English Housewifery Part 1

English Housewifery Exemplified.

by Elizabeth Moxon.

THE PREFACE

It is not doubted but the candid Reader will find the following BOOK in correspondence with the t.i.tle, which will supersede the necessity of any other recommendation that might be given it.

As the complier of it engaged in the undertaking at the instance and importunity of many persons of eminent account and distinction, so she can truly a.s.sure them, and the world, that she has acquitted herself with the utmost care and fidelity.

And she entertains the greater hopes that her performance will meet with the kinder acceptance, because of the good opinion she has been held in by those, her ever honour'd friends, who first excited her to the publication of her BOOK, and who have been long eye-witnesses of her skill and behaviour in the business of her calling.

She has nothing to add, but her humblest thanks to them, and to all others with whom she has received favour and encouragement.

_ENGLISH_ HOUSEWIFRY.

1. _To make_ VERMICELLY SOOP.

Take a neck of beef, or any other piece; cut off some slices, and fry them with b.u.t.ter 'till they are very brown; wash your pan out every time with a little of the gravy; you may broil a few slices of the beef upon a grid-iron: put all together into a pot, with a large onion, a little salt, and a little whole pepper; let it stew 'till the meat is tender, and skim off the fat in the boiling; them strain it into your dish, and boil four ounces of vermicelly in a little of the gravy 'till it is soft: Add a little stew'd spinage; then put all together into a dish, with toasts of bread; laying a little vermicelly upon the toast.

Garnish your dish with creed rice and boil'd spinage, or carrots slic'd thin.

2. CUc.u.mBER SOOP.

Take a houghil of beef, break it small and put it into a stew-pan, with part of a neck of mutton, a little whole pepper, an onion, and a little salt; cover it with water, and let it stand in the oven all night, then strain it and take off the fat; pare six or eight middle-siz'd cuc.u.mbers, and slice them not very thin, stew them in a little b.u.t.ter and a little whole pepper; take them out of the b.u.t.ter and put 'em in the gravy. Garnish your dish with raspings of bread, and serve it up with toasts of bread or _French_ roll.

3. _To make_ HARE SOOP.

Cut the hare into small pieces, wash it and put it into a stew-pan, with a knuckle of veal; put in it a gallon of water, a little salt, and a handful of sweet herbs; let it stew 'till the gravy be good; fry a little of the hare to brown the soop; you may put in it some crusts of write bread among the meat to thicken the soop; put it into a dish, with a little stew'd spinage, crisp'd bread, and a few forc'd-meat b.a.l.l.s. Garnish your dish with boil'd spinage and turnips, cut it in thin square slices.

4. _To make Green_ PEASE SOOP.

Take a neck of mutton, and a knuckle of veal, make of them a little good gravy; then take half a peck of the greenest young peas, boil and beat them to a pulp in a marble mortar; then put to them a little of the gravy; strain them through a hair sieve to take out all the pulp; put all together, with a little salt and whole pepper; then boil it a little, and if you think the soop not green enough, boil a handful of spinage very tender, rub it through a hair-sieve, and put into the soop with one spoonful of wheat-flour, to keep it from running: You must not let it boil after the spinage is put in, it will discolour it; then cut white bread in little diamonds, fry them in b.u.t.ter while crisp, and put it into a dish, with a few whole peas. Garnish your dish with creed rice, and red beet-root.

You may make asparagus-soop the same way, only add tops of asparagus, instead of whole pease.

5. _To make_ ONION SOOP.

Take four or five large onions, pill and boil them in milk and water whilst tender, (shifting them two or three times in the boiling) beat 'em in a marble mortar to a pulp, and rub them thro' a hair-sieve, and put them into a little sweet gravy; then fry a few slices of veal, and two or three slices of lean bacon; beat them in a marble mortar as small as forc'd-meat; put it into your stew-pan with the gravy and onions, and boil them; mix a spoonful of wheat-flour with a little water, and put it into the soop to keep it from running; strain all through a cullender, season it to your taste; then put into the dish a little spinage stew'd in b.u.t.ter, and a little crisp bread; so serve it up.

6. _Common_ PEASE SOOP _in Winter_.

Take a quart of good boiling pease which put into a pot with a gallon of soft water whilst cold; add thereto a little beef or mutton, a little hung beef or bacon, and two or three large onions; boil all together while your soop is thick; salt it to your taste, and thicken it with a little wheat-flour; strain it thro' a cullender, boil a little sellery, cut it in small pieces, with a little crisp bread, and crisp a little spinage, as you would do parsley, then put it in a dish, and serve it up. Garnish your dish with raspings of bread.

7. _To make_ PEASE SOOP _in Lent_.

Take a quart of pease, put them into a pot with a gallon of water, two or three large onions, half a dozen anchovies, a little whole pepper and salt; boil all together whilst your soop is thick; strain it into a stew-pan through a cullender, and put six ounces of b.u.t.ter (work'd in flour) into the soop to thicken it; also put in a little boil'd sellery, stew'd spinage, crisp bread, and a little dry'd mint powdered; so serve it up.

8. CRAW-FISH SOOP.

Take a knuckle of veal, and part of a neck of mutton to make white gravy, putting in an onion, a little whole pepper and salt to your taste; then take twenty crawfish, boil and beat them in a marble mortar, adding thereto alittlee of the gravy; strain them and put them into the gravy; also two or three pieces of white bread to thicken the soop; boil twelve or fourteen of the smallest craw-fish, and put them whole into the dish, with a few toasts, or _French_ roll, which you please; so serve it up.

You may make lobster soop the same way, only add into the soop the seeds of the lobster.

9. _To make_ SCOTCH SOOP.

Take a houghil of beef, cut it in pieces, with part of a neck of mutton, and a pound of _French_ barley; put them all into your pot, with six quarts of water; let it boil 'till the barley be soft, then put in a fowl; as soon as 'tis enough put in a handful of red beet leaves or brocoli, a handful of the blades of onions, a handful of spinage, washed and shred very small; only let them have a little boil, else it will spoil the greenness. Serve it up with the fowl in a dish, garnish'd with raspings of bread.

10. _To make_ SOOP _without Water_.

Take a small leg of mutton, cut it in slices, season it with a little pepper and salt; cut three middling turnips in round pieces, and three small carrots sc.r.a.p'd and cut in pieces, a handful of spinage, a little parsley, a bunch of sweet herbs, and two or three cabbage lettice; cut the herbs pretty small, lay a row of meat and a row of herbs; put the turnips and carrots at the bottom of the pot, with an onion, lay at the top half a pound of sweet b.u.t.ter, and close up the pot with coa.r.s.e paste; them put the pot into boiling water, and let it boil for four hours; or in a slow oven, and let it stand all night; when it is enough drain the gravy from the meat, skim off the fat, then put it into your dish with some toasts of bread, and a little stew'd spinage; to serve it up.

11. _To stew a_ BRISKET _of_ BEEF.

Take the thin part of a brisket of beef, score the skin at the top; cross and take off the under skin, then take out the bones, season it highly with mace, a little salt, and a little whole pepper, rub it on both sides, let it lay all night, make broth of the bones, skim the fat clean off, put in as much water as will cover it well, let it stew over a slow fire four or five hours, with a bunch of sweet herbs and an onion cut in quarters; turn the beef over every hour, and when you find it tender take it out of the broth and drain it very well, having made a little good strong gravy.

A ragoo with sweet-breads cut into pieces, pullets tenderly boil'd and cut in long pieces; take truffles and morels, if you have any mushrooms, with a little claret, and throw in your beef, let it stew a quarter of an hour in the ragoo, turning it over sometimes, then take out your beef, and thicken your ragoo with a lump of b.u.t.ter and a little flour. Garnish your dish with horse-radish and pickles, lay the ragoo round your beef, and a little upon the top; so serve it up.

12. _To stew a_ RUMP _of_ BEEF.

Take a fat rump of young beef and cut off the f.a.g end, lard the low part with fat bacon, and stuff the other part with shred parsley; put it into your pan with two or three quarts of water, a quart of Claret, two or three anchovies, an onion, two or three blades of mace, a little whole pepper, and a bunch of sweet herbs; stew it over a slow fire five or six hours, turning it several times in the stewing, and keep it close cover'd; when your beef is enough take from it the gravy, thicken part of it with a lump of b.u.t.ter and flour, and put it upon the dish with the beef. Garnish the dish with horse-radish and red-beet root.

There must be no salt upon the beef, only salt the gravy to your taste.

You may stew part of a brisket, or an ox cheek the same way.

13. _To make_ OLIVES _of_ BEEF.

Take some slices of a rump (or any other tender piece) of beef, and beat them with a paste pin, season them with nutmeg, pepper and salt, and rub them over with the yolk of an egg; make a little forc'd-meat of veal, beef-suet, a few bread crumbs, sweet-herbs, a little shred mace, pepper, salt, and two eggs, mixed all together; take two or three slices of the beef, according as they are in bigness, and a lump of forc'd-meat the size of an egg; lay your beef round it, and roll it in part of a kell of veal, put it into an earthen dish, with a little water, a gla.s.s of claret, and a little onion shred small; lay upon them a little b.u.t.ter, and bake them in an oven about an hour; when they come out take off the fat, and thicken the gravy with a little b.u.t.ter and flour; six of them is enough for a side dish. Garnish the dish with horseradish and pickles.

You may make olives of veal the same way.

14. _To fry_ BEEF-STEAKS.