The American Housewife Part 2

34. _Curries._

Chickens, pigeons, mutton chops, lobsters and veal, all make good curries. If the curry dish is to be made of fowls, they should be jointed. Boil the meat till tender, in just sufficient water to cover it, and add a little salt. Just before the meat is boiled enough to take up, fry three or four slices of pork till brown--take them up, and put in the chickens. Let them brown, then add part of the liquor in which they were boiled, one or two tea spoonsful of curry powder, and the fried pork. Mix a tea spoonful of curry powder with a tea cup of boiled rice, or a little flour and water mixed--turn it on to the curry, and let it stew a few minutes.

35. _Chicken Pie._

Joint the chickens, which should be young and tender--boil them in just sufficient water to cover them. When nearly tender, take them out of the liquor, and lay them in a deep pudding dish, lined with pie crust. To each layer of chicken, put three or four slices of pork--add a little of the liquor in which they were boiled, and a couple of ounces of b.u.t.ter, cut into small pieces--sprinkle a little flour over the whole, cover it with nice pie crust, and ornament the top with some of your pastry. Bake it in a quick oven one hour.

36. _Beef and Mutton Pie._

Take tender meat, pound it out thin, and broil it ten minutes--then cut off the bony and gristly parts, season it highly with salt and pepper, b.u.t.ter it, and cut it into small pieces. Line a pudding dish with pastry, put in the meat, and to each layer add a tea spoonful of tomato catsup, together with a table spoonful of water--sprinkle over flour, and cover it with pie crust, and ornament as you please with pastry.

Cold roast, or boiled beef, and mutton, make a good pie, by cutting them into bits, and seasoning them highly with salt and pepper. Put them into a pie dish, turn a little melted b.u.t.ter over them, or gravy, and pour in water till you can just see it at the top.

37. _Chicken and Veal Pot Pie._

If the pie is to be made of chickens, joint them--boil the meat until about half done. Take the meat out of the liquor in which it was boiled, and put it in a pot, with a layer of crust to each layer of meat, having a layer of crust on the top. The meat should be seasoned with salt and pepper--cover the whole with the boiled meat liquor. If you wish to have the crust brown, keep the pot covered with a heated bake pan lid. Keep a tea kettle of boiling water to turn in as the water boils away--cold water makes the crust heavy. The crust for the pie is good like that made for fruit pies, with less shortening, but raised pie crust is generally preferred to any other. It is made in the following manner--mix together three pints of flour, a tea cup of melted b.u.t.ter, a tea spoonful of salt, then turn in half a tea cup of yeast--add cold water to make it sufficiently stiff to roll out. Set it in a warm place to rise, which will take seven or eight hours, unless brewer's yeast is used. When risen, roll it out, and cut it into small cakes. Potatoe pie crust is very nice. To make it, boil eight or nine small potatoes, peel and mash them fine, mix with them a piece of b.u.t.ter, of the size of a hen's egg, a tea spoonful of salt, a tumbler full of milk, and flour to render it of the right consistency to roll out. When rolled out, cut them into cakes, and put them with the meat. If you happen to have unbaked wheat dough, very good crust may be made of it, by working into it a little lukewarm melted b.u.t.ter. Let it remain, after you have rolled and cut it into cakes, about ten or fifteen minutes, before putting it with the meat.

38. _To Frizzle Beef._

Take beef that is fresh smoked and tender--shave it off thin, put it in a stew pan, with water enough to cover it--let it stew ten or fifteen minutes. Three or four minutes before it is taken up, mix a little flour and water together, and stir in, to thicken the water; add a little b.u.t.ter and pepper. This makes a good dish for breakfast--eggs are a nice accompaniment to it.

39. _Warmed Over Meats._

Boiled or roasted veal makes a nice dish, chopped fine, and warmed up, with just sufficient water to moisten it, and a little b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper, added. A little nutmeg, and the grated rind of a lemon, improve it--none of the white part of the lemon should be used. When well heated through, take it up on a platter, and garnish it with a couple of lemons cut in slices. Fresh or corned beef is good minced fine, with boiled potatoes, and warmed up with salt, pepper, and a little water--add b.u.t.ter, just before you take it up. Some people use the gravy that they have left the day before, for the meat, but it is not as good when warmed over, and there is no need of its being wasted, as it can be clarified, and used for other purposes. Boiled onions, or turnips, are good mixed with mince meat, instead of potatoes. Veal, lamb, and mutton, are good cut into small strips, and warmed with boiled potatoes cut in slices, pepper, salt, a little water--add b.u.t.ter just before you take it up. Roast beef and mutton, if not previously cooked too much, are nice cut in slices, and just scorched on a gridiron. Meat, when warmed over, should be on the fire just long enough to get well heated through--if on the fire long, most of the juices of the meat will be extracted, and render it very indigestible. Cold fowls are nice jointed, and warmed with a little water, then taken up, and fried in b.u.t.ter till brown. A little flour should be sprinkled on them before frying. Thicken the water that the fowls were warmed in--add a little salt, pepper, and b.u.t.ter, and turn it over the fowls.

40. _A Ragout of Cold Veal._

Cut boiled or roasted veal in nice slices--flour and fry them in b.u.t.ter, till a light brown--then take them up, and turn a little hot water into the b.u.t.ter they were fried in, mix a little flour and water together, and stir it into the gravy--season it with salt, pepper, (nutmeg, or catsup,) and lemon juice--put in the meat, and stew it till very hot--stew two or three onions with it, if you like.

41. _Drawn b.u.t.ter._

Mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour with a little cold water--stir it till free from lumps, thin it, and stir it into half a pint of boiling water--let it boil two or three minutes, then cut up about a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter into small pieces, and put it with the flour and water--set it where it will melt gradually. If carefully mixed, it will be free from lumps--if not, strain it before it is put on the table. If the b.u.t.ter is to be eaten on fish, cut up several soft boiled eggs into it. A little curry powder sprinkled into it, will convert it into curry sauce.

42. _Burnt b.u.t.ter._

Put a couple of ounces of b.u.t.ter into a frying pan--set it on the fire--when of a dark brown color, put in half a tea cup full of vinegar, a little pepper and salt. This is nice for fish, salad, or eggs.

43. _Roast Meat Gravy._

Meat, when put down to roast, should have about a pint of water in the dripping pan. A little while before the meat is done, stir up the drippings, put it in a skillet, and set it where it will boil. Mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour smoothly, with a little water, and stir it in the gravy when it boils. Lamb and veal require a little b.u.t.ter in the gravy. The gravy for pork and geese, should have a little of the dressing, and sage, mixed with it. If you wish to have your gravies look dark, scorch the flour that you thicken them with, which is easily done by putting it in a pan, setting it on a few coals, and stirring it constantly till it is a dark brown color, taking care that it does not burn. Enough can be burnt at once to last a long time.

44. _Sauce for Cold Meat, Fish or Salad._

Boil a couple of eggs three minutes--then mix it with a mustard spoonful of made mustard, a little salt, pepper, half a tea cup of salad oil, or melted b.u.t.ter, and half a tea cup of vinegar. A table spoonful of catsup improves it.

45. _Wine Sauce for Venison or Mutton._

Warm half a pint of the drippings, or liquor the meat was boiled in--mix a couple of tea spoonsful of scorched flour with a little water, and stir it in when the gravy boils. Season it with salt, pepper, and cloves--stir a table spoonful of currant jelly in, and just before you take it from the fire, half a tumbler of wine. Many people prefer melted currant jelly to any other sauce for venison or mutton.

46. _Rice Sauce._

Boil one onion and half a tea cup of rice with a blade of mace, till very soft, in just water enough to cover it--then stir in half a pint of milk, a little salt, and strain it. This is a nice accompaniment to game.

47. _Oyster Sauce._

Take the juice of the oysters, and to a pint put a couple of sticks of mace, a little salt and pepper. Set it on the fire--when it boils, stir in a couple of tea spoonsful of flour, mixed with milk. When it has boiled several minutes, stir in half a pint of oysters, a piece of b.u.t.ter, of the size of a hen's egg. Let them scald through, then take them up.

48. _White Celery Sauce for Boiled Poultry._

Take five or six heads of celery--cut off the green tops, cut up the remainder into small bits, and boil it till tender, in half a pint of water--mix two or three tea spoonsful of flour smoothly with a little milk--then add half a tea cup more of milk, stir it in, add a small lump of b.u.t.ter, and a little salt. When it boils, take it up.

49. _Brown Sauce for Poultry._

Peel two or three onions, cut them in slices, flour and fry them brown, in a little b.u.t.ter--then sprinkle in a little flour, pepper, salt, and sage--add half a pint of the liquor the poultry was boiled in, and a table spoonful of catsup. Let it boil up, then stir in half a wine gla.s.s of wine if you like.

50. _Savory Jelly for Cold Meat._

Boil lean beef or veal till tender. If you have any beef or veal bones, crack and boil them with the meat, (they should be boiled longer than the meat,) together with a little salt pork, sweet herbs, and pepper and salt. When boiled sufficiently, take it off, strain it, and let it remain till the next day--then skim off the fat, take up the jelly, and sc.r.a.pe off the dregs that adhere to the bottom of it--put in the whites and sh.e.l.ls of several eggs, several blades of mace, a little wine, and lemon juice--set it on the fire, stir it well till it boils, then strain it till clear through a jelly bag.

51. _Liver Sauce for Fish._

Boil the liver of the fish--then mash it fine, stir it into drawn b.u.t.ter, put in a little cayenne, or black pepper, a couple of tea spoonsful of lemon juice, and a table spoonful of catsup.

52. _Sauce for Lobsters._

Boil a couple of eggs three minutes--mix them with the sp.a.w.n of the lobster, and a tea spoonful of water. When rubbed smooth, stir in a tea spoonful of mixed mustard, half a tea cup of salad oil, or the same quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter melted, a little salt, pepper, and five table spoonsful of vinegar.

53. _Chicken Salad._

Boil a chicken that weighs not more than a pound and a half. When very tender, take it up, cut it in small strips, and make the following sauce, and turn over it--boil four eggs three minutes--then take them out of the sh.e.l.ls, mash and mix them with a couple of table spoonsful of olive oil, or melted b.u.t.ter, two thirds of a tumbler of vinegar, a tea spoonful of mixed mustard, a tea spoonful of salt, a little pepper, and essence of celery, if you have it--if not, it can be dispensed with.