The Cook County cook book

QUAIL STEW.— Cut 2 quails down the back, lengthwise, place them in a pan with some butter, and cook them. Lay the quails upon 2 large slices of toasted or fried bread. Add a little water to the liquor, thicken, and pour it over the birds, squeezing a little lemon juice over them. — Mrs. E, D. Kelley, Winnetka, 111. QUAILS ON TOAST.— Wipe 5 quails; do not remove the legs; string them tight, so as to raise the breasts. Put a little butter on each, a little lemon juice, and inside each a ½ of a peeled lemon. Put a very thin slice of pork, about 3 inches square, round each quail, with 2 or 3 cuts in each slice, and string it tight. Let cook on a good fire, when nearly done cut the string; dress on toast, and serve hot. Pour the juice on the quails after having taken off the fat, and put some slices of lemon around the dish, 1 for each quail. — Mrs. E. D. Kelley, Winnetka, VARIATION I.— After the birds are nicely cleaned cut them open down the back, salt and pepper them, and dredge with flour, break down the breast and back bones so they will lie flat, and place them in a pan with very little water and butter in a hot oven, covering them tightly until nearly done, then place in a spider in hot butter, and fry a moment, till a nice brown; have ready slices of baker's bread, toasted and slightly buttered, upon a platter. The toast should be broken down with a carving knife, so that it will be in the pan, thicken lightly with browned flour and pour over each quail and pour over each quail and the toast. — Mrs. John H. Snyder, 1337 W. Madison St., Chicago, 111. REED BIRDS.— Reed birds for broiling should be thoroughly dried and then greased with Lucca oil, placed on a steel skewer and held close to the coals on a broiler for 1 minute on each side to stop the pores and prevent the juice escaping. They should then be held a little further from the coals and cooked much or little, as preferred. Serve on toast with currant jelly, — ^^Mrs. Roger Rawlings, Chicago Heights, III. ROAST REED BIRDS.— Pluck and draw carefully, then salt and dredge flour over them. Roast about 15 minutes in a quick fire. Raw oysters can be placed in each one before putting it in the oven. Roll the oysters in bread crumbs. Rub butter and pepper over them. — Mrs. E. D. Kelley, Winnetka, 111. FRIED SNIPES AND PLOVERS.— These two birds are very often prepared and cooked without being drawn, the crop only is taken out, through a small slit in the skin on the back of the neck. The heads of these birds are left on. After they are cleaned, skin the head and tie it to the body with a string which you remove before serving. The time of cooking is determined by the size of the bird— — the smallest taking from 10 to 15 minutes. Clean the birds and wipe them dry; tie the legs close to the body, skin the head, after picking the feathers oflf as near the head as possible, tie the beak of each bird under one of its wings, tying also a thin slice of bacon around each breast. Place the birds in a frying basket, and fry in plenty of hot fat until it is a delicate brown. This should not take over 5 minutes if the fat is as hot as it should be. Season, and serve on toast. — Mrs. C. E. Jefferson, 505 S. 5th Ave., Maywood, 111.