Twentieth century home cook book

Take a clean stew-pan or saucepan and put in half pound of pounded loaf sugar, and constantly stir it over the fire with a wooden spoon. When the sugar is thoroughly melted, let it come to the boiling point, and then boil slowly for fifteen minutes, with occasional stirring. When the sugar is of a dark-brown color add one quart of cold water, then boil for twenty minutes on the side of the fire. Let it cool; then strain it, and keep it in clean well-stoppered bottles, and it is ready for use. Caramel should be of a dark-brown color; if it boil too quickly it will become black, and will spoil the color and flavor of the broth. When you use caramel, put it into the soup tureen just before serving. X. Roasted and Baked Meats. In the United States, very little meat is roasted before the fire. This method is undoubtedly better than baking, but few families have facilities for roasting. The cook stove is now supreme,- and no person will object either to a joint or a bird nicely roasted in an oven. But roasting before the open fire undoubtedly exalts the flavor of meat more than any other way of cooking. Only the best pieces can be used for roasting. The neck, tops of the ribs, shanks and tail make soup, all the odds and ends come in well for stewing, while the best roasting pieces are the ribs, the fillet, the sirloin and rump. How to Roast. — To roast meat properly, the fire must be hot and steady. About two hours will be required for a roast of seven pounds of beef, and somewhat less for a leg of mutton. No time, however, can be given exactly, though fifteen minutes for each pound will be near the mark. Beef is usually liked rare, mutton often somewhat so, but pork and fowls should be thoroughly cooked. Basting. — The meat should be basted from time to time, and if you wish the meat frothed, just after the last basting, dredge it very lightly with well-dried flour and give it time to crisp. The imperative rule for baking meats is to have a quick fire and baste frequently. Never parboil meat that is to be roasted. If it is frozen thaw it out in cold water before putting it in the oven, always wiping it dry after taking it from the water. There is another thing that should be observed with all meats that are to be roasted, broiled or fried. They should be kept in a cool place after being killed, until ready for cooking. This breaks down the fiber and renders the flesh tender. FLESH-FORK. XI. Beef a la Mode. This is a fillet or round of beef with rich stuffing, whether stewed or baked. A round of beef is prepared as follows: Cut out the bone and fill with rich stufling of bread-crumbs seasoned with pepper, salt and onions; mix together a teaspoonful each of pepper, salt, cloves, mace and nutmeg. Make incisions in the beef and place thereon strips of salt fat pork rolled in the spices. Sprinkle the remainder over the beef, and cover the whole with strips of fat pork. Tie it all round with tape, and skewer it well, put in the oven in a dripping-pan containing plenty of water, say three quarts, and bake from four to six hours, according to the size of tlie piece, basting it well with butter or nice beef drippings mixed with a little flour. When nearly done skim the fat from the gravy and thicken to serve with the meat. The gravy may be seasoned with Worcester sauce, catsup or wine. XII. Preparing the Roast. Ribs of beef may have the bones cut out, the meat rolled compactly together and properly skewered. A loin should have the spine properly cut for convenience in carving. Fowls should be properly skewered, and the roasting should be done with only water enough to properly baste. The roast should be covered with a buttered paper to prevent burning until such a time as it may be ready to finish by browning. With these directions any cook should be able to do a plain roast. XIII. Roast Saddle of Venison,