Foods, their selection and preparation

Fruit Dumplings. Dumplings may be made from either plain pastry or puff paste. When plain pastry is used, it is rolled as for pie crust. Peeled and cored whole apples or peeled whole peaches with the stone removed may be used for dumplings, or any fruit desired may be diced. If left whole, fill the center with sugar; if diced, sprinkle with sugar. Add cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired. Cut squares or circles of pastry large enough completely to cover each whole fruit, or about six inches across for each dumpling of diced fruit. Place the fruit and sugar in the center of each piece of pastry and dot with butter or margarine. Moisten the edges of the pastry, gather up, and pinch together, sealing in the fruit. Place in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 425° F. until the pastry is browned and the fruit is tender. If the pastry browns before the apples or other fruits are done, reduce the temperature to 325° F. Whole apple dumplings may take longer to bake than an apple pie, and in most cases the temperature should be reduced after the first 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with cream, hard sauce, or hot lemon sauce. For variety, fruit dumplings may be steamed instead of baked. Cheese Straws. Cheese straws or pastry sticks for serving with salads may be made from plain pastry. This is an excellent way of using up bits of left-over pastry. The pastry is rolled to one-eighth inch thick. Grated cheese, and paprika if desired, are sprinkled over half of it. The other half is folded over the cheese and rolled again. This may be repeated several times. Finally, the pastry is rolled to one-eighth inch thick, and cut in strips about three-eighths inch wide and finger length. These strips may be left as they are or twisted or braided. Bake on a cookie sheet at 450° F. five to eight minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot or cold. These are delicious with fruit salads. PUFF PASTE AND ITS USES There are varying degrees of richness in pastry, from plain to very rich. Plain pastry has from one-fourth to one-third as much fat, by measure, as flour. A rich pastry has from one-third to one-half as much fat, by measure, as flour. Puff paste is not only the richest of all pastries but it is also the lightest, owing to special manipulation of the ingredients. Ingredients and Proportions. To each cup of flour used for making puff paste, the standard is one-half as much cold, hard fat, by measure, or equal weights of flour and fat. Ice water is the liquid used. From onefourth to one-third as much water, by measure, as flour is needed to make the puff paste as light as it should be. Pastry flour gives a more tender puff paste than bread flour, though the latter may be used. Any good shortening will be satisfactory. Because of its flavor, butter or margarine is preferred by some. Equal amounts of one of these fats and a fat of higher shortening value, such as lard, make an excellent puff paste, the one fat for flavor, the other for shortening value. When butter [330] or margarine is used, working it in cold water and then working out all the water makes it waxy and more pliable, and there¬ fore better for making puff paste.