Manual for army cooks

Cut crab meat into small pieces. To six ounces of crab meat mix two ounces of bread crumbs, juice of half a lemon, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix all with milk (condensed), sprinkle fine bread crumbs on top, and color brown in a quick oven. CANNED LOBSTER, DEVILED. Prepare the same way as crab, adding a little grated nutmeg to seasoning. CANNED LOBSTER, STEWED. Cut the meat up fine and let it boil up once in its own liquor. Add a little pepper and salt, and serve plain or on toast. CANNED OYSTERS AND MACARONI. Boil four ounces macaroni in plenty of water, twenty minutes. Cut in pieces one inch long. Put layer of this in bottom of baking dish, a layer of oysters, salt and pepper sprinkled over. Then another layer of macaroni and so on until all is used, having top layer macaroni. Sprinkle grated cheese lightly over top and bake in moderate oven twenty minutes. Serve in same dish. CANNED OYSTER SAUTE. Drain oysters dry, sprinkle with pepper and roll in flour. Cut one-fourth pound bacon into thin slices, put in frying pan and try out all the fat. Remove bacon and cover bottom of pan with oysters. When brown and crisp on one side, do other side the same. Serve on squares of toast. TO ROAST (PARCH) COFFEE. Coffee requires great care and constant attention in roasting — don't leave it to do something else. Half fill the pan with coffee beans, about fifteen pounds, place it in the oven or on the fire (an even and slow heat is best) and when it gets heated through stir thoroughly from the bottom. Try to stir it so the under berries will come to the top, and vice versa. If fire is quick keep stirring constantly. Use the turnover in stirring, not a spoon. When about half done add half pint of fat or water and stir thoroughly until of a rich brown color, then set "off to cool. Some prefer to use the oven and by having heat on top can observe the progress of parching more easily and thoroughly, acting accordingly. Time, about one hour or more to the half-pan full. Great care should be exercised, as good coffee is the backbone of many a meal. TO MAKE COFFEE. Into a small coffee boiler, the smallest one, put sufficient cold water for the command, allowing a good quart per man or more ; add to it the coffee, ground fine (two quarts ground coffee to fifty men at least), and when the whole boils remove it from the fire, ten minutes before service, to settle. Another way: First boil the water, then add the coffee : boil ten minutes and remove ; boil slowly or it will boil over — a cupful of cold water will prevent it from boiling over when it is boiling too fast, but it must be removed quickly — it will also settle the grounds. Don't ever boil coffee too long as it loses strength, and flavor, and don't be too liberal with the water. Another way : Allow one heaping tablespoonful of coffee to each pint of water. If five quarts are required put in six or seven quarts of water, thus allowing for evaporation and boiling down. First boil the water, then set the pot near the fire, put in your coffee, ] et it simmer and boil for thirty minutes on hot ashes and coals, and then set aside close to the fire to keep hot until your meal is ready. A third cup of cold water poured in will clarify it. TEA.