The Story of Crisco Part 15

1 tablespoonful Crisco 2 teaspoonfuls dry mustard 1 teaspoonful salt 2 tablespoonfuls sugar 1 lemon 1/2 pint vinegar 2 eggs

_For salad._ Boil potatoes and slice them, add Crisco and salt. Now chop pickles, eggs, and pimientoes and add them and set in cool place to chill.

_For dressing._ Put vinegar into double boiler, add strained lemon juice, sugar, salt, mustard, then add Crisco and eggs well beaten.

Cook until thick, then cool and use.

Shrimp Salad

2 tablespoonfuls Crisco 1 can shrimps 1 cupful celery cut in cubes 1 cupful tart apples cut in cubes 1 cupful broken Brazil nut meats 1/2 cupful broken English walnut meats Salt and pepper to taste 1 lemon 4 tablespoonfuls vinegar 2 tablespoonfuls water 4 eggs 1 teaspoonful dry mustard 1 teaspoonful salt 1 teaspoonful sugar 1/2 teaspoonful white pepper 1/2 cupful thick cream and 1 cupful whipped cream Crisp lettuce leaves

Break shrimps into pieces, put them into earthenware dish, moisten with a little melted Crisco, season with vinegar, salt and pepper. Put apple cubes into a small dish and sprinkle lightly with lemon juice, then put in celery cubes with a little more lemon juice and toss together. Cover and set aside. Prepare nut meats. Heat vinegar and water in double boiler, beat eggs, then gradually add them to vinegar, stirring all the time. Now add Crisco and cook slowly, stirring constantly. Remove from fire, and beat till cold, then add mustard, salt, sugar, and pepper. Add the thick cream just before serving. When ready to serve toss nuts, celery, apples and shrimps together with a silver fork, and add a little dressing. Heap on crisp lettuce leaves on individual plates, and pour over each salad a heaping spoonful of the dressing; and top with spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream.

PUDDINGS

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Puddings as a rule either are boiled, steamed or baked. For boiled puddings, care should be taken that the saucepan be kept boiling or the water will get into the pudding and spoil it. For pudding cloths, use materials such as linen or cheese cloth. After using, the cloth must be thoroughly washed in plenty of water with a little was.h.i.+ng soda, but on no account use soap, and see that the cloth is perfectly dry before putting it away. Many puddings are lighter and better steamed, and then instead of the cloth only a piece of Criscoed paper is required, twisted over the top of the basin or mold. Very light puddings, such as custards, should be placed in a steamer. Most of the steamed puddings mixed a little softer, are excellent baked in a pudding dish.

In steaming puddings keep them at a uniform heat all the time, and be careful not to lift the lid off the pan for the first half hour. All farinaceous puddings should be cooked well, as then they are easier to digest. Cornstarch must be well cooked, from eight to ten minutes.

Mold for jellies or blanc-manges should be well rinsed with cold water before using. Batters must be well beaten and allowed to stand for thirty minutes or longer before cooking, because the starch in the flour swells, and the batter will therefore be lighter.

Batter puddings should be put into a quick oven. Puddings composed princ.i.p.ally of milk and eggs should be very gently cooked, as strong heat will cause them to curdle.

In stewing fruit, prepare syrup first. Bring to boil, lay fruit in, and simmer gently. Souffles should be very light and spongy. Eggs form a large part of souffles, more whites than yolks are used and the former are beaten to a stiff froth. All souffles should be served quickly. Omelets are composed mainly of eggs. They can be savory or sweet. If over-cooked an omelet will be tough. To prevent milk running over when it comes to boil, put spoon in saucepan. Never leave spoon in saucepan if you wish the contents to cook quickly, and in any case a metal spoon never should be allowed to stand in a boiling saucepan containing fruit or any acid.

Apple Dumplings

5 apples 4 tablespoonfuls Crisco 2 cupfuls flour 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder 1/2 teaspoonful salt 3/4 cupful milk Sugar Cinnamon

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Work in Crisco with finger tips; add gradually milk, mixing with knife to a nice dough.

Roll 1/2 inch thick, cut into squares and lay in center of each an apple, pared and cored. Fill up centers with sugar and cinnamon and take corners off the dough and pinch together. Place in Criscoed baking pan, dot over with sugar and Crisco and bake in moderate oven for twenty-five minutes or till nicely browned. Serve hot with milk.

Sufficient for five dumplings.

Apple Fritters

1-1/2 cupfuls flour 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder 1/4 teaspoonful salt 1 egg 1 tablespoonful melted Crisco 3/4 cupful milk 3 apples cut in quarter inch slices 3 tablespoonfuls sugar 1 lemon

Peel, core and slice apples, then sprinkle 2 tablespoonfuls sugar and strained juice of the lemon over them. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into bowl, add milk to well beaten egg and stir liquid gradually into dry materials, beating thoroughly, then add Crisco.

Cover apple slices with batter and drop them into plenty of Crisco heated so that small breadcrumb browns in sixty seconds. Fry for four or five minutes. Drain and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Any other fruit may be subst.i.tuted for apples or a combination of fruits makes a delicious fritter.

Sufficient for twelve fritters.

Baked Rhubarb Pudding

2 cupfuls flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 bundles rhubarb 1/2 cupful Crisco 1 lemon 6 tablespoonfuls brown sugar Water 1/2 cupful granulated sugar

Put granulated sugar into small saucepan over fire, and when brown, coat inside of plain pudding mold with it. Sift, flour, salt, and baking powder together, rub Crisco finely into it, then mix whole to a smooth paste with cold water. Turn out on a floured board, cut off one-third of it, and put one side for the lid. Roll out remainder until twice the circ.u.mference of the top of the mold, then drop gently into mold, pressing evenly against sides. Fill center with rhubarb, cut in pieces an inch long. Add grated rind and strained juice of half of the lemon, brown sugar and 3 tablespoonfuls water. Roll out pastry that was put on one side, wet edges of it, lay it on top. Cover with a piece of greased paper, and bake in moderate oven one hour. Turn out and serve with hot milk.

Caramel Bread Pudding

3 cupfuls breadcrumbs 1 quart hot milk 2 eggs 1 teaspoonful lemon extract Grated nutmeg to taste 1/2 teaspoonful salt 1 cupful sugar 4 tablespoonfuls Crisco Whipped cream

Put Crisco, crumbs, and salt into a basin, add hot milk and soak ten minutes. Melt sugar and brown it lightly in a small pan over fire, then add it to the bread, with eggs well beaten, and flavorings. Pour into Criscoed pudding dish and bake in moderate oven till firm. Serve with whipped cream.

Caramel Rice Pudding

1/3 cupful rice 1/2 teaspoonful lemon extract 3 eggs 2 tablespoonfuls Crisco 1/4 teaspoonful salt 2 cupfuls milk 1/4 cupful sultana raisins 2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar 1/4 cupful granulated sugar

Melt granulated sugar in small saucepan and cook until brown, but do not burn; pour it while hot into pudding mold and spread it all over inside. Wash rice, parboil, drain, and cook slowly in milk thirty minutes; turn into basin, add powdered sugar, Crisco, salt, raisins, extract, and eggs well beaten and pour into prepared mold. Set mold in pan of boiling water and bake in oven till quite set. Turn out and serve hot or cold.

Carrot Pudding

For Pudding

1 cupful brown sugar 1 cupful grated carrots 1 cupful grated raw potatoes 3/4 cupful Crisco 1 cupful seeded raisins 1/2 cupful breadcrumbs 1/2 cupful milk 1-1/2 cupfuls flour 1 teaspoonful salt 1 teaspoonful baking powder 1 teaspoonful mixed spices 1 cupful currants Prune sauce

For Sauce

1/2 lb prunes 1 winegla.s.sful sherry wine 1 lemon 1/2 teaspoonful powdered cinnamon

_For pudding._ Cream Crisco and sugar together, add carrots, potatoes, raisins, currants, crumbs, flour, baking powder, salt, and milk. Turn into Criscoed mold, cover, and steam steadily for three hours.

_For sauce._ Soak prunes in water over night, after first was.h.i.+ng them. Next day put them in pan with water they were soaked in, just enough to cover them, simmer gently until quite soft. Do not allow to boil, or fruit will be spoiled. Take out stones, crack some, and save kernels. Rub prunes through sieve, add sherry, kernels blanched, grated rind and strained lemon juice, and cinnamon, and then, if thicker than rich cream, add more wine, or water, and use.

Chocolate Jelly

2 squares chocolate 1 tablespoonful Crisco 2 cupfuls boiling water 3/4 cupful sugar 4 tablespoonfuls cornstarch 1/4 teaspoonful salt 1 teaspoonful vanilla extract 1/2 cupful chopped walnut meats Whipped cream