Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book Part 12

TERRAPIN VEAL.--Take some nice veal, (from the fillet, or the loin) and cut it into very small mouthfuls. Put it into a stew-pan. Have ready a dressing made of six or seven hard-boiled eggs, minced fine, a small tea-spoonful of made mustard, (tarragon or French mustard will be best,) a salt-spoon of salt, and the same of cayenne; two gla.s.ses of sherry or Madeira, and half a pint of rich cream. If you cannot conveniently obtain cream, subst.i.tute a quarter of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, divided into four pieces, and each piece dredged with flour. All the ingredients for this dressing must be thoroughly mixed. Then, pour it over the veal, and give the whole a hard stir. Cover it, and let it stew over the fire for about ten minutes. Fresh venison is excellent, cooked in this manner. So, also, are ducks, pheasants, partridges, or grouse, making a fine side dish for company.

TO HASH COLD MEAT.--The best way of re-cooking cold roast meat, (veal, beef, or pork,) is to hash it, cutting it into mouthfuls, and stewing it in its own gravy, without a drop of water. For this purpose, save as much as you can of the dripping or gravy that fell from it when roasting. When you have done basting the roast meat, skim off all the fat from the surface, and strain the gravy through a small sieve. What is left of it, should be carefully set away in a cold place. Next day, when it has congealed into a cake, sc.r.a.pe it with a knife on both sides.

If not wanted for immediate use, cut it in pieces, and put it up in a jar well covered. Use it (instead of water) for stews and hashes; and if well seasoned the meat will be found nearly as good (for a breakfast dish,) as if not previously cooked. Whenever it is possible, make your hashes without any water; and if you have saved no gravy, subst.i.tute lard, or fresh b.u.t.ter. But gravy or drippings of the same meat is best.

A hash of cold meat, stewed merely in water, and with no seasoning but salt and pepper, is a poor thing. Cold potatos, when re-cooked, always remain hard and indigestible. In all cookery it is best to use _fresh vegetables_, even if the _meat_ has been previously drest. Cold meat is of no use for soups or pies. It is better to slice it, and eat it cold--or, better still to give it the poor. Roast beef or mutton, if very much underdone, may be sliced and broiled on a gridiron, and well seasoned with pepper. Cold roast pork is best sliced plain, and eaten cold. Ham also.

VEAL CUTLETS IN PAPERS (_en papillotes_.)--Make a nice sauce of sweet herbs, bread-crumbs, powdered mace and nutmeg, b.u.t.ter and beaten egg.

Lay the cutlets in a deep dish, (having first broiled them and saved the gravy,) pour the sauce over them, with the veal gravy added to it. Cover them, and let them rest till cold. Allow, for each cutlet, a sheet of foolscap paper, cut it into the shape of a heart, and go over it with sweet oil, or fresh b.u.t.ter or lard. Lay a cutlet with a little of the sauce upon it, on one-half of each sheet of paper; turn the other half over the meat. Fold a narrow rim all round, so as to unite both edges.

Begin at the top of the heart, and pleat both edges together so as to form a good shape without puckering. When you come to the bottom, where the paper is to cover the bone, give it a few extra twists. Broil the cutlets slowly on a gridiron for half an hour, seeing that no blaze catches the papers--or put them in the oven for half an hour. If the papers are not too much burnt or disfigured, dish the cutlets still wrapped in them, to be removed by those who eat them. If the covers are scorched black, and ragged, take out the cutlets and lay them on a hot dish. Serve up with them a dish of mashed potatos or potatoe cake, browned on the surface with a salamander. _Cotelettes a la Maintenon_, are mutton or lamb steaks cooked in papers, in the above manner.

VEAL STEAKS.--Cut the steaks from the neck, leaving the bone very short, and polis.h.i.+ng what there is of it. Make a seasoning of boiled onions minced, and sage or sweet marjoram leaves, or of chopped parsley. Lay on each steak a bit of fresh b.u.t.ter, spread the seasoning thickly over each, and fry them in the gravy or drippings of cold roast veal or beef.

They will be the better for beating them slightly with a rolling pin.

Put into the frying-pan three or four table-spoonfuls of mushroom or tomato catchup; or, fry them with fresh mushrooms or fresh tomatos, sliced.

VEAL CUTLETS.--Cut your veal cutlets from the fillet or round about half an inch thick. Season them slightly with a little salt and cayenne. Have ready a pan with grated bread-crumbs, and another with beaten egg. Have ready, in a frying pan, plenty of boiling lard, or drippings of cold veal. Dredge each cutlet slightly with flour; then dip it twice in the pan of beaten egg, and then twice also in the bread-crumbs. Fry them well, and send them to table in their own gravy. Saffron, scattered thickly over them while frying, is an improvement much relished by the eaters.

Veal is too insipid to be fried or broiled plain.

If you live where cream is plenty, add to this fry two or three spoonfuls.

Minced veal, cold, is an excellent ingredient for forcemeats.

KNUCKLE OF VEAL AND BACON.--Unless your family is very small, get two knuckles of veal, and have them sawed into three pieces each. Put them into a pot with two pounds of ham or bacon; cover them with water, and stew them slowly, skimming them well. Season them with a little pepper, but no salt, as the bacon will be salt enough. When the sc.u.m ceases to rise, put in four onions and four turnips, and six potatos pared, and quartered; also, a carrot and two parsnips, sc.r.a.ped and cut into pieces.

Let the whole boil till all the meat and all the vegetables are thoroughly done, and very tender. Drain them well, and serve up the whole on one large dish, having other vegetables served separately.

If you wish to have green vegetables, such as greens, young sprouts, poke, or string beans, flavored with bacon, put them to boil in a pot with the bacon only, and take another pot for the veal, and white vegetables, such as onions, turnips, &c. You may put the veal and bacon on the same dish.

SOUTHERN STEW (_of veal_.)--Peel and boil a half dozen fresh spring onions, and then drain them well and slice them thin. Have ready two pounds or more of nice veal, sliced very thin, small, and evenly. Lay the veal in a stew-pan, and season it slightly with salt, and _a very little_ cayenne. Cover the veal with the sliced onions, and lay upon them some bits of fresh b.u.t.ter rolled in flour. If you cannot obtain very excellent fresh b.u.t.ter, subst.i.tute lard, or cold gravy, or dripping of roast veal, which last will be best if you have enough of it. Finish with a flavoring of powdered nutmeg or mace, and the grated yellow rind of a fresh lemon.

This stew is very nice. It may be made with lamb or chicken, cut very small.

VEAL KEBOBBED, (_or kibaubed_.)--Cut into small thin slices some lean veal from the loin, chump end, or fillet. Trim them into a round or circular form. Season them with pepper, salt, and turmeric or curry powder. If onions are liked, slice some large ones, and lay them on the pieces of veal. Cover them with slices of ham, cut round like the veal, but a little smaller. Roll up the slices, (the ham inside,) and tie them on skewers. Then roast or bake them. When done, take them off the skewers, and send them to table in the gravy that has fallen from them.

This is a Turkish dish, and is much liked.

VEAL FRITTERS.--Take some thin slices of cold roast veal, and trim them round or circular. Beat them with a rolling-pin, to make them very tender, and season them with a little salt and pepper and some powdered nutmeg. Also some grated fresh yellow rind of lemon-peel. Make a very light batter, of eggs, milk, and flour; in the proportion of four well-beaten eggs to a pint of milk; and a large half pint of sifted flour: the eggs beaten first, and then stirred gradually into the milk in turn with the flour. Have ready a frying-pan, nearly full of boiling lard. Drop into it two large spoonfuls of the batter. Then put in a slice of the veal, and cover it with two more large spoonfuls of the batter. As the fritters are fried, take them up with a perforated skimmer, and drain them.

VEAL PATTIES.--Mince very fine, some cold roast veal, or some cold chicken, mixing with it some cold minced ham, or cold smoked tongue. Add some yolk of hard-boiled eggs, crumbled or minced. Season the mixture with powdered mace and nutmeg, moistened with cream or soft fresh b.u.t.ter. Have ready some nice puff-paste, rolled out thin, and cut into oval or circular pieces. Cover the half of each with the mixture, spread on evenly and thickly. Then, upon that, fold over the other half, (uniting both,) and crimp them together, in very small notches. Brush their outsides all over with some raw egg, slightly beaten, and lay them in large square tin pans to bake. Send them to table on china dishes.

These patties are excellent made of cold game. The green tops of boiled asparagus will improve the mixture.

FRIED LIVER.--Put into a frying-pan some nice thin slices of ham or bacon, that have soaked all night, and fry them in their own fat. Have ready your calf's liver, cut into slices not too thin, as that will render them hard. Take out the ham as soon as it is done, put it into a hot dish, and cover it closely. Lay the slices of liver into the gravy of the bacon that is left in the frying-pan, sprinkling it well with chopped parsley. It must be thoroughly done. Then dish with the bacon.

To those who like them, some onions will be thought an improvement to fried liver. First parboil the onions: then slice them, season them with a little salt and pepper, and fry them with the liver.

If lettuces are in season, quarter a fresh one, and lay it under the liver when you dish it, having previously removed the thickest part of the stalk. The liver of beef or sheep is not seen at good tables. It is very inferior to that of calf's, being hard and coa.r.s.e.

LARDED LIVER.--Wash and drain a nice fat calf's liver. Liver of beef or mutton is never seen at a good table; they are hard, coa.r.s.e, and tasteless, and only eaten by the poor, while the livers of veal and poultry are considered very nice. Divide it into equal portions. Lard them thickly with small slips of fat bacon, inserted at regular distances with a larding-needle, and very near each other. Season the liver with powdered nutmeg and mace. Put into a stew-pan, in the bottom of which you have laid a large slice or two of fat bacon. Let it stew gently, till thoroughly done and tender throughout. When you take the liver out of the stew-pan, stir into the gravy left at the bottom, some thick catchup, either mushroom or tomato. Do not send the slices of bacon to table with the liver.

If liked, surround the liver while cooking, with small b.u.t.ton onions, (peeled and washed,) and see that they are well done. Serve them up on the same dish. It is best always to boil onions before frying them.

STEWED LIVER.--Having soaked a fine calf's liver for two hours in cold water, cut it into thick slices, and then cut the slices into mouthfuls.

Chop fine a small bunch of sweet marjoram, and sprinkle it among the liver, seasoning with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and powdered mace. Put it into a stew-pan, and cook it in lard or fresh b.u.t.ter. Make some nice toast, and dip it for a minute in hot water, having pared off all the crust. Lay the toast in the bottom of a deep dish, after covering it all over with the stewed liver.

LIVER RISSOLES.--Take a calf's liver, and remove carefully all the veins. Weigh a pound of it, boil it, and when cold, mince it very finely with a quarter of a pound of suet, either of beef or veal. Add a quarter of a pound of finely grated bread-crumbs. Season it with cayenne, powdered mace, and nutmeg, and a very little salt. Mix in two well-beaten eggs. Shape them into oval forms, about the size of large walnuts, and fry them in plenty of boiling hot lard, draining them all on a perforated skimmer, before they go to table.

LIVER PIE.--Prepare a fine fresh calf's liver. Split it in long pieces.

Lay it in a pan of cold water for an hour or two. Afterwards take it out and wipe it dry, and boil it till tender. Drain it when done, and chop it large with a slice of cold ham. Season it with pepper and nutmeg, (no salt for any thing that has ham in it,) and add some minced sweet marjoram and sweet basil, and two yolks of hard-boiled eggs, grated or minced. The grated yellow rind of a fresh lemon will be an improvement.

Make a very nice light paste, and line a pie dish with it. Then fill it high with the mixture, laying on the top several pieces of fine fresh b.u.t.ter. Cover it with a lid of paste, notching the edges handsomely, and cutting a cross-slit on the top. Bake it light brown, and serve it up, either hot or cold. It will be found very nice.

With the same mixture you may make liver dumplings, enclosing them in a nice paste, and boiling them; or a liver pudding, boiling the mixture in one large paste, and tying it in a cloth, leaving room for it to swell.

CHITTERLINGS OR CALF'S TRIPE.--This is very delicate and digestible, and is nice at breakfast, or as a side dish at dinner. To prepare it for cooking, it should be cut open with scissors, emptied, and thoroughly cleaned, and then laid all night, or for several hours, in cold water, _slightly_ salted. It can be bought of the veal butchers ready prepared, and run on a wooden skewer. Wash it again just before cooking. Cut it into small pieces, and boil it slowly till _quite_ tender, in water enough to keep it well covered. When entirely done, take it up, drain it, and keep it warm. Have ready some onions boiled in milk till quite soft, and sliced thin. Melt some excellent fresh b.u.t.ter, in milk thickened with flour. Make a round of very nice toast, with the crust pared off. Dip it for a minute in hot water; lay it in the bottom of a deep dish. Cover it thickly with the onion sauce, and place the chitterlings upon it, seasoning them with pepper and vinegar. It will be an improvement to boil with them four or five blades of mace. Eat vinegar with it, always. Tarragon vinegar is best. This dish deserves to be more in use. Try it.

FRIED CHITTERLINGS.--Get chitterlings ready prepared by the butcher.

Wash them, and let them lie an hour or two in weak salt and water. Then drain them, cut them in pieces, and parboil them. Dry them in a clean cloth. Make a batter of two or three beaten eggs, and a pint of milk, with a heaped table-spoonful of flour. Put into a frying-pan an ample portion of the dripping of roast veal or pork, and when it boils, (having first dipped each piece of the chitterling into the batter,) fry them in the dripping. They must be thoroughly done. You may fry them in lard, or fresh b.u.t.ter.

This is a nice breakfast dish.

BAKED CHITTERLINGS.--Having first parboiled the chitterlings, lay among them some bits of fresh b.u.t.ter, season them with powdered nutmeg, put them into a deep dish, set it into an oven, and bake them brown.

This is a side dish at dinner.

FINE VEAL PIE.--Boil, in two quarts of water, two unskinned calf's feet, adding the yellow rind of a large lemon, pared as thin as possible, or grated, and its squeezed juice. Also, two broken-up sticks of cinnamon, half a dozen blades of mace, and two gla.s.ses of sweet wine. Boil all these together (skimming well,) till the calf's feet are in rags, and all their flesh has dropped from the bone. Then put the whole into a jelly-bag and let it drip into a broad bowl. Set it away closely covered. Have ready two pounds of the parboiled chump end of a loin of veal cut into square pieces. Make a nice puff paste, and line with it a deep pie-dish. Put the pieces of veal into it, (all the fat cut off,) and intersperse them with a dozen or more forcemeat b.a.l.l.s, each about as large as an English walnut. The b.a.l.l.s may be made of cold minced chicken and ham, minced suet, bread-crumbs, and hard-boiled yolk of egg grated or crumbled fine; seasoned with sweet herbs, and grated lemon rind. Or they may be sweet b.a.l.l.s of bread-crumbs, b.u.t.ter, chopped sultana raisins, and chopped citron, seasoned with nutmeg. Having dispersed them among the pieces of veal, put in the jelly made from the calf's feet.

Cover the pie with a lid of puff-paste, cut a cross slit in the centre; notch the edges, and bake it brown. This pie is for a company dish.

A PLAIN VEAL PIE.--Cut the meat from an uncooked breast of veal, and stew it in a very little water. Have ready a pie dish lined with a nice paste. Put in a layer of stewed veal, with its gravy, and cover it with a layer of sausage meat; then veal again, and then sausage meat. Repeat this till the dish is full, finis.h.i.+ng with the sausage. Cover it with a lid of paste, and bake it brown. This is a cheap and easy family pie.

VEAL LOAF.--Take a cold fillet of veal, and (omitting the fat and skin) mince the meat as fine as possible. Mix with it a quarter of a pound of the fattest part of a cold ham, also chopped small. Add a tea-cupful of grated bread-crumbs; a grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace, powdered; the grated yellow rind of a lemon; and two beaten eggs. Season with a salt-spoon of salt, and half a salt-spoon of cayenne. Mix the whole well together, and make it into the form of a loaf. Then glaze it over with beaten yolk of egg; and strew the surface evenly, all over, with bread raspings, or with pounded cracker. Set the dish into a dutch-oven, and bake it half an hour, or till hot all through. Have ready a gravy made of the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of the veal, stewed in some of the gravy that was left when the fillet was roasted the day before. When sufficiently cooked, take out the meat, and thicken the gravy with beaten yolk of egg, stirred in about three minutes before you take it from the fire.