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

LITTLE " plum-cakes '' much prized in New England, which go by the name of " Hermits," are made by creaming together half a cup of butter and one of sugar ; then adding a tablespoonful of milk and two lightly beaten eggs. When these are well mixed add two cups of flour into which has been stirred a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder and a cupful of stoned and chopped raisins. Roll about a quarter of an inch thick, using a little flour to keep from sticking. Cut in rounds and bake ten to fifteen minutes. AUGUST 7TH "Banish, dear Mrs. Cook, I beseech you,, the whole onion tribe." — Charles Lamb ("Essays of Elia"). PROBABLY escalloped onions were not in Lamb's mind when he uttered his wholesale condemnation, for they are much the least offensive to a sensitive nose. Boil the onions in three quarts of water for an hour, changing the water once. When tender, drain off the water and cut into small pieces ; put in a shallow baking dish and pour over them a cream sauce ; sprinkle with a cupful of bread crumbs, a tablespoonful of butter or grated rich cheese. AUGUST 8th ''A previously hearty sirloin of beef looked as if it had been suddenly seized with the palsy." — Charles Dickens ("Sketches by Boz"). WHEN the sirloin has been reduced to this condition it is not attractive on the table, and if it has fortunately been cooked decidedly rare it can be served as a " dry devil " very acceptably. Make a paste of three tablespoonfuls of oil, two of dry mustard, a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of black pepper, and rather less of paprika. Spread the paste over the slices of rare beef and dredge liberally with flour. Have a very hot frying pan, put in it three tablespoonfuls of butter (as needed), cook quickly, and serve as soon as done on a hot dish. If a still hotter dish is desired, increase the mustard and add cayenne. AUGUST 9TH "Bestrew'd with lettuce and cool salad herbs." — Beaumont and Fletcher ("Woman Hater"). THERE are very few vegetables that do not make an excellent addition to a macedoine salad — the " cool salad herbs " are almost unlimited. A few boiled potatoes, a plateful of lima or string beans, of peas, carrots, spinach, or boiled onion, may be harmoniously joined with uncooked celery, cress, or lettuce, and may be blended with a mayonnaise dressing and garnished with olives or capers or sliced cucumber pickle, or may be served with a simple French dressing poured over them. AUGUST lOTH "The coffee was boiling over a charcoal fire, and large slices of bread and butter were piled one upon the other like deals in a lumber yard." — Charles Dickens ("Sketches by Boz"). MUCH as French and Vienna coffee have grown in popular favor, some occasions and some people demand the old-fashioned sort, which may be made clear and delicious. Put in a bowl one heaping tablespoonful of ground coffee for each person and one for the pot ; add to it sufficient water to moisten it thoroughly; put into the pot with as many cupfuls of boiling water as you have tablespoonfuls of coffee, less one. Add the crushed shell of an egg, or a little of the egg itself, beaten up with water, and allow it to come slowly to the boiling ; let it boil two or three minutes; take from the fire, put in a cup of cold water to settle it; put it back on the fire ; let it stand for a few minutes and pour into the serving pot, which should be hot. AUGUST iiTH "There was a ripe melon, a fish from the river in a memorable B^amaise sauce, a fat fowl in a fricassee and a dish of asparagus followed by a dish of fruit." — Robert Louis Stevenson ("The Treasure of Frauchard").