FOR THE PICNIC

In the "Sunny South," picnics are in order as early as April, but in the more northern latitudes should never be attempted before the latter part of May or June, and September and October are the crowning months for them around the northern lakes, where hunting ajid fishing give zest to the sports. First, he up "at live o'clock in the mornmg," in order to have the chicken, biscuit, etc., freshly baked. Provide two baskets, one for the provisions, aiut the other for dishes and utensils, which should include the following : Table- cloth and an oil-cloth to put under it, napkins, towels, plates, cups, forks, a few knives and table-spoons, tea-spoons, sauce dishes, tin cups (or tumblers, if the picnickers are of the over-fastidious variety); a tin bucket, for water, in which a bottle of cream, lemons, oranges, or other fruit may be carried to the scene of action; i^nother with an extra close cover, partly filled with made chocolate, wliich may be readily reheated by setting in an old tin pail or pan in which water is kept boiling a la custard-kettle; a frying-pan; a coffee-pot, with the amount of prepared coffee needed tied in a coarse, white flannel bag; a tea-pot, with tea m a neat paj^ier package ; tin boxes of salt, pepper, ana sugar; a tin box for butter (if carried) placed next to block of ice, which should be well wrapped with a blanket and put in a shady corner of the pic- nic wagon. For extra occasions, add a freezer filled with frozen cream, with ice well packed around it, and heavily wrapped with carpeting. To pack the basket, nrst j>ut in plates, cups, and sauce dishes carefully with the tow- els and napkixis, and paper if needed ; then add the rest, fitting them in tightly, ana coverin

The following bills of fare may be picked to pieces and recombined to suit tastes and occasions:

Spring Picnics. — Cold roast chicken; ham broiled on coals; fish fried or broiled; sardines; tongue; hard boiled eggs; eg^ to be fried or scrambled; Boston corn bread; buttered rolls; ham sandwiches prepared with grated ham; orange marmalade; canned peaches; watermelon and beet sweet- pickles; euchered plums; variety or bottled pickles; chow-chow; quince or plum jelly; njspberry or other jams; Scotch fruit, rolled jelly, chocolate, Minnehaha, old-fiusnioiied loaf, and marble cake ; coffee, chocolate, tea; cream and sugar ; salt and pep])er ; oranges.

Sum .M ER « Picnics. — Cold baked or broiled chicken; cold boiled ham; pickled salmon; cold veal loaf; Parker House rolls; light bread; box of butter; green corn boiled or roasted; new potatoes; sliced tomatoes; sliced cucumbers; French and Spanish pickles; peach and pear sweet-pickles; lemon or orange ielly; strawberries, raspbernes, or blackberries; lemonade, soda-beer or raspberry vinegar ; coffee and tea; ice-cream; lemon or siraw- berry-ice; sponge, white, Buckeye, or lemon cake; watermelon, muskmelon, nutmeg-melon.

Fall Picnics. — Broiled prairie chicken; fish chowder; clam chowder; clams roasted or fried; beef omelet; cold veal roast; sardines; cold roast chicken; pot of pork and beans; rusk, Minnesota rolls, Baston brown bread ; potatoes, Irish or sweet, roasted in ashes; egg sandwiches (hard-boiled egss, sliced, sprinkled with pepper and salt, and put between buttered breaa); mangoes; piccalilli; Chili sauce; quince nuirmulade; bakeil apples; musk and nutmeg-melon; crab apple jelly; grape jelly; black, orange, velvet, sponge, and three-ply cake ; combinatipu pie.

Mother's hash does n't taste of soap grease, rancid batter, spoiled cheese^ raw flour, boarding-house skillets, hotel coffee, garden garlics, bologna sau- sage, or cayenne pepper; neither is it stewed and simmered and simmered and stewed, but is made so nicely, seasoned so delicately, and heated through 00 quickly, that the only trouble is, ** there is never enough to go round."' Cold meat of any kind will do, but corned beef is best ; always remove all surplus fat and bits of gristle, season with salt and pepper, chop fine, and to one-third of meat add two-thirds of chopped cold boiled potato, and one onion chopped very fine; place in the dripping-pan, dredge with a little flour, and pour in at the side of the pan enough water to come up level with the hash, place in oven, and do not stir; when the flour is a light-brown, and has formed a sort of crust, take out, add a lump of butter, stir it through fleveral times, and you will have a delicious hash. Or, by cooking longer, it may be made of cold raw potatoes, which peel, slice, and let lie in salt and water a half hour before chopping. If of meat and potatoes, always use the proportions given above, and before chopping, season with pepper and salt, and a chopped onion if you like (if onions are not to be had, take tliem out of pickle jar), place in hot skillet with just enough water to moisten, add a little butter or some nice beef drippings, stir often until warmed through, cover and let stand on a moderately hot part of the stove fifteen minutes. When ready to dish, run the knife under and fold as you would an omelet, and serve hot with tomato catsup. In making hash meats may be combined if there is not enough of a kind.

AFTER THANKSGIVING DINNER,

a most excellent hash may be made thus : Pick meat off turkey bones, shred it in small bits, add dressing and pieces of light biscuit cut up fine, mix together and put into dripping-pan, pour over any gravy that was left, add water to thoroughly moisten, but not enough to make it sloppy; place in a hot oven for twenty minutes, and, when eaten, all will agree that the turkey is better this time than it was at first; or warm the remnants of the turkey over after the style of escaloped oysters (first a layer of bread-crumbs, then minced turkey, and so on); or add an egg or two and make nice breakfast croquettes. The common error ,^n heating over meats of all kinds is pitting (406)

FRAGMENTS, 407

into a cold skillet, and cooking a long time. This second cooking is more properly only heating, and should be quickly done. All such dishes should he served hot with some sort of tart jelly. Always save a can of currant juice (after filling jelly cups and glasses), from which to make jelly in the 'Winter, and it will taste as fresh and delicious as when made in its season.

ALWAYS SAVE

all the currants, skimmings, pieces, etc., leftafter making jelly, place in astone jar, cover with soft water previously boiled to purify it, let stand several days ; in the meantime, take your apple peelings, without the cores, and pu r on in porcelain kettle, cover with water, boil twenty minutes, drain into a large stone jar ; drain currants also into this jar, add all the rinsings from your molasses jugs, all dribs of syrups, etc., and when jar is full, drain off -all that is clear into vinegar keg (where, of course, you have some good cider vinegar to start with). If not sweet enough, add brown sugar or molasses, oover the bung-hole with a piece of coarse netting, and set in the sun or by the kitchen stove. In making vinegar always remember to give it plenty ol air, and it is better to have the cask or barrel (which should be of oak) only half full, so that the air may pass over as large a surface as possible. Vine- gar must also have plenty of material, such as sugar, molasses, etc., to work u}X)n. Never use alum or cream of tartar, as some advise, and never let your vinegar freeze. Paint your barrel or cask if you would have it durabla. Company, sickness, or other circumstances may prevent making

SWEBT PICKLES

in their season, but they can be prepared very nicely at any time, by taking pear, peach, plum, or apple preserves, and pouring hot spiced vinegar over them ; in a few days they will make a delightful relish. It very often hap- pens in putting up cucumber pickles that you can only gather or buy a few at a time ; these can be easily pickled in the following manner : Place in a |ar, sprinkle with salt, in the proportion of a pint salt to a peck cucumbers, cover with boiling water, let stand twenty-four hours, drain, cover with fresh hot water; after another twenty-four hours, drain, place in a jar, and €over with cold, not very strong vinegar ; continue to treat each mess in this manner, using the tyro jars, one for scalding and the other as a final recep- tacle for the pickles, until you have enough, when drain and cover with boiling cider vinegar, add spices, and in a few days they will be ready for use. Never throw away even

A CRUMB OP BREAD,

but save it and put with other pieces ; if you have a loaf about to mold, cut !n thin slices, place all together in a dripping-pan and set in oven to dry, and you will find that when pounded and rolled it will be very nice for dressing, staffing, puddings, griddle-cakes, etc. When to be used for bread- ing meats, etc., it must be made very fiihc. Keep in a covered box, or in a paper bag tied securely and hung in a dry place. It is much more economi- cal to prepare meats with a dressing of some kind, since they '*go so much further."

408 FRAGMENTS.

Sausage Toabt is made by scalding the sausages in boiling water, frying to light brown, chop tine, and spread on bits of toast.

Ham BALLs.^-Chop fine, cold, cooked ham ; add an egg for each person, and a little flour; beat together, make into balls, and fry brown in hot Dutter.

Corn-Meal Cakb. — Two-thirds cup butter^ one cup sugar, three eggs beaten separately, two and a half cups corn meal, one and a half of floar, two of sweet milk, f^'o tea-spoons cream tartar, oqe of soda.

Philadelphia Scrapple.— Mix potatoes (or any cold vegetables) and meat, turn into a skillet with meat gravy from previous day. Stir up until dry and crisp, resembling a very dry luush ; serve in small deep dish.

To Clarify Molasses. — Heat over the fire and pour in one pint of sweet milk to each gallon of molasses. The impurities rise in scum to the top, which must be skimmed off before the boiling breaks it. Add the milk as soon as placed over the fire, mixing it thoroughly with the molasses.

Cucumber Relish may be made of the large cucumbersA Pare and cue in two, take out seeds, and grate, strain out most of the water, season highly with pepper and salt, add a little sugar, and as much vinegar as you hare cucumbers ; put in small bottle and seal.

Beefsteak Toast. — Chop cold steak or tongue very fine, cook in a little water, put in cream or milk, thicken, season with butter, salt, and pepper, and pour it over slices of toast. Prepare boiled ham in the same way, adcung the yolk of an egg.

Breakfast Puffs may be made on baking day, by taking up a little dough, pulling out to thickness of doughnuts, cut two and one-half inches in length, drop in boiling lard, and fry like doughnuts; to be eaten with butter like biscuit.

Shelled Almonds are more economical for use in cakes. One pound of unshelled almonds only makes six and one-half ounces or one co^-cnp- ful when shelled, while the unshelled are generally only double the price, and sometimes not that per pound.

Mixed Sandwiches. — Chop fine, cold ham, tongue and chicken ; mix with one pint of the meat half a cup melted butter, one table-spoon salad-oil, one of mustard if desired, the yolk of a beaten egg, and a little pepper ; spread on bread cut thin and buttered. Ham alone may be prepared in this way.

Steak Pudding. — Mix one quart flour, one pound suet (shredded fine), a little salt, and cold water to make stiff as for pie-crusty roll out half an inch thick ; have steak (beef or mutton) well seasoned with pepper and salt^ lay them on the paste and roll it up, tie in a cloth, and boil tliree hours. Some add a few oysters and a sliced onion to the steak.

Mutton Pie and Tomatoes. — Spread the bottom of a baking-dish with bread-crumbs, and fill with alternate layers of cold roast mutton, cut in thin slices, and tomatoes, peeled and sliced; season each layer with pepper, salt and bits of butter. The last layer should be of tomatoes spread with bread- crumbs. Bake three-quarters of an hour, and serve immeaiately.

Lancashire Pie. — Take cold beef or veal, chop, and sea.son as for hash; have ready hot mashed potatoes seasoned as if tor the table, and put in a shallow baking-dish first a layer of meat, then a layer of potatoes, and so on, till dish is heaping full ; smooth over top of potatoes, and make little holes in- which place bits of butter; bake until a nice brown.

Bread-crumbs for Pastry. — Many puddings that are commonly baked in a crust, such as cocoa-nut, potato, apple, and lemon, are equally as good and more wholesome, made by strewing grated bread-crumbs over a buttered pie-plate or pudding-dish to the usual depth of crust ; pour in the pudding, strew another layer of bread-crumbs over the top, and oake.

Squab Pie. — Trim a deep dish with paste as for chicken pie, put in a laver of sliced sour apples, season with sugar and spice ; add a layer of fresh, rather lean pork, sliced thin, seasoned with salt and pepper; and thus place alter- nate layers of apple and pork until the dish is nearlv full; put in a little water and cover with paste ; bake slowly until thoroughly done.

FBAGMENTS. 409

Mabsh Mallow Paste. — ^Dissolve one poand of clean gum arabic in one a«art of water ; strain, add one pound ol refined sugai\ and place over the nie, stirring continually until the sugar is dissolved ana the mixture has be- come the consistency of honey. Next, add gradually the whites of eight eggB well beaten, stirring the mixture all the time, until it loses its sticki- ness and does not adhere to the finders when touched. The mass may now be poured out into a pan or box, slightly dusted with starch, and when cool divided into small soiiares.

Apple Cboutes.— rare, halve and core good smooth apples, cut slices of bread; without crust, to fit the fiat side of each half apple ; dust the apple all over with sugar, a little nutmeg or cinnamon, arrange these on the slices of bread in a pie plate, bake in a moderate oven. The apples will retain their shape, and if peeled with care or carved lightly in shells or other fanciful designs make a very presentable dish for tea or a hasty lunch, beside being simple and healthy.

Ecokomical Indian Pudding. — Scald one quart of sweet milk, into it stir five rounded tablespoons Indian meal, one teacup brown sugar or five table- spoons molasses, one teaspoon finger, and a little salt ; put in moderate oven to bake, and in half an hour stir in one cup cold rich milk ; bake two hours. This is much improved by adding a teacup of raisins when the cold milk is added. Serve with cream or hot sauce.

Soused Bbef left after soup. Cut the meat and bristle off bone in small pieces, salt, pepper and spice with mace, and pour over it hot vinegar, or an equal quantity of water and strong vinegar will be better. Good for supper; may be warmed over for breakfast.

An Economical Dish. — Season mashed potatoes with salt, pepper, butter and cream ; place a layer in a pie dish ; upon this place a layer of cold meat or fish, finely chopped, then alternate until dish is full; then strew bread crumbs over top and bake brown.

To Regulate Time in Cookery. — Mutton — A leg of eight pounds will re- quire two hours and a half; a chine or saddle of ten or eleven pounds, two hours and and a half; a shoulder of seven pounds, one hour and a half; a loin of seven pounds, one hour and three-quarters ; a neck and breast, about the same time as a loin.

Be^—The sirloin of fifteen pounds, from three hours and three-quarters to four hours ; ribs of beef, from fifteen to twenty pounds, will take three hours to three hours and a half.

FeoZ— A fillet, from twelve to sixteen pounds, will take from four to five hours, at a good fire; a loin, upon the average, will take three hours; a shoulder, from three hours to three hours and a half; a neck, two hours; a breast, from an hour and a half to two liours.

Lamb — Hind-quarter of eight pounds will take from an hour and three- quarters to two hours; fore-quarter of ten pounds, ab(mt two hours; leg of five pounds, from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half ; shoulder or breast, with a quick fire, an hour.

Pork — A leg of eight pounds will .require about three hours; griskin, an hour and a half; a spare-rib of eight or nine pounds will take from two hours and a half to three hours to roast it thoroughly; a bald spare-rib of eight

Eoun<.ls,"an hour and a quarter; a loin of five pounds, if very fat, from two ours to two hours and a half ; a sucking pig, of three weeks old, about an hour and a half.

Poitltn/ — A very large turkey will require about three hours; one of ten pounds, two hours ; a small one an hour and a half.

A full-grown fowl, an hour and a half; a moderate sized one, an hour and a quarter.

A pullet, from half an hour to forty minutes-

A goose full-grown, two hours.

A duck, full size, from an hour and a quarter to one hour and three quarters.

410 FRAGMENTS.

Venison — A bnck hannch which weighs from twenty to twenty-five pounds will take about four hours and a half roasting; one from twelve to eighteen pounds, will take three liours and a quarter.

A Lunch Dish. — Chop the lean of cold roast beef or steak very fine, sep- arating it first from all the fat; nearly fill a pudding dish with cold boiled or baked macaroni ; in the center put choj)ped beef, carefully flavored with Bait, pepper, thyme, and, if to your taste, a little liquor jibured off from canned tomatoes. Pour sour stock or gravy over beef and macaroni, cover with bread crumbs, over which pour two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and bake half an hour.

Soykr's Receipt for Cookino Ecios. — Take two or three large onions, slice til em very thin, and fry till a nice brown. Have ready three or four hard- boiled eggs cut in slices, and a cupful of nice gravy, with a little flour of ar- rowroot mixed with it; add the eggs to the onions, then pour in the gravy, and stir in all till the gravy has thickened, Serve very hot. If a white in- stead of a brown dish is wished for, the onions must be stewed in butter, and the sauce made of veal broth mixed with a little milk and flour. Pepper and salt to taste.

Aspic Jelly. — To three pints of clear stock (that made from knuckle of veal is good) add two ounces of gelatine that has been softened in cold water. Beat up the whites and shells of two eges and one yolk ; add them to the struck, and put into a saucepan, with a tablespoon ful of catsup, one of vinegar, and a teaspoonful each of savory, thyme, marjoram ana parsley, and a smaller quantity of mace, cloves, allspice, white pepper and salt, and one wineglass of wine. Set it over a slow fire, stirring till it boils ; let it cook slowly for a few minutes, giving it constant attention ; then set it aside to settle; strain it through a coarse cloth or a fine sieve, and set it away to harden. It should be perfectly clear, and may be cut into blocks or dice for. garnish, or cut into thin slices and alternated with slices of ham or beef, or it may be melted and poured upon chopped chicken in a mold. There are many other ways in which it may be useful and orna- mental. It is very nourishing, and generally very acceptable to sick per- sons, especially if given to them in small quantities ice-cold.

To Make Kitchen Vegetables Tender. — When peas, beans, etc., do not boil easily, it has usually been imputed to the coldness of the season, or the rains. This peculiar notion is erroneous. The difficulty of boiling them soft arises from an excess of gypsum imbibed during their growUi. To correct this, throw a small quantity of carbonate of soda (common baking soda) into the pot along with the vegetables.

To Keep Cheese Moist. — Many housekeepers complain that their cheese becomes dry, and some use a kind of bell-glass to put their cheese in. A very simple expedient will keep cheese in the best condition. Take a linen cloth, or cheese cloth, dip it in white wine, squeeze out excess of wine, and wrap up the cheese in it. By doing this the clieese is not only kept moist, but its flavor is improved.

To Clean Vegetables of Insects. -—Make a strong brine of one pound and a half of salt to one gallon of water, into this place the vegetables with the stalk ends uppermost, for two or three hours ; this will destroy all the in- sects which cluster in the leaves, and they will fail out and sink to the bot- tom of the water.

To Dress Salt Mackerel. — Take mackerel from the salt, aiid lay them in- side downward in a pan of cold water for two or three days; change the water once or twice, and scrape tlie fish clean without breaking it. When fresh enough, wipe one dry and hang it in a cool place ; then fry or broil; or lay one in a shallow paii, the inside of the fish down; cover it with hot water, and set it over a gentle fire or in an oven for twelve or fifteen minutes; then pour oft' the water, tuni the fish, put bits of butter in the pan, and over the fish sprinkle pepper, then let it fry for five minutes, then- dish it.

FBAQMENTS. 41 1«

ScBAFPLE. — ^Tt is composed of the head-meat, trimmings of the hams and shoulders, flitch, smaller parts of the chine, the heart part of the liver and theskin off the parts intended for lard and sausage. The spleen, kidneys and cracklings are used hy some and rejected by others. The feet and ears may also be used. The head is split between the jaws, and after the tongue is taken out it is split through the middle the other way. Cut off one or two inches of the snout and take off the jaw-bone and nasal cavities as far as the teeth extend, and cut across at the eye and also at the opening of the ear. The meat may then be cleaned out evenly. Put the head meat into the boiler after putting in water to cover it, add the rest of the meat in a quarter of an hour. The meat must be boiled until it will readily separate from the bones; (the skins should be boiled separately as they take a long time to boil); then taken from the liquid, the bones removed and the meat chopped fine. Strain the liquid to get out the small bones, and add to it enough water to make five parts liquid to three of meat. Set the liquid to boiling, and as soon as it commences stir in meal and boil fifteen or twenty minutes, stirring all the time. Make a moderately thick mush, then put in meat, mix- ing thoroughly and season to taste. It takes about as much meal as meat, but no bucKwheat nor flour. The Indian meal must be ground fine, of new corn, well dried before grinding. The meat must be very finely chopped. Put away in tin pans or earthern pots in cold place. Unless kept very cold, it will not kee^p many weeks, but its popularity generally keeps it from spoiling. It is be fned for the table, and eaten h

Dried Pumpkin. — Take ripe pumpkins, cut into small pieces, stew soft, mash and strain through a colander, as if for making pies. Spread this pulp on plates, in layers some half an inch thick ; dry it in a stove oven, which should be kept at so low a temperature as not to scorch it. In about a day it will become dry and crisp. The sheets thus made can be stowed away in a dry place, and are always ready for use, cither for pies or stew- ing. On going to use, soak portions of the article in a little milk over nieht, when it will return to as delicious a pulp as if made of a pumpkin when fresh.

Plain Boiled Indian Pudding. — Scald one and a half pints Indian meal with half pint boiling water ; add four tablespoons Graham flour, one pint milk (either sweet or sour), two tablespoons molasses, half a teaspoon ginger, a little salt and one level teaspoon soda (or a little more if sour milk is used) ; two tablespoons chopped suet will make it more li^ht and tender, but may be omitted. Put into it a well-greased pudding-boiler (two-quart), leaving room to swell, and boil throe or four hours in a kettle of water. Or it may be tied in a pudding-cloth, leaving room to swell; or steamed in a small tin pail for same length of lime.

Veal and Ham Pie. — Cut the veal and ham into thin slices, lay a slice of ham (about one-third the slice of the veal, season it with the season- ing as given above, and roll them up and place them in the dish, add water and chopped (not sliced) hard-boiled e^frs, place on the crust and bake in a moderate heat, the same as for beefsteak pie. If the ham is very salt use less salt and more pepper in tlie seasoning. Parsley is a great favorite generally with veal. Those wishing it can add it ; also force meat balls. Catsup, eUher mushroom or tomato or a little Worcestershire sauce, may also be added. Some are verj' fond of savisape meat added to the veal pie ; but all tiiese are mere matters of taste. — Prof. C. H. King.

Potted Beef. — Put the beef in a kettle, with some little slices of salt pork at the bottom; sprinkle with salt and a little Cayenne pepper, pour over two tablespoon fu Is of vinegar, and set the kettle over the lire, cover- ing it closely. When it has fried a little at the bottom, turn the meat, and in ten minutes add a half pint of water. Do not lei the meat boil drj% but add a little water occasionally, letting it cook slowly, and keep it closely covered.

412 FRAGMENTS. •

Beep Omelet. — Three pounds beef chopped fine, three eggs beaten together, six crackers rolled fine, one table>spoon salt, one tea-spoon pepper, one table-spoon melted butter, sage to taste. Mix well and make like a loaf of bread; put a little water and bits of butter into the pan, invert a pan over it, baste occasionally, bake an hour and a quarter, and when cold slice very thin.

Chicken or Beep CR0QU15TTES.--Take cold chicken, or roast or boiled beef or veal, nilnce very tine, moisten with tlie cold gravy if at hand, or moisten well, and add one egg, season with pepper, salt and an onion or sage ; make into small cakes, cover with egg and oread-crumbs, and fry in lard niid butter. One cup fresh boiled rice may be added before making into cakes.

Apple-Butter Custard Pie. — Beat together four eggs, one tea-cup apple> butter, one of sugar, one level table-spoon allspice, add one quart sweet milk and pinch of salt; bake in three pies with an under-crust; — and, by the way, never omit a pinch of salt in custard and lemon pie ; and, in fact, many kinds of fruit pies, such a9 green-apple, cur7ant, gooseberry, and pie-plant, are improved by it.

Sweetze^s Favorites. — ^Three eggs, one tea-spoon sugar, one coffee-cup sweet milk, one of warm water, four table-spoons potato veast, flour enough to make stiff batter; beat yolks and sugar well, stir in milk, water, and yeast, and lastly flour, stir well, and set in warm place to rise ; when light, beat whites to a stiff froth, and stir into batter with a pinch of salt; bake like batter caJces. These are splendid for breakfast if set the night before.

PoT.\To Cakes. — ^Mix thoroughly with cold, ma.shed potatoes left from dinner, the well-beaten yOlk of an e^^\ make into cakes as you would sau- sages, place in skillet with a table-siK)on hot ham or beef-drippings, cover tightly, and, in five minutes, when lower side is browned, turn, remove rover, fry" until the other side is a nice brown ; serve hot. Make up after dinner ready for frying for breakfast.

Potatoes a la Buchesse are now the most fashionable, and, if a really good potato is capable of being improved, perhaps this is the best method. Take cold, mashed potatoes, roll out and form into little biscuit-shaped cakes (a little flour will be required to form them, but do not mix flour with the potato), arrange cakes on a pie-plate, glaze them over with beaten egg, and oake to a delicate brown.

EscA LOPED Turkey. — Moisten bread-crumbs with a little milk, butter a pan and put in it a layer of crumbs, then a layer of chopped (not very fine) cold turkey seasoned with salt and pepper, then a layer of crumbs, and so on un- til pan is full. If any dressing or gravy has been left add it. Make a thick- ening of one or two eggs, half a cup of milk, and quarter cup butter and bread-crumbs ; season and spread it over the top ; cover with a pan, bake half an hour and then let it orown.

Breakpast Stew. — Cut three-fourths of a pound of cold roast beef into small pieces, heat slowly with half a pint cold water, one table-spoon Chili- sauce, a tea-spoon salt, and half a tea-spoon pepper. Rub two table-spoons flour with some butter and a little of the not gravy, add to the beef, let cook until the flour is done, and then serve with bits of drj- toast. Slices of onions may be first cooked and the meat added to them, with or without Chili-sauce.

Bonny Clabber. — ^This dish is in perfection in the summer, when milk sours and thickens very quickly. It should be very cold when served. A nice way is to pour the 'milk befose it has thickened into a glass dish, and when thick set on ice for an hour or two, and it is ready to serve, and is really a very pretty addition to the supper table. Serve in sauce dishes or deep dessert plates, sprinkle with sugar (maple is nice), and a little grated nutmeg if liked.

Corn Meal Waffles. — ^To the beaten yolks of three eggs, add one (^uart of sour milk or butter-milk, corn meal to make a batter a little thicker

FRAGMENTS. 413

than for pan-cakes, one tea-spoon salt, one of soda dissolved in a little warm water, then the well-beaten whites; dour may be used instead of corn meal. This is also a good rule for pan-cakes, making the batter thinner. For dress- ing for waffles, put on the stove a half cup cream, a table-spoon butter, and two of su^r; when hot, put two table-spoons on each waffle when placed in the dish to serve.

Egglrss Squash or Pumpkin Pik. — St«w the squash or pumpkin till very- dry, and press through a colander; to each pint of this allow one table- spoon butter, beat in while warm one cup brown sugar or molasses; a lit- tle salt, one table-spoon cinnamon, one tea-spoon ginger, and one half tea- spoon soda; a little allspice may be added, but it darkens the pies; roll a few crackers very fine, and add a handful to the batter, or thicken with two tabtesi>oons flour or one of corn starch. As the thickening property of pumpkin varies, some judgment must be used in adding milk.

SouAPPLK. — Scrape and clean well a pig' s-head as directed in "Pig's-head Cheese," put on to boil in plenty of water, and cook four or five hours — until the nones will slip easily from the meat; take out, remove bones, and chop the meat fine, skim oif the grease from liquor in pot, and return the chopped meat to it; season highly with salt and pepper, and a little pow- derea sage if liked, and add corn meal till of the consistency of soft mush ; cook slowly one hour or more, pour in pans, and set in a cool place. This is nice sliced and fried for breakfast in winter, and will answer in place of meat on many occasions.

Fricasseed' AND Fried Potatoes. — Slice cold boiled potatoes, put into a dripping-pan, add milk, salt, pepi^cr, and small lump of butter, allowing half a i>int of milk to a dozen potatoes, place in oven for about fifteen min- utes, stir occasionally with a knife to keep from burning; they should brown slightly on the top; or put in sauce-pan lump of butter, when melted add a level taole-spoon flour, cook a few minutes and add a tea-cup new milk or cream, season with salt and pepper ; when it boils, add sliced potatoes, and boil till potatoes are thoroughly neated. To fry, slice and fry in butter or ham or beef-drippings, using only enough fat to prevent sticking; sprinkle with salt, cover with tin lid so that they may both fry and steam.

Welsh Rare-bit. — Cut thin slices of bread, remove the crust, and toast quickly ; butter it, and cover with thin slices of rather new rich cheese, spread over a very little made mustard, and place on a pie-tin or plate in a hot oven till the cheese is melted, when cut in square pieces of any size •desired, and serve at once on a hot platter, as it is quite spoiled if allowed to

Set cold. The mustard ma^ be omitted if desired ; and some think it more elicate to dip the toast quickly, after buttering, into a shallow pan of boil- ing water; have some che^ ready melted in a cup, and pour some over each slice. The best way to ser^ is to nave little plates made hot, place a slice on each plate, and serve one to each person.

Yankee Dried Beef.— Slice very thin, put in frying-pan with water to cover, let come to boiling point, pour off, and add pint of milk, lump of butter, and a thickening of a little flour and milk, stir well, and, just before serving, some add an egg, stirring it in quickly; or, chip very fine, freshen, add a lump of butter and six or eight eggs, stir well, and serve at onoe. Cold boiled or baked beef may be sliced and cooked in the same way. Or, after the freshening, first frizzle it in butter, dredge with flour, and add the milk. When ends or thin pieces of dried beef become too dry and hard, put in cold water and boil slowly six or eight hours, and slice when cold ; or, soak over night in cold water, and boil three or four hours. Many think all dried beef is improved by this method.

Curd or Cottage Cheese.— Set a gallon or more of clabbered milk on the stove hearth or in the oven after cooking a meal, leaving the door open; turn it around frequently, and cut the curd m squares with a knife, stirring gently now and then tillabout as warm as the finger will bear, and the whey Bhows all around the curd ; pour all into a coarse oag, and hang to drain In

414 FRAGMENTS,

a cool place for three or four hours, or over night if made in the evening. When wanted, turn from the bag, chop rather coarse with a knife, and dreas with salt, pepper, and sweet cream. Some mash and rub thoroughly with the cream; otners dress with sugar, cream, and a little nut-meg, omitting the salt and ()epper. Another wav is to cliop fine, add salt to taste, work in a very little cream or* butter, and mold into round balls.

Potatoes a la Lyonnaise are much simpler than the name implies. Rub a lump of good butter over the inside of a clean, smooth, slightlv warmed skillet, turn in some cold boiled potatoes cut up, add pepper, salt, a little chopped parsley, and perhaps the least bit of onion very tine. Shake from time to time and see that they do not brown. *' Fried wliite " is the accepted slang in fashionable hotels for this very elegant mystification in the art of potato cooking. If, for your stomach's sake, you should prefer to have your potatoes actually fried a savory crisp brown, drop in smoking hot lard or nice drippings (never in butter, as it scorches too quickly; warm up or gauti — fry in a well-greased frying-pan — in butter, but fry, or rather boil, in lard or drippings).

Stuffed Beefsteak is as nice for dinner as a much more expensive roast, and it can be prepared from a rather poor flunk or round steak ; pound well, season with salt and pepper, then spread with a nice dressing — may use some of the bread-crumbs — roll up and tie closely with twine (which always save from the grocer's parcels), put in a kettle with a quart boiling water, boil slowly one hour, take out and place in dripping-pan, adding water in which it was boiled, basting frequently until a nice brown, and niaking ^avy of the drippings; or you may put it at once into the dripping-pan, omit the boiling process, skewer a couple slices salt pork on top, add a very little water, baste frequently, and, if it bakes too rapidly, cover with a dripping-pan. It is delicious sliced down cold.

How to make Nice Gravy is a problem many housekeei)ers never solve. Remember that grease is not gravy, neither is raw flour. Almost any kind of meat-liquor or soup-stock, from which all fat has been removed, may be made into nice gravy, by simply adding a little seasoning and some thicken- ing; if browned flour is used for the latter, the gravy will require but little cooking, but when thickened with raw flour, it must cook until thoroughly done, or the gravy will ttiste like so much gummy paste. It is best to brown a quart of flour at a time. Put in a skillet, set in the oven or on top of the stove, stir often until it is a light-brown, put into a wide-mouthea bottle, cork and keep for use. All gravies should be well stirred over a rather hot fire, as they must be quickly made, and must boil, not simmer.

Potato Flour is an addition to many kinds of breads, cakes, and pud- dings, making them more light and tender. Wiuii, peel, and grate into an earthen pan, filled with pure, soft cold water; when the water begins to clear by the settling of the pulp to the bottom, pour off the water aud add more, stir pulp w^ith hand, rub through a hair sieve, pour on more water, let stand until clear, pour off and renew again, repeating several times until the farina is j)erfectly white and the water clear. Tlie air darkens it, and it must be kept in the Water as much as possible during the process. Spread the prepared farina before the fire, covering with paper to keep it from dust; when dry, pulverize it, sift, bottle, and cork tightly. Potato jelly may be made by' pouring IndUng water on the flour, and it will soon change into a jelly ; flavor and sweeten to taste.

Stews, if properly prepared, are very palatable. If made from fresh meat, they should be immersed in boiling water at first, and then placed where it will simmer slowly until done; season, add thickening, and flavor with an onion, or a tea-sp>on of curry powder; or prepare a pcxir beefsteak by first trimming oft' all the fat and' cutting in convenient pieces, fry in butter or drippings to a nice brown on both sides, tnen add a little sliced onion, car- rots, or turnips, seasoning, a tea-spoon Chili-sauce, and one pint soup stock, or water ; stew gently two or three hours, skim off any grease, and stir in a

FBAGMEyrS. 415

little flonr mixed with milk. To make a stew of cold meat, first make the gprtLTy of stock, add a fried sliced onion, pepper and salt, and a tea-spoon catsup, let it boil, and set aside to cool; when nearly cold, put in thmly- cut slices of cold meat, and a few slices cold potatoes, ana let heat grad- uailv until it comes to the boiling point ; serve with bread cut in dice and Criea.

Meat Pib. — Put a layer of cold roast beef or other bits of meat, chopped very fine, in bottom of dish, and season with pepper and salt, then a layer of powdered crackers, with bits 6f butter and a little milk, and thus place alternate layers until dish is full ; wet weir with gravy or broth, or a little warm water ; spread over all a thick layer of crackers which have been sea- soned with salt and mixed with milk and a beaten egg or two; stick bits of butter thickly over it, cover with a tin pan, and bake half to three-quarters of an hour; remove cover ten minutes before serving, and brown. Make moister if of veal. Or, another way of making the pie is to cover any bits or bones, rejected in chopping, with nearly a* pint of cold water, and let them simmer for an hour or more ; strain and aad a chopped onion, three table- spoons Chili-sauce, a level table-spoon of salt, and the chopped meat; let simmer a few minutes, thicken with a table-spoon of flour mixed in water, let boil once, take off and let cool ; put a layer of this in a pudding-dish, then a layer of sliced hard-boiled eggs and a few slices from cold boiled pota- toes^ then the rest of the meat, then eggs, etc. ; cover with pie-crust or a l^king-powder crust, make an opening in the center, and bake forty min- utes.

To Stuff a Ham, wash and scrape the skin till very white, cut out a piece from thick part ^use for frying), leaving the skin on trie ham as far as possible, as it makes a casing for the stuffing ; put in a boiler and steam for three hours ; take out and score m thin slices all around the skin ; fill the space cut out with a stuffing made of bread-crumbs, same as for poultry, only not <^uite so rich, seasoned rather highly with pepper and sage ; wrap around a strip of cotton cloth to keep in place, and bsuce m the stove one and a half hours, turning so as to brown all sides nicely. The last half hour sift lightly with powdered sugar and cinnamon. (Some peel off the skin after steaming, stuff and roast as Defore.) What remains after once serving is delicious sliced down cold. The first we ever ate was at a thanksgiving dinner, cooked in a Southern kitchen, by an old-fashioned fire-place, in an iron bake-oven, and the savory flavor lingers still in our memory. Nicely cured boiled ham is a never-fail- ing source of supply, from which quite a variety of dishes may be prepared.

Grated Ham is one of the nicest relishes for supper or lunch, or for sand- wiches. Cut a good-sized piece from the thickest portion of a boiled ham, trim off the fat, grate the lean part, and put in the center of a platter; slice some tiny slips of the fat and place around the edge, together with some ten- der hearts of lettuce-heads, and serve for supper or lunch.

To economize the scraps left from boiled ham, chop fine, add some of the fat also chopped, and put in a baking-plate, first a la/er of bread-crumbs, then a layer of mixed fat and lean, then another layer of crumbs, and so on till all is used, putting a few bits of fat over the top; pour over it a little water, or a dressing of some kind, and set in oven till a nice brown. This is delicious for breakfast, or for a "picked up dinner," after having made a soup from the bone, well cracked and simmered for three hours with a few sliced potatoes and rice, or dried com and beans which have first been soaked and parboiled. In boiling hams, always select an old ham ; for broiling, one recently cured. After boiling and skinning a ham, sprinkle well with sugar and brown in oven.

The Care of Fat and Drippings is as necessary in any family as the care of last year's garden seeds or the " Family Record." Especially when much meat is used, there is a constant accumulation of trimmings of fat, drippings from meats, etc., which should be tried out once in two or three days in summer— in winter once a week will do. The fat which rises after

416 FRAGMENTS.

boiling beef, pork, and poultn', is used for shortening or frying. Cut up in small pieces, put in skillet, cover, try out slowly, stir occasionally, and skim well ; add the cakes of fat saved from the top of meat liquor, slice a raw potato and cook in it to clarity it (some add a pinch of soda), strain all the olear part into a tin can or stone jar, or pour over drippings a quart of boil- ing water and strain through muslin or a fine sieve, let cool, take out the cake which forms on the top, scrape the refuse from the bottom, pour again into a skillet and heat until all the water is out, then pour into a jar, and you will find it very nice to use either alone or with butter and lard' in fry- ing potatoes, doughauts, etc. The leaf fat of mutton should always be tried out by it»elf, and used for chapped hands and such purposes. The fat which is not nice enough for any of the above uses, should be tried out and placed in a jar, kettle, or soft wood cask of strong lye, to which all soap grea.^e should be consigned. Remember that the fat from boiling ham or from boiling meats with vegetables is never fit for cooking purposes, but should be thrown into the soap grease. After skinning and trimming the boiled ham, the fat which remains may be tried out and used for drippings, and is as sweet as butter. Observe never to use for this soap grease lean meat or raw fat Keep a stick with which to stir occasionally, and it will need but little boiling to make the best of soft soap.

Mother has many other valuable ideas on how to stop the nnmberlesB little "leaks/' which keep many a family in want, while a little care and economy in these minor details would insure a fair competency ; but she thinks it better to have the ideas she has already given thoroughly digested before clogging them with others. She says a neat clean home, a tidy table, and well cooked palatable meals, are safeguards against the evils of the ale- house, tlie liquor saloon, and the gambling- table. So that we may, with our frying-pans and soup-kettles, wage a mighty war against intemperance, for seldom is a well-fed man a drunkard ; and thus our attempts at palatable and economical cooking may "kill two birds with one stone."

By the way, she has just taken up a paper from which she reads tliis item by Prot Blot : '* Wasting is carried on so far and so extensively in American kitchens that it will soon be one of the common sciences." " Just as I told you," says mother, as she folds her hands complacently together, looks down at the bright figures of the carpet, and repeats In her slow-measured way: '* After all, whether we save or spend, the life is more than meat, and the body more than raimeut"