BILLS OF FARE

Spring Breakfast— Cold boiled ham, veal cutlets, boiled eggs, potatoes with cream, muffins, Graham bread, corn bread, oranges, coffee, tea, chocolate.

Spring Dinner — Macaroni soup, baked fish with dressing and sauce, boiled ham, roast veal, asparagus, potatoes, spinach, lettuce, radishes, coffee. Dessert — Sponge cake pudding, lemon pie, cocoannt pie, lemonade.

Spring Supper — Pickled tongue, pressed beef, waffles with maple syrup, spiced peaches, chow chow, canned fruit, preserves, cake, coffee, tea.

Summer Breakfast — Mutton chops, mackerel, beefsteak, potato balls, egg omelet, Graham toast, cold biscuit, rolls, tea, coffee, fruit.

Summer Dinner — Vegetable soup, roast lamb with mint sauce, currant jelly, broiled chicken, roast tongue, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, cauliflower, apple sauce, cucumber. Dessert — Snow pudding, cherry pie, sweet meat tarts, fruit, iced tea, iced coffee.

Summer Supper — Chicken salad, cold tongue, biscuit, tomato toast, baked sweet potatoes, mixed pickles, Charlotte russe, fruit, orange jelly, pine apple, ice cream, cake, iced tea.

Autumn Breakfast — Broiled beef, codfish balls, tomatoes, roast potatoes, hominy, biscuit, corn muffins, tea, coffee.

Autumn Dinner — Roast duck, roast beef, chicken pie, sweet po- tatoes,. Irish potatoes, corn, squash, apple sauce, cold slaw, pickles. Dessert — Boiled fruit pudding, peach pie, cheese, ice cream, grapes, tea, coffee.

Autumn Supper — Broiled pheasant, chicken croquettes, bread, rusk, spiced peiaches, fruit, preserves, cake.

Winter Breakfast — Beefsteak, sausage, broiled ham, Saratoga potatoes, fried mush, buckwheat cakes, coffee, tea, chocolate.

BILLS OP FARE. 317

Winter Dinner — Oyster soup, roast turkey, boiled ham, oyster pie, onions, turnips, sweet and -Irish potatoes, cranberry sauce, celery. Dessert — Queen of puddings, cheese, mince pie, plum pudding, fruit' nuts, coffee.

Winter Supper — Fried oysters, chicken salad, raw oysters, chow- chow, biscuit, canned fruit, cake, tea.

Lunch No. i. — Escalloped oysters, chicken salad, ham sandwich, biscuit, mixed pickles, cheese, basket of mixed cakes, ice cream, nuts, fruit, chocolate, tea, coffee.

Lunch No. 2. — Buttered bread, crackers, cold chicken, sardines with sliced lemons, cheese, olives, pickles, tongue, Saratoga potatoes, cake, jelly, jumbles, fruit, orange or lemon ice, tea, coffee, chocolate.

Tea for Company — Escalloped oysters, cold tongue, chicken salad, muffins, bread, rusk, canned fruit, pickles, coffee, tea. Ice cream and cake later in the evening.

Tea for Company — Warm biscuit, ham sandwich, sardines with sliced lemons, pickles, pressed beef, chicken, fruit, preserves and cream, cake in variety, tea, coffee, chocolate, lemon ice.

Economical Breakfast No. i. — Ham and eggs, hash, baked po- tatoes, hominy, Graham gems, coffee.

Economical Breakfast No. 2. — Beefsteak or fish, fried Graham mush, tomatoes, potatoes, apple sauce, corn bread or toast, coffee.

Economical Dinner No. i. — Spare ribs, roast potatoes, cabbage, fruit, rice pudding.

Economical Dinner No. 2. — Codfish, egg sauce, mashed potatoes, parsnips, horse-radish, pickles, bread, custard pie.

Economical Dinner No. 3. — Boiled pork, beans, potatoes, greens, apple pie.

Economical Dinner No. 4. — Fish, potato cakes, baked tomatoes, bread pudding.

Economical Dinner No. 5. — Boiled beef, lima beans, boiled potatoes, squash, sliced tomatoes, apple tapioca pudding.

Economical Dinner No. 6. — Roast beef and potatoes, macaroni with cheese, lemon pie.

Economical Dinner No. 7. — Broiled chicken, fricasseed potatoes, turnips, tomato toast, fresh fruit.

In preparing for a company of twenty, allow one gallon of oysters, four chickens and six bunches of celery for chicken salad, fifty sandwiches and six quarts of ice cream, two quarts wine jelly, two moulas Charlotte russe.

318 THE BUCKEYE COOK BOOK.

FRAGMENTS.

HOW MOTHER MAKES HASH. Mother's hash doesn't taste of soap grease, rancid butter, spoiled cheese, raw flour, boarding house skillets, hotel coffee, garden garlics, bologna sausage, or cayenne pepper, neither is it stewed and simmered and simmered and stewed, but is made so nicely, seasoned so delicately, and heated through so quickly, that the only trouble is, " there is never enough to go round." Mother says cold meat of any kind will do, but that corned beef is best ; always remove all surplus fat, and bits, of gristle, chop fine, and to one-third of meat add two-thirds of chopped cold boiled potato, and one onion chopped very fine ; place in your dripping-pan, season with salt and pepper, 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 of oven, add a lump of butter, stir it through several times, and you will have a delicious hash. Or it may be made by cooking longer, of cold raw potatoes, which peel, slice, and let lie in salt and water a half hour before chop- ping ; or meat and potatoes, always in the proportions given above, and before chopping, season with pepper and salt, add a chopped onion if you like, 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 fif- teen minutes. When ready to dish run your knife under and fold as you would an omelet; serve hot with tomato catsup. In making hash meats may be combined if there is not enough of a kind. Do not make hash or any other dish greasy. It is a mistaken idea to think that fat and butter in large quantites are necessary to good cooking. Butter and oils may be melted without changing their nature, but when cooked they become much more indigestible and injurious to weak stomachs. Mother says that

AFTER THANKSGIVING DINNER Most excellent hash may be made thus : Pick meat off turkey bones, shred it in small bits, add dressing and pieces of Ught biscuit cut up fine, mix together and put into dripping pan, pour over any gravy

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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 you eat it, you will agree that the turkey is better this time than it was at first ; or warm the remnants of turkey over after the style of escalloped 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 in heating over meats of all kinds, is putting 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 be served hot with some sort of tart jelly. Mother always saves a can of currant juice, (after filling all her jelly cups and glasses), from which to make jelly in the winter, and it tastes as fresh and delicious as when made in its season.

ALWAYS SAVE All the currants, skimmings, pieces, etc., left after making jelly, place in a stone 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 put 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 syrup, 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, cover 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 of 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. Vinegar must also have plenty of material such as sugar, molasses, etc., to work upon. 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 durable. Company, sickness or other cir- cumstances may prevent making

SWEET 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 happens in putting up cucumber pickles that you can only gather or buy a few at a time ; these can be easily pickled in the fol-

320 THE BUCKEYE COOK BOOK.

lowing manner : Place in a jar, 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 cover with cold, not very strong vinegar ; continue to treat each mess in this manner, using the two jars, one for scalding and the other as a final receptacle 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 CEUMB OF BREAD, but save it and put with other pieces ; if you have a loaf about to mold, cut in 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, stuffing, puddings, griddle cakes, etc. Keep in a covered box, or in a paper bag tied securely and hung in a dry place. Mother thinks it is much more economical to prepare meats with a dressing of some kind, since they " go so much further."

STUFFED BEEFSTEAK Is as nice for dinner as a much more expensive roast, and it can be prepared from a rather poor flank or round steak ; pound well, season witri salt and pepper, then spread with a nice dressing — may use some of the bread crumbs — roll up and tie closely with twine (which al- ways save from the grocer's parcels), put in a kettle with a quart boil- jng 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 making gravy of the drippings ; or you may put it at once into dripping pan, omitting 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 dovim cold.

HOW TO MAKE NICE GRAVY Is a problem many housekeepers 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 thickening ; 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 thor- oughly done or the gravy will taste like so much gummy paste. It is

FRAGMENTS. 321

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 mouthed 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. Mother says

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 win- ter once a week will do. Cut up in small pieces, put in skillet, cover, and try out slowly, stir occasionally , and skim well ; add the cakes of fat, saved from the top of your meat liquor, slice a raw potato and cook in it to clarify it, drain all the clear part into a tin can or stone jar, and you will find it very nice to use either alone or with butter and lard in frying potatoes, dough-nuts, etc. The fat of mutton should always be tried out by itself, 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 cask of strong lye, to which all soap grease should be consigned. Observe never to use for this purpose lean meat or raw fat. Keep a stick with which to stir occasionally. It will need but little boiling to make the best of soft soap. Mother has many other valuable ideas on how to stop the numberless little " leaks " which keep many a family in want, whereas 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, pfilatable meals, are safeguards against the evils of the ale house, the liquor saloon, and the gambling table, and whether or not this is wholly true, there seems reason in it. By the way she has just taken up^a oaper from which she reads this item by Prof. Blot: " TeS^i^ is 9arried on so far and so extensively in Amer- ican kitchens that it will soon be one of the common sciences." " Just as I told you," says mother, then folding her hands c

322 THE BUCKEYE COOK BOOK.