NEW JERSEY CREAM CHEESE.
First scald the quant.i.ty of milk desired; let it cool a little, then add the rennet; the directions for quant.i.ty are given on the packages of "Prepared Rennet." When the curd is formed, take it out on a ladle without breaking it; lay it on a thin cloth held by two persons; dash a ladleful of water over each ladleful of curd, to separate the curd; hang it up to drain the water off, and then put it under a light press for one hour; cut the curd with a thread into small pieces; lay a cloth between each two, and press for an hour; take them out, rub them with fine salt, let them lie on a board for an hour, and wash them in cold water; let them lie to drain, and in a day or two the skin will look dry; put some sweet gra.s.s under and over them, and they will soon ripen.
COTTAGE CHEESE.
Put a pan of sour or loppered milk on the stove or range where it is not too hot; let it scald until the whey rises to the top (be careful that it does not boil, or the curd will become hard and tough). Place a clean doth or towel over a sieve and pour this whey and curd into it, living it covered to drain two or three hours; then put it into a dish and chop it fine with a spoon, adding a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and enough sweet cream to make the cheese the consistency of putty. With your hands make it into little b.a.l.l.s flattened. Keep it in a cool place. Many like it made rather thin with cream, serving it in a deep dish. You may make this cheese of sweet milk by forming the curd with prepared rennet.
SLIP.
Slip is bonny-clabber without its acidity, and so delicate is its flavor that many persons like it just as well as ice cream. It is prepared thus:--Make a quart of milk moderately warm; then stir into it one large spoonful of the preparation called rennet; set it by, and when cool again it will be as stiff as jelly. It should be made only a few hours before it is to be used, or it will be tough and watery; in summer set the dish on ice after it has jellied. It must be served with powdered sugar, nutmeg and cream.
CHEESE FONDU.
Melt an ounce of b.u.t.ter and whisk into it a pint of boiled milk.
Dissolve two tablespoonfuls of flour in a gill of cold milk, add it to the boiled milk and let it cool. Beat the yolks of four eggs with a heaping teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper and five ounces of grated cheese. Whip the whites of the eggs and add them, pour the mixture into a deep tin lined with b.u.t.tered paper, and allow for the rising, say four inches. Bake twenty minutes and serve the moment it leaves the oven.
CHEESE SOUFFLe.
Melt an ounce of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan; mix smoothly with it one ounce of flour, a pinch of salt and cayenne and a quarter of a pint of milk; simmer the mixture gently over the fire, stirring it all the time, till it is as thick as melted b.u.t.ter, stir into it about three ounces of finely-grated parmesan, or any good cheese. Turn it into a basin and mix with it the yolks of two well-beaten eggs. Whisk three whites to a solid froth, and just before the souffle is baked put them into it, and pour the mixture into a small round tin. It should be only half filled, as the fondu will rise very high. Pin a napkin around the dish in which it is baked, and serve the moment it is baked. It would be well to have a metal cover strongly heated. Time twenty minutes.
Sufficient for six persons.
SCALLOPED CHEESE.
Any person who is fond of cheese could not fail to favor this recipe.
Take three slices of bread well-b.u.t.tered, first cutting off the brown outside crust. Grate fine a quarter of a pound of any kind of good cheese; lay the bread in layers in a b.u.t.tered baking-dish, sprinkle over it the grated cheese, some salt and pepper to taste. Mix four well-beaten eggs with three cups of milk; pour it over the bread and cheese. Bake it in a hot oven as you would cook a bread pudding. This makes an ample dish for four people.
PASTRY RAMAKINS.
Take the remains or odd pieces of any light puff paste left from pies or tarts; gather up the pieces of paste, roll it out evenly, and sprinkle it with grated cheese of a nice flavor. Fold the paste in three, roll it out again, and sprinkle more cheese over; fold the paste, roll it out, and with a paste-cutter shape it in any way that may be desired. Bake the ramakins in a brisk oven from ten to fifteen minutes; dish them on a hot napkin and serve quickly. The appearance of this dish may be very much improved by brushing the ramakins over with yolk of egg before they are placed in the oven. Where expense is not objected to, parmesan is the best kind of cheese to use for making this dish.
Very nice with a cup of coffee for a lunch.
CAYENNE CHEESE STRAWS.
A quarter of a pound of flour, two ounces b.u.t.ter, two ounces grated parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt and a few grains of cayenne pepper.
Mix into a paste with the yolk of an egg. Roll out to the thickness of a silver quarter, about four or five inches long; cut into strips about a third of an inch wide, twist them as you would a paper spill and lay them on a baking-sheet slightly floured. Bake in a moderate oven until crisp, but they must not be the least brown. If put away in a tin these straws will keep a long time. Serve cold, piled tastefully on a gla.s.s dish. You can make the straws of remnants of puff pastry, rolling in the grated cheese.
CHEESE CREAM TOAST.
Stale bread may be served as follows: Toast the slices and cover them slightly with grated cheese; make a cream for ten slices out of a pint of milk and two tablespoonfuls of plain flour. The milk should be boiling, and the flour mixed in a little cold water before stirring in. When the cream is nicely cooked, season with salt and b.u.t.ter; set the toast and cheese in the oven for three or four minutes and then pour the cream over them.
WELSH RAREBIT.
Grate three ounces of dry cheese and mix it with the yolks of two eggs, put four ounces of grated bread and three of b.u.t.ter; beat the whole together in a mortar with a dessertspoonful of made mustard, a little salt and some pepper; toast some slices of bread, cut off the outside crust, cut it in shapes and spread the paste thick upon them, and put them in the oven, let them become hot and slightly browned, serve hot as possible.
EGGS AND OMELETS.
There are so many ways of cooking and dressing eggs, that it seems unnecessary for the ordinary family to use those that are not the most practical.
To ascertain the freshness of an egg, hold it between your thumb and forefinger in a horizontal position, with a strong light in front of you. The fresh egg will have a clear appearance, both upper and lower sides being the same. The stale egg will have a clear appearance at the lower side, while the upper side will exhibit a dark or cloudy appearance.
Another test is to put them in a pan of cold water; those that are the first to sink are the freshest; the stale will rise and float on top; or, if the large end turns up in the water, they are not fresh. The best time for preserving eggs is from July to September.
TO PRESERVE EGGS.
There are several recipes for preserving eggs and we give first one which we know to be effectual, keeping them fresh from August until Spring. Take a piece of quick-lime as large as a good-sized lemon and two teacupfuls of salt; put it into a large vessel and slack it with a gallon of boiling water. It will boil and bubble until thick as cream; when it is cold, pour off the top, which will be perfectly clear.
Drain off this liquor, and pour it over your eggs; see that the liquor more than covers them. A stone jar is the most convenient--one that holds about six quarts.
Another manner of preserving eggs is to pack them in a jar with layers of salt between, the large end of the egg downward, with a thick layer of salt at the top; cover tightly and set in a cool place.
Some put them in a wire basket or a piece of mosquito net and dip them in boiling water half a minute; then pack in sawdust. Still another manner is to dissolve a cheap article of gum arabic, about as thin as muscilage, and brush over each egg with it; then pack in powdered charcoal; set in a cool, dark place.
Eggs can be kept for some time by smearing the sh.e.l.ls with b.u.t.ter or lard; then packed in plenty of bran or sawdust, the eggs not allowed to touch one another; or coat the eggs with melted paraffine.
BOILED EGGS.
Eggs for boiling cannot be too fresh, or boiled too soon after they are laid; but rather a longer time should be allowed for boiling a new-laid egg than for one that is three or four days old. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water; put the eggs into it gently with a spoon, letting the spoon touch the bottom of the saucepan before it is withdrawn, that the egg may not fall and consequently crack. For those who like eggs lightly boiled, three minutes will be found sufficient; three and three-quarters to four minutes will be ample time to set the white nicely; and if liked hard, six or seven minutes will not be found too long. Should the eggs be unusually large, as those of black Spanish fowls sometimes are, allow an extra half minute for them. Eggs for salad should be boiled for ten or fifteen minutes, and should be placed in a basin of cold water for a few minutes to shrink the meat from the sh.e.l.l; they should then be rolled on the table with the hand and the sh.e.l.l will peel off easily.
SOFT BOILED EGGS.
When properly cooked eggs are done evenly through, like any other food. This result may be obtained by putting the eggs into a dish with a cover, or a tin pail, and then pouring upon them _boiling_ water--two quarts or more to a dozen of eggs--and cover and set them away where they will keep _hot_ and _not_ boil for ten to twelve minutes. The heat of the water cooks the eggs slowly, evenly and sufficiently, leaving the centre or yolk harder than the white, and the egg tastes as much richer and nicer as a fresh egg is nicer than a stale egg.
SCALLOPED EGGS.
Hard-boil twelve eggs; slice them thin in rings; in the bottom of a large well-b.u.t.tered baking-dish place a layer of grated bread crumbs, then one of eggs; cover with bits of b.u.t.ter and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Continue thus to blend these ingredients until the dish is full; be sure, though, that the crumbs cover the eggs upon top. Over the whole pour a large teacupful of sweet cream or milk and brown nicely in a moderately heated oven.
SHIRRED EGGS.
Set into the oven until quite hot a common white dish large enough to hold the number of eggs to be cooked, allowing plenty of room for each. Melt in it a small piece of b.u.t.ter, and breaking the eggs carefully in a saucer, one at a time, slip them into the hot dish; sprinkle over them a small quant.i.ty of pepper and salt and allow them to cook four or five minutes. Adding a tablespoonful of cream for every two eggs, when the eggs are first slipped in, is a great improvement.