American Cookery Part 15

QUERY NO. 4241.--"I wish you would let me have a good recipe for Caramel Icing, the kind that does not call for the whites of eggs."

Caramel Icing

Add two cups and one-half of dark brown sugar to three-fourths a cup of milk, and let boil thirteen minutes. When nearly done add three tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and one teaspoonful of vanilla. Beat until nearly cold, then spread on top of cake. It may also be used between the layers. If a sugar thermometer be used, the syrup should be boiled to the soft-ball stage, or between 235 deg. Fah. to 240 deg. Fah.

QUERY NO. 4242.--"Please let me have a recipe for Spiced Pineapple."

Spiced Pineapple

Weigh six pounds of pineapple, after paring, coring, and cutting in rather small pieces. Cook in a porcelain kettle with three cups of the best white vinegar, until the pineapple is softened, keeping the kettle closely covered, and turning the fruit once in a while so that the pieces may be equally exposed to the action of the vinegar. Tie in cheesecloth or netting one ounce, each, of whole cloves, previously bruised, and stick cinnamon, broken into small pieces; add these to the kettle with five pounds of granulated sugar, and let cook until the mixture is of the consistency of marmalade, being careful to avoid burning. The spices may be removed as soon as they have given the flavor desired.

QUERY NO. 4243.--"Will you kindly answer the following in your Department of Queries and Answers? Should Boiled Potatoes be started in cold or boiling water? Should Corn on the cob be put on in cold water and allowed to simmer for several minutes after it comes to a boil, or be put on in boiling water and boiled five minutes? Should Chicken, Turkey, or other Fowl be covered during roasting? Can you give a clear and up-to-date article on correct Table Service?"

To Boil Potatoes

Very young, new potatoes--the kind hardly bigger than walnuts, should be put on in cold water and brought quickly to a boil, for potatoes so young as to be immature contain more or less of a bitter principle, which is desirable to get rid of in the cooking. Potatoes in their prime, as from September to March, are best put on in boiling, salted water. Later in the spring, when the potatoes begin to sprout and shrivel they ought to be put on in cold water and brought, as slowly as possible, to a boil, or allowed to stand in cold water for some hours before cooking.

To Boil Corn

It is usually preferred to put on the corn in cold water, bring to a boil, and let simmer until done. But to steam the ears will give, in our opinion, the best results.

Should Chicken Be Covered While Roasting?

Decidedly not; it spoils the flavor not only of chicken and turkey, but of any prime joint of meat to bake it in a covered pan. The covered pan is properly used for braising only, for the tough cuts which have to be braised call for the combination of baking and steaming which results from the covered pan. All kinds of poultry, and all prime joints of meat should be placed on a rack in an uncovered roasting pan, put into a very hot oven for the first ten or fifteen minutes, and then have one or two cups of water poured over them, mixed with fat if the meat is lean, this water to be used for basting every ten or fifteen minutes. The rack in the pan serves both to allow a circulation of air around the meat, and to keep it from touching the water. It is this circulation of air that gives the fine flavor of the properly roasted meat, and the frequent opening of the oven door for the basting serves to supply the fresh air needed for the best results.

Instructions on Table Service

The Up-to-Date Waitress, by Janet M. Hill, or Breakfasts, Luncheons, and Dinners, by Mary D. Chambers, both contain clear and up-to-date directions for table service. We can supply these books if you wish to have either of them.

QUERY NO. 4244.--"Will you tell me in your paper why my Lemon Pies become watery when I return them to the oven to brown the meringue? Also give me some suggestions for Desserts for Summertime, other than frozen dishes."

Why Lemon Pies Become Watery

A lemon pie may become watery when put in the oven to brown the meringue, if it be left in the oven too long; or it may water because the filling was not sufficiently cooked before putting into the pastry sh.e.l.l; or it may be from an insufficiency of flour being used in making the filling. If you had told us just how your pies are made, we would be better able to solve your problem.

In future we hope to answer queries as soon as they reach us, and by direct reply to each individual questioner; but up to the present we have answered most of them in this department of the magazine, and since it takes two or three months to get the ma.n.u.script into print many of the questions are answered too late. So it happens with your inquiry regarding desserts for Summertime. Any of the cold desserts, such as gelatines, custards, blancmanges, or fresh fruits with cream, are suitable for summer and are easily prepared.

QUERY NO. 4245.--"Will you oblige me by an answer to the following in the pages of AMERICAN COOKERY? How shall I make Tartare Sauce? What should be the temperature of the fat for French Fried Potatoes or for Potato Chips? Mine are never crisp, can you tell me why? Also tell me how to Broil Fish, how to make a good Cream Dressing for fish, meat, or croquettes, and how to make Soft Gingerbread with a sauce to put over it."

Tartare Sauce

A Tartare Sauce or Sauce Tartare is merely a mayonnaise dressing with pickles chopped into it, a tablespoonful, each, or more, of chopped cuc.u.mber, cauliflower, and olives, with a tablespoonful of capers and two teaspoonfuls of red pepper to a pint of the mayonnaise. There is, however, a hot Tartare Sauce which is made by adding to one cup of thick white sauce the following ingredients: One tablespoonful, each, of chives, parsley, pickled gherkins, olives, and capers, all put through the food chopper. Stir into the white sauce; heat while stirring constantly, but do not allow the mixture to boil, and add one tablespoonful of vinegar just before serving.

Crisp Fried Potatoes

We think your trouble is not so much the temperature of the fat, which should be about 350 deg. to 375 deg. Fah., as it is that potatoes, to be crisped by deep frying, should first be soaked in cold water for twenty to thirty minutes, then dried perfectly before immersing in the fat.

Also, they should be removed from the fat the moment they are done, and drained dry.

To Broil Fish

Wipe the fish dry, and brush it lightly with oil or melted b.u.t.ter.

Place it in a double wire broiler, and cook over a clear fire, turning every other minute until both sides are a light, even brown. Remove carefully from the broiler, using a sharp boning knife to free it from adhesions. If the fish is thoroughly oiled, it should not adhere to the broiler.

Cream Sauce

Blend together b.u.t.ter and flour, and add to hot milk; keep stirring until the whole has boiled for at least one minute. Add seasonings to taste, at the beginning of cooking. The proportions for a thin, a medium, and a thick sauce are, respectively: One, two, and four tablespoonfuls of flour to one cup of milk. And an equal volume of b.u.t.ter, or one-third less than the flour, is called for.

Soft Gingerbread

To two beaten eggs in a mixing-bowl add two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, melted, three-eighths a cup of sour milk, and one cup of mola.s.ses. Beat all together; add two cups of flour, sifted with one-half a teaspoonful of salt and one teaspoonful of baking powder, and one tablespoonful of ginger. Lastly, add one teaspoonful of baking soda, dissolved in two teaspoonfuls of water. Bake in a sheet, and serve with whipped cream for a simple dessert.

QUERY NO. 4246.--"Can you give me a recipe for Deep-Dish Apple Pie? It has a thick top covering, I cannot call it a crust, for it is something between a cake and a biscuit dough--not at all like pie crust."

Deep-Dish Apple Pie

This is the genuine English Apple Pie--they would call ours an apple tart. It is made in oval baking-dishes of thick yellow ware, about two and one-half or three inches deep, and with flat rims an inch in width.

The first thing to do is to invert a teacup--preferably one without a handle--in the bottom of the dish, then core and pare sour, juicy apples--any number, from six to a dozen, depending on the size of the family and the dish--and divide them in eighths. Arrange these in alternate layers with sugar in the dish, with a generous sprinkling of whole cloves over each layer, and pile, layer on layer, until not another bit of apple can go in anywhere without toppling out. The apples are piled up as high again as the depth of the dish, or higher. Now lay over all a very rich biscuit dough, lightly rolled out to one-fourth inch in thickness. Decorate this with leaves, or other cut-out designs, and arrange them over the covering and moisten the under sides with water, to make them adhere during the baking. Place long strips of the dough over the brim of the pie-dish, and press with the bowl of a spoon in concentric designs. Bake in a moderate oven for an hour. Pieces of the crust are cut off for serving, and spoonfuls of the apple pulp are served with them on the plate, then, as soon as convenient the inverted cup is removed, and the rich liquid collected under it is spooned over each serving of crust and apples.

QUERY NO. 4247.--"I wish very much to know the right temperature for Baking both layer and loaf, white, b.u.t.ter Cakes, also for chocolate Cake. Should the Baking begin with a cold or a warm oven? How long should each kind of cake bake?"

Temperature for Cake Baking

The usual time and temperature for baking layer cakes is 400 deg. Fah., for twenty minutes. Loaf cakes, made with b.u.t.ter, with or without chocolate, take a temperature of from 350 deg. to 375 deg, Fah. for from forty minutes to an hour. These temperatures are approximate, and are in accordance with the general rules for oven temperature, but this has to be adapted to the recipe. The more sugar used the lower should be the temperature, to avoid burning, and especially when mola.s.ses is used does the need to decrease temperature become imperative. The more b.u.t.ter used the higher should be the temperature, at least, until the cake is "set,"