The Country Housewife and Lady's Director in the Management of a House Part 24

A white _Frica.s.see_ of _Rabbits._ From the same.

Take three or four young Rabbits and cut them to pieces, then put them in a Stew-pan, with four Ounces of b.u.t.ter; then season them with some Lemon-Peel grated, a little Thyme, a little sweet Marjoram, Pepper, Salt, and a little _Jamaica_, Pepper beaten fine. Let these be close cover'd, and stew them gently, till they are tender; then take about half a Pint of Veal-Broth, an Onion, some Lemon, a Sprig of sweet Marjoram, and some Spice, to your mind, and put to it half a Gill of White Wine. Boil these together six or seven Minutes, then pour away the b.u.t.ter, in the Stew-pan, and strain your Veal Gravey through a Sieve; then beat the Yolks of four Eggs, with half a Pint of Cream. Then put some of the Broth, by degrees, to the Eggs and Cream, keeping them stirring, lest they curdle, and you may put to it some Parsley boil'd tender, and shred small; then put it to the Rabbits, and toss them up thick with b.u.t.ter, adding some pickled Mushrooms, and serve them hot with a Garnish of sliced Lemon, and red Beet-Root pickled.

A _Neat's-Tongue_ roasted. From the same.

Take a large Neat's-Tongue, that has lain three Weeks in Salts mixed in the following manner. Take a quarter of a Pound of Salt-Petre, half a Pound of Bay-Salt, and three Pints of common Salt. This is enough to salt four Tongues: let them be rubb'd well with this Mixture, and kept in a cool place. Take, I say, one of these Tongues, and boil it till the Skin will come off; and when it is stript of its Skin, stick it with Cloves, about an Inch asunder, then put it on a Spit, and wrap a Veal-Cawl over it, till it is enough; then take off the Cawl, and just froth it up, and serve it in a Dish with Gravey. _Note_, The Cawl will keep the outside tender, which otherwise would be hard. One must serve with it, in Saucers, of the following: Grate a Penny-Loaf into about a Pint of Water, and half as much Claret; then boil it thick, with two or three chips of Cinnamon, then sweeten it to your mind, as you please: strew some sifted raspings of Bread about the Dish, and garnish with Lemon sliced.

To dress a _Cow-Heel._ From the same.

Take out the Bones, and clean it, cut it to pieces, and wash it; then flour it, and strew over it a little Pepper and Salt, then fry it brown in Hog's-Lard, made very hot in the Pan. Prepare at the same time some small Onions boiled whole, till they are tender, and pull off as many of the Coats or Skins, till you see them pure white; then make a Sauce of Gravey, some White-Wine, Nutmeg, and a little whole Spice, with a little Salt and Pepper, and thicken it with burnt b.u.t.ter. Let your Onions, when they are skin'd, be made hot in Milk, and lay them whole in the Dish, with the Cow-Heel, and pour the Sauce over the whole. Some who have strong Stomachs will slice Onions, and flouring them well, fry them with with the Cow-Heel, but this must be fry'd in b.u.t.ter.

To make _Marmalade_ of _Quinces._ From the same.

Take the large _Portugal_ Quinces, pare them, and take out the Cores; then cut each Quince in eight Parts, and throw them in Water; then boil the Parings, and such of the Quinces as are of the worse sort, in two Quarts of Water, till the Liquor is reduced to half the quant.i.ty: when this is strain'd, put the Liquor into your Preserving-Pan, with a Pound of fine Sugar powder'd, with two Pounds of Quinces: boil these gently, till they are tender. Then if you design your Marmalade for mixing with Apples in Pyes or Tarts, put to them a Pound more of Sugar to each two Pounds; break them with a Spoon, and boil them briskly, keeping them stirring all the while: then put them hot into the Gally-pot, when they are thick, and of a reddish Colour. To heighten their redness, and keep them from burning to the bottom, put into the Pan four or five pieces of pure Tin, as big as Half-Crowns. But if you would have your Marmalade fine for Gla.s.ses, then, when they are boil'd tender, take them out of the Liquor, and beat them well in a Marble Mortar, and rub them through a Sieve; then put to them a Pound of fine Sugar, and stir them well in the Liquor; boil them quick, stirring them all the while, till they grow thick.

_Memorandum_, While they are boiling the second time, put in some pieces of Tin, as before, and when they are enough, pour them hot into your Gla.s.ses or Cups, first taking out the Pieces of Tin; and when your Marmalade is cool, cover your Gla.s.ses and Cups with white Paper.

Boil'd _Tench._ From the same.

Take Tench, fresh from the Pond, gut them, and clear them from their Scales; then put them into a Stew-pan, with as much Water as will cover them, some Salt, some whole Pepper, some Lemon-Peel, a stick of Horse Radish, a bunch of sweet Herbs, and a few Cloves; then boil them till they are tender, and when they are enough, take some of the Liquor, and put to it a Gla.s.s of White Wine, and a little Lemon-juice, or Verjuice, and an Anchovy shred. Then boil it a few Minutes, and thicken it with b.u.t.ter rubb'd in Flour, tossing up a Pint of Shrimps with the Sauce, and pour it over the Fish. Serve it with garnish of fry'd Bread, cut the length of one's Finger, some Slices of Lemon and Horse-Radish sc.r.a.ped, with some pickled Mushrooms, if you will, or you may toss up some of them in the Sauce.

To bake _Tench._ From Lady G.

Take your Tench, fresh from the Pond, gut them, and clean them from the Scales; then kill them, by giving them an hard stroke on the back of the Head, or else they will live for many Hours, and even jump out of the Pan in the Oven, when they are half enough. Then lay them in a Pan, with some Mushroom Katchep, some strong Gravey, half a Pint of pickled Mushrooms, as much White-Wine as Gravey, three or four large Shallots, an Anchovy or two, two or three slices of fat Bacon, some Pepper, Cloves, and Nutmeg, at pleasure, a little Salt, some Lemon-Peel, and a bunch of sweet Herbs; then break some bits of b.u.t.ter, and lay them on your Fish, then cover all as close as you can, and give them an Hour's baking.

When they are enough, lay them in a hot Dish, and pour off the Liquor, and strain it, only preserving the Mushrooms; then add to it a spoonful of Lemon-Juice, and thicken your Sauce with the Yolks of four Eggs, beaten with Cream, and mix'd, by degrees, with the Sauce. Pour this over your Fish, and serve it hot with a Garnish of BeetRoots sliced, some slices of Lemon-Peel, and some Horse-Radish sc.r.a.ped.

To roast a _Westphalia-Ham._ From the same.

Boil a Westphalia-Ham, as tender as it will be, with the Gravey in it; then strip off the Skin, put it on a Spit, and having done it over with the Yolk of an Egg, strew it all over with raspings or chippings of Bread finely sifted, and mixt with a little Lemon-Peel grated. Baste it well when it is before the Fire, and drudge it frequently with the above Mixture till it is enough. Some, instead of Roasting it, will prepare it, with a good covering of the aforesaid Mixture, and set it an Hour in the Oven, which answers full as well. Then serve it, with boiled Pidgeons, _Russia_ Cabbages, if you can get them, or Sprouts of Cabbages, curll'd, as big as Tennis-b.a.l.l.s, or Collyflowers, or Brocoli. This is an excellent Dish, especially, if the Cabbages, or Collyflowers, are toss'd up with b.u.t.ter and Cream, but the Brocoli must only have the b.u.t.ter pour'd over them.

A Neck of _Mutton_ and _Broth._ From _L. P._ Esq.

The Method of this Broth was first from a mistake, where instead of boiling a Neck of Mutton, as directed, the Cook roasted it. The Gentleman was in a hurry for it, and call'd in half an Hour for his Neck of Mutton and Broth; but the Cook had only that Neck in the House; which she was roasting, and was then above half done: however, she takes it from the Spit, and cut it in pieces, which she presently set over the Fire, with the Gravey that came from it, with a small quant.i.ty of Water, and serv'd it up with some Turnips, as soon as possible. The Relish which the Meat had gain'd by roasting, gave the Broth so good a flavour, that it is recommended since that time, by the Gentlemen who eat of it, where-ever they go; but with this addition, that they take four or five _Hertfords.h.i.+re_ Turnips, pare them, and cut them in dice; then boil them in the Liquor with the half roasted Mutton; and when they are enough, take them out of the Liquor, and draining them a little, flour them, and adding a little Salt, fry them either in b.u.t.ter very hot, or in Hog's-Lard, and then serve them with Pottage.

Boil'd _Venison,_ with its Furniture. From Mr. _L. L._

Take an Haunch of Venison, salt it well, and let it remain a Week, then boil it, and serve it with a furniture of Collyflowers, _Russia_ Cabbages, some of the _Hertfords.h.i.+re_ Turnips cut in dice, and boiled in a Net, and toss'd up with b.u.t.ter and Cream, or else have some of the yellow _French_ Turnips, cut in dice, and boil'd like the former; or we might add some red Beet-Roots boiled in dice, and b.u.t.ter'd in the same manner. Place these regularly, and they will afford a pleasant Variety both to the Eye and the Taste.

_Frogs,_ a white _Frica.s.see_ of them. From Mr. _Ganeau._

Take large Frogs, and cut off the hinder Legs, strip them of the Skin, and cut off the Feet, and boil them tender in a little Veal-Broth, with whole Pepper, and a little Salt, with a bunch of sweet Herbs, and some Lemon Peel. Stew these with a Shallot, till the Flesh is a little tender; then strain off the Liquor, and thicken it with Cream and b.u.t.ter; then serve them hot with the Cream, and some Mushrooms pickled, toss'd up with the Sauce, they make a very good Dish, and their Bones being of a very fine Texture, are better to be eaten than those of Larks. But we have in many Places an Aversion to them, as, in some others, some People have to Mushrooms.

_Frogs,_ in a brown _Frica.s.see._ From the same.

Prepare the Frogs as before, and flour them well; then put them into a Pan of hot Lard, and fry them brown. Then take them and drain them from the Liquor they were fry'd in, and make a Sauce for them of good Gravey, some Lemon-Peel, a Shallot or two, some Spice beaten, a bunch of sweet Herbs, an Anchovy, some pickled Mushrooms and their Liquor, and some Pepper and Salt.

Toss up these, thick with b.u.t.ter, and pour the Sauce over them, putting first a little Claret to it, and some Lemon-Juice. Garnish with broiled Mushroom-Flaps, and Lemon sliced.

_Snails,_ to be dressed with white Sauce. From the same.

Take the large _German_ Snail, early in the Morning; put them, sh.e.l.ls and all, into Salt and Water, for a few Hours, till they purge themselves: then put them into fresh Salt and Water, for a few Hours more, and repeat that a third time, then give them a gentle boil in Water and. Salt, in their Sh.e.l.ls, and you may then pick them out, with a Pin, as you do Perwinkles, Then stew them in Veal-Broth, with some Cloves, a little Sack, some Mace, and a little Salt. Stew these a little while, and then pour over them this Sauce thicken'd with Cream and b.u.t.ter, and grate some Nutmeg upon the Sauce, and serve them hot.

_Snails,_ to be drest with brown Sauce. From the same.

Take the same sort of Snail, as above mention'd, and clean it as before; then give them one turn, when they are flour'd, in some hot b.u.t.ter, or Lard, and drain them. Then pour into the Pan, when, the Liquor is out, some strong Gravey, a Gla.s.s of Claret, some Nutmeg, some Spices, and a little Salt, with a little Lemon-Peel grated; and when the Sauce is strong enough, then strain the Sauce, and thicken it with burnt b.u.t.ter. Then serve them up hot, with a Garnish of sliced Lemon, and some Sippits fry'd in Lard.

A _Gammon_ of a _Badger_ roasted. From Mr. _R. T._ of _Leicesters.h.i.+re._

The Badger is one of the cleanest Creatures, in its Food, of any in the World, and one may suppose that the Flesh of this Creature is not unwholesome. It eats like the finest Pork, and is much sweeter than Pork.

Then, just when a Badger is killed, cut off the Gammons, and strip them; then lay them in a Brine of Salt and Water, that will bear an Egg, for a Week or ten Days; then boil it for four or five Hours, and then roast it, strewing it with Flour and rasped Bread sifted. Then put it upon a Spit, as you did before with the _Westphalia_ Ham. Serve it hot with a Garnish of Bacon fry'd in Cutlets, and some Lemon in slices.

To make minc'd Pyes, or _Christmas-_Pyes. From Mrs. _M. C._

Take an Ox-Heart, and parboil it, or a Neat's-Tongue, boil'd without drying or salting, or the Inside of a Surloin of Beef; chop this small, and put to each Pound two Pounds of clean Beef-Suet, cleaned of the Skins and Blood, and chop that as small as the former; then pare, and take the Cores out of eight large Apples, and chop them small, grate then a Two-penny-Loaf; and then add two or three Nutmegs grated, half an Ounce of fresh Cloves, as much Mace, a little Pepper and Salt, and a Pound and a half of Sugar; then grate in some Lemon and Orange-Peel, and squeeze the Juice of six Oranges, and two Lemons, with half a Pint of Sack, and pour this into the Mixture.

Take care to put in two Pounds of Currans to every Pound of Meat, and mix it well; then try a little of it over the Fire, in a Sauce-pan, and as it tastes, so add what you think proper to it: put this in an earthen glaz'd Pan, and press it down, and you may keep it till _Candlemas,_ if you make it at _Christmas._

_Memorandum,_ When you put this into your Pyes, press it down, and it will be like a Paste.

When you take these Pyes out of the Oven, put in a Gla.s.s of Brandy, or a Gla.s.s of Sack or White Wine, into them, and stir it in them.