The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France)

game and foods. The Portuguese being first cousins to the Romans, followed suit. In the "Arte de Cosinha," Portugal's classic cook book, Joao da Matta points this out, saying it must be so, since the country swarms with gentry named Messrs. Duck, Guinea-hen, Sheep, Lamprey, Codfish, Sausage, Chicken, Pigeon, etc., yet not one of them is named after the kangaroo, elephant, monkey, lion or any other animal that the Portuguese don't actually eat. The wines for dinner are those already named for lunch, though better vintages are usually served at night. With the dessert, often consisting of the distinguished grapes from which port itself is made, or the favorite preserved apricots, sweet white wines of Setuval and Grandjo come on. The Setuval is a Muscat and the Grandjo is Portugal's finest Sauterne. Portuguese champagne is no better than Spain's, so those who can afford it drink French. Port, of course, is not drunk in Portugal. It is looked upon with the same condescension or disdain as that with which the French contemplate their sparkling Burgundy, manufactured exclusively for export. For as a matter of fact the port doctored up for shipment to England bears but little resemblance to the natural article after it has been doped with elderberries powdered and dried, reinforced with 20% brandy by volume and colored with quebracho extract, from Brazil wood, which also gives to Argentine wines a rich, ruby color but an awfully bad reputation at home. Much of the natural ruby of port, however, comes from long treading of the grape-must in the vats. The Portuguese go about this treading as heartily as turkey cocks. They bathe well before diving naked into the wine vats, and then line up in dance figures, four to eight men doing intricate grape-squashing quadrilles with abandon, for orchestras of guitars, pipes, hautboys, bag-pipes even, are actually hired by vineyard proprietors to keep the wine-pressing boys at their rhythmic grape-dancing four hours at a stretch, while the foreman of the shift sings out the figures. (Soups) SOUP OF A THOUSAND INFANTS (Sopa de Mil Infantes) i quart chicken broth % cup bread crumbs Salt and pepper l/z teaspoon minced i egg white chevril or parsley I whole egg Season broth, mix in egg white, bring to a boil, let settle, and strain through cloth. Slightly beat egg and thoroughly mix with bread crumbs. Bring broth to a boil, remove from flame, drop in bread-egg mixture a bit at a time, beating rapidly with an egg whip. Serve at once with a little chevril in each plate. CHICKEN SOUP (Sopa de Gallinha) i fowl, jointed i onion, chopped 3 quarts water 2 tomatoes, without seeds, 1 tablespoon salt chopped Yi garlic clove, minced l/2 cup rice 2 carrots, diced Pepper Bring fowl slowly to a boil. Add salt, and skim. Simmer 2j4 hours, add remaining ingredients and simmer until done. Skim off fat. Serve with a piece of chicken in each soup plate. The chicken and rice soup of Brazil is called canja, literally rice-cream. Brazilians are as fond of this dish as we are of ice cream. Its name has been incorporated into their language and is heard every day in the exclamation "E canja!" "It's easy!" Easy to do, easy money, anything "nice and soft" as we would say. In Portugal and Brazil "E sopa!" is used in exactly the same way. "It's the soup!" Our "easy as pie" is its synonym.