The American Housewife Part 1

The American Housewife.

by Anonymous.

PREFACE.

The writer does not deem any apology necessary for adding another to the long list of gastronomic works, provided she has accomplished the desirable object of producing a Cook Book which shall commend itself to all persons of true taste--that is to say, those whose taste has not been vitiated by a mode of cooking contrary to her own. Although not a Ude or a Kitchener, she does profess to have sufficient knowledge of the culinary art, as practised by _good American cooks_, to instruct those not versed in this truly interesting science.

The inefficiency of most works of this kind are well known to all experienced housekeepers, they being generally a mere compilation of receipts, by those who _have no practical knowledge_ of the subject, and are consequently unable to judge of their correctness, or to give the necessary directions for _putting_ the ingredients together in the right manner. A conviction that a _good practical Cook Book_ was much needed, induced the writer to exert herself to supply the deficiency. She does not pretend to infallibility, but having taken a great deal of pains to have each receipt as correct and nice as possible, she trusts that they will generally give satisfaction.

The mode of cooking is such as is generally practised by good American housekeepers, and the receipts embrace all the various branches of the culinary science, from preparing the most simple vegetables or broths, to making the most delicate cake, creams, sweetmeats, &c. The writer has endeavored to combine both economy and that which will be agreeable to the palate, but she has never suffered the former to supersede the latter. This book is intended for all cla.s.ses of society, embracing receipts both for rich and plain cooking, and written in such a plain manner, that the most unskilled need not err. Placed in the hands of any servant of common capacity, who can read, it will set aside the necessity of those frequent applications for directions, with which the patience of housekeepers is often tried. The experienced cook may smile at the minuteness of the directions; but, if she has witnessed as much good food spoiled by improper cooking as the writer of these receipts, she will not think she has been too explicit.

In regard to the seasoning of food, it has been found impossible to give any exact rules, as so much depends upon the quality of the seasoning and food. The cook should be careful not to have the natural flavor of the food overpowered by the seasoning; and where a variety of spices are used, no one of them should predominate.

Independent of the receipts for cookery, we have annexed a collection of miscellaneous receipts relative to housekeeping, which, together with the copious ill.u.s.trations and directions for carving, we trust will render it of superior usefulness.

In conclusion, the writer would give her sincere thanks to those of her friends who have kindly furnished her with their choice and valuable receipts: and to those into whose hands the book may fall she would ask a fair trial of them before pa.s.sing judgment.

PRACTICAL COOKERY.

1. _Observations respecting Meat._

Meat to be in perfection should be kept a number of days when the weather will admit of it. Beef and mutton should be kept at least a week in cold weather, and poultry three or four days. If the weather is hot, it will keep but a short time. It should be kept in a cool, airy place, away from the flies, and if there is any danger of its spoiling, a little salt should be rubbed over it. When meat is frozen, it should be put into lukewarm water, and not taken out till the frost is extracted.

If there is any frost in it when put to the fire, it will not cook well.

The best way to boil it is to put it in cold water, and boil it gently, with just water enough to cover it, as it hardens by furious boiling.

The part that is to be up on the table, should be down in the pot, as the sc.u.m that rises is apt to make the meat look dark--the sc.u.m should be taken off as soon as it rises. The liquor in which all kinds of fresh meat is boiled, makes a good soup, when thickened and seasoned. Boiling is the cheapest way of cooking meat, provided you make a soup of the liquor; if not, it is the dearest, as most of the gelatine is extracted by the process of boiling, which is the most nourishing part, and if not used for soup, is completely lost. In roasting meat, only the juices and fat are extracted, but not lost, as the juices make good gravy, and the fat is good for various culinary purposes. When it is put down to roast, there should be a little water in the dripping pan. For broiling, the bars of the gridiron should be perfectly clean, and greased with lard or b.u.t.ter, otherwise the meat will retain the impression of the bars. The bars of the gridiron should be concave, and terminate in a trough, to catch the juices, or they will drop in the fire and smoke the meat. A good fire of hot coals is necessary to have the meat broil as quick as possible without burning. The gridiron should be put on the fire, and well heated before the meat is laid on it. The dish should be very hot on which broiled meat is put, and it should not be seasoned till taken up. If you wish to fry meat, cut a small piece of pork into slices, and fry them a light brown, then take them up and put in your meat, which should be perfectly dry. When the meat is sufficiently fried, take it up, remove the frying pan from the fire to cool; when so, turn in a little cold water for the gravy, put it on the fire--when it boils, stir in a little mixed flour and water, let it boil, then turn it over the meat. If not rich enough, add b.u.t.ter and catsup if you like.

2. _Roast Beef._

The tender loin and first and second cuts off the rack are the best roasting pieces--the third and fourth cuts are good. When the meat is put to the fire, a little salt should be sprinkled on it, and the bony side turned towards the fire first. When the bones get well heated through, turn the meat, and keep a brisk fire--baste it frequently while roasting. There should be a little water put into the dripping pan when the meat is put down to roast. If it is a thick piece, allow fifteen minutes to each pound to roast it in--if thin, less time will be required.

3. _Beef Steak._

The tender loin is the best piece for broiling--a steak from the round or shoulder clod is good and comes cheaper. If the beef is not very tender, it should be laid on a board and pounded, before broiling or frying it. Wash it in cold water, then lay it on a gridiron, place it on a hot bed of coals, and broil it as quick as possible without burning it. If broiled slow, it will not be good. It takes from fifteen to twenty minutes to broil a steak. For seven or eight pounds of beef, cut up about a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter. Heat the platter very hot that the steak is to be put on, lay the b.u.t.ter on it, take up the steak, salt and pepper it on both sides. Beef steak to be good, should be eaten as soon as cooked. A few slices of salt pork broiled with the steak makes a rich gravy with a very little b.u.t.ter. There should always be a trough to catch the juices of the meat when broiled. The same pieces that are good broiled are good for frying. Fry a few slices of salt pork, brown, then take them up and put in the beef. When brown on both sides, take it up, take the pan off from the fire, to let the fat cool; when cool, turn in half a tea cup of water, mix a couple of tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, stir it into the fat, put the pan back on the fire, stir it till it boils up, then turn it over the beef.

4. _Alamode Beef._

The round of beef is the best piece to alamode--the shoulder clod is good, and comes lower; it is also good stewed, without any spices. For five pounds of beef, soak about a pound of bread in cold water till soft, then drain off the water, mash the bread fine, put in a piece of b.u.t.ter, of the size of a hen's egg, half a tea spoonful of salt, the same quant.i.ty of ground cloves, allspice, and pepper, half a nutmeg, a couple of eggs, and a table spoonful of flour--mix the whole well together; then cut gashes in the beef, and fill them with about half of the dressing, put the meat in a bake-pan, with lukewarm water enough to cover it; set it where it will stew gently for a couple of hours, cover it with a heated bake pan lid. When it has stewed a couple of hours, turn the reserved dressing on top of the meat, heat the bake pan lid hot enough to brown the dressing, stew it an hour and a half longer. After the meat is taken up, if the gravy is not thick enough, mix a tea spoonful or two of flour with a little water, and stir it into the gravy; put in a little b.u.t.ter, a wine gla.s.s of wine, and turn it over the meat.

5. _Beef Liver._

Liver is very good fried, but the best way to cook it, is to broil it ten minutes, with four or five slices of salt pork. Then take it, cut it into small strips together with the pork, put it in a stew pan, with a little water, b.u.t.ter, and pepper. Stew it four or five minutes.

6. _To Corn Beef._

To every gallon of cold water, put a quart of rock salt, an ounce of salt-petre, quarter of a pound of brown sugar--(some people use mola.s.ses, but it is not as good)--no boiling is necessary. Put the beef in the brine. As long as any salt remains at the bottom of the cask it is strong enough. Whenever any sc.u.m rises, the brine should be scalded, skimmed, and more sugar, salt and salt-petre added. When a piece of beef is put in the brine, rub a little salt over it. If the weather is hot, cut a gash to the bone of the meat, and fill it with salt. Put a heavy weight on the beef in order to keep it under the brine. In very hot weather, it is difficult to corn beef in cold brine before it spoils. On this account it is good to corn it in the pot when boiled. It is done in the following manner; to six or eight pounds of beef, put a tea cup of salt, sprinkle flour on the side that is to go up on the table, and put it down in the pot, turn the water into the pot after the beef is put in, boil it a couple of hours, then turn in more cold water, and boil it an hour and a half longer.

7. _Mutton._

The saddle is the best part to roast--the shoulder and leg are good roasted; but the best mode to cook the latter, is to boil it with a piece of salt pork. A little rice boiled with it, improves the looks of it. Mutton for roasting, should have a little b.u.t.ter rubbed on it, and a little salt and pepper sprinkled on it--some people like cloves and allspice. Put a small piece of b.u.t.ter in the dripping pan, and baste it frequently. The bony side should be turned towards the fire first, and roasted. For boiling or roasting mutton, allow a quarter of an hour to each pound of meat. The leg is good cut in gashes, and filled with a dressing, and baked. The dressing is made of soaked bread, a little b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper, and a couple of eggs. A pint of water with a little b.u.t.ter should be put in the pan. The leg is also good, cut into slices and broiled. It is good corned a few days, and then boiled. The rack is good for broiling--it should be divided, each bone by itself, broiled quick, and b.u.t.tered, salted and peppered. The breast of mutton is nice baked. The joints of the brisket should be separated, the sharp ends of the ribs sawed off, the outside rubbed over with a little piece of b.u.t.ter--salt it, and put it in a bake pan, with a pint of water. When done, take it up, and thicken the gravy with a little flour and water, and put in a small piece of b.u.t.ter. A table spoonful of catsup, cloves and allspice, improve it, but are not essential. The neck of mutton makes a good soup. Pa.r.s.ely or celery-heads are a pretty garnish for mutton.

8. _Veal._

The loin of veal is the best piece for roasting. The breast and rack are good roasted. The breast also is good made into a pot pie, and the rack cut into small pieces and broiled. The leg is nice for frying, and when several slices have been cut off for cutlets, the remainder is nice boiled with a small piece of salt pork. Veal for roasting should be salted, peppered, and a little b.u.t.ter rubbed on it, and basted frequently. Put a little water in the dripping pan, and unless the meat is quite fat, a little b.u.t.ter should be put in. The fillet is good baked, the bone should be cut out, and the place filled with a dressing, made of bread soaked soft in cold water, a little salt, pepper, a couple of eggs, and a table spoonful of melted b.u.t.ter put in--then sew it up, put it in your bake pan, with about a pint of water, cover the top of the meat with some of the dressing. When baked sufficiently, take it up, thicken the gravy with a little flour and water well mixed, put in a small piece of b.u.t.ter, and a little wine and catsup, if you like the gravy rich.

9. _Veal Cutlets._

Fry three or four slices of pork until brown--take them up, then put in slices of veal, about an inch thick, cut from the leg. When brown on both sides, take them up--stir half a pint of water into the gravy, then mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, and stir it in--soak a couple of slices of toasted bread in the gravy, lay them on the bottom of the platter, place the meat and pork over it, then turn on the gravy. A very nice way to cook the cutlets, is to make a batter with half a pint of milk, an egg beaten to a froth, and flour enough to render it thick. When the veal is fried brown, dip it into the batter, then put it back into the fat, and fry it until brown again. If you have any batter left, it is nice dropped by the large spoonful into the fat, and fried till brown, then laid over the veal. Thicken the gravy and turn it over the whole. It takes about an hour to cook this dish. If the meat is tough, it will be better to stew it half an hour before frying it.

10. _Calf's Head._

Boil the head two hours, together with the lights and feet. Put in the liver when it has boiled an hour and twenty minutes. Before the head is done, tie the brains in a bag, and boil them with it; when the brains are done, take them up, season them with salt, pepper, b.u.t.ter, and sweet herbs, or spices if you like--use this as a dressing for the head. Some people prefer part of the liver and feet for dressing--they are prepared like the brains. The liquor that the calf's head is boiled in, makes a good soup, seasoned in a plain way like any other veal soup, or seasoned turtle fashion. The liquor should stand until the next day after the head is boiled, in order to have the fat rise, and skimmed off. If you wish to have your calf's head look brown, take it up when tender, rub a little b.u.t.ter over it, sprinkle on salt, pepper, and allspice--sprinkle flour over it, and put before the fire, with a Dutch oven over it, or in a brick oven where it will brown quick. Warm up the brains with a little water, b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper. Add wine and spices if you like. Serve it up as a dressing for the head. Calf's head is also good, baked. Halve it, rub b.u.t.ter over it, put it in a pan, with about a quart of water; then cover it with a dressing made of bread soaked soft, a little b.u.t.ter, an egg, and season it with salt, pepper, and powdered mace.

Slice up the brains, and lay them in the pan with the head. Bake it in a quick oven, and garnish it with slices of lemon, or force meat b.a.l.l.s.

11. _Force Meat b.a.l.l.s._

Chop a pound or two of veal fine--mix it with one or two eggs, a little b.u.t.ter, or raw pork chopped fine--season it with salt and pepper, or curry powder. Do them up into b.a.l.l.s about the size of half an egg, and fry them brown.

12. _Calf's Feet._

Boil them with the head, until tender, then split and lay them round the head, or dredge them with flour after they have been boiled tender, and fry them brown. If you wish for gravy for them, when you have taken them up, stir a little flour into the fat they were fried in; season it with salt, pepper, and mace. Add a little b.u.t.ter and wine if you like, then turn it over the feet.

13. _Calf's Liver and Heart._

Are good, broiled or fried. Some people like the liver stuffed and baked.

14. _Collops._

Cut part of a leg of veal into pieces, three or four inches broad--sprinkle flour on them, fry them in b.u.t.ter until brown, then turn in water enough to cover the veal. When it boils, take off the sc.u.m, put in two or three onions, a blade of mace, a little salt and pepper. When stewed tender, take up the meat, thicken the gravy with flour and water, mixed smoothly together, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, then turn it over the collops. Garnish them with a lemon cut in thin slices.