Chapter II: Part 2

Take six terrapins of uniform size. (The females, which are the best, may be distinguished by the lower shell being level or slightly projecting.) If the terrapins are large, use one pound of the best butter; if small, less, and a pint of good sherry wine. After washing the terrapins in warm water, put them in the kettle alive, and cover with cold water, keeping the vessel covered tight. After letting them boil until the shell cracks and you can crush the claws with the thumb and finger, take them off the fire, and when cool enough, pull off the shell and remove the dark, or scarf skin, next pulling the meat from the trail and the liver--being careful not to break the gall, which would render the liver uneatable. After breaking the meat in small pieces, lay it in a porcelain kettle with a teacupful of water; put in the wine, and one-half the butter, with 2 or 3 blades of mace, 2 or 3 teaspoonfuls of extract of lemon, 2 tablespoonfuls of Worcestershire or Challenge sauce; little salt is required, and if pepper is needed, use cayenne. After stewing for fifteen minutes, add the yolks of 6 hard-boiled eggs--worked to a paste in the remainder of the butter--thinning with the juice of the stew, adding at the same time a teacupful of sweet cream, and after simmering for three minutes, chop the whites of the eggs fine, and add to the mixture; then take from the fire, and make hot five minutes before serving. If kept in a cool place this stew will remain perfectly good for three days.

Stewed Chicken, Cottage Style, with White Gravy.

Take two chickens, one or two years old, and cut each in about fourteen pieces, dividing each joint, and cutting the breast in two pieces; cut the gizzard quite small, and put it and the liver with the chicken. When the chicken is half done, cover with cold water, adding a good-sized onion, and when it reaches a boil, skim carefully; and when the same is about half cooked add sufficient salt and pepper, and also a handful of the green leaves of celery chopped fine, which will give it the flavor of oysters. Boil slowly until you can tear the chicken with a fork, when turn it out in a dish. Next, take one half pound of good butter, the yolks of three boiled eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch or flour, and, after working well together, so as to form a thin batter, add the liquor from the chicken, return to the kettle, and, after boiling for five minutes, return the chicken, season with nutmeg or sal-piquant, adding at the same time a teacupful of cream or good milk, also the whites of the eggs, chopped fine. Keep hot until served.

Stewed Tripe.

Cut and prepare the tripe as for pepper-pot; season highly; add a pint of soup stock, and four spoonfuls of tomatoes, with a little butter, and half an onion chopped fine. Cook until quite tender.

Chicken Salad.

Boil a good-sized chicken, not less than one year old, in as little water as possible; if you have two calves' feet boil them at the same time, salting slightly, and leaving them in after the chicken is cooked, that they may boil to shreds. This liquid forms a jelly, which is almost indispensable in making good salad. When the chicken becomes cold, remove the skin and bones, after which chop or cut to the size of a pea; cut celery and lettuce equally fine--after taking off the outer fibre of the former--and mixing, add Clayton's Salad Dressing, (the recipe for which will be found elsewhere); also incorporating four eggs, which should be boiled eight minutes, cutting three as fine as the chicken and celery, and leaving the fourth as a garnish on serving. Cold roast turkey, chicken or tender veal make most excellent salad treated in this way.

Clayton's Celebrated California Salad Dressing.

Take a large bowl, resembling in size and shape an ordinary wash-bowl, and a wooden spoon, fitted as nearly as possible to fit the curve of the bowl. First put in two or three tablespoonfuls of mixed mustard, quite stiff. Pour on this, slowly, one-fourth of a pint of best olive oil, stirring rapidly until thick; then break in two or three fresh eggs, and, after mixing slightly, pour in, very slowly, the remaining three-fourths of the pint of oil, stirring rapidly all the while until the mixture forms a thick batter. Next, take a teacupful of the best wine vinegar, to which the juice of one lemon has been added, along with a small tablespoonful of salt, and another of white sugar, stirring well, until the whole of these ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. When bottled and tightly corked, this mixture will remain good for months. Those who are not fond of the oil, will find that sweet cream, of about sixty or seventy degrees in temperature, a good substitute; but this mixture does not keep so well.

Salad Flavoring.

It will be found a good thing before ornamenting a salad, to take a section of garlic, and, after cutting off the end, steeping it in salt, and then rubbing the surface of the bowl, putting in at the same time, small pieces of the crust of French or other bread, similarly treated. Cover the bowl with a plate, and shake well. This gives the salad a rich, nutty flavor.

Eggs and Omelettes.

Boiling Eggs.

Unless quite sure the eggs are fresh, never boil them, as the well known remark that even to suspect an egg cooked in this style is undoubtedly well-founded. Hard boiled eggs, to be eaten either hot or cold, must never be boiled more than eight minutes, when they will be found tender and of a fine flavor, whereas, if boiled for a longer time, they will invariably prove leathery, tough, and almost tasteless, and dark-colored where the whites and yolk are joined, giving them an unsightly and anything but attractive appearance.

For soft boiled, three, and for medium, four minutes only, are necessary.

Scrambled Eggs.

Beat well three eggs, with two tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; add salt and pepper; put in the pan a lump of fresh butter, and, as soon as melted, put in the eggs, stirring rapidly from the time they begin to set; as in order to be tender they must be cooked quickly.

To Fry Eggs.

Put butter or lard in a hot pan, and then as many small, deep muffin rings as eggs required. Drop the eggs in the rings. Cooked in this manner the eggs are less liable to burn, look far nicer, and preserve their fine flavor.

Oyster Omelette.

Stew a few oysters in a little butter, adding pepper for seasoning, and when the omelette is cooked on the under side, put on the oysters, roll over, and turn carefully. A good omelette may be made of canned oysters treated in this way.

Ham Omelette.

Take a thin slice of the best ham--fat and lean--fry well done, and chop fine. When the omelette is prepared, stir in the ham, and cook to a light brown.

Cream Omelette.

Beat three eggs with two tablespoonfuls of cream, adding a little salt and pepper. Put a lump of butter in the pan, but do not let it get too hot before putting in the mixture. The pan should be about the temperature for baking batter cakes. Fold and turn over quite soon. The omelette should be a light brown, and be sent to the table hot. Should you have sausage for breakfast, the bright gravy from the sausage is preferable to butter in preparing the omelette.

Spanish Omelette.

Make in the same manner as the cream omelette, but before putting in the pan have ready one-half an onion, chopped fine and fried brown, with a little pepper and salt. When the omelette is cooked on one side, put the mixture on, and turn the sides over until closed tight.

Omelette for Dessert.

Beat eight eggs thoroughly, with a teacup of rich milk or cream, a tablespoonful of fine white sugar, and a very little salt. Stir well, and make in two omelettes; lay side by side, and sift over a thin coating of fine white sugar. In serving, pour over and around the omelette a wine-glass of good California brandy, and set on fire.

VEGETABLES.

Baked Tomatoes.

Pick out large, fair tomatoes; cut a slice from the stem end, and, placing them in a pan with the cut side up, put into each one-half teaspoonful of melted butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake until they shrivel slightly.

Raw Tomatoes.

Cut the skin from both ends; slice moderately thin, and, if you like, add a small piece of onion chopped fine. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over Durkee's or Clayton's salad dressing.

Cucumbers.

Take off a thick rind, as that portion between the seed and outer skin is the unwholesome part. Slice, rather thin, into cold, salt water, and, after half-an-hour, drain off, and dress with salt, pepper, wine vinegar, and a little Chile pepper-sauce, covering slightly with Durkee's or Clayton's salad dressing.

Boiled Cabbage.

Cut large cabbage in four; small in two pieces, and tie up in a bag or cloth. Put in boiling water, with some salt, and boil briskly for half-an-hour. A piece of charcoal in the pot will neutralize the odor given out by the cabbage, boiled in the ordinary way. Cabbage should never be cooked with corned-beef, as the fine flavor of the latter is changed to the strong odor of the cabbage.

To Cook Cauliflower.

If the cauliflower is large, divide in three, if small, in two pieces; tie up in a cloth, and put in boiling water with a little salt, and cook not more than twenty minutes. Eat with melted butter, pepper and salt, or nice drawn butter.

(Asparagus may be cooked in the same way, and eaten with similar dressing. Both cauliflower and asparagus may be spoiled with too much cooking. Care should be taken to drain the water from both as soon as they are done.)

To Cook Young Green Peas.

The best mode of cooking this most delicate and finely-flavored vegetable--put the peas in a porcelain-lined kettle, with just water sufficient to cover, and let them boil slowly until tender. Add a lump of butter, worked in a teaspoonful of flour, to the rich liquid, with half a teacupful of rich milk or cream; season with salt and pepper.

A Good Way to Cook Beets.

Take beets of a uniform size; boil until tender; slip off the skin, and slice into a dish or pan; season with salt and pepper, adding a little butter, made hot, and the juice of one lemon. Pour this over the beets, set in a hot oven for a few minutes, and send to the table hot.

Mashed Potatoes and Turnips.

Take equal quantities of boiled potatoes and turnips; mash together, adding butter, salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly with a little good milk, working all together until quite smooth.

Boiled Onions.

Take small white onions, if you have them; if large, cut and boil until tender, in salted water. Pour off nearly all the water, and add a small lump of butter, worked in a little flour, and a small cup of milk; add pepper, and simmer for a few minutes.

[All the foregoing are desirable additions to roast turkey and chicken.]

Stewed Corn.

If canned corn is used, put a sufficient quantity in a stewpan, with two or three spoonfuls of hot water, and, after adding pepper and salt to taste, put in a good-sized lump of butter, into which a teaspoonful of flour has been well worked, adding, at the same time, a cup of good, sweet milk or rich cream, and let it cook three minutes. Corn cut fresh from the cob should be boiled at least twenty minutes before adding the milk and butter.

Stewed Corn and Tomatoes.

Take equal quantities of corn and tomatoes, and stew together half-an-hour, with butter, pepper and salt; and when taken up place slices of buttered toast in the dish in which it is served.

Succotash.

This is the original native American Indian name for corn and beans. In compounding this most palatable and wholesome dish, take two or three pounds of green, climbing, or pole beans--the pods of which are large, and, at the same time, tender. Break these in pieces of something like half-an-inch long, and let them lie in cold water about half-an-hour, at which time drain this off. Put them in a porcelain-lined kettle, covering them with boiling water, into which put a large tablespoonful of salt. When the beans become tender, pour off the greater portion of the water, replacing it with that which is boiling, and when the beans become entirely tender, cut from the cob about half the amount of corn you have of the beans, which boil for twenty minutes; but where canned corn is used five minutes will suffice. About five minutes before taking from the fire, take a piece of butter about the size of an egg, worked with sufficient flour or corn-starch to form a stiff paste. Season with plenty of black pepper and salt to taste, adding, at the same time, a teacupful of rich milk or cream. Then, to keep warm, set back from the fire, not allowing to boil, but simmering slowly. This will be equally good the next day, if kept in a cool place, with an open cover, which prevents all danger of souring. This is a simple, healthful, and most appetizing dish, inexpensive and at the same time easily prepared.

Saratoga Fried Potatoes.

The mode of preparing the world-renowned Saratoga fried potatoes is no longer a secret. It is as follows:

Peel eight good-sized potatoes; slice very thin; use slicing-machine, when available, as this makes the pieces of uniform thickness. Let them remain half-an-hour in a quart of cold water, in which a tablespoonful of salt has been dissolved, and lay in a sieve to drain, after which mop them over with a dry cloth. Put a pound of lard in a spider or stewpan, and when this is almost, but not quite, smoking hot, put in the potatoes, stirring constantly to prevent the slices from adhering, and when they become a light brown, dip out with a strainer ladle.

[If preferred, cut the potatoes in bits an inch in length, and of the same width, treating as above.]

Salsify or Oyster Plant.

The best way I have yet found to cook this finely flavored and highly delicious vegetable is: First, wash clean, but do not remove the skin. Put the roots in more than enough boiling water to cover them; boil until quite soft; remove the skin; mash; add butter, and season with pepper and salt; make into the size of oysters, and dip in thin egg batter; fry a light brown. If the plant is first put into cold water to boil, and the skin scraped or removed, the delicate flavor of the oyster--which constitutes its chief merit--will be entirely dissipated and lost.

Egg Plant.

There is no more delicate and finely-flavored esculent to be found in our markets than the egg plant, when cooked in the right manner. Properly prepared, it is a most toothsome dish; if badly cooked, it is anything but attractive. Of all the varieties, the long purple is decidedly the best. Cut in slices, less than one-fourth an inch in thickness; sprinkle with salt, and let the slices lie in a colander half-an-hour or longer, to drain. Next parboil for a few minutes, and drain off the water; season with salt and pepper, and dip in egg batter, or beaten egg, and fry in sweet lard mixed with a little butter, until the slices are a light brown. Serve hot.

To Boil Green Corn.

Green corn should be put in hot water, with a handful of salt, and boiled slowly for half-an-hour, or five minutes longer. The minute the corn is done, pour off the water and let it remain hot. All vegetables are injured by allowing them to remain in the water after they are cooked.

Boiled Rice.

American rice for all its preparations is decidedly preferable, the grain being much the largest and most nutritious. In boiling, use two measures of water to one of rice, and let them boil until the water is entirely evaporated. Cover tightly; set aside, and let steam until every grain is separated. When ready to serve, use a fork in removing the rice from the cooking utensil.

[The foregoing recipe was given me by a lady of South Carolina, of great experience in the preparation of this staple cereal product of the Southern Atlantic seaboard.]

Stewed Okra.

Cut into pieces one quart of okra, and put to boil in one cup of water; add a little onion and some tomatoes; salt and pepper to taste; and when all is boiled tender, add a good lump of butter, worked in with a spoonful of flour, and let stew five minutes, stirring frequently.

Bread, Cakes, Pies, Puddings and Pastry.

SOLID AND LIQUID SAUCES.

Quick Bread.

Mix 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder with quart of flour, adding 1 teaspoonful salt and sufficient milk or water to make a soft dough, and bake at once in a hot oven. If eaten hot, break; use a hot knife in cutting.

Quick Muffins.

Take 2 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls best lard or butter, 1 teaspoonful salt, 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1 tablespoonful sugar, 1 quart good milk, and flour to make a moderately stiff batter, and bake at once in muffin-rings.

Brown Bread.

3 cups of yellow corn-meal, 1 cup flour, 2 sweet, and 1/2 cup sour milk, with 1/2 cup syrup, 1 teaspoonful soda, and a little salt. Bake 4 hours.

Graham Rolls.

Two cups graham and 1 of white flour, 1/2 cup of yeast or 1/3 cake compressed yeast, 2 teaspoonfuls sugar; mix with warm milk or water, and let stand upon range until light.

Mississippi River Corn-Bread.

One pint best yellow corn-meal, 1 pint of butter-milk, 2 tablespoonfuls melted butter, 2 eggs and teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful saleratus; mix well, and bake at a brisk fire.

Nice Light Biscuit.

Before sifting 1 quart of flour, put in 2 or 3 teaspoonfuls of best baking powder, adding a little salt after sifting. Follow this with 3 tablespoonfuls of best lard, and with good milk, mix into soft dough--working as little as possible. Roll full half-an-inch thick; cut and bake in a hot oven until slightly browned on top and bottom.

Clayton's Corn-Bread.

Take 3 cups of good corn-meal--either yellow or white--and 1 cup of flour; add a teaspoonful of baking powder, stirring well together. Next, put into a vessel, 2 eggs, well beaten, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, a little salt, a large tablespoonful of sweet lard or butter, and milk enough to make a thick batter. Let these come to a boiling heat, stirring well at the same time, then pour in the meal, and beat to a stiff consistence. Turn into a baking pan, and bake until thoroughly done, brown on top and bottom. Use hot milk in mixing, as, in my opinion, it takes the raw taste from the corn-meal.

Johnny Cake.

Two spoonfuls of melted butter, 1 egg, well beaten, 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder, 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar or syrup, 2 cups each, corn-meal and flour. Bake in a moderate oven until brown.

Sweet Potato Pone.

One large sweet potato grated, 1 cup yellow Indian meal, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoonful butter, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and spice to taste; add sufficient milk to make the usual thickness of cake.

Ginger-Bread.

One pint molasses, 1/2 pint of sour milk, 2 teaspoonfuls ginger, 1 teacup butter, 1 teaspoonful soda, 2 eggs--salt.

Molasses Ginger Bread.

One cup syrup, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup sweet milk, 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar, 1/2 cup shortening; flour to make moderately thick, and large teaspoonful baking powder.

Quaker Cake.

One cup butter, 3 teaspoonfuls ginger, 5 flour, 1/2 cup cider or any spirits, 4 eggs, and a teaspoonful of saleratus, dissolved in a teacup of sweet milk.

Pound Cake.

One cup sugar, 1/2 cup best butter, 1/2 cup of rich milk or cream, 3 eggs, well beaten, 1-1/2 cups flour, 1 large teaspoonful baking powder, and a teaspoonful ground nutmeg; and beat the whole thoroughly before baking.

Chocolate Cake.--Jelly Cake.

Two cups sugar, 1 cup butter, the yolks of 5 eggs, and whites of 2, 1 cup pure milk, 3-1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoonful bi-carbonate soda, and stir thoroughly before baking.

The following is the mixture for filling.

Whites of 3 eggs, 1-1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate, and 1 teaspoonful extract vanilla. Beat well together, and spread between each layer and on top the cake.

[Jelly cake may be made the same way, using jelly instead of chocolate.]

Currant Cake.

Three eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1 butter, 1 milk, 1/2 teaspoonful soda, 1 cup currants, and a little citron, cut in thin slices, with flour to make a stiff batter. Pour into pans, and bake medium quick.

Cream Cup-Cake.

Four cups of flour, 2 of sugar, 3 of sweet cream, 4 eggs; mix and bake in square tins. When cold, cut in squares about two inches wide.

Jumbles.

Rub to a cream a pound of butter and a pound of sugar; mix with a pound and a half of flour, 4 eggs and a little brandy; roll the cakes in powdered sugar, lay in flat buttered tins, and bake in a quick oven.

Sweet Cake.

One cup of sugar, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup butter, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoonful soda, 1/2 nutmeg grated fine, flour enough to make a stiff batter. Bake in a slow oven.

Sponge Cake.

Five eggs, 2 cups sugar, 2 cups flour, 1/2 teacup cold water; mix well and bake quickly.

Ginger Snaps.

Into 1 pint of molasses put 1 cup lard, 1 tablespoonful of ginger, 1 teaspoonful of soda, and a little salt; boil for a few minutes, and when quite cool, add sufficient flour to make a stiff dough; roll very thin and bake.

A Nice Cake.

One quart flour, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sweet lard, 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and 1 of salt. Beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately, until light. Sift the baking powder into the flour. Melt the shortening in a cup of milk with the yolks of the eggs--putting the whites in last. Work into a thick batter, and bake steadily for three-quarters of an hour; to be eaten hot.

Icing for Cake.

There are a number of formulas for the preparation of icings for cake, but the following will invariably be found the simplest, easiest prepared, and the best:

Take the whites of 4 eggs, and 1 pound of best pulverized white sugar, and any flavoring extract most agreeable to the taste. Break the whites of the eggs into a broad, cool dish, and after throwing a small handful of sugar upon them, begin whipping it in with long even strokes of the beater. Beat until the icing is of a smooth, fine and firm texture. If not stiff enough, put in more sugar, using at least a quarter of a pound to each egg. Pour the icing by the spoonful on top of the cake, and near the centre of the surface to be covered. If the loaf is so shaped that the liquid will naturally settle to its place, it is best left to do so. To spread it, use a broad-bladed knife, dipped in cold water; if as thick with sugar as should be, one coat will be amply sufficient. Leave in a moderate oven for three minutes. To color icing yellow, use the rind of a lemon or orange, tied in a thin muslin bag, straining a little of the juice through it and squeezing hard into the ice and sugar; for red, use extract of cochineal.

Chocolate Icing.

Quarter of a cake of chocolate grated, 1/2 cup of sweet milk, 1 tablespoonful corn-starch; flavor with extract of vanilla. Mix these ingredients, with the exception of the vanilla; boil two minutes, and after it has fairly commenced to boil, flavor, and then sweeten to taste with powdered sugar, taking care to have it sweet enough.

Lemon Pie.

Grated rind and juice of two lemons; 2 cups sugar; butter, the size of an egg; 2 tablespoonfuls corn-starch; 4 eggs. Rub the butter and sugar smooth in a little cold water; have ready 2 cups boiling water, in which stir the corn-starch, until it looks clear; add to this the butter and sugar, and, when nearly cold, the yolks of four eggs, and the white of one, well beaten, and the rind and the juice of the lemons. After lining two deep dishes with a delicate paste, and pouring in the mixture, beat the remaining whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, adding two spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Spread this over the pies when done, returning to the oven to brown.

English Plum Pudding.

Three cups flour; 2 eggs; 1 cup milk; 1/2 cup brandy; 1 nutmeg; a teaspoonful of salt; 5 teaspoonfuls baking powder; 1/2 pound currants; 1/2 pound raisins, stoned and chopped fine; 1/2 pound suet chopped fine; 1 cup sugar. Boil three hours.

Baked Apple Pudding.

Two cups oatmeal or cracked wheat; 2 eggs; 1 tablespoonful butter; 1 pint milk; three medium-sized apples; a little suet; cinnamon to flavor; sweeten to taste. Beat sugar, eggs, and milk together; stir in the meal, and then add the other ingredients, the apples last, after reducing to small pieces. Bake until well set. To be eaten with or without sauce.

Bread Pudding.

One loaf of stale bread, soaked in a pint of milk, and when soft, beat with an egg-beater until very fine. Pour into this the yolks of four eggs, well beaten, a tablespoonful of butter, some flavoring, and a little salt, beating all well together. After baking until well set, let it cool, and spread a nice jelly over the top, and on this put the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, returning to the oven to brown.

Baked Corn-Meal Pudding.

Into a large cup of corn-meal stir 1 pint scalded milk; a small cup suet, chopped fine; two-thirds of a cup of syrup or molasses; salt to taste, and when cold, add 1 pint milk, and 2 eggs, well beaten, 1 teaspoonful cinnamon, and 1 cup raisins. Bake three hours.

Corn-Starch Pudding (Baked).

Four tablespoonfuls corn-starch; 1 quart of milk; 2 eggs; 3/4 coffee-cup white sugar; adding butter size of an egg, with flavoring to taste. After dissolving the corn-starch in a little cold water, heat the milk to boiling and stir this in, and boil three minutes, stirring the mixture all the time; next, stir in the butter, and set away until cold. Beat the eggs until very light, when add the sugar and seasoning, and then stir into the corn-starch, beating thoroughly to a smooth custard. Put into a buttered dish, and bake not more than half an hour. This pudding is best eaten cold, with sauce made of cream and sugar, flavored with nutmeg or cinnamon, or both, or plain powdered sugar, as tastes may prefer.

Delmonico Pudding.

One quart of milk; 3 tablespoonfuls corn-starch; put in hot water until it thickens; to the yolks of 5 eggs, add three tablespoonfuls white sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls vanilla, and a little salt. Pour on the corn-starch, stir thoroughly, and bake fifteen minutes, but not long enough to whey. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth; add 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar; 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla; put on top, and let brown.

Peach Ice-Cream.

Pare and cut in pieces 1 dozen peaches, or more, if desired, and boil with 1/2 pound loaf sugar. When reduced to a marmalade press through a fine sieve, and when cool, add 1 pint cream and freeze. Serve with halves or quarters of fresh peaches, half frozen, around the cream.

Apple Snow.

Reduce half a dozen apples to a pulp; press them through a sieve; add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and a teaspoonful lemon extract; take whites of 6 eggs and whip several minutes, and sprinkle 2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar over them; beat the apple-pulp to a froth and add the beaten eggs. Whip the mixture well until it breaks like stiff snow, then pile it high in rough portions, in a glass dish--garnish with a spoonful of currant jelly.

Strawberry Sauce.

A delicious sauce for baked pudding: Beat 1/2 cup butter and 1 of sugar, to a cream; add, stiff beaten, white of 1 egg and a large cupful of ripe strawberries, thoroughly crushed.

Ambrosia.

Have ready a grated cocoanut and some oranges, peeled and sliced; put a large layer of oranges in your dish, and strew sugar over them; then a layer of cocoanut, then orange, and sprinkle sugar; and so on until the dish is full, having cocoanut for the last layer. Pine-apple may be substituted for the orange.

Farina Pudding.

Two tablespoonfuls farina, soaked in a little milk for two hours; 1 quart of milk. Set in a kettle of boiling water; when the milk boils, add the farina, stirring four minutes. Then stir in the yolks of 5 eggs, well beaten, 1 cup sugar, and a little salt. After boiling three or four minutes, pour into a dish to cool. Flavor, and stir in the whites of the eggs beaten to a foam. To be eaten cold.

Baked Corn-Meal Pudding.

Take 1 large teacupful of corn-meal; scald 1 pint of milk, and stir the meal in slowly and thoroughly. Add a small cup of suet, chopped fine; 2/3 of a cup of molasses, salt to taste, and when cool add 1 pint milk, with 2 eggs, well beaten, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon and 1 cup of raisins. Bake 3 hours.

Snow Pudding.

One box gelatine, 2 cups sugar, juice of 2 lemons, whites of 3 eggs, 1 quart of milk, 5 eggs, 5 tablespoonfuls sugar, and 1 vanilla. Dissolve the gelatine in 1/4 pint of water and let stand for 2 hours; then add 1/4 pint of boiling water, the lemon juice, and sugar; strain and set away to cool and thicken, and when quite stiff, add the whites of the 3 eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; stir these into the jelly until it looks like snow--mould and set on ice.

For a similar custard; add 5 eggs, well beaten in a dish, with 5 tablespoonfuls white sugar.

Fruit Pudding.

One quart of flour, 2 teaspoonfuls yeast powder, a little salt, 1 cup suet chopped fine, or a 1/4 pound butter or sweet lard; mix to soft dough, and roll quite thin--spreading over any kind of cooked fruit, sweetened to taste--rolling up nicely. This may be boiled, but is much better steamed, as this makes it much lighter. This delicious pudding should be eaten with brandy or wine sauce, liquid or solid.

Charlotte-a-Russe.

Take 1 pint rich milk, 1/2 ounce of gelatine, dissolved in a little hot milk, the whites of 2 eggs beaten to a froth, and 1 cup sugar; flavoring with vanilla. Mix the milk, eggs, sugar and flavoring; and when the gelatine is cold, pour it in, stirring thoroughly. Line the dish or mould with slices of sponge cake, fill with this mixture, and set on ice to cool.

Solid Sauce.

Work well into 1/2 cup of the freshest butter, 1 cup of powdered white sugar, adding the white of an egg, well beaten, and worked in with a large spoonful of California brandy, or a couple of spoonfuls of good sherry or California white-wine; working all of these well together, that the ingredients may be thoroughly incorporated, and season with nutmeg or cinnamon, or both, as may be preferred.

Liquid Sauce.

Take butter, the size of an egg, and sufficient flour or corn-starch, and after adding boiling water to make thick drawn butter, boil two or three minutes; add brandy, sherry or white-wine--according to taste--with a little vinegar or juice of 1 lemon. Make quite sweet and season to taste.

Currant, or Grape Jelly.

Wash the currants or grapes well in a pan of water; afterwards mash thoroughly, and put in a preserving kettle, letting them simmer slowly for fifteen or twenty minutes. Strain through a thin muslin bag, and, for every pint of juice, add one pound of granulated sugar. Mix well together, and boil five minutes, and put into glasses while warm. Cut paper to fit the top, dip in brandy, and lay over the jelly, and when quite cold tie a paper over the top, and put away in a dry, dark place.

Calves' Foot Jelly.

Boil 4 calves' feet in 4 or 5 quarts of water, until reduced to shreds; strain, and let the liquid cool; after taking off the fat, put the jelly in a kettle, with one pint of California sherry, or white wine, 3 cups granulated sugar, the whites of 4 eggs, well beaten, the juice of 1 lemon, with half of the grated peel, 1 teaspoonful of ground cinnamon or nutmeg; boil until clear, and strain into moulds or glasses.

Ice-Cream.

There are a thousand and one modes and recipes for making ice-cream. But, after having tested the merits of a large number, I have found the following formula, used by Mr. Piper, the former head cook of the Occidental Hotel, of San Francisco, in all respects superior to any that I have ever used:

One quart of Jersey, or best dairy milk, with the addition of a pint of rich cream; 6 eggs, and 1 pound of best granulated white sugar, thoroughly beaten and incorporated together; place the milk in a can, set it in a vessel of boiling water, and let it come to a boiling heat, stirring well at the same time. Then take from the fire, and add vanilla, lemon, or such flavoring as you may prefer, after which set it in ice-water to cool, and then freeze. Break the ice for the freezer of a uniform size, mixing coarse salt with the mass. Stir the cream constantly, and scrape thoroughly from the sides. The more the cream is stirred, the more delicate the mixture will be.

Orange-Ice.

The juice of 6 oranges; after adding the grated rind of 1 mix the juice of two lemons, and the grated rind of one; after adding 1 pint of granulated white sugar, dissolved in a pint of cold water, freeze the mixture the same as ice cream.

Lemon Jelly.

One pound sugar; 3 lemons, sliced, and put into the sugar; 1 ounce gelatine, dissolved in cold water sufficient to cover; add a quart of boiling water, and strain into moulds.

Wine Jelly.

One box Cox's gelatine, dissolved in a little warm water; add a large goblet sherry wine, and 1-1/2 pints of boiling water; sweeten highly and boil briskly. To be eaten with cream.

Peach Jelly.

Do not pare, but rub your peaches; place them in a porcelain lined kettle, with just enough water to cover. Let them cook thoroughly--from one to two hours--then strain through a jelly-bag. To every 4 cups of juice, add 3 cups of sugar, and set on to boil again. Sometimes, when the fruit is particularly fine and fresh, three-quarters of an hour or less boiling is sufficient to make a jelly, but sometimes it takes longer. To test it, drop some in a saucer and set on ice; if it does not spread but remain rounded, it is done.

Roman Punch.

Take the juice of 4 oranges, and of the same number of lemons or limes. Dissolve 1 pound of white sugar in a pint of water. Mix all these together, and strain; after which add 1 pint of California champagne, and 2 gills of good California brandy, if desirable. Freeze the same as ice-cream.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Butter and Butter-Making.

With the exception of bread, which has been appropriately termed "the staff of life," there is, perhaps, no other article of food more universally used by mankind than butter. Notwithstanding this well established fact, it is a lamentable reflection, that really good butter is one of the rarest and most difficult articles to be procured. Although the adulterations of this staple article of food are numerous, the main cause of the quantities of bad butter with which the community is burdened, is ignorance of the true methods, and slovenliness in the preparation of this staple article, for which no reasonable excuse can be urged. In the making of good butter, no process is more simple or easily accomplished. The Quakers, living in the vicinity of Philadelphia, more than a century ago, so thoroughly understood and practised the art of making the best butter, that the products of their dairies sold readily in that city for from five to eight cents per pound more than that produced by any other class.

With these thrifty people, cleanliness was really regarded as "akin to godliness," and the principal was thoroughly and practically carried out in all their every day affairs. The most scrupulous attention being paid to the keeping of all the utensils used scrupulously clean, and so thoroughly work the mass, that every particle of milk is expelled. The greatest evil to be guarded against, is the too free use of salt, which for this purpose should be of the utmost purity and refined quality. I am satisfied, from personal observation, that the butter made at the Jersey Farm, at San Bruno, in the vicinity of San Francisco, in every respect equals in quality the celebrated Darlington, Philadelphia.

For the keeping milk fresh and sweet, and the proper setting of the rich cream, an old style spring-house is essentially requisite. Who that has ever visited one of these clean, cool and inviting appendages of a well conducted farm and well ordered household, at some home-farm of the olden time, does not recall it in the mind's-eye, as vividly as did the poet Woodworth when he penned that undying poem of ancient home-life, "The Old Oaken Bucket that Hung in the Well."

Properly constructed, a spring-house should be built of stone, which is regarded as the coolest--brick or concrete--with walls at least twelve inches in thickness. The floor should be of brick, and not more than two feet below the surface of the ground. The roof should be of some material best adapted to warding off the heat, and keeping the interior perfectly cool, while due attention should be paid to the allowance of a free circulation of air, and provision be made for thorough ventilation; only as much light as is actually necessary should be admitted, and where glass is used for this purpose, it should invariably be shielded from the sun. Walled trenches being constructed for this purpose, a constant stream of cool running water should pass around the pans containing the milk and cream, which, for the making of good butter, should never be permitted to become sour. The shelving and other furniture, and all wooden utensils used, should be of white ash, maple or white wood, in order to avoid all danger of communicating distasteful or deleterious flavors. As there is no liquid more sensitive to its surroundings, or which more readily absorbs the flavor of articles coming in contact with it, than pure milk, everything that has a tendency to produce this deleterious result should be carefully excluded. Neither paints or varnish should be used about the structure, and the entire concern should be as utterly free from paint as the inside of an old time Quaker meeting-house.

In making butter, the cream should be churned at a temperature of about 65 degrees. When the churning is finished, take up the lump and carefully work out every particle of milk. Never wash or put your hands in the mass. To each pound of butter work in a little less than an ounce of the purest dairy salt. Set the butter away, and at the proper time work the mass over until not a particle of milk remains.

A Word of Advice to Hotel and Restaurant Cooks.

I wish to say a word to the extensive brotherhood and ancient and honorable guild constituting the Grand Army of Hotel and Restaurant Cooks distributed throughout our country, on the all-important subject of making coffee and heating milk. Some satirical writer has sarcastically said that the way to make good coffee is to ascertain how that beverage is prepared in leading hotels and restaurants, and then make your coffee as they don't! There is no good reason why coffee cannot be as well made in hotel and restaurant kitchens, as in private families or anywhere else, if the berry is good, well-browned, and pains are taken for the proper preparation of this popular beverage.

Twenty years ago the art of making coffee in large quantities, and of properly heating milk for the same, was an unsolved problem--in fact, if not numbered among the many lost arts, might be classed as among the unknown in the culinary art. Twenty-one years ago, the late Mr. Marden--a well-known citizen of San Francisco--and the author of this work--produced, as the result of long practical experience, a form for making a decoction of the ancient Arabian berry, which is now in general use throughout the entire Union. True, attempts have been made to improve upon the mode, which was the crowning triumph of the parties alluded to, but they have invariably proved failures, and to-day Marden & Clayton's coffee and milk urns stand pre-eminent in this important department of cookery. These urns are simply two capacious stone-ware jars, of equal capacity, and made precisely alike, with an orifice one inch from the bottom, in which a faucet is firmly cemented. Each jar is suspended in a heavy tin casing, affording an intervening space of two inches, which is to be filled with hot, but not boiling water, as a too high temperature would injure the flavor of the coffee, and detract from the aroma of the fragrant berry. Suspend a thin cotton sack in the centre, and half the height of the jar. After putting in this the desired amount of coffee, pour on it sufficient boiling water to make strong coffee. As soon as the water has entirely filtered through, draw off the liquid through the stop-cock at the bottom of the jar, and return it to the sack, passing it through, in the same manner, two or three times. After five minutes raise the sack, pour in a cup of hot water, and let it filter through, getting, in this manner, every particle of the strength. Immediately after this remove the sack; for if it is left remaining but a short time, the aroma will be changed for the worse. Cover tightly, and keep the jar surrounded with hot, but not boiling water. Next, put into the milk urn--also surrounded with hot water--one-half the milk for the amount of coffee, and at the proper time add the remaining half of the milk, having it, in this manner, fresh, and not over-cooked. Should the milk become too hot, pour in a cup of cold milk, stirring well at the same time.

The first of these urns for making coffee and heating milk, were those used for the purpose at the opening of the Occidental Hotel of this city--of which Mr. Piper was at that time the intelligent and experienced head-cook. This mode of making coffee in large quantities is still followed at this hotel, which, from the time of its opening to the present, has maintained the reputation as one of the best of the numerous excellent public houses of this city, and the entire Union.

Clayton's California Golden Coffee.

Let the coffee--which should be nicely browned, but not burned--be ground rather fine, in order that you may extract the strength without boiling--as that dissipates the aroma and destroys the flavor. Put the coffee in a thin muslin sack--reaching less than half-way to the bottom of the vessel--then place it in the pot, and pour over enough boiling water to make strong coffee. Let it stand on the hot range two or three minutes, when lift out the sack, pour the liquid in a vessel, and return it through the sack the second time, after which, raising the sack again, pour through a little hot water to extract all the strength from the grounds. Next, pour into the liquid, cold, Jersey Dairy, or any other pure country milk, until the coffee assumes a rich golden color, and after it reaches a boiling-heat once more, set it back. Should the milk be boiled separately, the richness, combined with its albumen, will be confined to the top; whereas, if added cold, and boiled with the coffee, it will be thoroughly incorporated with the liquid, adding materially to its rich flavor and delicate aroma.

[Never substitute a woolen for the muslin strainer, as that fabric, being animal should never come in contact with heat; while cotton or linen, being of vegetable fibre, is easily washed clean and dried. Neither should tin be used, as that lets the fine coffee through, and clouds the liquid, which should be clear. To extract its full strength, coffee should invariably be ground as fine as oatmeal or finely-ground hominy, and protracted boiling dissipates the aroma and destroys its fine flavor.]

The Very Best Way to Make Chocolate.

After grating through a coarse grater, put the chocolate in a stewpan with a coffee-cup or more of hot water; let it boil up two or three minutes, and add plenty of good rich country milk to make it of the right consistency. Too much water tends to make this otherwise delightful beverage insipid.

[Good Cocoa is made in the same manner.]

Old Virginia Egg-Nog.

Two dozen fresh eggs; 1 gallon rich milk; 1-1/2 pounds powdered sugar; 2 pints cognac brandy, or Santa Cruz rum--or 1/2 pint cognac and 1/2 pint Jamaica, or Santa Cruz rum. Break the eggs carefully, separating the whites from the yolks; add the sugar to the latter, and with a strong spoon beat until very light, adding gradually 2 dessert spoonfuls of powdered mace or nutmeg. Next, add the liquor, pouring in slowly, stirring actively at the same time; after which add the milk in like manner. Meanwhile--having whipped the whites of the eggs with an egg-beater into a light froth--pour the egg-nog into a bowl, add the white froth, and decorate with crimson sugar or nutmeg, and serve. The foregoing proportions will be sufficient to make fourteen pints of very superior egg-nog.

Clayton's Popular Sandwich Paste.

Take 2 pounds of Whittaker's Star ham, in small pieces--2/3 lean and 1/3 fat--the hock portion of the ham is best for this purpose. Have ready two fresh calves tongues, boiled and skinned nicely, and cut like the ham. Put these in a kettle, along with 2 good-sized onions, and cover with cold water, boiling slowly until quite tender; when add 1 pound of either fresh or canned tomatoes, stirring for half-an-hour, adding a little hot water, if in danger of burning. Add to the mixture, at the same time, these spices: plenty of best mustard, and a little ground cloves, along with Worcestershire or Challenge sauce, allowing the mixture to simmer five minutes. When cool enough, pour into a wooden bowl, and after chopping fine, pound the mixture well, while it is warm, with a potato-masher. After the mass has cooled it will spread like butter. Should additional seasoning be desired, it can be worked in at any desired time. If not rich enough to suit some palates, one-fourth of a pound best butter may be worked in.

The bread used for the sandwiches must be quite cold and perfectly fresh--cutting carefully in thin slices--using for this purpose a long, thin-bladed and quite sharp knife. Take a thin shaving from the bottom of the loaf, then from the top an inch-wide slice, after removing the crust. Care must be taken to cut without either tearing or pressing the bread. Spread on one side of each slice--as if using butter--and after joining the slices, cut the same to suit the taste.

[As the best bread is the only kind to be used in making sandwiches--without wishing to make invidious distinctions--I must say that Engleberg furnishes from his bakery (on Kearney street), the best I have ever used for this purpose, as it cuts without breaking, and does not dry so soon as other breads I have made use of.]

Welsh Rabbit.

To prepare Welsh rabbit, or rare-bit--both names being used to designate this popular and appetizing dish, which has ever been a favorite with gourmands and good livers, both ancient and modern--take one-half pound of best cheese--not, however, over nine months old--Davidson's, Gilroy, California, or White's, Herkimer County, New York, and cut in small pieces. Put over a slow fire, in a porcelain-lined kettle; when it begins to melt pour in three tablespoonfuls rich milk or cream, and a little good mustard. Stir from the time the cheese begins to melt, to prevent scorching. Have ready a quite hot dish; cover the bottom with toast, buttered upon both sides, upon which pour the melted cheese, spreading evenly over. If you prefer, you may use as a condiment a little mustard, pepper or any favorite sauce. This is a dish that must be eaten as soon as taken from the fire.

Delicate Waffles.

Take 1/2 pound butter; 1/2 pound fine sugar; 9 eggs; 3 pints of milk; 1-1/2 ounces of best baking powder, and 2-1/4 pounds sifted flour. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream; add the yolks of the eggs, the milk, and half the flour; mix well, with the whites of the eggs, beaten to a staunch snow, and add the remainder of the flour. Bake in waffle irons, well greased and heated. When baked, the tops may be dusted well with fine sugar, or with a mixture of sugar and powdered cinnamon.

Force-Meat Balls.

Mix, with 1 pound of chopped veal, or other meat, 1 egg, a little butter, 1 cup, or less, of bread crumbs--moistening the whole with milk or the juice of the stewed meat. Season with summer savory. Make into small balls, and fry brown.

Beef-Tea.

Take 3 pounds of lean beef; chop as fine as coarse hominy, and put in a vessel, covering the meat with cold water. Cover the vessel tightly, and let boil for four hours, carefully keeping the beef just covered with the water. Pass through a colander, pressing out all the juice with a potato-masher, strain through a cotton cloth, and add a little salt. A glass of sherry wine decidedly improves beef-tea.

Crab Sandwich.

Put 1/2 pound boiled crab meat in a mortar, and pound to a smooth paste, adding the juice of a lemon. Season with pepper and salt, with a pinch of curry powder, and mix the paste well with 6 ounces best butter. Cut slices of bread rather thin, trim off the crust, and spread.

Something about Pork.--The Kind to Select, and Best Mode of Curing.