The Golden Age Cook Book Part 9

A can of corn, one good tart cooking apple, one tomato, a teaspoonful of finely chopped green pepper, a teaspoonful of grated onion, a teaspoonful of curry powder, a tablespoonful of chopped Brazil or English walnuts, two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, and salt and pepper to taste. Put the b.u.t.ter in a spider, when it bubbles add the apple cut in dice and onion, fry brown, then stir in the curry powder, the chopped pepper and tomato and nuts, let all simmer together for a few minutes, then add the corn, and cook gently for twenty minutes. If it is too thick a little water must be added. Serve in a shallow vegetable dish or on a platter. Fresh corn may be used. Boil and then cut from the cob, cook the cobs in the water the corn was boiled in long enough to extract all the good from them, and use this broth for the curry.

CROQUETTES OF SALSIFY AND CELERIAC.

Two roots of salsify and one large celeriac. Wash and sc.r.a.pe them well.

Cut in pieces and cover with vinegar and water and let them stand one hour--this will prevent them from turning dark. Pour off the vinegar and water and nearly cover them with boiling water, cook until very tender, mash fine and smooth, season with pepper and salt, and a few drops of onion juice, put in a saucepan over the fire, and add a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, two tablespoonfuls of milk, and just before removing from the fire add a tablespoonful of cream and one egg, stir well, turn out into a bowl and set aside to cool. When cold make into croquettes, dip in egg and cracker crumbs and fry in a basket in boiling oil.

INDIAN CURRY OF VEGETABLES.

Equal quant.i.ties of cauliflower and potatoes, raw. The cauliflower cut into flowerettes and the potatoes into dice. Put them into a spider with a heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a rounded teaspoonful of curry powder, and let them simmer for a few minutes without taking color. Then add two tablespoonfuls of tomatoes, an even teaspoonful of grated onion and one of chopped green pepper, fill up the spider with boiling water, and set it back on the stove where it will stew gently until the vegetables are tender and the water has been reduced to one-third the quant.i.ty. It should be as thick as ordinary gravy; if not, add a scant teaspoonful of flour. Just before it is done stir in a heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter. Turn it into a shallow vegetable dish and serve very hot. The spider should be kept covered while the curry is cooking.

It is very good without the green pepper. This may be warmed over, and is better the second day than the first.

KOHLRABI.

Peel them, cut in slices and pour on just enough boiling water to cook them. Cook until tender. When nearly done add salt. Make a cream sauce, season with white pepper, salt and a little grated nutmeg, if liked, toss them in this sauce, let it boil up once and serve very hot.

MARROWFAT BEANS BAKED.

Pick over carefully and wash one quart of beans, soak in water over night. In the morning drain, add fresh cold water and bring to a boil, drain again, and turn them into a four-quart stone jar, put in a generous cup of b.u.t.ter, two large tablespoonfuls of Porto Rico mola.s.ses, two tablespoonfuls of salt, less than a teaspoonful of pepper, and fill the jar with boiling water. Put in the oven, covering the jar with a tin cover. It must be cooked in a slow oven eight or nine hours--the water ought to last until the beans are perfectly cooked, and when done a good gravy left, about a third of the depth of the beans in the jar.

Beans cooked in this way are very nutritious and easily digested. Keep them covered for two or three hours while cooking. Serve with Chili sauce.

BAYO OR MEXICAN BEANS.--No. 1.

Put one cup of Bayo or Mexican red beans to soak over night, in the morning drain off the water and put them in a saucepan with plenty of fresh water, let them cook for two hours, drain again, and add to them three fresh tomatoes, skinned and cut small, or a cup of canned tomatoes, and half an onion cut as small as the beans, then cover with boiling water and cook for one hour. Then stir in a very generous tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, and salt and pepper to taste.

MEXICAN BEANS.--No. 2.

Soak over night a pint of beans and boil as in recipe No. 1 until soft.

Then melt a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in a spider; when it bubbles put in a small onion chopped very fine, and fry a delicate brown. Drain the beans and turn them into the spider, add a cup of boiling water and stir until the water becomes thick like cream.

EMPARADAS (a Mexican Recipe).

Take some beans cooked as in Mexican Beans No. 1 and mash them to a paste. Then roll out some puff paste very thin--about the sixth of an inch--cut this into rounds with a large patty cutter, put a spoonful of the bean puree on the half of each round, wet the edges of the pastry, cover, press the edges together, making a half moon, brush them over with beaten egg and bake in a hot oven, or they may be fried in boiling oil or fat until a delicate brown.

FRIJOLES FRITOS.

A pint of beans cooked as in recipe for Bayo or Mexican Beans No. 1. Rub them smooth in a mortar, put them into a spider with a quarter of a cup of b.u.t.ter and fry for a few minutes, then add half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese, mix thoroughly and serve hot.

BROILED MUSHROOMS.

Select large flap mushrooms for broiling. Wash, skin and stem them, lay them on a dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour a little olive oil over each mushroom, let them stand one hour. Broil on a gridiron over a nice clear fire. Place on a dish and serve with the following sauce: Prepare the stock as before by boiling the stems and skins in water and then straining. Mince two or three mushrooms fine, add to the stock, with a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a few drops of onion juice, a small lump of b.u.t.ter, cook for fifteen minutes, then add a cupful of cream, an even teaspoonful of flour wet with some of the cream and rubbed smooth. Let it all cook together for three minutes, then add the beaten yolk of an egg, stir well, remove from the fire at once and serve.

MUSHROOMS ON TOAST.

Half a pound of mushrooms, wash, stem and skin as before. Cut into dice, put in a saucepan with the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and a slice of onion, a sprig of parsley and one clove, tied together in a thin muslin bag. Set the saucepan on the fire and stew gently until nearly dry, then add water almost to cover them, salt and pepper to taste, and let them cook fifteen minutes. Take out the bag of onion, etc., and thicken with one egg yolk well beaten, and a small cupful of cream. Have some slices of toast on a platter, b.u.t.tered and moistened with a little hot milk, pour the mushrooms over them, garnish with parsley and serve hot.

MUSHROOMS STEWED IN A CREAM SAUCE.

Make a pint of cream sauce, prepare half a pound of mushrooms as in the preceding recipe, cut into dice, and stew in the sauce until very tender. Have the toast prepared as above and pour the mushrooms over it.

Garnish with parsley and serve at once. They may be served in pastry sh.e.l.ls as an entree, if preferred.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS.--No. 1.

Wash, skin and stem half a pound of mushrooms, chop very fine, add two even teaspoonfuls of finely minced parsley, a few drops of lemon juice, the same of onion juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Melt two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan and cook all together in this until the mushrooms are tender, then add a cupful of stale bread crumbs and one egg yolk, stir well and remove from the fire. Have half a dozen perfectly ripe tomatoes, washed and wiped, cut a slice from the top of each, take out the core and seeds, and fill with the mushroom stuffing.

Bake in a moderate oven until done. The skins should be removed in the usual way before stuffing.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS.--No. 2.

Wash and wipe the tomatoes, but do not remove the skins. Cut in half, take out the core and a few of the seeds. Fill with the same forcemeat as in the preceding recipe and cover the top with it, place in a pan with a little water to keep from burning, bake in a moderate oven until soft, remove carefully from the pan, place on a platter, garnish with parsley and serve.

ESCALLOPED TOMATOES.

Strain from a quart can of tomatoes one cupful of water. Put a layer of the tomatoes in a baking dish, season with salt, pepper and a little sugar, cover with a layer of bread crumbs, dot freely with bits of b.u.t.ter, then put another layer of tomatoes, and lastly a layer of bread crumbs, with bits of b.u.t.ter, and sprinkle with a dessertspoonful of sugar. Bake forty-five minutes, and serve in the dish in which it is baked.

TOMATOES WITH EGG.

Drain the water from a can of tomatoes, press them through a colander, put into a saucepan over the fire, season with salt and pepper, a little sugar, if acid, and a few drops of onion juice. Let them cook a little, and just before serving add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, stir well until it thickens, and remove immediately from the fire or it will curdle.

FRENCH CARROTS IN BROWN SAUCE.

Select the smallest French carrots, wash and sc.r.a.pe them and boil until tender in as little water as possible. When done drain from the water, using it to make the sauce. Put a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter into a spider, when hot stir in a tablespoonful of flour, stir until a dark brown, add gradually the water the carrots were boiled in, season with salt and pepper, simmer until thick and smooth, add the carrots, and when hot serve.

FRENCH CARROTS AND PEAS.

Take a pint of young peas and two bunches of French carrots, cut in slices or fancy shapes (stars or clover leaves), cook each vegetable by itself in as little water as will cook them. When they are both tender put them together into a saucepan, add a heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and half a tablespoonful of flour rubbed together, and if there is not enough water left, add enough to make a gravy. Canned instead of fresh peas may be used; drain the water from the peas and stew the carrots in it, and follow the recipe as above.

SPINACH PUDDING.

Make a sauce of one ounce and a half of b.u.t.ter, one ounce of flour, a scant half cup of rich milk, half a teaspoonful of sugar, a grating of nutmeg, if liked, and salt and pepper to taste. When this comes to a boil, add an even cupful of spinach that has been cooked and finely chopped, and from which the water has been well pressed out. Remove from the stove, and stir into it two beaten eggs. Grease a mould, sprinkle it with dried and sifted bread crumbs, turn the pudding into this, set the mould in a pan of hot water, put in the oven, cover it to prevent browning and bake nearly three-quarters of an hour. Turn out on a platter, have ready a cream sauce to pour around the pudding, garnish with hard-boiled eggs, cut in quarters lengthwise, and parsley. If any is left over, cut in slices, and warm over in a cream sauce and serve for luncheon. It will keep for days.