Twentieth century home cook book

gloattics, and is au excellent side-dish, cut and fried in shapes. It may be boiled in cup shapes and served with asparagus, cut small and heaped on top with white sauce around it. In fact, there is an endless variety of uses to which the cook may put this paste; the only drawback is, it is troublesome to make. Light Plain Paste. — Take one pound of flour, six ounces of lard and ten ounces of butter. Rub the lard into the flour, which must be thoroughly dry, work into a smooth paste with only a little water. Roll out thin, press the butter in a cloth to absorb the moisture, put the butter in the center of the paste, fold and press lightly down and roll very thin, dredging the board with a little flour. Fold in three laps and roll and set it in a cool place for a short time. Give it two more workings at intervals; fold again and it should be ready for use. This will make a good light paste for almost any purpose. Crusts with Melted Fat. — These are made by pouring the melted fat into the flour and mixing until all is fine, using one egg to each pound of flour. The proportions are: Flour one pound, drippings of lard or butter, six to twelve ounces — according to how short it is wanted — and one egg. Potato Crust. — An excellent crust is made with potatoes. Peel, boil and pass through a sieve, twelve potatoes. The other ingredients are : A gill of cream, two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, and enough flour to form the paste. XX. Ingredients for Meat Pies. For meat pies take a dozen slices of fried pork cut in pieces, together with the beef, veal or chicken, and stew all together in only water enough to form the gravy. Peel and slice potatoes and add them to the stew. Let the crust form the bottom, top and sides of the dish. Then form alternate layers of meat and crust, until the whole is finished, seasoning each layer of meat properly. Then pour on the liquor the meat was cooked in, until it just covers all ; put on the top crust, and bake until the bottom crust is done and the top brown. If the liquor dries down, more must be added, or else water, in either case, boiling hot. Pot-Pie of Fowl. — A pie may be made of chicken or wild fowl. The yolks of six hard-boiled eggs to each fowl may be stirred in. Chicken Pie with Rice. — This maybe made with or without crust. If without crust, line the dish with slices of boiled ham ; cut up the boiled chicken, pour over it the gravy or melted butter, and fill in the interstices with boiled rice. Cover the top thickly with the same. Bake about three-quarters of an hour. Giblet Pie with Oysters. — Take the giblets of two chickens or of a turkey; stew until nearly done, and cut into inch pieces. Line the pan with a rich paste, mix the giblets with a quart of oysters, adding liquor enough to make the pie juicy. Add flour or rolled cracker enough to thicken it somewhat; also butter, j^epper and salt; cover with crust, and bake until the top is brown. Fish and Oyster Pies. — Fish, eels and oysters are made into pies. The seasoning for these is generally high, and includes various spices, parsley, thyme, basil and the yolks of hard-boiled eggs. A modification by which these are baked in rich gravy or stock, is generally preferred by American palates. Any fish may be used, but the hard-fleshed fish are preferred. Many dishes are made of eggs. XXI. Dishes of Eggs. Broken in water just simmering, they are called poached eggs. Fried Eggs. — They are fried in hot lard or oil, first being broken into a dish and carefully turned into the frying-pan. While cooking, turn the hot fat over the tops of the eggs with an iron spoon to cook the tops, or turn them and fry both sides if this way is liked. They are nice boiled in the shell, three minutes by the watch, or somewhat less if wished very soft. VEGETABLE OR EGG BOILEES. STEAMER. OMELET-PAN.