hot.
TO
DRESS CARDOONS.
Choose a
few heads of nice white cardoons; cut the leaves into pieces of six inches
long, rejecting those that are hollow; take off their prickles, and throw
the thickest pieces into boiling water; after these have boiled a little,
put in the more tender leaves and the stalks. When it is ascertained, by
trying a little piece in cold water, that the surface slime will come off
by rubbing, take them immediately off the fire, and mix in as much cold
water as will admit of the hands being held in it; then rub off all the
slime, and throw the cardoons into a stew-pan, with some good gravy, a
little salt, and a little sugar. Boil them over a quick fire, skim them
carefully, strain the sauce through a sieve, pour it over them, and serve
them quite hot.
SKIRRETS.
Wash and
scrape them, put them on in boiling water, and boil them for ten minutes;
dry them in a cullender, and fry them brown in a little butter.
They are
sometimes plain boiled, and a little melted butter poured over them.
TRUFFLES.
Put some
fresh truffles into warm water; brush and rub out all the dirt, and wash
them perfectly clean; put them into a sauce-pan full of cold water, with
two or three bay leaves, a bunch of sweet herbs, two onions, twelve
cloves, a little allspice, salt, two or three blades of mace, and a gill
of vinegar; boil them slowly for two hours. Drain, and serve them in a
napkin.
VEGETABLE MARROW.
Is fit
for use when about the size of a turkey’s egg. After being washed clean,
it is put on in boiling water, with a little salt, and when tender it is
drained from the water, cut into half, and served on toasted bread, over
which some melted butter has been poured. Or, after being boiled in milk
and water, they may be fricasseed as Jerusalem artichokes, or stewed like
cucumbers.
PEAS
FOR A SECOND COURSE DISH, A LA FRANCAISE.
Put a
quart of fine green peas, together with a bit of butter the size of a
walnut, into as much warm water as will cover them, in which let them
stand for eight or ten minutes. Strain off the water, put them into a
sauce-pan, cover it, stir them frequently, and when a little tender, add a
bunch of parsley, and a cibol or young onion, nearly a dessert-spoonful of
loaf sugar, and an ounce of butter mixed with a tea-spoonful of flour;
keep stirring them now and then till the peas be tender, and add, if they
become too thick, a table-spoonful of hot water. Before serving, take out
the cibol and bunch of parsley.
A
SUMMER SALAD.
Wash very
clean one or two heads of fine lettuce; divide it, let it lie some time in
cold water; drain, and dry it in a napkin, and cut it small before
serving. Mustard and cresses, sorrel and young onions, may be added, and
the dish garnished with nasturtium flowers.
A
WINTER SALAD.
Wash very
clean one or two heads of endive, some heads of celery, some mustard and
cresses; cut them all small, add a little shredded red cabbage, some
slices of boiled beet-root and onion, if the flavour is not disliked; mix
them together with salad sauce. In spring, add radishes, and also garnish
the dish with them.
LAVER.
Is
dressed in a silver dish, over a lamp; a bit of fresh butter, and the
juice of a Seville orange, are stirred into it till quite hot. It is sent
to table in the dish over the lamp.
This
plant grows upon rocks on the sea shore. It is much used in Wales, and is
sent to Loudon in jars prepared for dressing.
TO
DRESS THE LEAVES OF WHITE BEET.
Pick and
wash them clean; put them on in boiling water with a little salt; cover
the sauce-pan, and boil them longer than spinach; drain off the water, and
beat them as spinach, with a bit of butter and a little salt.
TODRESS FRENCH BEANS.
Trim some
nice young French beans, and boil them in salt and water; drain them quite
dry, and pour over them the following sauce: - Boil a little sauce tournee,
and thicken it with the beaten yolks of two eggs and a little
finely-chopped parsley, with a piece of fresh butter, a little pepper,
salt, and the juice of a lemon added, and all stirred till hot. Or, put
them into a stew-pan, and, when quite hot, add a quarter of a pound of
fresh butter, a little pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon; shake
the stew-pan frequently, but do not use a spoon. If the butter does not
mix well, add half a spoonful of sauce tournee.
TO
FRICASSEE FRENCH BEANS.
Boil the
beans as for eating, and having strained off the water, put them into a
sauce-pan, with half a pint of cream; dredge in a little flour and grated
nutmeg. Make them hot before serving.
PEAS
PUDDING.
Put a
quart of split peas to soak for two hours into warm water; boil them in
soft water, with a bit of butter, till sufficiently tender to press
through a sieve; pulp them, and add the beaten yolk of one egg, a little
pepper and salt, and an ounce of butter. Tie it into a buttered and
floured cloth, and put it on in boiling water; boil it nearly an hour.
TO
PRESERVE GREEN PEAS FOR WINTER USE.
Fill
wide-mouthed quart bottles to the neck with green peas; place them upon
the fire in a pan of cold water, and when it boils, take them out, and
immediately cork them tightly, and seal them. Keep them in a cold place.
ANOTHER WAY TO PRESERVE GREEN PEAS.
Put into
a sauce-pan of boiling water fresh-gathered and fresh-shelled peas, but
not very young; as soon as they boil up, pour off the water, and put them
upon a large dry cloth folded, and then upon another, that they may be
perfectly dry without being bruised; let them lie some time before the
fire, and then put them into small paper bags, each containing about a
pint, and hang them up in the kitchen. Before using, soak them for two or
three hours in water, and then boil them as directed for green peas,
adding a little bit of butter, when they are put on to boil.
TO
KEEP FRENCH BEANS FOR WINTER USE.
Gather
them when young, and on a dry day; put a layer of salt into a jar, and
then one of about two inches thick of beans; do this till the jar be
nearly full; place a small plate upon the top of them, and tie bladder
closely over the jar; keep it in a cool dry place. When to be used, soak
them a night in cold water, and change it on them repeatedly in the course
of the day they are to be dressed. Cut them, and put them on in boiling
water.
TO
MAKE SOUR KROUT.
The best
cabbage for this purpose is the drum, or white Strasburg, and it should
not be used till it has endured some severe frost; the stocks are then cut
into halves, and shred down as fine as possible with a knife, or more
properly with a plane made in the form of a cucumber slice. Burn a little
juniper in a cask or tub which is perfectly sound and clean, and put a
little leaven into the seam round the bottom, - flour and vinegar may be
substituted for leaven; then put in three or four handfuls of cabbage, a
good sprinkling of salt, and a tea-spoonful of caraway see, and press this
hard with a wooden mallet; next add another layer of cabbage, with salt
and caraway seed, as at first; and so on in the same manner until the cask
be full, pressing sown each layer firmly as you advance. A good deal of
water will come to the top, of which a part may be taken off. The cask
being full, put on the head so as to press upon the cabbage, and place it
in a warm cellar to ferment; when it has worked well for three weeks, take
off the scum which will have gathered on the top, and lay a clean cloth on
the krout; replace the head, and put two or three heavy stones upon it.
The juice should always stand upon the top. Thus, in a good cellar, it
will keep for years.
When to
be dressed, it is boiled for five or six hours in water, or stewed with a
little gravy, and may be also substituted for a crust over a beef-steak
pie, when cheese is grated over it. |
