The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Part 42

MUSHROOMS FOR WINTER USE.

Wash and wipe free from grit the small fresh b.u.t.ton mushrooms. Put into a frying pan a quarter of a pound of the very best b.u.t.ter. Add to it two whole cloves, a saltspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. When hot add a quart of the small mushrooms, toss them about in the b.u.t.ter for a moment only, then put them in jars; fill the top of each jar with an inch or two of the b.u.t.ter and let it cool.

Keep the jars in a cool place, and when the b.u.t.ter is quite firm add a top layer of salt. Cover to keep out dust.

The best mushrooms grow on uplands or in high open fields, where the air is pure.

TRUFFLES.

The truffle belongs to the family of the mushrooms; they are used princ.i.p.ally in this country as a condiment for boned turkey and chicken, scrambled eggs, fillets of beef, game and fish. When mixed in due proportion, they add a peculiar zest and flavor to sauces that cannot be found in any other plant in the vegetable kingdom.

ITALIAN STYLE OF DRESSING TRUFFLES.

Ten truffles, a quarter of a pint of salad oil, pepper and salt to taste, one tablespoonful of minced parsley, a very little finely minced garlic, two blades of pounded mace, one tablespoonful of lemon juice.

After cleansing and brushing the truffles, cut them into thin slices and put them in a baking-dish, on a seasoning of oil or b.u.t.ter, pepper, salt, parsley, garlic and mace in the above proportion. Bake them for nearly an hour, and just before serving add the lemon juice and send them to the table very hot.

TRUFFLES AU NATUREL.

Select some fine truffles; cleanse them by washing them in several waters with a brush until not a particle of sand or grit remains on them; wrap each truffle in b.u.t.tered paper and bake in a hot oven for quite an hour; take off the paper; wipe the truffles and serve them in a hot napkin.

MACARONI.

MACARONI a LA ITALIENNE.

Divide a quarter of a pound of macaroni into four-inch pieces. Simmer fifteen minutes in plenty of boiling water, salted. Drain. Put the macaroni into a saucepan and turn over it a strong soup stock, enough to prevent burning. Strew over it an ounce of grated cheese; when the cheese is melted, dish. Put alternate layers of macaroni and cheese, then turn over the soup stock and bake half an hour.

MACARONI AND CHEESE.

Break half a pound of macaroni into pieces an inch or two long; cook it in boiling water, enough to cover it well; put in a good teaspoonful of salt; let it boil about twenty minutes. Drain it well and then put a layer in the bottom of a well-b.u.t.tered pudding-dish; upon this some grated cheese and small pieces of b.u.t.ter, a bit of salt, then more macaroni, and so on, filling the dish; sprinkle the top layer with a thick layer of cracker crumbs. Pour over the whole a teacupful of cream or milk. Set it in the oven and bake half an hour.

It should be nicely browned on top. Serve in the same dish in which it was baked with a clean napkin pinned around it.

TIMBALE OF MACARONI.

Break in very short lengths small macaroni (vermicelli, spaghetti, tagliarini). Let it be rather overdone; dress it with b.u.t.ter and grated cheese; then work into it one or two eggs, according to quant.i.ty. b.u.t.ter and bread crumb a plain mold, and when the macaroni is nearly cold fill the mold with it, pressing it well down and leaving a hollow in the centre, into which place a well-flavored mince of meat, poultry or game; then fill up the mold with more macaroni, pressed well down. Bake in a moderately heated oven, turn out and serve.

MACARONI a LA CReME.

Boil one-quarter of a pound of macaroni in plenty of hot water, salted, until tender; put half a pint of milk in a double boiler, and when it boils stir into it a mixture of two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and one of flour. Add two tablespoonfuls of cream, a little white and cayenne pepper; salt to taste, and from one-quarter to one-half a pound of grated cheese, according to taste. Drain and dish the macaroni; pour the boiling sauce over it and serve immediately.

MACARONI AND TOMATO SAUCE.

Divide half a pound of macaroni into four-inch pieces, put it into boiling salted water enough to cover it; boil from fifteen to twenty minutes then drain; arrange it neatly on a hot dish and pour tomato sauce over it, and serve immediately while hot. See SAUCES for tomato sauce.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

b.u.t.tER AND CHEESE

TO MAKE b.u.t.tER.

Thoroughly scald the churn, then cool well with ice or spring water.

Now pour in the thick cream; churn fast at first, then, as the b.u.t.ter forms, more slowly; always with perfect regularity; in warm weather, pour a little cold water into the churn, should the b.u.t.ter form slowly; in the winter, if the cream is too cold, add a little warm water to bring it to the proper temperature. When the b.u.t.ter has "come", rinse the sides of the churn down with cold water and take the b.u.t.ter up with a perforated dasher or a wooden ladle, turning it dexterously just below the surface of the b.u.t.termilk to catch every stray bit; have ready some very cold water in a deep wooden tray; and into this plunge the dasher when you draw it from the churn; the b.u.t.ter will float off, leaving the dasher free. When you have collected all the b.u.t.ter, gather behind a wooden b.u.t.ter ladle and drain off the water, squeezing and pressing the b.u.t.ter with the ladle; then pour on more cold water and work the b.u.t.ter with the ladle to get the milk out, drain off the water, sprinkle salt over the b.u.t.ter--a tablespoonful to a pound; work it in a little and set in a cool place for an hour to harden, then work and knead it until not another drop of water exudes, and the b.u.t.ter is perfectly smooth, and close in texture and polish; then with the ladle make up into rolls, little b.a.l.l.s, stamped pats, etc.

The churn, dasher, tray and ladle should be well scalded before using, so that the b.u.t.ter will not stick to them, and then cooled with very cold water.

When you skim cream into your cream jar, stir it well into what is already there, so that it may all sour alike; and no _fresh cream should be put with it_ within twelve hours before churning, or the b.u.t.ter will not come quickly; and perhaps, not at all.

b.u.t.ter is indispensable in almost all culinary preparations. Good fresh b.u.t.ter, used in moderation, is easily digested; it is softening, nutritious and fattening, and is far more easily digested than any other of the oleaginous substances sometimes used in its place.

TO MAKE b.u.t.tER QUICKLY.

Immediately after the cow is milked, strain the milk into clean pans, and set it over a moderate fire until it is scalding hot; do not let it boil; then set it aside; when it is cold, skim off the cream; the milk will still be fit for any ordinary use; when you have enough cream put it into a clean earthen basin; beat it with a wooden spoon until the b.u.t.ter is made, which will not be long; then take it from the milk and work it with a little cold water, until it is free from milk; then drain off the water, put a small tablespoonful of fine salt to each pound of b.u.t.ter and work it in. A small teaspoonful of fine white sugar, worked in with the salt, will be found an improvement--sugar is a great preservative. Make the b.u.t.ter in a roll; cover it with a bit of muslin and keep it in a cool place. A reliable recipe.

A BRINE TO PRESERVE b.u.t.tER.

First work your b.u.t.ter into small rolls, wrapping each one carefully in a clean muslin cloth, tying them up with a string. Make a brine, say three gallons, having it strong enough of salt to bear up an egg; add half a teacupful of pure, white sugar, and one tablespoonful of saltpetre; boil the brine, and when cold strain it carefully. Pour it over the rolls so as to more than cover them, as this excludes the air. Place a weight over all to keep the rolls under the surface.

PUTTING UP b.u.t.tER TO KEEP.

Take of the best pure common salt two quarts, one ounce of white sugar and one of saltpetre; pulverize them together completely. Work the b.u.t.ter well, then thoroughly work in an ounce of this mixture to every pound of b.u.t.ter. The b.u.t.ter is to be made into half-pound rolls, and put into the following brine--to three gallons of brine strong enough to bear an egg, add a quarter of a pound of white sugar.

_Orange Co., N. Y. Style_

CURDS AND CREAM.

One gallon of milk will make a moderate dish. Put one spoonful of prepared rennet to each quart of milk, and when you find that it has become curd, tie it loosely in a thin cloth and hang it to drain; do not wring or press the cloth; when drained, put the curd into a mug and set in cool water, which must be frequently changed (a refrigerator saves this trouble). When you dish it, if there is whey in the mug, lie it gently out without pressing the curd; lay it on a deep dish, and pour fresh cream over it; have powdered loaf-sugar to eat with it; also hand the nutmeg grater.

Prepared rennet can be had at almost any druggist's, and at a reasonable price.