12 minute read
Steward of the White house 1887 TO THE WIVES OF OUR PRESIDENTS, THOSE NOBLE WOMEN WHO HAVE GRACED THE WHITE HOUSE, AND WHOSE NAMES AND MEMORIES ARE DEAR TO ALL AMERICANS, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR....
1 minute read
In presenting to the public the "WHITE HOUSE COOK BOOK," the publishers believe they can justly claim that it more fully represents the progress and present perfection of the culinary art than any previous work. In point of authorship, it stands preëminent. Hugo Ziemann was at one time caterer for that Prince Napoleon who was killed while fighting the Zulus in Africa. He was afterwards steward of the famous Hotel Splendide in Paris. Later he conducted the celebrated Brunswick Café in New York, and still later he gave to the Hotel Richelieu, in Chicago, a cuisine which won the applause of even the gourmets of foreign lands. It was here that he laid the famous "spread" to which the chiefs of the warring factions of the Republican Convention sat down in June, 1888, and from which they arose with asperities softened, differences harmonized and victory organized. Mrs. F.L. Gillette is...
22 minute read
Carving is one important acquisition in the routine of daily living, and all should try to attain a knowledge or ability to do it well, and withal gracefully. When carving use a chair slightly higher than the ordinary size, as it gives a better purchase on the meat, and appears more graceful than when standing, as is often quite necessary when carving a turkey, or a very large joint. More depends on skill than strength. The platter should be placed opposite, and sufficiently near to give perfect command of the article to be carved, the knife of medium size, sharp with a keen edge. Commence by cutting the slices thin, laying them carefully to one side of the platter, then afterwards placing the desired amount on each guest's plate, to be served in turn by the servant. In carving fish, care should be taken to help it in perfect flakes;...
27 minute read
Consommé, or Stock, forms the basis of all meat soups, and also of all principal sauces. It is, therefore, essential to the success of these culinary operations to know the most complete and economical method of extracting from a certain quantity of meat the best possible stock or broth. Fresh, uncooked beef makes the best stock, with the addition of cracked bones, as the glutinous matter contained in them renders it important that they should be boiled with the meat, which adds to the strength and thickness of the soup. They are composed of an earthy substance—to which they owe their solidity—of gelatine, and a fatty fluid, something like marrow. Two ounces of them contain as much gelatine as one pound of meat; but, in them, this is so encased in the earthy substance, that boiling water can dissolve only the surface of the whole bones, but by breaking them...
10 minute read
ONION SOUP. One quart of milk, six large onions, yolks of four eggs, three tablespoonfuls of butter, a large one of flour, one cup full of cream, salt, pepper. Put the butter in a frying pan. Cut the onions into thin slices and drop in the butter. Stir until they begin to cook; then cover tight and set back where they will simmer, but not burn, for half an hour. Now put the milk on to boil, and then add the dry flour to the onions and stir constantly for three minutes over the fire; then turn the mixture into the milk and cook fifteen minutes. Rub the soup through a strainer, return to the fire, season with salt and pepper. Beat the yolks of the eggs well, add the cream to them and stir into the soup. Cook three minutes, stirring constantly. If you have no cream, use milk,...
34 minute read
The usual custom among professional cooks is to entirely immerse the article to be cooked in boiling fat, but from inconvenience most households use the half-frying method of frying in a small amount of fat in a frying pan. For the first method a shallow iron frying kettle, large at the top and small at the bottom, is best to use. The fat should half fill the kettle, or an amount sufficient to float whatever is to be fried; the heat of the fat should get to such a degree that, when a piece of bread or a teaspoonful of the batter is dropped in it, it will become brown almost instantly, but should not be so hot as to burn the fat. Some cooks say that the fat should be smoking, but my experience is, that is a mistake, as that soon ruins the fat. As soon as it...
24 minute read
STEWED WATER TURTLES, OR TERRAPINS. Select the largest, thickest and fattest, the females being the best; they should be alive when brought from market. Wash and put them alive into boiling water, add a little salt, and boil them until thoroughly done, or from ten to fifteen minutes, after which take off the shell, extract the meat, and remove carefully the sand-bag and gall; also all the entrails; they are unfit to eat, and are no longer used in cooking terrapins for the best tables. Cut the meat into pieces, and put it into a stewpan with its eggs, and sufficient fresh butter to stew it well. Let it stew till quite hot throughout, keeping the pan carefully covered, that none of the flavor may escape, but shake it over the fire while stewing. In another pan make a sauce of beaten yolk of egg, highly flavored with Madeira or...
48 minute read
In choosing poultry, select those that are fresh and fat, and the surest way to determine whether they are young is to try the skin under the leg or wing. If it is easily broken, it is young; or, turn the wing backwards, if the joint yields readily, it is tender. When poultry is young the skin is thin and tender, the legs smooth, the feet moist and limber, and the eyes full and bright. The body should be thick and the breast fat. Old turkeys have long hairs, and the flesh is purplish where it shows under the skin on the legs and back. About March they deteriorate in quality. Young ducks and geese are plump, with light, semi-transparent fat, soft breast bone, tender flesh, leg-joints which will break by the weight of the bird, fresh-colored and brittle beaks, and windpipes that break when pressed between the thumb and...
57 minute read
In the selection of meat it is most essential that we understand how to choose it; in beef it should be a smooth, fine grain, of a clear bright red color, the fat white, and will feel tender when pinched with the fingers. Will also have abundant kidney fat or suet. The most choice pieces for roast are the sirloin, fore and middle ribs. Veal, to be good, should have the flesh firm and dry, fine grained and of a delicate pinkish color, and plenty of kidney fat; the joints stiff. Mutton is good when the flesh is a bright red, firm and juicy and a close grain, the fat firm and white. Pork, if young, the lean will break on being pinched smooth when nipped with the fingers, also the skin will break and dent; if the rind is rough and hard it is old. In roasting meat, allow...
37 minute read
ROAST MUTTON. The pieces mostly used for roasting are the hind-quarter of the sheep, called the loin and leg, the fore-quarter, the shoulder, also the chine or saddle, which is the two loins together. Every part should be trimmed off that cannot be eaten; then wash well and dry with a clean cloth; lay it in your dripping-pan and put in a little water to baste it with at first; then afterward with its own gravy. Allow, in roasting, about twelve minutes to the pound; that is, if your fire is strong, which it should be. It should not be salted at first, as that tends to harden it, and draws out too much of the blood or juices; but salt soon after it begins to roast well. If there is danger of its browning too fast, cover it with a sheet of white paper. Baste it often, and about...
20 minute read
DRAWN BUTTER. Melted butter is the foundation of most of the common sauces. Have a covered saucepan for this purpose. One lined with porcelain will be best. Take a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter, cut it up, and mix with it about one tablespoonful of flour. When it is thoroughly mixed, put it into the saucepan, and add to it half a teacupful of hot water. Cover the saucepan and set it in a large tin pan of boiling water. Shake it round continually (always moving it the same way) till it is entirely melted and begins to simmer. Then let it rest till it boils up. If you set it on too hot a fire it will be oily. If the butter and flour are not well mixed, it will be lumpy. If you put in too much water, it will be thin and poor....
12 minute read
Everything in the make-up of a salad should be of the freshest material, the vegetables crisp and fresh, the oil or butter the very best, meats, fowl and fish well cooked, pure cider or white wine vinegar—in fact, every ingredient first class, to insure success. The vegetables used in salad are: Beet-root, onions, potatoes, cabbage, lettuce, celery, cucumbers, lentils, haricots, winter cress, peas, French beans, radish, cauliflower—all these may be used judiciously in salad, if properly seasoned, according to the following directions. Chervil is a delicious salad herb, invariably found in all salads prepared by a French gourmet . No man can be a true epicure who is unfamiliar with this excellent herb. It may be procured from the vegetable stands at Fulton and Washington markets the year round. Its leaves resemble parsley, but are more divided, and a few of them added to a breakfast salad give a delightful...
5 minute read
TOMATO CATSUP. No. 1. Put into two quarts of tomato pulp (or two cans of canned tomatoes) one onion, cut fine, two tablespoonfuls of salt and three tablespoonfuls of brown sugar. Boil until quite thick; then take from the fire and strain it through a sieve, working it until it is all through but the seeds. Put it back on the stove, and add two tablespoonfuls of mustard, one of allspice, one of black pepper and one of cinnamon, one teaspoonful of ground cloves, half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one grated nutmeg, one pint of good vinegar; boil it until it will just run from the mouth of a bottle. It should be watched, stirred often, that it does not burn. If sealed tight while hot , in large-mouthed bottles, it will keep good for years. TOMATO CATSUP. No. 2. Cook one gallon of choice ripe tomatoes; strain them,...
19 minute read
Pickles should never be put into vessels of brass, copper or tin, as the action of the acid on such metals often results in poisoning the pickles. Porcelain or granite-ware is the best for such purposes. Vinegar that is used for pickling should be the best cider or white-wine, and should never be boiled more than five or six minutes, as it reduces its strength. In putting away pickles, use stone or glass jars; the glazing on common earthenware is rendered injurious by the action of the vinegar. When the jar is nearly filled with the pickles, the vinegar should completely cover them, and if there is any appearance of their not doing well, turn off the vinegar, cover with fresh vinegar and spices. Alum in small quantities is useful in making them firm and crisp. In using ground spices, tie them up in muslin bags. To green pickles, put...
45 minute read
Vegetables of all kinds should be thoroughly picked over, throwing out all decayed or unripe parts, then well washed in several waters. Most vegetables, when peeled, are better when laid in cold water a short time before cooking. When partly cooked a little salt should be thrown into the water in which they are boiled, and they should cook steadily after they are put on, not allowed to stop boiling or simmering until they are thoroughly done. Every sort of culinary vegetable is much better when freshly gathered and cooked as soon as possible, and, when done, thoroughly drained, and served immediately while hot. Onions, cabbage, carrots and turnips should be cooked in a great deal of water, boiled only long enough to sufficiently cook them, and immediately drained. Longer boiling makes them insipid in taste, and with too little water they turn a dark color. Potatoes rank first in...
2 minute read
MACARONI Á LA ITALIENNE. Divide a quarter of a pound of macaroni into four-inch pieces. Simmer fifteen minutes in plenty of boiling water, salted. Drain. Put the macaroni into a saucepan and turn over it a strong soup stock, enough to prevent burning. Strew over it an ounce of grated cheese; when the cheese is melted, dish. Put alternate layers of macaroni and cheese, then turn over the soup stock and bake half an hour. MACARONI AND CHEESE. Break half a pound of macaroni into pieces an inch or two long; cook it in boiling water, enough to cover it well; put in a good teaspoonful of salt; let it boil about twenty minutes. Drain it well and then put a layer in the bottom of a well-buttered pudding-dish; upon this some grated cheese and small pieces of butter, a bit of salt, then more macaroni, and so on, filling...
9 minute read
TO MAKE BUTTER. Thoroughly scald the churn, then cool well with ice or spring water. Now pour in the thick cream; churn fast at first, then, as the butter forms, more slowly; always with perfect regularity; in warm weather, pour a little cold water into the churn, should the butter form slowly; in the winter, if the cream is too cold, add a little warm water to bring it to the proper temperature. When the butter has "come", rinse the sides of the churn down with cold water and take the butter up with a perforated dasher or a wooden ladle, turning it dexterously just below the surface of the buttermilk to catch every stray bit; have ready some very cold water in a deep wooden tray; and into this plunge the dasher when you draw it from the churn; the butter will float off, leaving the dasher free. When...
19 minute read
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....
2 minute read
HAM SANDWICHES. Make a dressing of half a cup of butter, one tablespoonful of mixed mustard, one of salad oil, a little red or white pepper, a pinch of salt and the yolk of an egg; rub the butter to a cream, add the other ingredients and mix thoroughly; then stir in as much chopped ham as will make it consistent and spread between thin slices of bread. Omit salad oil and substitute melted butter if preferred. HAM SANDWICHES, PLAIN. Trim the crusts from thin slices of bread; butter them and lay between every two some thin slices of cold boiled ham. Spread the meat with a little mustard if liked. CHICKEN SANDWICHES. Mince up fine any cold boiled or roasted chicken; put it into a saucepan with gravy, water or cream enough to soften it; add a good piece of butter, a pinch of pepper; work it very smooth...
22 minute read
Among all civilized people bread has become an article of food of the first necessity; and properly so, for it constitutes of itself a complete life sustainer, the gluten, starch and sugar which it contains representing ozotized and hydro-carbonated nutrients, and combining the sustaining powers of the animal and vegetable kingdoms in one product. As there is no one article of food that enters so largely into our daily fare as bread, so no degree of skill in preparing other articles can compensate for lack of knowledge in the art of making good, palatable and nutritious bread. A little earnest attention to the subject will enable any one to comprehend the theory, and then ordinary care in practice will make one familiar with the process. GENERAL DIRECTIONS. The first thing required for making wholesome bread is the utmost cleanliness; the next is the soundness and sweetness of all the ingredients...
56 minute read
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. In making batter-cakes, the ingredients should be put together over night to rise, and the eggs and butter added in the morning; the butter melted and eggs well beaten. If the batter appears sour in the least, dissolve a little soda and stir into it; this should be done early enough to rise some time before baking. Water can be used in place of milk in all raised dough, and the dough should be thoroughly light before making into loaves or biscuits; then when molding them use as little flour as possible; the kneading to be done when first made from the sponge, and should be done well and for some length of time, as this makes the pores fine, the bread cut smooth and tender. Care should be taken not to get the dough too stiff. Where any recipe calls for baking powder, and you do not...
4 minute read
SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO CAKE-MAKING. Use none but the best materials, and all the ingredients should be properly prepared before commencing to mix any of them. Eggs beat up much lighter and sooner by being placed in a cold place sometime before using them; a small pinch of soda sometimes has the same effect. Flour should always be sifted before using it. Cream of tartar or baking powder should be thoroughly mixed with the flour; butter be placed where it will become moderately soft, but not melted in the least, or the cake will be sodden and heavy. Sugar should be rolled and sifted; spices ground or pounded; raisins or any ether fruit looked over and prepared; currants, especially, should be nicely washed, picked, dried in a cloth and then carefully examined, that no pieces of grit or stone may be left amongst them. They should then be laid on...
5 minute read
In the first place, the eggs should be cold, and the platter on which they are to be beaten also cold. Allow, for the white of one egg, one small teacupful of powdered sugar. Break the eggs and throw a small handful of the sugar on them as soon as you begin beating; keep adding it at intervals until it is all used up. The eggs must not be beaten until the sugar has been added in this way, which gives a smooth, tender frosting, and one that will dry much sooner than the old way. Spread with a broad knife evenly over the cake, and if it seems too thin, beat in a little more sugar. Cover the cake with two coats, the second after the first has become dry, or nearly so. If the icing gets too dry or stiff before the last coat is needed, it can...
8 minute read
No. 1. CREAM FILLING. Cream filling is made with one pint of new milk, two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sifted flour (or half cup of cornstarch), one cup of sugar. Put two-thirds of the milk on the stove to boil, stir the sugar, flour and eggs in what is left. When the milk boils, put into it the whole and cook it until it is as thick as custard; when cool, add vanilla extract. This custard is nice with a cup of hickory nuts, kernels chopped fine and stirred into it. Spread between the layers of cake. This custard can be made of the yolks of the eggs only, saving the whites for the cake part. No. 2. ANOTHER CREAM FILLING. One cup powdered sugar, one-fourth cup hot water. Let them simmer. Beat white of an egg and mix with the above; when cold, add one-half cup chopped raisins, one-half...
42 minute read
GENERAL REMARKS. Use the very best materials in making pastry; the shortening should be fresh, sweet and hard; the water cold (ice-water is best), the paste rolled on a cold board and all handled as little as possible. When the crust is made, it makes it much more flaky and puff much more to put it in a dish covered with a cloth and set in a very cold place for half an hour, or even an hour; in summer, it could be placed in the ice box. A great improvement is made in pie crust by the addition of about a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder to a quart of flour, also brushing the paste as often as rolled out, and the pieces of butter placed thereon, with the white of an egg, assists it to rise in leaves or flakes . As this is the great beauty of...
57 minute read
The usual rule for custards is, eight eggs to a quart of milk; but a very good custard can be made of six, or even less, especially with the addition of a level tablespoonful of sifted flour, thoroughly blended in the sugar first, before adding the other ingredients. They may be baked, boiled or steamed, either in cups or one large dish. It improves custard to first boil the milk and then cool it before being used; also a little salt adds to the flavor. A very small lump of butter may also be added, if one wants something especially rich. To make custards look and taste better, duck's eggs should be used when obtainable; they add very much to the flavor and richness, and so many are not required as of ordinary eggs, four duck's eggs to the pint of milk making a delicious custard. When desired extremely rich...
8 minute read
ICE-CREAM. One pint of milk, the yolks of two eggs, six ounces of sugar and one tablespoonful of cornstarch. Scald but do not boil. Then put the whites of the two eggs into a pint of cream; whip it. Mix the milk and cream, flavor and freeze. One teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon is generally sufficient. The quantity, of course, can be increased to any amount desired, so long as the relative proportions of the different ingredients are observed. PURE ICE-CREAM. Genuine ice-cream is made of the pure sweet cream in this proportion: Two quarts of cream, one pound of sugar; beat up, flavor and freeze. For family use, select one of the new patent freezers, as being more rapid and less laborious for small quantities than the old style turned entirely by hand. All conditions being perfect, those with crank and revolving dashers effect freezing in eight to fifteen...
20 minute read
It depends as much upon the judgment of the cook as on the materials used to make a good pudding. Everything should be the best in the way of materials, and a proper attention to the rules, with some practice, will ensure success. Puddings are either boiled, baked or steamed; if boiled, the materials should be well worked together, put into a thick cloth bag, previously dipped in hot water, wringing it slightly and dredging the inside thickly with flour; tie it firmly, allowing room for it to swell; drop it into a kettle of boiling water, with a small plate or saucer in the bottom to keep it from sticking to the kettle. It should not cease boiling one moment from the time it is put in until taken out, and the pot must be tightly covered, and the cover not removed except when necessary to add water from...
8 minute read
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....
26 minute read
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...
10 minute read
Berries and all ripe, mellow fruit require but little cooking, only long enough for the sugar to penetrate. Strew sugar over them, allow them to stand a few hours, then merely scald with the sugar; half to three-quarters of a pound is considered sufficient. Harder fruits like pears, quinces, etc., require longer boiling. The great secret of canning is to make the fruit or vegetable perfectly air-tight. It must be put up boiling hot and the vessel filled to the brim. Have your jars conveniently placed near your boiling fruit, in a tin pan of hot water on the stove, roll them in the hot water, then fill immediately with the hot, scalding fruit, fill to the top, and seal quickly with the tops, which should also be heated; occasionally screw down the tops tighter, as the fruit shrinks as it cools, and the glass contracts and allows the air...
2 minute read
RED OR PINK COLORING. Take two cents' worth of cochineal. Lay it on a flat plate and bruise it with the blade of a knife. Put it into half a teacupful of alcohol. Let it stand a quarter of an hour, and then filter it through fine muslin. Always ready for immediate use. Cork the bottle tight. Strawberry or cranberry juice makes a fine coloring for frosting, sweet puddings and confectionery. DEEP RED COLORING. Take twenty grains of cochineal and fifteen grains of cream of tartar finely powdered; add to them a piece of alum the size of a cherry stone and boil them with a gill of soft water in an earthen vessel, slowly, for half an hour. Then strain it through muslin, and keep it tightly corked in a phial. If a little alcohol is added it will keep any length of time. YELLOW COLORING. Take a little...
21 minute read
In the making of confections the best granulated or loaf sugar should be used. (Beware of glucose mixed with sugar.) Sugar is boiled more or less, according to the kind of candy to be made, and it is necessary to understand the proper degree of sugar boiling to operate it successfully. Occasionally sugar made into candies, "creams" or syrups, will need clarifying. The process is as follows: Beat up well the white of an egg with a cupful of cold water and pour it into a very clean iron or thick new tin saucepan, and put into the pan four cupfuls of sugar, mixed with a cupful of warm water. Put on the stove and heat moderately until the scum rises. Remove the pan, and skim off the top, then place on the fire again until the scum rises again. Then remove as before, and so continue until no scum...
24 minute read
Boiling water is a very important desideratum in the making of a cup of good coffee or tea, but the average housewife is very apt to overlook this fact. Do not boil the water more than three or four minutes; longer boiling ruins the water for coffee or tea making, as most of its natural properties escape by evaporation, leaving a very insipid liquid composed mostly of lime and iron, that would ruin the best coffee, and give the tea a dark, dead look, which ought to be the reverse. Water left in the tea-kettle over night must never be used for preparing the breakfast coffee ; no matter how excellent your coffee or tea may be, it will be ruined by the addition of water that has been boiled more than once. THE HEALING PROPERTIES OF TEA AND COFFEE. The medical properties of these two beverages are considerable. Tea...
5 minute read
JANUARY. MEATS.—Beef, mutton, pork, lamb. POULTRY AND GAME.—Rabbits, hares, partridges, woodcocks, grouse or prairie chickens, snipes, antelope, quails, swans, geese, chickens, capons, tame pigeons, wild ducks, the canvas-back duck being the most popular and highly prized; turkeys. FISH.—Haddock, fresh codfish, halibut, flounders, bass, fresh salmon, turbot. Frozen fresh mackerel is found in our large cities during this month; also frozen salmon, red-snapper, shad, frozen bluefish, pickerel, smelts, green turtle, diamond-back terrapin, prawns, oysters, scallops, hard crabs, white bait, finnan haddie, smoked halibut, smoked salmon. VEGETABLES.—Cabbage, carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets, pumpkins, chives, celery, winter squash, onions, white and sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, chiccory, Brussels-sprouts, kale-sprouts, oyster plant, leeks, cress, cauliflower. Garden herbs, both dry and green, being chiefly used in stuffing and soups, and for flavoring and garnishing certain dishes, are always in season, such as sage, thyme, sweet basil, borage, dill, mint, parsley, lavender, summer savory, etc., may be procured...
4 minute read
BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER FOR THE HOLIDAYS And for a Week in Each Month In the Year....
26 minute read
STATE DINNER AT WHITE HOUSE. POTAGES. HORS D'OEUVRES. POISSONS. RELEVÉS. ENTREES. RÔTI. ENTREMETS. MRS. CLEVELAND'S WEDDING LUNCH. JUNE 4th, '88. GENERAL GRANT'S BIRTHDAY DINNER. POTAGES. VARIES HORS D'OEUVRE VARIES. POISSON. RELEVÉ. ENTREES. RÔTI. ENTREMETS SUCRES. PIECES MONTEES. MENU FOR 4 COVERS. * * * MENU FOR 6 COVERS. MENU FOR 8 COVERS. MENU FOR 10 COVERS. MENU FOR 12 COVERS. MENU FOR 24 COVERS. POTAGES. HORS D'OEUVRE. POISSON. RELEVÉ. ENTREES. RÔTI. ENTREMETS DE DOUCEUR. BUFFET FOR 1,000 PEOPLE. COLD SERVICE. * * *...
2 minute read
Etiquette as observed in European courts is not known at the White House. The President's Secretary issues invitations by direction of the President to the distinguished guests. The Usher in charge of the cloak-room hands to the gentleman on arrival an envelope containing a diagram of the table (as cut shows), whereon the name and seat of the respective guest and the lady he is to escort to dinner are marked. A card corresponding with his name is placed on the napkin belonging to the cover of the seat he will occupy. The President's seat is in the middle of the table. The most distinguished guests sit on his right and left. If their wives are present they will occupy these seats, and the gentlemen will be seated next to the President's wife whose seat is directly opposite the President. Official dinners all over the world are always served after...
17 minute read
Dishes for invalids should be served in the daintiest and most attractive way; never send more than a supply for one meal; the same dish too frequently set before an invalid often causes a distaste, when perhaps a change would tempt the appetite. When preparing dishes where milk is used, the condition of the patient should be considered. Long cooking hardens the albumen and makes the milk very constipating; then, if the patient should be already constipated, care should be taken not to heat the milk above the boiling point. The seasoning of food for the sick should be varied according to the condition of the patient; one recovering from illness can partake of a little piece of roast mutton, chicken, rabbit, game, fish, simply dressed, and simple puddings are all light food and easily digested. A mutton chop, nicely cut, trimmed and broiled, is a dish that is often...
35 minute read
HOW COLDS ARE CAUGHT. A great many cannot see why it is they do not take a cold when exposed to cold winds and rain. The fact is, and ought to be more generally understood, that nearly every cold is contracted indoors, and is not directly due to the cold outside, but to the heat inside. A man will go to bed at night feeling as well as usual and get up in the morning with a royal cold. He goes peeking around in search of cracks and keyholes and tiny drafts. Weather-strips are procured, and the house made as tight as a fruit can. In a few days more the whole family have colds. Let a man go home, tired or exhausted, eat a full supper of starchy and vegetable food, occupy his mind intently for a while, go to bed in a warm, close room, and if he...
9 minute read
[A] - Minutes to the pound. [B] - Mutton soup. The time given is the general average; the time will vary slightly with the quality of the article....
41 minute read
USES OF AMMONIA. All housekeepers should keep a bottle of liquid ammonia, as it is the most powerful and useful agent for cleaning silks, stuffs and hats, in fact cleans everything it touches. A few drops of ammonia in water will take off grease from dishes, pans, etc., and does not injure the hands as much as the use of soda and strong chemical soaps. A spoonful in a quart of warm water for cleaning paint makes it look like new, and so with everything that needs cleaning. Spots on towels and hosiery will disappear with little trouble if a little ammonia is put into enough water to soak the articles, and they are left in it an hour or two before washing; and if a cupful is put into the water in which clothes are soaked the night before washing, the ease with which the articles can be washed,...
17 minute read
An Agreeable Disinfectant: —Sprinkle fresh ground coffee on a shovel of hot coals, or burn sugar on hot coals. Vinegar boiled with myrrh, sprinkled on the floor and furniture of a sick room, is an excellent deodorizer. To Prevent Mold: —A small quantity of carbolic acid added to paste, mucilage and ink, will prevent mold. An ounce of the acid to a gallon of whitewash will keep cellars and dairies from the disagreeable odor which often taints milk and meat kept in such places. To Make Tracing-Paper: —Dissolve a ball of white beeswax, one inch in diameter, in half a pint of turpentine. Saturate the paper in this bath and let it dry two or three days before using. To Preserve Brooms: —Dip them for a minute or two in a kettle of boiling suds once a week and they will last much longer, making them tough and pliable. A...
15 minute read
COLOGNE WATER. (Superior.) Oil of lavender two drachms, oil of rosemary one drachm and a half, orange, lemon and bergamot, one drachm each of the oil; also two drachms of the essence of musk, attar of rose ten drops, and a pint of proof spirit. Shake all together thoroughly three times a day for a week. JOCKEY CLUB BOUQUET. Mix one pint extract of rose, one pint extract of tuberose, half a pint of extract of cassia, four ounces extract of jasmine, and three ounces tincture of civet. Filter the mixture. ROSE-WATER. Preferable to the distilled for a perfume, or for culinary purposes. Attar of rose, twelve drops; rub it up with half an ounce of white sugar and two drachms carbonate magnesia; then add gradually one quart of water and two ounces of proof spirit, and filter through paper. BAY RUM. French proof spirit one gallon, extract bay six...
5 minute read
FRENCH WORDS IN COOKING. Aspic: —Savory jelly for cold dishes. Au gratin: —Dishes prepared with sauce and crumbs and baked. Bouchées: —Very thin patties or cakes, as name indicates—mouthfuls. Baba: —A peculiar, sweet French yeast cake. Bechamel: —A rich, white sauce made with stock. Bisque: —A white soup made of shell fish. To Blanch: —To place any article on the fire till it boils, then plunge it in cold water; to whiten poultry, vegetables, etc. To remove the skin by immersing in boiling water. Bouillon: —A clear soup, stronger than broth, yet not so strong as consommé , which is "reduced" soup. Braisé: —Meat cooked in a closely covered stewpan, so that it retains its own flavor and those of the vegetables and flavorings put with it. Brioche: —A very rich, unsweetened French cake made with yeast. Cannelon: —Stuffed rolled-up meat. Consommé: —Clear soup or bouillon boiled down till very...
7 minute read
GENERAL REMARKS. Everything should be clean. The goods should be scoured in soap and the soap rinsed out. They are often steeped in soap lye over night. Dip them into water just before putting them into preparations, to prevent spotting. Soft water should be used, sufficient to cover the goods well; this is always understood where quantity is not mentioned . When goods are dyed, air them; then rinse well, and hang up to dry. Do not wring silk or merino dresses when scouring or dyeing them. If cotton goods are to be dyed a light color, they should first be bleached. SILKS. Black: —Make a weak lye as for black or woolens; work goods in bichromate of potash a little below boiling heat, then dip in the log-wood in the same way; if colored in blue vitriol dye, use about the same heat. Orange: —For one pound goods, annotto...
8 minute read
Delicacy of manner at table stamps both man and woman, for one can, at a glance, discern whether a person has been trained to eat well— i.e. to hold the knife and fork properly, to eat without the slightest sound of the lips, to drink quietly, to use the napkin rightly, to make no noise with any of the implements of the table, and last, but not least, to eat slowly and masticate the food thoroughly. All these points should be most carefully taught to children, and then they will always feel at their ease at the grandest tables in the land. There is no position where the innate refinement of a person is more fully exhibited than at the table, and nowhere that those who have not been trained in table etiquette feel more keenly their deficiencies. The knife should never be used to carry food to the mouth,...
5 minute read
THE LAYING OF THE TABLE AND THE TREATMENT OF GUESTS. In giving "dinners," the apparently trifling details are of great importance when taken as a whole. We gather around our board agreeable persons, and they pay us and our dinner the courtesy of dressing for the occasion, and this reunion should be a time of profit as well as pleasure. There are certain established laws by which "dinner giving" is regulated in polite society; and it may not be amiss to give a few observances in relation to them. One of the first is that an invited guest should arrive at the house of his host at least a quarter of an hour before the time appointed for dinner. In laying the table for dinner all the linen should be a spotless white throughout, and underneath the linen tablecloth should be spread one of thick cotton-flannel or baize, which gives...
4 minute read
IN ORDINARY USE AMONG HOUSEKEEPERS. 4 Teaspoonfuls equal 1 tablespoonful liquid. 4 Tablespoonfuls equal 1 wine-glass, or half a gill. 2 Wine-glasses equal one gill or half a cup. 2 Gills equal 1 coffeecupful, or 16 tablespoonfuls. 2 Coffeecupfuls equal 1 pint. 2 Pints equal 1 quart. 4 Quarts equal 1 gallon. 2 Tablespoonfuls equal 1 ounce, liquid. 1 Tablespoonful of salt equals 1 ounce. 16 Ounces equal 1 pound, or a pint of liquid. 4 Coffeecupfuls of sifted flour equal 1 pound. 1 Quart of unsifted flour equals 1 pound. 8 or 10 ordinary sized eggs equal 1 pound. 1 Pint of sugar equals 1 pound. (White granulated.) 2 Coffeecupfuls of powdered sugar equal 1 pound. 1 Coffeecupful of cold butter, pressed down, is one-half pound. 1 Tablespoonful of soft butter, well rounded, equals 1 ounce. An ordinary tumblerful equals 1 coffeecupful, or half a pint. About 25 drops...