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The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) written by Mrs. F.L. Gillette

M >> Mrs. F.L. Gillette >> The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887)





GREEN CORN PUDDING.

Take two dozen full ears of sweet green corn, score the kernels and
cut them from the cob. Scrape off what remains on the cob with a
knife. Add a pint and a half or one quart of milk, according to the
youngness and juiciness of the corn. Add four eggs well beaten, a half
teacupful of flour, a half teacupful butter, a tablespoonful of sugar,
and salt to taste. Bake in a well-greased earthen dish, in hot oven
two hours. Place it on the table browned and smoking hot, eat it with
plenty of fresh butter. This can be used as a dessert by serving a
sweet sauce with it. If eaten plainly with butter, it answers as a
side vegetable.


GENEVA WAFERS.

Two eggs, three ounces of butter, three ounces of flour, three ounces
of pounded sugar. Well whisk the eggs, put them into a basin and stir
to them the butter, which should be beaten to a cream; add the flour
and sifted sugar gradually, and then mix all well together. Butter a
baking sheet, and drop on it a teaspoonful of the mixture at a time,
leaving a space between each. Bake in a cool oven; watch the pieces of
paste, and, when half done, roll them up like wafers and put in a
small wedge of bread or piece of wood, to keep them in shape. Return
them to the oven until crisp. Before serving, remove the bread, put a
spoonful of preserve in the widest end, and fill up with whipped
cream. This is a very pretty and ornamental dish for the supper-table,
and is very nice and very easily made.

[Illustration: STIRRING THE CRANBERRY SAUCE.]


MINUTE PUDDING. No. 1.

Set saucepan or deep frying pan on the stove, the bottom and sides
well buttered, put into it a quart of sweet milk, a pinch of salt and
a piece of butter as large as half an egg; when it boils have ready a
dish of sifted flour, stir it into the boiling milk, sifting it
through your fingers, a handful at a time, until it becomes smooth
and quite thick. Turn it into a dish that has been dipped in water.
Make a sauce very sweet to serve with it. Maple molasses is _fine_
with it. This pudding is much improved by adding canned berries or
fresh ones just before taking from the stove.


MINUTE PUDDING. No. 2.

One quart of milk, salt, two eggs, about a pint of flour. Beat the
eggs well; add the flour and enough milk to make it smooth. Butter the
saucepan and put in the remainder of the milk well salted; when it
boils, stir in the flour, eggs, etc., lightly; let it cook well. It
should be of the consistency of thick corn mush. Serve immediately
with the following simple sauce, _viz_: Rich milk or cream sweetened
to taste and flavored with grated nutmeg.


SUNDERLAND PUDDING.

One cupful of sugar, half a cupful of cold butter, a pint of milk, two
cupfuls of sifted flour and five eggs. Make the milk hot; stir in the
butter and let it cool before the other ingredients are added to it;
then stir in the sugar, flour and eggs, which should be well whisked
and omit the whites of two; flavor with a little grated lemon rind and
beat the mixture well. Butter some small cups, rather more than half
fill them; bake from twenty minutes to half an hour, according to the
size of the puddings, and serve with fruit, custard or wine sauce, a
little of which may be poured over them. They may be dropped by
spoonfuls on buttered tins and baked, if cups are not convenient.


JELLY PUDDINGS.

Two cupfuls of _very_ fine stale biscuit or bread crumbs, one cupful
of rich milk--half cream, if you can get it; five eggs beaten very
light, half a teaspoonful of soda stirred in boiling water, one cupful
of sweet jelly, jam or marmalade. Scald the milk and pour over the
crumbs. Beat until half cold and stir in the beaten yolks, then
whites, finally the soda. Fill large cups half full with the batter,
set in a quick oven and bake half an hour. When done, turn out quickly
and dexterously; with a sharp knife make an incision in the side of
each; pull partly open, and put a liberal spoonful of the conserve
within. Close the slit by pinching the edges with your fingers. Eat
warm with sweetened cream.


QUICK PUDDING.

Soak and split some crackers; lay the surface over with raisins and
citron; put the halves together, tie them in a bag, and boil fifteen
minutes in milk and water; delicious with rich sauce.


READY PUDDING.

Make a batter of one quart of milk and about one pound of flour; add
six eggs, the yolks and whites separately beaten, a teaspoonful of
salt and four tablespoonfuls of sugar. It should be as stiff as can
possibly be stirred with a spoon. Dip a spoonful at a time into quick
boiling water, boil from five to ten minutes, take out. Serve hot with
sauce or syrup.


A ROYAL DESSERT.

Cut a stale cake into slices an inch and a half in thickness; pour
over them a little good sweet cream; then fry _lightly_ in fresh
butter in a smooth frying pan; when done, place over each slice of
cake a layer of preserves or you may make a rich sauce to be served
with it.

Another dish equally as good, is to dip thin slices of bread into
fresh milk; have ready two eggs well beaten; dip the slices in the egg
and fry them in butter to a light brown; when fried, pour over them a
syrup, any kind that you choose, and serve hot.


HUCKLEBERRIES WITH CRACKERS AND CREAM.

Pick over carefully one quart of blueberries and keep them on ice
until wanted. Put into each bowl, for each guest, two soda crackers,
broken in not too small pieces; add a few tablespoonfuls of berries, a
teaspoonful of powdered sugar and fill the bowl with the richest of
cold sweet cream. This is an old-fashioned New England breakfast dish.
It also answers for a dessert.

[Illustration]




SAUCES FOR PUDDINGS.


BRANDY SAUCE, COLD.

Two cupfuls of powdered sugar, half a cupful of butter, one
wine-glassful of brandy, cinnamon and nutmeg, a teaspoonful of each.
Warm the butter slightly and work it to a light cream with the sugar,
then add the brandy and spices; beat it hard and set aside until
wanted. Should be put into a mold to look nicely and serve on a flat
dish.


BRANDY OR WINE SAUCE. No. 1.

Stir a heaping teaspoonful of cornstarch in a little cold water to a
smooth paste (or instead use a tablespoonful of sifted flour); add to
it a cupful of boiling water, with one cupful of sugar, a piece of
butter as large as an egg, boil all together ten minutes. Remove from
the fire and when cool stir into it half of a cupful of brandy or
wine. It should be about as thick as thin syrup.


BRANDY OR WINE SAUCE. No. 2.

Take one cupful of butter, two of powdered sugar, the whites of two
eggs, five tablespoonfuls of sherry wine or brandy and a quarter of a
cupful of boiling water. Beat butter and sugar to a cream, add the
whites of the eggs, one at a time, unbeaten, and then the wine or
brandy. Place the bowl in hot water and stir till smooth and frothy.


RICH WINE SAUCE.

One cupful of butter, two of powdered sugar, half a cupful of wine.
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the sugar gradually and when very
light add the wine, which has been made hot, a little at a time, a
teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Place the bowl in a basin of hot water
and stir for two minutes. The sauce should be smooth and foamy.


SAUCE FOR PLUM PUDDING. (Superior.)

Cream together a cupful of sugar and half a cupful of butter; when
light and creamy, add the well-beaten yolks of four eggs. Stir into
this one wine-glass of wine or one of brandy, a pinch of salt and one
large cupful of hot cream or rich milk. Beat this mixture well; place
it in a saucepan over the fire, stir it until it cooks sufficiently to
thicken like cream. Be sure and not let it boil. Delicious.


LIQUID BRANDY SAUCE.

Brown over the fire three tablespoonfuls of sugar; add a cupful of
water, six whole cloves and a piece of stick cinnamon, the yellow rind
of a lemon cut very thin; let the sauce boil, strain while hot, then
pour it into a sauce bowl containing the juice of the lemon and a cup
of brandy. Serve warm.


GRANDMOTHERS SAUCE.

Cream together a cupful of sifted sugar and half a cupful of butter,
add a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon and an egg well beaten. Boil a
teacupful of milk and turn it, boiling hot, over the mixture slowly,
stirring all the time; this will cook the egg smoothly. It may be
served cold or hot.


SUGAR SAUCE.

One coffeecupful of granulated sugar, half of a cupful of water, a
piece of butter the size of a walnut. Boil all together until it
becomes the consistency of syrup. Flavor with lemon or vanilla
extract. A tablespoonful of lemon juice is an improvement. Nice with
cottage pudding.


LEMON SAUCE.

One cupful of sugar, half a cupful of butter, one egg beaten light,
one lemon, juice and grated rind, half a cupful of boiling water; put
in a tin basin and thicken over steam.


LEMON CREAM SAUCE, HOT.

Put half a pint of new milk on the fire and when it boils stir into it
one teaspoonful of wheat flour, four ounces of sugar and the
well-beaten yolks of three eggs; remove it from the fire and add the
grated rind and the juice of one lemon; stir it well and serve hot in
a sauce tureen.


ORANGE CREAM SAUCE, HOT.

This is made as LEMON CREAM SAUCE, substituting orange for lemon.

Creams for puddings, pies and fritters may be made in the same manner
with any other flavoring; if flour is used in making them, it should
boil in the milk three or four minutes.


COLD LEMON SAUCE.

Beat to a cream one teacupful of butter and two teacupfuls of fine
white sugar; then stir in the juice and grated rind of one lemon;
grate nutmeg upon the sauce and serve on a flat dish.


COLD ORANGE SAUCE.

Beat to a cream one teacupful of butter and two teacupfuls of fine
white sugar; then stir in the grated rind of one orange and the juice
of two; stir until all the orange juice is absorbed; grate nutmeg upon
the sauce and serve on a flat dish.


COLD CREAM SAUCE.

Stir to a cream one cupful of sugar, half a cupful of butter, then add
a cupful of sweet, thick cold cream, flavor to taste. Stir well and
set it in a cool place.


CREAM SAUCE, WARM.

Heat a pint of cream slowly in a double boiler; when nearly boiling,
set it off from the fire, put into it half a cupful of sugar, a little
nutmeg or vanilla extract; stir it thoroughly and add, when cool, the
whites of two well-beaten eggs. Set it on the fire in a dish
containing hot water to keep it warm until needed, stirring once or
more.


CARAMEL SAUCE.

Place over the fire a saucepan; when it begins to be hot, put into it
four tablespoonfuls of white sugar and one tablespoonful of water.
Stir it continually for three or four minutes, until all the water
evaporates; then watch it carefully until it becomes a delicate brown
color. Have ready a pint of cold water and cup of sugar mixed with
some flavoring; turn it into the saucepan with the browned sugar and
let it simmer for ten minutes; then add half a glass of brandy or a
glass of wine. The wine or brandy may be omitted if preferred.


A GOOD PLAIN SAUCE.

A good sauce to go with plain fruit puddings is made by mixing one
cupful of brown sugar, one cupful of best molasses, half a cupful of
butter, one large teaspoonful of flour; add the juice and grated rind
of one lemon, half a nutmeg grated, half a teaspoonful of cloves and
cinnamon. When these are all stirred together, add a teacupful of
boiling water; stir it constantly, put into a saucepan and let it boil
until clear; then strain.


OLD STYLE SAUCE.

One pint of sour cream, the juice and finely grated rind of a large
lemon; sugar to taste. Beat hard and long until the sauce is very
light. This is delicious with cold "Brown Betty"--a form of cold
farina--cornstarch, blanc mange and the like.


PLAIN COLD, HARD SAUCE.

Stir together one cupful of white sugar and half a cupful of butter
until it is creamy and light; add flavoring to taste. This is very
nice, flavored with the juice of raspberries or strawberries, or beat
into it a cupful of ripe strawberries or raspberries and the white of
an egg beaten stiff.


CUSTARD SAUCE.

One cupful of sugar, two beaten eggs, one pint of milk, flavoring to
taste, brandy or wine, if preferred.

Heat the milk to boiling; add by degrees the beaten eggs and sugar,
put in the flavoring and set within a pan of boiling water; stir until
it begins to thicken; then take it off and stir in the brandy or wine
gradually; set, until wanted, within a pan of boiling water.


MILK SAUCE.

Dissolve a tablespoonful of flour in cold milk; see that it is free
from lumps. Whisk an ounce of butter and a cupful of sugar to a cream
and add to it a pinch of salt. Mix together half a pint of milk, one
egg and the flour; stir this into the butter and add a dash of nutmeg,
or any flavor; heat until near the boiling point and serve. Very nice
in place of cold cream.


MILK OR CREAM SAUCE.

Cream or rich milk, simply sweetened with plenty of white sugar and
flavored, answers the purpose for some kinds of pudding, and can be
made very quickly.


FRUIT SAUCE.

Two-thirds of a cupful of sugar, a pint of raspberries or
strawberries, a tablespoonful of melted butter and a cupful of hot
water. Boil all together slowly, removing the scum as fast as it
rises; then strain through a sieve. This is very good served with
dumplings or apple puddings.


JELLY SAUCE.

Melt two tablespoonfuls of sugar and half a cupful of jelly over the
fire in a cupful of boiling water, adding also two tablespoonfuls of
butter; then stir into it a teaspoonful of cornstarch, dissolved in
half a cupful of water or wine; add it to the jelly and let it come to
a boil. Set it in a dish of hot water to keep it warm until time to
serve; stir occasionally. Any fruit jelly can be used.


COMMON SWEET SAUCE.

Into a pint of water stir a paste made of a tablespoonful of
cornstarch or flour (rubbed smooth with a little cold water); add a
cupful of sugar and a tablespoonful of vinegar. Cook well for three
minutes. Take from the fire and add a piece of butter as large as a
small egg; when cool, flavor with a tablespoonful of vanilla or lemon
extract.


SYRUP FOR FRUIT SAUCE.

An excellent syrup for fruit sauce is made of Morello cherries (red,
sour cherries). For each pound of cherry juice, allow half a pound of
sugar and six cherry kernels; seed the cherries and let them stand in
a bowl over night; in the morning, press them through a fine cloth,
which has been dipped in boiling water, weigh the juice, add the
sugar, boil fifteen minutes, removing all the scum. Fill small bottles
that are perfectly dry with the syrup; when it is cold, cork the
bottles tightly, seal them and keep them in a cool place, standing
upright.

Most excellent to put into pudding sauces.


ROSE BRANDY. (For Cakes and Puddings.)

Gather the leaves of roses while the dew is on them, and as soon as
they open put them into a wide-mouthed bottle, and when the bottle is
full pour in the best of fourth proof French brandy.

It will be fit for use in three or four weeks and may be frequently
replenished. It is sometimes considered preferable to wine as a
flavoring to pastries and pudding sauces.


LEMON BRANDY. (For Cakes and Puddings.)

When you use lemons for punch or lemonade, do not throw away the peels
but cut them in small pieces--the thin yellow outside (the thick part
is not good)--and put them in a glass jar or bottle of brandy. You
will find this brandy useful for many purposes.

In the same way keep for use the kernels of peach and plum stones,
pounding them slightly before you put them into the brandy.

[Illustration]




PRESERVES, JELLIES, ETC.


Fruit for preserving should be sound and free from all defects, using
white sugar, and also that which is dry, which produces the nicest
syrup; dark sugar can be used by being clarified, which is done by
dissolving two pounds of sugar in a pint of water; add to it the white
of an egg and beat it well, put it into a preserving kettle on the
fire and stir with a wooden spoon. As soon as it begins to swell and
boil up, throw in a little cold water; let it boil up again, take it
off and remove the scum; boil it again, throw in more cold water and
remove the scum; repeat until it is clear and pours like oil from the
spoon.

In the old way of preserving, we used pound for pound, when they were
kept in stone jars or crocks; now, as most preserves are put up in
sealed jars or cans, less sugar seems sufficient; three-quarters of a
pound of sugar is generally all that is required for a pound of fruit.

Fruit should be boiled in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware dish, if
possible; but other utensils, copper or metal, if made bright and
clean, answer as well.

Any of the fruits that have been preserved in syrup may be converted
into dry preserves, by first draining them from the syrup, and then
drying them in a stove or very moderate oven, adding to them a
quantity of powdered loaf sugar, which will gradually penetrate the
fruit, while the fluid parts of the syrup gently evaporate. They
should be dried in the stove or oven on a sieve, and turned every six
or eight hours, fresh powdered sugar being sifted over them every time
they are turned. Afterwards they are to be kept in a dry situation, in
drawers or boxes. Currants and cherries preserved whole in this
manner, in bunches, are extremely elegant and have a fine flavor. In
this way it is, also, that orange and lemon chips are preserved.

Mold can be prevented from forming on fruit jellies by pouring a
little melted paraffine over the top. When cool, it will harden to a
solid cake, winch can be easily removed when the jelly is used, and
saved to use over again another year. It is perfectly harmless and
tasteless.

Large glass tumblers are the best for keeping jellies, much better
than large vessels, for by being opened frequently they soon spoil; a
paper should be cut to fit and placed over the jelly; then put on the
lid or cover, with thick paper rubbed over on the inside with the
white of an egg.

There cannot be too much care taken in selecting fruit for jellies,
for if the fruit is over ripe, any amount of time in boiling will
never make it jelly--there is where so many fail in making good jelly;
and another important matter is overlooked--that of carefully skimming
off the juice after it begins to boil and a scum rises from the bottom
to the top; the juice should not be stirred, but the scum carefully
taken off; if allowed to boil under, the jelly will not be clear.

When either preserves or canned fruits show any indications of
fermentation, they should be immediately re-boiled with more sugar, to
save them. It is much better to be generous with the sugar at first
than to have any losses afterwards. Keep all preserves in a cool, dry
closet.


PRESERVED CHERRIES.

Take large, ripe Morello cherries; weigh them and to each pound allow
a pound of loaf sugar. Stone the cherries (opening them with a sharp
quill) and save the juice that comes from them in the process. As you
stone them, throw them into a large pan or tureen and strew about half
the sugar over them and let them lie in it an hour or two after they
are all stoned. Then put them into a preserving kettle with the
remainder of the sugar and boil and skim them till the fruit is clear
and the syrup thick.


PRESERVED CRANBERRIES.

The cranberries must be large and ripe. Wash them and to six quarts of
cranberries allow nine pounds of the beat loaf sugar. Take three
quarts of the cranberries and put them into a stewpan with a pint and
a half of water. Cover the pan and boil or stew them till they are all
to pieces. Then squeeze the juice through a jelly bag. Put the sugar
into a preserving kettle, pour the cranberry juice over it and let it
stand until it is all melted, stirring it up frequently. Then place
the kettle over the fire and put in the remaining three quarts of
whole cranberries. Let them boil till they are tender, clear and of a
bright color, skimming them frequently. When done, put them warm into
jars with the syrup, which should be like a thick jelly.


PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES.

For every pound of fruit weigh a pound of refined sugar; put them with
the sugar over the fire in a porcelain kettle, bring to a boil slowly
about twenty minutes. Take them out carefully with a perforated
skimmer and fill your _hot_ jars nearly full; boil the juice a few
minutes longer and fill up the jars; seal them _hot_. Keep in a cool,
dry place.


TO PRESERVE BERRIES WHOLE. (Excellent.)

Buy the fruit when not _too ripe_, pick over immediately, wash if
absolutely necessary and put in glass jars, filling each one about
two-thirds full.

Put in the preserving kettle a pound of sugar and one cupful of water
for every two pounds of fruit, and let it come slowly to a boil. Pour
this syrup into the jars over the berries, filling them up to the
brim; then set the jars in a pot of _cold_ water on the stove, and let
the water boil and the fruit become scalding hot. Now take them out
and seal perfectly tight. If this process is followed thoroughly, the
fruit will keep for several years.


PRESERVED EGG PLUMS.

Use a pound of sugar for a pound of plums; wash the plums and wipe
dry; put the sugar on a slow fire in the preserving kettle, with as
much water as will melt the sugar and let it simmer slowly; then prick
each plum thoroughly with a needle, or a fork with fine prongs, and
place a layer of them in the syrup; let them cook until they lose
their color a little and the skins begin to break; then lift them out
with a perforated skimmer and place them singly in a large dish to
cool; then put another layer of plums in the syrup and let them cook
and cool in the same manner, until the whole are done; as they cool,
carefully replace the broken skins so as not to spoil the appearance
of the plums; when the last layer is finished, return the first to the
kettle, and boil until transparent; do the same with each layer; while
the latest cooked are cooling, place the first in glass jars; when all
are done, pour the hot syrup over them; when they are cold, close as
usual; the jelly should be of the color and consistency of rich wine
jelly.


PRESERVED PEACHES.

Peaches for preserving may be ripe but not soft; cut them in halves,
take out the stones and pare them neatly; take as many pounds of white
sugar as of fruit, put to each pound of sugar a teacupful of water;
stir it until it is dissolved; set it over a moderate fire; when it is
boiling hot, put in the peaches; let them boil gently until a pure,
clear, uniform color; turn those at the bottom to the top carefully
with a skimmer several times; do not hurry them. When they are clear,
take each half up with a spoon and spread them on flat dishes to
become cold. When all are done, let the syrup boil until it is quite
thick; pour it into a large pitcher and let it set to cool and settle.
When the peaches are cold put them carefully into jars and pour the
syrup over them, leaving any sediment which has settled at the bottom,
or strain the syrup. Some of the kernels from the peach-stones may be
put in with the peaches while boiling. Let them remain open one night,
then cover.

In like manner quince, plum, apricot, apple, cherry, greengage and
other fruit preserves are made; in every case fine large fruit should
be taken, free from imperfections, and the slightest bruises or other
fault should be removed.


PRESERVED GREEN TOMATOES.

Take one peck of green tomatoes. Slice six fresh lemons without
removing the skins, but taking out the seeds; put to this quantity six
pounds of sugar, common white, and boil until transparent and the
syrup thick. Ginger root may be added, if liked.


PRESERVED APPLES. (Whole.)

Peel and core large firm apples (pippins are best). Throw them into
water as you pare them. Boil the parings in water for fifteen minutes,
allowing a pint to one pound of fruit. Then strain and, adding
three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pint of water, as measured
at first, with enough lemon peel, orange peel or mace, to impart a
pleasant flavor, return to the kettle. When the syrup has been well
skimmed and is clear, pour it boiling hot over the apples, which must
be drained from the water in which they have hitherto stood. Let them
remain in the syrup until both are perfectly cold. Then, covering
closely, let them simmer over a slow fire until transparent. When all
the minutiae of these directions are attended to, the fruit will remain
unbroken and present a beautiful and inviting appearance.


PRESERVED QUINCES.

Pare, core and quarter your fruit, then weigh it and allow an equal
quantity of white sugar. Take the parings and cores and put in a
preserving kettle; cover them with water and boil for half an hour;
then strain through a hair-sieve, and put the juice back into the
kettle and boil the quinces in it a little at a time until they are
tender; lift out as they are done with a drainer and lay on a dish; if
the liquid seems scarce add more water. When all are cooked, throw
into this liquor the sugar, and allow it to boil ten minutes before
putting in the quinces; let them boil until they change color, say one
hour and a quarter, on a slow fire; while they are boiling
occasionally slip a silver spoon under them to see that they do not
burn, but on no account stir them. Have two fresh lemons cut in thin
slices, and when the fruit is being put in jars lay a slice or two in
each. Quinces may be steamed until tender.