Twentieth century home cook book

The talent of the cook may be employed in preparing many nice dishes from remnants that are too often thrown away. The stew-pan, the saucepan, the gridiron, the omelette-pan and the toasting-iron come in well here into play. These may be called dishes of taste and economy. An Economical Dish.— Take the remnant of a cold boiled leg of mutton, or of a roast of beef; shave it into thin slices; season, and add, if you like it, an onion chopped fine, or a pinch of sweet herbs. Put this on a baking-dish, and pour over the gravy, if you have any ; if not, a little water, butter and flour. Then take hot boiled potatoes ; mash fine; add a little milk and salt, or butter, to soften them into a smooth paste, which lay over the meat. Put the dish in the oven, and bake a nice brown. Potato Croquettes. — Peel, boil and mash a quart of potatoes, mix with them the yolks of four eggs and two ounces of milk; set on the fire, stir for two minutes, spread in a dish to get cold, or leave over night, if designed for breakfast, in which case, a little milk may be added to moisten their dryness; mix thoroughly, divide into tablespoon parts, shape them, roll in bread-crumbs, dip into beaten whites of eggs, roll in bread-crumbs again, and fry in hot fat. Take off when done, drain, dish and serve immediately. Shaped flat, they are " croquettes a la duchesse." Chicken Croquettes. — Take the remnants of cold chicken and chop the meat fine. Also chop an onion for each chicken. Fry the onion in a little butter, adding half a spoon of flour; stir a minute, then add the chopped chicken and a gill of broth, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir for two minutes. Put all back on the fire, stirring gently. Spread the mixture on a dish, and put it away to cool. AVhen cold, stir the top well in with the rest, and if very dry, add a little broth. Divide into parts on the paste board of about a tablespoon to each. Have bread-crumbs on the board; make the parts round, dipping each one into beaten eggs, then into the bread-crumbs, and fry in hot lard. Serve hot. All kinds of meat may be made into croquettes after the same manner. Fried Bread. — Cut dry bread into slices, dip it in water, and fry in hot lard or gravy, and butter. Fry until nicely browned, then pour cream and eggs well beaten over it. Let it fry to the bread and serve hot. Relish for Breakfast or Lunch. — Take a quarter of a pound of good, fresh cheese ; cut it up in thin slices and put in a spider, turning over it a large cupful of sweet milk; add a quarter of a teaspoonful of dry mustard, a dash of pepper, a little salt, and a piece of butter as large as a small egg; stir the mixture all the time. Take three Boston crackers or soda biscuits, finely powdered or rolled; sprinkle them in gradually; as soon as they are stirred in, turn the contents into a warm dish and serve. Boiled Beans. — Put the drj^ beans in cold soft water, and let them soak three or four hours. Then put them in cold water — two quarts of water to one quart of beans, adding a tablespoonful of salt — bring them to a boil, and let them simmer until tender, say two, or two and a half hours. Pour the water away from them; let them stand by the side of the fire, with the lid of the saucepan partially off, to allow the beans to dry, then add an ounce of butter for every quart of beans, and seasoning of pepper and salt. Side-Dish of Eggs.— Cut hard-boiled eggs in half, the long way. Take out the yolks and mix them with bread-crumbs, salt, pepper and butter. Put them back in the whites. Set the halved eggs in the pan, with the yolks up, and bake until the yolks, but not the whites, are browned.