Books and My Food: With Literary Quotations and Original Recipes for Every ..

"GERARD'S brown-bread pudding" is made with half a potmd of stale brown bread, grated, the same amount of currants and raisins, four eggs, half a pound of shredded suet, a gill of cream, a cup of sugar, a teaspoonful of nutmeg and a small glassful of brandy. Boil in a floured cloth one hour. This is a very light and delicate pudding, by reason of omitting the flour, usually considered necessary. MARCH 29TH « ( Art is very well/ said Mr. Brandon, ' but with such pretty natural objects before you I wonder you were not content to think of them. ' ** 'Do you mean the mashed potatoes. Sir?' said Andrea, wondering." — ^Thackeray ("Diary of C. Jeames de la Pluche, Esq.*'). MASH six large, freshly boiled potatoes with an open wire masher to keep them light and flaky. Season with a tablespoonful of butter; salt and pepper to taste. Stir in a cupful of cream ; beat into them two eggs. When well beaten, heap lightly in the dish in which they are to be served and set in the oven until a rich golden brown. MARCH 30TH "And YOU, gentlemen, what do you say to some elegant deviled kidneys for yourselves?" — ^Thack- ERAY ("The Tremendous Adventures of Major Gahagan"). SCALD a beef kidney, skin and slice it in thin slices, put an ounce of butter into a frying-pan; when hot add the kidney, a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce, a saltspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of dry mustard, simmer five minutes, add a gill of sour wine. Move the pan back and forth for a few moments over the fire, then serve. MARCH 31ST "He takes mutton chops for dinner and the best of arrow-root for supper." — Charlotte Bronte ("Shirley"). WHEN you would have arrowroot for supper put into a sauce-pan half a pint of water, a glass of sherry, or a tablespoonful of brandy, a little grated nutmeg and a scant tablespoonful of sugar. Let it boil up once, then stir in a dessertspoonful of arrowroot, previously rubbed smooth, with two spoonfuls of cold water. Return to the fire, stir and boil three minutes. APRIL 1ST "This Bouillebaisse a noble dish is — A sort of soup or broth, or brew. Or hotch-potch of all sorts of fishes. That Greenwich never could outdo: Green herbs, red peppers, mussels, saffron. Soles, onions, garlic, roach and dace: All these you'll eat at Terras tavern In that one dish of Bouillebaisse." — ^Thackeray ("Poems"). THE famous bouillebaisse is indeed, as Thackeray describes it, a sort of fish chowder, but it seldom contains all the ingredients he mentions. It may be made with four pounds of fresh cod, two onions, a clove of garlic, one peppercorn, two stalks of celery, a quart of white potatoes cut in small pieces, salt, pepper, and a quarter of a pound of salt pork, cut in slices. Put all the ingredients together in a granite kettle and stew slowly in water enough to cover them for three or four hours. Just before serving add one quart of hot milk. APRIL 2D "Invite him to dinner, Emma, and help him to the best of the fish and chicken, but leave him to choose his own wife." — ^Jane Austen (" Emma"). SHAD seems to the English visitor the best of American fish, and the truly national way of cooking it is to plank it — ^a much simpler operation than it is commonly regarded. A shad plank may be bought now at any large housefurnishing store. Split the fish as for broiling, wash and wipe dry, and tie with the inside upward on the plank. Salt and pepper thoroughly and dredge with flour. Either place the plank before a grate of clear coals — ^the orthodox way — or in a very hot oven. A thick shad will take fully half an hour to cook. When done, cut away the cords and butter the fish well, serving it on the plank. APRIL 3D "A little pipkin with a bit Of mutton or of veal in it. Set on my table trouble-free, More than a feast contenteth me." — ^Hersick ("Poems").