All the ingredients of this plum pudding (except the eggs) should be prepared the day before, otherwise it cannot be made in time to allow of its being sufficiently boiled.
We have known of a very rich plum pudding being mixed in England and sent to America in a covered bowl; it arrived perfectly good after a month"s voyage, the season being winter.
A BAKED APPLE PUDDING.
Take nine large pippin apples; pare and core them whole. Set them in the bottom of a large deep dish, and pour round them a very little water, just enough to keep them from burning. Put them into an oven, and let them bake about half an hour. In the mean time, mix three table-spoonfuls of flour with a quart of milk, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar, and a tea-spoonful of mixed spice. Beat seven eggs very light, and stir them gradually into the milk. Then take out the dish of apples, (which by this time should be half baked,) and fill up the holes from whence you extracted the cores, with brown sugar; pressing down into each a slice of fresh lemon.
Pour the batter round the apples; put the dish again into the oven, and let it bake another half hour; but not long enough for the apples to fall to pieces; as they should, when done, be soft throughout, but quite whole. Send it to table warm.
This is sometimes called a _Bird"s Nest Pudding_.
It will be much improved by previously boiling in the milk a small handful of peach leaves. Let it get cold before you stir in the eggs.
BOILED APPLE PUDDING.
Pare, core, and quarter as many fine juicy apples as will weigh two pounds when done. Strew among them a quarter of a pound of brown sugar, and add a grated nutmeg, and the juice and yellow peel of a large lemon. Prepare a paste of suet and flour, in the proportion of a pound of chopped suet to two pounds of flour. Roll it out of moderate thickness; lay the apples in the centre, and close the paste nicely over them in the form of a large dumpling; tie it in a cloth and boil it three hours. Send it to table hot, and eat with it cream sauce, or with b.u.t.ter and sugar.
Any fruit pudding may be made in a similar manner.
AN EASTERN PUDDING.
Make a paste of a pound of flour and half a pound of minced suet; and roll it out thin into a square or oblong sheet; trim off the edges so as to make it an even shape. Spread thickly over it some marmalade, or cold stewed fruit, (which must be made very sweet,) either apple, peach, plum, gooseberry or cranberry. Roll up the paste, with the fruit spread on it, into a scroll. Secure each end by putting on nicely a thin round piece rolled out from the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs that you cut off the edges of the sheet. Put the pudding into a cloth, and boil it at least three hours. Serve it up hot, and eat it with cream sauce, or with b.u.t.ter and sugar.
APPLE DUMPLINGS.
Take large fine juicy apples. Pare them, and extract the cores without dividing the apple. Fill each hole with brown sugar, and some chips of lemon peel. Also squeeze in some lemon juice. Or you may fill the cavities with raspberry jam, or with any sort of marmalade. Have ready a paste, made in the proportion of a pound of suet, chopped as fine as possible, to two pounds and a half of sifted flour, well mixed, and wetted with as little water as possible. Roll out the paste to a moderate thickness, and cut it into circular pieces, allowing two pieces to each dumpling. Lay your apple on one piece, and put another piece on the top, closing the paste round the sides with your fingers, so as to cover the apple entirely. This is a better way than gathering up the paste at one end, as the dumpling is less liable to burst. Boil each dumpling in a small coa.r.s.e cloth, which has first been dipped in hot water. There should always be a set of cloths kept for the purpose. Tie them tightly, leaving a small s.p.a.ce for the dumpling to swell. Plaster a little flour on the inside of each tying place to prevent the water from getting in. Have ready a pot of boiling water. Put in the dumplings and boil them from three quarters to an hour. Send them to table hot in a covered dish. Do not take them up till a moment before they are wanted.
Eat them with cream and sugar, or with b.u.t.ter and sugar.
You may make the paste with b.u.t.ter instead of suet, allowing a pound of b.u.t.ter to two pounds and a quarter of flour. But when paste is to be boiled, suet will make it much lighter and finer than b.u.t.ter.
Apple dumplings may be made in a very plain manner with potato paste, and boiled without cloths, dredging the outside of each dumpling with flour. They should boil about three quarters of an hour when without cloths.
The apples for dumplings should always be whole, (except the cores;) for if quartered, the pieces will separate in boiling and break through the crust. The apples should never be sweet ones.
RICE DUMPLINGS.
Pick and wash a pound of rice, and boil it gently in two quarts of water till it becomes dry; keeping the pot well covered, and not stirring it. Then take it off the fire, and spread it out to cool on the bottom, of an inverted sieve; loosening the grains lightly with a fork, that all the moisture may evaporate. Pare a dozen pippins or other, large juicy apples, and scoop out the core. Then fill up the cavity with marmalade, or with lemon and sugar. Cover every apple all over with a thick coating of the boiled rice. Tie up each in a separate, cloth, [Footnote: Your pudding and dumpling cloths should be squares of coa.r.s.e thick linen, hemmed, and with tape strings sewed to them. After using, they should be washed, dried, and ironed; and kept in one of the kitchen drawers, that they may be always ready when wanted.] and put them into a pot of cold water. They will require about an hour and a quarter after they begin to boil; perhaps longer.
Turn them out on a large dish, and be careful in doing so not to break the dumplings. Eat them with cream sauce, or with wine sauce, or with b.u.t.ter, sugar, and nutmeg beaten together.
PIGEON DUMPLINGS OR PUDDINGS.
Take four pigeons and stuff them with chopped oysters, seasoned with pepper, salt, mace, and nutmeg. Score the b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and loosen all the joints with a sharp knife, as if you were going to carve them for eating; but do not cut them quite apart. Make a sufficient quant.i.ty of nice suet paste, allowing a pound of suet to two pounds of flour; roll it out thick, and divide it into four. Lay one pigeon on each sheet of the paste with the back downwards, and put at the lower part of the breast a piece of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour. Close the paste over the pigeon in the form of a dumpling or small pudding; pouring in at the last a very little cold water to add to the gravy. Tie each dumpling in a cloth, put them into a pot of hot water, and boil them two hours.
Send them to table with made gravy in a boat.
Partridges or quails may be cooked in this manner; also chickens, which must be accompanied by egg sauce. These dumplings or puddings will be found very good.
FINE SUET DUMPLINGS.
Grate the crumb of a stale six cent loaf, and mix it with nearly as much beef suet, chopped as fine as possible. Add a grated nutmeg, and two large table-spoonfuls of sugar. Beat four eggs with four table-spoonfuls of white wine or brandy. Mix all well together to a stiff paste. Flour your hands, and make up the mixture into b.a.l.l.s or dumplings about the size of turkey eggs.
Have ready a pot of boiling water. Put the dumplings into cloths, and let them boil about half an hour. Serve them hot, and eat them with wine sauce.
PLAIN SUET DUMPLINGS.
Sift two pounds of flour into a pan, and add a salt-spoon of salt.
Mince very fine one pound of beef suet, and rub it into the flour.
Make it into a stiff dough with a little cold water. Then roll it out an inch thick or rather more. Cut it into dumplings with the edge of a tumbler. Put them into a pot of boiling water, and let them boil an hour and a half. Send them to table hot, to eat with boiled loin of mutton, or with mola.s.ses after the meat is removed.
INDIAN DUMPLINGS.
Take a pint of milk, and four eggs well beaten. Stir them together, and add a salt-spoon of salt. Then mix in as much sifted Indian meal as will make a stiff dough. Flour your hands; divide the dough into equal portions, and make it into b.a.l.l.s about the size of a goose egg. Flatten each with the rolling-pin, tie them in cloths, and put them into a pot of boiling water. They will boil in a short time. Take care not to let them go to pieces by keeping them too long in the pot.
Serve them up hot, and eat them with corned pork, or with bacon.
Or you may eat them with mola.s.ses and b.u.t.ter after the meat is removed.
If to be eaten without meat, you may mix in the dough a quarter of a pound of finely chopped suet.
LIVER DUMPLINGS.
Take a calf"s liver, and chop it very fine. Mix with it half a pound of beef suet chopped line also; half a pound of flour; two minced onions; a handful of bread-crumbs; a table-spoonful of chopped parsley and sweet marjoram mixed; a few blades of mace and a few cloves powdered; and a little pepper and salt. Mix all well together. Wet the mixture with six eggs well beaten, and make it up into dumplings, with your hands well floured. Have ready a large pot of boiling water. Drop the dumplings into it with a ladle, and let them boil an hour. Have ready bread-crumbs browned in b.u.t.ter to poor over them before they go to table.
HAM DUMPLINGS.
Chop some cold ham, the fat and lean in equal proportions. Season it with pepper and minced sage. Make a crust, allowing half a pound of chopped suet; or half a pound of b.u.t.ter to a pound of flour. Roll it out thick, and divide it into equal portions. Put some minced ham into each, and close up the crust. Have ready a pot of boiling water, and put in the dumplings. Boil them about three quarters of an hour.
LIGHT DUMPLINGS.
Mix together as much grated bread, b.u.t.ter and beaten egg (seasoned with powdered cinnamon) as will make a stiff paste. Stir it well.
Make the mixture into round dumplings, with your hands well floured. Tie up each in a separate cloth, and boil them a short time,--about fifteen minutes. Eat them with wine sauce, or with mola.s.ses and b.u.t.ter.
PLAIN FRITTERS.
Beat seven eggs very light, and stir them gradually into a quart of milk; add, by degrees, three quarters of a pound, or a pint and a half of sifted flour. Beat the whole very hard. Have ready in a frying-pan over the fire, a large quant.i.ty of lard. When the lard has come to a hard boil, begin to put in the fritters; allowing for each about a jill of batter, or half a large tea-cup full.
They do not require turning, and will be done in a few minutes.
Fry as many at a time as the pan will hold. Send them to table hot, and eat them with powdered cinnamon, sugar, and white wine.