The Century Cook Book Part 40

Have a very generous amount of water in a large saucepan or pot; let it boil violently; add a tablespoonful of salt and one quarter teaspoonful of baking soda; put in the cabbage, one piece at a time, so as to check the boiling as little as possible. Let it cook for twenty-five minutes uncovered and boiling rapidly all the time. Push the cabbage under the water every five minutes. Turn it into a colander and press out all the water. Put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a heaping teaspoonful of flour, one half teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper; add slowly one half cupful of milk, and stir till smooth; then add the cabbage. Cut it into large pieces with a knife, and mix it lightly with the sauce. If the cabbage is free from water the sauce will adhere to it and form a creamy coating.

This receipt of Catherine Owen has been found most satisfactory.

=CABBAGE WITH CHEESE=

(_Very Good._)

Boil the cabbage as directed above. Press out all the water and chop it.

Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful each of b.u.t.ter and flour, one cupful of milk, one half teaspoonful of salt, dash of cayenne (see page 277). Spread a layer of cabbage on the bottom of a pudding-dish; cover it with white sauce; then add a layer of grated cheese. Make a second layer of cabbage, sauce, and cheese; cover the top with a layer of crumbs moistened with b.u.t.ter, and place it in the oven. When the sauce bubbles through the crumbs it is done. Serve in same dish.

=SWEDISH CABBAGE=

Slice the cabbage into thin shreds as for cold slaw; cook it in a generous amount of rapidly boiling water for fifteen minutes; then drain off the water; cover it with milk; add salt, pepper, and a bit of mace, and cook until tender, and until the milk has boiled away so that it only moistens the cabbage. Add a piece of b.u.t.ter, and serve.

=HOT SLAW=

Cut the cabbage into thin shreds as for cold slaw. (Use a plane if convenient.) Boil it until tender in salted fast-boiling water. Drain it thoroughly, and pour over it a hot sauce made of one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, one half teaspoonful of salt, dash of pepper and of cayenne, and one half to one cupful of vinegar, according to its strength. Cover the saucepan and let it stand on the side of the range for five minutes, so that the cabbage and sauce will become well incorporated.

=BRUSSELS SPROUTS=

Remove any wilted leaves from the outside of the sprouts, and let them stand in cold salted water from fifteen to twenty minutes, so that any insects there may be in them will come out. Put the sprouts into salted, rapidly boiling water, and cook uncovered fifteen or twenty minutes, or until tender, but not until they lose their shape. Drain them thoroughly in a colander; then place them in a saucepan with b.u.t.ter, pepper, and salt, and toss them until seasoned; or mix them lightly with just enough white sauce to coat them.

=CAULIFLOWER=

Trim off the outside leaves and cut the stalk even with the flower. Let it stand upside down in cold salted water for fifteen or twenty minutes to take out any insects there may be in it. Put it into a generous quant.i.ty of rapidly boiling salted water and cook it uncovered about twenty minutes or until tender, but not so soft as to fall to pieces.

Remove any sc.u.m from the water before lifting out the cauliflower. If not perfectly white, rub a little white sauce over it. Serve with it a white, a Bechamel, or a Hollandaise sauce; or it may be served as a garnish to chicken, sweetbreads, etc., the little bunches being broken off and mixed with white sauce.

=CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN=

Break the boiled cauliflower into small flowerets. Place them in a pudding-dish in alternate layers with white sauce and grated cheese.

Cover the top with crumbs moistened with b.u.t.ter, and bake until the sauce bubbles through the crumbs.

=EGG-PLANT=

Cut the egg-plant into slices one quarter of an inch thick, after removing the skin. Sprinkle the slices with salt. Pile them one upon another on the back of a dish. Place on them a plate holding a weight; let it stand one hour to express the juice. Dip the slices in egg and crumbs, or in egg and flour, and saute on both sides in lard or drippings.

=STUFFED EGG-PLANT=

Boil an egg-plant twenty to thirty minutes, or until tender. Cut it in two lengthwise, and take out the pulp, using care not to break the skin.

Mash the pulp, and season it with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper; replace it in the skins; sprinkle with bread-crumbs moistened in b.u.t.ter, and place in the oven to brown.

=STUFFED PEPPERS=

Use green sweet peppers of uniform size. Cut a piece off the stem end, or cut them in two lengthwise, and remove the seeds and part.i.tions. Put them in boiling water for five minutes to parboil. Fill each one with a stuffing made of equal parts of softened bread-crumbs and minced meat well seasoned with salt, b.u.t.ter, and a few drops of onion juice. Place them in a baking-dish with water, or better stock, half an inch deep, and bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Serve them in the same dish if a suitable one is used; if not, remove them carefully to another dish.

=CHESTNUT PUReE=

Remove the sh.e.l.ls; boil ten minutes; then drain and remove the skins.

Put them in boiling salted water, and cook until tender; then drain, mash, and press them through a colander. Season with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper; moisten with cream, or milk, or stock.

=CELERY STEWED=

Cut the celery into pieces one inch long. Boil in salted water until tender; drain and mix with a white sauce.

=CELERY AU JUS=

Cut heads of celery into pieces six inches long, leaving them attached to the root; remove the coa.r.s.e branches, and trim the roots neatly.

Parboil it for five minutes. Make a brown roux, using two tablespoonfuls each of b.u.t.ter and flour, one teaspoonful of salt, and one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and dash of nutmeg. Add two cupfuls of stock when the roux is well browned; and in this, place the bunches of celery; cover and cook very slowly for twenty-five minutes. Remove the celery, and place it evenly on a dish. Strain the gravy; pour it around or over the celery.

=CARROTS AND TURNIPS=

Cut carrots and turnips into dice one quarter of an inch square, or with a small potato scoop cut them into b.a.l.l.s. Boil them separately in salted water; drain and mix them carefully together. Stir lightly into them enough white sauce to moisten them well.

=MACeDOINE OF VEGETABLES=

Cut a carrot and turnip into half inch dice, or with small vegetable-cutters cut them into fancy shapes or into small b.a.l.l.s. Mix them in about equal proportions with green peas, flageolet beans, string-beans cut into half inch lengths, and small pieces of cauliflower. The vegetables should be boiled separately and well drained before being put together, and when prepared should be mixed lightly so as not to break them, and seasoned with b.u.t.ter, pepper, and salt, or be moistened with a Bechamel or a cream sauce. The macedoine may be used as a garnish for meat, or can be served separately in a vegetable dish.

This mixture of vegetables may also be used for a salad. Sometimes the vegetables, instead of being mixed together, are placed in separate piles around the meat or on a flat dish, and then give a good effect of color.

=DRIED BEANS=

BOILED, BAKED, PUReE, CROQUETTES

Wash the beans, and soak them over night. Boil them slowly until tender, changing the water several times. They are improved in flavor by boiling with them a small piece of salt pork, a bay-leaf, and onion. If they are to be baked remove them from the water when the skin will break easily; put them in a pipkin or bean pot, bury in them a piece of salt pork with the rind scored; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour over them a tablespoonful of mola.s.ses, and enough salted water to cover them. Cover the pot closely, and place it in a slow oven to cook for six to eight hours.

For a puree, boil the beans until tender; mash them through a colander.

Season with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper; and add enough cream or stock to make them the right consistency. This is called "Puree Bretonne." To use it for a garnish, press it through a pastry bag into forms like potato roses (see page 202), or put it into small fontage cups (see page 300), or on thin pieces of toast the size of a silver dollar. To make croquettes add a beaten egg to the puree, form it into small croquettes, roll them in egg and crumbs, and fry in hot fat.

=BEETS=

Wash beets well, but do not break the skin, or they will lose their color in boiling. Cook for one hour if young, for two to three hours if old. When done throw them into cold water, and remove the skins. Season with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper. Serve them whole if small; cut into slices if large.

=SUMMER SQUASH=