This eBook was prepared by Stewart A. Levin.



A LITTLE COOK-BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL




by
CAROLINE FRENCH BENTON
Author of ``Gala Day Luncheons''
Boston, The Page Company, Publishers


Copyright, 1905
by Dana Estes & Company


For
Katherine, Monica and Betty
Three Little Girls
Who Love To Do
``Little Girl Cooking''


  Thanks are due to the editor of Good Housekeeping for
permission to reproduce the greater part of this book
from that magazine.





INTRODUCTION




Once upon a time there was a little girl named Margaret, and she
wanted to cook, so she went into the kitchen and tried and tried,
but she could not understand the cook-books, and she made dreadful
messes, and spoiled her frocks and burned her fingers till she just
had to cry.

One day she went to her grandmother and her mother and her Pretty
Aunt and her Other Aunt, who were all sitting sewing, and asked
them to tell here about cooking.

``What is a roux,'' she said, ``and what's a mousse and what's an
entrée?  What are timbales and sautés and ingredients, and how do
you mix 'em and how long do you bake 'em?  Won't somebody please
tell me all about it?''

And her Pretty Aunt said, ``See the flour all over that new frock!''
and her mother said, ``Dear child, you are not old enough to cooks
yet;'' and her grandmother said, ``Just wait a year or two, and
I'll teach you myself;'' and the Other Aunt said, ``Some day you
shall go to cooking-school and learn everything; you know little
girls can't cook.''

But Margaret said, ``I don't want to wait till I'm big; I want to
cook now; and I don't want to do cooking-school cooking, but little
girl cooking, all by myself.''

So she kept on trying to learn, but she burned her fingers and
spoiled her dresses worse than ever, and her messes were so bad
they had to be thrown out, every one of them; and she cried and cried. 
And then one day her grandmother said, ``It's a shame that child
should not learn to cook if she really wants to so much;'' and her
mother said ``Yes, it is a shame, and she shall learn!  Let's get
her a small table and some tins and aprons, and make a little
cook-book all her own out of the old ones we wrote for ourselves
long ago,--just the plain, easy things anybody can make.'' And both
her aunts said, ``Do! We will help, and perhaps we might put in
just a few cooking-school things beside.''

It was not long after this that Margaret had a birthday, and she
was taken to the kitchen to get her presents, which she thought
the funniest thing in the world.  There they all were, in the
middle of the room: first her father's present, a little table
with a white oilcloth cover and casters, which would push right
under the big table when it was not being used.  Over a chair her
grandmother's present, three nice gingham aprons, with sleeves and
ruffled bibs.  On the little table the presents of the aunties,
shiny new tins and saucepans, and cups to measure with, and spoons,
and a toasting-fork, and ever so many things; and then on one corner
of the table, all by itself, was her mother's present, her own
little cook-book, with her own name on it, and that was best of all.

When Margaret had looked at everything, she set out in a row the big
bowl and the middle-sized bowl and the little wee bowl, and put the
scalloped patty-pans around them, and the real egg-beater in front of
all, just like a picture, and then she read a page in her cook-book, and
began to believe it was all true.  So she danced for joy, and put on a
gingham apron and began to cook that very minute, and before another
birthday she had cooked every single thing in the book.

This is Margaret's cook-book.





PART I.

THE THINGS MARGARET MADE FOR BREAKFAST

A LITTLE COOK BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL




CEREALS


1 quart of boiling water.
4 tablespoonfuls of cereal.
1 teaspoonful of salt.

When you are to use a cereal made of oats or wheat, always begin
to cook it the night before, even if it says on the package that
it is not necessary.  Put a quart of boiling water in the outside
of the double boiler, and another quart in the inside, and in this
last mix the salt and cereal.  Put the boiler on the back of the
kitchen range, where it will be hardly cook at all, and let it
stand all night.  If the fire is to go out, put it on so that it
will cook for two hours first.  In the morning, if the water in
the outside of the boiler is cold, fill it up hot, and boil hard
for an hour without stirring the cereal.  Then turn it out in a
hot dish, and send it to the table with a pitcher of cream.

The rather soft, smooth cereals, such as farina and cream of rice,
are to be measured in just the same way, but they need not be cooked
overnight; only put on in a double boiler in the morning for an hour. 
Margaret's mother was very particular to have all cereals cooked a
long time, because they are difficult to digest if they are only
partly cooked, even though they look and taste as though they were done.


Corn-meal Mush

1 quart of boiling water.
1 teaspoon of salt.
4 tablespoons of corn-meal.

Be sure the water is boiling very hard when you are ready; then
put in the salt, and pour slowly from your hand the corn-meal,
stirring all the time till there is not one lump.  Boil this half
an hour, and serve with cream.  Some like a handful of nice plump
raisins stirred in, too.  It is better to use yellow corn-meal in
winter and white in summer.


Fried Corn-meal Mush

Make the corn-meal mush the day before you need it, and when it
has cooked half an hour put it in a bread-tin and smooth it over;
stand away overnight to harden.  In the morning turn it out and
slice it in pieces half an inch thick.  Put two tablespoons of
lard or nice drippings in the frying-pan, and make it very hot.
Dip each piece of mush into a pan of flour, and shake off all
except a coating of this.  Put the pieces, a few at a time, into
the hot fat, and cook till they are brown; have ready a heavy brown
paper on a flat dish in the oven, and as you take out the mush lay
it on this, so that the paper will absorb the grease.  When all
are cooked put the pieces on a hot platter, and have a pitcher of
maple syrup ready to send to the table with them.

Another way to cook corn-meal mush is to have a kettle of hot fat ready,
and after flouring the pieces drop them into the fat and cook like
doughnuts.  The pieces have to be rather smaller to cook in this way
than in the other.


Boiled Rice

1 cup of rice.
2 cups of boiling water.
1 teaspoonful of salt.

Pick the rice over, taking out all the bits of brown husk; fill
the outside of the double boiler with hot water, and put in the
rice, salt, and water, and cook forty minutes, but do not stir it.
Then take off the cover from the boiler, and very gently, without
stirring, turn over the rice with a fork; put the dish in the oven
without the cover, and let it stand and dry for ten minutes.  Then
turn it from the boiler into a hot dish, and cover.  Have cream
to eat on it.  If any rice is left over from breakfast, use it the
next morning as--


Fried Rice

Press it into a pan, just as you did the mush, and let it stand
overnight; the next morning slice it, dip it in flour, and fry,
either in the pan or in the deep fat in the kettle, just as you
did the mush.


Farina Croquettes

When farina has been left from breakfast, take it while still warm
and beat into a pint of it the beaten yolks of two eggs.  Let it
then get cold, and at luncheon-time make it into round balls;
dip each one first into the beaten yolk of an egg mixed with a
tablespoonful of cold water, and then into smooth, sifted bread-crumbs;
have ready a kettle of very hot fat, and drop in three at a time,
or, if you have a wire basket, put three in this and sink into the
fat till they are brown.  Serve in a pyramid, on a napkin, and pass
scraped maple sugar with them.

Margaret's mother used to have no cereal at breakfast sometimes, and
have these croquettes as a last course instead, and every one liked them
very much.


Rice Croquettes

1 cup of milk.
Yolk of one egg.
1/4 cup of rice.
1 large tablespoonful of powdered sugar.
Small half-teaspoonful of salt.
1/2 cup of raisins and currants, mixed.
1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Wash the rice and put in a double boiler with the milk, salt and
sugar and cook till very thick; beat the yolks of the eggs and
stir into the rice, and beat till smooth.  Sprinkle the washed
raisins and currants with flour, and roll them in it and mix these in,
and last the vanilla.  Turn out on a platter, and let all get very
cold.  Then make into pyramids, dip in the yolk of an egg mixed
with a tablespoonful of water, and then into sifted bread-crumbs,
and fry in a deep kettle of boiling fat, using a wire basket.
As you take these from the fat, put them on paper in the oven with
the door open.  When all are done, put them on a hot platter and
sift powdered sugar over them, and put a bit of red jelly on top
of each.  This is a nice dessert for luncheon.  All white cereals
may be made into croquettes; if they are for breakfast, do not
sweeten them, but for luncheon use the rule just given, with or
without raisins and currants.


Hominy

Cook this just as you did the rice, drying it in the oven; serve
one morning plain, as cereal, with cream, and then next morning fried,
with maple syrup, after the rest of the meal.  Fried hominy is
always nice to put around a dish of fried chicken or roast game,
and it looks especially well if, instead of being sliced, it is
cut out into fancy shapes with a cooky-cutter.

After Margaret had learned to cook all kinds of cereals, she went on
to the next thing in her cook-book.



EGGS


Soft Boiled

Put six eggs in a baking-dish and cover them with boiling water;
put a cover on and let them stand where they will keep hot, but
not cook, for ten minutes, or, if the family likes them well done,
twelve minutes.  They will be perfectly cooked, but not tough,
soft and creamy all the way through.

Another way to cook them is this:

Put the eggs in a kettle of cold water on the stove, and the moment
the water boils take them up, and they will be just done.  An easy
way to take them up all at once is to put them in a wire basket,
and sink this under the water.  A good way to serve boiled eggs
is to crumple up a fresh napkin in a deep dish, which has been made
very hot, and lay the eggs in the folds of the napkin; this prevents
their breaking, and keeps them warm.


Poached Eggs

Take a pan which is not more than three inches deep, and put in
as many muffin-rings as you wish to cook eggs.  Pour in boiling
water till the rings are half covered, and scatter half a teaspoonful
of salt in the water.  Let it boil up once, and then draw the pan
to the edge of the stove, where the water will not boil again.
Take a cup, break one egg in it, and gently slide this into a ring,
and so on till all are full.  While they are cooking, take some
toast and cut it into round pieces with the biscuit cutter; wet
these a very little with boiling water, and butter them.  When the
eggs have cooked twelve minutes, take a cake-turner and slip it
under one egg with its ring, and lift the two together on to a
piece of toast, and then take off the ring; and so on with all
the eggs.  Shake a very little salt and pepper over the dish,
and put parsley around the edge.  Sometimes a little chopped
parsley is nice to put over the eggs, too.


Poached Eggs with Potted Ham

Make the rounds of toast and poach the eggs as before.  Make a
white sauce in this way: melt a tablespoonful of butter, and when
it bubbles put in a tablespoonful of flour; shake well, and add a
cup of hot milk and a small half-teaspoonful of salt; cook till
smooth.  Moisten each round of toast with a very little boiling
water, and spread with some of the potted ham which comes in little
tin cans; lay a poached egg on each round, and put a teaspoonful of
white sauce on each egg.

If you have no potted ham in the house, but have plain boiled ham,
put this through the meat-chopper till you have half a cupful, put in
a heaping teaspoonful of the sauce, a saltspoonful of dry mustard,
and a pinch of red pepper, and it will do just as well.


Scrambled Eggs

4 eggs.
2 tablespoonfuls of milk.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.

Put the eggs in a bowl and stir till they are well mixed; add the
milk and salt.  Make the frying-pan very hot, and put a tablespoonful
of butter in it; when it melts, shake it well from side to side,
till all the bottom of the pan is covered.  Put in the eggs and
stir them, scraping them off the bottom of the pan until they begin
to get a little firm; then draw the pan to the edge of the stove,
and scrape up from the bottom all the time till the whole looks alike,
creamy and firm, but not hard.  Put them in a hot, covered dish.


Scrambled Eggs with Parsley

Chop enough parsley to make a teaspoonful, and mince half as
much onion.  Put the onion in the butter when you heat the pan,
and cook the eggs in it; when you are nearly ready to take the eggs
off the fire, put in the parsley.

After Margaret had learned to make these perfectly, she began to
mix other things with the eggs.


Scrambled Eggs with Tomato

When Margaret found a cupful of tomato in the refrigerator, she
would take that, add a half-teaspoonful of salt, two shakes of
pepper, and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and simmer it all
on the fire for five minutes; then she would cook half a teaspoonful
of minced onion in the butter in the hot frying-pan as before,
and turn in the eggs, and when they were beginning to grow firm, put
in the tomato.  In summer-time she often cut up two fresh tomatoes
and stewed them down to a cupful, instead of using the canned.


Scrambled Eggs with Chicken

Chop fine a cup of cold chicken, or any light-colored meat, and
heat it with a tablespoonful of water, a half-teaspoonful of salt,
two shakes of pepper, and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
Cook a half-teaspoonful of minced onion in the butter you put in
the hot frying-pan, and turn in the eggs, and when they set mix in
the chicken.

Sometimes Margaret used both the tomato filling and the chicken in
the eggs, when she wanted to make a large dish.


Creamed Eggs

Cook six eggs twenty minutes, and while they are on the fire make
a cup of white sauce, as before: one tablespoonful of butter,
melted, one of flour, one cup of hot milk, a little salt; cook
till smooth.  Peel the eggs and cut the whites into pieces as large as
the tip of your finger, and put the yolks through the potato-ricer.
Mix the eggs white with the sauce, and put in a hot dish, with the
yellow yolks over the top.  Or, put the whites on pieces of toast,
which you have dipped in part of the white sauce, and put the yolks
on top, and serve on a small platter.

Another nice way to cream eggs is this:  Cook them till hard,
and cut them all up into bits.  Make the white sauce, and into it
stir the beaten yolk of one egg, just after taking it from the fire.
Mix the eggs with this, and put in a hot dish or on toast.
You can sprinkle grated cheese over this sometimes, for a change.


Creamed Eggs in Baking-Dishes

Cut six hard-boiled eggs up into bits, mix with a cup of white sauce,
and put in small baking-dishes which you have buttered.  Cover over
with fine, sifted bread-crumbs, and dot with bits of butter, about
four to each dish, and brown in the oven.  Stick a bit of parsley
in the top of each, and put each dish on a plate, to serve.


Birds' Nests

Sometimes when she wanted something very pretty for breakfast,
Margaret used this rule:

Open six eggs, putting the whites together in one large bowl, and
the yolks in six cups on the kitchen table.  Beat the whites till
they are stiff, putting in half a teaspoonful of salt just at the
last.  Divide the whites, putting them into six patty-pans, or small
baking-dishes.  Make a little hole or nest in the middle of each,
and slip one yolk carefully from the cup into the place.  Sprinkle
a little salt and pepper over them, and put a bit of butter on top,
and put the dishes into a pan and set in the oven till the egg-whites
are a little brown.


Omelette

Making an omelette seems rather a difficult thing for a little girl,
but Margaret made hers in a very easy way.  Her rule said:

Break four eggs separately.  Beat the whites till they are stiff,
and then wash and wipe dry the egg-beater, and beat the yolks till
they foam, and then put in half a teaspoonful of salt.  Pour the
yolks over the whites, and mix gently with a large spoon.  Have a
cake-griddle hot, with a piece of butter melted on it and spread
over the whole surface; pour the eggs on and let them cook for
a moment.  The take a cake-turner and slip under an edge, and look
to see if the middle is getting brown, because the color comes there
first.  When it is a nice even color, slip the turner well under,
and turn the omelette half over, covering one part with the other,
and then slip the whole off on a hot platter.  Bridget had to show
Margaret how to manage this the first time, but after that she could
do it alone.


Spanish Omelette

1 cup of cooked tomato.
1 green pepper.
1 slice of onion.
1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
1 teaspoonful salt.
3 shakes of pepper.

Cut the green pepper in half and take out all the seeds; mix with
the tomato, and cook all together with the seasoning for five minutes.
Make an omelette by the last rule while the tomato is cooking, and
when it is done, just before you fold it over, put in the tomato.


Omelette with Mushrooms

Take a can of mushrooms and slice half of them into thin pieces.
Make a cup of very rich white sauce, using cream instead of milk,
and cook the mushrooms in it for one minute.  Make the omelette as
before, and spread with the sauce when you turn it over.


Omelette with Mushrooms and Olives

This was a very delicious dish, and Margaret only made it for
company.  She prepared the mushrooms just as in the rule above,
and added twelve olives, cut into small pieces, and spread the
omelette with the whole when she turned it.


Eggs Baked in Little Dishes

Margaret's mother had some pretty little dishes with handles,
brown on the outside and white inside.  These Margaret buttered,
and put one egg in each, sprinkling with salt, pepper, and butter,
with a little parsley.  She put the dishes in the oven till the eggs
were firm, and served them in the small dishes, one on each plate.


Eggs with Cheese

6 eggs.
2 heaping tablespoonfuls Parmesan cheese.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
Pinch of red pepper.

Beat the eggs without separating till light and foamy, and then
add the cheese, salt, and pepper.  Put a tablespoonful of butter in
the frying-pan, and when it is hot put in the eggs, and stir till
smooth and firm.  Serve on small pieces of buttered toast.

Parmesan cheese is very nice to use in cooking; it comes in bottles,
all ready grated to use.


Eggs with Bacon

Take some bacon and put in a hot frying-pan, and cook till it crisps.
Then lift it out on a hot dish and put in the oven.  Break six eggs
in separate cups, and slide them carefully into the fat left in the
pan, and let them cook till they are rather firm and the bottom is
brown.  Then take a cake-turner and take them out carefully, and put
in the middle of the dish, and arrange the bacon all around, with
parsley on the edge.


Ham and Eggs, Moulded

Take small, deep tins, such as are used for timbales, and butter
them.  Make one cup of white sauce; take a cup of cold boiled
ham which has been put through the meat-chopper, and mix with a
tablespoonful of white sauce and one egg, slightly beaten.  Press
this like a lining into the tins, and then gently drop a raw egg
in the centre of each.  Stand them in a pan of boiling water in the
oven till the eggs are firm,--about ten minutes,--and turn out
on a round platter.  Put around them the rest of the white sauce.
You can stand the little moulds on circles of toast if you wish.
This rule was given Margaret by her Pretty Aunt, who got it at
cooking-school; it sounded harder than it really was, and after
trying it once Margaret often used it.



FISH


One day some small, cunning little fish came home from market, and
Margaret felt sure they must be meant for her to cook.  They were
called smelts, and, on looking, she found a rule for cooking them,
just as she had expected.


Fried Smelts

Put a deep kettle on the fire, with two cups of lard in it, to
get it very hot.  Wipe each smelt inside and out with a clean wet
cloth, and then with a dry one.  Have a saucer of flour mixed
with a teaspoonful of salt, and another saucer of milk.  Put the
tail of each smelt through its gills--that is, the opening near
its mouth.  Then roll the smelts first in milk and then in flour,
and shake off any lumps.  Throw a bit of bread into the fat in the
kettle, and see if it turns brown quickly; it does if the fat is
hot enough, but if not you must wait.  Put four smelts in the wire
basket, and stand it in the fat, so that the fish are entirely
covered, for only half a minute, or till you can count thirty.
As you take them out of the kettle, lay them on heavy brown paper
on a pan in the oven, to drain and keep hot, and leave the door
open till all are done.  Lay a folded napkin on a long, narrow
platter, and arrange the fishes in two rows, with slices of lemon
and parsley on the sides.


Fish-balls

One morning there was quite a good deal of cold mashed potato
in the ice-box, so Margaret decided to have fish-balls for
breakfast.  Her rule said:  Take a box of prepared codfish and
put it in a colander and pour a quart of boiling water through
it, stirring it as you do so.  Let it drain while you heat two
cups of mashed potato in a double boiler, with half a cup of hot
milk, beating and stirring till it is smooth.  Squeeze the water
from the codfish and mix with the potato.  Beat one egg without
separating it, and put this in, too, with a very little pepper,
and beat it all well.  Turn it out on a floured board, and make
into small balls, rolling each one in flour as it is done, and
brushing off most of the flour afterward.  Have ready a kettle of
hot lard, just as for smelts, and drop in three or four of the
balls at one time, and cook till light brown.  Lift them out on
a paper in the oven, and let them keep hot while you cook the rest.
Serve with parsley on a hot platter.


Creamed Codfish

Pour boiling water over a package of prepared codfish in the
colander and drain it.  Heat a frying-pan, and, while you are
waiting, beat the yolk of an egg.  Squeeze the water from the
fish.  Put one tablespoonful of butter in a hot pan, and when it
bubbles put in two tablespoonfuls of flour, and stir and rub till
all is smooth.  Pour in slowly a pint of hot milk, and mix well,
rubbing in the flour and butter till there is not a single lump.
Then stir in the fish with a little pepper, and when it boils
put in the egg.  Stir it all up once, and it is done.  Put in a
hot covered dish, or on slices of buttered toast.


Salt Mackerel

This was a dish Margaret's grandmother liked so much that they had
it every little while, even though it was old-fashioned.

Put the mackerel into a large pan of cold water with the skin
up, and soak it all one afternoon and night, changing the water
four times.  In the morning put it in a pan on the fire with enough
water to cover it, and drop in a slice of onion, minced fine, a
teaspoonful of vinegar, and a sprig of parsley.  Simmer it twenty
minutes,--that is, let it just bubble slowly,--and while it
is cooking make a cup of white sauce as before: one tablespoonful
of butter, melted, one tablespoonful of flour, one cup of hot milk,
a little salt.  Cook till smooth.  Take up the fish and pour off
all the water; place it on a hot platter and pour the sauce over it.



MEATS


When it came to cooking meat for breakfast, Margaret thought she
had better take first what looked easiest, so she chose--


Corned Beef Hash

1 pint of chopped corned beef.
1 pint of cold boiled potatoes.
1 cup of clear soup, or one cup of cold water.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 teaspoonful of finely minced onion.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.

Mix all together.  Have a hot frying-pan, and in it put a
tablespoonful of butter or nice fat, and when it bubbles shake it
all around the pan.  Put in the hash and cook it till dry, stirring
it often and scraping it from the bottom of the pan.  When none of
the soup or water runs out when you lift a spoonful, and when it
seems steaming hot, you can send it to the table in a hot dish,
with parsley around it.  Or you can let it cook without stirring
till there is a nice brown crust on the bottom, when you can
double it over as you would an omelette.  Or you can make a pyramid
of the hash in the middle of a round platter, and put poached eggs
in a circle around it.

Many people like one small cold boiled beet cut up fine in corned
beef hash, and sometimes for a change you can put this in before
you put it in the frying-pan.


Broiled Bacon

Margaret's mother believed there was only one very nice way to
cook bacon.  It was like this:  Slice the bacon very, very thin,
and cut off the rind.  Put the slices close together in a wire
broiler, and lay this over a shallow pan in a very hot oven for
about three minutes.  If it is brown on top, then you can turn the
broiler over, but if not, wait a moment longer.  When both sides
are toasted, lay it on a hot platter and put sprigs of parsley
around.  This is much nicer than bacon cooked in the frying-pan
or over coals, for it is neither greasy nor smoky, but pink and
light brown, and crisp and delicious, and good for sick people
and little children and everybody.


Broiled Chops

Wipe off the chops with a clean wet cloth and trim off the edges;
if very fat cut rather close to the meat.  Rub the wire broiler
with some of the fat, so that the chops will not stick.  Lay in
the chops and put over a clear, red fire without flame, and toast
one side first and then the other; do this till they are brown.
Lay on a hot platter, and dust both sides with salt and a tiny bit
of pepper.  Put bits of lemon and parsley around, and send to the
table hot.


Panned Chops

If the fire is not clear so that you cannot broil the chops, you
must pan them.  Take a frying-pan and make it very hot indeed; then
lay in the chops, which you have wiped and trimmed, and cook one
side very quickly, and then the other, and after that let them cook
more slowly.  When they are done,--you can tell by picking open
a little place in one with a fork and looking on the inside,--put
them on a platter as before, with pepper and salt.  If they are
at all greasy,  put on brown paper in the oven first, to drain,
leaving the door of the oven open.  Be careful not to let them
get cold.


Liver and Bacon

Buy half a pound of calf's liver and half a pound of bacon.  Cut
the liver in thin slices and pour boiling water over it, and then
wipe each slice dry.  Slice the bacon very thin and cut off the
rind; put this in a hot frying-pan and cook very quickly, turning
it once or twice.  Just as soon as it is brown take it out and lay
it on brown paper in the oven in a pan.  Take a saucer of flour and
mix in it a teaspoonful of salt and a very little pepper; dip the
slices of liver in this, one at a time, and shake them free of lumps.
Lay them in the hot fat of the bacon in the pan and fry till brown.
Have a hot platter ready, and lay the slices of liver in a nice
row on it, and then put one slice of bacon on each slice of liver.
Put parsley all around, and sometimes use slices of lemon, too,
for a change.


Liver and Bacon on Skewers

Get from the butcher half a dozen small wooden skewers, and
prepare the liver and bacon as you did for frying, scalding,
dipping the liver in flour, and taking the rind off the bacon.
Make three slices of toast, cut into strips, and put in the oven
to keep hot.  Cut up both liver and bacon into pieces the size
of a fifty-cent piece and put them on the skewers, first one of
the liver and then one of the bacon, and so on, about six of each.
Put these in the hot frying-pan and turn them over till they are
brown.  Then lay one skewer on each strip of toast, and put lemon
and parsley around.  You can also put large oysters on the skewers
with pieces of bacon, and cook in the same way.


Broiled Steak

See that the fire is clear and red, without flames.  Trim off
most of the fat from the steak, and rub the wires of the broiler
with it and heat it over the coals.  Then put in the meat and
turn over and over as it cooks, and be careful not to let it take
fire.  When brown, put it on a hot platter, dust over with salt
and a very little pepper, and dot it with tiny lumps of butter.
Put parsley around.  Steak ought to be pink inside; not brown
and not red.  Put a fork in as you did with the chops, and twist
in a little, and you can see when it gets the right color.


Steak with Bananas

Peel one banana and slice in round pieces, and while the steak
is cooking fry them in a little hot butter till they are brown.
After the meat is on the platter, lay these pieces over it,
arranging them prettily, and put the parsley around as before.
Bananas are very nice with steak.


Frizzled Dried Beef

Take half a pound of dried beef, shaved very thin.  Chop it fine
and pull out the strings.  Put a large tablespoonful of butter in
the frying-pan, and when it bubbles put in the meat.  Stir till it
begins to get brown, and then sprinkle in one tablespoonful of flour
and stir again, and then put in one cup of hot milk.  Shake in a
little pepper, but no salt.  As soon as it boils up once, it is
done, and you can put it in a hot covered dish.  If you like a
change, stir in sometimes two beaten eggs in the milk instead of
using it plain.


Veal Cutlet

Wipe off the meat with a clean wet cloth, and then with one that is
dry.  Dust it over with salt, pepper, and flour.  Put a tablespoonful
of nice dripping in a hot frying-pan, and let it heat till it smokes
a little.  Lay in the meat and cook till brown, turning it over twice
as it cooks.  Look in the inside and see if it is brown, for cutlet
must not be eaten red or pink inside.  Put in a hot oven and cover it
up while you make the gravy, by putting one tablespoonful of flour
into the hot fat in the pan, stirring it till it is brown.  Then
put in a cup of boiling water, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a
very little pepper; put this through the wire sieve, pressing it
with a spoon, and turn over the meat.  Put parsley around the cutlet,
and send hot to the table.


Margaret's father said he could not possibly manage without
potatoes for breakfast, so sometimes Margaret let Bridget cook
the cereal and meat, while she made something nice out of the
cold potatoes she found in the cupboard.


Creamed Potatoes

Cut cold boiled potatoes into pieces as large as the end of your
finger; put them into a pan on the back of the stove with enough
milk to cover them, and let them stand till they have drunk up all
the milk; perhaps they will slowly cook a little as they do this,
but that will do no harm.  In another saucepan or in the frying-pan
put a tablespoonful of butter, and when it bubbles put in a
tablespoonful of flour, and stir till they melt together; then
put in two cups of hot milk, and stir till it is all smooth.  Put
in one teaspoonful of salt, and last the potatoes, but stir them
only once while they cook, for fear of breaking them.  Add one
teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and put them in a hot covered dish.
You can make another sort of potatoes when you have finished
creaming them in this way, by putting a layer of them in a deep
buttered baking-dish, with a layer of white sauce over the top,
and break-crumbs and bits of butter for a crust.  Brown well in a
hot oven.  When you do this, remember to make the sauce with three
cups of milk and two tablespoonfuls of flour and two of butter,
and then you will have enough for everything.


Hashed Browned Potatoes

Chop four cold potatoes fine, and add one teaspoonful of salt
and a very little pepper.  Put a tablespoonful of butter in the
frying-pan, and turn it so it runs all over;  when it bubbles
put in the potatoes, and smooth them evenly over the pan.  Cook
till they are brown and crusty on the bottom; then put in a
teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and fold over like an omelette.


Saratoga Potatoes

Wash and pare four potatoes, and rub them on the potato-slicer
till they are in thin pieces; put them in ice-water for fifteen
minutes.  Heat two cups of lard very hot, till when you drop in
a bit of bread it browns at once.  Wipe the potatoes dry and drop
in a handful.  Have a skimmer ready, and as soon as they brown
take them out and lay on brown paper in the oven, and put in
another handful.


Potato Cakes

Take two cups of mashed potato, and mix well with the beaten yolk
of one egg, and make into small flat cakes;  dip each into flour.
Heat two tablespoonfuls of nice dripping, and when it is hot lay
in the cakes and brown, turning each with the cake-turner as it
gets crusty on the bottom.


Fried Sweet Potatoes

Take six cold boiled sweet-potatoes, slice them and lay in hot
dripping in the frying-pan till brown.  These are especially nice
with veal cutlets.



Toast

Toast is very difficult for grown people to make, because they
have made it wrong all their lives, but it is easy for little
girls to learn to make, because they can make it right from the
first.

Cut bread that is at least two days old into slices a quarter
of an inch thick.  If you are going to make only a slice or two,
take the toasting-fork, but if you want a plateful, take the wire
broiler.  Be sure the fire is red, without any flames.  Move the
slices of bread back and forth across the coals, but do not let
them brown; do both sides this way, and then brown first one and
then the other afterward.  Trim off the edges, butter a little
quickly, and send to the table hot.  Baker's bread makes the
best toast.


Milk Toast

Put one pint of milk on in a double boiler and let it heat.
Melt one tablespoonful of butter, and when it bubbles stir in
one small tablespoonful of corn-starch, and when these are
rubbed smooth, put in one-third of the milk.  Cook and stir
till even, without lumps, and then put in the rest of the milk
and stir well; add half a teaspoonful of salt, and put on the
back of the stove.  Make six slices of toast; put one slice in
the dish and put a spoonful of the white sauce over it, then
put in another and another spoonful, and so on till all are in,
and pour the sauce that is left over all.  If you want this
extra nice, do not take quite so much butter, and use a pint of
cream instead of the milk.


Baking-powder Biscuit

Margaret's Other Aunt said little girls could never, never
make biscuit, but this little girl really did, by this rule:

1 pint sifted flour.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
4 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
3/4 cup of milk.
1 tablespoonful of butter.

Put the salt and baking-powder in the flour and sift well, and
then rub the butter in with a spoon.  Little by little put in the
milk, mixing all the time, and then lift out the dough on a floured
board and roll it out lightly, just once, till it is one inch thick.
Flour your hands and mould the little balls as quickly as you can,
and put them close together in a shallow pan that has had a little
flour shaken over the bottom, and bake in a hot oven about twenty
minutes, or till the biscuits are brown.  If you handle the dough much,
the biscuits will be tough, so you must work fast.


Grandmother's Corn Bread

1 1/2 cups of milk.
1 cup sifted yellow corn-meal.
1 tablespoonful melted butter.
1 teaspoonful sugar.
1 teaspoonful baking-powder.
2 eggs.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.

Scald the milk--that is, let it boil up just once--and pour it
over the corn-meal.  Let this cool while you are separating and
beating the eggs; let these wait while you mix the corn-meal, the
butter, salt, baking-powder, and sugar, and then the yolks; add
the whites last, very lightly.  Bake in a buttered biscuit-tin in
a hot oven for about half an hour.

Because grandmother's corn bread was a little old-fashioned,
Margaret's Other Aunt put in another recipe, which made a corn
bread quite like cake, and most delicious.


Perfect Corn Bread


1 large cup of yellow corn-meal.
1 small cup of flour.
1/2 cup of sugar.
2 eggs.
2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
3 tablespoonfuls of butter.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
Flour to a thin batter.

Mix the sugar and butter and rub to a cream; add the yolks of the
eggs, well beaten, and then half a cup of milk; then put in the
baking-powder mixed in the flour and the salt, and then part of the
corn-meal, and a little more milk; next fold in the beaten whites
of the eggs, and if it still is not like ``a thin batter,'' put in
a little more milk.  Then bake in a buttered biscuit-tin till brown,
cut in squares and serve hot.  This is particularly good eaten with
hot maple syrup.


Popovers

Put the muffin-tins or iron gem-pans in the oven to get very hot,
while you mix these popovers.

2 eggs.
2 cups of milk.
2 cups of flour.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.

Beat the eggs very lightly without separating them.  Pour the milk
in and beat again.  Sift the salt and flour together, pour over
the eggs and milk into it, and beat quickly with a spoon till it
is foamy.  Strain through a wire sieve, and take the hot pans out of
the oven and fill each one-half full; bake just twenty-five minutes.


Cooking-school Muffins

2 cups sifted flour.
2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 cup of milk.
2 eggs.
1 large teaspoonful of melted butter.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking-powder, and sift.  Beat the yolks of
the eggs, put in the butter with them and the milk, then the flour,
and last the stiff whites of the eggs.  Have the muffin-tins hot,
pour in the batter, and bake fifteen or twenty minutes.  These must
be eaten at once or they will fall.


There was one little recipe in Margaret's book which she thought
must be meant for the smallest girl who ever tried to cook,
it was so easy.  But the little muffins were good enough for grown
people to like.  This was it:


Barneys

4 cups of whole wheat flour.
3 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
Enough water to make it seem like cake batter.

Drop with a spoon into hot buttered muffin-pans, and bake
in a hot oven about fifteen minutes.

Bridget had to show Margaret what was meant by a ``cake batter,''
but after she had seen once just how thick that was, she could
always tell in a minute when she had put in water enough.


Griddle-cakes

2 eggs.
1 cup of milk.
1 1/2 cups flour.
2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.

Put the eggs in a bowl without separating them, and beat them
with a spoon till light.  Put in the milk, then the flour mixed
with the salt, and last the baking-powder all alone.  Bake on a hot,
buttered griddle.  This seems a queer rule, but it makes delicious
cakes, especially if eaten with sugar and thick cream.


Flannel Cakes

1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 tablespoonful of sugar.
2 eggs.
2 cupfuls of flour.
1 teaspoonful of baking-powder.
Milk enough to make a smooth, rather thin batter.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, add the eggs, beaten together
lightly, then the flour, in which you have mixed the baking-powder,
and then the milk.  It is easy to know when you have the batter
just right, for you can put a tiny bit on the griddle and make a
little cake; if it rises high and is thick, put more milk in the
batter; if it is too thin, it will run about on the griddle, and you
must add more flour; but it is better not to thin it too much,
but to add more milk if the batter is too thick.


Sweet Corn Griddle-cakes

These ought to be made of fresh sweet corn, but you can make them
in winter out of canned grated corn, or canned corn rubbed through
a colander.

1 quart grated corn.
1 cup of flour.
1 cup of milk.
1 tablespoonful melted butter.
4 eggs.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.

Beat the eggs separately, and put the yolks into the corn;
then add the milk, then the flour, then the salt, and beat well.
Last of all, fold in the whites and bake on a hot griddle.


Waffles

2 cups of flour.
1 teaspoonful baking powder.
1 1/2 cups of milk.
1 tablespoonful butter.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
3 eggs, beaten separately.

Mix the flour, baking-powder, and salt; put the beaten egg yolks
in the milk, and add the melted butter, the flour and last the
beaten whites of the eggs.  Make the waffle-iron very hot, and
grease it very thoroughly on both sides by tying a little rag
to a clean stick and dipping in melted butter.  Put in some
batter on one side, filling the iron about half-full, and close
the iron, putting this side down over the fire; when it has cooked
for about two minutes, turn the iron over without opening it,
and cook the other side.  When you think it is done, open it a
little and look to see if it is brown; if not, keep it over the
coals till it is.  Take out the waffle, cut in four pieces, and
pile on a plate in the oven, while you again grease the iron
and cook another.  Serve very hot and crisp, with maple syrup
or powdered sugar and thick cream.

Some people like honey on their waffles.  You might try all
these things in turn.


Last of all the things Margaret learned to make for breakfast
came coffee, and this she could make in two ways; sometimes she
made it this first way, and sometimes the other, which is called
French coffee.


Coffee

First be sure your coffee-pot is shining clean; look in the spout
and in all the cracks, and wipe them out carefully, for you cannot
make good coffee except in a perfectly clean pot.  Then get three
heaping tablespoonfuls of ground coffee, and one tablespoonful of
cold water, and one tablespoonful of white of egg.  Mix the egg with
the coffee and water thoroughly, and put in the pot.  Pour in one
quart of boiling water, and let it boil up once.  Then stir down
the grounds which come to the top, put in two tablespoonfuls of
cold water, and let it stand for a minute on the back of the stove,
and then strain it into the silver pot for the table.  This pot
must be made very hot, by filling it with boiling water and letting
it stand on the kitchen table while the coffee is boiling.  If
this rule makes coffee stronger than the family like it, take
less coffee, and if it is not strong enough, take more coffee.


French Coffee

Get one of the pots which are made so the coffee will drip through;
put three tablespoonfuls of very finely powdered coffee in this,
and pour in a quart of boiling water.  When it is all dripped through,
it is ready to put in the hot silver pot.





PART II.

THE THINGS MARGARET MADE FOR LUNCHEON OR SUPPER




So many things in this part of Margaret's book call for white
sauce, or cream sauce, that the rule for that came first of all.


White or Cream Sauce 

1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 tablespoonful of flour.
1 cup hot milk or cream, one-third teaspoonful of salt.

Melt the butter, and when it bubbles put in the flour, shaking
the saucepan as you do so, and rub till smooth.  Put in the hot
milk, a little at a time, and stir and cook without boiling till
all is smooth and free from lumps.  Add the salt, and, if you
choose, a little pepper.

Cream sauce is made exactly as is white sauce, but cream is used
in place of milk.  What is called thick white sauce is made by
taking two tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour, and only
one cup of milk.


Creamed Oysters

1 pint oysters.
1 large cup of cream sauce.

Make the sauce of cream if you have it, and if not use a very
heaping tablespoonful of butter in the white sauce.  Keep this hot.

Drain off the oyster-juice and wash the oysters by holding them
under the cold-water faucet.  Strain the juice and put the oysters
back in it, and put them on the fire and let them just simmer till
the edges of the oysters curl; then drain them from the juice again
and drop them in the sauce, and add a little more salt (celery-salt
is nice if you have it), and just a tiny bit of cayenne pepper. 
You can serve the oysters on squares of buttered toast, or put
them in a large dish, with sifted bread-crumbs over the top and
tiny bits of butter, and brown in the oven.  Or you can put them
in small dishes as they are, and put a sprig of parsley in each dish.


Panned Oysters

Take the oysters from their juice, strain it, wash the oysters,
and put them back in.  Put them in a saucepan with a little
salt,--about half a teaspoonful to a pint of oysters,--and a
little pepper, and a piece of butter as large as the end of your
thumb.  Let them simmer till the edges curl, just as before,
and put them on squares of hot buttered toast.


Scalloped Oysters

1 pint of oysters.
12 large crackers, or 1 cup of bread-crumbs.
1/2 cup of milk.
The strained oyster-juice.

Butter a deep baking-dish.  Roll the crackers, or make the
bread-crumbs of even size; some people like one better than
the other, and you can try both ways.  Put a layer of crumbs in
the dish, then a layer of oysters, washed, then a sprinkling of
salt and pepper and a few bits of butter.  Then another layer of
crumbs, oysters, and seasoning, till the dish is full, with crumbs
on the top.  Mix the milk and oyster-juice and pour slowly over.
Then cover the top with bits of butter, and bake in the oven till
brown--about half an hour.

You can put these oysters into small dishes, just as you did the
creamed oysters, or into large scallop-shells, and bake them only
ten or fifteen minutes.  In serving, put a small sprig of parsley
into each.


Pigs in Blankets

These were great fun to make, and Margaret often begged to get
them ready for company.

15 large oysters.
15 very thin slices of bacon.

Sprinkle each oyster with a very little salt and pepper.  Trim the
rind from the bacon and wrap each oyster in one slice, pinning this
``blanket'' tightly on the back with a tiny Japanese wooden toothpick.
Have ready a hot frying-pan, and lay in five oysters, and cook till
the bacon is brown and the edges of the oysters curl, turning each
over once.  Put these on a hot plate in the oven with the door open,
and cook five more, and so on.  Put them on a long, narrow platter,
with slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley around.  Or you can put
each one on a strip of toast which you have dipped in the gravy in
the pan; this is the better way.  This dish must be eaten very hot,
or it will not be good.


Creamed Fish

2 cups of cold fish.
1 cup of white sauce.

Pick any cold fish left from dinner into even bits, taking out all
the bones and skin, and mix with the hot white sauce.  Stir until
smooth, and add a small half-teaspoonful of chopped parsley.

You can put this in a buttered baking-dish and cover the top with
crumbs and bits of butter, and brown in the oven, or you can put
it in small dishes and brown also, or you can serve it just as is,
in little dishes.


Creamed Lobster

1 lobster, or the meat from 1 can.
1 large cup of white or cream sauce.

Take the lobster out of the shell and clean it;  Bridget will have
to show you how the first time.  Or, if you are using canned lobster,
pour away all the juice and pick out the bits of shell, and find
the black string which is apt to be there, and throw it away.
Cut the meat in pieces as large as the end of your finger, and
heat it in the sauce till it steams.  Put in a small half-teaspoonful
of salt, a pinch of cayenne, and a squeeze of lemon.  Do not put
this in a large dish, but in small ones, buttered well, and serve
at once.  Stand a little claw up in each dish.


Creamed Salmon

1 can salmon.
1 cup of white sauce.

Prepare this dish exactly as you did the plain creamed white fish.
Take it out of the can, remove all the juice, bones, and fat, and
put in the white sauce, and cook a moment till smooth.  Add a small
half-teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, and a squeeze of lemon, and
put in a baking-dish and brown, or serve as it is, in small dishes.


Scalloped Lobster or Salmon

1 can of fish, or 1 pint.
1 large cup of cracker or bread crumbs.
1 large cup of white sauce.

Prepare this dish almost as you did the scalloped oysters.  Take out
all the bones and skin and juice from the fish; butter a baking-dish,
put in a layer of fish, then salt and pepper, then a layer of crumbs
and butter, and a layer of white sauce, then fish, seasoning, crumbs
and butter again, and have the crumbs on top.  Dot over with butter
and brown in the oven, or serve in small dishes.


Crab Meat in Shells

You can buy very nice, fresh crab meat in tins, and the shells also.
A very delicious dish is made by mixing a cup of rich cream sauce
with the crab meat, seasoning it well with salt and pepper and putting
in the crab-shells; cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in
the oven.  This is a nice thing to have for a company luncheon.


Creamed Chicken or Turkey

2 cups of cold chicken.
1 large cup of white or creamed sauce.
1/2 teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
Salt and pepper.

Pick the chicken or turkey off the bones and cut into small bits
before you measure it.  Heat it in the sauce till very hot, but
do not let it boil, and add the seasoning,--about half a teaspoonful
of salt, and a tiny bit of cayenne, or as much celery-salt in the
place of the common kind.  Put in a large buttered dish and serve,
or in small dishes, either with crumbs on top or not.

A nice addition to this dish is half a green pepper, the seeds
taken out, chopped very fine indeed, and mixed with the white meat;
the contrast of colors is pretty and the taste improved.


Scalloped Eggs

6 hard-boiled eggs.
1 cup cream or white sauce.
1 cup fine bread-crumbs.
Salt and pepper.

Cook the eggs twenty minutes, and while they are cooking make the
white sauce, and butter one large or six small dishes.  Peel the
eggs and cut them into bits as large as the end of your finger. 
Put a layer of bread-crumbs on the bottom of the dish, then a layer
of egg, then a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and bits of butter,
then a layer of white sauce.  Then more crumbs, egg, and seasoning,
till the dish is full, with crumbs on top.  Put bits of butter over
all and brown in the oven.


Eggs in Double Cream

This is a rule Margaret's Pretty Aunt got in Paris, and it is a
very nice one.  Have half a pint of very thick cream--the kind
you use to whip; the French call this double cream.  Cook six eggs
hard and cut them into bits.  Butter a baking-dish, or small dishes,
and put in a layer of egg, then a layer of cream, then a sprinkling
of salt, and one of paprika, which is sweet red pepper.  Put one
thin layer of fine, sifted crumbs on top with butter, and brown in
the oven.  Or you can put the eggs and cream together and heat them,
and serve on thin pieces of buttered toast, with one extra egg put
through the ricer over the whole.


Creamed Eggs in Toast

Make small pieces of nice toast and dip each one in white sauce. 
Boil hard four eggs, and cut in even slices and cover the toast,
and then spread the rest of the white sauce over all in a thin layer.


Devilled Eggs

6 eggs.
2 saltspoonfuls of dry mustard.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 saltspoonful of cayenne pepper.
1 teaspoonful of olive-oil or cream.
1 large tablespoonful of chopped ham.
1/2 teaspoonful of vinegar.

Boil the eggs hard for twenty minutes, and put them in cold water
at once to get perfectly cold so they will not turn dark.  Then peel,
cut in halves and take out the yolks.  Put these in a bowl, and
rub in the seasoning, but you can leave out the ham if you like. 
With a small teaspoon, put the mixture back into the eggs and
smooth them over with a knife.

If you do not serve these eggs with cold meat it is best to lay
them on lettuce when you send them to the table.


Eggs in Beds

Chop a cup of nice cold meat, and season with a little salt, pepper
and chopped parsley.  Add enough stock or hot water just to wet it,
and cook till rather dry.  Put this in buttered baking-dishes, filling
each half-full, and on top of each gently slip from a cup one egg. 
Sprinkle over with salt and pepper, and put in the oven till firm.


Shepherd's Pie

This was a dish Margaret used to make on wash-day and house-cleaning
day, and such times when everybody was busy and no one wanted to
stop and go to market to buy anything for luncheon.

1 cup of chopped meat.
1 cup of boiling water.
1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful of lemon juice, or 1/2 teaspoonful Worcestershire sauce.
Butter the size of a hickory-nut.
2 cups hot mashed potato.

If the potato is cold, put half a cup of hot milk in it, beat it
up well, and stand it on the back of the stove.  Then mix all the
other things with the meat, and put it in the frying-pan and let
it cook till it seems rather dry.  Butter a baking-dish, and cover
the sides and bottom with a layer of potato an inch thick.  Put the
meat in the centre and cover it over with potato and smooth it. 
Put bits of butter all over the top, and brown it in the oven. 
Serve with this a dish of chow-chow, or one of small cucumber pickles.


Chicken Hash

1 cup of cold chicken, cut in small, even pieces.
1/2 cup chicken stock, or hot water.
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
A pinch of pepper.
Butter the size of a hickory-nut.

Put the chicken stock,--which is the water the chicken was cooked in,
or chicken broth,--or, if there is none, the hot water, into the
frying-pan, and mix in the chicken and seasoning, and cook and stir
till it is rather dry.  Serve as it is, or on squares of buttered
toast.  You can make any cold meat into hash this way, having it
different every time.  Sometimes you can put in the chopped green
pepper, as before, or a slice of chopped onion, or a cup of hot,
seasoned peas; or, leave out half the soup or water, and put in
a cup of stewed tomato.


Broiled Sardines

These little fish are really not broiled at all, but that is the
name of the nice and easy dish.  Take a box of large sardines and
drain off all the oil, and lay them on heavy brown paper while you
make four slices of toast.  Trim off the edges and cut them into
strips, laying them in a row on a hot platter.  Put the sardines
into the oven and make them very hot, and lay one on each strip
of toast and sprinkle them with lemon juice, and put sliced lemon
and sprigs of parsley all around.


Cheese Fondu

This was a recipe the Pretty Aunt put in Margaret's book out of
the one she had made at cooking school.

1 cup fresh bread-crumbs.
2 cups grated cheese.
1 cup of milk.
1 bit of soda as large as a pea.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 pinch of red pepper.
1 teaspoonful of butter.
2 eggs.

Put the butter in a saucepan to heat while you beat the eggs light
without separating them; let these stand while you stir everything
else into the pan, beginning with the milk; cook this five minutes,
stirring all the time, and then put in the eggs and cook three minutes
more.  Put six large crackers on a hot platter and pour the whole
over them, and send at once to the table to be eaten very hot. 
Sometimes Margaret made three or four slices of toast before she
began the fondu, and used those in place of the crackers, and the
dish was just as nice.


Easy Welsh Rarebit

2 cups of rich cheese, grated.
Yolks of two eggs.
1/2 cup of milk.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
Saltspoonful of cayenne.

Make three nice slices of toast, cut off the crusts, and cut each
piece in two.  Butter these, and very quickly dip each one in
boiling water, being careful not to soak them.  Put these on a
hot platter in the oven.  Put the milk in a saucepan over the fire,
being careful not to have one that is too hot, only moderate,
and when it boils up put in the cheese and stir without stopping,
until the cheese all melts and it looks smooth.  Then put in the
beaten yolks of the eggs and the seasoning, and pour at once over
the toast and serve very hot.  Many people like a saltspoonful of
dry mustard mixed in with the pepper.  You can also serve this rarebit
on toasted and buttered crackers.


Scalloped Cheese

6 slices of bread.
3/4 of a pound of cheese.
2 eggs.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 cup of cream.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1/2 teaspoonful of dry mustard.
1/4 teaspoonful of paprika.

Butter the bread and cut it into strips, and line the bottom and
sides of a baking-dish with it.  Then beat the eggs very light
without separating them, and mix everything with them; put in the
dish and bake half an hour, and serve at once.


Veal Loaf

1 1/2 pounds of veal and
2 strips of salt pork, chopped together.
1/2 cup of bread-crumbs.
1 beaten egg.
1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg.
1/2 teaspoonful of black pepper.
1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.
Bake three hours.

Have the butcher chop the meat all together for you; then put
everything together in a dish and stir in the egg, beaten without
separating, and mix very well.  Press it into a bread-pan and put
in the oven for three hours by the clock.

Every half-hour pour over it a tablespoonful hot water and butter
mixed; you can put a tablespoonful of butter into a cup of water,
and keep it on the back of the stove ready all the time; after
the meat has baked two hours, put in a piece of heavy brown paper
over the top, and keep it there till it is done, or it may get
too brown.  This is to slice cold; it is very nice for a picnic.


Pressed Chicken

This was one of the things Margaret liked to make for Sunday
night supper.  Have a good-sized chicken cut up, and wipe each
piece with a clean, damp cloth.  Put them in a kettle or deep
saucepan and cover with cold water, and cook very slowly and gently,
covered, till the meat falls off the bones.  When it begins to
grow tender, put in a half teaspoonful of salt.  Take it out,
and cut it up in nice, even pieces, and put all the bones back
into the kettle, and let them cook till there is only about a pint
and a half of broth.  Add a little more salt, and a sprinkling
of pepper, and strain this through a jelly bag.  Mix it with the
chicken, and put them both into a bread tin, and when cold put
on ice over night.  After it has stood for an hour, put a weight
on it, to make it firm.  Slice with a very sharp knife, and put
on a platter with parsley all around.  This is a nice luncheon
dish for a summer day, as well as a supper dish.


When you have bits of cold meat which you cannot slice, and yet
which you wish to serve in some nice way, make this rule, which
sounds difficult, but is really very easy:


Meat Soufflé

1 cup of white sauce.
1 cup of chopped meat.
2 eggs.
Teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
Half a teaspoonful minced onion.

Put the parsley and onion in the meat, and mix with the white sauce.
Beat the yolks of the eggs and stir in, and cook one minute, and
then cool.  Beat the whites of the eggs and fold in, and bake
half an hour, or a little more, in a deep, buttered baking-dish. 
You must serve this immediately, or it will fall.


Cold Meats

Of course, like other people, Margaret's mother often had cold meat
for luncheon or supper, and one of the things her cook-book told
her was how to make it look nice when it came on the table.

Always trim off all bits of skin and ragged pieces from the meat,
and remove the cold fat, except on ham, and then you must trim it
to a rather narrow edge.  If you have a rather small dish for a
large family, put slices of hard boiled eggs around the edge,
or make devilled eggs, and put those around in halves.  Sometimes
you can cut lettuce in very narrow ribbons by holding several leaves
in your hand at once, folding them lengthwise, and using a pair
of scissors.  Sometimes a dozen pimolas may be sliced across and
put about the meat, especially if it is cold chicken or turkey. 
Always use parsley with meat, cold or hot.  Saratoga potatoes make
a good border for lamb or roast beef, and cold peas mixed with
mayonnaise are always delicious with either chicken or lamb. 
If only the dish looks pretty, it is almost certain to taste well.


Sliced Meat with Gravy

When there are a few slices left from a roast, put them in a
frying-pan with some of the gravy left also, and heat; serve with
parsley around.

If there is not gravy, take a little boiling water, add a little
salt, pepper, and half-teaspoonful of minced onion, and as much
chopped parsley.  Lay in the meat in the frying-pan, cover, and
let it simmer, turning occasionally.  A few drops of Kitchen Bouquet
will improve this; it is a brown sauce which comes in small bottles.


Some of the things Margaret made for breakfast she made for lunch
or supper, too, such as frizzled beef, and scalloped eggs and
omelettes.  She had some vegetables besides, such as--

Baked Tomatoes

6 large tomatoes.
1 cup bread-crumbs.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 slice of onion.

Put the butter in the frying-pan, and when it bubbles put in the
bread-crumbs, the salt and onion, with a dusting of pepper, and
stir till the crumbs are a little brown and the onion is all cooked;
then take out the onion and throw it away.  Wipe the tomatoes with
a clean wet cloth, and cut out the stem and a round hole or little
well in the middle; fill this with the crumbs, piling them up well
on top; put them in a baking-dish and stand them in a hot oven;
mix a cup of hot water with a tablespoonful of butter, and every
little while take out the baking-dish and wet the tomatoes on top.
Cook them about half an hour, or till the skins get wrinkled all over. 
Serve them in the dish they are cooked in, if you like, or put each
one on a small plate, pour some of the juice in the baking-dish
over it, and stick a sprig of parsley in the top.


Stuffed Potatoes

Wash six large potatoes and scrub them with a little brush, till
they are a nice clean light brown, and bake them for half an hour
in a hot oven; or, if they are quite large, bake them till they are
soft and puffy.  Cut off one end from each and take out the inside
with a teaspoon, holding the potato in a towel as you do so, for
it will be very hot.  Mix well this potato with two tablespoonfuls
of rich milk or cream, a half-teaspoonful of salt and just as much
butter, and put this back into the shells.  Stand the potatoes side by
side in a pan close together, the open ends up, till they are browned.



SALADS


The Other Aunt said Margaret could never, never make salads,
but her mother said they were the easiest thing of all to learn,
so she did put them in just the same; she bought a tin of olive oil
from the Italian grocery, because it was better and cheaper than
bottled oil, and she gave Margaret one important direction,
``When you make salads, always have everything very cold,''
and after that the rules were easy to follow, and the salads
were as nice as could be.


French Dressing

3 tablespoonfuls of oil.
1/2 teaspoonful lemon juice or vinegar.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.

Stir together till all is well mixed.

Many people prefer this dressing without pepper and with a
saltspoonful of sugar in its place; you can try it both ways.


Tomato and Lettuce Salad

Peel four tomatoes; you can do this most easily by pouring boiling
water over them and skinning them when they wrinkle, but you must
drain off all the water afterward, and let them get firm in the
ice-box; wash the lettuce and gently pat it dry with a clean cloth;
slice the tomatoes thin, pour off the juice, and arrange four
slices on each plate of lettuce, or mix them together in the
large bowl, and pour the dressing over.


Egg Salad

Cut up six hard-boiled eggs into quarters, lay them on
lettuce, and pour the dressing over.  Or pass a dish of
them with cold meat.


Fish Salad

Pick up cold fish and pour the dressing over it, and put two sliced
hard-boiled eggs around it; a few tips of celery, nice white ones,
are pretty around the whole.


Cauliflower Salad

Take cold boiled cauliflower and pick it up into nice pieces;
pour the dressing over, and put on the ice till you need it.


String Bean Salad

Take cold string beans, either the green ones or the yellow, pour
the dressing over, put on ice, and serve on lettuce.  Any cold
vegetables can be used besides these, especially asparagus,
while lettuce alone is best of all.


Pineapple Salad

Put large bits of picked-up pineapple on white lettuce, and pour
the dressing over.


Orange or Grapefruit Salad

Peel three oranges or one grapefruit, and scrape off all the white
lining of the skin.  Divide it into sections, or ``quarters,'' and
with the scissors cut off the thin edge; turn down the transparent
sides and cut these off, too, scraping the pulp carefully, so as
not to waste it.  Take out all the seeds; lay the pieces on lettuce,
and pour the dressing over.  White grapes, cut in halves, with the
seeds taken out, are nice mixed with this, and pineapple, grapes,
and oranges, with a little banana, are delicious.


Mayonnaise

Yolk of 1 egg.
1/2 cup of olive-oil.
1 tablespoonful of lemon juice or vinegar.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
Pinch of red pepper.

Put the yolk of the egg into a very cold bowl; it is better to put
the bowl, the egg, the oil, and the beater all on the ice a half-hour
before you need them, for then the mayonnaise comes quicker. 
With a Dover egg-beater beat till the yolk is very light indeed;
then have some one else begin to put in the oil, one drop at a time,
till the mayonnaise becomes so thick it is difficult to turn the
beater; then put in a drop or two of lemon or vinegar, and this
will thin it so you can use the oil again; keep on doing this till
you have nearly a cup of the dressing; if you need more oil than
the rule calls for, use it, and toward the last add it two or three
drops at a time.  When you have enough, and it is stiff enough,
put in the pepper and salt and it is done.  Never use mustard
except with lobster, as this will spoil the taste.  Some salads,
especially fruit and vegetable, need very thick mayonnaise, and
then it is better to make it with lemon juice, while a fish salad,
or one to use with meats, may be thinner, and then the vinegar
will do; the lemon juice makes it thick.  Always taste it before
using it, to see if it is just right, and, if not, put in more salt,
or whatever it needs.  You will soon learn.  Most people think
mayonnaise is very difficult to make, but, really, it is as easy as
baking potatoes, after you have once learned how.  Every salad
given before is just as nice with mayonnaise as with French dressing,
and you can try each one both ways; then there are these, which
are better with mayonnaise.


Chicken Salad

1 cup of chicken cut in large bits.
1/2 cup of celery, cut up and then dried.
2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into good-sized pieces.
6 olives, stoned and cut up.
1/2 cup mayonnaise.

Mix all very lightly together, as stirring will make the salad mussy;
put on lettuce.


Lobster Salad

1 cup of lobster, cut in large bits.
2 hard-boiled eggs, cut in pieces.
1/2 teaspoonful of dry mustard, stirred in.
1/2 cup of mayonnaise.

  Mix and put on lettuce.


Celery Salad

2 heads of celery.
3 hard-boiled eggs (or else
1 cup of English walnuts).
1/2 cup very stiff mayonnaise.

Wash, wipe, and cut the celery into pieces as large as the first
joint of your little finger, and then rub it in a clean towel till
it is as dry as can be.  Cut up the eggs, sprinkle all with salt,
and add the mayonnaise and lay on lettuce.  Or mix the celery and
the walnuts and mayonnaise; either salad is nice.


Celery and Apple Salad

2 sweet apples.
1 head of celery.
1/2 cup of English walnuts, broken up.
1/2 cup mayonnaise.

Peel the apples and cut into very small bits; chop the celery
and press in a towel; chop or break up the walnuts, but save
two halves for each person besides the half-cupful you put in
the salad.  Mix all together, lay on white hearts of lettuce
on plates, and then put the walnuts on top, two on each plate.


Cabbage Salad

1/2 a small cabbage.
1 cup very stiff mayonnaise.
1 teaspoonful celery-seed.

Cut the cabbage in four pieces and cut out the hard core; slice
the rest very fine on the cutter you use for Saratoga potatoes;
mix with the mayonnaise and put in the salad-dish; sprinkle over
with celery-seed, when you wish it to be very nice, but it will do
without this last touch.


Cabbage Salad in Green Peppers

Wipe green peppers and cut off the small end of each.  Take out
the seed and the stem; fill each pepper with the cabbage salad,
letting it stand out at the top; put each one on a plate on a
leaf of lettuce.


Stuffed Tomato Salad

1 cup of cut-up celery.
1/2 cup of English walnuts.
6 small, round tomatoes.
1/2 cup of mayonnaise.

Peel the tomatoes and scoop out as much of the inside as you can,
after cutting a round hole in the stem end; make a salad with the
celery, the cut-up walnuts, and the mayonnaise, and fill the tomatoes,
letting it stand up well on top.  Serve on plates, each one on a
leaf of lettuce.


                   Potato Salad

3 cold boiled potatoes.
3 hard-boiled eggs.
1/2 cup English walnuts.
12 olives.

Break up the walnuts, saving a dozen halves unbroken.  Cut the
potatoes and eggs into bits of even size, as large as the tip
of your finger; stone the olives and cut them up, too; mix them
together in a bowl, but do not stir them much, or you will break
the potatoes; sprinkle well with French dressing, and put on the ice;
when it is lunch or supper time, mix quickly, only once, with
stiff mayonnaise, and put on lettuce; this is a delicious salad
to have with cold meats.



Margaret's mother liked to have gingerbread or cookies for lunch
often, so those things came next in the cook-book.


Gingerbread

1 cup molasses.
1 egg.
1 teaspoonful of soda.
1 teaspoonful of ginger.
1 tablespoonful melted butter.
1/2 cup of milk.
2 cups of flour.

Beat the eggs without separating, but very light; put the soda
into the molasses, put them in the milk, with the ginger and
butter, then one cup of flour, measure in a medium-sized cup
and only level, then the egg, and last the rest of the flour. 
Bake in a buttered biscuit-tin.  For a change, sometimes add a
teaspoonful of cloves and cinnamon, mixed, to this, and a cup of
chopped almonds.  Or, when the gingerbread is ready for the oven
drop over halves of almonds.


Soft Gingerbread, to Be Eaten Hot

1 cup of molasses.
1/2 cup boiling water.
1/4 cup melted butter.
1 1/2 cups flour.
3/4 teaspoonful soda.
1 teaspoonful ginger.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.

Put the soda in the molasses and beat it well in a good-sized bowl,
then put in the melted butter, ginger, salt, and flour, and beat
again, and add last the water, very hot indeed.  Have a buttered
tin ready, and put it at once in the oven; when half-baked, it is
well to put a piece of paper over it, as all gingerbread burns easily.

You can add cloves and cinnamon to this rule, and sometimes you
can make it and serve it hot as a pudding, with a sauce of sugar
and water, thickened and flavored.


Ginger Cookies

1/2 cup butter.
1 cup molasses.
1/2 cup brown sugar.
1 teaspoonful ginger.
1 tablespoonful mixed cinnamon and cloves.
1 teaspoonful soda, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water.
Flour enough to make it so stiff you cannot stir it with a spoon.

Melt the molasses and butter together on the stove, and then take
the saucepan off and add the rest of the things in the recipe,
and turn the dough out on a floured board and roll it very thin,
and cut in circles with a biscuit-cutter.  Put a little flour on the
bottom of four shallow pans, lift the cookies with the cake-turner
and lay them in, and put them in the oven.  They will bake very
quickly, so you must watch them.  When you want these to be extra
nice, put a teaspoonful of mixed cinnamon and cloves in them and
sprinkle the tops with sugar.


Grandmother's Sugar Cookies

1 cup of butter.
2 cups of sugar.
2 eggs.
1 cup of milk.
2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.
Flour enough to roll out easily.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream; put in the milk, then the eggs
beaten together lightly, then two cups of flour, into which you
have sifted the baking-powder; then the vanilla.  Take a bit of this
and put it on the floured board and see if it ``rolls out easily,''
and, if it does not, but is soft and sticky, put in a handful
more of flour.  These cookies must not be any stiffer than you
can help, or they will not be good, so try not to use any more
flour than you must.



They usually had tea for luncheon or supper at Margaret's house,
but sometimes they had chocolate instead, so these things came next
in the cook-book.


Tea

1/2 teaspoonful of black tea for each person.
1/2 teaspoonful for the pot.
Boiling water.

Fill the kettle half-full of fresh, cold water, because you cannot
make good tea with water which has been once heated.  When it is
very hot, fill the china teapot and put it where it will keep warm.
When the water boils very hard, empty out the teapot, put in the tea,
and put on the boiling water; do not stand it on the stove, as too
many people do, but send it right to the table; it will be ready
as soon as it is time to pour it--about three minutes.  If you are
making tea for only one person, you will need a teaspoonful of tea,
as you will see by the rule, and two small cups of water will be
enough.  If for more, put in a half-teaspoonful for each person,
and one cup of water more.


Iced Tea

Put in a deep pitcher one teaspoonful of dry tea for each person
and two over.  Pour on a cup of boiling water for each person,
and cover the pitcher and let it stand five minutes.  Then stir
well, strain and pour while still hot on large pieces of ice. 
Put in a glass pitcher and serve a bowl of cracked ice, a lemon,
sliced thin, and a bowl of powdered sugar with it.  Pour it into
glasses instead of cups.


Lemonade

Sometimes in the afternoon Margaret's aunts had tea and cakes
or wafers, and in summer they often had iced tea or lemonade. 
This is the way Margaret made lemonade:

Squeeze four lemons, and add ten teaspoonfuls of powdered sugar;
stir till it dissolves.  Add six glasses of water, and strain. 
Pour in a glass pitcher, and serve with glasses filled half-full
of cracked ice.  If you want this very nice, put a little shredded
pineapple with the lemons.  Sometimes the juice of red raspberries
is liked, also.


Lemonade with Grape-juice

Make the lemonade as before, and add half as much bottled
grape-juice, but do not put in any other fruit.  Serve with
plenty of ice, in small glasses.


Chocolate

2 cups boiling water.
2 cups of boiling milk.
4 teaspoonfuls grated chocolate.
4 teaspoonfuls of sugar.

Scrape the chocolate off the bar, mix it with the boiling water,
and stir till it dissolves; mix the milk and sugar in them and
boil for one minute.  If you wish to have it nicer, put a small
teaspoonful of vanilla in the chocolate-pot, and pour the hot
chocolate in on it when it is done, and have a little bowl of
whipped cream to send to the table with it, so that one spoonful
may be put on top of each cup.


Cocoa

6 teaspoonfuls of cocoa.
1 1/2 cups of boiling water.
1 1/2 cups of boiling milk.
1 tablespoonful powdered sugar.

Put the cocoa into the boiling water and stir till it dissolves,
then put in the boiling milk and boil hard two minutes, stirring
it all the time; take from the fire and put in the sugar and stir
again.  If you like it quite sweet, you may have to use more sugar.





PART III.

THE THINGS MARGARET MADE FOR DINNER




At first, of course,  Margaret could not get dinner all alone;
indeed, it took her almost a year to learn how to cook everything
needed,--soup, vegetables, meat, salad, and dessert; but at
first she helped Bridget, and each day she cooked something.
Then she began to arrange very easy dinners when Bridget was out,
such as cream soup, beefsteak or veal cutlet, with potatoes and
one vegetable, and a plain lettuce salad, with a cold dessert
made in the morning.  The first time she really did every single
thing alone, Margaret's father gave her a dollar; he said it was
a ``tip'' for the best dinner he ever ate.



SOUPS


The soups in the little cook-book began with those made of
milk and vegetables, because they were so easy to make, and,
when one was learned, all were made in the same way.  First
there was--


The General Rule

1 pint of fresh vegetable, cut up in small pieces, or one can.
1 pint of boiling water.
1 pint of hot milk.
1 tablespoonful of flour.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.

After the vegetable is washed and cut in very small pieces,
put it in the pint of water and cook it for twenty minutes.
Or, if you use a canned vegetable, cook it ten minutes.
While it is cooking, make the rule for white sauce as before:
Melt one tablespoonful of butter, and when it bubbles put in
one tablespoonful of flour, with the salt and pepper; shake
well, and rub till smooth and thick with the hot milk.  Take
the vegetable from the fire and press it through the wire sieve,
letting the water go through, too; mix with the sauce and strain
again, and it is done.

Almost all soups are better for one very thin slice of onion
cooked with the vegetable.  When you want a cream soup very nice
indeed, whip a cup of cream and put in the hot soup-tureen, and
pour the soup in on it, beating it a little, till it is all foamy.


Cream of Corn

1 pint of fresh grated corn, or one can.
1 pint of water.
1 pint of hot milk.
1 tablespoonful of flour.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
1 thin slice of onion.

Cook the corn with the water; make the white sauce with the milk;
strain the corn and water through the sieve, pressing well,
and add the milk and strain again.


Cream of Green Peas

1 pint of peas, or one can.
Milk, water, and seasoning, as before; mix by the general rule.

In winter-time you can make a nice soup by taking dried peas,
soaking them overnight, and using them as you would fresh.

All pea soup should have dropped in it just before serving
what are called croutons; that is, small, even cubes of bread
toasted to a nice brown in the oven, or put in a frying-pan
with a tiny bit of butter, and browned.


Cream of Lima Beans

1 pint of fresh or canned beans, or those which have been soaked.

Use milk, water, thickening, and seasoning as before.  Add a slice
of onion, as these beans have little taste, and beat the yolk of
an egg and stir in quickly, after you have taken the soup from
the fire, just before you strain it for the second time.


Cream of Potato

This is one of the best and most delicate soups.

5 freshly boiled potatoes.
1 slice of onion.
1 quart of hot milk.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley.

This soup has no water in it, because that which has had potatoes
boiled in it is always spoiled for anything else and must always
be thrown away.  This is why you must take a quart of milk instead
of a pint.  There is no thickening in the soup, because the potatoes
will thicken it themselves.  Put the parsley in at the very last,
after the soup is in the tureen.

The yolk of an egg beaten and put in before the second straining
is nice sometimes in this soup, but not necessary.


Cream of Almonds

This was what Margaret called a Dinner-party Soup, because it
seemed almost too good for every day, but, as her mother explained,
almonds cost no more than canned tomatoes or peas, and the family
can have the soup as well as guests, provided one has plenty of cream.

1 cup of chopped almonds.
1 quart of thin cream.
Small half-teaspoonful of salt.

Get ten cents' worth of Jordan almonds, and put them in boiling
water for one minute; then pour off the water and put on cold,
till they are well chilled.  Turn this off, and push the almonds
out of their skins, one by one. If they stick, it is because they
were not in the hot water long enough, and you must put them back
into it, and then into the cold.  Chop them while the cream heats
in the double boiler, and then put them in with the salt, and
simmer ten minutes and then strain.

This soup is especially delicious if whipped cream is either mixed
with it at the end, or served on top.

You can also make good almond soup by using the regular rule;
cooking the chopped nuts in a pint of water, adding the thickened
pint of milk and seasoning, and straining twice.  Then, after it
is in the tureen, you must put in the egg-beater and whip well,
to make it light.


Cream of Spinach

1 pint cold cooked spinach.
1 quart of milk.

Heat the spinach, using a little of the quart of milk with it,
and press through the sieve; thicken the rest of the milk, and
the seasoning, and strain again.  It is better to use cayenne
pepper instead of black with spinach.


Cream of Tomato Soup, Called Tomato Bisque.

4 large tomatoes, cut up, or 1/2 can, with 1/2 cup of water.
2 slices of onion.
2 sprigs of parsley.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
1/4 teaspoonful soda.
1 quart of milk.
1 tablespoonful butter.
1 tablespoonful flour.

Cook the tomatoes with the onion, parsley, sugar, and salt for
twenty minutes.  Mix in the soda and stir well; the soda prevents the
milk from curdling.  Make the milk and flour and butter into white
sauce as usual; strain the tomato, mix the two, and strain again.

Sometimes add a stalk of celery to the other seasoning as it cooks.


Cream of Clams

1 dozen hard clams, or one bunch of soft ones.
1 quart of rich milk.
1 tablespoonful butter.
1 tablespoonful flour.
3 shakes of pepper.

Chop the clams and drain off the juice and add as much water;
cook till the scum rises, and skim this off.  Drop in the clams
and cook three minutes.  Heat the milk and thicken as usual;
put in the clams and juice, cook for one minute, and strain.

Notice that there is no salt in this soup.  A cup of cream,
whipped, either put on top or stirred in, is very nice.


Oyster Soup

1 pint oysters.
1/2 pint water.
1 quart rich milk.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.

Drain off the oyster juice, add the water, boil it for one minute,
and skim it well.  Heat the milk and mix it with this; drop in the
oysters and cook one minute, or till the edges begin to curl, and it
is done.  This soup is not thickened at all; but if you like you may
add two tablespoonfuls of finely powdered and sifted cracker-crumbs.


Meat Soup or Bouillon Made from Extract

This Margaret made from beef extract, before she learned to use
the fresh beef.

2 teaspoonfuls of extract, or 2 capsules.
1 quart of boiling water.
1/2 an onion, sliced.
1 stalk of celery.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
2 shakes of pepper.
2 sprays of parsley.

Simmer this for twenty minutes, strain, and pour over six thin
slices of lemon, one for each plate.  Serve with hot crackers.


Cream Bouillon

Make this same soup, and pour it over a half-pint of thick cream,
well whipped.  Do not put any lemon in it.  Serve with hot crackers.


Meat Soups

You can make meat soup, or stock, out of almost any kind of meat,
cooked or raw, with bones or without.  Many cooks never buy fresh
meat for it, and others think they must always have it.  It is best
to learn both ways.


Plain Meat Soup

1 shin of beef.
5 quarts of water.
1 small tablespoonful of salt.
1 head celery, cut up.
1 onion.
1 carrot.
1 turnip.
1 sprig of parsley.
2 bay-leaves.
6 whole cloves.

Wipe the meat and cut off all the bone.  Put the bone in a clean
kettle first, and then the meat on top, and pour in the water;
cover, and let this stand on the back of the stove an hour,
then draw it forward and let it cook.  This will bring scum on
the water in half an hour, and you must carefully pour in a cup
of cold water and skim off everything which rises to the top.
Cover the kettle tightly, and cook very slowly indeed for four
hours; then put in the cut up vegetables and cook one hour more,
always just simmering, not boiling hard.  Then it is done, and
you can put in the salt, and strain the soup first through a
heavy wire sieve, and then through a flannel bag, and set it
away to get cold, and you will have a strong, clear, delicious
stock, which you can put many things in to have variety.


Clear Vegetable Soup

Slice one carrot, turnip, and one potato, and cut them either
into small, even strips, or into tiny cubes, or take a vegetable
cutter and cut out fancy shapes.  Simmer them about twenty minutes. 
Meanwhile, take a pint of soup stock and a cup of water and heat
them.  Sprinkle a little salt over the vegetables and drain them;
put them in the soup-tureen and pour the hot soup over.


Split Pea Soup

1 pint split peas.
1 1/2 quarts of boiling water.
1 quart of soup stock.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.

Wash the peas in cold water and throw away those which float,
as they are bad.  Soak them overnight, and in the morning pour
away the water on them and cover them with a quart of the boiling
water in the rule, and cook an hour and a half.  Put in the rest
of the water and the stock, and press the whole through a sieve,
and, after washing and wiping the kettle, put the soup back to heat,
adding the salt and pepper.


Tomato Soup

1 can tomatoes, or 1 quart of fresh stewed ones.
1 pint of stock.  (You can use water instead in this soup,
if necessary.)
1/4 teaspoonful soda.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
1 small onion, cut up.
1 sprig of parsley.
1 bay-leaf.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.

Put the tomatoes into a saucepan with the parsley, onion, bay-leaf,
and stock, or water, and cook fifteen minutes, and then strain
through a sieve.  Wash the saucepan and put the tomatoes back in it,
and put on to boil again; melt the butter, rub smooth with the flour,
and put into the soup while it boils, and stir till it is perfectly
smooth.  Then add the sugar, salt, and pepper and soda, and strain
into the hot tureen.  Serve croutons with this soup.


Soup Made with Cooked Meats

Put all the bones, bits of meat, and vegetables which are in the
refrigerator into one large kettle on the back of the fire,
and simmer all day in enough boiling water to cover it all,
adding more water as this cooks away.  Skim carefully from time
to time.  If there are not many vegetables to go in, put parsley
and onion in their place.  At night strain through the sieve,
then through the flannel, and cool.

This stock is never clear as is that made from fresh meat,
but it is almost as good for thick soups, such as pea, or tomato.


Chicken or Turkey Soup

Break up the bones and cover with cold water; add a slice of onion,
a bay-leaf, and a sprig of parsley, and cook all day, adding water
when necessary, and skimming.  Cool, take off the grease,
heat again, and strain.  Serve with small, even squares of
chicken meat in it, or a little cooked rice and salt.  Many people
like a small pinch of cinnamon in turkey soup.



VEGETABLES


Mashed Potatoes

6 large potatoes.
1/2 cup hot milk.
Butter the size of a hickory-nut.
3 teaspoonfuls salt.
3 shakes of pepper.

Peel and boil the potatoes till tender; then turn off the water
and stand them on the back of the stove with a cover half over them,
where they will keep hot while they get dry and floury, but do not
let them burn; shake the saucepan every little while.  Heat the
milk with the butter, salt, and pepper in it; mash the potatoes well,
either with the wooden potato-masher or with a wire one, and put
in the milk little by little.  When they are all free from lumps,
put them through the potato-ricer, or pile them lightly in the tureen
as they are.  Do not smooth them over the top.


Sweet Potatoes

If they are large, scrub them well and bake in a hot oven for
about forty minutes.  If they are small, make them into--


Creamed Sweet Potatoes

Boil the potatoes, skin them, and cut them up in small slices. 
Make a cup of cream sauce, mix with them, and put them in the oven
for half an hour.


Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Boil six potatoes in well-salted water till they are tender; skin them,
slice them thin, and put a layer of them in a buttered baking-dish;
sprinkle with brown sugar, and put on more potatoes and more sugar
till the dish is full.  Bake for three-quarters of an hour.


Beets

Wash the beets but do not peel them.  Boil them gently for
three-quarters of an hour, or till they can be pierced easily
with a straw.  Then skin them and slice in a hot dish, dusting
each layer with a little salt, pepper, and melted butter.  Those
which are left over may have a little vinegar poured over them,
to make them into pickles for luncheon.

Once Margaret made something very nice by a recipe her Pretty Aunt
put in her book.  It was called--


Stuffed Beets

1 can French peas.
6 medium-sized beets.

Boil the beets as before and skin them, but leave them whole. 
Heat the peas after the juice has been turned off, and season
them with salt and pepper.  Cut off the stem end of each beet so
it will stand steadily, and scoop a round place in the other end;
sprinkle each beet with salt and pepper, and put a tiny bit of
butter down in this little well, and then fill it high with the
peas it will hold.


Creamed Cabbage

1 small cabbage.
1 cup cream sauce.

Take off the outside leaves of the cabbage; cut it up in four
pieces, and cut out the hard core and lay it in cold, salted water
for half an hour.  Then wipe it dry and slice it, not too fine,
and put it in a saucepan; cover it with boiling water with a
teaspoonful of salt in it, and boil hard for fifteen minutes
without any cover.  While it is cooking, make a cup of cream sauce. 
Take up the cabbage, press it in the colander with a plate till
all the water is out; put it in a hot covered dish, sprinkle well
with salt, and pour the cream sauce over.  This will not have any
unpleasant odor in cooking, and it will be so tender and easy
to digest that even a little girl may have two helpings.

If you like it to look green, put a tiny bit of soda in the water
when you cook it.


Lima Beans

Shell them and cook like peas; pour over them a half-cup of
cream sauce, if you like this better than having them dry.


Peas

Shell them and drop them into a saucepan of boiling water,
into which you have put a teaspoonful of salt and one of sugar. 
Boil them till they are tender, from fifteen minutes, if they are
fresh from the garden, to half an hour or more, if they have stood
in the grocer's for a day or two.  When they are done they will
have little dents in their sides, and you can easily mash two or
three with a fork on a plate.  Then drain off the water, put in
three shakes of pepper, more salt if they do not taste just right,
and a piece of butter the size of a hickory-nut, and shake them
till the butter melts; serve in a hot covered dish.


String Beans

Pull off the strings and cut off the ends; hold three or four beans
in your hand and cut them into long, very narrow strips, not into
square pieces.  Then cook them exactly as you did the peas.


Stewed Tomatoes

6 large tomatoes.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
1 pinch soda.
3 shakes of pepper.
Butter as large as an English walnut.

Peel and cut the tomatoes up small, saving the juice; put together
in a saucepan with the seasoning, the soda mixed in a teaspoonful
of water before it is put in.  Simmer twenty minutes, stirring
till it is smooth, and last put in half a cup of bread or cracker
crumbs, or a cup of toast, cut into small bits.  Serve in a hot,
covered dish.


Asparagus

Untie the bunch, scrape the stalks clean, and put it in cold water
for half an hour.  Tie the bunch again, and cut enough off the
white ends to make all the pieces the same length.  Stand them
in boiling water in a porcelain kettle, and cook gently for about
twenty minutes.  Lay on a platter on squares of buttered toast,
and pour over the toast and the tips of the asparagus a cup of
cream sauce.  Or do not put it on toast, but pour melted butter
over the tips after it is on the platter.  To make it delicious,
mix the juice of a lemon with the butter.

Sometimes put a little grated cheese on the ends last of all.


Onions

Peel off the outside skin and cook them in boiling, salted water
till they are tender; drain them, put them in a baking-dish, and
pour over them a tablespoonful of melted butter, three shakes
of pepper, and a sprinkling of salt, and put in the oven and brown
a very little.  Or, cover them with a cup of white sauce instead
of the melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, but do not
put in the oven.


Corn

Strip off the husks and silk, and put in a kettle of boiling water
and boil hard for fifteen minutes; do not salt the water, as salt
makes corn tough.  Put a napkin on a platter with one end hanging
over the end; lay the corn on and fold the end of the napkin over
to keep it warm.


Canned Corn

Turn the corn into the colander and pour water through it a moment. 
Heat a cup of milk with a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful
of salt, and three shakes of pepper, and mix with the corn and
cook for two minutes.  Or, put in a buttered baking-dish and brown
in the oven.  Many people never wash corn; it is better to do so.



Sometimes Margaret had boiled rice for dinner in place of potatoes,
and then she looked back at the recipe she used when she cooked
it for breakfast, and made it in just the same way.  Very often
in winter she had--


Macaroni

6 long pieces of macaroni.
1 cup white sauce.
1/2 pound of cheese.
Paprika and salt.

Break up the macaroni into small pieces, and boil fifteen minutes
in salted water, shaking the dish often.  Pour off the water and
hold the dish under the cold-water faucet until all the paste is
washed off the outside of the macaroni, which will take only a
minute if you turn it over once or twice.  Butter a baking-dish,
put in a layer of macaroni, a good sprinkle of salt, then a very
little white sauce, and a layer of grated cheese, sprinkled over
with a tiny dusting of paprika, or sweet red pepper, if you have it;
only use a tiny bit.  Then cover with a thin layer of white sauce,
and so on till the dish is full, with the last layer of white sauce
covered with an extra thick one of cheese.  Bake till brown.

Margaret's mother got this rule in Paris, and she though it
a very nice one.


After the soup, meat, and vegetables at dinner came the salad;
for this Margaret almost always had lettuce, with French dressing,
as mayonnaise seemed too heavy for dinner.  Sometimes she had nice
watercress; once in a long time she had celery with mayonnaise.



DESSERTS


Corn-starch Pudding

1 pint of milk.
2 heaping tablespoonfuls of corn-starch.
3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
Whites of three eggs.
1/2 teaspoonful vanilla.

Beat the whites of the eggs very stiff.  Mix the corn-starch with
half a cup of the milk, and stir till it melts.  Mix the rest of the
milk and the sugar, and put them on the fire in the double boiler. 
When it bubbles, stir up the corn-starch and milk well, and stir
them in and cook and stir till it gets as thick as oatmeal mush;
then turn in the eggs and stir them lightly, and cook for a minute
more.  Take it off the stove, mix in the vanilla, and put in a
mould to cool.  When dinner is ready, turn it out on a platter and
put small bits of red jelly around it, or pieces of preserved ginger,
or a pretty circle of preserved peaches, or preserved pineapple. 
Have a pitcher of cream to pass with it, or have a nice bowl of
whipped cream.  If you have a ring-mould, let it harden in that,
and have the whipped cream piled in the centre after it is on
the platter, and put the jelly or preserves around last.


Chocolate Corn-starch Pudding

Use the same rule as before, but put in one more tablespoonful
of sugar.  Then shave thin two squares of Baker's chocolate,
and stir in over the teakettle till it melts, and stir it in
very thoroughly before you put in the eggs.  Instead of pouring
this into one large mould, put it in egg-cups to harden; turn
these out carefully, each on a separate plate, and put a spoonful
of whipped cream by each one.


Cocoanut Corn-starch Pudding

Make the first rule; before you put in the eggs, stir in a cup of
grated cocoanut, with an extra spoonful of sugar, or a cup of that
which comes in packages without more sugar, as it is already sweetened. 
Serve in a large mould, or in small ones, with cream.


Baked Custard

2 cups milk.
Yolks of two eggs.
2 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
A little nutmeg.

Beat the eggs till they are light; mix the milk and sugar till
the sugar melts; put the two together, and put it into a nice
baking-dish, or into small cups, and dust the nutmeg over the tops. 
Bake till the top is brown, and till when you put a knife-blade
into the custard it comes out clean.


Cocoanut Custard

Add a cup of cocoanut to this rule and bake it in one dish, stirring
it up two or three times from the bottom, but, after it begins
to brown, leaving it alone to finish.  Do not put any nutmeg on it.


Tapioca Pudding

2 tablespoonfuls tapioca.
Yolks of two eggs.
1/2 cup of sugar.
1 quart of milk.

Put the tapioca into a small half-cup of water and let it stand
one hour.  Then drain it and put it in the milk in the double boiler,
and cook and stir it till the tapioca looks clear, like glass. 
Beat the eggs and mix the sugar with them, and beat again till
both are light, and put them with the milk and tapioca and cook
three minutes, stirring all the time.  Then take it off the fire
and add a saltspoonful of salt and a half-teaspoonful of vanilla,
and let it get perfectly cold.


Floating Island

1 pint milk.
3 eggs.
One-third cup of sugar.

Put the milk on the stove to heat in a good-sized pan.  Beat
the whites of the eggs very stiff, and as soon as the milk
scalds,--that is, gets a little wrinkled on top,--drop spoonfuls
of the egg on to it in little islands; let them stand there to cook
just one minute, and then with the skimmer take them off and
lay them on a plate.  Put the milk where it will keep hot but not
boil while you beat the yolks of the eggs stiff, mixing in the
sugar and beating that, too.  Pour the milk into the bowl of egg,
a little at a time, beating all the while, and then put it in the
double boiler and cook till it is as thick as cream.  Take it off
the fire, stir in a saltspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful
of vanilla, and set it away to cool.  When it is dinner-time,
strain the custard into a pretty dish and slip the whites off
the top, one by one.  If you like, you can dot them over with
very tiny specks of red jelly.


Cake and Custard

Make a plain boiled custard, just as before, with--

1 pint of milk.
Yolks of three eggs.
One-third cup of sugar.
1 saltspoonful of salt.
1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Beat the eggs and sugar, add the hot milk, and cook till creamy,
put in the salt and vanilla, and cool.  Then cut stale cake into
strips, or split lady-fingers into halves, and spread with jam. 
Put them on the sides and bottom of a flat glass dish, and gently
pour the custard over.


Brown Betty

Peel, core, and slice six apples.  Butter a baking-dish and
sprinkle the inside all over with fine bread-crumbs.  Then
take six very thin slices of buttered bread and line the sides
and bottom of the dish.  Put a layer of apples an inch thick,
a thin layer of brown sugar, six bits of butter, and a dusting
of cinnamon, another layer of crumbs, another of apples and
sugar, and so on till the dish is full, with crumbs and butter
on top, and three tablespoonfuls of molasses poured over. 
Bake this one hour, and have hard sauce to eat with it.


Lemon Pudding

1 cup of sugar.
4 eggs.
2 lemons.
1 pint of milk.
1 tablespoonful of sugar.
2 tablespoonfuls of corn-starch.
1 pinch of salt.

Wet the corn-starch with half a cup of the milk, and heat what
is left.  Stir up the corn-starch well, and when the milk is hot
put it in and stir; then boil five minutes, stirring all the time. 
Melt the butter, and put that in with a pinch of salt, and cool it. 
Beat the yolks of the eggs, and add the sugar, the juice of both
lemons, and the grated rind of one, pour into the milk, and stir well;
put in a buttered baking-dish and bake till slightly brown.  Take
it out of the oven; beat the whites of two eggs with a tablespoonful
of granulated sugar, and pile lightly on top, and put in the oven
again till it is just brown.  This is a very nice rule.


Rice Pudding with Raisins

1 quart of milk.
2 tablespoonfuls of rice.
One-third cup of sugar.
1/2 cup seeded raisins.

Wash the rice and the raisins and stir everything together till
the sugar dissolves.  Then put it in a baking-dish in the oven. 
Every little while open the door and see if a light brown crust
is forming on top, and, if it is, stir the pudding all up from
the bottom and push down the crust.  Keep on doing this till
the rice swells and makes the milk all thick and creamy, which it
will after about an hour.  Then let the pudding cook, and when
it is a nice deep brown take it out and let it get very cold.


Bread Pudding

2 cups of milk.
1 cup soft bread-crumbs.
1 tablespoonful of sugar.
2 egg yolks.
1 egg white.
1/2 teaspoonful vanilla.
1 saltspoonful of salt.

Crumb the bread evenly and soak in the milk till soft.  Beat
it till smooth, and put in the beaten yolks of the eggs, the
sugar, vanilla, and salt, and last the beaten white of the
egg.  Put it in a buttered pudding-dish, and stand this in a
pan of hot water in the oven for fifteen minutes.  Take it out
and spread its top with jam, and cover with the beaten white
of the other egg, with one tablespoonful of granulated sugar
put in it, and brown in the oven.  You can eat this as it is,
or with cream, and you may serve it either hot or cold.

Sometimes you can put a cup of washed raisins into the bread-crumbs
and milk, and mix in the other things; sometimes you can put in
a cup of chopped almonds, or a little preserved ginger.  Orange
marmalade is especially nice on bread pudding.


Orange Pudding

Make just like Lemon Pudding, but use three oranges instead
of two lemons.


Cabinet Pudding

1 pint of milk.
Yolks of three eggs.
3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
1 saltspoonful of salt.

Beat the eggs, add the sugar, and stir them into the milk,
which must be very hot but not boiling; stir till it thickens,
and then take it from the fire.  Put a layer of washed raisins
in the bottom of a mould, then a layer of slices of stale cake
or lady-fingers, then more raisins around the edge of the mould,
and more cake, till the mould is full.  Pour the custard over
very slowly, so the cake will soak well, and bake in a pan of
water in the oven for an hour.  This pudding is to be eaten hot,
with any sauce you like, such as Foamy Sauce.

Cut-up figs are nice to use with the raisins, and chopped nuts
are a delicious addition, dropped between the layers of the cake.


Cottage Pudding

1 egg.
1/2 cup of sugar.
1/2 cup of milk.
1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
1 cup of flour.
1 tablespoonful of butter.

Beat the yolk of the egg light, add the sugar and butter mixed,
then put in the milk, the flour, the whites of the eggs beaten stiff,
and last of all the baking-powder, and stir it up well.  Put in a
greased pan and bake nearly half an hour.  If you want this very nice,
put in half a cup of chopped figs, mixed with part of the flour.

Serve with Foamy Sauce.


Prune Whips

This was a cooking-school rule which the Pretty Aunt put in,
because she said it was the best sort of pudding for little
girls to make.

1 tablespoonful of powdered sugar.
2 tablespoonfuls stewed prunes.
White of one egg.

Cook the prunes till soft, take out the stones, and mash the
prunes fine.  Beat the white of the egg very stiff, mix in the
sugar and prunes, and bake in small buttered dishes.  Serve
hot or cold, with cream.


Junket

1 junket tablet.
1 quart milk.
1/2 cup sugar.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Break up the junket tablet into small pieces, and put them into a
tablespoonful of water to dissolve.  Put the sugar into the milk
with the vanilla, and stir till it is dissolved.  Warm the milk
a little, but only till it is as warm as your finger, so that if you
try it by touching it with the tip, you do not feel it at all as
colder or warmer.  Then quickly turn in the water with the tablet
melted in it, stirring it only once, and pour immediately into
small cups on the table.  These must stand for half and hour
without being moved, and then the junket will be stiff, and the cups
can be put in the ice-box.  In winter you must warm the cups till
they are like the milk.  This is very nice with a spoonful of whipped
cream on each cup, and bits of preserved ginger or of jelly on it.


Strawberry Shortcake

Margaret's mother called this the Thousand Mile Shortcake, because
she sent so far for the recipe to the place where she had once
eaten it, when she thought it the best she had ever tasted.

1 pint flour.
1/2 cup butter.
1 egg.
1 teaspoonful baking-powder.
1/2 cup milk.
1 saltspoonful of salt.

Mix the baking-powder and salt with the flour and sift all together. 
The butter should stand on the kitchen table till it is warm and
ready to melt, when it may be mixed in with a spoon, and then the egg,
well beaten, and the milk.

Divide the dough into halves; put one in a round biscuit-tin,
butter it, and lay the other half on top, evenly. Bake a light
brown; when you take it out of the oven, let it cool, and then lift
the layer apart.  Mash the berries, keeping out some of the biggest
ones for the top of the cake, and put on the bottom layer; put a
small half-cup of powdered sugar on them, and put the top layer on. 
Dust this over with sugar till it is white, and set the large
berries about on it, or cover the top with whipped cream and
put the berries on this.


Cake Shortcake

1 small cup sugar.
1/2 cup butter.
1 cup cold water.
1 egg.
2 cups flour.
3 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream; sift the flour and baking-powder
together; beat the egg stiff without separating; put the egg with
the sugar and butter, add the water and flour in turn, a little
at a time, stirring steadily; bake in two layer-tins.  Put crushed
berries between, and whole berries on top.

Tiny field strawberries make the most delicious shortcake of all.


Peach Shortcake

Make either of the rules above, and put mashed and sweetened
peaches between the layers.  Slice evenly about four more, and
arrange these on top, making a ring of them overlapping all
around the edge, and laying them inside in the same way.  Sugar well,
and serve with whipped cream or a pitcher of plain cream.


Lemon Jelly

1/2 box gelatine.
1/2 cup cold water.
2 cups boiling water.
1 cup sugar.
Juice of three lemons, and three scrapings of the yellow rind.

Put the gelatine into the cold water and soak one hour.  Put the
boiling water, the sugar, and the scrapings of the peel on the fire,
and still till the sugar dissolves.  Take it off the fire and stir
in the gelatine, and mix till this is dissolved; when it is
partly cool, turn in the lemon juice and strain through a flannel
bag dipped in water and wrung dry.  Put in a pretty mould.


Orange Jelly

Make this exactly as you did the lemon jelly, only instead of
taking the juice of three lemons, take the juice of two oranges and
one lemon, and scrape the orange peel instead of the lemon peel.

Whipped cream is nicer with either of these jellies.


Prune Jelly

Wash well a cup of prunes, and cover them with cold water and soak
overnight.  In the morning put them on the fire in the same water,
and simmer till so tender that the stones will slip out.  Cut each
prune in two and sprinkle with sugar as you lay them in the mould;
pour over them lemon jelly made by the recipe above, and put on ice. 
Turn out on a pretty dish, and put whipped cream around.


Sometimes Margaret colored lemon jelly with red raspberry juice,
and piled sugared raspberries around the mould.  Lemon jelly is one
of the best things to put things with; peaches may be used instead
of prunes, in that rule, or strawberries, with plenty of sugar,
or bits of pineapple.


Fruit Jelly

Make a plain lemon jelly, as before.  Cut up very thin two oranges,
one banana, six figs, and a handful of white grapes, which you
have seeded, and sweeten them.  Put in a mould and pour in the jelly;
as it begins to grow firm you can gently lift the fruit from the
bottom once or twice.

You can also fill the mould quite full of fruit, and make only half
the jelly and pour over.  Whipped cream is nice to eat with this.


Coffee Jelly

1/2 box of gelatine.
1/2 cup of cold water.
1 pint strong hot coffee.
3/4 cup sugar.
1/2 pint boiling water.

Put the gelatine in the cold water and soak two minutes, and
pour over it the coffee, boiling hot.  When it is dissolved,
put in the sugar and boiling water and strain;  put in little
individual moulds, and turn out with whipped cream under each
one.  Or, set in a large mould, and have whipped cream around it.


Snow Pudding

1/2 box of gelatine.
1 pint of cold water.
3 eggs.
Juice of three lemons.
1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

Pour the water over the gelatine and let it stand ten minutes;
then put the bowl over the fire and stir till it is dissolved,
and take it off at once.  As soon as it seems nearly cold, beat
to a froth with the egg-beater.  Beat the whites of the eggs stiffly,
and add to the gelatine, with the lemon juice and sugar, and mix well. 
Put in a mould and set on ice.  Make a soft custard by the rule,
and pour around the pudding when you serve it.


Velvet Cream

1/4 box of gelatine.
1 pint milk.
2 eggs.
3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
Small teaspoonful of vanilla.

Put the gelatine in the milk and soak fifteen minutes; put
on the stove and heat till it steams, but do not let it boil;
stir carefully often, as there is danger of its burning.  Beat
the yolks of the eggs with the sugar, and put these in the
custard, and cook till it all thickens and is smooth, but do
not boil it.  Strain, cool, and add the vanilla, and last fold
in the beaten whites of the eggs, and put in a mould on the ice.

Preserved peaches laid around this are very nice, or rich
pineapple, or apricot jam; or a ring of whipped cream, with
bits of red jelly, make a pretty border.


Easy Charlotte Russe

1/4 box gelatine.
1/2 pint of milk.
1 pint thick cream.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
1 small teaspoonful vanilla.

Put the gelatine in the milk and stand on the stove till the
gelatine is dissolved, stirring often.  Then take it off, and beat
with the egg-beater till cold.  Beat the cream with the egg-beater
till perfectly stiff, put in the sugar and vanilla, and mix with
the milk, and set on ice in a mould.  When you wish to use it,
turn out and put lady-fingers split in halves all around it.



PUDDING SAUCES


Orange Sauce

3 egg-whites.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Juice of 2 oranges.
Grated rind.

Beat the egg-whites very stiff, add the sugar, then the grated
orange-peel, then the juice; beat up lightly and serve at once.


Delicious Maple Sauce

2 egg-yolks.
1/4 cup maple syrup.
1/2 cup whipped cream.

Beat the yolks very light, putting in a pinch of salt; put in the
syrup and cook till the spoon coats over when you dip it in;
then cool and beat in the whipped cream, and serve very cold.


Hard Sauce

Beat together a half-cup of powdered sugar and a half-cup of
butter with a fork till both are light and creamy.  Flavor
with a teaspoonful of vanilla and put on the ice to harden.


Foamy Sauce

1/2 cup butter.
1/2 cup boiling water.
1 cup powdered sugar.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.
White of one egg.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream; add vanilla and beat well. 
When it is time to serve, beat the egg stiff, stir the boiling
water into the sugar and butter, and then put in the egg and beat
till foamy, standing it on the stove as you do so, to keep it hot. 
Serve in the sauce-boat.


Grandmother's Sauce

1 cup sugar.
1/2 cup butter.
Yolks of two eggs.
1/4 cup boiling water.
A dusting of nutmeg.

Cream the butter and sugar, stir in the beaten yolk, and last
the boiling water.  Beat till foamy, and then dust with nutmeg.


Lemon Sauce

White of one egg.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Juice of half a lemon.

Beat the egg, add the sugar and lemon, and beat again.


White Sauce

1 tablespoonful of corn-starch.
1/2 cup cold water.
1 cup boiling water.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Pinch of salt.
2 whites of eggs.
1 teaspoonful alons extract.

Dissolve the corn-starch in the cold water, and then add the
boiling water and sugar and salt, and cook for fifteen minutes,
stirring all the time.  Take from the fire and fold in the stiffly
beaten egg-whites with the flavoring, and beat till perfectly cold. 
Any flavoring will do for this sauce; pistache is very nice.


Quick Pudding Sauce

1 egg.
1/2 cup powdered sugar.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Put the egg in a bowl without separating it and beat till very light;
then pour in the sugar very slowly, beating all the time; add the
vanilla and serve at once.

This is a very nice sauce, and so simple to make that Margaret
learned it among the first of her rules.



Ice-creams and Ices


Margaret had a little ice-cream freezer which was all her own,
and held only enough for two little girls to eat at a tea-party,
and this she could pack alone.  When she made ice-cream for all
the family she had to use the larger freezer, of course, and this
Bridget helped her pack.  But the same rule was used for either
the large one or the small.  First break up the ice in a thick bag
with a hammer until the pieces are as large as eggs, and all
about the same size.  Then put two big bowls or dippers of this
into a tub or pail, and add one bowl or dipper of coarse salt,
and so on, till you have enough, mixing it well with a long-handled
spoon.  Put the freezer in its pail and put the cover on; then fill
the space between with the ice and salt till it is full, pressing
it down as you work.  Let it stand now in a cool place, till
you know the inside is very cold, and then wipe off the top
carefully and pour in the cream, which must be very cold, too.
Put on the top and turn smoothly and slowly till it is stiff,
which should be fifteen minutes.  Then draw off the water from
the pail, wipe the top of the cover again, so no salt can get
in, and take out the dasher, pushing the cream down with a
spoon from the sides and packing it firmly.  Put a cork in the
hole in the cover, and put it on tightly.  Mix more ice with a
little salt; only a cupful to two bowls this time, and pack
the freezer again up to the top.  Wring out a heavy cloth in
the salty water you drew off the pail, and cover it over
tightly with this, and then stand in a cool, dark place till
you need it; all ice-creams are better for standing two hours.


Plain Ice-cream

3 cups of cream.
1 cup of milk.
1 small cup of sugar.
2 teaspoonfuls vanilla.

Put the cream, milk, and sugar on the fire, and stir till the sugar
dissolves and cream just wrinkles on top; do not let it boil. 
Take it off, beat it till it is cold, add the vanilla, and freeze.


French Ice-cream

1 pint of milk.
1 cup of cream.
1 cup of sugar.
4 eggs.
1 tablespoonful vanilla.
1 saltspoonful of salt.

Put the milk on the fire and let it just scald or wrinkle.
Beat the yolks of the eggs, put in the sugar, and beat again;
then pour the hot milk into these slowly, and the salt, and put
it on the fire in the double boiler and let it cook to a nice
thick cream.  (This is a plain boiled custard, such as you made
for floating island.)  Take it off and let it cool while you beat
the whites of the eggs stiff, and then the cup of cream. 
Put the eggs in first lightly when the custard is entirely cold,
and then the whipped cream last, and the vanilla, and freeze.


Coffee Ice-cream

Make either of these creams, and flavor with half a cup of strong
coffee in place of vanilla.


Chocolate Ice-cream

Make plain ice-cream; melt two squares of chocolate in a little
saucer over the teakettle.  Mix a little of the milk or cream
with this, and stir it smooth, and then put it in with the rest. 
You will need to use a large cup of sugar instead of a small one
in making this, as the chocolate is not sweetened.


Peach Ice-cream

Peel, cut up, and mash a cup of peaches.  Make plain ice-cream, with a
large cup of sugar, and when it is cold stir in the peaches and freeze.


Strawberry Ice-cream

Mix a large cup of berries, mashed and strained carefully so that
there are no seeds, with the ice-cream, and freeze.


The Easiest Ice-cream of All--Vanilla Parfait

1 cup of sugar.
1 cup of water.
Whites of three eggs.
1 pint of cream.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Put the sugar and water in a nice enamelled saucepan and cook it
without stirring.  You must shake the pan often to prevent its
burning, but if you stir it, it will make it sugary.  After about
five minutes hold your spoon up in the air and drop one drop back
into the saucepan; if a little thread is made which blows off
to one side, it is done, but if not you must cook till it does. 
If your fire is very hot it may make the thread in less time,
so try it every few moments.  Have the whites of your eggs beaten
very stiff, and slowly pour the syrup into them, beating hard with
a fork all the time.  You must keep on beating till this is cold. 
Have ready a pint of thick cream, whipped very stiff, either with a
Dover egg-beater, or in a little tin cream-churn, and when the egg
is cold, mix the two lightly and put in the vanilla.  If you have
a mould with a tight cover, put it in this, but if not, take
a lard-pail; cover tightly, and stand in a pail on a layer of
ice and salt, mixed just as for freezing ice-cream, and pile
more ice and salt all over it, the more the better.  Let this stand
five hours, or four will do, if necessary, and turn the cream on
a pretty dish.  After you have made this once it will seem no
trouble at all to make it.

If your mother would like a change from this recipe sometimes,
try putting in the yolks of the eggs, well beaten, with the cream,
and use some other flavoring.


Lemon Ice

1 quart of water.
4 lemons.
2 1/2 cups sugar.
1 orange.

Boil the sugar and water for ten minutes; strain it and add the
juice of the lemons and orange; cool and freeze.


Orange Ice

1 quart of water.
6 oranges.
1 lemon.
2 1/2 cups sugar.

Prepare exactly as you did lemon ice.


Strawberry Ice

1 quart of water.
2 1/2 cups sugar.
1 1/2 cups strawberry juice, strained.  Prepare like lemon ice.


Raspberry Ice

1 quart of water.
2 1/2 cups sugar.
1 1/2 cups raspberry-juice, strained.  Prepare like lemon ice.


Peach Surprise

1 quart of peaches cut up in small bits.
2 cups of sugar.
Whites of five eggs.

Do not beat the eggs at all; just mix everything together and
put in the freezer and stir till stiff; this is very delicious,
and the easiest thing to make there is.

When Margaret wanted to make her own freezer full of ice-cream,
she just took a cup of cream and heated it with the sugar,
and when it was cold put in three drops of vanilla and froze it.



CAKE


Next after the ices in her book, Margaret found the cake to eat
with them, and first of all there was a rule for some little cakes
which the smallest girl in the neighborhood used to make all alone.


Eleanor's Cakes

1/4 cup of butter.
1/2 cup of sugar.
1/4 cup of milk.
1 egg.
1 cup flour.
1 teaspoonful baking-powder.
1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, beat the egg light without
separating, and put it in next; then the milk, a little at a time;
mix the baking-powder with the flour and stir in, and last the vanilla. 
Bake in small scalloped tins, and fill each one only half-full.


Grandmother's Little Feather Cake

1 cup of sugar.
2 tablespoonfuls soft butter.
1 egg.
1/2 cup milk and water mixed.
1 1/2 cups sifted flour.
1 teaspoonful baking-powder.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream.  Beat the yolk of the egg stiff
and put that in; then add part of the milk and water, and part of
the flour and baking-powder, which has been sifted together;
next the vanilla, and last the stiff whites of the eggs, not
stirred in, but just lightly folded in.  If you put them in heavily
and roughly, cake will always be heavy.  Bake this in a buttered
biscuit-tin, and cut in squares when cold.  It is nice covered
with caramel or chocolate frosting.


Domino Cake

Make this feather cake and pour it into two pans, so that the
bottom shall be just covered, and bake it quickly.  When it is done,
take it out of the pans and frost it, and while the frosting is
still a little soft, mark it off into dominoes.  When it is
entirely cold, cut these out, and with a clean paint-brush paint
little round spots on them with a little melted chocolate,
to exactly represent the real dominoes.  It is fun to play a game
with these at a tea-party and eat them up afterwards.


Margaret's Own Cake

Margaret's mother named this cake for her, because she liked it so much
to make it and to eat it.  It is a very nice cake for little girls.

5 eggs.
1 cup granulated sugar.
1 cup of flour.
1 pinch of salt.
1/2 teaspoonful of lemon-juice, or vanilla.

Separate the eggs, and beat the yolks very light and foamy;
then put in the sugar which you have sifted, a little at a time,
and the flour in the same way, but put them in in turn, first sugar,
then flour, and so on.  Then put in the flavoring, and last fold in
the whites of the eggs, beaten very stiff.  Bake in a buttered pan.


Sponge Cake

4 eggs.
1 cup powdered sugar.
1 cup sifted flour.
1 level teaspoonful baking-powder.
Juice of half a lemon.

Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs and beat them both very
light.  Mix the sugar in the yolks and beat again till they are very
foamy; then put in the stiff whites, and last the flour, sifted
with baking-powder; then the lemon-juice.  Bake in a buttered
biscuit-tin.  You can frost and put walnut-halves on top.


Velvet Cake

This is a large cake, baked in a roasting-pan; it is very light and
delicious, and none too large for two luncheons, or for a picnic.

6 eggs.
2 cups of sugar.
1 cup of boiling water.
2 1/2 cups of flour.
3 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

Put the yolks of the eggs in a deep bowl and beat two minutes;
then put in the sugar, and beat ten minutes, or fifteen, if you
want it perfect.  Put in the water, a little at a time, and next
the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs.  Mix the baking-powder and
flour, put these in next, and add the flavoring last.  This is
a queer way to mix the cake, but it is right.


Easy Fruit-cake

Margaret's Other Aunt begged to have this in the book, because she
said it was so simple any little girl could make it, and all the
family could help eat it, as they were especially fond of fruit-cake.

  1 cup butter.
  1 cup sugar.
  1 cup molasses.
  1 cup milk.
  1 cup currants.
  1 cup raisins.
  1 egg.
  1 teaspoonful soda.
  2 teaspoonfuls mixed spices.
  3 cups flour.

Wash and dry the currants.  Buy the seeded raisins and wash these,
too, and then chop them.  Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg
beaten well without separating, then the molasses with the soda
stirred in it, then the milk, then the cinnamon and cloves. 
Measure the flour, and then take out a half-cup of it, and stir in
the raisins and currants, to keep them from going to the bottom
of the cake when it is baked.  Stir these in, add the rest of
the flour, and beat well.  Bake in two buttered bread-pans.


Layer Cake

1 cup sugar.
1/2 cup water.
2 eggs.
2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
1/2 cup butter.
2 1/2 cups flour.
Teaspoonful vanilla.

Rub the butter to a cream in a deep bowl, and put in the sugar
a little at a time, and rub this till it, too, creams.  Then put
in the beaten yolks of the eggs, and then the water.  Beat the
egg-whites well, and fold in half, then add the flour, in which
you have mixed and sifted the baking-powder, and then put in
the vanilla and the rest of the eggs.

Divide in two layers, or in three if the tins are small, and
bake till a light brown.



FILLING FOR LAYER CAKES


Nut and Raisin Filling

Make the rule for plain icing, and add a half-cup of chopped raisins
mixed with half a cup of chopped almonds or English walnuts.


Fig Filling

Mix a cup of chopped figs with the same icing.


Marshmallow Filling

Chop a quarter of a pound of marshmallows; put them over the
teakettle to get soft; make a plain icing and beat them in.


Maple Filling

2 cups maple syrup.
Whites of 2 eggs.

Boil the syrup slowly till it makes a thread when you hold it up;
then add it slowly to your beaten egg-whites, beating till cold.



Orange Filling

1 cup powdered sugar.
1 tablespoonful boiling water.
Grated rind of 1 orange.
1 tablespoonful orange-juice.

Put the sugar in a bowl, add the rind, then the water and juice,
and spread at once on the cake.  This icing must be very thick
when made, and if is seems thin put in more sugar.


Caramel Filling

2 cups brown sugar.
1/2 cup cream or milk.
Butter the size of an egg.
1/2 teaspoonful vanilla.

Mix all together and cook till it is smooth and thick.


Plain Icing

Put the white of one egg into a bowl with a half-teaspoonful
of water, and beat till light.  Then stir in a cup of sifted
powdered sugar, and put on the cake while that is still warm,
and smooth it over with a wet knife.


Chocolate Icing

Melt one square of Baker's chocolate in a saucer over the teakettle,
and put in two tablespoonfuls of milk and stir till smooth. 
Add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a small half-teaspoonful
of butter, and stir again.  Take it off the stove and put it on
the cake while both are warm.


Caramel Icing

1/2 cup of milk.
2 cups brown sugar.
Butter the size of an egg.
1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Mix the butter, sugar, and milk, and cook till it is smooth
and thick, stirring all the time and watching it carefully to
see that it does not burn; take it off and put in the vanilla,
and spread while warm on a warm cake.


Doughnuts

Margaret's mother did not approve of putting this rule in her
cook-book, because she did not want Margaret ever to eat rich things;
but her grandmother said it really must go in, for once in awhile
very nice doughnuts would not hurt anybody.

1 1/2 cups of sugar.
1/2 cup of butter.
3 eggs.
1 1/2 cups of milk.
2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
Pinch of salt.

Put in flour enough to make a very soft dough, just as soft as you
can handle it.  Mix, and put on a slightly floured board and make
into round balls, or roll out and cut with a cooky cutter with
a hole in the centre.  Heat two cups of lard with one cup of
beef suet which you have melted and strained, and heat till it
browns a bit of bread instantly.  Then drop in three doughnuts,--not
more, or you will chill the fat, --and when you take them out dry
on brown paper.  It is much better to use part suet than all lard,
yet that will do if you have no suet in the house.


Oatmeal Macaroons

These little cakes are so like real macaroons that no one
who had not seen the recipe would guess how they were made.

2 1/2 cups rolled oats.
2 1/2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder.
1/2 teaspoonful salt.
3 even tablespoonfuls butter.
1 cup sugar.
3 eggs, beaten separately.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Cream the butter, add the sugar and well beaten egg-yolks,
then the oatmeal, salt, and baking-powder, then the vanilla,
and last the whites of the eggs.  Drop in small bits, no larger
than the end of your finger, on a shallow pan, three inches apart. 
Bake in a very slow oven till brown, and take from the pan while hot.


Peanut Wafers

1 cup of sugar.
1/2 cup of butter.
1/2 cup of milk.
1/2 teaspoonful soda.
2 cups of flour.
1 cup chopped peanuts.

Cream the butter and sugar, put the soda in the milk and stir well,
and put this in next; add the flour and beat well.  Butter a
baking-pan and spread this evenly over the bottom, and then
spread the peanuts over all.  Bake till a light brown.


Tea-party Cakes

2 squares of Baker's chocolate.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
Bit of butter the size of a pea.

Melt the chocolate over the teakettle and stir in the sugar
and butter and a couple of drops of vanilla, if you like.
Take little round crackers, and with a fork roll them quickly
in this till they are covered; dry on buttered paper.  You can
also take saltines, or any long, thin  cracker, and spread one
side with the chocolate.


Almond Strips

White of 1 egg.
1 cup chopped almonds.
2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar.

Beat the egg just a little and put in the sugar and almonds;
spread on thin crackers, and brown in the oven with the door open.



PIES


General Rule

Margaret's mother did not like her to eat pie, but she let
her learn how to make it, and once in awhile she had a small
piece.  Here is her rule:

  1 pint of flour.
  1/4 cup of butter.
  1/4 cup lard, 1 teaspoonful salt.
  1/2 cup ice-water.

  Put the flour, butter, lard, and salt in the chopping-bowl and
chop till well mixed.  Then add the water, a little at a time,
turning the paste and chopping till smooth, but never touching
with the hand.  Put a very little flour on the pastry-board and
lift the crust on this, and with a floured rolling-pin lightly roll
it out once each way; fold it over and roll again, and do this
several times till the crust looks even, with no lumps of butter
showing anywhere.  Put it on a plate and lay it in the ice-chest
for at least an hour before you use it.

Pie-crust will never be light and nice if you handle it.  Do
not touch it with your fingers unless it is really necessary.
When you use it, get everything ready for the pie first, and
then bring out the crust, roll quickly, and spread over the pie.

In putting the pie in the pan, cut the bottom piece a little
larger than you want it, as it will shrink.  Sprinkle the tin
with flour, lay on the crust, and after it has been fitted evenly,
and is not too tight, cut off the edge.  Put a narrow strip
of paste all around the edge, and press it together; if you wet
it with a little water it will stick.  If you wish to be sure
the filling of the pie will not soak into the under crust,
brush that over with beaten white of egg.  After you put in
the filling, fold your top crust together and cut some little
shutters to let out the steam.  Put on the cover, wet the edges
so they will stick together, and pinch evenly.


Deep Apple Pie, or Apple Tart

Fill a baking-dish with apples, peeled and cut in slices.
Sprinkle with flour, cinnamon, and plenty of sugar, about half
a cup.  Put in the oven and bake till the apples are soft, and
then cool, put on the crust, and bake till brown.  Serve powdered
sugar and rich cream with this.  All pies cooked in a baking-dish,
with no crust on the bottom or sides of the dish, are called
tarts by the English.  They are the best kind of pie.


Peach Pie

Line a pie-plate with crust, lay in the peaches, peeled and sliced,
sprinkle with flour, and then cover with sugar; put on a top crust,
cut some little slits in it to let out the steam, and cook till brown. 
Or, make a deep peach tart.


French Peach Pie

Put the crust in the pie-pan as before; boil a cup of sugar with
two tablespoonfuls of water till it threads.  Lay quarters of peaches
in the paste, around and around, evenly, no one on top of the other. 
Break ten peach-stones and arrange evenly on top; the pour the
syrup over, and put a few narrow strips of crust across the pie,
four each way, and bake.


Pumpkin Pie

1 small pumpkin.
2 1/2 cups of pulp.
2 cups of milk.
1 tablespoonful molasses.
2 eggs.
1 teaspoonful each of salt, ginger, cinnamon, and butter.
2 heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar.

Cut the pumpkin in small pieces and take out the seeds and
remove the peel.  Put the good part over the kettle and steam
it till it is tender, keeping it covered.  Then you take off
the cover, and stand the steamer you have cooked it in on the
back of the stove, till the heat makes the pumpkin nice and dry. 
Then mash it and put it through the colander.  While it is warm,
mix in everything in the rule except the eggs; let it cool,
and put these in last, beating them till light.  Line the pie-tin
with crust, and pour in the filling and bake.  This rule is
a very nice one; it makes two pies.


Cranberry Pie

Cook a quart of cranberries till tender, with a small cup of
water; when they have simmered till rather thick, put in a
heaping cup of sugar and cook five minutes more.  When as
thick as oatmeal mush, take them off the fire and put through
the colander; line a tin with crust, fill with berries, put
strips of crust across, and bake.  A nice plan is to take half
a cup of raisins and a cup of cranberries for a pie, chopping
together and cooking with water as before, adding a sprinkling
of flour and a little vanilla when done.


Orange Pie

1 orange.
1 cup of water.
1 small cup of sugar.
2 teaspoonfuls corn-starch.
Butter the size of a hickory-nut.
Yolk of one egg.

Grate the rind of the orange, and then squeeze out the juice.
Beat the yolk of the egg, add the water, with the corn-starch
stirred in, orange juice and rind and butter, and cook till it
grows rather thick.  Bake your crust first; then bake the
orange filling in it;  then beat the white of your egg with
a tablespoonful of granulated sugar, and put over it and brown.
This is an especially nice rule.


Lemon Pie

Make exactly as you did the orange-pie, but put in a good-sized cup
of sugar instead of a small one, with a lemon in place of the orange.


Tarts

Whenever Margaret made pie she always saved all the bits of the
crust and rolled them out, and lined patty-pans with them and
baked them.  She often filled them with raw rice while they baked,
to keep them in shape, saving the rice when they were done. 
She filled the shells with jelly, and used the tarts for lunch.



CANDY


Margaret did not wait till she reached the recipes for candy
at the back of her book before she began to make it.  She made
it all the way along, whenever another little girl came to
spend the afternoon, or it was such a rainy day that she could
not go out.  Nearly always she made molasses candy, because it
was such fun to pull it, and she used the same rule her mother
used when she was a little girl.


Molasses Candy

2 cups New Orleans molasses.
1 cup white sugar.
1 tablespoonful butter.
1 tablespoonful vinegar.
1 small teaspoonful soda.

Boil hard twenty minutes, stirring all the time, and cool in
shallow pans.  If you double the rule you must boil the candy
five minutes longer.

The best thing about this candy is that it does not stick to
the fingers, if you let it get quite cool before touching it,
and pull it in small quantities.  Do not put any butter on
your fingers, but work fast.


Maple Wax

Boil two cups of maple syrup till it hardens when dropped in
cold water.  Fill a large pan with fresh snow, pack well; keep
the kettle on the back of the stove, where the syrup will be
just warm, but will not cook, and fill a small pitcher with
it, and pour on the snow, a little at a time.  Take it off in
small pieces with a fork.  If there is no snow, use a cake of ice.


Peanut Brittle

Make the molasses candy given above, and stir in a large cup
of shelled peanuts just before taking it from the fire.  Put
in shallow, buttered pans.


Peppermint Drops

1 cup sugar.
2 tablespoonfuls of water.
3 teaspoonfuls of peppermint essence.

Boil the sugar and water till when you drop a little in water
it will make a firm ball in your fingers.  Then take it off
the fire and stir in the peppermint, and carefully drop four drops,
one exactly on top of another, on a buttered platter.  Do not
put these too near together.


Pop-corn Balls

Make half the rule for molasses candy.  Pop a milk-can full of corn,
and pour in a little candy while it is hot; take up all that sticks
together and roll in a ball; then pour in more, and so on.


Maple Fudge

3 cups brown sugar.
2 cups maple syrup.
1 cup of milk.
1/2 cup of water.
Butter the size of an egg.
1 cup English walnut meats, or hickory-nuts.

Boil the sugar and maple syrup till you can make it into a very
soft ball when you drop it in water; only half as hard as you boil
molasses candy.  Then put in the milk, water, and butter, and boil
till when you try in water it makes quite a firm ball in your fingers. 
Put in the nuts and take off the fire at once, and stir till it
begins to sugar.  Spread it quickly on buttered pans, and when
partly cool mark in squares with a knife.


Chocolate Fudge

1 cup of milk.
1 cup of sugar.
1 pinch of soda.
3 squares Baker's chocolate.
Butter the size of an egg.

Put the soda in the milk and scrape the chocolate.  Mix all
together until when you drop a little in water it will make a
ball in your fingers.  Take off the fire then, and beat until
it is a stiff paste, and then spread on a buttered platter.
Sometimes Margaret added a cup of chopped nuts to this rule,
putting them in just before she took the fudge off the fire.


Cream Walnuts

2 cups of light brown sugar.
Two-thirds cup of boiling water.
1 small saltspoonful of cream of tartar.
1 cup chopped walnuts.

Boil till the syrup makes a thread, then cool till it begins to
thicken, and stir in the walnuts and drop on buttered paper.


Cream Made from Confectioners' Sugar

Take the white of one egg, and measure just as much cold water;
mix the two well, and stir stiff with confectioners' sugar;
add a little flavoring, vanilla, or almond, or pistache, and,
for some candies, color with a tiny speck of fruit paste. 
This is the beginning of all sorts of cream candy.


Candy Potatoes

Make the plain white candy just given, and to it add a tablespoonful
of cocoanut, and flavor with vanilla.  Make into little balls,
rather long then round, and with a fork put eyes in them like
potato eyes.  Roll in cinnamon.  These candies are very quickly made,
and are excellent for little girls' parties.


Chocolate Creams

Make the cream candy into balls, melt three squares of Baker's
chocolate; put a ball on a little skewer or a fork,
and dip into the chocolate and lay on buttered paper.


Nut Candy

Chop a cup of almonds and mix with the cream candy; make into bars,
and when cold cut in slices.


Walnut Creams

Press two walnut halves on small balls of cream candy, one on
either side.


Creamed Dates

Wash, wipe, and open the dates; remove the stones and put a small
ball of cream candy into each one.


Butter Scotch

3 tablespoonfuls sugar.
3 tablespoonfuls of molasses.
2 tablespoonfuls of water.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 saltspoonful of soda.

Boil all together without stirring till it hardens in water;
then put in a small teaspoonful of vanilla and pour at once on
a buttered platter.  When hard break up into squares.


Pinoche

1 cup light brown sugar.
1 cup cream.
1 cup walnuts, chopped fine.
Butter the size of a walnut.
1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Cook the sugar and cream till it makes a ball in water; then
put in the butter, vanilla, and nuts, and beat till creamy and
spread on a platter.


Betty's Orange Candy

Betty was Margaret's particular friend, so this was her favorite rule:

2 cups sugar.
Juice of one orange.

Boil till it hardens in water, and then pull it.


Creamed Dates, Figs, and Cherries

Make the plain cream candy, as before; wash the dates well,
open at one side, and take out the stones and press in a ball
of the candy; leave the side open.  You can sprinkle with
granulated sugar if you choose.

Cut figs in small pieces, and roll each piece in the cream
candy till it is hidden.

For the cherries, color the cream candy light pink and make
into little balls.  On top of each press a candied cherry.


Dates with Nuts

Wash and wipe the dates dry, and take out the stones.  Put half
an English walnut in each and press the edges together; roll in
granulated sugar.  Small figs may be prepared in the same way.



MARGARET'S SCHOOL LUNCHEONS


As Margaret had to take her luncheon to school with her sometimes,
she had to learn how to make a good many kinds of sandwiches,
because she soon grew tired of one or two sorts.


Cut the bread very thin and spread lightly with butter, and after
they are done trim off the crusts neatly, not taking off all the crust,
but making the two pieces even.  For plain meat sandwiches,
chop the meat very fine, sprinkle with salt, and spread on the bread;
if it is too dry, put in a very little cream as you chop the meat.


Egg Sandwiches

Make a very little French dressing,--about a teaspoonful of oil,
a sprinkling of salt, and four drops of lemon juice, or vinegar. 
Chop a hard-boiled egg very fine, mix with the dressing, and spread.


Lettuce Sandwiches

Spread the bread, lay on a lettuce-leaf and cover with French
dressing, or with mayonnaise.  These sandwiches are about the
best for school, as they do not get dry.


Celery Sandwiches

Chop the celery fine, mix with a French or mayonnaise dressing,
and spread.


Olive Sandwiches

Chop six olives fine, mix with a tiny bit of mayonnaise and spread.


Chicken and Celery Sandwiches

Mix chopped celery and chopped chicken, as much of one as the other,
wet with French or mayonnaise dressing and spread.


Nut Sandwiches

Chop the nuts fine and add just enough cream to moisten;
sprinkle with salt and spread.


Sardine Sandwiches

Scrape off all the skin from the sardines, and take out the bones
and drain them by laying them on brown paper; mash them with a fork,
and sprinkle with lemon juice, and spread.


Tomato and Cheese Sandwiches

Slice a small, firm tomato very thin indeed, and take out all
the seeds and soft pulp, leaving only the firm part; put one slice
on the bread, and one thin shaving of cheese over it, and then
put on bread.  A slice of tomato with a spreading of mayonnaise
makes a nice sandwich.


Cream Cheese and Nut Sandwiches

Spread thin Boston brown bread with just a scraping of butter,
then spread with cream cheese and cover with nuts; this is a
delicious sandwich.


Sweet Sandwiches

All jams and jellies make good sandwiches, and fresh dates,
chopped figs, and preserved ginger are also nice.



Some of Margaret's School Luncheons


1. Two Boston brown bread, cream cheese, and nut sandwiches,
and two white bread and jam; a little round cake; a pear.

2. Two chopped ham sandwiches, two with whole wheat bread
and peanut-butter; a piece of gingerbread; a peach.

3. Two whole wheat-bread and chopped egg sandwiches with
French dressing; two crackers spread with jam; three thin
slices of cold meat, salted; a cup custard; an apple.

4. Two whole wheat sandwiches spread with chopped celery and
French dressing, two of white bread and sardines; three
gingersnaps; three figs.

5. Three sandwiches of white bread filled with cooked oysters,
chopped fine, one of whole wheat with orange marmalade; a few
pieces of celery, salted, a spice cake; a handful of nuts.

6. Four sandwiches, two of minced chicken moistened with cream,
two of whole wheat and chopped olives; a little jar of apple-sauce;
gingerbread.

7. Two date sandwiches, two of chopped cold meat; sugar cookies;
three olives; an orange.

8. Two fig sandwiches, two whole wheat with chopped celery and
French dressing; a devilled egg; a little scalloped cake; an apple.

9. Three lettuce sandwiches, one with brown sugar and butter;
three tiny sweet pickles; ginger cookies; fresh plums.




THE END.




INDEX



BEVERAGES


Chocolate
Cocoa
Coffee
Coffee, French
Lemonade
Lemonade with Grape-juice
Tea
Tea, Iced



BREAD


Baking Powder Biscuit
Barneys
Cornbread, Grandmother's
Cornbread, Perfect
Flannel Cakes
Griddle-cakes
Griddle-cakes, Sweet Corn
Milk Toast
Muffins, Cooking-school
Popovers
Toast
Waffles



CAKE


Almond Strips
Domino
Doughnuts
Eleanor's
Filling for Layer Cake:
  Caramel
  Fig
  Maple
  Marshmallow
  Nut and Raisin
  Orange
Frosting:
  Caramel
  Chocolate
  Plain
Fruit, Easy
Gingerbread
Gingerbread, Soft
Ginger Cookies
Grandmother's Little Feather Cake
Grandmother's Sugar Cookies
Layer
Margaret's Own
Oatmeal Macaroons
Peanut Wafers
Sponge
Tea-party
Velvet



CANDY


Betty's Orange
Butter Scotch
Candy Potatoes
Chocolate Creams
Chocolate Fudge
Creamed Dates
Creamed Dates, Figs and Cherries
Cream Walnuts
Cream Made from Confectioners' Sugar
Dates with Nuts
Maple Fudge
Maple Wax
Molasses
Nut
Peanut Brittle
Peppermint Drops
Pinoche
Pop-corn Balls
Walnut Creams



CEREALS


Corn-meal Mush
Corn-meal Mush, Fried
Farina Croquettes
Hominy
Rice, Boiled
Rice Croquettes
Rice, Fried



CHEESE


Fondu
Scalloped
Welsh Rarebit, Easy



DESSERTS


Bread Pudding
Brown Betty
Cabinet Pudding
Charlotte Russe, Easy
Coffee Jelly
Cornstarch Pudding, Plain
Cornstarch Pudding, Chocolate
Cornstarch Pudding, Cocoanut
Cottage Pudding
Custard, Baked
Custard and Cake
Custard, Cocoanut
Floating Island
Fruit Jelly
Ice-creams and Ices:
  Packing the Freezer
  Chocolate Ice-cream
  Coffee Ice-cream
  French Ice-cream
  Peach Ice-cream
  Plain Ice-cream
  Strawberry Ice-cream
  Lemon Ice
  Orange Ice
  Peach Surprise
  Raspberry Ice
  Strawberry Ice
  Vanilla Parfait, the Easiest of All
Junket
Lemon Jelly
Lemon Pudding
Orange Jelly
Orange Pudding
Peach Shortcake
Prune Jelly
Prune Whips
Rice Pudding with Raisins
Snow Pudding
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake Made with Cake
Tapioca Pudding
Pudding Sauces:
  Foamy
  Grandmother's
  Hard
  Lemon
  Orange
  Maple, Delicious
  Quick
  White
Velvet Cream



EGGS


Baked in Little Dishes
Beds, Eggs in
Bird's Nests
Boiled Eggs, Soft
Bacon, Eggs with
Cheese, Eggs with
Creamed Eggs
Creamed in Baking Dishes
Creamed on Toast
Devilled
Double Cream with Eggs
Ham and Eggs, Moulded
Omelette
Omelette with Mushrooms
Omelette with Mushrooms and Olives
Omelette, Spanish
Poached Eggs
Poached Eggs with Potted Ham
Scalloped
Scrambled
Scrambled with Parsley
Scrambled with Chicken
Scrambled with Tomato



FISH


Codfish Balls
Crab Meat in Shells
Creamed Codfish
Creamed Fish
Creamed Lobster
Creamed Salmon
Mackerel, Salt
Oysters, Creamed
Oysters, Panned
Oyster Pigs in Blankets
Oysters, Scalloped
Sardines, Broiled
Scalloped Lobster or Salmon
Smelts, Fried



MEATS


Bacon, Broiled
Chicken or Turkey, Creamed
Chicken Hash
Chicken, Pressed
Chops, Broiled
Chops, Panned
Cold
Corned Beef Hash
Dried Beef, Frizzled
Liver and Bacon
Liver and Bacon on Skewers
Shepherd's Pie
Sliced with Gravy
Soufflé
Steak, Broiled
Steak with Bananas
Veal Cutlet
Veal Loaf



PIES


Apple Pie or Tart, Deep
Cranberry
General Rule
Lemon
Orange
Peach
Peach Pie, French
Pumpkin
Tarts



POTATOES


Cakes
Creamed
Hashed Brown
Mashed
Saratoga
Stuffed
Sweet Potatoes
  Creamed
  Fried
  Scalloped



SALADS


Cabbage
Cabbage in Green Peppers
Cauliflower
Celery
Celery and Apple
Chicken
Egg
Fish
Lobster
Orange or Grapefruit
Pineapple
Potato
String Bean
Tomato and Lettuce
Tomato, Stuffed
Salad Dressings:
  French
  Mayonnaise



SANDWICHES


Celery
Cream Cheese and Nut
Chicken and Celery
Egg
Lettuce
Nut
Olive
Sardine
Sweet
Tomato and Cheese

Sauce: Cream or White
School Luncheons



SOUPS


Cream Soup, General Rule
Cream of Almonds
Cream of Clams
Cream of Corn
Cream of Green Peas
Cream of Lima Beans
Cream of Oysters
Cream of Potato
Cream of Spinach
Cream of Tomato (Tomato Bisque)
Meat Soups
  Bouillon, Creamed
  Extract, Made from
  Chicken or Turkey
  Made with Cooked Meat
Pea, Split
Plain Meat
Tomato
Vegetable, Clear



               VEGETABLES


Asparagus
Beans, Lima
Beans, String
Beets
Beets, Stuffed
Cabbage, Creamed
Corn
Corn, Canned
Macaroni
Onions
Peas
Tomatoes, Baked
Tomatoes, Stewed