The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph
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Mary Randolph >> The Virginia Housewife
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* * * * *
BATTER CAKES.
Boil two cups of small homony very soft; add an equal quantity of corn
meal with a little salt, and a large spoonful of butter; make it in a
thin batter with three eggs, and a sufficient quantity of milk--beat all
together some time, and bake them on a griddle, or in woffle irons. When
eggs cannot be procured, yeast makes a good substitute; put a spoonful
in the batter, and let it stand an hour to rise.
* * * * *
BATTER BREAD.
Take six spoonsful of flour and three of corn meal, with a little
salt--sift them, and make a thin batter with four eggs, and a sufficient
quantity of rich milk; bake it in little tin moulds in a quick oven.
* * * * *
CREAM CAKES.
Melt as much butter in a pint of milk, as will make it rich as
cream--make the flour into a paste with this, knead it well, roll it out
frequently, cut it in squares, and bake on a griddle.
* * * * *
SOUFLE BISCUITS.
Rub four ounces of butter into a quart of flour, make it into paste with
milk, knead it well, roll it as thin as paper, and bake it to look
white.
* * * * *
CORN MEAL BREAD.
Rub a piece of butter the size of an egg, into a pint of corn meal--make
it a batter with two eggs, and some new milk--add a spoonful of yeast,
set it by the fire an hour to rise, butter little pans, and bake it.
* * * * *
SWEET POTATO BUNS.
Boil and mash a potato, rub into it as much flour as will make it like
bread--add spice and sugar to your taste, with a spoonful of yeast; when
it has risen well, work in a piece of butter, bake it in small rolls, to
be eaten hot with butter, either for breakfast or tea.
* * * * *
RICE WOFFLES.
Boil two gills of rice quite soft, mix with it three gills of flour, a
little salt, two ounces melted butter, two eggs beaten well, and as much
milk as will make it a thick batter--beat it till very light, and bake
it in woffle irons.
* * * * *
VELVET CAKES.
Make a batter of one quart of flour, three eggs, a quart of milk, and a
gill of yeast; when well risen, stir in a large spoonful of melted
butter, and bake them in muffin hoops.
* * * * *
CHOCOLATE CAKES.
Put half a pound of nice brown sugar into a quart of flour, sift it, and
make it into a paste, with four ounces of butter melted in as much milk
as will wet it; knead it till light, roll it tolerably thin, cut it in
strips an inch wide, and just long enough to lay in a plate; bake them
on a griddle, put them in the plate in rows to checker each other, and
serve them to eat with chocolate.
* * * * *
WAFERS.
Beat six eggs, add a pint of flour, two ounces of melted butter, with as
much milk as will make a thin batter--put in pounded loaf sugar to your
taste, pour it in the wafer irons, bake them quickly without browning,
and roll them while hot.
* * * * *
BUCKWHEAT CAKES.
Put a large spoonful of yeast and a little salt, into a quart of
buckwheat meal; make it into a batter with cold water; let it rise well,
and bake it on a griddle--it turns sour very quickly, if it be allowed
to stand any time after it has risen.
* * * * *
OBSERVATIONS ON ICE CREAMS.
It is the practice with some indolent cooks, to set the freezer
containing the cream, in a tub with ice and salt, and put it in the ice
house; it will certainly freeze there; but not until the watery
particles have subsided, and by the separation destroyed the cream. A
freezer should be twelve or fourteen inches deep, and eight or ten wide.
This facilitates the operation very much, by giving a larger surface for
the ice to form, which it always does on the sides of the vessel; a
silver spoon with a long handle should be provided for scraping the ice
from the sides as soon as formed: and when the whole is congealed, pack
it in moulds (which must be placed with care, lest they should not be
upright,) in ice and salt, till sufficiently hard to retain the
shape--they should not be turned out till the moment they are to be
served. The freezing tub must be wide enough to leave a margin of four
or five inches all around the freezer, when placed in the middle--which
must be filled up with small lumps of ice mixed with salt--a larger tub
would waste the ice. The freezer must be kept constantly in motion
during the process, and ought to be made of pewter, which is less liable
than tin to be worn in holes, and spoil the cream by admitting the salt
water.
* * * * *
ICE CREAMS.
When ice creams are not put into shapes, they should always be served in
glasses with handles.
* * * * *
VANILLA CREAM.
Boil a Vanilla bean in a quart of rich milk, until it has imparted the
flavour sufficiently--then take it out, and mix with the milk, eight
eggs, yelks and whites beaten well; let it boil a little longer; make it
very sweet, for much of the sugar is lost in the operation of freezing.
* * * * *
RASPBERRY CREAM.
Make a quart of rich boiled custard--when cold, pour it on a quart of
ripe red raspberries; mash them in it, pass it through a sieve, sweeten,
and freeze it.
* * * * *
STRAWBERRY CREAM
Is made in the same manner--the strawberries must be very ripe, and the
stems picked out. If rich cream can be procured, it will be infinitely
better--the custard is intended as a substitute, when cream cannot be
had.
* * * * *
COCOA NUT CREAM.
Take the nut from its shell, pare it, and grate it very fine; mix it
with a quart of cream, sweeten, and freeze it. If the nut be a small
one, it will require one and a half to flavour a quart of cream.
* * * * *
CHOCOLATE CREAM.
Scrape a quarter of a pound of chocolate very fine, put it in a quart of
milk, boil it till the chocolate is dissolved, stirring it
continually--thicken with six eggs. A Vanilla bean boiled with the milk,
will improve the flavour greatly.
* * * * *
OYSTER CREAM.
Make a rich soup, (see directions for oyster soup,) strain it from the
oysters, and freeze it.
* * * * *
ICED JELLY.
Make calf's foot jelly not very stiff, freeze it, and serve it in
glasses.
* * * * *
PEACH CREAM.
Get fine soft peaches perfectly ripe, peel them, take out the stones,
and put them in a China bowl: sprinkle some sugar on, and chop them very
small with a silver spoon--if the peaches be sufficiently ripe, they
will become a smooth pulp; add as much cream or rich milk as you have
peaches; put more sugar, and freeze it.
* * * * *
COFFEE CREAM.
Toast two gills of raw coffee till it is a light brown, and not a grain
burnt; put it hot from the toaster without grinding it, into a quart of
rich, and perfectly sweet milk; boil it, and add the yelks of eight
eggs; when done, strain it through a sieve, and sweeten it; if properly
done, it will not be discoloured. The coffee may be dried, and will
answer for making in the usual way to drink, allowing more for the
quantity of water, than if it had not gone through this process.
* * * * *
QUINCE CREAM.
Wash ripe quinces and boil them whole till quite tender--let them stand
to drain and cool--then rub them through a hair sieve; mix with the pulp
as much cochineal finely powdered, as will make it a pretty colour; then
add an equal quantity of cream, and sweeten it. Pears or apples may be
used, prepared in the same manner.
* * * * *
CITRON CREAM.
Cut the finest citron melons when perfectly ripe--take out the seeds,
and slice the nicest part into a China bowl in small pieces, that will
lie conveniently; cover them with powdered sugar, and let them stand
several hours--then drain off the syrup they have made, and add as much
cream as it will give a strong flavour to, and freeze it. Pine apples
may be used in the same way.
* * * * *
ALMOND CREAM.
Pour hot water on the almonds, and let them stand till the skins will
slip off, then pound them fine, and mix them with cream: a pound of
almonds in the shells, will be sufficient for a quart of cream--sweeten
and freeze it. The kernels of the common black walnut, prepared in the
same way, make an excellent cream.
* * * * *
LEMON CREAM.
Pare the yellow rind very thin from four lemons--put them in a quart of
fresh cream, and boil it; squeeze and strain the juice of one lemon,
saturate it completely with powdered sugar; and when the cream is quite
cold, stir it in--take care that it does not curdle--if not sufficiently
sweet, add more sugar.
* * * * *
LEMONADE ICED.
Make a quart of rich lemonade, whip the whites of six fresh eggs to a
strong froth--mix them well with the lemonade, and freeze it. The juice
of morello cherries, or of currants mixed with water and sugar, and
prepared in the same way, make very delicate ices.
* * * * *
TO MAKE CUSTARD.
Make a quart of milk quite hot, that it may not whey when baked; let it
stand to get cold, and then mix six eggs with it; sweeten it with loaf
sugar, and fill the custard cups--put on the covers, and set them in a
Dutch oven with water, but not enough to risk its boiling into the cups;
do not put on the top of the oven. When the water has boiled ten or
fifteen minutes, take out a cup, and if the custard be the consistence
of jelly; it is sufficiently done; serve them in the cups with the
covers on, and a tea-spoon on the dish between each cup--grate nutmeg on
the tops when cold.
* * * * *
TO MAKE A TRIFLE.
Put slices of Savoy cake or Naples biscuit at the bottom of a deep dish;
wet it with white wine, and fill the dish nearly to the top with rich
boiled custard; season half a pint of cream with white wine and sugar;
whip it to a froth--as it rises, take it lightly off, and lay it on the
custard; pile it up high and tastily--decorate it with preserves of any
kind, cut so thin as not to bear the froth down by its weight.
* * * * *
RICE BLANC MANGE.
Boil a tea-cup full of rice in a very small of water, till it is near
bursting--then add half a pint of milk, boil it to a mush, stirring all
the time; season it with sugar, wine, and nutmeg; dip the mould in
water, and fill it; when cold, turn it in a dish, and surround it with
boiled custard seasoned, or syllabub--garnish it with marmalade.
* * * * *
FLOATING ISLAND.
Have the bowl nearly full of syllabub, made with milk, white wine, and
sugar; beat the whites of six new laid eggs to a strong froth--then mix
with it raspberry or strawberry marmalade enough to flavour and colour
it; lay the froth lightly on the syllabub, first putting in some slices
of cake; raise it in little mounds, and garnish with something light.
* * * * *
SYLLABUB.
Season the milk with sugar and white wine, but not enough to curdle it;
fill the glasses nearly full, and crown them with whipt cream seasoned.
* * * * *
COLD CREAMS.
LEMON CREAM.
Pare the rind very thin from four fresh lemons, squeeze the juice, and
strain it--put them both into a quart of water, sweeten it to your
taste, add the whites of six eggs, beat to a froth; set it over the
fire, and keep stirring until it thickens, but do not let it boil--then
pour it in a bowl; when cold, strain it through a sieve, put it on the
fire, and add the yelks of the eggs--stir it till quite thick, and serve
it in glasses.
* * * * *
ORANGE CREAM.
Is made in the same manner, but requires more juice to give a flavour.
* * * * *
RASPBERRY CREAM.
Stir as much raspberry marmalade into a quart of cream, as will be
sufficient to give a rich flavour of the fruit--strain it, and fill your
glasses, leaving out a part to whip into froth for the top.
* * * * *
TEA CREAM.
Put one ounce of the best tea in a pitcher, pour on it a table spoonful
of water, and let it stand an hour to soften the leaves; then put to it
a quart of boiling cream, cover it close, and in half an hour strain it;
add four tea-spoonsful of a strong infusion of rennet in water, stir it,
and set it on some hot ashes, and cover it; when you find by cooling a
little of it, that it will jelly, pour it into glasses, and garnish with
thin bits of preserved fruit.
* * * * *
SAGO CREAM.
Wash the sago clean, and put it on the fire with a stick of cinnamon,
and as much water as will boil it thick and soft; take out the cinnamon,
and add rich boiled custard till it is of a proper thickness; sweeten
it, and serve in glasses or cups, with grated nutmeg on the top.
* * * * *
BARLEY CREAM.
Is made the same way--you may add a little white wine to both; it will
give an agreeable flavour.
* * * * *
GOOSEBERRY FOOL.
Pick the stems and blossoms from two quarts of green gooseberries; put
them in a stew pan, with their weight in loaf sugar, and a very little
water--when sufficiently stewed, pass the pulp through a sieve; and when
cold, add rich boiled custard till it is like thick cream; put it in a
glass bowl, and lay frothed cream on the top.
* * * * *
TO MAKE SLIP.
Make a quart of rich milk moderately warm: then stir into it one large
spoonful of the preparation of rennet, (see receipt to prepare rennet,)
set it by, and when cold, it will be as stiff as jelly. It should be
made only a few hours before it is used, or it will be tough and watery;
in summer, set the dish in ice after it has jellied--it must be eaten
with powdered sugar, cream, and nutmeg.
* * * * *
CURDS AND CREAM.
Turn one quart of milk as for the slip--let it stand until just before
it is to be served: then take it up with a skimming dish, and lay it on
a sieve--when the whey has drained off, put the curds in a dish, and
surround them with cream--use sugar and nutmeg. These are Arcadian
dishes; very delicious, cheap, and easily prepared.
* * * * *
BLANC MANGE.
Break one ounce of isinglass into very small pieces; wash it well, and
pour on a pint of boiling water; next morning, add a quart of milk, boil
it till the isinglass is dissolved, strain it, put in two ounces sweet
almonds, blanched and pounded; sweeten it, and put it in the mould--when
stiff, turn them into a deep dish, and put raspberry cream around them.
For a change, stick thin slips of blanched almonds all over the blanc
mange, and dress round with syllabub, nicely frothed. Some moulds
require colouring--for an ear of corn, mix the yelk of an egg with a
little of the blanc mange; fill the grains of the corn with it--and when
quite set, pour in the white, but take care it is not warm enough to
melt the yellow: for a bunch of asparagus, colour a little with spinach
juice, to fill the green tops of the heads. Fruit must be made the
natural colour of what it represents. Cochineal and alkanet root pounded
and dissolved in brandy, make good colouring; but blanc mange should
never be served, without raspberry cream or syllabub to eat with it.
* * * * *
TO MAKE A HEN'S NEST.
Get five small eggs, make a hole at one end, and empty the shells--fill
them with blanc mange: when stiff and cold, take off the shells, pare
the yellow rind very thin from six lemons, boil them in water till
tender, then cut them in thin strips to resemble straw, and preserve
them with sugar; fill a small deep dish half full of nice jelly--when it
is set, put the straw on in form of a nest, and lay the eggs in it. It
is a beautiful dish for a dessert or supper.
* * * * *
Little Dishes for a Second Course, or Supper.
PHEASANTS A-LA-DAUB.
Roast two pheasants in the nicest manner--get a deep dish, the size and
form of the one you intend to serve the pheasants in--it must be as deep
as a tureen; put in savoury jelly about an inch and a half at the
bottom; when that is set, and the pheasants cold, lay them on the jelly
with their breasts down; fill the dish with jelly up to their backs;
take care it is not warm enough to melt the other, and that the birds
are not displaced--just before it is to be served, set it a moment in
hot water to loosen it; put the dish on the top, and turn it out
carefully.
* * * * *
PARTRIDGES A-LA-DAUB.
Truss six partridges neatly, cover them with thin slices of fat bacon
taken from the top of a middling; this keeps them white, and gives a
good flavour; they must be wrapped entirely in it--roast them, and when
done, take off the bacon; let them get cold, and use jelly as for the
pheasants.
* * * * *
CHICKENS A-LA-DAUB.
Roast two half grown chickens, cut off the legs and wings, pull the
breast from each side entire, take the skin from all the pieces, lay it
in the dish, and cover it with jelly.
* * * * *
TO MAKE SAVOURY JELLY.
Put eight or ten pounds of coarse lean beef, or the same quantity of the
inferior parts of the fore quarter of veal, into a pot with two gallons
of water, a pound of lean salt pork, three large onions chopped, three
carrots, a large handful of parsley, and any sweet herb that you choose,
with pepper and salt; boil it very gently till reduced to two quarts;
strain it through a sieve--next day, take off the fat, turn out the
jelly, and separate it from the dregs at the bottom; put it on the fire
with half a pint of white wine, a large spoonful of lemon pickle, and
the whites and shells of four eggs beaten: when it boils clear on one
side, run it through the jelly bag.
* * * * *
TURKEY A-LA-DAUB.
Bone a small turkey, put pepper and salt on the inside, and cover it
with slices of boiled ham or tongue; fill it with well seasoned
forcemeat, sew it up and boil it--cover it with jelly.
* * * * *
SALMAGUNDI.
Turn a bowl on the dish, and put on it in regular rings, beginning at
the bottom, the following ingredients, all minced:--anchovies with the
bones taken out, the white meat of fowls without the skin, hard boiled
eggs, the yelks and whites chopped separately, parsley, the lean of old
ham scraped, the inner stalks of celery; put a row of capers round the
bottom of the bowl, and dispose the others in a fanciful manner; put a
little pyramid of butter on the top, and have a small glass with egg
mixed as for sallad, to eat with the salmagundi.
* * * * *
AN EXCELLENT RELISH AFTER DINNER.
Put some soup or gravy from any of the dishes on the table, into the
stew dish; add a good portion of pepper, vinegar, wine, catsup and salt;
let it be very highly seasoned; broil the legs, liver, and gizzard of a
turkey, the kidney of veal, or any thing you fancy; cut it up in small
pieces: when broiled, put it in the gravy, and stew it at table.
* * * * *
TO STEW PERCH.
Lay the perch in a deep pan with the heads on; sprinkle salt, pepper,
and a little chopped onion over each layer; when they are all in, take
as much water as will be sufficient to fill the pan less than half full;
add a gill of wine, one of catsup, a little lemon pickle and spice;
cover the pan, and let it stew gently till done; take out the fish
without breaking, put them in a deep dish, pour the gravy on, and neatly
turn them out.
* * * * *
PRESERVES.
DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING PRESERVES.
The preserving pan should be made of bell metal, flat at the bottom,
very large in diameter, but not deep. It should have a cover to fit
closely, and handles at the sides of the pan, for taking it off with
ease when the syrup boils too fast. There should also be a large
chafing-dish with long legs, for the convenience of moving it to any
part of the room. The process is a tedious one; and if the
superintendent be not comfortably situated, the preserves cannot be
properly managed. A ladle the size of a saucer, pierced and having a
long handle, will be necessary for taking up the fruit without syrup.
When a chafing-dish cannot be procured, the best substitute is a brick
stove, with a grating, to burn charcoal. The sugar should be the best
double refined; but if the pure amber coloured sugar house syrup from
the West Indies can be got, it is greatly superior; it never ferments,
and the trouble is very much lessened by having ready made syrup, in
which it is only necessary to boil the fruit till clear. All delicate
fruit should be done gently, and not allowed to remain more than half an
hour after it begins to stew, before it is laid on dishes to cool; it
must be put into the syrup again for the same time; continue this until
it is sufficiently transparent. The advantage of this method is that the
preserves are less liable to boil to pieces, than when done all at one
time. It is injudicious to put more in the pan at once, than can lie on
the bottom without crowding. The pan must be made bright, and nothing
permitted to cool in it, lest it should canker. Delicate preserves
should be kept in small glasses or pots, that will not hold more than
one or two pounds, for the admission of air injures them; put letter
paper wet with brandy on the preserves, and cover the tops with many
folds of soft paper, that will tie round closely; keep them in a dry
place, and expose them constantly to the sun to check fermentation.
Fruit for preserving should be in full perfection, but not too ripe.
* * * * *
TO PRESERVE CLING-STONE PEACHES.
Get the finest yellow cling-stones, pare them, and lay them in a bowl;
have their weight of sugar pounded, and sprinkle it over them as they
are put in; let them stand two or three hours, put them together with
the sugar into the pan, add a little water, and let the peaches remain
till thoroughly scalded; take them out with the ladle, draining off the
syrup; should there not be enough to cover the peaches, add more Water,
boil it and skim it, return the fruit, and do them gently till quite
clear. Have some stones cracked, blanch the kernels, and preserve them
with the peaches.
* * * * *
CLING-STONES SLICED.
Pare the peaches, and cut them in as large slices as possible; have
their weight in sugar, and preserve them as the others.
* * * * *
SOFT PEACHES.
Get yellow soft peaches that are not quite ripe, pare and divide them,
scrape the places where the stones lay with a tea-spoon, and follow the
former directions.
* * * * *
PEACH MARMALADE.
Take the ripest soft peaches, (the yellow ones make the prettiest
marmalade,) pare them, and take out the stones; put them in the pan with
one pound of dry light coloured brown sugar to, two of peaches: when
they are juicy, they do not require water: with a silver or wooden
spoon, chop them with the sugar; continue to do this, and let them boil
gently till they are a transparent pulp, that will be a jelly when cold.
Puffs made of this marmalade are very delicious.
* * * * *
PEACH CHIPS.
Slice them thin, and boil them till clear in a syrup made with half
their weight of sugar; lay them on dishes in the sun, and turn them till
dry; pack them in pots with powdered sugar sifted over each layer;
should there be syrup left, continue the process with other peaches.
They are very nice when done pure honey instead of sugar.
* * * * *
PEARS.
The small pears are better for preserving than large ones. Pare them,
and make a syrup, with their weight of sugar, and a little water--leave
the stem on, and stick a clove in the blossom end of each; stew them
till perfectly transparent.
* * * * *
PEAR MARMALADE.
Boil the pears till soft--when cold, rub the pulp through a sieve, and
boil it to a jelly, allowing one pound of sugar to two of pears.
* * * * *
QUINCES.
Select the finest and most perfect quinces, lay them on shelves, but do
not let them touch each other; keep them till they look yellow and have
a fragrant smell; put as many in the preserving pan as can lie
conveniently, cover them with water, and scald them well: then take out
the cores, and put them in water; cover the pan and boil them some time;
strain the water, add to it the weight of the quinces in pounded loaf
sugar, dissolve and skim it, pare the quinces, put them in the pan, and
should there not be syrup enough to cover them, add more water--stew
them till quite transparent. They will be light coloured if kept covered
during the process, and red if the cover be taken off. Fill the space
the cores occupied with quince jelly, before they are put into the
pots--and cover them with syrup.
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