Fifty-Two Sunday Dinners.
by Elizabeth O. Hiller.
INTRODUCTION
TO the modern wide-awake, twentieth-century woman efficiency in household matters is quite as much a problem as efficiency in business is to the captains of industry.
How to make pure food, better food and to economize on the cost of same is just now taxing the attention and ingenuity of domestic science teachers and food experts generally. The average housewife is intensely interested in the result of these findings, and must keep in touch with them to keep up with the times and run her home in an intelligent and economical as well as healthful routine.
The eternal feminine question is, "What shall we have for dinner to-day?" It is not always the easiest thing in the world to think of a seasonable menu, nor to determine just the right combination that will furnish a meal appetizing and well-balanced in food values. Furthermore, both the expense and the amount of work entailed in preparation must be considered.
This Cook Book is especially designed to meet just that pressing daily need of the housewife. It presents for her guidance a menu for every Sunday dinner in the year; it suggests dishes which are seasonable as well as practical; it tells in a simple, intelligent manner just how these dishes can be made in the most wholesome and economical form; and the recipes have all been especially made for this book and tested by that eminent expert, Mrs. Elizabeth O. Hiller.
The t.i.tle of "52 Sunday Dinners" has been given the book because Sunday dinners as a rule are a little more elaborate than the other dinners of the week, but from these menus may be gleaned helpful hints for daily use.
While climatic conditions differ somewhat in various sections of the country, we have tried to approximate the general average, so that the suggestions might be as valuable to the housewife in New England as to the housewife in the West or South, or vice versa.
Simplicity, economy and wholesomeness have been given preferred attention in the preparation of these recipes, many of which are here presented for the first time.
In the interest of health and economy a number of the recipes suggest the use of Cottolene--a frying and shortening medium of unquestioned purity--in place of b.u.t.ter or lard. Cottolene is a vegetable shortening, pure in source and manufactured amid cleanly favorable surroundings. It is no new, untried experiment, having been used by domestic science experts and thousands of housewives for nearly twenty years; to them Cottolene for shortening and frying is "equal to b.u.t.ter at half the price, better and more healthful than lard--and more economical than either." We, therefore, offer no apologies for the small proportion of recipes specifying the use of Cottolene, and suggest that a trial will convince any housewife that Cottolene makes better food than either b.u.t.ter or lard, and is preferable from the standpoints of efficiency, economy and healthfulness.
We commend this book to your critical inspection and test, believing you will find it convenient, helpful, unique and pointing the way to better and more economical living.
THE N. K. FAIRBANK COMPANY.
For All Shortening and Frying Use COTTOLENE
YEARS ago nothing but b.u.t.ter or lard were used for shortening and frying; to-day the visible supply of these two products is insufficient to supply the demand, taking into consideration the amount of b.u.t.ter required for table use. Furthermore, as the demand increased it outgrew the supply of b.u.t.ter and lard, with the result that prices were materially advanced; and, incidentally, the quality has been lowered.
Naturally, under such conditions scores of subst.i.tutes have been offered as shortening and frying mediums--some meritorious, but mostly inferior.
Cottolene is not offered the housewife as a cheap imitation of either b.u.t.ter or lard, but as a vegetable product which is superior to either for cooking purposes. Because it happens to be about half the price of b.u.t.ter, or less, is but an additional reason, from a purely economical standpoint, for its use. The main argument for the use of Cottolene is the purity of its ingredients and the wholesomeness of the food prepared with it.
There isn"t an ounce of hog fat in Cottolene, and from cottonfield to kitchen human hands never touch the product. It is pure and absolutely free from taint or contamination from source to consumer. Packed in our patent, air-tight tin pails, Cottolene reaches you as fresh as the day it was made. Lard and b.u.t.ter are sold in bulk, and do not have this protection.
Cottolene is always uniform in quality, and because of its freedom from moisture it goes one-third farther than b.u.t.ter or lard, both of which contain about 20% of water. It is much more economical than lard; about 50% more so than b.u.t.ter.
Cottolene contains no salt, and is richer in shortening properties than either b.u.t.ter or lard. Two-thirds of a pound of Cottolene will give better results than a pound of either b.u.t.ter or lard.
Because Cottolene is made from sweet and pure oils, refined by our own special process, it makes food more digestible. Its use insures light, flaky pie-crust; it makes deliciously crisp, tender doughnuts; for cake-making it creams up beautifully and gives results equal to the best cooking b.u.t.ter; m.u.f.fins, fritters, shortcake and all other pastry are best when made with Cottolene; it makes food light and rich, but never greasy. Cottolene heats to a higher temperature than b.u.t.ter or lard, and cooks so quickly the fat has no chance to soak in.
You can fry fish in Cottolene and use the remaining fat for frying potatoes or other food. The odor of fish will not be imparted to the other food fried in the fat. Cottolene is just as pure and healthful as olive oil, and is unqualifiedly recommended by leading physicians, domestic science authorities and culinary experts as wholesome, digestible and economical. The use of Cottolene in your frying and shortening will both save you money and give you better results.
HOW TO USE COTTOLENE
The General Care of Cottolene
Exercise the same care and judgment with Cottolene as you would with b.u.t.ter, lard or olive oil; keep it in a moderately cool place when not in use, just as you would b.u.t.ter--so that its best qualities may be preserved.
Moreover, just because you occasionally buy strong b.u.t.ter or rancid lard which your grocer has kept in too warm a place, you do not denounce all b.u.t.ter or lard and give up their use; neither would it be fair to condemn Cottolene simply because your grocer may not have kept it properly. No fat will keep sweet indefinitely without proper care.
The Use of Cottolene for Shortening
Of course, the recipes in this book indicate the exact amount of Cottolene to be used. In your other recipes, however, a general, _and important_, rule for the use of Cottolene is:
=Use one-third less Cottolene than the amount of b.u.t.ter or lard given in your recipe.=
For cake-baking, cream the Cottolene as you would b.u.t.ter, adding a little salt; _Cottolene contains no salt_. For other pastry handle exactly the same as directed for either b.u.t.ter or lard, using one-third less.
The Use of Cottolene in Frying
In _sauteing_, _browning_ or "_shallow frying_" (as it is sometimes called) use only enough Cottolene to grease the pan. The Cottolene should be put into the pan _while cold_ and, after the bottom of the pan is once covered with the melted Cottolene, more can be added as desired.
Add more fat when you turn the food.
Cottolene can be heated to a much higher temperature without burning than either b.u.t.ter or lard, but--unless allowed to heat gradually--the Cottolene may burn and throw out an odor, just as would any other cooking-fat.
For _deep frying_, have Cottolene at least deep enough to cover, or float, the article being fried, heating slowly. For uncooked mixtures, such as doughnuts, fritters, etc., test with one-inch cubes of stale bread. The cubes of bread should brown a golden brown in one minute; or test with a bit of dough, which should rise at once to the top with some sputtering. Make this test always,--never trust your eye. The fat should be kept at an even temperature. For cooked mixtures, such as croquettes, fish b.a.l.l.s, etc., the cube of bread should brown a golden brown in 40 seconds.
Uncooked fish and meat are better when covered with bread crumbs, to keep the crisp crust desired in frying food (see note on Egging and Crumbing under Culinary Hints, Page 12). The fat should be hot at first, that it may not penetrate; then reduce the heat, that the food may cook till done, without burning.
Crumbed food is usually arranged in a croquette basket before placing it in the hot fat. This prevents the food from moving about, which sometimes causes the crust to loosen from the food, allowing it to absorb the fat.
Never let the fat heat to smoking point, for then it is burning hot, and the food will burn on the outside while the inside remains raw and uncooked. Cook only three or four pieces at once, for more will chill the fat and prevent perfect frying.
After the food has been cooked by this frying method it should be carefully removed at once from the fat and drained on brown paper.
Care of Cottolene After Frying
After the frying is done, the fat should be allowed to stand in a cool place to permit any sediment to settle. When cool, pour the fat carefully through a double fold of cheesecloth, or through a fine strainer. It is then ready for use.
Cottolene does not retain the taste or odor from any article whatever that may be fried in it, and it may be used over and over again. You may from time to time, add fresh Cottolene to it as your quant.i.ty diminishes, but the frying qualities of the Cottolene are not affected by the shrinkage of the fat.
What Noted Cooking Experts Think of Cottolene.