Boston Cooking-School cook book

P oo BUTTER To Cream. Let stand at room temperature until softened. ~ Work with wooden spoon in round-bottomed bowl until creamy. To Wash. Rinse bowl in hot water and dip hands in hot water. Let cold water run into bowl and over hands. Hold butter under water and squeeze lightly between fingers until smooth and waxy. Double over quickly between palms and pat hard to remove water. ‘Chill. To Clarify. Heat in small pan. Remove white froth as it forms on top. Pour off butter, carefully keeping back sediment. 28 THE BOSTON COOKING-SCHOOL COOK BOOK To Cut. Cover knife blade with fold of waxed paper to make clean cut. To Decorate. Dip fork in hot water and draw across square of butter from corner to corner. Garnish with single leaf of parsley. Butter Balls. Wash butter or not. Scald and chill a pair of wooden butter paddles. Measure butter by teaspoonfuls for uniformity. Roll lightly between paddles to form ball. To shape rolls, flatten balls into cylinders between paddles. Drop onto chilled plate, on cracked ice, or into ice water. Butter Daintily Presented in Various Forms Butter Curls. Use butter curler. Dip in hot water each time. Beginning at far side of pound print of butter, draw curler lightly and rapidly towards you, making a thin shaving which curls up. Butter Molds. Scald and chill fancy butter molds. Pack solidly with butter and level off with knife. Press out and chill. FATS Save all remnants of cooked and uncooked fat and drippings from beef, poultry, chicken, pork, and soup stock. Try out and clarify, if necessary. Use for sautéing or as a shortening. To Try Out. Cut in small pieces or put through a food chopper and melt in top of double boiler; in this way it will require less watching than if placed in kettle over low flame. Strain. Store in cool place. EQUIPMENT AND METHODS a To Clarify Fat. Melt fat, add raw potato cut in 44-inch slices, and allow fat to heat gradually; when fat ceases to bubble and potatoes are well browned, strain into pan through double cheese- cloth, placed over wire strainer. The potato absorbs any flavors and collects to itself some of the sediment, the remainder settling to bottom of kettle. To Clarify Small Amount of Fat. Add boiling water to cold fat, stir vigorously, and set aside to cool. Remove cake of fat and scrape off sediment with a knife. SUGAR Brown Sugar. Store in bread box or in tight jar in warm place. To soften, set in oven until heated through. To Caramelize Sugar. Melt over moderate heat in heavy, shallow pan. Stir constantly. Caramel Sirup. Caramelize 1 cup sugar, add slowly 4 cup boiling water, and simmer 10 minutes. Brittle (for flavoring). Caramelize sugar, turn into slightly buttered pan, cool, roll, and sift. Praline Powder or Nut Brittle (for flavoring). Caramelize 1 cup sugar, add 1 cup chopped blanched almonds or pecans and a few grains of salt, turn into slightly buttered pan, cool, pound in mortar or with rolling pin, and put through purée strainer. To Dredge with Sugar (doughnuts, lady fingers, etc.). Place powdered sugar in paper bag, add some of the food to be sugared, gently shake bag up and down until article is well coated. Stuffed dates, candied orange and grapefruit peel, etc., may be coated with granulated sugar by the same method. CRUMBS Soft Bread Crumbs. Remove crusts from stale but still soft bread. Break in pieces, and crumble with fingers or put through a colander. ; Dry Bread Crumbs or Cracker Crumbs. Dry stale bread thoroughly in very slow oven until crisp but not brown. Use old- fashioned unsalted soda crackers. Roll and sift. If a large amount is to be prepared, put bread or crackers in clean paper bag and roll; sift and store in closed jar or covered box near heat. y 30 THE BOSTON COOKING-SCHOOL COOK BOOK Buttered Crumbs. Melt 1 tablespoon butter, add 14 cup cracker or bread crumbs and mix gently with fork. MISCELLANEOUS