The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual Part 75

The following receipts are from Mr. Henry Osborne, cook to Sir Joseph Banks, the late president of the Royal Society:

_Soho Square, April 20, 1820._

Sir,--I send you herewith the last part of the Cook's Oracle. I have attentively looked over each receipt, and hope they are now correct, and easy to be understood. If you think any need further explanation, Sir Joseph has desired me to wait on you again. I also send the receipts for my ten puddings, and my method of using spring fruit and gourds.

I am, Sir, Your humble servant, HENRY OSBORNE.

_Boston Apple Pudding._

Peel one dozen and a half of good apples; take out the cores, cut them small, put into a stew-pan that will just hold them, with a little water, a little cinnamon, two cloves, and the peel of a lemon; stew over a slow fire till quite soft, then sweeten with moist sugar, and pa.s.s it through a hair sieve; add to it the yelks of four eggs and one white, a quarter of a pound of good b.u.t.ter, half a nutmeg, the peel of a lemon grated, and the juice of one lemon: beat all well together; line the inside of a pie-dish with good puff paste; put in the pudding, and bake half an hour.

_Spring Fruit Pudding._

Peel, and well wash four dozen sticks of rhubarb: put into a stew-pan with the pudding a lemon, a little cinnamon, and as much moist sugar as will make it quite sweet; set it over a fire, and reduce it to a marmalade; pa.s.s through a hair-sieve, and proceed as directed for the Boston pudding, leaving out the lemon-juice, as the rhubarb will be found sufficiently acid of itself.

_Nottingham Pudding._

Peel six good apples; take out the core with the point of a small knife, or an apple corer, if you have one; but be sure to leave the apples whole; fill up where you took the core from with sugar; place them in a pie-dish, and pour over them a nice light batter, prepared as for batter pudding, and bake an hour in a moderate oven.

_b.u.t.ter Pudding._

Take six ounces of fine flour, a little salt, and three eggs; beat up well with a little milk, added by degrees till the batter is quite smooth; make it the thickness of cream; put into a b.u.t.tered pie-dish, and bake three quarters of an hour; or into a b.u.t.tered and floured basin, tied over tight with a cloth: boil one and a half hour, or two hours.

_Newmarket Pudding._

Put on to boil a pint of good milk, with half a lemon-peel, a little cinnamon, and a bay-leaf; boil gently for five or ten minutes; sweeten with loaf sugar; break the yelks of five, and the whites of three eggs, into a basin; beat them well, and add the milk: beat all well together, and strain through a fine hair-sieve, or tamis: have some bread and b.u.t.ter cut very thin; lay a layer of it in a pie-dish, and then a layer of currants, and so on till the dish is nearly full; then pour the custard over it, and bake half an hour.

_Newcastle, or Cabinet Pudding._

b.u.t.ter a half melon mould, or quart basin, and stick all round with dried cherries, or fine raisins, and fill up with bread and b.u.t.ter, &c.

as in the above; and steam it an hour and a half.

_Vermicelli Pudding._

Boil a pint of milk, with lemon-peel and cinnamon; sweeten with loaf-sugar; strain through a sieve, and add a quarter of a pound of vermicelli; boil ten minutes; then put in the yelks of five, and the whites of three eggs; mix well together, and steam it one hour and a quarter: the same may be baked half an hour.

_Bread Pudding._

Make a pint of bread-crumbs; put them in a stew-pan with as much milk as will cover them, the peel of a lemon, a little nutmeg grated, and a small piece of cinnamon; boil about ten minutes; sweeten with powdered loaf-sugar; take out the cinnamon, and put in four eggs; beat all well together, and bake half an hour, or boil rather more than an hour.

_Custard Pudding._

Boil a pint of milk, and a quarter of a pint of good cream; thicken with flour and water made perfectly smooth, till it is stiff enough to bear an egg on it; break in the yelks of five eggs; sweeten with powdered loaf-sugar; grate in a little nutmeg and the peel of a lemon: add half a gla.s.s of good brandy; then whip the whites of the five eggs till quite stiff, and mix gently all together: line a pie-dish with good puff paste, and bake half an hour.

N.B. Ground rice, potato flour, panada, and all puddings made from powders, are, or may be, prepared in the same way.

_Boiled Custards._

Put a quart of new milk into a stew-pan, with the peel of a lemon cut very thin, a little grated nutmeg, a bay or laurel-leaf, and a small stick of cinnamon; set it over a quick fire, but be careful it does not boil over: when it boils, set it beside the fire, and simmer ten minutes; break the yelks of eight, and the whites of four eggs into a basin; beat them well; then pour in the milk a little at a time, stirring it as quick as possible to prevent the eggs curdling; set it on the fire again, and stir it well with a wooden spoon; let it have just one boil; pa.s.s it through a tamis, or fine sieve: when cold, add a little brandy, or white wine, as may be most agreeable to the eater's palate. Serve up in gla.s.ses, or cups.

Custards for baking are prepared as above, pa.s.sed through a fine sieve; put them into cups; grate a little nutmeg over each: bake them about 15 or 20 minutes.

TO DRESS SPRING FRUIT.

_Spring Fruit Soup._

Peel and well wash four dozen sticks of rhubarb; blanch it in water three or four minutes; drain it on a sieve, and put it into a stew-pan, with two onions sliced, a carrot, an ounce of lean ham, and a good bit of b.u.t.ter; let it stew gently over a slow fire till tender; then put in two quarts of good _consomme_, to which add two or three ounces of bread-crumbs; boil about fifteen minutes; skim off all the fat; season with salt and Cayenne pepper; pa.s.s it through a tamis, and serve up with fried bread.

_Spring Fruit Pudding._

Clean as above three or four dozen sticks of rhubarb; put it in a stew-pan, with the peel of a lemon, a bit of cinnamon, two cloves, and as much moist sugar as will sweeten it; set it over a fire, and reduce it to a marmalade; pa.s.s it through a hair-sieve; then add the peel of a lemon, and half a nutmeg grated, a quarter of a pound of good b.u.t.ter, and the yelks of four eggs and one white, and mix all well together; line a pie-dish, that will just contain it, with good puff paste; put the mixture in, and bake it half an hour.

_Spring Fruit--A Mock Gooseberry Sauce for Mackerel, &c._

Make a marmalade of three dozen sticks of rhubarb, sweetened with moist sugar; pa.s.s it through a hair-sieve, and serve up in a sauce-boat.

_Spring Fruit Tart._

Prepare rhubarb as above: cut it into small pieces into a tart-dish; sweeten with loaf-sugar pounded; cover it with a good short crust paste; sift a little sugar over the top, and bake half an hour in a rather hot oven: serve up cold.

_Spring Cream, or mock Gooseberry Fool._

Prepare a marmalade as directed for the pudding: to which add a pint of good thick cream; serve up in gla.s.ses, or in a deep dish. If wanted in a shape, dissolve two ounces of isingla.s.s in a little water; strain it through a tamis, and when nearly cold put it to the cream; pour it into a jelly mould, and when set, turn out into a dish, and serve up plain.

_Spring Fruit Sherbet._

Boil six or eight sticks of rhubarb (quite clean) ten minutes in a quart of water; strain the liquor through a tamis into a jug, with the peel of a lemon cut very thin, and two table-spoonfuls of clarified sugar; let it stand five or six hours, and it is fit to drink.

_Gourds_ (now called _vegetable Marrow_) _stewed._