The Virginia Housewife Part 9

TO MAKE SAUCE FOR A TURKEY.

Cut the crumb of a loaf of bread in thin slices, and put it in cold water with a few pepper corns, a little salt and onion--then boil it till the bread is quite soft, beat it well, put in a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, two spoonsful of thick cream, and put it in the dish with the turkey.

TO BOIL FOWLS.

Dust the fowls well with flour, put them in a kettle of cold water, cover it close, set it on the fire; when the sc.u.m begins to rise, take it off, let them boil very slowly for twenty minutes, then take them off, cover them close, and the heat of the water will stew them enough in half an hour; it keeps the skin whole, and they will be both whiter and plumper than if they had boiled fast; when you take them up, drain them, and pour over them white sauce or melted b.u.t.ter.

TO MAKE WHITE SAUCE FOR FOWLS.

Take a scrag of veal, the necks of fowls, or any bits of mutton or veal you have; put them in a sauce pan with a blade or two of mace, a few black pepper corns, one anchovy, a head of celery, a bunch of sweet herbs, a slice of the end of a lemon; put in a quart of water, cover it close, let it boil till it is reduced to half a pint, strain it, and thicken it with a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter mixed with flour, boil it five or six minutes, put in two spoonsful of pickled mushrooms, mix the yelks of two eggs with a tea cup full of good cream and a little nutmeg--put it in the sauce, keep shaking it over the fire, but don't let it boil.

FRICa.s.sEE OF SMALL CHICKENS.

Take off the legs and wings of four chickens, separate the b.r.e.a.s.t.s from the backs, cut off the necks and divide the backs across, clean the gizzards nicely, put them with the livers and other parts of the chicken, after being washed clean, into a sauce pan, add pepper, salt, and a little mace, cover them with water, and stew them till tender--then take them out, thicken half a pint of the water with two table spoonsful of flour rubbed into four ounces of b.u.t.ter, add half a pint of new milk, boil all together a few minutes, then add a gill of white wine, stirring it in carefully that it may not curdle; put the chickens in, and continue to shake the pan until they are sufficiently hot, and serve them up.

TO ROAST LARGE FOWLS.

Take the fowls when they are ready dressed, put them down to a good fire, dredge and baste them well with lard; they will be near an hour in roasting; make a gravy of the necks and gizzards, strain it, put in a spoonful of brown flour; when you dish them, pour on the gravy, and serve them up with egg sauce in a boat.

TO MAKE EGG SAUCE.

Boil four eggs for ten minutes, chop half the whites, put them with the yelks, and chop them both together, but not very fine; put them into a quarter of a pound of good melted b.u.t.ter, and put it in a boat.

TO BOIL YOUNG CHICKENS.

Put the chickens in scalding water; as soon as the feathers will slip off, take them out, or it will make the skin hard and break: when you have drawn them, lay them in skimmed milk for two hours, then truss and dust them well with flour, put them in cold water, cover them close, set them over a very slow fire, take off the sc.u.m, let them boil slowly for five or six minutes, take them off the fire, keep them closely covered in the water for half an hour, it will stew them enough; when you are going to dish them, set them over the fire to make them hot, drain them, and pour over white sauce made the same way as for the boiled fowls.

TO ROAST YOUNG CHICKENS.

When you kill young chickens, pluck them very carefully, truss and put them down to a good fire, dredge and baste them with lard; they will take a quarter of an hour in roasting; froth them up, lay them on the dish, pour b.u.t.ter and parsley on, and serve them up hot.

FRIED CHICKENS.

Cut them up as for the frica.s.see, dredge them well with flour, sprinkle them with salt, put them into a good quant.i.ty of boiling lard, and fry them a light brown; fry small pieces of mush and a quant.i.ty of parsley nicely picked, to be served in the dish with the chickens; take half a pint of rich milk, add to it a small bit of b.u.t.ter, with pepper, salt, and chopped parsley; stew it a little, and pour it over the chickens, and then garnish with the fried parsley.

TO ROAST WOODc.o.c.kS OR SNIPES.

Pluck, but do not draw them, put them on a small spit, dredge and baste them well with lard, toast a few slices of bread, put them on a clean plate, and set it under the birds while they are roasting; if the fire be good, they will take about ten minutes; when you take them from the spit, lay them upon the toasts on the dish, pour melted b.u.t.ter round them, and serve them up.

TO ROAST WILD DUCKS OR TEAL.

When the ducks are ready dressed, put in them a small onion, pepper, salt, and a spoonful of red wine; if the fire be good, they will roast in twenty minutes; make gravy of the necks and gizzards, a spoonful of red wine, half an anchovy, a blade or two of mace, one onion, and a little cayenne pepper; boil it till it is wasted to half a pint, strain it through a hair sieve, and pour it on the ducks--serve them up with onion sauce in a boat; garnish the dish with raspings of bread.

TO BOIL PIGEONS.

Scald the pigeons, draw them, take the craw out, wash them in several waters, cut off the pinions, turn the legs under the wings, dredge them, and put them in soft cold water; boil them slowly a quarter of an hour, dish them up, pour over them good melted b.u.t.ter, lay round a little brocoli in bunches, and send b.u.t.ter and parsley in a boat.

TO ROAST PIGEONS.

When you have dressed your pigeons as before, roll a good lump of b.u.t.ter in chopped parsley, with pepper and salt, put it in your pigeons, spit, dust and baste them; if the fire be good, they will roast in twenty minutes; when they are through, lay round them bunches of asparagus, with parsley and b.u.t.ter for sauce.

TO ROAST PARTRIDGES OR ANY SMALL BIRDS.

Lard them with slips of bacon, put them on a skewer, tie it to the spit at both ends, dredge and baste them, let them roast ten minutes, take the grated crumb of half a loaf of bread, with a piece of b.u.t.ter, the size of a walnut, put it in a stew pan, and shake it over a gentle fire till it is of a light brown, lay it between your birds, and pour over them a little melted b.u.t.ter.

TO BROIL RABBITS.

When you have cased the rabbits, skewer them with their heads straight up, the fore-legs brought down, and the hind-legs straight; boil them three quarters of an hour at least, then smother them with onion sauce, made the same as for boiled ducks, and serve them up.

TO ROAST RABBITS.

When you have cased the rabbits, skewer their heads with their mouths upon their backs, stick their fore-legs into their ribs, skewer the hind-legs doubled, then make a pudding for them of the crumb of half a loaf of bread, a little parsley, sweet marjoram and thyme, all shred fine, nutmeg, salt and pepper to your taste, mix them up into a light stuffing, with a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, a little good cream, and two eggs; put it into the body, and sew them up; dredge and baste them well with lard, roast them near an hour, serve them up with parsley and b.u.t.ter for sauce, chop the livers, and lay them in lumps round the edge of the dish.

TO STEW WILD DUCKS.

Having prepared the fowls, rub the insides with salt, pepper, and a little powdered cloves; put a shallot or two with a lump of b.u.t.ter in the body of each, then lay them in a pan that will just hold them, putting b.u.t.ter under and over them, with vinegar and water, and add pepper, salt, lemon peel, and a bunch of sweet herbs; then cover the pan close, and let them stew till done--pa.s.s the liquor through a sieve, pour it over the ducks, and serve them up hot, with a garnish of lemon sliced, and raspings of bread fried. The same way may teal, &c. be dressed.