365 Luncheon Dishes.
by Anonymous.
JANUARY.
1.--Stewed Breast of Lamb.
Cut a breast of lamb into small pieces, season, and stew until tender in enough gravy to cover the meat. Thicken the sauce, flavor with a wine-gla.s.s of wine, pile in the centre of a platter and garnish with green peas.
2.--Chicken Creams.
Chop and pound 1/2 a lb. of chicken and 3 ozs. of ham; pa.s.s this through a sieve, add 1 oz. of melted b.u.t.ter, 2 well-beaten eggs, and 1/2 a pint of cream, which must be whipped; season with pepper and salt. Mix all lightly together, put into oiled moulds and steam fifteen minutes, or if in one large mould half an hour.
3.--Herring"s Roes on Toast.
Have rounds of toast b.u.t.tered and seasoned with salt and pepper, on each piece place 1/2 the soft roe of a herring which has been slightly fried and on the top of this a fried mushroom. Serve very hot.
4.--French Omelet.
For a very small omelet beat 2 whole eggs and the yokes of two more until a full spoonful can be taken up. Add 3 tablespoonfuls of water, 1/4 of a teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper, and when well mixed turn into a hot omelet pan, in which a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter has been melted, lift the edges up carefully and let the uncooked part run under.
When all is cooked garnish with parsley.
5.--Cheese Ramequins.
Melt 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, mix with 1/2 oz. of flour, add 1/4 of a pint of milk, stir and cook well. Then beat in the yolks of two eggs, sprinkle in 3 ozs. of grated cheese, add the well-beaten whites of three eggs.
Mix in lightly and put in cases. Bake a quarter of an hour.
6.--Scotch Collops.
Cut cold roast veal into thin slices, and dust over them a little mace, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, and fry them in a little b.u.t.ter. Lay on a dish and make a gravy by adding 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1/4 of a pint of water, 1 teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, 1/4 of a teaspoonful of lemon peel, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, and 1 of sherry. Let boil up once and pour over the meat. Garnish with lemon and parsley.
7.--Orange Salad.
Slice 3 sweet oranges, after removing the skin and pith, make a dressing with 3 tablespoonfuls of olive oil, a tablespoonful of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Serve on lettuce leaves.
8.--Oyster Potpie.
Scald one quart of oysters in their own liquor. When boiling take out the oysters and keep them hot. Stir together a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and two of flour, and moisten with cold milk. Add two small cups of boiling water to the oyster liquor, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the flour mixture, and let it cook until it thickens like cream.
Make a light biscuit dough and cut out with a thimble. Drop these into the boiling mixture, cover the saucepan and cook until the dough is done. Put the oysters on a hot dish and pour biscuit b.a.l.l.s and sauce over them.
9.--Chicken Cutlets.
Chop cold chicken fine; season with onion-juice, celery salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. For 2 cupfuls allow a cupful of cream or rich milk.
Heat this (with a bit of soda stirred in) in a saucepan, and thicken with a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter rubbed in, one of corn-starch, stirred in when the cream is scalding. Cook one minute, put in the seasoned chicken, and cook until smoking hot. Beat two eggs light; take the boiling mixture from the fire and add gradually to these. Pour into a broad dish or agate-iron pan and set in a cold place until perfectly chilled and stiff. Shape with your hands, or with a cutter, into the form of cutlets or chops. Dip in egg, then in cracker-crumbs. Set on the ice an hour or two and fry in deep boiling fat. Send around white sauce with them.--From "The National Cook Book," by Marion Harland and Christine Terhune Herrick.
10.--Cocoanut Ice Cream.
Put 1 pint of milk over the fire in a double boiler with the grated yellow rind of a lemon and three well-beaten eggs. Stir until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from the fire; add a cup and a half of sugar, and 1 qt. of cream. Then add a grated cocoanut. Stir until the custard is cold, add the lemon juice and freeze.
11.--Loaf Corn Bread.
Mix together 2 cupfuls of corn-meal, 1 cupful of flour, 1 teaspoonful of salt, and 2 of baking powder. Beat together 3 eggs until thick and light. Add 2-1/2 cupfuls of milk and stir into the dry mixture, adding 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar, and 2 tablespoonfuls of melted b.u.t.ter, and beating well until the batter is smooth. Grease the pans well, or it will stick. Have the batter a little more than 2 inches deep in the pans and bake in a hot oven for about half an hour.--"Table Talk," Phila.
12.--Beef Ragout.
Cut cold roast beef into large slices. Put it into a saucepan with 2 slices of onion, salt and pepper. Pour over it 1/2 a pt. of boiling water and add 3 tablespoonfuls of soup stock. Stew gently until cooked.
13.--Curried Rice.
Boil 1 cup of rice rapidly for half an hour, drain in a colander and stand in the oven for a few minutes to dry out the rice. Put 2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and a slice of onion into a saucepan. Stir until the onion is a golden brown, add a tablespoonful of flour. (Take out the slice of onion.) Stir until smooth, then add a teaspoonful of curry powder, bring to a boil, add salt. Pour over the rice and serve hot.
14.--Tapioca Soup.
One qt. of veal or chicken broth, 1 pt. of cream or milk, 1 onion, a little celery, 1/3 of a cupful of tapioca, 2 cupfuls of cold water, 1 tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a small piece of mace, salt and pepper. Wash and soak the tapioca over night. Cook it in the broth for an hour. Cook milk, onion, mace and celery together for 15 minutes, then strain into the tapioca and broth; add the b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper.
15.--Haddock Roes and Bacon.
Haddock roes are much cheaper than shad roes, and are very nice prepared in this way. Soak for an hour in water and lemon juice, then parboil in salt and water for ten minutes. Fry brown in a little lard and b.u.t.ter mixed. Fry the bacon in a separate pan until brown, remove from the pan and put it in the oven for a few minutes to crisp it. Put the roes in the centre of a hot platter and garnish the bacon around it.
16.--Rice Moulds.
Wash a teacupful of rice in several waters, put it into a saucepan and just cover with cold water, and when it boils, add two cupfuls of milk, and boil until it becomes dry; put it into a mould and press it well.
When cold serve with a garnish of preserves around it or with a boiled custard.
17.--English m.u.f.fins.
Scald 1 pt. of milk and add 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter and let cool; when cool add 1/4 of a yeast cake, a teaspoonful of salt and three cups of flour, beat well, cover and let rise about two hours. When light, add sufficient flour to make a soft dough; work lightly and divide into small b.a.l.l.s; put each one into a well-greased m.u.f.fin ring and let rise again. Then bake on a hot griddle. When ready to eat tear them open and b.u.t.ter.
18.--Minced Veal and Macaroni.