FoodNetArchive

The household (of the Detroit free press)

1886

Page 519 · 10 recipe records on this page

Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Clean the stalks of grit, wash in cold water and be sure to tie up the asparagus in bundles of fifteen or twenty when you go to boil them. Have the water on the full boil, in which there should be a good table- spoonful of salt ; cook twenty minutes outside ; drain thoroughly, steaming them slightly when they are cooked. Serve on toast, with a sauce of melted butterTo Boil Asparagus. Asparagus boiled plain and eaten cold, with a plain oil and vinegar dressing, is excellent. Or cut the asparagus, when boiled, into little bits, leaving out white end ; make a gravy of the sec- ond water the asparagus is boiled in — the first should be poured off when nearly done and a second one poured on, if a gravy is made — a lump of butter, salt and pepper, thickened with a spoonful of flour, mixed up with cold water, if a thick gravy is liked. FRIED ASPARAGUS. Boil the asparagus a couple of minutes, and then drain it ; dip each piece in butter and fry it in hot fat. When done sprinkle with salt and serve hot. ARTICHOKES. Strip off the outer leaves ; cut the stalks close to the bottom, wash well ; lay in cold water for two hours ; immerse in boiling water, the stalk ends uppermost, with an inverted plate upon them to keep them down. Boil an hour and a half, or until very tender ; arrange upon a dish, tops up, and pour drawn butter over them. BOILED DINNER. Put meat on, after washing well, in enough boiling water to just cover the meat ; as soon as it boils, set kettle on the stove where it will boil very slowly ; boil until almost tender then put in the vegetables, first skimming the meat well. Putin the cabbage first cut into quarters, turnips of medium size cut in halves, and potatoes. Parsnips and car- rots may be added, or rutabagas in place of the turnips. Boil all together until thoroughly done, adding a little salt before taking from the kettle, in which there should be only just enough water to keep the meat from burning ; take up vegetables in separate dishes and lastly the meat. A soup plate or saucer turned upside down, is useful to place in bottom of kettle to keep meat from burning. VEGETABLES. 629 LIMA BEANS. Shell, lay in cold water fifteen minutes, and cook from twenty-five to thirty minutes in boiling salt water ; drain well, season with pepper, salt and butter. STRING BEANS. String, cut into inch pieces and throw into cold water for half an hour. Cut some nice slices of salt pork, half lean, and thin, and put on to boil with the beans. Cook until the beans are perfectly tender. Drain very dry and add butter and salt if necessary, though the pork usually makes them salt enough, and pepper to your taste. To those who are not prejudiced against pork this will be found a delicious way to cook beans, and they are much better than when cooked without it. Green peas are also nice cooked in the same way. PORK AND BEANS. Beets