Twentieth century home cook book

Stewixg is the basis of all made dishes, and a most economical and savory manner of cooking. Its perfection depends upon the slowness with which it is done. A stew should never boil, nor even simmer. Two hundred degrees is the greatest heat admissible; 190 degrees is hot enough. Hence it is most safely performed by placing the stew-pan in another vessel of water — a Bain-marie. Stews should never be greasy nor very highly seasoned. The pot lid should be kept close, and an occasional shaking of the contents will save stirring. Irisll stew. — Take a neck of mutton, trim off some of the fat, and cut into as many cutlets as you have bones; shape them, and sprinkle them with pepper. Peel six moderate-sized onions, and for every pound of moat take one pound of potatoes. Blanch the vegetables separately. Take a clean three-quart stew-pan, and add half a pint of water or stock. Arrange a layer of potatoes at the bottom of the stew-pan, then cutlets, then onions; then potatoes, then cutlets, then onions, and so proceed until you have the whole in. Stew at least two hours if you want it rich ; or one hour if the meat is to be more solid. Beef Stew. — Cut cold beef into small pieces, and put into cold water ; add one tomato, a little onion chopped fine, pepper and salt, and cook slowly; thicken with butter and flour, and pour over toast. Or chop fine, cold steak or roast beef, and cook in a little water; add cream or milk, and thicken with flour; season to taste, and pour over thin slices of toast. Onion and Meat Stew. — Slice some onions and fry brown. Pound the meat, fry it over a hot fire until it browns a little, turning each piece as soon as it has been a few seconds in the pan, to keep in the juice. Put it into a saucepan, pour water into the fryingpan, and put this brown liquor, with the fried onions, to the beef. Let it simmer slowly for an hour. Other seasoning may be added, according to taste, or to vary the dish, such as tomatoes, fresh or in catsup, sage and summer savory, or a grated carrot. Young green CONVEX STEW-PAN. onions, such as must be thinned out, are good cut up in it; pepper and salt, and a teaspoonful of curry powder are a great improvement. If onions are not liked they may be left out, and the stew made brown with other fried vegetables, or the meat itself may be first fried. Beef Steak Stew with Jelly. — Take rump or round steak and pound it well, to make it soft, and lard it thoroughly. Put it in. a stew-pan, in equal parts of whitewine and water, and add some slices from a leg of veal. Season it with spice, salt, garlic, thyme and parsley. Simmer all over a steady fire four or five hours. When sufficiently done, remove the meat, and strain the broth through a sieve; then pour it into another pan, and boil it down until it becomes a jelly. If it is wished that the jelly should be clear, the whites of two eggs may be beaten up in a tablespoonful of stock broth and added to it, and well mixed. It must then be boiled for seven or eight minutes. Some lemon is then to be added, and the contents of the stew-pan strained through a fine cotton strainer; taking care not to squeeze the cloth, or the dregs may be forced through the pores of the material. The filtered jelly is then put in a cold place to set. When it has become perfectly solid it is to be cut into nice pieces, which should be tastefully arranged on the dish, around the piece of meat. Sometimes the jelly is colored before being strained by the addition of a little cochineal powder. Hotch-Potch. — The ingredients arc: Neck or scrag of mutton, made into cutlets, cauliflower, carrots, green peas, onions, stock and turnips. This is something like the New England boiled dinner already described. VII. How to Make Stock.