Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 59

Meat-pies, as seen above, are made with every kind of meat; with one or several kinds at the same time, according to taste.

Wines and liquors may be used, it is only a matter of taste. The cover may be placed with only a hole in the centre, instead of decorating it.

By using in turn butcher's meat, poultry, and game, an infinite number of different _pates_ can easily be made.

_Terrines (Terreen, or Tureen)._--A terrine differs from a meat-pie in this, that instead of using a tin or bra.s.s mould and lining it with paste, a _terrine_ (French word for terreen) is used, and is only lined with thin slices of salt pork, and closed with its cover. It is filled, cooked, and served in the same way as a meat-pie.

_Timbale._--The name _timbale_ is given to a meat-pie when made in a straight tin mould, lined as a _terrine_, and covered with a tin cover.

A _terrine_ or _timbale_ keeps longer in winter than the pie.

_Pains de Gibier (Pains of Game)._--This means, loaves of game. It is a _terrine_ made with any kind of game, of one or of several kinds, with the exception that birds are boned and filled (_see_ Directions for Boning), before placing them in the terreen; also, before covering the terreen, place a piece of b.u.t.tered paper all around, so as to have it as nearly air-tight as possible when covered. Bake as above, and as soon as out of the oven remove the cover; put a piece of tin, sheet-iron, or wood on the top, large enough to cover the meat, but not the border of the terreen. Place some weight on it in order to press the meat down, and leave thus over night. The weight and piece of tin are removed, the terreen is wiped clean, the cover placed on it, and it is then served, or served on a dish. It keeps very well in winter time, and many are imported from Europe, especially those made like the following:

_Another._--Cut four ounces of boiled beef-tongue and one pound of truffles in large dice. Put about two ounces of salt pork in a frying-pan on the fire, and when fried, add about six ounces of the flesh of prairie-hen, cut in pieces, four prairie-hens' and four chicken livers, eight in all; stir, and when turning rather brown, add also chopped parsley, salt, and pepper; stir again for two or three minutes, and take off. Put in a mortar one pound of flesh of prairie-hen, baked and chopped; one pound and a quarter of fat salt pork, and about four ounces of _panade_. Pound the whole well and put it in a large bowl.

Then pound well also the six ounces of prairie-hen flesh and eight livers with twelve yolks of eggs and a wine-gla.s.s of Madeira wine, and put in the bowl also. Add to it the tongue and truffles, and mix the whole well, adding game-gravy, or meat-gravy if more handy, about a gill of it, season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves, grated.

Bay-leaf and thyme, well pounded, may also be used, if liked. After being pounded, the whole may be mashed through a sieve, but it is really not necessary. Then place the mixture in one, two, or three _terrines_, cook, and serve as above.

_Another_.--Take the flesh of six prairie-hens when cooked, and pound it well. Pound also eight livers, fried; four of prairie-hens and four of chickens; put flesh and livers in a saucepan with gravy, set on a slow fire, and as soon as warm, add to it, little by little, and stirring continually, about three-fourths of its volume of good b.u.t.ter. When all the b.u.t.ter is in, take from the fire, mix one pound of truffles cut in dice with it; put the mixture in one or more terrines; cover, bake, and serve as above.

_Terrines_ and _pains_ are sometimes made with poultry, and in the same way as those of game.

_Fish-Pies_.--These are made in the same way as meat-pies, using cooked fish instead of meat, but putting fish only inside of the paste. When done it is filled with _coulis of fish_ instead of jelly. Serve as a meat-pie. The fish must be free from bones.

_Fruit-Pies._--Pies are made with paste and fruit or vegetables. The under-paste may be made of tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of puff-paste, or of the paste hereafter described, but the top is always made of puff-paste. The paste on the top may cover the fruit entirely, or it may be only strips running across, according to taste and fancy. The fruit is used raw or cooked previously, according to kind; if it requires longer cooking than the paste, or if it requires to be mixed or mashed, it must be cooked previously.

_Under-Paste._--Put one pound of flour on the paste-board with six ounces of b.u.t.ter in the middle of it; also two ounces of sugar, two eggs, and cold water enough to make an ordinary paste, neither too stiff nor too soft. Roll the paste down to a thickness of one-eighth of an inch, spread it on a tin dish or bakepan, b.u.t.tered slightly, raise the borders a little or place a strip of puff-paste all around it; put the fruit in the middle, then cover with a thin piece of puff-paste or place strips of it only over the fruit, and bake in a rather quick oven, about 390 degrees Fahr. The strips of paste are cut with a paste-cutter (caster-like) and placed across; one strip may also be placed all around. When tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of puff-paste are used for the under-paste, when placed on the tin or bake-pan, p.r.i.c.k it in about a dozen places with a fork to prevent it from rising. To place a border around the paste, you have only to cut a strip of it about half an inch wide, wet the paste with water by means of a brush, that is, the edge or place where you are going to put it; then take hold of the strip, place one end of it on the paste and run it all around till you meet the end, cut it off and stick the two ends together by wetting them also. When the border is placed, then put the fruit in the middle; if the fruit is not cooked, it must be mixed with sugar and essence, or cinnamon, or nutmeg, according to kind, if cooked, that is, stewed, or in _compote_ or in jelly, it is sweetened and flavored.

The following are used to make pies: _apples_, _apricots_, _cherries_, _currants_, _blackberries_, _cranberries_, _gooseberries_, _grapes_, _mulberries_, _oranges_, _peaches_, _pears_, _pine-apples_, _plums_, _quinces_, _raspberries_, _lemon_, _rhubarb_, _prunes_, _whortleberries_, etc. It is better to stone the fruit before using it.

Pies are decorated in the three following ways:

1. When you use cooked fruit, put a thin layer of rice (prepared as for _croquettes_) on the paste, then a layer of stewed fruit; then the strips over, and bake. Two or three layers of each may be used.

2. When baked, spread over the pie some syrup of apples, of pears, or syrup for _compotes_.

3. Just before serving, spread some _creme legere_ on the top, tastefully and fancifully, by means of a paper funnel, or with the pastry-bag.

_Tarts and Tartelettes._--These are small pies. Instead of using a tin dish or a bakepan, you use small tin moulds, such as for _madeleines_, and proceed exactly as for pies.

_Mince-Pie._--Every thing used to make a mince-pie is chopped fine, and the spices are used in powder. Prepare paste as directed for meat-pies, and make it either with or without mould. Proportions: to three pounds of beef add six pounds of beef-suet, one pound of currants, one of prunes, one of raisins, and one of apples, the rind of two lemons, two ounces of citron, and one pound of any kind of comfited fruit; nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar to taste; also wine or brandy, or both, to taste. Bake in a moderately heated oven. The fruits may be used candied or fresh, the apples fresh or dried, it is a matter of taste.

Twenty kinds of fruits and meat may be used as well as three or four; there are no rules to make a mince-pie, since its compounds are not used to be tasted at all separately, but as a whole.

_Pot-Pie._--Make a paste with one pound of flour, two ounces of b.u.t.ter, two ounces of beef-suet (the latter prepared as directed for puff-paste), a little salt and water, enough to make a rather stiff paste; roll it down to a thickness of about a quarter of an inch and fold it in three and roll down again; repeat the process half a dozen times, the last time leaving it rolled down and of the thickness above mentioned. Line the sides of a pot with it, lay slices or strips of salt pork on the bottom of the pot, then fill it with strips of meat, any and every kind (slices of potatoes may be added, if liked); season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon; fill with water or broth; cover with some of the same paste; cover the pan and boil gently till done. When the cover of paste is laid on, make a hole in the centre to let the steam out, and to fill up with water or broth if it boils away. Run a sharp-pointed knife or a skewer through, to ascertain when done. Serve warm. Proceed as above either for butcher's meat, chicken, and other domestic fowls, or game.

Puddings.--Puddings are made of several materials and in a hundred different ways. Some are cooked by boiling, others are baked, and some are both boiled and baked. Puddings for inhabitants of cities ought to be made as light as possible. For persons working outside and at manual labor, it does not matter, because their food pa.s.ses through the system in a short time. It is very well known that the poorer cla.s.s of Americans eat too much pudding and pie. Many do it for economy, others for convenience. The former are mistaken, and the latter are blamable.

Puddings and pies cost more in the end than meat properly and carefully prepared. We do not mean to do away with them entirely, but we advise every one to do with puddings as with every thing else, "use, but do not abuse." "Pies, cakes, and sweetmeats, are universally known to be poisoning to children, and the mothers who give them are conscious that they are purchasing the momentary smile of satisfaction at the risk of after-sickness, and perhaps of incurable disease."--Peter Parley.

The above needs no commentary; we only recommend it to the consideration of young mothers.

_For Convenience._--We have taken the trouble to put questions about it to over three hundred mothers, wives of mechanics or of employes at a comparatively small salary, and we are sorry to say, that more than ninety per cent. gave us about the same answer--they make and cook cakes in one day, enough to feed the whole family for three days, to save the trouble of cooking every day. We cannot see where the trouble can be for a good wife and mother to prepare her husband and children's dinner.

Pudding-eating is an English custom; but, before following a custom of another country, people ought to consider if that custom or fashion (whatever it is) has not been introduced into that country by necessity, which is the case of pudding-eating in England and in some parts of Holland.

In England, where the fog is nearly perpetual, the stomach requires to be filled with something heavy, something that will stay there till the next meal, and very often longer than that.

It is well known that in England farm hands, or other persons working in the open air, eat six times a day, and have pudding at least three times; they drink home-brewed beer, which is very heavy, and very rich also. Let anyone here, in this pure, clear atmosphere, eat six times a day, have pudding three times, with a pint of home-brewed beer every time, and see how he will feel in the evening. We beg all, who may doubt our observations, to try the experiment.

Pastry in general, no matter how light it may be made, lies heavier on the stomach than any other food, and is very difficult of digestion.

There are thousands of persons that have never had any indigestion but of pastry. Children like pastry very much; this is easily understood; as their young stomachs digest very rapidly, they crave food oftener than grown persons. Pastry being easier to have at any time than any thing else, it is given to them; and from habit in youth arises the liking when grown up. The stomach, being accustomed to it from infancy, may digest it better, but it is always at the expense of the whole system; the stomach must work hard, too hard in digesting it; whence come dyspepsia, weakness, and finally consumption, or debility, or any other sickness of the same kind.

The cut below represents a pudding (any kind), made in a mould, scalloped, and hollow in the middle; any kind of mould may be used for puddings.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

_Bread-Pudding._--Soak half a ten-cent loaf in milk for about an hour, and squeeze it with the hands; place the bread in a bowl and mix well with it a gill of milk, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, one ounce of citron, cut rather fine, four ounces of raisins, four ounces of melted b.u.t.ter, four yolks of eggs. Then beat the four whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and mix them with the rest. Grease a mould well with b.u.t.ter, dust it with bread-crumbs, turn the mixture into it, and bake. The mould must not be more than about two-thirds full. About 400 degrees Fahr. is the proper heat for a bread-pudding. It takes about forty minutes to bake. Serve with a sauce for pudding, hot or cold, according to taste.

_Cabinet Pudding._--A cabinet pudding is made in any kind of a mould and of any size, with sponge-cake or lady's fingers. b.u.t.ter a mould well; if the b.u.t.ter is too firm, warm it so as to grease the mould better. Slice some citron and cut it in lozenges or of any other shape, according to fancy, and place tastefully on the bottom of the mould; place some raisins all around also. It is not necessary to cover the bottom with them, but have some here and there, imitating flowers, stars, etc. Then put over them a layer of sponge-cake, cut in strips of any length and about half an inch thick; on this layer place some citron, some comfited (candied) fruit of one or several kinds, and all cut in dice, also some raisins; then another layer of cake, some more fruit, and so on, till the mould is full. After having placed the citron and raisins on the bottom, it is not necessary to put the rest in with care or order, but merely fill the mould with them and so that they are all mixed up. Set about a pint of milk on the fire and take it off as soon as it rises.

Mix well in a bowl three ounces of sugar with three yolks of eggs, then turn the milk into the bowl, little by little, stirring and mixing the while, and pour the mixture over the cake, fruit, etc., into the mould.

The above quant.i.ties of milk, sugar, and eggs are for a middling-sized pudding, and it will be very easy to make more or less, according to the size of the pudding. The mixture must be poured over in sprinkling, and it must nearly cover the whole within about half an inch. It must not be poured too slowly, for, the cake absorbing the liquor pretty fast, you would have too much of it if you were filling as directed above; we mean filling till the mould is nearly full. Place the mould in a pan of cold water so that it is about one-third covered by it, set on the fire, and as soon as it boils, place the whole, pan and mould, in an oven at about 380 degrees Fahr., and bake. For a middling-sized one it takes about one hour. When done, place a dish over the mould, turn upside down, remove the mould, and serve with a sauce for puddings.

_With Vermicelli._--Blanch four ounces of vermicelli, drain and drop it in cold water and drain again. While the vermicelli is cooking, put about a quart of milk in a saucepan on the fire with two ounces of sugar and a piece of lemon-rind, stir now and then to dissolve the sugar, and as soon as the milk rises, take it from the fire, remove the lemon, then turn the vermicelli into it, put back on the fire, add a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, stir continually, and when the vermicelli is well cooked, take off, mix well with the whole four eggs and sugar to taste. Turn the mixture into a well-b.u.t.tered mould, place it in a pan of boiling water, boil slowly for ten minutes, then place as it is, pan and mould, in a moderately-heated oven to finish the cooking. It will take from fifteen to twenty minutes. Proceed as above with _macaroni_, _tapioca_, etc.

_Plum-Pudding._--Break with the hands, in small pieces, about twelve ounces of the soft part of good and well-baked bread, not too fresh, but not stale, and grate it. Clean twelve ounces of raisins and currants, half of each. Cut in small dice four ounces of citron and four ounces of candied orange-rind. Chop fine the rind of a lemon. b.u.t.ter a towel slightly and dust it with flour, slightly also. Take twelve ounces of good fresh beef-suet, remove the fibres and skin as well as possible, and chop it rather fine with three or four ounces of flour, and which put in a large bowl. Mix with it seven eggs and half a pound of sugar.

It is believed by many that brown sugar is better than white, but it is only a belief, if not a prejudice. Add and mix again the bread, the raisins, and currants, the citron, and orange-rind. Having the whole thoroughly mixed, add half a gill of French brandy or Jamaica rum, a little salt, the lemon-rind, half a gill of cream or a little milk, and a little grated cinnamon. Place the mixture on the towel, and tie it as fast as possible, giving it a round shape. Drop the towel in boiling water, and boil for from four to five hours. Some boil a plum-pudding as long as seven hours. It may also be boiled in a mould for that purpose, but it is easier in a towel and quite as good. When taken from the water, remove the towel, cut a little piece of the pudding off to make it stand better on the dish. The place cut off is generally where the towel was tied, being the less smooth. The cut following shows a plum-pudding boiled in a towel.

Serve with a sauce for puddings. The sauce may be served in a boat, or spread all over the pudding. When served the second day, or cold for supper, it is cut in slices; some Jamaica rum is poured over it, then set on fire, basting as long as it burns, and serve. It is generally burnt on the table, but the rum may be poured over in the kitchen. The cut below represents a whole one with rum around it and on fire.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

_Biscottes._--Put half a pound of flour on the paste-board and make a hole in the middle of it; put in the hole four ounces of sugar, one ounce of b.u.t.ter, three yolks of eggs, and a few drops of essence to flavor the cakes. Mix and knead the whole well with the hand. When like dough, roll it under your hands and bring it to a rope-like form of about three-quarters of an inch in diameter; cut it in pieces about two inches long; roll again with the hand so as to make a ball of each; then roll again with both hands so as to give each piece a round, elongated, olive shape; that is, smaller at each end than at the middle. Put them in a baking-pan, greased with b.u.t.ter; glaze each piece well with egg and a little sugar beaten together, then, with a sharp knife, which you dip in flour, make a cut on the top and into each cake, lengthwise, about three-quarters through, and bake in an oven at 350 degrees Fahr. Serve cold. It is an excellent cake for tea as well as for dessert.

_With Almonds._--Add to the above mixture one ounce of pounded almonds.

_With Filberts or Hazel-nuts._--Add to the mixture for _biscottes_, one ounce of filberts or hazel-nuts, pounded well.

_Brioche._--Mix together on the paste-board, one pound of flour, six eggs, one pound of b.u.t.ter, four ounces of leaven prepared as directed, and tepid water enough to make a rather soft dough, then beat well. The longer it is beaten the better, and the lighter the _brioche_ will be.

By beating we mean--take hold of the dough with the right hand, raise it and then throw it with force on the board and in the same place where it was; repeat that till it comes off your hand without any of the paste sticking to it. Put the mixture in a tin vessel, set it in a warm place (about 78 Fahr.) for about two hours to rise, and then put immediately on ice to cool. When cold, put it back on the paste-board, cut off about one-fourth of it. Make a kind of crown with the larger piece, but not a very large one; let the hole in the middle be about three inches in diameter. Then give the other piece a rope-like shape, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter; place it over the crown, giving it the shape of a star, and bake in an oven at 430. Serve warm, without sauce.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

_Baba._--Mix together and beat as for a _brioche_, one pound of flour, ten eggs, one pound and a quarter of b.u.t.ter, four ounces of raisins, four ounces of citron, four ounces of leaven, about half a pound of different kinds of fruits, preserved in syrup or candied, all cut fine; put to rise, let cool, shape, bake and serve as a _brioche_.

A _baba_ may be baked in a mould; the cut on the previous page represents one.

_Croquignolles._--Put in a bowl four ounces of flour, a teaspoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt, half a pound of b.u.t.ter, four whites of eggs, and a few drops of essence; mix the whole well so as to make a very stiff paste. Then put the mixture on the paste-board, and roll it in a rope-like form about half an inch in diameter; then cut it in pieces about half an inch long, glaze with yolk of egg, dust with sugar, and bake in a warm but not quick oven. Serve cold at tea.

_Galette._--Knead together half a pound of flour, six ounces of b.u.t.ter, two eggs, and a pinch of salt; roll it down to a thickness of a quarter of an inch, put in a bake-pan in the oven, and when nearly done, take off; mix well together one egg with a gill of cream and an ounce of b.u.t.ter, while the _galette_ is in the oven, spread the mixture over it, put back in the oven, finish the cooking, and serve cold at tea.

_Genoises._--Put in a large bowl six ounces of flour, eight of sugar, two eggs, a liquor-gla.s.s of brandy or rum, and a few drops of essence; mix and stir the whole well for three minutes, then add two more eggs, stir and mix one minute longer, add again four eggs and continue stirring one minute longer. Melt half a pound of b.u.t.ter in another bowl, and mix with it about two tablespoonfuls of the mixture; when, turn into the other bowl and mix the whole well together. b.u.t.ter a bakepan, spread the mixture in it, and bake in a rather slow oven (about 300 Fahr.).

When the top is well baked, turn it over and finish it. When cold, cut the whole in strips about two inches long, then again across so as to make pieces of a lozenge-shape, and serve as it is or with a _sauce for puddings_.