The New England Cook Book Part 10

Boil a quart of milk and sweeten it to your taste with loaf sugar; add the juice and grated peel of a lemon. Mix four table spoonsful of ground rice smoothly with a little cold milk, and stir it into the boiling milk. Boil the whole together ten minutes, stirring it occasionally while boiling; then take it from the fire, stir into it the beaten whites of three eggs, set it back on a few coals, and stir it constantly until nearly boiling hot, take it off, fill your moulds, and let it remain till cold. This is very good food for invalids.

186. _Ice Cream._

To one quart of milk, put the yolks of four eggs well beaten, the rind of a lemon pared thin, sweeten it very sweet with loaf sugar. Put it on a slow fire and stir it constantly till scalding hot, care must be taken then it does not get to boiling. Take it up, take out the lemon peel, set it away to cool. When perfectly cold put it into an ice cream form, (if you cannot procure one, a milk kettle will do,) set it into a large tub, strew round it a layer of ice cracked fine, then a layer of rock salt, then another layer of ice and salt, and so on, till the ice is as high as the top of the form; a layer of ice should be last. Shake the form frequently, while the cream is freezing; care must be taken that none of the salt gets into the cream. The tub should be covered with a flannel cloth, while the cream is freezing. If you wish to shape the cream in moulds, turn it into them, as soon as it freezes in the form, and set them in the tub, and let them remain in it, till just before they are to be eaten. When you wish to get them out of the moulds or form, dip them into warm water and take them out of it instantly and turn them out into your dishes. Where cream is used instead of milk, no eggs or scalding will be necessary. Three table spoonsful of pine apple juice, to a quart of the cream gives it a fine flavor, strawberries are also nice in the cream. If you wish to color the cream, stir in a little cochineal powder, saffron or powder blue, before you freeze it.

187. _Pastry._

For good common pie crust, allow two tea cups of shortening to a quart of flour, and a tea spoonful of salt, half lard and half b.u.t.ter is the best, beef shortening does very well with b.u.t.ter for plain pie crust.

Rub part of the shortening thoroughly with two thirds of the flour; then put in the salt, together with cold water, to moisten it just enough to roll out easily. Roll it out thin, spread on the reserved shortening, then sprinkle on the remainder of your flour, and roll it up. Cut it into as many pieces as you have pies, roll out the under crust very thin, b.u.t.ter your pie plates, and put it on them, fill your plates with your fruit, roll out the upper crust lightly, about half an inch thick, and cover your pies, pare it off neatly round the edges of the plates.

This rule furnishes crust enough for a couple of pies. Pie crust to be light, should be baked in a quick oven.

188. _Puff Paste or Confectioner's Pastry._

Sift three quarters of a pound of flour, and mix it with cold water enough to render it sufficiently stiff to roll out, put in one half a tea spoonful of salt, before you put in the water. Weigh out a pound of b.u.t.ter, cut it into thin slices, and roll it out thin as possible on a moulding board; in order to do this a great deal of flour should be sprinkled on the board and b.u.t.ter, and rubbed on the rolling pin. Lay your rolled b.u.t.ter on a platter. Then roll out your crust very thin, lay the pieces of b.u.t.ter thickly over it. Weigh out a quarter of a pound of sifted flour, and sprinkle part of it over it, roll it up, then roll it out again, put on the remainder of the b.u.t.ter and flour, roll it up and let it stand half an hour in a cool place. Roll it our lightly half an inch thick, for the upper crust to the pies. Bake it in a quick oven till of a light brown.

189. _Apple Pie._

Pare, quarter, and take out the cores of the apples, and if not ripe, stew them before baking them, and season them to your taste. b.u.t.ter your plates, put on a thin under crust, fill the plates, and cover them with a thick crust. Bake them about three quarters of an hour. When done take off the upper crust carefully, and put a piece of b.u.t.ter of the size of a walnut, into each pie, sweeten them to your taste, if not acid enough, squeeze in the juice of part of a lemon, or put in a little tartaric acid, dissolved in a little water. Essence of lemon, nutmeg, or rosewater, are all good spice for apple pies. Apples stewed in new cider, and mola.s.ses, with a few quinces and strained, with a little cinnamon in it makes nice pies. Dried apples for pies, should have boiling water turned on them, and stewed till tender, then add a little sour cider, and a little orange peel, and stew them a few moments longer, take them up, put in a little b.u.t.ter, sugar, and the juice and peel of a lemon improve them, they are better for being rubbed through a sieve. Fill your pie plates and bake the pies half an hour.

190. _Mince Pie._

The best kind of meat for mince pies, is neats tongue and feet, and chickens; a shank of beef makes very good pies. Boil your meat till perfectly tender, then take it up, clear it from the bones and gristle, chop it very fine and mix it with double the quant.i.ty of chopped apple; if the meat is not fat, put in a little suet or melted b.u.t.ter, moisten it with cider, add cloves, mace, or nutmeg, and cinnamon, to your taste, sweeten it with mola.s.ses and sugar, add a little salt. If you wish to have your pies very rich, put in wine or brandy to your taste, the juice and peel of a lemon, the peel should be grated, and stoned raisins and citron cut in small strips. Bake the pies in shallow plates. Make apertures in the upper crust, before you cover the pies. Bake the pies from half, to three quarters of an hour. Mince meat for pies, with brandy or wine in it, and strongly spiced will keep several months, in cold weather. It should be put in a stone pot, and kept in a dry cool place.

191. _Peach Pie._

Take mellow juicy peaches, wash and put them in a deep pie plate, or pudding dish, lined with pie crust, sprinkle sugar on each layer of peaches, a great deal will be necessary to sweeten them sufficiently, put in about a table spoonful of water, sprinkle a little flour over the top and cover the pie with a thick crust. Bake it an hour. Pies made in this manner are much better than with the stones taken out, as the prussic acid of the stones, gives the pie a fine flavor. Dried peaches should be stewed and sweetened, before being made into pies; they do not require any spice.

192. _Tart Pie._

Sour apples, cranberries, and dried peaches, all make nice tarts. Stew and strain them; if the peaches are not tart, put in the juice and grated peel of a lemon, put in a little sugar. Line shallow pie plates with a thin crust, put a rim of pie crust round the edge of the dish, fill the plates with your tart. Roll some of the crust very thin, cut it into narrow strips, with a jagging iron, and lay it on the pie in a fanciful manner. Bake the pies about twenty five minutes.

193. _Rice Pie._

To a quart of boiling water, put a small tea cup of rice, and boil it till very soft. Then add a quart of milk, strain it through a sieve, put in a little salt, five beaten eggs, a nutmeg grated, and sugar enough to sweeten it, the sugar should be put in before the rice is strained, add a few raisins. Bake it in deep pie plates, without an upper crust.

194. _Rhubarb or Persian Apple Pie._

Take the stalks of the rhubarb plant in the spring, or fore part of summer, (they are not good later,) cut them in small pieces, and stew them till tender; then strain and sweeten them to your taste, bake them with only an under crust.

195. _Cherry and Blackberry Pies._

Cherries and blackberries for pies, should be perfectly ripe; put them in a deep plate, with an under crust, and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon, or cloves, over them; cover them and bake them half an hour.

196. _Grape Pie._

Grapes are the best for pies when very small and tender; if not very small, they should be stewed and strained, on account of the seeds.

Sweeten them to your taste, no spice is necessary.

197. _Currant and Gooseberry Pies._

Pick them over, and stew them in just water enough to prevent their burning at the bottom, when tender sweeten them to your taste with sugar, and bake them without any spice, in deep dishes. Some people do not stew the currants before baking them, but they are not apt to be sweet enough, if not previously stewed.

198. _Pumpkin Pie._

Cut your pumpkin in two, take out the seeds, and wash the pumpkin, cut it into small strips, and boil it in just water enough to prevent its burning, when tender turn off the water, and let it steam over a moderate fire for fifteen minutes, taking care it does not burn. Take it up, strain it through the sieve, and if you like the pies very thin, put two quarts of milk, to a quart of the pumpkin, and six eggs; if you wish to have them thick, put a quart only of milk, to a quart of pumpkin, and three eggs. Three eggs to a quart of milk does very well, but they are better with five or six. Sweeten it with mola.s.ses or sugar, put in ginger, or grated lemon peel to your taste. Bake them in deep plates from fifty to sixty minutes in a hot oven.

199. _Carrot Pie._

Sc.r.a.pe three good sized carrots, boil them till very tender. Then rub them through a sieve, and mix them with a quart of milk, four beaten eggs, a piece of b.u.t.ter of the size of half an egg, a table spoonful of lemon juice, and the grated peel of half a one. Sweeten it to your taste. Bake it in deep pie plates with an under crust and rim.

200. _Potatoe Pie._

Boil Irish or sweet potatoes, till very soft. Take them up, peel and mash them fine. To one quarter of a pound of potatoes put a quart of milk, three ounces of b.u.t.ter, melted; five eggs, a gla.s.s of wine, and one of lemon or French brandy. Put in sugar, and mace to your taste.

201. _Marlborough Pie._

Pare tart mellow apples, quarter them, take out the seeds, and stew them in a little water till soft enough to rub through a sieve. To twelve table spoonsful of it when strained, put twelve table spoonsful of sugar, the same quant.i.ty of wine, five eggs, six table spoonsful of melted b.u.t.ter, half a pint of milk, the juice and grated peel of half a lemon, and half a nutmeg. Bake it in deep pie plates, without an upper crust.

202. _Custard Pie._

Beat seven eggs with three table spoonsful of rolled sugar, mix them with a quart of milk, flavor it with nutmeg or rosewater. This is good baked either in cups, or deep pie plates, with an under crust. Set the pie plates with the crust in the oven and let it bake a moment before you turn in the custard. To ascertain when the pie is done, stick a clean broom splinter through the center of the pie, if none of the custard adheres to it, it is sufficiently bakes.

203. _A Plain Custard Pie._

Boil a quart of milk with a few peach leaves, or lemon peel; strain it.

Put it back on the fire; when it boils, mix a table spoonful of flour, with a little milk, and turn it in, let it boil a minute, then put it with four beaten eggs, and sugar to your taste, and bake it in deep pie plates with an under crust.

204. _Lemon Pie._