This is the most important of all the sauces with which we have to deal. The great mistake made by the vast majority of women cooks is that they will use milk. They thicken a pint of milk with a little butter and flour, and then call it melted butter, and, as a rule, send to table enough for twenty persons when only two or three are dining. As butter sauce will be served with the majority of vegetables, we would call the attention of vegetarians to the fact that, as a rule, ordinary cookery-books take for granted that vegetables will be served with the meat. When therefore vegetables are served separately, and are intended to be eaten with bread as a course by themselves, some alteration must be made in the method of serving them. Again, vegetarians should bear in mind that, except in cases where poverty necessitates rigid economy, a certain amount of butter may be considered almost a necessity, should the meal be wished to be both wholesome and nourishing. Francatelli, who was chef-de-cuisine to the Earl of Chesterfield, and was also chief cook to the Queen and chef at the Reform Club, and afterwards manager of the Freemasons' Tavern, in writing on this subject observes:--"Butter sauce, or, as it is more absurdly called, melted butter, is the foundation of the whole of the following sauces, and requires very great care in its preparation. Though simple, it is nevertheless a very useful and agreeable sauce when properly made. So far from this being usually the case, it is too generally left to assistants to prepare, as an insignificant matter; the result is therefore seldom satisfactory. When a large quantity of butter sauce is required, put four ounces of fresh butter into a middle-sized stew-pan, with some grated nutmeg and minionette pepper; to these add four ounces of sifted flour, knead the whole well together, and moisten with a pint of cold spring water; stir the sauce on the fire till it boils, and after having kept it gently boiling for twenty minutes (observing that it be not thicker than the consistency of common white sauce), proceed to mix in one pound and a half of sweet fresh butter, taking care to stir the sauce quickly the whole time of the operation. Should it appear to turn oily, add now and then a spoonful of cold spring water; finish with the juice of half a lemon, and salt to palate; then pass the sauce through a tammy into a large bain-marie for use." We have quoted the recipe of the late M. Francatelli in full, as we believe it is necessary to refer to some very great authority in order to knock out the prejudice from the minds of many who think that they not only can themselves cook, but teach others, but who are bound in the chains of prejudice and tradition which, too often, in the most simple recipes, lead them to follow in the footsteps of their grandmothers. Real butter sauce can be made as follows, on a small scale:--Take a claret-glass of water, and about a small teaspoonful of flour mixed with rather more than the same quantity of butter, and mix this in the water over the fire till it is of the consistency of very thin gruel. If it is thicker than this, add a little more water. Now take any quantity of butter, and gradually dissolve as much as you can in this thin gruel, adding say half an ounce at a time, till the sauce becomes a rich oily compound. After a time, if you add too much butter, the sauce will curdle and turn oily, as described by Francatelli. Of course, in everyday life it is not necessary to have the butter sauce so rich, still it is simply ridiculous to thicken a pint of milk, or a pint of water, with a little butter and flour, and then call it butter sauce or melted butter. Suppose we have a large white cabbage, like those met with in the West of England, and we are going to make a meal off it in conjunction with plenty of bread. Suppose the cabbage is sufficiently large for six persons, surely half a pound of butter is not an excessive quantity to use in making butter sauce for the purpose. Yet prejudice is such that if we use half a pound of butter for the butter sauce, housekeepers consider it extravagant. On the other hand, if the butter were placed on the table, and the six persons helped themselves, and ate bread and butter with the cabbage and finished the half-pound, it would not be considered extravagant. Of course, this is simply prejudice. A simple way of making melted butter is as follows:--Take half a pint of cold water, put it in a saucepan, and add sufficient white roux, or butter and flour mixed, till it is of the consistency of thin gruel. Now gradually dissolve in this, adding a little piece at a time, as much butter as you can afford; add a suspicion of nutmeg, a little pepper and salt, and a few drops of lemon-juice from a fresh lemon, if you have one in use.
Every one likes this nourishing dish, and it is a cheap one. Peel some potatoes and cut them in rounds. In a fireproof dish put a layer of these, sprinkle them with flour, grated cheese, pepper, salt, a few pats of butter. Then some more potatoes, and so on till the dish is full. Beat the yolks of two eggs in a pint of milk, add pepper and salt and pour it over the dish. Leave it on the top of the stove for five minutes, then cook it for half-an-hour in a moderate oven. Less time may be required if the dish is small, but the potatoes must be thoroughly cooked. The original recipe directs Gruyère cheese, but red or pale Canadian Cheddar could be used.
1 dozen leeks, 1-1/2 pints of milk, 1 lb. of potatoes, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, and the juice of a lemon (this last may be omitted if not liked). Prepare the leeks as in the previous recipe, cut them into pieces about an inch long. Peel and wash the potatoes and cut them into dice. Set the vegetables over the fire with 1 quart of water, and cook them until tender, which will be in about 1 hour. When soft rub all through a sieve and return the soup to the saucepan. Add the milk, butter, and seasoning, boil up, and add the lemon juice just before serving. Should the soup be too thick add a little hot water. Serve with Allinson plain rusks.
Rub one cup of butter to a cream, add four cups of sifted flour, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of brown sugar; work these together until the flour looks like sand, then take the yolk of an egg, a wine-glass of brandy, one-half cup of ice-water and work it into the flour lightly. Do not use the hands; knead with a knife or wooden spoon, knead as little as possible. If the dough is of the right consistency no flour will be required when rolling out the dough. If it is necessary to use flour use as little as possible. Work quickly, handle dough as little as possible and bake in a hot oven. Follow directions given with Fleischig Pie Crust. Fat may be substituted for butter in the above recipe.
Two pounds of lean fresh beef, boiled and, when cold, chopped fine. One pound of beef suet, cleared of strings and minced to powder. Five pounds of apples, pared and chopped, two pounds of raisins, seeded and chopped, one pound of Sultana raisins, washed and picked over, two pounds of currants washed and carefully picked over, three-quarters of a pound of citron cut up fine, two tablespoonfuls cinnamon, one of powdered nutmeg, two of mace, one of cloves, one of allspice, one of fine salt, two and a quarter pounds of brown sugar, one quart brown sherry, one pint best brandy. Mince-meat made by this recipe will keep all winter. Cover closely in a jar and set in a cool place. Common Sense in the Household. For preserving mince meat, look for CANNED MINCE MEAT.
Three eggs, two table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar and a thimbleful of cornflour or feculina flour. The original recipe gives also one packet of vanilla sugar, but as this may be difficult to get in England it will be easier to add a few drops of vanilla essence when mixing. Mix the yolks of eggs with the sugar for ten minutes, then add the whites, stiffly beaten, stirring in very lightly, so as to let as much air as possible remain in the mixture; sprinkle in the flour. Take a fireproof dish, and butter it, and pour in the mixture, which place in a gentle oven for a quarter of an hour. It is better to practice this recipe at lest once before you prepare it at a dinner, on account of the baking. [L. Verhaeghe.]
1-1/2 cups rolled oats 1 cup bread flour 1-1/3 teaspoons salt 1-1/3 cups milk 2-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 4 tablespoons fat 1-1/4 teaspoons soda
Sift dry ingredients. Cut in the fat. Add liquid and drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake in hot oven 12 to 15 minutes. These may be rolled and cut same as baking powder biscuits. (If uncooked rolled oats are used, allow to stand in the milk for 30 minutes before making recipe.)
Remove the scales and clean. Do not remove the head, tail, or fins. Put into a double boiler one tablespoon of butter, two cups of stale bread crumbs, one tablespoon of chopped onion, one teaspoon of chopped parsley, two teaspoons of chopped capers, one-fourth cup of sherry. Heat all the above ingredients, season with paprika and salt, and stuff the bass with the mixture. Sew up the fish, put into a hot oven, bake and baste with sherry wine and butter. A fish weighing four or five pounds is required for the above recipe.
Remove the stalks from 1 lb. of fresh strawberries, place them in a glass dish and scatter over 2 tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar; prepare 1 pint of custard with Allinson custard powder according to recipe given above, and while still hot pour carefully over the fruit, set aside to cool, and just before serving (which must not be until the custard has become quite cold) garnish the top with a few fine strawberries.
1 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon butter or fat 8 tablespoons grated cheese
Mix like drop baking powder biscuit. Bake 12 minutes in hot oven. This recipe makes twelve biscuits. They are excellent to serve with a vegetable salad as they are high in nutrition.
