Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus. Rufus Estes
with the onion's around; reduce the sauce and serve. Calves' brains may be dressed in the same way.
SHEEP'S TONGUES—Sheep's tongues are usually boiled in water and then broiled. To dress them, first skin and split down the center. Dip them in butter or sweet oil, mixed with parsley, green onions, mushrooms, clove of garlic, all shredded fine, salt and pepper. Then cover with bread crumbs and broil. Serve with an acid sauce.
SHOULDER OF VEAL BRAISED—Buy a shoulder of veal and ask the butcher to bone it and send the bones with the meat. Cover the bones with cold water and when it comes to a boil skim, then add a little onion and carrot and a few seasoning herbs and any spices desired. Simmer gently for an hour or so until you have a pint of stock. To make the stuffing take a stale loaf, cut off the crust and soak in a little cold water until soft. Rub the crumbs of the loaf as fine as possible in the hands, then add to the soaked and softened crust. Chop a half cup of suet fine, put into a frying pan a tablespoon of the suet, and when hot add an onion chopped fine. Cook until brown then add to the bread with regular poultry seasoning or else salt, pepper, and a bit of thyme. Mix well and stuff the cavity in the shoulder, then pull the flaps of the meat over and sew up. Put the rest of the suet in the frying pan and having dusted the meat with flour, salt and pepper and a sprinkling of sugar, brown on all sides in the fat into the bottom of the braising pan, which may be any shallow iron pot or granite kettle with a tight cover, put a layer of thin sliced onions and carrots, a bit of bay leaf and sprigs of parsley, and on this lay the meat. Add two or three cloves, pour hot stock around it, cover closely and braise in a hot oven for three hours.
SPANISH CHOPS—Gash six French chops on outer edge, extending cut more than half way through lean meat. Stuff, dip in crumbs, egg and crumbs, fry in deep fat five minutes and drain on brown paper.
For the stuffing mix six tablespoons of soft bread crumbs, three tablespoons of chopped cooked ham, two tablespoons chopped mushroom caps, two tablespoons melted butter, salt and pepper to taste.
HARICOT OF MUTTON—To make a la bourgeoise, cut a shoulder of mutton in pieces about the width of two fingers. Mix a little butter with a tablespoonful of flour and place over a slow fire, stirring until the color of cinnamon. Put in the pieces of meat, giving them two or three turns over the fire, then add some stock, if you have it, or about half pint of hot water, which must be stirred in a little at a time. Season with salt, pepper, parsley, green onions, bay leaf, thyme, garlic, cloves, and basil. Set the whole over a slow fire and when half done skim off as much fat as possible. Have ready some turnips, cut in pieces, and stew with the meat. When done take out the herbs and skim off what fat remains, reducing the stock if too thin.
VEAL CROQUETTES—Make a thick sauce from one cup of milk, two level tablespoons of butter, and four level tablespoons of flour. Cook five minutes, season with salt, pepper and celery salt, and a few drops of lemon juice, and a tablespoon of finely minced parsley. Add two cups of cold cooked veal chopped fine and cool the mixture. Shape into little rolls, dip in an egg beaten with one tablespoon of water then roll in fine bread crumbs. Fry in deep smoking hot fat. Be sure to coat the whole surface with egg and to have the fat very hot, as the mixture has been cooked once and merely needs beating to the center and browning on the outside.
VEAL LOAF—Mince fine three pounds lean raw veal and a quarter of a pound of fat pork. Add a half onion chopped fine or grated, a tablespoonful of salt, a teaspoonful pepper and a teaspoonful seasoning herbs. Mix well, add two-thirds of a cup cracker crumbs, a half cup veal gravy, the yolk of one egg and the whites of two beaten together. Form into a loaf, pressing firmly together. Brush over with the yolk of an egg, dust with finely rolled cracker crumbs and set in a greased rack in the dripping pan. When it begins to brown, turn a cup of hot water into the pan and baste frequently until done. It will take about an hour and a half in a moderate oven.
VEAL PATTIES—Make a sauce of two level tablespoons each of butter and flour, one cup of stock or boiling water, and one cup of thin cream. Cook five minutes, add two cups of finely chopped cooked veal, half a level teaspoon of salt, a saltspoon of pepper, also the beaten yolks of two eggs, and a tablespoon of finely minced parsley. As soon as the egg thickens take from the fire and fill hot pastry cases.
VIRGINIA STEW—A half grown chicken or two squirrels, one slice of salt pork, twelve large tomatoes, three cups of lima beans, one large onion, two large Irish potatoes, twelve ears of corn, one-fourth pound of butter, one-fourth pound of lard, one gallon of boiling water, two tablespoonfuls salt and pepper; mix as any ordinary soup and let it cook for a couple of hours or more, then serve.
BROILING STEAK—While many prefer steak fairly well done, still the great majority desire to have it either rare, or certainly not overdone. For those who wish a steak well done—completely through—and still not to have the outside crisp to a cinder, it is necessary to cut the steak possibly as thin as one-half inch, and then the outside can have that delicious and intense scorching which quickly prevents the escape of juices, and also gives the slightly burned taste which at its perfect condition is the most delicious flavor from my own preference that can be given to a steak. By this I do not mean a steak burned to a cinder, but slightly scorched over a very hot fire.
FOR RARE BROILED STEAK—For those who are fond of rare steak it can be cut from one inch to one and one-quarter inches in thickness and the outside thoroughly and quickly broiled, leaving the inside practically only partially cooked, so that the blood will follow the knife and still the steak has been heated completely through and a thin crust on either side has been well cooked, which has formed the shell to retain the juices.
PROPERLY FRYING STEAK—To fry steak properly (although some claim it is not proper to fry steak under any circumstances), it is necessary to have the butter, oleo, fat or grease piping hot, for two reasons: First, the steak sears over quickly, and the juices are thus retained within the steak to better advantage than by the slow process of cooking, but even more important is the fact that the incrustation thus formed not only holds the juices within the steak, but prevents the fat from penetrating and making the steak greasy, soggy and unattractive. As a rule, however, we must acknowledge that broiled steak is in varying degrees largely superior to fried steak.
BROILED LOIN STEAKS—Two loin steaks of about a pound each: season with salt and pepper to taste, baste on either side with a little oil. Place on a broiler over a bright charcoal fire, and broil for six minutes, on each side. Serve on a hot dish with Bordeaux sauce and garnish with rounds of marrow.
FRIED HAMBURG STEAK, WITH RUSSIAN SAUCE—Select a piece of buttock beef, remove the fat and chop very fine. Add finely chopped shallot, two eggs, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Mix well and form into balls. Roll in bread crumbs and fry with a little clarified butter four or five minutes, turning frequently. Serve with Russian sauce.
FRIED SAUSAGE MEAT—Roll sausage meat into small balls, wrapping each in a thin rasher of bacon and fasten with a skewer. Fry lightly in a little butter. Serve with fried parsley and croutons of fried bread. Serve hot.
ROAST BEEF, AMERICAN STYLE—Lay the meat on sticks in a dripping pan, so as not to touch the water which is placed in the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper and roast for three or four hours, basting frequently. When done sift over the top browned cracker crumbs and garnish with parsley.
ROAST BEEF ON SPIT—Remove most of the flap from sirloin and trim neatly. Have a clear brisk fire and place the meat close to it for the first half hour, then move it farther away, basting frequently, and when done sprinkle well with salt. The gravy may be prepared by taking the meat from the dripping pan which will have a brown sediment. Pour in some boiling water and salt. Strain over the meat. A thickening of flour may be added if necessary. Garnish with horseradish and serve with horseradish sauce.
ROAST RIBS OF BEEF—Break off the ends of the bones of the desired amount of ribs; take out the shin-bone, and place the meat in a baking pan. Sprinkle with salt and spread some small lumps of butter over it and dust with flour, baking in a moderate oven till done. Serve hot and garnish with horseradish.