RICE PUDDING. If for family use, swell the rice with a very little milk over the fire. Then add more milk, an egg, some sugar, allspice, and lemon peel; and bake it in a deep dish. Or put into a deep pan half a pound of rice washed and picked, two ounces of b.u.t.ter, four ounces of sugar, a little pounded allspice, and two quarts of milk. Less b.u.t.ter will do, or some suet: bake the pudding in a slow oven. Another. Boil a quarter of a pound of rice in a quart of milk, with a stick of cinnamon, till it is thick; stir it often, that it does not burn; pour it into a pan, stir in a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, and grate half a nutmeg; add sugar to your taste, and a small tea-cup of rose-water; stir all together till cold; beat up eight eggs, (leave out half the whites) stir all well together, lay a thin puff paste at the bottom of the dish, and nip the edge; then pour in the pudding and bake it.--Another. To make a plain rice pudding, put half a pound of rice well picked, into three quarts of milk; add half a pound of sugar, a small nutmeg grated, and half a pound of b.u.t.ter; b.u.t.ter the dish with part, and break the rest into the milk and rice; stir all well together, pour it into a dish, and bake it.--Another. To make a boiled rice pudding, take a quarter of a pound of rice well picked and washed, tie it in a cloth, leaving room for it to swell; boil it for an hour; take it up and stir in a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, some nutmeg and sugar; tie it up again very tight, and boil it an hour more. When you send it to table, pour b.u.t.ter and sugar over it.--Another. To make a ground rice pudding. To a pint of milk put four ounces of ground rice; boil it for some time, keeping it stirring, lest it should burn; pour it into a pan, and stir in a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter; then beat up six eggs, leaving out half the whites, a little lemon peel finely shred, a little nutmeg grated, a quarter of a pound of sugar, a gill of cream, a little rose-water, and as much salt as you can take up between your thumb and finger; mix all well together, make a puff paste, lay it round the rim of the dish, and bake it.--Lay citron or orange cut very thin, on the top, and strew a few currants on.--Another. To make rice pudding with fruit. Swell half a pound of rice with a very little milk over the fire, and then mix with it any kind of fruit; such as currants, scalded gooseberries, pared and quartered apples, raisins, or black currants. Put an egg into the pudding to bind it, boil it well, and serve it up with sugar.
RICE SAUCE. Steep a quarter of a pound of rice in a pint of milk, with an onion, a dozen pepper corns or allspice, and a little mace. When the rice is quite tender, take out the spice, and rub the rice through a sieve into a clean stewpan: if too thick, put a little milk or cream to it. This makes a very delicate white sauce; and at elegant tables, is frequently used instead of bread sauce.
RICE SOUFFLE. Blanch some Carolina rice, strain and boil it in milk, with lemon peel and a bit of cinnamon. Let it boil till the rice is dry; then cool it, and raise a rim three inches high round the dish, having egged the dish where it is put, to make it stick. Then egg the rice all over. Fill the dish half way up with a marmalade of apples; have ready the whites of four eggs beaten to a fine froth, and put them over the marmalade. Sift fine sugar over, and set it in the oven, which should be warm enough to give it a beautiful colour.
RICE SOUP. Boil a pound of rice with a little cinnamon, in two quarts of water. Take out the cinnamon, add a little sugar and nutmeg, and let it stand to cool. Then beat up the yolks of three eggs in a little white wine, and mix it with the rice. Set it on a slow fire, stir it well, and take it up as soon as it has boiled to a proper thickness.
RICH GIBLET SOUP. Take four pounds of gravy beef, two pounds of scrag of mutton, two pounds of scrag of veal; stew them well down together in a sufficient quant.i.ty of water for a strong broth, let it stand till it is quite cold, then skim the fat clean off. Take two pair of giblets well scalded and cleaned, put them into your broth, and let them simmer till they are stewed tender; then take out your giblets, and run the soup through a fine sieve to catch the small bones; then take an ounce of b.u.t.ter and put it into a stew-pan, mixing a proper quant.i.ty of flour, which make of a fine light brown. Take a small handful of chives, the same of parsley, a very little penny-royal, and a very little sweet marjoram; chop all these herbs together excessive small, put your soup over a slow fire, put in your giblets, b.u.t.ter and flour, and small herbs; then take a pint of Madeira wine, some cayenne pepper, and salt to your palate. Let them all simmer together, till the herbs are tender, and the soup is finished. Send it to the table with the giblets in it.
Let the livers be stewed in a saucepan by themselves, and put in when you dish.
RICH GRAVY. Cut lean beef into small slices, according to the quant.i.ty wanted; slice some onions thin, and flour them both. Fry them of a light pale brown, but do not suffer them on any account to get black. Put them into a stewpan, pour boiling water on the browning in the fryingpan, boil it up, and pour it on the meat. Add a bunch of parsley, thyme, and savoury, a small piece of marjoram, the same of taragon, some mace, berries of allspice, whole black pepper, a clove or two, and a bit of ham, or gammon of bacon. Simmer till the juice of the meat is extracted, and skim it the moment it boils. If for a hare, or stewed fish, anchovy should be added.
RICH GRAVY SOUP. Take a pound of lean beef, two pounds of veal, and a pound of mutton cut in pieces; put them into a pot, with six quarts of water, a large f.a.ggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, a little mace, and the upper crust of bread toasted brown.
Put in an ox palate well cleaned and blanched whole; set it over a slow fire, and let it stew till half is wasted; strain it off, and put it into a clean saucepan. Take off the ox palate, shred small, some c.o.c.k"s combs blanched, an ounce of morels cut in pieces, four large heads of celery well washed, and cut small, with the heart of four or five savoys, about as big as a turkey"s egg, put in whole; cover it close, and let it stew softly for an hour and a half. If it want any more seasoning, add it; cut some French bread toasts thin, and crisp them before the fire. When your soup is ready, lay your bread in the dish, and put in your soup.
RICH HOME-MADE WINE.--Take new cider from the press, mix it with as much honey as will support an egg, boil it gently fifteen minutes, but not in an iron, bra.s.s, or copper pot. Skim it well, and tun it when cool, but the cask must not be quite full. Bottle it in the following March, and it will be fit to drink in six weeks, but it will be less sweet if kept longer in the cask. This will make a rich and strong wine, suitable for culinary purposes, where milk or sweet wine is to be employed. Honey, besides its other valuable uses, is a fine ingredient to a.s.sist and render palatable, new or harsh cider.
RICH PLUM PUDDING. To make a small, but very rich plum pudding, shred fine three quarters of a pound of suet, and half a pound of stoned raisins, chopped a little. Add three spoonfuls of flour, as much moist sugar, a little salt and nutmeg, the yolks of three, and the whites of two eggs. Let it boil four hours in a basin or tin mould, well b.u.t.tered.
When the pudding is served up, pour over it some melted b.u.t.ter, with white wine and sugar.--For a larger pudding of the same description, shred three pounds of suet; add a pound and a half of raisins stoned and chopped, a pound and a half of currants, three pounds of good flour, sixteen eggs, and a quart of milk. Boil it in a cloth seven hours.
RICH RICE PUDDING. Boil half a pound of rice in water, till it is quite tender, adding a little salt. Drain it dry, mix it with four eggs, a quarter of a pint of cream, and two ounces of fresh b.u.t.ter melted in the cream. Add four ounces of beef suet or marrow, or veal suet taken from the fillet, finely shred; three quarters of a pound of currants, two spoonfuls of brandy, a spoonful of peach water or ratifia, nutmeg, and grated lemon peel. When well mixed, put a paste round the edge, fill the dish, and bake it in a moderate oven. Slices of candied orange, lemon, and citron, may be added.
RICKETS. This disease generally attacks children between the age of nine months and two years; and as it is always attended with evident signs of weakness and relaxation, the chief aim in the cure must be to brace and strengthen the solids, and to promote digestion and the due preparation of the fluids. These important ends will be best answered by wholesome nourishing diet, suited to the age and strength of the patient, open dry air, and sufficient exercise. The limbs should be rubbed frequently with a warm hand, and the child kept as cheerful as possible. Biscuit is generally reckoned the best bread; and pigeons, pullet, veal, rabbits, or mutton roasted or minced, are the most proper meat. If the child be too young for animal food, he may have rice, millet, or pearl barley, boiled with raisins, to which may be added a little wine and spice. His drink may be good claret, mixed with an equal quant.i.ty of water. Those who cannot afford claret, may give the child now and then a wine gla.s.s of mild ale, or good porter. The disease may often be cured by the nurse, but seldom by the physician. In children of a gross habit, gentle vomits and repeated purges of rhubarb may sometimes be of use, but they will seldom carry off the disease; that must depend chiefly upon such things as brace and strengthen the system; for which purpose, besides the regimen mentioned above, the cold bath, especially in the warm season, is highly recommended. It must, however, be used with prudence, as some ricketty children cannot bear it. The best time for using the cold bath is in the morning, and the child should be well rubbed with a dry cloth immediately after he comes out of it.
RING WORM. This eruption, which generally appears on the head, in a circular form, attended with painful itching, is sometimes removed by rubbing it with black ink, or mushroom ketchup. The following preparation is also recommended. Wash some roots of sorrel quite clean, bruise them in a mortar, and steep them in white wine vinegar for two or three days. Then rub the liquor on the ring worm three or four times a day, till it begin to disappear.
ROASTING. The first requisite for roasting is to have a clear brisk fire, proportioned to the joint that is to be roasted; without this every attempt must prove abortive. Next to see that the spit is properly cleaned before it enters the meat, and the less it pa.s.ses through it the better. Neck and loins require to be carefully jointed before they are put on the spit, that the carver may separate them easily and neatly.
The joint should be balanced evenly on the spit, that its motion may be regular, and the fire operate equally on every part; for this purpose cook-holds and balancing skewers are necessary. All roasting should be done open to the air, to ventilate the meat from its own fumes, and by the radiant heat of a glowing fire; otherwise it is in fact baked, and rendered less wholesome. Hence what are called Rumford roasters, and the machines invented by economical gratemakers, are utterly to be rejected.
If they save any thing in fuel, which is doubtful, they are highly injurious to the flavour and best qualities of the meat. For the same reason, when a joint is dressed, it is better to keep it hot by the fire, than to put it under a cover, that the exhalations may freely escape. In making up the fire for roasting, it should be three or four inches longer at each end than the article on the spit, or the ends of the meat cannot be done nice and brown. Half an hour at least before the roasting begins, prepare the fire, by putting on a few coals so as to be sufficiently lighted by the time the fire is wanted. Put some of them between the bars, and small coals or cinders wetted at the back of the fire; and never put down meat to a burnt up fire. In small families, not provided with a jack or spit, a bottle jack, sold by the ironmongers, is a valuable instrument for roasting; and where this cannot be had, a skewer and a string, or rather a quant.i.ty of coa.r.s.e yarn loosely twisted, is as philosophical as any of them, and will answer the purpose as well. Do not put meat too near the fire at first. The larger the joint, the farther it must be kept from the fire: if once it gets scorched, the outside will become hard, and acquire a disagreeable taste. If the fire is prevented from penetrating into it, the meat will appear done, before it is little more than half ready, besides losing the pale brown colour which is the beauty of roast meat. From ten to fourteen inches is the usual distance at which it is put from the grate, when first laid down; and afterwards it should be brought nearer by degrees. If the joint is thicker at one end than the other, lay the spit slanting, with the thickest part nearest the fire. When the article is thin and tender, the fire should be small and brisk; but for a large joint the fire should be strong, and equally good in every part of the grate, or the meat cannot be equally roasted, nor possess that uniform colour which is the test of good cooking. Give the fire a good stirring before the meat is laid down, keep it clear at the bottom, and take care that there are no smoky coals in the front, to spoil the look and taste of the meat. If a jack be used, it should be carefully oiled and kept clean, and covered from the dust, or it will never go well. The dripping pan should be placed at such a distance from the fire as just to catch the drippings; if it be too near, the ashes will fall into it, and spoil the drippings. If too far from the fire to catch them, the drippings will not only be lost, but the meat will be blackened, and spoiled by the fetid smoke, which will arise when the fat falls on the live cinders. The meat must be well basted, to keep it moist. When it does not supply dripping enough for this purpose, add some that has been saved on former occasions, and nicely prepared, which answers as well or better than b.u.t.ter. Meat should not be sprinkled with salt till nearly done, as it tends to draw out the gravy. Basting with a little salt and water, when the meat is first laid down, is often done, but the practice is not good. Where the fat is very fine and delicate, it is best to cover it with writing paper to prevent its wasting; but in general it is as well to expose it to the action of the fire, and let it fall into the dripping pan. Half an hour before the meat is done, prepare some gravy if necessary; and just before it is taken up, put it nearer the fire to brown it. If it is to be frothed, baste and dredge it carefully with flour. The common fault is that of using too much flour; the meat should have a fine light varnish of froth, not the appearance of being covered with a paste; and those who are particular about the froth, use b.u.t.ter instead of dripping. When the roast is quite done, it is best to take it up directly, as every moment beyond doing it enough does it an injury. If it cannot be sent to table immediately, which is most desirable, it should be kept hot, but so as to suffer the fumes to escape. With respect to the time required for roasting, the general rule of a quarter of an hour to a pound of meat, is a pretty fair one, but it will not do for all kinds of joints. The use of a meat screen must also be considered, as it tends materially to a.s.sist the operation, by concentrating the heat, and excluding the cold drafts of air. Attention must be paid to the nature of the joint, whether thick or thin, the strength of the fire, the nearness of the meat to it, and the frequency with which it is basted. The more it is basted the less time it will take, as it keeps the meat soft and mellow on the outside, and the fire acts upon it with greater force. Much will depend on the time the meat has been kept, and on the temperature of the weather. The same weight will be twenty minutes or half an hour longer in cold weather, than it will be in warm weather; and when the meat is fresh slain, than when it has been kept till it is tender. If meat get frozen, it should be thawed by lying some time in cold water; and then be well dried in a clean cloth, before it is laid down to the fire. A sirloin of BEEF, weighing from twenty-five to thirty pounds, will generally take four hours; a part of it, from twelve to fifteen pounds, two hours and three quarters, or three hours. A piece of ribs of the same weight, much the same time, and a rump four hours. A sheet of paper should be tied over the thin part, or it will burn before the thick part is done enough. A leg of MUTTON, weighing eight or nine pounds, will require two hours and a quarter; a shoulder of seven pounds, an hour and three quarters; a chine of ten or eleven pounds, two hours and a half; a loin, rather more than an hour and a half; a neck, the same; a breast, an hour. A haunch of mutton should be dressed like venison, only in proportion as it may be less, it must not roast quite so long. A fillet of VEAL, from twelve to fourteen pounds weight, requires three hours and twenty minutes. This is usually stuffed, either in the place of the bone, when that is taken out, or under the flap. A loin takes two hours and a half, a shoulder two hours and twenty minutes, a neck nearly two hours, and a breast an hour and a half. These directions suppose the joints to be of a common size. If they are very thick, a little more time must be allowed. When veal is quite small, the time must be reduced accordingly. A quarter of LAMB, of a moderate size, will require two hours; a leg, an hour and forty minutes; a shoulder, an hour and twenty minutes; a loin, the same; a neck, an hour and ten minutes; a breast, three quarters of an hour; and ribs, an hour and a half. A leg of PORK, weighing seven pounds, will require nearly two hours; a loin of five pounds, an hour and twenty minutes. Both these should be scored across in narrow stripes, before they are laid down to the fire. A sparerib of eight or nine pounds, will take an hour and three quarters; a griskin of six or seven pounds, an hour and a quarter; a chine, if parted down the back-bone so as to have but one side, two hours; if not parted, it will take four hours.--The BASTINGS proper for roast meat, are fresh b.u.t.ter, clarified suet, salt and water, yolks of eggs, grated biscuit, and orange juice. For mutton and lamb, minced sweet herbs, b.u.t.ter and claret; and for roast pig, melted b.u.t.ter and cream. The DREDGINGS, are flour mixed with grated bread; sweet herbs dried and powdered, and mixed with grated bread; lemon peel dried and pounded, or orange peel mixed with flour; sugar finely powdered, and mixed with pounded cinnamon, and flour, or grated bread; fennel seeds, corianders, cinnamon, sugar finely powdered, and mixed with grated bread or flour; sugar, bread, and salt mixed. For young pigs, grated bread or flour mixed with pounded nutmeg, ginger, pepper, sugar, and yolks of eggs.
ROAST BEEF. Take care that your spit and dripping-pan be very clean; and to prepare your fire according to the size of the joint you have to dress. If it be a sirloin or chump, b.u.t.ter a piece of writing paper, and fasten it on to the back of your meat, with small skewers, and lay it down to a good clear fire, at a proper distance. As soon as your meat is warm, dust on some flour, and baste it with b.u.t.ter; then sprinkle some salt, and at times baste with what drips from it. About a quarter of an hour before you take it up, remove the paper, dust on a little flour, and baste with a piece of b.u.t.ter, that it may go to table with a good froth, but not look greasy. A piece of ten pounds requires about two hours and a half, and others in proportion. Salad and vegetables are eaten with it, also mustard and horseradish.
ROAST CALF"S HEAD. Wash the head very clean, take out the brains, and dry it well with a cloth. Make a seasoning of pepper, salt, nutmeg, and cloves; add a slice of bacon finely minced, and some grated bread. Strew the seasoning over the head, roll it up, skewer and tie it close with tape. Roast and baste it with b.u.t.ter. Make veal gravy thickened with b.u.t.ter rolled in flour, and garnish the edge of the dish with fried brains.
ROAST CALF"S LIVER. Cut a hole in the liver, and stuff it with crumbs of bread, mixed with chopped onions and herbs, salt, pepper, b.u.t.ter, and an egg. Sew up the liver, wrap it up in a veal caul, and roast it. Serve it up with brown gravy, and currant jelly.
ROAST CHEESE. Grate three ounces of fat Cheshire cheese, mix it with the yolks of two eggs, four ounces of grated bread, and three ounces of b.u.t.ter. Beat the whole well in a mortar, with a dessert-spoonful of mustard, and a little salt and pepper. Toast some bread, cut it into proper pieces, lay the above paste thick upon them, and lay them into a Dutch oven covered with a dish till they are hot through. Remove the dish, to let the paste brown a little, and serve it up as hot as possible, immediately after dinner.
ROAST CHICKENS. Being cleaned and trussed, put them down to a good fire.
Singe them, dust them with flour, and baste them well with b.u.t.ter. Make gravy of their necks and gizzards, or of beef. Strain the gravy, and pour it into the dish, adding parsley and b.u.t.ter, or egg sauce.
ROAST COLLARED BEEF. Take out the inside meat from a sirloin of beef, sprinkle it with vinegar, and let it hang till the next day. Prepare a stuffing as for a hare, put this at one end of the meat, roll the rest round it, bind it very close, and roast it gently for an hour and three quarters, or a little more or less, proportioned to the thickness. Serve it up with gravy the same as for hare, and with currant jelly.
ROAST COLLARED MUTTON. If a loin of mutton has been collared, take off the fat from the upper side, and the meat from the under side. Bone the joint, season it with pepper and salt, and some shalot or sweet herbs, chopped very small. Let it be rolled up very tight, well tied round, and roasted gently. About an hour and a half will do it. While this is roasting, half boil the meat taken from the under side, then mince it small, put it into half a pint of gravy; and against the time that the mutton is ready, heat this and pour it into the dish when it is served up.
ROAST COLLARED PORK. When a neck of pork has been collared, and is intended for roasting, the bones must be taken out. Strew the inside with bread crumbs, chopped sage, a very little pounded allspice, some pepper and salt, all mixed together. Roll it up very close, bind it tight, and roast it gently. An hour and a half or little more, according to the thickness, will roast it enough. A loin of pork with the fat and kidney taken out and boned, and a forehand of pork boned, are very nice dressed in the same way.
ROAST DUCK. If two are dressed, let one of them be unseasoned, in order to suit the company. Stuff the other with sage and onion, a dessert-spoonful of crumbs, a bit of b.u.t.ter, with pepper and salt. Serve them up with a fine gravy.
ROAST EEL. Take a good large silver eel, draw and skin it, and cut it in pieces of four inches long. Spit them crossways on a small spit, with bay leaves, or large sage leaves between each piece. When roasted, serve up the fish with b.u.t.ter beaten with orange or lemon juice, and some grated nutmeg. Or serve it with venison sauce, and dredge it with pounded carraway seeds, cinnamon, or grated bread.
ROAST FOWL. A large barn-door fowl, well hung, should be stuffed in the crop with sausage meat. The head should be turned under the wing, as a turkey. Serve with gravy in the dish, and bread sauce. Roast fowl in general may be garnished with sausages, or scalded parsley. Egg sauce or bread sauce are equally proper.
ROAST GOOSE. After the fowl is picked, the plugs of the feathers pulled out, and the hairs carefully singed, let it be well washed and dried.
Put in a seasoning of shred onion and sage, pepper and salt. Fasten it tight at the neck and rump, and then roast it. Put it first at a distance from the fire, and by degrees draw it nearer, and baste it well. A slip of paper should be skewered on the breast-bone; when the breast is rising, take off the paper, and be careful to serve it before the breast falls, or it will be spoiled by coming flat to the table.
Send up a good gravy in the dish, with apple and gravy sauce. For a green goose, gooseberry sauce.
ROAST GRISKIN. Put a piece of pork griskin into a stewpan, with very little more water than will just cover it. Let it boil gradually, and when it has fairly boiled up, take it out. Rub it over with a piece of b.u.t.ter, strew it with a little chopped sage and a few bread crumbs, and roast it in a Dutch oven. It will require doing but a little while.
ROAST HARE. After it is skinned, let it be extremely well washed, and then soaked an hour or two in water. If an old hare, lard it, which will make it tender, as also will letting it lie in vinegar. But if put into vinegar, it should be very carefully washed in water afterwards. Make a stuffing of the liver, with an anchovy, some fat bacon, a little suet, all finely minced; adding pepper, salt, nutmeg, a little onion, some sweet herbs, crumbs of bread, and an egg to bind it all. Then put the stuffing, a pretty large one, into the belly of the hare, and sew it up.
Baste it well with milk till half done, and afterwards with b.u.t.ter. If the blood has settled in the neck, soaking the part in warm water, and putting it to the fire, will remove it, especially if the skin be nicked a little with a small knife to let it out. The hare should be kept at a distance from the fire at first. Serve it up with a fine froth, some melted b.u.t.ter, currant-jelly sauce, and a rich gravy in the dish. The ears being reckoned a dainty, should be nicely cleaned and singed. For the manner of trussing a hare or rabbit, see Plate.
ROAST HEART. Take some suet, parsley, and sweet marjoram, chopped fine.
Add some bread crumbs, grated lemon peel, pepper, salt, mustard, and an egg. Mix these into a paste, and stuff the heart with it. Whether baked or roasted, serve it up with gravy and melted b.u.t.ter. Baking is best, if it be done carefully, as it will be more regularly done than it can be by roasting. Calf"s or bullock"s heart are both dressed in the same way.
ROAST LAMB. Lay the joint down to a good clear fire, that will want little stirring; then baste it with b.u.t.ter, and dust on a little flour; after that, baste it with what falls from it; and a little before you take it up baste it again with b.u.t.ter, and sprinkle on a little salt.
ROAST LARKS. Put a dozen larks on a skewer, and tie both ends of the skewer to the spit. Dredge and baste them, and let them roast ten minutes. Take the crumb of a penny loaf, grate it, and put it into a fryingpan, with a little bit of b.u.t.ter. Shake it over a gentle fire till it becomes brown; lay it between the birds on a dish, and pour melted b.u.t.ter over it.