The Golden Age Cook Book Part 5

Take from a pint of green peas two heaping tablespoonfuls and set aside.

Put the rest in a saucepan with half a white onion, in boiling water.

Cover tightly, letting them cook until quite tender, then mash through a puree sieve with the water in which they were boiled and using a little more to take out all that is good of the peas through the sieve. Put back on the stove, rub a good heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter with a small tablespoonful of flour and add to the puree of peas. Have a heaping tablespoonful of turnips and two of carrots cut into dice and cooked in as little water as possible, and the two tablespoonfuls of peas cooked until tender, add to the soup with half a teaspoonful of sugar and pepper and salt to taste. Let all this cook together while enough milk to make the soup the proper consistency is coming to a boil.

Mix together, add a teaspoonful of finely minced parsley, pour into the tureen and serve.

SOUP OF GREEN PEAS.--No. 2.

Put one quart of green peas over the fire in three quarts of boiling water with three French carrots, a small turnip cut into dice and a small white onion chopped. Cover tightly and let the vegetables cook until tender. Rub two ounces of b.u.t.ter with a small tablespoonful of flour, add a little of the soup to this to thin it and then stir all together, add an even tablespoonful of finely minced parsley, an even teaspoonful of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste; let it come to a boil and then serve.

POTATO SOUP.

Take four large potatoes, peel and boil them tender in water, mash very fine with a small tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, add as much boiling milk as will make it the right consistency. Boil in as little water as possible one tablespoonful of turnips and two of carrots cut into dice; when tender turn all into the soup, add a little cayenne and salt to taste.

Just before serving beat a quarter of a cup of cream with one egg yolk, remove the soup from the fire and stir the two together as in other cream soups, and serve at once with fried croutons.

PUReE OF VEGETABLES.

Cut fine three onions, one turnip, two French carrots and four potatoes, put in a saucepan with four tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and a little parsley; let them cook about ten minutes, then add a tablespoonful of flour. Stir well and add two quarts of boiling milk, season with salt and pepper and a tiny bit of sugar, and when it boils take out the parsley, press the soup through a sieve and serve with croutons of fried bread.

PUReE OF TURNIPS.

Peel and slice some young turnips, add an onion and carrot sliced, cover with boiling water and cook until tender. Mash them in the water and press through a fine sieve. To a pint of the puree have a pint of boiling milk. Return the puree to the fire, and stir into it a large heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and a small pinch of mace. Take the milk from the stove and stir briskly into it two egg yolks beaten with two tablespoonfuls of cream, then remove the puree from the stove and stir the eggs and milk into it, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

VEGETABLE SOUP.

One cup and a half of green peas, three small French carrots, and a small cauliflower cut into flowerettes, one pint of milk, half a cup of cream, a good half tablespoonful of flour, one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, and the yolks of two eggs. Wash and sc.r.a.pe the carrots, cut in thin slices and boil each vegetable by itself in as little water as possible.

When the carrots and peas are done put them together in a saucepan with the water in which they were cooked, add the milk, put the saucepan on the fire and let it come to a boil, rub the b.u.t.ter and flour together, mix with a little milk and stir into the vegetables. Drain the water well from the flowerettes, and just before serving put them in the tureen. Beat the yolks of eggs and the cream together in a bowl, remove the soup from the fire, add a little of it to the eggs and cream, then turn them into the soup, stir well and pour it into the tureen.

TOMATO SOUP.

Put a generous tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan, when it is hot add half an onion chopped fine, let it stew gently for a few minutes, then add a pint of canned tomatoes, cook half an hour. Rub a heaping tablespoonful of flour and one of b.u.t.ter smoothly together and stir into the tomatoes. Have ready a pint of boiling milk, pour the tomatoes into a puree sieve with the boiling milk and rub through the sieve. Season with salt and pepper and a very little sugar. Return to the fire, make it hot, but be careful not to let it boil, as it will curdle. Serve at once with croutons.

BARLEY SOUP.

Put a quarter of a cup of well washed barley with a bay leaf and a small blade of mace into a pint and a half of cold water, boil slowly for three hours. Take out the bay leaf and mace and add a small onion cut fine, two French carrots cut in dice, and cook until tender, then add a pint of milk, a good heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper to taste, let it come to a boil, remove from the fire and stir into it one egg yolk beaten with two tablespoonfuls of cream.

BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH MOCK MEAT b.a.l.l.s.

Soak over night a pint of black beans in a quart of water. In the morning drain, and cover with fresh water, set the saucepan on the stove; when the water comes to a boil drain it off and add a quart of fresh water. Cut fine an onion, and with a few slices of carrot and turnip and green pepper fry in a heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, add to the beans with a bay leaf half a dozen peppercorns, two cloves, cook until tender, press through a sieve, return to the fire, and if it is too thick add more water. Have a hard boiled egg and half a lemon cut into dice, and meat b.a.l.l.s made from recipe given for mock meat the size of hickory nuts and boiled in water as other b.a.l.l.s are cooked. Drop the b.a.l.l.s into the soup, and when hot pour the soup over the lemon and egg in the tureen and serve.

Entrees.

EGG BORDER WITH RICE AND CURRY SAUCE.

Stir four eggs together, add three-quarters of a cup of rich milk, a few drops of onion juice, and salt and pepper to taste; beat a little. Have a border mould well b.u.t.tered and sprinkled with finely minced parsley, pour the mixture into it, set in a pan of boiling water in the oven, cover and let it cook until firm--from five to ten minutes. Have ready some rice boiled twenty minutes in plenty of salted water and well drained, and a cream sauce into which a slightly heaping teaspoonful of curry powder has been stirred. Turn the egg border out on a hot platter, fill the center with rice, pour some of the sauce over it, and the rest around the border. Garnish with parsley and serve at once.

RICE BORDER WITH VEGETABLES OR HARD BOILED EGGS IN CREAM SAUCE.

Three-quarters of a cup of Carolina rice, picked over carefully and washed. Boil fifteen minutes in salted water. Drain off the water and have one pint and a half of boiling milk in a double boiler, stir the rice into this and cook until all the milk is absorbed, then add a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter. b.u.t.ter a border mould well, turn the rice into it, pressing it down so that the form will be perfect, put in the plate heater for five minutes, turn out on a platter and serve with vegetables or hard boiled eggs in a cream sauce.

A BORDER TIMBALE OF MOCK CHICKEN.

Take three-quarters of a cup of rich milk, put half of it into a saucepan with an ounce and a half of b.u.t.ter, let it come to a boil, and then stir into it an ounce and a half of dried and sifted bread crumbs and a good half tablespoonful of flour. Stir constantly until it no longer sticks to the pan, remove from the fire and let it cool. When cold add two heaping tablespoonfuls of finely chopped walnuts, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, one teaspoonful of onion juice, one even teaspoonful of sugar, a saltspoonful of mace, two eggs unbeaten--one at a time--and the rest of the milk, salt and pepper to taste. Beat hard.

b.u.t.ter well a border mould, and sprinkle with fine bread crumbs, turn the timbale mixture into it, set the mould in a pan of boiling water, cover to keep from browning, and bake from ten to fifteen minutes.

SAUCE.--Put in a spider a good heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, let it brown, add a thick slice of onion cut in small pieces and a heaping tablespoonful of flour, stir constantly until it is a very dark rich brown, being careful not to let it burn, then add a quarter of a pound of fresh mushrooms, skinned and stemmed and cut into dice, let them cook a few minutes, then add a stock made from their stems and skins. Have a celery root that has been pared and cut into dice and cooked until tender in very little water with a bay leaf and two cloves, remove the cloves and bay leaf and turn the rest into the sauce, season with pepper and salt. Turn the timbale out on a platter, fill the center with the sauce, garnish and serve. A few truffles are a great addition. The timbale may also be served with an olive sauce.

A MOULD OF SPAGHETTINA.

Put three-quarters of a cup of spaghettina, broken in small pieces, into a quart of boiling water with an even tablespoonful of salt. Boil half an hour. Drain the water off and add a cup of milk to the spaghettina, and cook nearly half an hour, until the milk is almost all absorbed.

Then make a cream sauce as follows: One cup of milk in a saucepan, rub b.u.t.ter the size of an egg into a slightly heaping tablespoonful of flour, adding a little of the warm milk, then stir into the milk on the fire, season with salt and pepper, add two even tablespoonfuls of grated cheese--the American Edam cheese is nice for this--and when the sauce is thick turn the spaghettina into it, let it come to a boil, turn out on a dish, and when cool add one egg beaten light. b.u.t.ter a border mould which holds a little more than a pint, sprinkle it with bread crumbs, turn the mixture into it and set the mould into a pan of hot water and bake in a moderate oven twenty-five minutes. Have a pint of nicely stewed tomatoes seasoned to taste and thickened with bread crumbs and a good tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter. Turn the spaghettina mould out on a platter, fill the center with the stewed tomatoes, garnish with parsley and serve. It makes a very pretty dish and is an excellent piece de resistance for dinner or luncheon.

SPINACH BORDER MOULD.

Prepare the spinach as in recipe for spinach pudding, b.u.t.ter a border mould, dust it with bread crumbs, and press the spinach mixture into it, put the mould into a pan of hot water in the oven, cover it to prevent browning, and bake about twenty minutes.

A FILLING FOR THE CENTER OF MOULD OF SPINACH.

Break two eggs in a bowl, add a little salt and four tablespoonfuls of cream and beat them slightly. Turn into a b.u.t.tered tin cup and stand in a saucepan with a little boiling water in it on the stove, cover and cook until stiff--about three or four minutes--remove from the fire, turn out of the mould and cut in half-inch slices and then into stars or any fancy-shape preferred, or into dice. Make a cream sauce, turn the spinach mould out on a platter, put a little of the sauce in the center, then some of the egg stars, then the rest of the sauce, and finish with the egg stars.

MOCK COD FISH b.a.l.l.s.

Six medium sized potatoes, washed, peeled and boiled for ten minutes in salted water. Drain and grate them while hot and stir in two heaping tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter; mix thoroughly. Season with salt, cayenne pepper to taste, and add a teaspoonful of grated onion and a saltspoonful of mace. Beat two egg yolks light and stir well into it with two heaping tablespoonfuls of cracker crumbs. Fry brown in small b.a.l.l.s in boiling fat without crowding them in the basket, drain on kitchen paper and serve very hot on a platter, garnish with parsley.

MOCK FISH b.a.l.l.s IN CURRY OR CREAM SAUCE.

Five ounces of plain boiled potatoes put through a patent vegetable strainer or mashed very fine. Add three ounces of b.u.t.ter and a slightly heaping tablespoonful of Groult's potato flour, two eggs slightly beaten and stirred in--a little at a time--a few drops of onion juice and salt and pepper to taste. Have a saucepan of boiling salted water over the fire, dip a tablespoon in cold water and then into the mixture and take out in oblong b.a.l.l.s as nicely and uniformly shaped as possible, and drop them carefully into the boiling water, which must not boil too violently as the mixture is tender and would cook to pieces. Put them in without crowding and let them cook three minutes, taking them out one after another as they are done. Put in a colander to drain while preparing the curry sauce. Melt in a saucepan a heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and add to it a heaping teaspoonful of flour, an even teaspoonful of curry powder, stir well and add milk until of the consistency of cream sauce. Put the b.a.l.l.s into the sauce and let it come to a boil, remove from the fire, and add a tablespoonful of good Madeira. Serve on a platter, garnish with parsley and serve. The curry powder and wine may be omitted if not liked, and the b.a.l.l.s served in plain cream sauce.

MOCK FISH (a Norwegian dish).

Take three or four large white potatoes. Wash and peel them and boil until only half done. Grate them, and take only the part that has pa.s.sed through the grater--that it may be light. Then weigh out half a pound.