Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit Part 37

First, new potatoes, if about the size of marbles, may be sc.r.a.ped, boiled in salted water, and served with a thin cream dressing, sprinkled liberally with chopped parsley, or the boiled potatoes, while still hot, may be quickly browned in a pan containing a couple tablespoonfuls of hot drippings or b.u.t.ter. They are much better prepared in this manner if the potatoes are put in the hot fat while still warm. Or the small boiled potatoes may be cut in thin slices, browned in a couple tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter or drippings and two eggs beaten together stirred over the potatoes a few minutes before they are ready to serve. The small potatoes may also be sc.r.a.ped and dropped in hot, deep fat and fried like fritters.

When possible, the small potatoes should be well cleansed with a vegetable brush and boiled without paring. They may then be easily skinned after they are cooked. Some of the more important ingredients are lost when potatoes are pared, and it is also more economical to boil them before paring. The cold boiled potatoes may be cut up and used for potato salad, or thinly sliced after being skinned and placed in a baking dish alternately with a cream sauce consisting of milk, b.u.t.ter and flour, and seasoned with salt and pepper, having the first and last layer cream sauce. Sprinkle bread crumbs liberally over the top, dot with hits of b.u.t.ter and bake in a moderate oven about 20 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Serve in the dish in which they were baked.

Or peel one-half dozen medium-sized raw potatoes, cut into small, narrow strips about 1/3 inch wide, dry on a napkin and fry in very hot, deep fat about six minutes, then lift from fat, drain, sprinkle salt over and serve hot. These are a nice accompaniment to broiled steak.

Peel and slice, or cut in dice, 6 or 8 cold boiled potatoes, cut into in a stew-pan with 2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper to season, heat all together, shaking pan occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of cream, sprinkle a small teaspoonful of parsley over and serve hot.

Instead of slicing or dicing cold boiled potatoes (in the usual manner) to be fried, if they be cut in lengthwise sections like an orange (one potato should make about 8 pieces) and fried quickly in enough hot fat to prevent burning, they can scarcely be distinguished from raw potatoes cut in the same manner and fried in deep fat, and are much easier to prepare. They should be served at once.

Another manner of preparing potatoes is to slice raw potatoes as thinly as possible on a "slaw-cutter," place in a fry-pan with a couple of tablespoonfuls of a mixture of b.u.t.ter and sweet drippings.

Watch carefully, as they should be fried quickly over a hot fire, turning frequently. When brown, serve at once.

Raw _sweet_ potatoes cut about as thick as half a section of an orange, fried in a couple tablespoonfuls of a mixture of sweet drippings and b.u.t.ter, prove a change, occasionally.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

In a baking dish place layers of pared, thinly sliced, raw white potatoes. Season with a very little salt and pepper and scatter over small bits of b.u.t.ter. A very little finely minced onion or parsley may be added if liked. To 1 quart of the sliced potatoes use a scant half pint of milk, which should almost cover the potatoes. Either sift over the top 1 tablespoon of flour or 2 tablespoons of fine, dried bread crumbs and bits of b.u.t.ter; place in hot oven and bake about 3/4 of an hour, until top is browned nicely and potatoes are cooked through. Old potatoes are particularly good prepared in this manner.

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

Place in an agate pudding dish 6 pared and halved (lengthwise) raw sweet potatoes. Scatter over them three tablespoons of sugar, 2 large tablespoons of b.u.t.ter cut in small bits, and about 1/2 a cup (good measure) of water. Stand in a hot oven and bake about 3/4 of an hour.

Baste frequently with the syrup formed in the bottom of the dish. The potatoes when baked should look clear and the syrup should be as thick as mola.s.ses. Serve in the dish in which they were baked. Should the oven of the range not be very hot, the dish containing the potatoes may be placed on top the range and cooked about 25 minutes before placing in oven to finish baking.

SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES

To 1 pint of hot mashed potatoes, or cold boiled ones may be used, squeezed through a fruit press; add 1 tablespoon of b.u.t.ter, pinch of salt, 2 eggs, whites beaten separately. When cool, form into small cone-shapes, dip in bread crumbs, then into egg, then into crumbs again, and fry in deep fat. Drain on paper and serve on platter garnished with parsley.

POTATO CHIPS

Aunt Sarah's way of making particularly fine potato chips: She pared six large white potatoes, one at a time. As she wished to slice them to fry, she rinsed the potatoes, rolled them on a clean cloth to dry them. She sliced the potatoes thinly on a "slaw" cutter. She patted the sliced potatoes between old linen napkins, until all moisture was absorbed, then dropped them into hot fat, consisting of two-thirds lard and one-third suet. Place only one layer of potatoes at a time in the fat. The chips quickly turn light brown; then remove with a perforated skimmer to a colander lined with coa.r.s.e brown paper, to absorb any remaining fat. Should the fat be the right temperature, the chips will be entirely free from grease. Dust salt over the chips while hot. She _never_ allowed chips to stand in salt water, as many cooks do. She usually made potato chips when frying doughnuts, and always fried potato chips first; after frying doughnuts in the fat fry several large slices of potato in it, as the potato clarifies it. Six large, thinly sliced potatoes will make about five quarts of potato chips when fried and may be kept several weeks in a dry place. The potato chips may be re-heated by placing in a hot oven a few minutes before serving.

FRIED EGGPLANT

Pare the egg-plant, cut in slices one-half inch thick, sprinkle salt on slices; let stand under heavy weight several hours. Wipe slices dry with a napkin and dip in a mixture of white of one egg, and one tablespoon of water, then dip them in fine rolled bread crumbs and fry a rich brown in deep fat. Drain and serve. Catsup should always be served with eggplant.

BAKED "STUFFED PEPPERS"

Place a fry-pan on stove containing about two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, add a couple of finely chopped sweet peppers and a finely minced small onion. Let all simmer on stove. Measure the chopped pepper and add an equal amount of finely crumbled bread. Season with salt and pepper and fill (well-washed) peppers from which the stem and seeds have been removed. Stand the peppers in a bake dish containing a small amount of water. Place in a hot oven about twenty-five minutes, or until peppers are tender. Serve hot.

CHILI (AS PREPARED IN NEW MEXICO)

Place hot peppers (well-washed) from which seeds have been removed into a bake dish containing a very little hot water. Stand in a hot oven until tender and skins turn a yellow brown, turning them over occasionally. Remove the outside skin, chop fine, add a small quant.i.ty of finely minced onion, pepper and salt and enough vinegar to moisten.

If sweet peppers are used add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Serve as a relish in place of pickles or chow-chow. This recipe was given Marry by a friend who had lived in Mexico. The outside skin of the peppers may be more readily removed if upon being removed from the oven the peppers are sprinkled with water, then covered with a cloth and allowed to steam a short time.

BAKED CABBAGE

A half head of cabbage was cut into small pieces and cooked in hot salted water until cabbage was tender. The water was drained from the boiled cabbage, which was placed in an agate pudding dish alternately with cream sauce composed of one cup of milk; one small tablespoonful of flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle a few crumbs and place bits of the b.u.t.ter over top. Bake in oven about 25 minutes and serve hot. This dish is almost equal to cauliflower in flavor, especially if after the cabbage has cooked ten or fifteen minutes the water is drained from it and fresh subst.i.tuted.

And it is said, "Cauliflower is only cabbage with a college education."

CRIMSON CREAMED BEETS

Cut all except two inches from the tops of beets. Scrub thoroughly with a vegetable brush, then pour scalding water over beets. When perfectly cleansed, place in a cook-pot, partly cover with boiling water, stand on range and when beets have cooked tender remove outside skin. Strain and stand aside one cup of water in which beets were boiled, which should be dark wine color. When beets are to be served to the one cup of strained beet juice add one tablespoonful of sugar, one-fourth cup of not _very sharp_ vinegar. Add one teaspoon of b.u.t.ter. Thicken this liquid with one and one-fourth tablespoonfuls of a mixture of corn starch and flour. When cooked to the consistency of cream add the quartered beets, season with pepper and salt, stand on back part of range a few minutes, serve hot. To three cups of the quartered beets use one and one-half cups of cream dressing.

b.u.t.tERED BEETS

Wash young beets, cut off tops. Boil one hour or until tender, one tablespoonful of sugar having been added to the water in which beets were boiled. Rub off skins, cut in quarters, strew over them one tablespoon of b.u.t.ter cut in small pieces, stand in oven just long enough for the b.u.t.ter to melt. Or cut the beets in slices one-fourth of an inch thick and while still warm place in a bowl and pour over them half a cup of hot vinegar and water to which had been added one tablespoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt and pepper; serve cold.

PICKLED MANGELWURZEL

A vegetable in taste, similar to very sweet, red beets in shape, greatly resembling carrots. Wash the mangelwurzel and place in a stew-pan with boiling water and cook until tender (allow about an inch of top to remain when preparing to cook). Skin the mangelsurzel, slice and pour over the following, which has been heated in a stew-pan over the fire: One cup of vinegar and water combined, one tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, a dust of pepper. Stand aside until cold then serve. Or serve hot like b.u.t.tered beets. Some "Bucks County" farmers raise mangelwurzel simply to feed to their cattle, but Aunt Sarah preferred them when young and tender to beets, and always raised them for her table.

GERMAN STEAMED CABBAGE

Cut one-half head of cabbage fine on a slaw cutter. Place in a stew-pan over fire, with about four tablespoonfuls of water, one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a couple tablespoonfuls of flour, one teaspoonful of sugar and a pinch of salt. Cover and steam twenty minutes. Then add three tablespoons of vinegar. Stir in one beaten egg. Cover and let stand where it will keep hot until ready to serve.

BEAN "SNITZEL"

Place in a pan on the range one tablespoon of diced, smoked bacon, fry a few minutes, watch closely it does not scorch. Add one tablespoonful of sweet lard, when hot, add four thinly sliced, medium-sized onions and four chopped tomatoes and 1-1/2 quarts of string beans, cut in inch lengths. Season with salt and a pinch of red pepper. Simmer all together three hours. After cooking one hour add about one cup of hot water, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, add a little more water if necessary; when beans are tender and ready to serve there should be a small quant.i.ty of liquid, resembling tomato sauce, with the beans.

BOILED SPINACH

Wash one-half peck of spinach thoroughly through a half dozen waters, until free from sand. Place in a stew-pan containing a small quant.i.ty of _boiling_ water and one teaspoon of b.u.t.ter. Cook until tender, drain, chop fine. Place a large tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in stew-pan and when hot add chopped spinach, season with salt and pepper; serve in a warmed dish, garnished with either chopped or sliced hard boiled eggs. A German cook, noted for the fine flavor of her cooked spinach and green peas, said her secret consisted in adding a teaspoon of b.u.t.ter to the vegetables while cooking.

FRIED ONIONS AND POTATOES

Another way of utilizing left-over cold boiled potatoes particularly relished by "Pennsylvania Germans," whose liking for the humble onion is proverbial, is to fry onions with potatoes in a fry-pan containing a couple tablespoonfuls of sweet drippings and b.u.t.ter; when heated place a half dozen thinly sliced cold boiled potatoes, half the quant.i.ty of thinly sliced raw onions, well seasoned with pepper and salt, cover and steam for ten or fifteen minutes, when uncover and fry until light brown; serve at once. Or the thinly-sliced onions, after skins have been removed, may be sliced thinly across the onion, placed in a fry-pan and partly covered with boiling water; stand on hot range and steam, closely covered, about fifteen minutes, or until onions are tender, then drain off water, should any remain, add a small tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper to season, fry quickly a light brown; pan should be uncovered. Serve at once with liver or bacon. Onions are considered more wholesome prepared in this manner than if fried.

STEAMED ASPARAGUS (FINE)

Wash asparagus and cut off about an inch of the tough ends, sc.r.a.pe off thin skin. Place pieces of asparagus tips (all in one direction) in the top part of perforated section of a double boiler. Fill lower part of steamer with hot water and steam about three-quarters of an hour or less time, until tender. The fine flavor of the vegetable is retained when steamed. When cooked tender turn out on a hot platter and pour cream sauce over the tips, or the cream sauce may be served separately, or the asparagus may be served on freshly toasted slices of bread, over which the cream sauce should be poured.