The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Part 24

Prepare equal quant.i.ties of boiled sliced veal and smoked tongue.

Pound the slices separately in a mortar, moistening with b.u.t.ter as you proceed; then pack it in a jar or pail, mixing it in alternate layers; first the tongue and then the veal, so that when cut it will look variegated. Press it down hard and pour melted b.u.t.ter over the top.

Keep it well covered and in a dry place. Nice for sandwiches, or sliced cold for lunch.

VEAL CROQUETTES.

Mince a coffee cup of cold veal in a chopping bowl, adding a little cold ham and two or three slices of onion, a pinch of mace, powdered parsley and pepper, some salt. Let a pint of milk or cream come to the boiling point, then add a tablespoonful of cold b.u.t.ter, then the above mixture. Beat up two eggs and mix with a teaspoonful of cornstarch or flour, and add to the rest; cook it all about ten minutes, stirring with care. Remove from the fire, and spread it on a platter, roll it into b.a.l.l.s, when cooled flatten each; dip them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in a wire basket, dipped in hot lard.

BROILED VEAL CUTLETS. (Fine.)

Two or three pounds of veal cutlets, egg and bread crumbs, two tablespoonfuls of minced savory herbs, salt and pepper to taste, a little grated nutmeg.

Cut the cutlets about three-quarters of an inch in thickness; flatten them, and brush them over with the yolk of an egg; dip them into bread crumbs and minced herbs, season with pepper and salt, and fold each cutlet in a piece of white letter paper well b.u.t.tered; twist the ends, and broil over a clear fire; when done remove the paper. Cooked this way, they retain all the flavor.

VEAL POT-PIE.

Procure a nice breast or brisket of veal, well jointed, put the pieces into the pot with one quart of water to every five pounds of meat; put the pot over a slow fire; just before it comes to a boil, skim it well and pour in a teacupful of cold water; then turn over the meat in order that all the sc.u.m may rise; remove all the sc.u.m, boil quite hard, season with pepper and salt to your taste, always remembering that the crust will take up part of the seasoning; when this is done cut off your crust in pieces of equal size, but do not roll or mould them; lay them on top of the meat, so as to cover it; put the lid on the pot closely, let the whole boil slowly one hour. If the lid does not fit the pot closely, wrap a cloth around it, in order that no steam shall escape; and by no means allow the pot to _stop boiling_.

The crust for pot-pie should be raised with yeast. To three pints of flour add two ounces of b.u.t.ter, a little salt, and wet with milk sufficient to make a soft dough; knead it well and set it away to rise; when quite light, mould and knead it again, and let it stand, in winter, one hour, in summer, one-half hour, when it will be ready to cut.

In summer you had better add one-half a teaspoonful of soda when you knead it the second time, or you may wet it with water and add another bit of b.u.t.ter.

VEAL PIE.

Cut the veal into rather small pieces or slices, put it in a stewpan with hot water to cover it; add to it a tablespoonful of salt and set it over the fire; take off the sc.u.m as it rises; when the meat is tender turn it into a dish to cool; take out all the small bones, b.u.t.ter a tin or earthen basin or pudding-pan, line it with pie paste, lay some of the parboiled meat in to half fill it; put bits of b.u.t.ter in the size of a hickory nut all over the meat; shake pepper over, dredge wheat flour over until it looks white, then fill it nearly to the top with some of the water in which the meat was boiled; roll a cover for the top of the crust, puff-paste it, giving it two or three turns, and roll it to nearly half an inch thickness; cut a slit in the centre and make several small incisions on either side of it, put the crust on, trim the edges neatly with a knife; bake one hour in a quick oven. A breast of veal will make two two-quart basin pies; half a pound of nice corned pork, cut in thin slices and parboiled with the meat, will make it very nice, and very little, if any, b.u.t.ter will be required for the pie; when pork is used not other salt will be necessary. Many are fond of thin slices of sweet ham cooked with the veal for pie.

VEAL STEW.

Cut up two or three pounds of veal into pieces three inches long and one thick. Wash it, put it into your stewpan with two quarts of water, let it boil, skim it well, and when all the sc.u.m is removed, add pepper and salt to your taste, and a small piece of b.u.t.ter; pare and cut in halves twelve small Irish potatoes, put them into the stewpan; when it boils, have ready a batter made with two eggs, two spoonfuls of cream or milk, a little salt, and flour enough to make it a little thicker than for pancakes; drop this into the stew, a spoonful at a time, while it is boiling; when all is in, cover the pan closely so that no steam can escape; let it boil twenty minutes and serve in a deep dish.

VEAL LOAF.

Three pounds of raw veal chopped very fine, b.u.t.ter the size of an egg, three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; if milk use a small piece of b.u.t.ter; mix the eggs and cream together; mix with the veal four pounded crackers, one teaspoonful of black pepper, one large tablespoonful salt, one large tablespoonful of sage; mix well together and form into a loaf. Bake two and one-half hours, basting with b.u.t.ter and water while baking. Serve cut in thin slices.

VEAL FOR LUNCH.

b.u.t.ter a good-sized bowl, and line it with thin slices of hard-boiled eggs; have veal and ham both in very thin slices; place, in the bowl a layer of veal, with pepper and salt, then a layer of ham, omitting the salt, then a layer of veal, and so on, alternating with veal and ham, until the bowl is filled; make a paste of flour and water as stiff as it can be rolled out; cover the contents of the bowl with the paste, and over this tie a double cotton cloth; put the bowl into a saucepan, or other vessel, with water just up to the rim of the bowl, and boil three hours; then take it from the fire, remove the cloth and paste, and let it stand until the next day, when it may be turned out and served in very thin slices. An excellent lunch in traveling.

VEAL PATTIES.

Cut portions of the neck or breast of veal into small pieces, and, with a little salt pork cut fine, stew gently for ten or fifteen minutes; season with pepper and salt, and a small piece of celery chopped coa.r.s.ely, also of the yellow top, picked (not chopped) up; stir in a paste made of a tablespoonful of flour, the yolk of one egg, and milk to form a thin batter; let all come to a boil, and it is ready for the patties. Make the patties of a light, flaky crust, as for tarts, cut round, the size of a small sauceplate; the centre of each, for about three inches, cut half way through, to be raised and serve as a cover. Put a spoonful of the stew in each crust, lay on the top and serve. Stewed oysters or lamb may be used in place of veal.

BRAISED VEAL.

Take a piece of the shoulder weighing about five pounds. Have the bone removed and tie up the meat to make it firm. Put a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of half an egg, together with a few shavings of onion, into a kettle or stone crock and let it get hot. Salt and pepper the veal and put it into the kettle, cover it tightly and put it over a medium fire until the meat is brown on both sides, turning it occasionally. Then set the kettle back on the stove, where it will simmer slowly for about two hours and a half. Before setting the meat back on the stove, see if the juice of the meat together with the b.u.t.ter do not make gravy enough, and if not, put in about two tablespoonfuls of hot water. When the gravy is cold it will be like jelly. It can be served hot with the hot meat, or cold with the cold meat.

BAKED CALF'S HEAD.

Boil a calf's head (after having cleaned it) until tender, then split it in two, and keep the best half (bone it if you like); cut the meat from the other in uniform pieces, the size of an oyster; put bits of b.u.t.ter, the size of a nutmeg, all over the best half of the head; sprinkle pepper over it, and dredge on flour until it looks white, then set it on a trivet or m.u.f.fin rings in a dripping-pan; put a cup of water into the pan, and set it in a hot oven; turn it that it may brown evenly; baste once or twice. Whilst this is doing, dip the prepared pieces of the head in wheat flour or batter, and fry in hot lard or beef drippings a delicate brown; season with pepper and salt and slices of lemon, if liked. When the roast is done put it on a hot dish, lay the fried pieces around it, and cover it with a tin cover; put the gravy from the dripping-pan into the pan in which the pieces were fried, with the slices of lemon, and a tablespoonful of browned flour, and, if necessary, a little hot water. Let it boil up once, and strain it into a gravy boat, and serve with the meat.

CALF'S HEAD CHEESE.

Boil a calf's head in water enough to cover it, until the meat leaves the bones; then take it with a skimmer into a wooden bowl or tray; take from it every particle of bone; chop it small; season with pepper and salt, a heaping tablespoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of pepper will be sufficient; if liked, add a tablespoonful of finely chopped sweet herbs; lay in a cloth in a colander, put the minced meat into it, then fold the cloth closely over it, lay a plate over, and on it a gentle weight. When cold it may be sliced thin for supper or sandwiches. Spread each slice with made mustard.

BRAIN CUTLETS.

Well wash the brains and soak them in cold water until white. Parboil them until tender in a small saucepan for about a quarter of an hour; then thoroughly drain them and place them on a board. Divide them into small pieces with a knife. Dip each piece into flour, and then roll them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry them in b.u.t.ter or well-clarified drippings. Serve very hot with gravy. Another way of doing brains is to prepare them as above, and then stew them gently in rich stock, like stewed sweetbreads. They are also nice plainly boiled and served with parsley and b.u.t.ter sauce.

CALFS HEAD BOILED.

Put the head into boiling water and let it remain about five minutes; take it out, hold it by the ear, and with the back of the knife sc.r.a.pe off the hair (should it not come off easily dip the head again in boiling water.) When perfectly clean take out the eyes, cut off the ears and remove the brain, which soak for an hour in warm water. Put the head to soak in hot water a few minutes to make it look white, and then have ready a stewpan, into which lay the head; cover it with cold water and bring it gradually to boil. Remove the sc.u.m and add a little salt, which increases it and causes it to rise to the top. Simmer it very gently from two and a half to three hours, or until the bones will slip out easily, and when nearly done, boil the brains fifteen or twenty minutes; skin and chop them (not too finely), add a tablespoonful of minced parsley which has been previously scalded; also a pinch of pepper, salt; then stir into this four tablespoonfuls of melted b.u.t.ter; set it on the back of the range to keep it hot. When the head is done, take it up and drain very dry. Score the top and rub it over with melted b.u.t.ter; dredge it with flour and set it in the oven to brown.

When you serve the head, have it accompanied with a gravy boat of melted b.u.t.ter and minced parsley.

CALF'S LIVER AND BACON.

Slice the liver a quarter of an inch thick; pour hot water over it and let it remain for a few minutes to clear it from blood; then dry it in a cloth. Take a pound of bacon, or as much as you require, and cut the same number of thin slices as you have of liver; fry the bacon to a nice crisp; take it out and keep it hot; then fry the liver in the same pan, having first seasoned it with pepper and salt and dredged in a little flour; lay it in the hot bacon fat and fry it a nice brown.

Serve it with a slice of bacon on the top of each slice of liver.

If you wish a gravy with it, pour off most of the fat from the frying pan, put in about two ounces of b.u.t.ter, a tablespoonful of flour well rubbed in, add a cup of water, salt and pepper, give it one boil and serve in a gravy boat.

_Another Way._--Cut the liver in nice thin slices, pour boiling water over it and let it stand about five minutes; then drain and put in a dripping-pan with three or four thin slices of salt pork or bacon; pepper and salt and put in the oven, letting it cook until thoroughly done, then serve with a cream or milk gravy poured over it.

Calf's liver and bacon are very good broiled after cutting each in thin slices. Season with b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt.

CROQUETTES OF SWEETBREADS.

Take four veal sweetbreads, soak them for an hour in cold salted water, first removing the pipes and membranes; then put them into boiling salted water with a tablespoonful of vinegar, and cook them twenty minutes, then drop them again into cold water to harden. Now remove them, chop them very fine, almost to a paste. Season with salt, pepper and a teaspoonful of grated onion; add the beaten yolks of three raw eggs, one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, half a cupful of cream, and sufficient fine cracker crumbs to make stiff enough to roll out into little b.a.l.l.s or cork-shaped croquettes. Have ready a frying kettle half full of fat over the fire, a dish containing three smoothly beaten eggs, a large platter of cracker dust; wet the hands with cold water and make the mixture in shape; afterwards rolling them in the cracker dust, then into the beaten egg, and again in the cracker dust; smooth them on the outside and drop them carefully in the hot fat. When the croquettes are fried a nice golden brown, put them on a brown paper a moment to free them from grease. Serve hot with sliced lemon or parsley.

SWEETBREADS.

There are two in a calf, which are considered delicacies. Select the largest. The color should be clear and a shade darker than the fat.

Before cooking in any manner let them lie for half an hour in tepid water; then throw into hot water to whiten and harden, after which draw off the outer casing, remove the little pipes, and cut into thin slices. They should always be thoroughly cooked.