Luncheon

Dedication

To My Friend THE HON. AMOS J. CUMMINGS,

One who, though attending all rich banquets,

prefers the unassuming well-made dish

Contents

PAGE

REMARKS ON LUNCHEON . .11 RELISHES FOR THE LUNCHEON TABLE 13

German Radishes . . . . 14

II 12 Remarks On Luncheon

lobster or prawn stew, is most appropriate at luncheon.

The dish takes the place of shellfish and soup, and is, as it were, a combination of the two.

Vegetable salads occupy a similar position, for they take the place of special vegetables and the salad. Fish salads also serve this purpose ; and a lunch table with a bounteous dish of well-made fish salad is considered at all times a well-appointed table.

This rule equally applies to a well-made salad of poultry or meats.

A well-made hot dish of some kind should invariably appear at lunch table, and much more care should be taken with it than even the joints for dinner.

If they are not well made and served, they will not be eaten, and much good food and seasoning will thereby be spoiled.

The utilization of the culinary odds and ends, which accumulate in the ice-box and pantry, deserves the highest consideration ; for without this it would be impossible to please the palates of the " men-folks," who, if fed on a continual diet of fresh meats which were but once cooked, would become unbearable. Their nerves would be shattered ; and happiness, under such a condition of things, would be impossible.

RELISHES FOR THE LUNCHEON TABLE. 1 3

RELISHES FOR THE LUNCHEON TABLE.

Relishes are very essential at the lunch table, and they should be served in as neat a manner as possible.

They should be constantly varied from day to day, whenever possible.

On fish days the salted anchovies and the German sardellen are acceptable ; they should, however, be served in fillets or strips, and firee fi-om skin and bone. Lemon should be served with them.

Broiled sardines are sometimes served as a relish.

When cold roast meats are served, a most acceptable relish to accompany them is pickled walnuts. A jar of horse radish is always appreciated by the lover of cold meats.

Radishes are excellent as a relish, but they should not be served repeatedly. If they are, they are more apt to cloy and dull one's appetite than to tantalize it.

A most agreeable relish will be found in the raw green sweet peppers; they are not too

14 GERMAN RADISHES.

peppery, and their peculiar flavor is a delight to the epicure.

German Radishes. — The little red radish is seldom tender after the first of June, and in its stead we name the white rusty German radishes, which are excellent. Scrape off the outer coating, and cut the radish in very thin slices ; arrange them on a platter, and strew over them a liberal quantity of salt; let them stand a few moments, then serve.

The long black radish is prepared thus : Scrape off the skin carefully, and cut the thin slices nearly through without spoiling the shape of the radish or dividing it, then insert a Httle salt between the slices ; let it stand fifteen minutes, and eat by pulling off one or two slices at a time.

Pickles. — Wash one hundred small cucumbers in cold water, dry them in a cloth, and put them in a butter firkin or an unglazed crock. Boil two gallons of water, and add a pound and a quarter of coarse kitchen salt ; skim until clear, and pour it on the cucumbers ; let them remain in the brine three days ; drain them in a colander. Wash out the vessel, and put into it a sliced raw onion, three green peppers sliced, a tablespoonful of mustard seeds, a tablespoonful each of whole cloves, peppercorns, and allspice.

NASTURTIUMS PICKLED. 1 5

Now add the cucumbers, and pour over them two gallons of boiling cider vinegar. The spices may be put in a thin cloth bag if desired ; and if you wish to have the pickles brittle, add a bit of alum the size of two peas. The cucumbers may remain in the brine for days, but should be soaked in fresh water before pickling.

Nasturtiums Pickled. — Wash the fleshy fruits in cold water, and drain. Strew over each quart of them a teaspoonful of salt; let them stand over night. Wipe them dry and free from salt, and put them in bottles. Boil a quart of vinegar with an ounce of whole mixed spice. When it is cold, add a little of it to each bottle. If the seeds are packed closely, half a pint of the vinegar will be sufficient in each bottle. Add a few whole green tarragon leaves to each bottle, cork and seal.

Tomatoes for Winter Use. — Select sound and thoroughly-ripe tomatoes, scald and peel them; parboil them three minutes; salt slightly; put them into warm jars, and make them air-tight as fast as filled.

Field Mushrooms for Winter Use. — Select the smallest of those gathered, and wipe them free from grit. Put into a frying pan a quarter of a pound of the very best butter. Add to it two whole cloves, a saltspoonful of salt, and

1 6 MUSHROOM TABLE SAUCE.

a tablcspoonful of lemon juice. When hot add a quart of the small mushrooms, toss them about in the butter for a moment only, then put them in jars ; fill the top of each jar with an inch or two of the butter, and let it cool. Keep the jars in a cool place, and when the butter is quite firm, add a top layer of salt. Cover to keep out dust.

Mushroom Table Sauce. — Select the largest mushrooms for this purpose. Put into the wooden chopping bowl a layer of mushrooms with the root ends upright. Strew over them a layer of fine salt. Repeat this process until five pounds of mushrooms and one pound of salt are used. Cover with a cloth, and let them stand forty-eight hours ; then rub through a colander or sieve, and put it in an unglazed crock or porcelain-lined kettle. Mix together one-quarter of an ounce of black pepper, a quarter of an ounce of ground allspice, half of a bay leaf, a quarter of an ounce of ginger, and one clove of garlic. Mix, and add to it a quart of claret ; boil it a moment, and add it to the mushroom sauce. Boil the whole fifteen minutes ; strain, and add to it half a pint of soy (to be had at the grocer's) ; mix and bottle.

Chervil Vinegar. — Chervil is a delicious salad herb, invariably found in all salads prepared

PRESERVED WATERMELON RIND. I 7

by a French epicure. No man can be a true epicure who is unfamiliar with this excellent herb. Its leaves resemble parsley, but are more divided, and a few of them added to a breakfast salad give a delightful flavor. A few drops of vinegar flavored with it, or added to fish sauces or salads, is excellent, and well repays the little trouble taken in its preparation. Half fill a bottle with fresh or dry chervil leaves ; fill the bottle with good vinegar, and heat it gently by placing it in warm water, which bring to boiling point ; remove from the fire ; cork when cool, and in two weeks it will be ready for use.

Preserved Watermelon Rind. — Cut off the outer rind and all of the red part from the inside ; cut the rind in strips or squares, and boil in a liberal quantity of sirup, allowing a pound and a quarter of sugar in a quart of water to the pound of rind. Make the sirup first, and clarify it with white of egg, skim, and add the rind ; simmer until quite transparent ; remove the rind, boil down the sirup one-third, then pour it over the rind.

Preserved Strawberries. — Gather the strawberries in dry weather, when they are not over-ripe, and pick without bruising them. Put them in clean, dry, wide- mouthed bottles. Take equal weight of sugar, and add a pint of water

1 8 PRESERVED PEACHES.

to every three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar ; boil until quite clear, and strain. When a little cool, pour it in the bottles, cork, and tie tliem with string. Wrap straw around them to prevent them from being broken. Put them in a large stewpan, and add cold water up to their necks. Allow the water to boil, then draw to one side, and let the bottles remain until the water becomes cold. Examine the corks, retie or wax them over, and they are ready for use or keeping.

Preserved Peaches. — Fill a four-quart steamer with perfectly sound ripe peaches ; place the steamer on top of a pot of fast-boiling water for three minutes, then remove, and allow the fruit to become cold ; peel them carefully, and weigh them. Boil together three pounds of sugar and one pint of water ; remove all scum until quite clear. Soak a tablespoonful of Nelson's gelatine in a gill of cold water ten minutes, drain off the cold and add a pint of hot water. Add this to the sugar, and boil and skim until clear. If not clear enough, whisk into it the v/hite and shell of one egg, and strain through a flannel bag; but this is hardly necessary for ordinary household sirup used in preserving. Make an incision in one side of each peach down to the stone. Add four pounds of the

BRANDY PEACHES. 1 9

peaches to, the sirup, and boil five minutes. Scald the jars carefully, so as not to crack them, then place them in a dripping-pan, and surround them with hot water ; fill the jars with the sirup, and put about nine peaches in each quart jar ; place the clean rubber band on each jar as fast as it is filled, and screw on the cover. Remove, and when they are cold test the covers to make them as tight as possible. (The gelatine is used only when a thick sirup is desirable.)

Brandy Peaches. — Prepare the peaches and the sirup as in the foregoing recipe, using the same proportions, and before filling the jars add a pint of the best brandy, slightly warmed.

** Sweet -Pickle" Peaches. — Mix the following spices together : a teaspoonful each of whole allspice and "chip" cinnamon, a tablespoonful of minced green ginger, half a teaspoonful of cloves, and one nutmeg broken into small pieces ; put the mixed spice in an earthen crock, and pour on it a quart of hot vinegar; cover, and let it infuse three days, stirring it daily ; allow it to settle, then strain. Put into a porcelain-lined kettle or pot five pounds of C sugar; add the spiced vinegar, and boil ; skim, and when no more scum rises it is ready. Do not procure your peaches until the pickle is ready. Scald five pounds of firm

20 CRAB APPLES PICKLED.

but ripe peaches ; wipe them well ; boil the pickle, and pour it over the peaches ; boil five minutes, and let stand until cold ; remove the fruit, and boil the pickle once more ; add the peaches, and put into a large crock with a cover. Six days afterwards, boil up once, fill the warm jars, and make them air-tight. [It sometimes happens that the most carefully-prepared pickles or preserves will prove a disappointment; but if you will keep all kinds of home-made relishes in a room or cellar free from sudden changes of temperature, you will experience very little trouble with them. Should they appear cloudy, or develop a fungoid growth, drain off the sirup, and boil up once, or open the jars and place them in warm water which should be brought to the boiling point. All jars not filled to the top should be refilled. This is best done by using the contents of one of the jars, which is less troublesome than preparing a fresh pickle. Do not put too many peaches in a jar ; if quart jars are used, nine medium-sized peaches to each jar will be sufiicient.]

Crab Apples Pickled. — Select bright red crab apples with stems on, and boil them whole' until tender.^ Care must be exercised not to cook them long enough to break their skins. Boil the sweet pickle, and pour it over the fruit ;

TOMATOES IN SWEET PICKLE. 21

repeat the process three days in succession, boiling the pickle each time ; fill the jars after the last boiling, and seal.

Toinatoes in Sweet Pickle. — Select sound, ripe tomatoes of equal size, and blanch or scald them. When cool, skin them. Dry and powder the skins, which are excellent for coloring soups, sauces, etc. Put the peeled tomatoes into a large steamer, and steam them a quarter of an hour; then put them in a sweet pickle, and boil ten minutes over a very moderate fire. Handle them carefully so as not to break them. Store them away in wide crocks. The pickle should cover the tomatoes when they are put away.

Pears in Sweet Pickle. — When pears are cheap, families are warranted in putting them up for winter use. Pare the fruit as neatly as possible, leaving the stems on. Boil them in hot water or steam them twenty minutes ; then boil them in the pickle twice upon successive days, only a moment each time.

Cucumbers in Sweet Pickle. — Select large, full-grown cucumbers ; quarter them lengthwise, remove the seeds, then cut each piece in two crosswise. Cover the pieces with wine vinegar, and let them stand two days. Then drain, and boil them a moment in a sweet pickle ;

22 FIG TOMATOEg.

take them out of the pickle, and put them in a crock. Let the pickle boil five minutes, and pour it over the cucumbers. Let them stand ten days, and boil the pickle once more. When cold pour it over the cucumbers. Let them stand two weeks before using. Watermelon rind may be treated in like manner. (Pumpkin, squash, and citron boiled ten minutes, then boiled in the sweet pickle, with the addition of a root or two more of green ginger, will be found excellent winter relishes.)

Fig Tomatoes. — (This excellent recipe originally appeared in " Harper's Magazine," contributed some years ago by Mrs. EHza Marsh. As I have tested it, and found it valuable, it is proper to give the lady due credit.) The fig tomatoes are both yellow and red, and are abundant at their season. " Pour boiling water over them to more easily remove their skins, after which weigh them, and place them in stone crocks in layers with an equal amount of sugar. Let them stand two days; then pour off the sirup, and boil and skim it until no scum arises. Pour it over the tomatoes, and let them stand two days, then boil the sirup and skim again. After the third4ime they are fit to dry, if the weather is good ; if not, let them stand in the sirup until pleasant weather ; then place the to-

TOMATO KETCHUP. 23

matoes on large platters or dishes, and set them in the sun to dry, which will take about a week. When thoroughly dry, pack them neatly in small wooden boxes with fine sugar between the layers, and they will keep for years."

Fig tomatoes put up in sweet pickle are excellent. The skins may be left on.

Tomato Ketchup. — Cut into slices half a bushel of ripe tomatoes, put them in a large earthen crock, and between each' layer put a small quantity of salt (enough to season them nicely) . Let them stand eight hours. Put into a large saucepan two ounces of mustard seed, one ounce of celery seed, a dozen whole cloves, the bruised cloves of six roots of garlic, two roots of green ginger shredded, an ounce of fresh capsicum peppers, a blade of mace, and two ounces of shredded horseradish root. Add the tomatoes and half a pound of cut sugar. Boil slowly three hours ; stir occasionally, care being used not to allow it to burn. Add a quart of new brandy. Strain while hot ; cover close, and let stand two days ; bottle, cork, seal, and keep in a cool place. It will be noticed that no vinegar is used. The object is to prevent fermentation, which invariably appears when it is used. Strain the ketchup as free from seeds as possible, as they are objectionable.

24 RAW OYSTERS.

This ketchup is expensive ; but it is wonderfully good, and very little of it produces remarkable results on the palate of an appreciative guest.

FISH AND SHELLFISH.

Raw Oysters. — It is in order to advise housewives how they should order their oysters opened ; for, while there may not appear to be any danger in so innocent-looking a thing as an oyster, there is nevertheless great danger of its killing us if by chance we should swallow a ragged piece of oyster shell when eating oysters. There is just one way to prevent this danger, and that is by refusing all oysters that have been opened by the process known as " smashing.'* This operation spoils the appearance of the oyster and its shell ; and small particles of the shell are hammered into the body of the oyster, which, when introduced into the stomach, become a terror as deadly as the mistakes of druggists. Insist on it that your oysters are opened by the stabbing process, and you avert this danger. Children should not be allowed to eat oysters — raw or cooked — unless they have been thoroughly and carefully examined for

OYSTERS EN BROCHETTE. 25

minute particles of shells. I am very serious about this oyster- opening business ; for, having lost a very dear friend through his having carelessly swallowed a piece of oyster shell which clung to the oyster, I feel that I cannot be too emphatic on this subject.

Oysters en Brochette. — Select one dozen choice oysters, plunge them into hot water a second to make them firm (this process is called blanching) , then drain, and dip them into melted butter ; arrange them on skewers with alternate layers of neatly- sliced bacon; broil over a moderate fire. When done add maitre-d'hotel butter to them, and serve on the skewers.

Fried Oysters. — Beat up the yolks of four eggs with three tablespoonfuls of sweet oil, and season them with a teaspoonful of salt and a s-altspoonful of cayenne pepper; beat up thoroughly. Dry twelve fat oysters on a napkin ; dip them in the egg batter, then in cracker dust ; shake off the loose cracker dust, dip them again in the egg batter, and lastly roll them in fine bread crumbs. Fry in very hot fat, using fat enough to cover them. The oil gives them a nice flavor.

Curry of Oysters. — Put an ounce of butter in a pan, add to it a teaspoon of curry powder, and water enough to prevent burning.

26 DEVILED OYSTERS ON TOAST.

Put fifteen oysters in just water enough to cover them, simmer three minutes, and drain ; thicken the broth with a teaspoonful of flour, salt to taste, stir this into the curry; add the oysters, simmer a moment, and serve with boiled rice. ^

Deviled Oysters on Toast. — Mix together a heaping saltspoonful of mustard flour, half a saltspoonful each of white pepper and salt, and the yolk of one egg. Dip six oysters in the paste, then in fine crumbs, and broil over a moderate fire. When done, arrange on toast, and squeeze over them the juice of half a lemon.

Pickled Oysters. — A few pickled oysters may be served instead of clams during warm weather. Scald a quart of oysters a moment, drain, and put them in jars. To a pint of oyster liquor, add half a pint of hot water and half a pint of hot vinegar ; pour over the oysters ; add three cloves, four whole peppers, a small bit of mace, and a slice of lemon, to each jar. This will be sufficient for two ordinary fruit jars.

Soft Clams in Chafing Dish. — Select a dozen large Guilford clams, wash them thoroughly, and plunge them into boiling water for a moment. Drain and open them, and use the round plump part only. Put in a chafing dish a pat of butter, and when quite hot add a dash of flour, and cayenne to suit the taste ; add the

STEWED LITTLE-NECK CLAMS. 27

clams, and, when they are slightly cooked, add a gill of light sherry. Cover the dish, and allow it to simmer five minutes. Have ready three slices of toast, put four clams upon each slice, add a little of the hot sherry, and serve.

Stewed Little-Neck Clams. — Get two dozen freshly opened, very small clams. Boil a pint of milk, a dash of white pepper, and a small pat of butter. Now add the clams. Let them come to a boil, and serve. Longer boiling will make the clams almost indigestible.

Soft Clams. — Select a dozen soft-shell clams ; wash them well ; remove the shells ; trim off the tough neck \ place each clam on a half shell, and add to each half a teaspoonful of finely-chopped bacon, a little cayenne, a very small bit of onion, and a pat of butter rolled in flour ; strew over the top a little grated Parmesan cheese, and bake to a delicate brown. Cracker crumbs may be used instead of the cheese if preferred.

Snapping Turtle. — Philadelphia is the home of this most highly-esteemed dish. Select a turtle weighing about ten pounds, allow it to swim in a tub of clean water half a day. Half fill a wash boiler with water ; when it boils, drop the snapper into it. (This is the quickest and best mode of killing : cutting his head off is apt

28 SHRIMP PASTE.

to be attended with difficulties when attempted by amateurs.) Boil twenty-five minutes, then plunge in cold water to cool. Remove the nails, scales, and outer skin, turn it over, and separate and remove the breast or lower shell. Remove the entrails carefully, saving the liver only ; cut off the gall bag without breaking it ; divide the remainder of the flesh in neat pieces, put them in a pot, and add a gallon of water. Simmer four hours. Add salt to taste, a teaspoonful of whole peppercorns, a pinch of nutmeg, the grated rind of a lemon, and a heaping tablespoonful of mixed dry herbs.

Five minutes before serving, add a pint of sherry, a little cayenne, and three hard-boiled eggs chopped fine ; cut a lemon in slices, and add them, and serve. Should the turtle contain eggs, they may be served separately.

Shrimp Paste. — You can make an excellent shrimp paste as follows : Boil the shrimps half an hour; when cool, shell them; put the shells in a mortar, and pound them to a paste ; add two ounces of butter to the pound of shells, and season with salt and cayenne ; add a pint of hot water, and simmer an hour ; strain. Now put the edible or_tail part in the mortar, and pound it to a paste, moisten with the liquid from the shells, and season liberally with salt and cayenne. Put

FINNAN HADDIE WITH POACHED EGGS. 29

it in a double saucepan, surrounded by water, and heat it through. Fill the jars three-fourths full of the mixture. Pour over it enough melted butter to fill the jar, and keep in a cool place. When wanted, remove the butter. This paste will be found excellent for sandwiches, sauces, etc., but not of the same color as the shrimp paste of the shops, which is colored with chemicals.

Finnan Haddie with Poached Eggs. — Finnan baddies are smoked haddock. Most of the fish smoked in this vicinity are invariably kept too long before being cured, and are, therefore, quite inferior to the Scotch and Canadian prepared fish. Cut the fish into pieces about three inches square. Remove the skin, and parboil fifteen minutes. Drain quite dry in a towel, and brush over the fish a little butter ; broil a moment, and add melted butter and a little lemon juice ; on top of each piece of fish place a poached egg. The fish may be boiled until done, and served in this manner, instead of broiling afterwards.

Spiced Salmon. — Cut from a medium-sized salmon six slices even, about an inch and a half in thickness. Put a slice in an earthen crock, one wide enough to admit of the salmon being removed from it, when cooked, without

30 BROILED YARMOUTH BLOATERS.

breaking the slices. Season it nicely with a part of a blade of mace, a bit of bay leaf, one clove of garlic, six whole peppercorns, four cloves, a little salt, and a thin slice of lemon. Add another slice of salmon, and season in like manner, and repeat the process until all the slices are used. Add equal parts of vinegar and water to cover the fish; set the crock (covered) in a saucepan of water, simmer three hours, and allow it to cool before uncovering. The best brand of canned salmon is excellent served in this manner, but requires not more than fifteen minutes boiling to make it perfect.

Broiled Yarmouth Bloaters. — Bloatherrings, or bloaters, are large herrings smoked and cured. They are called Yarmouth from Yarmouth, Eng., where they were supposed to be first cured. They are a very appetizing breakfast dish. Spht them down the back, remove the bone and head, and broil three minutes. Pour over it a little lemon juice mixed with hot butter.

How to eat Prepared and Preserved Fish. — Many object to eating fish of any kind, owing to the after effects. This unpleasantness is caused by flooding the food with liquids while eating. Drink your coffee and other \iqi\ids Jirsf, and afterward eat the salmon. Above all,

POTTED FISH. 3 1

masticate properly, and you will have no further trouble.

Potted Fish. — The lunch table is the place to introduce home-made potted and pickled fish of all kinds ; and when good fish are plentiful and cheap, a jar of them should be found in every household.

Clean the fish thoroughly, remove the head, tail, and skin ; split the fish in two lengthwise, then cut each half into neat pieces of equal size. Put into an old-fashioned stone jar a layer of sliced onion, add a layer of the raw fish, strew over it a liberal quantity of whole mixed spice and salt ; add another layer of fish, and season as before, and continue this process until all the fish is used. Cover the fish with good vinegar ; make the jar air-tight, and put it in a pan of water, simmer half a day, and do not remove cover until it is cool.

When serving, arrange neatly on the dish, and garnish with hard-boiled eggs quartered lengthwise, and lemon similarly cut.

Potted Eels. — This is the only way in which eels are appreciated by some. They seem to lose their peculiar oily flavor, and are very acceptable at lunch.

Prepare them as in the foregoing recipe, and add a few bay leaves to the seasoning ingredients.

32 FRIED EELSr

Fried Eels. — Cut the cleaned eels into three-inch pieces, and strew over them a quantity of salt ; let stand an hour, rinse off the salt, dip them in beaten egg, then roll in crumbs, and fry in boiling fat.

Codfish Balls. — A well-made codfish ball is a delicious dish, but recently it has fallen into disrepute for one reason.

Some feAv years ago an inventive Yankee conceived the idea of putting up in small boxes what he called " boneless codfish ; " and since then a perfect codfish ball is a very rare article, for the simple reason that very little of the true codfish is used.

Species of codfish, such as hake, haddock, pollock, and fifty other varieties, are so put up whenever cheap ; but the true codfish is seldom if ever used. When wanted, purchase the old-fashioned salted, dried fish, and pick it to pieces as fine as possible, or rub it to fine shreds in a mortar. Soak it six hours ; drain, and simmer half to three-quarters of an hour. Wash, peel, quarter, and boil twice the quantity of potatoes that you have of fish; mix fish and potatoes together while warm, and beat them as light as possible. To a pound of fish add three ounces of butter, two beaten eggs, and cayenne or white pepper to taste. When well incorporated shape

SHAD ROE EN BROCHETTE. 33

into small, very neat cakes not over half an inch thick or two inches and a half in width, and fry in boiling fat.

Shad Roe en Brochette. — Parboil the roes slightly; cut them into inch pieces, and dredge them with flour. Arrange the pieces alternately on skewers with neat thin pieces of bacon, and broil a delicate brown on all four sides j seive with sauce maitre d'hotel.

HASH.

A Kind Word for it. — The paragraph writer who has not penned a slur at the homely fare known as hash is a rara avis, and the poet whose first attempt at doggerel was not a denunciation of boarding-house hash is yet to be found. Slangy men of the world call a hotel or restaurant a "hashery," signifying that the resort is a place to avoid, it being cheap and not nice. Yet, with all the censure heaped upon it by an unappreciative public, hash is, from a hygienic standpoint, the very best mode of, serving food. This statement may seem incredible, but when we consider it a moment we realize the truthfulness of it. Statistics are not wanting to prove that minced food digests almost as soon