The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary Part 24

GRAVY SOUP. Wash and soak a leg of beef; break the bone, and set it on the fire with a gallon of water, a large bunch of sweet herbs, two large onions sliced and fried to a fine brown, but not burnt; add two blades of mace, three cloves, twenty berries of allspice, and forty black peppers. Stew the soup till it is rich, and then take out the meat, which may be eaten at the kitchen table, with a little of the gravy.

Next day take off the fat, which will serve for basting, or for common pie crust. Slice some carrots, turnips, and celery, and simmer them till tender. If not approved, they can be taken out before the soup is sent to table, but the flavour will be a considerable addition. Boil vermicelli a quarter of an hour, and add to it a large spoonful of soy, and one of mushroom ketchup. A French roll should be made hot, then soaked in the soup, and served in the tureen.

GRAVY WITHOUT MEAT. Put into a bason a gla.s.s of small beer, a gla.s.s of water, some pepper and salt, grated lemon peel, a bruised clove or two, and a spoonful of walnut pickle, or mushroom ketchup. Slice an onion, flour and fry it in a piece of b.u.t.ter till it is brown. Then turn all the above into a small t.o.s.s.e.r, with the onion, and simmer it covered for twenty minutes. Strain it off for use, and when cold take off the fat.

GRAYLINE. Having scaled and washed the fish, then dry them. Dust them over with flour, and lay them separately on a board before the fire. Fry them of a fine colour with fresh dripping; serve them with crimp parsley, and plain b.u.t.ter. Perch and tench may be done the same way.

GREASE EXTRACTED. The ashes of burnt bones finely powdered, or calcined hartshorn, heated over the fire in a clean vessel, and laid on each side of the grease spot, if on books or paper, with a weight laid upon it to a.s.sist the effect, will completely remove it; or the powder may be wrapped in thin muslin, and applied in the same manner. When prints get foul and dirty, they may readily be cleaned in the same manner as linen is bleached, by being exposed to the sun and air, and frequently wetted with clean water. If this do not fully succeed, the print may be soaked in hot water; and if pasted on canvas, it should first be taken off by dipping it in boiling water, which will loosen it from the canvas. The dirt occasioned by flies, may be gently taken off with a wet sponge, after the print has been well soaked. Spots of white-wash may be removed by spirit of sea salt diluted with water.--If grease spots appear in leather, a different process must be pursued. A paste made of mealy potatoes, dry mustard, and spirits of turpentine, mixed together, and applied to the spot, will extract the grease from leather, if rubbed off after it has been allowed sufficient time to dry. A little vinegar may be added, to render the application more effectual.

GREEN FRUIT. Green peaches, plums, or other fruit, should be put into a preserving pan of spring water, covered with vine leaves, and set over a clear fire. When they begin to simmer take them off, and take the fruit out carefully with a slice. Peel and preserve them as other fruit.

GREEN GAGES. In order to preserve them for pies and tarts, choose the largest when they begin to soften. Split them without paring; and having weighed an equal quant.i.ty of sugar, strew a part of it over the fruit.

Blanch the kernels with a small sharp knife. Next day pour the syrup from the fruit, and boil it gently six or eight minutes with the other sugar; skim it, and add the plums and kernels. Simmer it till clear, taking off any sc.u.m that rises; put the fruit singly into small pots, and pour the syrup and kernels to it. If the fruit is to be candied, the syrup must not be added: for the sake of variety, it may be proper to do some each way.

GREEN GOOSE PIE. Bone two young green geese, of a good size; but first take away every plug, and singe them nicely. Wash them clean, and season them well with salt, pepper, mace, and allspice. Put one inside the other, and press them quite close, drawing the legs inward. Put a good deal of b.u.t.ter over them, and bake them either with or without a crust: if the latter, a cover to the dish must fit close to keep in the steam.

GREEN PEAS. Peas should not be sh.e.l.led till they are wanted, nor boiled in much water. Put them in when the water boils, with a little salt, and a lump of sugar. When they begin to dent in the middle, they are done enough. Strain them through a cullender, put a piece of b.u.t.ter in the dish, and stir them till it is melted. Garnish with boiled mint.

GREEN PEAS PRESERVED. If it be wished to keep them for winter use, sh.e.l.l the peas, and put them into a kettle of water when it boils. Warm them well, without boiling, and pour them into a cullender. When the water drains off, turn them out on a dresser covered with a cloth, and put over another cloth to dry them perfectly. Deposit them in wide-mouth bottles, leaving only room to pour clarified mutton suet upon them an inch thick, and also for the cork. Rosin it down, and keep it in the cellar or in the earth, the same as other green fruit. When the peas are to be used, boil them tender, with a piece of b.u.t.ter, a spoonful of sugar, and a little mint.--Another way. Sh.e.l.l the peas, scald and dry them as above. Put them on tins or earthen dishes in a cool oven once or twice to harden, and keep them in paper bags hung up in the kitchen.

When they are to be used, let them be an hour in water; then set them on with cold water, a piece of b.u.t.ter, and a sprig of dried mint, and boil them.

GREEN PEAS SOUP. In sh.e.l.ling the peas, divide the old from the young.

Stew the old ones to a pulp, with an ounce of b.u.t.ter, a pint of water, a leaf or two of lettuce, two onions, pepper and salt. Put to the liquor that stewed them some more water, the hearts and tender stalks of the lettuces, the young peas, a handful of spinach cut small, salt and pepper to relish, and boil them till quite soft. If the soup be too thin, or not rich enough, add an ounce or two of b.u.t.ter, mixed with a spoonful of rice or flour, and boil it half an hour longer. Before serving, boil in the soup some green mint shred fine. When the peas first come in, or are very young, the stock may be made of the sh.e.l.ls washed and boiled, till they are capable of being pulped. More thickening will then be wanted.

GREEN PEAS STEWED. Put into a stewpan a quart of peas, a lettuce and an onion both sliced, and no more water than hangs about the lettuce from was.h.i.+ng. Add a piece of b.u.t.ter, a little pepper and salt, and stew them very gently for two hours. When to be served, beat up an egg, and stir it into them, or a bit of flour and b.u.t.ter. Chop a little mint, and stew in them. Gravy may be added, or a tea-spoonful of white powdered sugar; but the flavour of the peas themselves is much better.

GREEN SAUCE. Mix a quarter of a pint of sorrel juice, a gla.s.s of white wine, and some scalded gooseberries. Add sugar, and a bit of b.u.t.ter, and boil them up, to serve with green geese or ducklings.

GRIDIRON. The bars of a gridiron should be made concave, and terminate in a trough to catch the gravy, and keep the fat from dropping into the fire and making a smoke, which will spoil the broiling. Upright gridirons are the best, as they can be used at any fire, without fear of smoke, and the gravy is preserved in the trough under them. The business of the gridiron may be done by a Dutch oven, when occasion requires.

GRIEF. In considering what is conducive to health or otherwise, it is impossible to overlook this destructive pa.s.sion, which like envy is 'the rottenness of the bones.' Anger and fear are more violent, but this is more fixed: it sinks deep into the mind, and often proves fatal. It may generally be conquered at the beginning of any calamity; but when it has gained strength, all attempts to remove it are ineffectual. Life may be dragged out for a few years, but it is impossible that any one should enjoy health, whose mind is bowed down with grief and trouble. In this case some betake themselves to drinking, but here the remedy only aggravates the disease. The best relief, besides what the consolations of religion may afford, is to a.s.sociate with the kind and cheerful, to s.h.i.+ft the scene as much as possible, to keep up a succession of new ideas, apply to the study of some art or science, and to read and write on such subjects as deeply engage the attention. These will sooner expel grief than the most sprightly amus.e.m.e.nts, which only aggravate instead of relieving the anguish of a wounded heart.

GRILL SAUCE. To half a pint of gravy add an ounce of fresh b.u.t.ter, and a table-spoonful of flour, previously well rubbed together; the same of mushroom or walnut ketchup, two tea-spoonfuls of lemon juice, one of made mustard, one of caper, half a one of black pepper, a little lemon peel grated fine, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovies, a very small piece of minced shalot, and a little chili vinegar, or a few grains of cayenne. Simmer them all together for a few minutes, pour a little of it over the grill, and send up the rest in a sauce tureen.

GRILLED MUTTON. Cut a breast of mutton into diamonds, rub it over with egg, and strew on some crumbs of bread and chopped parsley. Broil it in a Dutch oven, baste it with b.u.t.ter, and pour caper sauce or gravy into the dish.

GROUND RICE MILK. Boil one spoonful of ground rice, rubbed down smooth, with three half pints of milk, a little cinnamon, lemon peel, and nutmeg. Sweeten it when nearly done.

GROUND RICE PUDDING. Boil a large spoonful of ground rice in a pint of new milk, with lemon peel and cinnamon. When cold, add sugar, nutmeg, and two eggs well beaten. Bake it with a crust round the dish. A pudding of Russian seed is made in the same manner.

GROUSE. Twist the head under the wing, and roast them like fowls, but they must not be overdone. Serve with a rich gravy in the dish, and bread sauce. The sauce recommended for wild fowl, may be used instead of gravy.

GRUBS. Various kinds of grubs or maggots, hatched from beetles, are destructive of vegetation, and require to be exterminated. In a garden they may be taken and destroyed by cutting a turf, and laying it near the plant which is attacked, with the gra.s.s side downwards. But the most effectual way is to visit these depredators at midnight, when they may be easily found and destroyed.

GUDGEONS. These delicate fish are taken in running streams, where the water is clear. They come in about midsummer, and are to be had for five or six months. They require to be dressed much the same as smelts, being considered as a species of fresh-water smelts.

GUINEA FOWL. Pea and guinea fowl eat much like pheasants, and require to be dressed in the same way.

GUINEA HENS. These birds lay a great number of eggs; and if their nest can be discovered, it is best to put them under common hens, which are better nurses. They require great warmth, quiet, and careful feeding with rice swelled in milk, or bread soaked in it. Put two peppercorns down their throat when first hatched.

GUNPOWDER. Reduce to powder separately, five drams of nitrate of pota.s.s, one dram of sulphur, and one of new-burnt charcoal. Mix them together in a mortar with a little water, so as to make the compound into a dough, which roll out into round pieces of the thickness of a pin, upon a slab.

This must be done by moving a board backwards and forwards until the dough is of a proper size. When three or four of these strings or pieces are ready, put them together, and with a knife cut the whole off in small grains. Place these grains on a sheet of paper in a warm place, and they will soon dry. During granulation, the dough must be prevented from sticking, by using a little of the dry compound powder. This mode of granulation, though tedious, is the only one to be used for so small a quant.i.ty, for the sake of experiment. In a large way, gunpowder is granulated by pa.s.sing the composition through sieves.

H.

HADDOCKS. These fish may be had the greater part of the year, but are most in season during the first three months. In choosing, see that the flesh is firm, the eyes bright, and the gills fresh and red. Clean them well, dry them in a cloth, and rub them with vinegar to prevent the skin from breaking. Dredge them with flour, rub the gridiron with suet, and let it be hot when the fish is laid on. Turn them while broiling, and serve them up with melted b.u.t.ter, or shrimp sauce.

HAIR. Frequent cutting of the hair is highly beneficial to the whole body; and if the head be daily washed with cold water, rubbed dry, and exposed to the air, it will be found an excellent preventive of periodical headachs. Pomatums and general perfumery are very injurious; but a mixture of olive oil and spirits of rosemary, with a few drops of oil of nutmeg, may be used with safety. If a lead comb be sometimes pa.s.sed through the hair, it will a.s.sume a darker colour, but for health it cannot be recommended.

HAIR POWDER. To know whether this article be adulterated with lime, as is too frequently the case, put a little of the powder of sal-ammoniac into it, and stir it up with warm water. If the hair powder has been adulterated with lime, a strong smell of alkali will arise from the mixture.

HAIR WATER. To thicken the hair, and prevent its falling off, an excellent water may be prepared in the following manner. Put four pounds of pure honey into a still, with twelve handfuls of the tendrils of vines, and the same quant.i.ty of rosemary tops. Distil as cool and as slowly as possible, and the liquor may be allowed to drop till it begins to taste sour.

HAMS. When a ham is to be dressed, put it into water all night, if it has hung long; and let it lie either in a hole dug in the earth, or on damp stones sprinkled with water, two or three days, to mellow it. Wash it well, and put it into a boiler with plenty of water; let it simmer four, five, or six hours, according to the size. When done enough, if before the time of serving, cover it with a clean cloth doubled, and keep the dish hot over some boiling water. Take off the skin, and rasp some bread over the ham. Preserve the skin as whole as possible, to cover the ham when cold, in order to prevent its drying. Garnish the dish with carrot when sent to table. If a dried ham is to be purchased, judge of its goodness by sticking a sharp knife under the bone. If it comes out with a pleasant smell, the ham is good: but if the knife be daubed, and has a bad scent, do not buy it. Hams short in the hock are best, and long-legged pigs are not fit to be pickled.

HAM SAUCE. When a ham is almost done with, pick all the meat clean from the bone, leaving out any rusty part. Beat the meat and the bone to a mash, put it into a saucepan with three spoonfuls of gravy, set it over a slow fire, and stir it all the time, or it will stick to the bottom.

When it has been on some time, put to it a small bundle of sweet herbs, some pepper, and half a pint of beef gravy. Cover it up, and let it stew over a gentle fire. When it has a good flavour of the herbs, strain off the gravy. A little of this sauce will be found an improvement to all gravies.