Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Add a large bouquet of three sprigs of white celery without the leaves, two leeks, four sprigs of parsley, one bay-leaf, three cloves stuck in one onion, a very small branch of thyme. Cook in a covered kettle two hours after the seasoning, and then remove the fowl and the bacon. Lift up the rind of the bacon and drain in a colander. Slice it then in pieces a quarter of an inch thick, put them into a saucepan with two table-spoonfuls of butter, and brown them slightly on each side. Remove from the saucepan and place the chicken in the same gravy until brown all over. Strain one and a half quarts of the broth and add it to the chicken and the sliced bacon. Add also four levelled spoonfuls of rice well washed and drained. Cook thirty minutes in a covered saucepan. Dish up the chicken in a warm platter; arrange the rice around it, putting the sliced bacon over the rice, and the remaining half of raw, green pepper cut in small strips. Do the same thing with one raw tomato, mixing the colors. Serve at once very hot. Finish the soup with the remainder of the broth, strain it, rinse the kettle, and put the broth back into it. Cut the meat of the veal knuckle, and also the vegetables, in small dice. Put everything into the broth; add one dozen of medium - sized okras well washed and cut in small pieces. Have half a dozen large, live hardshell crabs. Trim off the claws, and cut them across in two. Wash them well. Cook twenty-five minutes, and serve this savory soup very hot, with crabs and all. Some rice could be added to it. Chicken Croquettes. — The meat of a grown pullet, five oysters, and a sweetbread chopped fine ; a large table-spoonful of butter melted in a saucepan over a slow fire ; a tablespoonful of flour stirred to a cream in the hot butter. Add a gill of cream, and stir it five minutes. After thus stirring the meat and cream together, put in two well-beaten eggs and stir two minutes longer. Season to the taste with pepper, salt, and a little celery seed, or any minced herb that you fancy. Roll the preparation into pieces the shape of an egg, then roll in cracker-crumbs after dipping in egg, and fry in hot lard. Garnish the dish either with curled lettuce leaves or parsley. Another way : — One cold boiled chicken, two sets of calves' brains, one large table - spoonful of flour, one pint of cream, half a cupful of butter, one table-spoonful of parsley chopped fine, one level table-spoonful of ground mace, juice of one lemon, pepper, salt, and nutmeg to suit the taste. Chop all very fine. Put the butter in a pan with the flour, and when it bubbles add the cream gradually, then the chopped mixture, and stir till the dish is thoroughly heated. Take from the fire and add the lemon- juice, and set away to cool. Roll into shape with cracker-crumbs and egg. All the crumbs should be salted and peppered. Chicken, Curry of Spring. — Cut three large slices of bacon; put in a pot with two onions and three potatoes, sliced ; let fry until half done. Add two young chickens cut in pieces, cover with water, season with salt and pepper, and let cook till done. Mix three table-spoonfuls of curry powder, add to the chicken, let boil, skim out the pieces of pork, have a dish of rice, pour the chicken and gravy over. Serve with young corn. Chicken, Fricassee of Spring. — Cut