Chapter III: Front Matter (3)

Chop one-half a pound of figs and cook until tender in a pint of water. Add a pint of cranberries, and cook until they pop. Mix one cup of sugar with four tablespoonfuls of flour and stir into the fig-and-cranberry mixture; let boil, remove from fire, and stir in two tablespoonfuls of butter and the juice of one-half a lemon. Put into a pastry shell, arrange strips of paste in a basket pattern over the top, and bake until these are browned.

Dry Deviled Parsnips

Wash and scrape--not pare--three large parsnips; cut in halves, lengthwise, and place, cut side uppermost, on the grate of a rather hot oven to bake for thirty to forty minutes, or until soft and lightly browned. Soften one-half a cup of butter, without melting it, and rub into it the following mixture: Two teaspoonfuls of salt, four tablespoonfuls of dry mustard, one-half a teaspoonful of cayenne, one teaspoonful of white pepper, and flour enough to stiffen the paste. When the parsnips are cooked make four slanting cuts in each of the halves, and fill each with as much of the paste as it will hold. Spread over the flat side with the remainder of the paste, arrange on the serving dish, sift fine buttered crumbs over them, and place under the gas flame, or on the upper rack of an oven until crumbs are brown.

King's Pudding With Apple-Jelly Sauce

Soak, over-night, one-half a cup of well-washed rice, and cook in one pint of milk in double boiler until very tender. Mix this with three cups of apple sauce, well-sweetened and flavored with cinnamon. Add the beaten yolks of two eggs, one ounce, each, of candied citron and orange peel, very fine-chopped, and one-half a cup of raisins. Add, the last thing, the whites of the eggs, beaten to the stiffest possible froth. Line a deep dish with a good, plain paste, pour in the pudding, bake until both paste and pudding top are brown, invert on serving dish and pour the sauce over it.

Apple-Jelly Sauce

Beat one-half a cup of apple jelly until it is like a smooth batter; gradually add two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, the juice of one lemon and one-half the grated rind, and a few gratings of nutmeg. Set into a saucepan of boiling water until ready to use, then beat well and pour over the pudding.

Cranberry Tart

Spread a round of paste over an inverted pie plate, prick the paste with a fork eight times. Bake to a delicate brown. Remove the paste from the plate, wash the plate and set the pastry inside. When cold fill with a cold, cooked cranberry filling and cover the filling with a top pastry crust, made by cutting paste to a paper pattern and baking in a pan. Arrange tart just before serving.

Cooked Cranberry Filling

Mix together three level tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, three-fourths a teaspoonful of salt and one cup and one-half of sugar; pour on one cup and one-half of boiling water and stir until boiling, then add one-third a cup of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of butter and three cups of cranberries, chopped fine. Let simmer fifteen minutes.

Pumpkin Fanchonettes

Mix together one cup and a half of dry, sifted pumpkin, half a cup of sugar, two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of molasses, one tablespoonful of ginger, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one-fourth a teaspoonful of salt, and one cup of rich milk. Pour into small tins lined with pastry, and bake about twenty-five minutes. Serve cold; just before serving decorate with whipped cream.

Pilgrim Cookies

Let soak overnight one cup of seedless raisins, then drain and dry on a cloth. Cream one-third a cup of butter; beat in one cup of brown sugar, one tablespoonful of milk, and two eggs, beaten light. Add the raisins, and one cup of flour, sifted with one-half a teaspoonful, each, of nutmeg and cinnamon and two teaspoonfuls and one-half of baking powder. When thoroughly mixed, add one-half a cup of graham flour, unsifted, and one-half a cup of bran, unsifted.

Pyramid Birthday Cake

Bake any good layer cake or other simple cake mixture in one or two thin sheets, in a large pan. When done cut into as many graduated circles as the child is years old. Ice each circle, top and sides, with any good cake icing, either white or tinted, and lay one above the other with layers of jelly or preserves between slices. Around each layer arrange a decoration of fresh or candied fruits of bright colors, glaceed nuts, candied rose petals or violets, bits of angelica, or any other effective decoration. Let the cake stand on a handsomely decorated dish, and small flags be inserted in the topmost layer.

Stirred Brown Bread

Measure three cups of graham flour into a large mixing-bowl; add one cup of bran, and sift on to these one cup and one-half of white flour, to which one and one-fourth a teaspoonful of salt has been added. Stir together until mixed. Dissolve one teaspoonful of baking soda in a tablespoonful of hot water, and add to two cups of buttermilk. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of any preferred substitute, mix with one-half a cup of molasses, stir into the buttermilk, and add all to the dry ingredients, stirring vigorously. Lastly, add one-half a compressed yeast cake to the batter, and stir again until the yeast is thoroughly incorporated with the batter, which should be very stiff. Place in a greased bread pan, cover, set in a warm place until batter has risen to top of pan or doubled in bulk. Bake one hour in an oven with gradually increasing heat. This bread keeps fresh for a long time, and is particularly good sliced thin for sandwiches.

Swedish Pancakes With Aigre-Doux Sauce

Beat, until light, the yolks of six eggs; add one-half a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in one tablespoonful of vinegar, then two cups of sifted flour, alternately, with the beaten whites of the eggs, and if necessary add enough milk to make a thin batter. Pour a small ladleful at a time on the griddle; spread each cake, when cooked, with raspberry jam, roll up like a jelly roll, pile on a hot platter, dust over with powdered sugar, and serve with each one a spoonful of Aigre-Doux Sauce.

Aigre-Doux Sauce

Add to two cups of sour cream the juice and fine-grated rind of one large lemon. Stir in enough sugar just to develop a sweet taste, one-half a cup or more, and beat hard and long with a Dover beater until the sauce is quite light.

Sauteed Cucumbers and Tomatoes

Pare four large cucumbers and cut in quarter-inch slices; season by sprinkling with salt and pepper, then dip in beaten egg, and afterwards in fine, sifted crumbs. Proceed in the same manner with two firm tomatoes, removing the skin by dipping first into boiling water, then into cold, and rubbing the skin off. The tomatoes should be cut in half-inch slices. Heat a large spider until very hot; add two or more tablespoonfuls of dripping or other fat, and saute in this, first the cucumbers, then the tomatoes, turning the slices when browned on one side, and cooking until crisped. Serve in a hot vegetable dish.

Skirt Steak, with Raisin Sauce

Make a rich stuffing by chopping together three-fourths a pound of veal, one-half a pound of ham, and an ounce of beef suet or other fat. Add the grated rind of a small lemon, and a teaspoonful of dried, mixed herbs, or of kitchen bouquet, two beaten eggs, a grate of nutmeg, and one cup of cream. Cook all together over hot water until mixture is the consistency of custard; thicken further with fine bread crumbs, and let cool. Divide a two-pound skirt steak into halves, crosswise, spread the stuffing over both parts, roll up each one and tie. Let steam for half an hour, then put into a hot oven to finish cooking and brown. Serve with Raisin Sauce.

Raisin Sauce for Skirt Steak

Add one-half a cup of seeded raisins to one pint of cold water, set over fire, bring slowly to a boil and let simmer, gently, for fifteen minutes. Blend two tablespoonfuls of flour with one-half a teaspoonful of salt and one-fourth a teaspoonful of white pepper, and stir this into two scant tablespoonfuls of melted butter or butter substitute; add to the raisins and water, and let boil, keeping stirred, for three minutes. Remove from fire and add the juice of one-half a lemon or two tablespoonfuls of vinegar.

Boudin Blanc

Cook a dozen small onions, sliced, in a saucepan with one cup of sweet leaf-lard. While cooking put through the meat chopper one-half a pound, each, of fresh pork and the dark and white meat of a fowl or chicken. Add to saucepan containing onions and lard, and stir in enough fine bread crumbs to make the whole the consistency of a soft dough. Add seasoning of salt and pepper with a spoonful of mixed dried herbs. Lastly, add one cup of sweet cream and three well-beaten eggs, and stir the whole until the eggs are set. Stuff this into pig entrails, making links six inches long. Keep stored in a cool place, and cook like sausage. Or the boudin may be packed into jars, and sliced or cut into dice and sauteed when cold.

Seasonable Menus for Week in November

SUNDAY

Breakfast

Oranges
Corn Flakes with Hot Milk
Codfish Balls
Buttered Toast
Marmalade
Coffee

Dinner

Roast Leg of Lamb
Mashed Potatoes
Spinach with Egg
Creamed Turnips
Celery Salad
Date Souffle
Coffee

Supper

Oyster Stew
Crackers
Lettuce-and-Peanut Butter Sandwiches
Soft Gingerbread
Cocoa

MONDAY

Breakfast

Malt Breakfast Food, Top Milk
Scrambled Eggs with Tomato
Graham Muffins
Coffee

Luncheon

Potage Parmentier
Savory Hash, Meat and Potatoes
Tea Tarts
Russian Tea

Dinner

Planked Steak, Parkerhouse Style
Head Lettuce
King's Pudding, with Apple Jelly Sauce
Black Coffee

TUESDAY

Breakfast

Dates
Gluten Grits, Cream
Baked Potatoes
Bacon
Graham Toast, Butter
Coffee

Luncheon

Salmon a la Creole
Pulled Bread
Sweet Potato Croquettes
Pears in Syrup
Milk or Tea

Dinner

Stuffed Leg of Pork
Mashed Potatoes
Apple Sauce
Fig-and-Cranberry Pie
Coffee

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast

Winter Pears
Wheatena, Milk
Pork-and-Potato Hash
Raised Pancakes, Syrup
Coffee

Luncheon

Oyster-and-Onion Puree
Crusty Rolls
Apple-and-Nut Salad
Cocoa

Dinner

Skirt Steak with Raisin Sauce
Dry Deviled Parsnips
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Cherry Pie
Coffee

THURSDAY

Breakfast

Cream of Wheat, Cream
Tomato Omelet
Stirred Brown Bread
Coffee

Luncheon

Potato-and-Peanut Sausages
Cabbage-and-Celery Salad, with Cheese
Strawberry Gelatine Jelly
Tea

Dinner

Boiled Tongue
Steamed Potatoes
Creamed Carrots
Brussels Sprouts
Apple Pie a la Mode
Coffee

FRIDAY

Breakfast

Grapefruit
Cracked Wheat, Milk
Creamed Finnan Haddie
Hashed Brown Potatoes
Popovers
Coffee

Luncheon

Frumenty with Cream
Escaloped Chipped Beef and Potatoes
Chocolate Layer Cake
Cafe au Lait

Dinner

Halibut Steaks
Brother Jonathan
Creamed Cabbage
Chow-Chow
Apricot Puffs with Custard Sauce
Coffee

SATURDAY

Breakfast

Gravenstein Apples
Quaker Oats, Milk
Scrambled Eggs with Bacon
Steamed Brown Bread
Coffee

Luncheon

Puree of Baked Beans
Castilian Salad (Pineapple, Nuts, Apples, Grapes, Celery)
Swedish Pancakes with Aigre-Doux Sauce
Chocolate

Dinner

Veal Stew
Browned Sweet Potatoes
Lima Beans in Tomato Sauce
Leaf Lettuce with Fr. Dressing
Brown Betty with Foamy Sauce
Coffee

Menus for Thanksgiving Dinners