must be done quickly ; next, lightly flour a smooth pastry-
board or marble slab, lay the dough on it, and with a floured
roller roll it out about half an inch thick ; cut the rest of the
butter in thick slices, and lay it upon the dough, with spaces
of about an inch between the slices j dust flour lightly over
the butter, and fold the paste over it in such a way as t^.
Pastra Pincers.
completely enclose it ; then gently roll it to the thickness of
an inch, dust a little flour over it, fold it several times, and
again roll it out ; if the butter shows anywhere through the
paste, put it in a floured towel, and cool it for about fifteen
minutes ; then roll it out, fold it, and roll it again two or
three times, and use it for pies. If the pastry is cold and
476 PRACTICAL AMERICAN COOKERY.
the oven hot, the pie-crust will be good when baked. If
the crust browns before the contents of the pie appeiar to
be cooked, lay a piece of paper over it.
In handling pastry, take care not to press or heat it by
letting the hands rest on it ; in forming the crimped edge
upon an open pie, use such pastry-pincers as are shown in
the picture of that implement, or press the scallops with a
knife, rather than the fingers.
CHRISTMAS MINCE-MEAT.
The following recipe for mince-meat has been printed by
the author several times ; but she ventures to repeat it, be-
cause it has always given satisfaction. In common with the
recipe for Christmas plum-pudding, she has taught it for
years, and sees no reason for changing it.
Use equal parts of boiled beef and tongue. If the tongue
is hard and dry, soak it over night in plenty of cold water ;
in the morning put it over the fire in a large pot nearly full
of cold water, and let the water gradually reach the boiling-
point ; when the water begins to boil, pour it ofiT, and replace
it with fresh cold water; again heat the water, with the
tongue in it, to the boiling-point, and boil it steadily and
slowly for one hour. At the end of an hour put in with the'
tongue three pounds of lean beef cut from the neck or
round, add a tablespoonful of salt to the pot-liquor, and
continue the boiUng by a very gentle heat for three hours
longer ; then uncover the pot, set it off the fire, take out the
tongue and skin it, and then return it to the pot, and let
both tongue and beef cool in the pot-hquor.
When the tongue and beef are cold, free the beef from
all skin and gristle, and chop it fine. Cut off from the
tongue the fleshy parts about the roots, rejecting the gristle,
and add to them enough of the trimmings from the tongue
to make two pounds; chop this fine, and put it with the
SECOND-COURSE SWEETS. 477 ✪ Christmas Mince-Meat
Page 253 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1885. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
must be done quickly ; next, lightly flour a smooth pastryboard or marble slab, lay the dough on it, and with a floured roller roll it out about half an inch thick ; cut the rest of the butter in thick slices, and lay it upon the dough, with spaces of about an inch between the slices j dust flour lightly over the butter, and fold the paste over it in such a way as to [illustration: Pastry Pincers.] completely enclose it ;
completely enclose it ; then gently roll it to the thickness of an inch, dust a little flour over it, fold it several times, and again roll it out ; if the butter shows anywhere through the paste, put it in a floured towel, and cool it for about fifteen minutes ; then roll it out, fold it, and roll it again two or three times, and use it for pies. If the pastry is cold and
the oven hot, the pie-crust will be good when baked. If the crust browns before the contents of the pie appear to be cooked, lay a piece of paper over it.
In handling pastry, take care not to press or heat it by letting the hands rest on it ; in forming the crimped edge upon an open pie, use such pastry-pincers as are shown in the picture of that implement, or press the scallops with a knife, rather than the fingers.
CHRISTMAS MINCE-MEAT.
The following recipe for mince-meat has been printed by the author several times ; but she ventures to repeat it, because it has always given satisfaction. In common with the recipe for Christmas plum-pudding, she has taught it for years, and sees no reason for changing it.
Use equal parts of boiled beef and tongue. If the tongue is hard and dry, soak it over night in plenty of cold water ; in the morning put it over the fire in a large pot nearly full of cold water, and let the water gradually reach the boilingpoint ; when the water begins to boil, pour it ofiT, and replace it with fresh cold water; again heat the water, with the tongue in it, to the boiling-point, and boil it steadily and slowly for one hour. At the end of an hour put in with the' tongue three pounds of lean beef cut from the neck or round, add a tablespoonful of salt to the pot-liquor, and continue the boiUng by a very gentle heat for three hours longer ; then uncover the pot, set it off the fire, take out the tongue and skin it, and then return it to the pot, and let both tongue and beef cool in the pot-hquor.
When the tongue and beef are cold, free the beef from all skin and gristle, and chop it fine. Cut off from the tongue the fleshy parts about the roots, rejecting the gristle, and add to them enough of the trimmings from the tongue to make two pounds; chop this fine, and put it with the
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Christmas Mince-Meat