Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches Part 63

COMMON ICE CREAM.

Split into pieces a vanilla bean, and boil it in a very little milk till the flavour is well extracted; then strain it. Mix two table-spoonfuls of arrow-root powder, or the same quant.i.ty of fine powdered starch, with just sufficient cold milk to make it a thin paste; rubbing it till quite smooth. Boil together a pint of cream and a pint of rich milk; and while boiling stir in the preparation of arrow-root, and the milk in which the vanilla has been boiled.

When it has boiled hard, take it off, stir in half a pound of powdered loaf-sugar, and let it come to a boil again. Then strain it, and put it into a freezer placed in a tub that has a hole in the 'bottom to let-out the water; and surround the freezer on all sides with ice broken finely, and mixed with coa.r.s.e salt. Beat the cream hard for half an hour. Then let it rest; occasionally taking off the cover, and sc.r.a.ping down with a long spoon the cream that slicks to the sides. When it is well frozen, transfer it to a mould; surround it with fresh salt and ice, and then freeze it over again.

If you wish to flavour it with lemon instead of vanilla, take a large lump of the sugar before you powder it, and rub it on the outside of a large lemon till the yellow is all rubbed off upon the sugar. Then, when the sugar is all powdered, mix with it the juice.

For strawberry ice cream, mix with the powdered sugar the juice of a quart of ripe strawberries squeezed through a linen.

PINK CHAMPAGNE JELLY.

Beat half the white of an egg to a stiff froth, and then stir it hard into three wine-gla.s.ses of filtered water. Put twelve ounces of the best double-refined loaf-sugar (powdered fine and sifted) into a skillet lined with porcelain. Pour on it the white of egg and water, and stir it till dissolved. Then add twelve grains of cochineal powder. Set it over a moderate fire, and boil it and skim it till the sc.u.m ceases to rise. Then strain it through a very fine sieve. Have ready an ounce and a half of isingla.s.s that has been boiled in a little water till quite dissolved. Strain it, and while the boiled sugar is lukewarm mix it with the isingla.s.s, adding a pint of pink champagne and the juice of a large lemon.

Run it through a linen bag into a mould. When it has congealed so as to be quite firm, wrap a wet cloth round the outside of the mould, and turn out the jelly into a gla.s.s dish; or serve it broken up, in jelly gla.s.ses, or gla.s.s cups. Jelly may be made in a similar manner of Madeira, marasquin, or noyau.

A CHARLOTTE RUSSE.

Boil in half a pint of milk a split vanilla bean, till all the flavour is extracted. Then strain the milk, and when it is cold stir into it the yolks of four beaten eggs, and a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf-sugar.

Simmer this custard five minutes over hot coals, but do not let it come to a boil. Then set it away to cool. Having boiled an ounce of the best Russian isingla.s.s in a pint of water till it is entirely dissolved and the water reduced to one-half, strain it into the custard, stir it hard, and set it aside to get quite cold.

Whip to a stiff froth a quart of rich cream, taking it off in spoonfuls as you do it, and putting it to drain on an inverted sieve. When the custard is quite cold, (but not yet set or congealing,) stir the whipt cream gradually into it.

Take at circular mould of the shape of a drum, the sides being straight. Cut to fit it two round slices from the top and bottom of an almond sponge-cake; glaze them with white of egg, and lay one on at the bottom of the mould, reserving the other for the top.

Having thus covered the bottom, line the sides of the mould with, more of the sponge-cake, cut into long squares and glazed all over with white of egg. They must be placed so as to stand up all round--each wrapping a little over the other so as to leave not the smallest vacancy between; and they must be cut exactly the height of the mould, and trimmed evenly. Then fill up with the custard and cream when it is just beginning to congeal; and cover the top with the other round slice of cake.

Set the mould in a tub of pounded ice mixed with coa.r.s.e salt; and let it remain forty minutes, or near an hour. Then turn out the Charlotte on a china dish. Have ready an icing, made in the usual manner of beaten white of egg and powdered sugar, flavoured with essence of lemon. Spread it smoothly over the top of the Charlotte, which when the icing is dry will be ready, to serve.

They are introduced at large parties, and it is usual to have two or four of them.

A CHARLOTTE POLONAISE.

Boil over a slow fire a pint and a half of cream. While it is boiling have ready six yolks of eggs, beaten up with two table-spoonfuls of powdered arrow-root, or fine flour. Stir this gradually into the boiling cream, taking care to have it perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Ten minutes will suffice for the egg and cream to boil together. Then divide the mixture by putting it into two separate sauce-pans.

Then mix with it, in one of the pans, six ounces of chocolate sc.r.a.ped fine, two ounces of powdered loaf-sugar, and a quarter of a pound of maccaroons, broken up. When it has come to a hard boil, take it off, stir it well, pour it into a bowl, and set it away to cool.

Have ready, for the other sauce-pan of cream and egg, a dozen bitter almonds, and four ounces of sh.e.l.led sweet almonds or pistachio nuts, all blanched and pounded in a mortar with rose-water to a smooth paste, and mixed with an ounce of citron also pounded. Add four ounces of powdered sugar; and to colour it green, two large spoonfuls of spinach juice that has been strained through a sieve. Stir this mixture into the other half of the cream, and let it come to a boil. Then put it aside to cool.

Cut a large sponge-cake into slices half an inch thick. Spread one slice thickly with the chocolate cream, and cover another slice with the almond cream. Do this alternately (piling them evenly on a china dish) till all the ingredients are used up. You may arrange it in the original form of the sponge-cake before it was cut, or in a pyramid. Have ready the whites of the six eggs whipped to a stiff froth, with which have been gradually mixed six ounces of powdered sugar, and twelve drops of oil of lemon. With a spoon heap this meringue (as the French call it) all over the pile of cake, &c., and then sift powdered sugar over it. Set it in a very slow oven till the outside becomes a light brown colour.

Serve it up cold, ornamented according to your taste.

If you find the chocolate cream too thin, add more maccaroons. If the almond cream is too thin, mix in more pounded citron. If either of the mixtures is too thick, dilute it with more cream.

This is superior to a Charlotte Russe.

APPLE COMPOTE.

Take large ripe pippin apples. Pare, core, and weigh them, and to each pound allow a pound of fine loaf-sugar and two lemons.

Parboil the apples, and then set them out to cool. Pare off very nicely with a penknife the yellow rind of the lemons, taking care not to break it; and then with scissors trim the edges to an even width all along. Put the lemon-rind to boil in a little sauce-pan by itself, till it Becomes tender, and then set it to cool. Allow half a pint of water to each pound of sugar; and when it is melted, set it on the fire in the preserving kettle, put in the apples, and boil them slowly till they are clear and tender all through, but not till they break; skimming the syrup carefully.

After you have taken out the apples, add the lemon-juice, put in the lemon-peel, and boil it till quite transparent. When the whole is cold, put the apples with the syrup into gla.s.s dishes, and dispose the wreaths of lemon-peel fancifully about them.

ANIMALS

FIGURES EXPLANATORY OF THE PIECES INTO WHICH THE FIVE LARGE ANIMALS ARE DIVIDED BY THE BUTCHERS.

Beef.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 1. Sirloin. 10. Fore Rib: 7 Ribs.

2. Rump. 11. Middle Rib: 4 Ribs.

3. Edge Bone. 12. Chuck Rib: 2 Ribs.

4. b.u.t.tock. 13. Brisket.

5. Mouse b.u.t.tock. 14. Shoulder, or Leg of Mutton Piece 6. Leg. 15. Clod.

7. Thick Flank. 16. Neck, or Sticking Piece.

8. Veiny Piece. 17. Shin.

9. Thin Flank. 18. Cheek.]

Veal.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 1. Loin, Best End. 6. Breast, Best End.

2. Fillet. 7. Blade Bone.

3. Loin, Chump End. 8. Fore Knuckle.

4. Hind Knuckle. 9. Breast, Brisket End.

5. Neck, Best End. 10. Neck, Scrag End.]

_Mutton_

[Ill.u.s.tration: 1. Leg 2. Shoulder 3. Loin, Best End. 4. Loin, Chump End.

5. Neck, Best End. 6. Breast 7. Neck, Scrag End.]

_Note:_ A Chine is two Loins, and two Necks of the Best End.

_Pork_

[Ill.u.s.tration: 1. Leg. 2. Hind Loin.

3. Fore Loin. 4. Spare Rib.

5. Hand. 6. Spring.]