The Aunts' Cook Book

Grandmother Davis's Chicken Pie (from Aunt Mattie) Boil a good-sized fowl until thoroughly cooked. Add three large potatoes sliced and cooked in broth from chicken with a little onion. Put in a deep baking-dish and cover with a plain pastry. Put plenty of the chicken broth in the pie. Bake. Aunt Mattie's Fried Chicken Select young chickens weighing about 2}/^ pounds. Draw and separate by cutting off wing and legs, upper joints, back and breasts. Split in middle. Do not split chicken down the back. Roll in flour and fry in lard to a light brown. Take from skillet and put in covered pan on back of stove to keep hot. Add to the lard 2 tablespoonsful of flour and when smooth add a cup of milk. This makes a thick cream gravy. 34 Miscellaneous Meats Auntie's Chicken a la Maryland Do not have chicken split down the back but cut off wings and legs. Separate upper and lower joints, split breast down middle, separate back and neck. Dry chicken thoroughly, salt and dip in flour, and then fry in very hot lard (not deep fat) and plenty of lard. Fry until a golden brown and then remove from pan and serve with cream gravy and corn fritters. Gravy Make gravy by leaving fat in pan after taking out chicken, sprinkle in enough flour to thicken, then add milk and boil. Fritters Grate 1 pint of corn, add 1 egg well beaten, 1 small cup of flour, J^ cup of butter, salt and pepper. Fry spoonful at a time. Serve with chicken. Aunt Emery's Breslau Chicken 1 3^ cups minced chicken 1 cup soup stock or milk Thicken milk with 1 tablespoonful of flour, add to the minced chicken and then flavor with a tablespoonful of onion juice and a little chopped parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 beaten eggs. Put mixture in custard cups and bake in a pan of water 20 to 25 minutes. Turn out and serve with white sauce. Miscellaneous Meats 35 Aunt Robbie's Chicken Waldorf White meat of 1 chicken (cooked) 1 truffle sliced thin. Batter made of 1 tablespoonful of flour mixed with a little water. Yolks of 2 eggs 2 tablespoonsful of Sherry or Madeira Salt. Cut up chicken in small cubes. Add truffle. Put in sauce-pan with cream. When heated add batter of flour and water. As soon as it begins to thicken remove from fire and add egg yolks mixed with the wine. Return to the fire and cook just long enough to finish thickening. Salt and serve. Aunt Robbie's Baked Chicken Use only young chickens. Cut up, rub with butter, flour and salt. Brown on top of stove in butter. Pour a little water or chicken stock in pan, cover and cook in oven 30 or 40 minutes. Baste constantly. Remove to platter and make gravy in pan in which chicken was cooked by adding chicken stock and thickening with flour and water batter. Add a little cream just before serving. Aunt Virginia's Chicken and Sweetbread Croquettes 1 large chicken 1 wine glass cream 2 sweetbreads 1 loaf of stale baker's bread J^ lb. butter Pepper, salt, parsley, onions and 2 eggs Boil the chicken and sweetbreads separately until perfectly tender, saving the water in which the chicken was boiled. Chop both very fine together, and season with pepper, salt, parsley 36 Miscellaneous Meats and a very little onion (about J^ teaspoon grated.) Rub the bread until you have equal quantities of crumbs and meat. Place on the fire as much of the chicken water as will moisten the bread crumbs, into which put the cream and butter. When it comes to a boil stir in the crumbs until they adhere to the spoon, mix with the meat and when sufficiently cool, stir in 2 eggs beaten light; mold, roll in grated bread and egg and boil in lard. Aunt Virginia's Chicken Croquettes