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

THE following recipe for mincemeat has been used in one family for nearly fifty years, and three generations have sung its praises. The materials required are three large cupfuls of finely chopped beef, boiled very tender; six cupfuls of chopped apples; one cupful of molasses; one tablespoonful of cinnamon, one of allspice, and half a tablespoonful of cloves; one nutmeg, grated ; two tablespoonfuls of salt, chopped peel of two lemons, two cupfuls of sugar, one quart of hard cider, juice and pulp of an orange and a lemon, half a pound of currants, half a pound of raisins, a quarter of a pound of sliced citron, a cupful of brandy. Mix all the ingredients together and boil them half an hour. Turn the mixture into a stone crock, cover with a white cloth tied down to exclude dust, and a tin cover or a plate on top of this. In a cool place it will keep for months. The pie-crust will be more wholesome, though less flaky, if made with butter in place of lard. NOVEMBER 23D " 'Tis the sour sauce to the sweet meat." — ^Dryden ("To Etheridge"). THE best tart sauce to eat with meat, particularly poultry, is made of cranberries. In one pint of cold water put one quart of the berries; cook slowly till broken to pieces, when they should be removed from the fire and put through a colander. Add the sugar, return to the fire, and cook just long enough to have the sugar dissolve. NOVEMBER 24TH "Nothing but barons of beef and turkeys would go down with him, — to the great greasing and detriment of his new sackcloth bib and tucker." — Charles Lamb. TO prepare a stuffed boiled turkey, mix with one quart of breadcrumbs half a head of celery, chopped fine; two scant tablespoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, and two eggs. Stuff the turkey with this, sew up and truss. Wring a square cloth out of cold water and dredge it thickly with flour. Pin the turkey in ao6 this and plunge into boiling water. Let it boil rapidly for fifteen minutes, then set back where it will simmer. Allow three hours for a turkey weighing nine pounds. Serve with celery sauce. NOVEMBER 25TH "One would not, like Lear, 'give everything.' I make my stand upon pig.'" — Charles Lamb. ALTHOUGH fewer people than formerly "make their stand upon pig," one form or another of pork is frequently used to make variety in plain bills of fare. An old-fashioned dish that still can count its appreciative partakers is "fried pork and apples," a very rich and palatable combination. Fry five or six slices of pork until about half done, then lift them out of the fat and put them in another frying-pan to finish cooking. To the fat in the first pan add thick slices of apples, cored but not peeled, and stew until tender. A more delicate dish is made by substituting butter for pork fat and serving the apples with thin slices of broiled bacon. NOVEMBER 26rH "In after-dinner talk Across the walnuts and the wine." —Tennyson ("The Miller's Daughter"). BOIL together one cupful each of granulated sugar and boiling water for half an hour. Then dip the point of a skewer into the syrup and then into cold water. If the thread formed is brittle the syrup is ready. Do not stir, and boil slowly and steadily. When done set the kettle in boiling water. Take shelled walnuts on the point of a skewer and dip into the syrup, and lay on a lightly buttered dish to harden. NOVEMBER 27TH "We'll try whether Matthew or I shall get the laigest cut of the apple-pie to-day." — Chaslotte Bronte ("Shirley").