The Raleigh cook book

Fondant.—One pound of granulated sugar and one pint of water. Stir over fire until sugar is dissolved—no longer. With a cloth wipe the crystal from side of saucepan. Let syrup boil without stirring or moving until it will form soft ball when dropped into ice water. Pour into large shallow dish (buttered). When cool enough begin to stir rapidly, until a white, creamy mass is formed; then knead as you would bread till it becomes soft and smooth. Put this into a bowl, cover closely with wet cheesecloth, and let stand in cool place till needed. Creamed Fruits.—Dip fruit into melted fondant. Add a little water drop by drop till fondant is sufficiently thin to cover fruit. Melt in small pan standing in pan of hot water. Stir fondant constantly while melting. Walnut Creams.—Work half a pound of fondant until creamy, flavor to taste. Have ready English walnuts, shelled and divided in halves. Take a piece of fondant size of marble, roll in hand, place it between two halves of the walnuts and stand aside to harden. Creamed Dates. fondant. Remove stones from dates and fill with flavored Chocolate Creams.—Form tiny balls of fondant size of a marble. Put on oiled paper to harden. Make covering by putting a quarter of a pound of grated chocolate into a saucepan, stand in pan of boiling water, add half pound of fondant, a teaspoon of vanilla and sufficient boiling water to make it the consistency of very thick cream. Drop in hardened balls, dip out with candy-dipper and put on oiled paper to harden. Chocolate Caramels.—1⁄2 pound grated, unsweetened chocolate; 4 ounces of butter; 1 pound brown sugar; % cup of molasses. Boil slowly until it hardens in cold water. Pour into greased shallow pans, and set aside to cool. When nearly cold, dip a sharp knife in olive oil, mark off in squares. When cold break apart and wrap in waxed paper. Stuffed Dates.—Take nice, plump, soft-skinned dates, seed them and fill the center with peanuts rolled fine. Broken pecan meats or whole blanched almonds, cream candy or candied ginger may be used instead of peanuts. Roll the stuffed date in sugar. Stuffed Cherries.—Soak candied cherries overnight in grape juice. Remove from the juice, put in each a bit of broken nut. Serve as a confection or as a garnish where cherries would be used. Stuffed Figs.—Select nice dried figs; soak over night in grape juice. Open carefully and fill with whole marshmallows. Sift over them pulverized sugar. Nuts can be mixed with chopped marshmallows for filling. ‘ To Blanch Almonds.—Shell them and throw them into boiling water for a few minutes. Then put in cold water and rub off the skins. CANDIES. (i) To Salt Almonds and Peanuts.—Blanch the almonds; allow them to dry thoroughly, then put them in a baking-pan in a moderate oven. Stir in a small piece of butter and. roast until a golden brown. While hot, sprinkle thickly with fine table salt. Peanuts are salted the same way. FOOD FOR THE SICK. Chicken Water.—Boil a young chicken or piece of an old one to make one quart of chicken water. Boil it until the meat leaves the bone, and put nothing in it but a pinch of salt. Chicken Jelly.—1 young chicken; 1 gallon water; 1 tablespoon rice; salt. \ Pound a nicely cleaned young chicken, bones and all, and put it on to boil in one gallon of water with a little salt. Tie up a tablespoon of rice and drop it in until it is soft; then take the rice out and boil down to one pint. Strain the jelly from the chicken and let cool. One tablespoonful of this is as nourishing as a plate of soup, and more delicate. Beef Tea.—1 pound best lean steak.