FoodNet

Left-overs made palatable

1902

Page 3

Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
If a recipe calls for a cup of left-over gravy, and there is not such a thing in the refrigerator, make a substitute by stirring into a cup of boiling water a teaspoon of beef extract. When you want a spoonful of onion juice, cut the vegetable in two and press it in a lemon squeezer kept specially for this purpose. If you need only a few drops, cut a slice from the onion and scrape tl e surface three or four times with a sharp knife, holding it over the dish you wish to flavor. If you want a teaspoon of chopped onion, cut a slice from one end, then hold it in your left hand while with a vegetable knife you cut into it for a half inch, first one way, then the other. Made Palatable 3 Slice off the onion that has been cut, it will be in very fine cubes. Grow a box of parsley in the kitchen window all winter long and find a corner for it outdoors in the summer. A pinch of parsley in the cooking and a few sprigs of it as a garnish are the very finish of some tasty rechauffes. When a dish that has a liberal garnishing of parsley is removed from the table, put each green sprig in ice water to revive if wilted and lay away wrapped in wet muslin, to be used again as a garnish or in cooking. When you add dried macaroons, chopped nuts or dry brown bread crumbs to ice cream, allow one cup of the crumbs to one quart of cream. Chop all meat for sandwiches, and if there is too little of one sort to be used, combine with any other left-over, provided it is of a flavor that makes a good combination. Chicken, veal, ham, sweetbreads and tender white pork may be used together. Meat used in slices, as in old-fashioned sandwiches, cannot be 4 Left-Overs well seasoned. Minced, it can be mixed with mayon- naise, softened butter, cream or stock, and the season- ing may consist of anything, lemon, chopped pickles, celery or olives, a spoonful of mustard and lemon juice, a drop of tabasco or onion extract, grated horse-radish, vinegar, catsup, chives, parsley or grated cheese. The seasoning is limited only by taste and the ingredients on the pantry shelves. Nothing is too humble to be transformed into a delicious sandwich. Morsels of meat or fish can be chopped and rubbed to a paste, even one hard-boiled egg, with several tablespoons of meat, will make half a dozen excellent sandwiches. The secret lies in fine seasoning and dainty service. When buttering pans, Dario molds, cake tins, or anything which requires greasing, use a small, flat bristle paint brush. It costs ten cents, and if kept clean will last for years. Cold soda biscuits can be dipped quickly in water and heated through, or they may be sliced thinly, toasted crisply and served with coffee. Cold muffins are good split and toasted. Cold johnnycake, sliced thin, makes a sweet crisp toast for breakfast. Do not throw away the salt left in the ice cream pail after freezing. Pour it into a colander, shake the water from it and leave it there till it dries, then return to the bag to be used again. You will be surprised to find nearly a pint of salt saved after the freezing of a couple of quarts of cream. If you have no fat at hand in which to fry cro- quettes, roll them pyramid shaped, set them on their broad base in a baking pan, pour a tablespoon of melted butter over each one and bake in a hot oven till crisp and brown. It will take from ten to fifteen minutes to cook them. Keep constantly in the refrigerator a wide- mouthed glass jar with mayonnaise or a boiled salad Made Palatable 5 dressing. It can be made with some left-over yolks of eggs in an odd quarter of an hour while you wait for something to bake or stew, and the convenience of it can be realized only when the supply is out.