The complete cook book

on the fire and let them simmer till quite tender. Take them up and drain them; when thoroughly drained, put them in a baking pan with a large piece of salt pork; score the pork and lay it deep in among the beans, not upon them. Pour boiling water over them, and bake till brown. If in a range, leave them in all night. This constant change of water improves the beans very much, and makes them less flatulent. BOSTON BAKED BEANS. Take one quart of small white beans and soak them over night in cold water. Next morning throw off the water and cover them with fresh cold water ; add one pound of salt pork, one-half teaspoonful of soda, and simmer until the beans are soft enough to pierce with a straw, but be very careful not to let them boil enough to break. When soft, pour into a colander and pour cold water through them. Now place them in an earthen bean pot, slice the pork, and bury it in the beans. Add four tablespoonfuls of molasses, one scant teaspoonful of salt, and one teaspoonful of ground English mustard. Cover with water and bake from six to eight hours. Lift the pork to the surface the last hour and let it crisp. STEAMED RICE. Pour two cups of boiling water on one cup of wellwashed rice; add half a teaspoonful of salt. Cook in the double boiler thirty minutes, or till soft. Remove the cover, stir with a fork to let the steam escape, and dry off the rice. Rice will usually absorb twice, its bulk of water ; but when cooked in milk or stock a little more moisture will be required. Some of the nitrogenous and mineral constituents, of which rice has but a small amount, are lost in the boiling water, and unless the water be used for soup, to boil rice is a wasteful process. Steaming is a much easier method, and is more economical. Many dishes may be prepared from combinations of the various seasoning materials. 136 The Complete Cook Book. BOILED RICE. Rice should be thoroughly washed and picked and covered with cold water until ready to cook. Have two quarts of water with one tablespoonful of salt, boiling rapidly in a saucepan. Sprinkle in very gradually one cup of well washed rice so as not to stop it from boiling. Cover and boil it hard twenty minutes. Now pour off the water and set it on the back of the stove, which will allow the rice to dry and separate from the grains. Be sure to let it boil vigorously, and do not stir it. A FINE WAY TO COOK RICE. To one cup of rice add a small teaspoonful of salt and one quart of boiling water. Cook in double boiler rapidly for twenty minutes, then pour off all the water and add a half cup of veal or chicken soup stock — it must be white — cover tightly, return to the fire and cook a half-hour longer. The water in the under boiler must boil rapidly all the time. Rice cooked in this way will have every grain separate and finely seasoned. BOILED HOMINY. Wash two cupfuls of hominy in cold water; drain off the water ; put it in a pan, covering over with four coffee-cups of water; place pan on stove, season to suit the taste; boil for nearly one-half hour, and serve. STEWED HOMINY. Wash a cupful of hominy, put it over the fire in two quarts of cold water, and slowly heat and boil it gently for about four hours, until it is quite soft; then drain it and place it where the water will evaporate, while a cream gravy is being made as follows : Put over the fire two tablespoonfuls of butter, and partly melt them ; when the butter is quite soft, gradually stir with it half a pint of cream or an equal quantity of milk; if the cream is used, add it to the hominy as soon as it is hot; if milk is used, take it off the fire when it is hot, stir with it yolks of two raw eggs, and mix it with the hominy ; serve as soon as the milk or cream is added, as it curdles easily. The Complete Cook Book. 137 FEIED HOMINY