The Myrtle Reed Cook Book

BEEF HASH WITHOUT POTATOES

Mince the beef, season with grated onion, salt, and pepper. Reheat in the beef gravy, or in hot water, adding a little butter. Serve on toast. Shredded green pepper may be added.

FRIZZLED BEEF

Have dried beef cut very thin. Cover with cold water to which a small pinch of soda has been added, and bring gradually to the boil. Drain, add a lump of butter, and cook till the edges of the beef curl. Serve on slices of buttered toast with poached or fried eggs laid over the beef.

BEEF À LA NEWPORT

Prepare Creamed Dried Beef according to recipe elsewhere given, using the egg to thicken. Add half a cupful of stewed and strained tomatoes and a tablespoonful of grated cheese just before taking from the fire. Heat thoroughly and serve at once on toast.

CORNED BEEF HASH

Equal parts of cooked corn beef and cold potatoes, cut fine, or use more potato than meat if desired. Season with grated onion, pepper and salt, and a little butter, and heat thoroughly. A green pepper, shredded, is an invaluable addition to corned beef hash.

CORNED BEEF HASH À LA DELMONICO

Prepare as above, using the green pepper. Spread the hot hash thickly on thin slices of buttered toast, slip a poached egg on to each piece, sprinkle with pepper, salt, and minced parsley.

CREAMED DRIED BEEF

Prepare as directed for Frizzled Beef, having the beef cut into very small pieces. Make a cream sauce of one tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of flour, and two cupfuls of milk. Season with salt and pepper, and when smooth and thick add the cooked beef. A well-beaten egg added just before taking from the fire is an improvement. Serve on toast.

BACON AND EGGS

Have the bacon cut very thin. The colder it is, the better. Remove the rind and cook in a hot frying-pan until crisp. Skim out the bacon, break the eggs into the fat one at a time, and cook slowly, dipping the fat over the eggs occasionally with a spoon. Eggs must always be cooked at a moderate temperature. Serve on a hot platter, the eggs in the centre, the bacon for a garnish.

BROILED BACON

Broil on a gridiron, turning constantly. It will cook in three minutes. Perfectly cooked bacon is clear and crisp.

BREADED BACON

Dip slices of bacon in corn-meal and broil or fry. A Southern method.

BACON AND MUSH

Cut slices of cold corn-meal mush, dredge in flour, and fry brown. Serve with a strip of fried or broiled bacon on each slice.

BACON FRAISE

Make a batter of four eggs, half a cupful of milk, and a teaspoonful of flour. Fry some thin slices of bacon till transparent. Dip them in the batter, spread on a stoneware platter, cover with the remaining batter, and put into a moderate oven till a golden brown.

BACON À LA CRÊME

Fry thin slices of bacon as usual, place on a platter, and put into the oven to keep warm. Make a cream sauce, using the fat in the pan instead of butter. Pour over the bacon, sprinkle with minced parsley, and serve at once.

CALF’S BRAINS

Soak in cold water, parboil, remove pipes and membranes, throw into cold water, drain, wipe, and keep cool. They may be rubbed with melted butter and fried or broiled, or dipped in egg and crumbs and fried or broiled. Serve with a cream sauce or with a sauce of melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley.

CHICKEN HASH

Use cold cooked chicken and proceed according to directions previously given. Cold turkey or tongue makes delicious hash. A shredded green pepper will usually improve it. Any hash may be served on toast with a poached egg on each slice.

FRIED HAM

Freshen a slice of ham a few moments in boiling water. Drain, wipe, and fry slowly. Eggs may be served with it. See Bacon and Eggs.

FRIZZLED HAM

Prepare as above. When the ham is half done, sprinkle with flour and fry brown. When brown, add a tablespoonful of made mustard to the gravy, and boiling water enough to cover the ham. Simmer five minutes and serve on a hot platter.

HAM AND POACHED EGGS

Prepare as directed above. Poach the eggs separately and serve on the slices of ham.

BROILED HAM

Freshen in cold water, drain, wipe, and broil. May be breaded and broiled on a buttered gridiron.

HAM BALLS

One cupful of cooked ham, finely chopped, one cupful of bread crumbs, two cupfuls of cooked potatoes, mashed fine, a heaping tablespoonful of butter, two eggs, and a dash of cayenne. Melt the butter and beat all together until very light. Shape into small flat cakes, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry brown. May be prepared beforehand.

HAM TOAST

Half a cupful of cold cooked ham, finely minced, half a teaspoonful of anchovy paste, a bit of cayenne and pounded mace. Add half a cupful of milk and an egg, well beaten. Stir till thick, take from the fire, and spread thinly on dry buttered toast. A poached egg may be placed on each slice.

HAM RÉCHAUFFÉ

Butter individual custard cups, fill three fourths full of minced ham reheated in a cream sauce, break an egg into each cup, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and bake till the egg is set. Tongue, chicken, turkey, or other meats may be used in this same way.

HAM AND EGGS À L’AURORE

Mince cooked ham and reheat in a cream sauce, to which the shredded whites of hard-boiled eggs have been added. Spread on buttered toast and sprinkle with the sifted yolks of the eggs, rubbed through a sieve.

KIDNEY BACON ROLLS

Season a cupful of bread crumbs with grated onion, salt and pepper, and minced parsley. Moisten with egg well beaten. Spread the crumb mixture over thin slices of bacon and wrap each slice of bacon around a small kidney. Fasten with toothpicks or skewers. Put in a baking-pan and bake in a hot oven until the bacon is crisp. Remove the skewers and serve on a hot plate, garnished with parsley.

FRIED KIDNEYS

Cut in halves, skin, sprinkle with salt and red pepper, and fry one minute in a spider, with no additional fat. Serve with dry toast.

KIDNEYS EN BROCHETTE

Cut the kidneys into small squares after parboiling and skinning. String on small steel skewers with small squares of bacon alternating. Broil or fry or cook in the oven, dredging with flour or not, as preferred. If the bacon is not very fat, soak the kidneys in olive oil a few moments before stringing. Serve on the skewers.

CRUMBED KIDNEYS

Parboil, drain, wipe, and split the kidneys, keeping them open with skewers. Season with pepper and salt, brush with oil, roll in crumbs, and broil, fry, or cook in a very hot oven. Make a sauce of melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley, and pour over them if desired.

DEVILLED KIDNEYS

Parboil, drain, wipe, and slice the kidneys. Make a marinade of three tablespoonfuls of olive-oil, one of vinegar, – tarragon vinegar or lemon-juice may be used, – a teaspoonful of mustard, salt, and red pepper. Dip the sliced kidneys in this dressing and broil. Minced parsley is a pleasant addition to the marinade. After dipping in the dressing, they may be rolled in crumbs and fried. Serve plain, or with a sauce of melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley, or with the remaining marinade heated and poured over the kidneys.

KIDNEY AND BACON

Parboil and slice mutton or lamb kidneys. Fry brown in bacon fat and serve on dry toast with the bacon.

STEWED BEEF KIDNEY

Parboil, drain, wipe, and cut into dice. Cook five minutes in boiling water, drain, add a small onion, grated, a pinch of sage, and a cup of water. Bring to the boil once more, add a pinch of salt, and two hard-boiled eggs, cut fine. Thicken with one tablespoonful of cornstarch, rubbed smooth in a little cold water. Serve on toast.

KIDNEYS À LA TERRAPIN

Parboil, drain, wipe, and cut into dice. Reheat in cream sauce, to which hard-boiled eggs, cut fine, and minced parsley are added. Serve on toast.

BROILED KIDNEYS – MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL

Use veal or lamb kidneys. Plunge for an instant into boiling water, skim out, and wipe dry. Split down the middle without cutting through, skin, and run a skewer through each to keep flat. Broil as usual. When brown, remove the skewers, lay on a hot platter, pour over melted butter, add a squeeze of lemon-juice, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Kidneys and liver must be cooked very quickly, as long cooking makes them tough.

MINCED LAMB WITH POACHED EGGS

Chop cold roast lamb very fine. Season with salt, pepper, and a bit of mint. Reheat in the gravy, or in water, adding a little butter, or in a cream sauce. Spread thinly on thin slices of dry buttered toast, slip a poached egg on each slice, and serve at once, sprinkled with pepper and minced parsley.

BROILED LAMB’S LIVER

Cut the liver in thin slices, cover with olive oil, and soak half an hour. Drain, season with salt and pepper, dip in crumbs, and broil. Finish as for Broiled Kidneys.

CALF’S LIVER AND BACON

Cook the bacon first, skim out, and put the slices of liver, dredged with flour and seasoned with salt, into the hot fat. Cook very quickly.

LIVER À LA CRÊME

Parboil calf’s liver, drain, wipe, and cut into dice or chop coarsely. Reheat in a cream sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper. Minced parsley, lemon-juice, or finely cut capers may be added to the sauce. Serve on toast. Cold cooked liver may be used in this way.

LIVER HASH

Equal parts of cold cooked liver and cold potatoes, cut fine. Reheat in a frying-pan, adding butter and boiling water as necessary. Almost any cold cooked meat may be used in this way.

BAKED HASH

Butter a shallow baking-dish, pile in the hash loosely, smooth the top, dot with butter, and bake until brown and crisp. Turn out on a platter or serve in the dish, a fresh napkin or a paper frill being arranged around the dish.

LIVER BOULETTES

Chop cold cooked liver fine. Reheat in a very thick cream sauce, well seasoned. Cool, shape into small flat cakes, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry brown.

LIVER AND BACON BALLS

Cold cooked liver cut fine and half as much cooked bacon, chopped. Shape into small flat cakes, using a raw egg to bind if necessary. Dip in egg and crumbs and fry brown.

MEAT AND RICE BALLS

One cupful of cold cooked rice, one cupful of finely chopped cooked meat, – any kind, or several kinds, – a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper, two tablespoonfuls of butter, half a cupful of milk, and one egg. Put the milk on to boil, add the rice, meat, and seasoning. When it boils, add the egg, well beaten, and stir one minute. Take from the fire, cool, form into small flat cakes, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry brown. May be prepared the day before using.

FRIED SALT PORK

Cut in thin slices, freshen in cold water gradually brought to the boil. Drain, wipe, trim off the rind, roll in flour, and fry. When brown, put on a hot platter and make a cream sauce, using the fat in the pan. Fried salt pork with cream sauce poured over it is a venerable New England dish of some three centuries’ standing.

PHILADELPHIA SCRAPPLE

Use the head, heart, and feet of fresh pork. Boil until the flesh slips from the bone. Cool, take out the bones and gristle, and chop the meat fine. Set aside the water in which the meat was cooked, and when cold take the cake of fat from the surface. Bring the liquor to the boil once more, add the chopped meat, and when at a galloping boil, sprinkle in, slowly, enough corn-meal to make a thick mush. Cook slowly for an hour or more. Pour into a pan wet with cold water and let stand in a cold place over night. Turn out on a platter, cut in half-inch slices, and fry.

SAUSAGE

Prick the skins with a needle or fork to prevent bursting. Cover with boiling water, parboil five minutes, drain, wipe, and fry as usual. The sausage meat is made into small flat cakes, dredged with flour and fried. Bread crumbs may be used in making the sausage cakes if desired. If the cakes do not hold together readily, add a little beaten egg.

BAKED SAUSAGE

Prick the sausages and lay each one on a strip of buttered bread its own length and width. Arrange in a baking-pan and bake in a very hot oven till the sausages are brown and the bread crisp.

SAUSAGES BAKED IN POTATOES

Prick medium-sized sausages and brown quickly in a spider. Take out and keep warm. Core large potatoes, draw the sausages through the cores, and bake. A pleasant surprise for the person peeling the potato.

BROILED SWEETBREADS

Parboil, in slightly acidulated water, for five minutes, then throw into cold water. Remove pipes and fibres and let cool – the colder the better. Split, rub with melted butter, season with pepper and salt, and broil or fry. They may also be dipped in egg and crumbs and fried or broiled. Serve on a hot platter. A sauce of melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley is a pleasing accompaniment.

FRIED TRIPE

Tripe as it comes from the market is already prepared. Wash thoroughly, boil until tender, drain, and cool. Cut into strips, season with salt and pepper, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in butter or drippings until brown. It may be prepared for frying the day before and kept in a cool place. Breaded tripe may also be broiled on a buttered gridiron.

FRICASSEED TRIPE

Cut a pound of tripe in narrow strips, add a cupful of water, a piece of butter the size of an egg, and a tablespoonful of flour, rubbed smooth in a little cold water. Season with salt and simmer thirty minutes. Serve very hot, on toast if desired.

TRIPE À LA LYONNAISE

One pound of cooked tripe cut into inch squares, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one tablespoonful of chopped onion, one tablespoonful of vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Put the butter and onion in a frying-pan. When the onion turns yellow, add the tripe and seasoning, boil up once more, and serve immediately, on toast.

TRIPE À LA POULETTE

Fry a chopped onion in three tablespoonfuls of butter. When brown, add a pound of tripe, cut into dice, season with salt and paprika, and fry until the mixture is partially dry. Add a heaping tablespoonful of flour, and when the butter has absorbed it, add slowly two cupfuls of stock or milk and a slight grating of nutmeg. Simmer till the tripe is tender. Beat together one tablespoonful of melted butter and one tablespoonful of lemon-juice, stir into the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, take the tripe from the fire, mix thoroughly, and serve at once.

MINCED VEAL AND EGGS

Chop cold cooked veal very fine. Add hard-boiled eggs cut fine, one to each two cupfuls of meat. Reheat in hot water, adding melted butter, or in a cream sauce. A bit of green pepper, parsley, grated onion, pimento, or capers finely cut may be used for flavoring. Other meats may be prepared in the same way.

SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT

Certain things are well suited to replace meat at the breakfast table. It is a good idea to bar out the potato, unless in hash, for the simple reason that the humble vegetable appears at dinner about three hundred and sixty-five days in the year, and even a good thing may be worked to death. Americans have been accused, not altogether unjustly, of being “potato mad.” Potato left-overs can be used at luncheon, if not in hash for breakfast.

FRIED EGGPLANT

Slice the eggplant in slices one third of an inch thick, pare, put into a deep dish, and cover with cold water well salted. Soak one hour. Drain, wipe, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry brown.

BROILED MUSHROOMS

Choose large, firm mushrooms. Remove the stems, peel, wash, and wipe dry. Rub with melted butter and broil. Serve with a sauce made of melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley.

FRIED MUSHROOMS

Prepare as above, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Or sauté in butter in the frying-pan. Breaded mushrooms may be broiled if dipped in melted butter or oil before broiling.

BAKED MUSHROOMS

Prepare as above. Place in a shallow earthen baking-dish, hollow side up, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place a small piece of butter on each. Baste with melted butter and a few drops of lemon-juice. Serve very hot, on buttered toast.

GRILLED MUSHROOMS

Cut off the stalks, peel, and score lightly the under side of large, firm, fresh mushrooms. Sprinkle with pepper and salt and soak a few moments in oil. Drain and broil. Serve with lemon quarters and garnish with parsley.

FRENCH TOAST

Make a batter of two eggs, well beaten, a cupful of milk, a tablespoonful of melted butter, and spice or grated lemon- or orange-peel to flavor. Dip the trimmed slices of bread in this batter and fry brown in butter.

CORN OYSTERS

Two cupfuls of green corn, grated, half a cupful of milk, one cupful of sifted flour, two eggs, a teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful each of butter and lard. Beat the yolks of the eggs, add the milk, then the flour and salt. Beat to a smooth batter, add the corn, then beat again, adding the well beaten whites of the eggs last. Put the lard and butter into a frying-pan, and when very hot put in the batter by small spoonfuls. Brown on one side, then turn. If the batter is too thick, add a little more milk. The thinner the batter, the more delicate and tender the oysters will be. Canned corn may be used, if it is chopped very fine, but it is not so good. By scoring deeply with a sharp knife each row of kernels on an ear of corn, the pulp may be pressed out with a knife. The corn may be cut from the cob and chopped, but the better way is to press out the pulp.

Regardless of the allurements of wood and field, it is always safest to buy mushrooms at a reliable market. So many people are now making a business of raising them that they are continually getting cheaper. The silver spoon test is absolutely worthless. In fact, the only sure test is the risky one: “Eat it, and if you live it’s a mushroom – if you die it’s a toadstool.” However, when buying mushrooms of a reliable dealer, one takes practically no risk at all, and, even at the highest price, a box of mushrooms is much cheaper than a really nice funeral.

EGGS

Various rules have been given for testing the freshness of eggs, but there is only one which is reliable, and it is, perhaps, the most simple of all. It is merely this: open the egg and look at the contents in a strong light. It is better to hold it near the eyes and at the same time take a deep breath inward.

Strictly fresh eggs come from the country sometimes with the date of their appearance stamped indelibly in purple on the egg. This is done by giving the hens chopped calendars with their meals. Care should be taken, however, to furnish this year’s calendar. Nobody wants an egg with a last-year’s date on it and the error is likely to disarrange the digestion of the hen. Eggs flavored with onions or tomatoes are secured by turning the hens into a neighbor’s vegetable garden. A certain florist feeds his unsold roses to his hens and sells rose-flavored eggs to his customers at a fancy price. The hint is well worth remembering. Violet-flavored eggs might be had, doubtless, in the same way.

At a formal breakfast, all precautions should be taken to insure the freshness of the eggs. A conscientious hostess would be very much mortified if she served chicken out of its proper course.

POACHED EGGS

Use a skillet, or muffin-rings placed in a pan of water, not too deep. The water should barely cover the eggs. Bring the water to the boiling point, drop in the eggs carefully, one at a time, and remove from the fire immediately. Cover the pan and let stand until cooked. A teaspoonful of lemon-juice or vinegar in the water will keep the whites firm and preserve the shape of the eggs. Poached eggs are usually served on thin slices of buttered toast. Take up with a skimmer and let drain thoroughly before placing on the toast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. As every other writer who has given directions for poaching eggs has said that “the beauty of a poached egg is for the yolk to be seen blushing through the veiled white,” the author of this book will make no allusion to it.

SCRAMBLED EGGS

Put two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan. When it sizzles, break into it quickly six fresh eggs and mix thoroughly with a silver spoon for two minutes without stopping. Season with salt and pepper and a slight grating of nutmeg if desired. Scrambled eggs should be thick and creamy.

SCRAMBLED EGGS – II

Beat the eggs thoroughly, add one teaspoonful of cold water or milk for each egg and beat again. Cook as above.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH ASPARAGUS TIPS

Have one cupful of cold cooked asparagus tips ready. In boiling asparagus its color will keep better if the smallest possible pinch of baking soda be added to the water. It should be cooked quickly in an uncovered saucepan. Prepare the eggs as for Scrambled Eggs – II, and when they begin to thicken, put in the asparagus tips and stir until the eggs are done. One half cupful of the asparagus tips to each three eggs is about the right proportion, but more may be added if desired. In making scrambles, allow one egg for each person and one extra for each three persons.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH DRIED BEEF

One cupful of minced dried beef, which has been soaked in boiling water for five minutes. Put it into melted butter, stir till the butter sizzles, then pour over six or seven-well-beaten eggs. Stir till the eggs are smooth and creamy. Serve at once. Any scramble may be served on toast if desired.

FRIED EGGS

Three tablespoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan. When it sizzles, slip in the broken eggs carefully, one at a time. Tip the pan and baste with the melted butter while cooking. If wanted crisp on both sides, turn the eggs over when the under side is done. Wet in cold water the saucer on which an egg is broken and the egg will not stick to it, but will slip easily into the pan. Olive oil may be used instead of butter, but the pan must be covered during the cooking, as the oil spatters.

FRIED EGGS AU BEURRE NOIR

Fry eggs as above, using butter or oil. When done, skim out, add more butter or oil to that in the pan, season with salt, pepper, vinegar, or lemon-juice, and let brown. When the butter is brown pour it over the fried eggs and serve.

EGGS À LA CRÊME

Make a cream sauce, using one tablespoonful of butter, two of flour, two cupfuls of milk, and pepper and salt to season. When the sauce is thick and creamy, add hard-boiled eggs coarsely chopped, and serve at once on toast. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

EGGS À LA TRIPE

Fry two sliced onions in butter, but do not brown. Stir in one cupful of milk or cream and enough flour to thicken, rubbed smooth in a little of the cream or milk. Season with salt, white pepper, and a bit of grated nutmeg. Stir till thick, then add eight hard-boiled eggs, sliced crosswise. Heat thoroughly and serve.

EGGS AU MIROIR

Butter a stone platter that will stand the heat of the oven. Break into it carefully enough fresh eggs to cover it, taking care not to break the yolks. Place in the oven till the eggs are set. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and minced parsley and serve at once.

EGGS WITH CREAMED CELERY

Make the cream sauce and put into it enough boiled celery, coarsely cut, to serve as a vegetable. Spread on buttered toast and lay a poached egg on each slice. The tough, unsightly portions of celery stalks may be used in this way.

CHICKEN LIVER SCRAMBLE

Use one cupful of chopped cooked chicken livers and six or seven well-beaten eggs. Prepare like other scrambles.

CHEESE SCRAMBLE

One half cupful of grated American cheese and six well-beaten eggs. Mix the cheese with the eggs before cooking.

EGGS À LA PAYSANNE

Put one half cupful of cream into a baking-dish, break into it six fresh eggs, and place in the oven till the eggs are set. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, minced parsley, and sweet green pepper.

EGGS À L’AURORE

Make the cream sauce and add to it the shredded whites of six or eight hard-boiled eggs. Spread on buttered toast and rub the yolks through a sieve, sprinkling each slice of toast with the powdered yolk. Sometimes called “Eggs à la Goldenrod.”

OYSTER SCRAMBLE

One cupful of oysters, cut fine. Pour boiling water over, drain on a fine sieve, and add six or seven well-beaten eggs. Prepare as other scrambles.

MUSHROOM SCRAMBLE

One cupful of cooked mushrooms, cut fine, six or eight well-beaten eggs. Serve on toast.

LOBSTER SCRAMBLE

One cupful of cold cooked lobster, six or eight well-beaten eggs. Mix before putting into the hot butter.

TOMATO SCRAMBLE

One cupful of stewed and strained tomato, or of fresh tomato peeled and rubbed through a sieve, six or eight well-beaten eggs. Mix before putting into the hot butter.

GREEN PEA SCRAMBLE

One cupful of cold cooked green peas, six or seven well-beaten eggs. Mix before beginning to cook.

HAM SCRAMBLE

One cupful of cold boiled ham, minced, mixed with eight well-beaten eggs. A little grated onion is an improvement.