Chapter VII (16)

EXETER PUDDING, À LA SOYER.—Put in a proper sized basin ten ounces of fine boiled crumbs, four ounces of sago, seven ounces of suet chopped fine, six ounces of moist sugar, the peel of half a lemon grated, a quarter-pint of rum, and four eggs; stir for a few minutes with a spoon, add three more eggs, four table-spoonfuls of clouted cream, mix well: it is then ready to fill the mould. Butter the mould well, put in a handful of bread crumbs, shake the mould well till the greater part stick to the butter, then throw out the remainder, and have ready six penny sponge cakes, two ounces of ratafia, and half a pound of either raspberry or strawberry jam: cover the bottom of the mould with a layer of ratafias, and just cover them with a layer of the mixture. Cut the sponge-cake lengthways, spread each piece pretty thick with jam, put a layer in the mould, then a few ratafias, afterwards some of the mixture, and so on till the mould is full, taking care that a layer of the mixture is on the top of the pudding. It will take about forty minutes baking.

For the _sauce_, put in a small stewpan three table-spoonfuls of currant jelly, and two wine-glassfuls of sherry; warm on the fire, and pour over the pudding, and serve hot.

RATAFIA PUDDING.—Blanch, and pound in a mortar until they become a good paste, four ounces of sweet, and a quarter of an ounce of bitter almonds, with a dessert-spoonful of water; then add one ounce and a half of fresh butter, melted with a little cream, two well-beaten eggs, a little nutmeg, and sugar, and brandy or curaçoa to taste. Butter a small cup or a mould (earthenware), pour in the pudding, and bake. When done, turn out, and serve with the following sauce:—Take a wine-glassful of white wine, half a glass of rum, a little grated lemon-peel, sugar to taste, and a pinch of powdered cinnamon; stir into some good thick melted butter, and serve part in a sauce-boat, and pour some over the pudding.

TRAFALGAR CAKES.—Mix a pound of well-dried flour with six ounces of finely pounded sugar; beat six ounces of butter to a cream, and stir in half a pound of currants well cleaned and dried, and three eggs well beaten, then add the flour and sugar, and beat for some time. Flour some tins, and drop a table-spoonful upon them, then bake as usual.

FOOD FOR NOVEMBER.

MEAT.—Beef, house-lamb, mutton, pork, veal, doe-venison.

FISH.—Barbel, brill, carp, cockles, cod, crabs, _dace_, _dory_, eels, gudgeon, gurnets, haddocks, _hake_, halibut, herrings, ling, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, _pike_, plaice, prawns, salmon, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, tench, thornback, turbot, whitings.

POULTRY AND GAME.—Chickens, dotterel, ducks, fowls, _geese_, _grouse_, _hares_, larks, moor-game, partridges, pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, _snipes_, _teal_, turkeys, wheat-ears, widgeon, wild ducks, _woodcocks_.

VEGETABLES.—Jerusalem artichokes, chard beets, borecole, brocoli, cabbages, cardoons, carrots, celery, chervil, coleworts, endive, herbs of all sorts, leeks, lettuces, onions, parsnips, potatoes, salad, savoys, scorzonera, skirrets, shalots, spinach (winter), tomatos, turnips.

FRUIT.—Almonds. _Apples_—golden pippin, Holland pippin, Kentish pippin, nonpareil, winter pearmain, Wheeler’s russet. Bullace, chestnuts, hazel-nuts; grapes; medlars. _Pears_—Bergamot, Bezy de Charmontelle, Colmar, cresan, Spanish Bon Chrétien; services, walnuts.

COOKERY FOR NOVEMBER.

SOUPS.

COCK-A-LEEKIE, OR LEEK SOUP.—Boil from four to six pounds of good shin-beef, well broken and sliced, until the liquor is very good. Strain it, and add a capon or large fowl, trussed as if for boiling. When it boils (which should be gently), add half the quantity of leeks intended to be used, well cleaned, and cut in inch lengths; skim carefully, and in half an hour add the remaining part of the leeks, and a seasoning of pepper and salt.

The great art in making this soup, consists in boiling down the first portion of leeks so as to extract, together with the meat, all their flavour; and having the soup as thick of leeks as possible. The coarse green part of the leeks should be rejected.

Some persons thicken the soup with fine oatmeal; and when the flavour of the leeks is not required to be too potent, a little spinach and parsley are substituted for the second portion.

Sometimes the capon is served in the tureen, whole or divided, with the cock-a-leekie.

CALF’S HEAD.—Wash the head clean with salt and water, put into a stewpan, cover with water, add a faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, four or five blades of mace, and a tea-cupful of pearl-barley. Stew until tender, and then add a stick of celery, previously cut small, and stewed plainly until tender. Season with pepper and salt to taste, place the head in the middle of the tureen, pour the soup over, and serve hot.

Some persons cut the calf’s head into small pieces previous to serving up the soup.

MACCARONI.—Boil a pound of good maccaroni in enough veal stock (see p. 253) to cover it, until quite tender, and put about half of it into a small stewpan; and two quarts more stock to the portion in the large pan, boil for an hour, and then rub through a tamis-cloth or fine sieve. When it becomes thick, add boiled cream, and rub through the tamis again until quite smooth; then add the liquid to the maccaroni that remains in the small pan, and shake in half a pound of grated Parmesan cheese to the whole; heat, but do not allow it to boil, then serve with a French roll in the tureen.

FISH.

CARP, TO FRY.—These fish are not so good when done this way as stewed (see p. 254); but when required to be thus cooked, they should be done precisely the same as perch.

COD, TO CURE.—Split the fish down the back: clean well, and immerse in a strong pickle for about ten days or a fortnight; then remove, rub well with dry salt, and hang up to dry, having previously thrust a stick into each, to keep the two sides of the fish apart. If desirable, smoke as directed for herrings.

EELS, TO COLLAR.—Skin, gut, remove the back-bone, and cut off the heads of as many eels as you want; then dip into a mixture of salt, common pepper, cayenne, grated nutmeg, pounded cloves, lemon-peel grated, and some finely rubbed sage. Roll up in fillets, tie with string as usual, boil in salt and water, with an equal portion of vinegar, until tender, and then remove; add some whole pepper to the pickle, which should be placed in a deep dish, and when cold, plunge the eel fillets into it.

GUDGEON, TO FRY.—Proceed the same as directed for dace.

HAKE PIE.—Cut into cutlets as directed at page 249; then lay in a pie-dish, and sprinkle with a seasoning composed of pepper, salt, and cayenne; then bake the same as directed for eel pie (see p. 262).

LOBSTER SAUCE.—Break the shell of the lobster, extract the meat from the claws and body, cut small; boil the shells in half a pint of water, with a little ground allspice and scraped horse-radish, until all the strength is extracted; strain the liquor into a stewpan; add the lobster, half a pound of cream or thick melted butter, a tea-spoonful or two of anchovy sauce, and a squeeze of lemon. If you have a hen lobster, remove the coral and spawn, and pound it up fine in a mortar: mix this with a little of the sauce, return it to the stewpan, stir well, and let the whole simmer gently for about five minutes, but do not let it boil; season with cayenne and salt while stewing.

SCALLOPED OYSTERS.—Put a dozen of bearded oysters, previously dipped in bread crumbs, into a scallop shell. Mix pepper, salt, a little nutmeg, butter, and bread crumbs well together, and put layers of this and oysters alternately. Egg the last layer over, and brown in a Dutch oven.

TENCH, TO STEW BROWN.—See receipt given for carp.

POULTRY, GAME, ETC.

DUCKS, NOTTINGHAM FASHION.—Choose a pair of fine fat ducks, lard as usual, and then half-roast them. Remove from before the fire, place in a clean stewpan, and stew gently for half an hour with a pint of good gravy; then add half a pint of oysters nicely bearded, a dozen roasted and bruised chestnuts, a pint of red wine, and two small onions minced fine; three or four sprigs of thyme, a blade of mace, six peppercorns, the crumb of a French roll rubbed fine, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. When well flavoured, remove, and serve hot. It is necessary to cover the stewpan well during the time the ducks are cooking.

WOODCOCKS, TO RAGOUT.—Prepare and cook the same as snipes.

VEGETABLES.

CARDOONS FRIED AND BUTTERED.—Cut them about ten inches long, string, and then tie them in bundles like asparagus, and cut them into dice; boil like peas; add some butter, pepper, and salt, and serve hot.

CARDOONS À LA FROMAGE.—String, then cut them an inch long, place in a saucepan, and stew in some port or red wine, enough to cover them, until tender: then season with pepper and salt, and thicken with floured butter; then pour into the dish; add the juice of an orange, and scrape some Cheshire cheese all over it, then brown with a salamander, and serve hot.

CELERY FRIED.—Take three heads of celery, cut off the green tops, remove the outside stalks, wash clean and pare the roots clean; then have ready four ounces of white wine, the yolks of two eggs beat fine, and a little salt and nutmeg; mix all well together with flour, so as to form a good batter; then dip each head into the batter, and fry a nice light brown in lard. When done, lay in the dish, pour melted butter over them, and serve hot.

TURNIP PIE.—Season some mutton chops with salt and pepper, reserving the ends of the neck-bones to lay over the turnips, which must be cut into small dice, and strewed over the steaks. Add two or three table-spoonfuls of milk, and cover with a crust.

MEAT.

MUTTON HASHED.—Cut the remains of a cold leg or shoulder of mutton into thin slices, whether fat or lean; flour and pepper well, and leave on the dish. Boil the bones, well broken up, with a few onions minced well, add some salt, a little mushroom ketchup and the hashed meat; warm over a slow fire, but do not let it boil; then add port wine and currant jelly, or omit, as you please. If the former, it will impart a venison flavour, if the latter method is adopted it will be plain.

VEAL LARDED.—Remove the under bone of a neck of veal, and leave only a part of the long bones on; then trim it neatly, lard, and roast it gently with the caul over it. When nearly done, remove the caul, in order that the meat may be just tinged a brown. Serve with mushroom, celery, or other sauce. At another season, sorrel, asparagus, green pea, or lemon sauces are correct, but at this period such cannot be obtained.

PASTRY.

AMERICAN BISCUITS.—Take a quarter of a pound of butter and mix with a pound of flour; add a quarter of a pound of sugar to half a pint of new milk, warm, and pour gradually into the butter paste. Make a solution of about half a tea-spoonful of salt of tartar in half a tea-cupful of cold water; add to the mixture, and work up the paste to a good consistence; then roll it out, and cut with the top of a wine-glass. These cakes should be baked in a quick oven as soon as possible after they are made.

BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING.—Grease a dish well with butter, then sprinkle in a good thick layer of currants, well washed and picked; add some brown sugar, and cover with thin slices of light white bread until the dish is filled by alternate layers of currants, sugar, and bread. Boil a pint of new milk, add four well-beaten yolks of eggs, a little nutmeg and grated lemon-peel; pour into the dish containing the bread, &c., and let it stand for an hour, then bake in a moderate oven. A paste may be put round the edge of the dish, but it is not necessary.

SOMERSETSHIRE SYLLABUB.—Put into a large china bowl a pint of port, the same quantity of sherry, and sugar to taste; then milk the bowl full, and after letting it stand for twenty minutes, cover well with clouted cream; grate nutmeg over all, add pounded cinnamon, and strew thickly with nonpareil comfits.

FOOD FOR DECEMBER.

MEAT.—Beef, house-lamb, mutton, pork, veal, doe-venison.

FISH.—Barbel, brill, turbot, carp, cockles, _cod_, crabs, dab, _dory_, eels, gudgeon, gurnets, haddocks, _hake_, halibut, herrings, _ling_, lobsters, mackerel, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, ruffe, salmon, shrimps, _skate_, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, _tench_, whitings.

POULTRY AND GAME.—Capons, chickens, dotterel, ducks, fowls, geese, grouse, guinea-fowl, hares, larks, moor-game, partridges, pea-fowl, pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, snipes, teal, turkeys, wheat-ears, widgeon, wild ducks, woodcocks.

VEGETABLES.—Jerusalem artichokes, beets, borecole, white and purple brocoli, cabbages, cardoons, carrots, celery, endive, herbs of all sorts, leeks, lettuces, onions, parsnips, potatoes, salad, savoys, scorzonera, skirrets, shalots, spinach, truffles, turnips, _forced_ asparagus.

FRUIT.—Almonds. _Apples_—Golden pippin, nonpareil, winter pearmain, golden russet. Chestnuts; hazel-nuts; a few grapes; medlars; oranges. _Pears_—Bergamot, Beurré d’Hiver, Colmar, Holland, St. Germains. Walnuts.

COOKERY FOR DECEMBER.

SOUPS.

BAKED.—Take a pound of any lean meat and cut into dice, place in an earthen jar, or pot, that will hold five quarts of liquid. Slice, and add to it, two onions, two carrots, two ounces of rice, washed and previously soaked, a pint of whole or split peas, and some pepper and salt to taste; cover all with a gallon of water, tie a cloth over the top of the jar, or close the lid of the pot down very close, and bake. This is a cheap and useful soup for poor people, and may be much improved by using the liquor that salt beef, or, indeed, any meat has been boiled in, instead of water.

CHEAP—FOR THE POOR.—Soak a quart of split peas for a day in cold water, and then put them into a boiler with two gallons and a half of water, and two pounds of cold boiled potatoes, well bruised, a faggot of herbs, salt, pepper, and two onions sliced. Cover it very close, and boil _very gently_ for five hours, or until only two gallons of soup remain.

ANOTHER.—Take two pounds of shin of beef, a quarter of a pound of barley, a halfpenny-worth of parsley, two onions sliced, salt and pepper to taste, and having cut the meat into dice, and broken the bone, place in a gallon pot and fill up with water; boil very gently for five hours. Potatoes, celery tops, cabbage, or any vegetable left from the day before may be added.

RICH GRAVY.—Take a pound of beef, the same quantity of veal and mutton, cut into dice, and place in a boiler with two gallons of water, half a carrot sliced, a faggot of sweet herbs, an onion sliced, an old fowl beaten to pieces, the upper crust of a small loaf toasted very crisp, four blades of mace, a little pepper, and four cloves; cover well, and let it simmer on the side of the fire until reduced one-half, then strain through a coarse sieve into a stewpan. Add half an ounce of truffles, two heads of fine celery sliced small, four table-spoonfuls of finely sifted raspings, the palate of an ox boiled tender and cut small, and two cocks’ combs; cover very close, and simmer gently over a slow fire for two hours. Make some forcemeat balls, and place in the tureen, then pour the soup over, and serve.

PLUM PORRIDGE.—Boil eight pounds of shin of beef for five hours in a gallon of water, skimming carefully throughout, and finally straining off the liquor; add two pounds of meat cut small. Soften the crumb of a penny loaf in some of the liquor, beat it smooth, thicken the soup with it, add half a pound of stoned raisins, the same quantity of stoned prunes, a pound of well washed currants, and grated nutmeg, pepper, and mace to taste, and boil until the fruit is soft, then serve.

FISH.

BRILL, TO FRY IN BATTER.—Cut off the fish from the bones, in cutlets of about three inches or more; remove the skin from the dark side, but let the pale side remain. Dip each cutlet into batter, and fry in plenty of dripping. Garnish with fried parsley, and serve up with anchovy and melted butter.

COD SOUNDS, BOILED.—Soak the sounds in warm water for half an hour, then scrape and clean well. Boil in milk and water, and when tender, serve in a napkin, with egg sauce.

COD SOUNDS RAGOUT.—Scald, clean, and rub the sounds well with salt; then stew in some good highly-seasoned gravy, and when tender add a little cream and floured butter to thicken; give a boil, and season with grated lemon-peel, nutmeg, and a little allspice.

DORY, TO FRY.—Clean and dry the fish well, egg over, dip in bread crumbs, and fry a light brown. Garnish with fried parsley, and serve with plain melted butter.

HAKE, TO BAKE.—Dress the same as pike (see p. 281).

LING, TO BROIL.—Cut into convenient sized pieces after the fish is cleaned, flour well, and set on a gridiron over a clear fire. Shake a little pepper and salt over each piece while broiling, and when done, rub in some butter before the fire, then serve with plain melted butter.

PLAICE, TO FRY.—Clean, cut into cutlets, but do not remove the skin, and fry as previously directed for brill.

TENCH, TO STEW BROWN.—Dress the same as carp (pp. 254, 268).

TURBOT, TO PICKLE.—Prepare the same as directed for cold salmon (p. 277).

POULTRY.

FOWLS, FORCED.—Cut a large fowl down the back, remove the skin from the whole of the body very carefully; cut the flesh from the bones, and chop it up finely with half a pint of oysters, and an ounce of beef marrow, then season with pepper and salt. Add sufficient cream to mix it well, lay the meat on the bones, draw the skin over, and sew up the back. Lay thin slices of bacon on the breast, tie them on in diamonds, and roast it an hour by a moderate fire. Pour a good brown gravy sauce into the dish. Remove the bacon from the fowl, and then place the fowl in the dish. Garnish with oysters or mushrooms, and serve hot.

GUINEA-FOWL, TO ROAST.—Lard, prepare, and then dress the same as a pheasant (see p. 291), and it will be most delicious.

VEGETABLES.

ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS, TO RAGOUT.—Soak them in warm water two or three hours, changing the water; then put them into a stewpan with some good gravy, a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, or enough to flavour, a little salt, and cayenne pepper. Boil, thicken with flour, place in a dish, and pour the gravy sauce over, then serve hot.

SPINACH STEWED, AND EGGS.—Pick and wash the spinach very clean, put it into the saucepan with a little salt, cover it close, shake the pan often, and when tender and green, toss it into a sieve to drain, and then lay it on the dish. Have ready a stewpan of boiling water, break as many eggs into cups as you wish to poach, drop them quietly into the water, remove with an egg slice when done, lay them on the spinach, and garnish the dish with slices of quartered lemon. Serve hot with melted butter in a sauce-boat.

MEAT.

CALF’S HEAD PIE.—Stew a knuckle of veal till tender, with two onions, a faggot of herbs, a blade of mace, and six peppercorns, in three pints of water, and when done, set aside, with the bones in it, to simmer, removing sufficient meat to form into balls. Half-boil a calf’s head, and cut the flesh into square bits; put a layer of ham in slices at the bottom of a dish, then some pieces of the head well seasoned with pepper and salt, first fat and then lean, with balls, and hard eggs cut in half, alternating until the dish is full, but not _too closely packed_. Put a little water and gravy into the dish, cover with a tolerably thick crust, and bake in a slow oven. When done, fill up with gravy, but do not cut till it is quite cold. Some persons add oysters and mushrooms, and eat the pie warmed instead of cold.

DURHAM PIE.—Take seven pounds of flour, a pound and a quarter of suet, and two pounds of butter; form into a paste, mould it to fancy, so as to make a handsome ornamental crust, and bake in a slow oven. Then take a goose, a turkey, a grouse, a woodcock, a snipe, a pheasant, part of a hare; a partridge, a pound and a half of bullock’s tongue, and cut into small pieces; stew gently, and then place in the centre of the crust, with the gravy, and some grated ham or beef; season to taste, and bake in a slow oven. Of course the top is covered in with paste, ornamented with the feet of the birds as a central crown, and foliage, &c., around them.

PRACTICAL HOUSEWIFE’S CHRISTMAS HAM.—Soak the ham, be the weight whatever it may, half the usual time in water; remove, wash well with cold water, place in a pan large and deep enough to contain it, cover with beer or good ale, and let it remain until the required time for soaking a ham of the size used has expired. Boil as usual until the skin can be readily removed; then place the ham in a tin or an earthenware dish, and cover with a common flour-and-water paste, or surround with butter. Bake in a moderately heated oven until done, remove the paste or batter, cover with bread raspings, and serve hot.

Cooked in this manner, a ham acquires the most delicious flavour, especially if cured by a method we shall hereafter point out.

HAMBURG BEEF.—Rub a rump of beef with brown sugar, and let it lie three days, turning frequently during the time. Remove from the dish, wipe it, and salt it with four ounces of bay, and the same quantity of common salt, and an ounce of saltpetre, well mixed. Cover with what remains after rubbing in, and let it remain for a fortnight, turning it occasionally. Remove the superfluous salt, roll tight in a cloth, and press well with weights. Smoke the meat in the cloth, by hanging it in a chimney where wood smoke ascends, or by adopting the same method as that recommended for herrings.

It may be boiled, and pressed with heavy weights until cold; or fried with bacon in slices, as required.

PASTRY.

ANTWERP CREAM.—Make a housewife’s cream, as directed by us at p. 279, and whisk until it curdles, then set the curd carefully upon a fine sieve, and let it drain over a basin all night. Take thirty ratafia biscuits, bruise them, and add to the whey, with a twopenny sponge-cake broken up fine, two table-spoonfuls of raspberry and currant jam, and two table-spoonfuls of brandy; mix well together, pour into a small glass dish, heap the curd over the top with a fork, and ornament the edge with ratafia biscuits.

BON-BON CRACKERS.—Procure various coloured papers, and cut them into pieces measuring three inches wide and four inches long; then cut the end of each into a narrow fringe an inch long, and gum or paste a blue paper and a red one together, so that the fringe may be at both ends. Buy some Waterloo crackers at a toy shop, and paste each end of one to the inside of the coloured papers, so that the centre of the cracker shall be over the joining. Put a burnt almond or some bon-bon in the centre, roll it up neatly, screw the two ends, and spread the fringe.

Any coloured paper will do, and the greater contrast displayed the better the effect.

THE HOUSEWIFE’S CHRISTMAS CAKE.—Take two pounds of pounded sugar-candy, two pounds of flour, two pounds of butter, thirty-six eggs, four pounds of currants, a pound of raisins stoned and chopped, half a pound of almonds blanched and chopped, half a pound of citron, a pound of candied orange-peel, the same of candied lemon-peel, a large nutmeg pounded, half an ounce of powdered allspice, half an ounce of powdered mace, ginger, cinnamon, and coriander, and half a pint of brandy.

All the ingredients should be well dried, the white of the eggs well beaten up separately from the yolks, the butter stirred and beaten almost to a cream, then add the rest gradually, taking care they are well beaten and mixed. Have ready a large tin, well lined with buttered paper, pour in the cake, and bake in a slow oven for at least four hours. Smaller proportions may be adopted.

GINGERBREAD SNAPS.—Take a pound and a half of flour, half a pound of butter, the same of sugar and treacle, and an ounce of powdered ginger. Mix well before the fire, add five table-spoonfuls of thick cream, work into a stiff paste, roll out thin, dip a wine-glass into flour, cut out the snaps with it, and bake in a quick oven.

GOOD GINGERBREAD NUTS.—Take three pounds of flour, a pound of sugar, three and a half pounds of treacle, half an ounce of carraway seeds, half an ounce of allspice, two ounces of butter, half an ounce of candied lemon-peel, three ounces of ground ginger, half an ounce of coriander, the yolks of two eggs, and a wine-glassful of brandy. Work the butter to a cream, then the eggs, spice, and brandy, then flour, sugar, and then _hot_ treacle; if not stiff enough, a little more flour must be added in rolling out, but the less the better.

MINCEMEAT.—Take four cups of suet, two of currants, four of stoned raisins, half a cup of preserved ginger, half a cup of dried citron, a cup of pounded sugar-candy, a grated nutmeg, a dessert-spoonful of pounded mace, another of pounded cloves, six wine-glassfuls of brandy, and three of noyeau. Mix well.

ANOTHER.—See p. 252.

MINCEMEAT, À LA SOYER.—Take four pounds and a half of kidney beef suet, which skin and chop very finely; have also a quarter of a pound of candied lemon and orange-peel, the same of citron, a pound and a half of lean cooked beef, and three pounds and a half of apples, the whole separately chopped very fine, and put into a large pan with four pounds and a half of currants well washed and picked, two ounces of mixed spice, and two pounds of sugar. Mix the whole well together with the juice of eight lemons and a pint of brandy, place it in jars, and tie down until ready for use; a pound and a half of Malaga raisins, well stoned and chopped, may likewise be added to the above. It is ready for use in a few days.

PLUM PUDDING, MODERATE.—Take a pound and a half of raisins stoned, a pound of currants, well washed and picked; the same quantity of flour and suet; a quarter of a pound of fine white bread, rubbed well; two pounds of orange and lemon-peel, a quarter of a pound of citron-peel cut into square pieces; brown sugar, four ounces; one nutmeg, grated fine; half an ounce of mixed spice; a wine-glassful of brandy, four table-spoonfuls of white wine, two eggs well beaten, and a little salt. Mix as usual, and boil for eight hours.

COOKERY FOR CHILDREN.

Some preparations of food proper for the young have already been given in these pages; nevertheless, we are sure a chapter on this important subject, so generally neglected in cookery books, will be welcomed by the judicious.

It is of great consequence to fix the times of taking food, as well as to regulate the quantity given to a child. The mother should, personally, attend to these arrangements; it is her province.

There is great danger that an infant, under three years of age, will be over-fed, if it be left to the discretion of the nurse. These persons, generally, to stop the screaming of a child, whether it proceed from pain or crossness, or repletion (as it often does)—they give it something to eat—often that which is very injurious, to tempt the appetite; if it will only eat and stop crying, they do not care for the future inconvenience which this habit of indulgence may bring on the child and its mother.

Arrange, as early as possible, the regular times of giving food to your children, according to their age and constitution. Young infants require food every two hours when awake; after three months old, they may go three hours—then cautiously lengthen the time, as the child can bear it. But remember that all temperaments are not alike. Some of the same age may require more food than others. One rule, however, will apply to all—never give a child food to amuse and keep it quiet when it is not hungry, or to reward it for being good. You may as rationally hope to extinguish a fire by pouring on oil, as to cure a peevish temper, or curb a violent one, by pampering the appetite for luxuries in diet; and all the traits of goodness you thus seek to foster, will, in the end, prove as deceptive as the mirage of green fields and cool lakes to the traveller in the hot sands of the desert.

“My children have very peculiar constitutions,” said an anxious mother—“they are so subject to fevers! If they take the least cold, or even have a fall, they are sure to be attacked by fever.” The family lived high, and those young children had a seat at the table, and were helped to the best and richest of everything. And their luncheon was cake and confectionery.

It was suggested to the mother that if she would adopt a different diet for those children, give them bread and milk morning and evening, and a plain dinner of bread, meat, and vegetables, their liability to fevers would be much lessened.

“My children do not love milk, and won’t touch plain food”—was the answer, with a sort of triumphant smile, as though this cramming of her children with good things till the blood of the poor little creatures was almost in a state of inflammation, was a high credit to her good housekeeping.

But do not err on the other hand; and for fear your child should be over-fed, allow it insufficient nourishment. There is not in our country much reason to fear that such will be the case; the danger is, usually, on the side of excess; still we must not forget that the effect of a system of slow starvation is, if not so suddenly fatal as that of repletion, more terrible, because it reduces the intellectual as well as the physical nature of man, till he is hardly equal to the brutes.

In many parts of civilized and Christian Europe, the mass of the people suffer from being over-worked and under-fed; few may die of absolute starvation, but their term of life is much shortened, and their moral and intellectual powers dwarfed or prostrated.

“Under an impoverished diet,” says Dr. Combe, “the moral and intellectual capacity is deteriorated as certainly as the bodily”—and he adverts to the workhouse and charitable institution system of weak soups and low vegetable diet, and to the known facts that children brought up on such fare are usually feeble, puny, and diseased in body, and are at best but moderate in capacity.

The rational course seems to be, to feed infants till about three years old, chiefly with milk and mild farinaceous vegetable preparations; a large portion of good bread, light, well baked, and _cold_, should be given them; after that period, to proportion their solid food to the amount of exercise they are able to take. Children who play abroad in the open air, will require more hearty nourishment, more meat, than those who are kept confined in the house or schoolroom. From the age of ten or twelve, to sixteen or eighteen, when the growth is most rapid and the exercises (of boys especially) most violent, a sufficiency of plain nourishing food should be given; there is little danger of their taking too much, if it be of the right kind and properly cooked. But do not allow them to eat hot bread, or use any kind of stimulating drinks.

FOOD FOR A YOUNG INFANT.—Take of fresh cow’s milk, one table-spoonful, and mix with two table-spoonfuls of hot water; sweeten with loaf sugar as much as may be agreeable. This quantity is sufficient for once feeding a new-born infant; and the same quantity may be given every two or three hours—not oftener—till the mother’s breast affords the natural nourishment.

THICKENED MILK FOR INFANTS WHEN SIX MONTHS OLD.—Take one pint of milk, one pint of water; boil it, and add one table-spoonful of flour. Dissolve the flour first in half a tea-cupful of water; it must be strained in gradually, and boiled hard twenty minutes. As the child grows older, one-third water. If properly made, it is the most nutritious, at the same time the most delicate food that can be given to young children.

BROTH.—Made of lamb or chicken, with stale bread toasted, and broken in, is safe and healthy for the dinners of children, when first weaned.

MILK.—Fresh from the cow, with a _very_ little loaf sugar, is good and safe food for young children. From three years old to seven, pure milk, into which is crumbled stale bread, is the best breakfast and supper for a child.

FOR A CHILD’S LUNCHEON.—Good sweet butter, with stale bread, is one of the most nutritious, at the same time the most wholesome articles of food that can be given children after they are weaned.

MILK PORRIDGE.—Stir four table-spoonfuls of oatmeal smoothly, into a quart of milk, then stir it quickly into a quart of boiling water, and boil up a few minutes till it is thickened; sweeten with sugar.

Oatmeal, where it is found to agree with the stomach, is much better for children, being a good opener as well as cleanser; fine flour in every shape is the reverse. Where biscuit powder is in use, let it be made at home; this, at all events, will prevent them getting the sweepings of the baker’s counters, boxes, and baskets. All the left bread in the nursery, hard ends of stale loaves, &c., ought to be dried in the oven or screen, and reduced to powder in the mortar.

MEATS FOR CHILDREN.—Mutton, lamb, and poultry, are the best. Birds and the white meat of fowls, are the most delicate food of this kind that can be given. These meats should be slowly cooked, and no gravy, if made rich with butter, should be eaten by a young child. Never give children hard, tough, half-cooked meats, of any kind.

VEGETABLES FOR CHILDREN, EGGS, ETC.—Their rice ought to be cooked in no more water than is necessary to swell it; their apples roasted, or stewed with no more water than is necessary to steam them; their vegetables so well cooked as to make them require little butter, and less digestion; their eggs boiled slow and soft. The boiling of their milk ought to be directed by the state of their bowels; if flatulent or bilious, a very little curry powder may be given in their vegetables with good effect; such as turmeric and the warm seeds (not hot peppers) are particularly useful in such cases.

POTATOES AND PEAS.—Potatoes, particularly some kinds, are not easily digested by children; but this is easily remedied by mashing them very fine, and seasoning them with sugar and a little milk. When peas are dressed for children, let them be seasoned with mint and sugar, which will take off the flatulency. If they are old, let them be pulped, as the skins are perfectly indigestible by children’s or weak stomachs. Never give them vegetables less stewed than would pulp through a cullender.

PUDDINGS AND PANCAKES FOR CHILDREN.—Sugar and egg, browned before the fire, or dropped as fritters into a hot frying-pan, without fat, will make them a nourishing meal.

RICE PUDDING WITH FRUIT.—In a pint of new milk put two large spoonfuls of rice well washed; then add two apples, pared and quartered, or a few currants or raisins. Simmer slowly till the rice is very soft, then add one egg, beaten, to bind it. Serve with cream and sugar.

TO PREPARE FRUIT FOR CHILDREN.—A far more wholesome way than in pies or puddings, is to put apples sliced, or plums, currants, gooseberries, &c., into a stone jar; and sprinkle among them as much sugar as necessary. Set the jar in an oven or on a hearth, with a tea-cupful of water to prevent the fruit from burning; or put the jar into a saucepan of water till its contents be perfectly done. Slices of bread or some rice may be put into the jar, to eat with the fruit.

RICE AND APPLES.—Core as many nice apples as will fill the dish; boil them in light syrup; prepare a quarter of a pound of rice in milk, with sugar, and salt; put some of the rice in the dish, and put in the apples, and fill up the intervals with rice, and bake it in the oven till it is a fine colour.

A NICE APPLE CAKE FOR CHILDREN.—Grate some stale bread, and slice about double the quantity of apples; butter a mould, and line it with sugar paste, and strew in some crumbs, mixed with a little sugar; then lay in apples, with a few bits of butter over them, and so continue till the dish is full; cover it with crumbs, or prepared rice; season with cinnamon and sugar. Bake it well.

FRUITS FOR CHILDREN.—That fruits are naturally healthy in their season, if rightly taken, no one, who believes that the Creator is a kind and beneficent Being, can doubt. And yet the use of summer fruits appears often to cause most fatal diseases, especially in children. Why is this? Because we do not conform to the natural laws in using this kind of diet. These laws are very simple and easy to understand. Let the fruit be ripe when you eat it; and eat when you require _food_.

Fruits that have _seeds_ are much healthier than the _stone_ fruits. But all fruits are better, for very young children, if baked or cooked in some manner, and eaten with bread. The French always eat bread with raw fruit.

Apples and winter pears are very excellent food for children, indeed, for almost any person in health; but best when eaten at breakfast or dinner. If taken late in the evening, fruit often proves injurious. The old saying that apples are _gold in the morning, silver at noon, and lead at night_, is pretty near the truth. Both apples and pears are often good and nutritious when baked or stewed, for those delicate constitutions that cannot bear raw fruit. Much of the fruit gathered when unripe, might be rendered fit for food by preserving in sugar.

RIPE CURRANTS are excellent food for children. Mash the fruit, sprinkle with sugar, and with good bread let them eat of this fruit freely.

BLACKBERRY JAM.—Gather the fruit in dry weather; allow half a pound of good brown sugar to every pound of fruit; boil the whole together gently for an hour, or till the blackberries are soft, stirring and mashing them well. Preserve it like any other jam, and it will be found very useful in families, particularly for children—regulating their bowels, and enabling you to dispense with cathartics. It may be spread on bread, or on puddings, instead of butter: and even when the blackberries are bought, it is cheaper than butter. In the country, every family should preserve, at least, half a peck of blackberries.

TO MAKE SENNA AND MANNA PALATABLE.—Take half an ounce, when mixed, senna and manna; put it in half a pint of boiling water; when the strength is abstracted, pour into the liquid from a quarter to half a pound of prunes, and two large table-spoonfuls of W. I. molasses. Stew slowly until the liquid is nearly absorbed. When cold, it can be eaten with bread and butter, without detecting the senna, and is excellent for costive children.

LAYING OUT TABLES.

I.

BREAKFASTS, LUNCHEONS, AND FOLDING NAPKINS.

The art of laying out a table, whether for breakfast, luncheon, dinner, tea, or supper, consists in arranging the various dishes, plate, glass, &c., methodically, and adhering to the rules we are about to make known.

Much trouble, irregularity, and confusion will be avoided in a house when there is company, if servants are instructed to prepare the table, sideboard, or dinner-waggon, in a similar manner and order daily.

All tables are usually laid out according to the following rules throughout the United Kingdom: yet there are local peculiarities which will necessarily present themselves, and should be adopted or rejected, as may appear proper to the good housewife:—

BREAKFASTS.—The table should be covered with a clean white cloth: the cups and saucers arranged at one end, if for tea; and at both ends, if for tea and coffee; or the coffee-cups and saucers may be arranged at the right hand side of one end of the table, and the tea-cups and saucers on the left; the tea-pot and coffee-pot occupying the space between in front, and the urn that at the back. Some persons substitute cocoa or chocolate for coffee, in which case they are to be placed the same. The slop-basin and milk-jug should be placed to the left; and the cream, and hot milk jugs, with the sugar basin, to the right.

The remainder of the table should be occupied in the centre by the various dishes to be partaken of; while at the sides must be ranged a large plate for meat, eggs, &c., and a small one for toast, rolls, &c., with a small knife and fork for each person; the carving knife and fork being placed point to handle; the butter and bread knives to the right of their respective dishes, which occupy the centre part, and spoons in front of the hot dishes with gravy. Salt-cellars should occupy the four corners, and, if required, the cruets should be placed in the centre of the table.

Dry toast should never be prepared longer than five minutes before serving, as it becomes tough, and the butter, soppy and greasy, if too long prepared. Hot rolls should be brought to table covered with a napkin.

Every dish should be garnished appropriately, either with sippets, ornamental butter, water cresses, parsley, or some one of the garnishes we shall point out in a future page.

The dishes usually set upon the table are selected from hot, cold, and cured meats; hot, cold, cured, and potted fish; game, poultry, cold or devilled; fruit, ripe, preserved, or candied; dressed and undressed vegetables; meat-pies and patties, cold; eggs; honey-comb; entrées; and savoury morsels—as grilled kidneys, ham-toast, devils, &c.

DEJEUNERS À LA FOURCHETTE are laid the same as suppers, except that tea and coffee are introduced; but in sporting circles not until the solids are removed.

When laid for a marriage or christening breakfast, a bride’s or christening cake should occupy the centre instead of the épergne or plateau.

LUNCHEONS OR NOONINGS.—The luncheon is laid in two ways; one way is to bring in a butler’s tray with let-down sides, on which it is previously arranged upon a tray cloth, and letting down the sides and spreading the cloth upon the dining-table to distribute the things as required. The other is to lay the cloth as for dinner, with the pickle-stand and cruet, opposite each other; and, if in season, a small vase of flowers in the centre; if not, a water-jug and tumblers, which may be placed on a side-table at other times. The sides of the table are occupied by the requisites for each guest, viz., two plates, a large and small fork and knives, and dessert-spoon. A folded napkin, and the bread under, is placed upon the plate of each guest.

Carafes, with the tumblers belonging to and placed over them, are laid at the four corners, with the salt-cellars in front of them, between two table-spoons laid bowl to handle.

If French or light wines are served, they may be placed in the original bottles in ornamental wine vases, between the top and bottom dishes and the vase of flowers, with the corks drawn and partially replaced.

The dishes generally served for luncheons are the remains of cold meat neatly trimmed and garnished; cold game, hashed or plain; hashes of all descriptions; curries; minced meats; cold pies, savoury, fruit, or plain; plainly cooked cutlets, steaks, and chops; omelets; bacon; eggs; devils and grilled bones; potatoes; sweetmeats; butter; cheese; salad and pickles. In fruit, almost anything does for lunch, whether of fish, flesh, fowl, pastry, vegetables, or fruit.

Ale and porter are generally served, but occasionally sherry, marsala, port, or home-made wines, are introduced, with biscuits and ripe fruit.

A good housewife should always have something in the house ready to convert into a neat little luncheon, in case a few friends drop in, to what some are pleased to call a “tiffin;” and it is astonishing how a really handsome-looking affair may be made out of the remains of the dinner served the day before, some handsome glass, a sprinkle of good plate, a few flowers, some good ale, or a little wine, and, above all, a hearty welcome.

NAPKINS.—Dinner napkins should be about twenty-eight inches broad, and thirty inches long. They may be folded in a variety of ways, which impart a style to a table, without adding much to the expense, and may be readily accomplished with a little practice and attention to the following directions and diagrams.

1.—THE MITRE.—(_Fig. 1._)

Fold the napkin into three parts longways, then turn down the right hand corner, and turn up the left hand one, as in Fig. 2, A and B. Turn back the point A towards the right, so that it shall lie behind C; and B to the left, so as to be behind D. Double the napkin back at the line E, then turn up F from before and G from behind, when they will appear as in Fig. 3. Bend the corner H towards the right, and tuck it behind I; turn back the corner K towards the left, at the dotted line, and tuck it into a corresponding part at the back. The bread is placed under the mitre, or in the centre at the top.

2.—THE EXQUISITE.—(_Fig. 4._)

Fold the napkin into three parts longways, then fold down two-fifths of the length from each side, as in Fig. 5, at A; roll up the part B towards the back, repeat on the other side, then turn up the corner towards the corner A, and it will appear as D. The centre part E is now to be turned up at the bottom, and down at the top, and the two rolls brought under the centre-piece as in Fig. 4. The bread is placed under the centre band, K, Fig. 4.

3.—THE COLLEGIAN.—(_Fig. 6._)

Fold the napkin into three parts longways, then turn down the two sides towards you, so that they shall appear as in Fig. 7; then roll up the part A underneath until it looks like B, Fig. 8. Now take the corner B and turn it up towards C, so that the edge of the rolled part shall be even with the central line; repeat the same on the other side, and turn the whole over, when it will appear as in Fig. 6. The bread is placed underneath the part K.

4.—THE CINDERELLA.—(_Fig. 9._)

Fold the napkin into three parts longways, then turn down the two sides as in Fig. 7; turn the napkin over, and roll up the lower part as in Fig. 10, A, B. Now turn the corner B upwards towards C, so that it shall appear as in D; repeat on the other side, and then bring the two parts E together so that they shall bend at the dotted line; and the appearance will now be as Fig. 9. The bread is placed under the apron part, K, Fig. 9.

5.—THE FLIRT.—(_Fig. 11._)

Fold the napkin into three parts longways, then fold across the breadth, commencing at one extremity, and continuing to fold from and to yourself in folds about two inches broad, until the whole is done: then place in a tumbler, and it will appear as in the illustration.

6.—THE NEAPOLITAN.—(_Fig. 12._)

Fold the napkin into three parts longways, then fold one of the upper parts upon itself from you; turn over the cloth with the part having four folds from you, and fold down the two sides so as to appear as in Fig. 7; then roll up the part A underneath, until it appears as in the dotted lines in Fig. 15, at B. Now turn up the corner B towards C, so that the edge of the rolled part shall be even with the central line: repeat the same upon the opposite side, and turn the whole over, when it will appear as in Fig. 14; the bread being placed underneath the part K, as represented in the illustration.

7.—THE “FAVOURITE,” OR OUR OWN.—(_Fig. 14._)

Fold the napkin into three parts longways, then turn down the two sides as in Fig. 7, and roll up the part A on both sides, until as represented on the right hand side in Fig. 14; then turn it backwards (as A B) on both sides; now fold down the point C towards you, turn over the napkin, and fold the two other parts from you so that they shall appear as in Fig. 15. Turn the napkin over, thus folded, and raising the centre part with the two thumbs, draw the two ends (A and B) together, and pull out the parts (C and D) until they appear as in Fig. 13. The bread is to be placed as represented in K, Fig. 13.

II.

DINNERS.

DINNERS.—The appearance a dinner-table presents does not depend so much upon a profuseness of viands, as upon the neatness, cleanliness and well-studied arrangement of the whole. Taste, if well directed, may produce a handsome dinner; whereas three times the amount of money may be expended upon another, and yet not make even a respectable appearance.

We cannot too strongly urge the necessity of having things done in the same manner every day as when there is company. The servants become accustomed to waiting properly, things are always at hand, and they do not appear awkward when visitors drop in; then everything is regular, and goes on smoothly.

TO LAY THE CLOTH.—The table should be well polished, and then covered with a green baize cloth, over which a fine white damask one should be spread. If the white cloth is to be kept on after dinner, it is customary to spread a small cloth at either end of the table where the large dishes are placed, to protect the long cloth from accidental spots arising from gravy, &c.; these slips are removed after dinner, and the cloth cleaned with crumb brushes. In some houses an entire upper cloth is placed upon the table instead of slips, and this being removed after dinner, does not require the tedious process of brushing the table-cloth.

When the cloth has been spread, place carafes, with the tumblers belonging to and placed over them, between every four persons, a salt-cellar between every three persons, and a large and small knife, fork, and spoon, to each guest, with two wine-glasses, a champagne glass, and a tumbler, to the right of each, and the bread placed in or under folded napkins, between the knives, forks, and spoons; and at grand entertainments or public dinners, the name and rank of each guest neatly written on a card in front of the napkin, so as to prevent confusion and jealousy. The centre ornament, usually a _candelabrum_, _plateau_, an _épergne_, or a vase of artificial flowers, must now be set on, and the mats for the various dishes arranged; then the wine-coolers or ornamental vases placed between the centre-piece and the top and bottom dishes, with the wines in the original bottles, loosely corked; the spoons for assisting the various dishes, asparagus tongs, fish-knife and fork or slice, and carving knives and forks, are placed in front of the respective dishes to which they belong; and knife-rests opposite to those who have to carve; with a bill of fare, and a pile of soup-plates before those that have to assist the soup.

_In arranging or laying out a table_, several things require particular attention, and especially the following:—