The Elm City cook book

Take two pounds beef, cut in small pieces, put two ounces of butter in a soup kettle and melt. Put in the meat and stir until brown. Cover the kettle, remove to back of range, and let simmer gently twenty five minutes. Pour over it two quarts cold water and let simmer three hours. Now add one onion, a sprig of parsley, a stalk of celery, a small sized carrot, and one potato, all chopped. Let all boil one hour more and strain. Putina cool place. When ready to serve take off fat, heat soup. Season with salt, pepper, and a very little lemon juice. MARTHA WASHINGTON CRAB SOUP. Fifteen crabs thrown in boiling water alive. Boil until done; meat picked up fine, put into two quarts water in which a pound of bacon has been boiled. Beat yolks of two eggs; stir in pint of rich milk, which has been heated. ‘Then pour into the boiling crab soup, which must not boil, but cook a few minutes after mixing. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. MEATS. STEAK. In cooking steak the only rule is hot, hotter, hottest. Have your spider nearly red hot, throw in steak and turn almost instantly. Keep turning. Do not season until after it leaves the fire, and do not turn by sticking a fork in the meat, it allows the juices to escape; insert it in the outer rim of fat. Use no grease, the fat on the meat is sufficient. Season with butter, pepper and salt. Serve immediately. BROILED STEAK. Have it cut thick; it will never be good, rich and juicy, if only one fourth to one half inch thick. Skim off any suet, and dredge with salt, pepper and flour. Cook on the broiler over hot coals ten minutes, if to be rare; twelve, if to be rather well done. Turn the meat constantly, serve on a hot dish with butter and salt, or with mushroom sauce, maitre d’hotel butter, or tomato sauce. Do not stick a knife or fork into the meat to try it, ‘This is the way many people spoil it. Pounding is another bad habit; much of the juice of the meat is lost. When, as it sometimes happens, there is no convenience for broiling, heat the frying pan very hot, then sprinkle with salt, and Jay in the steak. ‘Turn frequently. ROLLED STEAK. Prepare a good dressing such as used for turkey; take a round steak, pound it, spread the dressing over, sprinkle in a little salt, pepper, and a few bits of butter; lap over the ends, roll up tightly, and tie. Spread bits of butter over the steak and wash with a well beaten egg. Put a little water in baking pan, elevate the steak so as not to touch the water, and bake half hour in a brisk oven, basting frequently. Make a brown gravy and send to the table hot. HAMBURG STEAK. Take pieces of lean beef, if the meat man is accommodating he will run it through his meat chopper. Have the spider very hot, but without fat. Mix the Seasoning in with the meat. Lay portion of chopped meat on it, press out evenly to the thickness of steak. When well cooked on one side turn with cake turner without breaking. This is much cheaper than ordinary cuts, and very nice. Take a nice piece beef for roasting about five pounds, place it in a pot over a good fire. Brown on one side, then turn and brown on the other, add one pint boiling water, cover and cook slowly fifteen minutes; to each pound add a teaspoonful of salt when meat is half done. After the water evaporates add no more water as there should be sufficient fat to finish cooking the meat. When done place on hot dish. To the fat in the pot add two tablespoonfuls flour, mix well, let brown, add one pint water, stir until it boils, season and pour around meat. ROAST LAMB—MINT SAUCE.